Taliban Execute Pregnant Woman In Afghanistan
Kashmiri group demands safety of Hindus in the Valley
INDIA: NIA probing top cops’ Islamist links
Kerala Muslim bodies vow to weed out extremist elements
UK Muslim youths in summer camp against extremism
In US, shrill protests against new mosques
Mosque at ground zero would send right message
Cheer Pak's I-Day, mark Aug 15 as black day: Geelani
Pak ready to walk 'extra mile' with India: Qureshi
$1 billion loan from India suicidal: Khaleda Zia
Bomb kills NATO soldier in Afghan south
Muslims Face Religious Intolerance in American Communities
WikiLeaks to publish new documents
Voices of strife-torn Kashmir echo in Delhi
'Mullah Omar not Karzai can guarantee no threat to US'
Heavy rain worsens Pak flood; toll reaches 1,700
Life finds a way; day begins at night in Srinagar’s dark hour
Guantanamo gears up for 1st trial under Obama
Netanyahu to testify before Gaza boat raid inquiry
Radical Indonesian cleric arrested for terrorism
Coalition forces not losing the Afghan war: US official
J&K In Grip Of Anarchy: L.K.
Baghdad's traffic cops on militants hit list
Ethnic minorities want identities recognised
All ethnic groups to be on official list: Azad
Taliban execute Afghan woman in public: police
Five Kurdish rebels killed in clashes with army
Castro warns of nuclear war between US and Iran
Journalists up in arms against so-called democratic govt
Haqqani cancels banquet, donates proceeds for flood victims
‘Long march’ against terrorism
Musharraf donates Rs 10 million for flood affectees
‘Govt should think before inking Afghan trade agreement’
Turkey holds 15 for links to al Qaeda
Ramadan plan for Prophet's Mosque finalized
Taleban launch attacks on US, Afghan military posts
Al-Qaeda claims attack in Yemen oil province, vows more strikes
Make Makkah the most beautiful city: Prince Khaled
Competition between Islamic channels peaks in Ramadan
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: Kashmiri Hindu children
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Taliban Execute Pregnant Woman In Afghanistan
Aug 9, 2010
HERAT (Afghanistan): The Taliban publicly flogged and then executed a pregnant Afghan widow by emptying three shots into her head for alleged adultery, police said on Monday.
Bibi Sanubar, 35, was kept in captivity for three days before she was shot dead in a public trial on Sunday by a local Taliban commander in the Qadis district of the rural western province Badghis.
The Taliban accused Sanubar of having an "illicit affair" that left her pregnant. She was first punished with 200 lashes in public before being shot, deputy provincial police chief Ghulam Mohammad Sayeedi said.
"She was shot in the head in public while she was still pregnant," Sayeedi said.
The execution is a grim reminder of the Taliban's harsh six-year rule from 1996 to 2001 in Afghanistan. The radical Islamists staged public stonings or lashings of those found to have committed adultery or sex outside marriage.
The then-Taliban government would also chop off the hands and feet of those accused of theft and robbery.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Taliban-execute-pregnant-woman-in-Afghanistan/articleshow/6281731.cms
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Kashmiri group demands safety of Hindus in the Valley
Aug 09 2010
Washington : An organisation representing the interests of the Kashmiri Pandits in the US asked the Indian government to protect the lives of the Hindu community in the Valley, which has witnessed violent protests.
"We are deeply concerned at this loss of lives and property and urge the state Government to make sure the remaining few hundred Kashmiri Hindu families are safe and secure," said Deepak Ganju, international coordinator for Kashmir Hindu Foundation (KHF).
KHF noted that the Kashmir Valley had witnessed violent incidents resulting in loss of lives and property.
Meanwhile, a group of Kashmiri Americans under the aegis Kashmiri American Council (KAC), which sympathises with the separatist movement in the Valley held a peaceful protest outside the Indian Embassy in Washington and submitted a memorandum.
They urged the Prime Minister to restore the right of peaceful association, assembly and demonstration and asked for an immediate and complete cessation of military and paramilitary action in Jammu & Kashmir.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/kashmiri-group-demands-safety-of-hindus-in-the-valley/657960/
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NIA probing top cops’ Islamist links
VR Jayaraj
Aug 09 2010
The NIA has started examining whether Islamist terror men have been getting help from senior officials of the Kerala Police even as the Central Intelligence Bureau has reportedly learnt that organisations having links with Al Qaeda and Taliban have been operating dozens of accounts in the primary cooperative banks in Kerala.
An anonymous letter received last week by the Special CBI Court (2) in Kochi, which is handling the terror cases being probed by the NIA, had alleged that an official in the rank of Superintendent of Police had provided help for those who had been recruiting youth into terror outfits. The court had handed over the letter to the NIA for inquiries.
