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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Islamic World News 30 Aug 2010
NewAgeIslam.Com
15 Taliban militants killed in Afghanistan

Bruni branded 'marriage breaker' in Iran

Seven U.S. Soldiers Die in Afghan Attacks

Europe should convert to Islam: Gaddafi

Sadpara Dam in Gilgit Baltistan may Collapse - Engineers Fear

China invests in confident Christians

Muslim cabbie attack case: New York student indicted

Tehrik-i-Taliban militant arrested from Karachi

Biden visits Iraq to mark formal end to US combat

India says six rebels killed on Kashmir border

Afghan president criticizes anti-terror strategy

Death toll rises to 12 in Yemen army post attack

Protesters Pray In Freedom Square

Salzburg gala raises 300,000 euros for Pakistan

Iran sets 2020 target for nuclear fusion reactor

8 die as bullets settle militants' argument over widow

6 Saudi women to file suit against dad for preventing their marriage

Seven US troops killed in latest Afghan fighting

Unpaid Saudi imam locks worshippers out

‘The PA barred 17 religious figures from preaching in mosques’

UK Muslim shops ban Israeli produce in Palestine protest

In Pakistan, Muslims and Hindus pray together against floods

Afghan women depend on NATO forces: Dr. Yacoobi

Israelis destroyed 1200 Mosques in Palestine

Jamat-e-Islami Hind: Muslims will accept Court verdict on Babri Masjid issue

Yemen denies foreign troops on its soil

Bahrain may ban marriage of couples with genetic disorders

Imam cleared of charges of molesting eight-year-old

Muslims donate nearly $1 billion to Pakistan

Muslims break Ramadan fast

Ghadr Night Ceremonies to Be Held in Austria

Shia Atlas to Be Translated into Arabic

125 Filipinos convert to Islam in Dubai

Sadhvi’s special leave petition in SC today

Kerala Prof attack: NIA probe still uncertain

Muslim League to launch TV channel

Hasina asks Hindu leaders to reach consensus on property law

Bangladesh ex-dictator Ershad meets Hasina, may escape punishment

Iraq says it may abide by OPEC quotas in 2-3 years

Alwaleed visits flood-hit regions of Pakistan

EU to help Iraq clean up nuclear facilities

Pakistan game must not suffer, says Imran

War ‘not ending’ despite US drawdown: Iraq

History will never forget Shaikh Zayed for his feats Adel Arafa

Ground Zero mosque leader Imam: Radicalism a common threat to muslims and non-muslims

Islamist charities gain goodwill in flood calamity

Hazrat Ali’s (RA) martyrdom day termed ‘most sensitive’

Karzai wants change in Afghan war strategy

Taliban leader found dead in Kabal

Spanish police arrest man for jihad recruitment

100 Indian fishermen to be set free today

Suicide blast kills at least one in Jalalabad

Afghanistan's blasted Buddhas beckon tourists

Iran's Judiciary Chief Calls for Massive Muslim Turnout on Quds Day

OIC head calls on Muslims to be more generous to Pakistanis

Israel must be listed as Turkey's top enemy

Iranian Minister: Islamic banks, safe from crises

Six terrorists killed

Transfer warrants issued against Ansari, Sabahuddin

8 explosive belts seized near Amara in Iraq

Iranian Sculptor to Attend Munich Islamic Art

Compilation of Shia Jurisprudence Encyclopedia in 100 volumes

Top Punjabi Taliban commander shot in Pak

Violence in the Valley has ravaged its culture’

New terror cells emerge in ‘unholy alliance’ with Pak Taliban

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

Photo: Carla Bruni

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15 Taliban militants killed in Afghanistan

2010-08-30

Fifteen Taliban militants, including a rebel commander, were killed in fighting with security forces in Afghanistan, Xinhua reported Monday.

The fighting took place Sunday in Wardak province, 40 km west of Kabul.

'Taliban militants attacked a convoy of international troops in Lalam village of Syedabad district Sunday, but the troops retaliated killing 15 insurgents, including their commander Mullah Fazal Rahman,' said Shahidullah Shahid, spokesman of the provincial government.

Rahman was a key Taliban commander in the area. There was no casualty among the Afghan and the NATO-led troops.

http://sify.com/news/15-taliban-militants-killed-in-afghanistan-news-international-ki4puechaac.html?scategory=international

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Bruni branded 'marriage breaker' in Iran

2010-08-30

France's First Lady Carla Bruni Sarkozy has been branded a "prostitute" and a "marriage breaker" in Iran after she criticised a Tehran court ruling of stoning a woman to death for adultery, a media report said.

The 42-year-old former Italian supermodel, who signed a petition calling for Iran to free Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani who has been convicted of cheating on her husband and helping to kill him, was also accused by Iranian media of intervening in the case to "cover up her own extra-marital relations".

'Kayhan', a vernacular daily newspaper which acts as a mouthpiece for Iran's rigorous Islamic regime, has accused Bruni of being a "hypocrite", the 'Daily Mail' reported.

An editorial pointed to her chequered love life, which has included numerous affairs with high-profile celebrities. Titled "French prostitutes join the human rights protest" it also singled out the actress Isabelle Adjani, who has joined the clamour for 43-year-old Sakineh's release.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bruni-branded-marriage-breaker-in-iran/674394/

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Seven U.S. Soldiers Die in Afghan Attacks

By ROD NORDLAND

31 August 2010

KABUL, Afghanistan — Seven American service members were killed by two roadside bombs in southern Afghanistan on Monday, according to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.

The two bombings were unrelated, officials said, with one killing five service members and the other killing two. Fourteen American service members have been killed in Afghanistan, mostly in the south, since Saturday.

Witnesses near Kandahar City reported seeing a large blast strike an American military convoy on Monday afternoon on Highway 1, just west of the southern city, which has been the focus of stepped-up American military operations in recent months. An American armored vehicle was completely destroyed.

It was not known precisely where the second bombing took place, and officials declined to specify whether the victims were American Marines or Army soldiers. Both are operating in the area.

Earlier in the day, in the eastern Afghanistan city of Jalalabad, a district governor and was killed by a car bomb. The bomb had been planted in the vehicle of Said Ahmad Pahlawan, governor of Lalpor District in Nangarhar Province, and exploded just outside the Jalalabad office of the governor of the province, according to Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, the governor’s spokesman. The bomb also wounded four of the official’s security guards, he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/world/asia/31afghan.html?_r=1&hp

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Europe should convert to Islam: Gaddafi

Aug 31, 2010

ROME: Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's visit to Rome to mark the second anniversary of a friendship treaty with former coloniser Italy stumbled into controversy on Monday after he said Europe should convert to Islam.

Kadhafi made the comments on Sunday during a lecture to a group of 500 young women hired and paid by an agency to attend his lecture.

"Islam should become the religion of all of Europe," one of the women quoted Kadhafi as saying in the Italian press.

The agency paid the women, mainly students who hire themselves out for advertising of publicity events, 70 or 80 euros (90 or 100 dollars) to attend and said it would not pay girls who gave their names to the press.

