| Islamic World News | |
| 06 Jul 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com |
| Malaysia, One Islamic Nation That Enjoys Economic Success amid Peace | ||
 Alleged prophet held at the Grand Mosque in Makkah
'Hakimullah isolated, losing Taliban control'
Australian cops get power to lift veils
“Kashmiri visthapit” Staying separate in MP
35 killed in Baghdad attacks
Somali refugee crisis is killing children: UN
Syria troops kill 22 in Hama crackdown
Karachi violence: Death toll from target killings rises to 25
Nine soldiers killed in terrorists’ attacks in Quetta, Pak
Yemen airstrikes kill 4 civilians, 6 gunmen
US missile strike kills four in North Waziristan
Nine Pakistani security men killed, 20 injured: Officials
Attack on security forces convoy in Pak kills 5 soldiers
Gaddafi ready to step down if Nato pledges safe exit?
ICRC alarmed by situation in Libya, fears worse
Six policemen injured in IED explosion in J&K
SC paves way for trial in 2008 Gujarat serial blast case
Beef up security at Ajmer shrine, Centre tells Rajasthan Govt
Israel gets ready for immigration of Jews from north-east India
US links Pakistan's ISI to journalist killing: Report
Amnesty International accuses Syria of crimes against humanity
Cameron promises to increase aid for Afghanistan
When in Mumbai, Headley was a tourist who loved fishing
Out of the shadows, the Osama hunter
Taliban could have political future: British PM
Saudi efforts for good Iran relations continue
Riyadh trial gives a glimpse of methods terror suspects used
Pirates use Yemen as a refueling hub
Improvised explosive attacks soar in Pakistan
Armed forces to be built as modern force: Bangladesh PM
Bahrain’s rulers start dialogue with opposition
US offers ten thousand troops for Iraq next year
Hezbollah suspects told to come forward in Lebanon
Abbottabad commission convenes: Osama’s family barred from leaving Pakistan
Khyber Agency: This is Bara, the town that militancy ruined
Cross-border attacks : ‘Afghanistan will not fire back at Pakistan’
US has backup plan if Pakistan shuts Shamsi base
IED attacks in Pakistan increase by over 145%
Terrorists must be deprived of IED technology
Bangladesh shut down by violent strike
Turkish military vehicle damaged in roadside blast
Syrian forces advance on restive Hama city
Class War in Greece and the World
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: Malaysia is one Islamic country in the region that has managed its economy well amid a peaceful environment
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| Malaysia, One Islamic Nation That Enjoys Economic Success amid Peace | |
Alleged prophet held at the Grand Mosque in Makkah
'Hakimullah isolated, losing Taliban control'
Australian cops get power to lift veils
“Kashmiri visthapit” Staying separate in MP
35 killed in Baghdad attacks
Somali refugee crisis is killing children: UN
Syria troops kill 22 in Hama crackdown
Karachi violence: Death toll from target killings rises to 25
Nine soldiers killed in terrorists’ attacks in Quetta, Pak
Yemen airstrikes kill 4 civilians, 6 gunmen
US missile strike kills four in North Waziristan
Nine Pakistani security men killed, 20 injured: Officials
Attack on security forces convoy in Pak kills 5 soldiers
Gaddafi ready to step down if Nato pledges safe exit?
ICRC alarmed by situation in Libya, fears worse
Six policemen injured in IED explosion in J&K
SC paves way for trial in 2008 Gujarat serial blast case
Beef up security at Ajmer shrine, Centre tells Rajasthan Govt
Israel gets ready for immigration of Jews from north-east India
US links Pakistan's ISI to journalist killing: Report
Amnesty International accuses Syria of crimes against humanity
Cameron promises to increase aid for Afghanistan
When in Mumbai, Headley was a tourist who loved fishing
Out of the shadows, the Osama hunter
Taliban could have political future: British PM
Saudi efforts for good Iran relations continue
Riyadh trial gives a glimpse of methods terror suspects used
Pirates use Yemen as a refueling hub
Improvised explosive attacks soar in Pakistan
Armed forces to be built as modern force: Bangladesh PM
Bahrain’s rulers start dialogue with opposition
US offers ten thousand troops for Iraq next year
Hezbollah suspects told to come forward in Lebanon
Abbottabad commission convenes: Osama’s family barred from leaving Pakistan
Khyber Agency: This is Bara, the town that militancy ruined
Cross-border attacks : ‘Afghanistan will not fire back at Pakistan’
US has backup plan if Pakistan shuts Shamsi base
IED attacks in Pakistan increase by over 145%
Terrorists must be deprived of IED technology
Bangladesh shut down by violent strike
Turkish military vehicle damaged in roadside blast
Syrian forces advance on restive Hama city
Class War in Greece and the World
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
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Malaysia One Islamic Nation That Enjoys Economic Success Amid Peace
Jul 6, 2011
By Massita Ahmad
PUTRAJAYA, July 6 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is one Islamic country in the region that has managed its economy well amid a peaceful environment, says economist Datuk Mohd Salleh Majid.
The former President of the then Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange or Bursa Malaysia now, said that both its land and sea based natural resources have been managed well and this should continue to remain so.
"Looking at the Middle East, several Islamic countries still continue to face conflicts amid internal political crisis that have yet to be resolved," he told Bernama here today.
Mohd Salleh said this when asked to comment on the upcoming July 9 rally in Kuala Lumpur.
Following calls by several parties, that have said that the rally could disturb the country's economy as well as jeopordise foreign and domestic investments, the demonstration will now be held in a stadium.
Mohd Salleh said the rally would definitely attract foreign media to the country with reports that would generally paint a negative picture of Malaysia.
