Saudi King’s Initiative on Interfaith Dialogue Finds Roots in India
New Age Islam News Bureau
10 March 2013
Pakistan
• ‘Resist those abusing and misinterpreting Islam’: Religious leaders
• Christian colony attack in violation of Islam: Pakistan Ulema Council
• US drone strike kills 2 in Pakistan
• Blast near Landi Kotal mosque kills 4-year-old girl: Official
• Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari seeks report of attacks on Christians
• 150 arrested for burning Christian homes in Pakistan
• 'Drunken row' between two friends sparked Pakistan's anti-Christian riot
• Rehman Malik urges nation to unite against terrorism
Mideast Asia
• Israeli police accused of desecrating Qur’an
• India’s IAEA vote hurt but ties fine, says Iran speaker
• South Yemen leaders push for participation in national talks
Africa
• 20 Boko Haram suspects, 2 soldiers killed in Nigeria
• Nigeria Islamists kill 7 foreign hostages
• The ‘good Muslim’ and the ‘bad Muslim’ in the African Sahara
Europe
• HRW demands action against religious militants in Pakistan
• Radical cleric Abu Qatada sent back to UK jail
• U.N. refugee chief sees increase in Syrian refugees
• UK military: Planes in Nigeria for Mali operation
Arab World
• Long-time refugees may get citizenship of Saudi Arabia
• Iraqi security forces surround protest site of Sunnis
• Syria rebels free 21 UN peacekeepers
• Salafi leader threatens popular resistance
• Syria Islamist rebels set up eastern council
• Jordan's parliament chooses prime minister for first time
• Small businesses must have one Saudi employee from next month
• Debate flares on 'Twitter revolutions,' Arab Spring
• Attacks, massacres mark two years of Syrian revolt
• Syrian regime bombs rebel-held city: activists
• Two Saudis sentenced to 15 years jail in treason trial
South Asia
• “Religious obligation” to bar Nasheed from upcoming election: Home Minister
• Afghan Taliban, US revive reconciliation talks in Qatar: Karzai
• Bangladesh policeman shot dead in clashes with Islamists
• Hindu family’s house burned down in arson attack in Bangladesh
• ‘War-time’ bullets found in Bangladesh capital
• NATO general takes hard line on Afghan detainee dispute
• Bombs, clashes with Karzai mar Chuck Hagel's Afghan trip
North America
• US citizen arrested for funding Maldivian terrorist in Lahore bombing
• Bin Laden son-in-law could yield vital info on Al-Qaeda
• US wants Iran help on missing FBI agent
Southeast Asia
• Indonesian provincial vote suggests religion card weakening
• Indonesia interfering in labour cases
India
• Saudi King’s Initiative on Interfaith Dialogue Finds Roots in India
• 'Terror accused dug 214-ft tunnel in Sabarmati jail'
• Indian P M calls for “free, fair and credible” elections in the Maldives
• 'Abu Hamza' surfaces in Bangalore module probe
• Yasin Malik detained at Srinagar airport, 'escorted to his home'
• Group visa for Pak nationals may be put on hold
• Success in India-Pakistan talks not a one day affair: Salman Khurshid
• Pakistan Prime Minister prays for peace, offers Chadar
• It could be cricketer Azharuddin vs Asaduddin Owaisi in Parliament elections 2014
• Ashraf strikes ‘home’ chord with Manmohan Singh
• At Sufi shrine, Pak PM gets Mughal-era salutation
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: 20 Boko Haram suspects, 2 soldiers killed in Nigeria
URL:
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Saudi King’s Initiative on Interfaith Dialogue Finds Roots in India
March 10, 2013
KOCHI, India — Swami Shankaracharya Onkaranand Saraswathi, head of Prayag Peeth, Parmatama Matt, argued that without Dharma (decree or custom) there is no meaning for religion. He was inaugurating the seminar on “Religion and Human Values” organized by International Interfaith Dialogue India (IIDI), an initiative, which the organizers say took energy from Custodian of Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s vision on interfaith dialogue.
The essence of religion, however, is ignored at our own peril and hence reverse manifestations are highlighted and imitated, the young swami lamented in the seminar in Kochi. An idle crowd of believers without dharma or values can never be a role model of any virtues, and at the same time it will result adversely.
Such assemblies, instead of influencing the society in a creative way, may fall in to a pseudo religious path or cult. Such cult intoxication may lead the society to a blind and illogical conclusion and eventually to utter anarchy.
“The basic source of all religions is one and the same and it is divine” said Shri Prasanna Venkatachariar Chaturvedi Swamy, the founder of Sri Ramanuja Mission Trust, Tamil Nadu. The real mission of the religion is the striving for the restoration of justice, peace and cooperation.
Every believer, regardless of his/her religion or faith should open their eyes to the society and should consider mutually in their miseries rather than jubilance or happiness.
