Indonesian ambassador returns to Australia

Australia said Tuesday that Indonesia's ambassador has returned to Canberra, six months after he was called home during a diplomatic spat over spying allegations.

Indonesian ambassador Nadjib Riphat Kesoema's return marks a significant thawing in relations since he was recalled in November when media reported phone-tapping revelations from National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden. The reports said that Australia had spied on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and eight Indonesian ministers and officials in 2009.

Another form of jihad: ‘Jawi’ students in the Middle East

Dozens of Indonesian jihadists are taking up arms in the current Syrian war after entering the battlefield through Turkey and Morocco. Indonesian diplomats in Turkey have in particular expressed concern over the fact that the Indonesian jihadists include two youths who go to religious schools in Kayseri, an industrialized city in Central Anatolia.

The number of the Indonesian jihadists is indeed minuscule compared to the hundreds of Indonesian students currently pursuing academic degrees in many universities in Turkey. Nobody, however, can predict the scope of these students’ activities within the milieu of the war in Syria.

Anonymous Saudi Man Has A Beautifully Simple Idea To Feed The Poor With 'Charity Fridge'

Sometimes, making a difference can be shockingly simple.

A man living in the city of Hail, Saudi Arabia, came up with a brilliant idea to feed needy people in his neighborhood while sparing them the "shame" of begging, according to Gulf News.

The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, installed a refrigerator on the street in front of his house and invited neighbors to donate their extra food, so that hungry people could come and eat.

The idea gained international attention after religious scholar Shaikh Mohammad Al Araifi praised the act of charity on his Twitter account with a picture of the fridge. "I've always said the people of Hail are generous. A man puts a fridge outside his house for leftover food; an indirect act of charity for the needy," he said, in a translation provided by the BBC. "Oh how I love you, Hail!"

About Islam

Islam is a monotheistic religion based on the text of the Quran, believed by adherents of the faith to be the literal word of God, and on the leadership of the prophet Muhammad. The core profession of this belief is the shahada: "There is no god but God and Muhammad is the prophet of God." Followers of Islam are known as Muslims. Islam is the third of the Abrahamic faiths, the first two being Judaism and Christianity. Muslims affirm the divine origin of these faiths through the line of prophets from Adam to Jesus, but believe that the Quran is the authoritative, complete and final revelation of God. The core practices of Islam are known as the five pillars of Islam -- faith, prayer, almsgiving, fasting and pilgrimage.

Turnout High, Ballot Papers Low In Afghan Election

Afghan voters braved heavy rains, long lines, and the threat of Taliban attacks to cast ballots in what appears unprecedented numbers in the April 5 presidential election.

But many ended up going home disappointed. The reason: Not enough ballots.

According to some reports, there have been ballot shortages in as many as 15 of the country’s 34 provinces. There were even shortages in the capital, Kabul.

The high turnout on April 5 appeared to catch many election organizers off-guard. In the 2009 election, turnout was low, with approximately one-third of eligible voters casting ballots. Turnout figures for this year’s vote are not yet available. But Afghan election officials say it was high.

Eleven Muslims Shot Dead in India's Assam

ASSAM – Eleven Muslim villagers were killed and others wounded overnight when suspected separatist militants opened fire on them in the high tense northeastern Indian state of Assam.

"The first attack took place in a village in Baksa in western Assam where the rebels killed three people," LR Bishnoi, a senior police official in Kokrajhar told the BBC on Friday, May 2.

“The second incident happened in Kokrajhar where the rebels gunned down seven people.”

The police official was referring to an incident in which the militants shot dead three members of a family, including two women, while wounding a baby in the Kokrajhar district of Assam state.

In a second attack in Baksa district in western Assam, eight people were killed by a group of guerrillas as their sat in courtyard on Thursday night.

The dead included six women and two children.

Iran says oil row with India resolved

TEHRAN (AFP) – (AFP) – Iran’s oil ministry said on Sunday a five-billion-dollar oil payments dispute with India has been resolved without any interruption of crude exports.

“Following bilateral negotiations, the two sides agreed to settle the outstanding bills as soon as possible,” National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) managing director Ahmad Ghalebani told the ministry’s website SHANA.

“Part of the arrears will be paid in the next few days and the remaining part will be paid by the Indian customers gradually,” he said.

Ghalebani said “oil exports to India are continuing” as usual, without giving details.

Tehran warned late last month it would halt exports to India from next month unless the payments dispute was resolved.

Indian Oil Minister S. Jaipal Reddy said on Friday that New Delhi expects to pay via Turkey its first tranche of arrears to Iran, which supplies 12 percent of energy-hungry India’s crude oil needs.

India is Iran’s second largest client after China, and absorbs about 20 percent of the Islamic republic’s crude exports.

However, Indian firms have been struggling for more than six months to pay Tehran because of international banking sanctions imposed on Tehran over its controversial programme of uranium enrichment.