Rethinking Islam with Sultan Shahin

Islamic World News
04 Oct 2010, NewAgeIslam.Com
A R Rahman's grand finale with 'Jeeyo, Utho'

Taliban attacks NATO supply trucks in Pakistan

CIA drone attacks on terror dens in Pak at record high

Hindus chant to Muslim beats in HP

Will back Muslims if they challenge verdict: Jagatguru

Muslim Personal Law Board to become intervener in appeal

Six dead in Islamabad, 20 NATO trucks set on fire

‘Next friend’ helped Ram claim rightful place

Strife-torn Ayodhya not on pilgrims' must-visit list

Aryan culture is planting superstitions: Karunanidhi

Oldest litigant begins Ayodhya truce effort

Mahesh Bhatt to host Pak talk show

Six militants killed in Indonesia

NATO kills 5 civilians in Afghanistan

six held stealing NATO supplies

700 Muslim leaders attend WAMY conference in Jakarta

Child used as human shield by Israelis

Hanging Kasab: Your favourite online pastime?

Iran arrests 'nuclear spies'

US warns of terror attacks in Europe

Sneak peak into Ground Zero 'mosque'

NYC mosque's imam, wife get death threats: Police

Afghanistan denies asking UN not to publish rights report

Qaida suspect held by Italy cops

2 Israeli soldiers guilty of war crime

Syria wants Turkey to mediate talks with Israel

Chief Of CIA Meets PC, Intel Officials

Ground Zero mosque borders on the abstract

Afghanistan bans eight foreign security companies

200 lawyers booked for beating police, journalists

Taliban kill three ‘US spies’ in North Waziristan

Auction of Al-Ajhouri’s Al-Shatie plots starts today

Tension between Hariri, Hezbollah reaches all-time high

Ahmadinejad calls for US leaders to be ‘buried’

Saudi Arabia: Nothing wrong in women practicing law, says justice minister

Egypt backs Palestine on settlements

Mohammed launches historic visual identity contest

Journalists charged for publishing false news

3 killed in blast at Turkish leather workshop

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

Photo: Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman sings at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday

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A R Rahman's grand finale with 'Jeeyo, Utho'

Oct 3, 2010

NEW DELHI: A R Rahman had the 60,000 strong crowd at the glitzy Commonwealth Games opening ceremony up and dancing here on Sunday with his rendition of the theme song 'Jeeyo Utho Badho Jeeto', which had received brickbats when it was first unveiled in August.

The Academy Award winning musician had promised to go beyond Shakira's soccer anthem 'Waka Waka' with the composition and he delivered a powerful performance, backed by a spectacle of dancers.

Amidst a colourful play of fireworks and 500,000 watts of music, the crowd cheered as the aerostat, which cost a whopping Rs 40 crore, came alive with vivid imagery.

Dressed casually in a white jacket-and-denims combination, the hitmaker was welcomed by loud cheering as he stepped on to the stage to perform the theme song.

Flanked by dancers in red and white, Rahman also performed his international hit 'Jai Ho' which won him an Oscar last year.

The theme song which is based on the motto of the Games, "Come out and play", was the grand finale to the cultural extravaganza which was put together by some 7000 artistes. Adding to the special effects were the hundreds of light beams that crisscrossed each other. During the entire song, fire crackers went up in the air illuminating an otherwise dark sky. The audience included Prince Charles, his wife Camilla Parker Bowles, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Pratibha Patil and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and an estimated 2 billion people who watched the ceremony on live television around the world.

The original version of the song had got a lukewarm response and was then tweaked and turned into a peppy sports anthem.

The 44-year-old musician had won two coveted Oscar trophies in 2009 for his compositions in the Mumbai based potboiler 'Slumdog Millionaire'.

Read more: A R Rahman's grand finale with 'Jeeyo, Utho' - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/A-R-Rahmans-grand-finale-with-Jeeyo-Utho/articleshow/6679650.cms#ixzz11MJxki9p

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Taliban attacks NATO supply trucks in Pakistan

By ZARAR KHAN

ISLAMABAD — The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility Monday for a pre-dawn attack on tankers carrying fuel to Afghanistan for U.S. and other NATO forces, left vulnerable on the side of the road after Pakistan shut down a key border crossing.

About a dozen militants peppered the vehicles parked at a truck stop on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad with automatic gunfire. Some 20 trucks went up in flames and four people were killed and seven injured, authorities said.

Hours later, gunmen attacked and burned two other trucks carrying NATO supplies in southwest Pakistan, killing one driver.

There have been four such attacks since Pakistan last Thursday shuttered its main border crossing into Afghanistan to NATO supply convoys in apparent reaction to a series of alleged NATO incursions, including a helicopter attack that killed three Pakistani soldiers. Traffic has since been backing up at various points along the route from the southern port city of Karachi to the crossing at Torkham — where scores of trucks remain stranded and vulnerable to attack in the volatile Khyber Pass.

In Brussels, NATO's Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen apologized to Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi for the firing incident, saying it was "unintended" and that he hoped the border crossing would be opened again soon.

"There is a joint investigation under way," Fogh Rasmussen said. "We will determine what happened, and draw the right lessons."

Although Pakistan says the Torkham blockade will soon be lifted, the latest attacks and the Taliban threat to launch more assaults seemed certain to raise the stakes in the closure, which has exacerbated tensions between Washington and Islamabad. Convoys crossing from Pakistan bring fuel, military vehicles, spare parts, clothing and other non-lethal supplies for foreign troops.

"We are trying our best to protect the places where are vehicles have accumulated, and we are not dispatching any more trucks from Karachi for now," said Shakir Khan Afridi, president of the Khyber Transport Association, a major umbrella organization representing some 7,000 truckers.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the Islamabad attack in a telephone call to an Associated Press reporter.

Spokesman Azam Tariq said a new wing of the group had been created to strike the convoys and that the attacks "would continue until the supplies are completely stopped."

