Islamic Leaders Issue Sweeping Climate Change Declaration: ‘How Will We Face Our Lord And Creator?’
New Age Islam News Bureau
19 Aug 2015
Islamic leaders launch climate change declaration in Istanbul. Photograph: Islamic Relief
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Mideast
• Islamic Leaders Issue Sweeping Climate Change Declaration: ‘How Will We Face Our Lord And Creator?’
• Top Security Official: US Using ISIL to Legitimize Long-Term Presence in Middle East
• Tens of UAE Troops Killed in Clashes with Yemeni Forces
• Israeli opposition leader fears new Palestinian intifada
• Democratic U.S. Senator Menendez announces strong stand against Iran deal
• Palestinian hunger-striker regains consciousness, vows to continue fast
• Saudi Arabia calls for implementation of U.N. resolution on Yemen
• Pro-Kurdish opposition to consider taking part in Turkish 'election govt'
• Iranian MPs Join '#We-Don’t-Allow-It-Either' Campaign
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Arab World
• Muslim Forum Urges Moderation in Issuing Fatwas
• Over 70 Terrorists Killed In Syrian Airstrikes in Damascus Countryside
• Infighting among ISIL Terrorists Kills Over 16 in Iraqi Mosul
• Suicide Bomber Kills 10 Kurdish Forces in Northeast Syria
• ISIS beheads elderly antiquities scholar in Palmyra
• U.S. denounces Egypt's new anti-terror law
• Typhoid outbreak hits Palestinian refugees in Syria
• Iraq's Maliki dismisses fall of Mosul report as 'worthless'
• Syria accuses U.N. envoy of bias amid diplomatic peace push
• Hundreds of Saudis missing in foreign conflicts
• Syrian Army Hits ISIL Positions Hard near Sweida City
• Syrian Fighter Jets Pound Rebel Centers in Hama Province
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South Asia
• More Than 200 Taliban Fighters Lay Down Guns amid Military Operation in Faryab
• Afghanistan Celebrating Its 96th Independence Day, Read the History behind It
• After NATO Drawdown, US Forces Guide Afghans from Shadows
• Afghan forces retreat from strategic district in Helmand province
• Spanta supports national unity government’s stance against Pakistan
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India
• UN Chief Asks India, Pak to Exercise Maximum Restraint
• Teach Pak A Lesson, Then Hold Talks: VHP
• We have been invited for talks with Sartaj Aziz: J&K Separatist leaders
• Pakistan to push for talks at the level of foreign secretary
• Yadadri development edges out 2 Muslim traders
• Muslim Spelling Bee 2015 registration for India opens on September 01
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North America
• Top US Official Won’t Apologise For Muslim-Bombing Post
• US Urges Pakistan, Afghanistan to Jointly Combat Terrorism
• More than 1,000 children killed, injured in Yemen conflict: UN
• U.S. concerned over Israeli treatment of Arab-Americans
• The GOP’s Endless War on Muslim Voters Claims Carly Fiorina
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Pakistan
• Islamic Experts Urge More Muslim Action on Climate
• Ties with Pakistan Tense As Afghanistan Celebrates Independence
• Security agencies closing in on Attock blast suspects, says Nisar
• Al Qaeda’s Karachi chief, accomplice shot dead
• Sindh JUI-F general secretary quits post over party chief’s ‘90’ visit
• MQM talks halted as leader fights for life
• Army gives its input ahead of India talks
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Southeast Asia
• Bangkok Shrine Reopens To Public, Hunt Continues For Prime Suspect
• Malaysia is not a failed state: Najib
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Europe
• UN, AMISOM, IGAD, EU and UK congratulate Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam “Madobe” on Presidential elections
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/islamic-leaders-issue-sweeping-climate/d/104320
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Mideast
Islamic Leaders Issue Sweeping Climate Change Declaration: ‘How Will We Face Our Lord And Creator?’
Arthur Neslen
18 August 2015
Islamic leaders have issued a clarion call to 1.6bn Muslims around the world to work towards phasing out greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and a 100% renewable energy strategy.
The grand mufti’s of Lebanon and Uganda endorsed the Islamic declaration on climate change, along with prominent Islamic scholars and teachers from 20 countries, at a symposium in Istanbul.
Their collective statement makes several detailed political demands likely to increase pressure on Gulf states ahead of the Paris climate summit in December.
“We particularly call on the well-off nations and oil-producing states to lead the way in phasing out their greenhouse gas emissions as early as possible and no later than the middle of the century,” it says.
Clear emissions reductions targets and monitoring systems should be agreed in Paris, the statement says, along with “generous financial and technical support” for poorer countries to help wean them off fossil fuels.
So far, Morocco is the only Middle Eastern country to present an emissions-cutting climate pledge ahead of the summit. But Hakima el-Haite, the country’s environment minister said that the declaration could help to change mindsets and behaviours around climate change in some Gulf states.
“It is an emotive call for a spiritual fight against climate change that will be very important for Muslims,” she told the Guardian. “It speaks to issues of fairness, accountability, differentiation and adaptation in the Paris agreement. I think that the right way to make this sort of call is through the Qur’an.”
El-Haite predicted that Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing countries would sign up to a climate agreement in Paris but said that international support would first be needed to address the “financial gap” involved in transiting from fossil fuels to renewables-based economies.
The Istanbul declaration was made by Islamic figures from Bosnia to Indonesia and follows a ground-breaking Papal encyclical last month. Heads of state, corporations, and all peoples are addressed in the Istanbul call, which carries a universal and startlingly bleak message.
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“We are in danger of ending life as we know it on our planet,” the statement says. “This current rate of climate change cannot be sustained, and the earth’s fine equilibrium (mīzān) may soon be lost.”
“What will future generations say of us, who leave them a degraded planet as our legacy?” the religious leaders ask. “How will we face our Lord and Creator?”
Din Syamsuddin, the chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) which represents 210 million Muslims welcomed the statement, saying: “we are committed to to implementing all [its] recommendations. The climate crisis needs to be tackled through collaborative efforts.”
The MUI has already issued one environmental fatwa against rogue mining operations and Syamsuddin reportedly consulted with Indonesia’s environment minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar over the weekend, before attending the symposium.
Unlike the Catholic church, Islam is a decentralised religion with no unitary authority, and the final statement addressed a range of secular concerns with calls for divestment, a circular economy, and tempered growth rates.
“To chase after unlimited economic growth in a planet that is finite and already overloaded is not viable. Growth must be pursued wisely and in moderation,” one passage reads.
Another calls for corporations and the business sector to “shoulder the consequences of their profit-making activities and to take a visibly more active role in reducing their carbon footprint and other forms of impact upon the natural environment”.
The United Nations’ climate chief, Christiana Figueres said that overall, the declaration showed how a clean energy future rested on a shift in the value attached to the world’s environment and people. “Islam’s teachings, which emphasize the duty of humans as stewards of the Earth and the teacher’s role as an appointed guide, illuminate pathways to take the right action on climate change,” she said.
The declaration on climate change was also welcomed by Cardinal Peter Turkson, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, “with great joy, and in a spirit of solidarity”. Turkson pledged that the Catholic Church would work with the declaration’s authors to protect their common earthly home.
Organisers say that one religious scholar from Saudi Arabia was among the 60 participants at the meeting but that none of the invited Shia leaders attended.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/aug/18/islamic-leaders-issue-bold-call-rapid-phase-out-fossil-fuels
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Top Security Official: US Using ISIL to Legitimize Long-Term Presence in Middle East
Aug 18, 2015
"The US is not seeking destruction of the ISIL, but it is using the terrorist group as a publicity tool to legitimize its long-term presence in the Middle East and the Muslim states," Shamkhani said in a meeting with Head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) Ammar al-Hakim in Tehran on Tuesday.
Shamkhani described the ISIL as a political intrigue meant to sow the seed of discord and serve the Zionist regime's interests on religious pretexts.
"The alliance of the terrorists with Ba'athists and conducting anti-Islam measures shows that despite the false propaganda launched in this ground, the nature of terrorism in Iraq is not religious, rather it is moving within the framework specified by the arrogant powers to take Iraq out of the axis of resistance," he added.
The top Iranian security official called on the Iraqi army, government and popular forces to utilize all their potentials and capacities to uproot the ISIL.
"The US scandal of training and equipping the new terrorist groups who have been sent to Syria to fight the extremists is a clear indication of (Washington's) instrumental use of terrorism," Shamkhani added.
In relevant remarks in November, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei described the ISIL terrorist group as just a branch of the Takfiri stream which has troubled the region, and said ISIL is serving the US and Israel’s interests.
Addressing the political and religious figures participating in the ‘International Congress on Takfiri Streams in the Eyes of the Islamic Ulema’ in Tehran, Ayatollah Khamenei described the Takfiri stream as a problem imposed by the arrogant powers on the region in line with the US and Israel’s interests, and said the Takfiri stream should be considered as a phenomenon beyond the ISIL as the terrorist group is only a branch of the Takfiri stream.
