Car bomb kills 37 mourners in Baghdad
A R Rahman honoured with Crystal Award at WEF
Deoband turmoil: Students want pro- change VC to stay on
Bihar village tense as Muslim’s body denied burial in graveyard
Imam Hussain had wished to migrate to India: Maulana Yahya Bukhari
Indian mission celebrates R-Day after 15 yrs in Pak
American Muslims are a part of our family: US president
Padma Shri Award for Lucknow's Dr Mansoor Hasan
Jamiat Ulema was ahead of the Congress in Freedom Movement: Arshad Madani
NIA finds Dange link between Samjhauta, Modasa probes
Maya Plans Muslim Reservation
Deoband crisis: Parleys on to end factionalism
'Palestine Negotiators Hatched Plan With Israel To Kill Own People'
Thousands march in anti-Abbas protests in Gaza
Petition for cancellation of case against Qadri rejected
His dream was an AMU centre in Malegaon
Vastanvi quits as Deoband VC
3 killed in anti-Mubarak protests in Egypt, scribes detained
Hate literature behind rise in extremism: Ashrafi
Cop ‘attempts to rape’ a Muslim college girl in Assam
Youth arrested for threatening to bomb Bombay Stock Exchange
Char Minar poised for a great facelift
Bangladesh 'death squad' resumes extra-judicial killing
Response by Taj employees to 26/11 a case study at Harvard
Arizona Shooter Studied Assassins Before Attack
'India-Pak Partnership To Bring Stability'
Sex Change Saves Pak Girl’s Life
Somalia In 20th Year Of War
Gilani: Pak Wants Friendship With India
We will strengthen n-arsenal, says Pak, slams US for India nuclear deal
Gujarat Muslim worldview different from UP’s: Vastanwi
Story of a yatra: Why BJP elders hopped on to youth bandwagon
Afghanistan shortlists 15 Indian firms for Hajigak bid
Muslim birth rate falls, population to grow more slowly
Mosque to be built in US city after appeal denied
US dropping color-coded terror alerts: Lawmaker
Pakistan opposes India's entry to nuclear commerce clubs
US video game inspired Moscow airport attack?
Africa blasts: Osama guard gets life term
‘Moving on will give us the strength to confront past’
Sleepy town caught in a tempest
Power play overrides kinship
AMU girls inspired by defeat
Karzai opens new Afghan Parliament
Russia marks day of mourning for suicide blast victims
Ghailani sentenced to life in prison
Issue of integrating J&K highlighted: BJP
Ben Ali Wanted By Interpol
Al Qaeda’s safe havens are shrinking: Obama
Shafqat delights audience with Lok Virsa performance
Iraq, Kuwait move to repair relations
Protest in Rome against Pakistan’s blasphemy law
Four dead in car bomb blast in Russia’s Dagestan
Interpol arrest warrant for Tunisia’s ex-ruler
Pir Karam Ali Shah appointed GB governor
Police report gives new twist to Jazan acid attack case
Gunmen kill 5 in Yemen
Police caution women on social network sites
Jordan king urges reform as Egypt protests rage
Bihar ex-MLA Radhakant Yadav to get ‘Karkare Award’
Indian-American Muslims celebrate R-Day in US
India's Islamic, Buddhist heritage on display
12 Muslims among 128 Padma Awardees 2011
Kashmiri folk culture comes alive at R-Day
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/car-bomb-kills-37-mourners/d/4012
-----------
Car bomb kills 37 mourners in Baghdad
Jan 27, 2011
BAGHDAD: A car bomb ripped through a funeral ceremony in Baghdad on Thursday, killing 37 people and wounding dozens, officials said, adding that police who rushed to the scene were attacked by an angry mob.
"A car bomb that exploded outside a tent where mourners were gathered for a funeral ceremony killed 37 people, and 78 were hurt," a defence ministry official said. The toll was confirmed by an interior ministry official.
The officials said that the attack took place in the predominantly Shiite neighbourhood of Shuala in northern Baghdad.
Police who rushed to the scene were confronted by an angry mob that beat them with volleys of stones, they said, adding that the military sent in soldiers to restore order.
In other attacks around the capital on Thursday, five people were killed and 21 wounded by roadside bomb attacks while a bomb placed inside a minibus killed two people and wounded seven in Jihad neighbourhood.
The funeral attack was the latest targeting Shiites since a spate of car bombings last week killed 57 people outside the Shrine city of Karbala in southern Iraq.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Car-bomb-kills-37-mourners-in-Baghdad/articleshow/7372721.cms#ixzz1CF5uPj19
-----------
A R Rahman honoured with Crystal Award at WEF
Jan 27 2011
Davos : A day after he won two Academy award nominations, Indian musician A R Rahman was honoured with the Crystal Award at the World Economic Forum.
Rahman received the award at the opening ceremony of the Forum's annual meet here, attended by 2500 global leaders from business, government, art, culture and religion.
Khan, 44, clad in a embroidered black kurta, received the award which is given annually by the WEF to outstanding artistes who use their talent for social and charitable work.
While the WEF recognised Rahman for his music in 'Slumdog Millionaire' and 'Bombay Dreams', it took note of his work in the field of child welfare.
Accepting the award, the 'Mozart of Madras', who has won several national and international awards, including the two Grammys and two Oscars, said that he gets "motivation" from the social work.
Jose Carreras, an opera artist from Barcelona, was also given the Crystal Award for his work for the patients of leukemia.
The award function was attended by several heads of governments, including Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, top CEOs, religious leaders and academicians.
A strong 130-member delegation from India is attending the five-day annual WEF meet.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/a-r-rahman-honoured-with-crystal-award-at-
-----------
Deoband turmoil: Students want pro- change vc to stay on
By Insiya Amir
Jan 27 2011
Overwhelming support for ‘modern’ VC defying old guard
DAR-UL ULOOM Deoband, the 145-year-old Islamic theological school that makes headlines only when its faculty issues absurd fatwas, is in the throes of a movement for change.
The trigger was the resignation on Tuesday night of Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi, the newly appointed vice-chancellor of South Asia’s largest madrasa who is seen as the face of change in an institution that seems to be caught in a time warp.
At 10.15 am on Wednesday, when Vastanvi left the campus he had taken charge of just a fortnight ago, hundreds of students gathered in the narrow lane outside the guest house where he had been staying temporarily, shouting slogans in his favour. “Maulana Vastanvi zindabad”, they chanted in unison.
“Mohtamim kaisa ho, Maulana Vastanvi jaisa ho (How should the vice-chancellor be? Like Maulana Vastanvi!),” they said, in the hope that they would be able to prevail upon Vastanvi to reconsider his resignation.
The present surge of tension in Deoband that led to the resignation of Vastanvi — an MBA who was heading a madrasa in Gujarat with 15,000 students on its rolls — was sparked off by his alleged statement supporting Narendra Modi, the chief minister of his home state. Vastanvi has denied making such a statement.
On Tuesday evening, Vastanvi offered to submit his resignation to the Majlis-e-Shoora, the institution’s general council which will meet on February 20 — it had earlier been tentatively scheduled for February 15-16 — to decide the fate of the entrepreneur-educator.
But the students rallying in Vastanvi’s support see in the vicechancellor a determination to introduce modern education — they talked hopefully of the introduction of courses relevant to the IT and pharmaceutical sectors — as opposed to cent per cent deeni taalim (religious education). Interestingly, Vastanvi’s student supporters have opened a Facebook page dedicated to their campus idol.
“Ask most of the students and they’ll tell you that they were looking forward to the change that Maulana Vastanvi had promised at the time of his appointment,” 23-year-old Mohammad Islam Qasmi, who now teaches at the Dar-ul Uloom after studying here for eight years, said. “We are not a fatwa factory,” he said, referring to the label that is popular in the media for the institution.
“Muslims students, like other students, want to study and get good jobs. Maulana Vastanvi had promised all that. But the old guard here does not want it to happen. They treat the Darul Uloom as their riyasat (fief),” he added.
