Italy approves draft law banning veil
Karachi violence toll rises to 47
Syrian tanks thrust into Hama, 45 killed – activist
3 NATO service members killed in Afghanistan
Women-oppressing Islamic Shariah law thriving in Australia
Tajikistan bans Muslim youths from praying in mosques
New US strategy: To treat Muslims as ally to combat radical Islam
Albania Muslims protest over nude exhibition near mosque
Beards insulted: Lahore Maulvis to move blasphemy case
Sacred thread that stitches together Hindus, Muslims
Muslim veil no excuse for discrimination: New Zealand PM
Pakistani religious party chief asks Muslims to return back to roots
Car bomb kills Afghan provincial intelligence chief
6 more killed as Rangers conduct search operation
Three militants killed in encounter in Jammu and Kashmir
Right-wing terror enemy like IM and SIMI: Indian Home Minister
Clashes in front of Mubarak court, 53 injured, 3 arrested
Chopper crash kills 10 in Indonesia: officials
Afghan in uniform kills NATO soldier: military
20 yr old Ethiopian Maid sentenced to death for RAK double murder
Syrian army shells Hama, seizes Central Square
Al Ghurair: "The issue of Palestine as the great battle of the Muslim world"
Sydney teenager freed safely after 10-hour bomb scare
Gaddafi son claims pact with rebel Libya Islamists
Libyan general’s murder sparks rebel schism
'Most American Muslims loyal to US, against Qaida': Gallup poll
Woman from Jenin Now Longest Serving Female Prisoner in Israeli Detention
Religious, Quranic Weeks Planned in 40 Countries
South Yemen tribes to rejoin army offensive against militants
Under rising pressure from West, Syria seeks India's support
Pak bans LeT, JeM from taking donations
Homosexuality: The position of Supreme Council of Tijaniyya Islamic Affairs
Amnesty International: Bahraini Imprisoned activists on hunger strike
UN condemns Syrian attacks on civilians
UNSC condemns Syrian govt. for human rights violation
Iranian president urges 'reverent' ties with Europe
Afghan TVs broadcasting Iranian religious films in Ramadan
“Message of Islam” Quarterly Published in Thailand
Vast Sit-in of Bahraini Revolutionaries on Thursday, Aug 4
Leading Islamophobe publishes new anti-Islam Book
Bangladesh plans deportation of Ulfa leader
Pak navy’s lie nailed
Syria tanks occupy Hama main square
US breached Pak airspace twice during May 2 raid: report
After pointing fingers, China lauds Pak coop against terror
Mubarak faces trial from hospital bed
For ailing Pakistan prisoner in Ajmer, freedom remains elusive
Bid to placate Pakistan on Afghanistan
‘God’s will is beyond all creatures’: Saudi scholar
Israeli official denies Mubarak offered asylum
Muslim minorities remain on margins of Telangana debate
Malawi leader once heralded abroad now condemned
Police deny responsibility for wrongful detention in rape case
Hezbollah hands over material for Lebanon tribunal
London’s historic connections to Islam
Sixteen Pakistanis working as slaves in Afghanistan set free
Hashmi wants Punjab divided into four provinces
‘Ramazan offers opportunity to quit smoking, other addictions’
PNS Mehran attack: Three Navy officers face court martial
Ramazan in Sri Lanka: A Sri Lankan teenage-boy's recollection
Kashgar incident: Beijing downplays risk of rift with Islamabad
Swedish man arrested after trying to split atoms in his kitchen
US contractor to sue Donald Rumsfeld over 'Iraq torture'
Video shows Briton, Italian hostages 'held by al-Qaeda'
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/italy-approves-draft-law-banning/d/5180
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Italy approves draft law banning veil
August 4, 2011
Those who breached the law would be fined, with heavy penalties — 30,000 euros ($42,000) and up to 12 months in jail. PHOTO: REUTERS
An Italian parliamentary commission approved a draft law on Tuesday which would ban women from wearing the veils that cover their faces in public, if passed by parliament in September.
The draft law would forbid women from wearing a burqa, but also prohibit anyone from covering their faces with a motorcycle helmet or any material of “ethnic origins”.
Sponsored by Souad Sbai, a Moroccan-born member of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s ruling People of Freedom Party (PDL), the draft was adopted on the back of support from the government’s coalition party, the Northern League.
The other parliamentary groups for the most part abstained from the vote, while the main opposition Democratic Party (PD) voted against the draft.
Those who breached the law would be fined, with heavy penalties — 30,000 euros ($42,000) and up to 12 months in jail — for third parties who force women to cover their faces in public.
Sbai said she hoped the draft would defend “women without rights who are forced into segregation.”
“In France, Belgium and even Muslim Azerbaijan, this law has become reality without any Arabic or Muslim women protesting, which just goes to show how much it is expected,” she claimed.
It is rare to see women wearing burqas in the streets of Italy.
The draft will be ruled on by parliament in the autumn.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/223323/italy-approves-draft-law-banning-veil/
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Karachi violence toll rises to 47
Omer Farooq Khan
August 4, 2011
ISLAMABAD: With twelve more people being killed on Wednesday, the death toll from the latest wave of ethnically fuelled violence over the past three days in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi rose to 47. Officials said that 11 persons were shot dead on Tuesday while 24 people had been reportedly killed on Monday. Around 240 people were killed in shootings and other attacks in July, making it the worst month on record.
Struggling to halt gunfights raging across the city, the government has deployed hundreds of extra paramilitary troops in Karachi. "House-to-house searches are going on and some suspects have been detained," local government official Sharfuddin Memon said.
The government also offered rewards for people willing to provide photographs and videos that show those involved in the killings. With ethnically divided population of 18 million to 20 million, Karachi suffered deadly violence throughout the 1980s, 1990s and during the previous few years.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Karachi-violence-toll-rises-to-47/articleshow/9470644.cms
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Syrian tanks thrust into Hama, 45 killed - activist
By Khaled Oweis
August 4, 2011
AMMAN, Aug 4 Reuters) - At least 45 civilians were killed in a tank assault by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces to occupy the centre of Hama, an activist said on Thursday, in a sharp escalation of a military campaign aimed at ending an uprising against his rule.
Reacting to intensifying assaults on Syrian cities and towns, the U.N. Security Council overcame deep divisions and condemned Assad's bloody crackdown on civilian protesters. It was the first substantive action by the United Nations on Syria's five-month-old uprising for political freedoms.
An activist who managed to leave the besieged city told Reuters that 40 people were killed by heavy machinegun fire and shelling by tanks in al-Hader district north of the Orontes river on Wednesday and early on Thursday.
The activist, who gave his name as Thaer, said five more people from the Fakhri and Assa'ad families, including two children, were killed as they were trying to leave Hama by car on the al-Dhahirya highway.
Syrian authorities have expelled most independent media, making it difficult to verify witness accounts and official statements.
Residents earlier said tanks had advanced into central Hama on Wednesday after heavily shelling the city and occupied the main Orontes Square, the site of some of the largest protests against Assad, who succeeded his father, the late President Hafez al-Assad, in 2000.
Snipers spread onto rooftops and into the nearby citadel. They said shelling concentrated on al-Hader district, large parts of which were razed in 1982 when forces loyal to Hafez al-Assad overran Hama to crush Islamist insurgents, killing many thousands of people.
Human rights campaigners say more than 90 people, not counting the latest toll, have been killed in Hama since Assad, from Syria's minority Alawite sect, launched a military assault on Sunday to crush dissent against his autocratic rule.
The assaults triggered international condemnation and calls from U.S. senators for sanctions on Syria's energy sector, concentrated in eastern Syria.
Last week tanks moved into the eastern provincial capital of Deir al-Zor and the town of Albu Kamal on the border with Iraq's Sunni heartland. Both town have also witnessed large pro-democracy protests.
TANKS USED WITH "TARGETED FEROCITY"
"The security apparatus thinks it can wrap this uprising up by relying on the security option and killing as many Syrians as it thinks it will take," a diplomat in the Syrian capital said.
"Tanks are firing their guns at residential buildings in Hama and Deir al-Zor after the two cities were left for weeks to protest peacefully. This is the first time the regime is using tanks with such targeted ferocity," the diplomat said.
The official Syrian news agency said "armed terrorist groups" had abducted three oil-well guards in Deir al-Zor on Wednesday, and killed one policeman.
Authorities say the army had entered Hama to confront "terrorists" who were intimidating inhabitants. State television broadcast footage of armed men who it said had attacked security forces and government buildings in Hama.
U.S., TURKEY, HARDEN STANCE
A Syrian pharmacist who managed to talk with her family in Hama told Reuters that they had tried to flee but that the 'shabbiha' were randomly shooting residents. Several buildings in Hama had caught fire from tank shelling and snipers were in position on rooftops in Orontes Square, she said.
The Local Coordination Committees grassroots activists' group said in a statement that the authorities were trying prevent any news emerging on the ferocity of the assault. The group said it could no longer contact its members in Hama.
"Communications have been totally cut off in Hama, together with water and electricity. There is a big movement of refugees trying to flee the city," the statement said.
In New York, Indian Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri, president this month of the Security Council, read out a statement condemning "widespread violations of human rights and the use of force against civilians by the Syrian authorities."
But it urged all sides to act with restraint, reflecting divisions among the West on one hand and China and Russia, which has a naval base in Syria, on how to deal with Assad.
The only dissenter in the council was Lebanon, where Syrian influence remains strong after a 29-year military presence that ended in 2005. In a rare move, Beirut dissociated itself from a formal statement agreed by the other 14 members.
Syria backs the militant Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah, against the wishes of Syria's Sunni majority population.
The U.N. document agreed after three days of hard bargaining, instead of a full council resolution the West would have preferred, urged Damascus to fully respect human rights and comply with its obligations under international law.
