Uneasy calm after Bahrain crackdown
Bahrain forces attack protest camp, 6 killed
Qaddafi advances as nations only talk
Malaysian Christian lawyer barred from Shariah courts
Turkish ‘civil society’ far behind European average
Davis buys his flight to freedom
Saudi Arabia to assist IIUI constructing another mosque
4 New York Times journalists missing in Libya
120 wounded in Yemen clashes
4 killed, 33 injured in Iran prison violence
1 killed, 200 injured as Saleh loyalists attack protesters
Fourth explosion hits Japan nuclear plant, evacuations accelerate
Radiation panic spreads to Asian nations
US reminds Iran to halt any arms smuggling
Yemen expels foreign journalists over ‘illegal’ stay
Two killed in Israeli airstrike near Gaza City
10 militants killed in Orakzai gun battle
Rachel Corrie: A worldwide symbol of the Palestinian struggle
Saudi stability attributed to leadership’s open-door policy
Another bomb package found
Obama talks with Japan PM on nuclear threat
Jordan questions suspected militants
Minister of State among Haj scam beneficiaries
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: An uneasy calm prevailed in Bahrain on Wednesday
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/uneasy-calm-after-bahrain-crackdown/d/4298
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Uneasy calm after Bahrain crackdown
By SIRAJ WAHAB
Mar 17, 2011
An uneasy calm prevailed in Bahrain on Wednesday after security troops forcibly evicted demonstrators encamped at the Pearl Roundabout in a crackdown that has come under criticism from Iran and Iraq as well as the United States.
MANAMA/ALKHOBAR: In an early morning raid on Wednesday, Bahraini security forces cleared hundreds of anti-government protesters camping in makeshift tents for the last three weeks at the famous Pearl Roundabout in the heart of the Bahraini capital.
A Bahraini government source told Arab News that the cleanup operation began at 5:30 a.m. and was over by 9:50 a.m.
“We had given the squatters adequate warning and ample time to vacate the area,” he said. “As our forces started clearing their way to the roundabout, they faced a number of obstacles and ambushes. They were fired upon, resulting in the death of two soldiers.”
Doctors and journalists reporting from the scene said three protesters died and scores injured in the operations around the roundabout.
Television footage showed burning canisters and thick black clouds billowing from the area, partially obscuring the famous landmark.
“During the evacuation operation, the forces came across many barricades set up by the squatters in order to hinder the troop advancement,” the government source said.
The protesters, he said, had set fire to everything they came across. They torched the makeshift plastic tents by throwing Molotov cocktails on them.
The government spokesperson said another group of forces encircled the nearby Salmaniya Medical Complex and removed the ambulances parked at the entrance to block the soldiers from approaching the area. He said the troops were asked to use tear gas and not to use live ammunition. “The whole operation was successful and was over in a matter of few hours,” he said.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah received a telephone call from US President Barack Obama on Wednesday. The two leaders discussed major regional and international developments including the situation in Bahrain, the Saudi Press Agency said.
Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal and his counterparts in Bahrain and the UAE held talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on the Gulf situation.
Members of Bahraini opposition groups told Arab News that heavy force was used against “unarmed and peaceful” protesters.
“We kept shouting, peace, peace, but they would not listen to us. They charged at us menacingly … we held our ground for long and then started running helter-skelter,” said a middle-aged protester who only identified himself as Abu Ali.
A leading member of the opposition denounced the assault as a declaration of war on his community. “This is war of annihilation. This does not happen even in wars and this is not acceptable,” Abdel Jalil Khalil, the head of Al-Wefaq’s 18-member Parliament bloc, told Reuters. “I saw them fire live rounds, in front of my own eyes.”
The reaction from business-friendly pro-government supporters was one of relief. “Thank God, the roundabout has finally been cleared,” said Dalia Marzouki. “We were like hostages in our own country. These people had started blackmailing everybody. I support my government, there has to be law and order.”
