Massive Arms Depot Blast In Syria Kills 40
New Age Islam News Bureau
1 Aug 2013
Photo: The mosque in Dee why where the man alleged to have assaulted the women is a prayer leader.
Arab World
• Massive Arms Depot Blast In Syria Kills 40
• Drive-by shootings, bombings kill 26 in Iraq
• Syrian sharia committee issues fatwa against croissants
• ‘Third Square’ protests reject both army and the Islamists
• Jihadist hold 200 Syria Kurds hostage: NGO
• 1,000 killed in deadliest month for Iraq in 5 years
• Egypt's military keeps Mohammed Morsi's whereabouts secret
• Trend of sleeping in Grand Mosque increasing
• Rebel campaign compares Morsi to Hitler in meeting with German FM
• 3 Muslim Brotherhood leaders sent to criminal court
• NATO says it is keeping close eye on Egypt, plans no action
Southeast Asia
• Fatwa on Muslim athletes a bad call, says Khairy
• Nallakaruppan allowed to appeal in Anwar’s defamation suit
• As religion rubs against the law, a lawyer becomes leader
South Asia
• Afghan Muslim leader arrested for fatwa against girl later executed
• Bangladesh court declares Jamaat-e-Islami illegal
• Radical Muslims uniting behind Hefazat-e -slam
• NATO helicopter mistakenly kills 4 Afghan troops
• Japan PM hosts Ramadan dinner for Muslim nations
Australia
• Muslim Prayer Leader Charged Over Indecent Assault of Three Women in Australia
• Al-Qaeda trainees in New Zealand, says PM
North America
• Not seeking to broker India-Pak talks on Kashmir: US
• Obama’s response to Egypt’s crisis puts U.S. leverage into question
• U.S. calls Assad Instagram account ‘repulsive’
• Some Syria Missiles Eluded Israeli Strike, Officials Say
Africa
• Suspected Islamists steal 125 kg of dynamite in north Nigeria
• Libyan Court Sentences Former Qadhafi Minister to Death
• DR Congo unrest: Rwanda 'recruiting for M23 rebels'
• Jihadists threaten Tunisia’s Arab Spring transition
Mideast
• U.S. drone strike kills four Qaeda suspects in Yemen
• Israeli police close Al-Aqsa Mosque to Jews
• In Gaza, Iran Finds an Ally More Agreeable Than Hamas
• US representatives criticize PM Erdoğan’s ‘anti-semitic’ statements in letter to President Gül
India
• Kerala group retracts statement, says it has full faith in Saudi legal system
• 4 militants killed by Army in Kashmir
• India wants cooperative ties with Pakistan: Foreign Secretary
• Need to move beyond Kashmir: Sherry Rehman
Pakistan
• Political parties need to stop backing criminals: President Elect
• One suspected militant killed; two arrested in Peshawar operation
• Al Qaeda militants killed in drone strike
• Taliban jailbreak prompts fears of more attacks on prisons
• US, Pakistan to resume high-level negotiations
• Civil society groups criticise proposed local government system
• Stop drone strikes, Nawaz tells Kerry
• UK’s first Muslim MP appointed Punjab governor
Europe
• Jakarta a ‘Key Partner’ for France: Fabius
• Bangladesh security forces have killed 150 since February: HRW
• UK 'open' to better relations with Iran
• Kazakh opposition oligarch Ablyazov arrested in France
• Putin addresses Mideast situation with Saudi intelligence chief
• Avoid “selective justice”, Germany tells Egypt
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/massive-arms-depot-blast-syria/d/12850
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Arab World
Massive Arms Depot Blast In Syria Kills 40
August 02, 2013
DAMASCUS: Rebels sent a wave of rockets slamming into regime strongholds in the central city of Homs Thursday, triggering a succession of massive explosions in a weapons depot that killed at least 40 people and wounded dozens, an opposition group and residents said.
The attack – one of the most potent against pro-government districts in the area – overshadowed a rare trip by President Bashar Assad to a former opposition bastion outside the capital, Damascus, during which he defiantly vowed in front of troops to defeat the rebels fighting to topple him.
The huge explosion in the Homs district of Wadi Dahab delivered a jolt to Assad’s regime, which for weeks has been boasting of achievements against the rebels in the strategic Homs region and the suburbs of Damascus.
“The achievements on the ground speak for themselves,” Assad told soldiers in Daraya, a few kilometers south of the capital. “Without you we would all be slaves to the countries that want to subjugate us. But the Syrian people will never be slaves. Not in the past, present or future.”
The attack in Homs targeted the neighborhoods of Zahra, Akrama and Wadi Dahab, all populated mostly by Alawites, the same sect as Assad.
It showed that rebels fighting to oust Assad are still able to strike back despite significant advances by the military that have bolstered the confidence of the regime.
The blasts sent a massive ball of fire and a black mushroom cloud into the sky and caused widespread damage and panic among residents, many of whom are supporters of Assad. Firefighters struggled for two hours to put out the flames.
“The first explosion knocked people off their feet,” said one Homs resident, adding that successive smaller explosions lasted for over an hour. He declined to be named, fearing retaliation.
He said the blasts were so strong they cracked the walls of some buildings and blew doors and window frames off their hinges. The slum area of Wadi Dahab houses mostly one- or two-story buildings.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 40 people were killed and 120 were wounded – some critically – when rockets struck the arms depot in the southern part of Wadi Dahab and ignited the fire.
Activists in the city corroborated that account, saying at least 40 were killed and many others wounded. They said the regime is known to keep arms depots in those areas.
