Deobandis and Wahhabis not Representatives of Muslims, 80 Per Cent adhere To the Sufi Ideology, Kachhochhvi to Congress
Age Islam News Bureau
23 Nov 2012
India
• Deobandis and Wahhabis not Representatives of Muslims, 80 Per Cent adhere To the Sufi Ideology, Kachhochhvi to Congress
• Afzal Guru must not meet Quassab's fate, says Valley
• Fresh demand for remains of Bhat hanged and buried in jail
• ‘Kasab death certificate can be sent to Pak if sought’
• India eyes Israel's Iron Dome to counter Pak, puppets
• Staff of Army officer held for passing info to ISI
• Lakhvi had declared Roza in Karachi control room
• One death, many lines: How papers headlined Quassab's death
• Afzal on mind, separatists keep mum on Quassab hanging
• ‘Riddance from evil’, ‘a milestone’: India’s Urdu press is all praise
• Justice has to be done in Parliament attack case: Farooq Abdullah
• Rights activist seeks UN intervention in Sarabjit's case
• Sikh jatha to visit Pak under shadow of Taliban threat
• Army refutes IAC, 26/11 hero's charge
• I was denied 26/11 dues: Wounded ex-NSG commando
• Intellectuals bat for Taslima's return to Kolkata
• From next year, all undergraduates to study compulsory Urdu at Jamia Millia
• David Headley shadow over resumption of cricketing ties with Pakistan
• ‘Modi didn’t have a clear-cut role in (2002) riots, he was new in office’: Sant Mahbub Ali Baba
Pakistan
• Pakistan attacks kill 37 Shiite Muslims and Security Forces as key summit begins
• Quassab hanging: Pakistan not overly perturbed, say residents
• Quassab's execution: Pak press calls for arresting 26/11 masterminds
• Army to be deployed in most sensitive north-western areas
• Taliban, elders join hands against ‘criminals’ in N. Waziristan
• Peshawar police under attack: Militants kill three cops at check posts
• 78-year-old infuses fresh blood into Pakistani literature
• In Swat, sons of fallen policemen await induction
• Five police officers on trial at the Anti-Terrorism Court
• 'Triumphant' Pakistanis highlight conspiracy theory in Ajmal Quassab Hanging
• Pakistan ID Cards Remove Ghost Voters, Target Poor for Aid
• Pakistan suspends mobile services in many cities over security fears
• Sarabjit's counsel slams Imran Khan
• 88 years old man marries 65 years old widow
Arab World
• Arab University Conference to Study How Terrorism Affects Development
• Egyptian President Morsi assumes sweeping powers, branded new 'pharaoh'
• Egypt protesters torch Muslim Brotherhood offices
• Syria's Assad meets Iran parliament speaker: State TV
• Prosecutor general sacked; Mubarak men to be retried
• Egypt braces for rival rallies after Morsi 'coup'
• Citing Deadlock, Egypt’s Leader Seizes New Power and Plans Mubarak Retrial
• Deadly Strikes by Syrian Forces Close a Hospital in Aleppo
Africa
• Citing Terror Defendants’ Motivation, Judge Shows Sentencing Leniency
• Nigeria riot over 'blasphemy' against Islam's prophet
• Son of Slain Kenyan Cleric Denies Grenade Plot Charge
• Congo Suspends Army Chief after U.N. Arms Sale Report
• Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill: MPs drop death penalty
Southeast Asia
• Jakarta to Mandate 'Breast-Feeding Corners' Under Proposed Bylaw
• Indonesia: Lawmakers insult Shia at House
• Indonesia New Sukuk Rallies on Supply Shortage: Islamic Finance
Mideast Asia
• Bomb in Palestinian Camp in Damascus Kills 4
• For Israel, Gaza Conflict Is Test for an Iran Confrontation
• Iran cautiously backs Gaza truce deal
• First Palestinian killed by Israeli fire since truce: Medics
• Police Arrest Suspects in Tel Aviv Bus Blast, Including Israeli Citizen
South Asia
• Afghan police say Shiite attack thwarted
• B'desh recovrs $.6 mn siphoned off by Khaleda Zia's son
• 9 Jamaat-Shibir men held in Narail for attacking police
• “Difficult” to believe arrests of MPs “not politically motivated”: IPU
• Two killed, 60 wounded in Afghan suicide attack
• Taliban seen as unlikely to overrun Afghanistan
• Myanmar blames Rohingya militants for border attack
North America
• U.S. Muslim Group Distributes Thanksgiving Video
Europe
• 119 journalists killed in 2012: Report
• Israelis dissatisfied with ceasefire: poll
• Abolish death penalty, UN chief asks nations
• Decree by Egypt's Mursi Raises Righted Concerns: U.N
• Swedish Anti-Immigrant Sniper Jailed for Life
• UN rights chief decries Afghan executions
• Turkish Missiles near Syria risk 'serious conflict': Russia
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: Egyptian President Morsi assumes sweeping powers, branded new 'pharaoh'
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India
Deobandis and Wahhabis not Representatives of Muslims, 80 Per Cent adhere To the Sufi Ideology, Kachhochhvi to Congress
About 80 Per Cent Muslims Adhere To the Sufi Ideology, Ashraf Kachhochhvi To Congress
Cong reaches out to Sufi Muslims
By Aditya Menon in New Delhi
November 23, 2012
REALISING that its efforts to win over the Muslim community have been woefully inadequate, the Congress is in damage control mode ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
It is now reaching out to sections within the Muslim community, which it had ignored so far.
On Tuesday afternoon, a closed door meeting was held between rural development minister Jairam Ramesh, new minority affairs minister K. Rahman Khan and Maulana Syed Mohammad Ashraf Kachhochhvi, a leader representing Sufi Muslims, at Ramesh’s office in Delhi. The meeting lasted a little more than half- an- hour.
“The main issue that I had raised was that the Deobandis and Wahhabis are considered the only representatives (of the Muslims), which is simply not true. A vast majority of Muslims — about 80 per cent — adhere to the Sufi ideology.
We have been ignored just because we remain silent. It is to address this state of affairs that I met with the ministers,” Maulana, the All India Ulema and Mashaikh Board ( AIUMB) leader, said.
The AIUMB’s complaint has been that central and state governments as well as political parties like the Congress and the SP only give importance to the Deobandi and Wahhabi clerics.
The Darul Uloom seminary at Deoband has particularly been a target of the board, which had even issued a diktat during the UP elections that candidates with a Deobandi/ Wahhabi background should be defeated.
“They ( AIUMB) represent an important social force. It is for this reason that I decided to meet them and look into their demands,” Ramesh said.
Khan’s presence at the meeting is significant as he is said to have been made the minority affairs minister due to his “ better connect” with the Muslim community as compared to his predecessor Salman Khurshid.
