Somali and world news

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says a letter by US Republican senators to undermine the P5+1 group’s efforts to reach a nuclear agreement with Iran is just a publicity stunt without any legal value. In an open letter to Iran on Monday signed by some 47 Republican senators, the lawmakers warned Tehran that any deal signed by the Obama administration must be approved by Congress or it could be abandoned by next president after Obama leaves office in January 2017. The Iranian foreign minister told reporters on Monday in Tehran that the Republican letter has “no legal value and is mostly a propaganda ploy.” Zarif said it appears to be an attempt to disrupt the nuclear talks underway between Iran and the P5+1 countries – the US, Britain, France, China, Russia, and Germany. “It is very interesting that while negotiations are still in progress and while no agreement has been reached, some political pressure groups are so afraid of even the prospect of an ag

Saudi Arabia is ready to engage in negotiations with Iran on the improvement of bilateral relations, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal says. Speaking to reporters in Riyadh on Tuesday, Faisal added that Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had been invited to visit Riyadh. "Iran is a neighbor, we have relations with them and we will negotiate with them," the Saudi minister said. "We will talk with them in the hope that if there are any differences, they will be settled to the satisfaction of both countries," he added. The Saudi minister noted that his Iranian counterpart had not responded to the invitation yet. "Any time that he sees fit to come, we are willing to receive him," Faisal said. In a meeting with the new Saudi Ambassador to Tehran Abdulrahman bin Gharman Al-Shihri on March 3, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani underlined the country’s determination to ameliorate ties with neighboring Muslim countries and

ire and violence as 8,000 demonstrate at Indonesian consulate in Jeddah ahead of crackdown on illegal workers.Aljazeera

Somalis are trying to agree on a government that decentralizes power but also brings the nation back together after years of conflict. But that's proving difficult.(ALJAZEERA)

African Union forces who drove out Al Shabab fighters out of Kismayo around eight months ago try to maintain security. (Aljazeera)

President Bashar al-Assad says fighters have crossed over from Jordan, raising probability of conflict spreading across the region.

President Bashar al-Assad accused the West on Wednesday of supporting al Qaeda militants in Syria's civil war and warned they would turn against their backers and strike "in the heart of Europe and the United States". Assad also launched his strongest criticism yet of neighboring Jordan for allowing thousands of fighters to cross the border to join a conflict he insisted his forces would win and save Syria from destruction. "We have no choice but victory. If we don't win, Syria will be finished and I don't think this is a choice for any citizen in Syria," the defiant president said in a television interview. Assad's forces have been fighting back across the country against rebels who have taken control of much of rural Syria and seized a provincial capital in March for the first time in two years of fighting. The conflict started with mainly peaceful demonstrations but descended into a civil war in which the United Nations says at least 7

Moscow, Dad tiradooda lagu qiyaasay Kun qof ayaa la sheegay in dhaawac ka soo gaaray dhagaxaan olalaya oo iyagoo sida kubada u duuban, xawaare sida gantaalada oo kale ahna ku socda ku habsaday jimcihii shalay dhinaca bari ee gobolka Ural ee dalka Ruushka. Sida ay ku warameen wakaaladaha wararka dunida, waxa gobolka Ural ee dalka Ruushka Jimcihii shalay, ku habsaday dhagaxyo hawada sare ka soo dhacay, kuwaas oo sida gantaalka u socday iyaga oo olalayana laga arkayay cirka ka hor intii aanay ku habsan degaankaas ee aanay sababin dhaawaca iyo khasaaraha tirada badan. Dadka ku wax yeeloobay ayaa la sheegay in badankoodu ay ku dhaawacmeen daaqadaha guryaha oo markii ay burbureen, ku soo firaray, waxaana burbur wayni soo gaaray guryaha degaankaas oo markii dhagaxaas olalayay uu ku habsaday degaankaas sida dhul gariirka oo kale ugu burburay ama ugu dumay. Dadka ku dhaawacmay shilkaan ayaa badankoodu arkayay oo daawanayay markii dhagxaantaas oo sida kubad wayn oo kale ahi cirka ka soo

In Egypt, thousands of men and women have marched against the sexual harrassment of female protestors.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has arrived in Cairo, marking the first visit to Egypt by an Iranian president since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution. Ahmadinejad flew into the capital, Cairo, to attend a summit of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC), which begins on Wednesday. Al Jazeera's Rawyah Rageh reports from Cairo.

