Islamic World

Tehran, July 12: With Iran’s president set for major reshuffles in his new cabinet, the Expediency Council moves to ban individuals from being a member of the country’s Guardian Council and having posts in government entities at the same time.

Under the new legislation approved by the Expediency Council, being a member of the Guardian Council is considered as having a governmental post and therefore individuals who already hold a position in other administration organizations have to step down from one of their positions.

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Isfahan(Iran), July 12: Iranian scientists have become the first in the Middle East to clone a cow as part of the country’s stem cell research, the leader of the project said today.

The male cow, named Bonyana, was born today in the city of Isfahan in central Iran, said Mohammed Hossein Nasre Isfahani, head of the Royan Research Institute.

Besides its nuclear activity and nascent space programme, Iran has sought to highlight advances in other technologies such as cloning and medicine. The government set a goal to become a regional leader in advanced sciences and technology by 2025.

Tehran, July 12: Iran is preparing a new package of “political, security and international” issues to put to the West, its foreign minister said today.

“The package can be a good basis for talks with the West. The package will contain Iran’s stances on political, security and international issues,” Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told a news conference.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Wednesday that the Group of Eight major powers would give Iran until September to accept negotiations over its nuclear ambitions or else face tougher sanctions.

Kabul, July 12: The British premier claims the country’s troops are ‘succeeding’ in Operation Panther’s Claw aimed at removing the Taliban militants from southern Afghanistan.

“Despite the tragic losses from the battle the current operations are succeeding in their objectives,” Reuters quoted the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown as saying on Saturday.

Operation Panther’s Claw is aimed at rooting out the Taliban from the central parts of the violence-ravaged Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan.

London, July 12: Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and other top operatives of the terrorist network are hiding in Afghanistan, probably in Kunar area, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said, describing as futile US drone attacks within his country as no “big fish” was present there.

“If Osama was in Pakistan we would know, with all the thousands of troops we have sent into the tribal areas in recent months.”

Baghdad, July 12: A car bomb exploded in an alley Saturday in a village in northern Iraq, killing at least four people, wounding others and destroying eight homes, police said. Another six people died in bombings in Baghdad.

Thirty-eight people were wounded and several shops and cars were also damaged in the 3 p.m. explosion in the northern village of Kugjeli, according to a police officer in Ninevah Province, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists.

Algiers, July 11: After using police raids, arrests and gun battles in its fight against Islamist insurgents, Algeria is now deploying a new, more subtle weapon: a branch of Islam associated with contemplation, not combat.

The government of this North African oil and gas producer is promoting Sufism, an Islamic movement that it sees as a gentler alternative to Salafism espoused by many of the militants behind Algeria’s insurgency.

Sufism places a great focus on prayer and recitation

Istanbul, July 11: The violence against minority Uighurs in western China can only be described as genocide, said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in comments cited by Turkish media Saturday.

“The events in China are a form of genocide,” said Erdogan. “There is no other way to describe it.”

“It is unbelievable. On the one hand, we talk about universal human rights, but on the other hand we have to witness something like this,” he said after returning from the G8 summit in Italy.

Kabul, July 11: An Afghan provincial official said that US forces killed a former police officer in central Logar province, while 19 Taliban fighters were killed in two separate clashes elsewhere in the country, officials said Saturday.

Ahmad Khan, former director of traffic in Logar province, was killed in his house in Zarghonshar area of Mohammad Agha district Friday night, a spokesman for the provincial governor said.

The US troops detained Khan’s two sons and his brother after shooting him dead in front of his family, he said.

Tehran, July 11: Twelve members of a rebel group are to be hanged by the end of next week, a judicial officer said Saturday.

The men are members of the Sunni rebel group Jundallah (Soldiers of God), including Abdol-Hamid Rigi, the brother of the group’s leader Abdolmalik Rigi.

Ebrahim Hamidi told Fars news agency that the 12 men would be hanged by Friday in Zahdean, capital of the Sistan-Baluchestan province.

Moscow, July 11: Israel has ordered at least 25 US F-35 stealth fighter aircraft to counter any potential threat from the delivery of Russian advanced air defence systems to Iran and Syria, an Israeli daily said.

Tel Aviv earlier said that the purchase of F-35 fighters would effectively eliminate the threat from Russian-made S-300 air defence systems because a series of computer simulations had clearly demonstrated that new US stealth fighters outperform the Russian missiles.

Tehran, July 11: Twelve members of a rebel group are to be hanged by the end of next week, a judicial officer said Saturday.

The men are members of the Sunni rebel group Jundallah (Soldiers of God), including Abdol-Hamid Rigi, the brother of the group’s leader Abdolmalik Rigi.

