AMMAN (AFP) - A spate of attacks targeting Christians in Iraq has forced many to flee to neighbouring Jordan which many see as a stepping stone to a new life as far away as possible from the violence-ridden country.
On Sundays families gather at the Syriac Orthodox church in Jordan's capital Amman to pray, socialise and mull over the best ways of securing a visa to enable them emigrate to [...]
CAIRO (AFP) - The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's influential Islamist opposition movement, will launch its own social networking site next month to promote moderate Islam, an official said on Wednesday.
Ikhwanbook.com, which is already up, was created by the Brotherhood's headquarters in Cairo to "promote moderate Islam and clarify who we are," said politburo member Mohammed Mursi.
The website, w [...]
HAMDANIYA, Iraq (AFP) - The Christians of northern Iraq have chosen to defy mounting attacks by extremists by erecting a statue of Jesus modelled on the giant Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro.
The sculpture is only a tenth of the size of the 40-metre (130-foot) iconic statue that towers over the Brazilian city, but it has become a popular site for visitors in Hamdaniya, the north's l [...]
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel's population is nearing 7.6 million, official figures showed on Sunday ahead of the 62nd anniversary of the creation of the Jewish state.
Of the 7,587,000 population, 5,726,000, or 75.5 percent, are Jews and 1,548,000, or 20.4 percent, are Arabs, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.
The population has grown by 137,000 people in the past year, a 1.8 perc [...]
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WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama's administration has authorized the targeted killing of an American citizen, radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, the New York Times reported Wednesday, citing US officials.
The rare, if not unprecedented, authorization was given earlier this year in the belief that Awlaki had gone from encouraging attacks on the United States to directly particip [...]
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JERUSALEM (AFP) - Thousands of Christian pilgrims from around the world thronged the narrow cobblestone alleys of Jerusalem's Old City to pray along the route tradition holds Jesus took to his crucifixion on Good Friday.
"For me this is a very special visit, this is the first time for me here," said Andrea Schroetter, a pilgrim from Germany. "We prayed in all the places where Jesus marched, [...]
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VATICAN CITY (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday voiced "deep sadness" over clashes in occupied east Jerusalem where Israel has defied international pressure with a plan to step up construction.
"I am deeply saddened by the recent clashes and tensions that have arisen once again in this city that is the spiritual home of Christians, Jews and Muslims," Benedict said after reciting his weekly [...]
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TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday that Iranians should shun next week's Persian fire festival as it is un-Islamic and creates "a lot of harm."
Charshanbe Soori, an ancient Pagan festival, is held on the eve of the last Wednesday of the Persian calendar year. This year the ritual falls on the night of March 16.
Khamenei, Iran's all-powerful cleric, [...]
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PARIS (AFP) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday paid tribute to Sheikh Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, the Egyptian cleric who died this week at age 81, saying he embodied "an Islam of dialogue and openness."
Tantawi, Sunni Islam's top cleric who last year caused a national row when he banned the wearing of the full veil, died Wednesday in Saudi Arabia of a heart attack suffered while boar [...]
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JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli police battled Muslim protesters in Jerusalem's Old City on Friday after storming the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound -- one of Islam's holiest sites -- when protesters threw stones after the main weekly prayers, an AFP photographer witnessed.
Police and hospitals said several dozens of people were wounded in the clashes, which ended with police leaving the hilltop compoun [...]
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Passengers jump out of plane in India after bad landing
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