Incidentally, the Maulana also met with Khurshid, the Congress’s Muslim face in Uttar Pradesh, on Tuesday.
While the Congress still enjoys good relations with the Jamiat- Ulama- i- Hind, the political wing of the Deoband seminar, it acknowledges the need to listen to other voices within the Muslim community.
Congress sources also said the party is keen on finding figures who can counter the socalled hardline leaders such as Asaduddin Owaisi of the Majlis- e- Ittehadul- Muslimeen, which recently withdrew support to the UPA, and Maulana Badruddin Ajmal of Assam’s Opposition party, All India United Democratic Front.
The Congress needs to counter parties popular among the Muslims such as the SP in UP and Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. Nearly 17 per cent of UP’s population ( 80 Lok Sabha seats) and 25 per cent in WB ( 42) are Muslims.
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Afzal Guru must not meet Quassab's fate, says Valley
Toufiq Rashid, Hindustan Times
November 22, 2012
The Valley's reaction to the hanging of 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Quassab has been muted, but the fate of Afzal Guru has had it on tenterhooks.
Following Quassab's death, the right-wing BJP raised a cry for fast-forwarding the execution of Guru, who has been on death row since 2004 for his role in the Parliament attack case.
The separatists and political parties have now closed ranks - warning in one voice of severe repercussions in the state should Guru be hanged too.
Guru's family and human rights groups claim he was not given a fair trial and the verdict was flawed, since there was no direct evidence against him.
Reiterating the point, National Conference additional secretary and CM Omar Abdullah's uncle Dr Mustafa Kamal said, "People who are trying to play politics on the issue should understand the consequences in J&K."
"We don't oppose the Supreme Court's ruling as it is the opinion of the highest court of law in the country. But anything that has a potential to disturb the peace should be avoided," he added.
"So the President should take the right call."
Nayeem Aktar, spokesperson of the opposition People's Democratic Party, shared the opinion.
"We have always said we are against death sentences. Assessing the cost-benefit ratio and looking at how things can turn out in the state, we think this case needs a re-look," he said.
Even the separatist leaders have voiced their concern.
Moderate separatist leader Yasin Malik said, "If the state takes a wrong decision about Guru, it will have disastrous consequences for the whole region. It will cause a serious dent in the process of positive transformation in Kashmir and a new era of violence may start."
Guru's family reiterated their appeal for clemency.
"Quassab was a foreign national caught killing innocent people in Mumbai. How can he be equated with Afzal Guru, who was not present when Parliament was attacked?" said Guru's father-in-law Ghulam Mohammad Guru.
"Even the court judgment says there is no direct evidence against him. This means he should be sacrificed to bring closure to the case."
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Srinagar/Afzal-Guru-must-not-meet-Quassab-s-fate-says-Valley/Article1-963030.aspx
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Fresh demand for remains of Bhat hanged and buried in jail
Bashaarat Masood
Nov 23 2012
Srinagar: In the Srinagar’s martyrs’ cemetery, an open grave catches the attention of any visitor. It has been reserved for Maqbool Bhat, with the hope that his remains will be brought to Kashmir some day.
Maqbool Bhat, the founder of pro-independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and pioneer of militancy in the state, was the first to be buried inside prison after execution, long before Ajmal Quassab.
For nearly three decades, Bhat’s relatives and party colleagues have been seeking his mortal remains so that these can be buried in the cemetery. And now the demand has come up again. “They were ready to hand over Quassab’s body to Pakistan,” said Bashir Ahmad Bhat, vice chairman of Maqbool Bhat’s JKLF. “We have been demanding the return of his remains for years. Why these double standards?”
A resident of Trehgam in the border district of Kupwara, Bhat was buried on the premises of Tihar jail after he was executed on February 11, 1984. Though Bhat’s brother, Ghulam Nabi, wanted to get his body back to Kashmir, he was arrested in Srinagar before he could have left for New Delhi. Bhat’s lawyer Muzaffar Hussain Beig, now senior opposition leader in Kashmir and formerly deputy chief minister in the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed-led coalition government, too had sought the remains.
Bhat, who was in Pakistan, returned to Kashmir in 1966 with plans to lead an armed movement. He was arrested in the killing of a state intelligence official. After being sentenced to death, he was lodged in Srinagar jail, from where he escaped with a fellow prisoner and went back to Pakistan.
Sometime later, Kashmiri separatists hijacked an Indian Airlines flight in 1971and set the aircraft on fire at Lahore airport, letting the crew and passengers go. The hijackers were arrested in Pakistan and so was Bhat, because of his leanings.
Three years later, Bhat was released from Pakistan jail and he crossed the Line of Control back into Kashmir. He was immediately arrested and lodged in Tihar jail.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/fresh-demand-for-remains-of-the-first-one-hanged-and-buried-in-jail/1034969/
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‘Kasab death certificate can be sent to Pak if sought’
Nov 23 2012
Pune : A day after the execution of Ajmal Amir Kasab was carried out in Pune’s Yerawada Central Prison, state Home officials are in discussions with Central government officials whether his death certificate should be forwarded to his family in Pakistan.
Kasab, the lone terrorist to have been captured alive from a batch of 10 that carried out the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, was hanged on Wednesday morning and buried at a secret location inside the jail.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/-kasab-death-certificate-can-be-sent-to-pak-if-sought-/1035128/
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India eyes Israel's Iron Dome to counter Pak, puppets
By Indrani Bagchi & Josy Joseph
Nov 23, 2012
NEW DELHI: As Fajr V rockets rained down on Israel from battleground Gaza for a week, many Indian defense planners were keeping a close watch on the performance of Israel's Iron Dome, which is probably the only deterrent to these homegrown short-range missiles.
It was not just out of curiosity regarding one of the most effective systems against rockets, but also because of the possibility of India acquiring an indigenous version of Iron Dome.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-eyes-Israels-Iron-Dome-to-counter-Pak-puppets/articleshow/17329499.cms
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Staff of Army officer held for passing info to ISI
Nov 23 2012
New Delhi: Clerical staffs attached to a senior Army officer were recently held for allegedly passing sensitive information to Pakistan’s ISI.
Ramzan Khan, a native of Rajasthan who was posted at Delhi for the last three years, was handed over to the Army, and his court martial proceedings initiated.
Central intelligence agencies detected his role in June and kept him under surveillance for months before alerting the Army intelligence. Classified documents and cash were seized from his possession, said officials.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/staff-of-army-officer-held-for-passing-info-to-isi/1035012/
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Lakhvi had declared Roza in Karachi control room
By Neeraj Chauhan
Nov 23, 2012
NEW DELHI: Syed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, the lone 26/11 accused India has in custody after the hanging of Ajmal Quassab, recently made a fresh revelation about the attack, claiming that Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi had declared 'Roza' in the Lashkar camp when 26/11 attackers had entered Mumbai.
