| Islamic World News | |
| 28 Dec 2010, NewAgeIslam.Com |
More than 350,000 fatwas expected to be issued by end of year in UAE
Hindu and Muslim religious leaders met to ease tensions
Three suspected US strikes kill 17 in Pakistan
13,000 Saudis lose jobs as call cabins go downhill
Suicide bomber kills 3 in south Afghanistan
Gaza’s fallen women: doing time for ‘moral’ crime
Christmas decor in Indonesia excessive: top Muslim body
Pak Hindus ask for asylum in India
A stone-pelter in Kashmir gets paid Rs 400 a week
Pakistani Shia figure warns countrywide protest against abduction of Shia youths
If Tribunal Not Politicized, No One Would Object it
313 Messages from Nahj-ul-Balagha to be Published
Are Taliban following in the footsteps of Tamil Tigers?
Bomb at Rome embassy linked to anarchist attacks
14 killed in fresh clashes after Christmas attacks in Nigeria
World Cup venues, Delhi on IM radar
Iran hangs Mossad spy: State media
Question Musharraf in Benazir murder probe: Ex-ISI chief
UN suspends food handouts in Pakistan's Bajaur
Saudi says militant dressed as woman killed last week was from Qaida
Pak Hindus narrate citizenship woes
PAGE1 ANCHOR Panel proposes code of ethics for teachers and a monitor too
Necessity pushing Pak women into jobs & peril
A TALE OF TWO BOOKS RSS & 26/11: Digvijaya flags it off again, this time in Mumbai
US helps `enemy' Pak, China can't be friendly, says Cong
EC mulling law to crack down on paid news: Quraishi
Police framed Mozawala: Lawyer
She loved India': 3 years later, a friend remembers Benazir
Afghan war to escalate in 2011
‘Karkare was like god for Indian Muslims’
U.S. resumes drone attacks in Pakistan
Pakistan asks India to keep up promise of cotton export
US missiles hit Pakistan borderlands, kill 18
Musharraf accuses Sharif of supporting Baloch leaders
Bodies of 4 ‘Baloch nationalists' found
Package bomb found at Greek Embassy in Italy, defused
Top Buddhist leader attacked in Bangladesh
Iran allows family visit for detained German scribes
Somali Islamist insurgents threaten attack on US
Surface-to-air missiles test-fired by Pakistan Navy
Top HM commander killed in J&K
SP attempts to woo Muslims
Musharraf Accuses Sharif Of Supporting Baloch Nationalists
NATO Service Member Killed By Bomb In Afghanistan
2 J&K cops held for militant `links', another on the run
Separatists say they turned down meeting with interlocutor
Taliban kidnap 23 tribesmen for meeting Kayani
PHC grants bail to two Taliban
105 journalists killed in 2010: media watchdog
US Muslims: a new consumer niche
Altaf Hussain throws ball in PPP’s court
Netanyahu rules out apology to Turks over flotilla
Al Qaeda threat on Iraqi Christians linked to Egypt
Shoura works out scheme for transparency
Swine flu kills 56 in Egypt
Security forces kill two militants in Mohmand
UAE tries two Pakistanis on Qaeda links: report
‘Octomom' Nadya Suleman faces eviction in U.S.
Compiled by New Age Isalm News Bureau
Photo: Hindu and Muslim religious leaders from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan met to explore forming a spiritual alliance
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Death toll from Nigerian unrest at least 86
Dec 28, 2010
JOS, Nigeria: The death toll from a series of Christmas Eve bombings and reprisals in central Nigeria has risen to at least 80, the emergency management agency said Tuesday, bringing the nationwide total to 86.
“We have gone around the five hospitals where casualties from the explosions and the violence that followed in Jos were taken,” said Daniel Balarabe Gambo, deputy director of communications for the National Emergency Management Agency.
“The data we collated at these hospitals shows that a total of 80 people died from the incidents while 189 were injured.”
Police disputed the toll and said it was much lower, but the emergency agency insisted it was accurate.
An unprecedented series of bomb blasts went off on Christmas Eve in the central city of Jos, which has been repeatedly hit by violence opposing Christian and Muslim ethnic groups that many say has been stoked by politics.
Clashes broke out on Sunday following the blasts, leaving a number of people killed and houses burnt.
Also on Christmas Eve, suspected members of an Islamic sect that launched an uprising last year attacked three churches in the northern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, killing six people and leaving one of the churches burnt.
There has been no indication that the incidents in the vast country’s central and northern regions were linked.
Jos, the capital of Plateau state, is in the so-called middle-belt region between the predominantly Muslim north and the mainly Christian south and has long been a hotspot of ethnic and religious friction in Nigeria.
Many attribute the unrest in Jos to the struggle for economic and political power between the Christian Beroms, seen as the indigenous ethnic group in the region, and the Hausa-Fulani Muslims, viewed as the more recent arrivals.
Police have blamed the bomb blasts on politics ahead of April elections in Africa’s most populous nation, but they say they do not yet know who was behind the attacks.
Previous unrest in Jos and the surrounding region has killed hundreds this year, but the Christmas Eve attacks marked the first time explosives were used to such a degree.
Police also said six people were in custody over the clashes that erupted on Sunday.
A military spokesman said two of the suspects were caught with dynamite powder and were trying to burn down a church and a house.
Plateau state police commissioner Abdulrahman Akano said the military’s comments were premature as the two suspects were caught with bottles with some type of unknown substance inside. Authorities were analysing to determine what it was.
He also denied they were trying to burn a church and house when arrested, saying they were among those running from the scenes of Sunday’s rioting.
http://www.dawn.com/2010/12/28/death-toll-from-nigerian-unrest-at-least-86.html
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More than 350,000 fatwas expected to be issued by end of year: report
Dec 28, 2010
More than 350,000 fatwas, or Islamic religious decrees, covering everything from vuvuzelas to eating dates from palm trees to praying for a husband are expected to be issued by the end of the year by the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowmen (Awqaf), The National reported Monday.
The English language Dubai paper said the Fatwa Centre at Awqaf issued the edicts in response to people’s questions submitted online, via text or over the phone about what is permissible under Sharia law.
The rulings, published on Awqaf’s website, were recently made available in an English version.
The National said the most common questions addressed confusion over specifics of worship.
However, among the other topics addressed were the permissibility of car raffles ("It is not permissible to buy a coupon of a specific amount for the purpose of entry in a draw for a car, because it is ambiguous and a kind of gambling"), eating dates from palm trees in public areas (permissible as long as no harm is caused to the tree) and the noisy vuvuzela ("Who ever brings it or trades in it, must ensure that its power is not over 100 decibels so as to avoid damaging people's hearing.")
As well, Muslim women may live on their own “as long as it was in a safe place” and there are no specific prayers for “getting a husband,” The National reported.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/more_than_fatwas_expected_year_report_wo
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Hindu and Muslim religious leaders met to ease tensions
Dec 28, 2010
Hindu and Muslim religious leaders from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan met to explore forming a spiritual alliance to ease tensions, counter extremism, and set a new tone for the region.
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Hindu and Muslim religious leaders from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan met to explore forming a spiritual alliance to ease tensions, counter extremism, and set a new tone for the region.
Gathering thirty-five leaders from various traditions, the Sufi-Yogi Dialogue took place in a place famous for spiritual seers and sages, Rishikesh, on the banks of the sacred Ganges River in India.
