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Mohamed, ranked 55 in the world, cruised to a 11-6 11-7 2-11 11-9 win in a quarter-final encounter that lasted 54 minutes to leave India number two Mahesh Mangaonkar as the lone player from the host country in the fray after the shock exit of title favourite Saurav Ghosal in the opening round yesterday.

Mangaonkar, ranked 75 in the world, has to overcome the strong challenge from number two seed and world number 30 Ong Beng Hee of Malaysia to progress to the semifinals.

The Alexandria-based Mohamed raced to a 2-0 lead in a short time against the 80th ranked Sandhu who kept his hopes alive by snatching the third game comfortably.

Sandhu, who entered the quarterfinals with a shock win over sixth seed and world number 47 Mohd Ali Anwar Reda of Egypt late last night in the opening round, gave Mohamed a scare when he romped to a 7-3 advantage in the fourth game and raised hopes of a fight back.

The Indian came up with a slew of brilliant strokes but Mohamed matched the effort with delectable nicks that allowed him to take the lead at 8-7.

It was a neck-to-neck battle in the final stages of the game before Mohamed, playing the Indian for the first time, produced another nick to wrap up the match.

“I knew he’s a good player. He played really well in the third game and got me worried again in the fourth when he took that big lead. But I engaged him in long rallies and waited for him to make mistakes,” said the Egyptian after win.

In another quarter-final, Pakistan’s Nasir Iqbal overcame fifth seed Jaymie Haycocks of England 11-5 11-8 11-7.

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Iraqi parliament Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi won’t run for another term after outgoing Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki made this conditional on his not seeking a third term as head of government, a statement said Friday.

“I announce the withdrawal of my candidacy as a speaker of the Council of Representatives in its new term, and I wish to whoever would assume this post the success to serve the people,” the statement, emailed to Xinhua, quoted Nujaifi as saying.

“We have worked with Shia parties of the National Alliance, which Maliki’s State of Law Coalition is part of, in order to change the prime minister as a start to change the policies in our dear country which have led to a crisis after another until Iraq has become threatened with disintegration,” the statement said.

Maliki’s seeking a third term in office was rejected by major Shia parties, the Kurds and all Sunni parties, Nujaifi said.

“When Maliki realised that it becomes inevitable to nominate a new prime minister, he insisted on linking leaving his seeking for a third term to my agreement not to nominate myself for the next speaker post,” he said.

Nujaifi described Maliki’s insistence to link his withdrawal for a third term with Nujaifi’s withdrawal as “bizarre and illogical”, according to the statement.

The move of Nujaifi and Maliki to step down from seeking another term in their offices could be a major step toward resolving Iraq’s political deadlock as the parliament is scheduled to hold its next session Tuesday after the lawmakers in the first parliament meeting July 1 failed to agree on electing a new speaker and two deputies.

According to the Iraqi constitution, if the parliament succeeds to elect a new speaker and two deputies, the next step should be choosing a new president within the next 30 days.

Following that, the new head of state will have half a month to ask the bloc with the most lawmakers to nominate a prime minister, who will be responsible for forming a new government.

The duration for the prime minister-designate to select his cabinet members, and present the list to the parliament is 30 days.

With the country’s ever deepening security crisis, a new unity government is now considered vital for Iraq to counter the Sunni insurgency that threatens to split the country apart.

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At least 22 people were injured Friday during clashes between security forces and supporters of ousted former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi who held anti-government protests across Egypt, a health ministry official said.

“As many as 17 people were injured in Cairo’s Ain Shams area, one at Giza’s Pyramids City and four at a square in Fayoum province,” Xinhua quoted Mohamed Sultan, head of ministry’s emergency care department, as saying.

He noted that most of the injured people have been treated and discharged from hospitals. “Only five in Cairo, one in Giza and one in Fayoum are still receiving treatment.”

Also on Friday, four people were killed in a house in Fayoum when the homemade explosives that they were preparing went off, the interior ministry said in a statement. The four belonged to the currently-blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood group, the main loyalists of the deposed Islamist president.

Friday’s protests came a day after the first anniversary of Morsi’s ouster, which his loyalists marked with nationwide protests under the slogan of “the Day of Anger” or “the July 3 Uprising.”