Giving the students support are Deoband’s residents, who held an impromptu meeting immediately after the evening namaaz on Wednesday to voice their demand that the Dar-ul Uloom be freed of the influence of Maulana Arshad Madani.
Madani lost to Vastanvi in the election for the vice-chancellor’s post in the Majlis-e-Shoora. Vastanvi got eight votes, Madani four and Abdul Khaliq Madrasi, the third contender, got two. Vastanvi’s daughter, incidentally, is married to Madani’s son.
Arshad Madani is the leader of a breakaway faction of the Jamiat- Ulama-i-Hind — the clerical and political wing of the Deoband seminary. Deoband residents see Madani’s hand in the controversy that led to Vastanvi’s resignation. But the Jamiat’s faction leader, who was in Deoband to speak at a Republic Day function, refused to get drawn into the controversy. Maybe he had sensed the anger of the students and didn’t want to stoke the flames further.
Most students, though, were afraid to speak up — or speak at all — because, as they insisted off the record, they had been “terrorised” by the Jamiat-ul-Talaba, the self-styled student union that sprung up 10 days ago with the singular objective of getting Vastanvi out. Its president, Saad Jamil, admitted this was the first time that a student union had been formed in the school. “We have one target, and that is to make Vastanvi leave respectfully,” Jamil said.
Jamil said they had a problem with Vastanvi even before he reportedly gave a “clean chit” to Modi on the 2002 Gujarat riots in an interview to a newspaper.
His colleagues have been circulating a postcardsized pamphlet titled ‘Yeh kya ho raha hai’ (What’s going on?) in Urdu wherein Vastanvi is shown accepting a framed idol at a function in Maharashtra before he was appointed vice-chancellor.
On Sunday, Talaba members had staged a protest against Vastanvi and it turned violent. Parvez Akhtar, one of the injured students, said: “I saw my friend being hit (Qasim Dehalvi has seven stitches on his face) and I went to help him. From inside the guest house, (where Vastanvi was staying) someone threw a stone on my head. But as long as I have been injured for my cause, I am happy.”
Akhtar, Jamil and Dehalvi represent the vocal majority. MAIL TODAY got a call from an STD booth from a student who refused to identify himself. “We have been specifically told not to talk to the media about our support for Vastanvi. But I want to tell you that all the students want Vastanvi,” the unidentified caller said.
The anonymous caller wanted the English-language media to articulate the sentiments of pro-Vastanvi students because the local Urdu newspaper, Daily Sahafat, was against the vice-chancellor. For now, both sides involved in the battle over Vastanvi are refusing to relent.
Mail Today
-----------
Bihar village tense as Muslim’s body denied burial in graveyard
By Mumtaz Alam Falahi
Jan 27, 2011
Patna: Communal tension is right now engulfing entire Sarai Dhanesh village in Vaishali district of Bihar as encroachers of a graveyard are not allowing burial of the dead body a Muslim villager. The relatives and neighbours are at the graveyard with the body but look helpless even though the police have reached the spot. The communal tension is growing.
Mr Reyaz, friend of the deceased’s son at the site, told TwoCircles.net that some low caste Hindus living adjacent to the graveyard in Sarai Dhanesh village under Desri Police Station in Vaishali district, about 20 kms from Patna, are forcibly denying the burial though the court has given decree in favor of Muslims. The graveyard is not fenced and thus much of it has been encroached.
When contacted, Home Secretary Amir Subhani informed TwoCircles.net that he is in touch with the DM and SP of the district who are tackling the issue. The police have reached the spot in good numbers.
-----------
Imam Hussain had wished to migrate to India: Maulana Yahya Bukhari
New Age Islam News Bureau
Jan 27, 2011
New Delhi: The President of Jama Masjid United Forum Yahya Bukhari said that the oldest fiqh is fiqh-e-Jafaria and so we should respect it. He said that he belonged to the Hanafi sect and the Imam of this sect was Imam Abu Hanifa who was a pupil of Hadhrat Jafar Sadiq. Narrating the incidents of Karbala, he said that when Hadhrat Imam Hussain was under siege of the Yazid’s army, he had wished to migrate to India saying that the people of India were peace-loving. He said that we are the citizens of a country where even Hadharat Imam Hussain wanted to settle. He said that therefore he invited the people of other religions to come and have discussions on the Qanati mosque as dialogues led to solutions. He also urged Muslims not to conduct marriages in the holy month of Muharram as this is the month in which the whole family of Hadhrat Fatima Zahra was slaughtered so we should share their grief.
-----------
Indian mission celebrates R-Day after 15 yrs in Pak
Jan 27, 2011
Jan. 26: The Indian high commission will host a special function in Pakistan’s financial hub of Karachi to mark the Republic Day for the first time in over 15 years in a bid to boost trade ties between the two countries.
Some 250 guests, including leading lights of Pakistan’s business sector, have been invited to the event, to be hosted at a five-star hotel in the southern port city on January 29. This is the first time the Indian high commission is hosting an event in Karachi to mark Republic Day since the consulate in the city was shut down in late 1994. High commissioner Sharat Sabharwal has visited the financial hub to build ties with the captains of Pakistani industry.
http://www.asianage.com/india/gilani-pak-wants-friendship-india-329
-----------
American Muslims are a part of our family: US president
Jan 27, 2011
WASHINGTON: Republicans and Democrats reached across the aisle Tuesday night to sit with one another at President Obama’s State of the Union address.
The president acknowledged the unusual show of unity but cautioned: “What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow.”
His one-hour speech was optimistic, almost nationalistic, saying the United States has always risen to challenges, and he used the prime-time state to combine a number of policy proposals into a blueprint for confronting growing threats to US economic dominance.
“Yes, the world has changed,” he said. “The competition for jobs is real. But this shouldn’t discourage us. It should challenge us. Remember, for all the hits we’ve taken these last few years, for all the naysayers predicting our decline, America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world.”
Obama called for five-year freeze in domestic spending, except for “investments” in education reform, infrastructure and research. Obama also introduced plans for increased access to high speed technology and touched on ideas with bipartisan appeal, from medical malpractice reform to deficit reduction.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article243714.ece
-----------
Padma Shri Award for Lucknow's Dr Mansoor Hasan
Jan 27, 2011
Lucknow: The brain behind establishment of Lari Cardiology Centre, the former head of Cardiology in CSM Medical University (CSMMU) Dr Mansoor Hasan has been chosen for Padma Shri honour on the eve of Republic Day.
Dr Hasan, who has retired from CSMMU in 1990, still remembers the day when he witnessed long queue of patients outside Cardiology department of All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi. "Most of them were poor and had arrived there from eastern region of UP. The concept of setting up a cardiology centre in Lucknow gained ground," recalls Dr Hasan. Dr Hasan, then a young medico returned to Lucknow and mobilized resources from well wishers and Lari Cadiology Centre came into existence.
Over his selection for Padma Shri for his contribution in medicine, Dr Hasan remarked: "It is great feeling and getting Padma award is a big achievement. It is a satisfying moment of my career. Lari Cardiology Centre is also an achievement for me as I notice that the centre is performing over 100 angioplasty cases per month".
Full report at:
http://www.twocircles.net/node/236776?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&
-----------
Jamiat Ulema was ahead of the Congress in Freedom Movement: Arshad Madani
News Age Islam News Bureau
Jan 27, 2011
New Delhi: Speaking in a meeting held in Deoband on the occasion of the Republic Day, the National President of Jamiatul Ulema Hind, Maulana Arshad Madani said that the history of the independence of India was replete with the sacrifices of the ulema and the Muslims. The ulema has started the freedom movement in 1803 whereas the Congress was founded in 1883-84. Mentioning the sacrifices of the Darul Uloom Deoband or the independence of India, Sheikhul Hind, Maulana Madani said that Sheikhul Hind had said much earlier that with the independence of India all the other enslaved communities would also become free from the British rule. Maualan Mahmood Hasan Madani said that raised the voice for independence not only in India but also in Afghanistan, Hijaz and Malta.
