| Islamic World News | |
| 30 Apr 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com |
| Syrian forces kill 62, US tightens sanctions | ||
16 dead on Syria day of rage: activists UK: London’s Oldest Mosque To Hold Royal Wedding Celebration Pak: MQM’s ex-MPA shot dead in wave of Karachi violence MIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi attacked in Hyderabad Iran: Leading Clerics Believe Regime Actions ‘Un-Islamic’ Egypt: Military Trials Usurping Justice System 'Pak not doing enough to bring 26/11 perpetrators to justice' Gujarat's Best Bakery case: Teesta forced me to lie, says Witness Al-Qaeda suspected in cafe bombing Terrorists safe havens in Pak a challenge: Pentagon US imposes sanctions on Assad relatives Makkah fire kills pilgrim Afghan insurgents have lifeline in Pak: Pentagon Gaddafi calls for negotiation with Nato Qadhafi ready for ceasefire, refuses to leave Libyan tanks launch assault on Misrata Libyan government forces make incursion into Tunisia Pak Hajj scam: SC cancels transfer orders of FIA officials PPP and Q agree to seal deal: Pak Clinton demands Syria end violence Saudi Arabia in focus at Moscow WHO talks Saudi Arabia amends media laws Tunisian police fire tear gas on Islamist protest Islamic Jihad not joining Palestinian unity govt German police arrest three suspected al-Qaida members High alert for Jakarta on May Day Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau Photo: Syrian forces kill 62, U.S. tightens sanctions | ||
Attacks in Iraq kill 10, including 8-year-old girl--------
Syrian forces kill 62, US tightens sanctions
AMMAN: The United States imposed new sanctions on key Syrian government figures after security forces killed more than 60 people across Syria during demonstrations demanding the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.
A medical source told Reuters that soldiers in Deraa killed 19 people on Friday when they fired on thousands of protesters descending from nearby villages in a show of solidarity with the southern city where Syria’s uprising broke out six weeks ago.
Syrian human rights group Sawasiah said it had the names of a total of 62 people killed during protests in Deraa, Rustun, Latakia, Homs and the town of Qadam, near Damascus. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights gave a similar death toll.
Friday’s bloodshed came after demonstrators across the country again defied heavy military deployments, mass arrests and a ruthless crackdown on the biggest popular challenge to 48 years of authoritarian Baath Party rule.
US President Barack Obama imposed new sanctions against Syrian figures, including a brother of Assad in charge of troops in Deraa, the first reprisal for Syria’s violent crackdown.
Obama signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the intelligence agency, Assad’s cousin Atif Najib and his brother Maher, who commands the army division which stormed into Deraa on Monday. Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard was also targeted, accused of helping the Syrian crackdown.
“The sanctions that were announced today are intended to show the Syrian government that its behavior and actions are going to be held to account,” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters.
Shortly after Obama’s move, European Union diplomats said they had reached preliminary agreement to impose an arms embargo on Syria and would “urgently consider further appropriate and targeted measures”. These, diplomats said, were understood to mean measures against individuals.
Nationwide Protests
Obama’s sanctions, which include asset freezes and bans on US business dealings, build on US measures against Syria in place since 2004, but they may have little impact since Assad’s inner circle are thought to hold few US assets.
One official said the White House was “not ready” to call on Assad to step down because Obama and his aides “do not want to get out in front of the Syrian people”.
But thousands of Syrians took to the streets across the country after Friday prayers demanding his removal and pledging support for the residents of Deraa.
“The people want the overthrow of the regime!” demonstrators chanted in many protests, witnesses said.
More demonstrations flared in the central cities of Homs and Hama, Banias on the Mediterranean coast, Qamishly in eastern Syria and Harasta, a Damascus suburb.
Damascus saw the biggest protest in the capital so far, with a crowd swelling to 10,000 as it marched towards the main Ummayad Square before being dispersed by security forces firing tear gas, rights campaigners said.
