| Islamic World News | |
| 03 Apr 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com |
| 40 killed, 100 injured in blasts at Sufi shrine in Pakistan | ||
Ten die in Afghan Koran demo after UN killings Rebels fail to dent Gaddafi’s defence Gunfire in Ivory Coast, at least 800 killed in a week Obama condemns Quran burning, calls Afghan killings outrageous Allied airstrikes kill 10 rebels NATO probes reports of attack on rebels Signature drive seeks freedom for Libyan ‘rape’ victim Libya mission: US eases off, Gaddafi holds on Syrians chant freedom, receive wounded in suburb Syrian crackdown comes ahead of protesters’ funerals Gilani says he discussed all ‘outstanding' issues with Singh Bahrain bans main Opposition newspaper India bans trade to clip Ahmadinejad’s nuclear ambitions Netanyahu urges UN to retract Gaza war crimes report ‘Kingdom believes in evolution, not revolution’ Al Qaeda claims responsibility for Iraq’s Tikrit attack Madrasa student dies in clash with police US pastor unbowed, vows new anti-Islam protest Shahbaz Sharif threatens long march against drone strikes Attack on Bhutto’s anniversary foiled: CCPO Karachi Against the grain: Atheists in US army ‘come out' Cleric takes Malaysia on merry dance Al-Romaidan takes place of Al-Ghamdi as Makkah Haia chief Visit enlightens 10 American students about Saudi culture Governor of Makkah gets 4-year extension Gilani felicitates Manmohan on India WC win Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau Photo: Site of twin blasts near a Shrine at Dera Ghazi Khan in Pakistan | ||
Afghan protesters march on UN office against Quran burning------
40 killed, 100 injured in blasts at Sufi shrine in Pakistan
Apr 3, 2011,
ISLAMABAD: Three powerful blasts ripped through a crowded Sufi shrine near Dera Ghazi Khan in Pakistan's Punjab province on Sunday, killing at least 40 people and injuring 100 others, a government official said.
The first blast occurred at the main entrance of the Sakhi Sarwar Darbar located about 30 kms from Dera Ghazi Khan. The two other blasts went off inside the shrine just as a rescue operation had been launched at the site, officials said.
"40 people were killed and 100 injured in the deadly attack," Express TV said.
About 20 of the injured are in a serious condition, Natiq Hayat, a doctor in charge of emergency rescue service in the area said. The injured included elderly persons, women and childen, he told reporters. About 60 of the injured had been taken to hospitals in Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan and other nearby cities, Hayat said. The remaining were being transported to hospitals, he said.
Officials said rescue operations had been affected as the shrine was located at a distance from the main cities. TV news channels reported that a suspected suicide bomber was captured by rescue workers. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. Taliban fighters who consider Sufi shrines as un-Islamic have targeted several of them in the past few years.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/40-killed-100-injured-in-blasts-at-Sufi-shrine-in-Pakistan/articleshow/7857478.cms
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Afghan protesters march on UN office against Quran burning
Apr 03 2011
KABUL: Hundreds of people took to Afghanistan’s streets Sunday in fresh protests against a Quran burning in the United States, as the UN vowed a deadly attack on its staff would not derail its work.
Demonstrations occurred in the main southern city of Kandahar as well as Jalalabad, in the east, officials said, as anger sparked by the burning of Islam’s holy book spread.
On Friday seven staff at the UN mission in the usually quiet northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif were killed during a demonstration against the Quran burning and 10 other people were killed on Saturday in deadly protests in Kandahar.
The assault on the UN compound raises fresh concerns over plans by President Hamid Karzai and the international coalition to hand control of security in Mazar-i-Sharif, along with six other areas, to Afghan forces from July 1.
US President Barack Obama condemned the attack and also described the Quran burning at an evangelical church in Florida as an act of “extreme intolerance and bigotry”.
Friday’s attack on the UN was the worst in Afghanistan since the Taliban were toppled in 2001 but special representative Staffan de Mistura vowed the organisation’s work would not be affected.
“This should not deter the UN presence, activities, in this country in this delicate and particularly crucial period,” he said.
The remaining foreign staff from the compound, which was set ablaze in the mob attack, would be temporarily moved to Kabul, he said, but would return as soon as a secure office was established in Mazar-i-Sharif.
“This is not an evacuation. We will watch and monitor the situation everywhere in the country… and I will then decide on relocations inside the country — not outside the country — depending on the circumstances,” he said.
De Mistura blamed insurgents from outside Mazar-i-Sharif for the deadly attack claimed by the Taliban, criticising police for failing to prevent the violence.
Giving the first full account of the attack, de Mistura said armed rebels had infiltrated street protests.
“Some insurgents, probably between seven and 15… had infiltrated the demonstration,” de Mistura told reporters late Saturday in the capital Kabul.
He also criticised Afghan authorities, saying police should have thrown up a protective cordon around the building when the protest broke out.
