1,200 teachers in Niqab lose jobs in Syria
Sohrabuddin case: CBI to arrest key aide of Narendra Modi100 Taliban killed in Orakzai clash
ISI behind 26/11, from start to end: Home Secy
Pak adamant, says ISI is no agent of terror
French lawmakers approve ban on burqa
Burqa ban a ploy to woo far-right: Critics
Sachar Committee: Muslims of 90 districts still in miserable condition
Teachers can build new generation following the Islamic theory of education
‘Abducted’ Iranian scientist free to leave US: Hillary
Mystery surrounds Iranian scientist’s US appearance
Former Senator Habib Jalib shot dead in Quetta
Terror cloud over RSS
‘Will Cooperate In Ajmer Probe’
CBI narco test plea hinges on duo’s nod
INDEPENDENCE WAR MASSACRE: Qamaruzzaman, Kader arrested
Major killed, Colonel injured in encounter with LeT in Poonch
India, Pak to discuss terror, Afghanistan during Krishna's visit
Pakistan must act on Headley confessions: Krishna
Another school blown up in Bajaur
U.S. attack on Iran imminent: Castro
Rogue Afghan soldier kills three British Gurkhas
Israeli bulldozers raze 4 east Jerusalem buildings
Israel gives Libyan ship midnight ultimatum
US urges Sudan cooperation on Bashir arrest warrant
US moves to redefine ‘Islam’ in official terms
Obama warns Africans over Shebab, al-Qaida
Hyderabad police captures elusive Viqaruddin
Uganda finds suicide vest, death toll rises
JMB’s acting chief, five operatives arrested
WP for speedy trial of war crimes
Raids across Kerala on Islamist group’s offices
Libyan aid ship rejects Israeli ultimatum
Prince Khaled leads Kaaba washing
LeT men cross over from Pak to fight Afghan war
Saudi-Iraq flights to resume after 19 years
Israeli army fires shell at Gaza camp, killing one: Medics
Pakistan looking for sign of accommodation from India
Afzal’s mercy petition must wait its turn
US engaged in intense strategic talks with Pakistan: Holbrooke
Gaza aid ship heads to Egypt
Ahmadinejad in flap over wearing tie
UN rejects govt stance on Benazir report
World gets a glimpse of Saudi heritage
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: Sohrabuddin
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1,200 teachers in Niqab lose jobs in Syria
14 Jul, 2010
DAMASCUS: About 1,200 women teachers have lost their jobs in Syria for wearing the full Islamic veil, a human rights group said on Tuesday.
“National Education Minister Ali Saad last month ordered the transfer of 1,200 teachers who wear the niqab (full veil) from the education ministry to the local administration ministry,” said the president of the Syrian League for the Defence of Human Rights.
Abdel-Karim Rihawi said the move did not affect the wearing of headscarves, which is common among women in Syria.
“No article of the labour code bans women from being entirely veiled at the workplace,” said Rihawi. Wearing the niqab was a right “guaranteed by international treaties on human rights and by the Syrian constitution.” Rihawi, who said he himself is not a supporter of the niqab, said the ban was imposed after complaints from some parents. —AFP
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/1,200-teachers-in-niqab-lose-jobs-in-syria-470
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Sohrabuddin case: CBI to arrest key aide of Narendra Modi
Jul 14, 2010
AHMEDABAD: The threat of CBI closing in on Narendra Modi's closest aide and Gujarat's junior minister for home Amit Shah is haunting the state's ruling party. CBI seems to have gathered evidence showing Shah's involvement in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case and could arrest him at any time, sources said.
There has been nervousness since CBI, which was handed over the encounter probe by the Supreme Court, arrested the Ahmedabad crime branch chief Abhay Chudasama. The CBI is likely to file a chargesheet on July 26 against Chudasama, accused of being part of an alleged extortion racket run by the police in the name of fighting terror.
Before this, the CID (crime), which was probing the case, had arrested IPS officers DG Vanzara, Rajkumar Pandian of Gujarat and Dinesh MN of Rajasthan cadre in the same case. CID (crime) admitted before the SC that the encounter was fake and Sohrabuddin's wife Kauser Bi had been murdered by the Gujarat police. In all, 14 policemen of Gujarat and Rajasthan are in jail in this case.
CBI now appears to have phone records showing a number of calls made by Shah to Vanzara and Pandian during the time of the encounter on November 26, 2005 and after the petition was filed by Sohrabuddin's brother Rubabuddin in September 2006 on the disappearance of Kauser Bi.
More recently, the CID (crime) which is probing the related Tulsiram Prajapati encounter case, has also got call records showing Shah talking to Vanzara and Pandian around the time of his killing on December 28, 2006. Prajapati was the sole witness to the Sohrabuddin killing.
There has been a buzz for some time that Shah would be picked up by CBI soon after the Rath Yatra, along with a couple of other senior Gujarat IPS officers. Shah has been in close touch with BJP leader Arun Jaitley.
In the event of Shah's arrest, the BJP's central leadership looks all prepared to launch a political campaign, alleging victimisation by the UPA government through the CBI, even though the SC had ordered the investigation.
The crucial issue here is whether the CBI has any other evidence against Shah. CBI sources say there are numerous references to the minister's involvement in the statements of witnesses recorded under Section 164 of CrPC. Besides, they also have caught on camera Chudasama threatening a witness, who was sent in as a decoy, not to name the minister before the CBI.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Sohrabuddin-case-CBI-to-arrest-key-aide-of-Narendra-Modi/articleshow/6164809.cms
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100 Taliban killed in Orakzai clash
By Abdul Saboor Khan
HANGU: At least 100 Taliban were killed in a clash with security forces in Orakzai Agency on Tuesday, official sources said.
