| Islamic World News | |
| 07 Apr 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com |
| Cannibals Exist in Pakistan Too | ||
Syria reverses ban on veil Unrest In The Arab World: Islamabad assures Riyadh of Support US defence chief, Saudi king to discuss Middle East unrest Jamaat leader Shafi Moonis passes away Quran in Demo Jamaat leader thinks it's a crime UN condemns desecration of holy Quran Hindu, Christian tug-of-war over Nepal’s Pashupatinath temple intensifies For ISI, Lashkar is a strategic asset against India Pakistan has 'no clear path' on fighting militancy: White House Al-Qaeda coming back to Afghanistan Obama, Karzai deplore Afghanistan Quran violence Observers divided on Goldstone's Gaza U-turn US lawmakers tell Obama, dump Pakistan and go with India US offers $5 million for info leading to militant Ilyas Kashmiri Saudi Kingdom releases 15 ex-militants King Abdullah and Gates discuss Middle East Iran clerics denounce Saudi role in Bahrain Muslim Gang Leader Terrorizing Christians in Egyptian Village Under-fire Nato pledges to protect Libya civilians Gaddafi has no other option but to leave, says Hillary Clinton Gaddafi's son wanted F-16s: WikiLeaks Attacks by Qaddafi forces damage rebel oil fields Gaddafi sends message to Obama Britain bombing Libyan oil field: official No army action in Balochistan: Rehman Ban slams Holy Quran desecration in Florida Khatami denounce Saudi role in Bahrain Egypt's Islamists come in from the cold Palestinian dialogue resumes in Cairo without Suleiman Iran: No hurry to restore relations with Egypt Egypt’s revolution groups to unite to back candidates Hundreds of thousands Yemenis mass against Saleh in Taez Police shoot dead protester in Yemen clashes: Witnesses Obama, Peres see urgent need for Middle East peace In search for a global standard in Islamic banking Turkish mission in Libya, NATO's missile defense program 'inter-linked Ouattara forces move in on Gbagbo in Ivory Coast showdown Sarkozy vows to take up Yunus case Barack's grandpa was tortured by colonial UK' Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau Photo: Relatives discovered that the graves of their loved ones had been tampered with | ||
Blast kills 4 in Kohat in Pakistan--------
Cannibals Exist in Pakistan Too
Omair Lodhi
APR 07 2011
Cannibals, scary thought. Shocking but it seems out of the movies straight into our world. Cannibalism has been publicised in Hollywood movies as horror to scare young children.
Today right here in Pakistan two men have been arrested for eating the flesh of man. This story was reported on a local media network in Karachi.
These two men had even dug graves and stolen pieces of human bodies to satisfy their hunger. It was reported that these very men had also eaten their own children.
Hunger and poverty are the reasons cited by these cannibals in Pakistan.
Therefore be warned it is not a horror movie but hunger and poverty can also make man a cannibal. Whether this is the case here one really cannot say.
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/8691581-cannibals-exist-in-pakistan-too
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Blast kills 4 in Kohat in Pakistan
APR 07 2011
An explosive device killed four Pakistani children and wounded three others while they were playing at a pond in warm spring weather yesterday, police said.
Police said the device exploded on the outskirts of the northwestern garrison town of Kohat in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where Taliban insurgents have been fighting against government troops.
The victims were aged seven and nine, police said.
"Four children have been killed and three others were wounded. The bomb disposal squad informed me that the blast was caused by a mine," Masood Khan Afridi, a senior police officer, told AFP.
"Some children were swimming in the pool and some were playing there. Perhaps a child stepped on the mine and it exploded," he said.
"I talked to the bomb disposal officers at the scene and they said it was some type of explosive, maybe a mine, maybe a grenade. They are investigating," Zafar Iqbal, police official in Kohat said.
More than 4,200 people have been killed across Pakistan in attacks blamed on Taliban and other Islamist extremist networks, which are based in the tribal belt, since government troops stormed a radical mosque in Islamabad in 2007.
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=180769
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Syria reverses ban on veil
APR 07 2011
CAIRO: Syria closed the country’s only casino on Wednesday and reversed a decision that bans teachers from wearing the Islamic veil — moves seen as an attempt to reach out to conservative Muslims ahead of calls for pro-democracy demonstrations.
Syrian activists called for fresh demonstrations on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to honour more than 80 people killed in a crackdown on protests that erupted nearly three weeks ago.
President Bashar Assad’s decisions were unusual concessions to the religiously observant in secular Syria. The protests brought sectarian tensions into the open in an overwhelmingly Sunni country where Alawites — a branch of Shia Islam that represents just 11 percent of the population — have been in power for nearly 40 years.
Assad banned the niqab, the face veil that reveals only a woman’s eyes, in July as part of his campaign to mute sectarian differences. Hundreds of primary school teachers who were wearing the niqab at government-run schools were transferred in June to administrative jobs. However, on Wednesday, Ali Saad, the education minister in the Syria’s caretaker government, said the transferred teachers were now allowed to return to their jobs.