The investigating agency had earlier got indications that certain persons accused in the case regarding the recruitments into an LeT-linked outfit based in Edakkkad, Kannur had received assistance from certain police officials. But the anonymous letter has expanded the scope of its investigations.
The Intelligence wing of the Kerala Police also has started looking into the situation in the context of the letter. They have already availed a copy of the letter from the Special CBI Court. Earlier, there were reports that a particular Islamist organisation had infiltrated the Kerala Police by successfully posting their men in ranks ranging from constable to DySP.
Under focused watch of the NIA is an official who is said to have had close links with banned Islamist outfit SIMI and the Popular Front of India whose activists were allegedly behind the July 4 attack on a college professor in Muvattupuzha. This official, presently in the rank of an SP, was DySP when he had been helping the Islamist outfits, it is said.
Meanwhile, reports said that the Reserve Bank has asked the Union Home Ministry to inquire about several dozens of accounts held by dubious people in the primary cooperative banks in Kerala. It is said that the economic Intelligence wing of the Union Home Department, which had found these accounts, has started detailed examinations.
Sleuths believe that the terror operatives could have opted to carry out their financial deals through the relatively safe system of primary cooperative banks as accounts in the nationalised and scheduled banks have already been under scrutiny. "Also, it is safer to rely on cooperative banks as most of them are not yet included in the IT-based network," said a senior Intelligence official.
Managers of most of these primary cooperative banks also tend to keep the details of their clients secret as far as possible as a majority of these accounts have been started as part of deposit mobilisation programmes and through personal relationships. The sleuths have found that several people with dubious backgrounds had deposited huge amounts of money in cooperative banks in the Malabar region.
Officials say that the IB has been asked to find out the truth about such accounts as there have been reports of money being transferred by trans-national Al Qaeda and Taliban funds-managers into accounts through the hawala route and numbered accounts in Hong Kong banks from places like Dubai. The IB would bring under its lens accounts holding deposits of more than `10 lakh in the beginning, it is said.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/274824/NIA-probing-top-cops%E2%80%99-Islamist-links.html
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Kerala Muslim bodies vow to weed out extremist elements
Ramesh Babu
Aug 09 2010
Under siege after the recent attack on a lecturer, Muslim organisations in Kerala have chalked out a strategy to weed out extremist elements from the community.
Muslim organisations have decided to isolate radical organisations such as Popular Front of India (PFI) and Jammat-eIslami.
The organisations will hold a campaign throughout the state to sensitise `mahal' and mosque committees about the need to boycott these outfits.
“A miniscule section is out to discredit the entire community. We will not allow their designs. We have started an allout campaign to isolate these elements,“ said P.K.
Kunhalikutty, general-secretary of the All India Muslim League.
T.J. Joseph's right hand was chopped off in July for preparing an allegedly blasphemous question paper. Investigations revealed PFI had carried out the attack.
During the probe, the police also unearthed information about the growing fundamentalist network in the state.
Hate pamphlets, documents of huge money transactions and CDs depicting maiming of Westerners were recovered from PFI activists.
“Some organisations are attracting youth by campaigning against fascism and globalisation. They get huge foreign remittances in return. We have to expose these outfits,“ said K.M.
Shaji, Youth League president.
There were also reports that PFI runs “Taliban-like“ courts in the state. The attack on Joseph had been allegedly ordered by one such court.
Chief Minister V.S.
Achuthanandan had recently said radicals were trying to “Islamize the state.“
At least half a dozen such organisations are working in the coastal Malabar region, once considered the bastion of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India, or SIMI.
Hindustan Times
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UK Muslim youths in summer camp against extremism
By PAISLEY DODDS AND SYLVIA HUI
Aug 9, 2010
LONDON: Britain's first "anti-terror" summer camp opened Saturday, with the goal of teaching Muslim youth how to rebuff extremists who try to recruit them at schools and in online chat rooms.
The three-day event hopes to equip hundreds of students with arguments from the Qur'an on how to respond to people with radical beliefs, encounters some at the camp said happen regularly.
The issue of Islamist recruiting has made steady headlines in Britain after suspects in high-profile terrorism cases were reportedly radicalized while studying at elite UK
universities or after listening to imams who preach holy war.
"We want to give youngsters a balanced view of Islam and to remove the misconception of what jihad actually is," organizer Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri told The Associated Press. "Extremists have confined the act of jihad to the act of militancy and violence. This is totally wrong according to Qur'anic commandments." In March, the Pakistani scholar who now lives in Toronto issued a 600-page fatwa, or religious edict, against terrorist acts like suicide bombing.
Some 1,300 high school and university students are expected to study his fatwa and hear about moderate Islam at the camp at Warwick University in Coventry. Ul-Qadri said that in a series of lectures and debates, he would convince the students "why suicide bombing makes one a disbeliever, and why terrorists will go to hell fire." Muslim conferences aimed at helping youths tackle extremism are not new — some US organizations have even reached out to Muslim rappers and musicians in an effort to encourage youths to use music and other means as a form of protest rather than violence.
