Imam's Home Sex Video Sparks Scandal in Tajikistan
New Age Islam News Bureau
13 Jun 2013
Photo: Each mosque in Tajikistan has its own board of 20 people who has to discuss the situation and, if necessary, choose a new imam
-----------
Europe
• Syrian Government and Rebels Recruit Children to Fight in the Civil War
• Syria death toll more than 93,000, including 6,500 children: UN
• EU justice chief seeks answers on US data spying
• Georgia Closes Two Afghan Bases after Deadly Attacks
• Police Killed In Daghestan Shoot-Out
Pakistan
• Pak's ISI gets Rs 600 million to accomplish 'special assignment'
• Pakistan tries anew to end insurgency in Balochistan
• Three doctors kidnapped in Balochistan
• Army officer killed in Tirah valley blast
• Four killed in Karachi violence
• One killed in blast in Baldia Town
• Hindus get representation in Punjab Assembly after 16 years
• Musharraf arrested in Bugti murder case
• Sharif govt abolishes 'secret funds' of 16 ministries in Pak
• Sharif govt raises Pak defence budget by 15%
• Pakistani security guard charged with murdering American pastor
• PPP condemns police brutality in Faisalabad
Arab World
• Starved for Arms, Syria Rebels Make Their Own
• Egyptian author sentenced to five years for insulting religion
• Egypt’s Islamists call for ‘million-man march’ to pledge support for Mursi
• Gulf Shiites fear rising sectarian rhetoric, scapegoating over Syria
• Saudi youths prefer late marriages
North America
• US whistleblower Edward Snowden promises more disclosures
• LeT is a terror proxy of ISI: US Congressman
• No traitor or hero, I am just an American, says Snowden
• Iranian Gmail users targeted in pre-election hacking campaign: Google
• US spy programmes disrupted dozens of attacks, NSA director says
• U.S. eases trade restrictions on Syrian opposition
India
• ‘Mahalkar part of Malegaon and Mecca Masjid blasts’
• Three different call records for 26/11, reveals RTI
• NIA files supplementary charges in Samjhauta Express blast case
• Jiah suicide: Respect life more than love, says Shah Rukh
• India worried about 190 peacekeepers in Syria unrest
• MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi barred from entering Malegaon and Dhule
• Government will expedite survey of Waqf properties: Minister
• Strategic Studies Centre at AMU to be named after Tipu Sultan
• Jail superintendent says Khalid Mujahid died due to medical negligence
South Asia
• Six Afghan policemen found shot dead at checkpoint
• To stop employing children as domestic helps urged in Bangladesh
• Former President Nasheed calls for reinstatement of GMR agreement
• Verdict on Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s registration soon
• Myanmar monks to meet over deadly religious riots
• Myanmar satisfied with Malaysia’s handling of clashes
• Religion card used against AL favourites
• Supporters rally to help Afghan civil rights advocate attend college in U.S.
Southeast Asia
• Will non-Muslim parents get justice, interfaith panel asks Federal Govt.
• Malaysia warns Myanmar immigrants against violence
• Malaysia ‘less peaceful’ compared to 2012, says international report
• Najib acknowledges voters call for transparent, fair, accountable government
• Workshop teaches participants punishment-free approaches
Mideast
• Won't do anything to undermine India's security: Israel
• Palestinian youth forced to drink wine
• Iranians mixed on having religious figures in politics: Pew poll
• Iran nuclear push, flashpoints role has west in a bind
• Netanyahu opening new Holocaust display at Auschwitz
Africa
• Manual left behind in Mali suggests Al Qaeda training to use feared surface-to-air missile
• Mali added to UN child soldier list of shame
• Ex-Gaddafi PM ‘spent billions on politicians’
Central Asia
• Imam's Home Sex Video Sparks Scandal in Tajikistan
• Alleged Hizb Ut-Tahrir Members Arrested In Kyrgyzstan
• Turkmenistan Gets First Legislator from 'Alternative' Party
• Former Kyrgyz Prime Minister Sentenced In Absentia
• Victims of Ethnic Clashes in Kyrgyzstan Commemorated
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
-------------
Imam's Home Sex Video Sparks Scandal in Tajikistan
By Mirzonabi Kholiqzod and Antoine Blua
June 12, 2013
The future of an imam in Tajikistan is in question after he appeared having sex on video clips posted on the Internet.
The scandal erupted last week when three video clips appeared on YouTube and Facebook showing a couple involved in sexual activities.
In one clip a stocky, naked, middle-aged man appears to put a mobile phone on a table or shelf before climbing into bed and having sex with a woman wearing a green head scarf. The face of the man, who has a dark beard, appears clearly.
The videos were removed by YouTube and Facebook within a few hours. They appeared again for several hours on June 11.
Law enforcement officers have questioned the imam of a mosque in the village of Bolshevik in Rudaki district, near the capital, Dushanbe, as part of an investigation.
Local police tell RFE/RL’s Tajik Service that the imam has acknowledged filming himself having sex with his wife on his mobile phone.
The imam, whose name has not been made public, denied posting the videos and claimed he had lost the phone.
No criminal case was opened against the imam.
The Interior Ministry says it wants to know who posted the videos on the Internet as part of the police probe into possible invasion of privacy.
The person who posted the videos identified himself as Soleh Hotamyon.
One caption erroneously identified the man in the video as Muhiddin Kabiri, the no bearded chairman of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT). The captions for the two other clips mention IRPT Deputy Chairman Mahmadali Hait, who has a white beard.
Neither official has made any comment.
The story has drawn furious reactions in the Rudaki district and on social networks.
On the website of RFE/RL’s Tajik Service, one visitor wrote:
"Nowadays our blind people believe anyone wearing a beard or a turban and worship him. The guy recorded his intimate scene on his mobile phone. Do you really believe that he thinks about the image of Muslims? I don't believe so!"
Others wrote:
“It's so disgusting. How is it possible to record sex with your wife and publish in on the Internet?? He does not deserve to be a cleric. Don't call him a cleric."
"Mullahs like you are discrediting our dear Islam. Do you know how much you pleased the enemies of Islam? If I were an official, I would give you a life jail sentence."
The fate of the imam is now in question.
According to the Department of Fatwa of Tajikistan’s state-backed Council of Ulema, it is a sin to take pictures of sexual intercourse.
The council, which has a consultative role, says it will discuss the scandal on June 20.
Spokesman Hoji Nematullo Olimov says each mosque has its own board of 20 people who has to discuss the situation and, if necessary, choose a new imam.