An official at the governor’s office in Homs said six people were killed and 145 wounded when about 10 rockets slammed into the neighborhood of Zahra and the nearby sports stadium. He said one rocket struck a civil defense center, referring to the Wadi Dahab area, although he did not directly address the weapons depot.
The attack was claimed on Facebook by the Al-Haq brigade, one of a myriad of groups fighting in Homs that are loosely affiliated with the main rebel umbrella group, the Free Syrian Army. Homs-based activist Abu Bilal also said al-Haq brigade targeted the weapons depot with Grad rockets.
Assad’s visit to Daraya was his first known public trip outside the capital in more than a year. On the previous trip he visited the battered Bab Amr district in Homs after troops seized it from rebels in March 2012.
On Thursday, Syrian TV showed him walking among soldiers in the battered suburb, chatting and shaking hands with soldiers atop tanks who pumped their fists in the air and flashed the victory sign.
“I deliver to you today a message of thanks from every Syrian,” Assad told the troops.
The visit is the latest sign of confidence from Assad, whose troops have been on the offensive and scored significant gains in recent months.
Daraya was held by rebels for months. It took the army weeks of heavy fighting to regain control of the area earlier this year.
In August 2012, activists reported that regime forces went on a dayslong killing spree after they seized Daraya. Reports of the death toll ranged from more than 300 people to as many as 600.
The suburb switched hands between rebel forces and troops several times after August until regime forces recaptured it earlier this year.Before his trip to Daraya, Assad lauded his troops’ accomplishments in the battle against opposition forces.
“You have stunned the entire world with your steadfastness and ability to overcome the difficulties and score achievements in the face of the fiercest barbaric war the modern history has ever witnessed,” he said in comments released for Army Day and carried by the state news agency SANA. “Had we in Syria not been confident of victory, we wouldn’t have been able to resist” for more than two years.
Syrian opposition member Burhan Ghalioun said it was “disgusting” to hear Assad’s confidence that the rebels would be defeated. “It is disgusting and repulsive that he speaks of victory after he destroyed his country, killed tens of thousands and forced into exile half the population, after a period of two and a half years,” Ghalioun told AFP.
Assad’s comments Thursday followed several major gains against the rebels, mostly in Homs province and near Damascus.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Aug-02/226012-massive-arms-depot-blast-in-syria-kills-40.ashx#ixzz2aq9YdHOA
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Bombings of Shiite and Sunni mosques kill 26 in Iraq
AP | Jul 31, 2013
BAGHDAD: Attacks including bombings of Shiite and Sunni mosques left 26 dead in Iraq, the latest in a surge of bloodshed that is raising fears of a return to widespread sectarian killings, officials said on Wednesday.
Most attacks on Shiites are presumed to be carried out by the country's branch of al-Qaida, which claimed credit on Tuesday for a wave of bombings the day before that killed at least 58 people. It said the attacks were carried out on behalf of "oppressed Sunnis," suggesting the group is trying to capitalize on Sunnis' complaints of being treated as second-class citizens by the Shiite-dominated government.
Attacks on Sunni civilians are rarer but have also been a feature of the surge of bloodletting that has left 3,000 dead since April. The uptick of violence is dampening hopes for a return to normal life nearly two years after the last US forces withdrew from the country.
On Wednesday morning, a carload of gunmen sped through a commercial street in Baghdad's Shiite-dominated Ur district and opened fire, apparently at random, killing five pedestrians and wounding nine others, a police officer said. In the southeastern suburb of Nahrawan, also a majority Shiite area, drive-by shooters sprayed farmers in a pickup truck with bullets, killing two and wounding three, another police officer said.
In the afternoon, gunmen killed five off-duty soldiers in a drive-by shooting near the city of Mosul, 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad. Police said that the soldiers were heading to their base when they were attacked.
Also, police said three Sunni anti-al-Qaida fighters were killed when gunmen in a speeding car sprayed their checkpoint with bullets near Hawija, 240 kilometers (150 miles) north of Baghdad.
The Sunni fighters were members in the militia group known as Sahwa, which joined with US troops in the war against al-Qaida at the height of Iraq war. Ever since, it has been a target for Sunni insurgents who consider them traitors.
Late Tuesday, a suicide bomber set off his explosives among Shiite worshippers leaving a mosque in the city's suburb of Hussainiya, killing seven. Another bomb struck a Sunni mosque in the ethnically mixed northern town of Tuz Khormato killed four, local police chief Col. Hussein Ali Rasheed said. Four others were wounded.
Medical officials confirmed casualty figures for all attacks. All spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information to reporters.
Al-Qaida's Tuesday statement also said that a campaign called "Breaking the Walls," which made freeing its imprisoned members a top priority, had come to a close with two attacks on prisons last week that allowed hundreds of inmates, including senior al-Qaida members, to escape. The militant group said that it was opening a new campaign called "The Harvest of the Soldiers," but offered no specifics.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Drive-by-shootings-bombings-kill-26-in-Iraq/articleshow/21514542.cms
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Syrian sharia committee issues fatwa against croissants
07/31/2013
While the croissant-doughnut or “cronut” is all the rage in New York, some in Syria have pushed back against the famous French component of the trendy new pastry.
A sharia committee in a rebel-controlled part of Aleppo has issued a fatwa condemning croissants due to their “colonial” origins, according to the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat.
The fatwa, which declared croissants “haram” or forbidden under Islamic law, said the pastries’ trademark crescent shape celebrates European victory over Muslims. Restrictive fatwas have recently proliferated in areas of Syria under Islamist influence.
But perhaps unsurprisingly, the croissant fatwa’s reasoning has been called into question.
