SHAFAQNA

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Baghdad has given a 7-day ultimatum to the anti-Iran terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO, also known as the MEK, NCR and PMOI) to fully evacuate Camp Ashraf, a senior Iraqi official stated on Wednesday.

Iraqi Government Spokesman Ali al-Dabbaq told FNA in Baghdad on Wednesday "The complete evacuation of Ashraf Camp and transfer of MKO's remaining members from there will begin next week".

Earlier this month, Tehran's Ambassador to Baghdad Hassan Danayeefar had underlined that Iraqi officials have promised Tehran that they would expel the MKO members from their country very soon.

In September 2012, the last groups of the MKO terrorists left Camp Ashraf, their main training center in Iraq. They have been transferred to Camp Liberty which lies Northeast of the Baghdad International Airport.

Camp Liberty is a transient settlement facility and a last station for the MKO in Iraq.— www.shafaqna.com/English

Source: Irib

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) — The US is to allow its ally South Korea develop ballistic missiles with more than double the range it is allowed to deploy today, reports say. The proliferation-harming move is meant as a reaction to Pyongyang’s military build-up.

The future announcement on Sunday by the Korean government will present the move in response to North Korea’s ballistic missile program, reports Reuters citing a US State Department notice to lawmakers.

Seoul has been seeking permission for years to expand the range limit for its ballistic missiles from the current 300km. The limit was set by a military alliance pact with the US, which hosts some 28,500 of its troops in Korea and is obliged to intervene militarily should the country be attacked.

Earlier, South Korean new agency Yonhap reported that Seoul would be allowed to deploy missiles with the range of up to 800km. This is likely to give a second thought to North Korea, but also to China and Japan, which would be within range of 800km South Korean missiles.

The deal is believed to maintain the current limit on the payload for Korean missiles at 500kg.

The range boost would benefit outgoing President Lee Myung-bak’s Conservative Party during the December presidential election. Lee is banned from re-election by the constitution, but a major diplomatic victory in the last months of his presidency would build voter confidence and help the party remain in power, Yonhap said.

Arms-control advocates are likely to be unhappy with the deal, which violates a voluntary international arms-control pact known as the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). The pact urges its 34 members, including most major missile manufacturers, to restrict export of missile and drone aircraft technologies, which outreach 500kg payload and 300km range limits.

"Agreeing for any country to develop 800km range missiles, well outside the MTCR limits, would be a big mistake," told Reuters Greg Thielmann, who formerly took part in intelligence assessments on ballistic missile threats at the State Department's intelligence bureau and is now with the private Arms Control Association in Washington.

Proponents of the boost argue that other regional powers, including North Korea, China and Japan, have developed their missile forces well beyond the restrictions taken on itself by Seoul.

South Korea estimates that Pyongyang’s arsenal includes missiles with a range of up to 3,000 kilometers, although the exact capabilities of the weapons remain secret. Skeptics say the North’s long-range rocket science and engineering are mediocre at best, citing the failed launches over the years..— www.shafaqna.com/English

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) —"Israeli" Defense Minister said that should the Zionist cabinet give the order, the occupation forces could overrun Gaza strip.

Talking at a conference on the ‘Operation Cast Lead’, Barak said: “If the cabinet deems it needed, the  IDF (occupation forces) can conquer and rule Gaza.”

Elaborating on the 2009 military campaign against Gaza, Barak noted that "there was no need to drag the fighting for 22 days. That lesson is true for other things as well."

Barak also noted that the "Israeli" forces’ withdrawal from the Strip was late: "We could have pulled out 10 days earlier.”

The "Israeli" minister avoided talking about a possible strike against Iran. He said that the Zionist entity "must maintain a clear vision when setting its targets and the private discussion on the matter must be honest."—www.shafaqna.com/English

source: Shafaqna

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) — Iran’s hosting of the forthcoming Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit signifies the support of the world’s sovereign nations for Tehran in defiance of the West’s campaign to isolate the Islamic Republic, a political analyst says.

International affairs analyst Finian Cunningham alluded to the escalating pressures by the US and its allies against Iran and noted, “In defiance of arm-twisting by Washington and its lynch mob, nations from Latin America, Africa and Asia are making their way to Tehran.”

