Asian Lite News Archive

Category: Arab News

  • Iraqi forces recapture ISIS held town

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    Iraqi security forces and allied militias retook control of a small town east of Ramadi, capital of Anbar province, after heavy clashes with Islamic State (IS) militants, a provincial security source said. The troops backed by brigades of Shia and Sunni militias, known as Hashd Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation), managed to free the town of Huseibah…

  • ISIS takes responsibility for Saudi Shia mosque attack

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    Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for an apparent suicide bomb attack carried out on Friday at a Shia mosque in the town of Al Qudayh in the eastern Saudi Arabian, Shia-majority province of Al Qatif, in which at least 21 people were killed while 102 others were wounded, according to the Saudi health ministry. The…

  • UAE gears up for Mars mission

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    State-owned Masdar Institute of Science and Technology is ramping up its efforts to support the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in achieving its goal of sending an unmanned space probe to Mars by 2021, a media report said. The initiative for the UAE’s Mars mission, named “Hope”, the first in the Arab world, was launched in…

  • Obama: US not losing fight against ISIS

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    President Barack Obama said in an interview published that the US is not losing the fight against the Islamic State radical group in Iraq and Syria, but he acknowledged that it will be necessary to intensify the training of Sunni militias in some zones to support Iraqi military forces. “I don’t think we’re losing. There’s…

  • US threatens not to sign n-deal with Iran

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    Washington has threatened “not to sign” a final nuclear agreement with Tehran unless the Iranian government gives access to its possible military dimension-related sites and nuclear scientists. “If we don’t get the assurances we need on the access to possible military dimension-related sites or activities, that’s going to be a problem for us,” State Department…

  • ‘Bin Laden was dedicated to family’

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    Declassified documents here about Osama bin Laden reveal that he was a dedicated family man who constantly worried about his four wives, 20 children and other relatives and who sometimes issued detailed instructions about how they should conduct themselves. Bin Laden took minute interest in the marriage plans of his son Khalid to the daughter…

  • ISIS captures Syrian ancient city Palmyra

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    ISIS fighters have captured the ruins of Palmyra after overnight fighting saw them take complete control of the historic city, according to a monitoring group. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there was no news of any destruction so far at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, which includes ancient temples and colonnaded streets reports Sky…

  • Will not succumb under pressure: Khamenei

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    Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said  that Tehran would not accept “unreasonable demands” by world powers during negotiations over its disputed nuclear programme, and ruled out letting inspectors interview its atomic scientists. “They (P5+1 countries) are making new comments in the nuclear negotiations. Regarding the inspections, we have said that we will not allow…

  • 170 ISIS members killed in Syria

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    At least 170 Islamic State (IS) militants have been killed since Sunday in airstrikes carried out by the US-led international coalition in addition to Kurdish attacks in the Syrian northeastern province of al-Hasakah, Kurdish officials said on Tuesday. Naser Haj Mansur, spokesperson for the defence department in the Kurdish autonomous region of al-Jazira in al-Hasakah,…

  • British workers forum raps Qatar Games

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    Trades Union Congress (TUC), Britain’s largest workers forum says FIFA sponsors must tell Qatar to play fair on workers’ human rights 62 workers may lose their lives for each game played during Qatar’s 2022 World Cup, a tournament likely to be sponsored by FIFA partner companies Coke, VISA, McDonald’s, Adidas, Kia and Hyundai. Without sponsorship, this…

  • Iran nuclear talks to resume

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    Iran and the world powers will begin new negotiations to finalise an accord on the country’s nuclear issue in the Austrian capital of Vienna. Iranian deputy foreign minister and senior negotiator Abbas Araqchi will meet EU political director Helga Schmid  to resume drafting of the text of the deal before the end-of-June deadline, Tasnim news…

  • Israel plan to ‘strengthen’ Jerusalem

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    The Israeli cabinet announced a set of decisions aimed to “strengthen” the city of Jerusalem and arrange special events in 2017 on the 50th anniversary of the city’s unification. The decisions were announced in a special cabinet meeting held at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem in celebration of “Jerusalem Day”, which marks the day in…

