Freedom, Secularism and Parliament Are All Kuffar’s (Non-Believers) Ideas: Anjem Choudary

Maldives' court issues warrant against former president Nasheed

Feb 18, 2013

MALE: A Maldivian court today ordered the police to produce Mohamed Nasheed before it, prompting them to approach the foreign ministry to talk to the Indian High Commission where former president is holed up for the sixth day.

"We have received court orders asking us to produce former president Nasheed before it by 4pm on Wednesday," Police spokesman Hassan Haneef said.

He said the department, through the attorney general, has approached the foreign ministry asking it to get in touch with the Indian High Commission, where Nasheed has taken refuge since February 13 to evade a similar arrest warrant issued by the court in a case concerning the detention of chief judge of the criminal court during his presidency in January last year.

"We have asked the foreign ministry to ask the Indian mission to arrange and facilitate Nasheed's arrest so that he could be produced before the court," Haneef said.

Maldives' President Mohamed Waheed's Press Secretary Masood Imad said the arrest warrant would expire at 4pm on Wednesday.

"The police have been directed by the court to bring Nasheed before it. The warrant would expire at 4pm Wednesday," he said.

If Nasheed is found guilty in the case, he could be barred from standing in a presidential election that is scheduled for September 7.

His party - Maldivian Democratic Party - says the trial is an attempt to exclude him from the contest and has challenged the court's legitimacy.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Maldives-court-issues-warrant-against-former-president-Nasheed/articleshow/18560241.cms

------------

Southeast Asia

Central Java Sect Riles Indonesian Council of Ulema, Police over Prophet Claim

Farouk Arnaz | February 18, 2013

Proponents of an Islamic sect in Central Java that maintains its founder was a prophet and that fruit offerings can substitute for animal sacrifices now face the threat of blasphemy charges.

Adj. Sr. Comr. Nazirwan Adji Wibowo, the police chief in Karanganyar district, said on Sunday that his office would give the Jamaah Muslimah sect a chance to recant its doctrine during ongoing talks with the local chapter of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), the country’s highest Islamic authority.

“We’re giving the MUI an opportunity to engage this group in further dialogue, and we will take action based on the outcome of that dialogue,” he told the Jakarta Globe by phone.

Jamaah Muslimah has courted controversy over its claim that its late founder, Rohmad, was ordained as a prophet by the Archangel Jibril, or Gabriel.

Mainstream Islamic teaching, however, holds that Muhammad was the last prophet and that anyone claiming to be a prophet after him is a heretic.

The sect has also been criticized for other unorthodox aspects of its doctrine, including the claim that the animal sacrifice Muslims are required to make during Idul Adha, or the Day of Sacrifice, can be substituted with an offering of papaya.

It also contends that going to Mecca to perform the hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, is not mandatory and can be replaced by undertaking a pilgrimage to Mount Lawu on the border between Central and East Java.

Badaruddin, a member of the local MUI, said the most egregious of the sect’s claims was the one about its founder.

“The notion that their founder received his calling from Allah through Jibril goes against Islamic teaching,” he said.

“If possible, we’ll try to guide them back to the righteous path. But if they refuse, then it becomes a police matter.”

Jamaah Muslimah, which has around 500 members, was established in 2006 but only came to the attention of local clerics and police recently after its new leader, Suparmin, began extolling his predecessor’s standing as a prophet who had been ordained to lead the faithful for the next 100 years, as reported by Okezone.com.

Zainuddin, the head of the Karanganyar MUI, said the sect’s doctrine was “theologically unacceptable” and that it had “crossed the line.”

“If they want to call themselves a new religion, and not part of Islam, then there would be no problem,” he said as reported by Solopos.com.

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/lawandorder/central-java-sect-riles-mui-police-over-prophet-claim/572268

------------

Malaysian doctor convicted of sexual assault charges

February 18, 2013

MELBOURNE, Feb 18 — A magistrate’s court in Adelaide today convicted a Malaysian doctor of two counts of sexual assaults on his female patients in South Australia.

Magistrate Greg Fisher sentenced Dr Mohd Zaki Ibrahim, 37, to eight months’ jail, suspended for two years, and placed him on a good behaviour bond, a court official told Bernama.

The court was told Mohd Zaki committed the offences on March 31 and July 16, 2010.

Dr Mohd Zaki, a Public Service Department scholar, is believed to have worked at a rural town in South Australia before moving to the Adelaide suburb of Elizabeth with his family. — Bernama

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/malaysian-doctor-convicted-of-sexual-assault-charges/

------------

Indonesia's Only Synagogue Struggles to Find Wider Acceptance

Zakir Hussain - Straits Times | February 18, 2013

Manado, North Sulawesi. In the hill towns and villages an hour out of Manado, it is not uncommon for churches and mosques to be within 50 meters of each other, the ringing of church bells mingling with the call to prayer.

But in Tondano, Minahasa Regency, Indonesia's only synagogue joins their ranks.

Shaar Hashamayim — Hebrew for "Gate of Heaven" — has been up and running for the past 10 years, serving a Jewish community of some 20 people.