Full report at:
-----------
NIA finds Dange link between Samjhauta, Modasa probes
Rahul Tripathi
Jan 27, 2011
New Delhi : Aseemanand allegedly said Joshi and his men involved in Modasa
Investigations into the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast is helping National Investigation Agency (NIA) to find leads into the 2008 Modasa blast that killed one person and left several injured. The NIA, which is probing into both the cases, is of the opinion that the two are related as the presence of one of the main accused, Sandeep Dange, has been established at the blast site in Modasa. This has been corroborated by the confession of Swami Aseemanand before the Panchkula court where he is believed to have claimed that Sunil Joshi and his men were responsible for Modasa blasts.
Immediately after the blasts, the cops had detained SIMI activists, but they were released and the probe was transferred to the NIA in June last year. Initially, there were no leads to connect the accused of Malegaon with those of Modasa, but after the arrest of Aseemanand, the investigators found common links between Ajmer Dargah, Mecca Masjid, Malegaon, Samjhauta Express and Modasa blasts. Another reason for the agency to believe that Modasa was the work of same outfit is the similarity of the explosives used.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/nia-finds-dange-link-between-samjhauta-modasa-
-----------
Maya Plans Muslim Reservation
Jan 27, 2011
Amita Verma
In a move that could upset calculations for the next Assembly elections, UP chief minister Mayawati s panning to announce reservation for dalit Muslims and most backward Muslims.
The proposal, according to highly placed sources, is already under “active consideration” of the state government and legal opinions are being sought for the manner of implementation.
The chief minister apparently wants to upstage his political rivals — mainly Samajwadi party and the Congress — and turn the Muslim votes in her favour.
The chief minister, sources said, is aware of the Andhra Pradesh high court ruling in exceeding the 50 per cent limit but is nevertheless determined to go ahead with her decision.
Full report at:
http://www.asianage.com/india/maya-plans-muslim-reservation-320
-----------
Deoband crisis: Parleys on to end factionalism
January 27, 2011
Close on the heels of resignation of Darool Uloom Deoband vice chancellor Maulana Gulam Mohammad Vastanvi, parleys are being held among the two leading factions of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind to end factionalism, both from Deoband seminary and the Jamiat.
While one faction of the Jamiat is led by Rajya Sabha MP and JUH general secretary Maulana Mahmood Madani, the other faction is headed by his uncle and the head of a breakaway faction of Jamiat, Maulana Arsad Madani.
According to Jamiat sources, the leaders of the two factions held meetings here in the national capital to end the factionalism in Darool Uloom Deoband and its political wing, the JUH.
“The resignation of Darool Uloom Mohtamin Maulana Gulam Mohammad Vastanvi is a golden chance to unite and the merge the two factions and end the factionalism within the 200-year-old Muslim seminary and the top leaders are holding confabulations towards that end,” a Jamiat source said.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/313436/Deoband-crisis-Parleys-on-to-end-factionalism.html
-----------
'Palestine Negotiators Hatched Plan With Israel To Kill Own People'
Jan 27, 2011
Jerusalem: The 'Palestine Papers' leaked by Qatar based al-Jazeera network has exposed extensive cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA)'s security services, including a planned assassination of a commander of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
In a report on its English-language website titled, 'The al- Madhoun assassination', the network alleges that PA has 'shown operational willingness to co-operate with Israel to kill its own people'.
The allegation is said to be based on apparent handwritten notes of a meeting between Israel's then defence minister, Shaul Mofaz, and Palestinian minister of interior, Nasser Youssef.
At a meeting in 2005 in Tel Aviv, Mofaz is quoted as asking Youssef why the PA doesn't kill Hassan al-Madhoun, affiliated with Fatah's al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades and someone Israel accused of being behind the deadly attacks at Ashdod Port and the Karni crossing.
Full report at:
http://www.asianage.com/international/palestine-negotiators-hatched-plan-israel-kill-own-
-----------
Thousands march in anti-Abbas protests in Gaza
Jan 27, 2011
GAZA CITY: Thousands of cheering Hamas supporters in Gaza burned effigies of President Mahmoud Abbas and his aides Wednesday, as Al-Jazeera TV alleged that leaked documents show the Palestinian leader colluded with Israel and the US against Gaza.
The protests came in response to reports by the Arab satellite station about documents from a decade of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Al-Jazeera, which has been releasing the documents gradually this week, says they also show Abbas made far-reaching concessions on Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.
The Islamic militant Hamas and Abbas have been bitter rivals since Hamas overran Gaza in 2007. Abbas' West Bank government is a rival to the Hamas government of Gaza.
In Wednesday's broadcast, Al-Jazeera presented documents it says suggest Abbas acted under US pressure when he decided in 2009 to suspend a campaign to have Israeli officials prosecuted for war crimes over Israel's war on Gaza that year. Protests erupted in the Palestinian territories after that decision.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Thousands-march-in-anti-Abbas-
-----------
Petition for cancellation of case against Qadri rejected
Jan 27, 2011
ISLAMABAD: A division bench of the Islamabad High Court on Wednesday set aside an intra-court appeal seeking cancellation of a case against Mumtaz Qadri, the self-confessed killer of Punjab governor Salman Taseer, primarily on technical grounds.
The bench comprising Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman and Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan maintained in the judgment that the appeal was not maintainable for hearing as the appellant, Advocate Zaffar Awan of Chakwal, was not aggrieved in the case.
The court upheld the Jan 20 verdict of Justice Anwar Khan Kasi which was challenged by the lawyer.
Justice Kasi had thrown away the petition of Mr Awan, saying no citizen could be allowed or encouraged to take the law into his own hands. The alleged blasphemer could have been tried in a court of law and penalised through a due process of law, the court had observed.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/01/27/petition-for-cancellation-of-case-against-qadri-
-----------
His dream was an AMU centre in Malegaon
Jan 27, 2011
Mumbai, Manmad : On Monday evening, when the 35 district collectors from across the state gathered at Mantralaya, Malegaon Additional District Collector Yashwant Sonawane was the only one who had done his homework. The review meeting was called by the Maharashtra Minority Department to decide on setting up an off-campus centre of the Aligarh Muslim University in the state. Sonawane, who had been pushing for a centre in Malegaon, came with an almost ready proposal. A day later, the 48-year-old bureaucrat was burnt alive.
“The meeting was called after persistent efforts for over three months.
While it was disheartening to see other collectors coming unprepared, Sonawane impressed everyone. He was the only one with a plan and vision in place,” said Minority Department Minister Arif Nasim Khan.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/his-dream-was-an-amu-centre-in-malegaon/742562/
-----------
Vastanvi quits as Deoband VC
Jan 27, 2011
NEW DELHI: Maulana Ghulam Mohammed Vastanvi resigned as the vice-chancellor of Darul Uloom on Wednesday after a controversial and brief stint as the head of the Islamic seminary and left Deoband reportedly for Delhi.
The resignation will be formally accepted in the meeting of Majlis-e-Shoor, or the governing council of Darul Uloom, on February 15. Sources say it is almost inevitable that Vastanvi would be allowed to go, making way for the election of a new VC.
Vastanvi had triggered a row following an interview to The Times of India, published on January 19, where he lauded the administration of Narendra Modi in Gujarat and urged the Muslims to move on from the 2002 Gujarat riots. According to him, there is "no discrimination in Gujarat against minorities". In the aftermath, Deoband saw its first students' agitation in several decades on Sunday.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Vastanvi-quits-as-Deoband-
-----------
3 killed in anti-Mubarak protests in Egypt, scribes detained
Jan 27, 2011
CAIRO: In unprecedented anti-government rallies inspired by Tunisia's uprising, three people were killed on Wednesday as tens of thousands of people took to the streets on the second day in a row in several Egyptian cities demanding an end of President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule.
