Don't Think About Migrating to India: Sharif to Pak Hindus
Maldives detains 2 for damaging Pak monument
Pakistani girls defy Taliban school bombings
Muslim marriage not a civil contract: Court
Islamic Minister asks government to remove idolatrous SAARC monuments
14 Comments on "Vandalism of Pakistani monument damaging to Maldives’ image: Foreign Ministry"
Indian PM in Bali, wants stronger ties with ASEAN, Singapore
Iran unlikely to give up nuclear programme, feels India
People of India, Pakistan have no grievance against each other: Indian Journalist
Shehla Raza to act as Speaker Sindh Assembly
Army major, 26 terrorists killed in clashes in Pakistan
Iraq executes Tunisian over shrine attack
Suspected US missiles kill 7 in NW Pakistan
Iraq: 4 killed in car bomb attack south of Baghdad
Six killed in Tirah, Pakistan blast
Woman among two killed in violence in Karachi, Pak
Afghan journalist killed by Taliban roadside bomb
Curse of 39 strikes Afghan elders meeting
US aid to Pak: Top Senators introduce tough measures
Malegaon erupts as jail gates open
Woman pleads guilty to illegal export to Pakistan
Islamic Minister asks government to remove idolatrous SAARC monuments
Arab League urged to suspend Yemen
Malaysia arrests 13 suspected of militant activity
U.S. faces tough choice on Iran’s nukes
Iran expert: U.S. elections increase likelihood of Israeli strike
IAEA seeks Iran mission to address nuclear fears
Syria faces army defectors, worldwide isolation
World intensifies pressure on Syria
Haj Pilgrims brought in on labour visas left in the lurch
Kidnapping case against MQM-H chief
Successes achieved in war against terror: Sindh Governor
Democracy promotes tolerance, spirit of harmony, says Gilani
Zardari, Gilani, Kayani discuss secret memo to US
No rift between Zardari and Kiyani: Firdaus
Real threat assessment of Pak nukes not yet made: Expert
Pakistani ambassador warns against U.S. aid cutoff
Pakistan ambassador to US, Husain Haqqani, offers to resign
Kuwait in crisis talks after protesters storm parliament
Karzai outlines conditions for US in Afghanistan
Fresh Israeli raids on Gaza strip
Syria: Russia says conflict 'is similar to civil war'
Centre should take into account CM's views on AFSPA: Farooq
Bullet strikes White House window
Compiled By New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/don-t-think-migrating-india/d/5934
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Don't think about migrating to India: Sharif to Pak Hindus
Nov 17 2011,
Karachi : Pakistan's opposition leader Nawaz Sharif today told the Hindus not to think of migrating, saying they were safe in the country, days after three Hindu doctors were killed on broad daylight in Sindh province.
"Hindus are as much part of Pakistan as Muslims. It is duty of the government to provide protection to the minorities in the country. I tell them don't worry about your future. Don't think about migrating to India," Sharif told the community leaders during his visit to the area to assuage the feelings of the grieved families.
"You are very much Pakistanis and should remain here," Sharif said. Hindus reside in large numbers in the interior and rural reasons of the southern Sindh province.
Former prime minister Sharif who heads the main opposition party, Nawaz Muslim League was addressing a gathering of the Hindu community in Chak town where the tragic incident took place over an apparent dispute over a girl.
Police so far have failed to make inroads into the case with the main culprits at large. The incident has caused widespread outrage in Pakistan with the Hindus questioning their status as Pakistani citizens after failing to get justice.
"I tell the Hindu community today we are with you. We will ensure you get justice and the killers are arrested," Sharif said. "It is the failure of any government if it cannot provide justice to minorities in the country. The government machinery should have been based in Chak until the killers were arrested."
Although President Asif Zardari has ordered a inquiry into the incident and pressed for the arrest of the killers the Hindu community leaders allege that the police and influential people of the area are protecting the killers.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/877217/
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Maldives detains 2 for damaging Pak monument
November 17, 2011
COLOMBO: Maldives police said they placed two people under house arrest for vandalising a Pakistani monument that contained images of Buddha they deemed un-Islamic. Pakistan gave the monument to Maldives to mark a South Asian summit that ended last week. Police spokesman Ahmed Shiyam, on Wednesday, said that prosecutors are preparing charges against the two people. Maldives, an Indian Ocean archipelago, is home to 300,000 Muslims. Practicing any other religion is forbidden. ap
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\17\story_17-11-2011_pg7_11
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Pakistani girls defy Taliban school bombings
November 17, 2011
SWABI: Despite the Taliban’s apparent aim of depriving women of their education by blowing up girls’ schools, Pakistani girls are doggedly defying them.
Seven-year-old Marwa cried and shook uncontrollably at the sight of the rubble and shattered glass remnants of her classroom. The Taliban had bombed yet another girls’ school in Pakistan.
“I had to pick her up and hold her close to my chest. My worry is that we will spend our time helping the girls deal with fear instead of teaching them math and science,” said head teacher Razia Begum.
“I hope the parents keep sending their children to school.”
Pakistan’s Taliban movement, which is close to al Qaeda, has bombed hundreds of schools since launching a campaign to topple the US-backed government in 2007.
Like the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan, the Pakistani Taliban want girls barred from education.
But the Taliban have failed to sell their violent philosophy to the vast majority of Pakistanis, and a campaign to terrify people into supporting militancy has had limited success, as the defiance at Government Girls Primary School No. 3 illustrates. The students -age 4 to 15- are undoubtedly scared, and disappointed about the damage to their school in the town of Swabi, 75 km northwest of the capital, Islamabad.
The bombs set off in the red and white brick school complex on Sunday were so powerful they stopped wall clocks at the time of impact - nineteen minutes past midnight. Instead of listening to lectures at their old wooden desks, the girls will be forced to sit on the grass in a courtyard until workers clean the rubble and shattered glass from classrooms pulverised by the bombs. Still, they are determined to stay in school, hoping to become doctors or lawyers and leave sleepy Swabi for big Pakistani metropolises, or work abroad - dreams that enrage Taliban zealots.
“We are braver than the Taliban,” said Hasina Quraish, 10, who wants to be a college lecturer. “They are brutal people, not good Muslims.”
In their ideal world, women are covered from head to toe, only learn how to cook and clean to take care of their husbands, and rarely venture outside the home. Pakistani men would all grow beards, and the government would cut off all ties with the West and impose an austere system of Islamic law at home where those deemed immoral would be executed or whipped in public.