On the other hand, the Syrian state-run newspaper Tishrin reported on Wednesday that Casino Damascus has been closed because the practices of the club’s owners that “violate laws and regulations”.
Six Syrian rights groups said on Wednesday that judicial authorities have ordered the release of 48 people who were detained last year in the northern city of Raqqah after they threw stones at Syrian police who ordered Kurds celebrating their new year to replace their ethnic flags with Syrian ones. On Wednesday, Assad said his country could benefit from other countries’ experiences, especially Turkey, in drawing up reforms. Assad spoke during a meeting with visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. A statement said the Turkish minister offered to “render every possible help” from Turkey to accelerate reforms in Syria. ap
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\04\07\story_7-4-2011_pg7_5
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Unrest In The Arab World: Islamabad assures Riyadh of Support
March 28th, 2011.
In the backdrop of the current political uprisings in the Arab world, Pakistan has decided to play a significant role in the region by supporting Saudi Arabia, sources told The Express Tribune.
The decision came following a string of meetings that Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, special emissary of the Saudi king, had with the Pakistani leadership over the weekend.
The Saudi royal family scion met the top political and military leaders, among them President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.
Prince Bandar’s whirlwind tour came as mass protests are sweeping across most of the Gulf and Middle Eastern countries. Though there is no immediate threat of an uprising against the Saudi rulers, the situation in neighbouring Bahrain is a cause for serious concern.
In his interaction with Premier Gilani, the Saudi prince indicated that the oil-rich kingdom would extend meaningful support to Pakistan to improve its ailing economy, sources told The Express Tribune on Sunday.
Cash-strapped Islamabad has been asking Riyadh for oil on deferred payment for quite some time now.
Prince Bandar is said to have assured Islamabad of its help to address its immediate oil needs. He also reaffirmed that the kingdom would always stand by Pakistan to confront any challenge and support any initiative to expand bilateral ties.
According to sources in the Foreign Office, the Saudi move to seek help from Pakistan had a tacit endorsement from the United States whose forces are stationed in Bahrain. The US 5th fleet is stationed in Bahrain under an agreement reached between the two countries 15 years ago.
“The United States does not consider Saudi security forces’ entry into Bahrain as an invasion,” the White House said on Monday.
Riyadh sent about 1,000 troops into Bahrain to protect government facilities after protesters overran police and blocked roads.
Premier Gilani told Prince Bandar, who is also secretary-general of the Saudi National Security Council, that his country supports the Saudi stance in the Gulf and the Middle East and would stand by Riyadh for regional peace.
The prince briefed the prime minister on the Saudi perception of the situation in the Gulf and the Middle East.
Sources said that the main purpose of Prince Bandar’s visit was to evaluate Islamabad’s viewpoint on the rapidly changing political situation in the Arab world, particularly on the alarming situation in Bahrain, which borders Saudi Arabia.
In 1991, Riyadh was disappointed by Pakistan’s attitude towards the Gulf War when the then army chief Gen Aslam Beg had publicly opposed the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s decision of sending army and air force units to Saudi Arabia on the call of the kingdom.
Faced with the threat of a direct attack from Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussien’s forces, the Saudi authorities were further disappointed when Gen Beg agreed to send only 5,000 troops after a long delay and that too under strict conditions.
It took Islamabad several years to win back the trust of Riyadh.
The Saudis kept referring to this ‘betrayal’ during their talks with Islamabad on all forums, a former diplomat, who has served in Riyadh, told The Express Tribune.
http://www.zemnews.com/2011/03/28/unrest-in-the-arab-world-islamabad-assures-riyadh-of-support/
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US defence chief, Saudi king to discuss Middle East unrest
APR 07 2011
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter and a major buyer of U.S. arms, on Wednesday to reaffirm U.S. support for a country that is a regional anchor of U.S. security policy.
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Gates would discuss unrest sweeping the region with the elderly King Abdullah during his brief visit to the Gulf kingdom, the latest in a series of visits to Middle Eastern nations in recent weeks.
Saudi Arabia, which sits on more than a fifth of world oil reserves, has not seen the same degree of popular protests that have toppled Arab leaders in Tunisia and Egypt and have others battling for their political lives.
But the kingdom is dealing with internal pressures of its own as Saudi Shi'ites complain of discrimination and authorities scramble to find jobs for millions of young people.
Last month, hundreds of Shi'ites protested peacefully in the kingdom's oil-producing east in support of Shiites in Bahrain and political freedoms.
King Abdullah announced $93bn in social handouts in March, the second benefits package to be unveiled within a month, as part of the government's efforts to stave off the kind of unrest that has gripped neighbouring Bahrain, Yemen and Oman, and to strengthen the pillars of Saudi family rule.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/9435/World/Region/US-defence-chief,-Saudi-king-to-discuss-Middle-Eas.aspx
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Jamaat leader Shafi Moonis passes away
APR 07 2011
NEW DELHI: Maulana Muhammad Shafi Moonis, a prominent Indian Islamic scholar and a leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, died on Wednesday after a brain hemorrhage. He was 93.
He has worked for Jamaat in different capacities including state president in Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, general secretary and vice president of the organization.