The decision must be rubber-stamped by the state Committee of Religious Affairs.
http://www.rferl.org/content/tajikistan-imam-sex-video-sca/25015060.html
-------------
Europe
Syrian Government and Rebels Recruit Children to Fight in the Civil War
Reuters
June 13, 2013
Syrian troops and rebels are recruiting children to fight in the country's civil war and some have been tortured by government forces for having links to the opposition, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said in a report on Wednesday. The report issued after Ban's special envoy for children and armed conflict, Leila Zerrougui, visited Syria in December said thousands of children have been killed in the violence, "while thousands more have seen family members killed or injured."
The report also said children are recruited, killed, maimed or raped by government forces and armed groups in Afghanistan, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Yemen, as well as by armed groups in Mali, Colombia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Iraq and the Central African Republic.
The United Nations considers anyone aged under 18 to be a child.
Ban said that in Syria, torture and ill-treatment of children accused of associating with opposition forces was a worrying trend.
"There were a number of accounts of sexual violence against boys to obtain information or a confession by the state forces, largely but not exclusively by members of the state intelligence services and the Syrian armed forces," the report said.
"Child detainees, largely boys and as young as 14 years old, suffered similar or identical methods of tortures as adults, including electric shock, beatings, stress positions and threats and acts of sexual torture," it said.
Armed opposition groups, including the Free Syrian Army, were also accused of using children, generally aged 15 to 17 years old, both in combat and in support roles, such as ferrying food and water and loading cartridges, the report said.
"From accounts received, child association with the Free Syrian Army is often linked to an older relative facilitating recruitment or in instances in which the child has lost all members of his or her family," it said.
Ban said that the Syrian government and the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces had assured Zerrougui that they were committed to working with the United Nations to stop the abuse of children's rights.
Chad working to stamp out child soldiers
The report said that in Chad, while progress had been made and the army had a policy of not recruiting children, there were 34 verified cases child recruitment by the army in 2012.
"All 34 children appeared to have been enlisted in the context of a recruitment drive between February and March 2012, during which the army gained 8,000 new recruits," it said.
Chadian troops played a key role in helping French forces during a military offensive in January to drive out Islamist fighters who seized two-thirds of Mali.
Diplomats have said Chad is working with the United Nations to stamp out child soldier recruitment so the country can potentially be part of a peacekeeping force in Mali, which is set to assume authority next month.
The report said there had been a spike in grave violations against children by both government troops and armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo, amid a year-long insurgency by M23 rebels. UN experts accused Rwanda supporting M23 last year, but Rwanda denies the accusation.
"M23 was responsible for systematic recruitment and use of children," the report said. "A total of 65 boys between 13 and 17 years of age, including 25 who claimed to be Rwandan, escaped or surrendered from M23 between April and December."
"A total of 21 of those boys said that they had been recruited on Rwandan territory," it said. "While initially used as porters most ended up on the battlefield as combatants or escorts of commanders. Testimonies from former M23 combatants suggested that hundreds of children remained in M23."
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/restofasia/UN-says-Syrian-government-and-rebels-recruit-children-to-fight/Article1-1075675.aspx
-------------
Syria death toll more than 93,000, including 6,500 children: UN
June 13, 2013
The United Nations’ human rights office said Thursday that almost 93,000 people have been confirmed killed in the Syrian conflict, but the real number is likely to be far higher.
The analysis found 92,901 documented killings in Syria between March 2011 and the end of April 2013, said the U.N.’s top human rights official, Navi Pillay, but she acknowledged that it was impossible to put an exact figure on the death toll from Syria’s upward spiral of violence.
The last such analysis, in January, had documented nearly 60,000 killings through the end of November. The latest figures add more killings to that time period, plus some 27,000 more between December and April.
“The constant flow of killings continues at shockingly high levels, with more than 5,000 killings documented every month since last July,” said Pillay, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights. “This is most likely a minimum casualty figure. The true number of those killed is potentially much higher.”
Among the victims were at least 6,561 children, including 1,729 children younger than 10.
“There are also well-documented cases of individual children being tortured and executed, and entire families including babies being massacred which, along with this devastatingly high death toll, is a terrible reminder of just how vicious this conflict has become,” Ms. Pillay said.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/93000-killed-in-syrian-conflict-says-un/article4810166.ece
-------------
EU justice chief seeks answers on US data spying
June 13, 2013
BRUSSELS: The European Union’s chief justice official has written to the US attorney general demanding an explanation for the collection of foreign nationals’ data through its Prism spy programme.
In a letter seen by Reuters, the European commissioner for justice and fundamental rights, Viviane Reding, said she had serious concerns about the possibility that US authorities had accessed European citizens’ data on a vast scale.
Reding has pushed hard for stronger privacy rules in Europe throughout her mandate. In 2012, she sought to introduce measures that would have set up barriers for foreign judicial authorities to access data about European citizens.
But EU officials say the proposals were diluted by her counterparts in the European Commission, the EU executive, because of concerns such laws would strain relations with the United States at a time when the EU was preparing for talks on a free-trade deal with Washington.
“I would request that you provide me with explanations and clarifications on the PRISM programme, other US. programmes involving data collection and search, and laws under which such programmes may be authorised,” Reding wrote to Attorney General Eric Holder.
US. officials have confirmed the existence of a secret programme to draw data from the Internet, code-named Prism, which according to documents leaked to the Washington Post and Britain’s Guardian newspaper has given them access to data from firms such as Google, Facebook and Skype.
Reding has tried to make it more difficult for US authorities to obtain data from European telecoms and technology companies by introducing stricter requirements such as the approval from a judicial authority.
“In-house people didn’t want to create any possible tension with the US,” an EU official said, referring to opposition inside the European Commission to Reding’s proposals in 2012.
Holder and Reding will meet in Dublin on Friday at a scheduled ministerial gathering.
Detailed questions
In her letter, Reding asks Holder to explain whether EU citizens were targeted under Prism, how broad US access to the data would have been and how EU companies and citizens can appeal against the monitoring of their private correspondence.
EU officials have for several years asked the United States to explain how laws such as the Patriot Act and the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Amendment Act affect EU citizens and companies. The European Parliament, in particular, has become vocal about limiting data sharing and protecting privacy.
Since 2011 the European Commission has tried to negotiate a transatlantic data protection agreement that would limit US access to European data.
The talks have stalled partly over the issue of what rights EU citizens had on US soil, a commission official told Reuters earlier this week.
EU officials also are debating whether data protection should be included in negotiations for an EU-US free-trade deal on which formal talks are expected to begin next month.
European businesses have warned that without legal certainty, technologies which rely on data protection such as cloud computing will not be able to grow in Europe.
Companies considering adopting cloud technology still cite security as their biggest concern and European officials say they are aware that Europe’s cloud market hinges on privacy.
“The storage of the data in the foreign servers and related legal uncertainty constitutes a real impediment,” a Commission official said.
