Bomb blast in Karachi, eight killed in explosion near police officer's home
Swedish security police raid mosque in Goteborg
Fighters fail to seize Gaddafi stronghold, beat hasty retreat
Maharashtra Police Abhinav Bharat in terror list
Modi’s fast a political gimmick: Vastanvi
Palestinian state bid sends UN into tizzy
Nigeria offers reward for alleged UN building bomber
‘Why didn’t the bomb go off, Afzal wonders’
Drone crash: Pak troops battle Taliban for debris
LeJ chief preaches violence in Pak
NIA unveils face of saffron terror
Protest over FBI criticizing Islam during training
'For UK Asians, polygamy spells state benefits’
Sarabhai, Gujarat riots victims detained
GOODWILL FAST FAILS TO HEAL SCARS OF VICTIMS
Bharatpur victims tell a tale of cop ‘carnage’
Forces kill 12 civilians in Yemen
Syrian Opposition Calls on Assad to End Crackdown
Deal to Free 2 Americans Jailed in Iran Hits Snag
Two Arrests in Finland Are Linked to Terrorism
Mumtaz Qadri pleads guilty to killing Salmaan Taseer over 'blasphemous' statements
Ten militants among 15 killed in Pakistan clash
Four Nigerians face death penalty over U.N. bombing
15 injured in Agra hospital blast, UP on high alert
There are no Indian prisoners of war in Pakistan
Pak Troops vie with miltants for drone wreckage
This time, West sees hidden hand of Pakistan in terror attacks while India looks within
Rein in Haqqani men, US warns Pak
Jnanpith Award presented to Urdu poet Shaheryar
Can't rule out terror angle in Agra hospital blast: UP Police
Human Rights Panel wants international probe into J&K unmarked graves
Sacked Pak NSA got ISI nod to reveal Kasab info: WikiLeaks
Denied date with President Obama, Pak PM Gilani calls off trip
Obama shocker to India
With terror back on radar, no Indo-Pak meet at UN Gen. Assembly
Delhi High Court blast: Angry Kishtwar in denial mode
Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's wife denies Spain rape allegations
Haqqanis have links with Pak govt: US
UN approves Libya seat for former rebels
Sanctions lifted, NTC claims Libya UN seat
Muammar Gaddafi forces in fierce counter-attack in Bani Walid
Libyan forces battle to loosen grip on Gaddafi towns
India recognizes new regime in Libya
Another blast victim’s death takes toll to 15
Delhi High Court blast: Family thrown out of house as injured battles for life
Muslim ghetto calls Modi fast a farce
Bharatpur riot: State seeks CBI probe; Meo Muslims unhappy with relief
A Warm Account of How Iranians Survive Islamic Hawks
'US will target al-Qaida across world'
US drone crashes in Pakistan: security officials
Interior Minister Rehman Malik threatens to shutdown Google, YouTube
UNSC imposes sanctions on 2 Pak-based al-Qaida leaders
Pakistan seeking 'third-generation nuclear technology' import from China
Pak military firms expelled from London arms show
J&K House to debate Afzal Guru mercy plea on Sept 28
Jama Masjid attack: Police yet to make headway in probe
Syrian envoy blames ‘radical Islamic groups’
Iran's Khamenei warns Arabs against US, NATO
Former PoK PM Sultan Mahmood Chaudhuri visiting Kashmir
The life and death of Shehla Masood
A Smoke gone but doubts cloud Batla
A BLOW-BY-BLOW ACCOUNT OF THE ‘TERROR- BUSTING’ ENCOUNTER
Batla House: Case trial isn’t even halfway through
After Afghan visit, Cheryl Cole’s life in danger: Report
Govt calls his fast roza, his party prefers burqa
Riot accused at fast, Modi ducks queries on 2002 responsibility
Muslims slam move, say its all for votes
Sangh snaps at Modis Muslim appeasement
Gujarat govt shows riot victims the stick
MODI’S BID TO DERAIL RIOTS PIL ‘EXPOSED’
Cheryl Cole gets Jihadi threat after visiting UK troops in Af
Study: Invasion Led to Spike in Iraq Widows
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/bomb-blast-karachi,-eight-killed/d/5505
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Bomb blast in Karachi, eight killed in explosion near police officer's home
Sep 19, 2011
ISLAMABAD: At least eight people were killed and several others wounded when a suspected car bomb went off outside the residence of a senior police officer in the port city of Karachi in southern Pakistan on Monday morning.
The blast, which went off at 7.30am, targeted the home of special superintendent of police Chaudhry Aslam of Crime Investigation Department in the posh Defence area.
Seven persons were killed by the powerful blast, Geo News channel quoted police officials as saying.
Aslam, who escaped unhurt, told the media that several of his police guards were among the dead.
He said he had received threats from the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan but pledged that he would not be deterred by such cowardly attacks. The officer and his family were shifted to an undisclosed location.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack. The blast, which was heard from several kilometres away, damaged several nearby houses and cars parked in the area. The explosion caused a six-foot deep crater. Debris from the officer's home was hurled over a large distance.
Footage on television showed the wall and facade of the police officer's two-storey building were destroyed by the blast. A plume of smoke was seen rising into the sky.
Several schools and educational institutions are located near the officer's home and the blast was followed by a traffic snarl as parents rushed to the area to pick up their children. The dead and injured were taken to the nearby Jinnah Hospital.
Karachi has witnessed several high-profile terrorist attacks, including one in May on the Mehran naval airbase that killed 10 security personnel.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Bomb-blast-in-Karachi-seven-killed-in-explosion-near-police-officers-home/articleshow/10036899.cms
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Swedish security police raid mosque in Goteborg
Sep 19 2011
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden's security police raided the administrative office of a mosque in the country's second largest city , the force said on Sunday.
Security police spokeswoman Sirpa Franzen said Thursday's raid against the Bellevue Mosque in Goteborg was prompted by prosecutor Agnetha Hilding Qvarnstrom, who heads the investigation against three men arrested on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
Mosque officials weren't immediately available for comments.
Franzen declined to say if the raid was connected to the arrests and wouldn't give more details. The force only confirmed the operation, following a report in a GT tabloid.
The men, of Somali and Iraqi origin, were arrested as around 400 people were evacuated from an arts center and were initially suspected of plotting a terrorist attack. However, the charges were later changed to preparing murder and the prosecutor said it related only to one individual.
The arrests and evacuation of the arts center — which is located beneath the city's landmark half-mile (930-meter) Alvsborg bridge — spread jitters across Sweden, which saw a suicide bomber blow himself up on a pedestrian street in Stockholm in December.
Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press.
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Fighters fail to seize Gaddafi stronghold, beat hasty retreat
Sep 19 2011
Bani Walid/Sirte: Libyan interim government forces fled in a chaotic retreat from the town of Bani Walid,after failing in yet another attempt to storm the final bastions of loyalists of ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Since taking the capital Tripoli last month,motley forces of the ruling National Transitional Council have met stiff resistance in Bani Walid and Gaddafis birthplace Sirte,which they must capture before they can declare Libya liberated.
Anti-Gaddafi fighters have tried several times to storm Bani Walid,150 km southeast of Tripoli,in recent days only to retreat in disorder under fire from defenders.Sundays failed attempt appeared to be among the worst yet,setting off angry recriminations among the attackers.NTC fighters said they had planned for tanks and pickup trucks with anti-aircraft guns and rocket launchers to lead,but foot soldiers had piled in first.
There is a lack of organisation so far.Infantry men are running in all directions, said Zakaria Tuham,a senior fighter with a Tripoli-based unit.Our commanders had been told that heavy artillery units had already gone ahead,but when we advanced into Bani Walid they were nowhere to be seen.Gaddafi forces were hitting us heavily with rockets and mortars,so we have pulled out.
Anti-Gaddafi fighters from Bani Walid blamed comrades from elsewhere in Libya for being unwilling to coordinate.Those from elsewhere accused some local fighters of being traitors and passing information to Gaddafi men.Some fighters openly disobeyed orders.
Times of India
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Maharashtra Police Abhinav Bharat in terror list
Vishwa Mohan
Sep 19, 2011
NEW DELHI: Maharashtra Police has recommended to the state government that two Hindu radical groups - Sanatan Sanstha and Abhinav Bharat - be included in the category of banned terrorist outfits under anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The name of Sanatan Sanstha had come up in the Goa blast case of 2009 while Abhinav Bharat figured in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
Some members of Abhinav Bharat including Lt Col Srikant Purihit, Ajay Rahirkar, Ramesh Upadhyay and Sammer Kulkarni were charged by the Mumbai ATS and CBI in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. Similarly, the National Investigation Agency had charged 11 members of Sanatan Sanstha in the Goa blast case.
As many as 35 terror outfits, including Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohamed, al-Qaida, Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and Indian Mujahideen, are in the category of banned terror outfits under UAPA, 1967.
Maharashtra Police's move was disclosed by the Union home ministry in response to a Parliament question during the monsoon session early this month.
Minister of state for home affairs Jitendra Singh had said, "The matters are still under investigation. However, with reference to 'Sanatan Sanstha' and 'Abhinav Bharat', as per available information, Maharashtra Police has recommended to the government of Maharashtra to include these organizations in the schedule of terrorist organizations under Section 35 of the UAPA, 1967."
The question was asked specifically on action being taken by the government against organizations whose names figured in bomb blast cases, and whether such outfits would be banned.
The minister, at the same time, said that the name no specific organization was yet confirmed in investigations into the Samjhauta, Mecca Masjid (Hyderabad) and Ajmer Sharif bomb blast cases. He said, "However, among the accused persons in these cases like Swami Aseemanand, Devendra Gupta and Lokesh Sharma, who have been arrested and chargesheeted, were reportedly earlier involved in the activities of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)."
The NIA has already filed chargesheets in these three cases. In case of the 2006 Malegaon blast, the Mumbai ATS and CBI had charged SIMI activists for the terror act. However, the case was later handed over to NIA after Aseemanand had in his confessional statement said that the incident was, in fact, carried out by the same group which did blast in Malegaon in 2008.
