| Islamic World News | ||||||
18 Apr 2010, NewAgeIslam.Com
------ Pakistan moves closer to banning domestic abuse By Nahal Toosi April 18, 2010 RAWALPINDI, Pakistan — For seven years, her husband taunted, threatened, and thrashed her, she says. After she filed for divorce, he struck again, throwing enough acid on her face to destroy her left eye. Why didn't she leave sooner? Or turn to the police for help? Zakia Perveen's scarred lips are quick to explain: She would have become a pariah in her conservative Pakistani town of Jhelum. "People don't appreciate women who go to police stations,'' the 38-year-old says. "I just thought it was my destiny, my fate.'' Rights advocates hope a proposed law banning domestic violence will chip away at such attitudes, giving women a more even playing field and bringing Pakistan in line with a growing number of developing nations that have outlawed spousal abuse. But Islamist lawmakers in Parliament are objecting, claiming the law could tear apart the social fabric by undermining families. Violence against women is a widespread phenomenon in Pakistan, a Muslim-majority nation of 175 million where most people are poor, only half the adults can read, and extremist ideologies, including the Taliban's, are gaining traction. In 2008, there were at least 7,571 incidents of acid attacks, rapes, spousal beatings, and other violence against women, according to The Aurat Foundation, a women's rights group. Because the group relied mostly on media reports, the figure is probably a vast undercount. Other surveys have shown that up to 80 percent of wives in rural parts of Pakistan fear physical violence from their husbands, while 50 percent of women in urban areas admit their husbands beat them, according to a 2009 State Department report on Pakistan. "It happens even in good families — wealthier families,'' says Yasmeen Rehman, the sponsor of the bill now stuck in a committee in Parliament. "In the rural areas, it's almost like a habit for the men.'' The bill lays out a broad definition of domestic violence beyond assault, including emotional abuse, stalking, and wrongful confinement. Depriving a spouse of money or other resources needed to survive is also considered a violation. The bill strives to cover everyone in a household, including elderly parents, children, and husbands. It also sets up local "protection committees,'' which must include women and are empowered to file complaints on behalf of victims. Abusers can face months or years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines if they violate court protection orders, the bill says. Under current Pakistani law, women could turn to anti-assault statutes, but unless they are severely beaten, such claims are hard to prove, activists say. Police rarely interfere in domestic matters and often do not take women seriously. Most women are unwilling to report on a family member, especially if he is the breadwinner, and they give in to societal pressure to put up with the abuse. It is one of the many paradoxes in a country that has tried to blend Islamic strictures with a more secular legal tradition inherited from the British, a place where a woman has served as prime minister and yet militants regularly torch girls' schools. "Laws are very good, but unless and until you change the mindset of the people, things won't change,'' said Nayyar Shabana Kiyani, who has worked on the legislation as part of The Aurat Foundation. One person these women are working hard to persuade is a leading Islamist lawmaker, Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani. In a lengthy interview, Sherani said domestic violence was not a big problem in Pakistan until advocacy groups appeared and created the "issue'' of women's rights. Because of this, he explained, women became "contenders'' to men in the public realm, and were no longer content in the home. The new law led to more divorce and disrupted family life by allowing police and other authorities to interfere, he said. "We oppose this law because it is not the solution — rather it is a possible cause of more chaos in society,'' he said. The solution, he suggested, was striving for a truer Islamic society. Pakistan is behind many other countries when it comes to banning domestic violence. Among the growing number of developing nations that have passed laws against domestic violence are Bangladesh, Indonesia, and India, all of which have substantial Muslim populations. Zakia Perveen is supportive of the bill, though no law will restore her face to what it was. With her husband on trial following the acid attack last year, Perveen says she is focused on her children. "I will teach my son to look after his wife when he gets married,'' she said. "God forbid if something happens to my daughters. I will tell them not to conceal the facts.'' -------- Islam respects a human for being a human: A cry for Asians 