If one’s faith is capable to identify the sorrows of his fellow beings and is willing to help the needy, pole-vaulting all the so-called religious barriers, it is the real testimony of the oneness of the divinity. And that is how we could accomplish the sublime mission of the religion.
All the holy scriptures are filled with the letters, words and sentences and they become alive and powerful only when the followers of the holy books are ready to volunteer to translate that holy scripts in to their lives without giving any room for misinterpretations. Unfortunately, however, this cardinal duty is being generally ignored by religions and this is the main cause of the present global crisis.
The seminar was presided by K.P. Ramanunni, the vice president of IIDI. The messages of Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer, the chief patron of IIDI, and Cardinal Mar George Alencherry, the major Archbishop of the Syro Malabar Archiepiscopal Church, were presented in video.
“I am not an ambassador of any particular religion, but is the peace ambassador of IIDI, and thereby am representing every religion,” proclaimed Padmabhushan Dr. K.J. Yesudas.
The recognition and acceptance of diversity is the core concept of interfaith approach, argued Fr. Albert Nambiaparambil CMI, the Secretary General of World Fellowship of Interreligious Councils.
“Muslims are far from embracing the true spirit of Islam and that is the main reason for their failure and decadence. The quintessence of Islam is justice, liberation from selfish motives and love,” argued Maulawi Jamaludeen Mankada Palayam Imam, Thiruvanantapuram.
Leaders of every religion should lead the venture of controlling the spread of communalism among their adherents called T. Arifali, the Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Kerala zone. Gopinath Muthukad showed some magic establishing the theme of the sameness of religions in the sphere of values.
N.M. Sharafudeen, the Secretary General of IIDI expressed vote of thanks. Over 200 representatives from various parts of Kerala participated in the seminar.
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130310156232
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Pakistan
‘Resist those abusing and misinterpreting Islam’: Religious leaders
March 10, 2013
Religious leaders at a meeting here yesterday called upon all other Islamic leaders to resist those who are spreading communalism and militancy in the country and misinterpreting Islam in religious sermons.
They also urged the religious leaders to preach true teachings of Islam to the people and make them aware of anti-Islam activities of the culprits.
There is no room for terrorism in Islam as it is a religion of peace, they said.
Islamic Foundation Bangladesh (IFB) arranged the meeting for Olama-Mashayekh and imams of the district at its auditorium in Kashipur area of the city. Over 200 from different areas of the district attended the meeting.
Chaired by Md Nizam Uddin, deputy director of IFB, the meeting was addressed. among others, by Maulana Mezbah Uddin, imam of Barisal Police Lines Mosque, Maulana Nazrul Islam, principal of DDF Alim Madrasa, Barisal and several olama-mashayek.
The speakers urged the imams to keep vigil so that no vested quarter could use the mosques for their political interests.
They also requested the imams to deliver special Khutba before the Juma prayers to make devotees aware of the evil activities of some vested quarters.
The speakers said imams and other Islamic scholars could play a pivotal role in preventing any bid to spread communalism and militancy in the country.
http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/resist-those-abusing-and-misinterpreting-islam/
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Christian colony attack in violation of Islam: Pakistan Ulema Council
March 10, 2013
LAHORE: The mob attack on a Christian colony in Lahore was in violation of Islamic laws that guarantee protection of minorities, Pakistan Ulema Council chief Allama Tahir Ashrafi said on Sunday.
More than 150 houses of Christians living in the Joseph Colony were torched by an angry mob on March 9 over alleged blasphemous remarks against Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) by Sawan Masih, a 28-year-old Christian sanitation worker.
According to a report by Radio Pakistan, Ashrafi – while addressing a press conference in Lahore – said Islam guarantees protection of life and property of non-Muslims.
He said that it is time to express solidarity with the members of the Christian community and to let them know that they are not alone.
Ashrafi further said that the blasphemy law must not be misused to persecute any one in Pakistan.
Stressing that non-Muslim citizens of Pakistan have equal rights, he said that the recent attack on the Christian community gave a bad name to Pakistan at the international level.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/518652/christian-colony-attack-in-violation-of-islam-allama-tahir-ashrafi/
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US drone strike kills 2 in Pakistan
PTI | Mar 10, 2013
ISLAMABAD: A US drone targeted a compound in the restive North Waziristan tribal region of Pakistan on Sunday, killing at least two persons, security officials said.
The CIA-operated spy plane targeted a compound in Muhammad Khel village in Datta Khel area, which has witnessed numerous drone strikes.
US officials describe North Waziristan Agency as a safe haven for Taliban and al-Qaida elements.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/US-drone-strike-kills-2-in-Pakistan/articleshow/18890050.cms
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Blast near Landi Kotal mosque kills 4-year-old girl: Official
March 10, 2013
PESHAWAR: A remote controlled bomb exploded near a mosque in Landi Kotal on Sunday, killing a four-year-old girl and wounding three others, an official said.
