| Islamic World News | |
| 26 Nov 2010, NewAgeIslam.Com |
Riyadh housemaid discloses multiple-rape ordeal
Muslim cleric jailed for marrying minor
Muslim girl killed for love affair with Hindu
Oman to allow temple, gurdwara
Pakistan has not kept promises on 26/11: Chidambaram
No quick pardon for Aasia: Taseer gets death threats for backing condemned woman
Killing of Iraqi Christians goes against Islamic ethos
Spain detains Pakistani over chopping murder
Nearly 1,200 women killed in Pakistan in 2010: Report
RJDs Muslim vote bank switched sides midway
Turin official asks school board to ban burqa-wearing mothers
Pandits assault Mirwaiz,BJP activists join fracas
US to drop colour-coded terror alerts
US bans Lashkar front group
Islamic fashion goes stylish in Indonesia
Bromsgrove holds Eid festival for the first time
How the Term ‘Islamophobia’ Silences Moderates
Sunni Ittehad Council warns of anarchy if Asia pardoned
Real efforts needed to end violence against women: Fehmida
'I prayed for Obama to convert to Islam'
Jammu & Kashmir: 3 militants among 5 killed
Bridging sectarian divides in Pakistan
Militants Kill 5 Elders In North Afghanistan
Islamic backlash forces Naipaul to cancel Turkey trip
Pakistan says its bombs come from Afghanistan
Omar's rehabilitation policy may hit a roadblock
Pathan hobnobbing with riot accused: Setalvad
Kasabs slain comrades buried quietly
Lawyer urges acquittal of South African woman
Karzai's office blames British for Taliban impostor
New campaign to re-buff radicalism
Yemeni workers unaware of their rights
Urdu poet dies in Allahabad
Saudis fight for control of their marital destiny
Egyptians go under the knife for better life
24/7 helpline for Indian workers is a hit, already
President unveils Shaikh Zayed Bridge
‘Women play pivotal role in development’
Israeli police blasted for abusing Jerusalem children
Globetrotting: breaking travel records
Remain watchful against 'evil force'
Musharraf To Face "Tricky" Queries By FIA On Bhutto's Killing
Pakistan Seeks Full Membership Of SCO
Women Candidates Test Egypt's New Quota System
CBI lays bare Gujarats unholy triad
Chhotu still waits for rlys to keep its word
Taliban fighter works in London as cabbie
US victims to seek $50mn from ISI, LeT
Maliki to form government
Bangladesh Opp not to return to Parliament
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: Afghan businesswomen at Pragati Maidan New Delhi
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Afghan businesswomen are here to explore the Indian market
Madhur Tankha
25 Nov, 2010
NEW DELHI: After establishing themselves as entrepreneurs post-Taliban rule, a group of women exhibitors from Afghanistan are making their presence felt at the ongoing India International Trade Fair at Pragati Maidan here.
More than the sale of their products, the five women -- displaying hand-stitched garments, exquisite jewellery items, cosmetics and other products -- are keen to explore the vibrant Indian market. They have come with samples to woo the business community here and once they go back to Kabul, they will work on bulk orders.
Afghan Women Business Association director Nadia Yousafzai says during the Taliban rule women could only study and work inside their homes. “But all that changed after the Hamid Karzai Government came to power. Due to warm relations between Kabul and New Delhi, I get opportunities to participate in various fairs in India.”
Sixty women are running their independent shops in Kabul where they impart training in stitching to women who want to become economically independent. “Garments worn mostly by women and children are made. This year we are showcasing hand-stitched garments that highlight the culture of different villages back home. We are determined to do well at the IITF and win the gold from India Trade Promotion Organisation like last year,” says Nadia, who is showcasing Pashmina kurtas, ponchos, salwar kameez and traditional topis for men.
Women entrepreneurs have come with less goods this year because of heavy transportation cost and taxes. Laila Astankzai, participating in the IITF for the second time, says her shop was forcibly closed down during the Taliban regime. “I re-opened my shop in Kabul a few years ago. The New Delhi fair gives us a chance to explore new markets and we are in touch with potential dealers. The Indian market seems pretty good.”
“Indian customers appreciate our designs,” says Arzoo, participating in the fair for the first time. “ Inshah Allah we will have a bigger stall at the fair next year. We have a better understanding of the Indian market now,” she adds
http://www.hindu.com/2010/11/25/stories/2010112559340200.htm
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Riyadh housemaid discloses multiple-rape ordeal
By RODOLFO C. ESTIMO JR.
November 26, 2010
RIYADH: A 27-year-old Filipino maid has complained that she was raped five times by her employer. She arrived in June to work in the Kingdom.
“My employer has raped me five times since the month of Ramadan. On Thursdays when his wife left the house, he would come to my room at night and force me to have sex with him,” Joanna (not her real name) told Arab News on Thursday.
She said that she had tried to resist but she was not strong enough to prevent her employer from forcing himself upon her.
“After the first time, I thought of committing suicide, but the thought of my family back home stopped me from doing it,” she said, adding that her relatives were the main reasons why she left the Philippines to work overseas.
“I wanted to ensure that my children could go to school. That's the reason why I left them. I thought that I could supplement my husband's earnings for the children's education,” she said.
The victim's husband and four young children, two boys and two girls, are in Barangay Taguipo, Butuan City, in southern Philippines. She was staying with her sister Barbara in Caloocan City before she left for Saudi Arabia.
“I could not bear anymore the thought of being sexually abused. I hope that the embassy will do something about this,” she said, adding that an embassy official had called her Wednesday night and told her that he'd secure a permit from the authorities so that they could enter her employer's house and rescue her. However, she has not heard anything since.
“He said that an embassy team would rescue me,” she added.
