Obama to snap terror-Muslim link
Michigan Muslim leader: Pix of slain Imam troublingSadr supporters reject leading candidates for Iraqi PM
US 'reviewing' Iraq killing video posted on WikiLeaks
Jerusalem patriarch: Hamas protecting Christians
US, Russia to sign nuclear arms treaty
US says no to civil nuclear deal with Pakistan
China to back Pak demand for N-deal with US: Report
Study finds massive job discrimination against French Muslims
Behind France's Islamic veil
Indonesian couple face caning for adultery: Police
Sharjah launches crackdown on 'humble lungi'
Mumbai gunmen denied Muslim burial secretly interred in January
Iraqi teen would-be suicide bomber held
Prof. Akhtarul Wassey is the new Vice-Chairman of Delhi Urdu Academy
Jamiat-e-Ulema's march for Muslim reservation
Conferece on the life of Sahaba(R.A.)
Pennsylvania: Silent Plea in Terrorism Case
Malaysian Indian sentenced to death for killing 3 kids
US-Israeli dispute still unresolved: Netanyahu
2 more Palestinian families get eviction warrant in East Jerusalem
Israel PM doubts sanctions have 'teeth' to dissuade Iran
Brithish Army criticised for 'mosques' on firing range
Kidnapped Greek curator is freed by Taliban
Qatari diplomat detained after incident on US plane
At Last Allowed, Muslim Scholar Visits
Pakistan wants Afghan, Saudi, US input on Bhutto report
Iran ridicules Obama's 'cowboy' nuke stance
Taliban release new video of captured US soldier
Bangladesh convicts, jails 29 paramilitary mutineers
Bangladesh calls in army to distribute water
Kyrgyzstan government ousted in violent revolt
Israel main threat to Middle East peace: Erdogan
CROSS BORDER LOVE STORY GRIPS INDIA AND PAKISTAN
I have done what was most amicable: Shoaib Malik
Muslims vow to unseat Zionists
Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike to protest deteriorating living conditions
Key conspirator of Pune blast identified, says ATS
Lajpat Nagar blast: Six convicted
Compiled by Akshay Kumar Ojha
Photo: This undated file photo provided by Muslim Alliance of North America shows Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah, imam of the Masjid Al-Haqq mosque in Detroit
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Obama to snap terror-Muslim link
Apr 8, 2010
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama's advisers plan to remove terms such as "Islamic radicalism" from a document outlining national security strategy and will use the new version to emphasize that the US does not view Muslim nations through the lens of terrorism, counterterrorism officials say.
The change would be a significant shift in the National Security Strategy, a document that previously outlined the Bush Doctrine of preventive war. It currently states, "The struggle against militant Islamic radicalism is the great ideological conflict of the early years of the 21st century."
The officials described the changes on condition of anonymity because the document is still being written and is unlikely to be released for weeks, and the White House would not discuss it. But rewriting the strategy document is the latest example of Obama putting his stamp on US foreign policy, as with his promises to dismantle nuclear weapons and limit the situations in which they can be used.
The revisions are part of a larger effort about which the White House talks openly, one that seeks to change not just how the US talks to Muslim nations, but also what it talks to them about, from health care and science to business startups and education.
That shift away from terrorism has been building for a year, since Obama went to Cairo and promised a "new beginning" in the relationship between the US and the Muslim world. The White House believes the previous administration based that relationship entirely on fighting terrorism and winning the war of ideas. "You take a country where the overwhelming majority are not going to become terrorists, and you go in and say, 'We're building you a hospital so you don't become terrorists.' That doesn't make much sense," National Security Council staffer Pradeep Ramamurthy said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Obama-to-snap-terror-Muslim-link/articleshow/5772094.cms
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Michigan Muslim leader: Pix of slain Imam troubling
By JEFF KAROUB
DETROIT — A Muslim civil rights group released crime scene photos Wednesday of the body of a mosque leader shot 20 times during an FBI raid — images the group's director says suggest the imam likely had to defend himself against a vicious dog attack before he was killed.
FBI agents were trying to arrest Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah on a variety of federal charges during a raid in October on a warehouse in Dearborn, a Detroit suburb. The FBI said Abdullah resisted arrest and fired a gun, prompting agents to fire on him. An FBI dog was killed during the raid.
Dawud Walid, who heads the Council on American-Islamic Relations' Michigan chapter, said three of the five photos his group released Wednesday show Abdullah sustained facial wounds he believes were from the dog. He said the large wounds were located on various parts of Abdullah's head, indicating they were inflicted while he was struggling.
"It appears to be obvious that the dog wasn't scraping on him or chewing on him when he was dead," said Walid, whose group is conducting its own investigation and sent the autopsy report and all 75 crime scene photos to an outside expert for review.
"We don't know if he had a weapon or not, but most people, if they're being mauled by a dog and they have a (gun), they're not going to think about whether they're going to be shot," Walid said. "Their imminent threat would be the dog."
The Associated Press has chosen not to distribute the photos due to their graphic nature.
Local and federal authorities are still investigating and have said little about what transpired the night of the raid.
