Dalma is first Saudi equestrienne to compete in Youth Olympics
Iran's Ahmadinejad unveils new 'bomber' droneNo formal peace process with the Taliban: Karzai
US Troops Unlikely to Resume Combat Duties in Iraq
Indian jihadis in Qaida’s Somalia arm?
Seven al-Qaida men killed in Yemen
Facing Afghan mistrust, al-Qaeda fighters take limited role in insurgency
Pakistanis Say Taliban Arrest Was Meant to Hurt Peace Bid
Kasab not fasting during Ramzan
10 killed in drone, landmine blast in Pakistan
Fasting women risking health by taking tablets to delay periods
Video of mob killings sparks anguish in Pakistan
Miss USA says no to Ground Zero mosque
Amnesty Against Saudi Tit-For-Tat
Six die in Mohmand attack
Nato air strikes kill 3 civilians, 3 police
Iranian reactor use 'totally unacceptable': Israel
Ahmadinejad promises 'global' response if Iran is attacked
Yemen says five Qaeda members among 19 killed
Statement of Muslim American Imams, Community Leaders on Holocaust Denial
No Obama is Not a Muslim, But Radical Jihadists Are
Omar balm for angry Sikhs
Chinese language, culture classes on offer in Dubai
Muslim, Christian children join peace project
Training Pastors, Rabbis, and Imams at the Same School
BNP-Jamaat linked to 2004 grenade attacks: Sheikh Hasina
Wikileaks founder says Pentagon could be behind rape claims
Iran starts loading fuel in first nuclear power plant
'10L supari to kill Narendra Amin?
Flood-hit Pakistan battles economic ruin
Iran starts nuclear reactor, says intent peaceful
Peace ‘difficult but possible’: Israeli PM
Mastermind of Hassan killing sprung from jail
Israel’s Barak names new army chief
UAE Embassy in Australia organizes Iftar
‘Faith in Allah is the best?way to seek happiness’ Ahmed Shaaban
Army of diplomats takes the lead in fractious Iraq
Int’l aid for Pakistan floods over $800M
Six hurt in fresh Indian Kashmir clashes
Afghan orders dissolution of security firms to begin
NY mosque issue gains momentum
Flood submerges new towns in Pakistan
Makkah visa for businessmen a non-starter: Kamel
Army of diplomats takes the lead in fractious Iraq
Bahrain arrests 12 for arson
Lessons not learnt from Kargil war
Debate on Ground Zero mosque to sow more seeds of discord: OIC
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: Dalma Rushdi Malhas of Saudi Arabia
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Dalma is first Saudi equestrienne to compete in Youth Olympics
Aug 22, 2010
SINGAPORE: Sixteen-year-old Dalma Rushdi Malhas will create history when she becomes the first Saudi female equestrian competitor in the ongoing Youth Olympic Games here. The event began on Aug. 14 and will conclude on Aug. 26. Some 3,500 youth athletes from 205 countries are participating.
This is the Kingdom first participation in the sport with a female participant. Dalma will participate in the equestrian events on Monday and Tuesday.
According to the Saudi Arabia's Olympic Committee Secretary-General Rashid Ahariol, the female athlete is participating on her own in the competition on her own expense. Dalma is also not part of the official youth team participating in Singapore.
Just like her mother, Arwa Mutabagani, who was the first Saudi female member to the Olympic delegation with the equestrian team in Hong Kong, Dalma hopes to leave her mark in the sport. Arwa is also a member of the Saudi Federation for Equestrian.
http://arabnews.com/sports/article109211.ece
Iran's Ahmadinejad unveils new 'bomber' drone
23 Aug. 10
TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad unveiled on Sunday a new long-range drone, dubbed Karar, which reportedly can bomb targets at high speed, state television reported.
State television footage showed the president applauding as a blue cloth covering the Karar (assailant) was removed to reveal a short aircraft marked “bomber jet” in military-green.
The broadcast showed the aircraft in flight, while Fars news agency quoted Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi as saying the drone had a range of up to 1,000 kilometres.
“This jet, before it heralds death for enemies, is the messenger of salvation and dignity for humanity,” Ahmadinejad said in his speech at the unveiling in a hall at Tehran's Malek Ashtar university.
State television said the drone was built to “carry and fire four stealth cruise missiles ... and, depending on the mission, it can carry two bombs of 250 pounds each or a precision missile of 500 pounds.”
Ahmadinejad said Iran's defence abilities “should reach a point where we can cut off the aggressor's arm before he acts, and if we miss, we should destroy him before he hits the target.”
The Karar was unveiled on Iran's annual Defence Industry Day, and two days after the Islamic republic test-fired a domestically built surface-to-surface missile, the Qiam (rising).
Iran is expected to follow up with series of military announcements as the nation also marks “government week,” a period which Tehran uses to tout its achievements.
The country is also expected to test-fire a third generation Fateh (conqueror) 110 missile, after having already paraded a version with a range of 150 to 200 kilometres.
The production lines of two missile-carrying speedboats, Seraj and Zolfaqar, are also due to be inaugurated.
Kaar's unveiling came days after Iran took delivery of four domestically-built Ghadi mini-submarines, a “stealth” vessel designed to operate in shallow waters such as the Persian Gulf.
The moves coincide with Iranian warnings against any attack. Its arch-foes, the United States and Israel, have not ruled out military action over Iran's controversial nuclear programme.
And on Saturday, Iran began to load nuclear fuel in its first nuclear power plant. The Russian-built reactor in the southern port of Bushehr, which is not targeted by UN sanctions, aims to generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity.
http://www.thepakistaninewspaper.com/news_detail.php?id=17630
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No formal peace process with the Taliban: Karzai
23 Aug. 10
WASHINGTON, Aug 23: Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai said Sunday there are no formal peace talks between his government and the Taliban, although he admitted to “individual contacts” with the hardline group.
“Of course, there are individual contacts with some Taliban elements, that's not yet a formal process,” Karzai told ABC television's “This Week”program.
The Afghan leader added, however, that there is a “clear” course toward possible future peace talks with the outlawed insurgents.
