Iranian Actress to get 90 Lashes for Making film about Iranian Regime
Torture rife in Afghan prisons: UN report
Oz Female Soldier Alleges Sex Assault at Afghan Military Base
Pakistan tries for UN Security Council, faces unexpected block, but not from India
Govt to provide more jobs to Baloch youth, says Gilani
Kyrgyzstan Uses Islamic Religious Education to Counter Terrorism
SC stays Ajmal Kasab's death sentence
UN publishes Afghanistan prisoner 'torture' report
Egypt clashes: Military calls for swift unrest probe
Al-Azhar calls for urgent meeting between Coptic and Muslim leaders after Maspero attacks
US insists Pak needs to 'do more'
25 Killed in Sectarian Riots in Egypt
Five People killed in Separate incidents in Karachi
NATO says 25 insurgents killed in coordinated assault on US bases
30 Afghan militants killed after cross-border raid
17 NTC fighters killed in Libya's Bani Walid
24 dead in Copt clashes, Egypt PM appeals for calm
Riots over church attack in Egypt kill 19
Syrian activists say at least 31 killed Sunday
Pak Taliban for Saudi mediation in peace talks
Pak Taliban considering peace talks with US
MQM-H chief booked in kidnapping case
Pak court gives bail to Lankan cricket team attack suspect
NATO says 25 insurgents killed in coordinated assault on US bases
Spring is gone, Egypt burns
Suspected terrorist arrested in Islamabad
Gaddafi's hometown Sirte close to falling
Libyan fighters make Sirte gains after bitter fighting
Malaysia: Raja Nazrin asks Islamic religious council to review programmes
Dozens arrested after Egypt's deadly clashes
Sudan rebel chief urges govt to stop bombing civilians
Iran issues warning to Turkey on its pro-U.S. position
Egypt religious leaders to hold crisis talks
Obama faces uphill re-election climb, says ex-aide
Pakistan to repatriate Osama family
40 Yemen women wounded celebrating Nobel win
Protesters attack TV station over film Persepolis
Guarded response: Taliban hint at accepting Saudis as peace brokers
Iraq's Maliki says US military trainers might stay
China plans new economic zones in Xinjiang border towns
Afghanistan downplays Karzai threat
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/iranian-actress-get-90-lashes/d/5657
Iranian Actress to get 90 Lashes for Making film about Iranian Regime
Mon Oct 10 2011,
Tehran:
An Iranian actress has been sentenced to 90 lashes and a year in jail for working in a film that highlights the limits imposed on artists in the Islamic republic.
Marzieh Vafamehr was arrested in July after appearing in ‘My Tehran for Sale,’ which came under harsh criticism in conservative circles, the Telegraph reports.
The movie, produced in collaboration with Australia, is a story of a young actress in Tehran whose theatre work is banned by the authorities, and she is forced to lead a secret life in order to express herself artistically.
The movie was not approved for screening in Iran, but was illegally distributed in the country, the paper said.
According to a Iranian Opposition website Kalameh.com, Vafamehr was handed the sentence on Saturday.
“A verdict has been issued for Marzieh Vafamehr, sentencing her to a year in jail and 90 lashes,” the website said.
“Her lawyer has appealed the sentence, which was handed down yesterday (Saturday),” it added.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/actress-to-get-90-lashes-for-making-film-about-iranian-regime/857992/
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Torture rife in Afghan prisons: UN report
Alissa J Rubin,
NYT News Service | Oct 11, 2011,
KABUL: Suspects are hung by their hands, beaten with cables , and in some cases their genitals are twisted until they lose consciousness in detention facilities run by the Afghan intelligence service and the Afghan national police, according to a study released on Monday by the United Nations in Kabul.
The report provides a devastating picture of the abuses committed by arms of the Afghanistan government as the American-led foreign forces here are moving to wind down their presence after a decade of war. The abuses were uncovered as American and other Western trainers and mentors had been working closely with the ministries overseeing the detention facilities and funded their operations.
Acting on early draft of the report seen last month, Nato stopped handing over detainees to the Afghans in several areas of the country.
The report found evidence of "a compelling pattern and practice of systematic torture and ill-treatment" during interrogation in the accounts of nearly half of the detainees of the intelligence service, known as the national directorate of intelligence, who were interviewed by United Nations researchers.
The national police treatment of detainees was somewhat less severe and widespread , the report found. Its research covered 47 facilities sites in 22 provinces.
"Use of interrogation methods, including suspension , beatings, electric shock, stress positions and threatened sexual assault is unacceptable by any standard of international human rights law," the report said.
One detainee described being brought in for interrogation in Kandahar and having the interrogator ask if he knew the name of the office and then, after the man answered , "You should confess what you have done in the past as Taliban, even stones confess here." The man was beaten for several days for hours at a time with electric wire and then signed a confession, the report said.
The report pointed out that even though the abusive practices are endemic, the Afghan government does not condone torture and has explicitly said the abuses found by the United Nations are not government policy. "Reform is both possible and desired," said Staffan de Mistura, the United Nations special representative for Afghanistan , noting that the government had cooperated with the report's researchers and has begun to take remedial action.
"We take this report very seriously," said Shaida Abdali , the deputy director of Afghanistan's National Security Council. "Our government, especially the president, has taken a very strong stand on the protection of everyone's human rights, their humanity , everywhere and especially in prisons and in detention," he said, adding since he had not yet read the full document.
The government issued a lengthy response in which the intelligence service denied using electric shock, threat of rape and the twisting of sexual organs, but allowed that there were "deficiencies" in a war-torn country that routinely faced suicide bombings and other forms of terrorism.
It also said it had set up an assessment unit to look in to the problem, and had dismissed several employees at a unit known as Department 124, where the UN said the torture appeared to have been the most endemic. The intelligence service is now admonishing newly assigned interrogators to observe human rights, the government said in its response.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/-Torture-rife-in-Afghan-prisons-UN-report/articleshow/10309388.cms
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Oz Female Soldier Alleges Sex Assault at Afghan Military Base
Mon Oct 10 2011,
Canberra:
A female soldier serving with Australian forces in Afghanistan has logged a formal complaint of being sexually assaulted at a military base in that country last month.
The soldier reported the alleged assault to her superiors last Wednesday. She was serving in the Middle East Area of Operations at a base in Tarin Kowt in Afghanistan’s Oruzgan Province at that time, the Courier Mail reports.
A defence spokesman said the matter is being investigated, but did not reveal whether the allegation was against a colleague or someone not connected with the ADF.
The Department of Defence ‘does not condone inappropriate behaviour and treats such allegations seriously,’ the spokesman said.
“Our immediate priority at this time is to provide support and assistance to the soldier and ensure the safety and welfare of our members,” he added.
See anyone's past criminal history. Unlimited searches. Peace of mind.
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The probe comes after a Skype sex scandal that rocked the nation’s defence service earlier this year when a female cadet at the Australian Defence Force Academy was allegedly filmed having sex with a male cadet while the footage was beamed live to other cadets.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/oz-female-soldier-alleges-sex-assault-at-afghan-military-base/858013/
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Pakistan tries for UN Security Council, faces unexpected block, but not from India
Indrani Bagchi, TNN
Oct 11, 2011,
A number of Pakistanis are unsure if it will get a non-permanent UNSC seat despite a seemingly easy field, because many believe the US is propping up the opposition against Pakistan.
NEW DELHI: In another 10 days, Pakistan will be asking for votes from 192 countries for a two-year seat in the UN Security Council for 2012-2014, and despite an easy field, it anticipates difficulties, not from India, but the US.