Political administration confirmed to told Daily Times that 100 Taliban were killed as well as one soldier was injured in the clash in Dabori area of Upper Orakzai Agency. Officials said the security forces pounded Taliban hideouts, adding that dozens of Taliban were also injured in the attack.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\07\14\story_14-7-2010_pg7_6
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ISI behind 26/11, from start to end: Home Secy
Jul 14 2010
New Delhi : As Foreign Minister S M Krishna leaves for Pakistan to talk peace, the government has said it has fresh evidence — based on the interrogation of 26/11 accused David Headley — to show that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist Hafiz Saeed played a “much more significant” role in planning and executing the terrorist attack on Mumbai than was earlier known.
In the first official statement on the interrogation of Headley — a US citizen of Pakistani origin who was arrested by US authorities in Chicago last year and questioned by a team from India in May — Home Secretary G K Pillai said it was now clear that both the ISI and Saeed were involved in the Mumbai attacks from the beginning till the end. Headley made several visits to India and is accused of scouting targets for the attacks.
“The real sense that has come out from Headley’s interrogation is that the ISI has had a much more significant role to play (in the Mumbai attacks, than was earlier thought). It was not just a peripheral role. They (ISI) were literally controlling and coordinating it (the attacks) from the beginning till the end,” Pillai said at Idea Exchange, an interaction with The Indian Express journalists here.
Full report at: http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/646108/
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Pak adamant, says ISI is no agent of terror
Jul 14 2010
London: Pakistan on Tuesday rebutted Lashkar-e-Toiba operative David Coleman Headley's confessions that Pakistani terrorist leader Hafeez Saeed was the mastermind behind the Mumbai terror attacks in which the ISI played an active and key role. Pakistani High Commissioner to United Kingdom Wajid Shamsul Hassan claimed that that the ISI was not an agent of terror.
When asked if Pakistan was involved in the 26/11 terror strikes, Hassan replied, "Pakistani state is never involved. ISI is not involved because Pakistan has been accused of various activities in the past, which I'm not answerable to what happened in the past. It's high time that we don't get stuck in Mumbai terror attacks only and move forward for the India-Pakistan relation. We need to bring peace in the region for everybody's interest.
"As far as Pakistan is concerned, the country is categorical and clear. Pakistan doesn't have anything to trouble India because if it troubles India it will trouble Pakistan as well. So, we are very clear and don't want any trouble in India. We will not support any sort of terrorists activities in India; by people whom we don't know," said Hassan.
Full report at: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/pak-adamant-says-isi-is-no-agent-of-terror/126646-2.html?from=tn
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French lawmakers approve ban on burqa
14 Jul, 2010
PARIS, July 13: French lawmakers voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to ban the wearing of face-covering veils (burqa) in “public spaces”, as Europe continues to toughen its approach towards integrating Muslim immigrant communities.
On the eve of Bastille Day, when France celebrates the birth of what was to become a staunchly secular republic, the 577-seat National Assembly lower house voted by 335 votes to one for a total ban.
Under the bill, it would be illegal for anyone to cover their faces in public places like streets, parks, public transport or shops. Fines of 150 euros ($190) will be imposed on those caught wearing the veil, after a six-month grace period to allow time to educate Muslim women about the ban.
Men who force their wives or daughters to cover themselves for religious reasons face stiffer penalties of up to 30,000 euros and a one-year jail term.
Full report at: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/french-lawmakers-approve-ban-on-burqa-470
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Burqa ban a ploy to woo far-right: Critics
Jul 14, 2010
With the proposed ban on burqa, Frenchgovernment is seeking to insist that integration is the only path for immigrant minorities. France has had difficulty integrating generations of immigrants and their children, as witnessed by weeks of rioting by youths, many of them minorities, in troubled neighborhoods in 2005.
At the National Assembly, few dissenters have spoken out about civil liberties on fears of fanning anti-Islam sentiment.
The full veil “is the banner of a sectarian ideology’’ and threatens “human dignity,’’ the head of French women’s rights group Ni Putes Ni Soumises, Sihem Habchi, wrote in an essay in Tuesday’s Liberation daily. Critics of the move say the proposed ban is a cynical ploy by conservative French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government to attract far-right voters.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Burqa-ban-a-ploy-to-woo-far-right-Critics/articleshow/6165301.cms
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Sachar Committee: Muslims of 90 districts still in miserable condition
14 Jul. 10
New Age Islam News Bureau
New Delhi: Even after programmes were implemented for the welfare of the Muslims by the government on the recommendations of Sachar Committee, the Muslims in 90 districts of the country are in a pitiable condition. Admitting the fact that the Muslims are backward, the Central Minority Works Ministry said in its affidavit filed in the High Court that there was a need to start plans for the welfare and development of the Muslims to bring them into the national mainstream.
Terming the implementation of the Sachar Committee Report justified the government said before the bench headed by Chief Justice Deepak Mishra and Manmohan that despite the launching of programmes for the welfare and development of the Muslims, their condition in 90 districts was still backward as compared to the national average. In the affidavit it was said that the development ratio of the Muslim community in Araria, Purnia and Katihar of Bihar, and Gumla and Pakur in Jharkhand was between 3.7 and 6.7 while the national average was 41.7. It further stated that special programmes taken for their development were justified and they did not affect the constitution. The government had the responsibility to take steps for their upliftment and bring them into the social mainstream and the government was taking all possible steps to achieve that goal.
In its affidavit the government termed as baseless the allegations that starting special programmes for a particular community on the basis of religion was not in the national interests. The government had filed the affidavit in response to a PIL filed by and NGO Rashtriya Mukti Morcha in 2007 challenging the implementation of Sachar Committee Recommendations and describing it as anti-Constitutional.