Between 2,000 and 3,000 demonstrators had taken to the streets after the traditional Friday prayers.
The insurgents began throwing stones at the UN compound before storming it, and overwhelmed the guards, killing four.
“The police were not able to stop them and the (Nepalese) Gurkhas did not shoot at them — the UN don’t shoot at crowds, even if they are threatening — and therefore they took over,” he said.
De Mistura said the three Europeans — a Swede, a Romanian and a Norwegian — were shot after fleeing to a secure room within the compound, which the attackers succeeded in entering.
“What I reconstructed is… those who actually killed my colleagues were the infiltrators. They had handguns… and my colleagues were killed by handguns, all three of them. So I assume it was the infiltrators,” he said.
One had his throat cut after being shot, he added.
The head of the UN office, a Russian, survived the attack by pretending to be Muslim and speaking the local language Dari.
While four guards died, two others escaped, as did two Afghan UN workers.
De Mistura said seven or eight people had been arrested over the attack, and some of them appeared to be rebels from elsewhere.
Friday’s attack was the worst suffered by the world body since a bomb blast at the UN compound in Algiers in 2007 in which 17 staff died.
The Kandahar protests on Saturday began in the centre of the city and spread as police clashed with crowds marching towards the UN offices and provincial administration headquarters, witnesses said.
Kandahar is the spiritual heartland of the Taliban, who have fought an insurgency against Karzai’s government and its Western allies since they were ousted by the US-led invasion.
Protesters gathered again on Sunday at three locations across the city shouting “Death to the US” and “Death to Karzai,” witnesses and officials said.
In Jalalabad hundreds of students blocked a key highway leading to Kabul in similar protests, interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary told AFP.
As well as condemning the Quran-burning, at the Dove World Outreach Center in Florida, Obama reiterated his condemnation of the “outrageous” attacks by protesters as “an affront to human decency and dignity.”De Mistura called the Quran burning an “insane and totally despicable gesture”. – AFP
http://www.dawn.com/2011/04/03/afghan-protesters-march-on-un-office-against-quran-burning.html
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Ten die in Afghan Koran demo after UN killings
April 03, 2011
Ten people died on Saturday in new protests against a Koran burning in the US, a day after seven UN staff were killed by a mob in the worst attack on the world body in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion.
The fresh protests began in the centre of the main southern city of Kandahar and spread as police clashed with crowds marching towards the UN offices and provincial administration headquarters, witnesses said.
Police had fired into the air to try to deter thousands of protesters heading towards the buildings, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
Smoke was rising from different parts of the city as protesters burned cars and tyres.
The provincial authorities said the protesters had damaged government and private buildings and torched vehicles.
Daud Farhad, a senior doctor in the city's main hospital, said the death toll had risen to 10. About 83 others were injured, including two members of the Afghan security forces, he said. Provincial authorities had earlier given a toll of nine dead and 73 injured.
Kandahar is the spiritual heartland of the Taliban, who have fought an insurgency against President Hamid Karzai's government in Kabul and its Western allies since they were ousted by the US-led invasion.
"Death to America" and "Death to Karzai" chanted the demonstrators. "They have insulted our Koran," shouted one. An AFP reporter saw two unidentified bodies being removed by demonstrators in Chawk Saheedan, a central location where the protests started.
Zalmai Ayoubi, a spokesman for the provincial administration, said a bus and a girls' school had also been set ablaze.
He said that "destructive elements have entered the crowds and are trying to turn it violent". Ayoubi added that all the dead and injured were protestors.
The administration said 16 people, seven of them armed, had been arrested.
The protest came a day after seven UN foreign staff —three Europeans and and four Nepalese guards — were killed during similar demonstrations in the normally relatively calm northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the Mazar-i-Sharif violence following a battle lasting more than three hours.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/328818/Ten-die-in-Afghan-Koran-demo-after-UN-killings.html
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Security forces’ counter attack kills 15 militants in North West
Apr 03 2011
PESHAWAR: Pakistani security forces on Sunday killed at least eight militants in a counter attack in Hangu.
One officer was killed and three got injured in an ambush from militants earlier, whereas in Tirah valley security forces claimed to have killed seven militants, DawnNews reported.
According to sources two factions of Lashkar-e-Islam were fighting with each other in Khyber agency as well, as chief of the banned outfit Mangal Bagh was facing rebellion from his own former commanders.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/04/03/security-forces%E2%80%99-counter-attack-kills-15-militants-in-north-west.html
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Rebels fail to dent Gaddafi’s defence
2 April 2011
THE BODIES of loyalists of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi lay by the roadside just east of Brega on Saturday, witness to the bitter fighting for the key oil town.
Jubilant rebel fighters told how a strike by international aircraft took out at least two vehicles in a convoy of seven heavily- armed pick- up trucks and they finished off the rest with rocket- launchers from their hideout in a eucalyptus grove overlooking the highway.