In ordinary circumstances, Pakistan would have had it fairly easy. This year too, the opposition field looks weak enough. Fiji, which was a claimant for the Asian seat, withdrew recently in favour of Pakistan. Pakistan now has only one opposing candidate, Kyrgyzstan. A tiny country, Kyrgyzstan has barely 20 missions in the world and should not pose any real threat to Pakistan.
Sources say Pakistan should have little problem getting the required 128 votes from the UN General Assembly. But a number of Pakistanis are unsure, because many believe the US is propping up the opposition against Pakistan.
India will support Kyrgyzstan, under a reciprocal deal reached with Bishkek during India's own lobbying for a non-permanent seat in 2010. The deal apart, Indians and Pakistanis generally get along fairly well at multilateral institutions, except when it comes to issues like Kashmir. On many global issues, India and Pakistan not only vote with each other, but also support each other. During India's vote, Pakistan did not say that it had supported India, yet many Indian diplomats said they had seen the Pakistani ballot paper with "India" written on it. India won with a massive 187 votes.
Munir Akram, who represented Pakistan as UN ambassador several times, wrote on Sunday that India's opposition would have little effect on Pakistan's chances. But he suspects that the US may be trying to nix Pakistan's chances in the UN Security Council. "At the UN, most astute observers are convinced that the Kyrgyz bid has been encouraged, if not inspired, by the US. It is reasoned that the US does not want Pakistan to have a seat on the Security Council during the critical endgame in Afghanistan or to provide it a platform to raise difficult issues... Unlike India, the US has the influence to significantly complicate Pakistan's bid for the Security Council seat. Some years ago, Africa's endorsed candidate, Sudan, was defeated by the last-minute US-sponsored candidature of Mauritius."
Kyrgyzstan does not set the UN on fire, though they apparently have a large delegation working the diplomatic network in Turtle Bay. But this year, Pakistan is not on the global favourite list -- hosting Osama bin Laden and its overt reluctance to give up terrorism as an instrument of state policy does not help matters for Islamabad. Yet Kyrgyzstan has refused to give up its candidature for Pakistan, and promised to see this battle through to the bitter end. Surprised, many Pakistanis believe the responsibility for this could lie with the US.
Akram noted the US had yet to support Pakistan publicly, though Indian diplomats say that could change in the days ahead. US has a key base in Manas, Kyrgyzstan, which is used for the war in Afghanistan. America is also expanding activities in the tiny Central Asian country.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistan-tries-for-UN-Security-Council-faces-unexpected-block-but-not-from-India/articleshow/10308024.cms
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Govt to provide more jobs to Baloch youth, says Gilani
By Mohammad Zafar
QUETTA: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, on Monday, said that his government would implement a plan providing job opportunities to the Baloch youth meeting their pressing demand to address rampant poverty.
Talking to a delegation of PPP provincial leaders and workers led by MPA Mir Sadiq Umrani at Governor’s House, he said that his government would resolve all the issues of the people. The prime minister arrived in the provincial capital on Tuesday. He was received by Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani, Federal Minister for Agriculture Senator Israr Zehri and other federal and provincial ministers at Quetta airport.
Credible sources confirmed that differences among the PPP leaders in Balochistan were also discussed in the meeting. The prime minister urged the party workers to overcome their petty differences otherwise it would have a negative impact on the party and its reputation, influencing the future election results. Apparently, both the party factions stood by their stand and refused to change their attitude, insiders told journalists.
The prime minister also met with a delegation of provincial ministers headed by provincial minister Ali Madad Jatak during which he informed that the federal government has allocated Rs 4 billion for development of quality education. “The allocated amount will be spent on scholarships for the students. The students will get admission at the prestigious educational institutions in other parts of the country,” he said.
The prime minister is on two-day visit to Quetta and will address the passing out parade of Army recruits, which is scheduled to be held in the cantonment area in which 5,000 officers will be inducted into Pakistan Army.
“The government is making efforts to remove the sense of deprivation among the poor people and bring Balochistan as par with the developed provinces. The PPP government had allocated an additional amount of Rs 50 billion in NFC Award enabling the province to announce a huge budget,” he said. The government also intends to recruit more people from Balochistan at key positions in PPL and OGDCL. About recruitment of the youth from Balochistan in the federal departments, the delegation members were briefed that appointments on 200 seats of a total of 350 reserved seats for Balochistan in Pakistan Coast Guard had been made besides relaxation of the qualification criteria in favour of the youth from the province from matriculation to middle.
Sources said that Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani is likely to arrive in Quetta on Tuesday (today) and will address the passing out parade.
The prime minister also met a delegation of PPP leaders from northern Balochistan. Earlier, the academicians had demanded merger of the IT University with the University of Engineering and Technology in Khuzdar, saying it failed to meet the expectations of the people of Balochistan.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\10\11\story_11-10-2011_pg7_1
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Kyrgyzstan uses Islamic religious education to counter terrorism
By Aibek Karabayev
2011-09-02
Kyrgyz Muslims pray at Bishkek’s Beshim Mosque August 12. Extensive educational work will help prevent extremism, Kyrgyz authorities say. [Maksat Osmonaliyev file photo]
BISHKEK – The threat of terrorism is making authorities and religious leaders look to educational work as a solution.
The Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Kyrgyzstan (the Muftiate or SAMK) is organising training seminars and weekly radio and television programmes to educate the country about Islam.
“Our aim is to make people understand what extremism and terrorism are,” said Muftiate spokesman Maksat Mambetaliyev. “People should figure out whether there is a place for terrorism in Islam and whether Islam is inherently good or evil. Many do not understand that proper Islam does not include evil or extremism.”
“Given the (prevailing) spiritual vacuum and lack of guidance, young people are going over to extremist movements, which generally have little to do with true Islam,” said Toktayym Umetaliyeva, director of the Association of Non-Governmental and Non-Profit Organisations. “I talked with a few apprehended terrorists. They could not even explain the difference between Sunnis and Shiites. They did not know the basics of the Koran.”
Educating the clergy
Clerics will be discussing Islamic tenets on radio and TV. The religious channel Echo of Manas gives the Muftiate 80 minutes of airtime every week, and a Bishkek radio station will be running a programme that the country’s supreme mufti, Chubak ajy Jalilov, will attend twice weekly.
Jalilov also has a website where he answers questions on Islam. Those without internet access can access it via text-messaging.
The Muftiate is specifically interested in educating mosque clerics, and has invited foreign instructors to help them in this task. Arabic muftis conducted a seminar in Osh and Turkish instructors led courses in Issyk-Kul this summer, Mambetaliyev said.
“Also, the Muftiate conducted seminars for journalists on preventing terrorism in Kyrgyzstan. The seminar’s aim was to convey what proper Islam is,” he said.
Islamic etiquette applies broadly
Religious officials said they think that Islamic etiquette for inter-personal relationships could greatly help Kyrgyzstan cope with more than just the terrorist threat.
“This is etiquette for relations between people: husbands and wives, parents and children, even between neighbours,” Mambetaliyev said. “I think that the norms of this etiquette took hold in society, we could solve many problems – ranging from drug addiction to family problems.”
Trained davaatchi (preachers) will periodically visit the provinces to conduct seminars on such topics.
Bumairam expressed her approval of this approach. She and her husband have a farm in Osh. They were unable to give their daughter, who recently married, a big wedding like they wanted. But Bumairam’s husband forbids her to work and justifies himself by citing the Koran.
“Like many others in the south, I grew up in a Muslim family, but ... (my mother) could work if she wanted,” Bumairam said. “But my husband says that the Koran forbids women from working because my husband should provide for me. But we do not have enough money.”