18 Apr, 2010 However, it appears he is trying to remind us of the philosophy of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. We do appreciate the hard work being done by these unskilled expatriates, but unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to eliminate or reduce their burden because the situation has been created by the level of education. Everybody agrees that education is important and that education benefits societies as well as individuals. People with more education earn more, pay more taxes, are more productive and happier. The unskilled laborers are usually the uneducated either through their own fault or because of some factors beyond their control. The two categories of people cannot, therefore, be equal. Tariq continues: "Most are victims of unscrupulous manpower agents or employers, and who find themselves at the end of a worthless contract signed back in their home countries with promises of much higher salaries than they do actually get when they come to this part of the world." This could be true but there are laws and regulations that govern such transactions and the Labor Office is here to see to such cases. Tariq concludes: "Hail to the unsung and unskilled Asian expatriates. They are not background fixtures. They are worthwhile human beings with wants and needs just like the rest of us." They are indeed not "background fixtures" and as Muslims, we are grateful that Islam respects a human for being a human, not for any other reason; Islam dose not distinguish between two races, or two groups of people, or between two colors, and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) addressed the people signifying that concept during his last pilgrimage, saying: "O people, Remember that your Lord is One. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a black has no superiority over white, nor a white has any superiority over black, except by piety and good action (Taqwa). Indeed the best among you is the one with the best character (Taqwa)." -------- Flaws in Islamic finance highlighted by crisis: experts 18 Apr, 2010 KUALA LUMPUR: Islamic finance has emerged relatively unscathed from the global economic crisis and Dubai's turmoil, but experts say the dramas have exposed the need for tighter regulations and higher standards. The Sharia finance industry, which abides by religious laws that prohibit the payment and collection of interest, is worth an estimated 800-950 billion dollars and expanding rapidly in the Muslim world and in the West. Moody's Investors Service said earlier this month that the sector has a market potential of 5.0 trillion dollars. However, the global economic turmoil which felled some mainstream banking institutions, and Dubai's financial fallout late last year, has highlighted the need for the industry to shore up areas where it may be on shaky ground. Dubai stunned financial markets last November when it said it might need to freeze debt payments by its largest conglomerate Dubai World. Last month it announced a debt restructuring plan with a 9.5 billion dollar funds injection. "What happened in Dubai is affecting both the conventional market and the Islamic market because the players in the market totally forgot proper risk management," says Badlisyah Abdul Ghani, chief executive of CIMB Islamic, a pioneer Islamic bank in Malaysia. "A lack of framework regulations are the single biggest threat to Islamic finance growth today," he told AFP at a recent conference on Sharia finance held in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. Full report at: www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/business/08-flaws-in-islamic-finance-highlighted-by-crisis-experts-ts-04 -------- Golden Age Of Islam Presents World With 1001 Inventions by Ron Callari If 1001 Arabian Nights provided us with a romanticized and idealized version of the Arab world, 9/11 was a certainly a stark wake-up call to a harsher view of Muslim life. Over the last 10 years, processing these two extremes has been difficult for many of us. With that said, an exhibit like the one featured at the London Museum of Science and Industry is sure to open our eyes to the great contributions made by Islamic civilizations over the course of the last millennium. The 1001 Inventions Exhibition launched on January 21, 2010 is a global educational initiative that promotes awareness of the scientific and cultural achievements of Muslim civilization, during the thousand year period from the 7th century forward, and how those inventions helped build the foundations of our modern world. In association with the Jameel Foundation, the exhibit will remain in London until June 30, 2010. -------- Muslims keep Australia green Phil Mercer April 17. 