BAGHDAD -- A huge fire at a wedding party ripped through a large hall in a predominantly Christian town in Iraq's northern province of Nineveh, killing 114 people and injuring more than 200, Governor of Nineveh province Najm al-Jubouri told reporters on Wednesday.

The fire broke out on Tuesday night in the al-Haytham Wedding Hall in the town of al-Hamdaniya, 35 km southeast of the provincial capital Mosul. (Iraq-Wedding-Fire)

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TEHRAN -- Iran and Qatar on Wednesday agreed to start banking operations to enable Iran to use its recently unfrozen funds transferred to Qatari banks, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported.

In a meeting in the Qatari capital of Doha, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran Mohammad Reza Farzin and his Qatari counterpart Bandar bin Mohamed bin Saud al-Thani also discussed ways to expand bilateral financial and banking relations. (Iran-Unfrozen Funds-Qatar)

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SANAA -- Yemen's Houthi rebels on Wednesday sacked their "cabinet" which controls the country's north amid the eruption of mass protests.

The decision was announced by the group's leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi during a celebration to mark the birthday of the Muslim prophet Mohammed in the capital Sanaa. (Yemen-Houthis-Cabinet Dissolved)

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GAZA -- The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) is planning to send an official request to the Palestinian Authority to hold municipal elections in Gaza for the first time in 18 years, a Palestinian official said on Wednesday.

Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesman, said in a press statement that the group had agreed with all other Palestinian factions to send a message to the government in Ramallah demanding to hold municipal elections in Gaza. (Gaza-Hamas-Municipal Elections)