Saudi Arabia's Highest Spiritual Leader Asks Film Protesters to Stop Violence
New Age Islam News Bureau
16 Sept 2012
Arab World
• Saudi Arabia Highest Spiritual Leader Asks Film Protesters to Stop Violence
• Al-Azhar demands global ban on attacks on Islam
• No immediate plan to stop Syria bloodshed, admits international envoy
• Fresh clashes, shelling in Damascus, Aleppo
• Many children kept out of school in Syria's battle zones
• Iraqi Christians seek hope from Lebanon papal visit
• Egypt protests on the wane
• Egypt: Sinai Militants Clash with Army, Police
• Troubled Iraqi Border Town in Eye of Syrian Storm
• Al-Qaida calls for fresh attacks in the Arab world, US pulls some embassy staff
Mideast Asia
• 'Iran foundation boosts bounty to kill Salman Rushdie'
• Turkish professor given prison sentence over headscarf ban
• Protesters Burn U.S. Flag in Turkey
• Iran commander warns Israel against attack
• Iran admits its elite forces operating in Syria
• Iran six-seven months from nuclear bomb capability: Netanyahu
• 8 policemen killed in Turkey landmine blast
• Netanyahu confident world will adopt Iran 'red lines'
India
• Ghaziabad riots: 6 die in cop firing
• 'India condemns all acts that hurt religious sentiments'
• Saudi Arabia halts deportation of Abu Jundal's aide Fasih Mohammed
• "We Would Much Rather Die Than Go Back To Pakistan," A Hindu Migrant
• 1, 87,052 still in 206 relief camps in violence-hit Assam
• India, Maldives to step up defence ties
• ‘Americans needn’t leave Valley’
• ‘IM men got 10 lakh for Pune blast’
• Terrorist killed in Kashmir gunfight
• 60th arrested accused in Mumbai violence sent to police custody
• Born in Mumbai, fighting for the ‘American Dream’ today
• 11 Indian fishermen arrested by Pakistan
South Asia
• 13 Taliban killed, 30 surrender in Afghanistan
• NATO air strike kills 8 Afghan women: local official
• Roadside bomb kills 14 people in Pakistan near Afghan border
• NATO says four soldiers killed in 'insider' attack in Afghan south
• Prince Harry was target in ‘impregnable’ Afghan attack: Taliban
• Attackers in Afghanistan wore US uniforms
• Taliban claim attack on base in south Afghanistan
• Humanitarian mission for Rohingya ‘not enough’
• Six US fighter jets destroyed in Taliban attack: NATO
• Hundreds of Afghans protest anti-Islam film
• Young Lives, Lost in the Fog of War
Pakistan
• Pakistan presents a picture in contrast over the anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims
• Anti-Islam film: Amid protests, Rs10 million bounty offered for filmmaker
• Pak Minister for Interfaith Harmony slams anti-Islam film; warns CNN over Rimsha interview
• President Zardari asks US to end drone strikes, remove mistrust
• Petition filed in Pak court seeking ban on anti-Islam film
• Ties with US to focus on terror fight, market access
• PM Ashraf announces Rs 2 bln for Sindh flood victims
• Flood havoc in Balochistan 600,000 marooned in two districts
• TTP release Islamia College University VC’s driver
• Jehangir Aziz: Pakistan’s first grunge musician
North America
• US teen held in Chicago 'jihad' car bomb plot
• Pope urges Christians to be peacemakers in Middle East
• Fury over Prophet Mohammad video simmers on in Muslim world
• No Plans to Bolster US Forces in Mideast: Panetta
• US orders non-essential staff to leave Tunisia, Sudan
• Target US diplomats: Qaida to Muslims
• US filmmaker says he won't return to besieged home
• Man charged with trying to bomb Chicago bar
Europe
• Anti-Islam film: UN, EU condemn attacks on Western missions
• Western embassies on alert as Muslim anger simmers over film
• Turkmenistan seeks new approaches to problems
Southeast Asia
• Attempts to Alter Pancasila A Threat to Unity, NU Chief
• Celebrating satire, Muslim identity
Africa
• Libyan president says 50 arrested in attack on U.S. consulate
• Zimbabwe PM marries woman under polygamy custom
• Attack on US in Libya ‘revenge’ for al-Libi death: Al Qaeda
• Attack by Fringe Group Highlights the Problem of Libya’s Militias
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/saudi-arabia-highest-spiritual-leader/d/8690
----------
Arab World
Saudi Arabia Highest Spiritual Leader Asks Film Protesters to Stop Violence
September 16, 2012
Saudi Arabia's highest spiritual leader has called on the Muslims to denounce violence in protest of an anti-Islam video made in the US.
"If Muslims surrender to anger, they will achieve the objectives of those who are behind the production of this offensive movie," Grand Mufti
Shaikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Al-Sheikh said in a statement on Saturday.
"Muslims should not let their anger lead them to kill innocent people and attack public facilities," Xinhua quoted the spiritual leader as saying.
He emphasized that condemning the disputed movie should be in accordance with Quran.
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton telephoned Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal Saturday to discuss the recent violence in the Middle East due to the movie.
Prince Saud stressed the kingdom's disapproval of such an insulting movie.
He condemned the acts of violence against the US and other foreign diplomatic missions, and stressed the principles for dialogue among different religions and cultures.
He urged not to abuse, offend or vilify religions, their representatives or symbols.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/RestOfAsia/Saudi-mufti-asks-film-protesters-to-stop-violence/Article1-930866.aspx
--------
Al-Azhar demands global ban on attacks on Islam
16 September 2012
CAIRO: Egypt’s top Muslim cleric yesterday called for an international ban on all forms of attacks against Islam, after a provocative film sparked violent protests in the Middle East and North Africa.
Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayyeb, grand imam of Cairo’s Al-Azhar, the highest seat of Islamic learning, underlined “the need for an international resolution (banning) any attack on Muslim religious symbols,” in a statement addressed to UN leader Ban Ki-moon and published by official news agency MENA.
The resolution should “criminalize attacks on Islamic symbols and on those of other religions, after the violence against those who provoked challenges to world peace and international security,” said Tayyeb.
A low-budget film produced in the US incited a wave of bloody anti-US violence in several countries.
The imam said it was the UN’s responsibility to “protect world peace from any threat or aggression,” so that “these dangerous events cannot recur.”
He also called on “Egyptians in these trying times (to show) wisdom and restraint,” condemning the targeting of innocent people and underlining the need to protect foreign diplomatic missions.
http://www.arabnews.com/al-azhar-demands-global-ban-attacks-islam
----------
No immediate plan to stop Syria bloodshed, admits international envoy
16 September 2012
DAMASCUS: The new international envoy tasked with ending Syria’s civil war summed up his first foray to Damascus yesterday with a startling and frank admission that he still has no plan for stopping the bloodshed which he warned could threaten world peace.
The bleak outlook offered by veteran diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi after three days of meetings with Syrian officials and the opposition underlines just how fruitless diplomatic efforts have been in bringing an end to the seemingly intractable and deadly 18-month-old conflict.
“I repeat ... I have no plan,” Brahimi told reporters in Damascus after meeting with Syria’s embattled president, Bashar Assad, in their first talks since the Algerian diplomat took up the job earlier this month that he himself has called “nearly impossible.”
“We, however, will set the plan that we will follow after listening to all internal, regional and international parties, hoping that such a plan will manage to open channels toward ending the crisis,” he added.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/middle-east/no-immediate-plan-stop-syria-bloodshed-admits-brahimi
----------
Iraqi Christians seek hope from Lebanon papal visit
15 September 2012
BAABDA, Lebanon — Among the many thousands at Lebanon’s presidential palace on Saturday to greet Pope Benedict XVI were more than 220 Chaldean Christians, who travelled from across war-battered Iraq for the historic occasion.
“The pope’s visit to Lebanon is a blessing for the whole Middle East,” said Shammas Selim from Ankawa in the north Iraqi province of Arbil. “It serves as a reminder for us Iraqi Christians that there is still hope.”
Iraq’s Chaldeans belong to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world. But along with other Iraqi Christians, they suffered persecution, forced flight and killings in the aftermath of the 2003 US-led invasion.
Before 2003 there were more than a million Christians living in Iraq. Now they number around 450,000.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, many thousands fled after 44 worshippers and two priests were killed in an attack on a Syriac Catholic church in Baghdad on October 31, 2010, an atrocity claimed by Al Qaeda.