Asad Ahmed, associate professor of Arab and Islamic studies at UC Berkeley, told The Daily Caller there was “absolutely no basis” for the fatwa in Islamic law and history.
“It has indeed been the case that, in the past, temporary bans on products — such as tobacco — took place in certain parts of the Muslim world. This was the case because, in such circumstances, these products were considered to be not just a health hazard, but also a commodity of economic and imperial oppression. I am not sure one can say the say of croissants,” said Ahmed.
http://dailycaller.com/2013/07/31/syrian-sharia-committee-issues-fatwa-against-croissants/#ixzz2alyRZE00
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‘Third Square’ protests reject both army and the Islamists
August 01, 2013
CAIRO — A few lonely Egyptian activists are trying to stake out middle ground in the nationwide rift between an affronted Muslim Brotherhood and delighted supporters of the army’s overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi.
Those rival camps have filled the streets with myriad demonstrators since Gen. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi ousted and jailed Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected leader, on July 3.
Alarmed by the polarization and alienated by both sides, some Egyptians started up a “Third Square” movement promoting a middle way to avert conflict in the most populous Arab state.
“We are stuck between two bad options: an army killing without reason and an intolerant Islamist movement which wants a theocratic state,” said Tariq Ismaeli, a 34-year-old civil engineer in jeans and red sneakers at a rally on Sunday.
“We are trying to establish a new voice,” he said.
The rally in Cairo’s Sphinx square drew about 300 liberals, leftists and moderate Islamists dismayed by Saturday’s carnage, when security forces killed 80 Muslim Brotherhood partisans in clashes at a protest camp set up to demand Morsi’s restitution.
Ismaeli and his colleagues have used Facebook and Twitter to marshal several rowdy demonstrations in downtown Cairo, seeing themselves as heirs of the popular uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak’s 30 years of one-man rule in 2011.
Their banners carry the faces of Morsi and Sisi crossed out in red and a blunt message: “Topple all who betrayed us. No to theocracy. No to the military junta. Yes to a civil state.”
They hope Sphinx Square will become the kernel of a new opposition movement, though their numbers are dwarfed by the Brotherhood’s month-old vigil and one manned round the clock in Tahrir Square by supporters of the army’s intervention.
Third Square is attracting some attention, if mostly online.
Its Facebook page wins around a thousand new “likes” a day and is bedecked with jokes and cartoons lampooning political leaders - a contrast to the reverence of their rivals.
“They’ve created a space where the original attitude of the revolution expresses itself, where the aims of the revolution are remembered. They’re keeping an ember alive,” Ahdaf Soueif, an Egyptian novelist endorsing the campaign, told Reuters.
But for now, their message is being swept out of public view by the sheer numbers of Egypt’s main opposing camps.
When those at Third Square’s first protest last week heard that a huge pro-Sisi march was approaching the venue en route to Tahrir Square, they scattered into the night fearing a fight.
Tamarod, the group that organized mass anti-Morsi protests and now supports the army-installed interim government, accuses Third Square of splitting Egypt’s “revolutionary forces”.
“I see in this moment Third Square dividing the people. They are living in the past. Now is the time for consensus, we need to move forward,” Tamarod spokesman Mohammed Abdul Aziz said.
Pro-Morsi demonstrators camped near a mosque in northeastern Cairo say they will tolerate other protest movements as long as they oppose the military’s plunge into politics.
“Even if Morsi doesn’t come back, at least the army has two squares to deal with,” said Abdulrahman Daour, a spokesman at the Brotherhood camp. “I don’t mind people opposing Morsi. Just don’t betray the revolution. Don’t give power to the military.” — Reuters
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130801175545
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Jihadist hold 200 Syria Kurds hostage: NGO
August 01, 2013
Jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda have taken hostage around 200 Kurdish civilians after violent clashes with Kurdish fighters in two villages of eastern Syria, a monitoring group said.
"Fighters of Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have seized control of Tall Aren village in Aleppo province and are laying siege to another village nearby, Tall Hassel. They have taken hostage around 200 civilians from the inhabitants of the two villages," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/77915/World/Region/Jihadist-hold--Syria-Kurds-hostage-NGO.aspx
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1,000 killed in deadliest month for Iraq in 5 years
August 01, 2013
Violence killed around 1,000 people in July, government and United Nations figures show, making it Iraq's deadliest month since 2008 when the country was emerging from bloody sectarian conflict.
Bombings ripped through crowded cafes and mowed down worshippers at mosques last month. Militants also carried out brazen assaults on two prisons.
"The impact of violence on civilians remains disturbingly high," UN envoy Gyorgy Busztin said in a statement.
"We haven't seen such numbers in more than five years, when the blind rage of sectarian strife that inflicted such deep wounds upon this country was finally abating," he added.
Full report as:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/77955/World/Region/,-killed-in-deadliest-month-for-Iraq-in--years.aspx
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Egypt's military keeps Mohammed Morsi's whereabouts secret
AP | Aug 1, 2013
CAIRO: Egypt is taking extreme measures to keep Mohammed Morsi hidden. It says dignitaries are helicoptered to the deposed president's place of detention after nightfall, flying in patterns aimed at confusing the visitors.
The military also has reportedly moved Morsi at least three times.
"Maneuvers have been undertaken during the nighttime helicopter flight so as to disorient (the visitors) in regard to where the location is," Col. Ahmed Mohammed Ali, the military spokesman, told the Associated Press on Wednesday, following a visit to Morsi on Tuesday night by an African Union delegation.