Lobby groups in Brussels say they need to know which set of laws – EU or US legislation – they should follow.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/562713/eu-justice-chief-seeks-answers-on-us-data-spying/
-------------
Georgia Closes Two Afghan Bases After Deadly Attacks
June 12, 2013
Georgia's defense minister says two bases for Georgian troops in Afghanistan have been closed after 10 Georgian soldiers were killed there in recent attacks.
Irakli Alasania announced the closures on June 12, five days after traveling to Afghanistan to meet with Georgian troops in the NATO-led coalition.
Alasania said the number of Georgian troops in Afghanistan, currently 1,545, would not be reduced in the immediate future.
Full report at:
http://www.rferl.org/content/georgia-closes-afghanistan-bases/25015174.html
-------------
Police Killed In Daghestan Shoot-Out
June 12, 2013
Three police officers have been killed and two passersby were injured during a shoot-out in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Daghestan.
Daghestan's Interior Ministry said on June 11 that six police officers came under attack in the Novolak district, which borders Chechnya.
Two people the ministry called "militants" were also killed in the shoot-out.
The motive for the alleged attack is not clear.
Daghestan, along with Russia's other volatile North Caucasus republics such as Ingushetia, Chechnya and Kabardino-Balkaria, continue to experience violence linked to Islamic extremists and organized criminal groups.
Full report at:
http://www.rferl.org/content/police-killed-in-daghestan-shootout/25013450.html
-----------
Pakistan
Pak's ISI gets Rs 600 million to accomplish 'special assignment'
PTI | Jun 13, 2013
ISLAMABAD: The Inter-Services Intelligence agency was provided Rs 600 million to accomplish a "special assignment" on the directive of the Pakistani Prime Minister, according to budget documents tabled in parliament.
The sum was released to the director general of the ISI under the head of "Supplementary Demands for Grants and Appropriations 2012-13".
Budget documents tabled in parliament on Wednesday showed that the finance division released Rs 600 million to the ISI chief for the special assignment, The News daily reported on Thursday.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Paks-ISI-gets-Rs-600-million-to-accomplish-special-assignment/articleshow/20568223.cms
-------------
Pakistan tries anew to end insurgency in Balochistan
June 13, 2013
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has pledged to rein in human rights abuses by security forces in the huge, resource-rich province of Balochistan as a first step toward starting talks to end a long-running insurgency waged by guerrillas seeking an independent homeland.
The new chief minister of the province bordering Afghanistan and Iran urged security forces, who deny wrongdoing, to end a campaign of enforced disappearances to support his hopes of kindling dialogue.
On Sunday, the day Abdul Malik took oath, five bullet-riddled bodies were found in the province.
The discoveries were interpreted by many as a signal that security forces were intent on continuing what human rights groups have dubbed a systematic campaign of “kill-and-dump.”
“We have to create an environment in which we are in a position to invite insurgents for negotiations,” Malik told Reuters in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad.
Full report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130613169682
-------------
Three doctors kidnapped in Balochistan
SYED ALI SHAH
Jun 13, 2013
QUETTA: Five people, including three doctors, went missing while travelling from Balochistan's Loralai district towards the region of Zhob.
Sources in Levies force told Dawn.com that Dr Muhammad Anwar, Dr Ayaz, Dr Nasrullah, their clerk Muhammad Farooq and driver Muhammad Anwar went missing on Wednesday.
Family members of the missing doctors have approached Levies authorities in Loralai and Zhob and lodged a first information report.
Full report at:
http://beta.dawn.com/news/1017983/three-doctors-kidnapped-in-balochistan
----------
Army officer killed in Tirah valley blast
IBRAHIM SHINWARI
June 13, 2013
LANDI KOTAL: A lieutenant colonel of Pakistan Army was killed when he stepped over an explosive device during a search operation in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency on Wednesday.
The ISPR (Inter-Services Public Relations) said in a statement that Lt Col Sajid Mushtaq was leading an operation to clear the Gulbai area of Maidan when an improvised explosive device exploded in a house. Lt Col Mushtaq died on the spot.
Full report at:
http://beta.dawn.com/news/1017883/army-officer-killed-in-tirah-valley-blast
-------------
Four killed in Karachi violence
June 13, 2013
KARACHI: Four people were killed in incidents of firing and violence in different areas of Karachi, DawnNews reported on Thursday.
Two bodies bearing torture marks were recovered from Abbas Mor near Karachi’s Northern Bypass. According to the police, the deceased were abducted and subjected to torture before being shot dead. Their bodies were then thrown on the road. The deceased had not been identified until the filing of this report.
Separately, one person was killed in a firing incident near North Nazimabad’s Pahar Ganj area.
In another incident, a body bearing marks of torture was found in Steel Town.
http://beta.dawn.com/news/1017965/four-killed-in-karachi-violence
-------------
One killed in blast in Baldia Town
June 13, 2013
KARACHI: One person was killed in a blast in Baldia Town, Karachi, Express News reported.
The victim was reportedly transferring explosives when they detonated and killed him.
No other loss of life was reported.
The explosion took place near Khyber Chowk in Baldia Town.
This is a developing story and will be updated accordingly.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/562526/one-killed-in-blast-in-baldia-town/
-------------
Hindus get representation in Punjab Assembly after 16 years
By Kashif Hussain
June 13, 2013
LAHORE: The Hindu community finally has some representation in the Punjab assembly with Kanji Ram, a Hindu, elected on the reserved seats for minorities from the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) on Wednesday.
He is the second Hindu to reach the provincial assembly after Seth Bharta Ram who was elected in 1997. The Election Commission has issued a notification in this regard.
The PML-N had given eight names for the eight reserved seats allocated in the Punjab assembly for minorities and due to its huge mandate in the House, it has won seven seats out of the eight. One of its candidates, Asfandyar Bhandara, hails from the Parsi (Zoroastrian) community and resigned from the provincial seat as he was also elected a member of National Assembly on the reserved seat. His vacant seat was allotted to Kanji Ram as successor in the roll.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013\06\13\story_13-6-2013_pg13_2
---------
Musharraf arrested in Bugti murder case
IANS | Jun 13, 2013
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's former president Pervez Musharraf has been formally arrested by a Balochistan Police team in the Akbar Bugti murder case, Dawn News reported on Thursday.
Subsequently, an anti-terrorist court here ordered a two-week judicial remand of the former army chief.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Musharraf-arrested-in-Bugti-murder-case/articleshow/20570355.cms
--------
Sharif govt abolishes 'secret funds' of 16 ministries in Pak
PTI | Jun 13, 2013
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's new government has abolished the "secret funds" of 16 federal ministries and the country's missions in the US and Britain to save around Rs 16 billion, according to a media report on Thursday.
The finance division issued an office memorandum yesterday to abolish the "Secret Service Expenditure" of the ministries and foreign missions.
