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Dont blame Ahmad Tibi members of Israelkillings Harming al-Aqsa will lead toahead of Islam for the Toulouse s Knesset: Excitement builds global jihad.
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Murdered French paratroopers Imad Ibn Ziaten, Abel Chennouf, and Mohamed Legouade After a pre-dawn raid erupted into a firefight, 19 hours into the siege French riot police pressed Wednesday for the surrender of a hold-up gunman who is suspected in seven killings and claiming allegiance to al Qaeda. He admits to the killings and has agreed to surrender late Wednesday evening, according to the French prosecutor. A prosecutor said
magazine has some interesting analysis looking at how the drama in Toulouse may provide a boost to Nicolas Sarkozy ahead of the elections. Mohammed Merah a petty criminal a French national of Algerian origin and was arrested 15 times. Merah had been under French surveillance for years yet he was not arrested earlier. The French government has confirmed that Merah had been under surveillance by the security services, but say he did nothing to suggest he was preparing criminal activity. There are reports that Merah twice tried and failed to join the French army. It quotes the countrys defence ministry saying that Merah first tried to enlist at the In the early of 19 of Wednesday morning,of age hours in the northern city just after few hours when Israel reached the man was planning to kill Lille in January 2008. He then an understanding with Gaza militants another soldier imminently. Heend trieddaysjoindeadly clashes in the to four to of the Foreign Legion said the reasons for the alleged strip, Israeli airstrikes hit the Al Gaza in Toulouse in 2010. assassin also appear more Negotiations were still on till the Whaidi orchard in Al Nafaq street. The Al clearly. Mohammed MerahMatbouli store for plastic & wood was story was going to publication also and has capture acted for the Palestinians hit, and the building to extensive trying damage after a fire broke out following and against intervention by Mohammad Merah alive. the airstrike. France and ban the burka. He Earlier have was surrendering Eyewitnesses he reported that 3 also explained that he wanted after lunch. There were reports houses also caught fire, however, they board to act this morning evacuated and no injuries have been were suspect was arrested but later reported. Egyptian truce efforts appeared targeting a soldier out of his the reports denied. Le Figaro to also reports said they were home. He also wanted to kill stall, as both sides Molins saying willing to keep fighting. Israeli Warplanes two police officers identified that the suspected gunman bombed a timber workshop in Gaza City in the Toulouse area. Merah has Wednesday. Locals said that at dawn on talked about a possible Mohammed said he had surrender later lunched missiles Israeli F-16 warplanes tonight. at timber workshop, located in the always acted alone. Francesthe Suspect named as Mohammed tunnel Merah, 24 The Israeli shelling Le Nouvel Observateur news Street in Gaza.
resulted in a complete destruction and
Israel breaches the truce, keeps Gaza under fire, death toll rises
Several buildings on fire following latest Israeli airstrike
Merah previously broke out of Afghan prison, Afghan government office in Kandahar denied he was ever arrested. Gunman cornered and family arrested Tense stand-off after three officers injured Killer sought revenge for deaths of Palestinian children French Burka ban inspired killings Gunman threatened to post shooting footage online Three police officers wounded in shoot-out during pre-dawn swoop in Toulouse to arrest suspects in Jewish school shooting.
Just how momentous is 2011 finalists India and Sri Bangladeshs passage to the Lanka, and lost a close match Asia Cup final? Decide for to Pakistan. Excitement is yourself after taking a look at building across Bangladesh these figures. In nine previous ahead of crickets Asia Cup Asia Cup editions, Bangladesh final in which the host nation had played 29 matches and will be facing Pakistan. won two, against Hong Bangladesh has reached the Kong and UAE. Out of three final for the first time after A seven-year-old Palestinian boy in terrorist operations in the the games this time, they have defeating Sri Lanka - coastal the Gaza Strip has died from wounds territory this past weekend, Gaza news won two, against World Cup Continued reported, raising sustained during an IDF strike on portal Al Resalah on page 4 >> the
flames of fire. The resident went in panic and shock as the explosion was so huge. No injuries were reported. There were no reports of injuries but that the incidence in the ranks of citizens due to the severity of the explosion. firefighters , rescue crews and ambulances were all rushed to the scene and gave a hand to the people there. Israeli artillery shelled the eastern areas of the Gaza Strip without reported injuries. The raid comes after twentyfour hours of truce declaration between the Palestinian resistance factions and Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel would keep striking those trying to harm Israeli civilians and that Israel is ready to broaden its in Toulouse- France Killing operation. Gaza militants insisted that Israel stop firing first and that it promise to halt airstrikes 4 >> Continued on page guarantee Israel is unlikely to give.
Boris Johnson 8points ahead over Ken Livingstone in race for London mayor
London mayoral election survey by YouGov puts Johnson at 49%, Livingstone at 41% and Brian Paddick at just 5% Boris Johnson has widened his lead over Ken Livingstone in the battle to become the next mayor of London on 3 May, according to a YouGov poll published to mark the first day of the official election campaign. The Conservative mayoral candidate and incumbent mayor is eight percentage points ahead, up from a slender margin of just two percentage points in a previous YouGov poll five weeks ago, which cast the race as neck and neck. The positive rating for Johnson came on a day that his campaign tactics came under fire after it emerged his team had rerouted the official City Hall Twitter account, @ MayorofLondon to @BorisJohnson.
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The latest YouGov poll shows a drop in perceptions of Livingstones qualities, suggesting that the intensifying of Johnsons campaign, in which he has repeatedly attacked Livingstones former mayoral record in negative contrast to his own, is beginning to pay dividends, at a time when the Labour candidate has been mired by criticisms over his personal tax arrangements. The survey of 1,227 Londoners puts Johnson at 54% to Livingstones 46% if voters had to choose between the two candidates at the election, which is fought under the supplementary vote system.
Johnson leads by 49% to Livingstones 41%. Brian Paddick, the Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate, who has stepped up his campaign in recent weeks, will be disappointed to see he has dropped to just 5%, down from 6% in the February poll. Livingstone has seen a decline in those who see him as a candidate who sticks to what he believes in (from 40% to 34%), and as someone in touch with the concerns of ordinary Londoners (down 5 percentage points from 37% to 32%. However, fewer respondents this time think Johnson is in touch with ordinary Londoners, down from 15% to just
13%. Anthony Wells, associate director of YouGovs political research, said: Our last poll came when Ken had been making the running with his pledge to cut fares. Since then Boris has campaigned more actively, while Ken has had a troubled month facing accusations over his personal tax affairs. Consequently our figures show a significant shift towards Boris in who people think has the better record as mayor, and a drop in perceptions of Kens personal qualities. Boris starts the official race with a small lead, but there are six weeks still to go. The two rivals hit the campaign trail on Tuesday, with Livingstone in Kilburn, pushing his promise of a 7% fares cut to Londoners. Johnson was out courting the vote in Bexley as he highlighted projects which will secure up to 200,000 jobs in the next four-year term. He said the coalition governments agreement to hand him powers to invest 3bn in housing would allow him to create 104,000 jobs, while 32,300 would result from investment
in transport, 5,500 in redevelopment of the Greenwich Peninsula and Royal Docks and a further 59,500 through a variety of initiatives he is planning. What we are trying to get over is that this is a historic choice for Londoners, he said. They can either go forward with a programme that invests in our city that keeps directing hard earned taxpayers cash at the transport housing investments that will take London forward or we can go back a wasteful and mismanaged approach to the government Im afraid you saw under Ken Livingstone when huge sums were squandered on this of no conceivable benefit to London. While the YouGov poll put tackling crime and improving transport at the top of peoples concerns, a separate survey conducted by Ipsos Mori for the BBC suggests jobs, growth and the economy are the issue of most concern to Londoners. The Ipsos Mori survey put Johnson and Livingstone at 27% each when it comes to who is most trusted with the economy.
The custody case of two children of a NRI couple living in Norway is turning into case of allegations, counter-allegations and denials. After reports that the childrens father Anurup Bhattacharya had accused his wife Sagarika of marital violence, he has denied the allegations and also blamed the media for distorting the facts. India says it has put on hold efforts to bring back the children of an Indian couple who were placed in foster care by Norwegian child services last May. We would have carried on but
unfortunately its become a personal matter between husband and wife, said junior foreign minister Preneet Kaur. The move follows media reports of marital problems between the parents. Child services say the parents failed to look after their children. The parents deny this. The couple, Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya, say cultural differences led to the situation. Indian diplomats have also put off a trip to Norway to monitor the court case for the custody of the children. We are going to watch the situation. We have done the best we could do, said Preneet Kaur. Let us see what the court decides, she added. The case is scheduled to come up from hearing on Friday in a local court in Norway, Thomas Bore Olsen, communication officer in the Child Welfare Department. Abhigyan (3) and Aishwarya (1) were taken away from their parents by the Stavanger Child Welfare Services last May on grounds of emotional disconnect and has been since put in foster care.
Reading the plight of head teacher Sudhana Singh, youd be forgiven in thinking what occurred at this local primary school was in Americas deep South during the 1960s, not a quite suburb of Reading in the 21st century. Governors of Moorlands Primary School and Reading Borough Council have been branded a disgrace, for not dealing with what has been described as a Playground mafia of racist parents. Mrs Singh is suing the School Governors and the local authority for racial discrimination. After witnessing and hearing about extreme racist views held by some children and their parents, the head began a discussion about racism to help the children have a better understanding about what it means and how it can be dealt with. Shortly afterwards, some parents and some school governors began a petition to remove her from her post. Those supporting the Head were labelled Paki lovers and were levelled with threats such as if you dont shut up, well make you shut up. Mrs. Singh started her career in South Africa in 1989 and emigrated to the UK in 2001 when she started teaching in Slough, Berkshire, where she rose to the position of deputy head. In September 2009, she took up the post of head teacher at Moorlands
Primary School in Tilehurst but continued to live in Slough. In July 2010, Mrs. Singh claimed she was forced to take gardening leave and was made to feel that if she did not agree, she would be suspended. She suffered a miscarriage shortly after being sent on gardening leave. In her legal statement, she said, I considered committing suicide on at least two occasions but received help from health professionals and my sister. Despite my determined and tenacious efforts to build relationships with the Governing Board, my constant request for help from the local authority, my passion to serve the children of Moorlands and my courage in facing up to the parents, my efforts were met with harassment, bullying and victimisation. While on sick leave she claimed she was constantly contacted by both the Governing Body and the Local Authority with a view to ending her contract.
Unarmed protesters in Palestine attacked with Bullets, Rounds & Military Dogs
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March 16, 2012 It was yet another Friday where demonstrations get brutally attacked by Israels military in the occupied West Bank. In todays demonstration in Kufr Qaddoum, Israeli soldiers released military hounds to attack unarmed Palestinian protesters. One dog bit a Palestinian activist and didnt let go of his hand for several minutes, even when the dogs handler ordered the dog to let go. The injured Palestinian, Ahmad Shtewi, was arrested by
Israeli soldiers even when he was clearly in need of immediate medical attention. Using trained dogs to attack unarmed Palestinian demonstrators, An Israeli army dog attacks a Palestinian protester during a demonstration against the expropriation of Palestinian land by Israel in the village of Kafr Qaddum, near Nablus in the occupied West Bank, on March 16, 2012. The Israeli soldiar is not contolling the dog
A British judge barred a Muslim woman from serving on a jury in London on Monday after she refused to remove her face veil, or niqab. Judge Aidan Marron QC said he needed to see her facial expressions and could not sit on an attempted murder trial unless she removed it, the Daily Mail reported. Before the woman was about to take the oath in the case, Judge Marron said: I wonder whether I can address the lady who is veiled. Would you prefer not to remove your veil in this particular case? The woman, who was wearing western clothing including a fitted grey jacket according to the newspaper, replied: Yes. Judge Marron then said: I entirely understand that, but in this particular case it is desirable that your face is exposed, so Im going to invite you to stand down. I hope you understand. The report claims that a white male member of the jury pool was then sworn in in the womans place after she was told to stand down. But the ruling, which was the first
of its kind, drew criticism from a Muslim UK-based rights group. This is totally unacceptable. I really cant understand why facial expressions could have any impact on the judge, the judgment or anyone else in a trial. It has no relevance, Massoud Shadjareh, chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, told the newspaper. Im speechless that you can exclude someone on the basis of the way that they dress Its very worrying that a judge is being prejudiced against women wearing a veil. The Daily Mail notes that UK guidelines state that veils can be worn in court although senior judges should decide on a case-bycase basis. The incident reminded many of when a Muslim female juror in Britain in 2007 was accused listening to a hidden stereo under her headscarf. But she was cleared of a contempt of court charge when the Attorney Generals office ruled there was insufficient evidence.
democracy. The organisations held their first election hustings before the 2010 general election, which led to the victory of Labour incumbent Marsha Singh. But having served as an MP for 15 years, Singh has been forced to step down, citing serious health problems. His resignation has triggered a byelection, with eight candidates hoping to get the votes on March 29. Former Respect MP George Galloway is strongly considering standing for an election in Bradford. He said Time for a new start in Bradford - Vote Respect on March 29th. Bradford Liberal Democrats have selected Jeanette Sunderland to be
muslim women an opportunity to engage in the political process. The partners involved in organising the event will go ahead with the event without the Labour and Conservative Party candidates as they are committed to an open democratic process in which voters exercise their choice on the basis of issues rather than blind political party allegiances. Two more people have announced their intention to contest the vacant Bradford West seat. Alan Howling Laud Hope, who is leader of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, is to stand in the byelection later this month. Mr Hope was the partys deputy chairman until the death of the
Nationalists, the party he cofounded. Mr Craig stood in Bradford West in the 2010 General Election and has also contested Bradford Council seats for the same party. He is a former member of the British National Party and has also stood in Council elections for the BNP. The Bradford West by-elections hustings will take place on the 21st of March, 2012 between 6.30 -8.30 pm at University of Bradford Students Union AMP Hall, Student Central Building, Longside Lane, Bradford BD7 1DP Participants and organisers of the event will be available for interviews between 5.30-6.30 p.m.
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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 22 March 2012 Continued from page 01 >>
Toulouse attacker the self-declared Al Qaeda was under surveillance, why French never arrested him? Is it another false flag! French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe declared that attacks on Jews in France are attacks on all French Citizen but what about attack on Palestinian?
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said extremists must stop using the Palestinian cause to justify their acts of violence. It is time for these criminals to stop marketing their terrorist acts in the name of Palestine and to stop pretending to stand up for the rights of Palestinian children who only ask for a decent life, the Palestinian premier said in a statement. The Toulouse shooting attack is outrageous and must be condemned in the strongest terms so does recent attack of Israel which killed 25 Palestinians in Gaza during four days of violence earlier this month. These acts are in total contradiction with the foundations of Islam, said the head of the French Muslim Council, Mohammed Moussaoui. Frances Muslims are offended by this claim of belonging to this religion. Frances top Muslim leader said Wednesday that a besieged suspected Islamist who claims to have carried out a string of shootings to avenge Palestinian children had acted against Islam. Frances interior minister says a gunman suspected in a wave of killings has stopped talking to police, and that authorities have been monitoring him for years. The suspect is 24 years old, of French nationality and says he belongs to al-Qaida, Gueant told reporters. He said the suspect wants to take revenge for Palestinian children killed in the Middle East, and is angry at the French military for its operations abroad. The man was known to authorities for having spent time in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The shooting suspect is talking a lot, claiming his jihadist convictions and calling himself a mujahedeen, Gueant said. He said he wants to avenge the deaths of Palestinians, the minister said, adding that he is less explicit about killing French paratrooper. French school shooting suspect Mohamed Merah had been arrested for bomb making in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar in 2007 but escaped months later in a Taliban prison break . Frances domestic intelligence agency had for years tracked him. He had for several years been tracked by the DCRI and its agents in Toulouse, but there was never anything to suggest that he was preparing a criminal act, Gueant told journalists of the now besieged suspect. On the other hand suddenly Zionist media is saying that Jewish life in France and Europe is not under question, its already history, and it is time for the Jews of France to come home. MK Yaakov Katz of the National Union Party wasnt waiting for that Knesset session, and issued an immediate call for the Jews of France to immigrate to Israel. There is no Jewish future in France, insisted Katz. French Ambassador to Israel, Christophe Bigot told the Times of Israel that Katzs call for mass emigration was misplaced. Dr. David Shapiro, an expert on anti-Semitism in France said Attacks on Jews have been taking place for centures, and it was only a matter of time before the situation got worse,. According to a poll conducted by The Israel Project More Than One Quarter of Jews in France Want to leave, they say a new survey of the 500,000-member French Jewish community, the second largest in the diaspora 26 percent of those surveyed said they have considered emigrating due to worsening French antiSemitism. According the poll, overall 78 % of French Jews blame radical Muslim youth in France for spreading anti-Semitism, while 76 percent also blame Israeli policy toward the Palestinians for hardening French government policy and contributing to anti-Semitism. Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael). It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. According to Jewish scripts The Talmudic sages state that the Land of Israel is higher than all other lands. They Claim anyone making aliyah, or moving to Israel for the right reasons, is moving up in the world. It is the land in which the holy Patriarchs and Matriarchs lived. It is the land upon which the Holy Temples were built. And, with the advent of the Messianic era, it is the land where the Third Temple will soon be rebuilt. It is truly a holy and elevated place. The Messianic Era will be ushered in by a Jewish leader generally referred to as the Moshiach (messiah: Hebrew for the anointed one), a righteous scion of King David. He will rebuild the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and gather the Jewish people from all corners of the earth and return them to the Promised Land.
