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Islamic World News ( 5 March 2013, NewAgeIslam.Com)

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Concept of Jihad to Be Made Clear To Younger Students in Saudi Arabia


New Age Islam News Bureau

5 March 2013 


Arab World

 Concept of Jihad to Be Made Clear To Younger Students in Saudi Arabia

 Syrian soldiers crossing into Iraq for refuge ambushed, 48 killed

 7 Saudis to be executed by crucifixion and firing squad today

 Work on Arabic and Islamic studies, UAE's IB schools urged

 Al Qaeda Magazine Gives Tips on Torching Cars

 US most preferred destination for Saudi students: Ministry

 Expat gifted students to take part in Mawhiba program

 Assad says Syria ‘victorious’, rebels overrun Raqa

 Forbes list understates my wealth, Saudi prince says

 Egyptian Police 'Eye Sniper' Gets 3-Year-Sentence

 Syria rebels capture governor of Raqa province: NGO

 

Pakistan

 Abbas Town: Shia, Sunni Residents Stick Together Amid Heart-Rending Tragedy

 Pakistan-origin Imam in US convicted of supporting Taliban

 Pak to break up if another dictator takes over country: Nawaz Sharif

 ISI harbouring anti-Shia terrorists across Pakistan: Analyst

 Abbas Town tragedy: Four terrorists arrested, says Malik

 ANP’s Balochistan MPA abducted near Quetta

 Restoring peace: Talal wants troops out from Dera Bugti, Sui

 Pakistan PM Ashraf to visit India on Saturday

 No visible Pak hand in North Korea nuke tests, say experts

 Blast rocks hospital in Pakistan

 Rehman Malik questions Punjab government over terror

 

Europe

 Bible quotes on Finnish toilet paper draw church protests

 UNHRC: Empowering Women Would Alleviate Hunger

 HRW, Amnesty International urge Saudi Arabia to halt execution of seven men

 DR Congo rebels seize Kitchanga, 80 dead: UN

 Russia willing to consider making it easier for Libya to buy arms

 Kazakhstan identifies 1st nuclear power station site

 U.N. Nuclear Official Seeks Access to Iranian Site

 

Africa

 Senegal fire at Quranic School kills nine children

 France Says 15 Militants Killed Overnight in Mali Fighting

 

South Asia

 Former Maldives President Nasheed arrested by police

 Hindu temples torched, vandalised in Bangladesh

 Four more killed in fresh Bangla clashes

 Bangladesh: Khaleda Zia condemns attacks on Hindus, demands probe

 Taliban's whipping of Ghor couple reminds of atrocities

 Afghan president censures Pakistan

 Pranab, Sheikh Hasina inaugurate freight train

 Eleven Maldivian parties face dissolution

 

India

 Pakistan has become a Jurassic Park: Katju

 Trilateral helps India air opinion about Afghanistan’s future

 Prez strikes nostalgic chord, offers to solve border dispute

 NSG official facing probe for 'sharing info with Pak spy’

 Pranab Mukherjee makes nostalgic trip to in-laws' home in Bangladesh

 31 ISI modules busted; 48 spies arrested in 3 years across India

 Hyderabad blasts: Non-bailable warrant issued against IM founder Bhatkal, nine others

 

Mideast Asia

 Suicide bomb attack in Yemen's Abyan province kills 12

 Iranian tourists feared to spread Shiaism in Sunni Egypt

 Iran closer to nuclear 'red line': Netanyahu

 Israel to discuss convicted spy case with Obama

 Two sentenced in plot to ship aircraft to Iran

 Kurdish rebels attack Turkish military vehicle, say officials

 Israel on alert as locusts cross in from Egypt

 IAEA demands Iran nuclear access to Parchin site

 

 Israel's segregated buses in West Bank denounced as 'apartheid'

 Plans for giant mosque overlooking Istanbul stoke secularists' fears

 Would the Turkish Model Work in Arab Spring Countries?

 

Southeast Asia

 Indonesia to Probe Officers for Alleged Torture

 Malaysia Attacks Filipino Rebels With Jets and Mortars

 Malaysia unleashes its army on Filipino invaders

 No Need to Disband Densus 88, Says Minister

 Manila urges tolerance as troops rushed to Sabah

 

North America

 Hillary Clinton reveals war over Afghan policy

 U.S. Disavows 2 Drone Strikes over Pakistan

 

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

Photo: The correct concept of jihad will now be taught in Saudi schools

URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/concept-jihad-be-made-clear/d/10653

 

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Arab World

 

Concept of Jihad to Be Made Clear To Younger Students in Saudi Arabia

 5 March 2013

In a move likely to be welcomed by parents and educationists, the Ministry of Education has decided to introduce the concept of jihad in Islamic jurisprudence textbooks at the intermediate school level.

Abdullah Al-Dukhaini, a spokesman for the Education Ministry, told Arab News that the ministry decided to move the teaching of jihad from the high school level to intermediate school because intermediate students are prepared to learn the “correct concept of jihad” before “erroneous concepts” reach them.

“Textbooks will include all relevant information on jihad including a definition when it becomes a duty, and the role of women,” Al-Dukhaini said.

“The information on jihad was developed by the Ministry’s Curriculum Development Project for intermediate-grade fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) textbooks.”

He said the government decided to introduce the subject for intermediate-level students earlier this year because it was important for young students to understand what is allowed under Islamic law.

The concept of jihad and its restrictions will be introduced in Islamic jurisprudence textbooks at the intermediate school level, according to the Ministry of Education.

Abdullah Al-Dukhaini, a spokesman for the Education Ministry, told Arab News that the ministry decided to move the teaching of jihad from the high school level to intermediate school because intermediate students are prepared to learn the “correct concept of jihad” before “erroneous concepts” reach them.

“Textbooks will include all relevant information on jihad including a definition when it becomes a duty, and the role of women,” Al-Dukhaini said. “The information on jihad was developed by the Ministry’s Curriculum Development Project for intermediate-grade fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) textbooks.”

He said the government decided to introduce the subject for intermediate-level students earlier this year because it was important for young students to understand what is allowed under Islamic law.

The focus is to introduce accurate information to help young people play a positive role in society, he added.

Curriculum is produced from multiple sources, Al-Dukhaini said.

