Islamic World News 22 Sep 2011, NewAgeIslam.

Com Fighting Rocks Yemen Capital, Death Toll Tops 100 Islam Is More Ideology Than Religion, F.B.I. Analyst Says in Video Maldives: Faculty of Sharia Law to expel student wearing face veil Burka ban: French women fined for wearing full-face veil AMU woman students protest library ban Iran Prez speech triggers walkout Iran president makes 9/11 claims after UN walkout Palestines UN bid a negative development, says Israel China gives normal visas to Kashmiris Haqqani faction ISI arm, did embassy attack: Mullen Talibans CD trick to kill Rabbani Rabbani assassin had brought a message of peace from Taliban Mirwaiz seeks UN intervention in resolving Kashmir issue Taken by J&K development, PoK leader snubs Geelani 8 Months after First Protests, Yemen Enters Dangerous New Phase President Barack Obama angers Palestinians Pakistan: Beheaded bodies of abducted tribesmen found in Mohmand California councilman criticized for mentioning in meeting that he named dog aft er Muhammad China executes Pakistani man on drugs charges U.K. Muslims condemn Bharatpur killings Tripoli fell a month ago; where s victory? Abandoned child legally assigned foster parents for first time in Maldivian hist ory Turkey to restore biggest mosque in Somalia Former Indian Cricket Captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi Passes Away Snipers kill 4 civilians in Yemen Drone attack kills 10 Qaeda suspects in Yemen Syrian TV says 5 policemen killed in ambush Two killed in attack on NATO containers in Khyber

Three Taliban militants killed in clash with Pak troops Roadside bomb attack kills 5 in northwest Pakistan 9 Killed in Renewed Violence in Yemeni Capital Tunisian army kills armed infiltrators near Algeria EU to slap new sanctions on Syria as death toll rises Suspect denies Marrakesh bombing Varanasi probe team joins NIA in Delhi blast case NIA tells court Kishtwar duo behind Delhi high court blast PUCL alleges police bias at play in Gopalgarh Bullets killed three, establish Bharatpur autopsy reports Dawood relative shoots at site HuJI plotted Delhi HC blast in Nepal Sarkozy aides held in 2002 Karachi blast case Two Sarkozy friends detained in Karachi kickbacks affair Prospect of civil war draws closer in Yemen Pakistan Human rights commission blames govt. inaction for anti-Shia violence Libya rulers claim capture of Qaddafi bastion NATO Extends Libya Bombing Campaign Haqqani network not on Pak soil: Rehman Malik Pakistan ISI urged attacks on US targets: Officials Britain keeps strong stand on Iran nuclear effort Should have involved 9/11 families in NYC mosque: developer Modi now wants easy visa for Pakistanis visiting Ajmer Muslims at Modi venue: VHP men clash over taunt South Sudan s President vows corruption crackdown 25 Indian fishermen arrested by Pakistan authorities Former journalist Amir Peretz to led Israels Labour Party New Silk Road eyed for Afghanistan Will stick to reconciliation process: Kabul Ramallah buoyant over statehood move

Pak knew of money transfer to Times Square bomb plotter? Iran displays missiles on anniversary of Iraq war Afghan President: Rabbani s Killer Staged a Ruse Muslim chaplains connect communities to public bodies China makes dent in Halal market with 1/8th of India s Muslim population Bangladesh opposition-led strike paralyses daily life Imran Khan s book recalled in India for errors in map Post-regime change, Arabs eye the road to democracy Shoaib Akhtar, Controversially yours: From Rawalpindi, with love Urdu poets sharpen their wit with Modis amity fast Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=553 1

--------Fighting Rocks Yemen Capital, Death Toll Tops 100 23 Sep, 2011 SANAA (Reuters) - Fighting between pro- and anti-government forces spread throug h Yemen s capital during the night, said witnesses, bringing the death count fro m five days of violence to more than 100. Protesters were due to return to the streets during Friday prayers, raising the risks of more confrontations between troops loyal to President Ali Abdullah Sale h and activists demanding an end to his 33-year rule. The United States, Saudi Arabia and other powers fear al-Qaeda s Yemen wing coul d exploit the growing lawlessness in the country. Al Qaeda militants have alread y seized cities in a Yemeni province just east of a key oil shipping channel in recent months. Gun battles and shelling between state troops and soldiers backing the protest m ovement shook areas near "Change Square," the name demonstrators have given the street where thousands have camped out for eight months. Protesters, inspired by uprisings across the Arab world, marched into parts of t he city controlled by pro-Saleh forces on Sunday and were met by heavy gunfire. The clashes escalated when troops loyal to army defector General Ali Mohsen join ed in on the side of the protesters. Overnight, one or two shells hit the southern end of the Change Square camp, kil ling at one person, a spokesman for the demonstrators said. At least six people were killed as fighting raged on Thursday and Friday with he

avy explosions and gunfire in Hasaba, a neighborhood of Sanaa where the powerful anti-Saleh tribal leader Sadeq al-Ahmar lives, residents said. Snipers said to be lurking on the upper floors of buildings killed four proteste rs and wounded at least 14 around Change Square, a doctor at the square s clinic said. Angry protesters set fire to a house where they believed snipers were hid ing, while medics set up a blood donation campaign for the wounded. A guard at the house of an opposition figure also died when Saleh loyalists bomb arded his house. The interior ministry said seven people were killed by late afternoon on Thursda y, including two government soldiers and two armed tribesmen fighting alongside them. Negotiations on a peaceful transfer of power have stalled, and the U.N. s Yemen envoy said the country on the south end of the Arabian Peninsula would be torn a part unless a political solution is reached soon between Saleh s camp and his fo es. Saleh has been in nearby Saudi Arabia since June recovering from wounds suffered in a June assassination attempt, leaving Yemen in a tense political limbo. "Unless there is a deal, or unless there a breakthrough to a political solution ... the country will continue to fall apart and violence will spread to other pa rts of the country," United Nations envoy Jamal bin Omar told Reuters. "It s very urgent that Yemenis make up their mind and agree on a reasonable way forward." WINDOW CLOSING FOR NEGOTIATIONS Diplomats and analysts say the best chance of pulling the capital out of a desce nt into further violence is finalizing a deal for a transfer of power plan, whic h they say Yemeni politicians were just days away from finalizing when the fight ing erupted. Saleh has on three occasions backed out of a plan brokered by Gulf neighbors for him to step down. Yemenis eager to get on with their lives said they feared tha t negotiators did not have much time left before violence spiraled out of contro l. "Today it s fine, maybe tomorrow too," said driver Mohammed, as he waited in a l ine of cars to pass a checkpoint. "They ve got a few days, maybe a week to get s ome kind of political development. After that, I worry there will be a slaughter ." A truce called by Yemen s vice president earlier this week broke down in just a matter of hours, highlighting the need for a political breakthrough. "There are some initiatives being discussed for a political solution under the s upervision of Jamal bin Omar and we hope these efforts succeed. Their failure wi ll push this country into more violence," a high-ranking opposition official sai d. Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Abdbullatif al-Zayani flew into Sanaa this week to try and resurrect the deal but left after two days with nothing to show for his efforts. More than 400 have been killed since the grassroots revolt against repressive Sa

leh family rule began in January. http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2011/09/21/world/middleeast/international-us--------Islam Is More Ideology Than Religion, F.B.I. Analyst Says in Video By J. DAVID GOODMAN Sep 22, 2011 The video is dull seminar room, dim lights, PowerPoint but its message from an F .B.I. counterterrorism analyst is provocative: fighting Al Qaeda and other extre mist groups is a waste compared to the broader threat posed by Islam itself. The lecturer, William Gawthrop, is an F.B.I. counterterrorism analyst and a prof essor at American Military University who has written academic articles on the c onnection between Islam and terrorism. Wired magazines national security blog, Danger Room, obtained the video of the Ju ne presentation to a New York City chapter of Infragard, a partnership between t he F.B.I. and private business to protect critical infrastructure from attack. During the presentation, Mr. Gawthrop advocates trying to undermine Islam at its foundation as a way of combating terrorism, drawing an analogy to the fictional weapon of mass destruction at the center of the Star Wars films: If you remember Star Wars, that ventilation shaft that goes down to into the dep ths of the Death Star, they shot a torpedo down there. Thats a critical vulnerabi lity. Video of Mr. Gawthrops presentation comes a week after the publication by the sam e blog of training materials from a similar lecture in April titled Strategic The mes and Drivers in Islamic Law that described the prophet Muhammad as a cult leade r and linked the Islamic faith to violence. As my colleague Erica Goode reported, the F.B.I. responded that the training material did not represent the views of the F.B.I. and that the material was presented only once. The video posted on Tu esday appeared to contradict that statement. After Mr. Gawthrop first gave the presentation in his capacity as a representati ve of the F.B.I., the bureau told him to stop, said Christopher Allen, an F.B.I. spokesman. When the F.B.I. learned in August that he had continued to deliver t he lecture on his own behalf, it told him to stop completely. In the video, Mr. Gawthrop presents PowerPoint slides that outline his ideas abo ut Islam, which he describes bluntly at the beginning as being less a religion t han a political ideology. We are not going to be discussing Islam as a religion, h e says. We are going to be discussing that component of Islam which is non-religi ous. That component comprises about 83 percent of the religion. Islam is only ab out 17 percent religious. The other 83 percent discusses the relationship between the Islamic and the non-I slamic world, he asserts. Copies of the training materials, some of which were presented in the June lectu re, were leaked to the Danger Room blog and published last week, including a cha rt that tracks the relative violence of Islam as compared to Christianity and Ju daism.

