Sharp Rise in Religious Jews Joining the Israeli Army
The Israeli army has experienced a steep rise in the percentage of religious Jewish soldiers joining its ranks, a new study has found. The study, published by the Israeli military…
Iranian president meets Algerian, Syrian Presidents
ALGIERS: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held two hours of talks with his Algerian counterpart Abdelaziz Bouteflika Saturday during a stopover in Algiers on route to New York for the UN General…
Chinese hostage fled Chadian captors by ‘undoing chains’
NDJAMENA: A Chinese engineer kidnapped in Chad said Saturday he had fled from captivity after unshackling himself from his chains while his abductors slept and fleeing to neighboring Sudan. "The…
Islamic derivatives struggle for traction in Gulf
DUBAI: Islamic derivatives are still struggling to gain traction in the Gulf, six months after the launch of a much-touted over-the-counter contract aimed at creating a standard legal framework for…
Economists cautious over African ‘miracle’
PARIS: With strong growth, a reduction in poverty and foreign investment, a number of recent studies have highlighted the African "economic miracle," but economists suggest the picture is more complicated.…
Self-sufficient Iran has stopped importing petrol, says minister
TEHRAN: Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi said on Saturday that Iran had now stopped importing petrol, a commodity targeted by world powers in new sanctions against Tehran's controversial nuclear drive. "No…
Ahmadinejad asks US to release ‘illegally’ detained Iranians
WASHINGTON: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad asked Washington to free eight Iranians who he said were "illegally arrested and detained," in an interview to be aired Sunday. "It would not be misplaced…
Clinton urges Iran to reject military expansion
WASHINGTON: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is urging the people of Iran to reject what she says as an expansion of the Iranian military's role and power. Clinton…
Row over Israel to dominate UN atomic watchdog meeting
VIENNA: A bitter row over Israel's assumed nuclear arsenal looks set to dominate the annual general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency which begins Monday. Every year at the…
29 killed in twin Baghdad car bombs
BAGHDAD: Two near-simultaneous car bombs rocked Baghdad on Sunday killing at least 29 people and wounding 111 in the Iraqi capital's deadliest day in a month. The twin blasts struck…