Full report at:

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/indonesias-only-synagogue-struggles-to-find-wider-acceptance/572329

------------

Indonesia floods, landslides kill 17

 Feb 18, 2013

MANADO, INDONESIA: Four children were among 17 people killed over the weekend in central Indonesia after heavy rains triggered floods and landslides, officials said on Monday.

The children, aged between two and nine, died along with 13 adults when flooding and landslides hit the northern part of Sulawesi island early Sunday, provincial disaster management agency spokesman Howke Makawarung said.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Indonesia-floods-landslides-kill-17/articleshow/18556452.cms

------------

Arab World

Islamic Sciences Encyclopaedia Issued to correct misconceptions about Islam and Muslims

16 February 2013

CAIRO – In an attempt to correct misconceptions about Islam and Muslims in the West, a new encyclopaedia on Islamic religious sciences has been launched in Egypt, meeting the needs of a large number of non-Arabic speaking Muslims around the world.

"The encyclopaedia, which holds the title "Introduction to study Islamic religious sciences" is presented in the English language in a very simple way,” Dr. Ibrahim Negm, a senior advisor to Egypt's Grand Mufti, told Egypt State Information Service on Saturday, February 16.

"It includes thirty disciplines of Islamic sciences as Qur'an, Islamic jurisprudence, theology, comparative religion and Islamic ethics studies, research methods in Islamic sciences and many other fields."

Full report at:

http://www.onislam.net/english/news/global/461389-islamic-sciences-encyclopedia-issued.html

------------

Saudi King pays blood money for Indian convict

IRFAN MOHAMMED

 18 February 2013

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has paid blood money on behalf of an Indian driver convicted of killing nine people in a road accident in 2006. The driver, Saleem Basha, 45, has already been released from prison and is waiting to return to Bangalore, India.

Basha, who arrived in Saudi Arabia to work as a lorry driver for a brick-manufacturing unit in Wadi Al-Hajbal, near Khamis Mushait in 2004, wasted no time after his release in travelling to Makkah to perform Umrah and pray for King Abdullah. He made that trip yesterday.

Full report at:

http://www.arabnews.com/king-abdullah-pays-blood-money-indian-convict

------------

Egypt orders Islamist detained for insulting Christianity

Firebrand Islamist preacher who burned copy of New Testament outside US embassy in Cairo last year is detained on charges of 'insulting religion'

 18Feb 2013       

Egypt's state prosecutor ordered on Sunday an extremist Islamic preacher detained for questioning on suspicion of insulting religion after a complaint from a Christian activist, a judicial source said.

Full report at:

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/65027/Egypt/Politics-/Egypt-orders-Islamist-detained-for-insulting-Chris.aspx

--------------

Saudi courts to have Urdu interpreters

18 February 2013

Security investigation authorities will introduce Urdu interpretation services for Pakistani nationals in Saudi courts and in police investigations, according to Aftab Ahmed Khokar, the Pakistan consul general in Jeddah.

The new service allows Pakistanis under investigation in criminal matters to answer questions from investigators, lawyers and judges.

Full report at:

http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-courts-have-urdu-interpreters

------------

Three Hezbollah fighters, 12 Syrian rebels killed in clashes

February 18, 2013

By Rakan al-Fakih   

HERMEL, Lebanon: Three Hezbollah fighters and 12 Syrian rebels were killed in fierce battles near Syria’s border with Lebanon, security sources said Sunday, as the Syrian opposition accused the party of “military intervention” in the neighboring country’s bloody conflict.

The fighting, the worst near the border with Lebanon since the uprising erupted in Syria nearly two years ago, underlined Hezbollah’s increasing involvement in the Syrian crisis. It also renewed fears of the Syrian conflict between government troops and opposition groups fighting to topple the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad spilling over into Lebanon.

Full report at:

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2013/Feb-18/206866-three-hezbollah-fighters-12-syrian-rebels-killed-in-clashes.ashx#ixzz2LF2IXV8p

------------

Iraq's Al-Qaeda wing claims Baghdad blasts

February 18, 2013   

BAGHDAD: Al-Qaeda's Iraqi wing claimed responsibility on Monday for car bomb blasts that killed 28 people in Shiite Muslim districts in Baghdad, saying it was taking revenge for perceived state repression of Sunni Muslims.

The Al-Qaeda affiliate Islamic State of Iraq and other Sunni Islamist groups oppose Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shiite-led government which they say discriminates against the country's Sunni minority.

Full report at:

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Feb-18/206888-iraqs-al-qaeda-wing-claims-baghdad-blasts.ashx#ixzz2LF2RvgyT

------------

New Egyptian settlements to be alcohol-free

 February 17, 2013

Cairo: Two years after the Egyptian revolution that ousted an authoritarian regime, liberals are increasingly concerned that the ruling Islamists are out to curb personal freedoms and build a society in their own image.

Alcohol, forbidden to Muslims but enjoyed by some Egyptian Christians and by foreign tourists, is one area where the Islamist authorities are introducing controversial change.

Nabeel Abbas, the vice-president of the New Urban Communities Authorities (NUCA), told Reuters on Sunday that the government would no longer issue licences for the sale of alcohol in new residential settlements on the outskirts of Cairo, Alexandria and other big cities.

