First Muslim Miss USA was a pole dancer
Taliban
militants attack military base in Afghanistan: NATO
55 extremists killed in Orakzai; 2 troops
dead
Arab-Muslim discoveries and inventions on
display
Treat Rizwan case as murder: HC to CBI
Distinguishing Muslims from Islamists
French cabinet approves burqa ban law
Talibanisation creeping into Balochistan
Burqa rage: In a first, veil ripped off in
France
Two held for attack on Sunni cleric in Lucknow
Detained militant in Iraq details World Cup
plot
Saudi forces rescue two German girls held in
Yemen
Afzal Guru file moves -- to L-G's office and
back
Afzal hanging: BJP slams Delhi govt for
delay
Envoy: India, Pak can’t be foes forever
Educate Muslim girls, urges latest fatwa
Taliban car bomber hits Nato convoy, 18 killed
Zardari saves interior min from jail term
Muslim League woos Jama’at
NSA, CIA chief to push Pakistan to do more
Pak Qaeda men win appeal against
deportation
Jama Masjid clean-up starts, but with a whimper
Afzal Guru case: Delhi govt view not needed
Gay couple convicted in Malawi faces 14-year term
6 NATO soldiers killed in Kabul suicide
attack
Shahzad planned to hit four other targets
Lasting Peace Will Flow Through The ENERGY CORRIDOR
Girl who married by choice faces parents’
wrath
A Kashmiri doctor shows the successful road forward M Ashraf
Wife, daughter abandoned in Egypt to fend for
themselves
Forum on introducing Islam to non-Muslims
Pakistan court orders Facebook ban
Hitler was a fascist, but was he also a
terrorist?
Agency grills Yerima over child bride
Faisal Shahzad appears before US court to terrorism
charges
Obama aides in Pakistan over New York car bombing
plot
Compiled by Asit Kumar
Photo: Rima Fakih, the first Muslim Miss USA
--------
First Muslim Miss USA was a pole dancer
May 19, 2010
SHE WAS hailed as the shining example of the American dream, a
Lebanese- born woman who became the first Muslim Miss USA. Marketing executive
Rima Fakih, 24, beat 50 contestants to win the beauty pageant in Las
Vegas.
But her victory was already becoming tarnished by revelations that
she won a pole dancing contest at a strip club in Detroit in
2007.
She was photographed sliding up and down a stripper’s pole in a blue
tank top, hot pants and high heels. Other photographs from the competition
showed her wearing a bra stuffed with dollar bills.
The photos were posted on the website of a Detroit- based radio show
following her triumph at the Miss USA contest on Sunday
night.
Full report at: Mail Today
--------
Taliban militants attack military base in Afghanistan:
NATO
May 19, 2010
KABUL: Seven Taliban militants were killed and at least five NATO
personnel wounded in clashes at Bagram military base in northern Afghanistan on
Wednesday, NATO said.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying 20 suicide
bombers took part in the assault, which began overnight and came a day after
eight international troops were killed in a series of attacks.
"Seven insurgents have been killed during an ongoing attack on Bagram
that included rockets, small arms and grenades," NATO's International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement.
"Five service members were wounded."
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban leadership, said:
"Twenty Taliban suicide bombers attacked the base in Bagram."
"Four suicide bombers activated their explosive belts and fighting is
continuing at the base," Mujahid said.
Bagram, around 60 kilometres (35 miles) north of Kabul, is a huge
NATO airbase. International forces also have a prison at the site, opened
following the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001.
The entrance to the base was hit by a double attack in March 2009,
which wounded three civilians.
Wednesday's attack came after attacks on Tuesday left eight NATO
soldiers dead. A suicide car bomb attack claimed by the Taliban killed at least
18 people, including six troops -- five US and one Canadian.
NATO said another two soldiers had been killed in the south of the
country on Tuesday, one by an improvised explosive device, the weapon of choice
for Taliban insurgents, and one by small arms fire.
At least 210 NATO soldiers, 130 of them from the United States, have
died in the war so far this year. It has been the deadliest January to May
period since a US-led invasion brought down the Taliban regime.
Taliban militants, who are leading a nearly nine-year insurgency
against the Afghan government and its foreign backers, have increased attacks
over the past 12 months in Afghanistan's heavily-guarded capital, Kabul, but
strikes on NATO military bases are much rarer.