Besides IM, LeT, JeM, SIMI and al-Qaida, the existing list of banned terror outfits includes LTTE, Babbar Khalsa International, Khalistan Commando Force, ULFA, Deendar Anjuman, CPI (Maoist), People's Liberation Army (PLA) and others.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Maharashtra-Police-Abhinav-Bharat-in-terror-list/articleshow/10034375.cms
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Modi’s fast a political gimmick: Vastanvi
19 Sep, 2011
New Delhi: After facing flak for reportedly praising Narendra Modi, sacked V-C of Darul Uloom Deoband, Maulana Ghulam Mohammed Vastanvi on Sunday termed the Gujarat Chief Minister's three-day fast as a "political gimmick".
"This three-day fast of Narendra Modi is a pretence. It is a political gimmick for the upcoming Legislative Assembly polls and not a Sadbhavana Mission, as named by him," Vastanvi said.
He said he was not invited for the fast in Ahmedabad that started on Modi's birthday yesterday and would "never take part in any event involving him (Modi)".
Vastanvi, who hails from Gujarat, was elected as V-C in January. He was sacked following a controversy over his remarks praising Modi's development work in the state.
He had also said that Muslims in Gujarat should "forget the 2002 riots and move on".
Vastanvi, however, denied giving a "clean chit" to Modi in connection with the riots and said he had not praised him "but his comments were projected in a wrong way".
http://zeenews.india.com/news/gujarat/modi-s-fast-a-political-gimmick-vastanvi_732269.html
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Palestinian state bid sends UN into tizzy
Sep 19 2011
New York: The United States and European powers stepped up a diplomatic scramble on Sunday to avoid a United Nations showdown on the Palestinian plan to seek full UN membership,which the United States administration has vowed to veto.
US,European Union,Russian and UN officials were all involved in the bid to seek a face-saving way out of the looming confrontation at this weeks UN General Assembly in New York.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was to meet EU foreign affairs representative Catherine Ashton in New York,where the Middle East diplomatic quartets envoy,Tony Blair,was to meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.Blair expressed confidence that a deal could be reached.I think there is a way of avoiding a confrontation, the former British prime minister told US broadcaster ABC.
Frustrated by the lack of progress with Israel and infuriated by its plans for new settlements in the occupied territories,Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has said he will ask the UN Security Council to approve full UN membership for a Palestinian state.
Israel strongly opposes the move and the UShas said it will veto any request.The US insists only direct talks can set up an accord to create a Palestinian state.
If a veto is wielded,the Palestinians could then go straight to the UN General Assembly to seek an elevated observer status.It is likely to get a majority of the 193 members and no veto is possible.
Times of India
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Nigeria offers reward for alleged UN building bomber
Sep 19, 2011
ABUJA: Nigeria's secret police has announced a $160,000 reward for anybody who could offer information on the whereabouts of a man, thought to be behind the August 26 suicide bombing of the UN headquarters in Abuja that killed 23 people.
The suspect was named by State Security Service (SSS) as Mamman Nur a few days after the bombing and declared wanted.
An attempt by former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo to broker peace with the Boko Haram sect on Thursday, was blurred by the shooting to death of his main host, Babakura Fugu by a gunman suspected to be a member of the group.
On Friday, four suspected members of the sect were arraigned in an Abuja magistrates court for being part of the UN headquarters bombing.
Boko Haram sect wants wider practice of Islamic sharia system in the oil rich West African country with 150 million people equally distributed among Christians and Muslims.
The sect has been linked to al-Qaeda's franchise in the Maghreb, El-Shabab and recruits members in neighbouring Niger republic.
Its leader Muhammed Yusuf was killed in 2006 by the Nigerian police after a confrontation with the members of the radical group that led to the killing of at least 800 people.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Nigeria-offers-reward-for-alleged-UN-building-bomber/articleshow/10035954.cms
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‘Why didn’t the bomb go off, Afzal wonders’
Sep 19 2011
New Delhi : Why didn’t the bomb, planted in the car used during the 2001 Parliament attack, not explode? This question still puzzles convicted terrorist Afzal Guru, claims a 180-page manuscript by a Tihar jail superintendent.
“If the December 2001 terror attack on Parliament was a success then they would have made Jammu and Kashmir an international issue and would have entered into negotiations with the government,” Guru — the key accused in 2001 Parliament terror attack case — is said to have told Manoj Dwivedi, Superintendent of Tihar Jail number 3.
Divided into six chapters, this document, starts with the attack itself and the first chapter tells the nitty-gritty of all that happened on December 13. It ends when Guru, on death row, is finally held by the police, Dwivedi said.
“They were very confident that the car fitted with improvised explosive device would go off. Guru told me that they had parked the car fitted with bombs and explosives in front of a police post the previous night of the attack fearing that it might be stolen. Surprisingly, no policeman bothered to check it. The car bomb used in the December 13, 2001 attack did not explode and till date Guru is clueless as to why it did not explode. If the attack had been a success they had names of people in their minds who they would have wanted to negotiate with,” says Dwivedi, who has been refused permission by the Tihar authorities to publish the book.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/why-didnt-the-bomb-go-off-afzal-wonders/848588/
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Drone crash: Pak troops battle Taliban for debris
Sep 19 2011
Dera Ismail Khan : Pakistani soldiers battled Taliban militants to seize precious debris from a suspected US drone that crashed in a rugged tribal area near the Afghan border, Pakistani intelligence officials said Sunday.
The unmanned aircraft crashed Saturday night near Jangara village in the South Waziristan tribal area, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. The village is near the border with North Waziristan.
The officials said they learned of the crash by intercepting Taliban radio communications but don’t know what caused it. Both North and South Waziristan are home to many Taliban fighters, though it is unclear whether they shot down the aircraft or if it crashed because of technical problems. Drone crashes have happened before in Pakistan, but they are rare.
The debris was first seized by the Taliban. Several hours after the crash, the Pakistani army sent soldiers in to wrest it out of militant hands, sparking a fight with the Taliban in which three militants were killed, said the officials. Three militants and two soldiers were also wounded in the clash, they said.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/drone-crash-pak-troops-battle-taliban-for-debris/848424/
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LeJ chief preaches violence in Pak
Sep 19 2011
Islamabad : Lashkar-e-Jhangvi chief Malik Ishaq, the alleged mastermind of a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket, who was recently released from jail, has started preaching hatred and violence again, according to a report prepared by Pakistani officials.
Ishaq, accused of murdering 70 people, most of them Shias, had been involved in “highly objectionable activities”, said the document prepared by a law enforcement department of the Punjab government.
The document, titled ‘Highly objectionable activities of Malik Ishaq’, said that Ishaq’s name has also been placed in the fourth schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act for appropriate legal action. Persons included in the fourth schedule of the ATA have to be watched by the police at all times.
The Express Tribune newspaper quoted the document as saying that Ishaq addressed Madrasa Tajul Aloom at Tab Chouhan on September 2. Earlier the same day, he delivered an address at Maki Mosque in Thal Hamza district.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/lej-chief-preaches-violence-in-pak/848427/
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NIA unveils face of saffron terror
By Aman Sharma
Sep 19 2011
Photos of fugitives wanted in several blasts released
THE Hindutva face of terror has been bared. Desperate for leads into the whereabouts of 11 rightwing militants who are on the run, the National Investigation Agency ( NIA) has now made their photographs public. The fugitives are wanted for major blasts, including those in Goa, at Ajmer Sharif and Mecca Masjid and on Samjhauta Express.
Some of them are also believed to have murdered RSS worker Sunil Joshi, who was himself the prime conspirator in a number of terror attacks. The NIA took over the probe of the Joshi murder case from the Madhya Pradesh Police in June. It is also investigating the Goa, Ajmer Sharif, Mecca Masjid and Malegaon blasts.
The agency has now opened a 24- hour- assistance line for any information on the wanted men.
A ministry of home affairs (MHA) official said catching the absconders could expose the links of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( RSS) with Hindutva terror.
Furthermore, the alleged role played by the sangh’s senior member, Indresh Kumar, in the incidents would also come to light. In a reply to Parliament on September 7, the MHA admitted that the role of the RSS had not been specifically confirmed as yet in the Samjhauta, Ajmer and Mecca Masjid investigations.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Protest over FBI criticizing Islam during training
Sep 18, 2011
Arab-American and Muslim groups deplored the FBI's use of training material that characterized the Prophet Muhammad as a "cult leader" and linked Muslims' religious devotion to a potential for violence.
"It's really troubling," said Abed Ayoub, the legal director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. Ayoub said the use of the material in counterterrorism training - first reported in a blog post on Wired.com - was only one of numerous cases in which training materials for law enforcement agencies have portrayed Islam or Arabs in a negative light.
"The bigger question is how did this material get in there in the first place?" he said. "Do you not have rules or guidelines that will prevent this from happening?"
In a training segment called "Militancy Considerations," posted on Wired's Web site, a chart correlated a steady level of violence with "adherence by pious and devout" to the Quran. In contrast, the chart showed violence decreasing with "adherence by pious and devout" to the Bible or to the Torah.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Protest-over-FBI-criticizing-Islam-during-training/articleshow/10025395.cms
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'For UK Asians, polygamy spells state benefits’
Sep 18, 2011
LONDON: British House of Lords member Baroness Shreela Flather has accused a section of British Pakistanis and Bangladeshis of polygamy for larger families to milk the country's welfare system.
"Parts of the benefits structure have become a lucrative racket for claimants who lack any sense of social responsibility,'' wrote Flather in an newspaper article. "Britain's social security system incentivizes idleness and fecklessness." She said the way some migrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh exploit the system was the most worrying aspects of this.
"There is now a growing wealth of evidence that the generosity of the welfare state encourages some Muslims from these two regions - along with plenty of white families - to produce ever larger families in order to claim extra payments and publicly-subsidised housing,'' she maintained in an earlier Lords speech.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/For-UK-Asians-polygamy-spells-state-benefits/articleshow/10014459.cms
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Sarabhai, Gujarat riots victims detained
Sep 18, 2011
AHMEDABAD: Danseuse and activist Mallika Sarabhai was on Sunday detained along with some Gujarat riots victims and others here ahead of their planned protest against chief minister Narendra Modi's 'sadbhavana' (goodwill) fast.