“Saudi curriculum is prepared by experts who have specialized knowledge and is reviewed by a Shariah committee from the Board of Senior Scholars, universities and specialized colleges,” Al-Dukhaini said.

Scholars, such as Sheikh Abdullah Al-Mutlaq and Sheikh Saleh bin Saud Al-Ali, also provided their expertise.

Al-Dukhaini said the ministry wants to teach students that jihad is only permissible when defending against aggressors, and with the approval of the country’s ruler and parents.

Textbooks include a warning to pupils that the only one entitled to “raising the banner of Jihad” is the ruler and no one else. No individual Muslim or a Muslim group is permitted to do so.

“Saudi Arabia is not an aggressive country and will only get involved in conflict to defend itself,” he said.

He said the ministry welcomes public input on the matter. Curriculum is reviewed throughout the year, he added.

http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/concept-jihad-be-made-clear-younger-students

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Syrian soldiers crossing into Iraq for refuge ambushed, 48 killed

AP | Mar 5, 2013

BAGHDAD: Dozens of Syrian soldiers who had crossed into Iraq for refuge were ambushed on Monday with bombs, gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades in an attack that killed 48 of them and heightened concerns that the country could be drawn into Syria's civil war.

The fact that the soldiers were on Iraqi soil at all raises questions about Baghdad's apparent willingness to quietly aid the embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The well-coordinated attack, which Iraqi officials blamed on al-Qaida's Iraq arm, also suggests possible coordination between the militant group and its ideological allies in Syria who rank among the rebels' most potent fighters.

Iraqi officials said the Syrians had sought refuge through the Rabiya border crossing in northern Iraq during recent clashes with rebels and were being escorted back home through a different crossing farther south when the ambush occurred. Their convoy was struck near Akashat, not far from the Syrian border.

Ali al-Moussawi, a spokesman for Iraq's prime minister, provided the death toll and said nine Iraqi soldiers were also killed. The Syrians had been disarmed and included some who were wounded, he told Associated Press.

He said the soldiers had been allowed into Iraq only on humanitarian grounds and insisted that Baghdad was not picking sides in the Syrian conflict.

"We do not want more soldiers to cross our borders and we do not want to be part of the problem," al-Moussawi said. "We do not support any group against the other in Syria."

The Iraqi Defense Ministry said 10 additional Syrians were wounded in the assault. In a statement, it warned all parties in the Syrian war against bringing the fight into Iraq, saying its response will be "firm and tough."

Iraqi officials who provided details of the attack described a carefully orchestrated assault on the Syrians' convoy, with a senior military intelligence official saying the attackers appeared to have been tipped off ahead of time.

He and another Iraqi official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information, said it was unlikely that Syrian rebels had managed to cross into Iraq to carry out the attack.

"This attack bears the hallmarks of the al-Qaida terrorist organization," said Jassim al-Halbousi, provincial council member in Anbar, the restive western region where the attack happened. "The borders should be secured at the highest level of alert."

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told the AP last week that he feared a victory for rebels in the Syrian civil war would create a new extremist haven and destabilize the wider Middle East, sparking sectarian wars in his own country and in Lebanon.

His comments reflect fears by many Shia Muslims that Sunni Muslims would come to dominate Syria should Assad be toppled. Assad's regime is backed by Shia powerhouse Iran, which has been building ties with the Shia-led government in Baghdad in recent years.

The war in Syria has sharp sectarian overtones, with predominantly Sunni rebels fighting a regime dominated by Alawites, an offshoot of Shia Islam. Rebel groups have increasingly embraced radical Islamic ideologies, and some of their greatest battlefield successes have been carried out by Jabhat al-Nusra, a group that the US has designated as a terrorist organization and that it claims has links to al-Qaida.

Iraq's government has faced more than two months of protests from Sunni Muslims angry over perceived discrimination. Anbar province has been the epicenter for the rallies.

Toby Dodge, a Middle East expert at the London School of Economics, said the fact that Syrian soldiers had been welcomed into Iraq at all is worrying.

"If this goes on, al-Maliki's government is aligning itself with Iran and the Assad regime against the rest of the Middle East and the will of the Syrian people," he said. "That is a huge gamble."

In Syria, rebels pushed government troops from most of the northern city of Raqqa, on the Euphrates River, setting off celebrations in a central square.

If rebels succeed in taking Raqqa, which has a population of about 500,000, it would be the first time an entire city had fallen into the hands of anti-Assad fighters.

Rebels already hold several neighborhoods in the cities of Aleppo, Homs and Deir el-Zour, as well as suburbs of the capital, Damascus. They also control large areas in the countryside, particularly in the north.

Their advances are a significant blow to Assad, although during the past week his forces have regained control of several villages and towns along a key highway near Aleppo International Airport.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebels are now in control of "large parts" of Raqqa, which flows through Syria into Iraq. A top police officer was killed and intelligence officers were detained, the group said.

Activists declared Raqqa "liberated" on opposition social media websites Monday. A photo posted on several pro-rebel Facebook pages showed people tearing down a huge poster of Assad and hitting it with their shoes. The activists said the picture was taken inside the feared air force intelligence headquarters in the city.

The Observatory said the leader of Jabhat al-Nusra in Raqqa was killed in the fighting.

Amateur video posted online showed a bronze statue of former President Hafez Assad, the current president's father and predecessor, being torn to the ground by a rope tied around the statue's neck. The video appeared consistent with AP reporting.

Amir, an activist in Raqqa, said via Skype that the mood was euphoric in the city when residents and rebels toppled the statue in the main square, but "then the shelling began and everyone fled."

Rebels have been making headway in Raqqa province for weeks, capturing the country's largest dam. On Sunday, anti-Assad fighters stormed the Raqqa central prison.

In Saudi Arabia, US secretary of state John Kerry and Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal together warned Assad that they will boost support to rebels unless he steps down.

Saudi Arabia has been one of the region's harshest critics of Assad's regime. In his discussions with Kerry, Saud said he stressed the importance of enabling the population of Syria to exercise its "legitimate right to defend itself against the regime's killing machine."

Saud also complained that the Assad regime continues to get weapons from "third parties," a veiled reference to Russia and Iran.

Kerry criticized Iran, Hezbollah and Russia for giving weapons to Assad's forces.