The Sufis and Yogis in particular were chosen for this ground-breaking dialogue because they represent the mystical core of the Islamic and Hindu traditions.
As such, they are especially suited to distilling the essence of unity, the direct experience of the Divine, at the heart of both religions, –and perhaps ultimately of all religious experience.
Tapping into this inner source of unity, common to all spiritual paths at their innermost level, has the potential to guide us to outer unity in our crisis-torn world. Experiencing our true identity with the Divine can then serve as a fulcrum for global healing and harmony.
http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&Id=218749
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Three suspected US strikes kill 17 in Pakistan
Dec 28, 2010
PESHAWAR: Three suspected U.S. missile strikes targeting a militant-riddled tribal region near the Afghan border killed 17 people Tuesday, including at least two who were retrieving bodies from the first attack, Pakistani intelligence officials said.
The strikes come in the final days of a year that has seen an unprecedented number of such drone-fired attacks as part of a ramped-up U.S. campaign to take out al-Qaida and Taliban fighters seeking sanctuary outside Afghanistan.
Around 115 missile strikes have been launched this year — more than doubling last year's total. Nearly all have landed in North Waziristan, a region that hosts several militant groups battling U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, including the feared Haqqani network.
The first strike Tuesday hit a house in the Ghulam Khan area of North Waziristan, killing six, the Pakistani intelligence officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The officials did not know the identities of those killed but said they were militants.
About three hours later, as people went to the site to pick up the bodies, more missiles hit the same spot. The intelligence officials said civilians may have been among those killed in the second strike.
Later in the day, nine militants were killed when six missiles hit their vehicles as they traveled in the Ghulam Khan area, the officials said. The dead were believed to be insurgents with the Haqqani network, which is considered one of the top threats to U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Pakistan officially protests the strikes, saying they violate its sovereignty and anger tribesmen whose support it needs to fend off extremists. But Islamabad is widely believed to secretly support the strikes and provide intelligence for at least some of them.
U.S. officials rarely discuss the covert, CIA-run missile program. Privately, however, they say it is a crucial tool and has killed several top militant leaders. They also say the drone-fired strikes are very accurate and usually kill militants.
Information from Pakistan's tribal belt is very hard to verify independently. Access to the area is legally restricted, and ongoing conflict there makes it dangerous territory.
In Mohmand, another district in the tribal belt, a group of militants stormed a security checkpoint in the mountainous Ziarat area Tuesday, wounding two officers, said Zabit Khan, a government administrator. He said security forces returned fire and killed two of the attackers.
Also Tuesday, a low-intensity bomb exploded near a cafeteria at the Karachi University in the southern port city of Karachi, wounding at least two students, police said. Police official Naeem Khan said the explosive was in parcel and that officials were trying to determine who planted it.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Three-suspected-US-strikes-kill-
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13,000 Saudis lose jobs as call cabins go downhill
Dec 28, 2010
DAMMAM: Over 13,000 Saudis have lost jobs at telephone cabins whose numbers have dramatically fallen from 4,500 to 700 all over the Kingdom in recent years.
Around 16,000 Saudis used to be employed at telephone cabins, which were established following a decision by the Council of Ministers 14 years ago to provide Saudis with work and investment opportunities.
The industry used to generate SR3 billion in revenue annually, a figure that has dramatically dropped to SR400 million, Al-Watan newspaper reported.
Ali Al-Ghamdi, a 60-year-old Saudi investor, said he opened a number of telephone cabins and made a lot of money but things did not move on the way he anticipated them to do so. “Since the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) was made in charge of the communications sector, this entire sector went downhill as a result of fierce competition from mobile companies. The CITC has been slack to take a fair stance and ensure business is shared,” he added.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article224694.ece
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Suicide bomber kills 3 in south Afghanistan
Dec 28, 2010
KABUL, Afghanistan: A suicide car bombing in the southern Taleban stronghold of Kandahar killed three people and wounded 26 others, mostly police, officials said Monday, in an attack spotlighting instability in Afghanistan as the NATO-led fight against insurgents there approaches the start of its 10th year.
The bomber struck in the crowded center of the city, near a police compound and a branch of Kabul Bank, and witnesses described a chaotic scene after the dust and smoke cleared.
“I was sitting near the gate when this explosion occurred. We fell to the ground and we couldn’t see anything for five minutes” due to the dust and smoke caused by the blast, said Noor Mohammad, a policeman who was guarding the bank, adding that police and security guards from nearby buildings and compounds took the casualties to a hospital.
An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw pieces of the suicide bomber’s car scattered around the street. Three police vehicles, at least two civilian cars and two shops in the area were also destroyed by the blast.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article224483.ece
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Gaza’s fallen women: doing time for ‘moral’ crime
Dec 28, 2010
GAZA CITY: Najwa Abu Amra cries inside a Gaza jail as she explains how she got here. Struggling to care for two sons and a drug-addicted husband, she agreed to sleep with a man for about 50 dollars.
She had resisted prostitution in the past, but she was getting desperate.
“My husband isn’t normal, he was telling me to sleep with men because they would give him money,” She said. “He did what he liked and he didn’t give me anything. I didn’t know what to do”.
Her husband showed no interest in caring for their two boys, one aged nine, the other just three. When she walked out, trying to prod him into better behaviour, he married a second wife.
“I had two sons, one of them is deaf, I didn’t have a choice,” she explains as the other women prisoners look on, some of them clutching their own children.
Out of desperation, she dialed the number of a man she had met months earlier, and agreed to sleep with him for 200 shekels (54 dollars or 41 euros).
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2010/12/27/gazas-fallen-women-doing-time-for-moral-crime.html
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Christmas decor in Indonesia excessive: top Muslim body
Dec 28, 2010
Christmas ornamentation had been put up in an “excessive and provocative way”, said Muhyidin Junaedi, one of the chairmen of the Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI).
“It should be done in a proportional manner as Muslims are the majority here, otherwise it will hurt their feelings,” he told AFP.
He said that the MUI issued a recommendation urging mall and recreation centre managers to act proportionally in decorating their premises.
“We received complaints from a number of malls’ employees who are forced to wear Santa Claus costumes which are against their faith. Such things should not have happened,” he said.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2010/12/23/christmas-decor-in-indonesia-excessive-top-muslim-
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Pak Hindus ask for asylum in India
Dec 28, 2010
More than two dozen Hindu families in Pakistan have sought political asylum in India after an increase in cases of kidnapping for ransom and target killings of the members of their community in Balochistan province, an official said.
The Hindu families have approached the Indian high commission here for visa and political asylum. They cited the increase in abductions for ransom and target killings as their reason for wanting to go to India.
Saeed Ahmed Khan, the regional director for the federal ministry of human rights, shared the information at a seminar on “Provincial Conference on Balochistan Crisis“ here on Sunday, the Dawn reported.
Khan said that Hindus have been living in Balochistan for centuries, but in recent weeks several members of the minority community had been kidnapped or murdered, forcing them to seek asylum in India.
Abdul Khaliq Hazara, chairman of the Hazara Democratic Party, blamed “hidden hands“ for the poor law and order situation in Balochistan. He said over 100 groups involved in kidnappings for ransom were active in Balochistan.