The campaign to bomb girls’ schools gathered pace several years ago in the former tourist destination of Swat Valley, about a three-hour drive from Swabi.
The regional faction of the Taliban, led by Maulvi Fazlullah - dubbed FM Mullah for his fiery radio broadcasts — was fighting to impose its version of Islam.
It was able to do so after reaching a widely criticised peace deal with the government in 2009 which US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called an abdication to the Taliban. An army offensive in Swat forced Fazlullah to rebase across the border in Afghanistan. Yet he and his fighters have regrouped, started launching cross-border attacks on Pakistani troops, and have vowed to rule Swat again.
Sympathisers with Fazlullah and other Taliban leaders, meanwhile, frequently attack girls’ schools.
That doesn’t keep students like Sana Khan, 8, from walking several kilometres to School No 3. She is well aware of how ruthless the Taliban can be, often overhearing her parents speak of how the Taliban kidnap and behead people.
“I want to be a doctor and help people. I want to go outside and see the world,” said Sana. Pakistan needs as many qualified students to enter the work force as possible to help its struggling economy, which is heavily dependent on foreign aid.
“Women have to be educated because they have to be part of the economy too,” said teacher Mohammad Arif. “Pakistan can’t develop if its women do not learn.”
But good learning is hard to come by in Pakistan, which spends less than two percent of its budget on education, while pouring huge sums into the military, which has ruled the South Asian country for more than half of its history. reuters
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\17\story_17-11-2011_pg7_7
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Muslim marriage not a civil contract: Court
Nov 16 2011,
New Delhi : Hearing a petition by a man seeking a judicial order for restitution of his conjugal rights after his “wife” deserted him under the pressure of her parents, a Delhi court has held that a marriage between two Muslims cannot be considered a civil contract.
Differing from Mulla’s Principles of Mohammedan Law that defines a nikah as a contract, Additional District Judge (ADJ) Rajender Kumar Shastri said a marriage could not be treated like a contract between two parties since it had several aspects alien to a formal agreement.
The judge reasoned that while a contract maps out specific rights and duties that emanate from the agreement, a marriage will encompass several rights as well as obligations which are not and cannot be mentioned in a nikahnama.
“A marriage gives birth to certain rights and liabilities, which are seldom described in the contract of marriage i.e. nikahnama. Right to be maintained and right to inheritance, sharing of joy and sorrow, affection towards each other as alter ego, feeling of joint ownership and of oneness — all these are salient features of marriage, which distinguishes it from a civil contract,” ADJ Shastri said.
He said if a Muslim marriage was to be considered a simple contract, it would also prohibit the couple from asserting several kinds of rights against each other in a court of law.
“If nikah was an ordinary civil contract, a spouse could not have claimed maintenance or right in property of other spouse, having not been mentioned in nikahnama. In this way, it will not be proper to describe a Mohammedan marriage as a civil contract,” ADJ Shastri said.
Adducing a nikahnama, the petitioner claimed that since the marriage under Mohammedan law is a civil contract between two persons, the court had no option but to enforce it specifically by giving a decree of restitution of conjugal rights.
ADJ Shastri, however, was of the opinion that not only was he against the idea of treating marriage as a contract, there was no other evidence to establish that the nikahnama was signed by the woman with her free consent.
Also, several other requirements of a valid nikah were missing in this case.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/876449/
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Islamic Minister asks government to remove idolatrous SAARC monuments
By Ahmed Nazeer
November 17th, 2011
Islamic Minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari has requested government authorities remove SAARC monuments that contradict Islam, placed in different areas around Addu City.
Dr Bari did not give further information about the matter to Minivan News, but confirmed that the media reports about the request he made were correct.
Local media have reported that Dr Bari has asked the President’s Office, the Foreign Ministry and Addu City Council to take down the offending SAARC monuments, although he did not specify which.
Speaking to Minivan News today, Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said that the government will respect Dr Bari’s decision.
‘’All concerned authorities will respect the word of Dr Bari,” Zuhair said, but added that it was “very difficult for the government to return a monument gifted to the government, especially when it is handed to us by another Islamic country,’’ he said.‘’If you think of it diplomatically, it is very difficult.’’
Zuhair said the Islamic Minister’s request will be forwarded to the President, who will decide whether or not to remove the monuments as soon as he comes back to office after his post-SAARC vacation.
Former President of Adhaalath Party and current State Islamic Minister, Sheikh Hussein Rasheed, today told Minivan News that he was not informed of the decision of the Islamic Minister.
‘’I do not know anything about it, nor did the Minister discuss anything like that with me,’’ Sheikh Rasheed said.
He said that the monuments “do not contradict the religion of Islam.”
‘’They were all given to us by member countries of SAARC, and represent their countries. The Pakistan monument showed how Pakistan became an Islamic country from its Buddhist origins,’’ he said. ‘’Although the monument does not contradict Islam, it should not be kept there if Maldivian citizens do not want it to be there.’’
The Pakistani monument was toppled during the SAARC Summit and subsequently set ablaze, and eventually stolen outright. The Sri Lankan monument, a statue of lion, was reported yesterday to have been coated in crude oil.
However Deputy Sri Lankan High Commissioner Shaanthi Sudusinghe told Minivan News today that she had been informed by the Addu City Mayor that the reports were a domestic political issue, and that the Sri Lankan monument had not been vandalised.
“He said the monument was made of carved stone and had black characteristics,” Sudusinghe said, “and that the monuments were being afforded full protection.”
Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s political party, the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), this week hailed the vandals of the Pakistani monument to be “national heroes”, and vowed to fight for their release from police custody in court.
Yesterday, PPM filed a case with police against the Maldives Customs Department for allowing the monuments to be imported to the Maldives.
http://minivannews.com/politics/islamic-minister-asks-government-to-remove-saarc-monuments-28317
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14 Comments on "Vandalism of Pakistani monument damaging to Maldives’ image: Foreign Ministry"
john on Wed,
16th Nov 2011
this whole silliness can be so easily ended if they wanted. in place of these budhas, they can place anything that represents that country, like their flag or whatever, and so end this whole fiasco. they seem to blame the ppl who are rightly enraged because this gets on their religious feelings which we shall respect
George on Wed, 16th Nov 2011 8:16 PM
@john
I do not blame you if you are truly a foreigner.
