Islamic World

London, July 25: After experiencing the deadliest month in Afghanistan since following the US into invading that country, most Britons want out, recent surveys show.

Britain’s mission in Afghanistan has never had a massive public support and with the death of 19 British soldiers over the past few weeks, it is now becoming even more unpopular.

Two surveys have been conducted by respected international pollsters looking at the level of public support in the UK for the Afghan war.

Kabul, July 25: One NATO soldier and several insurgents have been killed in a firefight in eastern Afghanistan, the US military said on Saturday, as Taliban-linked violence spirals weeks before elections.

Troops with the coalition International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) came under fire from small arms and rocket-propelled grenades as they tried to search a house yesterday in the east of the country, the military said.

Ankara, July 25: Turkey and Syria have formed a roadmap to boost bilateral relations especially in the economic field Turkish State Minister Zafer Caglayan says.

Speaking at the third meeting of Turkey-Syria Partnership Council in Turkey’s largest city of Istanbul, Caglayan said the tow countries agreed to forge a permanent cooperation.

Mogadishu, July 25: At least 20 people have been killed and 50 others wounded in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, due to heavy shelling by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

The AMISOM has reportedly shelled the region by its artillery on Friday to support its forces who had been surrounded by al-Shabaab forces in southern Mogadishu.

Several districts in southern Mogadishu were badly damaged as a result of AMISOM shelling.

Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands wounded over the past two months in Mogadishu.

Kabul, July 25: Afghan President Hamed Karzai vows more control over US-led troops in a bid to limit civilian casualties inflicted by indiscriminate counterinsurgent attacks if he is re-elected.

Speaking at a campaign rally in the capital Kabul, Karzai said Friday that he would review agreements with foreign nations deploying troops in the war-ravaged country to make them operate with greater respect for the rights of Afghan citizens.

“It should be clear who is the owner of the house and who is the guest,” Afghan president said.

Baghdad, July 25: Polls have opened in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region to elect a president and a parliament as regional president Massud Barzani is expected to be re-elected to his post.

The presidential and legislative elections began at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) in the largely autonomous northern region and are due to continue until 6 p.m. (1500 GMT), after which ballots will be flown to Baghdad for tallying. The official count is expected to take 2-3 days if no one challenges it.

Damascus, July 25: Syria’s Foreign Minister says Damascus can mediate between the Islamic Republic and the West to settle most debated disputes including Iran’s nuclear program.

“We support (a) political solution for issues standing between Iran and the West,” the Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said at a new conference on Friday.

The West accuses Iran of trying to achieve nuclear weapons. Tehran rejects the allegation and defends the right of its nation to achieve civilian nuclear power.

Tehran, July 25: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad caved into pressure from hardline clerics and the country’s supreme leader Friday and allowed the resignation of his top deputy after a week-long standoff.

For days, the president had resisted pressure from hard-liners, including a direct order from the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to dismiss his choice for the key post of first vice president, Esfandiar Rahim Mashai, who last year angered conservatives when he made friendly comments toward Israel.

Tehran, July 25: The Islamic Revolution’s Guards Corps (IRGC) Commander says that the body is the sole armed and organized protector of the Islamic Revolution.

“Based on (Iran’s) constitution, the Islamic Revolution’s Guards Corps is the sole armed and organized supporter of the Revolution and its achievements,” IRGC Commander Mohammad Ali Jafari told IRNA on Friday, adding that the body honors the mission.

Tehran, July 25: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s pick for first vice president officially withdrew from the post after the supreme leader ordered Ahmadinejad to sack his deputy, the ISNA news agency reported Saturday.

“Following the order by the supreme leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei), I do not consider myself as first vice president anymore and will serve the people wherever else needed,” Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaie said in a short statement carried by ISNA.

Media reports Friday night said the supreme leader had rejected Ahmadinejad’s pick and ordered him fired.

London, July 25: A vigdor Lieberman, Israel’s foreign minister, has triggered fresh controversy by urging diplomats abroad to use a 1941 photograph of a Palestinian religious leader meeting Hitler to counter protests against a planned Jewish settlement in Arab East Jerusalem.

Dubai, July 25: The launch of the UAE’s first satellite has been delayed by four days because of safety concerns, officials confirmed. DubaiSat-1 was scheduled to be launched today onboard a Dnepr rocket, but the launch has been rescheduled to 10.46pm on Wednesday.

Delays to the launching of satellites are not unusual, said Ahmed Al Mansoori, Director-General of the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST).

Baghdad, July 25: Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region is set to elect a president and parliament amid increasing tensions over oil exports and land disputes with Baghdad, the Iraqi capital.

