LONDON - BRITAIN suffered its second death from H1N1 flu late on Saturday after a 73-year-old man with serious previous health problems died from the virus in a Scottish hospital, Scotland's health minister said on Sunday.

TEHERAN - SUPREME Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denounced on Sunday what he called 'absurd' and 'interfering' statements by Western officials following Iran's disputed presidential election, state media reported.

Iran has accused Western powers - Britain and the United States in particular - and media of fomenting street protests and violence that rocked the Islamic Republic after its June 12 election. Western officials reject the accusations.

BAGHDAD - IRAQ is this week due to unveil which foreign firms have won contracts to develop its oil and gas fields, nearly four decades after Saddam Hussein's party nationalised the country's energy infrastructure.

The deals, likely to be announced live on television, will provide the government with much-needed revenue as it struggles to rebuild the country after three wars and 20 years of debilitating economic sanctions.