EDITORIAL
The man Mohammad Merah is suspected of killing three soldiers and four Jewish people. The gunman accused of killing seven people on a gun rampage through France wanted to bring the nation to its knees, President Nicolas Sarkozy has said. Mr Sarkozy, speaking at a memorial service for three soldiers killed by the gunman last week, said the killer had failed to divide France. The killings took place in and around Toulouse in three separate incidents. Police surrounded Merahs block of flats after two officers were shot at when they tried to get into his flat. Investigators say the suspect was identified through an email sent to his first victim about buying a scooter. The message, sent from the suspects brothers account, set up an appointment at which the soldier was killed, on 11 March. Officials say he is heavily armed with a Kalashnikov highvelocity rifle, a mini-Uzi 9mm machine pistol, several handguns and possibly grenades. Police are hunting for accomplices and have detained his mother and brother and brothers friend. His mother was taken to the scene in the hope that she could persuade him to surrender, but she told police that she had no influence over her son. Negotiators have been talking to Merah all morning, but Mr Gueant, who is at the scene, said he appeared to have no particular demands. French President Nicolas Sarkozy told Jewish community representatives the suspected Islamist gunman besieged in Toulouse had planned another attack, a Jewish leader said. Nicole Yardeni, head of the CRIF Jewish group in the MidiPyrenees region, said Mr Sarkozy had told them the shooter already had a plan to kill again and that he planned to kill this morning. A scooter dealer has explained how he played a key role in leading police to the alleged Toulouse gunman Mohammed Merah. the owner of the Yam 31 Yamaha dealership, said he had provided the name of the suspected killer. He said that when police showed him surveillance video footage of the attack on a Jewish school that killed three children and a teacher, he noticed the scooter used in the attack had been partially repainted white. A police source has confirmed the claim , telling that the suspect had told investigators this morning that he had decided to kill a soldier in Toulouse on Wednesday morning and had already identified the victim. The suspect has said he belonged to al-Qaeda and acted to avenge Palestinian children. According to reports the revelation that the Toulouse gunman claim he has links with al-Qaeda is likely to influence the French presidential election campaign, and could prove a gift for the far-Right National Front candidate Marine Le Pen. According to reports a security source who says Afghan intelligence officials passed details of Merahs identity to their French counterparts following his arrest in 2007. Jawed Faisal, a spokesman for the Kandahar provincial governor, said:I cant confirm it was the same person but there was someone in Kandahar prison with the name Mohammed Merah, who was famous as the French guy. His father and grandfather had Afghan names, and he
could pass as an Afghan. His fathers name was Mohammad Seddiq, grandfather was Mohammad Shah. Security Forces in Kandahar have never detained a French citizen named Mohammad Merah.Are they suggesting they have arrested someone of that name - but not of that nationality? Christian Etelin, a lawyer who represented Merah in court in Toulouse on 24 February for driving without a license, has told French BFMTV that Merah knew he was under surveillance since returning from Afghanistan, but was extremely discreet about his political views. Etelin described Merah as by no means rigid or fanatical, and said he could never imagine him committing crimes of such hardness and extremity If you could say anything, it was that he was polite and courteous quite sweet actually. On the streets near the apartment block under siege, several young men gathered who claimed they knew the suspect from Les Izards, a mixed neighbourhood of Toulouse where he had grown up. A 25-year-old French man, whose parents were born in Algeria, said: I grew up with him. Im totally shocked and surprised, I cant believe that he could do this. His mum was French of Algerian origin she brought him up alone. He didnt have a dad. This has absolutely nothing to do with Islam, or with us He said Merah had been imprisoned at 18 for bag snatching in the entrance hall of a bank in 2005. Even so, he added, Merah was not someone who you could call violent.
Frances Jews and Muslims united Tuesday to complain they were being used as pawns in a presidential election increasingly dominated by bitter disputes over national identity and ritual slaughter. Frances problems are so major, as we are in a period of crisis, so how can the issue of kosher meat and halal meat be a major problem for France? asked an exasperated Chief Rabbi of France, Gilles Bernheim. For its part, the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) slammed what it said was the use of Muslims as scapegoats in the election campaign in which halal slaughter of animals has become a hot-button issue. Sarkozys government has come under fire from Muslim groups for a series of measures implemented during his five-year rule that they believe unfairly stigmatised their community. These include a ban on wearing full-face veils such as the Islamic niqab and the burqa, moves which authorities say were aimed at protecting Frances secular tradition. France will vote in the first round of a presidential election on April 22, followed by a second-round run-off on May 6.
If you want to know how quickly a civilization unravels when the money runs out, you need look no further than Greece. Its a sobering lesson for the U.S. and the rest of the Western world when the day of reckoning finally comes from too much borrowing and when sovereign
When the money runs out: cases of HIV, TB, and malaria explode in Greece, health system near collapse
people could simply no longer afford private healthcare. The entire system is deteriorating.The extraordinary increase in HIV/Aids among drug users, due largely to the suspension or cancellation of free needle exchange program, has been accompanied by a 52% increase in the general in the community, including immigrants. It is now focusing on supporting the public health sector, providing emergency care in shelters for the homeless and improving the overall response to communicable diseases. Papadopoulos, who spent 17 years abroad with MSF and returned trillion bond fund Pimco. Portugal will follow Greece to be the next eurozone country to falter, according the boss of the worlds largest private sector bond fund. Like Greece, it will need extra cash from Brussels to stop the country going bust, Pimco chief
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chief investment officer of Pimco, said he expected Portugals first bailout package to be insufficient, prompting it to ask the EU and IMF for more money. Then there will be a big debate about how to split the burden between the EU, creditors, the IMF and the
debt levels become unsustainable. Consider what I wrote in my book 2 years ago: It took millennia to build civilizations on this planet but we will watch them unravel over the span of a few years. GREECE - The incidence of HIV/ Aids among intravenous drug users in central Athens soared by 1,250% in the first 10 months of 2011 compared with the same period the previous year, according to the head of Mdecins sans Frontires Greece, while malaria is becoming endemic in the south for the first time since the rule of the colonels. Reveka Papadopoulos said that following savage cuts to the national health service budget, including heavy job losses and a 40% reduction in funding for hospitals, Greek social services were under very severe strain, if not in a state of breakdown. What we are seeing are very clear indicators of a system that cannot cope. The heavy, horizontal and blind budget cuts coincided last year with a 24% increase in demand for hospital services, she said, largely because
population. We are also seeing transmission between mother and child for the first time in Greece, she said. This is something we are used to seeing in sub-Saharan Africa, not Europe. There has also been a sharp increase in cases of tuberculosis in the immigrant population, cases of Nile fever leading to 35 deaths in 2010 and the reappearance of endemic malaria in several parts of Greece, notably the south. According to Papadopoulos, such sharp increases in communicable diseases are indicative of a system nearing breakdown. The simple fact of the reappearance of malaria, with 100-odd cases in southern Greece last year and 20 to 30 more elsewhere, shows barriers to healthcare access have risen, she said. Malaria is treatable, it shouldnt spread if the system is working. MSF has been active in Greece for more than 20 years, but until now has largely confined its activities to emergency interventions after natural disasters such as earthquakes, and providing care to the most vulnerable groups
to her native Greece three years ago, sees hope among the rubble. What keeps me going is an increasingly strong sense of solidarity among the Greek people, she said. Donations to MSF, for example, have of course gone down with the crisis, but donors keep giving, they remain active. Portugal will be the next Greece, predicts Mohamed El-Erian
executive Mohamed El-Erian told the German magazine Der Spiegel. Asked whether he expected Portugal to have become the next Greece by the end of this year, he said: Yes, unfortunately that will be the case. Portugals economy is forecast to contract 3.3% this year as the government implements austerity measures under a 78bn
European Central Bank. And then financial markets will become nervous because they are worried about private sector participation, he said. Pimco, with $1.36 trillion assets under management, is a division of German insurance group Allianz. El-Erian said this year would show whether the eurozone will fall apart or become
Theres a lot of money on the sidelines waiting for end to eurozone crisis, says boss of $1.3
(65bn) bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. El-Erian, who is also co-
a smaller but stronger entity, with the first option being less likely but definitely not to be ruled out.
Mashaal says, Palestinians want to save their territory from Israeli occupation following meetings with Erdogan, Gul in Turkey. Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal accused Israel of using the Gaza Strip as a guinea pig for testing its missiles capabilities amid simmering tensions with Iran Turkeys English-language news portal Todays Zaman reported Sunday. Mashaal said Hamas would continue to fight against Israel in political, diplomatic and media fields. Mashaal said on Sunday that Palestinian rockets were fired at Israel only after the IDF
attacked Palestinian targets in the Gaza Strip, and said Hamas missile attacks from Gaza on Israel were selfdefense, according to the report.
Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal had discussions with Turkish officials on Palestinian reconciliation efforts between rival Hamas and Fatah groups
In February 2012, Mashaal agreed to appoint Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas interim prime minister in a second bid to expedite elections. Mashaal faces internal opposition from Hamas leaders in Gaza, who are reluctant to hand over authority to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas would serve as the prime minister of any interim government. The head of the Hamas government in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, was received with enthusiasm during a visit to Turkey in early January as part of his first regional tour.
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On March 11, up to 20 US forces murdered 16 Afghan men, women, and nine children, aged two to 12. Children were massacred while they slept. Two women were also raped before soldiers killed them. Major media scoundrels whitewashed the crimes by shamelessly blaming one soldier to absolve others, and most of all, higher-ups responsible for permitting a culture that condones and encourages them. A transparent March 11 Pentagon Secretary of Defense Panetta statement said the following: Today I spoke to President Karzai to offer my deepest condolences and profound regret for the tragic incident in Kandahar province that resulted in the loss of life and injuries to innocent Afghan civilians, including women and children. A full investigation is already underway. A suspect is in custody, and I gave President Karzai my assurances that we will bring those responsible to justice. We will spare no effort in getting the facts as quickly as possible, and we will hold any perpetrator who is responsible for
Nor are a few bad apples alone involved. Theyre widespread, tolerated, and sanctioned up to the highest government, military, and intelligence levels in all US
Pajhwok Afghan News: A parliamentary probe team on Thursday said up to 20 American troops were involved in Sundays killing of 16 civilians in southern Kandahar province. It spent two days interviewing surviving family members, witnesses, and tribal elders. They also gathered evidence where killings took place. Two groups of US soldiers were involved. Attacks occurred in separate villages one
responsible and hold them accountable locally. Surviving family members and witnesses said assailants had air support. Helicopters brought them in and remained overhead during the carnage. Kandahar Massacre Reflects Earlier Ones Analyst Rick Rozoff called the incident particularly egregious because of its cold-blooded, calculated nature. It evoked echoes of past ones like Vietnams
adopting Resolution 1820. It demanded an immediate and complete halt to acts of sexual violence against civilians in conflict zones. It said: women and girls are particularly targeted by the use of sexual violence, including as a tactic of war to humiliate, dominate, instil fear in, disperse and/or forcibly relocate civilian members of a community or ethnic group. These offenses also constitute war crimes,
this violence fully accountable under the law. I condemn such violence and am shocked and saddened that a U.S. service member is alleged to be involved, clearly acting outside his chain of command. I told President Karzai that the American people share the outrage felt by President Karzai and his fellow citizens. This tragic incident does not reflect the commitment of the U.S. military to protect the Afghan people and help build a strong and stable Afghanistan. As we mourn today with the Afghan people, we are steadfast in our resolve to work hand in hand with our Afghan partners to accomplish the missions and goals on which we have been working together for so long. This terrible incident does not reflect our shared values or the progress we have made together. As I told President Karzai, I am fully committed to ensuring that our cooperation continues. It is essential to forging a more peaceful future for the citizens of both our nations. Like similar Pentagon, White House, and other official statements, Panettas words ring hollow. They also reflected damage control cover-up, not only of a crime
and a half kilometers apart. We are convinced that one soldier cannot kill so many people in two villages within one hour at the same time. Most victims were women and children. Parliamentarian Hamidzai Lali demanded that the UN and international community ensure those responsible are prosecuted in Afghanistan. Lali said the Wolesi Jirga, Afghanistans lower House of the People, wont stay silent until prosecutions occur, adding: If the international community does not play its role in punishing the perpetrators, the Wolesi Jirga would declare foreign troops as occupying forces, like the Russians. Soldiers Committed Rape and Murder On March 18, Indias Siasat Daily headlined, US Forces raped two Afghan women, saying: The Afghan probe team said US soldiers systematically went from house to house in two villages, raped two women before murdering them, and at least 14 others. Some victim bodies were then set ablaze. On March 17, Russia Today called the Kandahar massacre preplanned murder, according to Afghan Army Chief of Staff Lt. General Sher Mohammad Karimi.
My Lai, Iraqs Haditha, and two Fallujah slaughter incidents in April/May 2004, then in genocidal numbers in November/ December. Survivors and witnesses confirmed industrial scale mass murder. Children saw parents shot. Adults lost spouses and children. Homes and stores were looted. Thousands of others were destroyed. A government committee found 26,000 houses damaged and another 3,000 completely demolished. They included 70 mosques, 50 schools, and Fallujahs power plant. The city depended on it for electricity, 50% of its drinking water distribution, and 70% of its sewer system. Overall, indiscriminate slaughter, destruction, and environmental contamination occurred. It was followed by looting, mass arrests, torture, and deaths from ill treatment and disease. A cancer epidemic followed and numerous previously unknown or rarely seen illnesses, severe congenital malformations, and more. Since 2001, millions of Afghans and Iraqis died. Libyas enduring its own nightmare. Syria and Iran are next. American wars show no mercy. Rape as a Weapon of War
crimes against humanity or a constitutive act with respect to genocide. Former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Manifred Nowak said rape constitutes torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment used as a weapon of war to inflict greater pain and suffering. Author Slavenka Drakulic described it as slow murder. The Nuremberg Tribunal called it a crime against humanity. Nothing, however, stops it, and UN resolutions fall woefully short. The latest Afghan rape and multiple murder atrocity reflects countless others. Its because US soldiers are trained to be violent in war theaters and show no mercy. Anything goes and does. Women and young girls are especially vulnerable. In May 2009, Britains Daily Telegraph said former US General Antonio Taguba said the Obama administration sought to suppress images of US soldiers raping and sodomizing Iraqi prisoners. He called photos he saw explosive, saying they show torture, abuse, rape and every indecency. The mere description of these pictures is horrendous enough. Take my word for it. These and similar incidents arent isolated.
war theaters. Victims are helpless targets, including young girls and boys sodomized with phosphorescent tubes, clubs, wire, and other implements to inflict pain. Instead of holding those responsible accountable, Obama suppressed their crimes. As a result, they continue. The latest Afghan victims represent a drop in the ocean. International and US law principles are ignored. Atrocities follow others repeatedly. Wars reflect more than hell. They manifest generations of condoned US barbarity. Its been institutionalized to permit wanton rape, sodomy, torture, sadism, murder, and virtually all other imaginable atrocities with impunity. America the beautiful is an illusion only young children and fools believe. Ugly war theater wickedness reveals its true dark side. Its victims attest to how monstrous. The suspect in Sundays killings, said to be a 38-year-old sergeant with two children, is the most recent former Lewis-McChord resident whose behaviour during or after deployment has made headlines for the wrong reasons. Two years ago, after four of the bases soldiers, led by Calvin Gibbs, were convicted of the deliberate thrill killings of three Afghan civilians, the forces newspaper Stars and Stripes called LewisMcChord: The most troubled base in the military. At Christmas, reporting on a rash of suicides 62 since 2002 along with soaring rates of domestic violence, drink-driving, murders, fights, robberies and drug overdoses there, the Los Angeles Times dubbed it: A base on the brink. The paper referred to a string of recent tragedies. They included an Iraq veteran who pleaded guilty to torture after water-boarding his seven-year-old foster child; another charged with torturing a daughter who refused to say her ABCs; and a husband who poured lighter fluid over his wife and set her on fire. A soldier also kidnapped, tortured, and raped two women, attaching one, via cables, to a car battery and a husband murdered his wife and left her body in a bin.