“The poetic justice of the NAM summit is that the majority of the world is standing with Iran in the face of this aggression. Countries from as far as Mexico and Brazil to Indonesia and Malaysia are clearly saying that Iran has the right to develop on its own terms without interference or hegemonic spoiling,” he added.

Cunningham pointed to the West’s pressures against Iran’s nuclear energy program and pointed out, “In a world dominated by rogue states, the US, Britain and France and their illegal nuclear-powered attack dog, Israel, have the audacity to daily threaten Iran with military strikes and, by doing so, cast a shadow of annihilation on the rest of the world.”

The article pointed to the other forms of West’s antagonistic policies towards Iran, including “sabotage of infrastructure,” “assassination of nuclear scientists,” “abduction of citizens,” and “criminal embargoes,” and argued, “This heinous criminality, based on suspicion and lies, is all because Iran is pursuing its legally entitled right to develop nuclear energy and to maintain its political independence.”

The 16th summit of the NAM member states will be held August 26-31.

The summit, during which the Islamic Republic will assume the rotating presidency of the movement for three years, will be attended by the high-ranking representatives of more than 100 countries.

“The summit in Tehran will serve to expose in the eyes of the world the nefarious, warmongering global elite. The gathering will expose the pretenders of “international community” as nothing more than a bunch of thugs who are holding the rest of the world to ransom under the threat of aggression,” the article said.

“It will show that this elite and its claims of upholding international law and human rights is but a fraudulent clique of racketeers whose relentless, rapacious pursuit of imperialist profiteering is the scourge of the earth and of world peace,” Cunningham pointed out.—www.shafaqna.com/English

Source: WR NEWZ

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) — A gunman from al-Khaldea neighborhood in Homs gave himself up and handed his weapon to the competent authorities which released him after settling his case.

"I gave myself up to a unit of the Syrian Arab Army positioned at the surroundings of al-Khalea after I tried to do so 4 times, but I failed as the armed groups prevented me from surrender," Mohammad Fares Ghanam said in a speech to the Syrian TV broadcast Wednesday.

Ghanam added that what pushed him to surrender was his wish to abandon what he was involved in and return to normal life, and after his recognition that the acts of armed groups have no relation to which they call a revolution.

"The rebel should be good, clean person.. he doesn't loot house or shops, he doesn't burn or destroy public and private properties," Ghanam said.

He underlined that the families in al-Khaldea want to go out of the neighborhood and get rid of the armed terrorist groups, but they prevent them from leaving to take them as human shields. He called on all gunmen to judge their conscience after hundreds of innocents were killed at their hands. —www.shafaqna.com/english

Source: Abna

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) — Allah says in the Qur’an: “It is He who made the night and day to follow each other for such as have the will to celebrate His praises or to show their gratitude.” (25:62)

Life and death and the succession of nights and day have a purpose and that is to test us and to give us an opportunity to express our thanks and gratitude to our Creator and Sustainer. The month of Ramadan comes and goes. We must examine ourselves now and see what we have learned and achieved during this month. The test of success of this month lies in the effects it has left upon us.

Discipline:

We learn in this month how to discipline ourselves for the sake of Allah. In our morning and evening, we follow a strict schedule of eating and drinking. We are constantly aware that even in our such mundane activities as eating and drinking, we must remain under divine injunctions. We change our habits in our daily routines because we learn that we are not the servants and slaves to our habits, but always the servants of Allah. Then after Ramadan, we have to keep this spirit of discipline in other modes of our life and must continue with our submission to the commands of Allah.

Renewal of Devotional Life:

Ramadan renews our enthusiasm for worship and devotion to Allah. In this month, we are more careful of our daily prayers and have special prayers at night. There is no religion without prayer and Muslims learn in this month how to strengthen and deepen their religious life.

Renewal of Contact with the Quran:

Ramadan and the Qur’an are linked together from the beginning. It was in this month that this divine message was revealed to Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.). Fasting prepares the believers’ hearts to learn the Word of Allah. It is the most suitable condition for our spiritual and mental communication with the Qur’an. The Muslim Ummah pays more attention to the Quran in the blessed month of Ramadan. This renewed contact with the Quran must help us in following its message.

