| Islamic World News | |
| 13 Dec 2010, NewAgeIslam.Com |
Kissing Deserves Eight Lashes under Sharia Law
14-year-old Malaysian bride defends marriage
‘Sufiya Madani waged war against nation’
Six NATO troops killed in an insurgent attack in Afghanistan
13 killed in Ramadi car bomb blast
Prominent Iranian journalist jailed for 16 months
Israel’s leader does not want to share Jerusalem
Made in Pak fake money floods India
Amendment will protect writers, composers: Javed Akhtar
Shia Islam Interacts with Followers of Different Sects
Alleged blasphemers deny desecrating holy Quran
Conspiracy against Iran burn British Flag
Afghanistan Taliban Leader Killed by ISAF Forces
Kashmir varsity looks to bolt stable doors
Free Kuwaitis From The Shackles Of Radicalism
"Passion for Perfection" - Major Islamic Art Exhibition in Amsterdam
Florida Pastor who threatened to burn Quran plans UK visit
Sharia law not as nearly as tolerant as Pitts
Varanasi blast marks arrival of plastic bombs
Man gunned down, brother injured in Lyari
Young Saudi inventor recalls win at leading science competition
Author praised for countering clash of civilizations theory
Kavita Karkare wants Digvijay statement probed
Bangla wage protests turn violent, 3 die in police firing
Darfur rebel chief ready to battle Khartoum govt
Saudi food from Saudi farms ... in Australia?
Egypt protesters say new parliament is ‘void’
UAE Plans to Hold “Quranic Schools” Int’l Congress
Two Shiite Pilgrims Martyred in Iraq Suicide Bombing
Sweden 'bomber' studied at British university: Reports
'UK varsities now nursery of terror'
Fake WikiLeaks: Pakistan editor sacked
Report reveals how the U.S. protected Nazis
Israel frees radical Muslim leader
Washington Post on Assange: Prosecute leaker, not website
Singapore diplomat calls India 'stupid': WikiLeaks
Lock stock and barrel for Kashmir’s oldest gun factories
This Ugandan in Jaipur begs to be in prison
Man held in Pak for trashing 'Muhammad' biz card
Sweden blast attacker: A case of a lone wolf?
UNESCO heritage tag: city monuments' chances bright
Colourless – Pakistan’s social and political scenario
Australia fears Israeli military strike on Iran: US cables
Pakistan loses credibility in Taliban battle: study
NSHR concerned over false complaints against workers
Compiled by New Age Isalm News Bureau
Photo: Six-member action committee formed to evolve future strategy
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Pakistan Clerics to launch campaign if blasphemy laws amended
Dec 13, 2010
RAWALPINDI: All the religious parties of the country have announced to launch a movement, Tehreek Namoos-e-Risalat (TNR), against proposed amendments in the blasphemy laws, Markazi Jamaat Ahle Sunnat Ameer Pir Atiqur Rehman said on Sunday.
Talking to reporters after attending All Parties Namoos-e-Risalat conference, Pir Atiqur Rehman said that Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP) President Dr Abul Khair Muhammad Zubair had been nominated as the convener of the newly formed group.
The conference was attended by Syed Munawar Hassan, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Professor Sajid Mir, Allama Sajid Naqvi, Mufti Muneebur Rehman, Dr Abul Khair Zubair, Pir Atiqur Rehman, Hamidul Haq Haqqani, Liaqat Baloch, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri, Abdul Rauf Farooqi, Sikandar Abbas Gillani and Maulana Muhammad Abbas.
He said a six-member action committee, comprising Liaqat Baloch, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri, Abdul Rauf Farooqi, Sikandar Abbas Gillani and Maulana Muhammad Abbas, had been formed to evolve future strategy of the TNR.
“The purpose of the meeting was to convey a message to the government that the nation would not tolerate any type of amendment in the blasphemy law, especially in the article 295-C of the constitution,” Dr Zubair said.
“The future strategy will be evolved in a meeting to be held in Islamabad on December 15,” he said.
Dr Zubair further said that the heads of all the five Wafaqul Madaris (religious educational boards) had also ratified the outcome of the conference.
He warned the rulers that if they dared to touch the blasphemy law, their government would not continue further as an organised protest campaign would be initiated throughout the country.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\12\13\story_13-12-2010_pg7_13
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Kissing Deserves Eight Lashes under Sharia Law
Dec 13, 2010
Jantho, Indonesia. Two people received eight lashes each in Islamic Shariah law-controlled Aceh on Friday after being found engaging in an extramarital kiss.
A crowd of hundreds watched as Anis Saputra, 24, and Kiki Hanafilia, 17, were given eight lashes each at a mosque in Jantho, some 60 kilometers southeast of provincial capital Banda Aceh.
[..]
“The people caught them kissing each other in Aceh Besar district’s forest in October. They were yet to have sexual intercourse when they were caught on Oct. 22,” Deby said, adding that Anis’s wife had been seven months pregnant at the time and had been at her parents’ home in Idi Rayeuk, East Aceh.
He said that initially he had asked for six lashes for each, but the pair were instead sentenced to eight each.
During the caning, Kiki’s head was bowed and she appeared to be attempting to not cry out as the rattan cane struck her back.
Anis, however, broke out in tears as the series of lashes landed on his back.
During the public whipping audience members surrounding the stage called out warnings and insults.
“Now you know what happens when you conduct adultery!” one person said, while another cried out, “You are married but still you wanted to cheat!”
Teungku Samsul, a cleric from Aceh Besar, spoke to the crowd before the lashings began, warning parents that a permissive attitude could lead to casual sex among their children.
“Avoid going on dates because it brings you closer to adulterous acts, which are not allowed by Islam,” Teungku said.
“If two people end up together in a lonely spot, there will surely be a third being — the devil — who will continuously tempt you and get you to stray from Allah’s path,” said Samsul, who is also an officer in the Wilayatul Hisbah, the province’s Shariah Police.
“Today’s lashings are a reminder for all Acehnese not to violate Shariah law,” Deby said. “The lashing is not to torture you, it is to get you to feel shame, as a violator of the Shariah law.”
He added that the pair were guilty of violating the 2003 qanun (Islamic bylaw) on khalwat , or close proximity, which bars Muslims from being alone with a member of the opposite sex they are not married or related to.
