Geelani rejects PM peace, job offers
No Answers In PM’s Sob Story On Kashmir
OIC condemns Kashmir killings
'Divorced' Muslim women re-enter in-laws' home
Enough is enough: Muslim women question fatwas
US govt sending ground zero mosque imam to Mideast
Sri Lanka Is A New For Islamic Extremism
Muslim women law board decries fatwa against woman qazi
UAE: Mohammed pardons 557 prisoners
Hidden in Sohrabuddin files is story of a riot murder & a father’s trauma
Imbibe spirit of Ramadan, says Abdullah
Two more gunned down in Karachi target killings
Attacks target Iraq security forces, killing 6
‘Govt should check increasing violence against children across Punjab’
BNP leader shot dead in Khuzdar
Malaysia lawmaker escapes jail term for illegal polygamy after Islamic court lowers penalty
Morocco to close 1,250 mosques
Israel razes Muslim graves for ‘Museum of Tolerance’
Al-Qaida's Yemen wing issues threats to Saudi gov't
French Muslim caught up in polygamy scandal charged with rape
Indiana: Local Muslims celebrate Ramadan
Two killed in Newlands mosque robbery
Will act against Saeed, but give concrete evidence: Pak
Sindh Court Declares Musharraf Fugitive
Saudi Arabia: ‘Few women scholars willing to talk on TV’
Three soldiers among 6 killed in Mohmand
Turkey: Adviser Could Face Polygamy Charges
India: 'Knot' a fair deal to Muslim fair sex
Iran digging graves for US troops
Iran envoy vows close economic ties with Iraq
Five militants jailed for 2005 Bangladesh bombings
Karzai to dissolve all private security firms
CID books cop assisting CBI in Sohrab case for 84 encounters
Kerala tense ahead of Madanis arrest
US will not give armed drones to Pak
Patil says Pune blast case cracked, mum on details
NYC buses to carry ad against 9/11-site mosque
Azad: As BJP seeks CBI probe, Cong tells Mamata to go to court
Curfew in force in Srinagar as separatists plan protests
Mindful of Indian concerns, US observing Pak's use of weapons
Pak violates ceasefire; jawan killed on LoC
Bangladesh War Crimes Trial: Sayedee’s illness defers hearing to Aug 24
Bangla PM defends Indian credit
Makkah Time a new alternative for GMT
NY governor offers help moving ground zero mosque
Human rights groups ask WikiLeaks to censor files
Mass marriages remain the only option to get married for many low income families
MWL setting up center to prepare preachers
Hezbollah’s Hariri accusations ‘ridiculous’: Israel
Two Pakistani TV channels say shut over anti-Zardari reports
Afghan civilian casualties up 31pc: UN
Minister says Khyber Pakhtunkhwa being ignored
US will never leave Pak in dire straits, says Ambassador
Extremists may take advantage of flood-situation in Pak: White House
UN Women Agency Must Confront Wartime Violence
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh
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Prime Minister's speech on Kashmir
Aug 11th, 2010
I welcome you today with grief in my heart, but hope in my mind.
I grieve for all those who have lost their near and dear ones in Kashmir and in the Ladakh region.
I propose that we rise to observe a minute’s silence to pray for the departed.
The Government of India will continue to provide relief and other assistance and help the State Government in providing rehabilitation for all those affected by the unfortunate natural disaster in Ladakh. The whole country is with the people of J&K in their hour of sorrow.
The events in Kashmir over the past few weeks have caused me great pain. I share the grief, the sorrow and the sense of loss of every mother, every father, every family and every child in Kashmir.
I can feel the pain and understand the anger and frustration that is bringing young people out on to the streets of Kashmir. Many of them have seen nothing but violence and conflict in their lives and have been scarred by suffering.
Today I wish to share with you my sense of hope for the people of Jammu and Kashmir that I have long nurtured.
The State is only now emerging from the shadow of more than two decades of a deadly insurgency, which brought only death and devastation to the beautiful State. These were two lost decades in the history of Jammu & Kashmir’s development.
Let us make a new beginning. I appeal to the youth to go back to their schools and colleges and allow classes to resume. I ask their parents: what future is there for Kashmir if your children are not educated?
I am convinced that the only way forward in Jammu and Kashmir is along the path of dialogue and reconciliation.
Our Government, more than any other government in the past, has invested heavily in the peace process in Kashmir. The brave rejection of militancy by the people opened the door for us to pursue an unprecedented and intensive internal and external dialogue on the issues that have bedeviled Jammu and Kashmir for six decades.
With Pakistan we took a number of bold and indeed historic decisions. A bus service was started. We facilitated trade across the LOC. We facilitated arrangements for divided families to meet. We changed the policy on allowing people representing different shades of opinion to visit Pakistan because we wanted to involve all sections of the people in the peace process.
We set up a number of round-tables and then working groups in which many of you participated actively. Recognising the diversity of the State, we tried to address the problems of the Kashmir valley, Jammu and Ladakh in a comprehensive manner. We committed unprecedented financial resources for the State’s economic reconstruction.
I repeat all this to remind you of the many positive things that have happened as a result of the peace process and the sincere efforts we have made to bring about a durable peace in Jammu & Kashmir.
Nothing will give me greater satisfaction than to see a permanent and just settlement of all outstanding issues that protects the honour and self-respect of all sections of the people of the State.
But even with the best of these intentions, I cannot say that a complex problem that has defied resolution for 63 years can be solved easily or quickly. We need patience, wisdom and a spirit of conciliation to guide us through ups and downs in the process.
I urge the people of Jammu and Kashmir to give peace a chance. There is a lot of hard work that needs to be done to rebuild the State and its institutions. We must promote economic activity and create opportunities for employment. We must build physical and human resource infrastructure.
But I recognize that the key to the problem is a political solution that addresses the alienation and emotional needs of the people. This can only be achieved through a sustained internal and external dialogue. We are ready for this. We are willing to discuss all issues within the bounds of our democratic processes and framework.
But this process can gather momentum and yield results only if there is a prolonged peace.
I believe that the vast majority of the people want a peaceful resolution of all issues. Let us recognize that repeated agitations whether violent or otherwise only obstruct this process.
The cycle of violence must now come to an end. We must collectively ensure that no innocent life is lost again. It is, of course, the bounden duty of the Government to maintain law and order. We cannot allow the turmoil to continue.
We understand the prevailing public sentiment on the issue of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. Eventually the J&K Police has to take on the burden of normal law and order duties. They do not require special powers to discharge their functions. We will help to accelerate the process of strengthening and expanding the J&K Police so that they can function independently and effectively within the shortest possible time.
The J&K Police and other security forces are performing an extremely challenging task in difficult circumstances. Many of them have been seriously injured during the past few weeks.
There are elements that are trying to weaken the resolve of the J&K Police and trying to undermine their lawful efforts. I urge the State Government to take effective action to protect its policemen and their families. We should not do anything to demoralize the security forces.
The State Government and the Chief Minister are making efforts to renew contact with the people. The Central Government is fully supportive of these efforts, which should be intensified. I believe that all of you have the solemn duty of reaching out to the people and reinvigorating peaceful political activity on the ground, which is lacking today. The youth wings of your parties should be activated. In a democracy leaders have to listen to the voice of the people and gain their trust and confidence.
I believe that local body elections should be held early to increase peoples’ participation in democratic governance and to ensure political empowerment at the grassroots level.
I would urge you to build a consensus on a practical and realizable vision of Jammu and Kashmir’s future. And the people have to be convinced that this future has to be grounded in political and economic realities of our time.
Recently, young MPs from all political parties made an appeal to their brothers and sisters in J&K to exercise restraint and have trust in the power of dialogue. I fully endorse their call.
Every possible effort should be made to reach out to the youth in Jammu and Kashmir. We must respond in a sincere and substantive manner to their genuine aspirations for freedom from fear and for freedom to build for themselves a life of dignity, security and well- being.
I assure the youth of Jammu and Kashmir that their genuine empowerment will be accorded the highest priority in our Jammu and Kashmir policy.
I recognize that the benefits of the large economic reconstruction package for J&K have not been fully felt on the ground. We will quicken the pace of its implementation in cooperation with the State Government.
