Washington, May 22 (ANI): A self-proclaimed Saudi cleric said that if women turn on air-conditioners at home in their husband's absence could lead to moral depravities.

The man claiming to be Salafist-Wahhibist cleric posted on Twitter that if any woman turns on the cooler ventilator in the absence of her husband, someone might notice her presence home and this might bring about immorality.

Beijing, May 21 (Xinhua-ANI): The United States on Monday denounced Hezbollah for siding with the Syrian government forces in their battle against the rebels in Syria's central city of al-Qussair.

State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said his country condemned the direct intervention by the Shiite militant group in neighboring Lebanon, as its fighters were playing a significant role in the government's offensive in al-Qussair.

Beijing, May 21 (Xinhua-ANI): At least nine people were killed and 53 others wounded in bombing attacks against two Shiite mosques in Iraq's southern city of Hilla on Monday, a police source said.

A suicide bomber wearing explosive vest blew himself up at Al- Wardiyah mosque in Hilla, some 100 km south of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, and about five minutes later a bomb exploded in the nearby Al-Galagh mosque, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Beijing, May 20 (Xinhua-ANI): The Syrian army on Sunday launched a wide-scale operation to recapture the border city of al-Qussair near Lebanon, and has regained large swathes of the strategic city, local media reported.

The offensive aims to cut the rebels' main supply line in the central region of the country, analysts said.

Beijing, May 20 (Xinhua-ANI): At least 13 people were killed and 72 wounded in a series of car bomb attacks in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad and the southern city of Basra on Monday, the police said.

One of the attacks occurred in the oil-hub city of Basra, some 550 km south of Baghdad, when two car bombs went off almost simultaneously in the western part of the city, leaving at least nine killed and some 30 wounded, a local police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

London, May 20 (ANI): Iranian authorities have executed two men after they were charged and convicted for spying Israel and the United States.

Iran has repeatedly accused Israel and the U.S. of carrying out covert intelligence operations following ongoing pressure on the country over its nuclear programme, which the Western nations suspect as being used to build an atomic weapon, despite Tehran's insistence that the programme is meant for peaceful purposes, BBC News reports.

Washington, May 19 (ANI): A leading senior religious clerics in Saudi Arabia has said that Saudi citizens using Twitter will risk damnation.

Abdul Latif Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh's declaration comes as a move to attack the US-based microblogging service, the Huffington Post reports.

Johannesburg, May 19 (ANI): Syrian president Bashar Assad has said that claims of the West that the Syrian government used weapons of mass destruction against its countrymen are nothing but a pretext for waging war against Syria.

The statement comes after US, Britain and Israel strongly put forth their opinions that there is evidence of chemical weapons being used in Syria, News 24 reports.

London, May 19 (ANI): A Saudi woman has become the first female from the country and the youngest Arab to reach the summit of Mount Everest - the world's highest mountain.

Raha Moharrak, 25, was part of a four-person expedition, which also included the first Qatari man and the first Palestinian man attempting to reach the top of Mount Everest, trying to raise 1 million dollars for education projects in Nepal, the BBC reported.

Beijing, May 18 (Xinhua-ANI): At least 15 people were killed and 57 others wounded in three roadside bomb attacks on Friday in Iraq 's capital city of Baghdad, a police source said.

A roadside bomb exploded in the Amiriya district in western Baghdad, killing 12 people and wounding 32 others, the police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Another roadside bomb in the Doraa district in southern Baghdad killed two people and wounded 20 others, he said.

Washington, May 17 (ANI): A new video has emerged on the Internet showing a Syrian rebel leader summarily executing a line of kneeling soldiers loyal to President Bashar al-Assad regime with bullets.

The video comes on the heels of another one that appeared to show a rebel leader biting into the heart of a slain Assad loyalist.

London, May 17 (ANI): Iran's constitutional body, the Guardian Council, has ruled out women's participation in presidential elections as candidates.

The final list of candidates will be announced on Tuesday, with only few names expected on the ballot, the BBC News reports.

London, May 16 (ANI): The only refuge for KFC lovers in the Gaza strip is to get the food delivered via tunnels linking the besieged land to Egypt.

The tunnel has also been used to smuggle arms and other goods, the Mirror reports.

According to the report, the Palestinians residing in Gaza have to pay more than double the amount and wait until three hours to finally get a bite into their meal, provided the delivery boy does not get caught by the Hamas guards.

Washington, May 16 (ANI): An al Qaeda-linked militant cell had planned to carry out suicide attacks on the French and US embassies in Egypt.

Authorities announced that they arrested three Egyptians with links to al Qaeda and also seized 22 pounds of explosive materials in their possession.

London, May 16 (ANI): The head of Saudi Arabia's religious police has warned citizens against using Twitter.

The warning comes as social networking site is increasingly becoming popular among Saudis.

Sheikh Abdul Latif Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh said anyone using social media sites, and especially Twitter, 'has lost this world and his afterlife'.

According to the BBC, he said that Twitter was the platform for those who did not have any platform.

London, May 16 (ANI): A resolution calling for a political transition in Syria and condemning the government's use of heavy weapons has been adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.

The resolution, which is not binding, passed easily, although a similar one last year received more support.

According to the BBC, Russia was fiercely opposed to the resolution, which it called was unbalanced and failed to address adequately atrocities allegedly committed by rebel groups.

Cairo, May 13 (ANI): Former president Hosni Mubarak, who fell from power in Egypt after the uprising in 2011, said that future generations would judge him 'fairly'.

Calling it too early to judge his successor Mohamed Morsi, he said a new president who is laden with heavy responsibilities for the first time, should not be judged so quickly.

In a report by The Nation, Mubarak expressed sadness about the deteriorating economic condition of the people of Egypt.

Ankara, May 13 (ANI): Turkey's prime minister has vowed that his country won't be drawn into Syria's civil war, despite twin car bombings which the government believes were carried out by a group of Turks with close ties to pro-government groups in Syria.

Jerusalem, May 13 (ANI): At least 82,000 people have been killed and 12,500 others are missing after two years of civil war in Syria, the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said.

According to the monitoring group, most of the dead were killed by troops and militia loyal to President Bashar Assad and most of the missing are believed to have been detained by the government's secret police and other loyalists, reports the Jerusalem Post.

Islamabad, May 12 (ANI): Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and the incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's close ally, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, have both registered as candidates for next month's presidential election.

The 79-year-old Rafsanjani, who is expected to win the support of the country's reformers, and his hardline rival both announced their candidacy just before the deadline on Saturday, reports the Guardian.