Pakistan Bans Ahle Sunnah Wal Jamaat Islamist Group
India Eyes Muslims Left
Behind by Quota System
After US encouragement,
Baloch active at the UN
Balochistan: JuD warns
India and US of backlash
New ISI chief shares
tenuous link with Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan
Syrian forces kill 54
ahead of Annan peace mission
Lord Yagna Varahan Perumal
visits Dargah
Indian women are an
inspiration: Pakistani activist
Islamic world to form a
common water vision
US awards Maldivian Woman
‘International Woman of Courage’ award
Unified Gulf currency by
mid-2013
Taliban kill seven soldiers
in North Waziristan
US missile attack kills 12
in South Waziristan
Israel Airstrike Kills
Militant Leader in Gaza
Toll in Israel Gaza
strikes rise to 12
Yemen air raids 'target
al-Qaeda militants near Bayda'
Militant hideouts pounded
in Orakzai; 21 killed
3 Syrian Army officers
defect to Turkey
Protest held outside UN
against Balochistan unrest
Syria opposition chief
rejects talks
Assad firmly in control of
Syria: US intelligence officials
Fai pleads guilty in ISI’s
Kashmir plot in Washington
Afghanistan, US sign deal
on prison handover
Afghan foreign minister to
visit Qatar to discuss Taliban
US wants relations with
Pakistan on upward trajectory: State dept
Act on Zardari case, Pak
SC tells PM again
Israel ex-spy chief urges
caution on Iran strike
Registration for Egypt
presidential poll kicks off
US asks nations to
sacrifice on oil to exert pressure on Iran
Fight rages over
Kyrgyzstan’s flag
Protests, Investigator
Pressure Bahrain
US aid agency prepares
switch to Afghan security
US could use 13,600 kg
bunker buster bomb on Iran N-facility
Qaeda confirms death of
commander in Pakistan
Two Afghan police, three
insurgents killed in attack
Syrian opposition rejects
talks with regime
Muslim brotherhood dominates in Egypt’s upper house vote
Tunisia, Egypt Islamists signal bigger religion role
Hamas P M voices support
for Syria protests
Syrian forces committing
crimes on orders from top: UN
Harvard expert to study
Saudi architectural developments
Complied by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: Pakistan's largest Islamic extremist group Ahle Sunnah Wal
----------
Pakistan Bans Ahle Sunnah
Wal Jamaat Islamist Group
By Syed Shoaib Hasan, BBC
News,
Karachi, 9 March 2012,
Pakistan's government has issued orders banning the country's largest Islamic
extremist group.
Ahle Sunnah Wal Jamaat was
first banned in 2002 by then Pakistani leader Gen Pervez Musharraf.
Activists from the
pro-al-Qaeda group formerly known as the Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP), or Soldiers of
the Companions of the Prophet, have been convicted of killing hundreds of Shia
Muslims.
The head of the group
described the ban as preposterous.
Other minorities, security
targets and embassies have also been targeted by members of the group.
The group has also
recently been in the forefront of an alliance of extremist groups calling for
an end to the country's relationship with the US, the Defence of Pakistan
Council (Difa).
'Preposterous'
The notification ordering
the ban was issued to relevant security departments two weeks ago but no public
announcement has yet been made.
The interior ministry's
order says the organisation has been banned for what it calls its
"concerns in terrorism", according to a copy of the order obtained by
the BBC.
Despite repeated attempts
to contact Rahman Malik, the country's interior minister, he was unavailable
for comment.
But the head of the Ahle
Sunnah Wal Jamaat group, Maulana Mohammad Ahmed Ludhianvi, told the BBC that
the group intended to challenge the order in court.
"It's taken us so
long so rein in our activists - it will become very difficult to control their
emotions if the ban is enforced," he said.
Militant attacks
After the last ban, many
of the organisation's activists went underground and allied themselves with
other militant groups to carry out attacks across Pakistan.
The SSP has always
maintained that these activists joined a splinter faction of the group called
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
But security officials in
Pakistan and beyond maintain that the groups are one and the same.
They allege that beneath
the guise of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, the SSP has been behind most of the major militants’
attacks in Pakistan, including the assassination of former Prime Minister
Benazir Bhutto.
The group is also said to
be responsible for the continuing killing of members of the country's minority
communities, particularly Shia, across Pakistan.
Recently, however, the
group has attempted a kind of rehabilitation - renaming itself Ahle Sunnah Wal
Jamaat and trying to act like a mainstream political party.
As part of the Defence of
Pakistan Council, it has held rallies in all of the country's major cities -
including Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi - and calling on the government to cut
off all ties with the US and the West.
The largest rally was
recently held in Karachi. Afterwards, the US State Department called on the
Pakistan government to implement bans on such groups, in particular
Jamaat-ud-Dawa.
It said the group was a
front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was held responsible for the November 2008
attacks on India's business capital, Mumbai.
Although the
Jamaat-ud-Dawa remains absent from the order, it appears some of the US
pressure has paid off.
"American and
pro-American elements are afraid of the Difa and have orchestrated this
ban," Maulana Ludhianvi says.
"In essence, whoever
enforces the ban is enforcing their will on Pakistan," he added, pledging
that he would never allow that to happen.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17322095
---------
India Eyes Muslims Left
Behind by Quota System
By JIM YARDLEY
March 9, 2012
MUZAFFARNAGAR, India — Along
the narrow lane known as Khadar Wallah, Muslims and low-caste Hindus have lived
side by side for years, bound by poverty, if not religion. Yet recently,
Muslims like Murtaza Mansuri have noticed a change. Their neighbors have become
better off.
Many of the Dalits, the
low-caste Hindus once known as untouchables, have gotten government jobs, or
slots in public universities, opportunities that have meant stable salaries and
nicer homes. And to Mr. Mansuri the reason is clear: the affirmative action quotas
for low-caste Hindus, a policy known in India as reservation, which is not
explicitly available to Muslims.
“We are way behind them,”
Mr. Mansuri, who repairs rickshaws for a living, said on a recent afternoon.
“Reservation is essential for Muslims. If we don’t get education, we will
remain backward, while others move forward and forward.”
For decades, the issue of
affirmative action for Muslims has been a politically fractious one in India.