Full report as:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Egypts-military-keeps-Mohammed-Morsis-whereabouts-secret/articleshow/21521260.cms
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Trend of sleeping in Grand Mosque increasing
August 01, 2013
The trend of people sleeping in the Grand Mosque has been increasing each year, despite religious scholars declaring such an occurrence as a violation of Shariah.
It is not merely visitors from other Islamic countries who take a nap in the Grand Mosque but local visitors too.
The Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques has contacted authorities several times to find a solution to the problem.
Members of the Shoura Council have also made similar requests in the past.
Muhammad Matar, director of the Islamic Studies Center at Umm Al Qura University, said these mosques are for worship.
Full report as:
http://www.arabnews.com/news/459845
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Rebel campaign compares Morsi to Hitler in meeting with German FM
August 01, 2013
Representatives of the anti-Morsi 'Rebel' campaign expressed their discontent with Germany's stance on the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi in a meeting with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on Wednesday.
"We told him we resented some of his statements where he asked for the return of the deposed president [Mohamed Morsi]," said Rebel spokesman Mahmoud Badr on his Facebook page after meeting Westerwelle in Cairo.
"We told him we're here to see him to tell him about the story of Hitler who came by his people's votes but turned against democracy. Why did you reject Hitler in Germany but want him back in Egypt?" added Badr.
Full report as:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/77929/Egypt/Politics-/Rebel-campaign-compares-Morsi-to-Hitler-in-meeting.aspx
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3 Muslim Brotherhood leaders sent to criminal court
August 01, 2013
Egypt's general prosecutor ordered on Wednesday the referral of the Muslim Brotherhood's supreme guide Mohamed Badie, deputy supreme guide Khairat El-Shater, and deputy leader Rashad Bayoumi to criminal court for inciting violence against peaceful protesters.
The prosecutor also ordered the arrest of the Muslim Brotherhood's Osama Yassin and Essam El-Erian, in addition to Salafist preacher Safwat Hegazy.
Full report as:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/77897/Egypt/Politics-/-Muslim-Brotherhood-leaders-sent-to-criminal-court.aspx
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NATO says it is keeping close eye on Egypt, plans no action
31 July 2013
NATO is keeping a close eye on Egypt and watching how the crisis there affects its “partners,” the alliance’s top military commander has said , according to Reuters.
“Right now, NATO is not planning for any actions in Egypt. Much like Syria, we are keeping a close eye on it, looking at how it affects our NATO partners and if we need to, we will do what we need to do to take care of our NATO partners,” said on Tuesday NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Philip Breedlove.
Full report as:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/07/31/NATO-says-it-is-keeping-close-eye-on-Egypt-plans-no-action.html
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Southeast Asia
Fatwa on Muslim athletes a bad call, says Khairy
Jul 31, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 — Putrajaya will not agree to a fatwa keeping Muslim women out of certain competitive sports, minister Khairy Jamaluddin assured athletes and sports officials today after the National Fatwa Council (NFC) proposed the idea.
Yesterday Penang Mufti Hassan Ahmad was quoted as saying the NFC may ban Muslim women from certain sports events such as swimming and competitive gymnastics as it would expose their "aurat", on the heels of a similar fatwa on beauty pageants that recently sparked a storm over the Miss Malaysia World 2013 contest.
"I don't think this is a good idea at all. Sporting competitions are different from beauty contests. I would object to any banning of sporting events," Khairy told The Malay Mail Online in a text message.
Full report as:
http://my.news.yahoo.com/fatwa-muslim-athletes-bad-call-says-khairy-121900581.html
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Nallakaruppan allowed to appeal in Anwar’s defamation suit
AUGUST 01, 2013
The Court of Appeal today allowed Senator S. Nallakaruppan to appeal to the Federal Court a High Court decision which held him liable for defamation after striking out his defence in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's RM60 million defamation suit.
A five-member panel chaired by Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif granted leave to Nallakaruppan to appeal the High Court's decision.
Also sitting on the panel were Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum and Federal Court judges Tan Sri Ahmad Maarop and Datin Paduka Zaleha Zahari.
Full report as:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/nallakaruppan-allowed-to-appeal-in-anwars-defamation-suit
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As religion rubs against the law, a lawyer becomes leader
August 01, 2013
Malaysia’s most famous council of religious groups can thank the heavens they now have a lawyer in charge.
Why so? Well, if the tapestry of interfaith unity in Malaysia is a delicate weave, then the finger that is pulling at the thread is attached to the long arm of the law these days.
Case in point, it was the government lawyers that came up with a Bill for Parliament to allow just one parent to decide which religion the child should have, even if the other parent objects.
Full report as:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/as-religion-rubs-against-the-law-a-lawyer-becomes-leader
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South Asia
Afghan Muslim leader arrested for fatwa against girl later executed
July 31, 2013
KOKCHIAL, Afghanistan, July 31 (UPI) -- A Muslim religious leader in Afghanistan was arrested after he declared a pronouncement of death for a girl later publicly executed.
A fatwa, or death penalty, was issued by Abdul Ghafoor, a mullah or imam of the Muslim faith, in April against an Afghan girl named Halmia, who was later executed on adultery charges in the village of Kokchial, Badghis provincial security chief Sharafuddin Sharfa said.
Sharfa called the fatwa un-Islamic and against the principles of humanity, the Afghan news agency Khama Press said Wednesday.
"This was an illegal act since the woman should be tried for her crimes under Sharia law," he said, adding the imam was arrested because there was no evidence to prove the girl guilty.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2013/07/31/Afghan-Muslim-leader-arrested-for-fatwa-against-girl-later-executed/UPI-46141375297013/
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Bangladesh court declares Jamaat-e-Islami illegal
August 1, 2013
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s Muslim party was banned from contesting next year’s election on Thursday when the high court ruled that Jamaat-e-Islami’s charter had breached the country’s secular constitution.
