Kashmiri back from the dead?
US recognizes Libyan rebels as legitimate govt
Heavy casualties reported in Libya fighting, explosions near Tripoli
NATO, Afghan army kill at least 13 Taliban
28 killed in Syria as protests hit new peak: activists
10 killed as gunmen attack bus in Kurram
N.Y. Judge Allows Exploration of Bank of China's Alleged Role in Terrorism
Clinton says Islamic world, West can agree on religious tolerance without hurting free speech
US Muslim Targeted in New Hate Attack
Resumption of US military aid not on Pasha's agenda
Three dead in attacks on NATO tankers in Pakistan
India-Pakistan relations after Mumbai bombings
Pakistan LeT suffers major blow; top commanders killed
LeJ chief got stipend from Pak govt in jail: Report
Roadside bomb kills 2 in Baghdad
Sikhs kept out of their own temple for Shab-e-Barat
Probe role of terror groups, including Hindu outfits: Digvijay
Mumbai blasts: Police prepare suspect's sketch, man dies in custody
TERRORTEAMS MADE BOMBS NEARTARGETS
BOMBERS HAD SAFE HOUSE IN VICINITY
Third IPS officer unwilling to head Ishrat SIT
Saleem Shahzad murder: Suspect arrested in Layyah
Alleged Hizbut Tahrir links: Brigadier opts for court martial
Composite dialogue: Pakistan assures help in Mumbai blasts probe
“I will never leave my country,” says Qadhafi
Saudi Prince's hand in Brooks resignation?
Maid keeps K Asif's wife high on pills, steals cash
Part of my job is to have thick skin: Obama
UN removes 14 Taliban members from sanctions list
United Nations drops sanctions against 14 ex-Afghan Taliban
Al Qaida commander Ilyas Kashmiri is alive: Dawn
Yemeni protesters form interim council
Netanyahu planning to attack Iran: veteran CIA officer
Al-Qaida was planning attack on Obama: CNN report
Man arrested with 10 crude bombs from Ahmedabad
Bhakra Dam on terror hit list: IB
Sikh community in Lahore prevented from celebrating festival
NATO, Afghan army kill at least 13 Taliban
Sleuths sniff around the nation for clues
Gas pipeline to reach border next year: Iran
Afghan army soldier kills Nato service member
Pakistan, Iran resolve to boost economic relations
NATO supplies: Attack on oil tanker triggers fire in market
President Zardari meets Ayatollah Khamenei
Gaddafi defiant in face of rebel assault on Brega
Israel defence officials want Turkey ties repaired
Prosecutors outline recruitment of US Somalis to fight against Ethiopian Army
Saudi ambassador meets Pak president
Young Somalis seeking dialogue
Nigeria: Looking Beyond the 'Boko Haram'
Interfaith Dialogue in Queensland
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/kashmiri-back-dead/d/5045
---------
Kashmiri back from the dead?
Jul 17, 2011
AL- QAEDA- linked militant commander Ilyas Kashmiri, who was reported to have been killed in a US drone attack in Pakistan’s tribal belt last month, is still alive, according to a media report on Saturday.
Kashmiri, the chief of the Harkat- ul- Jihad al- Islami is still alive and active in the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, Pakistan- based Dawn News channel quoted sources as saying.
US and Pakistan security officials have failed to confirm the death of Kashmiri, the sources said. The dreaded commander, a key suspect in the 2008 Mumbai attacks and the alleged mastermind of the terrorist strike on a naval airbase in Karachi in May, was reported to have been killed in a US drone strike in South Waziristan on June 3.
Several questions have been raised about a statement purportedly issued by the HuJI about Kashmiri’s death in the drone strike.
A photograph said to be of Kashmiri's dead body that was issued by the HuJI was actually that of a member of the Lashkar- e- Taiba team that attacked Mumbai in November 2008. Kashmiri was reported to have been killed in another drone strike two years ago but that was debunked when the militant commander was interviewed by Syed Saleem Shahzad, the reporter who was recently abducted and killed under mysterious circumstances.
Mail Today
------
US recognizes Libyan rebels as legitimate govt
Jul 17, 2011
WASHINGTON: The Obama Administration has formally recognised Libya's Transitional National Council (TNC) as the country's legitimate government, giving foes of Muammar Gaddafi a major financial and credibility boost.
Secretary of state Hillary Clinton announced on Friday that Washington accepts the TNC as the legitimate governing authority of the Libyan people. The diplomatic recognition of the council means that the US will be able to fund the opposition with some of the more than $30 billion in Gaddafiregime assets that are frozen in American banks.
"It helps us answer or respond to one of the major requests that we've had from the TNC, which is their request for funding. We all are well aware that they are in need of additional funds," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.
"We did establish a temporary financial mechanism which has helped, and this recognition will allow us to access some of the frozen assets and get them to the TNC so that they can pay their bills and handle operational costs, he said.
"The other message that it clearly sends to Gaddafi and his regime is that we're looking past him, he's no longer legitimate, and he should get out of the way and allow for this democratic transition to take place," Toner said.
More than 30 nations, including the US, have declared that Gaddafi's regime is no longer legitimate and formally recognized the opposition group as the country's government. Meanwhile, a group of top Republican Senators has urged Obama Administration to designate a US Ambassador to TNC and give the TNC's representative in Washington and New York full diplomatic rights and privileges.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-recognizes-Libyan-rebels-as-legitimate-govt/articleshow/9254562.cms
---------
Heavy casualties reported in Libya fighting, explosions near Tripoli
Jul 17, 2011
FRONT LINE NEAR BIR GHANAM (Libya): Ten Libyan rebels were reported killed and 172 wounded in an attack on the eastern oil port of Brega on Saturday, while insurgents drove back forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi in the west.
In the latest of a series of speeches apparently designed to show he enjoys support in the areas he controls, Gaddafi described the rebels as worthless traitors and rejected suggestions that he was about to leave the country.
"They said Gaddafi will go to Honolulu," he said in a televised speech. "This is funny: To leave the graves of my forefathers and my people? Are you serious?"
His defiance came a day after Western and Arab powers, led by the United States, said the rebel leadership was the legitimate government of Libya. Reports have circulated that Gaddafi is seeking a negotiated way out of the crisis.
Libyan television also reported what it called an "enemy attack" on Tajoura district east of Tripoli early on Sunday, the first such bombing raid by NATO near the capital in several nights, a Reuters witness said.
The television said the strike had hit "civilian and military sites" but did not specify what they were or mention if there had been any casualties.
Brega's oil resources make it a prize for the rebels, who have been trying to dislodge Gaddafi's troops in the face of rocket bombardments, according to Al Jazeera television.
Most opposition fighters are about 20 km (12 miles) outside Brega, kept back by Grad rockets fired by government forces, the network reported. The rebels had however captured four government soldiers.
In the Western Mountains, where insurgents are trying to push towards Tripoli, heavy fighting erupted on Saturday.
Sustained gunfire and volleys of artillery could be heard from the village of Bir Ayad, 15 km (9 miles) south of the front line at the town of Bir Ghanam.
Rebels at Bir Ghanam hold the high ground on the outskirts of the town, their closest position to Tripoli, about 80 km (50 miles) away.
Ahmed, a rebel fighter in Bir Ayad, said a convoy of about 15 vehicles from Gaddafi's forces tried to approach Bir Ghanam, but the rebels fired at it and the convoy retreated after a about an hour of shooting.
"They were in a column at first but when we started firing they split into groups of three or four vehicles and all of them fled," local rebel commander Fathi Alzintani told Reuters.
ASSAULTS REPELLED
Rebels in the Western Mountains have made progress in recent weeks after repelling assaults by Gaddafi's forces. Their next goal is Garyan, a town that controls the highway south from Tripoli.
But the rebels have been hampered by divisions, ill-discipline and supply problems.
