AFP: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice begins in Berlin on Tuesday a new tour of Europe expected to focus on the nuclear standoff with Iran and Pakistan’s political turmoil.
Iran, Pakistan to be at the heart of Rice’s Europe trip
Russia delivers more than half nuclear fuel to Iran: official
AFP: Russia has delivered more than half the fuel for Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, after a fourth consignment arrived on Sunday, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Oman bans poultry imports from India and Iran
Reuters: Oman has banned the import of all poultry and poultry products from India and Iran, the state news agency ONA said on Saturday, after outbreaks of avian influenza in those countries.
Belarus denies plans to sell missiles to Iran
Reuters: Ex-Soviet Belarus dismissed as laughable on Friday a report by intelligence journal Jane’s that it was ready to sell Iran two missile systems for $140 million.
Iran’s Rafsanjani blames foreign cos over gas shortages
Dow Jones: Senior Iranian politician Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Friday blamed foreign companies and suppliers for shortages in natural gas used for heating that have hit the country during an unusually cold winter.
Detained French-Iranian journalism student leaves Iran
AFP: An Iranian-French journalism student who had been prevented from leaving Iran for nearly a year was en route to Paris on Friday, the French foreign ministry said.
Sunni sheik offers guns and gets rewards
AP: They know him as the sheik. But what that really means in this Sunni town is a bit of everything: community leader, public works supervisor, agricultural planner, militia captain.
Bush fills Iran policy job
AP: President Bush moved quickly Friday to fill a key diplomatic post with responsibility for Iran policy, nominating the American ambassador to Russia for the job immediately after his predecessor’s resignation.
Iraq seeing rise in Iran-linked bomb blasts – US
Reuters: The U.S. military in Iraq is seeing an upswing in the number of roadside bomb attacks using deadly armor-piercing munitions linked to Iran, top defense officials said on Friday.
H5N1 bird flu virus hits ducks, geese in N. Iran
Reuters: The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in ducks and geese in northern Iran after affecting swans there, but no human cases have been reported, an official was quoted on Friday as saying.
