Israeli rabbis clamp down on Jewish burka
Malaysia ‘Imam Idol’ seeks to put friendly face on Islam
Srinagar under siege, 8 more die in street fights
US academic slams church's anti-Islam plan
Eight more gunned down in Karachi
‘Gojra has, will remain a scar on history of Pakistani Christians’
Chechen rebel leader says on YouTube he's retiring
Ahmadinejad invites Obama to debate
Obama sticks to Iraq date, says US mission will end on Aug 31
Pak must take 26/11 probe seriously: Sonia Gandhi
UN removes names of 45 al-Qaida Taliban affiliates from list
'Pak military does not want peace with India'
In Kandahar, U.S. tries the lessons of Baghdad
Centre suspects separatist hand,backs embattled CM
Kayani wants India out of Kabul: Ex-Canadian envoy
UN chiefs K-talk has India worried
Browbeaten cops join J&K protesters
Shortage of supplies as lifeline highway blocked
Omar asks for political package
Militants stoke violence in name of protests
Itll take a long time to douse anti-India feeling
Bharat vs India: B-town taps rural-urban divide
Sohrab case: CBI seeks five-day custody of Shah
Pak,UK intensify war of words
No apology for terror remarks: Cameron
Angel of Death: Howitzer in air vaporizes Taliban
In Paris,Pak prez seeks nuclear deal
Pak army moving closer to inducting predator drones
Pals from MIT helped US army analyst leak war logs
Israel gives in,UN launches probe into flotilla raid
Rockets hit Israel,Jordan;one killed
After WikiLeaks in US, Horlicks in Tamil Nadu
‘No change of guard in J&K’
J&K police on ‘house’ duty
Judges start dictating Ayodhya suit verdicts
Nazeer first accused for NIA
‘Pakistan using US aid to support America’s enemy’
‘Kayani conspiring to control Afghanistan’
US announces $10m for Pak flood relief
Zardari should drop Britain visit in view of Pakistan floods: Imran
Cameron not to apologise for Pak remarks
50 die after boat capsizes in Uganda’s Lake Albert
Somali pirates hijack cargo ship with 23 crew
Hardcore Porn Screened In Indonesian Parliament Building
US 2011 drawdown in Afghanistan will be 'limited': Gates
Musharraf To Unveil His Party Manifesto In September
Like Mush, A.Q. Khan A Hit On Facebook Too!
Shah’s ‘ encounter’ threat to riot victim
KASHMIR HEAT SCORCHES OMAR
Focus on J&K development: Sonia
No problem with India, says IAEA chief
Stop stone-pelting: Geelani's plea
15 militants killed in Orakzai
France: Super-rich Muslim women to prove ban is not biased against the poor
Kashmir: 15 dead since Friday, curfew continues
Bloody Sunday: 8 die as Valley stir worsens
Israel fears Turkey spy chief is ‘supporter of Iran’
I won't apologise for Pakistan terror remark: UK PM David Cameron
ABC1-TV: Compass – Sex, Faith and Marriage
1,000 Pakistanis will die this week
UN faults Israel's human rights
Zardari, Nawaz lack self-respect: Imran
Persian, Arabic Experts Write To Pm, Sonia Over Awards
26/11: Pakistan wants Indians to testify in its courts, says envoy
Five rockets slam into Israeli resort of Eilat
Muslim reality TV show eyes expansion
Qalam publishes two plays for Emirati writers
Jamaat leaders sent to jail
14 jailed for Sunamganj BDR mutiny
Use of term ‘Hindu terror’ worrisome, says RSS ideologue
Pakistan flood toll crosses 1,300
Atheist Kills Himself to Escape "100 percent Muslim" Nation
Smiles replace glares in rare border stance
Govt Fumbles As J& K Flames Spread Fast
Krishna frowns at Law Ministry's Haj lapse
Can the authorities in Kashmir break vicious circle of violence?
Uae, Saudi To Ban Weblinks On Blackberry
Taliban does not possess Stinger missiles: U.S.
Saddam’s Invasion Still Hurting Iraq-Kuwait Ties
Pak has as much fissile material as India: Report
Kasab's death plea enters last lap today
EU gives $39m in aid to Pakistan
Rahat misses show on visa hassle; organizers file complaint
Islamabad working to contain Taliban: Haqqani
US 2011 drawdown in Afghanistan will be ‘limited’
US has plan to attack Iran: Mullen
Iraq civilian death toll almost doubles in July
Qaeda says it held talks on hostage killed in Sahara
Iraq Shia bloc rejects incumbent Maliki as PM
Iran says three jailed US hikers should stand trial
Shun ‘ill attempts’ to oust govt, PM tells Khaleda
Blast in Gaza wounds 24 Palestinians
High Iraq deaths cast doubt on US stability talk
Israel warns Hamas after rocket fire
Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim calls for end to sodomy trial over 'affair' claim
Women man border outposts
For Indonesian Christians, Gatherings Bring Tension
As Some Young Muslims Turn to Radicalism, Concern Grows
Yemen's Shiite rebels free 100 soldiers: mediator
Israel okays compromise on deporting migrant children
Is fear of Islam the new McCarthyism?
Immigrant Maids Flee Lives of Abuse in Kuwait
Gates Cites Peril in Leak of Afghan War Logs by WikiLeaks
American and Iraqi Versions Differ in Latest Chapters of War’s Story
WikiLeaks Guilty, At Least Morally - U.S. Defense Chief
U.S. Cleared in Afghan Crash That Led to Rioting
Israeli rabbis clamp down on Jewish burka
China says it disapproves of EU sanctions against Iran
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/israeli-rabbis-clamp-down-jewish/d/3228
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Suicide bomber kills five children in Afghanistan
02 Aug, 2010
KANDAHAR: A suicide attacker detonated a car bomb in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar on Monday, killing five children and injuring one other, a police official told AFP.
“Five children were killed in the first blast and one child is wounded,” said Kandahar deputy police chief Fazel Mohammad Shairzad.
The car bomb was followed by a roadside bomb explosion 10 metres away, after police arrived at the scene, and wounded two policemen, said district criminal investigations chief Mohammad Hussain.
The suicide bomber was targeting Dand district governor Ahmadullah Nazick, but the explosives detonated prematurely, the Kandahar provincial government said in a statement.
Nazick had been travelling in a convoy along a road in Dand.
An AFP reporter said the dead children were immediately taken away in body bags, leaving charred body parts of the suicide attacker and small pools of blood at the scene.
In recent months, targeted assassinations have become increasingly common in restive Kandahar, birthplace of the Taliban movement, and in Dand district alone at least nine members of the council have been killed.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/14-suicide-bomber-kills-four-civilians-in+-kandahar-zj-01
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Malaysia ‘Imam Idol’ seeks to put friendly face on Islam
By Beh Lih Yi
02 Aug, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s top “Young Imam” has vowed to soften the stern image of clerics and energise young Muslims after winning a hugely popular TV talent show search for a top young Islamic leader.
The show, which attracted worldwide attention, saw 10 finalists tackle tasks such as reciting verses from the Quran, washing corpses and slaughtering sheep according to Islamic rules.
Following the reality TV formula of shows such as “American Idol” and “The X Factor,” one contestant was eliminated each week until the series drew to a close on Friday night.
Religious scholar Muhammad Asyraf Mohammad Ridzuan, who saw off nine rivals to win the “Young Imam” title, said he wanted to reach out to youngsters to spark their interest in the religion.
“I want to be an imam who is friendly to the youth, cool, relaxed, able to play with children and engage the elderly,” the 26-year-old said after the finale, as he hailed the show as a “victory of Islam”.
“I want to play football with the kids in my neighbourhood and still be a spiritual leader among them,” said the soft-spoken Asyraf, clad in a black long robe over a suit and wearing a white Islamic skullcap.
Religious authorities in Malaysia, where more than 60 per cent of its 28 million population are Muslim, regularly make headlines with morality raids on hotels and nightclubs, looking for illicit drinking and sex.
In a development that alarmed rights activists, three women were caned in February for having sex out of wedlock – the first time the punishment under Islamic law had been carried out on women in Malaysia.
But there is a debate even among Muslim leaders over whether the punishment-based approach is appropriate, or whether they should instead seek to persuade and inspire.
The show’s creators said a main reason for the success of the programme was that it has sought to make Islam more appealing to young people.
“I think it’s because it’s breaking a lot of traditions and a lot of stigma about the religion partly because of the title itself, ‘Young Imam’,” said Zainir Aminullah, editor of pay-TV operator Astro which airs the show.
“There is a certain image of an imam, but these boys are handsome, they are well-groomed, they speak well, they are extremely articulate,” added Zainir, who said he would consider continuing the show next year.
Imams play a broad role in Muslim society, including leading prayers at the mosque and counselling troubled individuals.
The 10 finalists, who were chosen from 1,000 candidates, faced written and practical tests on religion each week. They were quarantined in a mosque dormitory and banned from using phones, the Internet and television.
They also had to persuade youngsters away from sex and drugs.
Even as the show ended, the popularity of the programme continues to rise.
Its official Facebook page added 7,500 fans overnight to nearly 60,000 after Friday’s finale.
“People always tend to associate Islam with terrorism, jihad or something very rigid, but look at these young imams and you will realise that perception is wrong,” said Fadhilah Salleh, a 25-year-old student.
“This is a new phenomenon and it is taking us to somewhere positive,” she told AFP.
For winner Asyraf, whose immediate plan is to set up a “Young Imam” club to engage the youth through arts and motivational classes, also promised to ditch the traditional, stern image that youths often shy away from.
“We represent the first generation of young imams. We want to attract the young, we want to be more open, flexible and approachable as young imams,” he said.
“All of these are now my new objectives,” Asyraf added with a smile.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/malaysia-imam-idol-seeks-to-put-friendly-face-on-islam-280
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Srinagar under siege, 8 more die in street fights
M Saleem Pandit
03 July, 2010
Srinagar: The mass frenzy that has gripped the Valley claimed eight more lives on Monday in clashes between protesters and the security forces,with a CRPF jawan hit by a bullet fired by a militant from within the mob at Bumia in Sopore in Baramulla district.Srinagar was virtually cut off from the rest of the country as protesters descended on the airport road,which resulted in hundreds of people missing their flights out of the Valley.
Protesters continued to defy curfew with impunity across the Valley,signalling administrative paralysis,leaving the security forces with no option but to retaliate with firing which took the toll since June 11,when the current spiral of violence began,to 37,of which 20 deaths have taken place in the last three days alone.
With blocked highways,including the arterial road from Jammu,threatening fuel,food and medicine shortages,Islamist groups went house to house in areas asking people to boycott families of local policemen.At several places,mobs snatched weapons from policemen and forced them to join the azadi chorus.
The rioters on Monday set ablaze the Budgam railway station,besides gutting the office of the tehsildar.
Times of India
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US academic slams church's anti-Islam plan
02 Aug 2010
Stephen Zuness Chairman of Middle East Studies at the University of San Francisco
A radical Christian church in Florida has announced that they are having a 'burn-the-Quran-day' on the 9/11 anniversary.
The church's leader, Terry Jones, commented that he hoped all Christians and politicians would join in burning Muslims' holy book. Jones' church is known as the Dove World Outreach Center. Pastor Terry Jones is also the author of the book titled, "Islam is of the Devil."
The following is a transcription of a telephone interview with Mr. Stephen Zunes who is Chairman of Middle East Studies at the University of San Francisco.
Press TV: Please comment on the decision of this Florida church. Why should this be?
Zunes: It's incredibly sensitive and there's been more subtle prejudices for many years. This is the first time I've heard of something to this extreme. Unfortunately, it is an individual church; moreover, it's not a denomination, it's just a handful of extremists. Nonetheless, it's quite disturbing. There are quite a few Christian groups that are condemning this as well. We have seen this kind of extreme rhetoric for some time now. It is affecting this ugly undercurrent of Islamophobia in American society.
Press TV: Sure. Professor, how do you evaluate the US administrations' policies, especially that of President Bush's in spreading hatred towards Islam?
Zunes: Well, the Bush administration in particular took advantage to promote Islamophobia and advance the radical agenda over much of the Middle East. On the one hand, he would make statements that were not against Muslims, as a whole, etc. I don't think they could have gotten away with the invasion of Iraq and the threats against Iran and support for the oppression of Palestinians unless they were taking advantage and exacerbating anti-Islamic sentiments.
Press TV: What would the impact of such acts be regarding how other people perceive America if this is not stopped?
Zunes: I think if you really look at Western history, you can see scapegoat minorities. You have the Jews in Europe and obviously attacks against Muslims and even Christian persecutions. It shows an ugly aspect of Western societies despite claims of religious pluralism.
