Asian Lite News Archive

Category: Arab News

  • Obama sees Palestinian state sabotaged by Bibi

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    US President Barack Obama has said that “it’s hard to envision” the creation of a Palestinian state after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent remarks rejecting the idea, and that the possibilities of a lasting peace right now are “very dim”. “There still does not appear to be a prospect of a meaningful framework established…

  • Qatar ink six agreements with India

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    India and Qatar inked six agreements, including one on transfer of sentenced prisoners, as visiting Emir of Qatar Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi here . The Emir, who is here on a two-day visit, was in the morning accorded a ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan.…

  • Bibi feels the heat

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    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu  apologised to the Arab Israelis in a bid to walk back his controversial comment made at the height of last week’s parliamentary election. In a statement, Netanyahu made the apology to members of the Arab community in an apparent attempt to heal rifts and quell criticism from home and abroad,…

  • Britain accuse Israel of land grab

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     Israeli settlers are colonising Palestinian territory under the guise of protecting archaeological sites, the British government has said, according to media reports. British ministers have warned that the Israeli government agency responsible for preserving historic artefacts is undermining efforts for peace in the region by working with a group of “radical” settlers, The Independent reported…

  • N-deal needs revocation of sanctions: Khamenei

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      Removal of anti-Iran sanctions should be part of any possible nuclear deal between Iran and western countries, said Iranian top leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. Anti-Iran sanctions should be discussed as a part of nuclear negotiations and should not be considered a result of those talks, state-run news agency IRNA cited Khamenei as saying…

  • A lot at stake in region and beyond

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    By Hardeep S.Puri and Omar El Okdah  In contemporary politics, the flow of historical forces cannot be understood by glimpsing a mere snapshot. The unprecedented fourth-term election of Benjamin Netanyahu is indeed a significant event in itself. He will now go down in Israeli history as the longest serving head of government. It is the…

  • Obama explores other avenues for a Palestinian state

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    The United States is exploring other options in its efforts to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace in light of the Israeli prime minister’s recent harmful campaign statements, President Barack Obama said. The president said that he had called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to voice his displeasure at the latter’s opposition to a Palestinian state and…

  • Substantial progress in Iran talks: Kerry

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    US Secretary of State John Kerry said that “substantial progress” has been made in negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme. Kerry’s remarks came a day after the P5+1 countries — the US, China, Russia, France, Britain, plus Germany — and Iran suspended their week-long negotiations, without having reached a framework agreement ahead of the March 31…

  • Obama to ‘reassess’ Israel ties

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    The US will “reassess” aspects of its relationship with Israel after Benjamin Netanyahu’s provocative statements leading up to Israeli elections, President Barack Obama told the Israeli prime minister during a phone call. The phone call on Thursday was officially described as a message of congratulations on Netanyahu’s victory, but it also carried a serious warning…

  • Turkey deports Syria-bound British women

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    A British woman, who was detained in Ankara on the suspicion that she was trying to cross into Syria to join the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, was deported from Turkey to Britain, Xinhua news agency reported citing the state-run Anatolia news service. Jalila Nadra H., 22, was detained by Turkish police in a counter-terrorism…

  • Obama urges Iran to grab ‘historic chance’

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    US President Barack Obama called on Iranian leaders not to miss a “historic opportunity” to reach a reasonable nuclear deal, saying such a moment “may not come again soon”. In a video message to mark Nowruz (Persian New Year), Obama on Thursday said this is “the best opportunity in decades to pursue a different future…

  • ISIS committed genocide in Iraq: UN

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      The Islamic State (IS) may have committed all three of the most heinous international offences, namely war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, according to a report issued by the UN high commissioner for human rights. Genocide is a “manifest pattern of similar conduct aimed at the destruction” of a particular group, the report…

  • US blasts Bibi over campaign comments

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    The White House has slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his campaign comments about Arab-Israeli voters after his win in parliamentary elections. The US is “deeply concerned about rhetoric that seeks to marginalize Arab-Israeli citizens,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Wednesday, Xinhua reported. “It undermines the values and democratic ideals…

