Saudi Arabia: Fatwas on Prayer Timings in Northern Europe Needed
New Age Islam News Bureau
13 Dec 2012
Arab World
• Saudi Arabia: Fatwas on Prayer Timings in Northern Europe Needed
• Syria blast kills 16 as Russia says regime may lose
• Iraq attacks kill seven, inmate detonates explosives
• Kuwait abuse ring: 78 British children among victims
• $ 100 m new Saudi aid to bolster Syrian revolution
• Crown Prince honours Hadith research scholars
• Oman court upholds jail terms for activists
• Fears grow for Ukrainian reporter held hostage in Syria
• Egyptian journalists, activists mourn young reporter's passing
South Asia
• Afghan judge’s ‘marriage bribe’ demand taped
• Leon Panetta in Afghanistan to meet with Hamid Karzai
• Clashes mark Bangladesh opposition protest
Pakistan
• Pakistan military guilty of rights abuses on the Afghan border
• Pakistan extends refugee status for Afghans
• Pak-Afghan talks reject third country supremacy
• Hindu Doctor shot dead in Mastung; two others gunned down in Quetta
• Afghan peace talks should be held in Kabul, says Khar
• Grand jirga of Mehsuds ask govt to evict militants from South Waziristan
• Christians look for dry ground to bury their dead, their only graveyard submerged in Drainage
• TTP planning string of attacks on security forces, public places
• Pakistan withdraws embassy staff from Syria
• President’s Dual office case: Court to be approached for presidential immunity
• MQM activist, two officials among nine killed in city
• Pakistan has a long history of corruption: Chairman NAB
• 33 Hindus cross the border for celebrations of Sat Guru
India
• But for Kargil war, Vajpayee-Sharif had almost clinched peace: Nitish Kumar
• Scribe's first loyalty should be towards people: APJ Abdul Kalam
• Decision on Afzal Guru's mercy petition in fortnight
• MEA holds back Rehman Malik's wish to meet Sonia
• For the Gurus, India will be great only if Afzal returns home
• Stop dialogue with Pak on Sir Creek, says Narendra Modi
• Kashmiri child dies after consuming expired noodles
• Mars as ‘foreign hand’: Kashmir spends night in fear of ‘cosmic rays’ via phone
• Beni Prasad beats retreat after opposing Afzal Guru's death sentence
• Pandit Ravi Shankar: Reactions from Pakistan
Africa
• Sudanese neurologist identifies new disease
• Nigeria's bank governor 'threatened with arrest' over the fate of $8bn
• In Kenya, big trouble in ‘little Mogadishu’
Mideast Asia
• World would sacrifice Israel, Israeli foreign minister says
• ‘Trilateral trade council’ of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey launched
• Israeli forces, protesters continue to clash in Hebron
• Israeli border guards kill Palestinian in West Bank: police
• UN committee deplores Yemen juvenile offender execution
• Thousands protest as Turkish conspiracy trial nears end
North America
• US leads global powers in recognizing Syria jihadist rebels
• Syrian forces fire Scud missiles at rebels: US official
Europe
• UN court convicts Bosnian Serb of genocide
• Kazakhstan to launch the first Islamic educational website
• UN nuclear inspectors arrive in Iran
• German Gets One Year in Bali Prison for Marijuana Possession
• UN says convoy fired at in Libya
Southeast Asia
• Recruitment of Philippine domestic helpers in Saudi Arabia, resumes
• Indonesian House Slams Malaysian Media for Insult to Habibie
• Malaysia is world champion in corruption
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: Saudi Arabia: Fatwas on Prayer Timings in Northern Europe Needed
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/saudi-arabia-fat-prayer-timings/d/9667
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Arab World
Saudi Arabia: Fatwas on Prayer Timings in Northern Europe Needed
JEDDAH: ARAB NEWS
13 December 2012
Adviser at the Royal Court Sheikh Abdullah Al-Manie, who is also a member of the Council of Senior Religious Scholars, has demanded Islamic scholars and academies deal with some erroneous Fatwas (religious edicts) issued in northern Europe regarding the time of obligatory prayers in regions where night is much longer than daytime.
“We should not abandon our Muslim brothers in northern Europe, Russia and America. We must cooperate and discuss with them, and assist them in all their religious issues,” Al-Manie said while speaking at a seminar organized by the Islamic Fiqh Academy, a subsidiary of the Muslim World League, in Makkah on Monday.
The topic of the discussion was prayer and fasting timings in countries lying between 48 and 66 degrees latitude in the northern and southern hemispheres, Al-Madinah daily reported Tuesday.
Generally, the Muslim prayer times are based on sunrise, sunset and the twilight glow in a place.