“The roadmap is clear. The indications for peace would be that Afghanistan will be ready to talk to those Taliban powers who belong to Afghanistan and are not part of Al-Qaeda, who are not part of any other terrorist network, who accept the Afghanistan Constitution and the progress that we have achieved in the past so many years,” he said.
Karzai also stressed the need to eliminate private security contractors inside his country, one day after ordering them to begin disbanding immediately.
The president said private security firms are “running a parallel security structure to the Afghan government” and “looting and stealing from the Afghan people.”
He said the contractors were working with criminal elements in Afghanistan and funding insurgents with US money.
“I am appealing to the US taxpayer not allow their hard-earned money to be wasted on groups that are not only providing lots of inconveniences to the Afghan people, but actually are, God knows, in contact with Mafia-like groups and perhaps also funding militants and insurgents and terrorists through those firms.”
Karzai made his comments after Taliban military inroads in the south and east of the country, along the border with Pakistan, and as the group extends its presence into Afghanistan's north.
Women's rights groups have said that any future path that would grant legitimacy to the Taliban is threatening for women in Afghanistan and could erode their hard-won constitutional rights.
Karzai said he believes that it is possible to prevail against the Taliban despite recent military setbacks.
“I believe the campaign against terrorism is absolutely winnable,” he said.
“In order for us to do that, we must end the business as usual and we must begin to reexamine whether we are doing everything correctly, whether we are doing the right things and whether we are having the support of the Afghan people,” he said.
“We must provide protection to the Afghan people rather than causing civilian casualties, we must end corruption and corrupt practices in Afghanistan, done by the international community by the way contracts are given,” he said.
“We must end parallel structures to the Afghan government, we must end the security firms who are spending billions of dollars, in the presence of whom Afghanistan would never develop a police force,” Karzai said.
http://www.thepakistaninewspaper.com/news_detail.php?id=17631
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US Troops Unlikely to Resume Combat Duties in Iraq
23 Aug. 10
WASHINGTON (AP) -- It would take ''a complete failure'' of the Iraqi security forces for the U.S. to resume combat operations there, the top American commander in Iraq said as the final U.S. fighting forces prepared to leave the country.
With a major military milestone in sight, Gen. Ray Odierno said in interviews broadcast Sunday that any resumption of combat duties by American forces is unlikely.
''We don't see that happening,'' Odierno said. The Iraqi security forces have been doing ''so well for so long now that we really believe we're beyond that point.''
President Barack Obama plans a major speech on Iraq after his return to Washington, according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday because details were being finalized. The speech will come shortly after Obama returns to the White House on Aug. 29 from his Martha's Vineyard vacation.
About 50,000 U.S. troops will remain in the country until the end of 2011 to serve as a training and assistance force, a dramatic drawdown from the peak of more than 170,000 during the surge of American forces in 2007.
Obama will face a delicate balancing act in his speech between welcoming signs of progress and bringing an end to the 7-year-old war without prematurely declaring the mission accomplished, as former President George W. Bush once did.
U.S. involvement in Iraq beyond the end of 2011, Odierno said, probably would involve assisting the Iraqis secure their airspace and borders.
While Iraq forces can handle internal security and protect Iraqis, Odierno said he believes military commanders want to have the U.S. involved beyond 2011 to help Iraqis acquire the required equipment, training and technical capabilities.
He said Iraq's security forces have matured to the point where they will be ready to shoulder enough of the burden to permit the remaining 50,000 soldiers to go home at the end of next year.
If the Iraqis asked that American troops remain in the country after 2011, Odierno said U.S. officials would consider it, but that would be a policy decision made by the president and his national security advisers.
Odierno's assessment, while optimistic, also acknowledges the difficult road ahead for the Iraqis as they take control of their own security, even as political divisions threaten the formation of the fledgling democracy.
South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, who's on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told CBS' ''Face the Nation'' that he hopes ''we will have an enduring relationship of having some military presence in Iraq. I think that would be smart not to let things unwind over the next three or five years.''
On Thursday, the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division began crossing the border from Iraq into Kuwait, becoming the last combat brigade to leave Iraq. Its exodus, along with that of the approximately 2,000 remaining U.S. combat forces destined to leave in the coming days, fulfills Obama's pledge to end combat operations in Iraq by Aug. 31.
In interviews with CBS' ''Face the Nation'' and CNN's ''State of the Union,'' Odierno said it may take several years before America can determine if the war was a success.
''A strong democratic Iraq will bring stability to the Middle East, and if we see Iraq that's moving toward that, two, three, five years from now, I think we can call our operations a success,'' he said.
Much of that may hinge on whether Iraq's political leaders can overcome ethnic divisions and work toward a more unified government, while also enabling security forces to tamp down a simmering insurgency.
Iraq's political parties have been bickering for more than five months since the March parliamentary elections failed to produce a clear winner. They have yet to reach agreements on how to share power or whether to replace embattled Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and amid the political instability, other economic and governmental problems fester.
Fueling that instability is neighboring Iran which, Odierno said, continues to fund and train Shiite extremist groups.
''They don't want to see Iraq turn into a strong democratic country. They'd rather see it become a weak governmental institution,'' said Odierno.
He added that he is not worried that Iraq will fall back into a military dictatorship, as it was under the reign of Saddam Hussein.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/08/23/us/politics/AP-US-US-Iraq.html?hp
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Indian jihadis in Qaida’s Somalia arm?
Indrani Bagchi
Aug 23, 2010
NEW DELHI: A freak blast in Mogadishu has sent tremors all the way to New Delhi, with indications that Indian terrorists might be fighting for al-Qaida’s group Al Shabaab in Somalia.
Over the weekend, the Somali ministry of information announced that two Indians, three Pakistanis and an Afghan were among 10 Al Shabaab terrorists killed while trying to put together a suicide car bomb in Mogadishu. The dead even included one leader ‘‘who was in charge of praying for suicide bombers before they are dispatched’’.
If the Indians’ identity is borne out, this would be a first. Thus far, Indian terrorists have stopped short of venturing out that far for transnational jihadi terrorism.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Indian-jihadis-in-Qaidas-Somalia-arm-/articleshow/6399366.cms#ixzz0xP5IgAzF
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Seven al-Qaida men killed in Yemen
Aug 23, 2010
SANA'A: Yemeni security forces killed seven al-Qaida militants Sunday in a fresh clash in the country's southern province of Abyan, authorities said.