“It is hereby declared illegal,” said Moazzem Hossain, the chief judge hearing the case amid tight security outside the courthouse in Dhaka.
A lawyer for the Bangladeshi election commission, which oversees preparations for elections due next January, said the ruling meant that the Jamaat could not field candidates.
“As a party, Jamaat’s registration with the election commission is declared illegal, with the consequence that they cannot contest the election as a political party,” Shahdeen Malik told media.
Full report as:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/585048/bangladesh-court-declares-jamaat-e-islami-illegal/
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Radical Muslims uniting behind Hefajat
August 01, 2013
Passersby cast wary looks at a bunch of men lurking outside the entrance to the Hathazari madrasa. They stand out, having neither beards nor traditional dress. Indeed, one of them has had the bright idea of wearing a flowered shirt.
For the past few weeks the madrasa in Chittagong, central Bangladesh, has been under police surveillance. It houses 12,000 madrasa students, guided by Shah Ahmad Shafi, who heads Hefajat-e-Islam, the country’s largest radical Islamic movement, reported the UK-based newspaper The Guardian.
Full report as:
http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/radical-muslims-uniting-behind-hefajat/
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NATO helicopter mistakenly kills 4 Afghan troops
August 01, 2013
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan officials say a NATO helicopter mistakenly killed four Afghan troops in the east while a Taliban ambush left an official and three other people dead in the country's south.
Spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai says a NATO helicopter called in as air support following an attack on an Afghan checkpoint in eastern Nangarhar province's Bati Kot district accidentally killed four Afghan troops Wednesday night.
Full report as:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130801175579
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Japan PM hosts Ramadan dinner for Muslim nations
1 August 2013
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe invited representatives from over 35 Muslim nations on Wednesday for an iftar dinner - at which Muslims break their daily Ramadan fast.
The Japanese foreign ministry said the event hoped to promote mutual understanding between Japan and the Islamic world.
Abe has visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey in late April and early May, and said he would like to travel to more Muslim countries in the future.
Full report as:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/special-reports/ramadan-2013/2013/08/01/Japan-PM-hosts-ramadan-dinner-for-muslim-nations.html
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Australia
Muslim Prayer Leader Charged Over Indecent Assault of Three Women in Australia
SIMON BLACK AND CLEMENTINE CUNEO THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
AUGUST 01, 2013
THE managers of a mosque where a Muslim prayer leader was charged with allegedly touching the breasts of two teenagers and a grandmother say they are "shocked" by the allegations.
The 59-year-old Egyptian national, who is visiting a Northern Beaches mosque for the period of Ramadan, was charged last night after he allegedly touched up three separate women.
We just can't believe it," a spokesman for the Islamic Society of Manly-Warringah, which runs the Dee Why Masjid Mosque where the man was working as a guest prayer leader said.
Full report as:
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/muslim-prayer-leader-charged-over-indecent-assault-of-three-women-in-dee-why/story-fni0cx12-1226689390271
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Al-Qaeda trainees in New Zealand, says PM
AUGUST 01, 2013
New Zealand knows of Al-Qaeda-trained activists within the country who need to be monitored, Prime Minister John Key (pic) said today amid debate on the need for stronger spy laws.
Key took to the airways to defend legislation that allows the country's intelligence agency to spy on local residents, saying opponents refused to acknowledge security threats were genuine and needed to be addressed.
"In the real world, in New Zealand, there are people who have been trained in Al-Qaeda camps," he told commercial radio.
"(People) who operate out of New Zealand, who are in contact with people overseas, who have gone off to Yemen and other countries to train. That's the real world, the reality of what we're dealing with."
Full report as:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/world/article/al-qaeda-trainees-in-new-zealand-says-pm
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North America
Not seeking to broker India-Pak talks on Kashmir: US
PTI | Aug 1, 2013
WASHINGTON: The Obama administration is not seeking to broker talks between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue, a top American official has said, as secretary of state John Kerry landed in Islamabad for full range of talks during which he is expected to bring it up.
"We are in no way seeking to broker any sort of conversation on Kashmir," a senior official, travelling with Kerry to Pakistan, told reporters in response to a question.
"There's no change in policy in terms of where we are on that, which is that we do not see ourselves or seek to be in the middle of any conversation between India and Pakistan on Kashmir," the official said.
Full report as:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Not-seeking-to-broker-India-Pak-talks-on-Kashmir-US/articleshow/21526926.cms
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Obama’s response to Egypt’s crisis puts U.S. leverage into question
31 July 2013
Washington’s muted response to the political crisis in Egypt has raised questions about whether the United States still enjoys significant leverage over its pivotal Arab ally.
The Obama administration is treading a fine line when it comes to Egypt, which plunged into political turmoil four weeks ago. Washington is seen trying to balance between a need to maintain the long-established security arrangements with the Egyptian army and a commitment to democratic values it claims to espouse globally.
Full report as:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/08/01/Obama-s-response-to-Egypt-s-crisis-puts-U-S-leverage-into-question.html
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U.S. calls Assad Instagram account ‘repulsive’
1 August 2013
The United States on Wednesday denounced as “repulsive” an Instagram site by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, saying it did not reflect the reality of the civil war.
The embattled Syrian leader’s office took to the social media site to post pictures that include Assad greeting supporters and his wife Asma comforting the injured.
“This is nothing more than a despicable PR stunt,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters.