Many opponents, including right-wing Hindu groups, have long argued that
affirmative action policies based on religion violate India’s Constitution and
run counter to the country’s secular identity. Quotas, they said, should be
strictly reserved for groups that have suffered centuries of caste-based
discrimination.
But these arguments have
been steadily countered by an undeniable and worrisome byproduct of India’s
democratic development: Muslims, as a group, have fallen badly behind, in
education, employment and economic status, partly because of persistent
discrimination in a Hindu-majority nation. Muslims are more likely to live in
villages without schools or medical facilities, a landmark government report
found in 2006, and less likely to qualify for bank loans.
Now, the issue of Muslim
quotas has bubbled to the surface in the recent election in the state of Uttar
Pradesh, where the winner, the regional Samajwadi Party, has promised to carve
out a quota of jobs and educational slots for Muslims, an idea first raised by
the Indian National Congress Party. Legal and political obstacles remain, and
some Muslims are skeptical that leaders will muster the political will to push
through a quota, even as many consider such preferences justified and long
overdue.
“We also fought against
the British for Indian independence,” said Hafiz Aftab, president of the
All-India Muttahida Mahaz, an organization that has led protests on behalf of
Muslim preferences. “We lost so many of our brightest people. But after
freedom, the government didn’t make any efforts to uplift Muslims.”
In Uttar Pradesh, the
country’s poorest and most populous state, all of India’s caste and religious
demarcations are on vivid display. It was here that one of India’s most searing
acts of religious violence occurred in 1992, when an ancient mosque was destroyed
by right-wing Hindu activists who claimed that it had been built on the site of
the birthplace of Ram, the Hindu deity.
Indians in Uttar Pradesh
have also witnessed the political rise of the Scheduled Castes, as the Dalits
and other “backward” caste Hindus are legally called. Before losing the recent
election, Mayawati, the state’s powerful Dalit chief minister (who uses one
name), dominated Uttar Pradesh and used her position to reward many of her
supporters with jobs, housing and other benefits. Dalits still remain
overwhelmingly poor and marginalized in many parts of India, but Ms. Mayawati’s
extensive use of the reservation quota system and other preferential policies
in Uttar Pradesh provided opportunity to many Dalits.
“These Scheduled Castes
were the most deprived people socially and economically in Uttar Pradesh,” said
Mr. Aftab in an interview before the state elections. “Now they are the ruling
class. This is the result of 64 years of reservation.”
India’s original
reservation policies were codified during the drafting of the national
Constitution as quotas for Scheduled Castes and tribal groups. Over the years,
other Hindu castes were added at both the state and national level, as
different groups agitated for inclusion and politicians saw opportunities to
carve out new vote banks. India’s modernization, rather than erasing caste, was
codifying it.
“In India, the deepening
of democracy will not happen by erasing all caste-community boundaries,” said
Yogendra Yadav, a leading political scientist in New Delhi. “I see it as the
next stage of social justice in India.”
Most Muslims in India are
the descendants of low-caste Hindus who converted over the centuries, often to
escape the deprived status to which Dalits were consigned. Yet those caste
affiliations never fully disappeared, meaning that a hierarchy lingered among
Muslims in India. Two government commissions sought to include “backward”
Muslims in the quota system by using their former Hindu caste identity, along
with educational and economic indicators.
India’s four southern
states have managed to extend some affirmative action benefits to Muslims, if
not explicitly along religious lines, but elsewhere Muslims have largely been
excluded. The 2006 report, known as the Sachar Committee report, found that
Muslims who should have qualified for affirmative action were not getting it,
even though they were living in greater poverty than some groups that were
getting the benefit.
“Our Constitution says we
should not provide reservation on the grounds of religion,” said Mufti
Julfiquar Ali, a Muslim leader in Uttar Pradesh. “But basically, reservation
was given on the grounds of religion. A Muslim washerman got no reservation,
but a Hindu washerman got one. Hindu carpenters will get reservation, but the
Muslim carpenter will not.”
Along the lane of Khadar
Wallah, Muslims and Dalits last month voiced starkly different opinions about
the need for creating a quota to benefit Muslims. Some Muslims had doubts about
whether political leaders would fulfill the pledge and whether such a policy
could be tailored to truly help them.
But Badruddin, an older
Muslim man who uses one name, wanted the benefit. He said affirmative action
had enabled many lower-caste Hindus to secure government jobs that provided
stability so that their children could remain in school. In many Muslim
families, he argued, children must often drop out of school to earn money.
“The Scheduled Castes are
better off than we are because they are in government jobs,” he said. “Once you
have a government job, you will be uplifted.”
Several Hindus said quotas
for Muslims were unnecessary and would dilute already scarce opportunities for
lower-caste Hindus. “Without reservation, we would not have progressed very
much because of discrimination,” said Boharan Lal, 71, a Dalit, adding: “I do
not believe that Muslims are more backward. They are doing better.”
Mr. Mansuri, the rickshaw
repairman, dropped out of school in the eighth grade, but is still the most
educated person in his extended family. “Our only source of income was from my
father,” he said, explaining why he went to work.
He has watched as his
Dalit neighbors have gotten jobs, or college slots, through quotas that, over
time, brought better jobs and salaries. He pointed to the renovated homes of some
low-caste Hindus as evidence of what affirmative action can bring, and what
Muslim families struggle to afford. He said Muslims were also to blame because
for too long they did not push their children to stay in school. But that has
changed, he said.
His own house was recently
refurbished, with smooth concrete walls painted bright green, and is easily as
nice as the homes on the alley owned by Dalit families. Asked about it, Mr.
Mansuri explained that the house was an example of how his family had benefited
from preferential treatment: An agent had contacted him saying that banks were
seeking to loan money to Muslims after the 2006 Sachar Committee report
detailed discrimination in banking.
“Earlier, if we had
applied,” Mr. Mansuri said, “we would not have gotten a loan.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/10/world/asia/india-eyes-affirmative-action-for-muslims.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120310
---------
After US encouragement,
Baloch active at the UN
Murtaza Ali Shah
GENEVA: March 10, 2012,
Exiled Balochs have stepped up their movement at the international level with a
highly visible and vocal presence this year at the 19th Session of UN Human
Rights Council.
