Wave of deadly bombings in Iraq
Angelina's donation for floods surpasses Zardari's helpRIYADH: 23 nails in body of tortured maid
Dalma first Saudi woman to win an Olympic medal
Leap of faith gives Chinese expats spiritual satisfaction
Troops kill 40 militants east of Afghan capital
20 Killed In Pak Suicide Bomb Attack
Hafiz Saeed calls for jihad to 'free Kashmir'
New phenomenon of 'saffron terrorism' in India: Chidambaram
US freezes assets of Osama's son-in-law
Bloomberg on Mosque: ‘A Test of Our Commitment to American Values’
40 civilians killed in Somalia fighting
Indian held at US airport with jihadi books
Obama’s Afghan pullout date disturbs US troops
Afghan withdrawal date bolsters enemy: US general
Al Qaeda shifting to Pakistan’s urban areas
India says it is popular in Afghanistan
Ishrat case: court seeks clarifications from SIT
Headley chase: Probe into Rana visit intensifies
‘US Has More Muslim Blood On Its Hands’
Don’t Send Flood Relief Aid Via Islamabad: Baloch Minister
New survey probes what Americans think, or know, about Islam
SGPC offers aid to Pak flood-hit Sikhs & Hindus
Al-Qaida in Yemen more dangerous than those in Pak: CIA
Number of anthrax patients rises to 136
Floods will have ‘lasting impact’ on Pakistan’s economy: IMF
Afghan Taliban say Petraeus’s progress ‘baffling’
One-third of Saudis to have holidays abroad
New pilgrims city planned north of Mina
Israel to make Arabic compulsory in its northern schools
King reiterates support for Pakistan
American Al-Qaeda suspect to go on trial in Yemen
World pledges 700 million dollars for Pakistan
Yemen opens talks with Shia rebels on peace deal
Al-Qaida group says hostage demands were met
Saudi Authorities Release Top Shia Cleric
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: Angelina Jolie
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Wave of deadly bombings in Iraq
25 August 2010
More than 30 people have been killed and dozens injured in a series of bomb attacks across Iraq.
There have been several blasts in Baghdad, including one in which 15 people died. At least 15 were killed in a suicide attack in Kut in the south.
One person was killed by a car bomb in Kirkuk, and there were explosions in Basra, Ramadi and Karbala.
The violence comes ahead of the withdrawal of US combat troops at end of the month.
In Baghdad, a suicide car bomb hit a police station in the north-east of the city, killing 15 people, with 58 injured, most of them police, while a parked car bomb in the centre of the city near the Muthana Airport Highway killed two people and injured seven.
There were three other explosions, in Haifa Street, in Karrada, and in Ahmeriya, injuring 11 people.
In other incidents:
in Kut, south of Baghdad, a suicide car bomber attacked a police station, killing at least 15 people and injured 84
in Kirkuk, a car bomb killed one person and injured eight
in Basra, a car exploded as police towed it from a parking lot, killing one person and injuring eight
in Ramadi, a car exploded as alleged bombers were working on it, while a second car exploded about 1km away, injuring 12 people
in Karbala, a suicide car bomb exploded at police checkpoint at the entrance to police station, injuring 30 people.
No groups have yet claimed they planned the attacks, although the BBC's Hugh Sykes in Baghdad says the attacks are likely to be linked to a branch of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Violence in Iraq is down from the peak seen during the sectarian conflict in 2006-2007, although the number of civilian deaths rose sharply in July.
Almost daily attacks on Iraqi forces and traffic police in Baghdad and Anbar province, west of the capital, killed more than 85 people in the first three weeks of August.
On Tuesday, the US military said the number of US troops in Iraq had fallen to 49,700, ahead of a 31 August deadline for US combat operations to end.
The remaining US troops will continue in Iraq until the end of 2011 to advise Iraqi forces and protect US interests.
They will be armed, but will only use their weapons in self-defence or at the request of the Iraqi government, and will work on training Iraqi troops and helping with counter-terrorism operations, the US military said.
Iraq's top army officer recently questioned the timing of the pull-out, saying the country's military might not be ready to take control for another decade.
Meanwhile, Iraqi politics has remained deadlocked five months after national elections, with no new government yet in place.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11081603
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Angelina's donation for floods surpasses Zardari's help
25 August 2010
ISLAMABAD: Hollywood star Angelina Jolie has contributed $100,000 (about Pakistani Rs.8.5 million) for flood ravaged Pakistan, a move that surpasses President Asif Ali Zardari's Rs.5 million donation and the help extended by most other politicians.
Some leaders have refused to disclose their contribution to the relief effort and claimed that their donation had gone directly to their party's fund.