In Misrata, the rebels' main stronghold in the west, six rebel fighters have been killed and four injured in the past 24 hours, hospital staff said.
Away from the battlefield, Gaddafi has made a series of audio speeches to coincide with state television broadcasts of rallies attended by thousands of people in Tripoli and elsewhere.
As loyalists gathered on the streets of the town of Zawiyah, near the capital, on Saturday, Gaddafi said the rebels were "apostates" who had "become Christians".
Calling on the rebels to lay down their arms, he said: "Islam is being humiliated by the cross ... They are burning mosques with bombs."
"We have given martyrs, yes ... It's impossible to compromise or make the slightest concession."
Crowds were shown firing to the air at the end of the speech.
Rebel leaders received a boost in their campaign to oust Gaddafi on Friday when they won recognition as the legitimate government of Libya from the United States and other powers.
Western nations said they planned to increase the military pressure on Gaddafi's forces to make him to give up power after 41 years at the head of the North African state.
Recognition of the rebels by the international contact group on Libya is an important diplomatic step that could unlock billions of dollars in frozen Libyan funds.
The decision came as reports circulated Gaddafi had sent out emissaries seeking a negotiated end to the conflict, although he remains defiant in public.
The contact group also agreed on a road map whereby Gaddafi should relinquish power and put forward plans for Libya's transition to democracy under the rebel National Transitional Council.
Times of India
------
NATO, Afghan army kill at least 13 Taliban
17 Jul 2011
At least 13 insurgents have been killed in Afghanistan after gunbattles and a NATO airstrike against a building occupied by Taliban fighters
Afghan and NATO officials say at least 13 insurgents have been killed in eastern Afghanistan after gunbattles and a coalition airstrike against a building occupied by Taliban fighters.
Coalition spokesman Capt. Justin Brockhoff says the fighting started during an overnight operation targeting a Taliban leader in the Kuz Kunar district of Nangarhar province.
The Afghan-led force, which included coalition troops, came under fire and insurgents refused requests to come out of the building. The fighting ended Sunday after an airstrike. There were no casualties among civilians or security forces, he said.
Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, a spokesman for the Nangarhar provincial governor, says the bodies of 13 insurgents have been found so far. He says the building was an empty school.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentPrint/2/0/16607/World/0/NATO,-Afghan-army-kill-at-least--Taliban.aspx
---------
28 killed in Syria as protests hit new peak: activists
Jul 17, 2011
Damascus: At least 28 civilians were killed, including 16 in the capital Damascus and a child, as security forces opened fire to quell the largest anti-regime rallies in four months, activists said.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Syria cannot now return to the way it was before anti-regime protests erupted on March 15.
Rights activist Abdel Karim Rihawi said, “The deaths also included two in Kadam and four in Douma, both suburbs of the capital, in addition to three in the northwestern city of Idlib and two more in the southern town of Daraa.”
Neighbourhoods in Damascus bore the brunt of the violence, with 12 killed in Qabun, three in Rukn Eddin and another in Barzeh, said Rihawi, who heads the Syrian League for the Defence of Human Rights.
The capital's suburbs also saw the death of a child killed in Jobar, four adults in Douma and one in Kadam. Three people were killed in the northern city of Idlib and two others in the southern town of Daraa, Rihawi added.
More than one million Syrians turned out in just two cities -- Hama and Deir Ezzor -- to protest against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and demand the release of hundreds of detainees seized in earlier pro-democracy rallies.
“More than a million people demonstrated on Friday in Hama and Deir Ezzor,” Abdel Rahman said. “It's a major development and a message to the authorities that protests are getting bigger.”
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/818275/
------
10 killed as gunmen attack bus in Kurram
Jul 17, 2011
PARACHINAR: Gunmen ambushed a bus carrying Sunni Muslims and killed all 10 passengers in a troubled northwestern tribal region Saturday, a government official said.
Seven people were killed on the spot and three died at a hospital in the Kurram region, said Mohammed Ali, a local government official.
At the time of the ambush, the bus was traveling in an area dominated by minority Shiite Muslims, Ali said. He said it was unclear who targeted the bus and officers were still investigating.
Kurram has witnessed attacks on Sunni and Shiite Muslims in recent years. ap
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\07\17\story_17-7-2011_pg1_6
---------
N.Y. Judge Allows Exploration of Bank of China's Alleged Role in Terrorism
Brendan Pierson
07-18-2011
Victims of terrorist attacks against Israel by Hamas and the Palestine Islamic Jihad can proceed with a lawsuit accusing Bank of China Ltd. of knowingly allowing money transfers that funded the terror groups, a state judge in Manhattan has ruled.
In Keren Elmaliach v. Bank of China Ltd., 102026/09, New York Supreme Court Justice Barbara R. Kapnick ruled that while banks generally have no duty to protect non-customers from intentional wrongs committed by its customers, the plaintiffs had alleged facts suggesting that the state-owned Chinese bank was specifically told that it was funding terrorism and took no action. Kapnick also refused to dismiss the case on forum non conveniens grounds.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of about 50 people either injured or related to those who were killed in rocket attacks carried out in Israel from 2005 through 2007 by Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad. Both groups have been designated foreign terrorist organizations by the United States.
Bank of China began providing services to the groups in 2003, administering accounts registered to Said al-Shurafa, a senior operative in both groups. Between 2003 and 2007, the bank executed "dozens" of wire transfers amounting to millions of dollars for the groups, according to Kapnick's opinion. The transfers were executed through Bank of China's branch offices in the United States.
The plaintiffs allege the bank knew the money it was transferring was being used to fund terrorism since at least April 2005, when Israeli counterterrorism officers met with China's security and central bank authorities and demanded the transfers be stopped. Although China's central bank told Bank of China of the demand, the bank continued allowing the transfers, according to the suit.
Plaintiffs also allege Bank of China should have known the transferred funds were being used for illegal activity because of various "red flags," such as money being withdrawn as soon as it was deposited and wire transfers made in amounts slightly less than round figures. Plaintiffs are seeking damages under Israel's Civil Wrongs Ordinance.
Full report at: http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202501543028
---------
Clinton says Islamic world, West can agree on religious tolerance without hurting free speech
July 15, 2011
ISTANBUL — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday she’s hopeful that a religious tolerance agreement between the West and Islamic countries will end efforts to criminalize blasphemy that threaten freedom of expression.
At an interfaith conference in Turkey, Clinton said an initiative by the U.S., the European Union and the Organization of the Islamic Conference will promote religious freedom without compromising free speech.
“Together we have begun to overcome the false divide that pits religious sensitivities against freedom of expression and we are pursuing a new approach,” Clinton said. “These are fundamental freedoms that belong to all people in all places and they are certainly essential to democracy.”
Many Muslim nations have laws that punish perceived insults to Islam. As a way to rationalize those laws, those countries have long sought U.N. action condemning the defamation of religion.
In addition, they have promoted measures to combat instances of what they believe are intolerance directed at Islam. Examples include the ban in Switzerland on the construction of new minarets, the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed and the burning of the Quran by a small church group in Florida.
The U.S. and others were concerned that such a step at the United Nations could stifle legitimate debate and be used to persecute religious minorities. Earlier this year, the U.S. brokered an agreement that removed defamation language from a U.N. resolution and focused instead on ending religious discrimination.
That resolution calls for countries to encourage tolerance through education, interfaith dialogue and public debate. It would prohibit discrimination, profiling and hate crimes. But it does not endorse criminalizing controversial speech unless there is an incitement to imminent violence.
Clinton and Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the secretary general of the OIC, which represents 57 Muslim nations in international forums, announced plans for talks on how to reconcile freedom of speech with tolerance.
“We cannot and must not ignore the implications of hate speech and incitement of discrimination and violence,” Ihsanoglu. He said the OIC did not want to inhibit free expression. “Our cause, which stems from out genuine concerns, should not be interpreted as calls for restriction on freedom,” he said.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
---------
US Muslim Targeted in New Hate Attack
16 July 2011
CAIR also called on the FBI to investigate the hate attack, a third on New York Muslims in recent months.