  • US indefinitely close embassy in Saudi Arabia

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    The US embassy in Saudi Arabia will remain closed until further noticed due to heightened security concerns at US diplomatic facilities, the embassy said on its website. The embassy first announced the US embassy and consulates have cancelled all consular services in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran for Sunday on March 15 and 16. Telephone lines…

  • Obama will work with whoever leads Israel

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      Hours after the first exit polls showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party set to retain the leadership, US President Barack Obama indicated he would work with any future Israeli premier. Obama “remains committed to working very closely with the winner of the ongoing elections to cement and further deepen the strong relationship between…

  • Netanyahu in the driving seat

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      The Israeli elections took a dramatic turn in the early morning hours on Wednesday as official tallies from nearly all precincts indicate that Likud has opened up a significant lead over Zionist Union, a far cry from the virtual dead heat that television exit polls had reported Tuesday evening. With nearly 90 percent of…

  • Netanyahu declares victory; Herzog says wait

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    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared victory after the first exit polls released following elections showed the Likud ahead of, or tied with, the Zionist Union. Netanyahu wrote on his Facebook page: “Against all odds, a great victory for the Likud, for the nationalist camp led by the Likud, and for the people of Israel,” Jpost…

  • 75 media persons killed in Syria since 2011

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     Journalists paid a heavy price for informing people about the sufferings in the Syrian conflict, with at least 75 media persons being killed in the war-torn country since March 2011, a report said. The findings of the study by the Swiss-based Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) were presented at the 28th session of the UN Human…

  • N-deal to benefit all parties:Rouhani

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    Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that a possible nuclear deal will be in the interest of all countries, including the Islamic republic and the regional states. “We announce this to all the parties involved that Iran was not drawn to the negotiating table by sanctions, and that if the talks come to fruition, they will…

  • Palestinians calls for peace conference

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    Palestinians will call for holding an international peace conference to resolve the conflict with Israel, no matter who wins in the Israeli parliamentary elections, a senior official said . Saleh Ra’fat, executive committee member in the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), told Xinhua news agency in an interview that the PLO would call for holding an…

  • Voting begins in Israel

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      Polling started in Israel in what is expected to be a close contest between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party and opposition leader Yitzhak Herzog. Other than Netanyahu and Herzog, who is member of the Knesset (parliament) and chairman of the Labor Party, the other main candidates are Tzipi Livni, former justice minister, and Moshe…

  • No Palestinian state if elected:Netanyahu

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    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has struck down hopes of a Palestinian state if he was re-elected in  national elections, according to media reports. Confirming that “there will be no Palestinian state”, Netanyahu said: “I think that anyone who moves to establish a Palestinian state and evacuate territory gives territory away to radical Islamist attacks…

  • Young girls must reject dangerous attractions

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    The dozens of young Muslim girls who are running off to Syria to become jihadi brides – wives of potential martyrs – are obsessed about a death cult far more sinister than any vampire or zombie fiction has to offer…writes Ustadah Khola Hasan  Despite the age of strident feminism and self-assertiveness, teenage girls are still…

  • US Congress can’t modify n-deal: Kerry

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      US Secretary of State John Kerry  refuted the claim by a group of Republican senators in a letter that an agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme not approved by the Congress would lapse. Kerry said that the Congress could not modify the terms of a potential nuclear agreement between the world powers and Iran, according…

  • Palestinian students honour British MPs

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    Five Palestinian student leaders were in Westminster to show their appreciation for Members of the UK Parliament who voted in favour of recognising the state of Palestine in a debate in the House of Commons. They presented 44 MPs with inscribed commemorative shields made in Bethlehem out of olive wood to thank them for their…