Trucks moving supplies from Karachi through Pakistan into Afghanistan make frequent stops along the way for their drivers to rest along the several-day journey, and Islamabad police chief Kalim Imam said it was impossible for police or local authorities to protect them all the time.

"This entire thing is very vulnerable for such attacks," he said.

About 150 vehicles are backed up at the Torkham border crossing itself, with hundreds more in nearby areas. Torkham lies some 120 miles (200 kilometers) west of Islamabad.

Trucker Kalam Khan, who has been waiting for five days on his flatbed truck with a container of supplies for the U.S. Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, said drivers are in constant fear.

"If vehicles for Afghanistan are not safe in Islamabad, we could be attacked any time," he said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Monday's second attack on the two trucks heading to the Chaman border crossing in the southwest, which has remained open.

Mohammad Hashim, a government official in the in the southwest district of Kalat where the attack took place — about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of the region's main city of Quetta — said two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on the trucks, then torched the vehicles, killing one driver. The unidentified gunmen fled.

One of the trucks was carrying water while it was not yet clear what the other truck's cargo was, he said.

While NATO and the United States have alternative supply routes into landlocked Afghanistan, the Pakistani ones are the cheapest and most convenient. Most of the coalition's non-lethal supplies are transported over Pakistani soil after being unloaded at docks in Karachi. There are some 140,000 international forces currently in Afghanistan.

In addition to the Torkham and Chaman crossings from Pakistan, NATO also receives supplies via the Central Asian states north of Afghanistan.

Afridi said, however, that some trucks on their way to Chaman have also been unable to get through due to the massive flooding in the region — which left millions homeless and destroyed thousands of miles (kilometers) of roads.

"On that route too, container trucks and oil tankers are stopped at different points but not in very large number," he said.

On Friday, a day after the closure of the Khyber Pass route to NATO and U.S. traffic, there were two attacks on oil tankers headed to the country, one of which was claimed by the Pakistani Taliban.

The Pakistani Taliban are the country's largest militant group. Based in the northwest, it has claimed responsibility for scores of suicide bombings against Pakistani government and security targets, as well as Western ones. The group has ties with the Taliban movement in Afghanistan that is fighting the U.S.-backed government there.

Striking the supply line now gains the group more media attention than normal and makes the mission in Afghanistan appear vulnerable.

While attacks on convoys in Pakistan give militants a propaganda victory, coalition officials say they do not result in shortages in Afghanistan. Hundreds of trucks still cross into Afghanistan each day.

Some attacks are believed to be the work of criminals, who can sell much of the vehicles, clothes and other goods they carry. Officials have alleged truck owners may be behind some of the incidents, perhaps to claim insurance fraudulently.

On Sunday, Pakistan's ambassador to the U.S., Husain Haqqani, said the border crossing would be soon reopened.

Associated Press writers Rasool Dawar and Riaz Khan in Peshawar and Ashraf Khan in Karachi contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

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CIA drone attacks on terror dens in Pak at record high

October 04, 2010

S Rajagopalan

The CIA’s escalation of drone attacks on terrorist sanctuaries in northwest Pakistan is at an all-time high in terms of numbers and intensity, aided by the Pentagon’s secret diversion of more powerful weaponry for the operation.

There have been a record 22 drone strikes in September and an unrelenting CIA launched two more attacks on Saturday, which alone killed 16 militants. The number of strikes in September has nearly doubled the previous monthly record set in January.

The surge has largely targeted the Jalaluddin Haqqani network, the militant outfit that has been a close ally of the ISI.

“The merging of covert CIA operations and military firepower is part of a high-stakes attempt by the Obama Administration to deal decisive blows to Taliban insurgents who have regained control of swaths of territory in Afghanistan but stage most of their operations from sanctuaries across that country’s eastern border,” the Washington Post reported on Sunday.

It cited US officials as saying that the Pentagon has quietly been providing Predator and Reaper drones, besides other weaponry, to enhance the CIA’s capacity to carry out more lethal strikes in Pakistan.

While the White House has declined to comment on the drone operation, but an official told the Post: “Increasing the operational tempo against terrorists in Pakistan has been in the works since last year. The CIA sought more resources to go after terrorists in Pakistan, which the White House strongly supported.”

Defence Secretary Robert Gates and CIA Director Leon E Panetta have worked closely together over the past year to expand the effort, the official said adding the foundation for the latest intensification of strikes was laid then, and the results speak for themselves.

Gen David H Petraeus, The US’s top commander who has been advocating a more aggressive posture with Pakistan, is said to have been particularly supportive of the CIA drone effort.

http://www.dailypioneer.com/287396/CIA-drone-attacks-on-terror-dens-in-Pak-at-record-high.html

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Hindus chant to Muslim beats in HP

Oct 4, 2010

SHIMLA: As the priest begins to chant the sacred mantras for the daily religious ritual, a group of Muslim musicians quietly join in, playing the traditional drums, shehnai and trumpets.

This scene from a Himachal Pradesh temple, and common in many of the state's prominent temples, is an effortless syncretic way of existence that has become part of the social fabric for generations. Be it the Chintpurni temple in Una district, Naina Devi in Bilaspur district or Jawalaji and Chamunda in Kangra district, it is the Muslims who help the priests in performing rituals by playing the shehnais, trumpets and drums, as Hindu devotees line up to offer prayers. "In most of the temples in the state, Muslims are prominently helping in carrying out the rituals.

Most of them have been doing the job for generations," Prem Parshad Pandit, an officer on special duty said. Pandit said that some of the Muslims are good artisans.

Rafiq Mohammed, a traditional drum-beater of Khaniara village near Dharamshala said: "We regularly visit various Hindu temples in and around Dharamshala every morning and evening for playing the drums and other percussion instruments. Even our forefathers did this job."