If not, you should know better that this is a politic plot than religious issue. During the 60s and 70s, when the RAF British forces based in Addu – there was a Chapel for the army and the people have no problem with that. Those who created all the problems are related to political parties.
George on Wed, 16th Nov 2011 8:29 PM
BTW – I saw photo of a chapel in a 5 stars resort to conduct wedding ceremony for Christian couple. Why no body make a big issue about that?
Barty on Wed, 16th Nov 2011 8:36 PM
See! even pakistanis are more understanding about our culture than the kaafir horde that’s permanently attached minivan.
http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/16-Nov-2011/Upper-half-of-Pakistan-monument-in-Addu-stolen
idolatrousapien on Wed, 16th Nov 2011 9:50 PM
John, respect will only be given to those who reciprocate.
peasant on Wed, 16th Nov 2011 10:11 PM
Our people can be enraged by anything, sad to say the political class merely reflects the ridiculousness of the citizenry.
We can rally people around anything. The Tsunami Monument is of a phallic shape, PPM or for that matter MDP can get their useful idiots in a frenzy over this should a political need arise.
At grassroots level, leaders still exploit the naiveté of the people rather than empowering them and working for the good of all.
I’m all for an opposition which acts as a watch dog ensuring good governance. Barking at everything the government does is not what responsible opposition parties do, such parties command maybe 2% of the vote in mature democracies. The question is will be survive until maturity?
The irony is the nut jobs who are deployed to sink the ship are the ones who have no access to the life rafts.
Undermining the political system gets no benefit for anybody whether it is Mahlouf or the common benighted man doing their bidding, nobody gains except for the Pharaoh and his immediate family in the end.
kp on Wed, 16th Nov 2011 11:20 PM
@john- what in heaven’s name are you on about? Buddhas? Are you even from the Asian region? The Sri Lankan monument in the Maldives was a lion. Islam forbids religious idols. No one in either Sri Lanka or Maldives worship lions. How is this contrary to islamic values?
Mikaloa-O on Wed, 16th Nov 2011 11:46 PM
On TV channels there are idols and idol worshiping shown.
Why not Adaalath calls for a total ban? Because these differ from the belief of oneness of Allah!
And why not PPM request the PG to raise case against those who allowed import of the items that allow these depictions?
Gadgets that allow depiction of idols and idol worshiping seem to fit in to all the acts mentioned by PPM!
Ziyan on Thu, 17th Nov 2011 1:07 AM
Maldivians have proven themselves that they are even more extreme than the Pakistanis. lol
sadjlfbdnn on Thu, 17th Nov 2011 10:57 AM
i cringe with shame
mariyam on Thu, 17th Nov 2011 1:29 PM
Police should arrest these PPM stupid fools for promoting unrest and violence in the name of Islam. All they are concerned about is power and ruling the country in 2013. They would be all of a sudden very tolerant if they were to come in to power again. Shame on you Adhaalath for undermining our beautiful religion of Islam to further your own political gains. President Nasheed made a major mistake by setting up a Ministry of Islamic Affairs, for we don’t need fools and selfish idiots like you to teach us your so called version of Islam. Islam is a simple and beautiful religion which teaches us not to judge others and to tolerate other religions and to respect differences. Those who are strong in islamic faith wouldn’t be jumping up and down like hooligans at the mere sight of a statue. Shows how shallow your faith really is.
Gasim Ali on Thu, 17th Nov 2011 4:00 PM
Why do we want to hide anything? We hate idols. Be it political, religion, stupidity or by sheer ignorance.
This is Maldives. We are showing the true face of Maldives.
And literally we DO NOT care about Paki’s, or Bangaalhee’s, let alone a Budda or a demented Cow.
We are proud Maldivians, who wish to stay stupid and ignorant, in the shadow of Arabian Bedouins.
Oscar Wilde on Thu, 17th Nov 2011 5:54 PM
@peasant
Say ‘the Tsunami Monument is of a phallic shape’ is a reflection of your state of mind.
The tetrapod used for Male sea wall are triangular shaped.. what a minute ..
Ahmed on Thu, 17th Nov 2011 6:35 PM
Salute to our stupid foreign minister and who ever thought of this monument idea and didn’t know this will happen.
I fear for my country for heaving such leaders with such limited foresight. I hope they do some damage control before building bridges turn into burning bridges.
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Indian PM in Bali, wants stronger ties with ASEAN, Singapore
IANS | Nov 17, 2011,
BALI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in this Indonesian island on Thursday to attend the 9th India-ASEAN summit and the 6th East Asia summit, hoping for stronger ties amid concerns relating to disaster management, maritime security and terrorism.
Before leaving for Bali and Singapore on the four-day visit, Manmohan Singh said in New Delhi that with a formal partnership with ASEAN now two decades old, India saw its ties with the forum as a key component of its Look East policy.
The prime minister said the East Asia Summit was the principal forum to devise an "open and inclusive architecture of regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region" that will now see the formal entry of US and Russia this year at the Bali Summit.
"Increasingly, political and security issues are becoming part of the East Asia Summit agenda. There are concerns among the countries of the region over issues relating to disaster management, maritime security, terrorism and other non-traditional threat to security," he said.
In Bali, Manmohan Singh also hopes to hold bilateral talks with his host and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, US President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
He said New Delhi will host the India-ASEAN Summit for the first time next year to mark 20 years of dialogue partnership with the grouping that comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
Stating that Singapore was a key partner for India, Manmohan Singh said: "India's Look East policy started with our engagement with Singapore and that country has been among strong advocates of greater cooperation between South East Asia and India."
He said Singapore was India's largest trading partner among ASEAN nations and that the country particularly shared strong ties due to the vast and vibrant Indian diaspora, a strong student community of Indians and large representation of India Inc there.
"Singapore was the first country with which we signed a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement in 2005. Currently, we are in the process of a second review of this agreement to make it work better for both of us," he said.
"I look forward to holding wide-ranging discussions with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and other distinguished leaders of Singapore on deepening our economic, trade, cultural and people-to-people relations," he said.
The prime minister is scheduled to unveil a bust of Jawaharlal Nehru there.
The prime minister will be in Bali for two days before leaving Nov 19 for Singapore, where he will hold bilateral talks with the leadership there.