  • Operation ‘Recapture Tikrit’ begins

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    Iraqi troops launched a military operation  in order to regain control of the city of Tikrit and liberate it from the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, Iraqi security sources told Efe news agency. Tikrit has been under the jihadi group’s control since June and is the capital of the strategic Salahuddin province, and so has…

  • Breaking Bad – Manchester Style

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    What Jamshed Javeed showed was these ‘independent self taught revolutionaries’ are nothing but self centered suicidal narcissists hellbent not only on the annihilation of their own life but also of anybody else’s be that their own family and whoever else they’re in contact with…writes YZ Patel What the recent imprisonment of Levenshulme’s very own Walter…

  • Iraqi forces capture district outside Tikrit

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    Iraqi forces have captured another district and some oil wells outside Tikrit that were controlled by the Islamic State (IS) terror group, a media report said. Government troops, backed by the Iraqi air force and Shia volunteer fighters, have entered the district of al-Alam, said to be the last stop before Tikrit, Al Jazeera reported,…

  • US, Iran continue n-talks

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      US Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to have more nuclear talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif next week, aiming to reach a potential deal by the end of this month. Kerry’s meeting with Zarif, their third in three weeks, is slated for March 15 in the Swiss city of Lausanne, US…

  • UN chief Ban Ki-moon outraged

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      UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that he “is outraged by the continuing destruction of cultural heritage in Iraq” by the Islamic State (IS), and urgently called on the “international community to swiftly put a stop to such heinous terrorist activity”. The secretary-general is outraged by the continued destruction of cultural heritage in Iraq…

  • Solar Impulse begins epic journey

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    A world record-breaking attempt to fly around the world in a solar-powered plane has got under way from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The aircraft – called Solar Impulse-2 – took off from the capital of Emirate, heading east to Muscat in Oman. Over the next five months, it will skip from continent to…

  • ISIS destroy Iraq’s ancient Hatra city

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    The Iraqi government  said the Islamic State (IS) militants destroyed the ancient remains of Hatra city in the northern province of Nineveh. “The terrorist Daash (IS militant group) has stolen and destroyed the city of Hatra,” which dates back to 2,000 years and is located some 110 km southwest of Nineveh’s provincial capital city of…

  • Obama, Bibi divide gets bigger

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    By Arun Kumar US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took pot shots at each other as the latter warned against entering a “very bad” deal with Iran over its nuclear programme. “This is a bad deal – a very bad deal. We’re better off without it,” he said in a defiant…

  • Iran calls Bibi speech ‘show of deception’

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    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech in US Congress  on a potential agreement on Iran’s nuclear issue was a “show full of deception,” Iran’s foreign ministry said. Netanyahu’s speech was the sign of “weakness and isolation” of the radicals in Israel and their attempts to influence the international policies, ministry spokesperson Marzieh Afkham was quoted…

  • Bibi slams Iran deal

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    By Arun Kumar   In a defiant speech before a joint session of Congress, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the deal the US and its allies are negotiating with Iran over its nuclear programme as “very bad”. “This is a bad deal “a very bad deal. We’re better off without it,” he said, directly challenging…

  • Iran, US wrap up round one n-talks

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      Negotiators from Iran and the US have wrapped up the first round of fresh talks over Tehran’s nuclear programme in the Swiss city of Montreux. The negotiations were held  in an attempt to narrow differences on the outstanding issues over Iran’s nuclear programme, Press TV reported. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Director of…

  • British girls lured by attractive jihadis

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    Attractive jihadi fighters can be “eye candy” to lure British Muslim girls, a former female extremist has said. The former extremist said she was taught to see Britain as a “kuffar (non-Islam) nation” that had killed many Muslims and was “our enemy”, BBC reported on Tuesday. “As a teenager, I wanted to get my piece…

  • Obama slams Netanyahu

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    By Arun Kumar   Ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress, President Barack Obama slammed his approach on a nuclear deal with Iran even as the Israeli prime minister struck a conciliatory note. Pointing to the 2013 interim deal with Iran, Obama told Reuters news agency on Monday that Netanyahu, who has come to…

