Must not negotiate with Taliban: Shia group

October 27: A heading political aggregation for the Shia neighborhood in Pakistan today said that there ought not be any transactions with the Taliban as it would just bring about additional dread strike. Majlis-e-Wahdat-ul-Muslimeen boss Nasir Abbas Jafari said that chats with the Taliban might be like having banters with the demon. "There ought to be no chats with the Taliban...we will dependably underpin the oppressed," Jafari said. He said that arrangements with aggressors will just bring about additional fear strike and more cadavers to cover. The point when talking about the security scenario in the month of Muharram, an alternate best guide of the gathering Allama Ameen Shahidi said that there have dependably been dangers. He said that endeavors to smother the "Ulema" and dangers to stop parades throughout Muharram are continuously accepted by them. Partisan pressures have tormented Pakistan significantly throughout the previous not many years with a heightening in assaults against the nation's Shia Muslim minority neighborhood. Jafari additionally criticised the legal for keeping tabs on high-profile cases and disregarding those of the poor and vulnerable. In the interim, Chairman of Ulema Council Pakistan Allama Tahir Ashrafi emphasised today that the Taliban ought to be arranged with and the talks be managed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Ashrafi, who hails from the Deobandi gathering of the Sunni group, was tending to the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Conference in Multan when he said talks may as well happen inside the parameters of the constitution. He requested a quick end to Us ramble ambushes on Pakistan's region.

Gulf stability crucial for Egypt security: PM

October 27: Solidness in the Gulf governments is vital for Egypt's security, Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi today said, a day after the United Arab Emirates swore Cairo an additional Usd 3.9 billion in support. The Uae and other Gulf governments supported the July 3 oust of Egypt's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi and have pledged to help the break government address the investment pulverization wrought by two years of political turmoil. "Inlet solidness is one of the vital mainstays of the steadiness of Egypt's security," Beblawi told news hounds here. The leader of the military-instated government included that "any damage" to the Gulf state's strength would straightforwardly hurt Egyptian national security. In the mean time, official Emirati news office Wam said Usd 1 billion of the recently swore Uae finances are because of head off to back Egypt's fuel needs while. The leftover is "pointed at enhancing the living conditions, lives and human advancement of the Egyptian individuals through various ventures," Wam said. The Uae had long ago stored an extra Usd 2 billion in Egypt's national bank to be held without premium, keeping in mind the end goal to prop up Cairo's coin. It additionally exchanged Usd 1 billion in support in July. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait swore Usd 9 billion in support to Cairo inside days of the armed force's topple of Morsi, which came in the company of enormous challenges against the year-long govern of Egypt's first unreservedly chose president. Beblawi's visit to the Uae came as the Gulf state is because of attempt 14 Egyptians, plus 16 Emiratis, on energizes of purportedly setting an illicit limb of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood. The litigants incorporate specialists, designers and school teachers who were captured between November 2012 and January 2013, Human Rights Watch said.

Syrian refugees in Lebanon exceed 800,000: UN

Beirut, October 27: The amount of Syrians who have fled their war-torn nation to neighbouring Lebanon has surpassed 800,000, the most recent Un exile office report said Sunday. While more than 713,000 exiles in Lebanon have been enlisted, over 87,000 are as of now holding up to finish their enlistment handle, Xinhua cited the Un high chief of evacuees as saying. Many outcasts have been intersection the fringe to come to Lebanon, the report included. More than 8,000 Syrian infants were conceived in Lebanon since March 2011, said the report, including a large portion of them may not be qualified to gain legitimate personality cards. Lebanon has over and over approached the universal neighborhood to help it adapt to the extensive deluge of Syrian displaced people.

Iraq oil exports plunge to 19-month low: ministry

October 27: Iraq's oil sends out hit a 19-month low in September, oil service representative Assem Jihad said today, attributing the decay to upkeep and change ventures at the nation's ports. Iraq sent out 62.1 million barrels of oil in September, or around the range of 2.07 million barrels for every day (bpd), Jihad said - the least everyday normal since February 2012. The nation earned Usd 6.511 from the fares, its most minimal month to month figure in over a year. Offers of unrefined, which represent the largest part of Iraq's government pay, had found the middle value of 2.579 million bpd in August and raised the incomes of USD 8.3 billion. Jihad said the September decay was because of "occasional upkeep exercises for the southern ports and activities" to include new skimming oil space offices and increment the ports' fare limits. Iraq is intensely reliant on oil sends out, and the administration is trying to breathtakingly increase its deals in the advancing years to store the recreation of its battered framework. Authorities are planning to expand handling limit to nine million bpd by 2017, a focus on that the International Monetary Fund and International Energy Agency have cautioned is over-hopeful.