With a growing number of smart gadgets, spying on homes may start to become much easier. In fact, CIA Chief David Petraeus admitted that Americans were effectively bugging themselves and making it easy for spy agencies to peek in on their lives. Speaking at a summit for In-Q-Tel, the CIAs venture capital firm, Petraeus noted that new devices that link dumb home appliances such as refrigerators, ovens and lighting systems to the Internet could change our notion of secrecy. Transformational is an overused word, but I do believe it properly applies to these technologies, particularly to their effect on clandestine tradecraft, Petraeus noted. Items of interest will be located, identified, monitored, and remotely controlled through technologies such as radiofrequency identification, sensor networks, tiny embedded servers, and energy harvesters all connected to the next-generation Internet using abundant, lowcost, and high-power computing, Petraeus explained. The latter now going to cloud computing, in many areas greater and greater supercomputing, and, ultimately, heading to quantum computing. In the meantime, the biggest microchip company in the world, ARM, presented new processors that can be implanted into nearly any household appliance and connect it to the Internet so that the appliance could be remotely
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controlled in tandem with other applications. The company described the concept as the Internet of things. And the National Security Agency is already building a gigantic supercomputer to process this gigantic amount of information. Its a $2 billion Utah-based facility that can process yottabytes (a quadrillion
technology blog. It will be the centerpiece for the Global Information Grid and is set to go live in September 2013.
a recent report prepared by the MITRE Corporation, a Pentagon think tank. As the sensors associated with the various
Just how much information will be stored in these windowless cybertemples? A clue comes from
surveillance missions improve, says the report, referring to a variety of technical collection methods,
the data volumes are increasing with a projection that sensor data volume could potentially increase to the level of Yottabytes (1024 Bytes) by 2015. Roughly equal to about a septillion (1,000,000,000 ,000,000,000,000,000) pages of text, numbers beyond Yottabytes havent yet been named. Once vacuumed up and stored in these near-infinite libraries, the data are then analyzed by powerful infoweapons, supercomputers running complex algorithmic programs, to determine who among us may beor may one day becomea terrorist. In the NSAs world of automated surveillance on steroids, every bit has a history and every keystroke tells a story. These latest announcements paint a somewhat Orwellian picture of the future, with TVs spying on their viewers and beds recording the dreams of those sleeping in them. Perhaps this data would then be sent to the Utah supercomputer, which would assess the persons pros and cons. And what if the computer uses statistics to decipher the likelihood that that person will commit a crime? A score could land you in jail for a crime that had not yet happened. But even now we see how people are being arrested for posting online or clicking the wrong button in the privacy of their own home. A British teenager is set to appear in court on charges of racially aggravated assault after posting comments about six British soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
India had given an assurance to Portugal that it would not slap any charge which invoked death penalty to Salem India has got a breather with the Constitutional Court of Portugal staying the order of its Supreme Court on violation of extradition agreement of underworld don Abu Salem by New Delhi by slapping new charges invoking death penalty. CBI sources said that the Constitutional Court, while admitting
slapped charges which invoke death penalty against him leaving the government and the CBI red-faced. Later police wanted to withdraw the charges but the courts did not approve of it that led to long-standing legal battle which ended in Supreme Court in September 2010 that rejected the underworld dons plea. Salem had filed a petition in the High Court in Lisbon alleging violation of Rule of Speciality after which a judgement was pronounced on September 19, last year, saying there had been breach of the Indian undertaking given to the Portuguese authorities.
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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 22 March 2012 and thousands of international solidarity participants traveling to these countries specifically to join the marches. 2. Massive marches organized in Palestine (the 1948 seizures, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip) towards Jerusalem or to the nearest point to it. Palestinian people from all factions and institutions will participate alongside international solidarity activists who are able to enter Palestine. 3. Mass protests to be organised in front of Israeli embassies in the capitals of different countries. 4. Mass demonstrations and protests to be organised in the main public squares in the big cities of the world, including the Arab and Muslim capitals and large cities, which can be initiated from the main mosques and churches in each city, where appropriate. 5. Transcontinental Rallies to be organised, from Europe, Africa and Asia, according to the conditions and possibilities of each region.
by tanks, entered Palestinian villages and reoccupied them, causing a number of martyrs and many wounded and detainees among the civilians. How will the GMJ take place? 1. Massive marches will be organised from Asia, Africa and Europe to and in neighbouring countries to Palestine (Jordan, Eygpt, Syria and Lebanon) and towards Jerusalem or to the nearest point possible
demonstrate solidarity with Palestinians and to protect Jerusalem. This will be achieved by organizing a Global March to Jerusalem or to the nearest point to it. The march will demand freedom for Jerusalem and its people and to put an end to the
according to the circumstances of each country and through coordination between all groups and institutions of civil society taking part in the march, in coordination with the official and national bodies concerned. These marches will be composed mainly of the people of each country
by Stop the War, at the Israeli Embassy in London. Global March to Jerusalem: Supporting Event Mass Protest and Rally: Friday 30 March 5pm Israeli Embassy Kensington High Street, London
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The data revealed that Asia and Oceania accounted for a whopping 44 per cent of global arms imports, followed by Europe 19 per cent, the Middle East 17 per cent, the Americas 11 per cent. Africa was the lowest with 9 per cent. India was the worlds largest recipient of arms, accounting for 10 per cent of global arms imports. The other large recipients of arms in 2007-11 were South Korea (6 per cent of arms transfers), Pakistan (5 per cent), China (5 per cent) and Singapore (4 per cent). Article continues below Major Asian importing states are seeking to develop their own arms industries and decrease their reliance on external sources of supply, Pieter Wezeman, senior researcher with the Sipri Arms Transfers Programme, was quoted as saying. A large share of arms deliveries is due to licensed production. Indias neighbour China was the largest recipient of arms exports in 2002-06, but it fell to fourth place in 2007-11. Between 2002-06 and 2007-11, the volume of Chinese arms exports increased by 95 per cent and now China ranks as the sixth largest supplier of arms in the world. While the volume of Chinas arms exports is increasing, this is largely a result of Pakistan importing more arms from China, Paul Holtom, director of the Sipri Arms Transfers Programme, said. China has not yet achieved a major breakthrough in any other significant market. Impact of Arab Spring The study said that major suppliers continued to deliver weapons to countries affected by the events of the Arab Spring. Despite a review in 2011 of its arms transfer policies towards the region, the US remains a major supplier to both Tunisia and Egypt. In 2011, the US delivered 45 M-1A1 tanks to Egypt and agreed to deliver 125 more, the communique said.
Thursday, 22.03.12
international
Gujrat BJP MLAs deny charges, say they dont watch porn at all
The speaker of an Indian state assembly ordered an inquiry on Wednesday into allegations that two politicians had viewed pornography during a sitting of the chamber.
Two BJP MLAs were caught watching pornographic content inside the Gujarat assembly, according to reports published in a Gujarati newspaper. The MLAs denied the charges were to malign their
image. Shankar Chaudhary said it is an attempt to malign his image. The allegations of me watching porn in assembly is baseless. This is an attempt to politically Continued on page 31 >>
The United States exempted Japan and 10 EU nations from financial sanctions because they have significantly cut purchases of Iranian crude oil, but left Irans top customers China and India exposed to the possibility of such steps. The decision announced on Tuesday is a victory for the 11 countries, whose Continued on page 31 >>
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Tamilands government (India) decided to keep building Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) Kudankulam,which had been frozen due to the mass protests of local residents, Indian channel NDTV reports. The plant is being build with Russian Federation cooperation. Preparing for a showdown with the anti-Kudankulam agitators, the state government on Monday gave its nod to commission the plant. A decision to this effect was taken in the state Cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister J Jayalalithaa. The Cabinet accepted the report submitted by the state-appointed experts committee headed by former chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, MR Srinivasan, which said the plant is safe. With a view to placating the fishermen community and the Peoples Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), the forum that is spearheading the agitation, the government also decided to allocate Rs 500 crore for carrying out various welfare schemes for the betterment of
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range DIG V Varadaraju and 12 superintendents of police, drawn from all over southern districts are camping at Kudankulam. Twelve police check posts have
in Kudankulam region since Sunday night. Tamil Nadu south zone IG Rajesh Das, Tirunelveli
been set up in the southern coastal belt and the level of preparedness for the show down with the agitating fishermen can
be gauged from the fact that each of these check posts is headed by an SP level official. While the Cabinet meeting was progressing in Chennai, police arrested nine persons from Kudankulam including S Sivasubramanian, one of the PMANE activists who met Jayalalithaa for talks in Chennai earlier this month. Following the arrests, the fishermen community gathered in large numbers at Idinthakarai village, where a relay fast has been going on for more than six months. SP Udayakumar, convenor of PMANE, has started a fast unto death demanding the release of the nine activists
U.S. threatens sanctions with India over its ties with Iran
The Obama administration is threatening to impose sanctions on India over its continued economic ties with Iran amid disagreements between Washington and New Delhi over how much and how soon the latter is reducing oil imports from the (in U.S. eyes) pariah nation. India has failed to reduce its purchase of Iranian oil and if it doesnt do so, President Barack Obama may be forced to impose sanction, unnamed administration officials were cited as telling Bloomberg wire service. A decision in this regard could come as early as June 28, they added, implicitly offering New Delhi a ten- week window to show a decline in Iranian oil imports. Indian officials have contested the U.S. assessment by insisting New Delhi is scaling down Iranian oil imports with more reduction in the pipeline, but that
concession has been offset by Indias commerce ministrys well-publicized efforts to ramp up trade with Iran in other areas, a move that has not gone unnoticed by the powerful pro-Israeli lobby in U.S. The potent American Jewish Committee (AJC), which holds Israeli interests dear to its heart, raged against an Indian business delegation being shepherded to Iran by the Indian commerce ministry, pointing to it as an example of New Delhis perfidy at a time Israel is Indias close military and counter-terrorism partner. That prompted a strong rebuttal from the Indian embassy in Washington, accusing certain lobbies of presenting a distorted picture of New Delhis foreign policy objectives and energy security needs by selective use of data about its imports from Iran.
up from Nu 721.70 million in 2009. Other food imports such as vegetables, edible oil, sugar and meat increased from Nu 3,692.7 million in 2009 to Nu 4,406.8 million in 2010. On the other hand, while the average household consumption of food items has been increasing, the agriculture sector has shown little growth over the years. The National Accounts Statistics of 2010 shows that the total consumption expenditure at 2010 prices amounted to Nu 44,682.30 million, which
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Force service members died following a helicopter crash in Kabul province today.
ISAF confirmed the helicopter went down and said, Twelve International Security Assistance
Force service members died following a helicopter crash in Kabul province today.
As of Tuesday, March 20, 2012, at least 1,784 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan as a result of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to an Associated Press count. The AP count is six more than the Defense Departments tally, last updated Tuesday at 10 a.m. EDT, Washington post reported. At least 1,488 military service members have died in Afghanistan as a result of hostile action, according to the militarys numbers. Outside of Afghanistan, the department reports at least 109 more members of the U.S. military died in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Of those, 12 were the result of hostile action. The AP count of total OEF casualties outside of Afghanistan is two more than the departments tally. The Defense Department also counts three military civilian deaths. Since the start of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, 15,460 U.S. service members have been
wounded in hostile action, according to the Defense Department. The latest identifications reported by the military: 2nd Lt. Clovis T. Ray, 34, of San Antonio, Texas; died Mar. 15 in Kunar province, Afghanistan of injuries suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Spc. Daquane D. Rivers, 21, of Marianna, Fla.; died March 14, from injuries sustained in a noncombat-related incident in Paktika province, Afghanistan; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade, Grafenwoehr, Germany. Staff Sgt. Jesse J. Grindey, 30, of Hazel Green, Wis.; died March 12, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan; assigned to 287th Military Police Company, 97th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Riley, Kan.
Mehryar, Rahim Jahani and more. Zahir was a mandolin player and a backup singer for Akbar Ramish at the Isteqlal High school shows celebrating Afghanistan Day. Naynawaz encouraged Zahir to sing solo, but he didnt find it suitable during the live show to sing at a short notice. Hamid Etemadi who had a great voice but did not sing in public since he was a member of the royal family encouraged Zahir to take his place at the Afghanistan Day show. Zahir was dragged on stage by Hamid and he sang his first song, but was faced with displeasure of the crowd. Moments later Zahir appeared in costume during a play and sang another song which delighted the audience and received an endurance of applause. At this orchestra Zahir showed immense talent as a vocalist and earned a scholarship to learn operatic and eastern classical music at Tchaikovsky institute in Moscow. Upon his return to Kabul, Zahir began his musical career which brought him overnight success.
He composed all his songs with exception of 4 songs which he often credits their original composers Ahmad Zahir and Mashoor Jamal. The songs Rasha dar dast baghban and Gar zolf preishanat are of Ahmad Zahir and Laili mah man shoda shaida and Ay mo telaie are composition of Mashoor Jamal. Zahir howida toured Tajikistan, Iran, USSR, Europe and Americas. His song Kamar Bareek became an instant hit in Iran where for years after many Iranian singers covered the song in concerts and Iranian National TV. Majority of Zahir Howidas songs are political in nature and anti establishment. He often spoke out against the monarchy and the first president of Afghanistan Daud Khan. While all artists who wish to appear on National TV were authorized to sing in both Pashtu and Dari, Zahir refused to sing in Pashto claiming that whenever Ustad Awalmeer sings in Dari he will follow up with a song in Pashto.
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bench members. Regarding BNPs claim that Ziaur Rahman was the proclaimer of the Independence, the Prime Minister said as per verdict of the High Court it is now a settled issue. He (Zia) can be just an announcer like numerous announcers in TV channels and radio stations, she said, raising laughter among the members in the treasury bench. Hasina, however, welcomed the
oppositions participation in the parliament but expressed her regret over the use of filthy words by opposition members vitiating the atmosphere of the House. We appreciate their return though they have come to Parliament to protect their salaries and allowances, she said wrapping up the general discussion on the Presidents speech. The Prime Minister said her
BB governor for pursuing Islamic micro, SME financing, but with caution
Dhaka: Bangladesh Bank governor Dr Atiur Rahman on Tuesday called upon the Islamic banks and the Islamic windows of conventional banks in the country to pursue vigorous promotion of Islamic micro and SME financing for faster poverty eradication with deeper and wider financial inclusion. He, however, advised the banks to exercise utmost care in steering clear of money laundering, hundi, terrorist financing while entering into partnering engagements with Islamic MFIs and area agents in off-branch locations that may be active in different regions of the country. The central bank governor was speaking as the chief guest at a seminar, titled Islamic Micro Finance: An Instrument for Poverty Alleviation, in the city. World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) Foundation in Malaysia and SEACO Foundation in Bangladesh jointly arranged the seminar as part of their two-day fifth roundtable.
the land boundary agreement in parliament, he said. The premiers comments came four days after Saran said New Delhi was working to solve the Teesta water sharing issue and to sign a treaty on priority basis as he presented his credentials to President Zillur Rahman. The process of signing the pending Teesta Water Treaty is underway and it will be signed soon, a presidential
palace spokesman quoted him as telling Rahman at that time. India was expected to sign a deal with Dhaka on the Teesta during Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs Dhaka visit in September last year but Dhaka visibly refused to sign the proposed transit agreement after India backed out from signing the much-expected accord on sharing the common Teesta river water at that time.
Indian edition of the British daily Daily Mail reported that the former ISI chief had confessed that they gave money to BNP in 1991 during the period of a national election. According to reports carried by several Pakistani and Indian media ex-ISI chief Asad Durrani made the admission that his agency had funded main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) during 1991 general elections The Islamabad-based News International reported that the Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notices to Durrani in a decade-old pending case of retired Air Marshal Asghar Khan. The admission came from no less than former ISI chief Asad Durrani during a Pakistan Supreme Court on Wednesday, commented India Today as it carried a report on the issue.