The Syrian conflict started two years ago as a popular uprising against Assad's authoritarian rule. After the government cracked down on dissent, the rebels took up arms and the revolt turned into a full-blown civil war. The United Nations estimates that more than 70,000 people have been killed.

Assad maintains his troops are fighting "terrorists" and Islamic extremists seeking to destroy Syria, and he accuses the West and its Gulf Arab allies of supporting them.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Syrian-soldiers-crossing-into-Iraq-for-refuge-ambushed-48-killed/articleshow/18803850.cms

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7 Saudis to be executed by crucifixion and firing squad today

AP | Mar 5, 2013

CAIRO: Speaking over a smuggled Cellphone from his prison cell, one of seven Saudis set to be put to death Tuesday by crucifixion and firing squad for armed robbery appealed for help to stop the executions.

Nasser al-Qahtani told The Associated Press from Abha General Prison on Monday that he was arrested as part of 23-member ring that stole from jewellery stores in 2004 and 2005. He said they were tortured to confess and had no access to lawyers.

"I killed no one. I didn't have weapons while robbing the store, but the police tortured me, beat me up and threatened to assault my mother to extract confessions that I had a weapon with me while I was only 15," he said. "We don't deserve death."

A leading human rights group added its appeal to Saudi authorities to stop the executions.

Al-Qahtani, now 24, said he and the most of the ring were juveniles at the time of the thefts. They were arrested in 2006. The seven received death sentences in 2009, the Saudi newspaper Okaz reported then.

Last Saturday, he said, Saudi King Abdullah ratified the death sentences and sent them to Abha. Authorities set Tuesday for the executions. They also determined the methods.

The main defendant, Sarhan al-Mashayeh, is to be crucified for three days. The others are to face firing squads.

Al-Qahtani faced a judge three times during eight years in detention. He said that the judge didn't assign a lawyer to defend them and didn't listen to complains of torture.

"We showed him the marks of torture and beating, but he didn't listen," he said. "I am talking to you now and my relatives are telling me that the soil is prepared for our executions tomorrow," he said, referring to the place where he will be standing to be fired at.

Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islamic Shariah law under which people convicted of murder, rape or armed robbery can be executed, usually by sword.

Several people were reported crucified in Saudi Arabia last year. Human rights groups have condemned crucifixions in the past, including cases in which people are beheaded and then crucified. In 2009, Amnesty International condemned such an execution as "the ultimate form of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment."

Abha is located deep in the south-western province of Asir. Southerners face systematic discrimination, and people there are perceived as second class citizens compared to those in the most powerful central region, where the capital and Saudi Arabia's holy shrines of Mecca and Medina are located. Political analyst Mohammed al-Qahtani said the central region gets the best services and treatment.

"The verdict is very harsh, given all the circumstances of detention and trial with no access to lawyers, but part of the problem is selectivity," he said. "If one person belonged to political heavyweight regions, the verdict wouldn't have been harsh," he added. "The south is marginalized," he said.

He said that no minister in Saudi government, current or past, came from the south. He said he was born in the south, did not know the family of the man who talked to the AP but is familiar with the case.

The Washington-based Institute of Gulf Affairs, which is campaigning for suspension of the executions of the seven men, said in a statement addressed to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "among the reasons for the execution is that they hail from the south, a region that is heavily marginalized by the Saudi monarchy, which views them as lower class citizens."

Ali Al-Ahmed, the head of the institute, said that in Saudi Arabia, people refer to the south as "07, which is derogatory, since it refers to the last area code phone number" in the kingdom.

"The south is very poor, and that is why rebellion comes from there," he said, "and this is why sentences are harsh, because Saudi authorities want to scare them," he said.

Human Rights Watch in a statement Monday appealed to Abdullah to halt the executions. It said that there is "strong evidence" that the trials of all seven men violated basic principles of rights to a fair trial.

"It will be outrageous if the Saudi authorities go ahead with these executions," said Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "It is high time for the Saudis to stop executing child offenders and start observing their obligations under international human rights law."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/7-Saudis-to-be-executed-by-crucifixion-and-firing-squad-today/articleshow/18808476.cms

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Work on Arabic and Islamic studies, UAE's IB schools urged

Afshan Ahmed

Mar 5, 2013

DUBAI // International Baccalaureate schools have admitted there is urgent need to improve teaching of Arabic and Islamic studies, as the number of Emirati pupils grows.

“If we want graduates to belong we need to start paying attention to the language,” said Mary Tadros, regional manager for IB Middle East. “If we do not give our respect to Arabic, we have lost their education.”

Emirati parents are increasingly choosing to educate their children in the schools because they are known to provide a better chance at getting into a good university.

Full report at:

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/education/work-on-arabic-and-islamic-studies-uaes-ib-schools-urged#ixzz2Mffispeo

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Al Qaeda Magazine Gives Tips on Torching Cars

March 05, 2013

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (Aqap), the Islamist movement's most active branch, has released an English-language magazine advising would-be militants on how to torch parked cars and cause traffic accidents.

The magazine, released on militant websites, also warns France to pull back from Mali and lists 11 public figures in the West, including author Salman Rushdie, who it says are "wanted dead or alive for crimes against Islam".

Full report at:

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/international/al-qaeda-magazine-gives-tips-on-torching-cars/577053

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US most preferred destination for Saudi students: Ministry

 5 March 2013

The Ministry of Higher Education recently issued a statement revealing that most of the students selected for the King Abdullah Foreign Scholarship Program preferred to go the United States of America to pursue their higher studies, while the least number of students chose Holland.

Full report at:

http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/us-most-preferred-destination-saudi-students-ministry

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Expat gifted students to take part in Mawhiba program

5 March 2013

Non-Saudi gifted students who have a talent for innovation can now participate in the state-funded Mawhiba program. They can be eligible for all expenses, including hotel accommodation, air travel and food.

“A number of non-Saudi students have participated in the program. Some of them even took part in international competition,” said Ahmed Ali Alblushi, director general of the Saudi National Olympiad for Science Innovation (NOSI).

Full report at:

http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/expat-gifted-students-take-part-mawhiba-program

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Assad says Syria ‘victorious’, rebels overrun Raqa

5 March 2013

DAMASCUS: President Bashar Assad said his regime has conquered the “conspiracy” against it, even as rebels overran the capital of Raqa province and captured its governor in the biggest success of their revolt.