2010 SYDNEY // Muslim volunteers in Australia are leading efforts to clean up one of the most polluted areas of Sydney, highlighting the Islamic community's growing involvement in environmental issues. The Mizaan project, meaning balance in Arabic, aims to provide eco-warriors a spiritual experience as as well practical guidance in helping to regenerate native flora and fauna. On a warm morning, eager hands tear at weeds that have infested the banks of the Cooks River, which snakes through Sydney's suburban sprawl and where plastic bottles and other waste slowly drift past in the murky water. These "caretakers of Mother Earth" are led by Nelley Youssef, who is studying nursing at university, and is on a mission to clean up a stretch of one of Australia's dirtiest and most contaminated rivers. "Islam encourages us to look after our environment because it is like the lungs of our body. Our responsibility and duty as Muslims is to look after the Earth," said Ms Youssef, a member of the Al Ghazzali Centre for Islamic Sciences and Human Development, a Sydney-based community organisation. -------- More than 100 die in week of Afghan violence 18 Apr, 2010 KABUL: More than 100 people including dozens of civilians were killed in violence related to Afghanistan's ongoing war against the Taliban in the past week, authorities said Sunday. The interior ministry registered about 144 insurgency-related incidents - mostly roadside bombs and militant ambushes - from April 11-18, spokesman Zemarai Bashary said. A total of 117 people - 36 of them civilians, 20 policemen and more than 60 insurgents - were killed in the incidents, he told reporters. Another 100 civilians, 39 police officers and more than a dozen rebels, were injured in the attacks, he said. Most of the rebels were killed in an operation by Afghan and international forces against Taliban-linked militants in the restive northern province of Baghlan, he said. In the same period, nine Western soldiers, part of the international military deployment under Nato and the United States, were killed, according to an AFP count based on the icasualties.org website which tracks coalition deaths. Full report at: www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/21-more-than-100-die-in-week-of-afghan-violence-sk-13 -------- Seven killed in suicide car bomb attack in Pakistan Apr 18, 2010 PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Seven people were killed and 21 wounded in a suicide car bomb attack in the northwestern Pakistani city of Kohat on Sunday, police said. "It was a suicide attack, the target was a police station," Dilawar Khan Bangash, city police chief, said. "The bomber exploded his vehicle on the back side of the police station. "Seven people have been killed and 21 were injured in this car suicide attack," Abdullah Jan, the district's top police officer told reporters. "These incidents are a reaction to the military operation in the tribal areas." Another senior police officer confirmed the attack, adding that around 200 kilograms of explosives were used. The attack comes just a day after two suicide bombers dressed in burqas struck a crowd of displaced people collecting aid handouts, killing at least 41 and wounding more than 60 at a nearby camp. The bombers struck minutes apart on Saturday in the Kacha Pukha camp on the outskirts of the garrison city of Kohat, a registration centre for people fleeing Taliban violence and Pakistani army operations close to the Afghan border. -------- Bhutto murder: Musharraf may sue UN panel Apr 18, 2010 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf may sue members of the UN commission that probed the assassination of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto for holding him responsible for her killing, one of his aides has said. "In the report, Musharraf has not been accused personally but it has been mentioned that his government failed to protect Benazir Bhutto," Chaudhry Fawad, a lawyer for Musharraf, told 'The News' daily. During a news conference, a member of the UN commission mentioned Musharraf's name while responding to a question. Fawad said Musharraf's legal team will seek an explanation from the UN commission whether its member intentionally named the former President or uttered his name unintentionally. "If the UN commission member unintentionally mentioned the name of the former President, no action would be taken but if he did so intentionally the former President would move the International Court of Justice against the UN commission," Fawad said. Full report at: timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Bhutto-murder-Musharraf-may-sue-UN-panel/articleshow/5828019.cms -------- India alleges death of inmates in Pakistani jail 18 Apr, 2010 LAHORE, April 17: The Indian Foreign Office on Saturday night claimed that an Indian and a Bangladeshi inmate of Kot Lakhpat jail had died during a hunger strike. Officials in Lahore denied the report. Earlier in the day, the press corps in the city embarked on a hectic fact-finding search after