Hindustan Times
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A stone-pelter in Kashmir gets paid Rs 400 a week
Dec 28, 2010
SRINAGAR: J&K police claim to have unearthed a nexus between some government employees, Hurriyat members and militants to foment violence in Sopore, an official release said. According to a stone pelter who was arrested recently, each stone pelter is paid Rs 400 every Friday.
Police said the money was being raised locally by Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani's followers. Most of the money came from fruit mandi and saw mills, the police said.
Hurriyat cadres who collected the money have been identified as Ghulam Mohammad Tantray of Behrampora, Ghulam Hassan Mir alias Chotta Geelani of Duroo, Mohammad Rustum of Amargarh, Sopore, Gani Guroo of Chankhan, Ashraf Malik, a government employee in Education department of Batpor and Bashir Ahmad Tali, a resident of Chankhan, Sopore and an employee of Food & Supplies department. Tantray and Rustum have been been detained under PSA and Malik is currently in custody. The rest are absconding.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/A-stone-pelter-in-Kashmir-gets-paid-Rs-400-a-
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Pakistani Shia figure warns countrywide protest against abduction of Shia youths
Dec 28, 2010
Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen Pakistan warned countrywide protest against the abduction of Shia men by security agencies.
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen Pakistan warned countrywide protest against the abduction of Shia men by security agencies.
The families staged protest against the10 Shia missing persons abducted from different areas of the city within 10 days by the law enforcement agencies.
Families appealed Chief Justice Pakistan to take action against illegal detention of the 10 young men and probe the whereabouts of the missing persons.
As per detail, Mulana Hasan Zafar Naqvi leader of the Majlis-e-Wahdat-Muslimeen Pakistan along the families of 10 Shia men, allegedly in the custody of Law enforcement agencies held a press Conference at Karachi press Club on Monday.
Full report at:
http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&Id=218765
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If Tribunal Not Politicized, No One Would Object it
Dec 28, 2010
Syrian President Bashar Assad's advisor Buthaina Shaaban said the track that the international tribunal is taking hints that the court is politicized and aims at dividing Arabs.
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Syrian President Bashar Assad's advisor Buthaina Shaaban said the track that the international tribunal is taking hints that the court is politicized and aims at dividing Arabs.
"If the court was impartial, no one would have objected to it," Shaaban told the Saudi al-Riyadh newspaper. "But the course of the court hints that it is politicized and falls within the plot aimed at dividing Arabs and hitting their agreements, strength and unity."
She said Syria was accused of involvement in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination immediately after the Feb. 2005 bombing. "Today they talk about accusing Hezbollah and tomorrow they could accuse a third and fourth party," Shaaban said.
Full report at:
http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&Id=218753
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313 Messages from Nahj-ul-Balagha to be Published
Dec 28, 2010
A book entitled “313 Messages from Nahj-u- Balagha” by Seyyed Hamidreza Mousavi will be published by the Publication Institute of Jamkaran Mosque.
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - A book entitled “313 Messages from Nahj-u- Balagha” by Seyyed Hamidreza Mousavi will be published by the Publication Institute of Jamkaran Mosque.
The 120-page book includes short sentences selected from among the sayings of Imam Ali (AS) in Nahj-ul-Balagha. The sentences can be distributed via SMS, that is why the title “313 messages” has been selected for the book.
“Poverty and wealth in view of hadiths”, “Imam Hussein (AS), A Man for all Times and Generations” and “12 Lessons from the 12th Imam (AS)” are among other books recently published by the institute.
Nahjul Balagha is a collection of sermons, precepts, prayers, epistles and aphorisms of Imam Ali (AS) compiled by Sayyid Sharif al-Radi about one thousand years ago.
http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&Id=218792
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Are Taliban following in the footsteps of Tamil Tigers?
By Zulfiqar Ali
Dec 28, 2010
PESHAWAR: The apparent use of a woman for carrying out suicide blast in Bajaur Agency on Saturday is a change of tactics and would turn into a dangerous trend if the militant outfits have more female would-be bombers, security analysts fear.
Militant outfits in Bajaur and banned Tehrik Taliban Pakistan sometimes back have warned through FM radio and in conversations with journalists that they had trained squads of female bombers that could be sent on mission any time.
Over 250 suicide attacks have so far been carried out in Pakistan since 2006, but for the first time woman bomber was used in Bajaur. The first suicide attack occurred at Ashura procession in Hangu in 2006, killing 22 people.
In December 2007, although a woman, believed to be a bomber, was killed in an explosion near a security barrier in Peshawar, yet intelligence reports confirmed that the said woman was only carrying explosives and the device was triggered by someone else.
Defence analyst and former secretary security Fata Brig Mahmood Shah said that he was not sure that a woman bomber had carried out attack in Khar. It might be misperception of the eyewitnesses, who believed that they heard a woman’s cry, he said.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2010/12/26/are-taliban-following-in-the-footsteps-of-tamil-
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Bomb at Rome embassy linked to anarchist attacks
Dec 28, 2010
ROME: Italian police were on Tuesday investigating whether an attempted parcel bombing at the Greek embassy in Rome might have been carried out by an anarchist group that targeted two embassies last week.
Investigators said Monday the device at the Greek embassy in Rome bore the hallmarks of a similar attack by anarchists on the Chilean and Swiss missions last week.
The package was "similar to those that exploded last week in the Chilean and Swiss embassies," Italian police spokesman Salvatore Cagnazzo told AFP.
"The mail worker at the embassy opened it but it didn't go off," he said, adding that the package was then defused by bomb disposal experts.
The explosive device was contained in a large padded yellow envelope with a CD case inside and was intended to detonate when opened.
"There's an anarchist group, a terrorist group that wants to send a signal on an international level," the mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, told reporters, adding that the city was now on "maximum vigilance."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Bomb-at-Rome-embassy-linked-to-
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14 killed in fresh clashes after Christmas attacks in Nigeria
Dec 28, 2010
ABUJA: At least 14 people were killed and several others wounded on Monday in fresh clashes that broke out in Nigeria's central region after multiple blasts that claimed 32 lives in the deeply divided city of Jos, officials said.
Bomb disposal squad and extra forces were dispatched to the riot affected Jos in northern Nigeria after clashes led to the death of 14 people on Monday, police said.
Thirty-two people were killed, while more than 100 injured on Christmas eve when strings of bomb attacks hit the town just as suspected Islamic fundamentalists massacred six Christian worshippers in a nearby town of Maiduguri.
A statement from the oil-rich African country's police headquarters here said that it dispatched the police bomb squad to Jos, while its men patrolled the city to contain the situation even as it awaited the state of affairs report from Plateau State of which Jos is the capital.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/14-killed-in-fresh-clashes-after-
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World Cup venues, Delhi on IM radar
P Naveen
Dec 28, 2010
ALERT Interrogation shows outfit planned terror strikes on many cities
After the terror attack which two persons died, homegrown terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM) had plans to strike Delhi, Mumbai, Kanpur, Indore and ICC World Cup 2011 venues in India according to the interrogation report (IR) of an alleged IM operative arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police earlier this year.
The cricket world cup venues include Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and other metros in the country.
The report, a copy of which is in HT's possession, shows that the interrogation of 2008 Delhi blast accused Shahzad Ahmed revealed that the IM had hatched a plan that year to organise terror attacks in Delhi University's north campus, Indian Institute of TechnologyKanpur as well as some venues of the cricket world cup next year.
The attacks were planned to avenge the arrest of 13 activists of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) in Madhya Pradesh in 2008 besides other reasons including the Batla house encounter.
