Rare Transplant in India saves Pak baby’s life
'Reconnaissance
for attack a warning to Iran'
Now a Bareillvi Fatwa: Muslim women can work in offices but with
veil
‘CIA planned to depict Saddam gay before 2003 Iraq
invasion’
Kenya court rules Islamic courts are
illegal
'Post-9/11, many Indian scientists left NASA'
I’m fed up; hang me quickly if you have to: Afzal in plea to top
court
Ahmedabad tense after communal riots
UN calls on India, Pakistan to join NPT, CTBT
Court stays Ansari's execution in American Center attack
case
Young, Kurdish, and jailed in Turkey
Why is the Arab world frozen in time?
'Agni 5 can target China, Pak by 2011'
US to expand covert ops in Mideast
Israeli academics: Chomsky ban ‘blow to
democracy’
India's approach self-delusional: Pak
Iran releases filmmaker Jafar Panahi
Ahmadinejad urges Obama to accept nuke swap
deal
3 in 5 Australians support burqa ban
Musharraf evacuated from UK-bound flight following bomb
scare
Two killed in armed attack on Lahore court
complex
Pak intelligence warns of 'major terror attack' on US
mission
Iraqi Airways to be closed following bankruptcy
Nuclear Iran poses greater danger to Russia than US:
Kissinger
Gaddafi’s son says Lockerbie bomber very sick
Benazir murder case: Verdict on petition seeking probe suspension
reserved
Indian strategy after 9/11: Implications for
Pakistan
Lion's Den: How Islamists came to dominate European
Islam
Bangladesh seizes 4 militant suspects,
explosives
Compiled by: Asit Kumar
Photo: Cord blood stem cells save Shaheer’ life in rare
transplant
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Rare Transplant in India saves Pak baby's life
May 26, 2010
New Delhi: When Pakistani nationals Maliha and Imran Gulzar were told
that their newborn, Shaheer Imran,suffered from a rare genetic disorder their
world came crashing down. Doctors said bone marrow transplant was the only way
to save his life. But since he had a genetic defect, autologous (stem cells are
harvested from self) bone marrow transplant was not
possible.
In October last year, Shaheers parents got in touch with doctors at
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH). We enquired in the US.Cord blood cell transplant
was costing us close to Rs 2 crore. So, Shaheers doctor in Pakistan helped us
get in touch with doctors in India, said Gulzar.
In January, Shaheers parents brought him to India in a last-ditch
attempt to save their only sons life. He was given chemotherapy for 10 days in
order to destroy his defective bone marrow. Then, fresh cord blood stem cells
were introduced in his body in March. We had no option but to use cord blood
stem cells. He is fortunate as the disease was diagnosed in the initial stages.
Most kids die before a diagnosis is made. In this genetic disorder, children
have high grade fever, the total leukocyte count, platelet count and haemoglobin
fall drastically. The body loses its ability to fight infections, said Dr Anupam
Sachdeva, senior consultant, paediatrics at SGRH, who conducted the
transplant.
Shaheer is among only 10 patients who have successfully undergone
cord blood stem cell transplant in India. The one-year-old, who underwent the
procedure in March, is also the first case in the country in which cord blood
stem cells were taken from two unrelated sources. The entire procedure took us
less than Rs 20 lakh, said the boy’s father.
Explaining the process, Dr SP Yadav, who was part of the transplant
team, said: We first got his (Shaheer) Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) test
reports and asked the cord blood bank to look for a suitable match?
Yadav further said: HLA typing is necessary so that stem cells are
not rejected by his body. We got a few matches and then we screened those
samples for concentration of healthy stem cells. As the babys weight was more
than 15 kg, we had to use stem cells from two sources and this has never been
attempted in India.
He has responded well to the treatment. He is currently on
immunosuppressant but once the cells multiply, his immunity will be developed
and we will stop it, said Dr Sachdeva.
We have asked the Pakistani couple to bring little Shaher for regular
check-ups for the next three months, he said.
