India: Muslim girls top national average in school enrolment
155 killed in Pakistan plane crash
India considering reservation for Muslims through OBC routeQuraishi appointed new CEC of India
Roadside bomb kills 25 civilians in Afghanistan
3,000 terrorists for India battle: Pak Taliban
740 militants have tried to infiltrate into J&K since 2009: Antony
'US can't account for 95% Iraqi oil money'
We can build United States of Africa: Gaddafi
‘100,000 settlers have migrated from Balochistan’
Osama was spotted in Pakistan in 2006
Al-Turki underlines MWL’s role in spreading Islam
Kidnapped former Pakistan agent Colonel Imam pleads for life
Afghanistan urges West to review Pakistan policy after leaks
Malaysian-Indian teacher to quash children's conversion to Islam
Houses of poor Muslims torched in Rajasthan, 900 residents flee
History's twist: German pilots seek Jewish help
Hundreds homeless as Israel police raze village
Ahmadinejad sure US will strike Middle East in 3 months
Zawahiri slams France's veil ban, urges women to resist
US backs India, tells Pak to punish 26/11 plotters
US investigating possible ISI role in Mumbai attack
Indian journalists visiting Israel
Race for gas could fuel Lebanon-Israel war
Pakistan proposes stricter provisions in new anti-terror bill
Kauser's death house held Ishrat too
How CBI cracked Kauser case
Commission to probe Kashmir Valley violence
Serbia lawmakers vow never to recognise Kosovo
‘DIG spoke to Shah, lit Kausar pyre’
Sohrabuddin case: Vanzara & Co fight Amin's approver plan
Pakistan digging its own grave says US Congressman
Al-Qaida steals blood for injured fighters
Sohrabuddin case: CBI now turns gaze on Andhra cops
US general wants Afghan militants branded terrorists
US silent over Taliban ‘patrons’ in Pakistan
Taliban says will continue ‘jihad’ against ANP
Iran not providing help to Taliban in Afghanistan
France is at war against al-Qaida: Prime minister
Wanted: some ‘Islam’ in CWG ceremonies
Kayani's extension challenged in Pakistani court
Burney asks India, Pakistan to release prisoners
US welcomes EU, Canadian sanctions against Iran
Stop terror as policy tool: MEA to Pak
Terror, recession hurt tourism in Kerala
‘Iran to resume N-talks in Sept’
SIMI activist held
Iraq destroyed WMDs in 1991: Hans Blix
Kerala to probe `Taliban' courts
Is this American soldier the ‘ source’of the leaks?
German pilots to use Israeli drones in Afghanistan
Pakistan sincerely pursuing dialogue process: Qureshi
Cargo plane crashes in Riyadh
Malaysian prosecutor axed in Anwar’s trial
Iran to pay for new babies to boost population
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: Minority Affairs Minister of India, Salman Khurshid
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Muslim girls top national average in school enrolment
Jul 28, 2010
NEW DELHI: Enrolment of Muslim children in primary and upper primary classes in 2009-10 improved significantly with Muslim girls -- as was the trend in the previous two years -- again doing better than boys across the country.
In fact, at the upper primary level (class VI-VIII) the percentage of Muslim girls -- 49.97% -- has been higher than the national average of 48.04%.
A report by the National University of Educational Planning and Administration, after analyzing data from 1.28 million recognised schools imparting elementary education from 635 districts spread over 35 states and union territories, shows a total enrolment of 17.17 million (against 14.83 million in 2008-09) Muslim children in primary classes in 2009-10. This is 13.04% of the total 131.72 million enrolment in classes I to V. During 2009-10, an additional 2.34 million Muslim minority children were enrolled in primary classes across the country. In 2008-09, the share of Muslim enrolment was 11.03% and in 2007-08, it was 10.49%.
Like primary classes, the percentage of Muslim enrolment in upper primary classes also improved to 11.47% in 2009-10 from 9.13% in 2008-09 and 8.54% in 2007-08. Of the total 54.02 million enrolment in upper primary classes in the country in 2009-10, Muslim children totalled 6.20 million (against 4.87 million in 2008-09).
Girls, both at primary and upper primary level, have done exceptionally well. Of the total Muslim enrolment in primary classes, Muslim girls contribute 48.89% which is similar to the share of girls in overall primary enrolment (48.44%) at the all-India level. At the upper primary level, Muslim girls to total Muslim enrolment in upper primary classes is 49.97% which is above the national average of 48.04%.
Both at the primary and upper primary level Muslim enrolment has increased in Assam, Bihar, Delhi, J&K, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, UP, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
NUEPA data for 2009-10 also reveals that there are certain pockets in the country which have a high percentage of Muslim enrolment. There are about 1,01,484 schools which have got more than 25% Muslim enrolment (to total enrolment in elementary classes) which is 7.91% of the total schools that impart elementary education in the country. Similarly, 72,053 (5.62%) schools have above 50% Muslim enrolment as compared to 54,355 schools (4.84%) having 75% and above and 43,809 schools (3.41%) even having a share of 90% and above Muslim enrolment to total enrolment in the country.
Because of the high percent share of Muslim population to total population in the state, 11 districts of J&K have above 90% Muslim enrolment in 2009-10 in primary classes which is also true for enrolment in upper primary classes. On the other hand, 34 districts have more than 50% Muslim enrolment in primary classes in 2009-10 compared to 30 such districts in case of upper primary enrolment. Twelve districts of J&K, one each in Bihar, Lakshadweep and Kerala, two in West Bengal and eight districts in Assam have more than 50% Muslim enrolment in primary classes.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Muslim-girls-top-national-average-in-school-enrolment/articleshow/6224338.cms
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155 killed in Pakistan plane crash
PTI, Jul 28, 2010, 06.05pm IST
No survivors in Pakistan plane crash
ISLAMABAD: In Pakistan's worst air disaster in recent times, a passenger jet on Wednesday crashed into the Margalla Hills overlooking Islamabad in heavy rain amid poor visibility, killing all 155 people on board, including women and children.
The Airbus A321 operated by private airline Airblue -- which had 147 passengers and eight crew aboard -- hit the Margalla Hills near Daman-e-Koh viewpoint at about 10 am local time and turned into a ball of fire as it exploded into pieces.
The plane was about to land at the Islamabad airport when it lost radio contact with the control tower and later crashed into the thickly-forested hills overlooking the capital city, officials said.
The wreckage fell into a deep ravine between two hills. Several hours after the crash, rescue workers and military personnel pulled out the bodies from the smoldering and burning wreckage that lay scattered over a thickly forested area in inaccessible hills shrouded by clouds and fog.