"Malaysia is one more Islamic country that has a strong economy. Just look at Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Libya and Syria. Can our economy expand and attract more investments if there are to be conflicts every day?
"We have to be conscious and careful of external elements that may try to destroy what has been achieved so far."
He also said Malaysia should follow more the examples set by the Scandinavian countries that do not "make noise" but instead build up their countries by way of innovation.
The Scandinavian countries enjoy some of the highest per capita income in the world although their population and economy are small.
This is because of the high investments in innovation, specialisation and their move to internationalise their research, said Mohd Salleh.
Instead of focusing on political changes, seen by some parties as the way, the attention should be on transforming the economy with new and constructive ideas that could bring on Malaysia to further progress, he said.
Meanwhile, the local stock exchange market indicator FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI), which hit a record high of 1,582.94 recently, is expected to sustain its momentum and end the year at the projected 1,650 level.
Generally, the country's market research companies are expecting share prices on Bursa Malaysia to retain its uptrend with participation from foreign investors.
MIDF Amanah Investment Bank in a recent statement said foreign funds have been attracted by the government's economic transformation plan and projects which are expected to see higher actitivity levels in the second half of the year. --BERNAMA
http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=599407
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Alleged prophet held at the Grand Mosque in Makkah
July 6, 2011
Al Mehdi Al Montathar
A Saudi man mounted a prayers platform at the Grand Mosque in Islam’s holiest shrine in the Gulf kingdom and told thousands of worshippers that he was a prophet and their saviour before he was seized by police.
The 36-year-old man, identified as Sami, waited until the Muslims finished their evening prayers at the Grand Mosque in the western town of Makkah, mounted the podium and delivered his brief, fiery speech. “I am Al Mehdi Al Montathar…I am a prophet sent (by God) to save and guide you,” he told the packed hall before was overpowered by police.
'Okaz' newspaper said the incident took place on Friday night and that Sami insisted during police interrogation that he was a prophet. It said police would subject him to medical examination to check if he is suffering from mental illness.It was the latest in a series of incidents involving persons claiming to be Al-Mehdi Al-Montathar (the Chosen Imam Al-Mehdi) at Islamic holy sites in Makkah over the past few months.
All of them had been arrested and medically examined. Muslims believe Imam Al-Mehdi, dubbed “the ultimate saviour of mankind’ will eventually reappear as a great reformer who will destroy the beliefs of injustice and ignorance and fill this earth with fairness after it has been filled with injustice and oppression.
http://www.emirates247.com/news/region/alleged-prophet-held-at-the-grand-mosque-in-makkah-2011-07-02-1.405418
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'Hakimullah isolated, losing Taliban control'
Jul 6, 2011,
Associates of Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud and intelligence officials in Islamabad say his position is tenuous following the defection of one of his top commanders last week, Pakistan's Express Tribune daily newspaper.
ISLAMABAD: The chief of the Pakistan Taliban has been isolated from his militant group for more than a year and is rapidly losing control, a newspaper reported on Tuesday, a day after the military said it had launched an offensive in the northwest.
Associates of Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud and intelligence officials in Islamabad say his position is tenuous following the defection of one of his top commanders last week, Pakistan's Express Tribune daily newspaper.
The defecting commander, Fazal Saeed Haqqani, who was the Taliban leader in the Kurram region on the Afghan border, told Reuters in late June that he left over the group's "brutal" attacks on civilians. Haqqani has pledged to fight against the Pakistani Taliban and US troops in Afghanistan.
"It looks as though he is just a figurehead now," the Express Tribune quoted one of Mehsud's associates as saying. "He can hardly communicate with his commanders ... he is in total isolation." Several more Taliban commanders in Kurram, where army has just launched an offensive, might desert Mehsud soon and the military was seeking to split commanders from him, the paper reported.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Hakimullah-isolated-losing-Taliban-control/articleshow/9118574.cms
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Australian cops get power to lift veils
Jul 6, 2011,
Australian state of New South Wales have been handed over-riding powers to demand removal of burqas
MELBOURNE: Even as its neighbour New Zealand is counselling for cultural tolerance, police in the Australian state of New South Wales have been handed over-riding powers to demand removal of burqas or any other form of face veil if they suspect people of committing crimes.
The state cabinet approved a new legislation to bolster police powers during routine car stops after a recent case of muslim woman who was acquitted when a judge ruled that she could not be positively identified because she was wearing a burqa. The new law comes into force after the state premier Barry O' Farrel reacted strongly to the acquittal saying, "I don't care whether a person is wearing a helmet, a burqa, a naqab, face veil, the police should be allowed to require those people to make their identification clear."
Though the New South Wales government is refusing to give details on the new laws, ABC reported that it provides that anyone who refuses show their face to police could be jailed upto a year or fined Australian dollars 5,500.
The new law follows a recent high-profile case of Carnita Matthew who was sentenced to six months jail in November 2010 for falsely accusing police of forcibly trying to remove her burqa when she was stopped for a traffic offence.
Her sentence was quashed last month by a judge who observed she had not been positively identified because the officers could not see her face.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Australian-cops-get-power-to-lift-veils/articleshow/9118666.cms
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“Kashmiri visthapit” Staying separate
July 6, 2011
Hindustan ka dil dekho” — that’s how Madhya Pradesh sells itself to the world. If this year’s college admission drama is anything to go by, it needs to internalise that message and show some heart. Under pressure from the right-wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the state’s educational institutes are now stonily refusing to admit more Kashmiri students.