The Times of India
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'Reconnaissance for attack a warning to Iran'
By HERB KEINON
May 26, 2010
Reports that the Pentagon has Okayed reconnaissance missions over
Iran were seen in Jerusalem on Tuesday as the first public signs of practical
preparations for a possible US military operation against
Iran.
The New York Times reported on Monday that Gen. David Petraeus, the
top American commander in the Middle East, ordered an expansion of clandestine
military activity in the region. According to the report, “officials said the
order also permits reconnaissance that could pave the way for possible military
strikes in Iran if tensions over its nuclear ambitions
escalate.”
The article continued that the seven-page directive “appears to
authorize specific operations in Iran, most likely to gather intelligence about
the country’s nuclear program or identify dissident groups that might be useful
for a future military offensive.”
Although it is obvious that the Pentagon has contingency plans for
all possible scenarios, one Israeli official said this was “the first time that
the public is getting word of practical preparations of military
activity.”
The official said that if this was a deliberate leak, then it was
clearly an attempt to send a tough message to the Iranians that, indeed, no
options – as the US has been saying for months – have been taken off the
table.
And even if this were not a deliberate leak, the official added, the
impression the information would have on Teheran would still be the
same.
Also on Tuesday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the Knesset
that the deal brokered by Turkey and Brazil last week whereby Iran would
transfer 1,200 kilos of low-enriched uranium abroad was “a transparent Iranian
ruse meant to divert the international public’s attention from
sanctions.”
Addressing the assembled MKs, Netanyahu said the deal, which drew
mixed responses from the permanent UN Security Council members and in particular
the US, would still leave enough uranium in Iran’s possession to produce a
nuclear weapon.
“This proposal also guarantees Iran the right to take back at any
point the kilograms [of uranium] transferred to Turkey,” the prime minister
said, praising Washington for deciding to press forward in its pursuit of a
fourth round of Security Council sanctions.
Nevertheless, Netanyahu said that while important symbolically, “I
think we all know these sanctions will not stop Iran.”
The prime minister said that “more effective sanctions are being
prepared now by the US Congress. They will affect, among other things, the
energy sector, imports, exports and other areas. The US will be able to pass
these sanctions outside the Security Council or in conjunction with
it.”
Teheran, Netanyahu said, must “understand that the international
community is determined to prevent it from acquiring nuclear arms.”
http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=176483
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Fatwa: Muslim women can work in offices but with
veil
May 26 2010
Muzaffarnagar : Days after a leading Islamic seminary held as
un-Islamic women working in offices in proximity with men, another seminary has
issued a fatwa that Muslim women can work in offices but with a
veil.
Mufti of Darul Iftah of Bareilvi Sharif Mohd Ayyub Alem Rizvi has
issued the fatwa that Muslim women can work in institutions after wearing the
veil but with some conditions.
However, the conditions were not known.
He also said in the fatwa that Muslims can work in banks under the
Islamic law because the interest earned by banks is
profit.
The fatwa was issued at Bareily in Uttar Pradesh to a query posed
before the Iftah by the activist of Raza Muslim Mission Syed Safe
Ali.
Earlier, Darul Uloom Deoband has held as un-Islamic women working in
offices in proximity with men and decreed that acceptance of her earnings by a
family was against the Sharia.
The Sharia law prohibits proximity of women and men in a workplace,
said a recent fatwa (dictat) issued by a bench of clerics headed by Chief Mufti
Habib-ur-Rehman.
The Darul Uloom had also declared the job of writing and calculating
interest based work in banks and insurance companies as
unlawful.
Both Deoband and Bareilvi belong to Sunni
clerics.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/fatwa-muslim-women-can-work-in-offices-but-with-veil/623993/
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‘CIA planned to depict Saddam gay before 2003 Iraq
invasion’
May 26 2010
Washington: The CIA devised a campaign to discredit Saddam Hussein,
by depicting him as gay, during the planning for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, a
media report said.
The US spy agency secretly plotted to flood Iraq with a video
purporting to show the Iraqi dictator having sex with a teenage boy, according
to ‘The Washington Post’ which quoted two former American intelligence officials
as saying.
“It would look like it was taken by a hidden
camera.