The Taliban had promised a new nationwide campaign of attacks from
May 10 targeting diplomats, members of the Afghan parliament, foreign
contractors and the 130,000-strong international military force.
The United States and NATO allies are deploying thousands of extra
troops in the war, with the overall number due to peak at 150,000 by August,
part of a new strategy designed to beat back the Taliban.
Washington believes this "surge" can wrest back the initiative in key
population centres and allow US forces to start withdrawing from the unpopular
and costly conflict next year.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Taliban-militants-attack-military-base-in-Afghanistan-NATO/articleshow/5947732.cms
--------
55 extremists killed in Orakzai; 2 troops dead
May 19, 2010
PESHAWAR: At least 55 extremists were killed in fresh clashes with
the security forces in Upper Orakzai Agency this morning, Geo News reported
Wednesday.
Also, two security personnel lost their lives and eight others were
injured in the skirmishes.
According to sources, the security forces and the extremists entered
clash in Upper Orakzai Agency area of Sipah Ghar, where two security men were
martyred and eight others injured.
The security forces soon retaliated and killed 55 extremists in the
action and injured several others.
The injured soldiers were transported to the CMH Tal and Kohat for
medical treatment.
The security forces’ action is still underway.
http://thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=105048
--------
Arab-Muslim discoveries and inventions on
display
By K.S. RAMKUMAR
May 19, 2010
JEDDAH: A global traveling exhibition showcasing Arab and Muslim
discoveries and inventions enriched by Saudi Arabia is to open in Canada on
Wednesday.
The exhibition — titled Sultans of Science — has been created by
Dubai and Cape Town based MTE Studios and is to be showcased at the TELUS World
of Science in Edmonton, Canada.
Researched and manufactured by MTE Studios, the exhibition celebrates
the contribution of Arab and Muslim scholars to science and technology during
the first Golden Age of the Islamic World and the influence of their discoveries
and inventions on contemporary society. The exhibition covers Arab and Muslim
scientific endeavors in architecture, the arts, astronomy, engineering,
exploration, flying, mathematics, medicine and optics.
Visitors will be able to see numerous inventions brought to life
through more than 40 interactive exhibits and giant functional replicas that use
cutting-edge technology to recreate the ingenuity of a golden
age.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article55162.ece
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Treat Rizwan case as murder: HC to CBI
May 19, 2010
KOLKATA: The twists and turns in the mysterious death of Rizwanur
Rahman are not over yet. On Tuesday, Calcutta High Court directed CBI to treat
it as a murder case and start the inquiry afresh. It's more than two-and-a-half
years since Rizwanur's body was found on the railway tracks near Patipukur in
north Kolkata. The CBI has four months to complete the investigation.
The division bench of Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice
Prasenjit Mandal was particularly critical of the state government, saying it
"appeared to be sailing in the same boat as the indicted police officers" and
the case was "fit for CBI investigation due to the gravity of the situation".
The government was "indecisive and vacillating" on the course of action after
the huge uproar over Rizwanur's death, the judges observed.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Treat-Rizwan-case-as-murder-HC-to-CBI/articleshow/5946970.cms
--------
Distinguishing Muslims from Islamists
Johnny Simpson
May 19, 2010
Two recent news reports involving AG Eric Holder and liberal pundit
Allen Colmes show a reluctance on the part of many to call radical Islamists
what they are. If we are ever to win the war against the extremists, we must
face the truth and name names.
In a recent grilling before Congress that went viral on YouTube,
Attorney General Eric Holder refused to admit that radical Islam could have
played a part in the attempted Times Square bombing by Faisal Shahzad. This,
despite all the damning evidence to the contrary, including training in a
Pakistani terror camp before returning to America.
In point of fact, our own government is now going out of its way to
avoid calling radical Islamist extremism by name. The Global War on Terror is
now defined as an "overseas contingency operation." Terror attacks are now
"man-caused disasters." As though the Islamist terror bombing of an Iraqi
marketplace that kills 200 people and wounds hundreds more is no different from
the BP Gulf oil spill disaster.
Full report at:
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/292215
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French cabinet approves burqa ban law
May 19, 2010
PARIS: The French cabinet approved a draft law to ban the Muslim
full-face veil from public spaces today, opening the way for the text to go
before parliament in July.
"In this matter the government is taking a path it knows to be
difficult, but a path it knows to be just," President Nicolas Sarkozy told the
assembled ministers, according to his office.
While Sarkozy's right-wing majority is expected to be able to push
the law through parliament, constitutional experts have warned that it could be
thrown out by judges and might fall foul of European law.
