Maldives: Four men arrested for drugging and gang raping 15 year-old girl
Karzai to brief Manmohan on Afghan developments next week
Kazakhstan seeks to restrict public prayer
JKLF Chairman: ‘If Afzal is hanged Kashmir will burn’
Saudi King saves woman from getting 10 lashes
Maldives speaks in favour of Palestinian statehood at UNHRC, General Assembly
Taliban leader Mullah Omar is beyond Pakistani control: Pervez Musharraf
Gilani hits back at US, says Pak cannot be asked to 'do more'
Pak closes ranks against aggressive US
Sheikh Hasina felt indebted to India for support: WikiLeaks
We will not extradite Gaddafi son Saadi: Niger PM
Armed with smiles and fluent Hebrew, Muslims in Israel set out to convert Jews
Saudis export anti-Christian and anti-Jewish textbooks across the world: report
Malaysia Calls for Creation of Moderate Movement to Fight Islamophobia
Syrian nuclear scientist killed by attackers: Rights group
Five Iraqis, US soldier killed in bomb attacks
Suicide Bomber Kills 2 in Northern Iraq
Gunmen kill five relatives of Iraq militiaman
Plane crashes in Indonesia; 18 feared dead
Ten militants killed in Orakzai
Five NATO troops, three Afghans killed
Three security men killed in Quetta
Renewed Fighting Kills Two in Yemen Capital
J&K: 5 militants, 2 army men killed, encounter on
Car bomb kills eight in Russia's Muslim Dagestan
Bahrain Sentences Man to Death, Jails 20 Doctors
Pakistan won't allow compromise on dignity: Hina Rabbani Khar
Rezwan Ferdaus held for Pentagon bomb bid
Wannabe jihadists from burbs lack savvy
Saudi Arabia minus western stereotypes
Nobel Peace Prize for Arab Spring?
Pakistani political leaders meet to discuss crisis with US
Pak paying for mistake in mixing religion with politics:Tony Blair
Pakistan closes Afghan border route after bombing
Pakistani PM Deflects US Pressure Over Militants
Interpol puts Qadhafi son on most-wanted list
Normality returning to Libya as schools reopen
Libyan forces take Sirte airport
JEDDAH: 'Lady Al-Qaeda' confronted with own confessions
Top US lawmaker urges Iran to spare Christian pastor
Clinton says U.S. close to decision on Haqqanis
Man arrested in US for planing to blow up Pentagon
LeT letter threatens to attack vital installations in Uttarakhand
Saudi men set to vote, women to wait till 2015
Another Saudi woman briefly detained for flouting driving ban
US Embassy in Saudi Arabia warns of terror plot
Aligarh Movement Award-2011 to go to Aziz Burney, Hamidullah Bhat
Kazakhstan Approves Restrictive Religion Law
Stop the Conspiracy Theories, Al Qaeda Tells Iranian Leader
Tribes, military blamed for hijacking Yemen revolt
Afghan war violence up nearly 40%: UN
Pak man's killing: 17 Indians back in jail
Protests over Afzal Guru Resolution refuse to die in J&K
Tribes, military blamed for hijacking Yemen revolt
US ambassador Robert Ford pelted with tomatoes in Syria
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/maldives-four-men-arrested-drugging/d/5579
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Maldives: Four men arrested for drugging and gang raping 15 year-old girl
By Ahmed Nazeer
Sep 29, 2011
Police have arrested a group of men including the chairman of an anti-drug NGO for allegedly drugging and raping a 15 year old girl on the island of Guraidhoo in Kaafu Atoll.
An islander told Minivan News that the incident occurred on Sunday night when the girl allegedly accompanied the five men who were intending to use marijuana.
“They did not forcibly take her to [to the area near the cemetery] but she went with them, and there they raped her,” he said. “The next day she told her mother about the incident and she reported it to police.”
He said the police arrested the men on Monday afternoon and took the girl to the island’s health centre.
According to the islander, two of the five men detained by police were minors. They were summoned to Maafushi Court in Kaafu Atoll Maafushi, an island very close to Guraidhoo.
“Maafushi Court extended the detention of three adults to 10 days and released the two minors to house arrest,” he said. “The three have been brought to Male’ and are currently in Atholhuvehi Police Custodial.”
He added that the Chairman of the drug NGO was also a staff member at the island council office.
A police spokesperson confirmed to Minivan News that four men had been arrested in connection with the case.
“The police were informed that a group of men on the island drugged a 15 year-old girl and attempted to rape her,” he said. “Four men were arrested in connection with the case.”
The police investigation in continuing.
http://minivannews.com/society/four-men-arrested-for-drugging-and-gang-raping-15-year-old-girl-26163
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Karzai to brief Manmohan on Afghan developments next week
Sep 30, 2011
NEW DELHI: Afghan President Hamid Karzai will brief Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about recent developments in the ongoing reconciliation process in the country in a meeting on Tuesday. On a two-day visit to India starting the same day, Karzai is expected to discuss the role of ISI in fomenting terror and its links with the Haqqani network which was blamed for the recent attack on the US embassy in Kabul.
Karzai will be in India at the invitation of the Observer Research Foundation where he will address a gathering on Wednesday. Government sources said that the two leaders will discuss the situation arising out of the assassination of the chairman of High Peace Council, Burhanuddin Rabbani.
Foreign minister S M Krishna will call on the Afghan President on Wednesday. With international forces in the country preparing for the impending drawdown, the country has seen a spurt in violence in the past few months. Karzai comes here at a time when the US is said to be increasingly becoming disillusioned with him over his ability to deliver on the reconciliation process.
The US-Pakistan relations too seem to have hit an all-time low with Washington launching a public diatribe against Pakistan after fresh disclosures about the role of Pakistan-backed Haqqani network and ISI in attacks against Americans.
In a strong public condemnation of Pakistan, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week that Pakistan's ISI was actively supporting the Haqqani network extremists who, he stressed, have targeted US forces in Afghanistan.
Reacting to disclosures, Manmohan Singh said on Tuesday that Mullen's remarks only vindicated what India has been saying along. "There is now a growing awareness of the groups who indulge in these nefarious activities and we have to take notice of that," Singh told journalists aboard his special aircraft when asked about Mullen's remarks.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Karzai-to-brief-Manmohan-on-Afghan-developments-next-week/articleshow/10176871.cms
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Kazakhstan seeks to restrict public prayer
By Raushan Nurshayeva
Sep 29, 2011
ASTANA — Kazakhstan’s Senate approved on Thursday tougher laws on religious activity in the Central Asian state, ignoring Western criticism of its response to what it calls the growing threat of extremism.
The new law, which will ban prayer rooms in state institutions, will have to be signed into law by President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Kazakhstan’s veteran leader proposed tough new laws to his compliant legislature a month ago.
Kazakhstan, where 70% of the 16.5-million population is Muslim, has only recently witnessed outbursts of militant Islam experienced by other former Soviet states in the vast region bordering Afghanistan.
Last month’s detention of a group of religious extremists planning “acts of terror” unsettled many in Kazakhstan, an oil-rich country ruled by Nazarbayev for more than two decades.
Kazakhstan also last month temporarily blocked access to a number of foreign Internet sites after a court ruled they were propagating terrorism and inciting religious hatred. A suicide bomber blew himself up in the city of Aktobe in May.
The new law, which has stirred debate in officially secular Kazakhstan, stresses “the historic role of the Hanafi school of Islam and of the Christian Orthodox faith in the cultural and spiritual development of the Kazakh nation.”
The vast majority of Kazakhstan’s Muslims are followers of the Hanafi school of law, considered to be the oldest and most liberal within the Sunni Muslim tradition.