He was in New Delhi to attend Jamaat’s Representative Council meeting to elect the organization’s new all-India president.
“With heavy hearts we condole the people of India and the Muslim community on the sad demise of Maulana Shafi Moonis,” said Zafarul-Islam Khan, president, All-India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article347240.ece
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Quran in Demo Jamaat leader thinks it's a crime
APR 07 2011
Jamaat-e-Islami acting Secretary General ATM Azharul Islam said yesterday staging demonstrations holding the Quran in hands, and attacks on demonstrators are similar crimes.
And Ameer of Islami Andolan Bangladesh Rezaul Karim said on the day it is not proper to demonstrate on streets with the Quran in hands during hartal.
They made the remarks in response to questions at separate press conferences at their party offices in the city yesterday.
They faced the questions as demonstrators with the Quran in their hands were seen during the April 4 hartal called by an Islamist group to protest the National Women's Development Policy.
Rezaul Karim also said his party is opposed to use of children for picketing during hartal.
But Azharul Islam avoided a direct reply when asked if his party supports engaging children in picketing for hartal. “If Awami League can use children in picketing, then why not others,” he said.
On the women development policy, the Jamaat leader said if they (Jamaat is a component of the BNP-led four-party alliance) come to power again, they will cancel the policy,
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=180816
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UN condemns desecration of holy Quran
APR 07 2011
UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned the recent act of desecration of the holy Quran in Florida, stressing that “such actions cannot be condoned by any religion”.
In a meeting with a group of ambassadors representing member states of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) to the United Nations, Ban said:
“The recent burning of a copy of the holy Quran in the United States and similar actions anywhere else contradict the efforts of the United Nations to promote tolerance, intercultural understanding and mutual respect between cultures and religions.”
The secretary general termed the despicable act of burning of Islam’s holy book as unacceptable and said he supported the UN High Representative of the Alliance of Civilisations, Jorge Sampaio, who noted in a statement on Sunday that the “desecration of the holy Quran as of any holy text should be vehemently repudiated”.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\04\07\story_7-4-2011_pg7_6
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Hindu, Christian tug-of-war over Nepal’s Pashupatinath temple intensifies
APR 07 2011
KATHMANDU: Nepal's oldest temple, the 5th century Pashupatinath shrine revered by Hindus worldwide, is in the eye of a new storm as Christians and Hindus fight it out in court over an ancient forest that belongs to the hallowed shrine.
The Supreme Court said on Wednesday it would give its verdict on two separate writ petitions filed separately by a Hindu activist and Christians on April 12. Judges Balaram KC and Bharat Bahadur Karki made the announcement after Nepal's Christians, who are on a relay hunger strike for the 15th day demanding the government give them land to build an official cemetery for the community, finally went to court, triggering a retaliation by a Hindu activist.
On March 13, Chari Bahadur Gahatraj, a Protestant pastor and an influential member of the community, filed a writ with fellow Christian Man Bahadur Khatri, asking the apex court to halt the Pashupatinath Area Development Trust that runs the temple, from demolishing the hundreds of Christian graves scattered in the Shleshmantak forest adjoining the temple complex.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Hindu-Christian-tug-of-war-over-Nepals-Pashupatinath-temple-intensifies/articleshow/7884176.cms
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For ISI, Lashkar is a strategic asset against India
APR 07 2011
Washington: The use of terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba by Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence came in for a lambasting at the House of Representatives during a hearing on Tuesday on foreign policy priorities and needs amidst economic challenges in South Asia.
In a well-attended hearing at the Rayburn Building on Capitol Hill, members of the Congress pressed top Obama administration officials on the core question of why, after $20 billion had been pumped into Pakistan over the last decade and over a billion dollars had been supplied under the Kerry-Lugar-Berman bill, anti-American sentiment in Pakistan was still so strong.
Putting it bluntly, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Steve Chabot, Republican of Ohio, said, “The question is basically we spent all this money and they still hate us. What should we do about that?”
Congressman Chabot also added that despite efforts “the fact remains that Pakistani and U.S. strategic interests diverge on certain issues — especially those concerning Islamist terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba, which the Pakistani ISI continues to view as a strategic asset vis-a-vis India.”
Years of mistrust
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/07/stories/2011040764491400.htm
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Pakistan has 'no clear path' on fighting militancy: White House
APR 07 2011
Pakistan still has no "clear path" to defeat militants on its soil, a new White House has said.
The report also said the Afghan Taliban had begun targeting civilian targets in recent months and that "heavy fighting" was expected this spring.
Pakistan has come under increasing criticism from the West for its support of al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.
In January, a US strategic review of the war said Pakistan must do more to defeat the militants.
Pakistan has repeatedly rejected claims that it is dragging its feet in the fight against militancy. It says that it works hard with the US in the "war against terror".
The White House report said that in spite of "tremendous human sacrifices" made by Pakistani security forces and increased military co-operation between Pakistan and US in the last three months, the fight against militancy was making little progress.