The “Kashmiri visthapit” quota was introduced by the NDA government in many states, and though it was never spelled out, it may have been intended to address displaced Kashmiri Pandits. However, if the idea is affirmative action for those displaced by violence from Kashmir, then that logic extends to all young Kashmiris deprived of comparable educational opportunities in their own state. And many universities had, indeed, interpreted the quota that way and opened their doors to all Kashmiris. But an agitated ABVP said this new surge of “anti-national elements” was corroding the institutions, and “spoiling the atmosphere in the hostels”. Now, after sustained protests, universities are bending to their demands, in effect making it difficult for Kashmiri students to enter these spaces. Their applications are considered only after stringent police checks. An 80:20 ratio between students from the state and from elsewhere will be followed more strictly.
It is ironic that the Sangh Parivar nationalists who bang on about ending the Kashmir exception, who demand that the state be fully integrated into India, should be so resistant to it when it actually happens on Kashmiri terms. The challenge, rather, is to make that educational experience in the Indian mainstream and the idea of that India persuasive enough for this generation of young Kashmiris who have grown up in the shadow of insurgency, to defuse the anger and frustration. And college, especially, is a space where we encounter real difference and form our adult ideas. To close off the possibility of cultural mixing is to let go of the chance for young people in Kashmir and the rest of India to really learn something about each other rather than trading in dangerous clichés about separatists and hyper-nationalists.
Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/809604/
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35 killed in Baghdad attacks
July 05, 2011
SINAN SALAHEDDIN
Double blasts from a car bomb and a roadside bombing at a parking lot outside a city council building north of Baghdad killed at least 35 people on Tuesday, Iraqi police and hospital officials said.
The explosions in Taji, a Sunni-dominated town about 20 kilometers north of Baghdad, are the latest in a series of attacks across Iraq as the Government and political leaders debate whether to ask the United States to keep some American troops here past their year-end withdrawal deadline from the country.
“It was awful ... some of the lightly wounded people were running in all directions, either crying or screaming for help,” a policeman who identified himself only by his nickname, Abu
Haider, said at the scene. He said he was not authorised to give his full name.
Eyewitnesses said burnt human bodies, some of them women, were lying on the ground and that about 20 cars were on fire.
Full report at:http://www.dailypioneer.com/350869/35-killed-in-Baghdad-attacks.html
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Somali refugee crisis is killing children: UN
July 05, 2011
JOHN HEILPRIN
Throngs of Somali children are dying because of the harrowing journey with their families to reach refugee camps in neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia, the UN refugee agency said on Tuesday.
Some of the children don’t survive the exhausting trek and aid workers are learning of those deaths from families who tell their stories once they arrive at one of the overcrowded border camps that now host more than 382,000 people, agency officials said. But agency officials said many of the children arrive so hungry and frail that even the emergency care and therapeutic feeding that they immediately receive isn’t enough to revive them. The officials say they do not yet know exactly how many children are dying, but the crisis is taking on unimaginable proportions.
Full report at:http://www.dailypioneer.com/350864/Somali-refugee-crisis-is-killing-children-UN.html
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Syria troops kill 22 in Hama crackdown
6 July 2011,
AM Syrian troops killed at least 22 people in a crackdown they launched in the flashpoint central city of Hama on Tuesday, a human rights group said.
‘At least 22 people were killed in Hama and more than 80 wounded, some of them seriously,’ Ammar Qurabi of the National Organisation for Human Rights said on Wednesday.
‘The wounded are being treated in two hospitals in Hama,’ he said in a statement, adding that troops had entered the Al Hurani hospital.
‘A large number of Hama residents have fled either to the nearby town of Al Salamiya or twoards Damascus,’ Qurabi said.
Full report at:http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/July/middleeast_July130.xml§ion=middleeast
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Karachi violence: Death toll from target killings rises to 25
July 6, 2011
The death toll from target killings in Karachi rose to 21 on Wednesday while 25 people were injured in various incidents of violence in the metropolitan city.
Five more bullet ridden bodies were found dumped in a mini bus in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal area.
One body was recovered from Khadda market which also had bullet wounds.
The bodies have not yet been identified.
Yesterday, 11 people were gunned down in Orangi while one in Shershah, and two in the Baldia and Korangi areas of Karachi.
Orangi has been the worst hit area by violence where eight people were shot dead near Qasba Morr and over a dozen were injured.
Unidentifed men opened fire at a passenger bus in the same area which resulted in death of three people and injuring six others.
Full report at:http://tribune.com.pk/story/202906/3-killed-and-6-injured-in-different-incidents-in-karachi/
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Nine soldiers killed in terrorists’ attacks in Quetta, Pak
July 6, 2011
QUETTA/MIRANSHAH: Attacks killed nine soldiers and wounded 30 others on Tuesday, targeting troops in the terrorist-infested tribal areas near Afghanistan and further south on the border with Iran, officials said.
A remote controlled bomb killed five paramilitary troops and wounded five others travelling in a routine convoy between the towns of Turbat and Mand. The bomb planted by the side of a road in Gomazi area went off when the vehicle passed by. “The convoy was en route to a remote border base near the town of Mand,” a paramilitary commander told a foreign news agency requesting anonymity. Local police and security officials confirmed the attack and death toll.