“The Takfiri stream and the governments which support it completely move in line with the goals of the arrogant powers, meaning the US, the hegemonic European governments and the Zionist regime, and are practically at their service under an Islamic disguise,” he added.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940527001210
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Tens of UAE Troops Killed in Clashes with Yemeni Forces
Aug 18, 2015
"The Ansarullah fighters targeted a convoy of UAE troops' Humvee military vehicles in an area located between Al-Bayda and Abyan provinces," Riyaz told FNA on Tuesday.
The Yemeni forces destroyed several Humvee vehicles and confiscated five other as well as a missile launch-pad.
In a similar development on Sunday, the Yemeni forces killed tens of Bahraini and Saudi troops in the Southern parts of Saudi Arabia.
"Over 20 Bahraini troops were killed in clashes between the Yemeni and Saudi forces in Jizan province," Abu Maryam, a senior Ansarullah commander said.
He noted that the Yemeni troops also launched military operations in al-Khoba region of Jizan province and Saudi Arabia's al-Hasira military base, and said that tens of Saudi troops were killed in one-on-one clashes.
The clashes between the Ansarullah fighters and the Saudi-backed al-Qaeda terrorists as well as the pro-Hadi militias continue in the Southern parts of the country as Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen for 146 days now to restore power to fugitive president Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.
The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed at least 5,419 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children.
Hadi stepped down in January and refused to reconsider the decision despite calls by Ansarullah revolutionaries of the Houthi movement.
Despite Riyadh’s claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi warplanes are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940527001297
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Israeli opposition leader fears new Palestinian intifada
18 August 2015
Israel's opposition leader on Tuesday warned that a new Palestinian uprising could be brewing, saying both sides should work together to contain a recent spate of violence and resume peace talks.
Isaac Herzog, leader of Israel's Zionist Union, issued his call after meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at his West Bank headquarters. It was a rare face-to-face encounter between Abbas and a high-level Israeli visitor.
The meeting came at a time of rising violence. On Tuesday, hundreds of Palestinians attended the funeral of a man who was killed by Israeli forces a day earlier after stabbing an Israeli policeman.
Tensions have been high since a July firebombing attack by suspected Jewish extremists in the West Bank last month killed an 18-month-old Palestinian toddler and his father. Since then, there have been a series of Palestinian stabbings and a firebombing on Israelis, and three suspected attackers shot dead.
Resumed talks
Addressing reporters in Ramallah, Herzog said he and Abbas held an "in-depth" discussion that lasted more than an hour.
He said both men agreed on the need to calm the deteriorating situation and prevent a new intifada, or Palestinian uprising, from breaking out.
“We first and foremost must prevent a third intifada and we have agreed that in order to prevent a third intifada we must combat terror on the one hand aggressively, and on the other hand move toward a diplomatic process,” he said.
Israel and the Palestinians have held on-again, off-again peace talks over the past two decades but have never managed to agree on a final deal. The most recent round of talks, brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, broke down more than a year ago and show no signs of restarting.
“We must ignite the process yet again and give it another effort,” Herzog said.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/18/Israeli-opposition-leader-fears-new-Palestinian-intifada.html
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Democratic U.S. Senator Menendez announces strong stand against Iran deal
18 August 2015
Democratic U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, in a scathing critique of the Iran nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration and other major powers, announced on Tuesday that he will vote to kill the pact.
Speaking in his home state of New Jersey, the former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said in prepared remarks detailing his opposition: “I will vote to disapprove the agreement and, if called upon, would vote to override a veto” by President Barack Obama.
The Senate and House of Representatives are expected to vote sometime in September on legislation rejecting the deal with Tehran that would impose new curbs on Iran’s nuclear program while lifting economic sanctions on the country. Obama faces a tough fight in Congress defending the deal, which is also opposed by most Republicans.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/18/Democratic-U-S-Senator-Menendez-announces-strong-stand-against-Iran-deal.html
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Palestinian hunger-striker regains consciousness, vows to continue fast
18 August 2015
A Palestinian on a hunger strike against his detention without trial was brought out of sedation in an Israeli hospital on Tuesday and vowed to continue his fast, one of his lawyers said.
The condition of Islamic Jihad activist Mohammed Allan, who began to refuse food two months ago, is being closely monitored by opposing forces in an Israeli-Palestinian conflict that could boil over in new violence if he dies.
Israel has not formally charged Allan with any crime but said he was involved in “grave terrorism” on behalf of Islamic Jihad, which has threatened attacks against Israel if he dies. He was arrested last November in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
At a hearing in Israel’s Supreme Court on Monday on Allan’s petition for unconditional release, the Justice Ministry said it would consider freeing him if he agreed to be exiled abroad for four years.
His lawyers rejected the proposal, saying Allan poses no security threat, and the court, urging the sides to negotiate, scheduled another session for Wednesday.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/18/Palestinian-hunger-striker-regains-consciousness-vows-to-continue-fast.html
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Saudi Arabia calls for implementation of U.N. resolution on Yemen
18 August 2015
Saudi Arabia on Monday called for the unconditional implementation of the U.N. Security Council resolution to end the conflict in neighboring Yemen and intensifying efforts to send humanitarian aid to the country.
The call came during the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers chaired by Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, deputy prime minister and minister of interior, at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah Monday afternoon.
In a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the meeting, Minister of Culture and Information Adel Al-Turaifi said the council underlined the content of a speech made by the crown prince while receiving the families of soldiers who were martyred on duty in the terrorist bombing that targeted the Special Emergency Force in Asir Province.
The bombing on August 6 killed 11 Saudi soldiers and four expatriate workers who were praying at the mosque inside the Special Security Forces compound in Abha.
In his speech, the crown prince conveyed the condolences of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to the families of the martyrs and expressed the Kingdom's pride in its citizens who died defending the homeland against the advocates of deviant thought.
"Whoever tries to tamper with the security of the Kingdom and its people will meet with a fitting response in the field without delay," he said.
The council reviewed efforts being exerted to support the Yemeni people and their legitimate government. It emphasized the importance of the unconditional implementation of the Security Council Resolution No. 2216 to bring Yemen out of its current crisis, simultaneously intensifying efforts to provide humanitarian aid to the brotherly people of Yemen.
The council lauded the humanitarian role of King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Work in delivering aid to meet the basic needs of the Yemeni people in line with the directives of the King.
The council commended the efforts of the security authorities in Kuwait in thwarting a terrorist plot to destabilize the country by arresting a terrorist cell, which stockpiled a huge arsenal of weapons, ammunition, missiles and explosives.
Al-Turaifi said the council also discussed a number of domestic issues. It reviewed the activities of the 9th edition of Okaz Souq, which was opened by Makkah Emir Prince Khalid Al-Faisal on Wednesday.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/18/Saudi-Arabia-calls-for-implementation-of-UN-resolution-on-Yemen.html
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Pro-Kurdish opposition to consider taking part in Turkish 'election govt'
18 August 2015
Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) will consider taking part in an interim power-sharing government to lead the country to a new election, co-chairman Selahattin Demirtas said on Tuesday, after talks between other parties failed to produce a coalition government.
The HDP would also be happy to meet and discuss joining a coalition with the second-biggest party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), if it is now given a mandate to form a government, Demirtas said in comments broadcast live by CNN Turk.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/18/Turkey-s-pro-Kurdish-Peoples-Democratic-Party.html
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Iranian MPs Join '#We-Don’t-Allow-It-Either' Campaign
Aug 18, 2015
Addressing participants in the 8th International General Assembly of Islamic Radios and Televisions Union in Tehran on Monday, Ayatollah Khamenei described Iran and the US regional policies as complete opposite, and said Tehran is standing firm against Washington's divisive plots in the region.
The Leader referred to the recent nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers, and said, "Washington imagined that it could use this agreement whose fate is not clear yet - as its final approval is not yet a definite fact neither in Iran nor in the US - to find a way to wield influence in Iran; and this was their intention."
But "we closed this path; and we will definitely keep it closed", he underlined.
"We will not allow the US to influence (our) economy, or politics or culture. We will stand against such penetration with all our power - that is, thanks God, at a high level today," Ayatollah Khamenei said.
"They seek to disintegrate the regional states and create small and subordinate countries but God willing, this will not happen," Ayatollah Khamenei warned, elaborating on the US regional policies.
"Disintegration of Iraq and, if they can, Syria is the clear policy of the Americans, but the territorial integrity of the regional states, Iraq and Syria is highly important to us," he added.
Ayatollah Khamenei elaborated on Iran's regional policies, and said, "Iran fully supports resistance in the region, specially the resistance in Palestine, and will support anyone who struggles against Israel and strikes at the Zionist regime."