Kiki’s uncle, Darwin, who watched his niece’s punishment, said that when his niece and Anis had been caught, Anis had been badly beaten by a group of locals before being rescued by village leaders and the police.
Darwin said he believed the pair’s punishment fit the crime.
“I do not regret that my niece is being lashed up there because what she did was humiliating and spoiled the name of the family and our village. If I had been given the chance to lash the both of them, I would have done much worse,” he said.
“If possible these lashings should not just be done just around the capital city, but in every district and subdistrict, so that people see this and will not dare to break Shariah law.”
Shariah law was first implemented in Aceh in August 2003 after an order by then-president Megawati Sukarnoputri granted the province partial autonomy as part of an attempt to ease separatist tensions.
http://jbpaz101.blogspot.com/2010/12/kissing-deserves-eight-lashes-under.html
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14-year-old Malaysian bride defends marriage
Dec 13, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR: A 14-year-old Malaysian Muslim schoolgirl has defended her controversial marriage to a 23-year-old teacher after an uproar from rights groups, a report said on Sunday. Teenager Siti Maryam Mahmod wed Abdul Manan Othman last weekend in a mass wedding at a mosque in the capital Kuala Lumpur, after being given permission in an Islamic Sharia court. The marriage has prompted fresh debate on child marriage, with rights groups calling for the laws that allow underage marriage to be repealed, with some arguing child marriage amounts to paedophilia. Speaking for the first time since the controversy erupted, Siti Maryam told weekly newspaper mStar that she was entitled to wed and had not been coerced. “Marriage is the right of the individual and I am well-prepared to take up the duties of a wife,” said Siti Maryam, who met her husband early this year when he was giving religious tuition to her two younger siblings. “I have thought about the responsibilities and the consequences of marrying at a young age. At the same time, I have my mother to guide me on my marriage and my wifely duties,” she added. Siti Maryam said she and her husband have agreed to focus on completing her studies before beginning a family. Malaysian Muslims below the age of 16 are allowed to marry as long as they obtain the permission of the religious courts. Sharia law runs in parallel with civil law in the multi-ethnic country. Malaysia’s law minister Nazri Aziz has rejected the calls for law reforms, saying the government has no plans to review the laws because the practice is permitted under Islam. Muslim Malays make up about 60 percent of the country’s 28 million population and on certain issues, including family law, they are subject to Islamic justice
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\12\13\story_13-12-2010_pg4_9
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‘Sufiya Madani waged war against nation’
December 13, 2010
VR Jayaraj
The NIA wants to prosecute Sufiya, wife of Islamist leader Abdul Nasser Madani, for waging war against the nation in the case pertaining to the terror act of burning a Tamil Nadu bus at Kalamassery, off Kochi. The agency will submit — most probably on Monday — the chargesheet citing this at the Special CBI court (NIA court) in Kochi.
According to reports from Delhi, the Union Home Department has already given permission to the NIA to prosecute all the 13 accused, including Sufiya, in the case of burning the Tamil Nadu bus at Kalamassery on September 9, 2005. Sufiya is the tenth accused in the case.
The chargesheet reportedly says that Sufiya had got the bus-burning act executed with the assistance of LeT commander Thadiyantavide Nazeer as part of the anti-national activities aimed at mounting the pressure on Tamil Nadu to get Madani, then lodged in a Coimbatore prison in connection with the serial blasts case, released. Nazeer is the prime accused in the case.
Sufiya Madani is now on bail after her arrest by the Kerala Police from her Kochi residence on December 17 last year. Nazeer and her husband Madani are presently in prison in Bangalore in connection with the 2008 bombings case. The NIA had taken over the probe into the bus-burning incident in December last along with some other terror acts like the Kozhikode twin blasts of March 3, 2006.
The NIA’s chargesheet is said to contain the charge that Sufiya had planned to continue war against the nation with the assistance of other terrorists like Nazeer. She would be tried for charges coming under the Anti-National Activities (Prevention) Act, it is said. However, NIA’s probe report has reportedly exempted Madani from the list of accused for want of concrete evidence.
Though there were witness statements to the effect that Nazeer had sought the permission of Madani over phone prior to burning the bus at Kalamassery, the NIA exempted Madani from the list of accused. This was because it did not want to weaken the case against the other accused because of lack of evidences against Madani.
The chargesheet says that Sufiya was engaged in anti-national activities in such ways that these could have endangered national security. It also says that constant monitoring of Sufiya’s acts is necessary even in the future. She had got relaxation in her bail conditions several times for visiting Madani and other relatives.
According to the NIA, Nazeer and three others had stopped the Tamil Nadu bus, coming from the KSRTC bus station at Kochi, at Kalamassery on the night of September 9, 2005. After getting the bus driver out on gun-point, they drove it to a deserted area and set it ablaze after letting the passengers out.
According to Delhi reports, the Union Home Department, acting on a request from the NIA, had on December 7 given permission to prosecute Sufiya and the other accused. According to the agency, the Centre’s clearance for prosecution was necessary to prosecute the accused as the case had international ramifications.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/303220/%E2%80%98Sufiya-Madani-waged-war-against-nation%E2%80%99.html
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Six NATO troops killed in an insurgent attack in Afghanistan
Dec 12, 2010
KABUL: Six NATO service members were killed on Sunday in an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan, the international alliance said in a statement.
NATO did not give further details, in keeping with a policy of waiting for the alliance's individual countries to identify their casualties.
Fighting has increased in southern Afghanistan as a surge of US troops poured into Helmand and Kandahar provinces this year in an attempt to push the Taliban out of their traditional strongholds.
More than 670 international troops have been killed so far this year, well above the 502 killed in the whole of 2009.
Also today, NATO said a joint NATO-Afghan force killed a Taliban leader and captured a key member of another militant group in the east.
The Taliban leader was involved in weapons smuggling and attacks in eastern Wardak province, according to a statement. NATO identified him only by his first name, Fedahi.
Two men threatened the troops as they entered a compound yesterday night where they had heard Fedahi was staying. They shot and killed both men and one was later identified as Fedahi, the statement said.
The coalition statement said no civilians were harmed in the operation.