He returns home on the night of Nov 20.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/PM-in-Bali-wants-stronger-ties-with-ASEAN-Singapore/articleshow/10769464.cms
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Iran unlikely to give up nuclear programme, feels India
Indrani Bagchi,
Nov 17, 2011,
NEW DELHI: As the IAEA works on a resolution to censure Iran yet again for its nuclear programme, India believes there is little to stop Tehran from proceeding with weaponization.
India believes the latest IAEA report on Iran's nuclear programme is "disturbing". "We are very clear that a nuclear Iran is not in India's interest, it does not contribute to regional security," said government sources. In Vienna, India, along with other IAEA board members are working on a resolution to criticize Iran for continuing with its nuclear enrichment work in defiance of a series of strictures from the IAEA and UN Security Council.
The IAEA board, said sources, is working on a resolution that will try to satisfy all members, which by definition means that it will be largely anodyne. While the Russians and Chinese don't want to censure Iran, the US and its allies are at the other end of the spectrum.
For Full Report :
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Iran-unlikely-to-give-up-nuclear-programme-feels-India/articleshow/10769631.cms
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People of India, Pakistan have no grievance against each other: Indian Journalist
November 17, 2011
HYDERABAD: A visiting delegation of Indian journalists from the Mumbai Press Club visited Hyderabad on the invitation of the Hyderabad Press Club on Wednesday.
During their day-long stay in the city, the delegation members attended a reception at the club, followed by a luncheon reception by the Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Later, the delegation members also visited the historic Homestead Hall (now known as Hasrat Mohani District Library), Mukhi House, built in 1920 before the partition by the irrigation minister of that time. The guests also visited Al-Manzar point of River Indus at Jamshoro, Sindh Museum, Sindhi Language Authority. Hyderabad Press Club also hosted a cultural evening in the honour of the visiting guests.
For Full Report :
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\17\story_17-11-2011_pg7_23
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Shehla Raza to act as Speaker Sindh Assembly
November 17, 2011
KARACHI: Deputy Speaker Sindh Assembly Syeda Shehla Raza will act as the Speaker of the provincial assembly from Nov 15 to 19. Speaker Sindh Assembly Nisar Ahmed Khuhro has proceeded to China with a business delegation to explore joint ventures with Chinese counterparts. app
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\17\story_17-11-2011_pg12_17
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Army major, 26 terrorists killed in clashes in Pakistan
November 17, 2011
PESHAWAR: A Pakistan army major was killed when about 60 terrorists attacked the Marazan checkpost in the central Kurram Agency late Tuesday night in a bid to revolt against the military offensive carried out in the region earlier. The deceased was identified as Major Sikandar. More than 20 terrorists were reportedly killed and nine hideouts were destroyed when the security forces retaliated. “The terrorists were hiding in nearby mountains and opened fire on the convoy which was followed by firing rockets. Security forces retaliated and killed 20 militants. One of our major succumbed to his wounds,” official sources said. In a separate incident in Shadala area of Ghaljo, four terrorists were killed and one soldier sustained injuries. Similarly, up to six militants were killed and several others injured in security forces operation launched against insurgents in Khartang area of Darra Adamkhel. Earlier, a policeman was killed while another was injured when a remote-controlled explosion took place near a police checkpost in the Shabqadar tehsil of Charsadda. Police officials added that the checkpost was situated on a main road, linking Mohmand Agency with Charsadda and Peshawar. Meanwhile, the funeral prayers of the slain policeman were held with senior police officials, including Peshawar City Police Officer (CPO) in attendance. inp
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\17\story_17-11-2011_pg7_3
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Iraq executes Tunisian over shrine attack
17 November 2011
BAGHDAD — Iraq executed a Tunisian man convicted of the 2006 bombing of a revered Shia shrine that set off the worst of the country’s sectarian violence, a senior Iraqi official said Thursday.
Deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim said that Yusri Fakhir, who was convicted early this year of the bombing, was executed Wednesday in Baghdad. Ibrahim added that ten other people — one Egyptian and nine Iraqis — also were executed on unrelated terrorism convictions.
The attack on the Al Askari shrine in the Sunni city of Samarra, some 60 miles (95 kilometers) north of Baghdad, unleashed unprecedented tit-for-tat killings between Iraq’s Sunni and Shia communities. Shia militias carried out a bloody campaign against Sunnis, who responded in turn. Thousands were killed, neighbors turned against neighbors, and Iraq nearly descended into civil war.
For Full Report :
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/November/middleeast_November418.xml§ion=middleeast
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Suspected US missiles kill 7 in NW Pakistan
17 November 2011
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Pakistani intelligence officials say suspected US drones fired four missiles at a house near the Afghan border, killing seven alleged militants.
The officials say Thursday’s strike occurred in the Ramzak area of the North Waziristan tribal region. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
North Waziristan is the main sanctuary for Al Qaeda and Taleban militants in Pakistan and has been repeatedly hit by US drone strikes.
The US does not acknowledge the CIA-run drone program in Pakistan publicly, but officials have said privately that the strikes have killed many senior Taleban and Al Qaeda commanders.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2011/November/international_November668.xml§ion=international&col=
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Iraq: 4 killed in car bomb attack south of Baghdad
By SINAN SALAHEDDIN
Nov 17, 2011
BAGHDAD: Iraqi officials say four people have been killed when a car bomb went off next to an Iraqi military patrol south of Baghdad.
A police officer says the military patrol was traveling in the town of Mahmoudiya when a parked car bomb exploded near it on Thursday, killing two soldiers and two civilians.
He says eight other people were wounded in the attack. A doctor in a nearby hospital confirmed the casualty figures.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.
Mahmoudiya is located about 20 miles (30 kilometers) south of Baghdad.
Violence across Iraq has dropped dramatically over the last three years but deadly attacks still happen nearly every day.
