Thousands rally against attacks on shrines
Kashmiri Pandit diaspora seeks separate homeland in Valley
Two blasts in Karachi, no casualties reported
Shariah the only path for Arabs: Al-Qarni Ayed bin Abdullah Al-Qarni
FAITH ACCOMPLI - Where Hindus and Muslims pray together
India, Pakistan begin talks on cautious note
Sufi poet bridges cross-border divide
Man hurls shoe at former Pakistani President Musharraf
Egypt talks break down
Egyptians pledge not to buy the reforms decoy
Egyptian protesters vow to escalate pressure on Mubarak
Obama steps up diplomatic efforts over Egypt
Saffron ATM of Ajmer and Mecca blasts held
Zardari wedding a gossip mill tale
Kasab judgment: HC to decide date today
US uses two tongues for Egyptians and Mubarak
Wife of man killed by American attempts suicide, dies
Seven of a family burnt alive in Ghotki
Al-Jazeera English correspondent detained in Egypt
Planes carrying students evacuated from Egypt land at KLIA
Don't try Egypt style power grab in Malaysia, says Najib
British soldier killed in Afghanistan
Haiah cars attacked in Madinah
Gandhi, Akbar among TIME top 25 political icons
Tuning in to a revolution
Special development projects for Muslims in WB
Wily Kayani scuttled deal on Kashmir
Uprising rings in talks of ‘change’
Taliban blames US for Afghan Guantanamo death
Khaled Said, the face that sprouted revolution
Foreign cooking shows banned on Iranian TV
Saudi Arabia to export urea to Pakistan
SQ Chy's US lawyer 'denied entry to Bangladesh'
US ‘spies’ go on trial in Iran
Slow Jeddah cleanup stirs anger
Women launch Facebook campaign to participate in municipal elections
Over 100,000 visit Saudi expo
South Sudan may build new capital
Yemen opposition MP survives attack on life
Kuwait appoints new interior minister
Israel to seize Palestinian properties in East Jerusalem
Filipinos in Egypt shrug off safety fears
Iraqis protest poor public services across country
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/thousands-rally-attacks-shrines/d/4082
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Thousands rally against attacks on shrines
Feb 7, 2011
LAHORE: Thousands of followers of Sufi Islam staged a rally in Lahore on Sunday to condemn militancy and attacks on shrines, police said.
“More than 10,000 people participated in the rally,” senior police officer Mustansar Bajwa told AFP.
Chanting slogans against terrorism, the demonstrators called for peace in the country, which has been troubled by bombings and suicide attacks.
The demonstrators marched from the Punjab provincial assembly building to the city’s main Data Darbar shrine, amid a heavy police presence, witnesses said.
The rally was called by the Pakistan Awami Tehreek party.
“Islam is religion of peace and acts of terrorism and bloodshed are against its teachings,” the party’s local chief Raheek Abbasi told the rally.
He urged the government to “improve resources and provide jobs and justice to the people to end the menace.”
The protest came three days after a bomb blast near a Sunni Muslim shrine in Lahore killed two people and wounded more than a dozen worshippers.
Two suicide bombers blew themselves up among crowds of worshippers at the Data Darbar shrine in July, killing 42 people.
In October, two suicide bombers blew themselves up at the shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi in Karachi, killing nine worshippers, including two children.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/02/06/thousands-rally-against-attacks-on-shrines.html
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Kashmiri Pandit diaspora seeks separate homeland in Valley
February 07, 2011
Lalit K Jha
Forced to live in exile for more than two decades, the global Kashmiri Pandit diaspora has sought carving out a homeland for them in the Northeast of the Jhelum River in the Valley with Union Territory status.
In a teleconference with Dilip Padgaonkar, one of the three interlocutors appointed by the Indian Government on Jammu and Kashmir, the global Kashmiri Pandit diaspora argued that this is the only option to protect this unique and distinct community from becoming extinct.
Some 436 Kashmiri Pandits from across the globe — US, New Zealand, France, Australia, Canada, India, Austria, Germany — participated in the teleconference with Padgaonkar that lasted for more than an hour.
Noting that Kashmiri Pandits must be given a high political stake in the State of Jammu and Kashmir, Padgaonkar asserted that return of the Kashmiri Pandits to their “home with honour and dignity” is one of the top priorities of the interlocutors. California based Jeevan Zutshi, who moderated the session, said Kashmiri Pandits have become homeless and are on the verge of extinction, since they were forced to leave their homes in and after 1990.
“This is an opportunity for the Government of India to create a homeland for them which will not be drawn with religious lines; it will be a place where all secular Kashmiris can again live together to revive Kashmiriyat and promote Sufism, Shavism and harmony,” said Zutshi, chairman of the International Kashmir Federation.
“The Global Kashmiri Pundit diaspora is compelled to endorse carving of homeland in the Northeast of Jhelum River with Union Territory status and with free flow of Indian Constitution as the only option to protect this unique and distinct community from becoming extinct,” said Surinder Kaul.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/315882/Kashmiri-Pandit-diaspora-seeks-separate-homeland-in-Valley.html
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Two blasts in Karachi, no casualties reported
Feb 7, 2011
KARACHI: Two explosions occurred in different parts of Karachi causing panic among residents on Monday. No casualties have been reported so far, DawnNews reports.
Both blasts took place near police stations.
The first blast occurred near the Eidgah police station while the second blast occurred near the Shah Latif Town police station, causing extensive damage to the building.
The police have cordoned off the areas, saying no causalities have been reported yet.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/02/07/two-blasts-in-lee-market-and-shah-latif-in-karachi.html
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Shariah the only path for Arabs: Al-Qarni Ayed bin Abdullah Al-Qarni
SIRAJ WAHAB
Feb 7, 2011
DAMMAM: A popular Saudi author and religious scholar says the current ferment in the Arab world can be traced to the denial of power to Islamists in the past. Only Saudi Arabia and some other Gulf states have been the exception where Shariah or Islamic law became the constitution.
Writing in Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Ayed bin Abdullah Al-Qarni said that in Egypt, a revolution for change took place in 1952, championing reform and an adherence to post-monarchical values, whereas the Egyptian people actually wanted Islam as their means of reform, as advocated by Muhammad Abduh and Jamaluddin Afghani.
When the Free Officers assumed power in 1952, they cast Islam aside, denounced the Shariah and ruled according to a constitution derived from French and English law.