A crater, five metres wide and two metres deep, close by the wrecked trucks, marked the site where the rebels said the aircraft struck late on Friday.
The force of the blast had transformed one large pick- up into a heap of mangled metal. The cab, sides and the 107mm rocket- launcher mounted on its back had all been blown apart. Scraps of milk carton and ration pack lay strewn around, ripped into pieces by the shrapnel.
“ The aircraft carried out the bombing raid on Friday evening. Thank God,” said rebel fighter, Ramzi Ahmed, who had travelled to Brega from the strategic road junction town of Ajdabiya, 80 km to the east, back towards rebel- held territory “ That was what opened the road up for our forces,” he said, pointing to the highway west into Brega.
In Misrata, government forces killed six civilians on Saturday in an unrelenting campaign of shelling and sniper fire aimed at driving rebels from the main city they hold in western Libya, medical officials said.
Doctors said that 243 people have been killed and some 1,000 wounded since fighting started in Misrata.
Meanwhile, at least 13 rebels were killed by a coalition airstrike 20 km east of Brega on Friday, fighters at the scene said on Saturday.
Some people said four of the dead were civilians.
The rebel leadership described the deaths as an unfortunate mistake and called for continued air strikes against Gaddafi’s forces.
At the scene of the airstrike lay burnt out husks of at least four vehicles, including an ambulance by the side of the road, near the eastern entrance to the town.
“ Some of Gaddafi’s forces sneaked in among the rebels and fired anti- aircraft guns in the air,” said rebel fighter Mustafa Ali Omar. “ After that the Nato forces came and bombed them.” Nato said it was looking into the incident.
Government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim termed the strike a crime against humanity. He also scorned rebel conditions for a ceasefire. “ They are asking us to withdraw from our own cities. If this is not mad then I don’t know what this is,” Ibrahim said, rejecting the rebels’ offer.
In London, Gaddafi’s former spy chief Moussa Koussa said the Libyan leader has become a “ psychological wreck” and was hiding in a “ bomb- battered bunker” surrounded by his henchmen.
TROUBLED NATIONS
Protesters staged a sit- in in the capital to demand probes into alleged state abuses
President Ali Abdullah Saleh thanked thousands of people backing the constitution, in a sign he has no plans to step down
At least 20 people were arrested at dawn, as mourners prepared to bury the first of at least nine killed in clashes
http://epaper.mailtoday.in/epaperhome.aspx?issue=342011
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Gunfire in Ivory Coast, at least 800 killed in a week
2 April 2011
Abidjan (Ivory Coast), 2 April: Gunfire erupted in Ivory Coast's main city this morning just blocks from the presidential palace, as fighters loyal to the internationally recognised President sought to remove the incumbent who refuses to cede power.
A journalist heard gunfire and explosions this morning about two city blocks from Laurent Gbagbo's Presidential palace in Abidjan. Rebels loyal to internationally recognised President Alassane Ouattara made a lightning advance through the country this week, seizing the administrative capital on Wednesday before heading to Abidjan, the country's largest city.
The push has been led by a northern rebel group that is allied with Ouattara. Officials with the International Committee of the Red Cross today said more than 800 people were killed in inter-communal violence in a western town that had been taken by the rebel group. ap
http://www.thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=364612&catid=37
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Obama condemns Quran burning, calls Afghan killings outrageous
3 April 2011
President Barack Obama has condemned the burning of the Quran by a U.S. pastor as “an act of extreme intolerance” and said the killings in Afghanistan triggered by the incident were “outrageous”.
“The desecration of any holy text, including the Quran, is an act of extreme intolerance and bigotry,” Mr. Obama said in a statement Saturday evening.
At the same time, he said that to attack and kill innocent people in response is “outrageous” and “an affront to human decency and dignity.”
The President was referring to violent protests in Afghanistan against the burning of a Quran by pastor Terry Jones in a small Florida church. Ten people died on Saturday in Kandahar, a day after seven U.N. staff were killed by an armed mob in Mazar-e-Sharif.
No religion tolerates “the slaughter and beheading of innocent people” and there is no justification for “such a dishonourable and deplorable act,” Mr. Obama said.
“Now is a time to draw upon the common humanity that we share, and that was so exemplified by the UN workers who lost their lives trying to help the people of Afghanistan,” he said.
“Today, the American people honour those who were lost in the attack on the United Nations (office) in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan. Once again, we extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those who were killed, and to the people of the nations that they came from,” Mr. Obama said.
Obama condemns Quran burning, calls Afghan killings outrageous
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article1596567.ece
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Allied airstrikes kill 10 rebels
3 April 2011
A coalition airstrike killed at least 10 rebels near the key oil town of Brega on Saturday as fierce fighting raged between Muammar Gaddafi's troops and pro-democracy forces, with the defiant Libyan leader rejecting their conditional ceasefire offer.