According to the material, the Judeo-Christian faiths have been on a steady path toward greater and greater non-violence for thousands of years. Islam, on the o ther hand, has remained at about the same level of violence since its inception. Those slides came from the April lecture, which Danger Room said was also presen ted by Mr. Gawthrop. Mr. Gawthrop did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeki ng comment. At the time, the F.B.I. said in a statement: The training segment that is the subject of recent media reports does not reflec t the views of the F.B.I. and is not consistent with the overall instruction pro vided to F.B.I. personnel. It was conducted six months ago, one time only, and w as quickly discontinued because it was inconsistent with F.B.I. standards on thi s topic. It was delivered to an audience of 37 agents as part of F.B.I. career p ath training. As of August 2011, the individual who delivered the presentation no longer provi des training on behalf of the F.B.I. These corrective measures were made before recent media attention was given to this topic. Mr. Gawthrop is still employed as a counterterrorism analyst, according to the b ureau spokesman. In 2006, before working for the F.B.I., Mr. Gawthrop said in an interview with t he conservative site World Net Daily that there is evidence to support the conten tion that sources of terrorism in Islam may reside within the strategic themes o f Islam, which he said included the example of Muhammad, the Quran, the hadiths, I slamic law, the pillars of faith and jihad. The F.B.I. has previously come under fire for inviting talks and encouraging rea ding books on Islam that are hostile to the religion and for the use of a counte rterrorism manual that described Islam as transforming a countrys culture into sev enth-century Arabian ways. Book reviews attributed to Mr. Gawthrop on Amazons Web site also appear to reveal his views. In one, he offered praise and five stars for a book on Islam, coloni alism and the slave trade in Nigeria. Critics of the Western experience with slav ery may be surprised by the nature and extent with which Islam enslaved African Muslims and sold them to bondage, he wrote. In another approving review, he recommends a book titled Slavery, Terrorism, and Islam written by Peter Hammond, a Christian missionary in Africa. At a time when Slavery is assessed as an American birth defect with the finger o f political correctness pointing at Washington as a slave owner, Hammond reminds us that Muhammad, the founding father of Islam, was a slave owner, and that und er Islamic stewardship, slavery became a highly developed, civilizational-level, industry that, over 14 centuries, drained Africa of an estimated 140 million pe ople. Another review bemoans the current era of political correctness and academic appe asement that has has tainted recent writing on Islam. http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/20/islam-is-more-ideology-than-religion -f-b-i--------Maldives: Faculty of Sharia Law to expel student wearing face veil

By Ahmed Nazeer Sep 22, 2011 The only student wearing the face veil studying at the Faculty of Sharia Law wil l be asked to remove it during class or face being expelled if she refuses to do so, Dean of the Faculty of Sharia Law Dr Ibrahim Zakariyya Moosa has reportedly stated. An online religious news website in the Maldives, Islaameenoor, reported the girl as saying that she was called to go to the office after class, whereupon Dr Zaka riyya told her that it was not compulsory for Muslim women to wear the face veil . Dr Zakariyya reportedly told the girl that studying was compulsory under Islam, and that if wearing the face veil obstructed her from studying, she should not w ear it even if it was a Sunnah. According to Islaameenoor, the girl responded that she did not wear the veil to create confusion about the religion, but to uphold the religion as much as she c ould, the paper reported. Dr Zakariyya allegedly told her that he had no choice to allow something disallo wed, and that she should not come to study wearing the face veil although she wa s able to come wearing a loose black hijab. According to the paper, Dr Zakariyya told her that in different parts of the cou ntry terrorists had used the hijab to hide weapons, and that there was no way to identify the sex of a person wearing the full hijab. Dr Zakariyya explained to her that there was no way the faculty could confirm th at it was really her attending the exam if she wore the face veil, to which the girl replied that if the faculty was suspicious, female staff working in the fac ulty could remove her face veil and check. Dr Zakariyya then told the student that there was an opportunity to secretly hav e headphones in her ear while doing the exams, which she said was possible even wearing the normal veil without covering the face. When Minivan News attempted to contact Dr Zakariyya, the front desk at the facul ty referred Minivan News to the Maldives National University. The Maldives Natio nal University referred Minivan News back to the faculty of Islamic Studies, whi ch said it did not have the authority to comment. Maldives National University Chancellor, also the former Education Minister Dr M usthafa Luthfy, also said he did not wish to comment on the matter. Former State Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, currently Dean o f Islamic Studies at Villa College, said he had not heard of the matter and woul d not comment on it unless the reports had been officially confirmed. Online newspaper Sun meanwhile today reported Dr Zakariyya as confirming that the reports were correct, and he had advised a student wearing the face veil to remo ve it while coming to study. He reportedly told the paper that the Faculty of Sharia Law would take strict mea sures next year in such cases. http://minivannews.com/society/faculty-of-sharia-law-to-expel-student-wearing-fa

ce-veil--------Burka ban: French women fined for wearing full-face veil Sep 22, 2011 Two French women who continue to wear the full-face veil in defiance of a new la w banning it in France have been fined 150 euros each by a court. Hind Amas and Kenza Drider were caught wearing the niqab in public outside Meaux town hall, eastern Paris, in May. They become the first of 91 women stopped by French police to be handed the 150euro (130) fine. The women say they will appeal against their punishment the way to the European Court of Human Rights. Thursday s sentencing in Meaux was closely followed not just in France but right across Europe, says the BBC s Christian Fraser in Paris. Belgium, Italy, Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerland all have - or are planning - similar legislation. Assault claims Divorced mother Amas, 32, who was sentenced with fellow campaigner and mother-of -three Drider, has become a champion for several hundred women in France who ins ist wearing the niqab is a personal choice and a right enshrined by European law . Amas s parents were not strict Muslims. She put on the niqab for the first time six years ago as an educated single woman. She claims she once wore mini-skirts and liked to party before she rediscovered her faith. Some Muslim groups say since the ban was introduced in April a number of women h ave been assaulted both verbally and physically by members of the public. These two women would most likely have to exhaust the appeals process in France - which can take considerable time - before they can hope to test the legislatio n in the European court in Strasbourg. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15013383 --------AMU woman students protest library ban Sep 23 2011 THE women of Aligarh Muslim University ( AMU) have a history of firsts. The first chancellor of the university was a woman. The countrys first woman postgraduate was also from here. In the context of such impressive precedents, the irony of the ongoing struggle for equal rights in AMU has not escaped many.

Prohibited from entering the university library for ages, the students of AMUs Wo mens College are no longer willing to accept such discrimination. This is a long- standing demand. AMUs Maulana Azad University library is probably the best in Asia. But ironically , a section of students has no access to this wealth of knowledge, Shadab Bano, w ho teaches history at the college, said. The 100- year- old Womens College is not an affiliated institution but a constitu tive part of AMU lodged in the fort- like enclosure of Abdullah Hall. Undergradu ate education, except for the professional courses, is provided to women only by this college. As the women boarders of the hall are not allowed out of the campus except on Su ndays, the membership of the university library has till now been out of questio n. Perhaps, this is why the rule is also extended to the colleges day- scholars. The college has its own library but that is nothing compared to the material ava ilable at the Maulana Azad library. Undergraduate male students from other colle ges can go and study there, but not us, a student said. Encouraged by support from some of the faculty, the female students are now rais ing their voice. Last year, 600 students and 57 teachers had signed a petition a sking for relaxation of the restriction and submitted it to the university. It h as, however, done nothing in response. Mail Today ------Iran prez speech triggers walkout Sep 23 2011 Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attacked Western powers on Thursday for a catalogue of misdeeds, but his address to the UN failed to mention Tehrans dispu ted nuclear programme. The US delegation walked out when Ahmadinejad said arroga nt powers threatened anyone who questioned the Holocaust and the 9/11 attacks on the US with sanctions and military action. Other Western delegations soon made their exit. Times of India ------Iran president makes 9/11 claims after UN walkout 23 Sep, 2011 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said he believes - as an engineer - th e World Trade Center towers could not have been brought down by aircraft. Interviewed after his address to the UN General Assembly sparked a walkout, he t old the AP news agency some kind of planned explosion must have occurred. But he stopped short of saying the US staged the disaster 10 years ago. He had been widely condemned for using his UN address to brand the US killing of

Osama Bin Laden a 9/11 cover-up. Repair US relationship

Diplomats from more than 30 countries, including the US and EU nations, left the hall as he attacked the West, denounced Israel and questioned the Holocaust. The mass walkout has become almost a staple of the General Assembly s meetings. It came a day ahead of a Palestinian bid for UN membership. Mr Ahmadinejad told AP it was not too late for Iran and the US to repair their r elationship. But he was fiercely critical of the operation against Osama Bin Laden, when, he said, the US "killed the main perpetrator [of 9/11] and threw his body into the sea". "Would it not have been reasonable to bring to justice and openly bring to trial the main perpetrator of the incident in order to identify the elements behind t he safe space provided for the invading aircraft to attack the twin World Trade Center towers?" he had told the assembly. Full report at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15028776 --------Palestines UN bid a negative development, says Israel Sep 23 2011 New Delhi : Describing the Palestinian bid to seek a full membership of the Unit ed Nations as a negative development, Israel ambassador to India Alon Ushpiz said that peace can be achieved in Jerusalem and Ramallah, and not in the glamorous hal ls of New York. The Israeli envoy told The Indian Express, This new development w ill make it difficult for direct negotiations... one should remember that direct cooperation can only bring in peace. When asked about whether Israel has protested against Indias support to the Pales tinian bid, he said, Israel and India are very close friends, and they have wideranging and frank discussions. Friends should not protest against each other. Full report at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Palestine-s-UN-bid-a-negative-development--say s------China gives normal visas to Kashmiris Sep 23 2011 New Delhi : Sending a positive signal to India, China has given normal pasted visa s to 12 Kashmiri youths who are visiting the country as a part of a 500-member c ontingent on a government-sponsored exchange programme. The delegation is visiti ng Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou between September 21 and 29. The 12 Kashmiris, all aged under 35, have been chosen from the newly-elected pan

chayats and institutions of higher education. The Chinese embassy has not been issuing stapled visas since December last year, a nd the Chinese envoy has told Indian officials that they have been issuing visas in hundreds to J&K residents. Full report at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/China-gives-normal-visas-to-Kashmiris/850480/ ------Haqqani faction ISI arm, did embassy attack: Mullen Sep 23 2011 Washington : The Haqqani militant network is a veritable arm of Pakistans ISI intel ligence service, which supported the group as it launched a startling attack las t week on the US embassy in Kabul, the top US military officer said today. The Haqqani network ... acts as a veritable arm of Pakistans Inter-Services Intell igence Agency, Admiral Mike Mullen, who steps down this month as chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in prepared remarks to a US Senate panel. The Haqqani network is one of three and perhaps the most feared allied insurgent factions fighting US-led NATO and Afghan troops under the Taliban banner in Afg hanistan. With ISI support, Haqqani operatives planned and conducted (a September 11) truck bomb attack, as well as the assault on our embassy, Mullen said. We also have cre dible intelligence that they were behind the June 28 attack against the Inter-Co ntinental Hotel in Kabul and a host of other smaller but effective operations. Mullen said the embassy attack and Tuesdays bombing that killed a former Afghan p resident who personified hopes for brokering peace negotiations with the Taliban , were examples of the Talibans shift towards high-profile violence.MISSY RYAN & SUSAN CORNWELL http://www.indianexpress.com/news/haqqani-faction-isi-arm-did-embassy-attack------Talibans CD trick to kill Rabbani Sep 23 2011 Kabul: President Hamid Karzai on Thursday said that the assassin of Afghan peace broker Burhanuddin Rabbani had come to Kabul with a CD carrying an apparent aud io message of peace, allegedly from Taliban leaders. Karzai said he had heard the CD,passed to him by a High Peace Council representa tive, before Rabbani s assassination and initially thought it carried the peace message. In an emotional press conference, Karzai said: We saw that that message was not a message of peace,it was rather a deception... and the peace emissary was a mur derer. In a separate press conference, Afghanistans intelligence agency the National Di rectorate of Security said it believed the Talibans leadership body, the Quetta