Read more: Hindus chant to Muslim beats in HP - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Hindus-chant-to-Muslim-beats-in-HP/articleshow/6680618.cms#ixzz11MJj2j2T

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Will back Muslims if they challenge verdict: Jagatguru

Oct 4, 2010

JAIPUR: Three days after Allahabad high court's Ayodhya verdict, Prayag Peeth's Jagatguru Shankaracharya Omkarananda Saraswati Ji Maharaj on Sunday addressed a huge Muslim gathering at Jaipur's Karbala Maidan and appealed for reconciliation.

The Jagatguru said he would support the community if they challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court.

"Either party is free to do that. But one must respect the apex court order when it comes," he said while addressing Jamaat-e-Islami Hind's convention.

In his 30-minute speech, he pleaded for keeping options open for reconciliation. There was pin-drop silence, as he talked about Ayodhya verdict, Hindu-Muslim unity and Gandhian philosophy.

Read more: Will back Muslims if they challenge verdict: Jagatguru - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Will-back-Muslims-if-they-challenge-verdict-Jagatguru/articleshow/6680651.cms#ixzz11MJRkdaN

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Muslim Personal Law Board to become intervener in appeal

Oct 4, 2010,

JAIPUR: The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board has decided “in principle” to become an intervener in the appeal to be moved by the Sunni Central Board of Waqfs in the Supreme Court against the Allahabad High Court's judgment in the Ayodhya dispute.

The board will meet in New Delhi on October 9 to analyse the verdict and discuss the grounds for challenging it. Its working committee will meet on October 16, when a formal announcement on the board becoming an intervener is likely to be made.

The board's Babri Masjid Committee convener S.Q.R. Ilyas told journalists here on Sunday that a consensus had emerged among the AIMPLB members that the High Court judgment, unless annulled by the Supreme Court, would result in faith being treated as a valid ground for deciding property-related disputes in future.

“As the supreme religious body of Indian Muslims, the Personal Law Board considers the High Court verdict unacceptable. By seeking itself to be impleaded as an intervener litigant, the board will convey to the Supreme Court its stand in favour of deciding the Ayodhya matter in accordance with the settled principles of law.”

Dr. Ilyas, who was here to attend a convention of the Jamat-e-Islami Hind, said the board would carry forward the “struggle for justice” within the legal framework and refrain from giving any communal or political twist to the dispute.

The Muslims, he said, were disappointed by the court's “strange logic” for allowing the idols surreptitiously placed in the Masjid in 1949 to stay at the disputed site.

The board felt that the dismissal of the Waqf Board's suit as time-barred was erroneous and the division of the disputed land among three sets of litigants went against the Supreme Court's 1994 ruling that revived the title suits and treated the Masjid site as a single unit.

Full report at:

http://www.hindu.com/2010/10/04/stories/2010100461401200.htm

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Six dead in Islamabad, 20 NATO trucks set on fire

Oct 4, 2010

ISLAMABAD: Six people were killed Monday and eight others wounded when about 20 NATO supply trucks and tankers were attacked and set ablaze in the Pakistani capital, a police emergency official said.

"Six people have died, eight are injured. They have all received bullet injuries and are mostly drivers and their helpers," Mohammad Ahad said.

Ahad said the attack took place just outside Islamabad as a convoy of "dozens" of supply trucks and tankers were on their way to Rawalpindi before travelling on to Afghanistan.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Three-dead-in-Islamabad-20-NATO-trucks-set-on-fire/articleshow/6680551.cms#ixzz11MLFn0Yb

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‘Next friend’ helped Ram claim rightful place

October 04, 2010

A SURYA PRAKASH

Several commentators, who are not clued into the intricacies of Hindu law, have expressed surprise over the Allahabad High Court’s verdict in the Ayodhya case, especially in regard to the juristic rights of the deities exercisable through a “next friend” and on the court’s eventual conclusion that Ram Janmabhoomi constitutes the birthplace of lord Ram. Much of the confusion stems from a lack of understanding of the fact that a Hindu deity can sue and be sued and that the deity can seek relief in courts via a “next friend”.

Of the four title suits that were decided by the Allahabad High Court in the Ayodhya case, only one suit filed on behalf of lord Ram was accepted by the court. All the other suits (filed by Sunni Central Board of Wakfs and others; Sri Gopal Singh Visharad and Nirmohi Akhara and Another) were dismissed. In the suit filed on behalf of lord Ram (Bhagwan Sri Ram Virajman & Ors vs Sri Rajendra Singh & Ors - OOS No. 5 of 1989), lord Ram was the first plaintiff (Bhagwan Sri Ram Virajman), the second plaintiff was Sthan Sri Ram Janma Bhumi, Ayodhya (the place known as Ram Janmabhoomi), and the third plaintiff was Deoki Nandan Agarwal, a retired judge who became the “next friend” of the deities in 1989. Following Agarwal’s demise, the baton passed on to TP Verma and then on to Trilokinath Pandey, who was appointed the “next friend” of the deities by the Supreme Court.

KN Bhat, former Additional Solicitor-General who represented lord Ram and the Janmasthan — acting through the “next friend” Pandey, argued that a Hindu deity is a juristic person who can sue and be sued and can possess properties and that this is well established through judgements of the Privy Council and the Supreme Court; that the Janmasthan is itself a deity; and that the suit is not barred by limitation because the deity (lord Ram) is in the position of a perpetual minor. The final outcome of the case depended substantially on whether the court accepted these averments made on behalf of the plaintiffs.

Full report at:

http://www.dailypioneer.com/287546/‘Next-friend’-helped-Ram-claim-rightful-place.html

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Strife-torn Ayodhya not on pilgrims' must-visit list

MALINI NAIR

Oct 4, 2010

NEW DELHI: The Ayodhya issue may have swallowed national mindspace over the last few days but the fact is that it hardly figures on north India's pilgrim circuit of the devout Hindu outside the cow-belt.