In Yemen, Islamic scholars, judges, and intellectuals such as Al-Zubayri, Ibn Al-Numan, Al-Kibsi and others, staged a revolution in 1962. Al-Qarni said they were putting forth the Islamic project against the Yemeni imamate. However, Abdullah Al-Sallal, a former student of Abdel Nasser, hijacked the Yemeni revolution along with the military. Again, they cast Islam aside, objected to Shariah law and ruled in accordance with a set of legislation derived from various dubious sources.
The Algerians staged their glorious revolution against French colonialism, under the leadership of great Islamic scholars such as Abdel Hamid Ben Badis, Lakhdar Brahimi, and others — all carrying the spirit of Islam. Al-Qarni noted that when Algeria achieved independence, it was governed by a socialist, Western-orientated regime, which deprived the Algerian Muslim people of their ambitions and aspirations for Islamic rule. “The Algerian people are Muslims; Islam is inherent to the Arab nature,” Al-Qarni said.
In Sudan, the Mahdi reformist revolution took place advocating a project of Islamic renaissance. When English colonialism was ousted, military figures assumed power, although they knew nothing about Islam. Hence, they rejected the Shariah and imposed a foreign, Western-oriented constitution.
In Libya, the descendants and followers of the martyred freedom fighter, Omar Mukhtar, were eager to raise the banner of Islam during the 1969 revolution. However, the Libyan people were surprised when this movement was hijacked by a government that discounted the Shariah and usurped freedom.
In Iraq and Syria, Al-Qarni said the people were 100 percent Muslim, and they led their struggle and revolution against French and English colonialism under the banner of Islam. However, when the Baath Party assumed power in both countries, its first move was to denounce Shariah and marginalize Islam.
Regarding revolutions in the Middle East, Al-Qarni said no one has adhered to Islam, its rule, doctrine and approach, except King Abdul Aziz when he led the revolution in the Arabian Peninsula. He was revolting against delusion, heresy, division, dispute, looting and robbery. His first announcement was that Saudi Arabia was an Islamic state, which would be governed according to the Qur’an and Sunnah. He wrote on its flag: “There is no god other than God, and Muhammad is His Messenger.”
Al-Qarni says this is not hypocrisy or flattery, but it is a fact to which historians, Western or otherwise, have testified. Such historians include Muhammad Jalal Kishk, author of “The Saudis and the Islamic Solution.”
He is an impartial writer who wrote the book from a neutral standpoint supporting it with documents and evidence. Another example would be the late Austrian Muslim, Muhammad Asad, who mentioned in his book “The Road to Mecca” that he had met King Abdul Aziz.
According to Asad, all that King Abdul Aziz spoke about during their meeting was Islam and his pride in the religion.
The Tunisian people are Sunni Muslims who follow the Maliki school. Their land is the home of great heroes and conquerors such as Uqba bin Nafi, Ibn Khaldun and Al-Tahir bin Ashur. It is also the land of great seats of learning such as Al-Zaytuna and Kairouan. The majority of Tunisian people want Islam as their source of governance. However, the followers of some left-wing parties considered themselves to be worthier of running the country than anyone else and thus tried to remove Islam from Tunisian life. This is another example of a revolution being hijacked in the same manner as previous Arab republics.
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article252786.ece
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FAITH ACCOMPLI - Where Hindus and Muslims pray together
Feb 7, 2011,
CUDDALORE (TAMIL NADU): A tradition of over 150 years in Killai, a coastal village in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, delivers lessons in communal amity when parts of the country have betrayed vulnerability to intolerance.
The age-old harmony will be seen again on February 18 when Muslims of the village receive Hindu deity Bhoo t Varahaswamy (the boar avatar of Vishnu) from his temple at Srimushnam, 60 km away. Every year, Bhoo Varahaswamy is taken out in a procession for the Brahmotsatava festival between February and March. The procession receives a grand welcome in Killai where it halts at a dargah built for Sufi saint Hazrath Syed Sha Rahmathullah Vali Shuttary.
The Imam offers prayers, a garland and oblation of 11 kg of rice, five coconuts and R 501 to the deity. Later, a silk shawl on the deity is offered at the dargah and a chaddar is offered for the deity in return.
The practice is linked to varying versions of land gifted to the temple by either the Sufi saint or one of his descendants.
Syed Sha Vajehunnaqi Saqaf, trustee of the dargah, said: “This area was not affected even during communal tension after the demolition of Babri Masjid and the post-Godhra riots in Gujarat.“
Tracing the origins of this practice, Saqaf said that one of his predecessors had given 26 acres of land to the then tehsildar, Uppu Venkatrao, on a long lease and at low rent to help him demarcate the Dargah lands and draw up the boundaries.
KV Lakshmana klakshmana@hindustantimes.com
Hindustan Times
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India, Pakistan begin talks on cautious note
Feb 7, 2011,
THIMPHU: The India-Pakistan foreign secretary level dialogue got underway late on Sunday night with the two sides treading cautiously over contentious issues including the Samjhauta blast case.
While Pakistani foreign secretary Salman Bashir, going into the talks, said that Pakistan wanted to discuss all issues and not just Samjhauta, his counterpart Nirupama Rao reiterated that the talks were going to be exploratory in nature.
While the talks were earlier tentatively scheduled for Sunday afternoon, the dialogue could start only around 9.15pm local time as both sides remained occupied with their commitments throughout the day in the ongoing Saarc ministerial conference. The two officials met eventually in the Taj Tashi hotel where officials from both the countries are staying.
Both foreign secretaries were accompanied by five officials each when they walked into the hall where the meeting was held. Officials accompanying the two foreign secretaries remained non-committal about the outcome but Indian officials said they had "reasonable expectations" even though, as they stated, they had learnt to "expect the unexpected" from Pakistan.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-Pakistan-begin-talks-on-cautious-note/articleshow/7439913.cms
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Sufi poet bridges cross-border divide
Feb 7, 2011,
FATEHGARH SAHIB: Over 300 years ago, when Bulleh Shah said, "Neither Hindu nor Muslim, sacrificing pride, let us sit together. Neither Sunni nor Shia, let us walk the road of peace. Says Bulleh Shah, one who attaches his self with the Lord, gives up both Hindu and Muslim", it may not have occurred to him that his words would continue to inspire the people of two hostile nations centuries later. However, not much is known of the Sufi poet, believed to have been born in 1680, in Uch village of Bahawalpur, Punjab, now in Pakistan. What is known, is subjective, coming through legends.