Full report at:http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\07\06\story_6-7-2011_pg1_4
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Yemen airstrikes kill 4 civilians, 6 gunmen
July 6, 2011
ADEN: Four civilians and six gunmen were killed on Tuesday in a series of air raids that targeted terrorists who have taken control of most of Yemen’s southern city of Zinjibar, officials and a medic said. The defence ministry’s 26sep.net news website meanwhile cited a military source as saying that 40 “terrorists from al Qaeda” had been killed and dozens others wounded in Zinjibar since Monday, and that two soldiers were killed and 20 wounded in the fighting. Three civilians were killed when an airstrike hit the home of a top Yemeni official on the outskirts of Zinjibar, an official in Jaar, Mohsen Salem Saeed, told newsmen. “The home of the deputy head of the parliament, Muhammad Ali al Shadadi, was hit by an airstrike that killed three family members and injured seven,” Saeed told reporters. “I don’t know why Shadadi’s home was targeted,” he said. afp
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\07\06\story_6-7-2011_pg7_9
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US missile strike kills four in North Waziristan
July 6, 2011
MIRANSHAH: A US drone strike late on Tuesday killed at least four terrorists in the Tribal Areas on the border with Afghanistan, local security officials said. The drone fired two missiles at a guesthouse in Mir Ali, about 25 kilometres east of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan Agency, the officials said. “The guesthouse was completely destroyed. At least four terrorists have been killed in this US drone attack,” said a security official in Mir Ali. “Five other terrorists were injured.” Taliban and al Qaeda-linked terrorists have carved out strongholds in the tribal belt where they plot attacks on Pakistani, Afghan and Western targets. Another security official in Miranshah confirmed the strike and put the death toll at six. Both officials said they had reports that there were some foreign terrorists among the dead. afp
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\07\06\story_6-7-2011_pg7_8
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Nine Pakistani security men killed, 20 injured: Officials
July 06, 2011
Nine Pakistani security personnel were killed and over 20 more injured today in three separate attacks in the country’s restive northwest and an area bordering Iran, officials said.
The deadliest attack in the southwestern Balochistan province killed five paramilitary troopers and injured six more.
A security forces convoy was targeted with a roadside bomb in Mand Ballo area of Trubat district, located near the border with Iran.
Full report at:http://www.dailypioneer.com/351005/Nine-Pakistani-securitymen-killed-20-injured.html
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Attack on security forces convoy in Pak kills 5 soldiers
Jul 5, 2011,
ISLAMABAD: Five security personnel were killed and six more injured when a security forces convoy was targeted with a roadside bomb in Balochistan province of southwest Pakistan on Tuesday, officials said.
The explosive device was triggered by remote control when the convoy was passing through Mand Ballo area of Turbat district.
Five security personnel were killed instantly, the officials said.
The injured personnel were given medical aid in Turbat before being shifted to Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province. Doctors described the condition of two of the injured as very critical.
Full report at:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Attack-on-security-forces-convoy-in-Pak-kills-5-soldiers/articleshow/9111853.cms
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Gaddafi ready to step down if Nato pledges safe exit?
Jul 6, 2011
MOSCOW: Embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is ready leave power if Nato provides him security guarantees, a media report said on Tuesday. "We learnt that the Libyan leader has agreed to step down in exchange for the guaranties of his security.
Some members of Nato, France in particular may provide him such guarantees.
"To end the protracted conflict the French are not only ready to defreeze the bank accounts of the Colonel's family, but also save him from the Hague tribunal," influential Kommersant daily reported.
Full report at:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Gaddafi-ready-to-step-down-if-Nato-pledges-safe-exit/articleshow/9118182.cms
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ICRC alarmed by situation in Libya, fears worse
Jul 6, 2011
GENEVA: Health care and food supplies are deteriorating in Libya, but the Qaddafi government has managed to keep paying wages and subsidies in areas under its control, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Tuesday.
The independent aid agency voiced concern the humanitarian situation could deteriorate further if fighting breaks out in the capital, Tripoli.
“Frankly, today we are in a situation where the ICRC is very alarmed by the situation, which is very dynamic and could become even more violent than today,” Paul Castella, head of the ICRC delegation in Tripoli, told a news briefing.
“We are preparing to respond to urgent needs if combat erupts because we see the frontlines keep moving and fighting is ongoing,” he said.
Full report at:http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article467325.ece
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Six policemen injured in IED explosion in J&K
Jul 6, 2011
SRINAGAR: At least six policemen were injured today when militants triggered an IED explosion near a police station in Sopore in Baramulla district in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
Militants fired a rifle grenade at around 9.05 am, which landed and exploded in the police station premises, the officials said.
As the policemen came out, the ultras triggered an IED planted on a scooter parked near the police station.
Six policemen were injured in the IED explosion, the officials said, adding that the condition of four of them is stated to be critical.
Security forces have cordoned off the area and launched search operations but no arrests have been made so far, the officials said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Six-policemen-injured-in-IED-explosion-in-JK/articleshow/9121904.cms
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SC paves way for trial in 2008 Gujarat serial blast case
Jul 6,2011
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday paved the way for trial of over 50 accused in the 2008 Gujarat serial bomb blasts which killed over 56 persons.
A bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and Cyriac Joseph rejected the plea of the accused that the trial in the BJP-ruled state could not be held in a free and fair manner owing to the surcharged communal atmosphere in the aftermath of the 2002 Godhra massacre.
The apex court said things have considerably "settled down" after the Godhra killings and hence the claim of the accused that the trial could not be held in a fair manner was mere apprehension.
It, however, granted liberty to the accused to move the court again if and when there were genuine apprehensions of the trial being held in a vitiated atmosphere.
The apex court had earlier in 2009 stayed the trial against the accused after the latter sought transfer of the cases outside the state on the ground that the prosecution and the investigating agencies were totally biased in favour of the ruling party.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/SC-paves-way-for-trial-in-2008-Gujarat-serial-blast-case/articleshow/9122329.cms
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Beef up security at Ajmer shrine, Centre tells Rajasthan Govt
July 05, 2011
Lokpal Sethi
Security arrangements at the Dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer are being strengthened following an alert from the Centre.