The law also requires the review of all religious literature and the mandatory annual registration of all foreign missionaries, who can be expelled if deemed to pose a threat to the “constitutional order and public peace.”
Authorities say they want to stop the spread of extremism into Kazakhstan, the most prosperous of Central Asia’s nations, from the overpopulated and impoverished Ferghana Valley shared by ex-Soviet neighbours Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
But U.S.-based watchdog Freedom House had called for the Senate to reject the new law, describing it as “repressive.”
“These provisions are very troubling, as they grossly curb Kazakhstani citizens’ right to freely practice and express their faith,” Susan Corke, Freedom House’s senior program manager for Eurasia, said in a statement issued on Sept. 22.
A day earlier, Kazakhstan’s lower house of parliament had voted in favour of the bill.
“This latest piece of legislation signals the continuing deterioration in the country’s human rights and religious freedom situation,” Corke said.
Kairat Lama Sharif, head of the government’s Religions Agency, said many other countries had also taken steps to curb the spread of extremist ideology.
Asked to respond to the Freedom House statement, he said: “Many Western countries are making their own laws. Three states have already introduced laws to ban the hijab in their countries.”
Kazakhstan has no official restrictions on wearing the hijab or other forms of religious dress.
http://life.nationalpost.com/2011/09/29/kazakhstan-seeks-to-restrict-public-prayer/#more-42106
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JKLF Chairman: ‘If Afzal is hanged Kashmir will burn’
Sep 29 2011
KASHMIR could erupt in flames if Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru is hanged, separatists warned on Thursday. The warning came a day after a virtual slugfest between legislators of the BJP and the Congress, which many feel was “orchestrated”, stalled a resolution that was tabled in the assembly seeking clemency for Guru.
“If Afzal is hanged, Kashmir will burn. You are trying to burn Kashmir again.
Don’t disturb Kashmir’s transition to a peaceful movement,” Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik said.
Accusing the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) and the National Conference ( NC) of being party to the farce, Malik said: “ By remaining silent, they allowed the Congress and the BJP to fight with each other to stall the resolution.” Malik cited the example of the Tamil Naidu assembly where members cut across party lines to pass a resolution seeking clemency for the killers of former PM Rajiv Gandhi.
“ Here they ( the mainstream parties) enacted a drama to stall the resolution.
They are not people’s representatives. This assembly has always acted against the interests of Kashmir,” Malik said.
The JKLF leader said his party would launch a protest on Friday against the decision to hang Guru.
Malik said the 1984 hanging of Maqbool Butt had forced Kashmir’s youth to take up guns and threatened that Guru’s death could provoke a similar situation.
“ The Indian government shouldn’t push the youth of Kashmir towards violence by hanging Guru,” he said.
Mail Today
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Saudi King saves woman from getting 10 lashes
Sep 29 2011
Riyadh : Saudi King Abdullah has revoked a sentence of ten lashes imposed on a woman for defying the nation’s ban on women driving.
A day earlier, a Saudi court found Shaima Jastaina guilty of violating the driving ban, and sentenced her to 10 lashes.
A government official revealed the king''s decision for saving the woman from the punishment, but did not reveal the king's reasons for intervening in the case, the Telegraph reports.
It was the first time a legal punishment had been handed down for breaking the longtime ban in the ultra conservative Muslim nation.
The ruling comes just two days after Saudi King Abdullah’s announcement that women will have the right to vote and run in the country's 2015 local elections.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/saudi-king-saves-woman-from-getting-10-lashes/853488/
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Maldives speaks in favour of Palestinian statehood at UNHRC, General Assembly
By JJ Robinson
Sep 29, 2011
Maldives Ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Iruthisham Adam, has urged all states to support Palestine’s right to self-determination and self-government.
Speaking during a Council debate on human rights in Palestine, Adam said the Palestinian bid should be viewed in light of the US’s own declaration of independence, citing its drafter Thomas Jefferson.
“We surely cannot deny to any nation that right where on our own is founded – that every one may govern itself according to whatever form it pleases and change those forms at its own will,” Adam said.
“These words are as relevant today, as we survey Palestine’s brave push for independence and statehood at the United Nations, as they were in the 18th Century,” she told the Council.
“The Maldives and hundreds of other countries support the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination. We do not do so because we are against Israel – the Maldives is and always will be a strong supporter of a two-State solution. We do so, rather, because it is right and it is just.
Full report at:
http://minivannews.com/politics/maldives-speaks-in-favour-of-palestinian-statehood-at-un-
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Taliban leader Mullah Omar is beyond Pakistani control: Pervez Musharraf
Sep 29 2011
London : Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar is beyond Pakistani control, former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has claimed, describing him as “absolutely obstinate” and semi-literate.
Claiming that Pakistan should tell US that it has compulsions of “national interest” in not cracking down on the Haqqani network, Musharraf told Telegraph that Omar was
semi-literate and not aware of issues of the world.
Apparently indicating that the Haqqani terror outfit was Pakistan's safe bet in Afghanistan, the former Pakistan president claimed the Haqqanis were a source of terrible lack of trust and confidence.
Asked if Pakistan needed the support of the powerful insurgent family led by Jalaluddin Haqqani, he said, “If I was in government, I would certainly be thinking how best to defend Pakistan's interest.”
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/taliban-leader-mullah-omar-is-beyond-pakistani-control-musharraf/853572/
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Gilani hits back at US, says Pak cannot be asked to 'do more'
Sep 29 2011
Islamabad : Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani today countered US accusations linking ISI to terror groups in Afghanistan, calling them "surprising", while stating that his country cannot be pressured to "do more" in the war against terror.
"Pressure cannot be put on Pakistan to do more (in the war on terrorism). Our national interests must be respected under all circumstances," Gilani said while opening a meeting of the country's political leadership that he convened to forge a consensus response to tensions with the US.
The premier rejected allegations by senior US officials, including military chief Adm Mike Mullen, linking the Inter-Services Intelligence agency to the Haqqani network and recent terror attacks in Afghanistan, saying these accusations were a cause of concern for Pakistan.
Referring to steps taken by Pakistan to back the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan and a sudden spurt in terror attacks in the neighbouring country, Gilani said: "In the light of these events in Afghanistan, the US leadership's statements were surprising for us as they were contrary to Pakistan's sacrifices and successes against terrorism and extremism".
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/gilani-hits-back-at-us-says-pak-cannot-be-asked-to-do-more/853495/
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Pak closes ranks against aggressive US
Sep 29 2011
PAKISTAN on Thursday closed ranks against increasing American pressure for action against the al- Qaeda- linked Haqqani network, refusing to be pressured into doing more in the war on terror.Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani brought together Opposition leaders, members of his fragile coalition and military commanders in a rare all- party conference designed to forge unity in the latest showdown with Washington.
The participants were summoned in the wake of stinging rebukes accusing Pakistan of involvement in recent attacks on the US embassy in Kabul and a NATO base in Afghanistan and demands that the government cut ties with the Haqqanis.
“ American statements shocked us, and negate our sacrifices and successes in the ongoing war against terror,” Gilani told the gathering in opening remarks.
But the Pakistani leader sought to lower tensions with the US, saying that differences should be resolved through talks.
“ We should give up talking about assumptions for the sake of meaningful negotiations. Pakistan cannot be pressured to do more. Our national interests should be respected. Our doors are open for dialogue,” Gilani said. Washington is now conducting a final review on whether to blacklist the network linked to Pakistani intelligence as a terror group, which risks then exposing Islamabad to economic sanctions.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Sheikh Hasina felt indebted to India for support: WikiLeaks
Sep 29 2011
Dhaka : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina felt "indebted" to India for supporting her during her imprisonment under the previous military-backed interim regime, and had authorised her adviser to open an exclusive channel of negotiation with New Delhi, unknown even to the Foreign Ministry here.