Al Jazeera and BBC reports said a rebel convoy on its way to the front line near Brega fired an anti-aircraft gun into the air. Assuming it to have come from Gaddafi's forces, coalition warplane targeted the vehicles.
A spokesman of Gaddafi's government said the coalition air strike had left 7 civilians dead. Mussa Ibrahim, the government spokesman, termed the strike a "crime against humanity".
He dismissed the ceasefire offer by the rebels as a "mad" move aimed at buying time since they were facing defeat.
"They are asking us to withdraw from our own cities. .... If this is not mad then I don't know what this is. We will not leave our cities," Ibrahim was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera channel.
Rebels claimed that Gaddafi's forces had killed at least six civilians in Misurata during heavy shelling and firing.
In the rebel-stronghold of Benghazi, opposition leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil on Friday said they would agree to a ceasefire if Libyans still under Gaddafi's regime are granted freedom of expression and forces loyal to him withdraw from cities.
"We agree on a ceasefire on the condition that our brothers in the western cities have freedom of expression and also that the forces that are besieging the cities withdraw," he said at a joint press conference with Abdelilah Al-Khatib, the UN envoy.
Soon after the UN resolution approving a no fly zone over Libya, Gaddafi had announced a ceasefire which was rejected by the coalition.
Amid the intense fighting in the east, the Arab channel said the rebels appeared to have more communication equipment such as radios and satellite phones, and were working in more organised units.
Abdel Fatah Yunis, the former interior minister who resigned to join the opposition, has been appointed as the commander of the opposition military forces combating pro-Gaddafi troops, Al Jazeera said.
Bregha, 800 km east of Tripoli, has seen a see-saw battle after Gaddafi's forces struck hard at the rebels who had earlier pushed them oiut.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/328894/Allied-airstrikes-kill-10-rebels.html
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NATO probes reports of attack on rebels
April 03, 2011
NATO on Saturday said that it was investigating Libyan rebel reports that a coalition warplane had struck a rebel position that was firing into the air near the front line of the battle with Moammar Gadhafi's forces.
Rebels told that a group of opposition fighters was hit by an airstrike about 12 miles (20 kilometers) east of the town of Brega Friday night.
Mohammad Bedrise, a doctor in a nearby hospital, said three burned bodies had been brought in by men who said they had been hit after firing a heavy machine gun in the air in celebration. Idris Kadiki, a 38-year-old mechanical engineer, said he had seen an ambulance and three cars burning after an airstrike.
NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said the coaliton was looking into the reports.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/328893/NATO-probes-reports-of-attack-on-rebels.html
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Signature drive seeks freedom for Libyan ‘rape’ victim
April 03, 2011
A petition demanding the release of a young Libyan women who stormed into a Tripoli hotel full of journalists and accused government soldiers of raping her was well on the way to reaching its target of half a million signatures on Saturday.
The woman, Iman al-Obeidi, achieved worldwide celebrity after footage of her bursting into the Rixos hotel at breakfast time last Saturday and throwing open her coat to reveal scars and bruises on her body, was posted on the Internet.
"Words cannot express the courage Iman showed in speaking out — and we can only imagine the terror she must be facing right now in the hands of (Moamer) Kadhafi's infamous thugs," said Avaaz.Org, organiser of the online campaign.
As she screamed: "Film me, film me, show the whole world all they did to me," she was dragged off by security guards amid scenes of mayhem while foreign journalists who tried to intervene were shoved aside.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/328892/Signature-drive-seeks-freedom-for-Libyan-%E2%80%98rape%E2%80%99-victim.html
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Libya mission: US eases off, Gaddafi holds on
Apr 03 2011
Washington: Two weeks after a dark-of-night barrage of mostly US missiles and bombs opened the international air assault on Libya's Moammar Gaddafi, the American combat role is ending, the rag-tag rebels are reeling and the Pentagon is betting its European allies can finish the job.
Gaddafi is still standing, with a few uncertain signs that his inner circle could crack. The Obama administration is hoping that if Gaddafi's government doesn't implode soon, a relentless campaign of airstrikes on his tanks, air defenses and most trusted army units will at least weaken his ability to survive a renewed uprising by a disjointed opposition. The rebels initially rattled Gaddafi but in recent days have given up most of their gains.
The bottom line, according to Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: “He's still killing his people.”
So the mission remains incomplete, but the U.S. is following through on a pledge to shift the main combat burden to Britain, France and other NATO allies.
Starting Sunday, no US combat aircraft are to fly strike missions in Libya. NATO's on-scene commander can request American strikes in the days ahead, in which case they may have to be approved in Washington.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/770968/
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Syrians chant freedom, receive wounded in suburb
Apr 03 2011
Amman: Hundreds of Syrians chanted freedom as they gathered late on Saturday in the Damascus suburb of Douma to receive protesters wounded when they confronted security forces the day before, a witness said.