The White House slightly hardened its stance against Assad on Wednesday, saying the United States viewed him as the cause of instability in the country.
"Syria would be a better place without President Assad," White House spokesman Jay Carney said at a news conference.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Arinc Bulent, whose country had grown close to Assad in recent years, issued the strongest condemnation yet of the Syrian president by a Turkish leader.
"I'm saying this on my behalf, what's going on in Hama today is an atrocity ... Whoever carries this out can't be our friend. They are making a big mistake," he said.
The plight of Hama has prompted many Syrians to stage solidarity marches since the start of the holy month of Ramadan earlier this week.
The Syrian Revolution Coordination Union said seven demonstrators were shot dead in attacks by security forces on protests after nightly Ramadan prayers across Syria on Wednesday.
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/news/international/Syrian_forces_occupy_central_Hama_square_-_residents.html?cid=30806380
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3 NATO service members killed in Afghanistan
August 4, 2011
KABUL: Three members of the US-led military coalition were killed Wednesday in Afghanistan, NATO said. The coalition said two died in a roadside bombing in southern Afghanistan where foreign forces are trying to hold the ground they seized from Taliban insurgents in major offensives over the past year. Another died in a non combat-related incident in eastern Afghanistan, the volatile second front of the nearly decade-long war. No other details were disclosed, pending notification of their relatives. So far this year, 328 foreign troops have been killed in Afghanistan. Last year, 404 died in the first seven months of the year.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\08\04\story_4-8-2011_pg7_7
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Women-oppressing Islamic sharia law thriving in Australia
August 4, 2011
Here is what so many Islam apologists are enabling to happen in Australia and much of the rest of the world. As a woman, I strenuously object to this sexist and misogynistic ideology festering in enlightened societies, which formerly have been the haven for people escaping just such oppression.
Islamic or sharia law as concerns women, described in this video, stems from Koranic verses and non-Koranic hadiths, including the following:
They ask you about menstruation. Say: "It is an indisposition. Keep aloof from women during their menstrual periods and do not approach them until they are clean again; when they are clean, have intercourse with them whence God enjoined you...." (Quran 2:222)
Women are your fields: go, then, into your fields whence you please. (Quran 2:223)
Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and forsake them in beds apart, and beat them. (Quran 4:34)
A male shall inherit twice as much as a female. (Quran 4:11)
Call in two male witnesses from among you, but if two men cannot be found, then one man and two women whom you judge fit to act as witnesses... (Quran 2:282)
[Forbidden to you are] married women, except those whom you own as slaves. (Quran 4:24)
Summary of Koranic quotes regarding women
Menstruating women are unclean, and men must stay away from them. Women are men's "fields," and men can have sex with them whenever they want. Men are superior to women and have authority over them, while women must obey men or risk being beaten. A woman is worth one-half of a man. Muslim men can own sex slaves.
The Hadiths
The hadiths have provided for several aspects of sharia law, including a man's ability to have multiple wives, to marry an infant and to have sex with underage girls as well as sex slaves.
The Prophet used to go round (have sexual relations with) all his wives in one night, and he had nine wives.
Sahih Bukhari 7.62.6
The Prophet wrote the (marriage contract) with 'Aisha while she was six years old and consummated his marriage with her while she was nine years old and she remained with him for nine years (i.e. till his death).
Sahih Bukhari 7.62.88, 7.62.64
According to the hadiths, most of the people in hell are women, who are "deficient in intelligence":
Once Allah's Apostle went out to [offer the prayer]... Then he passed by the women and said, "O women! Give alms, as I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-fire were you (women)." They asked, "Why is it so, O Allah's Apostle?" He replied, "You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. A cautious sensible man could be led astray by some of you." The women asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What is deficient in our intelligence and religion?" He said, "Is not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man?" They replied in the affirmative. He said, "This is the deficiency in her intelligence."
http://freethoughtnation.com/contributing-writers/63-acharya-s/567-women-oppressing-islamic-sharia-law-thriving-in-australia.html
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Tajikistan bans Muslim youths from praying in mosques
Aug 04 2011
Dushanbe : Tajik President Imomali Rakhmon has banned youths from praying in mosques and churches, prompting a local Muslim leader to call the move a gruesome gift for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Rakhmon, in power since 1992, signed the bill on parental responsibility on Wednesday. He has said tough measures are needed to stop the spread of religious fundamentalism in his country of 7.5 million people, 98 per cent of whom are Muslim.
All people under 18, except those studying at religious schools, are banned from worshipping in the Central Asian nation's mosques, churches or other religious sites, said the law which came into force on Thursday.
It also bans girls from wearing jewellery except earrings and prohibits people under 20 from getting tattoos, going to night clubs and watching films or reading material which disseminates pornography, violence, extremism and terrorism.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/tajikistan-bans-muslim-youths-from-praying-in-mosques/827138/
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New US strategy: To treat Muslims as ally to combat radical Islam
Aug 04 2011
Washington : As a new strategy to combat domestic militancy, the US has vowed to avoid actions and sentiments that cast suspicion towards Muslim Americans’ as it might turn out to be counterproductive and alienate a religious minority.
White House officials warned that accusing the entire Muslim community of involvement in terrorism might fuel extremism in the nation, the New York Times reports.
Denis R. McDonough, President Barack Obama’s deputy national security adviser said that Al Qaeda had a ‘bankrupt ideology,’ but that accusing the entire Muslim community of complicity in terrorism could ‘feed the sense of disenchantment and disenfranchisement that may spur violent extremist radicalization.’
He stressed that Muslim Americans should be treated as ‘a crucial ally of the government in combating extremism’, the paper said.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/new-us-strategy-to-treat-muslims-as-ally-to-combat-radical-islam/827131/
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Albania Muslims protest over nude exhibition near mosque
August 4, 2011
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Muslims in an Albanian coastal town have protested against the opening of an exhibition of nude photographs and sculptures in a gallery a few metres from the local mosque, media reported Wednesday.
"This exhibition is unacceptable. It should not be opened next to the mosque of the town" of Durres, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) northeast of the capital Tirana, local mufti Redi Quku was quoted by media as saying.
Quku said the opening of the exhibition of works by Albanian artist was offensive to Muslims, in particular as the show takes place during the holy month of Ramadan.
The local Muslim community has said it will file a complaint against local authorities who have "severely provoked believers" with the exhibition.
http://abna.co/data.asp?lang=3&Id=257598
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Beards insulted: Maulvis to move blasphemy case
August 4, 2011
LAHORE: Thirty Barelvi clerics on Tuesday issued an edict (fatwa) condemning a newspaper advertisement of the Population Welfare Department which they said insulted the beard. The clerics said they would submit an application with the Lower Mall police on Wednesday (today) for registration of an FIR under the Blasphemy Laws against the officials responsible for publishing the ad. The edict stated that the ad offended hundreds of thousands of Muslims.
It said the provincial government would be responsible for any unrest in the country in case an FIR was not registered in the case. Some of the clerics endorsing the edict were: Allama Razae Mustafa Naqshbandi, Allama Mufti Muhammad Khan Qadri, Mufti Abdul Aleem Sialvi, Allama Dr Muhammad Raghib Naeemi, Allama Dr Muhammad Ashraf Asif Jalali, Mufti Muhammad haseeb Qadri, Allama Khadim Hussain Rizvi and Allama Sheikhul Hadees Mufti Abdul Sattar Saeedi.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/208402/beards-insulted-maulvis-to-move-blasphemy-case/
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Sacred thread that stitches together Hindus, Muslims
August 4, 2011
Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh): Worn by Hindus, made by Muslims. Dipped in vibrant reds and yellows, 'kalawas' made in this corner of the country are more than just the sacred Hindu thread tied around the wrist; they are the strands that interweave religions, stringing together generations in a syncretic bond.
About 500 Muslims in the twin villages of Aalhadganj and Khanjenpur on the outskirts of Allahabad, about 200 km from the state capital Lucknow, earn their livelihood making the kalawas, worn during auspicious occasions, rituals and religious ceremonies.
"It's true that a kalawa represents a religion, but more than a thread it's also a means of binding Hindus and Muslims and spreading the message of communal harmony," Israr Ahmad, whose family has been making kalawas for 50 years, told IANS.
"Our work may not promise high returns or instant gains, but the best part of our job is that with the help of our Hindu brothers it gets blessed with the almighty every time kalawas made by us are offered to a deity," added Ahmad, 45, who lives Khanjenpur.
According to locals, Muslim families in Aalhadganj and Khanjenpur have been making kalawas for 100 years.
"Our profession has given us a distinct identity. And it's great that this identity is not confined to any religion... Our religion does not come in the way of our profession, which despite having the business aspect gives us a chance to serve our Hindu brothers," said Anaru, 47, who belongs to Aalhadganj.
Full report at:
http://twocircles.net/2011aug03/sacred_thread_stitches_together_hindus_muslims.html?
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Muslim veil no excuse for discrimination: New Zealand PM
August 4, 2011
WELLINGTON: New Zealand Prime Minister John Key on Tuesday said Muslim women wearing veils should not face discrimination, after two Saudi women were reportedly ordered off buses due to their attire.
Saudi diplomats in New Zealand had raised concerns with the government after two separate incidents in Auckland where women were told to get off buses because they were wearing full-face veils, the Dominion Post reported.
In one case, a Saudi Arabian student was left crying on the street after the bus driver shouted “Out!” then shut the doors on her and drove off, the newspaper said.
Key said he was comfortable with women wearing veils, adding: “It doesn’t offend me. It’s part of people’s beliefs.”
He decribed New Zealand as a tolerant and inclusive society, saying he saw no need to ban Islamic veils in public, as France has done.