It cites the example of an operation to clear insurgents from Mohmand and Bajaur tribal agencies that began in January - the third time in two years - and has been hobbled by resistance from the militants, bad weather and the need to settle internally displaced people.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=180759
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Al-Qaeda coming back to Afghanistan
APR 07 2011
WASHINGTON: Al-Qaeda militants are gradually returning to eastern Afghanistan and setting up bases for the first time in years, exploiting a withdrawal of US troops in the area, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
The trend has alarmed and discouraged US officials who had seen Al-Qaeda as a seriously weakened force in Afghanistan with only a couple of dozen fighters on the ground, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed US, Afghan and Taliban sources.
In September, the United States bombed an Al-Qaeda training camp in the Korengal valley, killing two senior Al-Qaeda figures, a Saudi and Kuwaiti, the NATO-led coalition told the Journal. One of Saudi Arabia’s most wanted militants was also reportedly killed in the strike by US fighter jets.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/04/06/al-qaeda-coming-back-to-afghanistan-report.html
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Obama, Karzai deplore Afghanistan Quran violence
APR 07 2011
KABUL: US President Barack Obama and President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday deplored an explosion of violence in Afghanistan over the torching of a Quran by an American pastor, after a sixth day of protests.
The two leaders held an hour-long video conference to discuss the wave of demonstrations against last month’s burning of a Quran at a church in Florida which have left at least 24 dead, including seven United Nations employees.
Protests continued for a sixth day Wednesday, while a woman died in a car crash involving a Nato military convoy in the Afghan capital Kabul, triggering a demonstration in which stones were thrown at the international forces.
The White House said that “both leaders deplored the desecration of the Quran, strongly condemned the April 1 attack on (the United Nations compound) in Mazar-i-Sharif and expressed deep regret for the tragic loss of life.”
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/04/07/obama-karzai-deplore-afghanistan-quran-violence.html
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Observers divided on Goldstone's Gaza U-turn
APR 07 2011
While Israeli politicians and academics have praised the recent recanting of Richard Goldstone, the head of the U.N. Gaza conflict report that accused Israel of war crimes, the top Palestinian U.N. representative believes that the importance of the new comments have been grossly exaggerated.
“These issues are not measured by Goldstone, but by an independent U.N. commission, which has been set up to oversee all internal investigations made by Israel, the PA and Hamas on the matter,” Riyad H. Mansour, permanent observer of Palestine to the United Nations, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in a phone interview on Tuesday. “The appropriate Geneva commission accused Israel and Hamas of not upholding international standards when conducting their internal investigations, while praising Abbas’ independent commission and its findings.”
Opposing voices have expressed praise for Goldstone’s comments, with Einat Wilf, a Knesset parliamentarian and close ally of Defense Minister Ehud Barak, stating that “these new comments have clarified that issues of Israeli intentionality have been taken off the table and revised entirely.”
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=gaza-war-findings-8216not-measured-by-goldstone8217-says-top-palestinian-envoy-2011-04-06
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US lawmakers tell Obama, dump Pakistan and go with India
APR 07 2011
WASHINGTON: Expressing apprehension that the United States is being "taken for suckers" and "looked at as patsies" by Pakistan, two American lawmakers on Tuesday called for strengthening ties with India even as a White House report gave a harshly critical assessment of Islamabad's effort to defeat extremism.
While administration officials defended Washington's support for Pakistan using the same logic as London is doing on UK Prime Minister David Cameron's ongoing visit to Islamabad ("a difficult partnership with Pakistan is far better than having a hostile Pakistan," one U.S official testified), lawmakers wanted a major reappraisal of U.S outlook for the region. They expressed doubts if any good would come out of the current U.S policy of coddling Islamabad in the face of Pakistani duplicity in combating extremism. Instead, they pushed for even closer ties with India.
After 10 years of hearing the same sales pitch I tend to doubt it. I doubt that our money is buying anything that's deep or durable," New York Congressman Gary Ackerman said at a hearing. "I doubt the leaders in the Afghan government and the Pakistani government are going to do anything except pursue their own narrow, venal self interests. I doubt the ISI will ever stop working with us during the day and going to see their not-so-secret friends in the Lashkar-e-Taiba or Jaish-e Mohammed and other terrorist groups at night."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-lawmakers-tell-Obama-dump-Pakistan-and-go-with-India/articleshow/7886263.cms
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US offers $5 million for info leading to militant Ilyas Kashmiri
APR 07 2011
WASHINGTON: US officials have offered a reward of up to USD 5 million for information on Mohammad Ilyas Kashmiri, head of a Pakistani group linked to al-Qaida and suspected of launching a 2006 suicide attack on the US consulate in Karachi.
The state department said Kashmiri "is the commander of the terrorist organization Harakat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HUJI), which supports al-Qaida" and that the group has led training camps for the launching of several attacks in India and Pakistan.
The group is believed to have ordered the March 2, 2006 suicide bombing at the US consulate in Karachi that killed four people, including US diplomat David Foy, and injured 48 others.