The bomb was planted beside the outer wall of the mosque in Landi Kotal town in the Khyber tribal region, local administration chief Shakeel Burki said.
“The blast killed a four-year-old girl and wounded three others, one of them seriously,” he said.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/518667/blast-near-landi-kotal-mosque-kills-4-year-old-girl-official/
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Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari seeks report of attacks on Christians
IANS | Mar 10, 2013
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has taken a serious note of attacks on the houses of Christians in Lahore and sought a report from the authorities over the incident, Xinhua reported.
Angry mob torched over 100 houses and shops of minority Christians in the city's Badami Bagh area after a Christian boy was accused of blasphemy, police and residents said.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistan-President-Asif-Ali-Zardari-seeks-report-of-attacks-on-Christians/articleshow/18887739.cms
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150 arrested for burning Christian homes in Pakistan
AP | Mar 10, 2013
LAHORE: Police in eastern Pakistan say they have arrested around 150 people accused of burning dozens of Christian homes in anger over alleged blasphemy.
Hundreds of angry Muslims rampaged through a Christian neighborhood in the city of Lahore on Saturday and burned around 170 houses. The incident started Friday when a Muslim accused a Christian of making offensive comments about Islam's Prophet Muhammad.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/150-arrested-for-burning-Christian-homes-in-Pakistan/articleshow/18891638.cms
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'Drunken row' between two friends sparked Pakistan's anti-Christian riot
AFP | Mar 10, 2013
LAHORE: A drunken row between two friends was the trigger for blasphemy allegations that prompted a mob of angry Pakistani Muslim protesters to burn more than 100 Christian homes, police and witnesses said.
More than 3,000 Muslims rampaged through Joseph Colony, a Christian area of the eastern city of Lahore, on Saturday after allegations that a Christian had made derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammed three days earlier.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Drunken-row-between-two-friends-sparked-Pakistans-anti-Christian-riot/articleshow/18891310.cms
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Rehman Malik urges nation to unite against terrorism
March 10, 2013
SIALKOT: Interior Minister Rehman Malik urged the nation on Saturday to unite against terrorism and militancy.
He was addressing participants of an inauguration ceremony of a newly established passport office at the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI).
The minister said that the government had managed to “control terrorism to a great extent” in Quetta and that the situation “was improving all over Pakistan except Karachi”.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2013/03/09/rehman-malik-urges-nation-to-unite-against-terrorism/
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Mideast Asia
Israeli police accused of desecrating Qur’an
9 March 2013
JERUSALEM: Palestinians enraged by reports that an Israeli policeman mishandled a Qur’an copy battled riot officers at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound with stones and petrol bombs yesterday, police and witnesses said.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said that about 100 protesters, many of them masked, confronted police who fired stun grenades in response.
“Petrol bombs were thrown at police,” he told AFP. “Several police officers were injured by stones that were thrown and were evacuated to hospital.”
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/middle-east/israeli-police-accused-desecrating-qur%E2%80%99
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India’s IAEA vote hurt but ties fine, says Iran speaker
Mar 10 2013
New Delhi : Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Ardashir Larijani has described India’s voting against Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2005 — when he was the country’s nuclear negotiator — as a blow but added that leaders of the two countries are not going to make a big deal out of it.
Larijani told The Indian Express Editor-in-chief Shekhar Gupta on NDTV’s Walk the Talk programme, “It is a major difference. I think both countries should pay more attention to each other. If we have a strategic problem, it is going to affect all our relations in a major way.”
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/indias-iaea-vote-hurt-but-ties-fine-says-iran-speaker/1085820/
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South Yemen leaders push for participation in national talks
March 10, 2013
DUBAI — South Yemen leaders vowed at a meeting in Dubai to continue talks on participating in a national dialogue this month to end the country's political crisis, as a separatist faction withdrew from the meeting.
"We have decided to continue the meetings to make a decision on our participation" in the UN-brokered talks which will begin on March 18, said Salem Saleh Mohammed on Sunday. He did not say where the meetings would be held.
Southern leaders met in Dubai late on Saturday in a gathering attended by UN envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar.
Full report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130310156252
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Africa
20 Boko Haram suspects, 2 soldiers killed in Nigeria
March 10, 2013
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — Nigeria’s army said Saturday it had launched an operation in the northern city of Maiduguri, the bastion of militant group Boko Haram, that led to the deaths of 20 suspected militants and two soldiers.
The soldiers Friday stormed a location where some Boko Haram men were found and “we exchanged fire with them and about 20 of them died in the crossfire. We also lost two of our soldiers while three were injured,” said army spokesman Lt Colonel Sagir Musa.