A davaatchi in Bishkek reassured Bumairam that while a husband must provide for his wife, a wife has the right to work. But because Bumairam does not know how to get the message to her husband, she said she is happy that the davaatchi will come to the south.
Challenges remain
Ideological work can help, but not with those who have lost their way so much as with potential recruitment targets, national security analyst Temir Jumakadyrov said.
“It is difficult to say how much the SAMK can influence the members of banned movements,” Jumakadyrov said. “Another issue is how they can influence society to keep people from falling for the extremists’ message.”
The number of uneducated Muslims is extremely high, perhaps reaching 95%, Umetaliyeva said.
“The big problem is that the even among the clergy, the imams do not have a single interpretation of the Koran,” she contended. “On top of that, 80% of the country’s clergy simply cannot interpret it competently. ... (Their) free-ranging interpretations don’t strengthen the faith but rather destabilise it.”
This is why Jumakadyrov is calling for the Muftiate to shut down renegade preachers.
“We must take some comprehensive steps; we must make it so that the mosque and only the mosque is the fundamental place that will spread Islam,” he said.
http://centralasiaonline.com/cocoon/caii/xhtml/en_GB/features/caii/features/main/2011/09/02/feature-01
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SC stays Ajmal Kasab's death sentence
Oct 10, 2011,
NEW DELHI: In a much awaited verdict, the Supreme Court on Monday stayed the death sentence of Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks case.
Kasab, the sole convict in the case, had challenged his conviction and filed a petition through jail authorities in the apex court which has appointed senior advocate Raju Ramachandaran as amicus curie to assist it in deciding the appeal.
Kasab's sentence has been stayed till the apex court hears the jail petition filed by Ramachandaran.
On September 2, the apex court had agreed to hear the plea of Maharashtra government against the acquittal of two accused Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed in the 26/11 case.
It, however, had refused to pass any order on Kasab when the state government pleaded that his letter to the Supreme Court challenging his death sentence should be tagged with this appeal.
The Bombay high court had in its February 21 verdict upheld the trial court order of death sentence of Kasab for the "brutal and diabolical" attacks aimed at "destabilising" the government.
Kasab's death penalty was upheld on charges of criminal conspiracy, waging war against the nation, IPC section related to murder and under sections of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/26/11-Mumbai-attacks-case-SC-stays-Ajmal-Kasabs-death-sentence/articleshow/10300915.cms?prtpage=1
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UN publishes Afghanistan prisoner 'torture' report
Oct 10, 2011
The report prompted Nato to suspend detainee transfers to eight facilities last month
Prisoners in some Afghan-run detention facilities have been beaten and tortured, a UN report has said.
It says detainees in 47 facilities in 24 provinces run by the Afghan Directorate of Security and National Police have suffered abuses.
The allegations contained in the report were first revealed by the BBC in September.
At that time the government denied torture claims and said the report was politically motivated.
The published report says prisoners were mostly subjected to interrogation techniques that constituted torture under international and Afghan law.
But the UN made clear that the mistreatment was not the result of government policy.
Based on interviews with 379 prisoners, the report said that many inmates appeared to display visible signs of injuries and marks which suggested that they had been badly beaten or abused.
The intelligence service is also accused of systematically practising torture at a number of its facilities to extract confessions from prisoners suspected of having links to the Taliban or other militant groups.
Children as young as 14 were among those being held and subjected to torture.
The report says that torture methods used included suspending people by their wrists, administering beatings to the soles of their feet, electric shocks, twisting detainees' genitals, removing toe nails and putting people in stress positions.
It says that the Afghan authorities have taken steps to stop the abuse, including the reassignment of personnel and the suspension of individuals suspected of more serious offences.
Significantly, the report says some of those detained had been handed over to the Afghans by international forces.
Nato has now stopped prisoner transfers to 16 facilities as a result of the findings and says it is monitoring the situation.
There has been no reaction from the Afghan authorities so far, but last month the government rejected the allegations.
Kabul said the report was aimed at disrupting the handover of control of security back to Afghans as foreign troops prepare to leave by 2014.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-15242857
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Egypt clashes: Military calls for swift unrest probe
Oct 10, 2011
Cairo resident Sandra: "There were bodies flying right and left"
Egypt's ruling military council has called for a swift investigation into unrest in Cairo, after clashes mainly between Coptic Christians and security forces on Sunday.
The cabinet has held an emergency meeting ahead of the first funerals of 24 people who died in Sunday's unrest.
Riots erupted on Sunday after a protest against an attack on a church in Aswan.
Reports of protesters in Cairo being crushed by military vehicles have further heightened tensions.
Sectarian strife has increased in recent months in Egypt.
The Copts - who make up about 10% of the population - accuse the governing military council of being too lenient on the perpetrators of a string of anti-Christian attacks.
The BBC's Yolande Knell in Cairo says there is pressure on ministers and on the country's military rulers to give assurances about national unity.
'Plain clothed attackers'
The military called on the government to carry out a quick investigation into the clashes by "forming a fact-finding committee to determine what happened and take legal measures against all those proven to have been involved".
In a statement read out on state TV, the army also said they would take all necessary measures to maintain security and repeated their commitment to plan for handing power to civilians.
Security has been stepped up at vital installations in Cairo, with additional troops deployed outside parliament and the cabinet building in anticipation of further unrest.
Police have been stationed outside the Coptic hospital, where most of the dead and injured were brought.
As the morning mist lifted with the curfew in central Cairo, relative calm had returned to the streets.
Yet Egyptians are still reeling with shock at this violence. The death toll in these clashes was the highest seen in years.
Pictures in late editions of the newspapers show chaotic scenes and the gory result, bodies lying in morgues. "Egypt bleeds in Maspero" reads one headline. "Who is the behind the flare-ups?" asks another.
State television showed clashes between Copts and soldiers who responded to the angry protests with tear gas. YouTube footage appears to show an armoured security van speeding into the crowd. I saw menacing gangs roaming the streets.
Funerals of the many victims will begin in the coming hours as the Egyptian cabinet meets to discuss its response. The pressure is now on to maintain order and ensure that political transition gets back on track.
Mounting hostility behind Egypt's violent protests
Funeral services were expected to be held in the afternoon at the city's Coptic cathedral.
Thousands - mainly but not exclusively Christians - joined the initial march from the Shubra district of northern Cairo to the state TV building in Maspero Square on Sunday, calling on the military council to sack the governor of Aswan province.
They also accused state TV of fanning the flames of anti-Christian agitation.
But the demonstrators said they were assaulted by attackers in plain clothes before the clashes with the security forces broke out.
The violence began outside the state TV building but soon spread to Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the demonstrations which led to President Hosni Mubarak's resignation February.
There were reports of thousands joining in the street violence, attacking both sides. Rioters tore up the pavement and hurled stones.
Correspondents say that many Muslims came out to defend Christians from the security forces and protest against the military's continued hold on power.
Some called for the resignation of the military council, in particular its chairman, Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi.
Others responded to government calls to help the army quell the unrest for the sake of stability.
Some protesters reported hearing gunfire, and several said they had seen a military vehicle run over at least five people. There has been no comment from the government on the reports.
One eyewitness, a Christian named Sandra, watched the violence on Maspero Square from her home.
"Everything took place directly underneath our house," she told the BBC.
"It all happened so fast. The army moved in with tanks and were literally running over people. You could see bodies all over the place. People were running and screaming."