Around 50 wounded arrived in secret police cars to Municipality Square, where at least five people were killed on Friday when security forces fired at protesters demanding political freedoms and an end to corruption, according to human right defenders.
Secret police agents gave the names of 25 more serious cases in hospital, the witness said.
They promised to give the bodies tomorrow morning to the families. We are expecting 15 dead, said the witness, who lives in the suburb.
Another witness who toured the suburb on Saturday said shops in at least one main commercial street were closed in solidarity with the protesters, who gathered after Friday prayers despite the heavy presence of regular police forces and secret police.
The killings in Douma brought to at least 60 the number of deaths in protests against Baath Party rule that erupted in the southern city of Deraa 15 days ago and spread to the capital, the coast and areas in between.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/770956/
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Syrian crackdown comes ahead of protesters’ funerals
April 03, 2011
Syrian security forces made dawn arrests on Saturday as mourners prepared to bury the first of at least nine people killed in anti-Government protests on the Muslim day of rest, rights activists said.
The arrests came in the tribal region around the town of Daraa, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of the capital, which has been one of the main centres of more than two weeks of demonstrations.
A 20-year-old who was killed by security forces during a protest in Sanamein, just outside Daraa, was to be buried in nearby Inkhel, a human rights activist said.
He was one among as many as three people killed during the Friday protest in the village. The official SANA news agency said a soldier was also seriously wounded in Daraa itself when young men tried to snatch his weapon.
Ahead of the funeral, security forces carried out a series of raids in the area, another activist said.
The activist named architect Khaled al-Hassan, lawyer Hassan al-Aswad and teacher Issam Mahameed as among those detained.
Funerals were also expected to be held later in the town of Douma, just north of Damascus, for eight people killed when police opened fire on worshippers who pelted them with stones as they left the main weekly Muslim prayers on Friday, a witness told AFP by telephone.
"Dozens more were wounded or detained," the witness added.
The authorities have denied that the security forces were reponsible for the deaths, blaming them on an "armed group" which opened fire from rooftops in the town on demonstrators and police alike.
They acknowledged that there were an unspecified number of deaths and said there were dozens of wounded, some of them police.
State television charged that "some of the demonstrators had daubed their clothes with red dye to make foreign reporters believe that they had been injured".
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/328891/Syrian-crackdown-comes-ahead-of-protesters%E2%80%99-funerals.html
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Gilani says he discussed all ‘outstanding' issues with Singh
April 03, 2011
Rezaul H Laskar
Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani has said his talks with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the cricket World Cup semi-final in Mohali involved all "core and outstanding" issues between the two countries, including the Kashmir problem.
"During my meeting with Dr Manmohan Singh, and at all our previous meetings, all core and outstanding issues were discussed. Without resolving the Kashmir issue, we cannot take things forward. We discussed all core and outstanding issues, including Kashmir," Gilani said, responding to queries on his live monthly TV show PM Online on Friday night.
Referring to his meetings with Singh at Colombo in 2008, Sharm el-Sheikh in 2009 and Thimphu last year, he said it was in the Bhutanese capital that the two leaders agreed to resume the dialogue process at the level of the Foreign Secretaries and Foreign Ministers.
Gilani said he accepted Singh's invitation to watch the Pakistan-India World Cup semi-final in Mohali as he thought the meeting would provide a good opportunity for discussions with the Indian Prime Minister.
The two countries have to find solutions to their problems through dialogue, he said.
Asked about previous attempts at cricket diplomacy by Pakistan's former military rulers, Gilani said: "It will not be proper to compare the current democratic Government in Pakistan with the regimes of Gen Zia-ul-Haq or Pervez Musharraf... There is democracy on bothsides and both sides have made sacrifices for democracy."
Despite the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, Gilani said, he and Singh agreed during their meeting in Thimphu to resume talks and not to let the dialogue process become hostage to such incidents as it would only benefit militants.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/328822/Gilani-says-he-discussed-all-%E2%80%98outstanding-issues-with-Singh.html
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Bahrain bans main Opposition newspaper
3 April 2011
MANAMA, 3 APRIL: Bahraini authorities have banned the country's main Opposition newspaper in a widening effort to muzzle anti-government media.
The newspaper Al-Wasat did not publish today after a message on state TV saying Bahrain's information ministry has ordered the paper to shut down. The state-run Bahrain News Agency says officials accuse Al-Wasat of “unethical” coverage of the Shi'ite-led uprising against the country's Sunni rulers.
Bahrain has sharply tightened Internet and media controls under military rule imposed last month after weeks of protests and clashes by groups seeking to break the monarchy's grip on power in the strategic Gulf nation, which is home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet. Al-Wasat's Online edition also was blocked.
http://www.thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=364633&catid=37
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India bans trade to clip Ahmadinejad’s nuclear ambitions
Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury in New Delhi
INDIA has banned trade in all equipment and technology with Iran that could help Tehran develop nuclear weapons.