In a separate raid in eastern Khost province yesterday night, NATO and Afghan troops captured a leader for the Haqqani network, a Pakistan-based Taliban faction closely tied to al-Qaida.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Six-NATO-troops-killed-in-an-
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13 killed in Ramadi car bomb blast
Dec 13, 2010
FALLUJA: A suicide car bomber killed 13 people and wounded dozens near government buildings in the mainly Sunni city of Ramadi on Sunday, police and hospital sources said.
The attack came as Iraqi political leaders moved toward forming a new government and just days before one of the most religious days for Shiites.
A police official and a hospital source said 13 people were killed and 41 wounded in the blast in western Anbar province, once a stronghold of the Al-Qaeda militant group.
Hikmet Khalaf, the deputy governor of Anbar, said the blast in central Ramadi, 100 km west of Baghdad, targeted a complex in which the provincial council is based. He put the toll at seven dead and 25 wounded.
“It (the explosion) was at a crowded crossroad. There were civilian vehicles passing and it is also the entrance to the main government offices,” said Khalaf.
“They are criminals from Al-Qaeda. Who else besides them would do something like killing innocent people?“
The sprawling desert province of Anbar was the heartland of an insurgency after the 2003 US-led invasion. Its main cities, Ramadi and Falluja, witnessed some of the fiercest fighting of the war.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article214071.ece
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Prominent Iranian journalist jailed for 16 months
Dec 12, 2010
TEHRAN: Iran has sentenced a prominent reformist journalist to 16 months in jail on charges of insulting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and undermining the Islamic regime, he told AFP today.
Mashallah Shamsolvaezin heads the Journalists' Association of Iran and was the editor of several reformist dailies closed in a crackdown on the press between 1998 and 2000.
"I was sentenced to one year in prison on the charge of undermining the establishment for giving interviews to foreign TV networks and news agencies," Shamsolvaezin said.
"I was also given a four-month sentence for calling Ahmadinejad a megalomaniac in an interview with Al-Arabiya TV which the prosecutors misinterpreted as crazy and so insulting the president," he said.
One of the accusations mentioned in the verdict was "defending" in an analysis Nazak Afshar, an employee of the French embassy in Tehran who was jailed in the aftermath of Iran's post-election unrest in 2009, he added.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Prominent-Iranian-journalist-jailed-
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Israel’s leader does not want to share Jerusalem
Dec 12, 2010
JERUSALEM: Israel’s leader on Sunday dismissed a call from a key government partner to share the holy city of Jerusalem with the Palestinians, a reminder of the obstacles facing already troubled peacemaking efforts.
Conflicting claims to east Jerusalem lie at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The dispute over the area, home to sensitive Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites, has derailed past peace talks and spilled into violence. Palestinians claim the sector as the capital of their future state.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reaffirmation of his intention to hold on to east Jerusalem drew criticism from the Palestinians and was likely to increase friction with the Americans. The White House Mideast envoy is scheduled to arrive this week in another attempt to push peace efforts forward.
Netanyahu’s defense minister, Ehud Barak of the centrist Labour Party, called for sharing Jerusalem with the Palestinians. But a government official said Barak’s idea does not reflect the government’s view.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article214027.ece
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Made in Pak fake money floods India
Dec 13, 2010
INDIAN security agencies and banks are headed for the country’s biggest fake currency notes haul in 2010, an alarming pointer to how Pakistan is flooding the country with counterfeit notes.
Latest home ministry data shows 4.66 lakh fake notes worth ` 21.38 crore were seized in India in the first 10 months of this year. By the year- end, the figure would likely cross the ` 25- crore mark, a ministry official said.
More than 60 per cent of the notes seized by banks and law- enforcement agencies are of ` 500 denomination. Also, smugglers are increasingly pushing in fake notes on flights from Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates ( UAE).
On August 30, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence ( DRI) recovered fake notes worth ` 11.21 lakh from an Indian arriving at the Delhi airport on Pakistan Airlines flight PK- 0272 from Karachi.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Amendment will protect writers, composers: Javed Akhtar
Dec 13, 2010
Film producers and music companies will no longer be able to take away the rights of composers and lyricists. A Parliamentary Standing Committee report tabled in the Rajya Sabha on November 24 has recommended that composers and lyricists retain rights over their work in a film. They will also be the first owner of the rights if their work is used for other purposes.
Javed Akhtar, who led the battle to ensure that lyricists retained their rights, is understandably elated. He told TOI, "Writers and composers have been getting a raw deal at the hands of producers and music companies. This new amendment will help protect their rights. Earlier, certain companies and music labels used to make us surrender rights to our works in perpetuity. That left us with no control over our property, which was really unfair."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Amendment-will-protect-writers-composers-Javed-
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Shia Islam Interacts with Followers of Different Sects
Dec 13, 2010
The Ahl-ul-Bayt’s (AS) school of thought is one of fruitful interaction with followers of other religious sects, Boris Boillon, France’s ambassador in Bagdad said
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The Ahl-ul-Bayt’s (AS) school of thought is one of fruitful interaction with followers of other religious sects, Boris Boillon, France’s ambassador in Bagdad said.
Boillon added that the French people respect Shia followers and view their religion as a great one which is based on effective interaction and cooperation with other schools of thought.
He also criticized some biased groups that try to present an incorrect picture of Islam, especially Shia sect.
In his meeting with Iraqi top officials in Karbala on December 9, Boillon also noted that Karbala is the beating heart of Shia Islam.
http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&Id=216683
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Alleged blasphemers deny desecrating holy Quran
By Asghar Azad
Dec 13, 2010
KARACHI: We are Muslims in true sense and a true Muslim cannot even think of desecrating the holy Quran and Ahadith but unfortunately some people out of personal enmity are spreading disinformation about our family, blackmailing us for their immorally planed wasted interests.
Three alleged blasphemers from Buffor Zone, Syed Raheel Masood Wasti, Samreen Masood and Zafar Iqbal said this in their statement made before the media men at Karachi Press Club (KPC) on Sunday.
They categorically denied the allegations labelled against them, saying that all three of them were out of their house since early morning of the fateful day of Dec 10 following a death in the close family.
They had instructed the maid, Mariam Bibi to leave after cleaning the house as they would not return before late night.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\12\13\story_13-12-2010_pg7_26
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Conspiracy against Iran burn British Flag
Dec 13, 2010
A large number of Iranian students and people gathered outside the British Embassy in Tehran to voice their strong protest against London's support for terrorist actions against Iran as well as the recent interfering remarks made by the British envoy to Tehran and violation of human rights in Britain.