Officials said they believed the crash was caused by bad weather. However, the exact cause would be ascertained by an inquiry to be conducted by the Civil Aviation Authority, they said.
Rescue workers said they had shouted out for possible survivors but received no response.
Special search and rescue teams of the army, navy, air force and paramilitary Pakistan Rangers reached the crash site along with members of a state-run rescue service and local residents shortly after the accident but officials said operations were being impeded by the difficult terrain and heavy rains.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said all those on board the plane were killed. There were 147 passengers and eight crew members on the aircraft, he said.
A total of 159 passengers were booked on the flight from Karachi to Islamabad but a dozen of them did not show up, he said.
Malik had earlier said that five people had survived. Other officials said five children and 29 women were among the passengers.
Islamabad has been hit by heavy rains for the past three days and the city was covered by fog and low-lying clouds.
The crash occurred in an area that is not easily accessible as the Margalla Hills are covered by thick forests.
City residents said they had seen the Airblue aircraft flying "very low" over Islamabad shortly before the crash.
"I heard a loud bang and then saw smoke rising over the Margalla Hills," said Aman Ali, a school boy.
Rescue workers had to trek uphill for over an hour to reach the site.
Flames and smoke continued to spew from the wreckage several hours later though some of the fire was extinguished by the rain.
The ill-fated aircraft had taken off from Karachi at 7.50 am and was scheduled to land in Islamabad after two hours.
Interior Minister Malik said the aircraft was at 2,600 feet when it was cleared to land. It then rose up to 3,000 feet before disappearing from radar screens, he said.
"We will need to study the black box to ascertain the exact cause of the crash. The (control) tower did not receive any SOS message or report of a technical problem before the crash," Malik said.
Sources in the Civil Aviation Authority expressed surprise at authorities clearing the aircraft to land at Islamabad despite the poor visibility and bad weather around the federal capital.
The sources told PTI that state-run Pakistan International Airlines had diverted all its flights to Islamabad to Lahore.
Scores of anxious relatives of passengers gathered at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport and different hospitals in Islamabad to get information about their kin. Many broke down and wept inconsolably.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani expressed shock and grief at the crash.
The government declared a day of national mourning and Gilani put off a meeting of his Cabinet till next week. The Premier also conducted an aerial survey of the crash site.
Airbus said in a statement that the aircraft which crashed was 10 years old and leased to Airblue in 2006. It had made about 13,500 flights.
The last major fatal crash in Pakistan occurred in the central city of Multan in July 2006, when a Pakistan International Airlines Fokker F27 crashed, killing 45 people.
The deadliest plane crash involving a Pakistani airliner occurred in September 1992, when a PIA Airbus A300 crashed into a hillside in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu, killing 167 people.
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Govt considering reservation for Muslims through OBC route: Khurshid
Jul 28, 2010
NEW DELHI: Government is actively considering reservation for Muslims through the Other Backward Castes (OBC) route, minority affairs minister Salman Khurshid has said.
"We are actively looking at the reservation issue. We have a commitment in our (Congress) manifesto. I am pushing for it all the time ....Congress leadership is committed to the issue and there is no shred of doubt about it," he told PTI in an interview here.
Khurshid was replying to questions on whether the government is ready to implement the recommendations of the Ranganath Mishra Commission for reservation to Minorities.
The Commission, whose report was tabled in Parliament in December last year, had recommended 10 per cent reservation for Muslims and five per cent for other minorities in government jobs.
The Commission had also suggested an alternative route for reservation to minorities if there is "insurmountable difficulty" in implementing the recommendation for 15 per cent reservation.
According to the Mandal Commission report, minorities constitute 8.4 per cent of the total OBC population. So in the 27 per cent OBC quota, an 8.4 per cent sub quota should be earmarked for minorities of which 6 per cent should be for Muslims.
"They (Mishra Commission) are saying either do it as 15 per cent or as share of 27 per cent. We are moving on the second option," Khurshid said, adding that this option was also recommended by the Sachar Committee, which looked into the issue of the backwardness of Muslims.
Asked whether the UPA is ruling out the first option of giving 15 per cent reservation to minorities as a while, Khurshid said, "Not ruling out the first option, we are moving on the second option."
The minority affairs minister said that though his ministry is not the one to decide over the issue, he was in constant touch with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment as they they are the ones who have to do it.
"I am obviously involved in the conceptualisation of this," he said.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi had reportedly assured a delegation of Muslim leaders in May this year that modalities for providing reservation to Muslims would be worked out in six months.
The party is learnt to be in favour of providing reservations to minorities on the lines of the quota structure that is already in place in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu has 3.5 per cent reservation for Muslims within 27 per cent quota for backward castes, while Congress ruled Andhra Pradesh has given 4 per cent reservation to Muslims, which was also upheld by the Supreme Court.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Govt-considering-reservation-for-Muslims-through-OBC-route/articleshow/6226550.cms
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Quraishi appointed new CEC
Jul 27, 2010
NEW DELHI: S Y Quraishi, Election Commissioner, was on Tuesday appointed the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) in the place of Navin Chawla, who demits office on Thursday.
The notification elevating 63-year-old Quraishi as head of the three-member election body was issued today. He will have a little less than two years in the Constitutional post. Chawla, who took over in the middle of 2009 Lok Sabha polls, headed the Commission for a little more a year.
"In pursuance of Clause 2 of Art 324 of the Constitution, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Shahabuddin Yaqub Quraishi as Chief Election Commissioner with effect from 30th August, 2010," said the Law Ministry notification.
Quraishi, a thoroughbred civil servant, will conduct assembly elections in Bihar later this year and in a bunch of states like Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala and Assam next summer.
"I feel deeply honoured on being entrusted with this assignment. Election Commission of India is an institution in which the nation places a great trust. It would be my utmost endeavour to prove myself worthy of this trust," Quraishi told PTI reacting to his appointment.
On the occasion, he sought the support of all stakeholders, especially the people in the discharge of his sacred duties.
The government will have to appoint a new Election Commission with the elevation of Quraishi. V S Sampath is the other Election Commissioner.
A 1971-batch IAS officer, Quraishi entered the Commission in June 2006 after 35 years in the civil service in both the Centre and state levels. Prior to joining the Commission, he was Secretary in the Sports and Youth Affairs Ministry at the Centre.
He had held several key positions in the government and made special contribution in the area of social sector reforms covering health, education, population, drug abuse and civil society action.
Quraishi said during the last four years as Election Commissioner, he was proud to be part of one of the august institutions that the framers of the Constitution have gifted to the country while insulating it from all possible pressures.
"The judiciary, especially the Supreme Court also has zealously guarded the Election Commission against any assault on its autonomy and independence and ensured that it grows from strength to strength.