Very grainy, like it’s a secret videotaping of a sex
session.
The idea was to then flood Iraq with the videos,” said one of the
former CIA officials.
Another idea was to interrupt the Iraqi TV programming with a fake
special news bulletin -- an actor playing Saddam would announce he was stepping
down in favour of his son Uday.
“I’m sure you will throw your support behind His Excellency Uday,”
the fake Hussein would intone.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/cia-planned-to-depict-saddam-gay-before-2003-iraq-invasion/624026/
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Kenya court rules Islamic courts are illegal
May 26, 2010
Kenya's Islamic courts are illegal and discriminatory, a panel of
judges has ruled.
The three judges said the Islamic "Kadhi" courts favoured Islam over
other faiths, and that this was unconstitutional as Kenya was a secular
country.
The issue of Islamic courts has been a contentious point in the
country's new proposed constitution.
It is due to go to a referendum in August.
The Kadhi courts - set up under British colonial rule - mainly deal
with matters of marriage and inheritance for Kenya's Muslim
minority.
The Christian church in Kenya brought the case to court six years
ago.
As part of a power-sharing deal to end deadly riots following
elections in December 2007, it was agreed that a new constitution would be
written.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/africa/10150615.stm
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'Post-9/11, many Indian scientists left NASA'
May 26 2010
Washington: Identifying India as a 'big partner' of the US space
programme, NASA has applauded the country's efforts in using its space missions
for "societal needs."
"I think it's 85 per cent of their budget is spent on what they call
societal needs. It's earth science, climate change, those kinds of things, and
they still insist that they're going to bring about a human space flight
programme, you know, by 2020 or so," NASA Administrator Charles F Bolden
said.
Terming India as a big partner of the United States in its space
programme, Bolden said. "They (India) want that independent ability, but they
still want to partner with us. They came back because they like what we do in
terms of earth science and climatology. They like what we do in terms of
planetary science. And they want to be a part of that."
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/post9-11-many-indian-scientists-left-nasa/623961/
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I’m fed up, hang me quickly if you have to: Afzal in plea to top
court
Neeraj Chauhan
May 26 2010
New Delhi : Sentenced to death in the Parliament attack case,
Mohammad Afzal Guru wants a quick decision on his mercy petition, whatever the
outcome. Fed up with “solitary confinement” and the “delay”, he has approached
the Supreme Court with a plea saying “hang me quickly if I have to be hanged”
and “if not, decide on that as well”.
In his plea, Guru has also said that if a decision is not being taken
on his mercy petition, then he should be shifted to Jammu and
Kashmir.
His counsel N D Pancholi told The Indian Express that Guru filed a
plea in the Supreme Court in March through the legal department of the Tihar
Jail. He first sent it on his own by post but it was returned and later sent
through jail authorities. Pancholi said the matter has not yet been listed in
the Supreme Court.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/im-fed-up-hang-me-quickly-if-you-have-to-afzal-in-plea-to-top-court/623839/
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Ahmedabad tense after communal riots
May 26, 2010
Ahmedabad: The Shahpur area remained on the boil on Tuesday as
violence that flared up late on Monday night resumed on Tuesday
afternoon,forcing police to fire in the air to scare away violent
mobs.
According to Shahpur police station officials,they had to fire five
rounds in the air and use teargas shells on Tuesday to disperse a mob that burnt
a jeep and three shops.
On Monday,the police had to fire seven rounds in the air and use 113
teargas shells to control the rioting mob.Reports said one person was shot at
and two were injured in an acid attack.The authorities have posted over 300
policemen in the riot-hit areas.According to officials,trouble started late on
Monday night when a marriage procession was passing by a
mosque.
Full report at: The Times of India
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UN calls on India, Pakistan to join NPT, CTBT
May 26, 2010
UNITED NATIONS: Breaking the tradition of not naming countries, the
first draft of the final document of 2010 Nuclear-Non Proliferation Treaty
Review conference has asked India, Pakistan and Israel to join NPT and CTBT.