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article534856.ece'
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Six killed in Tirah, Pakistan blast
November 17, 2011
KHYBER AGENCY: Six tribesmen were killed and two others sustained injuries when a vehicle ran over a roadside landmine in the remote Tirah valley in Spori on Wednesday. According to the political administration here, a Jamrud-bound pickup with eight tribesmen, ran over a landmine planted on roadside, which exploded, killing six persons, including driver Adnan, and injured two others. The ill-fated pickup was coming from Tehsil Jani Khel to Jamrud Tehsil. The locals rushed to the spot and shifted the injured to hospital. app
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\17\story_17-11-2011_pg7_9
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Woman among two killed in violence in Karachi, Pak
November 17, 2011
KARACHI: Two people, including wife of an industrialist, were shot dead in separate acts of violence in different parts of the metropolis on Wednesday. A 50-year-old woman was gunned down in Dhoraji Colony within the jurisdiction of Bahadurabad police station. Saeeda, wife of Naseem, was shot and injured by unidentified armed men and was shifted to a private hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. Later, the body was brought to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and then handed over to her heirs without completion of legal formalities. Police said deceased’s husband is an industrialist, adding armed men shot and killed his wife over resistance during a robbery bid when she was in her car along with a minor female housemaid while her driver went to the market to buy wheat. Police officials said the police were looking for family to register the case. Separately, an owner of cosmetic shop was shot dead at a shopping centre in Gulshan-e-Iqbal within the limits of Aziz Bhatti police station. Jamil, 50, son of Sawan Masih, a resident of Essa Nagri, just opened his shop at Block 13-D, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, when two unidentified armed men opened fire on him, resultantly he received bullet injuries and died on the spot. After committing the crime, culprits fled. SHO Kansan Dean said the victim used to run a cosmetics shop, and he was the father of five children. He said at the time of incident, a few shops were opened. Initially police revealed that personal enmity might be the motive behind the incident, he said. The body was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for legal formalities and later handed over to his heirs. No case was registered till filing the report. staff report
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\17\story_17-11-2011_pg7_15
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Afghan journalist killed by Taliban roadside bomb
November 17, 2011
KABUL: Reporters Without Borders (RWB) is saddened to learn that radio journalist Jafar Vafa and eight of his relatives were killed by a roadside bomb in the eastern province of Laghman on Saturday as they were returning home from Vafa’s wedding two days earlier in Mehtar Lam, the provincial capital. Aged 20, Vafa worked for radio Kaleh Ghosh.
“We offer our condolences to Jafar Vafa’s family,” RWB Secretary General Jean-François Julliard said, noting that he is the third journalist to have been killed by a roadside bomb since 2009. Four others have been seriously injured. On October 23, 2010, New York Times photographer Joao Silva was badly injured by a mine in southern Afghanistan, and had to have both legs amputated above the knee.
For Full Report :
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\17\story_17-11-2011_pg7_29
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Curse of 39 strikes Afghan elders meeting
17 November 2011
KABUL — A major meeting of Afghan elders discussing the country’s long-term relationship with the United States has been hit by a strange superstition surrounding the number 39, officials confirmed on Thursday.
Some 2,000 elders at the Loya Jirga, now into a second day, have divided themselves up into 40 committees to debate the presence of US troops in Afghanistan Afghan elders after 2014, when NATO combat forces are meant to leave.
But the members of committee 39 refuse to acknowledge the number because of an urban myth which associates it with pimps.
The curse of 39 means that Afghans with the number on their vehicle licence plate or in their mobile phone number face being teased or even ostracised.
For Full Report :
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2011/November/international_November665.xml§ion=international&col=
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US aid to Pak: Top Senators introduce tough measures
Nov 17 2011,
Washington : Angry over Pakistan's lacklustre cooperation in the war on terror, top US Senators have introduced amendments that would make it tough for government here to give military and civilian aid to Islamabad unless it takes concrete steps against militant groups like Haqqani network and LeT.
The amendments were introduced yesterday by several top Senators, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Under the Reid Amendment (SA 957) to the HR 2354, the Secretary of State needs to certify that Pakistan is cooperating with the US in efforts against Haqqani network, the Quetta Shura Taliban, Lashkar e-Toiba, al-Qaeda and other domestic and foreign terrorist groups, including taking steps to end support for such groups and prevent them from operating in Pakistan and carrying out cross-border attacks into neighbouring countries.
However, the Secretary of State could waive this condition in the national security interest of the US.
For Full Report :
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/877172/
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Malegaon erupts as jail gates open
By Aditi Raja in Mumbai
Nov 17 2011
ATHICK mix of anger, excitement and anticipation pervaded the town’s air on Wednesday as the families of seven of the nine accused anxiously waited for their men to walk free from the Arthur Road Prison in Mumbai.
Though the bail was allowed on November 5, the families have been on the tenterhooks for over three days for the actual release procedures to be completed. These women, who have formed a thick bond through the testing times, remained in touch with each other on Wednesday.
While most families remained glued to the TV sets to see their kin being freed, they could not hold back their tears when the men walked out of the jail at 6.30 pm in Mumbai. Simultaneously, the entire Malegaon neighbourhood erupted in joy. Several residents then attended a speech by Mumbai MLA Naseem Khan, who had arrived in Malegaon ahead of the release to express his solidarity with the affected families.
Earlier, the Malegaon homes of the seven men witnessed a lot of happy activity with their family friends pouring in and the women of the house adorning their hands with henna to welcome their husbands and fathers back home and preparing their favourite dishes.
Rafatjahan, the elder sister of Abrar Ahmed, could not hold back her tears as the clock ticked towards 6 pm. “ My brother has been very close to all of us.
He is like my child and I can’t wait to see him. I will feed him myself when he returns… We have prepared an elaborate feast for him,” she said.
For Full Report :
http://epaper.mailtoday.in/epaperhome.aspx?issue=17112011
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Woman pleads guilty to illegal export to Pakistan
November 17, 2011
WASHINGTON: A Chinese citizen who lives in California pleaded guilty to conspiring to ship material for a Pakistani nuclear reactor after initially denying she was behind any scheme contributing to the proliferation threat.
Xun Wang, a former managing director of PPG Paints Trading Co in Shanghai, China, admitted her guilt late on Tuesday before a federal judge in Washington. She also reached a $200,000 settlement with the Commerce Department and agreed to cooperate with investigators. PPG Paints Trading also pleaded guilty in December.
Wang, a lawful US permanent resident who lives outside San Francisco, California, was accused of conspiring to send high-performance epoxy coatings to the Chashma II nuclear reactor run by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission. She admitted helping send three shipments of the coatings from the United States to Pakistan through a third-party distributor in China without the required license from the Commerce Department. ap
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\17\story_17-11-2011_pg7_32
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Arab League urged to suspend Yemen
November 17, 2011
SANAA: Anti-regime protesters, inspired by the suspension of Syria from the Arab League, staged a massive rally in Sanaa on Wednesday to urge the regional grouping to do the same with Yemen.