Yemeni defence ministry said seven al-Qaida men were killed Sunday in a raid carried out in the militant's hideout in Lodar city, increasing the death toll of the militants to 12 since Friday, Xinhua reported.
The security forces laid siege to the terrorists who were holed up in some houses in Lodar, the ministry's website quoted security director of Abyan, Brigadier Abdulrazaq al-Marwani, as saying.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Seven-al-Qaida-men-killed-in-Yemen/articleshow/6417607.cms#ixzz0xP5N0daT
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Facing Afghan mistrust, al-Qaeda fighters take limited role in insurgency
By Craig Whitlock
August 23, 2010
On Aug. 14, a U.S. airstrike in the northern Afghan province of Kunduz killed a Taliban commander known as Abu Baqir. In a country where insurgents are killed daily, this attack was notable for one unusual detail:
Abu Baqir, the military said afterward, was also a member of al-Qaeda.
Although U.S. officials have often said that al-Qaeda is a marginal player on the Afghan battlefield, an analysis of 76,000 classified U.S. military reports posted by the Web site WikiLeaks underscores the extent to which Osama bin Laden and his network have become an afterthought in the war.
The reports, which cover the escalation of the insurgency between 2004 and the end of 2009, mention al-Qaeda only a few dozen times and even then just in passing. Most are vague references to people with unspecified al-Qaeda contacts or sympathies, or as shorthand for an amorphous ideological enemy.
Bin Laden, thought to be hiding across the border in Pakistan, is scarcely mentioned in the reports. One recounts how his picture was found on the walls of a couple of houses near Khost, in eastern Afghanistan, in 2004.
Full report at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/22/AR2010082203029_pf.html
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Pakistanis Say Taliban Arrest Was Meant to Hurt Peace Bid
By DEXTER FILKINS
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — When American and Pakistani agents captured Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s operational commander, in the chaotic port city of Karachi last January, both countries hailed the arrest as a breakthrough in their often difficult partnership in fighting terrorism.
But the arrest of Mr. Baradar, the second-ranking Taliban leader after Mullah Muhammad Omar, came with a beguiling twist: both American and Pakistani officials claimed that Mr. Baradar’s capture had been a lucky break. It was only days later, the officials said, that they finally figured out who they had.
Now, seven months later, Pakistani officials are telling a very different story. They say they set out to capture Mr. Baradar, and used the C.I.A. to help them do it, because they wanted to shut down secret peace talks that Mr. Baradar had been conducting with the Afghan government that excluded Pakistan, the Taliban’s longtime backer.
In the weeks after Mr. Baradar’s capture, Pakistani security officials detained as many as 23 Taliban leaders, many of whom had been enjoying the protection of the Pakistani government for years. The talks came to an end.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/world/asia/23taliban.html?_r=1&hp
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Kasab not fasting during Ramzan
Aug 22, 2010
MUMBAI: Pakistani terrorist, Ajmal Kasab, who along with his nine accomplices killed 166 of people in the name of 'jihad' is not fasting in the month of Ramzan. The 23-year-old convict has been eating bananas, apples, and taking medicines during Ramzan. Fasting (Roza) is compulsory for every adult Muslim.
Jail sources said Kasab, who has been kept in an isolated cell in the barrack number 12, keeps himself busy reading books and can be seen on a CCTV's camera having medicines and lunch. A person observing roza will have to fast between sunrise and sunset.
Kasab, after his arrest by the crime branch on the midnight of November 27, 2008, had said that he was part of a 'jihadi mission' and they were doing it in the name of religion. However, several Muslims had already said that Kasab and company was unware of the true meaning of jihad.
"He is having a banana, poha, roti, vegetables, milk and tea regularly. Even, he can be seen having medicines," said the source.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Kasab-not-fasting-during-Ramzan/articleshow/6390192.cms#ixzz0xKvW9M83
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10 killed in drone, landmine blast in Pakistan
Aug 22, 2010
PESHAWAR: Four militants were killed in a US drone attack in Pakistan's restive northwest tribal region, the second such strike in less than ten days, while five members of an anti-Taliban militia and a security personnel died when their vehicle was hit a landmine in Mohmand agency.
The roadside bomb was exploded near the vehicle of members of the anti-Taliban peace committee at Ghalanai, the centre of Mohmand agency.
The peace committee members were on routine patrolling when came under attack. Five members of the peace committee, including a tribal elder were killed in the incident.
A doctor at the Agency's headquarters hospital said one injured was in critical condition. One security personnel was also among those killed, an official said.
Four militants were killed in a US drone attack in the volatile North Waziristan tribal region of northwest Pakistan, officials said.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/10-killed-in-drone-landmine-blast-in-Pakistan-/articleshow/6390423.cms#ixzz0xKvkMvmt
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Fasting women risking health by taking tablets to delay periods
Aug 22, 2010
TAIF: There is a growing tendency among young women, especially unmarried ones, to take drugs to delay menstrual cycle in the holy month of Ramadan.
“Out of their eagerness to observe fasting throughout the month of Ramadan without missing any days, many young women customers, including unmarried, are coming to buy Primolut N tablet. The sale of the tablet is on the rise with the advent of the fasting month of Ramadan,” Al-Watan daily reported, quoting a pharmacist in Taif.
According to the pharmacist, most of the customers of this tablet are unmarried girls. “They are not at all bothered about the side effects after using these tablets. They approach familiar pharmacists to buy it without a prescription,” he said.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article109165.ece
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Video of mob killings sparks anguish in Pakistan
22 August 2010
ISLAMABAD — The Pakistani men took turns savagely beating the two teenage brothers with sticks, drawing blood before dragging and hanging their dead bodies from a nearby pole. None of the dozens of people watching tried to stop the attack, not even several police. The boys may have been mistaken for robbers.
The scene, caught on video and broadcast on news channels, has outraged and anguished Pakistanis, some of whom are asking if years of state neglect have brutalized society. It also is a blow to the already-shoddy image of the government as it appeals for international aid to cope with disastrous floods.