The country’s large expatriate community, especially Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, has also taken a harsh line against the protesters. One particular reason for this is the killing and stabbing of members of these communities in the last two days. One journalist said bodies of two Bangladeshi workers were recovered from Sitra village on Tuesday night. They had stab wounds indicating that an armed mob had set upon them. Three days earlier, a Pakistani expatriate was dragged from his car and brutally killed.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki criticized military intervention in Bahrain, and followers of cleric Moqtada Sadr took to the streets of Baghdad.
Iran, meanwhile, withdrew its ambassador from Bahrain “in protest at the killing of the people of Bahrain by its government,” a statement posted on the government website dolat.ir said.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized the deployment of Gulf troops in Bahrain.
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article319629.ece
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Bahrain forces attack protest camp, 6 killed
17 March 2011
Soldiers and riot police used tear gas and armoured vehicles yesterday to drive out hundreds of anti-government protesters occupying a landmark square in Bahrain's capital, a day after emergency rule was imposed in the violence-wracked Gulf kingdom.
At least six people were killed, according to witnesses and officials.
The full-scale assault launched at daybreak swept into Pearl Square, which has been the centre of uprising since it began more than a month ago. Stinging clouds of tear gas filled streets and black smoke rose from the square from the protesters' tents set ablaze.
Witnesses said at least two protesters were killed when the square was stormed. Officials at Ibn Nafees Hospital said a third protester later died from gunshot wounds in his back. The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity because of fears of reprisals from authorities.
Meanwhile, Bahrain state TV also reported that two policemen died when they were hit by a vehicle after anti-government protesters were driven out. The Interior Ministry also at least one other policeman was killed, but did not give the cause.
But state TV broadcast video showing military vehicles in the square flying Bahrain's red-and-white flag as security officials moved through the wreckage of the encampment, set up at the base of a towering monument to the country's history as a pearl diving centre. The video showed the ground littered with debris, including satellite dishes and charred tent poles.
Helicopters crisscrossed over the square, which was cleared by security forces late last month but was later retaken by protesters after a deadly confrontation with army units.
Protesters fled for cover into side streets and security forces blocked main roads into Manama. Mobile phones were apparently jammed in central Manama during the height of the attack and Internet service was at a crawl.
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=178009
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Qaddafi advances as nations only talk
17 March 2011
NEW YORK/TRIPOLI: France and Britain on Wednesday urged the UN Security Council to take swift action to establish a no-fly zone over Libya, where forces loyal to leader Muammar Qaddafi continue to pummel rebels in the east.
The 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference said it would hold an emergency meeting of OIC foreign ministers in Jeddah on Saturday to discuss Libya. “The meeting will discuss the latest developments and the resolutions to be adopted to address the tense situation in that country,” the OIC general secretariat said.
Britain, France and Lebanon have circulated to the 15-nation council a draft resolution to authorize a no-fly zone to halt Libyan government airstrikes on rebels. But the US, Russia, China, Germany, India and other council members are either undecided or have voiced doubts about the proposal.
The three distributed the draft on Tuesday after the Arab League called on the council over the weekend to establish a no-fly zone.
French UN Ambassador Gerard Araud told reporters ahead of a closed-door session to discuss the draft that he hoped for a vote on the resolution by the end of the week, if possible by Thursday evening. Asked if that timetable was achievable, Araud said, “Of course it’s realistic.” French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told French Parliament that he was confident they would strike a deal with Security Council members to secure a no-fly zone.
Lebanese Ambassador Nawaf Salam told reporters that one concern raised by Germany and others — the apparent clash between the Arab League’s call for a no-fly zone and its opposition to foreign military intervention — was not a contradiction. He said Arab nations would help enforce any no-fly zone authorized by the council.
“There will be a significant Arab participation,” he said, without giving details. Salam also called for a swift vote.
Meanwhile, Qaddafi’s forces used tanks and artillery on Wednesday to try to retake the city of Misrata, the last big rebel stronghold in western Libya, residents said. But rebel fighters in Misrata, on the Mediterranean coast about 200 km east of the Libyan capital Tripoli, said they had stalled a ground attack on the city and seized some tanks from pro-Qaddafi units.
Qaddafi’s son, Seif Al-Islam, warned rebels that government troops were closing in on Benghazi and urged them to leave the country. “Within 48 hours everything will be finished,” he said in an interview with Lyon, France-based EuroNews television.