Pakistani lobbyists,
Kashmiri and Gilgiti groups - both for and against Pakistan - are also active
organising briefings and meetings, including interventions at the main UN
debate on human rights issues, but the Baloch delegates are receiving the most
attention from NGOs and delegates from various parts of the world.
This year’s session comes
soon after the US Congressional hearing which led to the tabling of resolution
in the US Congress by congressmen Dana Rohrabacher, Lousie Gohmert and Steve
King calling for the right of self-determination of Balochistan.
The US government has
distanced itself from the steps taken by these Congressmen but the move has
buoyed Baloch diaspora groups who are now actively lobbying the lawmakers at
the European institutional level for a similar move.
Bharmadagh Bugti, who has
sought asylum in Switzerland and lives a short distance from the UN Human
Rights Council building, is regularly holding meetings here with delegates from
different countries but many of these meetings are being kept a secret on the
request of the visitors. His asylum case is still under consideration but he is
involved in active lobbying for his cause.
At a well-attended
briefing in Palais des Nations here hosted by Balochistan’s representative at
the United Nations Mehran Baloch and attended by international observes,
including Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) delegation, a European Parliament
member Richard Czarnecki MEP announced that he will table a similar resolution
at the EU parliament soon calling for support of the Baloch nationalists. He
told The News that he had the support of more than a dozen MEPs and his group
will ask their respective law-making bodies to follow suit too.
The session was attended
by many parliamentarians who didn’t contribute in the general discussion on
Balochistan but their presence was important for the reason that it’s only now
that a great deal of interest is being shown at the United Nations forum.
Human rights campaigner
Peter Tatchell urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue “arrest
warrants against Pakistani military and political leaders” who are involved in
“crimes” in Balochistan.
He called on Pakistan’s
civil society to join hands with Baloch groups working to highlight the issue
at the local and international level.Mehran Baloch called on the UN Human
Rights Commissioner to send a fact-finding mission to Balochistan to
investigate human rights abuses there.
He said the discovery of
dead bodies was a “daily occurrence” and accused that the state agencies were
involved in the “genocide” of the Baloch people. He said Rehman Malik’s claim
that foreign hand was involved in Balochistan was discredited and called on the
interior minister to present the evidence. He said the issue of disappeared
people needed international attention and called on the UN member states to
help the rights activists produce those who may still be alive.
MQM’s central Coordination
Committee member Muhammad Anwar said that no international player was willing
or intent on interfering in Balochistan issue and largely considered it
Pakistan’s internal issue. He called on Baloch leaders to step down from the
position of brinkmanship and consider options and ways of solving the issues
through engagement and dialogue. He said everyone sympathised with the genuine
Baloch grievances but shutting door of dialogue will not help anyone.
Pakistani NGOs
representatives on this occasion called on equal rights for women in
Balochistan and said that women were victims of both the military operation as
well as the tribal traditions which held them back from the mainstream discourse.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=13058&Cat=13&dt=3/10/2012
---------
Balochistan: JuD warns
India and US of backlash
Mar 10 2012,
Lahore : Continuing his
tirade against US and India, Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, blamed
for the 2008 Mumbai attacks, has warned the two countries to stop their alleged
efforts to "separate Balochistan from Pakistan" threatening a
backlash.
Addressing a gathering of
Defa-e-Pakistan Council, a grouping of over 40 hardline and extremist groups
cobbled together by Saeed, he said, "While you are sitting in Afghanistan,
you should refrain from making efforts to separate Balochistan from Pakistan by
sponsoring moves there.
"So today we are
giving you (India and the US) a very hard message to stop this with immediate
effect or get ready to face our severe reaction."
The gathering marched from
the JuD headquarters at Chauburji to the Data Darbar shrine yesterday to
express solidarity with the Baloch people.
Saeed is also founder of
the banned terror group, Lashkar-e-Toiba.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/balochistan-jud-warns-india-and-us-of-backlash/922148/
---------
New ISI chief shares
tenuous link with Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan
Mar 10, 2012,
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's new
ISI chief, Lt Gen Zahir-ul-Islam, is the nephew of Indian National Army hero
Shah Nawaz Khan and through him, shares a tenuous link with Bollywood star
Shahrukh Khan.
Islam's father served as a
brigadier in the Pakistan Army and Shah Nawaz Khan, who was a major general in the
INA led by Subhas Chandra Bose, was his uncle, leading Pakistani defence
analyst Ikram Sehgal told PTI.
"One son of Shah
Nawaz Khan went with him at the time of Partition, while another, Mahmood
Nawaz, stayed on in Pakistan and became a full colonel. In fact, Mahmood Nawaz
went and met his father only after retirement as he could not travel to India
while he was in service," Sehgal said, providing details of the new ISI
chief's extended family.
For Full Report At :
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/New-ISI-chief-shares-tenuous-link-with-Shah-Rukh-Khan/articleshow/12208084.cms?prtpage=1
--------
Syrian forces kill 54
ahead of Annan peace mission
Saturday, March 10, 2012
AMMAN: Syrian forces
killed at least 54 people on Friday as they sought to quell demonstrations
against President Bashar al-Assad before a peace mission by UN-Arab League
envoy Kofi Annan, opposition activists said.
Tank rounds and mortar
bombs crashed into opposition districts in the rebellious central city of Homs,
killing 17 people, activists said, while 24 were killed in the northern
province of Idlib and more deaths were reported elsewhere. "Thirty tanks
entered my neighbourhood at seven this morning and they are using their cannons
to fire on houses," said Karam Abu Rabea, a resident in Homs's Karm
al-Zeitoun neighbourhood.
One focus of
demonstrations was the anniversary of Kurdish unrest in Syria in 2004 when
about 30 people were killed.
For Full Report At :
Russia, an old ally of
Damascus and its main arms supplier, has defended Assad against his Western and
Arab critics, twice joining China in vetoing UN resolutions on Syria. reuters
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\03\10\story_10-3-2012_pg7_12
---------
Lord Yagna Varahan Perumal
visits Dargah
09 Mar 2012 11:07:41 AM
IST
CHIDAMBARAM: Tamil Nadu
has set many examples of religious tolerance and one such instance was
witnessed near here when Muslims offered a grand welcome to a Hindu deity -
Lord Yagna Varahan Perumal (Bhuvaragaswami) - on behalf of their Dargah during
Masi Magam festival at Killai on Thursday.