Hossam Baghgat, head of the Egyptian Initiative for Human Rights and an eyewitness, described to local TV what he saw: "Some bodies had no heads, others had their heads completely flattened [and] you can't see the features, it's so obvious they were run over."
Eyewitnesses said security forces vehicles ran over protesters
The ministry of health said that at least 24 people had been killed and 212 had been wounded in the violence.
Of this number, at least 86 were security forces, ministry spokesman Hisham Shiha told the BBC.
Security vacuum
Later, Egypt's Prime Minister Essam Sharaf appealed for calm and addressed calls by protesters for the removal of the military rulers.
"The most serious threat to the country's security is tampering with national unity, and the stirring of discord between Muslim and Christian sons of Egypt," he said in a televised address late on Sunday.
He added that such violence - the worst in Egypt since Mr Mubarak was ousted - was "tampering with the relationship between the people and the army".
Our correspondent says sectarian tensions have simmered in the political and security vacuum that has developed in the past couple of months.
Christians have been worried by the increasing show of strength by ultra-conservative Islamists.
In May, 12 people died in attacks on Coptic churches. In March, 13 people were killed in clashes between Muslims and Copts in Tahrir Square.
This latest violence comes ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for 28 November, the first such vote since Mr Mubarak was ousted.
The Copts, the largest minority in Egypt, complain of discrimination, including a law requiring presidential permission for churches to be built. Egypt only recognises conversions from Christianity to Islam, not the other way.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15242413
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Al-Azhar calls for urgent meeting between Coptic and Muslim leaders after Maspero attacks
Monday 10 Oct 2011
Egypt’s Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb has called members of the "Family House" initiative to discuss yesterday’s Maspero attacks on Copts.
Family House is an anti-sectarian project launched by Al-Azhar following the terrorist bombing of the Two Saints Church in Alexandria on New Year’s Eve. The House's committee is comprised of both Muslim and Christian scholars that aim to unite Egyptians and work to find solutions to sectarianism.
According to an Al-Azhar source, today’s meeting will include Muslim and Christian clergymen who will try put in place a plan to tackle the crisis that erupted yesterday when a peaceful Coptic march was attacked by security forces. The source also revealed that Pope Shenuda III, the patriarch of Egypt's Coptic Church, was invited, along with several church leaders to attend today’s meeting.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/23738/Egypt/Politics-/AlAzhar-calls-for-urgent-meeting-between-Coptic-an.aspx
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US insists Pak needs to 'do more'
Oct 10, 2011
By Iqbal Mustafa
Islamabad – US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman has said although USA recognizes Pakistan’s sacrifices in terror war but she has to do extra works to eliminate terrorists for setting standards regarding bilateral relations.
While giving interview to Tolo TV Kabul Grossman said that Pakistan, Afghanistan, and United States are in the war on terror and terrorists threats all three partners so all three countries, be able to work together to try to deal with this problem.. It is worth saying out loud, right in front, is that some 19000 Pakistani civilians as well as a lot of army personnel have been killed terrorist attacks since 2003, which are being carried out by the terrorists in wake of war against terrorism.
“One of the things that's happening between Pakistan and the United States is we are trying to have a conversation about how to get our interests shared and then act on them together. President Obama had to say about the importance of Pakistanis focusing in on the terrorist question. What we continue to talk about is the need for engagement between the United States and Pakistan.”, he added.
Full report at:
http://dailymailnews.com/1011/10/FrontPage/index.php?id=1
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25 Killed in Sectarian Riots in Egypt
TUESDAY, 11 OCTOBER 2011
CAIRO
At least 25 people, including three soldiers, were killed in deadly clashes between Christians, Muslims and security forces on Monday in the Egyptian Capital, the worst unrest since the uprising that toppled the Mubarak regime.
The violence erupted after Coptic Christians protesting against an attack on a church in Aswan clashed with security forces, forcing the authorities to declare curfew in Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square area.
Reports of protesters in the Capital being crushed by military vehicles further heightened tensions, BBC said.
Prime Minister Essam Sharaf held an emergency meeting of the Cabinet on Monday to contain the crisis as the military rulers ordered a swift probe into the unrest. “These events have taken us back several steps,” Sharaf warned in a televised address. He said the riots were a setback to the country’s already fraught transition to civilian rule.
He put the blame on foreign meddling for the troubles, claiming it was part of a “dirty conspiracy.”
The unrest started on Sunday outside the State TV building but soon spread to the Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the demonstrations that forced President Hosni Mubarak to step down in February.
Copts comprise almost 10 per cent of the population in Egypt and is considered the largest Christian community in North Africa. Protests in other Egyptian cities outside the Capital were peaceful, in particular in Alexandria, where thousands of Copts had surrounded a military area and torched cars nearby.
Copts have been organising rallies all through the week. They have blamed the governing military council of being too lenient on the perpetrators of a string of anti-Christian attacks.
The rally started from Copts dominated Shubra area and marched towards the Egyptian Radio and TV building in Cairo.
It is not clear which side started the violence, but a few hours later the official TV announced three army soldiers dead and injuries to 500 others after the presenter claimed the Copts attacked the Egyptian army. Analyst Ayman Farouk from the state-owned daily Al-Ahram accused members of the dissolved National Democratic Party, some of whom were Copts, of instigating the violence.
“They realise they have lost and the l oss will be permanent as youth are organising campaigns to raise the people’s awareness of figures of the former regime so that they cannot even win seats as independents in the next elections,” he said.
The analyst was referring to the amendment of article five of the electoral law which Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has recently imposed and enables members of political parties from running for the one third of seats saved for independents.
Egyptian Prime Minister said the violence - the worst in Egypt since the ouster of Mubarak — was “tampering with the relationship between the people and the army”.
“Instead of moving forward to build a modern state on democratic principles, we are back to seeking stability and searching for hidden hands — domestic and foreign — that meddle with the country’s security and safety,” Sharaf said.
In a statement, the SCAF described the violence as “regrettable”. The army said they would take all necessary measures to maintain security and repeated their commitment to plan for handing power to civilians.
It underlined that it will continue “to bear its national responsibility and safeguard people’s achievements after 25 January Revolution.” It underlined that it would not fall in a trap set by those who seek to drive a wedge between the armed forces and the Egyptian people. It directed the cabinet to form a fact finding committee and take deterring measures towards those guilty of inciting violence.
Meanwhile, the Coptic Orthodox Church on Monday said it was shocked by the violence outside the Maspero television building in which 25 people were killed and another 500 wouned after a peaceful march.
The unrest in the country comes ahead of parliamentary elections set for November 28, the first such vote since Mubarak was forced to step down in a 18-day revolt.
http://dailypioneer.com/world/12242-25-killed-in-sectarian-riots-in-egypt.html
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Five People killed in Separate incidents in Karachi
Staff Report
KARACHI: Five people died in separate incidents of violence and mishaps in different parts of the metropolis here on Monday.
A young man committed suicide in Shanti Nagar within the limits of Aziz Bhatti police station. Salman, 24, son of Fazal was a resident Machi Para, Shanti Nagar. He shot himself with a licensed pistol and was shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) in injured condition. Salman succumbed to his injuries during treatment. According to his family, Salman met his mother before the incident and said, “OK Mom I am going, Allah Hafiz”. Few minutes later he shot himself in his room. They said victim was unemployed and second among his six siblings. Later, deceased’s family took the body without having the medico-legal formalities completed. He hailed from Haripur Hazara.