Dawn reported Wednesday that Jolie has contributed $100,000 while Zardari and Altaf Hussain, chief of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, claimed to have donated Rs.5 million each.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and top leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, Awami National Party and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F have not made donations in cash; instead, they donated in kind.
"The prime minister has already said that he does not believe in cash contribution and thus he did not deposit money in the fund, but his son in Multan dispatched many trucks of goods on behalf of the family," Dawn quoted the prime minister's press secretary Shabir Anwar as saying.
The floods started July 28 with heavy monsoon rains and went on to submerge thousands of villages, wash away hundreds of kilometres of roads, dozens of bridges and over 1.7 million acres of crops.
The country's worst natural disaster has killed over 1,600 people and affected about 20 million nationwide, with the threat of disease ever-present in the camps sheltering survivors.
Presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said: "During his recent visit to the UK, President Zardari announced Rs.2.5 million in donation and after his return he contributed another Rs.2.5 million to the prime minister's flood relief fund."
He added that Zardari's children - Bilawal Zardari-Bhutto, Bakhtawar Zardari and Asifa Zardari - had set up a fund in Britain to collect donation from overseas Pakistanis and others.
Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and their family have reportedly handed over goods worth Rs.25 million. But there was no contribution in cash.
"Sharif family has sent relief goods amounting to Rs.25 million to flood-hit areas," said PML-N spokesperson Siddiqul Farooq.
He criticised President Zardari for contributing just Rs.5 million.
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan of the PML-N, has told his party members to donate to the Punjab chief minister's relief fund instead of the prime minister's fund.
Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan's monetary help stood at Rs.500,000.
"Khan donated Rs.500,000 from his own pocket. He and the party are actively participating in fund-raising campaigns," PTI's spokesperson Tahir Jamil said, and added that Khan would take 300 trucks carrying relief goods to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sunday.
The contribution of PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and his family was Rs.25 million in kind.
"Relief goods have been dispatched to Multan, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur and other parts of Punjab," said Mustafa Malik, PML-Q's deputy information secretary.
Times of India
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23 nails in body of tortured maid
25 August 2010
RIYADH: Doctors in Sri Lanka have found 23 nails in the body of a tortured housemaid who returned to Colombo from Riyadh, Sri Lankan Embassy sources told Arab News on Tuesday.
“We have received this complaint from the Foreign Ministry in Colombo, who said the maid has been allegedly tortured by her sponsor,” a senior diplomat from the Sri Lankan mission in Riyadh told Arab News. “We are looking for the sponsor. We were able to track down the Saudi recruitment agent in Riyadh and we will summon the sponsor to discuss this issue,” the official said.
Doctors at the Kamburipitya Base Hospital in the Matara district, 140 km from Colombo, said the nails had been hammered into the maid’s body. Dr. Kamal Weeratunge, who was treating the maid, claimed the nails had been heated up before they punctured her skin.
On Sri Lankan television channel Newsfirst Sirasa, the maid showed the marks where the nails had gone through. The maid, identified as 50-year-old Ariyawathie, said that there were too many people to serve in the house where she worked.
“I had to work continuously since I had to do the chores of all the occupants and when I wanted to take rest due to tiredness, they inserted the nail in my body as a punishment,” she said.
“I had to work from dawn to dusk. I hardly slept. They beat me and threatened to kill me and hide my body.” She added that she arranged her travel documents to return home on her own expense. “They were really devils with no mercy at all,” she said.
According to records at the Sri Lankan Embassy, the maid came to the Kingdom on March 25. The diplomat said that the sponsor had bypassed the mission and made his own arrangements to send the woman home. “We can only deal with cases that come up before the mission,” he said. However, he added that the mission would take action following the complaint submitted to the embassy from Colombo.
The maid had come to Saudi Arabia after being registered at the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE).
SLBFE chairman Kingsley Ranawake said that a formal inquiry would be held with the concerned maid and appropriate action taken.
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article112477.ece
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Dalma first Saudi woman to win an Olympic medal
25 August 2010
LONDON/SINGAPORE: Equestrienne Dalma Rushdi Malhas did Saudi Arabia proud after she won the bronze medal on her horse Flash Top Hat on Tuesday at the first Youth Olympic Games in Singapore.
Eighteen-year-old Malhas overcame four penalty points in the first round of the three-day event to qualify for the jump-off session, where she delighted the crowd to claim the bronze medal in the individual show jumping event in equestrian.
According to the International Equestrian Federation, Malhas showed considerable improvement over the last week of riding and on Tuesday brought crowds to their feet after riding a faultless clear, with tight corners and a good burst of speed.
Malhas, who had no penalties in the second round, clocked 38.05 seconds during the jump-off at the Singapore Turf Club Riding Centre. Marcelo Chirico of Uruguay won the gold medal with his mount Links Hot Gossip and Colombian rider Mario Gamboa took the silver riding LH Tan.