a spate of email messages claimed two foreigners kept at the jail had died as a result of a hunger strike. The prisoners, it was said, had been protesting their exclusion from the list of inmates given remission in their terms in the light of a recent presidential order. A Punjab police official said: "Let alone any prisoner dying due to hunger strike, there has been no strike at all." However, yet more email messages followed. Quoting a well-known Delhi-based editor, a sender said the Indian Foreign Office had confirmed the deaths. Full report at: www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/india-alleges-death-of-inmates-in-pakistani-jail-840 -------- Bangladesh sentences border guards for 2009 mutiny 04/18/2010 Dozens of border guards were sentenced by a special court in Bangladesh on Sunday for staging a mutiny last year that killed 74 people, mostly army officers.The guards, known as the Bangladesh Rifles, say they revolted over long-standing demands for parity in pay and other perks enjoyed by army officers, who command the border forces.On Sunday, 57 guards were given sentences ranging from four months to seven years. Four defendants received the maximum, according to Judge Maj. Gen. Mainul Islam.He said they were found guilty of taking up arms, firing and blocking a road during the Feb. 25-26 uprising.The special court deals with only mutiny charges, and those accused of crimes like murder and arson will be tried separately.Fifty-seven army commanders were among those killed in the mutiny that began at the guards' headquarters in Dhaka and spread to border camps across the country. It occurred just two months after the country's powerful military, which has backed 21 coups in the country's 38-year history, relinquished power to a civilian government under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Full report at: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/04/18/bangladesh-sentences-border-guards-2009-mutiny.html -------- Ahmed Chalabi: The unlikely KINGMAKER of Iraq Kartikeya Apr 17, 2010 At the end of World War II,British cartographers did not have to tax their brains on what to call a large empty space in the north-west nook of Baghdad.They called it 'Chalabi'.That's what it was - a fifth of the city owned by a single influential Shi'ite family.The map the Brits drew survives on one of family's several estates in Baghdad,perhaps leaving Ahmed Chalabi scratching his head.He must wonder how in the ensuing decades the family name - an honorific for a highranking merchant - went from being a byword for Iraqi elite to 'an opportunist outsider' for the West. Labels,though,are something Chalabi claims he cares little about.For a considerable amount of time before the second US invasion of Iraq,he was thought to be so close to neo-conservatives on the Capitol Hill that a morphed image lampooned him snuggling up with Dick Cheney and Condoleeza Rice in a jacuzzi.A few years later,the same Chalabi fell from grace so hard that he was called a fraud,an Iranian spy and,most famously,the man who sold a dodgy weapons dossier to an unsuspecting First World,bringing it to an illegal war with Saddam Hussein. Full report at: timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/The-unlikely-KINGMAKER-/articleshow/5824199.cms -------- Salman Taseer for revival of India-Pakistan dialogue Sandeep Dikshit 18 Apr, 2010 LAHORE: The Governor of Punjab and influential Pakistan People's Party leader Salman Taseer has appealed to India to take a big-hearted approach and put the past behind by engaging in dialogue with Pakistan. Pointing out that the last two years of democratic government in Pakistan had changed the political landscape in the country, Mr. Taseer said while he did not claim to have an answer to several points of discord between the two countries, the "best way forward'' was to step up people-to-people contacts and trade besides reopening talks on all issues. Appealing to the Indian media not to demonise Pakistan, he said, the Fourth Estate must realise that the forces behind the "incident'' [Mumbai attacks] wanted to destroy the bilateral relationship. "Neither side wants to go to war but the situation can be unfortunately foisted on us,'' he cautioned while interacting with a visiting Indian media delegation. Islamabad was doing what it could to prevent militants from crossing over into Jammu & Kashmir. As a result there have been very few attacks. "India should appreciate that," he observed. Full report at: http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/18/stories/2010041857371400.htm -------- 'Osama ordered satellite TV dish to watch 9/11 attack '18 Apr, 2010 Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden ordered for a satellite TV dish to be set up at his hideout so that he could watch the 9/11 terror attack in the US, but he couldn't watch it as he was unable to get a