Assad in comments published Tuesday in pro-Damascus Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, also said his opponents, backed by foreign powers, were “playing a game of survival” and that his forces were winning on the battlefields.

Full report at:

http://www.arabnews.com/middle-east/assad-says-syria-%E2%80%98victorious%E2%80%99-rebels-overrun-raqa

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Forbes list understates my wealth, Saudi prince says

5 March 2013

Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal has accused Forbes magazine of understating his wealth.

In its 2013 list of the world's richest people, Forbes estimated Prince Alwaleed's net worth at $20bn (£13bn), putting him in 26th place.

However, the prince's office said the magazine used flawed valuation methods.

According to some reports, the prince estimates his net worth to be $29.6bn, a figure that would put him in the top 10 of the magazine's latest rich list.

Full report at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21665997

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Egyptian Police 'Eye Sniper' Gets 3-Year-Sentence

2013/03/05

CAIRO (AP) — A Cairo court has convicted a police sniper for attacks on anti-government protesters and sentenced him to three years in prison.

Police officer Mahmoud el-Shenawi became known as the "eye sniper" after he was shown in footage on social networking sites allegedly firing at protesters in the Egyptian capital and aiming for their eyes.

Full report at:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/03/05/world/middleeast/ap-ml-

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Syria rebels capture governor of Raqa province: NGO

 March 05, 2013

Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad's forces captured the governor of the northern province of Raqa after overrunning the provincial capital, a watchdog said on Tuesday.

A short amateur video filmed by rebels and distributed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights showed the governor, Hassan Jalili, and Suleiman Suleiman, the ruling Baath party's secretary general for Raqa province, seated among rebels.

Full report at:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/restofasia/Syria-rebels-capture-governor-of-Raqa-province-NGO/Article1-1021409.aspx

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Pakistan

 

Abbas Town: Shia, Sunni residents stick together amid heart-rending tragedy

By Rabia Ali

 March 5, 2013

KARACHI: Rizwan Abbas chose to spend the night of Sunday’s deadly attack in Karachi on a hard pavement rather than his comfy bed to protect his Sunni neighbour’s abandoned house.

Although his own house escaped damage, he stayed under the open sky to watch over the damaged house of his friend, Babar, who fled the area with his family.

The 25-year-old received injuries when the massive blast ripped through Abbas Town, but as soon as the doctors bandaged his head, he returned home to provide a helping hand to the victims.

Full report at:

http://tribune.com.pk/story/515976/abbas-town-attack-shia-sunni-residents-stick-together-amid-heart-rending-tragedy/

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Pakistan-origin Imam in US convicted of supporting Taliban

Mar 05 2013

Washington: A US federal jury has convicted a 77-year-old Pakistan-origin Imam of a local mosque in Miami for providing material support to terrorists, including the banned Pakistani Taliban.

At sentencing, scheduled for May 30, cleric Hafiz Khan faces up to 15 years in prison on each count. Khan was found guilty of two conspiracy counts and two counts of providing material support to terrorists. "Despite being an Imam, or spiritual leader, Hafiz Khan was by no means a man of peace. Instead, he acted with others to support terrorists to further acts of murder, kidnapping and maiming," Wifredo Ferrer, US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, said in a statement.

Full report at:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pakistanorigin-imam-in-us-convicted-of-supporting-taliban/1083325/

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ISI harbouring anti-Shia terrorists across Pakistan: Analyst

Mar 4, 2013

An analyst says the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) funds and protects extremist terrorist groups providing a safe haven for them to kill and terrorize the Shia Muslims in Pakistan.

In the background of this at least 48 people have been killed and 150 wounded in a blast that ripped through a Shia populated area of Karachi in Pakistan. The victims were leaving a mosque after evening prayer. Human Rights Watch has said over 400 Shia Muslims were killed throughout 2012 in Pakistan in what is claimed to be targeted killings. Pakistan has been among the leading recipients of US foreign aid both historically and in recent years.

Full report at:

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/03/04/291900/pakistan-army-kills-shias-by-proxy/

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Pak to break up if another dictator takes over country: Nawaz Sharif

 Mar 05 2013

Lahore : Amidst growing speculation about a delay in holding the next general election, former premier Nawaz Sharif today warned that Pakistan would break up if another dictator takes over the country.

“Pakistan will break up in a matter of days, God forbid, if another dictator takes over the country,” the PML-N chief told a news conference at his residence here.

Pakistan, he said, could not bear the impact of another dictatorship.

“Pakistan can remain united and progress with democracy. Its future lies in democracy. Terrorism and sectarianism will be addressed in a democracy,” he said.

Full report at:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pak-to-break-up-if-another-dictator-takes-over-country-nawaz-sharif/1083452/

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Abbas Town tragedy: Four terrorists arrested, says Malik

 March 5, 2013

Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik claimed that four terrorists, who had allegedly been involved in the Abbas Town tragedy, were arrested on Tuesday, Express News reported.

Out of the four terrorists, three belong to the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), while one is associated with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Full report at:

http://tribune.com.pk/story/516084/abbas-town-tragedy-four-terrorists-arrested-says-malik/

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ANP’s Balochistan MPA abducted near Quetta

5 March 2013

QUETTA: Awami National Party’s (ANP) Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) from Balochistan Malik Sultan Tareen was abducted by unknown gunmen on Tuesday, DawnNews reported.

The MPA was on his way from Quetta to Harnai when his car was stopped by gunmen near Kuchlak. The abductors subjected the guard of Sultan Tareen to torture and left him behind while fleeing away with their target.

Full report at:

http://dawn.com/2013/03/05/anps-balochistan-mpa-abducted-near-quetta/

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Restoring peace: Talal wants troops out from Dera Bugti, Sui

 March 4, 2013

QUETTA: Jamhoori Wattan Party (JWP) President Nawabzada Talal Akbar Bugti has announced that he would visit Dera Bugti at any cost.

“It would strengthen democracy and bring peace if security forces withdraw from Dera Bugti and Sui,” he told a press conference at his residence on Sunday.