Shura, was involved. Rabbanis killer had claimed he was representing a mysterious figure mediating be tween the government and the Talibans senior leadership, a survivor of the attac k said. Former Taliban minister and member of Rabbanis High Peace Council, Rahma tullah Wahidyar said the bomber came as an envoy for a man called Hameedullah Ak hondzada, who had claimed to have been in contact with Taliban leaders. Times of India ------Rabbani assassin had brought a message of peace from Taliban Sep 23 2011 Kabul : The suicide bomber who killed Burhanuddin Rabbani gained access to him b y presenting officials beforehand with an audio recording of a purported Taliban peace offer, President Hamid Karzai said Thursday. At a news conference, Karzai said the CD was a trick to allow the assassin to ge t an appointment with Rabbani, who led the countrys High Peace Council. Karzais re marks offered new details about Rabbanis death, which dealt a devastating blow to efforts of negotiating a peace settlement with the Taliban to end the decade-lo ng war. Karzai said that before he left for New York last weekend, one of his advisers, Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, told him that the Taliban had a message for the Afgha n peace council. Stanekzai brought me a message that someone had come from the Taliban movement an d brought with them an audio CD in which there was a message from a Taliban repr esentative, Karzai said. The president said he listened to the audio before leaving to attend the UN Gene ral Assembly. The voice on the recording spoke respectfully about Rabbani, he sa id. There were a couple of questions and suggestions regarding peace. Karzai said he then talked with Rabbani, who rushed back home from a trip to Ira n to listen to the recording.AMIR SHAH & DEB RIECHMANN http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Rabbani-assassin-had-brought-a--message-of-pea ce-------Mirwaiz seeks UN intervention in resolving Kashmir issue Sep 23 2011 Srinagar : Moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq today sought the interve ntion of the United Nations in resolving Kashmir issue, saying bilateral talks b etween India and Pakistan have failed to settle it. "The United Nations has a moral and legal obligation to help settle the issue of Kashmir in accordance with the wishes and will of the people. Past failures to settle the question should not deter the United Nations. Now, more than ever, th e UN must renew efforts to bring about the promised settlement," the Mirwaiz sai d.

He was addressing the Kashmir Contact Group of Organisation of Islamic Conferenc e (OIC), which met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. He said the resolution of Kashmir issue could not be left on governments of Indi a and Pakistan as bilateral efforts of these countries in the past had failed. The Mirwaiz said Hurriyat wanted a peaceful and lasting solution with the partic ipation of all parties India, Pakistan and the people of Jammu and Kashmir. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/mirwaiz-seeks-un-intervention-in-resolving-kas hmir------Taken by J&K development, PoK leader snubs Geelani Sep 23 2011 Islamabad: In a virtual snub to separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelanis stand t hat Pakistan should not talk to India on matters like trade till the Kashmir iss ue is resolved, senior PoK politician Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry on Thursday said t hings should start moving and rolling. Chaudhry, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan occupied Kashmir, said he had co nveyed his position to Geelani during a recent meeting in Srinagar. Geelani has his views and wants (J&K ) to join Pakistan... I told him that statu s quo does not suit us. Things should start moving and rolling, he said. Chaudhry said he had stated his position after Geelani reiterated his stance tha t Pakistan should hold talks with India on issues like boosting trade only after the resolution of the Kashmir issue. Chaudhry, who was addressing a news confer ence on his return from his first visit to India, was impressed with what he saw in J&K. The truth is there has been more development on that side. It is very beautiful and I visited agolf course and a trout fishing farm... I have seen those things and we should take steps to implement similar measures here, he said. Times of India ------8 Months After First Protests, Yemen Enters Dangerous New Phase By LAURA KASINOF and ROBERT F. WORTH Sep 22, 2011 SANA, Yemen Eight months after the first protesters began calling for revolution in Yemen, the beleaguered country has entered a new round of violence, in which street demonstrators appear to have become little more than sacrificial pawns i n a long-term rivalry among members of Yemens political elite. A shaky cease-fire largely held on Wednesday, after three days of gun battles an d artillery barrages that left dozens of unarmed protesters dead. But the violen ce appears to have shattered the latest round of diplomatic efforts to ease out Yemens long-term president, Ali Abdullah Saleh. That may have been precisely the point. The negotiations appeared to be making p

rogress last week, and foreign diplomats issued statements suggesting that a dea l to transfer power was just days away. Then, on Sunday, protesters in Sana, the capital, advanced toward government troops and began throwing rocks at whose in stigation is not clear and the soldiers responded with deadly force. Five more protesters were killed in scattered violence on Wednesday, including t hree by snipers and one by a mortar attack. The bloodshed of recent days threatens to spiral into a wider conflict between t he countrys most well-armed factions: a powerful tribal clan, a renegade general and the family of Mr. Saleh. Each faction is struggling to impose its will, even as outlying provinces slip further and further from anyones control. Mr. Saleh, who once deftly balanced (and exploited) the countrys divisions, remains in Saudi Arabia recovering from wounds sustained in a bomb attack on his palace compound in June. Unfortunately, part of this is a power struggle amongst armed elites that do not have the best interests of Yemen on their minds, but are doing this rather for p ersonal and political gain, said a Western diplomat in Sana, who spoke on conditi on of anonymity under standard diplomatic protocol. Full report at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/22/world/middleeast/truce-slows-fighting-in-yemen s--------President Barack Obama angers Palestinians Sep 22, 2011 UNITED NATIONS: US President Barack Obama, trying to avert a showdown on Palesti nian statehood, told the United Nations there was no substitute for Israeli-Pale stinian negotiations or a short cut to peace. With US credibility and influence in the Middle East at stake, Obama wants to di ssuade the Palestinians from asking the UN Security Council for statehood in def iance of Israeli objections and a US veto threat. But they have shown no sign of renouncing their plan to stake their claim on Friday. A year after telling the UN General Assembly he hoped to see a Palestinian state born by now, the US president said creating such a state alongside Israel remai ned his goal. "But the question isn t the goal we seek the question is how to reach it. And I am convinced that there is no short cut to the end of a conflict that has endure d for decades," Obama said. "Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the UN if it were tha t easy, it would have been accomplished by now," he said. Full report at: http://arabnews.com/world/article504870.ece --------Pakistan: Beheaded bodies of abducted tribesmen found in Mohmand

Sep 22, 2011 GHALANAI, Sept 21: The beheaded bodies of three tribesmen, kidnapped by militant s a month ago, were found in Khawezai tehsil of Mohmand Agency on Wednesday. Sources said that Mian Hazrat, Nazeem, and Habib had been kidnapped by militants about a month ago from Palosai area of Khawezai tehsil. Their beheaded bodies w ere found in Sam Ghakay area of the tribal region. Sources said that volunteers of local peace committee and officials of political administration brought the b odies of Mian Hazrat and Nazeem to agency headquarters hospital in Ghalanai and later handed them over to their relatives. The body of Habib was still lying the re, they added. Meanwhile, unidentified persons kidnapped a tubewell operator, Hzarat Ali, on Tu esday. Security forces launched a search operation in the area for his recovery. Sources said that unidentified assailants burnt a tractor of Mohmand Rifles in K hwaja Waskor area of Haleemzai tehsil. Security forces arrested 20 tribesmen und er the collective responsibility clause of FCR after the incident. In Upper Dir, police claimed to have arrested a mastermind of the June 5, 2009, suicide attac k on a mosque in Hayagay Sharqi area of the district. Full report at: http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/22/beheaded-bodies-of-abducted-tribesmen-found-in--------California councilman criticized for mentioning in meeting that he named dog aft er Muhammad 22 Sep, 2011 SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. A Southern California councilman is drawing criticis m for mentioning in a public meeting that he named his dog after the Muslim prop het Muhammad. The Council on American-Islamic Relations has called on Derek Reeve to apologize for his comment at a recent San Juan Capistrano council meeting. The Islamic ad vocacy group says Reeve mentioned naming his dogs America and Muhammad during a discussion about a new dog park. CAIRs executive director in greater Los Angeles says while Reeve has a right to f ree speech, his distasteful remark is unbefitting of an elected official. The citys mayor and another councilman also criticized Reeve. An email message seeking comment from Reeve wasnt immediately returned Wednesday. The Orange County Register reports that Reeve said he named his dog Muhammad as a political statement. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/california-councilman-criticized -for--------China executes Pakistani man on drugs charges Sep 22, 2011

