lebanon announces grant from Saudi for army
Beirut: lebanon's President said on Sunday that Saudi Arabia has pledged US $3 billion to buy weapons from France to help support and strengthen the lebanese Army. President Michel Sleiman made the surprise announcement, which he called the largest-ever pledge for lebanon's Army, in a televised national address. He did not provide any further details, but said French President Francois Hollande was to discuss the matter during his visit to Saudi Arabia on Sunday. "I am happy to tell the lebanese people that the Saudi ruler will give a grant of US $3 billion to strengthen the Army," Sleiman said,
two UN peacekeepers killed in darfur
Amman: Gunmen killed two peacekeepers, one from Jordan and one from Senegal, in an attack on Sunday on a UN patrol in Sudan’s conflict-stricken Darfur, Jordan’s Public Security Directorate said. “This morning, gunmen in South Darfur opened fire at a UN patrol, killing Jordanian Major Talal Rjub and a Senegalese peacekeeper,” the statement said.
Iran hopes to implement N deal in a month
Tehran: A top Iranian nuclear negotiator expressed hope on Sunday a deal with world powers could be implemented within a month, but said technical talks on the matter are proceeding slowly, Mehr news agency reported. The deal, signed in November, saw Iran suspend parts of its contested nuclear programme for six months in return for limited sanctions relief while a longer term agreement is hammered out.
Kerry to travel to West Asia for peace talks
Washington: US Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories on New Year’s Day trip to push forward the peace process and find a solution to decades-old conflict in the region.
Indian-American to join Seattle City Council
New York: A 41-year-old Indian-American woman has emerged as a rising star on Seattle’s political landscape, having been elected to the City Council and becoming one of the few elected socialists in the nation. An economics teacher and immigrant from India, Kshama Sawant will don her new role in Seattle’s nine-member City Council on January 1, representing the Socialist Alternative Party.
517 dead in fortnight of strikes in Syria: NGO
Beirut: Regime air strikes on the northern Syrian province of Aleppo have killed at least 517 people since December 15, including 151 children, a monitor said on Sunday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a string of regime aerial attacks, including Aleppo, with raids using explosives-packed barrels, had killed 46 women.
Ahmadi man barred from burying wife in graveyard
lahore: A man from the minority Ahmadi community has been barred from burying his wife in a graveyard in Pakistan’s Punjab province by a group of Muslims. The wife of Iqbal Ranhja died on Saturday.