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article319631.ece
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Malaysian Christian lawyer barred from Shariah courts
17 March 2011
A Christian lawyer in Malaysia has failed in her attempt to be allowed to practise in the Muslim Shariah courts.
Victoria Jayaseele Martin said she wanted to appear for non-Muslim clients fighting in such courts, to provide them with fairer representation.
An increasing number of cases heard in the Islamic courts involve both Muslims and non-Muslims.
Malaysia runs two parallel legal systems.
The civil courts cater to its non-Muslim citizens while the Islamic system decides issues affecting the fate of the country's Muslim majority.
A judge in Kuala Lumpur dismissed her challenge to the decision of a religious council that all lawyers in Islamic courts must be Muslim.
Ms Jayaseele Martin, who says the bar is unconstitutional, plans to appeal against the judge's decision.
Fairness
Ms Martin's lawyer, Ranjit Singh, said it was difficult for non-Muslims to find legal counsel, who may not want to defend cases that conflict with their own faith.
One of the lawyers for the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council, Mr Abdul Rahim Sinwan, said it was "not a problem" for non-Muslims to find Muslim lawyers to defend them.
"It goes one step further because it's a question of faith. Because when the Muslim holds the opinion held by the judge, it's a question of faith, in which non-Muslims doesn't (have it)," he said.
The BBC's Jennifer Pak says he added that there was a "misunderstood perception that non-Muslim cannot find justice in the Shariah court", calling it a "fallacy."
There have been several cross-faith court cases, in which one partner to a marriage converts to Islam while the other does not, sparking custody battles.
Last year, the Malaysian government agreed to appoint women judges to its Islamic courts for the first time, something the Sisters in Islam (SIS) group said it had been demanding for many years.
The group has campaigned for reform of the Islamic legal system, saying it is not always administered and implemented properly and fairly.
The civil judiciary has long had female judges, covering a range of major cases.
The Islamic legal system focuses on family law, frequently tackling issues such as divorce, polygamy and custody battles.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12768939
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Turkish ‘civil society’ far behind European average, says CHP
SERKAN DEMIRTAS
17 March 2011
The total number of civil society institutions in Turkey is only 153,800. In the United Kingdom, which has fewer people than Turkey, there are 873,000 organizations along with 800,000 in France, the civil society report prepared by the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, read. The report was unveiled by party leader Kemal Kiliçdaroglu on Monday.
According to the report, the 153,800 institutions include 86,272 associations, 4,494 foundations, 96 trade unions, 54 public workers’ unions, 4,794 chambers and 58,090 cooperatives. However, the report suggested that the number of association has increased 41 percent in the last decade, showing a positive trend.
Another striking figure shows that only 10 percent of the 74 million Turkish citizens are registered in an association. Among the 7.3 million members, only one-fifth of them are female, the report found, depicting deep gender inequality in civil society.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=turkish-8216civil-society8217-far-behind-european-average-chp-2011-03-15
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Davis buys his flight to freedom
17 March 2011
LAHORE: A tension-filled saga spread over more than a month and a half was brought to an abrupt conclusion on Wednesday as American citizen Raymond Davis was released and quickly flown out of Pakistan after heirs of the two youths he had shot dead on Jan 27 told a local court they had accepted blood money.
A police official told Dawn that the heirs of each of the two victims were given Rs100 million in compensation.
However, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that the United States had not paid any blood money. Analysts say it’s technically possible and the blood money or diyat might have been paid by or through the family of Davis, and not directly by the US government.
In any case, most analysts are convinced that the deal that resulted in the signing of the diyat agreement and payment of a huge amount was the result of a deal or understanding between Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency and Washington.
The Lytton Road police had registered a case against Davis on charges of killing two Pakistani citizens, Faizan and Faheem, at downtown Qurtaba Chowk in Lahore. Two traffic wardens had chased down the suspect who pleaded he had killed the bike-riders in self-defence after they had tried to rob him.
