10 Oct 2010, NewAgeIslam.Com
Suspected US missile strikes kill 8 in Pakistan
Undaunted by death threats, Kerala woman refuses to don a burqa
US drone strike in North Waziristan kills seven
Pregnant Muslim ordered to remove veil in British court
Finally, local don's Headley link found
Hardliner-moderate clash likely at October 16 meet
Muslim law board to join Ayodhya appeal in SC?
Omar: 91 civilians killed by security forces’ bullets
N-facilities free of western spies: Iran
LeT enjoys support in Pakistan: Musharraf
Burhanuddin Rabbani elected to head Afghan peace council
Three schools blown up in Mohmand tribal region
Protests mar Musharraf’s Manchester convention
Bangladesh detains fourth Lashkar man
Iran says Oct-Nov good time for talks
Maliki asks rivals to join ‘unity govt’
Germany, Turkey ‘to do more for migrants’
Palestinians considering appealing to US for recognition
Militants urged to stop fighting: Hamid Karzai visits Taliban heartland
Wary Afghans mull possible Taliban peace talks
Terrorists not trained during my rule: Musharraf
Saudi Arabia calls for fair Sudan vote
Saudi recruiters push for ban on Sri Lankan maids
Iran acknowledges espionage at nuclear facilities
Pope gets letter from Iranian leader
Hezbollah: UN protecting Hariri ‘false witnesses’
Kidnapped aid worker in Afghanistan killed during rescue bid
Saudi Arabia to spend more than its budget projection
Jeddah police seek Interpol help for arrest of fraudster
Makkah governor gives six months to change non-Arabic signs
Abbas seeking alternatives if Mideast talks fail
Yemeni intelligence agent killed
Al-Maliki calls for flexibility, realism to end deadlock
Gunmen dressed as Iraqi soldiers kill 3 guards
Bahrain worried over Iran nukes
French channel to broadcast 24/7 in Arabic
‘Freedom at night’ hit by imposing night curfews
Arab summit opens with focus on Palestine
Loyalty oath: Israel minister warns of fascism
Indian ‘dies after four days stranded at Oman airport’
Abbas revives statehood option to pressure Israel
Compile by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: Rayana R Khazi refuses to give into the forces of fundamentalism
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=3517
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Suspected US missile strikes kill 8 in Pakistan
Oct 10, 2010
PESHAWAR: Suspected US unmanned aircraft launched a pair of missile strikes in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing at least eight people in the latest attacks targeting militants who pose a threat to foreign forces in Afghanistan.
The identities of the people killed were not known, but the area where the strikes occurred is dominated by a militant group led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur that regularly attacks NATO troops in Afghanistan, said Pakistani intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
In the first attack, a drone fired two missiles at a pair of cars in an Afghan refugee camp in the North Waziristan tribal area, killing six people as the vehicles and a house nearby were destroyed, said the officials. The camp is located in the Spin Wam area near Mir Ali, one of the main towns in North Waziristan, they said.
Minutes later, a drone killed two people near the bank of a river located just outside the refugee camp, the officials said.
The strikes were the ninth and tenth carried out in Pakistan this month, continuing a surge in such attacks by the Obama administration. There were at least 21 drone strikes in Pakistan in September _ nearly double the previous monthly record.
The U.S. rarely acknowledges the drone strikes publicly, but officials have said privately that they have killed several senior al-Qaida and Taliban commanders.
Pakistan officially opposes the strikes as a violation of the country's sovereignty, but it is widely believed to help the CIA carry out the attacks.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Suspected-US-missile-strikes-kill-8-in-Pakistan/articleshow/6723397.cms#ixzz11xb2KB3Z
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Undaunted by death threats, Kerala woman refuses to don a burqa
By Shobha Warrier
Rayana R Khazi, from a small town in Kasargod district in north Kerala, is unlike any other 22-year-old girl.
Unlike other girls in her village, she traveled to Chennai to pursue her dream of becoming an aeronautical engineer.
She is now preparing for the civil services examination and wants to be an Indian Administrative Services officer.
But she confronts death threats from fundamentalists in her community and been forced to stay home.
The reason: Rayana refuses to cover her head and wear a burqa.
But these threats and harassment have not daunted her fighting spirit. She tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier from Kasargod that her fight is not for her freedom alone, but for the freedom of her younger sisters and other young girls who have lost it.
Listen to the story of this courageous fighter:
Childhood
My mother came from a very conservative family where girls were not allowed to study. She was not even permitted to talk loudly. Even now, the situation is the same in my mother's family.
My father, a businessman, has not studied much; my mother had studied only up to the 4th standard. At the age of 14, she was married off.
I was born when she was 15 years old.
My mother started studying after she had children. Now, she is studying law! My mother would not have studied if my father was not like what he is. When people in the neighbourhood spoke ill of my mother because she went to study, I used to ask my father, 'How could you remain so indifferent to their rude comments?' His answer was just a smile!
My mother is my role model. If I have respect for any woman in this world, it comes from my mother. She hails from a family that does not grant any freedom to girls, but she used to tell me all the time that I should be able to stand on my own and be independent.
My parents have five daughters. I have seen my neighbours telling their daughters not to talk loudly as they are girls. But it was never like that in my family.
If my parents were not like this, I would not have been able to think independently and live courageously. I am proud of my parents.
My parents were sad about not receiving an education. They did not want that to happen to their daughters. Mother used to tell me, 'When I look back, I have no colourful memories, but I do not want that to happen to my children'.
After I received my education, I could see that other girls were made subservient by either their parents or relatives or other people.
When I look around, I also see that all girls and women are tied to rigid norms by either their parents or husbands or relatives or by the community.
I don't believe in purva janam (earlier life), but I feel that I might have done something good in my past life because I got such good parents, who have given me all the freedom in the world.
Do you think I will misuse the freedom given to me by such parents and bring unhappiness to them?
My parents are very, very religious. Sometimes I feel they are overly religious, but they have never imposed anything on us.