The biggest tour operators on the teerth trail, and that includes the Indian Railways package deals, say there is no interest whatsoever in exploring the land of Rama's birth, despite the buzz around it. A fairly unanimous listing of Top 10 favoured pilgrimages include the Chardham, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Varanasi, Allahabad, Mathura, Vaishno Devi and occasionally Kurukshetra but almost never Ayodhya. This may not necessarily mean that passions on the subject do not run high among pilgrims but none of them are even halfway keen for a darshan of the strife-torn site. For the devout, Ayodhya does not qualify as a must-do.

In an average year, the favourite tour operator of middle-class south Indians, Panicker Travels deals with about 40,000-50,000 pilgrims. The pilgrim season which lasts mainly between May and November sees worshippers heading mostly for Chardham. This includes Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. "Our pilgrim tours have grown several fold since ashrams started organizing spiritual camps", says Babu Panicker of Panicker Travels who have been in the business since 1967. "Ayodhya figures nowhere on the company's attractions. We haven't really had any requests", he says.

The new destinations that have caught the imagination of the pilgrims are Kurukshetra and Kailash-Mansarovar. In Kerala, this is largely thanks to the growing influence of the many powerful ashrams including Abhedananda, Narayanalayam, School of Bhagvad Gita, and the Chinmaya Mission. All of them are have big audiences for their discourses on Bhagvad Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharat, Narayaneeyam and Bhagavad Purana and the places mentioned in them are popular for their on-site discourses.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Strife-torn-Ayodhya-not-on-pilgrims-must-visit-list/articleshow/6680627.cms

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Aryan culture is planting superstitions: Karunanidhi

Oct 4, 2010

CHENNAI: In an oblique reference to the Allahabad high court's Ayodhya verdict, Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi on Sunday lamented that Aryan culture "has succeeded in planting superstitions in people's minds, while even truthful aspects of Dravidian history remain unknown".

"A court is able to accurately pinpoint the birthplace of Lord Ram, who is said to have lived during the 'Krita Yuga' roughly 17.28 lakh years ago, but nothing is known about the manner in which the great Chola emperor Raja Raja Chola died or even where he is buried. We can only bemoan this state of affairs," Karunanidhi said, writing in DMK organ, Murasoli. He had earlier questioned Ram's existence in the contest of the Sethusamudram controversy and was assailed for making derogatory remarks against the Hindu deity.

Quoting Justice D V Sharma, the DMK leader said a court had concluded that "the disputed site is the birthplace of Ram". Beginning with references to recent functions organized in Tamil Nadu — a DMK conclave in Nagercoil in Kanyakumari district and celebrations to mark the completion of 1,000 years of existence of the 10th century Brihadeeswara temple in Thanjavur — Karunanidhi said the first was held at a spot believed to be the habitation of ancient Dravidians, while the other function was a celebration of the art, culture and civilization of Tamils.

"Raja Raja Chola's reign stands out in history for its modern administrative features and for leaving behind historical evidence in the form of monuments and inscriptions," he said. "While the truth about Dravidian history is available in the outcome of scientific research by many scholars, Aryan culture, which sought to suppress the Dravidian race, has been able to spread superstition among the public without any elementary proof," he said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Aryan-culture-is-planting-superstitions-Karunanidhi/articleshow/6680639.cms#ixzz11MJViecp

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Oldest litigant begins Ayodhya truce effort

Swati Mathur & Pravin Kumar

Oct 4, 2010

LUCKNOW: Three days after the Ayodhya title suit verdict was pronounced by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, Mohammed Hashim Ansari, the oldest litigant in the case, sought to settle the matter out of court.

On Sunday, 90-year-old Ansari met Mahant Gyan Das, who, as president of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad and mahant of Hanuman Garhi, wields considerable influence not only in Ayodhya but also among top Hindu priests.

In the hour-long meeting, the two discussed the possibility of an amicable solution. "We want to see this matter end now. Hindus and Muslims should be allowed to live in peace. I will go to the Supreme Court only after everyone else does," Ansari said.

"The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad will play the role of a mediator and Gyan Das will talk to Nirmohi Akhara," Ansari said, claiming he had met Gyan Das at the behest of the Sunni Waqf Board. After the verdict, Nirmohi Akhara has emerged as one of the three key players in the dispute, the other two being Sunni Waqf Board and the deity Ram Lalla Virajman, represented by `Ram Sakha', his "next friend".

Mahant Gyan Das said: "We met on Sunday morning. Earlier, we had decided to take an initiative to settle the matter amicably. A clear picture will emerge in the next four days."

Sunni Waqf Board counsel Zafaryab Jilani, however, denied Ansari's claim that the meeting was on behalf of the board. "Ansari was speaking as an individual. He doesn't represent the Sunni Waqf Board, which is a statutory body with elected members. The meeting was nothing more than a mere formality. Ansari can never surrender the demand for a mosque and Gyan Das can never accept it (mosque). A settlement is not possible," Jilani said.

Current `Ram Sakha' Triloki Nath Pandey, was, however, forthcoming about a possible settlement. "We haven't received a proposal yet. But we will welcome it if presented."

"We are not against a settlement, but it's important to clarify that Ansari has no role to play in this matter. If any reasonable proposal comes to us, we will definitely consider it," Pandey's counsel Madan Mohan Pandey said.

Ansari -- a tailor by profession -- is the oldest plaintiff (number 7) in the original title suit. In 1961, Ansari, along with Sunni Central Waqf Board and five others, approached the Faizbad district court seeking permission to build a mosque on the disputed site measuring 80 feet by 130 feet, which also houses Sita Rasoi, Ram Chabutra and Bhandar. Although the remaining litigants and Ansari approached the court in their individual capacities, Jilani said they -- either as individuals or together -- might move Supreme Court.

Read more: Oldest litigant begins Ayodhya truce effort - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Oldest-litigant-begins-Ayodhya-truce-effort/articleshow/6680201.cms#ixzz11MJsrIU8

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Mahesh Bhatt to host Pak talk show

Oct 4, 2010

NEW DELHI: Veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt will quiz the movers and shakers of Islamabad as the host of an upcoming Pakistani talk show, "Straight Talk With Mahesh Bhatt".