“I think where practical, and on both sides, people should respect others’ culture and cultural beliefs,” Key told reporters.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/202820/muslim-veil-no-excuse-for-discrimination-new-zealand-pm/
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Pakistani religious party chief asks Muslims to return back to roots
August 4, 2011
Pakistani religious party chief on Wednesday stressed upon the Muslims to return back to their roots to counter anti-Islam conspiracies.
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Pakistani religious party chief on Wednesday stressed upon the Muslims to return back to their roots to counter anti-Islam conspiracies.
Amir Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Syed Munawar Hassan said that I am agree with the statement of Supreme Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei that holy Quran is the only solution to Muslims' problems.
In the meeting, the Supreme Leader said holy Quran can fulfil all human needs and is a guideline for mankind and stressed that all weaknesses and problems of Muslim nations can be rectified through practicing the holy Qur'an.
Syed Munawar Hassan expressing his views said that Muslims are blessed with the light of wisdom. ‘we have left the right path’. “We need to find out the right path that could lead us to our destiny”, he suggested.
Full report at:
http://abna.co/data.asp?lang=3&Id=257586
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Car bomb kills Afghan provincial intelligence chief
August 4, 2011
KUNDUZ: A car bomb killed the head of Afghanistan’s intelligence service in the northern Kunduz province on Thursday morning, the latest in a string of high profile assassinations, a spokesman for the Kunduz police chief said.
Three civilians were also wounded by the blast from the bomb planted in the car of Payenda Khan, head of the National Directorate of Security in Kunduz, police spokesman Sayed Sarwar Husaini said.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/04/car-bomb-kills-afghan-provincial-intelligence-chief.html
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6 more killed as Rangers conduct search operation
August 4, 2011
KARACHI: At least six more persons were killed, including activists of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), in separate incidents of violence and target killings in different parts of the provincial capital on Wednesday, while the Rangers detained nearly 50 suspects during an overnight search operation in Orangi Town. Meanwhile, aerial surveillance of the troubled areas was also carried out by Rangers, while more similar operations in the violent hit areas are expected. A dead body of Muttahida Qaumi Movement worker, Abid Baig, 22, was found from Ghazinagar, Usmanabad in Garden police precincts.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\08\04\story_4-8-2011_pg1_2
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Three militants killed in encounter in Jammu and Kashmir
Aug 4, 2011
SRINAGAR: Three militants were killed in two encounters in Kupwara district of Kashmir, officials said on Thursday.
Troops of 15 Rashtriya Rifles noted some suspicious movement in Esmali forests in Keran area, near the Line of Control, in Kupwara district on Wednesday evening and asked the militants to surrender.
However, they opened fire on the troops, who retaliated, triggering off a gunbattle, they said.
Two militants were killed in the encounter, the officials said, adding search operations were going on in the area.
In another encounter, a militant was killed in Wudderbala forests in Zachaldara area of Kupwara on Wednesday evening.
Meanwhile, an encounter broke out between militants and security forces at Putchal in Pulwama district of south Kashmir on Thursday morning.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Three-militants-killed-in-encounter-in-Jammu-and-Kashmir/articleshow/9477795.cms
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Right-wing terror enemy like IM and SIMI: Chidambaram
Aug 04 2011
New Delhi : Asserting that there had been “only two” terror attacks in the country since the Mumbai attacks of November 26, 2008 — the Pune’s German Bakery bomb blast in February 2010 and last month’s series of bomb blasts in Mumbai — Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said security forces must deal with right-wing terror groups “sternly and fearlessly” as they were as much enemies of the country as the Indian Mujahideen and SIMI.
“There is another group which is radicalising... the right-wing extremist terrorist groups. That also deserves to be researched and studied. They are radicalising right wing youths in the same manner that SIMI and IM have been radicalised,” Chidambaram said. He was speaking after releasing the book Indian Mujahideen: The Enemy Within, written by Shishir Gupta, Editor, Express News Service, The Indian Express.
Rebutting the assertion of senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, who, in his speech at the launch, said the US had not witnessed a single terrorist attack since 9/11, Chidambaram said it was factually wrong to say so. “It is a documented fact... The Fort Hood shooting was a terror attack in which a radicalised person killed 13 people,” he said.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/rightwing-terror-enemy-like-im-and-simi-chidambaram/826985/
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Clashes in front of Mubarak court, 53 injured, 3 arrested
August 4, 2011
Anti-Mubarak protesters face off violently outside of trial of former dictator
Since the early morning hours, clashes have been sporadically erupting between pro-Mubarak supporters and protesters in front of the Police Academy in New Cairo, where the historic trial of the ousted president is underway.
Ahram reporter told that small number of pro-Mubarak supporters and about 500 anti-Mubarak protesters, many of them families of martyrs and revolutionaries, have been involved in skirmishes and fights since 7am.
Every time a big projector stationed in front of the gate screens images of trial proceedings inside of the court, fights erupt between the two camps. The hostility has featured throwing stones, glass bottles and the exchange of verbal insults, our reporter confirmed.
Anti-Mubarak camp has been screaming “the people demand the execution of the serial killer."
Full report at:
http://abna.co/data.asp?lang=3&Id=257604
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Chopper crash kills 10 in Indonesia: officials
August 4, 2011
JAKARTA: A helicopter crash in central Indonesia killed 10 people including at least two Australians employed by Melbourne-based Newcrest Mining, officials said Thursday.
The company said two South Africans were also killed but Indonesian officials insisted all four foreigners who perished in the accident were Australians, citing the passenger list.
Six Indonesians also died when the chopper went down in heavy rain Wednesday afternoon shortly after taking off from Manado on Sulawesi island, local officials said.
“The helicopter crashed in a mountainous area and it was raining when the accident happened,” transport ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan told AFP.
An Indonesian man who was found alive at the crash scene on Thursday morning later died of his injuries, raising the toll to 10, officials said.
Search and rescue workers discovered the badly damaged wreckage in dense forest about 10 kilometres from Manado, North Sulawesi province.
The Bell 412 aircraft was flying to Newcrest’s Gosowong mine on the island of Halmahera, some 2,400 kilometres northeast of the capital Jakarta, Australia’s largest gold producer said.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/04/chopper-crash-kills-10-in-indonesia-officials.html
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Afghan in uniform kills Nato soldier: military
August 4, 2011
KABUL: An Afghan wearing police uniform shot dead a Nato soldier in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, the military said.
Nato’s US-led International Security Assistance Force gave no further details and did not release the nationality of the dead soldier.
“An International Security Assistance Force service member was killed today when an individual wearing an Afghan National Police uniform turned his weapon against the service member in eastern Afghanistan,” it said.
There have been an increasing number of incidents in which Afghan security forces have turn their weapons on their foreign military counterparts.
In the deadliest such attack, eight US troops and an American contractor were killed when an Afghan ex-pilot opened fire after a row at a Kabul training centre on April 27.
In many such incidents, the attackers were Taliban infiltrators.
The 140,000 strong US-dominated international military in Afghanistan is engaged in a massive drive to train Afghan police and army to take over before all foreign combat troops leave the country in 2014.
ISAF said another soldier had been killed in an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, again without giving further details.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/04/afghan-in-uniform-kills-nato-soldier-military.html
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20 yr old Ethiopian Maid sentenced to death for RAK double murder
Ismail Sebugwaawo
August 4, 2011
RAS AL KHAIMAH — The Ras Al Khaimah Criminal Court on Wednesday sentenced an Ethiopian maid to death by firing squad for killing her Moroccan employer and her two-year-old daughter.
Judge Bilal Abdul Baki, who also chaired all the hearings in this double murder case, pronounced the verdict after the court found the 20-year-old maid guilty on all counts.
According to the court records, the incident took place in August last year, when the 20-year-old maid stabbed the 35-year-old Moroccan wife of her Emirati employer 70 times using a knife and set their house afire, which caused the two-year-old girl die of suffocation.
Lt. Col. Salem Sultan Al Darmaki, Chief of the Ras Al Khaimah Criminal Investigation Department, said that the maid also stole cash and jewellery, and escaped to Sharjah where she was arrested by the Ras Al Khaimah Police in coordination with the Sharjah Police.
During the last session, which took place last week and prior to the verdict, the court heard the defence plea presented by advocate Ramzi Al Ajooz, who said that the accused didn’t mean to kill the child. The defence counsellor said that the maid tried to burn her clothes to destroy the blood stains as evidence. She took the bag not with the motive of theft, but to use for keeping her cloth, he said, adding that his client stabbed her employer in revenge of abuse and ill treatment that she faced during her service in the house.
The prosecution had explained that the confession made by the defendant before the Public Prosecutor and the court confirmed that it was a premeditated murder and that they could not justify the 70 stabs on various parts of the body of the woman by ill treatment. Death penalty is subject to appeal within 15 days. — ismail@khaleejtimes.com
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2011/August/theuae_August88.xml§ion=theuae&col=
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Syrian army shells Hama, seizes central square
4 August 2011
BEIRUT — Syrian tanks stormed Hama under heavy shelling Wednesday, taking over a main square at the heart of the restive city and cutting off electricity, water and phone lines on the fourth day of an offensive.
Opposition figures and activists accused the regime of striking hard at a moment when world and media attention were distracted by the trial in Egypt of former President Hosni Mubarak.
“Hama is being collectively punished for its peaceful protests calling for the downfall of Bashar Assad,” said Suheir Atassi, a prominent pro-democracy activist. Like many others Syria-based activists, Atassi has gone largely into hiding and spoke to The Associated Press via email. “The Syrian regime is committing crimes against humanity. Where are the free people of the world?” she said.