Separately, a youngster was shot dead while resisting a robbery bid, near Pakistan Chowk within the precincts of Aram Bagh police station. Victim Hayat Gull, 25, son of Khaista Gull was a resident of City Railway Colony. He was going home on his motorcycle when two bandits reached and tried to snatch his motorcycle. On his resistance, a bandit shot at and injured him before fleeing with the motorcycle. Police shifted Gull to Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) for treatment where he succumbed to his injuries. He was an employee of a private company. Case could not be registered till filing of this report.
In a road accident, a young man died at Lasbela Bridge within the jurisdiction of Jamshed Quarter police station. Shan Baloch, 25, son of Karim Baloch was a resident of Manghopir. He was going on his motorcycle, when a passenger bus knocked him and he died on the spot. After the incident, the responsible bus driver managed to flee while police impounded his vehicle. Body was shifted to CHK and later handed over to the victim’s family.
Similarly, in another accident, a 20-year-old youngster Ahmed, son of Gull Mohammad died in Sector 11-D, North Karachi within the limits of Taimuria police station. Police said victim was a resident of Buffer Zone and used to work at a tea hotel situated in his neighbourhood. The body was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) and later handed over the victim’s family. In yet another incident, a man Javed Ahmed was crushed to death near Kamal Petrol Pump within the precincts of Pak Colony police station. Police said that the victim, a resident of Old Golimar was going home after buying some household stuff when a passenger bus ran over him and fled from the scene.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\10\11\story_11-10-2011_pg7_17
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NATO says 25 insurgents killed in coordinated assault on US bases
AFP | Oct 8, 2011,
KABUL: NATO on Saturday said that at least 25 insurgents were killed during the largest coordinated insurgent attack on military bases in the eastern Afghan province of Paktika since 2009.
The attacks targeted US-led troops near the border with Pakistan on Friday as Afghanistan and the United States marked the 10th anniversary of the US bombing campaign that forced the Taliban from power in late 2001.
A spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force ( ISAF) said one soldier was lightly wounded when a car bomb exploded about 300 metres from the outer wall of Combat Outpost Margah.
The military said air strikes and gunfire killed at least 25 insurgents during the attacks in the Gormal, Sarobi and Barmal districts of Paktika.
There was no immediate independent confirmation of the death toll.
Eastern Afghanistan is one of the main flashpoints in the 10-year Taliban insurgency, fuelled in part by its proximity to rear bases in Pakistan.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/NATO-says-25-insurgents-killed-in-coordinated-assault-on-US-bases/articleshow/10277346.cms
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30 Afghan militants killed after cross-border raid
October 10, 2011
The raid on Sunday night by a group of more than 200 Afghans could further damage an already difficult relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan, who often accuse each other of failing to halt cross-border operations by militants.
One Pakistani soldier was killed and four were wounded in the latest frontier incident, which lasted close to an hour, officials said. There was no independent confirmation of the number of militants killed.
“The attack happened in the Barawal area of Upper Dir. Pakistani forces retaliated and the intruders slipped back,” said one of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/270831/30-afghan-militants-after-border-raid/
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17 NTC fighters killed in Libya's Bani Walid
Monday 10 Oct 2011
Frustration in Bani Walid as focus lies on Sirte
Head of the National Transitional Council military command centre, Salem Gheith says the NTC forces lost 17 fighters in fierce clashes with Moamer Gaddafi loyalists on Sunday and “our forces have withdrawn from the airport where they had taken control,".
The military spokesman for Libya's new leadership said NTC fighters also pulled back late on Sunday from forward positions in the town, 170 kilometres (105 miles) southeast of Tripoli, in what he termed a "tactical pullback."
"We've received reinforcements from Tripoli and the Nafusa mountains, and we will resume the offensive," he said.
Yunes Mussa, the NTC commander for the region, announced the capture of the airport on Sunday, before the fightback by pro-Gaddafi forces in Bani Walid, a holdout of the fallen strongman along with his hometown Sirte.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/23753/World/Region/-NTC-fighters-killed-in-Libyas-Bani-Walid.aspx
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24 dead in Copt clashes, Egypt PM appeals for calm
October 10, 2011
CAIRO: A curfew was imposed overnight in Egypt's capital after 24 people, mostly Coptic Christians, died in clashes with security forces in the deadliest violence since president Hosni Mubarak's fall.
More then 200 people were injured in fighting that erupted during a protest by Copts on Sunday, prompting a curfew in central Cairo, said official statements broadcast on public television.
At least five of the dead were mown down by a speeding army vehicle, a priest from the minority Coptic community said, while an correspondent saw other bodies with gunshot wounds.
Some activists blamed government-backed provocation for the bloodshed which has triggered fears of worsening sectarian strife.
Prime Minister Essam Sharaf appealed for Egypt's Muslims and Christians "not to give in to sedition because it is a fire which burns up everybody".
As the military police gave assurances that calm had returned to the capital, Sharaf warned on public television that Egypt was "in danger" following the most serious clashes since Mubarak was ousted in February.
Sharaf, appointed by the military council that took power after mass protests led to Mubarak's downfall, heads a caretaker government ahead of elections the council has pledged will be democratic.
A 2:00 am (0000 GMT) to 7:00 am curfew was declared in the area from Maspero to Abbassiya square, while security was stepped up around parliament and other official buildings in central Cairo. (AFP)
http://www.thenews.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=24256&title=24-dead-in-Copt-clashes,-Egypt-PM-appeals-for-calm
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Riots over church attack in Egypt kill 19
October 10, 2011
By Maggie Michael
Coptic Egyptian demonstrators, one carrying a wooden Christian cross, set on fire an army vehicle during clashes with Egyptian Army soldiers following a demonstration in Cairo, Egypt Sunday, Oct. 9, 2011. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
CAIRO: Massive clashes that drew in Christians angry over a recent church attack, Muslims, and Egyptian security forces raged over a large section of downtown Cairo Sunday night, leaving at least 19 people dead and more than 150 injured, Health Ministry officials said. It was the worst violence since the 18-day uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak in February.
The ongoing clashes lasted late into the night, bringing out a deployment of more than 1,000 security forces and armored vehicles to defend the state television building along the Nile, where the trouble began. The clashes spread to nearby Tahrir Square and the area around it, drawing in thousands of people. They battled each other with rocks and firebombs, some tearing up pavement for ammunition and others collecting stones in boxes.
At one point, a group of youths with at least one riot policeman among them dragged a protester by his legs for a long distance. Witnesses said some of the protesters may have snatched weapons from the soldiers and turned them on the military. The protesters also Full report at:
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/Oct-09/150846-christian-protesters-attacked-in-egypt.ashx#axzz1aNVjJBBD
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Syrian activists say at least 31 killed Sunday
October 10, 2011
Protesters wave Syrian flags during a demonstration against the current Syrian regime at the Mynttorget square in Stockholm October 9, 2011. Reuters
BEIRUT: At least 31 people were killed across Syria Sunday in a series of shootings, including fighting between gunmen believed to be army deserters and troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, a Syrian activist group said on Monday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 14 of the dead were civilians and 17 were from the army and security forces.
Assad's crackdown on more than six months of protests against his rule has killed 2,900, the United Nations says.
Full report at:
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/Oct-10/150920-syrian-activists-say-at-least-31-killed-sunday.ashx#axzz1aNVjJBBD
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Pak Taliban for Saudi mediation in peace talks
By Rezaul H Laskar
Tue Oct 11 2011,
Islamabad:
A top leader of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has said his group will seek mediation by countries like Saudi Arabia if the government offers to hold peace talks.
“Our shura will decide whether and when can we enter into talks with the government, with the military but I think we will like to involve countries we trust...they are in the Arab world. Let’s say Saudi Arabia,” said Pakistani Taliban commander Maulvi Waliur Rehman Mehsud.