Syrian rights group Sawasiah said this week at least 500 civilians had been killed since the unrest broke out six weeks ago. Authorities dispute that, saying 78 security forces and 70 civilians died in violence they blame on armed groups.
Derra Shooting
State news agency SANA blamed “armed terrorist groups” for killing eight soldiers near Deraa. It said groups had opened fire on the homes of soldiers in two towns near Deraa and were repelled by guards. SANA said security forces detained 156 members of the group and confiscated 50 motorbikes.
But a witness in Deraa said Syrian forces fired live rounds at thousands of villagers who descended on the besieged city.
“They shot at people at the western gate of Deraa in the Yadoda area, almost three km from the centre of the city,” he said.
A rights campaigner in Deraa said on Friday makeshift morgues in the city contained the bodies of 85 people he said had been killed since the army stormed the city, close to Syria’s southern border with Jordan, on Monday.
Assad’s violent repression has brought growing condemnation from Western countries which for several years had sought to engage Damascus and loosen its close anti-Israel alliances with Iran and the militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas.
The top United Nations human rights body condemned Syria for using deadly force against peaceful protesters and launched an investigation into killings and other alleged crimes.
A US official said Friday’s sanctions were meant to show that no member of the Syrian leadership was immune from being held accountable. “Bashar is very much on our radar and if this continues could be soon to follow,” the official said.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/04/30/syrian-forces-kill-62-us-tightens-sanctions.html
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Attacks in Iraq kill 10, including 8-year-old girl
April 30, 2011
BAGHDAD: Attacks killed 10 people around Iraq on Friday, including the 8-year-old daughter of an imam who preached against violence and four police officers ambushed in Baghdad, officials said.
The string of bombings and shootings underlined the security concerns Iraq still faces as American troops prepare to leave the country by the end of this year.
Iraq’s prime minister maintains the country is able to provide for its own internal security, but US officials say Iraq must decide soon whether to ask any of the remaining American forces to stay past their Dec. 31 departure date.
In Baghdad, a bomb went off in a predominantly Shiite neighborhood in southeastern Baghdad, killing three police commandos and one civilian and wounding 24 policemen and five civilians, said police and medical officials. As police arrived on the scene to investigate, a second bomb exploded.
Insurgents often use such staggered blasts to lure in security and medical personnel who arrive on the scene to help and then fall victim to the subsequent blast.
In the mixed Sunni-Shiite province of Diyala, gunmen stormed the home of the imam in a small village 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of the provincial capital of Baqouba on Friday morning, police and medical officials said.
The imam, his wife and their 8-year-old daughter were killed. Police said the imam had preached against sectarian violence.
In the town of Buhriz, a former Saddam Hussein stronghold about 35 miles (60 kilometers) north of Baghdad, gunmen broke into a house and shot and killed three brothers who worked in an anti-Al-Qaeda militia.
All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Diyala province has been a hotbed of the insurgency and at one point in 2006 was proposed as the future capital of Al-Qaeda’s Islamic State of Iraq. Since then, the situation has calmed considerably but a volatile ethnic mix of Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds and Turkomen help make it one of the least stable provinces in the country.
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article377576.ece
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16 dead on Syria day of rage: activists
April 29, 2011
DAMASCUS: Syrian security forces shot dead at least 16 people when tens of thousands of protesters rallied for a "day of rage" after Friday prayers, defying warnings of a harsh crackdown, activists said.
Protests against President Bashar al-Assad's regime took place in most major centres around Syria, witnesses said, in a repeat of pro-democracy rallies that have become the norm after weekly Muslim prayers.
In the protest epicentre of Daraa, military officials said four soldiers were killed and two captured by "armed terrorists," though a rights activist said the dead men had been killed defending protesters.
At least 16 people were shot dead by security services in Daraa, according to rights activists.
Dissidents say security forces using live rounds and tear gas have killed more than 450 people since the Syrian protests erupted in mid-March.
