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The bill for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, (EVAW), was passed by Presidential decree in 2009, but has struck a brick wall after being passed to the Afghan Parliament for ratification.  Several Afghan MPs branded the bill as being anti-Islamic, and insist on amendments so it does not contradict Sharia law.  The bill was seen as being a major step forward for women’s rights and it’s failure to pas through Parliament will be a bitter blow to  many activists.  The law banned violence against women, child marriages and forced marriage.

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A dual bomb attack targeted a secure, gated complex primarily housing Afghan government officials in Kandahar over the weekend, killing at least 3 x ANP and 6 x HCN with around 60 x WIA.  The Aino Mina housing estate boasts facilities such as a football field, a running track and at least one restaurant which is where the two devices were remotely detonated.  Investigations are underway as to how the two vehicle borne IEDs, (one concealed within a car and the other within a motorcycle), managed to slip through the extensive compound security measures.  The estate is linked to the Karzai family with the President’s younger brother, Mahmood, involved in the development.

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The Chief of Police for Farah Province was killed in a drive-by shooting by 2 x AGE riding a motorcycle over the weekend.  Abdul Rahman Zhawandai was gunned down as he was in his car leaving his driveway late on Friday night, when the motorcyclists pulled alongside and opened fire with automatic weapons.  Despite being rushed to hospital, Zhawandai later died of his wounds.  Zhawandai may have been assassinated after initiating increased anti-insurgency operations throughout the area that resulted in several senior Taliban Commanders being killed or captured.

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Israeli police on horseback charged Palestinians as tens of thousands marched in protest to mark the 65th anniversary of the Jewish state's creation. There were violent clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians waving their national flag to commemorate 'Nakba Day' - or 'the day of the catastrophe'. Every May 15, Palestinians hold rallies to protest against their mass displacement during the Arab-Israeli war in 1948. The dispute over the fate of those Palestinians and their descendants, now numbering several million people, remains at the core of conflict in the Middle East. The dispute over the fate of those Palestinians and their descendants, now numbering several million people, remains at the core of conflict in the Middle East.

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The Tunisian government will decide by Saturday whether to allow or ban Salafists from holding their annual congress, the interior minister said on Friday rejecting "death threats" made by the radical Islamists. "The final decision will be taken today or tomorrow," Lotfi Ben Jeddou told Kalima radio. "The government will not be swayed by death threats," he added. The hardline Salafist movement, Ansar al-Sharia, has vowed to go ahead with its annual congress in the historical central city of Kairouan on Sunday and warned that the government will be responsible "for any drop of blood spilt."

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Russia has sent sophisticated anti-ship missiles to Syria, US media report. The New York Times quotes unnamed US officials as saying the missiles could be used to counter any potential future foreign military intervention in Syria. Without confirming details, Russia's foreign minister said Russian supplies did not break any international rules. It comes amid growing alarm that chemical weapons may be being used in Syria, something US President Barack Obama has said would be "a red line". Meanwhile efforts continue to arrange an international conference on Syria. The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met Mr Lavrov in Sochi on Friday to discuss the plans for the conference, which would aim to bring together the Syrian opposition and members of President Bashar al-Assad's government.

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Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews have protested in Jerusalem against plans to force members of their community to serve in the Israeli military. Several people were arrested after bottles, stones and a smoke grenade were thrown at police. Protesters and police were hurt in the clashes. Ultra-Orthodox Israelis are currently exempt from military service while they study in religious schools or yeshivas. Secular Israelis object to this and plans are being made to enlist them. Military service is compulsory for most Israelis over the age of 18, with men serving three years and women two. But many Ultra-Orthodox Israeli men spend much of their adult life in religious studies. At least 15,000 men, all dressed in the black coats and hats traditionally worn by Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Jews, crowded into the streets around the military's recruitment office, in the Haredi neighborhood of Mekor Barukh on Thursday night. Some estimates put the number of protesters much higher. They were called to protest by two ultra-Orthodox factions which strictly oppose any change to the conscription laws which would make national service compulsory for their students.

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At least 30 people have been killed and dozens injured in two explosions outside a mosque in the Iraqi city of Baquba, north of Baghdad. Police and medical workers say the bombs went off as people were leaving the Sunni mosque after Friday prayers. The explosions came after two days of deadly attacks on Shia targets across Iraq. The violence is a sign of the growing tensions in between minority Sunni Arabs and the Shia-led government.

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A constitutional body in Iran has ruled that women cannot run in presidential elections scheduled for June 14. Mohammad Yazdi, a clerical member of the Guardian Council, said the constitution ruled out the participation of women. Thirty women registered as candidates but there had been little expectation they would be allowed to stand. The Guardian Council is charged with vetting election candidates according to their Islamic credentials. Observers say there is ambiguity in the constitution about the participation of women in presidential elections in Iran. However, the latest interpretation appears to put an end to the debate.

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Egyptian police have sealed off the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip in protest at the abduction of seven security personnel in Sinai. Reports say police locked the gates and placed barbed wire at the entrance. Rafah is the only regular exit from Gaza for 1.6m Palestinians living there. Other crossings into Israel are allowed only in exceptional cases. The three policemen and four soldiers were captured while traveling in the peninsula, east of El Arish. Four of the men worked at the Rafah crossing, reports said. An Egyptian security official said the Rafah crossing will remain closed until the group is released.