Arab News learned of Joanna's plight from a Filipino community leader on Wednesday and he was urged to get in touch with the Philippine Embassy.
He was able to contact the embassy and an official told him that he'd dispatch a team to find the place in Riyadh where Joanna’s house was located.
“That was the last time I was able to talk to the embassy official. I was calling him today but he was not answering,” the community leader told Arab News.
“In the meantime, I have been calling another Filipina maid working nearby to call Joanna and try to comfort her so that she forgets about committing suicide.”
Arab News called the embassy official in charge of police cases. He said that an embassy team found out that Joanna’s employer’s house is inside a compound that belongs to a member of the royal family.
“The police told us to secure a permit from the governor's office so that the embassy team could enter the compound, but as it is the weekend we cannot do anything now,” the official said.
He added that he’d ask the Saudi recruitment agency that employed Joanna to rescue her. “If it does not comply, we'll have it blacklisted in the Philippines,” he said.
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article200476.ece
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Muslim cleric jailed for marrying minor
November 26, 2010
Jakarta: An Indonesian court Wednesday sentenced a Muslim cleric to four years in jail for marrying a 12-year-old, the state-run Antara news agency reported.
Judges at the Ungaran district court in Central Java province found Pujiono Cahyo Widianto, 46, guilty of "deliberate acts" to force a minor to have sex with him, Antara said.
News of Widianto's marriage to 12-year-old Lutviana Ulfa in 2008 drew a public outcry and prompted condemnations from child rights activists and Muslim scholars.
Widianto said at that time he did not intend to consummate the marriage until the girl reached puberty.
The minimum age of marriage is 16 years for women under Indonesian law.
It was not clear if Widianto, who has been detained for more than a year, was found to have had sex with the girl.
Widianto said he would appeal.
http://www.ummid.com/news/2010/November/24.11.2010/muslim_indonesia_jailed-for_marrying_minor.htm
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Muslim girl killed for love affair with Hindu
November 26, 2010
Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh): A Muslim man has been arrested for killing his teenaged daughter who was in love with a Hindu youth from the same village, police said Thursday.
Mushtakeem, a resident of Mawaithakuran village, strangled his 18-year-old daughter Rehana Parveen after she insisted on marrying her lover Bhoora Prajapati, 21, police said.
Mushtakeem was arrested late Wednesday after Parveen's body was recovered from their home. The village is in Moradabad district, some 300 km from Lucknow.
According to police, Prajapati and Parveen used to meet regularly in the fields on the outskirts of the village. But as Parveen had not been coming for the last few days, Prajapati approached police suspecting the girl could be in trouble.
Police raided Mushtakeem's house and recovered his daughter's body from a locked room.
"Preliminary investigations indicate it's a case of honour killing. The father has confessed to the crime," police inspector Ravi Kumar told reporters Thursday.
"The father told us he committed the crime as he thought his daughter's marriage with the youth of a different community would bring a bad name to the family," he added.
According to police, besides the father, the girl's family members could also be involved in the crime.
"Investigations are on in this regard," said Kumar.
http://www.ummid.com/news/2010/November/25.11.2010/muslim_girl_killed-over_love_affair.htm
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Oman to allow temple, gurdwara
November 26, 2010
New Delhi: Oman has assured India that it will soon allow a temple and a gurdwara to be built in the country, home to some 500,000 expatriate Indians, it was announced Wednesday.
The assurance was given by Omani Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs Shaikh Abdullah bin Mohammed al Salmi to India's Minister for Minority and Corporate Affairs Salman Khurshid.
Khurshid was in Muscat to represent India as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's special envoy on the 40th anniversary of the renaissance of Oman celebrated Sunday.
The Omani minister told Khurshid "that permission for building of a temple and a gurdwara would be given shortly", an official statement said.
Full report at:
http://www.ummid.com/news/2010/November/24.11.2010/oman_to_allow_temple.htm
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Pakistan has not kept promises on 26/11: Chidambaram
Nov 26, 2010
MUMBAI: Home minister P Chidambaram on Friday said Pakistan has not fulfilled its promise to bring the masterminds of Mumbai terror attacks to justice and hoped it will realise its responsibility as a nation and take action against them.
"In Pakistan, we have a neighbour who has not fulfilled its promise to bring 26/11 masterminds to justice. We have learnt a lesson that while we will always trust our neighbour, we must always be on guard," Chidambaram said on the sidelines of a function here.
"I sincerely hope that on the second anniversary of this horrific tragedy, Pakistan will realise its responsibility as a nation, as a government and fulfil its promises to bring to justice those who perpetrated the attacks," he said.
Recalling the unfulfilled assurances given by Islamabad, he said it had promised to bring to justice the masterminds, the controllers and the handlers of the terror strike by arresting all the seven persons whose names were handed over by India to it.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Pakistan-has-not-kept-promises-on-26/11-
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No quick pardon for Aasia: Taseer gets death threats for backing condemned woman
By AZHAR MASOOD
November 26, 2010
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani official says the country’s president will not immediately pardon a Christian woman sentenced to death for insulting Islam.
The officials says President Asif Ali Zardari plans to give courts a chance to act on an appeal filed by the woman’s lawyer.
Minister for Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti met on Thursday with Zardari and recommended that Aasia Bibi be freed as soon as possible. He says that while Zardari refused to immediately pardon Bibi, he agreed to do so if the appeal is delayed in court.
The mother of five’s case prompted an appeal Pope Benedict XVI after she was sentenced earlier this month to die for insulting Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Her family says she was falsely accused over a personal dispute.
Meanwhile, Punjab Gov. Salman Taseer has received death threats from clerics of the Deobandi movement for supporting pardon for Bibi.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article200430.ece
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Killing of Iraqi Christians goes against Islamic ethos
November 26, 2010
Sir, The heart rending reports of Iraqi Christians and their places of worship, now under relentless attack by fanatics, must give all Muslims cause to reflect on what our faith in the unity of creation and the message of His Prophet [PBUH] is all about.