Friday's rallies come as the UN Human Rights Council held a special session on Syria in Geneva and the European Union met in Brussels to consider a wide range of sanctions against Damascus.
The call for mass demonstrations was made on Facebook page, Syrian Revolution 2011, a motor of the protests in which demonstrators inspired by uprisings across the Arab world are seeking greater freedoms.
Assad's embattled regime reiterated its running ban on demonstrations, despite having lifted a decades-old law barring them earlier this month, as the Muslim Brotherhood accused the regime of genocide. (AFP)
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=14885
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UK: London’s Oldest Mosque To Hold Royal Wedding Celebration
April 29, 2011
London’s oldest mosque is to celebrate the Royal wedding with invited guests and local residents “as a day of joy for all of us.”
Invitations have been sent out by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community to hundreds of homes in the vicinity of the London Mosque, Putney, London, inviting families to celebrate the wedding with worshippers at the mosque – including a large marquee and planned dinner and barbecue.
Prayers will be said for the well-being of the Royal couple and public celebrations for the occasion will be hosted at the community’s network of mosques nationwide.
Rafiq Hayat, National President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK, said, “The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is proud to celebrate this joyous Royal occasion with neighbours and friends.”
According to Hayat, “As Muslims, strengthening community bonds and contributing positively to the society in which we live is part of our faith. The Royal wedding comes in the midst of our nationwide Muslims for Loyalty, Freedom and Peace campaign so it is apt that we practise what we preach and mark this occasion with a public celebration.”
The worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, is expected to attend the occasion.
http://www.eurasiareview.com/uk-londons-oldest-mosque-to-hold-royal-wedding-celebration-29042011/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+eurasiareview%2FVsnE+%28Eurasia+Review%29
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Pak: MQM’s ex-MPA shot dead in wave of Karachi violence
By Atif Raza
April 30, 2011
KARACHI: Five more people, including a former MPA of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Shaikh Liaquat Qureshi, son of Younus Qureshi, were killed in separate incidents of target killing in different parts of the metropolis on Friday.
Qureshi was going home in his car when unidentified armed men, on a motorcycle, shot him dead at Maskan Chowrangi in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Block-4. The armed men fled after swift operation.
The body was shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and later to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities. Mubina Town police said the victim was also a member of MQM Legal Aid Committee.
In other incident, a Pesh Imam of Dua Mosque was shot dead near his house in Garden East. Pesh Imam Mufti Arshad Abbasi, 40, was going to mosque for Fajr prayers when two armed men, on a motorcycle, opened fire on him near his house, resultantly he received three bullet injuries.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\04\30\story_30-4-2011_pg1_3
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MIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi attacked in Hyderabad
NEW DELHI: Akbaruddin Owaisi, sitting MLA of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, was on Saturday stabbed and shot by his rivals at Chandrayanagutta area in Hyderabad.
Injured Akbaruddin was immediately shifted to Owaisi Hospital . He is the younger brother of Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi.
Tension gripped Hyderabad after this incident.
According to PTI, Akbaruddin's fellow legislator from Malakpet constituency, Ahmed Balala, was also injured in the attack in Chandrayanagutta area when the former was about to leave in his vehicle after attending a programme in his constituency, police said.
The three-time MLA does not have a police gunman for escort and most of the time drives the vehicle on his own.
Land dispute was said to be the reason for the attack on Akbaruddin, who had been preventing land grabbers from encroaching on valuable government land mostly in the old city area.
The police gunman of MLA Balala was said to have retaliated and fired at the attackers, injuring one of them.
Soon after the incident, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy held a high-level meeting with home minister P Sabita Indra Reddy, Director General of Police K Aravinda Rao and Additional DGP (Intelligence) M Mahender Reddy and reviewed the situation.
Kiran later visited Akbaruddin in the hospital where he was operated upon to remove the bullet lodged in his shoulder. The home minister accompanied the chief minister to the hospital.