While being taken to the police station, Sarabhai said a police official told her that they were instructed Saturday morning to arrest her before her protest at Naroda Patia.
"A young police official told me that they were told yesterday (Saturday) morning that you are responsible to arrest Sarabhai as she comes here," Sarabhai said.
The activist added that the police gave her no reasons while taking her to the police station.
"No reason was given... The police said they were instructed," she said. Activist Mukul Sinha has also been detained.
Condemning Modi's three-day fast which continued for the second day Sunday, Sarabhai asked what was the point of 'sadbhavana' when even after nearly 10 years, the 2002 Gujarat riots victims have got no justice.
"We were to hold a silent protest. I have no idea what I am being charged with," she said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Sarabhai-Gujarat-riots-victims-detained/articleshow/10030034.cms
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GOODWILL FAST FAILS TO HEAL SCARS OF VICTIMS
Sep 18, 2011
GUJARAT chief minister Narendra Modi may be talking peace nine years after the post- Godhra riots. But victims of the 2002 communal violence are clearly not impressed.
“ The sins of 2002 cannot be washed away with a fast,” says Amina Begum, sitting in her motley house behind Ahmedabad’s garbage dump. She lost her home at Guptanagar near Naroda Patiya.
“ We lost everything in the riots; our house was burnt,” she says.
Relocated to Citizen Nagar, within 250 metres of the garbage dump of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, Amina now struggles to make ends meet. “ All the documents were lost. We have nothing to even prove our identity,” she says.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Bharatpur victims tell a tale of cop ‘carnage’
By Sudhanshu Mishra
Sep 18, 2011
Claim police laid siege on mosque and sprayed bullets on the faithful
MOHDHaroon Khan, 35, lies at Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh hospital with a bullet injury in his right eye. He was brought from Bharatpur’s Gopalgarh town, the scene of a communal clash on Wednesday that left eight persons dead.
While the Rajasthan police claim the deaths and injuries were a result of cross- firing between two groups, Haroon and other victims have a different story to tell.
Haroon alleged that the police entered the Jama Masjid in Gopalgarh soon after he had offered namaz and began firing indiscriminately. This can be gauged by the bloodstains all over the mosque, he added.
“ The bullet could have blown off my head but I escaped by a couple of inches,” Haroon said.
Another victim, 25- year- old Ismail Khan, suffered burn injuries. He, too, claimed the police and some “ outsiders” were responsible for the deaths.
“ They threw petrol on some people and set them on fire. I was one of them,” Ismail recalled.
He said “ a policeman caught me and shouted ‘ kill him now’. Then somebody poured petrol on me. There was a fire outside the masjid and I was thrown into that,” he alleged.
Ismail said he somehow managed to reach a pit that had rain water and immediately jumped into it.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Forces kill 12 civilians in Yemen
Sep 19 2011
SECURITY forces opened fire on anti- regime demonstrators on Sunday in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, killing 12 and wounding 500 others.
“ Twelve people have been shot dead by gunfire and 500 others were wounded by live rounds and batons or suffer from breathing difficulties due to inhaling tear gas,” said Mohammed al- Abani, who heads a Sanaa field hospital.
Security forces and armed civilians opened fire on tens of thousands of protesters who left Change Square, where they have camped since February, and marched towards the centre of the capital, witnesses said.
Security forces also used water cannons and fired tear gas to disperse the rally, they added.
As clashes raged in the capital, massive demonstrations broke out in several cities south of Sanaa — Taez, Yemen’s second- largest city, Ibb, and Dhammar — and in Saada in the north, to denounce the violence.
Mail Today
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Syrian Opposition Calls on Assad to End Crackdown
19 Sep, 2011
BEIRUT (AP) — Dozens of Syrian opposition members called on President Bashar Assad Sunday to end his deadly six-month crackdown or face an escalation in peaceful protests, as security forces fired warning shots to disperse high school students calling for the regime's downfall.
The weekend meeting drew more than 200 opposition figures, including leading writer Michel Kilo and Hassan Abdul-Azim, who heads the outlawed Arab Socialist Democratic Union party. It was also notable because it took place inside Syria, rather than in a neighboring country, as most others have.
A statement released after the meeting called on Assad's regime to immediately end its "acts of repression," and it urged protesters to keep their movement peaceful and not be tempted to take up arms. The opposition members also stuck by an earlier position to oppose international intervention in Syria, though some protesters on the streets have called for unspecified outside help.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/09/17/world/middleeast/AP-ML-Syria.html?ref=global-home&gwh=3DF80F12562898EF2A36E45380459E97
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Deal to Free 2 Americans Jailed in Iran Hits Snag
19 Sep, 2011
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A bail-for-freedom deal for two Americans jailed as spies in Iran hit a snag Sunday because a judge whose signature is needed on the bail papers was on vacation, the prisoners' lawyer said, dashing hopes for their immediate release.
The attorney, Masoud Shafiei, said he could not complete the paperwork on the $1 million bail deal because a second judge who must sign the documents is on vacation until Tuesday. One judge already signed the papers Saturday.
"I have no choice but to wait until Tuesday," Shafiei told The Associated Press.
Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 29 years old, have been jailed for more than two years in a case that has deepened the mistrust between Iran and the United States.
They were detained along the Iran-Iraq border in July 2009 with their friend Sarah Shourd. She was released last September with mediation by the Gulf nation of Oman after $500,000 was paid.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/09/18/world/middleeast/AP-Iran-US-Hikers.html?ref=global-home
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Two Arrests in Finland Are Linked to Terrorism
19 Sep, 2011
HELSINKI, Finland (AP) — The authorities in Finland have arrested a man and a woman on suspicion of financing and recruiting terrorists. The detentions are the first terrorism-linked arrests in Finland, intelligence officials said.
The two who were arrested have foreign backgrounds, the authorities said Saturday, and their plans were not aimed at Finland.
Detective Inspector Kaj-Erik Bjorkvist of the National Bureau of Investigation declined to further identify the suspects or provide details about the case, except to say that the activities they are suspected of being involved with were related to terrorist groups “far away” from Finland.
The Finnish Security Intelligence Service said it began operations in 2009 that led to the arrests on Sept. 7. Officers confiscated “data and other material” in searches of homes at several locations in the Helsinki metropolitan area after the arrests, Detective Inspector Bjorkvist said.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/world/europe/finland-makes-its-first-terrorism-linked-arrests.html?ref=world&gwh=82F2F20A3DF97549A88011A0094FC38D
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Mumtaz Qadri pleads guilty to killing Salmaan Taseer over 'blasphemous' statements
Sep 18, 2011
RAWALPINDI: Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri has pleaded guilty before an anti-terrorism court in the Salmaan Taseer murder case, saying that he had killed the then Punjab Governor on January 4 for his 'blasphemous' statements.
Taseer was assassinated by Qadri, one of his own elite security force protectors, because of his vocal opposition to the blasphemy law that was recently used to sentence a Pakistani-Christian woman, Asia Bibi, to death.
During an in-camera trial of the case at Rawalpindi's Adiyala Jail, the ATC judge recorded Qadri's statement.
Qadri's counsel Raja Shuja-ur-Rehman told reporters outside the prison that his client had admitted to killing Taseer, and that nobody had instigated him to do so, the Dawn reports.
He said that Qadri had also submitted a written statement of 40 pages, containing verses from the holy Quran, quotations from the life of the Prophet, four decisions of the Caliphs and views of Hanafi, Shafai, Maliki, Hanbali and Jafria schools of thought from the Islamic jurisprudence about blasphemy under section 265-F (5) of the CrPC.
Full report at:
24.http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Mumtaz-Qadri-pleads-guilty-to-
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Ten militants among 15 killed in Pakistan clash
Sep 18, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Ten militants and five securitymen were killed on Sunday during a clash at a checkpost in northwest Pakistan, Xinhua reported.
Fighting erupted when militants attacked the checkpost in the Bara area of Khyber Agency, close to the Afghan border. After this, hundreds of local tribesmen launched a counter-attack, said a local Urdu channel.
One soldier and four paramilitary personnel, who were manning the post, and 10 militants were killed in the clash. Some militants fled the scene after the raid.
The injured tribesmen were shifted to a hospital in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
Security has been reinforced in the area and a search launched to nab the militants.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Ten-militants-among-15-killed-in-Pakistan-clash/articleshow/10027151.cms
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Four Nigerians face death penalty over U.N. bombing
Sep 18, 2011
ABUJA: Four suspected members of a radical Islamist sect have been charged with orchestrating a suicide bombing on United Nations headquarters in the Nigerian capital last month that killed at least 23 people. They face the death penalty if found guilty.
The men were among 19 brought to a magistrates court in Abuja on Friday accused of carrying out separate attacks as members of Boko Haram, an Islamist group blamed for almost daily shootings and bombings in the remote northeast.
The group, whose name translates to "Western education is forbidden" in the local Hausa language spoken in northern Nigeria, has shown its menace with a bombing in the police headquarters car park in Abuja in June and the U.N. strike.
"You Salisu Mohammed, Musa Mukailu, Danzumi Haruna and Abdusalami Adamu of Kano state conspired among yourselves and sent a suicide bomber in (Honda car) loaded with explosives who forcefully drove into United Nations House Abuja and detonated the explosives killing 25 persons," prosecutors told the court.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Four-Nigerians-face-death-penalty-over-U-N-bombing/articleshow/10018276.cms
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15 injured in Agra hospital blast, UP on high alert
Sep 18, 2011
LUCKNOW/NEW DELHI: At least 15 people were injured in a blast at Jai Hospital in Agra on Saturday evening. The explosion took place at the waiting room near the reception of the hospital. Three of the injured have received serious injuries.
The place is barely 2.5kms from high-security Mughal monument Taj Mahal.
According to sources, preliminary reports on the incident from Uttar Pradesh DGP and chief secretary to the Union home ministry indicated that the blast could be result of rivalries between two private hospitals.
