By IANS,

Kathmandu : A 58-year-old Muslim preacher from southern Nepal has embarked on a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, two of the holiest Islamic shrines located in Saudi Arabia - on a bicycle.

Wearing a garland of marigold over an Islamic red-checked scarf, the white-bearded Maulana Taslimuddin Shah started out last week in a bid to pray at the two shrines for peace in Nepal and the promulgation of a new constitution in the country.

By IANS,

Tehran : Iran will start construction of its two nuclear enrichment sites from next month, an official said.

The construction of two enrichment sites as ordered by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will begin in the Iranian new calendar year which starts March 21, Head of Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said Monday.

The announcement came after Iranian government had decided in December last year that the AEOI should start construction of five enrichment sites within two months.

By IANS,

Jerusalem : Israeli archaeologists have discovered a section of an ancient city wall here that is believed to be built by Biblical King Solomon around the 10th century B.C., the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said.

"A comparison of this latest finding with city walls and gates from the period of the First Temple, as well as pottery found at the site, enable us to postulate with a great degree of assurance that the wall was built by King Solomon in Jerusalem in the latter part of the 10th century B.C.," said excavation director Eilat Mazar.

By IANS,

Kuala Lumpur : Malaysia's ambassador to Qatar Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob has been elected chairman of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the foreign ministry said in a statement Monday.

Muhammad Shahrul Ikram was elected unanimously during a special meeting of the board Feb 12, and will serve as the board chairman until September this year, the ministry said.

The Malaysian government has appointed him as its new governor to the board Feb 4 this year, Xinhua reported.

By IRNA,

Berlin : The European Union strongly condemned the use of forged EU passports by Israel's secret service in the brutal killing of a top Hamas official in Dubai last month, press reports said here Monday.

In a statement, EU foreign ministers said the murder of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh had raised "profoundly disturbing" issues.

"The EU strongly condemns the fact that those involved in this action (the assassination) used fraudulent EU member states' passports and credit cards acquired through the theft of EU citizens' identities," it added.

By TCN News,

New Delhi: South Asian Council for Minorities(SACM) strongly condemned the brutal beheading of two innocent Sikhs by the Talibans in Pakistan.

Here is the text of the statement:

The inhuman and un-Islamic act of killing innocent civilians has once again exposed the true face of the terrorists whose only aim is to use the name of Islam, the religion of peace and mercy, for their nefarious designs, ulterior motives and worldy pleasures. These are the people who denigrate the name of Islam and bring disrepute to all Muslims of the World.

By IANS,

Dhaka: Bangladesh's Buddhist tribals Monday sought direct intervention of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina alleging that killing of five people and the burning of their homes and four prayer houses by Muslim settlers in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) was backed by the army.

The charges were levelled at a rally in Rangamati, headquarters of the southeastern district that is home to the indigenous people, and a memoramdum to the prime minister was submitted through Rangamati's deputy commissioner.

By IANS,

New Delhi: Saudi Arabia topped the world's charitable contributions to fund humanitarian relief operations in 2008, according to a UN report.

A statement from the Saudi embassy here quoted the report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva saying that Saudi Arabia was the top donor in the world in financing humanitarian aid. The contribution amounted to the ratio 0.1925 of its GDP.

By Arun Kumar, IANS,

Washington: Due to its India fixation, Pakistan still isn't doing everything in its power to clamp down on Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), blamed for 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, the Foreign Policy magazine suggests.

Citing non-action against LeT as one of the "three huge ways Pakistan still isn't cooperating", David Kenner writes suggesting the dramatic capture of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar has revived a long-dormant spirit of optimism regarding the US-led effort in Afghanistan.

By DPA,

Kabul : A NATO airstrike in Afghanistan killed 33 civilians, including women and children, and wounded 12, the president's office said Monday.

The incident took place Sunday in Dai Kundi province when three vehicles carrying the civilians were targeted from the air, provincial Governor Sultan Ali Uruzgani told DPA.

The cabinet of ministers chaired by President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack "in strongest terms possible", it said.