“Arab League, we demand the freezing of (Yemeni) membership,” chanted the protesters who marched from Change Square, the epicentre of anti-government demonstrations, towards Al-Hasaba - both in the north of the capital. “No immunity for the killer, resist, people, resist,” they chanted, in allusion to a Gulf plan to end 10 months of unrest under which veteran President Ali Abdullah Saleh would step down in return for immunity from prosecution for himself and his family.
“Silence after today is shameful, after the bombs and the destruction,” they shouted. Security forces fired warning shots in the air when protesters passed by a house owned by Saleh. No casualties were reported. Saleh, who has been in power in Sanaa since 1978, has come under mounting domestic and international pressure to step down in line with the Gulf-brokered peace blueprint. Saleh has welcomed but has yet to sign off on the plan. afp
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\17\story_17-11-2011_pg7_30
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Malaysia arrests 13 suspected of militant activity
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nov 17, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Malaysian police say they have arrested 13 men for plotting militant activities on Borneo island.
National police chief Ismail Omar said the suspects’ actions “could have threatened national security.” He did not elaborate and other police officials declined to comment.
Six of those arrested in eastern Sabah state this week are foreigners. Ismail did not reveal their nationalities.
Sabah borders the restive southern Philippines and Indonesia’s Kalimantan province in Borneo.
Rights group Suaram said earlier Thursday the suspects include businessmen and two schoolteachers held under the Internal Security Act. The law has been used over the past decade to detain more than 100 militant suspects without trial.
http://arabnews.com/world/article534851.ece
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U.S. faces tough choice on Iran’s nukes
November 16, 2011
VIENNA | The U.S. and its Western allies face an unpalatable choice over Iran at a key U.N. atomic agency meeting Thursday.
They can defy Russia and China with a demand that Iran start answering questions on its alleged secret nuclear arms program or face renewed referral to the U.N. Security Council.
Or they can settle for a milder rebuke of Tehran that leaves the big powers formally speaking with one voice but leaves the world’s hands tied in investigating the suspicions about the Islamic republic.
Both ways, the United States, Britain, France and Germany stand to lose as they head into the opening session of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) 35-nation board meeting.
If they push for a tough resolution that sets a time frame for Iran to cooperate with the IAEA’s probe, then Russia and China are likely to vote against it.
That may doom further attempts to speak with one Security Council voice at any future negotiations with Iran over its nuclear defiance - and increase Sino-Russian resistance against new U.N. Security Council sanctions on Tehran.
Going too far the other way keeps the facade of unity, by allowing Moscow and Beijing to endorse a weakly worded resolution with no deadline for Iran’s cooperation and no warnings of penalties if it doesn’t.
For Full Report :
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/16/us-faces-tough-choice-on-irans-nukes/
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Iran expert: U.S. elections increase likelihood of Israeli strike
Nov,16.11
An Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear sites may become likelier in 2012 if Israel calculates it has more room to act alone in a U.S. presidential election year, a former U.S. official and nuclear diplomacy expert said.
Mark Fitzpatrick, an Iran watcher at the International Institute of Strategic Studies, told Reuters the latest report by the UN nuclear watchdog made him more worried that Iran was closer to mastering how to use nuclear power as a weapon.
An Israel Air Force F-15 during takeoff.
Iran insists its nuclear program is for civilian energy only. But Fitzpatrick, who was a State Department official responsible for nuclear non-proliferation, said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report was damning.
It found that Iran appeared to have worked on designing a nuclear weapon and may be continuing research relevant to that end.
For Full Report :
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/iran-expert-u-s-elections-increase-likelihood-of-israeli-strike-1.395969
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IAEA seeks Iran mission to address nuclear fears
Nov 17, 2011
n International Atomic Energy Agency report last week assessing that Iran has been conducting research and experiments geared to developing a nuclear weapons capability has stoked tensions in the Middle East and heightened Western pressure for harsher punitive sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
IAEA chief Yukiya Amano announced his proposal at a meeting of the Vienna-based agency’s 35-nation governing board, where six major powers were expected to close ranks to increase diplomatic pressure on Tehran.
Amano said he had written to the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, earlier this month to suggest the visit, which would air issues raised by the hard-hitting IAEA report on Iran.
“Preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons is one of the IAEA’s core responsibilities,” the veteran Japanese diplomat told the closed-door meeting, according to a copy of his speech.
For Full Report :
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article534868.ece
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Syria faces army defectors, worldwide isolation
17 November 2011,
Also on Wednesday, France recalled its ambassador to Damascus in the wake of recent attacks against diplomatic missions and increasing violence stemming from the 8-month-old uprising. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe warned that “the vise is tightening” around Assad, and a government spokeswoman said Paris is working with the Syrian opposition to find an alternative to the regime.
The move comes as the 22-member Arab League formally suspended Damascus over the crackdown, which the UN estimates has killed more than 3,500 people, and threatened economic sanctions if the regime continues to violate an Arab-brokered peace plan.
The foreign ministers, meeting Wednesday in Rabat, Morocco, also gave the Syrian government three days to respond to an Arab peace plan that involves sending an Arab League delegation to monitor compliance.
“Economic sanctions are certainly possible if the Syrian government does not respond,” said Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim.
For Full Report :
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle11.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/November/middleeast_November415.xml§ion=middleeast
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World intensifies pressure on Syria
Nov 17, 2011,
AMMAN: France recalled its ambassador to Damascus and Syria's suspension from the Arab League took effect on Wednesday, intensifying diplomatic pressure on president Bashar al-Assad to halt a violent eight-month-old crackdown on protests.
Syrian army defectors attacked an intelligence complex on the edge of Damascus in a high-profile assault that showed how close the popular uprising is to sliding into armed conflict.
Hours after the Arab League suspension took effect , Assad supporters threw stones and debris at the embassy of the United Arab Emirates and smeared its walls with graffiti, witnesses said. The embassy is in one of the most secure districts of the capital, near Assad's home and offices. Foreign minister Alain Juppe said France was working with the Arab League on a draft resolution at the United Nations.
For Full Report :
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/World-intensifies-pressure-on-Syria/articleshow/10763511.cms?prtpage=1
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Haj Pilgrims brought in on labour visas left in the lurch
By GALAL FAKKAR | ARAB NEWS
Nov 17, 2011
JEDDAH: Haj tour operators, especially those from a number of Arab countries, have been accused of bringing pilgrims to the Kingdom on visas other than those allocated specifically for Haj during the recently-concluded pilgrimage season.