An FBI spokeswoman, Sandra Berchtold, said Wednesday that the bureau would not be commenting until those investigations are completed. And Dearborn police Chief Ronald Haddad said in February that his department's investigation would take several more weeks. City spokeswoman Mary Laundroche said Wednesday that Haddad was on vacation and that she would try to reach someone else who could comment for the department.
Walid said CAIR was denied its request for any warehouse video surveillance footage of the clash and the results of the examination of the dog's body. He said CAIR has sent the crime scene photos and autopsy report to noted Pennsylvania pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht for review. The former Allegheny County medical examiner has conducted high-profile autopsies of Elvis Presley and slain child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey.
In February, Wayne County's chief medical examiner, Dr. Carl Schmidt, released the autopsy report and said there was no distinct pattern to the facial wounds. He said he didn't know if they were dog bites.
Abdullah, who was also known as Christopher Thomas, was the imam of a small mosque in Detroit that served mostly black Muslims. The raid stemmed from an FBI investigation of Abdullah and 11 associates for various crimes, chief among them conspiracy to sell stolen goods. Abdullah's associates were arrested without incident.
The bureau accused Abdullah of spreading a radical anti-government ideology that called for an Islamic state within the U.S. His family and supporters deny those allegations and say the shooting of Abdullah was an act of brutality aimed at a black Muslim. The government was not considering terrorism-related charges against any of those tied to the case.
In addition to the police investigation, the shooting is being examined by the FBI's Inspection Division, which will send its findings to the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.
Walid said members of Michigan's various Muslim communities have raised concerns about what they regard as preferential treatment for the dog, which was airlifted for medical care and given a memorial service. Wherever he speaks, Walid said, "there's at least one person who said they treated a man like a dog and a dog like a man."
"Technically, that dog may have been a law enforcement officer, but that dog wasn't a human being who swore an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States," Walid said. "It really has offended a lot of people's sensibilities."
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press.
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Sadr supporters reject leading candidates for Iraqi PM
8 April 2010
The Iraqi political group of radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr has rejected both of the front-running candidates for prime minister.
The members of the Sadrist bloc voted for former Interim Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari in a referendum.
The Sadrist bloc of 40 parliamentary seats could have swung the decision for either Iyad Allawi or Nouri Maliki who lead the two biggest political blocs.
The decision means government-forming negotiations have become more complex.
It may take months, and not weeks, for the parties to form the coalitions necessary to get enough seats to form a governing majority.
The referendum offered a choice of five candidates, all of them Shias - Mr Maliki, Mr Allawi, Mr Jaafari, Vice-President Adel Abdel Mahdi, and Jaafar Mohammed Baqir Sadr, a second cousin of Moqtada Sadr and son of the revered Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Sadiq Sadr, who was assassinated during the rule of Saddam Hussein.
Crushed
In the informal poll of grass-roots supporters, Mr Maliki came only fourth, with 10% of the votes.
The man who heads the coalition which narrowly won the election, Iyad Allawi, came behind Mr Maliki with 9% of the vote.
Mr Jaafari, a former doctor, headed the American-appointed interim government in 2005.
He was seen at the time as a popular leader who wanted to unify Sunni and Shia interests.
He was replaced by Mr Maliki as head of the largest Shia coalition in 2006.
As prime minister, Mr Maliki crushed the military wing of the Sadr organisation, the Mehdi Army, in an offensive during 2008.
If the Sadrist movement had backed one of the two top contenders their role as kingmakers would have been clear the BBC's Jim Muir reports from Baghdad.
The bloc's choice of Mr Jaafari is not likely to be viewed with enthusiasm by other political blocs, our correspondent says.
It is a month since the general election was concluded.
None of the political groups won a big enough majority to form a government.
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US 'reviewing' Iraq killing video posted on WikiLeaks
Apr 8, 2010
The US military is reviewing a video of a controversial helicopter attack on a group of people in Iraq in 2007, officials say.
The review comes after footage of the attack was published online by the website WikiLeaks, gaining 4.1 million YouTube viewings.
There are, however, no plans to reopen an investigation into the case, a US Central Command spokesman says.
An earlier probe into the case cleared the helicopter crew of any war crimes.
"Military attorneys are looking at it," a US official, who spoke under condition of anonymity, was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.
Reuters photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and his driver and assistant Saeed Chmagh, 40, were both killed in the attack when their cameras were mistaken for weapons, US officials say.
"I would welcome a thorough new investigation. Reuters from the start has called for transparency and an objective inquiry so that all can learn lessons from this tragedy," Reuters editor-in-chief David Schlesinger said in a statement.
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Jerusalem patriarch: Hamas protecting Christians
By Laurent Grzybowski
[Interview with Michel Sabbah, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem]
What is the situation for Christians in Palestine?
It is the same as for all Arabs in Palestine. Christians or Muslims, we are the same people, with the same culture and the same history. A nation that is in conflict with another nation. A nation that is living under military occupation has no need of compassion but of justice. In a very tense political context we are trying to cope with the same challenge. What does it mean to be a Christian? It is to be in a society, in a world that we have not chosen but has been given to us. Our vocation therefore is to be Christian in an Arab society which has a Muslim majority. This is a familiar experience to us, we have several centuries of history behind us.