"In our multi-member Commission that has the principle of equality as its hallmark, any transition is marked by continuity. This has also contributed to the impartiality and absolute neutrality of the Commission at all times," he said.
He said elections in India were known not only for their scale, but also for their credibility.
"I realise the responsibility that the Election Commission carries towards keeping India's democracy firmly on the rails. I have abiding faith that the Commission will continue to deliver on its mandate, in the face of all challenges old and new, as it has always done in the past," he added.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Quraishi-appointed-new-CEC/articleshow/6223955.cms
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Roadside bomb kills 25 civilians in Afghanistan
Jul 28, 2010
A roadside bomb tore through a passenger bus in western Afghanistan Wednesday, killing 25 civilians, a provincial governor said.
At least 20 other civilians were injured in the blast that took place in Bakwa district of Nimroz province, Governor Gholam Dastagir Azaad said.
'Women and children are among those killed but due to remoteness of the area we don't have any figures yet,' Azaad said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which bore the hallmarks of the Taliban insurgents.
The attack came a day after the Afghan government said that 52 civilians were killed when a NATO rocket hit a residential house in Sangin district of the southern province of Helmand Friday. NATO rejected that civilians had been killed and said a joint investigation was under way.
The militants rely heavily on use of roadside bombs as part of their insurgency against the Western-backed Afghan government and the around 140,000 US and NATO troops in Afghanistan.
At least 1,074 civilians have been killed and over 1,500 injured in armed violence in the first half of this year, a report by the Afghanistan Rights Monitor said.
http://sify.com/news/roadside-bomb-kills-25-civilians-in-afghanistan-news-international-kh2lkchdgdj.html
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3,000 terrorists for India battle: Pak Taliban
July 28, 2010
The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has declared it is training terrorists to launch an attack on India.
The TTP is the Pakistan counterpart of Afghanistan's Taliban and has been blamed for several terror attacks in that country.
TTP spokesperson Azam Tariq told this correspondent in a telephone interview that the TTP has vowed to capture "Hindustan".
"India is our jageer (domain)," Tariq said, "and we will attack to take possession of it. We are training lots of fighters and suicide bombers who will be used for this purpose."
He added the Taliban would fight a "decisive' battle" in India before proceeding towards the Middle East, presumably to evict Israel from that region.
After taking control of Pakistan and Afghanistan, the TTP spokesperson said the Taliban would move towards India.
Full report at:
http://news.rediff.com/special/2010/jul/26/three-thousand-terrorists-for-india-battle-pak-taliban.htm
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740 militants have tried to infiltrate into J&K since 2009: Antony
Jul 28, 2010
NEW DELHI: Infiltration attempts across the Line of Control show no signs of abating. In fact, they have registered a jump. As many as 740 militants tried to sneak into Jammu and Kashmir over the last 18 months.
"In 2009, 485 terrorists had attempted to infiltrate into J&K. This year, from January to June, a total of 255 terrorists have attempted to infiltrate,'' defence minister A K Antony told Lok Sabha.
The security forces, on their part, have killed 114 terrorists -- 59 of them while infiltrating -- and arrested 60 others in J&K in the first six months of this year.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/740-militants-have-tried-to-infiltrate-into-JK-since-2009-Antony-/articleshow/6224189.cms
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'US can't account for 95% Iraqi oil money'
Jul 28, 2010
BAGHDAD: The US defense department is unable to properly account for over 95% of $9.1 billion in Iraqi oil money tapped by the US for rebuilding the war ravaged nation, according to an audit released on Tuesday.
The report by the US special investigator for Iraq reconstruction offers a compelling look at continued laxness in how such funds are being spent in a country where people complain basic services like power and water are sharply lacking seven years after the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
The audit found that shoddy record keeping by the defense department left the Pentagon unable to fully account for $8.7 billion it withdrew between 2004 and 2007 from a special fund set up by the UN Security Council. Of that amount, Pentagon "could not provide documentation to substantiate how it spent $2.6 billion".
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/US-cant-account-for-95-Iraqi-oil-money/articleshow/6225036.cms
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We can build United States of Africa: Gaddafi
28 July 2010
KAMPALA - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said on Tuesday his dream of a United States of Africa was still alive and this week’s African Union summit was another step towards that objective.
Gaddafi has been pushing for an African unity government for years, saying it is the only way Africa can develop without Western interference, but many African states say the idea is impractical and would encroach on their sovereignty.
Like previous African summits, this week’s gathering in the Ugandan capital Kampala discussed steps towards creating an African government, but the issue was overshadowed by chaos in Somalia and an international arrest warrant for Sudan’s president.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/July/middleeast_July541.xml§ion=middleeast
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‘100,000 settlers have migrated from Balochistan’
July 28, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Tuesday said that four private armies headed by local Baloch, being used by some hidden hands, have taken up arms against the security forces and are active to break up the country with the support of external forces.
Speaking on the floor of the Senate, Rehman Malik once again emphatically said that an Indian hand was there behind the insurgency in Balochistan and questioned as to who is financing Brahamdag Bugti.
He was winding up a debate on two motions condoling the deaths of Qazi Abdul Latif and Habib Jalib Baloch which were moved by Leader of the Opposition Wasim Sajjad and Mian Raza Rabbani on Monday.
Full report at:
http://thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=30335
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Osama was spotted in Pakistan in 2006
Jul 28, 2010
CONTRADICTING the CIA’s assertion that it had no intelligence on the world’s most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden since 2003, leaked Pentagon documents say the al- Qaeda chief personally attended a recruitment drive for suicide bombers in Pakistan in 2006.
CIA chief Leon Panetta said in June that the last time the US had precise information on bin Laden’s location was in the early 2000s.
But the US military intelligence reports revealed by Wikileaks show repeated instances in which US forces saw signs of the al- Qaeda chief in Pakistan.
The evidence appears to contradict Penetta's claim last month that there has been no intelligence on al- Qaeda leader since 2003, the Daily Telegraph reported, quoting the leaked documents published by The Guardian.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Al-Turki underlines MWL’s role in spreading Islam
Jul 28, 2010
MAKKAH: Muslim World League (MWL) Secretary-General Abdullah Al-Turki on Tuesday highlighted the important role played by MWL over the past 50 years, in terms of spreading the message of Islam all over the world and removing misconceptions about it.
Addressing a press conference, he thanked the Saudi government for its continuous support to the MWL. “The United Nations has given us the Messenger of Peace certificate in appreciation for our humanitarian activities all over the world,” Al-Turki said.