Mehsud further said the group had not yet received any “direct” offer of talks from the government.
“Till now, we don’t have any direct peace offer. Our shura will sit down when we are approached,” he told The Express Tribune newspaper.
“That is how we operate. There is one centralised body to take important decisions,” he said without mentioning who are members of the council or who heads it.
Mehsud said Pakistani Taliban wanted a “guarantee” that once any deal is struck with the government, it would be enforced.
Reports have said Sheikh Khalid, a commander from Mardan, heads the shura though Hakimullah Mehsud, the chief of the outfit, takes final decisions in most matters.
A meeting of Pakistan’s political and religious parties convened by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani last month had passed a resolution advocating talks and peaceful methods to restore peace in the country’s troubled northwest and tribal belt. The decision by the All Parties Conference apparently reflected a shift in Pakistan’s war on terror policy.
Gilani had said his government was willing to hold talks with militant groups without pre-conditions. The conference decided that the proposed dialogue would be spearheaded by a “national institutionalised mechanism” and not by the government or the military.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pak-taliban-for-saudi-mediation-in-peace-talks/858244/
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Pak Taliban considering peace talks with US
Oct 11, 2011,
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Taliban movement, the country's biggest security threat, has suggested it would consider peace talks with US-backed government, a local newspaper reported on Monday.
Pakistani leaders said after an all-party meeting attended by top military and intelligence officials last month they would seek reconciliation with militants to end an insurgency.
And PM Yusuf Raza Gilani was quoted by newspapers as saying the government was ready to talk peace.
"Our shura (council) will decide whether and when can we enter into talks with the government, with the military ," the Express Tribune quoted Maulvi Wali-ur-Rehman Mehsud, deputy leader of the Pakistani Taliban, as saying.
"But I think we would like to involve countries we trust... they are in the Arab world. Let's say Saudi Arabia." It has been blamed for many of the suicide bombings across Pakistan. Several army offensives against the group's strongholds on the Afghan border have failed to weaken its campaign. Thousands of Pakistani soldiers, policemen and civilians have been killed.
"Until now, we don't have any direct peace offer ... our shura will sit down when we are approached. That is how we operate. There is one centralized body to take important decisions," the newspaper quoted Mehsud as saying on its website.
Any shift towards reconciliation with the TTP could anger Washington. Last year, the US added the TTP to its list of foreign terrorist organizations and set rewards for information leading to the capture of two of its leaders.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/-Pak-Taliban-considering-peace-talks-with-US/articleshow/10309473.cms
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MQM-H chief booked in kidnapping case
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
KARACHI: Muhajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi (MQM-H) chairman Afaq Ahmed was on Monday booked in another case of kidnapping and torture along with three of his party’s activists, including Raees Topi, Yameen alias Hakla and Ejaz Babu, at Landhi police station. The Landhi Police say that an FIR (244/11) under sections 342/109/506-B/337-(i) of the Pakistan Penal Code was registered on behalf of Khalid Hussain, an employee of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board. SHO Mazhar Iqbal said according to the complainant, Hussain, he was abducted and subjected to severe torture on the behest of MQM-H chairman on Oct 6. The kidnappers later dumped him in bushes in Ibrahim Hyderi area. Officer while quoting the complainant said that he is a resident of Landhi and three nominated accused belonging to MQM-H kidnapped him nearby his residence and first took him to a house in Quaidabad where they tortured him and later threw him in injured condition at Ibrahim Hyderi. On the second day, complainant reached the police station and registered the case. staff report
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\10\11\story_11-10-2011_pg7_16
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Spring is gone, Egypt burns
By MAGGIE MICHAEL
Tue Oct 11 2011,
Cairo:
Egypt’s Coptic church blasted authorities Monday for allowing repeated attacks on Christians with impunity as the death toll from a night of rioting rose to 26, most of them Christians who were trying to stage a peaceful protest in Cairo over an attack on a church.
The spiritual leader of the Coptic Christian minority, Pope Shenouda III, declared three days of mourning, praying and fasting for the victims starting on Tuesday and also presided over funerals for some of the Christians killed. Sunday’s sectarian violence was the worst in Egypt since the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak in February.
“Strangers got in the middle of our sons and committed mistakes to be blamed on our sons,’’ the church said in a statement. It lamented “problems that occur repeatedly and go unpunished.’’
The clashes Sunday night raged over a large section of downtown Cairo and drew in Christians, Muslims and security forces. They began when about 1,000 Christian protesters tried to stage a peaceful sit-in outside the state television building in downtown Cairo. The protesters said they were attacked by “thugs’’ with sticks and the violence then spiraled out of control after a speeding military vehicle rammed into some of the Christians.
Much smaller skirmishes broke out again Monday outside the Coptic hospital where many of the victims were taken the night before. Several hundred Christians pelted police with rocks outside while the screams of grieving women rang out from inside the hospital. Some of the hundreds of men gathered outside held wooden crosses and empty coffins were lined up. There was no word on casualties from the new clashes.
In Washington, the White House said President Barack Obama is deeply concerned about the violence in Egypt and called for restraint on all sides. “As the Egyptian people shape their future, the United States continues to believe that the rights of minorities, including Copts, must be respected, and that all people have the universal rights of peaceful protest and religious freedom,’’ a White House statement said.
Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s 85 million people, blame the ruling military council that took power after the uprising for being too lenient on those behind a spate of anti-Christian attacks since Mubarak’s ouster.
There is no precise breakdown of how many Christians and Muslims were killed, but the 26 are said to be mostly Christian. Officials said at least three soldiers were among the dead. Nearly 500 people were injured. Egypt’s official news agency said dozens have been arrested.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/spring-is-gone-egypt-burns/858222/2
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Pak court gives bail to Lankan cricket team attack suspect
PTI | Oct 8, 2011,
LAHORE: A Pakistani court has released on bail Muhammad Ebrahim, a suspect charged with involvement in the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in March 2009.
An anti-terrorism court yesterday directed Ebrahim to furnish a bail bond of Rs 100,000 and a personal surety while freeing him on bail.
Ebrahim contended he was implicated in the case and that he had no criminal record.
He said the main accused had already been granted bail by the Supreme Court and, therefore, he too had attained the statutory right of bail.
The prosecution alleged Ebrahim, along with Qari Wahab alias Umar Draz, Muhammad Zubair, Naik Muhammad, Malik Ishaq, Muhammad Mohsin and Muhammad Ashfaq attacked the bus of the Sri Lankan team with AK-47 rifles, rockets and grenades.
At least six policemen were killed and as many Sri Lankan players, the bus driver and an assistant coach were injured in the attack.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pak-court-gives-bail-to-Lankan-cricket-team-attack-suspect/articleshow/10280170.cms
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Suspected terrorist arrested in Islamabad
October 10, 2011
Police in Islamabad have arrested an alleged terrorist from the Sector G-61 area of the capital. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
ISLAMABAD: Police in Islamabad have arrested an alleged terrorist from the Sector G-61 area of the capital, Express 24/7 reported on Monday.
The man, Qari Inayat, was arrested after another suspect, Sardar Ali Khattak, revealed links between him and his wife.
Police used Khattak’s wife to set up a meeting with Qari Inayat. He was arrested as soon as he arrived for the meeting near a mosque in the G-61 area.
Four hand grenades were recovered from the suspect’s possession.
Sardar Ali Khan Khattak, a government employee, suspected of planning a suicide attack in, was earlier arrested by security agencies in Islamabad. His four accomplices, all members of a terrorist outfit based in Mohmand Agency, were also arrested from Islamabad in August and a suicide jacket was recovered.