"The conference calls upon India, Israel and Pakistan to accede to
the treaty as non-nuclear weapon states, promptly and without conditions,
thereby accepting an internationally legally binding commitment not to acquire
nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices," the first draft of the
document said.
"The conference also calls upon India and Pakistan to maintain
moratoriums on nuclear testing and calls upon India, Israel and Pakistan to sign
and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) without delay and
without conditions," it said.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/UN-calls-on-India-Pakistan-to-join-NPT-CTBT/articleshow/5975616.cms
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Court stays Ansari's execution in American Center attack
case
J. Venkatesan
May 26, 2010
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the execution of the
death penalty awarded to Aftab Ansari in the case of the January 22, 2002
terrorist attack on the American Center in Kolkata.
On May 10, the court had stayed the execution of the death sentence
to another accused, Md. Jamiluddin Nasir.
Now a vacation Bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and C.K. Prasad, on an
appeal from Ansari, stayed the execution and issued notice to the West Bengal
seeking its response.
The Calcutta High Court in February this year upheld the death
sentence given by a lower court to the Dubai-based don and Nasir. While three
others convicted by the lower court were sentenced to life, the High Court
acquitted the remaining two for lack of evidence.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/2010/05/26/stories/2010052663561400.htm
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Young, Kurdish, and jailed in Turkey
By Jonathan Head
May 26, 2010
Hundreds of children in Turkey's Kurdish south-east have been jailed
for taking part in anti-government protests, and are treated no differently from
adults.
Berivan Sayaca is an attractive, 15-year-old Kurdish girl with black,
wavy hair who loves horse-riding and playing the guitar.
She is also a convicted terrorist - serving an eight-year sentence in
the high-security prison in Diyarbakir, the largest Kurdish city in Turkey. How
she got there is a tale that could be straight out of Kafka, that exposes one of
modern Turkey's darkest sides.
The Turkish armed forces have been fighting insurgents of the PKK, or
Kurdish Workers Party, for more than a quarter of a
century.
More than 40,000 people are believed to have died in the conflict, on
both sides.
Full report at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/europe/10146284.stm
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Why is the Arab world frozen in time?
By Kai Bird
May 26, 2010
(CNN) -- Arab modernity. Why is it that at the beginning of the 21st
century the Arab world seems stuck in time? Why are most Arabs still ruled by
kings or military dictatorships? And specifically, why has the most populous
Arab nation, Egypt, been governed by one man for nearly three
decades?
President Hosni Mubarak, a former general, came to power in the
aftermath of Anwar Sadat's assassination in October 1981. He has ruled Egypt
ever since under a state of emergency.
Last week, Mubarak's regime extended for another two years a
Draconian emergency law that permits police to detain individuals indefinitely,
prohibits unauthorized assembly and severely restricts freedom of
speech.
Full report at:
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/05/26/bird.arab.modernity/index.html?iref=allsearch
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'Agni 5 can target China, Pak by 2011'
May 26 2010
New Delhi : India is likely to enter the elite club of nations with
Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) capability as the over 5,000 km range
Agni-5 missile was expected to become a reality by next
year.
"Work is progressing satisfactorily in the development of Agni-5,
which is expected to become a reality next year. With this, DRDO would have
given India a comprehensive indigenous strategic capability, available with only
a few nations of the world," DRDO chief V K Saraswat said at the National
Technology Day awards function here.
Agni-5 will be the first canistered ballistic missile with range of
over 5,000 km into Indian inventory, bringing possible military targets in the
whole of China and Pakistan within striking range. The missile is likely to be
tested early next year.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/agni-5-can-target-china-pak-by-2011/624003/
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US to expand covert ops in Mideast
Mark Mazzett
May 26, 2010
WASHINGTON: The top American commander in the Middle East has ordered
a broad expansion of clandestine military activity in an effort to disrupt
militant groups or counter threats in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and other
countries in the region, according to defense officials and military documents.