Ebrahim Hamidi told Fars news agency that the 12 men would be hanged by Friday in Zahdean, capital of the Sistan-Baluchestan province.

Jeddah, July 11The Shariah Medical Committee here chaired by Judge Abdul Rahman Al-Huseini has issued a verdict to cancel the contract of a doctor in one of the city’s private hospitals and deport him after the payment of SR50,000 as bloodmoney for the death of a female university graduate two years ago.

Jeddah, July 11 Penal Court judges have the right as of today to hand out alternative sentences to prison following approval for the move from the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).

The rulings are only available for judges hearing public prosecutions, and persons sentenced may reject them and elect instead a prison term.

Jeddah, July 11: King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, received here Friday a bereaved Saudi man who had pardoned his son’s killer.

Homoud Bin Nail Bin Towaan Al-Suwaidi Al-Shammari said his decision to pardon the killer of his son Awwad Bin Homoud Bin Nail was inspired by the King’s deeds.

The father cited in particular the King’s call to the Saudi people to remain patient, to the Arab people to strive for reconciliation, and to the world at large to favor and promote dialogue among peoples of different religions and civilizations.

Dubai, July 11 A cargo vessel with 15 Indian crew members was hijacked off the port city of Bosasso in Somalia, a media report said Saturday.

“A sea-jacking of an Indian cargo vessel with around 15 Indian crew (took place) around lunchtime (Friday) just 14 nautical miles off the port city of Bosasso in the semi-autonomous north-eastern region of Somalia,” australia.to website reported.

The vessel was captured after it had unloaded goods from the UAE at the Somali harbour from where it was sailing off.

Initial reports indicate of business deal gone sour.

Jerusalem, July 11 : The Israeli Defence Force is considering allowing the Palestinians to establish a specially trained counter-terror squad, qualified to carry out pinpoint operations against Hamas terrorist cells in the West Bank.

Such a force would be able to carry out special operations against Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank more effectively than the existing Palestinian security forces.

The French have already offered to train such a team, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Riyadh, July 11: Wajeha al-Huwaider picked up her passport, got in a taxi, and headed from her home in eastern Saudi Arabia to the nearby island kingdom of Bahrain a 45-minute drive that many Saudis take to get away for the weekend.

Despite having a valid passport, Saudi authorities at the border sent al-Huwaider home. That’s because in Saudi Arabia, a woman needs permission from her male guardian before she can leave the country.

Mogadishu, July 11: Somalia’s hardline Islamist rebels beheaded seven people on Friday for being “Christians” and “spies” in the latest imposition of strict sharia, Islamic law, by the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group, witnesses said.

Al Shabaab, which controls large tracts of south Somalia and parts of the capital Mogadishu, has carried out such executions before, but the beheadings on Friday were believed to be the largest number of killings at one time, Somalis say.

Baghdad, July 11: Iraq’s Kurdish leaders are pushing ahead with a new constitution for their semi-autonomous region, a step that has alarmed Iraqi and US officials who fear that the move poses a new threat to the country’s unity.

The new constitution approved by Kurdistan’s Parliament two weeks ago and scheduled for a referendum this year, underscores the level of mistrust between the region and the Government in Baghdad.

Ankara, Turkey, July 11: Turkey’s Prime Minister has compared ethnic violence in China’s Xinjiang province to genocide, escalating criticism of Beijing following this week’s killing of at least 156 people including Turkic-speaking, Muslim Uighurs.

Kabul, July 11: The British death toll in Afghanistan Friday surpassed the level of military fatalities suffered in the Iraq war, as five more soldiers died in roadside explosions, officials said.

The deaths took the toll in Afghanistan to 184, compared to the 179 soldiers killed during the entire Iraq conflict between March, 2003 and April this year.

The defence ministry said the five soldiers were on foot patrol near Sangin in Helmand province when they were hit by two separate explosions of improvised roadside bombs.

Berlin, July 11: Muslims across Germany prayed for a pregnant Egyptian woman murdered in Dresden on July 1, a killing that provoked outrage and anti-German sentiment in her home country.

Marwa al-Sherbini was stabbed at least 18 times in a courtroom in Dresden in front of her husband and three-year-old son by a Russian-born German man who has since been charged with her murder.

Riyadh, July 11: Major development projects such as the mega economic cities in the Kingdom will require more than 10.8 million workers by the year 2014, creating more job opportunities for Saudis and expatriates.

However, according to a study conducted by the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), only 5.45 million Saudi workers would be ready to take up the new jobs, creating a gap of 5.4 million or 49.8 percent.