Full report at:

http://gulfnews.com/news/region/egypt/new-egyptian-settlements-to-be-alcohol-free-1.1147586

------------

Islamist group may pull out of Bahrain dialogue

Habib Toumi

 February 17, 2013

Blames opposition for “inciting the street” and “refusing to oppose violence”

Manama: The Islamic Menbar, one of the nine political members of a coalition taking part in the national dialogue, could pull out of the talks.

The decision, yet to be announced officially, is attributed by sources with connections to the Islamist society, “the increase in the level of street violence and the targeting of security servicemen, Bahrainis and expatriates”.

Full report at:

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/bahrain/islamist-group-may-pull-out-of-bahrain-dialogue-1.1147183

------------

Tit-for-tat sectarian kidnappings spread strife in northern Syria

February 18, 2013

By Ben Hubbard

BEIRUT: A rural patch of north Syria has been shaken by a series of tit-for-tat, sectarian kidnappings, anti-regime activists said Saturday, highlighting how much the country’s civil war has enflamed tensions between different religious groups. While all activists agreed that kidnappings had spiked in recent days between armed men in neighboring Shiite and Sunni Muslim villages, reports of the numbers kidnapped by both sides ranged from a few dozen to more than 300.

Full report at:

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Feb-18/206838-tit-for-tat-sectarian-kidnappings-spread-strife-in-northern-syria.ashx#ixzz2LF3KOWLw

------------

Taif school fails to renew rental agreement; kids eat on the street

 18 February 2013

About 400 pupils at the Suhaili District’s Malik Bin Ouf Primary School in Taif were forced to spend their breakfast break on the street because the school had not renewed a rental agreement with the new owner of a walled area adjacent to the school where pupils previously ate their meals and conducted extracurricular activities.

The new owner of the property said that he had no choice but to close the area to students as the Education Department did not respond to his requests to either renew or discontinue the contract.

Full report at:

http://www.arabnews.com/taif-school-fails-renew-rental-agreement-kids-eat-street

-----------

Hezbollah condemned for 'attack on Syrian villages'

February 18, 2013

Syrian rebels and the opposition have accused the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah of attacking Syrian villages.

The Syrian National Council (SNC) said Hezbollah fighters attacked three villages near the Lebanese border in support of the Syrian government.

Hezbollah said three Lebanese Shia were killed in the clashes. Hezbollah has consistently denied it has sent its members to fight for the Syrian regime.

The UN meanwhile has said human rights abuses in Syria have got worse.

In a report issued on Monday, a UN-appointed inquiry team said the conflict had become "increasingly sectarian... radicalised and militarised", according to AFP news agency.

Full report at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21496735

-----------------

India

Urdu papers carry Muslim charter of demands for Sonia

Feb 18, 2013

MUMBAI: Urdu newspapers countrywide carried a charter of demands a day after Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who was to address students of Aligarh Muslim University on Saturday, was forced to cancel her trip because of bad weather.

While Sonia addressed the students through a video-conference, Muslim communitarian leaders including leading NGOs published a charter of demands for the UPA government's immediate consideration. These demands were published in six major Urdu dailies with editions across the country.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Urdu-papers-carry-Muslim-charter-of-demands-for-Sonia/articleshow/18550132.cms

-----------

UAE’s Two Billion Dollars Boost for India

ATUL ANEJA

 Feb 18 2013

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will invest two billion US dollars in India as part of a pioneering initiative that is fired by a vision that goes beyond bilateralism and explores joint opportunities in Asia and Africa as well.

The two countries on Monday established the India-UAE High Level Task Force on Investment - a vehicle that will channel investments covering a broad spectrum of areas ranging from infrastructural development to food security.

Full report at:

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/uaes-two-billion-dollars-boost-for-india/article4428162.ece

-----------

Let Parliament decide on Afzal Guru's body, Manmohan says

Feb 18, 2013

NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR: Let Parliament discuss whether the body of Afzal Guru should be taken to Jammu and Kashmir as demanded by his family, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Monday. Afzal Guru was hanged and buried in Tihar Jail on February 9 for his role in the 2001 attack on Parliament.

"Let Parliament discuss whether the body should be brought back or not," Manmohan Singh said.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Let-Parliament-decide-on-Afzal-Gurus-body-Manmohan-says/articleshow/18558851.cms

---------

Khurshid calls Maldivian foreign minister over Nasheed's refuge in Indian high commission

Feb 17, 2013

DHAKA/MALE: External affairs minister Salman Khurshid on Sunday spoke to his Maldivian counterpart for the second time in four days to defuse the crisis over former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed who remained holed up at the Indian high commission in Male for the fifth day.

Khurshid, who is on an official two-day visit to Bangladesh, called up Maldives foreign minister Abdul Samad Abdullah from Dhaka, official sources said in Dhaka.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Khurshid-calls-Maldivian-foreign-

-----------

Nasheed asylum: Mission in Male not used for holding political meetings, says India

 Feb 18 2013

Male : With no signs of resolution to the situation arising out of former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed taking refuge in the Indian mission for the sixth day, India and Maldives today engaged in a war of words with the former denying that its High Commission was being used for holding political meetings to incite violence here.