My father used to tell me that bhakti (faith) should come from within and if we did something because of pressure, it is not bhakti.
That was how I was brought up.
http://news.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/sep/22/slide-show-1-special-death-threats-for-not-wearing-burqa.htm
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US drone strike in North Waziristan kills seven
10 Oct, 2010
MIRAMSHAH: A US drone strike killed seven militants at a compound in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region Sunday, security officials said.
The compound was located by a road in Shewa district about 40 kilometres northeast of the region's main town of Miramshah.
The drone fired four missiles at the compound and two vehicles parked outside were also destroyed, an intelligence official in Miramshah told AFP.
“At least seven militants were killed and three wounded,” a security official in Peshawar told AFP, raising his earlier casualty estimate.
The casualties were confirmed by two other intelligence officials in Miramshah.
The strike is the latest in a series of US operations in the region that are believed to have targeted Taliban and al-Qaeda extremists plotting attacks in Europe.
Security officials said last week that a drone strike had killed five German militants.
The United States has massively ramped up its drone campaign in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region on the Afghan border, amid intelligence claims of a Mumbai-style terror plot to attack European cities. The plot was reportedly caught in its early planning stages.
Pakistani authorities have reported 27 drone attacks that have killed more than 150 people since September 3. The area is a hub for home-grown and foreign militants fighting in Afghanistan.
The missile attacks have also raised tensions with Islamabad over US dissatisfaction at Pakistani efforts to combat the militant threat.
Pakistan has said there is no justification for the drone strikes, describing them as “counter-productive” and a violation of the country's sovereignty.
The United States does not as a rule confirm drone attacks, but its military and the Central Intelligence Agency operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy the pilotless aircraft in the region.
Officials in Washington say previous drone strikes have killed a number of high-value targets, including the former Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud.
Taliban militants have launched a string of attacks on Nato supply vehicles in Pakistan in the past week to avenge the drone strikes.
Pakistani Taliban on Sunday claimed responsibility for the latest attack on a Nato supply convoy in the southwest and vowed these would continue until the US drone strikes stopped.
Gunmen on Saturday torched at least 29 oil tankers in southwest Pakistan, the sixth attack in just over a week on vehicles carrying supplies for the 152,000-strong foreign forces fighting in Afghanistan.
Pakistani officials said on Sunday they had reopened the main land route for Nato supplies to Afghanistan and officials at the Torkham border in the northwest Khyber region, closed in a response to a Nato helicopter incursion.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/04-north-waziristan-drone-attack-qs-04
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Three schools blown up in Mohmand tribal region
10 Oct, 2010
PESHAWAR: Militants blew up three school buildings in the Mohmand tribal region late Saturday, a government official said. No casualties were reported.
At least 56 school buildings have been destroyed in the last two years by militants across northwest Pakistan.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/04-mohmand-tribal-region-schools-qs-05
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Pregnant Muslim ordered to remove veil in British court
Oct 10, 2010
LONDON: A British court asked a Muslim woman to remove burqa to show her facial expression while testifying against her husband in a physical abuse case.
Georgina Richards, 36, who is eight-month pregnant, reluctantly agreed when magistrates said they might not accept her evidence if they could not see her "facial expressions", according to Daily Mail.
The case at Leicester Magistrates Court was held up for over an hour on Thursday while magistrates agreed to hear her evidence from behind a screen.
Chairman of the bench Lawrence Faulkner told her: "We need to see a person's facial expressions to assess the evidence they are giving. If you refuse to remove your veil, we may not be able to accept your evidence."
Richards gave evidence against her ex-partner Ismail Mangera, 30, who is accused of punching Richards in the face.
After the hearing, Richards said: "I was a bit unhappy that he told me to take my veil off. They put screens up next to me but I didn't really want to do it. But I thought the case would be dropped if I didn't take it off.
"It just made me feel uncomfortable. They wanted to see the expression on my face but I don't think it really matters, I think I could have done it with my veil on. Now I just feel relieved that I've said what I've got to say."
Earlier, Richards told the court that her religion states she should not remove her veil in front of men in public.
The court heard that Mangera attacked Richards, mother to three of the couple's children and pregnant with their fourth, between April 1 and April 30. Sentencing was deferred until Oct 20 to allow a probation report to be produced.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/Pregnant-Muslim-ordered-to-remove-veil-in-British-court/articleshow/6722297.cms#ixzz11xaul3wK
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Iraqi court frees accused in killing of six British soldiers
Oct 10, 2010
BAGHDAD: An Iraqi court on Sunday threw out a case against two men accused of being part of a mob that killed six British military policemen in 2003 due to insufficient evidence.
Judge Baligh Hamdi of the central criminal court said charges had been dropped against Hamza Hateer, 33, and Mussa Ismael al-Fartusi 39.
"The court did not see sufficient proof to condemn you and has decided to release you," the judge told the pair after hearing eight witnesses on Sunday, the first hearing in the case.
Prosecutor Mohammed Samer too said he was dropping charges, which had been based on the testimony of "secret informers" not present in Sunday's session.
The six military policemen were killed when a mob of about 400 people attacked a police station in Majar Al-Kabir, southern Iraq, on June 24, 2003.
Four Iraqis were also killed and 17 injured in the incident, according to village chief Abu Maryam.
Dima Naaman, spokeswoman for the British Embassy in Baghdad, told AFP that the embassy was aware of the pair's release but declined further comment.
Defence lawyer Hussein Ali said that Fartusi would be freed but Hateer still faced a charge of stealing a British army rifle.
Hateer, a 33-year-old farmer and father of three, was arrested in February 2008. Fartusi, 39, who sells butane gas cylinders for a living and has three wives and 10 children, was picked up in November 2009.
Both were arrested by US forces.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Iraqi-court-frees-accused-in-killing-of-six-British-soldiers/articleshow/6724521.cms#ixzz11xb8tQ14
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Muslim law board to join Ayodhya appeal in SC?