NEW YORK - A new physical and verbal attack targeting a Muslim veiled woman at Niagara Falls is sending shockwaves as an indication of a growing anti-Muslim sentiment across the United States, The Buffalo News website reported on Saturday, July 16.
"What may appear to be isolated hate crimes may be more accurately viewed as a troubling symptom of the growing level of Islamophobia in our society," said Ibrahim Hooper, National Communications Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington.
The incident occurred last Thursday when 26-year-old woman of Pakistani origin was walking along Portage Road on the way to meet her husband.
Seeing the woman, who was donning a purple hijab and a traditional Pakistani attire, Antoinette S. Ivey, 32, of Ninth Street, and another woman in a van hurled ethnic and racial slurs at her calling her “bloody Paki”, a derogatory term for people of Pakistani origin.
They continued to yell at the victims even after she met her husband.
Full report at: http://www.onislam.net/english/news/americas/453051-us-muslim-targeted-in-new-hate-attack.html
---------
Resumption of US military aid not on Pasha's agenda
July 17, 2011
Pakistan's powerful ISI chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha visited the US to discuss intelligence coordination and not the resumption of military aid that was recently suspended by the American administration, a military spokesman has said. The resumption of military aid was not even on the
agenda of Pasha's visit, military spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas told the media on Saturday.
Pasha had a one on one meeting with acting CIA director Michael Morrell.
"A range of intelligence issues were discussed in a congenial environment to improve mutual understanding," Abbas said.
Contrary to speculative reporting in a section of the press, doubts were not raised and no aspersions were cast on the functioning of the ISI, Abbas said. "Both sides focused more on the way forward," he said.
Full report at: http://www.hindustantimes.com/Resumption-of-US-military-aid-not-on-Pasha-s-agenda/Article1-722178.aspx
---------
Three dead in attacks on NATO tankers in Pakistan
July 17, 2011
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Three people were killed and 16 wounded when militants blew up one NATO supply oil tanker and opened fire on another in Pakistan's troubled northwest, police and officials said.
The first incident took place near a market in a suburb of Peshawar, close to the Khyber tribal district, when a remote controlled bomb went off late Saturday, triggering a huge fire and destroying up to 100 shops, police said.
"The remote-controlled device planted under the tanker exploded before it entered the tribal area, the fire has engulfed five markets," Mohammad Ijaz Khan, a senior police officer, told AFP.
Khan said the blaze destroyed up to 100 shops before the fire service brought it under control.
"Two people were killed and 15 other were wounded, militants were involved in this attack," he added.
In the second attack, around 10 kilometres from the site of the first, militants late Saturday opened fire on another oil tanker in the town of Jamrud, in the Khyber tribal district, killing the driver and wounding his helper, local official Arshad Khan told AFP.
An intelligence official in Peshawar said both tankers were carrying fuel for NATO troops in Afghanistan. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks but the official blamed Taliban militants for the attacks.
Most supplies and equipment required by foreign troops in Afghanistan are transported through Pakistan.
Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants frequently launch attacks across northwestern Pakistan and the lawless tribal belt on the Afghan border.
Copyright © 2011 AFP.
---------
India-Pakistan relations after Mumbai bombings
July 16, 2011
Three bomb blasts took place in Mumbai on July 13, killing 21, but so far the India-Pakistan equation has not derailed. The recent trend of improving relations was positive for a change, and so it was feared that someone might try to ruin it by striking again in Mumbai. (We know that the last Mumbai attack was carried out to bring the two states to ‘border alert’, with the possibility of war.) This time, the post-attack symptoms are different. There was no media war as in 2008 — definitely not the finest hour of TV channels on both sides. The Indian official reaction was restrained and ‘suspected parties’ were not seen as coming from Pakistan. In India, once you locate the terrorists on Indian soil, the next thought is that RSJ/WIP/BJP extremism in Gujarat and elsewhere in India has finally caused many Indian muslims to redicalise.
Full report at: http://tribune.com.pk/story/211052/india-pakistan-relations-after-mumbai-bombings/
---------
Pakistan LeT suffers major blow; top commanders killed
Jul 17, 2011
By Ishfaq-ul-Hassan
War on terror has entered into a crucial phase after the army wiped-out almost entire top Pakistani leadership of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in volatile north Kashmir.
Five top commanders of LeT and Jaish-e-Mohommad were killed by a joint team of army and police in a fierce gun battle that started on Thursday evening and ended on Friday night when security forces blasted off the house in which the ultras were hiding at Dar Moholla in Maidanpora area of Lolaab valley. A soldier was also killed in the gun battle
The slain ultras have been identified as Saqib alias Sohail of Kasur in Pakistan, divisional commander of LeT for North Kashmir, Hamad alias Haneef alias Alfa Islam, divisional commander for Kupwara, hailing from Abbottabad in Pakistan, the place where al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was killed by US navy seals.
Others were identified as Qari Saifullah, divisional commander central Kashmir, Chotta Saad, battalion commander of LeT and Umair alias Hafiz, battalion commander, of Jaish-e-Mohammad.
Full report at: http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_pakistan-let-suffers-major-blow-top-commanders-killed_1566482
---------
LeJ chief got stipend from Pak govt in jail: Report
Jul 17 2011
Islamabad : Malik Ishaq, the chief of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi who is accused of plotting the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, received a monthly stipend from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government in Pakistan’s Punjab province while he was in prison, a media report said Saturday.
While in jail, Malik Ishaq, who was freed on bail recently, enjoyed Punjab government’s financial assistance ever since the PML-N came to power in 2008, The Express Tribune newspaper quoted unnamed officials as saying.
Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, who has himself been under a cloud for his alleged links with the Sipah-e-Sahaba terror group, confirmed the disbursement of the stipend to Ishaq. However, he contended the amount was given to Ishaq’s family, and not to him, according to orders of the court.
The daily reported that its own investigation had revealed there was no court order pertaining to the matter and that no such stipend was paid to Ishaq during the tenure of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf.
Ishaq was freed from Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore on Thursday after Pakistan’s Supreme Court granted him bail.
He had been held in prison for 14 years after being arrested for various charges, ranging from involvement in terrorism to plotting sectarian attacks.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/818517/
------
Roadside bomb kills 2 in Baghdad
17 Jul 2011
Iraqi officials say a roadside bomb targeting a security patrol has killed one policeman and a passer-by in western Baghdad.
An Iraqi policeman says the blast Sunday morning also wounded three people in the Sunni-dominated Amariyah neighborhood near the capital's airport. A medic at the al-Yarmouk hospital confirmed the casualties.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. Insurgents often attack security forces to highlight Iraq's continued vulnerability as U.S. troops prepare to leave at the end of the year.
Washington and Baghdad are discussing whether up to 10,000 U.S. troops should remain into 2012.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentPrint/2/0/16614/World/0/Roadside-bomb-kills--in-Baghdad.aspx
------
Sikhs kept out of their own temple for Shab-e-Barat
By Abdul Manan
July 17, 2011
LAHORE: The Sikh community in Lahore have been prevented from observing a religious celebration at a gurdwara, their musical equipment thrown out and their entry barred, after a religious group persuaded the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) that celebrating the Muslim holy day of Shab-e-Barat was more important than the Sikh religious festival.
Police have been deployed outside the temple to prevent the Sikhs from conducting their religious ceremonies until the end of Shab-e-Barat, which falls on July 18 this year. The Sikh community wanted to commemorate an eighteenth-century saint on July 16.
The Gurdwara Shaheed Bhai Taru Singh, in Naulakha Bazaar, Lahore, is built to honour the memory of a Sikh saint who was executed in 1745 on the orders of the Mughal governor of Punjab, Zakaria Khan. Every July, the Sikh community has held religious ceremonies to commemorate his sacrifice in the service of humanity.