"A majority of our youngsters don't even the have basic information about Bulleh Shah. Our college and school students don't know even a single poem of his," rued Surinder Rampuri, president of Punjabi Likhari Sabha Rampur. The association has now joined hands with Pakistan-based businessman Jameel Ahmad to compile the poet's works and bring out a joint literature on Bulleh Shah. Jameel, from Kasoor, was part of the Pakistani delegation here for the annual Rouza Sharif Urs at Fatehgarh Sahib. He has not accepted the proposal of Sabha but also presented a book to the members.
"Bulleh Shah focused on the importance of concentration and truth of life in his poetry. I've been collecting all literature of Bulleh Shah from all over the world. I will also deliver all information to the Punjabi Sabha of India," he told TOI.
"Bulleh Shah's writings have enough power to attract anyone ... if governments of both countries (India and Pakistan) take even small steps, the poet will attract lakhs of youngsters even today," he told the delegates.
Expressing similar sentiments, Punjabi poet Gagan Deep Sharma, who was among those who met Jameel, added, "Singers like Rabbi (Shergill) have done their bit in popularizing Bulleh Shah's poetry but much more needs to be done to rediscover the great poet for 21st century youngsters.
Read more: Sufi poet bridges cross-border divide - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Sufi-poet-bridges-cross-border-divide/articleshow/7441043.cms#ixzz1DFDNCFTX
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Sufi-poet-bridges-cross-border-divide/articleshow/7441043.cms
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Man hurls shoe at former Pakistani President Musharraf
Feb 7, 2011,
ISLAMABAD: A man hurled a shoe at former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf during a meeting in London on Sunday though it did not hit him, according to a media report.
The man stood up about five minutes after Musharraf began his speech at the meeting in Walthamstow, a district of London with a sizeable population of Pakistani origin, and flung his show at the former military ruler.
The shoe fell in the front rows and did not reach the stage, Geo News channel reported.
The man was removed from the venue by security personnel. The meeting was organized by the All Pakistan Muslim League, the party formed by Musharraf, and about 1,500 people were in the audience.
Two other persons in the back rows also protested during the meeting, the channel reported.
Musharraf, who stepped down as President in August 2008, moved to Britain and has been living there in self-exile.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Man-hurls-shoe-at-former-Pakistani-President-Musharraf/articleshow/7439579.cms
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Egypt talks break down
Amitava Sanyal
February 07, 2011
Little progress was made at the end of the second day of discussions between Egyptian Vice-President Omar Suleiman and various opposition groups on Sunday.
The opposition is split on the way forward and tens of thousands of defiant protesters continued to throng the Tahrir (Liberation)
The Muslim Brotherhood, the social and political group that enjoys popular support across the country, met Suleiman for the second time on Sunday but said later that they didn’t trust the government to carry out the promised reforms. There has been no official word from Suleiman.
Some people close to the negotiations said what was certain was that the country would have a new constitution. What’s not certain yet is whether the current Parliament, an unprecedented 97% of whose seats are controlled by Mubarak’s National Democratic Party, will be dissolved before the constitutional reform.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/africa/Egypt-talks-break-down/Article1-659380.aspx
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EGYPTIANS PLEDGE NOT TO BUY THE REFORMS DECOY
February 07, 2011
THE Egyptian government and opposition groups agreed on Sunday to set up a committee to study constitutional reforms in a meeting not recognised by the youth protest movement that wants President Hosni Mubarak to step down.
Leading opposition members said talks with Vice- President Omar Suleiman were positive but fell well short of producing an agreement on demands for broad political reform.
A leading organiser of the protests that have shaken Mubarak’s rule over the last 13 days said the talks had evaded the demands of the people.
“ We refuse in principle to either have a dialogue or negotiate before Mubarak leaves. We are open to discuss the future but only after he leaves,” said Mohamed Adel, whose April 6 Movement youth group was not represented in the meeting.
The opposition groups that met Suleiman included the Muslim Brotherhood, an outlawed group whose attendance showed the changes that have swept Egypt in the last two weeks. It is for the first time in half a century that the regime publicly held talks with the banned Brotherhood, The statement, circulated by the Egyptian government after the talks, however, gave no suggestion that Mubarak would quit and repeated ideas for reform he had outlined in his February 1 speech.
Senior Brotherhood member Abdel Monem Aboul Fotouh reiterated opposition demands for amendments to constitutional clauses that impose tight restrictions on who can run for the presidency.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Egyptian protesters vow to escalate pressure on Mubarak
David D. Kirkpatrick and David E. Sanger
Feb 7, 2011
CAIRO: Representatives of the Egyptian democracy movement vowed on Sunday to escalate their pressure for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, even as his government sought to portray itself as well on the way to successfully negotiating an end to the uprising now in its 13th day.
In a historic first, Vice President Omar Suleiman met with representatives of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood as part of a group of about 50 opposition members that included prominent politicians and some youth organizers.
The encounter itself was remarkable for bringing together members of the brotherhood — Egypt's biggest opposition movement — and the autocratic government that has for decades repressed it as an Islamist threat.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Egyptian-protesters-vow-to-escalate-pressure-on-Mubarak/articleshow/7439982.cms
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Obama steps up diplomatic efforts over Egypt
February 07, 2011
WASHINGTON: U.S. President Barack Obama spoke on Saturday to several foreign leaders about the unrest in Egypt, as Washington stepped up a diplomatic effort for a quick transition of power in the country roiled by 12 days of protests.
Mr. Obama underscored the need for “an orderly, peaceful transition, beginning now,” said the White House in a statement.
The U.S. leader spoke to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, said the statement.
he comments came as the United States distanced itself from a one-time envoy's suggestion that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak should remain in office during a transition.
Frank Wisner, an influential retired diplomat and former U.S. ambassador to Egypt who met Mr. Mubarak at Mr. Obama's request this week, “was speaking for himself and not for the U.S. government,” said a senior Obama administration official in Washington.
Mr. Obama meanwhile “discussed his serious concern about the targeting of journalists and human rights groups, and reaffirmed that the government of Egypt has a responsibility to protect the rights of its people and to release immediately those who have been unjustly detained,” said the White House.
The leaders agreed to stay in close contact.