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Teachers can build new generation following the Islamic theory of education
14 Jul. 10
New Age Islam News Bureau
Saharanpur: A seminar on ‘Modern Education System and Teachers’ was held by the All India Ideal Teachers’ Association at Hotel Skylark here. The seminar was attended by a host of intellectuals and educationists from all the walks of life. The president of Jamat Islami, Western UP and Uttarakhand, Syed Mohammad Ahmad presenting a comparative look of the Islamic educational ideology and that of other religions he said that in Abbasid reign, madrasas and seminaries were established on a very large scale, Nizamia and Mustansaria being bright examples. This work had started right from the advent of Islam, he said, adding that Islam had a model for knowledge and education following which the teachers could build the new generation and bring about a positive revolution.
The secretary of the association, Md Irfan said that teachers could accept Holy Prophet as their ideal and build a better human society. He further said we could not do justice to the society merely by producing doctors, engineers and scientists and demanded that the government should include Ethics and exclude sex education from school curriculum.
The Principal of Muslim Girls’ Inter College Syeda Sultana Naqvi said that the western thinkers separated ethics from education resulting in social degradation.
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‘Abducted’ Iranian scientist free to leave US: Hillary
By Anwar Iqbal
14 Jul, 2010
WASHINGTON, July 13: An Iranian nuclear scientist at the centre of an abduction row between the United States and Iran was free to leave, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday.
In brief remarks to journalists in Washington, Secretary Clinton said the scientist, Dr Shahram Amiri, was not being forced to do anything.
“These are decisions that are his alone to make,” Mrs Clinton said. “In contrast, Iran continues to hold three young Americans against their will, and we reiterate our request that they be released and allowed to return to their families on a humanitarian basis.”
Secretary Clinton was referring to three American hikers who have been held by Tehran since July 2009 on an accusation of illegally entering the country. They have not been charged.
Full report at: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/abducted-iranian-scientist-free-to-leave-us-hillary-470
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Mystery surrounds Iranian scientist’s US appearance
Jul 14, 2010
WASHINGTON/TEHRAN: An Iranian nuclear scientist who vanished more than a year ago mysteriously turned up in Washington on Tuesday claiming to have been kidnapped, but the United States denied that he was held against his will.
Iran, which is locked in a standoff with the West over its suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons, has repeatedly accused the US Central Intelligence Agency of abducting Shahram Amiri, who worked for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization.
Amiri appeared at the Iranian interests section of the Pakistani Embassy, which represents Iran because Tehran and Washington have no diplomatic relations.
A man claiming to be Amiri has variously claimed in recent videos that he was kidnapped and tortured; that he was studying in the United States and that he had fled US “agents” and wanted human rights groups to help him return to Iran.
Full report at: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article83617.ece
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Former Senator Habib Jalib shot dead in Quetta
July 14, 2010
QUETTA: Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a former senator and the secretary general of Balochistan National Party (BNP) Habib Jalib, leaving him critically wounded near Moosa Colony in Quetta, who succumbed to wounds on the way to hospital, Geo news reported Wednesday morning.
Miscreants succeeded to flee as police failed to locate their whereabouts. Meanwhile, the area has gone under high tension following incident of shooting, residents said.
Police sources told Geo news; the incident took place as Habib Jalib stepped out of his home to drop his children school, when all of a sudden, three unknown gunmen opened fire on him and managed to flee the crime scene.
Full report at: http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=108471
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Terror cloud over RSS
14 Jul. 10
IT WAS probably inevitable that the footprints of the Hindutva terror network behind the Mecca Masjid and Ajmer Sharif blasts would sooner or later lead to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( RSS). The RSS has been synonymous with the Hindutva project both in terms of an ideological base and cadre support.
However, the fact that senior functionaries like Jharkhand prant pracharak Ashok Varshney ( regional in- charge) and central committee member Ashok Beri are involved in the terror attacks — the former in actually providing the SIM cards used in the attacks— comes as a shock.
These revelations have exposed the RSS for what it is— an extremist organisation which has sought to present itself as the custodian of Indian nationalism and Hindu religion.
Hindutva groups have never hesitated to use violence and terror to attain their political ends, with the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi being a case in point.
Full report at: Mail Today
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‘Will Cooperate In Ajmer Probe’: Hindutva Party
Jul 14th, 2010
In the wake of reports stating that certain senior RSS functionaries are under the CBI’s scanner for allegedly shielding a prime suspect in Ajmer terror blast case, the RSS on Tuesday said its functionaries will “cooperate” with agencies probing alleged links of right wing groups in certain bomb blast cases. But the Sangh vehemently denied that its members were involved in any terror attack, terming as “baseless” suggestions that some of its members were involved in the crimes.
“As long as investigations go on in a professional manner and they want cooperation, RSS functionaries are ready to extend cooperation,” senior RSS leader Ram Madhav said. The RSS leader added that if investigations into the blasts took a “political turn and if vendetta becomes the motive, the RSS will have to take stock of the situation.”
On the issue of certain senior RSS functionaries being allegedly involved in the terror attacks, Mr Madhav said “There were certain charges about individuals and the agencies wanted some cooperation from our functionaries. They have extended full cooperation to the agencies.”
The Sangh’s response came following reports that two of its senior functionaries were interrogated by CBI for allegedly sheltering Ajmer blast accused Devendra Gupta.
http://www.asianage.com/india/%E2%80%98will-cooperate-ajmer-probe%E2%80%99-015
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CBI narco test plea hinges on duo’s nod
By Aman Sharma in New Delhi
THE Central Bureau of Investigation’s ( CBI) hopes of unraveling the Hindutva terror network behind three major blasts depends, ironically, on the accused.
