India:
‘Government’s work answer to fatwas’, says Minister
ISI cell in NWFP targeting Indians in Kabul
Private US spy network still on in Pakistan, Afghanistan:
Report
Deoband mufti fears fatwa trap
Insurance law does not exempt Muslims
India: Home Ministry Steps In To Aid Offloaded Cleric
Compensate the cleric: editorial in Mail
Today
Celebrity in Valley, UPSC topper to get 24x7
security
Indian Penal code embodies tenets of Islam, Hinduism: Gujarat
HC
First Muslim woman British minister accused of betraying her
religion
Pakistanis want British MP to remove terror
stigma
Manhattan madness and Muslims
Darfur clash kills 57 officers, rebels: police
At least 30 militants dead in Afghanistan, NATO
raids
Pro-Taliban militants kidnap 60 in Pak
Karachi safe haven of Taliban
US spy ring at work in Pakistan,
Afghanistan
Maldives offers relocation to two Guantanamo
men
Brazil's President Lula in Iran for key nuclear
talks
Saudi women's rights groups hail photo
Spanish judge who indicted bin Laden
suspended
Write 'Meri Jaati Hindustani' in 2011 caste based
census
For Car Bomb Suspect, a Long Path to Times
Square
Pak aware 'terrorism not helping anyone': Afghan
official
Meet the ‘rock’n'roll jihadist’!
Egyptian Christians claim author defamed
religion
Turki Al-Faisal calls on Obama to push for Middle East
settlement
New school tries to revive music in Afghanistan
Fifteen suspected militants killed in Orakzai
Rape victim confesses to killing baby
Women empowerment powerful instrument against
discrimination
Couple sell daughter to save son’s life
France's Kouchner denies Iran 'spy-deal'
Sudan military occupies Darfur rebel
stronghold
Compiled by Asit Kumar
Photo: Protest by Indonesian worker against forcing three Muslim
workers from Indonesia to eat pork
--------
Muslim migrant workers from Indonesia demand religious
rights
May 16, 2010
Taipei, May 16 (CNA) The recent case of a Taiwanese employer forcing
three Muslim workers from Indonesia to eat pork drove labour activists and
migrant workers to the streets Sunday to demand respect for their religious
freedom.
Rallying in front of the Bureau of Consular Affairs, 21 Indonesian
caregivers appealed to their Taiwanese employers, some tearfully, to respect
their religious practices, such as not eating pork and observing Ramadan, one of
the most important religious acts of the year for devout
Muslims.
"I am begging my boss not to ask me to eat pork again. How would you
feel if you were forced to eat something that you are prohibited from eating?
“said Tiwi, an Indonesia caregiver who has spent seven years in Taiwan under
three different employers, all of whom, she says, have pressured her into eating
pork.
We will not die from eating pork but our hearts will be filled with
guilt." Tiwi said her employer always tells her that she must eat some pork to
have enough energy to work and that Allah will not punish her because the
situation requires her to eat it.
Another worker, Setiowati, said many of her friends have been told by
their employers that if they refused to eat pork, they would be fired and sent
home to Indonesia.
In addition to being forced to eat the forbidden meat, many workers
also complained that their employers do not give them enough time to perform
salat -- the obligatory prayer required by all Muslim adults five times a day --
or allow them to observe Ramadan, a month of fasting where followers abstain
from food or water from sunrise to sunset to show their love and devotion to
Allah.
The protesters said they have suffered discrimination for many years
and were thankful for the emergence of the recent case of abuse, which caught
the attention of the international media and the Indonesian government, because
it provided them with the perfect opportunity to speak out on the
issue.
A Taiwanese employer, Chang Wen-lin, the owner of Shin Hua Fashion
Co. Ltd, was indicted last week for forcing the three women to eat pork, and,
after being reported internationally, Jakarta called on Taipei to pay serious
attention to foreign labor rights.
Ku Yu-ling, the secretary-general of the Taiwan International Workers
Association (TIWA) , also urged Council of Labor Affairs Minister Wang Ju-hsuan
to expedite the inclusion of foreign caregivers under the Labor Standards Act,
as she has promised since taking office in 2008.
Ku said that without the proper legal protection, foreign caregivers
live in constant fear of being sent home at the whim of their
employers.