In winning the bronze medal, Malhas was not only the first Saudi woman athlete to compete in the inaugural Games for the world's youth aged between 14 and 18, but also gave the Kingdom its second medal in an Olympic competition after Khalid Al-Eid in the 2000 Sydney Games, where he won the bronze in equestrian.
"What a day, it was a real high. I still can't believe I have this medal. It hasn't sunk in yet," Malhas was quoted as saying by States News Service.
The nine-member Saudi delegation to the Singapore Games includes seven track and field athletes, one swimmer and Malhas.
True to Saudi tradition, Malhas was accompanied to Singapore by her grandfather, Hamed Mutabagani, as her male guardian and she wore hijab outside the equestrian arena.
"I was really impressed, I've always had faith in her that she would become an Olympian medalist and I saw that when she entered the second qualifying round B and competed against five other equestrians to win the bronze," said Malhas' mother Arwa Mutabagani in an interview from Singapore.
"She entered in cold blood and was focused until she surpassed them and ended the race with no penalties at all, and faster than them all making it hard for anyone to compete with her. It wasn't luck, it was hard work,"
Mutabagani also said her daughter has had a bad experience with the horse she was assigned to compete with, but echoing the sentiments of many experts she said: "Dalma did a great job training with the horse in such a short period of time."
"She knows what she is doing. Since her graduation from high school, she has been training for a year and a half. Her medal shows it was not just a hobby, she took it seriously and with dedication and perseverance it paid off very well. Thank God!" added Mutabagani.
On Malhas' future plans, Mutabagani said: "We don't know yet how things will go. We prefer to take everything one step at a time. Now Dalma will start her bachelors in management and Oriental studies in London and who knows what happens from there."
Mutabagani is a member of the Saudi Equestrian Federation and distinguished herself as the first Saudi woman member of the national team in an international equestrian competition in Hong Kong.
Though this is the first time a Saudi woman athlete officially represented the Kingdom at an international competition, several women riders had been competing overseas since 2004 under the sponsorship of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company.
Leading women riders who have carried the colors of Kingdom Holding Company include Alia Al-Huwaete, Nourah Al-Yousif, and Latifah Al-Shaikh, who all competed in several show jumping and endurance competitions in the Gulf.
http://arabnews.com/sports/article112497.ece
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Leap of faith gives Chinese expats spiritual satisfaction
25 August 2010
MAKKAH: Chinese laborers working on the Haramain Rail project have spoken of their joy after embracing Islam.
There are 4,600 Chinese nationals working on the scheme, which when completed will link the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah via Jeddah and Rabigh. Among them, 370 are already born Muslims.
Last year, over 600 of them embraced Islam, causing controversy with a section of the international media slamming it as a public relations stunt.
At the time, there were calls from sections of Saudi society to replace the non-Muslim workers, who represent the majority Han community in China, with minority Muslims.
Hamza, 42, said he embraced Islam after he saw the Holy Kaaba for the first time on Saudi television.
“It had an electrifying effect on me. I watched the live transmission of prayers at the Grand Mosque and the circumambulation of the faithful around the holiest shrine in Islam,” he said.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article112478.ece
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Troops kill 40 militants east of Afghan capital
25 August 2010
KABUL: Afghan and international forces have killed about 40 Taleban fighters east of the Afghan capital Kabul as part of operations to provide security ahead of parliamentary elections next month, NATO said Tuesday.
One coalition soldier was also killed in fighting in the volatile south where the insurgency is most heavily entrenched, the coalition reported. The soldier's nationality was not identified.
A total of 48 foreign troops have been killed in Afghanistan this month, including 30 Americans, according to a count by The Associated Press.
Fighting in Kabul province began Friday, involving Afghan, US and French troops and both air and ground assaults, the coalition said. Eight Taleban leaders were captured and a large quantity of explosives and other weapons destroyed, it said.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article111934.ece
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20 Killed In Pak Suicide Bomb Attack
Aug 25th, 2010
Peshawar, Aug. 24: A suicide bomber blew himself up at a Pakistani mosque late on Monday, killing at least 20 people including a prominent local cleric in the lawless district of South Waziristan, officials said.
The apparent target of the mosque blast was cleric Noor Mohammed, a member of radical Sunni Muslim party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, which has been linked to the Taliban, and a former lawmaker.
The mosque was badly damaged in the blast and locals afterwards scrambled to recover people from the rubble.
“The death toll in the suicide attack has risen to 20, with more than 40 people wounded,” one of the officials said.
http://www.asianage.com/international/20-killed-pak-suicide-bomb-attack-638
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Hafiz Saeed calls for jihad to 'free Kashmir'
25 August 2010
Continuing his anti-India rant, the chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawah Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, has now said that jihad is the only way to free Jammu and Kashmir from the "Indian yoke".