Full report at:

http://tribune.com.pk/story/515496/restoring-peace-talal-wants-troops-out-from-dera-bugti-sui/

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Pakistan PM Ashraf to visit India on Saturday

BySachin Parashar, TNN | Mar 5, 2013

NEW DELHI: In a significant development — and one which comes against the run of play — Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf will visit India on Saturday. Coming at a time when ties between the two neighbours have hit a trough, not least because of the LoC flare up, the visit could provide India and Pakistan a much-needed opportunity to stem the decline in relations.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Pakistan-PM-Ashraf-to-visit-India-on-Saturday/articleshow/18804171.cms

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No visible Pak hand in North Korea nuke tests, say experts

 Mar 05 2013

New Delhi : Leading global security experts have said while there is no visible Pakistan hand yet in the recent nuclear tests by North Korea, Iran may have benefited indirectly from the results of the test that caused worldwide ripples last month.

A group of security experts from the International Institute for Strategic Studies who are in the capital for a dialogue with the Ministry of External Affairs believe while Pakistan has covertly helped both the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programmes in the past, no evidence has emerged of recent cooperation among them.

Full report at:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/no-visible-pak-hand-in-north-korea-nuke-tests-say-experts/1083178/

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Blast rocks hospital in Pakistan

 March 05, 2013

A bomb blast ripped through a state-run hospital in the restive Khyber tribal region of northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, injuring a lady health worker, officials said.

The explosive device went off in the office of the National Programme for Health at the Civil Hospital in Jamrud, one of the main towns in Khyber Agency. The office of the lady health workers is located nearby.

Full report at:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/pakistan/Blast-rocks-hospital-in-Pakistan/Article1-1021401.aspx

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Rehman Malik questions Punjab government over terror

 March 05, 2013

Pakistan's interior minister Rehman Malik has criticised the Punjab provincial government for doing precious little to curb terrorism, particularly against banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).

He also blamed LeJ and Punjab Taliban groups for carrying out terror acts in the country.

"If Punjab government launches a crackdown on the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, the scourge of terrorism could be eliminated," Malik told reporters Monday while visiting a hospital where victims of Sunday's twin blasts have been admitted.

Full report at:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/pakistan/Rehman-Malik-questions-Punjab-government-over-terror/Article1-1021331.aspx

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Europe

 

Bible quotes on Finnish toilet paper draw church protests

Reuters | Mar 5, 2013

OSLO: A Finnish toilet paper maker has removed quotes from the Bible, including the words of Jesus, that it inadvertently placed on its rolls after protests from some Norwegian church leaders.

Metsa Tissue was trying to convey messages about love but accidentally included lines from the Gospel of Matthew and First Corinthians on toilet paper sold in Norway, Denmark and Sweden.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Bible-quotes-on-Finnish-toilet-paper-draw-church-protests/articleshow/18808750.cms

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UNHRC: Empowering Women Would Alleviate Hunger

Lisa Schlein

March 04, 2013

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND — The U.N. special investigator on the right to food said empowering women would help to reduce hunger and malnutrition. The investigator, who has just submitted his report to the U.N. Human Rights Council, says giving women the means to improve their situation also would improve the well-being of their families.

Full report at:

http://www.voanews.com/content/unhrc_says_empowering_women_would_alleviate_hunger_malnutrition_de_schutter/1615033.html

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HRW, Amnesty International urge Saudi Arabia to halt execution of seven men

5 March 2013

RIYADH: Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International urged Saudi authorities to halt Tuesday’s scheduled executions of seven young men condemned for crimes committed when they were minors.

The two rights groups said in separate statements that the seven Saudi men were convicted of armed robbery, a crime punishable by death in the kingdom, which applies a strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.

Full report at:

http://dawn.com/2013/03/05/hrw-and-amnesty-international-urge-saudi-arabia-to-halt-execution-of-seven-men/

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DR Congo rebels seize Kitchanga, 80 dead: UN

 4 March 2013

UNITED NATIONS: A rebel militia in the Democratic Republic of Congo has seized control of the eastern town of Kitchanga after days of fighting that have left more than 80 people dead, the UN said on Monday.

The Alliance of Patriots for a Free and Sovereign Congo, or APCLS, took the town in North Kivu province Sunday and the situation there remains very tense, said deputy UN spokesman Eduardo Buey.

Full report at:

http://www.arabnews.com/world/drcongo-rebels-seize-kitchanga-80-dead-un

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Russia willing to consider making it easier for Libya to buy arms

 Mar 05 2013

United Nations : Russia is prepared to consider ways of making it easier for Libya's government to buy arms, but voiced serious concern about lifting an embargo on the North African state already awash with weapons, Russia's UN ambassador said on Monday.

Libya's Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said last week he planned to ask the UN Security council to lift the embargo, which was imposed at the start of an uprising in 2011 that culminated in the ouster of dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Full report at:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/russia-willing-to-consider-making-it-easier-for-libya-to-buy-arms/1083287/

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Kazakhstan identifies 1st nuclear power station site

2013-03-04

ASTANA – Kazakhstan is likely to build its first nuclear power plant in Aktau, Mangistau Oblast, Lenta.ru reported March 4, quoting Valerii Shevelev, the director of innovative projects for national nuclear holding company Kazatomprom.

Full report at:

http://centralasiaonline.com/en_GB/articles/caii/newsbriefs/2013/03/04/newsbrief-03

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U.N. Nuclear Official Seeks Access to Iranian Site

By ALAN COWELL

2013/03/05

LONDON — The head of the United Nations nuclear regulatory body urged Iran on Monday to permit access by international inspectors to a military site near Tehran to ascertain whether tests have been carried out there on nuclear bomb triggers.

Yukiya Amano, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, was speaking at the body’s headquarters as its board of governors began a routine meeting just weeks after I.A.E.A. inspectors returned from talks in Tehran that failed to obtain access to the Parchin site, 20 miles south of Tehran.

Full report at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/05/world/middleeast/iran-nuclear-weapons.html?ref=middleeast

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Africa

 

Senegal fire at Quranic School kills nine children

5 March 2013

Nine children have been killed by a fire at a Quranic school near the centre of Senegal's capital, Dakar.

The blaze broke out as 45 children aged from six to 12 slept inside a single room with wooden walls and zinc roofing in the Medina district, witnesses said.

A candle is thought to have caused the fire, which began late on Sunday.

Fire engines are reported to have struggled to drive down the narrow road leading to the school, hampering efforts to extinguish the blaze.