He said an international conference on “The MWL: Its Present and Future” would be held in Makkah to mark the organization’s 50th anniversary with the participation of leading Islamic scholars and heads of Islamic groups and centers in different parts of the world.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article91434.ece
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Kidnapped former Pakistan agent Colonel Imam pleads for life
28 July 2010
The former Pakistan intelligence agent known as the godfather of the Taliban emerged in a video today pleading for his life, four months after he was captured by an Islamic extremist group.
One of the most famous former officers of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, Colonel Imam said his life was in danger unless the authorities meet his kidnappers demand to free a number of prisoners held for terrorism.
Imam, whose real name is Sultan Amir Tarar, worked alongside Afghanistan's mujahideen to defeat the Soviet occupation. In the mid-1990s, as an ISI agent in the country, he spotted the potential of the then emerging Taliban movement and helped nurture it. After 2001 he was forcibly retired from the ISI after being considers too radical.
Full report at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/27/colonel-imam-video-afghanistan-pakistan
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Afghanistan urges West to review Pakistan policy after leaks
Jul 28, 2010
KABUL: Afghanistan's national security adviser called on the West on Tuesday to review policy towards Pakistan after leaked Pentagon documents pointed to Pakistani double-dealing in the Afghan war.
Kabul has consistently accused Pakistan's intelligence agency of supporting Taliban insurgents -- including masterminding attacks against Afghan and US-led targets in the country. Islamabad denies the claims.
Kabul said information contained in documents released on whistleblowing website WikiLeaks on Sunday backed its long-held position.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Afghanistan-urges-West-to-review-Pakistan-policy-after-leaks/articleshow/6225633.cms
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Malaysian-Indian teacher granted leave for full trial to quash children's conversion to Islam
2010-07-28
Malaysian Indian kindergarten teacher M. Indira Gandhi has been granted leave by the Ipoh High Court on her application for full trial in her application for a judicial review to quash her three children's conversion to Islam.
According to The Star, Indira Gandhi, who was granted custody of her three children, Prasana Diksa, Tevi Darsiny, and Karan Dinish, by the court on March 11, is seeking to quash her children's conversion to Islam by their father, K. Pathmanathan, whose Muslim name is Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah, without her consent.
Pathmanathan was earlier granted custody of the children by the Syariah High Court but his stay petition was rejected by the civil court saying that the Syariah verdict didn't imply on his wife as she had not converted to Islam.
http://sify.com/news/malaysian-indian-teacher-granted-leave-for-full-trial-to-quash-children-s-conversion-to-islam-news-international-kh2nadbjidb.html
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Houses of poor Muslims torched in Rajasthan, 900 residents flee
New Age Islam News Bureau
July 28, 2010
New Delhi: In the Congress-ruled state of Rajasthan, Muslims of Sarada, a small town in Udaipur district have been living in a state of horror for the last few days. According to reports, all the Muslim residents of the town have fled leaving their property and cattle as thousands of adivasis attacked and burnt their houses. Most of them have gone to take shelter in their relatives' homes in Udaipur while about 250 people have taken shelter in a mosque in an undisclosed place.
The incident happened yesterday as a large mob of Adivasi Hindus attacked Muslims in Sarada town, 60 KM West from Udaipur and torched their houses. Although there has been no casualties but the houses and cattle of Muslims have either been looted or set on fire. Full report at:
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History's twist: German pilots seek Jewish help
Jul 28, 2010
EIN SHEMER AIR BASE: As World War II raged in the years before Israel's founding, colonial British planes were scrambled here to fend off German forces. Now the German Luftwaffe is back, preparing for a far more remote fight with the modern equipment and expertise of the Jewish state established after the Nazi Holocaust.
Worried by insurgent ambushes on its soldiers in Afghanistan and return fire that sometimes kills civilians or local allies, Germany last year ordered a small fleet of Israeli Heron spy drones designed to provide real-time images above a battlefield. That has brought German jet pilots to coastal Ein Shemer air base for accelerated retraining on the unmanned propeller planes, already daubed with their flag and Iron Cross emblem.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Historys-twist-German-pilots-seek-Jewish-help/articleshow/6225033.cms
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Hundreds homeless as Israel police raze village
28 Jul, 2010
AL-ARAQIB, July 27: Around 300 Bedouins living in Israel’s Negev desert were left homeless on Tuesday after hundreds of police raided their village and demolished their homes, rights groups said.
Israeli rights activists who tried to prevent the operation said a huge number of police swooped on the village of Al-Araqib shortly before dawn in scores of vehicles and at least 12 buses.
“More than 1,500 police arrived at the village at around sunrise — they came in dozens of vehicles and began destroying the structures there,” said Chaya Noach, head of Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality, a group which fights to protect the rights of the 160,000 Bedouin living in the Negev.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/hundreds-homeless-as-israel-police-raze-village-870
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Ahmadinejad sure US will strike Middle East in 3 months
Jul 28, 2010
TEHRAN: Iran expects the United States to launch a military strike on "at least two countries" in the Middle East in the next three months, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told state-run Press TV.
In an interview recorded on Monday, Ahmadinejad did not specify whether he thought Iran itself would be attacked nor did he say what intelligence led him to expect such a move.
The US and Israel have refused to rule out military action against Iran’s nuclear program which they fear could lead to it making a bomb.
"They have decided to attack at least two countries in the region in the next three months," Ahmadinejad said in excerpts broadcast on the news channel on Tuesday. Ahmadinejad said Iran had "very precise information that the Americans have hatched a plot, according to which they to wage a psychological war against Iran".
He also criticized the US-led drive for global sanctions to pressure Tehran over the nuclear issue. "The logic that they can persuade us to negotiate through sanctions is just a failure," Ahmadinejad said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Ahmadinejad-sure-US-will-strike-Middle-East-in-3-months/articleshow/6225072.cms
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Zawahiri slams France's veil ban, urges women to resist
28 Jul, 2010
DUBAI: Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri slammed France's move to ban face veils, saying Muslim women must hold on to their veils at any cost, in an audio tape posted online Tuesday.
“In France, the pioneer of secularism, there is an overt and shameless war on hijab (veil) and niqab (face cover),” he said in the tape posted on a website.
“What France is doing, which is spreading across Europe and the West, should prompt us to hold on to our true religion in face of their deviant ideologies,” he said in the message whose authenticity could not be verified.
“My Muslim sisters, hold on to your hijab, even if it would cost you your money, education and jobs. You are mujahedat (female holy warriors) in the most important battlefield,” he said.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/19-zawahiri-slams-frances-veil-ban-urges-women-to-resist-hh-02
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US backs India, tells Pak to punish 26/11 plotters
Jul 28, 2010
NEW DELHI: A day after Wikileaks brought out Pakistan's thriving partnership with Taliban and other terror groups, the US publicly asked Islamabad to take action against the 26/11 perpetrators.