China has executed a Pakistani man, Zahid Husain Shah, despite last-ditch appeal s for clemency, his family says. Mr Shah, 35, was arrested in 2008 and was convicted last year of drug smuggling. He was put to death by lethal injection in Shanghai on Wednesday morning. Human rights groups had called on Beijing to stop the execution and urged Islama bad to take up appeals on his behalf. There was no comment from either governmen t. Relatives were allowed one last meeting with Mr Husain at Shanghai Detention Cen tre on Wednesday morning. His cousin, Tasneem Fatima, told the BBC the family expects to travel back to Pa kistan later this week, once his body has been returned to them. The last thing he told her was that he was innocent, she said. Four other Pakistanis arrested with Mr Shah were sentenced to life imprisonment. According to Mr Husain s relatives, he was framed for a crime he did not commit. "Executing someone for drug-related offences violates internationally accepted s tandards for imposing the death penalty," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International s Asia-Pacific director. The human rights group argues that no-one sentenced to death receives a fair tri al in China, where thousands of executions for drug trafficking take place every year, more than the rest of the world combined. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-15006181 --------U.K. Muslims condemn Bharatpur killings HASAN SUROOR Sep 22, 2011 The Council of Indian Muslims (UK) on Wednesday condemned what it described as th e brutal and extra-judicial killings of Muslims in Gopalgarh in Bharatpur Distric t of Rajasthan, and demanded compensation for the victims families. In an open letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, its chairman Munaf Zena alle ged that the police entered a mosque and fired at the worshippers. According to reports, the survivors said they were completely helpless and saved th eir lives by jumping into a pond. In expressing their distrust in law enforcemen t agencies these survivors have reflected what the Indian Muslims in general fee l about their treatment by the police, the letter said demanding that those behin d the killings should be caught and prosecuted. http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2474318.ece --------Tripoli fell a month ago; where s victory?

Sep 22 2011 Tripoli : Muammar Gaddafi remains at large. His supporters are well- armed. Figh ting rages on three fronts, even as NATO warplanes drop more bombs. This doesn t sound much like victory. But don t tell that to the crowds packing Martyrs Square in Tripoli every night with the boom of celebratory gunfire as a soundtrack. A month after revolutionary fighters claimed the capital and most other parts of the country, forces loyal to Gaddafi have shown no signs of giving up, raising the prospect of a long-term insurgency. Libya s new rulers dismiss those fears and say time is on their side, insisting the holdouts in Gaddafi s hometown of Sirte, Bani Walid and Sabha were die-hard supporters, including many who escaped the Tripoli blitz and believe they have n o choice but to resist or face war crimes charges themselves. "These people will fight to the last breath, said Sadeq al-Kabir, a Tripoli re presentative on the National Transitional Council, which led the rebellion and i s the closest thing Libya has to a government. He said rebels believe some of the main regime figures are still hiding in the a reas, including Gaddafi s son Seif al-Islam. Full report at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/tripoli-fell-a-month-ago;-wheres-victory/85015 2/ --------Abandoned child legally assigned foster parents for first time in Maldivian hist ory By Eleanor Johnstone Sep 22, 2011 The Family Court has assigned foster parents to a 10-month-old baby for the firs t time in Maldivian history. The child, who had been abandoned, was transferred from state care to a married couple on Sunday, September 18. This is the first time that non-biological parents have been given legal guardian ship of a child in the Maldives, said Ilham Mohamed, a local NGO worker familiar with the matter. Mohamed said that foster parents previously risked the biological parents turnin g up to demand money and/or the child. This example will make the process more se cure, she said. The new foster parents will have the same legal rights given in adoption, except for the rights to consent to marriage and leave an inheritance. Mohamed pointed out that in many cases where a father will not consent to his da ughters marriage, the young couple requests and often receives court permission. She said the process usually takes between two and three months. The couples lawyer, former Attorney General (AG) Aishath Azima Shakoor, told loca l media that the couple wanted to opt for their new daughter to inherit an equal

share of their property. According to Mohamed, Maldivian law allows foster pare nts this option. Shakoor recently told local media that the court had transferred the states legal guardianship of the child under Sharia law to the couple, who have agreed in wri ting to protect and provide for the girl. Full report at: http://minivannews.com/society/abandoned-child-legally-assigned-foster-parents-f or-first--------Turkey to restore biggest mosque in Somalia Sep 22, 2011 (Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Turkish Religious Affairs Foundation (TDV) will resto re the biggest mosque in Somalia. Turkish teams will renovate the Central Mosque, which was damaged due to civil w ar, in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. "There are 200 mosques that needed restoration in Somalia," TDV s international relations director Mustafa Tutkun told AA correspondent on Sunday. Tutkun said Somali executives asked Turkey to restore mosques, donate Korans and religious books, rehabilitate theological institutions, and educate Somali stud ents. "We will restore the Central Mosque in line with its original shape," Tutkun sai d. Tutkun said the foundation was planning to take 100 students to Turkey for educa tion. "The students will first go to Koran courses and also learn the language, and th en they will be sent to imam hatip schools (giving theological education)," he s aid. Tutkun also said the number of Somali students to be taken to Turkey would be ra ised to 250 by the end of this year. http://abna.co/data.asp?lang=3&Id=267118 --------Former Indian cricket captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi passes away 22 September 2011 Mumbai, Sep 22: Former Indian cricket captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi passed aw ay at Sir Ganga Ram hospital here on Thursday September 22 at the age of 70. He was suffering from lung infection. Earlier in the day he was put on ventilator after his condition worsened. He was admitted to the hospital last month following severe lung infection and w as found to be suffering from interstitial lung disease, a condition in which th

e passage of oxygen to the two lungs is less than normal. The disease has no per manent cure, doctors had said. Pataudi, regarded as one of the finest Indian captains, played 46 Tests for the country, scoring 2793 runs for an average of 34.91 with an unbeaten 203 being hi s highest score. In all, he smashed six centuries and 16 fifties in his career. He is the father of actors Saif Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan. His wife Sharmila Ta gore was also a cine star. Times of India --------Snipers kill 4 civilians in Yemen 22 September 2011 SANAA Two women were shot dead by snipers in Sanaas Change Square on Thursday whi le two men were killed in shelling on the square as battles raged between Yemens rival military units, medics and witnesses said. Two women and two men, all civilians, were killed in the clashes while nine other s were wounded, a medic said. Witnesses said the women were shot dead by snipers while the two males were kill ed by shells that smashed into Change Square, epicentre of massive anti-regime p rotests. http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/Sept ember/ --------Drone attack kills 10 Qaeda suspects in Yemen 21 September 2011 ADEN Ten Al Qaeda suspects were killed while a top leader in the network escaped death as US drones carried out several air strikes on their strongholds in Yeme ns south, local officials said Wednesday. US drones carried out two air strikes on Al Mahfad (in the southern Abyan provinc e) where Al Qaeda militants among them Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsulas (AQAP) number two Saeed Al Shehri are present, said a local official in the village. Four suspected militants were killed while Shehri escaped, said the well-informe d official who requested anonymity. Another local official from the town of Shaqra controlled by the militants since June said that six other Al-Qaeda gunmen were killed and three were wounded in tw o separate air raids on the town. Since anti-government protests swept Yemen in late January, militants have taken advantage of the weakening of central authority to set up base in several south ern provinces as well as Marib province in the east. Full report at:

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/Sept ember/ --------Syrian TV says 5 policemen killed in ambush 22 September 2011 Syrias state-run TV says an armed group has ambushed a bus with policemen, killi ng five and wounding 18 officers. The TV says the attack occurred on Thursday in the southern province of Daraa wh ere an uprising against President Bashar Assads regime started six months ago. The revolt was inspired by uprisings in the Arab world that toppled autocratic r ulers in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Assad has responded with a brutal crackdown, which the UN estimates has killed s ome 2,600 people. Syrias regime disputes the accounts of civilian deaths and says its fighting terro rists and thugs not true reform seekers. Assads adviser Buthaina Shaaban claimed this week the toll was 1,400 dead, evenly split between security forces and the opposition. http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/Sept ember/ --------Two killed in attack on Nato containers in Khyber Sep 22, 2011 PESHAWAR: Two people were killed overnight when a group of militants opened fire on Nato supply containers, officials said. The incident took place near Landikotal, a town near the Afghan border in the Kh yber tribal region and a site of frequent attacks on Nato supply oil tankers and shipping containers. A tribal policeman and a driver were killed on the spot while another driver was injured, Iqbal Khatak, a local government official, told AFP. Although the United States has increasingly sourced alternative routes through c entral Asia, the bulk of supplies and equipment required by the 140,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan are still transported through Pakistan. http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/22/two-killed-in-attack-on-nato-containers-in-khyber .html --------Three Taliban militants killed in clash with Pak troops Sep 22, 2011

Three Taliban militants were killed and two security personnel injured on Thursd ay in a clash between the two sides in the Swat valley of northwest Pakistan. The clash erupted when security forces were conducting a search operation on the outskirts of Mingora, the main city in Swat district, located 160 km from Islam abad. The militants opened fire on the troops, who retaliated and gunned down two Tali ban fighters. Another militant blew himself up, officials were quoted as saying by TV news channels. Two security personnel were injured while two militants were arrested by the tro ops. Curfew was clamped in Mingora, Saidu Sharif and nearby areas for an indefinite p eriod. http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2476048.ece --------Roadside bomb attack kills 5 in northwest Pakistan Sep 22 2011 Islamabad : At least five persons were killed and four others wounded when two v ehicles were targeted with roadside bombs on Thursday in the restive Bajaur trib al region of northwest Pakistan. Two pick-up trucks carrying passengers were hit by the remote-controlled bombs i n Chamrkand area near the border with Afghanistan. Five persons died instantly, TV news channels reported. The four injured persons were taken to a nearby medical facility. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. Local authorities believe Taliban may have been behind the attack as they are no w targeting tribesmen for supporting security forces. Bajaur Agency was a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban till security forces con ducted a major operation against them in 2008-09. Full report at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/roadside-bomb-attack-kills-5-in-northwest--------9 Killed in Renewed Violence in Yemeni Capital Sep 22, 2011 SANAA, Yemen (AP) Renewed violence in the Yemeni capital killed at least nine pe ople on Thursday as street battles broke out between forces loyal to the regime and its opponents, medical and security officials said. The officials said six people died in central Sanaa when government forces shell ed thousands gathered for a protest there with mortars and rocket propelled gren ades. Snipers on rooftops also targeted the protesters at Change Square, the epi

center of Yemen s seven-month-old uprising, and adjacent streets. Three bystanders were killed by a mortar shell in Sanaa s northern Hassaba distr ict, the officials also said. The district is home to several of the tribal chie fs who switched sides in March to join the opposition against the 33-year rule o f President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The latest deaths took to about lsewhere in Yemen since Sunday, aths also shattered hope that a ed and significantly diminished neighbors to end the crisis. a 100 the number of people killed in Sanaa and e in the worst bout of bloodshed in months. The de cease-fire negotiated on Tuesday could be restor the chances for a proposal by Yemen s Gulf Arab