It also told them to dress conservatively for the lectures.

About 200 women on Monday gathered at the Libyan cultural centre in Rome to attend a second lecture.

One of the women present said that Kadhafi had said at the gathering that "women are more respected in Libya than in the West" and offered assistance in finding Libyan husbands.

"Islam is the last religion and if we are to have a single faith then it has to be in Mohammed," he said, according to the participant.

The lectures are "a new, humiliating violation of Italian women's dignity," opposition lawmaker and former health minister Rosy Bindi said.

Kadhafi's show also caused discomfort within the coalition of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a close ally of the Libyan leader.

"Kadhafi's words show his dangerous Islamisation project for Europe," said European MP Mario Borghezio of the anti-immigrant Northern League, junior partner in the coalition, according to Il Messaggero.

Carlo Giovanardi, a government undersecretary, tried to stem the criticism, saying Kadhafi's words were simply "a remark made during a private meeting."

Kadhafi, who came to power after the overthrow of the monarchy 41 years ago, landed in Italy on Sunday to mark the second anniversary of a friendship treaty signed with Berlusconi that drew a line under the countries' bitter colonial-era relationship.

Berlusconi and Kadhafi met privately for 30 minutes on Monday, during which Kadhafi confirmed the policy of opening Libya to Italian investment, a member of Berlusconi's staff said.

After the meeting, the two men toured a photography exhibition tracing the history of the Italian-Libyan relationship, including the bloody colonial period.

Speaking later alongside Berlusconi at a closing ceremony, Kadhafi suggested that the European Union pay Libya "at least five billion euros a year" to put a halt to illegal migration from its Mediterranean shores.

To do so would be in Europe's interest, he said, if it wants to head off "the advance of millions of migrants" from Africa.

"There is also desirable immigration," Kadhafi added. "There are Libyans who have money and I encourage them to come to Italy to invest."

Berlusconi credited good relations between Italy and Libya "for countering with success the trafficking of illegal migrants from Africa to Europe controlled by criminal organisations".

Ties between Rome and its former colony have deepened since the signing of the friendship accord, with Italy now the third largest European investor in the North African country.

Italy has said it will invest five billion dollars and build a 1,700 kilometre (1,050 mile) highway in Libya to compensate for its three decades of colonisation from 1911 to 1943.

The two countries also reached an agreement that allows the Italian navy to intercept illegal migrants at sea and return them to Libya, triggering sharp criticism from the United Nations' refugee agency and human rights groups.

Kadhafi travelled, as usual, with a Bedouin tent for his accommodation which was pitched in the gardens of the residence of the Libyan embassy in Rome.

In a sign of protest against his visit, an opposition party planted a "tent of legality" in front of the embassy.

Kadhafi was set to return to Libya on Tuesday morning, according to sources with knowledge of the visit.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Europe-should-convert-to-Islam-Gaddafi/articleshow/6464781.cms#ixzz0y9raF0y8

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Sadpara Dam in Gilgit Baltistan may Collapse - Engineers Fear

Senge H Sering

31 August 2010

Sadpara Dam was constructed in 2009 on Sadpara Rivulet some 8 miles south of Skardo town. The rivulet joins Indus River near Rzasna village and provides much of the irrigation water for the Skardo Valley's agricultural system. When the dam was being constructed, the technical team of Descon Ltd. (sub-contractors of WAPDA Lahore) admitted to the media that retaining walls had not been placed in some parts of the dam. Even before the construction completed, water seepage had started and instead of fixing the problem, the authorities tried to cover it up by pouring more gravel over the seeping areas. Over the months, the problem has worsened and now as reported by Karakoram Printing Network, there is a greater chance of water reaching the spillway and causing further damage to the water reservoir. Skardo Valley is home to more than 150,000 people and damage to this dam will destroy the entire valley reducing the thousands of years-old civilization to a rubble.

Full report at:

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China invests in confident Christians

By Christopher Landau

31 August 2010

The National Catholic Seminary in Beijing prepares many for the priesthood. Three decades ago, China's Cultural Revolution saw some of the most dramatic restrictions on the practice of religion ever seen in the modern world.

But today's communist rulers have radically altered their views about religion and have granted substantial freedom to Christians prepared to worship within state-sanctioned churches.

Within these boundaries, Christianity is growing in China as never before - and doing so supported by millions of dollars of government funding.

The BBC has been given unprecedented access to China's state-sanctioned Protestant and Catholic churches, to examine why the government seems so keen to invest in religion.

State funding

Full report at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11020947

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Muslim cabbie attack case: New York student indicted

Aug 31, 2010

NEW YORK: Prosecutors say a New York arts student accused of slashing a Muslim taxi driver's neck has been indicted on hate-crime charges.

Michael Enright waived his right to be in a Manhattan court yesterday as his indictment was announced. He's due to be arraigned next month on charges of attempted murder and assault, both as hate crimes.

His lawyer declined to comment on the charges. The 21-year-old is being held without bail in a psychiatric ward.

Authorities have said a drunken Enright greeted the Bangladeshi driver in Arabic before telling him to "consider this a checkpoint" and stabbing him last week. The driver survived the attack.

Enright went to Afghanistan last spring with a group that aims to promote interfaith understanding.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Muslim-cabbie-attack-case-New-York-student-indicted/articleshow/6465849.cms#ixzz0y9rSmX65

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Tehrik-i-Taliban militant arrested from Karachi

30 Aug, 2010

KARACHI: The CID police arrested a militant associated with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from Karachi’s Banaras area on Monday, television reports said.

Explosive material was also recovered from the militant, reports quoted police sources as saying.

The militant was arrested during an operation conducted by the CID in Banaras.

He was being interrogated by the police.

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/metropolitan/04-ttp-militant-arrested-karachi-qs-08

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Biden visits Iraq to mark formal end to US combat

31 August 2010

Vice President Joe Biden returned to Iraq Monday to mark this week’s formal end to US combat operations.

He also pushed the country’s leaders to end a six-month postelection stalemate blocking formation of a new government.

Wednesday’s ceremony will signal a shift toward a greater US diplomatic role as the military mission dwindles seven years after the American invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

Underscoring the shift, officials said Biden will make a new appeal to Iraqi leaders, including Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, to end the political deadlock and seat a new government. March 7 parliamentary elections left Iraq without a clear winner, and insurgents have exploited the uncertainty to hammer Iraqi security forces in near-daily attacks.

Biden and al-Maliki will meet Tuesday morning “to discuss the political situation and withdrawal, and Iraqis taking over responsibility for security,” the prime minister’s adviser, Yasin Majeed, told The Associated Press.

Full report at:

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/August/middleeast_August588.xml&section=middleeast

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India says six rebels killed on Kashmir border

31 August 2010

SRINAGAR, India - Indian soldiers on Monday shot dead six separatist militants trying to cross over from Pakistan into the disputed region of Kashmir where popular protests against Indian rule have mounted in recent weeks.