In January 2010, a US federal grand jury indicted Kashmiri for terrorism-related offenses in connection with a plot to attack the Jyllands-Posten newspaper in Denmark following uproar over cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/US-offers-5-million-for-info-leading-to-militant-Ilyas-Kashmiri/articleshow/7893742.cms
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Saudi Kingdom releases 15 ex-militants
APR 07 2011
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday that it was releasing 15 militants after they successfully completed a yearlong counseling program organized by the Prince Muhammad bin Naif Center.
According to the center, the militants had enjoyed three vacations ranging between 10 to 25 days during their detention period in order to spend Eid and other happy occasions with their families.
“We also helped them to perform Umrah with their relatives during Ramadan and visit the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. They also got an opportunity to perform Haj last year,” a spokesman for the center said.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article347253.ece
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King Abdullah and Gates discuss Middle East
GHAZANFAR ALI KHAN
APR 07 2011
RIYADH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates held talks Wednesday on a range of bilateral and regional issues including Iran and the spiraling unrest in Yemen.
The talks covered several other topics of common concern in a renewed bid to boost links between the two countries and narrow differences over the response to issues affecting the Arab world.
Geoff Morrell, Pentagon press officer, said that the US defense secretary discussed "regional issues including Iran and Saudi-American relations with the king."
"King Abdullah and Gates dwelt at length discussing bilateral issues," said a US embassy official, adding that Gates wrapped up his day-long visit to Riyadh in the evening. The talks, Gates' first with the king after his return from abroad, also focused on concerns about Yemen and pressure on Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to stand down, said the sources.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article347203.ece
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Iran clerics denounce Saudi role in Bahrain
APR 07 2011
A leading Iranian cleric on Wednesday urged protesters in the Gulf kingdom of Bahrain to "stand up and resist" a government crackdown that has been backed by hundreds of Saudi Arabian troops.
Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, speaking to clerics in the holy city of Qom, also demanded that Saudi Arabia withdraw its forces from Bahrain.
The unrest in Bahrain, which erupted in February, has played out against the region's deep rivalries between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. Protesters from Bahrain's Shiite majority have demanded that the kingdom's Sunni minority rulers grant them equal rights and a political voice.
Saudi Arabia, a largely Sunni nation, has rushed to the aid of Bahrain, while other Gulf countries have accused predominantly Shiite Iran of meddling in Bahrain's affairs by allegedly trying to stir Shiite unrest there.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/04/06/iran-clerics-denounce-saudi-role-bahrain.html
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Muslim Gang Leader Terrorizing Christians in Egyptian Village
APR 07 2011
Ten human rights organization staged a rally on March 30 in front of the building of the Attorney General to bring to public attention the tragedy of some nine thousand Coptic villagers living in terror since end January in the Upper Egyptian villages of Badraman and Nazlet Badraman in Deir Mawas, Minya. Rights activists and Badraman villagers were joined by attorney activist Peter elNaggar, who filed a complaint with the Attorney General against 34-year-old Muslim police informer Ali Hussein, nicknamed "Holaku" after the ruthless Mongol leader.
Hussein was accused of terrorizing the Copts, raping their wives, kidnapping their children for ransom and extortion. Attorney elNaggar said that I f proven these charges are punishable by the death penalty.
Security forces were informed last January of the incidents in both villages, "but they just turned a blind eye," said Coptic activist Nader Shoukry, who publicized the story last week after registering all crimes against the Coptic villagers.
The terror started on January 28, when Ali Hussein assaulted Copt Khalil Suweiha and his family. Mr. Suweiha filed a report with the police in Deir Mawas but was forced to drop the charges after being threatened with death by Hussein and his 200-man armed gang.
Full report at:
http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/headlinenewsd.php?hnewsid=2730
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Under-fire Nato pledges to protect Libya civilians
APR 07 2011
Nato, accused of mission failure by Libya's rebels, vowed yesterday to do all to protect civilians in Misrata as France pledged to open a sea corridor to the besieged Mediterranean city.
On the political front, Libyan deputy foreign minister Khaled Kaim said in Tripoli that Muammar Gaddafi's regime will talk with the rebels about reforms provided they lay down their arms.
The rebel tirade against Nato came as they sustained their first significant loss of territory to Muammar Gaddafi's forces in almost a week, after they were sent fleeing from the edge of the oil town of Brega in a major assault.
The top commander of rebel forces, Abdelfatah Yunis, accused Nato-led aircraft of doing nothing while loyalist forces kept up their 40-day long artillery bombardment of civilians in Misrata, 214 kilometres east of Tripoli.
Nato "is letting the people of Misrata die every day," Yunis told reporters in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi late on Tuesday.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=180751
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Gaddafi has no other option but to leave, says Hillary Clinton
APR 07 2011
WASHINGTON: Libyan leader Muammar Al Gaddafi knows best what he needs to do which is to step down and leave the country, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, has said.
"I think that Gaddafi knows what he must do. There needs to be a ceasefire. His forces need to withdraw from the cities that they have forcibly taken at great violence and human cost," Clinton told reporters at a joint press conference with her Italian counterpart Franco Frattini.