However, today one speaks of anti-Christian persecution
Individual incidents between Muslims and Christians can take on a community dimension. In these cases there are mediators, families known for their wisdom and their authority, capable of resolving conflicts. I can bear witness to the fact that in Palestine, it never goes further than this. There have never been massacres or terrorist attacks against churches, never have I known an openly antichristian persecution. Even in Gaza, Christians are protected by Hamas, so often presented as a terrorist organization.
Full report at: © Malesherbes Publications
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US, Russia to sign nuclear arms treaty
Apr 8, 2010
PRAGUE: US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev will sign a treaty on Thursday that slashes their two nations' atomic arsenals, boosting Obama's vision of a nuclear-free world.
The signing will take place in Prague, where Obama gave a keynote speech last year committing the United States to the goal of a world without nuclear weapons.
Obama had pushed hard for the new treaty in a bid to improve strained ties with Moscow and set an example for the rest of the world as he seeks to strengthen global non-proliferation efforts.
If ratified by the US Senate and Russia's parliament, the new treaty will replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which expired last December.
The so-called "new START" will limit the two former Cold War foes to a maximum of 1,550 deployed warheads, about 30 percent lower than a previous upper limit on warheads set in 2002.
Full report at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/US-Russia-to-sign-nuclear-arms-treaty/articleshow/5773392.cms
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US says no to civil nuclear deal with Pakistan
Apr 8, 2010
WASHINGTON: Hours after Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said that his country "qualifies" for a civilian nuclear deal with the US, like that of India, the Obama administration in a blunt message told it that such a deal is not on platter of its talks with Islamabad.
"We are focused on Pakistan's energy needs, but, as we said last week, right now that does not include civilian nuclear energy," assistant secretary of state for public affairs P J Crowley told reporters.
Full report at: timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/US-says-no-to-civil-nuclear-deal-with-Pakistan-/articleshow/5772397.cms
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China to back Pak demand for N-deal with US: Report
Apr 8, 2010
ISLAMABAD: China will back Pakistan at a key nuclear summit in Washington next week on several issues, including its demand for a civil nuclear deal similar to the one India inked with the US and its efforts to improve atomic capabilities for peaceful purposes, a media report said here.
The issue of China's support for Pakistan on these issues was discussed in yesterday's meeting of the parliamentary committee on national security chaired by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, the 'Daily Times' newspaper quoted sources privy to the meeting as saying.
Significantly, Pakistan's Ambassador to China Masood Khan also participated in the meeting that discussed the country's preparations for the April 12-13 nuclear summit.
Full report at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/China-to-back-Pak-demand-for-N-deal-with-US-Report-/articleshow/5774233.cms
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Study finds massive job discrimination against French Muslims
Apr 8, 2010, 12:46 GMT
Paris - A recent study has found that a French Muslim job applicant has 2.5 times fewer chances of being hired than a Christian, the online daily Mediapart reported Thursday.
The authors of the study, which was carried out by the Science-Po university and the Franco-American Foundation, concluded that 'all things being equal, immigrant Muslim citizens face obstacles to integration via job access much higher than their Christian counterparts.'
In the study, job applications were sent to hundreds of firms under the names Marie Diouf and Khadija Diouf. The personal data given on their applications, including age and marital status, were identical except for religious background.
'Marie' worked for a Catholic organization, while 'Khadija' was a former employee of Islamic Aid. The surname 'Diouf' was used because there are thousands of Senegalese refugees living in France who come from Christian or Islamic communities.
The researchers found that 'Marie Diouf' received an invitation for a job interview from 21 per cent of the firms to which she applied, while 'Khadija Diouf' was invited for an interview by only 8 per cent.
'This demonstrates mass discrimination,' sociologist Daniel Sabbagh concluded.
© Deutsche Presse-Agentur
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Behind France's Islamic veil
Apr 08, 2010
France is one of several European countries considering a ban on the Islamic veil, and some restrictions on the niqab could become law within weeks. Claire Bolderson reports on how the debate plays into a broader struggle over French identity.
In a small park at the back of a housing estate in Avignon, Kenza Drider, 31, races around a scruffy tennis court giggling and shouting encouragement to her opponent as she swings her racket at the ball.
It is just a knock-about game and would be unremarkable, except that Kenza Drider is a very unusual sight.
Her plain blue dress reaches to the ground. On top of it, covering her hair and shoulders, is a voluminous, long grey shawl.
And, most striking of all, over her face she wears a piece of black cloth - a niqab - that conceals everything except her deep brown eyes.
Mrs Drider, born in France to Moroccan immigrant parents, is one of the few Muslim women in France who wear the niqab. The official count puts the number at no more than 2,000 in a Muslim population of well over five million.
But over the past year, they have become the focus of an intense debate about Muslim integration and what it means to be French.
