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Afghan Taliban opens Qatar office as US announces talks

Agence France-PresseJune 18, 2013 12:30
The Taliban opened a political office in Doha on Tuesday, as Washington said it hoped to begin talks with its Afghan foe in the Qatari capital "in a couple of days." The group, which has waged a deadly insurgency against US-led troops ever since its government in Kabul was overthrown after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, pledged it would never allow Afghan territory to be used to threaten a foreign country.

Taliban official says no date set for Afghan peace talks

June 18, 2013 12:05
DUBAI (Reuters) - A senior Taliban official said on Tuesday no date had been agreed for talks in Qatar on ending Afghanistan's 12-year-long war, after U.S. officials said they would meet representatives of the Islamist insurgency next week in the Gulf state. Asked by a reporter whether a date had been set, Tayeb Agha replied: "There are no scheduled dates". The remark by Agha, the former chief of staff to the Taliban's reclusive leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, was carried live on al Jazeera television.

Afghan Taliban opens Qatar office, says seeks political solution

June 18, 2013 11:34
DUBAI (Reuters) - The Afghan Taliban opened an office in Qatar on Tuesday to help restart talks on ending the 12-year-old war, saying it wanted a political solution that would bring about a just government and end foreign occupation. Taliban representative Mohammed Naeem told a news conference at the office in the capital Doha that the Islamist insurgency wanted good relations with Afghanistan's neighboring countries.

US officials say to meet Taliban within days

Agence France-PresseJune 18, 2013 11:02
The United States on Tuesday welcomed the Taliban's decision to open an office in Qatar and senior US officials said they hoped to meet with their Afghan foes within days. "I think the United States will have its first meeting with the Taliban for several years in a couple of days in Doha," a senior US official told reporters, dubbing the move the "beginning of a very difficult road." ddl-dc/dw

Afghan Taliban to open Qatar office

Agence France-PresseJune 18, 2013 10:01
The Taliban will open an office later Tuesday in Qatar, a spokesman said, offering a boost to possible peace talks after 12 years of fighting in Afghanistan. "Yes, I can confirm the office will open later today in Qatar," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told AFP. "The office is to open dialogue between the Taliban and the world." emh-sak/bgs/jm/ia

Poll finds Egyptians divided, many disappointed

June 17, 2013 13:05
By Asma Alsharif and Alastair Macdonald CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians are deeply divided and many have no faith in any of the main political groups, creating a crisis for the state to build on the revolution of 2011, a new poll by Zogby Research Services found on Monday. Only 28 percent saw the election of Islamist Mohamed Mursi as president in June 2012 as positive or at least the result of a democratic vote they respected - a figure down by half from a 57-percent majority who were positive or respectful a year ago.

Poll finds Egyptians divided, many disappointed

June 17, 2013 12:30
By Asma Alsharif and Alastair Macdonald CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians are deeply divided and many have no faith in any of the main political groups, creating a crisis for the state to build on the revolution of 2011, a new poll by Zogby Research Services found on Monday. Only 28 percent saw the election of Islamist Mohamed Mursi as president in June 2012 as positive or at least the result of a democratic vote they respected - a figure down by half from a 57-percent majority who were positive or respectful a year ago.

Malala denounces 'cowardly' Pakistan attack

Agence France-PresseJune 17, 2013 11:32
Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl shot by the Taliban for promoting girls' education, on Monday denounced an attack on a bus carrying female students in Quetta as "cowardly". At least 25 people were killed on Saturday when militants blew up the bus in the capital of restive Baluchistan province and then stormed a hospital where survivors had been taken for treatment. "This was a cowardly and desperate attempt to deny girls their right to education," Malala, 15, said in a statement.

Egypt preacher spared jail for 'insulting' Christianity

Agence France-PresseJune 16, 2013 13:00
A court in the Egyptian capital on Sunday handed an Islamist preacher accused of insulting Christianity an 11-year suspended jail sentence. Ahmed Mohammed Abdullah had been charged with ripping up and burning a copy of the Bible during a protest outside the US embassy in Cairo against the anti-Islam film, "Innocence of Muslims", that was produced in the US. The court handed Abdullah an 11-year suspended sentence for insulting religion, disturbing public order and defamation.

Weeping families identify Pakistan victims

Agence France-PresseJune 16, 2013 10:00
Weeping relatives gathered Sunday to identify the charred remains of loved ones killed in a double attack in Pakistan's troubled southwest claimed by a banned Sunni militant group. At least 25 people were killed on Saturday when militants blew up a bus carrying female students in Quetta, capital of restive Baluchistan province, and then stormed a hospital where survivors had been taken for treatment. The extremist sectarian outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), responsible for a string of outrages against Pakistan's Shiite Muslim minority, said it was behind both attacks.
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