Notwithstanding interior ministry's warnings, hundreds of protesters assembled in central Cairo despite the area being peppered with armored vehicles loaded with armed security personnel.
Police fired tear gas shells and rubber bullets to clear protesters, who chanted "Down with Hosni Mubarak, down with the tyrant," "We don't want you!".
In the morning, the interior ministry had warned that it will not allow any protests to go ahead.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/3-killed-in-anti-Mubarak-protests-in-
-----------
Hate literature behind rise in extremism: Ashrafi
Jan 27, 2011
LAHORE: Pakistan Ulema Counsel (PUC) Chairman Allama Tahir Ashrafi has said that easy availability of instigating literature in the market was the core reason behind the rising extremism in the country, a private TV channel reported on Wednesday.
Speaking in a programme aired by the channel, Ashrafi condemned Tuesday’s bomb blast in Lahore, which took more than 10 lives and left several others injured.
He said nobody in the country mulled over the post 9/11 rising wave of terrorism in the country.
Literature and CDs spreading hate against all schools of thoughts was available in the markets, he said, adding that no authority in the country took action against it.
He said the country was founded in the name of Islam, but there was no true Muslim in the country at present. Followers of every sect considered the others kafir (non-believer) or issue edicts alleging others of blasphemy. Such unauthorised people were in action because the authorised ulema were silent over such issues, he added.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\01\27\story_27-1-2011_pg7_31
-----------
Cop ‘attempts to rape’ a Muslim college girl in Assam
By Waliullah Ahmed Laskar
Jan 27, 2011
Guwahati: In another shameful incident in India’s North-Eastern state of Assam, a police officer has allegedly attempted to rape a 24-year-old Muslim college girl at her home under Borkhola police station in the Cachar district and when her mother came in to save her daughter the policeman mercilessly beat up the 60-year-old widow. Later the girl was threatened of dire consequences if she complained to the police about the incident.
On the pretext of searching for an alleged criminal, the policeman broke into the house and attempted to rape the girl. When her mother protested and tried to save her daughter, the cop beat the old lady seriously injuring her. When the victims have made complaints to the higher officials, they have been threatened with dire consequences. There is risk of impunity and concern for the safety and wellbeing of the victims.
Full report at:
http://www.twocircles.net/node/236683?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&
-----------
Youth arrested for threatening to bomb Bombay Stock Exchange
New Age Islam News Bureau
Jan 27, 2011
Gulbarga: A team of Maharashtra Police arrived at the Shahabad Taluka of Karnataka without informing the local police and arrested a man called Mihilnesh Sadram Kargili. The youth had allegedly threatened to bomb Bombay Stock Exchange. He is into share business.
-----------
Char Minar poised for a great facelift
New Age Islam News Bureau
Jan 27, 2011
Hyderabad: Char Minar Pedestrisation Project that has been undertaken to give Char Minar, Hyderabad’s pride and one of the Important tourist spots of the country is on in full swing to make the area around Char Minar beautiful. This project that has been started jointly by the central and the state government to turn Char Minar into a complete and ideal tourist centre is supposed to be complete within three months. The 100 sq ft area around the Char Minar is being made a buffer zone with granite stones and greenery. The area from Char Minar and Gulzar Hauz, Panch Mahal, Sardar Mahal and Moti Gali Chauraha will be made a pedestrian zone.
-----------
Bangladesh 'death squad' resumes extra-judicial killing
Jan 27 2011
London : A Bangladeshi paramilitary unit that receives training from British police has resumed killing people in so-called "crossfire" incidents that human rights groups say are extra-judicial killings.
According to 'The Guardian', the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) – condemned by human rights group as a "death squad" – ceased the killings briefly after the existence of the British training program was disclosed in US diplomatic cables posted on the internet by WikiLeaks last month.
However, the unit announced on 12 January that it had killed a 32-year-old man in Dhaka and since then has shot dead three more men in the capital.
According to a report published this month by the Bangladeshi rights group Ain O Salish Kendra, 133 people died in extra-judicial killings in Bangladesh last year.
Full report at: Indian Express
-----------
Response by Taj employees to 26/11 a case study at Harvard
Jan 27, 2011
BOSTON: The heroic response by employees of Mumbai's landmark Taj Hotel during the 26/11 terror attacks is now a case study at Harvard Business School that focuses on the staff's selfless service for its customers and how they went beyond their call of duty to save lives.
The multimedia case study 'Terror at the Taj Bombay: Customer-Centric Leadership' by HBS professor Rohit Deshpande documents "the bravery and resourcefulness shown by rank-and-file employees" during the attack.
The study mainly focuses on "why did the Taj employees stay at their posts (during the attacks), jeopardising their safety in order to save hotel guests" and how can that level of loyalty and dedication be replicated elsewhere.
A dozen Taj employees died trying to save the lives of the hotel guests during the attacks.
"Not even the senior managers could explain the behaviour of these employees," Deshpande is quoted as saying in HBS Working Knowledge, a forum on the faculty's research and ideas.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Response-by-Taj-employees-to-26/11-a-case-
-----------
Arizona Shooter Studied Assassins Before Attack
Jan 27, 2011
New York: The 22-year-old man, accused of shooting US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, studied about several assassins and legal consequences on internet before opening fire at a supermarket in Arizona, an official has said.
Jared L. Loughner, who pleaded not guilty on Monday to three counts of attempted murder in connection with shooting at a Tucson supermarket, researched famous assassins, death penalty and solitary confinement on internet, the New York Times reported quoting an official close to the investigation.
The January 8 shooting left six people dead and 13 injured. Giffords, Democrat representative from Arizona, was shot in the head but survived. Additional charges, including murder, are expected.
Full report at:
http://www.asianage.com/international/arizona-shooter-studied-assassins-attack-357
-----------
'India-Pak Partnership To Bring Stability'
Jan 27, 2011
Washington: Ahead of the foreign secretary level talks in Thimphu, the White House has hoped that Islamabad and New Delhi would continue with their peace talks as partnership between India and Pakistan would bring stability to this all important region of the world.
"It serves both the interest of India and the interest of Pakistan and that of the US and the world to develop the kind of relationship that allows for greater trust, that allows for potential partnership between India and Pakistan, because that would bring stability to the region and both peoples would prosper," said Mike Hammer spokesperson National Security Council, White House.
"What we have done is to encourage both countries to engage in dialogue between them. We have seen some efforts of it," Hammer said in an interview referring to the series of talks between India and Pakistan at various levels in the last two years.
Spokesperson of the National Security Council for the first two years of the Obama Administration, Hammer now moves to the State Department from next week.
Full report at:
http://www.asianage.com/international/india-pak-partnership-bring-stability-355
-----------
Sex Change Saves Pak Girl’s Life
Jan 27, 2011
Islamabad, Jan. 26: A 17-year-old Pakistani girl, who had been very sick for the past few months and turned into a boy after a sex-change operation, is grateful to be healthy and alive now.
He said post-operation: “I don’t care whether I am a boy or a girl as long as I am alive.”
Farzana, who was critically ill, was taken to a hospital in Lahore from Rahim Yar Khan city in Punjab province.
“She had been ill for nearly a year and we have had several consultations,” the Express Tribune quoted Dr Rehan as saying.
“I had told her parents that she had a rare genetic condition and that she was suffering from a severe hormonal imbalance.”
The doctor said: “Farzana has hermaphrodite genes and we needed to operate on her soon because her body was beginning to shut down.”
Full report at:
http://www.asianage.com/international/sex-change-saves-pak-girl%E2%80%99s-life-289
-----------
Somalia In 20th Year Of War
Jan 27, 2011
Mogadishu, Somalia: Aweys Abdullahi Ali has never known a day of peace in Somalia. Gunmen have killed his mother, set his home on fire, driven away his friends. Ali, who is 20, sees no end to the violence.
Wednesday marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of Siad Barre, Somalia's socialist dictator whose overthrow ushered in years of brutal clan-based conflict. This arid Horn of Africa nation is now home to a generation of people who have known nothing but war.