India’s parliament was told last week that militants based in Pakistan have stepped up efforts to infiltrate into Indian Kashmir before winter snow blocks the Himalayan mountain passes.

Such militants, India fears, could help worsen a violent uprising in Kashmir against New Delhi’s rule, which first broke out in 1989 and New Delhi says is being abetted by Pakistan.

Pakistan denies providing military aid to the rebellion and says it only extends moral and diplomatic support to what it calls an independence struggle by Kashmiris. The conflict has officially killed around 47,000 people.

Full report at:

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/August/international_August1663.xml&section=international&col=

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Afghan president criticizes anti-terror strategy

31 August 2010

KABUL, Afghanistan - President Hamid Karzai renewed his criticism of coalition strategy in fighting Afghanistan’s stubborn insurgency, saying it has thus far produced nothing but civilian deaths.

Meanwhile, a district chief from eastern Afghanistan was killed Monday by a bomb placed in his car that exploded as he was entering a government compound to attend a meeting of provincial security and political leaders.

Insurgents had apparently planned for the bomb that killed Syad Mohammad Palawan to explode inside the governor’s compound in Nangarhar province’s capital of Jalalabad, said provincial police spokesman Ghafor Khan. Officials were meeting at the compound Monday to discuss strategies for battling the insurgency and improving governance in the volatile province.

Full report at:

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/August/international_August1645.xml&section=international&col=

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Death toll rises to 12 in Yemen army post attack

31 August 2010

The death toll of a weekend attack by suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen on an army post in south Yemen has risen to 12, including one civilian, the interior ministry said on Monday. Skip related content

"Two charred corpses of soldiers were found" on the site of the attack, in Al-Rai neighbourhood, west of the town of Jaar in the Abyan province, the ministry said on its website.

A security official had said Sunday that the death toll had gone up to 10 after a wounded soldier succumbed to his injuries.

Four assailants had targeted the army post with rocket-propelled grenades after sunset as the soldiers were having a meal breaking the dawn-to-dusk fast of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, an official had said on Saturday.

Full report at:

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20100830/twl-death-toll-rises-to-12-in-yemen-army-3cd7efd.html?printer=1

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Protesters Pray In Freedom Square

31 August 2010

SANA’A, August 24 — Hundreds of people with different complaints protested once again at Freedom Square in Sana’a on Tuesday. State school teachers demanded Ikramia or a Ramadan bonus introduced in 2006, human rights activists demanded the release of detained journalists, and the people of Al-Ja’ashin, Ibb governorate, sought government protection from their sheikh.

Police prevented journalists and activists from taking pictures of the protest. The protesters were prevented from entering Freedom Square in front of the prime minister’s office, but the crowds forced their way into the square and held their sit-in.

Police officers attacked journalists Sami Al-Ansi and Abdullah Ghurab and tore off the face veil of one of the female journalists attending the protest. The protesters, most of whom were teachers from Sana’a, Amran and Dhamar, performed afternoon prayer in Freedom Square.

Full report at:

http://www.yementimes.com/defaultdet.aspx?SUB_ID=34647

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Salzburg gala raises 300,000 euros for Pakistan

31 August 2010

Salzburg's exclusive summer music festival raised 300,000 euros in aid for Pakistan's flood victims at a star-studded benefit gala, organisers said today. The Russian superstar soprano, Anna Netrebko, headlined the special fundraiser held Thursday night in the Austrian city's Haus fuer Mozart

theatre. Some 1,560 punters paid between 40 and 280 euros (USD 51-356) each for a seat in the audience, raising a total of 300,000 euros (USD 380,000).

All the artists and the orchestra performed for free in an evening of arias and readings, capped by a tango danced by Netrebko's Uruguayan partner, the baritone Erwin Schrott. Full report at:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/europe/Salzburg-gala-raises-300-000-euros-for-Pakistan/Article1-593795.aspx

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Iran sets 2020 target for nuclear fusion reactor

Aug 31, 2010

TEHRAN: Iran says it has set a 2020 target date to build its first experimental nuclear fusion reactor, a feat that has yet to be achieved by any nation.

Iran said in July that its nuclear agency began research on the experimental reactor.

Nuclear fusion, the process powering the sun and stars, has so far only been mastered as a weapon, producing the thermonuclear explosions of hydrogen bombs. It has never been harnessed for power generation.

Asghar Sediqzadeh, the head of the new fusion research centre, is quoted by the semi-official ISNA news agency as saying the centre will hire 100 experts to join the national project.

Tehran is not known to have carried out anything but basic fusion research.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Iran-sets-2020-target-for-nuclear-fusion-reactor/articleshow/6465251.cms#ixzz0y9rWb2Jq

8 die as bullets settle militants' argument over widow

2010-08-30

The argument over an Arab militant's widow last weekend became so heated that gunfire broke out among insurgent factions, leaving eight people dead, militant sources told AKI from the Pakistan's North Waziristan.

The dead include Usman Punjabi, the abductor of British journalist Asad Qureshi.

Tension mounted between the Punjabi (non-Pushtun Pakistanis) and Mehsud (local tribe) militants after an Arab militant was killed in a drone strike, leaving behind his widow.

'The widow was rich and after the incident of husband's death she was alone. The local Mehsud tribesmen took her into their custody and were aiming to arrange her marriage to one of their own men. Usman Punjabi objected and insisted she must be left to her own free will to select whether she wants to marry into the Mehsud tribe,' said a source who witnessed the event.

After the Muslim Ramadan breakfast Saturday morning, all militants belonging to Mehsud tribes and the Punjabi camp gathered in a local school in Dande Darpa Khail in North Waziristan near Afghanistan to discuss the widow.

The argument between the two parties intensified until both parties pulled out their guns and opened fire. A total eight people were killed, including Usman Punjabi.

'We have killed the spy', Mehsud's members cried after killing Usman Punjabi.

Usman Punjabi was the abductor and assassin of former ISI official Khalid Khawaja and also abducted former ISI official Colonel Imam and British journalist Asad Qureshi.

Usman refused to release those he abducted despite the instruction of Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar. The fate of abducted is still unknown.

http://sify.com/news/8-die-as-bullets-settle-militants-argument-over-widow-news-international-ki4pEeiehji.html?scategory=international

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6 Saudi women to file suit against dad for preventing their marriage

Aug 30, 2010

DUBAI: In an unusual legal fight, six Saudi sisters have decided to file a lawsuit against their father for repeatedly having turned down their suitors and not allowing them to get married.

The women, all in their 30s, have written a letter to Sultan Bin Zahem, chairman of Saudi Arabia's Advocacy Committee, demanding that they be given the authority to get married.

They allege that their father always turned down their suitors claiming that there was no woman in his family to negotiate the marriage terms.

In the letter, the women alleged that their father has rejected many suitors even though they were pious men and of good conduct, Saudi Okaz newspaper reported.

Bin Zahem said the women can file a lawsuit against their guardian and the judge will summon him to ask him why he has not allowed his daughters to get married.