A day after Indian High Commissioner D M Mulay was summoned and issued a strong protest note on Nasheed's stay in the mission, India said, "It is reiterated that no political meetings and activities have been allowed in the mission premises during the presence of former President".

Full report at:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/nasheed-asylum-mission-in-male-not-used-for-holdi.../1075892/

-----------

Pakistan

Pakistani Imam and His Student Jailed For One Year for Adultery in Dubai

By Bassam Za’za’, Legal

 February 17, 2013

They claim they got married over Skype and marriage contract is notarised in Pakistan

Dubai: An imam and a student, who claimed they tied the knot over Skype, have been jailed for one year each for committing adultery.

The Dubai Misdemeanour Court convicted the 39-year-old Pakistani imam and his 19-year-old compatriot of having consensual sex although they pleaded innocent and contended that a marriage official officiated over their marriage rituals on Skype.

The court disregarded the defendants’ Pakistani marriage contract which was notarised in Pakistan.

Full report at:

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/crime/imam-student-jailed-for-one-year-for-adultery-1.1147409

------------

Army should take over to end Balochistan violence: Shia cleric

 February 18, 2013

QUETTA: Majlis-e-Wehdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) Central Deputy Secretary General Maulana Amin Shaheedi has demanded that the  army take over in Balochistan and put a stop to ongoing violence in the province, Express News reported on Monday.

Shaheedi made these remarks while addressing a press conference in Quetta that condemned yesterdays deadly bombings that killed 80 people.

Full report at:

http://tribune.com.pk/story/508986/army-should-take-over-to-end-balochistan-violence-shia-cleric/

-----------

Prominent Shia doctor gunned down in Lahore

 February 18, 2013

Unidentified armed men gunned down a prominent Shia doctor and his 13-year-old son in this eastern Pakistani city today, two days after 85 members of the minority sect were killed in a bombing in Quetta. Syed Ali Haider, a well-known eye specialist, was driving his son Murtaza to school

when his car was intercepted by two gunmen on a motorcycle on Zahoor Elahi Road. The gunmen fired indiscriminately at the vehicle and escaped. The father and son were taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared Haider dead on arrival. Murtaza succumbed to his injuries a short while later.

Full report at:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Pakistan/Prominent-Shia-doctor-gunned-down-in-Lahore/Article1-1013348.aspx

------------

Pakistan Shiites demand protection from militants

February 18, 2013

By Gul Yousufzai     

QUETTA, Pakistan: Pakistani shiites furious over a sectarian bombing that killed 85 people protested on Monday, demanding that security forces protect them from hardline Sunni groups.

The attack, near a street market in the southwestern city of Quetta on Saturday, highlighted the government's failure to crack down on militancy in nuclear-armed Pakistan just a few months before a general election is due.

Full report at:

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/International/2013/Feb-18/206874-pakistan-shiites-demand-protection-from-militants.ashx#ixzz2LF3AsFO3

------------

Qadri promises to rid Pakistan of corrupt politicians

 February 18, 2013

FAISALABAD: “My supporters and I would not sit idle. We will rid the country of corrupt politicians,” Tehreek-i-Minhaj-ul-Quran Chairman Tahirul Qadri said on Sunday.

Addressing a gathering of 20,000 people at Dhobi Ghaat here on Sunday, Qadri said that he was working only to bring about a visible change in the lives of the people by ensuring a transparent electoral process in consonance with the constitution.

Full report at:

http://tribune.com.pk/story/508713/faisalabad-tour-qadri-promises-to-rid-pakistan-of-corrupt-politicians/

----------

Target killing trend claims 5 lives in Karachi

 February 18, 2013

KARACHI: Incidents of target killing in Karachi claimed five lives on Monday, Express News reported.

One person, identified as Haji Fayyaz Soomro, was shot dead in the Surjani Town area while another was killed in Baldia Town.

Two strangled bodies were also recovered from the area.

Sources said that the bodies were of Akhtar Ali and Maqbool who belonged to Turbat and had their names on Balochistan’s list missing persons.

Another body was recovered from Machar Colony.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/508987/target-killing-trend-claims-5-lives-in-karachi/

-----------

Attack on political agent’s office in Peshawar kills five

2013/02/18

PESHAWAR: At least two blasts and gun fire was heard near the office of a political agent on Peshawar’s Bara Road whereas five persons were killed and seven others were reportedly injured.

At least two suicide attackers entered the office of the political agent where a jirga (meeting of tribal elders) was being conducted. The attackers opened fire when some prisoners were brought to the political agents office.

Full report at:

http://dawn.com/2013/02/18/attack-on-political-agents-office-in-peshawar/

------------

No burial: Quetta protesters give 48-hour ultimatum to arrest killers

 February 18, 2013

UNITED NATIONS / QUETTA: Demanding an army operation against sectarian killers, the families of the victims of Quetta bombing have given 48-hour ultimatum to the government, Express News reported on Monday.

On February 16, a massive bomb ripped though a busy market in a Shia Hazara neighbourhood of Quetta, killing more than 80 people and injuring nearly 200.

The outlawed sectarian group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing.