Full report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130310156239
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Nigeria Islamists kill 7 foreign hostages
Reuters | Mar 10, 2013
DUBAI: Nigeria-based Islamist group Ansaru said on Saturday it had killed seven foreign hostages it seized on February 7 from a construction company in Nigeria, SITE Monitoring Service said. The group issued a statement in Arabic and English on an affiliate of the Sinam al-Islam network accompanied by screen shots of a video purporting to show the dead hostages, SITE said.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Nigeria-Islamists-kill-7-foreign-hostages/articleshow/18886969.cms
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The ‘good Muslim’ and the ‘bad Muslim’ in the African Sahara
Micah Roshan Reddy
March 10, 2013
Mungo Park, the famous 18th century Scottish explorer, had few good things to say about the Muslims he encountered on his journeys through the Sahara. He spoke of the Moors as “a people who study mischief as a science and exult in the miseries and misfortunes of their fellow creatures.” “Treacherous,” “malevolent,” “ferocious” and “fanatical” were some of the adjectives he reserved for the Muslims of North Africa’s great desert, that “fearful void.”
Western publics relished the orientalist literature of European travellers like Park, whose best-sellers fired the imaginations of an increasingly literate population.
Full report at:
http://www.egyptindependent.com/opinion/%E2%80%98good-muslim-and-%E2%80%98bad-muslim-african-sahara
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Europe
HRW demands action against religious militants in Pakistan
March 10, 2013
KARACHI: Pakistan’s government should immediately take legal action against Islamist militant groups and others responsible for threats and violence against minorities and other vulnerable groups, Human Rights Watch demanded on Saturday in the aftermath of devastating attacks on Christian minority in Lahore.
While international and Pakistani human rights groups have long called for the reform or repeal of the blasphemy law, it has come under renewed scrutiny after a mob torched dozens of houses located in a Christian neighbourhood in Lahore, forcing hundreds of Christians to flee.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2013/03/09/attack-on-christians-hrw-demands-action-against-religious-militants/
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Radical cleric Abu Qatada sent back to UK jail
Mar 10 2013
London : Radical preacher Abu Qatada, often referred to as Osama bin Laden's point man in Europe, was sent back to jail by a British judge after being arrested for alleged breach of bail conditions.
"The appellant's bail is revoked forthwith, and he is ordered to be detained," judge Stephen Irwin said in an order, adding that Qatada would be detained at the high-security Belmarsh prison in southeast London.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/radical-cleric-abu-qatada-sent-back-to-uk-jail/1085927/
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U.N. refugee chief sees increase in Syrian refugees
March 10, 2013
The U.N. chief for refugees says the number of refugees from Syria could increase by “two or three times” the present level by the end of the year if the country’s conflict doesn’t end.
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres says the international community should work toward ending the conflict and says there is a “risk of an explosion” throughout the already volatile Middle East region if it continues much longer.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/un-refugee-chief-sees-increase-in-syrian-refugees/article4494565.ece
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UK military: Planes in Nigeria for Mali operation
March 10, 2013
KANO, Nigeria — The United Kingdom's military says its warplanes recently spotted in Nigeria's capital city were there to move soldiers to aid the French intervention in Mali — not to rescue kidnapped foreign hostages.
The Ministry of Defense said Sunday that the planes had ferried Nigerian troops and equipment to Bamako, Mali. An Islamic extremist group in Nigeria called Ansaru partially blamed the presence of those planes as an excuse for claiming Saturday that it killed seven foreign hostages it had taken.
Full report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130310156263
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Arab World
Long-time refugees may get citizenship of Saudi Arabia
10 March 2013
Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal yesterday indicated that Saudi Arabia may give citizenship to refugees who have been living in the Kingdom for several years as part of government’s efforts to correct their residency situation.
Addressing a forum for developing disorganized residential districts in the Makkah region, Prince Khaled said the project would focus mainly on people living in these districts, especially foreign refugees like the Burmese.
“We have agreed with the Labour Ministry to create jobs for them. We also told big companies implementing projects in the region to make use of these residents… and one day they become good citizens,” the governor said.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/longtime-refugees-may-get-citizenship
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Iraqi security forces surround protest site of Sunnis
March 10, 2013
BAGHDAD: Iraqi authorities deployed security forces around the main rallying point for Sunni protests in western Iraq overnight and say the area has become a haven for terrorists.
The head of police for the western Anbar region, Hadi Arzeij, announced the operation in a televised press conference Saturday.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2013/03/09/iraqi-security-forces-surround-protest-site-of-sunnis/
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Syria rebels free 21 UN peacekeepers
AP | Mar 9, 2013
BEIRUT: Syrian rebels on Saturday freed 21 UN peacekeepers after holding them hostage for four days, ending a sudden entanglement with the world body that earned those trying to oust President Bashar al-Assad a flood of negative publicity.