Since Morsi’s removal, extremist groups have launched a series of bombings in Sinai, the capital Cairo and some other provinces nationwide, targeting security staff and buildings.

Security crackdown on Morsi’s loyalists has left more than 1,000 killed and thousands others arrested over the past 10 months.

Ex-military chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, who was hired by Morsi as defence minister, has recently been elected as the country’s president.

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The attack occurred near Dijla town south of the provincial capital city of Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad, when a suicide bomber drove his explosive-laden car near the soldiers, Xinhua quoted a police officers as saying on condition of anonymity.

The area near Dijla town, also named Mkesheifah, is a battlefield zone as the Iraqi security forces failed several days ago to cross it on their way to retake control of Tikrit from Sunni militant groups.

Iraq has been witnessing its worst security crisis that began more than two weeks ago when armed Sunni insurgents, spearheaded by an Al Qaeda splinter group Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), launched a surprise offensive that led to the debacle of Iraqi security forces. A large part of the country’s northern and western territories are now controlled by the Sunni insurgents.

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Prince Khaled bin Bandar bin Abdul Aziz had been unexpectedly removed from his post on Saturday at the request of his boss the defence minister, after only 45 days on the job.

There was no reason for his sacking but today the state-run news agency SPA reported that Prince Khaled had been appointed “head of the General Intelligence with a minister rank” by royal decree.

The announcement comes after jihadists spearheading a Sunni militant offensive in Iraq have declared on Sunday an “Islamic caliphate”, ordering Muslims around the world to pledge allegiance to their chief.

Last week Abdullah slammed the jihadists, who are also active in Syria, and instructed authorities to take “necessary measures” to defend his oil-rich kingdom amid fears the Iraq offensive could spill over into Saudi Arabia.

Prince Khaled will take over from Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the kingdom’s former pointman on the Syrian conflict who headed the intelligence service for two years until April.

A separate royal decree reported by SPA named Prince Bandar as an “advisor to the king and his special envoy”.

Prince Bandar, a former ambassador to the United States, is widely regarded as among the most influential powerbrokers in the Middle East and was appointed intelligence chief in 2012.

Diplomats said in February that Prince Bandar was sidelined in Saudi efforts to support rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

They said his management of the Syrian file had triggered American criticism and the matter was discussed during US officials’ visits to the kingdom.

The prince himself reproached Washington for its decision not to intervene militarily in Syria, and for preventing its allies from providing rebels with much-needed weapons, according to diplomats.

Saudi Arabia has been strongly supportive of the rebels battling Assad.

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In an audio statement posted online that coincided with the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a spokesman for the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), announced that the group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was the “caliph,” or leader, of a state whose territory extended from the city of Aleppo in northwestern Syria, to Diyala province in northeastern Iraq.

The spokesman, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, described al-Baghdadi as “the imam and khalifah (caliph) for the Muslims everywhere.” He also said that with the establishment of the caliphate, the group was changing its name to just the Islamic State, dropping the mention of Iraq and the Levant.

“The legality of all emirates, groups, states and organizations becomes null by the expansion of the caliph’s authority and the arrival of its troops to their areas,” al-Adnani continued. “Listen to your caliph and obey him. Support your state, which grows every day.”

Muslim extremists have long dreamed of recreating the Islamic state, or caliphate, that ruled over the Middle East, much of North Africa and beyond in various forms over the course of Islam’s 1,400-year history.

But experts predicted the declaration could herald infighting among the Sunni militants who have joined forces with the Islamic State in its fight against the Shiite-led government.

“Now the insurgents in Iraq have no excuse for working with ISIS if they were hoping to share power with ISIS,” Aymenn al-Tamimi, an analyst who specializes in Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria, told The Associated Press. “The prospect of infighting in Iraq is increased for sure.”

The greatest impact, however, could be on the broader international jihadist movement, in particular on the future of Al Qaeda.

Founded by Usama bin Laden, the group that carried out the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. has long carried the mantle of the international jihadi cause. But the Islamic State has managed to do in Syria and Iraq what Al Qaeda never has — carve out a large swath of territory in the heart of the Arab world and control it.