The secret directive, signed in September by Gen David Petraeus,
authorizes the sending of American Special Operations troops to both friendly
and hostile nations in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Horn of Africa to
gather intelligence and build ties with local forces. Officials said the order
also permits reconnaissance that could pave the way for possible military
strikes in Iran if tensions over its nuclear ambitions escalate.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-to-expand-covert-ops-in-Mideast/articleshow/5975074.cms
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Israeli academics: Chomsky ban ‘blow to
democracy’
May 26, 2010
More than 500 Israeli academics have denounced the Government
decision banning famed Jewish-American linguist Noam Chomsky from entering the
West Bank last week.
In a letter to Interior Minister Eli Yishai on Tuesday, they accuse
the Ministry of harming democracy and academic freedoms. The letter says:
“Blocking someone whose opinions are not accepted is a mortal blow to
democracy.”
Signatories included faculty and students, linguists and
philosophers.
The 81-year-old Chomsky, an outspoken critic of Israel, was to speak
at a West Bank university last week when Israeli authorities barred him from
entering from neighboring Jordan.
The Interior Ministry later said the border agent had made a mistake
and Chomsky was welcome to return.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/258229/Israeli-academics-Chomsky-ban-%E2%80%98blow-to-democracy%E2%80%99.html
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India's approach self-delusional: Pak
May 26, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has asked the US to nudge India to address
contentious issues in order to bridge the trust deficit between the two
countries instead of looking at the distrust solely through the prism of
terrorism, a media report said on Wednesday.
"We want the US to encourage India to take steps for improving the
human rights situation in Kashmir, moving forward on Siachen and Sir Creek and
agreeing to arbitration on the Kishanganga hydropower project," a senior unnamed
diplomat was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.
The message was conveyed by the Pakistani leadership to the US
administration through diplomatic channels even as Pakistan and India move
towards a phased process worked out by their Foreign Ministers for building
trust and confidence before the revival of peace talks suspended in the wake of
the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Pakistan/Indias-approach-self-delusional-Pak/articleshow/5976455.cms
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Iran releases filmmaker Jafar Panahi
May 26, 2010
TEHRAN: Iran released an internationally renowned filmmaker and
opposition supporter on bail on Tuesday after more than two months in custody,
state TV reported.
Jafar Panahi, who has won awards at the Chicago, Cannes and Berlin
film festivals, was freed on bail of about $200,000, but the report said his
indictment would be sent to a revolutionary court for future action.
The decision came about a week after the 49-year-old filmmaker began
a hunger strike to protest his imprisonment. He also demanded to be allowed to
see his family, meet with a lawyer and be set free pending trial.
It was unclear what charges Panahi faces. Cases referred to
revolutionary courts are usually security related.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Middle-East/Iran-releases-filmmaker-Jafar-Panahi/articleshow/5973550.cms
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Ahmadinejad urges Obama to accept nuke swap
deal
May 26 2010
Kerman (Iran) : Iran's president Wednesday urged Barack Obama to
accept a nuclear fuel swap deal, warning the US leader will miss a historic
opportunity for improved cooperation from Tehran if the offer is
rejected.
Mahmoud Ahamdinejad also issued a stern warning to Russia, saying
Moscow's support for the US-led push for a new round of UN sanctions against
Iran was contrary to the two countries' neighbourly and friendly
relations.
Washington has denounced the Iranian offer, brokered last week by
Brazil and Turkey, as a ploy by Tehran to avoid a new round of UN sanctions over
its controversial nuclear program, which the West fears is geared toward nuclear
weapons.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/ahmadinejad-urges-obama-to-accept-nuke-swap-deal/624030/
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3 in 5 Australians support burqa ban
May 26 2010
Melbourne: A survey has found that three in five Australians would
support a ban on Muslim women wearing the burqa.
The national online poll of 1000 done this month by UMR Research
showed that only 33 per cent were opposed to the ban compared to 59 per cent who
were in favour of it, reports the Age.
South Australian Liberal senator Cory Bernardi, who said the burqa
was “un-Australian”, had promoted the idea of a ban
recently.
But either side of politics has not supported a ban on the
burqa.