Mohammed Wajihuddin
Oct 10, 2010
The doctor has advised Maulana Syed Nizamuddin, general secretary of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board ( AIMPLB) to rest as much as he can. But come October 16, the ailing, octogenarian Patna-based cleric will be in Lucknow, at the AIMPLB's working committee meet. Why is the Maulana ignoring his doctor's advice?
The answer may lie in his zeal about Muslim Personal Law. Particularly, the need to safeguard it. As head of Bihar's Imarat-e Sharia or Sharia court, Maulana Nizamuddin is as one on this with other senior clerics across the country. More remarkable, however, is the law board's unprecedented interest in an issue in which it is not a litigant. The Sunni Central Waqf Board and 90-year-old Hashim Ansari are the Muslim litigants in the case. The HC's verdict on the basis of "faith and belief," its rejection of the waqf board's title suit and Ansari's reported confabulations with Hindu religious leaders in Ayodhya for an out-of-court settlement seem to have rankled with the men — and few women — who run the powerful law board.
No one on the ulema-dominated and essentially patriarchal board will admit it right now but it looks all set to become a litigant in the Ayodhya dispute and challenge the high court's verdict in the SC.
Given its background, the board's direct involvement in this dispute is bound to influence Muslim politics in India. Established on April 7, 1973 at Hyderabad, following the December 1972 Mumbai resolution, the board has been a self-appointed watchdog against any tinkering with the Muslim personal laws guaranteed in the 1937 Shariat Application Act. Over the years, it has emerged as a cleric-dominated club, which seldom tolerates dissenting voices. In the 1980s, it whipped up a storm over the SC decision to grant alimony to the destitute divorcee Shah Bano. It stonewalled attempts to declare the triple talaq pronounced at one go illegal. Many believe it is the board that has kept India's Muslim staked to medieval practices.
"The board's move seems to be motivated by the politics of identity. The space for liberal voice within the community will further shrink. The board has not brought any significant reforms in Muslim society," says reformist-scholar Asghar Ali Engineer who favours challenging the HC's verdict. But he insists any challenging needed should be done by the original litigants — the waqf board and Ansari.
Engineer's criticism of the board as anti-reform is explained away by Qasim Rasool Ilyas, convenor of the AIMPLB's committee on the Babri Masjid. He blames "external threats" (read anti-Muslim campaigns led by the Sangh Parivar). "Battling external threats consume most of our time and energy which could have been used to reform Muslim society," explains Illyas.
So why has the overworked and presumably overstretched board jumped on the Babri bandwagon? AIMPLB's members say the board has been involved in Babri issue ever since Babri Masjid Action Committee and the Babri Masjid Co-ordination Committee became defunct, soon after Dec 6, 1992.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Muslim-law-board-to-join-Ayodhya-appeal-in-SC/articleshow/6721843.cms#ixzz11xZpICn6
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Omar: 91 civilians killed by security forces’ bullets
AAMIR BASHIR
Oct 10 2010
Srinagar : J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday revealed that 91 civilians out of 102 killed in the Valley between June 11 and October 2 died of bullets fired by the security forces. He also said 19 FIRs have been registered against security forces for resorting to unprovoked firing and excessive use of force against protesters.
In a written reply in the Upper House, Omar, who also holds charge of the Home Ministry said, two civilians including Tufail Ahmad Matoo, whose death set off the current wave of uprising on June 11, were killed by tear smoke shells.
His reply also revealed three civilians died because of drowning, two died in explosions in Khrew in Pulwama district after protesters set ablaze a police station. Two civilians including nine-year-old Sameer Ahmad were beaten to death by security forces and one was electrocuted after he was chased away by the CRPF.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/695110/
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LeT enjoys support in Pakistan: Musharraf
Hasan Suroor
LONDON: In remarks that are likely to embarrass Islamabad, the former Pakistani President, Pervez Musharraf, on Saturday said the country regarded terror groups such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) as “mujahideen” fighting for the “rights” Kashmiri people.
General Musharraf defended militant groups saying they were simply fighting for the “freedom” and “rights” of Kashmiris and it was important that the Kashmir dispute was settled.
“From our point of view, LeT is fighting for the rights of Kashmiris and there is great public support in Pakistan for groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba,” he told NDTV adding anyone “fighting in your part of Kashmir” was a “mujahideen” for Pakistan.
Asked whether killing innocent people was not terrorism, the former President retorted that the Indian Army was also killing civilians. “Isn't Indian Army also terrorist?” However, he admitted that the attack on Indian Parliament and the Mumbai bombings were terrorism.
About his remarks to a German magazine last week that Pakistan trained militants groups to fight in Kashmir, he said he did not mean that they were trained during his tenure. “I didn't say that. I said certain things which were taken as such,” he said pointing out that “mujahideen groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen” came into being in 1989 after the “freedom struggle started in Kashmir.”
‘To say that I was doing this …this argument has to be killed I was nothing at that time. I was just a Brigadier.”
Challenged on his description of the LeT as “mujahideen,” he insisted that for Pakistan it was a group of freedom fighters.
“Yes, yes,” he said. Asked how close India and Pakistan came during his presidency in reaching a deal on Kashmir, Gen. Musharraf said: “We were as close as drafting a final pact for a solution. Final drafts were exchanged through the back channel and Manmohan Singh agreed with my four-point formula.”
http://www.hindu.com/2010/10/10/stories/2010101063000800.htm
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Burhanuddin Rabbani elected to head Afghan peace council
10 Oct, 2010
KABUL: Afghanistan's former president Burhanuddin Rabbani, who stands accused of war crimes, was Sunday elected chairman of a new peace council set up to broker an end to the war with the Taliban.
The High Peace Council is President Hamid Karzai's brainchild for opening a dialogue with insurgents who have been trying to bring down his government since the US-led invasion overthrew their regime in late 2001.
The 68-member council, hand-picked by Karzai, was set up following a nationwide conference in June and was inaugurated on October 7. Rabbani was elected to chair the council at its second session Sunday.