“This announcement poses a huge threat to Al Qaeda and its long-time position of leadership of the international jihadist cause,” said Charles Lister, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center, in emailed comments. “Taken globally, the younger generation of the jihadist community is becoming more and more supportive of (the Islamic State), largely out of fealty to its slick and proven capacity for attaining rapid results through brutality.”

Al-Baghdadi, an ambitious Iraqi militant who has a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head, took the reins of the Islamic State in 2010 when it was still an Al Qaeda affiliate based in Iraq.

Al-Baghdadi has long been at odds with Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, and the two had a very public falling out after al-Baghdadi ignored al-Zawahri’s demands that the Islamic State leave Syria. Fed up with al-Baghdadi and unable to control him, al-Zawahri formally disavowed the Islamic State in February.

But al-Baghdadi’s stature has only grown since then, as the Islamic State’s fighters have strengthened their grip on much of Syria, and now overrun large swathes of Iraq.

In Washington, the Obama administration called on the international community to unite in the face of the threat posed by the Sunni extremists.

“[ISIS]‘s strategy to develop a caliphate across the region has been clear for some time now. That is why this is a critical moment for the international community to stand together against [ISIS] and the advances it has made,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

The Islamic State’s declaration comes as the Iraqi government tries to wrest back some of the territory it has lost to the jihadi group and its allies in recent weeks.

On Sunday, Iraqi helicopter gunships struck suspected insurgent positions for a second consecutive day in the northern city of Tikrit, the predominantly Sunni hometown of former dictator Saddam Hussein.

The insurgents appeared to have repelled the military’s initial push for Tikrit, and remained in control of the city on Sunday, but clashes were taking place in the northern neighborhood of Qadissiyah, two residents reached by telephone said.

Muhanad Saif al-Din, who lives in the city center, said he could see smoke rising from Qadissiyah, which borders the University of Tikrit, where troops brought by helicopter established a bridgehead two days ago. He said many of the militants had deployed to the city’s outskirts, apparently to blunt the Iraqi military attack.

Jawad al-Bolani, a security official in the provincial operation command, told The Associated Press the U.S. was sharing intelligence with Iraq and has played an “essential” role in the Tikrit offensive.

Washington has sent 180 of 300 American troops President Barack Obama has promised to help Iraqi forces. The U.S. is also flying manned and unmanned aircraft on reconnaissance missions over Iraq.

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The attacks come after Israeli soldiers discovered the bodies of three missing settlers whose disappearance and killing it blames on Hamas despite revealing any evidence that links the crime to the Islamist group.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had promised Hamas would pay after the discovery of the three Jewish seminary students’ bodies under a pile of rocks near the West Bank city of Hebron on Monday.

The military said aircraft attacked 34 sites in Gaza, mostly belonging to Hamas, though its statement did not link the strikes to the abductions.

Instead, it cited 18 Palestinian rocket launched against Israeli-occupied territory from Gaza in the past two days which Israeli officials have claimed Hamas carried out.

The Islamist group has denied Israel’s allegations about its role in the disappearance of the students as they hitchhiked near an illegal Jewish settlement on June 12.

Palestinian medics were cited by local news agency Ma’an as saying that 16-year-old Youssef Abu Zagha died after being shot in the chest by Israeli occupation forces in the Jenin refugee camp early Tuesday.

Local sources said the undercover soldiers assassinated Ibrahim Abu Zagha,as he was returning home, carrying food for his family to eat before starting their fast, as Muslims are marking the holy month of Ramadan.

His death brings to eight the number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank by occupation forces since the army launched a major offensive ostensibly to find the missing settlers.

Six of the Palestinians were shot dead, while another two died of heart attacks during raids on their homes.

Israel confirmed shooting Abu Zagha, claiming he was a “Hamas operative” who threw a grenade at occupation forces.

On Monday Israel set off explosive in the family homes of two Palestinian men it suspects of being behind the killing of the settlers.

An army spokesperson said they blew open a doorway in one home. The other property was on fire after the blast. Neighbors said both houses were empty.

“This kind of act is a sin, whether you’re a Muslim or Jew. They’ve scared the kids so much,” Um Sharif, the mother of one of the alleged kidnappers said about the damage caused to her home. She said she did not believe her son had been involved.