Sufi saint Hazrath Syed
Sha Rahmathullah Vali Shuttary, who lived at Killai about 275 years ago, was
given around 365 acres of land.
He donated 25 acres of
this land to perform poojas to Lord Bhuvaragaswami.
During the procession of
the deity to the sea for a holy dip, people from the Muslim community receive
the Hindu god in front of the
Dargah by offering a
shawl. In turn a garland from the Perumal is placed at the Dargah as a token of
religious harmony.
http://expressbuzz.com/states/tamilnadu/perumal-visits-dargah/370903.html
--------
Indian women are an
inspiration: Pakistani activist
WASHINGTON, March 10, 2012
Indian women are “bold”
and “courageous” and have created better opportunities for themselves in
politics as well as financial field, inspiring their counterparts across the
border.
“Women in my country seek
inspiration from them” said Pakistani award winning rights advocate Shad Begum.
Indian women created
better opportunities for themselves and came good in economic activities, Ms.
Shad said after receiving the 2012 International Woman of Courage award from
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the presence of the First Lady
Michelle Obama.
The accolades for the
Indian women also came from eminent Myanmarese political activist Zin Mar Aung
with both of them stressing that more women should be on the forefront of
politics in South Asia.
For Full Report At :
Keywords: International
Woman of Courage award, Women's Day
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2978773.ece
---------
Islamic world to form a
common water vision
Mar 10 2012,
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily
News
Representatives of 57
Muslim countries gathered in Istanbul yesterday in order to create a common
“water vision.”
Ministers and deputy
ministers of participating countries in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation
(OIC) gathered in Istanbul to improve cooperation in the access and use of
water. “Millions of people are dying because of lack of access to drinkable
water, and water is squandered a lot. Our aim is to form a new common vision on
water among the OIC countries,” Director General of Turkey’s Multilateral
Economic Affairs, Energy and Environment Mithat Rende told Hürriyet Daily News.
For Full Report At :
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/islamic-world-to-form-a-common-water-vision.aspx?pageID=238&nID=15336&NewsCatID=352
---------
US awards Maldivian Woman
‘International Woman of Courage’ award
By Hawwa Lubna
March 8th, 2012
Former Minister of Gender and
Family Aneesa Ahmed has become the second Maldivian woman to win the
prestigious ‘International Women of Courage Award’ presented by the US
Secretary of State to honor the courage of extraordinary women worldwide who
have played transformative roles in their societies.
Since the establishment of
the award in 2007 by the former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, 46 women
from 34 different countries – including Former ruling Maldivian Democratic
Party MDP Chairperson and MP Mariya Ahmed Didi – have been honored for the
exceptional courage and leadership shown in advocating for women’s rights and
empowerment, often at great personal risk.
For Full Report At :
http://minivannews.com/politics/us-awards-aneesa-ahmed-international-woman-of-courage-award-33004
----------
Unified Gulf currency by
mid-2013
Akbar Ponani
JEDDAH (SAUDI ARABIA): Mar
10, 2012,, GCC countries are in active discussion to decide upon the name and
denominations of the proposed unified Gulf currency and its printing by
mid-year in 2013. The year 2015 is proposed for the launch of the unified Gulf
currency according to sources at the General Secretariat of the GCC. However,
the actual date of the launch will depend on the progress achieved by the
monetary council of the GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council).
The governing council of
the Gulf Monetary Council includes the governors of the central banks of Saudi
Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. It would meet in Riyadh in the third week of
March to discuss the progress made by its technical teams in charge of
preparing institutional and regulatory frameworks for the council and follow up
the achievements in this regard as the nucleus of the Gulf Central Bank.
For Full Report At :
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Unified-Gulf-currency-by-mid-2013/articleshow/12210825.cms
--------
Taliban kill seven
soldiers in North Waziristan
Saturday, March 10, 2012
MIRANSHAH: Taliban armed
with guns and rockets ambushed a military convoy on Friday, killing seven
soldiers in the terrorist stronghold of North Waziristan, officials said.
The attack took place at
Khar Qamar, 30 kilometres west of Miranshah, the main town in the district that
has become the most notorious Taliban and al Qaeda stronghold on Pakistan's
border with Afghanistan. Security officials said nine terrorists were also
killed in the attack, but there was no independent confirmation of the toll.
"At least seven
soldiers were martyred when terrorists fired machine guns and rockets on a
military convoy," a senior security official told AFP. Other security
officials in Peshawar, the biggest city in northwest Pakistan, confirmed the
attack and that the toll had risen from four to seven. "After the ambush,
Pakistani military helicopters and troops retaliated and there were reports of
deaths of nine militants," an intelligence official said.
For Full Report At :
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\03\10\story_10-3-2012_pg7_1
--------
US missile attack kills 12
in South Waziristan
Saturday, March 10, 2012
ISLAMABAD: An American
missile attack killed 12 terrorists on the Pakistani side of the Afghan border
on Friday, one of only a handful of such strikes this year, Pakistani officials
said. The missile struck in the Mandao district of South Waziristan, a rugged
terrorist stronghold where the Pakistan Army has staged offensives in the past,
the officials said, giving no further details. The officials did not give their
names because they were not authorised to speak to journalists. It took place
hours after al Qaeda confirmed that a strike last month in North Waziristan
killed one of its commanders — a success in a CIA-led campaign, but a major
source of tension plaguing the relationship between Washington and Islamabad.
The strikes, which began in earnest in 2008, have killed scores of terrorists,
including foreign al Qaeda members involved in plotting attacks on the West.
For Full Report At :
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\03\10\story_10-3-2012_pg7_2
---------
Israel Airstrike Kills
Militant Leader in Gaza
March 9, 2012,
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip—An
Israeli airstrike killed the commander of the militant group behind the
abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and a second militant in Gaza on
Friday in the highest profile attack against the coastal strip in months.
Palestinians look at the
remains of a vehicle after it exploded in Gaza City.