At least three tanks took up positions in Hama’s central Assi square, which in recent weeks had been the site of carnival-like demonstrations by hundreds of thousands of protesters calling for the downfall of President Assad’s regime.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/August/middleeast_August101.xml§ion=middleeast&col=
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Al Ghurair: "The issue of Palestine as the great battle of the Muslim world"
August 4, 2011
The speaker of the United Arab Emirates Federal National Council describes the issue of Palestine as the great battle of the Muslim world which should not be left in oblivion.
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The speaker of the United Arab Emirates Federal National Council describes the issue of Palestine as the great battle of the Muslim world which should not be left in oblivion.
"Our great battle is the battle of Palestine," Abdul Aziz Abdullah Al Ghurair stated during a telephone conversation with Iranian Majlis (parliament) Speaker Ali Larijan late on Wednesday, IRNA reported.
"The issue of Palestine is the major issue of the Islamic Ummah and it should not be allowed to be forgotten under the influence of the recent developments in the region," the UAE official urged.
Larijani, for his part, referred to the stepped up violation of human rights against Palestinians, and invited his UAE counterpart to attend an international conference on Palestine in Tehran.
The Fifth Conference in Support of Palestinian Intifada scheduled to be held in the Iranian capital, Tehran, in October is to voice support for the intifada of the Palestinian people against Israel's violations of human rights.
The event sponsored by Majlis will also seek to find solutions for achieving the rights and ideals of Palestinians.
Al Ghurair hailed the Islamic Republic's initiative in holding the conference as a remarkable step in backing the Palestinian cause.
http://abna.co/data.asp?lang=3&Id=257592
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Sydney teenager freed safely after 10-hour bomb scare
Aug 4, 2011
SYDNEY: A suspicious device that had been attached to a Sydney teenage girl's neck contained no explosives and appeared to be part of an elaborate hoax, Australian police said on Thursday.
In a scene that could have been straight from a Hollywood thriller, bomb squad specialists worked for 10 horrifying hours to free 18-year-old Madeleine Pulver from a bomb-like device she said was chained to her neck by a man in disguise who entered her suburban Sydney home in the afternoon. She was not hurt, and officials managed to free her around midnight.
New South Wales state police assistant commissioner Mark Murdoch said on Thursday that specialists had determined the device contained no explosives. Murdoch said the man apparently had also left a threatening note in the house with specific demands that police would not describe.
"A very, very elaborate hoax as it turned out," Murdoch told reporters. "But it was made and certainly gave the appearance of a legitimate improvised explosive device. We had to treat it seriously until we could prove otherwise and that's exactly what we did and that's why it took so long."
Murdoch said the device had been attached to the girl "by a chain or something similar," which took officers a long time to remove. He declined to describe the disguise the attacker wore.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Sydney-teenager-freed-safely-after-10-hour-bomb-scare/articleshow/9476923.cms
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Gaddafi son claims pact with rebel Libya Islamists
Aug 04 2011
New York : A high-profile son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said his family had forged an alliance with Islamist rebels to drive out the secular opposition to his father's 40-year rule.
Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, who along with his father had long branded the entire opposition as radical extremists, told The New York Times: "The liberals will escape or be killed... We will do it together."
"Libya will look like Saudi Arabia, like Iran. So what?" he added, in what the Times described as an hour-long interview that stretched past midnight in a nearly deserted Tripoli hotel.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/gaddafi-son-claims-pact-with-rebel-libya-islamists/827035/
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Libyan general’s murder sparks rebel schism
4 August 2011
BENGHAZI, Libya — The unity of Libya’s revolutionaries on Wednesday became the latest casualty of the shock assassination of a top general, as a key rebel group demanded senior ministers and military brass be fired.
The head of the February 17 Coalition — whose members kick-started the revolt against Moamer Kadhafi — told AFP the ministers of defence and international affairs must be sacked in the wake of last week’s murder of General Abdel Fatah Yunis.
Abdulsalam el-Musmari, a judge who heads the coalition, criticised the events leading up to the Yunis murder and the governing National Transitional Council’s handling of its aftermath.
The facts surrounding the Yunis shooting last Thursday remain opaque, with senior members of the NTC giving uncomplete and sometimes contradictory accounts of how he died, who killed him and the motive for the murder.
“We have two main demands,” Musmari said. “The resignations of the defence minister (Jallal al-Digheily) and his deputy and for all the armed groups to fall under the national army or lay down their weapons.”
In a separate written statement the February 17 Coalition also demanded the sacking of Ali Alasawi — the NTC’s minister for international affairs — and a probe into his approval of a warrant for Younis’s arrest.
The blistering criticism marks the most public sign yet of tensions between Libya’s revolutionaries and the NTC that has come to be their de-facto government
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2011/August/international_August153.xml§ion=international&col=
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'Most American Muslims loyal to US, against Qaida': Gallup poll
Laurie Goodstein
Aug 4, 2011
A decade after the September 11 terrorist attacks, a Gallup poll released on Tuesday found that the vast majority of Muslim Americans say they are loyal to US and optimistic about the future, even though they are more likely than other religious groups to say they had recently experienced discrimination.
Nine out of 10 Muslim Americans said that their coreligionists in US were not sympathetic to al-Qaida, the group held responsible for the 2001 attacks. Majorities in other religious groups agreed that Muslim Americans did not sympathize with al-Qaida , but the percentages were much lower.
The poll contradicts the stereotype of Muslim Americans as an alienated and discontented minority.
It was conducted by telephone from by the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center, a Gallup-affiliated research group based in UAE.
The poll, which included interviews with 2,482 adults of whom 475 said they were Muslim, has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus seven percentage points for Muslims.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Most-American-Muslims-loyal-to-US-against-Qaida/articleshow/9476323.cms
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Woman from Jenin Now Longest Serving Female Prisoner in Israeli Detention
August 4, 2011
The Palestinian Center for Detainees stated Tuesday that Hana Al-Shalabi has now been in Israeli administrative detention for longer than any other female prisoner
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Al-Shalabi was kidnapped and put in administrative detention in 2009. She has now been held in Hasharon Prison for two years.
She has not been permitted to have contact with her family at any time during her detention.
Israeli authorities have repeatedly postponed her trial, providing no legal justification each time.
Also, the Israeli Shabak refuses to tell her why she is being detained.
Administrative detention allows the Israeli government to detain individuals who pose a threat to national security without trial or sentencing. The detention is subject to a judicial review and renewal on a regular basis.
There are currently over 800 Palestinians being held in administrative detention according to prisoner rights group Addameer.
The practice is condemned by prisoner and human rights groups all over the world.
http://abna.co/data.asp?lang=3&Id=257559
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Religious, Quranic Weeks Planned in 40 Countries
August 4, 2011
Head of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO) said various Quranic, religious and cultural programs would be held in more than 40 countries during the holy month of Ramadan.
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - “Ramadan is the spring of the Quran and we, in the ICRO, have tried to plan our various programs across the world about the Holy Book.”
Dr Mohammad Bagher Khorramshad noted that the Supreme Leader recently regarded the Quran as the most important factor in the unity, dignity and power of the Islamic Ummah. “Thus, in our planning we have paid attention to the Quran’s role in strengthening Islamic unity.”
He referred to Quranic weeks as one of the programs for the holy month. “29 Quranic weeks will be held in 20 Asian, African, and European countries. They include Sweden, the UK, Canada, Russia, Turkey, Pakistan, Malaysia, Tunisia, France, and Kenya.”
Head of the ICRO noted that the Quranic week feature art exhibits with Quranic themes as well as sending Tawasheeh groups, and Quran reciters and memorizers to these countries.
“Some of these Quranic weeks are organized with the cooperation of other institutions. The program in Turkey, for instance, will be held with the cooperation of Isfahan governor general’s office sending artists from Isfahan to showcase the art and cultural richness of the city.”
Full report at:
http://abna.co/data.asp?lang=3&Id=257570
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South Yemen tribes to rejoin army offensive against militants
August 4, 2011
ADEN: Yemeni tribesmen who had withdrawn from a joint army offensive against militants in the south said on Wednesday they had rejoined the fight, despite losing at least 15 people in friendly fire by warplanes last week.
The leader of local tribesmen allied to the army, Mohammed al-Gaadani, warned the military another botched strike could scare off the tribes, who were seen as a critical element to the success of its campaign. “We caution the government’s forces to be careful of another strike on our fighters. Repeating that mistake will lessen the tribes’ desire to help clear out the militants,” he said.
Three weeks ago, Yemen’s army launched a massive offensive on militants suspected of ties to al Qaeda, who have seized several towns in southern Abyan province in recent months. Army units, backed by tribal fighters who had grown frustrated by the state’s inability to drive out militants, have been struggling to retake the provincial coastal capital Zinjibar, which lies east of a major shipping lane where some 3 million barrels of oil pass daily.
Reports from tribesmen said that somewhere between 15 and 40 of their fighters were killed in an air strike, just hours after the tribal fighters had wrested a strategic point outside the city from the hands of militants. “The tribal fighters then withdrew from the battle area for two days but they’ve returned now after we discussed the importance of fighting these extremist elements and clearing Zinjibar of their presence,” Gaadani told Reuters by telephone.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\08\04\story_4-8-2011_pg4_5
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Under rising pressure from West, Syria seeks India's support
August 4, 2011
New Delhi: As the UN Security Council mulls a resolution on Syrian violence and more of the country's officials face European Union sanctions, Syria has urged India, chair of the UN Security Council, not to be misled by "Western propaganda" about Damascus's crackdown on protests and sought New Delhi's support for the reform process.
In a lecture at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) Tuesday, Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, who is here on a three-day visit, spoke about the progress in the reforms ushered in by President Bashar al-Assad and assured that the government was trying for dialogue and reconciliation with opposition groups.
Mekdad had met External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed Monday and explained to them the evolving situation in the country that has become more violent in recent weeks.