From 2003 to May 2012, some 900 Christians were killed, while 200 were kidnapped, tortured and ultimately released for exorbitant ransoms, according to the Hammurabi Human Rights Organisation in Iraq.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-
----------
Egypt protests on the wane wane
16 September 2012
CAIRO — Riot police stormed into Cairo’s Tahrir Square and rounded up hundreds of protesters early on Saturday after four days of clashes sparked by a blasphemous film.
Security forces secured the square, just a few hundred yards from the US embassy, and formed cordons in the surrounding roads. Plain-clothes officers patrolled the area, grabbing anyone they saw as suspicious. There was no sign of protests by mid-morning and traffic through Tahrir resumed.
In clashes overnight, a 35-year-old man died of birdshot wounds near the heavily-fortified embassy, the target of the protests, as police used volleys of teargas to repel a crowd throwing stones and petrol bombs.
The protesters said they wanted to expel the US ambassador to punish Washington over the film which was produced in California. US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta called on Egypt’s government on Friday to ensure the embassy’s safety.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-
----------
Egypt: Sinai Militants Clash With Army, Police
16 September 2012
EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) — Islamic militants clashed for more than two hours Sunday with army and police in the Sinai Peninsula, wounding seven people in fighting touched off by a security dragnet, Egyptian officials said.
The officials backed away from an earlier report that the militants had taken children hostage to be used as human shields, saying that the fighters instead jumped briefly behind a school wall to hide as children were arriving.
The fighting broke out after police backed by the military staged dawn raids on a number of homes in Sheik Zuweyid, a desert village about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from northern Sinai's main city of el-Arish. Officials said four men suspected of belonging to extremist militant groups were arrested.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/09/16/world/middleeast/ap-ml-egypt-sinai.html?ref=middleeast
----------
Troubled Iraqi Border Town in Eye of Syrian Storm
16 September 2012
AL QAIM, Iraq (Reuters) - Syrian refugees squeeze against a closed gate at an Iraqi border post, reaching through its metal bars to clamor for water, and calling out to Iraqi cousins and brothers on the other side.
Yelling into their cellphones, more Syrians perch on top of the concrete walls that divide Iraq from Syria, waiting for Iraqis to unload trucks filled with boxes of cooking oil and bottled water and hoist them over the al Qaim checkpoint.
Close by, predominantly Sunni Syrian rebels are fighting President Bashar al-Assad's forces over the town of Albu Kamal, bringing the war to al Qaim with refugees, Syrian jets and occasional rocket attacks.
Al Qaim, in the Sunni heartland of Anbar province, reflects the tricky balancing act Iraq's Shi'ite leaders face in Syria, whose crisis is testing the Middle East's sectarian divide.
Many Shi'ite politicians took refuge in Syria during the rule of Saddam Hussein, and Assad, who is Alawite, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, is backed by Shi'ite Iran while Sunni power Saudi Arabia supports the rebels.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/09/16/world/middleeast/16reuters-syria-crisis-
----------
Many children kept out of school in Syria's battlezones
September 16, 2012
SYRIA'S academic year officially started today, according to officials, but most schools remained closed in flashpoint areas including Aleppo as fighting raged between rebels and the army.
The United Nations had said on Friday that more than 2000 Syrian schools have been damaged or destroyed and hundreds more are being used as shelters, and warned of the staggering challenge to prepare for the new school year.
Syrian state media reported that "more than 5 million students and 385,000 teachers and employees" went back to school today.
The ministry of education has taken all measures to ensure "the smooth functioning of education" from day one of the school year, official news agency SANA said.
But in Aleppo, parents kept their children home and most schools did not reopen as troops pounded several rebel-held areas and battles for control of the country's commercial hub and second city continued to rage.
Full report at:
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/many-children-kept-out-of-school-in-syrias-battlezones/story-e6frf7k6-1226475386383
----------
Al-Qaida calls for fresh attacks in the Arab world, US pulls some embassy staff
Sep 16, 2012
DUBAI: Al-Qaida called for fresh attacks against US targets in the Arab world and the West, as Washington said it was pulling non-essential embassy staff out of Sudan and Tunisia.
Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) also called for more violence against US diplomatic missions in the Middle East and Africa, and urged Muslims in the West to attack US interests, SITE Intelligence Group said.
The US state department ordered all non-essential personnel to leave Sudan and Tunisia following embassy attacks over an anti-Islam video, warning US citizens against travel there.
Hours earlier, Sudan had refused a US request to send in special forces to protect the Khartoum embassy, after protesters attacked it on Friday.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Al-Qaida-calls-for-fresh-attacks-US-pulls-some-embassy-staff/articleshow/16417756.cms
----------
Fresh clashes, shelling in Damascus, Aleppo
September 16, 2012
Syrian troops on Sunday fought rebel fighters and shelled their bastions in the country's two main cities Damascus and Aleppo, a day after UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi warned the conflict threatens world peace.
The fighting in Damascus erupted at dawn and was focused in the
northeast suburb of Harasta, while the army shelled the southern suburb of Al-Hajar Al-Aswad from several directions, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Regime forces had deployed in force in Al-Hajar Al-Aswad on Saturday, sparking clashes with rebels that left eight people dead, some of them cut down by sniper fire, the Britain-based Observatory said.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/RestOfAsia/Fresh-clashes-shelling-in-Damascus-Aleppo/Article1-930791.aspx
----------
Mideast Asia
'Iran foundation boosts bounty to kill Salman Rushdie'
Sep 16 2012
Tehran : An Iranian foundation has reportedly increased a bounty for the death of Salman Rushdie, saying that if the British writer had previously been killed for blasphemy an anti-Islam film currently enraging Muslims would never have been made.
Iranian media quoted Hassan Sane'i, a cleric heading the 15 of Khordad Foundation, as saying in a statement that he was "adding another USD 500,000 to the reward for killing Rushdie."
With the increase, the foundation was now offering USD 3.3 million for the death of Rushdie, who since 1989 has been the target of a Iranian fatwa calling for his murder for allegedly blaspheming Islam in his book "The Satanic Verses."
Indian-born Rushdie, 65, spent a decade in hiding after Iran's spiritual leader, the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued the 1989 fatwa against him for his book.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/iran-foundation-boosts-bounty-to-kill-salman-rushdie/1003351/
----------
Turkish professor given prison sentence over headscarf ban
September 16, 2012
An İzmir court has handed down a prison sentence to a Turkish professor from Ege University after he repeatedly blocked headscarved women from entering the faculty building where he worked.
The court accused the professor of infringing on citizens’ constitutional right of access to education and sentenced him to over two years in prison.
The professor, Esat Rennan Pekünlü, from the university’s department of astronomy and space sciences, was caught on camera in May taking photographs of headscarved students and preventing them from entering the building.
The Higher Education Board (YÖK) lifted a ban on the wearing of the Muslim headscarf on university campuses in 2010. However, some universities continue to impose the notorious ban. Opponents of the ban, including conservatives and many liberal intellectuals, think that such a ban contravenes fundamental rights as it deprives some citizens of their right to education.
Full report at:
http://muslimvillage.com/2012/09/16/28553/turkish-professor-given-prison-sentence-over-headscarf-ban/
----------
Protesters Burn U.S. Flag in Turkey
16 September 2012
ANKARA (Reuters) - A small group of protestors burned a U.S. flag outside the U.S. Embassy in Turkey's capital Ankara on Sunday in protest against a film mocking the Prophet Mohammed, while several dozen others chanted slogans against U.S. policy in Syria.
The protesters from two separate groups, one an Islamist organization and the other a workers' party, carried banners including one which read "Murderer America! Get out of Turkey!"
Riot police backed by water cannon blocked the road outside the embassy, keeping the protesters around 100 meters (yards) from its walls, and the group dispersed in less than an hour.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/09/16/world/europe/16reuters-protests-
----------
Iran commander warns Israel against attack
September 16 2012
The top commander in Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard has warned that "nothing will remain" of Israel if it takes military action against Tehran over its controversial nuclear program.
Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari said Iran's response to any attack will begin near the Israeli border. The Islamic Republic has close ties with militants in Gaza and Lebanon, both of which border Israel.
He also told a news conference in Tehran Sunday that if it is attacked, Iran will no longer be committed to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, under whose terms UN inspectors visit Iranian nuclear sites.
