Obama threatens to veto new Iran sanctions bill


WASHINGTON: United States President Barack Obama says negotiations to limit Iran’s nuclear program will be difficult and may not succeed, but he’s warning Congress he will veto new economic sanctions against Tehran while the discussions are ongoing.

Obama described the US on Tuesday as cleared-eyed about longstanding mistrust between Iran and six world powers that are working to prevent the Islamic republic from enriching enough uranium to build nuclear weapons.

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PML-N resolves to take battle to TTP bastion

ISLAMABAD: Although the government and the military continued to discuss matters behind closed doors, government officials took pains on Tuesday to argue that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had made up his mind to take the battle to the TTP stronghold in North Waziristan Agency (NWA).

“More than one option is being considered for going into NWA; it’s just a matter of time now,” a government official privy to the development told Dawn.

He added that the military planning would take time, but the ball had been set rolling by the PML-N government in meetings between the prime minister and the army chief over the past week or so.

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‘Chand Raat Eid Festival’ wins Community Event of the Year Award


Sydney :Chand Raat Eid Festival (CREF) has received ‘Community Event of the Year 2014’ Award. Syed Atiq ul Hassan, the Director of CREF was also the finalist for the ‘Local Citizen of Year Award’.  The ceremony was held at Bicentennial Park in Sydney Olympic Park on Australia Day.

The Auburn City Council Award Ceremony was held during the official function of the Australia Day 2014 celebrations organised by the Auburn City Council and Sydney Olympic Park Authority. The event was attended by many government officials, parliamentarians and community leaders. More than 6,000 people joined the colourful Australia Day celebration.

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Gunmen kill senior Egyptian Interior Ministry Official


CAIRO: Gunmen on a motorbike shot dead Tuesday an Egyptian police general in Cairo, who was also an aide to the interior minister, security officials and medics said.

The brazen morning attack comes a day after Egypt’s military backed its chief Field Marshall Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, to run for the presidency.

It also coincided with the start of a second trial against Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president, whose ouster in July has polarised Egypt amid a sweeping police crackdown on his supporters, mostly Islamists.

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Al-Qaeda linked rebels bomb Syrian defence minister’s town


BEIRUT: A suicide bomber from an Al Qaeda-linked rebel group killed 13 soldiers in an attack on the Syrian defence minister’s hometown, an opposition monitoring group said on Tuesday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a Saudi militant who came to Syria to fight with the country’s al Qaeda affiliate, the Nusra Front, blew himself up late on Monday at an army checkpoint in the village of Rahjan in central Hama province.

Syria’s nearly three-year conflict began as peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s rule but has devolved into civil war that has killed more than 130,000 and brought violence to every region.

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