Petraeus, NATO chief warn of Qur’an-burning repercussions

WASHINGTON: Fear looms over a week that should be one of celebration — the end of Ramadan, the beginning of the Jewish High Holy Days — and solemn commemoration for 9/11. The Dove World Outreach Center, a tiny 50-member Florida church, is burning up the headlines with its plan to build a bonfire for the Holy Qur'an on Sept. 11, despite warnings from the US commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus, that he is "very concerned" about potential repercussions that could endanger troops and “the overall effort in Afghanistan."

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Millions join Khatm prayers

MAKKAH: About three million Muslims attended Khatm Al-Qur’an (end of the Qur’an recitation) prayers at the Grand Mosque in Makkah and Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah on Tuesday.

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Chaos at Jeddah airport

JEDDAH: With Ramadan and the peak Umrah pilgrimage season winding down, King Abdulaziz International Airport was in chaos Tuesday.

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Editorial: Height of fraud

The falsification of qualifications is nothing new. However in an ever-more high technology world, where considerable skills must be combined with detailed knowledge and understanding, those who seek to cheat the system by claiming professional fitness that they do not possess, are a criminal menace. This truth has been starkly underlined by the discovery in China that at least 200 commercial airline pilots have lied about their level of experience.

The photo before the storm: Peace talks already failed

A picture is not always worth a thousand words. The recently released photographs of Palestinian and Israeli leaders in Washington during their first direct talks in many months certainly don’t say anything new. It was the status quo at its best, a mere procession of regional and US leaders before hungry cameramen.

Al-Oyoun residents: Save our cemeteries

AL-HASSA: For several years, the residents of Al-Oyoun have been waiting for the day when the regional governorate and municipal authorities wake up and act on long-standing demands to solve problems of graveyards in the region.

Negotiations under way to let EgyptAir jets land in Madinah

JEDDAH: Egyptian aviation authorities have urged their Saudi counterparts to allow EgyptAir planes to land at Prince Muhammad bin Abdul Aziz Airport in Madinah.

Want respect? Give others first!

An elderly man was at an ATM withdrawing some money. A Saudi youth was waiting behind him and could not tolerate the delay any longer. “Sadeek, finish your work quickly. Don’t you have any mukh (brain)?” he said.

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Health care for pilgrims

MAKKAH: Saudi Arabia is providing pilgrims and visitors with consummate health services from the time of their arrival at any of the land, sea or air inlets and during the entire stay in the country, Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah said after a tour of the government hospitals in Makkah on Monday.

Pilgrims complain of unaffordable rents in Makkah

MAKKAH: A large number of Umrah pilgrims, including Saudis, say they are forced to spend their nights in the courtyards of the Grand Mosque because of extortionate room rates in Makkah during Ramadan.

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Energy and water crisis during Ramadan takes hold in Egypt

CAIRO: The sun is disappearing into the horizon. The dinner table is set for the breaking of the Ramadan fast.

GCC asks UK to deport Bahraini accused

JEDDAH: The Gulf Cooperation Council has called on Britain to expel Bahraini opposition figures charged with plotting to overthrow the country's government.

318,000 to vote in Bahrain polls

MANAMA: Bahrain on Tuesday revealed that 318,000 voters would be eligible to cast their ballot in the upcoming parliamentary elections in October.

Iran says it has the right to bar UN inspectors

TEHRAN: Iran's nuclear chief said Tehran has the right to bar some UN inspectors from monitoring its disputed nuclear program, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported.

Kazakh leader proposes Siberian river diversion

OSKEMEN, Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan's leader on Tuesday proposed the resurrection of a Soviet-era project to divert Siberian rivers southward to provide drinking water for drought-hit regions of Central Asia.

Congo boat was overloaded: Official

KINSHASA: A capsized boat that killed as many as 200 people was carrying four times as many people as the passenger list claimed, and boat operators bribed officials to allow them to overload the vessel, a Congolese official said investigators have found.

Muslims in Kerala take pledge against terrorism

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India: Hundreds of thousands of Muslims took the pledge against terrorism at the end of the marathon prayers on Lailat Al-Qadr, the night of power, overnight Monday.

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Imam behind NYC mosque back in US after Gulf trip

NEW YORK: An imam who has become the public face of a proposed Islamic community center and mosque near ground zero has returned to the United States following a State Department-funded tour of the Middle East, his wife said Tuesday.

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GCC defers decision on customs union

JEDDAH: The six GCC countries last night agreed to postpone a decision on establishing a single customs union for a few more years. The decision was taken at an exceptional meeting attended by GCC ministers of foreign affairs, finance and economy in Jeddah on Tuesday night. The ministers announced that they were not able to reach a final agreement on the issue.

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‘Lead exemplary lives by following Holy Book’

JEDDAH: Sheikh Tawfik Assayegh, imam of Allami Mosque in Jeddah, has called upon Muslims to set a good example in their lives by following the teachings of the Holy Qur’an.

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El-Baradei calls for Egypt election boycott

CAIRO: Egypt's leading democracy advocate has made a forceful call for the nation to boycott November's parliamentary election and urged his young supporters to be patient and plan for a lengthy struggle.

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Commuters walloped by strikes in France, London

PARIS: Strikes hobbled public transit across France and in London on Tuesday, with tourists and commuters bearing the brunt of a wave of discontent over government austerity measures.

Lithuania beats China 78-67 to reach quarters

ISTANBUL: Linas Kleiza scored 30 points Tuesday to help send Lithuania into the quarterfinals of the basketball world championship with a 78-67 win over China.

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Picture of the Day

North Koreans perform Arirang Mass Games' chapter 5, named "Goodwill Arirang" in Pyongyang on September 6, 2010 in this photo released by North Korea's KCNA news agency. The chapter 5 describes the friendship and the unity between North Korea and China according to KCNA. (Reuters)

Non-word 'refudiate' gets most online searches

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts: Maybe the language lovers who looked up "refudiate" this summer wanted to refute or repudiate its existence as a real word.

Haia rescues girl from blackmailer

JEDDAH: The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia) in Buraidah announced on Tuesday that it was able to rescue a Saudi girl from a blackmailer who threatened to show her messages and pictures to her family if she did not succumb to his sexual desires.

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John Lennon's killer up for parole

BUFFALO, N.Y.: John Lennon's killer is again up for parole in New York. Mark David Chapman is scheduled to be interviewed at the Attica Correctional Facility this week.

Milk does a body good, especially athletes

LONDON: At the end of nearly every training session, Matt Whitmore downs a pint of milk straight from the bottle. "I do it pretty religiously," said Whitmore, 25, a gym trainer in London. He first started drinking milk after exercise about 10 years ago when he couldn't afford expensive supplements or protein shakes. "Milk helps me recover faster and I feel great afterwards," he said.

Ancient city by the sea rises amid Egypt's resorts

MARINA, Egypt: Today, it's a sprawl of luxury vacation homes where Egypt's wealthy play on the white beaches of the Mediterranean coast. But 2,000 years ago, this was a thriving Greco-Roman port city, boasting villas of merchants grown rich on the wheat and olive trade.