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We are proud to be associated with India, which has the third largest army in the world. It has all the right features to become a superpower in future, General Batoo Tshering, Chief Operations Officer of the Royal Bhutan Army told reporters after the passing
India will be a superpower A platform for in future: Bhutan general female leaders
women cadets. Speaking to media persons, Lt Gen Sunil Jog, SM, VSM and Commandant of OTA, said, The cadets have gone through 49 weeks of intensive training and have achieved everything in a fantastic way. We are all very proud of them and accommodation for 750 cadets. We have already written to the government of India. The passing out parade was marked by pride and emotions, as 284 cadets were inducted into the Indian Army on Saturday on completion of 11-months of gruelling training. It was my ambition to serve the country. My father was a great source of inspiration to me. I feel so proud and honoured, said Rajalakshmi of Tuticorin, who was one of the five cadets representing Tamil Nadu. The event was also memorable for 16 foreign cadets, fifteen from Afghanistan and one from Lesotho who underwent training at OTA. Speaking to DC after the ceremony, Farhad Dilshad from Afghanistan said: The experience in India was amazing. The culture here is not very different from that in Afghanistan. During the training period, we got to learn the ways of the Army. I hope the good relations between the two nations continue.
out parade at the Officers Training Academy (OTA) on Saturday. The Bhutanese Army chief, who is on a five-day visit to strengthen defence ties between the nations, also praised OTA for training
wish them luck wherever they have been posted. On a query regarding infrastructure, he said, OTA currently trains 500 cadets. We will soon get latest training facilities and
Towards more effective participation in governance by women. Some 66 women representatives share their experiences. Balancing family time, household responsibilities and work, and not being taken seriously enough when they try to resolve community disputes, were two major challenges elected women representatives said they face today, six months after they were elected into local government. The elected women representatives of the national and local governments shared their political experiences, specifically challenges they faced prior to elections, and while fulfilling their new obligations, at a workshop being held in Paro, yesterday. Of the 101 elected women representatives in the country, 66 are attending the national consultation
workshop, jointly organised by the national commission of women and children (NCWC), and the department of local governance. This is a historic moment, said NCWC executive director, Phintsho Choeden, pointing out that the workshop should result in more effective participation in governance by women. She said the workshop has three objectives. One is to provide the elected women representatives with a platform, where they can meet and get to know each other. She added that it also provides them with an opportunity to reflect on their experiences so far, and to identify challenges, solutions, and provide feedback on what additional support they require to function more effectively.
Unlike in the past, more than a thousand or so Bhutanese, living and working in the United States, will take part in the countrys electoral process, starting with sending in votes for the second parliamentary elections next year. This is being made possible through the election commissions decision to extend the postal ballot facility to Bhutanese living in the US. Chief election commissioner Dasho Kunzang Wangdi said this was the result of the commitment prime minister made during one of his visits as the head of the government. In September 2010, Prime Minister Jigmi Y Thinley told those living in New York that the government would consider renewing their citizenship identity cards without having to come to Bhutan in person, and also to facilitate postal ballots, among others. We thought we could make an accommodation to that, since there was a sizeable group, Dasho Kunzang Wangdi said. He said that came under the election Acts provision, which says the commission could consider case by case on who could vote through post. Just now its those in the United
States but, if Bhutanese from other places apply, giving valid reasons, well extend the service, based on the application, he said. Welcoming the news, Aum Tshering from Wangduephodrang, who has lived in New York for the last seven years, through an email interview, said they were well updated with political developments in the country through relatives and the media. But we could never partake in our countrys democratic process, she said, adding the least they could do was make their votes count, but that was not obtainable. According to election rules, only those diplomats and persons working in Bhutanese embassies abroad,
persons residing outside Bhutan on special government duty, their dependents and spouses, armed forces, civil servants and students and trainees were entitled to vote through postal ballots. During the local government elections, however, postal ballots were also made available to spouses and direct dependents of civil servants. After the first parliamentary elections, there were issues where civil servants, while they could vote by post, had to travel to the villages to drop their wives and children, Dasho Kunzang Wangdi said. Through the Parliament, we made the decision. Meanwhile, many private individuals
said they should be entitled to the postal ballot facility, since it required closing their businesses for days. Unlike civil servants, for us, every hour makes a difference to our income, a stationery shop owner in Thimphu Pema Tashi said, adding, during the last parliamentary election, he closed his shop for more than a week. A grocery shop owner at the capitals vegetable market, Lhundrup Tshering said, making postal ballot available to everyone would encourage more people to vote. Voting is not compulsory, so even such facilities should be kept optional to all, he said. But those, who could avail postal ballot, said the procedures involved were least friendly. A voter was first required to register with the commission, then apply to the returning officer, and then cast a vote by post. In the last National
Council election, more than 12,000 votes were rejected, owing to some error in the detail voters provided. Election commission officials, however, argued that was the simplest process they could offer. We cant make it too simple that in itself becomes difficult, Dasho Kunzang Wangdi said, adding at every stage, secrecy was involved and they had to ensure it. He said, wherever possible, they simplified it, like doing away with the requirement of an individual from same constituency having to be witness. Any Bhutanese can be a witness now, he said. He said, while the commission encouraged people to go and vote in person, and made postal ballots available to only those, who required to be on election duty, among others, postal ballot was not the finest of the practice. Big election systems hardly take interest in postal ballots, since it often becomes an issue of questioning the election itself, he said, adding a little investment, to ensure a competent representative was elected that would make a huge impact, was the least one could do.
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an income tax deduction of 50 per cent to new retail investors with income below Rs. 10 lakh who invest up to Rs. 50,000 directly in equities. To support the ailing civil aviation sector, Mr. Mukherjee proposed
to compulsorily report assets and revenue held abroad and allowing for reopening of assessments up to 16 years in such cases. As per the proposals, gross tax receipts for 2012-13 are estimated at Rs. 10,77,612 crore, marking an increase of 15.6 per cent over the budget estimates (BE) and 19.5 per cent over the revised estimates (RE) for 2011-12. Total expenditure for the new fiscal is pegged at Rs. 14,90,925 crore, of which Plan expenditure is set at Rs. 5,21,025 crore and non-Plan expenditure, Rs. 9,69,900 crore. During the current fiscal year, the net effect of lower-than-targeted tax receipts, low disinvestment proceeds coupled with higher spending, mainly on subsidies for oil, food and fertilizer, has hiked the fiscal deficit to 5.9 per cent of the GDP in RE for 2011-12.
ISLAMABAD: The value of trade between Pakistan and India stood at $ 527.6 million during the first half of FY12. In a written reply to a question, Federal Minister for Commerce Makhdoom Amin Fahim Friday told the National Assembly that Pakistans export to India from July-October 2011-12 stood at $ 93.6 million while import from India during the same period stood at $ 434 million. The ministry is taking necessary measures to narrow the trade gap between Pakistan and India, he added. In this regard, he said during his visit to India, on the request of Pakistan, during the 6th round of talks between the Commerce Secretariats, the Indian side agreed that a delegation comprising various regulatory bodies would visit Lahore and Karachi in the first quarter of 2012 to provide necessary outreach, so that the businessmen in Pakistan are better informed about the regulations.
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yielded no information. It was only at 9.30 pm, when plainclothesmen from the police walked into their house for
day police custody. The uapa allows prolonged custody of a suspect unlike under IPC rules which says the order
on Iraq and was a regular freelance contributor to Irans Radio Tehran. But on March 6, after reading out the morning news bulletin on DD Urdu, he found himself in the news when he was arrested by the Delhi police on suspicions of having helped three Iranian nationals execute a bomb blast in the capital on February 13. The blast had injured the wife of an Israeli diplomat and her driver. Back home, like on any other day, Turab was waiting for his father to come for mid-day prayers and lunch but he didnt. The family panicked after
Sr was being held at the neighbouring special branch office. I waited there till 2.30 am to see him. Thats when I learnt he had been picked up at 11.30 am the day before, says Shauzab. Vijay Agarwal, the Kazmis lawyer, claims the police did not even follow established procedure in his arrest. Kazmi was arrested at 11.30 am, theyve shown the time as 8.30 pm, he says. The delay was obviously so that they could hold onto him longer before presenting him in court. (Detainees must be produced in court within 24 hours of arrest.) Held under the severe
him saying they will ruin our careers, adds Shauzab. The Kazmis have now approached the court complaining that foreign agencies are questioning their father and asking that his 20-day custody be brought to an end. It hasnt helped that ever since his arrest, many stories have been floating around in the media. While a leading English daily claimed his number was on the caller list of one of the Bangkok bombers, another made a counter-claim the next day that the story was incorrect. His sons also refute allegations that the police
for some time. It was also found the Kazmis have been receiving foreign remittances regularly. His wife received Rs 18,78,500 and Kazmi Rs 3,80,000. The couple have not been able to explain the source of the money. The Enforcement Directorate and Financial Investigation Unit have now been asked to probe the money trail. Shauzab, though, refuted the allegations and claimed his mother has only around Rs 2,000 in her account and demanded that any evidence to the contrary be made public. Reacting to police claims that Kazmi was in touch with the Iranian suspects, Shauzab said his father was in regular touch with many Iranians for professional reasons. Turab also says the moped the police claimed was used for the recce was so old it wouldnt even start; they had to tow it away. The police commissioner refuted this also. In a related development, the Iranian ambassador was called by the mea on Friday and briefed about the developments. Senior journalist Saeed Naqvi, whos worked with Kazmi and has been arguing publicly for him, says, He was arrested to please those pressuring the government to create a link between Iran and the attack. Muslim and Urdu journalists leave a bad odour these days. He says its part of a larger campaign against journalists who seek to challenge the global information order, especially about unfolding events in West Asia. For example, when the Israelis killed off Iranian nuclear scientists, the debate in the US media was not about whether this was right or wrong but about whether it helped retard Irans nuclear programme. Clearly, there are two sets of rules working here. A situation which, as each day passes, seems more and more plausible. For on March 11, the police raided another senior journalists flat in New Delhi. John Cherian, who travelled with Kazmi to Syria in February and is also known for his strident anti-Israel views, found the police in his flat on suspicions that he had concealed smack. The police later apologised for mistaking his flat (No. 107) for flat No. 160, the excuse being that the two sound similar in Hindi. Unlike the pat ending in this case, Kazmis story is yet to unravel itself fully. Published in Out Look India .com By Debarshi Dasgupta and Chandrani Banerjee
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Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka to face Pakistan in Asia Cup nal Mixed emotions in Pakistan after Indias exit from Asia Cup
Hasina, Bangladesh registered a ve-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, and with that, M.S. Dhoni's men were forced to advance their return tickets to India. Pakistan cricket team's fans and former players on Tuesday showed mixed emotions after Bangladesh ousted India from the Asia Cup with a shocking ve-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the last league match of the tournament. "This is very disappointing. We wanted India in the nal. We were hoping that we could avenge our recent defeats to them in this nal," cricket enthusiast and banker, Mehmood Arif said. Since India outclassed their team two days back Pakistani cricket fans, former players and experts have highlighted the fact that they had the capacity to avenge the defeat in the nal. India would have joined Pakistan in the nal if Bangladesh had lost to Sri Lanka. "What would have been an explosive nal will now not be the same without India. All of us wanted to play India in the nal because it has been a long time since we defeated them in a big match," student
this competition. I don't think the nal will be one sided," he said. Misbah-ul-Haq's tenure as captain of the Pakistan one-day and T20 squads is likely to come to an end after the ongoing Asia Cup tournament in Bangladesh, with Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez's names being oated as replacements. Well-informed sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board and close to the national selection committee said on Tuesday that regardless of whether Pakistan win or lose in the Asia Cup nal, Misbah would not be retained as captain of the ODI and T20 squads after the tournament.
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Pakistans Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the tribal areas had the highest number of journalist fatalities in South Asia in 2011, according to the South Asian Free Media Association. Seventeen journalists were killed in different incidents in the Saarc region, of which 10 belonged to this area, Shamim Shahid, president of Safmas Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chapter, told a seminar at the Peshawar Press Club on Friday. Shahid, a senior journalist himself, said that due to security concerns, journalists were forced to leave their hometowns and had become internally-displaced persons in their own country. He urged all stakeholders to work towards restoring peace to the troubled region. Senior Provincial Minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour, who is also minister for local government, paid homage to journalists who had sacrificed in the line of duty and claimed that the government had been able to overcome 40% of terrorist activities in the province. Calling it a conflict imposed by others, Bilour said that journalists had worked closely with the government as it embarked on an anti-terrorism campaign. Bilour reiterated the governments
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stance that it was open to resolving issues through dialogue if militants threw their arms. He said that peace in Afghanistan is crucial to bring peace in the province and tribal areas, as well as the South Asian region. Idrees Kamal, convener of Amn Tehrik, said that media, civil society and the people should extend their support to the government in fighting terrorism. Press club president Saiful Islam Saifi and Khyber Union of Journalists president Arshad Aziz Malik also spoke at the occasion, cautioning journalists to remain careful and alert at work. They highlighted that journalists should be provided with social security services such as life
and health insurance. The Safma and the MCP on Friday issued a report, South Asia Media Monitor 2012, repeating what international watchdogs have already said about Pakistan the most dangerous place for journalists for the third consecutive year. The report was issued in the light of the conferences held in the capital city of the four provinces. The President Safma Karachi chapter Amir Mehmood along with the President Karachi Press Club (KPC) Tahir Hasan Khan, President Karachi Union of Journalists GM Jamali and President Association of TV Journalists Faisal Aziz read out the summary of the report before the
media representatives at the KPC. The executive summary of the report of the judicial commission on the murder of the late journalist Saleem Shahzad, and the observations of the Media Commission Pakistan (MCP) and the South Asian Free Media Association (Safma) on the issue were included in the report. The MCP and the Safma demanded the implementation of the recommendations of the commission. They also supported the commission in its call to parliament and the armed forces to take measures to help smooth relations between the media persons, citizens and the security agencies.
They also demanded the press clubs and media organisations be supported by the provincial governments under the scrutiny of the Federal Information Ministry. They said reporting had become harder and more dangerous than ever. Lack of training in covering conflict-ridden territories and lack of awareness about safety measures made the job difficult for reporters. Hence, the report also carried international and national safety guidelines for journalists. Adding to these recommendations, the president KPC suggested that a commission like the National Media Commission be formed in the province of Sindh and all the media bodies be taken on board. Furthermore, he emphasised the message should be conveyed that the media was backed by the civil society and did not stand alone. The president Safma, reading out the report, said the journalists should be provided risk and life insurance coverage by both the government and the employers. Urging the state actors to follow a code of conduct that ensured respect for freedom of expression, the report also stressed that the media should be ethical in reporting critical stories.
Trivedis resignation under DANCE YOUR SOCKS OFF... FOR CHARITY! And Help Empower Women in Pakistan PMs consideration: Pranab
from Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee and Trivedi had not resigned then. Mukherjee pointed out that after the presentation of the Union Budget the Lok Sabha was adjourned till Monday. He said the government has informed the House of the developments at the earliest opportunity available. Earlier, Speaker Meira Kumar disallowed notices given by Yashwant Sinha (BJP), Basudeb Acharia (CPI-M) and Gurudas Dasgupta (CPI) for suspension of Question Hour to discuss the issue. Dasgupta had given a notice for suspension of Question Hour, but the Speaker pointed out that it can be allowed only when there was a Motion being discussed in the House. She, however, allowed the three members to make brief submissions. Raising the Trivedi issue, BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said the nation was staring at a grave constitutional crisis and Parliament is completely unaware of it. What is happening to the railway minister? Has he resigned? Has the Prime Minister sent his resignation to the President, Sinha asked. Trivedi, who had to resign as railway minister after incurring the wrath of his party Trinamool Congress for raising passenger rail fares, was sitting in the fourth row as the leaders spoke.
