Iraq crisis: 48 foreign captives released, Indian hostages await help

Militants who have seized large swathes of territory In Iraq have released 48 foreigners, including four Turks, held captive for several days.

There is no news of the 40 Indian workers, captured near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

The released foreigners are construction workers from Turkey, Nepal, Bangladesh, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, who were helping build a hospital in the now insurgent-held city of Tikrit.

Iran, Syria top GCC's Riyadh meeting agenda

Key regional issues, including the elusive Iranian nuclear deal and the worsening situation in Syria, will top the agenda of the GCC foreign ministers' meeting in Riyadh on Monday. "This important GCC ministerial council session will be chaired by Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Kuwait's deputy premier and foreign minister," said Abdullateef Al-Zayani, GCC secretary-general, on Saturday.

Iraq violence including Baghdad bombings kills 47

BAGHDAD: A series of bombings across Baghdad were the deadliest in a spate of nationwide attacks that killed 47 people on Tuesday, as Iraq struggles with its worst violence since 2008.

At least eight car bombs and several roadside bombs struck the capital just before Iraqis broke their daytime Ramadan fast, the latest in brutal violence during the Muslim holy month that has left hundreds dead.

Iran's Rohani appoints a reformist as top deputy

TEHERAN : Iranian state TV says the country's new president has appointed a prominent reformist as his top deputy.

The Monday report says Mr Hasan Rohani named Mr Eshaq Jahangiri, a former industry and mines minister, as First Vice President.

Hassan Rouhani becomes new Iranian president

Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, vowed after assuming office on Saturday to work to lift the international sanctions imposed on Tehran over its controversial nuclear drive.

My government, "will take fundamental steps in elevating Iran's position based on national interest and lifting of the oppressive sanctions," the moderate cleric said in a first address, broadcast live on state television.

Rouhani was officially endorsed by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who praised the newly-elected president's decades of service to the Islamic establishment.

Syria crisis can only be solved by 'striking terror with iron fist': Assad

DAMASCUS: Syria's crisis will only be solved by stamping out “terror”, President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday, in reference to rebels fighting his regime.

In a rare speech on Syrian state television, Assad also dismissed the political opposition to his regime as a “failure” that could play no role in solving the country's brutal war.

“No solution can be reached with terror except by striking it with an iron fist,” said Assad.

Zawahri vows Al Qaeda to free Aafia, Guantanamo inmates

DUBAI: Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri said the group would spare no effort to free Aafia Siddiqui as well as the hunger striking inmates at Guantanamo Bay, according to an audio recording posted on the Internet on Wednesday.

“The (hunger) strike by our brothers at Guantanamo unmasks the true ugly face of (the United States of) America,” Zawahri said in an audio recording posted on an Islamist website and whose authenticity could not be verified.

Air raids kill 11 Syrian kids

BEIRUT: Seven children in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo and another four in Homs in the center were among 17 civilians killed in air raids on Tuesday, a watchdog said.

The deaths in Homs come as troops pressed an offensive against remaining rebel areas there, while in Aleppo province, the raid comes exactly a year into the rebel takeover of the targeted town of Anadan.

ECC approves sugar export to Iran

ISLAMABAD: The government on Tuesday allowed sugar export to Iran against electricity import.It also allowed continued higher margins to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and petroleum dealers and put an immediate ban on import of gold and export of live animals.

The decisions were taken at a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, presided over by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar that also decided to strictly go by the procurement rules in import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to ensure transparency instead of seeking exemptions.

Ousted Egypt president detained over Hamas contact

CAIRO: An investigating judge has ordered the detention of Egypt's ousted president over alleged contacts with Hamas to help in his escape from prison in 2011, the official state news agency reported Friday in the first official word on his status since a military coup on July 3.

The MENA news agency said Mohammed Morsi has been detained for 15 days for investigation into the charges. His detention can be extended as the inquiry continues.

The news agency indicated that Morsi has already been interrogated.