Jundal claimed that when the terrorists first attempted to enter Mumbai in September 2008 and their boat had broken down, Abu Qahafa, handler of the 10 terrorists, had made an entry in his dairy that "September 2008 was a wrong time and situation of moon was not good".
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Zaki-ur-Rehman-Lakhvi-had-declared-roza-in-Karachi-control-room/articleshow/17329168.cms
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One death, many lines: How papers headlined Quassab's death
By Rupa Sengupta
Nov 22, 2012
In the lives of terror-targeted nations, there's often a before-and-after moment. For America, it was 9/11; for India 26/11 - the horrific serial attacks in Mumbai in 2008 that evoked shock, rage and sorrow across the country. Lashkar terrorist Ajmal Quassab's hanging four years later raised passions as well - celebratory or satisfied in some, reflective or restrained in others. Media headlines also conveyed the varying emotions.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/One-death-many-lines-How-papers-headlined-Quassabs-death/articleshow/17327720.cms
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Afzal on mind, separatists keep mum on Quassab hanging
Peerzada Ashiq, Hindustan Times
November 22, 2012
Over two dozen separatist parties in Kashmir desisted from issuing any statement on the hanging of Mumbai attacks convict Ajmal Quassab.
Hardline Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani issued press statements rejecting Union home minister SK Shinde's offer for dialogue, and stated that any attempt to hang "hero" Afzal Guru would have violent ramifications.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Srinagar/Afzal-on-mind-separatists-keep-mum-on-Quassab-hanging/Article1-963026.aspx
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‘Riddance from evil’, ‘a milestone’: India’s Urdu press is all praise
Seema Chishti
Nov 23 2012
New Delhi : Ajmal Quassab’s hanging has been received with a sense of relief, almost elation, by several Urdu dailies across the country.
The response is in sharp contrast to what happened just after the Mumbai attacks, when the death of Hemant Karkare had become a subject of controversy in the Urdu press, something that also found reflection in then minorities minister A R Antulay’s a controversial position in the Lok Sabha.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/-riddance-from-evil---a-milestone--india-s-urdu-press-is-all-praise/1034966/
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Justice has to be done in Parliament attack case: Farooq Abdullah
Nov 23 2012
New Delhi : As the clamour for speedy execution of Parliament attack death row convict Afzal Guru grow louder, Union Minister Farooq Abdullah on Friday said “justice has to be done” in the matter which is pending with the Home Ministry.
“As far as I am concerned, the court has already decided. The Supreme Court has given its decision. The matter is now pending with the Home Ministry. The President has returned that (mercy petition) to the Home Ministry. Let's wait...Justice has to be done,” Abdullah said reacting to a question outside Parliament House.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/justice-has-to-be-done-in-parliament-attack-case-farooq-abdullah/1035341/
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Rights activist seeks UN intervention in Sarabjit's case
By Yudhvir Rana | Nov 23, 2012
AMRITSAR: All Maharashtra Human Rights Welfare Association has appealed to UN to intervene and ensure that Quassab's execution in India does not affect the case of Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh, who is lodged in Pakistan's Kot Lakhpat jail, Lahore, for around 22 years. Sarabjit Singh's counsel Awaish Sheikh told TOI that Pakistan's civil society backed Sarabjit Singh even after Quassab's execution.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Rights-activist-seeks-UN-intervention-in-Sarabjits-case/articleshow/17330020.cms
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Sikh jatha to visit Pak under shadow of Taliban threat
By Yudhvir Rana
Nov 23, 2012
AMRITSAR: Taliban's fresh threat to target Indians to avenge the hanging of Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Quassab has worried over 3000 Sikh devotees scheduled to leave for Pakistan on November 22 to pay obeisance at gurdwaras in the neighbouring country on the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.
The Jathedar of Akal Takht has directed Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee to take up the issue of security of Sikh jatha visiting Pakistan. Jathedar of Akal Takht, Giani Gurbachan Singh said he had asked SGPC as well as the Central government to ensure security of pilgrims visiting Pakistan to observe religious occasions.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Sikh-jatha-to-visit-Pak-under-shadow-of-Taliban-threat/articleshow/17330017.cms
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Army refutes IAC, 26/11 hero's charge
Nov 23, 2012
NEW DELHI: Strongly refuting allegations made by India Against Corruption (IAC) and Naik Surender Singh, the government on Thursday said the former NSG commando had in fact already got the bulk of all his dues while the remaining were in the pipeline.
Though the defence ministry and the Army accepted there was considerable delay in Singh getting his benefits, they argued this was because he was "invalidated" out of service on October 15 last year after a medical board - which held him to be "a permanent low medical category on account of sensory neural deafness of the left ear" — and his paperwork could not be completed and processed in time.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Army-refutes-IAC-26/11-heros-charge/articleshow/17329554.cms
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I was denied 26/11 dues: Wounded ex-NSG commando
By Himanshi Dhawan
Nov 23, 2012
NEW DELHI: A former NSG commando, who had killed two terrorists at the Taj Mahal Hotel during the 26/11 siege but was rendered completely deaf due to injuries he suffered in the process, came on Arvind Kejriwal's platform on Thursday to allege that he had been handed a raw deal and deprived of pension and disability benefits due to him despite risking his life for the country.
Haryana resident Naik Surender Singh, who was compulsorily retired following injuries he suffered during Operation Tornado, alleged that he was forced to run from pillar to post for the last 13 months for money due to him.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/I-was-denied-26/11-dues-Wounded-ex-NSG-commando/articleshow/17329419.cms
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Intellectuals bat for Taslima's return to Kolkata
Nov 22, 2012
KOLKATA: Demanding the return of exiled controversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen to Kolkata, a section of intellectuals and rights activists have alleged that the Mamata Banerjee-led government in West Bengal was silent on the issue as it was "apprehensive of a backlash from Islamic fundamentalists".
"Being an author, why can't Taslima have the independence to write? It's the readers who decide what they want to read. Readers haven't spurned her. Let there be a decision on her return," said Magsaysay-winning author Mahasweta Devi in a letter that was read out at a meeting Thursday organised by intellectuals and activists.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Intellectuals-bat-for-Taslimas-return-to-Kolkata/articleshow/17325340.cms
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From next year, all undergraduates to study compulsory Urdu at Jamia Millia
Shaswati Das, Hindustan Times
November 22, 2012
From the next academic session, students seeking admission to Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) will have some new subjects to look forward to.
