مدونة ام النور omelnor jesus

  U.S. President Barack Obama AFP WASHINGTON - The United States will send a delegation led by Vice President Joe Biden to Saudi Arabia to offer condolences for the death of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, the White House said Sunday. U.S. President Barack Obama announced the visit of the delegation to ailing Saudi King Abdullah in a telephone call on Sunday, during which he also expressed his "personal condolences" to the king over his half-brother's death. Obama "praised Crown Prince Sultan's many contributions over the past five decades, including his critical role in building the strong and enduring partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia," the White House said. "The president informed the King that a senior delegation, which will be led by Vice President Biden, will travel to Riyadh to pay condolences durin...

Muammar Gadhafi AFP TRIPOLI - Libya's interim government will hand the body of slain despot Muammar Gadhafi to his relatives after consulting with them on the location of his burial, a senior government advisor said on Sunday. "The decision has been taken to hand him over to his extended family, because none of his immediate family are present at this moment," Ahmed Jibril told AFP. "The NTC (National Transitional Council) are in consultation with his family. It is for his family to decide where Gadhafi will be buried, in consultation with the NTC," he added. Jibril, who is an advisor to the new regime's interim premier Mahmud Jibril, declined to say when the transfer would take place. Since he was killed on Thursday, as he tried to flee his hometown of Sirte, Gadhafi body has been held in a refrigerated chamber outside Misrata, drawin...

Barak: Israel needs new rules for prisoner swaps Gilad Shalit AFP JERUSALEM, AFP - Israel must set new rules governing prisoner exchanges such as the one implemented to secure soldier Gilad Shalit's release, Israel's defense minister Ehud Barak said on Sunday. "I'm happy about the deal on the exchange for Gilad Shalit, but we must set new rules," he told the free daily newspaper Israel Hayom. Barak spoke a little less than a week after Shalit, who was held captive in Gaza for over five years, returned to Israel in return for the release of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners to be freed over two months. The deal had broad support inside Israel but was criticized in some quarters as a capitulation that strengthened Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that rules Gaza and was among the groups that captured Shalit in 2006. On Sunday, Israeli opposit...

By ASHRAF AZOOZ - Translated by BISHOY RAMZY REYAD The social unrest and increasing strikes in Egypt since the January 25 Revolution have affected Egypt’s economic activities and brought the unemployment level to 12 percent, said Cleopatra Henry, an official in the International Labor Organization (ILO). The Egyptian government must increase investments from 16 percent to 23 percent of its GDP and attract foreign investments, Henry demanded at a seminar about international labor standards on Tuesday. The next parliament should develop the Ministry of Manpower as a cornerstone for providing required information about the labor market, she said, adding that it would serve as the authority for the state. Despite the challenges Egypt is facing after its revolution, the ILO expects that the government can respond to the demands raised by the Egyptian people during the popular uprising, she sai...

Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi By MENA - Translated by ANAS HABIB Head of the Supreme Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces (SCAF) Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi today flew to Saudi Arabia with a delegation to offer condolences on behalf of Egypt on the occasion of Sultan Abdel Aziz’s death. The delegation includes the Minister of Electricity Hussan Younis, General Reda Hahiz and SCAF member Maj. Gen. Harb Mokhtar. Meanwhile, chief of the Arab League Nabil al-Arabi also flew to Saudi Arabia today to mourn the death of the Crown Prince.

April 6 Movement spokesman, Tareq el-Kholi By NOURA FAKHRI - Translated by SAMAR SAMIR CAIRO: Egyptian April 6 Movement will stage a protest outside the office of the Public Prosecution on Wednesday over the disappearance of one of its members. They will also stage an open-ended sit-in if the member of political bureau of the April 6 Movement, Sherif el-Roubi, does not appear. El-Roubi has been missing since October 22. "We all exerted efforts to find our fellow member but in vain and we have nothing except protesting and staging open-ended sit-in until he appears again," said April 6 Movement spokesman, Tareq el-Kholi.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin  Netanyahu By HATEM ATTEIA - Translated by ANAS HABIB Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today confirmed his approval of the exchange deal between Israel and Egypt for alleged Israel spy Ilan Grapel. Egypt will receive 25 detained prisoners in return. The Prime Minister’s office released a statement confirming Netanyahu’s approval of the swap, Israeli newspapers and Hebrew radio reported today. Yitzhak Molcho, an advisor to the Prime Minister, member of the Knesset and former agent in Shabak, yesterday arrived in Cairo to complete the deal with Egyptian authorities, political sources in Israel today confirmed. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman today said that both Ilan and Ouda are not spies and are wrongfully accused.