While the temple was taken over by the ETPB after Partition, the Sikh community had been allowed to continue using it with relatively few restrictions.
Until four years ago.
It was then that a gang of young men from the Dawat-e-Islami, a Barelvi proselytising group, claimed that the gurdwara was located on the site of the burial place of a fifteenth century Muslim saint, Pir Shah Kaku. The group claims that Kaku was the grandson of Baba Fariduddin Ganjshakar, an implausible claim since Ganjshakar died in 1280, while they claim that Kaku died almost 200 years later, in 1477.
Full report at: http://tribune.com.pk/story/211531/sikhs-kept-out-of-their-own-temple-for-shab-e-barat/
------
Probe role of terror groups, including Hindu outfits: Digvijay
Jul 17, 2011
UJJAIN (MP): Continuing his tirade against RSS, Congress leader Digvijay Singh alleged that it was "making bomb factories" and demanded that role of all kinds of terror groups, including Hindu outfits, should be probed in connection with the Mumbai serial blasts.
"I have been saying that RSS was spreading terrorism in the country and it has been making bomb factories," Singh told reporters.
When asked about his statement yesterday not ruling out involvement of RSS in the Mumbai blasts, he said, "I only said that role of all kinds of terrorist organisations, including Hindu terror outfits, should be probed."
The Congress general secretary had courted controversy yesterday when he said that he does not rule out the involvement of Sangh in Mumbai serial blasts, evoking criticism and condemnation from BJP.
Full report at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Probe-role-of-terror-groups-including-Hindu-outfits-Digvijay/articleshow/9258951.cms
---------
Mumbai blasts: Police prepare suspect's sketch, man dies in custody
Jul 17, 2011
MUMBAI: Looking for clues to Wednesday's serial blasts, Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad has fanned out teams to various locations across the country and prepared a sketch of the suspect based on eyewitness accounts.
In another development, Fayaz Usmani, brother of 2008 Gujarat blast suspect Afzal Usmani, died in hospital after being questioned by police in connection with the blasts here. His family has alleged that he was tortured in custody.
A senior ATS official said the sketch of a suspect in the serial blasts that left 19 dead and injured over 130 has been prepared.
"The sketch of the suspect is ready. It will be circulated among the select and top investigating officials It will not be released to the public," said the ATS official.
The sketch will also be shown to the select police informers to get identification of the suspect, the official said refusing to divulge any further details.
The sketch was prepared based on an eyewitness account at one of the three blast sites, the official said.
Full report at: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2235417.ece
---------
TERRORTEAMS MADE BOMBS NEARTARGETS
Jul 17, 2011
By Aditi Raja and Krishna Kumar
As they zero in on one suspect, Mumbai cops say three modules rented houses near blast sites to ensure easy delivery of ‘ unstable’ bombs
INVESTIGATORS probing Wednesday’s serial blasts in Mumbai believe that three different terror modules may have used rented accommodations close to the blast sites for making the lethal bombs.
The significant headway came three days after the triple explosions rocked the maximum city. The Maharashtra anti- terrorist squad chief Rakesh Maria, on Saturday claimed good leads and said that based on CCTV footage the investigators had identified one of the suspects. Without clarifying if it was the same man who was identified in the CCTV footage, Maria said that with the help of eye- witness accounts a sketch of the suspect was being prepared.
He said the sketch will not be made public as it could hamper probe.
The sleuths were basing their neighbourhood safe house theory on forensic evidence which has revealed that the sophisticated improvised explosive devices ( IED) would have been highly unstable to be carried long distances.
Full report at: Mail Today
---------
BOMBERS HAD SAFE HOUSE IN VICINITY
Jul 17, 2011
Revealed a mixture of TNT, RDX, ammonium nitrate and petroleum oil. This concoction could have gone off in transit if assembled at some distant place because of the dangerously unstable mixture,” Maria said. “ They couldn’t have been brought in crowded local trains or buses and even taxis would be a risk because of Mumbai’s potholed roads,” he added.
Two of the three blast sites — Zaveri Bazar and Opera House — are separated by a little over a kilometre, and Dadar, the third site, is about 12 km away. That means, if a “ safe house” was used, it could be close to or around Zaveri Bazar or Opera House, the source said.
“ The ones who built the bomb wouldn’t have taken the risk of blowing them up, hence they must have assembled it near the three places where the bomb was planted,” he added.
The theory also has come in to play because police believe that an extensive recce was done before planting the bombs and it would have helped if the men were staying somewhere in the vicinity of the targeted localities.
Since the bombs went off one after another at different places within a gap of minutes, investigators believe there were three different modules which could have stayed at the three different locations and then planted bombs in a coordinated way.
Investigators were now checking places near Dadar, Zaveri Bazar and Opera House to see if any unknown person had rented out flats there.
ATS teams have been sent to West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka to look for possible links. UP is especially significant as the earlier module of Indian Mujahideen which was busted hailed from Azamgarh.
Full report at: Mail Today Bureau/ New Delhi
---------
Third IPS officer unwilling to head Ishrat SIT
Jul 17, 2011
The appointment of the head of Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the death of college student Ishrat Jahan in an allegedly fake encounter with Gujarat police appears to be jinxed as a third IPS officer expressed unwillingness to take up the job.
V Ramudu, an officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre who was appointed by the Gujarat High Court as chief of SIT probing the encounter case, said he was unwilling to take charge owing to ‘ill-health’.
“I cannot take the charge of new job due to health reasons. I was on a long leave as I had undergone a surgery,” Ramudu told PTI over telephone from Hyderabad.
“My consent was not taken prior to the decision on appointment. What I have come to know is that only on Friday they have sought consent of the AP Government on the issue,” he said.
The Gujarat High Court had only on Friday relieved chief of SIT probing Ishrat Jahan encounter case Satyapal Singh and appointed 1981 batch IPS officer JV Ramudu in his place.
Full report at: http://www.dailypioneer.com/353714/Third-IPS-officer-unwilling-to-head-Ishrat-SIT.html
------
Saleem Shahzad murder: Suspect arrested in Layyah
July 17, 2011
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad police arrested a resident of Layyah for his alleged involvement in the murder of senior journalist Saleem Shehzad claiming that he was the owner of the mobile SIM used in the killing.
The Islamabad police raided a house in the Farishta Nashaib area without prompting the local police and arrested the suspect Khadim Hussain on Friday evening. Although, the Layyah police managed to interrupt the raiding police party near Fatehpur after the suspect’s relatives lodged a complaint with the Saddar police station.
SP City Islamabad Dr Khalil appeared before a local court in Layyah and presented evidence against the suspect.
After the hearing, the court handed over the suspect to Islamabad police on one-day travel remand and now he will be presented in the anti-terrorism court for further proceedings.
Saleem Shehzad was kidnapped on May 29 in Islamabad and his body was found near Mandi Bahuddin on May 31.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/211643/saleem-shahzad-murder-suspect-arrested-in-layyah/
------
Alleged Hizbut Tahrir links: Brigadier opts for court martial
By Qaiser Butt
July 17, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Brigadier Ali Khan, who was arrested in May for his alleged links with the banned militant outfit Hizbut Tahrir (HuT), has opted to be tried by court martial, The Express Tribune has learnt.
Brig Khan’s decision came soon after an inquiry board informed him that the allegations leveled against him had been substantiated. Brig Khan rejected the inquiry board’s findings and asked the officials concerned to prove the allegations before the court.
Brig Attique of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) declined to comment on the case or speculate whether he (Brig Khan) would face a military court.
An army official said that investigations against the arrested officer were still under way, even after two months. An inquiry was initiated after Brig Khan was arrested in May.
He was to be retired from the army on July 9 after completing his service tenure but he remained under detention.