Premier's Foreign Affairs Adviser Gawher Rizvi told US Ambassador James Moriarty over the course of a meeting on October 24, 2009, how Hasina felt "indebted" to New Delhi, particularly to the Congress party, for supporting her during the difficult time, according to a US diplomatic document revealed by WikiLeaks.
The leaked US embassy cable said the adviser also told the envoy "in the strictest confidence" of how he had spent the previous week in India, having been empowered by the prime minister to open a separate negotiating channel with New Delhi making use of the wide range of contacts he maintained in the Indian capital.
Rizvi, a former Ford Foundation Representative in Delhi, also told Moriarty that he would again be leaving for India the very next day and that his activities took place through a "Prime Ministerial Channel."
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/sheikh-hasina-felt-indebted-to-india-for-support-wikileaks/853574/
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We will not extradite Gaddafi son Saadi: Niger PM
Sep 30, 2011
SAINT-BRIEUC (FRANCE): Niger has no plans to send ousted Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi's footballer son Saadi home to face justice, the country's Prime Minister Brigi Rafini said today on a visit to France.
Earlier, the global police agency Interpol had issued a notice warning to its member states, which include Niger, that Libya is seeking Saadi's arrest for his alleged crimes while head of the country's football federation.
"Saadi Gaddafi is in safety, in security in Niamey, in the hands of the Niger government. There's no question of him being extradited to Libya for the moment," Rafini told AFP in the western French town of Saint-Brieuc.
"We need to be sure he will be allowed a fair defence," he said. "Are those conditions in place today? No."
The 38-year-old playboy fled Libya across its southern frontier to Niger after revolutionary forces stormed Tripoli and overthrew his authoritarian father's 42-year regime. He was last seen in Niger's capital Niamey.
Interpol said in a statement from its Lyon headquarters that Saadi was wanted "for allegedly misappropriating properties through force and armed intimidation when he headed the Libyan Football Federation."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/We-will-not-extradite-Gaddafi-son-Saadi-Niger-PM/articleshow/10176825.cms
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Armed with smiles and fluent Hebrew, Muslims in Israel set out to convert Jews
Sep 29, 2011
JERUSALEM — In an unprecedented endeavor, a few Muslim believers are crossing the Holy Land’s volatile boundaries of culture, faith and politics to bring Islam to Israel’s Jews — hoping, improbably, that some will be willing to renounce their religion for a new one.
The bearded men approach Jews in and around the Old City of Jerusalem and try, in polite and fluent Hebrew, to convert them.
“I must tell you about the true faith,” said one missionary in a cobblestone plaza outside Jerusalem’s Old City. He carried a knapsack full of pamphlets about Islam in several languages, including Hebrew. “You can do with it what you want. But telling you is our duty.”
Most people, he said, brush him off and keep walking.
A computer programmer educated at an Israeli college, he sported a scraggly beard, loose pants and a long shirt typical of the purist Muslims known as Salafis. He gave his name only as Abu Hassan.
There are no signs the endeavor has met with any success. Only about a dozen Muslims are involved. Most of the handful of Jews who convert do so to marry Muslim men, rather than from proselytizing. Still, the act of spreading Islam in Hebrew is profound, reflecting a striking confidence on the part of some Muslims, members of Israel’s Arab minority.
Full report at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/armed-with-smiles-and-fluent-hebrew-
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Saudis export anti-Christian and anti-Jewish textbooks across the world: report
Sep 29, 2011
Textbooks used in Saudi Arabia’s schools contain virulent forms of anti-Christian and anti-Jewish bigotry that continue to fuel intolerance and violence around the globe, says a new report.
The problem is far greater than the five million students in Saudi Arabia who use these texts every day, said Nina Shea, director of the Washington-based Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom.
“Because of the Saudis’ great oil wealth, it is able to disseminate its textbooks far and wide,” she wrote in the report, Ten Years On.
“[These textbooks] are posted on the Saudi Education Ministry’s website and are shipped and distributed free by a vast Saudi-sponsored Sunni infrastructure to many Muslim schools, mosques and libraries throughout the world.
“This is not just hate mongering, it’s promoting violence,” she said in an interview. It is exporting terrorism through textbooks.
Christians are referred to as “swine” and Jews as “apes,” while being blamed for much of the world’s ills.
Full report at:
http://life.nationalpost.com/2011/09/28/saudis-export-anti-christian-and-anti-jewish-
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Malaysia Calls for Creation of Moderate Movement to Fight Islamophobia
Sep 29, 2011
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman has called for the creation of a "Global Movement of the Moderates" to counter Islamophobia and bridge the divide between the broader Muslim world and the West.
He said the real issue is not between Muslims and non-Muslims but between the moderates and extremists in all religions, be it Islam, Christianity or Judaism, Malaysian news agency reported.
"Despite our continuing efforts to promote world peace and harmony, we still witness the increasing trend to perpetuate and fuel Islamophobia. There have been attempts to pit Islam against the West, demonise Islam, as well as link Islam with terrorism," he said.
These irresponsible acts further intensify the divide between the broader Muslim world and the West," he said at the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly, here, Wednesday.
Full report at:
http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&Id=268505
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Syrian nuclear scientist killed by attackers: Rights group
29 September 2011
BEIRUT — A Syrian nuclear engineer was assassinated in a hail of bullets in central Syria Wednesday, the latest casualty in a string of murders this week of academics and scientists, Syria’s state-run news agency and activists said.
SANA said engineer and university professor Aws Khalil was shot in the head by an “armed terrorist group” operating in Homs, but activists accused the regime of going after academics in an attempt to terrorize the city’s rebellious population.
His killing came as fighting raged in the nearby town of Rastan for the second day between troops trying to enter the town and army deserters who have switched sides and joined the mass revolt against President Bashar Assad that began in mid-March.
Activists say there are hundreds of soldiers who have defected in Rastan and other areas on the outskirts of Homs. The Local Coordination Committees activist group and London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a defected lieutenant died in Wednesday’s clashes.
Khalil is the fourth Syrian academic to be assassinated in Homs since Sunday. The city, a hotbed of dissent against Assad’s autocratic regime, has witnessed some of the largest anti-government protests since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad began six months ago.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/September/
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Five Iraqis, US soldier killed in bomb attacks
Sep 30, 2011
KIRKUK: Attacks killed five Iraqis, including three who died when a suicide bomber blew up an explosives-packed truck in the northern city of Kirkuk, and an American soldier today, officials said.
In the deadliest attack, blamed on Al-Qaeda, two women and a man were killed and 76 others were wounded by a truck bomb in front of a bank in Kirkuk as policemen collected their monthly salaries.
The hurt included 26 policemen, more than 20 employees of the targeted bank as well as surrounding offices, and the rest were civilians, according to Kirkuk provincial health director Sadiq Omar Rasul.
"Al-Qaeda is trying to send a message that they are there," said provincial police chief Major General Jamal Taher Bakr. "They are trying to ignite sectarianism between Kirkuk's communities."
An AFP correspondent at the scene said the blast caused massive damage to the bank and surrounding buildings. Several police vehicles were ablaze, and access to the bank was blocked.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Five-Iraqis-US-soldier-killed-in-bomb-attacks/articleshow/10176774.cms
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Suicide Bomber Kills 2 in Northern Iraq
Sep 29, 2011
SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq (AP) — Police say a suicide bomber has killed two people after detonating his explosives-packed car near a bank where policemen were picking up their paychecks in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.
Kirkuk police spokesman Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qadir says 43 people were wounded in the Thursday morning blast, most of them policemen.
Qadir says a policeman and a civilian died in the blast.
Kirkuk is located 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Baghdad. The city has for years been rife with tensions among Kurds, Sunni Arabs and Turkomen who all claim rights to the oil-rich land.