Another young man, Ibadur Rehman, was crushed to death by a vehicle that followed close behind the car Davis was driving. The police later traced this second vehicle to the American consulate in Lahore but the consulate did not hand it over to law-enforcement agencies and also chose not to disclose the identity of those who were in it at the time of the incident.
The killing was treated separately from the gunning down of the two youngsters by Davis, and apparently Wednesday’s developments have no bearing on it.
The killings had rocked Pakistan and strained ties between Islamabad and Washington. The US pressed for diplomatic immunity for Davis, leading to some clear and many ambiguous responses from officials in Pakistan. Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who was the foreign minister at the time the incident took place, stated that the arrested American didn’t enjoy diplomatic immunity.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/03/17/davis-buys-his-flight-to-freedom.html
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Saudi Arabia to assist IIUI constructing another mosque
17 March 2011
ISLAMABAD: Relations between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are a great precedent to the whole world and are above geographical boundaries and divides, said Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Abd-ul-Aziz Bin Ibrahim Al-Ghadeer at a seminar on “Depth of Pak-Saudi Friendship” organised by International Islamic University (IIUI) on Wednesday. He pledged that his country would assist IIUI in constructing a grand mosque at university’s new campus in H-10.
Saudi envoy boasted of historical account of relations between the two countries. Soon after the creation of Pakistan, deep bi-lateral relations were established that were strengthened more and more over decades, said the envoy. He mentioned the visits of late Saudi kings to Pakistan that further strengthened the bilateral ties.
Saudi envoy added that Saudi people as well as government always stood by their Pakistani brethren especially in the hour of need and mentioned Saudi assistance during 2005 earthquake and 2010 floods. “Saudis under the leadership of their King and the Custodian of two Harams Abdullah Ibn-e-Abdul Aziz dispatched hundreds of cargo planes to Pakistan with humanitarian assistance. It was a religious duty to help human beings in trouble”, he said.
Dean Faculty of Shariah and Law Dr. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and Dean Faculty of Basic and Applied Sciences Dr. Muhammad Riaz spoke on the occasion and thanked Saudi rulers for
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\03\17\story_17-3-2011_pg11_9
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1 killed, 200 injured as Saleh loyalists attack protesters
By SAEED AL-BATATI
17 March 2011
SANAA: Amid unabated demonstrations against Yemen's troubled President Ali Abdullah Saleh, hundreds of pro-Yemeni government loyalists Wednesday tried to storm a peaceful rally in the country, killing one person and injuring more than 200 protesters.
The pro-democracy protesters were sitting in a garden at the heart of the western port city of Hudaida, calling for Saleh's ouster when the pro-regime loyalists, who were carrying batons, rocks and knives, began to attack them randomly.
Police used tear gas and live bullets to end the scuffle. The protesters reacted by throwing stones at the attackers. Dozens of protesters suffered from breathing difficulty as a result of inhaling gases. The other protesters were injured and taken to local hospitals. The attack occurred following a counter protest organized by supporters of the ruling General People's Congress.
Official media accused opposition members of attacking pro-government protesters in the same place. Thousands of the regime supporters organized Wednesday a massive rally in support of Saleh' latest initiative.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article319515.ece
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4 New York Times journalists missing in Libya
17 March 2011
Four New York Times journalists covering the fighting in Libya were reported missing Wednesday, and the newspaper held out hope that they were alive and in the custody of the Libyan government.
Editors last heard from the journalists on Tuesday as they were covering the retreat of rebels from the town of Ajdabiya, and Libyan officials told the newspaper they were trying to locate the four, executive editor Bill Keller said in a statement. The Times said there were unconfirmed reports that forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi had detained the foursome.
We are grateful to the Libyan government for their assurance that if our journalists were captured they would be released promptly and unharmed," Keller said.
The missing journalists are Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Anthony Shadid, the newspaper's Beirut bureau chief; Stephen Farrell, a reporter and videographer; and photographers Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario. In 2009, Farrell was kidnapped by the Taliban and later rescued by British commandos.
Their families and their colleagues at The Times are anxiously seeking information about their situation, and praying that they are safe," Keller said.
