Tehran, Jan 24, IRNA -- Iran's President Seyed Mohammad Khatami appointed a special committee to survey about the problems of the Iranian teachers on Wednesday. ... more

TEHRAN, Jan. 22 - For the second time in a week, thousands of teachers demonstrated here today to demand pay raises and better working conditions. ... more

TEHRAN Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that the Ten-Day Dawn was a historic opportunity for Iranians to get rid of despotism and foreign domination. He was referring to the ten-day period of February 1-10, 1979 during which the late Imam Khomeini returned to Iran and the Islamic Revolution achieved victory. ... more

TEHRAN The trial of Shahram Jazayeri, who is accused of financial corruption, gives people hope that the mandate declared by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution and the call of the heads of the three branches of government to counter financial corruption will be realized. ... more

Iran yesterday inaugurated its first exports of gas since the 1979 Islamic revolution, supplying Turkey under a 25-year contract that had been opposed by the US but could eventually lead to sales to Europe. ... more

A federal judge yesterday ordered Iran to pay $42 million to the family of a U.S. Agency for International Development officer executed by Hezbollah militants during the 1984 hijacking of a Kuwait Airlines flight. It was the latest in a series of verdicts against the Iranian government related to its support of terrorism. ... more

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Iran has sent senior military officers into three southern provinces of Afghanistan in an attempt to undermine the fragile process of this war-torn nation's reunification, a respected member of Kandahar's provincial government charged Wednesday. ... more

The warlord Ismail Khan has found an eager ally in the fight to keep his regional fiefdom. The officer, a veteran of the Afghan army, heard a loud noise - "hummm, like that" - then a big explosion followed by a number of small ones. The official explanation of the blast that killed at least 18 of his men was a mishandled rocket. But that is not what he and his fellow officers believe ... more

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Jan. 23 -- Officials said they are increasingly concerned that neighboring Iran, which has been accused of political meddling in the border province of Herat, may now be bringing money, goods and weapons deeper into Afghanistan in an effort to undermine its new government. ... more

WASHINGTON - An American reassessment of relations with the Palestinian Authority and Washington's continuing involvement in the Middle East conflict will take several days. Discussions began yesterday in the State Department and the White House National Security Council and a decision is expected by the weekend. ... more

TEHRAN Iran is to start flights to its former enemy Iraq after a break of more than two decades and plans to use Iraqi airspace for direct flights to Syria, the official IRNA press agency reported Wednesday. The move is likely to anger the United States, which has strongly supported maintaining United Nations sanctions imposed on Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War. No commercial transactions can take place under the sanctions, but Security Council members have been split about whether the limitations include civilian flights. Russia and France say the council's sanctions committee should be notified 24 hours in advance of flights so cargo can be inspected for banned goods. But they argue that the panel does not need to give its permission, as Britain and the United States contend. ... more

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Former Lebanese Christian warlord Elie Hobeika was killed in a bomb explosion at his house a short time ago, witnesses said. Hobeika, 45, led the right-wing Phalangist Lebanese Forces militia forces who, under the eyes of Israeli soldiers, scythed through the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps in Muslim west Beirut, slaughtering hundreds of men, women and children, in 1982. ... more

ISRAELI cities were on maximum alert for terrorist reprisals yesterday after the Army's intelligence chief warned parliament to expect attacks "the likes of which we have not seen before". In Jerusalem, two women died from their wounds overnight after a Palestinian terrorist opened fire in the main commercial thoroughfare, wounding 14 others. Hundreds of heavily armed soldiers and police on patrol later often outnumbered ordinary pedestrians on the streets. ... more

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Former Lebanese Christian warlord Elie Hobeika was killed in a bomb explosion at his house a short time ago, witnesses said. Hobeika, 45, led the right-wing Phalangist Lebanese Forces militia forces who, under the eyes of Israeli soldiers, scythed through the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps in Muslim west Beirut, slaughtering hundreds of men, women and children, in 1982. Several months before the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, Hobeika was assigned liasion officer with the IDF. Following the war, he turned his back on Israel and joined the pro-Syrian camp in Lebanon, Israel Radio reported. A car bomb exploded today outside his house in Beirut's eastern Hazmieh neighborhood. Lebanese security officials said Hobeika had just entered his Humvee, a military style armored truck, with three body guards inside when the explosion occurred at 9:40 a.m. ... more

Hizbullah fighters on Wednesday allegedly attacked an Israeli patrol and bombarded outposts in the Shebaa Farms, the first operation in the occupied territory for three months. Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer described the attack as "very serious" and said Iran and Syria had given Hizbullah the green light. "No shooting can take place without Syria's approval and certainly not without the impetus and backing of Iran," he said. The attack defied a growing assumption among some Lebanese and international officials that US pressure on Lebanon and Syria had effectively curtailed Hizbullah's campaign to eject the Israeli Army from the Shebaa Farms. ... more