Railway minister Dinesh Trivedis resignation is under consideration of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha on Monday. Responding to a brief impromptu discussion on the issue, Mukherjee, who is the Leader of the House, said Trivedi has sent his resignation to the Prime Minister last evening and it was being considered. The Prime Minister has received last night the resignation letter from Dinesh Trivedi. It is under consideration of the Prime Minister, he said. He also said as per the procedure the letter has to be forwarded to the President, who then takes a decision as per the advice of the Prime Minister. As soon as a decision will be taken, the House will be informed of it, he said. To Opposition leaders claims that the House had been kept in the dark, Mukherjee said on Friday the Prime Minister had received a communication
If you love Bhangra, then this is your chance to dance your socks off... all in the name of two very good causes! Suniya Qureshi, campaign ambassador for the Hashoo Foundations 500 for 500 Appeal and Executive Director of the British Pakistan Foundation is organising the charity fundraiser on 31st March to help raise money for both of these very important causes. The event offers families an evening of unadulterated bhangra music and giddha dancing, with a special PA by star of the Channel 4 series The Family, Jeet Grewal, who will perform his hit recent hit track Vilayati Jugni from his brand new album. The Bhangrathon will take place at Shiraz Mirza Trust, Manor Park Hall in New Malden on Saturday 31st March. Tickets, which include kebab and soft drinks are 25 each. All profits from the event will be shared between The 500 for 500 Appeal and British Pakistan Foundation. The Hashoo Foundations 500 for 500 Appeal aims to invite and engage 500 women from the UK to join hands with 500 women in the Northern areas of Pakistan, through the Foundations award-winning Plan Bee project. The British Pakistan Foundation is dedicated to improving the social and economic condition of the people of Pakistan. The organisation aims to encourage and support philanthropy amongst the British Pakistani community, and to collectively use its intellectual capital to improve and change Pakistan forever. Suniya Qureshi, the driving force behind the charity Bhangrathon says: This is a small but fun way of engaging the community and
increasing awareness of the valuable work that both Hashoo Foundation and BPF do in Pakistan. As a campaign ambassador for the 500 for 500 Appeal, I love the idea that every 250 we raise actually helps one woman and her family directly. It is quantifiable, and I have met some of the women who have directly benefitted from these donations it really puts our lives into perspective. Plan Bee, which won the BBC World Challenge in 2008, is Hashoos innovative project that provides women in the Northern region of Pakistan with the opportunity to become beekeepers. It is based on a system of social barter, designed to promote social change, whereby Hashoo Foundation agrees to provide hives, training and then to link them to the lucrative markets to sell their honey in Pakistan, provided that the families agree to send their children to quality schools, have regular health check-ups and improve nutrition at home. Every 250 raised will provide each woman with: 3 beehives to start her business Access to Hashoo Foundations mentor and training facilities Access to HFs commercial network to allow the women to sell their honey Sarah Hashwani, chair of the Hashoo Foundation launched the UK chapter in October of last year, with the 500 for 500 Appeal being its first major fund-raising initiative in the UK. She adds: I am a great Bhangra fan, and it is true that music really unites communities. I love the idea of dancing all night to some great artists, whilst at the same time knowing it is all for two great causes. I have been amazed and delighted by the number of different fundraising initiatives that are being developed by women in the UK to help empower these women in the remotest areas of Pakistan. Tickets are available through exclusive online ticket partner www. chilltickets.com
The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia has said it is necessary to destroy all the churches of the region, following Kuwaits moves to ban their construction. Speaking to a delegation in Kuwait, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, stressed that since the tiny Gulf state was a part of the Arabian Peninsula, it was necessary to destroy all of the churches in the country, Arabic media have reported. Old Dutch Church in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabias top cleric made the comment in view of an ageold rule that only Islam can be practiced in the region. The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia is the highest official of religious law in the Sunni Muslim kingdom. He is also the head of the Supreme Council of Ulema (Islamic scholars) and of the Standing Committee for Scientific Research and Issuing of Fatwas. A Kuwaiti parliamentarian said last month he wanted to ban the construction of churches and
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announced on Twitter he planned to submit a draft law calling for the removal of all churches in the country. He later clarified that existing churches should remain but the construction of new non-
supported the draft law. Kuwait already has an excessive number of churches compared to the countrys Christian minority, he was quoted as saying by the Kuwait Times newspaper.
construction of a new church, which Hayef described as an error. SAUDI ARABIA Americas special friend. The Kingdom has established
more than 1,359 mosques abroad at a cost of SR 820 million. King Fahd also established a number of scholarships and academic chairs in foreign prominent universities and colleges. Outside the Arab Islamic world there is a number of Islamic research institutes supported by the Kingdom; amongst these are the American University of Colorado, the American University in Washington, the Arab World Institute, Paris, France which receives considerable Saudi contribution to its annual budget, the Duke University, North Carolina, the Howard University, Washington, the Institute of the History of Arab and Islamic Science, Frankfurt, Germany, the John Hopkins University, Maryland, the Middle East Institute, in Washington, the Shaw University, in North Carolina, and the Syracuse University, in New York. No Christian churches are allowed. The open practice of Christianity is punishable by death.
Al-Qaeda represents Wahhabism in its purest form a violent fundamentalist doctrine that rejects all non-Wahhabi Islam, especially the spiritual forms of Islam. Wahhabism is an expansionist sect intolerant of Shiite Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and Hinduism; in fact, Wahhabists seek to challenge and destroy these faiths. The Saudi-Wahhabi threat must not be underestimated; it requires our grave attention. A History of Violence Contrary to prevalent Western beliefs, Wahhabism is not an old Islamic tradition and the House of Saud does not enjoy a credible historic claim to rule over Arabia. Indeed, Wahhabism emerged only 250 years ago under the guidance of an obscure fanatic known as Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab who later formed an alliance with a group of desert bandits, the Sauds. From the time they established their covenant to the creation of the modern Saudi state, the SaudiWahhabi movement spread across the peninsula brutally defeating and enslaving non-Wahhabi elements. A substantial body of nineteenth century scholarship does exist to confirm the bloody rise of the SaudiWahhabi state. Thomas Hope, a British author, wrote extensively
about the Wahhabi spread from his travels throughout the Middle East. In his novel Anastasius, he described Wahhabi agents in words that will be strikingly familiar to modern readers: as extremist puritans bent on dominating the Muslim world by adopting tactics reminiscent of AlQaedas calculated savagery. The theological and political pact between the Saud clan and the Wahhabists resulted in the fall of Mecca for the second and last time in 1924, solidifying their grip on power. After the conquest of Mecca, the vast oil wealth of the kingdom would be used to export a radical Wahhabist ideology across the globe. Nerve Center of Islamic Extremism
Even after September 11, the Wahhabi bureaucracy in Saudi Arabia continues to foster religious
recover their credibility in the eyes of more reactionary factions after years of excess, the Saudi family has embarked on an ambitious global campaign to support incubators of violence and extremism from Algeria to the Philippines. In sum, Al-Qaeda would not exist absent Saudi money and membership. False Arguments Washington needs to end its delusion that the Saudi royal family is a moderating force within Saudi politics when the reality is that it has produced a well-funded launch pad for a fascist ideology. Unfortunately, there is no shortage of Saudi Continued on page 31 >>
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Pakistani lawmakers have opened a debate on the terms of the nations re-engagement with the United States after ties were all but severed following deadly American air-strikes on Pakistani troops in November. Pakistans Parliament on Tuesday sought to carve out a role for itself in matters of national security by recommending that all agreements with other countries, including use of bases or airspace by foreign forces, be put to parliamentary scrutiny, and seeking to do away with verbal agreements that have allowed the U.S. to undertake drone attacks inside the country in violation of national sovereignty. These were among the 40 recommendations made by the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) as part of the effort to revise the terms of engagement with the U.S. The committee was tasked with this job after the November 26, 2011 NATO
attack on the Salala checkpost along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border that left 26 Pakistani soldiers dead. The attack resulted in Islamabad closing down land transit facilities for goods and supplies to the international forces in Afghanistan and expelling the U.S. from the Shamsi airbase in Balochistan. The report was tabled during a joint sitting of Parliament. Repeating the demand for an unconditional apology from the U.S. and the cessation of drone strikes inside Pakistan, the committee said there should be no hot pursuit or boots on Pakistani territory and the activity of foreign private security contractors must be transparent and subject to Pakistani law. To avoid recurrence of a Salala-like incident particularly since NATO had suggested they had been lured into firing on the military outposts by terrorists who use the uncertainty of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border
The Commission further observed that Haqqani said before the Supreme Court he would return to Pakistan on four days notice and appear before the Commission to record his evidence. The Commission directed that the recording of Haqqanis evidence will commence on Monday, March 26, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. (Pakistan time) at the premises of the Islamabad High Court. In case Haqqani has any security concerns, it shall be conveyed to the Attorney General who is directed to ensure that he is provided with complete security.
Aitzaz owns up to Defiant Gilani expresses PMs no-letter reply no-trust in SC bench
acts purely as a lawyer. He said that he had played an important role for reinstatement of judges during lawyers movement and had urged President Zardari to restore judges on a priority base. After reinstatement of judges, he has neither tried to seek any relief from the court, nor requested any judge to confer any special endowment on him. To a question regarding impartiality, he said that he is counsel for Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and would stand by him through the trial. In the end, Aitzaz insisted that all must accept despite any or no prejudices that the President as head of state enjoys immunity. He also said that the government has not sought an change or review of the NRO verdict, but has only sought delay in the implementation which, he said, is permissible under the law.
Barrister Aitzaz says PMs reply to SC has mainly been written under his advice as lawyer. Speaking in Dunya News programme CrossFire, Aitzaz however said that he would not reveal exact details regarding the matter, yet his advice as counsel for the PM in the contempt case had be overriding. He also said that he is a PPP Jiala (activist) in politics, but a lawyer in the courtroom. He justified that he is an emotional political worker on political platform but so far as the courtroom is concerned, he
He expressed confidence in the Supreme Court but he was of the view that Justice Asif Saeed Khosa announced a onesided decision.In his rejoinder submitted to the SC Registrar, PM Gilani once again refused to write the Swiss letter. While commenting on his rejoinder, Justice (r) Wajihuddin said the PM has once again committed
contempt of court. In his written reply, PM Gilani told the Supreme Court that letter cannot be written to the Swiss authorities to re-open graft cases against President Zardari due to multiple reasons the integrity of Pakistan being one reason. PM Gilani asserted that the President of the State cannot be made to appear before
any foreign magistrate. The 24page rejoinder was submitted by an assistant to Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, counsel for the prime minister.The prime minister, in his reply, instead prayed to the court to refer the matter to the parliament, as it had done in the 18th Amendment case. The PM said the court should show patience and let the people decide the matter (in elections). How could the President of Pakistan be made to appear before a foreign magistrate, asked the PM. It also said court should use its option number six of January 10 verdict to refer the matter to the parliament. Meanwhile, Aitzaz Ahsan hoped the court would consider the prime ministers answer. The PM also said in his answer submitted to the court that the decision not a to write a letter to the Swiss official was in accordance with the law.
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both old? You will see youth from our midst with conventional thinking. People who have the capacity and the knowledge to do what needs to be done. They dont come up to this podium and make empty promises. They wouldnt say they will do this for you or this is how something is at present. They will only say that they will rectify the issues faced by the people, stressed the President during a meeting held at the VilliMale Muhuyiddin School. President Waheed expressed confidence that the government would fulfill the needs of the people. He also assured that his administration would attain the development goals undertaken for the benefit of the people equally and
without prejudice, discounting any political affiliations. We would not only grant housing units to people in yellow. We would make sure that the housing units are given to the people who are in most need of them, Waheed added. President revealed that when he visited the islands youth centre it appeared as a warehouse, which has withered and the equipment had decayed. Our Youth Minister just assured that he would repair the youth centre. By the grace of Allah we will complete the renovations before the coming month of Ramadan, Waheed assured. Waheed also revealed that he would establish a State Trading
immediately and call fresh elections. Hassan says the power transfer was constitutional. Television footage on Monday showed security staff in the Parliament building forcibly removing four opposition lawmakers as they were trying to stop Hassan from making his opening speech. A fire raged at a market close to the street demonstrations, and military personnel and firefighters doused it. It was unclear how the fire started. After a few hours delay, Hassan made his speech in which he called for national unity. However,
street protests continued. In Mondays speech, Hassan said the Maldives constitution does not allow a presidential election before July 2013 and an early election would require constitutional amendment. I will do everything in my power to bring together all the political leaders, to hold discussions on the matter, he said. The Maldives, an Indian Ocean archipelago that is home to 300,000 people and known for its luxury resorts, introduced democratic elections after 30 years of autocratic rule ended in 2008.
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In a new report to be presented this week in Geneva, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has alarmed the UN and the international community that Nepal could go for blanket amnesty for all conflict-era crimes. The report warns that such a move would place Nepal in contravention of the international treaty obligations. Navi is scheduled to present the report to the 19th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday. The 18-page annual report prepared by her Kathmandubased office urges Nepals political parties to ensure that the proposed bills on transitional justice mechanisms comply with the international standards. The two bills on Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Commission of Inquiry on Disappearances have been pending in the LegislatureParliament for over two years. Of all her concerns raised in the report, the most serious one is over a gentlemans agreement among top leaders of the major political parties to grant amnesty for serious
WAR-ERA CRIMES : UN report to sound alarm bell against Nepals blanket amnesty
violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Though Pillay does not mention any specific document to base her concern, she refers to Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarais public statements in support of amnesty and the understanding reached in December among top leaders on removing some clauses in the bills that speak of prosecuting serious crimes. Political agreements made towards the end of 2011, the report reads, raised serious concerns that the transitional justice commissions
would serve as amnesty mechanisms. These concerns were exacerbated by public statements from the Prime Minister emphasising reconciliation rather than justice and prosecutions. The report, which is the final document to be presented and discussed at the Council, has seven recommendations, including on amnesty issues to the government of Nepal and the political parties. Human rights defenders say the report will have serious implications on Nepals standing among the international community, as it will draw the worlds attention towards the darker side of Nepals peace process. The serious concerns expressed in the report could be understood as an official statement that the Nepali state itself is becoming a perpetrator, said former member of the National Human Rights Commission and Chairman of Accountability Watch Committee Sushil Pyakurel. If Nepal continues to ignore the call from the international community, it will have serious implications on foreign aid.
expedition. We will organise campaigns requesting people to support our initiative voluntarily as our trip is not for fun and entertainment, he added. Team leader KC said their trip will start as scheduled and will leave for the base camp on March 29. We will prove our commitment by conquering Everest for the sake of peace and constitution, said KC. The protesters claimed that the government aid to the team was Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarais move to appease Dahal. Meanwhile, ruling coalition partner Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Loktantrik on Sunday decided to roll back its support to provide Rs 20 million from the state coffers to finance the Maoist Everest expedition team.
followed by the government while granting the license to the Chinese company for the power project, said Shanta Chaudhary, the committees head. Members of the committee had voiced concerns that the government granted the project to the Chinese company hastily, without inviting international competitive bidding as has been the general practice in the past, she said. Ms. Chaudhary said her committee will submit its report to the parliament within a week. If we find any irregularity, we will simply ask both sides to follow the proper procedures,
the countrys water-resources law to grant hydropower projects to any company without a bidding process. We are hopeful of a positive decision from the parliamentary committee, he said. Some 40% of Nepalis dont have access to electricity, according to the government, so the nation has been trying to foster new power projects. Some of its cities are without power for 14 hours a day. On Feb. 29, China Three Gorges and the Nepali government signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of a 750-megawatt
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and agriculture sector in Sri Lanka also have the scope to grow much further. Because of that we must go beyond traditional boundaries and commit to achieving our shared destiny as a nation in individually or cooperatively without any matter, he added.