According to TIWA, at least 100,000 of Taiwan's 180,000 foreign
caregivers are
http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?Type=aALL&ID=201005160008
--------
‘Ministry’s work answer to
fatwas’
By A. M. Jigeesh
May 16, 2010
REACTING to the fatwas against Muslim men working in banks and
insurance firms recently issued by the Deoband-based Islamic seminary, Darul
Uloom, Union minister for minority affairs Salman Khurshid said the community
has always rejected such diktats.
The minister said only creative intervention can help Muslims develop
and progress.
“ I am a minister and a Muslim. I operate a bank account and hold
insurance policies. We want to develop the community and have decided to open
more banks in minority- concentration areas,” Khurshid
said.
The minister said the activities of his ministry were the answer to
such fatwas and that they will not block the development of
minorities.
“ My ministry’s schemes are the greatest condemnation of such things.
Such announcements won’t affect the government’s programmes,” he
said.
Khurshid said the programmes of the ministry were well- received by
the Muslims.
He said fatwas similar to the one in which the seminary held women
working in offices in proximity with men as un- Islamic and decreed that
acceptance of her earnings by a family was against the Sharia have had no
adverse affect on government’s programmes.
“ The performance of our schemes has not been affected by propaganda.
Why should we be worried when our programmes are not affected?” Khurshid
said.
The minority affairs ministry, through the National Minorities
Development and Finance Corporation ( NMDFC), has been extending loans and
advances to members of minority communities.
As part of implementing the Sachar panel recommendations, Khurshid
said 1,759 branches of public banks were opened in areas with minority-
concentration in the past four years. He said there is a considerable increase
in the intake of Muslims in government jobs, including in security- related
posts.
He said the scheme to develop leadership qualities among minority
women received support from all sections of the society.
“ Nobody has stopped us from opening banks. There is a demand for
opening more such banks in the minority areas,” he said.
Khurshid also supported the idea of Islamic banking. He expressed
hope that the case against interest- free banking proposed by the Kerala
government will be settled soon.
“ There are some constraints in the Indian banking
system.
It is for the Reserve Bank of India to take a final view on the
matter,” he said.
Talking of the completion of four years of his ministry, Khurshid
said more schemes are being launched by the government.
He said the ministry will introduce subsidy on interest on loans for
studies abroad, more promotional activities for linguistic minorities and
schemes to contain decline in population of minorities this financial
year.
Mail Today
--------
ISI cell in NWFP targeting Indians in Kabul
Pranab Dhal Samanta
May 16 2010
New Delhi: Nearly three months after the attack on Indians in Kabul,
Afghan Security agencies have traced back recent anti-India operations in
Afghanistan to an ISI outfit located inside a military cantonment in Kohat in
the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan.
According to information available with Indian agencies, this was
mentioned in a dossier on Pakistani intelligence activities in Afghanistan,
prepared for Afghan President Hamid Karzai ahead of his just concluded visit to
the US. He is believed to have shared the information with US
authorities.
While this was a detailed dossier on ISI activities across
Afghanistan, there was a section that specifically dealt with Pakistani efforts
to target Indian assets in Afghanistan which included the Indian embassy, its
consulates across that country, Indian companies and their
projects.
For the first time, two Pakistani officials, Major Siraj and Major
Mohammed Ali, have been named. The two officers, according to Afghan
authorities, have been operating out of an ISI office that is referred to as
MI-422 and was allegedly behind the February 26 attack. This is said to be in an
Army cantonment in the Tal area of Kohat. These two officers, sources said, have
been planning and coordinating activities against Indian entities through
various terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Toiba.
The information in the dossier comes in the backdrop of earlier
intelligence shared by Afghan agencies with their Indian counterparts that
certain ISI operatives did travel across the border on the day of the attacks
this February, apparently to assess the damage. In fact, two officials from the
Pakistani mission in Kabul were also spotted at the explosion site after the
incident and were apparently seen taking pictures and surveying the
damage.
Subsequently, Afghan authorities also apprehended one Shah Mohammed,
an Afghan national from the Paktia province, who alleged that he had been tasked
by Pakistani ISI officials to film locations where Indians were being put up and
revealed that he had passed on photographs and videos of sites where Indian
companies are at work.
He is also said to have told interrogators that he had been taken to
Miranshah on the Afghan-Pak border for receiving instructions and then sent to
Kabul in March to specifically carry out monitoring of residential premises of
Indian officials. Afghan authorities believe that a Brigadier-rank officer is
based in the Pakistan mission in Kabul to specifically help execute the tracking
and monitoring of Indians which is then sent across to the outfit in
Kohat.