The killing of innocent Arab Christians and destruction of their churches is negation of Islamic ethos of universality of fundamental human values. Christianity and Judaism too, have been part of Arab and Islamic culture since the early days of Prophet. Iraq will not be Iraq without its Christians. The great wrong Bush and Blair have done by waging their war of destruction on Iraqi people and society can not be set right by another wrong. Only light can and does overcome darkness.
May Allah lead the perpetrators of these atrocities against Iraqi Christians to light. Amen.
http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/paper/index.php?article=4921
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Spain detains Pakistani over chopping murder
November 26, 2010
MADRID: Spanish police detained a Pakistani man accused of stabbing a man to death in Indonesia and then chopping his body into pieces, the interior ministry said Thursday.
Police arrested the 32-year-old, identitied only by his intitials I.F.S., as he was about to enter a metro station in central Madrid, it said in a statement.
Indonesian authorities had issued an international arrest warrant for his arrest following a kidnap-murder in the town of Karawang, about 60 kilometres (40 miles) east of Jakarta, in June 2010.
The man and his wife are accused of contacting the victim with the pretext of hiring him to create a web page, and then kidnapping him for ransom, the interior ministry said.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2010/11/25/spain-detains-pakistani-over-chopping-murder.html
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Nearly 1,200 women killed in Pakistan in 2010: Report
Nov 26, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Of the 1,195 women murdered in Pakistan this year, 98 were killed after being raped, says a report by the country's first helpline for women and children.
The Madadgaar helpline released a report in Karachi Thursday on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Geo News reported Friday.
The report was compiled from news reports published in the mainstream Pakistani media.
The increasing number of incidents of violence against women is a "blemish on the face of our society and seriously hamper the efforts for empowerment of women and gender equality in Pakistan", said Madadgaar's project coordinator and president of the Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid (LHRLA), Zia Ahmed Awan.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Nearly-1200-women-killed-in-Pakistan-
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RJDs Muslim vote bank switched sides midway
November 26, 2010
New Delhi: The split in the Muslim vote in the Bihar election that saw RJD suffer a dramatic erosion in its support base,was possibly guided by a desire not to swim against the tide as much as due to seeing chief minister Nitish Kumars minority initiatives in positive light.
As RJD leaders look for reasons why the partys usually reliable vote banks splintered,they point to the minority communitys shrewd assessment of how the vote was moving in Bihar.As the election progressed,it became more and more clear that the incumbent was returning to power.
An RJD MP said that the six-phase election went against RJD as it allowed the message of Kumars return to travel across the state.While some Muslim vote,according to some calculations,did go to Congress in the first phase,it dried up when it became evident that the upper castes were sticking to the JD(U)-BJP combine.
Despite their reported ambivalence towards Kumar,the upper castes were worried that any experimentation could see RJD Lalu Prasad seize the advantage and they decided to bury any misgivings they harboured.While this is a RJD point of view,some party leaders admitted that the development agenda had cut across all sections.
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Turin official asks school board to ban burqa-wearing mothers
November 26, 2010
Rome: A government official in industrial northern Italian city of Turin has asked the local school board to stop fully-veiled women from picking up their children at school because it makes it difficult to identify them as the students' true parents.
The request by Maurizio Marrone - a member of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's conservative People of Liberty party - was prompted after Marrone and other mothers had seen some women dressed in full burqas picking up their children from an elementary school in Turin's Barriera di Milano working class neighbourhood.
"Some mothers with children enrolled in the Albert Sabin elementary school in Turin have seen Islamic women wearing the full burqa picking up their children, and I have seen this as well," Marrone said, adding that the burqa made it impossible for teachers to "verify the identity" of those picking up minors.
Full report at:
http://www.ummid.com/news/2010/November/25.11.2010/turin_official_asks_schools_to_
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Pandits assault Mirwaiz,BJP activists join fracas
November 26, 2010
Chandigarh: A group of Kashmiri Pandits and right-wing activists assaulted moderate Kashmiri separatist leaders,Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Bilal Lone,at a seminar in Chandigarh on Thursday.
Trouble began after an activist charged at and slapped the Mirwaiz as he stood up to speak at the seminar.Dozens of slogan-shouting activists,including women,followed him and mobbed the Mirwaiz and,subsequently,Lone.The two were punched and the Mirwaiz fell from his chair.His bodyguards tried to shield him,but lumpen outnumbered them.
Not stopping at that,the hecklers bolted the seminar venue from outside after they were pushed out.Things degenerated further after BJP activists joined the hecklers and threw stones at the venue,breaking the seminar halls window panes and flower pots.
Full report at:
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US to drop colour-coded terror alerts
November 26, 2010
Washington: The United States is planning to replace its colour-coded terror alert system drafted in the wake of the September 11,2001 attacks with detailed threat advisories,media reported on Thursday.
The department of homeland security (DHS) has drafted a proposal sent to the White House to end its five-coloured system mocked by critics as a relic of post-9 /11 frenzy that caused alarm without explaining reasons for the alerts.
Instead,it will provide more clarity and guidance in specific alerts,according to the reports.
The goal is to replace a system that communicates nothing with a system that communicates precise,actionable information based on the latest intelligence, a DHS official said.
Full report at:
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US bans Lashkar front group
Yashwant Raj
November 26, 2010
The US tightened the screws on Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba on Wednesday, on the eve of the second anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks, naming its front organisation Falah-iInsaniat Foundation as an alias.
Foundation leaders such as the current head Hafiz Abdur Rauf, LeT traders' department chief Mian Abdullah and a key financial facilitator for the Lashkar Mohammad Naushdad Alam Khan were named global terrorists.
