Liberals Fume as Leading Dargahs in Mumbai Bar Women From Sanctum
New Age Islam News Bureau
5 Nov 2012
India
• Liberals fume as leading Dargahs in Mumbai bar women from sanctum
• Ninth edition of Amritsar-Lahore peace festival takes off on Sufi note
• India says no to Saeed offer to be quizzed, wants him arrested
• Kashmir Sikhs want National Minority commission extended in the state
• Religious bodies, lawyers to look into HC view on talaq
• Speaker Meira Kumar meets Pak leaders, stresses on good ties
• LeT didn’t expect 26/11 operation to stretch beyond a day
• Dawood Ibrahim has same IQ level as Swami Vivekananda, says BJP chief Nitin Gadkari
• Pak feelers to Hurriyat for talks next month
• Bal Thackeray asks Sainiks 'not to permit' cricket matches with Pakistan in India
• No deadline for lifting AFSPA: Omar Abdullah
• Omar Abdullah plays down threat by Hizbul chief to panches, Sarpanches
Arab World
• Syria Blast Said to Kill at Least 50 Troops
• Over 30 killed in 24 hours at Damascus Palestinian camp
• Islamists React to the Selection of the New Pope
• Syria opposition-in-exile broadens base to add groups inside country
• Five bomb blasts hit Bahrain capital, two workers killed
• Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's army bombards Damascus after rebel attacks
• Two Saudi Border Guards Killed in Ambush in South-TV
• Morsi, political forces agree on 90% of draft constitution: Spokesman
• Fresh clashes in Syrian capital and Aleppo: watchdog
• Syria mediator wants UN resolution based on Geneva deal
• Iraqi court hands fugitive VP fourth death sentence
• Coptic Church Chooses Pope Who Rejects Political Role
Pakistan
• Overcharging for burial at graveyards in Karachi goes unnoticed
• MQM announces public referendum against Taliban on 8th November 2012
• Pakistani Islamist politician claims Malala was not injured
• Pak Hindus throng renovated holy pond at centuries-old temple
• Gunmen wound Egyptian UNICEF worker in Karachi
• Two Dawoodi Bohra men shot dead, another injured
• Excessive internet bans worrisome for Pakistan
• Imran Khan 'symbolic successor' of Allama Iqbal, says poet's grandson
• Death row: Sarabjit in satisfactory health says Home Dept
• Zardari: regional cooperation vital engine of prosperity
• Pakistan worst terror-afflicted country: Zardari
• Nation heading towards widespread famine: moot told
• Anti-TTP pamphlets distributed in Mansehra
Australia
• Radical Springvale imam returns to preach jihad
Africa
• Nigeria: Anglican Church Tackles Same Sex Marriage
• Malawi Suspends Anti-Gay Laws
• Gunmen attack telecom installations, police station in Nigeria
• Sudan’s Brotherhood Leader and Bin Laden Pal Endorses Obama
• Tunisian Lawyers File Lawsuit against Israel for Murder of Abu Jihad in Tunis
• Boko Haram Denies Killing General Shuwa
South Asia
• Estranged for years Bangla brothers end inheritance tussle with Mecca embrace
• 'Suu Kyi says cannot back Myanmar's Rohingya'
• Afghan ghost village ‘haunted by US soldier’s rampage’
• Afghan reconciliation process: Former JI chief offers mediation to Karzai govt
• As NATO Nears Exit, Construction Dries Up
• In Rakhine, mistrust deepens divide
• Hope and fear mark countdown to NATO pull-out
• Kabul considers action against ICG over ‘bias’
Mideast Asia
• Troops Kill 13 Kurdish Militants in Southeastern Turkey: Sources
• Yemen’s swap marriages: a recipe for disaster
• Yasser Arafat's remains to be exhumed
• Israeli forces kill Palestinian near Gaza border fence
• Mahmoud Abbas’ balancing act may please none
• Iran sets up new base near disputed islands
• Israel Army, Mossad 'halted Iran attack alert' from Netanyahu: Report
• Israeli Report Cites a Thwarted 2010 Move on Iran
• One dead, 18 wounded in southeast Turkey car explosion
Europe
• Russia Supplying Arms to Syria under Old Contracts: Lavrov
North America
• US Muslim placed on no-fly list is unable to see his ailing mother
• US soldier to appear in court accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers
• Osama film may not leave a mark at polls
Southeast Asia
• Malaysia says biometric system to track foreigners
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: Liberals fume as leading Dargahs in Mumbai bar women from sanctum
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/liberals-fume-leading-dargahs-mumbai/d/9199
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India
Liberals fume as leading Dargahs in Mumbai bar women from sanctum
Clara Lewis & Mohammed Wajihuddin, TNN
Nov 5, 2012
The ban has existed for a year at the Haji Ali dargah (in pic), which allows women to offer prayers and chaddar from behind a barrier that is four feet from the mazaar (grave), thus preventing them from touching the resting place of the saint.
MUMBAI: One of the features of Sufi shrines is an inclusive approach to devotees. That character is now being turned on its head by Mumbai's iconic Dargahs, which have started segregating men and women visitors. Seven Dargahs have banned women from entering the astana (sanctum sanctorum, where a saint is buried) and many more are preparing to do so.
The ban has existed for a year at the Haji Alidargah, which allows women to offer prayers and chaddar from behind a barrier that is four feet from the mazaar (grave), thus preventing them from touching the resting place of the saint.
At the Mahim dargah-the shrine of Makhdoom Shah Baba-the trustees for six months have been "sensitizing" women to the thought that going near the saint's grave is "un-Islamic".
After the dargah's redevelopment, there will be a separate enclosure for women like the one at the Haji Ali shrine, denying them access to the astana. At present, men and women are allowed into the astana in separate batches.
The development at the seven Dargahs was brought to light by the advocacy group Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), which recently surveyed 20 dargahs in Mumbai. "Last March, after our conference in Mumbai, our women activists visited the Haji Ali dargah and offered prayers inside the sanctum sanctorum. But this year, during the survey, we were shocked that the dargah had banned women from entering the mazaar," said Noorjehan Safia Niaz, founder member, BMMA.
Sunni and Deobandi clerics support the seven Dargahs' decision. "The sharia does not allow intermingling of men and women at any place. The visit of women to graves is forbidden. It is welcome that the Dargahs are following this rule," said Maulana Athar Ali, a Sunni cleric. Senior Deobandi cleric Maulana Mahmood Daryabadi echoes this. "They should have done it much earlier. I am glad they are now following a rule sanctioned by the sharia," he said.