Earlier this month, Afghan Interior Minister Mohammed Hanif Atmar,
accompanied by his intelligence chief Amrullah Salih, told the Meshrano Jirga
(Upper House) that 16 suicide bombers had been arrested in April alone and of
these, six were Pakistanis. One of these, he informed, was apparently from the
Lashkar-e-Toiba. While the youngest of those arrested was aged 14, the oldest
was a 55-year-old man.
Despite these details, sources said, Afghanistan has been cautious in
making much of the information public given the sensitivities involved in
pointing fingers at Pakistan. Most of the information is made known to US
authorities, who in turn seek to corroborate it with
Pakistan.
For this reason, India too has been cautious in prodding Afghanistan
beyond a point lest the delicate balance be disturbed. But the assessment is
clear that more and more terrorist attacks are being planned against Indian
assets in Afghanistan and so the instruction to every Indian there is to assume
that their movements are being monitored, tracked and mapped very
closely.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/isi-cell-in-nwfp-targeting-indians-in-kabul/619505/
--------
Private US spy network still on in Pakistan, Afghanistan:
Report
Mark Mazzetti
May 16, 2010
WASHINGTON: Top military officials have continued to rely on a secret
network of private spies who have produced hundreds of reports from deep inside
Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to American officials and businessmen,
despite concerns among some in the military about the legality of the operation.
Earlier this year, government officials admitted that the military
had sent a group of former Central Intelligence Agency officers and retired
Special Operations troops into the region to collect information - some of which
was used to track and kill people suspected of being militants. Many portrayed
it as a rogue operation that had been hastily shut down once an investigation
began.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/US/Private-US-spy-network-still-on-in-Pakistan-Afghanistan-Report/articleshow/5936760.cms
--------
Deoband mufti fears fatwa trap
Zia Haq
May 16, 2010
Or more than a quarter century, Habibur Rahman, 76, has been signing
Islamic decrees or fatwas from his small cell in Darul Uloom, Deoband, the
143-year-old Islamic school.
Now, the grand mufti has imposed a decree on
himself.
Henceforth, he will get his team to closely vet the “identity and
intention“ of those seeking his opinions.
“I am deeply worried some questions are deliberately posed to us and
our opinion is then used to attack Islam,“ the frail, wire-framed mufti told
Hindustan Times from Deoband.
Anonymous, online queries are of particular concern to this cleric,
who has never allowed himself to be photographed.
“I may have to avoid taking up requests unless the motive is
clear.“
Islam has no Pope, no Vatican.
Full report at: Hindustan Times
--------
Insurance law does not exempt Muslims
By Carole Fader
May 16, 2010
A forwarded e-mail starts off with "Word of the Day: Dhimmitude, the
Muslim system of controlling non-Muslim populations conquered through jihad."
The e-mail goes on to say that ObamaCare is the establishment of Dhimmitude in
the U.S. and that Muslims are "specifically exempted from the government mandate
to buy insurance and from the penalty tax for being uninsured." Is this
true?
The definition of Dhimmitude is accurate, according to various
Islamic sources, but the e-mail carries other claims a little too far - at least
for now.
First, you can search the entire health care law - the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act (go to thomas.loc.gov, click on H.R. 3590,
text of legislation and select version 7) - but you won't find any mention of
Muslim or Islam. That's because there is no specific mention of any religion in
the law.
Full report at:
http://jacksonville.com/carole-fader/2010-05-16/story/fact-person-can-apply-exemption-if-he-religious-sect-member
--------
HOME MINISTRY STEPS IN TO AID OFFLOADED CLERIC
Zia Haq & Vijaita Singh
May 16, 2010
An embarrassed Delhi Police on Saturday dropped the criminal case
filed against Deoband cleric Nurul Huda who was pulled off an Emirates flight on
suspicion of being a terror- ist and arrested.
The move came after the Home Ministry
intervened.
Home Minister P. Chidam- baram is said to have made his displeasure
about the inci- dent clear to the Delhi Police brass, telling them harassment of
innocents without adequate cause would not be tolerated.
The police sent an email to HT saying they had received a complaint
from a woman pas- senger that she had overheard Huda speaking on the phone and
threatening to blow up the plane. “The police had no option but to register an
FIR and take legal action. During investiga- tion it has been found there was a
misunderstanding in view of which the police is filing a clo- sure report,“ the
email read.