Even as New Delhi tried to resolve the oil payments issue with Tehran — allegedly with German assistance — India has banned trade in all equipment, goods and technology which could contribute to Iran’s enrichment- related, reprocessing or heavy water- related activities or to the development of nuclear weapon delivery systems. New Delhi, while supporting peaceful use of nuclear energy by the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad regime, has reservations against its weapons programme.
It wants the issue to be resolved peacefully through dialogue.
According to the Union commerce ministry, India has banned the direct or indirect export and import of all goods and services from Iran which could help Iran develop nuclear weapons.
Full report at:
http://epaper.mailtoday.in/epaperhome.aspx?issue=342011
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Netanyahu urges UN to retract Gaza war crimes report
Apr 03 2011
Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the United Nations to retract a report on Israel's 2008-2009 military offensive on the Gaza Strip after its author regretted his conclusions.
South African judge Richard Goldstone, who led the UN investigation, said that "if I had known then what I know now, the Goldstone Report would have been a different document," and likely less critical of Israel.
Responding to Goldstone's op-ed published in The Washington Post, Netanyahu urged the United Nations on Saturday to "nullify" the report, saying it "must be thrown into the dustbin of history."
"Goldstone himself has just confirmed what we all knew all along... I think our soldiers and army behaved according to the highest international standards," he added during a brief televised address.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/770950/
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‘Kingdom believes in evolution, not revolution’
Apr 03 2011
JEDDAH: A senior Foreign Ministry official said on Saturday that he expected the government to introduce more political, social and economic reforms shortly realizing the hopes and aspirations of its people. However, he said the Saudi leadership wanted to carry out such reforms gradually without affecting the country’s stability.
“We believe in evolution, not in revolution. We believe things will change gradually step by step,” said Muhammad bin Ahmed Tayeb, director general of the ministry’s office in Makkah province, referring to anti-government protests in some Arab countries.
Tayeb highlighted the remarkable reforms introduced by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah during the past years. “This shows we are on the right track. What we need is continuation of these reforms. We also need stability to enable the leadership to implement the reforms in accordance with the hopes and aspirations of people,” he pointed out.
Asked about prospects of holding parliamentary and Shoura elections and allowing women to drive, he said: “Nobody has made any statement saying this is not on the table. That means the door is open for these reforms and more. They choose the right time for introducing reforms. Choosing the right time is essential for its success.”
Tayeb commended King Abdullah for issuing a series of royal decrees recently, unveiling new welfare programs for his citizens. He said some of the new programs were aimed at the welfare of youth, who constitute about 60 percent of the Kingdom’s population.
“Youth are the pillars and future of our country. If they are in a better position our future will be brighter,” he said.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article340953.ece
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Al Qaeda claims responsibility for Iraq’s Tikrit attack
Apr 03 2011
BAGHDAD: Al Qaeda’s Iraqi affiliate on Saturday claimed responsibility for a siege at a provincial council headquarters in Saddam Hussein’s hometown in which 58 people were killed.
Tuesday’s attack in Tikrit, a former stronghold of Al-Qaeda, was the deadliest in Iraq this year. The assailants, who wore security uniforms and set off bombs, stormed the building and grabbed hostages, local officials said.
Hostages who did not die as a result of explosions were executed by the gunmen, they said.
In a statement posted on a website often used by Islamist radicals, the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), a local Al-Qaeda umbrella group, said the attack was a response to what it said were crimes committed against Sunni prisoners.
Five Al-Qaeda militants carried out the attack using a car bomb, explosive belts and hand grenades, the statement said.
The sectarian conflict between minority Sunnis and majority Shiites unleashed by the 2003 US -led invasion has largely subsided but a stubborn Sunni Islamist insurgency opposed to Shiite dominance of Iraq persists and attacks continue.
Al Qaeda has been strategically weakened by the deaths of leaders, and both its numbers and the territory in which it can manoeuvre have shrunk since 2006-07, when Sunni tribal chiefs turned on it and joined forces with the US military.
But they are still able to carry out attacks aimed at grabbing attention and rattling the population at a time when Iraqi forces take center stage as US troops prepare to withdraw by year-end.
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article340414.ece
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Madrasa student dies in clash with police
Apr 03 2011
A madrasa student was shot dead and 30, including 10 policemen, were injured when they clashed in Jessore town Sunday morning after police had intercepted a procession brought out in support of Monday’s hartal.
Police opened fire to “disperse” the madrasa students, who were approaching the town with the procession protesting the Women Development Policy.
Claiming that the bullet that killed Ahmed was not fired by police, Emdad Hossain, officer-in-charge (OC) of Kotwali Police Station, claimed that some processionists fired at police.
Ahmed Hussain, 19, was a student of Railway Madrasa and son of one Ismail Hossain of Chakla Kanthaltola area Monirampur upazila of the district, our correspondent in Benapole reported.