The show will see the National Award-winning filmmaker interview the likes of Pervez Musharraf, Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif, said the show's producer Sevy Ali.

"I have known Mahesh for long and we have worked together on many occasions. He has visited the country many times and is well acquainted with the situation here and is therefore perfect for the job," Ali, a British journalist of Pakistani origins, said.

Ali has earlier produced some of Bhatt's films including "Nazar", Rahul Bose starrer "White Noise" and English film "The Rain has Stopped" that went on to win two awards at the British film festival.

"Mahesh happens to be a part of one of the most talked about film industry and has the ability to ask the most straight forward and honest questions. Besides, he is also liked and revered by most Pakistanis," Ali added.

Read more: Mahesh Bhatt to host Pak talk show - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Mahesh-Bhatt-to-host-Pak-talk-show/articleshow/6680684.cms#ixzz11MJNQd00

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Six militants killed in Indonesia

Oct 3, 2010

JAKARTA: Indonesian police have killed six suspected militants in a weekend onslaught against a group wanted for a series of armed robberies that authorities say were intended to finance terrorist acts, officials said Sunday.

The clashes happened in North Sumatra's Serdang Bedagai district. On Saturday, police killed four suspected members of the group and arrested two others. Then on Sunday, one suspect was fatally shot and another killed by a grenade he apparently threw during a gunbattle with police, said Maj. Gen. Oegroseno, chief of North Sumatra police. Another suspect surrendered at a local police station, said Oegroseno, who, like many Indonesians, uses only one name. Police are still searching for at least five other suspects. The group is believed behind robberies of banks and moneychangers that have netted more than $127,000 since April to buy weapons and finance acts of terror. The group is also accused of attacks on police stations that have killed three officers.

http://arabnews.com/world/article153156.ece

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NATO kills 5 civilians in Afghanistan

Oct 04, 2010

KANDAHAR: At least three Afghan civilians were killed along with 17 insurgents in a NATO airstrike targeting senior Taliban commanders in southern Helmand, the provincial police chief said on Sunday.

In a separate incident, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said its troops accidentally killed two civilians in a province just south of Kabul.

Police chief Abdul Hakim Angar said four civilians were also wounded in the strike, called in to kill militants meeting in the Nad Ali district of Helmand.

“During the air operation, 17 Taliban were killed, including five of their group leaders, as were three civilians,” Abdul Hakim Angar said.

ISAF said it was aware of reports of civilian casualties, but declined immediate comment on the total number of people killed in Saturday’s raid, or the number of possible civilian casualties.

In the second incident, ISAF said it had accidentally killed two civilians when insurgents attacked a military base in Baraki Barak district of Logar.

The civilians were killed when ISAF forces returned fire following a mortar or rocket attack by the insurgents, it said in a statement. The incident was under investigation.

Former commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan Gen Stanley McChrystal, last year issued a new tactical directive to limit airstrikes and new rules for house searches after a spate of deadly incidents involving civilians.

Days before that the Afghan government and ISAF said they were separately investigating reports of civilian casualties caused by an air attack in eastern Laghman. reuters

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\10\04\story_4-10-2010_pg7_6

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Six held stealing NATO supplies

By Uzma Zafar

ISLAMABAD—Capital Cops booked six from PS Tarnol jurisdiction area, for possession of stolen supplies of NATO while recovering accessories of helicopters, planes, wireless sets and uniforms from the accused.

According to details, DIG Operations Bani Ameen was told by an informer that a cache of stolen equipment of NATO containers, was kept in an abandoned factory owned by some Farooq Uddin. It was also informed that accused Zaman and Habin had put the equipment there with the consent of the factory’s owner.

Following this information, DIG (Operations) Bani Ameen directed SP (Saddar) Liaqat Ali Malik to constitute police team. A special team headed by SHO Tarnol Qasim Niazi raided this factory and arrested Farooq Uddin, Ismail Khan and Muhammad Ayub while stolen items including two vehicles, generators, accessories of helicopters, water kits, uniforms and another truck loaded with valuables were also recovered. Moreover, after the preliminary investigation from the nabbed accused, three others Saleem Abbass, Awan Uddin and Chanvez were also arrested while stolen items worth millions of rupees were recovered during another raid at the house some Habib R/O Dhok Paracha. Most of the accused have been found to be belonging to Bajur Agency and had remained involved in various terrorist incidents. DIG Operations Bani Ameen and SSP Islamabad Mir Vaiz Niaz have appreciated the performance of PS Tarnol after visiting the raided factory and the given house while directing for further strict vigilance against criminals in te said area.

IGP Islamabad Syed Kaleem Imam, on the other hand, has said that the the Capital Cops were committed to combat all challenges and nefarious designs of terrorists would be foiled. He said that our force is committed to ensure safety to the citizens in this present scenario and every effort would be made to achieve the objective of maintaining peace.

http://dailymailnews.com/1010/04/FrontPage/index.php?id=7

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700 Muslim leaders attend WAMY conference in Jakarta

Oct 4, 2010

JEDDAH: About 700 Muslims scholars and religious experts from 80 countries are attending the 11th international conference of the Riyadh-based World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), which was opened in Indonesian capital Jakarta on Sunday.

Indonesian Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali inaugurated the two-day conference at Hotel Sultan. According to WAMY Secretary-General Dr. Saleh Al-Wohaibi, several world Muslim figures are attending the gathering.

The dignitaries include Saudi Islamic Affairs Minister Saleh Al-Asheikh, Saudi Islamic scholars Sheikh Abdullah Al-Manie and Sheikh Salman Al-Audah, former Sudanese religious affairs minister Sheikh Essam Al-Bashir and Islamic preacher Amr Khaled.

The conference will include seminars, discussions and workshops that would focus on the role of Muslim youths in promoting social development.