Ahmed allegedly told interrogators that Atif Amin, an IM leader who was killed in Delhi's Batla House encounter in 2008, had discussed the outfit's plans at a gathering in September that year.
Full report at: Hindustan Times
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Iran hangs Mossad spy: State media
Dec 28, 2010
TEHRAN: Iran hanged on Tuesday a man found guilty of working as a "spy" for Israeli intelligence service Mossad, state news agency IRNA reported quoting the Tehran prosecutor's office.
Ali Akbar Siadat was hanged on Tuesday in Tehran's Evin prison after having been condemned to death for "working for Mossad," IRNA reported, quoting the prosecutor's office.
Siadat was found guilty of having had links with Mossad for six years, IRNA reported.
"He had received 60,000 dollars to give classified information to the Zionist regime," IRNA reported.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Iran-hangs-Mossad-spy-State-
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Question Musharraf in Benazir murder probe: Ex-ISI chief
Dec 28, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was responsible for former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's security and should be questioned by the investigators probing her assassination, former ISI chief Lieutenant General (retired) Hamid Gul has said.
According to him, it was the part of a deal, under which Musharraf stepped down, that he would not only be given safe exit, but would also be given honourable send off.
Gul believes that a government, which had failed to try him under Article 6 of the Constitution, could not be expected to proceed against him.
However, in the presence of all powerful and independent Supreme Court of Pakistan he saw no hurdle in proceeding against Mushrraf, the Nation reports.
Gul's comment comes after Pakistan's Interior Ministry sent a questionnaire to Musharraf to record his statement as part of the assassination investigation.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Question-Musharraf-in-Benazir-murder-
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UN suspends food handouts in Pakistan's Bajaur
Dec 28, 2010
ISLAMABAD: The United Nations said on Monday it had suspended food handouts in Pakistan's tribal district of Bajaur after more than 40 people were killed in the country's first female suicide bombing.
The decision affects nearly 300,000 people who depend on general rations from the World Food Programme (WFP) after being affected by years of fighting between Pakistani soldiers and homegrown Taliban militants.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack in part of Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal belt, which Washington considers al-Qaida's chief global nexus and is subject to a covert American drone campaign.
"WFP has temporarily suspended food distribution in Bajaur following the attack at a police checkpoint several hundred metres away from WFP's food distribution point," spokeswoman Jackie Dent told AFP.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/UN-suspends-food-handouts-in-
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Saudi says militant dressed as woman killed last week was from Qaida
Dec 28, 2010
RIYADH: The suspect in woman's clothes killed at a police checkpoint last week was an al-Qaida militant, the Saudi interior ministry said on Monday.
The man "disguised in women's clothes" killed after opening fire on security forces was "a Saudi wanted for belonging to the deviant group (al-Qaida) and his involvement in criminal activities," it said.
The ministry, in a statement carried by state news agency SPA, named the man as Mohammed Issam Taher Baghdadi.
Two men, one wearing a woman's black abaya robe with the face veiled, were stopped last Friday at a checkpoint in Wadi al-Dawasir, 600 kilometres (360 miles) southeast of Riyadh, an interior ministry spokesman said at the time.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Saudi-says-militant-dressed-as-
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Pak Hindus narrate citizenship woes
Shreya Roy Chowdhury
Dec 28, 2010
New Delhi: Uttam Puri is blind,wears saffron and sings bhajans.Four years ago,when Puri was residing in a temple in Amarkot in Pakistans Punjab province,he was asked to pay rupees one lakh or convert to Islam.He fled to Sanchor,Rajasthan,arriving on a tourist visa.He asked for an extension,was denied and subsequently spent three years,first in a Sanchor jail and then at the Jodhpur Central Jail.
Many Pakistans Hindus whove fled to India for fear of losing their religion find themselves in another set of predicaments here.Theyre not granted refugee status.They come on tourist visa but extensions,like in the case of Puri,are difficult to secure.Those who have been here a long time and have been granted long term visas would apply for citizenship except the fees are too high for families of daily wage workers.
Jodhpur-based HS Sodha,who heads the Seemant Lok Sangathan,which helps these Full report at: Times of India
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PAGE1 ANCHOR Panel proposes code of ethics for teachers and a monitor too
ANUBHUTI VISHNOI
Dec 28, 2010
Will apply to school teachers across India; final report to Govt by the end of the month
L IKE doctors and lawyers, teachers may soon be sub ject to a "code of professional ethics", which includes clauses for disciplinary action over corporal punishment, private tuitions and other "anticommunity" activities.
Ifacceptedbythegovernment, theproposedcodewouldapplyto schoolteachersacrossthecoun try,fromprimarytosecondary andseniorsecondarylevels,and acrossgovernmentaswellasprivateschools,withtheaimof restoring"dignityandintegrity" tothevocationofteaching.
Oneofthemostfar-reaching recommendationsofthecodeis settingupofaprofessionalbody liketheIndianMedicalAssociationorBarCouncilofIndia, whichappliestoprofessionalsin theirrespectivefieldsandimposespenaltiesincaseofreported violationsofethicalpractices.
The four-member committee that formulated the code after examining similar codes in other nations is headed by former NCERT director Prof A K Sharma and includes Prof G L Arora (former head, Department of Teacher Education, NCERT), Prof Najma Amin (Head, Department of Educational Studies, Jamia Milia Islamia), and Prof Pranati Panda (Department of Comparative Education and International Cooperation, National University of Educational Planning & International Cooperation).
Full report at: Indian Express
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Necessity pushing Pak women into jobs & peril
Adam B Ellick
Dec 28, 2010
Karachi: Dinner at Rabia Sultanas house is now served over a cold silence.Her family has not spoken to her since May,when Sultana,21,swapped her home life for a cashiers job at Mc-Donalds.Her conservative brother berated Sultana for damaging the familys honor by taking a job in which she interacts with men and especially one that requires her to shed her burqa in favor of a short-sleeved McDonalds uniform.
Then he confiscated her uniform,slapped her across the face and threatened to break her legs if he saw her outside the home.
Her family may be outraged,but they are also in need.Sultana donates her $100 monthly salary to supplement the household budget for expenses that the men in her family can no longer pay for,including school fees for her younger sisters.
Sultana is part of a small but growing generation of lower-class young women here who are entering service-sector jobs to support their families,and by extension,pitting their religious and cultural traditions against economic desperation.
Full report at: Times of India
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A TALE OF TWO BOOKS RSS & 26/11: Digvijaya flags it off again, this time in Mumbai
Dec 28, 2010
UNDETERRED by the storm of criticism triggered by his comments linking the killing of Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare during the 26/11 terror attacks to the alleged threats Karkare hadreceivedfromHinduextremists,Congressgeneral secretary Digvijaya Singh today released the book 26/11 RSS Ki Saazish? (26/11, An RSS Conspiracy?)inMumbai,usingtheplatformtolauncha fresh attack on radical Hindu groups for what he called "majority terrorism".
Singh had released the same book, authored by AzizBurney,Editor-in-ChiefofUrduSaharanewspaper, in Delhi on December 6. At that launch event, he had said that Karkare had called him two hoursbeforethe26/11attackinMumbaitosaythat hislife"wasblightedbyconstantthreats"fromthose opposed to the ATS probe into the 2008 Malegaon blastinwhichHinduextremistswereaccused.