Religious scholar "sentenced to pay blood money to mother after serving short jail term" for daughter's death. Lamia was admitted to hospital with multiple injuries, including a crushed skull, broken ribs and left arm A Saudi man who raped his five-year-old daughter and tortured her to death has been sentenced to pay "blood money" to the mother after having served a short jail term, according to activists. The man, said to be a religious scholar who is also a regular guest on Islamic television networks, confessed to having used cables and a cane to inflict the injuries, activists from the group Women to Drive said in a statement on Saturday. Lamia was admitted to hospital on December 25, 2011, with multiple injuries, including a crushed skull, broken ribs and left arm, extensive bruising and burns, the activists said. They said the father had doubted his daughter Lama's virginity and had her checked up by a medic. She died last October.

President Mohamed Mursi is to leave Egypt's political crisis behind on Wednesday with a short trip to Germany to seek urgently needed foreign investment and convince Europe of his democratic credentials. But with the Egyptian army chief warning on Tuesday that the state was on the brink of collapse after days of lethal street violence, Mursi cancelled plans to go on to Paris from Berlin and will instead hurry back to Cairo later in the day. Fifty-two people have been killed in unrest surrounding the two-year anniversary of Egypt's popular revolution, whose values Mursi's critics say he has betrayed. His supporters say protesters want to overthrow Egypt's first democratically elected leader, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood that was banned under former President Hosni Mubarak but has come to dominate Egypt since his downfall in 2011. Mursi on Monday declared a month-long state of emergency in three violence-ridden cities on the Suez Canal - Port Said, Is

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has declared a 30-day state of emergency and a night-time curfew in three cities along the Suez Canal that have seen deadly clashes in recent days. In a televised address late on Sunday, Morsi said the emergency measures in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez would take effect on Monday from 9pm local time (1900 GMT) to 6am (0400 GMT), warning to take more action to stem the latest eruption of violence across much of the country. Meanwhile, in Port Said, at least seven people were killed and 630 others injured on Sunday during the funerals of people killed at the weekend in clashes triggered by death sentences on supporters of a local football team. Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh reports from Port Said.

As thousands take to the streets to protest against the new government, Al Jazeera's Stephen Cole spoke to Prime Minister Hesham Qandil at the World Economic forum in Davos. Qandil said that Egypt is united behind the the parliament, President Mohamed Morsi and the new consitution. "The people have said what they wanted to say and we have to listen to them," said Qandil. The prime minister also said that Egypt's "home-grown" economic reform porgramme will put the country's economy on the path to recovery.

Across Egypt, thousands of people have come out to mark two years since the beginning of mass protests that forced Hosni Mubarak from power. The demonstrations were largely peaceful, but there has been some violence. Many say the new government has failed to follow through on its promises. Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna reports from Cairo.

Supporters and opponents of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi stage final rallies on Friday before a divisive referendum on a new constitution championed by the Islamist leader as a way out of the worst crisis since the fall of Hosni Mubarak. Cairo and other cities have seen a series of often violent demonstrations over the past three weeks since Mursi assumed sweeping new powers to push through the constitution, which he sees as a vital element of Egypt's transition to democracy. At least eight people have died and hundreds have been injured and a leading opposition figure warned of more blood on the streets during the voting this Saturday and next on a draft the opposition says is too Islamist. The referendum asks Egyptians to accept or reject a basic law that has to be in place before national elections can be held early next year - an event many hope can steer the Arab world's most populous nation towards stability. To bolster support for the constitution, the Islamis

After Egypt's president rescinded decrees, former advisers have been left wondering how Morsi makes decisions. In the past week, Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi has rescinded two controversial decrees he made after coming under pressure from the opposition and from within his own political party, raising worries among former advisers about the president's decision-making process. The first edict was a constitutional declaration issued on November 22 that gave Morsi sweeping powers and forbade the courts from striking down his decisions. The decree divided the country, sparked huge public protests, and led several Morsi advisers to resign in protest. The second decision, issued on December 9, would have increased taxes. It was rejected by Morsi's Freedom and Justice Party just hours after it was published, out of fear it would upset voters ahead of Saturday's referendum on a new constitution. Morsi rescinded the decree the same day. Since taking office in late Ju