In tandem with the growing demand for Urdu, students pursuing undergraduate studies from the university will now have to compulsorily study the subject for the first two years of their course.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/From-next-year-all-undergraduates-to-study-compulsory-Urdu-at-Jamia-Millia/Article1-963032.aspx
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David Headley shadow over resumption of cricketing ties with Pakistan
Nov 23, 2012
NEW DELHI: The government on Thursday sounded a word of caution about the resumption of cricket ties with Pakistan saying that one of the main 26/11 accused, David Coleman Headley, had entered India on the pretext of watching matches. Minister of state for external affairs E Ahmed said the issue of visas to Pakistani nationals coming to India to watch cricket matches at various venues will be in accordance with "extant rules and regulations".
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/David-Headley-shadow-over-resumption-of-cricketing-ties-with-Pakistan/articleshow/17330506.cms
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‘Modi didn’t have a clear-cut role in (2002) riots, he was new in office’: Sant Mahbub Ali Baba
Leena Misra
Nov 23 2012
Ahmedabad: Gujarat BJP’s prominent Muslim face is 38-year-old Sufi Sant Mahebubali Baba Saheb or Mahebubali Chishty from the Atodara Dargah Sharif in Surat. President of state BJP’s minority morcha since 2010, he is the only Muslim name in the party’s list of star campaigners for Assembly polls. He spoke to Leena Misra and Tanvir Siddiqui days before the BJP came out with its first list on Thursday.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/-modi-didn-t-have-a-clearcut-role-in-(2002)-riots-he-was-new-in-office-/1035165/
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Pakistan
Pakistan attacks kill 37 Shiite Muslims and Security Forces as key summit begins
Imtiaz Ahmad, Hindustan Times
November 22, 2012
Muslim leaders gathered for a rare summit in Islamabad on Thursday as militant attacks killed 37 people across the country on one of the deadliest days of violence claimed by the Taliban in months.
The string of attacks on Shiite Muslims and Pakistani security forces underscored the immense security challenge in a country where Taliban and al Qaeda-linked extremists bitterly oppose the US-allied government.
Twenty-three people were killed and 62 wounded overnight in Rawalpindi, where Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan are chief among the summit guests.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Pakistan/Pakistan-attacks-kill-37-as-key-summit-begins/Article1-963029.aspx
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Quassab hanging: Pakistan not overly perturbed, say residents
Nov 23, 2012
ATTARI: The hanging of 26/11 Mumbai attack accused Ajmal Quassab evoked mixed response in Pakistan. While some sections condemned the execution, others, especially those who reached India on board the Samjhauta Express, felt the incident should not be allowed to derail the peace process.
Talking to TOI, Karachi resident B. Parvej said people of Pakistan were resentful about their government's inability to do anything for Quassab. "This should not have happened," she said. Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Quassab-hanging-Pakistan-not-overly-perturbed-say-residents/articleshow/17330056.cms
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Quassab's execution: Pak press calls for arresting 26/11 masterminds
By Sameer Arshad
Nov 23, 2012
NEW DELHI: The execution of Ajmal Quassab, the only Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist to be caught alive out of the 10 trained killers unleashed on Mumbai on November 26, 2008, made headlines in Pakistan with two leading English language dallies demanding that the masterminds of the carnage be brought to justice to root out terrorism in the region.
The Express Tribune wrote, "We must show the world that as a country, we are genuinely-committed to fighting terrorism," and called for speedy trial of the 26/11 accused in Pakistan. Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Quassabs-execution-Pak-press-calls-for-arresting-26/11-masterminds/articleshow/17329084.cms
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Army to be deployed in most sensitive northwestern areas
November 23, 2012
PESHAWAR: The authorities have decided to deploy the armed forces in the most sensitive areas of northwestern Pakistan, beefing up security for the holy day of Ashura, a senior administrator said.
Commissioner Kohat division Sahibzada Mohammad Anees said Friday that a security plan had been finalised according to which the Army would be deployed in the sensitive northwestern areas of Kohat, Hangu, Orakzai and Kurram tribal agency to maintain peace during 9th and 10th Muharram.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/11/23/army-to-be-deployed-in-most-sensitive-northwestern-areas/
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Taliban, elders join hands against ‘criminals’ in N. Waziristan
November 23, 2012
MIRAMSHAH: The local Taliban and elders of Uthmanzai tribe have formed a joint lashkar to take action against those elements, who are involved in target killings, kidnappings and attacks on security forces.
The 100 men strong lashkar was formed at a jirga held at Anghar Kallay near Miramshah here on Thursday. The jirga was attended by Taliban and Uthmanzai elders.
Local Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, Maulvi Gul Ramazan, Malik Nasrullah Khan, Malik Misal Khan and others addressed the jirga.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/11/23/taliban-elders-join-hands-against-criminals-in-n-waziristan-2/
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Peshawar police under attack: Militants kill three cops at checkposts
November 23, 2012
PESHAWAR/LANDI KOTAL: Militants on Thursday attacked two police checkposts in the provincial capital, killing three personnel.
However, two bombs were defused near a police station. The first attack was carried out in Badbher area against a checkpost manned by police and Frontier Constabulary personnel at Maloot Chowk on Frontier Road close to Khyber Agency.
Two police constables, Rehman Wali of Peshawar and Shamsur Rehman of Akbarpura area in Nowshera, died in the attack.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/11/23/peshawar-police-under-attack-militants-kill-three-cops-at-checkposts-2/
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78-year-old infuses fresh blood into Pakistani literature
November 23, 2012
KARACHI: Pakistan’s latest literary star is not young, hip or urban.
He’s 78, and a retired civil servant who spent most of his life posted at the frontiers.
He’s also the only ‘debut’ writer to have been shortlisted, along with compatriot and renowned author Muhammad Hanif, for the prestigious 2013 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature.
Ahmed and Hanif join three Indian and one Bangaldeshi writer, along with an American translator, for the $50,000 prize that will be announced at the Jaipur Literature Festival in India on January 25, 2013.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/470012/78-year-old-infuses-fresh-blood-into-pakistani-literature/
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In Swat, sons of fallen policemen await induction
By Fazal Khaliq
November 23, 2012
SWAT: It has been four years since Jamal Shah’s father was killed and he is still waiting for the job promised to him in the police force.
His father, Syed Ali Shah, was killed in a militant attack outside the office of the deputy inspector general of police (DIG) in Saidu Sharif in 2009. Jamal applied for the post of sub-inspector under the compensation package announced by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government for sons of fallen policemen, but he is still waiting for a response. However, he is not the only one who is yet to be compensated.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/469887/unemployment-woes-in-swat-sons-of-fallen-policemen-await-induction/
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Five police officers on trial at the Anti-Terrorism Court
November 23, 2012
KARACHI: Encounters of the allegedly murderous kind are in the dock at the Anti-Terrorism Court-III, where five police officers are on trial.
A former SHO co-accused of the murder of four Baloch men in Karachi on New Year’s Eve 2008 was cross-examined at the Anti-Terrorism Court-III on Thursday.