Full report at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8607802.stm
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Indonesian couple face caning for adultery: Police
April 08, 2010
Banda Aceh: A couple caught having extramarital sex in Indonesia were paraded naked through their village, beaten by an angry mob and now face a public caning, an official said on Thursday.
Bus, a 36-year-old teacher, and Yus, a 28-year-old housewife, were caught having sex yesterday in deeply Islamic Aceh province, where religious police enforce sharia or Islamic regulations.
"The villagers raided the woman's house and found the couple together," West Aceh district sharia police official Teuku Abdurrazak said.
"They dragged them out, paraded them naked through the village, tied them to a post and then beat them with sticks and their bare hands till they were black and blue.
"The villagers were so angry... if the police had come any later the couple could have died."
The pair could receive up to nine lashes each in public if they are found guilty of adultery, Abdurrazak said.
Aceh adopted partial sharia law in 2001 as part of an autonomy package from Jakarta aimed at quelling separatist sentiment.
Nearly 90 per cent of Indonesia's 234 million people are Muslims, but the vast majority practise a moderate form of the religion.
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Sharjah launches crackdown on 'humble lungi'
Apr 7, 2010
DUBAI: It may be the traditional drape of millions of Indians but the 'humble lungi' has attracted the wrath of authorities in Sharjah as the police is reportedly cracking down on men wearing the dress in public places.
There has, however, been no official communication to this effect.
Local reports said an Asian man was arrested and interrogated by police patrols in Sharjah a few days ago for wearing lungi in public.
He was told not to wear the dress in public. The news has had mixed reactions from Indians in the UAE even from those who rarely venture out in the traditional wear.
"I never wear it outside my home and never would," Srikumar, a Keralite in Dubai said. "But I still don't understand what's the problem as long as a lungi properly covers the body. Probably this person was wearing a lungi that did not have its two ends stitched together," he said.
It is largely believed that indecent and revealing clothes are generally discouraged and this is an extension of the same.
'The decency law was implemented in Sharjah ten years ago," an officer told Gulf News.
He said people were expected to wear decent clothes in public, but did not explain if there was a ban on wearing the lungi in public.
Besides Indians, people from Pakistan, Myanmar and other South Asian countries also wear the lungi .
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Mumbai gunmen denied Muslim burial secretly interred in January
APR 7, 2010
Remember the issue of what to do with the corpses of the nine attackers killed during the November 2008 siege of the Taj Mahal Hotel and other targets in Mumbai that killed 166 people? The dead attackers were all presumed to be Pakistani Muslims, like the sole survivor, but local Indian Muslim leaders refused to let them be buried in their cemeteries. Islamabad ignored calls to take the bodies back. So they were left in morgue refrigerators in Mumbai, presumably until the issue was finally settled.
Sole surviving attacker, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, in police custody in this undated video grab shown by CNN IBN Television channel on February 3, 2009/CNN IBN
Full report at: http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2010/04/07/mumbai-gunmen-denied-muslim-burial-secretly-interred-in-january/
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Iraqi teen would-be suicide bomber held
Apr 8, 2010
FALLUJA: Iraqi police arrested a teenage boy wearing a vest packed with explosives near the western city of Falluja, foiling an attempt to attack security forces, a police officer said on Wednesday.
The 15-year-old was arrested on Monday at his home in the town of Amiriya, about 5 km south of Falluja, said an officer who participated in the arrest.
The arrest came a day before bombs ripped through apartment buildings and a market in mostly Shiite areas of Baghdad, killing some 50 people.
A preliminary investigation found that a neighbor had encouraged the boy to blow himself up near police, telling him he would "go to paradise," to avenge the death of his father who was killed by security forces two years ago, the officer said.
Full report at: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article40352.ece
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Prof. Akhtarul Wassey is the new Vice-Chairman of Delhi Urdu Academy
April 7,2010
New Age Islam News Bureau
New Delhi: The head of the Department of Islamic Studies of Jamia Millia Islamia, Prof. Akhtarul Wassey has been appointed as the new Vice-Chairman of the Delhi Urdu Academy, according to a notification of the Academy.
Mr Wassey who will take charge on Friday, thanked the Chief Minister of Delhi, Ms Shiela Dixit and vowed to work for the development of Urdu. The editor of NewAgeIslam.com, Mr Sultan Shahin congratulated him over the phone and hoped that under him the Academy will achieve new milestones in the field of development and promotion of Urdu language and literature.
Prof. Akhtarul Wassey said that he would try his best to make the Academy a bridge between the government and the Urdu speaking community. He further added that the Delhi Urdu Academy had a glorious history and tradition and he would try to take forward the achievements of his predecessors.
Speaking on the tasks ahead, he said the ongoing projects of the Academy will be extended and new projects will be launched.
Prof. Wassey is associated with various educational and social institutions such as the Dr Zakir Hussain Institute of Islamic Studies, The National Council for the Promotion of Urdu Language(NCPUL) and the Maulana Md Ali Jauhar Academy.He has authored 20 books and is the editor of an English periodical 'Islam and the Modern Age'.
