Maldives calls for end to state-sponsored violence against civilians in Syria
Muslim Canadians deal with stereotypes, examine own religion 10 years after 9-11
Love jihad piqued US interest
US raised issue of ethnic violence, tech transfer to Pak with China
“Ideals, principles and convictions matter more than landmass, wealth or military strength” –Maldives Foreign Minister
US intelligence helps Pak nab top Qaida leader
Tortured rebel calls for apology
UK to probe Libya torture claims, says Cameron
Ex-UK spies to root out Islamic fanatics in schools
400 young Saudis to get married in Jeddah mass wedding
Somalia famine: UN warns of 750,000 deaths
Bangladesh drags feet on road to north- east
Airstrike in Yemen kills seven
Wiki leaks: India to America ‘hands off Kashmir’
US drone strike kills 7 in NW Pakistan
Iran Guards kill 22 Kurd rebels: state
21 Taliban killed in Afghanistan
Fire and graffiti attack on Palestinian mosque in Kasra
136 killed in Pakistan floods
Iranian President's Advisor Blasts West's Hostility towards Islam
Post 9/11 Sikh and Muslim experiences get a hearing
US cables: Moderate Hurriyat favoured hanging Afzal if he was guilty
Colonels men came, but got no arms: China
Bombing of Libya most accurate ever: NATO
Pakistan detains three al-Qaeda suspects
India, Bangladesh likely to sign extradition treaty
Pak SC takes a cue from judicial activism in India
Cong panders to Islamists: Digvijay
India can deliver US projects in Af
CBI to recreate Shehla Masood's murder scene
Afghan suicide attack on NATO convoy kills two
Four killed as groups clash in Karachi
Kurdish separatists 'attack football match'
Turkish Kurds seek to preach in own language
Missing Germans found dead in Afghanistan
Syria forces raid central cities kill two: activists
Malaysia mourns TV journalist killed in Somalia
Manmohan's Dhaka visit a test for Delhi's neighbourhood diplomacy
India, Bangladesh to Help People Stuck in Enclaves
Sustainability of present momentum of Indo-Bangla relations stressed
Libyans Turn Wrath on Dark-Skinned Migrants
Libyan rebels confirm Gaddafi’s son’s death
Libya conflict: Gaddafi sons 'left Bani Walid'
China confirms weapons firms met Gaddafi envoys in July
Talks fail for surrender of Qadhafi bastion
Gaddafi leaned on Arab autocrats to stay in power
As Police Clash With Families, Mubarak Returns to Court
US wants agent doctor released; Pak says no
After Zardari visit, China plays host to bitter critic
Gujarat cops quiz aides of Surat blast accused
Israel will not apologise to Turkey: Netanyahu
West Bank mosque torched as police dismantle outpost
Scuffles in Cairo as Mubarak trial resumes
OIC blasts 'biased UN report' on aid flotilla
US asks Pakistan to hand over medic who helped CIA trace Bin Laden
Abandoned Libyan missile: A gift to militants?
Afghan Taliban free four Turkish engineers
Shoulder to shoulder: Confessions of a perfect ‘Qaddafi-girl’
Stones tell a different tale in Kashmir
Politics in Kashmir as "filthy" as Dal lake: US cable
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/maldives-calls-end-state-sponsored/d/5402
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Maldives calls for end to state-sponsored violence against civilians in Syria
By Ahmed Nazeer
Sep 06 2011
The Foreign Minister of the Maldives Ahmed Naseem has called on Syria to immediately stop all the violence committed against civilians and urged the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to refer the issue in its upcoming session if the Syrian government continues to oppress its citizens.
Syria remains in turmoil following anti-government riots that spread across the Arab world earlier this year. Al-Jazeera reports that 1730 civilians and 406 security personnel have been killed in clashes in Syria since the start of the violence.
“The Maldives, like many other peace-loving Muslim nations as well as the wider international community, is deeply disturbed by the State-sponsored violence being perpetrated against civilians in Syria, violence which represents a serious violation of Islamic values, as well as of international human rights and humanitarian law,” Naseem said.
“The fact that such violence is increasing as we enter the Holy Month of Ramadan, a period of devotion and compassion, makes the actions of the Syrian authorities even more unacceptable.”
The Foreign Minister called on Syrian authorities to cease all violence against citizens and to begin a process of democratic and human rights reform.
“The time for promises is over – it is now time for action. That means the government must immediately stop all violations of human rights, including arbitrary killings, arbitrary detention, disappearance and torture; and must immediately allow the full enjoyment of all core human rights including freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. It also means that stated commitments of reform – which the Maldives has welcomed in previous statements – must be translated into real and urgent change, including free and fair multiparty elections.”
In addition Foreign Minister Naseem said that Syria must also fully comply with UN Human Rights Council resolution S-16/1, noting that Syria had yet to comply with any of the provisions of the resolution including the call to cooperate fully with the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission.
“The indiscriminate killing of innocent Muslim men, women and children by the Syrian State security forces, especially during the Holy Month of Ramadan, is completely unacceptable to the Maldives,” Naseem said.
“The Maldives, which is a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, voted in favor of resolution S-16/1 because of our strong commitment to human rights, especially in the Muslim world.”
“The Maldives takes note of, and supports, the recent statements on this matter made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council,” he added.
http://minivannews.com/politics/maldives-calls-for-end-to-state-sponsored-violence-against-civilians-in-syria-23929
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Muslim Canadians deal with stereotypes, examine own religion 10 years after 9-11
Michelle McQuigge
September 05, 2011
TORONTO - Gilary Massa's high school art class began buzzing with speculation the day a student rushed in to announce that "somebody bombed America." Amid her horror Massa had one hope which proved to be in vain — that the perpetrators wouldn't be Muslim.
From the safety of her home, she heard the frantic phone calls to American relatives who feared being seen in public. Massa's mother tried forbidding her hijab-clad daughter from returning to school for fear of the persecution she might face.
Massa overruled her mother, but found the Toronto classroom she returned to was not the same one she left on Sept. 11, 2001.
Classmates badgered her with questions about her faith, setting the stage for a pattern of behaviour she would witness time and again over the next decade.
"I automatically had to start justifying myself and talking about my beliefs and denouncing what had happened," Massa said.
"It was a weird thing to have to prove that I didn't agree with the actions of 9-11. What person in their right mind would agree with the bombing of innocent people? It was interesting to me that all of a sudden I was having to actually convince people that, no, I didn't know Osama Bin Laden, he was not my leader, I didn't agree with his actions."
Massa said she was never able to relax that defensive stance over the next 10 years, since stereotypical ideas that took root in the days after 9-11 never abated.
Safa Ali was forced to the same realization after encountering a sign of overt racism she had never witnessed before the collapse of the World Trade Center's twin towers. Her entire family had their passports flagged for no apparent reason, she said, adding the alerts remain in place to this day.
Airport staff treated the family with veiled hostility in the months following 9-11, reserving the bulk of their skepticism for Ali's father and brother, she said. She herself came under attack from a friend's grandfather who had no qualms about bashing her religion and launching a conversion attempt.
Such blatant racism has subsided, but the stereotypes that drove such actions in the past — such as the notion that all Muslim women are oppressed and all believers in the faith are prone to violence — appear to have become more firmly entrenched in society's consciousness, she said.
"When people talk about it, it's almost taken as a given now. There's no need to say it out loud or be aggressive about it," Ali said. "It comes from a place of, you could call it empathy, because they're saying, 'Oh, those poor women and all those poor girls.' But if you dig deeper it comes from this opinion that there's just one way that the majority of people are and it's so sad that they're like that."
Stereotypical thinking gave Yousaf Khan a scare in the summer of 2006 when several of his former classmates were arrested as part of the infamous Toronto 18.
The suspects were dubbed Canada's first homegrown post-9-11 terrorist network when they were arrested in 2006 amid headline-grabbing allegations of a plot to target landmarks in Toronto and Ottawa, behead the prime minister and attack the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Eleven of the men served jail time, while the remaining seven had their charges dropped or stayed.
Khan, 27, had enjoyed nothing but positive experiences with Canadians since arriving in Ontario in 2000, but feared the spectre of a home-grown terrorism network would infringe on his daily life.
Fortunately for Khan, that fear proved groundless in each of the three provinces he's called home, including his current city of Edmonton. The experience, however, did force him to ponder the complex dynamics at play in Canada's Muslim community.