The decision will not affect the secret funds of intelligence agencies, The News daily reported.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Sharif-govt-abolishes-secret-funds-of-16-ministries-in-Pak/articleshow/20568371.cms
-------------
Sharif govt raises Pak defence budget by 15%
TNN | Jun 13, 2013
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's cashstrapped new government announced a hefty 15% hike in its defence budget to Rs 627 billion, compared with Rs 545 billion (about 5.82 billion dollars ) provided in the fiscal year ending on June 30. The allocation for the three defence services amounted to 15.7% of the federal budget of Rs 3.99 trillion for fiscal 2013-14 , according to official budget documents presented in parliament. The army got the lion's share of the outlay with Rs 301.54 billion . The air force was allocated Rs 131.18 billion while the navy got Rs 62.80 billion.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Sharif-govt-raises-Pak-defence-budget-by-15/articleshow/20566129.cms
-------------
Pakistani security guard charged with murdering American pastor
By QISHIN TARIQ
June 13, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR: A security guard Shahbaz, 25, a Pakistani national, was charged Thursday with the murder of American volunteer pastor David James Ginter in May.
Shahbaz, who has only one name, said he understood the charges that were read in English.
Shahbaz is accused of murdering Ginter, 62, at his home in Taman Sri Ukay, in Hulu Klang here between 5.30pm on May 3 and 10.45am the next day.
Full report at:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/6/13/nation/20130613140758&sec=nation
-------------
PPP condemns police brutality in Faisalabad
June 13, 2013
LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Secretary Information Qamar Zaman Kaira has lashed out at Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, accusing him of employing brutal tactics to suppress civil liberties.
He was criticising the chief minister over the Faisalabad incident where police beat up citizens who had been protesting against power outages.
Kaira claimed the heavy-handedness of Punjab police reflected the way Shahbaz Sharif wanted to govern over the next five years.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013\06\13\story_13-6-2013_pg7_14
-------------
Arab World
Starved for Arms, Syria Rebels Make Their Own
By C. J. CHIVERS
2013/06/13
SARAQIB, Syria — The workers arrive by darkness, taking their stations at the vise and the lathe. Soon metal filings and sparks fly, and the stack of their creations grows at their feet: makeshift mortar shells to be fired through barrels salvaged from disabled Syrian Army tanks.
Across northern Syria, rebel workshops like these are part of a clandestine network of primitive arms-making plants, a signature element of a militarily lopsided war.
Their products — machine-gun mounts, hand grenades, rockets, mortar shells, roadside bombs and the locally brewed explosives that are packed inside — help form the arsenal of a guerrilla force that has suffered serious setbacks this year in its effort to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/13/world/middleeast/starved-for-arms-syria-rebels-make-their-own.html
---------
Egyptian author sentenced to five years for insulting religion
Aswat Masreya
13 Jun 2013
Egyptian author Karam Saber said that a misdemeanor court in Beni Suef sentenced him to five years on Wednesday on charges of insulting religion in a collection of short stories he wrote two years ago titled "Where is God?"
The politically active author told Aswat Masriya in a phone call on Wednesday that he plans to appeal the verdict through a legal challenge he will present to the court tomorrow.
Charges of "insulting religion" against authors, artists, television hosts and Coptic Christians have increased in recent months.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/73879/Egypt/Politics-/Egyptian-author-sentenced-to-five-years-for-insult.aspx
---------
Egypt’s Islamists call for ‘million-man march’ to pledge support for Mursi
12 June 2013
Egyptian Islamist parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood, called on Wednesday for a “million-man march” on June 21 to counter a planned protest by the opposition outside the presidential palace at the end of the month.
Islamist parties meeting on Wednesday announced plans to organize a march in front of Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque on the proposed day. The march will be held under the slogan ‘Protect the revolution. Yes to peace, no to violence.’
An opposition-backed campaign dubbed Tamarod, Arabic for rebellion, has called for a demonstration outside the presidential palace against President Mohamed Mursi on June 30, the first anniversary of his election.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/06/12/Egypt-Islamists-call-million-man-march-for-June-21-.html
-------------
Gulf Shiites fear rising sectarian rhetoric, scapegoating over Syria
June 13, 2013
By Sami Aboudi
DUBAI: Shiites in the Gulf, alarmed by the shrill sectarian rhetoric of some Sunni preachers after Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia entered Syria’s civil war, fear they will be blamed and may be victimized for the bloodshed. “Hate language is on the rise, in the press, on social media and even at lectures in mosques. Shiites in general are being blamed for what’s happening in Syria,” said Waleed Sulais, a researcher at the Saudi Adalah Center for Human Rights.
Emotions over the Syrian conflict have been stoked by gory online videos depicting atrocities in stark language that plays on the Sunni affiliation of most of the rebels and on President Bashar Assad’s Alawite family, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
Full report at:
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Jun-13/220212-gulf-shiites-fear-rising-sectarian-rhetoric-scapegoating-over-syria.ashx#ixzz2W4qcpxoh
-------------
Saudi youths prefer late marriages
13 June 2013
Saudi youths prefer late marriages because they are looking for certain characteristics in a future wife such as beauty, height and other details. They could be evading responsibility and avoiding the high cost of marriage, according to a recent study by the Ministry of Planning.
This has led to increasing number of women who are past the age of marrying in Saudi society.
The study revealed the number of Saudi women past the Saudi ideal age of marriage is 1.5 million girls in 10 cities.
The holy capital, Makkah, is in the lead with 396,000 women still unmarried, which has led to the rising marriage age for both sexes. Young women started to look for a husband by using traditional marriage services.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/news/454859
-------------
North America
US whistleblower Edward Snowden promises more disclosures
Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN | Jun 13, 2013
WASHINGTON: The American outlier who has gone into hiding in Hong Kong after shaking the mighty US establishment with stunning disclosures about its worldwide snooping has vowed to fight any attempt to extradite him, saying he trusts the courts and the legal system of the Chinese territory.
"My intention is to ask the courts and people of Hong Kong to decide my fate. I have been given no reason to doubt your system," Edward Snowden told the South China Morning Post (SCMP), which claimed to have interviewed him in hiding and published a few tantalizing excerpts with promise of more to come, even as the world media hared after him.
"People who think I made a mistake in picking HK as a location misunderstand my intentions. I am not here to hide from justice; I am here to reveal criminality," Snowden said, amid widespread speculation about why he chose the Chinese enclave, whose legal system, based on English common law tradition, is ostensibly independent of mainland China, but which is politically answerable to Beijing.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-whistleblower-Edward-Snowden-to-fight-extradition-from-Hong-Kong-promises-more-disclosures/articleshow/20563454.cms
-------------
LeT is a terror proxy of ISI: US Congressman
PTI
June 13, 2013
Asserting that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is a terrorist network supported and nurtured by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan, a top American lawmaker warned that Islamabad would have to bear the responsibility of any terrorist attack on the US coming from LeT.
