Karzai declared elected president

Poll officials scrapped the planned second round of the Afghan presidential election, and declared Hamid Karzai (right on the photo, from aljazeera.net) the elected president.

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Karzai rival withdraws from run-off

“I will not participate in the election,” Dr Abdullah told supporters. (photo, from aljazeera.net)
Hamid Karzai’s rival announced his withdrawal from the second round of the Afghan presidential election, arguing that his demands for ensuring a fraud-free election had not been met.

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No ‘outright win’ for Karzai

Hamid Karzai did not gain enough valid votes for an outright win, according to a panel probing fraud claims in the Afghan election.
Although preliminary results from August’s first round had placed Karzai comfortably over the 50% plus one vote threshold needed to avoid a run-off, the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) recommended that ballots from [...]

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US agree to keep silent on Israeli nuclear arms

The Washington Times reported that US president Barack Obama, has agreed to abide by a 40-year policy of allowing Israel to keep nuclear weapons without opening them to international inspection.
On Saturday, the US newspaper quoted three unnamed sources as saying Obama had confirmed to Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, that he would maintain the “don’t [...]

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Palestinians protest over new settlements

Hundreds of Palestinian villagers regularly undertake a non-violent march, short yet symbolic, to the separation wall built by Israel on their land.
(photo, from bbc.co.uk)

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Parliament votes for Ahmadinejad’s cabinet

Most of the cabinet proposed by president Ahmadinejad (photo, from bbc.co.uk) has been approved on Thursday by Iranian legislators. Among those approved is a man linked to the bombing of a jewish centre in Argentina.

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Iran post-election protests trial begins

Iran has opened the first trial of people allegedly involved in post-election violence. The charges included rioting, vandalism, “acting against national security”, and conspiring against the ruling system, state media reported.
Leading members of the opposition reform movement, such as a former vice-president, are included in the defendants. (photo, from bbc.co.uk)

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Iran attacks Biden about Israel remarks

If Israel attacks Iran, the latter will hold the US responsible, said Ali Larijani, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, in reaction to Joe Biden’s remarks.

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Protests follow Iranian’s poll results

Following the announcement that president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won Iran’s presidential poll, thousands of angry protesters have clashed with police. (photo, from nytimes.com)

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Nakba marked by Palestinians

In the Gaza Strip, thousands of Palestinians have gathered (photo, from aljazeera.net) in order to mark the 61st anniversary of the “Nakba” (catastrophe). It describes the dispersal of hundreds of thousands of refugees after the creation of Israel.

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