The officer, Malik Irshad, and four of his colleagues – Noor Mohammad Shah, Zahoor Khan, Mirza Zaheer and Zafar Ali – have been charged with common intent and murder.
The officers initially said that they had killed the men in an alleged encounter after they came under fire. The attack took place on Tariq Road when the officers were tracing a stolen, black Toyota Corolla and saw a similar car approach.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/469923/five-police-officers-on-trial-at-the-anti-terrorism-court/
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'Triumphant' Pakistanis highlight conspiracy theory in Ajmal Quassab Hanging
Nov 23 2012
New Delhi: Its coverage of the execution ranging from a near blackout to conspiracy theories, Pakistan’s radical Urdu press stopped short of showing sympathy for Ajmal Quassab.
In a report attributed to the Indian media, Daily Ummat in Karachi claimed that “Quassab died of dengue” and questioned why the government did not wait for his recovery. It quoted from social networking sites and various reports about Quassab’s health in Indian newspapers and magazines. “The government of India needs to explain whether Quassab was hanged or had died of dengue a day earlier,” the report said.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/triumphant-pakistanis-highlight-conspiracy-theory-ajmal-Quassab-died-of-dengue-link-to-osama/1034967/
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Pakistan ID Cards Remove Ghost Voters, Target Poor for Aid
Katharine Houreld | November 23, 2012
Islamabad. Elderly men wait patiently, carefully combing their hennaed beards, while a guitar-playing student entertains the long queue of Pakistanis lined-up to be photographed, fingerprinted and questioned inside a crowded office in the capital Islamabad.
This is the unlikely setting for possibly one of Pakistan’s few success stories — a massive increase in citizens signing up for government identity cards.
Such things rarely top the agenda of a deeply unpopular government, crippled by daily power cuts, a Taliban insurgency and massive corruption.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/international/pakistan-id-cards-remove-ghost-voters-target-poor-for-aid/557815
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Pakistan suspends mobile services in many cities over security fears
Nov 23, 2012
KARACHI: Pakistan suspended mobile phone services in major cities on Friday to prevent terror attacks from marring commemorations for the holy month of Muharram, officials said.
Mobile and wireless phone services were temporarily blocked in Karachi, the southwestern city of Quetta and in parts of the capital.
It is the second time Pakistan has shut down mobile networks during Muharram, which culminates with Ashura, the holiest day in the Shiite Muslim calendar when faithful march to mourn the seventh-century killing of Imam Hussein.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistan-suspends-mobile-services-in-many-cities-over-security-fears/articleshow/17335850.cms
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Sarabjit's counsel slams Imran Khan
By Yudhvir Rana
Nov 23, 2012
AMRITSAR: The counsel of Sarabjit Singh, the Indian prisoner on death row in Pakistan, Awais Sheikh, came out strongly against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party of former cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, for seeking the execution of Sarabjit Singh following the hanging of Ajmal Quassab.
Sheikh said on phone from Lahore on Thursday that those calling for Sarabjit's execution are "ignorant of his case and playing dirty politics". During a demonstration in Multan on Thursday, PTI leader Naeemullah Khan slammed the Pakistan government for taking so long to hang Sarabjit and lauded the Indian judiciary for taking less than four years to execute Quassab.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Sarabjits-counsel-slams-Imran-Khan/articleshow/17330176.cms
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88 years old man marries 65 years old widow
November 21, 2012
BHAKKAR: An 88-year-old man married a widow of 65-year-old.
The couple have about 160 grandsons and granddaughters. Haji Rana Yaqoob of Jandawala married the woman of village Goharwala. Sons, grandsons, granddaughters and other relatives of bridegroom Haji Yaqoob and the bride participated in Nikah ceremony. People of the area congratulated Haji Yaqoob.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-144224-88-years-old-man-marries-65-years-old-widow
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Arab World
Arab University Conference to Study How Terrorism Affects Development
23 November 2012
Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS) and the secretariat general of the Arab Council of Social Ministers will jointly organize a scientific conference on the impact of terrorism on social development at the NAUSS premises on Saturday.
The three-day event will deal with a number of topics including the impact of terrorism on developmental achievements, the role of communal institutions in the fight against terror and the impact of terror-funding on development, head of media and PR of NAUSS Khalid Al-Harfash was quoted by the Saudi Press Agency as saying.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/nauss-conference-study-how-terrorism-affects-development
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Egyptian President Morsi assumes sweeping powers, branded new 'pharoah'
Nov 23, 2012
CAIRO: Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi assumed sweeping powers on Thursday, putting him on a collision course with the judiciary and raising questions about the country's democratic future.
The move, just a day after Morsi took diplomatic centrestage in brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza's Islamist Hamas rulers, earnt him the same derisive monicker of "new phararoh" levelled at veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak before his ouster in a popular uprising last year.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Egyptian-President-Morsi-assumes-sweeping-powers-branded-new-pharoah/articleshow/17328670.cms
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Egypt protesters torch Muslim Brotherhood offices
Nov 23 2012
Protesters in Egypt have set fire to Muslim Brotherhood offices in several cities, according to state TV.
They were demonstrating against President Mohammed Mursi's decision to grant himself sweeping new powers.
His decree states, among other things, that the president's decisions cannot be revoked by any authority - including the judiciary.
Full report at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20458148
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Syria's Assad meets Iran parliament speaker: State TV
Iran's parliamentary speaker, Ali Larijani, meets President Al-Assad in Damascus to discuss 'solution' to the Syrian crisis
23 Nov 2012
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met Iran's influential parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, on Friday shortly after his arrival in Damascus, state television said.
Larijani said before leaving Tehran that he would "try to find a solution to the Syrian problem" on a regional tour that will also take him to Lebanon and Turkey, Iran's Mehr news agency said.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/58978/World/Region/Syrias-Assad-meets-Iran-parliament-speaker-State-T.aspx
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Prosecutor general sacked; Mubarak men to be retried
23 November 2012
Egypt’s president has issued constitutional amendments granting himself far-reaching powers and ordering the retrial of leaders of Hosni Mubarak’s regime for the killing of protesters in last year’s uprising.
Muhammad Mursi sacked Abdel Maguid Mahmoud, the general prosecutor. Mursi tried to remove Mahmoud in October to calm protesters furious about the acquittal of a number of senior state officials who had stood trial over the issue but was forced to keep him in place after judges protested.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/prosecutor-general-sacked-mubarak-men-be-retried
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Egypt braces for rival rallies after Morsi 'coup'
Nov 23, 2012
CAIRO: Supporters and opponents of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi called rival demonstrations on Friday after the Islamist leader assumed sweeping powers in what critics dubbed a "coup".