Full report as:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2013/08/01/US-calls-Assad-Instagram-account-repulsive-.html
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Some Syria Missiles Eluded Israeli Strike, Officials Say
By MICHAEL R. GORDON
1 August 2013
WASHINGTON — American intelligence analysts have concluded that a recent Israeli airstrike on a warehouse in Syria did not succeed in destroying all of the Russian-made antiship cruise missiles that were its target, American officials said on Wednesday, and that further Israeli strikes are likely.
Israel carried out an attack on July 5 near Latakia to destroy the missiles, which Russia had sold to Syria. While the warehouse was destroyed, American intelligence analysts have now concluded that at least some of the Yakhont missiles had been removed from their launchers and moved from the warehouse before the attack.
Full report as:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/01/world/middleeast/syrian-missiles-were-moved-before-israeli-strike-officials-say.html?_r=0
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Africa
Suspected Islamists steal 125 kg of dynamite in north Nigeria
August 01, 2013
Gunmen suspected to be allied to Islamist sect Boko Haram have stormed a construction site in northeast Nigeria, carting off 125 kg (275 pounds) of dynamite and hundreds of detonators, two security sources said on Wednesday.
The militants struck the Bara area of Yobe state at around 2 a.m. on Monday morning, the two security sources in Yobe told Reuters, but no shots were heard. One of the sources said the men arrived on four motorcycles, beating and overpowering the site's private security guards.
Full report as:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/77918/World/International/Suspected-Islamists-steal--kg-of-dynamite-in-north.aspx
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Libyan Court Sentences Former Gadhafi Minister to Death
August 01, 2013
MISRATA — A former minister in the government of Moammar Gadhafi was sentenced to death on Wednesday for inciting violence against protesters during the uprising that led to the Libyan dictator's overthrow in 2011, his lawyer said on Wednesday.
In the first such ruling against a Gadhafi-era official, a court in Misrata found Ahmed Ibrahim guilty of undermining national security and plotting the killing of civilians, the lawyer, Salim Dans, told Reuters.
Full report as:
http://www.voanews.com/content/libyan-court-sentences-former-gaghafi-minister-to-death/1714166.html
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DR Congo unrest: Rwanda 'recruiting for M23 rebels'
August 01, 2013
Four Rwandans have told the BBC the army forcibly recruited them to fight for the M23 rebel group in neighbouring eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The four said they were seeking asylum in Uganda after fleeing the fighting.
The Rwandan army dismissed their claim, saying they must have made up their stories to get asylum.
Last week, the US called on Rwanda to stop backing the M23. UN experts and DR Congo officials say Rwanda has been sending troops to support the rebels.
Full report as:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23519330
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Jihadists threaten Tunisia’s Arab Spring transition
31 July 2013
Assassins mounted on Vespas gun down two secular politicians. Roadside bombs cripple soldiers in the mountains. An ambush this week leaves eight soldiers dead - five with slit throats.
Among the countries of the Arab Spring, Tunisia is widely considered to have the best chance for a successful democracy, with Egypt in an increasingly bloody and complex crisis after a military coup, Libya beset by competing armed groups and Syria deep in a grinding full-scale war without apparent end. But the emergence of an armed al-Qaeda-linked jihadi group in the deep wooded valleys and caves of a mountainous region near the Algerian border threatens to derail the tenuous transition.
Full report as:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/analysis/2013/07/31/Jihadists-threaten-Tunisia-s-Arab-Spring-transition.html
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Mideast
U.S. drone strike kills four Qaeda suspects in Yemen
1 August 2013
A U.S. drone killed four al-Qaeda suspects in Yemen on Thursday, a security official said, in the third such strike in five days as the Yemeni president prepared for White House talks.
Yemen’s U.S.-backed campaign against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Pensinsula (AQAP) was expected to be high on the agenda of Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi’s talks with President Barack Obama later on Thursday.
Washington regards AQAP, a merger of militants in Yemen and neighboring Saudi Arabia, as the worldwide jihadist network’s most active and dangerous branch.
The latest drone strike came in the southeastern province of Hadramawt province, where AQAP militants have carried out a string of attacks on security personnel, the Yemeni security official told AFP.
Full report as:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/08/01/U-S-drone-strike-kills-four-Qaeda-suspect-in-Yemen.html
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Israeli police close Al-Aqsa Mosque to Jews
August 01, 2013
Israeli police decided to impose a ban on Jews and tourists' entry to Al-Aqsa Mosque to prevent potential tensions till the Lailatul Qadr.
Israeli police said it decided to impose a ban on Jews and tourists' entry to Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest site, to prevent potential tensions till the Lailatul Qadr, which marks the anniversary of the night Muslims believe Qur'an began to be revealed to Prophet Muhammad.
Tens of thousands of Muslims frequent the mosque for visit and worship during Ramadan, Muslims' fasting month.
Full report as:
http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=114303
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In Gaza, Iran Finds an Ally More Agreeable Than Hamas
By FARES AKRAM
1 August 2013
BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip — The oil, sugar, pasta and other staples looked innocuous enough as dozens of young Palestinian volunteers, sweating in the heat at a warehouse here, packed them into cartons destined for Gaza’s poor during the holy month of Ramadan.
But in Gaza, which is controlled by the Islamic militant group Hamas, almost everything has a political flavor.
The food boxes bore the logo of Islamic Jihad and the Iranian flag alongside the Palestinian one. Islamic Jihad, an Iranian-backed extremist militant group, often challenges the larger Hamas.
Full report as:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/01/world/middleeast/in-gaza-iran-finds-a-closer-ally-than-hamas.html
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US representatives criticize PM Erdoğan’s ‘anti-semitic’ statements in letter to President Gül
1 August 2013
Forty-six U.S. representatives have written a letter to Turkish President Abdullah Gül criticizing some of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s statements which they described as “anti-semitic,” daily Hürriyet reported.