The statement came as Washington welcomed as a “positive step” the mass resignation of leaders of Mr. Mubarak's party, as it seeks to prod the strongman to the exit. — AFP
http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/07/stories/2011020758351600.htm
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Saffron ATM of Ajmer and Mecca blasts held
By Dalip Singh in New Delhi and Sudhanshu Mishra in Jaipur
THE Rajasthan ATS has arrested Bharat Rateshwar, alias Bharat Bhai, in connection with the Ajmer Sharif, Mecca Masjid and Malegaon terror attacks. He is believed to have financed the attacks.
Bharat Bhai, who was a key witness of the ATS, has also been accused of hatching the conspiracy and participating in the execution of the Samjhauta Express blast as well.
The ATS nabbed him from Valsad on Friday and produced him before the chief judicial magistrate’s court in Ajmer. Acting CJM Vikram Singh remanded him to custody till February 11.
Swami Asimanand, whose remand expired on Friday, was also produced before the court. His remand, too, was extended till February 11.
Sources said that ATS decided to name Bharat Bhai as the prime accused after revelations that he may have given ` 1.6 lakh cash in three installments to Sunil Joshi, the slain RSS pracharak who was believed to have played a vital role in the blasts.
Bharat Bhai allegedly handed over ` 70,000, ` 50,000 and ` 40,000 to Joshi for carrying out the blasts at Malegaon, Ajmer Sharif and Mecca Masjid.
The investigating agency wants to question him to unravel the trail of the funds used to purchase mobile phones, SIM cards and material for improvised explosive devices.
Bharat Bhai’s proximity to the saffron terror module came to light based on a call Joshi made to him 15 minutes after the Ajmer blast to say the work had been executed. Joshi also asked him to watch the news on television and inform Asimanand about it, since he was not able to reach him over the phone.
As a close associate of Asimanand, Bharat Bhai allegedly participated in several terror meetings held at his residence as well as Asimanand’s Shabri Dham ashram in Dang district of Gujarat. He also travelled with Joshi to Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh providing logistics for the blasts.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Zardari wedding a gossip mill tale
Feb 07, 2011
THE NEW York- based woman at the centre of a controversy over her purported wedding with Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari has said she has never even met the leader.
“ I explicitly and clearly deny being married or being subject to a proposal or notion of being married to the Pakistani President, whom I hold in high esteem,” Tanveer Zamani, the physician and Pakistan People’s Party ( PPP) activist whom some hitherto unknown blogs and websites had named as Zardari’s purported wife, said.
“ I have never met President Zardari and the only reason I have refrained from commenting on an Internet hoax involving me is because I deemed it against my dignity to respond to such a hoax. Bloggers and journalists do not have the right to make up stories and disrupt the lives of people,” she said in an email to the media.
The News , a daily published by the Jang Group of Newspapers, reported on its website that Zamani had said this was her first ever denial on the matter while rumours and emails about her wedding have been in circulation for the last three weeks.
The Jang Group received a notice on Friday from a New York- based legal firm representing the Bhutto- Zardari family that has threatened to file a lawsuit seeking more than $ 100 million ( ` 455 crore) in damages if they did not apologise for a report about Zardari’s purported marriage.
Locke Lord Bissell and Lid-
Full report at: Mail Today
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Kasab judgment: HC to decide date today
February 07, 2011
The Bombay High Court will on Monday issue directions on when it will finally deliver its judgment on the confirmation of 26/11 terror attack gunman Ajmal Kasab’s death sentence, his appeal against the death sentence, and the state government’s appeal against the acquittals of alleged Lashkar operatives Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed by the 26/11 trial court.
According to sources involved in the proceedings at the High Court, Justices Ranjana Desai and R V More are likely to deliver their judgment in around a week’s time, if not earlier.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/kasab-judgment-hc-to-decide-date-today/746943/
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US uses two tongues for Egyptians and Mubarak
Feb 07, 2011
THE US backs Egypt’s drive to craft orderly reforms that will allow democratic elections, US state secretary Hillary Clinton said on Saturday. Clinton, in one of the clearest US statements on how Egypt should proceed amid demonstrations against President Hosni Mubarak, said an attempt to find a transitional mechanism could be the best hope for the future. “It is important to support the transition process announced by the Egyptian government actually headed by now vice-president Omar Suleiman,” Clinton said at a Munich conference. A transition will become harder if there is not restraint by security forces, and we thankfully saw that yesterday (Friday) with the very large but peaceful demonstration, she added. Suleiman is well-known to Washington having played key roles in West Asian peace and counter-terrorism efforts. Clinton said that while Washington supported calls by Egyptian protesters for greater democracy, it would take time to establish the groundwork that will permit an orderly establishment of the elections in September.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Wife of man killed by American attempts suicide
Feb 07, 2011
LAHORE: A doctor says the wife of one of the Pakistani men allegedly shot and killed by an American official has tried to commit suicide by eating rat poison.
Ali Naqi, a doctor in Faisalabad city treating Shumaila Kanwal, said she told him she took the poison Sunday because she believes her husband’s suspected killer will be freed without trial. Her condition is deteriorating.
The US has said the American official, identified by Pakistanis as Raymond Allen Davis, has diplomatic immunity and is being illegally detained. He has told a Pakistani court that he acted in self-defense on Jan. 27 when he shot two armed men trying to rob him at gunpoint as he drove his car in the eastern city of Lahore.
Police say they are pursuing possible murder charges.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/02/06/wife-of-man-killed-by-american-attempts-suicide.html
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Seven of a family burnt alive in Ghotki
Feb 7, 2011
LAHORE: At least seven people of a family, including four children, were burnt alive after their huts caught fire in Ghotki, a private TV channel reported on Sunday. According to details, the fire was started by a spark from a stove that led to a massive blaze, torching huts in Jumma Khan Leghari, a small village of the Ghotki tehsil of Dherki. At least seven members of a same family were killed in the fire in the wee hours of Sunday. The deceased include Nazeer Ahmed Sheikh, Naseeran, Naseer and Hameeda. Firefighters from Dherki and Mirpur Mathelo managed to bring the fire under control after a couple of hours, the channel reported. daily times monitor
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\02\07\story_7-2-2011_pg7_14
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Al-Jazeera English correspondent detained in Egypt
Feb 6, 2011
CAIRO: The Egyptian military detained a correspondent for Al-Jazeera’s English-language news channel in Cairo on Sunday, said the network, which has been targeted repeatedly throughout the unrest in Egypt.