Khattak, a naib-qasid in the Finance Division who was on leave for two years, was allegedly facilitating the terrorist group in their planned attacks on a Quds Day rally and at sensitive buildings in the capital.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/270855/suspected-terrorist-arrested-in-islamabad-2/
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Gaddafi's hometown Sirte close to falling
Oct 10, 2011,
SIRTE: Forces of Libya's new regime were on the verge of claiming full control of Muammar Gaddafi's hometown Sirte after seizing its showpiece conference centre and university from his diehards on Sunday.
In their advance, fighters of the National Transitional Council (NTC) also seized control of the Mediterranean town's hospital and university campus. The fortresslike Ouagadougou conference centre, constructed to host pan-African summits, has been a major objective of the NTC forces since they launched a September 15 offensive on the city.
"We control 100% of the Ouagadougou centre," said Mohammed al-Fayad , an NTC military chief, adding the capture "opens the way" for his forces to overrun the city centre. A correspondent on the spot confirmed the NTC fighters were in control of the landmark complex. "We are ready to take the centre" of Sirte "within a matter of hours," said Fayad.
"It is only a question of coordination between (Misrata fighters on) the western front and (Benghazi fighters on) the eastern front. We just need time."
As he spoke, NTC fighters spread throughout the sprawling complex, tearing down portraits of Gaddafi and the green flags of his fallen 42-year regime.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Gaddafis-hometown-Sirte-close-to-falling/articleshow/10296716.cms
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Libyan fighters make Sirte gains after bitter fighting
Oct 10, 2011
Fighters loyal to Libya's interim government have taken the university area of Sirte, one of the strong points of the city's Gaddafi loyalists.
Hundreds of fighters could be seen entering the campus after what a National Transitional Council commander called "difficult" fighting.
NTC forces launched an offensive on Friday against Sirte, one of the last cities held by pro-Gaddafi forces. They came up against heavy weapons including tanks and artillery.
NTC forces said yesterday they took control of the airport in Bani Walid, one of the last two bastions of fighters loyal to Gaddafi.
"Our forces have taken control of the airport of Bani Walid," located in the desert town's southwest, Yunes Mussa, commander of the National Transitional Council forces in the region, told AFP.
The university area, along with the Ouagadougou conference centre and an apartment complex, saw particularly fierce resistance to the advance into Col Muammar Gaddafi's home city, reports BBC.
The sprawling conference centre is also reported to have fallen to the NTC. Thousands of civilians are said to remain trapped in the city, many of them fearful of retaliation by NTC forces.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=205850
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Malaysia: Raja Nazrin asks Islamic religious council to review programmes
October 10, 2011
IPOH: The Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, wants the State Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIP) and Islamic Religious Department (JAIP) to review their programmes towards developing the Muslim community's economy in a sustainable manner.
He said greater attention should be given to economic activities involving the role of the Perak Islamic Economic Development Corporatision, zakat and Baitulmal, and managing of funds to ensure viability and high impact of every programme implemented.
Speaking at the 177th MAIP Conference here on Monday, Raja Nazrin said he not only wanted to see figures on vouchers and receipts audited, but also evaluation of programmes in terms of quality and impact towards achieving the objectives.
He said for a meaningful impact, MAIP and JAIP needed to place the Key Performance Indicators at a more dynamic level.
Full report at:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/10/10/nation/20111010184648&sec=nation
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Dozens arrested after Egypt's deadly clashes
Oct 10, 2011,
CAIRO: Dozens of ``instigators of chaos'' have been arrested after deadly clashes between angry Christians, Muslims and security forces that left 24 dead and at least 200 wounded, Egypt's official news agency reported on Monday.
Sunday's clashes, sparked by a recent attack on a church in southern Egypt, were the worst sectarian violence since the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak in February.
The MENA news agency did not say whether those arrested were Christians or Muslims.
Egypt's state television said authorities have stepped up security at vital installations in anticipation of renewed unrest, deploying additional troops outside parliament and the Cabinet.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Dozens-arrested-after-Egypts-deadly-clashes/articleshow/10299661.cms
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Sudan rebel chief urges govt to stop bombing civilians
10 Oct 2011
Fighting also erupted in June in the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan, another state that, like Blue Nile, borders newly independent South Sudan. Aid agencies have been unable to operate in either region since the conflicts began.
"There are basic things that we are asking for: one is for pressure to be exerted on Khartoum to stop the bombing of the civilians," Agar told reporters at his temporary command headquarters in a rebel-held area of Blue Nile.
Agar, the elected SPLM governor of the state, was sacked after the fighting erupted and a military ruler was appointed. The SPLM in the north was also shut down. The SPLM is South Sudan's ruling party and has an offshoot in Sudan.
"We are asking and demanding that they open corridors and safe areas for the humanitarian operations," he said, speaking on Thursday during a trip for reporters arranged by rebels based in South Sudan.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/23739/World/Region/Sudan-rebel-chief-urges-govt-to-stop-bombing-civil.aspx
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Iran issues warning to Turkey on its pro-U.S. position
October 10, 2011
By Robin Pomeroy
TEHRAN: A key aide to Iran’s supreme leader said Saturday Turkey must radically rethink its policies on Syria, the NATO missile shield and promoting Muslim secularism in the Arab world – or face trouble from its own people and neighbors.
In an interview with the semiofficial Mehr news agency, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s military adviser described Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s invitation to Arab countries to adopt Turkish-style democracy as “unexpected and unimaginable.”
Turkey and Iran, the Middle East’s two major non-Arab Muslim states, are vying for influence in the Arab world as it goes through the biggest shake-up since the Ottoman Empire fell, a rivalry that has strained their previously close relations.
While cheering crowds greeted Erdogan on his recent tour of North Africa, Tehran accused him of serving U.S. interests by opposing Syrian President Bashar Assad’s crackdown on street protests and agreeing to NATO’s missile defense.
Full report at:
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/Oct-10/150901-iran-issues-warning-to-turkey-on-its-pro-us-position.ashx#axzz1aNVjJBBD
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Egypt religious leaders to hold crisis talks
Oct 10, 2011
CAIRO: Egypt’s top Muslim official has called for emergency talks on Monday between Muslim and Christian leaders, after the deadliest violence since president Hosni Mubarak’s fall left 24 people dead, state television said.
Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayyeb, who heads Sunni Islam’s highest seat of learning, has called for talks with members of the Egyptian Family — an organisation that groups Muslim and Christian clerics — “in a bid to contain the crisis,” the television said.
Tayyeb has also been in contact with Coptic Pope Shenuda III, it added.
Tayyeb’s call comes just hours after clashes in central Cairo that left 24 people, mostly Coptic Christians, dead and more than 200 wounded.
The clashes broke out during a demonstration in the Maspero district on the Nile, where Coptic demonstrators were protesting against a recent attack on a church in the southern Egyptian city of Aswan.
Later Sunday night, hundreds of Muslims and Coptic Christians exchanged blows and threw stones at the hospital treating the wounded from the earlier clashes, an AFP correspondent reported.
Copts complain of systematic discrimination but, since Mubarak’s fall, tensions have also mounted between the military – initially hailed for not siding with Mubarak – and groups that spearheaded the revolt, which say the army is reluctant to press ahead with reform.