But the issue is particularly timely in Britain. Omar Sheikh, a British citizen who orchestrated the killing of journalist Daniel Pearl, was reportedly recruited while studying at the London School of Economics. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a young Nigerian accused of trying to detonate a bomb hidden in his underwear on a flight from Amsterdam last year, also was said to be radicalized while studying in London.
Many in Britain still reel from memories of the suicide bombing attack on London's transit system in July 2005, in which four homegrown terrorists — including two youths aged just 18 and 19 — killed themselves and dozens of other commuters.
Britain is home to some influential preachers of radical Islam, the most well-known of them being imprisoned Egyptian-born radical cleric Mustafa Kamal Mustafa, also known as Abu Hamza Al-Masri. The one-eyed, hook-handed hard-liner used to be head of London's Finsbury Park Mosque, said to be a meeting point for extremists, and is accused of setting up a terrorist training camp in rural Oregon.
"For years hate speech was allowed to flourish in Britain so you had preachings from radical imams igniting the passions of youths and dividing the community," ul-Qadri said. "It's now time to repair this." For many of the young Muslims attending the camp, joining a terrorist group to wage holy war jarred with their moderate believes. But they said extremists are outspoken at universities, and they lack the right arguments to counter radicals who approach them.
"I have had some experiences especially at university (with radicals)," said Tahseen Khalid, a 24-year-old university student in business and international politics.
"They haven't really worked on me ... I'm not confused. I believe terrorism is quite alien to the culture we were brought up in. I just want the information to help me argue the case in the strongest way," said Khalid, a Pakistani who was born and grew up in Britain.
Teacher Samra Adri, 33, said she also met with extremist groups while at university. She said young British Muslims often lack proper religious education and don't have a clear alternative viewpoint to militant rhetoric.
"You hear in the news everyday about Afghanistan, Pakistan, what America's doing ... many Muslims are obviously angry about the political situation in the world, but they don't understand exactly how a Muslim should react," said Adri, who lives in London.
A bigger problem is that the myriad Muslim organizations in Britain representing rival factions often contradict and attack each other's ideologies and political agendas. One of these groups, the Islamic Society of Britain, condemned the conference as a big public relations exercise and said it does not target the youths who are really vulnerable to radicalism.
Justin Gest, an academic on migration studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science, said the conference would at least expose young people to alternatives of what "good Islam" can be.
"If it changes one young Muslim's views about what is real Islam, that's a good thing," he said. "How many of their minds will change I don't know."
http://arabnews.com/world/article97304.ece
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In US, shrill protests against new mosques
Aug 09 2010
New York : While a high-profile battle rages over a mosque near ground zero in Manhattan, heated confrontations have also broken out in communities across the country where mosques are proposed.
In Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Republican candidates have denounced plans for a Muslim center near a subdivision, and hundreds of protesters have turned out for a march. In June, in Temecula, California, members of a Tea Party group took picket signs to Friday prayers at a mosque that is seeking to build a worship center on a vacant lot nearby. In Sheboygan, Wisconsin, Christian ministers led a fight against a Muslim group that sought permission to open a mosque in a former health food store bought by a Muslim.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/in-us-shrill-protests-against-new-mosques/657937/
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Mosque at ground zero would send right message
August 9, 2010
Days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, President George W. Bush went to a Washington mosque to deliver a clear and courageous message: We are not at war with Islam.
As much as the murderers who plotted and carried out the hijackings that killed 3,000 Americans tried to twist the tenets of a peaceful religion to justify their evildoing, the true followers of the faith knew better. This was not about Islam vs. the West, as much as Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda terrorists wanted to incite the passions of the Muslim world.
Bush, a born-again Christian, justly called for religious tolerance in those jittery times.
Now it is New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg who is showing grace and perspective under pressure. Bloomberg, who is Jewish, has stood tall in supporting the right of an Islamic group to build a 13-story mosque and community center near ground zero.
Full report at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/08/EDFG1EQC2Q.DTL#ixzz0w6yN7HuC
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Cheer Paks I-Day,mark Aug 15 as black day: Geelani
M Saleem Pandit
Aug 09 2010
Srinagar: A day after Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani spurned home minister P Chidambarams dialogue offer,moderate separatist Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Sunday followed suit,saying the talks will have no meaning because the Union government is lacking in sincerity.
Geelani,meanwhile,asked New Delhi to fulfil the promise of giving Kashmiris the right to self-determination. Nehru promised Kashmiris the chance to decide their fate in 1948,but never fulfilled the promise, he said. He showed the sky but snatched the ground beneath our feet. He asked people to observe Pakistans foundation day as a day of solidarity on August 14 and called for observing August 15 as a black day.