Full report at: http://tribune.com.pk/story/211520/alleged-hizbut-tahrir-links-brigadier-opts-for-court-martial/
------
Composite dialogue: Pakistan assures help in Mumbai blasts probe
By Zahid Gishkori
July 17, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday assured India of its cooperation in investigations to unearth militants involved in Wednesday’s triple bombing in Mumbai which claimed 19 lives earlier this week, ahead of foreign-minister level talks between the neighbours.
The reassurance came from Pakistan when Interior Minister Rehman Malik contacted his Indian counterpart Palaniappan Chidambaram in a move to smooth the way for the expected talks scheduled to be held in New Delhi by end of this month.
“Malik assured Pakistan’s fullest assistance to India and was confident that the culprits shall be uncovered and brought to book and hoped that the cooperation and good neighbourly relations between the two governments and nations shall continue,” an interior ministry handout said.
The recent attacks were an effort to sabotage peace talks between the two neighbours, but Indian officials believe that the process of dialogue between the two countries will be continued without any delay, a leading Indian daily said while quoting External Affairs Minister SM Krishna who said a day after the Mumbai blasts, “India and Pakistan talks will take place as scheduled”.
Full report at: http://tribune.com.pk/story/211472/composite-dialogue-pakistan-assures-help-in-mumbai-blasts-probe/
------
“I will never leave my country,” says Qadhafi
Jul 17, 2011
TRIPOLI: Libyan leader Moamer Qadhafi said yesterday he would never leave the land of his ancestors after fresh international calls for him to go and as rebels pressed their campaign to overthrow him "They are asking me to leave. That's a laugh. I will never leave the land of my ancestors or the people who have sacrificed themselves for me," he said in a loudspeaker address to supporters in Zawiyah, some 50 kilometres west of Tripoli.
Qadhafi blamed the rebels taking hostage of the people in Misarata, Bin Ghazi and western hilly areas and they were being used as the human shields, who soon be freed.
Western and regional powers met in Istanbul on Friday for the fourth gathering of the Libya contact group, which saw a new call on Qadhafi to go after more than four decades in power.
The Libyan leader has for five months been faced with an armed rebellion unprecedented since he came to power in 1969.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=18838&title=%E2%80%9CI-will-never-leave-my-country,%E2%80%9D-says-Qadhafi
---------
Saudi Prince's hand in Brooks resignation?
Jul 17, 2011
DUBAI: News Corp's major shareholder and Saudi billionaire Prince AlWaleed bin Talal is believed to have played a key role in the resignation of Rebekah Brooks, the head of Rupert Murdoch's media empire in Britain over the phone-hacking scandal involving the group's newspapers.
Brooks' resignation came apparently after Prince AlWaleed, who is the second largest shareholder in News Corp, said that she "had to go" if her role was confirmed in the scandal.
Brooks, the CEO of News International, resigned yesterday after sustained public criticism over the scandal for using dubious news-gathering practices, including hacking the phone of murdered teenager Milly Dowler.
Prince AlWaleed, who has a 7 percent voting stake in News Corp, told BBC's Newsnight programme on Thursday that "The indications are for her involvement in this matter is explicit then for sure she has to go, you bet she has to go."
"Ethics to me is very important, definitely. I will not tolerate to deal with a company that has a lady or a man that has any sliver of doubt on her or his integrity," he said.
On the inquiry being conducted in the case he said, "We hope as this unfolds that the truth will come out."
"The facts will come out imminently. It is very important to me," he said.
However, the prince added that from his dealings with the Murdochs, he found it 'almost impossible' for them to have known about the goings-on at the now-closed News of the World tabloid newspaper in the UK.
He also asserted that News Corp's bid for buying control of British Sky Broadcasting Group "is shelved, it is not dead."
Times of India
---------
Maid keeps K Asif's wife high on pills, steals cash
Nazia Sayed
Jul 17, 2011
This story is symbolic of how unsafe this city has become for the elderly, especially those who stay alone, away from their children.
Akhtar K Asif, 70-year-old wife of legendary filmmaker late K Asif, will soon leave Mumbai to stay with her daughter in Canada after being cheated of a large part of her savings and jewellery by her maid.
The maid, who worked for the Asifs for four years, went missing just a few days after Akhtar's daughter, Zooni, arrived in Mumbai last week and began inquiring about her mother's depleted bank savings, missing jewellery and, more shockingly, her over-dependence on sedatives.
Zooni has filed a police complaint at the Juhu police station. The complaint accuses the maid, Salma Shaikh, of stealing jewellery worth Rs 47 lakh and Rs 13 lakh in cash from the family's apartment in Sea Breeze building near Amitabh Bachchan's bungalow, Janak.
Zooni has alleged that Salma would sedate her mother and then smuggle cash and jewellery out of the house.
K Asif, who made the iconic period film Mughal-e-Azam, died on March 9, 1971 at the age of 48.
The film he was then working on, Love and God, was abandoned. In 1986, Akhtar revived the film and it was released in select theatres.
Akhtar led a rather lonely life after her husband's demise, raising Zooni and her younger sister with the help of two maids and a servant.
Full report at: Times of India
---------
Part of my job is to have thick skin: Obama
Jul 17, 2011
WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has said that part of his job as an occupant to the White House is to have a "thick skin", reflecting how the current political debate over raising the debt ceiling is increasingly becoming ugly.
"You know, part of this job is having a thick skin and understanding a lot of this stuff's not personal," Obama told a press conference yesterday, updating the White House correspondents and the American public on the ongoing negotiations with Republican leaders on the deadlocked issue of increasing the debt ceiling, which if not increased by August could potentially result in US defaulting on its international obligations.
Obama was responding to questions of the tone of the debate, during which both the sides are blaming each other.
Full report at: Times of India
---------
UN removes 14 Taliban members from sanctions list
Jul 17, 2011
NEW YORK: The UN Security Council committee overseeing sanctions on Friday removed 14 Taliban leaders from an international blacklist in order to encourage peaceful reconciliation in war-torn Afghanistan.
Germany's UN ambassador Peter Wittig, who heads the Security Council for the month of July, said the decision "sends a strong signal: the Security Council and the international community support the efforts of the Afghan government to engage reconciled Taliban in a political dialogue in order to achieve peace and security in Afghanistan."
The 14 Taliban on the list include Arsalan Rahmani Daulat, Habibullah Fawzi, Sayeedur Rahman Haqani and Faqir Mohammad, all members of Afghanistan's peace council, Wittig said.
"The international community recognizes efforts made by member of the High Peace Council to work towards peace, stability, and reconciliation," said Wittig.
"All Afghans are encouraged to join these efforts. The message is clear: engaging for peace pays off," said Wittig.
Full report at: Times of India
---------
United Nations drops sanctions against 14 ex-Afghan Taliban
Jul 17, 2011
UNITED NATIONS: The UN committee that oversees the Taliban blacklist dropped 14 names on Friday at the Afghan government's urging, including several members of the peace council that President Hamid Karzai formed to find a political solution to the country's insurgency.
The Afghan government had asked the sanctions committee to drop up to 50 former Taliban leaders from its list, and provided extensive documentation aimed at showing they have since been reintegrated into society. Removing sanctions against former Afghan Taliban, including a travel ban and assets freeze, is seen as key to promoting dialogue.
"The Security Council and the international community support the efforts of the Afghan government to engage reconciled Taliban in a political dialogue in order to achieve peace and security in Afghanistan," said German Ambassador Peter Wittig, who chairs the Security Council committee that oversees those sanctions.
Times of India
---------
Al Qaida commander Ilyas Kashmiri is alive: Dawn
Jul 17, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Mohammad Ilyas Kashmiri, the al Qaida commander who was believed to have been killed last month in a US drone attack in Pakistan, is alive, a media report said on Saturday.
Kashmiri is still active in the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, Dawn said on its website quoting unnamed sources.
Media reports had earlier said that Kashmiri was killed in a US drone attack in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal region.