Meanwhile, two officials say a police officer was killed by gunmen driving by on a motorbike in Baghdad. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to release the information.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/09/29/world/middleeast/AP-ML-
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Gunmen kill five relatives of Iraq militiaman
Sep 29, 2011
BAGHDAD — Gunmen disguised in military uniforms stormed the home of a militiaman and killed five people, including his wife and three children, on Wednesday, security officials said.
The group attacked the house of Hamid al-Zobaie in Abu Ghraib, 20 kilometres (12 miles) west of the capital, two police officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Among those killed in the 5:00 am (0200 GMT) attack were Zobaie’s wife, two sons and a daughter, and another relative.
It was unclear whether Zobaie was at home at the time of the attack, but he was not among the victims, the police said.
A doctor at the main hospital in nearby Fallujah said seven of Zobaie’s house guards were also wounded and were being treated.
Zobaie was a leader of the Sahwa, a group of Sunni militias that began siding with the US military against Al-Qaeda from late 2006, helping turn the tide of the insurgency.
Since then, day-to-day violence has declined dramatically nationwide, and particularly in the west and north of the country where the Sahwa emerged, though attacks are still common.
A total of 239 people were killed in violence in Iraq in August, according to official figures.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/September/middleeast_September563.xml§ion=middleeast&col=
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Plane crashes in Indonesia; 18 feared dead
Sep 29, 2011
MEDAN, Indonesia (AP) — A small plane on a local flight in western Indonesia crashed into a mountainous area Thursday and the 18 people aboard were feared dead, officials said. Rugged terrain and rains hampered searchers trying to reach the wreckage.
The Spanish-designed CASA C-212 was about halfway through its 30-minute flight between North Sumatra and Aceh provinces when it lost contact with air traffic control, said Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan.
Minutes later, the turboprop-powered plane sent out a distress signal and then dropped off the radar, Bonar Hutagaol, an Air Force marshal, told TVOne.
"I saw something unusual," Agus, a witness, told the station. "A smoking plane circling very low before it disappeared from my view."
Wreckage of the aircraft — spotted during an aerial survey near the mountainous village of Bahorok — appeared to be largely intact, its wings still fused to the body, said Ervan. There were no signs of the 14 passengers and four crew members, he said.
Supri Sinaga, head of the local search-and-rescue team, said it could take hours to reach the scene because of torrential rains and rough terrain.
Indonesia, a sprawling archipelagic nation of 240 million people, has been plagued by transportation accidents in recent years, from plane and train crashes to ferry sinkings. Many are blamed on overcrowding and poor safety standards.
Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press.
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Ten militants killed in Orakzai
Sep 29, 2011
PESHAWAR: Ten militants and one security official were killed in a clash in the Orakzai tribal region on Thursday, DawnNews reported.
Official sources said that the militants staged an attack on security personnel who were busy in a search operation in upper Orakzai. One soldier was killed while three others were injured in the clash, sources added.
Security forces in retaliation killed 10 militants and also destroyed five insurgent hideouts.
There is no independent verification of the attacks and casualties, and militants often dispute official accounts.
Orakzai is one of the most lawless areas in Pakistan’s northwest tribal region, which is made up of seven districts near the Afghan border.
Pakistan launched a major operation in Orakzai in March last year after militants fled a sweeping offensive in the nearby tribal district of South Waziristan.
Late last year military officials said lower Orakzai had been cleared, but the militant threat persisted in some pockets of the upper part of the area.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/29/ten-militants-killed-in-orakzai.html
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Five Nato troops, three Afghans killed
Sep 29, 2011
HERAT: Two Afghan policewomen and a civilian were killed by a mine on their way to work Thursday, a day after another five Nato soldiers died in the 10-year war against the Taliban.
The policewomen and civilian died when their vehicle was blown up by a remote-controlled mine on their way to work at the civilian airport serving the western city of Herat, officials said.
Three foreign soldiers were also killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) in eastern Afghanistan Wednesday, the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said, along with two others in separate incidents.
The latest deaths came a day after the United Nations released figures saying that violent incidents in the Afghan war increased nearly 40 per cent in the first eight months of this year compared to the same period last year.
Isaf, which is leading efforts to reverse the Taliban insurgency, disputes the figures, calling them “inconsistent with the data that we have collected”.
Mohammad Rafiq Shaheer, a spokesman for Herat hospital, said: “A remote-controlled mine explosion on a police vehicle on the Herat airport road has killed three people, two policewomen and a civilian, and wounded 10 people, four policewomen and a policeman and five other civilians.”
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/29/three-afghans-killed-in-airport-road-blast-in-herat.html
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Three security men killed in Quetta
Sep 29, 2011
QUETTA, Sept 28: Three security personnel were killed and four others injured in an ambush on a survey team of an oil company by some unknown armed men in Shahrag area, some 300 kilometres east of here, on Wednesday.
The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack.
A Pakistani company, Marri Gas, in collaboration with Chinese company Bureau of Geo-Physical Perceptive (BGP), has been engaged in oil and gas exploration in Hazaradum area of Harnai district for the last two years. Sources said when the survey team of Marri Gas and Chinese company reached Shahrag area, the armed men, sitting in trenches, opened indiscriminate fire, killing one security guard of the company on the spot and injuring six others. Later, two more security guards died in hospital.
Security personnel and FC men guarding the survey team returned fire, leading to a firefight lasting half an hour.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/29/three-security-men-killed-in-ambush.html
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Renewed Fighting Kills Two in Yemen Capital
Sep 29 2011
SANAA (Reuters) - Heavy clashes rocked northern neighbourhoods of Yemen's capital Sanaa at dawn on Thursday, killing two people and breaking a truce aimed at ending the worst violence since a popular revolt against President Ali Abdullah Saleh began eight months ago.
A Reuters reporter at the scene said shelling and gunfire had engulfed three areas in north Sanaa as troops battled armed followers of powerful tribal leader Sadeq al-Ahmar, who supports opposition demands for an end to Saleh's 33-year grip on power.
A doctor tending to the casualties said two people had been killed and six wounded in the violence.
Many residents fled their homes as the fighting intensified, shattering three days of calm in the capital after Saleh ordered a cease-fire upon his surprise return to Yemen on Friday.
"I only returned to the streets two days ago after clashes stopped, but I'll stick today to the south of Sanaa because it's safer," said ice-cream vendor Abdullah al-Wasabi. "We're tired of this crisis and we're losing our business, while these tribes and the president's soldiers don't tire of fighting."
The truce had calmed more than a week of fighting that killed more than 100 people and revived fears that Yemen, which borders top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, would tip into civil war.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2011/09/27/world/middleeast/international-us-
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J&K: 5 militants, 2 armymen killed, encounter on
Sep 29, 2011
SRINAGAR: At least nine people, including five militants, two policemen and two soldiers were killed in four days of gunfight in north Kashmir's Kupwara district, Army officials said on Thursday.
Brigadier AL Chavan of General Staff 15 Corps said that the encounter started on Monday when a group of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists tried to infiltrate into the region near Karlpora village around 130km from here.
"On the night 26th and 27th (September) some militants tried to infiltrate into Keran sector in the Kupwara district. Around 12.30am our troopers positioned at the Shamsabari range got information about this infiltration. At the same time this group of six to seven militants was surrounded by our troopers," said Chavan.
He said soon after the information was received, a battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Police joined the Army officials. The Army's 18 Grenadiers and police's Special Operations Group (SOG) launched an operation in the mountains to nab the militants.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/JK-5-militants-2-armymen-killed-encounter-
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Car bomb kills eight in Russia's Muslim Dagestan
Sep 29, 2011
One policeman and seven civilians were killed when a car bomb exploded in Russia's Muslim North Caucasus province of Dagestan on Wednesday, authorities and local media said.