"We are an old nation united around a certain idea of human dignity,
and in particular of a woman's dignity, around a certain idea of how to live
together," Sarkozy insisted.
"The full veil that hides the face completely harms those values,
which are so fundamental to us, so essential to the republican compact."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/French-cabinet-approves-burqa-ban-law/articleshow/5949962.cms
--------
Talibanisation creeping into Balochistan
Jan Assakzai
May 19, 2010
Balochistan is already brewing with Baloch insurgency and sectarian
violence, which has claimed hundreds of lives so far. Talibanisation of
Balochistan will simply stretch the army to its limit Talibanisation in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa and FATA seems to have penetrated further south in its neighbouring
region of Balochistan. Its manifestation came from the recently written letters
by Taliban to several girls’ schools in the provincial capital, Quetta. The
letters warned teachers and administrators of dire consequences if they failed
to observe purdah in schools and did not remove Western-style clothes. Taliban
militancy is likely to thrive in Balochistan because of its geography,
demography, and the crisis of governance. Balochistan’s northern areas,
including capital Quetta, is predominately inhabited by
Pakhtuns.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\05\19\story_19-5-2010_pg3_6
--------
Burqa rage: In a first, veil ripped off in
France
May 19, 2010
LONDON: Taking offence at the attire of a fellow shopper, a
60-year-old lawyer ripped off a Muslim woman's burqa in a clothing shop, in what
is being described by the police as France's first case of rage against the
Islamic veil.
During a weekend shopping trip the woman lawyer had an argument over
the attire following which the pair came to blows before being arrested. The
incident happened due to growing racial tensions in the country, as France
prepares to introduce a total ban on burqas and other forms of religious dress,
which cover the face, the Telegraph reports.
The woman lawyer made snide remarks about a 26-year-old Muslim
convert's burqa while walking through the store in Trignac, near Nantes, in the
western Loire-Atlantique region, the paper said on Tuesday.
At one point the lawyer, who was out with her daughter, is said to
have likened the Muslim woman to Belphegor, a horror demon character well known
to French TV viewers. Belphegor is said to haunt the Louvre museum in Paris and
frequently covers up his hideous features using a mask.
A police officer close to the case said: "The lawyer said she was not
happy seeing a fellow shopper wearing a veil and wanted the ban introduced as
soon as possible."
"The shop manager and the husband of the Muslim woman moved to break
up the fighting," the officer said. All three were arrested and taken to the
local gendarmerie for questioning.
A spokesman for Trignac police said that two complaints had been
received, with the Muslim woman accusing the lawyer of racial and religious
assault. The latter, in turn, had accused her opponent of common assault.
The French parliament has adopted a formal motion declaring burkas
and other forms of Islamic dress to be "an affront to the nation's values". A
ban, which could be introduced as early as the autumn, would make France the
second country after Belgium to outlaw the Islamic veil in public places.
But many have criticized the anti-burqa lobby, which includes the
French president Nicolas Sarkozy, for stigmatising Muslim
housewives.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Burqa-rage-In-a-first-veil-ripped-off-in-France/articleshow/5946707.cms
--------
Two held for attack on Sunni cleric in Lucknow
May 19, 2010
Lucknow: Sunni cleric Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali had a narrow
escape on Monday when he was shot at near Aishbagh Idgah,the main mosque in
Lucknow.While one of the attackers was caught by the locals and handed over to
the police on Monday,his accomplice was arrested on Tuesday,the police
said.
The police have registered a case of attempted murder.In the
complaint with the local Bazarkhala police,it was stated that Maulana Khalid
Rasheed was attacked as he came out of the Eidgah in a vehicle after evening
prayers.The attackers have been identified as Aftab and Abuzar.Police are on the
lookout for the two associates of the arrested accused.
Times of India
--------
Detained militant in Iraq details World Cup
plot
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
19 May, 2010
BAGHDAD: An Al-Qaeda militant detained in Iraq on suspicion of
plotting to attack the World Cup told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he
wanted to target Danish and Dutch teams to avenge insults against the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Iraqi security forces announced the arrest of Saudi citizen Abdullah
Azam Saleh Al-Qahtani Monday, saying he was suspected of planning an attack in
South Africa during the World Cup beginning June 11.
During an interview arranged by the Iraqi security officials holding
Al-Qahtani, he described the plot and said the idea of attacking the World Cup
came up in late 2009 during talks with friends over content in the Western media
that was offensive to Muslims.