Mirwaiz said he had proposed specific steps like demilitarization,revocation of repressive laws and release of political prisoners to build trust to take the dialogue process forward. But,unfortunately,these demands were not heeded, he said.
Times of India
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Pak ready to walk 'extra mile' with India: Qureshi
Aug 09 2010
New Delhi : Notwithstanding the lack of progress in July 15 talks, Pakistan has said it is ready to walk the "extra mile" as it wants to "move forward" in building relations with India but insisted that the two countries need to be "mutually accommodative".
Pressing for a "comprehensive and sustained" engagement, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi maintained that Kashmir issue would have to be the part of any discussions and "selective" approach would not be helpful.
"It is true that we have not been able to map the future course of engagement. This, however, does not mean that we have reached a cul de sac," Qureshi said in an email interview.
He was responding when asked whether the efforts to bridge the trust gap had received a serious blow during his July 15 talks with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pak-ready-to-walk-extra-mile-with-india-qureshi/657988/
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$1 billion loan from India suicidal: Khaleda Zia
Aug 9, 2010
DHAKA: Bangladesh's opposition leader Khaleda Zia has termed as "suicidal" the $1 billion deal the government signed with India's Exim Bank last Saturday.
The Sheikh Hasina government has rejected the charge.
"There was no need to borrow the amount from India now. People will have to shoulder the burden," Zia was quoted as saying by New Age newspaper on Monday.
Zia, who is the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's chairperson, called the deal suicidal.
BNP has alleged that the interest on the loan Bangladesh would have to pay would be "seven times higher than the international rates".
The interest rate is 1.75% for a 20 year loan that carries a five-year grace period for repayment.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/1-billion-loan-from-India-suicidal-Khaleda-Zia/articleshow/6280602.cms
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Bomb kills NATO soldier in Afghan south
9 August 2010
KABUL - A NATO soldier was killed by a bomb in southern Afghanistan on Monday, the military said, adding to a toll of victims of explosives laid by insurgents which is rising almost daily.
NATO’s International Security Assistance Force gave no further details in their statement.
Eight international troops were killed over the weekend, six of them by homemade bombs — the Taliban’s weapon of choice in their southern heartlands of Helmand and Kandahar provinces, where 30,000 foreign troops are deployed.
The latest death brings the overall number of foreign troops killed in Afghanistan this year to 426, compared to 520 for all of 2009, according to an AFP tally based on that kept by the independent icasualties.org website.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/August/international_August399.xml§ion=international&col=
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Muslims Face Religious Intolerance in American Communities
Aug 9, 2010
All Mosques are Houses of Worship - Michael Streich Photo Image
The proposed Ground Zero Islamic Inter-Faith Center is not the only focus of protesters across the nation opposing the building of mosques.
The Cordoba Initiative which proposes to build an Islamic Center that will include a mosque near New York City’s Ground Zero has brought out the best and the worst responses by concerned Americans. Mayor Michael Bloomberg supports the project and made an impassioned speech about religious freedom and tolerance in America on August 3, 2010. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin decried the building of the center, referring to ground zero as “hallowed ground” in her Facebook blog on July 22, 2010.
Full report at:
http://news.suite101.com/article.cfm/muslims-face-religious-intolerance-in-american-communities-a271630#ixzz0w6y9r8Yn
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WikiLeaks to publish new documents
Aug 9, 2010
BERLIN: The online whistle-blower WikiLeaks said it will continue to publish more secret files from governments around the world despite US demands to cancel plans to release classified military documents.
“I can assure you that we will keep publishing documents — that's what we do,” said a WikiLeaks spokesman, who says he goes by the name Daniel Schmitt in order to protect his identity, in an interview Saturday.
Schmitt said he could not comment on any specific documents but asserted that the publication of classified documents about the Afghanistan war directly contributed to the public's understanding of the conflict.
“Knowledge about ongoing issues like the war in Afghanistan is the only way to help create something like safety,” Schmitt said. “Hopefully with this understanding, public scrutiny will then influence governments to develop better politics.” He rejected allegations that the group's publication of leaked US government documents was a threat to America's national security or put lives at risk.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article97255.ece
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Voices of strife-torn Kashmir echo in Delhi
Indrani Basu
Aug 09 2010
New Delhi: A protest at Jantar Mantar on the violence in Kashmir took an ugly turn when Muslims from the state and Kashmiri Pandits exchanged heated words and one group charged at the other accusing them of anti-national activities.It took prompt police action to prevent the situation from turning worse.More than 25 Kashmiri Pandits were detained.
Earlier,the two groups refused to sit with each other even though they had assembled for a common cause.Both groups addressed the urgent need for peace in Kashmir and bemoaned the number of deaths in the last few weeks.While Kashmiri Pandits expressed the loss of identity and representation afforded to them,the Kashmiri Muslims expressed pain and regret over the number of lives lost in mindless firing at civilian protests.The Muslim group kept urging the Pandits to sit together but the latter refused.