The letter requested Gül to publically condemn “the anti-semitic rhetoric” of government officials.
The signatories noted that another letter had been written a few months ago asking Erdoğan to retract his statements that compared Zionism to a “crime against humanity,” without success.
Full report as:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/us-representatives-criticize-pm-erdogans-an
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India
Kerala group retracts statement, says it has full faith in Saudi legal system
RIYADH: RASHID HASSAN
1 August 2013
The Federation of Kerala Associations in Saudi Arabia (FOKASA), an organization working for Indian expatriates in Saudi Arabia, has retracted its previous statement on Indian citizens convicted without a fair trial in the Kingdom, saying they have full faith in the Saudi legal system.
In a statement made on Wednesday, R. Muraleedharan, FOKASA’s president, issued a clarification regarding reports published in newspapers that Indian citizens detained in Saudi jails are convicted without a fair trial.
He said, “There was no reference to the Saudi legal system. They have full confidence in the Saudi legal system.”
Full report as:
http://www.arabnews.com/news/459832
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4 militants killed by Army in Kashmir
Aug 01 2013
Srinagar : Four heavily-armed militants were killed in a three-day counter-infiltration operation launched by Army along the Line of Control (LoC) in Handwara area of north Kashmir, an Army official said today.
"Four militants have been killed along the LoC in Hafruda forest area in the operation which was launched on Tuesday," the Army official said.
Two Army soldiers were also injured in the operation, he said, adding that further details are awaited. A group of heavily armed militants tried to sneak into Kashmir Valley from across the border in the wee hours of Tuesday, but were thwarted by the alert troops, he said.
Full report as:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/4-militants-killed-by-army-in-kashmir/1149814/
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India wants cooperative ties with Pakistan: Foreign Secretary Sujata Singh
Aug 01 2013
New Delhi : Sujatha Singh, who assumed charge as Foreign Secretary, today said her immediate priority would be to improve ties with neighbouring countries and asserted that India would like to have a cooperative relationship with Pakistan in a terror-free environment.
"It has always been India's policy to develop peaceful and cooperative relations with Pakistan. Naturally, this presupposes an environment free of violence and of terror," 59-year-old Singh, who was earlier ambassador to Germany, said.
Full report as:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/india-wants-cooperative-ties-with-pakistan-foreign-secretary-sujata-singh/1149806/
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Need to move beyond Kashmir: Sherry Rehman
Naveed Iqbal
Aug 01 2013
New Delhi : Calling Kashmir the “gorilla in the room”, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US Sherry Rehman on Wednesday said “we need to bring Kashmiris in a conversation”. She also said the rise of Hindutva in India was a cause of concern for Pakistan.
Addressing students at Jamia Millia Islamia as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series lecture, Rehman said the question being asked in Pakistan today was whether New Delhi is indifferent to peace in the region. “Kashmir will remain a core concern but we need to move beyond that,” she said.
Full report as:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/need-to-move-beyond-kashmir-sherry-rehman/1149471/
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Pakistan
Political parties need to stop backing criminals: Mamnoon Hussain
August 01, 2013
KARACHI: Mamnoon Hussain, president elect of Pakistan, told the BBC Urdu website that political parties were backing groups of criminals, land-grabbers, and extortionists and that this fact had been highlighted in various decisions of the courts.
In his first interview after getting elected as the 12th president of Pakistan, the Karachi-based senior politician said that whenever he thinks of resolving the law and order issue of Pakistan his mind comes to Karachi first adding that he was well aware of the practical situation in the city.
Full report as:
http://dawn.com/news/1033393/political-parties-need-to-stop-backing-criminals-mamnoon-hussain
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One suspected militant killed; two arrested in Peshawar operation
August 01, 2013
PESHAWAR: Police conducted a raid in Badaber area of Peshawar Thursday during which one suspected militant was killed and two others were arrested.
On receiving a tip-off, police conducted a raid at a house in Peshawar’s Badaber area. As soon as the raiding party reached the locality, they were fired upon by militants.
During the exchange of gunfire between police and militants, one suspect was killed whereas two others were arrested.
Full report as:
http://dawn.com/news/1033397/one-suspected-militant-killed-two-arrested-in-peshawar-operation
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Al Qaeda militants killed in drone strike
August 01, 2013
ISLAMABAD: A drone strike in Pakistan this week killed three al Qaeda operatives who ran a training camp in neighbouring Afghanistan to prepare militants for attacks, including this week’s jail break in Dera Ismail Khan, a Taliban commander said on Wednesday. About 30 militants and more than 200 other inmates escaped from the jail after a squad of highly trained Taliban fighters armed with grenade launchers and dressed as police overran the facility in the early hours of Tuesday.
Full report as:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013\08\01\story_1-8-2013_pg7_16
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Taliban jailbreak prompts fears of more attacks on prisons
August 01, 2013
ISLAMABAD: Authorities moved some of their most notorious militant inmates after an intelligence warning of an imminent jailbreak but a Taliban raid this week has raised fears about the security of all Pakistani prisons.
The country was taken off guard on Monday when a squad of highly trained Taliban fighters overran a century-old prison in Dera Ismail Khan, a town on the edge of a lawless ethnic Pashtun tribal area, setting free a band of senior militants together with more than 200 other inmates.
Full report as:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013\08\01\story_1-8-2013_pg7_6
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US, Pakistan to resume high-level negotiations
August 01, 2013
ISLAMABAD: US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Pakistani counterpart, Sartaj Aziz, said Thursday that the two countries will resume high-level negotiations over security issues.