The US and the Pakistani government however could not confirm his death.
Anti-terrorism experts describe Kashmiri as one of al Qaida's main commanders. He was held responsible for a number of attacks in Pakistan, including the May 22 attack on a navy airbase in Karachi and the 2009 attack on the army headquarters in Rawalpindi.
Times of India
---------
Yemeni protesters form interim council
Jul 17, 2011
SANAA, YEMEN: Yemeni protest leaders announced the formation of a so-called shadow government Saturday in a move to take the lead in the fight to oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime.
The new group seeks to create a unified leadership for the tens of thousands of demonstrators who have filled public squares across Yemen for five months.
But it was unclear how the group planned to assert authority and it was unlikely to significantly increase pressure on Saleh. The embattled president clung to power even after he traveled to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment of wounds sustained in an assassination attempt more than a month ago.
Saturday's announcement by the protest leaders came a day before the 33rd anniversary of Saleh's ascension to power. Officials in Saleh's ruling party initially said he may return to Yemen for the occasion, but later played down the possibility, saying only doctors can make that decision.
During Saleh's absence, Yemen descended into further chaos as militant groups try to exert control over outlaying provinces. Also, political negotiations over a transfer of power have stalled. Saleh has refused to sign a regionally brokered deal that offers him immunity from prosecution in exchange for leaving office.
Protest leader Tawakul Karman told reporters in Yemen's capital of Sanaa on Saturday that the new 17-member council includes former ministers, prominent business people and civil society leaders. Among those named to the council were Gen. Abdullah Ali Aleiwa, a former defense minister, and Haidar Abu Bakir al-Atas, a former prime minister.
Karman said the council will soon choose a leader who will appoint a shadow Cabinet of technocrats. The council will also announce a 501-member ``national assembly'' that will draft a new constitution.
Full report at: Times of India
---------
Netanyahu planning to attack Iran: veteran CIA officer
Jul 17, 2011
JERUSALEM: Israel is certainly planning to launch an attack on Iran before the September General Assembly vote on Palestine, and also hoping to draw the US into the war, a longtime CIA officer who has spent 21 years in the Middle East believes.
Robert Baer told a Los Angeles radio station today that such an Israeli move will drag the United States into another major war, endangering its military and civilian personnel throughout the Middle East and beyond, Ynetnews reported.
"There is almost near certainty that (Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu is planning an attack (on Iran)... and it will probably be in September before the vote on a Palestinian state. And he's also hoping to draw the United States into the conflict," Baer told the Radio.
The ex-CIA official went on to predict that the Israeli air force would attack "Natanz and other nuclear facilities to degrade their capabilities".
"The Iranians will strike back where they can: Basra, Baghdad," effectively forcing the US to "jump into the fight" with attacks on Iranian targets.
Full report at: Times of India
---------
Al-Qaida was planning attack on Obama: CNN report
Jul 17, 2011
WAASHINGTON: Osama bin Laden was plotting to kill US President Barack Obama and Gen David Petraeus, Commander of US forces in Afghanistan, a media report said, citing information obtained from the material seized from Abbottabad-compound of the slain al-Qaida leader.
"Documents recovered from Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan show that al-Qaida spoke of attacking President Barack Obama and Gen David Petraeus," CNN said quoting sources familiar with the materials recovered from the compound.
It said the documents refer to an attack that would destroy the aircraft carrying Obama and Petraeus in the Af-Pak region.
Times of India
---------
Man arrested with 10 crude bombs from Ahmedabad
Jul 17 2011
Ahmedabad : A man was arrested after over 10 crude bombs were found in his house in Danilimda area in Ahmedabad with police suspecting a terror link to the recovery.
"A man identified as Sahazad has been arrested after the police, acting on a tip off, conducted search at his house and found crude bombs with some raw material used in its preparation," city police commissioner S K Sinha said.
"The bombs are crude ones which were hidden in the man's house," he said.
There prima facie seems to be a terror link to the incident. The bombs seem to have been made to be used during rathyatra or in clashes, Sinha said.
Besides Sahazad's arrest, police have detained some more persons and are interrogating them in this connection, the police commissioner said.
According to city police, the raid at Sahazad's house was carried out after his wife informed the control room early morning that her husband was in possession of bombs.
Times of India
---------
Bhakra Dam on terror hit list: IB
Jul 17 2011
Chandigarh: The Bhakra Dam is on the hit list of Pakistan-based militant outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat-ud Dawa, an Intelligence Bureau report has warned, prompting the Punjab and Himachal Pradesh governments to step up vigil.
The security around one of India's biggest dam had been beefed up following recommendations from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, said Bhakra Beas Management Board Director (Security) G S Wassan. "We get annual reports from the Intelligence Bureau on threat perceptions...recommendations are also given to the BBMB," he said, adding top officials of the BBMB will hold a meeting with Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan officials on July 19 in this connection.
"We have taken care of all the suggestion of the ministry and security has been accordingly beefed up at the dam," he said.
The 740 ft high dam on the border of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh is on the hit list of militant outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat-ud Dawa, officials said.
The IB has expressed concern over the possible threat to the dam both above and under water.
According to the IB, the Bhakra dam is one of the most preferred targets of Pakistan-based terrorists outfits.
Full report at: Times of India
---------
NATO, Afghan army kill at least 13 Taliban
Jul 17 2011
Kabul: Afghan and NATO troops on Sunday killed at least 13 Taliban fighters in eastern Afghanistan after an overnight gunbattle ended with an airstrike on the building where the insurgents were holed up, Afghan and coalition officials said.
Capt. Justin Brockhoff, a spokesman for the coalition, said the fighting started during an overnight operation targeting a Taliban leader in the Kuz Kunar district of Nangarhar province. The joint force made up of Afghan and coalition troops came under fire and insurgents refused requests to come out of the building, he said.
The fighting ended Sunday with a NATO airstrike, he said, adding that there were no casualties among civilians or security forces. The insurgents were armed with machine guns, assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.
“As Afghan members of the security force attempted to clear the building, they were met with continuing insurgent fire”, Brockhoff said. The coalition and Afghan forces eventually called in an airstrike, which “killed several more insurgents and destroyed the building”, he said.
Full report at: http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/818698/
---------
Sleuths sniff around the nation for clues
Jul 17, 2011
What they are looking for: A Mumbai ATS team is in Bhatkal, a coastal town in the Uttara Kannada district. Sources said family members of Indian Mujahideen founders — Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal — will be questioned, apart from other suspects.
Major terror attacks: The attack on IISc on December 28, 2005, and serial blasts in Bangalore on July 26, 2008.
UTTAR PRADESH
What they are looking for: The UP ATS has three districts — Varanasi, Azamgarh and Faizabad — on its radar. Hundreds of mobile phones in these areas hve been put on surveillance. A team of UP ATS is already camping in Mumbai.
Kolkata STF has also been asked to provide train reservation charts for Kolkata- Kanpur on the trail for Abdullah alias Abdul Nata.
Major terror attacks: Three synchronised terrorist attacks in Varanasi in Shri Sankatmochan Mandir and Varanasi Cantonment Railway Station in March 2006. Then in November 2007, a series of explosions occurred in courthouses in Lucknow, Varanasi and Faizabad. Terror struck Varanasi again in December 2010 with blasts occurring at the Sheetla Ghat on the bank of the holy river Ganga.
Full report at: Mail Today
------
Gas pipeline to reach border next year: Iran
Jul 17, 2011
TEHRAN: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday that Tehran was hopeful of completing its section of the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline by the end of next year.
“Construction of the pipeline to export Iranian gas to Pakistan is under way, and we hope it will reach the frontier by the end of 2012,” he said of the multi-billion-dollar project after a meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari.
President Zardari, who arrived in Tehran on a day-long visit, held two rounds of talks with President Ahmadinejad — first delegation-level talks and then a one-on-one meeting.