“Is this what we are? Savages?” asked an editorial in The News, an English-language daily. “So utterly bereft of a speck of humanity that a crowd of ordinary men are passive spectators to public murder?”
The killings occurred Aug. 15 in Sialkot, a town in eastern Punjab province. As details have emerged, authorities appear increasingly confident that the two boys — Moiz Butt, 17, and his brother Muneeb, 15 — were innocent.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/August/international_August1169.xml§ion=international
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Miss USA says no to Ground Zero mosque
Aug 22, 2010
THE reigning Miss USA has come out against the Ground Zero mosque, saying “ it shouldn’t be so close” to the site of the 9/ 11 attack in New York.
Rima Fakih, 24, is the first Muslim winner of the Miss USA contest and is preparing for the Miss Universe pageant, scheduled for Monday in Las Vegas.
“ I totally agree with President ( Barack) Obama with the statement on constitutional rights of freedom of religion.. ( But) I also agree that it shouldn’t be so close to the World Trade Center. We should be more concerned with the tragedy than religion,” Fakih was quoted by the New York Post as telling Inside Edition on Friday.
On the other hand, the defiant wife of the cleric behind the planned mosque near Ground Zero has vowed to go ahead with the project, calling it a “ historymaking moment” in the fight against “ Islamophobia”. Daisy Khan, who founded the project along with her husband, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, said the increasing opposition — which she blamed on Republicans — has only caused organisers to become more committed.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Amnesty Against Saudi Tit-For-Tat
Aug 22nd, 2010
Nicosia, Aug. 21: Amnesty International urged the Saudi authorities on Friday not to medically paralyse a man in retribution for similar injuries he allegedly caused during a fight.
The London-based group quoted reports that a court in the northwestern town of Tabuk had approached a number of hospitals to ask if they could cut the man’s spinal cord in retribution, as requested by the victim.
“We urge the Saudi Arabian authorities not to carry out such a punishment, which amounts to nothing less than torture,” said Ms Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, acting director of the Middle East and North Africa.
“While those guilty of a crime should be held accountable, intentionally paralysing a man in this way would constitute torture, and be a breach of its international human rights obligations,” Ms Sahraoui said.
Full report at:
http://www.asianage.com/international/amnesty-against-saudi-tit-tat-151
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Six die in Mohmand attack
22 Aug, 2010
GHALANAI, Aug 21: Six people were killed and four others injured when an improvised explosive device went off near a check-post in Baizai area of Mohmand on Saturday.
Assistant Political Agent Maqsood Hassan Khan said the device fitted to a missile had been planted by militants, adding that volunteers of the Baizai peace committee were manning the check-post when the blast occurred.
Sobedar Mehboob Khan of Khasadar force and peace committee volunteers Bakht Miran, Mian Saib, Noor Mohammad and Rahmat Shah died in the attack. A passer-by, Fawad Khan, was also killed.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/six-die-in-mohmand-attack-280
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Nato air strikes kill 3 civilians, 3 police
22 Aug, 2010
KABUL, Aug 21: Air strikes by the Nato-led force in Afghanistan killed at least three US-backed Afghan police in the country’s north and a woman and two children in the west, officials said on Saturday.
Sensitivities about civilian casualties and “friendly fire” incidents have been running high as violence spreads across Afghanistan, reaching its worst levels since the Taliban were ousted by the US-led invasion of the country in late 2001.
With military deaths also reaching record levels, the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said four of its troops had been killed in attacks in the south, the heartland of the Taliban, on Friday and Saturday.
Civilian casualties have been a major irritant between Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government and foreign occupation forces fighting in Afghanistan, leading to a major falling-out last year.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/nato-air-strikes-kill-3-civilians,-3-police-280
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Iranian reactor use 'totally unacceptable': Israel
22 August 2010
Israel denounced Iran’s fueling up of its first nuclear power plant as “totally unacceptable” and called for more international pressure to force Tehran to cease any uranium enrichment.
Israel, widely assumed to be the only Middle East country to have nuclear weapons, has said a nuclear-armed Iran would be a threat to its existence, raising concerns Israel could attack Iran’s nuclear sites.
In a statement issued after the Islamic Republic celebrated the launch of its reactor in Bushehr, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yossi Levy said: “It is totally unacceptable that a country that so blatantly violates resolutions of the (United Nations) Security Council, decisions of the International Atomic Energy Agency and its commitments under the NPT (non-proliferation treaty) should enjoy the fruits of using nuclear energy.”
“The international community should increase pressure on to force Iran to abide by international decisions and cease its enrichment activities and its construction of reactors,” Levy said.
The United States, Israel and some other Western countries fear Iran’s nuclear is aimed at produce atomic weapons. Iran says it wants nuclear power solely for energy production.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/August/middleeast_August411.xml§ion=middleeast
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Ahmadinejad promises 'global' response if Iran is attacked
Aug 22, 2010
DOHA: Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has promised a global response if his country is attacked, in an interview with Qatari daily Al-Sharq published today.
"Our options will have no limits... They will touch the entire planet," he said in reply to a question about Tehran's reaction in the event of such an attack.
Iran's arch-foes the United States and Israel have never ruled out military strikes against Tehran to halt its nuclear programme which they and other Western powers suspect is aimed at making weapons.
Tehran denies the charge, saying its atomic programme has purely peaceful goals.
"I believe that some think about attacking Iran, especially those within the Zionist entity (Israel). But they know that Iran is an indestructible bulwark and I do not think their American masters will let them do it," Ahmadinejad said.
"They also know that the Iranian response will be hard and painful," he added.
The UN Security Council in June slapped its fourth set of sanctions on Iran over its refusal to halt its uranium enrichment work.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Ahmadinejad-promises-global-response-if-Iran-is-attacked-/articleshow/6387924.cms#ixzz0xKvrcmeE
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Yemen says five Qaeda members among 19 killed
Aug 22, 2010
ADEN — Five Al Qaeda members were killed in clashes with the army in south Yemen, the defence ministry’s news website said on Saturday, bringing to 19 the toll from the previous day’s fighting.