The episode is bound to prompt new questions about UN operations in war-torn Syria. The peacekeepers were part of a force that has spent four decades monitoring an Israeli-Syrian cease-fire without incident.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Syria-rebels-free-21-UN-peacekeepers/articleshow/18884439.cms
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Salafi leader threatens popular resistance
09/03/2013
A prominent Salafi leader and former presidential hopeful Hazem Salah Abu Ismail warned Saturday of “popular” resistance to pre-empt any attempt by opposition groups or trials to impose a government to reinstate military rule.
Abu Ismail’s comments came today during a news conference to announce the formation of a new electoral alliance joining hard-line Salafi parties.
The new block includes the parties of Raya — which is headed by Abu Ismail himself — and Fadila, Asala and Labour as well as the Free Islamic Coalition and General Islamic Current.
Citizens in the Suez Canal region in February started to collect petitions to mandate the army to rule their governorates instead of President Mohamed Morsy.
Full report at:
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/salafi-leader-threatens-popular-resistance
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Syria Islamist rebels set up eastern council
AFP | Mar 10, 2013
BEIRUT: Rebel groups including the jihadist Al-Nusra Front have set up a religious council to administer affairs in the east of Syria which is mostly under their control, a rights watchdog said on Sunday.
"God commanded the Islamic battalions to form a religious council in the east to administer the affairs of the people and fill a security gap," the groups said in a statement distributed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Syria-Islamist-rebels-set-up-eastern-council/articleshow/18891432.cms
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Jordan's parliament chooses prime minister for first time
AP | Mar 10, 2013
AMMAN, Jordan: Jordan's Parliament voted on Saturday for the monarchy's caretaker prime minister to form a new Cabinet, the first time in the country's history that the legislature rather than the king has decided who will be head of government.
Abdullah Ensour, a former liberal lawmaker known for fiery criticisms of the government when he was in parliament, was selected as part of a reform program aimed at defusing political unrest to stave off an Arab Spring-style uprising.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Jordans-parliament-chooses-prime-minister-for-first-time/articleshow/18887026.cms
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Small businesses must have one Saudi employee from next month
10 March 2013
Small businesses with fewer than 10 workers must employ at least one Saudi worker from next month, the Ministry of Labor has announced.
The ministry recently revealed that 340,000 businesses have no Saudis working for them.
These businesses have been given a grace period to rectify the situation. If a business fails to comply, its work license and worker residence permits will not be renewed.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/small-businesses-must-have-one-saudi-employee-next-month
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Debate flares on 'Twitter revolutions,' Arab Spring
March 10, 2013
How important were Twitter, Facebook and other social media in toppling regimes in the Arab Spring uprisings?
Amid a fierce debate in academic circles, an upcoming book argues that social media and new technology made a key difference in successful uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt
and helped foster grassroots movements in other Arab nations.
The book by Philip Howard and colleagues concludes that digital media was "consistently one of the most important sufficient and necessary conditions" for the Arab Spring movements.
"There was a longstanding democracy movement in these countries that for many years tried many tactics but none of them worked," Howard told AFP.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/northamerica/Debate-flares-on-Twitter-revolutions-Arab-Spring/Article1-1024065.aspx
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Attacks, massacres mark two years of Syrian revolt
March 10, 2013
A wave of bloody massacres and attacks has taken place since the revolt against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime broke out on March 15, 2011:
2011
March 23: At least 100 people killed by security forces during demonstrations in the southern town of
Daraa, cradle of the uprising, activists and witnesses say.
July 31: About 100 people reported killed in a huge army offensive in the protest hub of Hama in central Syria.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/restofasia/Attacks-massacres-mark-two-years-of-Syrian-revolt/Article1-1024019.aspx
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Syrian regime bombs rebel-held city: activists
March 10, 2013
Syrian government airstrikes have killed at least 14 people in the northern province of Raqqa less than a week after rebels seized the area’s provincial capital, their first since the start of Syria’s civil war, anti-regime activists said on Sunday.
The city of Raqqa, home to a half million people before Syria’s uprising, could prove a test case for how rebels administer areas they capture. The rebel groups that led the battle for the city are strongly Islamist, some of them extremists, and videos released over the weekend indicate some fighters have summarily executed prisoners.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/syrian-regime-bombs-rebelheld-city-activists/article4494562.ece
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Two Saudis sentenced to 15 years jail in treason trial
March 10, 2013
JEDDAH — The Riyadh District Court sentenced two Saudis in a treason trial to a total of 15 years in prison after they have been found guilty of forming an association to incite sedition and disrupt the country’s security.
The judge also ordered that the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (SCPRA) be dissolved and its funds as well as publications be confiscated because it did not obtain a license to operate from concerned authorities.
Full report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130310156164
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South Asia
“Religious obligation” to bar Nasheed from upcoming election: Home Minister
By MinivanNews | March 10th, 2013
Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed has claimed it is a religious obligation to bar former President Mohamed Nasheed from contesting the upcoming presidential elections, scheduled to take place on September 7.