The two leaders also reviewed progress on a proposal for the transmission of electricity from Iran to Balochistan.
They expressed confidence that joint efforts would prove helpful in countering terrorism, terming the menace a common enemy for the region and the world.
Mr Ahmadinejad said his country looked forward to a new era in relations with Pakistan.
“Iran is ready to reinforce its cooperation with Pakistan in every field,” the Iranian president said.
Mr Zardari said relations between the neighbours should be strengthened, and proposed that “trade between the two countries be conducted in local currency, and not the dollar, to curb smuggling”. He also proposed a bilateral free trade agreement.
The President said Pakistan was already in negotiations with Turkey, Sri Lanka and China for the currency swap arrangement.
He denounced “efforts by our enemies who seek to show that the Pakistan government is unstable by provoking trouble,” saying that those responsible would face justice.
President Zardari praised Iran’s constructive engagement in the trilateral process, recalling last month’s Pakistan-Iran-Afghanistan summit hosted by Tehran.
He urged the Iranian government to consider the creation of an integrated border management regime for tackling militancy and extremism. He said Pakistan and Iran had vital interests in stability and peace of the region.
Full report at: http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/17/gas-pipeline-to-reach-border-next-year-iran.html
------
Afghan army soldier kills Nato service member
Jul 17, 2011
KANDAHAR: An Afghan army soldier killed at least one Nato soldier on Saturday, near the southern Afghan city of Lashkar Gah, due this week to be one of the first places where Nato will hand security control to Afghan forces, a senior police source said.
“The shooting happened during a joint security patrol,” said the senior police detective, who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force said it was investigating an incident in southern Afghanistan.
“An individual wearing an Afghan National Army uniform turned his weapon against International Security Assistance Force service members in southern Afghanistan today, killing one service member,” ISAF said in a statement.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/16/afghan-army-soldier-kills-nato-service-member.html
------
Pakistan, Iran resolve to boost economic relations
Jul 17, 2011
TEHRAN: President Asif Ali Zardari and his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, on Saturday, agreed to boost economic relations between the two countries.
Zardari, in his meeting with Ahmedinejad here, proposed a currency swap and free trade agreements between Pakistan and Iran to further strengthen bilateral trade and economic ties between the two brotherly countries.
Zardari said Pakistan was already engaged in negotiations with Turkey, Sri Lanka and China for the currency swap arrangement.
Zardari, who, on the invitation of the Iranian leadership, arrived in the Iranian capital on a daylong visit, held two rounds of talks with President Ahmedinejad; first the delegation level talks and then one-to-one meeting.
The two leaders agreed on adopting regional approach to address the growing challenge of extremism and militancy.
The Pakistani president and President Ahmedinejad expressed the confidence that joint efforts would prove helpful in countering terrorism, which, they agreed, was a common enemy of the entire region and the world.
Zardari mentioned the long drawn fight against militancy, and stressed the need for long-term measures and joint efforts to eliminate it.
Full report at: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\07\17\story_17-7-2011_pg1_3
------
NATO supplies: Attack on oil tanker triggers fire in market
July 17, 2011
PESHAWAR: Dozens of shops were burnt down in a fire triggered by an explosion on a NATO oil tanker on the outskirts of Peshawar Saturday night, police and witnesses said.
According to medics, at least one person was killed and eight wounded in the incident.
The vehicle was part of a convoy of oil tankers and containers carrying military hardware and supplies for US-led Nato troops in Afghanistan.
“The convoy crossed into the Khyber Agency for onward journey to the Torkham border crossing in the afternoon,” an eyewitness told The Express Tribune. “But this oil tanker developed a technical fault and was parked at the Karkhano Market in Peshawar.”
In the meantime, suspected militants planted a ‘magnet bomb’ on the tanker which exploded around 9:20pm.
Witnesses said the militants also exchanged fire with the watchmen of the market before fleeing the scene.
Full report at: http://tribune.com.pk/story/211469/nato-supplies-attack-on-oil-tanker-triggers-fire-in-market/
------
President Zardari meets Ayatollah Khamenei
July 17, 2011
TEHRAN: President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday called on the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei and discussed bilateral relations and the need to further strengthen these in all areas.
The Iranian supreme leader and President Zardari exchanged views on bilateral, regional and global issues of concern, besides the fight against militancy. Iranian President Ahmedinejad was present during this meeting.
The two leaders also discussed the evolving situation in Afghanistan, with particular reference to the gradual withdrawal of the US forces.
This was President Zardari’s second meeting with the Iranian Supreme leader. He last met him in June, when he was there to attend the international conference on the fight against terrorism.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/211538/president-zardari-meets-ayatollah-khamenei/
------
Gaddafi defiant in face of rebel assault on Brega
July 17, 2011
Fresh blasts rocked Tripoli on Sunday after veteran Libyan leader Muamer Gaddafi vowed never to give in to mounting calls to go into exile despite a new offensive by rebels seeking to oust him
Libyan State television reported that "the colonialist crusader aggressor" had raided civilian and military sites in the Ain Zara district and in Tajoura in the eastern suburbs. At least 13 explosions were heard before and just after 1 am (2300 GMT Saturday). An AFP journalist was unable to say immediately what the targets had been.
The blasts came just hours after Gaddafi had insisted in a defiant speech that he would never quit his homeland. "They are asking me to leave. That's a laugh. I will never leave the land of my ancestors or the people who have sacrificed themselves for me," he said in a loudspeaker address to supporters in Zawiyah, west of the capital.
"I'm ready to sacrifice myself for my people, and I will never quit this land sprinkled with the blood of my ancestors who fought Italian and British colonialists," he said.
"These rats have taken our people hostage in Benghazi, Misrata and the western mountains, using them as human shields," Gaddafi said of the rebels' eastern stronghold and their two enclaves in the mainly government-held west.
Full report at: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/16608/World/Region/Gaddafi-defiant-in-face-of-rebel-assault-on-Brega.aspx
------
Israel defence officials want Turkey ties repaired
17 Jul 2011
Israeli officials want to upgrade relations with Ankara and consider it a high diplomatic priority
Israel's defence establishment wants to see ties with Turkey repaired, even supporting an apology to Ankara for a bloody 2010 raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, Israel's Haaretz daily reported Sunday.
Relations between the former allies have been in tatters since the military operation, in which nine Turkish activists were killed when Israeli commandos raided a flotilla trying to breach a blockade on the Gaza Strip.
Ankara has demanded an official apology from Israel for the killings, but Israel has so far refused, in part fearing that such an apology could open the way for commandos who took part in the raid to be prosecuted.
But Haaretz reported on Sunday that defence and justice ministry officials have in recent weeks suggested that Israel could in fact head off potential lawsuits by Turkish human rights organisations by offering an apology.
Israeli lawmakers, including Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, have said publicly that the Jewish state will not apologise for the raid, warning that expressing any such sentiment would be humiliating.
But Israeli officials also acknowledge that upgrading relations with Ankara is a high diplomatic priority and that the Jewish state would benefit from a return to the once-warm ties the countries had.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentPrint/2/0/16595/World/0/Israel-defence-officials-want-Turkey-ties-repaired.aspx
------
Prosecutors outline recruitment of US Somalis to fight against Ethiopian Army
By AMY FORLITI
Jul 17, 2011
MINNEAPOLIS: A group of Minneapolis-area Somalis, including some who traveled to their homeland to allegedly take up arms against the Ethiopian Army, held secret meetings in 2007 to plan the trips, created fake itineraries to fool family members and challenged one another about their commitment, prosecutors contend in a court filing.
The document was filed this week in advance of a trial for one man accused of being part of the conspiracy.
It sheds new light on how the recruiting operation worked in Minneapolis and how some of the men arrived at safehouses in Somalia, where they received AK-47s and weapons training.