Tensions have heightened between Massud Barzani, the regional president, and Iraq’s central government over Kurdish claims to 16 disputed areas, including oil-rich Kirkuk, and parts of the Diyala, Nineveh and Salaheddin provinces.

Manama, JUly 25: Bahrain-based US military staff members have started welcoming back family members after a ban on their presence in Manama was lifted by the US authorities.

Abu Dhabi, July 25: Construction workers, who are at risk of sunstroke during the summer, are not automatically covered for heat-related illnesses under the Ministry of Labour’s Workmen’s Compensation Insurance, Khaleej Times has learnt.

Workmen’s Compensation Insurance is designed to protect the employer against their liabilities to employees with respect to injuries suffered by them in the course of their employment as per the labour law or workmen’s compensation ordinance. In the UAE, compensation is governed by Chapter 8 of Federal Law No. 1980.

Abu Dhabi, July 25: Struggling to get entry visa for Canada, Australia or any of the European countries? Try and try hard, but beware: do not be fooled by an email that is doing the rounds offering visas to anyone and anywhere.

Some diplomatic missions and the police in Abu Dhabi have cautioned people to steer clear of such traps.

The scam appears to originate in London from where “Kenny Lang Visa Consultant” says a visa can be secured in 14 days provided the ‘fee’, which runs into thousands of dollars, is sent to his office.

Jerusalem, July 25: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for a “warm peace” between Israel and its Arab neighbours on Thursday in a rare speech at the Egyptian ambassador’s residence near Tel Aviv.

“I think we can have a very warm peace,” Netanyahu said, according to statements carried by the private Channel Ten television.

“We hope in the months and years ahead to forge peace with the Palestinians and to expand that into a vision of a broader regional peace,” Netanyahu said.

US envoy George Mitchell heads to Syria for talks

Tehran, July 25: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, has bowed to pressure and dismissed Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, his choice for the key post of first vice president, Iranian media has reported.

The decision on Friday came after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, ordered Ahmadinejad to reverse his decision regarding Mashaie who had been under fire for comments he made last year in which he was quoted as saying Iranians could be friends with anyone, including Israelis.

Doha, July 25: Qatar is the largest aid provider to Iraq among the GCC states, a local Arabic daily reported yesterday, quoting a prominent Iraqi organisation involved in monitoring human rights violations in the country.

Qatar is among the top countries in the world in terms of providing aid actively to Iraq after the US invasion, said Dr Ismail Abdul Malik Al Hibsh, head of the Iraqi Peace Organisation.

Doha, July 25: Islam is a religion of peace and mercy and denounces all forms of terrorism.

The Western media continuously propagates the false information that slam is a religion of terrorism and the tiny minority of Muslims who are involved in terrorist activities are the victims of western imperialism, according to M M Akbar, Director of Niche of Truth, India. He was delivering the key note address at the concluding session of three months long campaign organized by Qatar Muslim Islam Centre on the theme “Islam is Mercy not Violence,” recently.

Tehran, July 25: An Iranian passenger plane skidded off the runway during its landing in northeast Iran and crashed, shredding the cockpit into a tangled mass of wreckage and killing 17 people, the state news agency said.

Footage from Iran’s press showed the plane sitting at an angle, its tail awkwardly on the ground and the mangled front end pointing upward. The rest of the craft appeared largely intact.

The news agency reported that the tires failed on landing and it skidded into a wall, though no wall was visible in the footage.

London, July 25: The British government will send reinforcements to Afghanistan to “help maintain the required operational effectiveness” in the wake of rising number of casualties suffered by its troops while fighting the Taliban in that country, officials said Friday.

Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said 125 additional soldiers will be deployed in Afghanistan to strengthen the security ahead of the presidential elections in August.

Cairo, July 25: The tweets still fly and the videos hit YouTube whenever protesters take to the streets in Iran — even as the Internet battle there turns more grueling.

Authorities appear to be intensifying their campaign to block Web sites and chase down the opposition online, and the activists search for new ways to elude them.

Tehran, July 24: A hardline Iranian cleric said on Friday there had been plots in the Islamic state to weaken Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s position after a disputed election last month.

Iran’s disputed presidential poll on June 12 plunged the country into its biggest internal crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution and has exposed deep divisions in its ruling elite.

Cairo, July 24: It never crossed Khadijah Ouararhni-Grech’s mind that covering her face would make her fell prey to racism in Australia.
“As I was stepping on to the bus, the driver said: ‘You can’t get on the bus wearing your mask’,” Khadijah told Australia’s The Daily Telegraph on Friday, July 24.

The Aussie Muslim woman politely told the driver that her niqab (face-veil) was not a “mask”, but a religious dress.

“It is law,” the driver replied.

“I told him it wasn’t the law and he said ‘You have to show me your face’,” Khadijah said.