Full report at: Indian Express
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US helps `enemy' Pak, China can't be friendly, says Cong
Dec 28, 2010
CALLING Pakistan its "traditional enemy", the ruling Congress has said, in a book released to mark its 125th year, that the neighbouring country is "strengthened by being an ally of the US in its war against terror in Afghanistan." In the same book, the Congress says China is "in no mood to be conciliatory" to wards India on strategic or economic issues.
This figures in the first volume of Congress and the Making of the Indian Nation, a two-volume book released by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi at the party's plenary session recently. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is the "Chief Editor" of the book, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma is "Convenor" of the Editorial Board. The board includes historians Aditya Mukherjee, Mridula Mukherjee, Sucheta Mahajan, Rizwan Qaiser and Bhashyam Kasturi.
Full report at: Indian Express
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EC mulling law to crack down on paid news: Quraishi
CHITLEEN K SETHI
Dec 28, 2010
HE Chief Election Commissioner of India, Dr S Y Quraishi, said on Monday that the poll panel was closely examining the criminal culpability of candidates getting “paid news” published during elections, adding that if needed, the commission would propose an amendment in law to prosecute candidates for the offence.
“Paid news is not just about a candidate trying to hide election expenditure in terms of advertisements but it has larger implications. A reader does not take an advertisement seriously but he takes every news seriously. Thus a paid news item during campaigning can have a lot of impact on the voter. There is an element of deceit in the issuing of paid news. We at the commission are looking at the legal aspect of this deceit,” said Quraishi.
“So the Bihar election story is not over yet. We would scrutinise every case of paid news afresh once we have studied the larger implications of the (paid news) violation,” he added.
Speaking to The Indian Express following the inauguration of a photography exhibition on elections, organised jointly by Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh Administration here, Quraishi said the commission had the Law Ministry’s complete support for ushering in major electoral reforms.
Full report at: Indian Express
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Police framed Mozawala: Lawyer
Dec 28, 2010
My husband is innocent and a simple man. I have faith in Indian law and I am sure I will get justice FATIMA, JAVED MOZAWALA'S WIFE
DENYING all allegations levelled by the police against Javed Mozawala, a 28-year-old visa agent from Mazgaon arrested for allegedly acting as a spy for Pakistan, his lawyer on Monday claimed the Mumbai Police Crime Branch was fabricating evidence such as photographs and documents to frame his client. The lawyer claimed Mozawala was being illegally detained by the police.
Mozawala's lawyer Mubin Solkar claimed nothing incriminating had been seized from his client's residence and no search was conducted by the police. He claimed no panchanama was prepared when he was picked up. "While Javed was in police custody, he was taken to a restrictedsiteinLonavalawherepolicemen clicked photographs and forced him to take some snaps. We fear these photographs will be foisted on Javed. We also apprehend that his mobile phones may be tampered with by the police. He has never been to any restricted sites before nor has he been in touch with any defence personnel," claimed Solkar.
Full report at: Indian Express
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She loved India': 3 years later, a friend remembers Benazir
CHINKI SINHA
Dec 28, 2010
Subha Rajan first met Benazir in 2001 when she was part of the CII delegation that had gone to receive the leader of Pakistan People's Party who was then living in Dubai and the UK in exile. "As part of my job, I meet a lot of heads of states but this was special and I felt an instant connection," says Rajan
AMONG the other mails, there was a Christmas card that Subha Rajan tore open and had a lump in her throat when she saw Benazir Bhutto's name under the greetings. That was two days after the former prime minister of Pakistan was assassinated as she was leaving for an election campaign rally.
Rajan first met Benazir in 2001 when she was part of the CII delegation that had gone to receive the leader of the Pakistan People's Party who had served as the prime minister from 1988-1990 and 1993-1996 and was then living in Dubai and the UK in exile. "As a part of my job, I meet a lot of heads of states but this was special and I felt an instant connection," she recalled as she flipped through the pages of an album containing pictures of Bhutto and herself in Ajmer and Jaipur.
Full report at: Indian Express
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Afghan war to escalate in 2011
Dec 28, 2010
A senior officer of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said on Monday that the war in Afghanistan would escalate in 2011 as the coalition pursues militants.
“There is no end to the fighting season; we need to keep pressure on the Taliban all over the country,“ ISAF spokesman Brigadier General Joseph Blotz said. “We will see more violence in 2011.“
The countries taking part in the ISAF have poured troops into the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar, traditional Taliban strongholds, reporting some progress in routing the militants.
But fighting and insurgent attacks have continued throughout the country this year, affecting some previously peaceful regions.
Full report at: Hindustan Times
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‘Karkare was like god for Indian Muslims’
By Krishna
Dec 28, 2010
DIGVIJAY Singh has shot his mouth off again on slain Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare.
And this time, his pro- Muslim rant could well backfire on him.
Speaking at a function to release Aziz Burney’s book, 26/ 11 an RSS conspiracy , the Congress general secretary claimed that “ Karkare was like a God to Indian Muslims”. He appears to be oblivious to the fact that it is blasphemous to equate a person with God in most Semitic religions.
“ He is a martyr, he was like a God to Indian Muslims,” Singh said.
While clarifying he had never expressed doubts about Karkare being killed by Pakistani terrorists, the leader reiterated that Karkare was “ under immense pressure from the RSS, Shiv Sena and BJP as they questioned his integrity and credibility”.
Singh also used the opportunity to shore up his self- projected image as the only messiah of the minority community, in the process criticising his own Congress- led government at the Centre. The Congress leader said he was ashamed of “ our government”, which did not do anything to get Maulana Noor- ul- Huda released after he was arrested.
Full report at: Mail Today
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U.S. resumes drone attacks in Pakistan
Anita Joshua
Dec 28, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Maintaining its pressure on Pakistan to do more in North Waziristan, the U.S. on Monday launched another set of drone attacks in the Mir Ali area of the tribal agency reportedly killing at least 15 terrorists.
After a lull of 10 days, the unmanned Predators entered Pakistani airspace to bomb suspected terrorist hideouts in this agency known to be the stronghold of the Haqqani network. Monday's attacks come in the wake of two successive terrorist strikes in as many days in Mohmand and Bajaur tribal agencies which have left nearly a 100 dead and twice the number injured.
The U.S. is of the view that clearing this area of terrorists is crucial for success in its ongoing war on terror in Afghanistan. And, as the U. S. designated date for start of troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in July 2011 draws nigh, Pakistani authorities are anticipating an increase in pressure from Washington to do more.
Meanwhile, amid reports of helicopters of the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan entering Pakistani airspace in the Torkham area, the American Embassy here clarified that this was not the case. While denying these reports, it also sought to underline the fact that all coalition and U.S. air operations in Afghanistan along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region are closely coordinated with Pakistan's Air Force.
http://www.hindu.com/2010/12/28/stories/2010122857581900.htm
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Pakistan asks India to keep up promise of cotton export
Dec 28, 2010
NEW DELHI: With Pakistan reeling from the after-effects of floods, its textile mill sector has appealed to India to honour the commitments for dispatching raw cotton, in letter and in spirit.
After floods devastated large tracts of farm land, cotton production in Pakistan was affected along with other major crops. In such a situation, Pakistani textile mills not only require the contracted amount of cotton from India, but a liberal gesture in the form of additional raw cotton as well.