Israel to release second batch of Palestinian prisoners

October 27: Israel has endorsed the arrival of 26 Palestinian detainees under concurred trust building measures that helped kickstart peace talks taking after a red hot face off regarding that saw the splits in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition moving in the open. An ecclesiastical panel headed by Netanyahu, who had prior on Sunday emphasised that "guarantees must be kept", affirmed the agenda of Palestinian detainees to be discharged in the second of a four-stage handle by which 104 Palestinian detainees will be discharged. Comparable number of detainees were discharged In the first stage on August 26. The entire methodology is situated to be finished by March of one year from now by when all the 104 detainees might be discharged. A 48-hour protest period throughout which Israelis can engage the court against the arrival of the detainees should pass before they could be liberated and sent to the Palestinian domains. Dispossessed families that have been at the accepting end of the detainees' exercises will be informed of the choice before Israel's Prison Service posts their names on its site. Every one of the aforementioned to be discharged have been imprisoned for their inclusion in fear assaults against Israelis after the marking of the Oslo Accords in 1993. Five of the detainees to be discharged will head to Gaza and 21 to the West Bank. They have all served sentences running from 19 to 28 years. Prior yesterday, a bill supported by the Bayit Yehudi Party to boycott future Palestinian detainees discharge neglected to pass the Legislative Ministerial Committee by an eight-to-five vote. "It was made clear at the end of the day today that this legislature, rather than one of its part gatherings, is animating of the country's investment and not that of pessimistic fanatic premiums or consistent with the guidelines of [settler] rabbis," Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who is heading the Israeli side in transactions with the Palestinians, said at the choice. "This legislature is propelling a discretionary process, that is in Israel's national and security engages. The avocation to act as per these diversions and in addition the imparted authority regarding choices that were taken [by the government], is officeholder on each part of the legislature, even the individuals who everything considered are attempting to avoid from them," Livni said. On the other hand, Netanyahu's coalition accomplice, Bayit Hayehudi, which supported the bill made scorching comments against the Justice clergyman and communicated its proceeded resistance to detainees' discharge. "It was despicable that pastors contradicted the enactment. In the Bayit Yehudi, we restrict and will press on to contradict the arrival of detainees," Housing and Construction Minister, Uri Ariel, said. The Bayit Yehudi Party plans to advance the vote. The consent to free the 104 Palestinian detainees imprisoned for just about two decades or progressively for their association with dread ambushes against Israelis helped make the atmosphere for the replenished nine month transaction handle which started at the closure of July under Us intercession.

Syrian refugees in Lebanon exceed 800,000: UN

Beirut: The amount of Syrians who have fled their war-torn nation to neighbouring Lebanon has surpassed 800,000, the most recent Un evacuee office report said Sunday. While more than 713,000 evacuees in Lebanon have been enlisted, over 87,000 are even now holding up to finish their enlistment transform, Xinhua cited the Un high chief of exiles as saying. Many evacuees have been intersection the fringe to come to Lebanon, the report included. More than 8,000 Syrian infants were conceived in Lebanon since March 2011, said the report, including a significant number of them may not be qualified to gain fitting character cards. Lebanon has over and again approached the global neighborhood to help it adapt to the huge deluge of Syrian evacuees.