Clear and definitive directions on prayer timings is also needed as a growing number of Saudi youths is studying in northern cities of Canada and Britain, where the sun’s rising and setting patterns are different from the Kingdom and most other Muslim countries. Some scholars think the timing in Makkah could be followed in such situations.
“It is vital for people living in geographical locations between 48 and 66 degrees latitude to learn their correct timings for obligatory prayers and fasting,” the sheikh said.
The scholar said some time ago, when he visited a northern European city, he found Muslims there worried about the fatwa issued by some other source about the prayer times, even though the source was reliable.
Al-Manie said reliable did not always mean correct. “No doubt, a view expressed by a scholar could be either right or wrong, as the prophets of Allah are the only humans free of errors,” he said.
They told him they were combining the Maghreb (evening) and Isha (night) prayers every night saying they were “compelled” to do that because they had to go to sleep, as the time of Isha prayer was very late.
The sheikh said their reason for combining the two prayers was not valid enough. Going to bed early was not a religiously permitted excuse to combine two prayers in a single go. However, this is an issue that required detailed study, as in some regions the sun does not appear for five or six months, he said. Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh, who was participating in the discussions, observed that it is permissible to combine prayers if a situation demanded it.
http://www.arabnews.com/sheikh-al-manie-ruling-prayer-timings-northern-europe-needed
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Syria blast kills 16 as Russia says regime may lose
December 13, 2012
A car bomb killed 16 people outside the Syrian capital on Thursday hours after a bombing wounded the interior minister as Damascus ally Moscow acknowledged the regime may lose the fight against rebels.
The latest bombing struck outside an army housing complex and near an elementary school, and children made up seven of the dead and many of the 23 wounded, state media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
It followed a triple bomb attack on the interior ministry on Wednesday that killed at least five people and put Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim al-Shaar in hospital with a shoulder injury sustained when his office ceiling collapsed, a security source told AFP.
The increased attacks on government targets came after Arab and Western governments recognised the armed opposition as sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people and as Washington said an increasingly desperate military was resorting to longer-range missiles and incendiary bombs against the rebels.
The state SANA news agency blamed "terrorists" for the bombing in a residential area of Qatana, an army-controlled town southwest of Damascus.
"This morning, terrorists targeted the residential area of Ras al-Nabaa with a vehicle loaded with explosives, blowing it up in front of the Mikhael Samaan school," the news agency said.
The security source said that a betrayal within the interior ministry's own protection service had made possible Wednesday's attack, using a booby-trapped car and two other devices.
"It is impossible to get near the ministry gate except in an official vehicle," the source said, adding that the minister was not seriously wounded.
"He was taken to hospital but his condition gives no cause for concern and he should be discharged rapidly."
It is the second time Shaar has been wounded in an attack.
He narrowly escaped being killed in a spectacular July 18 bombing that claimed the lives of four other top security officials, including the defence minister and President Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law.
The attacks so near the capital, coming on top of the rebels' seizure of key bases in recent weeks that has given them control of large swathes of the northwest and the east, prompted an admission from a top Russian diplomat that defeat of Moscow's long-time ally could not be ruled out.
"As for preparing for victory by the opposition, this, of course, cannot be excluded," Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov was quoted as saying by the ITAR-TASS news agency.
"You need to look the facts in the eyes -- the government regime is losing more and more control over a large part of the country's territory."
The RIA Novosti news agency also quoted Bogdanov as saying that the recognition of the opposition Syrian National Coalition by the United States and other states had only emboldened the opposition.
"They (the rebels) are saying that victory is not far away, 'let's take Aleppo, let's take Damascus'," he said.
The rebels' capture of the Sheikh Suleiman base on Monday gave them full control of a belt of territory running from the outskirts of second city Aleppo to the Turkish border.
Late last month they made a major push up the Euphrates valley, giving them control of territory in the east from the Iraqi border to the outskirts of the provincial capital of Deir Ezzor.
An airbase just east of the city came under rebel mortar fire early on Thursday, the Syrian Observatory said.
The military launched air strikes against rebel positions along the Damascus airport road, which was briefly closed by rebel fire late last month, and in the town of Daraya southwest of the capital, the Britain-based watchdog added.
The army has also been resorting to Scud missile strikes against rebel targets in zones now beyond the range of artillery, a US official confirmed on Wednesday.
The unguided Scud, famously fired into Israel by Iraq's Saddam Hussein during the 1991 Gulf war, can deliver a payload of 3,500 kilos (7,700 pounds) or more over a range of 200 kilometres (125 miles) or more, defence analysts say.
An AFP correspondent reported repeated missile firings into the rebel-held northwest since the fall of the Sheikh Suleiman base on Monday, but was unable to say if they were Scuds.