Some have seen neighbors beheaded by al-Qaida-linked insurgents or killed in U.S. missile strikes.
"I've woken up to the crack of gunfire ever since I was young," said Ali, a dark-eyed young man with a wisp of a beard.
"I never believed Somalia was ever peaceful and I used to wonder what my parents were talking about when told me about the old days."
Full report at:
http://www.asianage.com/international/somalia-20th-year-war-252
-----------
Gilani: Pak Wants Friendship With India
Jan 27, 2011
Shafqat Ali
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has said that Pakistan is committed to pursuing friendly relations with India on the basis of sovereign equality and resolving all outstanding problems, including “the core issue of Kashmir” to ensure a peaceful South Asia.
In a message of greetings sent to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on India’s Republic Day, Mr Gilani said, “I avail this opportunity to reiterate Pakistan’s strong commitment to pursue our desire to develop friendly relations on the basis of sovereign equality and commonality of interest”.
“We are also committed to resolving all outstanding issues, including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir and water disputes, towards realising the vision of a peaceful and prosperous South Asia,” he said.
Full report at:
-----------
We will strengthen n-arsenal, says Pak, slams US for India nuclear deal
Jan 27, 2011
New Delhi : Strongly protesting the US decision to facilitate India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Pakistan has threatened to take “requisite steps” to strengthen its credible deterrence.
This decision, Pakistan told the Conference of Disarmament (CD) on Tuesday, was taken last month by its apex body on strategic affairs, the National Command Authority (NCA).
In a clear indication of its intent, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative at the CD in Geneva Zamir Akram told the Conference on its opening day that the “accumulative impact” of this decision would be to “destabilize the security environment in South Asia” which would “retard progress” on non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament measures.
“Membership of the NSG will enable our neighbour to further expand upon its nuclear cooperation agreements and enhance its nuclear weapons and delivery capability. As a consequence, Pakistan will be forced to take measures to ensure the credibility of its deterrence.”
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/we-will-strengthen-narsenal-says-pak-slams-us-for-
-----------
Gujarat Muslim worldview different from UP’s: Vastanwi
Jan 27, 2011
New Delhi : Maulana Ghulam Mohammed Vastanwi is thoughtful before venturing to answer if he ever felt like an outsider in Deoband. “No. I was not an outsider, but yes, I did feel I was the head of another seminary, going to another one. Also, the Majlis e Shoora elected me comprises 17 respected aalims (cleric) from all over India—UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Gujarat and Maharashtra¿so I didn’t get that feeling. But yes, there is a difference between Muslims in Gujarat and Maharashtra... and (those) in UP and Bihar. In UP, they are intensely political and aware, more keen on reading the newspaper the first thing in the morning, never mind if they haven’t secured their breakfast. In western India, there is a different attitude to politics, business and livelihood.”
Just before the evening prayers on Republic Day, Vastanwi’s supporters huddle around him protectively in a house in Delhi and are keen to record whatever he says on their cellphones, anxious to keep a record for themselves, some urging him, in Gujarati, to steer clear of all “controversial” or “(Narendra) Modi” questions.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/gujarat-muslim-worldview-different-from-ups-
-----------
Story of a yatra: Why BJP elders hopped on to youth bandwagon
Manoj C G
Jan 27, 2011
New Delhi : Returning from a five-day visit to China, BJP chief Nitin Gadkari landed in Delhi at 9 pm. Instead of going home, he drove straight to Rajghat where his predecessor Rajnath Singh is on a fast to protest against the Jammu and Kashmir Government’s “undemocratic” move of preventing the party’s youth wing workers from hoisting a flag at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk.
In Jammu, its top leaders Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and Ananth Kumar spent the night in police custody after they tried to enter the state from the Punjab border leading the BJP youth wing’s Ekta Yatra. Both the Leaders of the Opposition in Parliament—detained and externed from the state just 24 hours ago—were lodged in a hotel. They would be produced before a magistrate on Wednesday.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/story-of-a-yatra-why-bjp-elders-hopped-on-to-youth-
-----------
Afghanistan shortlists 15 Indian firms for Hajigak bid
Priyadarshi Siddhanta
Jan 27, 2011
New Delhi : Enthused by the response of Indian metal and mining giants for developing the Hajigak iron ore mine in Afghanistan, the Hamid Karzai government has shortlisted 15 of them for competitive bidding process for the mine to begin soon.
A total of 22 companies had confirmed their Expression of Interests (EoI) to the Afghan government for exploring the Hajigak mine, located in the Bamiyan province of the country.
High grade iron ore reserves of the mine is estimated to be about 1.8 billion tonnes.
An estimated expenditure of about Rs 10,000 crore is required to develop the mine and its peripheral infrastructure for evacuation of the mineral.
In a letter on January 17, Afghan mines minister Wahidullah Shahrani said of the 22 firms shortlisted for the coming bidding process, 15 are Indian companies.
They include big-ticket names like maharatna Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), navratna behemoths NMDC and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam limited, besides private sector giants like Tata, Essar, Jindal Steel and Power, Ispat, Monnet Ispat, JSW, Jindal Saw among others.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/afghanistan-shortlists-15-indian-firms-for-hajigak-
-----------
Muslim birth rate falls, population to grow more slowly
Jan 27, 2011
Paris : Falling birth rates will slow the world's Muslim population growth over the next two decades, reducing it on average from 2.2 percent a year in 1990-2010 to 1.5 percent a year from now until 2030, a new study says.
Muslims will number 2.2 billion by 2030 compared to 1.6 billion in 2010, making up 26.4 percent of the world population compared to 23.4 percent now, according to estimates by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
The report did not publish figures for worldwide populations of other major religions, but said the United States-based Pew Forum planned similar reports on growth prospects for worldwide Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Judaism.
The declining growth rate is due primarily to falling fertility rates in many Muslim-majority countries, it said, noting the birth rate is falling as more Muslim women are educated, living standards rise and rural people move to cities.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/muslim-birth-rate-falls-population-to-grow-more-
-----------
Mosque to be built in US city after appeal denied
Jan 27, 2011
LOS ANGELES: A California city decided to allow Muslim families to build a mosque after months of angry debate over the plan that included protests, petitions and letter-writing campaigns.
The Temecula City Council yesterday voted 4-0 to approve the project after a nine-hour meeting, despite fears by opponents that the Islamic Center of Temecula Valley could bring extremist activity to the region about 80 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
Shakeel Syed, executive director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, said some of the opposition was hateful.
"After this decision, we all need to work together to restore the fellowship of the citizens," he said. "We need to heal ourselves."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Mosque-to-be-built-in-US-city-after-appeal-
-----------
US dropping color-coded terror alerts: Lawmaker
Jan 27, 2011
WASHINGTON: The United States is scrapping its color-coded threat advisory system drafted in the wake of 9/11, a US lawmaker said Wednesday, criticizing the system that "taught Americans to be scared."
The five-color system launched in 2002 offered a rainbow of threat levels, from the lowest level green to blue (guarded), yellow (elevated), orange (high) and red (severe). The higher the threat condition, the greater the risk of a terror attack, according to the department of homeland security (DHS).
But the system initiated by then-president George W Bush was often mocked by critics as a relic of post-September 11, 2001 frenzy that caused alarm without explaining the reasons for the alerts.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-dropping-color-coded-terror-alerts-
-----------
Pakistan opposes India's entry to nuclear commerce clubs
Jan 27, 2011
GENEVA: Pakistan warned major powers on Tuesday against granting India membership of four key multilateral export control regimes that allow trade in nuclear and other materials, as proposed by the United States.
The plan, announced during US President Barack Obama's visit to India last November, would further destabilise the volatile nuclear-armed South Asian region, said Zamir Akram, Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.
This reinforced Pakistan's opposition, announced a year ago, to global negotiations to ban future production of nuclear bomb-making material, he said.