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940527001309
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Arab World
Muslim Forum Urges Moderation in Issuing Fatwas
Aug 19, 2015
CAIRO: Leading Muslim clerics meeting in Cairo on Tuesday called for moderation in issuing religious edicts, in an attempt to counter extremist Fatwas that sanction jihadist atrocities.
The muftis — often chief interpreters of Islamic law in their countries — and clerics agreed at the conclusion of the two-day conference on training for Muslim scholars and coordination on issues of Islamic law.
“You do not need to be reminded that leniency (in dealing) with Fatwas that excommunicate” Muslims has resulted in “murder and bloodshed”, Ahmed al-Tayyeb, head of the prestigious Cairo-based Islamic Al-Azhar institution, told the conference.
In a closing statement, the clerics called for greater attention to “renewing” the scholarship that goes into issuing Fatwas and for religious decrees to take modern times into account.
The statement advocates training in modern sciences for clerics and an emphasis on considering social norms when issuing edicts.
Traditional clerics and institutions like Al-Azhar, a leading centre of Sunni Islamic learning, have struggled to counter the extremist ideology of jihadists such as the self-styled Islamic State.
Full report at:
ttp://www.dawn.com/news/1201305/muslim-forum-urges-moderation-in-issuing-fatwas
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Over 70 Terrorists Killed in Syrian Airstrikes in Damascus Countryside
Aug 19, 2015
The sources said that at least 60 terrorists were killed and their vehicles were destroyed during the Syrian warplanes' operations against their hideouts to the Northeast of Irbeen.
The sources added that over ten militant fighter were also killed in air attacks of Syrian fighter jets in Densin Harasta.
Last week, the Syrian army killed 8 terrorists and injured scores others in military operations against their hideouts in Saqba, and killed the terrorist, Baha’a (aka Abu al-Laial) and other militants in Irbeen in Eastern Ghouta in Damascus countryside.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940528000608
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Infighting among ISIL Terrorists Kills over 16 in Iraqi Mosul
Aug 19, 2015
“Two groups of the ISIL, one of them led by Abu Musab al-Musli and the other led by Haji Nasser al-Mawla, clashed with each other in the area of al-Baaj in Western Mosul after the distribution of the booty and funds among themselves,” media official of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Mosul Saeed Mamouzini said.
Mamouzini noted, “The clashes resulted in the killing of 16 elements of them.”
On Friday, Iraqi Vice-President Osama al-Nujaifi disclosed that over 2,000 people have been executed by the ISIL Takfiri terrorists in Mosul since the group occupied the city in June of 2014.
Local sources said that the ISIL authorities have released the names of 2,000 Mosul residents who were executed by the group to issue death certificates for the victims.
Al-Nujaifi urged the Iraqi government to take serious steps to liberate the province and free the people.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940528000392
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Suicide bomber kills 10 Kurdish forces in northeast Syria
19 August 2015
At least 10 Kurdish security force members were killed on Wednesday in a suicide bomb attack on their station in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli, a monitoring group said.
“A suicide bomber in a vehicle targeted the Asayish’s local headquarters in Qamishli. There are at least 10 dead,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/19/Blast-hits-offices-of-Kurdish-security-agency-in-Syria-at-least-10-killed.html
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ISIS beheads elderly antiquities scholar in Palmyra
19 August 2015
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants beheaded an antiquities scholar in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra and hung his body on a column in a main square of the historic site, Syria’s antiquities chief said on Tuesday.
ISIS, whose insurgents control swathes of Syria and Iraq, captured Palmyra in central Syria from government forces in May, but are not known to have damaged its monumental Roman-era ruins despite their reputation for destroying artifacts they view as idolatrous under their puritanical interpretation of Islam.
Syrian state antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim said the family of Khaled Asaad had informed him that the 82-year-old scholar who worked for over 50 years as head of antiquities in Palmyra was executed by ISIS on Tuesday.
Asaad had been detained and interrogated for over a month by the ultra-radical Sunni Muslim militants, he told Reuters.
“Just imagine that such a scholar who gave such memorable services to the place and to history would be beheaded ... and his corpse still hanging from one of the ancient columns in the center of a square in Palmyra,” Abdulkarim said.
“The continued presence of these criminals in this city is a curse and bad omen on (Palmyra) and every column and every archaeological piece in it.”
Abdulkarim said Asaad was known for several scholarly works published in international archaeological journals on Palmyra, which in antiquity flourished as an important trading hub along the Silk Road.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/19/ISIS-beheads-elderly-antiquities-scholar-in-Palmyra-.html
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U.S. denounces Egypt's new anti-terror law
19 August 2015
The United States denounced Egypt’s newly expanded counterterrorism law Tuesday, expressing concern about its potential impact on human rights in the country, a military ally of the United States.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi signed a law Sunday that would expand the government’s surveillance powers and, according to critics, muzzle dissent and target critics.
Human rights activists have accused Sisi of leading an increasingly repressive regime.
“We are concerned that some measures in Egypt’s new anti-terrorism law could have a significant detrimental impact on human rights and fundamental freedoms,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said.
But Kirby reaffirmed that Washington stands with Egypt in its fight against terror.
He also echoed comments made by Secretary of State John Kerry at a strategic dialogue in Cairo earlier this month, where Kerry called for finding an equilibrium between counterterrorism and preserving human rights.
“Defeating terrorism requires a long-term, comprehensive strategy that builds trust between the authorities and the public, including by enabling those who disagree with the government’s policies to express those views peacefully and through participation in the political process,” Kirby added.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/19/U-S-slams-new-Egyptian-counterterrorism-law-.html
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Typhoid outbreak hits Palestinian refugees in Syria
19 August 2015
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Tuesday that there is a typhoid outbreak among civilians from a besieged Palestinian refugee camp on the outskirts of the Syrian capital, with at least six confirmed cases.
Christopher Gunness, spokesman for the agency known as UNRWA, said its staff gained access to Yalda, an area east of the Yarmouk camp hosting displaced Palestinian refugees and Syrian civilians, for the first time since June 8 and established a mobile health point.
UNRWA said in a situation report that its medical personnel provided 211 consultations over the course of Tuesday in Yalda, including confirming six cases of typhoid.
But the refugee agency also noted “credible reports” of a typhoid outbreak in the region with other cases in Yarmouk, Yalda and two other areas, Babila and Beit Sahem.
UNRWA said it was authorized to provide limited health assistance as well as water, sanitation and hygiene supplies to the community.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, typhoid is a life-threatening illness caused by the bacteria Salmonella typhi which is spread by eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water. It can usually be treated with antibiotics, but can be fatal in some cases without treatment.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/19/Palestinian-refugees-in-Syria-suffer-Typhoid-outbreak.html
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Iraq's Maliki dismisses fall of Mosul report as 'worthless'
18 August 2015
Former Iraqi premier Nuri al-Maliki Tuesday dismissed as “worthless” a parliamentary report blaming him and others for the militant’s takeover of second city Mosul last year.
“There is no value in the result that emerged from the parliamentary investigation committee on the fall of Mosul, which was dominated by political differences and was not objective,” Maliki said on his Facebook page.
“What happened in Mosul was a conspiracy planned in Ankara, then the conspiracy moved to Arbil,” Maliki said in a second post, referring to the capitals of Turkey and Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, both long-time foes of his.
The two-term premier is currently in Iran, where he was due to meet Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday, an official in his office said.
ISIS seized Mosul in June 2014, then overran a third of the country in a devastating offensive that swept security forces aside.
The report on the disaster was presented to the parliament speaker Salim al-Juburi on Sunday, and lawmakers voted to refer it to the judiciary the following day.
“None of the names mentioned in this report were deleted, and all of them will be sent to the judiciary,” Jubur told a news conference on Monday.
“An investigation and follow up and accounting of all those who caused the fall of Mosul will be carried out,” he said.
Maliki -- who is now a vice president -- is widely viewed as having played a major role in the disaster, angering Sunni Arabs who say they were marginalized and targeted by his government, which contributed to ISIS’s success.
He also appointed commanders based on personal loyalty rather than competence, and was commander-in-chief of the armed forces during two years in which the Iraqi military did not carry out necessary training, leading to a decline in skills.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/18/Iraq-s-Maliki-dismisses-Mosul-fall-report-as-worthless-.html
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Syria accuses U.N. envoy of bias amid diplomatic peace push
18 August 2015
Syria has accused U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura of bias and says his recent statements condemning deadly government airstrikes on Douma show he lacks objectivity.
Government air raids on Sunday killed nearly 100 people in the eastern Damascus suburb of Douma, making it one of the deadliest such incidents since Syria's crisis began in March 2011. The airstrikes hit a vegetable market in the suburb, which is a stronghold of the Islam Army rebel group.
De Mistura said in a statement Monday that hitting crowded civilian markets is "unacceptable."