Assembly deputy speaker Nadendla Manohar also visited the injured MLA in the hospital.
City Commissioner of Police AK Khan was heckled at the hospital by MIM workers for allegedly failing to protect law and order in the city.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/MIM-MLA-Akbaruddin-Owaisi-attacked-in-Hyderabad/articleshow/8125290.cms
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Iran: Leading Clerics Believe Regime Actions ‘Un-Islamic’
April 29, 2011
Prominent Shiite cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Dastgheib says he and five other leading religious authorities in the country concur on sixteen points where they believe the Iranian regime has violated and deviated from the teachings of Islam, the Quran and the constitution of the Islamic Republic.
According to Hadis Sarv, a website close to senior cleric and member of the Assembly of Experts Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Dastgheib, he made the comments during a lecture on Sunday when he criticised the campaign of government intimidation and harsh court rulings handed against his students in the city of Shiraz.
“I presented five Marjas [1] with sixteen items of transgression from and violation of Islam, and they all approved and said, ‘we do not think otherwise’ and furthermore they even added some points [to my list of deviations]. Even if we assume that I know nothing [about Islam], do they [the five clerics] also know nothing? Are they also ‘foreigners?’”
Following attacks by state-sponsored plain clothed militia against supporters of the Ayatollah on International Quds day in September 2010, around ten of his students recently received harsh rulings ranging from $960 fines, seven-months jail-terms as well as bans on appearing in public in religious uniform.
“One cannot draw people towards God almighty through force and torture. One cannot draw the people’s hearts towards God almighty by resorting to security and military force,” Ayatollah Dastgheib said during his lecture on Sunday.
Full report at:
http://www.eurasiareview.com/iran-leading-clerics-believe-regime-actions-un-islamic-29042011/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+eurasiareview%2FVsnE+%28Eurasia+Review%29
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Egypt: Military Trials Usurping Justice System
April 29, 2011
The Egyptian military should immediately end trials of civilians before military courts and release all those arbitrarily detained or convicted after unfair proceedings, Human Rights Watch said today. In the latest case, 28 civilians arrested in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on April 12, 2011, went on trial as a group before a military court on April 28.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has tried more than 5,000 civilians before military tribunals since February, including many arrested following peaceful protests in Tahrir Square. Trials of civilians before the military courts constitute wholesale violations of basic fair trial rights, Human Rights Watch said. At the same time, senior officials in the government of former president Hosni Mubarak are being tried before civilian courts on charges of corruption and using lethal force against protesters.
Full report at:
http://www.eurasiareview.com/egypt-military-trials-usurping-justice-system-29042011/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+eurasiareview%2FVsnE+%28Eurasia+Review%29
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'Pak not doing enough to bring 26/11 perpetrators to justice'
Apr 30, 2011
WASHINGTON: Pakistan is not doing enough to bring the perpetrators of the 26/11 attack to justice, former British foreign secretary David Miliband said confirming the Indian position on this issue.
"I am the politician who went to Islamabad in January 2009 and said, without fear or favour, in respect to the Mumbai bombings, those people need to be put on trial; and if they are prosecuted, they need to be punished. And I still say publicly, not enough has been done to bring those trials to a conclusion," he said at the Council on Foreign Relations, a Washington-based think tank.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Pak-not-doing-enough-to-bring-26/11-perpetrators-to-justice/articleshow/8123625.cms
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Gujarat's Best Bakery case: Teesta forced me to lie, says Witness
Hetal Vyas,
Apr 30, 2011
MUMBAI: Yasmeenbano Shaikh, one of the key witnesses in Gujarat's Best Bakery case, has moved the Bombay high court, alleging she was lured and misguided by social activist Teesta Setalvad to give false testimony against 17 accused, of whom a Mumbai special court has convicted nine to life imprisonment.
A special court in Mazgaon conducted trial of Vadodara's Best Bakery massacre that took place in backdrop of 2002 Godhra riots.