Saeed, who India blames for masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks, made the remarks while addressing a meeting of JuD workers at the Jamia Masjid Mukarram at Daska in Punjab province yesterday.
He said that the sacrifices of "Kashmiri martyrs would soon become fruitful and the sun of freedom of Kashmir will rise soon".
Increasing human rights violations, custodial killings and "genocide of innocent Kashmiris" by Indian security forces, he said, were "enough to shake the conscience of the international community".
Full report at:
http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_hafiz-saeed-calls-for-jihad-to-free-kashmir_1428112-all
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New phenomenon of 'saffron terrorism' in India: Chidambaram
25 August 2010
NEW DELHI: Warning that there has been no let up in attempts to radicalise the youth, home minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said a new phenomenon of "saffron terrorism" involved in many bomb blasts has been uncovered.
Inaugurating a conference of chiefs of police forces of the country, Chidambaram also expressed concern over the situation in Kashmir Valley and hoped that in the next few days, a "starting point" would be found to reach out to the protestors and restart the process of a dialogue.
"There is no let up in the attempts to radicalise young men and women in India. Besides, there is recently uncovered phenomenon of saffron terrorism that has been implicated in many bomb blasts of the past," he said.
Times of India
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US freezes assets of Osama's son-in-law
Aug 25, 2010
WASHINGTON: In a continuing campaign to target al-Qaida's sources of funds, the United States has frozen the assets of Muhammad Abdallah Hasan Abu-al-Khayr, a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden.
The assets of al-Khayr, who is considered a possible replacement for the terror group's chief financial officer, would be frozen in US jurisdictions under new sanctions imposed by the Treasury Department Tuesday. Mustafa al-Yazid, the former No. 3 al-Qaida leader and financier, was killed in a drone strike in Pakistan earlier this year.
The Treasury's designation also prohibits Americans from engaging in any transactions with him. The UN took a similar action, which extends the sanctions against him to all member nations.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-freezes-assets-of-Osamas-son-in-law/articleshow/6430362.cms#ixzz0xaz3D96u
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Bloomberg on Mosque: ‘A Test of Our Commitment to American Values’
25 August 2010
In a speech at a Ramadan Iftar dinner at Grace Mansion Tuesday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg offered an extended defense of the proposed Islamic community center and mosque near the World Trade Center site. Those who say the center should not be built “would compromise our commitment to fighting terror with freedom,” the mayor said. “There is nowhere in the five boroughs that is off limits to any religion.”
Below, the full transcript of Bloomberg’s prepared remarks.
Good evening, and Ramadan Kareem. I want to welcome everyone to our annual Ramadan Iftar at Gracie Mansion.
We call this ‘The People’s House,’ because it belongs to all 8.4 million New Yorkers who call this city home. People of every race and religion, every background and belief. We celebrate that diversity here in this house with gatherings like this.
Full report at:
http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2010/08/24/bloomberg-on-mosque-a-test-of-our-commitment-to-american-values/
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40 civilians killed in Somalia fighting
25 August 2010
At least 40 civilians were killed and 106 injured in fighting between insurgents and government troops in the Somali capital of Mogadishu since Monday, media reports said on Tuesday. "The toll increased to 40 civilians and 106 others injured since Monday," Xinhua said, citing an Al Jazeera TV
report.
"The fierce conflict between Somali rebels and government forces continues until now," the report said.
The fighting broke out on Monday afternoon and continued overnight after fighters from the Al Qaeda-linked Shebab group launched an offensive against army barracks in several districts of the capital.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/africa/40-civilians-killed-in-Somalia-fighting/Article1-591062.aspx
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Indian held at US airport with jihadi books
25 August 2010
AN INDIAN documentary filmmaker has been arrested at the Houston airport for allegedly carrying suspicious Islamic jihad literature, brass knuckles and $ 10,000 ( approximately ` 47million) in cash.
40- year- old Vijay Kumar was arrested at George Bush Intercontinental airport on Friday after acting suspicious, when screeners thought they saw a possible handgun in a scan of his baggage.
Investigators found the brass knuckles, a manual for a handgun and Islamic literature in Kumar’s checked luggage.
State district judge David Mendoza on Monday lowered Kumar’s bail from $ 50,000 ( approximately ` 234 million) to $ 5,000 ( approximately ` 23 million) after learning the details of the case and that prosecutors were willing to let him plead to time served for unlawfully carrying a weapon in an airport.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Obama’s Afghan pullout date disturbs US troops
25 August 2010
WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama’s July 2011 date to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan has given a morale boost to Taliban insurgents, who believe they can wait out NATO forces, the top U.S. Marine said Tuesday. But General James Conway, who is retiring this fall as commandant of the Marine Corps, said he believed Marines would not be in a position to withdraw from the fight in southern Afghanistan for years.