Witnesses said students of different madrasas of the area brought out a procession from Railway Madrasa under the banner of Hefajate Islam in the morning to drum up support for Monday’s hartal.
Police intercepted the procession when it reached Zilla School intersection on Mujib Sarak at around 11:30am.
Enraged by the obstruction, the madrasa students threw brick chips and stones at police. They also attacked police with wooden sticks, said witnesses.
Chase and counter-chase continued for some time before police lobbed tear gas shells to disperse them.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=29191
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US pastor unbowed, vows new anti-Islam protest
Apr 03 2011
GAINESVILLE: A militant fundamentalist Christian preacher in Florida whose burning of a Quran triggered deadly riots in Afghanistan was unrepentant on Saturday and defiantly vowed to lead an anti-Islam protest outside the biggest mosque in the United States.
The planned demonstration could further inflame tensions over the Quran burning, which led to two days of protests in Afghanistan that included the killings of UN staff and stoked anti-Western sentiment in parts of the Muslim world.
“Our aim is to make an awareness of the radical element of Islam,” Pastor Terry Jones told Reuters in an interview at the church he leads in the college town of Gainesville, Florida. A picture of the burning Quran was on his computer screen.
“Obviously it is terrible any time people are murdered or killed. I think that on the other hand, it shows the radical element of Islam.”
Jones, a former hotel manager turned pastor who claims the Quran incites violence, said he will go ahead with a protest on April 22 in front of the largest mosque in the United States, located in Dearborn, Michigan.
President Barack Obama denounced the act of burning a Quran but did not mention Jones by name.
“The desecration of any holy text, including the Quran, is an act of extreme intolerance and bigotry,” Obama said in a statement released by the White House on Saturday. “However, to attack and kill innocent people in response is outrageous, and an affront to human decency and dignity.”
Jones provoked an international outcry last year over his plan to burn copies of the Quran on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.
He backed down after pleas from the US government and other world officials, but then presided over a March 20 mock trial of the Quran that included a torching of the book. It barely drew media attention but Internet footage reverberated across the Muslim world.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/04/03/us-pastor-unbowed-vows-new-anti-islam-protest.html
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Shahbaz Sharif threatens long march against drone strikes
Apr 03 2011
LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif said on Sunday that if need be, a long march will take place against the drone strikes in Pakistan.
While speaking in Bhawalnagar, Sharif said that because of being in the habit of constantly begging for loans, the country has reached the brink of destruction. He said that hard work will be needed for Pakistan to be able to support itself without any help from anyone.
Sharif also said that the government will be setting up schools to help the poverty-stricken children who do not have any access to education in the country.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/04/03/shahbaz-sharif-threatens-long-march-against-drone-strikes.html
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Attack on Bhutto’s anniversary foiled: CCPO Karachi
Apr 03 2011
KARACHI: CCPO Karachi Saud Mirza said on Sunday that the CID foiled a terrorist attack planned on the anniversary of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto by arresting terrorists belonging to Balochistan lashkar and recovering rockets and ammunition from their possession.
Speaking at a press conference, Mirza said the accused were involved in the attack which took place during the Chehlum procession in Malir.
The terrorists were also involved in the blast in Shah Latif town, in which one of their accomplices was killed.
The CCPO said that the terrorists were planning an attack on the occasion of Bhutto’s anniversary in Larkana.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/04/03/attack-on-bhuttos-anniversary-foiled-ccpo-karachi.html
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Against the grain: Atheists in US army ‘come out'
2 April 2011
RALEIGH: The cliche notwithstanding, there are atheists in foxholes. In fact, atheists, agnostics, humanists and other assorted skeptics from the US army's Fort Bragg have formed an organization they hope will be a pioneering effort to ensure fair treatment and win recognition for nonbelievers in the overwhelmingly Christian US military.
"We exist, we're here, we're normal," said Sgt Justin Griffith, chief organizer of Military Atheists and Secular Humanists, or MASH. "We're also in foxholes. That's a big one, right there."
For now, the group meets regularly in homes and bars outside of Fort Bragg, one of the biggest military bases in the country. But it is going through the long bureaucratic process to win official recognition from the army as a distinct "faith" group.
That would enable it to meet on base, advertise its gatherings and, members say, serve more effectively as a haven for like-minded soldiers ."People look at you differently if you say you're an atheist in the army," said Lt Samantha Nicoll, a West Point graduate who in January attended her first meeting of MASH. "That's extremely taboo. I get a lot of questions if I let it slip in conversation."
Similar groups of non-theists at about 20 US military bases are watching the outcome at Fort Bragg in hopes it will lead to their recognition, too, said Jason Torpy, president of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Against-the-grain-Atheists-in-US-army-come-out/articleshow/7854871.cms
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Cleric takes Malaysia on merry dance
2 April 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, 2 APRIL: A Muslim cleric has called on Malaysia’s fatwa council to study whether a popular dance, poco poco, had elements of spirit worship and should be banned, after a Mufti in Perak state asked for a ban on the dance.