"There needs to be a decision made about his departure from power and, his departure from Libya. So I don't think there is any mystery about what is expected from Gaddafi at this time. That is an international assessment. And the sooner that occurs and the bloodshed ends, the better it will be for everyone," Clinton said following her meeting with Frattini at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the state department.
Besides the current situation in Libya, the two leaders also discussed the possibility of exile of Gaddafi.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Gaddafi-has-no-other-option-but-to-leave-says-Hillary-Clinton/articleshow/7894740.cms
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Gaddafi's son wanted F-16s: WikiLeaks
APR 07 2011
NEW YORK: Had the US agreed to meet the ambitious military "wish list" of one of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi's sons two years ago, it would have found it difficult to go along with its allies in establishing a no-fly zone over Libya.
According to an ABC News report, the request by Mutassim Gaddafi included American F-16 fighter jets.
Reference to the request appears in an April 2009 leaked state department cable posted on the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Gaddafis-son-wanted-F-16s-WikiLeaks/articleshow/7883219.cms
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Attacks by Qaddafi forces damage rebel oil fields
BEN HUBBARD
APR 07 2011
BENGHAZI, Libya: Three days of attacks by supporters of Libyan ruler Muammar Qaddafi have halted oil production in rebel-held fields in the country’s east, a rebel spokesman said Wednesday.
The rebels had just begun exporting oil again after a weekslong hiatus in an effort to raise funds for their struggle against Qaddafi, who still controls the western half of the country.
The rebels have a deal to sell their oil from the port of Tobruk through the help of Qatar and use the profits to pay salaries and buy food, medicine and weapons.
“I think we will not depend on oil revenues in the coming stage because our production has been affected in this crisis,” rebel spokesman Abdel-Hafidh Ghoga said.
Ghoga said armored vehicles attacked the rebel-held oil field of Messla on Monday and Tuesday and then a day later, the field of Sarir.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article347359.ece
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Gaddafi sends message to Obama
APR 07 2011
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi yesterday sent a message to US President Barack Obama, following the withdrawal of American warplanes from Libya, the official Libyan news agency JANA said.
"The leader of the revolution (Gaddafi) sent yesterday a message to US President Barack Obama after the United States withdrew from the aggressive, colonialist coalition crusading against Libya," said the agency without specifying the contents of the message.
The US military on Monday withdrew its fighter jets from the international air campaign in Libya refusing Nato's request for another 48 hours bombardment.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=180761
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Britain bombing Libyan oil field: official
APR 07 2011
TRIPOLI: Libya's deputy foreign minister Khaled Kaim accused Britain of bombing an oil field at Al-Sarir in the southeast of the country on Wednesday.
"British fighter bombers raided the Al-Sarir oil field, killing three guards at the site and wounding other people working at the field," Kaim said at a news conference.
The air raid damaged the site and notably the pipeline linking Al-Sarir and the port of Tobruk that is under rebel control, he added.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=13747
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No army action in Balochistan: Rehman
APR 07 2011
Shakeel Ahmed
ISLAMABAD – Frustrated male and female members of some 15 missing persons hailing from Balochistan set up a protest camp in front of the National Press Club, and were compassionate appeal to the government for immediate recovery of their missing nears and dears.
Talking to INP, Voice of Baloch Missing Person Chairman Nasrullah Baloch said that at least 8000 Baloch were missing since years 2000 to date and around 125 missing persons’ dead bodies had been recovered during the last eight months.
Full report at:
http://dailymailnews.com/0411/07/FrontPage/index.php?id=5
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Ban slams Holy Quran desecration in Florida
APR 07 2011
Iqbal Mustafa
ISLAMABAD – United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned the desecration of the Holy Quran by pastors of a Baptist Church in Gainesville, Florida and said such actions cannot be condoned by any religion.
According to the forign office press release issued here Wednesday, Ki-moon said such actions contradict the efforts of the United Nations and many people around the world to promote tolerance, intercultural understanding and mutual respect between cultures and religions.Terming this despicable and bigotry act unacceptable, Secretary General assured the OIC Ambassadorial Group which met him in his office.
The Secretary-General said he supported the statement of the UN High Representative of the Alliance of Civilizations, who said that the desecration of the Quran - as of any holy text - should be vehemently repudiated. Equally, no religion tolerates the slaughter of innocent people.
Full report at:
http://dailymailnews.com/0411/07/FrontPage/index.php?id=10
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Khatami denounce Saudi role in Bahrain
Tehmina Mustapha
APR 07 2011
TEHRAN – A leading Iranian cleric on Wednesday urged protesters in the Gulf kingdom of Bahrain to "stand up and resist" a government crackdown that has been backed by hundreds of Saudi Arabian troops.
Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, speaking to clerics in the holy city of Qom, also demanded that Saudi Arabia withdraw its forces from Bahrain.
The unrest in Bahrain, which erupted in February, has played out against the region's deep rivalries between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. Protesters from Bahrain's Shiite majority have demanded that the kingdom's Sunni minority rulers grant them equal rights and a political voice.