MHA sources said it, however, did not rule out the possibility of terror angle at this juncture. Anything concrete can be said only after some progress in the probe is made, it added.
Forensic experts have recovered pieces of wire and a battery from the blast site, confirming the use of an improvised explosive device (IED). The explosive, believed to be black in colour, was placed in a bag under a bench in front of the reception counter. The condition of the wires and the battery suggested that the explosive was put together loosely.
The blast shattered the windowpanes of the reception and set off panic among the people. The hospital is located around two km from the Taj Mahal and is on the Agra-Delhi highway.
Patients were evacuated from the hospital and police cordoned off the entire area and conducted an intensive combing operation.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/15-injured-in-Agra-hospital-blast-UP-on-high-alert/articleshow/10021505.cms
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There are no Indian prisoners of war in Pakistan
Sep 18, 2011
RAJKOT: Former Pakistan law minister Iqbal Haider has claimed that there are no Prisoners of War (PoWs) languishing in Pakistan jails.
Haider told this to media last night on the sidelines of meeting with the kin of Indian prisoners in Pakistan jails.
Even though the city-based human rights activist M K Paul, working towards tracing the missing Indian defence personnel for more than three decades, submitted a list of 54 Indian PoWs from 1971 war, Haider maintained that there are no Indian PoWs in Pakistan jails.
"Presently we have no prisoners of war in Pakistan jails. But if anyone has detailed information about the PoWs, we would find out the truth and try to release them," he said.
A four-member delegation from Pakistan, led by Haider, is in India to meet the kin of Indian prisoners in Pakistan. The delegation also comprises former Pakistan Supreme Court Justice Naseer Aslam Jahaid, Karamat Ali and Mohmmad Ali Shah, both, members of Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum.
The delegation is accompanied by Jatin Desai, an activist of fishermen rights from Mumbai.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/There-are-no-Indian-prisoners-of-war-in-Pakistan-Former-Pakistan-law-minister/articleshow/10029804.cms
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Pak Troops vie with miltants for drone wreckage
Sep 19 2011
Dera Ismail Khan: Pakistani soldiers battled Taliban militants to seize precious debris from a suspected US drone that crashed in a rugged tribal area near the Afghan border,Pakistani intelligence officials said.
The unmanned aircraft crashed Saturday night near Jangara village in the South Waziristan tribal area,said the officials,speaking on condition of anonymity.The village is located near the border with North Waziristan.
The officials said they learned of the crash by intercepting Taliban radio communications but dont know what caused it.Both North and South Waziristan are home to many Taliban fighters,though it is unclear whether the aircraft was shot down or if it crashed because of technical problems.The debris was first seized by the Taliban.Several hours after the crash,the Pakistani army sent soldiers in to wrest it out of militant hands,sparking a fight with the Taliban in which three militants were killed.
Times of India
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This time, West sees hidden hand of Pakistan in terror attacks while India looks within
Sep 19 2011
Mumbai : The security analysis in the aftermath of the Mumbai and Delhi blasts in the last two months by Western intelligence experts and the Indian establishment has followed a curious and, ironically, contradictory track. In the past, whenever India was hit by a terror attack and authorities were quick to point fingers at Pakistan or groups based in that country, Western officials and even their media would take it with more than a pinch of salt saying India seemed to be jumping the gun in the absence of concrete evidence.
Over the last two months though, Indian officials and ministers have been uncharacteristically cautious, talking about home-grown terror groups and going on a soul-searching trip about the radicalisation of Indian youth. The chatter outside the country, however, has seen a strong focus on Pakistan-inspired terror, the activities of Lashkar-e-Toiba and their possible connections to the two attacks.
The chatter peaked this week and, even as India may quietly mutter that “we-told-you-so”, security experts say there is cause for alarm. While investigations into the two blasts have made slow progress, top global intelligence group Stratfor said in a report this week that a loose network of operatives linked to Lashkar, Indian Mujahideen and SIMI could be responsible.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/this-time-west-sees-hidden-hand-of-pakistan-in-terror-attacks-while-india-looks-within/848386/
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Rein in Haqqani men, US warns Pak
Sep 19 2011
Washington: The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,expressing deep concerns about violent attacks mounted by the Haqqani insurgent network,has again pressed the Pakistani military to take action against militant havens,US officials said.
The chairman,Adm Mike Mullen,held a two-hour private meeting late Friday with his Pakistani counterpart,Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani,during a military conference in Seville,Spain,where the two discussed their nations complicated relationship.
Admiral Mullen conveyed his deep concerns about the increasing and increasingly brazen activities of the Haqqani network and restated his strong desire to see the Pakistani military take action against them and their safe havens in North Waziristan, said Capt John Kirby,the chairmans special assistant for public affairs.
Full report at: Times of India
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Jnanpith Award presented to Urdu poet Shaheryar
Sep 19 2011
New Delhi: Legendary Urdu poet and academician Prof Shaheryar was on Sunday presented Indias highest literary honour the Jnanpith Award for the year 2008.
Presenting the award,Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan said,Like Rahi Massom Raza,Shaheryar also believed in breaking the imaginary wall between Hindi and Urdu.He is a real mascot of Hindi-Urdu culture.
In the form of songs in Fasle,Anjuman,Gaman and Umrao Jaan,Shaheryar has given unique gift to the film industry,Bachchan said.Today I feel honoured because I got the opportunity to give this prize to Shaheryar sahab, the veteran actor said.
On getting the recognition,Shaheryar said,I feel great that from now on my name will be taken with eminent writers like Mahasweta Devi and Firak,who also have got the Jnanpith.
Shahryar was born in 1936 in a Muslim Rajput family in Uttar Pradeshs Bareilly district.His poetry strongly expresses an ideological noncommitment.
His actual name is Akhlaq Mohammed Khan and Shaheryar is his pen name.He received his early education at Bulandshahr and later studied at Aligarh Muslim University.He received Sahitya Academy Award in 1987 for the collection of poetry Khwab ka Dar Band Hai.
Shahryar played a major role in shaping Urdu poetry of the current era.
Times of India
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Can't rule out terror angle in Agra hospital blast: UP Police
Sep 18, 2011
AGRA: The possibility of the blast at a hospital being a terrorist attack could not be ruled out, UP's top police official said on Sunday.
Uttar Pradesh special DGP, Brij Lal said investigating agencies were probing all angles into last evening's explosion in the reception area of the hospital that left six persons injured and they may take some more time to arrive at any conclusion.
"The possibility of the blast in Jai hospital being a terrorist attack could not be ruled out," Lal, who accompanied state minister Swami Prasad Maurya, to the blast site said.
Maurya announced Rs one lakh compensation for the injured and a reward of Rs 50,000 for anyone providing clues about the blast.
Union minister of state for home affairs Jitendra Singh also visited the hospital and announced a compensation of Rs 50,000 each to the injured from the Prime Minister's Relief Fund.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Cant-rule-out-terror-angle-in-Agra-hospital-blast-UP-Police/articleshow/10030017.cms
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Human Rights Panel wants international probe into J&K unmarked graves
Sep 18, 2011
SRINAGAR: A day after the state human rights panel directed the Jammu and Kashmir government to begin a probe into the more than 2,000 unmarked graves in various parts of the state, the association of parents of disappeared persons (APDP) maintained that only an international probe would be "credible, independent and representative".
Khurram Parvez, coordinator of the APDP and liaison person of the International People's Tribunal on Kashmir (IPTK), said on Saturday: "The state human rights commission (SHRC) has ordered that an independent, credible and representative probe must be held into the unmarked graves in north Kashmir and those in Poonch and Rajouri districts of the Jammu region.
"The SHRC has shifted the responsibility on the state government. They have ordered the state government to create a structured independent enquiry. We still hold that only an international probe would be impartial."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Panel-wants-international-probe-into-JK-unmarked-graves/articleshow/10024703.cms
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Sacked Pak NSA got ISI nod to reveal Kasab info: WikiLeaks
Sep 18, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's sacked national security adviser Mahmood Durrani has claimed he had "written authority and had conferred with the ISI" chief before admitting to the media that 26/11 Mumbai terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab was a Pakistani, shows a US cable revealed by WikiLeaks.
Prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani axed Durrani January 7, 2009, and a day later he met US ambassador Anne Patterson. Durrani told Patterson that he had consulted with ISI chief general Shuja Pasha about announcing Kasab was Pakistani.
The ISI chief had been very specific that the government wanted to disseminate that information, reported Dawn. The cable points out Durrani saying he was one of the four people authorized, in writing, to make such statements on behalf of the government.
The Pakistan government, however, did not coordinate the release of the information with foreign secretary Salman Bashir, first denying it and then confirming it. The PM learnt about the statements when he was in Lahore and out of the loop, the cable says and Gilani decided to fire Durrani for not consulting him. The US envoy went on to say Gilani had received a memo authorizing Durrani to confirm Kasab's nationality, but he may not have seen it.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Sacked-Pak-NSA-got-ISI-nod-to-reveal-Kasab-info-WikiLeaks/articleshow/10024533.cms
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Denied date with President, Gilani calls off trip
Sep 18, 2011
PAKISTAN Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani called off at the eleventh hour his planned visit to the US after President Barack Obama refused to meet him on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, a media report in Islamabad has claimed.
The Prime Minister’s House announced on Friday that Gilani had called off his visit as he intended to personally supervise relief operations in flood- hit areas of Sindh.
But the Dawn newspaper quoted its sources as saying that one reason for the move was the US President’s refusal to meet Gilani on the sidelines of the UN session in New York.
Gilani has now directed foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar to represent Pakistan at the UN General
Assembly session.
There were indications that the strained ties between Pakistan and the US had led to Gilani cancelling his trip to America, where he was to address the UN General Assembly session, the daily reported.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Obama shocker to India
By Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury in New Delhi
Sep 18, 2011
US President won’t meet Singh at UN session as bilateral ties lose momentum
DESPITE best efforts, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh won’t be able to meet US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) session next week in New York. There were hectic efforts by New Delhi to arrange a meeting between the two leaders ostensibly to arrest the slowdown in bilateral ties.