Since the fall of 2007, at least 21 men have left Minnesota for Somalia, where authorities believe they joined the terror group Al-Shabaab. Eighteen people have been charged in Minnesota in connection with the case, including Omer Abdi Mohamed, who goes on trial next week on terror-related charges.
Mohamed never traveled to Somalia, but he is accused of helping others who did. His attorney calls the allegations ridiculous.
“Omer was never involved in terrorism,” said defense attorney Peter Wold. “It certainly stirs the public sentiment to suggest that, but it is not part of this case, not a part of Omer, and that will be abundantly clear.”
Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew a socialist dictator and then turned on each other, causing chaos in the African nation of about 7 million people.
Full report at: http://arabnews.com/world/article473047.ece?service=print
------
Saudi ambassador meets Pak president
By AZHAR MASOOD
Jul 16, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Pakistan Abdul Aziz Al-Ghadeer called on President Asif Ali Zardari Friday night.
During the meeting, which took place on the eve of Zardari’s visit to Iran, bilateral and regional issues were discussed. Interior Minister Rehman Malik was also present in the meet.
Zardari said that Pakistan highly values its relation with the Kingdom and wish to further strengthen political, economic, trade and commercial ties between the two countries.
Discussing regional situation with reference to Middle East, the president reiterated Pakistan’s stance that it favors political stability and noninterference in internal affairs of the countries by outside elements.
http://arabnews.com/world/article473039.ece
------
Saudi Prince's hand in Brooks resignation?
Jul 17, 2011
DUBAI: News Corp's major shareholder and Saudi billionaire Prince AlWaleed bin Talal is believed to have played a key role in the resignation of Rebekah Brooks, the head of Rupert Murdoch's media empire in Britain over the phone-hacking scandal involving the group's newspapers.
Brooks' resignation came apparently after Prince AlWaleed, who is the second largest shareholder in News Corp, said that she "had to go" if her role was confirmed in the scandal.
Brooks, the CEO of News International, resigned yesterday after sustained public criticism over the scandal for using dubious news-gathering practices, including hacking the phone of murdered teenager Milly Dowler.
Prince AlWaleed, who has a 7 percent voting stake in News Corp, told BBC's Newsnight programme on Thursday that "The indications are for her involvement in this matter is explicit then for sure she has to go, you bet she has to go."
"Ethics to me is very important, definitely. I will not tolerate to deal with a company that has a lady or a man that has any sliver of doubt on her or his integrity," he said.
On the inquiry being conducted in the case he said, "We hope as this unfolds that the truth will come out."
"The facts will come out imminently. It is very important to me," he said.
However, the prince added that from his dealings with the Murdochs, he found it 'almost impossible' for them to have known about the goings-on at the now-closed News of the World tabloid newspaper in the UK.
He also asserted that News Corp's bid for buying control of British Sky Broadcasting Group "is shelved, it is not dead."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/Saudi-Princes-hand-in-Brooks-resignation/articleshow/9254633.cms
------
Young Somalis seeking dialogue
By Ben Wolford
July 17, 2011
While media attention on Somalia seldom strays from terrorism, piracy, and a 20-year-old civil war, those problems are among the least pressing for young Somali-Americans, according to participants in a weekend conference in Boston.
The issues most relevant to them, they said, don’t make headlines: the strain between Americanized youths and their Somali parents, the barriers of access to American society, and the stereotypes that plague them as black Muslims.
“The goal is to get the Somali youth galvanized and get them to take a hold of their futures,’’ said Abdinasser Egal, 32, of Cambridge, who helped bring the Somalia Diaspora Youth Conference to the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center in Roxbury this weekend.
“We’re trying to identify the next group of leaders that come out of Somalia because it’s obvious the older ones have failed,’’ he said, referring to the 1991 civil war that continues to ravage the country.
The conference is being broadcast over the Internet today. It includes topics ranging from learning from the past to breakdowns in intergenerational communications.
Shadiyo Hussain, 18, of Portland, Maine, said such discussions are rare and welcome.
“Where I’m from, Maine, we don’t have an organization or a community where we have interaction between the old generation and the new generation,’’ she said.
Full report at: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/07/17/young_somalis_seeking_dialogue/
------
Nigeria: Looking Beyond the 'Boko Haram'
Adamu Muh'd Usman
17 July 2011
Some basic functions of a government are: provision of security, freedom, safety, stability, equality, and social services for its citizens. Also, maintaining law and order in the society is most paramount of all.
To be candid, government's approach to some issues in this country, especially religious crises has been wrong in not a few cases. This has not helped matters.
The present situation in this country have been traumatising, to say the least, glaringly exposing the lapses of our leaders and their failure to redeem the country from predicaments that have bedeviled her for decades.
Muslims are peace-loving people whom everyone know are loyal, tolerant and very understanding, according to the teachings of Islam. 'Islam' is a word derived from one of the names of God, 'Salam', which means 'Peace'.
Islam is not only a religion, but also a universal civilisation and natural way of living. The doctrines of Islam inspire mankind with ideals of love, obedience, truthfulness, kindness,tolerance, understanding, humility, politeness and struggle for the common good, and the pursuit of education, among others.
It would be right to say that the security situation, like the crises and bomb blasts could be attributed to poor leadership, a faal-out from lack of qualitative,free education, insecurity, abject poverty, lack of job opportunities, selfish interest, corporal desire, infatuation, covetousness, and lackadaisical attitudes and injustice by the elites in the land.
However, I commend the efforts of Vice President Namadi Sambo in opening a window for dialogue with the 'Boko Haram' to sort things out. This is a good omen, a possible means to know their grievances and give peace a chance to reign.
Dialogue is a formal discussion or negotiation, especially between opposing sides in a religious, political or international conflict, etc, and according to the words of U.S. educator and author, Edgar H. Schein (1928 - ), "Dialogue cannot create the need for change, but it certainly facilitates the process of change".
Full report at: http://allafrica.com/stories/201107170002.html
------
Interfaith Dialogue in Queensland
12Jul 2011
The growth of a rich diversity of community interest in interfaith dialogue in Queensland over nearly two decades has provided a most valuable and inspirational dimension to Queensland's 150th Anniversary celebrations.
As experienced in many countries worldwide, interfaith dialogue in Queensland has helped to increase understanding, respect, trust and cooperation among diverse faiths and spirituality traditions. In turn, this has promoted harmony and peaceful living together in multicultural communities and societies. This Report, recognizing and documenting the dedicated involvement of many institutions/communities in interfaith dialogue, will certainly help to enrich the story of interfaith dialogue for harmony and peace in Queensland, and a most relevant project to the vision and themes of the Q150 Celebrations – “reflect on our past, imagine our future” – the key themes of history, people, places, and future.
With funding provided by the Q150 Community Funding Program, the Multi-Faith Centre undertook this project:
(a) to document the initiatives and efforts of faith and interfaith groups in building peace and harmony in Queensland, with particular reference to the greater Brisbane area;
(b) to provide a web-based resource and a publication summarizing the various activities, programs, and future plans of these faith and interfaith communities and groups; and
(c) to encourage and strengthen collaboration, coordination, and networking among faith institutions to promote the goal of interfaith dialogue for peace and harmony in Queensland.
As detailed in the survey and/or interview contributions of faith and interfaith communities, institutions or organizations in this Q150 Report, interfaith dialogue in Brisbane and Southeast Queensland encompasses a wide range of programs and activities. While these programs may not necessarily occur at regular schedules as in weekly or daily prayer services or other faith ceremonies, their increasing frequency in many local contexts as well as at the MFC confirm that interfaith dialogue is slowly and steadily attaining visibility and growing interest within and among diverse faiths and spirituality traditions. This Report also indicates there are many creative and fruitful ways and strategies of interfaith dialogue, including:
Full report at: http://regionalinterfaith.org.au/home/oceania-news/319-interfaith-dialogue-in-queensland.html
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/kashmiri-back-dead/d/5045