“LeT has attempted to use FIF as a way to evade scrutiny,“ said state department's counterterrorism coordinator Daniel Benjamin announcing the naming, “This designation will help put to an end that attempted evasion.“
Full report at:
Hindustan Times
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Islamic fashion goes stylish in Indonesia
Nov 26, 2010
JAKARTA: Long known as feminine and demure, Indonesia's traditional kebaya is headed for a makeover at the hands of innovative designers.
Growing demand for stylish yet still modest fashions in the world's most populous Islamic nation is helping power efforts to bring Islamic fashion into the modern age, a movement symbolised by changes to the iconic kebaya, a blouse-dress combination.
Fun prints, intricate detailing, colours so bold as to be psychedelic and a mix of delicate lace all graced the catwalk at the recent Jakarta Fashion Week. One designer even paired the kebaya with red-and-yellow striped tights.
"I think it's a good presentation because if you wear Muslim clothing like this, it's not necessarily boring," Jakarta Fashion Week project manager Petty Fatimah told Reuters.
"You can definitely expect to see more Islamic fashion in the future and it is for everybody. If you're not a woman who wears Islamic clothing you can still wear it."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Islamic-fashion-goes-stylish-in-Indonesia/articleshow/6993379.cms#ixzz16NvBF5qm
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Bromsgrove holds Eid festival for the first time
November 26, 2010
There's the chance to get a traditional henna tattoo
The first Eid Festival of its kind is being held in Bromsgrove on Saturday, 27 November, at the Council House, Burcot Lane, Bromsgrove.
The organisers say it's an opportunity to bring children and families together to meet and learn about different cultures in a fun way.
There will be Indian food, drumming workshops, an Islamic exhibition and Nasheed music by Sufi band Silk Road.
The event is free, but any money raised goes to BBC Children in Need.
Full report at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/herefordandworcester/hi/people_and_places/religion_and_
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How the Term ‘Islamophobia’ Silences Moderates
Claire Berlinski
November 26, 2010
Salim Mansur, about whom I’ve been meaning to write for some time, kindly sent me a link to his interview with the Investigative Project on Terror:
Mansur, a Muslim born in India, made a powerful case that the U.S. government and Western mainstream media ignore the real danger to Muslims around the world: terror, intimidation, repression and genocide committed by their fellow Muslims.
The point he makes next is one I make all the time, though I have the sense I’m shouting into a wind tunnel:
The U.S. government and the media help facilitate this skewing of priorities, Mansur said, one which benefits Islamists at the expense of ordinary Muslims.
The Obama Administration is sending “a confused message,” by courting Islamist groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), and the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) while shutting out non-Islamist Muslims.
Full report at:
http://www.frumforum.com/how-the-term-islamophobia-silences-moderates
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Sunni Ittehad Council warns of anarchy if Asia pardoned
November 26, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s most influential Sunni Muslim alliance urged the government Friday not to pardon a Christian mother sentenced to death for blasphemy, warning that it would lead to nationwide anarchy.
Politicians and conservative clerics are at loggerheads on whether President Asif Ali Zardari should pardon Asia Bibi, a mother of five sentenced to hang for defaming Prophet Mohammad under blasphemy laws.
While a growing number of moderate politicians have backed calls for clemency for Bibi, religious conservatives have organised a rival campaign.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2010/11/26/sunni-ittehad-council-warns-of-anarchy-if-asia-
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Real efforts needed to end violence against women: Fehmida
Muhammad Arshad
November 26, 2010
Islamabad—The Speaker National Assembly Dr. Fehmida Mirza on Thursday said that Women throughout the globule are subject to torture, cruel, inhumane or degrading punishments and violence.
She said “it is the need of the hour to enforce laws and impunity in order to combat attitudes and behaviors that condone, tolerate, excuse or ignore violence against women.
Dr. Fehmida Mirza stressed the need to raise public awareness of the scourge of violence against women.
She said that this day should be marked with a call to raise public awareness of this global scourge and action against gender-based violence in all forms whether it was domestic violence, rape, sexual harassment, torture and abuse.
Full report at:
http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=63723
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'I prayed for Obama to convert to Islam'
Nov 26, 2010
RIYADH: The Kenyan grandmother of US President Barack Obama who was on Haj pilgrimage to Makkah has said that she prayed for the American leader to convert to Islam, a newspaper said on Thursday.
"I prayed for my grandson Barack to convert to Islam," said Haja Sarah Omar, 88, in an interview with Al-Watan daily held in Jeddah after she had performed Haj.
The paper said that Haja Omar was in Saudi Arabia on pilgrimage along with her son, Obama's uncle Saeed Hussein Obama, and four of her grandchildren as guests of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
Haja Omar told the newspaper that she could only discuss Haj matters and would not comment on Obama's politics.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article200534.ece
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Jammu & Kashmir: 3 militants among 5 killed
November 26, 2010
Three militants were killed in an encounter with troops in Jammu’s Poonch district, while two siblings died in an explosion near Line of Control in district Kupwara, police and reports said on Thursday.
“Troopers of 20 and 16 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and policemen launched searches in Mordha belt of Surankote tehsil this morning. Militants present there opened fire on the search party which was retaliated triggering an encounter in which three Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) militants were killed and a trooper sustained injuries,” Senior Superintendent of Police, Manmohan Singh said.
Full report at:
http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2010/Nov/26/3-militants-among-5-killed-34.asp
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Bridging sectarian divides in Pakistan
By Qurat ul ain Siddiqui
November 26, 2010
KARACHI: A blast at a mosque in Darra Adam Khel in northwest Pakistan earlier this month killed more than 60 people. Recent attacks like this one have created a considerable challenge for Pakistan in tackling sectarian and other violence in the country. Though this attack on a Sunni mosque was possibly targeted at anti-Taliban activists, it also reflects terrorists’ disregard for religious and sacred places, further inflaming the growing civil unrest and sectarian divides in the country.