Full report at:

http://tribune.com.pk/story/508950/un-chief-condemns-quetta-bombing/

-----------

Sit-ins in parts of Karachi over Quetta carnage

2013/02/18

KARACHI: Sit-ins were being held in different parts of Karachi on Monday on the call of the Shia Ulema Council over the latest carnage in Quetta that has claimed at least 84 lives, DawnNews reported.

Shops and markets were reported shut in parts of the city and traffic was scarce. Furthermore, a number of government and private educational institutions were also closed and the strike was also affecting the schedule of the flights and trains to and from the city.

Full report at:

http://dawn.com/2013/02/18/sit-ins-in-parts-of-karachi-over-quetta-carnage/

---------------

President confirms three permanent judges for SHC

2013/02/18

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday confirmed nomination of Justice Nisar Muhammad Shaikh, Justice Nadeem Akhtar and Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui as permanent judges of the Sindh High Court.

The president’s spokesperson, Senator Farhatullah Babar, said the decision was taken on the advice of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf.

Full report at:

http://dawn.com/2013/02/18/president-confirms-three-permanent-judges-for-shc/

-------------

Pakistan clerics reject Kabul moot invitation

 February 18, 2013

ISLAMABAD: Days after a council of Pakistani clerics announced a boycott of the much-anticipated ulema conference in Kabul, another group of Pakistani clerics on Sunday declined to participate in the moot unless the Afghan clerics’ council clarifies anti-Taliban remarks by one of its members in 48 hours.

Full report at:

http://tribune.com.pk/story/508875/fading-hopes-pakistan-clerics-reject-kabul-moot-invitation/

-----------

Support for Palestinians: Israeli settlements jeopardise two-state solution says Zardari

 February 18, 2013

ISLAMABAD: Criticising Western nations for “turning a blind eye towards the atrocities of Israeli forces”, Pakistan on Sunday warned that new “illegal settlements” being built by Tel Aviv in the Palestinian territory would deal a “death blow” to the proposed two-state solution.

Speaking at a luncheon meeting with visiting Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, President Asif Ali Zardari urged the international community to stop Israel from building “illegal settlements in the occupied territory”.

Full report at:

http://tribune.com.pk/story/508892/support-for-palestinians-israeli-settlements-jeopardise-two-state-solution-zardari-front-page/

------------

South Asia

Bangladesh moves to ban main Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami for war crimes

Feb 17, 2013

DHAKA: Bangladesh's parliament on Sunday amended a law to allow the prosecution of the country's largest Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami for war crimes, in a move that could pave the way to it being banned.

News of the move was greeted by loud cheers from thousands of protesters in central Dhaka who have been demanding a ban on Jamaat, whose leaders are on trial for war crimes allegedly committed in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

Law minister Shafique Ahmed told AFP that under the new law "any organization including Jamaat can be prosecuted" by a special court for war crimes and if found guilty "it can be banned" from politics.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Bangladesh-moves-to-ban-main-Islamist-party-Jamaat-e-Islami-for-war-crimes/articleshow/18548213.cms

------------

HR chief backs demand for blocking war criminals' clemency

 February 18th, 2013

The NHRC chairman on Monday termed the demand for the amendment of the constitution to disqualify war criminals for presidential clemency as logical.

"It is a logical demand from the young generation and Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee," said Mizanur Rahman, the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

Full report at:

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=44854

------------

For Maldives govt, Nasheed is India’s problem

Feb 18, 2013

Three days after deposed Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed took refuge in the Indian high commission in Male fearing arrest, a special committee of the Maldivian government (Sitcom) had a confidential meeting at President Waheed Hassan Manik's house on Thursday, a Maldivian home ministry source told TOI. The committee presided over by Waheed and comprising his advisor and ministers of defence, home and foreign affairs, is learned to have taken a 'wait and tire out Nasheed and India' stance, without sounding offensive towards India.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/For-Maldives-govt-Nasheed-is-Indias-problem/articleshow/18550916.cms

-----------

Bangladesh President signs amended International Crimes Tribunal law

 February 18th, 2013

President Zillur Rahman signed the amended International Crimes Tribunal law on Monday, a day after the parliament passed some major changes in the act.

Officials from the Parliament Secretariat went to Bangabhaban for the president’s approval to the law that empowered the tribunals to try various organisations alongside individuals for crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 Liberation War.

Full report at:

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=44855

------------

Bangladesh: Black flag hoisted in memory of slain blogger

One minute silence in memory of three 'killed in Jamaat-Shibir attack'

 February 18th, 2013

Black flags were hoisted at Shahbagh Projonmo Chattar and different educational institutions in the capital on Monday in memory of slain blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider.

As the clock struck at 11 in the morning, Shahbagh protesters hoisted a black flag and observed one-minute silence paying tribute to three persons who, the protesters said, died in attacks by activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its students wing Islami Chhatra Shibir.

Of the three, Haidar and Agrani Bank employee Zafar Munshi died in Dhaka while a village police died in Chittagong.

Full report at:

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=44852

------------

War criminal supporters make 15 hacking attempts on a website

Helemul Alam

 February 18th, 2013

Supporters of war criminals made 15 hacking attempts on a website, www.shadhinbanglabetarkendro.com, of demonstrators of the Shahbagh movement since its inception on February 9.