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Jamiat-e-Ulema's march for Muslim reservation
April 7,2010
New Age Islam News Bureau
Rampur:Jamiat-e-Ulema's leaders and general Muslims participated in a march demanding reservations for Muslims here on Wednesday.
The Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar, Anwar Ali Ansari and the Presidernt of the All India Deeni Madaris Board Maulvi Yaqub Bulandshahri were among the participants. Later they sent a memorandum to the President of India. Speaking on the occasion Mr Ansari said that on the issue of reservation the Muslims were united and had hit the streets. He complained that despite the publication of the Sachar Committee Report and the Ranganathan Commission recommendations the government had not taken practical steps and said that the Muslims were now asserting their constitutional rights.
He also observed that the number of Muslim candidates in the Assembly and the Parliament was on a downslide which was a cause for concern.
The memorandum sent to the President has the following demands:
1) The Liberhan Commission Report should be made public
2) Muslims should be provided with quota in government jobs according to the recommendations of Sachar Committee and Ranganathan Mishra Commission recommendations
3) The Women's Reservation Bill should be revised
4) The Batla House encounter inquiry should be handed over to the CBI and
5) The minority status of the Aligarh Muslim University and the Jamia Millia Islamia should be reinstated.
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Conference on the life of Sahaba(R.A.)
April 7,2010
New Age Islam News Bureau
New Delhi:The 30th conference on the greatness of Sahaba(R.A.),the holy companions of Prophet Mohammad(PBUH) was held here on Wednesday. Speaking to the media,Maulana Asghar Ali Imam Mehdi Salehi said that the lives of the sahaba were an example for us and if we followed in their footsteps, all our problems could be solved. He said that the conference had been organised by the Jamiat-e-Ulema with the purpose to present the luminous lives of the sahaba to the world so that the world could follow the path which once led to peace and progress, doing away with terrorism, tyranny and injustice.
He further said that the world had admitted to the greatness of the sahaba(R.A.). He referred to the Christian author Michael's world famous book "The Hundred" which included Prophet Mohammad(PBUH) and Hadhrat Umar Farooque(R.A.). On the other hand, he added, the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi had said that if India got freedom, I would like the country to have a government like the one under Hadhrat Umar(R.A.)
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Pennsylvania: Silent Plea in Terrorism Case
April 7, 2010
A pregnant Colorado woman charged in a global terrorism plot pleaded not guilty with a nod of the head to avoid giving investigators a voice sample. A lawyer for the woman, Jamie Paulin-Ramirez, 31, said the government had seized computer evidence that might contain voice recordings and had his client remain silent at Wednesday's arraignment in Philadelphia so prosecutors would not have a voice sample. Prosecutors say Ms. Paulin-Ramirez aided a group that was plotting to kill a Swedish artist whose drawing offended many Muslims.
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Malaysian Indian sentenced to death for killing 3 kids
Apr 8, 2010
JOHOR BARU (Malaysia): A Malaysian Indian, who murdered his three children and tried to kill himself along with his daughter in a suicide pact, was sentenced to death by a High Court.
The convict P Vellertore, 52, however, denied to have committed the crime and said he will file an appeal against the Wednesday's judgment of the High Court, New Straits Times reported.
The court found Vellertore guilty of killing his three children- Rudraa Kumar, 6, Keseprata, 5, and Harini, 3, -- by strangling them at their home on November 20, 2004.
Later, when he tried to hang himself along with his 14-year-old daughter Revathi, the eldest child changed her mind and screamed for help. She was saved by a neighbour.
"I understand you were under a lot of pressure at that time, but you should have sought another path. The court has no choice but to sentence you to death by hanging," said the High Court judge Jeffrey Tan while pronouncing the judgement.
Vellertore's wife had reportedly left the family home a month before the murders, claiming that her husband had been abusive.
Indians, mostly Tamils, constitute 7% of the 28 million population of Malaysia.
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US-Israeli dispute still unresolved: Netanyahu
By JEFFREY HELLER
Apr 8, 2010
JERUSALEM: Israel and the United States remain divided on Jewish settlement construction although the gap has narrowed in some areas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday after consulting senior Cabinet members.
Netanyahu and Cabinet ministers have been weighing a response to US opposition to housing construction for Jews in occupied areas in and near Jerusalem and Washington's call for steps to persuade Palestinians to return to peace talks.
At a news conference to sum up a year in office, Netanyahu gave no sign that an end to the settlement dispute, which has strained relations between Israel and its main ally, was near.
"We are in continuing discussions," Netanyahu said, referring to a dialogue with US President Barack Obama's administration.
Full report at: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article40351.ece
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2 more Palestinian families get eviction warrant in East Jerusalem
By MOHAMMED MAR'I
Apr 7, 2010
RAMALLAH: A rightist Israeli group on Tuesday handed an eviction warrant to two Palestinian families in the East Jerusalem's neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, a Palestinian official said.
Hatim Abdulqader, who is charge of the Jerusalem portfolio in the Fatah movement, told Arab News that activists from the Nahalat Shimon settler group handed the warrants to the Al-Dajani and Al-Dahoudi families.