Based on the experience gained, I am proposing to set up an Expert Group headed by Dr. C. Rangarajan with Shri N.R. Narayana Murthy, Shri Tarun Das, Shri P. Nanda Kumar, Shri Shaqueel Qalander and an official representative of the J&K Government as members to formulate a Jobs Plan for the State, involving both the public and the private sectors. To increase employability in the State the Group will interact with the National Skill Development Mission and submit its report within three months.
But to show results of such efforts on the ground, you will have to engage actively with the youth and give them the sense of purpose, hope and direction they need to make use of the many opportunities that our economy provides.
I am optimistic about the future of Jammu and Kashmir. India’s democracy has shown that it has the resilience to accommodate a diversity of aspirations and unique circumstances and the capacity to solve complex problems.
If all sides show wisdom and restraint, I believe that we can put the bitterness and pain of the recent past behind us and breathe new life in to the peace process. I urge you to carry back with you a message of peace and reconciliation, a message of our serious will and intent to solve all problems through dialogue and a message of deep empathy for the youth of Jammu and Kashmir.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/prime-ministers-speech-on-kashmir/658629/
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NO ANSWERS IN PM’S SOB STORY ON KASHMIR
By Ashish Sinha
Aug 11th, 2010
Economist Manmohan has no political roadmap for angry Kashmiris
PRIME Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday finally broke his silence on the violence that has gripped the Kashmir Valley but disappointed as he promised nothing beyond words.
Singh’s address to an all- party delegation, which was somehow put together on Tuesday, came across overwhelmingly as an economic approach to the problem that the Valley is facing.
“I urge the people of J& K to give peace a chance. There is a lot of hard work that needs to be done to rebuild the state and its institutions. We must promote economic activity and create opportunities for employment.
We must build physical and human resource infrastructure,” Singh said in his opening remarks that were televised.
Kashmir watchers questioned Singh’s decision to set up an “ expert group” — headed by C. Rangarajan and comprising N. R. Narayana Murthy, Tarun Das, Nanda Kumar, Shaqueel Qalander and an official representative of the state government — to formulate a “ Jobs Plan” in the public and private sectors.
Experts, who said they had hoped the PM would outline concrete steps for a political solution to the problem, found political elements missing from the speech.
Instead, there was the oft- repeated reference to the government’s readiness to discuss all issues within the bounds of “ our democratic processes and framework”. After the all- party meeting, the PM was quoted as saying that he was ready to consider autonomy for Kashmir within the constitutional framework of India. But the specifics of such a step were not spelt out.
The PM, in his address to the allparty delegation, made no mention of how the various political and social elements of Kashmiri society would be taken on board to restart the process of dialogue.
Besides, he did not announce probe into the deaths in the latest round of violence or compensation to the families of the dead.
“ The separatists will soon make a mockery of his address,” the experts said in response to the PM’s address delivered nearly two months after the disturbances in which over 50 people have died.
Jammu and Kashmir’s main opposition PDP dismissed as a joke with the people of Kashmir the PM’s fresh initiative to end the unrest in the Valley, according to PTI. “ The Prime Minister’s statement is a joke with the people of Kashmir,” PDP patron and former CM Mufti Mohd Sayeed said. He described as a futile exercise the meeting Singh had with the delegation.
The Mufti said economic and employment package was not a solution to the Kashmir problem.
The PM asserted that “ dialogue and reconciliation” are the “ only way forward” and claimed that his government was undertaking “ unprecedented and intensive internal and external dialogue” on Kashmir. However, the remarks were made in the background of little progress in either the internal Srinagar- New Delhi dialogue or the external India- Pakistan dialogue for a Kashmir solution.
The economic package route, which the PM has long looked upon as the key to addressing the concerns of the Kashmiri people, has not been a success. Singh conceded this in his address to the allparty delegation. “ I recognise that the benefits of the large economic reconstruction package for J& K have not been fully felt on the ground. We will quicken the pace of its implementation in cooperation with the state government.” The PM referred to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act ( AFSPA). But, this was only in passing, indicating there was little chance it would be lifted from the Valley although he was aware of “ the prevailing public sentiment on the issue”. Singh’s prescription for lifting AFSPA appeared to be long- term as he collated it with the strengthening of the state police force.
“ Eventually the J& K Police has to take on the burden of normal law and order duties. They do not require special powers to discharge their functions,” he said.
A Kashmir expert, who did not wish to be named, said the subtext was obvious. Although Singh the Centre would help to ensure the independent and effective functioning of the state police “ within the shortest possible time”, it is a chimera that the state administration has been chasing for years.
There was very little soothing balm from Singh on the deaths that have taken place in the Valley since June 11 when 17- year- old Tufail Ahmed Mattoo was killed.
The protestors have demanded inquiries into all deaths, if necessary through a judicial commission established for the purpose. “ The events in Kashmir over the past few weeks have caused me great pain. I share the grief, the sorrow and the sense of loss of every mother, every father, every family and every child in Kashmir,” Singh said. But he did not pledge probes into the deaths.
“ Let us make a new beginning. I appeal to the youth to go back to their schools and colleges and allow classes to resume. I ask their parents: what future is there for Kashmir if your children are not educated?” he said.
Mail Today
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Geelani rejects PM peace, job offers
M Saleem Pandit
Aug 11th, 2010
Srinagar: Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Tuesday rejected Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs peace offer and employment package,saying Kashmiri youth arent on the streets for jobs but are fighting for their rights.
The octogenarian leader said Kashmiris werent vitiating the states peaceful atmosphere and accused security forces of unleashing a rein of terror across the Valley. They have killed 51 people,mostly teenagers,during the last two months while they were protesting peacefully for their rights, said Geelani.He said people are on streets demonstrating peacefully for their right to self-determination.
He said successive Central governments have tried to downplay the issue by portraying Kashmir as an economic problem. This is untrue, he said.He asked the PM to read the writing on the wall and give peace a chance by declaring Jammu & Kashmir a disputed territory.The 81-year-old separatist leader demanded withdrawal of security forces for the permanent settlement of the problem. The permanent settlement can be achieved by giving Kashmiris the right to self-determination and not merely announcing a committee of economic experts to devise a job plan.
Moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq,who has engaged with the Centre in the past,said the Centre cant weigh emotions of Kashmiris on the scale of money and jobs. The Indian leadership must address Kashmir issues political dimension and not the economic one, he said.He said none of the recommendations that had been made when they met the PM in 2005 were implemented and called for the involvement of all three parties India,Pakistan and Kashmiris to resolve the dispute.
Peoples Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti said she expected the PM to talk about an uninterrupted,conclusive and serious dialogue. But it could prove to be a serious beginning, she said.The opposition leader said the PMs speech was good in tone and tenor but lacked in substance that could have defused the present crisis.
However,its heartening that the PM recognised the peoples sentiments particularly that of the youth, she said.The PDP president said the PM could have spelled out a future road map to resolve the issue.The PDP had boycotted the PMs all-party meet and dismissed it as a futile exercise.
Times of India
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Bin Laden's Cook Gets 14 - Year Sentence
August 12, 2010
GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - A U.S. military tribunal on Wednesday sentenced Osama bin Laden's former cook to 14 years in prison, but he is expected to serve far less under a plea deal that remains secret.
The defendant, Sudanese captive Ibrahim al Qosi, pleaded guilty last month in the war crimes court at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. naval base to charges of conspiring with al Qaeda and providing material support for terrorism.
Qosi, a 50-year-old with a white beard, has been held at Guantanamo for more than eight years.
Military officials said it could be several months before his full plea agreement is made public. But the al-Arabiya television network based in Dubai quoted unidentified sources as saying it caps his sentence at two years.
Qosi acknowledged that he knew al Qaeda was a terrorist group when he ran one of the kitchens in bin Laden's Star of Jihad compound in Afghanistan.
Qosi, who met bin Laden in Sudan and travelled with him to Afghanistan, also admitted helping the al Qaeda leader escape U.S. forces in the Tora Bora mountains of Afghanistan.
He said he had no involvement in or prior knowledge of terrorist attacks.