  • Iran ‘concerned’ over Egypt death sentences

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    Iran expressed “concern and regret” over an Egyptian court sentencing to death former president Mohammed Morsi and his supporters. “Such verdicts, which encourage violence and exclusion (of opponents), hurts Egypt’s image and credibility,” Xinhua news agency quoted foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said. “We hope such approaches would be avoided,” Afkham said. Iran believed that…

  • Violence mars Jerusalem day

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  • Iraq mobilises reinforcements for Anbar

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    Iraqi militias have begun mobilising towards the predominantly Sunni Anbar province in a belated effort to push back terrorists of Islamic State, which seized the region’s capital city, media reported. “We invite our people in Anbar to remain steadfast and hold their ground as reinforcements from your brothers in Hashd al-Shaabi are coming,” the Guardian…

  • Qatar tells BBC crew, its not Disneyland

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    A BBC reporter has revealed how he was arrested and detained by security officials whilst on a press trip to Qatar. The intention of the trip was to show foreign journalists the flagship new accommodation for migrants working on construction projects ahead of the 2022 World Cup reported Press Gazette. Hundreds of migrants working in…

  • Pope canonises two Palestinian nuns

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    Pope Francis canonised two 19th century nuns who lived in Ottoman-ruled Palestine, BBC reported. Marie Alphonsine Ghattas and Mariam Bawardy were among four new saints declared at a ceremony in Rome’s St. Peter’s Square that was attended by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and over 2,000 Christians. Marie Alphonsine Ghattas, who was born to a Palestinian…

  • Bahrain protests Khamenei statements

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    Bahrain summoned an Iranian envoy to express its rejection of the recent statements made by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. During the meeting with Iranian Chargé d’Affaires to Bahrain Mohammad Reza Babaei, the foreign ministry’s under-secretary Abdulla Abdullatif said the statements “are not only unacceptable but also a blatant interference in the internal affairs…

  • Iran calls US sponsor of terrorism

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    Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei  called the US the “main sponsor and engineer of terrorism in the world”, as he expressed his support for the people of Yemen, IRNA reported. “Those countries which are nominally Muslims but in reality puppets are the main agents behind the crisis and insecurity in Yemen,” Iran’s official…

  • US special forces kills senior ISIS leader in Syria

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    US special forces killed a senior leader of Islamic State (IS) group in eastern Syria, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said. The raid was carried out at the direction of US President Barack Obama to conduct an operation in eastern Syria to capture an IS leader known as Abu Sayyaf and his wife Umm Sayyaf,…

  • Turkey shoots down Syrian aircraft

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    Turkeyshot down a Syrian aircraft for violating its airspace near the Syrian border, a media report said. Turkish fighter jets fired at the Syrian aircraft which went down in Syrian territory near Dursunlu and Emek villages of southern Hatay province of Turkey, NTV quoted Turkish military sources as saying, according to Xinhua. Military sources said…

  • Palestinians wounded on Nakba anniversary

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    At least 20 Palestinians have been wounded since clashes erupted with Israeli forces ahead of the 67th anniversary of the Nakba, the Arabic word for catastrophe that refers to the displacement and dispossession of Palestinians in 1948 after the establishment of the State of Israel, Efe news agency reported. In Gaza, three Palestinian men suffered…

  • Morsi sentenced to death

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    An Egyptian court sentenced ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi to death in a 2011 a jailbreak case. The Cairo Criminal Court on Saturday issued a preliminary ruling of death for Morsi and 105 other defendants in the trial known as the “Natroun Jailbreak case”, Al Ahram online reported The court has sent its decision to…

  • British drones fly 301 missions against Isis

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    Britain’s Royal Air Force carried out 301 Reaper drone missions over Iraq between the start of UK operations against Isis last September and the end of March, firing a total of 102 Hellfire missiles on 87 separate occasions, according to new Ministry of Defence figures. The numbers were obtained by the Drone Wars UK organisation,…

  • ISRAEL – Identity Crisis

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    By Alon Ben-Meir  Natanyahu’s new government is neither by nor for the people The political horse-trading in Israel seen over the past eight weeks, which went down to the wire to form a new government, was, in the main, a struggle over who would get what position, regardless of their qualifications and irrespective of what…