Conway’s unusually blunt assessment is likely to fan criticism by opposition Republicans of Obama’s war strategy as public opinion of the nine-year-old war sours further. “In some ways, we think right now it is probably giving our enemy sustenance,” Conway said of the July 2011 deadline.
Full report at:
http://dailymailnews.com/0810/25/FrontPage/index.php?id=5
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Afghan withdrawal date bolsters enemy: US general
25 August 2010
WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama’s July 2011 date to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan has given morale boost to Taliban insurgents, who believe they can wait out NATO forces, the top US Marine said on Tuesday.
But General James Conway, who is retiring this fall as commandant of the Marine Corps, said he believed Marines would not be in a position to withdraw from the fight in southern Afghanistan for years. “In some ways, we think right now it is probably giving our enemy sustenance,” he said of the deadline.
“We can either lose fast or win slow,” Conway, quoting one of his own commanders, told reporters at the Pentagon. The timetable for withdrawal is certain to come under close scrutiny in a White House strategy review, which Obama called for last December when he announced the deadline and additional forces.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\25\story_25-8-2010_pg7_7
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Al Qaeda shifting to Pakistan’s urban areas
By Ali K Chishti
25 August 2010
Al Qaeda is gradually shifting its base from the unsafe and spy-infested tribal belt of Pakistan – which is under the radars of virtually all intelligence agencies – to more secure, urban areas of the country, which according to a Western diplomat, are “immune to drones”, Daily Times has learned.
The drones had been so central to the current administration’s strategy that Obama has doubled the frequency of drone attacks in Pakistan, inflicting maximum damage to al Qaeda in the last two years.
Al Qaeda, who recently lost its No 3 Mustafa Abu al-Yazid to drones, got so heated by the “predators” that it had to sacrifice its prime asset – working as a double agent for both the Jordanian intelligence agency and the CIA – by hitting back at a CIA base in Afghanistan in December 30, 2009, killing seven officers and contractors, who were operating at the heart of the covert programme overseeing US drone strikes in Pakistan. A senior Pakistani intelligence official said, “Some 60 to 70 percent of the core al Qaeda leadership has been eliminated, dealing a serious blow to the network’s capacity to launch any major attacks on the West.”
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\25\story_25-8-2010_pg7_20
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India says it is popular in Afghanistan
By Jawed Naqvi
25 August 2010
NEW DELHI, Aug 24: Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmay Rassuol began his first official visit to India on Tuesday as New Delhi claimed popular support for its presence in Kabul.
An Indian foreign ministry spokesman said Mr Rassoul would meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and top officials including national security adviser.
He said Afghanistan’s parliamentary polls, due on Sept 18, were among the issues to be covered. India recently discussed Afghanistan’s emerging scenario against the backdrop of US pullout plans with a senior envoy from Tehran.
Mr Rassoul’s visit coincided with an announcement in Tehran that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad would visit Islamabad.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/india-says-it-is-popular-in-afghanistan-580
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Ishrat case: court seeks clarifications from SIT
Manas Dasgupta
25 August 2010
AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat High Court has sought clarifications from the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) whether it was inclined to take up the investigation into the Ishrat Jahan alleged fake encounter case.
The SIT is headed by the former CBI Director, R. K. Raghavan
A Division Bench of the High Court, comprising Justices Jayant Patel and Abhilasha Kumari, allowed State Advocate-General Kamal Trivedi to verify from the SIT whether it was prepared to accept the responsibility given to it by the same Bench last week.
“Bring on record”
The Advocate- General was asked to “bring on record” the SIT's opinion on the matter by August 31, when the next hearing on the review petition, filed by Gopinath Pillai, father of Pranesh Pillai alias Javed Sheikh, and Shamima Kausar, mother of Ishrat, has been fixed.
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/25/stories/2010082562151000.htm
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Headley chase: Probe into Rana visit intensifies
VR Jayaraj
25 August 2010
The NIA and other agencies have intensified their investigations into the visit of Tahawwur Hussein Rana to Kochi in November, 2008 in the context of the finding that most of the accomplices of David Coleman Headley were people from Kerala and Maharashtra.
Intelligence sources said they and the NIA had at no point of time dropped the probe but the Kerala-specific probe would now be intensified in the light of the new revelations. The NIA had requested a Delhi court’s permission to subject some Indian accomplices of Headley, from Kerala and Mumbai, to polygraph test.