Full report at:
http://dailymailnews.com/0411/07/FrontPage/index.php?id=11
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Egypt's Islamists come in from the cold
APR 07 2011
Finally the old sheikh was released from his prison upon the demands of a revolution in which he did not take part. Abboud El-Zomor, who was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for his part in the assassination of the ex-president Anwar Sadat, had had his sentence extended by five years under the emergency law imposed after the 1981 shooting.
The old sheikh, whose release was met with great attention from the Egyptian media, does not seem to regret the assassination of Sadat and think that it is a justifiable, yet unrepeatable action. This among, other things, has provoked renewed fear and suspicion towards the role of Islamist groups in Egypt, from the conservative Salafis to the politicized Muslim Brotherhood.
"The Brotherhood's participation in decision-making over Egypt's future has raised many concerns,” says Mamoun Fandy, director of the Middle East Program and Gulf Security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. “The prime minister’s meeting with representatives of those who demonstrated for the immediate release of Kamelia Shehata while a Coptic sit-in was held after a church was torched down, and later the extravagant reception of the El-Zomor cousins (Abboud and Tarek), increased suspicion that radical Islamists will have a say on Egypt’s future."
However, it is not right to deal with Islamic forces as one homogeneous group as, according to Fandy, even the Brotherhood cannot be viewed as a single entity with a firm perspective.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/7920/Egypt/Politics-/Muslim-Brothers,-Jihadists-and-Salafists-Egypts-Is.aspx
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Palestinian dialogue resumes in Cairo without Suleiman
APR 07 2011
Fresh Palestinian dialogue will take place in Cairo, a site of changed landmarks. Mubarak’s regime, including Omar Suleiman, are out of the picture and the US veto — rejecting Hamas rule in Gaza — is no longer there, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa has said.
Prior to Cairo’s dialogue invitation, the rules of the game had changed. The change comes down to the new head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,Nabil Al-Arabi, who is known to have a strategic-diplomatic mind that does not allow for foreign interference.
Al-Arabi’s calculations set as their priority Cairo’s leadership position in what is seen as the most important foreign policy file in Egypt. As for the national security apparatus, it too has its role, for the Palestinian issue is also a matter of national security.
Yet the prerequisite for dialogue is the intention of both sides to take concrete steps to end nearly five years of division in a land already under Israeli occupation, reuniting the most prominent factions, Hamas and Fatah.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/~/NewsContent/2/8/9460/World/Region/Palestinian-dialogue-resumes-in-Cairo,-for-the-fir.aspx
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Iran: No hurry to restore relations with Egypt
APR 07 2011
The Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported Wednesday that Iranian MP Kazem Jalali, spokesman for the Foreign Relations Committee of the Iranian parliament, said that Iran should not rush into reviving diplomatic relations with Egypt.
Kazem told ISNA that "[Iran] should not act hastily in resuming ties with Egypt," saying that a "logical process" should be followed in doing so.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/9473/World/Region/Iranian-foreign-relations-spokesman-No-hurry-to-re.aspx
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Egypt’s revolution groups to unite to back candidates
APR 07 2011
A meeting on Tuesday between 23 new political groups may not only be a beginning of another revolution coalition but also their answer to Egypt’s very uni-dimensional political scene: with political weight still only in the hands of groups who had power before Egypt’s 25 January revolution, an assembly of many of the current movements hoping for the prospect of a coalition may be just what the forces of change need to influence the future political map of Egypt.
These twenty three groups, formed on the heels of Egypt’s revolution, gathered at the Development Support Centre, a development consultancy office in Cairo’s Dokki district.
The place was packed with hundreds of people, all representing new political organisations formed to “continue the revolution” or counter the “counter-revolution.”
The aim of the assembly is to create a coalition that coordinates between the different groups to influence the coming elections and campaign for laws that would promote greater, freer and fairer political participation.
Four groups initiated the call for the meeting, namely El-Lotus, Association of the Progressive Revolution Youth, Masry Hor (Free Egyptian) and the National Front for Justice and Democracy.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/~/NewsContent/1/64/9451/Egypt/Politics-/Egypt%E2%80%99s-revolution-groups-to-unite-to-back-candida.aspx
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Hundreds of thousands Yemenis mass against Saleh in Taez
APR 07 2011
"Leave Ali, leave" and "The people want to overthrow the regime," hundreds of thousands protesters chanted after converging on Al-Huriya (Liberty) Square, where regime opponents have been staging a sit-in demonstration since February.
The protesters erected more tents in the square, blocking the city's main road after more than 20 demonstrators were gunned down in clashes across the Arabian Peninsula country this week.
Wednesday's rally came a day after police shot dead one protester and wounded 30 others during a demonstration in Taez, about 200 kilometres (120 miles) south of the capital, witnesses said.
Following the latest bloodshed, strong statements condemning the violence were issued by the United Nations, European Union, and United States, which has considered Saleh a key ally in its fight against Al-Qaeda.
But the death toll continued to mount as Saleh and his foes welcomed a proposal by Gulf states to mediate in their demands for the veteran president to resign and end his three-decade grip on power.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/9468/World/Region/Hundreds-of-thousands-Yemenis-mass-against-Saleh-i.aspx
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Police shoot dead protester in Yemen clashes: Witnesses
APR 07 2011
Police shot dead a protester and wounded 30 others in Taez south of Sanaa overnight, witnesses said Wednesday, as world anger over bloodshed in Yemen mounted.