  • Iran vows ‘unlimited’ support for Syria

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    A ranking Iranian lawmaker said here  that Iran’s support for Syria is “unlimited”, countering rumours of a rift between the two allies in battling a four-year insurgency in Syria. “We have come here to stress that our support to Syria is constant and permanent and we are proud of this support,” Alaedin Boroujerdi, head of…

  • Iraq survivor says ISIS killed Indian hostages

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    A man from Punjab who escaped from the clutches of the ISIS in June 2014 claimed that 39 Indians taken hostage have been killed. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in New Delhi that she did not believe the claims and her own sources felt the Indian nationals were still alive. Harjit Masih, 25, told…

  • Nuclear Iran new Israeli challenge: Netanyahu

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    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that one of the challenges facing the upcoming government would be handling Iran’s nuclear programme. “A conciliatory (move) with Iran would prove out to be a mistake that would cost a very heavy price,” Netanyahu said in a speech in the Knesset commemorating 70 years of the Allied Forces’…

  • EU urged to take firm stance on Israel

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    A group of 19 prominent former European leaders have urged the European Union to take a firm stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict in light of the lack of political will for peaceful resolution shown by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government, Efe news agency reported. In a letter to EU foreign policy chief, Federica…

  • Palestine appreciates India’s support

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    By Sheikh Manzoor Mahmoud Al Habbash, special advisor to Palestine President Mahmmud Abbas, has lauded India for extending political, moral and material support to Palestinians and said the two sides recently evolved a new mechanism to strategise their relationship. “We are thankful to India for supporting an independent Palestine state and pleading their cause at…

  • Al Qaeda leaders killed in Yemen drone strike

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    Four leading members of Yemen’s Al Qaeda branch have been killed in a suspected US drone strike in the east of the country, security officials and news outlets close to the Islamic State militant group said. The suspected US drone fired rockets in the southern port of Mukalla on Monday, killing the Al Qaeda leaders…

  • King Salman calls Obama after cancelling US visit

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    President Barack Obama spoke by telephone with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, one day after Riyadh announced that the monarch will not attend a US summit of Persian Gulf leaders scheduled for later this week. The White House said that Salman called the president on to “apologise” for not being able to come to Washington this…

  • Iran see Saudi-led attack on Yemen as ‘genocide’

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    Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham condemned the Saudi-led attack on Yemen as “genocide”. “Such actions by the Saudi-led coalition have been genocide and go counter to the international conventions,” Xinhua quoted Afkham as saying . In their attack on Yemen of more than 40 days, they have used “unconventional weapons intended to increase the…

  • Saudi king to skip US-Gulf summit

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    Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will not join other leaders of Gulf states for a summit with US President Barack Obama scheduled for next week, the Saudi embassy in Washington DC has said. The Saudi monarch will instead send Crown Prince Mohammad bin Naif, who is also the deputy prime minister and minister…

  • British Bid To Stem Radicalisation

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    A series of seminars launched across the country to protect British youth joining radical organisations A series of seminars aimed at helping school and college leaders protect young people from being drawn into extremism and radicalisation will be held this summer. The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) is launching the seminars to offer…

  • US labels Al Jazeera bureau chief as Al Qaeda member

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    The US government has labelled Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in Pakistan’s capital as a member of Al Qaeda and put him on a watch list of suspected terrorists, an online magazine reported. Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan, a Syrian national based in Islamabad, has covered the Taliban and Al Qaeda throughout his career and has conducted a…

  • Saudi offers Houthis five-day truce

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    Saudi Arabia offered the Shiite Houthi rebels a five-day truce in Yemen starting from next Tuesday, according to Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jobeir. The cease-fire will allow the entry of aid in the country and can be renewed if Houthis commit to stop their violent mobilisation of troops and weapons. In a press conference held…