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - A large number of Iranian students and people gathered outside the British Embassy in Tehran to voice their strong protest against London's support for terrorist actions against Iran as well as the recent interfering remarks made by the British envoy to Tehran and violation of human rights in Britain.
Protests started in front of the British embassy in Tehran at 14:00 local time (1030 GMT) with Iranian students, carrying pictures of the country's assassinated university professors and scientists Majid Shahriari and Massoud Ali Mohammadi.
Protestors chanted anti-US and Britain slogans and blasted London and Washington's support for terrorist groups and operations against Iran.
Two Iranian university professors Fereidoon Abbasi Davani and Majid Shahriari were assassinated in separate terrorist bomb attacks here in Tehran on November 29 with the latter killed immediately after the blast.
Full report at:
http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&Id=216732
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Afghanistan Taliban Leader Killed by ISAF Forces
Dec 13, 2010
Two militants including a Taliban leader have been killed in a joint Afghan-NATO raid in eastern Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) says
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Two militants including a Taliban leader have been killed in a joint Afghan-NATO raid in eastern Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) says.
Troops entered a compound where they had received intelligence that it was the hiding place of a Taliban leader, identified as Fedahi.
During the late Saturday raid in eastern Wardak province, Fedahi, who has been involved in weapons smuggling and attacks in the province, was killed along with another Taliban gunman, the coalition added in a statement.
Full report at:
http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&Id=216691
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Kashmir varsity looks to bolt stable doors
December 13, 2010
University of Kashmir, which is in the middle of a storm after this year’s summer unrest found mention in one of its question papers, is working on a “new mechanism” to avoid similar situation in future.
“We are working out on a new mechanism because this is a new thing that has happened. So we are working on a mechanism about how in future we are going to deal with such things,” said University of Kashmir Controller Examin-ations Ali Mohammad Shah.
Police had arrested Noor Mohammad Bhat, a lecturer at Gandhi Memorial College that is affiliated to the University of Kashmir, for allegedly setting the English paper asking first year BA, BSc and B Com students to discuss “Are stone pelters the real heroes?”
The same paper also asked students to translate from Urdu to English a paragraph which was laden with allegations of human rights violations committed by police and CRPF during the unrest.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/303239/Kashmir-varsity-looks-to-bolt-stable-doors.html
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Free Kuwaitis From The Shackles Of Radicalism
Dec 13, 2010
Respect for human rights, democracy (embodied in our Diwaniyas and later in our Constitution) freedom of speech, gender equality, and religious and cultural tolerance — all these traits were ingrained in the Kuwaiti culture and person for hundreds of years.
These days we witness media reports of MPs attempting to pass legislation to ‘ban bikinis,’ ‘female sportswear,’ or completely eradicating the legal and constitutional presence of female parliamentarians — as if all major problems of the State: Ahmadi gas leaks, Mishrif Station pumping sewage into our waters, expired meat, visa trafficking, development and all the other major issues were already dealt with.
Some of these same individuals wouldn’t even run for Parliament in the 1970s because they regarded democratic public office as ‘unIslamic.’ Now, they are not just attempting to run the show, they are attempting to re-write history and modify the political and social structure of the State, by using democracy as a means to eradicate democracy.
Full report at:
http://www.arabtimesonline.com/NewsDetails/tabid/96/smid/414/ArticleID/162943/t/Free-
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"Passion for Perfection" - Major Islamic Art Exhibition in Amsterdam
Dec 13, 2010
"Passion for Perfection", the latest exhibition at De Nieuwe Kerk Amsterdam, showcases approximately 500 pieces from the collection of Professor Nasser D Khalili.
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - "Passion for Perfection", the latest exhibition at De Nieuwe Kerk Amsterdam, showcases approximately 500 pieces from the collection of Professor Nasser D Khalili. The exhibition features illuminated Qur'ans, manuscripts, paintings, textiles, ceramics, lacquerware and fine metalwork. Also on display are gold jewellery, carpets, glassware and stone and wood sculptures.
The central theme of "Passion for Perfection" is the beauty and exquisite workmanship of Islamic art. The Islamic world is highly diverse, geographically and culturally, and more than thirteen centuries of Islamic artistry are represented in the Khalili Collections. It includes masterpieces from all over the Islamic world: from China and India to Iran and Iraq, from Egypt and Tunisia to Turkey and Spain.'
Full report at:
http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&Id=216758
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Florida Pastor who threatened to burn Quran plans UK visit
Dec 13, 2010
LONDON: Britain's interior minister said that she will consider barring from the country a Florida pastor who threatened to burn a Quran on the anniversary of 9/11.
Terry Jones says on his website that he has been invited to a rally in February organized by the far-right English Defense League.
Home secretary Theresa May said Jones "has been on my radar for a few months now.''
``If it is now clear that he is definitely coming to the UK, this is of course a case that I will be actively looking at,'' she told Sky News.
The government has the power to bar people considered a threat to public safety or national security.
A previously obscure preacher, Jones gained infamy through his effort to burn the Quran. He canceled the event after international pressure.
The campaigning group Hope Not Hate said Jones should be barred because ``only extremists will benefit from his visit.''
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/Florida-Pastor-who-threatened-to-burn-Quran-
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Sharia law not as nearly as tolerant as Pitts
Dec 13, 2010
Re “Oklahoma’s nonsensical new law is definitely not OK,” Dec. 2: The voters in Oklahoma chose to prevent their state’s laws from being based upon Islamic sharia law. Contrary to what Leonard Pitts writes, sharia law is more than just “often brutal,” unless he believes that stoning of just some gays and women is justified, among other “often” brutal measures.
Pitts believes that this vote reinforces America’s fear of “all things Muslim” instead of reinforcing American values of justice. Has he not paid attention to what is happening in the United Kingdom with its consideration of sharia law?
Pitts thinks that we should be wary of blindly following entreatments castigating fellow Americans. Really? Where was this thought when Pitts was castigating Tea Party supporters?
I applaud Leonard Pitts’ column on again showing reasonable Americans his hypocrisy and bigotry. Mission accomplished.