Press TV: Professor, this particular church says it's doing this on the anniversary of 9/11. My question to you is, although, you're saying it's just a handful of people, will such acts really guarantee another 9/11 will not happen? Will anyone be safer?
Zunes: Not at all. This kind of extremism coming from the United States will only encourage extremism elsewhere. This whole myth of the clash of civilizations is a problem, and what we need is a dialogue of civilizations.
Press TV: How far is this going?
Zunes: I don't think this particular event is going very far at all. There is the Islamic Culture Center in downtown Manhattan, and because it happens to be a few blocks from 9/11, you're having people acting really hysterically about it, including former vice president nominee Sarah Palin and others. They are forgetting over 100 Muslims died in the 9/11 attacks, and the Islamic community in this country should be just as outraged as anybody. So you have some politicians taking advantage of this sort of thing, but all you really have is just a handful of fanatics.
Press TV: We do not have a lot of time left. Let me get to my last question. Israel has been raging deadly wars in the Middle East region and is holding the Gaza Strip under seize for several years, and yet no synagogues have been raided or set on fire by Muslims. Are acts like burning the Quran fair dealings towards Muslims?
Zunes: It's completely unfair and it's completely indicative of a deep racist undercurrent by this tiny minority which is going to this extreme. It shows a need for people in the United States to learn what Islam is really about and to reach out and get to know people; to not let these petty predators lead people to such extreme behavior.
Press TV: Many thanks. Stephen Zunes, Chairman of Middle Eastern Studies, at the University of San Francisco, we thank you.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137097
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Eight more gunned down in Karachi
By Azfar-ul-Ashfaque
02 Aug, 2010
KARACHI: At least eight people, including an activist of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and two Awami National Party workers, were gunned down in separate incidents of targeted killings as the violence that had erupted on Saturday following an arson attack on an MQM office spread to other parts of the defunct East and West districts of the city on Sunday.
Tension prevailed in parts of Orangi Town amid rattle of gunfire and spread to Shah Faisal Colony, Model Colony and adjoining areas of Malir where businesses were closed following the targeted killing of the MQM worker in Azeempura within the remit of the Al-Falah police station on Sunday evening.
Police said the MQM worker, Jamil Khanzada, was targeted shortly after he had visited the Azeempura graveyard in the evening.
They said two gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire on Khanzada as he stepped out of the graveyard and sped away. The victim was rushed to a nearby private hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
An MQM spokesman said the victim was a former councillor of UC-5 of Shah Faisal Town. A couple of hours later, two ANP activists were shot dead in Model Colony.
The area police said that 40-year-old Wazeer Khan alias Wazeerzada and 20-year-old Tahir Punjabi were standing outside a snooker club near Komal Ground when they were sprayed with bullets by unidentified motorcyclists.
The victims were taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), where they died, the police said.
An ANP spokesman said both the victims were party workers. Wazeer Khan was area president of the ANP, he added.
The killings were followed by heavy gunfire that forced people to stay indoors and markets’ closure in Malir and Shah Faisal Colony.
A 13-year-old boy was wounded when a stray bullet hit him in Shah Faisal Colony. He was shifted to the JPMC for medical treatment.
The police said the situation turned precarious with the killing of a senior ANP worker on Friday followed by an arson attack on the MQM office in the Abidabad area on Saturday. Frequent exchanges of fire had been reported during the last couple of days in different localities.
In the early hours of Sunday, four passers-by — Abdul Munim, Farhan, Israr and Javed — were wounded in the crossfire between two rival groups near Kati Pahari within the remit of the Orangi Town police station.
The wounded victims were shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where 40-year-old Abdul Munim died. He was a resident of Nazimabad 3.
In Sector A-3 of Baldia Town, 35-year-old Mohammad Iqbal was found shot dead near a furniture shop within the remit of the Saeedabad police station.
The killing was carried out after 4am, the police said, adding that there was no eyewitness to the incident. The body was moved to the Civil Hospital Karachi for a post-mortem examination where doctors said he suffered a bullet wound in the head.
The police said a case (FIR673/2010) had been registered on the complaint of the victim’s brother, Tariq. The victim originally hailed from Faisalabad.
In Nusrat Bhutto Colony, a cloth trader was found shot dead at a desolate place within the remit of the Shahrah-i-Noor Jahan police station.
Area SHO Amir Lashari said: “Shaukat Ali, 34, was found shot dead at a desolate place near Tohid mosque in the early morning. The body was shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for a post-mortem examination.” The victim suffered a gunshot wound in the head, he added.
The victim was married and had a cloth shop in the area. A case (FIR 493/2010) was registered at the Shahrah-i-Noor Jahan police station against unknown men on the complaint of the victim’s uncle, Mohammad Momin.
An unidentified man was found shot dead at a desolate place near the Malir rive embankment on Sunday.
The Korangi Industrial Area police said the trussed-up body with visible marks of torture and bullet wounds on it was shifted to the JPMC for a post-mortem examination. The body was later taken to the Edhi morgue for want of identification.
Earlier, a passer-by was targeted by armed men riding a motorcycle in Gulshan-i-Bihar, where he had gone to visit his uncle.
Alam Zeb was wounded in the firing carried out within the remit of the Pakistan Bazaar police station. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died, the police said.
In the Aligarh Bazaar area, some ANP workers sitting outside a shop were sprayed with bullets late on Saturday night.
The police said that Naveedur Rehman, Imran and Aziz suffered bullet wounds and were rushed to the Civil Hospital Karachi for treatment.
The ANP spokesman described the condition of the wounded workers as stable.
The police said two people were wounded when unidentified motorcyclists opened fire at a teashop in Orangi Town.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/local/anp,-mqm-workers-among-eight-gunned-down-280
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‘Gojra has, will remain a scar on history of Pakistani Christians’
02 Aug, 2010
LAHORE: The Community Development Initiative (CDI), along with the civil society, organised a memorial for the Gojra incident that took place on July 30 and August 1 last year. Around 100 houses of Christians were burnt and another 100 were ransacked and looted, while at least seven Christian people were burnt alive over allegations of blasphemy.
CDI Executive Director Asif Aqeel said that the memorial was being held to pay homage to those who had been killed without any reason and all those who had been affected by the incident. He said that as a matter of fact, the Gojra incident has remained and would remain a scar on the history of Pakistani Christians.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\02\story_2-8-2010_pg7_34
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Chechen rebel leader says on YouTube he's retiring
By MANSUR MIROVALEV
August 3, 2010
MOSCOW -- The leader of Islamists waging an insurgency in Chechnya and neighboring Russian provinces says in a video posted on YouTube that he is resigning after years of attacks including a Moscow subway bombing that killed 40 people.
A man recognizable as Doku Umarov says in the grainy footage posted late Sunday that he is handing over command of the group of fighters known as the Caucasus Emirate, which seeks to establish an Islamic state in the region. Experts say the group maintains links to al-Qaida and related terrorist groups.
The video was posted by a user whose account identifies him or her as a 28-year-old Georgian. The user also posted several video addresses by regional field commanders. No other information about the video was available.
The bearded 46-year-old appeared frail in the video showing him and two other fighters sitting in a wooded area.
Full report at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/02/AR2010080200456.html?hpid=sec-world
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Ahmadinejad invites Obama to debate
August 3, 2010
TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday he's ready to meet "face-to-face" with President Obama in a televised debate over their countries' disputes.
The Iranian leader said he plans to visit New York for the next U.N. General assembly in September, as he has several times since coming to power in 2005.
During the trip, "we are ready to sit with his excellency Obama, face to face, free and before media, to put the world's issues on the table to find out whose solution is better," Ahmadinejad said in a speech to visiting Iranian expatriates aired live on state TV.
Ahmadinejad has repeatedly proposed televised debates with American presidents over the past years, an offer dismissed by Washington.
Full report at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/02/AR2010080201419.html?hpid=sec-world
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Obama sticks to Iraq date, says US mission will end on Aug 31
Aug 3, 2010
WASHINGTON: The United States will end its combat mission in Iraq as scheduled on August 31 despite a recent flare-up in violence, American president Barack Obama said on Monday.
"Shortly after taking office, I announced our new strategy for Iraq and for a transition to full Iraqi responsibility," Obama said in remarks released in advance of a speech at the national convention of the Disabled American Veterans in Atlanta.
"And I made it clear that by August 31, 2010 America's combat mission in Iraq would end," the president continued. "And that is exactly what we are doing, as promised, on schedule."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Obama-sticks-to-Iraq-date-says-US-mission-will-end-on-Aug-31/articleshow/6249576.cms
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Pak must take 26/11 probe seriously: Sonia Gandhi
Aug 3, 2010
NEW DELHI: In a rare foreign policy intervention, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has asked Pakistan to attach greater seriousness to investigations into the terror attack on Mumbai.
"We must continue to insist that Pakistan takes the investigation into the Mumbai terrorist attack seriously and bring all the perpetrators of that terrible crime to justice," she wrote in the latest issue of party mouthpiece `Congress Sandesh'.
Outlining the Indian approach to the issue of relations with Pakistan, she said, "While we strive for peace, we cannot and will not be soft on terrorism."
Coming soon after foreign minister S M Krishna's visit to Pakistan, Sonia's comments on India's ties with its neighbour have acquired considerable significance.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Pak-must-take-26/11-probe-seriously-Sonia-Gandhi/articleshow/6249207.cms
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UN removes names of 45 al-Qaida Taliban affiliates from list
Aug 3, 2010
NEW YORK: The United Nations has removed names of 45 members and organisation associated with al-Qaida and Taliban from its sanctions list after the firstever review of 488 blacklisted individuals and entities.
The names of those removed from the list include 35 members and organisations associated with al-Qaida and 10 from Taliban.
"We were able to do the first review after nine years. In 75 per cent of these cases we were able to receive new information," said Thomas Mayr-Harting, Austria's Ambassador and the chair of the Security Council panel that maintains the list.
The 488 names were discussed over 38 meetings. Mayr-Harting said the 443 names, 132 from Taliban and 311 from al-Qaida, were confirmed on the list, though a decision on 66 names was still being debated.
"It would be nonetheless unrealistic to expect big movements on the remaining list," said Mayr-Harting, highlighting that 270 names on the list had not been reviewed since 2001.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/UN-removes-names-of-45-al-Qaida-Taliban-affiliates-from-list-/articleshow/6250316.cms
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'Pak military does not want peace with India'
Aug 3, 2010
WASHINGTON: Failure of Indo-Pak talks in Islamabad and the WikiLeaks release of the classified US documents on Afghanistan war indicates that Pakistan's Army does not want peace with India, a noted US scholar has said.
"The military establishment simply does not want peace with India," Sumit Ganguly, from the Indian University in Bloomington, wrote in his column in the 'Foreign Policy' magazine.
"Meaningful progress on contentious bilateral issues would inevitably call into question its extraordinary privileges and its lavish existence. Likewise, it has little or no interest in full-fledged counterterrorism cooperation with the US.
"A swift and decisive end to the swarm of jihadis operating within Pakistan and along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border would mean an end to the seemingly unending flow of American largesse," Ganguly said.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pak-military-does-not-want-peace-with-India/articleshow/6250266.cms
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In Kandahar, U.S. tries the lessons of Baghdad
By Rajiv Chandrasekaran
August 3, 2010
KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN -- This city is starting to feel a lot like Baghdad.
Tall concrete blast walls, like those that surround the Green Zone, are seemingly everywhere. Checkpoints supervised by U.S. soldiers have been erected on all major roads leading into the city. Residents are being urged to apply for new identification cards that require them to have their retinas scanned and their fingerprints recorded.
As U.S. and NATO commanders mount a major effort to counter the Taliban's influence in Kandahar, they are turning to population-control tactics employed in the Iraqi capital during the 2007 troop surge to separate warring Sunnis and Shiites. They are betting that such measures can help separate insurgents here from the rest of the population, an essential first step in the U.S.-led campaign to improve security in and around Afghanistan's second-largest city.
Full report at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/02/AR2010080205235.html?hpid=topnews
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Centre suspects separatist hand,backs embattled CM
03 July, 2010
New Delhi: Though annoyed with him for his failure to lead,the Centre has decided to stand by J&K CM Omar Abdullah as it sees the current violence as part of a strategy by separatist forces acting in concert with Pakistan-backed terror groups.
The message coming from discussions between PM Manmohan Singh and Omar attended by home minister P Chidambaram and foreign minister S M Krishna was that first priority was to quell violence.