The greatest support for a ban was among males with 63 per cent, and
55 per cent among women.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/3-in-5-australians-support-burqa-ban/623929/
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Musharraf evacuated from UK-bound flight following bomb
scare
May 26 2010
Islamabad: Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was among the
passengers taken off a London-bound flight of Virgin Atlantic at New Jersey
airport in the US following a bomb scare, a media report said here
today.
Musharraf and other passengers were evacuated from the aircraft after
a security alert about a suspicious traveller and reports of a bomb in the
airliner, Geo News said.
The aircraft was later cleared and all the passengers were given the
go-ahead to board it.
However, Musharraf was taken to a local hotel and accommodated
there.
A passenger, reportedly from the Middle East, bought a one-way ticket
on the flight and paid for it in cash.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/musharraf-evacuated-from-ukbound-flight-following-bomb-scare/623979/
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Two killed in armed attack on Lahore court
complex
May 26 2010
Lahore: Two persons, including a lawyer, were killed and four others
injured in Pakistan when a group of armed men carried out an attack on a court
complex in Punjab's provincial capital today, police said.
The unidentified men stormed the sessions court complex in Katcheri
Road and opened fire with their weapons.
They also lobbed several grenades though only one went
off.
A lawyer named Chaudhry Mehboob was killed in the
attack.
One of the attackers was killed in retaliatory firing by the
police.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/two-killed-in-armed-attack-on-lahore-court-complex/624040/
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Pak intelligence warns of 'major terror attack' on US
mission
May 26, 2010
Pakistani intelligence agencies have warned that a banned
organisation might carry out a suicide attack on the US embassy with an
explosives-laden vehicle.
Two stolen vehicles, one belonging to an army officer and another
owned by the Pakistan Navy, could be used in the potential attack against the US
embassy, Urdu daily Aaj Kal quoted unnamed sources as
saying.
A black Toyota Corolla belonging to Brig Qaseer Tareen was stolen
from Lahore, while a Suzuki Bolan owned by the Pakistan Navy was stolen from
Rawalpindi.
The sources said these two vehicles could be used by a banned outfit
for carrying out a "major terror attack."
A group of heavily armed Taliban militants attempted to the US
consulate in Peshawar on April 5. They killed at least three persons before they
were gunned down by security forces or blew themselves up.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/pakistan/Pak-intelligence-warns-of-major-terror-attack-on-US-mission/Article1-548734.aspx
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Iraqi Airways to be closed following bankruptcy
26 May 2010
The Iraqi government has said it will close the state-owned Iraqi
Airways after declaring it bankrupt.
Iraq's transportation ministry told reporters the airline would be
closed following a damaging dispute with Kuwait over war
repatriations.
Kuwait Airways says the Iraqi flag carrier owes it about $1.2bn for
aircraft and plane parts taken during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in
1990.
The ministry blamed "harassment" from Kuwait for the airline's
failure.
Last month, lawyers acting for Kuwaiti authorities tried to have an
Iraqi Airlines plane confiscated while at London's Gatwick
Airport.
It had just arrived following the first direct flight between Baghdad
and London for 20 years.
Full report at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/10162501.stm
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Nuclear Iran poses greater danger to Russia than US:
Kissinger
May 26, 2010
Considered to be the dean of diplomacy in the US, Nobel Laureate
Henry Kissinger believes that a nuclear Iran, in the middle term, poses greater
danger to Russia than America.
"I would say that in the middle term, a nuclear Iran is a greater
danger to Russia than it is to the United States, because it is contiguous, and
the restive populations of Russia, which are mostly Islamic, are joining Iran,"
Kissinger told US lawmakers Tuesday.
"Based on my own conversations with Russian leaders, I'm convinced
that they are very concerned about Iran," the former US Secretary of State said
in response to a question during a Congressional hearing on the New START (for
Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) treaty convened by the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/americas/Nuclear-Iran-poses-greater-danger-to-Russia-than-US-Kissinger/Article1-548682.aspx
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Gaddafi’s son says Lockerbie bomber very sick
26 May 2010
LONDON - The Lockerbie bomber
is still “very sick” with advanced stage cancer, nine months after he was
released from a Scottish jail on compassionate grounds, Libyan leader Moamer
Gaddafi’s son said Tuesday.