Full report at: Times of India
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'Mullah Omar not Karzai can guarantee no threat to US'
Aug 09 2010
Washington : Backing the Pakistani military line on the Afghan issue, former ISI chief Hamid Gul has claimed that its only Taliban and its elusive chief Mulla Omar who can guarantee that there would be no threat to the US from this part of the world.
Gul, very often known in the western world as the father of the Taliban said the Taliban should be recognised as a national resistance movement and the United States should hold talks with its leader Mullah Omar for peace in the region.
"This (the Taliban) is a national resistance movement. It should be recognised as such. They are Mujahideen of Afghanistan, as they were during the occupation by Soviet Union of Afghanistan.
I think they are gaining momentum, gaining strength by the day. This should be now understood properly," Gul told Fareed Zakaria in an interview aired on Sunday.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/mullah-omar-not-karzai-can-guarantee-no-threat-to-us/657973/
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Heavy rain worsens Pak flood; toll reaches 1,700
Aug 09 2010
Islamamdad : HEAVY monsoon showers hit the flood-hit regions of Pakistan on Sunday, worsening the flooding and impeding relief operations, compounding a humanitarian crisis that has affected over 14 million people across the country and claimed nearly 1,700 lives so far.
Flood waters that have inundated the northwest and central parts of the country raced southward into Sindh province along the Indus river, which officials said was in “exceptionally high flood”.
Over 700 villages were flooded as water levels of 1,128,000 cusecs and 1,115,300 cusecs were recorded at the Guddu Barrage and Sukkur Barrage respectively as authorities struggled to cope with the impact of the worst deluge in 80 years. The protective bunds at Bachal Shah Mayani and Torhi near Sukkur in northern Sindh were breached and several other barrages and embankments were at risk.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/heavy-rain-worsens-pak-flood;-toll-reaches-1-700/657815/
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Life finds a way, day begins at night in Srinagar’s dark hour
Muzamil Jaleel
Aug 09 2010
Srinagar : For the past five weeks, Srinagar has been caught in a different time zone. Signs of normal life begin only in the silence of the dark night, when security personnel implementing curfew restrictions have retreated to their fortified bunkers and protesters have finally gone home.
At 3 am, families wake up and rush out to the milk vans, as shopkeepers wait with their shutters half open. Within minutes, hundreds of men and women gather to buy the day’s supply — milk, bread, biscuits and other food items. And as the day starts to break, street vendors line up with vegetables. The prices have gone up but not many seem to mind.
As the mosque loudspeakers come alive with the call for prayer, the hustle and bustle increases. While joggers take to the roads, some neighbourhood teachers squeeze in their tuition classes in these early hours.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/life-finds-a-way-day-begins-at-night-in-srinagars-dark-hour/657882/
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Guantanamo gears up for 1st trial under Obama
Aug 09 2010
GUANTANAMO BASE, Cuba : US military officers were flying on Sunday to serve as jurors in war-crimes proceedings as the Guantanamo tribunal system geared up for one of its busiest weeks under President Barack Obama.
The Pentagon is holding military commission sessions this week for two detainees: a young Canadian going on trial for the slaying of a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan and an aide to Osama bin Laden who is to be sentenced after pleading guilty in a deal with prosecutors.
The tribunal system that ground to a halt after Obama took office is coming alive with lawyers, human-rights observers and more than 30 journalists who are at the U.S. Navy base in southeastern Cuba to attend Monday's proceedings in two courtrooms.
Obama has introduced some changes designed to extend more legal protections to detainees, but the tribunals' long-term future remains cloudy as the president struggles to fulfill a pledge to close the prison altogether.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/guantanamo-gears-up-for-1st-trial-under-obama/657945/
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Netanyahu to testify before Gaza boat raid inquiry
Aug 09 2010
Jerusalem : Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to appear before an Israeli commission of inquiry on Monday to explain a commando raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla which killed nine Turkish activists.
He will be the first of three top officials to give sworn testimony about the May 31 incident in which naval commandos stormed six aid ships trying to run the blockade on Gaza, killing the activists and wounding scores of others.
The bloody raid caused a diplomatic crisis between Israel and Turkey and sparked global calls for an inquiry - prompting Netanyahu's government to set up the so-called Tirkel Commission to look into the legality of the operation.
But Netanyahu is not likely to face any awkward questions when he takes to the stand at 9:00 am (0600 GMT) to testify before the five panel members, two foreign observers and hundreds of members of the press and public.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/netanyahu-to-testify-before-gaza-boat-raid-inquiry/657951/
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Radical Indonesian cleric arrested for terrorism
Aug 09 2010
Jakarta : Radical Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, once imprisoned for his links to the terror group behind the Bali bombings, was arrested today for alleged involvement with a new militant network.
His lawyer, Muhammad Ali, said the arrest took place on Monday morning in West Java's Ciamis district.