But liberal Muslims are outraged. "This is shocking and shameful. This is a regressive step that will further fuel Islamophobia and encourage the detractors of Islam to allege that the religion practices discrimination against women," said Javed Anand of Muslims for Secular Democracy (MSD).
Urdu columnist Hasan Kamaal called the banning of women from astanas "extreme misogyny". "If women and men are allowed to go around the holy Kaaba, and perform haj and umrah (mini-haj) together, why cannot they pray at the dargahs together? It is an insult to the legacy of Sufism, which is moderate and inclusive," said Kamaal.
Dargah trustees are adamant on their decision. Suhail Khandwani, managing trustee of the Mahim dargah and also a trustee at the Haji Ali dargah, said trustees were only following what muftis, or clerics who issue fatwas, have demanded for long. "Muftis have time and again pointed out that Islam does not permit women to visit a cemetery. While we prefer to call Dargahs resting places of the saints, they are in fact graves and the sharia does not allow women to visit graves."
Still, he admitted that barring women from the astana at Mahim dargah would be difficult. "Haji Ali is an isolated dargah, but the Mahim shrine is right in the middle of a residential area. So, residents, including women, feel a sense of ownership. Also, the dargah is a resting place of the saint as well as his mother. So, it is rather difficult to tell women not to go in."
What worries the BMMA is that dargah trustees may not stop with banning women from entering Astana. "They might bar entry for non-Muslims as well, which would damage the secular fabric of the country," said a BMMA member.
'Regressive step will fuel Islamophobia'
The fact that seven Dargahs in the city, including Haji Ali, have barred women from astanas (sancta sanctorum) was brought to light by the advocacy group Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), which recently surveyed 20 Dargahs in Mumbai. "Last March, after our conference in Mumbai, our women activists visited the Haji Ali dargah and offered prayers inside the sanctum sanctorum. But this year, during the survey, we were shocked that the dargah had banned women from entering the mazaar," said Noorjehan Safia Niaz, founder member, BMMA.
Sunni and Deobandi clerics support the seven dargahs' decision. "The sharia does not allow intermingling of men and women at any place. The visit of women to graves is forbidden. It is welcome that the Dargahs are following this rule," said Maulana Athar Ali, a Sunni cleric. Senior Deobandi cleric Maulana Mahmood Daryabadi echoes this. "They should have done it much earlier. I am glad they are now following a rule sanctioned by the sharia," he said.
But liberal Muslims are outraged. "This is shocking and shameful. This is a regressive step that will further fuel Islamophobia and encourage the detractors of Islam to allege that the religion practices discrimination against women," said Javed Anand of Muslims for Secular Democracy (MSD).
Urdu columnist Hasan Kamaal called the banning of women from astanas "extreme misogyny". "If women and men are allowed to go around the holy Kaaba, and perform haj and umrah (mini-haj) together, why cannot they pray at the Dargahs together? It is an insult to the legacy of Sufism, which is moderate and inclusive," said Kamaal.
Dargah trustees are adamant on their decision. Suhail Khandwani, managing trustee of the Mahim dargah and also a trustee at the Haji Ali dargah, said trustees were only following what muftis, or clerics who issue fatwas, have demanded for long. "Muftis have time and again pointed out that Islam does not permit women to visit a cemetery. While we prefer to call dargahs resting places of the saints, they are in fact graves and the sharia does not allow women to visit graves."
Still, he admitted that barring women from the astana at Mahim dargah would be difficult. "Haji Ali is an isolated dargah, but the Mahim shrine is right in the middle of a residential area. So, residents, including women, feel a sense of ownership. Also, the dargah is a resting place of the saint as well as his mother. So, it is rather difficult to tell women not to go in."
What worries the BMMA is that dargah trustees may not stop with banning women from entering astanas. "They might bar entry for non-Muslims as well, which would damage the secular fabric of the country," said a BMMA member.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Liberals-fume-as-leading-dargahs-in-Mumbai-bar-women-from-sanctum/articleshow/17093918.cms
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Ninth edition of Amritsar-Lahore peace festival takes off on Sufi note
Nov 5, 2012
AMRITSAR: Saanjh, an Amritsar-Lahore peace festival, entered its ninth year on Saturday night with performances by Indian and Pakistani theatre and folk artists, poets and Sufi singers at Spring Dale Senior Secondary School.
The line dividing the two countries melted as Pakistani Sufi singer Sain Zahoor rendered the poetry of Baba Bulleh Shah, treating the audience to the mystical aura of Sufism and richness of shared culture and heritage of India and Pakistan. Zahoor told TOI that for him India and Pakistan were not two countries but one and those 60 years of separation were not enough to wash away the cultural, language, traditional, emotional and social bonding that existed since time immemorial. "Amritsar is like my home. I've visited India at least 48 times, which has been possible because of the immense love of people of India for me," he said.
Actor Usman Peerzada said, "We have brought with us beautiful Sanjh of people of Pakistan for people of India". He said the people of both the countries shared so much that they had been successful in holding the festival continuously for the past nine years. Artists could play a major role in forging cordial relations between the two nations and could even move governments to listen to the voice of the common man."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Ninth-edition-of-Saanjh-takes-off-on-Sufi-note/articleshow/17095388.cms
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India says no to Saeed offer to be quizzed, wants him arrested
Rahul Tripathi
Nov 05 2012
New Delhi : Ahead of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) team planning to visit Pakistan in connection with 26/11 probe, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, alleged mastermind of the attack, has offered himself to be quizzed by the Indian officials. However, India has said that it cannot question Saeed unless the Pakistan government agrees.
Saeed made the statement in an interview to CNN, where he also denied his role in the attack. “I condemn this attack and innocent lives that have been lost. I don’t support this attack or any violence of this kind, but you don’t even seem to believe me; I’ve said it so many times,” he told CNN.
Meanwhile, the Union Home Ministry has said that Saeed’s questioning will have no legal value before the Indian court. “Saeed’s questioning will not have any legal value. We have given a detailed dossier on Saeed and his role in Mumbai attack to Pakistan. They need to arrest and prosecute him for his role,” said an MHA official.
A senior NIA official said the agency has ample evidence against him and it has been shared with the US agencies. “He is roaming freely. The US has declared a bounty of $10million on his head. He knows that his questioning by Indian agencies without being in custody will have no value. If he is willing to be examined, Pakistan’s Federal Investigating Agency should question him,” the official said.
But unlike many countries, India and Pakistan do not have Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT). Using MLAT, NIA has earlier questioned LeT operative David Coleman Headley while he was in the custody of FBI. However, the statement recorded had no value in the Indian court.
