First there were the trucks. They started rolling into southern and western Afghanistan late last year, full of clothes and food and medical supplies for delivery to a few lucky warlords and their charges, courtesy of Iran. ... more

When it comes to supporting terror, the brazenness of the Iranian government and its apologists is mind-boggling. ... more

Establishment of Iranian-Hizbullah link to bombings could have dire consequences for a region already in turmoil. ... more

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's hard-line judiciary has ordered the closure of a monthly movie magazine, newspapers reported Monday. ... more

TEHRAN, Jan 28 Asia Pulse - The ninth session of the Iran-Libya joint economic commission has been launched in Tehran. ... more

BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) -- Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said on Sunday he would welcome a visit to Iraq's prisons by Kuwaiti officials to prove there are no Kuwaiti prisoners left over from Baghdad's invasion 11 years ago. ... more

The Iranian government is not convinced that the United States is about to blitz Iraq, at least not in the foreseeable future. ... more

Tehran, Jan 28, IRNA -- The realities of Iran's diplomatic policies will never create the atmosphere for any country to carry out adventurous maneuvers ... ... more

Tehran, Jan 28, IRNA -- Iranian President Seyed Mohammad Khatami, at a meeting Sunday evening with Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri, expressed hopes that goodwill, an eye to the future, and mutual respect for each other would reign and that both countries' existing problems would be removed and their relations in the political, economic, cultural and international fields would achieve higher levels. ... more

New outside threats dilute internal tensions between Khamenei and khatami Conflicts between reformists and conservatives may be temporarily sidelined. ... more

TEHRAN 27 Jan. (IPS) United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan ended Sunday a two-day visit to Iran, where, according to informed sources, he delivered a "note" from the United States ... ... more

United Nations relief workers are warning that lawlessness and crime in Afghanistan are now seriously hampering their work. ... more

Riyadh In a blunt criticism of President George W. Bush, Saudi Arabia's senior intelligence official called Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, "a man of peace" ... ... more

Yesterday's suicide bombing in Jerusalem was the third attack in the city in less than a week. ... more

WASHINGTON (AP) - Vice President Dick Cheney is criticizing Yasser Arafat for apparently turning to Iran and the Hezbollah terrorist group for support and is pressing the Palestinian leader to "make a 100 percent" effort against terrorism. ... more

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. Navy warships, one a submarine, collided on the surface of the Northern Arabian Sea off Oman Sunday but there were no injuries and neither ship was in danger of sinking, the Pentagon said Monday. ... more

WASHINGTON (CNN) --Saudi Arabian officials have asked the United States to reduce its military presence in their country, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card told CNN on Sunday. ... more

In early 1979 the authoritarian and much-disliked regime of the Shah of Iran collapsed, to the rejoicing of left-wing groups everywhere in the West. ... more

Iran's pro-reform government has proposed drawing foreign exchange reserves from its oil stabilisation fund for the first time since it was established two years ago because of a sharp decline in oil revenues and a need to invest more in creating jobs, according to the central bank. ... more

LONDON (Reuters) - The 10 OPEC countries subject to oil supply quotas slashed output by 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in January to 22.25 million bpd, according to a latest estimate by consultancy Petrologistics, a client of the company said. ... more

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Six al Qaeda fighters were killed in a hail of gunfire and grenades on Monday when Afghan troops and their U.S. advisers stormed a hospital in the southern city of Kandahar. ... more

Burned by Al Qaeda escapes at mountain caves, the US now uses larger elite units with little aid from local tribes. ... more

WASHINGTON - With his popularity still soaring, President Bush finds himself in an unfamiliar spot as he prepares for the State of the Union address tomorrow night: for perhaps the first time, many Americans have reason to expect an outstanding performance. ... more

KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani police searching for U.S. reporter Daniel Pearl, apparently kidnapped in Karachi last week, said on Monday they were checking possible links to militant Islamic groups, but still had no idea where he was. ... more

IF you're a careful reader of this newspaper, you're already aware that British scientists have released preliminary results of their search for the world's funniest joke. Reprinted below is the best-rated joke in their global online survey, which will be followed up with further diligent study. (You may be skeptical of online surveys like this. If so, you may have a point; just read some of the jokes.) Now, for a closer look at the findings of Dr. Richard Wiseman. He's the psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire who devised the experiment with the British Association for the Advancement of Science. It's no surprise that women and men have different ideas of just what constitutes funny. Or that different nationalities do. But did you know that while computers can beat grandmasters at chess, they still can't bring down a room? And that those cutups the Germans (think lederhosen) may be the most laugh- prone people on earth, followed by zee zilly French? ... more