| Islamic World News | |
| 05 Oct 2010, NewAgeIslam.Com |
Islam has a place in Germany, says president
Ground Zero Mosque Builder: Life In Threat
Nato Forces May Hit LeT Camps In Pak
‘Jundullah not to be allowed to operate from Balochistan’
3 suspected LeT men arrested in Dhaka
Ayodhya verdict: Sunni Waqf Board to move SC
Times Square bombing plot accused Shahzad to be sentenced today
Veil or burqa cannot be enforced: Bangladesh
Indonesia flash floods kill 56
Five NATO soldiers killed in Afghanistan
10 killed in Iraq violence, including journalist
Eiffel Tower, Berlin's Central Station were on terror hit list
Jeddah soon to have trams
Anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders’s hate speech trial opens
Settlers burn mosque in West Bank
We did train militant groups to fight against India: Musharraf
A politician may replace Vohra as J&K governor
SC rejects Purohit's bail plea in Malegaon case
Muslim law board to take up Ansari's cause for mediation at meet
Ayodhya: CWC to decide Congress stand on verdict
Ayodhya verdict: Feel vindicated about rath yatra, says Advani
Omar, Chidambaram meet PM; discuss Kashmir interlocutors
BJP demands 'Ramjanmabhoomi Bill' in Parliament
Nato regrets soldiers' death, wants key route reopened
US, Pak close to find solution on closure of supply route
Pak plans panel to meet 26/11 case probe officer, magistrate
Parties keen to cash in on Muslim angst
US apologises for Afghan civilian deaths
Syria seeks arrests over Hariri probe
NATO supplies suspended for 6th day
Zardari approves flood tax for Sindh, MQM rejects
No flood tax in Punjab: Rana Sana
Israel must stop settlements: Cabinet
Iran: Nuclear delay due to leak, not computer worm
Israeli Supreme Court rebukes Irish Nobel laureate
Saudi and Egypt support Lebanon UN tribunal
Egypt-Iran flights to resume after 30 year break
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: German President Christian Wulff
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US drone strike kills 8 German militants in Pakistan
Oct 5, 2010
PESHAWAR: At least eight foreign militants of German nationality were killed when a US drone struck a rebel compound in the restive North Waziristan tribal region of northwest Pakistan on Monday, sources said.
The drone fired two missiles at the compound near a mosque three kilometres west of Mirali sub-division in North Waziristan.
Ten foreign militants had gathered in the compound for a meeting when the drone struck.
Eight militants with German nationality were killed while two sustained critical injuries, sources said.
The dead militants belonged to Jehad Al-Islami, they added.
The sources said 90 per cent of foreign fighters in the tribal belt are members of this group.
The group mostly operates in Afghanistan and its members visit the tribal belt to rest and regroup.
The killing of the militants with German nationality comes close on the heels of reports in the Western media that a group of jihadists from the German city of Hamburg is at the centre of an al-Qaida plot to launch coordinated terror attacks on European cities.
Western intelligence officials have been quoted by the media as saying that they learned about the plot after Ahmed Siddiqui, a German citizen of Afghan descent, was arrested in Afghanistan in July and taken to the US airbase at Bagram for questioning.
In early 2009, Siddiqui and 10 others left Hamburg for the Pakistan's tribal areas and joined a jihadist group fighting US and allied forces across the border in Afghanistan, German intelligence officials have said.
The US reportedly stepped up drone attacks in North Waziristan last month after learning of the plot.
The unmanned spy planes have carried out nearly two dozen attacks in the region since early September.
Read more: US drone strike kills 8 German militants in Pakistan - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/US-drone-strike-kills-8-German-militants-in-Pakistan/articleshow/6686310.cms#ixzz11SIZuF5K
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Islam has a place in Germany, says president
04 Oct, 2010
BERLIN, Oct 3: German President Christian Wulff said on Sunday that Islam had a place in Germany, during a speech celebrating two decades of reunification.
The president, who holds a largely ceremonial position but is considered a moral authority for the nation, used the televised ceremony to wade into a debate over immigrant integration that has captivated public attention for weeks.
“First and foremost, we need adopt a clear stance: an understanding that for Germany, belonging is not restricted to a passport, a family history, or a religion,” he told an audience in the northern city of Bremen.
“Christianity doubtless belongs in Germany. Judaism belongs doubtless in Germany. That is our Judeo-Christian history. But by now, Islam also belongs in Germany,” he added.
Wulff’s speech was part of nationwide festivities marking reunification in 1990, after Germany spent a half-century divided into two countries following defeat in World War Two.
His comments came after a sustained public discussion on the role of immigrants, most of whom were seen until a decade ago as “guest workers” who would eventually return to other countries.
The issue had been simmering for years as blood-based citizenship laws gave little recognition to the country’s newer residents, 4 million of whom are Muslim.
Positions hardened however last summer after an outspoken board member of Germany’s central bank accused Muslim immigrants of sponging off the welfare state, refusing to integrate and lowering the nation’s intelligence.