"These developments will amount to a paradigm shift in strategic terms," Akram said in a speech to the opening session of the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament.
"The message that such steps transmit is that the major powers can change the rules of the game if it is in their interest to do so," he added.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Pakistan-opposes-Indias-entry-to-nuclear-
-----------
US video game inspired Moscow airport attack?
Jan 27, 2011
MOSCOW: Russian media has pointed out the similarities between the bloody scenes depicted in a popular US video game with attack at Domodedovo International Airport, sparking a heated debate on the content of the game.
The bloody scenes of the Moscow attack are reminiscent of what can be seen in an year-old video game, the scenario of which controversially involves a character urged to kill civilians in an imaginary Russian airport, a TV channel said. The blast at Domodedovo Airport has sparked hot debate on the stuff of a popular American video game 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2', sold worldwide.
" Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has become a shocking reality," English language Russia Today TV noted. Earlier last year several Duma members had asked the ban on the video game in Russia and in just a few months, its sales surpassed $1 billion worldwide.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/US-video-game-inspired-Moscow-airport-
-----------
Africa blasts: Osama guard gets life term
Jan 27, 2011
NEW YORK: Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani,al-Qaida terrorist Osama bin Laden's bodyguard has been sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed 224 people. Ghailani, who has already spent the last six years in "black sites" and Guantanamo Bay, is the first detainee for the detention facility to be tried in a civilian court. Due to the background.
of torture, the defence had asked for a lighter sentence but judge Lewis Kaplan said that no matter how Ghailani was treated while in detention, "the impact on him pales in comparison to the suffering and the horror that he and his confederates caused," The New York Times reported. "Ghailani knew and intended that people would be killed as a result of his own actions and of the conspiracy that he joined," the judge added.
Ghailani was captured in Pakistan in 2004, and was moved last year from Guantanamo to Manhattan to be tried in civilian court. He had pleaded not guilty.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Africa-blasts-Osama-guard-gets-
-----------
‘Moving on will give us the strength to confront past’
By Insiya Amir
Jan 27, 2011
BEFORE he even had a chance to move into the vice-chancellor’s permanent residence, Ghulam Mohammed Vastanvi, left the Dar-ul Uloom campus guest house he was staying in, just 15 days after his appointment.
Vastanvi spoke to MAIL TODAY, moments before he left the campus where he wanted to be the harbinger of change.
Even in the midst of the upsurge of emotions, he managed to keep his natural sense of humour by saying though he had no problems being photographed, he wanted to make sure that this (female) correspondent was not seen with him. Or else “ek aur vivaad ban jaayega” (another controversy will be created). Excerpts from the interview:
On why he had offered to resign
When I was made the vice-chancellor, I felt that there were some expectations of me and that most students had welcomed me with a positive attitude.
But when I went home (to Gujarat) on January 13 and returned on January 22, I found that there was resistance simmering against me.
Full report at: Mail Today
-----------
Sleepy town caught in a tempest
Insiya Amir
Jan 27, 2011
DEOBAND, a sleepy little town in Saharanpur district, just 150 km away from Delhi, seems to be light years away from the Capital.
The first thing you notice about the home of the Dar-ul Uloom is the vast number of open drains running along its narrow lanes and alleys.
The most ‘happening’ place close to the imposing central structure of the Dar-ul Uloom, where a woman is not welcome on campus (or severely gawked at in case she’s a journalist and is allowed in), is the seedy Hotel Shubham.
The ‘hotel’ bit ends with the name because the residents of Deoband will tell you to “drive back 25km to Muzaffarnagar and stay the night there”.
And yet, Shubham has three kinds of rooms on offer — TV rooms, AC rooms and non-AC rooms. The most expensive one, priced at `750, is available to anyone who does not speak with the Deoband-meets-Dar-ul Uloom-meetsstreetsmartness accent.
Full report at: Mail Today
-----------
Power play overrides kinship
Insiya Amir
Jan 27, 2011
ON PAPER, they are related by law: Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi’s daughter is married to Maulana Arshad Madani’s son. But ask anyone on the Dar-ul Uloom campus and he’ll tell you how Madani, who lost the election for the vicechancellor’s office, is fuelling the anger against Vastanvi.
In Dar-ul Uloom to deliver a speech on Republic Day, Madani remained non-committal on the controversy that has rocked the campus. “I have nothing to say about the issue. Ask for my opinion on anything else but this,” he said.
Madani’s falling out with the Jamiat, sources say, is the reason why he is interested in seizing control of the Dar-ul Uloom. Not only will holding a post of power in Deoband give Madani’s faction legitimacy and much needed political clout, but there is a lot of money involved as well.
Full report at: Mail Today
-----------
AMU girls inspired by defeat
By Anindita Datta Choudhury
Jan 27, 2011
THE DEFEAT of 10 of the 11 woman candidates in the recent students’ union elections of Aligarh Muslim University has reinforced their determination to break the gender barrier at the university.
This was the first time in AMU’s 136- year history that women were contesting for the three top posts. But of the 11 in the fray, only Maryam Zehra, a BA final year student of Women’s College, under AMU, made it to the cabinet.
Nahid Mustafa had contested for the post of honourary secretary in the January 20 polls.
But she secured only 370 votes compared to her rival Amir Qutub’s 3,878 votes. “ The boys started a campaign saying there is a fatwa against women contesting elections,” she says.
Full report at: Mail Today
-----------
Karzai opens new Afghan Parliament
January 27, 2011
Jan 27, 2011
Afghan President Hamid Karzai inaugurated a new Parliament on Wednesday, ending a drawn-out political showdown with lawmakers over the opening date that had plunged the country deeper into crisis. In a ceremony in Kabul, Karzai swore in 249 members of Lower House of Parliament, known as Wolesi Jirga, amid tight security. The president urged the new lawmakers to set aside their differences for the sake of the nation.
“It is natural that there are competitions during the elections. It is natural that there are problems, but when the competition ends the national unity starts,” Karzai said.
“Given the dangers that our country is facing, and given the opportunity that we have for a prosperous future, I hope that we all join hands and lead our country towards a situation that all Afghans hope for,” he said.
Karzai had postponed the session until Feb 22, but he later agreed to open it on Wednesday after lawmakers, allegedly backed by Western countries, threatened to go ahead without him.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/313405/Karzai-opens-new-Afghan-Parliament.html
-----------
Russia marks day of mourning for suicide blast victims
January 27, 2011
Russia’s national capital region observed a day of mourning on Wednesday for the 35 victims of Monday’s suicide attack on the country’s busiest airport, in which over 180 people were also injured.
The regional flags flew at half mast and all public forms of entertainment have been cancelled. A funeral service for the dead will be held at the airport’s chapel where people started bringing flowers and candles on Tuesday.
Funeral services will also be held in other churches, mosques and synagogues.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/313399/Russia-marks-day-of-mourning-for-suicide-blast-
-----------
Ghailani sentenced to life in prison
Narayan Lakshman
Jan 27, 2011
Washington: Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani (36), a Guantanamo Bay detenu and alleged Al-Qaeda member involved in the 1998 bombings of the United States' embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday despite being acquitted on all 276 murder and attempted murder charges and four conspiracy charges that U.S. Attorney-General Eric Holder brought against him.
However, in a verdict by a federal district court in New York last November, Ghailani was convicted on one count of conspiracy to destroy government buildings and property for which he faced a minimum of 20 years imprisonment. At the time U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara had said he would push for a life sentence. Reacting to the sentence, Mr. Holder said it was a vindication of the “strength of the American justice system”.
http://www.hindu.com/2011/01/27/stories/2011012763321400.htm
-----------
Issue of integrating J&K highlighted: BJP
January 27, 2011
The BJP on Wednesday termed the arrest of its senior party leaders in Jammu as “unfortunate” but maintained that the Bharat Ekta Yatra brought to the fore the issue of “fully integrating” Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country.