Bashir is best known as the founder and spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, the al-Qaida-linked terrorist group responsible for the 2002 bombings on Indonesia's resort island of Bali that killed 202 people, many of them foreign tourists.
He spent several years in prison for his involvement with the group, but was released in 2006.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/radical-indonesian-cleric-arrested-for-terrorism/657962/
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Coalition forces not losing the Afghan war: US official
Aug 09 2010
Islamabad : Contradicting President Asif Ali Zardari's assertion that coalition forces in Afghanistan were "losing the war against the Taliban", a senior American official has said the US-led troops were neither losing nor planning to pull out of the country.
Asked by journalists whether the US forces were losing the war in Afghanistan, US Under-Secretary of Defence Michele Flournoy said: "No sir, you are badly mistaken. Neither are we losing nor is July 2011 set for the forces to pack their bags. We are not going anywhere."
Flournoy, who is in Islamabad for a meeting of the US-Pakistan Defence Consultative Group, made the remarks during an interaction with a group of journalists at the US embassy.
She said the plans announced by the US were "just the beginning of a process to evaluate our strategy in Afghanistan".
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/657347/
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J&K In Grip Of Anarchy: L.K.
Aug 09th, 2010
Senior BJP leader L.K. Advani on Sunday claimed that the state of Jammu and Kashmir is in the “grip of anarchy”. The BJP leader also alleged that the government is “clueless” about dealing with the ongoing law and order situation in the region. Writing on the issue in his blog, Mr Advani has also mentioned that the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 was “only in the nature of an interim arrangement”.
“It is very clear from the deliberations of the Constituent Assembly (in 1949) that the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir state under Article 370 was only in the nature of an interim arrangement. The rationale was Pakistan’s invasion, and the UN dimension. This article had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Jammu and Kashmir is a Muslim majority state, the argument that is being advanced today to condemn our demand for its abrogation,” Mr Advani mentioned. He claimed for the BJP, the issue of “Kashmir’s complete integration with India is one which the party has pursued relentlessly since its birth as Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS).”
http://www.asianage.com/india/jk-grip-anarchy-lk-859
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Baghdad's traffic cops on militants hit list
Aug 9, 2010
BAGHDAD: Baghdad's traffic cops are demanding their own guards meet their demands.
"Yes, they only have pistols so we are giving them heavier firearms," said police Brig. Gen. Nijim Abed Jaber, chief spokesman for the traffic police force. "But let me remind everyone that combat is not the job of traffic policemen. They are peaceful individuals whose job is to help people."
Persistent violence across the country has raised concerns about the readiness of Iraqi forces to take over their own security less than a month before the US military ends combat operations and draws down to 50,000 troops, a step toward a full withdrawal by the end of next year.
However, Gen. Ray Odierno, the commander of US forces in Iraq, maintained on Sunday that Iraq's military is ready and able to take over security operations even with the violence and Iraqi politicians continuing to squabble over the formation of a new government five months after an inconclusive election.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Baghdads-traffic-cops-on-militants-hit-list/articleshow/6280866.cms
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Ethnic minorities want identities recognised
Shahiduzzaman and Abdullah Juberee
Aug 9, 2010
Ethnic minority groups have demanded that the amendments to the constitution, a special committee is now working on, should recognise their existence, identities, culture and rights, with provisions for establishment of an ethnic minority rights commission, protection of their traditional and collective land rights, reserved parliamentary seats for them, and retention of constitutional provision for Bangladeshi citizenship.
They have already prepared a preliminary draft containing a set of proposals which they would submit to the special committee.
They are also discussing the draft proposals with like minded lawmakers and having consultations among themselves to finalise them.
The Parliamentary Caucus on Adivasi Issues in Bangladesh also discussed the issues with five lawmakers from ethnic minority communities and the ethnic minority leaders on Saturday night.
Full report at:
http://www.newagebd.com/2010/aug/09/front.html
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All ethnic groups to be on official list: Azad
Aug 9, 2010
The government will very soon incorporate all of the country’s ethnic minority groups into the official list, said the minister for cultural affairs Abul Kalam Azad on Sunday.
Addressing the inaugural session of a two-day photography, painting and documentary exhibition titled ‘Life and Culture of Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh’, the minister said the government has seriously taken the complaints by the ethnic minority leaders that the Small Anthropological Groups’ Cultural Institution Bill, 2010, gave recognition to only 27 ethnic groups in the country.
‘We have come to know that there are more groups and we will incorporate them in the list,’ he added.
Abul Kalam Azad expressed his satisfaction that people of different religious and ethnic groups have been living peacefully in Bangladesh, showing mutual respect and trust to each other.
Full report at:
http://www.newagebd.com/2010/aug/09/front.html
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Taliban execute Afghan woman in public: police
August 09, 2010
KABUL: Taliban insurgents publicly executed an Afghan woman for alleged adultery, a police official said on Monday, in a reminder to the era when the militant group ruled Afghanistan.