Abdulqader added that the warrant "gave the family a 30-day ultimatum before the evacuation."
Full report at: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article39981.ece
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Israel PM doubts sanctions have 'teeth' to dissuade Iran
Apr 8, 2010
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday he doubts the sanctions being mulled against Iran would be tough enough to rein in the Islamic republic's nuclear ambitions.
"I doubt that such a programme will have teeth and the real ability to stop" Iran's nuclear drive, he said at a news conference in Jerusalem, referring to US-led efforts to slap new UN sanctions on Iran over its nuclear defiance.
Netanyahu stressed that the only "real effective sanctions would those which hit Iran's energy market, either the imports of refined fuel or the production of petroleum."
Israel shares the US conviction that Iran, its arch-foe, is seeking to obtain nuclear weapons, a claim Tehran denies.
The sole, if undeclared, nuclear-armed power in the Middle East, the Jewish state has repeatedly said it would not rule out a military option in dealing with Iran.
Netanyahu made the comments ahead of next week's international summit on nuclear security summit in Washington, which he will attend.
Full report at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Israel-PM-doubts-sanctions-have-teeth-to-dissuade-Iran-/articleshow/5772230.cms
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Brithish Army criticised for 'mosques' on firing range
08 Apr 2010
Bradford Council for Mosques said the features on Bellerby firing range at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire should be taken down immediately.
The Army has apologised but said it was vital soldiers trained in an environment which replicated where they were deployed.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said the structures were ''generic Eastern buildings'' and were not used as target practice.
Mohammed Saleem Khan, chief executive of the Bradford Council for Mosques, said the shape and colour of the structures - a green dome - symbolised an Islamic place of worship.
''It is so obvious. Even a non-Muslim recognised the significance. The first person who raised the issue with us was a non-Muslim,'' he said.
Full report at: © Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2010
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Kidnapped Greek curator is freed by Taliban
By Dilawar Khan Wazir
A Greek national kidnapped by the Taliban eight months ago in Pakistan has been released, officials say.
Athanassios Lerounis was abducted while based in the northern district of Chitral, where he worked as the curator of a heritage museum for several years.
He was taken across the border to the Afghan province of Nuristan.
His captors demanded the release of militants held by Pakistan in exchange for his freedom but officials say no militant exchange was made.
"He has been released by the successful efforts of Pakistani security agencies," Rahmatullah Wazir, the top administrative official in Chitral, told the BBC.
Full report at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8609214.stm
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Qatari diplomat detained after incident on US plane
8 April 2010
A Qatari diplomat has been detained after an incident on a flight from Washington's Reagan airport to Denver.
Two F-16 jets were scrambled to intercept the United Airlines plane and escort it to land safely at Denver airport, US officials said.
Initial reports said the man, who has not been named, had tried to set fire to his shoes.
But officials later said no explosives were found and he had apparently been trying to smoke in a plane toilet.
Investigators were told the man was asked about the smell of smoke in the toilet and he made a joke that he had been trying to light his shoes - an apparent reference to the 2001 "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, AP news agency reported.
Reid, a British citizen, tried to blow up a transatlantic jet with explosives hidden in his footwear.
'Mistake'
Full report at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8608611.stm
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At Last Allowed, Muslim Scholar Visits
By KIRK SEMPLE
April 7, 2010
A federal appeals court had ruled in his favor. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had issued an order that paved the way for a visa. And so, on Wednesday afternoon, Tariq Ramadan stepped off a plane at Newark Liberty International Airport for his first visit to the United States since 2004, when the Bush administration barred him from entering, asserting he had contributed money to terrorist enterprises.
But for Mr. Ramadan, one of the foremost European scholars of the Islamic world, there was still one last hurdle: a closed-door session with three immigration agents, one after the other, who asked him where he planned to go, whom he planned to meet and what he planned to discuss.
Two hours after his plane from Paris landed, Mr. Ramadan, wearing a dark suit and a smile of relief, cleared customs and shook hands with two representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union, which had litigated his case, and Muna Ali, an assistant of his who lives in the United States.
"How are you, Muna?" he asked.
"You kept us waiting," she said, with good humor. "What's new?"
The group split up into two cabs, and Mr. Ramadan, 47, boarded one with Jameel Jaffer, a representative of the civil liberties union.
Full report at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/08/nyregion/08muslim.html?src=mv
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Pakistan wants Afghan, Saudi, US input on Bhutto report
Apr 7, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said Wednesday it had asked the United Nations to delay a report into the killing of Benazir Bhutto so that input from Afghanistan, the United States and Saudi Arabia could be included.
Bowing to Islamabad's request, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on March 30 delayed until mid-April the release of the sensitive report by the three-member panel into the assassination of Pakistan's former prime minister.
Interior minister Rehman Malik told reporters Wednesday that the Pakistani people "want a proper report substantiated by facts."
"I have requested that the commission should seek input from former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Saudi Arabia, and include it in its report," Malik added.