Ayman Mohyeldin, an American citizen, was detained near Tahrir Square, where protests calling for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak continued for a 13th day.
Pressure on news media covering the crisis intensified last week, as pro-government mobs armed with sticks attacked Egyptian and foreign journalists as well as human rights workers and others observing and recording the violent scenes.
Dozens have been detained, sometimes overnight. One journalist, an Egyptian reporter, has been killed in the protests, dying Friday of gunshot wounds.
The Emmy-nominated Mohyeldin is the station’s Egypt corespondent and has previously covered the Gaza war.
On Friday, the Qatar-based network said its offices in Cairo were set ablaze, along with the equipment inside it, and its website hacked. The station announced later that day that security forces arrested its Cairo bureau chief, Abdel-Fattah Fayed, and correspondent Ahmed Youssef.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article252657.ece
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Planes carrying students evacuated from Egypt land at KLIA
February 7, 2011
SEPANG: A Malaysia Airlines (MAS) plane and an AirAsia plane carrying students evacuated from Egypt touched down at the Bunga Raya complex at KLIA at about 10am.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin were among the dignitaries and parents waiting to receive them.
"The mission to rescue Malaysians trapped in Egypt was a success as everyone rallied behind the effort irrespective race," Najib told reporters.
There were 456 students in the MAS plane and 319 students in the AirAsia plane.
Almost 9,000 students and other Malaysians, evacuated from strife-torn Egypt to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia by Monday noon, will be flown home from Jeddah by MAS, AirAsia and the Royal Malaysian Air Force.
Meanwhile, Bernama reports from JEDDAH that some Malaysian citizens, who are working in Egypt, and final year students were reluctant to return home, according to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom.
He said the evacuation of Malaysian citizens from Egypt would be extended to Tuesday if those who had decided to stay back changed their minds.
"Although they have decided not to return to Malaysia, they assisted those who were flown out of Egypt to Jeddah," he told a news conference on Monday.
He said 50 Malaysian students from Jordan, who were trapped in Egypt, were also flown to Jeddah before returning to Jordan on Monday.
Jamil Khir said the Royal Malaysian Air Force's Hercules C-130 and AirAsia aircraft were flying from Alexandria to Jeddah while Malaysia Airlines aircraft was flying students from Cairo.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/2/7/nation/20110207101032&sec=nation
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Don't try Egypt style power grab in Malaysia, says Najib
February 7, 2011
MIRI: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has warned against any attempt to usurp power in Malaysia, using demonstrations like those in Egypt.
“Don’t think that what is happening there must also happen in Malaysia. We will not allow it to happen here,” he said at the national-level Chinese New Year open house in Miri.
Egypt has seen 13 days of protests for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak and the embattled regime failed to clinch what would have been a landmark deal with the opposition groups yesterday. The parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood, rejected as insufficient an offer to include them in the political reform plans.
They have instead renewed their campaigns to unseat the country’s strongman.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian agent for medical studies in Egypt, MedicMesir, is discussing with a local university to allow about 1,000 students to take their written examinations here so that they will not lose a year of studies.
In fact, 17 students from Kedah have decided to stay put in Egypt as they did not want to jeopardise their studies.
The evacuation of Malaysians from Egypt to Jeddah is expected to end by noon today.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/2/7/nation/8015371&sec=nation
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British soldier killed in Afghanistan
Feb 7, 2011
LONDON: The British military said a soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan on Saturday. The British defense ministry said the soldier died when he was hit by an improvised explosive device during an operation in the Nad-e-Ali area of Helmand province, where British and US troops are fighting Taliban. The soldier’s name was not released, but officials said his family has been informed. The death brings to 352 the number of British forces and civilian defense workers killed in Afghanistan since the 2001 US-led invasion. ap
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\02\07\story_7-2-2011_pg7_15
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Haiah cars attacked in Madinah
YOUSUF MUHAMMAD
Feb 6, 2011
MADINAH: The windows of two vehicles belonging to the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Haiah) were smashed in Madinah on Saturday.
“The cars were parked in front of the Quba Street branch of the Haiah. Their front and rear glasses were totally smashed,” said a Haiah statement. An eyewitness said he saw some young men in their 20s hitting the vehicles with hard objects. One of the vehicles was a GMC and the other a jeep. Police are investigating the incidents and no arrests have so far been made. Quba Street runs through a popular shopping district and is frequented by many of Madinah’s residents. It is one of the city’s busiest roads
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article252734.ece
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Gandhi, Akbar among TIME top 25 political icons
February 07, 2011
Indian political geniuses Mahatma Gandhi and Emperor Akbar have been listed among the ‘Top 25 Political Icons’ of all time by TIME magazine, along with Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and Mao Zedong, the father of modern China.
Released on the 100th birth anniversary of the late US President Ronald Reagan, the TIME list figures names like the great conqueror Alexander the Great and some of history’s most polarising figures like Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.
Gandhi’s experiments with Satyagraha — the genesis of the non-violent methods of protest pioneered by him — and his leadership of India’s freedom movement that has inspired many revolutionaries of later years, led him to the top of the list of the 25 all time greats.
Describing Mohandas Gandhi as a figure “few will ever forget”, the prestigious magazine said his struggle paved the way for other social movements including America’s struggle for civil rights.
“While working as a lawyer in South Africa, he pioneered the concept of Satyagraha, or Civil Disobedience in response to tyranny, helping Indians there campaign for civil rights,” it said.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/315967/Gandhi-Akbar-among-TIME-top-25-political-icons.html
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Tuning in to a revolution
Amitava Sanyal
February 07, 2011
“This is a talk-show revolution,” declares Mohammad Shalaby, a 42-year-old engineer who did his Masters in the UK. “Facebook was only the facilitator for the first few days of assembly at the Tahrir (Liberation) Square. But the usually-timid Egyptians have got the strength to talk up as they have
Is it really so? Hamdy Kenawy, my 33-year-old translator, says, “Absolutely — and the government has been worried too. A few months ago, when presenter Mona Al-Shazly criticised the rigging of last year’s (parliamentary) elections, her show was taken off air for two days. They said it was for re-decorating the stage, but the public knew why it was done.”