The Madampitiya dump looms overhead , A curious child from the area, Saraswathi, who has no electricity, Swarna, wishing for a cleaner environment, The toilets shared by 500 families and Dismal sanitary conditions at Mahawatte The houses in 87 Mahawatte, Mattakkuliya (formerly known as Andrewwatte) are overshadowed by what looks like a huge mountain in the distance. Closer examination reveals that this mountain is made up entirely of garbage, now overgrown with grass. The Madampitiya dump is no longer used, but it still looms over the shanties ominously. There are at least 500 wood houses here, and an estimated 3000 people. A woman passes by, carrying two buckets filled with water. She is heading from a concrete structure, tucked away in a maze of concrete bylanes. Here, there are around eight toilets, with broken doors. These toilets serve the entire Mahawatte community. On one side, there are piles of refuse, excrement and garbage. A single white crane perches on top of this mess, bizarrely. And the Madampitiya dump is visible. Nearby is a small stream, eventually ending in the canal. The water is stagnant and filled with garbage too. Here, thousands of people must queue up daily to perform their ablutions. Fathima Riyaz, one of the residents, says that there are only five toilets which actually work. Some of them are broken and falling into disrepair, she says. In the morning, there is usually a huge crowd to use the toilets, so that children in the settlement are invariably late for school. The situation is exacerbated when there are heavy rains, as the whole area goes underwater, she said. Please, fix the toilets. It would be such a
big help, Wijeykumari pleads. She says that only the familys straitened financial circumstances has induced them to use the dismal facilities. The smell is awful, particularly on rainy days, she says. Her house, and most of the others in the vicinity, does have electricity. The roads too have been tarred, after the recent elections. There had been promises of fixing the toilets too, but these never came to fruition, the residents complained. Yet this group is relatively fortunate. At least they have electricity. Saraswathi and Sandrasekara do not. They do have access to water, but their six children have to study by lamplight. This too is difficult with fuel going up in price. Saraswathi has a look of resignation on her face as she stands in the doorway, shrouded in darkness despite the scorching sun. This is my life, husband Sandrasekara says. He sharpens knives and scissors. Sometimes he makes Rs. 100, sometimes more. The toilets are not enough for all the families Sandrasekara says. Their children, who attend St. Anthonys, are continually late for school because of the long queues.
Often, they are scolded and sent out of class or given extra work because they are late. All of this is said with resignation, for the families here do not know what they can do to fix the situation, except make sure their children wake up as early as possible. However this makes little difference. Each family has at least two children, and so the early morning crowd remains a constant. Rising fuel prices have affected every consumer, but none more than Saraswathi and Sandrasekara. They cannot afford electricity, and even kerosene for the lamps is becoming more expensive. At the moment, their children cannot study in the evenings, with no light to see their books by. It is very difficult to survive, Sandrasekara says. There is another problem. Swarna next door pulls her skirt up to reveal hundreds of scars from scratching mosquito bites. Not only does the rain flood, sometimes coming into peoples homes and making moving around the settlement difficult, but it also brings the risk of disease.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday stressed that Sri Lanka has the courage to face challenges posed by external forces. He reiterated that Sri Lanka does not require an imported solution to solve the countrys internal issues. He stressed that Sri Lanka is capable of solving its issues through peaceful dialogue with all parties concerned. The President said that the time has come for Sri Lanka to shed petty differences and join hands for the sake of the country. He was of the view that any problems in the country can be solved through peaceful negotiations. The President was speaking at a ceremony at Temple Trees to present land deeds to over 2,000 beneficiaries under the one million housing project of the Janasevana programme. Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities Ministry is implementing the project. He said that Sri Lanka has arrived at a stage where the countrys problems can be solved by the people itself through negotiation without external assistance. Sri Lanka does not need any imported solution for the countrys issues. The people should join hands to meet the challenges of theexternal forces, he said. In order to provide shelter for homeless, the government launched the Janasevana housing programme, which aims to construct one million houses within six years. The Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities Ministry was assigned for this task which is in full swing now the President added.
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Food subsidies targeted at the very poorest in the region would help them cope with still-high prices, says a new report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). A spike in the cost of food staples like rice and wheat could push tens of millions more people into extreme poverty in South Asia but food subsidies targeted at the very poorest in the region would help them cope with stillhigh prices, says a new report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). South Asias high population growth rates and the high number of people already living on or close to the extreme poverty line of $1.25 a day mean it is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to food price shocks. Spending on food already accounts for half the total budget of low-income households. Subsidizing the cost of a basic meal for the poorest and most vulnerable in places like India
Tens of millions more people on the verge of extreme poverty in South Asia
means the help goes to those who need it the most without putting an excessive burden on government finances, said Hiranya Mukhopadhyay, an economist in ADBs South Asia Department and an author of the report. The study says that a 10% rise in prices could push almost 30 million more Indians and nearly 4 million more Bangladeshis into extreme poverty. Pakistan is also at risk, with the same price leap causing an additional 3.5 million more people to drop to or below the $1.25-a-day income mark. Nepal and Sri Lanka would be less affected, although a further surge in wheat prices would be especially painful for Sri Lanka, which is completely dependent on imports of the staple and has already seen prices hit historical highs in recent years. The report Food Price Escalation in South Asia A Serious and Growing Concern - notes that after peaks in
BUSINESS
2008 and 2011, prices of key food commodities have eased somewhat, although the rate of decline has been slower in South Asia than the international average. In addition, the region suffers from higher overall food inflation rates than the rest of developing Asia, with food making up a bigger share of items measured by the consumer price index.
Short-term weather shocks and costlier oil account for some of the past price upside but the study says rapid population growth, changing food consumption patterns linked to higher incomes, and stagnating agricultural output are more critical factors driving rising food demand and inflation. Although governments in the region have taken steps to
counter higher prices, some measures may not be helpful to neighboring countries. Indias temporary food export restrictions, for example, could have had adverse impact on prices in neighboring countries, as India is the worlds second largest rice producer. Long term, governments must step up support for agricultural research to spark another green revolution to lift output and help develop crops more resistant to weather extremes. More investment in infrastructure, such as irrigation systems and farm-to-market roads to improve distribution and reduce post harvest losses is also essential. Strengthening home-grown initiatives such as the food bank established in 2008 by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation may also help to smooth out price volatility and improve food security in the South Asian region during times of shortage, the report says.
Dhaka likely to trim its SAFTA sensitive list Indian court upholds
ruling on Vodafone
Bangladesh might further trim its sensitive list of products under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) accord, trade officials have said. Since January this year Bangladesh has had 987 products on the sensitive list for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and 993 goods for non-LDCs which will be subjected to tariff payment. From the next month we will start consultations with the stakeholders to select the items which could be taken out from the sensitive list, a senior official of the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) told the FE Thursday. He said SAFTA was formed on January 6, 2004 with the objective of gradual elimination of most tariff and other trade barriers on products and services among the member countries -- Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. Many of the member countries have already downsized their sensitive lists. India has reduced it to 25 items for LDCs and 695 for non-LDCs. So
we need to be more open, the official said. According to the latest statistics, Afghanistans sensitive list comprises 858 products for both the LDCs and non-LDCs, Bhutan has 150 items on the list, the Maldives has 152, Pakistan 936, Nepal 998 for the LDCs and 1,036 for the non-LDCs, and Sri Lanka has 845 for LDCs and 906 for non-LDCs. An MoC official said the Maldives is insisting on 100 per cent reduction of the sensitive list by 2012 to make the regional bloc a free trade area. He said during a meeting last year before the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, the Maldives officials tried to convince the member countries to incorporate it in the Addu Declaration. He said India supported the proposal. Talking to the FE Friday, Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr Mustafizur Rahman said SAFTA member countries have agreed to cut down their sensitive lists periodically. Since India has slashed the list
drastically for the LDCs, there is pressure for other members to shorten theirs, he said adding that Bangladesh, as an LDC, will get the chance to reduce the number of items slowly. Mr Rahman said Bangladesh has to consider three factors -- revenue implications, impact on domestic industry, and farming sector -- before selecting the products to bring out of the list. A priority list has to be prepared first which in any way wont be given tariff preference to any countries. Those which will get less priority in the list can be brought out from the sensitive list in phases, he suggested. Chief Executive Officer of PRAN-RFL Group Amjad Khan Chowdhury, also president of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), told the FE Friday that in this free market economy everything had to be open for all. Among the SAARC members, none but India matters to us in bilateral trade. So, I prefer free trade with India, he said.
Indias Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by New Delhi seeking to overturn its final ruling in Vodafones $2.9bn tax dispute with the Indian government. In January the Court ruled in favour of the UK-listed telecoms group, following a long-running dispute with tax authorities over capital gains tax relating to its 2007 purchase of Hutchison Essar, an Indian mobile company. Following the ruling, the Indian government filed a review petition asking the court to reconsider its decision, although at the time legal experts said the petition was largely symbolic and had little chance of success. The expected dismissal on Tuesday also lay behind the decision of Indias government last Friday to amend the nations laws to allow similar crossborder deals to be taxed. The Supreme Court had ruled in favour of Vodafone saying that Indian tax officials did not have jurisdiction over a deal between two global companies even if assets involved in that deal were located in India. A apex court in its Jan 20 judgment had set aside an earlier Bombay high court order that had upheld the tax demand by income tax authorities on account of the said acquisition. The Finance Ministry in its review petition had said that apex court had erred the January 20 judgment for saying
that the transaction between Vodafone Plc and Hong Kong-based Hutchison was a bonafide FDI investment in the country. The review petition had contended that in the said transaction there was no inflow of the foreign investment in the country. Vodafone had appealed against the 2008 high court verdict, arguing that India could not impose taxes because the transaction was made between nonIndian companies outside the country. The deal was between Vodafone International Holdings BV, a Dutch subsidiary of the British firm and CGP Investments, a Cayman Islands company which held the Indian telecom assets of Hutchison. Significantly, Tuesdays ruling by the Supreme Court came just four days after the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee proposed in the federal budget retrospective amendments to the 1962 Income Tax Act, which empower the taxman to examine offshore merger and acquisition deals.
ENTERTAINMENT
Housefull 2 will see the everversatile and talented Akshay Kumar return to form in this smash-hit family entertainer as he reprises the role of Arush Jolly, a comedic, and at times completely hopeless figure, whose clumsy antics create hysterical and unpredictable results. He is joined by a medley of stars including his leading lady in the film Asin who performs the role of the vibrant Sandy Henna, the sultry Jacqueline Fernandez, comedy king-pin Riteish Deshmukh, and John
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Bollywood Sensation Akshay Kumar Has His Hands Full With Action Comedy Film of the Year Housefull 2
Releasing 5th April 2012
When it comes to action films with a quirky, entertaining and ribtickling comedy twist, Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar is the perfect strongman with a soft comic centre. The high-kicking, all action hero of mega cinematic hits such as Singh Is Kinng, Welcome, Namastey London, De Dana Dhan and Desi Boyz, is set to entertain audiences once more in Housefull 2: The Dirty Dozen, a comedy of errors which releases nationwide in cinemas on 5th April 2012. After the roaring success of Heyy Baby and Housefull, Akshay Kumar teams up once again with director Sajid Khan to make it a hat trick of film success with Housefull 2. Always the crowd pleaser, Sajid Khans latest film promises a cinema-going action adventure experience that is packed with high-jinx, high kicks and high laughs, all sprinkled with a generous helping of tasty Bollywood Masala. Abraham in a role as youve never seen him before! Bollywood item queen Malaika Arora Khan brings the house down with a smoldering song performance Anarkali Disco Chali - which is set to be the item song of 2012. The all-star film also features a bevy of uber famous names of yesteryear, including legendary brothers Rishi and Randhir Kapoor, Boman Irani, Johnny Lever and the dancing genius of ace groover Mithun Chakraborty. 2012 will be the year of the Kumar, as celluloid superstar Akshay is set to top box office ratings once again with a string of hit films, starting with Housefull 2, and other starrers such as Rowdy Rathore, Joker, Khiladi 786, Special Chabbis and Once Upon A Time in Mumbai. Find your space quickly as Housefull 2: The Dirty Dozen packs out cinema screens in UK and worldwide on 5th April 2012.
The first official trailer of Yash Raj Films much-awaited ISHAQZAADE is finally out. The film, which marks the debut of filmmaker Boney Kapoors son and Sonam Kapoors cousin Arjun opposite actor
Priyanka Chopras cousin Parineeti, has already generated a great deal of buzz on the microblogging portals. The film narrates the story of
Radio 1 and BBC Asian Network DJ, Nihal Athanayake has been integral in championing Asian music and the newly expanded programme encouraged him to explore the industry from a different angle. Ive been embedded in Asian music for a long time and Ive been able to bring my personal knowledge to The Asian Awards judging process, but with nominees from China, Korea and Japan Ive been more reliant on facts, figures and fellow judges about their impact, and this had made the process challenging in a positive way and broadened out the scope of the awards which can only be a good thing. Rishi Rich, the Creative Director of Rishi Rich Productions who discovered last years winner of Outstanding Achievement in Music, Jay Sean, said it was interesting
to educate a mixed panel and be educated by different perspectives. I was looking for an artist that has had an impact on society and has a story to tell; not just someone on the radio or in a film at the moment. Every legendary artist has a story that shows in their work and you can always tell the difference between a real artist with real issues and the ones just in it for the money. In two short years The Asian
Awards has established itself as one of the worlds most prestigious events honouring outstanding figures from the South Asian community and this expansion now gives the awards unparalleled global appeal. Founders Paul Sagoo, of consultancy Lemon Group and Caroline Jackson Levy, CEO of UBM Awards and Partnerships, both feel the expansion is a significant step forward for the program. This geographical expansion means that the Asian Awards can now truly live up to its name and celebrate global Asian achievement on an even grander scale, said Jackson Levy. We had always planned to recognise the achievements from the global Asian community and this is an exciting time for The Asian Awards. adds Sagoo.
By her own admission celebrated NRI filmmaker Deepa Mehta is a full-fledged Delhi girl. But Canada has been her second home for nearly 30 years now. Thats the country all her acclaimed films from Sam & Me in 1991 to the unreleased Midnights Children have been conceived. Some of her works have also beeen funded by the Canadian government. Yet it comes as a huge surprise to know that Deepa is the recipient of 2012s Canadian Governer-General Performing Artrs Award (GGPAA) for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. Deepa is the first Indian to be given what would be considered the Canadian equivalent of the Padma Vibhushan. She shares the honour
for 2012 with some of the most renowned global artistic icons: Concert pianist Janina Fialkowska, Dancer-choreographer Paul-Andre Fortier, Theatre director Denis Marleu, the rock band Rush and writercomedian Mary Walsh. Citing the reasons for Deepa being included among these luminaries of Canada the awards committee said, In a career spanning 30 years she has consistently broken new ground, tackling such controversial issues as intolerance, cultural discrimination and domestic violence. Shes an artiste of uncompromising integrity whose exceptional creative achievement is matched by human rights and social issues.
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Hazrat Owais Qarni was born in the village of Qaran in Yemen. River showor flowed through the city of Zubaida, the affluent metropolis where traders from all around gathered for business and travel. Owais Qarnis father Abdullah, was a very religious and god-fearing person and wanted to bring up his son in the strict principles of Islam. He passed away leaving Owais Razi Allah Anhu an orphan at a young age. The family was so poor that there was no
RELIGION
Owaiz Qarni Razi Allah Anhu. What an honour conferred that would not be in the fortunes of the most fortunate ! When they reached they found him in a forest, deeply engaged in prayers. They decided not to disturb him and had to wait for two long days when he raised his head from Sejda (state of prostration) They heard him beg mercy of Allah for the mankind and they also heard him complain why He had created such short days that passed into nights before he could finish his
money to send him to Maktab or a teacher. The miracle here is that Hazrat Rasule Karim ( ) became the spiritual guardian of this child and though they never met,Rasullullah ( ) guided him at all times - such was their bondage. This is the reason why Rasullullah ( ) would often look toward Yemen, and say : I am getting the beautiful fragrance Allahs blessings in the breeze. It is for Owais Qarni. Hazrat
who never met each other. Once he went to Madina but failed to meet his most loved guardian. It is on record that on that day the Prophet ( ) suddenly left home to say prayers in the mosque, leaving hurried instructions that a great saint was coming to visit him shortly and that it was predestined that they shall never meet in this world. Owais Qarni ( ) knocked the Prophet s door minutes after the Prophet
him to meet him outside Madina? Owais Qarni Razi Allah Anhu said, Omar, how can you walk so close over the soil under which lay buried the body of Muhammad ? I cannot even set my foot on the city where he lies buried. Such was the depth of his love for the Prophet . At last, only after the passing away of his mother, he could pay respects to Rasullullah s holy grave. Such was pre-ordained for the greatest
thy guide, in the path and never forget death. Pray regularly and always.= Remember night is meant for worship not sleep. Just before the Prophet left the world, he left his Kherqa (wearing clothes) for Hazrat Owaiz Qarni Razi Allah Anhu. He entrusted two of his greatest disciples - Hazrat Omar Faruk (Razi Allah Anhu) and Hazrat Ali Karmullah (Razi Allah Anhu) to personally carry the farewill gifts to
first morning ruku (bowing) and why He had so thriftily designed the length of nights that the sun would rise before he could complete his first evening sejda. Such was the awesome intensity of his submission to Allah.This is Hazrat Owais Qarni (Razi Allah Anhu). Great is his life, greater are his spiritual attainments and this is the life of the greatest lover of Rasullullah ( ) that ever lived on earth.