If his reasons were not convincing, the judge would use his authority to approve their marriages to appropriate men.

The girls' complaint cannot be considered as disobedience of parents because they were demanding the right to their private social lives; the official was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The sisters are now preparing to file a suit against their father.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/6-Saudi-women-to-file-suit-against-dad-for-preventing-their-marriage-/articleshow/6460162.cms#ixzz0y4irocmy

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Seven US troops killed in latest Afghan fighting

Aug 30th, 2010

KABUL: Seven US troops have died in weekend attacks in Afghanistan’s embattled southern and eastern regions.

Two servicemen died in bombings on Sunday in southern Afghanistan, while two others were killed in a bomb attack in the south on Saturday, and three in fighting in the east the same day, NATO said. Their identities and other details were being withheld until relatives could be notified. The latest deaths bring to 42 the number of American forces who have died this month in Afghanistan after July’s high of 66. A total of 62 international forces have died in the country this month, including seven British troops. Fighting is intensifying with the addition of 30,000 US troops to bring the total number of international forces in Afghanistan to 140,000 - 100,000 of them American. Most of those new troops have been assigned to the southern insurgent strongholds of Helmand and Kandahar provinces where major battles are fought almost daily as part of a gathering drive to push out the Taliban.

Full report at:

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\30\story_30-8-2010_pg7_7

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Unpaid Saudi imam locks worshippers out

Aug 30, 2010

RIYADH: Worshippers who arrived to pray at a mosque in a remote area of central Saudi Arabia this week discovered they were locked out by the disgruntled imam because he had not been paid.

Al-Yaum newspaper reported Sunday that the imam, a Sudanese national, had been told a philanthropist would pay for his services as spiritual leader of the small mosque in Najd region. But the benefactor withdrew the funding after local religious authorities failed to confirm the cleric as the official imam.

The worshippers, angry at being prevented from Friday prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, have failed to convince the imam to re-open the mosque.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Unpaid-Saudi-imam-locks-worshippers-out/articleshow/6459145.cms#ixzz0y4HAC5jH

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Hamas lawmaker: The PA barred 17 religious figures from preaching in mosques

Aug 30th, 2010

GAZA -- Hamas lawmaker Hatem Kufaisheh said Friday that the Palestinian Authority (PA) issued a decision preventing 17 lawmakers, who are also noted religious figures, from giving speeches or Friday Khutbas (sermons) in West Bank mosques.

Ahlul Bayt News Agency, GAZA -- Hamas lawmaker Hatem Kufaisheh said Friday that the Palestinian Authority (PA) issued a decision preventing 17 lawmakers, who are also noted religious figures, from giving speeches or Friday Khutbas (sermons) in West Bank mosques.

Kufaisheh underlined that this campaign against mosques and religious figures is being carried out according to a carefully-prepared plan targeting the religion of Islam and its followers in Palestine.

Full report at:

http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=201401

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UK Muslim shops ban Israeli produce in Palestine protest

Aug 30th, 2010

In a move that has worried Jewish groups, Muslim families who own stores in Glasgow’s south side are refusing to stock Israeli goods in protest at Israel’s West Bank settlements and policy towards Palestinians.

Ahlul Bayt News Agency, In a move that has worried Jewish groups, Muslim families who own stores in Glasgow’s south side are refusing to stock Israeli goods in protest at Israel’s West Bank settlements and policy towards Palestinians.

Around 30 stores in Muslim communities in Pollokshields, Pollokshaws and Govanhill are supporting the drive and yesterday campaigners took to the streets to applaud shopkeepers who are no longer stocking Israeli products.

Full report at:

http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=201404

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In Pakistan, Muslims and Hindus pray together against floods

Aug 30th, 2010

In times of adversity, religious differences are forgotten. In a rare demonstration of communal harmony, Muslims recited the Quran while the minority Hindus gathered for special prayers ...

Ahlul Bayt News Agency, In times of adversity, religious differences are forgotten. In a rare demonstration of communal harmony, Muslims recited the Quran while the minority Hindus gathered for special prayers

While the Muslims recited verses from the Quran, the Hindus chanted hymns from the Bhagvad Gita, the reports said. They said the flooding was a result of bad morals prevalent in Pakistani society and it was necessary to pray for forgiveness.

The town has been protected by a temporary embankment erected by the locals.

According to religious leaders, the calamity has brought people from different faiths closer so that they can face the tragedy.

Full report at:

http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&Id=200814

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Afghan women depend on NATO forces: Dr. Yacoobi

2010-08-30

Dr. Sakena Yacoobi, Executive Director of the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL), has said that women of the country completely depend on the NATO allies and that with any foreign troop withdrawal "the first blood shed will be of women and children".

"The women of Afghanistan completely depend on the NATO allies. At this moment, I think it would be unfair for the people of Afghanistan, especially for the women and children, who have been suffering for 20 and 30 years to just leave them and walk out. As soon as allied soldiers walk out and leave Afghanistan, the first blood shed will be women and children," The Age quoted Dr Yacoobi, as saying.

Full report at:

http://sify.com/news/afghan-women-depend-on-nato-forces-dr-yacoobi-news-international-ki4oOeighbd.html?scategory=international

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Israelis destroyed 1200 Mosques in Palestine

Aug 30th, 2010

1200 mosques and scores of churches destroyed since creation of Zionist regime in 1948

Ahlul Bayt News Agency, Monitoring group on Al-Aqsa Islamic sanctuaries has revealed that Zionist authorities have destroyed as many as 1200 mosques and scores of churches since the creation of the Zionist regime in 1948.

Zionists carried out a systematic campaign to destroy and obliterate the religious sites of Muslims and Christians in Israel.

They wanted to bury Islamic and Christian history in this land.

Israeli troops refuse to allow Muslims to pray at many mosques throughout Palestine.

http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&Id=201526

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Jamat-e-Islami Hind: Muslims will accept Court verdict on Babri Masjid issue

Aug 30th, 2010

New Delhi: “The stand of Muslims in India on the issue of Babri Masjid title case is very clear. We will accept whatever will be the verdict of the court,” said Syed Jalaluddin Umri, President Jamat-e-Islami Hind.

Ahlul Bayt News Agency, New Delhi: “The stand of Muslims in India on the issue of Babri Masjid title case is very clear. We will accept whatever will be the verdict of the court,” said Syed Jalaluddin Umri, President Jamat-e-Islami Hind.

In an interaction with media person on 28th of August, he said Jamat-e-Islami has repeatedly emphasized that it will make sure that no mishap takes place, after the court delivers its verdict next month. Indian Muslims are patient and this attitude by on this issue deserves public appreciation and praise, he added.

Full report at:

http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=201439

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Yemen denies foreign troops on its soil

Aug 30, 2010

ADEN: Yemen denied on Sunday that foreign forces are involved in its battle against Al-Qaeda, as Sanaa's security forces went on high alert after nine soldiers were killed by suspected jihadists.

"We are surprised at groundless allegations in several media reports lately on the presence of British soldiers and on the arrival of US forces to aid in fighting terror in Yemen," the Defense Ministry's 26sep.net news website quoted a Yemeni official as saying.