The Israeli military
confirmed the strike, saying the slain commander Zuhair al-Qaissi was plotting
an infiltration attack into Israel similar to one his group carried out in
August that killed eight people and injured 40 more. In a statement, the
military warned Gaza's Hamas rulers against any retaliation for the strike.
Palestinian witnesses said
Israeli drones were seen hovering above just moments before a vehicle exploded
into flames, in a southern district of Gaza City.
For Full Report At :
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204603004577271380469163496.html?mod=WSJ_World_LEFTSecondNews
---------
Toll in Israel Gaza
strikes rise to 12
By IBRAHIM BARZAK | AP
Mar 10, 2012
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip: A
violent flare-up that began when Israel killed a leading militant commander in
the Gaza Strip has so far killed 12 militants, said a Palestinian health
spokesman Saturday.
The killing also unleashed
a barrage of rockets by furious Palestinian militants from the coastal
territory toward Israel’s southern border communities. One of those rockets
seriously wounded an Israeli civilian and sent families scattering into bomb
shelters.
The Palestinian militants
were killed in seven airstrikes overnight and on Saturday morning, said Gaza
health spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya. He said some 20 more civilians were wounded
by flying shrapnel from the exploding missiles, some of which targeted
militants deep in civilian areas of the crowded territory.
For Full Report At :
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article585739.ece
---------
Yemen air raids 'target
al-Qaeda militants near Bayda'
10 March 2012
Al-Qaeda targets were
struck close to the city of Bayda, some 130km (80 miles) south of the capital
Sanaa late on Friday, officials said.
Police and security
sources told the AFP the strikes had killed 23.
Officials said the attacks
were carried out by Yemeni planes, although some residents thought they were US
planes.
However, the BBC's Jon Leyne,
reporting from Cairo, says until now the United States has mainly used drones
to target members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has bases
in southern Yemen.
Residents in Bayda told
Reuters news agency that Friday night's raid targeted bases belonging to
AQAP-linked Ansar al-Sharia militants.
A government source told
Reuters the warplanes targeted a gathering of "al-Qaeda elements",
killing 10 militants, including leaders, and their vehicles.
He said the militants were
carrying equipment and weapons in order to launch attacks in Bayda province,
Reuters reports.
For Full Report At :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17324141
--------
Militant hideouts pounded
in Orakzai; 21 killed
10/03/2012
KHADEZAI – Pakistani
fighter jets bombed four militant hideouts in the Khadezai and Mamozai areas of
the northwestern Orakzai tribal region, near the Afghanistan border, killing 21
militants and wounding 23 military officials said.
There was no way to
independently confirm the death toll. Militants often dispute official death
figures.
Orakzai is one of seven
ethnic Pashtun tribal areas where the Pakistani military has carried out
offensives to root out insurgent groups.
http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/10/twenty-one-militants-killed-in-orakzai.html
--------
3 Syrian Army officers
defect to Turkey
09 MARCH 2012
AP | ANKARA
Two Syrian generals and a
Colonel have defected to Turkey, the country’s state-run television reported on
Friday as the Syrian forces appeared to be targeting more rebellious areas,
including the northern province of Idlib near Turkey.
The report of the
defections came as UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos toured Syrian refugee
camps along the Turkish-Syrian border before talks with Turkish Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
For Full Report At :
http://www.dailypioneer.com/world/48505-report-3-syrian-army-officers-defect-to-turkey.html
---------
Protest held outside UN
against Balochistan unrest
Friday, March 09, 2012
Murtaza Ali Shah
GENEVA: A large
demonstration was held outside the United Nations here on the occasion of the
19th Session of UN Human Rights Council to condemn the human rights violations
in Balochistan and ask for the end of military operation in the restive
insurgency-hit province.
The demonstration was organised
and led by Mehran Baloch, Balochistan’s representative at the United Nations
and Noordin Mengal. The participants traveled from London, Germany, Canada,
France and Brussels to take part in the protest. World Sindhi Congress, Baloch
Human Rights Council and United Kashmir People’s National Party also joined the
Baloch demonstrators to support their demands.
The demonstrators stood
outside the UN building for two hours and held placards calling for the
accountability of the intelligence agencies and the provision of justice for
the missing persons whose fate is unknown.
For Full Report At :
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-96765-Protest-held-outside-UN-against-Balochistan-unrest
---------
Syria opposition chief
rejects talks
09 MARCH 2012
ZEINA KARAM | BEIRUT
The leader of Syria’s main
opposition group rejected calls Friday by UN envoy Kofi Annan for dialogue with
President Bashar Assad’s Government, saying they were pointless and unrealistic
as the regime massacres its own people.
As the prospects for
diplomacy faltered, Turkey’s state-run television TRT said two Syrian generals
and a Colonel defected to Turkey on Thursday.
If confirmed, the military
defections would be significant as most army defectors so far have been
low-level conscripts. On Thursday, Syria’s deputy oil minister announced his
defection, making him the highest-ranking civilian official to join the
opposition. In a telephone interview from Paris, Burhan Ghalioun, who heads the
opposition Syrian National Council, told The Associated Press that Annan
already has disappointed the Syrian people.
For Full Report At :
http://www.dailypioneer.com/world/48504-syria-opposition-chief-rejects-talks.html
---------
Assad firmly in control of
Syria: US intelligence officials
Mar 10 2012,
Washington : President
Bashar al-Assad is firmly in control of the situation in Syria even after a
year long uprising and is increasingly willing to use militaries on opposition
groups, according to senior US intelligence officials.
The officials also said that
Assad’s inner circle is “remaining steadfast,” with little indication that
senior figures in the regime are inclined to move off, despite efforts by the
Obama administration and its allies to use sanctions and other measures to
create a wave of defections that would undermine Assad.
“Assad is very much in
charge,” said a senior US intelligence official responsible for tracking the
conflict.
For Full Report At :
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/922150/
---------
Fai pleads guilty in ISI’s
Kashmir plot in Washington
Mar 10 2012,
US- BASED Kashmiri
separatist leader Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai on Wednesday pleaded guilty to federal
charges of spying for the Pakistani spy agency, the ISI, and illegally lobbying
the Congress to influence the American policy on Kashmir.