Later, a letter rogatory (LR) was sent by India to the US. The NIA has also filed a chargesheet against Saeed and eight others. The NIA says Saeed was the one who motivated David Coleman Headleywho carried out reconnaissance for the attacks.
Home ministry officials said they will prefer the Pakistan’s judicial commission to consult their Attorney General as the report of first judicial commission was rejected by a Pakistani court. The NIA team visiting Pakistan will meet the Attorney General of Pakistan. The NIA team will also meet FIA officials.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/india-says-no-to-saeed-offer-to-be-quizzed-wants-him-arrested/1026731/
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Kashmir Sikhs want National Minority commission extended in the state
November 04, 2012
Instead of Jammu and Kashmir government's intention to form a new minority commission, a Sikh body on Sunday demanded the extension of current National Commission for Minority Act 1992 in the state.
In a statement All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee appreciated the Union Ministry's motion of taking over the issue of minorities with the State Government.
The committee chairman Jagmohan Singh Raina pointed out that the government should extend the current National Commission for Minority Act 1992 in J&K, instead of drafting a new minority commission for Minority "on the designs of some people dominating the state government."
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Srinagar/Kashmir-Sikhs-want-National-Minority-commission-extended-in-the-state/Article1-954782.aspx
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Religious bodies, lawyers to look into HC view on talaaq
Bashaarat Masood
Nov 05 2012
Srinagar : The recent Jammu and Kashmir High Court judgment on divorce under Islam seems to have triggered a discourse on the issue.
On Sunday, a seminar attended by the representatives of the Jamat-e-Islami, the Itihadul Muslimeem, the J&K High Court Bar Association and various other religious forums organised a Jamiat in Srinagar and decided that a team of legal luminaries and religious leaders will look into the judgment.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/religious-bodies-lawyers-to-look-into-hc-view-on-talaaq/1026758/
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Speaker Meira Kumar meets Pak leaders, stresses on good ties
Nov 5, 2012
NEW DELHI: India reiterated its commitment to better relations and cooperation with Pakistan in the sixth Conference of the Association of Saarc Speakers and Parliamentarians in Islamabad on Sunday. It also stressed on greater parliamentary interaction among various Saarc countries to promote democratic values in the region.
Speaker Meira Kumar, who was part of the Indian delegation, met Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari at Aiwan-e-Sadr and expressed India's continued desire to build a relationship of good neighbourliness and all-round cooperation with Pakistan.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Speaker-Meira-Kumar-meets-Pak-leaders-stresses-on-good-ties/articleshow/17094525.cms
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LeT didn’t expect 26/11 operation to stretch beyond a day
Nov 5, 2012
The 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks that raged for three days killing 166 people were not supposed to last for more than one night. In fact, Lashkar-e-Taiba neither expected nor wanted the attacks to continue for more than a day.
NEW DELHI: The 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks that raged for three days killing 166 people were not supposed to last for more than one night. In fact, Lashkar-e-Taiba neither expected nor wanted the attacks to continue for more than a day.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/LeT-didnt-expect-26/11-operation-to-stretch-beyond-a-day/articleshow/17093242.cms
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Dawood Ibrahim has same IQ level as Swami Vivekananda, says BJP chief Nitin Gadkari
Nov 5, 2012
BHOPAL: In the midst of a controversy for his business connections, BJP national leader Nitin Gadkari on Sunday evening courted fresh dispute after he compared the intelligent quotients (IQ) of Swami Vivekananda with that of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
Speaking at the Ojaswini felicitation programme here to honour leading women from various fields, Gadkari said, "The IQ of both Swami Vivekananda and Dawood Ibrahim would be similar, but their direction in life is so different. One used his intelligence for destructive purpose, to damage society and humanity with the spread of crime and terror while there was the other used his intelligence for the benefit of society. His thoughts remain an inspiration for the nation.''
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Nitin-Gadkari-compares-IQ-of-Swami-Vivekananda-with-Dawood-Ibrahim/articleshow/17093069.cms
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Pak feelers to Hurriyat for talks next month
PranabDhalSamanta
Nov 05 2012
New Delhi : Pakistan has informed Kashmiri separatist groups that it intends to invite them to Islamabad for talks between December 16 and 21, in what would be the first formal conversation between the two sides in nearly four years. An official invitation is expected in the coming weeks.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pak-feelers-to-hurriyat-for-talks-next-month/1026855/
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Bal Thackeray asks Sainiks 'not to permit' cricket matches with Pakistan in India
Nov 5, 2012
MUMBAI: Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, who has long opposed India-Pakistan cricket ties, on Monday asked party activists "not to permit" the forthcoming matches between the two countries anywhere in India.
In a front-page appeal in the party mouthpiece Saamna, the 86-year-old leader also lashed out at home minister Sushilkumar Shinde for his statement "to forget the past" and play cricket with Pakistan.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Bal-Thackeray-asks-Sainiks-not-to-permit-cricket-matches-with-Pakistan-in-India/articleshow/17097542.cms
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No deadline for lifting AFSPA: Omar Abdullah
Nov 5, 2012
JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said he wanted a phased withdrawal of a legislation that gives sweeping powers to armed forces but would not fix a deadline.
"There is no deadline for the removal of AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) as of now, but it will go and the work is in progress on this count," Abdullah told reporters.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/No-deadline-for-lifting-AFSPA-Omar-Abdullah/articleshow/17099586.cms
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Omar Abdullah plays down threat by Hizbul chief to panches, sarpanches
Arun Sharma
Nov 05 2012
Jammu : Playing down threats to village heads by Hizbul chief Syed Sallah-ud-Din, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today ruled out providing security to each and every nearly 33,000 panches and sarpanches in the state but said the government was geared up to deal with any threat perception.
"We never said that we will provide security to each and every panch and sarpanch-- we had said that whenever there is a threat assessment and we feel that there is need to do more -- we will do that", Omar told reporters here today.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/omar-abdullah-plays-down-threat-by-hizbul-chief-to-panches-sarpanches/1027007/
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Arab World
Syria Blast Said to Kill at Least 50 Troops
November 5, 2012
A number of people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack in central Syria, state media and activists say.
Officials said the blast occurred outside a state-run development agency in Ziyara, a village in Hama province.
However, one activist group said an army checkpoint had been targeted and at least 50 soldiers had died.
In Qatar, the Syrian National Council broadened its membership to more than 400, bringing in opposition activists and groups from inside the country.
Full report at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20205432
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Over 30 killed in 24 hours at Damascus Palestinian camp
Nov 5, 2012
BEIRUT: More than 30 people were killed in a 24-hour period in a Palestinian refugee camp south of the Syrian capital Damascus amid fierce clashes between the army and rebels, Palestinian sources said on Monday.