South Asian born music artist and producer Adi introduces not only a new album but delivers what some Indian media have heralded a new concept! His new Hindi album Benayaaz literally means the unknown, the enigma or even the formless. Benayaaz tracks and accompanying videos have been single-handedly produced and directed by Adi. Now based in the UK and working as a full-time psychiatrist, his interest in music has provided an antidote for the demands of such a high-powered role. He has embraced his musical flair to write both the music and lyrics, produce and direct an album to contribute to the Asian music industry, in which he has identified scope for creativity and inventiveness.
and created the music in his home studio. In addition he has acted, edited and directed a video for Dil Ki Mehfil receiving many positive reviews on YouTube. Adi says of his idea: Benayaaz is an exciting and innovative musical journey encompassing a fusion between eastern and western culture and its appealing to all ages. I feel the music is eclectic, creative, mystic, haunting and romantic. The lyrics are heartfelt and originating from raw human emotions. The musical flair range from techno beats and Arabic melodies through to sufi themes. Adi is the main vocalist and has employed the vocal talents of
Sethu, Poornima, Nikita and Laura. Benayaaz is his second album. His first album Chin Chinna is in the South Indian language Kannada was released in Bangalore, India in February 2010. The album was well received by media and consumers alike. Get more on Adi and Benayaaz at www.musicadi.
COMMENT
and glucose. Red Bull sugar-free also contains aspartame, acesulfame K, and sucralose in place of sucrose and glucose. Red Bull GmbH also manufactures Red Bull Cola, containing the coca leaf, which has sparked a controversy in Germany regarding minute traces of cocaine. In a response regarding Taurine if it s suitable for Vegetarian or is it Halal they say the Taurine that is contained in Red Bull is synthetically produced and contains no animal extracts or derivatives, therefore it is suitable for consumption by vegetarians and vegans as well as being certified as Halal and Kosher by the relevant federations. The wikipedia information relates to Taurine in general and the majority of the information (particularly about where it comes from) does not apply to the Taurine in Red Bull. In America, Red Bull is sold in supermarkets across the country and is mostly consumed by children. Health Concerns over the Red Bull Energy Drink were fuelled January 2011 after Europes highest court upheld a French ban of the product. The Fizzy drink has been linked to several deaths and some experts have criticized its high levels of caffeine and other stimulants. Red bull is Britains best-selling energy drink, with 213 million cans consumed in 2010. It has been dubbed the clubbers drink, and it is often mixed with vodka. The popular adverts claiming the Red Bull gives you wings have led to the brand being described as the Porsche of soft drinks. Red Bull gives you.... increased risk of heart disease, say scientists Red Bull has been subject to bans in France, Denmark, and Norway for several years, but they have been lifted afterwards, and the energy drink was re-legalized in those countries. The French ban began in 1996 due to concerns about taurine, a substance prohibited in several other countries. This meant the drink could not be sold as-is in France. Instead, a different recipe that didnt contain the ingredient was
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introduced. The ban was challenged by the European Commission and partially upheld by the European Court of Justice in 2004, before the French food safety agency relented in 2008 after being unable to prove definitively the existence of any health risk, taurine-related or not. The drink had been banned in France for twelve years due to health authorities concerns about unknown consequences of the ingredient
2008: study shows that Red Bull consumption even up to one can has negative impact on blood coagulation and raised cardiovascular risks. 2009: was said that traces of cocaine were found in it. 2011: Chechnya said energy drinks like Red Bull are un-Islamic and imposes sales ban but only for those under 18. Countries like France, Norway, Denmark has banned the drink for some time, 2012: Red Bull withdraws Jesus ad after Muslims & Christian, outcry in South Africa Red Bull has dropped an advertisement in South Africa after Catholic bishops called on worshippers to boycott the energy drink after a TV advertisement showed a cartoon Jesus walking on water amid suggestions it had given him wings. Energy-drink maker Red Bull said Wednesday it has dropped an advertisement in South Africa after an outcry from both Christians and Muslims for its portrayal of Jesus Christ walking on water. In a statement, the drinks maker said its humorous advertising always looks at well-known themes. It is never our intention to hurt anyones feelings, it said. It said the ad, aired on Tuesday, was scrapped Wednesday, and Red Bull regretted it had caused such strong feelings in religious communities.
Controversy
Conference, the Muslim council said the ad was hurtful to Christianity, Islam and religion as a whole. We wish that our voices can be united to make clear to any secular extremist that any attack or defacement of religious symbols and sacred spaces is not acceptable, the council said.
taurine, a chemical forbidden in several countries. Until now a modified version of the drink, containing caffeine but not taurine, was on sale in France. Red Bull was banned in Norway, Uruguay and Denmark because of health fears, but the company last year sold 3.5 billion cans and bottles in 143 countries. In Britain alone, it has sales of 271 million a year, with much of the cash spent in bars and clubs were it is a popular mixer with vodka and other spirits. Previous studies have warned the stimulant effect of Red Bull can mask some of the tell-tale signs of drunkenness - putting revellers at risk of injury and attack because they do not realise how intoxicated they are. Mean while
South Africas Roman Catholic bishops urged Christians not to drink Red Bull in traditional fasting for Lent ahead of Easter celebrations next month, stopping short of calling for a full commercial boycott. The television cartoon implies Jesus walked on water because he had been invigorated by a miraculous energy drink and knew where there were hidden rocks to tread on. The 30-second animated TV spot features Jesus walking on water. His companions ask him how he is managing it, whether hes had a Red Bull or if its another miracle, to which Jesus responds that it is no miracle and that you simply have to know where the stepping stones are. The brand received a number of complaints from both Christians and Muslims in South Africa. South Africas Muslim Judicial Council on Wednesday warned of consequences of secular extremism against any religious faith. It said any insult and satire of Jesus targeted the very foundation of Islamic theology. Christ is a revered prophet in Islam. In a message to Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, head of the Southern Africa Roman Catholic Bishops
Cardinal Napier earlier called on Catholic worshippers to donate to charities any money they saved on Red Bull during Lent. In a statement, the drinks maker said its humorous advertising always looks at wellknown themes. It is never our intention to hurt anyones feelings, it said. It said the ad, aired on Tuesday, was scrapped Wednesday, and Red Bull regretted it had caused such strong feelings in religious communities. There is a need for a new sensitivity toward peoples beliefs, said Chris Townsend, an official of the Bishops Conference in South Africa. As on this occasion, people become very deeply offended, Townsend said. Red Bull contains taurine (from which it gets its name), glucuronolactone, sucrose,
Billionaire creator of Red Bull dies aged 89 Chaleo Yoovidhya, the Thai billionaire who created the Red Bull energy drink three decades ago, has died aged 89. Chaleo founded TC Pharmaceuticals in the 1970s, which formulated an energy drink prototype called Krathing Daeng, or Red Bull in English. It was popular among Thai truck drivers and labourers and went on to become a global brand. Forbes magazine ranked Chaleo among the richest men in the world, with assets worth several billion pounds.
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COMMENT
following is what one Australian blogger experienced while staying in the Superdome during Hurricane Katrina.... Last night was horrendous. I heard shouting, and drinks machines being smashed. Theres no sanitation and its so smelly. My hair is greasy and I feel a wreck. There are crack alleys among the maze of corridors. The lights are broken in the loos which, as
Shelby tugged at a reporter's arm. "I have a handicapped daughter," she said. "She's over there with her wheelchair. She's hot. We don't have any water. I'm afraid she's going to have a seizure." Others crowded around. "I've been in the food line twice, and every time I get to the front they tell me they don't have any left," said Juanita McFerrin, 80. Later on in that same article, we are
stocking up on just about anything you can imagine. They are called "preppers", and their numbers have absolutely exploded in recent years. In fact, you might be living next door to one and never even realize it. According to a recent UK Daily Mail article, there are approximately 3 million preppers in the United States today. Others believe that the true number is significantly higher than that. This movement has become so popular that there are now even television shows being done about preppers. The most popular is probably "Doomsday Preppers" on the National Geographic Channel. This movement is still growing and is not going to go away any time soon. In fact, as the world continues to become even more unstable it is likely that a lot more Americans will find themselves becoming preppers in the years ahead. So what exactly are all these people so concerned about? Exactly why are there millions of Americans that are feverishly preparing for doomsday? Well, the truth is that you will never find two preppers that are exactly alike. Some are deeply concerned about the potential for natural disasters and believe that we are now entering into a time when there will be catastrophic earth changes. Other preppers believe that terrorism is the most significant threat to our way of life. Killer pandemics, an EMP
concerned about these things. A recent survey conducted by National Geographic asked Americans the following question.... "Which of the following, if any, do you think might happen in the United States in the next 25 years? Please choose all that apply." In the event of a catastrophe, do you think that most Americans will be Obviously there are a whole lot of people out there that feel as though we are heading for some really bad stuff. So if hard times are coming,
well as being disgusting, have become dangerous, so we now only go as a big group. More people are arriving, and the dome is like a refugee camp. I see
told that there were fights, rapes and at least one suicide in the Superdome during that time.... It got worse. Ms. Rousell recalled hearing a loud bang Tuesday afternoon as the body of a man slapped the concrete at the edge of the football field in a fatal suicidal plunge, after he apparently learned that his home had been destroyed. Others told of fights that broke out in food lines, and of a husband and wife who slugged each other in a wild argument. Several residents said they had heard of children being raped, though it was not clear whether
started pouring into New Orleans and things started slowly getting back to normal, but imagine what things would look like in this country if we had to deal with a national disaster that stretched on for months or even years? Many preppers are not taking any chances. Many are absolutely determined to be able to take care of their families and friends no matter what the years ahead may bring. ABC News recently profiled one prepper named Tim Ralston.... Tim Ralston, a married father of two from Arizona, is one such "prepper." "There's a lot of different things that could happen," Ralston said. "For me, I look at prepping as kind of like insurance. You have car insurance, health insurance, life insurance." Call it Apocalypse insurance. Ralston turned his family's two-car garage into a staging area. Inside is a trailer, which he keeps packed and ready to go at all times, stockpiles of freezedried food, including cartons of canned chicken with a shelf life of 15 years, survival gear, such as a system for purifying polluted water, first aid kits and lots of weapons and ammunition. His son has his own AK-47. Some preppers are going to the extreme and are spending huge amounts of money on their prepping. CNN recently profiled one Australian prepper that has spent about $350,000 preparing for doomsday.... Bast has spent about $5,000 on stockpiles of food and water, and
why not prepare for them? After all, none of us want to end up like the poor people of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Large numbers of people were herded into the Superdome and food and water ran out really fast. There was rampant looting of stores and people were shooting each other in the streets. It was mass chaos. The
two soldiers carrying a corpse and we hear there are more dead in the basement. As an article in the New York Times from that time period detailed, food and water were in very short supply and those cramped into the Superdome were rapidly becoming impatient.... Desperation was in the air. Danielle
anyone reported such incidents to the authorities, and no officials could be found who could confirm the accounts. To get an even better idea of what life in New Orleans was like in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, just check out this video. Within just a few days food, water and supplies
$11,000 on equipment including gas cookers, generators, batteries, water purifiers and solar power. He also purchased roughly an acre of land that's a 75-minute drive from Melbourne and 1,500 feet above sea level (in order to stay high and dry in case of a flood or tsunami). He has built a house there, as well as a Continued on page 30 >>
Comments about the army on a Yorkshire teenagers Facebook page seem to be too much for the new total policing state. Azhar Ahmed is the latest victim of a concerted effort to redefine racism as anything that could conceivably offend white people. Ahmed is being prosecuted by police over a statement that appeared on his Facebook page. The police say it is a racially aggravated public order offence.
NEWS
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so on. Well come back to this. A spokesperson for Yorkshire police said: He didnt make his point very well and that is why he has landed himself in bother. So, the penalty for not making a point very well is prosecution and potentially a sentence of up to six months in prison. The suggestion, though, is that aside from being racially aggravated this statement constitutes an incitement to disorder. Of course, it is considerably more even-tempered than some sentiments I have expressed myself in the past, though I wont suffer arrest or prosecution for it. Teenager denies posting offensive Facebook message about dead soldiers Far-right protesters stage noisy demonstration as Azhar Ahmed, 19, appears at Dewsbury magistrates court Azhar Ahmed has denied posting a grossly offensive message on Facebook about the deaths in Afghanistan of six British soldiers whose bodies are due to return to the UK on Tuesday. Azhar Ahmed, 19, appeared briefly at Dewsbury magistrates court in West Yorkshire, which was
Azhar Ahmed, 19, is alleged to have posted the comments on his profile page and has been charged with a racially aggravated public order offence, West Yorkshire Police said. Ahmed, who was arrested on Friday and charged over the weekend, will appear before Dewsbury Magistrates. He has been bailed to an address outside the county. The six were killed by an IED in Lashkar Gah on March 6, in the deadliest single attack on British forces in Afghanistan since 2001. Sergeant Nigel Coupe, 33, of 1st Battalion The
This demonstration outside Dewsbury Magistrates Court tomorrow has been organised by the Yorkshire Division of the English Defence League in protest against Azhar Ahmed, the young man charged with a racially aggravated public order offence over a Facebook comment which, while arguably threatening, abusive or insulting, involved no actual racial element at all. (The EDL held a small demonstration against Ahmed in Dewsbury on Saturday which resulted in two of their members being arrested for causing criminal damage.) Here, for comparison, is a selection of comments from the EDLs Facebook page advertising tomorrows protest against Ahmed, some of which were posted a week ago, with no attempt by the EDL admins to delete them:
system in operation
Duke of Lancasters Regiment, was killed alongside Corporal Jake Hartley, 20, Private Anthony Frampton, 20, Private Christopher Kershaw, 19, Private Daniel Wade, 20, and Private Daniel
Look at the statement. There is not a hint of racism in it. To make it racist, one would have to assume that the troops were not just exclusively white, but somehow the bearer of whiteness in its essence.
Maybe they are in this day and age; maybe it is through imperialist action and its effects both domestically and internationally that whiteness is produced. But the second assumption one would have to make is that white people are the victims of racist oppression by black people, Muslims and
guarded by a heavy police presence as some 40 farright demonstrators shouted abuse outside. A racially aggravated public order charge was withdrawn and replaced with the new accusation under the 2003 Communications Act. Ahmed,
Wilford, 21, all of 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment. It took the number of UK troops who have died since the Afghanistan campaign began in 2001 to 404.
The charge against Ahmed has been brought by West Yorkshire Police whose chief constable, Norman Bettison, heads a special unit that monitors the internet for signs of violent extremism. Bettison recently told the Yorkshire Post that messages posted on the internet by the EDL rarely warranted prosecution as they are merely inappropriate, brash or insensitive. All you can say is that if Bettison and his staff havent found any more serious internet activity by the EDL than that, then they cant have been looking very hard. The EDL regularly work themselves up into a state of indigation over what they claim is a twotier system when it comes to the application of British justice. By that, of course, they mean that the law discriminates in favour of Muslims against non-Muslims. In reality, as we see here, there are indeed double standards but they are precisely the reverse of what the EDL claims. A young Muslim is prosecuted for posting an abusive comment about British soldiers killing civilians in Afghanistan, but EDL supporters are allowed to post death threats against him in response without the police bringing any charges at all. This is the real two-tier system in operation.
No matter who dares to attack our country, we will stand against the threats like other Iranian people, Iranian Jews
Irans suspect nuclear program are the thousands of Jews who live in the Islamic Republic and could be caught in the middle. Although Iran has a history of treating its Jewish minority fairly well, some Iranian Jews who have emigrated to Israel worry that an Israeli attack could expose family and friends still in Iran to retaliation. The level of worry among Jews in Iran themselves is harder to measure. At a tomb in southern Iran said to be the grave of the biblical prophet Daniel a popular pilgrimage site for Iranian Jews those visiting on a recent day were reluctant to talk about politics or the rising tensions between Iran and Israel, preferring to talk about their visit. I prayed for peace in the world. I asked for health and blessing for all people, I prayed for all, said Erieh Dina, after she recited prayers in Hebrew next to her husband in front of the grave.