The firms left their pilgrims in the lurch after taking them to Makkah. This is what happened to around 1,700 Hajis who came to perform the pilgrimage this year from an African Arab country on seasonal labor visas.
The pilgrims said they resorted to these tactics when they failed to get Haj visas through proper channels.
They complained that their tour operator vanished without a trace after bringing them into the holy city and giving them accommodation at a location set aside for dumping garbage in Mina. The company officials did not come to inquire about their conditions during and after Haj, they told Arab News.
For Full Report :
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article534661.ece
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Kidnapping case against MQM-H chief
November 17, 2011
Complainant shot at, injured in Landhi
Staff Report
KARACHI: Complainant Khalid Hussain, who registered a kidnapping and torturing case last month against Muhajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi (MQM-H) chief Afaq Ahmed and four other activists of his party, was wounded in a firing incident here on Wednesday.
According to a report, Hussain was shot and injured near his residence located in Landhi C-1 area within the jurisdiction of Landhi police station. He was shot once in his leg and was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for treatment.
Hussain, who works in Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, had registered an FIR (244/11) under Sections 342/109/506-B/337- (i) of Pakistan Penal Code at Landhi police station on Oct 7 in which he nominated Ahmed and four activists of MQM-H, including Raees Topi, Yameen alias Hakla and Ejaz Babu, while recording his statement that those activists on behalf of Ahmed kidnapped and tortured him on Oct 6, 2011. The case remained in pending as no arrest was made.
For Full Report :
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\17\story_17-11-2011_pg7_14
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Successes achieved in war against terror: Sindh Governor
November 17, 2011
KARACHI: The government of Pakistan, our armed forces and the people has attained significant successes in the war against terror.
Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan stated this on Wednesday.
He was talking to the participants of the 41st PN Staff Course who called on him at the Governor House here.
The governor said that the personnel of armed forces, law enforcement agencies and the people also rendered great sacrifices in the fight against terror. The economy of the country also came under strain and thus a heavy price has been paid in the fight against terrorism. However, negative perception has been painted in the West and that this needs to be corrected.
For Full Report :
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\17\story_17-11-2011_pg12_1
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Democracy promotes tolerance, spirit of harmony, says Gilani
November 17, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Wednesday democracy provides conducive conditions within which people, with different set of ideas, agendas and belief systems, can sit across the table in a spirit of harmony and tolerance and explore commonalities to ensure their well-being.
In a message on International Day of Tolerance, the prime minister said, “The day provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the dangers of intolerance and immoderation, posed to global peace, harmony and social equilibrium.”
He said International Day of Tolerance, being observed around the world on Wednesday, draws attention to the imperative of promoting tolerance and respect for each other’s beliefs and rights. The United Nations, through a resolution, asked member states to observe November 16 as the International Day of Tolerance. The member states of UNESCO adopted the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance on November 16, 1995.
For Full Report :
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\17\story_17-11-2011_pg7_17
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Zardari, Gilani, Kayani discuss secret memo to US
Nov 17, 2011,
A secret memo to Washington that claims Asif Ali Zardari feared a military coup came up for discussion at a meeting in Islamabad between the Pakistani president, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, a media report said on Thursday.
Mansoor Ijaz, a Pakistani American businessman, has made the startling claim that a senior Pakistani diplomat asked for help in getting a message from Zardari to Admiral Mike Mullen, who was then chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.
He alleged that Zardari feared a military takeover after US commandos killed Al Qaeda Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad May 2.
The News International said Zardari, Gilani and Kayani on Wednesday met at the presidency that presumably focused on US-Pakistan ties and the memo that was sent to Mullen.
Presidential Spokesman Farhatullah Babar's two-line announcement said Gilani called on President Zardari at Aiwan-e-Sadr Wednesday night. It added Kayani was also present during the meeting, at which the current security situation in the country was discussed.
A day earlier, Kayani had met Zardari, during which the memo was reportedly discussed.
Pakistan's Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani has been summoned to Islamabad for a briefing on the issue.
For Full Report :
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/770355.aspx
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No rift between Zardari and Kiyani: Firdaus
November 17, 2011
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Firdaus Ashiq Awan, dispelling the impression that there was a rift between the government and the army, establishment said on Wednesday that complete harmony existed between both institutions.
Briefing journalists after a cabinet meeting, the information minister was replying to a question about the meeting of President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. She said that they discussed internal and external threats being faced by the country and strategies on how to cope with them and that there was no substance to the rumors about the differences between them. Replying to another question about the summoning of Pakistan’s Ambassador to United States Hussain Haqqani by Islamabad, she said that the media was depicting the situation incorrectly and that he was not going to be replaced, adding that his summons were a routine matter as ambassadors are summoned every now and then. She stated that there had been bumps in the Pak-US relationship during the last few months and that Hussain Haqqani was being called to discuss issues related to both countries and the government’s strategy in the current scenario.
For Full Report :
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\17\story_17-11-2011_pg7_1
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Real threat assessment of Pak nukes not yet made: Expert
Nov 17 2011,
Washington : Pakistan's nuclear assets may appear tempting targets for terrorists, but a noted American expert says the real threat assessment of this is yet to be made.
In an article published in the latest issue of Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Charles P Blair, Deputy Director of the Centre for Terrorism and Intelligence Studies, maintains that the real threat assessment is yet to be made – one that goes beyond merely considering assumed terrorist capability and putative vulnerabilities.
"Pakistan's nuclear assets may be tempting targets for terrorists. Experts are split, however, on the actual threat posed. Some assert that Pakistan's nuclear assets are on the verge of seizure by terrorists, while others contend that the risk is minimal at best," Blair wrote in his paper.
"Because neither side develops robust or holistic threat assessments, however, American decision makers, who wisely include open sources when evaluating possible threats emanating from Pakistan's nuclear infrastructure, are not adequately informed," Blair concluded.
For Full Report :
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/877152/
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Pakistani ambassador warns against U.S. aid cutoff
November 16, 2011
Pakistan's ambassador to the United States on Wednesday warned against cutting off U.S. aid to his country, after a Republican presidential candidate called for an end to foreign assistance to the South Asian country where intelligence officials are suspected of supporting terrorists.