“The High Peace Council in its second session participated by President Hamid Karzai elected Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani in a unanimous vote as chairman of the council,” Karzai's palace announced in a statement.
Rabbani led one of seven resistance factions to the Soviet military presence in Afghanistan in the 1980s and was later chosen as president of Afghanistan for a six-month transition period in 1992.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/04-rabbani-elected-peace-council-head-qs-12
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Protests mar Musharraf’s Manchester convention
10 Oct, 2010
KARACHI: Hundreds of protestors chanted slogans against former president Pervez Musharraf in Manchester and marred the political convention of the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML).
The chanting activists were then expelled out of the gathering.
Musharraf said miscreants were paid to create disturbance and commotion in the APML meeting.
He further said these protests would not discourage him from his path.
Protesters had gathered in Manchester to express their anger against Musharraf with placards and banners. They raised slogans against the former military ruler and threw shoes at his portraits.
Some people also chanted anti-Musharraf slogans and protested inside the APML convention but were soon expelled out of it.
Reacting to the protests, Musharraf said he would not deter from his path.
Earlier, Pervez Musharraf had said that he should have remained Chief of Army Staff (COAS) for another five years.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/04-musharraf-manchester-protests-qs-02
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Germany, Turkey ‘to do more for migrants’
10 Oct, 2010
BERLIN, Oct 9: Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged on Saturday to do more to improve the often poor integration record of Germany’s 2.5-million-strong Turkish minority.
Germany plans to use celebrations in October 2011 for the 50th anniversary of a key immigration agreement on “Gastarbeiter” (“guest workers”) between Germany and Turkey to “take stock”, Ms Merkel said after talks with Mr Erdogan.
“We propose that everywhere in cities and towns where there are people of Turkish origin, we use this event as a way of taking stock and seeing where we are and what has to be done,” Ms Merkel told reporters. “There are clear problems still which we want to solve when it comes to integration.”
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/germany,-turkey-to-do-more-for-migrants-000
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Pope gets letter from Iranian leader
Oct 10, 2010 00:40
VATICAN CITY: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sent a letter to the pope thanking him for opposing a Florida pastor’s threat to burn the Qur’an and calling for cooperation against secularism, the Vatican and the Iranian presidency said Saturday.
The Vatican said Pope Benedict XVI had received the letter during a brief meeting with one of Iran’s vice presidents at the end of his weekly general audience Wednesday.
Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi did not release the contents of the message.
But the website of the Iranian presidency quoted Ahmadinejad as thanking the pope “for your condemnation of an unwise move by a Florida church.” The pope and several other Christian leaders were among those urging the pastor to reconsider his plan to burn the Qur’an on the 9/11 anniversary. The plan was eventually called off.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article157834.ece
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Makkah governor gives six months to change non-Arabic signs
By IBTISAM SHEQDAR
Oct 9, 2010 23:47
MAKKAH: Owners of hotels, restaurants, shops and wedding halls in Makkah province have been given an ultimatum of six months to change their non-Arabic names.
Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal on Saturday asked the business owners to make the changes within six months.
“I am coming to this hall for the second time. I am surprised to know that its name is Marbaya (Marbella). Why don’t we have an Arabic name for it. We are in the holy city where the Holy Qur’an was revealed in Arabic. The last Prophet (peace be upon him), who was born here, was an Arab. So, how can we have institutions here with non-Arabic names,” the governor said.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article157733.ece
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French channel to broadcast 24/7 in Arabic (AFP)
10 October 2010
France 24 news channel will broadcast its Arabic service around the clock from next week, its chief executive Alain de Pouzilhac said on Sunday.
“For us at France 24, this will be a very important day, because 300 million people speak Arabic,” de Pouzilhac said of Tuesday’s launch of the expanded Arabic service.
“We have to speak Arabic if we want people to listen to us,” he said.
“We want to present a French perspective,” including “a diversity of opinion, as opposed to the view of Americans, who see the world as one.”
Launched in 2006, France 24’s Arabic channel grew from four hours a day in April 2007 to 10 hours a day two years later.
The new schedule will include a programme called “Live from Paris,” which will “allow people to voice their opinions, even those that are politically incorrect,” said Tatiana Masaad, a France 24 journalist.
Sixty Arabic-language journalists from around the Arab world will world will work for the Arabic cluster, headed by Nahida Nakad.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/October/international_October426.xml§ion=international
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Indian ‘dies after four days stranded at Oman airport’
10 October 2010
MUSCAT — An Indian woman died after losing her passport and becoming stranded for about four days at Muscat airport, an Indian embassy official in the Omani capital said on Sunday.
The woman, a housemaid identified as Beebi Lumada, “died of some illness” when she was being taken to hospital, the official said on condition of anonymity, adding that “she was suffering from bouts of hysteria.”
She had been trying to fly home to Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of the southern Indian state of Kerala, on Qatar Airways via Doha where officials turned her back to Muscat on Monday after she lost her passport.
She was forced to stay in Muscat airport’s transit area where she was provided with food, the official said, adding the embassy had been in contact with her but “couldn’t get any documents.”
“On Friday, her health deteriorated, so she was sent to the Ibn Sina Hospital,” but she died en route there in an ambulance, the official said without elaborating on the possible cause of death.
The woman’s body was being sent back to India.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/October/middleeast_October137.xml§ion=middleeast
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Finally, local don's Headley link found
C Unnikrishnan
Oct 10, 2010
MUMBAI: The Mumbai underworld's involvement in the 26/11 plot was always suspected but never proved. With no leads, this line of line of inquiry was going cold. But a startling finding in the course of an unrelated investigation could prove to be that piece of elusive evidence.
It appears that Chand Madar, the alleged diesel smuggler who was shot dead close to the land mark CST station last month, may have helped Pakistan-born jihadi David Coleman Headley to carry out a recee of the Mumbai coastline to identify the point at which to disembark.
