Hajj pilgrimage reaches its zenith as pilgrims perform last ritual


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Egypt sentences 14 to death over Sinai attacks

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An Egyptian court on Monday sentenced 14 militants Islamists to death by hanging and four to life imprisonment for attacks on army and police forces in the Sinai Peninsula last year. The verdicts showed the state's determination to deal firmly with militant activity in Sinai, which has increased since the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. Security forces are mounting operations in the area following the killing 16 Egyptian border guards in August. The court's decision is likely to go in the way of appeasing Israel, which has voiced concern over the faltering security in Sinai where at least four cross-border attacks took place in just over a year. Israel is now building a fence along the desert border. Restoring security in Sinai is one of President Mohamed Mursi's main challenges since he became president last June. The men, members of a militant group called Tawheed and Jihad, were charged by the prosecutor with killing three police office...
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S.Africa ANC rebel Malema charged with money-laundering

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South African ANC renegade Julius Malema was charged with money laundering on Wednesday in a high profile corruption case his supporters say is part of a political plot to silence President Jacob Zuma's most vocal critic. The trial of Malema, who has backed wildcat miners' strikes and has been pushing for nationalisation of the mines, is one of the biggest since apartheid ended and Nelson Mandela's African National Congress (ANC) took power in 1994. Prosecutors at the provincial magistrates' court in Polokwane, 350 km (220 miles) north of Johannesburg, said Malema had "improperly received" 4.2 million rand in a conspiracy involving government tenders. Malema scoffed at the charges after being released on bail of 10,000 rand. "I'm unshaken... I'll continue with the struggle for economic freedom," he told supporters, adding he would visit a platinum mine run by Impala on Thursday to press for a wage strike there. Scores of police ...
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Egypt says IMF deal doesn't need approval by MPs

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Egypt denied on Monday that a $4.8 billion loan requested from the International Monetary Fund would be put to a yet-to-be-elected parliament for approval, a move that could have delayed the dispersal of funds. Any hold-up could shake the confidence of investors who have been cheered by Egypt's progress with seeking the loan, needed to plug holes in the country's budget and balance of payments. Alaa El Hadidi, the spokesman for Prime Minister Hisham Kandil, said that in the absence of a parliament - the chamber was dissolved in June - President Mohamed Mursi had legislative powers and could approve any agreement. "In accordance with the constitutional declaration, any international agreement needs to be approved by the legislative authority, and in the absence of parliament, President Mohamed Mursi is empowered to take such decisions," he told Reuters. Earlier, Egyptian state TV carried a report quoting Kandil as saying the IMF deal would be put to parliam...
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