Morsi's supporters, led by the Muslim Brotherhood which backed him in his successful run for the presidency in June, were to demonstrate their support in a rally outside the presidential palace in north Cairo, a Brotherhood official told AFP.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Egypt-braces-for-rival-rallies-after-Morsi-coup/articleshow/17335685.cms
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Citing Deadlock, Egypt’s Leader Seizes New Power and Plans Mubarak Retrial
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and MAYY EL SHEIKH
November 23, 2012
CAIRO — With a constitutional assembly on the brink of collapse and protesters battling the police in the streets over the slow pace of change, President Mohamed Morsi issued a decree on Thursday granting himself broad powers above any court as the guardian of Egypt’s revolution, and used his new authority to order the retrial of Hosni Mubarak.
Mr. Morsi, an Islamist and Egypt’s first elected president, portrayed his decree as an attempt to fulfill popular demands for justice and protect the transition to a constitutional democracy. But the unexpected breadth of the powers he seized raised immediate fears that he might become a new strongman. Seldom in history has a postrevolutionary leader amassed so much personal power only to relinquish it swiftly.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/23/world/middleeast/egypts-president-morsi-gives-himself-new-powers.html?ref=world
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Deadly Strikes by Syrian Forces Close a Hospital in Aleppo
By ANNE BARNARD and HANIA MOURTADA
November 23, 2012
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Airstrikes by the Syrian government damaged a hospital in the northern city of Aleppo early on Thursday and flattened a building next to it, killing at least 15 people and leaving as many as 40 missing in an attack that closed one of the city’s few functioning medical facilities, antigovernment activists said.
Video purporting to depict the aftermath showed the facade shorn off the first three stories of the hospital, with its name, Dar el-Shifa, in red letters on its tower. Beside it, another building was reduced to a two-story pile of rubble. People milled in the street, shouting “God is great.”
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/23/world/middleeast/deadly-airstrike-by-syrian-forces-
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Africa
Citing Terror Defendants’ Motivation, Judge Shows Sentencing Leniency
By BENJAMIN WEISER
November 23, 2012
The three men from the impoverished West African country of Mali were at the mercy of the court. Each had pleaded guilty to a terrorism charge. All had been accused in a plot to move numerous shipments of cocaine across two continents to support Al Qaeda and two other terrorist organizations.
As the men came up for sentencing, each asked for leniency.
Federal prosecutors, in turn, asked for the maximum possible prison sentence: 15 years for each man, a penalty that reflected the seriousness of their threat to society.
But the judge saw them differently. To her, they were terrorists not driven by ideology or anti-American sentiment, but rather by money and difficult family circumstances.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/23/nyregion/judges-ruling-in-qaeda-terror-case-open-
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Nigeria riot over 'blasphemy' against Islam's prophet
November 23, 2012
A rumour that a Christian man blasphemed against Islam has sparked a riot in the northern Nigeria town of Bichi, police have said.
Residents said four people were killed and shops were looted.
The riot came on the day the incoming head of the Anglican Church, the Rt Rev Justin Welby, launched an initiative to promote religious tolerance in Nigeria.
Religious clashes have claimed thousands of lives in Nigeria since military rule ended in 1999.
The militant Islamist group, Boko Haram, has also been waging an insurgency since 2009 to impose strict Sharia across Nigeria, which is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and a Christian and animist south.
Full report at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20448565
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Son of Slain Kenyan Cleric Denies Grenade Plot Charge
November 23, 2012
MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) - A son of the slain Muslim cleric whose killing touched off days of riots in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa has denied court charges he plotted to blow up two police stations at the coastal tourist haven.
Khubeib Aboud Rogo and four others were accused of planning to use grenades to attack Mombasa's main police station in the central business district, and another along a busy highway.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/11/23/world/africa/23reuters-kenya-
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Congo Suspends Army Chief After U.N. Arms Sale Report
November 23, 2012
KINSHASA (Reuters) - The head of Congo's army has been suspended while an investigation is carried out into whether he sold arms to rebels, as alleged by a United Nations report, Congo's government spokesman said on Thursday.
Information Minister Lambert Mende said other officers were being investigated along with General Gabriel Amisi, who commands Congo's land forces, but gave no further details.
Mende said the eastern town of Sake, seized by rebels on Wednesday, had been retaken by the army. It was not immediately possible to verify the claim.
(Reporting by Bienvenu-Marie Bakumanya; Writing by David Lewis; Editing by Michael Roddy)
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/11/23/world/africa/23reuters-congo-democratic-army.html?ref=africa&gwh=112ABBF7418A3F2D0A7A5C440702E457
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Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill: MPs drop death penalty
November 23, 2012
A committee of Ugandan MPs has endorsed the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill but dropped the death penalty provision, an MP has told the BBC.
MP Medard Segona said "substantial amendments" had been made to the bill but said he was not allowed to reveal further details.
Speaker of parliament Rebecca Kadaga recently said the bill would be passed as a "Christmas gift" to its advocates.
Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda - this bill increases the penalties.
Foreign donors have threatened to cut aid if gay rights are not respected.
The bill, tabled by MP David Bahati, proposes longer jail terms for homosexual acts, including a life sentence in certain circumstances.
Full report at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20463887
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Southeast Asia
Jakarta to Mandate 'Breast-Feeding Corners' Under Proposed Bylaw
November 23, 2012
Shopping malls, office buildings and other public places in Jakarta will have to provide new mothers with a “breast-feeding corner” under a proposed bylaw aimed at reversing Indonesia’s low breast-feeding rates.
“The aim is to allow every infant to enjoy six months of exclusive breast milk and, thus, reduce the infant mortality rate,” Jakarta Health Agency head Dien Emmawati told the Jakarta administration’s news site beritajakarta.com.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/jakarta-to-mandate-breast-feeding-corners-under-proposed-bylaw/557833
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Indonesia: Lawmakers insult Shia at House
Margareth S. Aritonang and Wahyoe Boediwardhana
November 23 2012
Members of the beleaguered minority Shiite Muslim community of Sampang, Madura, were shocked on Thursday when House lawmakers answered their requests for aid with ethnic slurs and indifference.
The Shia, who have been living in a refugee camp after majority Sunnis burned their houses and killed two in August, were at the House to ask lawmakers to allow them to return home after the local government announced it would stop giving the refugees food and water.
“We don’t know how long we can survive there [in the camp]. We are told that we have a government, but we never feel the love of the government,” Shiite leader Iklil Al Milal told lawmakers on Commission VIII overseeing religious and social affairs.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/11/23/lawmakers-insult-shia-house.html
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Indonesia New Sukuk Rallies on Supply Shortage: Islamic Finance
November 23, 2012
A shortage of Islamic sovereign debt saw Indonesia’s new dollar-denominated sukuk rally two times faster than non-Islamic securities this week after the sale attracted $5 billion in orders for $1 billion on offer.