Seven people were killed Monday when a mortar landed on a mini-bus traveling along the western edge of the Yarmuk Palestinian camp, according to Palestinian sources and Syrian state television.
"All night through to Monday, the residents heard deafening sounds of shelling, but this morning there are many people in the streets, the shops are open and traffic is normal," a resident told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Over-30-killed-in-24-hours-at-Damascus-Palestinian-camp/articleshow/17102462.cms
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Air Strike Kills 20 Rebels in Syria: Observatory
2012/11/05
BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least 20 Syrian rebel fighters were killed in an air strike in the northwest province of Idlib on Monday, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The Observatory said in a statement that a rebel commander was also probably killed in the air strike on the town of Haram. An activist named the commander as Basil Eissa, head of the Idlib Martyrs' Brigade.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/11/05/world/middleeast/05reuters-syria-crisis-airstrike.html?ref=middleeast&_r=0
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Islamists React to the Selection of the New Pope
4 NOVEMBER 2012
The selection of bishop Tawadros as the new Pope of the Coptic Church on Sunday was well received by a number of Islamist leaders.
Younis Makhyoun, A Salafi party leader told Aswat Masriya that he welcomed the choice of bishop Tawadros as a Pope for the Coptic church, he expressed his hope that the new pope will take positive steps to maintain the national unity between Muslims and Christians.
"The new Pope needs to open files that had been ignored for decades, such as the second marriage for Christians", Makhyoun added.
Full report at:
http://allafrica.com/stories/201211040435.html
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Syria opposition-in-exile broadens base to add groups inside country
05 Nov 2012
DOHA, Qatar — The main Syrian opposition bloc on Monday broadened its ranks to include more activists and political groups from inside the country, officials said, in the face of intense U.S. pressure to create a more representative and cohesive leadership that could work with the West.
The decision by the Syrian National Council, which is dominated by exiles and academics, appeared to be an attempt to deflect at least some of the international criticism that has labeled the group ineffective and incapable of forming a united front with other opposition forces.
Full report at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/facing-criticism-syria-opposition-in-
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Five bomb blasts hit Bahrain capital, two workers killed
Nov 5, 2012
DUBAI: Five home-made bombs went off in the Bahraini capital Manama on Monday, killing two street cleaners and wounding another worker, the state news agency said, describing the explosions as "terrorist acts".
Police have been targeted by explosions several times this year, as the government has stepped up efforts to quell an uprising that has simmered since democracy protests broke out in early 2011.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Five-bomb-blasts-hit-Bahrain-capital-two-workers-killed/articleshow/17100009.cms
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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's army bombards Damascus after rebel attacks
Nov 5, 2012
AMMAN: The Syrian army bombarded rebel strongholds in southern Damascus on Monday with artillery and from the air, hours after opposition fighters attacked a militia loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, opposition activists said.
At least eight people were killed and dozens wounded in the bombardment, after 20 people were killed by army shelling overnight, they said.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Syrian-President-Bashar-al-Assads-army-bombards-Damascus-after-rebel-attacks/articleshow/17099146.cms
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Two Saudi Border Guards Killed in Ambush in South-TV
November 5, 2012
RIYADH (Reuters) - Two Saudi Arabian border guards were killed on Monday in an ambush in Sharoura in the far south of the country near its border with Yemen, the interior ministry said.
A ministry spokesman had no further details for the time being but that a statement would issued later in the day.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/11/05/world/middleeast/05reuters-saudi-
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Morsi, political forces agree on 90% of draft constitution: Spokesman
After meeting heads of political parties on Sunday, presidency asserts that consensus has been reached on '90 per cent' of the contents of Egypt's new national charter
4 Nov 2012
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has reached agreement with heads of political parties on some 90 percent of the contents of Egypt's draft constitution, presidential spokesman Yasser Ali announced at a Sunday press conference at the presidential palace in Cairo.
The conference followed a meeting held earlier the same day between Morsi and the heads of prominent Egyptian political parties held to discuss means of resolving Egypt's ongoing constitutional deadlock.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/57166/Egypt/Politics-/Morsi,-political-forces-agree-on--of-draft-constit.aspx
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Fresh clashes in Syrian capital and Aleppo: watchdog
November 5, 2012
BEIRUT: Heavy clashes broke out on Monday between Syrian troops and rebels in Damascus and in the second city Aleppo, where a Red Crescent warehouse burned amid fighting, a watchdog and residents said.
Fighting erupted at dawn in the capital’s southern districts of Al-Hajar, Al-Aswad and Tadamun, near the Yarmuk Palestinian camp, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/11/05/fresh-clashes-in-syrian-capital-and-aleppo-watchdog/
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Syria mediator wants UN resolution based on Geneva deal
November 5, 2012
CAIRO: The international mediator on Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, called on Sunday for world powers to issue a UN Security Council resolution based on a deal they reached in June to set up a transitional government in a bid to end the bloodshed.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking at the same Cairo news conference, dismissed the need for a resolution and said others were stoking violence by backing rebels. His comment highlighted divisions and the impasse over Syria’s civil war.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/11/05/syria-mediator-wants-un-resolution-based-on-geneva-deal/
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Iraqi court hands fugitive VP fourth death sentence
November 5, 2012
BAGHDAD: A Baghdad court sentenced vice president Tareq al Hashemi, one of Iraq’s top Sunni officials, to a fourth death sentence in absentia on Sunday over a foiled car bombing targeting Shia pilgrims. Hashemi, a prominent critic of Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki, has been out of the country since accusations he describes as politically motivated were first made against him in December last year.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\11\05\story_5-11-2012_pg7_2
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Coptic Church Chooses Pope Who Rejects Political Role
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
05 Nov 2012
CAIRO — A blindfolded 6-year-old reached into a glass bowl on Sunday to pick the first new Coptic pope in more than 40 years, a patriarch who promises a new era of integration for Egypt’s Christian minority as it grapples with a wave of sectarian violence, new Islamist domination of politics, and internal pressures for reform.
Speaking to the television cameras that surrounded him at his monastery in a desert town, the pope-designate, Bishop Tawadros, indicated that he planned to reverse the explicitly political role of his predecessor, Pope Shenouda III, who died in March. For four decades, Shenouda acted as the Copts’ chief representative in public life, won special favors for his flock by publicly endorsing President Hosni Mubarak, and last year urged in vain that Copts stay away from the protests that ultimately toppled the strongman.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/05/world/middleeast/coptic-church-chooses-pope-who-rejects-politics.html?pagewanted=all
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Pakistan
Overcharging for burial at graveyards in Karachi goes unnoticed
November 5, 2012
KARACHI: Defying the prescribed charges by Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) for burial of corpses at graveyards falling under its jurisdiction, the gravediggers continue to charge steep charges for burial of bodies with no checks by the city administration to halt the ongoing illegitimate practice.