Three car bombs killed six people and gunmen killed four more, including a high-level law enforcement official, last week in the region wedged between Chechnya and the Caspian Sea.
Dagestan is beset by near-daily shootings and bomb attacks, blamed on an Islamist insurgency across the North Caucasus stemming from two separatist wars in Chechnya, poverty and an increase in radical Islam.
"As a result of the car bomb one policeman was killed, along with five civilians who were traveling past in another vehicle," a source in the regional Investigative Committee told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Radio station Ekho Moskvy said two more civilians were killed, including an 11-year-old girl.
The committee source said the attack took place in the village of Hajjalmakhi, about 60 km (40 miles) southwest of the provincial capital Makhachkala.
Full report at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/28/us-russia-dagestan-bomb-
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Bahrain Sentences Man to Death, Jails 20 Doctors
Sep 29, 2011
A court in Bahrain has sentenced 20 medics accused of plotting to overthrow the government by treating protesters to up to 15 years in prison.
In a separate case, the special security court sentenced a protester to death for killing a policeman.
The medics had been released on bail after many staged a hunger strike.
They treated people injured when a protest movement calling for more rights for the country's Shia majority in the Sunni-ruled kingdom was crushed.
Human rights activists say the sentences against the medics come as a surprise.
They had been cautiously hopeful that the medics' release on bail was a sign that the government was softening its approach.
The Bahraini doctors and nurses were sentenced to between five and 15 years in prison on charges that include inciting the overthrow of the government and provoking sectarian hatred.
Full report at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15105270
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Pakistan won't allow compromise on dignity: Hina Rabbani Khar
September 29, 2011
Pakistan will not allow its dignity to be compromised, said Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar amid heightened tension between the Washington and Islamabad. The US-Pakistan ties became strained over an accusation that Pakistan's spy agency was helping the Haqqani network. Foreign
Minister Hina Rabbani Khar in an interview aired Wednesday reiterated Islamabad’s strong exception to Admiral Mike Mullen’s assertions of Pakistani complicity with Afghan insurgents and stressed there are no unilateral solutions.
“We have strong reservations against a statement of this type, which was made by a person who is representing a country with which we have had many (counterterrorism) successes,” she told National Public Radio. Khar was in the US to attend the UN General Assembly.
She called for understanding that the “dignity of any sovereign state must be respected. You don’t want to give Pakistanis the message that their lives are any less important than yours. That is a wrong message to give”.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/pakistan/Pakistan-won-t-allow-compromise-on-dignity-Khar/Article1-751451.aspx
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Rezwan Ferdaus held for Pentagon bomb bid
Sep 29 2011
A US follower of al- Qaeda was arrested Wednesday on charges of planning to fly explosive- packed, remote controlled airplanes into the Pentagon and the US Capitol, authorities said. Rezwan Ferdaus, 26, a US citizen and a physics graduate, went by the name Bollywood when he played drums in a Massachusetts band.
He was arrested and charged with the aerial bombing plot to attack Washington and attempts to deliver bomb- making materials for use against US troops in Iraq, US attorney Carmen Ortiz said in Boston.
Ferdaus, a US citizen and a physics graduate, went by the name Bollywood when he played drums in a Massachusetts band.
“ The conduct alleged today shows that Mr. Ferdaus had long planned to commit violent acts against our country, including attacks on the Pentagon and our nation’s Capitol,” Ortiz said.
During the alleged plot, undercover FBI agents posed as al- Qaeda- linked accomplices who supplied Ferdaus with one remotecontrolled plane, C4 explosives, and small arms that he allegedly envisioned using in a simultaneous ground assault in Washington.
The plan, according to the criminal complaint, was to strike the Pentagon and the Capitol’s famous white dome and “ decapitate the entire empire”. “( It will be the) final nail in the coffin.” The public was never in danger from the explosive devices, which were controlled by undercover FBI employees, the FBI said.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Wannabe jihadists from burbs lack savvy
By Peter Gelzinis
September 29, 2011
Welcome to the New Normal — the terrorist next door in the handsome four-bedroom colonial.
In the hills and caves of Afghanistan, the enemy may look as if they’re still stuck in the fifth century.
But around here, things are quite different.
Wannabe insurgents like Rezwan Ferdaus or Tarek Mehanna come from leafy suburbs such as Ashland and Sudbury, respectively. They live in gracious homes replete with the requisite landscaping.
Rezwan Ferdaus graduated from Ashland High and went on to earn a physics degree from Northeastern University — all as a prelude to adopting the language of jihad.
Perhaps we should be grateful Ferdaus was raised in a manicured setting, as opposed to, say, the meaner streets of the city.
Our latest al-Qaeda acolyte may have been imaginative enough to concoct a scheme to send small remote-control, drone-like planes loaded with C-4 explosives into the U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon.
Full report at:
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1369650&srvc=rss
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Saudi Arabia minus western stereotypes
By Tairah Firdous
Sep 29 2011
NOT many realised that Susan Baaghil, a photographer clad in a white head scarf was a great picture opportunity herself. Not because of her head scarf but because she is the first professional award winning photographer from Saudi Arabia, whose photographs of Mecca city are on display at Lalit Kala Akademi these days as part of the Saudi Cultural Week.
Baaghil was part of a colourful contingent from Saudi Arabia visiting the city as part of the cultural extravaganza organised by the India Council for Cultural Relations ( ICCR) and the royal embassy of Saudi Arabia.
“ Women form half of the Saudi population, and they could not be ignored and left out forever.
Allowing women to vote is a landmark in our history, but let us not forget that Saudi women have been already working in different fields,” Baaghil said.
She was encouraged to take up photography by her late husband and has more than 25 years’ experience in the field; she has participated in photography exhibitions worldwide.
Interesting stories such as that of Baaghil abounded at the launch of the Cultural Week where the Holy Zamzam was served to the guests by Arabs in traditional attire. There was an impressive turnout of female artistes and journalists from Saudi Arabia too, which reflected the recent development in the country where the women have recently been allowed to vote in local elections.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Nobel Peace Prize for Arab Spring?
Sep 30 2011
Oslo : The Arab Spring is the focus of speculation over this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, with an Afghan human rights activist and the European Union as possible outsiders.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee gives no clues ahead of the October 7 announcement, but judging by previous selections, the rebellion sweeping across North Africa and the Middle East would appear to tick all the right boxes.
“It would be consistent with their effort to give attention to high-profile and extremely important, potentially breakthrough developments by movements and by people,” said Bates Gill, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
The challenge would be to identify a person or group that embodies the non-violent spirit of the revolution, and doesn’t turn out to be less deserving of the prestigious $1.5 million award once the final chapters of the still-unfolding Arab Spring have been written.
“It’s particularly hard in the context of these protests where there hasn’t always been an identifiable leadership,”said Kristian Berg Harpviken, director of Peace Research Institute Oslo, and prominent voice in the Nobel guessing game.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/nobel-peace-prize-for-arab-spring/853724/
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Pakistani political leaders meet to discuss crisis with US
Sep 29 2011
Islamabad : Pakistani political leaders hold all-party talks on Thursday to address growing American demands on Islamabad to tackle Islamic militants and the possibility that the United States might take unilateral military steps in the country.
Support is growing in the US Congress for expanding American military action in Pakistan beyond the drone strikes that already target militants in Pakistani territory, a senior Republican senator said.
The comments by Senator Lindsey Graham, an influential Republican voice on foreign policy and military affairs, follow remarks by the top US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, accusing Pakistan last week of supporting the militant Haqqani network's Sept. 13 attack on the US embassy in Kabul.