Likening BJP’s plan on flag hoisting at Lal Chowk to party ideologue Shyama Prasad Mookerjee’s Kashmir campaign, senior leader LK Advani said, “Those who have been arrested in Jammu and Kashmir have brought this issue before the whole country. I think our Yuva Morcha and our two leaders in Parliament (Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley) have gone there and what they have done with a lot of courage has brought this issue and that of unifying the whole of Kashmir to the forefront.”
BJP president Nitin Gadkari described as “unfortunate” the detention of party’s senior leaders in Jammu and rubbished charges that the party was playing politics over hoisting the national flag at Lal Chowk in Srinagar. He was speaking to reporters after hoisting the national flag at the party headquarters here.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/313457/Issue-of-integrating-JK-highlighted-BJP.html
-----------
Ben Ali Wanted By Interpol
Jan 27, 2011
Paris/Tunis: The international police organisation Interpol said it has issued a global alert for the arrest of Tunisia's ousted President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his six relatives.
"As stated by Tunisian authorities in media reports today, Ben Ali and some of his family members are wanted in Tunisia on charges of alleged property theft and the illegal transfer of foreign currency," the France-based agency said in a statement on Wednesday.
The global alert, known as 'an Interpol diffusion', was sent out to all 188 member countries by the agency's National Central Bureau (NCB) in Tunis, Xinhua reported.
As per the global arrest warrant, it will be the duty of the member countries to aid Tunis NCB to 'search, locate and provisionally arrest Ben Ali and his relatives' with a view of their extradition, the statement said.
Pressed by months of violent riot and protesting demonstration, Ben Ali fled Tunisia on January 14. His wife Leila Trabelsi, also in the wanted list, reportedly took 1.5 tonnes of gold when she and her family fled to Dubai, but some media reports said her whereabouts was still unconfirmed.
Full report at:
http://www.asianage.com/international/ben-ali-wanted-interpol-354
-----------
Al Qaeda’s safe havens are shrinking: Obama
Jan 27, 2011
WASHINGTON: United States President Barack Obama, adhering to his plan to begin drawdown of some American troops from Afghanistan this year, said on Tuesday that al Qaeda havens along Pakistan-Afghanistan border are shrinking and fewer Afghans live under the Taliban control, after yearlong anti-terrorist operations.
The US leader, now into third year of his presidency – devoted mainly to recovery from economic recession at home in the midst of rising international competition and anti-terror cooperation efforts around the world – sounded an upbeat message for Americans in a prime-time annual State of the Union address.
“Their leaders and operatives are being removed from the battlefield. Their safe havens are shrinking,” Obama said of al Qaeda in Pakistan.
“And we have sent a message from the Afghan border to the Arabian Peninsula to all parts of the globe: we will not relent, we will not waver and we will defeat you,” he asserted. The US president’s reference to the Arabian Peninsula underscored the rising threat posed by al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen, which has been blamed for recent plots against US targets.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\01\27\story_27-1-2011_pg1_1
-----------
Shafqat delights audience with Lok Virsa performance
Jan 27, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Ustad Shafqat Ali Khan, a renowned classical singer of Sham Chaurasi Gharana presented an outstanding performance in a live concert here on Wednesday night at Lok Virsa media studios that was cheered by huge crowd.
National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage, popularly known as Lok Virsa and Ministry of Culture organized the event under its popular musical series titled, ‘Documentation of Genealogical Musical Families of Pakistan’. The event was an on-going initiative of Lok Virsa under joint institutional cultural cooperation between Pakistan and Norway.
Federal Minister for Culture, Science and Technology Pir Aftab Hussain Shah Jilani addressing as chief guest on the occasion said, ‘PPP’s government is determined to promote and safeguard all components of tangible and intangible cultural heritage of Pakistan including folk and classical artists, musicians and craftspeople’.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\01\27\story_27-1-2011_pg7_33
-----------
Iraq, Kuwait move to repair relations
Jan 27, 2011
BAGHDAD: Iraq and Kuwait pledged on Wednesday to work toward resolving border disputes and debt issues as the two former enemies seek to repair relations damaged by Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion of the oil-rich emirate.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and the Kuwaiti ambassador made the remarks at a flag-raising ceremony at the new Kuwaiti Embassy in Baghdad - the latest in a series of gestures between the former enemies as they struggle to repair relations after decades of bad blood.
“A strong political will is needed to solve these issues,” Zebari told reporters as Kuwaiti security guards hoisted the black, white, green and red Kuwaiti flag up a pole outside the embassy building, which is still under construction. “We are confident and optimistic that all these topics can be resolved.”
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\01\27\story_27-1-2011_pg4_3
-----------
Protest in Rome against Pakistan’s blasphemy law
Jan 27, 2011
ROME: Italian lawmakers and religious associations protested in Rome Wednesday against Pakistan’s blasphemy law, calling for the release of a Christian woman sentenced to death under the legislation.
Catholic and Jewish associations joined human rights group Amnesty International and representatives of the Pakistani community in Italy in a 100-strong demonstration in front of the Italian parliament.
“We want this law to be abolished,” Pakistani-born Joseph Philip told AFP, explaining that his uncle, a Catholic Bishop, had been killed for his religious beliefs. He said he had come to the protest along with 15 compatriots.
Asia Bibi, a 45-year-old, Christian mother-of-five, was sentenced to death in November after Muslim women labourers who worked with her in the fields complained she made derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammed.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/01/26/protest-in-rome-against-pakistans-blasphemy-law.html
-----------
Four dead in car bomb blast in Russia’s Dagestan
Jan 27, 2011
MOSCOW: Four people were killed and six injured in a car bomb blast in front of a cafe in Russia’s volatile North Caucasus region of Dagestan, reports said on Wednesday quoting local police.
“Three dead and seven injured were taken to hospital, one injured person died on the operating table,” a medical source told the Ria-Novosti agency following the attack at Khassaviourt.
Russia is battling an insurgency in the Caucasus and deadly attacks on government and police officials in Dagestan as well as neighbouring Chechnya and Ingushetia are an almost daily occurrence. Suicide bombings are also becoming increasingly frequent in the Caucasus.
The car blast followed Monday’s suicide bombing at Russia’s main airport in which 35 people died.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/01/27/four-dead-in-car-bomb-blast-in-russia%E2%80%99s-
-----------
Interpol arrest warrant for Tunisia’s ex-ruler
Jan 27, 2011
TUNIS: Interpol issued an arrest warrant for Tunisia’s toppled president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali as protests demanding a clean break with the past mounted ahead of a major cabinet revamp due Thursday.
The cross-border police agency said that member states, including Saudi Arabia where Ben Ali fled, were asked to “search, locate and provisionally arrest Mr Ali”, pending a formal extradition request from Tunis.
The warrant applied to Ben Ali and six family members, including his unpopular wife Leila Trabelsi, the statement said.
Ben Ali, his wife and other members of his once all-powerful family are accused of illegally acquiring assets and transferring funds abroad during his 23-year rule, Justice Minister Lazhar Karoui Chebbi said in Tunis.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/01/27/interpol-arrest-warrant-for-tunisia%E2%80%99s-ex-
-----------
Pir Karam Ali Shah appointed Gilgit-Baltistan governor
Jan 27, 2011
GILGIT: The federal government has appointed Pir Karam Ali Shah as governor of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) after four months of the demise of former governor Dr Shamma Khalid, who died of cancer. A formal notification had been issued in this regard and necessary protocol had been provided to the governor, said an administration official of GB.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\01\27\story_27-1-2011_pg7_9
-----------
Police report gives new twist to Jazan acid attack case
Jan 27, 2011
JAZAN: A case of an alleged acid attack on a Yemeni woman by her Saudi husband has taken a new twist with the revelation that she had already admitted sustaining the burns accidentally.
“The 25-year-old woman, named Wafa, was exposed to acid while she was using it to remove the block in the wash-basin pipe in the kitchen at her husband’s house,” said Capt. Abdullah Al-Qarni, spokesman of Jazan police. He said the Saudi man, who was arrested in the town of Samta, Jazan province, for allegedly throwing acid at Wafa, was released for want of evidence.