Israel has left open the possibility of a strike on Iran if diplomacy fails to stop what it says is a push for a nuclear weapon. Tehran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/09/16/iran-commander-warns-israel-against-attack.html
----------
Iran admits its elite forces operating in Syria
September 16, 2012
Syrian troops on Sunday fought rebel fighters in the country's two main cities Damascus and Aleppo, as Iran acknowledged for the first time it has elite forces present in Syria and Lebanon as "counsellors."
The relentless violence affected the start on Sunday of the educational year, with activists saying few schools opened in flashpoint areas, including Aleppo, and the UN reporting more than than 2,000 schools damaged or destroyed countrywide since the uprising began 18 months ago.
Pope Benedict XVI added his voice to calls for an end to the bloodletting, urging Arab countries to propose workable solutions to the conflict, while celebrating mass in neighbouring Lebanon.
Violence that raged from early Sunday killed another 20 people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, adding that 115 had died the previous day.
Troops pounded districts in Damascus, Aleppo in the north, Daraa in the south, Hama and Homs in the centre and Deir Ezzor in the east with aerial bombardments and heavy artillery, the Britain-based Observatory said.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/afp/iran-admits-its-elite-forces-operating-in-syria/544776
----------
Iran six-seven months from nuclear bomb capability: Netanyahu
Sun Sep 16, 2012
(Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Sunday that Iran would be on the brink of nuclear weapons capability in six to seven months, adding new urgency to his demand that President Barack Obama set a clear "red line" for Tehran in what could deepen the worst U.S.-Israeli rift in decades.
Taking his case to the American public, Netanyahu said in U.S. television interviews that by mid-2013, Iran would be 90 percent of the way toward enough enriched uranium for a bomb. He urged the United States to spell out limits that Tehran must not cross or else face military action - something Obama has refused to do.
"You have to place that red line before them now, before it's too late," Netanyahu told NBC's "Meet the Press" program, saying that such a U.S. move could reduce the chances of having to attack Iran's nuclear sites.
The unusually public dispute - coupled with Obama's decision not to meet with Netanyahu later this month - has exposed a deep U.S.-Israeli divide and stepped up pressure on the U.S. leader in the final stretch of a tight presidential election campaign.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/16/us-iran-nuclear-netanyahu-idUSBRE88F06P20120916
----------
Netanyahu confident world will adopt Iran 'red lines'
September 16, 2012
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is confident the world will come round to see "the wisdom" of his insistence on laying down "red lines" for Iran over its nuclear drive, he said today.
Speaking to the English-language Jerusalem Post newspaper, Netanyahu said he would not
stop pushing for the international community to lay down red lines for Iran, which if crossed, would spark a harsh response — a veiled reference to a military strike.
"I started speaking about the Iranian threat 16 years ago. If I was not a lone voice then, I was one of the few, and then others joined. And then I started speaking about the need for economic sanctions against Iran. I wasn't the only voice, but I was one of the few," he said, referring to issues which have since been broadly adopted by the West.
"Now I speak about red lines for Iran. So far I am one of the few; I hope others will join. It takes time to persuade people of the wisdom of this policy," he told the right-leaning daily.
Over the past fortnight, Netanyahu has repeatedly called for the world to set out "clear red lines" in what was understood as a sharp message to the White House, prompting a rather public spat with Washington, which rejected his call.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/RestOfAsia/Netanyahu-confident-world-will-adopt-Iran-red-lines/Article1-930940.aspx
---------
8 policemen killed in Turkey landmine blast
16 September 2012
Turkish media reports say suspected Kurdish rebels have detonated a landmine in eastern Turkey, killing eight police officers.
Anadolu News Agency says the attack occurred in Bingol province on Sunday, and that the mine exploded as a police vehicle drove along a highway. It says nine other police officers were wounded.
The attack comes amid a surge in fighting between Turkish security forces and Kurdish rebels who seek self-rule in southeastern Turkey.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article3904169.ece
---------
India
Ghaziabad riots: 6 die in cop firing
September 16, 2012
Police firing in Dasna, Ghaziabad, on Friday night claimed the lives of six people, while a sub-inspector and a head constable suffered serious injuries in the rioting that ensued. The violence was triggered after a copy of the Quran was discovered on the railway tracks with abusive comments and
A day later on Saturday, the scene of action — Masuri police station area — continued to be tense, and the district administration deployed Rapid Action Force and Provincial Armed Constabulary to check further violence. Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav ordered a special inquiry and announced a compensation of Rs. 5 lakh each for the family of the deceased.
According to police, at 6.30pm on Friday, some locals reached the Masuri police station and demanded identification of the person to whom the mobile number belonged. By 8.30pm, the angry mob blocked NH-24 and started targeting vehicles and commuters. They also vandalised the station.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/UttarPradesh/Ghaziabad-riots-6-die-in-cop-firing/Article1-930693.aspx
----------
'India condemns all acts that hurt religious sentiments'
September 16, 2012
Strongly condemning all acts that disparage religious beliefs and sentiments, India on Sunday said it was in touch with US authorities on the issue of an anti-Islam film that has triggered violence in many countries and led to the killing of an American ambassador in
Libya.
Responding to a query, official spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs, Syed Akbaruddin said, "In connection with recent events we would like to reiterate that India has always strongly condemned all acts that disparage religious beliefs and hurt religious sentiments."
"The ministry of external affairs is in touch with US officials who share our concerns on the matter. Google India has, in compliance with Indian law, blocked access to the offensive material," he said.
The amateur US-made film that was posted online sparked widespread anti-US protests across the Muslim world, including countries like Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Tunisia, Sudan and Afghanistan.
In the Libyan city of Benghazi, four Americans, including US ambassador Christopher Stevens, were killed when a violent mob attacked the American consulate on September 11.
Four people were killed and 49 injured when the American embassy in the Tunisian capital was attacked on Friday by protesters angry over the film.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/India-condemns-all-acts-that-hurt-religious-sentiments/Article1-930857.aspx
----------
Saudi Arabia halts deportation of Abu Jundal's aide Fasih Mohammed
Sep 16, 2012
NEW DELHI: India will now have to wait for Fasih Mohammed, accused of being involved in conspiracy of bomb blasts in Bangalore and Delhi, as Saudi Arabia has red- flagged his deportation from there saying they want to investigate his role in that country carefully before taking a call on New Delhi's request for handing him over.
This was conveyed through diplomatic as well as security agency-to-agency meetings within days after the news about deportation of Syed Zabiuddin alias Abu Jundal from that country came to light, official sources said.
While the Saudi authorities officially confirmed his detention there, they conveyed that they were examining his role and stay 'carefully' in that country.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Saudi-Arabia-halts-deportation-of-Abu-Jundals-aide-Fasih-Mohammed/articleshow/16420924.cms
----------
"We Would Much Rather Die Than Go Back To Pakistan," A Hindu Migrant
Sep 16, 2012
"We would much rather die than go back to Pakistan," said a Hindu migrant echoing the sentiments of many migrants who have come here in the last few days from Pakistan.
The exodus of Pakistani Hindus is on the rise. In the last fortnight alone, a fresh batch of 350 migrants, including 150 children and 90 women, have arrived here.
They were initially lodged in a local temple, but as the numbers swelled, it was impossible for them to continue to stay in the premises. They have since vacated, and now live in tents.
"We are happy to be here, but we had been staying in just two rooms at the Dali Bai temple here. It is becoming impossible for 200 people to sleep in such a small space. We were asked to vacate, and then had just the sky for a roof. Some locals have erected tents for us," said Ramadas, one of the migrants.
The Pakistani Hindus said that girls were being kidnapped and forced into marriage and conversion to Islam. Besides, torture of Hindu families is also reported.
On Sep 10, over 200 people had come to Jodhpur by the Thar Express train. Sources said that about 150 others have also arrived here in small groups since then.
According to rough estimates by Seemant Lok Sangathan (SLS), a group working for refugees in Rajasthan, over 1,10,000 Hindu migrants from Pakistan have been living in Rajasthan since 1971.
Full report at:
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/279076/harassed-pakistan-homeless-india.html
----------
11 Indian fishermen arrested by Pakistan
Sep 16, 2012
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities have arrested 11 Indian fishermen and seized their two boats for allegedly violating the country's maritime boundary, officials said on Sunday.
The fishermen were arrested by the Maritime Security Agency while they were allegedly fishing in Pakistani waters, the officials said.
They were later sent to a police station in the southern port city of Karachi.