At least 120 people were allegedly killed Sunday by Syrian troops in a brutal crackdown on protesters in the city of Hama.
Mekdad briefed Krishna about "causes for violence in his country, reforms proposed by Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, details of national dialogue between the Syrian government and the opposition groups, as well as, other issues related to public protests in Syria," the external affairs ministry said here.
Full report at:
http://www.ummid.com/news/2011/August/03.08.2011/syria_turns_to_india.htm
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Pak bans LeT,JeM from taking donations
August 4, 2011
Lahore: Authorities in Pakistans Punjab province have barred 23 banned organizations, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed,from collecting donations for their activities.
The Punjab government on Tuesday warned that those found providing donations or aid to the banned organizations will be charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
However, the government did not include the Falah-e-Insanyat,a front for the Jamaat-ud-Dawah, in the list of groups barred from collecting donations.
The organizations included in the list are LeT, JeM, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan, Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, Tehrik-e-Jaffaria Pakistan, Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan, Khuddam-ul-Isla, Islami Tehrik-e-Pakistan, Hizbut Tahrir and Jamiat-ul-Ansar.
The move coincided with the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramzan,when extremist and militant groups launch special drives to collect funds.PTI
Times of India
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Homosexuality: The position of Supreme Council of Tijaniyya Islamic Affairs
August 4, 2011
Homosexuality has, in recent times, become an issue of national concern and discourse. It has become a matter of disagreement between religious bodies and secular thinkers. Even in the secular community, it continues to be a source of seeming friction between criminal justice and democratic constitutionalism. For instance, while Ghana’s Criminal Code outlaws homosexuality as a misdemeanor, human rights activists and democratic advocates argue that the Act that criminalizes it is unconstitutional. In their opinion, criminalization of the practice violates Article 17 of the 1992 Constitution which frowns on discrimination against persons ‘on grounds of gender, race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, creed, social or economic status.’
Besides, there is a tendency among the proponents of homosexuality to make it acceptable in the name of fairness and tolerance. On the contrary, some of the opponents, given the opportunity, would suggest summary execution of those engaging in homosexual behaviour. This confusing trend, if not well managed, can threaten national security and erode our cultural and societal values. We therefore add our voice to the efforts by other concerned institutions and individuals to find an amicable solution to the issue.
Background Information/Historical Perspective
Full report at:
http://news.myjoyonline.com/features/201108/70415.asp
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Amnesty International: Bahraini Imprisoned activists on hunger strike
August 4, 2011
Two Bahraini women activists detained for their involvement in pro-reform protests have begun a hunger strike to demand their freedom.
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Two Bahraini women activists detained for their involvement in pro-reform protests have begun a hunger strike to demand their freedom.
Roula al-Saffar, head of the Bahrain Nursing Society, and Jalila al-Salman, vice-president of the Bahrain Teacher’s Association (BTA), have been held for several months near the capital Manama. Both women allege they were tortured in detention.
"Jalila al-Salman and Roula al-Saffar’s decision to go on hunger strike is a desperate attempt to protest against their imprisonment and the way they have been treated," said Philip Luther, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.
Full report at:
http://abna.co/data.asp?lang=3&Id=257607
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UN condemns Syrian attacks on civilians
Aug 4, 2011
UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council stepped up pressure on Syria's rulers on Wednesday as tens of thousands again took to the streets despite a tank assault on the flashpoint protest city of Hama.
Pro-democracy protesters have vowed to protest every night of Ramadan following evening prayers despite the massive assault on Hama and the killing of some 120 people across the country on the eve of the Muslim holy month.
Syrian Human Rights League head Abdel Karim Rihawi said 50,000 people demonstrated in Deir Ezzor, an eastern city encircled by troops, and 20,000 turned out in Duma, 15 kilometres (nine miles) north of Damascus.
Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said another 40,000 people had demonstrated in the central town of Homs.
At least four people were killed and dozens wounded when security forces opened fire on demonstrators in Damascus, near Daraa in the south and in Palmyra in central Syria, Abdel Rahman said, adding that the toll could rise.
It was not immediately possible to confirm the activists' accounts as the Syrian government has heavily restricted media access.
Abdel Rahman said 500 families had streamed out of Hama following the massive tank-backed assault that killed at least 95 people there on Sunday.
On Wednesday tanks had taken up positions across the town and shelling could still be heard in several neighborhoods, another activist told AFP, saying it sounded like "open warfare."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/UN-condemns-Syrian-attacks-on-civilians/articleshow/9476942.cms
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UNSC condemns Syrian govt for human rights violation
Aug 04 2011
United Nations : The UN Security Council today condemned the Syrian government's deadly crackdown on civilians demanding democratic reforms, saying those
responsible for the atrocities should be held “accountable”.
In a presidential statement read by Indian Ambassador to the UN, Hardeep Singh Puri, the Council called for an immediate end to violence and asked all sides to act with “utmost restraint, and to refrain from reprisals, including attacks against state institutions”.
India holds the Council's rotating presidency this month.
“The Security Council expresses its grave concern at the deteriorating situation in Syria, and expresses profound regret at the death of many hundreds of people. The Council condemns the widespread violations of human rights and the use of force against civilians by the Syrian authorities,” the statement read.
At least 120 individuals have reportedly been killed in the city of Hama since Friday as security forces used tanks, mortar shells and heavy machine guns against civilian
demonstrators.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/unsc-condemns-syrian-govt-for-human-rights-violation/827094/
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Iranian president urges 'reverent' ties with Europe
August 4, 2011
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad welcomes the expansion of “amicable and respectful” ties with Europe, warning European countries that their relations with Iran should not be affected by the US.
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad welcomes the expansion of “amicable and respectful” ties with Europe, warning European countries that their relations with Iran should not be affected by the US.
The era of hegemony, slavery and World War II has ended and all governments and nations must currently cooperate to help establish a “better world,” said President Ahmadinejad in an interview with Euronews TV channel on Wednesday.
He added that the Islamic Republic is interested in cordial and constructive ties with European countries and stated that the world's economic and political affairs can be managed “in a better way.”
Full report at:
http://abna.co/data.asp?lang=3&Id=257591
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Afghan TVs broadcasting Iranian religious films in Ramadan
August 4, 2011
Most of the Afghan television networks have been broadcasting Iranian religious films since the start of the fasting month of Ramadan on August 1 in the country.
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Most of the Afghan television networks have been broadcasting Iranian religious films since the start of the fasting month of Ramadan on August 1 in the country.
Afghanistan has more than 30 private TV networks as well as a state-run TV network which air religious films during Ramadan.
The Iranian films ‘Saint Mary’, ‘Prophet Joseph’, ‘Lost Innocence’ and ‘He Was an Angel’ are currently on show on the Afghan TVS.
Since the two countries are co-lingual and share numerous cultural commonalities, there is no need for dubbing the Iranian films.
During the fasting month of Ramadan, Muslims abstain form food and fluid from dawn to dusk.
http://abna.co/data.asp?lang=3&Id=257587
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“Message of Islam” Quarterly Published in Thailand
August 4, 2011
Iran Cultural Center in Thailand published the first edition of "Message of Islam" quarterly in Bangkok.
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The 120 page magazine has been published in 1000 copies to make the Muslims of the country particularly the elites, intellectuals and Thai Shias more familiar with lofty teachings of Islam.
The materials have been presented in two parts of Thai and English language. The message of the Supreme Leader on the 22nd anniversary of the demise of Imam Khomeini (RA), preaches pronounced by him on the importance of prayer, “Manzel-ol-Za’erin” by Hojat-ol-Islam Ansari, “Surah Baqara (part 1)” by Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, “Shia Answers” by Allameh Tabatabayi, “characteristics of a faithful Muslim” by Seyyed Hashem Rasuli Mahallati, political thoughts in Alawi Dialogue, the life of Imam Hassan Askari (AS) by Ayatollah Pishwayi and holy status of Hazrat Fatemeh (SA) by Ayatollah Vahid Khorasani are some of the issues included in Thai language part.
Among the articles included in this part, mention can also be made of Islamic revolution in the 20th century by Anas Amatayakul, lecturer of Mahidol University, philosophical lessons of the Quran by Jaran Malulim, lecturer of Thammasat University, movement of Muslim revolutionists in the Middle East and political philosophy of Islam in view of Dr. Ali Shari’ati by Sarawat Ari, lecturer of Chulalongkorn University, political philosophy of Imam Khomeini by Elias Taray, lecturer of Silpakorn University and political philosophy of Islam in Farabi and Imam Khomeini’s thoughts by Sheikh Sharif Hadi, lecturer of Ayutaya University of Technology.
The English part of the quarterly covers topics such as the birth anniversary of Hazrat Zahra (SA), 22nd anniversary of the demise of Imam Khomeini (RA), exhibition on "Iranian women’s rights at the Islamic Consultative Assembly", and book fair in Bangkok.
http://abna.co/data.asp?lang=3&Id=257584
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Vast Sit-in of Bahraini Revolutionaries on Thursday, Aug 4
August 4, 2011
The coalition of "Friends of February 14 Revolution" in a statement called on the people to participate in a sit-in on Thursday, Aug 4.
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - According to Al-alam, the coalition of "Friends of February 14 Revolution" in a statement called on the people to participate in a sit-in on Thursday, Aug 4, entitled "The Right of Fate Determination" in Bani-Jamarah village.
The statement reads the gathering will be held in Bani-Jamarah village, the birthplace of Allamah Sheikh Mohammad Ali Al-Mahfouz who is in custody in the prisons of Al-kHalifa regime.
The coalition of "Friends of February 14 Revolution" in the statement expressed hope that the people would get rid of the tyrannical Bahraini regime thanks to the holy month of Ramadhan and special occasions in this month including the birthday of Imam Hassan (PBUH) and the martyrdom of Imam Ali (PBUH).