At one of the oldest cemeteries located at Sir Shah Suleman Road, named Essa Nagri Graveyard, heirs bringing corpses of their loved ones at the cemetery are initially told there was no place for burial, however, upon insistence of grieved family, gravediggers locate them a suitable place on a twofold charge in violation of the KMC prescribed charges.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\11\05\story_5-11-2012_pg7_13
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MQM announces public referendum against Taliban on 8th November 2012
By Asad Farooq
November 5, 2012
KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement has announced to hold a public referendum on November 8 to have a consensus that the people of Pakistan want a secular Pakistan of Quaid-e-Azam or the rule of Taliban in the country.
Addressing a crowded press conference at the Lal-Qila ground, MQM deputy convener Farooq Sattar said that the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) had realised the presence of Taliban in Karachi and stated that serious notice should be taken about their presence and had called for action against Taliban in Karachi.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\11\05\story_5-11-2012_pg7_22
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Pakistani Islamist politician claims Malala was not injured
By Rob Crilly
05 Nov 2012
The head of one of Pakistan's most influential Islamist parties has claimed 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai was not injured in an attack by extremist gunmen last month as conspiracy theories swirl around the country.
Malala, a prominent campaigner for girls education in Swat Valley, is recovering in the UK after being shot in the head at close range as she travelled home from school.
Her case has caused outrage around the world and put the Pakistan Taliban, which claimed responsibility, on the defensive.
Full report at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/9655417/Pakistani-Islamist-politician-claims-Malala-was-not-injured.html
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Pak Hindus throng renovated holy pond at centuries-old temple
Nov 05 2012
Islamabad: Scores of Hindus participated in a special ceremony held at the historic Katasraj Temple in Pakistan's Punjab province following the restoration of its holy pond, which had begun drying up due to excessive use of groundwater by a nearby cement factory.
A total of 115 Hindus from cities across Pakistan visited the temple in Chakwal district on Saturday.
Shri Amar Kund, the sacred pond, was showered with rose petals and pilgrims drank its water and filled bottles to take home.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pak-hindus-throng-renovated-holy-pond-at-centuriesold-temple/1026992/
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Gunmen wound Egyptian UNICEF worker in Karachi
November 5, 2012
KARACHI: Gunmen wounded an Egyptian working for the United Nations Children’s Fund when they fired on his vehicle in Pakistan’s largest city on Sunday, police said.
The motive for the attack was not entirely clear, but police said it may have been a robbery gone wrong.
The shooting followed an attack in July when two men working on the World Health Organisation’s polio campaign were wounded.
Taliban fighters oppose the campaign and many religious leaders say it is a Western conspiracy to spy on or sterilise Muslims.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/11/05/gunmen-wound-egyptian-UNICEF-worker-in-karachi/
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Two Dawoodi Bohra men shot dead, another injured
November 5, 2012
Mohammad Hussain Khan
HYDERABAD: After months of sectarian and ethnic killings and incidents of targeted shootings in Karachi, the wave of lawlessness appears to have taken hold of Hyderabad, the second largest city of Sindh.
Two members of the non-political Dawoodi Bohra community were shot dead on Saturday night and three men belonging to an organisation of Barelvi school of thought were killed on Sunday night in the Gari Khata area.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/11/05/three-shot-dead-in-hyderabad-2/
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Excessive internet bans worrisome for Pakistan
Samira Shackle
November 5, 2012
Have you tried to watch a music video online in the last month? Catch up on the news; a university lecture; access a video blog? If so, it’s very likely that you’ll have attempted to access YouTube, the video-sharing platform used by millions of people worldwide. And if you’re in Pakistan, you must have been disappointed.
The entire website has been blocked in Pakistan since September 17, after riots swept the major cities, leaving scores of people dead. The violence was triggered by a trailer for a film called “The Innocence of Muslims”, hosted by YouTube. The government demanded that access to the video be blocked. Internet giant Google, which owns YouTube, said that it could not restrict access because it doesn’t have a localised operation in Pakistan. In response, the Pakistan Telecommunications Agency (PTA) blocked the whole platform. The deadlock has now lasted for over a month.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/11/05/excessive-internet-bans-worrisome-for-pakistan/
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Imran Khan 'symbolic successor' of Allama Iqbal, says poet's grandson
November 4, 2012
LAHORE: “I am the grandson of Allama Iqbal but the real symbolic successor of Iqbal on the political horizon of the country is Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan,” said Waleed Iqbal at the launch ceremony of PTI’s Youth Policy at Expo Center Lahore on Sunday.
Waleed said this while addressing the gathering at the ceremony, which was attended by Imran, PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi and PTI President Javed Hashmi. Hundreds of youth supporters and PTI leaders from across the country attended the ceremony.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/460727/imran-khan-symbolic-successor-of-allama-iqbal-says-poets-grandson/
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Death row: Sarabjit in satisfactory health says Home Dept
November 5, 2012
LAHORE: Jail authorities say that the health of Indian death row prisoner Sarabjit Singh is satisfactory and all of his vital functions are intact, despite the prisoner’s earlier protestations to the contrary.
Singh’s lawyer Advocate Awais Sheikh had earlier written to the Home Department asking for a medical check-up for the prisoner. The Home Department consulted the Central Jail superintendent and wrote a letter back.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/460768/death-row-sarabjit-in-satisfactory-health-says-home-dept/
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Zardari: regional cooperation vital engine of prosperity
ANITA JOSHUA
Nov 5, 2012
Pakistan will witness a peaceful democratic transition soon’
Cooperation between India and Pakistan is imperative for exploiting the enormous potential latent in the South Asia region, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Sunday when Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar called on him after the inauguration of the 6th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Speakers and Parliamentarians’ Conference here.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/zardari-regional-cooperation-vital-engine-of-prosperity/article4065061.ece
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Pakistan worst terror-afflicted country: Zardari
November 05, 2012
Pakistan has suffered more than any other country from terrorism, President Asif Ali Zardari said at a SAARC conference in Islamabad.
Terrorism has claimed 40,000 lives in Pakistan and also caused economic loss of $80 billion, he said at the 6th meeting of SAARC speakers and parliamentarians on Sunday.
