Tropical Storm Cristobal churns in the Caribbean

Tropical Storm Cristobal formed early Sunday in the Caribbean, having strengthened from a tropical depression, the National Hurricane Center said.It has maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.The hurricane center issued tropical storm warnings on Sunday for the southeastern and central Bahamas as well as for the Turks and Caicos Islands.Cristobal is moving to the northwest but is expected to turn to the northeast in the coming days and miss the U.S. coastli...

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Exchange of fire on Pakistan-India border; deaths reported

Pakistan and India exchanged fire near the border in the disputed Kashmir region early Saturday, killing at least two people from each country.The Indian paramilitary border security force said Pakistani forces fired shots and mortar rounds near the border, killing a father and his 8-year-old son, and injuring four others, including a trooper. A spokesman for the security force called the action from the Pakistani side "unprovoked."The Pakistani...

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Torn page from Quran sells for $68,000 at auction

A torn page in a cheap, tatty frame has sold at auction for an eye-watering $68,000 (A$74,000), plus commission.Sydney auctioneer Mark Owens confesses he still knows very little about lot 11, which appears to be a page of the Quran."I've never even spoken directly to the person who put it in apart from a couple of e-mails," he said."He said it came from an estate in Melbourne. I don't think he knew a great deal about it. How old it is, I still...

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French government dissolved amid turmoil among ministers

The French government was dissolved Monday amid turmoil among top ministers.President Francois Hollande asked Prime Minister Manuel Valls to form a new government, which will be announced Tuesday, Hollande's office said in a statement posted on Twitter.French media reported that the upheaval was caused by public calls from Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg for a major reorientation of economic policy in a country where growth has stalled and unemployment remains high.Montebourg's comments were seen as a challenge to the authority of Hollande and...

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Britain close to identifying James Foley's killer

 British officials "are close" to identifying the ISIS militant who beheaded American journalist James Foley, according to Britain's ambassador to the United States, Peter Westmacott.Westmacott told CNN's Candy Crowley on Sunday he couldn't elaborate on the identity of the killer, who is seen decapitating Foley in a video posted last week on YouTube."We're putting a great deal into the search," he said, referring to the use of sophisticated technology to analyze the man's voice.In the video, Foley, 40, is seen kneeling next to a man dressed...

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Ivory Coast closing borders in response to Ebola outbreak

Ivory Coast announced Saturday that it's closing its borders in response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.Prime Minister Daniel Duncan signed the order that closes the land borders Ivory Coast shares with Guinea and Liberia.The borders will remain closed until further notice in an effort to prevent the Ebola virus from spreading into its territory, according to the government statement.The announcement comes the same day the British government...

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A Chinese fighter jet made several "dangerous" and "unprofessional" passes at a U.S. Navy plane this week -- coming as close as 20 feet at one point -- in what the White House called a "deeply concerning provocation."The incident occurred Tuesday in international air space in the South China Sea about 135 miles east of the Chinese island of Hainan, the Pentagon said on Friday.Rear. Adm. John Kirby, the Defense Department spokesman, described a flamboyant approach by what he called an armed Chinese fighter jet that three times crossed beneath the...

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Galileo satellites go into wrong

The European Space Agency (Esa) says the latest two satellites for Europe's version of the American GPS satellite navigation system have not gone into the correct orbit.However, it says the fifth and sixth satellites launched from French Guiana on Friday are under control.The agency is examining the implications of the anomaly.The satellites Doresa and Milena went up on a Soyuz rocket after a 24-hour delay because of bad weather."Observations taken...

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Ukraine in $3bn military investment

Petro Poroshenko said that a "constant military threat will hang over Ukraine" for the foreseeable future.He was speaking ahead of a large military parade in the capital Kiev.Meanwhile, fighting continues in eastern Ukraine, where more than 2,000 people have died in recent months.Mr Poroshenko said the investment would be spread out over two years, from 2015-2017."The events of the last months have for us turned into a real war, albeit an undeclared...

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Story of Prophet Yusuf/Joseph (pbuh)

This is the most detailed and fascinating story in the Quran, involving both human weaknesses such as jealousy, hatred, pride, passion, deception, intrigue, cruelty, and terror as well as noble qualities such as patience, loyalty, bravery, nobility, and compassion. It is related that among the reasons for its revelation is that the Jews asked the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) to tell them about Joseph (pbuh) who was one of their old prophets. His story had been distorted in parts and marred in others with interpolation and exclusions. Therefore it...

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