Three Al Qaeda militants were also wounded in Friday’s clashes between the army and gunmen in the city of Loder, southern Abyan province, said the report carried by the 26Sep.net news website.
The latest deaths add to an earlier toll of 11 soldiers and three civilians killed on Friday.
The defence ministry said it had managed to identify one of the slain Al Qaeda fighters as Adham Shibani, adding that the wounded militants were currently being interrogated.
The security forces were tracking ‘other terrorists’ who took part in Friday’s fighting, the ministry said. The militants who managed to flee were named as Ahmed Mohammed Abdu Daradish, Abdel Rauf Abdullah Mohammed Nassib and Jalal Saleh Mohammed Saidi.
The interior ministry had said on Friday that 11 soldiers were killed ‘in an ambush set up by Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/August/middleeast_August404.xml§ion=middleeast&col=
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Statement of Muslim American Imams, Community Leaders on Holocaust Denial
By Hana Khan
Aug 22, 2010
On August 7-11, eight prominent Muslim American imams and community leaders partook in a historic trip to two Holocaust camps, Dachau and Auschwitz. New Jersey Rabbi Jack Bemporad said the purpose of this trip was meant “to combat the rise in Holocaust denial that has popped up in various Muslim and non-Muslim circles around the world — and online — in recent years.” After their emotional and profound experience, these imams released the following statement:
Statement of Muslim American Imams & Community Leaders on Holocaust Denial
“O you who believe, stand up firmly for justice as witnesses to Almighty God.” (Qu’ran, 4:135)
On August 7-11, 2010, we the undersigned Muslim American faith and community leaders visited Dachau and Auschwitz concentration camps where we witnessed firsthand the historical injustice of the Holocaust.
Full report at:
http://al-talib.org/2010/08/21/statement-of-muslim-american-imams-community-leaders-on-holocaust-denial/
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No Obama is Not a Muslim, But Radical Jihadists Are
Kevin McCullough
Aug 22, 2010
For all of the public polling that made news this week, the idea that one in five people think that President Obama is an active, albeit perhaps closeted, Muslim is one of pretty far-fetched ridiculousness. However it is one of the less ridiculous viewpoints that could be forwarded in the public debate these days. And one that is ultimately distracting thoughtful Americans from the larger truth about Islam.
Simply put Muslims number close to 1 billion and nearly 2 million muslims on the planet wish to kill those who refuse to convert... like me.
No Mr. President, these are not merely people that have taken a "good world religion" and "hi-jacked it" or "perverted it." To say as much is to be even more dishonest than all the ninnies running around claiming that you have some secret wardrobe in the people's house where you choose to bow the knee to Mecca or Medina.
Rather they are 2 million faithful who seek reward for the strictest adherence to the most resolute of all beliefs.
Full report at:
http://worth-reading-blog.blogspot.com/2010/08/no-obama-is-not-muslim-but-radical.html
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Omar balm for angry Sikhs
Aug 22, 2010
J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met a delegation of Sikhs on Saturday and said the threat letters against them should not be construed as the voice of the majority in the state but the handiwork of mischievous elements.
Abdullah emphasised that he was proud of the secular credentials of the people of the valley who had always withstood such attempts to create a wedge between communities, a government spokesperson said.
“The members of the delegation said their Muslim brethren in the Valley have always showered love upon them for centuries, particularly during the last two decades of turbulence,“ the spokesperson said.
Full report at: Hindustan Times
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Chinese language, culture classes on offer in Dubai
By Rania Moussly
August 22, 2010
Dubai: The University of Dubai (UD) is the first GCC institution to host China's Confucius Institute (CI), bringing the simplified learning of Mandarin to the region and marking accelerated efforts of cultural exchange.
From September 12, CI will offer five levels of Chinese language courses to the UAE's public at UD at a cost of Dh3,150 per level. People will also get chances to learn more about China's culture through workshops and cooking classes, alternative medicine like acupuncture and martial arts like Kung-fu.
"The opening of the institute is not just about an attempt to teach the Chinese language," said Dr Mohayeedin Maxuezhong, Director of CI.
Full report at:
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/education/chinese-language-culture-classes-on-offer-in-dubai-1.671263
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Muslim, Christian children join peace project
By EDD K. USMAN
August 22, 2010
The Manila Jaycees, Inc. (MJI), in partnership with the Asia America Initiative (AAI), joined the effort to foster understanding, respect among Christian and Muslim children in an event called "Building a Culture of Peace" in Makati City.
MJI and AAI invited about 60 Christian and Muslim children aged nine to 12 to participate in the project that occurred on a Ramadan day.
Their adult facilitators also taught them about the Islam's holy month.
Muslim children came from the Islamic community surrounding the Golden Mosque in Globo de Oro Street, while their counterpart Christian boys and girls were from the Herminigildo J. Atienza (Baseco) Elementary School in Tondo, Manila.
JCI's Laurence Ching, and chairman of the group's "Building a Culture of Peace Project," said it was the first time JCI organized such an event.
Full report at:
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/273625/muslim-christian-children-join-peace-project
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Training Pastors, Rabbis, and Imams at the Same School
By Elizabeth Dias
Aug 22, 2010
When Jerry Campbell became president of California's renowned Claremont School of Theology four years ago, low enrollment and in-the-red books threatened to close the 125-year-old institution. But since Claremont is the only United Methodist seminary west of Denver, Campbell resolved to find a way to stay open.
Drawing from classic American entrepreneurial wisdom — when faced with extinction, innovate — and a commitment to engage today's multi-faith culture, this fall Claremont will commence a first on U.S. soil: a "theological university" to train future pastors, imams, and rabbis under one roof. The experiment to end isolated clerical training brings together Claremont, the Islamic Center of Southern California (ICSC) and the Academy for Jewish Religion California. The hope of officials at all three organizations is that when leaders study their own religious traditions together alongside friends of other faiths, they will develop the respect and wisdom necessary to transform America's fractured religious outlook. (See the 25 most influential evangelicals in America.)
Full report at:
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,2010951,00.html
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BNP-Jamaat linked to 2004 grenade attacks: Sheikh Hasina
Aug 22, 2010
DHAKA: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has alleged that her political rival Khaleda Zia, chief of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), and the then government had "direct links" with the grenade attacks on a 2004 party rally in which 24 people were killed and over 400 injured.