"We discussed the possibility of taking revenge for the insults of
the Prophet by attacking Denmark and Holland," he said.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article55018.ece
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Saudi forces rescue two German girls held in
Yemen
By SOUHAIL KARAM
May 19, 2010
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's security forces have rescued two young German
girls held hostage for nearly a year in neighboring Yemen, Riyadh said on
Tuesday, but a family spokesman said their toddler brother was likely
dead.
The girls, reported to be between 3 and 6 years old, were members of
a German family of five who have been held by kidnappers the Yemeni government
believes have links to Al-Qaeda. The pair were said to be in a good
condition.
"Saudi Arabia has retrieved two German children kidnapped in Yemen,"
a Saudi interior ministry spokesman said. "The two children were in a border
area between the two countries."
Yemen, next door to the world's top oil exporter, surged to the
forefront of Western security concerns after the Yemen-based regional arm of
Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for a failed attempt to bomb a US-bound plane in
December.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article54919.ece
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Afzal Guru file moves -- to L-G's office and back
Abantika Ghosh
May 19, 2010
NEW DELHI: Four years after it reached the Delhi government and was
put in cold storage, the Afzal Guru file suddenly saw a lot of action on
Tuesday. It was moved by the Delhi home department to lieutenant governor
Tejendra Khanna's office -- only to be immediately sent back to the department
for several "clarifications".
in the file, the city government is required to record its opinion on
the merits of the mercy petition filed in 2006 by Guru's wife, urging the
President to spare the life of the Parliament attack case convict whose death
sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court.
Confirming the movement of the file, Ranjan Mukherjee, OSD to the
lieutenant governor told TOI: "The file had come today. Within an hour, however,
it was sent back to the home department by the L-G asking for some urgent
clarifications. We will need those clarifications before the file is cleared
from here."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Delhi/Afzal-Guru-file-moves--to-L-Gs-office-and-back/articleshow/5946770.cms
--------
Afzal hanging: BJP slams Delhi govt for delay
May 19, 2010
NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday hit out at the
Delhi government for delaying parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's execution
and claimed that 26/11 may not have happened had he been hanged earlier.
BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said: "Had they done it
(execution) five years back, the world would have realised what India does to
those who carry out terrorist activities. And may be even 26/11 would not have
happened."
While backing the Supreme Court decision to hang Guru, the Delhi
government has expressed concerns about the law and order situation in the wake
of his execution. To this, Javadekar retorted: "This is an insult of Muslim
patriotism. We condemn it. The Delhi government should give an unconditional
recommendation."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Afzal-hanging-BJP-slams-Delhi-govt-for-delay-/articleshow/5949937.cms
-------
Envoy: India,Pak cant be foes forever
May 19, 2010
New Delhi: Asserting that the resumption of the dialogue process was
a significant development,Pakistan high commissioner Shahid Malik said on
Tuesday that India and Pakistan are on their way to reducing the trust deficit
between the two countries,which are not destined to live as adversaries
forever.
We can remain convinced that Pakistan and India are not destined to
live as adversaries forever, he said at the Indo-Pak businessmens conclave
organised as part of Aman ki Asha.
Malik said India and Pakistan share a common perspective on a number
of issues and that in a fast changing global environment there was a need to
consult and co-ordinate efforts to achieve the goal of peace and
development.Towards the achievement of this goal... we held a very fruitful
discussion recently in Thimpu.It was agreed to resume the dialogue process and
that is a significant development, Malik said at the meet which was inaugurated
by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.
Times of India
--------
Educate Muslim girls, urges latest fatwa
May 19, 2010
LUCKNOW: After fatwas by Darul Uloom Deoband that it was un-Islamic
for women to work in close proximity to men in offices and for her family to
accept her earnings, an Islamic seminary here has said that education for Muslim
girls was not only important, but also mandatory.
"Education is mandatory for every Muslim, whether male or female,"
Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali of Darul Uloom Farangi Mahal said in a
fatwa while quoting the Hadees and Sharia.
The fatwa was issued in reply to a query posted by Huma Khawaja
seeking clarification on girl's education, the Darul Uloom's secretary
Naeemurrehman said.
The fatwa also stated that 'man has come into this world for
enlightenment and for spreading knowledge in society.'