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Baghdadi, who holds a PhD in Islamic studies, said Muslims were being targetted and killed from China to Indonesia. Speaking as the first Caliph, or commander of the Islamic faithful since the dissolution of the Ottoman empire, he called on Muslims to rally to his pan-Islamic state.

“Those who can immigrate to the Islamic State should immigrate, as immigration to the house of Islam is a duty,” he said in an audio recording released on a website used by the group formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.

“Rush O Muslims to your state. It is your state. Syria is not for Syrians and Iraq is not for Iraqis. The land is for the Muslims, all Muslims.

“This is my advice to you. If you hold to it you will conquer Rome and own the world, if Allah wills.”

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Sheik Abdiasis abu Musab, al-Shabab’s spokesman for military affairs, said they carried out the attack in the southern Mogadishu district of Afarta Jardiin.

“We have shot dead nine government soldiers in Mogadishu since Ramadan started. We shall continue and intensify the operation,” abu Musab said.

The group had previously said its gunmen shot dead three people on Sunday and killed another three government employees on Monday in two separate bomb blasts.

The government and African Union peacekeepers have stepped up security to try to stop the Ramadan attacks by al-Shabab, which has waged a seven-year campaign to impose its strict interpretation of Islamic law in the mainly Christian country.

The militants view people who work for the government, such as the security forces, as collaborators with non-Muslims due to the involvement in Somalia of African Union soldiers, the United Nations and Western powers trying to contain the group.

Police officer Nur Jamac said al-Shabab shot the three soldiers in the head on Tuesday as they talked in the street.

In the past year or so, al-Shabab has killed dozens of people in guerrilla-style assaults in Mogadishu, on U.N. offices, the presidential compound, parliament and the courts.

In a separate attack, police in Afgoye, a district 30 km southwest of Mogadishu, said two clan elders were assassinated by pistol-wielding assailants on Monday.

It was not immediately clear who was behind that attack, a senior police officer in Afgoye told Reuters.

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Observant Muslims avoid food and liquids from dawn to dusk during Ramadan but can, and often do, skip it if travelling or doing hard physical labor. Some devout Muslim athletes choose to fast during training or competition, but it can create selection difficulties for the coaches in team sports.

Halilhodzic, who has testy relations with sections of the Algerian media and its football association, threatened to leave a news conference Sunday if questions persisted on the topic. He said critics were using the issue to “try and raise hatred of me and my family. This is really disgusting.”
The national football association released a statement denying a report in Algeria’s leading football newspaper suggesting that Halilhodzic, a Muslim, had ordered players not to fast. It’s a potentially sensitive allegation in the mostly Muslim country.

According to the New York Times, dozens of Muslim players are still competing in the World Cup, including Karim Benzema of France and Mesut Özil of Germany. But Ron Maughan, a professor of sports nutrition, told the Times that it is difficult to gauge what, if any, effect fasting would have on players.

“There are so many variables in football that it would be almost impossible to show an effect,” Maughan said.

When Yaya Toure and Karim Benzema will have to decide whether to fast during daylight hours or postpone until their country’s tournament is over. In Brazil, such are the hours of daylight, fasting would equate to about 13-and-a-half hours without food or liquids.

Toure told The National he would not consider it. “Fasting? Have you seen the weather? I would die,” he said.

According to the National, the 2014 World Cup marks the first time in 28 years that Ramadan has overlapped with soccer’s big event.

The federation said Halilhodzic had been “very respectful” of the religion in his three years at the helm of the national team.
The veteran coach, a French-Bosnian, said fasting was a “private issue and players will do exactly as they wish.”

“When you ask this question you lack respect and ethics. I would like this to stop. Stop this controversy. Talk about football,” he said, in response to repeated questions at the official pre-match news conference. “And stop asking me about Ramadan, otherwise I will get up and leave.”

The match Monday kicks less than an hour before sunset in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre.

The Algeria lineup has been impressive in its three group games, and had its best attacking display so far in a 4-2 win over South Korea. Halilhodzic started that match with five new players following its opening 2-1 defeat to Belgium. They followed that up with a 1-0 win over Russia to reach the knockout rounds for the first time.
“We will do everything we can to try and win this match, but (the Germans) are of a higher quality, more experienced and basically better than us,” Halilhodzic said. “We shall prepare for this game as the most important in our career. We will give it our all.”