The clashes broke out late on Tuesday when anti-regime protesters staged a fresh demonstration against President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 32-year rule, witnesses said.
Tens of thousands on Wednesday began a march towards the local governorate headquarters in central Taez, witnesses said.
On Monday, Yemeni security forces opened fire on a similar rally killing at least 17 people.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/9423/World/Region/Police-shoot-dead-protester-in-Yemen-clashes-Witne.aspx
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Obama, Peres see urgent need for Middle East peace
APR 07 2011
Separately, the United States warned that it was concerned about Israeli plans to build more than 900 new homes in east Jerusalem, reopening an old controversy between Washington and the Israeli government over settlements.
US President Barack Obama told reporters that he and his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres had an "extensive discussion" about events in the turbulent Middle East during their lunch and shared the belief that this was a moment of "challenge and opportunity."
"With the winds of change blowing through the Arab world, it is more important than ever to create a peaceful solution between the Palestinians and the Israelis," Obama said.
The US leader added that Peres "had interesting ideas around those issues" but did not elaborate, saying only that it was important to ensure economic opportunity as well as nurture democracy in countries such as Egypt.
Peres told reporters that given the fast-moving events in the Middle East it was important for direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians to resume as quickly as possible.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/9432/World/Region/Obama,-Peres-see-urgent-need-for-Middle-East-peace.aspx
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In search for a global standard in Islamic banking
APR 07 2011
Turkey may not be ready to take a prominent place in the world of Islamic finance due to the ongoing political tension on religion’s role in the society, but an expert says Islamic finance needs input from the nation on how to proceed.
Noting the often-contradictory interpretations of the principles of Islamic banking, Khalid Ferdaus Howladar, the vice president and senior credit officer of Moody’s in the Middle East, suggested that the Turkish Central Bank might “take the lead” in establishing a global standard that would help Islamic banking become more transparent.
Howladar was speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in Istanbul on the sidelines of the “Seminar on Managing Liquidity in the Islamic Financial Services Industry” event held Wednesday.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=in-search-for-a-global-standard-in-islamic-banking-2011-04-06
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Turkish mission in Libya, NATO's missile defense program 'inter-linked
APR 07 2011
NATO’s deliberations over the Libya mission and Turkey’s involvement witnessed tough bargaining over recent weeks as a Western diplomatic source said the Turkish role and its contributions were loosely linked to the proposed missile defense system being debated by the trans-Atlantic alliance.
“I think they are two inter-connected issues,” a European Union ambassador told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, requesting anonymity.
He said Turkey was pressing hard for NATO, not the United States, to take command of the missile defense system set out in the alliance’s strategic concept adopted at last year’s Lisbon summit.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=turkish-mission-in-libya-and-natos-missile-defense-program-inter-linked-2011-04-06
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Ouattara forces move in on Gbagbo in Ivory Coast showdown
APR 07 2011
Forces for Ivory Coast's internationally recognized leader Alassane Ouattara stormed Laurent Gbagbo's bunker Wednesday, determined to haul him out and end his hold on power after a disputed vote.
Gunfire rang near Gbagbo's residence and the presidential palace, witnesses said, amid a fresh assault to force him to end his decade-long rule of the world's number one cocoa producer.
A spokeswoman for the government of the country's democratically elected president Alassane Ouattara said on France-24 television that pro-Ouattara forces had entered the gates of Laurent Gbagbo's residence.
"We are going to take Laurent Gbagbo out of his hole and hand him over to the president of the republic," said Sidiki Konate.
Gbagbo had appeared to be on the point of surrender on Tuesday, sending an emissary to meet with foreign ambassadors in order to negotiate the terms of his resignation. But a senior diplomat who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the press said the overture appeared to be a foil, and that Gbagbo was simply playing for time as he refused to surrender or acknowledge that he lost the election.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=ouattara-forces-move-in-on-gbagbo-in-ivory-coast-showdown-2011-04-06
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Sarkozy vows to take up Yunus case
APR 07 2011
The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has vowed to take up with the Bangladeshi government the case of Nobel-winner Muhammad Yunus, who has been sacked from the pioneering microfinance bank he founded.
‘The French government will closely follow this case and will not fail to take up the question with the Bangladeshi authorities in the coming days,’ he wrote in a letter to the economist made public by Yunus’s entourage.
Full report at:
http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/frontpage/14537.html
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Barack's grandpa was tortured by colonial UK'
APR 07 2011
LONDON: A collection of secret documents detailing efforts to suppress the Mau Mau uprising has revealed that US President Barack Obama's grandfather and others were brutally tortured by British officials.
The documents, which have lain hidden in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London for 50 years, were removed from Kenya on the cusp of independence. They were uncovered in January after five Kenyans launched a lawsuit against the British government.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/Baracks-grandpa-was-tortured-by-colonial-UK/articleshow/7894468.cms
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=4413
11:02 PM
Moderate Islamist here
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