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/afp/syria-blast-kills-16-as-russia-says-regime-may-lose/561525
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Iraq attacks kill seven, inmate detonates explosives
13 Dec 2012
FALLUJAH: Shootings and bombings killed six Iraqi security forces members and an academic on Wednesday, while an inmate detonated explosives in a Baghdad prison in an attempted suicide attack, officials said.
Gunmen killed four police near Fallujah, west of Baghdad, a police captain and a medical source said, while gunmen in Mahmudiyah, south of the capital, shot intelligence service Captain Muntasser Abdul Rizzaq, according to an interior ministry official.
A doctor said Rizzaq later died in Mahmudiyah Hospital.
Gunmen armed with silenced weapons killed a policeman at a checkpoint east of Mosul in north Iraq, a police officer and a doctor said.
And a magnetic “sticky bomb” killed a department head in the College of Agriculture on the Tikrit University campus, a police lieutenant colonel and a doctor said.
The interior ministry official also said that an inmate belonging to al Qaeda blew himself up in the prison in central Baghdad, wounding three guards and a fellow prisoner.
“The prisoner was able to gather the explosives over a number of days” and apparently formed them into an explosive belt, the official said, without providing details on the source of the explosives.
A police officer confirmed that the bomber survived the blast and was taken to Al-Kindi hospital.
Justice ministry spokesman Haidar al-Saadi said in an emailed statement that the bomber, named as Ahmed Majid Hamid al-Shammari, had been sentenced to death under Iraq’s anti-terrorism law, and that he used fuel from cigarette lighters in the attack.
The bombing came a day after prisoners were allowed family visits, Saadi said, without specifying if Shammari’s family had visited him, or if it was suspected that materials used in the attack had been smuggled in that way.
Prisons in Iraq are periodically hit by escape attempts, uprisings and other unrest.
http://dawn.com/2012/12/13/iraq-attacks-kill-seven-inmate-detonates-explosives/
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Kuwait abuse ring: 78 British children among victims
13 Dec 2012
Two brothers, who worked together to use the internet to sexually abuse 110 children around the world, including 78 in the UK, have been jailed in Kuwait.
Mohammed Khalaf Al Ali Alhamadi, 35, and Yousef Al Ali Alhamadi, 27, targeted victims aged 12-16.
The pair were jailed at a court following an investigation led by Britain's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop).
Full report at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20698106
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$ 100 m new Saudi aid to bolster Syrian revolution
13 December 2012
MARRAKESH, Morocco: Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal reiterated Saudi Arabia’s recognition of the National Coalition as the sole representative of Syrians but emphasized the need for greater unity among opposition groups to mobilize international support.
Addressing a “Friends of Syria” meeting in Morocco, he announced the Kingdom’s donation of $ 100 million to alleviate the suffering of Syrian people, adding that the amount would be given to the National Coalition.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/100-m-new-saudi-aid-bolster-syrian-revolution
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Crown Prince honours Hadith research scholars
13 Dec 2012
Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defence, distributed the Prince Naif International Prize for the Prophet's Sunnah and Contemporary Islamic Studies to the winners during a ceremony in Riyadh on Tuesday.
The winners were: Abdul Rahman bin Mualla Alluwaihek, a Saudi, for his research on intellectual security in the light of Sunnah; Muwaffek Salim Al-Jawadi and Abdussattar Jassim Al-Hayati, both Iraqis, for the second subject entitled "cultural values in Sunnah"; Raghib Al-Sarjani, an Egyptian, for Islamic studies under the heading "protection of the Islamic environment."
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/prince-naif-award-encourages-hadith-research
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Oman court upholds jail terms for activists
13 December 2012
MUSCAT: An Omani appeals court upheld yesterday jail sentences ranging from six months to one year against 23 activists convicted for defaming the sultan. The court in Muscat confirmed a one-year jail term against 11, including writers and bloggers and a young woman, accused of insulting the sultan and cyber crimes, ONA state news agency said.
The activists were sentenced in August but are out on bail. They were each ordered to pay a fine of 200 rials ($ 550) at the time.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/oman-court-upholds-jail-terms-activists
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Fears grow for Ukrainian reporter held hostage in Syria
13 Dec 2012
The Ukrainian government has appealed for the release of a Ukrainian journalist abducted in Syria two months ago amid reports her life is in danger.
Anhar Kochneva, who was working as a freelancer for Russian and Ukrainian media, is believed to have been kidnapped near the city of Homs.
Several videos apparently released by her captors show her asking for her kidnappers' demands to be met.
Full report at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20709427
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Egyptian journalists, activists mourn young reporter's passing
Hundreds show up at Egypt's press syndicate headquarters to mourn death of journalist El-Hosseiny Abu-Deif, who was shot to death during last week's clashes outside presidential palace
Zeinab El Gundy
12 Dec 2012
Egyptian journalists and activists Wednesday evening bid farewell to journalist El-Hosseiny Abou-Deif, who passed away Wednesday morning following one week in a coma after sustaining a head injury during last week's clashes outside the presidential palace in Cairo.