signal in the mountainous terrain, his former bodyguard has said. Nasser Al Bahri, former bodyguard of the elusive al-Qaeda chief, said: "He asked for satellite TV to be able to follow the bombing." Al Bahri guarded the al-Qaeda leader for three years before being arrested in Yemen ahead of the 9/11 attacks, Daily Mail reported. He, however, claims to know that Osama told his media chief Hassan Al-Bahloul: "It is very important that we are able to watch the news today." Al Bahri had been instructed to shoot dead Bin Laden if he was about to be captured. "I would rather receive two bullets in the head than to be taken prisoner. I want to die a martyr, but certainly not in prison," Osama told his then bodyguard. Al Bahri's startling claims are made in his book, In The Shadow Of Bin Laden that he co-authored with French journalist Georges Malbrunot. -------- Iran: Sanctions imminent, Bric for diplomacy Sanjay Basak 18 APRIL 2010 Brasilia, April 17: The possibilities of sanctions against Iran appear to be imminent following an emerging view that negotiations in this regard were not making headway. In the recently-concluded Nuclear Security Summit at Washington, in which 47 nations participated, America pushed for the sanctions. It was also being suspected that Al Qaeda camps, active in Afghanistan, also had a hand in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. Also, India has made it categorically clear that Pakistan must demonstrate "credible action" against terrorism for resumption of full-fledged dialogue. Sources disclosed that even though the India, Russia and China were apparently toeing a middle path over the issues. Brazil is opposed to any form of sanctions and tried to create a consensus among the IBSA and BRIC leaders at Brasilia. Sources, however, felt though sanctions against Iran appears to be imminent, the negotiations over the issue would be a "tricky affair". However, India, Russia and China were also in favour of solving the issue through diplomatic channels rather than coming down hard on Iran. Iran came up for discussion during meetings between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva at the summit meeting here under the Brazil-Russia-India-China (BRIC) format on Friday. "Iran issue came up for discussion at the BRIC summit. There was free and frank exchange," commerce minister Anand Sharma said. The minister said that Dr Singh has clarified India's stance on the issue. Though BRIC nations India, Russia and China were of the view that Iran has the right to peaceful use of nuclear energy, they also felt that Tehran "must set at rest the apprehensions about its use of nuclear energy". The BRIC leaders were of the view that "Iran has the obligation to adhere to its international commitments and should cooperate with the IAEA and UNSC". Brazilian President Lula Da Silva will going to Iran on a state visit in May. With regard to the Prime Minister's possible meeting with his Pakistani counterpart, Mr Yousaf Raza Gilani, it was declared that "before any such talks, Pakistan needs to show it will take action against those involved in subversive activities against India". On the American-Pakistani LeT operative, David Coleman Headley, it was claimed that the "assurance for access to the operative has come from the highest quarters in the US". The Indian government would be sending formally letter to the US administration in this regard. It was also being suspected that Al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan also had a hand in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. It was indicated that some terrorists involved in 26/11 had undergone training at the Al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. It has been made clear that India "will continue to maintain its presence in Afghanistan". Sources said: "Whatever happens in Afghanistan has a direct impact on us." The Afghan issue figured at a meeting between national security adviser Shivshankar Menon and Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo on the sidelines of the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) and Brazil-Russia-China-India (BRIC) summits at Brasilia. Incidentally, both Mr Menon and Mr Dai are special representatives for the boundary talks between the two countries. Mr Menon also discussed the Afghanistan issue with Russian officials and his US counterpart, General James Jones. -------- Ehsan Jafri's family gets CISF protection 18 APRIL 2010 Ahmedabad, April 17: Worried about the safety, at the instance of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), Zakia Jafri, the widow of slain ex-MP Ehsan Jafri, killed in the 2002 riots at Gulberg Society, and her family members have been provided security by Central Industrial Security Force personnel. "We have been provided four armed CISF men for security purpose at our Surat residence," Zakia's son Tanvir Jafri