Michael McConkey
http://www.daytondailynews.com/opinion/sharia-law-not-as-nearly-as-tolerant-as-pitts-1026442.html
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Varanasi blast marks arrival of plastic bombs
Pervez Iqbal Siddiqui
Dec 13, 2010
LUCKNOW: Forensic experts probing the December 7 Varanasi blast don't rule out the possibility that the explosive used in the terror attack could belong to the plastic family — PETN/TNT/C4 — so far not favourite of terrorists in India.
The hypothesis rests on a number of elements that the forensic experts have come across while probing the blast that took place at Dasaswamedh Ghat in Varanasi. Five days after the blast, investigators are yet to find any residue of the explosive used, remains of any circuit or detonator and even use of shrapnel in the explosive. The blast site was, however, cordoned off soon after the incident and screened by the investigating agencies. "Such features are usually associated with explosive from the plastic bomb families," said a forensic expert probing the blast. "This is entirely different from what we've seen in any blast sites in the country," added the expert, who didn't wish to be named.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Varanasi-blast-marks-arrival-of-plastic-
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Man gunned down, brother injured in Lyari
Dec 13, 2010
KARACHI: A man was gunned down and his brother injured in Lyari, the Baghdadi police said on Sunday.
Jamshed, 24, and Yasin, 32, sons of Abdul Ghani, were attacked on street No 7 of Eidu Lane by unidentified men carrying weapons.
Jamshed died on the spot, while Yasin was injured; and they were taken to the Civil Hospital Karachi.
It is believed that gangsters from Lyari were involved in the incident since the locals had informed the police about the victim’s skirmishes with the gangsters.
Separately, a labourer was killed in broad daylight over an old enmity in New Karachi Industrial Area, the police said.
Asghar Saeed was commuting in a passenger bus when five unidentified men got on board near Sector 7-E and opened fire on Saeed.
He sustained at least four bullets and died on the spot, while the culprits managed to escape from the crime scene.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\12\13\story_13-12-2010_pg12_4
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Young Saudi inventor recalls win at leading science competition
Dec 13, 2010
JEDDAH: A 16-year-old female Saudi student won $3,000 after beating 120 other contestants from across the Arab world in a science competition held recently in Alexandria, Egypt.
“Deep down inside I knew that I was going to win because I knew that my discovery was brilliant and is going to help many people from different parts of the world,” said Fatima Abdul Hakim, who won the Intel Science Competition Arab World organized by the Egyptian Science Age Society (SAS) in collaboration with Intel Corporation.
Abdul Hakim’s winning invention was a “Super Swab” to help with skin abrasion, especially in the inner thighs when there is friction between skin. She came up with the idea after noticing Umrah and Haj pilgrims, dressed in Ihram, suffering from skin burns and abrasions in the area of their inner thighs.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article214053.ece
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Author praised for countering clash of civilizations theory
Dec 13, 2010
RIYADH: The new book “Children of Abraham at War” by Indian Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad was hailed as an unbiased counterpoint to Samuel Huntington’s “The Clash of Civilizations” at its launch Tuesday in Riyadh.
Ahmad worked on the book for more than five years. “Its origins lay in the concern that, after 9/11, Western, particularly US, discourse was increasingly demonizing Islam — the religion, and Muslims — the people,” he said during his presentation.
“Bernard Lewis’ two books, ‘What Went Wrong?’ and ‘The Crisis of Islam,’ were readily seized upon by the American public and had considerable impact in solidifying the prejudices and animosities of Western readers with regard to Islam and Muslims,” Ahmad said. “Such a broad-brush approach denied all political context or legitimacy to Muslim grievances and did not attempt to take into account the complexity of Islamic history and contemporary politics and culture.”
Veteran Indian statesman and regional expert Ranjit Gupta praised the book for its often-unheard perspective.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article214214.ece
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Kavita Karkare wants Digvijay statement probed
Dec 13, 2010
MUMBAI: Kavita Karkare, wife of slain Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare, said Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh's controversial statement on Karkare should be probed.
She was speaking to journalists after attending the preview of the movie 332 Mumbai to India here on Sunday.
Asked about Mr. Singh's statement, Ms. Karkare said: “Yes, it has to be inquired into, because many people say Hindutva forces were behind it [Karkare's death]. Books have been written about it too. These things could have a dangerous impact on the 26/11 investigations.”
She denied that Mr. Singh and Hemant Karkare shared a personal relationship.
To reports of email threats to Karkare, Ms. Karkare said: “He may have received email threats. ATS chiefs do a range of investigations, but he never shared official matters with me.”
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/12/13/stories/2010121358561200.htm
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Bangla wage protests turn violent, 3 die in police firing
Dec 13, 2010
DHAKA: At least three people were killed and more than 250 others were injured when police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse wage protests by textile workers in Bangladesh on Sunday, police and doctors said.
Police said three male workers were killed and some 150 were injured in the port city of Chittagong.
Around 50 others were injured in violence in Dhaka and another 50 were hurt in nearby Narayanganj town.
Police earlier said around 4,000 workers attacked police and vandalized at least 20 vehicles , including setting fire to one, in Chittagong.
Witnesses said garments workers clashed with police and smashed vehicles at Kuril in Dhaka. It took police several hours to bring the situation under control.
Doctors at the Chittagong Medical College Hospital said a total of three male bodies had been carried to the morgue from the scene. The violence forced some 300 industrial units, mostly garment factories, to close down in the Chittagong Export Procession Zone. Many of the factories are owned by South Korean, Japanese and Chinese firms. The government raised minimum monthly salaries for garment workers couple of months ago, but the protesters said they were not being paid accordingly.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Bangla-wage-protests-turn-violent-3-die-in-police-firing-/articleshow/7090511.cms#ixzz17xb9ZpLY
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Darfur rebel chief ready to battle Khartoum govt
Dec 13, 2010
JUBA, Sudan: Minni Minnawi, the only Darfur rebel leader to have signed a peace deal with Khartoum, has accused the government of failing to implement the 2006 deal and says he is ready to do battle.
Four years after Minnawi went it alone among Darfur rebel chiefs to sign a Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) with the Khartoum government, which showered him with official titles, the honeymoon is over.
He predicted the south of the country would vote next month for independence, leaving northern Sudan to face its fate as a “failed state” and needing a total makeover. The Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) faction leader accused Khartoum of failing to implement the agreement and the Sudanese army of attacking his supporters in Darfur.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article214200.ece
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Saudi food from Saudi farms ... in Australia?