Wave of bomb attacks kill 56 in Iraq

Baghdad, October 27: A new wave of auto shells struck the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad and the nation's northern locale Sunday, killing 56 individuals and wounding by most accounts 152, police said. The most noticeably bad roughness in the day began in Baghdad in the morning, when no less than eight auto shells split through business ranges, killing 32 individuals and wounding 94, in seven of Baghdad's Shiite-larger part regions, Xinhua reported, referring to a police source. On one of the strike, an auto shell went off at a prominent showcase in Sabie al-Bour region in the northern part of Baghdad, slaughtering six individuals and wounding 18 others, the source said. An alternate auto shell exploded at a commercial center and an adjacent parking garage in al-Huriyah locale in northeastern Baghdad, executing two individuals and wounding 10 others, the source included. Four individuals were slaughtered and seven wounded when an auto shell blasted at a commercial center in the Mashtal regime in eastern Baghdad, while a fourth auto shell struck a famous advertise at Shaab locale in the northeastern part of the capital, slaughtering four individuals and wounding 17. An auto shell hit Abu Dsheer region in southern Baghdad and slaughtered no less than six individuals and wounded 14 others. An alternate auto shell went off at a lane in Baghdad's southern region of Baiyaa, executing five individuals and wounding 11, the source said. Two more auto shells were exploded in a speedy progression at a packed market in the southeastern suburb of Nahrawan, slaughtering no less than five individuals and wounding 17, he included. Fourteen individuals were slaughtered and 55 wounded when a suicide aerial attacker exploded his touchy laden auto close many troopers and resigned military officers who were assembled to gather their pay rates from a legislature claimed bank in Mosul city, by most accounts 400 km north of Baghdad. "Three fighters and 11 citizens were slaughtered, and the wounded incorporated nine warriors and 46 regular people," a police source said, including that the regular folks were resigned officers, bank representatives and clients. Three fighters were slaughtered and an alternate was wounded in a roadside shell blast close to their watch in al-Rashidiyah region in the northern part of Mosul. Additionally in Mosul, unidentified equipped men shot dead two development laborers in the eastern part of the city. Somewhere else, shooters assaulted a house in a village close Dowr city, in the ballpark of 150 km north of Baghdad, and shot dead a part of an administration upheld Sahwa paramilitary bunch, his offspring and his nephew before they fled the scene. In the same region, an alternate Sahwa bunch part was wounded in a roadside shell assault. The Sahwa local army, otherwise called the Awakening Council or the Sons of Iraq, comprises of equipped gatherings, incorporating some influential hostile to Us Sunni extremist bunches, who turned their rifles against the Al Qaeda organize after Sahwa's guides got frightened by the gathering's fierceness and religious extremism in the nation. Independently, unidentified shooters exploded seven under development houses fitting in with police and armed force officers in Tikrit city, in the range of 170 km north of Baghdad, a police source said. In Iraq's eastern area of Diyala, two ranchers were shot dead by shooters at a village close to the town of Abu Saiyda, in the range of 30 km northeast of the common capital city of Baquba, which is in the vicinity of 65 km northeast of Baghdad. A policeman was wounded in a roadside shell impact close to his watch in the western part of Baquba, a source said. No gathering has so far guaranteed avocation regarding the strike. Iraq is seeing its most noticeably bad ejection of viciousness lately, which raises expects that the nation is sliding over to the full-blown common clash that crested in 2006 and 2007, when month to month demise toll off and on again surpassed 3,000. The Un Assistance Mission for Iraq has said that very nearly 6,000 citizens were executed and over 14,000 others harmed in Iraq from January to September not long from now.

18 killed in Afghan roadside bombing

Kabul: Eighteen citizens were killed and five others wounded Sunday night in a roadside besieging in eastern Afghanistan's area of Ghazni, a senior official said. "A minibus was proceeding onward a street in Andar locale when it touched off an ad libbed dangerous apparatus (Ied). The blast slaughtered 18 and harmed five," Deputy Provincial Governor Ali Ahmadi was cited as saying by Xinhua. The chumps incorporated 14 ladies, one youngster and three men. The official said larger part of the harmed ladies were in basic condition, including they were coming back from a wedding. He rebuked Taliban radical assembly for the assault. The Taliban has increased strike since they started twelve-month rebel hostile late April. They regularly assault Afghan and Nato-headed compels with Ieds and roadside shells however the deadly weapons additionally perpetrate losses on citizens. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan as of late reported that over 1,319 Afghans were slaughtered and more than 2,500 wounded in demonstrations of terrorism and roughness in the first 50% of the year.

New Miss World crowned amid hardline Muslim protests

Miss Philippines, Megan Young, was delegated the new Miss World under overwhelming security at a service on the Indonesian island of Bali Saturday, carrying a closure to a rivalry that has started weeks of dissents around the nation's Muslim hardliners. By News Wires (content) Miss Philippines was Saturday delegated Miss World 2013 in a sparkling finale on the Indonesian resort island of Bali betwixt tight security taking after weeks of hardline Muslim dissents. As several Muslim hardliners held a petition to God session in a mosque close to the cashflow to express their annoyance at the challenge, Megan Young sobbed as she won the pined for title in the last on Hindu-lion's share Bali. The 23-year-old, wearing a pearl white outfit, guaranteed to be "the best Miss World ever" before a cheering force in a venue watched by vigorously outfitted police and water cannons. Adolescent, who is concentrating on advanced media and likewise presents Tv demonstrates in the Philippines, swore to "simply be myself in everything I do, to impart what I know and to instruct individuals". Organisers will inhale a sigh of easing that the finale of the three-week event passed off easily after many hardliners challenged crosswise over Indonesia lately, reprimanding the wonderfulness expo as a "prostitute challenge". A few international safe havens had likewise cautioned their nationals on Bali to the conceivability fanatics may strike the show, a chilling cautioning on an island where shell assaults in 2002 murdered around 200 individuals, generally remote vacationers. The exhibitions aroused the administration to request the whole exhibition be moved from the principle island of Java to Bali, where it opened on September 8 and there is minimal radical impact. Conspicuous hardline bunch the Islamic Defenders' Front (Fpi) had vowed to stage new challenges on Saturday - in any case, eventually, no showings materialised. Be that as it may, several parts from the Fpi and other hardline gatherings assembled for a supplication to God session in Sentul, just outside the capital Jakarta, to express their resistance to the expo. Organisers had initially arranged the last in a 10,000-seat venue in Sentul before being compelled to move to a 2,000-seat focus in Nusa Dua. Those at the request to God assembling were tended to by a Muslim minister who lashed out at the event, which radicals guarantee goes against Islamic educating, said Fpi part Ustad Maman. "Indonesia has recently demonstrated how it feels about Miss World - we dismissed it here, we reject it anyplace," he told Afp Ita Puspita Lena, neighborhood police representative, said that 200 police were on calling in the region and there were handfuls at the mosque. Maman said that 5,000 Fpi parts appeared for the petition to God session, in spite of the fact that police put the figure at 1,000. Fpi parts in East Java had promised to attempt and cross the tight extend of water that divides the territory from Bali to challenge there - however Maman conceded they had been put off by the tight security. Just about 700 police were sent crosswise over Bali to give security for Miss World, upheld by universal Balinese security faculty wearing sarongs and furnished with blades, as per police. Practically 127 contenders took to the stage Saturday for the last and they were rapidly whittled down to six. France came in second and Ghana was third. After the glamorous ladies took to the stage for Saturday's last, the group of onlookers were treated to an execution by British kid band Blue. In the weeks hinting at the last, the candidates joined in an arrangement of "test" occasions for which they were recompensed focuses. These incorporate a "beach design" round, which in the not so distant future saw candidates swap the exhibition's famous two-pieces for sarongs in an offer to abstain from initiating offence in Muslim-lion's share Indonesia. The finalists likewise confronted an inquiry and-reply adjust from a board of judges. What added up to 129 contenders had been because of contend in the last yet two hauled out at last, consistent with organiser

Bangladesh violence hits bus service, trade with India

Agartala : Trade ties and transport administrations between Bangladesh and India took a hit as savagery shook the neighbouring nation as the restriction supported 60-hour countrywide shutdown started Sunday, authorities said here. The nation's principle resistance party, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (Bnp) headed the 18-gathering organization together that called the across the nation shutdown starting 6 a.m. Sunday, and it is situated to proceed until 6 p.m. of Oct 29. The restriction is requesting that a guardian government be established throughout the general decisions, and that the races be held early 2014. As per bdnews24.com, an online news entryway in Bangladesh, viciousness in the nation since Saturday has guaranteed no less than 12 lives, and numerous vehicles, shops and government holdings have been harmed. "Exchange between Bangladesh and India's northeastern states was severely influenced as many products laden trucks and different vehicles were stranded on either side of the outskirts bordering Tripura and Meghalaya on account of the shutdown in that nation," a traditions official told Ians in Agartala. Agartala Exporters-Importers Association general secretary Habul Biswas told correspondents that over 700 laborers are included in the exchanging at the Akhaurah checkpost and different Lcss (Land Customs Stations) in Tripura, however as labourers of Bangladesh were not accessible, and truck drivers dreaded for the security of their vehicles, the fare import business has been handicapped. Akhaurah is a standout amongst the most significant universal exchanging land ports in northeast India adjoining Agartala city. On normal, something like 200 Bangladeshi trucks stacked with products come to Tripura each day. Biswas said that business worth Rs.15 million, on normal, happens every day through Akhaurah, the second-most significant universal exchanging land port along the India-Bangladesh fringe, after the Petrapol-Banepole checkpost in West Bengal. Exchange between India and Bangladesh has been occurring through Akhaurah and five different Lcss in Tripura, which imparts a 856-km outskirt with Bangladesh. The setup in Bangladesh likewise prompted the suspension of the Dhaka-Agartala transport administration. "For security explanations, transports between Dhaka and Agartala are not utilizing. The transport administration is relied upon to continue after the setup in Bangladesh comes back to typical," an official of the Tripura Road Transport Corporation, one of the specialists of the Dhaka-Agartala transport administration, said. He included that an aggregation of sightseers from Tripura who headed off to Bangladesh as of late give the ax their excursion in that nation and returned Saturday. Then, the Border Security Force (Bsf) has further tightened security up and down the India-Bangladesh outskirt. "We have conveyed extra troopers along the whole Indo-Bangla outskirt. Senior authorities of the Bsf are nearly managing the setup. Prohibitory requests under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (banning ny get together of five or more individuals) have been declared along the global outskirts," a Bsf agent told Ians. India offers a 4,096-km fringe with Bangladesh, of which 2,216 km is with West Bengal, 856 km with Tripura, 443 km with Meghalaya, 318 km with Mizoram and 262 km with Assam. A substantial partition of the International Border is unfenced and permeable.

12 militants killed in Afghanistan

Kabul, October 27: At least 12 Taliban militants were killed in a series of cleanup operations since Saturday, the Afghan interior ministry said Sunday. "Afghan National Police conducted several clearance operations with the cooperation of the army, National Directorate for Security and the NATO-led coalition forces in Kunar, Nangarhar, Kandahar, Wardak, Farah, Helmand and Nimroz provinces over the past 24 hours. As a result 12 armed Taliban were killed, 10 wounded and seven others were arrested," Xinhua quoted the Afghan interior ministry as saying in a statement. The Afghan National Police also seized weapons and defused several improvised bombs, the statement said. The security forces have intensified operations against Taliban and other militant groups recently, and the insurgent has responded with bombings and armed attacks.

Indian expats world’s top remitters back to home country: World Bank report

Abu Dahbi, October 27: Indian expatriates have topped the charts worldwide for being the top remitters for the developing world, a new World Bank report revealed. The World Bank data released for 2013 showed that amounts transferred by the migrant workers of India and the Philippines to their families and friends will hit 97 billion dollars and that the total transfers will increase, Gulf News reports. According to the report, the two countries will likely represent nearly a quarter of the remittance volumes to the developing world this year. The report estimated that money transfers to developing countries are likely to increase to 414 billion dollars (6.3 percent) this year and are expected to swell further to surpass the half-trillion mark by 2016.

Police: Roadside bomb kills 18 Afghan civilians

Kabul, October 27: Police say a roadside bomb has killed 18 civilians and wounded five as they rode a small bus home after attending a wedding in a lawless district of eastern Afghanistan's Ghazni province. Deputy provincial police chief Col. Asadullah Ensafi said the blast occurred today in the Andar district as the bus travelled from one village to another. He says the dead include 14 women, three men and a child. Ensfai says the wounded are all women and two are in critical condition. Roadside bombs are the Taliban's weapon of choice and are responsible for the overwhelming majority of civilian casualties. Andar is one of the few districts in Ghazni where the Taliban retain some measure of control and often attack security forces, mostly by laying bombs along roads.

Iran MP says Fordo nuclear site a 'red line'

Tehran, October 27: A prominent Iranian lawmaker said today Iran would never agree to shut down its Fordo underground nuclear enrichment facility as demanded by world powers. It is possible that they set some conditions such as shutting down Fordo, which definitely will not happen," Mehr news agency quoted Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of the parliament's foreign policy committee, as saying. Fordo, with nearly 3,000 centrifuges and dug deep into a mountain near the holy city of Qom, some 150 kilometres (90 miles) south of Tehran, is at the heart of international concerns over Iran's nuclear drive. The site, whose existence was revealed in 2009, began in late 2011 to enrich uranium to purities of 20 per cent, a few technical steps away from the 90-per cent level needed for a nuclear weapon. Iran says it is enriching to this level to provide fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor, which produces medical isotopes, and denies seeking or ever having sought nuclear weapons. Closing Fordo or limiting enrichment activities has been a key demand by six world powers -- permanent UN Security Council members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany -- in negotiations with Iran over its controversial nuclear programme. In return, the powers are offering to ease some sanctions against the Islamic republic, such as those imposed on trade in gold and on the petrochemical sector. Iran and the P5+1 resumed talks mid-October in Geneva during which Tehran presented a new proposal that its chief Nuclear negotiator Abbass Araqchi said could settle the dispute "within a year". Experts from both sides are to meet at the end of this week in Vienna to prepare for the next round of talks, in Geneva on November 7-8. Israel and to a lesser degree the US has refused to rule out military action against Iran should it continue its Nuclear enrichment program. However, Boroujerdi warned against any military action, saying Iran was prepared to deter any foreign attack. We have created the conditions in America and the Zionist regime in a way that they will never think of Attacking our nuclear sites. Our missiles are a deterrent ... But Fordo is one of our red lines," he said, without elaborating. Some experts warn that Iran next year may reach "critical capacity" -- the point at which it could, in theory, process enough weapons-grade uranium for a bomb before being detected. But since becoming president in August, Hassan Rouhani, seen as a relative moderate, has raised hopes that the Long-running crisis can be resolved and threats of military action silenced for good.

Iran's Rouhani says 'terrorists' must be expelled from Syria

Tehran, October 27: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told visiting UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi today that part of a solution to the Syria crisis is to expel "terrorist groups" from that country, a report said. Iran believes that by continuing humanitarian aid, preventing the entry (and) expelling terrorist groups from Syria and the complete destruction of chemical weapons will be first important steps for achieving stable peace in Syria," Rouhani said in comments reported by the official IRNA news agency. Syria's regime refers to rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad's regime as "terrorist groups" Taking orders from foreign states. Brahimi is on a Middle East tour to garner support for a planned peace conference next month in Geneva between regime and rebel representatives. Rouhani said a major obstacle to resolving the Syria crisis was the lack of consensus among regional and international Players. The first problem is divided among the Syrian opposition, the presence of terrorist groups between them... And the lack of consensus among Syria's neighboring countries and the world's major powers," he was quoted as saying. He added: "Iran is ready to play a positive role in any movement that would contribute to stability in Syria, and it makes no difference whether this effort is called Geneva II conference or anything else." The so-called Geneva II conference has been repeatedly postponed amid wrangling among the Syrian opposition, and a Dispute over which countries, including Iran, should participate. Brahimi said in Tehran yesterday that Iran's participation is "natural and necessary". But he stressed that no invitations had yet been sent out for the proposed international peace conference which the United Nations hopes to organize for late November. Prospects for the initiative to appear dim as the fractured Syrian opposition has yet to decide whether to attend and as Assad has said the "factors are not yet in place" for a conference. The conflict has killed more than 115,000 people since it erupted in March 2011, when a government crackdown on peaceful protests escalated into civil war.

11 Taliban rebels surrender in Afghanistan

Kabul, October 27: At least 11 Taliban rebels surrendered with arms to the Afghan authorities in the country's Nangarhar province, a source said Sunday. "An 11-member group of armed opponents gave up fighting and handed over their arms to the authorities in Shinwar district Sunday," Malik Nazir, provincial High Peace Council chief, told Xinhua. Peace and stability would be further strengthened in several parts of the province with the insurgents' surrender, he added. The Afghan government set up a 70-member High Peace Council and launched the peace and reconciliation process in 2010 to encourage Taliban to disarm and give up militancy against the government. Over the past week, more than 40 Taliban fighters joined the process across the country, officials said.

90-year-old Saudi widower remarries

Dubai, October 27: A 90-year-old man in Saudi Arabia remarried, to honour his dying wife's wish, Gulf News reported Sunday. The five daughters of Fatees Al Thaqafi, from Taef in western Saudi Arabia, spent three months looking for the right bride for their father, the newspaper reported on its website. Al Thaqafi had initially refused to remarry after his wife died earlier this year following a prolonged illness, but after his daughters and sons insisted he honour their mother's wish, he agreed. The couple had five daughters and seven sons. The daughters did not want a young woman and looked for a mature woman. Eventually they found a childless 53-year-old widow in a remote village who accepted the marriage proposal. The elderly man paid 25,000 Saudi riyal ($6,665) in bride's price. A large number of relatives and friends attended the marriage ceremony.

Afghanistan to grill Pak about Mullah Baradar's whereabouts

Islamabad, October 27: Afghanistan will demand an explanation from Pakistan on the whereabouts of a former Taliban second-in-command Mullah Baradar. Afghan leaders will seek answers from Pakistan when the leaders of both countries meet next week to discuss how to end years of the insurgency, an Afghan official said. According to the Daily Times, the whereabouts of Baradar has been the source of intense speculation since Pakistan announced his release on September 20. Pakistani sources said that he is kept in a safe house and is closely watched by his Pakistani handlers. Afghanistan believes Baradar's prolonged stay in Pakistan may have marred his reputation among fighters. Aimal Faizi, a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, said that Baradar is still under strict supervision. He added that Afghanistan will be seeking an explanation from Pakistan on his whereabouts and how Pakistan can facilitate direct talks between him and the High Peace Council. Faizi said Karzai would raise the issue when he meets Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in London next week for a summit hosted by Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, the report added. (ANI

Iran MP says Fordo nuclear site a 'red line'

Tehran, October 27: A prominent Iranian lawmaker said today Iran would never agree to shut down its Fordo underground nuclear enrichment facility as demanded by world powers. It is possible that they set some conditions such as shutting down Fordo, which definitely will not happen," Mehr news agency quoted Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of the parliament's foreign policy committee, as saying. Fordo, with nearly 3,000 centrifuges and dug deep into a mountain near the holy city of Qom, some 150 kilometres (90 miles) south of Tehran, is at the heart of international concerns over Iran's nuclear drive. The site, whose existence was revealed in 2009, began in late 2011 to enrich uranium to purities of 20 per cent, a few technical steps away from the 90-per cent level needed for a nuclear weapon. Iran says it is enriching to this level to provide fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor, which produces medical isotopes, and denies seeking or ever having sought nuclear weapons. Closing Fordo or limiting enrichment activities has been a key demand by six world powers -- permanent UN Security Council members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany -- in negotiations with Iran over its controversial nuclear programme. In return, the powers are offering to ease some sanctions against the Islamic republic, such as those imposed on trade in gold and on the petrochemical sector. Iran and the P5+1 resumed talks mid-October in Geneva during which Tehran presented a new proposal that its chief nuclear negotiator Abbass Araqchi said could settle the dispute "within a year". Experts from both sides are to meet at the end of this week in Vienna to prepare for the next round of talks, in Geneva on November 7-8. Israel and to a lesser degree the US have refused to rule out military action against Iran should it continue its nuclear enrichment programme. However, Boroujerdi warned against any military action, saying Iran was prepared to deter any foreign attack. We have created the conditions for America and the Zionist regime in a way that they will never think of attacking our nuclear sites. Our missiles are a deterrent ... but Fordo is one of our red lines," he said, without elaborating. Some experts warn that Iran next year may reach "critical capacity" -- the point at which it could, in theory, process enough weapons-grade uranium for a bomb before being detected. But since becoming president in August, Hassan Rouhani, seen as a relative moderate, has raised hopes that the long-running crisis can be resolved and threats of military action silenced for good.

Iran hangs 16 rebels in retaliation for border deaths

London, October 27: Iran has hanged 16 rebels in retaliation for the deaths of at least 14 border guards in an ambush. The rebels were linked to groups hostile to the regime, Mohammad Marzieh, the attorney general of Sistan-Baluchistan province said. They were hanged in prison in Zahedan , northeast of Saravan, where the border deaths took place overnight, the BBC reports. It is not clear what link, if any, those hanged had into the border attack. (ANI)