Mohamad Shukri Mohamed, Mufti of Kelantan state, put forward this suggestion after a fellow cleric from Perak state, Harussani Zakaria, called for a ban on the dance in his state as according to him the dance originated in Jamaica and was linked to spirit worship. Shukri said it would be better if the issue was debated by a nationwide panel at the council meeting. He said Kelantan would follow suit if the council reached a consensus on the matter. “We may have the right under the federal constitution to issue a fatwa on our own, but we prefer to endorse a decree reached through consensus at the national level,” he said when contacted for his view on the ban on poco poco in Perak. Harussani had stood by the ban in Perak. He said checks with the National Heritage Department on the dance had shown that it originated from Jamaica and was linked to spirit worship.
Shukri said Kelantan would adopt a careful approach on matters which affected its Muslim population. “Perak may have issued a fatwa to ban poco poco, but that does not mean we have to follow its decision. “Now, it is poco poco. Next, a ban on twist (dance) and later, rock 'n' roll. How many times do we have to work out a fatwa (for each issue)?” Perlis mufti Dr Juanda Jaya said, adding, a thorough research would be conducted before the state would make a decision on whether to follow Perak's move by imposing a ban. “If the motive of the dance is for health reasons without propagating any belief, I don't see any reason why the dance should be banned in Perlis. “However, we will study the fatwa on the dance issued by the Perak Fatwa Committee as a reference for Perlis to decide on the status of the poco poco dance. “Research is important before making a decision to avoid unhealthy speculations,” Juanda said. Full report at:
http://www.thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=364610&catid=37
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Al-Romaidan takes place of Al-Ghamdi as Makkah Haia chief
Apr 3, 2011
JEDDAH: Makkah chief of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia) Sheikh Ahmad Al-Ghamdi has been sacked and on Saturday was replaced by Sheikh Abdullah Al-Romaidan.
The members of the Haia office learned about the change only when the new chairman came to the office as the new chief, according to reliable sources.
Al-Ghamdi said he received the dismissal order by telephone from an official of the Haia head office in Riyadh.
He said he did not know why he was harassed by dismissal orders and reports of suspension and arrest over the past year.
Al-Ghamdi triggered a public outcry in the conservative Saudi society when he wrote a research paper on the hotly debated issue of gender mixing. He said that it is not against Islam for men and women to mix.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article340948.ece
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Visit enlightens 10 American students about Saudi culture
Apr 3, 2011
RIYADH: Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation chaired by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, hosted an event for 10 US students participating in the Model Arab League Youth Leadership Program.
This was the first visit of the students — from different universities across the US — to Saudi Arabia.
The tour was organized by the National Council on US-Arab Relations. The students were given a presentation about the operations of Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation. They watched a documentary about Saudi Arabia entitled “Seeing Through the Sand.” They also attended a question-and-answer session with the film’s director, Noor Al-Dabbagh. The students were pleased to meet with the foundation team and learn about Saudi culture. The visit was hosted by the Ministry of Higher Education and headed by Randa Hudome and Elizabeth Wusson, two board members of the NCUSAR.
The NCUSAR is an American nonprofit educational organization dedicated to improving American knowledge and understanding of the Arab world through leadership development and people-to-people programs, academic seminars and an annual Arab-US policymakers’ conference.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article340964.ece
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Governor of Makkah gets 4-year extension
Apr 3, 2011
JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has renewed the term of Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal. “The term of Prince Khaled bin Faisal bin Abdul Aziz as governor of the Makkah province, with the rank of a minister, has been extended for another four years effective from April 3, 2011,” a royal decree issued by the king said.
Prince Khaled, who is also director general of the King Faisal Foundation, has played a major role in boosting the development of Makkah province ever since he became the governor four years ago after the death of Prince Abdul Majeed, the former governor.
King Abdullah also extended the term of Prince Faisal bin Khaled as governor of Asir province for another four years. He took over as the province’s governor after Prince Khaled Al-Faisal was appointed Makkah governor. Another royal decree was issued on Saturday renewing the term of Abdul Rahman Al-Barrak, deputy chairman of the Shoura Council.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article340942.ece
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Gilani felicitates Manmohan on India WC win
Apr 3, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has congratulated his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on the Indian cricket team’s victory in the ICC World Cup 2011.
He commended the excellent performance of the Indian team throughout the tournament as well as in the final match.
In his message, Gilani said that the World Cup successfully brought the cricketing fraternity even closer and making the sports more popular around the world.
The premier expressed the hope that the sports link between India and Pakistan will be fully restored in the near future and that the sportsmen from both sides will continue playing their important role for the peace, friendship and amity between the people of the two countries.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/04/03/gilani-felicitates-manmohan-on-india-wc-win.html
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=4388
3:31 AM
Moderate Islamist here
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