The Centre has several grievances against the CM.His inaccessibility and failure to communicate even with his National Conference colleagues has added to the chaos.But faced with the larger problem separatists stoking protests to force security forces to react,triggering a cycle of violence the Centre has chosen to ignore the CMs failings and stand by him.
Times of India
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Kayani wants India out of Kabul: Ex-Canadian envoy
03 July, 2010
Toronto: Determined to control Kabul,the Pakistan army under General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is pursuing a threepronged policy,including keeping India out of Afghan affairs,a former top Canadian diplomat has said.
In a write up titled The Huge Scale of Pakistans Complicity,a week after WikiLeaks released secret US war documents implicating Pakistans double role in Afghanistan,Chris Alexander,a former Canadian envoy to Kabul,said,The Pakistan army under Gen Kayani is sponsoring a large-scale,covert guerrilla war through Afghan proxies.
Their mission in Afghanistan is to keep Pashtun nationalism down,India out and Mr (Hamid) Karzai weak, Alexander,who was also the deputy special representative of the UN secretary-general for Afghanistan from 2005 until 2009 said.
Full report at: Times of India
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UN chiefs K-talk has India worried
Indrani Bagchi
03 July, 2010
New Delhi: India kept a studied silence on the reported statement by UN secretarygeneral Ban-ki Moon asking for restraint in Jammu & Kashmir but its clear the statement,which has been widely reported,has created a stir within the government.
On the other hand,the exact transcript of the UN secretary-generals statement was not available.The only statement was the reported comments by his spokesperson Farhan Haq.Bans statement was not available either with the government or with the UN office in India.
India is likely to push back significantly against this statement both in New Delhi and in UN headquarters in New York.The statement,which takes a critical view of the current unrest in Jammu and Kashmir,in a rare move asks India (which falls in the all parties ) to exercise restraint.
Full report at: Times of India
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Browbeaten cops join J&K protesters
M Saleem Pandit
03 July, 2010
Srinagar: The extent of frustration in the J&K police became glaringly evident when a posse of them were shoved and browbeaten into joining protesters on Sunday.They were then impelled to raise pro-azadi slogans in Anantnag,even as at least one mosque in Sopore blared,egging the cops to join the agitation or face social boycott.
The policemen were from Sherbagh police station of Anantnag and were forced to teem out after a mob was about to attack.Protesters also targeted members of the special operations group (SOG) of the police.A band of youngsters on Saturday struck an SOG camp at Kreeri in Pattan besides setting the police station there aflame.
With rioters attacking police stations and forcing cops to join them in the azadi movement actively following the Hurriyat Conferences disobedience movement local observers recalled that the last time such scenes were witnessed on the Kashmiri mainstreet was in April 1992,when a police DGP was held hostage by a mob to force the cops to toe the separatist agenda.
Full report at: Times of India
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Shortage of supplies as lifeline highway blocked
M Saleem Pandit
03 July, 2010
Srinagar: The spiralling violence in Kashmir choked the common people,who are facing acute shortage of essential commodities and life-saving drugs due to the blockade of lifeline Srinagar-Jammu national highway the only route connecting the Valley with the outside world.
Reports said the protesters have blocked the highway at separate places using huge logs and rocks.The prosperous saffron-producing town of Pampore,where eight people were killed on Sunday,is also located along the highway.
Fearing attacks,Jammu & Kashmir Oil Tankers Association has also decided to stop supplies to the Valley,which means within days therell be no cooking gas,diesel and petrol in the Valley.
The mob frenzy and curfew have meant that even patients find it difficult to reach hospitals.Dr Hilal Sidiqqui,a local health officer,said doctors start early for work before protesters take to the streets.
Full report at: Times of India
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Omar asks for political package
03 July, 2010
New Delhi: The Centre has backed CM Omar Abdullah in the face of largescale civil disobedience in the Valley.While Omars failures show the souring of the dream that he represented that of a fresh,forward looking leadership Centres decision to stick by him underscores the scarcity of options before it.
Omar spoke of the need for a political initiative but said curfew would have to be strictly imposed and there was no way around this.The discussions focused on an assessment of how violence was being stoked by a wellorchestrated campaign.
The mobs were well-armed with stones and police/security camps were being targeted with incidents of small arms fire intended to trigger a reaction from the forces.With strict instructions that there should be no instance of wanton firing,paramilitary forces were opening fire only when faced with an unmanageable situation.
Full report at: Times of India
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Militants stoke violence in name of protests
Josy Joseph
03 July, 2010
New Delhi: Even as poor leadership and weak administration in Jammu & Kashmir are being held responsible for the surge in violence,sources in the security establishment said there were clear patterns emerging in the present crisis.
While accepting that protests were widespread and not controlled by any one individual,senior sources in the security establishment said more evidence was emerging by the day of deliberate efforts by militants to stir violence in public protests.
On Monday,a CRPF constable Om Prakash was fired upon from the agitating crowd in Sopore.He was evacuated to Srinagar by an Army helicopter.It only corroborates our consistent inputs, a source in the security establishment said.A few days ago,the convoy of commandant of the 177 battalion of CRPF was fired upon in Sopore.
Full report at: Times of India
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Itll take a long time to douse anti-India feeling
Josy Joseph
03 July, 2010
New Delhi: Widespread anti-India sentiments built on New Delhis inability to resolve the Kashmir crisis,a soft state government,a stretched paramilitary force amidst hostile crowds,and hawkish separatists seizing on a long absent opportunity.These factors,and some others,are behind the fresh upsurge in Kashmir,in which more young protesters have died over the past three days.The violence maybe contained with a firmer security posture and some more bloodshed,but the surge in anti-India sentiments would take a long time to diminish.
Taking advantage of the fissures in the administration and security apparatus are the hardline elements,who are steering the agitation in Kashmir.Having been marginalized for the past several years-especially coinciding with the tenure of Musharraf when peace talks was the mood of the Valley and militancy was dwindling,the hardliners,especially those who had rallied behind Syed Ali Shah Geelani,find the present crisis an unprecedented opportunity.
Full report at: Times of India
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Bharat vs India: B-town taps rural-urban divide
Meenakshi Sinha
03 July, 2010
New Delhi: As the first half of 2010 saw Bollywood suffer losses close to Rs 300 crore,with notable duds like Veer,Raavan and Kites,producers and directors are experimenting with fresh themes to overcome the box-office drought.Exploring the hinterland is one such theme.
Actor Aamir Khans home production Peepli Live is a satirical take on issues plaguing the countryside such as rural indebtedness and farmers suicide.Ananth Mahadevans Red Alert: The War Within,talks about rural societys marginalized sections through a farmer who gets embroiled with Naxalites.Also in the pipeline is Sushil Rajpals Antardwand dealing with the phenomenon of groom abduction (jabariya shaadi),once rampant in Bihar and eastern UP.Then,Pritish Nandy Communications takes a look at semi-urban mofussil town with Saluun,where a smalltown simpleton gets entangled with corrupt government officials when his roadside salon is threatened by the local municipality.
Full report at: Times of India
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Sohrab case: CBI seeks five-day custody of Shah
03 July, 2010
Ahmedabad: The CBI sought a five-day custodial interrogation of former Gujarat minister of state for home Amit Shah.A special CBI court reserved its order till Wednesday on the investigating agencys plea in the Sohrabuddin Shaikh fake encounter case.
The CBI said it wanted fiveday custodial interrogation after it failed to extract information in its three-day questioning of Shah in the Sabarmati Central Jail.Senior counsel of the Supreme Court K T S Tulsi,who appeared for the CBI,sought remand,claiming that this is a very serious offence,wherein after an alleged murder,the accused liquidated two witnesses also.
The CBI submitted a sealed cover to the court urging the magistrate not to disclose the content,as it was the highlight of the case diary.Tulsi stated that the paper contains material gathered against the accused after his arrest.If revealed,it would defeat the purpose of seeking remand as well as damage the accused,he said.
Full report at: Times of India
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Pak,UK intensify war of words
Islamabad Summons
03 July, 2010
London/Islamabad: Pakistan summoned Britains envoy in Islamabad on Monday over comments by British Prime Minister David Cameron suggesting it was not doing enough to fight terrorism,officials from both countries said.
Cameron,speaking last Wednesday in India,told Islamabad it must not become a base for militants and promote the export of terror across the globe.The comments caused anger in Pakistan where protesters burned an effigy of Cameron.
Adam Thomson,the British high commissioner to Pakistan,was summoned to a meeting with foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to clarify the remarks,a Pakistani official said.
During the meeting,Qureshi described terrorism as a global issue that has to be dealt with by all countries in a spirit of cooperation,rather than putting the entire onus on any one country.He said Pakistan was a victim of terrorism and its efforts against violent extremism could not be negated.
Full report at: Times of India
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No apology for terror remarks: Cameron
03 July, 2010
London/Islamabad: Unfazed by an official protest lodged by Islamabad against his comments,Britain on Monday said Prime Minister David Cameron stood by his remarks asking Pakistan to stop exporting terror and will not back away or apologize.
He stands by his remarks, said Camerons spokeswoman on the eve of President Asif Ali Zardaris official visit here.
He (Cameron) was referring to elements within Pakistan supporting terrorism and not the Pakistan government, she said after the British high commissioner in Islamabad Adam Thomson had been summoned by Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
Full report at: Times of India
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Angel of Death: Howitzer in air vaporizes Taliban
03 July, 2010
London: British and American forces fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan have unveiled a new weapon,the Angel of Death,which is touted as the worlds biggest flying artillery gun.
The AC-130 Hercules aircraft,which can strike the enemy from 2,000ft above,is nicknamed the Angel of Death because of the shape that its anti-missile flares take when they are fired.
The aircraft,which is rarely deployed in daylight,carries a powerful 105mm field gun which can vaporize targets at a range of 1,097 metres,the Daily Mail reported.
As the Hercules drops from 2,000ft to as low as 80ft above the battlefield,the Howitzer normally used by ground troops fires ten rounds a minute and has a back-up of three 25mm Gatling cannons spewing out 7,500 rounds every 60 seconds to produce the ultimate airborne gunship.
Full report at: Times of India
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In Paris,Pak prez seeks nuclear deal
03 July, 2010
Paris: France sees Pakistan as a reliable friend,President Ali Asif Zardari said on Monday after meeting his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris.He said Islamabad is keen on a serious and substantive engagement with France in civil nuclear cooperation.
Zardari also called for the early establishment of a framework for a strategic dialogue between the two sides for the nuclear cooperation,an official statement said.Zardari is on his second visit to France in 14 months and had raised the issue of civil nuclear cooperation during his last visit too.
Referring to Pakistans campaign against militancy,Zardari said his government had built political consensus and given ownership to the war against terror even as the country paid a huge cost in terms of human and material losses.
It was unfortunate if some people continued to express doubts and misgivings about our will and determination to fight the militants to the finish,Zardari said.
Times of India
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Pak army moving closer to inducting predator drones
03 July, 2010
Islamabad: The Pakistan army is moving closer to inducting Predator drones with the manufacturers of the unmanned aerial vehicles getting approval for selling them to countries other than the US and its close allies,a media report claimed on Monday.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GAAS),the US-based company that makes the Predators,told the Express Tribune that it has approval to sell an export-approved version of the UAV that it plans to sell for the first time to countries outside the US,Nato members,Japan,Australia and New Zealand.
GAAS spokesperson Kimberly A Kasitz said the company has applied for a licence with the US state department to begin negotiations for such a sale with Pakistan too.
Local drone manufacturers in Pakistan,who wished to stay anonymous,told the newspaper that the development was significant.
It is only a matter of time before Pakistan will spend millions of dollars on the product,claimed an insider.However,another industry insider from Islamabad said,GAAS was pursuing this with the US government for more than a year now and seems like they may have got the nod.
Times of India
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Pals from MIT helped US army analyst leak war logs
03 July, 2010
Washington: Two MIT-educated friends of arrested US army intelligence analyst,Bradley Manning,a suspect in WikiLeaks case,gave encryption software and taught him how to use it,say media reports.
Adrian Lamo,the former computer hacker who tipped off US federal authorities to WikiLeaks suspect Manning,says two men in the Boston area,have told him in phone conversations that they assisted the 22-year-old army private,suspected to be behind the biggest leak in US military history of classified documents on the war in Afghanistan.
Lamo said both men attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),but he refused to identify them because,he said,at least one of them has threatened him.Manning is charged with leaking an airstrike video that whistleblower website WikiLeaks published in April,and Pentagon officials say he is the prime suspect in last weeks disclosure of some 75,000 secret US military field reports from the war in Afghanistan to the site.