According to official sources, during the recently-concluded annual Urs, Central security agencies found that owing to laxity in security arrangements, the dargah was vulnerable to terrorist attacks, like the one in 2007 when three persons were killed in a blast.
Rajasthan Home Minister Shanti Dhariwal, along with senior police officials, is likely to visit the dargah to review the present security set-up.
Rajasthan Chief Secretary S Ahmed had received a letter from the Union Home Ministry that pointed at gaps in security arrangements at the dargah, which is visited by lakhs of devotees every year. The letter was based on inputs provided by the security agencies. On his part, Ahmed asked Harish Meena, Director General of Police, to initiate steps to beef up security in and around the dargah.
Full report at:http://www.dailypioneer.com/350937/Beef-up-security-at-Ajmer-shrine-Centre-tells-Rajasthan-Govt.html
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Israel gets ready for immigration of Jews from north-east India
July 06, 2011
Harinder Mishra
Israel is again ready to welcome Jews from north-eastern India, commonly referred to as Bnei Menashe, after a ministerial committee on immigrant absorption decided “in principle” to let them in to undo the “historical injustice” suffered by them.
Some 1,700 Bnei Menashe have already immigrated to Israel, but the process was halted in 2007 after questions were raised on their “Jewishness”.
However, Israel’s Ministerial Committee on Immigrant Absorption, led by foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, recently decided to appoint an inter-ministerial team of director-generals to prepare an operative plan of action to bring all Bnei Menashe members, living in parts of Manipur and Mizoram, to Israel, Ynetnews reported.
It has reached an “in principle” decision to resume the process and the plan is likely to be brought to the government’s approval this month.
Full report at:http://www.dailypioneer.com/351003/Israel-gets-ready-for-immigration-of-Jews-from-north-east-India.html
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US links Pakistan's ISI to journalist killing: Report
Jul 5, 2011,
US officials believe Pakistan's spy agency was behind the killing of a Pakistani journalist who reported that Islamist militants had infiltrated the military, the New York Times reported on Monday.
WASHINGTON: US officials believe Pakistan's spy agency was behind the killing of a Pakistani journalist who reported that Islamist militants had infiltrated the military, the New York Times reported on Monday.
The newspaper quoted two senior officials as saying that intelligence showed that senior members of Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency ordered the killing of Saleem Shahzad, 40, to muzzle criticism.
The report was likely to further raise tensions between the uneasy allies following the US commando raid north of Islamabad in May that killed Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and was carried out without Pakistan's knowledge.
Full report at:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-links-Pakistans-ISI-to-journalist-killing-Report/articleshow/9110554.cms
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Amnesty International accuses Syria of crimes against humanity
Jul 6, 2011,
LONDON: Amnesty International has accused the Syrian regime of committing crimes against humanity during a deadly crackdown over a pro-democracy protest in a border town.
The London-based rights group urged the United Nations to take action over the assault by the security forces and army on Tall Kalakh in May, amid the protests against President Bashar al-Assad's rule that have swept the country.
In a new report, Amnesty made allegations of torture, deaths in custody, and arbitrary detention during the security sweep that lasted several days in the town near the Lebanese border.
Full report at:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Amnesty-International-accuses-Syria-of-crimes-against-humanity/articleshow/9120417.cms
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Cameron promises to increase aid for Afghanistan
July 06, 2011
British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged on Tuesday to maintain an enduring partnership with Afghanistan, promising to increase aid even as British troops begin to withdraw next year.
At a news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Cameron also said Britain’s experience of drawing Irish Republican Army terrorists into Northern Ireland’s political process could guide Afghanistan’s own efforts to reconcile Taliban insurgents.
The British leader’s visit to Afghanistan was marred by the death Monday of a British soldier, who went missing from a checkpoint in the south and was later found with fatal gunshot wounds. The death was a “reminder of the high price that we have paid for the vital work we do in Afghanistan,” Cameron said.
Separately, the US-led international military coalition said four service members were killed Tuesday in eastern Afghanistan - three by a roadside bomb and one other in an insurgent attack. No other details were disclosed about the deaths, which raised the total killed so far this year to 280.
Full report at:http://www.dailypioneer.com/351008/Cameron-promises-to-increase-aid-for-Afghanistan.html
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When in Mumbai, Headley was a tourist who loved fishing
July 06, 2011
Lalit K Jha
On the instructions of ISI, David Headley masqueraded as a tourist interested in angling, taking fishing boats into the waters off Mumbai to identify a suitable landing site for
LeT terrorists, who months later created mayhem in India’s financial capital.
Headley, who played a key role in planning the Mumbai terrorist attack by carrying out surveillance of the targets, told a Chicago court during the recently-concluded trial of co-accused Tahawwur Rana that he did this at the direction of the Inter Services Intelligence of Pakistan.
“Yes,” Headley said when asked by the defense attorney whether he was trained by the ISI to carry out surveillance of the landing site where the LeT men were to ultimately land through sea in November 2008.
“Mainly Major Iqbal was training you on how to pick a good landing site?,” the defense attorney asked.
“Yes. And also with Sajid (Mir), but mainly with Major Iqbal,” the Pakistani-American LeT operative said.
Full report at:http://www.dailypioneer.com/350999/When-in-Mumbai-Headley-was-a-tourist-who-loved-fishing.html
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Out of the shadows, the Osama hunter
Jul 06 2011,
Washington : After US Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden, the White House released a photo of President Barack Obama and his Cabinet inside the Situation Room, watching the raid unfold.
Hidden from view, standing just outside the frame of that now-famous photograph was a career CIA analyst. In the hunt for the world’s most-wanted terrorist, there may have been no one more important. His job for nearly a decade was finding the al-Qaeda leader.