Speaking at a rally held by Progressive Party of Maldives’ (PPM) presidential primary candidate Abdulla Yameen on Saturday (March 9), Jameel accused Nasheed of being a “coward” who ran away after resigning from power, adding that he no longer had the courage to lead the country.
Full report at:
http://minivannews.com/politics/religious-obligation-to-bar-nasheed-from-upcoming-election-home-minister-dr-jameel-54318
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Afghan Taliban, US revive reconciliation talks in Qatar: Karzai
March 10, 2013
KABUL: The Afghan Taliban and the United States have been holding talks in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Sunday.
The Taliban suspended the talks one year ago, saying Washington was giving mixed signals on the nascent Afghan reconciliation process.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2013/03/10/afghan-taliban-us-revive-reconciliation-talks-in-qatar-karzai/
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Bangladesh policeman shot dead in clashes with Islamists
March 10, 2013
A policeman was killed early Sunday in a gunfight with Islamists in a remote southern village, as violence over war crime convictions of Islamic leaders continued to mount in Bangladesh. Police said a constable was hit by a bullet after around 1,000 supporters of the country's largest
Islamic part, Jamaat-e-Islami, attacked police entering a village in Khulna district and tried to detain a Jamaat activist on charges of violence.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/bangladesh/Bangladesh-policeman-shot-dead-in-clashes-with-Islamists/Article1-1024078.aspx
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Hindu family’s house burned down in arson attack in Bangladesh
March 10, 2013
The house of a Hindu family in Laksam upazila of Comilla was burned down in an arson attack by unidentified miscreants on Friday night, said police.
However, the three dwellers of the house, belonging to an expatriate, Ratan Chandra Das, escaped unhurt.
Ratan’s wife Milon Rani Das said the fire gutted Tk 1.70 lakh and 20 bhories of gold ornaments alongside furniture and rice.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/hindu-familys-house-burned-down-in-arson-attack/
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‘War-time’ bullets found in Bangladesh capital
March 10, 2013
A total of 856 rifle bullets were found under the ground inside T&T Colony in the capital’s Banani area yesterday.
Locals found the bullets around 12:30pm when they were digging up the ground to build a toilet inside the colony area and then informed the police, said Bhuiyan Mahbub Hasan, officer-in-charge of Banani Police Station.
The bullets might have been left by the Pakistani occupation force during the Liberation War in 1971, the OC said.
http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/war-time-bullets-found-in-capital/
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Nato general takes hard line on Afghan detainee dispute
March 10, 2013
KABUL: The head of the Nato-led force in Afghanistan has vowed that the long-delayed transfer of detainees from US to Afghan control will not take place if they pose a threat to international troops.
The transfer of a final group of detainees at Bagram jail has been a cause of friction between President Hamid Karzai and the coalition, and a handover ceremony was abruptly cancelled on Saturday.
“There’s probably a difference of opinion. We certainly don’t have anyone in the detention facility that we think doesn’t deserve to be there,” General Joseph Dunford, commander of Nato forces, said.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2013/03/10/nato-general-takes-hard-line-on-afghan-detainee-dispute/
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Bombs, clashes with Karzai mar Chuck Hagel's Afghan trip
AP | Mar 10, 2013
KABUL, Afghanistan: Two suicide bombings and a host of looming disagreements with the Afghan president cast a shadow on Saturday over US defense secretary Chuck Hagel's first visit to Afghanistan since taking the post.
Nineteen Afghans were killed, including eight children, in the suicide attacks in Kabul and in the eastern Khost province. A US contractor was killed and four soldiers injured when attackers thought to be Afghan soldiers stormed their base and opened fire Friday, just hours before Hagel arrived.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Bombs-clashes-with-Karzai-mar-Chuck-Hagels-Afghan-trip/articleshow/18886096.cms
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North America
US citizen arrested for funding Maldivian terrorist in Lahore bombing
By MinivanNews | March 9th, 2013
A US citizen has been charged in the States with conspiracy to provide material support to a Maldivian terrorist who helped carry out a deadly attack in Pakistan in 2009.
48-year-old Reaz Qadir Khan, a waste water treatment plant operator for the city of Portland, US, was arrested on Tuesday (March 5) on a charge of providing advice and funds to Maldivian national Ali Jaleel.
On May 27, 2009, Jaleel – along with two other men – stormed Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) headquarters in Lahore and detonated a car bomb that left around 23 people dead and a further 300 injured.
Full report at:
http://minivannews.com/politics/us-citizen-arrested-for-funding-maldivian-terrorist-in-lahore-bombing-54230
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Bin Laden son-in-law could yield vital info on Al-Qaeda
March 10, 2013
WASHINGTON — Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, the charismatic Al-Qaeda spokesman, fundraiser and son-in-law to Osama Bin Laden, is likely to have a vast trove of knowledge about the terror network’s central command but not much useful information about current threats or plots, intelligence officials and other experts say.