Full report at: Hindustan Times
--------
Compensate the cleric: editorial in Mail Today
May 16, 2010
THE treatment meted out to a London bound Deoband cleric Noor- ul-
Huda after a woman co- passenger accused him of uttering an incendiary remark is
evidence of the suspicion which average middle- class people harbour against
Muslims, particularly those who wear their religion on their sleeve. The
respected cleric was not only deplaned and made to miss his flight but also saw
himself being arrested and jailed for no fault of his.
Given the circumstances it’s not clear as to what Mr Huda actually
said to his son on the mobile phone while his plane was set to take off from
Delhi. What is certain is that he did not make any open threat or declaration to
a co- passenger or a crew member which could have been construed as an offence.
The security agencies could have considered the fact that bombers normally don’t
give away their plot while conversing audibly on phone and that, the woman being
an NRI, may not have been fully acquainted with the Hindi or
Urdu.
Full report at: Mail Today
--------
Celebrity in Valley, UPSC topper to get 24x7
security
RAGHVENDRA RAO
May 16, 2010
CELEBRITY status comes for a price. And in the case of 27-year-old
Kashmiri doctor Shah Faisal, who recently topped the UPSC Civil Services exam,
the price of acquiring a star status in the Kashmir Valley could soon mean
restriction on his movements. Having assessed a credible security threat to
Faisal, the Jammu & Kashmir government is mulling providing a 24x7 security
cover to the topper.
"The boy has acquired celebrity status in the Valley following his
success. But we also realise that there are some elements here who are not too
pleased with this success story and could, in fact, attempt to target him. Given
the perceived threat, it would be ideal to throw a security ring around him,” a
top J&K government functionary told The Sunday
Express.
Full report at: The Indian Express
--------
Indian Penal code embodies tenets of Islam, Hinduism: Gujarat
HC
Saeed Khan
May 16, 2010
AHMEDABAD: Gujarat High Court has observed that Indian Penal Code
embodied the basic tenets of Islam and Hinduism that attack is permissible for
self defence only and not to inflict injury to others. The order also defined
Hinduism and the concept of jihad in detail.
Upholding a seven-year jail term awarded to two Muslims by a special
Pota court in a firing incident on Surat-based lawyer Hasmukh Lalwala in 2002, a
Bench comprising Justice Jayant Patel and Justice ZK Saiyed deprecated the act
of violence as being revenge for post-Godhra violence.
Stressing that India is wedded to secular policy, the judges observed
if citizens of the country start with mental strategy of division based on
religion, it may result in damaging the unity of nation and consequently would
tinker with the integrity and security of the nation.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Indian-Penal-code-embodies-tenets-of-Islam-Hinduism-Gujarat-HC/articleshow/5936056.cms
--------
First Muslim woman British minister accused of betraying her
religion
May 16, 2010
Baroness and Tory leader Sayeeda Warsi may be the first Muslim woman
to hold a full cabinet post, but Muslim fundamentalists see her as an apostate
who is hardly representative of the Muslim community.
She has also been warned of
physical harm if she visits Muslim pockets. Last year she was pelted with eggs
by Muslim protestors when she visited Luton, Bedfordshire.
Anjem Choudhary, a firebrand radical preacher whose group Islam4UK
was banned by the last government accuses her of betraying her religion by
supporting the British Army’s involvement in Islamic
countries.
He told the Daily Star,
“Sayeeda Warsi is not a Muslim in my eyes. She may look like a Muslim and have a
Muslim-sounding name but she does not represent Islam or anyone in this country
who is a Muslim”.
Full report at:
http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_first-muslim-woman-british-minister-accused-of-betraying-her-religion_1383755
--------
Pakistanis want British MP to remove terror
stigma
May 16, 2010
The rise of a Pakistani-born Briton to become the first Muslim woman
named in a British cabinet has given Pakistan something to cheer after weeks of
introspection and blame over the failed New York bombing.
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, the Conservative Party's chairwoman, has been
named minister without portfolio by prime minister David Cameron in his new
coalition government.
In Pakistan, a country where many fear they are being stigmatised as
"terrorists", people are jubilant over her appointment.
Born into a modest family which migrated from Pakistan's central town
of Gujjar Khan to Britain in the 1960s, Warsi has been involved in politics
since her college days.
Full report at:
http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_pakistanis-want-british-mp-to-remove-terror-stigma_1383749
--------
Manhattan madness and Muslims
May 16, 2010
The recent New York City terrorist episode is yet another grim wake
up call for the Muslims. It should not be ignored or dismissed by the Muslims as
a random act of a confused individual who happens to be a Muslim or a Pakistani
and that majority of the Muslims have nothing to do with such acts of terrorism.