The official said that Yemen's cooperation with the "United States or other countries" in fighting terrorism is "restricted to the exchange of information which facilitates its hunt (for) terrorist elements and handing them over to justice."

Full report at:

http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article118977.ece

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Bahrain may ban marriage of couples with genetic disorders

30 August 2010

MANAMA — Bahrain might consider banning couples with hereditary diseases or who are carrier of any genetic aberration to get married.

That was hinted last week by the cabinet while discussing proposals and solutions to tackle sickle cell disease after the death of 24 patients this year, with four died in one day.

The cabinet asked Health Minister Dr Faisal Al Hamer to draw up a plan to combat sickle cell disease in coordination with the justice and Islamic affairs minister and other departments. The plan would enable the authorities to combat the disease by adopting effective medical, legal and legislative measures.

Full report at:

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/August/middleeast_August569.xml&section=middleeast&col=

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Imam cleared of charges of molesting eight-year-old Amira Agarib

30 August 2010

DUBAI — The Dubai Court of Appeal has acquitted an Indian imam of the charges of molesting an eight-year-old American boy.

Earlier, the Dubai Court of First Instance had sentenced him to three years in jail on the charges for molesting the boy while teaching him the holy Quran along with his 10-year-old brother in a room adjacent to a mosque.

According to the charge sheet, Z.H had lured the boy to the private where he hugged him and kissed him on his cheeks.

The 26-year-old imam (a person who leads the prayers) had denied molesting the boy.

Full report at:

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2010/August/theuae_August784.xml&section=theuae&col=

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Muslims donate nearly $1 billion to Pakistan

Aug 30th, 2010

ISLAMABAD: Muslim countries, organizations and individuals have pledged nearly $1 billion in cash and relief supplies to help Pakistan respond to the worst floods in the nation's history, the head of a group of Islamic states said Sunday.

The announcement came as floodwaters inundated a large town in Pakistan and authorities struggled to build new levees with clay and stone to prevent one of the area's biggest cities from suffering the same fate.

Foreign countries have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to help Pakistan cope with the floods, which first hit the country about a month ago after extremely heavy monsoon rains. But some officials had criticized the Muslim world for not contributing enough.

Full report at:

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/06-muslims-donate-nearly-1-billion-to-pakistan-rs-07

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Muslims break Ramadan fast

Aug 30th, 2010

Ahlul Bayt News Agency – ABNA -The Yolo County Muslim community invites county residents to fast for a day and join to break the fast on Wednesday, Sept. 1, at the Davis Veteran's Memorial Center, 203 E. 14th St.

Admission is free and people of all faiths are invited.

"It feels so good and joyous to break the fast with our great Davis community," states Muslim community leader Hamza El-Nakhal of Davis. "The sun sets at 7:38 p.m. on that day. Social time starts at 7 p.m.

"As you may know that the month of Ramadan started on Wednesday, Aug. 11, and the last day is projected to be on Thursday, Sept. 9, based on the new moon sighting," El-Nakhal stated.

The event will offer opportunities for people of all faith to experience the Muslim month of fasting.

Full report at:

http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=201535

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Ghadr Night Ceremonies to Be Held in Austria

Aug 30th, 2010

On the occasion of Ghadr Nights, some special ceremonies will be organized by Imam Ali (AS) Center in Vienna, capital of Austria.

Ahlul Bayt News Agency, The programs will be held on Sunday August 29, Tuesday August 31, and Thursday September 2 from 7:30 to 11:45 p.m.

They include the Iftar (fast breaking) ceremony, recitation of Joshan-e Kabir Supplication, recitation of the holy Quran by Mr. Soltani the international reciter, a speech by Hojat-ol-Islam Aali, as well as mourning eulogies by Mr. Maalekinejad on the martyrdom of Imam Ali (AS).

Ghadr Night or “night of power” refers to a night in the holy month of Ramadan in which the Quran was revealed to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=201532

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Shia Atlas to Be Translated into Arabic

Aug 30th, 2010

The Atlas of Shia Islam by Hojat-ol-Islam Rasul Jafarian will be translated into Arabic, the author said.

Ahlul Bayt News Agency, Hojat-ol-Islam Jafarian who is a prominent researcher in the field of the history of Islam said an institute in Najaf has vowed to translate the work into Arabic.

He said he expects the translation to take at least a year because of the need for redesigning the maps and tables of the atlas in the Arabic version.

Hojat-ol-Islam Jafarian explained that the Atlas of Shia Islam begins by defining Shia and its history during the first Hijri century (describing the role of Imam Ali (AS) in the battles of the first years after the advent of Islam) and goes on to expound on the history of Shia Islam based on geographical categorization of the Islamic world.

Full report at:

http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=201527

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125 Filipinos convert to Islam in Dubai

Aug 30th, 2010

A total of 122 ladies and three men, all expatriates from the Philippines, converted to Islam in Dubai, after a lecture by popular Muslim Filipino orator and preacher Omar Penalbar.

Ahlul Bayt News Agency, A total of 122 ladies and three men, all expatriates from the Philippines, converted to Islam in Dubai, after a lecture by popular Muslim Filipino orator and preacher Omar Penalbar.

Penalbar was lecturing on tolerance in Islam and the message of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).

The lecture was organised in the Al Twar area in Dubai by the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).

Full report at:

http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=201410

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Sadhvi’s special leave petition in SC today

Aug 30th, 2010

A Special Leave Petition (SLP), filed by Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur — one of the main accused in 2008 Malegaon blast case, challenging the rejection of her bail application by the Bombay High Court in March this year, will come up for admission before the Supreme Court on Monday.

In her SLP filed before the Supreme Court, Sadhvi Pragya has contested the high court’s ruling given on March 12, 2010, rejecting her “bail by default” application on the ground that she had been unlawfully detained by Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) from October 10, 2008 to October 23, 2008.

Full report at:

http://www.dailypioneer.com/279508/Sadhvi%E2%80%99s-special-leave-petition-in-SC-today.html

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Kerala Prof attack: NIA probe still uncertain

Aug 30th, 2010

The Kerala High Court will take up a PIL seeking an NIA probe into the Taliban-style attack on a college professor in Muvattupuzha on July 4 by activists of the Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI), on Monday. However, the agency is still holding fast to the affidavit that it filed in the court last week, expressing its unwillingness to take up the investigation.

The issue has already caused confusion in Kerala with the agency arguing that the charges framed in the case by the Kerala Police did not fall under the category of offences that came under its purview and the police countering it. Superintendent of Police (Crime Branch) PN Unniraja said that they had included charges that came under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Full report at:

http://www.dailypioneer.com/279502/Kerala-Prof-attack-NIA-probe-still-uncertain.html

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Muslim League to launch TV channel

Aug 30th, 2010

The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) is set to become the third political party in Kerala to launch a television channel. Named Channel IBC (Independent Broadcasting Council), the Kozhikode-based channel will champion the cause of minorities and backward communities.