Yasmeen moved the HC early this week after no action was taken on her letter dated June 17, 2010 addressed to the Chief Justice of the Bombay high court. Her petition said she made a false deposition against the accused and identified them falsely at the behest and advice of Teesta Setalvad only in the false hope that the social activist would help her financially.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Gujarats-Best-Bakery-case-Teesta-forced-me-to-lie-says-Witness/articleshow/8123036.cms
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Al-Qaeda suspected in cafe bombing
April 30, 2011
The al-Qaeda terror network is among the suspects in connection with a bomb attack that killed 16 in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh, the government said Friday. Communications minister Khalid Naciri said that investigators would pursue all leads including possible links to Al-Qaeda which operates a
North African offshoot active in the region.
"All leads will be investigated, including al-Qaeda," he said.
"The investigation continues to find the perpetrators, but for the moment I am not prepared to point the finger."
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/africa/Al-Qaeda-suspected-in-cafe-bombing/Article1-691452.aspx
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Terrorists safe havens in Pak a challenge: Pentagon
Apr 30 2011,
Washington : Continued presence of terrorist safe havens and role of certain "actors" in Pakistan remains a challenge in the war against terror, a US defence official has said.
The concern about the role of safe havens in Pakistan and the role of actors in Pakistan, including the Haqqani Network, the Afghan Taliban who are located primarily, the leadership is located either in the south or in the north around Peshawar, that remains a significant challenge," a senior defense official said at a Pentagon briefing.
Pentagon has sent its six-monthly report to the Congress on progress made in Afghanistan, the official said, adding that the United States is looking for continued and increased cooperation with the Pakistanis on the border.
"As we've seen it some areas; other areas we've seen it doing very well in some areas; other areas it's gotten better; other areas we're seeking much more improvement.
That's something that we continue to look at very closely. It's certainly an area of strategic risk," the official said.
"At the same time, given the progress that we've made in areas that we've put our effort into over the last 18 months ... are we through that success on the ground able to mitigate that?"
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/783800/
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US imposes sanctions on Assad relatives
Apr 30 2011
Washington : US President Barack Obama has signed an executive order imposing sanctions on two relatives of his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad and the Arab state's intelligence service, with the White House asking the embattled leader to heed to the calls of his people.
The action came in response to the brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters in Syria. Hundreds of civilians have been killed in the clash between the Syrian government and demonstrators in recent weeks with more than 50 reportedly dying yesterday.
"We call on President Assad to change course now, and heed the calls of his own people," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said in a statement after Obama signed the order imposing sanctions against three Syrian officials, including Assad's relatives, and other Syrian and Iranian government entities responsible for human rights abuses.
The officials are Mahir al-Asad -- brother of Syrian President and brigade commander in the Army's 4th Armored Division -- who played a leading role in the regime's actions in Dar'a where protesters have been killed by the security forces; Atif Najib -- cousin of the Syrian President Bashar al-Asad -- who was the head of the Political Security Directorate (PSD) for Dar'a Province during March 2011, when protesters were killed there by Syrian security forces; and Ali Mamluk, director of Syria's General Intelligence Directorate (GID).
Obama also slapped sanctions on the GID - the overarching civilian intelligence service in Syria. The agency represses internal dissent and monitors individual citizens and is said to be involved in the regime's actions in Dar'a.
"This Order provides the United States with new tools to target individuals and entities determined to have engaged in human rights abuses in Syria, including those related to repression; to be a senior official of an entity whose property is blocked pursuant to the Order; to have provided material support to, or to be owned or controlled by, persons blocked under the Order," the White House said.
Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security also revoked certain licenses for export and re-export to Syria of items relating to VIP aircraft used to transport senior officials of the Syrian government.
"Due to the commission of human rights abuses related to political repression in Syria, export and re-export of these items is deemed contrary to the foreign policy interests of the United States," the department said.