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Educate-Muslim-girls-urges-latest-fatwa/articleshow/5946922.cms
--------
Taliban car bomber hits Nato convoy,18 killed
May 19, 2010
Kabul: A suicide car bomber attacked a Nato convoy in Kabul on
Tuesday killing 18 people,including five US soldiers,a Canadian soldier and 12
civilians in the deadliest strike on the capital in
months.
The powerful blast occurred on a major Kabul thoroughfare that runs
by the ruins of a onetime royal palace and government ministries.It wrecked
nearly 20 vehicles,including five SUVs in the Nato convoy,and scattered debris
and body parts across the wide boulevard.The body of a woman in a burqa was
smashed against the window of the bus.
The attackthe deadliest for Nato troops in Kabul since Septembercomes
despite a ramped up effort by Afghan authorities to intercept would-be attackers
and better secure a capital city that saw a spate of brazen attacks this
winter.
Full report at: Times of India
--------
Zardari saves interior min from jail term
Omer Farooq Khan
May 19, 2010
Islamabad: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari pardoned interior
minister Rehman Malik hours after he was convicted of corruption,threatening a
renewed tussle between the countrys leaders and the
judiciary.
Malik,one of the closest allies of Zardari and a key member of his
ruling Pakistan Peoples Party,was sentenced in absentia to three years in jail
by an anti-corruption court in January 2004.
Malik,who was abroad at the time of the conviction,appealed against
the verdict but a court in the eastern city of Lahore on Monday rejected his
plea and cancelled his bail.
Presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said on Tuesday that the
pardon was granted under Pakistan constitutions Article 45 on Prime Minister
Yousaf Raza Gilanis advice.Article 45 states that the president has the power to
grant pardon,reprieve and respite,and to remit,suspend or commute any sentence
passed by any court,tribunal or authority.
Full report at: Times of India
--------
Muslim League woos Jama’at
VR Jayaraj
May 19, 2010
The Indian Union Muslim League, second-largest constituent of
Kerala’s Congress-led UDF, has begun to woo the Jama’at-e-Islami after its
decade-old supporter CPI (M) described it as a pro-extremist outfit. Top Muslim
League leaders met the Jama’at leadership in Kozhikode on Tuesday to seek the
organisation’s support in the local bodies elections due in
September.
Cracks had begun to appear between the CPI (M) and Jama’at-e-Islami
even before the last Lok Sabha elections, but the rift worsened recently with
the former holding Solidarity, the youth wing of the Jama’at, responsible for
the agitation against a mega-road project of the LDF Government in Kinalur in
Kozhikode district. The CPI(M) had even said Solidarity’s agitation methods were
similar to those of Maoists.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/256778/Muslim-League-woos-Jama%E2%80%99at.html
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NSA, CIA chief to push Pakistan to do more
S Rajagopalan
19 May, 2010
US President Barack Obama has dispatched his National Security
Adviser James Jones and CIA chief Leon Panetta to Islamabad for parleys aimed at
pushing the Pakistani civilian and military leadership to do more to close down
its safe havens and intensify the counter-terrorism operations. The visit
follows the arrest and extensive interrogation of Pakistani American Faisal
Shahzad in the failed bid to bomb New York’s Times Square. The talks will also
focus on further leads in the Times Square probe, urging Islamabad to get to the
bottom of the terror bid and prevent similar attempts.
A senior Administration official told the New York Times that Jones
would not threaten the Pakistanis, but would convey the risks to the country’s
relationship with the US if a deadly terrorist attack originated there. The NSA
would prod Islamabad to take tougher steps against the Taliban and other
insurgent groups.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/256744/NSA-CIA-chief-to-push-Pakistan-to-do-more.html
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Pak Qaeda men win appeal against deportation
Nandini Jawli
May 19th, 2010
Two Pakistani students, including an alleged operative of Al Qaeda,
allegedly involved in a plot to bomb targets in north-west England have won
their appeal against deportation. The duo arrested in anti-terror raids can now
stay in the UK.
A special immigration court said Abid Naseer was an Al Qaeda
operative, who posed and still poses a serious threat to the national security
of the United Kingdom — but could not be deported because he could face torture
or death back home in Pakistan.