Full report at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21664482

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France Says 15 Militants Killed Overnight in Mali Fighting

March 5, 2013

PARIS (Reuters) - About 15 Islamist militants were killed by French and Chadian troops in fighting overnight in northern Mali's Ametetai valley, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Tuesday.

He said some 1,600 French and Chadian troops in that area continued to search for Islamist rebels, seven weeks into a campaign to drive al Qaeda-linked fighters out of Mali's north.

"Our forces fought terrorist groups last night, still in the same area, the Ametetai valley region, where there is a strong concentration of them. Around 15 militants were killed," Le Drian told BFM TV.

Full report at:

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2013/03/05/world/africa/05reuters-mali-rebels.html?ref=africa

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South Asia

 

Former Maldives President Nasheed arrested by police

PTI | Mar 5, 2013

MALE: Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed was today arrested by police after a warrant was issued by a court here in connection with his trial over the arrest and subsequent detention of a judge during his rule.

The arrest came less than a fortnight after Nasheed left the Indian High Commission where he was holed up for 11 days to escape two arrest warrants issued by the court earlier.

"Nasheed has been arrested. He will be in police custody and will be presented before the court at 4pm tomorrow," Maldives President Mohamed Waheed's press secretary Masood Imad said.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Former-Maldives-President-Nasheed-arrested-by-police/articleshow/18810818.cms

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Hindu temples torched, vandalised in Ctg, Lalmonirhat

Mar 05 2013

Miscreants have torched a Hindu temple in Satkania upazila of Chittagong and vandalised another one in Aditmari upazila of Lalmonirhat as a wave of attack on the minority community continues.

No-one has been reported in the attacks, according to our correspondents in the districts.

In Chittagong, unknown criminals set fire to “Sarbojonin Magodeshwari Mandir” at Nathpara village in Satkania upazila headquarters.

Full report at:

http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/hindu-temples-torched-vandalised-in-ctg-lalmonirhat/

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Four more killed in fresh Bangla clashes

Mar 05 2013

Dhaka : Four people, including a teenage boy, died Monday in continued violence in Bangladesh raising the number of those killed to 84 following the conviction of three top Islamist leaders for 1971 war crimes.

Full report at:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/four-more-killed-in-fresh-bangla-clashes/1083112/

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Bangladesh: Khaleda Zia condemns attacks on Hindus, demands probe

PTI | Mar 5, 2013

DHAKA: Bangladesh's main opposition leader Khaleda Zia has condemned recent attacks on Hindus in different parts of the country allegedly by activists of fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami and demanded punishment to perpetrators of the attacks.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Bangladesh-Khaleda-Zia-condemns-attacks-on-Hindus-demands-probe/articleshow/18808024.cms

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Afghan president censures Pakistan

March 5, 2013

KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai censured Pakistan on Monday for allegedly endorsing a controversial statement by Chairman of Pakistan Ulema Council Allama Tahir Ashrafi, the Associated Press reported.

The president alleged that a statement by Ashrafi in favour of suicide bombings in Afghanistan showed that Pakistan is not sincere in its efforts to fight terrorism.

Full report at:

http://tribune.com.pk/story/515979/afghan-president-censures-pakistan/

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Taliban's whipping of Ghor couple reminds of atrocities

The February incident provides more evidence that the Taliban's attitude remains harsh and hasn't changed, analysts say.

By Hasan Khan

2013-03-04

KABUL – The Afghan Taliban's reported whipping of a young couple in Ghor Province February 15 has elicited memories of some of the horrors associated with the Taliban's reign (1996-2001) over Afghanistan, say analysts and political observers.

A Ghor Province couple reportedly were whipped for having an illegal relationship – the man 27 times in front of a local mosque and the woman 27 times in her home before she was expelled from the province.

Full report at:

http://centralasiaonline.com/en_GB/articles/caii/features/pakistan/main/2013/03/04/feature-01

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Pranab, Sheikh Hasina inaugurate freight train

 March 05, 2013

President Pranab Mukherjee and Bangladesh Prime Minister Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday jointly inaugurated locomotives and wagons supplied under a $800 million line of credit extended by India, reflecting growing bilateral ties in infrastructure sector.

The freight train flagged off at the Dhaka cantonment railway station comprised two locomotives, 20 broad gauge tank wagons and one brake van.

Full report at:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/bangladesh/Pranab-Sheikh-Hasina-inaugurate-freight-train/Article1-1021288.aspx

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Eleven Maldivian parties face dissolution

PTI | Mar 5, 2013

MALE: In a major blow to President Mohamed Waheed ahead of the Presidential election in September, the Maldivian Parliament on Tuesday overruled his veto on a crucial political bill requiring minimum membership of 10,000 people for recognition and participation in polls.

The Bill was passed by the Parliament in December last year. However, Waheed - whose party Gaumee Iththihaadh Party (GIP) has a membership of just over 3,000 members - refused to ratify the bill and had sent it back to Parliament for reconsideration in January.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Eleven-Maldivian-parties-face-dissolution/articleshow/18815044.cms

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India

 

Pakistan has become a Jurassic Park: Katju

PTI | Mar 4, 2013

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Press Council of India (PCI) chairman Justice Markandey Katju on Monday likened Pakistan to Jurassic Park, saying violence and deaths are being reported everyday due to inherent faults in that country's formation.

Delivering the second Rajiv Gandhi memorial lecture organised by the Institute of Parliamentary Affairs here, he said the commotion in that country was the natural consequence of setting up a theocratic state.

"You cannot create a state on the basis of religion in the sub-continent which is full of diversities," he said.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Pakistan-has-become-a-Jurassic-Park-Katju/articleshow/18797332.cms

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Trilateral helps India air opinion about Afghanistan’s future

ByIndrani Bagchi, TNN | Mar 4, 2013

NEW DELHI: Early this year, China reached out to India to start a dialogue on Afghanistan. This led to China, Russia and India meeting together for the first time in Moscow on February 20 to consult on Afghanistan's future. This is the second trilateral dialogue India has started on Afghanistan — the first being with the US and Afghanistan that met a day before the China-Russia-India trilateral.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Trilateral-helps-India-air-opinion-about-Afghanistans-future/articleshow/18796500.cms

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Prez strikes nostalgic chord, offers to solve border dispute

Jayanth Jacob, Hindustan Times

Dhaka, March 05, 2013

The citation of Dhaka University’s honorary doctorate for Pranab Mukherjee has described him as the “First Bengali president of India”, who got the degree on Monday at a function attended by 10,000 students.