The move impacts four relevant licenses for exports and re-exports of parts to these planes, which are small civilian aircraft used by Syrian leaders.
These sanctions are in addition to those the United States maintains pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and other orders, as a part of the national emergency with respect to Syria.
Full report at: http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/783801/
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Makkah fire kills pilgrim
April 30, 2011
MAKKAH: An old Pakistani Umrah pilgrim died in a fire that broke out in a 10-story hotel in Ajyad Bir Balilah in Makkah early Friday, the Civil Defense has confirmed.
Civil Defense spokesman Lt. Col. Ali Al-Muntashiri said 12 units rushed to put out the blaze and evacuated 250 occupants.
He added the majority of occupants were pilgrims of various nationalities including 17 Qur'an-memorization students. Al-Muntashiri said as the building was completely engulfed in smoke, the Civil Defense teams evacuated occupants to safety using emergency exits and other measures.
However, after exploring the building after the fire, the Pakistani pilgrim was found dead. It is believed the pilgrim might have died from suffocation.
Al-Muntashiri dismissed any foul play and said investigations were under way.
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article377622.ece
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Afghan insurgents have lifeline in Pak: Pentagon
April 30, 2011
WASHINGTON: Nato-led forces are making "tangible progress" in the Afghanistan war, with Taliban insurgents under pressure and forced out of key southern strongholds, the Pentagon said on Friday.
Although, the US military acknowledged battlefield gains over the past six months were tentative and "fragile", it painted a more positive picture than the Pentagon's previous reports to Congress.
The findings come at a crucial moment in the nine-year-old war as the United States prepares to begin a drawdown in July of its 100,000-strong force and as the Afghan government plans to take over security in some districts.
The Pentagon, however, warned that the insurgents still enjoyed a crucial lifeline through safe havens in neighbouring Pakistan, that the Afghan government was plagued by corruption and that a shortage of trainers for Afghan forces could hold back efforts to hand over security.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=14897
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Gaddafi calls for negotiation with Nato
April30,2011
Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi struck a conciliatory note on Saturday, saying he was ready for a ceasefire and negotiations provided Nato "stop its planes."
In a live speech on Libyan television that began in the early hours of Saturday morning and lasted 80 minutes, Gaddafi said he did not intend to step down or leave the country and that Libyans could solve their own problems if Nato strikes end.
"(Libya) is ready until now to enter a ceasefire ... but a ceasefire cannot be from one side," said Gaddafi, speaking from behind a desk and aided by reams of papers covered in what appeared to be hand-written notes.
"We were the first to welcome a ceasefire and we were the first to accept a ceasefire ... but the Crusader Nato attack has not stopped," he said.
"The gate to peace is open."
Poorly armed and trained rebel groups have been fighting since mid-February to end Gaddafi's 41-year rule. Nato forces say a United Nations resolution allows them to attack government positions to protect civilians; but the support has not brought the swift fall of Gaddafi some expected.
Gaddafi said the Nato airstrikes and naval patrols went beyond the United Nations mandate and urged Russia, China and friendly African and Latin American countries to press the Security Council to take a fresh look at the resolution.
Gaddafi said the strikes and sanctions were affecting civilians and were destroying the country's infrastructure.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=29567
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Qadhafi ready for ceasefire, refuses to leave
April 30, 2011
TRIPOLI: Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi struck a conciliatory note on Saturday, saying he was ready for a ceasefire and negotiations provided Nato “stop its planes”.
In a live speech on Libyan television that began in the early hours of Saturday morning and lasted 80 minutes, Qadhafi said he did not intend to step down or leave the country and that Libyans could solve their own problems if Nato strikes end.
“(Libya) is ready until now to enter a ceasefire but a ceasefire cannot be from one side,” said Qadhafi, speaking from behind a desk and aided by reams of papers covered in what appeared to be hand-written notes.