Algeria shocked West Germany 2-1 in the group stages of the 1982 World Cup, in what was a colossal upset at the time.

But the team didn’t make it through to the qualifying rounds after the Germans and Austria played out a mutually advantageous result in their last group match in one of the most infamous World Cup episodes.

The build up to Monday’s match has focused on whether this is now the opportunity for Algeria to avenge what has become known as the “Disgrace of Gijon.”

But Halilhodzic and Germany coach Joachim Loew downplayed that Sunday, noting that the vast majority of players were not born when it occurred.

“This is history. There are many things that occur in football. I would like this wonderful championship to finish in a different way,” Halilhodzic said.

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After spewing continuous venom against Pakistan all these years and during the run up to the general elections 2014, Narendra Modi sent an invite to Pakistan PM for his swearing-in ceremony. The real reason is not peace, but Adani.

Adani Power wants Narendra Modi Government’s nod for export of electricity to Pakistan, reports Financial Express. Adani Power is planning to set up a 10,000-MW thermal power plant in the Kutch region of Gujarat and the bulk of the electricity to be produced from it is likely to be exported to Pakistan. The company, a part of the $8.7-billion Adani Group, is country’s leading private sector thermal power producer with a current capacity of 8,520 MW. The ports-to-power group has plans to ramp up electricity production by over 10,000 MW by this financial year.

The mainstream media sang along with BJP’s PM candidate Mr Modi while he made hate speeches against the Pak regime headed by PM Nawaz Sharif for the “biggest insult to India” quoting the “dehati aurat” remarks and had warned that “the country will not tolerate this.” He added that “the Indian journalists who were eating sweets served by Nawaz Sharif while he was insulting our country’s PM by using slangs, the country expected them to kick the sweets. They are answerable to my countrymen as country also has self-respect and dignity.”

Talking about his analysis of Narendra Modi’s stand on Pakistan, after interviewing Modi, Times Now editor-in-chief Mr Arnab Goswami said:
On Pakistan, Narendra Modi was extremely clear. He has made an on-record statement that there shall be no talks if terror continues. In the past, there was talk that he was taking a middle path and could have been softening his stand. However, in his interview with Times Now, he was extremely clear about his stand. As I said, it was an on-record statement and this according to me will be a significant departure from the UPA’s stand on Pakistan.

Criticizing the government for having talks with those who behead Indian soldiers, Modi in an interview with Arnab Goswami had stated, “Bomb, bandook or pistol ki aawaz mein baatein sunai de sakti hai kya?”. Now that Mr Modi has got majority in the elections, there’s a complete u-turn in his stand and nobody is talking about the real reasons. Today the media won’t show you those clippings. Instead, they are busy painting invitation from India’s prime minister elect as a bold step to launch a policy of regional engagement.

Adani Power has discussed the proposal of the Kutch project with the UPA-II government, but there was not much progress. The company hopes to implement the proposal during the incoming NDA regime as a coal-based project in phases beginning with 3,300 MW and ramp it up to 10,000 MW within the next five years, he said.

While the initial investment would be around Rs 13,000 crore, for ramping up the capacity to 10,000 MW a total of Rs 40,000 crore would be required, according to the source. The project is likely to be implemented by Kutch Power Generation Company Limited (KPGCL), a Adani Power subsidiary. KPGCL would be responsible for generation, evacuation and transmission of electricity. The company is learnt to have acquired land at Bhadreshwar in Kutch for the project, according to sources.

Adani Power has reported a net profit of Rs 2,529 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2014, against a net loss of Rs 585.52 crore in the corresponding quarter in the previous fiscal. According to a company statement, its consolidated EBIDTA has risen to Rs 4859 crore in FY14, which is an increase of 322 per cent.

Last week the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence had slapped a Rs 5,500-crore show cause notice on the Adani Group for alleged over-valuation of capital equipment imports. Also last week the firm announced purchase of the Dhamra Port in Orissa.

