Iran’s conservatives set to win

* TEHRAN – Iran’s conservatives are set to win two-thirds of the seats in parliament after dominating legislative elections, despite a respectable showing by reformists who suffered heavy pre-vote vetoes.

Deadline looms for Austrian hostages * VIENNA – The families of the two Austrian hostages kidnapped by an Al-Qaeda-linked group in Tunisia wait in anxious anticipation as the deadline for the kidnappers’ ultimatum approaches and the Austrian government does everything to secure their safe release. Saddam’s nightmare remembered * HALABJA – Iraqi Kurds mourn the deaths of around 5,000 villagers from Halabja who were massacred 20 years ago in brutal chemical attacks blamed on Saddam Hussein’s forces during the Iran-Iraq war.Merkel due in Jewish state * TEL AVIV – German Chancellor Angela Merkel is due in Israel to cement ties with the Jewish state nearly 60 years after its creation following World War II and the Nazi Holocaust.Militants to target foreigners * ISLAMABAD – Islamist militants behind a wave of recent attacks in Pakistan have changed tactics to target foreigners, officials say, after a bomb at an Islamabad restaurant kills a Turkish woman.Europe-United States relations improve * BRUSSELS – Relations between Europe and the United States have recovered from trauma of the Iraq war but are largely on hold, limited to managing immediate crises, until new United States administration takes overSaddam’s nightmare remembered * HALABJA – Iraqi Kurds mourn the deaths of around 5,000 villagers from Halabja who were massacred 20 years ago in brutal chemical attacks blamed on Saddam Hussein’s forces during the Iran-Iraq war.Merkel due in Jewish state * TEL AVIV – German Chancellor Angela Merkel is due in Israel to cement ties with the Jewish state nearly 60 years after its creation following World War II and the Nazi Holocaust.Militants to target foreigners * ISLAMABAD – Islamist militants behind a wave of recent attacks in Pakistan have changed tactics to target foreigners, officials say, after a bomb at an Islamabad restaurant kills a Turkish woman.Europe-United States relations improve * BRUSSELS – Relations between Europe and the United States have recovered from trauma of the Iraq war but are largely on hold, limited to managing immediate crises, until new United States administration takes over