Hundreds of Egyptian journalists and activists gathered at the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate's downtown headquarters, where they chanted against the Muslim Brotherhood while waiting for Abu-Deif's body to be released from the nearby New Qasr Al-Aini Hospital.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/60389/Egypt/Politics-/Egyptian-journalists,-activists-mourn-young-report.aspx
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South Asia
Afghan judge’s ‘marriage bribe’ demand taped
December 13, 2012
KABUL - A senior judge in Afghanistan has been secretly recorded demanding money and marriage from a young woman seeking his help in her divorce case, reported BBC on Wednesday.
In the recording, the judge can be heard asking for over $2,000 as well as the woman’s hand in return for his help. The judge has strenuously denied the allegations, arguing that he was only ‘joking’ about the marriage proposal.
Full report at:
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/national/13-Dec-2012/afghan-judge-s-marriage-bribe-demand-taped
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Leon Panetta in Afghanistan to meet with Hamid Karzai
Dec 12, 2012
KABUL: US defense secretary Leon Panetta, who has flown to Afghanistan for talks with President Hamid Karzai, says President Barack Obama will decide in the next few weeks how many US troops will after the combat mission ends there.
Panetta arrived on Wednesday on an unannounced visit to Kabul to consult with top military commanders as well as confer with Karzai.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Leon-Panetta-in-Afghanistan-to-meet-with-Hamid-Karzai/articleshow/17587572.cms
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Clashes mark Bangladesh opposition protest
Dec 13, 2012
Homemade bombs exploded in Bangladesh’s capital and police fired tear gas at demonstrators as opposition parties enforced a general strike on Thursday, demanding that the government to restore an election-time caretaker administration.
Schools and businesses were closed in Dhaka and other major cities and towns during the eight-hour shutdown. Nationwide transportation was largely disrupted during the second opposition strike this week.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/clashes-mark-bangladesh-opposition-protest/article4195136.ece
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Pakistan
Pakistan military guilty of rights abuses on the Afghan border
December 13, 2012
The Pakistan military is guilty of rights abuses on the Afghan border, using new security laws and a colonial-era penal system to act with impunity, a report by Amnesty International said on Thursday.
The watchdog said the lack of justice was fuelling a rights crisis in the
northwestern, semi-autonomous region where Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked violence is concentrated.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Pakistan/Pakistan-military-guilty-of-abuses-says-Amnesty/Article1-972130.aspx
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Pakistan extends refugee status for Afghans
Dec 13, 2012
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has extended refugee status for over a million Afghans in the country by an additional six months, the government announced, a move likely to ease fears of Afghans living in Pakistan that they would soon have to return home.
Pakistan has been hosting hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees dating back to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan three decades ago. But many Pakistanis have become increasingly frustrated with the length of time the Afghans have stayed and would like them to leave.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistan-extends-refugee-status-for-Afghans/articleshow/17600092.cms
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Pak-Afghan talks reject third country supremacy
13 Dec 2012
ISLAMABAD: Parliamentarians from Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed on Wednesday there should not be supremacy of any third country in the region before and after the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan in 2014.
In a joint declaration adopted at the conclusion of the seventh round of two-day bilateral parliamentary dialogue facilitated by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency, they said the leadership role of any third country was not needed in the region.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/12/13/pak-afghan-talks-reject-third-country-supremacy/
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Hindu Doctor shot dead in Mastung; two others gunned down in Quetta
13 Dec 2012
QUETTA: At least three people were killed and three others injured in a series of shooting incidents on Thursday in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province.
Three separate shooting incidents in the span of an hour claimed two lives and injured three other people in Quetta, the provincial capital.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/12/13/doctor-shot-dead-in-mastung-two-others-gunned-down-in-quetta/
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Afghan peace talks should be held in Kabul, says Khar
13 Dec 2012
PARIS: Peace talks between the Taliban and Afghan authorities should be held in Kabul and not on foreign soil, Pakistan’s foreign minister said Wednesday, just days ahead of a meeting in Paris on Afghanistan’s future.
Hina Rabbani Khar also told France’s Le Monde daily that Islamabad did not wish to control the Afghan peace process.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/12/13/afghan-peace-talks-should-be-held-in-kabul-says-khar/
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Grand jirga of Mehsuds ask govt to evict militants from South Waziristan
December 13, 2012
DERA ISMAIL KHAN: A grand jirga of Mehsud elders was held with the political administration of South Waziristan in Tank on Wednesday to present demands of the displaced tribe to the government.