“We were the first to welcome a ceasefire and we were the first to accept a ceasefire but the Crusader Nato attack has not stopped,” he said. “The gate to peace is open.”
Poorly armed and trained rebel groups have been fighting since mid-February to end Qadhafi’s 41-year rule. Nato forces say a United Nations resolution allows them to attack government positions to protect civilians; but the support has not brought the swift fall of Qadhafi some expected.
Qadhafi said the Nato airstrikes and naval patrols went beyond the United Nations mandate and urged Russia, China and friendly African and Latin American countries to press the Security Council to take a fresh look at the resolution.
Qadhafi said the strikes and sanctions were affecting civilians and were destroying the country’s infrastructure.
In a marked contrast to previous speeches, where he called the rebels “rats” and promised to track the down house by house, Qadhafi urged the rebels to lay down their weapons and said Libyans should not be fighting each other.
He blamed the rebellion on mercenaries and foreigners. “We cannot fight each other,” he said. “We are one family.”
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/04/30/qadhafi-ready-for-ceasefire-refuses-to-leave.html
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Libyan tanks launch assault on Misrata
April 30, 2011
MISRATA: Libyan government tanks launched an assault Friday on Misrata, rebels said, as NATO reported its warships had stopped Moamer Kadhafi's forces from laying mines in the besieged city's harbour.
Fierce fighting which had raged for days for control of the Dehiba border crossing into Tunisia, meanwhile, hit a lull on Friday, but armed rebels were on guard in expectation of a Full report at:
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=14896
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Libyan government forces make incursion into Tunisia
April 30, 2011
TRIPOLI: Libyan forces in more than a dozen military vehicles and armed with anti-aircraft guns and rocket launchers crossed into Tunisia on Friday as fighting with opposition forces raged along the western frontier. Tunisia's government was furious after clashes broke out on its territory and demanded Libya halt all incursions.
In another sign that Muammar Qaddafi's regime was redoubling efforts to beat back resistance in its stronghold of western Libya, NATO warships intercepted several boats laying anti-shipping mines outside the harbor of the opposition-held city of Misrata.
The Dhuheiba border crossing between Libya and Tunisia has been a flash point in recent days. On Friday, there were different accounts of what exactly happened there.
Ismail Al-Wafi, a Dhuheiba resident, said the Libyan forces fired indiscriminately as they drove into town, setting off clashes. Three Tunisians were injured. He said Dhuheiba residents clashed with the Libyans and Tunisian troops eventually captured some and took their weapons.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article377682.ece
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Pak Hajj scam: SC cancels transfer orders of FIA officials
April 29, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, hearing Hajj scam case, remarked that the officials are either transferred or sent on forced leaves as soon as SC opens any corruption case, Geo News reported Friday.
A four-member bench of SC, headed by Chief Justice (CJ) Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, heard Hajj scam case toady.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=14880
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PPP and Q agree to seal deal: Pak
30 APR 11
ISLAMABAD, LAHORE: In another round of talks on Friday, the Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Q firmed up their new political alliance, with the former conceding to create the post of deputy prime minister for the latter and agreeing to keep the Higher Education Commission (HEC) under the federal government, sources in the two parties told Dawn.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/04/30/pml-q-leaders-meet-president-current-political-situation-discussed.html
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Clinton demands Syria end violence
April 30, 2011
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday demanded that Syria's ruler immediately cease violence and hailed a UN Human Rights Council decision to send investigators as precedent setting.
Clinton, speaking after a meeting with visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto, renewed her call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to "respond to the legitimate aspirations" of his country's people.
"We continue to condemn in the strongest possible terms the absolutely deplorable actions that the Syrian government is taking against its own people. The violence must end immediately," she told reporters.
The United States on Friday imposed new sanctions against Syria including against Maher al-Assad, the powerful brother of the president and commander of Syria's feared Fourth Armored Division.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=14895
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Saudi Arabia in focus at Moscow WHO talks
April 30, 2011
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia was one of six countries that participated in the World Health Organization's (WHO) Ministerial Conference, which concluded in Moscow on Friday.