Kerry also said he had invited Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to come to Washington to meet with President Barack Obama.
''I'm pleased to announce that today, very quickly, we were able to agree to a resumption of the strategic dialogue in order to foster a deeper, broader and more comprehensive partnership between our countries,'' Kerry said at a press conference with Aziz in Islamabad.
Full report as:
http://dawn.com/news/1033392/us-pakistan-to-resume-high-level-negotiations
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Civil society groups criticise proposed local government system
August 1, 2013
LAHORE: The local government system proposed by the government would not fulfil the requirement under Article 140A that the provincial government devolve authority to elected local representatives, an alliance of civil society groups has said.
The new local governments must have political, administrative and financial authority, said a joint statement issued by the Civil Society Forum for Local Governance, giving its view on the Punjab Local Government Bill of 2013, which was tabled in the provincial legislature last week.
Full report as:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/584711/local-govt-civil-society-groups-criticise-proposed-new-system/
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Stop drone strikes, Nawaz tells Kerry
August 1, 2013
ISLAMABAD: In his first meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has asked the US to stop drone strikes in the country’s tribal areas, Express News reported.
Kerry arrived late Wednesday at the start of a long-anticipated visit.
The US Secretary of State will also be meeting outgoing President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani.
During his talks with Kerry, Nawaz emphasised Pakistan’s desire to get access to the American markets to boost economy and assistance in overcoming the energy crisis.
Full report as:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/584998/kerry-holds-key-talks-pm-nawaz/
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UK’s first Muslim MP appointed Punjab governor
August 01, 2013
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday appointed Mohammad Sarwar as Punjab governor. Sarwar, Britain’s first Muslim lawmaker, who once faced down racist death threats from his opponents, has returned to his native Pakistan as governor of the country’s most populous province, Punjab, he told Reuters on Wednesday. A former member of Britain’s parliament representing the opposition Labour Party, Sarwar had to renounce his British citizenship to take on the largely ceremonial post in Punjab. He was officially appointed on Tuesday. “Everything that I have learnt in my time in Britain – the knowledge and how to run institutions – I can use it for the benefit of Pakistanis,” said Sarwar, 60, who was born in Punjab. “I can be a bridge between overseas Pakistanis and Pakistanis here and work for the betterment of both.”
Full report as:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013\08\01\story_1-8-2013_pg7_3
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Europe
Jakarta a ‘Key Partner’ for France: Fabius
August 01, 2013
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius arrived in Jakarta on Wednesday on a three-day trip meant to build on a strategic bilateral partnership as Paris records increased interests in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.
In an e-mail interview with the Jakarta Globe’s Bhimanto Suwastoyo, Fabius praised Indonesia’s dynamic civil society, stressed the importance of ending protectionist trade measures and outlined the need for boosting education ties.
Full report as:
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/jakarta-a-key-partner-for-france-fabius/
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Bangladesh security forces have killed 150 since February: HRW
August 01, 2013
DHAKA: Bangladeshi security forces have killed at least 150 protesters since February, using excessive force during demonstrations against war crime trials for top Islamists, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said Thursday.
The HRW said security forces have also injured more than 2,000 protesters during the street rallies, and in some cases had targeted individuals for attack.
“The killings have been worryingly high,” said Mark Dummett, co-author of the report “Blood On The Streets: The Use of Excessive Force During Bangladesh Protests.”
Full report as:
http://dawn.com/news/1033404/bangladesh-security-forces-have-killed-150-since-february-hrw
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UK 'open' to better relations with Iran
August 01, 2013
LONDON: Foreign secretary William Hague says Britain is open to better relations with Iran on a "step-by-step" basis and he is willing to meet with Tehran's foreign minister.
The Foreign Office says Hague stressed the need for "urgent progress" to resolve the West's concerns about Iran's nuclear program in a phone call with foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi.
It said Thursday that Hague "made clear that the UK was open to improvements in the bilateral relationship with Iran, on a step-by-step and reciprocal basis" and is willing to meet in New York in September during the United Nations General Assembly.
Full report as:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/UK-open-to-better-relations-with-Iran/articleshow/21514851.cms
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Kazakh opposition oligarch Ablyazov arrested in France
August 01, 2013
French police have arrested Kazakh fugitive opposition oligarch Mukhtar Ablyazov, who is accused of embezzling billions of dollars, officials say.
He was detained in a village near the southern city of Cannes on Wednesday.
The former energy minister and head of BTA bank is wanted in Kazakhstan, Russia and also reportedly in Ukraine.
The 50-year-old denies the allegations, saying they are designed to eliminate him as political rival to authoritarian Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Full report as:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23528331
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Putin addresses Mideast situation with Saudi intelligence chief
31 July 2013
Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday to address the situation in the Middle East, the Kremlin said.
"A wide number of questions regarding Saudi-Russia relations were discussed as well as the situation in North Africa and the Middle East," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies.
Full report as:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/07/31/Putin-receives-Saudi-intelligence-chief-in-Moscow.html
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Avoid “selective justice”, Germany tells Egypt
AUGUST 01, 2013
Germany today urged Egypt to avoid "the appearance of selective justice" following the arrests of some senior leaders of deposed President Mohamed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle was speaking to journalists alongside his Egyptian counterpart Nabil Fahmy, who responded by saying: "There is no justice of vengeance and no selective justice. There is law and it applies to everyone."
Full report as:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/world/article/avoid-selective-justice-germany-tells-egypt
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URL: htthttps://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/massive-arms-depot-blast-syria/d/12850