Renewal of Identity with the Ummah:

Ramadan is not an individual experience only, but it is an experience in community. The whole Muslim Ummah fasts together in one and the same month. We identify with one another in our obedience to Allah. This gives us a new sense of togetherness and association. Ramadan teaches us that the Muslim Ummah is the community of piety and devotion to Allah and its members derive their strength from each other in deeds of piety and virtue. The bonds that are based on piety and virtue are the strongest bonds and it is these bonds that prove good for mankind. Ramadan leaves an imprint of all these values upon the Muslim Ummah.

A Fresh Sense of Care and Sympathy:

Fasting in the month of Ramadan helps us to understand the suffering and the pains of the poor and needy. By our voluntary hunger and thirst we realise what it means to be deprived of basic necessities of life. Ramadan is called the month of charity and sympathy. We learn how to be more kind and generous in this month. Many Muslims also pay their Zakah in the month of Ramadan.

Taqwa:

To summarise all the moral and spiritual gifts of Ramadan, we can say that Ramadan gives us the great gift of Taqwa. Taqwa is the sum total of Islamic life. It is the highest of all virtues in the Islamic scheme of things. It means, God-consciousness, piety, fear and awe of Allah and it signifies submission to Allah and total commitment to all that is good and rejection of all that is evil and bad.”—www.shafaqna.com/english

Source: Rafed

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) — Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has ordered $50 million in aid be sent to a Muslim minority in Myanmar which a human rights group said has been targeted by the authorities since sectarian riots in June.

A report on the Saudi state news agency said the Rohingya community had been "exposed to many violations of human rights including ethnic cleansing, murder, rape and forced displacement".

"King Abdullah ... has ordered that assistance of the amount of $50 million be provided to the Rohingya Muslim citizens in Myanmar," said the report which was carried by Saudi media on Sunday. It did not say who was to blame for the abuses.

However, Human Rights Watch said on August 1 that the Rohingyas had suffered mass arrests, killings and rapes at the hands of the Myanmar security forces. The minority had borne the brunt of a crackdown after days of arson and machete attacks in June by both Buddhists and Rohingyas in Rakhine state, the monitoring group said.

Myanmar, where at least 800,000 Rohingyas are not recognized as one of the country's many ethnic and religious groups, has said it exercised "maximum restraint" in quelling the riots.

Saudi Arabia sees itself as a guardian of global Muslim interests thanks to being the birthplace of Islam and home to some of the religion's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina. However, Riyadh also regularly draws criticism from campaigners for its lack of democracy.

Last week the Saudi cabinet condemned the violence against Muslims in northwest Myanmar and at a meeting on July 31, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the kingdom's second city of Jeddah urged members to send Rohingya Muslims aid.

The OIC is holding a summit in Mecca on Tuesday.—www.shafaqna.com/english

Source: Reuters

SHAFAQNA (Shia international Association) — "I have instructed the military to increase its intelligence preparations and prepare what is needed so that ... (if necessary) ... we will be able to consider carrying out an operation," the Associated Press quoted Israeli Minister of Military Affairs Ehud Barak as saying on Friday.

“We are following…the possible transfer of advanced munitions systems, mainly anti-aircraft missiles or heavy ground-to-ground missiles, but there could also be a possibility of the transfer of chemical means (weapons) from Syria to Lebanon," said Barak.

He went on to say that "the moment (Syrian President Bashar al-Assad) starts to fall we will conduct intelligence monitoring and will liaise with other agencies."

Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved a resolution extending the mandate of its observer mission in Syria for another 30 days.

On Thursday, Russia and China vetoed a Western-backed UN Security Council draft resolution against Syria, which called for new sanctions against the government of President Assad under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011, with demonstrations being held both against and in support of President Bashar al-Assad's government.

The Syrian government says outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorists are the driving factor behind the unrest and deadly violence while the opposition accuses the security forces of being behind the killings.

Damascus also says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country and the security forces have been given clear instructions not to harm civilians.—www.shafaqna.com/english