Everything Mr Modi says is to pamper the emotions of his vote bank. Everything Mr Modi does is to benefit the corporations and help them loot our nation’s natural resources. No wonder, Mukesh Ambani has added $6 billion to his fortune since September 13, 2013 when Narendra Modi was named BJP’s PM candidate, reports Bloomberg. The wealth of Gautam Adani quadrupled to $7.6 billion, from $1.9 billion on September 13. That’s over $25 million per day in a nation where some 800 million people live on less than $2. True, good days have actually arrived for some. Nation’s much hyped ‘lost self-respect’ may rest till the next elections.

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World powers should be ” realistic” in nuclear talks with Iran so that results could be achieved, senior Iranian nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi was quoted as saying by media Monday.

Excessive demands of the so-called P5+1 group – the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany – in the talks is a barrier to reach a comprehensive nuclear agreement, Araqchi said, adding that it would be an “illusion” to think that Iran might give in to the pressures via-a- vis its nuclear rights.

If the West was serious to find a way out of the current situation in the talks, they should “consider realities of Iran’s nuclear programme since the talks will advance based on realities,” Xoinhua citing state IRIB TV as quoting Araqchi ahead of the next round of nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 group slated for Wednesday in Vienna.

Over the past 10 years, Western countries issued resolutions and imposed sanctions on Iran “but to no avail”, he said.

“The Iranian nuclear issue can only be solved through fair talks, use of confidence-building options and respect for Iran’s rights,” he stressed.

The fifth round of Iranian nuclear talks concluded June 20 in Vienna with some progress on drafting the framework of a final deal, while gaps over some issues remained.

In the latest talks, Iran was asked to decrease the number of centrifuges to ensure that it cannot quickly produce enough material for a nuclear bomb. But Iran said it needed more centrifuges to produce uranium to fuel more nuclear plants for electricity.

Iran and Russia had agreed to finalise a deal for the construction of two nuclear power plants in the southern Iranian port city of Bushehr, Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said last week.

Under the interim Geneva deal last November, Iran undertook to freeze some controversial nuclear activities in six months in exchange for a limited easing of western sanctions.

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The leaders of an Al Qaeda splinter group that has seized vast portions of northern and western Iraq have declared the establishment of an Islamic state and demanded allegiance from other Muslim groups.

In an audio statement posted online that coincided with the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a spokesman for the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), announced that the group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was the “caliph,” or leader, of a state whose territory extended from the city of Aleppo in northwestern Syria, to Diyala province in northeastern Iraq.

The spokesman, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, described al-Baghdadi as “the imam and khalifah (caliph) for the Muslims everywhere.” He also said that with the establishment of the caliphate, the group was changing its name to just the Islamic State, dropping the mention of Iraq and the Levant.

“The legality of all emirates, groups, states and organizations becomes null by the expansion of the caliph’s authority and the arrival of its troops to their areas,” al-Adnani continued. “Listen to your caliph and obey him. Support your state, which grows every day.”

Muslim extremists have long dreamed of recreating the Islamic state, or caliphate, that ruled over the Middle East, much of North Africa and beyond in various forms over the course of Islam’s 1,400-year history.

But experts predicted the declaration could herald infighting among the Sunni militants who have joined forces with the Islamic State in its fight against the Shiite-led government.

“Now the insurgents in Iraq have no excuse for working with ISIS if they were hoping to share power with ISIS,” Aymenn al-Tamimi, an analyst who specializes in Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria, told The Associated Press. “The prospect of infighting in Iraq is increased for sure.”

The greatest impact, however, could be on the broader international jihadist movement, in particular on the future of Al Qaeda.

Founded by Usama bin Laden, the group that carried out the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. has long carried the mantle of the international jihadi cause. But the Islamic State has managed to do in Syria and Iraq what Al Qaeda never has — carve out a large swath of territory in the heart of the Arab world and control it.

“This announcement poses a huge threat to Al Qaeda and its long-time position of leadership of the international jihadist cause,” said Charles Lister, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center, in emailed comments. “Taken globally, the younger generation of the jihadist community is becoming more and more supportive of (the Islamic State), largely out of fealty to its slick and proven capacity for attaining rapid results through brutality.”

Al-Baghdadi, an ambitious Iraqi militant who has a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head, took the reins of the Islamic State in 2010 when it was still an Al Qaeda affiliate based in Iraq.