Qosi was the first Guantanamo captive convicted under the administration of President Barack Obama, whose efforts to shut down the detention camp has been blocked by Congress.
His sentencing hit a snag because, according to the judge, the U.S. military ignored orders to develop a plan specifying how prisoners would serve their sentences after conviction in the Guantanamo tribunals.
COMMUNAL CONFINEMENT
Qosi wanted to avoid serving his in solitary confinement. His plea deal required the convening authority overseeing the trial to recommend that Qosi serve his time in Camp Four, where detainees live communally under fewer restrictions than in the other camps.
But military rules forbid housing convicted criminals with other detainees.
The judge, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Nancy Paul, said an assistant defence secretary ordered two years ago that the Army and the military's Southern Command, which oversees the Guantanamo base, develop a detailed plan for housing prisoners after their conviction.
"This has not been done," the judge said tersely.
She said the absence of any written policy or plan was "especially troubling" because another trial was under way for a young Canadian captive and could produce another conviction.
She ruled that Qosi's plea agreement was still valid because it only called for a recommendation that he be housed in the communal camp, and did not guarantee he would be.
The judge directed that Qosi remain in Camp Four for 60 days while the military works out where he would serve the rest of his sentence.
Qosi is the fourth captive convicted in the tribunals created to try non-U.S. terrorism suspects after the al Qaeda attacks of September 11, 2001. Two served short sentences and were sent home to Australia and Yemen.
The only other convict remaining at Guantanamo is Ali Hamza al Bahlul, a Yemeni who was an al Qaeda videographer. He is serving a life sentence for conspiring with al Qaeda and providing material support for terrorism.
"He is separated from the general population," said a Guantanamo spokesman, Navy Commander Brad Fagan. He declined to elaborate except to say, "He's by himself."
Once Qosi returns to Sudan, he will enter a program that is run by the Sudanese intelligence service and is designed to rehabilitate those with radical views, defence lawyers said. Nine other Sudanese captives have gone through the program upon repatriation from Guantanamo, they said.
After completing the program, Qosi will then return to live with his family but will be monitored to ensure he has no contact with radicals, they said.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/08/11/world/international-uk-guantanamo-sudan.html
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Hamas frees 100 Gaza prisoners for Ramadan
August 12, 2010
The Islamist Hamas movement on Wednesday released 100 prisoners in its Gaza enclave, including members of the rival Fatah, in honour of the beginning of Ramadan.
Hamas interior minister Fathi Hammad said the 100 pardoned prisoners included Fatah members, but said they had been arrested for ‘committing criminal or security-related acts’ and not for political reasons.
He said 20 of those freed ‘were security prisoners who had been implicated in cooperating with the (Israeli) occupation in a minor way.’
In recent months Hamas has led a campaign against suspected collaborators in which it threatened harsh punishment, including execution, for all those who did not turn themselves in during a set amnesty period.
Hammad said all the released prisoners had served at least two-thirds of their sentences.
‘For anyone who goes back to committing crimes there will be an even greater punishment,’ he added.
Muslim rulers often release prisoners as a gesture of mercy at the start of Ramadan, when the faithful fast from dawn to dusk and strive to be more pious and charitable.
Hamas imposed order on Gaza’s streets soon after seizing power in June 2007 by banning firearms and harshly cracking down on street crime and clan violence.
The Western-backed Palestinian Authority, with its US-trained forces, has also vastly improved security in the occupied West Bank in recent years.
But each rival government has accused the other of political arrests and the mistreatment of prisoners, and Palestinian and international human rights groups have been critical of both.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/August/middleeast_August214.xml§ion=middleeast
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U.S. Braces For Kandahar Fight, Anti - Corruption Battle
August 12, 2010
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Targeted strikes by U.S. special forces against insurgents around Kandahar are yielding results, but war planners expect tough fighting ahead and more casualties, a U.S. military official said on Wednesday.
The campaign to secure the Taliban's birthplace of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan is a central objective of President Barack Obama's revised war effort and will factor prominently in a White House strategy review in December.
But U.S. officials are playing down expectations of any quick turnaround, despite Obama's July 2011 deadline to start withdrawing forces from Afghanistan, conditions permitting.
Heavy fighting is not expected in Kandahar city itself, where efforts are focussed on bolstering security and improving performance of a local government often criticized as ineffective and corrupt, the U.S. official said.
But some surrounding districts, including Panjwai, will require the kind of clearing operations by NATO and Afghan forces that mean confrontation with a Taliban enemy, at its strongest since the nine-year-old war began.
"It's going to be some pretty tough fighting," the U.S. official, speaking on condition that he not be named, told a small group of reporters at the Pentagon.
Full report at: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/08/11/world/international-uk-afghanistan-usa-kandahar.html
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U.N. Seeks $460 Million in Flood Aid for Pakistan
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR
August 12, 2010
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations appealed on Wednesday for donations of nearly a half billion dollars to aid flood victims in Pakistan as the magnitude of the disaster widened, with about one-fifth of the country submerged and the annual monsoon season still potent.
“The scale of the disaster is huge; the needs of the people affected are huge,” said John Holmes, the humanitarian coordinator for the United Nations, as he announced the appeal for $460 million. Donors had already pledged $150 million before the appeal was announced.
The money would help meet the immediate needs of an estimated 14 million people who have been affected in some way by the flooding, Mr. Holmes said, with 6 million needing humanitarian assistance like shelter, food, clean water and emergency health care. The United Nations, responding to the physical difficulty of navigating the flooded areas, has resorted to methods as varied as helicopters and donkeys to deliver aid, he said.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/12/world/asia/12nations.html?_r=1&ref=world
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'Divorced' Muslim women re-enter in-laws' home
Aug 11, 2010
LUCKNOW: The Muslim women are beginning to demur with patriarchal notions of bias and control. At least this much was evident when 100-odd angry women marched down the congested alleys of old city here, waving placards and shouting slogans. It was a sight none must have ever seen before.
The 1.5-km walk in this uber conservative neighbourhood ended at the residence of Abdees' and marital home of Hina and Arshi, the two among three women who had roughed up some maulvis of the Shariat court in June for issuing ex-parte talaqnama. Amid tight security and after much drama, the two muscled their way in, leaving their morose looking in-laws with no option but to watch them in silence. The fierce army of chaperones then left, promising to keep in touch.
"The incident proves that Muslim women have had enough of mullah interference,"declared state convener of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan Naaz Raza, who led the march. This could just be the beginning, warned her colleague Naish Hasan. The feisty lady spells big trouble for the maulvis with her outspokenness. This year has seen at least a dozen anti-women fatwas from Dar-ul-Uloom Deoband. Women are forbidden to ride bicycles, join public office without hijab, talk loudly, join judiciary or even talk to their fiance before marriage. And now they have one question, said Naish, "Just why not?''
"When a woman puts a 'daliya' (wicker basket) on her head and carries bricks, no mullah advises her not to work beside men. But the moment she dons a stethoscope or a black coat, there are restrictions galore,"complained Shahnaz Begum.
The semi-literate chikan worker from Bansmandi says, "Maulvis are scared they may lose their importance once women begin to exercise their brains. And each issue, from condoning triple talaq to pronouncing anti-woman fatwa, only shows their insecurity."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Divorced-Muslim-women-re-enter-in-laws-home/articleshow/6290862.cms#ixzz0wI5dhj96
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Enough is enough: Muslim women question fatwas
Manjari Mishra
Aug 11th, 2010
Lucknow: The Muslim women are beginning to demur with patriarchal notions of bias and control.At least this much was evident when 100-odd angry women marched down the congested alleys of old city here,waving placards and shouting slogans.It was a sight none must have ever seen before.
The 1.5km walk in this uber conservative neighbourhood ended at the residence of Abdees and marital home of Hina and Arshi,the two among three women who had roughed up some maulvis of the Shariat court in June for issuing ex-parte talaqnama.Amid tight security and after much drama,the two muscled their way in,leaving their morose looking in-laws with no option but to watch them in silence.The fierce army of chaperones then left,promising to keep in touch.