After publishing his ideas in a book that went on to be a bestseller, Thilo Sarrazin was forced out of his job at the Bundesbank, leaving Germany split over his views and how he was handled by the political establishment. —Reuters
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/islam-has-a-place-in-germany,-says-president-400
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Ground Zero Mosque Builder: Life In Threat
Oct 05th, 2010
One of the developers of the proposed mosque near Ground Zero, that has evoked extreme reactions from New Yorkers, has said that her life and that of the project’s spearhead Imam Rauf is under threat.
“For the record, my life is under threat,” said Daisy Khan, the co-developer and wife of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who is spearheading the controversial project.
“My husband’s life is under threat,” Ms Khan said. However, she did not indicate the source of the threat. The plan to build an Islamic Centre and mosque near the site of the fallen twin towers has been the source of heated debate for several months.
Till now, polls have indicated that a majority of New Yorkers are against constructing the community centre on that spot. It has provoked extreme reactions from certain groups like Pastor Terry Jones of Florida, who planned to burn the Holy Quran at his church in Florida on 9/11 but then eventually did not go through with it.
At one point, the mosque developers even indicated that they might consider changing the location if the tensions worsened.
http://www.asianage.com/international/ground-zero-mosque-builder-life-threat-839
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Nato Forces May Hit LeT Camps In Pak
By Shafqat Ali
Oct 05th, 2010
Nato military forces are preparing to launch an attack on Lashkar-e-Tayy-aba (LeT) terrorists inside Pakistan to appease India, intelligence reports here have claimed.
“The Nato forces, led by the United States, are ready to expand their attacks further inside Pakistan. They plan to hit Lashkar-e-Tayyaba camps in Paki-stan,” a senior g
overnment official said, citing intelligence reports. The Nato forces are already under fire in Pakistan for crossing the Afghan-Pak border four times in recent days and killing several people, including three Pakistani soldiers.
The whole plan, the official said, “is to appease India”, which has been demanding such action for some time as “Pakistan has failed” to handle the LeT terrorists.
Recent statements by top US military and government officials against the LeT, a banned organisation, has strengthened the belief within Pakistan that the US is planning to target activists of the Hafiz Mohammad Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa, which is considered to be a front for the LeT. US officials have said that the Afghan Taliban, Pakistani Taliban and LeT are linked to each other, and “they are one and the same people”.
Sources here claim that US Special Forces are secretly operating in the Afghan provinces of Kunar, Nuristan and Nangarhar to monitor the LeT’s activities.
http://www.asianage.com/india/nato-forces-may-hit-let-camps-pak-859
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‘Jundullah not to be allowed to operate from Balochistan’
Tuesday, 05 Oct, 2010
QUETTA, Oct 4: Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani said on Monday that friendship with Iran would be strengthened and terrorists’ design to undermine the efforts towards that end would be defeated.
Mr Raisani said that Jundullah and other terrorist organisations would not be allowed to carry out their activities against Iran from Balochistan.
“We will not allow Jundullah and other terrorist groups to use our soil against Iran,” he said while talking to Dawn after attending a ceremony held in connection with the handing over of Iranian relief goods to provincial government.
Iranian Ambassador Mash Allah Shakiri and Deputy Chairman of Senate Mir Jan Mohammad Jamali were present on the occasion.
The chief minister said that Iran had always stood by Pakistan in its time of trouble.— Staff Correspondent
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/jundullah-not-to-be-allowed-to-operate-from-balochistan-500
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3 suspected LeT men arrested in Dhaka
4 October 2010
The detective branch of police on Monday produced three Pakistani nationals before newsmen two days after their arrest on suspicion they were members of the Kashmir-based militant outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The police arrested the three Pakistanis – Khurram alias Mohammad Selim, 42, Abdul Malek, 31, and Imran, 31– at Imperial Hotel on Bangabandhu Avenue on Saturday.
At a briefing at its headquarters, DB officials said that after questioning the three they suspected that Khurram used to coordinate activities of Lashkar in the South Asian countries. Khurram also had links to the banned militant ooutfits Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh and Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (Huji), the police suspected.
The police arrested the three LeT men along with a large quantity of foreign cigarettes and cosmetics after conducting a raid in Hotel Imperial on Saturday, DB’s assistant commissioner Golam Azad Khan told newsmen.
In response to a question about the delay in producing the three suspected Lashkar men before the media, he said, ‘We produced them before the media two days after their arrest because we raided different places of the city to arrest some other operatives of militant outfits.
The DB official did not give details of the raids.
The police have come to know that Khurram was a close associate of LeT leader Maulana Obaidullah, an Indian national, and Mansur, a Pakistani citizen, Golam Azad said.
On July 16, 2009, the detective police arrested Maulana Obaidullah in the Babu Bazaar bridge area in Old Dhaka and suspected LeT operative Maulana Mansur Ali, better known as Maulana Habibullah, from Dakkhinkhan in the city on July 20.
On the basis of their confessional statements, the detective police arrested Emdadullah alias Mahbub, another suspected LeT member at Gabtoli in the capital on October 1, 2009.
The Indian government accused Lashkar-e-Taiba of mounting the bloody attack on Mumbai attack in November 2008.
Lashkar-e-Taiba is the armed wing of the Pakistan-based religious organisation, Markaz-ud-Dawa-wal-Irshad or MDI – a hardline Sunni outfit formed in 1980s to fight against Soviet troops in Afghanistan.