Full report at:

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article153280.ece

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Child used as human shield by Israelis

Oct 4, 2010

KASTINA, Israel: An Israeli court-martial found two soldiers guilty on Sunday of forcing a nine-year-old Palestinian boy to search for suspected booby-traps on their behalf during the 2008-2009 war in the Gaza Strip.

The conviction was the first by an Israeli court of widespread human rights abuses by troops during a three-week offensive that was censured by the international community for its toll on Palestinian civilians.

The two infantry sergeants seized control of an apartment building in the Gaza City suburb of Tel Al-Hawa district on Jan. 15, 2009 while under fire, according to a summary of the verdict. Rounding up residents, they came across bags in a bathroom and ordered a nine-year-old boy from the group of civilians to check if they had been rigged with explosives.

"The boy, who feared for his fate and was under the stress of the situation, wet his pants," the three-judge panel wrote in the verdict. "The court has noted that, unlike the soldiers, the child was, naturally, bereft of any form of protection."

The boy opened a bag belonging to his family, but when he failed to open another, the soldiers pulled him back and shot at it, endangering everyone present, the verdict said.

http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article153299.ece

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Hanging Kasab: Your favourite online pastime?

Kim Arora

Oct 4, 2010

NEW DELHI: It began with throwing sheep at friends and poking people online. Today the virtual world allows you to eliminate terrorists at Mumbai's CST station, then shoot some more right outside the Taj and hang Kasab for good measure. If you thought first person shooter video games were all about World Wars and the Cold War, think again. As gaming moves with the times, developers are finding the Indian and Afghan terrain far more exciting than the Alps.

In India, the Mumbai terror attack has caught game developers' fancy in a big way. An online games site hosts Operation Mumbai and Hang Kasab, which together have been played nearly 5 lakh times to date. On similar plots of realtime terror, another online game portal hosts games such as " Taliban Wipeout" and "SWAT in Swat". The games figured among the portal's top 5 games of last year with over 2 million plays by 40 lakh people.

"Gamers are playing this game at least once to show their patriotism," says L Maruti Shankar, MD of Hyderabad-based Seven Seas Technology, the company behind video games such as Operation Mumbai.

Reacting promptly to events unfolding around them, they launched their hugely popular Hang Kasab in January 2010, just months before he was given the death sentence. In this simple flash game, the player is required to point the noose at Kasab's head and click in order to "hang" him. They are currently developing a game based on the Kargil War.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Hanging-Kasab-Your-favourite-online-pastime/articleshow/6680608.cms#ixzz11MJnf7ow

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Iran arrests 'nuclear spies'

Oct 4, 2010

LONDON: Iran has arrested several "spies" who were involved in an attempt to sabotage the country's nuclear programme, said Iranian intelligence minister Heydar Moslehi.

The arrest followed an attack on Iran's industrial computer network by a software bug Stuxnet that targeted Iranian nuclear facilities, including its main Bushehr power plant, British newspaper The Guardian reported Sunday.

Iran had discovered the "destructive activities of the arrogant (western powers) in cyberspace" and "different ways to confront them have been designed and implemented", The Guardian quoted Moslehi as saying.

The Stuxnet attack infected more than 30,000 computers in Iran. Suspicions have also been growing in recent days that the Stuxnet worm may have been designed as much to spy on the systems as to destroy them.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Iran-arrests-nuclear-spies-/articleshow/6680357.cms#ixzz11MK9gDDK

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US warns of terror attacks in Europe

Chidanand Rajghatta

Oct 4, 2010

WASHINGTON: It's a travel route and a ritual passage that is so commonplace for Americans that it's been dubbed "crossing the pond," euphemism for flying across the Atlantic.

But in an extraordinary security alert on Sunday, the United States asked its citizens travelling to Europe to be vigilant about possible terrorist attacks there amid fears of imminent strikes by al- Qaida and its affiliates. The alert was also linked to the CIA director Leon Panetta's visit to the Indian subcontinent with an unpublicized schedule that had stops in both Islamabad and New Delhi.

The security scuttlebutt, based on intelligence gleaned from a German citizen of Pakistani or Afghan origin who trained in Pakistan's Waziristan region, is that a bunch of terrorists holding western passports have been trained for a Mumbai-style attack on western interests.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-warns-of-terror-attacks-in-Europe/articleshow/6680342.cms#ixzz11MK5T4ln

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Sneak peak into Ground Zero 'mosque'

Oct 4, 2010

A conceptual sketch of the interior of the proposed Islamic centre.

NEW YORK: Conceptual sketches of the Islamic center planned two blocks from Ground Zero envision a futuristic-looking building wrapped in a honeycomb of abstract shapes, with a core containing far more space for secular pursuits than religious worship.

The renderings, some of which were posted on the project's website this week, are preliminary, but they project the development team's desire to build something cosmopolitan and fun on a site now known only for controversy. "I don't think that once this thing gets built, anyone will be picketing," said Sharif El-Gamal, the project's developer.

Groundbreaking for construction is probably two to three years away, "or hopefully sooner," El-Gamal said.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Sneak-peak-into-Ground-Zero-mosque/articleshow/6680371.cms#ixzz11MKz82Ot

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NYC mosque's imam, wife get death threats: Police

Oct 4, 2010

NEW YORK: The wife of an imam planning an Islamic community center and mosque near ground zero says she and her husband have received death threats.

Daisy Khan said on Sunday the lives of her and Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf are "under threat". Police can't confirm the threats.

Khan was part of a discussion of Islam on ABC television's "This Week" news program.

She says moderate Muslims like her must lead the fight against extremists. She says if moderates are branded extremists they'll be thrown into the arms of al-Qaida.

Developer Sharif El-Gamal has released preliminary sketches of the Islamic center. He says groundbreaking is probably two to three years away.

Opponents say the center should be farther away from where Islamic extremists destroyed the World Trade Center on Sept 11. Supporters say religious freedom should be protected.