Addressing a press conference here, All-Pakistan Textile Mills Association vice chairman Shahzad Ali Khan pointed out that India exported only one lakh bales out of the contracted quantity of 10 lakh bales. What the industry needed was not just the entire contracted amount, but an additional quantity. India had so far exported about 30 lakh bales of cotton to other countries and was in a position to assist the Pakistani textile industry.
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/12/28/stories/2010122865892200.htm
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US missiles hit Pakistan borderlands, kill 18
December 28, 2010
Suspected US missiles struck two vehicles in a Taliban stronghold on Pakistan's side of the border with Afghanistan on Monday, killing 18 alleged militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said.
The attack in the North Waziristan tribal region came in the final days of a year that has witnessed an unprecedented number of such strikes from drone aircraft flying over Pakistani soil, part of a ramped-up US campaign to take out Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters seeking sanctuary outside Afghanistan.
At least 110 such missile strikes have been launched this year — more than doubling last year's total. Nearly all have landed in North Waziristan, a region that hosts several militant groups battling US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, including the feared Haqqani network.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/306775/US-missiles-hit-Pakistan-borderlands-kill-18.html
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Musharraf accuses Sharif of supporting Baloch leaders
December 28, 2010
Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has accused former premier Nawaz Sharif of supporting Baloch nationalist leaders, charging that the PML-N chief was trying to draw "political mileage" from the Baloch unrest. Musharraf, who has in the past alleged that India was backing the Baloch rebels, has once again said the that Jamhoori Watan Party leaders Shahzain Bugti and Brahamdagh Bugti were "getting arms from India through Afghanistan".
Participating in a talk show on a TV news channel, he also alleged that India was involved in fomenting unrest in Balochistan. Musharraf claimed that Shahzain Bugti's group and other factions had acquired missiles and anti-aircraft guns to battle the Frontier Corps and Pakistan Army.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/306774/Musharraf-accuses-Sharif-of-supporting-Baloch-
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Bodies of 4 ‘Baloch nationalists' found
December 28, 2010
The bullet-riddled bodies of four men, believed to have been detained by security agencies, have been found in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province, with Baloch nationalist groups claiming that over 50 people have been killed in a similar manner. The bodies of Zubair Sarpara and Tariq Bangulzai were found at Qambrani Road in provincial capital Quetta on Sunday. Both men were shot in the heads and their hands were tied behind their backs, hospital officials told the media.
They bodies were identified using papers found in the pockets of their clothing.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/306773/Bodies-of-4-%E2%80%98Baloch-nationalists-
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Package bomb found at Greek Embassy in Italy, defused
December 28, 2010
A package bomb was found at the Greek Embassy in Rome on Monday, four days after similar mail bombs exploded at two other Embassies injuring two people. The device was defused and no one was injured.
Carabinieri Col Maurizio Mezzavilla said the bomb was similar to the ones that exploded on Thursday at the Chilean and Swiss Embassies.
An anarchist group with reported ties to Greek anarchists claimed responsibility for those blasts. "Having been done in the same way, we can just hypothesise that there is the same hand behind it," Greek Ambassador Michalis Kambanis said at the Embassy, although he added that he knew of no specific claim of responsibility.
Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Gregoris Delavekouras said from Athens that no one was harmed in the latest incident, in part because heightened security measures had already been put in place. "The Embassy was evacuated and the staff assembled some distance away from the building, so that everyone could be accounted for," he told The Associated Press. "There were already heightened security measures at the Greek and other Embassies, so the procedure that had to be followed was clear."
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/306770/Package-bomb-found-at-Greek-Embassy-in-Italy-
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Top Buddhist leader attacked in Bangladesh
December 28, 2010
A Bangladeshi Buddhist leader, who is the chief of the southeastern Chittagong's local council, was attacked on Monday, a day after he discussed the implementation of a key peace accord with the Government.
Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma, the chief of the autonomous Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council (CHTRC), however, escaped unhurt in the attack by unidentified miscreants in Betchhari area. "Larma or none of his companions were hurt as the miscreants attacked his motorcade," a police official told PTI. However, the windshield of a vehicle in Larma’s motorcade was smashed as the miscreants pelted stones in Betchhari area as he was returning to his CHTRC headquarters in Rangamati hill district, he said.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/306767/Top-Buddhist-leader-attacked-in-Bangladesh.html
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Iran allows family visit for detained German scribes
December 28, 2010
Iranian authorities have approved a visit between two detained German journalists and family members, State media reported on Monday, just after Germany’s Foreign Ministry complained that Iran was breaking promises to allow the meetings. A statement on the website of Iran’s State TV said the “possibility of a visit” was cleared by Iranian officials to take place in Tabriz in northwestern Iran. Tabriz is about 400 miles from the capital.
In Berlin, a Foreign Ministry spokesman refused to comment on the report. “All I can say is that no meeting has taken place yet,” said the spokesman, who declined to be named in keeping with Government policy. Earlier Monday, the Iranian Ambassador was summoned to the ministry to hear a complaint that the two were not able to meet with relatives over Christmas, despite earlier promises.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/306763/Iran-allows-family-visit-for-detained-German-
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Somali Islamist insurgents threaten attack on US
December 28, 2010
A leader of Somalia’s Islamist insurgency threatened to attack America during a speech broadcast on Monday.
“We tell the American President Barack Obama to embrace Islam before we come to his country,” said Fuad Mohamed “Shongole” Qalaf.
Al-Shabab has not yet launched an attack outside Africa but Western intelligence has long been worried because the group targeted young Somali-Americans for recruitment. About 20 have travelled to Somalia for training and at least three were used as suicide bombers inside Somalia.
Al-Shabab holds most of southern and central Somalia and has the support of hundreds of foreign fighters, mostly radical East Africans. It seeks to overthrow the weak UN-backed Government, which is protected by 8,000 Ugandan and Burundian African Union peacekeepers.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/306756/Somali-Islamist-insurgents-threaten-attack-on-
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Surface-to-air missiles test-fired by Pakistan Navy
December 28, 2010
The Pakistan Navy on Monday successfully test-fired several surface-to-air missiles to assess its air defence capabilities, officials said. Three surface-to-air missile tests were carried out in Sonmiani area of Sindh province, a navy spokesman said, adding all missiles hit their targets precisely.
Naval chief Admiral Noman Bashir and Air Defence Commander Vice Admiral Tayyab Ali Dogar witnessed the drill. “The successful testing will add to the defence capability of the Pakistan Navy,” Bashir said.
A combination of surface-to-air missiles was tested, the navy said in a statement. The “fire and forget” missiles are equipped with highly sensitive infrared homing heads that can intercept high speed aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles. These weapons give the navy the flexibility to operate with various missiles.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/306754/Surface-to-air-missiles-test-fired-by-Pakistan-
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Top HM commander killed in J&K
December 28, 2010
A top Hizbul Mujahideen commander was killed by joint team of security forces in Didiyas area of Gandoh tehsil in Doda district on Monday evening.
The HM commander identified as GhulamNabi alias Gama was active in the active since 1998 and was involved in several acts of militant violence in the area.
His two accomplice were eliminated by the security forces in November 2010.