They requested the government to clear the Mehsud area (Ladha and Sarwakai sub-division) of South Waziristan of militants so the Mehsuds could return to their homes.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/479152/grand-jirga-mehsuds-ask-govt-to-evict-militants/
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Christians look for dry ground to bury their dead, their only graveyard submerged in Drainage
December 13, 2012
LARKANA: Every time a Christian dies in Larkana, his/her family has to look for dry ground as the only graveyard in the city has been submerged in drainage water.
The graveyard, situated between Allahabad and Golimaar residential colonies on Moen jo Daro, was allotted to the Christian community in 2002. “Several graves have been damaged due to stagnant drainage water,” said social worker Hikmat Masih. “It looks like a lake of contaminated water.”
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/479064/larkanas-christians-look-for-dry-ground-to-bury-their-dead/
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TTP planning string of attacks on security forces, public places
December 13, 2012
LAHORE .: Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) elements based in Afghanistan and Mohmand Agency are planning a string of attacks on security forces and public gatherings across Pakistan, The Express Tribune has learnt.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/479262/terrorism-ttp-planning-string-of-attacks-on-security-forces-public-places/
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Pakistan withdraws embassy staff from Syria
13 Dec 2012
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has withdrawn its diplomatic staff from Syria due to deteriorating security in the country, the foreign ministry said on Thursday.
“We have temporarily withdrawn our diplomatic staff, including the ambassador, from Syria and they have all returned home,” ministry spokesman Moazzam Ahmed Khan told AFP after his weekly press briefing.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/12/13/pakistan-withdraws-embassy-staff-from-syria/
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President’s Dual office case: Court to be approached for presidential immunity
13 Dec 2012
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday adjourned the hearing of the contempt of court petition over President Asif Ali Zardari’s dual office until Dec 14 while instructing the petitioner to complete his arguments, DawnNews reported.
A five-member bench led by Chief Justice of the LHC, Justice Umar Ata Bandial resumed the hearing over the case pertaining to the dual offices held by President Zardari.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/12/13/dual-office-case-court-to-be-approached-for-presidential-immunity/
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MQM activist, two officials among nine killed in city
13 Dec 2012
KARACHI: A surge in number of killings in the city was witnessed on Wednesday when nearly a dozen people, including a policeman, a customs official and a Muttahida Qaumi Movement activist, were shot dead in different areas, while an assistant director of the Karachi Development Authority was wounded along with his driver in a gun attack.
On Tuesday, six people were gunned down in the city.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/12/13/mqm-activist-two-officials-among-nine-killed-in-city/
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Pakistan has a long history of corruption: Chairman NAB
13 Dec 2012
ISLAMABAD: While speaking to media representatives at a press conference in Islamabad, the Chairman of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari said that corruption was a longstanding issue of Pakistan and that even Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah had talked of its elimination, DawnNews reported.
Bokhari reiterated his claim that corruption was taking place at a large scale in Pakistan, adding that the corruption was a global menace and that international anti-corruption agencies were making efforts to eradicate it.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/12/13/pakistan-has-a-long-history-of-corruption-chairman-nab/
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33 Hindus cross the border for celebrations of Sat Guru
December 13, 2012
SUKKUR: A total of 33 Hindu pilgrims reached Mirpur Mathelo on Wednesday afternoon to attend the three-day celebrations for the 304th birth anniversary of Sat Guru Saant Shadharam.
To attend the celebrations at Shadhani Darbar in Hayat Pitafi village, 27 men, four women and two children reached Mirpur Mathelo railway station through Jaffer Express.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/479069/sat-guru-saant-shadharams-anniversary-33-hindu-cross-the-border-for-celebrations/
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India
But for Kargil war, Vajpayee-Sharif had almost clinched peace: Bihar C M
Dec 12 2012
Patna : The initiatives of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif had almost clinched lasting peace between India and Pakistan, but for the Kargil war, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said.
"The task is tough due to unwanted forces and events like Kargil which come in between such efforts...more such initiatives are required to further promote a relationship of peace and brotherhood between India and Pakistan," Kumar, who made a successful week-long tour of Pakistan last month, said sharing his experience at a function here.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/but-for-kargil-war-atal-behari-vajpayeesharif-had-almost-clinched-pe.../1044316/
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Scribe's first loyalty should be towards people: APJ Abdul Kalam
Dec 12 2012
Bhopal : Former President APJ Abdul Kalam today said he always believed that the first loyalty of a journalist must be to the people of the nation.
"I have always believed that the first loyalty of a journalist must be towards the people the nation. A journalist should be independent from any individual, party and organisations," Kalam said while addressing students of the Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication here.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/scribes-first-loyalty-should-be-towards-people-apj-abdul-kalam/1044226/
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Decision on Afzal Guru's mercy petition in fortnight
December 13, 2012
The home ministry has processed Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru’s mercy petition and is ready to put up the file for Minister Sushilkumar Shinde’s formal recommendation within the next fortnight.