In the first phase, the channel will be available for cable TV customers in MPEG 4 format and a full-fledged satellite channel to reach Malayalees across the world will be launched in the second phase. Kozhikode-based Keds Communications will coordinate the operations of the channel.

According to PK Kunhalikkutty, State general secretary of the Muslim League, the new channel would work for the advancement of the backward and minority sections and function as the voice of the good interests and development dreams of the people. He assured that the party channel would uphold and maintain the values of true journalism. It would also give importance to the culture of Malabar, he said.

Full report at:

http://www.dailypioneer.com/279483/Muslim-League-to-launch-TV-channel.html

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Hasina asks Hindu leaders to reach consensus on property law

Aug 30th, 2010

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday asked Hindu leaders to reach a consensus amongst them about annulling the Vested Property Act so that the Government could take a decision.

“No decision could be taken about it as your (Hindu leaders) views widely differed on the proposed law” despite the Government’s principled decision to return the Hindu property, a spokesman of the Prime Minister’s office told PTI on Sunday quoting her as telling a delegation of the minority Hindu community on Saturday.

Hasina, he said, added that the Government has put in its best efforts to settle the issue of vested property scraping a controversial law but the “Hindu community leaders are disunited about it”.

Full report at:

http://www.dailypioneer.com/279584/Hasina-asks-Hindu-leaders-to-reach-consensus-on-property-law.html

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Bangladesh ex-dictator Ershad meets Hasina, may escape punishment

Aug 30, 2010

DHAKA: Bangladesh's former military ruler Hussain Mohammed Ershad may escape punishment for violating the country's constitution following his meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after which he "looked quite happy", his aides said.

The meeting Sunday took place at Ershad's instance, three days after the high court invalidated the seventh amendment to the constitution that had ratified Ershad's declaration of the martial law in March 1982.

The former military strongman's aides told The Daily Star that Hasina "asked Ershad not to worry much about his fate".

They told the newspaper that their leader "looked quite happy coming out of the meeting".

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Bangladesh-ex-dictator-Ershad-meets-Hasina-may-escape-punishment/articleshow/6460064.cms#ixzz0y4H0TsQ6

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Iraq says it may abide by OPEC quotas in 2-3 years

Aug 30, 2010

BAGHDAD: Iraq’s oil minister said Sunday that Baghdad will consider abiding by OPEC quotas once its crude production increases to at least 4 million barrels a day in two to three years.

Hussain Al-Shahristani said there is no rush to discuss quotas with other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries while Iraq’s production level — currently at 2.5 million barrels a day — remains bellow the country’s potential.

“The current production 2.5 million barrels is no match to our potential,” Al-Shahristani said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Nobody is really in a rush to discuss (quotas) yet, but once we pass 3.5 or even 4 million barrels a day in two to three years time, we should enter into a very constructive discussion about new market shares.” Iraq is home to the world’s third largest proven reserves of crude. Oil exports account for more than 90 percent of its state revenue.

Full report at:

http://arabnews.com/economy/article118954.ece

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Alwaleed visits flood-hit regions of Pakistan

Aug 30, 2010

ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, assured Pakistan that the Kingdom will provide all possible assistance it needs for the relief and rehabilitation of thousands of flood victims.

He said the Kingdom had resolved to continue sending aid to flood-stricken Pakistan. "The Kingdom will spare no effort in supporting the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to cope with the damage from flooding," Alwaleed said.

Alwaleed who visited the flood-hit region, along with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, said, "The Kingdom stood with Pakistan during its worst natural calamity."

Full report at:

http://arabnews.com/world/article118995.ece

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EU to help Iraq clean up nuclear facilities

Aug 30, 2010

BAGHDAD: The European Union signed a 2.5 million euro ($3.2 million) agreement with Iraq on Sunday to help Iraqi scientists' dismantle, decommission and decontaminate nuclear facilities built under dictator Saddam Hussein.

Iraq has tried to clean up its 10 old nuclear sites around the country as US combat operations end seven years after the invasion to topple Saddam. But the going has been slow since the work began two years ago.

The EU program to train Iraqi scientists and provide equipment will speed up the clearing operation which had been estimated to take up to 10 years. So far scientists have only cleared one site in central Baghdad.

"This contract will help boost the abilities (of the scientists) so they will be able to dismantle more complicated facilities," Science and Technology Minister Raed Fahmy told reporters after signing an agreement with the EU in Baghdad.

Full report at:

http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article118983.ece

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Pakistan game must not suffer, says Imran

30 August 2010

Imran Khan said Sunday that cricket in Pakistan must not be allowed to be dragged down by corrupt players as the national side faced claims over an alleged betting scam.

Imran, who captained Pakistan to the 1992 World Cup title, said anyone found guilty of match-fixing should be banished from the national side.

“Why should Pakistan cricket suffer if some players have indulged in a crime? Why should Pakistani supporters suffer because of that?”, he told Britain’s ITV television from Islamabad.

“The people who are found guilty should be removed from the team and replaced and should be punished as an example for future generation to realise that crime does not pay.”

Full report at:

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/August/international_August1625.xml&section=international

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War ‘not ending’ despite US drawdown: Iraq

Aug 30th, 2010

BAGHDAD - US President Barack Obama’s message this weekend that Iraq would ‘chart its own course’ may have been welcome news for war-weary Americans, but it has fuelled anxieties about the future among Iraqis.

‘The war is not ending. The war against terrorism continues here,’ Nuri Al Moussawi, a 51-year-old Baghdad resident, said. Obama said on Saturday the end of US combat operations on Tuesday, and a fall in US troop numbers to 50,000, helped fulfil a promise he made during the 2008 presidential campaign to end the 7-1/2-year war launched by his predecessor, George W. Bush.

But the failure of Iraqi leaders to form a new government almost six months after elections, and persistent attacks by insurgents, have done little to instil confidence among Iraqis.

Full report at:

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/August/middleeast_August572.xml&section=middleeast

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History will never forget Shaikh Zayed for his feats Adel Arafa

30 August 2010

ABU DHABI — The General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments (GAIAE) on Saturday commemorated the sixth death anniversary of Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the former president and founder of the UAE.

The function at the Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque was attended by Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research; Dr Hamdan Al Mazrouie, Chairman of the GAIAE; Dr Mohammed Mattar Al Kaabi, Director General of GAIAE; and a group of eminent scholars and diplomats.

Full report at:

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2010/August/theuae_August790.xml&section=theuae

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Ground Zero mosque leader Imam: Radicalism a common threat to muslims and non-muslims

30 August 2010

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, a central figure in plans to build a Muslim community center in Lower Manhattan, New York, near the site of attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, urged followers of all faiths to join hands against radicalism which he says exists in all religions.

‘We are all in this together.. there is a common threat: radicalism which exists in all religions,’ Abdul Rauf told WAM in an interview in Abu Dhabi.

‘The real battle front is not between Muslims and non-Muslims. The real battle front is between moderates and extremists.’