The Gulf plan, backed by the United States, provides for Saleh to step down in e xchange for immunity and for the vice president to take the reins of power until elections are held. Yemen s turmoil began in February as the unrest spreading throughout the Arab wo rld set off largely peaceful protests in the deeply impoverished and unstable co rner of the Arabian Peninsula that is also home to an al-Qaida offshoot blamed f or several nearly successful attempts to attack the United States. Full report at: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/09/22/world/middleeast/AP-ML--------Tunisian army kills armed infiltrators near Algeria 22 September 2011 Tunisian troops killed several armed infiltrators on Wednesday in clashes near t he border with neighbouring Algeria, a Defence Ministry spokesman said. Helicopters destroyed seven of nine vehicles spotted by an aerial patrol of the a rmy in the town of Bir Znigra, spokesman Haykel Bouzouita said. Several armed men were killed. The vehicles were mounted with anti-aircraft guns, which were used to fire at a Tunisian army helicopters, he said. The southern town of Bir Znigra lies 20 km (15 miles) from the border with Alger ia. The spokesman did not identify the nationalities of the armed men. Tunisias borders with Algeria and Libya have been occasionally tense since the st art of the revolt against Muammar Gaddafi seven months ago. Armed Libyans clashe d with Tunisian troops last month in the final days before the fall of Tripoli. http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/Septem ber/ --------EU to slap new sanctions on Syria as death toll rises Sep 22, 2011 DAMASCUS: Snipers and security forces killed five civilians on Wednesday in Syri a s flashpoint province of Homs, activists said as the EU announced plans to sla

p new sanctions on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The latest bloodletting came as US President Barack Obama called on the UN Secur ity Council to impose sanctions on Syria in a speech at the General Assembly in New York. And in Geneva the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Right s said the death toll from the regime s bloody crackdown on protesters since mid -March rose to more than 2,700 people. Full report at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/EU-to-slap-new-sanctions-on -Syria--------Suspect denies Marrakesh bombing 23 Sep, 2011 The chief suspect in the trial over a bombing which killed 17 in the Morrocan ci ty of Marrakesh has retracted his confession and denied involvement. Adel Othmani, told the court he had been set up by intelligence services. The blast in April ripped through a cafe in the city s main square. Most of its victims were foreign tourists. Mr Othmani, who faces the death penalty if convicted, denies murder and making e xplosives. Seven others deny playing a lesser role. The trial was adjourned. The blast at the Argana cafe, in Djemaa El-Fna - the tourist heart of Marrakesh - killed eight French nationals and two Moroccans, as well as citizens of Britai n, Canada, Switzerland, Portugal and The Netherlands. Torture threat

It was the deadliest attack in the north African kingdom since bombings in the c oastal city of Casablanca in 2003 killed 45 people, including suicide attackers. During Thursday s hearing, Mr Othmani told judges and lawyers that he had never set foot in Marrakesh. Full report at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15029461 --------Varanasi probe team joins NIA in Delhi blast case Sep 23 2011 Lucknow : With the investigation in the Delhi High Court blast case throwing up evidence of a possible UP link and involvement of Indian Mujahideen, a team of t he states Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) reached Delhi on Thursday to help the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The ATS team, which investigated the blast at Varanasis Sheetla Ghat last year, w

as sent after NIA Director General S C Sinha called up UPs Special DG (Law & Orde r) Brij Lal last evening and specifically requested the team. The team members w ere hastily summoned and told to leave for Delhi. Sources said that the NIA investigation indicated that the same module of Indian Mujahideen may have carried out the blasts in Varanasi and Delhi, while the you ths in Kishtwar were used only for sending the email after the Delhi blast. The NIA has asked for help from the UP ATS because it had worked on the suspects in the Varanasi blast, who hailed from UP and Bihar. However, none of them has so far been arrested. Top government sources indicated on Wednesday that investi gators were close to cracking the December 2010 case. Full report at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/varanasi-probe-team-joins-nia-in-delhi-b.../85 0504/ ------NIA tells court Kishtwar duo behind Delhi high court blast By Rohan Venkataramakrishnan Sep 23 2011 THE National Investigation Agency ( NIA) produced two men, allegedly involved in the September 7 Delhi High Court blast, in a special court on Thursday. A nativ e of Jammu and Kashmir, Amir Abbas Dev, alleged to be one of the terrorists whos e bomb killed 15 and injured more than 90 persons, was sent to one day in judici al custody. He will return to the court on September 23. The NIA had petitioned the court fo r further custody of Dev to grill him about the case, but there was no counsel a vailable to represent him and oppose the agencys plea. He is one of the terrorists who detonated the bomb between gate number 4 and 5 o f the high court. He is one of the conspirators and needs to be interrogated tho roughly to trace out his complicity in this crime, the agency said in its applica tion seeking his remand. Special NIA judge H. S. Sharma also remanded co- accused Abid Hussain, who was a rrested in Kishtwar along with Dev, to two weeks in NIA custody. The agency claims Hussain, a student of Islamia Faridia Higher Secondary School in Kishtwar, sent out emails claiming responsibility for the terror strike. Huss ain will remain in NIA custody for 14 days and will be produced next in court on October 5. Shariq Ahmed, a third man also arrested by Jammu and Kashmir police in connectio n with the blast, has not yet been produced in court. Mail Today ------PUCL alleges police bias at play in Gopalgarh Sep 23 2011

New Delhi: Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL),which sent a fact-finding te am to Gopalgarh on September 16 and 17,alleged the police was not neutral and po inted to a collusion between the local police, an aggressive section of the Gujj ar community and some local RSS, Bajrang Dal and VHP leaders. On September 17, TOI had reported that allegations of partisan policing were get ting shriller. Riots broke out on September 14 over a 42-yearold dispute over si x bigha land near the village graveyard. Several Meo villagers told TOI how the police looked the other way when they were attacked by Gujjars while returning f rom the panchayat held at the Gopalgarh mosque. All the eight killed in the riot were identified as Meo Muslims. Of the 23 injur ed,19 are Meo Muslims. The report said, This preponderance of Muslims among the dead and injured is intriguing. Full report at: Times of India ------Bullets killed three, establish Bharatpur autopsy reports Sep 23 2011 Bharatpur : Three of the nine people killed in clashes between Gurjjars and Meo Muslims in Gopalgarh in Bharatpur died of bullet injuries. Post mortem reports r eleased today have also determined that five died of injuries from sharp weapons . While no case has been registered against police personnel so far, the entire st aff of the Gopalgarh police station was transferred today. DGP H C Meena told The Indian Express, Of the nine dead, two were clearly killed by bullet injuries, while what looks like a rifle wound killed the third. The re maining five were killed by sharp instruments and mob violence. Meena said it was unclear whether police bullets killed the three. Gurjjars and Meos clashed in Gopalgarh on September 14. The riot left nine dead and at least 23 injured. According to police, none of the dead was a native of Gopalgarh, where the incid ent occurred. They were from nearby villages. Sources in the Bharatpur district administration said families of four of the de ceased had claimed the bodies and performed their last rites on Thursday evening . The remaining bodies have been kept in the mortuary. Senior government officials said the post mortem report would weigh in favour of the government as there have been allegations that all victims died from police gunshot wounds. A Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) report stated that ey ewitnesses told them that no death had occurred until the police arrived and ope ned fire. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bullets-killed-three-establish-bharatpur-autop sy ------Dawood relative shoots at site Bharati Dubey

Sep 23 2011 Mumbai: Indias most wanted man,shot by own relative. No, this is not the fanciful working of a journalist, but a story in reel life. Zubair Khan, son-in-law of D awood Ibrahims sister Haseena Parkar, is making a film on the life and crimes of the fugitive underworld don. Zubair Khan (33),who is currently shooting some patchwork for his debut film in Nagpada, told TOI: The theme is the underworld-politician police nexus. My film, titled Lakeer Ka Fakir,will be the most authentic movie on the underworld. I gr ew up in this area and have seen everything from close quarters. I have even sho t at all the real locations associated with Dawood, something which no filmmaker , including Ramgopal Varma, has access to. Like Karim Lala, Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel, Khan too was born in a hospi tal at Do Taaki in Dongri, the teeming downtown area long associated with the ri se of Mumbais ganglords. I am comfortable shooting here.Most of the locals are my childhood friends, so they go all out to assist me. I have included some of the m in my movie, says Khan. While earlier gangland films like Shootout at Wadala and Agneepath had no chance to shoot at real locations, Khans relation to the D-clan,a unit member said, is the sole reason he was allowed to shoot at Pakmodia Street, where the don staye d before he fled India, as well as below Haseena Parkars house. Lakeer Ka Fakir is being made on a shoestring budget of Rs 2.5 crore and is sche duled for release on November 25. Times of India ------HuJI plotted Delhi HC blast in Nepal Surbek Biswas 22 Sep, 2011 The conspiracy to carry out the September 7 bomb blast at the Delhi high court w as hatched in Nepal by Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI), according to an intelli gence input generated in Kolkata. Information to that effect was received from Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), a centra l armed police force deployed on the borders with Nepal and Bhutan, officials said. The local branch of Intelligence Bureau had sent the message to the West Bengal poli ce. According to the report, five Bangladeshi nationals, members of Al-Islami-Jehad the Nepal chapter of HuJI had sneaked into India from Nepal and executed the bla st. Al-Islami-Jehad has its headquarters in Nepalgunj town of Nepal and the men had been living in Nepal for the last 10 years. After the strike, two persons escape d to Gandhinagar in Gujarat and the rest came to West Bengal. Two members of the module were identified as Mohammed Atta-Ul-Rehman (32) and Ma ulana Saiful Seikh (40), originally from Rangpur and Sylhet in Bangladesh.

