July, 2005

• 16 July

  US warns Iran on nuke programme, Iraq

  WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States told Iran Wednesday not to resume enriching uranium, which could feed a nuclear weapon, and also cautioned Tehran to keep its hands out of Iraq’s internal affairs. The latest US warnings followed an almost daily barrage of charge and countercharge between the two rivals, …

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• 16 July

  National poet lashes out at factions trying to restrict arts

  RAMALLAH — It’s been a hot summer on the Palestinian arts scene: Gunmen broke up the concert of a popular West Bank singer after he refused to limit his repertoire to political songs, and a Hamas-run town banned a music festival to prevent mingling of the sexes. Now, Palestinian national …

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• 16 July

  Twin suicide onslaught on government compound

  BAGHDAD (AP) — Suicide bombers struck twice near the entrance to the fortified Green Zone on Thursday, a day after a devastating attack on Iraqi children that provoked outrage and even brought a denial of responsibility from Al Qaeda in Iraq. Iraqi and US forces announced some rare successes in …

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• 16 July

  US presses Abbas to stem violence

  WASHINGTON (AFP) — US officials are stepping up pressure on the Palestinian leadership to crack down on violence that threatens a truce barely a month ahead of Israel’s planned withdrawal from Gaza. Officials said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas heard a stern message Wednesday in a phone call from US Secretary …

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• 14 July

  Jordan says Netanya suicide bombing does not serve peace

  Israeli troops on Wednesday sealed off a cluster of Gaza Strip settlements marked for evacuation to stop the influx of hardline pullout opponents, in the government’s most sweeping measure yet to prepare for next month’s pullout from 25 settlements. Settlers responded defiantly, threatening to block roads throughout Israel and to …

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• 14 July

  Lifting UN arms embargo could spark new anarchy — ICG

  NAIROBI (AFP) — A leading international policy group on Tuesday warned of fresh anarchy in Somalia if the United Nations Security Council lifts a 13-year-old arms embargo on the shattered country in order to enable the deployment of a regional peacekeeping force.

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• 14 July

  Islamic Jihad biggest threat to fragile truce

  JENIN — A few hundred fighters, a violent ideology and alleged funding from Iran — this lethal mix has turned Islamic Jihad into one of the biggest threats to the fragile Mideast truce. Unlike its big brother Hamas, which is eyeing the Palestinian mainstream by seeking political office, Islamic Jihad …

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• 14 July

  Chocolate and death for Baghdad children

  BAGHDAD (AFP) — The bodies of Mohammad Radhi and Alaa Mohammad, hands still clutching the chocolate bars given to them by US soldiers, lay on the floor of a Baghdad morgue, their lives snuffed out by a suicide bomber. “They killed all the children of the neighbourhood,” wept Radhi Hamud, …

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• 14 July

  US points to Syria, Iran in Israel bombing

  WASHINGTON (AFP) — Top US officials on Tuesday pointed fingers at both Syria and Iran as they denounced the deadly suicide bombing at a shopping centre in Israel. The attack in the Israeli city of Netanya was the first suicide bombing inside Israel in four-and-a-half months. At least three Israelis …

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• 14 July

  Abbas issues decree to oust Irineos I

  OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday issued a decree to withdraw recognition from the embattled Greek Orthodox patriarch, who has been embroiled in a battle over Jerusalem land deals with Israelis that have angered Palestinians. The Palestinian decree further weakens the position of the patriarch, Irineos …

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