The duo — Abid Naseer and Ahmad Faraz Khan — were among 10 Pakistanis
who were arrested in April last year amid fears that they were planning a bomb
attack on targets in Manchester, but were subsequently released without
charge.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/256733/Pak-Qaeda-men-win-appeal-against-deportation.html
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Jama Masjid clean-up starts, but with a whimper
May 19 2010
New Delhi: A Mughal Garden within the mosque, beautification of 46
acres around it, 650 air-conditioned shops at Meena Bazar and a traffic
management plan for Pardah Bagh. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD)plans
to redevelop the historic Jama Masjid looked grand on paper. But four years
after the plan was first conceptualised, the MCD has toned down to a more
“realistic” scale.
So realistic that work has begun with “cleaning up the area and
putting up boards that will depict what the area is going to look like after the
makeover”. The actual plan, like restoration of the main structure and
redevelopment, will have to wait, probably till after the Commonwealth Games.
“We want to be realistic this time and take up only that much work which we know
can be delivered,” an MCD official said.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/jama-masjid-cleanup-starts-but-with-a-whimper/620601/
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Delhi govt view not needed
Abhinav Garg
May 19, 2010
New Delhi: On a day Delhi government finally deigned to respond to a
four-year-old query of the Centre on the Afzal Guru hanging issue, legal
observers said the delay could have been avoided had the Union government not
applied the rule to an exception.
The controversy over the delay has thrown up an interesting legal
point what could the state government have said on an issue over which it has no
powers to legislate With state subjects like public order,police and land
falling in the domain of the central government when it comes to the national
capital of Delhi,the letters and reminders from the ministry of home affairs to
Delhi government,asking for the latters comments on an issue over which it has
no control,though routine,have only added to the delay.
Full report at: Times of India
--------
Gay couple convicted in Malawi faces 14-year term
May 19, 2010
Blantyre: A gay couple arrested after throwing a party to celebrate
their engagement in this conservative southern African country were convicted on
Tuesday of unnatural acts and gross indecency.They face up to 14 years in
prison.
The two men,who had been unusually open about their sexual
orientation on a continent that largely outlaws homosexuality,were jailed since
their arrest on December 27,a day after the party that drew crowds of
curious,jeering onlookers.
The trial itself also attracted crowds of Malawians ridiculing the
couple.
Steven Monjeza,26,and Tiwonge Chimbalanga,20,face up to 14 years in
prison at their sentencing hearing on Thursday,according to the
judge.
Full report at: Times of India
--------
6 NATO soldiers killed in Kabul suicide attack
May 19, 2010
KABUL: A Taliban suicide car bomber struck a NATO convoy in the
Afghan capital Tuesday, killing six troops – five Americans and one Canadian,
officials said.
Twelve Afghan civilians also died - many of them on a public bus in
rush-hour traffic.
The powerful blast occurred on a major Kabul thoroughfare that runs
by the ruins of a one-time royal palace and government ministries. It wrecked
nearly 20 vehicles, including five SUVs in the NATO convoy, and scattered debris
and body parts across the wide boulevard.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press in a
phone call that the bomber was a man from Kabul and his car was packed with 750
kilogrammes of explosives. The target of the attack was the foreign convoy, he
said.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen condemned the attack and
said it would not deter NATO’s efforts in Afghanistan. It was the deadliest
attack for NATO since a September suicide bombing that killed six Italian
soldiers.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\05\19\story_19-5-2010_pg1_6
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Shahzad planned to hit four other targets
19 May, 2010
Pakistani-American terror suspect Faisal Shahzad had planned to
attack four other targets if his bid to detonate a car bomb near Times Square in
New York was successful, according to a television
channel.
FOX 5 News quoted a source as saying that Shahzad, arrested by the
FBI for the May 1 failed bombing, has told investigators that he intended to
attack four other locations in the US.
Other locations that he intended to attack were Rockefeller Center, a
Grand Central Terminal, the World Financial Center and the Connecticut
headquarters of defence contractor Sikorsky, the channel quoted the source as
saying.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Shahzad-planned-to-hit-4-other-targets/H1-Article1-545315.aspx
--------
Lasting Peace Will Flow Through The ENERGY CORRIDOR
Team TOI
May 19, 2010
Pakistans potential of becoming an energy corridor between India,West
and Central Asia besides the Caspian region provides the most robust basis for
co-operation and peace between New Delhi and Islamabad,speakers from the oil and
power industries from the two countries told a conclave of businessmen on
Tuesday as part of the Aman ki Asha initiative.This single initiative has the
economic and social underpinnings to catapult Pakistan from an energy transit
state to a window of development for the entire South Asia,including itself and
India.This one initiative can spread and speed up equitable economic and social
growth within the entire region, said M M Mandal,executive director at state-run
gas utility GAIL,at the third business session of the Indo-Pak meet titled
Beyond Trade: Common Concerns.This will,of course,require greater cross-border
trade and necessitate imports from other regions.Given the stakes involved,there
is strong merit in establishing a cooperative regional framework between the two
countries,Mandal said.