Islamabad, which has received billions of dollars of US aid despite its reluctance to go after the Haqqani network, faces the most intense pressure to tackle militancy since it joined the US war on terror a decade ago.
Pakistan's military faced unprecedented public criticism after the United States' unilateral raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani garrison town in May.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pakistani-political-leaders-meet-to-discuss-crisis-with-us/853495/
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Pak paying for mistake in mixing religion with politics: Tony Blair
Sep 29 2011
New Delhi : Pakistan is "paying heavily" for its mistakes in the 1970s when it started mixing religion with politics and promoted extremism, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said.
"I think Pakistan is paying a heavy price for the mistakes of 1970s by linking religion with politics and developing religious schools which are, in some cases, dangerous sources of extremism," Blair told a TV channel.
The former British Prime Minister was responding to queries relating to the role of ISI in spreading terrorism and its links with the Haqqani group in Afghanistan.
When asked if the US, after eliminating Osama bin laden, should also go after the Haqqani faction, Blair said it was something which the Americans have to decide.
"The trouble with these groups is that there is no way to use them wisely. On these issues like Pakistan might have to say about its influence in Afghanistan vis-a-vis India's influence there, there will be nothing good out of supporting these groups," he said.
"If ISI is engaged in such activities, in the end it will not merely affect US, UK, Afghanistan or India, it poisons the atmosphere in Pakistan also," Blair said.
The former British Prime Minister said that if there was any linkage between the ISI and terror groups such as the Haqqani group and the Lashkar-e-Toiba, "it is a mistake."
Blair said there was a need to engage "modern and open-minded" Pakistanis who are involved in a struggle against the extremists.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pak-paying-for-mistake-in-mixing-religion-with-politics-blair/853485/
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Pakistan closes Afghan border route after bombing
Sep 29, 2011
CHAMAN, Pakistan: Pakistani authorities have closed one of the two border crossings used by trucks carrying NATO war supplies into Afghanistan after a bomb hit an oil tanker.
Police officer Mohammad Tayab says the Chaman border crossing was closed “for security reasons” after an explosion on Thursday killed a bomb disposal expert who was trying to defuse the device.
Tayab didn’t elaborate on the bombing attack.
Pakistan sometimes closes the border temporarily after attacks, though earlier this year the other, busier route in Torkham was closed for 10 days in protest against the killing of two Pakistani troops by a NATO helicopter nearby.
Relations between US and Pakistan are currently strained because of US allegations Islamabad supports Afghan insurgents.
http://arabnews.com/world/article508720.ece
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Pakistani PM Deflects US Pressure Over Militants
Sep 29 2011
ISLAMABAD (AP) — U.S. pressure on Pakistan to attack Afghan militants on its soil will not succeed, the Pakistani prime minister told a gathering Thursday of political and military leaders trying to formulate a response to fresh American allegations that the army's spy agency is supporting the insurgents.
The claims last week by Adm. Mike Mullen, America's top military officer, sent relations between Islamabad and Washington plummeting and triggered a nationalist, anti-American backlash across Pakistan.
Much of the focus has been on veiled U.S. threats of unilateral action against Afghan militants sheltering on the Pakistan side of the border.
"Pakistan cannot be pressured to do more, but the doors are still open from our side for talks and discussion," said Prime Minister Yousuf Reza Gilani. "We reject these allegations. God willing, we can face these challenges with unity. We are committed to defend our independence and sovereignty."
Intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha was also scheduled to address the gathering, which was closed to the media, apart from Gilani's opening remarks.
U.S. officials have long talked with Islamabad about links between Pakistan and the militant Haqqani network that is behind much of the violence in Afghanistan. But those discussions were mostly held in private, in the hope that Pakistan could gradually be persuaded to sever the purported ties with the group.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/09/29/world/asia/AP-AS-Pakistan.html?ref=global-home&gwh=93297BEC4733C1828FD0DC439E663AFC
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Interpol puts Qadhafi son on most-wanted list
Sep 29, 2011
Interpol has put ousted Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi’s son al-Saadi on the equivalent of its most-wanted list and says he was last seen in Niger.
The international police agency said in a statement Thursday that it has issued a red notice for Mr. al-Saadi Qadhafi, based on a request by the opposition authorities who overthrew Mr. Qadhafi last month.
Interpol says the notice was based on accusations that Mr. al-Saadi Gadhafi, who is 38, misappropriated property and engaged in “armed intimidation” when he headed the Libyan Football Federation.
He was also a special forces commander and is the subject of a United Nations sanction for commanding military units involved in repression of demonstrations.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2496745.ece
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Normality returning to Libya as schools reopen
Sep 29, 2011
BENGHAZI: At Al-Shaheed Yusif Burahil School in downtown Benghazi the cries of excited boys playing football in the school playground can be heard in the streets outside. It is a sound heard the world over. But not for months in Libya.
This very ordinary and elsewhere totally unremarkable noise returned less than two weeks ago — Sept. 17 to be precise — exactly seven months to the day from the start of Libya’s Feb. 17 revolution.
The uprising against the now-fugitive Muammar Qaddafi closed all the schools in areas liberated from his rule. They could have reopened: Benghazi and elsewhere in the east of Libya has been peaceful for months. But the National Transitional Council decided that students should all restart classes at the same time. It did not want to see those at any one place advantaged or disadvantaged as a result of having more or less schooling.
Not that the plan has been followed to the letter. On Sept. 17, four towns still remained under Qaddafi’s control; two still remain so. But with the fall of Tripoli and all the other towns in the west last month it was decided that the time had come to bring the long school vacation to an end, first with elementary schools and then, last Saturday, with secondary schools. The universities open next month.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article508547.ece
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Libyan forces take Sirte airport
Sep 29, 2011
Forces loyal to Libya's transitional authorities have taken the airport in the city of Sirte, the birthplace of fugitive leader Muammar Gaddafi.
A BBC correspondent says jubilant fighters moved through the partially destroyed terminal buildings tearing down symbols of the Gaddafi regime.
Gaddafi loyalists have put up stiff resistance in Sirte.
Two weeks ago transitional forces took the airport, a short distance from the city centre, but were then driven back.
The BBC's Jonathan Head says that this time they hope to hold it, despite facing continued rocket and gunfire from the other side of the runway.
Fighters arriving from the west and east say they will then mount a joint attack on Gaddafi loyalists, hoping to push them back towards the sea and to squeeze them into ever smaller areas of the city centre, our correspondent adds.
The airport is about 5km (3 miles) from the centre of the city.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15110440
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JEDDAH: 'Lady Al-Qaeda' confronted with own confessions
Sep 29, 2011
JEDDAH: A public prosecutor produced the alleged confessions of a woman dubbed “Lady Al-Qaeda” to a series of terror-related charges at a court hearing.
Referring to 37-year-old Haila Al-Qaseer’s request to transfer the charge of forgery to the Court of Grievances, the prosecutor said the criminal court has the jurisdiction to look into such accusations as they are linked to terrorist activities.
The judge then presented the evidence, confessions and statements of witnesses to Al-Qaseer and her lawyers to get their response. The defense team said it would reply to the prosecutor’s allegations in the next session and the judge agreed.
In the previous session, Al-Qaseer had presented an 11-page reply at the court, rejecting all the charges made against her. The defendant also affirmed her allegiance to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and said money she was accused of collecting to finance terrorism was to support the poor in Afghanistan and Yemen.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article508537.ece
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Top US lawmaker urges Iran to spare Christian pastor
Sep 29, 2011
WASHINGTON — US House Speaker John Boehner urged Iran on Wednesday to spare the life of an Iranian pastor reportedly facing execution for refusing to recant his Christian faith and return to Islam.