Times of India
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Israel gives in,UN launches probe into flotilla raid
03 July, 2010
United Nations: UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon opened an international inquiry on Monday into Israels deadly May 31 attack on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla,after the Jewish state said it would cooperate with the probe.
The investigation will be led by former New Zealand prime minister Geoffrey Palmer as chairman and outgoing Colombian president Alvaro Uribe as vice chairman,Ban said in a statement.
The panel also will have one Israeli and one Turkish member,who were not identified.The four-person group will start work on August 10 and submit its first progress report by mid-September,Ban said.
The storming of the Turkish-owned flotilla,which was trying to run Israels blockade of Hamas-ruled Gaza,caused an international outcry after Israeli commandos killed eight Turks and one Turkish-American they said were violently resisting.
The action led to a sharp deterioration in Israeli-Turkish relations and forced Jerusalem to ease its Gaza blockade.
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Rockets hit Israel,Jordan;one killed
03 July, 2010
Astring of rockets was fired early on Monday toward the Israeli resort city of Eilat,and one hit in neighboring Jordan,killing one person and wounding four,officials in both countries said.The rockets appeared to have been fired from Egypts Sinai peninsula,an Israeli police spokesman said.
Times of India
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After WikiLeaks in US, Horlicks in Tamil Nadu
J Gopikrishnan
03 July, 2010
Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers MK Alagiri is embroiled in a fresh controversy – Horlicks scandal. The Minister recently distributed about 9,000 packets of Horlicks as freebies at a medical camp. The Horlicks packets are now being allegedly linked to robbery of the health drink packets being transported from Haryana on a truck six days before the medical camp. The truck was looted close to the medical camp site in Andipatti in Tamil Nadu.
Initially refusing to act on the complaint about the loot, the Tamil Nadu Police was forced to register a case on the direction of the high court, which asked the police to report within two months.
On July 18, in connection with the celebrations of Tamil Nadu CM M Karunanidhi’s birthday, Alagiri was the chief guest at a grand medical camp organised in AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa’s constituency, Andipatti. In the function, Alagiri distributed 9,000 packets with Karunanidhi’s and his pictures on them.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/273580/After-WikiLeaks-in-US-Horlicks-in-Tamil-Nadu.html
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‘No change of guard in J&K’
03 July, 2010
As the situation in Jammu and Kashmir showed no signs of let-up, the Congress threw its weight behind Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and emphasised the need for political leaders to show maturity in dealing with crisis.
The Congress, which is a coalition partner in National Conference-led J&K Government, said there was no question of replacement of Omar Abdullah. When asked about change, Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said, “No. This is a sensitive time. The Centre and the State should act in concert.”
According to sources, there is no possibility of change in the top guard as both Congress president Sonia Gandhi and son Rahul back Omar completely. The Government sources have also ruled out imposition of Governor’s rule as that would reflect poorly on the State Government and would be a “no-confidence” of sorts by the Centre against a State Government of which the Congress is a part.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/273447/%E2%80%98No-change-of-guard-in-JK%E2%80%99.html
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J&K police on ‘house’ duty
Mohit Kandhari
03 July, 2010
In the wake of a fresh spell of violence in parts of Kashmir Valley, the State police department is finding it difficult to fully utilise its own manpower to restore law and order on ground zero.
A source said, “A significant number of State police jawans — currently deployed on security duties to protect politicians, sitting Ministers, retired bureaucrats, former MLAs, retired police officers and several others — are not in a position to help senior police officers despite their urgent requirement.”
The police department is feeling the pinch despite CRPF jawans being stationed in Kashmir to quell angry protests, protect Government buildings and assist the State force.
Even Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday raised the issue of augmenting the strength of the Central paramilitary troops during his meeting with the Prime Minister, Home Minister and Defence Minister in New Delhi. He was assured by the Union Government of rushing in specialised anti-riot police force in the Valley to restore normalcy.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/273435/JK-police-on-%E2%80%98house%E2%80%99-duty.html
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Judges start dictating Ayodhya suit verdicts
03 July, 2010
Three judges of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court initiated the process to write ‘history’ when they separately started dictating the verdict of the title suits of the vexed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid issue on Monday. The special bench of the high court had completed hearing on the issue last week and the judgement is expected any day after September 15.
Sources claimed that the special bench comprising Justices SU Khan, Sudhir Agarwal and Dharamveer Sharma had started giving dictations in the case. Before initiating this process, the special bench had tried to broker peace by giving opportunity to both the parties to strike a compromise. But the counsels of both Hindu and Muslim organisations rejected the suggestion.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/273433/Judges-start-dictating-Ayodhya-suit-verdicts.html
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Nazeer first accused for NIA
VR Jayaraj
03 July, 2010
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday filed the chargesheet in the case relating to the March 3, 2006 twin blasts at Kozhikode, listing Lashkar-e-Tayyeba’s (LeT) Thadiyantavide Nazeer as first of the seven accused. The blasts case was the first of the six cases that the NIA had taken over in Kerala.
The agency has found that the accused had planned to attack vital Government installations as acts of revenge for denial of bail to the accused in case of the Marad (two) riots of 2003.
It said the twin blasts were part of this revenge programme. Eight Hindus were hacked to death in Marad fishing village in Kozhikode district in May, 2003.
The seven accused in the case were charged with waging war against the nation, criminal conspiracy, attempt to murder and disruption of communal harmony. The twin blasts were considered the first overt acts of Islamist terrorism in Kerala.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/273392/Nazeer-first-accused-for-NIA.html
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‘Pakistan using US aid to support America’s enemy’
03 July, 2010
A US lawmaker has alleged that Pakistan, which has been receiving billions of US dollars in aid, is using the money to support America’s enemy.
“Pakistan is a country that we lavish with foreign aid, one that US officials repeatedly praise as an important partner in the struggle against terrorism, and it appears they’re using our money to support our enemy,” Congresswoman Lynn Woosley, said in her speech on floor of the US House of Representatives.
“We are not just talking about the passive enabling of terrorism. There are reports of Pakistani intelligence officials recruiting and training suicide bombers and helping to plan major Taliban offensives,” she said referring to documents released by Wikileaks.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/273548/%E2%80%98Pakistan-using-US-aid-to-support-America%E2%80%99s-enemy%E2%80%99.html
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‘Kayani conspiring to control Afghanistan’
03 July, 2010
Determined to control Kabul, the Pakistan Army under General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is pursuing a three-pronged policy, including to keep India out of Afghan affairs, a former top Canadian diplomat has said.
In a write up titled The Huge Scale of Pakistan’s Complicity, a week after WikiLeaks released secret United States war documents implicating Pakistan’s double role in Afghanistan, Chris Alexander, a former Canadian envoy to Kabul, said, “The Pakistan Army under General Kayani is sponsoring a large-scale, covert guerrilla war through Afghan proxies.”
“Their mission in Afghanistan is to keep Pashtun nationalism down, India out and Mr (Hamid) Karzai weak,” Alexander, who was also the Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan from 2005 until 2009 said.
According to Alexander, Kayani told the Afghan President this spring that the condition for peace in Afghanistan would be the closing of several Indian consulates, while offering to broker deals with Islamic Emirate leaders, whom he considers a “strategic asset”, the Globe and Mail newspaper reported.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/273547/%E2%80%98Kayani-conspiring-to-control-Afghanistan%E2%80%99.html
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US announces $10m for Pak flood relief
03 July, 2010
The US has announced an initial commitment of US $10 million aid to carry out relief work for thousands of people affected by the devastating flood in Pakistan. “We have made an initial commitment of $10 million in aid and are rushing helicopters, boats, pre-fabricated bridges, mobile water treatment units, and emergency food supplies to meet Pakistan’s growing humanitarian needs,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/273546/US-announces-$10m-for-Pak-flood-relief.html
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Zardari should drop Britain visit in view of Pakistan floods: Imran
03 July, 2010
Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has announced that his Tehreek-e-Insaf party will organise protests against President Asif Ali Zardari for going ahead with his scheduled visit to Britain at a time when Pakistan has been hit by the worst floods in eight decades.
“The country is in the grip of the worst floods that have unleashed widespread devastation, especially in Kyber Pakhtunkhawah province, leaving hundreds of dead and millions homeless. In view of these circumstances, President Zardari should have suspended his planned visit to the UK,” Khan said while addressing a convention of party workers here on Monday. Khan said people were dying due to severe floods and need the Government’s help but the rulers’ focus was on the proxy war of the US.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/273540/Zardari-should-drop-Britain-visit-in-view-of-Pakistan-floods-Imran.html
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Cameron not to apologise for Pak remarks
Prasun Sonwalkar
03 July, 2010
As Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari prepares to commence his visit to Britain, the Downing Street has ruled out that Prime Minister David Cameron will back away or apologise for his remarks made about Islamabad “exporting terror” as “he meant it”.
Zardari is scheduled to go ahead with his trip to Britain on Tuesday and is scheduled to meet Cameron at his country residence Chequers on Friday, despite protests back home in Pakistan that he cancel the visit.
The visit has been clouded by Cameron’s remarks in India about Pakistan “looking both ways” on terrorism, prompting Pakistan’s powerful intelligence chief Lt Gen Shuja Pasha to call off his trip.
Downing Street sources said Cameron will try to assuage Pakistan anger over his remarks but will not apologise for accusing elements in Pakistan for “looking both ways” on terrorism.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/273541/Cameron-not-to-apologise-for-Pak-remarks.html
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50 die after boat capsizes in Uganda’s Lake Albert
03 July, 2010
Ugandan police say more than 50 people have died after a boat they were travelling in capsized on Lake Albert in Uganda.
Zura Ganyana, a police spokesman, says the boat was carrying between 70 and 80 people, but only five survivors have been found and 17 bodies recovered.
She said on Monday that they did not expect to rescue any more survivor’s from the accident late on Saturday.
The boat capsized due to overloading, she said.
A police chief in the area, Romeo Ojara, said that the boat had a capacity of only 40 people and two tonnes of fish.
Boat accidents are common on Uganda’s lakes. Last month more than 10 people died in a boat accident on the Ugandan side of Lake Victoria.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/273543/50-die-after-boat-capsizes-in-Uganda%E2%80%99s-Lake-Albert.html
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Somali pirates hijack cargo ship with 23 crew
03 July, 2010
Somali pirates hijacked a Panamanian-flagged cargo ship with 23 crew onboard during an early morning raid om Monday, the European Union Naval Force said. The crew onboard the 17,300-tonne MV Suez are from Egypt, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India, the force said in statement. “The MV Suez reported being under small arms fire from a pirate attack and minutes later she reported pirates on board,” the statement said. “Immediately after the first report a helicopter was directed to the ship but pirates had already taken over the command of the vessel.”
The ship, which is carrying bags of cement, was traveling in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor, a stretch of water patrolled by a naval coalition. Navies say the ocean is too big for them to stop all pirate attacks.
Pirate attacks have gone down recently because of monsoon weather off the Somali coast.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/273534/Somali-pirates-hijack-cargo-ship-with-23-crew.html
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Hardcore Porn Screened In Indonesian Parliament Building
03 July, 2010
Hardcore porn was broadcast on the Indonesian Parliament's internal information service Monday, shocking journalists and bureaucrats who rely on the screens for updates on political events.
Hardcore images apparently taken from the Internet filled the screens used by reporters, political staffers and visitors for about 15 minutes before security guards managed to shut it off, reporters said.
It was not clear how the images appeared on the screens but House Speaker, Mr Marzuki Alie, said whoever was responsible would be punished.
"Whoever hacked the screens is insolent and will be reported to the authorities," he told reporters.
The incident is sure to embarrass President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has recently backed calls for stricter controls on the Internet following a national scandal over an online celebrity sex clip.
http://www.asianage.com/international/hardcore-porn-screened-indonesian-parliament-building-672
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US 2011 drawdown in Afghanistan will be 'limited': Gates
03 July, 2010
Amid growing clamour against the war in Afghanistan, defence secretary Robert Gates has cautioned that large numbers of US troops will remain even after a “limited” July 2011 drawdown.
Despite mounting casualties and public doubts, Gates said on Sunday the US-led force was making headway and Taliban insurgents would not be able to wait out US forces because a major troop withdrawal was not on the horizon.
“I think we need to reemphasise the message that we are not leaving Afghanistan in July of 2011,” said Gates, referring to a deadline set by President Barack Obama for the start of a withdrawal.
“My personal opinion is that drawdowns early on will be of fairly limited numbers,” he told ABC’s “This Week.”