According to one alarming estimate, more than 4,000 Pakistanis have died in incidents of sectarian violence in the country in the past two decades. However, there is hope that the violent attacks can still subside if the government becomes more involved in establishing a culture of pluralism and tolerance amongst Pakistanis, encouraging them to bridge sectarian divides.
Full report at:
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=21560
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Militants Kill 5 Elders In North Afghanistan
November 26, 2010
Coalition forces report that five village elders were killed in northern Afghanistan when insurgents attacked their vehicle.
The men were travelling through Faryab province on Wednesday which borders Turkmenistan when their vehicle was struck by a rocket propelled grenade, said the statement.
Four other elders were wounded in the attack.
While Taliban influence in the north and west is not as pervasive as in the movement's southern heartland, the insurgency has been slowly expanding its presence in areas such as Kunduz, Faryab and Baghlan since 2007, mostly among Pashtuns who are a minority in northern parts of the country.
http://www.asianage.com/international/militants-kill-5-elders-north-afghanistan-207
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Islamic backlash forces Naipaul to cancel Turkey trip
November 26, 2010
Istanbul: Nobel-winning writer VS Naipaul has pulled out from a literary event in Istanbul following protests over his critical views on Islam,organisers were quoted as saying on Wednesday.
The Turkish media has politicised the authors participation and the essential goal of the event and VS Naipauls contribution as an author has been overshadowed, a statement said.The pull-out decision was taken in mutual agreement with the author,the statement released by organisers and Naipauls literary agent,added.
Naipaul,78,has stirred controversy in the past,arguing that Islam both enslaved and attempted to wipe out other cultures,resulting in a calamitous effect on converted peoples which is worse than that of colonialism.Naipaul has written two books on Islam,Among the Believers and Beyond Belief,for which he travelled extensively in Muslim countries.
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Pakistan says its bombs come from Afghanistan
November 26, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Wednesday that most of the explosives used in bomb attacks on its territory were smuggled from Afghanistan but insisted it was restricting the cross-border movement of insurgents fighting U.S. troops.
“All these IEDs [improvised-explosive devices] are actually being transported from Afghanistan to Pakistan,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik told a national conference on countering the threat from roadside bombs.
Taliban insurgents fighting for nine years against the Western-backed Kabul government have rear bases in Pakistan, where Afghan and U.S. officials say their leaders enjoy at least some measure of protection from Pakistan.
Pakistan flatly denies any collusion and says more than 2,420 of its soldiers have been killed fighting Islamist militants since 2002, when the U.S. put the country on the frontline of its war on Al-Qaeda. Another 3,835 people have been killed in suicide and bomb attacks blamed on home-grown Taliban and other Islamist networks in the last three years.
http://www.hindu.com/2010/11/26/stories/2010112665081300.htm
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Omar's rehabilitation policy may hit a roadblock
Shujaat Bukhari
November 26, 2010
SRINAGAR: The rehabilitation policy for the former militants who are in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) may hit a roadblock, with the Congress, the key ally in the coalition government of Jammu and Kashmir, expressing reservations following a scathing attack by the Bharatiya Janata Party in Jammu that the policy was aimed at appeasing the anti-national elements.
Even as the policy is understood to have been approved by Union Home Minister, the Congress has started dragging its feet though it was accepted in the State Cabinet in the presence of its Ministers.
The policy envisages rehabilitation of the youth who crossed over to the PoK in 1989 for training in arms and ammunition.
A government notification said the policy is intended to facilitate the return of ex-militants who belong to Jammu and Kashmir, and had crossed over to PoK/Pakistan for training in insurgency but had given up insurgent activities due to change of heart and are willing to return to the State.
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/11/26/stories/2010112663810500.htm
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Pathan hobnobbing with riot accused: Setalvad
Manas Dasgupta
November 26, 2010
AHMEDABAD: Teesta Setalvad, general secretary of the Mumbai-based Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), on Thursday denied the allegations made by a former close associate that she fabricated the affidavits of the 2002 Gujarat communal riot victims. .
In a counter-affidavit filed from Mumbai before the G. T. Nanavati-Akshay Mehta Judicial Inquiry Commission, she accused Rais Khan Pathan, a former field coordinator of the CJP in Ahmedabad, of “hobnobbing” with the riot accused and the BJP and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leadership to the disadvantage of the victims. Ever since the Best Bakery case (in Vadodara) was transferred out of Gujarat by the Supreme Court, the CJP and she had been made the “target of attack” by the powerful and influential people in the State who wanted to deny justice to the riot victims, the counter-affidavit said. “Rais Khan and earlier Zahira Sheikh, main witness in the Best Bakery case, are merely petty pawns in their hands in a much bigger game.”
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/11/26/stories/2010112664580900.htm
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Kasabs slain comrades buried quietly
Mateen Hafeez
November 26, 2010
Mumbai: Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasabs associates were buried near the high-security Taloja prison,well-placed sources said on Thursday,eve of the 26/11 attacks second anniversary.Officials were,however,tight-lipped on the details of the quiet burial of the nine terrorists bodies.
According to the sources,the bodies,which Pakistan did not want,were disposed of near the newly built prison in January.Maharashtra home minister R R Patil had on April 6 said that the bodies of the terrorists,killed by special forces during the three-day siege in November 2008,were buried and adequate care taken to ensure that the matter stayed a secret.Mumbai police commissioner Sanjeev Dayal and senior investigators were unwilling to comment on the issue.
Full report at:
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Lawyer urges acquittal of South African woman
Yasin Kakande
Nov 26, 2010
SHARJAH // A South African woman being tried on charges of illicit sex - zina under Sharia law - and abortion should be freed because legal requirements to convict her have not been met, her lawyer argued yesterday.