The intelligence officials so far have not been able to identify the other three members of the team. The police in West Bengal and Gujarat have been alerted. Om Prakash Gupta, inspector general of state intelligence branch (border) is cur rently in Nepal and is to talk to his Nepali counterparts regarding the activiti es of Al-Islami-Jehad. http://www.hindustantimes.com/HuJI-plotted-Delhi-HC-blast-in-Nepal/Article1-7486 44.aspx --------Sarkozy aides held in 2002 Karachi blast case VAIJU NARAVANE Sep 22, 2011 In what could prove to be a major embarrassment to Nicolas Sarkozy, police in Pa ris on Wednesday detained for questioning two senior officials known to have clo se ties to the French President. The arrests have been made in connection with the investigation into the 2002 Ka rachi bombing case in which 11 French engineers working at the Karachi shipyards on Agosta submarines supplied by France were killed in a bomb blast. Anti-terrorism judges are enquiring into allegations that the attack, initially blamed on the Taliban, was engineered by the ISI and elements within the Pakista n armed forces because the totality of commissions on the sale of six Agosta typ e submarines were not paid by the French as promised. A part of those commission s found their way back to France as reverse kickbacks and were used to finance t he 1995 electoral campaign of Eduard Balladur who was then a presidential hopefu l with Nicolas Sarkozy as his spokesperson. Mr. Balladur lost the election and President Chirac stopped the payment of the c ommissions. Increasingly desperate ISI agents and armed forces personnel sent me ssages warning of dire consequences. The refusal by France to release the money resulted in the death of the engineers, it is alleged. Full report at: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2473816.ece --------Two Sarkozy friends detained in Karachi kickbacks affair Sep 22 2011 London : Two of French President Nicolas Sarkozy s close friends have been detai ned for investigations into whether legal commissions from French arms sales to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were illegally kicked back to fund the 1994-5 presiden tial campaign of Edouard Balladur. One of the two men detained for investigation into the so called Karachi affair in cludes Nicolas Bazire, who was Sarkozy s witness at his wedding to Carla Bruni i n 2008, as well as Balladur s then-cabinet chief and presidential campaign manag er.

The other, Thierry Gaubert, was Sarkozy s head of communication when he was mayo r of Neuilly, then his cabinet chief when he was budget and communication minist er, the Telegraph reports. They were detained after Gaubert s ex-wife, Princess Helene of Yugoslavia, revea led that he had brought back briefcases stuffed with cash in the mid-1990s, and handed them over to Bazire. The princess reportedly told the court that Gaubert was accompanied on his trips to Switzerland by Ziad Takieddine, a middleman in h uge arms deals. The Franco-Lebanese businessman was recently placed under investigation for rece iving multi-million pound commissions in French arms contracts with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. It is alleged part of the commissions were kicked back to French politicians, notably Balladur. Takieddine has denied receiving any commissions from the submarine sales, but a parliamentary commission of inquiry into the affair estimates he received 33 mil lion euros for the deal and was curiously imposed by the Balladur government as an intermediary at the last moment. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/two-sarkozy-friends-detained-in-karachi-kickba cks--------Prospect of civil war draws closer in Yemen Sep 22, 2011 SANAA: The grim prospect of civil war in Yemen has drawn closer as mutinous sold iers have become more deeply involved in a rapidly spreading battle against regi me forces for control of the capital. A negotiated cease-fire Tuesday halted three days of fighting that killed dozens of people, but it will not hold without a quick resolution of the key dispute: Who will lead the nation. A peaceful way out of Yemens seven-month crisis may not come easily, if at all, m aking it more likely to be settled in large-scale and ruinous street battles pit ting renegade army soldiers and their allied tribal fighters against US-trained forces loyal to embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh and led by his son and on e-time heir apparent, Ahmed. Already, pro-regime forces reinforced their positions in their strongholds in th e south of the capital, apparently in anticipation of renewed fighting. The pote ntial for bloody strife has been shown in Yemen since the uprising against Salehs regime began in February, with hundreds of protesters killed and thousands woun ded at the hands of security forces. In the past three days, pro-regime forces killed more than 70 people, mostly pro testers, using anti-aircraft guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. At lea st 23 people were killed in Sanaa on Tuesday as the fighting intensified and spr ead to sensitive areas of the capital before the cease-fire took hold after nigh tfall. Full report at: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article504709.ece ---------

Pakistan Human rights commission blames govt. inaction for anti-Shia violence ANITA JOSHUA Sep 22, 2011 Outraged by the targeted killing of 29 Shia pilgrims in Balochistan on Tuesday, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Wednesday said persistent lack of action against sectarian militant groups had emboldened them. They were taken off a bus, lined up and shot down after scrutiny of their identity cards. The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) has claimed responsibility for the attack first on t he pilgrims and then some of the ambulances that were going to their assistance. Given that sectarian violence has been going on for years now particularly in B alochistan and LeJs own agenda, the HRCP questioned the absence of action against the outfit which is technically banned in the country. How do they still manage to roam free with their weapons and vehicles? Meanwhile, in Quetta, the government came under scathing attack for continued at tacks on the community as Shias gathered for a mass funeral of those killed in t he targeted killing. In a statement, the HRCP said it was appalled by the gruesome killing of Shia pi lgrims near Mastung and found the utter lack of protection for them outrageous, particularly when pilgrims travelling in the area en route Iran to visit shrines there had been attacked previously and were known to be at risk. Full report at: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2473341.ece --------Libya rulers claim capture of Qaddafi bastion Sep 22, 2011 TRIPOLI/NORTH OF BANI WALID, Libya: Libyas interim rulers said on Wednesday they had captured most of one of Muammar Qaddafis last strongholds, a boost to an admi nistration struggling to assert full control over the fractured country. Sabha deep in the Sahara desert had been holding out along with Bani Walid and Q addafis hometown Sirte since the fall of the capital Tripoli a month ago. We control most of Sabha apart from the Al-Manshiya district. This is still resis ting, but it will fall, ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) military spoke sman Ahmed Bani told Reuters. CNN, citing a correspondent in Sabha, reported that NTC fighters had occupied th e center of the desert outpost on Wednesday after taking the airport and a fort the day before. It was not immediately clear whether fighters would be able to hold their gains. Throughout seven months of fighting, advances have often been quickly reversed. Despite the apparent success at Sabha, chaos prevailed among fighters besieging Qaddafis other two holdout towns. Several attempts by NTC fighters to overrun Ban i Walid and Sirte in the past week have ended in disarray and panicked retreat.

At Bani Walid, bored militiamen fired weapons at camels and sheep while awaiting orders on Wednesday, as much a danger to themselves as to Qaddafi fighters hole d up in the town. One man shot his own head off and killed another fighter while handling a rocket -propelled grenade in full view of a Reuters team. In another incident, a fighte r lost control of his machine gun and sprayed himself and another fighter with b ullets, seriously wounding both of them. Full report at: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article504698.ece --------NATO Extends Libya Bombing Campaign By KAREEM FAHIM and RICK GLADSTONE Sep 22, 2011 TRIPOLI, Libya With armed loyalists of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the fallen Libya n leader, still ensconced in his hometown and a few other redoubts as the sevenmonth-old Libyan conflict winds down, NATO announced a three-month extension of its bombing campaign on Wednesday. We are determined to continue our mission for as long as necessary, but ready to terminate the operation as soon as possible, the NATO secretary general, Anders F ogh Rasmussen, said in a statement from the alliances Brussels headquarters. It is the second 90-day extension, and it was approved less than a week before t he campaign was set to end. NATOs aerial campaign in Libya, authorized under a United Nations Security Counci l mandate to protect civilians from Colonel Qaddafis military reprisals, effectiv ely became a major weapon of the rebels who toppled him last month. The Transiti onal National Council, the interim government of anti-Qaddafi forces that have t aken control in much of Libya, has expressed gratitude to NATO for its role. Full report at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/22/world/middleeast/nato-extends-libya--------Haqqani network not on Pak soil: Rehman Malik Sep 22 2011 Islamabad : Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik has ruled out the possibilit y of Haqqani networks presence in Pakistan. Malik, who held a meeting with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Ro bert S Muller in Islamabad, however, said that if Pakistan receives credible inf ormation about the groups presence, the government would launch military action. I assured FBI Director Robert Mueller that the Haqqanis are not on the Pakistani side, but if there was any intelligence, which was provided by the US, we would definitely take suitable action, the Daily Times quoted Malik, as saying.

Meanwhile, Muller said that, during the meeting, Malik highlighted the need to e nhance more cooperation for the exchange of information between the intelligence agencies of the two nations. He also assured increased collaboration against the war on terrorism. US will enable and train Pakistani institutions to take action against terrorists as they are threat to peace of Pakistan, US and the entire world, he said. Earlier, it was reported that the US had sharply warned Pakistan that it must cu t ties with the Haqqani network based in its tribal region along the Afghan bord er and help eliminate the militant groups leaders. Full report at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/haqqani-network-not-on-pak-soil-rehman--------Pakistan ISI urged attacks on US targets: Officials Sep 22, 2011 WASHINGTON: US officials say there is mounting evidence that Pakistan s chief in telligence agency has been encouraging a Pakistan-based militant network to atta ck US targets. The allegations, if fully confirmed, heighten a painful dilemma for President Ba rack Obama s administration. Washington is under growing political pressure to t ake action against the Haqqani network after a spate of deadly attacks US offici als have attributed to it. These include last week s strike against the American Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. Some US intelligence reporting alleges that Pakistan s Inter Services Intelligen ce directorate (ISI) specifically directed, or urged, the Haqqani network to car ry out the Sept. 13 attack on the embassy and a NATO headquarters in Kabul, acco rding two US officials and a source familiar with recent US-Pakistan official co ntacts. However, officials cautioned that this information is uncorroborated. Another US official familiar with internal government assessments said that at t he very least, the available intelligence strongly suggests the ISI has been egg ing on elements of the Haqqani network to launch attacks at American targets in the region. While American officials have aired allegations of ties between the ISI and the Haqqani network in recent days, they have not publicly cited evidence that the P akistani agency, or elements of it, urged its proxy to attack US targets. Full report at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Pakistan-ISI-urged-attacks-on-US-tar gets--------Britain keeps strong stand on Iran nuclear effort Sep 22 2011 United Nations : Britain will maintain its strong opposition to Iran s nuclear