The Southeast Asian nation sold the bonds maturing in 2022 at a coupon of 3.3 percent, its third issuance since 2009. The yield fell 17 basis points to 3.13 percent from Nov. 19, compared with an eight basis point decline to 2.91 percent on the 2022 notes that don’t comply with religious tenets. In the international market, Shariah-compliant borrowing costs are at a record-low 2.82 percent.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/indonesia-new-sukuk-rallies-on-supply-shortage-islamic-finance/557823
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Mideast Asia
Bomb in Palestinian Camp in Damascus Kills 4
November 23, 2012
BEIRUT (AP) — A bomb blast in a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus killed four people and seriously wounded a member of a faction that has backed Syrian President Bashar Assad in the country's bitter civil war, activists said Friday.
The explosion late Thursday in the Yarmouk camp targeted the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command.
Four people died and a PFLP-GC activist was seriously wounded when the bomb planted under his car went off, the group said. It blamed the rebel Free Syrian Army for the attack.
Yarmouk has been pulled into Syria's fighting before, most recently earlier this month when clashes in and around the camp killed and wounded dozens.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/11/23/world/middleeast/ap-ml-syria.html?ref=middleeast&gwh=37532BE06BA0F4BBC470326D25620F99
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For Israel, Gaza Conflict Is Test for an Iran Confrontation
By DAVID E. SANGER and THOM SHANKER
November 23, 2012
WASHINGTON — The conflict that ended, for now, in a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel seemed like the latest episode in a periodic showdown. But there was a second, strategic agenda unfolding, according to American and Israeli officials: The exchange was something of a practice run for any future armed confrontation with Iran, featuring improved rockets that can reach Jerusalem and new antimissile systems to counter them.
It is Iran, of course, that most preoccupies Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama. While disagreeing on tactics, both have made it clear that time is short, probably measured in months, to resolve the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/23/world/middleeast/for-israel-gaza-conflict-a-practice-
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Iran cautiously backs Gaza truce deal
November 23, 2012
ISLAMABAD: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave a qualified welcome Thursday to a truce deal between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Egypt to end eight days of violence that killed six Israelis and 163 Palestinians.
“I agree that the truce is a good thing, but we will have to see the basis of this truce,” Ahmadinejad told a private Pakistan TV channel in an interview given in Farsi and translated into Urdu by the network.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/11/22/iran-cautiously-backs-gaza-truce-deal/
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First Palestinian killed by Israeli fire since truce: Medics
November 23, 2012
GAZA CITY: A Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli forces near the Gaza border on Friday, the first casualty since the two sides agreed a truce ending their week-long conflict, Palestinian medical sources said.
An Israeli army spokeswoman could not confirm the incident, saying only that “disturbances” had broken out on the Palestinian side of the Gaza border early on Friday, prompting Israeli soldiers to fire warning shots.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/470151/first-palestinian-killed-by-israeli-fire-since-truce-medics/
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Police Arrest Suspects in Tel Aviv Bus Blast, Including Israeli Citizen
By ISABEL KERSHNER
November 23, 2012
JERUSALEM — An Arab with Israeli citizenship and several West Bank Palestinians have been arrested on suspicion of carrying out the bus bombing in the heart of Tel Aviv on Wednesday, the Israeli police and the internal security service, the Shin Bet, announced on Thursday.
The bombing, which injured 21 people, was regarded as a terrorist act and was the first such attack to strike the Mediterranean city in more than six years. It revived traumatic memories of the second Palestinian uprising, rattling the population even as a cease-fire was in the works to end eight days of intense fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/23/world/middleeast/police-arrest-suspects-in-tel-aviv-
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South Asia
Afghan police say Shiite attack thwarted
Nov 23 2012
KABUL — Afghan police said Friday they had arrested two suicide bombers planning to attack Shiite Muslims in Kabul on the anniversary of the massacre of 80 worshippers on Ashura last year.
The heavily-fortified capital is under heightened security ahead of the anniversary, with all police leave cancelled.
"Two suicide bombers with four suicide vests were arrested by Afghan police forces in Surobi district" east of Kabul, the interior ministry's criminal investigation chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi told AFP.
"They wanted to attack crowded parts of the Ashura procession in Kabul city, and they have confessed to their crimes."
Full report at: Copyright © 2012 AFP. All rights reserved.
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B'desh recovers $.6 mn siphoned off by Khaleda Zia's son
Nov 23 2012
Dhaka : Bangladesh's anti-corruption body has said it has recovered $1.6 million siphoned off to Singapore by former Premier Khaleda Zia's “absconding” younger son Arafat Rahman 'Koko', who was given a six-year jail term in absentia five months ago.
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) chairman Ghulam Rahman said last night that the amount, which was laundered during the 2001-2006 tenure of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led four-party alliance government, was returned under a deal with Singapore authorities.
“The amount was brought back to an ACC account with the (state-owned) Sonali Bank's Ramna Corporate Branch,” Rahman said.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bdesh-recovers--.6-mn-siphoned-off-by-khaleda-zias-son/1035326/
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9 Jamaat-Shibir men held in Narail for attacking police
November 23, 2012
Police arrested nine leaders and activists of Jamaat-Shibir including Lohagara upazila unit ameer from different areas of Narail on Thursday on charge of attacking policemen on November 5.
Acting on secret information, Lohagara and Narail police jointly conducted several raids at different areas of the district and made the arrests, said Rafiqul Islam, officer in-charge of Narail Police Station.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=42667
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“Difficult” to believe arrests of MPs “not politically motivated”: IPU
By Luke Powell | November 22nd, 2012
The circumstances behind the arrests of Jumhoree Party (JP) MP Abdulla Jabir and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor for their alleged possession of alcohol have been labelled “very worrying” by delegates from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
Findings compiled by the three-person delegation raised further concerns over the failure to punish police officers who used excessive force on MPs earlier in the year.
At a press conference held today (November 22), the delegation revealed their findings following a three-day mission to the Maldives over alleged human rights abuses of MPs.
Full report at:
http://minivannews.com/politics/difficult-to-believe-arrests-of-mps-not-politically-motivated-ipu-47757
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Two killed, 60 wounded in Afghan suicide attack
Nov 23, 2012
KABUL: A suicide attacker detonated a car laden with explosives on Friday in eastern Afghanistan, killing two civilians and wounding about 60 others, officials said.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying in a statement that the attack was in response to the recent execution of four Taliban detainees at the Afghan government's main detention center in Kabul.
The men were convicted and sentenced to death in Afghan courts for a variety of crimes, including murder, rape, kidnapping, robbery and cruelty against children. The Taliban condemned the hangings, saying the detainees were prisoners of war who were unjustly jailed.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Two-killed-60-wounded-in-Afghan-suicide-attack/articleshow/17333692.cms
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Taliban seen as unlikely to overrun Afghanistan
Cyril Almeida and Hasan Khan
November 23, 2012
KABUL: The insurgency undeniably exists but is weaker than often portrayed; the Taliban will not sweep through Afghanistan after 2014; and the Bonn-era political framework is not on the verge of collapsing into a bitter civil war — the line taken by the Afghan government and western military forces is well-known enough.