His former schoolmates who turned extremist were driven by a powerful sense of isolation and humiliation, he said, adding their views were fuelled by turbulent politics in the Middle East combined with subtle snubs at home.
Khan and his friends, however, took a different path. The tragedy of Sept. 11 proved beyond a doubt that fundamentalist doctrine had no place in mainstream society, he said.
"From what I've seen amongst my own friends ... before, they might have had some kind of sympathy with Osama Bin Laden and everybody else," he said. "Seeing that there's absolutely no success, there's absolutely no divine support, I have to think the sympathy for him has completely waned away."
Questions of identity also dogged Ali and Massa as they came of age in the post-911 era.
Ali said she questioned her faith more critically in her teens and now calls her belief in Islam a "more salient" part of her identity.
The issue runs even deeper for Massa, who said the systemic distrust of Islam she believes has crept into Canadian culture has made her question the relationship between the religion she practices and the country she calls home.
Massa feels particularly threatened by legislation banning traditional Islamic attire, such as a bill in Quebec that seeks to ban the use of the face-covering burka or niqab when providing or receiving public services.
The law — which has languished in Quebec's National Assembly for months — would ban women from receiving government services while wearing the burka or niqab, which cover the face. Some Quebec legislators want the proposed ban extended to all religious symbols, such as the Sikh ceremonial dagger known as the kirpan.
Such attitudes trouble Massa.
"What exactly is Canadian identity? I thought it was about being Canadian and being able to continue your religious or cultural traditions and having the freedom to do that," she said.
"Those sorts of things are slowly being taken away. It's a small minority of my community that is under fire right now, but I fear that those types of things will be extended."
Not all Muslims have felt the sting of victimization.
Amir Shahzada, a Toronto cab driver who moved to Canada in 2002, said he has never experienced discrimination during his time in North America.
"I'm driving a cab for almost five, six, seven years, and I have a lot of people, different mentality people ... They are very good," he said.
Sohail Raza, president of the Muslim Canadian Congress, says any tensions that exist can be traced back to the Muslim community rather than the rest of Canada.
Mosque leaders have capitalized on the notion of Islamophobia, convincing Muslims they are under attack and driving the community towards fundamentalism, he said.
"I'm free to critique Christians, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, but why am I not able to take any critique on myself?" he said. "(Mosque leaders) get away with that. They play with the human rights issue. They play with freedom of speech. They have infiltrated institutions just to harm Canada."
Massa disagrees, saying the post-9-11 years have encouraged more Muslims to educate themselves on the tenets of their religion and question teachings handed down from family members or community leaders.
Still, she said, Muslims should be allowed to grapple with identity questions and sort out their internal differences without judgment or interference from the rest of Canada.
"I'm the first person to criticize the actions of my own community, but I think that is a discussion we have to have as a community."
© The Canadian Press, 2011
http://www.globaltvedmonton.com/canada/muslim+canucks+deal+with+stereotypes+
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Love jihad piqued US interest
Sep 06 2011
New Delhi: Controversial phenomena of love jihad an alleged conspiracy of foreign-funded charming Muslim men attempting to seduce, marry and convert Hindu and Christian women had caught the fancy of American diplomats, who in their cables to Washington last year expressed that the episode generated a lot of religious tensions in south India.
The US diplomats in their report from Chennai consulate said: Both Hindu and Christian groups have expressed fear and outrage at the plot, while Muslim groups have felt the need to defend their co-religionists against the conspiracy theorists. The love jihad controversy had its origins in southern Karnataka and northern Kerala, where, the cable said, forms of religious and communal violence had been occurring with unfortunate regularity.
Times of India
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US raised issue of ethnic violence, tech transfer to Pak with China
Sep 06 2011
This capital city’s skies were clogged with pollution, as is often the case, and China’s government was concerned. So it summoned officials of the American Embassy here to a meeting.
But the session had nothing to do with hazy skies. Rather, Chinese officials were peeved that the Americans were monitoring pollution themselves, and posting on Twitter for anyone to read, their more precise findings, which usually judged the smog far worse than official Chinese readings.
Chinese officials feared the conflicting information “might lead to ‘social consequences,’” a US Embassy cable quoted the officials as saying. So could the Americans please block Chinese citizens from visiting the Web site?
That July 2009 cable, posted on the WikiLeaks website on Friday, is one of hundreds from the US Embassy in Beijing that offer a glimpse into the depths, and heights, of relations between the US and Chinese governments. The cables, involving secret but not very diplomatically delicate correspondence between the two powers, cover topics ranging from China’s claims on the South China Sea to the daily exercise regimen that the Chongqing Communist Party secretary, Bo Xilai, designed for himself.
Their revelation appears unlikely to ruffle diplomatic relations. But they could lead to serious consequences for Chinese academics, students and others who talked frankly to US officials, and who are identified, either by name or by precise description, in cables.
Among the cables were analyses of China’s social stability, the isolated political position of the prime minister, Wen Jiabao, and tensions between China’s majority Han population and ethnic Uighurs in Xinjiang, the western region that has been plagued by violence.
The cables span the tenure of two US presidents and one Chinese, Hu Jintao. They describe a crucial global relationship that is warm in some aspects and conspicuously icy in others.
One lengthy report on 2009 military talks between the Pentagon and the People’s Liberation Army noted that the senior Chinese official, Lt Gen Ma Xiaotian, prolonged an hourlong discussion by an additional 30 minutes to attack US arms sales to Taiwan and US military reconnaissance within China’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone. General Ma also said China’s analysts did not believe that US missile defences were in fact defensive.
The cables include a stream of messages from US to Chinese officials about the proliferation of nuclear weapons and missile technology, usually from North Korea or from Chinese companies to Iran. In cable after cable, Americans warn of attempts by an Iranian front company in Malaysia to purchase nuclear components; a North Korean flight to Iran, via Beijing, that may have carried ballistic missile experts; and Iranian efforts to buy aluminum plates from a Chinese company for use in cruise missiles. Other cables cited Chinese companies’ efforts to sell prohibited technologies or materials to Pakistan. What the Chinese did with the warnings is not stated.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/us-raised-issue-of-ethnic-violence-tech-transfer-to-pak-with-china/842072/
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“Ideals, principles and convictions matter more than landmass, wealth or military strength” – Maldives Foreign Minister
Sep 06 2011
On Friday July 15, 2011, the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies in collaboration with The United States Department of State and the Brookings Institution convened a panel at the Johns Hopkins University in Washington DC to discuss the Road to Democratic Reform in the Maldives.
The panelists included Foreign Minister H. E. Mr. Ahmed Naseem, Assistant Secretary of State for South/Central Asia, US Department of State, Robert O. Blake, Former Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Teresita Schaffer, Brookings Senior Fellow Dr. Stephen Cohen, and the Chair of the panel, Assistant Director of the South Asia Studies Program at Johns Hopkins University Dr. Walter Andersen.
In his remarks, Assistant Secretary Blake highlighted the close and very productive relationship between the United States and the Maldives and praised Maldives’ international leadership on a number of pressing issues such as human rights and climate change. “Maldives has proven to be an able partner in challenging the great problems of our time” said Mr. Blake referring to US – Maldives relations. He also commended the efforts of the Maldives in addressing the challenges of youth unemployment, drug addiction and the fiscal deficit. He further highlighted that the United States is pleased to partner with the Maldives in key areas such as educational exchanges, natural resource management programs and maritime security cooperation.
Full report at:
http://doreview.blogspot.com/2011/07/ideals-principles-and-convictions.html
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US intelligence helps Pak nab top Qaida leader
Sep 06 2011
Islamabad: Senior al-Qaida leader of North African origin,Sheikh Younis al Mauritani,and two high-ranking operatives were arrested from the suburbs of Quetta in an intelligence-based operation,claimed Pakistan military on Monday.
The operation against Mauritani was planned and conducted with the help of US intelligence agencies,the army said in a statement.The operatives arrested with Mauritani are Abdul Ghaffar al-Shami (Bachar Chama ) and Messara al-Shami (Mujahid Amino).
Army mouthpiece Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Mauritani was tasked by Osama bin Laden to focus on hitting targets of economic and commercial importance in the US,Europe and Australia.Mauritani was planning to hit US economic interests including gas/oil pipelines,power generating dams,strike ships and oil tankers through explosive-laden boats in international waters,ISPR said.
Mauritanis name surfaced during the interrogation of Ahmed Siddiqui,an al-Qaida operative,who was arrested in Afghanistan.He told his interrogators that Mauritani was al Qaidas external operations chief and third in the chain of command,after Osama and Ayman al Zawahiri.