While the statement itself is accurate, yet more and more due to such acts by
individuals who happen to be Muslims the perception of Islam by others is
becoming for them a seeming reality. What seems more alarming is that in the
more recent acts of terror, Muslims with higher levels of education and social
interaction are implicated. This group includes those who are born in the West
of émigré parents and also converts to Islam. The British last year arrested a
group of young physicians who were planning terrorist action and the arrest of
some of the converts who became radicalized and involved in the planning and
carrying out such action serves to highlight the seriousness of the
problem.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/opinion/columns/article54048.ece
--------
Darfur clash kills 57 officers, rebels: police
May 16, 2010
KHARTOUM: Darfur's strongest rebel group clashed with Sudanese
government forces guarding a convoy, sparking a gunfight that killed 57 officers
and insurgents, police said.
The fighting in South Darfur state late on Thursday is the latest in
a surge of violence in the remote territory since the suspension of peace talks
between Khartoum and the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) last
week.
Sudanese police accused JEM of attacking a commercial convoy between
the town of Al Deain and the capital of south Darfur Nyala, saying officers
guarding the vehicles fought off the assault.
A total of 27 members of Sudan's Central Reserve Police and 30 JEM
fighters died in the fighting, police spokesman Mohamed Abdul Majid said in a
statement. He added that 87 people from both sides were
wounded.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article53923.ece
--------
At least 30 militants dead in Afghanistan, NATO
raids
May 16, 2010
KABUL: Afghan and coalition forces conducted sweeps across
Afghanistan that left at least 30 militants dead, while insurgents in the east
killed five security guards in an ambush on a vehicle convoy, officials said on
Saturday.
Before dawn on Friday, international and Afghan forces carried out an
operation in the Sangin district of Helmand province and 10 insurgents were
killed, said Daud Ahmadi, a spokesman for the regional governor.
Mullah Mohammed Hassan, a "prominent" Taliban commander who was
involved in many insurgent attacks in northern Helmand province, was captured in
the Sangin village of Pirqadam Kariz during the raid, Ahmadi said.
No security forces or troops were injured in the operation, he said.
NATO did not provide immediate comment.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/At-least-30-militants-dead-in-Afghanistan-NATO-raids/articleshow/5934666.cms
--------
Pro-Taliban militants kidnap 60 in Pak
May 16, 2010
PESHAWR: Pro-Taliban militants armed with automatic rifles on
Saturday kidnapped about 60 people, including women and children, after
ambushing their vehicles in Pakistan's northwest Khurram tribal region, police
said.
The militants off loaded the people from 10 vehicles and took them
hostage at gunpoint and set on fire one tractor, they said.
Further details were immediately not available and police said they
were trying to trace the abductors and recover the hostages.
Robberies and kidnapping for ransom are common in the volatile
Khurram tribal region, which has witnessed several sectarian clashes between the
majority Sunni and the minority Shias Muslims.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pro-Taliban-militants-kidnap-60-in-Pak-/articleshow/5935237.cms
--------
Karachi safe haven of Taliban
May 16, 2010
Hundreds of Taliban fleeing from Pakistan’s restive northwest have
taken refuge in the teeming commercial hub of Karachi, where a growing nexus
with banned militant organisations is a headache for law
enforcement.
A huge Pashtun population,
mostly in the suburbs of the city of 18 million people, provides shelter to
these militants, according to security officials.
Pakistan’s financial
capital has largely been spared direct militant attacks. But the man accused in
the failed New York bombing, Faisal Shahzad, and his contacts in Karachi have
highlighted the militant networks operating here.
The arrest of dozens of
low-key members of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, the Taliban Movement of
Pakistan, from the metropolis is evidence of their presence, officials say, and
they have developed close ties to banned outfits as well as
criminals.
Full report at:
http://www.newagebd.com/2010/may/16/inat.html
--------
US spy ring at work in Pakistan, Afghanistan
May 16, 2010
US military officials are still using private detectives to track
Taliban guerrillas in Pakistan and Afghanistan in defiance of defence department
norms, The New York Times has reported.
Despite concerns about the legality of the operation, top military
officials have continued to rely on a secret network of private spies who have
produced hundreds of reports from deep inside Afghanistan and Pakistan, the
report said Saturday quoting American officials and businessmen.
Earlier this year, government officials admitted that the military
had sent a group of former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officers and
retired Special Operations troops into the region to collect information.