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/18/Syria-accuses-U-N-envoy-of-bias-amid-diplomatic-peace-push.html
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Hundreds of Saudis missing in foreign conflictsc
18 August 2015
The Saudi Red Crescent (SRC) has received more than 200 requests over the last 13 years to find Saudi men missing in foreign conflicts.
Deputy director of the SRC’s department of international affairs and relief, Prince Bandar Bin Faisal, told Makkah daily on Monday that they every year the organization receives an average of 16 requests from Saudi families looking for help to find sons who have disappeared in foreign conflicts.
The number of requests began increasing in 2003, reaching 34 in 2011 before dropping off rapidly.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/18/Hundreds-of-Saudis-missing-in-foreign-conflicts-.html
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Syrian Army Hits ISIL Positions Hard near Sweida City
Aug 19, 2015
The sources said heavy clashes erupted between the Syrian army men and the ISIL militants in Tal al-Sahin, 40 km to the Southeast of Sweida city, which resulted in the killing of most of the group members.
The sources said that the rest of the group members fled the battlefield.
Earlier this month, the Syrian army pushed back another massive raid by the foreign-backed terrorists in Sweida province.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940528000805
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Syrian Fighter Jets Pound Rebel Centers in Hama Province
Aug 19, 2015
The sources said that the Sryain airstrikes targeted the terrorists’ hideouts in the villages of al-Hamidiyeh, al-Ankawi, Bab al-Taqeh and al-Amiqeh near the border with the Northwestern Idlib province.
There have not thus far been any official reports over the accurate number of killed terrorists in the Syrian Air Force's attacks.
On Tuesday, the Syrian Army’s Tiger Forces, the 87th Brigade of the 11th Tank Division, and the National Defense Forces (NDF) stormed the rebels' positions in the al-Ghaab Plains of the Hama Governorate and recaptured a number of towns and sites around this area.
Following the recapture of al-Mansoura, Khirbat al-Naqous, and al-Ziyarah, the Syrian army men advanced to the town of Tal Wassit, where they stormed Ahrar Al-Sham’s defensive positions near the strategic hilltop.
Less than two hours after launching their assault on Tal Wassit, the Syrian army troops retook full control over the hilltop, killing over 15 enemy combatants from Ahrar al-Sham and the Syrian Al-Qaeda group Al-Nusra Front.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940528000680
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South Asia
More than 200 Taliban fighters lay down guns amid military operation in Faryab
Aug 19 2015
More than 200 Taliban fighters have put down their weapons amid ongoing military operation led by 1st Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum.
Abdul Baqi Hashimi, head of the provincial council of Faryab province say that the military operation launched recently under the command of General Abdul Rashid Dostum in Qaisar, Pakhtoon Kot and Almar districts has been successfully going on.
He said some 200 Taliban militants have been killed and wounded in this operation and more than 200 others joined government.
Full report at:
http://www.khaama.com/more-than-200-taliban-fighters-lay-down-guns-amid-military-operation-in-faryab-3784
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Afghanistan celebrating its 96th Independence Day, read the history behind it
By ZABIHULLAH MOOSAKHAIL
Aug 19 2015
96 years from today Afghan nation led by King Amanullah Khan upraised and fought with the world’s biggest empire and acquired independence for Afghanistan.
Amanullah Khan was the third son of Amir Habibullah Khan who rose to power after his father was assassinated on 20 February 1919 in Laghman province of eastern Afghanistan.
Amir Amanullah Khan was the governor of Kabul, controller of the army and treasury during the kingdom of his father.
But after the assassination of his father he organized a gathering of Afghans in front of Kabul’s grand mosque and said: “As I am putting on the crown on my head, I am announcing the complete independence of my country and urge you to accompany me in this admirable journey.”
Although, Afghanistan was never a part of the British Empire but before this announcement they were controlling Afghanistan’s foreign affairs in exchange for some benefits and protection.
This announcement was the start of the Third Anglo-Afghan War which began on 6 May 1919 and ended with a ceasefire on 8 August 1919.
In the aftermath of this war the British Empire lost control of Afghanistan’s foreign affairs and it became a completely independent country.
King Amanullah Khan’s daughter Princess India Afghanistan says that Afghanistan would never forget the services of her father.
She says her father was a patriot person and always wanted Afghans to get educated because an illiterate never remains independent.
Full report at:
http://www.khaama.com/afghanistan-celebrating-its-96th-independence-day-read-the-history-behind-it-3787
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After Nato drawdown, US forces guide Afghans from shadows
August 19, 2015
Guillaume DECAMME - From his watchtower in insurgency-wracked eastern Afghanistan, US army Specialist Josh Whitten doesn't have much to say about his Afghan colleagues.
"They don't come up here anymore, because they used to mess around with our stuff.
"
Welcome to Forward Operating Base Connelly, where US troops are providing training and tactical advice to the 201st Afghan army corps as they take on the Taliban on the battlefield.
For seven months after the formal end of the NATO combat operation in Afghanistan, US forces have guided their counterparts from the sidelines with a mixture of pride, bewilderment - and suspicion.
The latter is clearly evident in the layout of this temporary base in Nangarhar province, where a snaking barbed-wire fence separates the armies of the two nations.
For "Operation Iron Triangle" which concluded on Saturday, US forces kept very much to themselves - with a squad of guard dogs and a 7.
62 Caliber machine-gun at the entry point reinforcing a simple message to Afghan forces: do not enter.
Whitten chews his tobacco and spits.
"Sometimes they shoot in the air, we don't really know what for," he says, in a sign of the mistrust that permeates US forces after years of "insider attacks", including the killing of General Harold Greene by a radicalised Afghan soldier a year ago.
Twice a day, a dozen military advisers would go with heavily armed escorts to the Afghan side to provide their views on how best to "clean up" three districts near the Pakistani border of all traces of Taliban resistance.
The 2,000 Afghan soldiers, police and intelligence agents involved in Iron Triangle were tasked with cornering the Taliban in the Hisarak district, west of the base.
The Taliban, facing a period of uncertainty following the controversial appointment of their new chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour, have recently stepped up their bombing campaign in the capital Kabul.
In eastern Afghanistan their guerilla war shows no sign of letting up, and militants are now taking refuge across the border in Pakistan, alleged General Mohammad Zaman Waziri, commander of the Afghan regional forces.
'This is how we do it'
Since the end of December, 13,000 foreign troops deployed in the country have been mainly limited to training local forces.
"A lot of it is just sharing 'This is how we do it.
' I don't care if they do it our way, we just give them recommendations," explained Major Edward Bankston, head of the US advisers at the base.
Lieutenant Ellyn Grosz, who assists Afghan Major Rassoul, head of air support, at the Iron Triangle headquarters, has a more positive view of the training, saying it transformed coordination between air and ground forces.
"It's a huge success, before that they would do a gun run (aerial bombardment), land, and ask 'so how did I do?'," she said enthusiastically.
Still, the grey-bearded Major Rassoul, who earned his wings at the helm of a helicopter fighting Soviet forces in the 1980s, says he is under no illusions about the task ahead.
"In the Eighties, we had new gear.
These days we don't have enough new equipment against the Taliban," he said.
Equipment has been a key issue for the Afghan army since the end of the Taliban regime in 2001.
Full report at:
http://nation.com.pk/international/19-Aug-2015/after-nato-drawdown-us-forces-guide-afghans-from-shadows
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Afghan forces retreat from strategic district in Helmand province
August 19, 2015
LASHKAR GAH - Afghan security forces have "tactically retreated" from a key district in the southern province of Helmand that foreign troops battled for years to secure, as the Taliban make a late summer push to expand areas they control in a traditional stronghold.
The Taliban have made a grab to secure territory in the north and south this summer, but despite some gains, have struggled to hold ground, even though most foreign forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2014.
Officials in Helmand said security forces had shifted the Naw Zad district governor's office to a safer location to avoid civilian casualties during Taliban attacks, and they retained control of the district.
"The previous compound was surrounded by civilian homes and civilians could be harmed during Taliban attacks," said Omar Zwak, a spokesman for the governor of Helmand.
A senior provincial government source said the Taliban had occupied the compound and the surrounding area.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmad said the militants made "thousands of police and army forces" leave the district after heavy fighting late on Monday. "We have control of the district," he said in statement.
Mohammad Asif, an elder from the Naw Zad area, said Afghan forces and the Taliban were still fighting on the outskirts of Naw Zad on Tuesday.
Small towns like Naw Zad in the fertile Helmand river valley saw some of the heaviest fighting by British and US against the Taliban before foreign forces largely withdrew from combat missions last year. The Taliban has a strong presence in Helmand, and controls the Baghran district next to Naw Zad. It captured Naw Zad in July, the day after news broke of the death of elusive Taliban leader Mullah Omar.
Full report at:
http://nation.com.pk/international/19-Aug-2015/afghan-forces-retreat-from-strategic-district-in-helmand-province
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Spanta supports national unity government’s stance against Pakistan
Aug 19 2015
National Security Advisor to the former President Hamid Karzai has endorsed the National Unity Government’s stance against Pakistan.