Durable peace in the region was in the interest of all, he said, and urged the SAARC nations to join hands to fight extremism and terrorism.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Pakistan/Pakistan-worst-terror-afflicted-country-Zardari/Article1-954965.aspx
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Nation heading towards widespread famine: moot told
November 5, 2012
KARACHI: Food insecurity is the real problem of Pakistan as poor law and order situation and natural calamities have caused a sharp decline in food security across the country, regardless of adequate national food production to meet the needs of Pakistan’s 180 million people.
There is dire need to promote biotech or GM crops, modified through biotechnology, as the proper use of biotechnology approach is vital for rapid agriculture development and healthcare in the country.
These views were expressed by Director International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi (KU), Prof Dr M Iqbal Chaudhary, while delivering a lecture at ICCBS on the other day.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\11\05\story_5-11-2012_pg12_2
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Anti-TTP pamphlets distributed in Mansehra
November 5, 2012
MANSEHRA: A series of pamphlets criticising the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and exhorting the government to launch a military operation in North Waziristan have been distributed in parts of Mansehra.
The Urdu-language pamphlets do not identify its publishers and police and intelligence agencies have started investigating as to where they originated from. Some months back, similar pamphlets supporting the TTP were making rounds in Mansehra.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/460948/anti-ttp-pamphlets-distributed-in-mansehra/
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Australia
Radical Springvale imam returns to preach jihad
November 4, 2012
THE leader of an Islamic group at the centre of anti-terror raids has returned from overseas to resume his hardline preaching in Melbourne.
Harun Mehicevic, also known as Abu Talha, returned from Bosnia late last month and is again extolling the virtues of jihad at the Al-Furqan Islamic Information Centre in Springvale South.
The Australian Federal Police raided the centre and Mr Mehicevic's home in September during an operation that focused on 12 properties, most of them in Melbourne's south-east. Mr Mehicevic was in Bosnia at the time.
Full report at:
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/radical-springvale-imam-returns-to-preach-jihad-20121103-28rac.html
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Africa
Nigeria: Anglican Church Tackles Same Sex Marriage
BY BEN ATONKO
4 NOVEMBER 2012
Tackling the incidence of same sex marriage will dominate discussions at the Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion's Divine Commonwealth conference opening tomorrow.
The conference holding at the Christian Centre Abuja is follow up of its maiden edition last year.
Announcing the conference in Abuja on Wednesday, the Primate of the Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion, Most Rev Nicholas Okoh said the conference will draw participants from the UK, USA, Kenya, Uganda and West African states.
Full report at:
http://allafrica.com/stories/201211040200.html?viewall=1
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Malawi Suspends Anti-Gay Laws
November 5, 2012
LILONGWE (Reuters) - Malawi suspended laws against same-sex relationships on Monday and ordered police not to arrest gays pending a decision on whether to repeal the legislation, a source of friction with the impoverished southern African nation's donors.
Homosexuality is banned in Malawi - as it is in 36 other African states - and carries a maximum sentence of 14 years, but Justice Minister Ralph Kasambara said he wanted debate on the issue before parliament decided whether to keep the laws or not.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/11/05/world/europe/05reuters-malawi-
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Gunmen attack telecom installations, police station in Nigeria
Nov 04 2012
Abuja : Suspected members of Islamic radical sect Boko Haram used explosives to set on fire two telecom towers, a police station and a school in Nigeria's northern city of Fika today, killing two policemen.
A military spokesman, Lazarus Eli said the attackers killed two policemen and that military men from the Joint Task Force (JTF) are already in the town to beef up security.
Fika is located 170 kilometres away from Damaturu , the capital of Yobe state and has remained relatively peaceful till the present attack.
Residents said they were awakened by incessant gunfires followed by loud explosions in the morning.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/gunmen-attack-telecom-installations-police-station-in-nigeria/1026693/
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Sudan’s Brotherhood Leader and Bin Laden Pal Endorses Obama
November 4, 2012
By Daniel Greenfield
“Sudanese Bin Laden-linked Islamist wants Obama win.” Here’s an AFP headline I could have written and it has yet to be ‘fixed’ to something more innocuous, like “Moderate Islamist hopes Obama second term will improve relations with the West.”
Sudan’s veteran Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi, linked to Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the 1990s, hopes US President Barack Obama will win a second term on Tuesday.
“Obama of course,” Turabi told AFP when asked about his US presidential preference during an interview.
Full report at:
http://frontpagemag.com/2012/dgreenfield/sudans-genocidal-muslim-brotherhood-leader-and-bin-laden-pal-endorses-obama/
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Two Tunisian Lawyers File Lawsuit Against Israel for Murder of Abu Jihad in Tunis
5 NOVEMBER 2012
Tunis — Two Tunisian lawyers, members of the "Wafa Movement", will file a lawsuit against Israel which claimed responsibility for the murder in Tunis of Palestinian leader Khalil El Wazir (Abu Jihad), executive board member of the movement Slim Boukhdir told TAP.
The complaint is also against any person involved in this murder committed in April 1988 in the Tunis northern suburbs of Sidi Bou Said.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201211050298.html
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Boko Haram Denies Killing General Shuwa
BY MICHAEL OLUGBODE
5 NOVEMBER 2012
Boko Haram, the Islamic sect, which has unleashed a reign of terror on Northern Nigeria, has denied its involvement in the killing of one the country's civil war heroes, Major General Muhammadu Shuwa.
Shuwa, alongside his military aide and an unidentified person, were shot dead by gunmen at his residence in Maduguri, the Borno State capital, on Friday.
The retired army general was buried in an emotional ceremony at the Gwange Cemetery in Maiduguri, the next day.
Full report at:
http://allafrica.com/stories/201211050234.html
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South Asia
Estranged for years Bangla brothers end inheritance tussle with Mecca embrace
Nov 05 2012
Dubai : Estranged for years following a bitter inheritance battle, two Bangladeshi brothers reunified on the streets of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, in a typical Bollywood movie arrangement.
A Bangladeshi sweeper working in the holy city was shocked to find a man, in Hajj attire, approaching him and holding him in tight embrace.
The man turned out to be his estranged elder brother, who had deprived him of his rightful inheritance running into millions, the Saudi's news site Sabq reported.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bangla-brothers-end-inheritance-tussle-with-mecca-embrace/1027010/
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'Suu Kyi says cannot back Myanmar's Rohingya'
November 04, 2012
Aung San Suu Kyi has declined to speak out on behalf of Rohingya Muslims and insisted she will not use "moral leadership" to back either side in deadly communal unrest in west Myanmar, reports said.
The Nobel laureate, who has caused disappointment among international supporters for her muted response to violence that has swept Rakhine state, said both Buddhist and Muslim communities were "displeased" that she had not taken their side.