Chand, it's now believed, was more than mere diesel smuggler. He was also a close associate and business partner of Mohammed Ali Shaikh, allegedly an ally of fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim. But their relationship is said to have soured over profit-sharing and Chand was murdered. Sources said Chand's Headley connection cropped up during 24x7 surveillance of diesel gangs operating on the high seas.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Finally-local-dons-Headley-link-found/articleshow/6721555.cms#ixzz11xYoAOC5
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Hardliner-moderate clash likely at October 16 meet
Bhaskar Roy
Oct 10, 2010
NEW DELHI: The crucial meeting of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on October 16 to discuss the aftermath of the Ayodhya verdict is likely to see a clash between the hardliners and moderates over the question of initiating negotiations with the Hindu groups for a settlement.
While it is certain that the Sunni Waqf Board will move the apex court against the Allahabad High Court judgment, talks can also start simultaneously. Board insiders point out that even if a Muslim body challenges the verdict handed by the three-judge bench, the SC could take years in arriving at a decision.
A major section of the Muslim opinion-makers and activists has favoured negotiations with the Hindu groups to settle the dispute in a spirit of give-and-take. Jama Masjid Imam Ahmed Bukhari and All India Majlis Ittehadul-e-Muslimeen MP Asaduddin Owaisi are among the hardliners rejecting the judgment and calling for court battles to decide Ayodhya title suits.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Hardliner-moderate-clash-likely-at-October-16-meet/articleshow/6721849.cms#ixzz11xZ1Bzpd
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N-facilities free of western spies: Iran
Atul Aneja
DUBAI: Iran's nuclear chief has acknowledged that the West had managed to infiltrate its nuclear facilities but Tehran had emerged successful in combating espionage.
Mr. Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic energy agency, told the semi-official Fars News Agency that the West had lured employees at Iran's nuclear facilities to pass secrets by promising better pay.
However, spying has been brought to an end by adoption of better security measures and more incentives to nuclear staff.
On October 2, Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi had said many spies in the nuclear establishment had been arrested. He made the comment after Iran acknowledged that the computer virus Stuxnet had found its way in the personal computers of some of the top officials working at Iranian atomic facilities. It has been widely suspected that the sophisticated Stuxnet malware which hijacks industrial software of equipment provided by the German firm Siemens was developed by a government agency.
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/10/10/stories/2010101056011700.htm
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Bangladesh detains fourth Lashkar man
10 Oct, 2010
DHAKA, Oct 9: Bangladesh police arrested another foreign militant on Saturday, raising to four the number of activists of Lashkar-i-Taiba detained in the last six days, a senior police officer said.
Explosives and bomb-making material were seized, along with a Bangladeshi accomplish, at a hideout at Tongi, on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka.
“We have made the latest haul in a continuing crackdown on militancy,” Mohammad Sohail, a senior officer of the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) force told a news conference.
Police on Monday arrested three militants, all reported to be Pakistanis, including the Lashkar chief in Bangladesh, at a Dhaka hotel. Mr Sohail said another RAB raid on Friday had netted a large explosives cache in another outlying district.
In recent months, police have arrested dozens of militants, including several Lashkar activists, in Bangladesh.—Reuters
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/bangladesh-detains-fourth-lashkar-man-000
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Iran says Oct-Nov good time for talks
10 Oct, 2010
TEHRAN, Oct 9: Iran said on Saturday that late October or early November would be a good time for nuclear talks with the six world powers, as it claimed it had put paid to Western espionage against its atomic facilities.
“The end of October or early November is a good time for talks between Iran and five-plus-one,” Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said at a news conference with his visiting Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez.
“The exact date, time and what level the talks should be held are being negotiated by both the sides. Once the details are finalised, they will be announced.”
Talks between Iran and Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany have been deadlocked since October 1, 2009, when the two groups met in Geneva. The talks are aimed at addressing Western suspicions that Iran is seeking to make atomic weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear programme, a charge Tehran denies.
On Friday, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Berlin and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had detected signs that Iran was ready to talk about its nuclear programme.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/iran-says-octnov-good-time-for-talks-000
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Maliki asks rivals to join ‘unity govt’
10 Oct, 2010
BAGHDAD, Oct 9: Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki on Saturday called on rivals to join him in a national unity government but potential partners suggested such an alliance could be a long way off.
A March parliamentary election has yielded no outright winner, leaving Iraq in limbo and raising fears that militants would exploit the vacuum to stir tensions.
Mr Maliki, under US pressure to form an all-inclusive government, has so far only won clear support from anti-US Shia cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr.
In televised remarks, the prime minister said it was time for all to show flexibility. “We must sit together and talk to each other until we reach common ground,” he said. “In this spirit we call on parties to come to the negotiation table.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/maliki-asks-rivals-to-join-unity-govt-000
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Palestinians considering appealing to US for recognition
10 Oct, 2010
SIRTE (Libya), Oct 9: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday sought Arab League backing for possible alternatives to troubled peace talks with Israel, including urging the Obama administration to unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state, one of his aides said.
The Arab League, meeting in Libya over the weekend, has given the US another month to try to salvage the negotiations, but has also begun to consider fallback options in case the talks collapse.
The US-backed Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, which began last month at the White House, have hit an impasse over Israel’s refusal to extend a 10-month-old slowdown on settlement construction that expired in late September.
Mr Abbas has said he will not resume talks without such an extension, and won Arab League backing for his position. Israel has refused to extend the moratorium, though it is considering compromises.
On Saturday, Mr Abbas asked Arab leaders to consider alternatives to the negotiations, said Saeb Erekat, a top aide to the Palestinian president.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/palestinians-considering-appealing-to-us-for-recognition-000
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Militants urged to stop fighting: Hamid Karzai visits Taliban heartland
10 Oct, 2010
ARGHANDAB (Afghanistan), Oct 9: Afghan President Hamid Karzai visited the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar on Saturday, calling on militants to lay down their arms and locals to join the government security forces.
Mr Karzai rarely travels to the provinces. The southern region of Kandahar is the heartland of the nine-year Taliban militancy and one of the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan, where record numbers of Western troops are being killed.