"We should make it clear to Pakistan that any LeT attack upon our homeland, they will bear responsibility for that because of the close relationship between ISI and LeT," Congressman Peter King said during a Congressional hearing on Wednesday.
Designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States and the United Nations, LeT, King alleged, is a proxy of Pakistani intelligence.
"I think it's important to note that LeT is a terror proxy of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, its ISI, which provides LeT with a safe haven and funding to train and prepare for terrorist attacks," he said.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/americas/LeT-is-a-terror-proxy-of-ISI-US-Congressman/Article1-1075551.aspx
---------
No traitor or hero, I am just an American, says Snowden
Associated Press
Jun 13 2013
Hong Kong : The former CIA employee who leaked information about US surveillance programmes said in an interview in Hong Kong Wednesday that he is not attempting to hide from justice but hopes to use the city as a base to reveal wrongdoings.
Edward Snowden dropped out of sight after checking out of a Hong Kong hotel Monday. The South China Morning Post newspaper said it was able to locate and interview him on Wednesday. It provided brief excerpts from the interview on its website.
It said Snowden, who has been both praised and condemned for releasing documents about phone and Internet surveillance programmes, said he was “neither a traitor nor hero. I’m an American.’’
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/no-traitor-or-hero-i-am-just-an-american-says-snowden/1128477/
----------
Iranian Gmail users targeted in pre-election hacking campaign: Google
Reuters | Jun 13, 2013
SAN FRANCISCO: Tens of thousands of Gmail accounts belonging to Iranian users have been targeted in an extensive hacking campaign in the weeks leading up to the country's closely watched presidential elections on Friday, Google Inc said on Wednesday.
The US internet company, which described the attacks as broad "email-based phishing" attempts seeking to trick unsuspecting Gmail users into giving up their user names and passwords, said they originated in Iran and appeared to be "politically motivated in connection with the Iranian presidential election on Friday."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/internet/Iranian-Gmail-users-targeted-in-pre-election-hacking-campaign-Google/articleshow/20569584.cms
-------------
US spy programmes disrupted dozens of attacks, NSA director says
AP | Jun 13, 2013
WASHINGTON: The director of the National Security Agency vigorously defended once-secret surveillance programmes as an effective tool in keeping the US safe, telling Congress that the information collected disrupted dozens of terrorist attacks without offering details.
In his first congressional testimony since revelations about the top-secret operations, Army Gen Keith Alexander insisted on Wednesday that the public needs to know more about how the programmes operate amid increasing unease about rampant government snooping and fears that Americans' civil liberties are being trampled.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-spy-programmes-disrupted-dozens-of-attacks-NSA-director-says/articleshow/20563851.cms
-------------
U.S. eases trade restrictions on Syrian opposition
13 June 2013
AFP, Washington
The United States eased restrictions on trade with Syria’s opposition Wednesday, in a move aimed at helping supply the critical needs of Syrians in “liberated areas.”
The new waivers to general sanctions on the country allow companies to supply software, technology, reconstruction and power generation equipment, as well as farm and food production equipment, to opposition-controlled areas.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/06/13/U-S-eases-trade-restrictions-on-Syrian-opposition.html
------------
India
‘Mahalkar part of Malegaon and Mecca Masjid blasts’
Ishfaq Naseem
Jun 13 2013
Panchkula : The identity of one of the four persons who planted the bombs in the Samjhauta Express, Ramesh Venkat Mahalkar, was disclosed for the first time by the NIA in the supplementary chargesheet. The agency said he has been missing from his home in Surgaon village in Nanded, Maharashtra, and four years before the blast. He was so far known as Amit alias Prince and was involved in Malagaon blasts and the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast.
The agency told the court that Mahalkar left his house around 2002-03 from his native village and there was no information about his whereabouts. His family did not reveal the reason why he left the house and his identity was established through school records.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/-mahalkar-part-of-malegaon-and-mecca-masjid-blasts-/1128373/
----------
Three different call records for 26/11, reveals RTI
AMRUTA BYATNAL
June 13, 2013
On the night of November 26, 2008 in Mumbai, every minute mattered. Frantic phone calls were being made from the South Control room which was the closest to the place where the brutal terror attacks started. The record of the call logs would have had the answer to what really transpired on the ground. However, RTI applications have revealed that the Maharashtra has three different records for the same set of calls made to and from the police officers who were in confrontation with the terrorists.
These records, accessed by slain officer Ashok Kamte's wife Vinita Kamte, have raised suspicions about the authenticity of any of the versions while also questioning the government's reason for having three separate records, which differ in hand writing and timing.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/three-different-call-records-for-2611-reveals-rti/article4807535.ece
-------------
NIA files supplementary charges in Samjhauta Express blast case
TNN | Jun 13, 2013
NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday filed a supplementary chargesheet in the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast case in a Panchkula court. The charge sheet, third in the case, was filed against RajenderChaudhary alias Pehlwan of Depalpur in Madhya Pradesh. Chaudhary is also an accused in the 2006 Malegaon blast case and is a protege of slain former RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/NIA-files-supplementary-charges-in-Samjhauta-Express-blast-case/articleshow/20565140.cms
-------------
Jiah suicide: Respect life more than love, says Shah Rukh
PTI | Jun 13, 2013
Reacting to the recent suicide of actress Jiah Khan, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan says life should not be less important than love.
Jiah, 25, was found hanging at her flat in Sagar Sangeet Building in the posh Juhu area on June 3 around midnight. She apparently left a note, which points fingers towards Aditya Pancholi's son Suraj, who has been arrested in connection with her suicide.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Jiah-suicide-Respect-life-more-than-love-says-Shah-Rukh/articleshow/20574205.cms
----------
India worried about 190 peacekeepers in Syria unrest
June 13, 2013
With the violence in Syria intensifying, New Delhi is concerned about 190 Indians in the United Nations-mandated peacekeepers in Golan Heights, the buffer zone between Syria and Israel.
Austria has begun pulling out its keepers and there are reports of the Philippines following suit. But they said Indian forces would continue to stay there.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/newdelhi/India-worried-about-190-peacekeepers-in-Syria-unrest/Article1-1075370.aspx#sthash.NWskJEHj.dpuf
-------------
MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi barred from entering Malegaon and Dhule
June 13, 2013
AIMIM president and MP, Asaduddin Owaisi, is barred yet again from addressing meetings in Maharashtra. He is barred from entering Dhule till June 26 and Malegaon in Nashik district till July 12. A Police Inspector of Maharashtra served the notices on Mr. Owaisi at his residence here on Wednesday.