Full report at:
http://www.asianage.com/international/us-2011-drawdown-afghanistan-will-be-limited-gates-669
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Musharraf To Unveil His Party Manifesto In September
03 July, 2010
Former military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf will unveil the manifesto of his new party and announce the date of his return to Pakistan in September, one of his aides has said. Mr Chaudhry Shahbaz Husain, chief coordinator of the All Pakistan Muslim League(APML) set up by Musharraf, said the former president would stage his comeback before the next general election, irrespective of whether they are held "mid-term" or "end-term". The APML has been in touch with PML-Q leaders for the past three months for a possible unification and Husain claim during a news conference in Lahore on Sunday that both factions would soon assemble on the same platform. Mr Husain said that the APML's leaders would call on PML-Functional chief Pir Pagaro, leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and other political parties in Sindh this month. He said, if invited, the APML could join the alliance recently formed by three Muslim League factions. Factions of the PML – Unification, Likeminded and Functional – announced their merger last month. However, PML-Q president, Mr Chaudhry Shujaat Husain, told reporters that those talking of unification should first come back to his party and then discuss the issue. Leaders of the PML-Q and PML-N have opposed efforts to unite the various factions of the Muslim League to form any party that would be headed by Musharraf, who has been living outside Pakistan since April last year to avoid a raft of court cases. PML-Zia chief Ijaz-ul-Haq, the son of late military dictator Zia-ul-Haq, is among thos pushing for the merger of the Muslim League factions. However, leaders of other groups have criticised him for being in contact with Musharraf.
http://www.asianage.com/international/musharraf-unveil-his-party-manifesto-september-649
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Like Mush, A.Q. Khan A Hit On Facebook Too!
03 July, 2010
Pakistan's disgraced nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan has a strong following on social networking website Facebook - even though it may not be Khan who is posting on his fan page. "This unofficial fan page of Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan was created for the millions who want to voice their appreciation and gratitude to this great man as well as have a platform for discussion on current Pakistani events," reads the note on the "Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan" public figure page. Though the fan page was launched sometime last year, the activity on the page has picked up since June. At last count there were about 92,000 Facebookers following Khan. The format and contents of the fan page are quite similar to that of former Pakistan president, Mr Pervez Musharraf, who has used the social networking site to connect to his fans in a big way. And "Khan" has been posting food for thought for fellow Pakistanis a la Musharraf. "…Great to see 165,675 members on Quaid-e-Azam's page. Let's all try our best to get +200,000 members before August 14th! And while we are on this topic, let me ask. Full report at:
http://www.asianage.com/international/mush-aq-khan-hit-facebook-too-648
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Shah’s ‘ encounter’ threat to riot victim
By Aman Sharma
03 July, 2010
ZAHID Hussain Kadri’s name figures in the CBI’s list of 248 prosecution witnesses in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case and his wife Kausarbi’s murder, but he has nothing to do with either of the cases.
Yet, this Gujarat riots victim’s twopage statement to the CBI against Amit Shah could turn the tables on the former home minister.
Kadri, listed as prosecution witness number 193 against Shah, has claimed in his statement that the former Gujarat home minister had threatened to eliminate him like Sohrabuddin in a fake encounter.
He had lost his 21- year- old son, Farhan, during the Gujarat riots in police firing.
When the police refused to register an FIR, Kadri approached the metropolitan magistrate with a criminal complaint in 2002 against the Gujarat Police and subsequently moved the high court in 2005.
Full report at: Mail Today
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KASHMIR HEAT SCORCHES OMAR
By Aman Sharma
03 July, 2010
ANGRY, EVASIVE &SCARRED... OMAR PLAYS ACORNERED CM
AS KASHMIR continues to burn, a nervous chief minister Omar Abdullah rushed to New Delhi on Monday to seek the Centre’s help in restoring calm.
He met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to urge that the state required a “ political package more than an economic package”. He, however, conceded that the wave of violence had to end before a political initiative could be taken.
Omar is increasingly coming under fire for his failure to handle the situation. The central government has ruled out imposing President’s Rule or a leadership change and has assured all assistance to the CM. But despite the Centre’s backing, Omar has reasons to worry as the violence is spiraling out of control.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Focus on J&K development: Sonia
03 July, 2010
New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi, sending out an unambiguous message, has said that “elements with ulterior motives” are instigating violence in the Kashmir valley, and that they “must be identified and brought to book.”
She also added that the Jammu and Kashmir government should push the development agenda as that was the only way to create “jobs and livelihood opportunities,” one of the “key instruments against terrorism and violence.”
Ms. Gandhi's letter to her fellow Congress workers, which appeared in the July issue of the party mouthpiece Sandesh, was significantly released on a day when the Central and State governments were grappling with the spurt in violence in the valley.
“Pained by the upsurge in violence in J&K,” she sent her “deepest condolence to those innocent men and women who were killed in this mindless violence.”
“Show maturity”
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/03/stories/2010080363161200.htm
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No problem with India, says IAEA chief
P.S. Suryanarayana
03 July, 2010
SINGAPORE: International Atomic Energy Agency's Director General Yukiya Amano on Monday acknowledged that India was continuing to abide by its commitments under its 2008 safeguards accord with the IAEA.
Certifying India's compliance by using the words “yes” and “no problem,” Mr. Amano expressed the “view that placing more [nuclear] facilities of India under the IAEA safeguards is a good thing.” He did not, however, wish to prescribe a formula by which Pakistan could source China's help in the civil nuclear domain in the present circumstances.
He was responding to The Hindu and Singapore's Ambassador-at-Large, Tommy Koh, on issues relating to India's engagement with the IAEA and the latest moves for a China-Pakistan civil nuclear deal. The IAEA chief was fielding questions after delivering a lecture at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy here. Mr. Koh presided over the session.
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/03/stories/2010080363141200.htm
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Stop stone-pelting: Geelani's plea
03 July, 2010
S.A.S. Geelani, who heads of the hardline faction of the Hurriyat, on Monday asked protestors not to engage in stone pelting and vandalising public property, but to join marches.
HARDLINE LEADER, WHO IS ON SHAKY GROUND AFTER PROTESTERS DEFIED APPEALS, PITCHES FOR PEACEFUL AGITATION
The hard-line leader of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, appealed to people not to resort to stone-pelting and attacks on public property as he called for a Eidgah march on Tuesday.
Geelani, however, is on a shaky ground after masked protesters defied the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir-based United Jehad Council chief Syed Salahuddin's plea to go for a flexible protest calendar.
“The next protest programme will be announced at the Eidgah and a resolution will be passed to press India to resolve the Kashmir issue as per UN resolutions,“ Geelani told a local a wire service.
Full report at: Hindustan Times
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15 militants killed in Orakzai
02 Aug, 2010
GHALANAI, Aug 1: Fifteen militants were killed and eight others injured when military planes attacked their hideouts in parts of upper Orakzai Agency on Sunday.
Sources said that fighter jets targeted militants’ positions in Toor Kanrha, Nareek and Fareed Gharhi areas.
Four hideouts were destroyed in the bombing.
Security forces took control of these areas and started a search operation to consolidate their positions. They seized a large quantity of arms during search operation.—Correspondent
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/15-militants-killed-280
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France to target super-rich Muslim women who wear burkas to prove ban is not biased against the poor
02 Aug, 2010
Super-rich Muslim women who shop at luxury boutiques wearing black burkas are to be targeted by the French government in a clampdown on Islamic veils, it emerged today.
As parliament adopted a formal motion declaring such dress to be ‘an affront to the nation’s values’, French MPs made it clear that they were not stigmatising the poor.
Many have criticised the anti-burka lobby, which includes President Nicolas Sarkozy, for focusing on poor Muslim housewives living on housing estates.
Ban: Super-rich Muslim women who wear black burqas are to be targeted by the French government in a clampdown on Islamic veils
But, as in London, some of the most high-profile women who cover their faces in public belong to women from fabulously wealthy families from the Gulf.
Full report at:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1277200/France-target-super-rich-Muslim-women-wear-burqas-prove-ban-biased-poor.html#ixzz0nfdqgYdn
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Kashmir: 15 dead since Friday, curfew continues
Aug 2, 2010
SRINAGAR: Curfew remained in force in the entire Kashmir Valley on Monday which has been hit by a fresh wave of violence since Friday.
One person identified as Tariq Ahmed, who was hit by a teargas shell three days back in Bijbehara in south Kashmir, succumbed to his injuries last night, police sources said.
With his death, the total number of people who died in the Valley since Friday has gone up to 15 which includes eight persons who were killed in separate incidents yesterday.
Security forces maintained a tight vigil across all the ten districts in Kashmir to maintain law and order, the sources said.
In New Delhi, the Cabinet Committee on Security(CCS) had met last night for the second time in a month to take stock of the situation.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Kashmir-15-dead-since-Friday-curfew-continues/articleshow/6246783.cms
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Bloody Sunday: 8 die as Valley stir worsens
M Saleem Pandit
Aug 2, 2010
SRINAGAR: Even as the embattled Omar Abdullah government tried to grapple with worsening street protests, four people were killed in a blast at a police camp in Khrew in Pulwama district, with at least 35 others injured, after a fire triggered by protesters reached the armoury where explosives recovered from terrorists were stored.
This took the toll of those killed in Sunday's violence to eight, the highest number of people dead on a single day since the current spiral of people's frenzy began on June 11.
With the Valley reporting more violence and killings on Sunday, the Centre was forced to call a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) to take stock of the situation. There were indications that CM Omar Abdullah may be called to Delhi for consultations on how to stem the cycle of violence. The Centre also felt that the security forces needed more support from the state's leadership. The total number of people killed since June 11 now stands at 29.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Bloody-Sunday-8-die-as-Valley-stir-worsens/articleshow/6245770.cms
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Israel fears Turkey spy chief is ‘supporter of Iran’
2 August 2010
JERUSALEM - Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has expressed concern over Turkey’s appointment of a new spy chief he called a “supporter” of the Jewish state’s archfoe Iran, army radio reported Sunday.
“Turkey is a friendly country, a strategic ally, but the nomination in recent weeks of a new chief of the Turkish secret services who is a supporter of Iran worries us,” he told a meeting of his centre-left Labour party.
Barak added that the appointment could result in “the Iranians having access to secret information,” in a recording of his remarks broadcast by military radio.
The Turkish official, Hakan Fidan, 42, was appointed to head the National Intelligence Organisation, known by its Turkish acronym MIT, on May 27 after serving as undersecretary for foreign affairs to the prime minister and representing Turkey at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/August/middleeast_August9.xml§ion=middleeast&col=
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I won't apologise for Pakistan terror remark: UK PM David Cameron
Aug 2, 2010
LONDON: Prime Minister David Cameron has refused to apologise for his comment that Islamabad is "exporting terror", said a government source who insisted that "he meant it".
Daily Mail quoted government sources as indicating that Cameron would not withdraw his suggestion that Pakistan was "exporting terror".
A government source said Cameron would not apologise for his outspoken remarks and added: "No, he said it and he meant it."
During his India visit, Cameron July 28 warned Pakistan against exporting terrorism to India, Afghanistan or anywhere else in the world.
Cameron said: "We want to see a strong, stable and democratic Pakistan, but we cannot tolerate in any sense export of terrorism, whether to India, Afghanistan or anywhere in the world."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/I-wont-apologise-for-Pakistan-terror-remark-UK-PM-David-Cameron/articleshow/6247368.cms
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ABC1-TV: Compass – Sex, Faith and Marriage
Aug 2, 2010
Compass explores the sexual rules of three different faiths to find out what goes on in Jewish, Muslim and Hindu bedrooms.
They say you should never talk about sex and religion in the same sentence, but for some Australians they go together, like love and marriage. This program features three very different Australian couples who let us into their homes and lives to talk about the private and sacred rituals that are part of their religious practice.
For many observant Jewish women, the Mikvah or ritual immersion in pure water is a monthly pre-requisite before sex. They follow the Jewish laws of ‘Family Purity’ which require married couples to sleep in separate beds during menstruation and for approximately seven days afterwards. During this time, husband and wife do not touch.
Full report at:
http://www.jwire.com.au/events/aug-22-1015p-m-abc1-tv-compass-sex-faith-and-marriage/10807
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1,000 Pakistanis will die this week
Aug 2, 2010
There would be more than 1,000 Pakistanis who would have to die this week, either by natural or by human disasters. If we look at the statistics from last 5 days, we will come to know that more than 800 people are died and 584 injured since July 26.
Starting from Monday, July 26, 2 adults died and 8-year-old girl injured when an electricity poll dilapidated due to heavy rains in Umar Kot. 19 others died and 11 went missing during flood in Barkhan. 1 woman, a 10-year-old child and 2 men died, when a coaster went off the road in Mirpur Khas, injuring 30 others.