The White House on Wednesday urged the Libyan government to refrain from harassing or using violence against journalists. Obama spokesman Jay Carney said the United States is firm in its belief that journalists should be protected and allowed to do their work.
The advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said it was asking its correspondents in Libya to help track down the journalists' whereabouts.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/17/4-new-york-times-journalists-missing-libya.html
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120 wounded in Yemen clashes
17 March 2011
At least 120 were wounded as police and government loyalists tried to break up a rally in western Yemen demanding an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 32-year rule, a doctor said yesterday.
"They attacked the protesters and wounded around 120 people," a doctor treating protesters in the Red Sea city of Hudaida said.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=178044
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4 killed, 33 injured in Iran prison violence
Mar 17, 2011
TEHRAN: Fourteen prisoners were killed and 33 injured in an incident at an Iranian jail on Wednesday, that state TV said was a brawl among inmates but which one news agency said was a foiled escape attempt.
State TV news reported that a brawl broke out at Ghezel Hesar prison in the city of Karaj, just to the west of Tehran, during a recreation period and was broken up by security forces after nine hours.
The semi-official Mehr news agency said the deaths were the result of clashes that ensued after an escape attempt by convicted smugglers who face the death penalty.
“Due to the powerful presence of officials and cooperation of some other prisoners who were against their actions, their effort to escape was in vain,” Mehr quoted a prison official as saying.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article319553.ece
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Fourth explosion hits Japan nuclear plant, evacuations accelerate
March 17, 2011
Scared Tokyo residents filled outbound trains and rushed to shops to stock up on face masks and emergency supplies, amid fears of radiation headed their way.
Japan’s nuclear crisis deepened Wednesday with another fire at a quake-hit atomic power plant and a radiation spike there that forced the temporary evacuation of workers.
Military helicopters carrying giant buckets were preparing to drop water on the stricken plant, which has been hit by four explosions and two fires since last Friday’s earthquake and tsunami knocked out cooling systems.
But media reports quoting defence ministry officials said the attempt was postponed because of high radiation levels over the Fukushima No. 1 plant, 250 kilometres northeast of Tokyo.
A police water-cannon truck has been deployed to the site to help, and could be operational by Wednesday night, Kyodo News reported.
Scared Tokyo residents filled outbound trains and rushed to shops to stock up on face masks and emergency supplies, amid fears of radiation headed their way. Some foreign residents have also pulled out.
The radiation level in the mega-city was normal Wednesday, officials said. Levels had risen Tuesday but not to a degree hazardous to health.
Chief government spokesman Yukio Edano made an apparent attempt to ease fears in the face of mounting overseas concern.
He said radiation poses no immediate health threat outside a zone within 20 kilometers of the plant that has already been evacuated.
“I have been informed that the figures monitored today [outside the zone] were not anything that would harm human health immediately,” Edano told a briefing.
The day began with a pre-dawn blaze at the plant’s number-four reactor. This apparently died of its own accord, but in mid-morning a cloud of smoke or steam was seen rising from the number-three reactor.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=crisis-deepens-at-quake-hit-japan-nuclear-plant-2011-03-16
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Radiation panic spreads to Asian nations
17 March 2011
Asian nations yesterday vowed to crack down on hoax messages warning about radiation spreading beyond Japan, which have helped stoke growing unease over the unfolding nuclear crisis.
Shoppers in the region scrambled to hoard supplies of favourite Japanese food products, fearing contamination of future stocks, after radiation was unleashed from a stricken nuclear plant in quake-hit Japan.
The hoax text messages and emails, warning people to shelter from dangerous radioactive material, were reported to have spread as far afield as India.
Thought to have originated in the Philippines and purporting to be a BBC newsflash, the messages urge people to stay inside and swab their thyroid glands with iodine solution to guard against radiation sickness.
Japan's atomic emergency has sparked panic buying of iodine pills, even though experts warned they are of limited use. Iodine solution, commonly used as an antiseptic, is completely ineffective.
