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The death toll in a stampede outside Mecca has risen to 717, with at least 800 injured, the deadliest disaster on the annual hajj pilgrimage in over a quarter of a century. The crush happened in the Mina valley, a few miles outside Mecca, where a sprawling camp of 160,000 tents fills with millions of visitors for a few days each year. Tragedy hit when two large groups of pilgrims who were preparing for one of the last major rites of their trip met on an intersection of two roads, Saudi authorities said.

The hajj WILL go ahead: Religious leaders confirm Islam's mass pilgrimage to Mecca goes ahead this month despite the crane disaster killing 107 there yesterday Saudi official announced today that the hajj will go ahead in Mecca despite the horror of yesterday's crane collapse An investigation has been launched in the disaster as critics claim authorities were negligent in allowing the cranes Authorities issued extreme weather warnings and earlier photos capture mosque being struck by lightning ceiling Crane is part of massive project to increase the area of the mosque to accommodate 2.2million people at once A Saudi official has...

A 41-YEAR-OLD Jordanian man was charged with premeditated murder after his raped teenage niece was shot dead on Tuesday to "cleanse" the family's honour... "The man was arrested and charged after he shot the 16-year-old girl eight times in different parts of her body,'' ... "The suspect, who was arrested while carrying his gun, confessed to the crime, saying that he wanted to cleanse his family's honour after his niece was raped last year. She gave birth to a baby boy two months ago and her family kept the child.'' "honour killings'', a court usually commutes or reduces sentences... Between...

<p>CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Fire ravaged a 19th century palace used by the upper house of Egypt's parliament Tuesday, with flames bursting through windows as helicopters scooped water from the Nile River to douse the blaze.</p> <p>Flames soared upward from the top floor of the three-story building, and much of the interior appeared gutted. While firefighters focused on one corner of the building, the blaze burned heavier on a second corner, spreading to the second floor.</p>

AMSTERDAM — Police in the east of Amsterdam detained a 43-year-old female motorist on Monday night after she killed a thief who stole her bag. The 19-year-old victim was riding on a moped with a friend when they stopped beside the woman's car and opened the door to steal her bag. The thieves then tried to escape, but the woman reversed her car to cut them off, colliding with the scooter. After the collision, the car continued moving due to an "unknown" cause and the 19-year-old was wedged in between the car and a tree. He died at the scene....

The Indonesian government yesterday showed its appreciation to U.S. soldiers who have been risking their lives helping tsunami victims by ordering them to get out of the country by the end of March. "Three months are enough," Vice President Jusuf Kalla told the official Antara news agency. "In fact, the sooner [they leave] the better." Kalla's government also forced the Abraham Lincoln, from which Navy pilots have flown dozens of food supply missions to the hard-hit Aceh Province, to steam out of Indonesian waters because they refused to let U.S. pilots fly training missions in their air space. The...

Ali - Malaysia Title The Path to Allah’s Victory Question Dear scholars, As-Salamu `alaykum. After the repeated defeats that have befallen our nation, we want to know what is the right path to Allah’s victory. We have lost all confidence in the glittering and false promises our leaders give us. We want to know the right path to Allah’s victory so that we follow it. Jazakum Allah khayran. Dear brother in Islam, we would like to thank you for the great confidence you place in us, and we implore Allah Almighty to help us serve His cause and render our...