Briefing the media here ahead of Singh’s visit, foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai ruled out the PM’s meeting with Obama or with Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, who has reportedly cancelled his visit to the UNGA because of the flood situation in his country. The UNGA is the most sought- after forum for world leaders to meet each other and meetings with Obama and Gilani were most sought after by India this year.
While officials claimed any meeting between the two leaders was not on the cards as Obama leaves New York on September 21 after his engagements and Singh reaches there only the next day, it is understood Washington may have dragged its feet on such a meeting given the state of bilateral ties that have faltered over the past year.
The US President is meeting a host of other world leaders during his three- day stay in New York beginning Monday. They include leaders from Afghanistan, Libya, Brazil, Japan, Britain, France, Israel and Sudan. If the US had agreed to India’s request, it was likely that Singh would have departed for New York earlier instead of September 21. Singh will be in the US during September 22- 27.
Full report at: Mail Today
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With terror back on radar, no Indo-Pak meet at UN Gen. Assembly
Sep 18, 2011
NEW DELHI: While Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to have bilateral meetings with other South Asian leaders during his visit to the UN General Assembly next week, no such meeting is planned with Pakistan leaders. Singh's counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani has pulled out of the visit and Pakistan will now be represented by its young foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, and, according to Indian officials, there is no proposal for a bilateral meeting as of now.
While Singh will leave for New York on September 21, foreign minister S M Krishna is expected to leave a day earlier. Apart from ruling out any proposal as of now for a bilateral meeting with Pakistan on the sidelines, foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai also confirmed that Singh is not likely to meet President Barack Obama.
"As of now, no meetings have been planned with President Obama. We have learnt that President Obama will be leaving New York before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reaches New York," Mathai said on Saturday.
That terror is going to be high on the Indian agenda was evident when Mathai said the recent terrorist attack in New Delhi has once again served as a reminder of the constant threat posed by terrorism to the security of democratic societies and well being of its citizens.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/With-terror-back-on-radar-no-Indo-Pak-meet-at-UNGA/articleshow/10023950.cms
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Delhi High Court blast: Angry Kishtwar in denial mode
By Arjun Sharma
Sep 18, 2011
Seething anger and fear reign in Kishtwar as the Delhi High Court blast trail leads NIAto the Jammu town. Fathers of three arrested youth speak out ...
Dad says ‘ mastermind’ is mentally unsound
LIFE appears to be going on normal on the streets of Kishtwar, the bustling town in Jammu region that is making national headlines. But the undercurrent of tension, fear and anger is hard to miss. Nervous, apprehensive glances greet a stranger enquiring about the address of Amir Ali Hafiz, better known as Amir Abbas. The information is forthcoming, nevertheless.
In the town’s main bazaar, Malik Market, a small lane opens on the main road. About 50 feet into the lane stands a doublestorey house. A big iron gate opens into a lawn, beyond which is the house wherein lies the story of Amir Abbas.
The family of Amir lives on the ground floor and has rented out the first floor.
A bearded old man opens the door. He is Ghulam Abbas, the father of the man who is allegedly the mastermind of the Delhi High Court blast on September 7.
That has become his identity since his son was arrested by the National Investigation Agency ( NIA) a few days ago. He once used to be a petition writer in the district court and now gives sermons in the local mosque.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's wife denies Spain rape allegations
Sep 18, 2011
RIYADH: The wife of billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal denied claims her husband raped a model on a yacht in Spain in 2008, saying she was with him in France when the alleged crime took place.
"I was with my husband outside of Spain the day these allegations took place in Ibiza," Amira al-Taweel was quoted as saying by the prince's chief of staff, Kholud al-Dussari.
"Quite simply we were not there. We were together in the French city of Cannes. I was with him all the time, and we were with at least 30 people," she said.
"Hundreds of witnesses can confirm that we were in Cannes, just as there are dozens of proofs that we were not in Ibiza in 2008."
A Spanish court has reopened a probe into the allegations, according to a ruling seen by AFP on Wednesday.
Prince Alwaleed is a nephew of King Abdullah and one of world's richest men. He is being asked to respond to a complaint of sexual assault against him in August 2008 by a model who was 20 at the time.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Saudi-Prince-Alwaleed-bin-Talals-wife-denies-Spain-rape-allegations/articleshow/10024071.cms
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Haqqanis have links with Pak govt: US
Sep 18, 2011
ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON: The United States has evidence linking the Pakistan government to the Haqqani network, which was behind this week's attack on the American embassy in Kabul, US ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter has said.
A "lot of work" is needed to put Pakistan-US ties back on track and Islamabad must sever its links with militant groups like the Haqqani network, Munter said in an interview with 'Radio Pakistan'.
"Let me tell you that the attack that took place in Kabul a few days ago, that was the work of the Haqqani network. And the facts, that we have said in the past, that there are problems, there is evidence linking the Haqqani network to the Pakistan government," he said in response to a question about the current state of bilateral ties. He did not give details about the evidence.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Haqqanis-have-links-with-Pak-govt-US/articleshow/10025441.cms
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UN approves Libya seat for former rebels
Sep 18, 2011
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations voted overwhelmingly to hand over Libya's UN seat to the former rebel National Transitional Council, while easing economic and military sanctions and paving way for the strife-torn nation to begin its economic recovery and restore political order.
The UN Security Council resolution 2009, adopted unanimously, mandates a new, three-month UN mission that will assist Libyan efforts to restore security, protect human rights and undertake an inclusive political dialogue towards establishing a democratic government. The passage of the resolution came just hours after the193 member UN General Assembly, in a 114-17 vote, approved the credentials of the NTC which toppled Muammar Gaddafi, giving it Libya's seat at the UN.
India voted in favour of the resolution to set up the new UN mission as well as the assembly resolution. The passing of the double resolutions was welcomed by western nations who said the move will help kick-start Libya's economy and provide an inclusive and democratic set-up to the people of Libya who have been fighting Gaddafi and his forces for the last several months.
"The United States congratulates the Libyan people for this historic step forward. As Libyans chart a course towards a more inclusive and democratic future that respects and protects human rights, they will have a friend and partner in the United States," Susan Rice, US Permanent Representative to the United Nations said in response to the UNSC resolution.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/UN-approves-Libya-seat-for-former-rebels/articleshow/10025385.cms
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Sanctions lifted, NTC claims Libya UN seat
Sep 18 2011
United Nations : The United Nations voted overwhelmingly to hand over Libya’s UN seat to the former rebel National Transitional Council, while easing economic and military sanctions and paving the way for the strife-torn nation to begin its economic recovery and restore political order.
The UN Security Council resolution 2009, adopted unanimously, mandates a new, three-month UN mission to assist Libyan efforts to restore security, protect human rights and undertake an inclusive political dialogue towards establishing a democratic government.
The passage of the resolution came just hours after the 193-member UN General Assembly, in a 114-17 vote, approved the credentials of the NTC which toppled Muammar Gaddafi, giving it Libya’s seat at the UN.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/sanctions-lifted-ntc-claims-libya-un-seat/848126/
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Muammar Gaddafi forces in fierce counter-attack in Bani Walid
Sep 18, 2011
BANI WALID (LIBYA): Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi fired rockets and scored casualties in a fierce counter-attack in the fugitive ex-Libyan leader's stronghold of Bani Walid on Saturday.
Ambulances rushed dead and wounded fighters as explosions and gunfire thundered in the air, after the attack on a position of interim government fighters several kilometres (miles) from the city centre, an AFP correspondent said.
"They swept the position after targeting us with Grad rockets," said National Transitional Council fighter Omar Ali Ramadan, who said he and others had managed to take cover at an abandoned house.
"At least seven rockets hit our position." The AFP reporter saw at least three wounded people being carried in to a field hospital, one of whom subsequently died amid cries of Allahu Akbar (God is greatest).
He said ambulances were rushing to collect other casualties.
Bani Walid is 180 kilometres (110 miles) southeast of Tripoli, the Libyan capital.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Muammar-Gaddafi-forces-in-fierce-counter-attack-in-Bani-Walid/articleshow/10023310.cms
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Libyan forces battle to loosen grip on Gaddafi towns
Sep 18, 2011
LIBYA: Libyan interim government forces charged a desert stronghold controlled by fighters loyal to Muammar Gaddafi and battled on the streets of the ousted leader's hometown as they struggled to quash his last pockets of support.
Nearly a month since they drove Gaddafi's forces out of the capital Tripoli, transitional government fighters have become mired in sieges of his loyalists' remaining redoubts, raising doubt over whether they can quickly unite the vast country.
Forces backed by Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) made little headway against stiff resistance in Gaddafi's birthplace Sirte on Saturday, but were able to celebrate the capture of the town of Herawa 60 km (40 miles) to the east.
The fighters also stormed back into the desert town of Bani Walid, a day after diehard loyalists beat them into a retreat.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Libyan-forces-battle-to-loosen-grip-on-Gaddafi-towns/articleshow/10026944.cms
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India recognizes new regime in Libya
Sep 18, 2011
NEW DELHI: As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh prepares for his visit to the 66th session of the UN General Assembly, India has announced support for Libya's Transitional National Council in the UN. The government said in a statement on Saturday that it supported the acceptance of credentials of the delegation of the TNC, led by its President Mustafa Abdel Jalil, to attend the forthcoming UNGA session in New York.
While remaining in contact with TNC in Benghazi and Cairo, India also participated as an observer in the Libyan Contact Group meeting in Istanbul in July and recently at the minister of state level at the Paris conference on Libya jointly organised by France and UK on September 1.
"India will also be participating in the high level meeting on Libya scheduled to be held in the margins of the UNGA on September 20, called by the UN secretary-general. In this meeting, India will reiterate its willingness to extend all possible assistance to the people of Libya in their political transition, rebuilding and reconstruction activities," said a statement issued by the external affairs ministry.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-recognizes-new-regime-in-Libya/articleshow/10023527.cms
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Another blast victim’s death takes toll to 15
By Neetu Chandra
Sep 18, 2011
THE RECENT blast at Delhi High Court claimed its 15th victim with 64- year- old Rattan Lal Shroff succumbing to his injuries at the Ram Manohar Lohia ( RML) Hospital on Saturday.