In Hong Kong, nervous parents queued for powdered milk formula across the city, anxious to stockpile the popular product as fears grew that future shipments could contain radioactive traces.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=178022
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US reminds Iran to halt any arms smuggling
17 March 2011
WASHINGTON: The Obama administration is implicitly criticizing Iran after Israel intercepted a ship carrying weapons it said was bound for Palestinian militants in Gaza.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement late Wednesday that the US condemns illicit smuggling of arms and ammunition. He said UN resolutions prohibit Iran, in particular, from exporting weapons and that “any activity to the contrary is another example of Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region.”
Israel said the ship intercepted Tuesday in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea had roughly 2,500 mortar shells, nearly 75,000 bullets and six anti-ship missiles.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article319876.ece
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Yemen expels foreign journalists over ‘illegal’ stay
16 March 2011,
SANAA — Four foreign journalists who violated Yemen’s residency laws have been expelled from the country, amid violent anti-regime protests, the state news agency Saba said Wednesday.
The report comes two days after media watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres accused Yemen of arresting four Western journalists while Britain said two British freelance reporters were to be expelled from the Arabian Peninsula country.
Yemen has “expelled four foreigners for staying illegally in the country and breaking Yemen’s residency laws,” Saba said quoting an information ministry official.
The four journalists were working “with foreign media without informing the authorities and without any authorisation from the ministry of information,” he said.
Two of the journalists “entered the country using a tourist visa and stayed after it expired” while the other two “entered the country on student visas to study Arabic but no longer attended the course.”
On Monday Reporters Without Borders accused Yemeni authorities of targeting foreign media to curb coverage of anti-regime protests which have rocked the country since the end of January.
The watchdog said police detained two US and two British journalists based in Sanaa at their apartment in the Yemeni capital.
Two of them, Joshua Maricich and Portia Walker, were deported to Ethiopia but the whereabouts of the other two, Haley Sweetland Edwards and Oliver Holmes, were not immediately known, the watchdog said.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/March/middleeast_March281.xml§ion=middleeast
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Two killed in Israeli airstrike near Gaza City
17 March 2011
A second body was yesterday found at the site of an Israeli airstrike near Gaza City which targeted a Hamas training ground near Gaza City, medical officials said.
Emergency services spokesman Adham Abu Selmiya said rescuers had found the body of a second person killed at the site, a training ground east of the city, raising the toll to two dead, and two injured in the air attack.
The attack targeted the Abu Jaarad training camp in the Zeitun district which was used by the Hamas security forces, witnesses said.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=178025
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10 militants killed in Orakzai gunbattle
17 March 2011
KALAYA: Ten militants were killed and one security man was injured in a clash in Ghaljo area of Upper Orakzai on Wednesday, sources said.
A security convoy coming from Bori to Ghaljo was attacked by militants. One security man received injuries in the ambush.
Security forces retaliated and an exchange of fire took place.
Officials said that 10 militants were killed and two vehicles destroyed in the fighting.
The militants denied they had suffered any loss of life.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/03/17/10-militants-killed-in-orakzai-gunbattle.html
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Rachel Corrie: A worldwide symbol of the Palestinian struggle
17 March 2011
GAZA STRIP: An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) bulldozer crushed her when she was kneeling in front of a Palestinian's home, while acting as a human shield in an attempt to prevent IDF forces from demolishing the home.
The IDF stated that the death was due to the restricted angle of view of the IDF Caterpillar D9 bulldozer driver, while International Solidarity Movement (ISM) eyewitnesses said "there was nothing to obscure the driver's view.”
Rachel, a student at Evergreen College in Olympia, Washington, had gone to Gaza as a member of the ISM in the Occupied Territories, to try to stem the destruction of Palestinian society. Through her death, Rachel has become a worldwide symbol of the Palestinian struggle.
Rachel is but one of many people killed by the Israeli military in the occupied territories. Many of the victims are Palestinian children. The US government, its allied regimes, and US-controlled transnational financial organizations are destroying the lives of millions of people in the world — in Iraq, in the Palestinian occupied territories, in Afghanistan, in Latin America, Africa, and elsewhere.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article319448.ece
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Saudi stability attributed to leadership’s open-door policy
By MUHAMMAD HUMAIDAN
17 March 2011
JEDDAH: An academic at Jeddah's King Abdulaziz University (KAU) attributed the Kingdom’s political stability to the open-door policy of the rulers.