According to Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Khalid Al-Mirghalani, the Kingdom was chosen as one of the participating countries for the “First Global Ministerial Conference on Healthy Lifestyles and Noncommunicable Disease Control” in the Russian capital that started on Thursday.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article377616.ece
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Saudi Arabia amends media laws
April 30, 2011
RIYADH: The Kingdom announced Friday a series of amendments to its media law that includes a ban on publishing materials that damages the reputation of the country's religious authorities or harms national interests.
According to a royal decree announced Friday, the amendments are "binding on all responsible persons in publishing to make objective and constructive criticism aimed at the public interest and based on real facts."
The amendments to five clauses to Royal Decree No. 32 of Nov. 29, 2000, specifically makes it a crime to publish materials that harms "the good reputation and honor" of the Kingdom's grand mufti, members of the Council of Senior Religious Scholars and government officials.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article377672.ece
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Tunisian police fire tear gas on Islamist protest
April 30, 2011
TUNIS, Tunisia: Tunisian police have fired tear gas at hundreds of Islamists protesting in the capital. Heavy security surrounded the demonstrators, protesting what they said were offensive comments toward Islam by two teachers.
Protesters chanted “God is Great,” and carried banners including one reading “We do not pardon those who insult the prophet.” After a couple of hours of peaceful protest, some of the demonstrators sought to take on police, who immediately fired tear gas.
The demonstrators gathered after Friday prayers on Avenue Bourguiba, site of sustained protests earlier this year against unemployment, corruption and repression that eventually brought down longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Tunisia’s uprising prompted protests around the Arab world.
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article377578.ece
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Islamic Jihad not joining Palestinian unity govt
April 30, 2011
RAMALLAH: A senior Islamic Jihad member on Friday said that his movement will not join the Palestinian national unity government the rival Fatah and Hamas movements will form to end their internal split.
Mohammed Al-Hindi, a member of Islamic Jihad politburo, said in a press statement that the movement “will not participate in the unity government in accordance with the Cairo announcement” since the Islamic Jihad “does not join any of Palestinian Authority’s institutions that were established in accordance with Oslo Accords.”
“Ending the differences between Fatah and Hamas on the government, elections and security is an important move. But the deal does not form a national reference that the Islam Jihad calls for,” Al-Hindi said.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article377665.ece
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German police arrest three suspected al-Qaida members
29 April 2011
German police on Friday arrested three suspected al-Qaida members who officials say posed a "concrete and imminent danger" to the nation.
Authorities did not say whether the three had planned specific targets and offered few details, but security officials said that all three suspects were of Moroccan origin. They also said that two were arrested were in the western German city of Duesseldorf and one in nearby Bochum. The arrests were based on suspicion they were planning a terror attack, they said.
Local media reported that officers had seized large amounts of explosives when the three were arrested.
The arrests "succeeded in averting a concrete and imminent danger, presented by international terrorism," German interior minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said in a statement. They showed "Germany remains a target of international terrorists."
Germany has escaped any large-scale attack by an Islamic terror organisation, such as the Madrid train bombings of 2004 and the London underground attacks of 2005. But Germany's presence as part of the Nato coalition in Afghanistan has sparked anger and at least two major plots have been thwarted or failed in Germany before they could be carried out.
Full report at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/29/three-al-qaida-arrests-germany
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High alert for Jakarta on May Day
04/29/2011
Jakarta Police have issued a high alert status for the city before the International Labor Day commemoration on Sunday.
Jakarta police spokesman Sr. Comr. Baharudin Djafar said that police would deploy 10,000 personnel to safeguard the capital.
“For May Day, we issue top alert status,” said Baharudin, as quoted by tribunnews.com on Friday.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/04/29/trash-picker-discovers-active-grenade-pamulang.html
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=4546
7:25 AM
Moderate Islamist here
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