"I urge Iran?s leaders to abandon this dark path, spare Yusef Nadarkhani's life, and grant him a full and unconditional release," Boehner, a Republican and the number-three US elected official, said in a statement.
Nadarkhani, now in his early 30s, converted from Islam to Christianity at the age of 19 and became a pastor of a small evangelical community called the Church of Iran.
He was arrested in October 2009 and condemned to death for apostasy under Iran's Islamic Sharia laws, which however allow for such verdicts to be overturned if the convicted person "repents" and renounces his conversion.
Full report at: Copyright © 2011 AFP.
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Clinton says U.S. close to decision on Haqqanis
Sep 29, 2011
The United States is close to deciding on whether to label the Pakistan-based Haqqani network as a foreign terrorist group, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday amid calls for a tougher stance on militants accused of series of high-profile attacks.
"We are in the final, formal review that has to be undertaken to make a government-wide decision to designate the network as a foreign terrorist organization," Clinton told reporters in an appearance with Egypt's visiting foreign minister.
Clinton, noting that the United States had already placed a number of individual leaders of the Haqqani network on its terrorism blacklist, said the United States would work with Pakistan to put pressure on such groups.
"We're going to continue to struggle against terrorism and in particular against those who have taken up safe havens inside Pakistan, and we're going to continue to work with our Pakistani counterparts to try and root them out," she said.
A move to name the Haqqanis as a terrorist group would bar U.S. citizens from providing support to the group and freeze any assets it might have in the United States -- a symbolic step that might relieve some of the mounting U.S. political pressure to take a harder line with Pakistan.
Full report at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/28/us-pakistan-usa-haqqani-idUSTRE78R5F020110928
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Man arrested in US for planing to blow up Pentagon
Sep 29 2011
Washington : US authorities have arrested a suspected follower of al-Qaeda and charged him with plotting an attack on the Pentagon with an explosive laden remote controlled aircraft.
Rezwan Ferdaus, a 26-year-old US citizen, was also charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organisation, specifically to al-Qaeda, in order to carry out attacks on US soldiers stationed overseas, the Justice Department said today.
He was arrested in Framingham, Massachusetts.
The public was never in danger from the explosive devices, which were controlled by undercover FBI employees, an official statement said.
According to an affidavit, in recorded conversations with the cooperating witness (CW) that began in January 2011, Ferdaus stated that he planned to attack the Pentagon using aircraft similar to "small drone airplanes" filled with explosives and guided by GPS equipment.
In April 2011, Ferdaus expanded his plan to include an attack on the US Capitol. In May and June 2011, Ferdaus delivered two thumb drives to the under covers (UCs), which contained detailed attack plans with step-by-step instructions as to how he planned to attack the Pentagon and Capitol.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/man-arrested-in-us-for-planing-to-blow-up-pentagon/853462/
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LeT letter threatens to attack vital installations in Uttarakhand
September 29, 2011
The railway police in Haridwar has received a letter purportedly sent by Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba threatening to attack top government functionaries and vital installations in Uttarakhand during the festival season, police said on Thursday.
The letter was received on Wednesday by the office of the Haridwar Railway superintendent, which had also got several such letters in the past.
A spokesman of Haridwar Police said efforts were on to trace one Karim Ansari, who is said to have written the letter.
The terrorist outfit had earlier threatened to attack vital installations on the occasion of Independence Day.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/LeT-letter-threatens-to-attack-vital-installations-in-Uttarakhand/H1-Article1-751455.aspx
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Saudi men set to vote, women to wait till 2015
Sep 29, 2011
Saudi men are to vote on Thursday in municipal elections, the last all-male affair in the Muslim kingdom after a royal decree this week giving women the right to cast ballots in four years.
Some 5,324 candidates will compete for 816 seats in the elections — only the second in Saudi Arabia’s history — to fill half the seats in the country’s 285 councils. The other half are appointed by the Government.
The first elections in the Gulf kingdom, which has a population of around 27.5 million, including around 19 million Saudis, were held in 2005, but the Government extended the existing council’s term for two years.
Around 1.2 million male voters have registered to take part. The election is just four days after Saudi Arabia’s absolute monarch Abdullah granted women the right to vote and run in the next municipal elections in four years, a historic first for the ultra-conservative country.
Women’s rights activists had long fought for the right to vote in the kingdom, which applies a strict version of Sunni Islam and bars women from driving or travelling without the consent of a male guardian.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/world/9760-saudi-men-set-to-vote-women-to-wait-till-2015.html
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Another Saudi woman briefly detained for flouting driving ban
Sep 29, 2011
RIYADH: Another woman was briefly detained on Wednesday for driving through the streets of Riyadh while being filmed by a foreign reporter.
The woman, identified as Madeeha, was unable to speak to Arab News as she had lost her voice due to an infection. In an e-mail, she wrote: “I really think it is ironic and funny for me to lose my voice when I need it the most.”
While she was being filmed by the woman reporter, Madeeha voiced her feelings of joy over Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s decision to give more political power to women.
“The more we publicly voice our needs the more I feel the king is responding to our demands,” Madeeha said.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article508565.ece
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US Embassy in Saudi Arabia warns of terror plot
29 September 2011
The US Embassy in Saudi Arabia is warning American citizens that a terrorist group may be planning to kidnap Westerners in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.
The embassy on Wednesday urged Americans in the kingdom to “exercise prudence and enhanced security awareness at all times.” No further details of the possible plot were given.
Saudi Arabia has waged a heavy crackdown on militants since Al Qaeda’s Saudi branch launched a wave of attacks in the country in 2003, including suicide bombings and shootings that killed dozens of Saudis and foreigners. At least 11 Americans were among the dead.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/September/middleeast_September581.xml§ion=middleeast
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Aligarh Movement Award-2011 to go to Aziz Burney, Hamidullah Bhat
Sep 29, 2011
Aligarh: The Aligarh Movement Award-2011 of The Aligarh Movement Magazine will be given to Aziz Burney, Sahara Urdu Media Group Editor, and Dr. M. Hamidullah Bhat, Director, National Council For Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL). The award will be conferred upon them at a national conference to be held in Aligarh on 4th October 2011.
The Aligarh Movement Magazine had announced that this year’s award will be given to two persons—one for Urdu journalism and another for linking Urdu with livelihood.
The magazine received 124 nominations for these awards from across the globe. The award committee unanimously decided to honor Sahara Urdu Media Group Editor Aziz Burney for Urdu journalism and NCPUL director Dr. M. Hamidullah Bhat for making commendable efforts to link Urdu with livelihood.
Mr Jasim Mohammad, secretary, award committee, said the award was earlier given to Vice Chancellor of Integral University, Prof. Syed Wasim Akhtar.
http://twocircles.net/2011sep28/aligarh_movement_
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Kazakhstan Approves Restrictive Religion Law
Sep 29, 2011
ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) — Kazakhstan's upper house of parliament approved a bill Thursday that backers say will help combat religious extremism, but that critics call a blow to freedom of belief in the ex-Soviet nation.
The bill approved by the Senate will require existing religious organizations in the mainly Muslim nation to dissolve and register again through a procedure that is virtually guaranteed to exclude smaller groups, including minority Christian communities.
Passage of the bill marks a reversal of authoritarian President Nursultan Nazarbayev's earlier attempts to cast Kazakhstan as a land of religious tolerance. One activist estimates that two-thirds of existing religious groups could be abolished as a result of the new law.
Backers of the revised law argue that the legislation is necessary to fight extremism. Authorities have been unsettled by an uncharacteristic outburst of Islamist-inspired violence in the oil-rich western regions over the summer.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/09/29/world/asia/AP-AS-Kazakhstan-Religion-Law.html?_r=1&ref=global-home
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Stop the Conspiracy Theories, Al Qaeda Tells Iranian Leader
By J. DAVID GOODMAN
Sep 29, 2011
Al Qaeda has a message for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran: enough with the conspiracy theories about Sept. 11.