Full report at: Times of India
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US govt sending ground zero mosque imam to Mideast
11 Aug, 2010
WASHINGTON: The imam behind controversial plans for a mosque near the site of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks is being sent by the State Department on a religious outreach trip to the Middle East, officials said Tuesday, in a move that drew criticism from conservative lawmakers.
The department is sponsoring Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf’s visit to Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, where he will discuss Muslim life in America and promote religious tolerance, spokesman P.J. Crowley said. He said the imam had been on two similar trips and that plans for the upcoming tour predated the mosque controversy.
“We have a long-term relationship with him,” Crowley told reporters, noting that Rauf had visited Bahrain, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in 2007 and went to Egypt last January as part of an exchange program run by the State Department's Office of International Information Programs.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/21-us-govt-sending-ground-zero-mosque-imam-to-mideast-sk-03
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Sri Lanka Is A New For Islamic Extremism
Aug 11, 2010
An Appeal to the women’s movement against inhuman treatment of a young woman on religious grounds
(August 11, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka Guardian) This is a narrative of the husband of the victim, a 17 year old woman with a two month old child, who was subjected to the horrible experience of being beaten about 100 times with the hard centre stem from a coconut frond in the presence of the committee members of the mosque situated in Gokarella in the district of Kurunagalle. This woman had given a birth to a child as a result of an extra marital relationship. She has since married and has been living peacefully.
One day the husband of the woman was asked to come to the mosque with his wife by the committee members. He was forced by them to sign a document consenting to the punishment of his wife. The man did not agree and argued against the punishment. He also pointed out that his wife was sick. Regardless, she was beaten in the presence of other men of the village in front of the mosque.
Full report at:
http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2010/08/sri-lanka-is-new-for-islamic-extremism.html
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Muslim women law board decries fatwa against woman qazi
Aug 11, 2010
Lucknow: In yet another row over fatwa, the All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board (AIMWPLB) on Sunday decried the recent fatwa issued by Darul Uloom, Deoband restricting Muslim women from becoming qazi.
Reacting to the development, President, AIMWPLB, Shaista Amber stated that appointing Muslim women as qazi on the basis of their ability is good move and will send strong message in the community.
"The harassed women can relate easily with a female qazi and can narrate their tale of distress more conveniently. It is difficult and at times not decent for a woman to discuss everything in detail with a male Muslim qazi," said Amber on Sunday at Lucknow.
She also stated that women can perform their duty more honestly and without being partial to anybody.
Full report at:
http://www.ummid.com/news/2010/August/10.08.2010/muslim_women_law_board_decries_fatwa.htm
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Hidden in Sohrabuddin files is story of a riot murder & a father’s trauma
Parimal Dabhi
Aug 11 2010
Ahmedabad : In his deposition to the CBI in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, a former official of the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation has recalled the horrors he was subjected to, allegedly by the state police — of his son being stripped and shot dead during the Gujarat riots, of his own torture with electric shocks for refusing to withdraw his complaint, and for not giving a statement framing Sohrabuddin who was once his neighbour.
Zahid Kadri, former Traffic Superintendent with the GSRTC, told CBI that he was illegally detained and threatened at the office of the ATS by D G Vanzara and R K Pandian who claimed they were doing it “because of directions from Shri Amit Shah, MoS (Home)”.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/hidden-in-sohrabuddin-files-is-story-of-a-riot-murder-&-a-fathers-trauma/658817/
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Imbibe spirit of Ramadan, says Abdullah
By P.K. ABDUL GHAFOUR
Aug 11, 2010
JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah urged Muslims on Tuesday to compete with one another in righteous deeds and work to alleviate the pain and suffering of the poor and needy, inspired by the spirit of the holy month of Ramadan.
“This blessed month has taught us many lessons. We have to contemplate them to learn how people should be compassionate to their fellow beings, how the rich feel the suffering of the poor, and how Muslims compete with one another to win the pleasure of God,” the king said in his Ramadan message. In their joint message to Saudis on the advent of Ramadan, King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, also urged Muslims to imbibe the true spirit of Islam, which is a religion of love, mercy and tolerance and promotes goodness, reform and dialogue.
The Royal Court announced on Tuesday that the fasting month would start in the Kingdom on Wednesday (Aug. 11), after several people sighted the Ramadan crescent in different parts of the country.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article99360.ece
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Two more gunned down in Karachi target killings
11 Aug, 2010
KARACHI: A Shia man and an owner of a plastic warehouse were gunned down in separate incidents of targeted killings in Karachi on Tuesday, bringing the death toll in target killings to 104. After a day’s-break, two more people, Mirza Abid Shirazi and Anwar Khan were shot dead in separate localities of Karachi. According to details, Abid was shot by a an unidentified motorcyclist while he was parking his car in Ferozabad police precincts. He died shortly after being attacked. Shirazi is survived by a wife and three children and was the brother of Mirza Asghar Shirazi, the trustee of Aza Khana Zahra Imambargah in Soldier Bazaar. Separately, Anwar Khan was killed and his employee Faiz injured when they were shot at their warehouse in Hadi Market in Nazimabad police precincts.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\11\story_11-8-2010_pg1_5
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Attacks target Iraq security forces, killing 6
Aug 11, 2010
BAGHDAD: Explosions and gunmen in Iraq killed six people Tuesday, including two members of an anti-Al-Qaeda group and two policemen, officials said.
The attacks, which also injured 15 people, reflect the persistent violence directed at people responsible for protecting Iraq as American forces leave. Violence across the country has spiked in the past month as the US moves ahead with a major drawdown of its troops set to be completed by the end of the month.
The most deadly incident happened in the Baghdad neighborhood of Baiyaa in the southwestern part of the city, which was wracked by a series of blasts.
Police and hospital officials said first a pair of bombs exploded on a main street in Baiyaa, without causing any injury. When a police patrol arrived minutes later, a third bomb exploded, killing three people and wounding eleven others. A policeman was among the dead and four were injured.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article99249.ece
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‘Govt should check increasing violence against children across Punjab’
11 Aug, 2010
LAHORE: The government should take steps to check the increasing tendency of violence against children across the province, participants at a conference titled “Increasing Tendency of Violence Against Children in Punjab” said on Tuesday.
The conference was organised by the Society for the Protection and Rights of the Child (SPARC). The participants said the increasing number of crimes against children shows that children are neither safe in their houses nor at their schools nor in the streets, and the individuals they look up to for security are often the ones who betray them. They said that the teachers, guardians and even police have been found involved in incidences of violence against children.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\11\story_11-8-2010_pg13_8
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BNP leader shot dead in Khuzdar
11 Aug, 2010
QUETTA: A former district president of Balochistan National Party (BNP-Mengal), Attaullah Baloch, was shot dead in Khuzdar on Tuesday night.
In another attack four people were seriously injured in Panjgur town. Sources said that Mr Baloch was riddled with bullets at Munir Mengal Road by some gunmen riding a motorbike when he was on way home in his vehicle.
He received multiple bullets and was taken to Khuzdar civil hospital, but died there. Attaullah Baloch was a senior leader of BNP-Mengal.
A large number of party workers and supporters took to streets of Khuzdar in protest against the attack on their leader.
Angry workers also attacked the civil hospital and pelted stones, smashing windowpanes of the hospital.
On Monday night, Rawal Khan Mohammad Hasni, an elder of Mohammad Hasni tribe, was shot dead by unknown armed men near his house at Brewery road area.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/bnp-leader-shot-dead-in-khuzdar-180
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Malaysia lawmaker escapes jail term for illegal polygamy after Islamic court lowers penalty
August 11, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A prominent Malaysian lawmaker escaped being jailed for unlawfully entering a polygamous marriage after an Islamic court Wednesday decided the penalty was too severe and allowed him to pay a fine instead.
Bung Mokhtar Radin, a 50-year-old member of Parliament for Malaysia's ruling coalition, was sentenced in May to one month in prison for marrying a second wife without obtaining the Islamic Shariah court's permission. Malaysian Muslim men are allowed to take up to four wives.
After Bung Mokhtar appealed the sentence, a Shariah High Court judge ruled Wednesday it was too harsh because he was a first-time offender, said his lawyer, Amli Embong.