Sectarian clashes are frequent in Egypt, where the Coptic minority, which makes up about 10 percent of the Muslim-majority country’s 80 million people, has often been the target of attacks.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/10/egypt-religious-leaders-to-hold-crisis-talks-tv.html
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Obama faces uphill re-election climb, says ex-aide
Oct 10, 2011,
WASHINGTON: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emaunuel, who served as US President Barack Obama's first chief of staff, says his former boss' re-election was far from a sure thing.
"There's no doubt there's a challenge politically because the economy is not where the American middle-class family needs it to be for their bottom line," Emanuel said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Emanuel said the American people would hold Obama and other elected officials accountable for the faltering economy when they cast their votes in 2012. "Everybody in public life, everybody in corporate life, is accountable for that result," Emanuel said.
He said despite the uphill battle, Obama is still making decisions with the goal of long-term success, rather than immediate political gain.
"I often advised the president about doing the quick, political thing, and he looked at the long-term," Emanuel said.
"And he rejected the quick, and political. Because it wasn't in America's interest. That's true of both financial reform, health care, the bigger decision. And he's never lost his fight for America. And he did make decisions that were in the long-term interest."
Emanuel took square aim at the current Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney, predicting economic catastrophe should the former Massachusetts governor be elected president.
"There would not be an auto industry if Mitt Romney was president," Emanuel said. "He would have said, let it go bankrupt."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Obama-faces-uphill-re-election-climb-says-ex-aide/articleshow/10301423.cms
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Pakistan to repatriate Osama family
Oct 10, 2011,
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has contacted governments of Saudi Arabia and Yemen for the repatriation of slain al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden's three wives and their children, according to media reports.
The development came after a judicial commission probing the al-Qaida chief 's presence in Pakistan announced on Thursday that it had withdrawn its order barring bin Laden's family from leaving the country.
Authorities had contacted Saudi Arabia and Yemen to arrange for the repatriation of bin Laden's widows and children, unnamed Pakistani officials were quoted as saying by CBS News and CNN.
Bin Laden's family has been in the custody of Pakistani security agencies since he was killed. "We have now completed our investigations and pieced together all that we wanted to know from the family members," a senior Pakistani intelligence official said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/-Pakistan-to-repatriate-Osama-family/articleshow/10285021.cms
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40 Yemen women wounded celebrating Nobel win
October 10, 2011
Forty women were wounded in Yemen's second largest city when regime supporters attacked an all-female street celebration of the Nobel Peace prize win of Tawakkul Karman, medical officials said Monday. The women were attacked on Sunday evening in the city of Taez as they marched in support
of Karman, the first Arab woman to win the prestigious award.
"We were attacked by regime thugs with empty bottles and stones," an organiser told AFP on Monday on condition of anonymity.
Medical officials confirmed the injuries.
The Nobel Prize Committee awarded Karman the 2011 Peace Prize recognising her role in the months of peaceful protests in Yemen that have called for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down after 33 years in power in Sanaa.
The prize was shared with two Liberian women, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and activist Leymah Gbowee.
In a separate incident early on Monday, three people were wounded in clashes between loyalist security forces and armed tribesmen opposed to Saleh in the central Rawdah neighbourhood of Taez, medical officials said.
Taez, some 270 kilometres (170 miles) southwest of the capital Sanaa, has been a focal point of tension since protests against Saleh erupted in January
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/restofasia/40-Yemen-women-wounded-celebrating-Nobel-win/Article1-755624.aspx
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Protesters attack TV station over film Persepolis
October 10, 2011
Officials said the activists had tried to set Nessma TV station alight after it broadcast the animation, which they deem to be blasphemous.
Police clashed with other Islamists who want a ban on women wearing the niqab at university lifted, reports say.
The protests come ahead of elections for a constitutional assembly.
The poll, in two weeks' time, will be the first vote in Tunisia since long-time President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was toppled in an uprising in January.
Correspondents say that with the autocratic government of Ben Ali gone, more conservative Muslims are making themselves heard.
The main Islamic party in Tunisia, Ennahda - which is set to do well in the polls - has condemned the demonstration.
'Stones and knives'
Persepolis, which was broadcast on Friday by the channel, is a French-Iranian animation feature based on an autobiographical graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi.
It depicts the last days of the Shah and Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The protesters are angered by fantasy scenes in which God is shown talking to a young girl.
Interior ministry spokesman Hichem Meddeb told AFP news agency that police stopped the protesters before they could reach the offices of the Nessma private television channel, and arrested around 50 of them.
Full report at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15233442
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Guarded response: Taliban hint at accepting Saudis as peace brokers
By Zia Khan
October 10, 2011
The banned conglomerate of militant groups, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), will seek mediation by countries like Saudi Arabia, if the government offers them peace talks — a top militant leader of the banned outfit said in a ‘cautious’ response to Pakistan’s earlier decision to open negotiations with the group.
At the All Parties Conference (APC), the country’s top political and military leaders decided last month to initiate peace negotiations with the militant groups active in the country’s lawless tribal badlands, including the TTP.
The decision – apparently reflecting a significant shift in Pakistan’s war on terror policy – came in the wake of allegations by top defence officials of the United States that the country’s top spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was nurturing the deadly Haqqani network of Afghan militants allegedly based in North Waziristan.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/270696/guarded-response-taliban-hint-at-accepting-saudis-as-peace-brokers/
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Iraq's Maliki says US military trainers might stay
October 10, 2011
'We are securing trainers for the American weapons we purchased, but without immunity.' PHOTO: AFP/FILE
BAGHDAD: Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said U.S. troops might still be able to stay in Iraq as trainers beyond a 2011 withdrawal date, even though the country’s political blocs have rejected giving immunity to any American soldiers.
Maliki last week won backing from Iraq’s leaders for U.S. troops to stay on for training, but without the legal immunity demanded by Washington as part of an accord for an American military role in Iraq more than eight years after the invasion. Maliki told Reuters U.S. troops could be attached to the existing U.S. embassy training mission, or join a broader NATO training group, rather than seek a bilateral deal requiring U.S. immunity that would fail to pass Iraq’s parliament.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/270841/iraqs-maliki-says-us-military-trainers-might-stay/
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China plans new economic zones in Xinjiang border towns
October 10, 2011
China aims to complete infrastructure for economic development zones at Kashgar and Khorgos.
BEIJING: China announced on Saturday that it plans to use subsidies and tax incentives to build two new economic zones in the far western region of Xinjiang, to open up the landlocked west and boost trade with Central and South Asian neighbours.
In a detailed policy outline posted on the central government’s website (www.gov.cn), the State Council, or cabinet, aims to “basically complete” infrastructure for economic development zones (EDZ) at Kashgar and Khorgos.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/269661/china-plans-new-economic-zones-in-xinjiang-border-towns/
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Afghanistan downplays Karzai threat
October 10, 2011
The intelligence service announced this week that one of Karzai's personal bodyguards and two university lectures were among six people under arrest over an alleged al Qaeda plot to kill Karzai hatched in Pakistan. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
KABUL: Afghanistan on Saturday downplayed the risk to President Hamid Karzai after officials foiled an alleged assassination plot, denying that a bodyguard under arrest ever had free access to the palace.
The intelligence service announced this week that one of Karzai’s personal bodyguards and two university lectures were among six people under arrest over an alleged al Qaeda plot to kill Karzai hatched in Pakistan.
The reports appeared to underline the president’s vulnerability after losing a series of key allies, including peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani, assassinated last month, and his younger brother who was murdered in July.
But the presidency said the guard, Muhibullah Ahmadi, was assigned only to the “outside gates of the presidential palace” where he was not authorised to act independently and was not allowed to enter the presidential compound.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/269634/afghanistan-downplays-karzai-threat/
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