“Any Saudi citizen, high or low, can meet Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah if he has a problem and get it redressed,” said Waheed Hashim, a political science professor at KAU.
He added that such close relations between the ruler and his subjects is the secret to the Kingdom’s social and political stability at a time when most Middle East countries are embroiled in public unrest.
“Saudi kings, since the inception of the Kingdom, have been keeping their doors open for all citizens irrespective of their social status. This policy has enabled rulers to understand the real problems of people and solve them, which in turn has cemented the mutual relations between the ruler and the ruled,” Hashim said.
A special feature of the relations between Saudi kings and their subjects has been that no intermediaries are allowed to come in between the two parties.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article319592.ece
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Another bomb package found
Hans David Tampubolon,
17 March 2011
Band founder and producer Ahmad Dhani receives a bomb packaged in book.
Jakarta Police operational bureau head Sr. Comr. Sujarno told reporters that the bomb was being defused and it was packaged in a book titled Yahudi Militan (Millitant Jews).
This is the fourth bomb packages sent to well known figures in the city.
The first bomb was sent Tuesday to Muslim scholar Ulil Abshar Abdalla. The bomb sent to Ulil exploded when officers tried to defuse it. The explosion cost an officer his left arm.
The second bomb was found later in Tuesday evening at the National Narcotics Agency
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/17/another-bomb-package-found.html
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Obama talks with Japan PM on nuclear threat
17 March 2011
President Barack Obama has spoken with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan about steps the U.S. is taking to ensure the safety of Americans in Japan - measures that go beyond what Japan has recommended for its own citizens.
The White House says Obama and Kan spoke by phone Wednesday evening about the crisis at a Japanese nuclear power plant that's emitting dangerous levels of radiation after it was damaged in an earthquake and tsunami.
A split between the two countries emerged when the U.S. recommended that Americans within 50 miles of the nuclear plant evacuate. That's more stringent than the 12-mile (19-kilometer) radius recommended by the Japanese.
A White House statement said the two leaders' emphasized their alliance and discussed what the U.S. is doing to ensure welfare of its citizens.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/17/obama-talks-with-japan-pm-nuclear-threat.html
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Jordan questions suspected militants
17 March 2011
AMMAN: A defense lawyer says Jordan's military prosecutor is questioning three suspected militants on suspicion of plotting to kill US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Lawyer Abdul-Same Mansour says the three Jordanian men were arrested last month and espouse the “takfiri” ideology — an extremist doctrine.
Prosecutors declined comment.
Abu-Mohammed Al-Maqdisi, known as the mentor of the slain leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, and three other militants are already on trial in Jordan's military court.
They are charged with recruiting militants in Jordan to join the Taleban in Afghanistan.
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article319543.ece
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Minister of State among Haj scam beneficiaries
By Nasir Iqbal
17 March 2011
ISLAMABAD: The Haj scam case took a new turn on Wednesday when the Supreme Court was informed that besides former federal minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi, some other important personalities, including Minister of State for Religious Affairs Shagufta Jumani, also benefited from the scandal.
A Federal Investigation Agency official, who is member of a team investigating the alleged mismanagement in the 2010 Haj operations, read out in the court a statement of Abid Munir, a Pakistani living in Madina, who alleged that 25 Saudi riyals had been paid to the minister of state for each of about 8,000 pilgrims against originally settled 10,000 Hajis who had to pay the same amount.
The allegation embarrassed even Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, the head of a four-judge special bench hearing the case, who said the court was feeling ashamed to be informed about the involvement of the woman minister.
FIA Director Hussain Asghar said that Shagufta Jumani had been denying the allegation.
Another statement recorded by Pakistan`s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mohammad Umar Ali Sherzai alleged that Hamid Kazmi had cut short his treatment abroad and rushed back to Pakistan to secure his quota of 6,000 pilgrims.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/03/17/minister-of-state-shagufta-jumani-among-haj-scam-beneficiaries-sc-told.html
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/uneasy-calm-after-bahrain-crackdown/d/4298