Though the NIA had submitted the list of names of Headley’s accomplices to the court in a sealed envelope, sources said the names of LeT’s South India commander Thadiyantavide Nazeer, prime accused in several terror cases, including the Bangalore bombings, and Muhammad Sabir from Kannur, could be on the list. When the Rana visit came to light in November last, the NIA had identified some of the persons whom the LeT operative could have contacted in Kochi. Rana had stayed at Hotel Taj Residency (now Gateway Hotel) at Marine Drive, Kochi on November 16 and 17, 2008, just ten days before the 26/11 Mumbai terror strike, along with his wife Samraz Aktar Rana.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/278379/Headley-chase-Probe-into-Rana-visit-intensifies.html
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US Has More Muslim Blood On Its Hands’
Aug 25th, 2010
New York, Aug. 24: The proposed mosque near Ground Zero has got embroiled into a fresh controversy with the appearance of an interview of the imam spearheading the project in which he said the “US has more Muslim blood on its hands than Al Qaeda has on its hands of innocent non-Muslims.”
“We tend to forget, in the West, that the United States has more Muslim blood on its hands than Al Qaeda has on its hands of innocent non-Muslims,” Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf said in a question-and-answer session at Australia’s Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre in 2005.
The interview was circulated by Investigative Project on Terrorism, which describes itself as a non-profit research group with the world’s most comprehensive data centre on radical Islamic terrorist groups. Imam Rauf pointed out that US-led sanctions against Iraq had led to the death of over half a million Iraqi children, which had been documented by the United Nations.
Full report at:
http://www.asianage.com/international/%E2%80%98us-has-more-muslim-blood-its-hands%E2%80%99-662
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Don’t Send Flood Relief Aid Via Islamabad: Baloch Minister
25 August 2010
Fed up by the federal government’s negligence over the plight of flood-affected people in the province, Balochistan’s communication and works minister Mir Sadiq Umrani has urged donor countries to give funds “directly to the people of the province and not via Islamabad”.
Talking to reporters during a press conference here, Umrani said the Balochistan government is unable to handle the enormous crisis alone with over a million people needing medicine, food, clean drinking water and shelter.
“We want direct aid from neighbouring countries and not via Islamabad,” he said, adding that if immediate relief does not arrive, people would start dying of hunger.
Full report at:
http://www.asianage.com/international/don%E2%80%99t-send-flood-relief-aid-islamabad-baloch-minister-591
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New survey probes what Americans think, or know, about Islam
25 August 2010
Many of us don't know much about Islam but that doesn't stop many from saying we don't like it. That's the latest from a Pew Forum survey conducted during the height of the N.Y. mosque furor and released this afternoon.
It also finds that, sure, we agree in theory that Muslims should be able to build places or worship, but in fact, we mostly don't want it in lower Manhattan. Some key points on our conflicted views of Islam:
...Favorable opinions of Islam have declined since 2005, but there has been virtually no change over the past year in the proportion of Americans saying that Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence. As was the case a year ago, slightly more people say the Islamic religion does not encourage violence more than other religions (42%) than say that it does (35%).
Full report at:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2010/08/islam-muslims-park51-ground-zero-mosque-pew-forum/1
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SGPC offers aid to Pak flood-hit Sikhs & Hindus
25 August 2010
CHANDIGARH: Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) president Avtar Singh Makkar is scheduled to meet Pakistan high commissioner Shahid Malik on Thursday to offer aid for Sikh and Hindu flood victims.
Pakistan's Evacuee Trust Property Board has estimated that over 2,000 Sikh and Hindu families have been displaced by the country's worst-ever floods. Most of these families have taken shelter in gurdwaras and need ration and clothing. According to reports, some gurdwaras also have been damaged due to floods.
"We'll give the high commisioner a proposal for sending a jattha (Sikh volunteers) with food material and clothing. Also, we would like to fund the repair of damaged gurdwara," Makkar told TOI from Srinagar.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/SGPC-offers-aid-to-Pak-flood-hit-Sikhs-Hindus/articleshow/6429526.cms#ixzz0xbuu24xx
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Al-Qaida in Yemen more dangerous than those in Pak: CIA
Aug 25, 2010
WASHINGTON: America's CIA believes that the al-Qaida terror network in Yemen poses a more serious threat to the US than those in its traditional stronghold of Afghanistan and Pakistan, a media report said on Wednesday.
A fresh assessment of al-Qaida's affiliate in Yemen has helped prompt Obama administration officials to call for an escalation of US operations there - including a proposal to add armed CIA drones to a clandestine campaign of US military strikes, The Washington Post reported quoting unnamed US officials.
This is for the first time in recent years that the CIA has come out with the assessment that al-Qaida in Yemen is more dangerous than those in Pakistan, where most of its top leadership including Osama bin Laden is believed to have been based.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Al-Qaida-in-Yemen-more-dangerous-than-those-in-Pak-CIA/articleshow/6430656.cms#ixzz0xayeh8cF
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Number of anthrax patients rises to 136
25 August 2010
Fifteen more people infected with anthrax were detected in Sirajganj on Tuesday, taking to 136 the total number of such patients in Sirajganj and Pabna.
The Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Resaerch in Dhaka has, however, confirmed 127 cases of anthrax infection in four upazilas in the two districts.
The Pabna civil surgeon, M Ashrafuzzaman, said they had detected 24 anthrax infection cases till Monday. ‘The figure will be updated tomorrow [Wednesday] if any new case of anthrax infection is found today [Tuesday].’
The upazila and the district health departments based on the advice of the IECDR and International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh have started treating the patients infected with bacillus anthracis.
Full report at:
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Floods will have ‘lasting impact’ on Pakistan’s economy: IMF
25 August 2010
WASHINGTON: While the flood catastrophe is still unfolding, it is clear that the disaster will have “a major and lasting impact” on Pakistan’s economy, Masood Ahmed, the director of the International Monetary Fund’s Middle East and Central Asia Department said on Tuesday on the first day of economic talks with Pakistani officials.
Talking in an interview, he said Pakistan faces hard choices as it decides how to allocate scarce resources for rebuilding following the floods.
Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh will join the talks in Washington on Wednesday, but he has already said he wants the IMF to ease restrictions on the $11 billion loan programme approved for the country in 2008.
Options: Ahmed said the options available to the Pakistanis are to adjust the current Pakistan IMF programme to factor in fiscal pressures arising from the floods, or to opt for emergency funding provided by the IMF to countries hit by natural disasters.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\25\story_25-8-2010_pg7_3
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Afghan Taliban say Petraeus’s progress ‘baffling’
25 August 2010
KABUL: The Taliban on Tuesday rejected comments by General David Petraeus, the commander of NATO and US forces, that their progress had been reversed, saying attacks were increasing around the capital as well as in their heartland in the south. General Petraeus told the BBC at the weekend that momentum by the militants had been checked in their strongholds in Kandahar and Helmand provinces. He also told NBC television the battle against the insurgency was an up and down process in which areas of progress had been made. “Mujahideen operations have intensified more than ever especially in the provinces surrounding Kabul,” spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said in a statement emailed to media. “A day doesn’t pass by but that the invaders and their stooges face immense losses in Logar, Kapisa, Maidan Wardak and Laghman,” he said. Violence across Afghanistan has reached record levels despite the presence of almost 150,000 US and NATO troops.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\25\story_25-8-2010_pg7_8
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One-third of Saudis to have holidays abroad
25 August 2010
RIYADH: About a third of the Kingdom’s young population have either left for holidays abroad or are planning to do so after Eid Al-Fitr celebrations, indicating an upward trend in spending on travel this year, according to Mastercard’s country manager for Saudi Arabia.
Alhamedi M. Alanezi claimed that Saudi Arabia has also emerged as a major destination, with 16 percent of travelers from the Middle East visiting the Kingdom, many of them for Umrah during Ramadan.
Alanezi was speaking at an Iftar party hosted by MasterCard at the local Four Seasons Hotel on Monday. “More than one in three consumers in the Middle East look to pack his or her bags and head off for a vacation in the coming months,” he said. Last year, only a quarter of consumers went on holiday, he added. He said Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are the most popular destinations for travelers in the Middle East. A large number of people, especially from Gulf nations, are visiting the Kingdom during Ramadan for Umrah, he noted.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article112480.ece
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New pilgrims city planned north of Mina
25 August 2010
JEDDAH: Plans are afoot to establish a new pilgrim city north of Mina to accommodate 1.5 million people during Haj. Higher authorities have instructed the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars to conduct research into the feasibility of the plans.
“There are two options. Either we construct concrete buildings or set up tents with modern designs,” said Habib Zain Al-Abidine, deputy minister of municipal and rural affairs, who estimated the cost of building the new city at SR30 billion.
Al-Abidine said the new city project would be completed within five years. “We’ll construct either multistory buildings or tents to accommodate 1.5 million pilgrims,” he told Okaz Arabic daily.
The new city project in Mina would enable the Saudi government to allow more pilgrims from within the Kingdom and abroad to take part in the annual pilgrimage. More than 2.5 million pilgrims, the majority from abroad, perform Haj every year.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article112467.ece
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Israel to make Arabic compulsory in its northern schools
25 August 2010
RAMALLAH: The Israeli government approved a new program that will see Arabic language classes made compulsory in northern Israeli schools, starting from the fifth grade.
The Israeli Education Ministry said that 200 schools have joined the program, 42 of them are religious. The new program is being led by schools in Haifa and the north, where the Arab population is most prominent. The ministry added that the program will soon be adopted by schools across Israel.
It added that until now, Israeli students had the option of learning Arabic to fulfill a requirement to study a second language in grades seven to ten. Other options were Russian, French, or Amharic.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article112396.ece
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King reiterates support for Pakistan
25 August 2010
JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on Monday reiterated Saudi Arabia's support for flood-hit Pakistan. "We'll leave no stone unturned in supporting the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to confront the damages caused by floods," he said.