On Saturday, the hackers managed to shut the website down at 2:30pm but a four-member team, which works round-the-clock, managed to change the server and get it up and running in four hours.

Full report at:

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=269538

------------

Court issues second arrest warrant for Nasheed

By MinivanNews | February 18th, 2013

The Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court has issued a second arrest warrant for former President Mohamed Nasheed, an official from the Judiciary Media Unity has confirmed.

Five days after Nasheed sought refuge inside the Indian High Commission, the Judiciary Media Unity confirmed to Minivan News that Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court has now issued a new arrest warrant, ordering police to produce Nasheed at the court on February 20 at 4:00pm.

Police Spokesperson Sub Inspector Hassan Haneef also confirmed that the Maldives Police Service had received the court order for Nasheed’s arrest.

Full report at:

http://minivannews.com/politics/hulhumale-magistrate-court-issues-second-arrest-warrant-for-nasheed-53150

------------

NATO kills insurgent behind US soldier’s death

2013/02/18

KABUL: An Afghan soldier-turned-insurgent who was feted by the Taliban for killing an American soldier during an insider attack in eastern Afghanistan last year has been killed in a raid, the US-led international coalition said on Monday.   

NATO identified the insurgent as Mahmood and said that he and an accomplice, identified only as Rashid, died in last Wednesday’s operation in eastern Kunar province’s Ghaziabad district. No other details were provided.

Full report at:

http://dawn.com/2013/02/18/nato-kills-insurgent-behind-us-soldiers-death/

------------

Violence grips Bangladesh; 3 killed in sporadic clashes

Feb 18, 2013

DHAKA: At least three persons were killed in sporadic clashes in Bangladesh on Monday during a nationwide general strike called by fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) to protest their leaders' ongoing trial for 1971 war crimes.

Witnesses said JI activists visibly took a hit and run strategy in Dhaka and several other cities amid a clarion call by rival protestors at Shahbagh Square to defy the strike.

One pedestrian was killed when a minibus overturned as it was chased by JI activists, who also damaged four buses in the capital. The transport operators defied the JI's strike call expressing solidarity with demands for trial of "crimes against humanity" during the 1971 War against Pakistan.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Violence-grips-Bangladesh-3-killed-in-sporadic-clashes/articleshow/18555662.cms

-----------

Mideast Asia

Iran to establish navy base near Pak port under Chinese control

Feb 18 2013

Islamabad : Iran has planned to establish a new base near Pakistan's border in the Sea of Oman. According to Iran's state-run media, the location is Pasabandar, near Iran's border with Pakistan.

The move came as Pakistan prepared to sign an agreement with a Chinese firm to hand over the control of Gwadar Port, the News reports.

Full report at:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/iran-to-establish-navy-base-near-pak-port-under-chinese-control/1075888/

-----------

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran Supreme Leader, Scolds Ahmadinejad Ahead Of Elections

By BRIAN MURPHY

 02/17/13

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Iran's supreme leader is supposed to be many things in the eyes of his followers: Spiritual mentor, protector of the Islamic Revolution, a moral compass above the regular fray.

Political referee is not among them.

Yet that is the unfamiliar role Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has adopted as the political mudslinging gets heavier ahead of elections in June to pick a successor for President Mahmoud Full report at:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/17/ayatollah-ali-khamenei-ahmadinejad_n_2707814.html

------------

Israel to Conduct 'Intensive' Probe of Mossad Prisoner Case

February 18, 2013

Israel's parliament is to conduct what it called an "intensive" inquiry into the arrest and death of a jailed Australian-Israeli with Mossad links, a parliamentary spokesman said on Sunday.

"The intelligence subcommittee of the [Knesset] foreign affairs and defense committee decided to hold an intensive inquiry into all aspects of the affair of the prisoner found dead in his cell," the committee spokesman Asaf Doron said.

Full report at:

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/international/israel-to-conduct-intensive-probe-of-mossad-prisoner-case/572309

------------

Yemen frees Dutch kidnap victim

 17 February 2013

SANAA: Yemeni authorities have freed a Dutch man held captive for a week after being kidnapped by tribesmen in the country's west, the Interior Ministry announced yesterday.

"Security forces freed a Dutch man kidnapped a week ago by tribesmen between the towns of Hard in Hajja province and Al-Zaidiya in Hodeida province," the ministry said in a statement on Defence Ministry news website 26sep.net.

Full report at:

http://www.arabnews.com/yemen-frees-dutch-kidnap-victim

-------------

Man fights loss of three daughters in Israeli strike

By Sarah Munir

 February 18, 2013

KARACHI: There was hardly anyone in the audience who did not choke or wipe away a silent tear while listening to Palestinian doctor and author Izzeldin Abuelaish recall the horror of losing three daughters to an Israeli airstrike and his refusal to bow down to hatred as a healing mechanism during a Karachi Literature Festival session.

The small discussion moderated by columnist Raza Rumi, Abuelaish candidly shared the grief of losing three daughters to Israeli violence, the anger and guilt it evoked within him and his reconciliation with the reality that hating other human beings was not the solution.