Talk-shows are the new crowd-pullers. Private TV is a decade-old phenomenon here but the 10-odd talk shows that are beamed daily into Egyptian homes are a 3-4-year-old phenomenon that’s hosted by the two central government-run channels too.
Continued on page 15
Tarek Heggy, a writer and someone who is close to the current government negotiations, says, “Even in poor households in rural areas, you often see a dish antenna on a mud hut. They are hooked to television. So you can say the talk shows have had an effect on people.”
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/africa/Tuning-in-to-a-revolution/Article1-659391.aspx
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Special development projects for Muslims in WB: Buddhadeb
February 07, 2011
Behrampore (WB) Apparently with an eye on Muslim votes ahead of West Bengal Assembly elections, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today said the state government had taken up special development projects for the community.
“Muslims in West Bengal are lagging much behind others.
They have to be brought at par with the majority sections in respect of development. If we do not do it, the state in general will remain underdeveloped,” the chief minister told a rally here in Murshidabad district.
He said the state government had taken up development schemes worth Rs 500 crore to improve education, health and drinking water supply to the people belonging to the minority community.
Full report at:
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Special-development-projects-for-Muslims-in-WB-Buddhadeb/746766/
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Wily Kayani scuttled deal on Kashmir
By Aman Sharma in New Delhi
THE 26/ 11 attack may have derailed a deal on Kashmir which had the consent of both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, WikiLeaks has revealed.
The UK was convinced a day before the attack that Singh and Zardari were ready with a deal on Kashmir but the Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Kayani, was an “ obstacle”, a leaked US cable claims.
Apparently, all talk on solving the Kashmir dispute was put in the cold storage after 26/ 11.
This is the first time it has been revealed that the present regime of both governments had a plan on paper to solve the Kashmir dispute. Earlier, former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had claimed he and former Indian PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had agreed on a deal on Kashmir.
According to the cable originating from the US Embassy in London on November 28, 2008, UK Foreign Commonwealth Office Pakistan team leader Laura Hickey had briefed US officials about then UK foreign secretary David Miliband’s visit to Pakistan.
Miliband had met Zardari and Kayani on November 25, and the Mumbai attack was mounted a day after the UK foreign secretary’s trip.
Full report at: Mail Today
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UPRISING RINGS IN TALKS OF ‘CHANGE’
Feb 07, 2011
Egyptian despot Hosni Mubarak still holds on as resignations in ruling party and transition talks rule the day...
PEOPLE’S power forced transition talks in Egypt on Saturday and later in the night led to resignations — not yet of Hosni Mubarak as president — but of the leadership of Egypt’s ruling National Democratic Party. Those who quit included Gamal, the son of Mubarak whose rule has been shaken by days of protests, state TV said. Al Arabiya TV said Mubarak had resigned as head of the ruling party. But this could not be confirmed. A party official said if Mubarak had resigned from the party it would not affect his position as president. “(The resignation) is important… because the people using violence were being mobilised by the party... and now they have been stripped of this protection,” analyst Diaa Rashwan said. But a protester, Bilal Fathi, 22, said: “These are not gains for the protesters. This is a trick by the regime. These are red herrings.” The outgoing leaders include secretary general Safwat el-Sherif, 77, a pillar of the old guard. Without a place in the leadership, Gamal would no longer qualify as the party’s presidential candidate. The outgoing leaders makes up the party’s core committee. The party was one of the main targets of the uprising and its headquarters was gutted by fire during the protests. Big crowds continued to swell anew in Tahrir Square on Saturday. The veteran president, meanwhile, remained in a huddle with his new government.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Taliban blames US for Afghan Guantanamo death
Feb 07, 2011
WASHINGTON: Taliban extremists condemned an Afghan inmate’s death at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp as a “clear indicator” of US human rights violations and “brutal behavior,” US-based monitors said Saturday.
Awal Gul, who was held at Guantanamo for nearly nine years over alleged links to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda collapsed and died Tuesday of “apparent natural causes” after exercising on an elliptical machine, the US military said this week.
In a statement posted on its website in Pashto on Friday and in English on Saturday, the Afghan Taliban called Gul an “eminent commander” and blamed his death on the “bestiality of the American rulers,” according to SITE Intelligence Group monitors.
The Taliban denounced the continued existence of the Guantanamo Bay prison, more than one year after US President Barack Obama’s promised deadline to close the site where 173 “war on terror” suspects remain without charge or trial.
The Obama administration has run into a series of legal and political hurdles, and the timetable to shut the jail has been indefinitely pushed back.
Gul’s death “is a clear indicator of the American violation of all national and international agreements and covenants and portrays their brutal behavior with the detainees in this illegitimate prison,” the Taliban added.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/02/06/taliban-blames-us-for-afghan-guantanamo-death.html
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Khaled Said, the face that sprouted revolution
Feb 07, 2011
Cairo: If there is a face to the revolt that has sprouted in Egypt, it may be the face of Khaled Said.
Said, a 28-year-old Egyptian businessman was pulled from an Internet cafe in Alexandria last June by two plainclothes police officers, who, witnesses say, then beat him to death in the lobby of a residential building. Human rights advocates said he was killed because he had evidence of police corruption.
The Egyptian police and security services have a well-earned reputation for brutality and snuffing out political opposition. But in Mr. Said, they unwittingly chose the wrong target.
Within five days of his death, an anonymous person created a Facebook page — We Are All Khaled Said — that posted cell phone photos from the morgue of his battered and bloodied face, and You Tube videos played up pictures of him with the graphic images from the morgue. “There were many catalysts of the uprising,” said Mr Ahmed Zidan, an online political activist marching towards Tahrir Square. “The first was the brutal murder of Khalid Said.