Numerous Qaida leaders have been named at various time as the third in com mand,but the reports have often been contradictory Abu Yahya al Libi,Abu Faraj al-Libbi and Saleh al Somali have been identified at times as third-in-command.
Times of India
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Tortured rebel calls for apology
Sep 06 2011
Rebel commander, Abdel-Hakim Belhaj demanded an apology from Britain and the US after documents suggested both countries were complicit in a plan that led to his detention and torture.
Times of India
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UK to probe Libya torture claims,says Cameron
Sep 06 2011
London: Allegations that British intelligence agency MI6 was involved in the rendition of Libyan terror suspects should be examined by an independent inquiry,PM David Cameron said.
Camerons comments came after papers suggesting close ties between MI6,the CIA and the toppled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi regime were found in Tripoli last week.
A spokesman for Cameron said that the existing Detainee Inquiry into rendition was well placed to investigate the allegations reported in recent days.
The inquiry is headed by Sir Peter Gibson,a judge who is also the intelligence services commissioner.
Cameron had set up the Gibson inquiry in July 2010 to probe allegations that secret services were complicit in the torture of extremists on foreign soil after the September 11,2001 attacks on the United States.
Its not clear precisely what the allegations amount to.We dont have a clear picture from these documents,which is precisely why an inquiry might be well placed to consider the issue, PM David Camerons spokesman said.
Times of India
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Ex-UK spies to root out Islamic fanatics in schools
Sep 06 2011
London : The British government is recruiting former MI5 agents to root out Islamic fanatics in schools across the country, Education Secretary Michael Gove has said.
The move comes after several reports highlighted that Muslim preachers of hate and other extremists may influence British schoolchildren.
“We have been working with people who have been in the Intelligence Services in order to ensure that there is no-one from the wrong sort of background involved in education,” the Daily Express quoted Gove, as saying.
“And, I should add, not just with the free schools. There have been one or two disturbing cases with existing state schools where people have been trying to subvert them,” he added.
Gove also insisted that the government was determined not to allow anyone to establish a “free school”, which are designed to be formed by local communities and funded by the government.
“I’ve been crystal clear we should not have schools set up by extremists whether they’re Christian fundamentalists, Islamic fundamentalists or any other sort of outrageous and beyond-the-pale organization,” he said.
“We’ve set up a unit within the Department explicitly to monitor anyone who comes forward with a proposal for extremism."
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/exuk-spies-to-root-out-islamic-fanatics-in-schools/841936/
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400 young Saudis to get married in Jeddah mass wedding
Sep 5, 2011
JEDDAH: A total of 400 young Saudi men and women will tie the knot next week during a mass wedding sponsored by Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal.
Saeed Al-Niaimi, chairman of the Welfare Society for Marriage Assistance and Family Care that is organizing the event, made the announcement.
Al-Niaimi said the society not only grants young men soft loans and financial and material assistance, but also ensures that they get discounts on furniture. The society organizes awareness programs for them before and after marriage.
He said so far 24,750 young Saudi men benefited from the society's loans that amounted to more than SR149.5 million. The chairman also said 875 young Saudi men and women benefited from the society's awareness programs.
“We have distributed more than 180,000 publications on happy family life, 42 audio materials and held 127 orientation sessions which were attended by 4,406 young men and women,” he said.
He said the individual loans given by the society range from SR10,000 to SR15,000. The loans are cleared only after personal interviews between the beneficiaries and a social research committee at the society.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article497543.ece
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Somalia famine: UN warns of 750,000 deaths
Sep 5, 2011
Up to 750,000 people could die as Somalia's drought worsens in the coming months, the UN has warned, declaring a famine in a new area.
The UN says tens of thousands of people have died after what is said to be East Africa's worst drought for 60 years.
Bay becomes the sixth area to be officially declared a famine zone - mostly in parts of southern Somalia controlled by the Islamist al-Shabab.
Some 12 million people across the region need food aid, the UN says.
A sixth region of Somalia has been declared a famine area by the UN, which warns the situation will only worsen in the coming months.
The number of people dying in the southern Bay region has now passed the threshold to be defined a famine, the UN says.
"In total, 4 million people are in crisis in Somalia, with 750,000 people at risk of death in the coming four months in the absence of adequate response," the UN's Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) says.
Half of those who have already died are children, it says.
Neighbouring Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda have also been affected by the severe lack of rain.
Full report at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14785304
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Bangladesh drags feet on road to north- east
By Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury
Sep 06 2011
PRIME Minister Manmohan Singh lost the Teesta river plot to Mamata Banerjee and a crucial transit rights treaty through Bangladesh for the North- East to Dhaka’s reluctance.
Keeping in mind Bangladesh’s “domestic political compulsions”, the two nations were expected to sign a watered down document or “exchange of letter” on Tuesday to cover the existing bilateral protocols on transit. The letter will include the use of Chittagong and Mongla ports by India as part of regional connectivity.
This came after the rival Bangladesh National Party of Khaleda Zia and the Jamaat alleged that the Sheikh Hasina government was “selling out” by agreeing to a transit treaty.
Despite the hiccups on these two fronts, Singh’s Dhaka tour — the first by an Indian PM in 12 years — would be known for the sheer volume of agreements and MoUs, ranging from boundary disputes, trade liberalisation, power connectivity, education cooperation and security matters.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Airstrike in Yemen kills seven
Sep 06 2011
Witnesses say a Yemeni warplane has bombed a mosque in a southern town overrun by militants, killing seven people.
Fighters with suspected links to Yemen’s al-Qaeda offshoot took over Jaar in April and another nearby town a month later. The militants have taken advantage of the turmoil that grew out of massive anti-government demonstrations this year to expand their reach.
The mosque struck Monday is located in a residential area of Jaar.
On Sunday, Yemen’s Defence Ministry said 17 al-Qaeda militants were killed in airstrikes in the south.
Despite the military action, Yemen’s beleaguered government has not been able to drive the militants from the towns.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2426593.ece
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Wiki leaks: India to America‘hands off Kashmir’
By Aman Sharma
Sep 06 2011
Uncle Sam’s Pakistan tilt on K- policy made Delhi jumpy
IT’S THE untouchable K- word that makes the establishment in Delhi jump up and down.
And that’s precisely what US ambassador David Mulford’s confidential cable to Washington tried to elaborate on at the end of his five- year eventful stint in India.
In fact, Mulford told his bosses that New Delhi looked at America with a glint of suspicion and detest as it held Uncle Sam as partial arbitrator on Kashmir.
In an unusually lengthy cable running into nearly 2,700 words, currently leaked on the WikiLeaks website, Mulford cautioned the new US government under Barack Obama that India viewed the US’ Kashmir policy as skewed because it had generous tilt towards Pakistan.
This cable sent on January 30, 2009 — barely 10 days after Obama was sworn in — said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had asked the US to follow a hands- off” policy on Kashmir.
Mulford said he met Prime Minister Singh on January 13, but refrained from putting every minute of the meeting into the long- distance diplomatic cable.
Full report at: Mail Today
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US drone strike kills 7 in NW Pakistan
Sep 5, 2011
A non-UN-sanctioned US drone attack has killed at least seven people and wounded several others in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region.
The causalities come after US drones targeted suspected militants in an area of North Waziristan tribal region, Xinhua reported.
The US frequently carries out such attacks on Pakistan's tribal areas. Attacks by unmanned American planes have left dozens of people dead in the volatile region over the past weeks.
The aerial attacks, initiated by former US president George W. Bush, have been escalated under President Barack Obama.
Washington claims the attacks target al-Qaeda-linked and pro-Taliban militants in Pakistan's northwestern tribal regions bordering Afghanistan. However, locals insist that the strikes kill mostly civilians.
Full report at:
http://presstv.com/detail/197428.html
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Iran Guards kill 22 Kurd rebels: state
Sep 5, 2011
TEHRAN: Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards have killed 22 rebels of the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) in a new offensive along the northwestern border with Iraq, state television reported on Monday.
“Twenty-two PJAK rebels were killed in the new Guards operations in Sardasht Heights, and another 27 rebels have been wounded,” the report said.
Guards’ operations officer Colonel Hamid Ahmadi said the offensive launched on Friday would “continue until all counter-revolutionaries, rebels and terrorists have been cleared away.”
Iranian media reported on Saturday that two Guards had been killed on the first day of the offensive.