Endorsing New Delhi's insistence that full-scale dialogue with Pakistan won't be possible till the latter changed its policy to crack down on terror groups menacing India, the US said, "If Pakistan wants to convince India that it has made this kind of fundamental change, bringing to justice those who are responsible for the Mumbai attack would be a very, very constructive and important step."
The statement of Phillip Crowley, spokesperson of the US state department, jarred with Pakistan's stand, as articulated by its foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi during the ill-fated talks in Islambad earlier this month, that India was unreasonably fixated on 26/11 and it was time the two countries moved on.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/US-backs-India-tells-Pak-to-punish-26/11-plotters/articleshow/6224671.cms
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US investigating possible ISI role in Mumbai attack
Jul 28, 2010
WASHINGTON: In the wake of India's assertion that ISI was involved in the Mumbai attacks, the Obama Administration has said it was investigating the matter to find out whether Pakistan's spy agency played a role in the 26/11 terror strikes.
"We are very much engaged in this question," a senior administration official said, when asked about the statements made by home secretary G K Pillai and national security advisor Shivshankar Menon that ISI had played a role in planning and execution of the Mumbai terror attacks.
The official, who requested anonymity, said that the matter was under investigation and he would not like to comment till the probe was over.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/US-investigating-possible-ISI-role-in-Mumbai-attack/articleshow/6223215.cms
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Indian journalists visiting Israel
July 27, 2010
JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Indian journalists are visiting Israel to learn more about the Indian-Israel relationship.
The journalists, from Hindi, Urdu and English-language media outlets, arrived in Israel this week as part of Project Interchange, an educational institute of the American Jewish Committee. Some of the journalists' publications target primarily Hindu or Muslim audiences.
Participants have seen demonstrations of Israeli innovations in such areas as water desalination and electric car technology. They also have met with their Israeli counterparts, and learned about bilateral partnerships between India and Israel.
The agenda has included discussions with experts on Israel’s history and foreign policy, as well as its economic, legal, political and security environments. They have talked, too, about immigration and absorption, and participated in sessions highlighting Israel’s diversity and efforts toward interfaith coexistence.
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/07/27/2740244/indian-journalists-visit-israel
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Race for gas could fuel Lebanon-Israel war
Jul 28, 2010
BEIRUT: The discovery of large natural gas reserves under the waters of the eastern Mediterranean could potentially mean a huge economic windfall for Israel and Lebanon, both resource-poor nations — if it doesn't spark new war between them.
The Hezbollah militant group has blared warnings that Israel plans to steal natural gas from Lebanese territory and vows to defend the resources with its arsenal of rockets. Israel says the fields it is developing do not extend into Lebanese waters, a claim experts say appears to be correct, but the maritime boundary between the two countries — still officially at war — has never been precisely set.
"Lebanon's need for the resistance has doubled today in light of Israeli threats to steal Lebanon's oil wealth," Hezbollah's executive council chief Hashem Safieddine said last month. The need to protect the offshore wealth "pushes us in the future to strengthen the resistance's capabilities".
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Race-for-gas-could-fuel-Lebanon-Israel-war/articleshow/6225014.cms
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Pakistan government proposes stricter provisions in new anti-terror bill
July 28, 2010
Amid a wave of terror strikes across the country that have killed thousands, the Pakistan government today sought to amend the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997, including stricter provisions for the prosecution and punishment of persons found involved in such acts.
Interior minister Rehman Malik moved the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2010 in the Senate or the upper house of the parliament.
He asked the House to suspend rules to immediately take up the bill as there was an urgent need to amend the law.
Under the amendments proposed in the bill, a person arrested on suspicion of links to terrorism can be detained without charge for 90 days.
Full report at:
http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_pakistan-government-proposes-stricter-provisions-in-new-anti-terror-bill_1415548
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Kauser's death house held Ishrat too
Mahesh Langa
July 28, 2010
In what could spell more trouble for the Narendra Modi administration in Gujarat, a man arrested in the Sohrabuddin encounter case has told the CBI his farmhouse had been used earlier too to incarcerate other victims of encounters.
Rajesh Jirawala, whom the CBI arrested on Tuesday, said Mumbai college student Ishrat Jahan and three associates whom the Gujarat police shot dead on June 14, 2004 -saying they were Lashkar-eTayyeba cadres on a mission to kill Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi -had been kept in his Arham farmhouse on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.
This was also where Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kauserbi were held before they were killed in November 2005. Amit Shah, a close Modi aide, resigned as Minister of State for Home before he was arrested and jailed on Sunday in connection with the killing of Sohrabuddin and Kauserbi.
Full report at: Hindustan Times
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How CBI cracked Kauser case
Stavan Desai stavan
Jul 28, 2010
Till six months ago, the CBI could only guess that Kauser Bi, wife of Sohrabuddin Sheikh who had been killed in a fake encounter in 2005 in Gujarat, had also been killed.
But the investigators had no idea about how she was killed or what happened to her body.
To prove the murder, the bureau, however, had to find the body as it held the clues to trace the murderer. In Kauser's case, since the body had also been destroyed, it became important to find the murder spot and reconstruct the manner in which the body was disposed of. All that the witnesses told the investigators was that a few days after Sheikh's killing on November 26, 2005, Kauser had been strangled to death and her body was taken from Rajesh Jirawalas's Arham Farms on the outskirts of Ahmedabad to Illol village, about 200 km away.
Full report at: Hindustan Times
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Commission to probe Kashmir Valley violence
Shujaat Bukhari
Jul 28, 2010
SRINAGAR: A Commission of Inquiry will go into all 17 incidents in the Kashmir Valley, in which 17 people were killed in police action, the Jammu and Kashmir government announced on Tuesday. The government also sanctioned relief to the families of the victims.
The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, here. The commission, to be set up under the Jammu and Kashmir Commission of Inquiry Act, 1962, will consist of Justice (retd.) Syed Basher-ud-Din (Chairman) and Justice (retd.) Y.P. Nargotra (member).
It will “inquire into all the 17 incidents in the Kashmir division in which fatalities occurred on account of the action by the State police/security forces since June 11, 2010. The commission will submit its report in three months” an official spokesman said.
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/07/28/stories/2010072864280900.htm
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Serbia lawmakers vow never to recognise Kosovo
28 Jul, 2010
* Belgrade parliament approves the motion with 192 votes in favour
* Resolution calls for peaceful talks for lasting solution
BELGRADE: Serb lawmakers passed a resolution Tuesday vowing that their country will never recognise Kosovo as an independent state, despite a UN court ruling backing the independence declaration by the former Serbian province.