Full report at:

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2010/August/theuae_August792.xml&section=theuae&col=

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Islamist charities gain goodwill in flood calamity

Aug 30th, 2010

MARGALA: Hadiya Bibi sits paralysed in a wheelchair donated by a religious charity, its wheels coated in mud caused by flooding. Over a year ago she was paralysed by a shell she said the army fired at terrorists. The government never provided compensation, and now Hadiya is turning to terrorists and religious charities to help her cope after raging waters swept away her meagre belongings.

“I registered for help with the authorities because of my injury and nothing happened. Now everything is gone. The religious charities will help me,” she said, as members of the Al Khidmat charity spoke with flood victims about their needs. Full report at:

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\30\story_30-8-2010_pg1_7

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Hazrat Ali’s (RA) martyrdom day termed ‘most sensitive’

By Shahnawaz Khan

Aug 30th, 2010

LAHORE: Intelligence agencies declared the martyrdom day of Hazrat Ali (RA) the most sensitive across the country, especially in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan, with regards to the ongoing wave of terrorism, sources told Daily Times on Sunday, adding that reports had been forwarded to the authorities concerned in this regard.

The sources said that intelligence personnel, in their reports, had mentioned that some of the terrorist groups could use the martyrdom day to spread sectarian violence in the province.

They said that terrorist groups had earlier planned terrorism activities during the holy month of Ramazan that were delayed due to the flood and later again delayed due to the occurrence of a severe clash between groups of local Taliban and the Punjabi Taliban in the South Waziristan area of Dandy Darpa Khail.

Full report at:

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\30\story_30-8-2010_pg7_1

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Karzai wants change in Afghan war strategy

Aug 30th, 2010

KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday said that Washington’s war strategy for Afghanistan needed a rethink, as a Taliban-led insurgency gathers pace and foreign forces casualties surge.

Karzai made the comments to the visiting president of German parliament Norbert Lammert, Karzai’s office said in a statement.

Speaking about Afghanistan and regional security, Karzai said, “the strategy of the war on terror must be reassessed”.

“The experience over the past eight years showed that fighting (Taliban) in Afghan villages had been ineffective and was not achieving anything but killing civilians. Full report at:

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\30\story_30-8-2010_pg7_9

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Taliban leader found dead in Kabal

Aug 30th, 2010

MINGORA: The bodies of a key Taliban commander and of another terrorist were found on Sunday, police said. Police officials told Daily Times that they had found the bodies in Santgtan area of Kabal tehsil. One of the bodies was of Qari Abdullah, a key Taliban commander in Swat. Police said that Abdullah had been wanted in several acts of terrorism.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\30\story_30-8-2010_pg7_14

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Spanish police arrest man for jihad recruitment

Aug 30th, 2010

MADRID: Spanish police arrested a Moroccan man in the southeast of the country on suspicion of having links to terror groups and of recruiting jihad fighters, officials said on Sunday. The Interior Ministry said in a statement that 26-year-old Faical Errai had been arrested on Friday in the small town of Poble Nou de Benitachell in Alicante. Town Mayor Maria Josefa Ronda said Errai had been a registered local resident for seven years and had “integrated very well into the local community”. Ronda said Errai had been a Civil Protection volunteer and “whenever a local service had to be done he was always favourably disposed to do it”. The ministry said Errai was suspected of being responsible for a pro-jihad website, of recruiting fighters for insurgency in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Pakistan, and of raising money. It said the arrest followed a high-tech investigation and collaboration with police forces in the United States, Belgium, France, Jordan and Morocco. Police searched three properties and seized computer and electronic information storage equipment, the ministry said.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\30\story_30-8-2010_pg7_16

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100 Indian fishermen to be set free today

Aug 30th, 2010

KARACHI: The first batch of Indian fishermen being released from jails after having completed their sentences on an order of the federal government will leave the Malir prison for Lahore by road on Monday morning.

The 100 fishermen including two minors — Jeenti, son of Deva, and Mehaish, son of Magjee — will be travelling by buses provided by a local non-governmental organisation. They will have a stopover at Bahawalpur on their way to Lahore and will cross the Wahga border on Tuesday.

In all, 442 Indian fishermen who despite having completed their sentences for illegally fishing in Pakistani waters near the Sir Creek and had been languishing in jails will be released in four batches. Another group of 100 fishermen will leave the Malir prison on Sept 2 and cross the Wahga border the following day. The third batch of 101 prisoners will leave the city on Sept 4 and cross the Wahga border on Sept 5. The last batch of 141 prisoners will leave Karachi on Sept 6 and cross the Wahga border the next day.

Full report at:

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/local/100-indian-fishermen-to-be-set-free-today-080

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Suicide blast kills at least one in Jalalabad

Aug 30th, 2010

JALALABAD: A suicide bomber struck outside the headquarters of the governor of an eastern Afghan province on Monday, killing at least one person, residents and an official said.

Violence has been at its worst this year in Afghanistan, the bloodiest period since Taliban's ouster in 2001, with the militants making a come back despite the presence of almost 150,000 foreign troops.

The attack in the heart of Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, happened during the morning rush hour as a group of officials were entering the compound.

A district chief was among those killed, officials said, but the fate of the provincial governor, Gul Agha Sherazi, who has survived several attacks by the Taliban in the past, was unclear.

Full report at:

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/04-jalalabad-suicide-attack-qs-03

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Afghanistan's blasted Buddhas beckon tourists

Aug 30th, 2010

BAMIYAN: Two empty niches facing over a lush green valley towards the snow-capped Hindu Kush mountains stand in silent testimony to Bamiyan's rich past -- and its uncertain future.

Afghanistan's northeastern jewel is the war-ravaged country's best hope for reviving a tourism industry that was a hippy trail fixture during the Sixties, when Westerners came to hang out near the world's tallest Buddha statues.

They became symbolic of mindless Taliban brutality when in 2001, months before their regime was overthrown, the Islamists dynamited the statues -- which they branded idolatrous -- that had stood sentinel for 1,500 years.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Afghanistans-blasted-Buddhas-beckon-tourists/articleshow/6454675.cms#ixzz0y4jDYpKJ

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Iran's Judiciary Chief Calls for Massive Muslim Turnout on Quds Day

Aug 30th, 2010

TEHRAN -- Iran's Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani on Sunday called on the worldwide Muslim community to stage massive participation in the International Quds Day rallies on Friday.

Ahlul Bayt News Agency, All Muslim and freedom-seeking nations of the world should attend the rallies on the International Quds Day, Amoli Larijani said, addressing a number of judiciary officials here in Tehran today.

He viewed massive turnout of the Muslims on the Quds Day as an opportunity for the Muslims to reinvigorate their unity, and said, "Grand and glorious gatherings on the Quds Day each year have been able to add to the eminence of the world of Islam by weakening the enemies."

Full report at:

http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=201536

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OIC head calls on Muslims to be more generous to Pakistanis

Aug 30th, 2010

The secretary general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference said Sunday the Islamic world had a huge potential that needed to be activated.

