Islamic World

Ramallah, June 16: Palestinians voiced dismay on Monday over terms Benjamin Netanyahu set for a peace deal but the Israeli leader won guarded approval in Washington and Brussels for at least accepting Palestinian statehood.

In a speech on Sunday, Netanyahu responded to weeks of US pressure by endorsing for the first time establishment of a Palestinian state, on condition Israel received international guarantees in advance that the new nation would be demilitarised.

Dubai, June 16: Hundreds of motorists across Dubai and Sharjah have been caught renting tyres to avoid the cost of buying new ones to pass vehicle tests for renewal of registration.

More than 2,000 trucks and cars across the two emirates were found with unsafe tyres between April and June as part of a nationwide inspection campaign by the Ministry of Interior. The motorists were found to be renting tyres for two hours to use them to pass the vehicle testing required for registration renewal.

Tehran, June 15: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has urged defeated presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Moussavi to follow up the alleged irregularities in the June 12 presidential elections through legal channels, IRNA reported Monday.

“Thank god almighty, the elections were held with high degree of reliability, soundness and tranquility. You too should follow up the relevant issues through legal channels,” Khamenei told Moussavi in a meeting here Sunday.

Khamenei has praised the high turnout in the June 12 presidential elections.

Kabul, June 15: President Hamid Karzai told the incoming commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan on Sunday that the most important part of his new mission was to protect Afghan civilians.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal takes up his command on Monday. The four-star U.S. general, a former special forces commander, is expected to bring a fresh approach to an increasingly violent eight-year war.

President Barack Obama has increased the U.S. focus on Afghanistan this year, ordering 21,000 additional troops to the country as the U.S. military begins to pull out of Iraq.

New Delhi, June 15: Iran, with its thousand-year-old legacy of cultural history and traditional arts, is the guest country in the fourth edition of the South Asian Films Festival 2009, which begins in Goa June 26.

The festival hosted by the South Asia Foundation, a leading non-profit organisation, will be supported by the Entertainment Society of Goa and the Kala Academy. It will be co-sponsored by the Goa government and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

New Delhi, June 15: Iran, with its thousand-year-old legacy of cultural history and traditional arts, is the guest country in the fourth edition of the South Asian Films Festival 2009, which begins in Goa June 26.

The festival hosted by the South Asia Foundation, a leading non-profit organisation, will be supported by the Entertainment Society of Goa and the Kala Academy. It will be co-sponsored by the Goa government and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

Kabul, June 15: Afghan President Hamid Karzai has reminded the US general of the need to protect civilians Enlarge photo Afghan President Hamid Karzai has reminded the US general of the need to protect civilians Enlarge photo Insurgent attacks have reached record levels, while troops have been stepping up …More Enlarge photo There are 56,000 US troops in Afghanistan, and some 33,000 from other mostly Western …More Enlarge photo US General Stanley McChrystal was appointed after his predecessor was sacked in May Enlarge photo McChrystal was appointed after his predecessor was sacked in May w

Tehran, June 15: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday rejected the opposition’s claims of electoral fraud, saying his re-election was “real
and free” and could not be questioned.

In his first press conference since the interior ministry announced he won a landslide victory in Friday’s balloting, the hardline president said: “The election was free (transparent) and there is no document proving these charges.”

Tehran, June 14: Just a few days ago, the same street in Central Tehran where my taxi had to slow down due to joyful opposition supporters, had now turned into an obstacle race as we walked and ran to escape the teargas and passed burning garbage bins. On Saturday, it was a harrowing experience while returning home from work.

Tehran, June 14: Thousands of people clashed with police on Saturday after the disputed election victory of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sparked the biggest protests in Tehran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Iranians to respect Ahmadinejad’s victory in a presidential election that his closest challenger described as a “dangerous charade”.

Ahmadinejad’s triumph in Friday’s vote upset expectations that reformist candidate Mirhossein Mousavi might win the race.

Tehran, June 13: Anti-riot police guarded the offices overseeing Iran’s disputed elections on Saturday with the count pointing to a landslide victory by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, while his opponent denounced the results as “treason” and threatened a challenge.

Tehran, June 13: A brave people went in their millions yesterday to vote for the next president of Iran.

They went for the right reasons and they went for the wrong reasons but they wanted a say in how their country is governed. In their tens of thousands, they waited in Tehran amid the sword-like heat of summer to insist that they had duties and obligations towards their society. Alas, the clerical blanket which smothers Iran will ensure that mullahs – not people – ultimately get their way. Thank you, Ayatollah Khomeini.