In this picture taken on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012, Iranian Jews talk at the courtyard of the shrine of biblical prophet Daniel, in the city of Susa, some 450 miles ( 750 kilometers) southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran. All but lost amid the heated talk about a possible Israeli attack on
The rising crisis illustrates the uneasy situation of Irans Jews, the largest community in the Middle East outside of Israel and Turkey. There are an estimated 250,000 Jews of Iranian descent in Israel, after two major waves of emigration following Israels founding in 1948 and the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Before the revolution they numbered around 100,000. No matter who dares to attack our country, we will stand against the threats like other Iranian people, the current Jewish lawmaker in the Iranian parliament, Siamak Merehsedq, told reporters in Tehran. The Iranian Jewish community will stand by their compatriots under any circumstance, forever. The ornate tomb of Daniel in Susa, 450 miles (750 kilometers) southwest of the capital Tehran, is cited by Iranians as an example of the historic bonds of Jews and Muslims in the country.
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DISGRACED Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Amir has poured his heart out for the first time about his role in the Lords spot-fixing scandal. Reported The Sun. The teen sensation, who was released from prison on February 1 after serving half of a six month sentence for the 2010 scam that rocked cricket, revealed how he: Was BLACKMAILED by crooked fixer Mazhar Majeed and captain Salman Butt into bowling the infamous no-balls at the Home of Cricket. Felt HORRIBLE when delivering their corrupt plot and was forced to take the cash. Reacted like hed been SHOT when the conspiracy was exposed. Was STUPID to not report his fellow conspirators to the International Cricket Council. Pleaded not guilty when charged by the ICC due to PANIC and FEAR. Was RELIEVED to finally admit his guilt when the matter went to court. Just over eighteen months ago Amir was simply the tearaway fast bowler who had become the youngest cricketer to take 50 Tests wickets since making his debut as a 17-yearold in 2009. But on Sunday August 29 the following year, the News Of The World exposed him along with ringleading captain Salman Butt and fellow bowler Mohammad Asif for sending down no-balls to order
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during the final Test with England. Now 19 and with the other three conspirators still behind bars, the youngster sits outcast from the world game as he serves a five-year global ban. Amir told Sky Sports: When I pleaded guilty I said I was sorry and I am going to say sorry again. I am also aware that as a result of whats happened, cricket has been harmed. The sport suffered. Amir explained how he was conned into playing along with the scam after originally being pestered on text message by a shady friend of Butt known simply as Ali.
Before the Lords match business manager Majeed and Butt convinced the then nave youngster he was being investigated for these text exchanges and only by bowling the no-balls would they help it go away. Amir revealed: I was panicking so much it didnt even occur to me how ridiculous it was. I knew that it was cheating cricket. It was a really horrible feeling. Then I thought on the other hand that are being kind to me and helping me. I thought that they are saving me and if I dont do it, it might become a problem for me.
Everyone thinks that I did it for money. I want to clarify that is not the case. Amir insists he was only aware cash was involved when agent Majeed visited his hotel room during the Test and thrust 1,500 of the New of The Worlds marked cash into his hands. When the police searched his room on the Saturday night, Amir originally thought it was over the texts from mysterious Ali and he hurriedly sent another asking him to delete the exchanges. But when the story hit the news stands on the Sunday morning,
the paceman knew he had been hoodwinked by his corruptors. He said: One day I was on top of the world, and the next Id come crashing down. It was as if someone had shot me and that I simply didnt exist anymore that I was dead. Thats how I was feeling then. Amir regrets pleading not guilty when the ICC investigated the matter and handed out suspensions to himself, Butt and Asif at a hearing in Doha, Qatar, last year. But when the case when to Southwark Crown Court last year, he knew the game was up and admitted to his role in the devilish pact. He said: When I was at the ICC hearing I was secretly beating myself up from within, thinking Im telling lies. So when I came to England (for the trial) I decided I would tell the truth. When I pleaded guilty in court I had this profound feeling of relief. Amir, who is not eligible to play cricket again until September 2015, added: I deserved to be punished. If youve done something wrong then you must receive some sort of punishment. I want to stress this point. Today its me in this situation tomorrow it could well be someone else. Mohammad Amir was speaking to Sky Sports and received no fee for his interview. Reported The Sun.
that are out there today.... *Survival Blog *American Preppers Network *The Survival Mom *SHTFPlan.com *Prepper Website *Survival 4 Christians *Backdoor Survival *Off Grid Survival The truth is that our world is becoming increasingly unstable in a whole bunch of different ways and we all need to learn how to prepare for the difficult years ahead. As the economy continues to fall apart, America is going to become a very heartless place. You don't want to be caught in the middle of societal chaos without a plan. None of us should be relying on the government to save us when things hit the fan. We all saw what happened after Hurricane Katrina. Those that were depending on the government were deeply disappointed. We should all try to become as independent of the system as we can, because the system is failing. In the years ahead there might not be anybody to help you and your family, so you need to be working hard right now to ensure that you and your family will be taken care of. Yes, as you may have guessed by now, I am a prepper too. My wife and I moved to an entirely different state and totally changed our lifestyle to prepare for what is coming. Hopefully this article will inspire many more Americans to prepare for what is coming. A great economic collapse is on the horizon and time is rapidly running out.
Dubai man quits job to see IndoPak cricket after leave rejected
Pakistani Zaman Khan, known as Uncle Twenty20, became face of UAE cricket during recent international matches played here Cricket fever is running high in the subcontinent as mother of all matches India vs Pakistan - played Sunday. Indian and Pakistanis across the globe will be glued to their TV sets t to watch the high-adrenaline Asia Cup game live from Mirpur, Bangladesh. The fever could be gauged from the fact that an Indian cricket aficionado cycled all the way from Kolkata (India) to Mirpur to support his national cricket team. Across the border in Pakistan, another cricket buff even went a step further. The Dubai-based Zaman Khan, popularly known as Uncle Twenty20, has resigned his job after he was refused leave to watch the high-adrenaline match in Bangladesh. My leave application was refused so I decided to quit and go back to the country to watch and support my team. I just cancelled the visa and returned home after my employer rejected my leave application, Uncle Twenty20 told Pakistani television channels. The 54-year-old is a chauffeur in Dubai and has not missed a single match ever since Pakistan was forced to play in UAE due to security fears back home. Zaman recently said in an interview that its his dream to
watch a game of cricket between Pakistan and India. Maybe in the near future I will get a chance to watch Pakistan play India, because that is what the crowd enjoys the most and slogans come from the core of the heart, he said in February this year. Zaman didnt get holiday time to attend the World Cup semi-final between the arch-rivals last year, but now hes determined to watch the game even if it costs him his job. Zaman Khan has fast become the face of cricket in the UAE during international matches as he waves a green and white Pakistan flag to make his countrys players feel at home away from home. On the grounds, Zaman drives the fans crazy, chanting slogans for his players. His big moustache he grows every time a match approaches make him recognisable in every stand he sits. It is great fun, Zaman said. I love watching cricket and people around me love my attire, the flag, my moustache and my slogans, so I am happy to have this double enjoyment watching cricket and getting popular. Zaman is second most popular face of cricket after his countrymen Sufi Abdul Jalil - famous as Chacha (Uncle) Cricket.
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July 1. A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said exemptions were only granted to 10 of the 27 because the others did not import Iranian crude in 2011. Under the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, Obama has the ability to impose financial sanctions on foreign banks that carry out financial transactions with Irans central bank for the purchase of petroleum or petroleum products from Iran if several conditions are met. The penalties include effectively cutting off a foreign bank from the US financial system. However, the law gives Obama an explicit exemption under which he can choose not to apply sanctions if he determines that the country with primary jurisdiction over the bank has significantly reduced its volume of crude oil purchases. proceedings are recorded in CCTV. I request the Opposition to check the CCTV footage. All the allegations against me are baseless. I am not the person who watches porn at all. Jetha Bharwad also said that the allegations were baseless and wrong. I will resign if found guilty. Mediapersons are showing the correct thing. You should be truthful. We have not done anything wrong. We are very hurt. Opposition party is targeting us. We are ready to face an enquiry. We will resign if found guilty. According to Gujarat Samachar, its reporter saw the MLAs watching pornographic content inside the house on a tablet and complained to the speaker. The speaker summoned them and asked to stop. We were sitting in the reporters gallery in the house and could see two MLAs Shanker Chaudhary and Jetha Bharwad were surfing porn photographs Then I brought it to the
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banks have been given a six-month reprieve from the threat of being cut off from the US financial system under new sanctions designed to pressure Iran over its nuclear program. The list did not, however, include China and India, Irans top two crude oil importers, nor US allies South Korea and Turkey, which are among the top-10 consumers of Iranian oil. Japanese finance minister Jun Azumi welcomed the decision and said Japan would continue to cut its imports of Iranian oil at a set rate in the future. While China and India and others remain exposed to the possible financial sanctions if they do not significantly cut Iranian imports, US law gives President Barack Obama the ability to waive such steps if this is in the national interest. Japanese cuts may be key The United States has gradually tightened sanctions due to Irans failure to answer questions about its nuclear program, which Washington and its allies suspect is a cover to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says it is solely to generate power. World oil prices have surged in recent weeks on concerns about tensions with Iran - including the possibility that Israel will launch an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities - and on worries
latest India, China not spared from US sanctions on Iran oil Indian politicians in attention of porn scandal malign me. The assembly the assembly speaker in a
sanctions would reduce supplies to an already tight global market. Crude prices have risen to more than $125 barrel on the supply squeeze but on Tuesday dropped nearly $1.50 to $124.25 in London after Saudi Arabia assured markets that it was ready to increase exports to meet any shortfall from Iran. Mark Dubowitz, an advocate for tougher sanctions on Iran and the head of the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, said Japans example was likely to be significant. The key number will be what Japan agreed to, he said. China, Irans top trade partner and crude buyer, slashed Iranian crude imports by more than half in the first quarter of 2012 as Chinas largest refiner Sinopec put pressure on Irans state oil company to give it better terms on crude sales. Those cuts, if averaged out over the full year, amount to a reduction of around 14% of the volume China imported on contract in 2011. It is as yet unclear if this is a large enough cut for China to avoid pressure from the United States to cut more. All 27 EU nations have agreed to an embargo on Iranian crude purchases by banning new imports from Jan. 23 and phasing out existing contracts by
chit and then he called the MLAs and asked them to switch off the iPad, said Gujarat Samachar reporter Janak Purohit. According to Purohit, the MLAs were watching the photographs when the assembly was discussing the budgetary demands of the revenue department. The politicians, Shankar Chaudhary and Jetha Bharwad, were watching an obscene video clip on a tablet computer during a session, Purohit told a local television station. He complained to the speaker who ordered an inquiry and asked for the computer to be sent for forensic investigation. Taking into consideration the seriousness of the issue ... an inquiry committee ... will probe the matter, speaker Ganpat Vasava told the assembly. Congress stalled proceedings of the house for an hour over the issue.
apologists. The so-called specialists and academics continue to argue that Islamic terror is the consequence of Islam enduring Western humiliation. But in fact, Saudi Arabia has never been subjugated by the West, instead it has only been cuddled and bribed to ridiculous extremes. And in turn the West has received a torrent of violence and hateful venom. Equally as erroneous is the contention that an accommodation of nonWahhabi religions is somehow a break with traditional Islam. This absurd notion is blatantly untrue. Qatar, another Wahhabi state, has actually authorized the establishment of churches. Also, neighboring Bahrain contains thriving Christian, Jewish, and Hindu communities. One can even find a Hindu temple in Oman. The Future After decades of theocratic oppression, the vast majority of the Saudi people are restive for the following reasons: 1.) The Shiite minority in the southern and eastern provinces are tired of the violent persecution they have suffered at the hands of the Wahhabist clergy. 2.) The young people of Saudi Arabia want to live in a modern society where they can utilize their enterprising talents and energies to build a prosperous future. 3.) Lastly, non-Wahhabi scholars are already calling on the royal family to reject the officially sanctioned
intolerant state religion and replace it with pluralistic Ottoman-Islamic traditions. Remarkably, thousands of young people are turning to Sufism as an expression of protest against the entrenched religious establishment. The transition to a reasonably open Malaysian parliamentary model from its current medieval state need not be catastrophic. The Saudi monarchy could remain as a symbolic body with power concentrated in a representative legislature. Indeed, the position that a more strict Islamic system might emerge if the House of Saud is brushed aside is ludicrous. Proponents of this view often cite the emergence of an Iranianstyle regime as a possible consequence. However, this is a specious historical analogy since the Iranian people never experienced the harsh strictures of Islamic law prior to the ascension of the Islamic Republic. The people of Saudi Arabia know this repression all too well and they are dead tired of it. Conclusion Saudi Arabia and its militant Islamic doctrines constitute a clear and present danger to the United States and the international community. The U.S. should demand a full accounting of Saudi complicity in the September 11th terrorist attacks. We should no longer accept the status quo and forcefully pressure the kingdom to cut its ties to terrorism. This summary account was written by Zachary Constantino, a research assistant at the Middle East Forum.
The city of Dubai is built on foundations that are steeped in history and tradition. From the evocative Dubai Museum to the spectacular Jumeirah Mosque, and from the breathtaking Bastakiya to the imperious Heritage Village. There are many mysteries waiting to be unravelled. Explore Dubai at your pace and relive great traditions from day gone by.
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Indias World Cup cricket hero Yuvraj Singh announced on Sunday he has been discharged from hospital after undergoing chemotherapy for a cancerous tumour. 3rd chemo cycles over, back from hospital n I am free.... Cant wait to be back home, the 30-year-old said via Twitter from the United States, where he has been receiving treatment. Left-handed Yuvraj, named man of
the tournament after Indias World Cup triumph at home last April, was diagnosed with a rare condition, mediastinal seminoma - a malignant tumour between his lungs - soon after the event. Thousands of well-wishers, including US cycling great Lance Armstrong, have sent messages to the player, who is known for his aggressive batting and disciplined spin bowling.
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Sachin Tendulkar made history with his 100th international century but India failed to stop Bangladesh from registering an upset five-wicket win in the Asia Cup tournament in Dhaka on Friday. Tendulkar, who now has 51 hundreds in Tests and 49 in oneday internationals, cracked one six and 12 fours in his 147-ball 114 to help his team post a challenging 5-289. The memorable moment came in the 44th over when Tendulkar turned left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan to square-leg for a single to become the first batsman to score a century of centuries. But Bangladesh batted remarkably well to achieve the stiff target with four balls to spare in the day-night match for only their third win over
Sachin Tendulkar finally scores his 100th international century but India lose to Bangladesh in Asia Cup
India in 24 one-dayers and keep alive their hopes of reaching the final. Its a huge moment for us, said Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim, adding: It was a great (win) and thanks to the crowd. Opener Tamim Iqbal (70) and Jahurul Islam (53) put on 113 for the second wicket before man-ofthe-match Shakib (49) and Nasir Hossain (54) plundered 68 off just eight overs. Bangladesh needed 46 runs in the last five overs with six wickets in hand, but Rahim (46 not out off 25 balls) eased the pressure by smashing three sixes. Shakib hit two sixes and five fours in his 31-ball knock at a crucial stage. Pakistan have two wins in as many matches, while India and Bangladesh have one victory each after two games. Sri Lanka have lost both of their matches. They played better cricket throughout. Bangladesh can play really well on their day and they used the conditions well, said India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. We have been waiting for a long time for Sachin to get this (hundred). The 100th-ton celebrations were subdued as Tendulkar removed his helmet, raised his bat and looked at the sky, before being congratulated by non-striker Suresh Raina and Bangladeshi fielders. Im glad that finally I got it (the century) here, said Tendulkar. Its been a tough journey, especially when you know you are batting well. I batted well in Australia and England and again in Mumbai I got so close to the hundred, but somehow it was just not happening. Im a human being and Ive emotions. I was frustrated when it was not happening. I dont play for milestones. I play cricket and want to enjoy it. You guys write about the milestones. The 100th hundred was the toughest one. It was a testing time, so I thank God for whatever comes my way. Tendulkar, who turns 39 next month, already holds four major batting records -- most runs and centuries in both Tests and one-day internationals. Timing and placement marked Tendulkars knock. He put on 148 for the second wicket with Virat Kohli (66) and 86 for the third with Raina (51).
He was dismissed in the 47th over, caught behind while attempting to drive paceman Mashrafe Mortaza and returned to the pavilion to a standing ovation from 20,000 fans at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium. Tendulkar was at his aggressive best at the start, fluently driving paceman Shafiul Islam through the covers and then hitting Mortaza for two boundaries. His next two scoring strokes were also fours.
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