A couple of days ago, when his family got his age rectified in the hospital records, little did they know that he would soon be leaving all of them behind.
Earlier this week, Shroff’s legs, which were severely injured in the blast, had to be amputated to prevent the spreading of infection. But in the end this proved futile.
“ His lungs and chest had been severely affected in the blast.
Both his legs sustained injuries and had to be amputated to stop the infection spreading to other parts of the body. He was in a bad shape.
“ His condition showed minor improvement a few days ago but deteriorated later on. He was put on ventilator where he suffered a respiratory failure and passed away on Saturday morning,” a senior doctor in RML hospital, said.
Despite his age, Shroff was the sole bread earner in the family. He was a commission agent in a textile firm. On September 7, he had gone to the high court to attend a hearing in a civil case.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Delhi High Court blast: Family thrown out of house as man battles for life
By Neetu Chandra
Sep 18, 2011
IT’S BEEN more than a week since the bomb blast at the Delhi High Court ripped apart the lives of scores of people who stood at Gate No. 5 of the court at the fateful moment. But coming to terms with a tragedy is not easy, especially for a family that has been rendered homeless.
B. K. Thakur, one of the victims of the blast, is unaware that his family has been forcefully evicted from their house in New Friends Colony, following a high court order. Thakur, who was severely injured in the blast, is now recuperating at the Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre of All India Institute of Medical Sciences ( AIIMS).
On September 7, when the blast took place, Thakur was standing outside the court, waiting for an entry pass. He had gone there to get a stay order on the eviction notice he received on August 23.
But all his hopes went unrealised. The explosion has crippled the life of this 60- year- old yoga teacher who was once an instructor to former Prime Minister I. K. Gujral. It has also brought untold suffering for his family members, who are now finding it very hard to pick up the threads and move on with their lives.
Thakur used to stay in his New Friends Colony residence along with his wife, son, daughter- in- law and his two- year- old grandson. His younger brother and his wife also stayed with him. The family runs a trust which is involved in the management of a 40- year- old temple and a yoga ashram.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Muslim ghetto calls Modi fast a farce
Sep 18, 2011
AHMEDABAD: "He walked past me but did not stop to ask about my well-being, how can I believe that his heart bleeds for me when he is away." Nadeem Saiyed, social worker from Juhapura, Ahmedabad's biggest Muslim ghetto, recites this couplet as his response to Modi's overture to Muslims.
"The three lakh residents of Juhapura have no bus service, schools, dispensaries, playgrounds, storm water drains or fire stations. We ask for these amenities but we are given dumping grounds and sewage treatment plants," said Congress corporator Mirza Haji Asrar Baig. "Tell me, where is the sadbhavana when BJP corporators oppose water supply projects to Juhapura on one pretext or the other?"
In fact, after the 2002 riots no Muslim can get a house outside Muslim ghettos. Plus the lesson of Gulbarg Society is not lost on them.
Crime lawyer Ejaz Quereshi, another Juhapura resident, said that Modi's fast is a waste of public money.
The general feeling in Juhapura is that Modi's gesture is just a stunt aimed at raising his profile. "Non-Gujaratis may be taken in by the show but here we know the truth," said Dr Yakoob Memon, who runs the Riyaz Hospital in Juhapura. "Crocodile tears," is how MK Pathan, a retired Class I officer, described Modi's gesture.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Muslim-ghetto-calls-Modi-fast-a-farce/articleshow/10024479.cms
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Bharatpur riot: State seeks CBI probe; Meo Muslims unhappy with relief
Sep 18, 2011
GOPALGARH (BHARATPUR): The Rajasthan government has sought CBI probe into Gopalgarh riot in which at least eight people were killed. The decision was taken at a meeting at chief minister's office late Friday night after home minister Shanti Dhariwal returned from Gopalgarh in Rajasthan's Bharatpur district.
Bharatpur collector K Kunal and police superintendent Hinglaj Dan have been transferred. Barmer collector Gaurav Goyal and Chittorgarh SP Vikas Kumar have replaced them. The state also ordered a judicial probe by a retired Rajasthan high court judge and announced government jobs for the kin of those who were killed in the riot.
The police filed an FIR against unidentified persons for arson and firing in Gopalgarh. "An FIR has already been lodged at the Gopalgarh police station," said M L Lathar, inspector general of police sent by the state government to monitor the situation.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Bharatpur-riot-State-seeks-CBI-probe-Meos-unhappy-with-relief/articleshow/10024335.cms
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A Warm Account of How Iranians Survive Islamic Hawks
By Manju Kak
Sep 18, 2011
IN THIS lyrical book — a love letter to Iran, part history, part memoir — author and journalist Kamin Mohammadi presents an unforgettable tome to her country. Her lucid, sparkling prose warms every page with passion and purpose. Mohammadi, born in 1970, grew up in London till a longing for roots brought her back to observe the new contours of Islamic Iran. She reflects upon what happened. How did Iran lose its fragrance and colour to become this chador-obsessed society, cruelly crushing its women and with them every feminine impulse.
Through the lens of her own family history she digs into the backdrop of Persia emerging out of its medieval stupor, the last years of the Qajar dynasty and the rise of Reza Shah Pahlavi, a soldier of extraordinary energy who founded the short-lived Pahlavi dynasty in the 1920s before his ouster by Ayatollah Khomeini. Reza Shah patterned himself on Turkey’s liberal leader Kemal Attaturk in an effort to modernise Iran and emancipate its women through a ban on the purdah. His son, Reza Shah II, continued this in close association with the US and supported by his dreaded secret police, SAVAK, till the Revolution broke out and the state was overtaken by Khomeini’s Islamic fundamentalists in the late 1970s.
Full report at: Mail Today
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‘US will target al-Qaida across world'
Sep 18, 2011
WASHINGTON: US will hit al-Qaida targets anywhere in the world, including in countries unable or unwilling to act themselves, top White House counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan has said.
The use of military force against al-Qaida is not restricted only to hot battlefields like Afghanistan, Brennan declared in a lecture at the Harvard law school, adding that US can take pre-emptive action against suspects who pose an imminent threat to it, anywhere in the world.
Laying out what he called the Osama bin Laden raid doctrine, Brennan said that under international law, US has the right to take pre-emptive action whenever it foresaw any threat to it. Brennan also criticised a proposal in the senate version of the 2012 defence authorisation bill that would require terrorism suspects arrested inside the US to be transferred to the military.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Will-target-Qaida-across-world/articleshow/10025321.cms
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US drone crashes in Pakistan: security officials
Sep 18, 2011
MIRANSHAH: An unmanned United States drone aircraft crashed in Pakistan's lawless northwestern tribal district on Sunday after suffering a technical fault, local security officials said.
The drone, the second to crash in Pakistan within the last month, went down in South Waziristan, part of the lawless tribal belt on the Afghan border that Washington calls a global headquarters of Al-Qaeda.
"The American drone crashed in Zangara village of South Waziristan, apparently because of some technical faults," a security official in Peshawar, the main town in Pakistan's northwest, told AFP.
Two intelligence officials in Wana, the main town of South Waziristan, confirmed the incident. It was an armed Predator drone, they said.
The United States uses unmanned surveillance aircraft in its war against the Taliban in Afghanistan to monitor militants in Pakistan, from where Al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked fighters launch attacks in Afghanistan.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/US-drone-crashes-in-Pakistan-security-officials/articleshow/10028918.cms
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Interior Minister Rehman Malik threatens to shutdown Google, YouTube
Sep 18, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Saturday warned that popular websites like Google and YouTube could be shut down in Pakistan if they did not cooperate with authorities investigating crimes and incidents of terrorism.
Malik made the remarks while interacting with reporters at the headquarters of the Federal Investigation Agency in Islamabad.
He urged the websites to extend help to authorities to exterminate terrorism from the country.
The government would be compelled to block certain websites, including Google and YouTube, if they did not extend cooperation to authorities, Malik said.
The Taliban and other terrorist organisations were sharing intelligence through the Internet and it is imperative to curb these activities, he said.
Malik did not give details of the crimes and incidents of terrorism that the websites could provide information about.
TV news channels also quoted Malik as saying that he had issued an order for a case to be registered against the administrator of Google Pakistan.
The minister has faced criticism and ridicule from civil society and rights groups for several of his recent comments.
Malik had recently claimed that jealous girlfriends and wives, and not political groups or criminals, were responsible for a majority of target killings in the southern port city of Karachi.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Malik-threatens-to-shutdown-Google-YouTube/articleshow/10021920.cms
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UNSC imposes sanctions on 2 Pak-based al-Qaida leaders
Sep 18, 2011
UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council has imposed sanctions on two al- Qaida leaders based in Pakistan, including the terror group's top strategist and propaganda chief Abu Yahya al-Libi.
Sanctions were also imposed on a senior al-Qaida leader Younis al-Mauritani, who was in charge of the group's external operations and had planned attacks on European economic targets.
The sanctions put into effect an assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo against the two, who participated in the "financing, planning, facilitating and perpetrating" of terror acts for al-Qaida.
An al-Qaida commander in Pakistan, al-Libi provided financial assistance to the terror group's fighters in Afghanistan.
The Libya-born has also been a top al-Qaida strategist, field commander in Afghanistan and an instructor at training camps for the group.
A prominent figure in al-Qaida's media operations, he has been referred to as its ''propaganda chief'', being second in visibility only to top leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
As of April 2010, Al-Libi had released 68 messages on behalf of al-Qaida and had urged Pakistanis to attack their government.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/UNSC-imposes-sanctions-on-2-Pak-based-al-Qaida-leaders/articleshow/10016811.cms
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Pakistan seeking 'third-generation nuclear technology' import from China
Sep 18, 2011
DALIAN (China): Islamabad plans to import latest Chinese nuclear technology, a senior Pakistan government official has said.
"Pakistan is in discussions with Chinese companies for imports of the third-generation nuclear technology," the China Daily quoted Mir Changez Khan Jamali, Pakistan's Minister of Science and Technology, as saying.