“For me personally, this is an emotional journey. I have my roots in thesoil of Bengal, and have imbibed its language, traditions and culture,” the President in his acceptance speech.

Full report at:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/bangladesh/Prez-strikes-nostalgic-chord-offers-to-solve-border-dispute/Article1-1021160.aspx

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NSG official facing probe for 'sharing info with Pak spy’

By Deeptiman Tiwary, TNN | Mar 5, 2013

NEW DELHI: An officer with country's premier counter-terror force National Security Guard (NSG) is facing an inquiry for sharing details of February 21 Hyderabad blasts investigations with an unidentified person. It is being suspected the person could be a Pakistani spy, although NSG has denied it.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Hyderabad-blasts-NSG-official-facing-probe-for-sharing-info-with-Pak-spy/articleshow/18805451.cms

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Pranab Mukherjee makes nostalgic trip to in-laws' home in Bangladesh

Mar 05 2013

Narail (Bangladesh) : President Pranab Mukherjee today made his maiden visit to the ancestral home of his in-laws where he was accorded a traditional reception meant for a 'Jamai' or husband of a Bengali woman.

“We received the 'Dadababu' (elder sister's husband) with 'Uuludhani' and 'mangal pradip' as he arrived with our sister Suvradi,” a cousin of first lady Suvra Mukherjee said after the couple's private visit.

Full report at:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pranab-mukherjee-makes-nostalgic-trip-to-inlaws-home-in-bangladesh/1083447/

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31 ISI modules busted; 48 spies arrested in 3 years across India

PTI | Mar 5, 2013

NEW DELHI: More than 30 ISI-backed espionage modules have been neutralised by security agencies across the country in the last three years resulting in arrest of 48 spies, Lok Sabha was informed today.

Minister of state for home RPN Singh said that since 2010 till February this year, 31 ISI-backed espionage modules have been neutralised throughout the country resulting in arrest of 38 Indians and 10 Pakistani espionage agents.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/31-ISI-modules-busted-48-spies-arrested-in-3-years-across-India/articleshow/18811784.cms

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Hyderabad blasts: Non-bailable warrant issued against IM founder Bhatkal, nine others

PTI | Mar 5, 2013

NEW DELHI: Non-bailable warrants (NBWs) were on Tuesday issued by a Delhi court against Indian Mujahideen founder Riyaz Bhatkal and nine other operatives of the banned outfit in connection with the February 21 Hyderabad twin blasts which claimed 16 lives.

 Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Hyderabad-blasts-Non-bailable-warrant-issued-against-IM-founder-Bhatkal-nine-others/articleshow/18812630.cms

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Mideast Asia

 

Suicide bomb attack in Yemen's Abyan province kills 12

4 March 2013

Twelve members of a pro-government militia group have been killed in a suicide car bomb attack in south Yemen.

A member of the Popular Committees said their offices in the city of Lawdar, in Abyan province, were targeted.

The force of the blast shook the city, witnesses said.

The Popular Committees is made up of civilians who helped the government, backed by the United States, to drive out al-Qaeda-linked militants from the south last year.

Full report at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21658863

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Iranian tourists feared to spread Shiism in Sunni Egypt

05 March 2013

Egyptian Islamist preacher Safwat Hijazi has voiced objection to a tourism agreement with Iran, expressing fear that Ayatollah’s regime in Tehran might be sending Shiite missionaries disguised as tourists.

Hijazi told Al Arabiya in an interview aired Monday that Iran tends to “stir problems wherever it exists” like Iran and Syria. He pointed out that since the Islamic Revolution, the Ayatollah’s regime in Tehran has sought to disseminate the Shiite doctrine, especially among the Sunnis.

Full report at:

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2013/03/05/269713.html

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Iran closer to nuclear 'red line': Netanyahu

AFP | Mar 4, 2013

WASHINGTON: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that diplomacy has so far failed to deter Iran from pursuing its nuclear program, warning it was getting closer to crossing a crucial "red line."

"Iran is getting closer to that red line, and it is putting itself in that position to cross it," Netanyahu told the largest American pro-Israel lobby via satellite, referring to the point at which Israel believes Iran would be able to build a nuclear weapon.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Iran-closer-to-nuclear-red-line-Netanyahu/articleshow/18798218.cms

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Israel to discuss convicted spy case with Obama

AP | Mar 4, 2013

JERUSALEM: Israel's prime minister says he will discuss the fate of an Israeli spy imprisoned in the US during President Barack Obama's upcoming visit.

Jonathan Pollard was a civilian intelligence analyst for the U.S. Navy when he gave thousands of classified documents to his Israeli handlers. Pollard was arrested in 1985 and sentenced to life in prison two years later.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Israel-to-discuss-convicted-spy-case-with-Obama/articleshow/18795604.cms

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Two sentenced in plot to ship aircraft to Iran

 March 05, 2013

A US court has sentenced an Iranian and an American national for their roles in a plot to ship an aircraft and its parts to Islamic Republic Iran.

While the Iranian citizen Hamid Asefi, 67, was sentenced to 23 months, a US citizen Behzad Karimian, (52), also known as "Tony"

Karimian who holds a valid Iranian passport and is employed as a Mesaba Airlines Pilot, was sentenced to 52 months in prison on Monday.

Full report at:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/americas/Two-sentenced-in-plot-to-ship-aircraft-to-Iran/Article1-1021253.aspx

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Kurdish rebels attack Turkish military vehicle, say officials

5 March 2013

DIYARBAKIR (Turkey), March 5 — Kurdish militants have detonated a bomb under a military vehicle in southeast Turkey, wounding four soldiers, security officials said today, in a potential challenge to a fledgling peace process between Ankara and the rebels’ jailed leader.

Full report at:

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/world/article/kurdish-rebels-attack-turkish-military-vehicle-say-officials/

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Israel on alert as locusts cross in from Egypt

 5 March 2013

JERUSALEM: A swarm of locusts crossed into Israel from neighboring Egypt Monday, raising fears that Israel could be hit with a biblical plague ahead of the Passover holiday.