Read more: NYC mosque's imam, wife get death threats: Police - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/NYC-mosques-imam-wife-get-death-threats-Police/articleshow/6680466.cms#ixzz11ML3Sjca

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Afghanistan denies asking UN not to publish rights report

Oct 4, 2010

KABUL: Afghanistan denied Sunday that it asked the United Nations not to publish a report into rights violations in the country between 1978 and 2001.

It came after a Swiss newspaper, Le Temps, said that the UN had buried a report that accused Soviets, Islamists and US forces of "atrocities".

But Waheed Omer, spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, said: "The United Nations has not contacted the Afghan government regarding any such report."

"If the United Nations wants to publish a report from its headquarters and the (Afghan) government is able to prevent it, I think that is sort of an insult to the United Nations," he said.

The paper said the UN report "was deliberately suppressed by the United Nations for political reasons".

Full report at:

India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Afghanistan-denies-asking-UN-not-to-publish-rights-report/articleshow/6681018.cms#ixzz11MLAr1iT

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Qaida suspect held by Italy cops

Oct 4, 2010

Italian anti terrorist police have arrested a French man suspected of belonging to al-Qaida and capable of securing explosives, sources close to the investigation said on Sunday.

The operation took place in a raid in Naples and France has filed a request for extradition of the man. There was no word on whether the man was linked to any immediate threat.

Read more: Qaida suspect held by Italy cops - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Qaida-suspect-held-by-Italy-cops/articleshow/6680353.cms#ixzz11MLK59ps

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2 Israeli soldiers guilty of war crime

Oct 4, 2010

JERUSALEM: An Israeli military court convicted two soldiers on Sunday of using a Palestinian child, identified as Majd R., as a human shield by forcing him to check for booby traps during the 2008-2009 Gaza war.

A transcript of the court decision made available by the army said the infantry sergeants were found guilty of "exceeding their authority to the point of endangering life," and "conduct unbecoming," for ordering a nine-year-old boy to search bags confiscated from arrested Palestinians.

The court acknowledged however that at the time of the incident, January 15, 2009, the troops had been under "difficult and dangerous combat conditions" and had gone several nights without sleep. Sentencing is to be decided at a later date, the military said.

Israel's Supreme Court has banned such actions, saying they amount to using a civilian as a human shield.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/2-Israeli-soldiers-guilty-of-war-crime/articleshow/6680360.cms#ixzz11MLNuB1c

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Syria wants Turkey to mediate talks with Israel

Oct 4, 2010

DAMASCUS: Syria wants Turkey to mediate any new indirect peace talks with Israel, and other efforts would be subordinate to Ankara's role, the Syrian foreign minister said Sunday.

The comments by Walid al-Moallem come as the Obama administration is pressing Damascus to resume long-stalled peace talks with Israel as part of Washington's broader push for a comprehensive deal between Arab countries and the Jewish state.

Ankara mediated several rounds of indirect negotiations between Israel and Syria in 2008 but the talks made no significant headway and were suspended following the Israeli military offensive in Gaza the following year.

Speaking to reporters Sunday in the Syrian port city of Lattakia, Al-Moallem said any new indirect negotiations with Israel should be mediated by Turkey and must resume where they left off.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Syria-wants-Turkey-to-mediate-talks-with-Israel/articleshow/6680249.cms#ixzz11MLRVvKa

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Chief Of CIA Meets PC, Intel Officials

Oct 03rd, 2010

Leon Panetta, the chief of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States, has concluded a series of meetings with Union home minister P. Chidambaram and Indian officials during a stopover here to discuss security threats in the South Asian region.

Mr Panetta flew here from Islamabad, Pakistan, where he had held talks with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. His visit there followed reports about Western intelligence agencies uncovering an Al Qaeda plot hatched in Pakistan to carry out attacks in Britain, France and Germany.

In New Delhi, Mr Panetta called on Mr Chidambaram and held meetings with Union home secretary Gopal Pillai, RAW chief K.C. Verma and Intelligence Bureau head Rajiv Mathur. US ambassador to India Timothy Roemer accompanied Mr Panetta to the meeting with the home minister.

Full report at:

http://www.asianage.com/india/chief-cia-meets-pc-intel-officials-594

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Afghanistan bans eight foreign security companies

Oct 04, 2010

KABUL: Afghanistan has formally banned eight foreign private security firms, including the controversial company formerly know as Blackwater, a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Sunday.

The Afghan government announced in August that it was giving security firms working in Afghanistan four months to cease operations, potentially hitting hard efforts by NATO-led troops fighting a nine-year insurgency in the country. “The process of dissolving eight private security companies and collecting their weapons has been carried out successfully,” Waheed Omer told reporters.

Full report at:

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\10\04\story_4-10-2010_pg1_4

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Taliban kill three ‘US spies’ in North Waziristan

Oct 04, 2010

PESHAWAR: The bullet-riddled bodies of three men were found on Sunday lying on a road in North Waziristan, killed by suspected Taliban in apparent retaliation for the recent US drone strikes in the area, officials and a villager said.

The corpses were discovered in North Waziristan alongside the Miran Shah-Dattakhel road. A note under a rock next to the bodies said, “Anyone who dares spy for the Americans will meet the same fate,” according to two intelligence officials.

Local government official Asghar Khan confirmed the report, but refused to give further details or release the identities or nationalities of the victims. The slayings came the day after two suspected US missile attacks killed 16 people in the region, part of a recent surge in drone strikes in Pakistan along with stepped-up NATO operations along the frontier. The strikes have been targeting terrorists taking shelter across the porous border out of reach of US ground forces in Afghanistan. ap

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\10\04\story_4-10-2010_pg7_5

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Auction of Al-Ajhouri’s Al-Shatie plots starts today

By MD HUMAIDAN

Oct 4, 2010

JEDDAH: A three-day auction of 308 plots of land owned by Fouad Al-Ajhouri, the man who swindled more than SR1 billion in a real estate investment scam nearly 30 years ago, is set to start in Jeddah on Monday afternoon.