Full report at:

http://tribune.com.pk/story/509004/man-fights-loss-of-three-daughters-in-israeli-strike/

--------------

Australia

Israel Prisoner X: Ben Zygier 'leaked Mossad secrets'

February 18, 2013

Israel secretly imprisoned an Australian man who worked for its Mossad spy agency because it believed he had divulged details of his work, an Australian news programme has reported.

ABC News said Ben Zygier was suspected by Israel of informing Australia's security agency of Mossad operations.

Last week, ABC identified Mr Zygier as Israel's so-called Prisoner X, whose existence Israel never acknowledged.

He was reported to have hanged himself, months after his case surfaced in 2010.

The report on ABC's Foreign Correspondent programme, which named Mr Zygier, has been the subject of intense media debate in Israel, after Israel issued a gagging order preventing publication of details of the story.

Full report at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21496738

----------------

Australia asks Israel to explain Prisoner-X’s death in prison

 18 February 2013

CANBERRA: Australia has asked Israel to explain the mysterious death of an Australian-Israeli citizen and alleged Israeli spy in an Israeli prison two years ago, the foreign minister said yesterday.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr last week ordered his department to report on its handling of the case of the man dubbed Prisoner-X in the media, who died in an Israeli prison in December 2010.

Carr said yesterday that Israel had been asked to contribute to his department's investigation report. "We want to give them an opportunity to submit to us an explanation of how this tragic death came about," he said.

http://www.arabnews.com/australia-asks-israel-explain-death-prison

------------

School choice in Australia is not just keeping the faith

February 18, 2013

Josephine Tovey, Georgina Mitchell

When it comes to where their children will be educated, many parents are making decisions based on reasons other than religion.

At Eddie Sharp's Jewish high school, certain foods were contraband. ''We'd skip school to run to the 7-Eleven to get a sausage roll … it was a really rebellious thing to do,'' Sharp says.

Though this act of culinary defiance broke the school rules, he wasn't betraying any faith by gobbling pork-filled treats.

Full report at:

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/education/school-choice-is-not-just-keeping-the-faith-20130217-2el4a.html#ixzz2LEu6sZTD

------------

Australia pursues Malaysian explanation for senator’s deportation

 17 February 2013

PERTH, Australia: Australia is seeking further explanation from Malaysia about why an Australian senator, who went to politically sensitive Malaysia to discuss electoral reform, was denied entry and deported, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said on Sunday.

Malaysia refused entry on Saturday to independent Senator Nick Xenophon, with an immigration official saying the decision was made because he had participated in an illegal street rally for electoral reform in the Southeast Asian country last year.

Full report at:

http://www.arabnews.com/australia-pursues-malaysian-explanation-senator%E2%80%99s-deportation

------------

Europe

UN to link counterterrorism centres worldwide

18 February 2013

The United Nations wants to institute a web-based platform to exchange information in real-time as a means of improving collaboration efforts among counter-terrorism centres worldwide, Jehangir Khan, deputy director, Middle East and West Asia Division, United Nations Department of Political Affairs, said in Riyadh yesterday.

On behalf of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Khan was making the closing statement at the International Conference on UN Cooperation with Counter Terrorism Centres. The conference, held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Riyadh, came to a close yesterday.

The event was organized by the UN Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) and hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Full report at:

were taken on a tour of the Muhammed bin Naif Center for Counseling and Care in Riyadh.

http://www.arabnews.com/un-link-counterterrorism-centers-worldwide

------------

Cameron urges Taliban to stop terror activities

Dipankar De Sarkar, Hindustan Times

February 18, 2013

British Prime Minister David Cameron’s visit to India will not be without its difficulties, and in the area of strategic ties, the shadow of Afghanistan looms. But the British leader told HT India and Britain had a shared interest in seeing a stable Afghanistan.  After pleasing New

Delhi in 2010 with his comments about Pakistan “looking both ways” on terrorism, Britain has been careful not to anger Islamabad any more in the runup to British troops withdrawal from Afghanistan by 2014. More than 400 UK troops have died in Afghanistan began in 2001 – a toll that no Prime Minister can ignore.

Full report at:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/europe/Cameron-urges-Taliban-to-stop-terror-activities/Article1-1013071.aspx

---------------

UN Special Rapporteur on Independence of Judges and Lawyers arrives in the Maldives

By JJ Robinson | February 17th, 2013

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Gabriela Knaul, arrived in the Maldives on Saturday (February 16) for a visit scheduled to last until February 24.

During her visit, Knaul will “examine measures taken to ensure the independence of the judiciary, prosecutors and lawyers, as well as their protection, and the obstacles encountered for an adequate, impartial and independent administration of justice”, the UN said in a statement.

Full report at:

http://minivannews.com/politics/un-special-rapporteur-on-independence-of-judges-and-lawyers-arrives-in-the-maldives-53092

------------

The ECLJ asks the United Nations Human Rights Council to request the release of Pastor Saeed

February 12, 2013

In a written declaration submitted today to the Human Rights Council, the ECLJ denounces the egregious violations of international human rights by the Islamic Republic of Iran and its agents against Pastor Saeed for exercising his right to practice his faith.