confirmed, adding that initially his mother had been provided a constable for security from the State Reserved Police (SRP). "Later she went abroad to stay with my sister, hence the security was withdrawn," he said. "Now she is back in India and has been staying with me in Surat and sometimes goes to Ahmedabad," Tanvir said. "Looking at the present scenario in Ahmedabad we requested for security cover for her. Our request was granted and four CISF men have been stationed at our residence. They also follow ammi (Zakai) wherever she goes," he added. Ehsan Jafri was among the 69 killed in the Gulberg Society riots on February 28, 2002. Recently, the police had arrested one person for threatening a key witness in the Naroda Patiya case of 2002 where 95 people were killed eight years ago. Based on Zakia's complaint, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi was questioned for the first time with regard to the post-Godhra riots by the SIT on March 27. -------- Kayani apologises to tribals 18 Apr, 2010 Islamabad, April 17: Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Saturday apologised to a tribe whose members were killed in airstrikes in a tribal region earlier in April. A brief statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations said Mr Kayani had "offered apologies to the Kuki Khel tribe of Tirah valley (in Khyber tribal region) for an unfortunate incident of April 10, 2010, which resulted in the loss of precious and innocent civilian lives". Mr Kayani offered "his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families". He said he had "ordered measures to avoid re-occurrence of such incidents in future", the statement added. Media reports had said that about 60 members of the Kuki Khel tribe were killed in airstrikes. Military officials had earlier insisted that they had targeted a gathering of militants. -------- India gets high-level assurances from US on access to Headley Apr 17, 2010 Brasilia : India has got 'very high-level' assurances from the US Government that it will get access to Pakistani-American terrorist David Headley, who has confessed to plotting the Mumbai attacks, and the two countries will work out procedures in this regard. The issue figured in the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama on Sunday last in Washington. Subsequently, National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon discussed the issue further with his counterpart Gen James Jones the following day. "We have very high-level assurances that we will get access (to Headley)," Indian government sources said. They said that the two countries were working through the internal legal procedures in this regard. Addressing a press conference wrapping up his US visit on Wednesday, Singh had said Obama had told him that India would get access to Headley, an LeT operative arrested by the FBI in Chicago last year. Full report at: www.indianexpress.com/news/india-gets-highlevel-assurances-from-us-on-access-to-headley/607676/ -------- PM, Gilani headed for Bhutan; meet up to Pak C. Raja Mohan Apr 18, 2010 New Delhi : As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh returned home on Saturday after a week-long interaction with world leaders in Washington and Brasilia, the focus will shift quickly from such exalted issues as nuclear security, south-south cooperation and the promotion of a multipolar world to the pressing challenges in the immediate neighbourhood. With the question of talking to Pakistan back on the front burner, well placed sources in the government say it all depends on what Islamabad does with anti-India terror groups based on its soil. While insisting on 'credible action' from Pakistan, the government does not want to define too clearly, in public at least, the benchmarks by which it plans to judge Islamabad's moves. That ambiguity, some analysts hope, will generate sufficient political space for India and Pakistan to move forward. Reacting to the speculation that Singh will indeed sit down with his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani on the margins of a South Asia Summit in Bhutan at the end of this month, the sources said that "nothing is inevitable". -------- Nuclear city to be set up; Kingdom to use atomic energy for peaceful purposes By P.K. ABDUL GHAFOUR Apr 18, 2010 JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday the establishment of the King Abdullah Nuclear and Renewable Energy City in Riyadh and said it would use atomic energy for peaceful purposes, especially in industry, agriculture, mining, desalination and medical field. A royal decree issued by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah said development of atomic energy is essential to meet the Kingdom's growing requirements for energy to generate electricity, produce desalinated water and reduce reliance on depleting hydrocarbon resources. Electricity power demand