PJAK rebels have clashed repeatedly with Iranian forces in recent years, drawing retaliatory bombing of their rear-bases in mountainous border districts of Iraqi Kurdistan.
In July, Iran launched a major offensive against the rebels, shelling border districts for weeks.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/05/iran-guards-kill-22-kurd-rebels-state-tv.html
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21 Taliban killed in Afghanistan
Sep 5, 2011
Kabul: Afghan forces backed by NATO-led troops have killed 21 Taliban militants and arrested 11, the interior ministry said.
“Afghan police in coordination with army and NATO-led troops have killed 21 rebels and captured 11 others during a series of operations across the country over the past 24 hours,” Xinhua quoted a ministry statement as saying Saturday.
The report, however, did not say if there were any casualties among the security forces.
The Taliban were yet to make any comment.
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/21-taliban-killed-in-afghanistan_100561168.html
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Fire and graffiti attack on Palestinian mosque in Kasra
Sep 5, 2011
A mosque in a Palestinian village north of Jerusalem was attacked overnight, residents say.
Two tyres were set on fire and thrown into the mosque in the village of Kasra, near the West Bank city of Nablus, 65km (40 miles) north of Jerusalem, they said.
Graffiti in Hebrew threatening further attacks had been left on the walls, residents added.
Israeli authorities say they are investigating.
The arson attack was carried out just hours after Israeli police demolished three illegal structures at the nearby hilltop Jewish settlement of Migron.
Settlers may have set fire to the mosque in retaliation, Israeli newspapers suggest.
Increased attacks
There has been sharp rise in violence involving settlers in 2011, the UN says.
In 2011 alone, there have been more than 250 incidents in which Palestinians have been injured or had their property damaged.
Full report at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14786172
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136 killed in Pakistan floods
Sep 5, 2011
ISLAMABAD: At least 136 people have died and around eight million affected by floods in Pakistan's southern Sindh province and eastern Punjab province, a top official said.
Zafar Iqbal Qadir, chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), said that most of the people who lost their homes in Sindh and Punjab have been provided accommodation at different relief camps set up by the government, Xinhua reported.
Food and other necessities are being supplied to the flood-affected areas, he said.
The army and navy as well as UN agencies are also involved in rescue and relief work.
To prevent the outbreak of water-borne diseases like malaria, the government has launched a campaign in the flood-hit areas.
Media reports said 1,500 dengue cases were registered in Punjab till Saturday.
The meteorological department has predicted more rains in the coming days, which could further aggravate the situation in the flood-hit areas.
In 2010, Pakistan was hit by an unprecedented flood, which claimed over 2,000 lives and affected some 20 million people.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/88-killed-in-Pakistan-floods/articleshow/9869092.cms
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Iranian President's Advisor Blasts West's Hostility towards Islam
September 05, 2011
TEHRAN (FNA)- The West has waged a media propaganda to spread Islamophobia in the world and the UN Security Council supports this hostile attitude towards Islam, an advisor to the Iranian president said.
"Today, Islam is the main problem of the West," Gholam Hossein Elham said in a conference on media's role in Islamic Revolution on Sunday evening.
He added the western governments are trying to spread Islamophobia and Iranophobia in the western societies through a media propaganda.
"The western media are releasing incorrect and scattered but organized information to avoid people's negative reaction towards them," Elham noted.
He described the UN Security Council as a means serving the westerners' goals, and stated, "Today, all the UN Security Council resolutions allow aggression (against Islam)."
Iranian officials, specially Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, have repeatedly called on the worldwide Muslims to enhance unity and solidarity to defuse enemy plots.
Ayatollah Khamenei said during an address to a group of Iranian officials, ambassadors of Muslim states and Iranian people in September 2010 that Muslim nations should get closer to each other day by day and move in line with unity because that's the only way to campaign against enemies of Islam.
The Leader said Muslim nations should be united in all issues relating to the Islamic World.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9006130182
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Post 9/11 Sikh and Muslim experiences get a hearing
Sep 5, 2011
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.: At an event here August 27 to mark the 10-year anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, harrowing stories were related of bullying in schools, workplace harassment, hate crimes based on religious affiliations and persecution by law enforcement agencies due to wearing faith-based hair coverings.
The three-hour hearing, "Unheard Voices of 9/11," dramatically presented the decade-long impact after 9/11 on Arab, Muslim and Sikh American communities.
"Most of the bullying that I faced happened in middle school," said Sarah O'Neal, a young hijab-wearing Muslim at the first panel on school bullying.
"I was called a 'towel head' and some students asked me if I had relatives in al-Qaeda." Currently a junior at Wilcox High School in Santa Clara, Calif., she added, "I felt marginalized, upset and unaccepted. I don't want other kids to experience what I experienced in school because of my religion and because I wear a hijab."
Navneet Singh, 16, of Redwood City, Calif., said, "I have felt isolated from elementary school onwards. In the fourth grade, I got punched in my face by a high school (student). I have been asked if I am related to any terrorist. I feel like I have to walk around with my guard up all the time."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/nri/us-canada-news/Post-9/11-Sikh-and-Muslim-
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US cables: Moderate Hurriyat favoured hanging Afzal if he was guilty
Sep 05 2011
Srinagar : Moderate Hurriyat Conference leaders were privately in favour of hanging Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru if he was guilty but felt that he did not get adequate representation during parts of his trial, leaked US diplomatic cables have claimed.
"While they (moderates) were concerned that Afzal did not have adequate representation during parts of his trial, privately they say that he should be executed if he is guilty," a US cable released by Wikileaks last week said.
The revelation comes at a time when there is a heated debate, triggered by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, about clemency for Guru, who is on the death row for his role in the 2001 Parliament attack case.
The separatist amalgam headed by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq has been seeking amnesty for Guru in their public statements.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/us-cables-moderate-hurriyat-favoured-hanging-afzal-
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Colonels men came,but got no arms: China
Saibal Dasgupta
Sep 06 2011
Beijing:Representatives of the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi visited Chinas ordinance factories in an attempt to purchase weapons last year in July,the Chinese foreign ministry said.
The factories though had not sold them any weapons,Jiang Yu,foreign ministry spokeswoman,said.Gaddafi had sent people to China to engage with relevant companies without the knowledge of the government,she said.
As far as I know,since the adoption of UN resolution of 1970,the Chinese companies have not provided military products to Libya in direct or indirect forms, she said responding to questions concerning a report in the Globe and Mail.China strictly implemented UN resolution, she said.
Responding to allegations that Beijing was blocking the efforts to release frozen assets of Libya,she said,In the spirit of being responsible China and some other members of the UNSC maintain that the use of assets and supervision mechanism be further specified, Jiang said.
Times of India
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Bombing of Libya most accurate ever: NATO
Sep 06 2011
NATO’s top official says the bombing campaign against Libya is unique due to the unprecedented precision of the alliance’s airstrikes.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Monday that no air operation in history had been so accurate and so careful in avoiding civilian casualties.
NATO has conducted 22,000 sorties, including over 8,000 strike missions, since the first attacks were launched in March.
Mr. Fogh Rasmussen says the alliance had degraded a war machine built up over more than 40 years, and that the airstrikes would continue until “the threat is over for good.”
NATO has been criticised for overstepping its limited U.N. mandate to enforce a no-fly zone and protect threatened civilians.
Keywords: Libya unrest, Arab spring, Libya civil war, Qadhafi regime, NATO airstrike, military operation
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2427140.ece
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Pakistan detains three al-Qaeda suspects
Sep 06 2011
Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) arrested three senior members of al-Qaeda in an operation assisted by American intelligence, the Pakistani army said Monday.
An army statement identified the most senior detainee as Younis al-Mauritani, who it said been tasked by Osama bin Laden with targeting Western economic interests worldwide. The statement said the arrests took place in the southwestern city of Quetta, but did not say when.
The ISI has cooperated with the CIA over the last 10 years to arrest scores of al-Qaeda suspects, but ties between the two agencies have suffered greatly in recent months over CIA drone strikes inside Pakistani territory and the unilateral American raid that killed bin Laden. The unusual announcement of the arrest of the three appears to signal that the relationship could be warming.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2426909.ece
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India, Bangladesh likely to sign extradition treaty
Sep 06 2011
India and Bangladesh are likely to sign an extradition treaty during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's September 6-7 Dhaka visit, according to sources in the Home Ministry.
The two countries have agreements on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, transfer of sentenced persons and fight against international terrorism, organised crime and illicit drug trafficking.