The politician, who married a 31-year-old popular Malaysian actress in December, was instead ordered to pay the maximum fine of 1,000 ringgit ($300), Amli said.
Full report at:
Copyright © 2010 The Canadian Press.
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Morocco to close 1,250 mosques
Aug 11, 2010
RABAT (Morocco): The Moroccan government will close 1,256 mosques found to be "unsafe" to avoid the repeat of a minaret collapse that killed 41 people in February this year.
Mohammed VI, the king of Morocco, ordered all the country's mosques to be examined after a centuries-old minaret of a mosque in Meknes fell during Friday prayers.
Meknes, an ancient city, is on the Unesco's World Heritage list.
The ministry of religious affairs has said over 500 mosques would be completely demolished and rebuilt, the BBC reported, adding that makeshift tents would be provided for prayers.
The ministry said it has inspected over 19,000 of the country's nearly 48,000 mosques. A sum of $325 million has been set aside for improvement work, including demolition and rebuilding of 513 mosques.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Morocco-to-close-1250-mosques/articleshow/6291630.cms#ixzz0wHRk2suP
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Israel razes Muslim graves for ‘Museum of Tolerance’
August 11, 2010
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israeli bulldozers backed by police destroyed dozens of gravestones in a Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem on Tuesday, an AFP photographer reported.
The Islamic Movement accused the municipality of razing more than 200 Muslim graves that had been recently renovated in a centuries-old cemetery in mostly Jewish west Jerusalem.
“Last night at around 12:30 am occupation forces entered the cemetery and destroyed around 200 graves,” said Mahmud Abu Atta of the Al-Aqsa Foundation linked to the group, whose members are Arab citizens of Israel.
He said the bulldozers returned later in the day to destroy dozens more after a Jerusalem court rejected a petition to halt the work.
Full report at:
http://dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=118071#axzz0wHk8ffkM
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Al-Qaida's Yemen wing issues threats to Saudi gov't
11 August 2010
SANAA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The No. 2 figure of al-Qaida's Yemeni wing has threatened to overthrow the Saudi government by issuing instructions to its sympathizers in that country.
The message was delivered by Saeed Ali al-Shihri, deputy leader of al- Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), in an audio recording posted on the internet Tuesday.
He claimed that al-Qaida has sympathizers in the ranks of Saudi police and armed forces, and he has ordered them to overthrow the government because it was "collaborating with" the United States in controlling the Arab world.
The AQAP has carried out a series of deadly attacks on Yemeni security facilities and Western interests in southern Yemen over the past two months.
Full report at:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-08/11/c_13439893.htm
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French Muslim caught up in polygamy scandal charged with rape
11 August 2010
French police brought rape charges Sunday against a Muslim man targeted by the government in an earlier case of alleged polygamy, a state prosecutor said.
Lies Hebbadj, 35, an Algerian-born shopkeeper from the western city of Nantes, "has been charged with aggravated rapes," public prosecutor Xavier Ronsin told a news conference.
Police had detained Hebbadj on Friday on the latest charges after a former partner accused him of rape and violence against her, and formally placed him under investigation for the alleged offences on Sunday.
Hebbadj came into the public eye in April when his wife publicly contested the police's decision to fine her for driving a car while wearing a face-covering Islamic veil.
That case came at a sensitive time as Nicolas Sarkozy's right-wing government prepared a law to ban the wearing of the full-face veil in public. The police claimed the veil dangerously obscured her view.
Full report at:
http://www.france24.com/en/20100808-france-muslim-man-islamic-veil-case-charged-with-rape-Lies-Hebbadj-polygamy
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Local Muslims celebrate Ramadan
By Robert King
August 11, 2010
Ramadan -- the most sacred month on the Islamic calendar -- is a time marked by prayer, charitable giving and daytime fasting that, for most Muslims around the world, begins today.
While Ramadan is a nearly universal observance for Muslims, the universe of Muslims around the world and in Indianapolis is hardly monolithic.
There are Muslim immigrants here from Asia and Africa, the Pacific islands and Europe. There are converts -- black and white -- who found the faith after being born to other religions. There are Sunni Muslims, the major branch of the faith, and even Shiites, a tiny minority.
And there is a new generation of Muslims born and raised in the United States to parents who were immigrants. They are attuned to the ways of their parents but also intent on forging their own brand of American Islam.
Full report at:
http://www.indystar.com/article/20100811/LOCAL/8110335/Local-Muslims-celebrate-Ramadan
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Two killed in Newlands mosque robbery
August 11 2010
Two robbers died in a shoot-out with police after attacking Muslim worshippers at a mosque in Newlands East on Tuesday, the SABC reported.
Lieutenant-Colonel Vincent Ndunge told the broadcaster that a gang of men fled in two vehicles after robbing the worshippers.
When the police caught up with them, a shoot-out ensued in which two of the robbers died. Two other robbers fled.
Ndunge said congregants at Muslim, Hindu and Christian places of worship had been targeted in recent weeks.
He said the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) was investigating any misconduct on the part of the police involved in the shooting on Tuesday. - Sapa
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=nw20100810201051860C114546
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Will act against Saeed, but give concrete evidence: Pak
Aug 11 2010
Islamabad : Pakistan has said it is ready to take action against Jamaat-ud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed but added India should give "concrete evidence" that stands "legal scrutiny" and holds him responsible for the Mumbai attacks.
India has maintained that it has provided ample evidence about Saeed's role in the Mumbai attacks and Pakistan should follow it up and initiate legal proceedings against the JuD chief.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi insisted that his country was committed to bringing the perpetrators of 26/11 to justice but could not give any specific time-frame for conclusion of the trial in the case as the judiciary is independent.
He termed as "preposterous" any "suggestion that there is some sort of nexus" between ISI and Mumbai attacks, rubbishing the contention by Pakistani-American Laskhar-e-Toiba operative David Headley in this regard.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/will-act-against-saeed-but-give-concrete-evidence-pak/658982/
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Sindh Court Declares Musharraf Fugitive
Aug 11th, 2010
Islamabad, Aug. 10: A Pakistani court on Tuesday declared former military ruler Pervez Musharraf as a “fugitive”.
A division bench of the Sindh high court (SHC) here headed by Chief Justice Sarmad Jalal Usmani issued the order against Mr Musharraf for not appearing before it in connection with a petition filed by Maulvi Iqbal Haider of the Awami Himayat Tehrik.
It said Mr Musharraf is a fugitive since he was not appearing in courts to face cases against him.
The SHC issued a notice against the former military ruler during the hearing of the petition filed by Maulvi Iqbal Haider. The petitioner sought action against Mr Musharraf and his aides, including advocate Sharifuddin Pirzada and former Attorney-General Malik Abdul Qayyum, for “disfiguring” the constitution and committing high treason.
Full report at:
http://www.asianage.com/international/sindh-court-declares-musharraf-fugitive-187
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‘Few women scholars willing to talk on TV’
By FATIMA SIDIYA
Aug 11, 2010
JEDDAH: The general manager of a leading religious channel has claimed that women scholars are unwilling to appear on television.
“Sadly, most of the few women scholars in the Kingdom refuse to go on TV,” said Mohammad Sallam of Iqraa channel on Sunday. “We are willing to train any capable woman that would like to appear on air.”
Sallam was speaking at Iqraa’s seventh annual Ramadan Press Conference at Park Hayat. Among the 25 programs aired by the channel, only one is presented by a woman scholar.
Iqraa is a religious channel owned by Saudi businessman Saleh Kamel who is competing with 60 other similar channels in the region.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article99361.ece
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Three soldiers among 6 killed in Mohmand
11 Aug, 2010
GHALANAI, Aug 10: Six persons, including three soldiers and as many militants, were killed and seven injured in two separate incidents of violence in Sagi area of Mohmand Agency on Tuesday, sources said.
In the first incident, three soldiers were killed and six militants injured when they exchanged fire. Sources said that soldiers were patrolling the area when militants attacked them. Both sides exchanged heavy fire.
An official said that three paramilitary soldiers were killed in the attack while six militants received injuries in retaliatory action.