High-profile leader of the Islamic Group Tarek al-Zomor By RAMY NAWAR - Translated by BISHOY RAMZY REYAD CAIRO: High-profile leader of the Islamic Group Tarek al-Zomor, will head to Egypt's Council of State to gain his constitutional right to vote and participate in Egypt's political life. Al-Zomor told Youm7 the council will consider his appeal, which he filed with a number of leaders of the group, to participate in politics and to vote during the next parliamentary elections. He clarified he has the right to practice his political rights 15 years ago since the decision to deprive him from participating in political life was dropped in 1996. He expressed his fears of issuing any judicial rules that could prevent any figures of his group from voting or running for the next elections in Egypt. It is important to mention al-Zomor was the first to support the initiative calling to sus...

former president Hosni Mubarak By YOUM7 STAFF - Translated by AMANY SABER Youm7 learned that former president Hosni Mubarak is suffering from very poor health at the International Medical Center. Doctors are attempting to avert a health crisis. Mubarak is being treated at the center while he he undergoes trial for killing protestors during January 25 Revolution .

Archive AP SANAA, Yemen (AP) — A Yemeni security official says four people were killed and 11 injured when the military plane they were on crashed shortly before landing at an air base in the country's south. It's unclear what caused Monday's crash but the official says it took place at al-Ammad air base near the southern city of Aden. The official says a technical problem might have caused the crash. He says there were eight Syrians and seven Yemenis on board. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Tunisia's Islamist party claims election victory Associated Press TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A moderate Islamist party claimed victory Monday in Tunisia's landmark elections as preliminary results indicated it had won the biggest share of votes, assuring it will have a strong say in the future constitution of the country whose popular revolution led to the Arab Spring. The Ennahda party's success could boost other Islamist parties in the North Africa and the Middle East, although Ennahda insists its approach to sharia, or Islamic law, is consistent with Tunisia's progressive traditions, especially in regards to women's rights. Party officials estimated Ennahda had taken at least 30 percent of the 217-seat assembly charged with writing a new constitution for the country. Other estimates put the party's share from Sunday's vote closer to 50 perc...

Explosion at fuel deport near Libyan town of Sirte Explosion at fuel deport AP MISRATA, Libya (AP) — A Libyan official says there has been an explosion at a fuel depot near the central city of Sirte. Jalal al-Gallal, a spokesman for Libya's National Transitional Council, said Tuesday he did not have further details about the blast a day earlier. He said Ali Tarhouni, a Cabinet minister, would provide details in a news conference later in the day. Tirana Hassan, a researcher for the New York-based Human Rights Watch, says she was in Sirte on Monday when she saw a huge black cloud of smoke in the distance. She says 11 people with serious burns were brought to Sirte's Ibn Sina Hospital, and nurses there said they were injured in the blast at the fuel depot. Ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi was captured in Sirte there last week.

Libyan official says Gadhafi buried at dawn Gadhafi AP MISRATA, Libya (AP) — A Misrata military council official says Moammar Gadhafi, his son Muatassim and a top aide have been buried in a secret location, with a few relatives and officials in attendance. In a text message read to The Associated Press, spokesman Ibrahim Beitalmal is quoted as saying the burial took place at 5 a.m. Tuesday, and that Islamic prayers were read over the bodies. The information could not be independently verified. The three bodies had been held in cold storage in Misrata since Gadhafi was captured near his hometown of Sirte on Thursday. Gadhafi died in unclear circumstances within hours of his capture, and Libya's new leaders have promised an investigation. Beitalmal has said the burial site would remain secret to prevent vandalism.