Tehran, June 11: She has become one of the most high-profile figures in one of the most exciting Iranian election campaigns – and she is not even running for office. It would be easy to downplay the importance of Zahra Rahnavard as a creation of the Western media seeking an exotic angle. Married to opposition candidate Mirhossein Mousavi, she has even been dubbed Iran’s Michelle Obama.

Tehran, June 10: “This is the most unpredictable and most exciting presidential election in Iran in years because the main contenders in this race have gathered much support among Iranians.

“It is clearly visible that Mousavi has a little edge over Ahmadinejad in the capital city, but in other provinces it is a totally different story.”

Iran’s reformists are hoping that a high turnout on Friday will help them oust the conservative Ahmadinejad, who they accuse of increasing the country’s international isolation and compounding its economic difficulties.

Riyadh, June 10: Saudi Arabia’s first woman cabinet minister cannot appear on television without permission, a newspaper quoted her as saying on Tuesday.

Noura al-Faiz’s appointment in February as deputy minister for women’s education was hailed as a big step for the integration of women in conservative Saudi Arabia where a puritanical form of Islam bans women from driving, voting and mixing with unrelated men.

Gaza, June 10: The Palestinian Authority Security Services’ spokesman has rejected an Israeli report saying Palestinian police have arrested three Qalqiliya women preparing for suicide bombings.

An Israeli news report on Tuesday morning claimed that the Hamas-affiliated women were preparing to blow themselves up amidst PA officers but were arrested and taken into custody.

Tehran, June 10: Iran’s former president, Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, condemned as “lies” Tuesday the corruption accusations levelled against him by incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In a television debate last week with presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Moussavi, Ahmadinejad accused the ex-president and his family of corruption and embezzlement – without Rafsanjani being present.

Iran goes to the polls on Friday for in an increasingly close and acrimonious election.

Riyadh, June 09: They only had a few hours’ notice, but a few hundred Saudis braved a small band of religious hardliners to take part in a historic event on Saturday night: the first public showing of a commercial film in decades in the Saudi capital.

With bags of salty popcorn and soft drinks in their laps, the men-only crowd of more than 300 in Riyadh’s huge King Fahd Cultural Centre cheered, whistled and clapped when the first scenes of the Saudi-made Menahi hit the screen and the film’s score erupted in surround sound.

Dubai, June 09: A 43-year old Italian visitor was on Monday sentenced to six months in jail for having sex out of wedlock with a Filipina. The Criminal Court of First Instance, however, acquitted him of the charge of illegally confining the woman in an apartment. He will be deported after completion of the jail term.

In the same case, a 54-year old businessman was cleared of the charge of criminal complicity. He was accused of forcing the Filipina to have sex with the Italian defendant by holding her up in the apartment.

Abu Dhabi, June 09: The divorce rate among Emirati couples who benefited from Marriage Fund grants, dropped from six per cent to two per cent last year. This was stated by Dr. Maitha Salem Al Shamsi, Minister of State and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Marriage Fund, at a press conference on Monday.

A former prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay says he was never interrogated about the reason the US said they’d arrested him for — even after seven years in captivity.

He also provided a graphic account of new elements of what may be considered “ad-lib” torture — guards inappropriately using hypodermic needles and IV tubes intended for forced feeding during hunger strikes.

Riyadh, June 08: Saudi Arabia’s first woman cabinet minister cannot appear on television without permission, a newspaper quoted her as saying on Monday.

Noura al-Faiz’s appointment in February as Deputy Minister for Women’s Education was hailed as a big step for the integration of women in conservative Saudi Arabia where a puritanical form of Islam bans women from driving, voting and mixing with unrelated men.

Gaza City, June 07: At 29, Tahani is considered a spinster by the standards of deeply conservative Gaza. So in her search for a husband, she turned for help to the best in the marriage business: the Islamic militant group Hamas.

“I gaze at all the men on the street and think, ‘Oh God, isn’t there just one for me?”, said the young woman with dark skin and honey-colored eyes, set off by a maroon headscarf. Her application is among 287 from single women in the files of the Tayseer Association for Marriage and Development in Gaza.

Cairo, June 03: Muslims may no longer pray at al-Sultan Hassan, one of Egypt’s most historic mosques, after security forces cordoned the mosque, sparking outrage from the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, in preparation for U.S. President Barack Obama’s trip to Cairo.

Muslim Brotherhood members complained to parliament about the Grand Imam, minister of interior and prime minister for banning the faithful from praying.

” Egypt’s security service has cordoned the whole area around the mosque and has told businesses nearby to close on Wednesday and Thursday ”
Muslim Brotherhood

Washington, June 02: Presdient Barack Obama’s apparent reversal of his commitment to release photos of Bush-era torture was driven by a bone-chilling assessment of what might happen, delivered by none other than Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Malik, According to a Monday report.

From McClatchy Newspapers: