A loud explosion shook an area near a church in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna on Sunday, but further details were not immediately clear, including on possible casualties, residents said. “There was a loud explosion and I could see smoke on the horizon,” one resident said, adding there were claims of clashes breaking
Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has called on Muslims to increase efforts to kidnap Westerners in exchange for imprisoned jihadists, citing the success in the abduction of American aid worker Warren Weinstein in Pakistan. In an undated two-hour video posted on jihadist websites, al-Zawahiri called for the abductions as part of a vow not
A planned visit to Iran by five European Union MPs was called off Saturday after Tehran refused to let them meet with a jailed activist lawyer and a filmmaker, just a day after the two were awarded a prestigious European human rights prize. "The five MEPs were about to leave for Tehran when delegation
Two Hamas leaders were killed by the Syrian army on Saturday, Palestinian Authority sources told Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency. The two, Ahmad Khalil Khalil and Ahmad al-Kharoubi, were shot by Syrian soldiers in an area in Deraa which serves as a camp for people registered as Palestinian refugees. The bodies lay in the
Saudi King Abdullah on Saturday demanded a U.N. resolution condemning insults on monotheistic religions after a low-budget film produced in the U.S. sparked deadly protests last month. “I demand a U.N. resolution that condemns any country or group that insults religions and prophets,” he said during a meeting at his palace with religious figures
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said Israeli settlement activities on occupied Palestinian territories jeopardize security and stability in the region, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported on Saturday. The Foreign Ministry also urged the Jewish state to halt its announced building of new 800 housing units and government premises in Palestinian territories. Israeli expansion in Eastern
Egyptian jurists and politicians have issued calls to "liberate" the Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount, and to restore Egypt's leading role in the Arab world. Participants in a news conference in Cairo on October 25 said that the "liberation" of Jerusalem by Muslims will be accomplished "without a doubt" by the present
Sudan's Information Minister, Ahmed Bilal Osman, has warned that his country would take "resolute steps" against Israeli interests following the bombing of an ammunitions factory in Sudan's capital, Khartoum. Osman told the BBC that his country now sees Israeli interests as legitimate targets for attack. He said that Sudan possesses proof that Israel is
Israeli security forces on Saturday arrested senior Hamas MP Mahmud al-Ramahi at a military roadblock in Samaria (Shomron), an army spokeswoman told AFP. "He was arrested on suspicion of illegal activity" at Hawara checkpoint, south of Shechem, and taken for questioning, she said. Arabs in al-Ramahi's home town of Ramallah said he was
Millions of pilgrims in Saudi Arabia on Friday furiously cast pebbles in a symbolic stoning of the devil, carrying out a final rite of hajj, as Muslims around the world celebrated the start of Islam’s biggest holiday, the Feast of Sacrifice. Chanting “Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest),” worshippers from 189 countries advanced in waves