An extradition treaty will take mutual cooperation to another level and facilitate faster handing over of fugitives to each other's law enforcement authorities.
India is looking forward to take into custody Anup Chettia, general secretary of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA). The treaty will facilitate his transfer from Dhaka to New Delhi.
The ULFA and the Union and Assam governments have signed a Suspension of Operations agreement. ULFA leaders, now back in India and on board the peace process, were living in Bangladesh for the past several years.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2427475.ece
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Pak SC takes a cue from judicial activism in India
Sep 06 2011
NEW TO judicial activism, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has chosen to look towards precedents in India. Facing resistance over its decision to monitor the Haj Scam case involving a minister, the Pakistan SC has cited a number of cases in the Indian SC. Justifying its intervention, a bench presided over by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, in a detailed order, has pointed to the pro- active role of the Indian SC in the 2G case, post- Godhra riot cases, Sohrabuddin fake encounter case, the Hawala case and many others.
“ All those cases which are quoted hereinabove clearly indicate that in the matter of exercise of power of judicial review in Pakistan, we have not travelled so far as is the position in the neighboring country,” the court said, after tracing the development of the power of judicial review in India.
The order has further pointed to the role of the Indian SC in ensuring the welfare of the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy and the protection of women by laying down guidelines against sexual harassment at workplaces. The Pakistan SC has also referred to the recent Nandini Sundar case in which the apex court ruled against use of local tribals in the fight against Naxals after making them Special Police Officers.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Cong panders to Islamists: Digvijay
Sep 06 2011
New Delhi: Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh told US diplomats in 2007 that the Congress was embracing soft Hindutva and pandered to Muslim fundamentalists.Also,he said it was irrelevant if Manmohan Singh survived as the Prime Minister as the party would accept anyone chosen by Sonia Gandhi as premier.
The cable comes in the face of Singhs recent demand for Rahul Gandhi to become the Prime Minister.
In a meeting with US diplomats on May 22,2007,the senior Congress leader known for his proximity to 10 Janpath,told them that the Congress was faring badly in polls because it was reluctant to embrace its own progressive and secular ideology,the cable sent on May 24 said.
Singh complained that the Congress had backed away from confronting communalism and casteism and this was hurting the party at the polls.Singh said caste and religious identities were losing their political usefulness and that Congress would benefit from this ongoing social change if it embraced an uncompromising position on these issues.
Full report at: Times of India
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India can deliver US projects in Af
Sep 06 2011
New Delhi: Shashi Tharoor,when he was minister of state for external affairs,told the US ambassador that India could deliver many US objectives without putting a US face on them in Afghanistan.
If the US could discreetly facilitate,India could deliver some of the objectives in Afghanistan,Tharoor told US ambassador Timothy Roemer,suggesting that the two sides could step up their cooperation in the troubled nation.
The conversation was reported in a US embassy cable sent on September 2,2009.Tharoor said India was proud of its contributions and deeply committed to its work in Afghanistan,and recognized that it could carry out certain projects there more easily than the US.Tharoor told the US to be a source of sound advice to Pakistan on what is needed to bring those responsible for the Mumbai attacks to justice and roll up the terrorist infrastructure.
Full report at: Times of India
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CBI to recreate Shehla Masood's murder scene
Sep 06 2011
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday began probing the murder of RTI activist Shehla Masood and said it would first "recreate" the sequence of events at her house in Bhopal. On Aug 16, Masood, Madhya Pradesh chapter head of citizen's movement India Against Corruption, was
shot dead inside her car outside her house.
Sources in the premier investigation agency say they will grill Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha member Tarun Vijay and Bhopal legislator Dhruv Narayan Singh, apart from Inspector General of Police Pawan Srivastava in the case.
The three have already been quizzed by the Madhya Pradesh police on the basis of Masood's mobile phone call details.
While Vijay and Singh were known to be close to Masood, Srivastava had allegedly threatened the RTI activist about which she had also written to police in 2008 and 2010.
Sources say that Vijay had spoken to Masood only half an hour before she was killed.
Meanwhile, Masood's father Sultan Masood thanked Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for handing over the case to CBI. "Now our hope of getting justice has risen," he said.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/CBI-to-recreate-Shehla-Masood-s-murder-scene/Article1-
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Afghan suicide attack on Nato convoy kills two
Sep 5, 2011
KANDAHAR: A suicide bomber killed two private security guards and wounded 21 others on Sunday in Afghanistan after attacking a convoy headed for Nato troops in the country.
The explosion happened in the southern province of Kandahar, local officials said, adding the security guards were escorting the logistics convoy destined for Nato’s International Security Assistance Force (Isaf).
“The attack took place around 6:30 pm, a suicide attacker detonated his car loaded with explosives near the private security firm,” Zalmay Ayoubi, a spokesman for the governor of Kandahar, told AFP.
“He targeted the logistic convoy. As a result, two people were killed and 21 injured.”
Ayoubi named the security company as Afghanistan Naween and said the attack happened close to the firm’s premises.
All the dead and injured belonged to the security firm with the exception of one of the wounded, who was a civilian, Ayoubi said.
Isaf, which has about 130,000 troops in Afghanistan fighting a Taliban-led insurgency, uses private companies to transport and protect logistics convoys in the war-torn country.
Kandahar, birthplace of the Taliban, is one of the deadliest areas in the nearly 10-year conflict.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/05/afghan-suicide-attack-on-nato-convoy-kills-two.html
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Four killed as groups clash in Karachi
Sep 5, 2011
KARACHI: At least four people, a woman among them, were killed and two others injured in a clash between two religious groups in Godhra area of New Karachi late on Sunday night.
Two of them were pronounced dead on arrival at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and the two others died later.
Hospital sources said the condition of one of the injured was critical.
Police reinforcement was sent to the affected area.
A police officer said the two groups had a history of clashes over collection of donation and management of a hospital in the area.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/05/four-killed-as-groups-clash-in-karachi.html
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Kurdish separatists 'attack football match'
Sep 5, 2011
Two dead and eight injured in attack on police playing football in eastern province of Tunceli, Turkish media reports.
Kurdish separatist fighters opened fired on a group of Turkish policemen playing football in the eastern province of Tunceli, killing a senior officer and his wife and wounding eight other police officers, Turkish media reported.
The police were playing at an artificial pitch in the city centre when four or five fighters arrived by car and opened fire with long-range rifles.
One separatist was shot dead as police returned fire. It was the third attack in two days in southeastern Turkey, where two soldiers and two village guards also died in attacks by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighters, amid heightened violence in the region.
Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish bases in northern Iraq on Sunday where PKK fighters operate from camps in the Qandil mountains of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, according to the Turkish military.
Full report at: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2011/09/2011957327626879.html
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Turkish Kurds seek to preach in own language
05 Sep 2011
Kurdish minority clamours to scrap rule requiring use of Turkish in government-controlled mosques.
Kurds in Turkey are demanding the right to preach in their own language. It is part of a long-running effort to win recognition of rights.
With protests growing each week, Turkey's government may soon be forced to take notice.
Al Jazeera's Mereana Hond reports.
http://english.aljazeera.net/video/europe/2011/09/20119504515696107.html
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Missing Germans found dead in Afghanistan
Sep 5, 2011
Two German men who disappeared in Afghanistan last month have been found dead, officials in Parwan province say.
The pair vanished near the Salang Pass, north of Kabul. Both men are said to have been working for an aid organisation.
One unconfirmed report suggests the men were killed by gunshot wounds.
The Salang Pass is generally considered quite stable but there were fears the men had strayed into another valley, which is less secure.
Afghan officials suspect the men, who had been travelling without a local guide, were abducted by the Taliban in the neighbouring Ghorband valley.
The pair disappeared on Friday 19 August. They told their driver they were heading into the mountains and when they failed to return he raised the alarm.
Germany's Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on 23 August that there were "indications that they may have been the victims of kidnapping."
Their bodies were found under a large boulder 4km (2.5 miles) from the south end of the Salang pass, Parwan's governor Abdul Basir Salangi is quoted as telling the Associated Press news agency.
The Salang Pass is a major route through the Hindu Kush mountains and connects the Afghan capital, Kabul, with the north of the country.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14787092
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Syria forces raid central cities kill two: activists
Sep 5, 2011
NICOSIA: Syrian troops and security forces on Monday launched an assault on the central cities of Hama and Homs, where they shot dead at least two people, activists said.