Earlier, on January 31 also the Hyderabad MP was denied entry into Aurangabad to address a public meeting. The police cited the cases registered against him in several Telangana districts and also the tense situation in Aurangabad following the alleged hate speech by his brother and Majlis leader, Akbaruddin Owaisi.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/mim-chief-asaduddin-owaisi-barred-from-entering-malegaon-and-dhule/article4807187.ece
-------------
Government will expedite survey of Waqf properties: Minister
June 13, 2013
Qamar-ul Islam, Minister for Municipalities and Local Bodies, and Minorities Welfare, Haj and Waqf, has promised to expedite the survey of Waqf properties, started during the tenure of M. Veerappa Moily as Chief Minister.
He told presspersons here on Wednesday that such a survey should be done periodically as per the Waqf Properties Act. The Minister expressed confidence that it would be completed during the Congress government’s tenure. He said a 12-member task force headed by the Additional Chief Secretary and the Development Commissioner had been set up for the purpose.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/government-will-expedite-survey-of-Waqf-properties-qamarul/article4807777.ece
---------
Strategic Studies Centre at AMU to be named after Tipu Sultan
Jun 12, 2013
Aligarh: Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, Zameer Uddin Shah announced here on 4 May that the proposed Centre for Strategic Studies will be named after Tipu Sultan. He was delivering the presidential address at a seminar on the life and work of Tipu Sultan to mark the 214th death anniversary of the great ruler of Mysore. The seminar was organized by Sir Syed Awareness Forum (SAF).
Shah said military men had a great sense of history and he was a great admirer of Tipu Sultan. He said that Tipu sacrificed his life for the sake of the country. He was a true secular ruler of distinguished character. He was a right statesman and right soldier who donated huge amounts of money for the construction of temples.
Full report at:
http://www.milligazette.com/news/7213-Strategic-studies-centre-to-be-named-after-tipu-sultan
-------------
Jail superintendent says Khalid Mujahid died due to medical negligence, activists blame police
Ashish Tripathi, TNN | Jun 13, 2013
LUCKNOW: Even as Rihai Manch, an outfit formed to struggle for the release of innocent Muslims implicated in false terror charges, compared the death of terror accused Khalid Mujahid with that of Ishrat Jahn fake encounter in Gujarat, Lucknow jail superintendent has shot off a letter to Lucknow chief medical officer about alleged negligence of the jail's doctor in attending to Khalid's complaint of chest pain on May 18 morning when he left to attend a court hearing in Faizabad. Khalid died in police custody on his way back to Lucknow jail after hearing in a Faizabad court.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Jail-superintendent-says-Khalid-Mujahid-died-due-to-medical-negligence-activists-blame-police/articleshow/20569644.cms
-------------
South Asia
Six Afghan policemen found shot dead at checkpoint
June 13, 2013
KABUL: Six Afghan policemen were found shot at their checkpoint in the country's south and two other policemen were missing, raising suspicions they killed their comrades, an official said Thursday.
District chief Nayamatullah Samim said the policemen's bodies were discovered in the shelter near their checkpoint Wednesday night, after they did not check in with their superiors.
Two other officers assigned to the checkpoint were missing, along with vehicles and weapons.
''We don't know yet whether these two missing men are the ones who killed the police or if they were taken by other attacks,'' Samim said.
So-called ''insider attacks'' in which Afghan forces open fire on their comrades or international forces threaten to shake the confidence of the two sides as the 2014 withdrawal of most of the international troops approaches.
Full report at:
http://beta.dawn.com/news/1017969/six-afghan-policemen-found-shot-dead-at-checkpoint
----------
To stop employing children as domestic helps urged in Bangladesh
June 13, 2013
Hundreds of disadvantaged children at a programme in the capital yesterday urged society to stop employing children as domestic helps.
Meanwhile, a Chittagong seminar, “Situation Analysis of the Working Children in Transport Sector (Tempo) in Chittagong”, organised by Ghasful, an NGO, informed that nearly 700 children were at risk for working as human hauler helpers in the city.
Non-government organisations (NGO) Sohay, Vafusd, Aparajeyo Bangladesh and Community Participation and Development, supported by Manusher Jonno Foundation, organised the capital’s programme in the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/stop-to-employing-children-as-domestic-helps-urged/
-------------
Former President Nasheed calls for reinstatement of GMR agreement
By Mohamed Naahee | June 12th, 2013
Former President Mohamed Nasheed has called on the government to reinstate the concession agreement with Indian infrastructure giant GMR to develop and manage Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).
In 2010, GMR-Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) consortium, the government of former President Mohamed Nasheed and Maldives Airport Company Limited (MACL) entered into a 25 year concession agreement worth US$511 million (MVR 7.787 billion).
The agreement charged the GMR-MAHB consortium with the management and upgrading of INIA within the 25 year contract period.
Full report at:
http://minivannews.com/politics/former-president-nasheed-calls-for-reinstatement-of-gmr-agreement-59395
-------------
Verdict on Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s registration soon
June 13, 2013
The High Court will deliver its verdict any day regarding a writ petition that challenged the legality of Jamaat-e-Islami’s registration as a political party.
After concluding hearing arguments from the counsels on the petition, the HC yesterday kept it waiting for delivering verdict.
A special HC bench of Justice M Moazzam Husain, Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque started hearing on the matter on April 11.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/verdict-on-jamaats-registration-soon/
-------------
Myanmar monks to meet over deadly religious riots
13 June 2013
YANGON: Buddhist monks from across Myanmar will gather today for talks about the religious violence that has shaken the country, after some of them were implicated in attacks on Muslims.
Deadly unrest — mostly targeting Muslims — has laid bare deep divides in the Buddhist-majority country and clouded major political reforms since military rule ended two years ago.
Around 200 Buddhist clerics have been invited to the meeting at a monastery outside Yangon to explore ways to ease tensions, according to Dhammapiya, a monk acting as a spokesman for the event.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/news/454822
-------------
Myanmar satisfied with Malaysia’s handling of clashes
By ZUHRIN AHMAD
June 13, 2013
PUTRAJAYA: The Myanmar government is satisfied with the way the Malaysian authorities handled the recent clashes among its citizens and pledged to cooperate fully to help resolve the issue.
Myanmar Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs U Zin Yaw said Thursday that the local police and immigration department had acted professionally.
"We are really happy with the cooperation," he said after meeting Deputy Home Minister Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tunku Jaafar here.
Full report at:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/6/13/nation/20130613143724&sec=nation
-------------
Religion card used against AL favourites
June 13, 2013
Use of religion by some Islamist parties and organisations in electioneering for BNP- backed mayoral candidates in the June 15 polls to four city corporations has taken a turn for the worse.
They have been carrying out the smear campaign to portray the Awami League-led government as “anti- Islamic” and to urge voters not to vote for AL-backed mayoral aspirants to “save Islam”.