Speaking during a gathering of the provincial governors association Rangin Dadfar Spanta called on an “irony” unity of th people considering the national issues and insisted that considering divisional interests is not important.
He said the allies and team of the former president is prepared to stand with the government of national unity to defend Afghanistan.
Spanta also insisted that the government’s stance against Pakistan should be strictly followed in a bid to prevent the country once again fall into chaos.
The government of national unity slammed Pakistan for providing shelter to terrorist groups plotting and coordinating attacks in Afghanistan following a series of deadly attacks in capital Kabul earlier this month.
Full report at:
http://www.khaama.com/spanta-supports-national-unity-governments-stance-against-pakistan-1406
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India
UN chief asks India, Pak to exercise maximum restraint
Aug 19, 2015
UNITED NATIONS: UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon has asked India and Pakistan to exercise "maximum restraint" in the wake of increased tensions along the Line of Control and hoped that talks between the National Security Advisors of both sides will result in a "positive outcome."
"The Secretary-General calls upon the governments of India and Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint and take all feasible steps to ensure the protection of civilians," Ban said in a statement issued by his spokesperson here on Tuesday.
Ban reiterated his call for both nations to address their differences through dialogue.
Welcoming the upcoming NSA-level talks between the two countries, the UN chief expressed hope that the meeting will lead to a positive result.
"The Secretary-General urges both countries to continue to address their differences through dialogue. In that regard, he welcomes the planned meeting between their respective NSAs on 23-24 August, and expresses the hope that it will lead to positive outcomes," the statement said.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/UN-chief-asks-India-Pak-to-exercise-maximum-restraint/articleshow/48538115.cms
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Teach Pak A Lesson, Then Hold Talks: VHP
Aug 19, 2015
NEW DELHI: The VHP today suggested calling off NSA-level talks with Pakistan, insisting these cannot be held in a "war-like" atmosphere and warned of a repeat of Kargil-like situation.
The Hindu right wing outfit also asked the government to review its policy towards Pakistan and said it needs to be changed to make it strong enough to deal with the neighbouring country, which, it said, "should be taught a lesson first".
"Government should cancel the NSA-level talks. The present environment is not conducive for talks. Talks and war cannot happened together. Today, there is a war-lik atmosphere and it should be dealt with accordingly.
"Teach Pakistan a lesson first and then hold talks, which will yield good results. Otherwise, we fear a repeat of Kargil may take place," VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain said.
Seeking a review of New Delhi's Pakistan policy, he said, "India's policy needs to be reviewed. The Modi government will have to review and change it. The sooner it is done, the better it will be in the interest of the government and the country. India will have to make a strong policy to deal with Pakistan."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Teach-Pak-a-lesson-then-hold-talks-VHP/articleshow/48536055.cms
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We have been invited for talks with Sartaj Aziz: J&K Separatist leaders
Aug 19, 2015
NEW DELHI: Separatist leaders in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday said the Pakistan envoy in New Delhi has invited them for talks with Pakistan National Advisor Sartaj Aziz before he holds talks with his Indian counterpart.
Both the factions of Hurriyat Conference headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and other separatist leaders such as Yasin Malik and Naeem Khan have been invited by Pakistan high commissioner Abdul Basit for talks on August 23.
"We received the invite over phone on Tuesday evening. The Pakistan envoy wants us (Geelani and his party leaders) to meet Sartaj Aziz before talks with India," Ayaz Akbar, spokesperson for Geelani's Hurriyat Conference, said.
Aziz is scheduled to fly here for talks with India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on August 23.
READ ALSO: Pakistan strategizes to counter India
Pak to push for talks at foreign secretary-level
Farooq's spokesperson Shahid-Ul-Islam also confirmed the invite and said: "We have been invited for the reception of Sartaj Aziz on the day of NSA talks. But we are yet to take a decision."
In September 2014, ahead of the foreign secretary Level talks between India and Pakistan, India had called it off as Pakistan had invited separatist leaders for talks.
Pakistan army chief Gen Raheel Sharif and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar called on PM Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday to discuss the upcoming visit of prime minister's advisor on national security and foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz to New Delhi.
Sharif's discussions with the military top brass came a day after he chaired a high-level meeting to discuss the agenda of the NSA-level talks.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/We-have-been-invited-for-talks-with-Sartaj-Aziz-Separatist-leaders/articleshow/48538165.cms
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Pakistan to push for talks at the level of foreign secretary
Aug 19, 2015
NEW DELHI: Pakistan is going to push India for resumption of foreign secretary-level dialogue when the two National Security Advisers (NSA) meet August 23-24 to discuss all issues connected to terrorism.
While Pakistan officials said that this was a decision taken after a high-level meeting chaired by PM Nawaz Sharif, government sources here said India's only focus in the upcoming dialogue was going to be on terrorism.
Interior minister Nisar Ali Khan, finance minister Ishaq Dar, Pakistan NSA Sartaj Aziz, PM's special assistant on foreign affairs Tariq Fatemi and other officials were present in the meeting.
"Issues like the restarting of foreign secretary-level talks and our concerns over RAW's activities will be on the agenda," Pakistan officials were quoted as saying by agencies in Islamabad.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Pakistan-to-push-for-talks-at-the-level-of-foreign-secretary/articleshow/48536017.cms
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Yadadri development edges out 2 Muslim traders
Balakoteshwara Rao
Aug 19, 2015
HYDERABAD: Two Muslim families, that have served pilgrims visiting the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Yadadri for three decades, appear to have lost the temple presiding deity's blessings and their livelihoods.
As a consequence of the state government's ambitious plan to develop the temple and its surroundings, Sheikh Ghouse and Jaffar, lost their little shops in a demolition drive to create space for an expanded bus stand. And to add insult to injury, the endowments department, that allotted 'mulgis' to 58 shopkeepers who too lost their shops, has refused to allot commercial space to the duo.
The reason? Ghouse and Jaffar are Muslims and as per existing rules of the endowments department, non-Hindus cannot be provided with commercial space on a property that belongs to a temple.
So far, there has been no word from either the endowments department or the state government on any compensation for the loss of their livelihood.
Endowments minister A Indrakaran Reddy, when contacted, said he was unaware of this issue and would look into it. The temple executive officer was unavailable for comment. One of the temple employees informed that Tuesday being a holiday, no official was available to speak.
Ghouse, who was a motorcycle mechanic initially, converted his store into a kirana shop where he has been selling various items needed for pilgrims visiting the temple.
"The demolition has already started. Today, I went to get the tin roof of my store to salvage what ever I can of my property," Ghouse said speaking to TOI on Tuesday.
"I asked the executive officer of the temple Geeta Reddy why my name was not on the list of shopkeepers who were allotted 'mulgis' in the new complex owned by the government which is close to the bus stand. I was told that as per rules, non-Hindus cannot be given a temple-owned property for either residing or for running a business," Ghouse said.
The temple executive officer, Ghouse said, informed him that the list of shopkeepers who have been allotted new 'mulgis' was received from Hyderabad and that his name as well as that of his friend Jaffar were not in it. "She told me she is helpless as she cannot violate the rules," Ghouse said. Asked if any mention of compensation for loss of livelihood was mooted, Ghouse replied in the negative.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Yadadri-development-edges-out-2-Muslim-traders/articleshow/48534791.cms
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Muslim Spelling Bee 2015 registration for India opens on September 01
August 18, 2015
Mumbai: Registration for the Muslim Spelling Bee 2015 - America’s largest community based 'Spelling Bee' competition which was recently launched in India for the first time, will begin from September 01, an official said.
"Muslim Spelling Bee competition’s Indian Edition will be open for registration from September 1st, 2015. The competitions will be held in the month of November, December, January and February", Sufiya Shekh, CEO- Muslim Spelling Bee-India, said in a statement.
"The Muslim Spelling Bee India (MSBIndia) competition will be based on the same format as it was established in America", she said.
"The Indian edition will be across 34 locations in India, and have partnered with leading community/faith based schools. These community/faith based schools will host the regional competition", she added.
Full report at:
http://www.ummid.com/news/2015/August/18.08.2015/muslim-spelling-bee.html
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North America
Top US official won’t apologise for Muslim-bombing post
August 19, 2015
AUSTIN, Texas: Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller won’t apologise for a shared post on his Facebook page that appears to suggest using an atom bomb on the Muslim population, a spokesman for the Republican said on Tuesday.
The post shows a mushroom cloud and says Japan has “been at peace” with the US since the 1945 bombing of Nagasaki. The end of the caption reads, “It’s time we made peace with the Muslim world.”
The post was shared on Miller’s Facebook page over the weekend, but was removed on Monday. Todd Smith, a political consultant for Miller, said he didn’t know why the post was taken down, but said critics outraged over the content should instead be demanding apologies from terrorists, Iranian leaders and US President Barack Obama for their words and actions.