LeT sprang up in the early 1990s as the armed wing of Markaz-ud Dawa-wal-Irshad.
The LeT is led by Abdul Wahid Kashmiri and is one of the three largest and best-trained groups fighting in Kashmir against India.
Elements of LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed, another Pakistan-based militant organisation, combined with other groups to launch ‘The Save Kashmir Movement.’
New Age Daily, Dhaka
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Ayodhya verdict: Sunni Waqf Board to move SC
Ashish Tripathi
Oct 5, 2010,
NEW DELHI: UP Central Sunni Wakf Board in its meeting on Tuesday decided to file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the Allahabad High Court verdict on the Ayodhya dispute.
Earlier, the Board on Sept 30 had said it will move the Supreme Court against the Allahabad High Court order dividing the disputed land in Ayodhya among three parties and said they were not going to surrender it.
"We will appeal against the division of disputed land among three parties," Board lawyer Zafaryab Jilani told reporters on Sept 30.
"HC's formula of one-third land is not acceptable to the Waqf Board and it will appeal against it in the apex court," he said.
He said they were not going to surrender the land. However, he said, the Sunni Board is open to any negotiated settlement on the issue if such a proposal for negotiations for a settlement came to it.
Full report at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Ayodhya-verdict-Sunni-Waqf-Board-to-move-SC/articleshow/6691223.cms#ixzz11UL7dwEQ
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Times Square bombing plot accused Shahzad to be sentenced today
Oct 05 2010
New York : Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American arrested for the failed Times Square bombing, will be sentenced on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old, who described himself as a "Muslim soldier", faces life in prison five months after he tried to blow up his explosives-laden car at the iconic Times Square.
In June, Shahzad pleaded guilty for his May 1 attempt to detonate the car bomb in the Times Square here.
While pleading guilty on 10 terror and weapons charges, Shahzad warned that the US would face more attacks if they continued operations in "Muslim lands".
"I want to plead guilty, and I'm going to plead guilty 100 times over because until the hour the US pulls its forces from Iraq and Afghanistan, and stops the drone strikes in Somalia and Yemen and in Pakistan, and stops the occupation of Muslim lands, and stops killing the Muslims... we will be attacking US, and I plead guilty to that," Shahzad had said.
Full report at: http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/692740/
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Veil or burqa cannot be enforced: Bangladesh
05 Oct, 2010
The High Court on Monday ruled that no woman or girl in the country could be forced to wear veil, burqa or any religious dress against her will.
The bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Justice Sheikh Md Zakir Hossain also ruled that the original Constitution, framed in 1972, was automatically restored after the Appellate Division declared illegal the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.
The four fundamental principles of state policy, including secularism, have also been automatically restored by the Supreme Court’s verdict, meaning that everybody in the country has the right to freedom of religion, said the court.
‘As any person in the country has the freedom of religion, no one can be forced to wear veil or any religious dress,’ it pointed out.
The court also added that nobody could be prohibited to wear veil or any religious dress if s/he wishes to do so.
The court came up with the rulings in its judgement in a rule it issued suo moto on August 22, asking the government to ensure that no women are forced to wear veil or any religious dress and no girl students are barred from cultural activities and sports in educational institutions or offices.
Full report at: New Age Daily, Dhaka
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Indonesia flash floods kill 56
Oct 5, 2010
JAKARTA: At least 56 people were killed and 24 remain missing after flash floods in a remote region of Indonesia's West Papua province, a disaster management official said on Tuesday.
"We just received information from local officials there that 56 people were killed and 24 people went missing," Dani Kismianto told AFP.
The floods were unleashed early on Monday after torrential downpours that began late Sunday in West Papua's Teluk Wondama district.
Kisianto said that 81 people were seriously injured and most of them had been flown to hospitals in neighbouring districts of Nabire and Manokwari.
"We reckon that the death toll will increase as the terrain conditions make it hard for the rescuers to reach them," he said adding that the affected areas are mountainous.
Officials said that communication lines had been cut off and roads to the affected areas were blocked by fallen trees.
Thousands of buildings including houses, schools and offices were badly damaged and bridges had collapsed, officials said on Monday.
Floods and landslides are common in Indonesia, which is prone to frequent heavy rain.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Indonesia-flash-floods-kill-56/articleshow/6692113.cms#ixzz11ULa3vsi
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Five Nato soldiers killed in Afghanistan
05 Oct, 2010
KANDAHAR: Bombs and shootings on Monday killed five Nato soldiers and targeted two pro-government officials in Kandahar, the Taliban's former capital in southern Afghanistan, officials said.
Nato’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said four soldiers were killed in bomb attacks in the south and a fifth died fighting rebels in the east of the country. It declined to release their nationalities.
The new deaths took to 561 the number of foreign troops killed in the Afghan war so far in 2010, according to a tally by independent website icasualties.org, as the toll from the nine-year Taliban-led insurgency worsens.
This year's toll is the highest on record since the war began in late 2001 with a US-led invasion toppling the Taliban regime.