All eyes will be on the Mecca Masjid, Ajmer and Malegoan blasts accused — Devender Gupta and Lokesh Sharma — when they are produced before a court on Wednesday and whether they agree to undergo narco- analysis tests.
After grilling the duo for nearly 10 days earlier this month, the CBI moved a Hyderabad court, saying it wants to conduct narco- analysis and lie detector tests on them. The agency could not get Gupta and Sharma to spill the beans on the Hindutva terror network and the exact role of the masterminds.
A CBI source said while the two were at best facilitators in the crimes and provided logistical aid, the real conspirators and bomb-planters are still at large. The CBI hoped that through the narco tests on them, it can ascertain the whereabouts of those who planted the bombs at Mecca Masjid and Ajmer Sharif — Sandeep Dange and Ramchandra Kalsangra.
Full report at: Mail Today
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INDEPENDENCE WAR MASSACRE: Qamaruzzaman, Kader arrested
14 Jul. 10
The police on Tuesday arrested the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s senior assistant secretary general Qamaruzzaman and assistant secretary general Abdul Kader Mollah in a case filed in 2008 in connection with carrying out massacre at Pallabi in Dhaka during the independence war in 1971.
The police arrested Qamaruzzaman about 6:15pm and Kader about 4:15pm at the entrance of the Supreme Court building when they, along with their counsels, were coming out of the court in separate vehicles after filing petitions for bail in two other cases — one for obstructing the police in discharging duties and another for carrying out massacre at Keraniganj in Dhaka during the independence war.
Full report at: http://www.newagebd.com/2010/jul/14/inat.html
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Major killed, Colonel injured in encounter with LeT in Poonch
Jul 14, 2010
JAMMU: An Army Major was killed and six other personnel including a Colonel injured in Mandhar sector of Poonch in an encounter tonight with suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists.
Major Amit Phunge was killed in the operation while Col.Ajay Katoch of 47 Rashtriya Rifles was injured when the terrorists resorted to heavy fire and lobbed grenades, official sources said.
The Army team had gone to the spot following information that about 15 Pakistan-based terrorists had sneaked in.
The Army cordoned off the area and launched a search operation.
The injured included Dinesh Kumar and Satinder Kumar, Signalmen, Naik Jasbir Singh, Sepoy Samir Kumar and Rifleman Dasharat.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Major-killed-Colonel-injured-in-encounter-with-LeT-in-Poonch/articleshow/6164720.cms
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India, Pak to discuss terror, Afghanistan during Krishna's visit
Indrani Bagchi
Jul 14, 2010
NEW DELHI: India will keep terrorism as its central focus in the forthcoming foreign ministers' talks with Pakistan but the government is ready to embark on a new structured dialogue mechanism that will cover all issues of concern to both countries. However, there will be no return to the "composite dialogue".
In a sign that Pakistan too is readying itself for a new kind of dialogue, Pakistani PM Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday said he believed the two countries could start a "structured dialogue".
As foreign minister S M Krishna gets ready to travel to Islamabad for the first round of foreign ministers' talks with his counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi, neither side is hoping for a breakthrough or any ambitious agenda. The main idea will be to resume engagement with Pakistan and hope to insulate it from Pakistan-sponsored terror attacks.
Official sources said India was ready to discuss any issue that Pakistan cared to raise at the talks. India will ask Pakistan for follow-up action on the 26/11 case after home minister P Chidambaram provided a whole host of information including the results of David Headley's interrogation.
Full report at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-Pak-to-discuss-terror-Afghanistan-during-Krishnas-visit/articleshow/6164319.cms
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Pakistan must act on Headley confessions: Krishna
Jul 14, 2010
ISLAMABAD: A day before his talks here, external affairs minister S M Krishna said on Wednesday that India expected Pakistan to act on confessions by terror suspect David Coleman Headley over the Mumbai terror attack.
Krishna also said that frequent anti-India statements by Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed, who is considered the mastermind of the November 2008 Mumbai attack, were not contributing to improving India-Pakistan ties.
"India expects some response (to Headley’s confessions)," the minister told Indian journalists, just two hours after arriving here on a three-day visit. "I am here to find out just what that response is."
He quickly added: "We expect a satisfactory response (from Pakistan)."
Krishna said India expected "some movement from the Pakistani side" on the basis of what the Pakistan-born American Headley had told the Indian interrogators as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
"Headley’s interrogation has revealed many things. The whole world is aware that he has been interrogated not in India but by the FBI."
He said the Pakistan government "will have to act" because it has been presented with "such irrefutable evidence" on Headley’s involvement with the Mumbai attack that left 166 Indians and foreigners dead.
Headley, who is now in an American jail, has reportedly admitted to acting as a scout for Hafiz Saeed to determine which spots in Mumbai needed to be attacked by the Lashkar.
Krishna also said that Saeed had been "consistently making statements and speeches which provoke people of Pakistan against India. Such tirades against India will not help smoothen our relations".
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Pakistan/Pakistan-must-act-on-Headley-confessions-Krishna/articleshow/6168104.cms
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Another school blown up in Bajaur
14 Jul, 2010
KHAR: Another school was destroyed in the Umary area of Bajaur Agency on Monday night.
Local people said they saw armed men entering the school. Though paramilitary forces have established checkpoints near the school, militants were still able to enter the building and plant explosives. The school building collapsed in the explosion. Three schools have been destroyed in Bajaur and Mohmand agencies during the last 24 hours.
In another incident, a bomb exploded near a pylon carrying a high transmission line in the Yousafabad area on Monday night, slightly damaging it.