Full report at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistan-wants-Afghan-Saudi-US-input-on-Bhutto-report/articleshow/5771877.cms
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Iran ridicules Obama's 'cowboy' nuke stance
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI
Apr 8, 2010
TEHRAN: Iran's president on Wednesday ridiculed President Barack Obama's new nuclear strategy, which turns the US focus away from the Cold War threats and instead aims to stop the spread of atomic weapons to rogue states or terrorists.
Obama on Tuesday announced the new strategy, including a vow not to use nuclear weapons against countries that do not have them. Iran, however, was pointedly excepted from that pledge, along with North Korea, because Washington accuses them of not cooperating with the international community on nonproliferation standards.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the focus would now be on terror groups such as Al-Qaeda as well as North Korea's nuclear buildup and Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Pressuring Iran in its standoff with the West is a particular focus of the new strategy. The exception from the non-use pledge represents a warning to Tehran. But also, the new guidelines aim to show Washington is serious about reducing its own arsenal and about gathering world support for stricter safeguards against nuclear proliferation - a move aimed at further isolating Iran diplomatically.
Full report at: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article40350.ece
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Taliban release new video of captured US soldier
Apr 8, 2010
The Taliban have released a new video which appears to show an American soldier who was captured in Afghanistan in June last year.
On the video, a man in combat uniform asks the US government to intervene and win his release.
The soldier, Private Bowe Bergdahl, looks fit and is heard listing the names of his family and friends.
A Taliban spokesman says in the video they are demanding the release of prisoners in exchange for the soldier.
Nato said in a statement that using Pte Bergdahl "as a means of propaganda is a deplorable act and only fuels our efforts to find him and bring him home".
Pte Bergdahl was serving with an Alaska-based infantry regiment in Paktika province.
He vanished from his base, near the border with Pakistan, just five months after arriving in Afghanistan.
The military has been trying to locate him ever since, and a reward has been offered for his safe return.
He is believed to be the first soldier seized in either Iraq or Afghanistan for at least two years.
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Bangladesh convicts, jails 29 paramilitary mutineers
By ANIS AHMED
Apr 8, 2010
DHAKA: A special tribunal in Bangladesh on Wednesday convicted 29 paramilitary troops of mutinying last year against their army commanders and sentenced them to up to seven years in jail.
The minimum punishment handed out was four months in prison, legal officials said.
Those convicted were among soldiers who killed more than 70 people, including 57 army officers, during the two-day revolt at the paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) headquarters in Dhaka in February 2009.
The sentences issued in northern Panchagarh district were the first by the tribunal, which sits at various locations and is headed by BDR chief Maj. Gen. Mainul Islam.
Around 3,500 soldiers or border guards have been accused of involvement in the mutiny. Many face punishment on charges of participating in the revolt and for the killings and the concealment of bodies.
Full report at: http://arabnews.com/world/article40324.ece
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Bangladesh calls in army to distribute water
Apr 8, 2010
DHAKA: Bangladesh deployed troops to distribute drinking water on Wednesday among the capital's more than 12 million people, after lawmakers had warned that growing public discontent over a water crisis could lead to unrest.
A falling water table and lack of power to run water pumps have caused a serious shortage of drinking water in Dhaka, with hundreds of residents marching in the streets daily with empty pitchers and demanding government action.
"How can we pump enough water while there is no electricity to run the pumps," said an official of the Dhaka water and sewage authority (WASA).
"Many pumps remain shut or cannot operate up to their capacities because of a shortage of power," said the official, who asked not to be identified.
The WASA says it is now able to supply only 1.8 billion liters of water in the capital a day, against a demand of 2.4 billion liters, due to frequent power cuts and a fall in groundwater levels.
A power official said the daily shortage of electricity in the city had soared to 1,500 megawatts because of lack natural gas to run power plants
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Kyrgyzstan government ousted in violent revolt
Apr 8, 2010
BISHKEK: Opponents of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev took control on Wednesday of Kyrgyzstan after a day of spectacular violence that ended with Bakiyev fleeing the capital of the strategic Central Asian state.
Opposition protesters seized the presidential administration on Wednesday night and announced on state radio that they had formed a provisional government with former foreign minister Roza Otunbayeva at its head.
A worker at Bishkek's international airport said that the 60-year-old Bakiyev had fled the capital aboard a small plane as his opponents consolidated their grip on key national institutions.
Opposition leader Temir Sariyev said on Kyrgyz radio that Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov had signed a letter of resignation and Otunbayeva vowed that the new leadership in the country would move quickly to normalize the situation.
"Power is now in the hands of the people's government," Otunbayeva said in an address on state radio.
Full report at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Kyrgyzstan-government-ousted-in-violent-revolt/articleshow/5772115.cms
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Israel main threat to Middle East peace: Erdogan
Apr 8, 2010
PARIS: The prime minister of Turkey on Wednesday branded the Jewish state the "principal threat to peace" in the Middle East.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's remarks at a breakfast meeting in Paris marked a new low in deteriorating relations between Israel and Turkey, which once had close military and political ties.
"If a country uses disproportionate force in Palestine, in Gaza — uses phosphorous shells — we're not going to say 'bravo'," he said, referring to Israel's January 2009 offensive against people in Gaza.