As expected, Serbia’s 250-member parliament overwhelmingly approved the motion with 192 votes in favour, 26 against and two abstentions after a heated debate during which the opposition blasted the government for “the diplomatic debacle” before the World Court.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\07\28\story_28-7-2010_pg4_2
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‘DIG spoke to Shah, lit Kausar pyre’
Parimal Dabhi
Jul 28 2010
Ahmedabad : The CBI, probing the November 2005 killing of alleged gangster Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kausar Bi by the Gujarat police, has in its chargesheet alleged that DIG D G Vanzara, arrested in the case, led the police team and personally lit the pyre of Kausar Bi.
The chargesheet alleges that Dy SP N K Amin, an accused who now wants to be approver in the case, discreetly recorded a conversation he had in jail with Inspector and co-accused N V Chauhan who claimed that instructions for killing Kausar Bi came from Gujarat junior Home Minister Amit Shah, and that Vanzara continuously sought directions from Shah.
After the killings, Shah directed two of his confidants to “convince, coerce, threaten, influence” all witnesses to conceal the truth from the CBI, alleges the chargesheet.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/dig-spoke-to-shah-lit-kausar-pyre/652742/
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Sohrabuddin case: Vanzara & Co fight Amin's approver plan
Jul 28, 2010
AHMEDABAD: The high-voltage Amit Shah drama in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, which took a dramatic turn on Monday when one of the accused, deputy SP N K Amin, turned approver, got another twist on Monday. Eight of the co-accused policemen opposed the move on the grounds that Amin was one of the main accused and couldn't be allowed to get off lightly as approver.
At one level, this has brought to light the high friction among the accused policemen, including IPS officers D G Vanzara, Rajkumar Pandian and Dinesh M N. At another, it has given an indication of the defence strategy -- of all the other accused teaming up to paint Amin as the real culprit in the fake encounters, and press the argument that he was now trying to save his skin by accusing the others, possibly, including ex-minister Shah, of conspiring to kill Sohrabuddin and his wife Kauserbi.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Sohrabuddin-case-Vanzara-Co-fight-Amins-approver-plan-/articleshow/6225079.cms
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Pakistan digging its own grave says US Congressman
Jul 28, 2010
Washington : Pakistan's obsession with India is leading it to "dig its own grave" as the ISI's "destructive role" now stands exposed in the wake of the revelations by classified intelligence documents, a leading US lawmaker has said.
"The ISI's attempt to distinguish good from bad militants will spin out of control. With its obsession with India, Pakistan is digging its own grave," Congressman Ed Royce told Press Trust of India (PTI) in the wake of WikiLeaks revelations.
"I've been speaking about the destructive role of Pakistan's ISI for many, many years. I've read this headline before," Royce, Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, said when asked about the WikiLeaks leakage which revealed that ISI continues to help and assist al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pakistan-digging-its-own-grave-says-us-congressman/652312/
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Al-Qaida steals blood for injured fighters
Timothy Williams & Yasmine Mousa
Jul 28, 2010
MOSUL: Members of al-Qaida in Mesopotamia have been holding up blood banks and hospitals at gunpoint, stealing blood for their wounded fighters rather than risk having them arrested at medical facilities, according to Iraqi doctors, employees at health centers and the Sunni insurgents themselves.
Iraqi health officials say the raids have been occurring for some time in provinces with large Sunni Arab populations and appear to signal an insurgency desperate to safeguard its core group of fighters. But the insurgents have a diminished ability to intimidate hospital staffs into caring for them directly and dwindling support among fellow Sunni Arabs, including doctors, the officials said.
The Iraqi security force members that guard medical facilities have often stood idly by as the armed robberies take place, according to workers. This has reinforced doubts about Iraq's ability to take on even a diminished insurgency as the US continues to reduce its troops in the country.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Al-Qaida-steals-blood-for-injured-fighters/articleshow/6225022.cms
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Sohrabuddin case: CBI now turns gaze on Andhra cops
Jul 28, 2010
HYDERABAD: The verbal duel between BJP and Congress over the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case has now put pressure on CBI to unravel the involvement of the Andhra policemen in the episode.
While the heat is still on Gujarat politicians and cops, AP police have managed to keep their involvement under wraps till now. CBI chief investigator DIG Kandaswamy told TOI, "Investigations are still on."
A team of AP policemen had provided logistic support to Gujarat ATS in keeping tabs on Sohrabuddin while he was in Hyderabad and to nab him and his wife Kauserbi outside the Andhra Pradesh borders when they were travelling by a bus from Hyderabad to Sangli in November 2005. Sohrabuddin was then killed in a fake encounter near Ahmedabad and his wife murdered later.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Sohrabuddin-case-CBI-now-turns-gaze-on-Andhra-cops/articleshow/6225545.cms
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US general wants Afghan militants branded terrorists
28 Jul, 2010
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama's pick to lead the US military command overseeing operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere said on Tuesday he wanted top leaders of two major insurgent groups designated as terrorists.
The Quetta Shura and the Haqqani network oppose US forces in Afghanistan and officially blacklisting their leaders could trigger punitive measures, like freezing assets. Advocates say it would also send a strong message to Pakistan, under pressure to go after insurgents inside its borders.
“Both those groups have engaged in terrorism and I believe the leaders of both groups should be placed on the State Department list,” General James Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/19-us-general-wants-afghan-militants-branded-terrorists-hh-03
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US silent over Taliban ‘patrons’ in Pakistan
28 Jul, 2010
KABUL: The United States has pursued a contradictory policy with regard to the Afghan war by ignoring Pakistan’s role in the insurgency, the Afghan government said on Tuesday, following the leak of US military documents. The classified documents released by the website WikiLeaks show current and former members of the intelligence agency were actively collaborating with the Taliban in plotting attacks in Afghanistan. On Tuesday, in its first reaction to the leak, Afghan National Security Council said the US had failed to attack the patrons and supporters of the Taliban hiding in Pakistan throughout the nine-year conflict. The National Security Council did not name any country, but said use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy was a dangerous gamble and had to be stopped. “Having a contradictory and vague policy against the forces who use terrorism as a tool for interference and sabotage against others, have had devastating results,” it said. The White House has condemned the disclosures, saying it could threaten national security.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\07\28\story_28-7-2010_pg7_3
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Taliban says will continue ‘jihad’ against ANP
28 Jul, 2010
MIRANSHAH: The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) said on Tuesday that it was the duty of the mujahideen to annihilate the Awami National Party (ANP), as it was “not only the enemy of the Taliban, but Islam as well”. Talking to reporters over telephone from an undisclosed location about the recent attacks on the ANP, TTP spokesman Azam Tariq said Pakhtuns could not tolerate the existence of the ANP in the region, as the party was an enemy of Islam. The spokesman added that it was the need of the hour to exterminate the ANP and the Taliban would continue jihad against the party.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\07\28\story_28-7-2010_pg7_12
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Iran not providing help to Taliban in Afghanistan
28 Jul, 2010
WASHINGTON: Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has, in an interview with a US television channel, denied charges that his government is providing support to Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan. “We do not support any group,” Ahmadinejad said when asked by CBS television in interview whether Tehran provided aid to Afghan rebels. “We just and only support the Afghan people. We support and we want to strengthen security in Afghanistan,” he said. “And we think the Afghan people should run their own country,” he said, adding “We think the root cause is related to the intervention of the US and NATO. It’s been for about 20 years that the Americans are interfering directly in Afghanistan.” “I think policies by the Europeans and the Americans are ridiculous. They think they are going to influence life of the Iranian society. In fact, they’re imposing sanctions against themselves,” he said. “We have vast and rich resources and it’s very much easy for us to overcome old problems,” he added.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\07\28\story_28-7-2010_pg7_4
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France is at war against al-Qaida: Prime minister
Jul 28, 2010
PARIS: France is "at war" with al-Qaida and will step up efforts to fight its North African offshoot after it executed a French hostage in the Sahara, Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Tuesday.