The move comes as Congress leader Digvijaya Singh joined the BJP-led chorus to hang
Guru, who this week completes 11 years in jail, 10 of them as a death row convict. “I am in favour of the execution of capital punishment to Afzal Guru,” PTI quoted Digvijaya as saying.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Decision-on-Afzal-Guru-s-mercy-petition-in-fortnight/Article1-972054.aspx
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MEA holds back Rehman Malik's wish to meet Sonia
Dec 13, 2012
NEW DELHI: India has set aside Pakistani interior minister Rehman Malik's request for an appointment with Congress President Sonia Gandhi, with MEA officials viewing it as "out of line" with protocol. However, a confirmation is still awaited on his requests for a meeting with PM Manmohan Singh and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/MEA-holds-back-Rehman-Maliks-wish-to-meet-Sonia/articleshow/17591981.cms
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For the Gurus, India will be great only if Afzal returns home
13 Dec 2012
AHMED ALI FAYYAZ
Zipping past an expanse of harvested orchards on close periphery of this apple town, drivers are treated by muezzins of all mosques to one divine declaration: Allah-o-Akbar or god is great. There is no evidence of anyone else’s greatness en route to Afzal Guru’s hamlet of Jageer or his cousin Showkat Guru’s neighbourhood in Doabgah. Once a feared encampment, which appears to have lost its awe and relevance with each passing day of peace, Rashtriya Rifles Sector-5 proclaims India’s greatness with the iconic Urdu poet Iqbal’s famous stanza sare jehan se achha, Hindustan hamara [in the whole world, India is the best]
Scripted boldly in Hindi on the green-painted corrugated galvanized iron sheets of the camp’s fencing, this mundane declaration was the morning assembly prayer at the local school for both Afzal and Showkat in the halcyon days of 1970s and 1980s. The two Guru households, on the embankment of river Jhelum, furlongs away from the military camp, have little to substantiate the greatness they were told of at school.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/for-the-gurus-india-will-be-great-only-if-afzal-returns-home/article4192851.ece
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Stop dialogue with Pak on Sir Creek, says Narendra Modi, Chidambaram heaps ridicule
Dec 12 2012
Ahmedabad : Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today asked the Prime Minister to stop dialogue with Pakistan at once on the Sir Creek issue and demanded that it should not be handed over to the neighbouring nation.
"I am writing on a serious issue of talks being held on Sir Creek being handed over to Pakistan.
Any attempt to hand over Sir Creek to Pakistan would be a strategic blunder considering the history and sensitivity of the region," Modi has written in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/stop-dialogue-with-pak-on-sir-creek-says-narendra-modi-chidambaram-h.../1044312/
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Kashmiri child dies after consuming expired noodles
Thu Dec 13 2012
Srinagar : A five-year-old girl died while other family members were taken seriously ill after they consumed a packet of expired noodles in south Kashmir's Kulgam district, police said today.
Abroo, daughter of Nisar Ahmad Chak of Manzgam village, along with her parents and three siblings, fell unconscious after consuming the noodles, which had expired in the year 2007, on Tuesday evening, Superintendent of Police, Kulgam, Muhammad Shafi Mir said.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/1044777/
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Mars as ‘foreign hand’: Kashmir spends night in fear of ‘cosmic rays’ via phone
Dec 13 2012
Srinagar : Late on Tuesday night, residents across Kashmir scrambled to switch off their mobile phones. The reason was not pesky calls but another ‘incoming’ hazard: a rumour that harmful “cosmic rays” were going to enter Earth via the phones from Mars, and set off blasts.
The government finally had to step in and make announcements on radio and television, threatening to book people spreading the rumour, to quell the panic.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/mars-as--foreign-hand--kashmir-spends-night-in-fear-of--cosmic-rays--.../1044613/
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Beni Prasad beats retreat after opposing Afzal Guru's death sentence
Dec 13 2012
New Delhi : Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma, who courted controversy by opposing the death sentence awarded to 2001 Parliament House attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru, on Thursday retracted from his statement.
"Whatever decision the President gives should be taken in this case. I respect the judgement of the apex court," he told mediapersons outside Parliament here.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) earlier in the day raised the issue again by giving notice for adjournment of Question Hour in the Lok Sabha to discuss delay in the execution of Afzal Guru.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/beni-prasad-beats-retreat-after-opposing-afzal-gurus-death-sentence/1044824/
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Pandit Ravi Shankar: Reactions from Pakistan
December 12, 2012
KARACHI: The tabla and sitar have become South Asia’s identity in the world. If Ustaad Allah Rakha with his son Zakir Hussain introduced the tabla, then the sitar earned its recognition through Pandit Ravi Shankar. This wizard didn’t need any wands, just three strings were enough for him to bring tears into the eyes of his audience. Shankar’s journey as a musician was not just a journey of one man, but a whole region.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/478855/pandit-ravi-shankar-reactions-from-pakistan/
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Africa
Sudanese neurologist identifies new disease
13 December 2012
A Sudanese neurologist working in Saudi Arabia has succeeded in giving the first clinical and physiological description of a novel form of hereditary (or familiar) spastic paraplegia.