Al-Baghdadi has long been at odds with Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, and the two had a very public falling out after al-Baghdadi ignored al-Zawahri’s demands that the Islamic State leave Syria. Fed up with al-Baghdadi and unable to control him, al-Zawahri formally disavowed the Islamic State in February.

But al-Baghdadi’s stature has only grown since then, as the Islamic State’s fighters have strengthened their grip on much of Syria, and now overrun large swathes of Iraq.

In Washington, the Obama administration called on the international community to unite in the face of the threat posed by the Sunni extremists.

“[ISIS]‘s strategy to develop a caliphate across the region has been clear for some time now. That is why this is a critical moment for the international community to stand together against [ISIS] and the advances it has made,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

The Islamic State’s declaration comes as the Iraqi government tries to wrest back some of the territory it has lost to the jihadi group and its allies in recent weeks.

On Sunday, Iraqi helicopter gunships struck suspected insurgent positions for a second consecutive day in the northern city of Tikrit, the predominantly Sunni hometown of former dictator Saddam Hussein.

The insurgents appeared to have repelled the military’s initial push for Tikrit, and remained in control of the city on Sunday, but clashes were taking place in the northern neighborhood of Qadissiyah, two residents reached by telephone said.

Muhanad Saif al-Din, who lives in the city center, said he could see smoke rising from Qadissiyah, which borders the University of Tikrit, where troops brought by helicopter established a bridgehead two days ago. He said many of the militants had deployed to the city’s outskirts, apparently to blunt the Iraqi military attack.

Jawad al-Bolani, a security official in the provincial operation command, told The Associated Press the U.S. was sharing intelligence with Iraq and has played an “essential” role in the Tikrit offensive.

Washington has sent 180 of 300 American troops President Barack Obama has promised to help Iraqi forces. The U.S. is also flying manned and unmanned aircraft on reconnaissance missions over Iraq.

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The Muslim players in World Cup teams that have qualified for the second round in Brazil face a thorny question on Sunday when much of the Islamic world will start observing the holy month of Ramadan with a dawn to dusk fast.

The question is trickiest for the Algerian team, which faces a formidable German side on Monday. There are also Muslims on the Nigerian and French teams and those players also will have to weigh their religious convictions against the possible effects of fasting on their performance.

“We need to discuss it among ourselves,” Algerian player Djamel Mesbah said. “It’s clear that our religion is very important for the team, so we will talk about it and see how to go forward.”

Athletes in the Olympics in 2012 faced the same hurdle, with many teams allowing their players to eat during Ramadan so as not to impair their performance and make up for it at another time or make donations to charity.

While fasting during daytime over the 30 days of Ramadan, including abstaining from drinking liquids, is mandatory for all able bodied Muslims and one of the five pillars of Islam, there are exemptions, including for the sick, pregnant, infirm or elderly. Those traveling or going to war are also excluded and it is under this provision that most athletes will likely delay the fast until a more suitable time.

Algerian team captain Madjid Bouguerra pointed out in interviews with the Algerian press that it is a challenge Muslim players in European clubs have long faced and when he was with the Glasgow Rangers, he fasted but made sure he kept his performance up.

“The hardest thing is staying hydrated, but it’s ok, the weather’s good here,” he said. “Some players will postpone their fast for another time, but depending on my physical condition, I think I will do it.”

Bacary Sagna, a Muslim player in the French squad, said that many of the players who do it are used to it from their time in the European leagues and able to function.

“As a Muslim I know that there are certain rules that allow us to avoid it,” he told The Associated Press in Ribeirao Preto, Brazil. “Personally I’m not going to do it, everyone’s free to do as they will and I totally respect those that will do it.”

From a religious standpoint, however, it becomes a bit more complex. Islam lacks a central hierarchy like the Catholic church and any imam can issue an opinion that is then obeyed depending on how much respect they command.

Even in Algeria, which is bathing in the euphoria of qualifying for the second round of the World Cup for the first time in its history, there have been a range of opinions from religious scholars, with some coming out quite strongly against fasting exemptions.

“It is not allowed for an Algerian player to avoiding fasting just for a game – they must fast because God is with those who fast and young people can fast and play at the same time,” said Mohammed Mekerkab, the head of Algeria’s association of religious scholars.