More than 100,000 people have been displaced since June in two major outbreaks of violence in the state, where renewed clashes last month uprooted about 30,000 people.
Dozens have been killed on both sides and thousands of homes torched.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Myanmar/Suu-Kyi-says-cannot-back-Myanmar-s-Rohingya/Article1-954648.aspx
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Afghan ghost village ‘haunted by US soldier’s rampage’
November 5, 2012
NAJEEBAN: Najeeban in southern Afghanistan is a ghost village, deserted by the surviving inhabitants after a murderous rampage allegedly carried out by a rogue American soldier earlier this year.
The accused, Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, is due in court on Monday for a military hearing at Fort Lewis-McChord in the United States on charges of killing 16 villagers, mostly women and children.
Bales allegedly walked off his base in the southern Kandahar province under cover of darkness on March 11 and killed the villagers in three homes before returning to his base and surrendering.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/11/05/afghan-ghost-village-haunted-by-us-soldiers-rampage/
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Afghan reconciliation process: Former JI chief offers mediation to Karzai govt
November 5, 2012
ISLAMABAD: Former Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed on Sunday offered to mediate between the Afghan government, Taliban and the Hezb-e-Islami. He made the offer in response to a letter sent to him by Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
President Karzai sought help from Pakistani political and religious leaders against what he called “the evil of extremism and terrorism” after last month’s attack on child activist Malala Yousafzai by the Taliban.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/460897/afghan-reconciliation-process-former-ji-chief-offers-mediation-to-karzai-govt/
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As NATO Nears Exit, Construction Dries Up
By ROD NORDLAND and SANGAR RAHIMI
November 5, 2012
KABUL, Afghanistan — Jalalabad Road, the heart of what might be called the Afghan capital’s military-industrial complex, has also become the place where heavy construction equipment comes to die.
Lined with Afghan and NATO military facilities and the contracting firms that serve them, the road is also garlanded with miles of brightly colored holding yards — in the yellows, oranges, blues and reds of backhoes and diggers, forklifts and bulldozers, cranes and cherry pickers, graders and rollers.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/05/world/asia/as-nato-nears-exit-afghan-construction-dries-up.html?ref=asia
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In Rakhine, mistrust deepens divide
NIRUPAMA SUBRAMANIAN
Nov 5, 2012
The capital of Rakhine state in western Myanmar is a picture of outward calm. At lunchtime on Saturday, the main street is crowded with bicycle-riders, motorcyclists, a few cars, lots of pedestrians and people eating at roadside cafes. Work continues at the site of the port, which the Indian company ESSAR is constructing as part of the India-funded Kaladan multi-nodal transport project. There are even tourists.
But just a 20-minute drive from the town, beyond Sittwe University, amid paddy fields and shrimp farms, is the evidence of the deep divide that tore apart this coastal town, and other townships in Rakhine, between its Rohingya Muslims and Rakhine Buddhists twice this year, and that has raised fears for the democratic transition in Myanmar.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/in-rakhine-mistrust-deepens-divide/article4065112.ece
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Hope and fear mark countdown to NATO pull-out
November 5, 2012
BAMIYAN: In a spectacular valley swept by centuries of Silk Road history, the hopes and fears of Afghanistan’s only female governor capture the mood across the country as Western troops prepare to withdraw.
Habiba Sarabi’s hope springs from the transformation of Bamiyan province from a place of massacres and oppression of women under Taliban to one where most people live in peace and young girls flock to school. It is fuelled by a belief that the historical, cultural and physical beauty of the central province could become a magnet for international tourists whose dollars would help support those gains.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\11\05\story_5-11-2012_pg7_8
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Kabul considers action against ICG over ‘bias’
November 5, 2012
KABUL: Afghanistan is considering action against the International Crisis Group (ICG), with officials on Monday accusing the respected think tank of bias in its reporting on the troubled country.
An analysis by the Brussels-based ICG last month said the Kabul government could collapse after the withdrawal of Nato troops in 2014, particularly if presidential elections that year are fraudulent.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/11/05/kabul-considers-action-against-icg-over-bias/
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Mideast Asia
Troops Kill 13 Kurdish Militants in Southeastern Turkey: Sources
2012/11/05
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkish ground troops backed by attack helicopters and aircraft killed 13 Kurdish militants in an operation in southeastern Turkey overnight, security sources said on Monday.
Turkish fighter jets bombed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets in the Cudi and Kato mountains in Sirnak, a volatile province bordering Iraq and Syria that has witnessed a large share of the violence. Thirteen PKK militants were killed in the raids, security sources said.
The attack came hours after a car bomb, planted by suspected PKK militants targeting a military vehicle in neighboring Hakkari province killed an 11-year-old child and wounded 18 other people.
The PKK has carried out a steady stream of attacks on military targets in recent months, stepping up their 28-year-old insurgency in a move which Ankara sees as linked to the chaos in Syria, accusing Syrian president Bashar al-Assad of arming the PKK.
More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
(Reporting by Seyhmus Cakan; Writing by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Greg Mahlich)
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/11/05/world/middleeast/05reuters-turkey-kurds-
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Yemen’s swap marriages: a recipe for disaster
November 5, 2012
SANAA: The deal is simple: I marry your sister and you marry mine. No dowry necessary. But if one marriage fails, the other must end as well.
Such is Sheghar, or swap marriage, a widely practised tradition in impoverished Yemen. Beyond tying the knot between two people, it links the future of two families in a potentially disastrous arrangement.
In a country where child marriages remain customary, swap marriage is also rife, particularly in rural areas of the Arabian Peninsula nation, despite the often destructive consequences of the practice.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/11/05/yemens-swap-marriages-a-recipe-for-disaster/
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Yasser Arafat's remains to be exhumed
Nov 05 2012
Ramallah, West bank : A Western diplomat says the exhumation of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's remains will take place Nov. 26.
He says a Swiss team has arrived in the West Bank ahead of the planned exhumation. The team will assess the grave site and plan how best to dig up the remains.
The Swiss team will be joined by French investigators. The two teams, who are set to conduct parallel probes into Arafat's death, will only be allowed one chance to draw samples.
The diplomat spoke Monday on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
The new probes into Arafat's 2004 death come after a Swiss lab recently discovered traces of polonium-210, a deadly radioactive isotope, on clothes said to be his.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/yasser-arafats-remains-to-be-exhumed/1027080/
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Israeli forces kill Palestinian near Gaza border fence
05 Nov 2012
A Palestinian has died after being hit by Israeli gunfire as he approached Gaza's border fence with Israel.
