Millions gather at Holy Mosques seeking Lailat Al-Qadr blessings

MAKKAH/MADINAH: Over three million Muslims attended special prayers at the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah on Sunday, the 27th night of Ramadan, seeking the blessings of Lailat Al-Qadr (the Night of Power).

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Israel will be doomed if Iran attacked: Ahmadinejad

DOHA: Any attack on Iran would lead to the destruction of Israel, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during a visit to the Gulf Arab state of Qatar on Sunday.

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7 religious teachers arrested in Senegal over child begging

DAKAR: Senegalese security forces have arrested seven Qur'anic teachers for forcing children to panhandle, a police official said on Friday, days after the West African state announced a crack down on public begging.

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Editorial: Vision and reality

A grand opening it was but that’s about all it was. To those who thought bringing Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas into the same room was a marvel in itself, but please wait for the serious business that is about to begin. From now on, and for the next year, every two weeks the two leaders will meet, and with every fortnight, a set trio of questions by the parties concerned will be asked: How much progress was made, how much was not and will this be their last meeting?

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The threat from ‘radical Islam’: Fact and fiction

People often wind up believing their own cover story. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, for example, is trapped forever in the rationalizations he used in 2003 to explain why he was going along with George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq. He was at it again last week, telling the BBC that “radical Islam” is the greatest threat facing the world today.

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Fingerprinting system a big success: Ahmed

JEDDAH: Deputy Interior Minister Prince Ahmed early Sunday highlighted the success of the Kingdom’s fingerprinting system in stopping criminals from escaping the country and cracking down on those who violate the country’s residency regulations.

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SAMA announces holidays for banks

JEDDAH: The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) said the bank holidays for Eid would begin on Tuesday Sept. 7.

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Jeddah traffic police outline Eid regulations

JEDDAH: Traffic police have implemented plans to reduce bottlenecks on roads during the Eid holidays beginning this week.

Cabbies capitalizing on Ramadan rush

Passengers annoyed as taxing taxis blow big hole in their pockets

Bahrain to monitor religious forums

DUBAI: Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa gave a national address on Sunday to decry “strife, aggression and terrorism” and announced plans for greater government monitoring of “religious forums” — an apparent reference to preachers and others who seek to challenge the government.

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Peace deal needs new approach: Netanyahu

JERUSALEM: A peace deal with the Palestinians will require a creative, new approach to issues that have defied resolution in past negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday.

Congo boat catches fire, capsizes; 200 feared dead

KINSHASA, Congo: A riverboat loaded with passengers and fuel drums caught fire and capsized in southern Congo, and 200 people were feared dead, a survivor said Sunday. A local official confirmed the boat had tipped but said the passenger manifest apparently vanished in the fire.

Indian military tests supersonic cruise missile

NEW DELHI: India successfully tested on Sunday a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile as part of ongoing trials to fine-tune its ability to hit targets, an official said.

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Abu Sayyaf commander shot dead in southern Philippines

MANILA: Philippine police commandos killed an Abu Sayyaf commander linked to last year’s kidnapping of Red Cross workers and gunned down two other militants in a clash in the south, officials said Sunday.

14 Al-Qaeda militants held in Yemen

SANAA: Police arrested 14 suspected members of Al-Qaeda, including a leader called Salah Al-Dabani, in a raid on one of the group’s alleged hideouts in south Yemen, the Interior Ministry said Sunday.

World will pay price if Mideast talks fail: Abdallah

AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdallah warned on Sunday that the entire world “will pay the price” if the recently launched direct talks between the Palestinians and Israel fail.

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Peace deal needs new approach: Netanyahu

JERUSALEM: A peace deal with the Palestinians will require a creative, new approach to issues that have defied resolution in past negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday.

'Moderate world recovery under way'

GWANGJU, South Korea: The world economy is recovering moderately but still faces challenges such as the need for medium-term fiscal consolidation, the IMF's first managing director, John Lipsky, said on Sunday.

Ambassadors urged to help Saudis

JEDDAH: Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior Prince Naif received a number of newly appointed Saudi ambassadors at his office in Makkah on Sunday and urged them to represent the Kingdom in the right manner and provide all services to Saudis.

Israeli airstrikes kill two Palestinians in Gaza

GAZA CITY: Israeli aircraft bombed three Gaza tunnels, killing two Palestinians and wounding a third, Hamas security officials said Sunday.

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Chile mine disaster exposes old family feuds

SAN JOSE MINE: While a fire warms their campsite, the icy feeling between Cristina Nunez Macias and her mother-in-law is as palpable as the cold Atacama desert.

Pakistan's flooded farms unable to be sown

SHAH JAMAL, Pakistan: Abid Hussein fears the deep floodwaters that destroyed his cotton crop, rotted his wheat seeds and swept away his farming tools are not done ravaging his life.

Slovenia shows door to Aussies at worlds

ISTANBUL: Australia's world basketball championships campaign came to a bone-shuddering end on Sunday when they were crushed 87-58 by Slovenia in the last 16.

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Picture of the Day

A Palestinian boy keeps watch during prayers at the Lion's Gate outside Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on the final Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Jerusalem September 3, 2010. (EPA)

Damsels in ‘distress’ exploit Ramadan goodness

HAIL: Because Ramadan is the month of charity it’s also the peak season for begging and the many strategies employed both by those truly in need and by shysters who use children, the handicapped or lies to exploit the generosity of do-gooders waiting at traffic lights — or, in this case, chilling at home.

Pak player accuses tabloid reporter of blackmail

CARDIFF: Pakistan opening batsman Yasir Hameed on Sunday denied giving any interview to News of the World and instead claimed that one of the tabloid’s reporters tried to blackmail him.

Blog turned TV serial a hit during Ramadan

CAIRO: The “living room marriage” is the bane of many a young Arab woman. This is when parents arrange chaperoned, get-to-know-one-another meeting with young suitors they think would make perfect husbands for their daughters. Most of the time the young women don’t see eye-to-eye with their parents and reject these young would-be grooms. 

Backyard volunteers helping track firefly numbers

INDIANAPOLIS: Scientists are hoping a network of backyard volunteers who spent the summer counting fireflies can help them determine if the luminous insects are in a decline.