Dr. Mustafa Abdalla M. Salih, consultant child neurologist at the College of Medicine and King Khalid University Hospital at King Saud University in Riyadh, discovered an abnormal gene that — when both parents are carriers — can cause this progressive disease.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/sudanese-neurologist-identifies-new-disease
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Nigeria's bank governor 'threatened with arrest' over the fate of $8bn
13 Dec 2012
Nigeria's House of Representatives speaker has threatened to order the arrest of the central bank chief and 14 others over the fate of $8bn (£5bn).
The office of speaker Aminu Tambuwal said he had signed arrest warrants for Lamido Sanusi and the other officials.
Full report at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20699924
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In Kenya, big trouble in ‘little Mogadishu’
12 December 2012
NAIROBI: Bustling with business, the Kenyan capital’s Eastleigh district is dubbed “little Mogadishu” after the anarchic capital of Somalia, where so many here fled from for a new, more peaceful life.
But the largely ethnic Somali and vibrant economic hub faces tough times after a string of attacks blamed on Islamist militants, with the community battered by a harsh police crackdown to root out a hard core of insurgents.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/kenya-big-trouble-%E2%80%98little-mogadishu%E2%80%99
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Mideast Asia
World would sacrifice Israel, Israeli foreign minister says
Dec 12, 2012
JERUSALEM: Israel's hawkish foreign minister lashed out at the international community on Wednesday, criticizing its policies toward the Palestinians and charging that many world leaders would readily sacrifice Israel to radical Islam just as Europe appeased the Nazis before World War II.
Avigdor Lieberman hit back at European foreign ministers for condemning Israel's plans to build settler housing in an especially sensitive area of the West Bank.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/World-would-sacrifice-Israel-Israeli-foreign-minister-says/articleshow/17587859.cms
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‘Trilateral trade council’ of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey launched
December 13, 2012
ANKARA: In an effort to promote trade an economic cooperation, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey on Wednesday set up ‘trilateral trade council’ at a summit meeting among the presidents of the three countries.
According to a trilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the three nations, the ‘trilateral trade council’ will work for the promotion of foreign investment, enhancing and diversifying commercial ties and exploring possibilities for cooperation in service sectors of the three countries.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/479182/ankara-summit-trilateral-trade-council-launched/
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Israeli forces, protesters cotinue to clash in Hebron
13 Dec 2012
Dozens of Palestinians clashed with Israel Defense Forces and Border Guard officers in the West Bank city of Hebron. Large Palestinian police forces arrived at the scene to curb the protests and buffer between the Israeli forces and the rioters.
Earlier, Palestinian medical sources reported that three youths and a Palestinian woman required medical treatment for tear gas inhalation and were evacuated to the public hospital in the city. (Itamar Fleishman and Roi Kais)
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4319544,00.html
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Israeli border guards kill Palestinian in West Bank: police
Palestinian teenager shot dead in West Bank city of Hebron by Isreali border guards for allegedly brandishing a pistol
12 Dec 2012
Israeli border guards shot dead on Wednesday a Palestinian teenager armed with a pistol in the West Bank city of Hebron, sparking stone-throwing attacks on troops in the area, police and witnesses said.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/60396/World/Region/Israeli-border-guards-kill-Palestinian-in-West-Ban.aspx
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UN committee deplores Yemen juvenile offender execution
13 Dec 2012
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has expressed deep dismay at the execution in Yemen of a woman who was a minor when she was arrested.
Jean Zermatten said Hind al-Barti was believed to have been around 15 years old at the time of the alleged offence for which she was sentenced to death.
He said her execution on 3 December violated a binding UN treaty.
Yemeni media reports said Ms Barti had been convicted of murdering another girl about seven years ago.
Full report at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20695984
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Thousands protest as Turkish conspiracy trial nears end
Protesting the trial of almost 300 people charged with plotting to depose of Prime Minister Erdogan's Islamist government, secularist demonstrators are met with police batons and pepper spray
13 Dec 2012
Thousands of Turkish secularists protested outside a court near Istanbul Thursday against the trial of nearly 300 people charged with attempting to overthrow Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist-rooted government.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/60423/World/Region/Thousands-protest-as-Turkish-conspiracy-trial-near.aspx
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North America
US leads global powers in recognizing Syria jihadist rebels
Dec 13, 2012
MARRAKESH (MOROCCO): Arab and Western states recognized the National Coalition as the sole representative of Syrians on Wednesday, as the opposition bloc urged the United States to review its blacklisting of jihadist rebels.