Abu Ghaith pleaded not guilty Friday to conspiring to kill Americans in propaganda videos that warned of further assaults against the United States as devastating as the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon that killed nearly 3,000 people.
Full report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130310156233
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US wants Iran help on missing FBI agent
10 March 2013
WASHINGTON: The White House says it is looking forward to Iran helping to locate retired FBI agent Robert Levinson, who went missing six years ago while on a trip to the Islamic Republic.
The anniversary of Levinson’s disappearance fell yesterday, and White House spokesman Jay Carney said Washington still placed a high priority on finding Levinson and bringing him home.
“The Iranian government previously offered assistance in locating Mr. Levinson, and we look forward to receiving this assistance, even as we disagree on other key issues,” Carney said.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/world/us-wants-iran-help-missing-fbi-agent
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Southeast Asia
Indonesian provincial vote suggests religion card weakening
March 10, 2013
JAKARTA — Indonesia’s most populous province has re-elected its conservative Muslim governor, but by such a narrow margin that it suggests the religious card may be losing its power to win votes in the world’s largest Islamic society.
Last week’s West Java election, the results of which were announced this week, comes amid criticism that while President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s government has largely tamed Islamic militants, it is standing aside as religious hardliners muscle into the mainstream political debate ahead of next year’s presidential and general election.
Full report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130310156236
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Indonesia interfering in labor cases
10 March 2013
Labor Minister Adel Fakeih refused to sign a draft agreement presented by the Indonesian Ministry of Labor and Immigration regulating the return of Indonesian labor to their country.
The refusal was based on Saudi authorities assertion that Jakarta wanted to interfere in labor cases involving Indonesians in Saudi courts.
Fakeih told Muhaymin Iskander, his Indonesian counterpart, during a meeting in Jeddah this week that Saudi Arabia doesn’t want the independence of the Saudi legal system affected, according to a source.
The source said the two ministers agreed on upholding the privacy of the Saudi families and agreed on the insurance, the ceiling of salaries and work hours.
Fakeih asked that the draft contain a clause mandating that the Indonesian government should give training and orientation to the Indonesian labor prior to their arrival in the Kingdom. The training will be conducted by an international consultant, who will train labor in seven countries.
Jakarta requested that the Kingdom allow Indonesian nurses to work in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi officials were favorable to the request, but they said that the nurses should be trained.
The number of Indonesian workers in the Kingdom currently stands at half a million.
http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/indonesia-interfering-labor-cases
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India
'Terror accused dug 214-ft tunnel in Sabarmati jail'
March 10, 2013
In a shocking discovery that could spell more trouble for the Sabarmati Central Jail authorities in Ahmedabad, police have found that the tunnel dug by Ahmedabad serial blasts accused was 214 feet long and not 26 feet as originally said.
On February 10, authorities stumbled upon the tunnel, which they said was 26-feet long, starting under barrack No 4 where 14 of the 68 accused of the serial blasts case were lodged.
"Inspection by Crime Branch and city fire department has revealed that it is about 214 feet long," DCP Crime Branch Himanshu Shukla told PTI on Saturday.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/ahmedabad/Terror-accused-dug-214-ft-tunnel-in-Sabarmati-jail/Article1-1023995.aspx
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Indian Prime Minister calls for “free, fair and credible” elections in the Maldives
By JJ Robinson | March 9th, 2013
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has highlighted “free, fair and credible” elections as the “best course” for overcoming political uncertainty in the Maldives.
In a statement, Singh - referring to last year’s controversial transfer of power - noted that “there have been unfortunate problems in the Maldives after the February 2012 event.”
“We believe that the best course is to have elections to the office of the president, which are due in September, 2013,” Singh said.
Full report at:
http://minivannews.com/politics/indian-prime-minister-calls-for-%E2%80%9Cfree-fair-and-credible%E2%80%9D-elections-in-the-maldives-54271
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'Abu Hamza' surfaces in Bangalore module probe
Mar 10 2013
Bangalore : A man identified as ‘the professor’ in the recent probe into a group of youths with alleged Lashkar-e-Toiba links held from Bangalore, Hubli, Hyderabad and Nanded has been identified by investigators as Abdul Bari alias Abu Hamza. The 50-year-old is wanted in India for a decade now for attacks dating back to the November 21, 2002, blast at Hyderabad’s Dilsukhnagar Sai Baba temple.
Believed to be based in Saudi Arabia, Bari was a key figure in the alleged plot to recruit young Muslims in the four cities to attack right-wing elements, probe by the Bangalore police and National Investigation Agency (NIA) has revealed. The former Hyderabad resident is identified in police records as a Lashkar handler with ISI links.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/abu-hamza-surfaces-in-bangalore-module-probe/1085789/
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Yasin Malik detained at Srinagar airport, 'escorted to his home'
PTI | Mar 10, 2013
SRINAGAR: JKLF chairman Yasin Malik was today detained at Srinagar Airport soon after his arrival from Delhi and 'escorted to his home' here.