Pakistan and India arrest dozens of fishermen every year for violating the maritime boundary.
Though the two countries have accelerated the process of releasing jailed fishermen, scores continue to be held in prisons in both countries.
On September 11, Pakistan freed 48 Indian fishermen as a goodwill gesture.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/11-Indian-fishermen-arrested-by-Pakistan/articleshow/16420377.cms
----------
India, Maldives to step up defence ties
Sep 16, 2012
NEW DELHI: India and Maldives on Sunday agreed on a slew of measures to step up their cooperation in defence and security related issues as well as agreed to work closely towards stability in the region and ensure maritime security in Indian Ocean. At a high level meeting between defence minister A K Antony and his Maldivian counterpart, Col (Retd) Mohamed Nazim, in Male, the two sides decided to 'maintain close cooperation in unitedly fighting against challenges of terrorists and non- state actors'.
Antony's three day visit to Maldives comes in the backdrop of China renewing its efforts to expand its footprint in the strategically located archipelago. "Maldives will stand side - by- side with India to ensure that maritime security of Indian Ocean is ensured; that the stability in the region is maintained; and above all, that the threats that our two countries face, particularly from terrorist groups and other non-state actors are eliminated, " said Mohamed Nazim. "Governments will change both in the Maldives and India.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-Maldives-to-step-up-defence-ties/articleshow/16422222.cms
----------
‘Americans needn’t leave Valley’
Sep 16, 2012
SRINAGAR: Kashmiri separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Saturday opposed grand mufti Bashir-ud-Din's diktat asking all Americans to leave the Valley in the wake of the anti-Islam film that has triggered violent protests across the Muslim world.
"There is no need for them (US citizens) to leave the Kashmir valley. Islam preaches peace and security to non-Muslims and it is our duty to protect them," he said. "Islam does not allow sentencing anyone for someone else's mistakes or crimes.''
The mufti had on Thursday asked US citizens to leave Kashmir to avert public wrath amid widespread anger over the film that denigrates Islam and its Prophet. On Friday, there were anti-US protests in the Valley.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Americans-neednt-leave-Valley/articleshow/16417206.cms
----------
‘IM men got 10 lakh for Pune blast’
Sep 16, 2012
MUMBAI: Indian Mujahideen executed the August 1 Pune serial bomb blasts and the perpetrators were paid Rs 10 lakh, which was sent through hawala from UAE, said a senior police officer.
On August 1, four blasts triggered by improvised explosive devices targeted Pune's bustling Jangli Maharaj (JM) Road in less than an hour's time.
"We have zeroed in on the perpetrators from the IM but they fled soon after the blasts," said a source, adding that an ATS probe found that money was routed through Muzaffar Kola Enterprises. "Kola Enterprises were involved in sending Rs 10 lakh through hawala for the Mumbai's 13/7 blasts. The ATS had booked Muzaffar Kola, owner of the UAE-based firm, for its alleged involvement in the hawala transactions," said a source.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/IM-men-got-10-lakh-for-Pune-blast/articleshow/16416600.cms
----------
1,87,052 still in 206 relief camps in violence-hit Assam
September 16, 2012
Altogether 1,87,052 persons affected by the violence between Bodos and minority immigrants are still lodged in 206 camps even after nearly two months since trouble broke out in five Lower Assam districts. The inmates include 1,68,875 muslims housed in 174 camps, 17,344 Bodos in 29 camps
and 833 belonging to the other communities in three camps, official sources said in Guwahati on Sunday.
Dhubri has the highest number of 1,01,373 inmates in 129 camps followed by Kokrajhar with 55,760 inmates in 43 camps, Chirang with 23,609 inmates in 22 camps, Bongaigaon with 5554 inmates in nine camps and 756 people in three camps of Barpeta.
The process of rehabilitation of the affected people was continuing with the verification of land documents and 5706 people have left the relief camps during the last 24 hours.
There were altogether 4,85,921 inmates in 340 relief camps during the height of the violence which began on July 19 claiming 96 lives.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Guwahati/1-87-052-still-in-206-relief-camps-in-violence-hit-Assam/Article1-930878.aspx
----------
Terrorist killed in Kashmir gunfight
September 16, 2012
One separatist guerrilla was killed in a gunfight with the army in Kashmir's Baramulla district, police said on Sunday.
"One terrorist has been killed in the gunfight that started late Saturday evening between terrorists and the army in Mohra village of Baramulla district,"
Lieutenant Colonel JS Brar, spokesman of army's Srinagar based 15th corps, told IANS.
The identity of the slain guerrilla is yet to be known.
"The gunfight has stopped in the area, but the searches are on," Brar said.
Mohra village is situated on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad highway, 78 km from Srinagar.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Srinagar/Guerrilla-killed-in-Kashmir-gunfight/Article1-930734.aspx
----------
60th arrested accused in Mumbai violence sent to police custody
September 16, 2012
The magistrate court on Saturday remanded the 60th accused in the Azad Maidan violence to police custody till September 20. Akbar Raunakali Khan was allegedly injured in the police firing on August 11 and had been admitted to JJ hospital. On Friday evening, after he was discharged, the Mumbai police crime branch arrested him.
On Saturday afternoon, Khan was produced before the magistrate court where the police asked for his custody.
Khan's advocate, Qureshi Aftab, argued that he was not in condition to walk. Aftab also alleged that the police got him discharged against the advice of the doctor.
The court however granted the crime branch his custody and directed them to take him for treatment to JJ hospital.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/60th-arrested-accused-sent-to-police-custody/Article1-930680.aspx
----------
Born in Mumbai, fighting for the ‘American Dream’ today
Dipti Nagpaul-D'Souza
Sep 16 2012
Mumbai: When he left India in the 1970s, he was, like everyone else, chasing the American Dream, says Dinesh D’Souza. Now, over three decades on, having realised the Dream himself, he is fighting to save it, he says.
The India-born conservative political commentator, author, and first-time filmmaker is currently at the centre of a political storm in the US. His documentary film 2016: Obama’s America, which criticises Barack Obama for having made the US “weaker” over the last four years, is drawing widespread comment and argument in the middle of the presidential election campaign.
Born in Mumbai, fighting for the American Dream today
Since its release in July, the film has been viewed by over 2.5 million people, making it the sixth highest-grossing documentary ever — and the second highest-grossing political documentary after Michael Moore’s anti-George W. Bush Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/born-in-mumbai-fighting-for-the-american-dream-today/1003205/
--------
South Asia
13 Taliban killed, 30 surrender in Afghanistan
Sep 15, 2012
KABUL: At least 13 Taliban militants were killed in operations launched by the army and police in Afghanistan while 30 militants led by their commander, Mullah Sohbaat, joined the peace process, officials said on Saturday.
In the eastern province of Ghazni, seven militants were killed, and in neighbouring Paktika province, six militants were gunned down in a search operation, army spokesman Mohammad Nazar Sultani told Xinhua.
A Taliban leader named Omari was among the dead in Paktika, police said.
A roadside bomb went off in Wardoj district of Badakhshan province Saturday, which killed a policeman and injured seven others, police said.
At least six civilians were killed in Paktika province's Khoshamand district when a bomb planted on the roadside hit their vehicle.
Meanwhile, up to 30 Taliban militants surrendered to the government in Badakhshan province, 315 km northeast of Kabul, a government spokesman said.
Led by their commander Mullah Sohbaat, the Taliban renounced violence and joined the peace and reconciliation process in Shahri Buzurg district Saturday.
The militants also handed over 30 AK-47 rifles to security officials.
Reports said more than 3,500 insurgents have laid down arms in Afghanistan in the past year.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/13-Taliban-killed-30-surrender-in-Afghanistan/articleshow/16412299.cms
----------
NATO air strike kills 8 Afghan women: local official
Sep 16, 2012
MIHTARLAM (AFGHANISTAN): As many as eight women were killed and eight women wounded in a NATO air strike shortly before dawn today in a remote area east of Kabul, an Afghan official said.
NATO's US-led International Security Assistance Force said it had targeted insurgents, but had been made aware of "possible ISAF-caused civilian casualties" numbering five to eight, and extended its sincerest condolences over the "tragic loss of life".
Civilian casualties from NATO air strikes have strained relations between the United States and Afghan President Hamid Karzai. In June, ISAF ordered an end to air strikes on homes, except as a last resort.
Today's attack came shortly before dawn, an Afghan official said, in the area of Dilaram village, in Alingar district of Laghman province. The women were said to have set off to the mountains to collect fire wood.