The land will be auctioned off at Le Méridien Hotel from 5 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the court-appointed case auditor Saleh Al-Naeem told Arab News.

“All preparations are in place for the auction of the plots in Jeddah's Al-Shatie district. No reporter will be allowed inside the auction hall without proper accreditation papers,” he said. “The proceedings will be totally transparent and will be shown live via CCTV on 25 screens. The plots offered on auction will also be shown with their full details.”

He added that the general court in Jeddah informed case liquidator Abdullah Omar Naseef that its commission will not attend the auction as the case is currently handled by the local administrative court. “Detailed audio and video recordings of all proceedings will be made,” Al-Naeem said.

Full report at:

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article153230.ece

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Tension between Hariri, Hezbollah reaches all-time high

By DAVID E. MILLER

Oct 4, 2010

BEIRUT: At least 15 four-wheel drive vehicles, license plates covered, stormed Beirut's International Rafik Al-Hariri airport on Saturday. Out of the vehicles jumped armed Hezbollah members and other supporters of a Lebanese ex-security official, who had just arrived on a flight from Paris.

The Hezbollah gunmen surrounded Gen. (ret.) Jamil Sayyed as he spoke to press at the airport, escorting him home at the end of the event.

Sayyed, the former head of Lebanon's General Security, was arrested in 2005 and held in jail for nearly four years without charge for involvement in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

"The Beirut airport was turned into one of Hezbollah's security quarters," an anonymous member of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri March 14 Alliance told the Arab daily Sharq Al-Awsat. "This dangerously revealed airport security."

Full report at:

http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article153201.ece

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Ahmadinejad calls for US leaders to be ‘buried’

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI

Oct 3, 2010

TEHRAN, Iran: Iran’s president Sunday called for US leaders to be “buried” in response to what he says are American threats of military attack against Tehran’s nuclear program.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is known for brash rhetoric in addressing the West, but in a speech Sunday he went a step further using a deeply offensive insult in response to US statements that the military option against Iran is still on the table.

“May the undertaker bury you, your table and your body, which has soiled the world,” he said using language in Iran reserved for hated enemies.

Several top US officials including Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff have said in recent months that the military option remains on the table and there is a plan to attack Iran, although a military strike has been described as a bad idea.

The crowd of military men and clerics in the town of Hashtgerd just west of the capital chuckled at the president’s insult and applauded.

Full report at:

http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article153138.ece

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Saudi Arabia: Nothing wrong in women practicing law, says justice minister

By MD AL-HUMAIDAN

Oct 4, 2010

JEDDAH: Justice Minister Muhammad Al-Eissa on Sunday opened the second national rights forum organized by the lawyers committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). JCCI Chairman Saleh Kamil attended the opening session.

Speaking to reporters after the inaugural session, Al-Eissa emphasized the importance of such forums in creating confidence among the public in the country’s judicial system.

“The ministry will provide all support to activities aimed at enhancing people’s awareness about their legal rights,” the minister said.

On the issue of women working as lawyers, the minister said: “Women have been presenting cases in courts for the last several years. They either represented themselves or worked as agents of others. There is nothing wrong in Islam for women to practice this profession as long as they follow Shariah regulations.”

Full report at:

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article153275.ece

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Egypt backs Palestine on settlements

By ABDUL JALIL MUSTAFA

Oct 3, 2010

CAIRO/AMMAN: Egypt backed the Palestinians’ refusal to negotiate with Israel as long as it continues to build West Bank settlements, even as officials urged Sunday for continued diplomacy to salvage the month-old talks.

Washington’s Mideast envoy met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to discuss the impasse ahead of an Arab League meeting this week at which the Palestinians are expected to deliver a final decision on whether to continue with talks following Israel’s decision a week ago to allow a curb on settlement building to expire.

George Mitchell then traveled to Jordan where he met King Abdallah who underlined the “pivotal US role in Middle East peace efforts” during the meeting.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says there is no point negotiating as long as settlements are eating up the land the Palestinians want for a future state. On Saturday, senior Palestinian officials backed Abbas’s refusal and said they are now considering alternatives to the direct negotiations if Israel doesn’t budge.

Full report at:

http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article153136.ece

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Mohammed launches historic visual identity contest

4 October 2010

DUBAI — His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced on Sunday the launch of a country-wide contest to design ‘The Nation Brand’.

The historic visual identity contest in the country launched under the motto ‘The Nation Brand Contest; be part of the UAE history’ will attract the country’s talented youth to participate.

The Nation Brand will depict the country’s values, characteristics as well as the culture of its people for the purpose of using it in all promotional events of the UAE internally and externally. The nation brand will unify and strengthen these efforts and serve UAE’s supreme strategic objectives.

Full report at:

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2010/October/theuae_October79.xml&section=theuae

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Journalists charged for publishing false news

4 October 2010

Abu Dhabi - The office of Abu Dhabi Attorney General has charged two Journalists with publishing false news, an official source at the office said.

According to the source, the Attorney General office had pressed charges against the journalists who work for two newspapers for publishing false information that the defendants in the in the Central Bank fraud case had been exonerated.

The source added that Attorney General was considering a subpoena for the chief editors of the two newspapers who are currently outside the country.

‘The journalists and their editors should have verified the accuracy of news before publishing them,’ he added

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2010/October/theuae_October69.xml&section=theuae

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3 killed in blast at Turkish leather workshop

3 October 2010

ANKARA — Three people were killed and four injured on Sunday in an explosion at a leather workshop in southern Turkey, the Anatolia news agency reported.

The blast occurred in the boiler room of the two-storey workshop in Guzelburc town in Hatay province, the report said.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the explosion and an investigation was underway.

Hatay, which borders Syria, has in the past been the scene of attacks by Kurdish rebels fighting for self-rule in the country’s Kurdish-populated southeast.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/October/middleeast_October42.xml&section=middleeast

URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=3497