Accodring to army spokesman of the Nagrotra based 16 corps headquarters, "the encoutner took place in Didiyas forest area of Gandoh and the HM commander was killed around 4.30 p.m after a brief encounter on Monday. Ghulam Nabi had taken shelter in a house when security forces directed him to surrender.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/306728/Top-HM-commander-killed-in-JK.html
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SP attempts to woo Muslims
December 28, 2010
With the aim to win back the confidence of Muslims voters, the Samajwadi Party plans to organise its State conference in the eastern district of Gorakhpur.
As Peace Party president Dr Ayub is based in Gorakhpur, this town of eastern UP assumes special importance for the SP leadership. After SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav bonhomie with former leader of Bharatiya Janata Party and one time Hindu icon Kalyan Singh during last Lok Sabha polls, the Muslims have shown a strong inclination towards small outfits including the Peace Party and Ulema Council.
The Ulema Council, raising plight of Muslim youth being framed in terrorist incidents is also based in Azamgarh and have started encroaching in to Samajwadi party's base in eastern districts.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/306727/SP-attempts-to-woo-Muslims.html
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Musharraf Accuses Sharif Of Supporting Baloch Nationalists
Dec 28, 2010
Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has accused former Premier Nawaz Sharif of supporting Baloch nationalist leaders, charging that the PML-N chief was trying to draw "political mileage" from the Baloch unrest.
Mr Musharraf, who has in the past alleged that India was backing the Baloch rebels, has once again said the that Jamhoori Watan Party leaders Shahzain Bugti and Brahamdagh Bugti were "getting arms from India through Afghanistan".
Participating in a talk show on a TV news channel, he also alleged that India was involved in fomenting unrest in Balochistan.
Mr Musharraf claimed Shahzain Bugti's group and other Baloch factions had acquired missiles and anti-aircraft guns to battle the frontier corps and the Pakistan Army.
He criticised the PML-N's government in Punjab province and Mr Nawaz Sharif for supporting Baloch nationalists, describing it an act of "political mileage".
"They (Shahzain and his father Talal Bugti) get state protocol when they come to Punjab and stay at (Sharif's residence) Raiwind House as guests. Nawaz is supporting them just for his political mileage," Mr Musharraf said.
Full report at:
http://www.asianage.com/international/musharraf-accuses-sharif-supporting-baloch-
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NATO Service Member Killed By Bomb In Afghanistan
Dec 28, 2010
NATO says one of its service members has been killed in a roadside bombing in southern Afghanistan.
A coalition statement said the person was killed on Monday. It provided no other details.
So far, 697 Nato service members have been killed in 2010, according to an associated press count. That makes this the deadliest of the nearly 10-year war.
The southern part of the country is a Taliban stronghold and has seen some of the worst fighting in 2010 between the militants and foreign and Afghan troops.
http://www.asianage.com/international/nato-service-member-killed-bomb-afghanistan-457
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2 J&K cops held for militant `links', another on the run
RUN SHARMA
Dec 28, 2010
TWO policemen have been arrested for their alleged links with the Chenab division commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, Ghulam Nabi alias Javed Qureshi, who along with an accomplice was arrested at Dehradun a fortnight ago.
Another cop is absconding.
The police have also unearthed nearly a dozen hideouts along with arms and ammunition in an over-a-week-long operation across Doda district to smash the widespread network of Qureshi, who was carrying the layout plans of the Indian Military Academy when he was arrested along with Tanvir Ahmed. They had planned to create disturbance during the IMA passing-out parade.
Qureshi, who joined militancy in 1994 and was trained in Pakistan, had been in constant touch with Hizbul Mujahideen supremo Syed Salahudin.
Full report at: India Express
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Separatists say they turned down meeting with interlocutor
RIYAZ WANI
Dec 28, 2010
HILE the interlocutors on Kashmir had earlier said that they would wait for the separatists to approach them rather than making the first move, both the Mirwaiz and Geelani camps of the Hurriyat Conference claim they recently got a call from Radha Kumar seeking an appointment. Both say they turned her down.
Kumar is one of the three interlocutors on Kashmir appointed by the Centre, the other two being Dileep Padgaonkar and M M Ansari. When contacted by the The Indian Express, Kumar denied having made any such call.
The interlocutors just finished their third visit to the state, and Kumar is reported to have made the call to the Mirwaiz faction before the visit, and to the Geelani camp while she was here.
The Syed Ali Shah Geelani
campsaidshenevergotpastthe reception. "She said the interlocutors wanted to meet Geelani sahib at his residence and evensoughtanappointmentat6 pm," spokesman for Geelani's Hurriyat Ayaz Akber said.
Full report at: India Express
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Taliban kidnap 23 tribesmen for meeting Kayani
Dec 28, 2010
DERA ISMAIL KHAN: The Pakistani Taliban defied an ongoing military offensive and kidnapped 23 tribesmen who had met with army chief General Ashfaq Kayani during a recent trip to the area, intelligence officials, tribal elders and the terrorists’ spokesman said.
Intelligence officials and a local government official said 23 elders from the district of South Waziristan were summoned by the Taliban to Razmak, a town in North Waziristan, on December 17 and have not returned. “Our reports say that they had been detained by Taliban,” a tribal administration official said. The kidnappings further threaten the government’s shaky effort to convince hundreds of thousands of displaced members of the Mehsud tribe that the Taliban are defeated and that it is safe to return to their homes in South Waziristan. Taliban courts in South Waziristan are deciding how to punish the men and boys being held, and should have a “verdict” within days, Pakistani Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq told The Associated Press.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\12\28\story_28-12-2010_pg1_6
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PHC grants bail to two Taliban
Dec 28, 2010
PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday granted bail to two Taliban, accused of attacking the Mingora police station and security forces.
A single bench, headed by Justice Syed Sajjad Hassan Shah, granted bail to Khairul Rehman alias Nanai and Momin and directed them to furnish two sureties of Rs 500,000 each.
The counsel for the petitioners, Luqman and Muhammad Ali, submitted that Mingora Station House Officer (SHO) Johar Rehman on May 10, 2009 charged the two along with Tehreek-e-Taliban Swat chief Fazlullah, spokesman Muslim Khan and 16 others for attacking the police station and injuring four military personnel.
They stated that the prosecution had failed to present even a single eyewitness and produce solid proves against the accused. They also said that the petitioners were arrested on October 14 and did not confess to their crime during their physical remand.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Additional Advocate General Barrister Waqar and the state counsel also admitted that there were no solid proof against the accused, but they appealed to the bench to release them on heavy bail bonds.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\12\28\story_28-12-2010_pg7_3
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105 journalists killed in 2010: media watchdog
Dec 28, 2010
* Press Emblem Campaign describes killings as ‘epidemic with no cure’
GENEVA: Some 105 journalists were killed while doing their job this year, media watchdog Press Emblem Campaign said on Monday, describing the killing of reporters as an “epidemic with no cure”.
Fewer fatalities have been reported this year compared to 2009, when 122 journalists died, but the toll is nevertheless higher than the 91 deaths recorded in 2008.
“The killing of journalists has become an epidemic with no cure,” noted the watchdog’s Secretary General Blaise Lempen.
“The international community has not found solutions to it, or put in place effective mechanisms for bringing the perpetrators of those crimes against journalists to trial,” he said. Mexico and Pakistan were the two most dangerous countries for media workers this year.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\12\28\story_28-12-2010_pg7_6
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US Muslims: a new consumer niche
Dec 28, 2010
While corporations have long catered to Muslim communities in Europe, businesses have only tentatively started to follow suit in the US
IN the ballroom of an upscale hotel a short train ride from New York, advertisers, food industry executives and market researchers mingled - the men in dark suits, the women in headscarves and Western dress. Chocolates made according to Islamic dietary laws were placed at each table.