Egypt blast kills one, wounds 28

CAIRO: A blast Wednesday at a police station in a Nile Delta city killed one person and wounded 28, a medic said, in the latest incidence of violence sweeping Egypt since president Mohamed Morsi's ouster.

Mohamed Sultan, deputy head of the emergency services, told AFP an explosive device went off very early in the morning outside a police station in the city of Mansura, in Dahqaliya province.

European Parliament identifies Wahabi and Salafi roots of global terrorism

It is not merely the faith or oil that flows out of Saudi Arabia. The oil-rich Arab state and its neighbours are busy financing Wahabi and Salafi militants across the globe.

A recent report by the European Parliament reveals how Wahabi and Salafi groups based out of the Middle East are involved in the "support and supply of arms to rebel groups around the world." The report, released in June 2013, was commissioned by European Parliament's Directorate General for External Policies.

Bashar al-Assad's militias 'cleansing' Homs of Sunni Muslims

The "Shabiha", a loyalist militia drawn largely from the Syrian president's Alawite sect, is systematically looting and then destroying the homes of any Sunnis who have fled the province, a key battleground in the country's civil war.

"They pushed out the rebel fighters and now they are trying to push out all the Sunnis," said Bilal, a 23-year-old from the Sunni village of Talkalakh in Homs province. "They took our houses, threatened us, destroyed our villages."

Bahrain student sentenced for insulting king

A lower criminal court in Bahrain, headed by a member of the ruling family, has sentenced a 17-year-old boy to a year in jail for insulting the Gulf island's king on Twitter.

The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) on Saturday said Ali Al Shofa was arrested in a house raid at dawn on 12 March 2013. He spent two months in jail while under investigation.

Third person killed in Turkey protests

Ethem Sarisülük, a Turkish activist who was wounded in the head during Taksim Gezi Park clashes in the capital city of Ankara, has succumbed to his injuries, a representative of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) said during a press meeting in Ankara today.

Sarisülük, whose brain death was declared earlier, became the third person killed in protests, the representative said after a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arinç.

Afghan Taliban confirm talks in Iran

KABUL: A Taliban spokesman has confirmed that the Afghan insurgents have sent a delegation to Iran for three days of talks. The unprecedented meeting signals that Iran could be seeking the role of regional mediator between the Taliban and Kabul.

Spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said Monday in an email that emissaries from the Taliban's political office met with Iranian officials over the weekend.

Israel warns Russia over Syria arms delivery

Israel has said it will act if Russia delivers promised anti-aircraft missiles to its ally Syria, in an apparent allusion to another air raid on the neighbouring country.

Moshe Yaalon, Israeli defence minister, issued his warning on Tuesday shortly after a senior official in Moscow said the Russian government reserved the right to provide Syria with state-of-the-art S-300 air defence missiles

Hezbullah should change its name to 'Hezb-evil', Turkish Deputy PM

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag has suggested that “pro-al-Assad” Iran-based militant group Hezbollah should change its name to “Hezb-evil,” as it has declared jihad against innocent women, children, and old people.

“Hezbollah needs to change its name to ‘Hezb-evil.’ They call themselves Hezbollah but they declare jihad [Islamic war] against innocent women, children, and old people ... Isn’t it nonsense?” Bozdag said, during a speech at the 6th International Risale-i Nur and Islamic Unity Symposium in Ankara.

Turkey offers pipelines to Cyprus, Israel

Energy-hungry Turkey has offered to cooperate with its oil and gas-rich southern neighbors for the exploration and transportation of their hydrocarbon products to world markets via Turkey. It has particularly called out to Israel and Cyprus, which recently had problems over the legality of the licenses issued for petroleum exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.

Mohammed Hussein Detained by Israel For Hours Before Release

JERUSALEM : Israeli police detained the top Muslim cleric in the Holy Land Wednesday in a rare crackdown on a leading religious figure, questioning him for several hours before releasing him without charge.Later in the day, in the Gaza Strip, an influential Muslim cleric from Qatar received a hero's welcome in a high-profile visit that deepened the bitter division between Gaza's hardline Islamist rulers and the West Bank's Western-backed Palestinian leaders.