“We are investigating all aspects of the case,” Al-Qarni told the Arabic language daily Al-Watan.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article243592.ece
-----------
Gunmen kill 5 in Yemen
Jan 27, 2011
MUKALLA, Yemen: Four Yemeni soldiers and the financial manger of Hadramout Post were killed and others injured when armed men attacked their security vehicle Wednesday afternoon in Hadramout, a local security source told Arab News.
The soldiers were escorting a van carrying money belonging to Yemen Post en route to the coastal city of Hami in the province of Hadramout, southern Yemen. The attackers looted the money and fled. The apparent motive of the attackers was money and no one has so far claimed reasonability for the attack.
Meanwhile, in another development, Yemen Border Guards in Haradh arrested 19 Ethiopian women illegally heading to Saudi Arabia, Yemen’s Ministry of Interior said.
The women were apprehended in Al-Majber area in Haradh and handed over to the police for investigation.
The ministry said that 60 Ethiopian children were arrested last month along the Saudi-Yemen border while trying to illegally enter the Kingdom.
Earlier this month, police in the same Yemeni province foiled an infiltration attempt by 40 Somalis into Saudi Arabia.
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article243568.ece
-----------
Police caution women on social network sites
Amira Agarib
27 January 2011
DUBAI — The Dubai Police have called upon women to be cautious on social network websites such as facebook and twitter.
Captain Rashid Lutah, Director of Electronic Evidence and General Department of Forensic Science and Criminology, said on Wednesday that women should not upload their photos in internet and social network sites to avoid being blackmailed.
He said that the number of such crimes reported to the police has gone up to 73 cases in the year 2010 compared to 62 in the year 2009.
A complaint filed by a woman was against a young man who hacked her email account and copied her photos. Later, he opened an account in her name on facebook and uploaded the photos along with a video clip. ?Then he blackmailed the woman for money.
Lutah said that some women and girls are putting their photos on the facebook, paving way for men to copy the photos and blackmail them.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2011/January/theuae
-----------
Jordan king urges reform as Egypt protests rage
Jan 27, 2011
AMMAN — King Abdullah II said on Wednesday that Jordan needs to tackle popular grievances with a programme of political and economic reforms, as mass protests raged in Egypt for a second straight day.
“Abdullah II insisted on the need to move forward with clear and transparent programmes of political and economic reform, which will allow the kingdom to overcome the economic challenges, and assure Jordan and Jordanians the decent future they deserve,” the royal palace cited the king as saying in a meeting.
“The king underlined the need for senators and all officials to be in constant contact with the people in all provinces of the kingdom to hear their grievances and open a completely frank dialogue with them on their ambitions, their interests and the issues of the day,” it added.
The meeting with Senate President Taher Masri and other high officials was the latest in a flurry of consultations the king has held in recent days in a bid to “come closer to the demands of the people,” as the popular uprising in Tunisia has sent shock waves around the Arab world.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/January/mi
-----------
Bihar ex-MLA Radhakant Yadav to get ‘Karkare Award’
By Manzar Bilal and Mumtaz Alam Falahi
Jan 27, 2011
Patna: To offer tribute to the former Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare for his bold step to expose the Sanghi terror for the first time in the country, Chennai-based organization Darul Islam Foundation Trust (DIFT) has instituted ‘Karkare Award’ this year. Former MLA of Bihar Radhakant Yadav, who is fighting in court to remove mystery behind Karkare’s killing, has been chosen for the maiden award.
“Karkare is the most deserving person for the Bharat Ratna due to his tireless efforts to save the country from being Hindu Rashtra throwing the Constitution of India away and install a fascist govt. based on the ideology of saffron groups” said Ghulam Mohammad, Managing Trustee of DIFT, while talking to TwoCircles.net over phone.
“It is Karkare who brought to light the real perpetrators of terrorism in India which claimed many innocent lives and broke the myth of Islamic terrorism. Otherwise after every terror incident Muslims had been easy prey for police and media. His honest investigation not only washed the blot from Muslims but also halted the bomb blast that was taking place frequently,” he added.
Full report at:
http://www.twocircles.net/2011jan26/bihar_exmla_radhakant_yadav_get_%E2%80%
-----------
Indian-American Muslims celebrate R-Day in US
Jan 27, 2011
Illinois: Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), an advocacy group dedicated to safeguard India's pluralist and tolerant ethos, today celebrated India's 62nd Republic Day. IAMC's chapters across the US had scheduled festivities and entertaining educational programs for adults and children.
The Republic Day marks a real watershed in India's history. By introducing the newly drafted constitution, India's leaders Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Maulana Azad, reflected the hopes and aspirations of all Indians irrespective of economical status, religion or caste. By replacing the modified colonial Government of India Act 1935 with this great new Constitution, the Secular Indian Government was guaranteeing its citizens the most important thing that mattered - equal rights and equal access to opportunities as well as freedom to all Indians.
Full report at:
http://www.twocircles.net/2011jan26/indianamerican_muslims_celebrate_rday_us.html?
-----------
India's Islamic, Buddhist heritage on display
Jan 27, 2011
New Delhi : Be it Sufi traditions or Bidri art, India's Islamic heritage was highlighted at the Republic Day parade here Wednesday, an event watched by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation.
The tableaus from Bihar and Karnataka showcased a Sufi shrine and Bidri craft, a field dominated by Muslim artisans, while Gujarat showcased its little known Buddhist heritage at the parade in the capital.
All three states are ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The Sufi shrine of Maner in Patna was depicted in the tableau of Bihar, which is better known for its Buddhist pilgrim sites.
As the tune of Amir Khusro's Sufi verse 'Chhap tilak sab chhini re' played in the background, the float showed the shrine of 17th century saint Makhdoom Shah Daulat at Maner.
Full report at:
http://www.twocircles.net/2011jan26/indias_islamic_buddhist_heritage_display.html?utm_
-----------
12 Muslims among 128 Padma Awardees 2011
Jan 27, 2011
New Delhi: There are 12 Muslim personalities among 128 selected for Padma Awards-2010. This year the President of India has approved conferment of 128 Padma awards including one duo case (counted as one) and 12 in the category of Foreigners/ NRIs/ PIOs/ Posthumous. The Padma Awards-2010 comprises 13 PadmaVibhushan, 31 Padma Bhushan and 84 Padma Shri Awards. There are 31 ladies among the awardees.
Of 11 Muslim Padma awardees, two will get Padma Vibhushan, two others Padma Bhushan and the rest seven Padma Shri. Among the 11, two are Muslim ladies – both film actresses.
Padma Awards, the country’s highest civilian awards, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, PadmaBhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in all disciplines/ fields of activities, viz. art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘PadmaBhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. The awards are conferred by the President of India at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhawan sometime around March/ April.
http://www.twocircles.net/node/236720?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&
-----------
Kashmiri folk culture comes alive at R-Day
Jan 27, 2011
New Delhi : The replica of a Sufi shrine, a hut carved in wood, a Chinar tree, folk artists... a typical Kashmiri village came alive on Delhi's famous Rajpath boulevard here Wednesday.
Kashmir's rich folk culture was showcased by the state's tableau that rolled down at the Republic Day parade. With song, dance and drama, artists dressed in traditional clothes performed the Bhand Pather - Jammu and Kashmir's folk theatre.
Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and his wife Shameema Azad, who hail from the state, smiled and cheered the float.
The tableau was designed by renowned Kashmiri artist Veer Munshi.
Bhand Pather is a traditional cultural soiree performed primarily in rural Kashmir. However, folk artists fear that the culture is dying.
Officials of the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, who had sponsored the tableau, said the aim was to stress the need to protect the folk theatre of the valley.
http://www.twocircles.net/2011jan26/kashmiri_folk_culture_comes_alive_rday.html?utm_
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/car-bomb-kills-37-mourners/d/4012