The setting was the American Muslim Consumer Conference, which aimed to promote Muslims as a new market segment for US companies. While corporations have long catered to Muslim communities in Europe, businesses have only tentatively started to follow suit in the US – and they are doing so at a time of intensified anti-Muslim feeling that companies worry could hurt them, too. American Muslims seeking more acknowledgment in the marketplace argue that businesses have more to gain than lose by reaching out to the community.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\12\28\story_28-12-2010_pg4_12
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Altaf Hussain throws ball in PPP’s court
Dec 28, 2010
KARACHI: In a telephonic conference, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain on Tuesday morning approved of his party’s decision to quit the coalition government, Dawn News reported.
Altaf Hussain said that the president had been informed of all matters in writing and separation from the federal Cabinet had been decided in accordance with the public opinion.
Addressing his party workers from London, Altaf Hussain said that the MQM believes in peaceful democracy and its friendship is not based on personal interests.
He said, however, MQM would not support a government that makes anti-people decisions.
The MQM chief’s address followed the decision of the party’s Coordination Committee to tender resignations of two federal ministers to the government late Monday night.
Giving a final warning to the Pakistan People’s Party-led government, Altaf Hussain said the government has to mend its ways or else MQM would be obliged to part ways with the Sindh coalition as well.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2010/12/28/altaf-hussain-throws-ball-in-ppp%E2%80%99s-
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Netanyahu rules out apology to Turks over flotilla
Dec 28, 2010
JERUSALEM: Israel on Monday ruled out apologising to Turkey over the raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship that killed nine Turkish activists, as another vessel prepared to bypass its blockade of the territory.
“We will not apologise, but express our regrets to Turkey,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told private television network Channel 10.
“We don’t want our soldiers to be possibly hauled before international tribunals our soldiers acted in accordance with standards,” he said, as an apology could be interpreted as an admission of liability.
Netanyahu’s comments came just a day after Israel’s right-wing Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman dismissed as “a cheek” Ankara’s demand for an apology before it would normalise relations.
Full report at:
ttp://www.dawn.com/2010/12/28/netanyahu-rules-out-apology-to-turks-over-flotilla.html
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Al Qaeda threat on Iraqi Christians linked to Egypt
Dec 28, 2010
CAIRO: The wives of two Egyptian Coptic priests, forbidden by the Church from divorcing their abusive husbands, desperately sought another way out by converting to Islam. When their intentions were discovered, police handed them over to the Church and since then their whereabouts are unknown.
The cases caused a furor at home that spilled over the borders and turned deadly when al Qaeda in Iraq cited the women as the reason behind the bloodiest attack ever on the Christians in Iraq – a five-hour siege of a church in October that left 68 people dead.
It was a stark example of the schism between Christians and Muslims that runs through the Middle East and periodically erupts into violence.
”Amid the current sectarian discord, the timing is perfect for al Qaeda to show it is defending Islam and to exploit the situation to rally extremists against the churches,” said Ammar Ali Hassan, an expert in Islamic movements.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2010/12/27/al-qaeda-threat-on-iraqi-christians-linked-to-egypt.html
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Shoura works out scheme for transparency
Dec 28, 2010
RIYADH: The Shoura Council agreed Monday to work out a scheme that would ensure more administrative transparency and accountability of public servants in the Kingdom.
Shoura Council Secretary-General Muhammad Al-Ghamdi said the members discussed at length how civil servants should be made accountable for decisions in their daily administrative functions.
The secretary-general said the council also discussed Saudization among the companies located within the industrial cities of Yanbu and Jubail.
"They felt that a mechanism should be found to accommodate local human resources while phasing out expatriate workers in the Kingdom," he said.
Going through a report based on suggestions from the Saudi Council of Engineers and Saudi Council of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the house said it needs more time to deliberate another proposal to make insurance mandatory for engineers and designers.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article224704.ece
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Swine flu kills 56 in Egypt
Dec 28, 2010
CAIRO: A resurgent H1N1 swine flu virus has infected 1,172 people in Egypt and killed 56 since Oct. 8, a Ministry of Health official said on Monday.
The virus has infected 16,373 people, of whom 281 died, since it was first reported in Egypt in June 2009, said the official, who asked not to be named.
H1N1 flu broke out in 2009 and quickly spread across the world. The World Health Organization said about 18,450 people died from the virus, including many pregnant women and young people.
Last year Cairo took various initiatives to try to limit the spread of H1N1, including culling all pigs in the country, temporarily closing schools and stopping travelers with fever at airports.
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article224567.ece
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Security forces kill two militants in Mohmand
Dec 28, 2010
GHALANAI: Security forces shot dead two insurgents and injured four others in a gun battle that began after Taliban militants attacked a check post in the Mohmand tribal region, an official said.
Taliban militants armed with sophisticated weapons launched an attack on the Ziarat security check post in Saafi tehsil. In retaliatory action, security forces killed two of the attackers and injured four others.
Separately, a security official was injured as a land mine exploded in Ambar tehsil of the tribal region.
http://www.dawn.com/2010/12/28/security-forces-kill-two-militants-in-mohmand.html
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UAE tries two Pakistanis on Qaeda links: report
Dec 28, 2010
ABU DHABI: Two Pakistani brothers accused of collecting money and recruiting jihadists for al-Qaeda have gone on trial in the United Arab Emirates, a daily reported on Tuesday.
The Pakistanis are accused of collecting money and recruiting people for al-Qaeda appeared in court on Monday, The National reported.
The pair, charged with “running a jihadi organisation and aiding and abetting al-Qaeda,” have confessed to having links with the jihadist network, the court was told according to the report.
They also “had direct communication with a senior member of al-Qaeda,” the daily said without elaborating.
The report only identified the suspects as “AkW,” a 49-year-old project manager, and “AsW,” a 43-year-old marketing manager, and said they arrived in the Gulf emirate in 2008.
The two men “were arrested by UAE security forces at AsW’s home” in the northern UAE emirate of Ras al-Khaimah in April, “after a tip-off from the Pakistani authorities,” said the daily.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2010/12/28/uae-tries-two-pakistanis-on-qaeda-links-report.html
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‘Octomom' Nadya Suleman faces eviction in U.S.
Dec 28, 2010
LOS ANGELES - The man who sold his Southern California home to "Octomom" Nadya Suleman said Sunday that he's going ahead with eviction proceedings because she hasn't made a long overdue $450,000 payment.
Amer Haddadin said he'll evict Suleman if she and her lawyer Jeff Czech don't pay the balance on the house by Friday. A balloon payment was due Oct. 9.
"I think they have money, but they are hiding the money," Haddadin said.
Suleman and Czech were served notice on Dec. 2 by mail and by hand, Haddadin said. He expects the eviction to be speedy.
Suleman and her 14 children have lived in the 4-bedroom house for nearly two years, ever since she brought her octuplets home to the quiet cul-de-sac in La Habra, about 25 miles east of Los Angeles. Her father purchased the home for $565,000, including a $130,000 down payment.
Full report at:
http://www.aolnews.com/2010/12/27/octomom-nadya-suleman-faces-eviction-from-
9:10 PM
Moderate Islamist here
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