King Abdullah made this comment while presiding over a meeting of the Cabinet at Al-Salam Palace. He briefed the ministers on the outcome of his talks with Jordan's King Abdallah and highlighted the deep-rooted relations between the two countries.
The Cabinet meeting commended King Abdullah's initiative to send two field hospitals and a search and rescue team to Pakistan to provide necessary assistance to the flood victims. Saudi Arabia has sent several planeloads of relief supplies to Pakistan.
King Abdullah also ordered a nationwide fundraising campaign to support Pakistan's flood victims, which raised more than SR400 million. The Cabinet expressed its satisfaction over the good public response to the campaign.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article111415.ece
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American Al-Qaeda suspect to go on trial in Yemen
25 August 2010
SAN'A, Yemen: An American Al-Qaeda suspect will go on trial in Yemen next month over the killing of a Yemeni soldier and the wounding of another during a failed escape attempt, a security official said Tuesday.
If convicted, Sharif Mobley of New Jersey could face the death penalty.
The 26-year-old American of Somali descent was arrested on suspicion of having links to Al-Qaeda and attempted his escape in March while receiving treatment at a Yemeni hospital for a leg condition. Authorities say he fooled his hospital guards into unshackling him by asking to join them for prayers and then killed a guard who had laid down his weapon.
The official spoke about his trial on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
US officials say Mobley, who grew up in Buena, New Jersey, traveled to Yemen more than two years ago with the goal of joining a terror group and that the US government was aware of his potential extremist ties long before his arrest.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article112483.ece
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World pledges 700 million dollars for Pakistan
25 August 2010
WASHINGTON — The United States and other countries worldwide have now pledged a total of more than 700 million dollars towards flood relief in Pakistan, a senior US official said on Monday.
The United Nations General Assembly meeting last Thursday was “a real galvanizing moment in terms of contributions from other countries,” said Dan Feldman, the deputy special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“By our count, we’ve seen over 700 million dollars pledged, including our own 150 million dollar commitment, from over 30 countries,” Feldman told reporters without giving a country-by-country breakdown.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/August/international_August1275.xml§ion=international
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Yemen opens talks with Shia rebels on peace deal
25 August 2010
DOHA — The Yemeni government has opened talks with Shiite rebels on implementing a February peace deal that halted the last round of fighting in the northern mountains, the two sides said on Wednesday.
The talks’ Qatari hosts imposed a news blackout on the negotiations and did not disclose the venue.
Delegations from the two sides arrived in the Qatari capital Doha on Sunday, Yemeni officials and a rebel spokesman said.
“Negotiations are ongoing... This is not to reach a new agreement but to put in place mechanisms to apply previous agreements,” a Yemeni diplomatic source told AFP.
Rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdel Salam told AFP by telephone that their main demand was “the liberation of prisoners.” It is estimated that around 1,000 rebel supporters remain in government custody.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/August/middleeast_August465.xml§ion=middleeast&col=
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Al-Qaida group says hostage demands were met
25 August 2010
An Al-Qaida affiliate in North Africa says it released two Spanish aid workers held for nearly nine months after some of its demands were met. The statement from Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb did not elaborate, but it suggests that Spain paid a ransom. The Spanish government has declined comment
on a report in the newspaper El Mundo that euro3.8 million ($4.83 million) in ransom was paid.
Monday's release came just days after a Malian who was sentenced in Mauritania for the kidnapping was extradited back to his home country. The al-Qaida affiliate had demanded his return as a condition for the release of the two aid workers. Spanish newspaper El Pais said Tuesday it received the statement in an audio clip.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/europe/Al-Qaida-group-says-hostage-demands-were-met/Article1-591158.aspx
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Saudi Authorities Release Top Shia Cleric
25 August 2010
Saudi Wahhabi authorities released Sheikh Kadhem al-Amri without explanation or giving any reasons .
Ahlul Bayt News Agency, On 23 August 2010, Saudi Wahhabi authorities released Sheikh Kadhem al-Amri without explanation or giving any reasons .
Al-Amri's release reportedly was attributed to advocacy efforts by a lot of Shia personalities and notables .
It is worth to mention that some members of General Intelligence (Al-Mabahith Al-'Aamma) attacked on 2 August 2010 the farm of Sheikh Muhammad Ali al-Amri in in Awali district of al-Madinah al-Monawarah under the pretext of violating municipal laws and regulations by allowing some of the expatriate workers work in shops belonging to the farm sell Shia religious materials and symbols in private .
Full report at:
http://www.shiaunity.com/data.asp?lang=3&Id=200706
8:37 PM
Sultan Shahin
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