Fillon acknowledged that the group may have killed 78-year-old hostage Michel Germaneau before, not after, a failed last-ditch raid to try to free him.
Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb said in an audio message broadcast Sunday that it had killed Germaneau in retaliation for a raid last week by Mauritanian and French forces that killed at least six al-Qaida militants.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed the killing Monday, vowing that the perpetrators "will not go unpunished."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/France-is-at-war-against-al-Qaida-Prime-minister/articleshow/6223404.cms
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Wanted: some ‘Islam’ in CWG ceremonies
Shubhajit Roy
Jul 28 2010
New Delhi : Critical of the absence of any reference to “Islamic influence on Indian history,” in either the opening or closing ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games, the Group of Ministers has asked the Games organisers to provide a “true” representation of India’s inclusive culture by weaving this in.
It’s learnt that the issue was raised at a recent meeting of the GoM, where ministers previewed the ceremonies designed by international consultants under the guidance of filmmaker Shyam Benegal, lyricist Prasoon Joshi and Javed Akhtar.
The ministers argued that Islam was a very important aspect of Indian culture and must be showcased at a global platform like the Commonwealth Games.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/wanted-some-islam-in-cwg-ceremonies/652740/
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Kayani's extension challenged in Pakistani court
Jul 28, 2010
Peshawar : The Pakistan government's decision to give a three-year extension to army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani was challenged in the Peshawar High Court today by a lawyer who contended it violated the constitution.
Shahid Orakzai, a journalist and lawyer, filed the writ petition under Article 199 of the constitution and challenged the Prime Minister's decision to give the army chief an extension in service on July 22.
In the petition, Orakzai asked the High Court to declare the extension as ultra-vires of the constitution.
He said that in the 18th constitutional amendment, Article 46 of the constitution was amended to state that the Prime Minister would only "keep the President informed on all matters of internal and foreign policy".
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/kayanis-extension-challenged-in-pakistani-court/652479/
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Burney asks India, Pakistan to release prisoners
Jul 28, 2010
Islamabad : The governments of India and Pakistan should take steps for the early release of nationals of both countries who are in each other's jails and for the repatriation of prisoners who have completed their sentences, leading rights activist Ansar Burney said today.
Burney, a former Minister for Human Rights, said the prisoners, including fishermen, should be freed and repatriated in the interest of human dignity.
There are dozens of prisoners in Indian and Pakistani jails who completed their prison terms decades ago but are still waiting to be released, he contended.
"During this period, they have lost their mental balance and became lunatics or contracted diseases like tuberculosis," he said.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/burney-asks-india-pakistan-to-release-prisoners/652472/
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US welcomes EU, Canadian sanctions against Iran
Jul 28, 2010
Washington : The US has welcomed actions by the European Union and Canada to adopt new sanctions against Iran in line with the UN Security Council resolution, saying this gives a clear message to its leaders that they either meet responsibilities or face isolation.
"These steps underscore the steadfast European and Canadian leadership to hold Iran accountable for its failure to meet its international obligations and set a high standard for global implementation of sanctions," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a joint statement.
The UNSC resolution imposes additional sanctions against Iran's financial, insurance, transportation, trade and energy sectors, as well as the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The US has already taken steps to implement the resolution.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/us-welcomes-eu-canadian-sanctions-against-iran/652317/
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Stop terror as policy tool: MEA to Pak
Jul 28, 2010
Expressing concern over reports about the ISI involvement in fomenting terrorism, India on Tuesday condemned sponsorship of terrorism as an instrument of State policy and demanded an immediate end to it.
Reacting to the ISI-related reports on 'Wikileaks,' the spokesperson of the External Affairs Ministry said here "we have seen media reports about classified information, supposedly from US Government sources, put out in public domain, on support to terrorism by ISI-Pakistan's military intelligence agency. Sponsorship of terrorism, as an instrument of policy, is wholly condemnable and must cease forthwith."
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/272256/Stop-terror-as-policy-tool-MEA-to-Pak.html
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Terror, recession hurt tourism in Kerala
Jul 28, 2010
The tourism industry in God’s Own Country is praying for an immediate end to the terror operations and reports on them in the State, as it prepares for the tourist season starting November. Industry sources say that terror and the global economic meltdown had led to a huge downslide in the arrival of foreign tourists in Kerala last year.
While the World Tourism Organisation has put the fall in international tourist movement to recession and terror threat at four per cent in 2009, it was more than eight per cent in the case of Kerala. As many as 5,98,933 foreign tourists visited Kerala in 2008 as per the Tourism Department records, but this number fell to 5,48,740 in 2009, showing a fall by 50,193 tourists.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/272041/Terror-recession-hurt-tourism-in-Kerala.html
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‘Iran to resume N-talks in Sept’
Jul 28, 2010
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran was ready to resume long-stalled nuclear talks with world powers in September, the Islamic republic’s English-language Press TV reported on Tuesday.
“Iran will resume nuclear talks with the West in September,” the channel quoted the hardliner as saying. But Ahmadinejad added that “Iran wants Turkey and Brazil to participate in the negotiations.”
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki had said this month that talks over Tehran’s overall nuclear programme could begin in September after EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton reached out to Iran in a letter in June.