"By shutting down [U.S. aid to Pakistan], you are sending a message to people that you don’t care," Ambassador Husain Haqqani said at a breakfast meeting hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.
At the Republican presidential debate in South Carolina on Saturday night, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Pakistan does not deserve U.S. aid.
"Pakistan is clearly sending us messages ... that they don't deserve our foreign aid ... because they're not being honest with us," he said.
The relationship between Washington and Islamabad has grown increasingly tense this year after the arrest of a U.S. contractor in the killing of two Pakistanis, the death of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a U.S. commando raid on his Pakistan hide-out in May, and an accusation by the former chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff that Pakistan's intelligence agency supports a terrorist network that has attacked U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
For Full Report :
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/16/pakistani-ambassador-warns-against-us-aid-cutoff/print/
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Pakistan ambassador to US, Husain Haqqani, offers to resign
Nov 17, 2011,
WASHINGTON: Pakistan's ambassador to Washington has offered to resign after reports that his boss, President Asif Ali Zardari, asked Washington for help to stave off a military takeover.
A Pakistani businessman alleged in a column in the Financial Times last month that a senior Pakistani diplomat asked for assistance in getting a message from Zardari to Admiral Mike Mullen, at the time chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The author, Mansoor Ijaz, alleged that Zardari feared a military takeover following the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May and brought unprecedented public scrutiny on Pakistani leaders.
Events in the months following the bin Laden raid have underscored the sharp tensions between Pakistan's weak civilian government, headed by Zardari, and its military leadership, headed by General Ashfaq Kayani.
For Full Report :
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Pakistan-ambassador-to-US-Husain-Haqqani-offers-to-resign/articleshow/10765335.cms?prtpage=1
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Kuwait in crisis talks after protesters storm parliament
Nov 17, 2011,
KUWAIT: Kuwaiti leaders held crisis talks on Thursday after protesters demanding the resignation of the prime minister, a key member of the ruling Al-Sabah family, stormed parliament in a sharp escalation of tension in the oil-rich Gulf state.
Local media said the cabinet began an emergency meeting chaired by Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, who enjoys extensive powers to dissolve parliament and sack the cabinet.
In Kuwait, the ruler occasionally chairs cabinet meetings.
Parliament also called off a scheduled session after protesters stormed the seaside building, entered the main chamber and sang the national anthem before leaving.
They were accompanied by a number of opposition lawmakers who have been campaigning for the removal of Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad Al-Sabah for the past several years.
Opposition MP Daifallah Buramia said in a statement that the Opposition Bloc was also due to meet later on Thursday to "assess the situation after the events on Wednesday."
Pro-government MPs strongly condemned the opposition actions with Shiite MP Faisal al-Duwaisan describing it as a "challenge to the status of the emir .... and a step towards a coup."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Kuwait-in-crisis-talks-after-protesters-storm-parliament/articleshow/10766989.cms?prtpage=1
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Karzai outlines conditions for US in Afghanistan
16/11/2011
Agence France-Presse . Kabul
The president, Hamid Karzai, outlined conditions for a long-term US troop presence in Afghanistan at a major gathering of elders on Wednesday debating the country’s future after NATO combat forces leave.
Karzai told day one of the loya jirga that he wanted Afghan-US relations to be those of ‘two independent countries’ and assured neighbours like China and Russia that a long-term deal would not affect their ties with Afghanistan.
Karzai convened the four-day jirga to secure backing for a strategic partnership deal with the United States currently under negotiation which will govern Afghan-American relations after NATO combat forces withdraw in 2014.
For Full Report :
http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/international/40205.html
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Fresh Israeli raids on Gaza strip
November 17, 2011
Afp, Gaza City
Israeli planes carried out two raids on the Gaza Strip overnight, wounding a Palestinian, a Hamas official said yesterday.
The raids were on targets in Beit-Lahya and northern Gaza, said a member of the security service of Hamas, which controls the enclave.
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired two rockets into southern Israel on Tuesday evening, damaging a farm outbuilding but causing no casualties, Israeli police said.
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=210502
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Syria: Russia says conflict 'is similar to civil war'
November 17, 2011
Sergei Lavrov said the Arab League must call on all sides to end the violence.
Last month Moscow vetoed a UN resolution condemning the violence and called for dialogue between the government and opposition groups.
The Arab League has suspended Syria and given the government three days to end the "bloody repression".
The League's 22 members said Syria must allow in a team of international monitors or face sanctions.
The plan drawn up by the Arab League earlier this month calls on Syria to withdraw tanks from restive cities, cease its attacks on protesters and engage in dialogue with the opposition within two weeks.
Mr Assad had agreed to the plan, but has failed to honour it and the violence has continued.
France's Foreign Minister Alain Juppe is heading for Turkey for talks on how to address the growing crisis.
For Full Report :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15769804
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Centre should take into account CM's views on AFSPA: Farooq
Nov 17 2011,
New Delhi : Supporting Omar Abdullah's demand for withdrawal of AFSPA from some areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Union Minister Farooq Abdullah today said the Chief Minister is "the boss" in the state and the Centre should take his views on the controversial Act.
The New and Renewable Energy Minister said the security situation in the state has improved and the Act must go from some areas there.
"I feel that time has come when the state is on the mend and from some of the areas there, the AFSPA should go because people feel that things are getting normal," he said when asked about his views on the issue.
"As chief minister, I am the boss. I get the inputs from all the agencies. Today, if the chief minister feels that conditions are better and our relations with Pakistan are improving, then I feel that we should take his view also with courage," the former J-K chief minister said.
Omar is demanding revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from certain parts of the state, a move which is opposed by the Army saying it will handicap its ability to operate there.
For Full Report :
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/877214/
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Bullet strikes White House window
November 17, 2011
WASHINGTON: A bullet has struck the ballistic glass of an exterior window of the White House and another round has been found nearby, the Secret Service said on Wednesday. The bodyguard detail charged with protecting the US president and other top officials began investigating after an incident on Friday when gunshots were heard near the White House, the service said in a statement. The Secret Service later determined that the shots were fired from 700-800 meters away from the White House and issued an arrest warrant for Oscar Ortega-Hernandez, 21. It did not provide further details on the shooting. “The bullet damage to the White House has not been conclusively connected to Friday’s incident, and an assessment of the exterior of the White House is ongoing,” the Secret Service said. afp
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\17\story_17-11-2011_pg7_10
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/don-t-think-migrating-india/d/5934