It was the third attack on the power transmission line in the area. Meanwhile, security forces destroyed the house of a wanted militant in the Khar tehsil on Tuesday.—Correspondent
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/another-school-blown-up-in-bajaur-470
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U.S. attack on Iran imminent: Castro
14 Jul, 2010
The former Cuban President, Fidel Castro, during an interview in Havana on Tuesday.
HAVANA: The Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, appeared on state-run television for the first time in nearly a year on Monday, looking alert and healthy.
Mr. Castro (83) appeared animated as he discussed for an hour his views on West Asia and North Korea in a recorded interview with the anchor of the Round Table news show. Wearing a blue jacket and a checkered shirt, Mr. Castro sat at a small desk in an undisclosed location. A portrait of Cuban independence hero Jose Marti hung in the background.
In the interview, the Cuban revolutionary spoke of an “imminent” U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran, and blamed the United States for secretly sinking a South Korean warship in March, then accusing North Korea of being behind the incident. — AFP
http://www.hindu.com/2010/07/14/stories/2010071454881800.htm
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Rogue Afghan soldier kills three British Gurkhas
14 Jul, 2010
KABUL, July 13: A renegade Afghan soldier remains at large after killing three British army Gurkha troops in a “suspected premeditated attack” on Tuesday, officials said, pledging a full investigation.
Other soldiers were wounded in the attack, officials said.
The killer was still on the run, but “strenuous efforts” were being made to find him, they said, voicing determination the deadly assault would not damage trust between foreign forces and the Afghan counterparts they are training.
A spokesman for Task Force Helmand, Lt-Col James Carr-Smith, said the three soldiers from the Royal Gurkha Rifles Battle Group, from Nepal, were killed in southern Nahr-i-Saraj, Helmand province.
“We believe these were the actions of a lone individual who has betrayed his International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Afghan comrades,” he said.
British Prime Minister David Cameron vowed British troops would not change the way they work with the Afghan military despite the killings.
“I think it’s absolutely essential that we don’t let this appalling incident change our strategy or our approach,” Cameron said, calling for a “proper investigation” into what had happened.
Full report at: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/rogue-afghan-soldier-kills-three-british-gurkhas-470
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Israeli bulldozers raze 4 east Jerusalem buildings
Jul 13, 2010
JERUSALEM: Israeli bulldozers destroyed six buildings, including at least three homes, in contested east Jerusalem today, resuming the demolition of Palestinian property after a halt aimed at encouraging peace talks.
Jerusalem house demolitions are a volatile issue because of conflicting Israeli and Palestinian claims to the city's eastern sector. Israel sees it as part of its capital city, while Palestinians want it for their own future capital.
The municipality said none of the structures razed were homes, and that all had been illegally built and were not populated. The demolitions were carried out by a court order, the municipality said in a statement.
But Palestinians disputed those claims, saying three of the demolished structures were homes and one was a warehouse. Two daybeds and bags crammed with children's clothing and kitchen utensils were strewn outside one of the buildings.
Basem Isawi, 48, an unemployed contractor, stood stony-faced amid the rubble of his unfinished home, forbidding his six children to come out of the nearby house where they currently live to see what had happened to it.
Full report at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Israeli-bulldozers-raze-4-east-Jerusalem-buildings/articleshow/6164132.cms
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Israel gives Libyan ship midnight ultimatum
Jul 13, 2010
JERUSALEM: Israel's navy has given a Gaza-bound Libyan aid ship until midnight Tuesday to change course for Egypt, an activist on board said, with the military saying it was preparing to stop the vessel.
"Israeli authorities have given us until midnight tonight (2100 GMT) to change course and head to the port of El-Arish, otherwise they are threatening to intercept the boat with their navy," Mashallah Zwei said by satellite phone.
Zwei, a member of the Kadhafi Foundation charity which organised the shipment, said the crew had informed the navy it would study the request before responding.
The military refused to confirm or deny it had given the ship an ultimatum although a spokesman said that preparations were under way to stop the vessel from reaching the Gaza Strip.
"The navy has begun preparations for stopping the ship, should it attempt to violate the naval blockade," he said. "We are now making contact with them."
Fears of a new and potentially deadly standoff came exactly six weeks after Israeli commandos launched a pre-dawn operation to prevent a flotilla of aid ships from breaching its naval blockade on Gaza.
Full report at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Israel-gives-Libyan-ship-midnight-ultimatum/articleshow/6163730.cms
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US urges Sudan cooperation on Bashir arrest warrant
Jul 14, 2010
WASHINGTON: The US government on Tuesday called for cooperation from Sudan's government, a day after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Bashir for orchestrating genocide in the Darfur region.
"The United States strongly supports international efforts to bring those responsible for genocide and war crimes in Darfur to justice and believes that there cannot be a lasting peace in Darfur without accountability," said Mike Hammer, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council.
Though the US statement did not name Bashir, it said, "We continue to call on the government of Sudan and all other parties to the conflict to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court."
The genocide charge followed an arrest warrant issued by the Hague-based court against Bashir in March 2009 for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Darfur conflict.
Bashir has dismissed the accusations by the ICC, the world's first permanent court for prosecuting war crimes, as part of a Western conspiracy. The ICC warrant was the first issued against a sitting head of state by the court.
Full report at: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article83622.ece
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US moves to redefine ‘Islam’ in official terms
14 Jul. 10
By BARBARA FERGUSON
WASHINGTON: The Obama administration recently moved to drop rhetorical references to Islamic radicalism from official speech, and this change can now be seen all the way down to the US military.
President Barack Obama has argued that words matter, and administration officials have said that the use of inflammatory descriptions linking Islam to the terror threat feed the enemy's propaganda and may alienate moderate Muslims in the US.
Obama reached out to Muslim countries soon after taking office, and made it clear it was one of his early priorities as president. He has praised Islam and its contributions to American life. His new NASA director, Charles Bolden, recently said one of his agency's goals was to reach out to Muslims "and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations."