The inputs were used to track and kill people suspected of being
militants. It was hastily shut down once a probe began.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/256259/US-spy-ring-at-work-in-Pakistan-Afghanistan.html
--------
Maldives offers relocation to two Guantanamo
men
May 16, 2010
More than 180 Guantanamo detainees remain in
captivity
The Maldives has offered to take two detainees from the US facility
in Guantanamo Bay, the Indian Ocean state's president has
said.
President Mohamed Nasheed said there was "no harm" in the offer, and
said it would not violate any laws.
But the move is being resisted by an opposition party, which is
reported to be taking legal action against the government over its
plans.
Neither of the two detainees have been named.
More than 180 detainees remain in the controversial US prison for
foreign terrorism suspects in Cuba.
Full report at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8685158.stm
--------
Brazil's President Lula in Iran for key nuclear
talks
May 16, 2010
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is holding talks with
Iran's leaders on the vexed nuclear issue.
The Tehran meeting is being seen as a final attempt to find a
compromise.
US officials have warned they are close to securing agreement on a
new package of sanctions against Iran in the UN Security
Council.
The US and other Western powers accuse Tehran of trying to build an
atomic weapon. Iran insists that its nuclear programme is for peaceful
purposes.
President Lula arrived from Moscow, where he met Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev.
There, he told reporters he was "optimistic" about persuading Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to reach an agreement with the
West.
Full report at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8685036.stm
--------
Saudi women's rights groups hail photo
May 16, 2010
A photograph of a Saudi king and crown prince posing with 40 women in
Muslim dress is being called a landmark for Saudi women's rights, observers
say.
The photograph of King Abdallah and the women is remarkable since
separation of the sexes is central to Saudi Arabia's conservative social mores,
ABC News reported Monday.
There has been a slow but significant relaxation of gender
segregation since Abdallah came to power in 2005, ABC
said.
But men and women are still schooled separately, use different
entrances into most buildings, and sit in gender-segregated sections of
restaurants and cafes.
Many hail the photo as an important public step towards women's
rights.
Full report at:
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/International/2010/05/03/Saudi-womens-rights-groups-hail-photo/UPI-26481272924220/
--------
Spanish judge who indicted bin Laden suspended
May 16, 2010
Madrid : The Spanish judge who became an international hero by going
after Augusto Pinochet and Osama bin Laden was suspended for allegedly abusing
his authority by investigating what is arguably Spain's own biggest unresolved
case: atrocities committed during and after its ruinous Civil
War.
The punishment could effectively end Judge Baltasar Garzon's
career.
The unanimous decision by a judicial oversight board, the General
Council of the Judiciary, was made yesterday during an emergency meeting about
Garzon, said its spokeswoman, Gabriela Bravo.
Supporters chanted, cheered and clapped later as Garzon emerged from
the nearby National Court, where he works. He hugged co-workers and appeared to
be holding back tears before getting into a bulletproof limousine and riding
away.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/spanish-judge-who-indicted-bin-laden-suspended/619236/
--------
Write 'Meri Jaati Hindustani' in 2011 caste based
census
May 16 2010
Mention "Hindustani" as your caste. This was the consensus arrived at
a symposium on caste-based census attended by prominent people like former Union
minister for civil
aviation Arif Mohammad Khan. Amid demands for caste-based census, the
symposium, which was held here last evening, announced the launch of a movement
"Meri Jaati Hindustani" (My Caste is Indian). Khan, former MEA secretary J.C.
Sharma and others also decided to set up a committee to transform their
initiative into a mass movement. It is aimed at motivating people to write
"Indian" as their caste in the census form. "Even if only four to five crore
people write their caste as Indian or whatever they call it in their mother
tongue, this will be a huge success and will help more and more citizens to
follow the suit," Khan said.
Full report at:
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/national/write-meri-jaati-hindustani-2011-caste-based-census-167
--------
For Car Bomb Suspect, a Long Path to Times
Square
May 16, 2010
by Ms. Elliott
Just after midnight on Feb. 25, 2006, Faisal Shahzad sent a lengthy
e-mail message to a group of friends. The trials of his fellow Muslims weighed
on him — the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the plight of Palestinians, the
publication in Denmark of cartoons lampooning the Prophet
Muhammad.
Mr. Shahzad was wrestling with how to respond. He understood the
notion that Islam forbids the killing of innocents, he wrote. But to those who
insist only on “peaceful protest,” he posed a question: “Can you tell me a way
to save the oppressed? And a way to fight back when rockets are fired at us and
Muslim blood flows?