When the electoral campaign began towards the end of last month, local leaders and workers of Jamaat-e-Islami, Hefajat-e Islam and some other Islamist parties and organisations started openly using people’s religious sentiment to gain political mileage in favour of candidates backed by the BNP-led 18-party alliance in the elections in Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal and Sylhet city corporations, according to locals.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/religion-card-used-against-al-favourites/
-------------
Supporters rally to help Afghan civil rights advocate attend college in U.S.
By Michael Cipriano
June 12, 2013
An Afghan man who worked his way through school using paper scraps for notebooks and studying by the flickering light of a gas lantern, only to defer college in order to fight for women’s rights in the war-torn country, is on the cusp of fulfilling his dream of going to college in America.
Ali Shahidy learned last month he is a recipient of two scholarships totaling $29,455 from Norwich University in Northfield, Vt. Though the scholarships cover many of his expenses, supporters drawn to his inspiring story are raising funds to help him meet the $8,500 difference. They have set up a website and already collected nearly a quarter of their goal from strangers compelled by his story. In particular, Shahidy’s sacrifices to help his four sisters pursue their own educations and avoid the abuse and servitude women often face in Afghanistan have won him widespread admiration.
Full report at:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/06/12/supporters-rally-to-help-afghani-civil-rights-advocate-attend-college-in-us/#ixzz2W5QBhxER
-------------
Southeast Asia
Will non-Muslim parents get justice, interfaith panel asks Federal Govt.
June 13, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, June 13 ― Malaysia’s leading non-Muslim interfaith council demanded today the federal government answer if it had reversed its 2009 stand on child conversions to Islam, in the wake of a recent case in Negri Sembilan that may reignite the simmering religious tensions within the country.
The latest case of S. Deepa, a 29-year-old Hindu mother from Jelebu who learnt in April her estranged husband had unilaterally converted their two underage children to Islam after he embraced the country’s main religion over a year ago, had moved the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) to censure the authorities for what it perceived to be injustice towards non-Muslims.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/will-non-muslim-parents-get-justice-interfaith-panel-asks-putrajaya/
-------------
Malaysia warns Myanmar immigrants against violence
The Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur
June 13 2013
Malaysia's government on Thursday warned immigrants from neighboring Myanmar not to restart sectarian clashes that recently killed four people.
The fighting in several neighborhoods around Kuala Lumpur earlier this month triggered worries in Malaysia that tensions between Myanmar's Buddhists and Muslim minority had spilled over to a country that hosts hundreds of thousands of Myanmar nationals.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/06/13/malaysia-warns-myanmar-immigrants-against-violence.html
-------------
Malaysia ‘less peaceful’ compared to 2012, says international report
June 13, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, June 13 — Malaysia fell to 29th in an international index measuring peace among countries released this week, nine places below its 20th rank in the same index last year.
This comes as the Global Peace Index (GPI) released by independent research house Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) fell five per cent in the last six years, indicating that the world is less peaceful than it was back then.
Malaysia’s GPI score has increased from 1.49 in 2012 to 1.57 this year, continuing a steady trend for the last four year. Countries with lower GPI score are seen as more peaceful.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Malaysia is ranked sixth, below New Zealand, Japan, Australia, Singapore, and Taiwan.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/malaysia-less-peaceful-compared-to-2012-says-international-report/
-------------
Najib acknowledges voters call for transparent, fair, accountable government
By RAZAK AHMAD
June 13, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said he understood and acknowledged the call made by voters at the 13th general election for the government to be transparent, accountable and fair in distributing economic benefits.
The Prime Minister said that in charting a course towards sustainable economic growth, he would work to ensure that no one is left behind in sharing the fruits of the country's national successes.
Full report at:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/6/13/nation/20130613131710&sec=nation
-------------
Workshop teaches participants punishment-free approaches
By CHERYL HEW
June 13, 2013
WHENEVER faced with a temper tantrum from a child, the most common response among Malaysians is to reach out for the cane to mete out some punishment.
However, this disciplinary technique has its downs, especially in the case of children with developmental disorders who might have comprehension issues.
Fortunately, those who have to deal with such children got a chance to learn more positive disciplinary techniques during a “Support for Children and Adults with Challenging Behaviours: Punishment Free Approaches” workshop in Ipoh recently.
Full report at:
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2013/6/13/metroperak/13228527&sec=metroperak
----------
Mideast
Won't do anything to undermine India's security: Israel
PTI | Jun 13, 2013
JERUSALEM: Describing India as a long-standing strategic partner, Israel has said it will not do anything that could "undermine" India's security, as it assured New Delhi that reports of arms sale to Pakistan were incorrect.
"Israel has a long-standing strategic relationship with India, a democracy that also understands what it means to fight terror, and a country we see as a strategic anchor in global affairs," Israel's ministry of defence said.
"The State of Israel would not do anything that could undermine India's security," it said, adding that "Israel strongly denies selling any military equipment to Pakistan".
Earlier, senior officials at the Israeli foreign ministry speaking to PTI also categorically denied any such sale.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Wont-do-anything-to-undermine-Indias-security-Israel/articleshow/20569888.cms
-------------
Palestinian youth forced to drink wine
June 13, 2013
RAMALLAH – An officer of the Israeli internal intelligence agency Shin Bet forced a Palestinian youth at gunpoint to drink a bottle of wine, a Palestinian source said on Wednesday.
Mohammed Ayyad Awad, spokesman of Popular Committee Against the Wall in Hebron area, said that Israeli soldiers manning a military checkpoint at the entrance of the town of Beit Ommar, to the north of Hebron, stopped 24-year-old Mohammed Khalil Abu Dayyeh late Tuesday.
The soldiers questioned Abu Dayyeh about the names of participants in anti-occupation rallies in the area.
Full report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130613169704
-------------
Iranians mixed on having religious figures in politics: Pew poll
By Reuters Staff
June 13, 2013
As Iran heads into presidential elections this week, Iranians have mixed views on political roles for religious figures but a large majority backs sharia law, according to a poll published on Tuesday.
As part of the Pew Research Center poll that shows contradictions between republicanism and theocratic rule in Iran, 40 percent of Iranians said religious figures should play a large role in politics.
Full report at:
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2013/06/12/iranians-mixed-on-having-religious-figures-in-politics-pew-poll/
-------------
Iran nuclear push, flashpoints role has west in a bind
AFP | June 13, 2013
PARIS: Iran's role in flashpoints like Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan is proving a headache for the west as it tries to normalize ties with Tehran without a trade-off on its contested nuclear drive.
As the Islamic republic prepares for presidential elections on Friday to choose a successor to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose eight years in office have been marked by tough western sanctions, experts say the west faces a dilemma over the way ahead.
The west "is obliged to co-opt Iran to attain regional stability but on the other hand to also try to halt its nuclear programme by threatening military strikes," said Clement Therme, a research associate from the Paris-based School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences.