The analyst was the first to put in writing last summer that the CIA might have a legitimate lead on finding Osama. He oversaw collection of clues that led the agency to a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Full report at:http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/813402/
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Taliban could have political future: British PM
July 05, 2011
British Prime Minister David Cameron Tuesday said the Taliban could have a future in the mainstream politics of Afghanistan, with the 10-year war resolved like the conflict in Northern Ireland. On a day that four NATO soldiers were killed in eastern Afghanistan, he also announced the
creation of a Sandhurst-style military academy to train Afghan officers ahead of the pullout of Western combat forces by 2015.
"In terms of the political process and political reconciliation, firstly I would say to the Afghan people, we are with you, we want to help you," Cameron told a joint news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul.
"To the Taliban my message is very clear. Stop bombing, stop killing, stop fighting, put down your weapons, join the political process and you can join the future of this country."
Violence in Afghanistan has been at record highs, nearly 10 years after US-led troops invaded to bring down the Taliban regime for refusing to give up Osama bin Laden after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
Full report at:http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/afghanistan/Taliban-could-have-political-future-British-PM/Article1-717753.aspx
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Saudi efforts for good Iran relations continue
Jul 6, 2011
By SULTAN
AL-TAMIMI JEDDAH: The Kingdom’s bilateral dialogue with Iran will continue, Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said at a joint press conference with his British counterpart William Hague in Jeddah on Tuesday.
“I met with Iran’s former Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in Tehran and the next meeting was supposed to take place in Riyadh. However, they placed some conditions that we did not agree with,” said Prince Saud. “Recently, the current Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi called me and requested a meeting on the condition that it takes place in Kuwait. I asked him why he would choose Kuwait in the context of a bilateral dialogue when we are supposed to meet in Saudi Arabia.”
Prince Saud also said the Kingdom and the UK were looking forward to a positive response by the parties involved in the current political struggle in Yemen. He referred to the GCC initiative to restore normalcy in Yemen and prevent it from falling into civil war.
Full report at:http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article467368.ece
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Riyadh trial gives a glimpse of methods terror suspects used
Jul 6, 2011
By MD AL-SULAMI
RIYADH: On day five of the trial against the first group of 85 terror suspects, the prosecution provided a glimpse of the methods allegedly used by the accused to blow up three residential compounds in Riyadh in 2003.
One of the 18 defendants currently on trial in Riyadh is being charged with supplying the RDX explosive used in the attack and sheltering the men who executed the operation that took the lives of at least 31 people from 10 countries and injured 160 others.
None of the defendants have been identified by name. The man accused of supplying the explosive is also accused of communicating with Al-Qaeda arms specialist Rakan Al-Saikhan and militant commander Abdul Rahim Al-Nashiri shortly before the formation of a terror cell in the Kingdom.
He is also accused of forging a passport for Al-Nashiri to enable his entry into the Kingdom from the United Arab Emirates. He is also charged with smuggling Al-Qaeda activists Abdul Aziz Al-Muqrin and Khaled Al-Haj by car from Yemen.
He is believed to have brought into the country rocket-propelled grenades and SAM rockets, as well as the 800 kg of RDX. When he was arrested, a prosecutor explained on Tuesday, he was found with two hand grenades, 36 kg of RDX, a number of firearms, “powerful” telecommunication devices and SR228,000 in cash.
Full report at:http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article467369.ece
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Pirates use Yemen as a refueling hub
Jul 5, 2011
By JONATHAN SAUL
LONDON: Somali pirates have been using Yemen’s remote Horn of Africa island of Socotra as a refueling hub enabling their attack craft to stay restocked for longer periods at sea and pose a greater hazard to shipping, maritime sources say.
Despite an international naval presence in the region, seaborne gangs have been exploiting political turmoil in Yemen to pick up fuel, and possibly other supplies including food, sources told Reuters.
“Socotra has been used for months if not longer,” said Michael Frodl, with C-LEVEL maritime risk consultancy and an adviser to Lloyd’s of London underwriters, citing intelligence reports he was privy to.
Full report at:http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article467194.ece
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Improvised explosive attacks soar in Pakistan
Jul 6, 2011
ISLAMABAD: The number of attacks from improvised explosive devices in Pakistan has grown by more than 145 percent in the last four years, as expertise in the crude bombs has flowed from militants in Iraq to Afghanistan and eventually to Pakistan, officials said.
Just on Tuesday, three separate IED attacks in North Waziristan near the Afghan border and Baluchistan in the southwest killed seven Pakistan border troops and wounded 24.
“Where this expertise is coming from, probably initially it came from Iraq, and then from Afghanistan and now it’s here,” said a Pakistani intelligence official.
He said there had been a dip in suicide bombings in Pakistan with a correspondent increase in IED attacks, which are increasingly the weapon of choice for Pakistan insurgencts.
IEDs are also one of the Afghan Taleban’s most effective weapons against coalition troops in Afghanistan.
Full report at:http://arabnews.com/world/article467166.ece
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Armed forces to be built as modern force: Bangladesh PM
Jul 6, 2011
The PGR commandant hands over a crest to the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, marking regiment’s 36th founding anniversary at the Dhaka Cantonment on Tuesday. — New Age photo
United News of Bangladesh . Dhaka
The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has stressed that the country’s armed forces should be built as a modern and time befitting one through coordinating training, research and providing adequate administrative materials.
The Prime Minister expressed the view at a function of the President Guard Regiment at Dhaka Cantonment on Tuesday marking the 36th founding anniversary of the regiment.
Hasina said the government was implementing necessary measures for modernising the armed forces through higher trainings and modern equipment.