Seif al-Islam, Gaddafi’s eldest son, was asked during a speech in
London about the health of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, who he escorted
home to Libya on a private jet after his release last
August.
“Mr. al-Megrahi is very sick. He has cancer in a very advanced stage
and he is in Libya. That’s all I know about his condition,” he
said.
Megrahi is the only person convicted of the 1998 bombing of a US jet
over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, which left 270 people
dead.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/May/middleeast_May457.xml§ion=middleeast&col=
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Benazir murder case: Verdict on petition seeking probe suspension
reserved
26 May, 2010
RAWALPINDI, May 25: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday reserved its
judgment on a petition seeking suspension of a second investigation, this time
by Federal Investigation Agency, in the murder case of former Prime Minister
Benazir Bhutto.
Justice Asad Munir and Justice Ijaz Ahmed of the LHC’s Rawalpindi
bench withheld their verdict on the plea of Chaudhry Mohammad Aslam who had
pleaded that the FIA-led joint investigation team should be stopped from
carrying out investigations in the case till the outcome of the petition against
the legality of reinvestigation.
Petitioner’s lawyer Mohammad Asad Rajpoot said the Punjab police had
already concluded their probe and sent the charge-sheet for the trial of the
five accused arrested.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/benazir-murder-case-verdict-on-petition-seeking-probe-suspension-reserved-650
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Indian strategy after 9/11: Implications for Pakistan
Noureen Akhtar
May 26, 2010
INDIA and Afghanistan historically have shared close cultural and
political ties, and the complexity of their diplomatic history reflects this
fact. Since 2001, India has offered huge amount for Afghanistan’s
reconstruction, making it the largest regional donor to the country. Afghanistan
holds strategic importance for India as, it seeks friendly allies in the
neighborhood, and because it is a gateway to energy-rich Central Asian states.
“India is looking to ensure that other countries in the region favor or at least
are neutral on its conflict with Pakistan,” says J Alexander Thier, an expert on
Afghanistan at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP)
Afghanistan has remained in the focus of Indian regional policy
because of its geo-strategic location, and having neighbor Iran, Pakistan, and
the Central Asian States.
Full report at:
http://dailymailnews.com/0510/26/Editorial_Column/DMArticle.php#1
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Lion's Den: How Islamists came to dominate European
Islam
By DANIEL PIPES
05/26/2010
Ian Johnson's new study is classic 1950s intrigue, complete with
rehabilitated Nazis, CIA-front organizations and dueling Soviet-American
ambitions.
The 7/7 bombings in London, in which Islamists killed 52 and injured
700, prompted British authorities to work with Muslims to avoid future
violence.
However, rather than turn to anti-Islamist Muslims who reject the
triumphalist goal of applying Islamic law in Europe, they promoted nonviolent
Islamists, hoping these would persuade coreligionists to express their hatred of
the West in lawful ways. This effort featured Tariq Ramadan, a prominent
Islamist intellectual. For example, London’s Metropolitan Police partially
funded a conference Ramadan addressed and Prime Minister Tony Blair appointed
him to an official “working group on tackling extremism.”
Full report at:
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=176547
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Bangladesh seizes 4 militant suspects,
explosives
By FARID HOSSAIN
May 26, 2010
Police have arrested four suspected Islamic militants and seized
bomb-making materials in a raid in the Bangladeshi capital, the national police
chief said Wednesday.
The suspects were arrested late Monday from a four-story apartment
building in Dhaka's southern Dhania district where they were living as tenants,
police chief Noor Mohammad said. A woman believed to be the wife of one of the
men also was detained, he said.
Police seized explosives, bomb-making materials and firearms from the
men, he said.
Police believe the men are top-ranking leaders of the banned, radical
Islamic group Jumatul Mujahideen Bangladesh. Mohammad did not provide further
details.
Full report at:
http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/news/world/asia/article_c82946fb-9705-5e83-ac4e-c4cfd08657f0.html
9:31 PM
Sultan Shahin
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