  • Iran blames west for ISIS crimes

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    Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has slammed the West for the crimes committed by Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in Europe and the Middle East. “Why quite a sizeable number of individuals and groups espousing extremist ideologies and engaged in acts of brutal terror and heinous violence, in Europe and on a much bigger…

  • British schoolgirls reach Syria to join ISIS

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    British schoolgirls as young as 15-16 years are believed to have fled to Syria via Turkey to join the Islamic State (IS) jihadi group, media reported. CCTV images captured last month showed three Bethnal Green Academy girls — Shamima Begum and Amira Abase, both 15, and Kadiza Sultana, 16 — on the Turkish leg of…

  • ISIS release 19 abducted Christian Assyrians

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    The Islamic State  militants  released 19 Christian Assyrians they had kidnapped last month, a monitoring group reported. The 19 people are the first batch of 29 Assyrians the sharia court of the IS exonerated on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, Xinhua reported. On February 23, the IS abducted 220 Christian Assyrians during…

  • Americans divided over Netanyahu visit

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      Nearly half of American voters think that US House Speaker John Boehner should not have invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address US Congress without having consulted the White House, according to a new poll released . A total of 48 percent of those surveyed believed Boehner’s decision to invite Netanyahu without first…

  • Yusuffali praises Modi’s 2015 budget

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    “Instead of offering soaps, the budget shows maturity of a growing nation which aims to become the next global super power,” Yusuffali, the winner of Prvasi Bharatiya Puraskar, told Anasudhin Azeez Prominent NRI businessman MA Yusuffali, the richest Indian in the Gulf, praised 2015 budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jailtley and said the budget will…

  • Bibi under pressure to cancel speech to US Congress

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    Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog  called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel his planned speech to the US Congress March 3, saying it will cause “strategic damage” to Israel’s ties with the US, Xinhua news agency reported. Herzog, who is chairman of the Labor Party, started his attack against Netanyahu at a press…

  • ISIS kidnaps 220 Assyrian Christians

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    The number of Assyrian Christians kidnapped by the Islamic State (IS) Sunni radical group in northern Syria has risen to 220 over the past three days, a monitoring group reported . The ISIS kidnapped the Assyrians from 11 villages in the town of Tal Tamr, which is considered the capital of the Syrian Assyrians in…

  • Bibi condemned for opposing Iran’s n-talks

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    US Secretary of State John Kerry has said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was wrong in opposing the ongoing nuclear talks between Iran and the world powers. Netanyahu intensified his criticism of the US-led nuclear talks with Iran, accusing the world powers of “giving up on their commitment” to stop Tehran from getting nuclear weapons,…

  • A Message To Bibi: Enough Is Enough

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    Israel represents a sanctuary where any Jew is welcome, not a single non-Israeli Jew living outside Israel has appointed Netanyahu to be their spokesperson or protector….writes Dr. Alon Ben-Meir, a professor of international relations at the Center for  Global Affairs at NYU The killing of a security guard at a synagogue in Copenhagen over two weeks…

  • Amnesty against Veto culture

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    The five permanent of the U.N. Security Council have been urged by Amnesty International to give up their power of veto in cases where atrocities are being committed. In its annual report, the rights group said 2014 had been a catastrophic year for victims of conflict and violence. The report stated that richer countries took an…

  • West Bank mosque torched

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    A mosque was set ablaze early Wednesday in the West Bank village of Jabaa near Bethlehem, in another suspected hate crime by Jewish extremists, officials said. No injuries to any person were reported, but the structure was damaged and Hebrew-language hate graffiti were spray-painted on the walls of the mosque, Xinhua news agency reported. Police…

  • Palestine to pay $218 mn to victims in Israel

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    A federal jury in New York has ordered the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organisation to pay $218.5 million to victims of several attacks in Israel between 2002 and 2004, media reported. The court considered the two organisations responsible for the attacks and ruled in favour of a group of American victims seeking compensation…