“More than 30 military vehicles and security forces raided Hama this morning and heavy gunfire was heard in the city,” Omar Idlibi, spokesman of the Local Coordination Committees, told AFP in Nicosia on the telephone.
A similar operation was carried out in central Homs, where the security forces shot dead at least two people, he added.
Troops backed by tanks had stormed Hama on July 31, on the eve of the start of the holy Muslim month of Ramazan, to fight “armed groups”. At least 100 people were killed, and the troops withdrew 10 days later.
The protest hub of Homs also witnessed violence Sunday as 15 people were wounded when troops and security forces raked gunfire in the central city as part of an operation launched Saturday night, activists said.
Full report at: http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/05/syria-forces-raid-central-cities-kill-two-
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Malaysia mourns TV journalist killed in Somalia
Sep 5, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: A Malaysian TV journalist fatally shot in Somalia received a hero’s funeral Sunday attended by Malaysia’s prime minister and hundreds of mourners.
Cameraman Noramfaizul Mohd Nor’s body was flown back to Kuala Lumpur in a military aircraft after he was killed in the Somalian capital, Mogadishu, while covering a Malaysian aid agency’s humanitarian mission.
Malaysia’s foreign ministry says Somalian authorities have pledged to investigate Friday’s killing. Some members of the aid mission voiced suspicions that Noramfaizul was shot by African Union troops while traveling in a car.
Prime Minister Najib Razak was among many who prayed over Noramfaizul’s coffin, which was draped with the flags of Malaysia and Somalia in a mosque ceremony broadcast live on national television.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article497437.ece
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Manmohan's Dhaka visit a test for Delhi's neighbourhood diplomacy
Sep 5, 2011
As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh flies to Dhaka on Tuesday on a visit that will put to test New Delhi's neighbourhood diplomacy, there is total unanimity among Indian area analysts that India should travel the extra mile to help Bangladesh in trade, river water sharing, and power sectors and that the upswing in ties should be sustained irrespective of which party is in power in that country.
The analysts agree that the Indian PM's visit provides an opportunity to take India-Bangladesh relations to a higher trajectory and the positive momentum in bilateral relations generated during Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to Delhi in January 2010 must be continued by accelerating implementation of the joint communiqué signed during her visit.
Bangladesh has taken steps to address India's security concerns and it is time India shows sensitivity to Bangladeshi concerns and come out with a comprehensive assistance and cooperation package for Bangladesh, they opine.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=201116
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India, Bangladesh to Help People Stuck in Enclaves
Sep 5, 2011
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — The village of Votbari is a tiny island of India surrounded by a sea of Bangladesh.
A victim of absurd map drawing during the 1947 partition of the Indian subcontinent, the enclave has been all but abandoned by both nations. It has no paved roads, electricity, hospital or schools. Its destitute residents get no aid from either side. Years of regional tensions have kept it in limbo.
"There is nobody to look after us," resident Jober Ali said. "We have no country ... I do not have any identity. I am nowhere."
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan's Singh's visit to Dhaka starting Tuesday could end the suffering for tens of thousands of people trapped in dozens of such enclaves on both sides of the border.
With India's ties with rival Pakistan to the northwest frozen in enmity, it has turned its attention toward smoothing out its bumpy relationship with its northeastern neighbor.
The two nations are expected to tackle tensions over water resources, trade barriers and transit links. They also plan to resolve disputes over their 4,096-kilometer (2,545-mile) border — and with it, the enclave conundrum.
There are 111 Indian enclaves inside Bangladesh and 51 Bangladeshi ones inside India, with a combined population of 51,000, according to a recent survey jointly conducted by the two governments.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/09/05/world/asia/AP-AS-Bangladesh-India-
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Sustainability of present momentum of Indo-Bangla relations stressed
Sep 5, 2011
Journalists and former ambassadors at a roundtable discussion yesterday emphasised an inclusive and participatory process with political parties and key stakeholders for the sustainability of the current momentum of Bangladesh-India relations.
The discussion titled “India-Bangladesh Relations: Confidence Building Initiatives” was organised by Rashtrobiggan Samity at Jatiya Press Club in the city with its President Prof Gyasuddin Molla in the chair. Principal Shahadat Hussain Rana moderated the discussion.
The policy regarding India should be a national policy, not one of any government or political party, said former ambassador Humayun Kabir in his keynote paper.
Relations with India should be approached through a kind of national consensus. Otherwise, Bangladesh will have to negotiate with a “weak hand”, which could be fraught with serious risks, said Kabir.
He also opined for maintaining transparency in the negotiation process with India and strengthening bureaucratic machinery to support the implementation of the new dimensions of the relationship.
Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) President Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury said all political parties should at least sit together to exchange their views over Bangladesh-India relations.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=201132
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Libyans Turn Wrath on Dark-Skinned Migrants
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Sep 5, 2011
TRIPOLI, Libya — As rebel leaders pleaded with their fighters to avoid taking revenge against “brother Libyans,” many rebels were turning their wrath against migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, imprisoning hundreds for the crime of fighting as “mercenaries” for Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi without any evidence except the color of their skin.
Many witnesses have said that when Colonel Qaddafi first lost control of Tripoli in the earliest days of the revolt, experienced units of dark-skinned fighters apparently from other African countries arrived in the city to help subdue it again. Since Western journalists began arriving in the city a few days later, however, they have found no evidence of such foreign mercenaries.
Still, in a country with a long history of racist violence, it has become an article of faith among supporters of the Libyan rebels that African mercenaries pervaded the loyalists’ ranks. And since Colonel Qaddafi’s fall from power, the hunting down of people suspected of being mercenaries has become a major preoccupation.
Human rights advocates say the rebels’ scapegoating of blacks here follows a similar campaign that ultimately included lynchings after rebels took control of the eastern city of Benghazi more than six months ago. The recent roundup of Africans, though, comes at a delicate moment when the new provisional government is trying to establish its credibility. Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/05/world/africa/05migrants.html?ref=africa&gwh=C5938
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Libyan rebels confirm Gaddafi’s son’s death
5 September 2011
MOSCOW - Libya’s rebel-led National Transitional Council (NTC) has confirmed the death of Muammar Gaddafi’s younger son Khamis.
Rebel military spokesman Ahmed Bani said Sunday that 28-year-old Khamis died in the outskirts of Tarhunah.
The NTC had reported on an earlier occasion the death of Khamis, but every time the information could not be confirmed.
Khamis headed Libya’s 32nd Brigade, one of Gaddafi’s most professional and loyal units.
Another of Gaddafi’s sons, 29-year-old Saif, was falsely reported to have been killed in a NATO airstrike in May.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/international/2011/September/international_September205.xml§ion=international
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Libya conflict: Gaddafi sons 'left Bani Walid'
Sep 5, 2011
Two sons of fugitive Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi were holed up in the town of Bani Walid until Saturday but have now left, the head of the interim government has told the BBC.
Mustafa Abdul Jalil told the BBC that Saif al-Islam and Mutassim Gaddafi had been blocking the town's surrender.
Earlier, rebels said negotiations for Bani Walid's surrender had broken down and an assault was imminent.
But Mr Abdul Jalil said talks would continue until Saturday's deadline.
Meanwhile, a senior anti-Gaddafi commander is demanding an apology from the UK and the US for their role in his capture and torture in Libya in 2004.
Their role has been revealed in CIA papers found when offices and prisons in Tripoli were captured by anti-Gaddafi forces belonging to the National Transitional Council (NTC).
Details of the case of Abdel Hakim Belhaj are included in messages sent to the Gaddafi government by US and British intelligence services.
Relations between Col Gaddafi's government and China have also been revealed.
Other documents found in Tripoli show Chinese arms manufacturers held talks as recently as July with Gaddafi government officials who were seeking arms and ammunition, the Globe and Mail newspaper reported.
Full report at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14784962
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China confirms weapons firms met Gaddafi envoys in July
Sep 5, 2011
China has admitted its state-run weapons manufacturers held talks in July with representatives of Colonel Gaddafi as his forces battled rebels.
A spokeswoman said the meetings in Beijing took place without the knowledge of the government.
She said that no contracts were signed and no arms supplied.
The UN Security Council passed an arms embargo on Libya in February as anti-Gaddafi protests gathered pace.
The Chinese response followed a Canadian newspaper report that said three state-run Chinese firms had offered up to $200m (£124m) in weapons to Col Gaddafi's envoys when they visited from 16 July.