Full report at: http://arabnews.com/world/article83068.ece
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Obama warns Africans over Shebab, al-Qaida
Jul 14, 2010
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama said Tuesday after the Uganda bombings that groups like Shebab and Al-Qaeda saw Africa as a place where life was cheap and innocents could be killed for little political cost.
In an interview with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to be broadcast early Wednesday, the US leader, who is of African descent, took aim at the motivations of extremists who are increasingly active on the continent.
"What you've seen in some of the statements that have been made by these terrorist organizations is that they do not regard African life as valuable in and of itself," Obama said.
"They see it as a potential place where you can carry out ideological battles that kill innocents without regard to long-term consequences for their short-term tactical gains."
Obama's interview marked the first, direct, comments by the president on the bombings in Kampala, which sowed death among crowds watching footage of the World Cup final on Sunday, killing 76 people.
A senior American official made clear Obama was making a direct political and ideological challenge to Al-Qaeda affiliates on the continent, which US intelligence agencies say are the extremist group's most active franchises.
Full report at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Obama-warns-Africans-over-Shebab-al-Qaida/articleshow/6165409.cms
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Hyderabad police captures elusive Viqaruddin
July 14, 2010
The Hyderabad police has arrested the most-wanted militant Viqaruddin Ahmad, along with six other accomplices, from the city.
Viqaruddin has been wanted in connection with the three attacks on policemen since 2008 in which two policemen were killed. The latest attack was on May 18 this year in which an armed reserve police constable was shot dead.
According to sources, Viqaruddin was arrested from the house a doctor in Secunderabad area on the basis of information provided by his brother Sulaiman.
While three persons were taken in to custody by the police form different parts of the city two days ago, two more were picked up from Miryalguda in Nalgonda district on Tuesday.
Sources said that all of them were being questioned by the police. Viqaruddin, earlier an activist of fundamentalist organisation Darsgah-e-Jehad O Shahadat (DJS), was wanted by the police since he opened fire on policemen and injured two in Santosh Nagar on December 3, 2008.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Uganda finds suicide vest, death toll rises
By JEREMY CLARKE & ELIAS BIRYABAREMA
Jul 14, 2010
KAMPALA: Ugandan police have found an unexploded suicide vest and made a number of arrests after coordinated bomb blasts ripped through two bars and killed at least 76 soccer fans watching the World Cup final on Sunday.
Somali al Shabaab Islamists linked to Al-Qaeda said on Monday they had carried out the attacks on a crowded restaurant and a rugby club in the capital Uganda while fans watched the World Cup final on television.
An official from the group said on Tuesday there had been no suicide bombers involved in the attack on Uganda, which has peacekeepers in Somalia.
A Ugandan military intelligence source told Reuters on Tuesday that intelligence officials had received a tip-off last month that an attack was being planned.
"On June 17 an informer from the Kisenyi suburb of Kampala told intelligence that some Somalis were planning an attack during the World Cup," the source said.
The official said more than 20 people, Somalis and Ugandans, were involved in planning the attacks. "So far we have arrested six people from that racket," he said.
Full report at: http://arabnews.com/world/article83556.ece
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JMB’s acting chief, five operatives arrested
14 Jul. 10
The police arrested the acting chief and five other operatives of the banned militant outfit, Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, from Bogra and Gaibandha on Monday and Tuesday.
The arrestees were identified as acting head of the militant organisation Bhagne Shahid alias Najmul, North Bengal unit’s chief Jamai Rafique alias Shafiqul Islam, Gaibandha district unit’s chief Gias alias Russel, Ehsar member Khairul Islam alias Shakil, Gayree Ehsar members Anwar Alam alias Army Anwar and Mohammad Abdul Majid.
The police also seized a large amount of explosive materials, a revolver, batteries, wires and books on jihad from their possession.
An intelligence team of the police headquarters and Bogra police raided a Dinajpur-bound bus at around 8:00pm on Monday and arrested the acting chief of the banned organisation, Bhagne Shahid alias Najmul, and seized a revolver with three bullets.
Based on the information provided by Shahid, the team raided a house near Pradhanpara under Gobindaganj upazila in Gaibandha district and arrested the five other operatives on early Tuesday.
Full report at: http://www.newagebd.com/2010/jul/14/inat.html
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WP for speedy trial of war crimes
14 Jul. 10
The Workers Party of Bangladesh will form human chains at district and upazila headquarters on July 21 to press its demands for speedy trial of the war criminals and restoration of the constitution of 1972.
A meeting of the party’s politburo chaired by its president Rashed Khan Menon on Tuesday made the decision and expressed concern over the delay in starting the trials. It warned that any further delay in starting the trial could give the BNP-Jamaat alliance and militant groups a chance to continue hatching conspiracies to foil the trial process.
The meeting called on the Awami League-led government to bring specific charges of war crimes against the detained leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami.
The WP will hold divisional convention in Sylhet and Narayanganj on August 2 and August 6 respectively to press its demands. It has already held conventions in Khulna and Barisal in the first week of the current month.
Full report at: http://www.newagebd.com/2010/jul/14/inat.html
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Raids across Kerala on Islamist group’s offices
VR Jayaraj | Kozhikode
14 Jul. 10
In a coordinated and simultaneous move against Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (formerly the NDF), the police on Tuesday carried out raids on over 100 centres of the outfit in various districts in Kerala including its State committee office, unearthing dozens of bombs, swords and other weapons, CDs, posters and pamphlets. The raids were continuing in several places even late in the evening.