The 48-year-old widow was given dozens of lashes before being shot dead on Sunday in the remote Qades district, held by the militants in northwestern Badghis province, said Abdul Jabar who serves as a senior officer in the province.
"It happened before the public ... despite that no one has complained, the government will take its own measures about the incident," Jabar reported by phone from Badghis.
The unidentified man who had the alleged affair with the woman had escaped, he said.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/8-9-2010/69707.htm
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Five Kurdish rebels killed in clashes with army
August 09, 2010
DIYARBAKIR: Turkish armed forces killed five Kurdish rebels in clashes in Turkey's southeast Batman province that also left two soldiers wounded, the provincial government said Monday.
The clashes between the army and members of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) took place late Sunday near the town of Besiri in a rural area of Batman province, the local government's statement said.
Among the rebels killed was a woman, it added.
Earlier on Sunday, a roadside bomb, planted by PKK rebels, killed three Turkish soldiers in the province of Mardin, which borders Batman.
Police in Diyarbakir, the main city in Turkey's Kurdish majority southeast, also last week seized some 90 kilogrammes (198 pounds) of plastic explosives from the Kurdish rebels, local governor Mustafa Toprak announced Monday.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/8-9-2010/69705.htm
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Castro warns of nuclear war between US and Iran
August 09, 2010
HAVANA: Fidel Castro has used a rare speech to warn that the tension between the US and Iran could degenerate into a nuclear holocaust.
The 83-year-old addressed Cuba's National Assembly on Saturday for the first time since stepping down as president in 2006.
He looked little different from the closing days of his regime as he entered the assembly chamber wearing his trademark fatigues and sporting his familiar straggly beard, as deputies cheered and shouted "Viva Fidel".
Although renowned for his lengthy addresses, he restricted his speech to just ten minutes and ignored Cuba's current financial plight, instead focusing on foreign affairs.
The revolutionary leader revealed that he believes the US and Israel may launch a nuclear attack on Iran, as the dispute about the Tehran government's own nuclear programme continues.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/8-8-2010/69662.htm
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Journalists up in arms against so-called democratic govt
August 09, 2010
ISLAMABAD: The journalist community across the country protested against the burning of copies of The News and Daily Jang, and blocking of Geo TV transmission in the so-called democratic era.
Various press clubs held emergency meetings to discuss the acts against media freedom. Journalists vowed that curbs on the media would not be tolerated at any cost. The Punjab Union of Journalists (PUJ) and the Lahore Press Club (LPC) on Sunday announced that a protest demonstration would be staged today (Monday) against the burning of copies of newspapers of the Jang group by miscreants in Karachi.
In a joint statement, PUJ President Rai Hasnain Tahir, General Secretary Rana Mohammed Azim, LPC President Sarmad Bashir, Secretary Ziaullah Khan Niazi and members of its governing body condemned the burning of the copies of The News and the daily Jang.
Full report at:
http://thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=30604
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Haqqani cancels banquet, donates proceeds for flood victims
August 09, 2010
By Sami Abrahim
WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani has cancelled a banquet that he was scheduled to host for Pakistan Air Force (PAF) chief Rao Qamar Suleman at the embassy, and decided to donate the money that would have been spent on the banquet to the fund for flood victims.
The PAF chief has supported the ambassador’s decision and chosen to have a much more austere bilateral visit than is usually the case. The PAF chief’s visit is part of the traditional visits by Pakistani services chiefs to the US on invitation of their counterparts. During the last two years, the army and navy chiefs also visited the US and had been hosted by the ambassador to a banquet attended by senior US civil and military officials, media personalities and senators and congressmen.
Full report at:
http://thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=255662
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‘Long march’ against terrorism
August 09, 2010
The Sunni Ittehad Council has announced a “long march” against terrorism and failure of the Punjab government in nabbing Data Darbar attackers on October 16.
The announcement was made at a peace conference to mark the Data Darbar incident on Sunday. People from all four provinces participated in the conference which was held in front of Data Darbar. The participants also passed resolutions against Indian aggression in Kashmir and Israeli aggression in Palestine, for pullout of US forces from Afghanistan and an end to drone attacks. SIC Chairman Fazal Karim while addressing the conference said the “long march” would start from Lahore and end in Islamabad. He said the objective was to implement Nizam-e-Mustafa, restore peace and end terrorism from the country.
He said that terrorists in the name of Islam and Jihad had killed thousands of people.