The statement stressed that the people of Bahrain despite the hot weather and fasting continue to struggle and resist against the security forces of Al-Khalifa regime, the Saudi occupiers and Jordanian forces.
http://abna.co/data.asp?lang=3&Id=257576
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Leading Islamophobe publishes new anti-Islam Book
Marjan Asi
August 4, 2011
In her new book titled “Stop the Islamization of America: A Practical Guide to the Resistance,” self-proclaimed human rights activist Pamela Geller discusses what she says are ways in which the United States is under attack by “Islamic supremacists” and “Shari'ah”.
Geller is Executive Director of Stop Islamization of America which is considered by many civil and rights organizations as Islamophobic and listed as a hate group, including by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The book, which is scheduled to be released September 6, discusses ways in which the U.S. is being Islamized without Americans' knowledge such as the Justice Department's so-called fight in favor of Sharia law and the possibility of buying halal meat in grocery stores without knowing it.
One organization that comes under direct attack by Geller in her new book is the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which she states, like many other American Muslim groups, is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.
But CAIR spokesperson Ibrahim Hooper states Geller's rhetoric is intolerant and hateful, much like the Norway bomber who mentioned Geller in his manifesto as a “decent human being”.
Hooper also discussed the possible impact literature like Geller's book may have on the general public.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/192246.html
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Bangladesh plans deportation of Ulfa leader
Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury
August 4, 2011
BANGLADESH has set into motion the process for the handover of Ulfa ‘ general secretary’ Anup Chetia to India. He could be deported to India before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s scheduled trip to Bangladesh on September 6 and 7.
Within three days of home minister P. Chidambaram’s visit to Dhaka, where the issue was brought up, his Bangladeshi counterpart, Sahara Khatun, claimed the Sheikh Hasina government has initiated the legal process for Chetia’s handover.
Though India and Bangladesh do not have an extradition treaty between them, there are legal processes by which a fugitive could be handed over.
Chetia, whose request for asylum was earlier turned down by the Hasina government, is now in “ protective custody”, having finished his seven- year jail term for illegally carrying foreign banknotes and a satellite phone.
There are indications that Chetia could be deported to India before Singh’s trip in what would signal a strong commitment by Hasina to meet New Delhi’s demand on action against insurgent groups operating from Bangladesh soil.
In case the deportation could not be concluded before the PM’s trip, it would be carried out subsequently.
Mail Today
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Pak navy’s lie nailed
By Gautam Datt
August 4, 2011
AN ENTHUSIASTIC Pakistani has shot the country’s navy in the foot. A video uploaded by this person on Youtube clearly shows the mischief the PNS Babur was up to in the high seas when it brushed past the INS Godavari , during the rescue of MV Suez in June.
Islamabad had kicked up a diplomatic row then, accusing the Indian warship of performing dangerous manoeuvres during its brief interaction with the Pakistani frigate.
The video, ostensibly uploaded to show how the Babur forced the Godavari to make a run for it during the incident, proves India’s contention that the frigate was the rogue ship. The video has proved beyond doubt that Babur was the aggressor contrary to the claims made by the Pakistani government about the Godavari ’s aggressive stance. India had claimed that Babur had broken the rules of the road.
The Babur was escorting the Suez freed by Somali pirates when the Godavari, on an antipiracy patrol in the area, reached to provide assistance.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Syria tanks occupy Hama main square
New York Times
Aug 04 2011
Beirut : Ignoring global condemnation, Syria ordered its military to storm through the rebellious city of Hama on Wednesday after three days of shelling. Activists and residents there said that tanks, armoured vehicles and snipers had seized the central square, in what appeared to be a decisive step by the embattled president, Bashar al-Assad, to crush opposition to his rule.
The activists and residents of Hama, a historically important centre of antigovernment resistance in Syria, said the city was under nearly continuous gunfire in the early hours of the day, and they reported many casualties, adding to the toll of over 100 people reported killed there in the past few days. “The army is now stationed in Assi Square,” read a post on the Syrian Revolution Facebook page. “The heroic youths of Hama are confronting them and banning them from entering neighbourhoods.”
The Hama assault appeared to be a catalyst for the United Nations Security Council, where members neared agreement on a statement condemning the violence in Syria. The rough draft of the council’s presidential statement, while still needing final approval from capitals of the council’s 15 members, clearly places blame on the Assad regime. The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said Assad had “lost all sense of humanity.”
There were rumours that the invasion was timed to coincide with the trial of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.NADA BAKRI & RICK GLADSTONE
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/syria-tanks-occupy-hama-main-square/826944/
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US breached Pak airspace twice during May 2 raid: report
August 4, 2011
New York : It seems Pakistani military was caught off guard not once but twice by the Americans who not only breached its airspace during the May 2 raid to kill Osama bin Laden but also flew in back from Afghanistan hours later with the body of the al-Qaeda leader on way to his sea burial.
At dawn on May 2, bin Laden's body was loaded into the belly of a flip-wing V-22 Osprey chopper in Afghanistan, accompanied by a Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) liaison officer and a security detail of military police, the New Yorker magazine reported in its latest issue detailing finer aspects of the entire operation.
The Osprey flew south, destined for the deck of the USS Carl Vinson, a 1,000-foot-long nuclear-powered aircraft carrier sailing in the Arabian Sea, off the Pakistani coast for the sea burial of the slain al-Qaeda chief.
"The Americans, yet again, were about to traverse Pakistani airspace without permission. Some officials worried that the Pakistanis, stung by the humiliation of the unilateral raid in Abbottabad, might restrict the Osprey's access. The airplane ultimately landed on the Vinson without incident," the report said.
Interestingly, the report said the Abbottabad raid was not DEVGRU's (Naval Special Warfare Development Group that killed bin Laden) maiden venture into Pakistan.
"The team had surreptitiously entered the country on ten to twelve previous occasions," a special-operations officer, who is deeply familiar with the bin Laden raid, was quoted as saying.
Most of those missions were forays into North and South Waziristan, where many military and intelligence analysts had thought that bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders were hiding.
The report said only one such operation – the September, 2008 raid of Angoor Ada, a village in South Waziristan – has been widely reported.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/us-breached-pak-airspace-twice-during-may-2-raid-report/826625/
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After pointing fingers, China lauds Pak coop against terror
August 4, 2011
Beijing : After directly blaming terrorist camps in Pakistan for training Uyghur militants, China today sought to mollify its all-weather ally, lauding its "outstanding contribution" in fighting terrorism.
China, for the first time this week, pointed fingers at training camps in Pakistan run by the separatist East Turkemenistan Islamic Movement, after the troubled Xinjiang province witnessed two attacks reportedly targetting Han Chinese settlers in the Uyghur-dominated region.
Following the statement, Pakistan promised to lend full support to China to pin down the culprits.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ma Zhaoxu, said today that Beijing will step up its anti-terrorism cooperation with Pakistan in an effort to maintain regional peace and stability.
In a statement, he also praised Pakistan's achievements in the fight against terrorism "thus far", saying the country is an important frontline state in the international fight against terrorism and has made "outstanding contributions" in the area.
"China and Pakistan have forged excellent cooperation in anti-terrorism," he said, vowing that China will continue to boost cooperation with Pakistan and jointly crack down against the "three evil forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism," state-run Xinhua quoted him as saying.
There was no direct reference to the recent allegation by the Kashghar city government which stated that the leaders of the militant ETIM, who took part in the last weekend attacks in the city, were trained terrorist camps in Pakistan.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/after-pointing-fingers-china-lauds-pak-coop-against-terror/826730/
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Mubarak faces trial from hospital bed
Aug 04 201
Cairo : An ailing Hosni Mubarak, who served longer than any ruler of modern Egypt until he was overthrown in a revolution in February, was rolled into a courtroom in a hospital bed Wednesday to face formal charges of corruption and complicity in the killing of protesters. The televised trial was a seminal moment for Egypt and an Arab world roiled by revolt.
Even the most ardent in calling for his prosecution doubted until hours before the trial began that Mubarak, 83, would appear in a cage fashioned of bars and wire mesh. As a helicopter ferried him to the courtroom, housed in a police academy that once bore his name, cheers went up from a crowd gathered outside.
“The criminal is coming!” shouted Maged Wahba, a 40-year-old lawyer. The sheer symbolism of the day, covered live by television and watched by millions, made it one of the most visceral episodes in the Arab world, where uprisings have shaken the rule of authoritarian leaders.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/mubarak-faces-trial-from-hospital-bed/826946/
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For ailing Pakistan prisoner in Ajmer, freedom remains elusive
August 4, 2011
Raj Bhavan, Rajasthan government pass the buck in Chishty case
More than two months after the Rajasthan government cleared a clemency petition from Khaleel Chishty, the ailing Pakistani doctor who is undergoing life imprisonment in the Ajmer Central Jail, the issue remains unsettled with the quarters concerned passing the buck among one another.
The recent improvements in the India-Pakistan relations, the much hyped visit of Pakistan's Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar and successful Foreign Secretary-level meetings in Islamabad and Delhi in the past two months, seem to have had zero impact on the fortunes of the Ajmer-born virologist. An earlier plea from Dr. Chishty for suspension of the execution of the sentence was rejected by a local court with the argument that he is a Pakistani.
The mercy petition, cleared by the authorities concerned, the Rajasthan Home Ministry and finally Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in June, first got stuck in the corridors of Raj Bhawan, with Acting Governor Shivraj Patil sending it back to the Home Ministry with a set of queries.
Mr. Patil, who is the Governor of Punjab, has visited the Rajasthan capital at least two times thereafter, but the fate of the file is not yet officially known.