Fai, 62, also acknowledged
secretly receiving money from the ISI through clandestine routes and causing
revenue losses to the US government to the tune of $ 200,000 to 400,000.
Pleading before the US
Eastern District Court of Virginia, Fai, head of the Kashmiri American Council
( KAC) pleaded guilty and agreed to the charges of federal prosecutors that he
received at least $ 3.5 million from the ISI between 1990 to 2011.
His sentencing is
scheduled for March 9. Fai agreed before the court that he was in direct
contact with the ISI officials, including the head of its security directorate.
The guilty plea was announced by Neil MacBride, US Attorney for the Eastern
District of Virginia. He conceded receiving talking points from the ISI
regarding what to say and write. He agreed that he received directions from the
ISI with regard to which specific individuals to invite for KAC conferences.
For Full Report At :
http://epaper.mailtoday.in/epaperhome.aspx?issue=8122011
---------
Afghanistan, US sign deal
on prison handover
Mar 10, 2012,
KABUL: The US military and
the Afghan government sealed an agreement Friday on the gradual transfer of
control of the main US prison in the country, a last-minute breakthrough that
brings the first progress in months in contentious negotiations over a
long-term partnership.
The compromise deal came
on the day Afghan President Hamid Karzai had set as a deadline for the
Americans to hand over the Parwan prison.
The agreement gives the US
six months to transfer Parwan's 3,000 Afghan detainees to Afghan control.
However, the US will also be able to block the release of prisoners, easing
American fears that insurgents or members of the Taliban could be freed and
return to the fight.
For Full Report At :
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Afghanistan-US-sign-deal-on-prison-handover/articleshow/12205342.cms
---------
Afghan foreign minister to
visit Qatar to discuss Taliban
Mar 10, 2012
Kabul: Afghan Foreign
Minister Zalmay Rasool will visit Qatar to meet government officials to discuss
reconciliation with the Taliban, a spokesman said, in a sign the nascent peace
process could gain momentum.
Rasool is scheduled to
leave for Qatar in under ten days, Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai
told Reuters.
The Afghan Taliban
announced in January that it would open a political office in Qatar, suggesting
the group may be willing to engage in negotiations that would be likely to give
it Afghan government positions or official control over much of its historical
southern heartland.
http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/afghan-foreign-minister-to-visit-qatar-to-discuss-taliban-239779.html
---------
US wants relations with
Pakistan on upward trajectory: State dept
Mar 10, 2012
WASHINGTON: As Pakistan
conducts a Parliamentary review of its bilateral ties with US, a State
Department official said Washington wants to have its relationship with
Pakistan always on an upward trajectory.
"We obviously always
want our relationship with Pakistan to be on an upward trajectory," the
State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland told reporters at her daily news
conference yesterday.
US, she said, wants to
improve its relationship with Pakistan.
However, Nuland refused to
answer questions related to the announcement of appointment of a new ISI chief.
Pakistan-US relations have
been buffeted by several crises since last year, including the gunning down of
two Pakistani men by a CIA contractor in Lahore, the killing of Osama bin Laden
by American commandos in Abbottabad and a cross-border NATO air strike that
killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November.
Gilani ordered a
Parliamentary review of bilateral relations and new "terms of
engagement" for the US will be unveiled after a joint session of the two
houses of Parliament that is likely to be held later this month.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-wants-relations-with-Pakistan-on-upward-trajectory-State-dept/articleshow/12206882.cms
---------
Act on Zardari case, Pak
SC tells PM again
Omer Farooq Khan, TNN |
Mar 10, 2012,
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan SC has
again ordered PM Yousaf Raza Gilani to write to the Swiss to reopen a graft
case against president Asif Ali Zardari without seeking legal advice.
The apex court directed
Gilani to file his statement by March 19 or appear before it on March 21.
"If the PM does not submit a statement, arguments will commence on March
21. If he makes a statement , the final arguments will begin from March
21," Gilani's lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan said.
The PM is facing contempt
proceedings over his refusal to write to the Swiss.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Act-on-Zardari-case-Pak-SC-tells-PM-again/articleshow/12205818.cms
---------
Israel ex-spy chief urges
caution on Iran strike
FRIDAY, 09 MARCH 2012
DANIEL ESTRIN | JERUSALEM
The recently retired head
of the Mossad intelligence agency has said Israel must consider alternatives to
a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, but another expert said Friday
an Israeli attack could come within months.
Ex-Mossad director Meir
Dagan pointed to a need for caution after Israel’s Prime Minister hinted Israel
might feel the need to attack. Among the alternative actions he suggested was
supporting Iranian opposition groups working for regime change.
“An attack on Iran before
you are exploring all other approaches is not the right way how to do it,” Meir
Dagan said to CBS’s 60 minutes, according to a transcript of a programme that
airs on Sunday.
For Full Report At :
http://www.dailypioneer.com/world/48501-israel-ex-spy-chief-urges-caution-on-iran-strike.html
---------
Registration for Egypt
presidential poll kicks off
March 10, 2012
Egypt's presidential race
kicked off on Saturday, with registration open for candidates to run the
country after a popular uprising ousted veteran president Hosni Mubarak last
year.
Hopefuls must be endorsed
by at least 30 members of parliament or 30,000 eligible voters for the
Landmark election on May
23.
The poll comes during a
turbulent transitional period during which the military, lionised for not
supporting Mubarak during the uprising, has become the target of the crowds who
spearheaded the revolt that overthrew him.
Parties represented in
parliament, which is dominated by Islamists, can nominate one candidate.
For Full Report At :
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Africa/Registration-for-Egypt-presidential-poll-kicks-off/Article1-823314.aspx
---------
US asks nations to
sacrifice on oil to exert pressure on Iran
Mar 10 2012,
Washington : Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton said that US was helping South Korea and other nations
look for new energy sources to wean themselves from Iranian oil to put more
pressure on Iran to give up its nuclear programme.
"We're not only
talking with our friends like the Republic of Korea, but also (with) oil
producing partners about boosting production to shore up price stability and
offer alternative avenues of supply," Clinton told reporters at a joint
media availability with the South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan.