Michel Makinsky, who teaches at the ESCM business school in Poitiers, also sees these "contradictory expectations" from the international community.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Iran-nuclear-push-flashpoints-role-has-west-in-a-bind/articleshow/20557633.cms
---------
Netanyahu opening new Holocaust display at Auschwitz
2013/06/13
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is opening a new Holocaust exhibition at the Auschwitz Nazi death camp site in southern Poland.
The display in Block 27 places the former camp in the broader context of the Nazis' systematic attempt to wipe out Europe's Jewish population.
It is being overseen by Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust institute.
Earlier in Warsaw, Mr Netanyahu accused Iran, one of Israel's strongest foes, of planning a new Holocaust.
On Thursday, he was taken around the exhibition at the former camp before the opening ceremony began with a Jewish funeral prayer, Yad Vashem reported on its Twitter account.
The original Jewish exhibition at Auschwitz dated back to the 1960s and had fallen into neglect, prompting the Israeli government to decide recently on a revamp.
Full report at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22886415
---------
Africa
Manual left behind in Mali suggests Al Qaeda training to use feared surface-to-air missile
June 13, 2013
Associated Press
TIMBUKTU, Mali – The photocopies of the manual lay in heaps on the floor, in stacks that scaled one wall, like Xeroxed, stapled handouts for a class.
Except that the students in this case were Al Qaeda fighters in Mali. And the manual was a detailed guide, with diagrams and photographs, on how to use a weapon that particularly concerns the United States: A surface-to-air missile capable of taking down a commercial airplane.
The 26-page document in Arabic, recovered by The Associated Press in a building that had been occupied by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in Timbuktu, strongly suggests the group now possesses the SA-7 surface-to-air missile, known to the Pentagon as the Grail, according to terrorism specialists. And it confirms that the Al Qaeda cell is actively training its fighters to use these weapons, also called man-portable air-defense systems, or MANPADS, which likely came from the arms depots of ex-Libyan strongman Col. Muammar Qaddafi.
Full report at:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/06/11/manual-left-behind-in-mali-suggests-al-qaida-training-to-use-feared-surface-to/?intcmp=obinsite#ixzz2W5QiuMXZ
-------------
Mali added to UN child soldier list of shame
Reuters
June 13, 2013
UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations on Wednesday added Mali to its child soldier list of shame while it said that thousands of children have been killed in the Syrian civil war.
Mali, where Islamist groups took over the north of the country until a French-led intervention in January, was the only new country added to the blacklist released each year by the UN special representative for children in conflict.
Tuareg rebels, Al Qaeda Islamists and pro-government militias used hundreds of child soldiers in Mali, said special representative Leila Zerrougui.
Children make up more than half of Mali's population of 15.8 million and many have been abducted for armed groups and girls forced to become the wives of combatants, Zerrougui told a press conference.
Full report at:
http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/643891-mali-added-to-un-child-soldier-list-of-shame.html
---------
Ex-Gaddafi PM ‘spent billions on politicians’
June 13, 2013
TRIPOLI – A Libyan court on Wednesday adjourned until August the murder and corruption trial of Muammar Gaddafi’s last premier, who allegedly spent billions of dollars trying to buy support during the uprising that ousted the dictator.
Al-Baghdadi Al-Mahmudi, dressed in prison blues, appeared in the Tripoli court accused of “gratuitously killing people” and of “misappropriating public funds” during the 2011 revolt.
He was accompanied by fellow defendants Al-Mabruk Zahmul and Amer Salah Terfas, both former executives of an investment company run by the late dictator’s son, Saif Al-Islam.
They are accused of moving 15 million Euros ($20 million) to private accounts in neighbouring Tunisia to finance logistical support for loyalist forces during the nearly year-long war.
Full report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130613169639
-------------
Central Asia
Alleged Hizb Ut-Tahrir Members Arrested In Kyrgyzstan
By RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service
June 13, 2013
NARYN, Kyrgyzstan -- Three alleged members of the banned Hizb ut-Tahrir Islamic group have been arrested in Kyrgyzstan's northern city of Naryn.
Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security said that a 39-year-old man, said to be the leader of the cell, and two associates were detained on June 10 and charged with inciting religious hatred and illegal possession of extremist materials.
The suspects' names were not released.
Full report at:
http://www.rferl.org/content/kyrgyzstan-hizb-ut-tahrir/25012399.html
-------------
Turkmenistan Gets First Legislator from 'Alternative' Party
June 13, 2013
For the first time in the Turkmenistan's history, there will be a lawmaker in parliament who is not a member of the ruling party.
That is according to results tallied on June 10 in special elections for five vacant parliamentary seats.
Ovezmammed Mammedov, chairman of the recently created Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, won a seat from the eastern Lebap Province.
After Turkmenistan achieved independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the country had only one registered political party, the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, formerly the Communist Party.
That party has always been headed by Turkmenistan's president.
The Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs was registered in August 2012 after President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov said in a speech that a second party should be formed.
Many see the move as lip service to criticism over the country's one-party system.
http://www.rferl.org/content/turkmenistan-first-opposition-deputy/25012876.html
-------------
Former Kyrgyz Prime Minister Sentenced In Absentia
By RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service
June 13, 2013
BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz former Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov has been sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison.
On June 10, a court in Bishkek found Usenov guilty of misappropriating public land in 2007 when he was the mayor of Bishkek.
Usenov was appointed Kyrgyz prime minister in 2009.
He fled Kyrgyzstan shortly after the violent antigovernment protests in April 2010 that led to the ouster of the country's president, Kurmanbek Bakiev.
Usenov's current whereabouts is unknown.
Bakiev, who is currently living in Belarus, is being tried in absentia in Kyrgyzstan along with Usenov and more than 20 aides and associates in connection with the deaths of nearly 100 people who were killed when security forces fired on protesters during the anti-Bakiev demonstrations.
http://www.rferl.org/content/kyrgyzstan-usenov-jailed-absentia/25012516.html
-------------
Victims of Ethnic Clashes In Kyrgyzstan Commemorated
By RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service
June 13, 2013
OSH, Kyrgyzstan -- Special events commemorating the victims of violent ethnic clashes three years ago have been held in Kyrgyzstan's southern regions of Osh and Jalal-Abad.
Prime Minister Jantoro Satybaldiev visited the two regions on June 10 to take part in the events.
Satybaldiev told residents of the regions that his government would do everything to preserve ethnic harmony in the nation's south.
More than 400 people were killed and thousands were displaced during the clashes between Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks in June 2010.
Full report at:
http://www.rferl.org/content/kyrgyzstan-ethnic-clashes-commemorated/25012419.html
-------------
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/imam-home-sex-video-sparks/d/12046