Sarhadi Zwak, a provincial spokesman, said it was a unilateral military operation not coordinated with Afghan forces.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/NATO-air-strike-kills-8-Afghan-women-local-official/articleshow/16422339.cms
----------
Roadside bomb kills 14 people in Pakistan near Afghan border
Sep 16, 2012
PESHAWAR, Pakistan: A roadside bomb killed 14 people in northern Pakistan on Sunday, police officials said, after it hit a truck carrying villagers to a market place near the border with Afghanistan.
Villagers in the Lower Dir area have been supporting government forces in the fight against Taliban insurgents.
Among the dead were three women and three children, the police said. Seven more people were wounded.
Support for the Taliban has fallen in some areas in the north, analysts say, in part because their bloody bombing campaigns have claimed so many civilian lives.
Since 2009, the army has increased its control in much of Pakistan's tribal areas but insurgent attacks remain common.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Roadside-bomb-kills-14-people-in-Pakistan-near-Afghan-border/articleshow/16418500.cms
----------
NATO says four soldiers killed in 'insider' attack in Afghan south
Sep 16, 2012
KABUL: Four soldiers fighting with the NATO-led alliance were killed in an attack believed to involve members of the Afghan police in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, the coalition said.
The attack came a day after two British soldiers were shot dead by an Afghan policeman while returning from a patrol in southern Helmand province, one of the strongholds of the Taliban-led insurgency.
At least 51 foreign military personnel have been killed in "insider" attacks this year, attacks which have put a heavy strain on trust between the coalition and Afghanistan as they move towards handing security responsibility to Afghan forces by the end of 2014.
The rise in such attacks has led to the training of new recruits to the Afghan army and police being suspended.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/NATO-says-four-soldiers-killed-in-insider-attack-in-Afghan-south/articleshow/16419248.cms
----------
Six US fighter jets destroyed in Taliban attack: NATO
Sep 16, 2012
KABUL: Six US fighter jets were destroyed and two significantly damaged when insurgents stormed a heavily fortified Afghan base where Britain's Prince Harry is deployed on Friday, a NATO spokesman said.
Three coalition refuelling stations were also destroyed and six aircraft hangars damaged in the assault that caused unprecedented damage at Camp Bastion in southern Helmand province, one of the toughest battlegrounds of the war, the spokesman said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Six-US-fighter-jets-destroyed-in-Taliban-attack-NATO/articleshow/16418732.cms
----------
Hundreds of Afghans protest anti-Islam film
September 16, 2012
Hundreds of students poured into the streets of Kabul on Sunday shouting anti-US slogans to protest against a film mocking Islam that has sparked deadly riots in the Middle East and North Africa, police said.
The protesters, mostly students from Kabul University, shouted "death to
America" as they blocked a road near their compound.
"The demonstration is peaceful. There are about 1,500 students who have gathered here and are protesting the film," local district police chief, Faizullah, said.
Faizullah, who like many Afghans uses only one name, added that security was tight near the scene in the Afghan capital.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Afghanistan/Hundreds-of-Afghans-protest-anti-Islam-film/Article1-930770.aspx
----------
Attackers in Afghanistan wore US uniforms
16 September 2012
Coalition military authorities in Afghanistan say the insurgents who attacked a British airfield in south-western Afghanistan on Friday, killing two US Marines, wore US Army uniforms and destroyed six Harrier fighter jets.
They said in a statement on Saturday that about 15 insurgents carried out the attack, describing the attack was well coordinated by the insurgents who were “well equipped, trained and rehearsed.” Fourteen of the 15 were killed. One was captured.
They said attackers penetrated the base’s perimeter and were armed with automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and suicide vests. Besides destroying six planes, they destroyed three refuelling stations on the base and damaged six aircraft hangars.
Coalition authorities have not yet identified the two Marines killed. Eight military members and one civilian contractor were also injured in the assault.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article3903616.ece
----------
Taliban claim attack on base in south Afghanistan
16 September 2012
The Taliban claimed responsibility Saturday for an attack on a sprawling British base in southern Afghanistan that killed two U.S. Marines and wounded several other troops, saying it was to avenge an anti—Islamic film that insulted the Prophet Muhammad and also because Britain’s Prince Harry is serving there.
The U.S.—led NATO coalition said in a statement that the overnight attack focused on Camp Bastion, a huge British base adjacent to Camp Leatherneck which houses U.S. Marine operations in southern Helmand province.
“We attacked that base because Prince Harry was also on it and so they can know our anger,” said Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Taliban, which often tailor their claims to the news of the day. “Thousands more suicide attackers are ready to give up their lives for the sake of the Prophet,” Ahmadi said in a telephone call with The Associated Press.
Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne, is based at Camp Bastion. A spokesman for Britain’s Ministry of Defense told the AP that Prince Harry was unharmed in the attack, which according to Britain’s Press Association took place two kilometers (one mile) from the section of the complex where the prince was located. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government policy.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article3901606.ece
----------
Prince Harry was target in ‘impregnable’ Afghan attack: Taliban
Sep 16 2012
Kabul : The Taliban has claimed responsibility for attempting to attack Prince Harry in Britain’s ‘impregnable’ headquarters in Afghanistan. The attack comes just days after the Taliban announced it was launching ‘Harry Operations’ aimed at killing or wounding the Prince.
According to the Telegraph, 19 Taliban attackers armed with rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and automatic weapons crossed the perimeter of Camp Bastion in a well-planned raid, which shocked senior officers. Two American Marines were killed and five aircrafts damaged or destroyed five aircrafts before Western soldiers led by British troops killed 18 of the attackers and arrested one. The attack was carried out at around 10.00 pm on Friday night. The Taliban rushed to claim a propaganda victory, saying that Prince Harry, who is an Apache helicopter pilot based at Bastion, was the intended victim of the attack. According to the report, they also said they had been inspired to attack the camp, home to 28,000 personnel, by an American-made film which insulted the prophet Mohammed.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/prince-harry-was-target-in-impregnable-afghan-attack-taliban/1003332/
----------
Humanitarian mission for Rohingya ‘not enough’
September 16 2012
The humanitarian mission to Myanmar should be further empowered by having the Indonesian government exert political pressure on Myanmar in order to ensure the protection of the Rohingya Muslims, lawyers have said.
“We are sending them logistical aid, treating them as though they were victims of natural disasters, when what they need most is legal status, adequate livelihoods and a stable future,” Mahendradatta, one of a team of Muslim lawyers, said in Jakarta on Saturday.
“The most significant problem is their legal status, and Indonesia’s government should put more pressure on the Myanmar government to grant them citizenship,” he added.
According to data from the Foreign Ministry, 394 Rohingya have sought refugee status in Indonesia, with 124 of them ready to settle in other third countries.
The remaining 270 displaced persons are being sheltered at a number of refugee camps in the country.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/09/16/humanitarian-mission-rohingya-not-enough.html
----------
Young Lives, Lost in the Fog of War
By ROD NORDLAND
16 September 2012
KABUL, Afghanistan — These days, Abdul Farhad tries to sleep with the lights on in his bedroom and his eyes wide open, because as soon as he closes them he is back in his shop in central Kabul and it is 11:30 a.m. on the eighth of September.
He is sitting behind the desk in his office, a small room with a floor-to-ceiling plate-glass front wall, with a view he says he will never forget.
The usual street children are clustered in front of his car rental shop, in the heart of the capital’s military and diplomatic quarter. Khorshid, 15, dressed, as always, in a brightly colored tunic over prim trousers, is a skateboarding sensation who dreams of winning the girls’ world championship one day.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/world/asia/young-afghan-lives-lost-in-the-fog-of-
--------
Pakistan
Pakistan presents a picture in contrast over the anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims
ANITA JOSHUA
16 September 2012
For four days, Pakistan has defied doomsday predictions of going up in flames over the anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims. Pakistanis have protested across the country but they have been peaceful and no incidence of violence has been reported from anywhere on this count.
When Egypt and Libya were rocked with violence on Wednesday, the general apprehension was that things could get worse in Pakistan where the U.S. embassy has been set afire once. But, all institutions appear to have worked quietly to ensure that protests remain peaceful.
