Middle East News

Rokaya Mohamed, an elementary school teacher, would rather die than take off her face veil, or niqab, thrusting her to the forefront of a battle by government-backed clerics to limit Islamism in Egypt.

Kabul, Nov 2 (DPA) The Afghan Independent Election Commission Monday declared incumbent Hamid Karzai the winner of the presidential election after his challenger pulled out of the coming weekend's runoff.

Kabul, Nov 2 (DPA) The Afghan Independent Election Commission Monday declared incumbent Hamid Karzai the winner of the presidential election after his challenger Abdullah Abdullah pulled out of a runoff planned for the weekend. Neither had crossed the 50 percent vote mark in the first vote, required to win the presidential poll under the Afghanistan constitution.

Kabul, Nov 2 (DPA) Afghanistan will not hold a presidential poll runoff scheduled for the weekend, an official with the Independent Election Commission said Monday after one of the two candidates pulled out of the race.

Sudanese began registering on Sunday for the country's first multi-party elections in 24 years, but opposition parties threatened to boycott the April poll unless democratic reforms are passed.

President Pratibha Patil concluded her two-day visit to Cyprus on Saturday with President Demetris Christofias reiterating his country's support for permanent membership to the United Nations Security Council for India and backing India's proposal for an early adoption of a comprehensive convention against terrorism.

A research body in Egypt's main centre of Sunni learning has backed a ruling on when a Muslim woman should lift her "niqab", the veil that virtually hides the whole face, the official MENA news agency reported on Saturday.

Choosing a possible successor to Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, 81, is not on the agenda for a ruling party conference this weekend, a party official said, despite silence on the issue fueling speculation it might be.

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday, launching a rapid series of meetings with Palestinian and Israeli officials to keep up pressure for a new Mideast peace deal.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has yet to say whether he will run for president in a 2011 election, and the resulting uncertainty has fuelled concerns over whether he can secure a smooth succession in his lifetime.

Nicosia, Oct 28 (ANI): The Legatum Prosperity Index, which makes a global survey on prosperity, has shown that the United Arab Emirates maintains its position as the most prosperous country in the Arab World and the only nation in the Middle East and North Africa region to be ranked in the top 50 for the second year running.

The United States will be ready to respond if Iran fails to take tangible steps soon to meet its commitments over its nuclear program, President Barack Obama's national security adviser warned on Tuesday.

The deaths of 77 children at Sudan's main orphanage has sparked an investigation, officials said on Tuesday, in a case that has lifted the lid on the plight of abandoned infants in Africa's largest state.

Egypt's prime minister said on Tuesday it was still too early to expect President Hosni Mubarak to decide whether to run again for president in a 2011 election, and sought to reassure investors over the issue of succession.

Jerusalem, Oct 27 (ANI): The support for Israel among Americans remains constant and their support for action to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power has substantially increased, according to a survey.

Sudan's opposition parties walked out of parliament on Monday after President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's party refused to back down over its plans to allow the intelligence service wide powers, parliamentarians said.

Gaza schools damaged by Israeli bombing will be exposed to the cold and rain this winter unless Israel relaxes its blockade to permit the import of windows, doors and building materials, officials said.

Iran's top authority said on Monday the perpetrators of recent attacks in the region aimed to sow discord among Muslims and were linked to foreign countries.

Jerusalem, Oct.21 (ANI): A former US official has said that both the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are extremely paranoid about the Israeli secret service Mossad and Jews, and adds that the charges of espionage against US Defense Department scientist Stewart Nozette reflect this fear and "extreme view".

Tehran (Iran), Oct. 19 (ANI): Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday urged Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari to confront the Jundallah, a Sunni militant group which Tehran says was behind the bombing on Revolutionary Guard commanders in the southeastern part of his country on Sunday.