Thousands of Nato and Afghan troops are fighting to control Kandahar city in Operation Dragon Strike --- considered crucial to a US strategy aimed at beating back the Taliban and strengthening Mr Karzai’s government.
Mr Karzai flew by Nato helicopter to the Arghandab district headquarters with Gen David Petraeus, the commander of 152,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, US ambassador Karl Eikenberry, cabinet ministers and the Kandahar governor.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/militants-urged-to-stop-fighting-hamid-karzai-visits-taliban-heartland-000
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Wary Afghans mull possible Taliban peace talks
10 Oct. 10
KABUL: Like many Afghans, shopkeeper Abdul Sattar recalls Taliban rule as a nightmare of public executions, women shut away at home and evenings without TV, but he might accept some of it back for peace and stability.
With President Hamid Karzai reaching out to insurgents in a bid to broker peace talks, the Kabul businessman says he would support a deal returning Afghanistan’s former rulers to some measure of power if it brought an end to 10 years of war.
“The Taliban had some good rules and some bad rules,” Sattar said at his stationery shop. “If the government talks to the Taliban and they accept just the good ones, then it could work.”
As US President Barack Obama and his Nato allies come under growing pressure at home over the unpopular war, the focus is increasingly turning to possible negotiations with insurgent leaders as a way out.
For some Kabul residents a negotiated settlement with the insurgents, who have steadily gathered strength in recent years, may be the lesser evil — a way to rein in the most zealous of the movement’s tendencies.
“If they come to Kabul
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.com.pk/10-10-2010/World/9249.htm
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Terrorists not trained during my rule: Musharraf
LONDON: Former President Pervez Musharraf has said that militants who entered occupied Kashmir were not trained during his rule.
In an interview with an Indian TV channel, he said, “I should have remained Army chief for five years more. The opinion of the Army should be given weightage in national policies,” the former army chief added.
Meanwhile, addressing a convention of the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) here on Saturday, Musharraf said Talal Bugti should speak directly to him if he has the courage to do so.
He said he never killed Nawab Akbar Bugti and asked Talal Bugti to stop threatening him, otherwise he would get a befitting reply.
He said it’s only the the beginning of his political career and the PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif is visibly looking a worried man. “It’s only the beginning of play and we are batting. As the game progresses, we will hit sixes, but Nawaz Sharif is clearly worried with our very first bouncer,” Musharraf said.
He charged that Nawaz Sharif had compromised on the Kashmir cause during his meeting with the then Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee. Musharraf challenged the PML-N chief to show him a single word about Kashmir in the joint declaration issued after that meeting.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.com.pk/10-10-2010/Top-Story/1221.htm
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Saudi Arabia calls for fair Sudan vote
Oct 9, 2010 23:47
SIRTE, Libya: Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal emphasized on Saturday that the upcoming referendum on Sudan’s division should be conducted in a fair and transparent manner and without any pressure. He also called for a joint Arab-African stand on the issue.
“Sudan, a member of the Arab League, is facing the threat of division. No Arab League member can justify its neutral stand on the issue. We have to support Sudan to overcome these dangers,” Prince Saud told an emergency meeting of Arab League.
Prince Saud opposed the division of Sudan, saying it would not serve the interests of any party. “In our opinion neither the interest of Sudan nor those of the rival parties can be achieved by the dangerous move of division,” he pointed out.
Sudan's Foreign Minister Ali Karti, meanwhile, assured the UN Security Council that his government is committed to holding a referendum on the independence of the south. “We are fully committed to holding the referendum on time,” Karti told the visiting members of the Council.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article157757.ece
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Saudi recruiters push for ban on Sri Lankan maids
By MD RASOOLDEEN & SARAH ABDULLAH
Oct 9, 2010 23:34
RIYADH/JEDDAH: The Kingdom is expected to announce a decision on Sunday imposing a ban on the recruitment of housemaids from Sri Lanka following a dispute on an agreement signed between the Saudi Arabian National Recruitment Committee (SANARCOM) and Sri Lanka’s Association of Licensed Foreign Employment Agencies (ALFEA) two months ago in Riyadh.
“We would suggest the ban on the recruitment of housemaids from Sri Lanka at the committee meeting scheduled on Sunday in Riyadh,” said SANARCOM Chairman Saad Al-Badaah, adding that it is up to the members of the national committee to approve the proposal.
Listing the reasons why Sri Lankan maids would be banned, Al-Badaah said that SANARCOM had signed an agreement with ALFEA to reduce recruitment charges from SR7,500 to SR5,500, and that Sri Lanka is not honoring this.
He also cited the case of a Sri Lankan maid L.T. Ariyawathi who claimed she was tortured by her Saudi sponsor by embedding metal nails into her hands. The allegation, which caused embarrassment to the Saudi government, was later found to be baseless, said Al Badaah.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article157730.ece
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Iran acknowledges espionage at nuclear facilities
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI
Oct 9, 2010 16:20
TEHRAN, Iran: Iran revealed for the first time Saturday that some personnel at the country’s nuclear facilities were lured by promises of money to pass secrets to the West, but that increased security and worker privileges have put a stop to the spying.
The stunning acknowledgment by Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi provides the clearest government confirmation that Iran has been fighting espionage at its nuclear facilities.
In recent weeks, Iran has announced the arrest of several nuclear spies and battled a computer worm that it says is part of a covert Western plot to derail its nuclear program. And in July, a nuclear scientist who Iran says was kidnapped by US agents returned home in mysterious circumstances, with the US saying he was a willing defector who was offered $5 million by the CIA but then changed his mind.
The United States and its allies have vigorously sought to slow Iran’s nuclear advances through UN and other sanctions out of suspicion that Tehran intends to use a civil program as cover for developing weapons. Iran denies any such aim and says it only wants to generate nuclear power.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article157531.ece
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Hezbollah: UN protecting Hariri ‘false witnesses’
Oct 10, 2010 00:39
BEIRUT: The leader of Hezbollah on Saturday accused the UN tribunal looking into the killing of a former Lebanese prime minister of protecting “false witnesses” who allegedly misled the investigation.