Full report at: Times of India
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Girl who married by choice faces parents’ wrath
By Khalid Hasnain
19 May, 2010
KHANEWAL, May 18: A girl living in local shelter house (Darul Amaan)
on court orders resisted her handing over to Mirpur police of Azad Jammu and
Kashmir (AJK) in a theft case lodged by her parents allegedly to avenge her love
marriage.
The 20-year-old’s courage compelled the superintendent of the shelter
house, Fauzia Barkat, to refuse to directly hand over her custody to the Mirpur
police team despite sessions court’s implicit directions to “deal the matter in
accordance with law” and instead she called the city police to resolve the
issue.
Later, District Police Officer Kamran Khan told Dawn that they
intervened on the superintendent’s request and decided that the girl would
remain in the shelter house till the sessions court issued fresh yet explicit
orders possibly on Wednesday (today).
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/girl-who-married-by-choice-faces-parents-wrath-950
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A Kashmiri doctor shows the successful road forward M
Ashraf
19 May 2010
The topping of the all India
Central Services selection by a Kashmiri doctor, Faisal Shah, has sent a wave of
jubilation throughout the Valley. He has been receiving accolades from all
sections of the society for his feat. In the present atmosphere of doom and
gloom, any achievement by a Kashmiri anywhere in the world makes one feel
proud.
Over the years an impression has been created by a section of the
media that Kashmiri youth are only capable of creating disruption by stone
pelting. There have been many young men and women from Kashmir who attained high
positions in bureaucracy. They include Shafi Pandit, C Phonsog, Iqbal Khanday,
Khurshid Ganai, Asgar Samoon, Sushma Chowdhary, S S Bloreia, Atal Dullo, S L
Bhat. It is not that the Kashmiris lack talent and capability. In fact,
Kashmiris have excelled in and outside India in many
fields.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/opinion/2010/May/opinion_May113.xml§ion=opinion&col=
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Wife, daughter abandoned in Egypt to fend for themselves
By WALAA HAWARI
May 19, 2010
CAIRO: It is difficult to imagine a young girl from a wealthy country
like Saudi Arabia living in this dilapidated, old and foul smelling building
located in one of Cairo’s poor suburbs.
Born to a Saudi father who does not care about her, eight-year-old
Reem — who lives in conditions that are far below average — has been left alone
to face her unknown future with her helpless Egyptian
mother.
Reem's father was in his 50s when he married her 20-year-old mother.
“He paid my father around SR7,000 and took me to Saudi Arabia to live with him.
I suffered abuse at the hands of his family, including his two previous wives,
their children, and his brothers and sisters,” said Reem’s mother,
Hanan.
Hanan was constantly abused by Reem’s father, who used to tell her he
only bought her to the Kingdom to work as a housemaid. Hanan also lost twins in
a miscarriage she suffered as a result of the abuse. It was on this occasion
that she was left alone in a hospital for over eight days.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article55163.ece
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Forum on introducing Islam to non-Muslims
By FATIMA SIDIYA
May 19, 2010
JEDDAH: Over 100 people from across the Gulf region are to attend a
three-day forum on inviting non-Muslims to Islam that was to begin on Tuesday
after Isha prayers at Madinah’s Le Méridien Hotel.
Yahya Al-Yahya, secretary-general of the International Commission for
Introducing Islam, said participants will attend workshops and deliver and
discuss papers on propagating Islam.
The workshops will address the role Muslims can play in guiding
people to Islam, he said. He added that the event will also help build relations
between different bodies involved in introducing Islam to non-Muslims and will
be an opportunity for participants to exchange experience and participate in
joint projects and programs.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article55114.ece
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Pakistan court orders Facebook ban
May 19, 2010
A Pakistani court has ordered the government to block the social
networking website Facebook temporarily because of a page that encourages users
to submit images of Islam's Prophet Mohammed.
The Facebook group Everybody Draw Mohammed Day! has generated
criticism in Pakistan because many Muslims consider images of the prophet, even
favourable ones, to be blasphemous.