Dec 13, 2010
JEDDAH: Australian lamb and beef are well known to Saudi shoppers. Both are a regular feature in Saudi supermarkets.
Likewise, Saudis became well aware of Australia and camels thanks to stories in the Saudi media earlier this year about the Australian government wanting to cull its wild camel population and impassioned calls by some Saudi readers for them to be given a home in the Kingdom.
But if former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke has his way, Saudis will get to know a great deal more about produce from Down Under — on their dinner plates!
Hawke wants Saudi Arabia to produce its food in Australia. He issued his appeal in Jeddah on Sunday at a meeting of the Australia Gulf Business Council and the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI).
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article214199.ece
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Egypt protesters say new parliament is ‘void’
Dec 13, 2010
CAIRO — Hundreds of Egyptian opposition activists protested on Sunday over what they said were bogus elections that had produced an illegitimate parliament, even as the president hailed the vote as a “milestone” for democracy.
The protest took place outside the Supreme Court in downtown Cairo shortly after President Hosni Mubarak congratulated the ruling party for its sweeping victory on live television.
The opposition, as well as international rights activists, have condemned the elections for widespread rigging and called for the results to be annulled. The country’s two largest opposition groups pulled out after the first round.
Mubarak acknowledged there had been violence and vote-buying in the election which took place over two rounds on Nov. 28 and Dec. 5, but he described the results as lawful and told Egyptians to expect the new body to advance democracy.
But the protesters at the rally challenged the legitimacy of the parliament, which will holds its first session Monday.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/December/
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UAE Plans to Hold “Quranic Schools” Int’l Congress
Dec 13, 2010
An international congress on “Quranic schools” has been planned to be held by the Khoja Shia Isna Ashari World Federation (WF) in February in the UAE
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - An international congress on “Quranic schools” has been planned to be held by the Khoja Shia Isna Ashari World Federation (WF) in February in the UAE.
The program aims to explain the common views regarding Quranic schools, investigate existing ways for realizing new ideas in this respect, provide opportunities for education experts to exchange information and experiences and set up a network with the presence of experts and those interested in religious and social issues.
Seyyed Alireza Naqavi, deputy director general of the federation has invited all parents, teachers of Quranic and Islamic schools, students educated in such schools and Muslim experts and preachers to fill a question form prepared for the meeting on the website by December 20.
In his announcement, the deputy stated that selected answers to the questions will be discussed at the meeting and experts will propose new approaches for promotion of Quranic schools using these ideas.
http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&Id=216690
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Two Shiite Pilgrims Martyred in Iraq Suicide Bombing
Dec 13, 2010
Two people were killed and three injured Sunday when a suicide bomber blew himself up while targeting a group of Shiite pilgrims in the Iraqi city of Baquba, security sources said.
Baquba, Iraq (Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Two Shia people were martyred and three injured Sunday when a suicide bomber blew himself up while targeting a group of Shiite pilgrims in the Iraqi city of Baquba, security sources said.
Wearing an explosive belt, the bomber targeted a group of Shiites heading to participate in processions for Ashura, an annual day of mourning when Shiite Muslims mark the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (pbuh), Prophet Mohammed's grandson, in the Battle of Karbala in the year 680.
Baquba is located some 60 kilometres north east of Baghdad.
Over a million pilgrims are expected in Karbala city, south of Baghdad, later this week for the culmination of Ashura,
Safeguarding pilgrims during major Shiite festivals remains a challenge for security forces. Previous years have seen Ashura processions attacked.
http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&Id=216665
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Sweden 'bomber' studied at British university: Reports
Dec 13, 2010
LONDON: A man claimed by an al-Qaida-linked website to be behind bomb blasts in Sweden studied and lived in Britain, reports said on Monday.
Taymour Abdel Wahab, identified by website Shumukh al-Islam as the man behind two bomb blasts in Stockholm on Saturday, reportedly studied at the University of Bedfordshire in Luton, north of London.
A man suspected of being the bomber was killed in Saturday's blasts, while a separate explosion nearby injured two people. The explosions took place as Christmas shoppers packed the city centre.
Taymour Abdel Wahab studied at the university and continued to live in the town, around 50 kilometres north of London, in recent years, reported The Guardian, The Daily Mail and The Daily Telegraph.
The wife and children of Taymour Abdel Wahab -- said to be in his late 20s -- were reportedly still living in Luton.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/Sweden-bomber-studied-at-British-university-
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'UK varsities now nursery of terror'
Dec 13, 2010
LONDON: British universities have become hotbeds for breeding radicals and recruiting grounds for terror network like al-Qaida, an academician has claimed.
Anthony Glees, director of security studies at Buckingham University, has said the universities are failing to properly monitor students who could become terrorists.
Glees said MI5 had identified 39 campuses as "vulnerable to violent extremism". Birmingham City and East London are the only ones to be named so far.
Last month, Roshonara Choudhry, ex-student of King's College, London, was jailed for life for attempting to kill ex-Labour minister Stephen Timms over his support for the Iraq war.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/UK-varsities-now-nursery-of-terror-/articleshow/7090522.cms#ixzz17y2kMhhF
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Fake WikiLeaks: Pakistan editor sacked
Dec 13, 2010
Islamabad: Siddique Sajid, editor of Pakistan's Online news agency, has been sacked after it published a fake WikiLeaks-based report that New Delhi allegedly played a role in destabilising the country's Balochistan province.
Online editor-in-chief Mohsin J. Baig had ordered an enquiry into the fake WikiLeaks story. The decision to sack Mr. Sajid was taken after it was established in the enquiry that he had “solely misused” his editorial authority in the absence of the news agency's Editor-in-Chief by “fabricating a false story on a highly sensitive subject such as the WikiLeaks disclosure”, Online said on its website.
It regretted the release of the story, its subsequent publication by media, and “the consequent erosion of its public credibility”.
The Online story had mentioned India's role in allegedly destabilising Pakistan's tribal areas and Balochistan province and attributed these statements to then U.S. ambassador to India, citing WikiLeaks. Online had claimed Saturday that “the said story was lifted from the Daily Mail newspaper published from Islamabad”. “The newspaper is believed to be close to the intelligence agencies,” Online said.
http://www.hindu.com/2010/12/13/stories/2010121363871700.htm
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Report reveals how the U.S. protected Nazis
Dec 13, 2010
Revealing:The cover of the report on the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration's Nazi war crimes records.
