Middle East, President | featured news

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan accused the United Nations on Saturday of intervening in the formation of President Hamid Karzai's next cabinet, less than a week into his new term.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sought to put the turmoil over the disputed presidential elections behind him and declared on national television that the contests were clean, fair and were the start of a new era.

It's a first for Iran: a series of debates televised live ahead of the upcoming presidential elections next week.

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari said on Monday that the whereabouts of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden remained a mystery and there was a suspicion that he could be dead.

The Iranian president on Saturday hailed the nation as "one of the strongest in the region" during a celebration to mark Army Day, according to the semi-official Mehr News Agency.

Former President Mohammad Khatami, who pushed for detente with the West when in office from 1997 to 2005, said on Sunday he would run in Iran's June presidential election.

The Islamist Hamas group is calling for new leadership for Palestinians to replace the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) dominated by its arch-rival President Mahmoud Abbas and the factions loyal to him.