in the Kingdom grew by eight percent last year and is expected to grow more than 60,000 megawatt by 2020. The royal decree said nuclear and renewable energies would ensure continued supplies of drinking water and electricity to its growing population and save hydrocarbon resources such as petroleum and gas for use by future generations, thus making them a source of income for a longer period. Full report at: http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article44495.ece -------- Abdullah arrives in Bahrain today By Mahmood Rafique Apr 18, 2010 MANAMA/RIYADH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah will visit Bahrain on Sunday and hold talks with King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa on major regional and international issues. The two leaders will also explore ways of strengthening bilateral ties. According to a statement issued by the Bahraini Royal Court, King Hamad and top Bahraini officials will be at the airport to receive the Saudi leader and his accompanying delegation. "We welcome our great guest, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, to Bahrain," it said. This is Abdullah's first visit to Bahrain after he became king in August 2005. Political analysts believe the royal visit will open a new era in relations between the two GCC neighbors. "Undoubtedly, this unprecedented visit will take the brotherly ties between the two countries to new heights," said Esam Abdulla Fakhro, chairman of the Federation of GCC Chambers. Fakhro, who is also chairman of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that the fraternal ties between the two ruling families have reflected positively on the overall relations between the two governments and the people of the two states over the past many decades. Full report at: http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article44496.ece -------- Sudan poll fails to meet global standards: Observers By OPHEERA MCDOOM Apr 17, 2010 KHARTOUM: Sudan's first multi-party elections in 24 years failed to meet all international standards, European Union observers said on Saturday in the first official judgment on the poll. Final results of the presidential and legislative ballots are due on Tuesday, and President Omar Hassan Bashir is widely expected to win, most of his rivals having boycotted the proceedings, accusing him of vote rigging. "These elections have struggled to reach international standards. They have not reached them all," the head of the European Union observer mission in Sudan, Veronique de Keyser, told reporters. "It is apparent that the elections will fall short of meeting international standards and Sudan's obligations for genuine elections in many respects," said a statement from the US Carter Center seen by Reuters. The preliminary statements will be a blow to Bashir who, analysts say, is looking for an internationally recognized win to legitimize his rule and fend off International Criminal Court charges that he masterminded war crimes in Sudan's western Darfur region. A member of Sudan's National Elections Commission defended the election, saying it was not surprising there had been problems given the country's war-torn history. Full report at: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article44403.ece -------- Poetic tribute to 'language of sweetness' By SYED FAISAL ALI Apr 17, 2010 JEDDAH: The Third All-Pakistan Mushaira under the auspices of Alami Urdu Markaz brought together some well-known poets from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to celebrate Urdu (language of sweetness) here on Thursday. The Alami Urdu Markaz Jeddah, a voluntary group, aims to promote amity and friendship among Urdu-speaking people. The group is headed by Athar Abbasi. Noted Pakistani poets who participated in the mushaira were Amjad Islam Amjad, Tariq Sabzwari, Mohsin Changezi and professor Enayat Ali Khan. Local poets included Nayeem Bazitpuri, Nasim-e-Sehar, Qamar Haider Qamar, Mohsin Alvi, Aftab Turabi, Shuakat Jamal, Anwar Ansari, Athar Abbasi and Mukhtar Ali. Amir Khurshid anchored the poetry session. Over 1,000 people listened to poets for almost five hours under the soft lights of the PISJ auditorium. The audience burst out with a congratulatory "wah-wah," "irshad irshad" (encore) and clapping when poets skillfully used rhythmic meter in their verses. Full report at: http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article44250.ece -------- 202 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons since 1967 By MOHAMMED MAR'I Apr 17, 2010 RAMALLAH: Palestinian Minister for Prisoner Affairs Issa Qaraqae said on Saturday the death of a Palestinian in an Israeli jail on Friday brings the number of Palestinian prisoners who have died in Israeli jails since the1967 Middle East war to 202. Raed Hammad, 27, from Al-Aizariyeh, east of Jerusalem, was found dead inside his cell in Ishel prison