Sharjah prosecutors have charged MB with zinaand aborting a four-month-old foetus by ingesting abortion pills. She had become pregnant after consensually agreeing to an adulterous relationship with an unidentified man, they alleged.
Sharjah public prosecutors were asked to present four eyewitnesses in the case of MB, a 25-year-old receptionist arrested after checking into Al Qassimi hospital in Sharjah on September 7 while haemorrhaging profusely.
Abortion is strictly prohibited under UAE and Islamic law, except in extreme circumstances.
The defence lawyer, Haroon Tahlak, asked the Sharjah Court of First Instance to acquit MB after prosecutors failed to produce the eyewitnesses, a Sharia requirement for one to be convicted on the zina charge.
Full report at:
http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/courts/lawyer-urges-acquittal-of-south-african-
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Karzai's office blames British for Taliban impostor
By Paul Wood
November 26, 2010
Most Afghan or US officials have never set eyes on Taliban leaders, such as Mullah Omar
President Hamid Karzai's chief of staff has said British authorities brought a fake Taliban commander into sensitive meetings with the Afghan authorities.
The British embassy refused to confirm or deny the remarks, made in an interview with the Washington Post.
A man described as Mullah Mansour, a senior Taliban commander, was reportedly taken to Kabul for a meeting with President Karzai himself.
Now it is claimed he was really a Pakistani shopkeeper from Quetta.
The impersonator is said to have disappeared after hundreds of thousands of dollars were paid to him for his co-operation in the process of Taliban reconciliation.
Full report at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11845217
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New campaign to re-buff radicalism
Tom Finn
November 26, 2010
A campaign has been launched by the Yemeni government to win over Yemeni hearts and minds, in a battle to confront extremist ideology and favour Islam’s moderation.
The project was launched on Wednesday at an opening ceremony in Aden attended by the Deputy Prime Minister and representatives from the Ministries of Tourism, Culture and Justice.
As well as an array of performances by Yemeni children, the ceremony included a speech by Amr Khaled, the world renowned Egyptian televangelist, whose organization, the Right Start Foundation, will be leading the two week project to confront religious extremism in Yemen.
On Thursday, hundreds of ‘youth leaders’ from across Yemen will come to the capital Sana’a to receive training from Amr Khaled and his foundation on how to establish youth projects that confront extremism.
Full report at:
http://www.yementimes.com/defaultdet.aspx?SUB_ID=35105
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Yemeni workers unaware of their rights
Shatha Al-Harazy
November 26, 2010
Amani works 12 hours a day in an office 50 minutes away from where she lives in Sana’a. Although she works hard, she’s paid just YR 30,000 a month, about USD 140. That’s just over five dollars a day, or 45 cents an hour.
Amani Ali, who graduated from business administration college, couldn’t find any job better than being a secretary for a lawyer. There is no prospect of promotion, and most of her salary is spent traveling to and from work. “He earns almost five million rials a month, and yet he doesn’t pay me well,” Amani said. “When a lawyer, who is supposed to know the law and human rights, is treating his labor as slaves, violating their right to fair payment, then what do you expect other employers to do?”
Om Ahmad is an office cleaner who works eight hours a day for YR 12,000, or just over USD 56 a month, or under 24 cents an hour. If she misses a day’s work, that day is deducted from her salary.
Full report at:
http://www.yementimes.com/defaultdet.aspx?SUB_ID=35118
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Urdu poet dies in Allahabad
November 26, 2010
DAMMAM: Syed Mazhar Abbas, father of Dammam-based freelance journalist Zeba Haider, died in the Indian city of Allahabad on Thursday.
He was 71 and has been ill for the last couple of months. Abbas is survived by his wife and three daughters. He was an accomplished Urdu poet and wrote under the name of Sahab Kararvi. A number of Indian expatriates in the Kingdom mourned his death and offered condolences to his journalist son-in-law Saeed Haider and daughter Zeba Haider.
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article200466.ece
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Saudis fight for control of their marital destiny
By RIMA AL-MUKHTAR
November 26, 2010
JEDDAH: Unlike their parents’ generation, young men and women in the Kingdom are fighting age-old customs such as arranged marriages. In fact, many young women say they are unlike their mothers, that they are educated, do not rely on their fathers for money and wish to control their destinies.
“I cannot imagine myself marrying someone I don’t know or someone whom my father chooses for me. I want to marry a man of my choice — someone I might work with or have met,” said Dana Abdul Majeed, a 27-year-old banker. “Many men have tried to propose to me through their mothers, but I end up rejecting them because I don’t want to marry a man who asks his mother to choose a bride for him,” she added.
Many young women view arranged marriages as old-fashioned, a custom they do not want to follow. “We’re born in a much more developed era and we’re nothing like our mothers and grandmothers. For example, I don’t want to be a housewife. I want to work and earn a living,” said Hasnaa Esaam, a 23-year-old college student.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article199713.ece
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Egyptians go under the knife for better life
By SARAH MIKHAIL
November 26, 2010
CAIRO: Working-class Egyptians are getting botox, breast implants and tummy tucks in the hopes that the cosmetic surgery once reserved for a wealthy elite will boost their own marriage and job prospects.
Illiterate housewives fearing abandonment, soldiers mocked for flabby chests and overweight women struggling to find a husband sometimes pay with their own blood, rely on charity, borrow money from family and friends or turn to unlicensed cut-price private clinics for a procedure.