It encourages users to submit images of the prophet on May 20 to
protest against threats made by a radical Muslim group against the creators of
South Park for depicting Mohammed in a bear suit during an episode earlier this
year.
Naveed Inayat Malik, the deputy attorney general of Punjab province,
said the Lahore High Court ordered the government to ban Facebook until May
31.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jKIp8MD3wOWmcauxcT_Rqf9QmKSA
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Hitler was a fascist, but was he also a terrorist?
By Jawed Naqvi
19 May, 2010
The problem of Hindutva seems to have become intractable enough from
the point of view of the hitherto indulgent state that columnists and editors in
Delhi, who had turned a Nelson’s eye to the connection between Hindutva and
Terrorism, are finding themselves compelled to ask for urgent remedies against
the growing menace. But, can we contain terrorism without checking fascism?
Right from its early days Hindutva has had strong undercurrents of fascism. And
it used acts of terrorism to assert its power. Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination
was as much a consequence of Hindutva fascism as it was an act of
terror.
In the 1930s militant Hindutva supported Hitler as its role model.
Its leaders argued that the Nazi method of dealing with the Jews of Germany
could be emulated in India to deal with Muslims. In fact, long before the Muslim
League argued for a separate homeland for Indian Muslims, Brahmin nationalists
like Savarkar were convinced that Hindus and Muslims were indeed two distinct
nationalities. It may not be a coincidence that many of the present day “Hindu
terrorists” are in fact followers of Savarkar. In states like Gujarat, which
Hindutva has used as laboratory to test the efficacy of the most virulent form
of ghettoisation of Muslims and Christians, the Hitlerian doctrine of racial and
religious segregation is nearly complete.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/columnists/jawed-naqvi-hitler-was-a-fascist,-but-was-he-also-a-terrorist-750
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Agency grills Yerima over child bride
Ifedayo Adebayo
May 19, 2010
A senator and former governor of Zamfara State, Ahmed Sani Yerima was
yesterday questioned by officials of the National Agency for Prohibition of
Traffic in Persons and other Related Matters (NAPTIP) at their head quarters in
Abuja over his marriage to an Egyptian minor.
Mr. Yerima, who recently got married to a 14-year girl in Abuja, had
been invited by the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria and NAPTIP, but
refused to respond to the issues.
He was however granted bail on self recognition hours after his
questioning on Tuesday and was asked to report back to the Agency on the 15
June,2010. While outside the court, Mr. Yerima told journalists that he was not
bound by the laws of this nation but by Islamic laws, which he claimed he has
not breached.
Full report at:
http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5569139-146/agency_grills_yerima_over_child_bride.csp
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Faisal Shahzad appears before US court to terrorism
charges
May 19, 2010
NEW YORK: Pakistani-American terror suspect Faisal Shahzad appeared
in court for the first time since his arrest two weeks ago in the botched Times
Square bombing plot to face terrorism and weapons charges and was ordered to
remain behind bars.
Shahzad uttered just one word, saying "yes" when asked to confirm the
accuracy of a financial statement in his arraignment proceedings that lasted
about 15 minutes at a Manhattan federal court.
He was allowed to have a defence attorney to defend him. The
30-year-old man sat on the defence table with his court assigned lawyer Julia
Gatto. Wearing a grey sweatshirt, Shahzad was led out of the court in handcuffs
after the magistrate read him his rights.
For the first time, terror suspects like Shahzad are being
interrogated by a special team of investigators.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Faisal-Shahzad-appears-before-US-court/articleshow/5949549.cms
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Obama aides in Pakistan over New York car bombing
plot
May 19, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Two of US President Barack Obama's most senior national
security aides were holding talks in Pakistan on Wednesday in the wake of the
failed New York car bombing, an official said.
The White House has said US national security advisor General James
Jones and CIA Director Leon Panetta are on a mission to investigate the May 1
bomb plot, which has been blamed on the Pakistani Taliban.
"Both the delegations have arrived late last night. They will meet
senior government and military officials. All the meetings are today," US
embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire said.
Talks would focus on "security cooperation" and "strategic dialogue,"
the spokesman said.
The discovery of a crude bomb inside a parked car in crowded Times
Square prompted an evacuation of the popular tourist spot and a massive manhunt
that culminated in the arrest of Pakistani-born US citizen Faisal Shahzad.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Obama-aides-in-Pakistan-over-New-York-car-bombing-plot/articleshow/5948561.cms
9:16 PM
Sultan Shahin
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