Israel sent out planes to spray pesticides over agricultural fields to prevent damage by the small swarm, which numbers about 2,000 locusts, said Dafna Yurista, a spokeswoman for the Agriculture Ministry. The ministry also set up an emergency hotline and asked Israelis to be vigilant in reporting locust sightings.

Full report at:

http://www.arabnews.com/middle-east/israel-alert-locusts-cross-egypt

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IAEA demands Iran nuclear access to Parchin site

4 March 2013

The chief of the United Nations nuclear watchdog has called for access to Iran's Parchin military site "without further delay" and without waiting for negotiations to make progress.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has long suspected nuclear weapons research is taking place at the site, just outside Tehran.

Full report at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21654575

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Israel's segregated buses in West Bank denounced as 'apartheid'

Vita Bekker

Mar 5, 2013

TEL AVIV // Israel yesterday introduced separate bus lines for Palestinians and Israelis travelling into Israel's cities from the occupied West Bank.

The measure, spurred by pressure from Jewish settlers in the West Bank, was decried by Palestinian officials and Israeli human rights groups as racist and illegal. It immediately drew comparisons to one of the most hated fixtures of apartheid-era South Africa and segregation in the American South in the 1950s.

Full report at:

http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/israels-segregated-buses-in-west-bank-denounced-as-apartheid#ixzz2MffUPgoD

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Plans for giant mosque overlooking Istanbul stoke secularists' fears

Thomas Seibert

Mar 5, 2013

ISTANBUL // A government plan to build a giant mosque on an Istanbul hill overlooking the Bosphorus has fanned concerns among secularist Turks that Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party is steering the secular republic towards an Islamist system.

Work on the new mosque, which is to have six minarets and occupy an area of 15,000 square meters on Camlica, a hill on the Asian side of the Turkish metropolis, is expected to begin this month. Mr Erdogan, the prime minister and leader of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), has said that the aim was to finish the project within two and a half years.

Full report at:

http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/europe/plans-for-giant-mosque-overlooking-istanbul-stoke-secularists-fears#ixzz2MffLmBkl

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Would the Turkish Model Work in Arab Spring Countries?

Mohamed Elshinnawi

March 04, 2013

The leader of one of the most popular political parties in Tunisia, where the Arab Spring began, says his model for the development of democracy in the Muslim world is Turkey. And Hillary Clinton, when she was the U.S. secretary of state, also cited Turkey as an example of how Arab Spring nations could embrace democracy.

Full report at:

http://www.voanews.com/content/would-the-turkish-model-work-in-arab-spring-countries/1614984.html

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Southeast Asia

 

Indonesia to Probe Officers for Alleged Torture

March 5, 2013

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia will probe officers shown in a blurry video allegedly torturing four tied-up suspected terrorists in Central Sulawesi province, an official said Tuesday.

The 14-minute video was shot in Poso during a counterterrorism operation at an Islamic boarding school in 2007, said national police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar.

Full report at:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/03/05/world/asia/ap-as-indonesia-police-torture-

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Malaysia Attacks Filipino Rebels With Jets and Mortars

By FLOYD WHALEY

March 5, 2013

MANILA - Malaysia called in air strikes and mobilized thousands of troops on Tuesday to put an end to a month-long quixotic incursion by a band of gunmen from the Philippines seeking to reclaim part of Borneo Island for a defunct sultanate.

Three F-18 fighter jets and five Hawk ground-attack aircraft bombed and strafed the estimated 200 Filipino gunmen holed up near the small northeastern Malaysian village of Kampung Taduo, Malaysian Defense Minister Ahmad Zahid said on Tuesday.

Full report at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/06/world/asia/malaysia-attacks-filipino-rebels-on-borneo-island.html?ref=asia

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Malaysia unleashes its army on Filipino invaders

March 05, 2013

Malaysia's military launched a fierce assault on Tuesday on up to 300 Filipino intruders locked in a three-week deadly standoff that has become the country's biggest security crisis in years.

Prime Minister Najib Razak said he had no choice but to unleash the military to try to end an

incursion that had already killed 27 people and began when militants invaded to claim Malaysian territory for a past Philippine sultanate.

Full report at:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/restofasia/Malaysia-unleashes-its-army-on-Filipino-invaders/Article1-1021404.aspx

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No Need to Disband Densus 88, Says Minister

Ezra Sihite | March 05, 2013

Despite mounting criticism against the National Police’s counterterrorism unit, Densus 88, calls to disband the body are excessive and unnecessary, a minister said on Tuesday.

“The police are now investigating the case, but demanding that Densus 88 be dissolved is too much,” Djoko Suyanto, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, said in reference to a video that allegedly shows members of Densus 88 brutally torturing suspected terrorists.

Full report at:

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/no-need-to-disband-densus-88-says-minister/577054

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Manila urges tolerance as troops rushed to Sabah

5 March 2013

KUALA LUMPUR: The Philippine foreign secretary flew to Malaysia yesterday to urge “maximum tolerance” as Kuala Lumpur rushed thousands more troops to hunt down armed Filipinos who killed eight police in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah.

Both governments are under increasing pressure to resolve the standoff, which threatens to damage ties. The Southeast Asian neighbors have periodically been at odds over security and migration along their sea border.

Full report at:

http://www.arabnews.com/world/manila-urges-tolerance-troops-rushed-sabah

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North America

 

Hillary Clinton reveals war over Afghan policy

March 5, 2013

WASHINGTON: Former US top diplomat Hillary Clinton and her staff fought “tooth and nail” to push ideas for diplomacy in Afghanistan in a bitter turf war with the White House, an ex-official says in a new book.

Vali Nasr, now dean of the Paul H Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, was an advisor to Richard Holbrooke, the special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan until his death in 2010.

Full report at:

http://tribune.com.pk/story/516064/hillary-clinton-reveals-war-over-afghan-policy/

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U.S. Disavows 2 Drone Strikes Over Pakistan

By DECLAN WALSH

2013/03/05

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — When news of the two latest drone strikes emerged from Pakistan’s tribal belt in early February, it seemed to be business as usual by the C.I.A.

Local and international media reports, citing unnamed Pakistani officials, carried typical details: swarms of American drones had swooped into remote areas, killing up to nine people, including two senior commanders of Al Qaeda.

Full report at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/05/world/asia/us-disavows-2-drone-strikes-over-

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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/concept-jihad-be-made-clear/d/10653

 

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