The allegations come amid a Hezbollah campaign to undermine the tribunal investigating Rafik Hariri’s 2005 assassination. The Shiite militant group has questioned the court’s neutrality ahead of indictments expected to link Hezbollah members to the slaying.
Sheik Hassan Nasrallah cited the case of four former Lebanese generals jailed for nearly four years in connection with the killing before being released for lack of evidence last year. He noted that the court agreed to let one general see his secret case file, but the prosecutor, Daniel Bellemare, appealed the decision.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article157833.ece
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Kidnapped aid worker in Afghanistan killed during rescue bid
By PATRICK MARKEY
Oct 9, 2010
KABUL: A British aid worker kidnapped in Afghanistan last month has been killed by her captors during a rescue bid and four NATO soldiers died in an insurgent ambush, the latest deaths in an increasingly bloody conflict.
President Hamid Karzai has sought tribal support for a NATO-led offensive against the Taleban in their southern heartland to try and turn the tide in a conflict that has dragged on for more than nine years.
Linda Norgrove, 36, who worked for a US aid group, had been abducted Sept. 26 along with three Afghan coworkers when they visited a project in a remote part of Kunar province, a lawless region bordering Pakistan.
"Responsibility for this tragic outcome rests squarely with the hostage takers. From the moment they took her, her life was under grave threat," British Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement Saturday.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article157753.ece
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Saudi Arabia to spend more than its budget projection
By KHALIL HANWARE
Oct 10, 2010
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia expects to spend more than its initial budget for 2010 but it is too early to say whether the biggest Arab economy will post a deficit despite an improving economy, said Minister of Finance Ibrahim Al-Assaf.
In December, the Kingdom drafted its 2010 budget with a gap of SR70 billion and spending of SR540 billion. "Our expectation is ... there will be a rise," Al-Assaf told Al Arabiya television on Saturday when asked whether expenditures would be higher than budgeted.
The reason for this, he said, includes projects such as those at the Grand Mosque in Makkah. Al-Assaf said it is too early to say whether the Kingdom, a member of the world's leading economies or G20, would forecast a deficit, but added the situation seems to have improved.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/economy/article157755.ece
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Jeddah police seek Interpol help for arrest of fraudster
By MD HUMAIDAN
Oct 9, 2010
JEDDAH: Police in Jeddah have requested the help of Interpol to track down a fraudster who cheated millions of riyals out of several Saudis by claiming he would invest the money into a sham real estate project.
First Lt. Nawab Al-Bouq, spokesman for Jeddah police, said the man showed investors details of a residential project at a prime beach location.
“When victims would come and see him at his elegantly furnished office, he and his three accomplices would take them to a large plot of land and unveil plans for a huge residential project,” said Al-Bouq.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article157739.ece
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Abbas seeking alternatives if Mideast talks fail
By SALAH NASRAWI
Oct 10, 2010
SIRTE, Libya: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday sought Arab League backing for possible alternatives to troubled peace talks with Israel, including urging the Obama administration to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state, an Abbas aide said.
The Arab League, meeting in Libya over the weekend, has given the US another month to try to salvage the negotiations, but has also begun to consider fallback options in case the talks collapse.
The US-backed Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, which began last month at the White House, have hit an impasse over Israel’s refusal to extend a 10-month-old slowdown on settlement construction that expired in late September.
Abbas has said he will not resume talks without such an extension, and won Arab League backing for his position.
Israel has refused to extend the moratorium, though it is considering compromises.
On Saturday, Abbas asked Arab leaders to consider alternatives to the negotiations, said Saeb Erekat, a top aide to the Palestinian president.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article157837.ece
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Yemeni intelligence agent killed
By SAEED AL-BATATI | ARAB NEWS
Oct 10, 2010
SANAA: Two masked men riding a motorcycle shot dead an intelligence police in the city of Mukalla,southern Yemen.
Abdul Aziz Abdullah Bashraheel was shot dead on Friday by two masked gunmen on a motorcycle in Foha, west of Mukalla, capital of Hadramawt province, a security official said. He was with members of his family outside a store when he was attacked by the gunmen, who fled afterward.
No one claimed responsibly for the attack, but it bears Al-Qaeda's hallmark which used motorcycles as a tactic in assassinating security personnel in other restive governorates of Shabwa, Abyan, Lahj and Dhalae. Following the attack, the police sealed the area and arrested suspected motorcycles.
In Abyan province further west, a police car was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades, also on Friday.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article157765.ece
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Al-Maliki calls for flexibility, realism to end deadlock
By BUSHRA JUHI
Oct 10, 2010
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s prime minister on Saturday urged all rival parties to join in political talks and show the “flexiblity and realism” to make concessions toward ending the country’s seven-month government impasse.
The appeal by Nuri Al-Maliki — who appears close to achieving his underdog bid to stay in power — comes amid heavy US pressure for his Shiite-led coalition to work out some power-sharing arrangement with the Sunni-backed bloc that placed first in March elections but short of a parliament majority.
“All of us, from all affiliations, have to sit together and talk and talk — even if it takes longer — until we reach a meeting point,” the prime minister said, speaking to Sunni tribal leaders in western Baghdad. “We cannot reach that point without respect and showing readiness to be deal with the issues with flexibility and realism.” The remarks hint at growing confidence by Al-Maliki that he’s in a position to call the shots over possibly forming a new government and dividing up the key posts and Cabinet seats among the country’s three main factions: Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article157638.ece
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Gunmen dressed as Iraqi soldiers kill 3 guards
By BUSHRA JUHI
Oct 9, 2010
BAGHDAD: Iraqi police officials say a hit squad disguised in military uniforms has killed three brothers who worked as bodyguards for the government.
The attack early Saturday occurred near Fallujah, a former insurgent stronghold about 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad.