Ahlul Bayt News Agency, The secretary general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) said Sunday the Islamic world had a huge potential that needed to be activated.

OIC SG Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu met with representatives of humanitarian aid organizations in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Speaking to AA prior to the meeting, Ihsanoglu said that OIC-member states had organized a wide-scale gathering to ensure coordination of humanitarian aid sent to regions hit by disasters.

Full report at:

http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=201534

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Israel must be listed as Turkey's top enemy

Aug 30th, 2010

ANKARA -- Columnist for the Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman Abdullah Bozkurt stated that Israel poses a very real threat to the Turkish state and must be classified as one of Turkey's top enemies.

Ahlul Bayt News Agency, ANKARA -- Columnist for the Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman Abdullah Bozkurt stated that Israel poses a very real threat to the Turkish state and must be classified as one of Turkey's top enemies.

"It would not surprise me a bit if the new national security policy document (MGSB) were to list Israel as the “real” potential threat to Turkey’s vital national interests after the attack on the aid flotilla by the Israeli navy during which nine Turks were killed in international waters," Bozkurt said in an article last Tuesday.

Full report at:

http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=201531

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Iranian Minister: Islamic banks, safe from crises

Aug 30th, 2010

Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Shamseddin Hosseini said on Saturday the Islamic banks and the Islamic financial institutions have been safe from the recent world recession.

Ahlul Bayt News Agency, Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the 21st Conference on the Islamic Banking System in Tehran, Hosseini said the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has not also been hurt by the world economic crisis.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is the only country managing its banks under the usury-free banking system’s regulations, the Iranian minister said.

The two-day 21st Conference on the Islamic Banking System started in the capital city of Tehran on Saturday with participation of top Iranian officials.

http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=201396

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Six terrorists killed

Aug 30th, 2010

SRINAGAR: Six terrorists are believed to have been killed when the Army foiled an infiltration bid near the LoC in the Uri sector of north Kashmir's Baramulla district on Sunday night.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/30/stories/2010083057580100.htm

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8 explosive belts seized near Amara in Iraq

Aug 30th, 2010

An Iraqi army force seized eight explosive belts south of al-Amara city on Saturday, a military information source in the army’s 10th Division said.

Ahlul Bayt News Agency, An Iraqi army force seized eight explosive belts south of al-Amara city on Saturday, a military information source in the army’s 10th Division said.

“A force from the 10th Division seized eight explosive belts in the district of Bani Hashim, (45 km) southeast of al-Amara, based on intelligence tip-offs,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“The division’s explosive experts defused the belts that were ready for using in terrorist operations in the province,” the source added.

He did not elaborate where or how these explosive belts were seized.

Amara, the capital city of the province of Missan, lies 390 km south of Baghdad.

http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=201416

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Iranian Sculptor to Attend Munich Islamic Art

Aug 30th, 2010

Iranian sculptor Kambiz Sabri will participate in the 100th Islamic Art Festival in Munich, Germany.

Ahlul Bayt News Agency, Iranian sculptor Kambiz Sabri will participate in the 100th Islamic Art Festival in Munich, Germany.

The artist said he has been invited by festival organizers to present his artworks and speak about modern art in Iran.

The festival will take place from November 29-February 17 within the project “Changing Views: 100 years after the Exhibition Masterpieces of Muhammadan [Islamic] Art in Munich”.

The festival will be held in three categories, namely music, theater and visual arts. The latter mainly highlights calligraphy as a common cultural element of human society.

Full report at:

http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=201431

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Compilation of Shia Jurisprudence Encyclopedia in 100 volumes

Aug 30th, 2010

Director of the Islamic Jurisprudence Institute announced the compilation of Shia Jurisprudence Encyclopedia in 100 volumes as the main need for the Muslim world.

According to Ahlul Bayt News Agency (ABNA.ir) – This is the first Shia Jurisprudence Encyclopedia in the world.

This is the first time among Shia, but Sunni started it several years ago and have an Encyclopedia in the name of "Kuwaiti" have been compiled based on the Sunni Jurisprudence.

The research for Shia Jurisprudence Encyclopedia began in 1997 and its researchers estimated that the Encyclopedia would has four thousand entries and would be printed in 80 to 100 volumes in Folio.

The first 17 volume of the Encyclopedia will be published in this year. These 17 volumes have 700 jurisprudence entries which 500 entries are original and 200 entries are referred.

http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=201434

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Top Punjabi Taliban commander shot in Pak

Aug 30th, 2010

Six militants, including a top Punjabi Taliban commander, have been shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan’s unruly North Waziristan tribal region.

Taliban commander Usman Punjabi and five other militants were killed at a school in Dandey Darpa Khel area on Saturday, local residents said. The militants had been living at the school for sometime.

Sources said militants from another Taliban faction were behind the killings as they were opposed to the activities of the Punjabi Taliban led by Usman. There were also rumours that militants from the Mehsud tribe or the Hafiz Gul Bahadar group could have been involved in the incident. There was no official word on the killings.

Usman is believed to have been behind the kidnapping of Asad Qureshi, a British journalist of Pakistani origin and former intelligence officials Colonel Imam alias Sultan Amir Tarar and Khalid Khwaja.

http://www.dailypioneer.com/279596/Top-Punjabi-Taliban-commander-shot-in-Pak.html

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Violence in the Valley has ravaged its culture’

Aug 30th, 2010

ARTIST- ACTIVIST Ram Rahman feared that Srinagar- based conservation architect Saima Iqbal wouldn’t be able to make it to a talk that cultural NGO SAHMAT had organised in the Capital on Saturday.

Titled Cultural Interventions in Kashmir, the discussion was about the impact of escalating violence in the Kashmir Valley on the cultural capital of the state. Iqbal could make it to the discussion because curfew had been lifted partially in the Valley on Friday after the separatists called off their protests for a day.

At a time when the window of relief in the Valley sometimes is open only for a day, Iqbal’s presence at the discussion was important for more than symbolic reasons. As a member of the Srinagar chapter of INTACH ( Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage), she, along with other young Kashmiris, has been ploughing a dangerous furrow in documenting local architectural heritage, or what has survived of it in the two- decade- long turmoil.

Full report at: Mail Today

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New terror cells emerge in ‘unholy alliance’ with Pak Taliban

Aug 30th, 2010

By Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury in New Delhi

NEW TERROR cells have reared their heads in Pakistan threatening regional stability at a time when the international community is focused on terror groups such as the Lashkar- e- Tayyeba in that country.

Five new outfits have reportedly come into existence over the past couple of years. A report in Pakistani English weekly The Friday Times says these cells have emerged in reaction to the state becoming an ally in the war against terror in the tribal areas and the crackdown on the Red Mosque in Islamabad.

One of these groups — Jandullah — formed in 2004 by one Attaur Rehman operates out of Karachi and maintains strong links with the Tehrik- e- Taliban Pakistan ( TTP) and al- Qaeda, wrote The Friday Times in an article titled ‘ Unholy alliances’.

Full report at: Mail Today

URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=3357

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