"Certain activities of the then BNP-Jamaat coalition government point to the fact that they had direct links with the attack and there is no doubt about it," Hasina told a rally Saturday held here to mark the sixth anniversary of the attacks.
"Investigation continues... those who killed so many innocent people must be tried and punished," she told the gathering.
Hasina, who was addressing a rally Aug 21, 2005, was fired upon as she was whisked away in a bullet-proof vehicle.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/BNP-Jamaat-linked-to-2004-grenade-attacks-Sheikh-Hasina/articleshow/6391106.cms#ixzz0xKvRUh4B
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Wikileaks founder says Pentagon could be behind rape claims
Aug 22, 201
STOCKHOLM: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said in an interview published Sunday that he believed the Pentagon could be behind a rape accusation against him that was later dropped by Swedish prosecutors.
The Aftonbladet newspaper quoted Assange as saying that he did not know who was "hiding behind" the claims, which came amid a stand-off with Washington over the website's publication of secret Afghan war documents.
But he said that he had been warned previously that groups such as the Pentagon "could use dirty tricks" to destroy the whistleblower site -- adding that he had been particularly warned against sexual scandals.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Wikileaks-founder-says-Pentagon-could-be-behind-rape-claims/articleshow/6392552.cms#ixzz0xKvYxOeX
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Iran starts loading fuel in first nuclear power plant
Aug 22, 2010
BUSHEHR: Iran said on Saturday it has started loading fuel into its Russian-built first nuclear power plant, in the face of stiff opposition from world powers to its controversial atomic programme.
After more than three decades of delay, engineers finally began loading the Russia-supplied fuel into the plant in the southern port of Bushehr, in the presence of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors, a statement by Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation said.
"Today is a great day and we have entered the physical launch of the Bushehr plant," Fars new agency quoted Sergei Kiriyenko, the chief of Russian atomic agency, Rosatom, as telling reporters when the fuel transfer began.
"It is an important event and we announce that Russia carried out all its commitments as to the commissioning of the Bushehr power plant ... We are pleased with the commissioning of the plant considering the 36-year wait."
Iran's atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi said it was a "memorable" day for the plant, given its history of "ups and downs."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Iran-starts-loading-fuel-in-first-nuclear-power-plant/articleshow/6386450.cms#ixzz0xKvd80Yh
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'10L supari to kill Narendra Amin?
Aug 22, 2010
VADODARA: In a fresh twist to the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, an accused in a 2006 rioting case submitted an application before a Vadodara court on Friday, stating he was offered a Rs 10 lakh supari by Sabarmati central jail authorities to kill suspended deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Narendra Amin. The DSP wants to become an approver in the fake encounter case, which is being probed by the CBI.
Shakeel Sheikh alias Teja claimed that when he turned down the offer, the jailers beat him up and broke his arm. He has told the court that he would like to be shifted to another prison as there was danger to his life in Sabarmati jail.
Amin’s plea before the court to become approver in the Sohrabuddin case was also accompanied by a request to shift him to another jail. But the court rejected his plea and gave him more security. Other accused in the case — D G Vanzara and Co — also filed a plea protesting against his becoming an approver.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/10L-supari-to-kill-Narendra-Amin/articleshow/6390542.cms#ixzz0xKvh8KAZ
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Flood-hit Pakistan battles economic ruin
Aug 22, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is courting IMF help to alleviate the threat of economic ruin as enormous floods wipe out farmland and industry, triggering UN warnings that the restive country faces years of pain.
Authorities Sunday were evacuating people from a town and flood-hit villages in the south from encroaching floodwaters, which nationwide have killed 1,500 people and affected up to 20 million, according to official tallies.
Pakistan's weak civilian government has faced an outpouring of public fury over sluggish relief efforts, while officials warn the country faces economic losses of up to 43 billion dollars.
The International Monetary Fund said it would meet Pakistani officials in Washington this week to discuss the impact of floods that have devastated the country's southern agricultural breadbasket and its textiles industry.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Flood-hit-Pakistan-battles-economic-ruin/articleshow/6391345.cms#ixzz0xKvomkoT
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Iran starts nuclear reactor, says intent peaceful
22 August 2010
BUSHEHR, Iran – Trucks rumbled into Iran’s first reactor Saturday to begin loading tons of uranium fuel in a long-delayed startup touted by officials as both a symbol of the country’s peaceful intentions to produce nuclear energy as well as a triumph over Western pressure to rein in its nuclear ambitions.
The Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power plant will be internationally supervised, including a pledge by Russia to safeguard it against materials being diverted for any possible use in creating nuclear weapons. Iran’s agreement to allow the oversight was a rare compromise by the Islamic state over its atomic program.
Western powers have cautiously accepted the deal as a way to keep spent nuclear fuel from crossing over to any military use. They say it illustrates their primary struggle: to block Iran’s drive to create material that could be used for nuclear weapons and not its pursuit of peaceful nuclear power.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/August/international_August1142.xml§ion=international
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Peace ‘difficult but possible’: Israeli PM
22 August 2010
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says new talks with the Palestinians will lead to a peace deal only if Israel’s vital interests are protected.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments Sunday were his first since U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the resumption of direct peace talks on Friday.
Netanyahu says Israel’s security must be guaranteed and that the Palestinians must recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people.
He also says any agreement must mark the end of the conflict. He says an agreement will be “difficult but possible.”
The U.S. announcement came after months of diplomatic efforts. The Palestinians have been wary of talking to Netanyahu’s hard-line government.
The last round of peace talks ended in late 2008.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/August/middleeast_August419.xml§ion=middleeast
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Mastermind of Hassan killing sprung from jail
22 August 2010
BAGHDAD— The convicted mastermind of the killing of British aid worker Margaret Hassan was sprung from prison, Iraq’s deputy justice minister admitted Sunday, the first time his escape has been confirmed.
Judicial officials had for more than a month said Ali Lutfi Jassar al-Rawi, sentenced to life last year for Hassan’s murder, was “missing” and that his re-trial had consequently been postponed.