The raids were carried out even as the Ernakulam Rural Police asked the Popular Front to suspend its rehearsals for the "Freedom Parade" to be held on the Independence Day and the Kerala High Court ordered the Central and State Governments to submit their responses on a petition seeking a ban on the outfit. The Popular Front protested the move, saying this was part of a programme intended at finishing off the prominent Muslim groups.
About 30 bombs and several weapons were seized in the raids on over 20 Popular Front centres, including its offices and leaders' homes, in Kannur. Twenty bombs were recovered from Punnad in Irutty while eight steel-cover bombs and a country bomb were sized from Parad in Panur, known so far for CPI(M)-sponsored murderous political violence.
Full report at: http://www.dailypioneer.com/268918/Raids-across-Kerala-on-Islamist-group%E2%80%99s-offices.html
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Libyan aid ship rejects Israeli ultimatum
Jul 14, 2010
JERUSALEM: The captain of a Gaza-bound Libyan aid ship on Tuesday rejected an Israeli demand that it dock instead in Egypt, the mission organizers said, setting course for a new confrontation over Israel's naval blockade.
Six weeks after it drew a world outcry by killing nine Turks in the botched boarding of another ship that tried to reach the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory, Israel said it would turn away or seize the cargo vessel Amalthea — renamed "Hope" by activists.
A charity chaired by Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi's son, Saif Al-Islam Qaddafi, said in a statement an Israeli warship was near the Moldovan-flagged Amalthea, which left Greece on Saturday for what would normally be a three-day voyage to Gaza.
In response to the Israeli order to head for the Egyptian port of El Arish, "the captain of the Libyan ship and the head of the foundation team on board reaffirmed that the ship's destination is Gaza and no other place," the charity said.
An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed that a "process of identification and communication" with the vessel, some 160 km from the Gaza coast, had begun but said the ship had not been boarded.
Full report at: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article83551.ece
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Prince Khaled leads Kaaba washing
Jul 14, 2010
MAKKAH: Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal on Tuesday led the ceremonial washing of the Holy Kaaba in the presence of Chechen President Ramzan A. Kadyrov, Muslim diplomats and senior Saudi officials.
The interior of the Holy Kaaba, to which Muslims all over the world turn while praying, is washed twice in a year (in Muharram and Shaaban) using Zamzam mixed with rose water.
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article83755.ece
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LeT men cross over from Pak to fight Afghan war
Jul 14, 2010
ISLAMABAD: US-led forces in Afghanistan have detected an influx of Lashker-e-Taiba operatives in Nangarhar province and arrested several persons associated with the move to send Pakistani militants to fight alongside the Taliban.
Though the International Security Assistance Force has publicly acknowledged the presence of LeT operatives in Afghanistan for the first time, members of the Pakistan-based group were involved in an attack in Nuristan province on July 13, 2008 that killed nine American soldiers.
Over the past few days, the ISAF and the US Department of Defence issued several statements that referred to the influx of LeT operatives in Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan’s Khyber tribal region.
The Pakistani Taliban and several other banned groups are active in Khyber Agency. The ISAF identified the LeT as “the Pakistani-based terrorist organisation responsible for the November 2008 Mumbai attacks”.
On July 2, Afghan and international security forces captured a Taliban commander in Nangarhar.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/LeT-men-cross-over-from-Pak-to-fight-Afghan-war/articleshow/6165315.cms
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Saudi-Iraq flights to resume after 19 years
Jul 13, 2010
BAGHDAD: Iraq's Transportation Ministry says it has reached an agreement with Saudi Arabia allowing the kingdom's national carrier to resume flights to Iraq for the first time since 1991.
Ayad Katheer Raheem, the director general of the ministry's aviation department, says that Saudi Arabian Airlines has contracted with the privately-owned al-Wafeer Airlines to run the daily flights. Raheem said today the flights would resume "soon," with the exact date up to the Saudis.
The neighbouring countries broke off air service following Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, which sparked the first Gulf War. Even since Saddam's ouster in 2003, relations have remained frosty.
The only current flights from Iraq to Saudi Arabia carry worshippers for the annual Muslim hajj every year.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Saudi-Iraq-flights-to-resume-after-19-years/articleshow/6163607.cms
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Israeli army fires shell at Gaza camp, killing one: Medics
Jul 14, 2010
GAZA CITY: The Israeli army fired at least one shell into the Al-Bureij neighbourhood in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, killing a woman and wounding five people, Palestinian medics have said.
Medics said the woman was killed when the shell hit her house yesterday. Five others were wounded were taken to a nearby hospital.
An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed the incident, saying that "suspects were identified coming close to the (border) fence and a force nearby opened fire."
She had no further details, but the Ynet website reported that Israeli forces had targeted a group of militants trying to fire mortars into Israel.
Israel launched a devastating assault on the Palestinian enclave in December 2008 aimed at halting rocket fire from the besieged coastal Strip.
Some 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed in the 22-day war.
After a year of quiet following the assault, Gaza militants have stepped up the cross-border rocket fire, with more than 60 rockets and mortar rounds striking Israel since January, the military says.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Israeli-army-fires-shell-at-Gaza-camp-killing-one-Medics/articleshow/6165457.cms
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Pakistan looking for sign of accommodation from India
Anita Joshua
ISLAMABAD: As Pakistan readies to discuss all issues including Jammu and Kashmir with India at the ministerial level, the Foreign Office and a section of the strategic community is hoping New Delhi will show some visible sign of accommodation that will allow Islamabad to stay the course of peace talks.
Though encouraged by the “atmospherics” of the June 24 Foreign Secretary-level talks and the prevalent mood since, the Foreign Office is keeping expectations low with the refrain that the aim would be to identify the doable and address the trust deficit.
“All issues will be discussed” and Pakistan hopes the ministerial engagement will allow the two countries to engage in a sustained manner, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said.