Pastor Saeed Abedini, a Christian with dual United States–Iranian nationality, is currently imprisoned at Evin Prison in Tehran, the Islamic Republic of Iran, because he encouraged peaceful assemblies of Christians in private homes. Over the last six months, Pastor Saeed was: (1) arrested and imprisoned by Iranian Revolutionary Guards; (2) repeatedly beaten in prison; (3) denied access to medical care made necessary by this abuse; (4) denied access to his attorney until mere hours before his trial; (5) given a sham trial before a judge so notoriously biased and corrupt that he was condemned by the European Union for issuing egregious verdicts; (6) disallowed, along with his counsel, from attending the second day of his trial; and (7) sentenced to eight years in Evin Prison for exercising his Christian faith. In addition to directly abusing Pastor Saeed and violating his rights, Iranian officials directly threatened an Abedini family friend assisting the family in seeking Pastor Saeed’s release on bail.

Full report at:

http://eclj.org/Releases/Read.aspx?GUID=60783ae1-be6a-4dd4-8094-fcfa36bae181&s=eur

------------

Europe sharply split over military support for Syrian rebels

February 18, 2013

By Claire Rosemberg

BRUSSELS: Britain, apparently backed by a handful of European Union allies, is fighting to lift an EU arms embargo barring the supply of weapons to the Syrian rebel coalition battling President Bashar al-Assad.

As EU foreign ministers go into a daylong meeting on the issue Monday, the internal row remains unresolved despite weeks of talks that diplomats from member states describe as both "difficult" and "divisive".

Full report at:

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Feb-18/206877-europe-sharply-split-over-military-support-for-syrian-rebels.ashx#ixzz2LF3RmWAY

------------

UN chief condemns anti-Shia bombing in Quetta

2013/02/18

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon “strongly” condemned the bomb blast in southwestern Pakistan that killed 81 people, calling on authorities there to act quickly against those responsible, his spokesman Martin Nesirky said Sunday.

Noting that this is the second attack against the Shia community in Quetta in the last few weeks, Ban “calls for swift and determined action against those claiming responsibility and perpetrating such actions,” Nesirky said in a statement.

He “reiterates the strong support of the United Nations for efforts by the Government and people of Pakistan to protect religious and ethnic minorities and to combat the scourge of terrorism,” the spokesman added.

http://dawn.com/2013/02/18/un-chief-condemns-anti-shia-bombing-in-quetta/

----------

EU launches military training mission in Mali

Feb 18, 2013

BRUSSELS: European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels are officially launching a mission to train the military in the African country of Mali.

The first people in the mission _ about 70 _ have already been sent to Mali so that they could begin working as advisers as soon as Monday's decision was made. EU officials say military instructors will be deployed before the end of March and training will start in April.

The mission is designed to help the government of Mali maintain control of the country.

French and African troops are working to wrest control of the vast northern part of the country from Islamic radicals and other rebel groups.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/EU-launches-military-training-mission-in-Mali/articleshow/18556707.cms

------------

Africa

Nigeria Islamists Ansaru claim Bauchi Setraco seizures

February 18, 2013

Nigerian militant group Ansaru says it kidnapped seven foreign workers in a raid that saw a security guard killed.

Italian, Filipino, British, Greek and Lebanese workers are thought to be among those being held after the attack in the northern state of Bauchi.

They were working on a construction project when the militants attacked on Sunday, reports say.

Full report at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21497044

------------

Libyan unity sought on 2nd uprising anniversary

18 February 2013

BENGHAZI: Libya’s leader has called for unity in the North African nation as the country celebrates the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Muammar Qaddafi.

Addressing thousands of flag-waving Libyans yesterday, Mohammed El-Megarif urged his countrymen to “join ranks and resolve our differences to build our nation.”

Full report at:

http://www.arabnews.com/libyan-unity-sought-2nd-uprising-anniversary

------------

Talks to create new government in Tunisia due to resume

February 18, 2013

Talks are due to resume on the creation of a new Tunisian government, despite opposition from the ruling party.

The country has been in political crisis since the killing of opposition politician Chokri Belaid on 6 February triggered mass protests.

This led to resignations from the coalition government.

PM Hamadi Jebali wants to form an administration of technocrats, but the idea is opposed by the leader of his Islamic Ennahda party.

Full report at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21496870

--------

North America

US-held Saudi prisoners to finish terms in KSA

18 February 2013

Saudi ambassador to Washington Adel Al-Jubair said the embassy is currently working on completing procedures for Saudi prisoners eligible for transfer to Saudi Arabia to complete their prison terms based on an extradition agreement.

“Humaidan (Al-Turki) and other (Saudi) prisoners are a key concern of the Kingdom. The embassy is now working on identifying those eligible for extradition,” he said during a ceremony at the embassy Saturday, adding that such procedures take time.

There are seven Saudi prisoners in the United States and the hope is that they will all be extradited. Al-Jubair said Saudi Arabia would pay millions of riyals to bail Saudi prisoners and have them released.

Full report at:

http://www.arabnews.com/us-held-saudi-prisoners-finish-terms-ksa

-----------

URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/freedom,-secularism-parliament-all-kuffar’s/d/10466