Police sources said that Malik, who returned from Pakistan after over seven-week stay yesterday, was detained at the airport and escorted to his home at Maisuma.
Malik, however, claimed that he has been put under house arrest.
"Malik was taken into custody by police within the airport premises and later taken out through the back gate," a spokesman of JKLF said.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Yasin-Malik-detained-at-Srinagar-airport-escorted-to-his-home/articleshow/18892106.cms
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Group visa for Pak nationals may be put on hold
PTI | Mar 10, 2013
NEW DELHI: After suspending visa on arrival for Pakistani senior citizens, India may put on hold the proposed group visa facility to the nationals of that country in the wake of the unease in bilateral ties following the killing of two Indian soldiers along the LoC.
The visa on arrival facility for senior citizens — part of the new relaxed India-Pakistan visa agreement — was put on hold by India hours before its operationalization on January 15 following heightened tension along the line of control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Group-visa-for-Pak-nationals-may-be-put-on-hold/articleshow/18889932.cms
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Success in India-Pakistan talks not a one day affair: Salman Khurshid
PTI | Mar 10, 2013
GHAZIABAD: Terming as "unofficial" Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf's visit to India, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid today said success in bilateral issues involving the two neighbours is a time taking affair.
The Minister also said that he would not be able to give a time frame as to when official talks between the two nations could take place in the future.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Success-in-India-Pakistan-talks-not-a-one-day-affair-Salman-Khurshid/articleshow/18890746.cms
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Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Ashraf prays for peace, offers chadar
ByKshitiz Gaur & Palak Nandi, TNN | Mar 10, 2013
AJMER: Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and his family members offered a 42-metre green and blue-coloured velvet chadar at the Ajmer dargah on Saturday evening.
Ashraf wished peace, especially in Pakistan, and better bilateral relations between India and Pakistan. He also put Rs 11,000 (in Pak currency) in two badi degs (huge pots) and a closed envelope as a nazarana (gift) to his khadim Sayed Bilal Chishty who performed rituals for him. Ashraf, wife Nusarat and children spent nearly 40 minutes in the dargah and sat on the floor inside the crypt and offered prayers.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Pakistan-Prime-Minister-Raja-Ashraf-prays-for-peace-offers-chadar/articleshow/18885949.cms
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It could be cricketer Azharuddin vs Asaduddin Owaisi in Parliament elections 2014
ByJinka Nagaraju, TNN | Mar 10, 2013
HYDERABAD: In what may turn out to be one of the most interesting poll contests in 2014, the Congress might field former cricketer Md Azharuddin against MIM's Asaduddin Owaisi from the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency.
The MIM and Congress have fallen apart of recent, and its president Asaduddin has taken on chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy after dubbing him as communal. The move to pit Azhar against his friend Asaduddin is Kiran Kumar Reddy's move to get back at the MIM, said sources. Incidentally, the CM and Azhar too are good friends from their cricketing days.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/It-could-be-cricketer-Azharuddin-vs-Asaduddin-Owaisi-in-Lok-Sabha-elections-2014/articleshow/18885543.cms
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Ashraf strikes ‘home’ chord with Manmohan Singh
BySachin Parashar, TNN | Mar 10, 2013
JAIPUR: In his meeting with Indian foreign minister Salman Khurshid here on Saturday, Pakistani PM Raja Pervez Ashraf reached out to his counterpart Manmohan Singh as he spoke about the peace message of Khwaja Garib Nawaz, the sufi saint whose Dargah is located at Ajmer. While thanking Singh for facilitating his first visit to Ajmer Sharif, Ashraf ``informally'' told Khurshid how he was fond of the fact that he and Singh belonged to the same region in Pakistan.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Ashraf-strikes-home-chord-with-Manmohan-Singh/articleshow/18885545.cms
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At Sufi shrine, Pak PM gets Mughal-era salutation
Zia Haq, Hindustan Times
March 09, 2013
When Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf stepped into Ajmer Sharif on Saturday, he witnessed a spectacle of rituals which hasn't changed much since the days of Mughal emperor Akbar, who had come here wishing for a son.
A pair of 16th-century drums placed atop the shrine's ramparts, known as "shaaziyane nakkare", was sounded as part of a Mughal-era salutation reserved for heads of states and royalty. "I had the good fortune of kissing the holy shrine. I wish peace for the world and progress for Pakistan and well-being of my family," Ashraf wrote in the visitor's book.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Rajasthan/At-Sufi-shrine-Pak-PM-gets-Mughal-era-salutation/Article1-1023932.aspx
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/saudi-king’s-initiative-interfaith-dialogue/d/10714