2 men shot to death and one injured in two separate incidents in Quetta. 9 killed including 3 policemen, while 22 injured in a suicide bomb blast in Nowshehra. 1 man killed and 1 injured in Mandi Bahauddin in a firing incident. 1 FC personal died and one policeman injured when terrorists opened fire on check post in Peshawar. 3 others got killed and 4 injured in target killing incidents in Karachi. 2 sisters killed in Toba Taik Singh.
Full report at:
http://www.markthetruth.com/pakistan-news/652-1000-pakistanis-will-die-this-week.html
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UN faults Israel's human rights
Aug 2, 2010
GENEVA - A UN panel of experts called Friday on Israel to fall in line with international norms on civil rights and to take action against targeted killings, torture and impunity for security forces.
The UN Human Rights Committee also called for an end to the blockade of Gaza and questioned the independence of Israel's own inquiry into a naval raid on a Gaza-bound relief supply ship in which nine Turkish nationals dead.
In conclusions on its review of Israel's application of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the committee also urged a halt to restrictions on Palestinians and raised concerns about discrimination.
Full report at:
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Zardari, Nawaz lack self-respect: Imran
02 Aug, 2010
KASUR: Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf chief Imran Khan has termed the remarks passed by British Prime Minister David Cameron insulting, saying it is not for the first time that such derogatory comments have been ignored.
Imran Khan said this while talking to party leaders and the media people at a local hotel on Shahbaz Road here on Sunday.
“Our rulers should have promptly reciprocated, but they lack self-respect and leadership qualities. Under these circumstances, President Asif Ali Zardari’s insistence on touring the UK has bewildered every loyal Pakistani”, he said.
Mr Khan said Nawaz Sharif had kept a mum on the issue as he, like other politicians, had assets in billions in the UK and other European countries and he had no courage to take any risk.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/camerons-remarks-zardari,-nawaz-lack-selfrespect-imran-280
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PERSIAN, ARABIC EXPERTS WRITE TO PM, SONIA OVER AWARDS
Charu Sudan Kasturi
Aug 02 2010
Four senior Arabic an scholars have and Persian scholars have accused the UPA government of ignoring talented young academicians in these languages for a prestigious annual Presidential awards.
The scholars have written to the Prime Minister, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and HRD minister Kapil Sibal on this.
The Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman, started in 2001 by the NDA, is to be awarded to scholars under 40 in traditional languages -five in Sanskrit, one in Pali and one each in Arabic and Persian. It requires academic work based on modern scientific principles. But only one Persian scholar and no Arabic scholar has been picked over the past four years -including 2010 -for the awards.
Full report at: Hindustan Times
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26/11: Pakistan wants Indians to testify in its courts, says envoy
Aug 2, 2010
WASHINGTON: Claiming that Pakistan policy of supporting some terrorist groups has changed, its ambassador here says Islamabad has asked India to send its officials to testify before Pakistani courts to help convict those responsible for Mumbai attacks.
"The individuals who were responsible for the Mumbai attack are all now under arrest," Pakistan's ambassador to US Husain Haqqani told CNN on Sunday when asked about Pakistan's lack of action against Lashkar-e Taiba (LeT) terror group behind the Nov 26, 2008 Mumbai attack.
"And we have requested our Indian neighbours to provide us with evidence in the sense of allowing Indian officials who have knowledge of this matter, to travel to Pakistan and give evidence in our court," he said. "And we will be able to complete the prosecution process and convict these people."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/26/11-Pakistan-wants-Indians-to-testify-in-its-courts-says-envoy/articleshow/6246521.cms
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Five rockets slam into Israeli resort of Eilat
2 August 2010
Five rockets slammed into the southern Israeli resort of Eilat on Monday but there were no immediate reports of casualties, army radio reported.
Israeli police confirmed that a series of explosions had taken place in Eilat but could not confirm a rocket attack.
“There were a number of explosions heard in and around Eilat,” police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said.
“As yet, nothing has been found on the ground,” he added.
The radio said at least one of the rockets had landed in the sea.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/August/middleeast_August21.xml§ion=middleeast
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Muslim reality TV show eyes expansion
2 August 2010
KUALA LUMPUR - Producers of an Islamic reality TV show which sought the best young Muslim leader are hoping other Muslim countries will adopt the program’s format after a successful first series in Malaysia.
Religious scholar Muhammad Asyraf Ridzuan, 26, from Penang, was named the winner of Malaysia’s “Imam Muda” or “Young Imam” show during Friday’s live finale, beating 27-year-old religious teacher Hizbur Rahman.
The 10-episode, primetime program sought to stimulate interest in Islam among the young and create some modern role models for them by combining a reality TV format with traditional religious teachings.
The show attracted interest in Malaysia and overseas as the contestants dressed in sharp-looking black suits recited verses from the Koran, sang hymns, washed corpses and slaughtered sheep according to Muslim rules, and counseled promiscuous young Malaysians.
As the last man standing, Asyraf won a scholarship to the Al-Madinah University in Saudi Arabia, a job as a cleric at a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, a car, an iPhone, an all-expenses paid pilgrimage to Mecca, and a cash prize.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/August/international_August66.xml§ion=international
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Qalam publishes two plays for Emirati writers
2 August 2010
Abu Dhabi - Qalam, the publishing initiative of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) to promote Emirati authors, announced the release of two new books entitled “Beautiful” by Jamal Matar and “Evening Talks” by Saleh Karama Al Ameri.
The new publications are part of Qalam’s ongoing efforts of promoting authors and the book industry in the United Arab Emirates, under a comprehensive cultural strategy set out by ADACH that seeks to make Abu Dhabi a hub for culture in the region via local, national and worldwide projects.
In the five plays in the book “Beautiful”, the Emirati play writer Jamal Matar addresses social issues like spinsterhood, problems that women face and stories told by grandmothers to their grandchildren. In the book, the author stands by the cultural identity and old heritage.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2010/August/theuae_August15.xml§ion=theuae&col=
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Jamaat leaders sent to jail
Aug 2, 2010
The International Crimes Tribunal on Monday in its first ruling ordered the jail authorities to send the four detained top Jamaat-e-Islami leaders in jail in connection with war crimes during the 1971 Liberation War.
The accused are Jamaat Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami, Secretary General Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojahid and two senior assistant secretaries general Muhammad Kamaruzzaman and Abdul Quader Mollah.
They were kept in jail till further order, the crimes tribunal ruling added.
During the hearing of the complaint petition, the lawyers for Jamaat leaders prayed to the tribunal to withdraw the order of arrest against the Jamaat big wigs.
They also prayed to the tribunal to provide the Jamaat leaders with all the copies of the tribunal orders and charges against them.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=25092
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14 jailed for Sunamganj BDR mutiny
Aug 2, 2010
The Special Court-3 of Bangladesh Rifles on Monday sentenced 14 BDR men of 8 Rifles Battalion to different terms of rigorous imprisonments for their involvement in Sunamganj BDR mutiny in February 25-26 last year.
The court also fined Tk 100 for each of the 14 BDR men, reports our staff correspondent in Sylhet.
The maximum penalty of the mutiny is six years' imprisonments while the lowest is four months jail sentence.
The convicts are Subedar Maj Gouranga Chandra Das, Nayek Subedar Abul Hossain, havildars Md Abdul Jalil, Md Badiul Alam and Md Maniruzzaman, nayeks Md. Harun Ur Rashid, Md Abdul Wahid and Md Hiru Ullah Khan, lance nayeks Abdur Rahim, Biplab Kumar Pandit and Umar Faruque Hossain, and sepoys Maniruzzaman Sheikh, Sumon Marma and Toriqul Islam.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=25099
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Use of term ‘Hindu terror’ worrisome, says RSS ideologue
Aug 02 2010
Nagpur : RSS ideologue M G alias Baburao Vaidya on Sunday expressed worries about the usage of newly coined term “Hindu terror”, appealing Hindu leaders to remove the blot.
“The word Hindu terror has earned its place in the media and no one knows who invented it. Though somebody gives credit to NCP president Sharad Pawar, others say it was Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh who has coined the concept,” Vaidya wrote in his weekly column in a local Marathi daily here.
He admitted that the government had accused right wing Hindu organisations Abhinav Bharat and Sanatan Sanstha were involved in violence and some arrests had been made but none of the accused had been convicted by the courts till date.
He said the term “Hindu terror” was being used to woo Muslim votes in the country and defame Hindus.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/use-of-term-hindu-terror-worrisome-says-rss-ideologue/654796/
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Pakistan flood toll crosses 1,300
Aug 02 2010
Peshawar : Over 1,300 people have died and tens of thousands others rendered homeless from the massive flood in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said on Sunday.
The number of deaths caused by surging flash floods and lashing downpours in the country crossed 1,300.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is the worst hit province in the recent flooding, as over 567 houses were absolutely razed down to ground by flash floods, 90 highways were damaged, 58 big thoroughfares were closed for traffic; while, 104 people are still unaccounted for, Geo TV reported.
Dawn News, Pakistan
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Atheist Kills Himself to Escape "100 percent Muslim" Nation
Aug 02 2010
A 25 year-old air traffic controller, Ismail Mohamed Didi, was found hanged from the control tower of the international airport in the Maldives on Tuesday, July 13, after he apparently killed himself to escape persecution for his rejection of religion. The suicide is the latest tragedy in a series of persecutions of non-believers in a nation that claims to be "100 percent Muslim." The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) is raising the issue with the United Nations and representatives of the Maldives government.
Ismail Mohamed Didi’s story was reported in the independent Maldivian newspaper, Minivan News. The newspaper published two emails that Ismail sent to an international humanitarian organization* on June 23 and 25, in which he says he is an atheist and requests assistance for his asylum application, after claiming to have received several anonymous threats on June 22. In the emails, he says he "foolishly admitted my stance on religion" to work colleagues, and the news had "spread like wildfire."
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pakistan-flood-toll-crosses-1-300/654540/
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GOVT FUMBLES AS J& K FLAMES SPREAD FAST
By Naseer Ganai
Aug 02 2010
Violence hits villages as seven die in firing Worried PM chairs urgent strategy meet Centre likely to call all- party meet on J& K
MASSIVE anti- India protests spread rapidly in the Kashmir valley over the weekend with civilians targeting the security forces even in remote areas like Uri on the Line of Control (LoC).
Worried over the escalating violence, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh convened a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security ( CCS) on Sunday, the second such in less than a month.
The protests on Sunday were fuelled by the deaths of seven persons. Among those who died in the day’s violence was an 18- year- old girl from Khrew village and two in Pampore of Pulwama district. Four were killed in an explosion as an angry mob set fire to a police station in Khrew. As the death toll mounted and the fresh wave of protests since Friday threatened to spin out of control, Singh convened an urgent meeting of the CCS. However, a fumbling government was reportedly at a loss for a clear strategy in the face of the crisis – over a dozen have been killed and more than 130 injured since Friday.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Krishna frowns at Law Ministry's Haj lapse
Nagender Sharma & Jayanth Jacob
Aug 02 2010
The external affairs minister has slammed the law ministry over the absence of government lawyers during a recent hearing in the Delhi High Court on a case to decide who will organise this year's Haj.
ANGRY EXCHANGE MEA unhappy that top govt lawyers were absent from case hearing A WORRIED MOILY HAS ASSURED KRISHNA OF APPROPRIATE ACTION AND IS LEARNT TO HAVE PULLED UP AN ADDL SOLICITOR GENERAL
The Ministry of External Affairs has slammed the Law Ministry for its casual handling of the ongoing dispute in the Delhi High Court on who will organise this year's Haj.
External Affairs Minister, S.M. Krishna, has conveyed his displeasure to Law Minister M.
Veerappa Moily, on the absence of top government lawyers during a court hearing in the sensitive matter on July 26.
Full report at: Hindustan Times
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Can the authorities in Kashmir break vicious circle of violence?
By Manoj Joshi
Aug 02 2010
CLICHÉD or not, the only way to describe the situation in the Valley is that it is “ complex”. It is so because it is the outcome of several factors that have generated a vicious cycle that the authorities are finding hard to break.
That cycle begins with violent street protests which lead to a tough police response, culminating at times in the police shooting dead a protester.
Thereupon, protests against the death create a fresh cycle of violent protests which, more often than not, lead to yet another shooting.
Though the anger of the public is manifest — with even middle- aged matrons now hurling stones at the police — it is also manipulated by separatists who have links to the Pakistani intelligence agencies.
Full report at: Mail Today
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UAE, SAUDI TO BAN WEBLINKS ON BLACKBERRY
Aug 02 2010
Days after India threatened to suspend BlackBerry services over security fears, the United Arab Emirates said on Sunday that it would block key features on the smart phones.