Full report at:
http://thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=255560
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Musharraf donates Rs 10 million for flood affectees
August 09, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf has donated Rs 10 million for the flood affectees, Chaudhry Shahbaz Hussain, All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) chief coordinator and former federal minister said on Sunday. He made these remarks while addressing a press conference. Hussain said that both the federal and provincial governments had failed to provide any relief to the flood affectees. The APML chief coordinator said that millions of people were still waiting for relief goods from the higher authorities. He informed the media that Musharraf had announced the donation following the mass devastation caused by the floods. Hussain said that amount would be given in the form of cash and relief goods.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\09\story_9-8-2010_pg7_19
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‘Govt should think before inking Afghan trade agreement’
By Tahir Rashid
August 09, 2010
RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan People’s Party-led (PPP) government should think about national interests before signing the Afghan transit trade agreement, as the three provinces, including Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the business community at large opposed it, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Chairman Senator Raja Zafarul Haq said on Sunday.
Addressing as chief guest, the ceremony of 23rd Achievement Awards of Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), Haq said, “Now the government should take all stake holders into confidence before finalising the trade agreement.”
He announced on behalf of Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif that the Punjab Transport Department in collaboration with the Capital Development Authority (CDA) will launch a mass transit system in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. “CDA has invited expression of interest in this regard and soon, work on the mega project would be initiated,” Haq said.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\09\story_9-8-2010_pg7_28
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Turkey holds 15 for links to al Qaeda
August 09, 2010
ANKARA: Turkish police detained on Sunday 15 people with suspected links to the al Qaeda network who were allegedly trying to win supporters to their cause, the Anatolia news agency reported.
The suspects, rounded up in the town of Gebze and Darica in western Kocaeli province, included three men who had received weapons and bomb-making training in camps in Afghanistan, the report said. The detainees had set up an association in Darica where they spread al Qaeda propaganda and tried to persuade people to join the network.
The police and local prosecutors were to question the suspects before releasing them or sending them to court to be charged. Turkish police regularly target suspected al Qaeda supporters since two sets of twin suicide bombings hit the country’s biggest city Istanbul five days apart in November 2003.
A Turkish cell of al Qaeda was held responsible for the attacks, in which explosive-laden trucks first targeted two synagogues, and then the British consulate and a British bank, killing a total of 63 people, including the British consul.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\09\story_9-8-2010_pg7_34
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Ramadan plan for Prophet's Mosque finalized
Aug 9, 2010
MADINAH: The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Prophet’s Mosque has intensified its preparations to welcome the huge influx of worshippers during Ramadan, which is likely to begin on Wednesday.
The presidency aims to make the visit and worship at the mosque most comfortable to the faithful.
As part of its activities the presidency completed a training program for the workers in the mosque on the courteous and helpful treatment of pilgrims.
The presidency has started implementing various plans, such as increasing the number of people employed to serve pilgrims. There are also elaborate arrangements to conduct lectures, issue fatwas, and distribute booklets to the visitors on how to conduct themselves inside the holy precincts.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article97876.ece
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Taleban launch attacks on US, Afghan military posts
Aug 9, 2010
KABUL: Taleban insurgents staged attacks on three combat posts of Afghan and US forces on Monday in a southeastern Afghan province, an official for the US military said.
The official did not say how many militants were involved in the attacks or give any details about the type of the strikes in Paktika province, which lies near the border with Pakistan.
"The fighting is going on. I can't give you further details," Sergeant Stephanie Widemond told Reuters by phone.
The resurgent Taleban have staged a number of commando style strikes, involving suicide bombers, against Afghan and foreign bases and key targets in the past two years.
http://arabnews.com/world/article98216.ece
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Al-Qaeda claims attack in Yemen oil province, vows more strikes
Aug 9, 2010
DUBAI: Al-Qaeda's Yemen-based arm said it was behind an attack that killed at least six soldiers in an oil province last month, and threatened more strikes on government targets.
The attack in the southern Shabwa province on July 25 was among five raids on state targets since June which have been blamed on the resurgent militant group.
Officials have said Al-Qaeda may have been also behind an attack that killed three soldiers on Thursday.
"Anyone who stands with (Yemeni President) Ali Saleh and his government, and with the Crusader (Western) campaign is against our Muslim people is our enemy and a legitimate target for us," Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula said in a statement posted on an Islamist website on Saturday.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article97305.ece
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Make Makkah the most beautiful city: Prince Khaled
By GALAL FAKKAR
Aug 9, 2010
JEDDAH: Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal has emphasized the need for preparing a well thought out and comprehensive development plan for Makkah to make it one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
“We’ll be responsible before God and coming generations if we do not work to make Makkah one of the most beautiful and modern cities in the world,” the governor told a meeting of top executives.
He said Saudi Arabia has the potentials to achieve this goal. “We have a strong and determined leadership that provides all-out support to this direction. We have also enough funds and good people who are capable of achieving this objective.”
Prince Khaled said the new Makkah transport system should consider the ongoing development works in the city and ensure smooth movement of pilgrims and visitors to and from the city, using modern transport systems and advanced technology.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article97872.ece
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Sultan Shahin
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