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Foreign cooking shows banned on Iranian TV
Feb 7, 2011
TEHRAN: Iran’s state-run television has been banned from screening cooking shows that promote foreign cuisine as conservatives seek to fight Western influence in the Iranian culture, media reported on Sunday. “From now on teaching how to cook non-Iranian dishes is banned,” deputy head of Iran’s state broadcaster Ali Darabi was quoted as saying by Aftabnews, a moderate website, and several other media outlets. Iran boasts a rich cuisine and cooking shows are very popular, with chefs teaching a variety of Iranian and foreign recipes on daytime television. Italian, Chinese and Indian dishes are also favoured by many Iranians, while officials warn against the increasing consumption of unhealthy fast food. afp
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\02\07\story_7-2-2011_pg1_5
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Saudi Arabia to export urea to Pakistan
Feb 7, 2011
ISLAMABAD: The Saudi Development Fund on Saturday signed an agreement to export urea from the Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) to Pakistan. The agreement was signed by the Secretary Economic Affair, Sibtain Fazal Haleem, from the Pakistani side and Saudi Development Fund Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Yousaf Ibrahim AlBassam, from the Saudi side. The Saudi embassy clarified that the agreement falls within the framework of the efforts made by the fund to promote trade and economic relations between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. staff report
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\02\07\story_7-2-2011_pg7_16
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SQ Chy's US lawyer 'denied entry to Bangladesh'
David Bergman
Feb 7, 2011
The Bangladesh consulate in New York has refused to give a visa to the US lawyer instructed to represent Salauddin Quader Chowdhury at the International Crimes Tribunal.
Salauddin is accused of committing international crimes during the 1971 war of independence and the ICT on January 17 ordered his detention in prison.
The delay in allowing entry to Salauddin's lawyer comes as the Jamaat-e-Islami is about to instruct a team of British lawyers from the barristers' chambers, 9 Bedford Row, to defend five of its leaders who are also currently in detention.
One senior member of this team, Toby Cadman, who has already visited Dhaka twice in four months, is currently in New York holding various meetings on behalf of the Jamaat including meeting with Stephen Rapp, the US War Crimes Ambassador-at-large.
Rapp, who recently came to Dhaka, is shortly due to send a note to the Bangladesh government on what changes he considers the government should make to ensure that the tribunal reaches minimum international standards.
The law minister, Shafique Ahmed, told New Age that despite the activity of local defence lawyers in instructing foreign lawyers, the government had no intention of doing the same to assist in the prosecution. 'The government is not considering the appointment of foreign lawyers. Our lawyers have enough experience,' he said.
Joe Cyr, a partner at the New York office of the international law firm Hogan Lovells, told New Age that on January 5, he first applied at the US consulate for a visa to visit Chowdhury.
Full report at:
http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/frontpage/7908.html
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US ‘spies’ go on trial in Iran
Feb 7, 2011
The much-delayed trial of three young Americans accused of spying against Iran kicks off Sunday, more than 18 months after they were arrested on the unmarked border with Iraq while on a hiking trip.
The prosecution of Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal comes at a time when anti-American rhetoric is at fever pitch in Iran as it marks the anniversary of its 1979 Islamic revolution.
Fahrs news agency reported the trial will be held in a closed session at a Tehran revolutionary court.
Iran has dismissed repeated pleas by arch-foe the United States for the release of Bauer and Fattal after it allowed the Shourd to return home on bail of around 5,00,000 dollars last September after more than a year in detention.
She is expected to be tried in absentia.
http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/international/7815.html
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Slow Jeddah cleanup stirs anger
Feb 6, 2011
JEDDAH: Eleven days after the flood that devastated central Jeddah, criticism is mounting over the lack of action to clean up the city. Although the city authorities say that in addition to 620 of their own staff involved in the cleanup they have contracted an extra 4,080 cleaners, the response on the ground in many of the affected areas, notably Al-Ruwais and Sharafiyah, is “we've seen nothing yet.”
Madinah Road is the most important and one of the busiest thoroughfares in Jeddah, connecting the city’s business district to the northern suburbs. The northbound lane between King Abdullah Street (old Wali Al-Ahad) and Palestine Street remains choked with water. Although only 20 centimeters or so deep, it is enough to hide potholes and tire-ripping debris. Because of the continued flooding, the section is reduced to two lanes in places with motorists attempting to avoid unseen hazards. On Saturday evening — not in the rush hour — it took one of Arab News’ reporters 50 minutes to drive the one-kilometer stretch. During that time at least one car ended its journey nose-down in a concealed pothole, further slowing up the traffic.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article252758.ece
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Women launch Facebook campaign to participate in municipal elections
By WALAA HAWARI
Feb 6, 2011
RIYADH: A group of women has launched a Facebook campaign to encourage the authorities to give them increased opportunities to participate in the Municipal Councils.
The campaigners want to raise awareness to see more women involved in the councils. The campaign — titled Baladi (or My Country) — builds on the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah who has called on the authorities to support women in all sectors.
Enam Al-Asfoor, a PR officer for the campaign, said women have the same rights as men and that more participation in elections would create better political awareness, which generates a feeling of responsibility and brings people closer to the decision-making process. She also said that women participating in elections would do much to challenge the negative stereotypes regarding Saudi women.
The campaign’s profile on Facebook, which was launched on Jan. 16, said Al-Asfoor, has so far attracted 1,525 members from across the Kingdom.
A number of programs have already been organized in various parts of the Kingdom to educate and raise awareness among women about elections and the role of the Municipal Councils.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article252760.ece
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Over 100,000 visit Saudi expo
WALAA HAWARI
Feb 6, 2011
RIYADH: More than 100,000 people have visited the “Roads of Arabia” exhibition taking place at CaixaForum Barcelona through Feb. 20.
Officials at CaixaForum said this comprehensive exhibition of Saudi Arabian pre- and post-Islamic antiquities has been the most popular exhibition to take place at the cultural center. “We have organized many exhibitions in the past, but the Kingdom’s archaeology and history exhibition is different and has attracted a great crowd,” said a CaixaForum spokesperson. The touring exhibition, which has been to the Louvre and will make its way to Russia in April and Germany in October, features more than 300 archaeological pieces that offer for the first time an insight into Saudi Arabia’s rich historical past. The exhibition will also move to the US, though dates have yet to be announced. The exhibition was inaugurated by Prince of Asturias Felipe de Borbón, heir to the throne of Spain, Saudi Commission of Tourism and Antiquities Chairman Prince Sultan bin Salman and Saudi Ambassador to Spain Prince Saud bin Naif. More than 100,000 people visited the exhibition when it was taking place at the Louvre, which closed in September.
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article252737.ece
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South Sudan may build new capital
JEREMY CLARKE
Feb 6, 2011
JUBA, Sudan: South Sudanese leaders said on Sunday they were considering building a new capital after their expected independence as the current hub Juba lacked infrastructure and space for new business.
“A committee has been formed to look into a more suitable place for a capital ... that is befitting an independent nation. There are so many things that Juba doesn’t have now in terms of services,” said Anne Itto, from the south’s ruling party.