The Iranian President’s comments came after the European Union slapped fresh sanctions on Iran’s key energy sector on Monday in a bid to halt its sensitive uranium enrichment programme.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/272071/%E2%80%98Iran-to-resume-N-talks-in-Sept%E2%80%99.html
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SIMI activist held
Manas Dasgupta
Jul 28, 2010
AHMEDABAD: The Special Operation Group of the Gujarat police arrested an alleged activist of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) from Vadodara on Tuesday.
Sayed Abid Ali Musa was produced in court and sent to judicial custody.
The police said he was believed to have been involved in the July 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts and in the planting of 29 bombs in Surat at the same time.
However, none of the bombs exploded due to a technical fault with the timers.
http://www.hindu.com/2010/07/28/stories/2010072854782400.htm
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Iraq destroyed WMDs in 1991: Hans Blix
Jul 28, 2010
LONDON: Contrary to Western intelligence claims about Iraq's supposed arms capability in the run-up to the 2003 invasion, the fact was that Saddam Hussein had destroyed his weapons of mass destruction and dismantled the infrastructure after the 1991 Gulf War, according to the United Nations' former chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix. Giving evidence before the Iraq inquiry committee here on Tuesday, Mr. Blix was emphatic that Iraq had “no weapons” by 2003.
“We knew there were no weapons,” he said adding that Saddam “unilaterally” dismantled the biological weapons programme after the 1991 war with Kuwait but did not want this to be officially verified.
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/07/28/stories/2010072853892100.htm
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Kerala to probe `Taliban' courts
Jul 28, 2010
Committees like Dar-ul-khuda are active in certain parts, but no complaints have been received that they were passing Taliban-model orders KODIYERI BALAKRISHNAN Kerala Home Minister
The Kerala government has instituted a probe into the “Talibanmodel“ Islamist courts that run as a parallel judicial system in the state.
The decision follows an attack on a Malayalam lecturer in which his right hand was chopped off -allegedly on the orders of such a court -because he allegedly framed a blasphemous question for a local college exam.
Several people arrested for the July 4 attack on the lecturer are members of the radical Muslim outfit People's Front of India (PFI).
Full report at: Hindustan Times
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Is this American soldier the ‘ source’of the leaks?
Jul 28, 2010
THIS fresh- faced soldier could be responsible for the ‘ biggest leak in intelligence history’. Computer hacker Adrian Lamo has claimed that the source of the leak was 22- yearold US army intelligence expert Bradley Manning.
Manning reportedly boasted that he had downloaded hundreds of thousands of documents.
The 22- year- old is said to have contacted Lamo out of the blue and then claimed he had saved high- security files on to CDs, ready to hand to Wikileaks, “ while pretending to listen to Lady Gaga”. “ Hillary Clinton and several thousand diplomats around the world are going to have a heart attack when they wake up one morning and find an entire repository of classified foreign policy is available, in searchable format, to the public,” Manning told Lamo.
Mail Today
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German pilots to use Israeli drones in Afghanistan
28 Jul, 2010
EIN SHEMER AIR BASE (Israel), July 27: As World War Two raged in the years before Israel’s founding, colonial British planes were scrambled here to fend off German forces.
Now the German Luftwaffe is back, preparing for a far more remote fight with the modern equipment and expertise of Israel established.
Worried by insurgent ambushes on its soldiers in Afghanistan and return fire that sometimes kills civilians or local allies, Germany last year ordered a small fleet of Israeli Heron spy drones designed to provide real-time images above a battlefield.
That has brought German jet pilots to coastal Ein Shemer air base for accelerated retraining on the unmanned propeller planes, already daubed with their flag and Iron Cross emblem.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/german-pilots-to-use-israeli-drones-in-afghanistan-870
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Pakistan sincerely pursuing dialogue process: Qureshi
28 Jul, 2010
MULTAN: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Tuesday that Pakistan is ready for result-oriented and meaningful talks with India.
Talking to journalists at the local airport, Qureshi said that Pakistan was consistent in their dialogue process and was facing resistance from the Indian government.
According to the minister different issues including Kashmir and the water issues needed to be resolved through communication.
Qureshi said that India had no role in Pak-Afghan transit trade accord and it would not benefit India. As far as the nuclear plants from China, he said that China had already cleared its position in this regard. To a question, the minister rejected the report about presence of al Qaeda in Pakistan, as misleading and baseless.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\07\28\story_28-7-2010_pg7_17
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Cargo plane crashes in Riyadh
By GHAZANFAR ALI KHAN
Jul 28, 2010
RIYADH: A Lufthansa cargo plane crashed at King Khaled International Airport (KKIA) in Riyadh on Tuesday.
There were no casualties, although its two pilots sustained minor injuries, according to the German airline and the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).
The aircraft split into two pieces when it landed at 11.38 in the morning.
"The cause of the incident is being investigated, and one of the two KKIA runways temporarily closed has since been reopened for regular flights," said GACA spokesman Khaled Al-Khaibari.
He said that landings and take-offs at KKIA were not affected, adding that the pilots, who had used an emergency slide to escape the plane, were being treated at a local hospital.
"We express our thanks to the pilot, who reported the fire in the cargo hold of the aircraft to KKIA ground officials well before landing," added Al-Khaibari.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article91479.ece
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Malaysian prosecutor axed in Anwar’s trial
28 July 2010
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A Malaysian prosecutor who is speculated to have had an affair with the man who accused opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of sodomy has been removed from Anwar’s trial in a twist that lawyers warned Wednesday could undermine the prosecution’s integrity.
Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail was reported as saying late Tuesday that deputy public prosecutor Farah Azlina Latif has been removed not because she is guilty of any wrongdoing, but to protect the credibility of the eight-member prosecution team in Anwar’s trial.
The online Malaysia Today news portal recently reported unsubstantiated allegations of a romantic link between Farah and Saiful Bukhari Azlan, a 23-year-old male former aide whose sodomy accusations against Anwar have been dismissed by the opposition leader as a government plot to thwart his political bloc.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/July/international_July1287.xml§ion=international
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Iran to pay for new babies to boost population
28 July 2010
TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated a new policy on Tuesday to encourage population growth, dismissing Iran’s decades of family planning as ungodly and a Western import.
The new government initiative will pay families for every new child and deposit money into the newborn’s bank account until they reach 18, effectively rolling back years of efforts to boost the economy by reducing the country’s runaway population growth.
“Those who raise idea of family planning, they are thinking in the realm of the secular world,” Ahmadinejad said during the inauguration ceremony.
The plan is part of Ahmadinejad’s stated commitment to further increase Iran’s population, which is already estimated at 75 million. He has previously said the country could feed up to 150 million.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/July/middleeast_July538.xml§ion=middleeast&col
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