The UAE too cited national security concerns while saying it would suspend messaging, e-mail and Web browsing services starting October 11.
Neighbouring Saudi Arabia indicated it would follow suit.
It is unclear if the UAE ban will affect only local users or foreign visitors with roaming services as well.
Blackberry data is encrypted and several governments -including India -fear its messaging system could be exploited by terrorists or criminals who cannot be monitored by local authorities.
India had recently warned Canada-based RIM, the makers of BlackBerry, that if it did not allow it to monitor email and SMSes, it would have to close down operations in India.
Hindustan Times
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Taliban does not possess Stinger missiles: U.S.
Aug 02 2010
Washington: The U.S. on Sunday said the Taliban did not have American Stinger missiles as revealed in Wikileaks documents on Afghan war, even as it expressed concern over Pakistan's ISI maintaining links with extremist elements.
“It [ISI's links with terrorist outfits] is a concern, there's no question about it. But I would say that we walked out on Pakistan and Afghanistan in 1989 and left them basically holding the bag. And there is always the fear that we will do that again. I believe that's the reason there's a certain hedge,” said U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates.
When asked about the Taliban having Stinger missiles, Mr. Gates said, “I don't think so.” He repeated the same answer when asked twice during the interview.
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/02/stories/2010080257741500.htm
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Saddam’s Invasion Still Hurting Iraq-Kuwait Ties
Aug 02 2010
Wounds from Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait 20 years ago still run deep and mar ties between the two neighbours despite efforts to overcome what has been described as the Iraqi ex-dictator’s worst mistake.
The August 2 assault was rapidly met with a concerted international military response that pushed Saddam’s forces out of the emirate and eventually led to his ouster by a US-dominated coalition in 2003.
As a result of that invasion, Iraq continues to pay war reparations to Kuwait, and disagreements over the two countries’ land and maritime borders persist.
“This was one of the most dreadful decisions he (Saddam) ever, ever took,” foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari told AFP.
Full report at:
http://www.asianage.com/international/saddam%E2%80%99s-invasion-still-hurting-iraq-kuwait-ties-458
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Pak has as much fissile material as India: Report
Sachin Parashar
Aug 2, 2010
NEW DELHI: Pakistan may already have not just more nuclear warheads than India but also almost as much fissile material as its eastern neighbour to assemble an almost equal number of more nukes. These worrying disclosures for India are a part of a report on world nuclear stockpile by top US nuclear experts and researchers Hans M Kristensen and Robert S Norris for the prestigious Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.
Titled `Global Nuclear Weapons Inventories, 1945-2010', the report said Pakistan had already assembled 70-90 nuclear warheads against India's 60-80. Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists and Norris of National Resources Defense Council also said in the report that Pakistan had produced enough fissile material to manufacture 90 more warheads.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Pak-has-as-much-fissile-material-as-India-Report/articleshow/6245066.cms
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Kasab's death plea enters last lap today
Shibu Thomas
Aug 2, 2010
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Monday will take up the state government's plea to confirm the death sentence awarded to Pakistani gunman Ajmal Amir Kasab. The application is scheduled to come up before a division bench of Justice Ranjana Desai and Justice Vijaya Kapse-Tahilramani.
Justice Desai is the senior-most judge in the high court after the Chief Justice. Both Justice Desai and Justice Tahilramani, who have long years of experiences in dealing with criminal cases, were public prosecutors at the high court before being appointed as judges.
Though a confirmation case requires the convict to be present during the hearings, a source in the prosecution office told TOI that Kasab was unlikely to be produced from his high-security prison cell in Arthur Road jail for the first hearing. "Directions regarding the case and documents are normally given by the judges in the first hearing,'' said the officer.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Kasabs-death-plea-enters-last-lap-today/articleshow/6245737.cms
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EU gives $39m in aid to Pakistan
Aug 02 2010
BRUSSELS: The European Union (EU) has given 30 million euros (about $39 million) in aid to Pakistan so it could help the most needy, including those hit by the current floods in the country, a media report said.
The European Commission announced this on Saturday.
Geo TV said at least 800 people have been killed in floods in northwest Pakistan, while thousands of others have been affected.
"I am pleased that our decision to provide new humanitarian funding for the most vulnerable people in Pakistan will also be able to benefit the people, who have suffered from this disaster," said Kristalina Georgieva, EU humanitarian aid commissioner.
The UN has said about one million people have been affected by the floods.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/EU-gives-39m-in-aid-to-Pakistan/articleshow/6242858.cms
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Rahat misses show on visa hassle; organizers file complaint
August 02, 2010
GURGAON: Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was slapped with a police complaint for failing to turn up for concert here but his manager claimed the artiste and his entire troupe did not get their visas.
Khan, who has lent his voice to numerous Bollywood hits like 'Lagan lagi...', 'Jiya dhadak dhadak jaaye' and 'Bol na halke halke', was to perform at the concert today but after he failed to make an appearance, the organizers lodged a complaint against him.
According to organisers Trzy Event, they paid Rs 27 lakh to the singer for the show and had already sold 800 tickets worth Rs 20 lakh besides other expenses.
"We have filed a case of fraud in Gurgaon sector 29 police station. We have suffered a huge loss due to this last minute cancellation. I can't believe that Rahatji, who is a regular in Mumbai and is shooting a reality show there failed to obtain a visa," organizer Dishant Badlani said.
Full report at:
http://thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=109591
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Islamabad working to contain Taliban: Haqqani
August 02, 2010
WASHINGTON: Pakistan on Sunday said its security forces were working to contain both the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban as the country's ambassador to the US underscored that Islamabad did not share the militants ideology for the region.
"The Pakistani intelligence services are working effectively to contain all the terrorists, including the Taliban from Afghanistan and Pakistan," Ambassador Husain Haqqani said, brushing aside WikiLeaks' reports suggesting that the Pakistani intelligence services had links to the Afghan militants.
"Over the last two years, Pakistan and the US have entered into a special collaborative relationship," he said while appearing in the CNN's GPS programme, aired on Sunday.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/8-2-2010/69337.htm
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US 2011 drawdown in Afghanistan will be ‘limited’
02 Aug, 2010
WASHINGTON: Amid growing clamor against the war in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates cautioned Sunday that large numbers of US troops will remain in the country after a “limited” July 2011 drawdown.
Despite mounting casualties and public doubts, Gates said the US-led force was making headway in the war and Taliban insurgents would not be able to wait out American forces because a major troop withdrawal was not on the horizon.
“I think we need to reemphasize the message that we are not leaving Afghanistan in July of 2011,” said Gates, referring to a deadline set by President Barack Obama for the start of a withdrawal.
“My personal opinion is that drawdowns early on will be of fairly limited numbers,” he told ABC’s “This Week.”
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/21-us-2011-drawdown-in-afghanistan-wil-be-limited-sk-12
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US has plan to attack Iran: Mullen
02 Aug, 2010
COLOMBO, Aug 1: Sri Lankan police are cracking down on illegal FM radio stations broadscasting radical pro-Al Qaeda, pro-Wahabi and anti-Sufi programmes.
Three out of an estimated five such stations have been raided so far, according to media reports. These stations have neither obtained clearance from the Sri Lanka Telecom Regulatory Commission (TRC) nor have they brought in the foreign-made equipment legally.
The police have detected two stations in Puttalam and one in Beruwela, both Muslim-dominated localities near Colombo, according to Lakbimanews.
The illegal stations were running with the blessings of local Muslim politicians and elements in the government’s Religious Affairs Department, The Nation said.
In 2009, Beruwela saw a violent confrontation between followers of Sufis and Wahabi school of thought, in which two Wahabis were killed.
There have been clashes in Kattankudy, a Muslim majority town in the Eastern province, as well as Beruwela in the Western province. This year’s Sufi festival in Beruwela on July 12, was held under heavy police protection.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/us-has-plan-to-attack-iran-mullen-280
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Iraq civilian death toll almost doubles in July
02 Aug, 2010
BAGHDAD: The number of civilians killed by violence in Iraq almost doubled in July from June, a sign that insurgents may be trying to exploit political tensions after an election that produced no outright winner.
A total of 396 civilians were killed by bomb blasts or other attacks last month, after 204 died in June and 275 in May.
The July toll was a far cry from the dark days of all-out sectarian war in 2006/07 but remained high.
Overall violence has fallen sharply since the height of the sectarian war that followed the US-led invasion in 2003. But bombings and assassinations still occur on a daily basis.
Iraqi political parties are still trying to form a government after inconclusive parliamentary elections in March.
The monthly casualty statistics, issued by the interior, defence and health ministries, showed that 89 police officers, 50 soldiers, and 100 suspected militants were killed in July and another 955 militants were arrested.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/iraq-civilian-death-toll-almost-doubles-in-july-280
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Qaeda says it held talks on hostage killed in Sahara
02 Aug, 2010
ALGIERS: The leader of al Qaeda’s North African wing said in an audio recording the group had been negotiating the release of a hostage it executed last month, contradicting French officials who had said there were no talks.
Michel Germaneau, 78, was killed after a raid in the Sahara desert involving French troops failed to free him. France said it launched the raid because his captors had given no proof he was alive and did not engage in talks on his release. In an audio recording posted on radical forums, Abdelmalek Droudkel, the leader of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb – also known by the nom de guerre Abu Musab Abdul-Wadud, contested the French account.
“France’s president launched a cowardly military action while negotiations were under way to release Michel Germaneau,” said the voice on the recording. The recording’s authenticity could not be independently verified but the voice was the same as in previous recordings issued by Droudkel. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has promised to punish Germaneau’s killers and Prime Minister Francois Fillon said last week that France was at war with al Qaeda’s north African branch. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has denied there is any increased threat of militant violence in France following the raid and the hostage’s execution.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\02\story_2-8-2010_pg4_5
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Iraq Shia bloc rejects incumbent Maliki as PM
02 Aug, 2010
* Rejection major setback in process of forming a new govt
BAGHDAD: One of Iraq’s main Shia political blocs has rejected Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s claim to a second term and halted government formation talks until his party nominates a new candidate, politicians said.
Though expected, this is a major setback in the process of forming a new government at a time when civilian deaths are rising and US troops are planning to halt combat operations. Almost five months after Iraq held a parliamentary election meant to set it on a course towards stability after years of war, sanctions and insurgency, Iraqis are no closer to knowing who their next prime minister will be.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\02\story_2-8-2010_pg4_6
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Iran says three jailed US hikers should stand trial
02 Aug, 2010
* Foreign Ministry spokesman says the Americans have been detained for illegal entry into Iranian territory
* Tehran rebuffs Obama’s call to free US detainees
TEHRAN: Iran reiterated on Sunday that the three Americans jailed a year ago should stand trial on charges of illegally crossing the country’s borders.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Iran is also considering other possible charges against Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal including intentionally acting against Iranian security, according to a state media report. There has been no indication from Iran so far that formal charges against the three have been filed.
The Americans’ families and the US government say the three are innocent and accidentally crossed Iran’s border while hiking in northern Iraq.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\02\story_2-8-2010_pg20_1
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Shun ‘ill attempts’ to oust govt, PM tells Khaleda
02 Aug, 2010
DHAKA: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday asked Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia to shun ‘ill attempts’ to topple the government and launch programmes that serve public interest.
Referring to BNP chairperson’s remark that the ground for greater unity of people and stronger movement has been created, she said, “Stop killing the innocent people in the name of creating ground.”
“How, being a Muslim, Khaleda Zia gives direction for burning another Muslim to death,” she questioned, referring to the death of Faruk Hossain in a pre-strike arson attack.
Faruk was allegedly killed by strike supporters who set fire to his taxicab near Moghbazar rail crossing on the night before the June 27 strike called by the BNP.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\02\story_2-8-2010_pg20_6
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Blast in Gaza wounds 24 Palestinians
2 August 2010
GAZA - An explosion in the house of a Hamas commander in the Gaza Strip has wounded 24 people, a Hamas official and medical workers in the Palestinian territory said on Monday.
Hamas blamed Israel for the explosion, which it said targeted field commander Alaa al-Danaf. The Israeli military, through an army spokeswoman, denied any involvement.
Medical workers said the blast had wounded 24 people inside and outside al-Danaf’s house. It was unclear if he was killed in the blast, which occurred at a time of renewed cross-border violence between militants and the Israeli army.
A Hamas commander and rocket-maker was killed in an Israeli air strike at the weekend after a rocket fired from the enclave exploded in the Israeli city of Ashkelon.