There are more than 150,000 foreign troops, the majority US and Nato, fighting to end the insurgency with the focus largely on areas of the south, where the Taliban exert a strong presence.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/five-nato-soldiers-killed-in-afghanistan-500
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10 killed in Iraq violence, including journalist
4 October 2010
BAGHDAD ·— Ten people were killed in violence in Baghdad and northern Iraq on Monday, including a journalist for a US-funded television station, medical and security officials said.
Tahrir Kadhim Jawad, a cameraman for the Al Hurra satellite channel, was killed when a magnetic ‘sticky bomb’ attached to his car detonated in the town of Garma, 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of the capital, police in nearby Fallujah said.
International press watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned Jawad’s killing, calling for ‘urgent protection to be provided for the country’s journalists and... (for) authorities to speed up the conclusions of the investigation.’
RSF said last month that the Iraq conflict has been the deadliest for the media since World War II, and in October 2009 ranked Iraq a lowly 145th place for media freedom out of 175 countries.
According to the ‘Impunity Index’ released in April by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, Iraq has the worst record of any country for solving the murders of reporters.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/October/middleeast_October59.xml§ion=middleeast
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Eiffel Tower, Berlin's Central Station were on terror hit list
Oct 04 2010
Washington : Pakistan-based terrorists plotting to carry out Mumbai-style killings in European cities had on their sight landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, as well as Berlin's Central Station, a media report said on Monday.
The names of the high-profile targets were revealed as the US issued a travel advisory asking its citizens to guard against potential terror threats while in Europe.
The terror targets included tourist hotspots like France's global icon the Eiffel Tower, one of the world's most visited monument which millions of people ascend every year and the Notre Dame cathedral, one of France's most famous architectures.
Also on the list were landmarks in Berlin including the high-profile Hotel Adlon, near Berlin's famed Brandenburg Gate, Germany's most famous symbol.
Berlin's Central Station and its landmark Alexanderplatz TV tower were also on the hit list of the militants, who were reportedly being trained in al Qaeda-run camps in Pakistan's tribal areas.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/692373/
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Jeddah soon to have trams
Oct 5, 2010
JEDDAH: Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal on Monday announced his administration’s plans to implement a number of vital projects in the province, including a SR21 billion tram system linking the various residential districts of Jeddah.
He said the trams would pass through 12 main streets in the city, adding that the annual operation cost of the new system would reach SR370 million. Trams are part of a new general transport system to be introduced by the Transport Ministry.
“The Ministry of Transport has a plan to operate 816 buses to link the city’s various districts as part of the new plan,” the governor said. He did not say when the new project would become a reality. The new system includes commuter and tourist trains.
Transport Minister Jabara Al-Seraisry had earlier made a presentation to the governor on his ministry’s plans to develop public transport in Jeddah. The project will be carried out in three phases.
The new public transport system, which includes monorails, buses and trams linking Jeddah’s residential districts, will bring about a revolution in the city’s traffic system. The project also involves 201 stations and dozens of tramcars.
The plan for developing Jeddah’s public transport system was prepared by Canada’s IBI group, which provides a full range of services related to the movement of people, goods and information within and between transport facilities.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article154184.ece
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Anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders’s hate speech trial opens
Tuesday, 05 Oct, 2010
AMSTERDAM, Oct 4: Anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders, set to become a shadow partner of the next Dutch government, defended the right to free speech on Monday as his trial for inciting hatred against Muslims made a halting start.
“I am on trial, but on trial with me is the freedom of expression of many Dutch citizens,” Wilders, 47, told the Amsterdam district court before seeking his three judges’ recusal for bias, thereby causing the suspension of the hearing.
The controversial politician with his signature shock of dyed-blonde hair risks up to a year in jail or a 7,600-euro fine for calling Islam “fascist” and and criticising Quran.
He is charged with five counts of giving religious offence to Muslims and inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims and people of non-western immigrant origin, particularly Moroccans, in comments made between October 2006 and March 2008 in Dutch newspapers and on Internet forums.
Among the exhibits is Wilders’ 17-minute film, “Fitna”, alleged to depict Islam as a force bent on destroying the West and whose screening in the Netherlands in 2008 prompted protests in much of the Muslim world.
He told the court that apart from his opening statement he would rely on his right to remain silent and would not answer any questions.
“I have said everything I wanted to say and will not take back a single word,” he said.—AFP
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/antiislam-mps-hate-speech-trial-opens-500
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Settlers burn mosque in West Bank
Tuesday, 05 Oct, 2010
BEIT FAJJAR (Palestinian Territories), Oct 4: Vandals spray-painted and torched a mosque in the southern West Bank early on Monday in an attack Palestinian witnesses and officials blamed on Israeli settlers.
The attack came at a tense time, with direct peace talks on hold over the resumption of Israeli settlement construction in the occupied territory, and was condemned by both Israel and the United Nations.
Palestinian witnesses said six armed men in a white car drove into Beit Fajjar village near Bethlehem at 3:00 am (0100 GMT) and spray-painted Hebrew insults on the walls before setting the building alight.
Some of the group were wearing Jewish skullcaps and at least one wore a mask, they said, adding that the men appeared to be settlers.