For Full Report At :
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/922126/
---------
Fight rages over
Kyrgyzstan’s flag
By Tolkun Namatbaeva
March 9, 2012
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — It's
blood red with a yellow sunburst in the center that's covered by the top
opening of a yurt — and it's the focus of fierce debate in this Central Asian
nation.
Kyrgyzstan's flag has
flown for 20 years since the country's independence from the former Soviet
Union — a tangible representation of the people's history, heritage and pride,
full of symbolism and meaning.
There's the rub.
"State symbols are
sacred for us, protected by law, and never should be the object of argument and
discord," says Abdyrahman Mamataliev, who heads a commission that is
examining the issue of changing the flag.
"But now there are a
lot of disputes. Part of the population doesn't … accept the flag. We need a
flag that the whole nation can unite under, a flag we can be proud of."
Part of the debate centers
on what the flag's symbols mean.
The crossed lines over the
yellow sunburst represent the view through a tunduk, the chimney-like opening
in traditional tents known as yurts.
The flaming yellow sun and
red background are symbols of Manas, an ancient warrior hero of Kyrgyz legend
who who fought off foreign invaders and then conquered neighboring tribes.
For Full Report At :
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/mar/9/fight-rages-over-kyrgyzstan-flag/print/
---------
Protests, Investigator
Pressure Bahrain
By ALEX DELMAR-MORGAN
March 9, 2012,
DOHA, Qatar—The head of an
official inquiry into Bahrain's unrest last year called for the investigation
of any senior officials involved in the deaths or torture of protesters, as
thousands of demonstrators returned to the streets in one of the nation's
largest marches in months.
Cherif Bassiouni, whose
report in November found authorities used excessive force and widespread
torture to shut down a popular uprising, told The Wall Street Journal that
Bahrain's Sunni regime hadn't acted on his recommendation that any members of
the government guilty of abuses should face justice.
"If you follow the
system of accountability and justice, you follow the evidence wherever it goes
and whoever is responsible has to be held accountable," said Mr.
Bassiouni, an Egyptian former United Nations human-rights lawyer.
Followers of Shiite cleric
Muqtada al-Sadr, seen in the posters, march in anti-Bahraini governments
demonstrations while waving Bahrain flags in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city.
Bahrain's King Hamad
ordered the independent report into the crackdown in June. Headed by Mr. Bassiouni,
the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry concluded that detainees had been
subjected to systematic mistreatment included being beaten with rubber hoses,
metal rods, electrocuted and threatened with rape. The report outlined proposed
reforms to the police and security services.
For Full Report At :
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204603004577271481007329636.html?mod=WSJ_World_LEFTSecondNews
---------
US aid agency prepares
switch to Afghan security
10 March 2012
WASHINGTON - The main US
foreign aid agency is preparing to switch from private security contractors in
Afghanistan to Afghan government-provided security this month under a new
policy mandated by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, raising concern in Washington
that this could put US civilians at greater risk.
US Agency for
International Development Administrator Rajiv Shah says the agency may be able
to negotiate waivers from the policy for some major infrastructure projects so
that they could continue to have access to private security.
But US AID officials also
said this week that only 25 percent of U.S.-funded development projects in
Afghanistan require security guards, suggesting the changeover to Afghan
government-provided security this month that Karzai has ordered may not be so
dramatic.
“Seventy-five percent of
our assistance portfolio does not require private security contractors today.
So a lot of our partners, and a lot of the way we are doing business is not
affected by this at all,” Alex Thier, Shah’s assistant for Afghanistan and
Pakistan programs, said in an interview.
For Full Report At :
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2012/March/international_March373.xml§ion=international&col=
---------
US could use 13,600 kg
bunker buster bomb on Iran N-facility
Mar 10, 2012
WASHINGTON: A 13,600 kg
bunker buster bomb designed to smash through some 65 meters of concrete before
exploding is a “great weapon” that could be used by US forces in a clash with
Iran over its nuclear program, an Air Force general said late on Thursday.
Lt. Gen. Herbert Carlisle,
Air Force deputy chief of staff for operations, said the massive ordnance
penetrator, which the military began receiving only last year, is part of the
US arsenal available for strikes against countries like Iran, which has some
buried nuclear facilities.
“The massive ordnance
penetrator is a great weapon. We are continuing to improve that. It has great
capability now and we are continuing to make it better. It is part of our
arsenal and it will be a potential if we need it in that kind of scenario,”
Carlisle told a conference on US defense programs.
The Pentagon has begun
working on military options if sanctions and diplomacy fail to prevent Tehran
from building a nuclear weapon.
For Full Report At :
http://arabnews.com/world/article585558.ece
--------
Qaeda confirms death of
commander in Pakistan
Saturday, March 10, 2012
ISLAMABAD: Al Qaeda has
confirmed one of its commanders died last month in an American drone strike in
Pakistan, a programme that is a major source of tension stalling the
relationship between Washington and Islamabad.
The death of Badr Mansoor
in the strike along the border with Afghanistan is significant because he was
believed to be behind many of the suicide attacks that have killed scores of
Pakistani civilians in recent years. It could also be used by supporters of the
campaign in Washington and Islamabad as an example of how drone attacks benefit
both countries.
The US-based SITE
monitoring service said on Friday that the confirmation of Mansoor's death came
in a video statement by Ahmad Farooq, al Qaeda's head of media and preaching in
Pakistan. The video has been released on an extremist Internet forum.
For Full Report At :
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\03\10\story_10-3-2012_pg7_3
--------
Two Afghan police, three
insurgents killed in attack
10/03/2012
KABUL: An Afghan police
official says insurgents attacked a checkpoint in eastern Afghanistan and that
two border policemen and three attackers were killed in the ensuing fire fight.
Regional border police
spokesman Edris Mohmand says insurgents assaulted the checkpoint in Lalpur
district of Nangarhar province Friday.
The assault resulted in a
three-hour gun battle between the police and the assailants.
http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/10/two-afghan-police-three-insurgents-killed-in-attack.html
--------
Syrian opposition rejects
talks with regime
BEIRUT, March 10, 2012
A high-profile
international mission to end the Syrian crisis is stumbling before it begins as
the opposition rejects calls by U.N. envoy Kofi Annan for dialogue with
President Bashar Assad as pointless and out of touch after a year of violence.