“We think those are all issues that deserve an apology and are much more serious than a thought-provoking Facebook post,” Smith said.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-1-335037-Top-US-official-wont-apologise-for-Muslim-bombing-post
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US urges Pakistan, Afghanistan to jointly combat terrorism
Aug 19, 2015
WASHINGTON: The United States, which seems determined not to allow further deterioration of relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, has once again urged the two neighbouring states to work jointly to defeat terrorism.
“We continue to think it’s important for the two sides to look for ways to cooperate and to communicate and to work towards a better solution here, which, again, we believe is through the reconciliation process,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan improved rapidly after the election of a new government in Kabul last year and both sides pledged not to allow their territories to be used for launching terrorist attacks against the other.
But last week’s terrorist attacks in Kabul, that left more than 50 people dead, disturbed the process of normalisation.
The situation worried policymakers in Washington who want to promote better relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, as they believe that there could be no peace in Afghanistan until relations between Kabul and Islamabad improved.
At a news briefing in Washington, Mr Kirby reminded the two states that tensions between neighbours was not unique but they must continue to fight terrorists who had killed so many Pakistanis and Afghans.
“There have been and there will continue to be tensions across that border because it’s such a safe haven for extremists,” the US official said.
“Pakistan has suffered deeply from Taliban attacks inside their country, and their soldiers have bled just like Afghan soldiers have bled.”
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1201326/us-urges-pakistan-afghanistan-to-jointly-combat-terrorism
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More than 1,000 children killed, injured in Yemen conflict: UN
Aug 19, 2015
LONDON: Months of 'brutal' conflict in Yemen have killed or injured more than 1,000 children, and the number of young people recruited or used as fighters has soared, the United Nations children's agency (Unicef) said on Wednesday.
Some 400 children have been killed and more than 600 injured, an average of eight casualties every day, since fighting escalated at the end of March, according to Unicef.
A Saudi-led Arab coalition has been bombarding the Iranian-allied Houthi rebel movement, Yemen's dominant force, since late March in a bid to reinstate exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has fled to Riyadh.
The war has killed more than 4,300 people, many of them civilians, and spread disease and hunger throughout the country.
More than 1.3 million people have been forced to flee their homes since March, and nearly 10 million children, 80 per cent of the country's under-18 population, need urgent humanitarian aid, Unicef said in a report released on Wednesday.
Know more: Aid workers voice frustration as Syria conflict enters fifth year
"Children are bearing the brunt of a brutal armed conflict which escalated in March this year and shows no sign of a resolution," the United Nations (UN) agency said.
"This conflict is a particular tragedy for Yemeni children... (they) are being killed by bombs or bullets and those that survive face the growing threat of disease and malnutrition," Unicef Yemen representative Julien Harneis said.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1201426/more-than-1000-children-killed-injured-in-yemen-conflict-un
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U.S. concerned over Israeli treatment of Arab-Americans
19 August 2015
The United States has expressed concern on Tuesday regarding Israel's treatment of U.S. citizens travelling to the country following recent reports of Palestinian-Americans being denied entry.
"The U.S. government seeks equal treatment and freedom to travel for all US citizens regardless of national origin or ethnicity," State Department spokesman John Kirby said.
"Specifically, the U.S. government remains concerned at the unequal treatment that Palestinian-Americans and other Arab-Americans receive at Israel's borders and checkpoints."
The comments came in response to a question about reports of U.S. citizens, particularly those eligible for a Palestinian Authority ID card, being denied entry into Israel after landing at Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv.
Kirby did not address the specifics of individual reports, instead referring reporters to Israeli authorities.
He did cite warnings posted on the State Department website that note Israel views anyone "believed to have claim" to a
Palestinian Authority ID card - meaning anyone with a parent or grandparent born or who lived in the West Bank or Gaza - as a Palestinian resident, whether or not they are also a US citizen.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2015/08/19/U-S-concerned-over-Israeli-treatment-of-Arab-Americans.html
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The GOP’s Endless War on Muslim Voters Claims Carly Fiorina
08.19.15
Dean Obeidallah
I’m baffled by why the GOP continues to demonize and alienate Muslim Americans given that they could be making inroads with the community. As Suhail Khan, a Muslim American Republican who served in the Bush Administration, explained when he recently appeared on my SiriusXM radio show, many Muslims would be a perfect fit for the GOP.
Khan is right. Muslim Americans are now climbing in economic status and numbers. In 2007, only 13 percent of Muslim Americans earned over $100,000, but that number has now climbed to over 20 percent, eclipsing the average in the United States. Many of those people will, of course, support lower taxes and smaller government.
And the number of well off Muslim Americans will likely rise quickly in the near future considering 39 percent of Muslim Americans have college degrees, which is well above the national average of 27 percent. Plus Muslims cherish another issue championed by the right: religious liberty. (But in the truest sense, not as a ruse to discriminate against people.)
But the extreme voices within continue to drive Muslims away. At this point I can only assume that Republican leaders want to build a coalition for the 2016 race composed primarily of angry white Christian men.
This, however, is truly a losing strategy. Even Senator Lindsey Graham candidly warned back in 2012 that the GOP is losing the demographic battle because “We’re not generating enough angry white guys to stay in business for the long term.” But so far the 2016 race has shown us more of the same from his fellow Republicans—horrible comments about Latinos, extreme positions on women, and now more hate towards Muslims.
What is surprising is that I honestly thought the GOP would be more embracing, even to Muslims, in 2016. My optimism was buttressed a few months ago after Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal regurgitated a wholly fabricated claim by Fox News that there were Muslim “no go zones” in Europe where non-Muslims fear to tread and he warned that American Muslims would soon do the same here.
This claim was so preposterous that Fox News apologized not once but four times on air after one of their regular guests offered such a baseless assertion. After those remarks, Jindal didn’t move up on the polls. (Technically I may be running ahead of Jindal right now.) And when I didn’t hear leading Republican presidential candidates spew anti-Muslim bigotry, I thought things were truly changing.
But I was wrong. First a few weeks ago we heard, during the “kid’s table” GOP debate, both Lindsey Graham and George Pataki call for monitoring mosques in America.
And now Carly Fiorina is being attacked by some on the right for saying nice things about Muslims. (Unreal, I know.) Fiorina’s comments weren’t even recent: She made them 14 years ago, in the weeks after 9/11, while she was the CEO of Hewlett Packard.
At that time we had just witnessed a spike in anti-Arab and anti Muslim hate crimes. A Sikh man wearing a turban was even killed in Arizona simply because he appeared to be a Muslim. So Fiorina spoke to her diverse group of employees expressing concern for the safety of her Middle Eastern and Muslims colleagues. She also mentioned the contributions that Islam and Arabs had made throughout history, with comments like, “The technology industry would not exist without the contributions of Arab mathematicians.”
This is not much different from what we heard form President George W. Bush in the weeks after 9/11. But it was simply too much for Michele Bachmann and others on the right. How dare anyone show compassion for Muslims! So on Sunday Bachmann shared with her 240,000 twitter followers an article attacking Fiorina for having the audacity to praise Muslims.
The article’s author, Bethany Blankley (a Bachmann wannabe), takes issue with the concept that Muslims ever contributed anything to the world. I hope Blankley doesn’t like coffee or ever have to use a hospital, both Muslim inventions.
She further claimed that Fiorina’s comments were “offensive” and angrily suggested: “Perhaps [Fiorina] she should move to Saudi Arabia where women are prohibited from driving; or Iran, where women are prohibited from working.”
Full report at:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/19/the-gop-s-endless-war-on-muslim-voters-claims-carly-fiorina.html
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Pakistan
Islamic experts urge more Muslim action on climate
August 19, 2015
ISTANBUL - A group of Islamic experts urged the world's 1.6 billion Muslims on Tuesday to do more to fight global warming, in a new example of religious efforts to galvanise action before a UN climate summit in Paris in December.
In June, the world's most important Christian leader, Pope Francis, urged world leaders to hear "the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor" in an encyclical on the environment for the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics.
Unlike Roman Catholicism, Islam is a highly decentralised religion with no single recognised authority. But Muslim experts from 20 nations agreed an 8-page declaration at talks in Istanbul where it was adopted by 60 participants including the Grand Muftis of Uganda and Lebanon, a statement said.
"Excessive pollution from fossil fuels threatens to destroy the gifts bestowed on us by God, whom we know as Allah - gifts such as a functioning climate, healthy air to breathe, regular seasons, and living oceans," they wrote.
They said inaction on reining in manmade greenhouse gas emissions, from factories, power plants and cars, would mean "dire consequences to planet earth".
The declaration called on rich governments - and oil-producing states that include some OPEC nations where Islam is the state religion - to lead the way in "phasing out their greenhouse gas emissions as early as possible and no later than the middle of the century." It is unclear what weight the Islamic declaration will have for Muslims in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris from Nov. 30-Dec. 11.