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Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, has said the gun attack on police officers in west Belfast would have created only "huge misery and heartbreak" had they been killed or injured. Up to six shots were fired as three officers got out of their vehicle at Foxes Glen on Thursday afternoon. No-one was injured. They were responding to bogus reports of a burglary in the area. A 26-year-old man has been arrested.

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Dozens of demonstrators were faced with tear gas and water cannons by police in Istanbul Thursday as they protested against the Turkish government's policy towards Syria. Two groups of protesters were marching to Besiktas district near the Dolmabahce Palace on the European side of the city when officers blocked their path. Some of the demonstrators, said to be mainly students, tried to climb barriers while police used water cannons and tear gas on the groups. Others took refuge in the historic Dolmabahce Mosque. The crackdown followed similar scenes in Ankara on Wednesday, where clashes between students and security forces using cannons and gas saw 30 arrested and two injured. Crowds in Istanbul and Ankara were protesting against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's funding and support for the Syrian rebels against President Bashar Assad. Syria has accused the Turkish government of facilitating the flow of arms, explosives, vehicles, fighters and money to rebels across the border.

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Police in the Russian capital Moscow say they have arrested 236 people suspected of being illegal migrants from Central Asia. They were detained in an industrial zone. A further 154 Central Asians were arrested in a separate raid, Russian media report. Russia increasingly relies on cheap labor from Central Asia, where many families depend on migrant earners. But the issue of migration has fueled social tensions. Of the 236 people detained on Dorozhnaya Street, 100 were found to have illegal status, a Russian migration official later told Interfax news agency. Among items confiscated during the raid were an improvised pistol, five cartridges, two daggers and what appeared to be two stolen cars. Police also said they had discovered an illegal cafe at the site.

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More than $1m (£650,000) worth of jewels have been stolen from a hotel in the French town of Cannes, police say. The jewels were to be loaned to celebrities who have arrived on the French Riviera for the famous annual film festival. They were stolen from a safe in the Novotel Hotel room of an employee of exclusive Swiss jewelers Chopard. Chopard is one of the official sponsors of the festival, which opened on Wednesday. The theft happened on the same day that the festival was shown The Bling Ring, a new film by director Sofia Coppola about some high-school students who find out when celebrities are attending red carpet events in order to break into their homes and steal their designer clothes, bags, and shoes.

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Bulgaria's biggest political party has said it will seek to have the result of Sunday's deadlocked election cancelled on the grounds of a legal violation. Ex-Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said his centre-right Gerb party's chances had been damaged by comments from other parties on the eve of the polls. The parties broke campaign silence over news of illegal ballots being found at a printing shop linked to Gerb. Consultations on forming a coalition are due to begin on Friday. But analysts see little hope of forming a stable coalition to lead the EU's poorest state.

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Two explosions in the Malakand region of north-west Pakistan have killed at least 13 people, officials say. The bombs went off near two mosques in Bazdarra village, close to the tribal areas that border Afghanistan. The Assistant Commissioner of Malakand, Abdullah Mashal, said more than 30 people were injured in the blasts, 15 are in a critical condition. An eyewitness said the explosions came just as Friday prayers started.

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A Chinese high-altitude rocket launch this week was the first test of an interceptor that could destroy orbiting satellites, claims a U.S defense official. The launch, said by the Chinese to be a science mission, reached 6,250 miles (10,000km) above the Earth - the highest suborbital launch since 1976. No objects were placed into orbit, the Pentagon said Wednesday. The rocket re-entered Earth's atmosphere above the Indian Ocean. China said the rocket, launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in western China, carried a science payload to study the earth's magnetosphere.

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Garment factories near the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka have reopened after three days of closure following protests over pay and conditions. The protests came after the collapse of a factory building in the Ashulia district last month in which more than 1,100 people died. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers' and Exporters' Association says about 85% of employees were at work. They will get overtime for working on a Friday, a weekend day in Bangladesh. The manufacturers have accused the workers of disrupting production and say they will not pay wages for the last few days.
 

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New York officials say they have busted a multi-million dollar cigarette smuggling ring. Officials allege that three of the 16 Palestinian immigrants charged had links to known terrorists. The state's attorney general said investigators had recovered only "a fraction" of the proceeds from sales of more than a million untaxed cartons. The amount of money involved remains unclear, but records show the suspects deposited at least $55m (£36m). The scheme cost the state an estimated $80m in tax revenue, said officials in a press conference on Thursday. The alleged ringleaders, brothers Basel and Samir Ramadan, were arrested on Wednesday in Maryland. Investigators said they had found $1.5m in cash - some stashed in black plastic bin bags - in the home and car of Basel Ramadan.

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U.S. authorities in Idaho said Thursday they have arrested an Uzbekistan national on federal terrorism charges. Federal prosecutors said Fazliddin Kurbanov, 30, was arrested in Boise on Thursday after a grand jury issued a three-count indictment as part of a terrorism investigation. The indictment charges Kurbanov with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists. The indictment also alleges he possessed an unregistered explosive device. A separate federal grand jury in Utah also returned an indictment charging Kurbanov with distributing information about explosives, bombs and weapons of mass destruction. He is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boise at 9 a.m. Friday. The Idaho indictment alleges that between August 2012 and May 2013, Kurbanov knowingly conspired with others to provide support and resources, including computer software and money, to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a designated terrorist organization. In count two, the indictment alleges Kurbanov provided material support to terrorists, knowing that the help was to be used in preparation for a plot involving the use of a weapon of mass destruction. The indictment also alleges that on November 15, 2012, Kurbanov possessed an explosive device.