Full report at: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article40383.ece
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CROSS BORDER LOVE STORY GRIPS INDIA AND PAKISTAN
By Carol Grisanti
April 08, 2010
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Bollywood couldn't have done better – a cross-border love story that is gripping an entire continent. A dashing Pakistani cricket star, Shoaib Malik, falls in love with Sania Mirza, India's top tennis champion, sets a wedding date and will travel to India to fetch his bride-to-be.
Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, left and Pakistan's former cricket captain Shoaib Malik, right, share a moment as they address the media in Hyderabad, India, on April 5.
The classic – boy meets girl and lives happily ever after?
Not so fast.
This is Pakistan and India – rival nuclear-armed nations that have already fought two wars against each other and often seem on the brink of a third.
When Malik, 28, went on national television to proclaim his love for Mirza, 23, the pair – both Muslim – made headlines all over South Asia. Pakistanis celebrated, while the Indians cried foul.
Full report at: http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/04/08/2260377.aspx
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I have done what was most amicable: Shoaib Malik
Apr 8, 2010
KARACHI: Shoaib Malik's sudden decision to divorce the woman he disowned all along left everyone stunned but the Pakistani cricketer, now set to marry Sania Mirza, on Thursday said it was the most "amicable" thing to do in a situation that was "beyond reasoning".
Shoaib divorced Ayesha Siddiqui on Wednesday despite insisting previously that he was never married to the Hyderabadi girl, who claimed that he dumped her because of her weight problems.
The divorce followed days of mudslinging in which Ayesha even filed an FIR against Shoaib accusing him of fraud and criminal intimidation.
Relieved that the controversy was finally over, Shoaib said, "I would like to firstly thank Allah almighty and all of you as media and the entire nation of Pakistan in supporting me and giving me the strength to face all what has been witnessed."
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Muslims vow to unseat Zionists
By Martin Bright
April 8, 2010
The Muslim organisation that claimed responsibility for unseating "pro-war, pro-Israel" Labour MP Lorna Fitzsimons from her Rochdale constituency at the last election has launched its campaign for the 2010 election.
The Muslim Public Affairs Committee, which has an openly anti-Zionist agenda, has said it will target MPs and candidates known to support Israel and those they have identified as "Islamophobic". It claims that 82 constituencies now have a Muslim population larger than the incumbent's majority.
MPAC will concentrate its resources on the Oldham seat of Immigration Minister Phil Woolas, who recently raised concerns about the prevalence of marriage between cousins in the Muslim community.
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Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike to protest deteriorating living conditions
By MOHAMMED MAR'I
Apr 8, 2010
RAMALLAH: The Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and detention camps on Wednesday launched a full hunger strike to protest against the "deteriorating living conditions in Israeli jails."
The Palestinian Prisoners Club (Nadi Al-Asir) said in a press statement that "more than 7,000 Palestinian male and female prisoners in ten central Israeli prisons and three detention camps refused to receive their meals offered by the prison on Wednesday."
The club added that the prisoners "will also strike on April 17 and 27 if Israeli prisons' authorities ignore their demands to improve their living conditions." It added that Palestinian prisoners are living the worst ever living conditions in Israeli jails, adding that the Israeli prisons' authorities keep ignoring their demands.
The hunger strikers want more access to university education, entry of books into prisons, telephones, Arab satellite channels, a cessation of strip searches, end of solitary confinement, imposing financial fines on prisoners, improving food quality and ease restrictions on family visitations.
Full report at: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article40359.ece
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Key conspirator of Pune blast identified, says ATS
Apr 8, 2010
MUMBAI: Yasin Bhatkal, believed to be a relative of Indian Mujahideen founder Riyaz Bhatkal, has been identified by Maharashtra ATS as one of the main conspirators of the Pune bomb blast in which 17 people were killed.
Indian Mujahideen is suspected to be behind the February 13 blast in Pune's upscale Koregaon Park area, an ATS source said.
The ATS, which has submitted a preliminary report on investigations into the terror attack - the first after 26/11 - has claimed that the suspects have been identified and they would be arrested soon.
"One of the prime suspects has been identified as Yasin, who hails from Bhatkal village in Karnataka. We believe he is related to Riyaz, who is absconding," the source said.
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Lajpat Nagar blast: Six convicted
Apr 8, 2010
NEW DELHI: Fourteen years after a blast rocked Lajpat Nagar market in New Delhi killing 13 people, the trial court on Thursday convicted six people in the case.
Ten people, including a woman, all from Jammu and Kashmir, had faced trial in the case. The accused were arrested soon after the incident after police allegedly tracked the calls made by them to various media houses, claiming responsibility for the terror attack.
Those facing trial on various charges, including criminal conspiracy and murder, were Farooq Ahmed Khan, Mohd Naushad, Mirza Iftikhar, Mohd Ali Bhatt, Mirza Nissar Hussain, Latif Ahmed Waza, Syed Maqbool Shah, Javed Ahmed Khan and Abdul Gani and their woman associate Farida Dar. All accused, except the woman, are in judicial custody.
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Asadullah Syed
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