“Everyone knows how the Muslim country bows down to pressure from
west. Everyone knows the kind of humiliation we are faced with around the
globe.”
Full report at:
http://www.ocala.com/article/20100516/ZNYT02/5163014/-1/news?Title=For-Car-Bomb-Suspect-a-Long-Path-to-Times-Square
--------
Pak aware 'terrorism not helping anyone': Afghan
official
May 16, 2010
Washington: Observing that relationship between Afghanistan and
Pakistan has improved significantly in the past two years, a top Afghan official
on Sunday said there is now increased awareness in Islamabad that terrorism is
not helping the two neighbours as well as the region.
Waheed Omer, spokesperson of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, said
though things are moving in right direction, there is a long way to go in terms
of anti-terrorism cooperation between the two countries.
He said the relationship between the two countries has improved
significantly ever since a democratic government assumed office in 2008.
Full report at:
http://www.zeenews.com/news627075.html
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Meet the ‘rock’n'roll jihadist’!
May 16, 2010
London, May 16 : He calls himself ‘rock’n'roll jihadist’ and he’s out
to make a change. Salman Ahmad, a Pakistani musician, is in Britain to tell
students to choose guitar over gun.
A part-time lecturer in Islamic music and poetry and frontman of the
band Junoon, who has worked with the Obama administration to tackle extremism on
American college campuses, will pass his message to students at Oxford
University, Imperial College and the London School of Economics, which all have
sizeable Islamic societies.
“You counter radicalisation through telling the truth and if that
comes from the power of a guitar then do that,” The Times quoted him, as
saying.
He added: “I have seen at first hand young Muslims being radicalised
by the distorted message of Islam. They’re fed this guilt narrative that in
order to be a good Muslim you have to give up the electric guitar, or you can’t
wear jeans, or you have to cut your hair.”
He pointed out that his aim was to prevent students being brainwashed
by “murderous thugs masquerading as holy men”.
Ahmad added: “Rock musicians and extremists have the same target
market – the youth.
“Talking about Islam through arts and culture [could fulfil that
role] and open up minds to another point of view.”
http://www.indiatalkies.com/2010/05/meet-rocknroll-jihadist.html
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Egyptian Christians claim author defamed
religion
May 16th, 2010
CAIRO: Egyptian Christians are continuing their campaign against
award winning author Yousef Zeidan over his Arabic Booker prize-winning novel
Azazeel. Some Christian lawyers have demanded that the government imprison
Zeidan for five-years, arguing that he “defamed the Christian
religion.”
Despite the assault on freedom of expression, there are a handful of
Christians speaking out against what they call “misled”
sentiments.
“Sure, there is something to be said about the statements and things
in the book, but at the end of the day it is a book, a good one at that, and if
they don’t want to read it then they don’t have to,” said Hani Fahmy, a
32-year-old pharmacist in Cairo who has said much of the conversation in recent
weeks has been surrounding the novel. “I just find it hypocritical that they can
say these things and at the same time there are Coptic leaders who say Muslims
are the problem. We need some tolerance.”
Full report at:
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=12619
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Turki Al-Faisal calls on Obama to push for Middle East
settlement
By MICHEL COUSINS
May 16, 2010
RIYADH: In an attack on US policy in the Middle East, former Saudi
ambassador to Washington Prince Turki Al-Faisal on Saturday said President Obama
had until September to push for a settlement of the Palestinian
issue.
If nothing happens by then, then the US president has to make "the
morally decent" gesture and recognize Palestine as a sovereign independent
state, he said.
Prince Turki also attacked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for
sending out "confusing signals" on nuclear nonproliferation in the Middle East,
describing them as "unacceptable."
He also said that the US had lost "the moral high ground" it had
acquired after 9/11 in the Middle East because of its "negligence, ignorance and
arrogance."
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article54062.ece
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New school tries to revive music in Afghanistan
By JERRY HARMER
May 16, 2010
KABUL: From the outside, it looks like any other school in Kabul. A
red two-story building is sealed off from the street by a high wall. A few trees
stand in the front yard. Children constantly go in and
out.
But listen carefully. When the noise of the traffic dies down, you
can hear the gentle sounds of violins being played and the patter of drums. In
this city where music was illegal less than a decade ago, a new generation of
children is being raised to understand its joys.