The extra business from the poor is boosting the experience of Egyptian cosmetic surgeons and lowering the cost of operations, helping Egypt compete with rivals such as Lebanon and Tunisia in the growing market for medical tourism.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/lifestyle/offbeat/article200336.ece
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24/7 helpline for Indian workers is a hit, already
26 November 2010
Mir Liyaqat Ali’s 15-year-old son, Ibrahim, was hit by a speeding car on November 7 and suffered a femur fracture. His right thighbone broke into two and he underwent two surgeries, the second one on Wednesday.
The driver of the car, which hit Ibrahim, is out on bail and Ali has been in the dark about the legal procedures to make a claim for the damages. When he read about the helpline of Indian Workers’ Resource Centre launched by the visiting Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil, Ali rang up the toll-free number 800 INDIA (80046342). “I was given a reference number and they said that they will get back to me at the earliest after consulting a legal expert. They were very nice to me,” he told Khaleej Times.
Devoted toll-free number for Indian expats
Indian expatriates needing help anytime now have a lifeline. All they need to do is call the toll-free number 800 India.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2010/November/
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President unveils Shaikh Zayed Bridge
26 November 2010
The United Arab Emirates will witness further achievements that will place it among the most advanced countries, the President said as he opened the Shaikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi.
The United Arab Emirates will witness further achievements that will place it among the most advanced countries, the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan said as he opened the Shaikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi on Thursday .
Present on the occasion were Shaikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President’s Representative and General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
Shaikh Khalifa cut the customary ribbon, announcing opening of the bridge. He viewed the designs and plans for different phases of bridge construction.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2010/November/
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‘Women play pivotal role in development’
November 26, 2010
KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Tourism Shazia Marri said that women play a pivotal role in a country’s development.
She said this while talking to media men here on Thursday on the day commemorating the elimination of violence against women. Shazia Marri said that Nov 25 is the day to mark the elimination of all forms of violence against women. She was of the view that it is our responsibility as civilised individuals to help those who are facing violence of any kind.
Shazia was of the view that the most important role that any woman plays is the one at home but unfortunately she is never paid for it. There is also no appreciation of the hard work she puts in.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\11\26\story_26-11-2010_pg7_24
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Israeli police blasted for abusing Jerusalem children
November 26, 2010
JERUSALEM: Israeli police were accused of ‘flagrant violations’ of the law Thursday over their harsh and at times violent treatment of Palestinian children suspected of stone-throwing in east Jerusalem.
The allegations were detailed in a letter sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by a group of 60 Israeli professionals, among them experts in medicine, psychology, education, social work and law — all of whom work with children.
The letter expresses concern about the growing number of testimonies submitted by Palestinian minors who have been arrested by police in occupied and annexed east Jerusalem, notably in the flashpoint neighbourhood of Silwan.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\11\26\story_26-11-2010_pg4_10
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Globetrotting: breaking travel records
Amna Khalique
November 26, 2010
KARACHI: Kandukuri Benny Prasad from Bangalore, India has broken the world record of travelling to the highest number of countries in the shortest period of time.
And by shortest period, we mean six years, six months and 22 days, visiting 245 countries in total.
Ending his world tour with a short stay in Karachi on November 25, Prasad spoke to Dawn.com about his experiences. An instrumental musician, he has performed almost everywhere he travelled — from a research station in Antartica to the streets of Iraq.
But so far, according to Prasad, he has had the warmest welcome in Karachi – his last stop on this world tour. “Because it is the last stop on my trip, Pakistan gets a very prominent place on my itinerary…it has been brought into the limelight, what a beautiful way to end my journey,” said Prasad in a telephone interview with Dawn.com.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2010/11/25/globetrotting-breaking-travel-records.html
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Remain watchful against 'evil force'
November 26, 2010
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged people to remain vigilant so that no “evil anti-democracy” force can foil the progress of democracy in Bangladesh.
Addressing a meeting with Bangladeshi community at her hotel on Thursday night, she said the anti-people force has been trying to hinder development activities in the country.
“The evil force does not want change of people’s fate… does not want to see Bangladesh as a country free from hunger and poverty.”
Hasina alleged that the last BNP-Jamaat alliance government during their five-year tenure only amassed illegal money, plundering public property and through money laundering. She said, “When our government is working hard to maintain peace and ensuring prosperity for the people, the BNP-Jamaat alliance doest not like it.”
Calling upon the expatriate Bangladeshis for investing in the country’s development sectors, the Prime Minister requested them not to do anything on foreign soils that would harm the country’s image.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=27106
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Musharraf To Face "Tricky" Queries By FIA On Bhutto's Killing
November 26, 2010
Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf will be confronted with key queries by Pakistani investigators on ex-premier Benazir Bhutto's killing like why no proper security cover was provided and why the crime scene was hosed hurriedly?
The investigators would demand answers from Mr Musharraf, the Express Tribune reported quoting officials, as they feel that the former ruler's answers could potentially change the course of investigations.
The Federal Investigation Agency seems to bent on sending the questionnaire even as a key aide to the former President has said that Mr Musharraf will not respond and may refuse to even receive it.
Full report at:
http://www.asianage.com/international/musharraf-face-tricky-queries-fia-bhuttos-killing-
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Pakistan Seeks Full Membership Of SCO
November 26, 2010
Pakistan on Thrusday sought full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a regional grouping in which India has an observer status.
The stability and prosperity of the SCO region is critical to global security, Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said while addressing a key meeting of the grouping at Dushanbe in Tajikistan.
"We also look forward to early upgradation of our status as full member of the SCO," Mr Gilani said in his address at the 9th SCO Heads of Government Council meeting.
"Development is high on Pakistan's priorities. we are keen to participate actively in promoting SCO's economic agenda," Pakistan's APP news agency quoted him as saying.