The declaration issued at a Friends of Syria meeting in Morocco coincided with battlefield gains by jihadists fighting Assad's forces, and a rapidly deteriorating refugee situation as winter sets in.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/US-leads-global-powers-in-recognizing-Syria-rebels/articleshow/17592542.cms
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Syrian forces fire Scud missiles at rebels: US official
Dec 13, 2012
WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS: Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have fired Scud missiles at rebels trying to overthrow Syria's government, a senior US official said on Wednesday.
US officials said they were unaware of any previous instances in which Scuds were used against the rebels and it represented an escalation in Assad's struggle to retain power in the 20-month-old uprising in which more than 40,000 people have been killed.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Syrian-forces-fire-Scud-missiles-at-rebels-US-official/articleshow/17592203.cms
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Europe
UN court convicts Bosnian Serb of genocide
Dec 12, 2012
Judges at the UN court said on Wednesday that Gen. Zdravko Tolimir was the "right hand'' of Bosnian Serb military chief Gen. Ratko Mladic, who is considered the chief architect of the murder of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys at the Srebrenica enclave in eastern Bosnia in July 1995.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/UN-court-convicts-Bosnian-Serb-of-genocide/articleshow/17588382.cms
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Kazakhstan to launch the first Islamic educational website
12.12.2012
Kazakhstan is developing e-ISLAM, an Islamic educational website to be launched early next year, according to Galym Shoikin, Vice Chairman of the Kazakhstan’s Agency for Religion.
“All the current websites dedicated to Islam-related issues are individual websites of some Islamic organizations (…) the Agency for Religion wants to launch a single resource to raise religious awareness of public at large (…) We plan to launch the resource by the end of Q1 2013”, Mr. Shokin told journalists following the round-table discussion on raising people’s religious awareness through Internet-based tools.
Full report at:
http://en.tengrinews.kz/religion/Kazakhstan-to-launch-the-first-Islamic-educational-website-15211/
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UN nuclear inspectors arrive in Iran
Dec 13, 2012
DUBAI: Inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog arrived in Tehran on Thursday, Iran's Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported, in an attempt to seal a deal to ease international concerns over Iran's disputed nuclear programme.
Thursday's talks in Tehran are the first such meeting between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran since August.
ISNA said the seven-member IAEA delegation headed by deputy director general Herman Nackaerts would meet Iranian nuclear officials.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/UN-nuclear-inspectors-arrive-in-Iran/articleshow/17597715.cms
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German Gets One Year in Bali Prison for Marijuana Possession
December 13, 2012
Denpasar. The Denpasar District Court on Thursday sentenced a 45-year-old German national to one year in prison for marijuana possession.
Bali Police arrested Peter Hasslinger at a house he rented in Sanur, Denpasar, on Aug. 10, seizing 159 grams of marijuana from the residence.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/german-gets-one-year-in-bali-prison-for-marijuana-possession/561482
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UN says convoy fired at in Libya
12 December 2012
TRIPOLI: Unknown attackers fired at a convoy transporting United Nations personnel east of the Libyan capital yesterday, a UN spokeswoman told AFP, adding that no one was hurt.
“Yes, indeed there has been an incident. A UN convoy was shot at. There were no injuries,” said Radia Achouri, confirming reports that the attack took place in Khoms, 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Tripoli.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/un-says-convoy-fired-libya
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Southeast Asia
Recruitment of Philippine domestic helpers in Saudi Arabia, resumes
RIYADH: ARAB NEWS
13 December 2012
The recruitment of domestic helpers from the Philippines was resumed last Sunday, as six local firms completed the recruitment requirements officials in Manila had requested. The Saudi Embassy in Manila accredited 65 local offices in the Kingdom.
Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Ezzedin Tago, said that 600 applications are being processed daily.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/recruitment-philippine-domestic-helpers-resumes
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Indonesian House Slams Malaysian Media for Insult to Habibie
December 12, 2012
Indonesia’s House of Representatives says it will soon send a letter to Malaysian authorities in protest of a recent editorial published in a Malaysian newspaper that referred to former Indonesian President B.J. Habibie as a “dog of imperialism.”
“We’ll send a letter to the Malaysian prime minister. We condemn such things,” House Deputy Speaker Pramono Anung said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/indonesian-house-slams-malaysian-media-for-insult-to-habibie/561278
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Malaysia is world champion in corruption
December 13, 2012
Despite Malaysia's high-profile anti-corruption crusade, half of the corporate executives surveyed by a global corruption watchdog believe that competitors have obtained business in the country through bribery.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Americas/Malaysia-is-world-champion-in-corruption/Article1-972080.aspx
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/saudi-arabia-fat-prayer-timings/d/9667