Free Republic

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki attends a news conference in Tehran June 17, 2006. Mottaki reiterated on Tuesday that Tehran was ready for negotiations over its nuclear programme but would not accept "preconditions", an apparent reference to a demand it halt uranium enrichment first. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl BAKU (Reuters) - Iran's foreign minister reiterated on Tuesday that Tehran was ready for negotiations over its nuclear programme but would not accept "preconditions", an apparent reference to a demand it halt uranium enrichment first. The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany have offered Iran a package of incentives, including access to...

GAZA, Dec 30 (Reuters) - European Union monitors withdrew from Gaza's border with Egypt on Friday after Palestinian police imposed an armed blockade to protest the killing of a colleague in spiralling internal violence. Already busy searching for three Britons abducted nearby on Wednesday, officials scrambled to defuse the standoff at the Rafah border crossing, whose opening last month was hailed as a step to make Gaza a testing ground for Palestinian statehood. Unrest has been growing since Israel withdrew in September after 38 years of occupation. The power struggle among police, gangs and factions waging a 5-year-old uprising against...