Din Syamsuddin, chairman of a Muslim organisation in Indonesia which has some 30 million members, welcomed Tuesday's declaration. "Let's work together for a better world for our children, and our children's children," he said.
Cardinal Peter Turkson, a key collaborator on the papal encyclical, praised the declaration and promised closer cooperation with Muslims "to care for our common home and thus to glorify the God who created us."
Christiana Figueres, the head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat, said religion was a guide for action. "Islam's teachings, which emphasize the duty of humans as stewards of the Earth and the teacher's role as an appointed guide to correct behaviour, provide guidance to take the right action on climate change," she said in a statement.
AFP Adds: Leading Muslim clerics meeting in Cairo on Tuesday called for moderation in issuing religious edicts, in an attempt to counter extremist fatwas that sanction jihadist atrocities. The muftis -- often chief interpreters of Islamic law in their countries -- and clerics agreed at the conclusion of the two-day conference on training for Muslim scholars and coordination on issues of Islamic law.
"You do not need to be reminded that leniency (in dealing) with fatwas that excommunicate" Muslims has resulted in "murder and bloodshed", Ahmed al-Tayyeb, head of the prestigious Cairo-based Islamic Al-Azhar institution, told the conference. In a closing statement, the clerics called for greater attention to "renewing" the scholarship that goes into issuing fatwas and for religious decrees to take modern times into account.
Full report at:
http://nation.com.pk/national/19-Aug-2015/islamic-experts-urge-more-muslim-action-on-climate
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Ties with Pakistan tense as Afghanistan celebrates independence
Aug 19, 2015
KABUL: Afghanistan has summoned Pakistan's ambassador to explain fighting between the two countries' security forces that killed up to eight Afghan border police, the latest blow in ties that took a plunge this month during a surging Taliban offensive.
Cooperation between the turbulent neighbours both battling fierce militant insurgencies is seen as key to peace in Afghanistan, since Pakistan is widely believed to wield considerable influence over the Taliban and allied militants.
In the meeting with Ambassador Syed Abrar Hussain, Afghanistan's foreign ministry expressed serious objections to the heavy artillery firing in the border province of Kunar, the ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday.
“Continuation of such movements by the Pakistan military ... will have adverse effects on bilateral relations,” Afghanistan's deputy foreign minister said.
Initial reports from Afghan police in Kunar's Nari district claimed that Pakistani troops started shooting across the border on Monday after they found one of their men dead at an outpost.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has worked in his first year in office to improve ties with measures such as intelligence sharing, but after bombs in Kabul killed dozens this month he furiously blamed Pakistan for “exporting war”.
That anger was also felt on the streets of Kabul where the city's residents celebrated Independence Day on Wednesday.
“I've come to celebrate our Independence Day, we're celebrating against Pakistan,” said city resident Mohammad Zamir, as drummers and dancers performed by the ruins of houses and shops destroyed by a massive truck bomb on August 7.
Pakistan has condemned the recent attacks and blamed “spoilers and detractors” for trying to create mistrust between the two countries, which are divided by a border defined in a 1919 treaty recognising Afghan independence from the British empire, although the country was never fully colonised.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1201439/ties-with-pakistan-tense-as-afghanistan-celebrates-independence
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Security agencies closing in on Attock blast suspects, says Nisar
Aug 19, 2015
MANDI BAHAUDDIN: Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan on Wednesday said that the probe into the Attock blast will take some more time but security agencies are closing in on the suspects.
Last week, Punjab home minister Colonel (retd) Shuja Khanzada was killed in a suicide attack on his political office in Shadi Khan village, Attock.
Speaking to media representatives in Mandi Bahauddin, Nisar further said that Khanzada was not accustomed to having security with him and added that intelligence agencies had advised the Punjab home minister not to visit Shadi Khan village.
The interior minister further said that village baithaks (gatherings) are public in nature and politicians prefer not to have too many security personnel with them on such occasions.
"Security information is meant to be discrete and our agencies are not trained in this regard," Nisar said.
In response to a question, Nisar clarified that he only heard the "minus-one formula" from MQM supremo Altaf Hussain and the media and that the government has never used the terminology.
"A response regarding the minus-one formula can only be given by the person who coined it," Nisar said.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1201429/security-agencies-closing-in-on-attock-blast-suspects-says-nisar
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Al Qaeda’s Karachi chief, accomplice shot dead
IMRAN AYUB
Aug 19, 2015
KARACHI: The head of Al-Qaeda’s Karachi network and his accomplice were shot dead in a densely-populated Gulshan-i-Iqbal neighbourhood in the early hours of Tuesday in a shootout with personnel of law enforcement and intelligence agencies that also claimed the life of an intelligence officer, officials said.
The authorities claimed that the killing of the two operatives of the globally-declared terrorist outfit as a major success, citing that they were present in Karachi for a “major activity” that could either be an attack on one of the “sensitive installations” or assassination of “key security officials”.
Both the militants were young and the resistance they had put against the law-enforcement agencies indicated that they were highly trained, the officials believed.
Hourslong shootout also claims the life of an intelligence officer
They said the intelligence-based operation began after 2am when heavy contingents of police and Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, cordoned off the locality in Gulshan-i-Iqbal’s block 13-E housing apartments along Sir Shah Mohammad Sulaiman Road.
A senior security official while wishing not to be named said: “Days of intelligence exercise led to the reports about presence of some high-value targets in one of the apartment buildings and finally it emerged that it was Fahad Garden’s flat E-15 on third floor that housed the militants.”
As the Rangers soldiers backed by policemen and intelligence officials moved in after hours-long siege of the area, they came under deadly attack that left a civilian assistant director of the premier intelligence agency, Mohammad Sajjad, dead. “The attack from the militants also left a Rangers soldier wounded and triggered firing from both sides,” said another official, adding that the guns fell silent only after the militants were killed.
“They were young and the resistance they put against the law-enforcement agencies suggested that they were highly-trained,” the official said.
They were identified as Abdul Ahad, who headed Al-Qaeda network in Karachi and originally hailed from Swat, and Mohammad Saleh, said to be an Iranian Baloch. The investigators were still ascertaining details about residential address of Saleh who had come to the flat, which had been rented out to Abdul Ahad just a couple of months ago, the official said.
“After the encounter, the flat was searched in detail. Laptops, a few CDs, literature, cell phones and pistols were seized during the search. There was not much furniture in there, indicating that the place was used for temporary stay.”
The area people shared with police “some strange observations” about the flat occupants. “Before they came to live here, all the windows and ventilation points of the flat were closed with solid concrete construction through bricks and cement,” said a police official while quoting one of the witnesses. “When they moved into the apartment, some union people of the flat approached them and called such construction against the defined union rules. They pleaded that they had an aged patient to take care of and a doctor has recommended a dust-free environment for him that was the reason behind this construction.”
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1201271/al-qaedas-karachi-chief-accomplice-shot-dead
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Sindh JUI-F general secretary quits post over party chief’s ‘90’ visit
Aug 19, 2015
LARKANA: Sindh Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) general secretary Rashid Mehmood Soomro has tendered his resignation after expressing his reservations over party chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s visit to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) headquarters, the Nine Zero, in Karachi on Tuesday.
The JUI-F chief visited the ‘90’ to persuade the MQM to withdraw the resignations of legislators in the Senate, National Assembly and Sindh Assembly after he was given the task by the federal government.
Maulana Soomro told Dawn said that he intended to step down as the Sindh JUI-F general secretary over the issue of Maulana Rehman’s visit to the MQM headquarters. Sources close to Maulana Soomro also confirmed that his resignation had been sent to the central leadership by a courier service.
The sources said that the JUI-F chief had spoken to Maulana Soomro by phone in the wake of his decision to accept the task of mediation and asked him to come to Islamabad. A statement issued by Larkana JUI-F spokesman Hameedullah Siyal on Tuesday said that Mr Soomro advised the party chief not to visit the MQM headquarters, the sources said.
The sources said that most senior JUI-F activists in the province believed that the MQM was not only pursuing an anti-Sindh policy but also had connections with anti-state agencies. They said that Maulana Rehman’s visit to the ‘90’ had hurt feelings of Sindhis.
The sources observed that the JUI-F chief kept its Sindh chapter in dark about the visit and did not take it into confidence.
Meanwhile, it was learnt that the Sindh JUI-F shoora (committee of advisers) had convened its meeting in Sukkur on Aug 22 to discuss the situation arising out of Maulana Soomro’s resignation.
Maulana Soomro was elected general secretary of the party’s Sindh chapter on Jan 11 to succeed his father Dr Khalid Mehmood Soomro, who was assassinated in a mosque adjacent to his seminary in Sukkur on Nov 29 last year.