  • SIR MAURICE FLANAGAN 1928-2015

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    BY BIKRAM VOHRA A good man. More than a good man. An officer and a gentleman to the core. He brought to the table grace, dignity and an aviation acumen that was unchallenged. And yet, he was approachable, down to earth and blessed with an often self deprecating humour. Sir Maurice Flanagan. They don’t come…

  • ISIS using social media to win recruits in US

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    Amidst a federal investigation into a foiled attack on a Prophet Mohammed cartoon contest in Texas, FBI Director James Comey has said that Islamic State is leveraging social media to recruit people in US. “Hundreds, maybe thousands” of people across the country are receiving recruitment overtures from the terrorist group or directives to attack the…

  • Israel approves new settlements in Jerusalem

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    Israel has approved the building of 900 housing units in a Jewish settlement neighborhood in Jerusalem, a watchdog group said on Thursday. The new homes will be built in Ramat Shlomo, an ultra-orthodox settlement, after the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee approved it late on Wednesday, Lior Amihai from Peace Now told Xinhua news…

  • US Senate passes Iran nuclear review bill

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    The US Senate has passed a bipartisan bill to allow Congress to review and potentially reject an international nuclear agreement with Iran. The bill was approved 98-1 on  with Republican Tom Cotton being the only naysayer, as he wants a potential deal with Iran to be presented to Congress as a treaty. Under the Senate…

  • Bibi inks coalition in the nick of time

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    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has managed to clinch a deal with the nationalist Jewish Home party on Wednesday night, securing a new ruling coalition with a tiny majority in the 120-member parliament. At a joint press conference, the fourth-time prime minister announced the deal, which was reached hours before the deadline to form the…

  • US posts hefty bounty on four key ISIS figures

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    The US administration has posted a bounty of $20 million for information on four key figures of the Islamic State (IS), an extremist group it is fighting in Iraq and Syria. The State Department is seeking tips that can lead to the arrest of Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili and…

  • Kerala targets Arab market with Ayurveda

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    Lush green flora, placid backwaters, monsoon downpour and Ayurveda were the main themes of the Kerala Tourism pavilion which welcomed visitors at the Arabian Travel Market 2015, being held at the Dubai World Trade Center. The four-day annual event that began provides a great opportunity to network with the tourism trade in the Middle East.…

  • Israel detains 21 Palestinians

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    The Israeli army  arrested 21 Palestinians during raids on several West Bank towns. The Palestinians were arrested “from their homes” mostly in Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin, Bethlehem and Hebron, Xinhua news agency reported citing a statement issued by the Prisoners’ Club Association. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed that 17 wanted Palestinians “suspected of being involved…

  • Bibi calls for eradicating racism in Israel

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     Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for eradicating discrimination against Jews of Ethiopian origin, following violent demonstrations by Israeli Ethiopians in recent days. “We must stand as one against racism, condemn it and eradicate it,” Netanyahu said at a three-hour meeting with leaders of the Ethiopian community representatives in Jerusalem. “There is clearly a…

  • New Equations at Arab World

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    Saudi Royalty which never conducted diplomacy above the sound of whispers are today in battle albeit from the air in Yemen. Syria was seen as Iran’s (and Russia’s) opening onto the Mediterranean, Yemen onto the Red Sea. They must block both. Atleast be seen to have checked Iran. Otherwise the GCC may bolt….writes Saeed Naqvi …

  • King Salman does a first in the Kingdom

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      Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has appointed his nephew deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef as the new crown prince, the state media reported. The announced was made after current Crown Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud stepped down, Saudi state TV Al Arabiya reported. Prince Mohammed would also be deputy prime…

  • A face of modern Islam in the Arab world

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    By Tarun Basu  The Arab world is in a bloody ferment. The Yemen conflict is just the latest in the upsurge in regional unrest, compounded by the spread of extremist forces with their violent ideologies that threaten to take the region and beyond into a vortex of uncertainty. This may have unpredictable – and possibly…

  • Oman offers amnesty

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    Around 60,000 Indians may benefit from an amnesty scheme announced in Oman, under which people without valid documents could either return to their country without being penalised or can rectify their papers, said a diaspora expert. The Oman government announced the schemeand said it will run from May 3 to July 30. S. Irudayarajan, who…