After World War II, American counterintelligence recruited former Gestapo officers, SS veterans and Nazi collaborators to an even greater extent than had been previously disclosed and helped many of them avoid prosecution or looked the other way when they escaped, according to thousands of newly declassified documents.
With the Soviet Union muscling in on Eastern Europe, “settling scores with Germans or German collaborators seemed less pressing; in some cases, it even appeared counterproductive,” said a government report published Friday by the National Archives.
“When the Klaus Barbie story broke, about his escaping with American help to Bolivia, we thought there weren't any more stories like that, that Barbie was an exception,” said Norman J.W. Goda, a University of Florida professor and co-author of the report with professor Richard Breitman of American University.
“What we found in the record is that there were a fair number, and that it seems more systematic.”
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/12/13/stories/2010121363841700.htm
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Israel frees radical Muslim leader
December 13, 2010
Israeli prison authorities have released a radical Muslim leader after serving a five-month term for assaulting a policeman.
Hundreds of people greeted Sheik Raed Salah as he was freed on Sunday.
The Sheik is known for his hardline stance against the Jewish State. He lives in central Israel and leads a Muslim movement that has thousands of followers in the country.
Salah has had repeated run-ins with Israeli authorities. He was imprisoned previously for funneling money to the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Arabs are around one-fifth of Israel’s population of more than 7.6 million. They are citizens but have suffered decades of discrimination.
In recent years, some have slowly migrated to hardline groups including Salah’s Northern Islamic Movement.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/303259/Israel-frees-radical-Muslim-leader.html
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Washington Post on Assange: Prosecute leaker, not website
December 13, 2010
S Rajagopalan
Two weeks after WikiLeaks began unloading confidential cables acutely embarrassing American diplomacy, the Washington Post has rubbished the idea of prosecuting the whistle-blower website and its founder Julian Assange.
“The leaker, not the website, should be in trouble,” the Post said in an editorial comment on Sunday. The man believed to have leaked the cache of secret cables and, the Iraq and Afghanistan war logs earlier, is former US Army Private Bradley Manning, who is already in custody in a military jail and faces charges.
Although Assange has “irresponsibly released thousands of sensitive national security documents”, it does not mean he has committed a crime, said the post, adding: “Such prosecutions are a bad idea. The Government has no business indicting someone who is not a spy and who is not legally bound to keep its secrets. Doing so would criminalise the exchange of information and put at risk responsible media organisations that vet and verify material and take seriously the protection of sources and methods when lives or national security are endangered.”
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/303267/Washington-Post-on-Assange-Prosecute-leaker-not-
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Singapore diplomat calls India 'stupid': WikiLeaks
Dec 13, 2010
SINGAPORE: A top Singaporean diplomat described India as "stupid", saying the country was "half in, half out" of the ASEAN grouping, according to leaked US cables.
The whistle-blower website WikiLeaks released several US State Department cables that contained controversial comments by senior Singaporean foreign affairs officials on India and other Asian allies like Malaysia, Thailand and Japan.
The cables containing comments made during Singaporean diplomats' meetings with senior US officials such as deputy secretary of Defence for East Asia David Sedney between 2008 and last year were exclusively leaked to Australia's Fairfax Media Group.
In one of the cables, Singapore's Ambassador at large Tommy Koh called Japan "the big fat loser" in the context of improving ties between China and ASEAN.
According to Australian newspapers which carried the contents of the cables, Koh attributed the relative decline of Japan's position in the region to its "stupidity, bad leadership and lack of vision."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Singapore-diplomat-calls-India-stupid-
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Lock stock and barrel for Kashmir’s oldest gun factories
Dec 13, 2010
This Ugandan KASHMIR’S 80- year- old tradition of making 12- bore guns, used for hunting birds and small game, faces the threat of being wiped out.
Gun making is no longer a profitable business in Kashmir, says Zahoor Ahmad Ahangar, one of the owners of the Subhana gun factory, established in 1925. Subhana, along with Zaroo gun factory are the only large factories left in Bandook Khar locality in the Ranwari area today. Until 1960, Bandook Khar was a gun manufacturing hub.
“ I would have given up long ago, but this is our ancestral business. There is nothing left in it for my children,” he says.
“ Our ancestors were Hazaras from Afghanistan. They started by making daggers and knives.
Subsequently, the maharaja provided them licenses to make guns,” says Ahangar.
Subhana and Zaroo are not allowed to make much more than 300 guns a year, says Ahangar. “ But there are many factories in Jammu and no one touches them. Their quota was increased every three years.
Full report at:
Mail Today
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This Ugandan in Jaipur begs to be in prison
Dec 13, 2010
A FORMER Ugandan student, who had come to Jaipur 15 years ago to pursue his studies, has been reduced to living on the streets as he is unable to return home because of an unresolved police case.
Mujungu Mark Nyamwe, 36 from Kampala, Uganda, has now requested a city court to either let him return to Uganda or send him to jail, where he would at least be assured of two square meals a day.
Nyamwe’s story throws light on the abysmal state of the judicial system of the country. The student of Rajasthan University was arrested by the anti- corruption department ( ACD) of the Jaipur Police for allegedly getting his marks increased in an exam paper during re- evaluation through underhand means.
Along with six employees of the university, co- accused in the case, he was released on bail on February 17, 1997.
Full report at:
Mail Today
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Man held in Pak for trashing 'Muhammad' biz card
Dec 13, 2010
Karachi : A doctor has been arrested for allegedly committing blasphemy by insulting the Prophet Mohammed in Pakistan, in a second high profile case, throwing the spotlight on the country’s controversial anti-blasphemy laws.
Naushad Valiyani was detained following a complaint by a medical representative, who visited the doctor in the city of Hyderabad.
“The arrest was made after the complainant told the police that Valiyani threw his business card, which had his full name, Muhammad Faizan, in a dustbin during a visit to his clinic,” the Dawn quoted regional police chief Mushtaq Shah, as saying to a news agency.
“Faizan accused Valiyani of committing blasphemy and asked police to register a case against the doctor,” he added.