The Israeli military said the man was shot after ignoring warnings to stop. Palestinian medics said the man was unarmed and mentally ill.
Israel prohibits anyone from entering the "buffer zone" it maintains inside Gaza to prevent attacks by militants.
Full report at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20202952
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Mahmoud Abbas’ balancing act may please none
ATUL ANEJA
Nov 5, 2012
Mahmoud Abbas, the canny Palestinian President, is in the thick of a heavy political storm, after hinting that he may be willing to forego the right of war-displaced refugees to return — a position summarily rejected by rival Hamas, and received tepidly by most Israelis.
In an interview with Israel’s Channel-2, Mr. Abbas tackled all the major hot button issues, including the touchy subject of the right of Palestinian refugees to return. Mr. Abbas, who traces his roots from Safed, a northern Israeli city, said: “I visited Safed before, once. But I want to see Safed. It’s my right to see it, but not live there.”
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/mahmoud-abbas-balancing-act-may-please-none/article4065038.ece
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Iran sets up new base near disputed islands
Nov 5, 2012
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards inaugurated a new naval base on Sunday to reinforce Tehran’s authority over three Persian Gulf islands also claimed by the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, Iranian state TV reported.
The base near the Iranian mainland’s southern port of Bandar-e Lengeh some 1,100 km south of Tehran is the Guards’ fifth in the Gulf. The Guards’ navy chief Gen. Ali Fadavi said missile and marine units have been deployed there.
It lies north of the Iranian-controlled islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb that dominate the approach to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/iran-sets-up-new-base-near-disputed-islands/article4064686.ece
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Israel Army, Mossad 'halted Iran attack alert' from Netanyahu: Report
Nov 05 2012
Jerusalem: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak ordered Israeli defence chiefs in 2010 to prepare for an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities but were rebuffed, a television report said.
Excerpts released on Monday of an Israeli Channel 2 documentary said the armed forces' chief of staff at the time, Gabi Ashkenazi, and Mossad intelligence head Meir Dagan both objected to the order to raise the military's alert level to F-Plus, which means a strike could be imminent.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/israel-army-mossad-halted-iran-attack-alert-from-netanyahu-barak/1026997/
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Israeli Report Cites a Thwarted 2010 Move on Iran
By JODI RUDOREN
November 5, 2012
JERUSALEM — An Israeli news channel reported Sunday night that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak asked the Israeli military in 2010 to prepare for an imminent attack on the Iranian nuclear program, but that their efforts were blocked by concerns over whether the military could do so and whether the men had the authority to give such an order.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/05/world/middleeast/israeli-report-cites-a-thwarted-2010-move-on-iran.html?ref=world
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One dead, 18 wounded in southeast Turkey car explosion
Nov 5, 2012
DIYARBAKIR (TURKEY): A car exploded today in a town in Turkey's Kurdish-majority southeast, killing an 11-year-old child and wounding 18 others, in an attack blamed on Kurdish rebels, officials and security sources said.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the "heinous attack" which caused a civilian death as it happened close to a wedding gathering, reported the Anatolia news agency.
Erdogan strongly condemned the attack which he said was carried out by the "terrorist organisation," referring to the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/One-dead-18-wounded-in-southeast-Turkey-car-explosion/articleshow/17092682.cms
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Europe
Russia Supplying Arms to Syria Under Old Contracts: Lavrov
November 5, 2012
CAIRO (Reuters) - Moscow is supplying arms to Syria under Soviet-era commitments and were meant for defense against external threats, not to support President Bashar al-Assad, Russia's foreign minister told an Egyptian newspaper.
Russia sold the Syrian government $1 billion worth of weapons last year and has made clear it would oppose an arms embargo in the United Nations Security Council, contending that rebels would get weapons illegally anyway.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Egypt's state al-Ahram daily in an interview published on Monday that the arms still being sent to Damascus were part of old Soviet contracts and did not violate international law.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/11/05/world/middleeast/05reuters-syria-crisis-
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North America
US Muslim placed on no-fly list is unable to see his ailing mother
Glenn Greenwald
5 November 2012
In April of this year, Saadiq Long, a 43-year-old African-American Muslim who now lives in Qatar, purchased a ticket on KLM Airlines to travel to Oklahoma, the state where he grew up. Long, a 10-year veteran of the US Air Force, had learned that the congestive heart failure from which his mother suffers had worsened, and she was eager to see her son. He had last seen his mother and siblings more than a decade ago, when he returned to the US in 2001, and spent months saving the money to purchase the ticket and arranging to be away from work.
Full report at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/05/muslim-no-fly-qatar
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US soldier to appear in court accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers
Nov 5, 2012
LOS ANGELES: A US soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers was due in court Monday for the first time since the massacre, as his wife proclaimed his innocence and said he had no recollection of having committed the crime.
Staff Sergeant Robert Bales is expected to attend the Article 32 hearing, scheduled from November 5 to 16, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in the western state of Washington, to determine if he should face a full court martial.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-soldier-to-appear-in-court-accused-of-killing-16-Afghan-villagers/articleshow/17096140.cms
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Osama film may not leave a mark at polls
Chidanand Rajghatta
Nov 5, 2012
WASHINGTON: Pocketbook issues have trumped foreign policy and security matters by a long shot in the 2012 election campaign. In the final hours of campaigning, there is hardly a mention of the war in Afghanistan (other than to say it is over) and the hunting down of Osama bin Laden, a signal achievement of the president.
But many Americans will be reminded of it on Sunday night, just 36 hours before polling begins, when National Geographic will air 'Seal Team Six' , a film on bin Laden's killing that Republican experts and partisans say is aimed at glorifying the president. The bad news for Democrats is that the channel has limited viewership and the made-for-TV movie has already been panned by critics.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Osama-film-may-not-leave-a-mark-at-polls/articleshow/17095200.cms
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Southeast Asia
Malaysia says biometric system to track foreigners
Nov 05 2012
Kuala Lumpur : Malaysia is working to introduce a unique biometric tracking system, that it says will more effectively allow its Immigration Department to track foreigners who overstay.
Many foreigners misuse their social visit passes and stay on in Malaysia to work illegally, including taking part in activities of vice.
In the past, Malaysia has said that thousands of Indian nationals had stayed back in the country long after the expiry of their visas.
Immigration department said according to records, nationals from China and India formed the largest number of visitors to Malaysia. Last year, 6.93 lakh tourists from India visited Malaysia.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/malaysia-says-biometric-system-to-track-foreigners/1027072/
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/liberals-fume-leading-dargahs-mumbai/d/9199