program, Foreign Secretary William Hague warned the Iranian foreign minister du ring talks here, a spokesman said. Hague and Iran s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi held talks on Thursday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Such talks are rare as Western nations ha ve stepped up accusations that Iran is seeking a nuclear bomb. Britain respects Iran s right to civil nuclear power "but Iran had not persuaded the international community that its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes, " a spokesman quoted Hague as saying. "There were important areas of disagreement between the UK and Iran," the minist er added. Full report at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/britain-keeps-strong-stand-on-iran-nuclear--------Should have involved 9/11 families in NYC mosque: developer Sep 22 2011 New York : The developer of an Islamic cultural center near the site of the terr orist attacks that leveled the World Trade Center says the biggest error on the project was not involving the families of 9/11 victims from the start. We made incredible mistakes, said Sharif El-Gamal in an interview in his Manhattan office. The Park51 Islamic community center -- at 51 Park Place, two blocks from the Wor ld Trade Center site -- opened to the public Wednesday night with a photo exhibi t of New York children representing 160 ethnicities. The Park51 building includes a mosque that has been open for two years. El-Gamal said the overall center is modeled after the Jewish Community Center on Manhatt an s Upper West Side, where he lives. I wanted my daughter to learn how to swim, so I took her to the JCC, said the Brooklyn-born Muslim. And when I walked in, I s aid, Wow. This is great . The project has drawn criticism from opponents who say they don t want a Muslim prayer space near the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The center is open to all faiths and will include a 9/11 memorial, El-Gamal said . He called opposition to the center -- which prompted one of the most virulent national discussions about Islam and freedom of speech and religion since Sept. 11 -- part of a campaign against Muslims. Last year, street clashes in view of the trade center site pitted supporters aga inst opponents of the center. Full report at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/should-have-involved-9-11-families-in-nyc-mosq ue--------Modi now wants easy visa for Pakistanis visiting Ajmer

Sep 23 2011 Gandhinagar : Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that the pro cedure to get visas should be relaxed for Pakistanis wanting to visit Ajmer Shar if shrine. Modi was inaugurating the annual convention of Indian Association of Tour Operat ors XXVII IATO at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar on Thursday when he suggested th is to Union Tourism Secretary R H Khwaja, who was present at the event. Modi said, Many Pakistanis come to India to watch cricket matches and may wish to visit Ajmer Sharif shrine, but their visas are allowed only for the match venue . The procedures should be made easy. He also suggested that the Union government should give airfare subsidy to peopl e of Indian origin to motivate them to witness Kumbh melas. Targeting the UPA go vernment Modi said, I dont know whether the present Union government will consider it as secular or not but it will boost tourism to a great extent. He added that the Kumbh Mela subsidy should be treated like Haj pilgrimage subsidy. The CM sai d that to boost tourism in the country the Union government should start various religious tourism circuits such as Krishna circuit, Sikh pilgrimage circuit etc . Full report at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/modi-now-wants-easy-visa-for-pakistanis-visiti ng------Muslims at Modi venue: VHP men clash over taunt Sep 23 2011 Ahmedabad : Two factions of the VHP clashed on Thursday over an SMS sent to one of the faction members taunting Chief Minister Narendra Modi over the presence o f large number of Muslims in the Sadbhavana mission fasts. Ahmedabad Police Commissioner Sudhir Sinha told The Indian Express that a VHP me mber, Alpesh Patel, had sent this SMS to another VHP member Narendra Kholia a co uple of days back. Kholia apparently switched off his cellphone and did not comm unicate with Patel till they met on Thursday. Today the two met at the VHP headquarter in Ellisbridge where Patel had an argume nt with Kholia and beat him up, locking him up in the room. So we have registere d an offence, said Sinha. The Ellisbridge Police station took an FIR booking Patel for assault, illegal co nfinement and threatening to kill Kholia. The arguments heated up due to the mobile text message in Gujarati regarding the programme, which played on the words Miyaji and Shivaji, said Sinha. Sources, however, added that the VHP members were discussing about Modis programm e where most of the VHP members reportedly disliked the appreciation and recogni tion given to Muslims during the programme. Kholia reportedly spoke in favour of the CM which infuriated Patel and both got into heated arguments. The arguments developed into a scuffle and Patel hit Kholia with a baseball bat.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Muslims-at-Modi-venue--VHP-men-clash-over------South Sudan s President vows corruption crackdown Sep 22, 2011 JUBA: President Salva Kiir of the newly-independent South Sudan has announced "f ive critical steps" for a crackdown on corruption, seen as one of the major chal lenges to fledgling state. In an open letter published on Tuesday, Kiir said new measures, including regula tion of land sales and publication of government officials finances, would lead to greater transparency and accountability. Kiir has made tackling graft one of his key priorities, and the announcement app ears to come at a significant moment, shortly before his meeting with US Preside nt Barack Obama at the UN General Assembly. "This a critical point in our history, a moment of high expectations from our pe ople for services and high standards of good governance and stewardship from our friends, partners and donors," Kiir said. Full report at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/South-Sudans-President-vo ws--------25 Indian fishermen arrested by Pakistan authorities Sep 22, 2011 ISLAMABAD: Twenty five Indian fishermen have been arrested and four boats seized for allegedly intruding into Pakistani waters, an official statement said on Th ursday. The fishermen were apprehended by the Maritime Security Agency in the early hour s on Wednesday. The fishermen were arrested for their alleged "continuous intrusion of Pakistani waters", officials claimed. The fishermen were handed over to police in Karachi for "necessary action", the officials said. India and Pakistan detain hundreds of fishermen every year on charges of violati ng the maritime boundary. The two countries have taken steps in recent months to expedite the release of f ishermen who have completed their jail terms. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/25-Indian-fishermen-arrested-by-Pakista n---------

Former journalist Amir Peretz to led Israels Labour Party 22 September 2011 JERUSALEM Israel TV reports a former broadcaster has won the Israeli Labour Part y primary election. Shelly Yachimovich, an outspoken former reporter, beat her one-time mentor, Amir Peretz, an ex-union leader and former party chairman who also served as defense minister, the TV reported. It said initial results early Thursday showed 54 percent for Yachimovich and 45 percent for Peretz. Official results were set to be released later in the day. Peretz spokesman Tom Wagner said Peretz conceded defeat and congratulated his ri val in a phone call. The dovish Labour dominated Israeli politics for Israels first three decades. It gradually weakened and now holds just eight seats in the 120-member parliament. http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/Septem ber/ --------New Silk Road eyed for Afghanistan Sep 22, 2011 UNITED NATIONS: Afghanistan, its neighbours and supporters are launching a drive to boost prosperity and peace by linking the country with markets across South and Central Asia, US officials said Wednesday. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul an d German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle will host talks in New York Thursday on what amounts to plans for a New Silk Road, they said. Like the ancient Silk Road, Afghanistan would be at the heart of lucrative trade routes between Asia and the West, but it would involve modern highways, rail li nks and energy pipelines, senior US administration officials told reporters. They said the New York talks which will draw officials from Afghanistans neighbou rs and near-neighbours, including China will pave the way for meetings in Istanb ul on November 2 and in Bonn, Germany, on December 5. The meetings are designed to promote the idea that a secure, stable and prosperou s Afghanistan will only really be able to exist inside a secure, stable and pros perous region, a senior US official told reporters. Its part of a wider effort to help to build up the Afghan private sector, to help create sustainable economic development in Afghanistan, to create this economic integration between South and Central Asia, a second US official said. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity so as not to upstage the high-level officials attending the meeting, said the New Silk Road builds on proje cts that are already underway in the region. Full report at: http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/22/new-silk-road-eyed-for-afghanistan.html

--------Will stick to reconciliation process: Kabul ANITA JOSHUA Sep 22, 2011 Even as uncertainty prevailed over who killed the former President of Afghanista n and Chairman of the High Peace Council (HPC), Burhanuddin Rabbani, Kabul on We dnesday asserted that the reconciliation process would stay its course irrespect ive of repeated efforts to derail it. About his assassin, there were conflicting reports as they depended upon who spo ke to whom since the Taliban itself is no longer a single entity but has develop ed several incarnates. While Reuters stood by its earlier report that the Taliba n had claimed responsibility, most reports from Kabul suggest they were non-comm ittal. The BBC said the Taliban issued a statement saying they did not want to comment. Until we receive more information and our information is complete, our position is that we cannot say anything on this issue, said a Taliban spokesman Zabihul lah Mujahid. Full report at: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2473806.ece --------Ramallah buoyant over statehood move ATUL ANEJA Sep 22, 2011 Thousands of Palestinians, waving flags and holding aloft placards, rallied at t he Yasser Arafat Square in Ramallah in support of their leaders who want the Uni ted Nations to recognise Palestine as an independent state, despite stiff opposi tion from the United States and Israel. In a festive atmosphere, which subsumed tensions which simmered underneath, crow ds held banners calling for independence or condemning the expected veto from th e United States at the Security Council. A huge sign, which read U.N. 194, dominat ed the square, referring to the aspiration of Palestinians for recognition as th e 194th state of the United Nations. At least nine of the 15 members of the Secu rity Council will have to first vote in favour of the resolution, for it to meri t a formal vote. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has to route the resolution through U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon before it is considered, probably on Friday, by the Security Council. Despite measures taken by the Palestinian Authority to ensure that crowds remain ed peaceful, the threat of violence had not disappeared. At the Qalandiya checkpoint north of Jerusalem, dozens of young Palestinians sto ned the Israeli security forces, which dispersed them using the scream device, a c ontraption that releases high-pitch sound waves. In Hebron, Palestinian police s truggled to control crowds, causing scenes of confrontation between the demonstr ators and the Israeli forces.