Jamali said he hoped that the latest technology could be acquired by Pakistan in one or two years.
China has helped with two reactors at Pakistan's Chashma nuclear power plant, both of which use second-generation technology.
Pakistan has a third 300-megawatt reactor under construction at Chashma, financed by China.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Pakistan-seeking-third-generation-nuclear-technology-import-from-China/articleshow/10018229.cms
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Pak military firms expelled from London arms show
Sep 18 2011
Islamabad : Two Pakistani military firms were expelled from a London arms show and their stalls shut down after it emerged that they were advertising cluster bombs, the event's organiser said.
The stands of the Pakistan Ordnance Factory and Pakistan's Defence Export Promotion Organisation Pavilion at London's Defence System and Equipment International exhibition were permanently shut after organisers were informed they had promotional material for cluster bombs.
"Defence and Security Equipment International can confirm that the Pakistan Ordnance Factory stand and Pakistan's Defence Export Promotion Organisation pavilion have both been permanently shut down after promotional material was found on both containing references to equipment, which after close examination, was found to breach UK Government Export Controls and our own contractual requirements," said a statement from the show's organiser.
The British government "fully supports the decision" to close the stands, the statement said.
Defence and Security Equipment International, the show's organiser, said it was "investigating how this breach of our compliance system occurred."
The show's organiser acted after Green Party parliamentarian Caroline Lucas said she had found brochures promoting cluster munitions at the Pakistani stands.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pak-military-firms-expelled-from-london-arms-show/848273/
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J&K House to debate Afzal Guru mercy plea on Sept 28
Sep 18, 2011
SRINAGAR: Jammu & has listed a resolution seeking clemency for Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru for discussion and voting on September 29.
Independent north Kashmir legislator Abdul Rashid Sheikh had submitted the resolution to speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone on September 1. "The resolution is listed in the assembly business at serial number 2," Sheikh said.
The speaker's office did not respond to queries about the resolution. Sources said the Congress high command has asked its legislators to oppose the resolution. The BJP and Jammu-based Panthers Party would follow suit. Observers say it would be interesting to see how the ruling National Conference deals with the resolution.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/JK-House-to-debate-Afzal-Guru-mercy-plea-on-Sept-28/articleshow/10024288.cms
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Jama Masjid attack: Police yet to make headway in probe
Sep 18 2011
New Delhi : A year has gone by but police are yet to make any headway in the probe into the terror attack outside Jama Masjid last year, allegedly to take revenge of the 2008 Batla House encounter, even as security in the capital has been strengthened ahead of its third anniversary on Monday.
This year the anniversary comes 12 days after terrorists struck outside the Delhi High Court exploding a powerful bomb killing 15 people, including a woman, and injuring over 70 others.
“We have strengthened our security. We are leaving no chances. However, there in no reason to panic. Extra security measures have been taken,” a senior police official said.
The official said all precautionary measures were taken in view of the threat perception ahead of the third anniversary of the Batla House encounter.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/jama-masjid-attack-police-yet-to-make-headway-in-probe/848256/
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Syrian envoy blames ‘radical Islamic groups’
Shubhajit Roy
Sep 18 2011
New Delhi : Showing gory images and video clips of protesters killing people on the streets, the Syrian ambassador to India on Friday blamed “radical Islamic groups” for causing trouble in the secular country.
Riad Kamel Abbas also defended the country’s security forces as he said that they were acting in self-defence. “If somebody shot at you, what will you do?” Abbas said, when asked about reports of government forces killing protesters.
He claimed that “Syrian tanks” do not fire and they are used to “carrying upto 40 soldiers”, since they don’t have bullet-proof vehicles. “We don’t have paramilitary forces like India, so these tanks go on the streets, which are narrow,” the envoy said, trying to reason the movement of battle tanks in the streets.
As he spoke at the India Islamic Cultural Centre here, a laptop screen showed images of brutalities allegedly committed by “radical groups”.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/syrian-envoy-blames-radical-islamic-groups/848134/
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Iran's Khamenei warns Arabs against US, NATO
Sep 18, 2011
Tehran (Iran) : Iran's top leader is warning Arab nations that were swept up in uprisings against autocratic regimes not to trust the U.S. or NATO when they form their new governments.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's remarks came during the opening Saturday of an international Islamic conference in Tehran.
Khamenei says the U.S. and NATO will try to dominate the future governments in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya. He says the Arab nations should not let this happen but preserve their Islamic traditions.
Khamenei contends the collapse of the regimes in Egypt and Tunisia was a blow to U.S. influence in the region and an ''Islamic awakening.''
Tehran has portrayed the uprisings as a replay of its own 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the pro-U.S. shah and brought hardline clerics to power.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/irans-khamenei-warns-arabs-against-us-nato/848042/
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Former PoK PM Sultan Mahmood Chaudhuri visiting Kashmir
PRAVEEN SWAMI
Sep 18, 2011
Sultan Mahmood Chaudhuri, first high official to be allowed to visit Indian side of LoC
Sultan Mahmood Chaudhuri, former Prime Minister of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), will begin a five-day visit to Srinagar on Sunday — thus becoming the first high official, former or serving, from the province, which India claims as its territory, to visit this side of the Line of Control (LoC).
Mr. Chaudhuri, who served as the Prime Minister of PoK between 1996 and 2005, will be attending the wedding of Srinagar resident Yasir Shah — the son of local businessman Zahoor Ahmad Watali.
Long a key figure in the politics of PoK, Mr. Chaudhuri was returned to the provincial legislature in each election since 1985. He joined the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in 1994, left it five years ago to form his own organisation, but returned to the fold on the eve of this summer's elections.
He was traditionally seen as hardliner, and had been vociferous in his opposition to a five-principles peace accord hammered out between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan's former military ruler, President Pervez Musharraf, in 2008. The proposals stalled after Pakistan's chief of army staff, Pervez Ashfaq Kayani, backtracked when General Musharraf demitted office.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2462791.ece
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The life and death of Shehla Masood
Sep 18 2011
Stories abound in Bhopal of the life and death of Shehla Masood. But among those who knew her, there appears agreement on one point: something was so uncharacteristically passive, so un-Shehla-like, they say, about the dead body slumped in the driving seat of the silver-grey Santro on the morning of August 16, with no evident signs of struggle and a bullet hole in the neck.
Some crude clues to the extraordinary splash the August 16 murder of the 38-year-old activist-and-businesswoman has made in this city of unhurried rhythms, where batolebaazi or the leisurely gossip is elevated to the status of art, may be picked, perhaps, from the several descriptions of Shehla on her busy visiting card.
Secretary, Shahnaz Foundation. President, Madhya Pradesh Progressive Muslim Women Forum. Convenor, I will make sure Madhya Pradesh will remain a Tiger State. Secretary, Udai—Society for Automobile Sports & Adventure, Good Governance & RTI, Environment and Culture. The keywords: RTI…Woman… Muslim.
Or, in the name she gave her blog, printed at the bottom: “Letz change d rulz”.
Let’s change the rules.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-life-and-death-of-shehla-masood/848087/
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A Smoke gone but doubts cloud Batla
By Naziya Alvi
Sep 19 2011
Three years after shootout locals refuse to accept police’s version
APARTIALLY deserted building stands out in the crowded Batla House locality.
In the three years since the infamous encounter at L- 18, which left two alleged terrorists and a Delhi Police inspector dead, four of the eight flats in the fourstorey house have been vacated.
The structure, in the Jamia Nagar locality of Okhla, is said to have housed Indian Mujahideen IM) terrorists involved in the serial blasts that rocked the Capital six days ahead of the shootout. “ It is difficult to shed the stigma since we share the same lane. Can you imagine the plight of those grilled repeatedly by the police? In the past three years, three families have shifted out of the house,” Hamid Ali, who owns a shop in an adjacent building, says.
On Sunday afternoon Ali, along with many other neighbours and residents, gathered near Khalil- ullah mosque to observe the third anniversary of the encounter that shook the residents of Okhla. On September 19, 2008, Special Cell inspector Mohan Chand Sharma and two alleged IM terrorists, Atif Ameen and Mohammed Sajid, were killed in the reported exchange of fire.
Full report at: Mail Today
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A BLOW-BY-BLOW ACCOUNT OF THE ‘TERROR- BUSTING’ ENCOUNTER
Sep 19 2011
SEPTEMBER 19, 2008
The Delhi Police carry out Operation Batla House, an encounter against suspected Indian Mujahideen ( IM) terrorists in the Batla House locality of Jamia Nagar in the Capital. The shootout comes six days after five serial blasts rock the city, killing at least people and injuring over 100. Two suspected terrorists are killed, two other suspects are arrested, while one accused escapes. Delhi Police inspector Mohan Chand Sharma is also killed
OCTOBER 17, 2008
Parties such as SP and BSP raise matter in Parliament and demand judicial inquiry into the encounter 21 MAY, 2009 The Delhi High Court tells the National Human Rights Commission NHRC) to look into allegations that the encounter was stage- managed and innocent people were targeted 22 JULY, 2009 The NHRC, in report, clears the police of rights violations. But public speculation continues and the debate on the genuineness of the police action rages
FEBRUARY 4, 2010
Full report at: Mail Today
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Batla House: Case trial isn’t even halfway through
By Naziya Alvi
Sep 19 2011
THE debate on the credibility of the Batla House encounter is not likely to end soon.
Three years after the controversial shootout in the Okhla locality that left two alleged terrorists dead, the trial into the case has barely started.
This is despite home minister P. Chidambaram suggesting that it was urgent to speed up the case.
On September 16, the last date of hearing, the court of additional sessions judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar recorded the testimony of the eighth prosecution witness.
The case has over a 100 prosecution witnesses and is being heard, on an average, once or twice a month.
“ We are trying our best to speed up the process, but a verdict is not likely till a few years,” Satish Tamta, defence counsel, said.
He is defending Shahzad Ahmad, who is alleged to have fled from Batla House during the shootout, but was later arrested.