Suspected Sunni insurgents are blamed for a recent wave of killings targeting security personnel and government workers in Baghdad and elsewhere.
Police officials say the gunmen hauled the brothers from their home in the village of Karmah and shot them execution style. One man worked as a guard for the minister of higher education and the other two for the immigration minister.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article157398.ece
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Bahrain worried over Iran nukes
By BARBARA FERGUSON
Oct 9, 2010
WASHINGTON: Bahrain's ambassador to the United States is concerned that her country could become the first casualty of a nuclear-armed Iran.
"Iran has had claims in the past on Bahrain," Ambassador Houda Nonoo told reporters this week in Washington. "The latest was on their 30th anniversary in February 2009, where they mentioned Bahrain as the 14th province. Very similar to (Saddam Hussein's) Iraq mentioning Kuwait as their 19th province."
"We're a small country, we're just across the pond," she said, explaining that Bahrain is "just 26 miles away from Bushehr," the Iranian port city that hosts one of the nuclear program's key installations. "If Iran has [a nuclear] capability, nobody is going to be able to stop them."
Nonoo, 46, is believed to be the Arab world's first Jewish ambassador. She served as a legislator in Bahrain's 40-member Shoura Council for three years and is head of the Bahrain Human Rights Watch.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article157013.ece
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‘Freedom at night’ hit by imposing night curfews
Ahmed Al Majaida and
Farhana Chowdhury
10 October 2010, DUBAI — Like it or not, night curfews are something parents impose upon their children to ensure they are safe and home on time.
But despite good intentions, the deadline creates frustration and the feeling of being suffocated among some. Take Abdulla Samir Dali for example. The 23-year-old student said he used to return home during the wee hours of the morning when he lived at his university dormitory.
“My father lost track of my curfew as I told him I was in bed while being out in Jumairah cafes,” he said. But after a poor academic performance, his family took stern measures to put him back on track.
“Things have dramatically changed when I failed my courses during my bachelors. My father held me under strict control,” he said. Samir was shifted from his former university and dormitory accommodation in Sharjah, and was forced to live with his parents in Abu Dhabi.
“My friends made fun of me for going home early. That was a miserable life for three years but now after excelling at my studies, my father eased his way in treating me like a child, now I can stay past the curfew,” he said.
Ady Badawi said his parents do not mind him being out late as long as he informs them on his whereabouts.
“I do not face any problems with my family, yet I personally feel it is better to go home early,” said the 21-year-old.
While boys seem to have an easier time with curbing curfews, girls, on the other hand, face strictness, according to Shaza Ridzwan, a 16-year-old, whose father forces her to come home by 9pm.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2010/October/theuae_October227.xml§ion=theuae
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Arab summit opens with focus on Palestine
10 October 2010
Heads of states from various Arab and African countries attended the opening of the second Arab-Afro summit, which will focus on Mideast peace negotiations and the Sudan referendum.
Arab League secretary-general Amr Moussa, who gave a short speech at the opening, said the summit would hone in on key issues surrounding Palestinian-Israeli negotiations and the upcoming South Sudan referendum scheduled for January, which could decide the future of a unified Sudan.
The summit, which is taking place in the Libyan coastal town of Sirte, was opened by Libyan President Muammar Ghaddafi.
The UAE delegation to the the extraordinary Arab summit in the Libyan city of Sirte is led by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai .
Opening the summit’s opening session, Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Al Qaddafi welcomed the Arab leaders and said that the meeting would discuss a new structure for the Arab joint action. He said a five-member committee under his chairmanship has been formed to oversee implementation of the new structure.
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said the League rejects any attempts to marginlalise its role or the collective Arab opinion in the pressing issues like the Arab-Israeli conflict, as well as the situation in Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan and Mauritania.
The US-backed Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, which began last month at the White House, have hit an impasse over Israel’s refusal to extend a 10-month-old slowdown on settlement construction that expired in late September.
President Abbas has said he will not resume talks without such an extension, and won Arab League backing for his position. Israel has refused to extend the moratorium, though it is considering compromises.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/October/middleeast_October136.xml§ion=middleeast
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Loyalty oath: Israel minister warns of fascism (AFP)
10 October 2010
A left-leaning Israeli minister has warned of a “whiff of fascism” as the country’s right wing-led government appeared set to approve a bill requiring a loyalty oath from new citizens.
The cabinet was to vote on the bill to make all new citizens swear an oath of loyalty to Israel as a “Jewish and democratic state,” legislation that has been slammed as inflammatory and racist by the country’s Arab minority.
“There is a whiff of fascism on the margins of Israeli society,” Social Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog of the left-leaning Labour party told army radio.
“The overall picture is very disturbing and threatens the democratic character of the state of Israel,” he said.
“There have been a tsunami of measures that limit rights... I see it in the halls of the Knesset (parliament), in the commissions and departments responsible for legislation. We will pay a heavy price for this.”
The loyalty oath bill has been strongly criticised within Israel’s Arab community, which makes up around 20 per cent of the population, as targeting Palestinians looking to gain citizenship after marrying Israeli citizens.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/October/middleeast_October138.xml§ion=middleeast
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Abbas revives statehood option to pressure Israel
10 October 2010
SIRTE — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday sought Arab League backing for possible alternatives to troubled peace talks with Israel, including urging the Obama administration to unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state, an Abbas aide said.
Shaikh Mohammed leading the UAE delegation, including Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash, at the Arab Summit in Libya on Saturday. — Wam
The Arab League, meeting in Libya, has given the US another month to try to salvage the negotiations, but has also begun to consider fallback options in case the talks collapse.
The UAE delegation to the the extraordinary Arab summit in the Libyan city of Sirte is led by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai .
Opening the summit’s opening session, Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Al Qaddafi welcomed the Arab leaders and said that the meeting would discuss a new structure for the Arab joint action. He said a five-member committee under his chairmanship has been formed to oversee implementation of the new structure.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/October/middleeast_October135.xml§ion=middleeast
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=3517
3:24 AM
Moderate Islamist here
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