Pakistan is particularly keen on ensuring continuity to deliberations on various issues, and the two ministers are expected to put their heads together on evolving a mutually acceptable structured form of dialogue in place of the composite dialogue that everyone feels has run its course. That India will again insist on outcomes in the Mumbai terror case is a given, and the general opinion within the strategic community is that the Pakistan Government is not averse to moving on this front.
http://www.hindu.com/2010/07/14/stories/2010071464031200.htm
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Afzal’s mercy petition must wait its turn
By Sowmya Aji in New Delhi
THE BHARATIYA Janata Party may cry itself hoarse demanding that Afzal Guru’s clemency plea must be fasttracked but the President’s secretariat thinks otherwise. The secretariat has clarified that all pending mercy petitions can be disposed of only in “sequence”.
Replying to a petition filed by activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the President’s secretariat said: “Sequence is followed in deciding mercy petitions.” The BJP had been insisting that there was no “firstcome- first-serve” basis for the disposal of mercy petitions and that President Pratibha Patil could fast-track a decision on Afzal Guru if she wanted.
At present there are 21 clemency petitions pending before the President. These precede the petition of Afzal, which is still with the home ministry and has not been sent to the President for her final decision.
Afzal was convicted of conspiracy in the December 2001 attack on Parliament and was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in 2004.
The sentence was scheduled to be carried out on October 20, 2006. But Afzal was given a stay of execution and remains on death row.
Human rights groups, including political groups in Kashmir, who believe Afzal did not receive a fair trial, pled for his clemency.
Full report at: Mail Today
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US engaged in intense strategic talks with Pakistan: Holbrooke
Washington, July 14, 2010
US, Pak agree to transfer tech from lab to private sector
Energy and food security are key sectors for US aid : Gilani
ocused on a very intense follow-up to the strategic dialogue which took place here in Washington on March 24th and 25th.
In that dialogue, 13 working groups were set up," Holbrooke told reporters at a news conference here.
Holbrooke said Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi asked that all the groups visit Islamabad to discuss activities.
These groups are Agriculture; Communications and Public Diplomacy; Defense; Economics and Finance; Education; Energy; Health; Law Enforcement and Counterterrorism; Market Access; Science and Technology; Security, Strategic Stability and Nonproliferation; Water; Women's Empowerment.
Full report at: http://www.hindustantimes.com/US-engaged-in-intense-strategic-talks-with-Pakistan-Holbrooke/H1-Article1-572038.aspx
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Gaza aid ship heads to Egypt
14 Jul, 2010
JERUSALEM, July 13: A Libyan aid boat carrying supplies for Gaza changed course toward Egypt on Tuesday instead of trying to run a naval blockade of the Palestinian territory, Israeli military officials said, apparently defusing a potential confrontation on the high seas.
The Israelis said the ship captain informed the Israeli navy ships tailing him that he was heading for the Egyptian port of El Arish.
Even so, they said Israeli naval vessels would continue to follow the Libyan ship, because a last-minute shift could point the ship back in the direction of Gaza. El Arish is in the Egyptian Sinai coast next to Gaza.
The Israeli officials spoke late on Tuesday on condition of anonymity because no announcement was made.
Full report at: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/gaza-aid-ship-heads-to-egypt-470
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Ahmadinejad in flap over wearing tie
14 Jul, 2010
TEHRAN: Iran’s President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has run into trouble with a conservative cleric over whether men are allowed to wear ties in the Islamic republic, the news agency ISNA reported on Tuesday.
“I say to him that many religious dignitaries believe ties should not be worn,” said Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, who is normally a close ally of the president, a fellow hardliner.
“The supreme guide (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) himself has said in a fatwa (religious edict) that the wearing of ties or bowties is not permitted,” Khatami said.
In the latest such controversy, Ahmadinejad has gone on record as saying that no religious leader has banned the tie, which since the 1979 Islamic revolution has been regarded as a symbol of western culture.
Full report at: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/ahmadinejad-in-flap-over-wearing-tie-470
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UN rejects govt stance on Benazir report
By Masood Haider
14 Jul, 2010
UNITED NATIONS: The UN Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon, rejected on Monday the Pakistan government’s position on the Benazir Bhutto Inquiry Commission report, saying that “the work of the commission is complete.
In a letter delivered to Pakistan’s permanent mission to the United Nations, the UN chief “reiterated his strong support for the commission and stated that the commission carried out its work professionally in fulfilment of the Terms of Reference agreed between the government of Pakistan and the secretariat and noted by the Security Council”.
The UN Chief said “the report speaks for itself and can be helpful to any subsequent investigations”.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had questioned the “credibility and reliability” of the report and said that “the lack of source attribution leads to vagueness and ambiguity in some parts of the report which has undermined its credibility as a fact-finding report”.
Full report at: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/16-un-rejects-govt-stance-on-benazir-report-470-hs-08
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World gets a glimpse of Saudi heritage
Jul 14, 2010
PARIS: The landmark exhibition at the Louvre Museum in Paris of pre-Islamic and Islamic treasures from the Kingdom was opened Tuesday by the Saudi and French foreign ministers, Prince Saud Al-Faisal and Bernard Kouchner.
Also present were Prince Sultan bin Salman, head of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) which jointly organized the exhibition with the Louvre; Prince Turki Al-Faisal, chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh; Bahraini Minister of Culture Sheikha Mai bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa; French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand; and UNESCO Director-General Irina Bolkova.
Most of the more than 350 artifacts at the exhibition have never been seen outside the Kingdom before. They show the different cultures and civilizations that have inhabited the Arabian Peninsula and the wealth of history to which Saudi Arabia is heir.
Full report at: http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article83679.ece
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