Several copies of Quran and prayer rugs were incinerated in the attack, according to Ali Sawabta of the local municipality.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/settlers-burn-mosque-in-west-bank-500
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We did train militant groups to fight against India: Musharraf
October 5th, 2010
London: Pakistan had trained militant groups to fight against India and 'the government turned a blind eye because they wanted India to discuss Kashmir', former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf has said in a candid admission.
In an interview to Der Spiegel, Musharraf said militant groups 'were indeed formed' to fight India in Kashmir.
He said: "The government turned a blind eye because they wanted India to discuss Kashmir."
To a query on whether the Pakistani security forces trained the militants, Musharraf said: "The West was ignoring the resolution of the Kashmir issue, which is the core issue of Pakistan. We expected the West - especially the United States and important countries like Germany - to resolve the Kashmir issue. Has Germany done that?"
The 67-year-old former Pakistan army chief, who masterminded a coup in October 1999 and overthrew the Nawaz Sharif government, pointed out that whenever Pakistan was in turmoil, 'everybody looks to the army. But I would suggest that the times of military coups in Pakistan are over'.
On the present government in Pakistan, he said that 'everybody can see what they are doing'.
Full report at:
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/international/we-did-train-militant-groups-fight-against-india-musharraf-043
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A politician may replace Vohra as J&K governor
Vishwa Mohan
Oct 5, 2010
NEW DELHI: Jammu and Kashmir, which has a history of having either retired bureaucrats or defence personnel as its governor, may get a politician as head of state as the Centre is mulling an option to replace N N Vohra (retired IAS officer) with a senior political leader.
Though Vohra, who was appointed as J&K governor in 2008, still has nearly three years of his term left, he may be shifted to some other state to make way for a new person who has been through the rough and tumble of politics.
Though widely acclaimed for his administrative accumen, Vohra has not been quite visible since the eruption of trouble in the sensitive state, something that is seen as compounding problems for the chief minister, a political sophomore.
The search for a political governor is reflective of a shift in the government's focus -- from defence against Pakistan-backed terrorists to a political response to grievances driving the current agitation. It is felt that the chief minister, seen by many as bereft of political advice from his senior National Conference colleagues, can do with the advice from a political governor.
"Even though the governor does not have any direct role in governance, a politician with better understanding of representative politics can be useful for J&K where the general public feel quite alienated at the current juncture," said a senior government source summing up the thinking in the government.
Vohra was the central interlouctor for the state before he replaced Lt General (retd) S K Sinha as the governor in June 2008.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/A-politician-may-replace-Vohra-as-JK-governor/articleshow/6685848.cms#ixzz11SEAJGSm
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SC rejects Purohit's bail plea in Malegaon case
Oct 5, 2010
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court declined to grant bail to Lieutenant Colonel S P Purohit, one of the key accused in the case relating to 2008 Malegaon bomb blasts which killed seven people.
"It is a grievous offence. Many people were killed. The trial is still on," the apex court said on Monday when Purohit's counsel submitted that the accused was languishing in jail for the last two years. A bench of Justices Markandeya Katju and T S Thakur, however, admitted the appeal filed by Purohit challenging his prosecution under Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (Mcoca) and agreed to expedite the hearing.
Though co-accused Pragya Singh Thakur had filed a similar appeal, it did not come up for hearing. Both the accused have challenged the Bombay high court's direction allowing Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) to invoke Mcoca against them.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/SC-rejects-Purohits-bail-plea-in-Malegaon-case/articleshow/6687104.cms#ixzz11SH7Xhk6
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Muslim law board to take up Ansari's cause for mediation at meet
Oct 5, 2010
NEW DELHI: Though 90-year-old Hashim Ansari is on his own in taking a step to negotiate with the Hindu Mahants over the fate of the trifurcated Ayodhya site, he seems to be articulating the concerns of an important section of the Muslim activists and opinion-makers.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board will take note of his initiative when it meets in Lucknow on October 16 to discuss the issues arising out of the Allahabad High Court judgment.
Though there are many within the community favouring another round of legal battle in the apex court challeging the HC decision, a view is emerging that this would be a futile exercise.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Muslim-law-board-to-take-up-Ansaris-cause-for-mediation-at-meet/articleshow/6685915.cms#ixzz11SHfvrv8
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Ayodhya: CWC to decide Congress stand on verdict
Oct 5, 2010
NEW DELHI: Meeting in the backdrop of the recent court verdict on the status of the disputed Ayodhya site, the Congress Working Committee on Tuesday will take stock of the situation and discuss its political fallout to decide the party line on the sensitive issue.
The party's highest policy making body, now converted into the Congress steering committee until fresh CWC elections, will deliberate on the political import of the Allahabad High Court.
The court decision has already set in motion a new churning within both communities with a new focus on moderation.
Though ostensibly being convened to decide a date for the party's plenary session, the body is all set to go into the far-reaching consequences of the judgment.