The latest issue of the terror group’s English-language magazine, Inspire, lashed out at the Iranian president for indulging in the claim that the American government — and not Al Qaeda — was responsible for the attack. It was a claim Mr. Ahmadinejad repeated during his address to the United Nations General Assembly last week, when he suggested that the killing of Osama bin Laden was part of a dark conspiracy to conceal the real perpetrators of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
“The Iranian government has professed on the tongue of its president Ahmadinejad that it does not believe Al Qaeda was behind 9/11 but rather, the U.S. government,” read an article in the magazine published under the byline Abu Suhail. “So we may ask the question: why would Iran ascribe to such a ridiculous belief that stands in the face of all logic and evidence?”
The article, which reminded some of a satirical video from The Onion on a similar subject, continues, sardonically adopting a name for America often repeated by Iranian leaders:
If Iran was genuine in its animosity towards the U.S., it would be pleased to see another entity striking a blow at the Great Satan but that’s not the case. For Iran, anti-Americanism is merely a game of politics.
Full report at:
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/
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Tribes, military blamed for hijacking Yemen revolt
Sep 29, 2011
SANAA: With remarkable resilience, unarmed protesters demanding reforms from Yemen’s autocratic government have thronged the streets for the past seven months and braved a violent crackdown by government forces that killed hundreds.
But their uprising has been hijacked by Yemen’s two traditional powers – the tribes and the military – all but ensuring that even if a new regime emerges from the chaos, it will not look or act much differently from the old one.
”Today, our revolution is at a crossroads,” said protester Mansour Hamed. ”It can either triumph through peaceful means or the whole nation will slide into civil war, in which case the military and the tribes will have stolen our revolution.”
Breakaway military units and tribal fighters have been battling for more than a week in the capital with troops loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in fighting that has escalated since the president returned last week from Saudi Arabia, where he had been undergoing treatment for nearly four months for wounds suffered in an assassination attempt. As a result, turmoil has deepened in this divided nation, where the United States wants to preserve a focus on fighting al-Qaida militants.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/29/tribes-military-blamed-for-hijacking-yemen-revolt.html
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Afghan war violence up nearly 40%: UN
Sep 29, 2011
Violent incidents in the Afghan war have increased by nearly 40% over last year, according to UN figures released on Wednesday. The figures showed total security incidents averaging 2,108 a month in the first eight months of 2011, up 39% on the same period in 2010. Two-thirds of
the activity was focused on the southern and southeastern regions, particularly the Taliban birthplace of Kandahar and its surrounds.
A report to the UN Security Council shows that despite US-led efforts to protect ordinary people, the number of civilians killed over the summer rose five percent compared to the same period in 2010.
From June to August, the UN's mission in Afghanistan documented 971 civilian deaths, with three quarters attributed to insurgent violence and 12% blamed on NATO's US-led forces. The rest could not be attributed.
Recent multi-pronged attacks in Kabul and high-profile political assassinations over the summer have fed perceptions that after 10 years at war, the West's war effort is losing a grip on the Taliban's bid to return to power.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/afghanistan/Afghan-war-violence-up-nearly-40-UN/Article1-751264.aspx
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Pak man's killing: 17 Indians back in jail
Sep 29, 2011
Seventeen Indians, whose death sentence for killing a Pakistani was revoked after the blood money was paid, were sent back to a Sharjah jail in the wake of demands for compensation by two men injured in the same incident, days before they were to fly back home.
The 17 Indians, mostly from Punjab, were pardoned after over Rs 4 crore was paid as blood money to the victim's family. They now face a travel ban owing to a "technical error", the law firm handling the case has said.
"It's a technical error in the judgement document which can only be rectified by a higher court in Abu Dhabi," a lawyer from Mohamed Salman Advocates and Legal Consultants said.
According the lawyer, even though the authorities are keen to close the case, getting dates will take some time.
The 17 Indians were to be deported on Saturday last.
S P Singh Oberoi, the Dubai-based hotelier who helped raise the blood money, said the men who were shifted to an out-jail were sent back to the Sharjah Central Jail on Thursday as a travel ban was imposed on them following an application filed by two men who had been injured in the brawl.
Arrangements such as tickets and out-passes had been made to fly them back home but now they can't go without settling this issue.
According to Singh, their families in Punjab have been informed about the delay.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/world/Pak-man-s-killing-17-Indians-back-in-jail/Article1-751151.aspx
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Protests over Afzal Guru resolution refuses to die in J&K
September 29, 2011
Members in Jammu and Kashmir assembly creating an uproar over the mercy plea of Parliament House convict Afzal Guru soon after the House met.
There were protests outside the Jammu and Kashmir assembly on Thursday ahead of clemency debate on Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
Earlier today, Parliament was adjourned for 15 minutes after ruling Congress members disrupted the proceedings on the issue of cross-voting by BJP
MLAs during legislative council polls earlier this year.
The debate on Afzal Guru's clemency resolution was stalled on Wednesday following adjournment of the House.
Earlier, BJP leaders also protested in the House, demanding that the Speaker reveal the names of the people involved in the 2006 sex scandal while opposition Panthers Party demanded the dismissal of the government, saying its coalition partner Congress was protesting against its own government Jammu and Kashmir assembly Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone had recently said that the seven BJP MLAs, suspended by the party for cross-voting during the Legislative Council polls, will continue as members of the House till the High Court gives its verdict.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Protests-over-Afzal-Guru-resolution-refuses-to-die-in-J-amp-K/H1-Article1-751463.aspx
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Tribes, military blamed for hijacking Yemen revolt
Sep 29, 2011
SANAA: With remarkable resilience, unarmed protesters demanding reforms from Yemen’s autocratic government have thronged the streets for the past seven months and braved a violent crackdown by government forces that killed hundreds.
But their uprising has been hijacked by Yemen’s two traditional powers – the tribes and the military – all but ensuring that even if a new regime emerges from the chaos, it will not look or act much differently from the old one.
”Today, our revolution is at a crossroads,” said protester Mansour Hamed. ”It can either triumph through peaceful means or the whole nation will slide into civil war, in which case the military and the tribes will have stolen our revolution.”
Breakaway military units and tribal fighters have been battling for more than a week in the capital with troops loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in fighting that has escalated since the president returned last week from Saudi Arabia, where he had been undergoing treatment for nearly four months for wounds suffered in an assassination attempt. As a result, turmoil has deepened in this divided nation, where the United States wants to preserve a focus on fighting al-Qaida militants.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/29/tribes-military-blamed-for-hijacking-yemen-revolt.html
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US ambassador Robert Ford pelted with tomatoes in Syria
Sep 29, 2011
Supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have pelted US ambassador Robert Ford with tomatoes as he met an opposition figure in Damascus.
Veteran politician Hassan Abdul Azim said about 100 protesters tried to get into his office as Mr Ford arrived.
Mr Ford remains in the building, which is still surrounded, two hours after his arrival as he waits for security forces to escort him out.
Syrian media has previously accused Mr Ford of inciting protest.
He angered Damascus by visiting the central city of Hama with his French counterpart in July.
It led to both the French and US embassies coming under attack from supporters of the Assad regime.
Mr Abdul Azim, who heads the outlawed Arab Socialist Democratic Union party, said the ambassador's arrival at his office led to a demonstration.
"As soon as the ambassador came in at around 11:00 (08:00 GMT), we heard a noise outside and hostile slogans being chanted. The demonstrators tried to attack the office," he told AFP news agency.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15109168
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/maldives-four-men-arrested-drugging/d/5579