"This school is unique in Afghanistan," said Muhammad Aziz, a
19-year-old student who dreams of becoming one of the world's greatest players
of the tabla, a South Asian drum. "It's the only professional music school and
there are so many good teachers here." The new National Institute of Music has
been offering some courses for the past several months, but the formal opening
will be later in May.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/lifestyle/art_culture/article54203.ece
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Fifteen suspected militants killed in Orakzai
16 May, 2010
PARACHINAR: Fighter jets pounded militant hide-outs in northwestern
Pakistan on Sunday, killing 15 suspected insurgents as part of the military's
campaign to rout Taliban fighters from a mountainous area near the Afghan
border, a government official said.
The Pakistani military launched the ongoing offensive in the Orakzai
tribal region in mid-March to flush out militants who last year fled an army
offensive in nearby South Waziristan. Persistent artillery and aircraft attacks
have killed hundreds of suspected militants over the past two
months.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/03-fighter-jets-kill-15-suspected-militants-in-orakzai-ss-08
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Rape victim confesses to killing baby
By Waseem Shamsi
16 May, 2010
SUKKUR, May 15: Police arrested a man from Garhi Chakar village on
Saturday on charges of rape in the wake of a woman’s arrest and her confession
that she had strangled her newborn baby born out of rape.
The woman was arrested on Friday on charge of killing her
“illegitimate” baby and burying it in the courtyard of her mother’s house in
Mitho Dal village. Her mother was also taken into custody.
The woman told police that she worked as housemaid at Syed Ali Raza
Shah’s in Garhi Chakar village after getting divorce three years ago. After some
time Ali Raza forced her into illicit relations with him, she said.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/rape-victim-confesses-to-killing-baby-650
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Women empowerment powerful instrument against
discrimination
Dipu Moni
May 16, 2010
The foreign minister, Dipu Moni, on Saturday said Bangladesh’s
advancement in women empowerment is the most powerful instrument against
discrimination against women.
‘Our government is
committed to taking action to further integrate women in national development
efforts through targeted literacy programmes, increased representation in the
workforce, economic emancipation, and political representation,’ she
said.
The foreign minister was
speaking at a function at Sonargaon Hotel marking the launching of the
directory, Who’s Who, Women Leaders of Bangladesh at a Glance, published by
Bangladesh Alliance for Women Leaders.
Dipu Moni said stringent
laws and practical measures had been put in place to address violence against
women. The Cabinet has recently approved a law on the prevention of domestic
violence and sent it to the parliament for its consideration and
adoption.
Full report at:
http://www.newagebd.com/2010/may/16/nat.html
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Couple sell daughter to save son’s life
By Razzak Abro
May 16, 2010
KARACHI: Mazari Maher and Sardar Khatoon, a poor couple from district
Shikarpur sold their four-year-old daughter, Haseena, to their neighbours in
their native village Laki for the treatment of their 12-year-old son, Abdul
Rasheed, suffering from aplastic anaemia (a condition where bone marrow does not
produce sufficient new cells to replenish blood cells).
However, they were not aware that the treatment recommended by
doctors for their son – a bone marrow transplant – costs much more than Rs
100,000, which is what they were paid for their daughter. They were shocked when
a private hospital told them that the treatment would cost millions.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\05\16\story_16-5-2010_pg12_5
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France's Kouchner denies Iran 'spy-deal'
May 16, 2010
France has denied it made a secret pact with Iran to secure the
release of a French lecturer charged with spying after last June's disputed
election.
Clotilde Reiss has now arrived in Paris following a flight from
Tehran.
She was originally sentenced to 10 years in jail in Iran but this was
commuted to a fine of $285,000 (£190,000), her lawyer
said.
The 25-year-old was accused of espionage and e-mailing photographs of
anti-government protests.
Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told Radio J in France that there
had been "no haggling and no pay-off" to secure her
release.
Ms Reiss is due to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy on
Sunday.
Nuclear link?
Full report at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8685071.stm
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Sudan military occupies Darfur rebel stronghold
May 16, 2010
Sudan's military says it has seized control of a key rebel stronghold
in the western region of Darfur.
An army spokesman, Al-Sawarmi Khaled, said more than 100 rebels from
the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) had been killed in the Jebel Moon
area.
The rebels say they left the area last month to avoid civilian
casualties.
The insurgents signed a preliminary peace deal and ceasefire with
Khartoum in February, but then pulled out after accusing the government of acts
of war.
The BBC's James Copnall, in Sudan's capital Khartoum, says the Darfur
conflict has flared up in the last few weeks after calming down in recent
years.
Huge change
Full report at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8684544.stm
10:01 PM
Sultan Shahin
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