Less well known, and in contradiction to the dominant narrative on Afghanistan, is that many Afghans — in government and outside, Pashtun and non-Pashtun, Taliban sympathisers and opponents — also share much of that view.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/11/23/taliban-seen-as-unlikely-to-overrun-afghanistan/
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Myanmar blames Rohingya militants for border attack
Myanmar accuses the Muslim Rohingya Solidarity Organisation of carrying out attacks against Buddhists near the Bangladeshi border
23 Nov 2012
Myanmar authorities on Friday accused a Rohingya militant group of carrying out an attack that left one dead and three people missing -- including a soldier -- near the Bangladesh border.
The incident in Rakhine State, where scores have died in two rounds of communal unrest between Rohingya Muslims and Buddhists, took place on November 6 as the soldier and civilian engineers inspected a border fence near Maungdaw.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/58976/World/International/Myanmar-blames-Rohingya-militants-for-border-attac.aspx
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North America
U.S. Muslim Group Distributes Thanksgiving Video, Editorial
11/21/12
Holiday message stresses need to give thanks each day, give to those in need
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/21/12) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today distributed a video message and editorial marking tomorrow's Thanksgiving holiday and stressing the religious obligation to give thanks each day of the year and to share with those in need.
CAIR distributed the editorial below, titled "Give Thanks and Give to Those in Need," through ISLAM-OPED, a syndication service designed to offer an American Muslim perspective on current political, social and religious issues.
ISLAM-OPED commentaries are offered free-of-charge to one media outlet in each market area. Permission for publication will be granted on a first-come-first-served basis. (Contact: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com)
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Give Thanks and Give to Those in Need
By Nihad Awad
WORD COUNT: 608
(Nihad Awad is national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), America's largest Muslim civil rights organization. He may be contacted at: nawad@cair.com.)
During our nation's current economic downturn, and in the wake of natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy, many of our fellow Americans are suffering.
That is why it is so important this Thanksgiving to show thanks for all the blessings we have by reaching out to those in need.
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Europe
119 journalists killed in 2012: Report
Nov 23, 2012
VIENNA: A total of 119 journalists have been killed while on assignment so far this year, the Vienna- based International Press Institute (IPI) said.
This is the highest toll since 1997 when the IPI started keeping track. In Syria alone, 36 journalists were killed this year, Xinhua reported.
The press watchdog said it had observed an "alarming trend" of journalists increasingly being targeted, often in order to "prevent information disclosure".
After Syria, Somalia is also dangerous for journalists, the IPI said, with 16 deaths in 2012, followed by Mexico, Pakistan, and the Philippines.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/119-journalists-killed-in-2012-Report/articleshow/17332201.cms
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Israelis dissatisfied with ceasefire: poll
November 23, 2012
A poll shows about half of Israelis think their government should have continued its military offensive against Palestinian militants in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
The independent Maagar Mohot poll released on Friday shows 49 per cent of respondents feel Israel should have kept going after squads who fire rockets into Israel. Thirty-one percent supported the government’s decision to stop. Twenty per cent had no opinion.
Twenty-nine per cent thought Israel should have sent ground troops to invade Gaza.
Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire two days ago.
The poll of 503 respondents had an error margin of 4.5 percentage points.
The same survey showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party and electoral partner Israel Beiteinu losing some support, but his hard-line bloc is still able to form the next government. Elections are slated for January 22.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/israelis-dissatisfied-with-ceasefire-poll/article4126565.ece
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Abolish death penalty, UN chief asks nations
November 22, 2012
As Ajmal Quassab the lone surviving gunman of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks was exeuted, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called upon nations to abolish the death penalty. Ban welcomes a record vote by a General Assembly committee in favour of the call for a moratorium on the
use of the death penalty, his spokesperson said on Wednesday.
India, US and China were among 39 nations voting on Monday against the resolution in the Assembly's Third Committee, which deals with social and humanitarian issues, as well as human rights. The non binding draft resolution got 110 votes in favour, with 36 abstentions.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Americas/Abolish-death-penalty-UN-chief-asks-nations/Article1-962657.aspx
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Decree by Egypt's Mursi Raises Righted Concerns: U.N
November 23, 2012
GENEVA (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi's decree granting himself extended powers raises very serious human rights concerns, U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay's spokesman said on Friday.
Mursi's announcement was welcomed by his allies but prompted fears among secular-minded Egyptians that the ruling Muslim Brotherhood aimed to dominate the new Egypt.
Among its other provisions, the decree states that all decisions taken by Mursi until the election of a new parliament are exempt from legal challenge. It also orders a retrial of former President Hosni Mubarak and his aides.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/11/23/world/middleeast/23reuters-egypt-decree-
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Swedish Anti-Immigrant Sniper Jailed for Life
November 23, 2012
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A gunman who shot dead two people during a string of attacks on foreign-looking people in Sweden was jailed for life on Friday in a region still traumatized by the 2011 massacres by Norwegian Anders Breivik.
The attacks by Peter Mangs, 40, spread fear in the southern city of Malmo, where about 30 percent of people come from immigrant backgrounds.
"The crimes which Peter Mangs committed are characterized by extreme ruthlessness and a complete lack of empathy for other people," the judges said in a statement released by the court.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/11/23/world/europe/23reuters-sweden-
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UN rights chief decries Afghan executions
After the execution of 14 death row prisoners in Afghanistan this week, United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay called on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to abolish capital punishment
22 Nov 2012
United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay harshly condemned Thursday the execution of 14 prisoners at a prison near Kabul this week, and called on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to abolish capital punishment.
"I urge President Karzai to show that the rule of law can also be built on clemency and humanity, and that Afghanistan too will join the worldwide trend against the death penalty," Pillay said in a statement.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/58910/World/International/UN-rights-chief-decries-Afghan-executions.aspx
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Turkish Missiles near Syria risk 'serious conflict': Russia
Russian FM Sergei Lavrov claims Turkish deployment of Patriot missiles might increase risk of NATO intervention in Syria
23 Nov 2012
Russia Friday warned any deployment of Patriot missiles by Turkey on its border with Syria may create a temptation to use the weapons and spark a "very serious armed conflict" involving NATO.
"I understand that no one has any intention to see NATO get sucked into the Syrian crisis," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters, reiterating concerns aired by the foreign ministry on Thursday.
But "the more arms are being accumulated, the greater the risk that they will be used," he added.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/58974/World/Region/Turkish-Missiles-near-Syria-risk-serious-conflict-.aspx
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