Sudan’s oil-producing and underdeveloped south is expected to declare independence from the north on July 9 after voters overwhelmingly chose to secede in a referendum in January.
Organizers of the vote told Reuters they had not received any legal appeals against it by a Saturday deadline, clearing the way for the release of the final results on Monday.
Juba, which sits on the banks of the White Nile in the south’s Central Equatoria state, has seen a dramatic but chaotic expansion since a 2005 peace deal ended decades of north/south civil war and promised the referendum.
After the accord, Juba became the seat of the south’s semi- autonomous government, the base of a mushrooming United Nations presence and built on its status as the south’s commercial hub.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article252668.ece
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Yemen opposition MP survives attack on life
SAEED AL-BATATI
Feb 6, 2011
SANAA: The security guards of Hamed Al-Ahmer, an outspoken opposition MP and influential Yemeni businessman, survived an attack on his life in Sanaa on Saturday night.
“One of the security cars of Al-Ahmer was met by a hail of fire from cars with an official license plate on Saturday evening behind his house,” said a statement issued by the MP’s office.
When Al-Ahmer came back from the Preparatory Committee for National Dialogue, his guard spotted a pickup bearing an official license plate. When his guards went away from the house, more than 30 gunmen opened fire at them. No one was hurt in the attack and the Ministry of Interior was notified about the incident.
Al-Ahmer, who is also a member of the Islah party, was recently directly accused of orchestrating on Saturday another armed attack on Sanaa Gov. No'man Dowed, said the Yemeni Ministry of Defense website.
Al-Ahmer is known for his scathing and bold criticism of the Yemeni regime. He is the brother of Sheikh Sadeq Al-Ahmer, a leader of the Hashed tribe, one of the most powerful in Yemen. The security guards of the governor of Sana'a seized four cars used in the attack. The cars belonged to Hamed Al-Ahmer and the security services are pursuing the perpetrators and those behind them,” said a Ministry of Interior statement on its website.
The attackers fled the scene of the shooting, leaving a passerby dead and three others injured.
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article252673.ece
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Kuwait appoints new interior minister
Feb 6, 2011
DUBAI: Kuwait accepted the resignation of its interior minister and appointed Sheikh Ahmed Al-Hamoud Al-Sabah as his replacement, Al Arabiya television reported on Sunday.
Last month, former Interior Minister Sheikh Jaber Khaled Al-Sabah submitted his resignation over torture allegations. Three lawmakers asked to question the minister over the death of a Kuwaiti man who died in police custody, but a date for the questioning has yet to be set.
The state news agency KUNA confirmed the acceptance of the resignation and the nomination of Sheikh Ahmed Al-Hamoud as the new interior minister, without giving details.
Kuwait's Parliament, the most outspoken in the region, frequently questions ministers, sometimes provoking Cabinet resignations or reshuffles that have delayed economic reform bills, including the creation of a markets regulator.
An interior ministry forensics report had said there was evidence of “criminal activity” in the death of the Kuwaiti man after police detained him on suspicion of illegal possession of alcohol.
In 2009, Sheikh Jaber survived a no-confidence vote in Parliament, the second he had faced that year, after he was accused of misleading legislators about electoral violations.
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article252680.ece
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Israel to seize Palestinian properties in East Jerusalem
MOHAMMED MAR'I
Feb 6, 2011
RAMALLAH: Israeli authorities issued on Sunday a precautionary order to confiscate Waqf lands, mosques, stores and buildings in East Jerusalem.
The Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights (JCSER) said the order includes the Alimelli Waqf, two mosques, a gas station and several buildings and stores in East Jerusalem.
The JCSER said Israeli authorities ordered Ziad Qawwas to evacuate their three dunams near the US Consulate in Nablus Street in the eastern part of the disputed city.
The center quoted Qawwas as saying the lands are registered as Islamic Waqf since 400 years. The Israeli Land Authority claims that the land is owned by it.
JCSER added that the Israeli-dominated Jerusalem municipality will build a trade center in the confiscated lands. It added that the new settlement project bears the number (A4832) and is ready for implementation.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article252677.ece
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Filipinos in Egypt shrug off safety fears
ABDUL HANNAN TAGO
Feb 6, 2011
RIYADH: A first batch of 26 Filipinos evacuated from Egypt arrived in Manila on Saturday on a flight from Dubai, according to Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Eduardo Malaya.
This represents a fraction of the estimated 6,569 Filipinos, including about 600 students, have registered their presence in Egypt with the Philippines government.
Malaya told GMA Network's DZBB radio that 20 more Filipinos have expressed their desire to leave.
“A mandatory repatriation is not yet seen as necessary,” he said.
Gimbang Ambor, a Filipino student works at the US Embassy in Cairo, said on his Facebook profile that many expatriates working or studying in Egypt have expressed optimism about the current unrest. He also said four members of a Filipino family backed out of their initial desire to evacuate and three others took their place on the Saturday flight.
“We are still hopeful that within the month everything will back to normal,” he wrote.
Some commented on Ambor's Facebook profile that they doubted that the Philippines Embassy in Cairo would be able to handle the logistics of evacuating all Filipino residents in Egypt if they all wanted to leave.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article252684.ece
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Iraqis protest poor public services across country
Feb 6, 2011
BAGHDAD: Protesters scuffled with riot police and marched along sewage-filled streets in demonstrations across Iraq on Sunday to demand better utilities and job security from their government.
Authorities estimated several thousand protesters turned out in Baghdad, Basra, Ramadi, Mosul and a small town in Iraq’s eastern Diyala province. They were galvanizing on popular uprisings across the Mideast to repeat long-standing complaints about Iraq’s limited electricity, shoddy water and sewage services, and potential layoffs in government jobs.
“Our children have many diseases because of sewage problems and accumulated trash in the area,” said Ali Hassan, a resident of Boub Al-Sham, where more than 1,000 protesters gathered amid stagnant pools of water and a stench of waste in the air. The Diyala town is located about 15 miles (25 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad.
In the southern port city of Basra, around 1,500 demonstrators got into a shoving match with riot police who lined up to protect the provincial government headquarters.
A small delegation of the protesters met with Basra provincial officials to present a list of demands, including better electricity, more jobs and a crackdown on crime and corruption in Iraq’s second-largest city.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article252638.ece
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/thousands-rally-attacks-shrines/d/4082