Full report at:http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/frontpage/25171.html
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Bahrain’s rulers start dialogue with opposition
6 July 2011,
AM A Bahraini opposition figure said reconciliation talks between the monarchy and the opposition started for the first time since anti-government protests erupted in the Gulf kingdom.
Washington has pushed for dialogue in the strategic island nation, home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet. The protests that began in February — inspired by Egypt, Tunisia uprisings.
The opposition figure, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, confirmed that the government-led talks took place behind closed doors in the capital Manama’s convention centre.
The talks are scheduled to last until the end of the month, with about 300 delegates from government-linked groups and opposition parties meeting three times a week.
How the country’s rulers approach the so-called National Dialogue largely depends on how comfortable neighbouring Saudi Arabia is with Bahrain’s leaders making concessions to the country’s Shia majority, who comprise around 70 percent of the kingdom’s population of some 525,000.
Full report at:http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/July/middleeast_July127.xml§ion=middleeast
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US offers ten thousand troops for Iraq next year
6 July 2011
BAGHDAD — The White House is offering to keep up to 10,000 troops in Iraq next year, US officials say, despite opposition from many Iraqis and key Democratic Party allies who demand that President Barack Obama bring home the American military as promised.
Any extension of the military’s presence, however, depends on a formal request from Baghdad — which must weigh questions about the readiness of Iraqi security forces against fears of renewed militant attacks and unrest if US soldiers stay beyond the December pullout deadline.
Iraq is not expected to decide until September at the earliest, when the 46,000 US forces left in the country had hoped to start heading home.
Already, though, the White House has worked out options to keep between 8,500 and 10,000 active-duty troops to continue training Iraqi security forces during 2012, according to senior Obama administration and US military officials in interviews with The Associated Press. The figures also were noted by foreign diplomats in Baghdad briefed on the issue.
All spoke on condition of anonymity to frankly discuss the sensitive matter during interviews over the past two weeks.
Full report at:http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/July/middleeast_July125.xml§ion=middleeast
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Hezbollah suspects told to come forward in Lebanon
6 July 2011
BEIRUT — Four Hezbollah members indicted in the 2005 assassination of a former Lebanese prime minister cannot stay fugitives forever and should get lawyers, the defense chief of an international tribunal said Tuesday.
The suspects have until mid-September to contact the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Francois Roux, head of the court’s defense office, told The Associated Press in an interview. After that, Roux said, the tribunal’s judges will hold proceedings in absentia and he will appoint defense lawyers on their behalf.
“Families can protect them, communities can protect them, but a person cannot remain a fugitive for the rest of his life,” Roux said.
The alleged role of the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri threatens to trigger a potentially violent crisis in this Arab nation. The Shiite militant group denies any role in the killing of Hariri and vows never to turn over any of its members.
Full report at:http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/July/middleeast_July124.xml§ion=middleeast
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Abbottabad commission convenes: Osama’s family barred from leaving Pakistan
July 6, 2011
By Irfan Ghauri
The commission assigned to probe the May 2 Abbottabad incursion by US Navy SEALS that killed Osama bin Laden has directed the interior ministry and the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) to ensure that Bin Laden’s family does not leave the country without its permission.
Two of Bin Laden’s wives and some of his children were left behind in Abbottabad after the attack. The family is believed to be in the custody of the ISI.
The commission, headed by senior Supreme Court judge Justice Javed Iqbal, chalked out the modalities of its working and announced that it will call members of civil, military and political leadership during the course of inquiry, if needed.
“The ministry of interior and ISI have been directed to ensure that the family of Osama bin Laden is not repatriated from Pakistan without the consent of the commission,” a press statement issued after an in-camera meeting of the commission said.
Full report at:http://tribune.com.pk/story/203481/abbottabad-commission-convenes-osamas-family-barred-from-leaving-pakistan/
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Khyber Agency: This is Bara, the town that militancy ruined
July 6, 2011
By Naveed Hussain
They call it Mutasareen Bazaar (or market of the war-affected people). Dozens of makeshift, thatched-roof shops line the main road – dotted with fortified security checkpoints – leading to the Bara sub-division of the Khyber tribal agency. Located along the bank of the Bara River in the Batatal area, it’s like a market in the wilderness.
These shopkeepers had roaring businesses in Bara Bazaar until September 2009 when thousands of paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) troops moved into the region to flush out fighters of the dreaded Lashkar-e-Islam (LeI) extremist group. Curfew was imposed which has been in place ever since.
“When the operation began we were not allowed time to collect our stocks. Our shops remained shuttered for a year. The stocks rotted and we suffered millions of rupees in losses,” said Syed Ayaz, president of the Anjuman Tajraan-e-Bara. “There were close to 9,000 shops in Bara Bazaar and around 200 small industrial units in and around Bara. Now, Full report at:http://tribune.com.pk/story/203462/khyber-agency-this-is-bara-the-town-that-militancy-ruined/
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Cross-border attacks : ‘Afghanistan will not fire back at Pakistan’
July 6, 2011
Afghan President Hamid Karzai delivers a speech during a joint press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron at the presidential palace in Kabul. PHOTO: AFP
KABUL: Afghanistan’s security forces will not respond with military force to weeks of cross-border shelling from Pakistan, President Hamid Karzai said on Tuesday, as the Afghan parliament called on him to sever ties with Islamabad over the issue.
Some 300 people also protested against the shelling in Asadabad, the capital of eastern Kunar province, demanding an end to the shelling and calling for revenge.
Hundreds of rockets have hit Afghanistan since early June, officials say, and killed dozens of civilians, infuriating Afghans from ordinary villagers to the top echelons of power.
A top Afghan police general last week offered his resignation over the government’s response to the attacks, and there have been at least two demonstrations
Karzai said his Interior and Defence Ministers had sought permission to open fire if more rockets landed.
