Defense ministry official is arrested

The World Today

July 31, 2011|Associated Press

AFGHANISTAN

Defense ministry official is arrested KABUL - A senior Defense Ministry official who allegedly leaked secrets that helped the Taliban stage suicide attacks in Kabul has been arrested by the Afghan Intelligence Service - one of three high-profile arrests announced by the agency. The others were a top Taliban official accused of leading an insurgent propaganda campaign in eastern Afghanistan and an insurgent who allegedly helped organize an April 1 attack against the UN headquarters in Mazar-e-Sharif that killed 11 people.

EGYPT

Islam’s holy month of Ramadan to start CAIRO - Religious authorities in most of the Mideast have declared that tomorrow will be the start of the holy month of Ramadan, a period devoted to dawn-to-dusk fasting, prayers and spiritual introspection. Ramadan’s start is calculated based on the sighting of the new moon, which marks the beginning of the Muslim lunar month that varies between 29 or 30 days.

ITALY

Knox case on hold over DNA question PERUGIA - Prosecutors at Amanda Knox’s appeals trial yesterday contested the conclusions of independent forensic experts who say some of the key DNA evidence used to convict the American student of killing her British roommate in 2007 was unreliable. Prosecutor Manuela Comodi sought to show that the forensic evidence could stand. The trial was adjourned until September.