In another incident, volunteers of a peace committee killed three militants in the area while an activist of the committee received injuries, officials said. They said that militants attacked a checkpoint of the local peace committee in Khwaizai tehsil.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/three-soldiers-among-6-killed-in-mohmand-180
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Turkey: Adviser Could Face Polygamy Charges
By SEBNEM ARSU
August 11, 2010
Ali Yuksel, an adviser to the Turkish prime minister’s office, could face up to two years in prison if he is charged with polygamy after describing his simultaneous relationship with three women in a recently published book. Mr. Yuksel cited Islamic law, which does not apply in secular Turkey, to defend the relationships. He is the father-in-law of Suat Kilic, a leading member of the governing Justice and Development Party whose attempt to pass a law legalizing polygamy a few years ago failed in the face of heavy secular opposition.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/11/world/europe/11briefs-TURKEY.html?ref=europe
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'Knot' a fair deal to Muslim fair sex
Sheezan Nezami
Aug 11, 2010
PATNA: Amid reports of honour killings taking place elsewhere in the country, Bihar boasts of providing an incentive of Rs 25,000 to women opting for inter-caste marriage. But Muslims continue to be discriminated against in this matter monetary and matrimonial.
It was way back in 1979 that the state government's welfare department issued a circular (6642 dated November 13, 1979) providing for a payment of Rs 5,000 each to women opting for inter-caste marriage. The idea was to "end caste system and discourage dowry system in the society''.
In 1999, the state government okayed a proposal to increase the amount to Rs 25,000. "The government intends to empower women, and this incentive is a step towards this direction,'' said a state official.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Knot-a-fair-deal-to-Muslim-fair-sex/articleshow/6288621.cms#ixzz0wI5Sncx5
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Iran digging graves for US troops
Aug 11th, 2010
Tehran: Iran has dug mass graves in which to bury US troops in case of any American attack on the country,a former commander of the elite Revolutionary Guard said.
The digging of the graves appears to be a show of bravado after the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff,Adm Mike Mullen,said that the US has a contingency plan to attack Iran,although he thinks a military strike is probably a bad idea.
Gen Hossein Kanani Moghadam,who was the Guards deputy commander during the 1980s,said graves have been dug in Irans Khuzestan province,where Iran buried Iraqi soldiers killed during the 1980-88 war.The mass graves that were used for burying Saddams soldiers have now been prepared for US soldiers,and this is the reason for digging this big number of graves, he said.
Times of India
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Iran envoy vows close economic ties with Iraq
Aug 11, 2010
BAGHDAD: Iran's new ambassador to Iraq is promising that trade between the one-time rivals will double in the "near future," even as his country is under stringent sanctions.
Hassan Dannaie Fir told reporters on Tuesday that Iraq is a "fertile market" for Iranian goods.
Trade between the two neighbors stands at about $7 billion per year. Iranian companies have increasingly been securing footholds in Iraq following the toppling of Saddam Hussein's Sunni regime, with the growing ties worrying the US as it works to withdraw its troops by next year.
Iran is under a fourth round of sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council, and the US and the European Union have also implemented other sanctions because of Tehran's controversial nuclear program.
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article99287.ece
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Five militants jailed for 2005 Bangladesh bombings
11 Aug, 2010
DHAKA: A court in northern Bangladesh on Tuesday sentenced five members of a banned militant group to life in prison for their involvement in a series of bombings five years ago.
The judge said the men, members of Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh aged between 22 and 28, were part of a nationwide terror campaign. The five were found guilty of involvement in bombings at five places in Bogra district on August 17, 2005, about 160 kilometres north of the capital Dhaka, which caused few casualties but shook Muslim-majority Bangladesh, which has been largely spared violent militancy. Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh later launched a series of bombings that killed at least 26 people and wounded dozens more. The bombings mainly targeted courts and government offices, as the group denounced Bangladesh’s secular legal system and pressed for adoption of Islamic law.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Nitai Chandra Saha said on Tuesday that the five men were part of a nationwide terror campaign, which threatened peace and national security – although they were not accused in the deadly bombings that followed the attacks in Bogra. Also Tuesday, another court in Dhaka sentenced two other men from the group to 20 years in jail for illegally possessing explosives.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\11\story_11-8-2010_pg20_8
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Karzai to dissolve all private security firms
11 Aug, 2010
KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai is to dissolve all international and domestic private security companies operating in the country, his spokesman said on Tuesday.
“Dissolving the private security companies is a serious programme that the government of Afghanistan will execute,” Waheed Omer told reporters, adding that “very soon the president of Afghanistan will set a deadline”.
Omer said Karzai had spoken to his western backers as well as leaders of the US and Nato’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) who contract the companies to safeguard many aspects of their work, including supply convoys.
“Over the past few days the president held discussions with officials from our allied countries, with Nato and ISAF leaders and all those involved,” said Omer.
He said private security companies employ 30,000-40,000 armed personnel throughout Afghanistan.Karzai has accused the companies of operating in parallel to Afghan security forces, and of diverting critical resources needed to train army and police.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/karzai-to-dissolve-all-private-security-firms-180
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CID books cop assisting CBI in Sohrab case for 84 encounters
Aug 11th, 2010
Ahmedabad: The state CID (crime) on Tuesday booked its former boss and senior IPS officer Kuldip Sharma for the encounter killing of four gangsters when he was Kutch SP in 1984.The move is being seen as a score against Sharma,who is believed to be guiding the CBI in its probe into the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.
Sharma,who is additional DGP,was superseded earlier this year,and his petition challenging the supersession before Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) was dismissed last month.The government has decided to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case which has been reopened after 26 years.In February 2010,Jusab Juma Mamad of Kutch met DGP SS Khandwawala and complained that his father and other family members were killed by the officer.In 1984,Sharma was SP of Kutch which was a hub of bullion smugglers.
Full report at: Times of India
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Kerala tense ahead of Madanis arrest
Aug 11th, 2010
Thiruvananthapuram: There was high drama at Anwarasseri in Keralas Kollam district on Tuesday after news broke that a Karnataka police team was on its way to arrest PDP leader Abdul Nasser Madani,listed as an accused in the 2008 Bangalore serial blasts case.
Party activists thronged Anwarasseri where the clericturned-politician is camping with supporters.One of them even attempted to jump from a building to protest against the move.He was,however,stopped by other supporters.
Madani slammed the BJPled Karnataka government.According to him,the move to arrest him was part of a conspiracy hatched eight months ago.Putting up a brave front,he said he was willing to court arrest but he feared more trouble in custody.While saying he was upset for being arrested during the holy month of Ramzan,he appealed to party workers to maintain calm.
Full report at: Times of India
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US will not give armed drones to Pak
Rajat Pandit
Aug 11th, 2010
New Delhi: Pakistans ardent desire to acquire armed drones like Predators,which can let loose missiles with deadly precision,will remain a mere pipedream for the foreseeable future.The US has ruled out supply of any strategic armed drones to Pakistan.
With the US literally opening the floodgates for supply of all kinds of weaponry to Pakistan in the name of global war on terror,ranging from F-16 fighters to a wide array of missiles,Islamabad has long been clamouring for armed drones like Predators and Reapers to be added to the already quite long list of military goodies.
This gained some currency in recent days with Predatormanufacturer General Atomics Aeronautical Systems announcing it had received a nod from the US state department to sell the drones to countries other than the US and its close allies.Visiting US undersecretary for defence Michele Flournoy on Tuesday,however,said only short-range drones for ISR operations would be supplied to Pakistan. We have put only two unarmed tactical UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles ),ScanEagle and Shadow,on the table.They are not armed drones, she said.
Times of India
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Patil says Pune blast case cracked,mum on details
Aug 11th, 2010
Pune: Almost six months after the terrorist attack on German Bakery that killed 17 people and injured 65 others,state home minister R R Patil on Tuesday reiterated that the state police have the names and addresses of the suspects,but that they are untraceable.
The police could not arrest them because all of them are untraceable, he told reporters on the sidelines of the two-day workshop organised by the CID on Effective measures for investigation,detection and prevention of crime at the Yashwantrao Chavan academy of development and administration (Yashada).