Ahead of Wednesday s demonstrations, Israeli and Palestinian security forces, ha d agreed that crowds that were being mobilised would not breach Israeli controll ed areas. Full report at: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2473791.ece --------Pak knew of imoney transfer to Times Square bomb plotter? Sep 22 2011 Washington : Pakistani officials apparently had knowledge of the illicit money t ransfer to Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad, who last year unsuccessfully trie d to blow a car at a busy site in the heart of New York, a key US Senator has sa id. "Apparently a major source (of funding for Shahzad) was in Pakistan, possibly wi th the complicity of the financial institutions there, possibly with the knowled ge of officials in Pakistan," Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said at a Co ngressional hearing on terrorism financing. However, a key FBI official, who testified before the Senate Committee that a ma jor source of Shahzad s funding was from Pakistan, refrained from confirming tha t Pakistani officials knew about it and said that the issue could be best discus sed in a closed-door setting. Appearing before the Senate sub-committee, Ralph Boelter, Acting Assistant Direc tor, Counter-terrorism Division of FBI, said in August 2011 a man named Mohammad Younis pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business in New York. "Faisal Shahzad, who attempted to detonate a car bomb in Times Square, received money from Younis, which he used to fund his preparations for the attempted bomb ing. Younis received the money through his unlicenced money transmitting busines s from a co-conspirator in Pakistan. Shahzad advised that the funding was arrang ed in Pakistan by associates of the Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP)," Boelter said. Full report at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pak-knew-of-imoney-transfer-to-times-square-bo mb--------Iran displays missiles on anniversary of Iraq war Sep 22, 2011 TEHRAN, Iran: Iran is marking the 31st anniversary of the start of the Iraq-Iran war with a military parade and a display of the countrys steadily growing arsena l of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles. Like last year, Thursdays show included the solid-fuel Sajjil. The missile, with more than 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) in range, could pose a threat to Israel and US-allied Arab nations, including some that are home to A

merican military bases. The show comes weeks after neighboring Turkey agreed to host an early warning ra dar as part of NATOs missile defense system aimed at countering Iranian missile t hreats. Washington hopes to have the radar deployed in Turkey by the end of the year. Iran has warned such a move would escalate regional tensions. http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article505103.ece --------Afghan President: Rabbani s Killer Staged a Ruse Sep 22, 2011 KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) The suicide bomber who killed Afghanistan s former presi dent, Burhanuddin Rabbani, gained access to him by presenting officials beforeha nd with an audio recording of a purported Taliban peace offer, President Hamid K arzai said Thursday.

The assassin, who hid a bomb in his turban, killed the 70-year-old former Afghan leader Tuesday at his home in Kabul. Karzai said that before he left for New York last weekend, one of his advisers, Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, told him that the Taliban had a message for the Afgha n peace council. Stanekzai is a top peace council official who was wounded in th e attack that killed Rabbani. "Stanekzai brought me a message that someone had come from the Taliban movement and brought with them an audio CD in which there was a message from a Taliban re presentative," Karzai said. Full report at: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/09/22/world/asia/AP-AS--------Muslim chaplains connect communities to public bodies 22 September 2011 Muslim chaplains in Britain play a key role linking their communities with publi c organisations, research by Cardiff University has found. It found a rapidly growing number of Muslims in a sphere of work usually associa ted with the Christian faith. Chaplains can be found in prisons, hospitals, airports, courts, higher education and the military, with some people describing them as role models. A conference at the university will discuss the project on Thursday.

At a news conference, Karzai said the CD was a trick to allow the assassin to ge t an appointment with Rabbani, who led the country s High Peace Council. Karzai s remarks offered new details about Rabbani s death, which dealt a devastating b low to efforts of negotiating a peace settlement with the Taliban to end the dec ade-long war.

The research involved interviews with 65 Muslim chaplains, both male and female. It observed them at work, and spoke to the people they were working with. Prophet s example Led by Dr Sophie Gilliat-Ray of the Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK, it is aimed at finding out more about the background, training, role and impact of Muslim chaplains in Britain. Full report at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-15008841 --------China makes dent in halal market with 1/8th of India s Muslim population Sep 22, 2011 YINCHUAN (CHINA): With 22 million Muslims, China has just one-eight of India s M uslim population. But China has managed to play an effective role in the $500 bi llion export market for halal food by capitalizing on its influence as the world s biggest buyer of petroleum products. This was evident at a conference on Wednesday when government leaders and import ers from Arab countries implored China to produce more halal food to meet the ri sing demand. Significantly, India with the world s third largest population of M uslims did not figure in the conference although countries like South Africa wit h miniscule Muslim population were invited. The fact that China is largely a pork eating country, and the Muslim population is just 1.4% of the country s total population is seen by many as obstacles for the growth of a proper halal export business. But China has managed to overcome hindrances and even obtained assistance in its halal certification system from M alaysia and Thailand by using its power as a major importer, sources said. Some like Ahmed Wahid, a halal food consultant, are extremely worried about Chin a s ability to ensure suitable supplies of food to the world. At the conference, he urged China to improve its certification standards, and make the production and packaging of halal food more transparent. Full report at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/China-makes-dent-in-halal-marketwith--------Bangladesh opposition-led strike paralyses daily life Sep 22, 2011 DHAKA: An opposition party-led daylong strike against rising prices paralysed da ily life in swathes of Bangladesh on Thursday, but only minor scuffles were repo rted as security forces flooded the capital Dhaka and key port of Chittagong, wi tnesses and police said. Former prime minister Khaleda Zias Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and allies

called for the dawn-to-dusk strike after a recent hike in fuel prices and what t hey claimed was harassment by police and pro-government activists. The government has increased fuel prices at a time when peoples suffering has alre ady peaked due to inflation running high, said the BNPs acting secretary-general M irza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. Shops were shut throughout the capital though some offices opened with skeleton staff and trading at the Dhaka Stock Exchange continued normally. So far, todays strike has been peaceful under tight watch by security forces, a sen ior police officer said. Full report at: http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/22/bangladesh-opposition-led-strike-paralyses-daily--------Imran Khan s book recalled in India for errors in map PRISCILLA JEBARAJ Sep 22, 2011 Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan s new book has become the lates t publication to trip over the cartographic tangle of the India-Pakistan border. Publisher Random House has recalled all advance copies of the book in India and delayed its release here due to errors in a map of the two countries at the time of the Partition, which wrongly showed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir shaded in the same colour as that of Pakistan. Titled Pakistan: A Personal History, the book was launched in the United Kingdom over the weekend, but was scheduled to be released in Indian bookshops on Wedne sday. Advance copies had already been sent to the media for review. However, on the scheduled date of release, Random House recalled the 30-odd advance copies, reportedly due to the errors in the map. Full report at: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2473954.ece ------Post-regime change, Arabs eye the road to democracy Sep 23 2011 Rabat: After the revolutions, it is elections. The celebrations have barely abated over the scalps of such invincible strongmen as Muammar Gaddafi and Hosni Mubarak that key voices across the Arab world are calling for focus on strong constitutional transition and post-election manageme nt. The concern is obvious. The Islamic world, spread from the Middle-East to Maghre b Africa, has not known parliamentary democracy, in fact no more than one leader in generations. Now, post-Arab Spring, the transition regimes are common here a

s are preparation for elections. A conference organized by Moroccos foreign mini stry saw key political and intellectual voices flag their concerns while asserti ng that democracy was irreversible. As Ghazi Gherairi, head of the International Academy of Constitutional Law in Tunis, says, No government in future can overl ook concerns cutting across borders. Ironically, monarchies Morocco and Jordan have emerged as the reference points f or democracy for their timely move towards reforms to preempt street battles whi ch gripped regimes elsewhere. Experts believe the choice of the nature of democr acy and the legal system would determine the fate of revolutions. The decision o n the nature of Islam and its relation to the State will be as crucial. Full report at: Times of India ------Controversially yours: From Rawalpindi, with love Srijana Mitra Das Sep 23 2011 Its called Controversially Yours which suits the man whose biography it is Shoai b Akhtar. Speaking exclusively to TOI, the fastest bowler in the history of cric ket, marked by a short, tempestuous career, explains his story, full of trauma, success and controversy. He retired from cricket following the 2011 World Cup. Why this book now I am in peace post-retirement, giving all the attention I ever wanted to my old parents, but this book has not been a sudden thing. A whole year and a half went into it. What I ve written is my experience, put as honestly for others to know . This is the truth for the world, it may be a big controversy. It saddens me to hear all kind of stories about Pakistani cricket in the world. People should kn ow what we go through and why we are the way we are. Controversially Yours shies away from little in Akhtars life. It maps his journe y from an economically deprived, yet happy childhood, into an adolescence driven by his quest to break into Pakistani cricket. Born flat-footed, suffering whoop ing cough, Akhtar describes the blood, sweat and tears that took him to breaking the 100 mph barrier, playing as Pakistans Rawalpindi Express. Full report at: Times of India ------Urdu poets sharpen their wit with Modis amity fast By Sudhanshu Sep 23 2011 NARENDRA Modi may have succeeded in pulling the wool over the eyes of some Musli ms, mostly Daudi Bohras who are engaged in trade and commerce in his state, with his Sadbhavna farce, but two noted Urdu poets Manzar Bhopali and Rais Ansari ar e far from convinced that the Gujarat CM has undergone a change of heart. At an all- India mushaira in Jaipur on Sunday, a day before Modi ended his fast, Bhopali called Modis bluff with his hardhitting ghazal: Upwas ka tamasha bohot k hoob hai magar, insaan ka khoon isse chhupaya na jayega, maathe ko saaf kije, ki

dho lijiye libas, taarikh ka ye daagh mitaya na jayega. ( The show of the fast was grand but it cant hide the human blood ( reference here is to post- Godhra ri ots). Whether you wipe your brow or wash your robes, this blot of history cannot be removed). He added: Daaman pe aasteen pe dhabbe lahoo ke hain, ye khoon aansu on se bhi ab tak dhula nahin, ahsaas hai gunah ka to karlo aetraaf, varna ye raj neeti hai, sadbhavna nahin. ( There are blood stains on clothes and on sleeves, which even tears have not been able to wash away. Full report at: Mail Today URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=553 1