So far it has maintained a middle-of-the-road position insisting that the judicial pronouncement be accepted in the absence of a negotiated settlement.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Ayodhya-CWC-to-decide-Congress-stand-on-verdict/articleshow/6685816.cms#ixzz11SHkj84t
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Ayodhya verdict: Feel vindicated about rath yatra, says Advani
Oct 4, 2010
NEW DELHI: Senior BJP leader L K Advani feels "vindicated" about his Ayodhya 'rath yatra' in the wake of the Allahabad High Court verdict and prefers a negotiated settlement for building a Ram temple at the place where the makeshift now stands.
Advani, the mascot of the temple campaign who launched the rath yatra in 1989, also rejects criticism that the last week's judgement of the Lucknow Bench puts faith above law, saying it is only a case of "faith upheld by law".
He strongly endorses his party president Nitin Gadkari's suggestion that Muslims can build a mosque "outside the complex" in Faizabad on the banks of river Saryu.
In the course of more than an hour-long interview with PTI, the BJP leader, who will turn 84 next month, is careful in his statements and does not want to appear victorious after the judgement and would not say anything that would ruffle the feathers in the Muslim community.
"Yes, I do feel vindicated because I believe that until 1989 BJP was not part of this (temple) movement which actually started in 1949," he said, to a question whether the judgement has vindicated his temple campaign launched in 1989 from Somnath to Ayodhya.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Ayodhya-verdict-Feel-vindicated-about-rath-yatra-says-Advani/articleshow/6684727.cms#ixzz11SHqB3eR
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Omar, Chidambaram meet PM; discuss Kashmir interlocutors
Oct 4, 2010
NEW DELHI: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday separately met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the appointment of interlocutors for a renewed dialogue with separatist leaders in the troubled valley -- one of the main points in the government's eight-point agenda to bring peace in Kashmir.
"The issue of interlocutors for a peace dialogue in Kashmir was discussed in the two meetings. But there has not been any final decision as yet," an official said.
Abdullah apprised the prime minister of the latest situation in the state and also discussed the appointment of interlocutors who will begin the process of a sustained dialogue with all sections of people in Kashmir, especially the separatists, an official here said.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Omar-Chidambaram-meet-PM-discuss-Kashmir-interlocutors/articleshow/6684524.cms#ixzz11SHyUs00
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BJP demands 'Ramjanmabhoomi Bill' in Parliament
Oct 4, 2010
KOLKATA: BJP national vice-president Vinay Katiyar on Monday demanded that the Prime Minister take the initiative in tabling a Bill in the Parliament to ensure construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
"Now that the Allahabad High Court has given a clear verdict, a Ramjanambhoomi Bill should be brought in Parliament to pave the way for construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should take the initiative in this regard," Katiyar told PTI here.
Katiyar, who arrived here on Monday to address a rally at Deganga in North 24-Parganas district where a communal clash sparked off tension on September 7, said, "Legitimate demands for a Ram temple be translated into reality."
"Such a Bill for a Ram temple in Ayodhya should be in line with the Bill piloted by former Union home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel for clearing the ground for Somnath temple in Gujarat," he added.
Read more: BJP demands 'Ramjanmabhoomi Bill' in Parliament - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/BJP-demands-Ramjanmabhoomi-Bill-in-Parliament/articleshow/6684001.cms#ixzz11SI4ZEiP
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Nato regrets soldiers' death, wants key route reopened
Oct 5, 2010
BRUSSELS: Expressing regret for the deaths of Pakistani soldiers in a cross-border strike, Nato on Monday asked Pakistan to reopen the key supply route for coalition troops in Afghanistan, but Islamabad said it cannot do so unless the "reaction cools down" in the country.
Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen conveyed the message to Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi during a meeting in Brussels.
"I expressed my regrets for the incident last week in which Pakistani soldiers lost their lives," Rasmussen told reporters after the meeting. "I expressed condolences to the families. Obviously this incident was unintended," he said.
Qureshi apprised the secretary-general of the "gravity of public anger over Nato incursions said that Pakistan would only reopen a supply route for coalition troops in Afghanistan once public anger eases and security improves."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Nato-regrets-soldiers-death-wants-key-route-reopened/articleshow/6686507.cms#ixzz11SIVtOkj
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US, Pak close to find solution on closure of supply route
Tue Oct 05 2010
Washington: US and Pakistan are close to find a solution to Islamabad's recent ban on a crucial American supply line to Afghanistan, the White House has said.
"We are in discussions and working with the government of Pakistan to address the concerns relating to the closure of the border there. We believe we are close to producing some results on that and may have more on that in the future," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said.
The discussions in this regard are happening at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department between the diplomats of the two countries, he said.
"We're working government to government. We have expressed our condolences for what happened several days ago in Pakistan with ISAF and their forces. We're working through the border closing right now," Gibbs said.
Since Thursday, Pakistan had blocked a land route for NATO convoys carrying supplies to Afghanistan after officials blamed a cross-border NATO helicopter attack for the deaths of three Pakistani soldiers.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/692739/
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Pak plans panel to meet 26/11 case probe officer, magistrate
Oct 05 2010
New Delhi : Although a detailed written communication is still awaited, Pakistan, in a note verbale, has formally told India that it plans to set up a Commission which will visit India to examine the Magistrate who recorded 26/11 gunman Ajmal Amir Kasab’s statement, and the Investigating Officer of the case.