On Wednesday itself, the government condemned the film through a statement issued by the Foreign Office. The following day, the political class got its act together and unanimously adopted a government-initiated resolution condemning the film. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) “proactively blocked’’ access to the anti-Islamic video available online via YouTube. All service providers were asked to immediately block the video.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article3901593.ece
----------
Anti-Islam film: Amid protests, Rs10 million bounty offered for filmmaker
September 16, 2012
PESHAWAR: Vociferous protests against the anti-Islam movie ‘Innocence of Muslims’ continued in Peshawar on Saturday.
Jamiat Ittehadul Ulema (JIU) Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chapter President Abdul Akbar Chitrali declared a bounty worth Rs10 million on the head of the film’s producer. Addressing a rally at Ring Road, he urged the government to expel the US ambassador to Pakistan if the US does not impose a ban on the film.
Meanwhile, religious parties, Christian minority groups, traders and civil society members staged protests condemning the movie that has been deemed offensive by the West and the Muslim world alike. They rebuked the filmmaker for hurting the sentiments of Muslims and sabotaging interfaith harmony across the world.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/437494/anti-islam-film-amid-protests-rs10-million-bounty-offered-for-filmmaker/
----------
Pak Minister for Interfaith Harmony slams anti-Islam film; warns CNN over Rimsha interview
16 September 2012
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Interfaith Harmony Paul Bhatti, on Saturday, slammed the anti-Islam film “Innocence of Muslims,” saying that it has disrupted world peace and the issue must be brought up in the United Nations, according to DawnNews.
Speaking at a joint press conference along with the Naib Imam of the Lal Masjid Amir Siddique, Bhatti said, “We stand in support of the Muslim world.”
The federal minister reiterated his stance on inter-faith harmony, saying that if people of all religious beliefs stand together, such acts of violence can be prevented. He said that the blasphemous movie had hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims throughout the world.
He asked the Secretary General of United Nations to condemn the film and introduce a charter to stop such elements, playing with the religious sentiments of the people in the cover of freedom of speech, insulting sacred and religious beliefs of the people. “We will not allow anyone to disgrace and insult any religion and belief in the guise of freedom of expression.”
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/09/15/paul-bhatti-slams-anti-islam-film-warns-cnn-of-action-over-rimsha-interview/
----------
President Zardari asks US to end drone strikes, remove mistrust
16 September 2012
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari Saturday reiterated demand for ending US drone attacks on militants in its tribal areas and called for removing a “trust deficit” with the United States.
Zardari’s remarks came after talks with US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman, who arrived in the Pakistani capital on Friday for meetings with top officials.
“They discussed bilateral relations, the fight against militancy, the regional situation, drug trafficking and drone attacks,” presidential spokesman SeNATOr Farhatullah Babar told reporters.
Zardari “reiterated his call for an end to the drone attacks, terming them counterproductive in the fight against militancy and in the battle of winning hearts”, Babar said.
“We need to discuss alternatives on the question of drone attacks,” Babar quoted Zardari as saying.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/09/16/president-zardari-urges-us-to-immediately-cease-drone-strikes/
----------
Petition filed in Pak court seeking ban on anti-Islam film
Sep 16 2012
Lahore : A petition has been filed in a Pakistani court seeking an immediate ban on access to an anti-Islam film on the internet, even as authorities said all links featuring the controversial video that has sparked violent protests across the Muslim nations have been blocked.
The petition filed by one Shoaib Ahmad said the blasphemous film 'Innocence of Muslims' was produced by "Zionists" and circulated on the web.
He said it was the duty of Pakistani authorities to block access to links hosting the movie.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, Interior Ministry, Science and Technology Ministry, Religious Affairs Ministry, Council of Islamic Ideology and the Punjab Police chief were named as respondents in the petition.
Ahmad claimed the respondents had "miserably failed" to discharge their duties.
He asked the court to direct them to immediately block access to the film on the internet.
However, the PTA has already issued orders for blocking all links featuring the controversial video that has triggered violent protests across the Muslim world.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said yesterday all links featuring the film had been blocked.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/petition-filed-in-pak-court-seeking-ban-on-antiislam-film/1003358/
----------
Ties with US to focus on terror fight, market access
Baqir Sajjad Syed
16 September 2012
ISLAMABAD: As Marc Grossman, the US Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, wrapped up his two-day visit on Saturday, it became clear that in future Pak-US ties would be centred around counter-terrorism cooperation, improving market access and economic opportunities for this country and aiding democracy and civil society.
Accordingly, the two sides would be reviving related segments of the strategic dialogue in the hope of resumption of a full-spectrum dialogue.
Mr Grossman, whose delegation included Assistant to the US President on Pakistan and Afghanistan Lt Gen Douglas E. Lute, Deputy Director for Politico-Military Affairs for Asia, Maj Gen John F. Newell, and senior Pentagon official Dr Peter Lavoy, was in Pakistan for preparing groundwork for Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar’s trip to Washington.
Ms Khar, who will pay an official visit to the US from Sept 18 to 22, will meet Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, National Security Adviser Tom Donilon and US Trade Representative Ambassador Ron Kirk.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/09/16/ties-with-us-to-focus-on-terror-fight-market-access/
----------
PM Ashraf announces Rs 2 bln for Sindh flood victims
16 September 2012
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Sunday announced a relief package of two billion rupees for flood affected areas of Sindh and directed to dispatch 710 million rupees immediately, DawnNews reported.
Prime Minister Ashraf announced the relief package during his visit to the flood-ridden areas in Sindh.
The prime minister directed the officials to release funds of 200 million each for Kashmor and Jacobabad, 100 million each for Sukkar and Mirpur khas and 70 million for Ghotki.
The prime minister also directed the officials to prepare the relief package for the flood affectees of South Punjab and Balochistan and provide them 25000 camps for their make-shift shelter arrangement.
http://dawn.com/2012/09/16/pm-ashraf-announces-rs-2-bln-for-sindh-flood-victims/
----------
Flood havoc in Balochistan 600,000 marooned in two districts
16 September 2012
QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Secretary Babar Yaqoob Fateh Mohammad has said that floods triggered by torrential rains have marooned almost 600,000 people in Naseerabad and Jaffarabad districts.
The floods have caused at least 22 deaths, destroyed crops on 24,866 acres and swept away about 4,000 houses.
Naseerabad, Jaffarabad, Sibi, Jhal Magsi and Kachi are the worst affected districts.
“Dera Allahyar, Dera Murad Jamali, Sohbatpur, Manjopur and Manjoshori are under two to six feet of water. Thousands of families are in distress,” the chief secretary told reporters at the Provincial Disaster Management Authority’s office after supervising the despatch of relief goods to the affected areas.
He said the government had sought assistance from the Army and the Frontier Corps to step up the pace of relief work.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/09/16/flood-havoc-in-balochistan-600000-marooned-in-two-districts/
----------
TTP release Islamia College University VC’s driver
16 September 2012
PESHAWAR: Mohibullah, the driver of former Vice-Chancellor Islamia College University (ICU) Peshawar, Professor Ajmal Khan, was greeted Saturday evening by his relatives at home, following his release by the Pakistani Taliban after almost two years of captivity when both were kidnapped on gun point on September 7, 2012 from Professor Colony in University of Peshawar.
Though the ICU Vice Chancellor Ajmal Khan’s appeal for release still remained unheard, as the government seemed unwilling to meet Taliban’s demands in return for his freedom, Mohibullah, the TTP spokesman Ihsanulla Ihsan said had been released in exchange for Taliban prisoners.
Speaking to Dawn.com after his release in Peshawar Mohibullah said; “I don’t know about their demands and the reason why I had been set free but I am really happy to be back home and pray for the professor’s early release.”
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/09/16/ttp-release-islamia-college-university-vcs-driver/
----------
Jehangir Aziz: Pakistan’s first grunge musician
By Sher Alam Shinwari
September 15, 2012
PESHAWAR: Born to furniture designer Nilofar Aziz and former Chief Secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khalid Aziz, 23-year-old Jehangir Aziz Hayat has always been a passionate music buff. The release of his debut track “Between the Lines” in 2005 made Jehangir the first ever grunge musician in Pakistan.
He shot to widespread fame and his track “Pretend to Be” then led him to win three awards at the Indie Music Channels Awards in 2012 — Best Male Alternative Artist, Best Alternative Record and Best Alternative Video Under $5,000.