The petition seeks clemency for Dr. Chishty from the Governor under Article 161 of the Constitution.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2319886.ece
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Bid to placate Pakistan on Afghanistan
ANITA JOSHUA
August 4, 2011
Amid fears in Pakistan about being left out in the cold in the reconciliation process in Afghanistan, Kabul on Tuesday sought Islamabad's help in bringing the Taliban leadership on board. This was backed up on Wednesday with an assurance from the United States that Washington does not contemplate any reconciliation process in Afghanistan without Pakistan.
Jointly briefing the media late on Tuesday night with his Pakistani and American interlocutors after the fourth meeting of the Af-Pak-U.S. trilateral on his country, Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Javed Ludin said while Afghanistan was identifying lower and mid-level Taliban leaders who can contribute to peace and reconciliation, “we want Pakistan to assist in bringing the top leadership of the Taliban into the process''.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2319761.ece
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‘God’s will is beyond all creatures’: Saudi scholar
Ahmed Shaaban
4 August 2011
DUBAI — The more we glorify Allah, obey His instructions, beware of His anger and seek His blessings, the more we become eligible for His mercy and reward in life and the Hereafter, said Saudi scholar Sheikh Saleh Al Maghamsi on Tuesday.
He was delivering a lecture as part of the cultural programme of the 15th session of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award on Tuesday night.
In his lecture, the Imam of Qibaa Masjid in Al Madina, Saudi Arabia, said Prophet Yusuf was unique in behaviour and beauty since his early childhood. “As people are stringently tested in lieu of the faith strength, Prophet Yusuf went through many predicaments, including his brothers’ plot to leave him in a well, as well as slavery, torture and imprisonment.”
Giving other details, Sheikh Maghamsi said parents should give their children a chance to play. “As playing is essential for children’s development, we should watch carefully all stages of life and enjoy them.”
Further, Sheikh Maghamsi said no matter how cautiously an error or a crime is committed out of sight, God’s will is stronger and far beyond all creatures. “Though Prophet Yusuf’s brothers threw him in a remote well, Allah made a caravan lost its way, pass by the well and save his life.”
Indicating the importance of patience, Sheikh Maghamsi said as people are alive, they shall never escape the impact of a predicament, be it little or big. “We should learn how Prophet Jacob, Prophet Yusuf’s father, willingly surrender to God’s will, accept his fate, whether good or bad, and patiently react to obstacles and calamities as Allah’s choice is always better than ours,” he said, noting that Prophet Jacob told us never to trust a liar.
ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2011/August/theuae_August81.xml§ion=theuae&col=
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Israeli official denies Mubarak offered asylum
August 4, 2011
JERUSALEM — An aide to Israel’s prime minister on Wednesday denied a claim that Israel offered asylum to Egypt’s deposed President Hosni Mubarak several months ago.
The claim came from lawmaker Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, a former Israeli defense minister, army general and longtime friend of the ousted Egyptian leader. He told Army Radio he proposed that Mubarak seek asylum in Israel’s Red Sea port city of Eilat, on Israel’s border with Egypt’s Sinai desert.
He said the offer was made while Mubarak was still president, during a meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh, an Egyptian resort also on the Red Sea.
“I met him in Sharm el-Sheikh and told him that the distance was very short, and perhaps this would be a good time for him to heal himself,” Ben-Eliezer said. “I am sure the Israeli government would have accepted him, but he refused because he is a patriot.”
Ben-Eliezer said the offer came from him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Roni Sofer, an aide to Netanyahu, flatly denied that. “It never happened,” Sofer told The Associated Press. “The prime minister never offered Mubarak asylum.”
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/August/middleeast_August97.xml§ion=middleeast&col=
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Muslim minorities remain on margins of Telangana debate
P.S. Jayaram
4 August 2011
Even as the movement for separate statehood for Telangana is set to enter the decisive stage of the agitation, there is a section of people in the region which believes that the perspective of minorities including Muslims has not found political space on the issue.
And this, they believe, does not augur well for the future.
So, why is it that the voice of the Muslims muted, if not completely ignored? Political analysts believe that it is largely due to the political marginalization of the lot. In the words of Syed Amin Jafri, former journalist and Member of the Legislative Council, Muslims have been reduced to some sort of political orphans in the state. “None of the political parties give due representation to Muslims in their organizational set up or elected posts. It is because of this gross neglect that they find themselves marginalized in the Telangana debate as well.”
The argument finds logic in that barring Hyderabad, where Majlis-e- Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) is a formidable force, the rest of Telangana region does not have even a single Muslim legislator. The region, which accounts for 119 seats in the 294-member Assembly, has seven Muslim MLAs, all of them from the city belonging to MIM. MIM President Asaduddin Owaisi, who represents Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituenecy, is the only sole Muslim representative from the region which accounts for 17 seats.
Even in the case of district administrations, there is not a single Muslim Zilla Parishad Chairmperson or Municipal Chairperson in the state while there are only a handful of Muslim Sarpanches, who are village heads. No wonder then that people like Jafri feel that the the interests of Muslims do not seem to figure in the ongoing political discourse, whether it is in support of separate Telangana state or an integrated state. This has resulted in the common Muslim largely remaining indifferent to the ongoing competitive agitations for and against Telangana.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2011/August/international_August140.xml§ion=international&col=
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Malawi leader once heralded abroad now condemned
Aug 4, 2011
JOHANNESBURG: Malawians overwhelmingly re-elected their president two years ago. Now Bingu wa Mutharika’s security forces are blamed for killing at least 19 anti-government demonstrators, and the increasingly combative leader is facing international condemnation.
The 77-year-old former World Bank official once heralded by economic analysts has declared Malawi “a black country for black people.” And a British diplomat whom Mutharika expelled from the country describes the president as “becoming ever more autocratic and intolerant of criticism.”
It’s an unlikely turn for a man who won close to 65 percent of the vote in an election in May 2009. As the country’s economy has soured, though, so too has public opinion.
“Things are tough and Bingu doesn’t seem to care. He keeps driving with over 30 vehicles in his motorcade while our fathers can’t have five liters of petrol. What an unfeeling man!” said Alice Banda, a 24-year-old street vendor who says she now regrets voting for him in the last two elections.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article482809.ece
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JEDDAH: Police deny responsibility for wrongful detention in rape case
August 4, 2011
JEDDAH: Police in Jeddah have blamed the General Prosecution and Investigation Board for detaining Abdul Rahman bin Hassan Abdullah for six months on suspicion of raping at least 13 little girls.
A Jeddah court has set a new hearing date in November to review the lawsuit against his detention after the representative from the board did not attend the court session on Tuesday.
Abdullah, who has two wives and four children, said that he was arrested in the village of Al-Hijrah in Baha province on Dec. 22, 2010, and initially put in solitary confinement for five days in Jeddah’s Briman prison, where he had been detained since.
Abdullah said he was proven innocent after the rapist carried out two attacks while he was still behind bars.
A source from Jeddah police, who was representing the force in court, said officers’ role was limited to arresting the man after they linked him to the attacks.
Police detained the man and held him for five days, the court was told. After the fifth day, he was allegedly transferred to the General Prosecution and Investigation Board.
At the investigation board, they kept on extending his detention until he had been held for six months, when another suspect, who has since been charged with the attacks, was arrested, the court heard.
The police representative claimed the lawsuit has no basis as officers did not commit any violation.
Abdullah claimed that during his time in prison, he suffered huge losses to his investments. He has demanded compensation for his pain and suffering.
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article482688.ece
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Hezbollah hands over material for Lebanon tribunal
August 4, 2011
AMSTERDAM: The UN-backed Lebanon tribunal’s prosecutor said he is studying documents and a video provided by the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, some of whose members are accused of killing former prime minister Rafik Al-Hariri.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) issued indictments and arrest warrants for four men, who Lebanese officials identified as Hezbollah members. Last week the tribunal released their names, photographs and details in the hope of speeding up the arrests.
Hezbollah, both a political movement and guerrilla army, denies any role in the huge explosion in Beirut which killed Hariri, a Sunni Muslim who served several terms as prime minister, and 21 others in February 2005.
It accuses the tribunal of being political and an Israeli tool.
Last month the group’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, gave a televised speech in which he dismissed the indictments as a failed attempt to sow strife and bring down Lebanon’s new Hezbollah-backed government.
He also showed documents and videos aimed at portraying the investigation into Hariri’s killing as both corrupt and biased against Hezbollah.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article482578.ece
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London’s historic connections to Islam
August 4, 2011
Last month as part of the Shubbak Festival Professor Jack Lohman, director of the Museum of London, gave a talk on London’s historical connections to the Arab world. A good bulk of the talk, however, went into the history of the Muslim presence in this city. Today, at the beginning of Ramadan, it is great to see the vibrancy that that history has led to.
Lohman’s talk started with the concern that Arabs’ history in London is actually rather elusive, and ended with the request that anyone with any information or artifacts about the Arab history of London share them with the museum. Although short, the talk brought up findings spanning from archaeological studies to more modern urban histories, originating along the lines of migration and trade between London and the Arab world.
Professor Lohman cited various pieces of literature from over 200 years ago sharing snippets of British sentiment toward Arabs, as well as the Arabs’ feeling being so far west of Europe.
Among them was the 1802 play by Eyles Irwin entitled The Bedouins, or Arabs of the Desert. The play, a comedy in three acts, was among many written by Irwin, about his travels and adventures in the Arab world, namely Egypt and Syria. Having himself been born in Calcutta, he notes great hospitality and generosity as being among the traits of Arab people.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/lifestyle/art_culture/article482358.ece
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Sixteen Pakistanis working as slaves in Afghanistan set free
August 4, 2011
QUETTA: The Afghan government handed over 16 Pakistanis to Pakistani officials after getting them released from private jails in Afghanistan.
