Following the British coalition government’s launch of the consultation process to change the legal definition of marriage, the UK’s largest Muslim body on Mar 19 spoke out in support of Church leaders’ concerns.

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said that it agreed with sentiments expressed by the Archbishop of Canterbury (in his recent address to the Council of Churches in Geneva), and by two senior Catholic leaders, Archbishop Vincent Nichols and Archbishop Pete...

The Palestinian Authority has asked the United Nations Human Rights Council to conduct a formal inquiry into the impact of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Al-Maliki said on Mar 19. The probe should look into “attempts to confiscate land and settler violence along with the impact of settlement expansion on Palestinian life and basic human rights,” he said, adding that the proposal for an inquiry was formally tabled on Mar 16.

Followers of the anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr on Mar 19 demanded better living conditions in Iraq on the ninth anniversary of the US-led invasion of their country. Iraqis have struggled with high unemployment, corruption and an infrastructure degraded by years of sanctions, war and economic neglect. As the violence across the country has abated, economic development has become a key concern for many Iraqis. Sheik Assad Al-Nasiri said that Sadrists want the government to step up...

Mauritanian authorities acting with French help on Mar 19 arrested Muammar Qaddafi’s former chief of intelligence, Abdullah Al-Senussi, in Nouakchott airport as he entered the West African country on a false passport. Senussi, who for decades before the late dictator’s fall inspired fear and hatred in ordinary Libyans, is sought by The Hague-based International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity. The whereabouts of Senussi, the last major figure at large from Qad...

The European Union on Mar 23 slapped sanctions on the mother, sister and influential wife of President Bashar Assad, increasing pressure on Syria to halt its bloody crackdown against a year-long uprising. The trio were among 12 Syrians added to a list of figures already hit with EU travel bans and asset freezes, diplomats said. Foreign ministers in Brussels also barred European firms from trading with two Syrian oil companies. “With this new listing we are striking at the heart of the A...

A US Army sergeant was formally charged with 17 counts of murder on Mar 23 for killing eight adults and nine children in a pre-dawn shooting rampage in southern Afghanistan that further eroded US-Afghan relations already frayed by a decade of war. Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, a decorated 38-year-old veteran of four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, also was charged with six counts each of assault and attempted murder for attacking two other adults and four children in the March 11 shootin...

Egypt will launch a scheme on Mar 24 to reduce its budget deficit by selling plots of land near Cairo to Egyptians living abroad, the housing minister said on Mar 20, with the aim of raising $15 billion over four years. The deficit has widened since last year’s popular uprising hammered the economy, cut tax revenue and led to demands for higher salaries and more benefits. The government has forecast a budget deficit of 144 billion Egyptian pounds ($23.9 billion) in the fiscal year to Ju...