Lined with influences of Nirvana, Pantera and Megadeth, another track “Never Change” was released in 2005 and left many dazzled in Pakistan. In the first week of its release, the National Music Chart got a feel of Jehangir’s melody and nominated him for the Best Debut Award at the MTV Pakistan awards.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/437245/jehangir-aziz-pakistans-first-grunge-musician/
-------
North America
US teen held in Chicago 'jihad' car bomb plot
Sep 16, 2012
CHICAGO: FBI agents have arrested and charged a US teen hoping to engage in "violent jihad" after he tried to detonate a would-be car bomb outside a bar in downtown Chicago, officials said Saturday.
Friday night's arrest of Adel Daoud, an American, marked the end of an undercover sting operation during which agents provided him with a fake bomb that he attempted to set off shortly before he was detained, the US attorney's office in Chicago said in a statement.
Daoud, who lives in the Chicago suburb of Hillside, appeared before a judge Saturday and was charged with one count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and another count of attempting to destroy a building by means of an explosive.
According to an affidavit in the case, two undercover FBI agents contacted Daoud around May in response to material he posted online and began exchanging messages with him.
"During these communications, Daoud expressed an interest in engaging in violent jihad, either in the United States or overseas, referred to his ongoing efforts to recruit other individuals to engage in violent jihad and mentioned that he had discussed plans for an attack with 'trusted brothers,'" read the affidavit.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-teen-held-in-Chicago-jihad-car-bomb-plot/articleshow/16417858.cms
----------
Pope urges Christians to be peacemakers in Middle East
September 16, 2012
Pope Benedict urged Middle Eastern Christians on Sunday to work for peace and against "the grim trail of death and destruction" in the world, in a sermon delivered in Lebanon as civil war raged in neighbouring Syria.
Benedict was speaking at an open-air Mass on Beirut's
Mediterranean seafront attended by 350,000 worshippers, according to the organisers' estimate, and leaders of Lebanon's Christian and Muslim communities including from militant Shi'ite group Hezbollah.
Peace between warring factions and among the many religious groups in the Middle East has been a central theme of his visit to Lebanon, along with his call to Christians not to leave the region despite war and growing pressure from radical Islamists.
Lebanon, torn apart by by a 1975-1990 sectarian civil war, is a religious mosaic of more than four million people whose Muslim majority includes Sunnis, Shi'ites, Alawites and Druze. About a third of the population is Christian, divided into more than a dozen churches.
"In a world where violence constantly leaves behind its grim trail of death and destruction, to serve justice and peace is urgently necessary," Benedict said at the Mass, praying for "Middle East servants of peace and reconciliaton".
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/RestOfAsia/Pope-urges-Christians-to-be-peacemakers-in-Middle-East/Article1-930867.aspx
----------
Fury over Prophet Mohammad video simmers on in Muslim world
September 16, 2012
A wave of furious anti-Western protests against a film mocking the Prophet Mohammad abated on Saturday, but US policy in the Muslim world remained overshadowed by 13 minutes of amateurish video on the internet.
Washington ordered family members and non-essential staff to leave the US Embassy in Khartoum, which was attacked on Friday, after Sudan turned down its request to send Marines to bolster security.
In addition, it pulled non-essential personnel out of its embassy in the Tunisian capital, Tunis, also attacked on Friday, and urged American citizens to leave the city.
Marine platoons have been sent to US missions in Yemen and Libya since the unrest erupted.
Elsewhere, riot police stormed into Cairo's Tahrir Square and rounded up hundreds of people after four days of clashes and demands from protesters for the US ambassador to be expelled.
Saudi Arabia's highest religious authority denounced the attacks on diplomats and embassies across the Middle East as un-Islamic.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/RestOfAsia/Fury-over-Prophet-Mohammad-video-simmers-on-in-Muslim-world/Article1-930720.aspx
----------
US orders non-essential staff to leave Tunisia, Sudan
Sep 16, 2012
WASHINGTON: The United States has ordered non-essential diplomatic staff and their relatives to leave Sudan and Tunisia following violent anti-American protests, and warned US citizens against travel to those countries.
Tunisia's interior ministry threatened to punish all those involved in Friday's US embassy attack that left four people dead and 49 injured after extremist protesters angry over the amateur film made in the United States stormed the installation.
Two protesters were killed in Sudan on Friday as around 5,000 furious demonstrators attacked the embassies of Britain, the United States and Germany, setting the latter mission ablaze.
"Given the security situation in Tunis and Khartoum, the state department has ordered the departure of all family members and non-emergency personnel from both posts, and issued parallel travel warnings to American citizens," state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/US-orders-non-essential-staff-to-leave-Tunisia-Sudan/articleshow/16419366.cms
----------
Target US diplomats: Qaida to Muslims
Sep 16, 2012
DUBAI: The Yemen-based branch of al-Qaida urged Muslims to step up protests and kill more US diplomats in Muslim countries after a US-made film mocking Prophet Muhammad which it said was another chapter in the 'crusader wars' against Islam.
"Whoever comes across US's ambassadors or emissaries should follow the example of Omar al-Mukhtar's descendants (Libyans), who killed the US ambassador," the group said, referring to Tuesday's attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
"Let the step of kicking out the embassies be a step towards liberating Muslim countries from the American hegemony," the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) said on its website on Saturday.
Fury over the film swept across the Middle East after Friday prayers, with protesters attacking US embassies. The attacks killed at least seven people and prompted Washington to send troops to bolster security at its missions.
"The film which insults our Prophet, peace be upon him, comes as part of the continuing crusader wars against Islam," AQAP's said, referring to European wars some 1,000 years ago.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Target-US-diplomats-Qaida-to-Muslims/articleshow/16417025.cms
----------
US filmmaker says he won't return to besieged home
September 16, 2012
A filmmaker linked to an anti-Islamic movie inflaming protests across the Middle East said following an interview with law enforcement officials that would not return to his home, possibly heading into hiding, authorities said.
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, was interviewed by federal probation officers for about half an hour at the station shortly after 12am in his hometown of Cerritos, California, said Steve Whitmore, spokesman for the Los Angeles County sheriff's department.
After that, deputies dropped Nakoula off at an undisclosed location.
"He is gone. We don't know where he went," Whitmore said.
"He said he is not going back to his home."
Federal officials are investigating whether Nakoula, who has been convicted of financial crimes, has violated the terms of his five-year probation. If so, a judge could send him back to prison.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/NorthAmerica/US-filmmaker-says-he-won-t-return-to-besieged-home/Article1-930773.aspx
----------
Man charged with trying to bomb Chicago bar
September 16, 2012
An 18-year-old man who tried to set off what he thought was a car bomb outside a downtown Chicago bar on Friday night has been arrested and charged in a federal undercover sting, authorities said on Saturday.
Adel Daoud, a US citizen who lives in the Chicago suburb of Hillside,
planned for months for the attack and prayed with a man who turned out to be an undercover agent before attempting to set off a bomb in a Jeep outside a bar, authorities said.
Daoud , who considered up to 29 possible targets , was charged with one count of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and one count of attempt to damage and destroy a building by means of an explosive.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/NorthAmerica/Man-charged-with-trying-to-bomb-Chicago-bar/Article1-930726.aspx
----------
No Plans to Bolster US Forces in Mideast: Panetta
September 16, 2012
Tokyo. The US military has no major plans to bolster its forces in the Middle East despite a week of violent protests targeting diplomatic outposts, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Sunday.
With a substantial force already deployed in the region coupled with two US Marine counter-terrorism teams sent to Libya and Yemen, the military has the ability to respond as necessary to protect American diplomats, Panetta told reporters before arriving in Tokyo on an Asian tour.
“We do have a major presence in the region,” he said.
“Having said that we’ve enhanced that with FAST [Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team] teams and others so that if they are requested, they can respond more quickly.”
But the Pentagon chief said at the moment there was not a need for dispatching additional forces to the region beyond what was requested by the State Department to safeguard diplomatic outposts.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/international/no-plans-to-bolster-us-forces-in-mideast-panetta/544775
----------
Europe
Anti-Islam film: UN, EU condemn attacks on Western missions
September 16, 2012
BRUSSELS: The United Nations and European Union on Saturday condemned attacks on Western embassies in Arab and Muslim countries over an anti-Islam movie.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton urged leaders in Arab and Muslim countries to “call immediately for peace and restraint”.
“I condemn in the strongest terms the attacks against [Western] diplomatic missions in several countries,” she said in a statement.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso earlier condemned Friday’s attacks on the British and German embassies in Khartoum as unacceptable and against “the rules of the civilised world.”