Besides India, Pakistan, Iran and Mangolia are the other three countries having observer status in SCO, which was created in Shanghai in 2001 by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The group aims at strengthening mutual confidence and good-neighbourly relations among the member countries. Besides, it aims at making joint efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region.
http://www.asianage.com/international/pakistan-seeks-full-membership-sco-251
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Women Candidates Test Egypt's New Quota System
November 26, 2010
Egypt is for the first time guaranteeing 64 out of 508 parliamentary seats being contested in Sunday's election for women, boosting their profile in a male-dominated society, but some see it as a cynical bid to bolster the ruling party.
Wafaa Mashhur is not convinced by the new quota system, but she is running as a Muslim brotherhood candidate in the central province of Asyut.
Mashhur, a guidance counsellor at an Islamic school established by the brotherhood, sees the measure as an "opportunity" but nevertheless believes it will only help to consolidate the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP)'s grip on power.
The women's quota in Sunday's vote was created by a law passed in 2009 that, according to the government, was designed to increase female representation in the people's assembly.
Women MPs currently number just eight, of whom only three were elected, with the other five appointed by the President.
Full report at:
http://www.asianage.com/international/women-candidates-test-egypts-new-quota-system-
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CBI lays bare Gujarats unholy triad
Dhananjay Mahapatra
November 26, 2010
New Delhi: The CBI on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that former Gujarat minister Amit Shah has been chargesheeted in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case.It has also submitted a supplementary chargesheet before the trial court detailing the nefarious politician-policegangster nexus in the state.
The supplementary chargesheet was filed before an Ahmedabad court 10 days ago but was kept a closely guarded secret and it was made public only on Thursday after a Bench comprising Justices Aftab Alam and R M Lodha directed the CBI to give a copy of the final probe status report to amicus curiae and solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam.
The CBI did not add to the list of accused named in the first chargesheet filed in court on July 16,2007,except Shah,who is on bail but has been asked to stay out of Gujarat by the SC pending hearing of a CBI petition challenging his release from jail.
Full report at:
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Chhotu still waits for rlys to keep its word
Roana Maria Costa
November 26, 2010
Mumbai: Mohamed Taufiq Sheikh (28),popularly known as Chhotu the Chaiwalla,has been living on hopes for two years.He said he was promised a job by railway officials in Mumbai and New Delhi after he helped in saving many lives on 26/11,warning people at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and ferrying the injured to St George Hospital.
He also works as a coolie.The native of Bihar has been in Mumbai since childhood,and has been a chaiwalla for nearly two decades near the hospital.Sheikh claimed the then Union railway minister Lalu Prasad had said that the chaiwalla from Mumbai will get a job. Railway officials in Mumbai claimed they could do something only when the files arrived from Delhi.I am still waiting.
He has not been able to get over the trauma of the night the terrorists spilt blood at CST. When I think about that fateful night,I get upset and do not get sleep.I get tense when a train runs late,fearing that something somewhere has gone wrong, says Sheikh.
Full report at:
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Taliban fighter works in London as cabbie
November 26, 2010
We collect money for the jihad all year and come and fight if we can Taliban commander who works as a London cabbie
British-based men of Afghan origin are spending months at a time in Afghanistan fighting Nato forces before returning to the UK, the Guardian has learned. They also send money to the Taliban.
A Taliban fighter in DhaniGhorri in northern Afghanistan last month told the Guardian he lived most of the time in east London working as a cab driver, but came to Afghanistan for three months of the year for combat.
“I work as a minicab driver,“ said the man, who has the rank of a mid-level Taliban commander. “I make good money there [in the UK], you know. But these people are my friends and my family and it's my duty to come to fight the jihad with them.“
Full report at:
Hindustan Times
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US victims to seek $50mn from ISI, LeT
Anirudh Bhattacharyya
November 26, 2010
The families of Americans killed and injured in the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai could be seeking to get as much as $50 million in compensation from the government of Pakistan, its spy agency the InterServices Intelligence and the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which have all been named in a wrongful death suit filed in a New York court.
The ISI and the LeT have been named as defendants in the case and the legal team counseling the families is looking at ways to serve summons on those it wants to appear before the court in the New York borough of Brooklyn. The families of four American victims and one person who was injured are party to the case.
The compensation to be sought is expected to be in the vicinity of $10 million for each of the victims, including rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka who were killed in the attack on the Chabad House.
Both were from Brooklyn.
Full report at:
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Maliki to form government
Atul Aneja
November 26, 2010
DUBAI: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has begun the tortuous process of government formation — a task that will test his skills in cobbling together a Cabinet adequately representative of Iraq's often warring ethnic and religious groups.
President Jalal Talabani on Thursday gave Mr. Maliki 30 days to form his new government. Conscious of the turbulence that his socially divided country could experience, Mr. Maliki appealed for unity. “I call upon the great Iraqi people in all its sects, religions and ethnicities and I call upon my brothers the politicians to work to overcome all differences and to put these differences behind us,” said Mr. Maliki. He added: “I know and you know well that the responsibility I am undertaking is not an easy task especially in the current circumstances that our country is passing through.”
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/11/26/stories/2010112664951300.htm
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Bangladesh Opp not to return to Parliament
November 26, 2010
Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Thursday said it would not return to Parliament as it has waged an all-out campaign against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led Government after eviction of party chief Khaleda Zia from her cantonment residence earlier this month.
“When the Opposition leader of the House is evicted from her (cantonment) residence along with a national flag carrying vehicle... There is no chance to join the Parliament,” BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury told a Press conference at his house.
Chowdhury also hinted the Opposition lawmakers might also resign en-mass as they had already tendered their resignation letters to the party chief and said, “no one-party Government could complete its tenure to date”.
“Our Prime Minister (Sheikh Hasina) has herself set an example by resigning from the Parliament in the past,” he added.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/299130/Bangladesh-Opp-not-to-return-to-Parliament.html
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=3729
8:54 PM
Moderate Islamist here
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