We have cracked the German Bakery blast case.We have all the information about the suspects,but we could not arrest them.The state Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS) along with their counterparts in other states and central agencies are investigating the blast case.We will arrest them soon, the minister said.Asked whether the suspects have fled the country,Patil said: It will not be correct to comment on this.
Full report at: Times of India
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NYC buses to carry ad against 9/11-site mosque
Aug 11th, 2010
City buses will soon carry a provocative advertisement that opposes the construction of a mosque near ground zero and depicts a plane flying toward a flaming World Trade Center,the metropolitan transportation authority said.
The group behind the advertisement had sued the authority last week,alleging that the advertisement had initially been rejected as inappropriate.The advertisement juxtaposes a photograph of the World Trade Center,seen in the instant before the second tower was hit,with a rendering of the controversial mosque and Islamic center planned for Lower Manhattan.In bold capital letters,the ad asks,Why There
In the suit,the ads sponsor,the American Freedom Defense Initiative,run by Pamela Geller,a right-wing blogger,claimed that the firm that handles advertising for the transit agency had infringed on its right to free speech by repeatedly requesting changes to the ad,like removing the image of the plane.
Times of India
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Azad: As BJP seeks CBI probe, Cong tells Mamata go to court
Aug 11 2010
New Delhi : With the BJP pouncing on the opportunity provided by Mamata Banerjee to demand a CBI probe into the death of Maoist spokesperson Cherukumari Rajkumar alias ‘Azad’ on the lines of the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case, the Congress suggested that theTrinamool Congress chief could approach a court of law or the NHRC on the issue.
“The Congress has never been a supporter of fake encounters... We are not in the business of handling out certificates about the genuineness of any police or administrative action. It is not our job to comment upon every administrative action,” Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said.
Adding to the Congress’s Mamata discomfiture was the BJP’s call for a CBI probe. While it attacked Mamata inside Parliament, outside it drew a parallel with the Sohrabuddin case.
“The Sohrabuddin encounter is an old case but the government has ordered a CBI inquiry. Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/azad-as-bjp-seeks-cbi-probe-cong-tells-mamata-go-to-court/658775/
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Curfew in force in Srinagar as separatists plan protests
Aug 11th, 2010
Srinagar : Life across the Kashmir valley remained paralysed again on Tuesday as the authorities imposed curfew in Srinagar city and all major towns across Kashmir to prevent protests demonstrations. However, people took to streets at several places in the afternoon and protested against the continuous killings in Kashmir.
Today’s protests are part of the shutdown calendar announced by hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani. All shops, business establishments, educational institutions and courts remained closed across the valley while traffic remained off the roads.
In south Kashmir’s Anantnag town, where two youth were arrest by police in the morning today, a large procession of protesters gathered on the streets in the afternoon and protest against police. The protestors soon resorted to stone pelting and police faired tear smoke canisters to disperse the protestors.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/658501/
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Mindful of Indian concerns, US observing Pak's use of weapons
Aug 11th, 2010
New Delhi : Mindful of India's concerns over Pakistan misusing American weapons against it, the US on Tuesday said it was "clearly observing" how these arms were being used even as it expressed its commitment to combating the LeT-al Qaeda syndicate in its entirety.
US Under Secretary for Defence Michele Flournoy told reporters here that the Obama Administration was "mindful of these concerns as we take steps to support the equipping of Pakistan for the current counter insurgency and counter terrorism purposes."
The US held frank discussion with Pakistan about the purposes and application of the systems and it was "clearly observing" how these were used, apart from having choices of what they would provide and not provide, she said.
"There is a clear emphasis on supporting their (Pakistan's) efforts on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border," she said.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/mindful-of-indian-concerns-us-observing-paks-use-of-weapons/658505/
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Pak violates ceasefire; jawan killed on LoC
Aug 11th, 2010
Violating ceasefire agreement after a brief lull, Pakistani army on Tuesday evening targeted Indian jawans deployed along the Line of Control in Poonch and killed one of them standing inside the bunker.
Official sources said, “Unprovoked sniper firing from the Pakistani side of the Line of Control killed one Indian Army jawan inside Peer post in Mendhar tehsil of Poonch on Tuesday evening.”
The fire from the Pakistani side went on for about 15 minutes and was a clear case of ceasefire violation, official sources said. Meanwhile security forces also recovered 31 kg RDX besides a huge cache of arms and ammunition in the past 24 hours in Poonch and Reasi districts.
“The Army jawan has been identified as Ileke Pandurang of Kolhapur, Maharashtra,” sources said.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/275433/Pak-violates-ceasefire;-jawan-killed-on-LoC.html
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WAR CRIMES TRIAL: Sayedee’s illness defers hearing to Aug 24
Aug 11th, 2010
The International Crimes Tribunal on Tuesday deferred till August 24 the hearing in two cases against five detained top Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami leaders as Jamaat nayeb-e-amir Delwar Hossain Sayedee could not be brought to court because of his illness.
The tribunal, widely known as war crimes tribunal formed on March 25 for the trial of war crimes committed during the country’s independence war in 1971, also ordered the prison authorities to produce Sayedee, detained in the Dhaka central jail in connection with more than a score of cases, in the tribunal on August 24 in a case related to the 1971 war crimes.
The tribunal chairman, Justice Nizamul Huq, adjourned the hearing in Sayedee’s case saying prison authorities reported they could not produce Sayedee in the tribunal because of his sudden illness.
Full report at:
http://www.newagebd.com/2010/aug/11/front.html
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PM defends Indian credit
Aug 11th, 2010
Defending the one billion dollar loan from India, prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said the money would be used for much needed infrastructure to ensure development of the nation that caused burning of BNP-Jamaat alliance which had plundered the public wealth during its rule.
She rubbished the allegation of opposition leader Khaleda Zia who termed the Indian loan deal signed on Saturday as ‘pact of slavery’.
Sheikh Hasina was talking to the executive committee of Rajshahi University Teachers’ Association that called on her at her office.
The Indian loan would be utilized for implementation of 14 projects, mostly related to development of railway infrastructure in Bangladesh, upgrading of Ashuganj river port, construction of roads and bridges to facilitate transit or transhipment of Indian goods to its North-Eastern region through Bangladesh, purchase of double-decker buses from India and connecting power gridline with India, PM’s press secretary Abul Kalam Azad said briefing the meeting.
Full report at:
http://www.newagebd.com/2010/aug/11/front.html
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Makkah Time a new alternative for GMT
By SYED FAISAL ALI
Aug 11, 2010
JEDDAH: The giant clock of Makkah is all set to tick home a new time standard, as some scholars believe that it will be an ideal alternative to the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Many scholars are of the opinion that Makkah Time can provide the world an alternative to the GMT. These people have scientific arguments to back their contention, as Makkah is situated in the center of the world.
At a conference in Doha in 2008, Muslim clerics and scholars presented “scientific” arguments that Makkah time is the true global meridian. They said that Makkah is the center of the world.
“Putting Makkah time in the face of Greenwich Mean Time, this is the goal,” said Mohammed Al-Arkubi, general manager of Royal Makkah Tower Hotel.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article99369.ece
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NY governor offers help moving ground zero mosque
By MICHAEL GORMLEY
Aug 11, 2010
ALBANY, N.Y.: New York Gov. David Paterson offered state help Tuesday if the developers of a proposed mosque near the site of the Sept. 11 attacks agree to move the project farther from the site.
Paterson, a Democrat, said that he doesn't oppose the project as planned but indicated that he understands where opponents are coming from. He said he was willing to intervene to seek other suitable state property if the developers agreed.
"I think it's rather clear that building a center there meets all the requirements, but it does seem to ignite an immense amount of anxiety among the citizens of New York and people everywhere, and I think not without cause," Paterson said in a news conference in Manhattan.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article99201.ece
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Human rights groups ask WikiLeaks to censor files
Aug 11, 2010
LONDON: Human rights groups said Tuesday they've asked WikiLeaks to censor secret files on the Afghanistan war to protect civilians who've worked alongside the US and other foreign forces from reprisals.