But the president said he had refused because returning fire risked creating more innocent victims in Pakistan.
Full report at:http://tribune.com.pk/story/202941/cross-border-shelling-afghanistan-wont-fire-back-on-pakistan-says-karzai/
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US has backup plan if Pakistan shuts Shamsi base
July 6, 2011
WASHINGTON: The United States plans to keep using an airstrip inside Pakistan for non-lethal drone flights against militants near the Afghanistan border despite demands from some Pakistani officials that Washington vacate the base, three US officials said.
The airstrip at Shamsi in Balochistan will continue to be used for some drone surveillance operations, while the CIA, which is principally responsible for the missions, is already using facilities in Afghanistan to launch some armed drone aircraft strikes on targets over the border in Pakistan.
“The facility remains fully operational and supports American counterterrorism operations in Pakistan,” one of the officials told Reuters on Monday.
But the official added: “If, for whatever reason, it was no longer available, there are certainly other ways to continue the program and to sustain the intense pressure it’s put on al Qaeda and its militant allies.”
The Washington Post reported on Saturday that three months ago the CIA had suspended using the base as a launch site for armed drones targeting al Qaeda and other militants.
Full report at:http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/06/us-has-backup-plan-if-pakistan-shuts-shamsi-base-officials.html
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IED attacks in Pakistan increase by over 145%
July 6, 2011
ISLAMABAD: The number of attacks from improvised explosive devices in Pakistan has grown by more than 145 percent in the last four years, as expertise in the crude bombs has flowed from terrorists in Iraq to Afghanistan and eventually to Pakistan, officials said.
Just on Tuesday, three separate IED attacks in North Waziristan near the Afghan border and Balochistan in the southwest killed nine Pakistan border troops and wounded 30.
“Where this expertise is coming from, probably initially it came from Iraq, and then from Afghanistan and now it’s here,” said an intelligence official. He said there had been a dip in suicide bombings in Pakistan with a correspondent increase in IED attacks, which are increasingly the weapon of choice for terrorists.
IEDs are also one of the Afghan Taliban’s most effective weapons against coalition troops in Afghanistan.
Full report at:http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\07\06\story_6-7-2011_pg7_5
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Terrorists must be deprived of IED technology
July 6, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior, Rehman Malik, on Tuesday, said improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were a “lethal weapon” that needed to be snatched from terrorists to ensure peace in Pakistan and at the same time in the region.
“Practical measures are being taken with the support of United States to check IEDs, also known as homemade roadside bombs which are responsible for the killing of thousands of people in the country,” he told a joint press briefing with the US Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law William Brownfield.
After attending the first round of fourth Pak-US ministerial-level strategic dialogue on Law Enforcement and Counter Terrorism being held with specific focus on countering IEDs, he said border between Pakistan and Afghanistan was a major concern as our security forces and mainland were being attacked by militants through IEDs.
Full report at:http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\07\06\story_6-7-2011_pg7_6
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Bangladesh shut down by violent strike
July 6, 2011
DHAKA: Police used batons to break up protests in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Wednesday as the country was shut down for a second time in four days by an opposition-led strike.
Dozens of vehicles were torched in Dhaka and the port city of Chittagong ahead of the 48-hour strike, and police said they had deployed 10,000 officers in the capital to prevent unrest.
"At least eight people have been jailed on the spot for holding unlawful protests and damaging vehicles," Dhaka police spokesman Masud Ahmed told AFP.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=18158
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Turkish military vehicle damaged in roadside blast
July 6, 2011
ANKARA - The Associated Press
Police cordoned off the area to search for evidence. DHA photo
The state-run news agency says a road side explosion has damaged a military vehicle in the Turkish capital, Ankara.
The Anatolia news agency says no one was hurt in Tuesday's explosion on a busy road lined with government and military offices.
NTV television said the explosion was most likely caused by a small bomb, designed to create a loud noise but minimal damage.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=turkish-military-vehicle-damaged-in-roadside-blast-2011-07-05
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Syrian forces advance on restive Hama city
July 6, 2011
The residents of Hama mobilize to keep the army out of the city which has become a center of the anti-regime protests in Syria, activists say. The number of Syrian refugees in Turkey, meanwhile, is falling rapidly
In this file photo taken during a government-organized tour for the media, Syrian soldiers arrive in Istabraq village near the northern town of Jisr al-Shughour. AP photo
Hundreds of residents of Hama burned tires, erected sand barriers and set up other makeshift roadblocks Tuesday to prevent the advance of Syrian tanks and soldiers ringing the city, which has become a flashpoint of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Full report at:http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=syrian-forces-advance-on-restive-hama-city-2011-07-05
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Class War in Greece and the World
July, 6, 2011
By: Peter G. Prontzos
Once again, democracy has been crushed in the very land where it was born.
Despite unprecedented opposition by the vast majority (70-80 percent) of the population, the Greek Parliament surrendered its national sovereignty by giving in to the harsh and unjust demands of "The Troika" - the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Central Bank and the European Commission.
While the situation is complex, one point is clear: the great majority of Greeks were not responsible for the enormous debt that had built up over the last decade.
Part of the responsibility rests with the political and economic elites within Greece, who run the country as if it were their own personal fiefdom. The selfish pursuit of power and profit mattered more than the well being of the Greek people.
The decision to join the EU and to adopt the euro, while bringing some benefits, also caused severe inflation and made Greece less economically competitive. It surrendered much of the control of the economy to the European Central Bank.
Full report at:http://www.truth-out.org/class-war-greece-and-world/1309455676
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8:59 PM
Moderate Islamist here
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