Resignations a pressure tactic: SUP
SHIKARPUR: Sindh United Party (SUP) general secretary Syed Zain Shah has said that by tendering its legislators’ resignations from the three elected houses, the MQM wanted to pressure the federal government and the institution of armed forces to stop the ongoing operation against terrorists, criminals and corrupt elements in Sindh.
Speaking to the media after a meeting of the SUP’s Larkana division leadership at the residence of a central leader, Agha Qamar Mushwani, late on Monday evening, Mr Shah dubbed the PPP and MQM as ‘twins’ and said none of them could not survive without the other. “Both the parties are power hungry and their survival depends on their being in power,” he claimed, and alleged that they were desperately struggling to continue with their practice of plundering the exchequer.
The SUP leader said that the resignations of MQM legislators was a tactic to force the federal government to support it in its efforts to save the large number of arrested party activists allegedly involved in criminal activities and ensure that no more party leaders or activists were arrested.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1201280/sindh-jui-f-general-secretary-quits-post-over-party-chiefs-90-visit
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MQM talks halted as leader fights for life
August 19, 2015
KARACHI - A leading MQM parliamentarian was fighting for his life last night after he was critically injured in a drive-by shooting in eastern Karachi yesterday.
Rashid Godil, the party’s deputy parliamentary leader in the National Assembly, was sprayed with bullets by two motorcycle gunmen in broad daylight as he left a store with his wife on Shaheed-e-Millat Road. His wife escaped unhurt but his driver died from injuries at the scene.
Godil suffered six bullet wounds to his jaw, neck and chest which caused colossal damage to his lungs. He was rushed to Liaquat National Hospital, where surgeons operated to remove 9mm bullets from his body.
A hospital spokesman said Godil was on a ventilator and the next 48 hours will be critical. A team of specialists was also rushed to Karachi from Islamabad for Godil to assist the doctors in ICU.
The lawmaker was expected at the MQM’s Nine-Zero headquarters later that day to take part in talks with the government’s emissary, JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman, over his party’s mass resignations from the national parliament and Sindh Assembly.
The lawmakers of MQM, which is influential in Karachi, tendered their resignations last week to protest a ‘crackdown on the party and its supporters’. The government says they are conducting an anti-crime operation in the city and that it is not targeting the MQM.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah took notice of the incident and sought an immediate report from IG Police Ghulam Hyder Jamali. Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad also issued a tweet condemning the incident and sought a report over the incident from IG Singh police.
A joint investigation under East Zone DIG Muneer Ahmed Shaikh has been formed. Police obtained CCTVs footage from residents’ security cameras. No one claimed responsibility for the attack and police said it was not immediately clear who could be behind it.
Condemning the shooting, the government and the opposition leaders dubbed the attack an attempt to sabotage the talks. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in a statement, also condemned the attack and prayed for his recovery. Federal Information minister also called the assault a bid to damage dialogue process between the government and the opposition party.
“We all think this is an intensely sad moment that a member of parliament and people’s representative was shot in a cowardly attack when there was momentum for political reconciliation,” MQM parliamentary leader Farooq Sattar told reporters.
“The condemnations against the tragic incident had poured in from within the party and other political quarters. The incident is being considered an attempt to sabotage the peace of Karachi,” said Sattar, who was flanked by Fazlur Rehman on the occasion.
The attack was an attempt to derail the talks, said Fazl. “This was an attempt to sabotage this process, and now I am again thankful that despite such a big tragedy, the MQM have not changed their stance to continue talks.” The talks would continue in Islamabad but the date has not yet been decided, he added.
Full report at:
http://nation.com.pk/national/19-Aug-2015/mqm-talks-halted-as-leader-fights-for-life
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Army gives its input ahead of India talks
August 19, 2015
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has put the issue of India’s sponsoring terrorism on its territory on the top of its agenda for the forthcoming talks in New Delhi, said a senior government official, after the army chief gave his input to the prime minister yesterday.
Following Monday’s in-depth consultations between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his close aides, Army Chief General Raheel Sharif and ISI Director-General Lt-Gen Rizwan Akhtar called on the premier on Tuesday at the PM House in Islamabad.
The meeting, which lasted for over an hour, discussed the scheduled visit of Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz to India in the two-day talks beginning on Sunday.
During the meeting, the military leadership gave its input on India’s alleged sponsoring terrorist activities, especially in Balochistan and Karachi, and emphasised that Pakistan must present its view point on core issues during the talks in a forceful manner.
“Mr Aziz will vigorously take up the India’s whipping up terrorism across Pakistan with his counterpart,” a senior government functionary told The Nation on Tuesday. The official said he (Aziz) will also seek a sustainable dialogue process between the two south Asian neighbours to resolve all bilateral issues.
The PM-army chief meeting also decided to keep ‘unprovoked’ Indian firing at the Line of Control (LoC) and Working Boundary and the killing of Pakistani civilians on the agenda of the New Delhi meetings.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Sartaj Aziz and Prime Minister’s Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi also attended the meeting in which reviewed implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP), besides deciding to continue Karachi operation.
Full report at:
http://nation.com.pk/national/19-Aug-2015/army-gives-its-input-ahead-of-india-talks
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Southeast Asia
Bangkok shrine reopens to public, hunt continues for prime suspect
Aug 19, 2015
The central Bangkok Hindu shrine where an unprecedented bomb blast killed 20 people reopened on Wednesday to the public. Authorities are still on the lookout for a man seen in a grainy security video who they say is the prime suspect in an attack authorities called the worst in Thailand's history.
A stream of people arrived at the Erawan Shrine, kneeling in prayer, lighting incense and placing flowers at the site where 36 hours earlier an explosion scattered body parts across one of the capital's busiest intersections. Buddhist monks in saffron robes joined members of the public to chant prayers at the popular Hindu shrine.
Among those who paid respects was an office worker, Nuansupha Sarunsikarin, who expressed shock and sadness over the attack, which no one has claimed responsibility for. Authorities say it came by surprise, with no clear motive.
"I'm depressed for those innocent people who had to pay for something they're not involved with and now have no chance to live their lives," Nuansupha said.
Police said they had no doubt that the man seen in the video wearing a yellow shirt and carrying a large, dark-colored backpack was responsible for the attack. But authorities gave no indication that they were aware of his whereabouts.
"The yellow shirt guy is not just the suspect. He is the bomber," said police spokesman Lt. Gen. Prawut Thavornsiri.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha called the bombing at the shrine, located in an upscale neighborhood of shopping malls and 5-star hotels, "the worst incident that has ever happened in Thailand." More than 120 people were injured in the attack, and he promised to track down those responsible.
"There have been minor bombs or just noise, but this time they aimed for innocent lives," Prayuth said. "They want to destroy our economy, our tourism."
Prawut released several photos of the man, with and without the backpack, on social media. The images were apparently taken from closed-circuit video at the shrine before the bomb exploded. Video posted separately on Thai media appeared to show the same man sitting on a bench at the shrine, taking off the backpack and leaving it behind as he walked away.
Without elaborating, the Prime Minister said, "Today we have seen the closed-circuit footage, we saw some suspects, but it wasn't clear. We have to find them first." Prayuth said the government will expedite "all investigative efforts to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice."
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/bangkok-shrine-reopens-to-public-hunt-continues-for-prime-suspect/article1-1381654.aspx
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Malaysia is not a failed state: Najib
AUG 19, 2015
BANGI • Malaysia may not be a perfect nation, but it is by no means a "failed state", says Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Datuk Seri Najib told the International Wasatiyyah Seminar 2015 - titled "Islam and the Younger Generation: Challenges and Hopes" - yesterday that when reports like The Global Islamic Economy Indicator 2014-2015 recognised Malaysia as a top Muslim nation, it was wrong to label it as a failed nation.
" Full report at:
http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysia-is-not-a-failed-state-najib
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Europe
UN, AMISOM, IGAD, EU and UK congratulate Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam “Madobe” on Presidential elections
Aug 18, 2015
Mogadishu, 18 August 15: The United Nations, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom congratulated Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam “Madobe” on his election as the President of the Interim Jubba Administration (IJA) on 15 August.
“We congratulate Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam “Madobe” on being elected President of the Interim Jubba Administration by the Jubba Regional Assembly. We commend H.E. Madobe’s commitment to work earnestly with the committee formed by Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke to address the composition of the IJA Regional Assembly and we encourage him to take steps to resolve this issue at the earliest in an inclusive manner.
We welcome H.E. Madobe’s support for the outcomes of the High Level Partnership Forum as well as for United Nations Security Council Resolution 2232 (2015).
We encourage H.E. Madobe, the IJA and the Federal Government of Somalia to work closely with other Somali stakeholders to hold constructive dialogue on the state formation process and the electoral process for 2016.
Full report at:
http://www.somalicurrent.com/2015/08/18/united-nations-amisom-igad-eu-and-uk-congratulate-sheikh-ahmed-mohamed-islam-madobe-on-presidential-elections/
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/islamic-leaders-issue-sweeping-climate/d/104320