Shah said the issue had been resolved after Valiyani, a member of Pakistan’s Ismaili community, apologised, but local religious leaders intervened and pressed for action.
“Valiyani had assured Faizan that he did not mean to insult the Prophet Mohammed by throwing the visiting card in the dustbin,” Shah said, adding that the police had registered a case under the Blasphemy Act.
Last month, a Pakistani court had sentenced to death Aasia Bibi, a Christian mother-of-five, on blasphemy charges.
Pakistan’s noted human rights activist, Asma Jahangir, said that blasphemy laws were being misused in the country and caused negative impressions about the country abroad.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/man-held-in-pak-for-trashing-muhammad-biz-card/723703/
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Sweden blast attacker: A case of a lone wolf?
Dec 13, 2010
London : Swedish police investigating two blasts that rocked central Stockholm, killing the suspected bomber and wounding two people, said on Sunday they had good leads into what they said were terror crimes.
Here are questions and answers about possible perpetrators and tactics favoured by militant groups.
WHAT ARE THE THEORIES ABOUT THE PERPETRATOR?
He has not yet been identified by authorities. The main publicly available clue is a message sent to authorities before the attack that linked it to Sweden's military presence in Afghanistan and a cartoons controversy.
That suggests the perpetrator is involved in violent Islamism of the type promoted by al Qaeda.
A Swedish broadcaster, citing unidentified sources, said the dead man was thought to be a 29-year-old from a small town in southern Sweden, but it gave no other details.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/sweden-blast-attacker-a-case-of-a-lone-wolf/723707/
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UNESCO heritage tag: city monuments' chances bright
Dec 13, 2010
No other entry from India this time: Tourism Secretary
Collectors' item:Tourism Secretary Jayesh Ranjan (centre) and former Chief Secretary, Narendra Luther (left), releasing “A Guide to Heritage of Hyderabad: The Natural and the Built” authored by Madhu Vottery (right) in Hyderabad on Sunday.
Hyderabad: The State Government will submit a nomination dossier for inclusion of Golconda, Charminar and Quli Qutb Shahi Tombs in UNESCO's world heritage sites in mid-February. Chances of Hyderabad getting on the world heritage map have brightened with no other competitive entry from India this time, said Jayesh Ranjan, secretary, Tourism.
Assessment in August
He was releasing a book “A Guide to Heritage of Hyderabad: The Natural and the Built” authored by architect Madhu Vottery, here on Sunday. A team from the International Council on Monuments and Sites, an advisory body of UNESCO, will arrive here sometime in August to assess things. “But before that it is important that the violations near monuments, ugly constructions and disfigurements are removed”, Mr. Ranjan said.
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/12/13/stories/2010121359350100.htm
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Colourless – Pakistan’s social and political scenario
Dec 13, 2010
KARACHI: The University of Karachi alumni are using ‘Bay Rung’ as the title of their art exhibition to reflect Pakistan’s current social and political scenario, said a press release issued by the Canvas Gallery where the show is being held until December 16.
The idea of Bay Rung (‘Colourless’ in Urdu) evolved from the thought of working in black and white with no restriction of medium or concept because all the artists involved in this show worked with different mediums. However, later on the concept was made Bay Rung so that the artists could have the freedom to work in colour.
The title of the exhibition in itself is a very strong statement, as it points towards the social and political scenario of the country that has led the artists’ thoughts to many conflicting ideas, affecting every individual on a personal level. The participating artists are Raheela Abro, Madiha Bano, Nosheen Iqbal, Sahar Jawaid, Sheema Khan, Sophia Mairaj, Fariha Nadir, Syed Muhammad Raza and Fizza Zaidi.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\12\13\story_13-12-2010_pg7_2
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Australia fears Israeli military strike on Iran: US cables
Dec 13, 2010
SYDNEY: Australian intelligence agencies fear Israel may launch a military strike on Iran to knock out its nuclear facilities, which they said could lead to nuclear war, leaked US diplomatic cables showed Monday.
Secret cables from the US embassy in Canberra, provided exclusively to The Sydney Morning Herald by whistleblowing website WikiLeaks, reveal that Australian officials raised the issue with their allies on several occasions.
“The AIC’s (Australian intelligence community’s) leading concerns with respect to Iran’s nuclear ambitions centre on understanding the timeframe of a possible weapons capability, and working with the United States to prevent Israel from independently launching uncoordinated military strikes against Iran,” an embassy official wrote to Washington in March 2009.
“They are immediately concerned that Iran’s pursuit of nuclear capabilities would lead to a conventional war — or even nuclear exchange — in the Middle East involving the United States that would draw Australia into a conflict.”
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2010/12/13/australia-fears-israeli-military-strike-on-iran-us-
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Pakistan loses credibility in Taliban battle: study
Dec 13, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government is overlooking the scale of civilian casualties in its war against militants and will lose credibility unless it acts to ease the suffering, a report by a US pressure group showed.
The Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC), due to release its study in Islamabad on Thursday, says there were likely more civilian casualties in Pakistan in 2009 than in neighbouring Afghanistan.
“Despite the severity of losses and consequences of ignoring them, civilian casualties receive too little attention from US, Pakistani and donor-nation policy-makers, military officials and international organisations alike,” said CIVIC.
“Overlooking the majority of civilians harmed or displaced by combat operations is undermining the Pakistani government’s legitimacy.”
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2010/12/09/pakistan-loses-credibility-in-taliban-battle-study.html
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NSHR concerned over false complaints against workers
Dec 13, 2010
JEDDAH: The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) is currently examining several complaints by expatriate workers who are victims of false reports made by their kafeels (sponsors) that they ran away.
“False reports about workers that they are runaways are mostly made when there are disputes, particularly regarding unpaid salaries, between a kafeel and his worker. The Passport Department, which does not want any expatriate leaving the Kingdom without receiving his eligible rights in full, is also interested in finding the truth about complaints about runaway workers,” said Hassan Shareef, the director general of the Makkah Branch of the NSHR.
Shareef attributed the woes of foreign workers to their ignorance of their legal rights. He added that there have been situations in which workers were illegally arrested on the basis of false reports. He said the Passport Department agreed to appoint an officer who could be contacted at any time of the day or night to deal with emergency cases of illegal arrests after the NSHR convinced the department about the gravity of the situation.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article213463.ece
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=3796
10:11 PM
Moderate Islamist here
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