The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, Amnesty International and three other groups have sent a series of e-mails to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange calling for the names of Afghan civilians to be removed from the 77,000 classified military documents published by the online whistle-blower last month.
Nader Nadery, of the commission, said the groups want the names removed from files already released, and from any documents disclosed in the future.
"There was no consideration about civilian lives," Nadery said, noting a rise in assassinations of Afghan civilians seen as government collaborators.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article99213.ece
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Mass marriages remain the only option to get married for many low income families
Aug 11, 2010
AL-HASSA: With the Kingdom home to over 1.5 million unmarried women, many prospective brides see mass marriages as a way of getting married cheaply.
Marriages in the Kingdom are expensive and it is often the case that many bachelors cannot afford to get married, this is particularly the case with those from low-income families.
This problem is further exasperated by the fact that the families of prospective brides have a tendency to ask for high dowries for their daughters’ hands in marriage. As a result, according to a survey by the Ministry of Finance and Planning’s Central Department of Statistics and Information in 2007, one in every 16 Saudi woman is single.
It is because of this that mass marriages are being organized across the Kingdom and many young people see them as a way out of the conundrum of remaining single.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article99294.ece
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MWL setting up center to prepare preachers
Aug 11, 2010
JEDDAH: An international center to train Islamic propagators will be established shortly in Makkah. The center will be supervised by the Worldwide Association to Introduce Islam (WAI), an affiliate of the Makkah-based Muslim World League (MWL).
“The officials working in the center will be given proper training on the basis of the Qur’an and Sunnah,” said Sheikh Ahmed Al-Shamrani, director of the association’s branch in Makkah province.
He said the center would also train expatriate workers on how to introduce Islam and teach them the necessary techniques. “We decided to establish this center because of the absence of such a specialized center to train Islamic propagators,” he said.
“Saudi Arabia needs such a center because of the presence of a large number of expatriate workers in the country,” he pointed out. “The hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who come from different parts of the world can also make use of the center,” he added.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article99313.ece
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Hezbollah’s Hariri accusations ‘ridiculous’: Israel
11 Aug, 2010
JERUSALEM: Israel on Tuesday dismissed as ‘ridiculous’ Hezbollah claims to have acquired Israeli footage implicating the Jewish state in the murder of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
Hassan Nasrallah, head of the Lebanese Shiite militia group, on Monday unveiled footage allegedly intercepted from Israeli surveillance planes of the site where Hariri was killed in a bombing in February 2005. “Everyone in the world knows, even the Lebanese, that Nasrallah’s accusations are ridiculous,” said a senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity. It was clear that the accusations were “coming from the pressure on (Nasrallah) over the international community’s suspicions about Hezbollah’s involvement in Hariri’s murder,” he said. Several undated clips, which were broadcast on Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television, showed aerial views of the coastline off mainly Sunni west Beirut on various dates before the Hariri assassination. “Such footage generally comes as the first leg of the execution of an operation,” Nasrallah said, while admitting the images were not conclusive. Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\11\story_11-8-2010_pg4_5
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Two Pakistani TV channels say shut over anti-Zardari reports
11 Aug, 2010
KARACHI: Two key Pakistani television channels were shut in southern Pakistan on Tuesday amid protests by ruling party workers over reports against the country's embattled president, the channels said.
"Geo television remains off the air in Karachi and other parts of Sindh province," its managing director, Azhar Abbas told AFP.
Workers of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) staged a protest outside its office in Karachi, he said.
A graffiti campaign has also been launched against Geo in Karachi while bundles of the Jang daily and English language The News owned by the same group were snatched and burnt in other cities and towns, he added.
"The cable operators have been threatened, their offices have been attacked, while hawkers have been warned that copies would be torched if they sell our newspapers," he said.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/8-10-2010/69772.htm
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Afghan civilian casualties up 31pc: UN
11 Aug, 2010
KABUL: Afghan civilian casualties rose by 31 percent in the first six months of 2010, with 1,271 people killed, the United Nations said Tuesday.
"Afghan civilian casualties have increased by 31 percent compared to the same period last year," said Staffan de Mistura, the UN's special envoy in Afghanistan.
"Thirty-one percent means what in civilian lives? It means... 1,271 civilians died, 1,991 were injured, most of them severely," he told a press conference in Kabul.
He said anti-government forces were responsible for three quarters of civilian casualties, up from just over half last year.
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/8-10-2010/69752.htm
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Minister says Khyber Pakhtunkhwa being ignored
By Zulfiqar Ali
11 Aug, 2010
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has criticised Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s statement about Kalabagh dam.
“Being the prime minister he should not have stirred a controversy at this critical juncture,” provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said at a press conference here on Tuesday. “Are the areas situated on this side of Attock not parts of Pakistan?”
“Mr Gilani is a unanimously-elected prime minister and he should not give statements which provoke public sentiments,” said Mian Iftikhar.
He accused the federal government of ignoring the flood-devastated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and focussing on less affected areas.
Media reports have quoted Mr Gilani as saying that human lives and property would have been saved had Kalabagh dam been constructed.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/19-minister-says-kp-being-ignored-180-hh-12
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US will never leave Pak in dire straits, says Ambassador
11 Aug, 2010
Islamabad—Anne W. Patterson, US Ambassador to Pakistan on Tuesday again made it clear that US provided helicopters and financial & material support to Pakistan as a part of initial $ 10 million aid as the cost to Pakistan's economy is mounting due to flood damages stressing US was the first country that immediately joined Pakistan in flood relief efforts.
"The United States is committed to maintain consistent and long term relationship with Pakistan and will try to encourage its private sector to make more investment in Pakistan", said Anne W. Patterson, US Ambassador to Pakistan while addressing the business community at Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry and later in a quick chat with host of journalists on Tuesday.
She condoled with all those who have lost their near and dear ones and have suffered badly in the recent massive floods. She said that US was the first country that immediately joined Pakistan in flood relief efforts. She said that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also spoke to Pakistan's Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani for ensuring continuous support to Pakistan in this hour of need.
Full report at:
http://dailymailnews.com/0810/11/AcrossPakistan/index.php?id=1
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Mohammed pardons 557 prisoners
11 August 2010
DUBAI — His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, in his capacity as the Ruler of Dubai, has ordered the release of 557 prisoners who spent various times of their terms, on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan.
Dubai Attorney-General Esam Eissa Al Humaidan said that the order will immediately be implemented in coordination with the public prosecution department and police directorate, adding that the released prisoners include 55 UAE nationals.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2010/August/theuae_August316.xml§ion=theuae&col=
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Extremists may take advantage of flood-situation in Pak: White House
Aug 11, 2010
WASHINGTON: The White House has expressed concerns over the misuse of Pakistan's flood-situation by extremists to disrupt normal life there, saying such possibilities were being evaluated appropriately.
"It is a setback for the people of Pakistan, that they've lost so many people and that so much of their country is flooded and underwater," White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton, told reporters at his daily news conference.
"As it relates to the armed insurgency, our relationship with Pakistan is much bigger than just what we do in the fight against insurgents, and we certainly hope that they're not using this opportunity to inflict even more pain on the people of Pakistan," Burton said.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Extremists-may-take-advantage-of-flood-situation-in-Pak-White-House/articleshow/6291253.cms#ixzz0wHQ4bcQq
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UN Women Agency Must Confront Wartime Violence
August 11, 2010
In the next few weeks, the highest-level United Nations official ever to promote the rights and status of women worldwide will be appointed. Peace advocates demand that the new office take on the issue of violence against women in conflict zones, says Barbara Crossette.
Anticipating the appointment in the next few weeks of the highest-level United Nations official ever to promote the rights and status of women worldwide, peace advocates are demanding that the new office take on the issue of the unending violence against women in conflict zones -- a plague that keeps spreading despite a decade of Security Council resolutions.
By propitious coincidence, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's appointment of the head of UN Women will be followed in the fall by a series of events marking the tenth anniversary of the first, groundbreaking UN resolution -- Security Council Resolution 1325 -- demanding an end to the abuse of women not only by warring parties but also by UN peacekeepers, and the inclusion of women in peacemaking.
Full report at:
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=40522
10:12 PM
Sultan Shahin
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