“Nothing justifies these kinds of attacks,” Barroso said, noting that at a meeting with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on Thursday, he had equally condemned the attacks on Islam which have sparked widespread protests in the Muslim world.
Ashton said “there can be no justification for such violence,” which has led to several deaths and destruction of property.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/437478/anti-islam-film-un-eu-condemn-attacks-on-western-missions/
----------
Western embassies on alert as Muslim anger simmers over film
Sep 16, 2012
By Robin Pomeroy
DUBAI, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Western embassies across the Muslim world remained on high alert on Sunday and the United States urged vigilance after days of anti-American violence provoked by a video mocking the Prophet Mohammad.
Germany followed the U.S. lead and withdrew some staff from its embassy in Sudan, which was stormed on Friday.
Washington ordered non-essential staff and family members to leave its embassy there on Saturday. But the Khartoum government turned down a U.S. request to send Marines to bolster security after the mission was attacked.
Non-essential U.S. personnel have also been withdrawn from Tunisia, and Washington urged U.S. citizens to leave the capital Tunis after the embassy there was targetted on Friday.
Although protests that peaked on Friday largely subsided over the weekend, a small group of protesters burned a U.S. flag outside the U.S. Embassy in the Turkish capital Anakara on Sunday.
Full report at:
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/09/16/film-protests-idINL5E8KG2EA20120916
------
Turkmenistan seeks new approaches to problems
ABDUL HANNAN TAGO
16 September 2012
RIYADH: Turkmenistan Ambassador Shakuliyev Nazarkuly, told Arab News that his country stands for peace, equality, respect for the sovereignty of states and the right to its own way of development based on the foreign policy of Turkmenistan.
Nazarkuly made his observation prior to the 67th session of the UN General Assembly.
The envoy said, “In more than 20 years of active cooperation with the United Nations Turkmenistan has found its place in the international system of coordinates, and has extensive experience in working with the international community.”
He added, “On Dec. 12, 1995 the UN adopted a resolution on the permanent neutrality of Turkmenistan. This has become the foundation of our foreign policy and was largely determined by the criteria of domestic policy.”
At the upcoming assembly session, Turkmenistan, guided by the basic principles of its foreign policy pursued under the leadership of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, will steadily adhere to its strategy of maintaining a close and comprehensive cooperation with the United Nations.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/turkmenistan-seeks-new-approaches-problems
----------
Southeast Asia
Attempts to Alter Pancasila A Threat to Unity, NU Chief
September 16, 2012
Indonesia must do everything possible to prevent the state ideology of Pancasila from being replaced by a doctrine that promulgates an Islamic caliphate or nationwide implementation of Shariah law, two prominent Indonesian leaders warned this week.
Both leaders, one religious and one military, said that such a development would split the nation along irreconcilable lines.
Said Aqil Siradj, chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Islamic organization in Indonesia, said on Friday that a number of religious groups and mass organizations were attempting to revive the “Jakarta Charter,” which stipulates that the first principle of Pancasila — the belief in one supreme god — must be amended to include the phrase “with the obligation to execute the Islamic Shariah by the faithful.”
The Jakarta Charter was adopted on June 2, 1945, by the Committee of Nine — which was preparing for Indonesia’s independence — as a compromise between hard-line Muslim and nationalist camps.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/attempts-to-alter-pancasila-a-threat-to-unity-nu-chief/544633
----------
Celebrating satire, Muslim identity
Niken Prathivi
September 16 2012
From urban satire about life in Jakarta to an encounter with Islam in the Facebook Age, a new breed of cartoonists is trying to find a place among the feisty footsteps of Indonesians.
As children of pop culture, comic books mirror the triumphs and follies of an era. How people think and perceive themselves.
In Indonesia, a developing nation with volatile political and economic conditions across the decades, enthusiasm among people to tell their own stories has been both high and low.
Today, after years of idolizing Japanese manga, the story of Indonesian comics has begun a new chapter. Comic artists have leaned more on local culture than on swallowing foreign influences. The works are often autobiographical, with comic book writers using themselves as the main characters, criticizing misfits and the stumbling progress within society.
The first and, so far, most notable works are from Benny Rachmadi and Muhammad “Mice” Misrad, who satirize the ugliness of urbanization and the hedonistic lifestyles of people in Jakarta. Starting with their ridicule of urban lives in the Lagak Jakarta (Jakarta Style) series in 1997, the duo later developed their self-mocking caricatures, Benny and Mice, in the fourth volume, Krisis oh Krisis (Crisis oh Crisis).
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/09/16/celebrating-satire-muslim-identity.html
---------
Africa
Libyan president says 50 arrested in attack on U.S. consulate
Sep 16, 2012
WASHINGTON: Libyan President Mohammed Magarief told CBS News on Sunday that about 50 people had been arrested in connection with the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, which killed four Americans.
Some of the suspects - including those who planned the attack - were from outside Libya, Magarief said.
The attack on Tuesday came amid protests over a video made in the United States that Muslims saw as blaspheming the Prophet Mohammad. The protest in Benghazi resulted in the deaths of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Libyan-president-says-50-arrested-in-attack-on-U-S-consulate/articleshow/16423619.cms
-------
Zimbabwe PM marries woman under polygamy custom
Sep 15, 2012
(Reuters) - Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, whose wedding plans appeared to have been thwarted when a court ruled he was already wed to a former flame, pressed ahead with his marriage on Saturday under a custom that permits polygamy.
The scandal - which had also seen another woman challenge his wedding plans - has gripped the nation and handed his rival, President Robert Mugabe, political ammunition as he seeks to extend his three-decade rule in an election expected within a year.
Tsvangirai could not be married in a legally recognized ceremony because of the embarrassing ruling. In an apparent bid to save face, he instead held a ceremony under Zimbabwe's "customary marriage" practice.
The 60-year-old and Elizabeth Macheka, 35, exchanged rings and promised to love each other. But there was no signing of a marriage certificate or vows of monogamy.
A magistrate said on Friday that Tsvangirai's former flame Locardia Karimatsenga had proved she was his wife under the customary marriage practice. A man can have several customary marriages, but if he has wed under the practice is precluded from holding a legal marriage ceremony.
Full report at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/15/us-zimbabwe-tsvangirai-idUSBRE88D0WX20120915
----------
Attack on US in Libya ‘revenge’ for al-Libi death: Al Qaeda
September 15, 2012
DUBAI: Al Qaeda said the deadly attack on the US consulate in Benghazi in Libya was in revenge for the killing of the network’s number two Sheikh Abu Yahya al-Libi, the SITE Intelligence Group reported on Saturday.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) also called for more violent demonstrations against US embassies in the Middle East and Africa.
“The killing of Sheikh Abu Yahya only increased the enthusiasm and determination of the sons of (Libyan independence hero) Omar al-Mukhtar to take revenge upon those who attack our Prophet,” AQAP said in a statement, quoted by the US-based monitoring group.
Al Qaeda’s Yemen-based offshoot did not claim direct responsibility for Tuesday’s attack on the American consulate in Benghazi that killed the US ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three other Americans.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/437208/attack-on-us-in-libya-revenge-for-al-libi-death-al-qaeda/
---------
Attack by Fringe Group Highlights the Problem of Libya’s Militias
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK, SULIMAN ALI ZWAY and KAREEM FAHIM
16 September 2012
CAIRO — Ansar al-Sharia, the brigade of rebel fighters that witnesses say led the attack on the United States diplomatic mission in Benghazi, holds that democracy is incompatible with Islam. It has paraded the streets with weapons calling for an Islamic state, and a few months ago its leader boasted publicly that its fighters could flatten a foreign consulate.
But if the group’s ideology may put it on the fringe of Libyan society, its day-to-day presence in society does not. It is just one of many autonomous battalions of heavily armed men formed during and after the uprising against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi who have filled the void in public security left by his fall, resisting calls to disarm by saying that the weak transitional government is not up to the job.
Ansar al-Sharia’s fighters have given conflicting stories about their role in the attack. Said to number fewer than 200, they can usually be found at Al Jala Hospital in Benghazi, where they act as its guards and protectors. And when instead they turned their guns on the United States mission, American security officers and the Libyan authorities did not call for help from any formal military or police force — there is none to speak of — but turned to the leader of another autonomous militia with its own Islamist ties.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/world/middleeast/attack-by-fringe-group-highlights-the-problem-of-libya-militias.html?hp
----------
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/saudi-arabia-highest-spiritual-leader/d/8690