The Pakistanis had been smuggled to Afghanistan by human traffickers who sold them as slave labourers.
A human rights activist and chairman of Ansar Burney Welfare Trust, Ansar Burney, told a press conference here on Wednesday that the 16 Pakistanis were smuggled from Qambar area of Sindh and later they were sold to a private party which kept them in its private jails where the victims worked as slaves.
The Inspector General of Frontier Corps, Maj-Gen Obaidullah Khan Khuttak, also attended the press conference.
Mr Burney said that he had established contacts with the Afghan authorities with the help of FC officials and after negotiations the Afghan government agreed to get all 16 Pakistanis released.
Mr Burney said that hundreds of Pakistanis who went to Afghanistan as labourers had been made slaves and were living in miserable conditions in private jails. He said the Frontier Corps had established contracts with Afghan officials and talks were under way for their release as well.
He said that media should take up the issue and expose the people involved in human trafficking.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/04/sixteen-pakistanis-working-as-slaves-in-afghanistan-set-free.html
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Hashmi wants Punjab divided into four provinces
By Amir Wasim
August 4, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Senior PML-N leader Makhdoom Javed Hashmi has asked the leadership of his own party to announce division of Punjab into four provinces.
Taking part in a debate on the Karachi situation in the National Assembly on Wednesday, the veteran leader from the southern Punjab city of Multan rebutted a statement of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif that the demand for creation of new provinces was a ‘gimmick’ by the government to hide its alleged corruption.
“I have great respect for Shahbaz Sharif, but I do not agree with his statement in which he linked the demand for new provinces to the government’s corruption,” said Mr Hashmi, who in the past had openly criticised some policies of the party and decisions of its leadership.
Answering a question about new provinces at a gathering of supporters in London, Mr Shabaz reportedly said it was the government’s habit to come up with new gimmicks whenever it was criticised for its corruption and lack of accountability.
Mr Hashmi, who reluctantly accepted the office of senior vice-president of the PML-N last month and is also part of the 15-member special committee constituted by Nawaz Sharif to formulate suggestions on the demand for new provinces, said he wanted his party to take the lead and announce “creation of three to four new provinces” in Punjab.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/04/hashmi-wants-punjab-divided-into-four-provinces.html
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‘Ramazan offers opportunity to quit smoking, other addictions’
August 4, 2011
KARACHI: Ramazan is a great opportunity for the Muslims to quit cigarette, a powerful addictive substance, said senior religious scholar and representative of Quran Academy, Engineer Naveed Ahmed.
Talking to media in a session organised by Pakistan Chest Society to commemorate national quit tobacco day, he said, fasting compels an addict, including smokers, to change his or her mindset, environment and the habit. He said Islam strongly disapproves habits and practices that are hazardous either to health of the person concerned or those around them.
“Although there exists no mention of tobacco during the era of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon Him) yet all addictive substances were prohibited,” he said. He said in Islam cleanliness and hygiene are emphasised to the extent that it has been considered a part of Iman (faith). “It is very well known that a smoker’s mouth is unclean and foul smelling “like a cigarette ash-tray,” said the scholar.
He also referred to implications of passive smoking and quoted Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him),”Nor be hurt or injure others.” It is scientifically proven that the exhaled smoke of the smoker is hazardous to non-smokers around him, he said.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\08\04\story_4-8-2011_pg7_22
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PNS Mehran attack: Three Navy officers face court martial
By Salman Siddiqui
August 4, 2011
KARACHI: In a rare move, three officers of the Pakistan Navy are being brought before a military court for their alleged negligence during the attack on a naval airbase in Karachi, navy sources say.
Former PNS Mehran base commander Commodore Raja Tahir and two of his subordinates – one captain and one commander – are to face trial before a court martial. The captain was the squadron leader of the P3C Orion aircraft, two of which were destroyed in the May 22 attack and the commander was in charge of one of the units on the base. Neither man has been identified by name.
(Read: PNS Mehran attack: Vulnerable, embarrassed and targeted)
Sources inside the navy say that the news of the court martial proceedings has inculcated a sense of fear amongst the officer corps, with many officers fearing that they may be brought before the military court as well. Sources add that other names are likely to crop up during the hearings.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/223818/court-martial-of-three-high-ranking-officials-underway-in-mehran-base-attack-case/
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Ramazan in Sri Lanka: A Sri Lankan teenage-boy's recollection
August 4, 2011
The Sri Lankan Muslims form a small minority community of around 1.5 to 2 million people or around 9% of Sri Lanka’s population. As such Ramazan fasting, the fourth pillar of Islam, is a time eagerly awaited by all Muslims, young and old alike as a time for spiritual enhancement with a relaxed atmosphere in contrast to the routine life of the rest of the year.
In a typical Sri Lankan Muslim house, we get up before dawn at about 3 or 4 a.m. to have a meal, usually of rice and curry before beginning the fast. Afterwards we make our ‘Neeyath’ -the resolution where we declare that ‘we’d observe the mandatory fast of that day’. By this time it’ll be time up for the Dawn prayers (Fagr/Subahu), which marks the beginning of the fasting period of the day.
Full report at:
http://www.ummid.com/news/2011/July/31.07.2011/ramadan_in_sri_lanka.htm
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Kashgar incident: Beijing downplays risk of rift with Islamabad
August 4, 2011
BEIJING: China’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday praised Pakistan as a firm partner against terror and religious extremism, playing down the risk that ties could be strained by an attack that Chinese officials blamed on militants trained in Pakistan.
The ministry’s statement was its first response to the attack in Kashgar city in China’s far western Xinjiang region on Sunday, when a group of Uighur men killed a restaurant owner and waiter, and then hacked to death four people.
Read: Terrorism in China
The Kashgar government said the attack was organised by members of the separatist “East Turkestan Islamic Movement” who received arms and explosives training in Pakistan.
But the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said his government stood by Pakistan, in comments apparently intended to quash any notion of a rift over the attack in Xinjiang, where members of the Uighur minority have protested against Beijing’s control and the Han Chinese presence.
“Pakistan has made an outstanding contribution to battling terrorism,” Ma said in a statement on the ministry’s website. Ma did not mention the Xinjiang attack in his comments.
On Monday, the Pakistani foreign ministry issued a statement offering “full support” to China after the attack. Pakistan shares a border with China, and Uighurs, including opponents of Chinese rule, have fled there in the past.
Analysts have said that the role of any militant members of the “East Turkestan Islamic Movement” in the attack is unclear, especially because the group appears so weak.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/223375/china-praises-pakistan-downplaying-risk-of-rift/
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Swedish man arrested after trying to split atoms in his kitchen
August 4, 2011
A Swedish man has been arrested after attempting to split atoms in his kitchen, claiming that he was only doing it as a “hobby”.
Richard Handl said that he had the radioactive elements radium, americium and uranium in his apartment in southern Sweden when police showed up and arrested him on charges of unauthorised possession of nuclear material.
Handl, 31, said he had tried for months to set up a nuclear reactor at home and kept a blog about his experiments, describing how he created a small meltdown on his stove.
Only later did he realise it might not be legal and sent a question to Sweden’s Radiation Authority, which answered by sending the police.
“I have always been interested in physics and chemistry,” Handl said, adding he just wanted to “see if it’s possible to split atoms at home”.
The police raid took place in late July, but police have refused to comment. If convicted, Handl could face fines or up to two years in prison.
Although he says police didn’t detect dangerous levels of radiation in his apartment, he now acknowledges the project wasn’t such a good idea.
“From now on, I will stick to the theory,” he said.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8679630/Swedish-man-arrested-after-trying-to-split-atoms-in-his-kitchen.html
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US contractor to sue Donald Rumsfeld over 'Iraq torture'
August 4, 2011
A federal judge has made a ruling that paves the way for former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to be sued personally for damages by a former US military contractor who says he was tortured during a nine-month imprisonment in Iraq.
Lawyers for the man, who worked as a translator for Marines collecting intelligence in Iraq, claim he was preparing to come home to the United States on annual leave when he was abducted by the US military and held without justification while his family knew nothing about his whereabouts or even whether he was still alive.
The government says he was suspected of helping pass classified information to the enemy and helping anti-coalition forces get into Iraq. But he was never charged with a crime, and he says he never broke the law and was risking his life to help his country.
Court papers filed on his behalf say he was repeatedly abused while being held at Camp Cropper, a US military facility near the Baghdad airport dedicated to holding "high-value" detainees, then suddenly released without explanation in August 2006.
Two years later, he filed suit in US District Court in Washington arguing that Mr Rumsfeld personally approved torturous interrogation techniques on a case-by-case basis and controlled his detention without access to courts in violation of his constitutional rights.
Full report at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/8680643/US-contractor-to-sue-Donald-Rumsfeld-over-Iraq-torture.html
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Video shows Briton, Italian hostages 'held by al-Qaeda'
August 4, 2011
A British man and an Italian kidnapped in May in northern Nigeria appear for the first time since their capture in a video released on Wednesday in which they say their abductors are from al-Qaeda.
The roughly minute-long video is the first proof of life of the engineers since they were kidnapped from their apartment in Nigeria's northwestern Kebbi state on the border with Niger.
It was not clear when the film was made and this was impossible to verify independently.
The video shows the hostages blindfolded and on their knees. Three men holding weapons stand behind them, their faces hidden by turbans.
The hostages give their names, which AFP has chosen not to make public, and each deliver a statement urging their governments to meet the demands of the kidnappers, whom they say are from al-Qaeda.
The Italian hostage refers to "these al-Qaeda people", while his British colleague asks his government "to meet the demands of al-Qaeda."
Full report at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/nigeria/8680306/Video-shows-Briton-Italian-hostages-held-by-al-Qaeda.html
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/italy-approves-draft-law-banning/d/5180