Issa Batran, whose caravan was hit by a missile, was the first Hamas commander killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza since Israel wound up a three-week military offensive against the territory’s Hamas Islamist rulers in January 2009.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/August/middleeast_August19.xml§ion=middleeast
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High Iraq deaths cast doubt on US stability talk
2 August 2010
BAGHDAD — While concern is rising in the U.S. about the war in Afghanistan, the Americans are anxious to show evidence of progress in their other conflict — Iraq.
New Iraqi government figures tell a different story, however, showing civilian casualties hitting their highest level in more than two years — figures the U.S. rushed on Sunday to dispute.
The rejection of the figures, compiled by the Iraqi ministries of defense, interior and health, comes at a delicate time. The American military has pronounced Iraq’s security as stabilizing and is going ahead with plans to send home all but 50,000 troops by the end of the month, leaving Iraq’s nascent security forces in control. The last American soldier is due to leave by the end of 2011.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/August/middleeast_August18.xml§ion=middleeast
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Israel warns Hamas after rocket fire
2 August 2010
JERUSALEM — Israel’s prime minister issued a stern warning Sunday to Gaza’s Hamas rulers after a weekend of rocket attacks from the Palestinian territory on Israeli communities.
Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet that Israel holds the Islamic militant group responsible for the rare flare-up in violence and would retaliate for any attack against its people.
“I see the Hamas as directly responsible for any attack that comes from the Gaza Strip toward the state of Israel and the international community should see it this way as well,” Netanyahu said. “Israel reserves the right to defend its citizens and we will continue to use all means to protect the people of Israel and the children of Israel.”
The attacks, including a rocket fired Friday at an Israeli city six miles (10 kilometers) from Gaza, caused damage but no injuries. No Palestinian group took responsibility for the attacks.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/August/middleeast_August20.xml§ion=middleeast&col=
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Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim calls for end to sodomy trial over 'affair' claim
Aug 2, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Monday launched a bid to have sodomy charges against him struck out over allegations a female prosecutor had an affair with the star witness.
In a sensational twist, a junior prosecutor was dropped from the case last month after a leading political blog said she was romantically involved with Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 25, who has accused Anwar of sodomising him.
Anwar, a former deputy premier who was sacked and jailed on separate sex and corruption counts a decade ago, said the revelation was more proof that he is the victim of a conspiracy to end his career.
"It just supports our contention right from the beginning that this is all a farce, a politically motivated trial, trumped-up charges," he told reporters.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Malaysias-Anwar-Ibrahim-calls-for-end-to-sodomy-trial-over-affair-claim/articleshow/6246801.cms
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Women man border outposts
Yudhvir Rana
Aug 2, 2010
AMRITSAR: The women cadets in Border Security Force (BSF) are raising the bar. At a time when women are still waiting for permanent commission in the Army despite a government notification, they were recently made part of Beating the Retreat ceremony at Wagah. And now, they have been put on night vigil at our border outposts — after months of non-combat duty.
Considered the country’s second line of defence, border outposts are barely a couple of hundred feet inside the international border. It may not be long before BSF women recruits begin patrolling the international border round-the-clock.
During a visit to a border outpost near the Indo-Pak border in Amritsar district, TOI observed a young female constable on night duty. Fully alert and not displaying even a speck of fear, the young sentinel stated matter of factly, “What is there to fear? I am a trained soldier and always ready to challenge any miscreants or infiltrators from Pakistan.”
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Women-man-border-outposts/articleshow/6246074.cms
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For Indonesian Christians, Gatherings Bring Tension
By AUBREY BELFORD
Aug 2, 2010
BEKASI, INDONESIA — Sitting in the shade of a tree in an empty lot, the congregants raised their hymn books and, in response, the police, lined up in a ragged cordon, raised their riot shields. Sunday service was starting for the local Batak Christian Protestant Church and, for the third time in three weeks, the local authorities prepared for a clash.
Across the barricade, enraged young Muslim men in white skullcaps surged forward as the first song in praise of Jesus Christ chimed out. Using their own speakers, they tried to drown out the hymn with their own Arabic chant, “la ilaha ilallah” — there is no god but Allah.
Scenes such as this have become an increasingly frequent sign of religious tension across the Indonesian capital and its urban sprawl, home to more than 20 million people.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/world/asia/30iht-indo.html?src=me&ref=world
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As Some Young Muslims Turn to Radicalism, Concern Grows
By SOUAD MEKHENNET
Aug 2, 2010
FRANKFURT — Before Abi left her parents’ house in northern Germany last year, she asked her father, “Daddy, what can I bring you from my journey?” He looked up from his book and answered, “Some perfumed oil.” “Will do,” she said, hugging him goodbye.
He is still waiting, more than a year later, for her to return.
Abi, now 23, and her husband never made the trip they said they had planned to Saudi Arabia to visit Mecca and Medina. Instead they became part of a growing number of young Muslims from Germany and other European countries who travel to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region, eventually ending up in the camps of groups affiliated with Al Qaeda or the Taliban.
One German man, Eric Breininger, was later reported killed in a battle with Pakistani troops.
A Turkish-language Web site announced that in recent days nine foreign fighters were killed as they traveled to carry out operations with the Taliban. Two of them were identified as Germans, from Bonn and Berlin.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/31/world/europe/31muslim.html?src=me&ref=world
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Yemen's Shiite rebels free 100 soldiers: mediator
Aug 2, 2010
SANAA (AFP) - Yemeni Shiite rebels on Sunday set free 100 soldiers captured in recent fighting, days after announcing the release of 200 other troops, a mediator told AFP.
Sheikh Hassan bin Abdullah al-Ahmar said the latest batch of soldiers released had been held by the Huthi rebels in the region of Al-Amishiya in northern Amran province.
"They have arrived in my home town of Amran and are my guests," said Sheikh Hassan, a pro-government prominent tribal chief who helped to mediate the prisoners' release.
He said the rebels promised to free another 128 soldiers "tomorrow or the day after."
On Wednesday, the Shiite rebels let go 200 soldiers they had captured two days earlier and promised to release other prisoners, both civilian and military, in the coming days.
The rebels and the army engaged in deadly fighting in July that lasted nine days, rattling an already fragile truce agreed in February which had ended a six-month round of fighting in a conflict that started in 2004.
http://www.enews.ma/yemen-shiite-rebels_i182227_0.html
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Israel okays compromise on deporting migrant children
Aug 2, 2010
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel on Sunday approved a compromise ministerial plan to deport 400 children of foreign workers while allowing another 800 to remain in the Jewish state, the prime minister's office said.
A majority of cabinet members approved the recommendation of a commission created by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November 2009 to decide the fate of the children, all of whom were threatened with deportation.
According to the government's decision, children of migrant workers who have lived in the country for more than five years and who speak Hebrew will be allowed to remain in the country with permanent residency permits.
Full report at:
http://www.enews.ma/israel-okays_i182214_0.html
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Is fear of Islam the new McCarthyism?
By Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite
Aug 2, 2010
Religious freedom and the right of free expression are the strongest source of power Americans have for combating radicals who use Islam as the excuse for their violent extremism. The struggle with such extremists will not, indeed cannot, be won with military force, but through the power of our values. If there is a "narrative" abroad in the world that justifies violence against the West because the West "hates Islam," the way to correct that narrative is with the practice of our cherished ideals of religious freedom and tolerance for diversity of opinion.
Instead, however, conservatives such as Newt Gingrich want us to reject not only violent extremists, but also Islamic ideas, especially ideas on religious law, that is, Sharia law. Full report at:
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/undergod/2010/08/is_fear_of_islam_the_new_mccarthyism.html
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Immigrant Maids Flee Lives of Abuse in Kuwait
By KAREEM FAHIM
02 Aug, 2010
KUWAIT — With nowhere else to go, dozens of Nepalese maids who fled from their employers now sleep on the floor in the lobby of their embassy here, next to the visitors’ chairs.
In the Philippines Embassy, more than 200 women are packed in a sweltering room, where they sleep on their luggage and pass the time singing along to Filipino crooners on television. So many runaways are sheltering in the Indonesian Embassy that some have left a packed basement and taken over a prayer room.
And in the coming weeks, when Ramadan starts, the number of maids seeking protection is expected to grow, perhaps by the hundreds, straining the capacity of the improvised shelters, embassy officials say. With Kuwaiti families staying up into the early hours of the morning, some maids say they cook more, work longer hours and sleep less.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/world/middleeast/02domestic.html?_r=1&ref=world
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Gates Cites Peril in Leak of Afghan War Logs by WikiLeaks
By ERIC SCHMITT and DAVID E. SANGER
02 Aug, 2010
WASHINGTON — Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates said Sunday that an announcement by the Taliban that they were going through classified military dispatches from Afghanistan posted by the Web site WikiLeaks “basically proves the point” that the disclosures put at risk the lives of Afghans who had aided American forces.
“Growing up in the intelligence business, protecting your sources is sacrosanct,” said Mr. Gates, a former director of the C.I.A. He said that while it was up to the Justice Department to investigate who supplied the documents to the Web site, run by Julian Assange, an Australian activist who is an outspoken opponent of American and NATO involvement in Afghanistan, he had been “mortified, appalled” at Mr. Assange’s willingness to make public documents that listed the names of individual Afghans.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/world/02wiki.html?ref=world
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American and Iraqi Versions Differ in Latest Chapters of War’s Story
By TIM ARANGO
02 Aug, 2010
BAGHDAD — When gunmen ambushed Iraqi security checkpoints in a large Sunni neighborhood of Baghdad last Thursday, terrorized residents said the attack reminded them of the worst days of the war. The United States military said it was unaware of any gunfighting.
On Sunday, when The Associated Press reported that July was the worst month for Iraqi casualties in more than two years, the United States military denied it. Yes, Iraqis are still dying, the American command said, but in strikingly fewer numbers than Iraqi government ministries have told the news media.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/world/middleeast/02iraq.html?ref=world
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WikiLeaks Guilty, At Least Morally - U.S. Defense Chief
02 Aug, 2010
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - WikiLeaks is at least morally guilty over the release of classified U.S. documents on the Afghan war, Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday, as investigators broaden their probe of the leak.
The whistle-blowing website published tens of thousands of war records a week ago, a move the Pentagon has said could cost lives and damage the trust of allies by exposing U.S. intelligence gathering methods and names of Afghan contacts.
Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, the top U.S. military officer, appeared on television talk shows renewing those concerns amid fears WikiLeaks may publish more documents.
"My attitude on this is that there are two areas of culpability. One is legal culpability. And that's up to the Justice Department and others -- that's not my arena," Gates told the ABC News show "This Week with Christiane Amanpour."
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/08/01/world/international-uk-usa-afghanistan-wikileaks.html
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U.S. Cleared in Afghan Crash That Led to Rioting
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. and MUJIB MASHAL
02 Aug, 2010
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Kabul police have cleared a United States Embassy vehicle of fault for a deadly collision on Friday that set off anti-American rioting near the embassy, a senior police official said Sunday.
After the crash, hundreds of enraged onlookers threw rocks, chanted “Death to America” and set ablaze two American vehicles.
The intensity of the response revealed the deep-seated hostility toward Americans and raised fears of a repeat of the pandemonium that swept the city and left 14 people dead after a fatal crash in May 2006. In that case, a truck in an American convoy plowed into a dozen Afghan cars and killed at least five people.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/world/asia/02afghan.html?ref=world
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Israeli rabbis clamp down on Jewish burka
02 Aug, 2010
Israeli rabbis are to clamp down on the growing number of devout Jewish women wearing the burka by declaring the garment an item of sexual deviancy.
By Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem
telegraph.co.uk
The move was prompted by the husbands of some burka-wearing women Photo: Tim Whitby / Alamy
At the insistence of the husbands of some burka-wearing women, a leading rabbinical authority is to issue an edict declaring burka wearing a sexual fetish that is as promiscuous as wearing too little.
A small group of ultra-orthodox Jews in the town of Beit Shemesh chose to don the burka, usually associated with women in repressive Islamist regimes, three years ago in a bid to protect their modesty.
Full report at: Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved
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China says it disapproves of EU sanctions against Iran
02 Aug, 2010
BEIJING — China said Friday it opposed tough new sanctions imposed by the European Union on Iran over its contested nuclear programme, again calling for more talks to resolve the standoff.
"China disapproves of the unilateral sanctions put in place by the EU against Iran," foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in a statement.
"We hope the relevant parties will adhere to diplomatic means on the issue, and properly resolve the issue through talks and negotiation," she said.
The spokeswoman welcomed Iran's announcement that it was ready for immediate talks with the United States, Russia and France over an exchange of nuclear fuel, saying she hoped talks would begin "as soon as possible".
Full report at:
Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/israeli-rabbis-clamp-down-jewish/d/3228