But after another aborted court hearing on Sunday, Iraq’s Deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim told AFP that Rawi was officially on the run.
“This guy, he escaped from prison,” the minister said. “People facilitated his escape, he is gone.”
Ibrahim added that suspects who aided Rawi’s escape “were arrested and are going to court,” but he did not detail how many conspirators had been detained, or when Rawi had escaped.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/August/middleeast_August424.xml§ion=middleeast
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Israel’s Barak names new army chief
22 August 2010
JERUSALEM - Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak named a new head of the Jewish state’s military on Sunday, officials said, to try to end a scandal over the appointment that had caused turmoil in the military.
Major-General Yoav Galant, 51, is set to succeed army chief Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi early next year. His official appointment will be brought for approval by the Israeli cabinet next week.
The promotion saga, which has dominated Israeli media, centred on allegations that Galant hired a publicist to smear his rivals in his battle to replace Ashkenazi.
Galant denied the accusation. Police said on Thursday that a leaked document at the heart of the affair was a forgery and cleared the top brass of any wrongdoing.
“Due to the current situation the appointment should be announced quickly in order to restore stability to the Israeli army,” an official quoted Barak as telling Sunday’s cabinet meeting.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/August/middleeast_August418.xml§ion=middleeast
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UAE Embassy in Australia organizes Iftar
22 August 2010
QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA - UAE Embassy in Australia on behalf of the UAE Red Crescent Authority and in collaboration with Islamic Women’s Association of Queensland (IWAQ) organized Iftar Banquet in the city of Brisbane, the capital of Queensland.
The banquet was attended by large number of officials in government, semi government and heads and representatives of charitable and humanitarian associations and institutions members of the Muslim community.
It was also attended by Hamad Hareb Al Habsi, charge d’affaires of the UAE Embassy in Australia, Fatima Abdel-karim, President of IWAQ and Galila Abdelsalam, Director of IWAQ .
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2010/August/theuae_August612.xml§ion=theuae&col=
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‘Faith in Allah is the best?way to seek happiness’ Ahmed Shaaban
22 August 2010
DUBAI — Real happiness stems from a good relation between man and the creator based on faithful repentance and observance of God’s teachings.
This was affirmed at a lecture delivered as part of the cultural programme of the 9th Ramadan Forum at Al Twar area opposite Dubai Airport-terminal-2.
At his lecture, ‘Story of Happiness’, popular Saudi scholar Dr Sheikh Anas bin Misfir said Ramadan is a month of happiness. “It is not a matter of 30 days of good deeds. It is rather of a constant relation between heaven and earth.”
Happiness is not an impossible or utopian dream. “It is attainable to Muslims who feel satisfied when doing good deeds and get perturbed with sins,” he said. Further in his lecture, Dr Anas said that happiness is the most sought after thing for all mankind. “People have tried many worldly ways to gain this precious gift, but failed. Having deep faith in Allah is the fastest and shortest highway to attain that dear wish.”
Urging people to let alone sins, Dr Anas said a sin-free day is a happy day. “How dare people do all those sins day and night while Adam was expelled from Paradise for disobeying God just once?,” he wondered.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2010/August/theuae_August596.xml§ion=theuae&col=
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Army of diplomats takes the lead in fractious Iraq
22 August 2010
WASHINGTON - As the White House eagerly highlights the departure of U.S. combat troops from Iraq, the small army of American diplomats left behind is embarking on a long and perilous path to keeping the volatile country from slipping back to the brink of civil war.
Among the challenges are helping Iraq’s deeply divided politicians form a new government; refereeing long-simmering Arab-Kurd territorial disputes; advising on attracting foreign investment; pushing for improved government services; and fleshing out a blueprint for future U.S.-Iraqi relations.
President Barack Obama also is banking on the diplomats — about 300, protected by as many as 7,000 private security contractors — to assume the duties of the U.S. military. That includes protecting U.S. personnel from attack and managing the training of Iraqi police, starting in October 2011.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/August/middleeast_August413.xml§ion=middleeast&col=
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Int’l aid for Pakistan floods over $800M
22 August 2010
THATTA, Pakistan — The world has given or pledged more than $800 million to help Pakistan cope with massive floods, the foreign minister said Sunday, as a surging river in the south led authorities to urge thousands more people to evacuate.
Pakistan is grateful for the international assistance, which came after the United Nations appealed for $460 million in aid for the deluged country, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said.
“The total commitments and pledges that Pakistan has got so far are $815.58 million,” he told reporters in Islamabad. “In these circumstances, when the West and Europe and America are going through a recession ... this kind of solidarity for Pakistan, I think, is very encouraging.”
The floods began in late July in the northwest after exceptionally heavy monsoon rains, expanding rivers that have since swamped eastern Punjab province and Sindh province in the south. The deluge has affected about one-fifth of Pakistan’s territory, straining the civilian government as it also struggles against al-Qaida and Taliban violence.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/August/international_August1170.xml§ion=international&col=
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Six hurt in fresh Indian Kashmir clashes
22 August 2010
SRINAGAR, India - Six people were hurt Sunday when police fired pump action shotguns at stone-throwing protesters in Kashmir, where more than 60 people have died during anti-India protests.
Police said the incident took place in Srinigar, the main town in Indian Kashmir, when police were conducting a flag march.
“Some miscreants pelted stones heavily on the police. The police used (teargas) and pump action ammunition to chase them away,” a police statement said, adding that six people were hurt. Doctors said one was in a critical condition.
Witnesses said the police used force on worshippers who were coming out of a mosque and that there was no stone pelting.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/August/international_August1160.xml§ion=international&col=
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Afghan orders dissolution of security firms to begin
Aug 22, 2010
KABUL — Afghan President Hamid Karzai Saturday ordered the process of disbanding all private security companies to begin in the country, his office said.
The president has ordered that all private security contractors operating in Afghanistan should be disbanded by the end of the year, potentially causing a crisis for the many organisations that rely on them.
‘The president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on Saturday tasked the ministry of internal affairs to formally begin the dissolution process of private security companies,’ a statement from the presidential palace said.