Full report at: Mail Today
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After Afghan visit, Cheryl Cole’s life in danger: Report
Sep 19 2011
London : Pop star Cheryl Cole has reportedly become a prime target for Jihadis after visiting British troops in Afghanistan.
The 28-year-old singer, was warned by UK-based radicals that she could now be legitimately targeted by Jihadis, fighting a holy war against the West and her life is at risk, reported Daily Star.
Cole donned army fatigues during a visit to troops at Camp Bastion in Helmand province, which marked ten years of war against the Taliban. “I always had admiration for what the guys do out here but seeing them here at work is awe-inspiring. I’m delighted to be here to recognise all the hard work they do,” Cole said.
But the terror messages came in after her visit and cleric Anjem Choudary said, “She has put herself in great danger by being such a high-profile visitor to the region. She will only have herself to blame for the repercussions on her own security.” In a statement on a website, Islamist group Muslims Against Crusades issued a further warning: “In a bid to improve her own public image, she has put her security and life at risk, Muslims will view this as an action of aggression against Islam and Muslims.”
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/after-afghan-visit-cheryl-coles-life-in-danger-report/848417/
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Gujarat Govt. calls Modi’s fast roza, his party prefers burqa
Sep 18 2011
Ahmedabad : Behind Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s speech was a carefully choreographed effort by his party in the state to mobilise minorities for his show and tell.
Modi greeted and hugged Muslims, many of whom admitted they had been asked to wear skull caps and burqas by their local BJP leaders. “The men were asked to wear skull caps and women were told to wear burqas,” said Abdullahkhan Babi, who had come with his wife from Mehsana, one of the worst-hit districts during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Dressed in a salwar-kameez, Babi’s wife, Zaheda, added: “They asked the women to wear burqas but we don’t, so there was no point in making it obvious. Even our men don’t wear skull caps all the time.” The couple, who came with a group of BJP minority morcha members, said a local councillor had arranged their trip.
In its ad in an Urdu daily from Hyderabad, the State Information Department, which Modi heads, even referred to his fast as “roza”. “Aapko mera salaam, aapka shafiqana nek tamannaon ke bal par main aaj se sadbhavana mission ke sath roza upvaas ka aagaaz kar raha hoon,” said Modi in the ad. (My respects to you. Encouraged by your kind, compassionate good wishes, I have embarked on this sadbhavana mission and fast). Incidentally, the word “roza” refers to fasting as prescribed by the Quran for believing Muslims, the Urdu word for “upvaas (a fast)” is “faaqaa.”
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/govt-calls-his-fast-roza-his-party-prefers-burqa/848209/
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Riot accused at fast, Modi ducks queries on 2002 responsibility
Sep 19 2011
Ahmedabad : If the 2002 riot victims have been conspicuous by their absence at Narendra Modi’s fast venue, with some being detained as they tried to protest outside, two prominent accused in the killings have made their presence felt.
While Jaydeep Patel is one of the main accused in the Naroda Gam case, in which 11 persons were killed, Atul Vaidhya is one of the 66 accused in the Gulberg Society massacre that left 69 dead.
Patel, who was then a VHP general secretary, said he was at the venue of the fast being held for “communal harmony” as a BJP worker. Vaidhya, a former active member of the Bajrang Dal, said he had come to meet Modi because ‘sadbhavana’ is a “good thing”.
Having projected a moderate side in the run-up to the fast, Modi today continued to try and reap the fruits without balancing his applecart. Parrying questions on whether he accepted moral responsibility for the 2002 riots, he struck out at the media: “What is this thing?... You people like to stretch such a lie that you like.”
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/riot-accused-at-fast-modi-ducks-queries-on-2002-r.../848511/
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Muslims slam move, say its all for votes
Sep 19 2011
New Delhi: A day after UP chief minister Mayawati wrote to the Prime Minister demanding quota for Muslims based on their population percentage,Muslim leaders slammed it as prepoll politics and said if the CM was serious about the issue,she would have followed the established democratic procedure of first getting a resolution passed in the state assembly.
They also questioned the BSP chiefs intent given that UP has not made any progress on implementation of the Ranganath Mishra Commissions recommendation that there should be 15% reservation for Muslims in the OBC quota.
Kamal Farooqui,member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board,said: Muslims supported her last time and got nothing in return.I do not have the figures with me but vast funds have remained unspent in Muslim majority-districts and the state government has not tried to change that.
Jamiat general secretary Mahmood Madani,who is reported to have of late veered towards the BSP,welcomed the move,but halfheartedly,saying,there are demands for designating Muslims as most backward but she has not addressed the issue.Law and order is a state subject yet she has not made any effort to pass a legislation against communal violence in the state.
Arshad Madani,who heads the other Jamiat faction,said it is nothing more than vote-bank politics.I agree that Muslims have been booted out of jobs,education and politics,and are in need of special privileges,but invoking it for votes is not the way forward, he said.
Times of India
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Sangh snaps at Modis Muslim appeasement
Ajay Umat
Sep 19 2011
Ahmedabad: Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modis new-found love for Muslims,on ampledisplay athis Sadbhavana fast,has upset the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS ) which would like to continue seeing him as Hindutvas poster-boy.Chants of Allah-O-Akbar at the venue generated animated discussion among the Sangh parivar followers,with SMS s being circulated about Miyan Modi.
While parivar members like Vishwa Hindu Parishad have stayed away from the three-day show,the RSSs core leadership is unhappy with Modis pro-minority statements which it says amount to appeasement.
The matter was discussed at an informal meeting of senior RSS leaders at the Hedgewar Bhavan,which was attended by three top RSS leaders Suresh Soni,V Satish and Ram Lal.
The three also met Modi on the first day of his fast but were taken aback by VHPs absence andthe presenceof a large Muslim contingent.A senior RSS worker said while the Sangh would prefer Modi over BJP leaders like Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj,they werentsure about his brazen tactic to woo the minorities.
A top VHP leader told TOI,Weweresurprisedthat hundreds of Muslims were being readily welcomed at Modis show while the widow of Haren Pandya,a member of our parivar,wastoldto stay away.
Times of India
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Gujarat govt shows riot victims the stick
By D. P. Bhattacharya
Sep 19 2011
UNDERLINING the stark contrast between its claims and deeds, the Narendra Modi government on Sunday launched a vicious crackdown on peaceful protesters, comprising the victims of the 2002 riots and human rights activists, when they gathered for a demonstration at Naroda Patiya.
Ironically, the lathicharge and subsequent detention of the restful agitators came about on the second day of the Gujarat chief minister’s fast proclaiming the so- called sadbhavna ( harmony and goodwill).
The police, citing the unavailability of security personnel as the reason, had initially denied permission to the demonstrators.
However, when the protesters went ahead with their programme, the police swooped down and detained lawyer- activist Dr Mukul Sinha — besides danseuse- activist Mallika Sarabhai, riot victim and activist Noorjahan Diwan and many others — and forcibly dispersed the gathering.
Full report at: Mail Today
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MODI’S BID TO DERAIL RIOTS PIL ‘ EXPOSED’
By D. P. Bhattacharya
Sep 19 2011
Suspended IPS officer who nailed Modi govt’s complicity in riots cases also helped the CM in derailing aPIL in the Godhra pogrom
SANJIV Bhatt — the man who exposed the collusion between the Gujarat government and the accused in the 2002 Godhra riots cases — stands exposed after an affidavit was filed by his former boss R. B. Shreekumar before the Nanavati- Shah commission of inquiry.
The suspended IPS officer played a central role in helping Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi’s bid to derail a PIL by noted danseuse Mallika Sarabhai, apprehending it would tarnish the image of the state government.
Sarabhai, in fact, told a packed news conference in Ahmedabad on Sunday that Modi tried to bribe her lawyer with money from the secret service fund ( SSF) to derail her case before the Supreme Court, which sought probe into the complicity of Modi government in the Godhra riots. Her claims were also based on the affidavit filed by Shreekumar, former Gujarat ADGP. The affidavit, exclusive parts of which are available with M AIL T ODAY , accused Modi of machinations to divert public money to sabotage the judicial process. It also implicates the now suspended IPS officer Bhatt.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Cheryl Cole gets jihadi threat after visiting UK troops in Af
Sep 19 2011
London: Pop star Cheryl Cole has reportedly become a prime target for jihadis after visiting British troops in Afghanistan.
The 28-year-old singer,was warned by UK-based radicals that she could now be legitimately targeted by jihadis,fighting a worldwide holy war against the West and her life is at risk.
Cole donned army fatigues during a visit to troops at Camp Bastion in Helmand province,which marked ten years of war against the Taliban.I always had admiration for what the guys do out here but seeing them here at work is awe-inspiring.Im delighted to be here to recognise all the hard work they do.Every one of them is a hero in my book, Cole said.
But the terror messages came in after her visit and cleric Anjem Choudary said,I find it completely outrageous that Cheryl Cole can go to Afghanistan and start praising the soldiers when thousands of innocent men,women and children are being slaughtered by the Americans and their allies.The fact that she is prepared to support this war in Afghanistan shows the naivety of the woman.She has put herself in great danger by being such a high-profile visitor to the region.She will only have herself to blame for the repercussions on her.
In a statement on a website,Islamist group Muslims Against Crusades issued a further warning. Muslims will view this (Cheryl Coles visit) as an action of aggression against Islam.
Times of India
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Study: Invasion Led to Spike in Iraq Widows
19 Sep, 2011
BAGHDAD (AP) — A study by a global humanitarian aid organization says three out of every five widows in Iraq lost their husbands in the years of violence that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
The study released Sunday by Los Angeles-based Relief International concluded that about 10 percent of the estimated 15 million women who live in Iraq are widows.
It said 59 percent of the widows lost their husbands since 2003, citing violence and killings that followed the invasion as one of the reasons behind the deaths.
Parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi told a meeting in Baghdad that the widows' plight could harm society if they are not helped.
Lawmakers and activists urged the Iraqi government to offer more aid to the widows but did not offer concrete plans.
Full report at: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/09/18/world/middleeast/AP-ML-
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/bomb-blast-karachi,-eight-killed/d/5505