Citing documents found among rubbish in a part of Tripoli home to many of Col Gaddafi's former senior officials, the Toronto-based Globe and Mail said the weapons on offer included anti-tank missiles and rocket launchers.
The documents said the companies suggested shipping the arms via Algeria or South Africa, but did not confirm whether any military assistance was delivered, the newspaper reported.
'Treat seriously'
Full report at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14785688
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Talks fail for surrender of Qadhafi bastion
Sep 5, 2011
SHISHAN, Libya: Negotiations for the surrender of Moamer Qadhafi’s forces in the Libyan town of Bani Walid have failed and will not resume, an official said, opening the way for a military attack.
“I am leaving the military commander to resolve the problem,” said Abdullah Kenshil, the chief negotiator for Libya’s new government, the National Transitional Council (NTC).
The town southeast of Tripoli is one of the last strongholds of pro-Qadhafi fighters where at least one of the ousted despot’s sons is reported to be hiding.
Kenshil said the fighters had wanted to come out with their weapons on Sunday but were rebuffed.
“They demanded that the revolutionaries enter Bani Walid without their weapons,” he added, charging that it was a pretext for an ambush.
Kenshil said Qadhafi himself, his sons and much of his family had been in Bani Walid, without specifying when. Some had left but two of Qadhafi’s sons, Saadi and Mutassim, were still believed to be there.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/05/talks-fail-for-surrender-of-qadhafi-bastion.html
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Gaddafi leaned on Arab autocrats to stay in power
Sep 05 2011
Cairo : Muammar Gaddafi's dictatorship likely wouldn't have survived for more than four decades without the sea of dictators all around, protecting one another and working together to silence dissident voices.
Gaddafi himself saw collapse was inevitable as Arab unity frayed, and he pointed to the fall of Iraq's Saddam Hussein as a sign of things to come. "Your turn is next," he warned fellow leaders in a scathing speech at the 2008 Arab League summit in Damascus.
Back in 2008, Gaddafi's listeners laughed. Now, besides Gaddafi, longtime autocrats have been swept from power by popular uprisings in Tunisia, where the Arab Spring began, and Egypt. Syria's Bashar Assad and Yemen's Ali Abdullah Saleh are also under fierce pressure.
Ties with autocrats stretch back to the early days of Gaddafi's regime, historians have written. The night Gaddafi, then a junior officer who would later promote himself to colonel, ousted King Idriss, the first planeload of official visitors to land in Tripoli was from Egypt. Gamal Abdel Nasser sent veteran journalist and top adviser Mohammed Hassanin Haikal to take the measure of his neighbor's new ruler.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/gaddafi-leaned-on-arab-autocrats-to-stay-in-
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As Police Clash With Families, Mubarak Returns to Court
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Sep 05 2011
CAIRO — As crowds and police clashed outside a makeshift courtroom in a police academy here, prosecutors trying former President Hosni Mubarak began Monday to lay out their case against him on charges of complicity in the killing of demonstrators during the protests that ended his rule.
Mr. Mubarak, 83, who is reportedly in failing health, was once again delivered by helicopter and wheeled on a gurney into a courtroom for the third day of his trial, which opened in early August. He faces charges of conspiracy to murder and corruption.
As its first witnesses, the prosecution has called four senior police officials who are expected to testify about Mr. Mubarak’s role in ordering the crackdown on peaceful protesters. More than 800 died in the 18 days of demonstrations, and Mr. Mubarak’s former interior minister, Habib el Adly, is also on trial in connection with their killing.
Mr. Mubarak is the first Arab strongman to go before a court in this year’s Arab Spring revolts, and his trial has captivated the region from Syria to Libya. The hearing on Monday was the first since Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi was forced to flee his fortress in Tripoli, and the new provisional government set up by the rebels there is promising to apprehend him and bring him to trial as well.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/world/middleeast/06egypt.html
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US wants agent doctor released; Pak says no
Sep 5, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan seems to be in no mood to release from its custody a doctor who worked for the CIA to track down al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad despite US pressure.
Dr Shakeel Afridi, who is currently in the custody of Pakistan security agencies, ran a fake polio vaccination drive on behalf of the CIA in a bid to obtain DNA samples of Bin Laden's family in Abbottabad, months before the world's most wanted terrorist was killed by US special forces on May 2.
The vaccination programme was launched by the CIA in order to confirm whether or not bin Laden was hiding in the Abbottabad compound.
US secretary of state Hilary Clinton telephoned President Asif Ali Zardari on July 28 to seek his help in securing Dr Afridi's release, The Express Tribune newspaper said quoting sources.
However, President Zardari turned down the request, arguing that the matter was before the judicial commission, which has been investigating the circumstances surrounding the death and presence of Bin Laden in Abbottabad, 'Pakistan Today' daily said quoting an unnamed Pakistani diplomat.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/US-wants-agent-doctor-released-Pak-
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After Zardari visit, China plays host to bitter critic
Saibal Dasgupta
Sep 5, 2011
BEIJING: Within days of providing enthusiastic coverage of Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari's tour to Beijing, China's official TV has aired an interview with one of his bitter critics.
Fatima Bhutto, the niece of Benazir Bhutto, in her talk with the English channel lambasted dynastic rule in Pakistan saying that dynasties were an anti-thesis to democracy. Bhutto is the daughter of Benazir's brother Murtaza, who is believed to have been murdered for political reasons.
Fatima though did have some good news for Zardari's son Bilawal. Bhutto, who is a writer and a social activist, said she had no ambition to run for office in Pakistan . The interview comes ahead of Bilawal's visit to China on Monday.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/After-Zardari-visit-China-plays-host-to-bitter-critic/articleshow/9866983.cms
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Gujarat cops quiz aides of Surat blast accused
Sep 5, 2011
A four-member team of Gujarat Crime Branch arrived in Ranchi on Sunday morning to interrogate the family members and associates of Manzar Imamuddin, alias Manzar Imam, who is allegedly involved with Indian Mujahideen (IM) and took part in Surat serial blasts in 2008. The Indian Mujahideen is the prime suspect in the recent Mumbai blasts.
The four member team led by Inspector Crime Branch, Surat City Gujarat KD Khambala had a secret meeting with Ranchi SSP Saket Kumar Singh after reaching the State capital. They asked for cooperation from Ranchi police for further investigation of the case.
The team raided and interrogated the family members of Manzar on the Sunday morning. Earlier a three member team led by VVS Murthy also visited the residence of Manzar and had a meeting with city police.
The raids were conducted on a tip-off from Danish arrested in Vadodara a few weeks ago. Manzar is the main accused in the 2007 Hyderabad blast and has been absconding since then. Israr a cousin of Manzar however said that he was working abroad for past two years and was in touch with the family members.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/nation/3871-gujarat-cops-quiz-aides-of-surat-blast-accused-
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Israel will not apologise to Turkey: Netanyahu
Sep 5, 2011
Israel on Sunday made it clear that it will not apologise to Turkey, amid the deepening diplomatic row with Ankara over the Israeli commando raid aboard flotilla Mavi Marmara last year in which nine Turkish nationals were killed, but hopes to find a way to “overcome the differences”.
“We need not apologise for the fact that naval commandos defended their lives against an assault by violent IHT activists,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We need not apologise for the fact that we acted to stop the smuggling of weapons to Hamas, a terrorist organisation that has already fired over 10,000 missiles, rockets and mortar rounds at our civilians”, the hardline leader said at a weekly Cabinet meeting.
Turkey expelled Israel’s ambassador on Saturday and said that its effort to bring Israel before the International Court of Justice(ICJ) was moving ahead.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told State-run news outlet TRT that the court’s decision was binding.
“So we say, if you think this way, let the ICJ decide. We will initiate the legal procedure next week,” Davutoglu said.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/world/3772-israel-will-not-apologise-to-turkey-
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West Bank mosque torched as police dismantle outpost
September 5, 2011
QUSRA: Vandals set fire to a mosque in the northern West Bank early on Monday in an apparent retaliatory attack after police dismantled three homes in a Jewish settlement.
The mosque in Qusra village, some 15 kilometres southeast of Nablus, was damaged when two tyres were set alight inside, local residents said, blaming Jewish settlers.
An AFP correspondent said Hebrew graffiti on the outside walls included insults against Prophet Mohammed (pbuh), a Star of David, and “Migron”, the name of the settlement outpost near Ramallah which was partially dismantled by police overnight.
The pre-dawn attack came as hundreds of police and soldiers entered Migron and dismantled three structures after those living there were evacuated, police said, adding that the move had been approved by court.