Over the next seven days, the interior ministry and the national directorate of security, the intelligence agency, will prepare a list of all registered private security companies, along with details of staffing, location and specialisation, it said.
This information will be presented to a similar high-level meeting next week, it said, adding that all companies would be treated equally with unregistered firms taking priority in the disbanding process.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/August/international_August1140.xml§ion=international&col=
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NY mosque issue gains momentum
Aug 22, 2010
NEW YORK, Aug 20: The controversy about the proposed Islamic Centre near the World Trade Centre is gaining momentum with the Archbishop of New York diving in offering his good offices to resolve the issue.
Catholic Archbishop Timothy Dolan said he would be happy to mediate the debate in a thoughtful, civil and respectful way.
He also praised New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who supports the mosque.
“I think he has articulated in a particularly eloquent way the principles of religious freedom and the hospitality upon which this great country and this wonderful community are based,” Mr Dolan said.
He said he also understood there were thoughtful people on the other side of the debate.
Opponents of the mosque said building the centre two blocks from ground zero was disrespectful to Sept 11 families.
The archbishop said that it was his “major prayer” that a compromise could be reached, and that while he had no strong feelings about the project, he might support finding a new location for the centre.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/ny-mosque-issue-gains-momentum-180
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Flood submerges new towns in Pakistan
Aug 22, 2010
SUKKUR, Pakistan: About 150,000 Pakistanis were forced to move to higher ground as floodwaters from a freshly swollen Indus River submerged dozens more towns and villages in the south, a government spokesman said Saturday.
Officials expect the floodwaters will recede nationwide in the next few days as the last river torrents empty into the Arabian Sea. Survivors may find little left when they return home, however: The waters have washed away houses, roads, bridges and crops vital to livelihoods.
Already, 600,000 people are in relief camps set up in Sindh province during the flooding over the past month.
As the latest surge approached, «We evacuated more than 150,000 people from interior parts of Sindh in the past 24 hours,» said Jamil Soomro, a spokesman for the provincial government. The floods submerged new areas in Thatta district.
At a relief camp in the Sukkur area, some victims said it was difficult to get food dropped off by relief trucks.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article108924.ece
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Makkah visa for businessmen a non-starter: Kamel
Aug 22, 2010
JEDDAH: The proposed Makkah visa, which would have allowed entry for businessmen from the 57-member countries of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), is long dead, Sheikh Saleh Kamel, Saudi businessman and chairman of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry told Arab News in a statement Saturday.
He was participating in the first annual conference of the Business Owners Union of the OIC being held at the Jeddah Hilton Hotel.
"The initiative to facilitate the movement of Muslim businessmen among all Muslim countries died in its cradle because of government red tape, the differences in procedures and regulations and the reluctance of a number of countries to approve the Makkah Visa," Kamel said.
He said he was a big supporter of the Makkah Visa project which was welcomed by some countries and rejected by others.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article109228.ece
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Army of diplomats takes the lead in fractious Iraq
Aug 22, 2010
WASHINGTON: As the White House eagerly highlights the departure of US combat troops from Iraq, the small army of American diplomats left behind is embarking on a long and perilous path to keeping the volatile country from slipping back to the brink of civil war.
Among the challenges are helping Iraq's deeply divided politicians form a new government; refereeing long-simmering Arab-Kurd territorial disputes; advising on attracting foreign investment; pushing for improved government services; and fleshing out a blueprint for future US-Iraqi relations.
President Barack Obama also is banking on the diplomats — about 300, protected by as many as 7,000 private security contractors — to assume the duties of the US military.
That includes protecting US personnel from attack and managing the training of Iraqi police, starting in October 2011.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article108848.ece
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Bahrain arrests 12 for arson
Aug 22, 2010
DUBAI: Bahraini authorities detained 12 people on sabotage and arson charges, a security officer was quoted Saturday as saying, after crowds burned tires and hurled petrol bombs to protest the arrest of Shiite activists.
The protests, which took place Friday, were triggered by the arrest of a total of eight activists and preachers during the week ahead of parliamentary elections in the island kingdom.
"They set tires, garbage skips, empty water tanks and private property on fire, in addition to hurling firebombs on roads," Bahrain's Gulf Daily News quoted an unidentified security officer as saying.
The newspaper said protesters damaged an electricity substation, causing power outages for several hours.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article109147.ece
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Lessons not learnt from Kargil war
By Manoj Joshi
Aug 22, 2010
Avolume by the US Naval Post- Graduate School provides perhaps the best analysis of the 1999 war
MORE THAN a decade has passed since the Kargil war. For an entire generation of Indians, it was the war that defined their Indianness. The fact that Pakistan was the clear aggressor made it so much simpler for people here to see it in black and white terms of the good, patriotic Indians versus the deceitful Pakistanis.
It was also India’s first TV war and news channels beamed every facet of it — the heartbreak of loss, the struggle and the victories — straight to the living room.
Unlike, say, the 1965 war, several books have been written on the event, one even by the then Chief of Army Staff, General V. P. Malik. More important, it was subject to a high- level inquiry which had access to classified documents and produced a volume, From Surprise to Reckoning: The Kargil Review Committee Report.
The picture on the Pakistani side was somewhat opaque. The then prime minister denied that he knew anything about the operation.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Debate on Ground Zero mosque to sow more seeds of discord: OIC
Aug 22, 2010
Distressed at the ongoing debate on the construction of the Ground Zero Mosque in lower Manhattan, the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) has warned both the opponents and proponents of the religious structures that their clashes would sow more seeds of discord.
“Given the direction that it seems to be moving toward, the ongoing debate is not going to be helpful either for the proponents or opponents of the idea. The only thing that it is set out to accomplish is sowing more seeds of discord among them,” OIC Secretary-General Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said in a statement issued here.
“Not only it is yet another absolutely unnecessary source of conflict that depletes the great potential of cooperation to counter our common problems such as religious extremism, racism, and xenophobia; but also very unfortunately it carries a potential to harm the great progress made in the field of interfaith and intercultural dialogue,” he said.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/277752/Debate-on-Ground-Zero-mosque-to-sow-more-seeds-of-discord-OIC.html
11:24 PM
Sultan Shahin
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