in the southern Israeli city of Be'er Sheva. He was serving a 10-year-term for attempted murder. Qaraqae said in a press statement that 50 prisoners died due to deliberate medical negligence and 70 prisoners due to severe torture. He added 71 prisoners were killed by Israeli forces after their arrest. The minister said seven prisoners died inside jails and detention camps due to use of "excessive force and live ammunition" by Israeli soldiers. The minister said Hammad was suffering from severe medical problems. "The Ministry of Prisoner Affairs and human rights organizations warned of Hammad's deteriorating condition and called for his release to receive medical treatment but Israel refused the call or to provide treatment." Full report at: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article44462.ece -------- 100 years after Gokhale and Jinnah 18 Apr, 2010 As anniversaries go, this does not quite compete with the birth of demigods or emperors, but it does demand something more than indifference. 2010 has a legitimate claim to being the 100th anniversary of Indian democracy. In January 1910, following the Minto-Morley reforms, 27 members, elected on the basis of limited franchise and separate electorates, took their seats in the 60-member Imperial Legislative Council, housed in Calcutta (Kolkata). The elective principle had to be reformed and refined periodically but was never, in India, abandoned. On Jan. 25, 1910 Muhammad Ali Jinnah was sworn in as the Muslim member from Mumbai. The other victor from the great metropolis was Gopal Krishna Gokhale, from the "general", or Hindu seat. The young Jinnah had been fortunate: Two elderly bearded frontrunners hated each other so much that they let the candidature go to the young Anglophile lawyer. Jinnah held that seat till 1946. Jinnah was not enthused by the system that brought him to the council. Separate electorates, in which only Muslims could vote for Muslims, were the consequence of a collaborative demand placed before Lord Minto in 1906 by a group of Muslim notables who went on to create the Muslim League in December that year. Jinnah refused to join the Muslim League and, at the Allahabad Congress in 1910, seconded a resolution deprecating the "principle of Separate Communal Electorates". He warned that this would divide the nation, supremely oblivious of a future in which he would become the architect of partition. Full report at: http://arabnews.com/opinion/columns/article44440.ece -------- US soldier dismissed for threats in Iraq protest Apr 18, 2010 BAGHDAD: A US soldier who threatened to shoot fellow troops and sent the Pentagon a violent rap song he wrote to protest plans to send him back to Iraq has been thrown out of the Army, officials said Saturday. The dismissal for misconduct means Spc. Marc A. Hall will avoid criminal charges but lose all military benefits earned over at least four years of service, including an earlier tour in Iraq. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Eric Bloom said Saturday that top brass decided to discharge Hall instead of taking him to trial in part because he admitted his guilt. "He understood the threats he made to his fellow soldiers," Bloom said. "With the loss of his benefits, the time he's already done in jail and his reduction in rank, that's justice served." Hall has been jailed since Dec. 11, two days before his brigade with the Army's 3rd Infantry Division out of Ft. Stewart, Georgia, was scheduled to leave for Iraq. He was charged with the military offense of communicating a threat after telling his battalion commander that he might shoot or otherwise attack a fellow US soldier, according to Army lawyers. He previously served in Iraq in 2007-08. Full report at: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article44466.ece -------- Two men charged with Aamir Siddiqi murder in Cardiff 18 Apr, 2010 Aamir Siddiqi's parents suffered stab wounds in the attack Two men have been charged with murdering teenager Aamir Siddiqi at his Cardiff home. Mr Siddiqi, 17, from the Roath area of the city, was stabbed to death after opening his front door to two masked men on 11 April. Police have charged two men, aged 35 and 36, with murder and the attempted murder of Mr Siddiqi's parents who suffered serious stab wounds. The accused men are due to appear before Cardiff magistrates on Monday. A third man, aged 39, who was arrested in connection with the attack, has been released on bail pending further inquiries. Police have renewed their appeal for information about the attack. Det Ch Supt Stuart McKenzie, senior investigating officer, said: "Aamir was a talented and much-loved young man who had his life ahead of him. Full report at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/8627823.stm | ||||||
Islam respects a human for being a human--
Asadullah Syed
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