“Six settlers who tried to prevent the demolition were arrested after attacking the forces,” spokeswoman Luba Samri told AFP.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/245264/west-bank-mosque-torched-as-police-dismantle-
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Scuffles in Cairo as Mubarak trial resumes
05 Sep 2011
Members of Egyptian security forces set to testify in closed court session as former president returns to the dock.
Scuffles have broken out between protesters and police officers outside the trial of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's former president, as the court prepares to hear from police witnesses who were in the operation room during the crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations.
The four senior police officers will be the first witnesses to take the stand in a case that has gripped Egypt and the Arab world.
Mubarak arrived at the courthouse by helicopter on Monday, but Egyptians will not be able to follow the proceedings, previously broadcast on national television and big screens outside the courthouse, after Ahmed Refaat, the case judge, ruled that no more sessions of the trial should be televised
Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros, reporting from Cairo, said more police had been deployed than for the previous two sessions.
Full report at:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/09/20119423598455837.html
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OIC blasts 'biased UN report' on aid flotilla
Sep 5, 2011
JEDDAH: The 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has criticized the “biased” UN report on Israel's deadly attack on the Gaza-bound aid flotilla Mavi Marmara and called for an independent inquiry into the incident.
In a statement issued on Sunday, OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu also urged the international community to put pressure on Israel to lift its siege of Gaza and hold the country responsible for all its illegitimate acts.
“The OIC cannot accept any report that would whitewash Israel's attack on the humanitarian flotilla and condone Israel's illegal blockade of Palestinian civilians,” the statement said.
“The UN’s report failed to reflect an objective and unbiased position,” Ihsanoglu added.
A recent UN report by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer concluded that Israel's naval blockade of Gaza was a “legitimate security measure.” The report blamed Israeli troops for using excessive force after boarding the Freedom Flotilla.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article497544.ece
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US asks Pakistan to hand over medic who helped CIA trace Bin Laden
Sep 5, 2011
ISLAMABAD: The United States has asked Pakistan to hand over Dr. Shakil Afridi, who had helped the CIA trace Osama Bin Laden through a fake vaccination campaign in Abbottabad.
Afridi from Khyber Agency was picked by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies moments after the disclosure was made by a British newspaper.
Afridi was assigned to collect DNA samples of Bin Laden’s family in Abbottabad months before the world’s most wanted man was killed by US special forces on May 2.
The vaccination program was launched by the CIA in order to confirm whether or not Bin Laden was hiding in the compound.
Official sources have confirmed that US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton telephoned President Asif Ali Zardari on July 28 to seek his help in securing Afridi’s release.
However, Zardari reportedly turned down the request, arguing that the matter was before the judicial commission investigating the circumstances surrounding the death and presence of Bin Laden in Abbottabad, sources said.
The high-powered commission, headed by a retired senior Supreme Court judge, Justice Javed Iqbal, has already barred the government from extraditing Bin Laden’s widows and others connected to the case.
Afridi was one of several Pakistanis detained over allegations of working for the CIA.
Afridi has yet to be charged formally, but if he is, he could face the death penalty for collaborating with a foreign spy agency.
http://arabnews.com/world/article497628.ece
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Abandoned Libyan missile: A gift to militants?
Sep 5, 2011
TAJOURA, Libya: When Muammar Qaddafi’s soldiers fled this corner of a field outside Tripoli where they were camped, they left behind their army fatigues, a can of Brut deodorant — and a Scud tactical missile.
Days later, the Soviet-made rocket, loaded on its launch truck and pointing toward the Libyan capital, is still sitting under the eucalyptus trees where they left it. The motley rebel forces who overthrew Qaddafi two weeks ago have set up no guard to prevent anyone taking it away or looting it for parts.
Western powers and Libya’s neighbors fear that the power vacuum could allow huge quantities of unsecured weapons left over from the civil war to end up in the hands of Islamist militants, in particular the North African branch of Al-Qaeda.
Officials with Libya’s interim government, the National Transitional Council, say they are trying to secure these weapons. But there was little evidence of that at the Scud site, in farmland about 25 km (15 miles) southeast of Tripoli.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article497490.ece
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Afghan Taliban free four Turkish engineers
Sep 5, 2011
GHAZNI: Four Turkish engineers kidnapped by Afghanistan’s Taliban more than eight months ago were freed overnight after intervention by tribal elders.
The men, taken captive in December in eastern Paktia province, were handed to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the neighbouring province of Ghazni, an AFP reporter in the area said.
“We were kidnapped by the Taliban eight-and-a-half months ago. We’re released on the occasion of Eid by Ameerul Momineen Mullah Mohammad Omar,” one of the captives told AFP, referring to the Taliban leader. The Turk, who gave his name only as Imam, said no ransom was paid and “we were not tortured” while in captivity, before being rushed to Ghazni city.
Authorities refused to give details but Haji Zahir, a Ghazni province tribal elder who facilitated the release, told AFP that the Taliban freed the four “only on the occasion of Eid.”
“Yes, we freed the four Turkish engineers on the occasion of Eid,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed told AFP.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\09\05\story_5-9-2011_pg7_8
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Shoulder to shoulder: Confessions of a perfect ‘Qaddafi-girl’
By Harald Doornbos
Sep 5, 2011
ZAWIYA, LIBYA: As the door opens to a poorly-lit room at the new rebel headquarters in the western Libyan town of Zawiya, three guards enter with a female prisoner of war (PoW). Tall and thin, the woman wears a blue scarf and is dressed in military uniform.
As she is ordered to take a seat, two Kalashnikov-carrying male guards take position at a distance of five metres, while an unarmed female guard sits immediately behind the PoW, who by now has removed her scarf.
The name of the uniformed woman is Aisha Abed El Salaam Ali. And she is not your average Arab woman.
Ali, who holds the rank of lieutenant-colonel, was one of the highest ranking female officers in the Libyan army, as well as a member of the Revolutionary Guard. Until recently, she was responsible for the world famous group of female bodyguards who protected former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi.
Ali, who is unmarried and hails from the town of Traghan in south Libya, joined Qaddafi’s army in 1984.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/244541/shoulder-to-shoulder-confessions-of-a-perfect-qaddafi-
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Stones tell a different tale in Kashmir
SHUJAAT BUKHARI
Sep 06 2011
Artistically done up pebbles were sent as gifts to Omar, others
On Sunday evening, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah received a stone. This one was not thrown by any stone-pelter but was wrapped in gift paper with beautiful flowers of papier-mâché on it. Similar stones as gifts were received by Industries Minister S.S. Salathia and Chief Secretary Madhav Lal.
The gifts were presented by the former Samata Party leader, Jaya Jaitly, whose Dastakari Haat Samiti has organised a 15-day Craft Bazaar in Srinagar. Mr. Abdullah was the chief guest on the occasion.
For the last three years, stones have become synonymous with violence in Kashmir. The small stones collected from river-beds received as gifts surely bring a new dimension to stones in the Valley. Nazir Ahmad Mir, a papier-mâché artist in Srinagar downtown, wanted to showcase stones in a positive manner. He quickly picked up the idea given by Ms. Jaitly. “So far Kashmir has been notorious for stone-pelting. I wanted to use it differently. See how beautiful it looks with the flowers found in Mughal Gardens of Kashmir,” he told The Hindu. Full report at: http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article2427500.ece
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Politics in Kashmir as "filthy" as Dal lake: US cable
Sep 06 2011
Srinagar : Politics in Kashmir is "as filthy as Dal lake" and corruption cuts across party lines, according to leaked US diplomatic cables from India released by Wikileaks.
David Mulford in a cable to Washington in 2006 when he was the US ambassador to India also alleged that corruption in Jammu and Kashmir was widespread and prevalent not only among mainstream politicians but separatists as well.
"Corruption cuts across party lines and most Kashmiris take it as an article of faith that politically-connected Kashmiris take money from both India and Pakistan," Mulford said in the cable which was released by Wikileaks last week.
The April 2006 cable, released by Wikileaks and titled "Kashmiri politics as filthy as Dal lake", alleges that politicians -- mainstream as well as separatists – amassed wealth within the country and abroad.
Mulford observed that the spread of corruption undermined popular support of existing political parties and separatists.
Full report at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/politics-in-kashmir-as-filthy-as-dal-lake-us-cable/841954/
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/maldives-calls-end-state-sponsored/d/5402