Searchers in Turkey hope for more quake survivors AP ERCIS, Turkey (AP) — Thousands of people have spent a second night outdoors in near-freezing conditions in eastern Turkey, afraid to return to their homes following a deadly earthquake that has been followed by hundreds of aftershocks. Searchers are picking through the ruins in the cities of Ercis and Van in hopes of finding more survivors. The Dogan news agency says rescuers pulled five people out of the rubble alive in the early hours of Tuesday. Volunteer Mahir Yatagan says his search and rescue organization, AKUT, is still hoping to receive phone calls or text messages from people trapped in the debris. The death toll from Sunday's earthquake currently stands at 279, with 1,300 injured.

Israeli FM says Abbas is 'obstacle' to peace Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas AP JERUSALEM — Israel's foreign minister says Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is an "obstacle" to peace, and he hopes Abbas will soon resign. Avigdor Lieberman lashed out at the Palestinian leader in a briefing with reporters Monday. He said Abbas has been leading a campaign to delegitimize Israel internationally and that he has become an "obstacle that needs to be removed." In the past, Abbas has repeatedly threatened to resign. Lieberman called on him to carry out his threat, adding that "whoever comes after him will be better." Abbas is leading a drive for U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state. Israel is hotly opposed. Lieberman said he was "100 percent" sure that in the current climate, establishment of a Palestinian state would lead to rocket fire...

2-week old baby rescued after Turkish quake Associated Press ERCIS, Turkey (AP) — A 2-week-old baby girl on Tuesday was pulled alive from the rubble of an apartment building and rescue workers struggled to save her mother, nearly 48 hours after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that toppled some 2,000 buildings in eastern Turkey. Television footage showed rescuers in orange jumpsuits clapping as the baby, Azra Karaduman, was removed from the wreckage. A rescuer cradled the naked infant, who was wrapped in a blanket and handed over to a medic. The baby's mother, Semiha, was still alive, pinned next to a sofa inside the flattened building. Rescuers in two cities, Ercis and Van, raced to free people trapped inside mounds of concrete, twisted steel and construction debris. Authorities have warned survivors of the quake that killed at least 366 people not to enter damaged b...

US pulls envoy out of Syria, citing safety concern U.S. envoy to Syria Robert Ford  Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration has pulled its ambassador home from Syria, arguing that his support for anti-Assad activists put him in grave danger — the most dramatic action so far by the United States as it struggles to counter a Mideast autocrat who is withstanding pressure that has toppled neighboring dictators. Syria responded quickly Monday, ordering home its envoy from Washington. American Ambassador Robert Ford was temporarily recalled on Saturday after the U.S. received "credible threats against his personal safety in Syria," the State Department said, pointing directly at President Bashar Assad's government. Ford, who already had been the subject of several incidents of intimidation, has enraged Syrian authorities with his forceful...

Ilan Grapel  AP JERUSALEM — Israeli leaders have approved a deal to swap 25 Egyptian prisoners for a U.S.-Israeli citizen jailed in Egypt on suspicion of espionage. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office says Israel's Security Cabinet unanimously approved the deal on Tuesday afternoon. It says Ilan Grapel, who was arrested in Cairo in June, is expected to return to Israel on Thursday. Israel and Egypt first announced the deal on Monday.

  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu By MAHMOUD MOHIEE - Translated by BISHOY RAMZY REYAD Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today ratified a deal with Egypt that secures the release of alleged Israeli spy Ilan Grapel, who was imprisoned four months ago in Cairo, reported Israeli media. Grapel will be released in exchange for 25 Egyptian prisoners held in Israeli prisons, Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronot reported, adding that the deal will be executed on Thursday. The deal is also an attempt to strengthen Egyptian-Israeli relations, the paper added. Recently Egypt helped secure an exchange deal between Israel and Hamas wherein Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was returned in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli Cabinet will meet on Tuesday to ratify the deal with Egypt, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office today said. Grapel has not ...