The dispute that emerged
Friday exposes the widening gap between opposition leaders who say only
military aid can stop Assad’s regime, and Western powers who fear more weapons
will exacerbate the conflict.
As the prospects for
diplomacy faltered, Turkey reported the defections of three high-ranking
military officers two generals and a colonel as well as two sergeants, a
significant development because until now most army defectors have been
low-level conscripts. A deputy oil minister also deserted Assad’s regime this
week, making him the highest-ranking civilian official to join the opposition.
The White House welcomed
the reported defections as a sign the regime is cracking from within and that
Assad will eventually fall.
For Full Report At :
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2981027.ece
--------
Muslim brotherhood
dominates in Egypt’s upper house vote
SATURDAY 10TH MAR 2012
The Muslim Brotherhood won
58 per cent of the seats up for grabs in the Egyptian parliament’s upper house,
election officials said Feb. 25, further solidifying their role as the
country’s most powerful and organised political group. The election commission
said that the ultraconservative Al-Nour party came in second with a quarter of
the seats in the upper house, known as the Shoura Council, while liberal
parties, including the Egyptian bloc and Wafd, came in third with a combined
total of 12 per cent of the seats. Islamists also dominated elections that
wrapped up earlier this year for the People’s Assembly, the more powerful of
the two houses of parliament. The Brotherhood, long banned under former
President Hosni Mubarak, won nearly half of the seats in that vote – the first
since last year’s uprising that toppled Mubarak.
The 270-seat upper house
has no legislative powers and enjoys only a consultative role. Two-thirds of
the seats are filled by elections and the rest are appointed.
http://www.radianceweekly.com/296/8380/allay-muslim-apprehensionsregarding-misuse-of-nctc/2012-03-04/muslim-world/story-detail/muslim-brotherhood-dominates-in-egypts-upper-house-vote.html
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Tunisia, Egypt Islamists signal bigger religion role
SATURDAY 10TH MAR 2012
After months of reassuring
secularist critics, Islamist politicians in Tunisia and Egypt have begun to lay
down markers about how Muslim their states should be – and first signs show
they want more religion than previously admitted. Islamist parties swept the
first free elections in both countries in recent months after campaigns that
stressed their readiness to work with the secularists they struggled with in
the Arab Spring revolts against decades-long dictatorships.
With political deadlines
looming, a key Tunisian party in the constituent assembly and the head of
Egypt’s influential Muslim Brotherhood both made statements this week revealing
a stronger emphasis on Islam in government. Popular List, the party tasked with
writing Tunisia’s new constitution, announced on Feb. 20 its draft called Islam
“the principle source of legislation” – a phrase denoting laws based on the
Shari’ah moral and legal code. On Feb. 23, Egyptian Brotherhood leader Mohamed
Badie said his group wanted a president with “an Islamic background.” That term
is vague, but not as vague as the conciliatory “consensus candidate” talk heard
from most parties until now.
http://www.radianceweekly.com/296/8381/allay-muslim-apprehensionsregarding-misuse-of-nctc/2012-03-04/muslim-world/story-detail/tunisia-egypt-islamists-signal-bigger-religion-role.html
--------
Hamas P M voices support
for Syria protests
SATURDAY 10TH MAR 2012
The Hamas prime minister
on Feb. 24 expressed support for Syrian protesters seeking to overthrow
President Bashar Assad, the first time a senior Hamas leader has publicly
rebuked the group’s longtime patron. Ismail Haniyeh said after Friday prayers
at Egypt’s Al-Azhar Mosque that Hamas commends “the brave Syrian people that
are moving toward democracy and reform.”
In Friday’s speech,
Haniyeh asked the Muslim and Arab world to defend Jerusalem against what he
portrayed as Israeli attempts to weaken the Arab identity of the city. With
tears in his eyes, he recited an Arabic poem that says that the path to
Jerusalem starts in Cairo. Several Brotherhood members stood by Haniyeh as he
addressed thousands of worshippers crammed into the ancient mosque, pledging
support for the Palestinians and for Hamas.
Hamas leader Khaled
Mashaal has said he is ready to embrace nonviolent protests as part of
reconciliation with the rival Fatah movement of Western-backed Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas.
http://www.radianceweekly.com/296/8382/allay-muslim-apprehensionsregarding-misuse-of-nctc/2012-03-04/muslim-world/story-detail/hamas-pm-voices-support-for-syria-protests.html
--------
Syrian forces committing
crimes on orders from top: UN
SATURDAY 10TH MAR 2012
Syrian forces have shot
dead unarmed women and children, shelled residential areas and tortured wounded
protesters in hospital under orders from the “highest level” of army and
government officials, the United Nations said on Feb. 23. Independent UN
investigators called for perpetrators of such crimes against humanity to face
prosecution and said they had drawn up a confidential list of names of
commanding officers and officials alleged to be responsible.
For Full Report At :
http://www.radianceweekly.com/296/8383/allay-muslim-apprehensionsregarding-misuse-of-nctc/2012-03-04/muslim-world/story-detail/syrian-forces-committing-crimes-on-orders-from-top-un.html
--------
Harvard expert to study
Saudi architectural developments
SATURDAY 10TH MAR 2012
An architectural expert
from the prestigious Harvard University was in Dammam on Feb. 22 to study the
architecture and development of urban areas in the Gulf. Nader Ardalan of the
university’s Graduate School of Design was hosted by Dammam University’s
College of Architecture and Planning. He interacted with the faculty members,
researchers and students at the university to get a first-hand knowledge of
current architectural developments and rapid urbanisation.
Hani Mohammad Al-Qahtany,
faculty member at Dammam University’s College of Architecture and Planning, is
coordinating the research project in Saudi Arabia, and it was he who introduced
Ardalan to local researchers and academics.
Ardalan is a senior
research associate for the Gulf Encyclopedia for Sustainable Urbanism (GESU)
project. His university is carrying out a multi-faculty and multi-year research
on the entire Gulf region, looking at the development in eight countries
including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain.
For Full Report At :
http://www.radianceweekly.com/296/8385/allay-muslim-apprehensionsregarding-misuse-of-nctc/2012-03-04/muslim-world/story-detail/harvard-expert-to-study-saudi-architectural-developments.html