Having already indicated its willingness to cooperate with such a mechanism, the Indian government will shortly seek a clarification on the note verbale.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik met India’s High Commissioner to Pakistan Sharat Sabharwal on October 3 and is learnt to have conveyed his government’s intention to set up a Commission which would want to examine these two officials related to the trial of Kasab.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/692657/
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Parties keen to cash in on Muslim angst
By Kay Benedict and A. M. Jigeesh in New Delhi
THE Ayodhya verdict has triggered a race among “ secular” parties to cash in on the Muslim disenchantment, even as the Congress struggles to take a please- all stand.
The Congress is the only pan- India party which has not adopted a clear political line on the Ayodhya judgment.
The Allahabad High Court’s decision in the 60- year- old case is viewed by the Hindu groups as a triumph of faith and by the Muslims as a betrayal. The verdict splits the disputed land at the Babri Masjid site, in effect granting two- thirds to Hindus and one- third to Muslims.
To discuss the Ayodhya fallout and “ remedial measures”, the Congress steering committee — including party chief Sonia Gandhi, PM Manmohan Singh and crisis manager Pranab Mukherjee — is meeting on Tuesday.
The Congress’ present belief that the country has moved on and “ 2010 is not 1992” may be only partly true, an AICC leader said, serving a grim reminder that only a month ago BJP- affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad ( ABVP) won the Delhi University Students Union elections. The leader was of the view that the Congress should not underestimate the RSS which has been quietly indoctrinating the younger generation, especially in the IT sector.
Full report at:
Mail Today
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US apologises for Afghan civilian deaths
October 05, 2010
LAHORE—In the wake of charges from Afghan officials that civilians were killed in two attacks over the weekend, the American military apologised for one episode in which a child was killed and two other children wounded and said it was investigating the deaths of several civilians in the other episode, reports The New York Times.
In Logar Province, insurgents fired on a police checkpoint and a nearby American base. The Americans returned fire and later discovered that they had killed two civilians, according to a Nato spokesman and local Afghan officials. Din Mohammed Darwish, the spokesman for the Logar provincial governor, said one of the dead was an 8-year-old girl. Two boys, ages 6 and 9, were wounded, he said. The American military issued a statement apologising for the deaths, says the paper.
A dar earlier, the American military killed the Taliban shadow governor and several other Taliban commanders in an air assault on a meeting of Taliban leaders in the Nad Ali district of Helmand Province, according to a NATO spokesman and the local police. However, three civilians were among the dead, and three boys, ages 11, 12 and 16, were wounded, said Mohammed Hakim Angar, the provincial police chief. The episode is under investigation.
Full report at:
http://dailymailnews.com/1010/05/FrontPage/index.php?id=12
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Syria seeks arrests over Hariri probe
Oct 5, 2010
BEIRUT: A Lebanese general held for four years over the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri said on Sunday a Syrian judge had issued arrest warrants for 33 people over false testimony to investigators.
Jamil Al-Sayyed, a pro-Syrian former security general, said a judge in Damascus issued the warrants in absentia for “the conspiracy of the false witnesses ... during the investigation into the criminal assassination of Rafik Hariri.”
Those named in the warrants included German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, who led the early stages of the United Nations investigation into Hariri’s killing in 2005, according to a statement issued by Sayyed’s office.
They also included Lebanese politicians close to Hariri’s son, Prime Minister Saad Hariri. His unity government has already been fractured by rows over the investigation, which is expected to issue indictments soon against members of the Shiite group Hezbollah for involvement in the attack.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article154050.ece
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NATO supplies suspended for 6th day
October 05, 2010
LANDI KOTAL: The NATO supply through Torkham in the Khyber district has remained suspended for the sixth day as over 200 tankers and containers have remained queued up at the border point, Geo News reported.
Khasadars and security forces are providing security to the stranded containers packed with NATO supplies. The owners of the containers and tankers said that they were satisfied with the security arrangements as no untoward incident had taken place during the last five days.
The owners demanded the government decide the matter as early as possible. Angered by repeated attacks by NATO helicopters on militant targets within its borders, Pakistan blocked one of the supply routes for NATO troops in Afghanistan after a strike killed three Pakistani soldiers in the western Kurram region.
About half of all non-lethal supplies for western forces in land-locked Afghanistan pass through Pakistan, giving Pakistan considerable leverage over the United States.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/latest-news/2367.htm
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Zardari approves flood tax for Sindh, MQM rejects
October 05, 2010
KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday approved the introducing of flood tax in Sindh to complete the relief and rehabilitation process effectively in flood-affected areas of the province.
His approval came at a high-level meeting held at Bilawal House regarding relief and rehabilitation. Ministers of the departments concerned and bureaucrats were present in the meeting, besides Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah. The president also chaired a separate meeting about flood damages in Balochistan. President Zardari was briefed about the flood devastation in Sindh and the government’s efforts for relief and rehabilitation of over seven million people of the province. Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s representative, provincial Health Minister Dr Saghir Ahmed reiterated his party’s stance at the meeting that it was against the flood tax. The president, however, directed the Sindh chief minister to take the MQM into confidence before the tax was introduced.
Zardari asked the Sindh government to consider reserving a one-kilometre-wide belt of land on katcha side of the river embankment for forests to protect embankments from erosion. He also advised the government to consider procuring agriculture and earth-moving machinery from economical international sources and place them under a government department for post-flood rehabilitation of agricultural assets.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\10\05\story_5-10-2010_pg1_9
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No flood tax in Punjab: Rana Sana
October 05, 2010
LAHORE: Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah has vowed to rehabilitate all flood victims in the province without levying any new tax and by using the available resources. Talking to the representatives of the print and electronic media at the Punjab Assembly cafeteria prior to the legislature’s session starting today (Tuesday), he said the Punjab government did not believe in putting any extra burden on the masses and no new tax would be imposed in the province in the name of the floods. “The government will give top priority to rehabilitation of the flood victims using its available resources and no flood tax will be levied. I assure the people of Punjab through the media that the government has no plans to collect any extra money to help out the flood-affected families,” the law minister said. Discussing the lawyers issue, he strongly ciriticised the ransacking of the LHC CJ’s office, saying that some “black sheep” in the guise of lawyers wanted to create a rift between the bar and benches. He alleged that Federal Law Minister Babar Awan was backing such elements. special correspondent
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\10\05\story_5-10-2010_pg1_10
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Israel must stop settlements: Cabinet
Oct 5, 2010
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia on Monday blamed Israel for obstructing its direct peace negotiations with the Palestinians, saying the Israelis are not ready to stop construction of new Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Council of Ministers, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, urged the United Nations to force Israel to abide by the international law and Security Council Resolutions and restore the usurped rights of the Palestinians.
“International intervention is also required to stop Israel from continuing its settlement activities in the occupied territories seeking to change the status quo,” the Cabinet said, adding that the Israeli settlements would destroy the peace process.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article154120.ece
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Iran: Nuclear delay due to leak, not computer worm
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI
Oct 5, 2010
TEHRAN, Iran: A months-long delay in starting up Iran’s first nuclear power plant is the result of a small leak, not a computer worm that was found on the laptops of several plant employees, the country’s nuclear chief said Monday.
The leak occurred in a storage pool where the plant’s fuel is being held before being fed into the reactor core, and it has been fixed, said Ali Akbar Salehi, who is also Iran’s vice president. He did not specify whether it was nuclear fuel or another material that leaked. He first announced the delay on Thursday but without giving a reason.
Iranian officials say they are vigorously battling the Stuxnet computer worm, which they suspect is part of a covert plot by the West to damage Iran’s nuclear work. The United States, Israel and others accuse Iran of seeking to use the Bushehr power plant and other civil nuclear sites as a cover for a secret program to develop atomic weapons.
Iran denies any nuclear weapons ambitions and says its program is only for peaceful purposes like power generation and medical research.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article153950.ece
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Israeli Supreme Court rebukes Irish Nobel laureate
Oct 4, 2010
JERUSALEM: An Irish Nobel peace laureate called Israel an “apartheid” state during a deportation hearing before the country’s Supreme Court Monday, prompting a rebuke from a justice who told her to keep her “propaganda” to herself.
Israel has banned Mairead Corrigan Maguire, 66, from entering the country because of her attempt to breach the Gaza naval blockade aboard a vessel in June.
She was detained last Tuesday after landing at the airport in Tel Aviv on her way to meet Israeli and Palestinian peace activists. But she appealed the move and asked the Supreme Court to allow her into Israel to join a women’s human rights delegation.
During Monday’s hearing, Maguire, her face pale and twitching, called on Israel to cease what she called its “apartheid” policy against the Palestinian people.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article154066.ece
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Saudi and Egypt support Lebanon UN tribunal
5 October 2010
Egypt and Saudi Arabia on Monday stressed their support for the UN tribunal on the assassination of Lebanon’s ex-premier Rafiq Hariri and said efforts to sabotage it will fail.
Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki was speaking after a brief trip to Jeddah with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit, who had talks with his Saudi counterpart Prince Saud al-Faisal focusing on Lebanon.
The two ministers underlined “the necessity for all parties to engage in stabilising Lebanon and supporting its government and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon” (STL) created by the United Nations in 2007, Zaki said.
“The position of Egypt and Saudi Arabia is clear: attempts to ensure the failure of the tribunal’s work will not succeed,” added Zaki of two of the United States’ closest Arab allies in the Middle East.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/October/middleeast_October61.xml§ion=middleeast
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Egypt-Iran flights to resume after 30 year break
5 October 2010
CAIRO - Egypt and Iran have agreed to resume direct flights between their capitals for the first time since 1979, Egypt’s ministry of civil aviation said on Monday, but an official played down any chance of a political thaw.
The two countries severed ties in 1980 following Iran’s Islamic revolution and Egypt’s recognition of Israel.
Sameh Hefni, head of Egypt’s civil aviation authority, and Hamid Ghavabesh, deputy chief of the Iranian national aviation company, signed an agreement providing for up to 28 flights between Cairo and Tehran per week, the ministry said in a statement. No start date for the flights was given.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/October/middleeast_October62.xml§ion=middleeast
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=3498
12:00 AM
Moderate Islamist here
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