He also dismissed the exemption for travel claimed by most athletes since the provision was only for voyages undertaken in the search for knowledge, health reasons or fighting jihad.

Algeria’s government-appointed High Islamic Council, however, has come down in favor of those wanting to delay their fast. Sheikh Mohammed Sherif Kaher, the head of the council’s commission for religious opinions said “those playing can abstain from fasting.”

Dr. Hakim Chalabi, a specialist in sports and fasting who accompanied the team to Brazil, admitted in an interview that it is a delicate question because of the need for hydration and the increased risk of injuries.

He noted, though, that fasting wasn’t always a total hindrance to players.

“We are often asked to urge players not to fast, but oddly, in some cases, there are athletes that get better results during Ramadan because they are fasting and want to,” he said. “It can be a spiritual and psychological aid.”

The post World Cup’s Muslim players consider Ramadan fast appeared first on Muslim Blog.

A hospital in a city in the western region of Xinjiang that was the site of deadly ethnic unrest in 1997 has asked its staff members not to skip meals during Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting that begins on June 28, the local health department said.

The request at a meeting at the Chinese Medicine Hospital in Yining, also known as Ghulja, on “upholding ethnic minority unity,” was made “in order not to affect normal work and life,” a Sina Weibo post by the county’s health department said. Hospital staff members who belong to ethnic minorities were requested to sign their pledge of compliance in a “responsibility book.”

Photographs on the health department’s Weibo site showed two large tables where mostly female staff members, many in what appeared to be nurse’s uniforms, were seated with their hands folded. The meeting was presided over by the hospital’s Communist Party secretary, Zhang Xiguang, the post said.

The request was likely to upset some Uighurs, the Muslim, Turkic-speaking ethnic group based in Xinjiang. Tensions have been high between members of China’s dominant ethnic Han and Uighurs who say their religion and way of life are under threat from central government policies. President Xi Jinping recently announced a yearlong “strike hard” antiterrorism campaign, following a string of knife and bomb attacks that the authorities say were carried out by separatists from Xinjiang.

Reaction to the post was heated, and divided. Some commenters said it was only reasonable to ask medical personnel not to fast while they were working, as it could undermine safety.

“I totally support the hospital on this,” wrote Super Old Jadeite. “If you don’t like it you can choose another job. So-called customs aren’t immutable, they change all the time, and you really should separate your profession from your religious beliefs.”

Said a commenter called Dog Below the Su River Gate, “To value an individual’s customs over the life on the operating table is to confuse religion and life and to offer fertile soil to the sprouts of extremism.”

But others said it was an unacceptable transgression of people’s beliefs.

“How is it wrong?” asked Yexil Esra. “These are our religious beliefs! Who says that just because a person doesn’t eat lunch they lose their mental and physical ability to work normally. Have you fasted during Ramadan? You won’t die because of it.”

Said a commenter called Happiness Comes and Goes: “Ramadan is a person’s individual freedom of belief. It’s a private matter. If it does influence their work, then that’s their personal responsibility.”

And Dama Mitu_9527 asked, “Yining Health Department, are you sure this isn’t unconstitutional? (angry face)”

In February 1997, Yining was rocked by riots over the arrests of dozens of young Muslims that left at least nine people dead.

The post Xinjiang Hospital Asks Staff Not to Fast During Ramadan. appeared first on Muslim Blog.

1. What is it?

Ramadan is the actual name of the ninth month on the Islamic calendar when Muslims believe that God began to reveal what would become their main religious text, the Koran, in the year 609 CE (common era). Muslims are taught that it took the subsequent 23 years for Allah to reveal his full message and guide to humanity.

2. Why do the dates change every year?

Like any other month on the Islamic calendar, Ramadan starts with the crescent moon that follows the new moon, meaning that adherents studied the sky Friday night to determine whether the observance of this holy month would begin today or Sunday. So, because they mark a new month when they can actually see the crescent moon, there’s no way to know exactly when Ramadan will begin.

3. What do Muslims hope to achieve during Ramadan?

Adherents strive to purge their sins and cleanse their spirit, even to feel closer to the poor. And if the month reinforces discipline and self-control, then Muslims believe they will be that much more equipped to bear whatever the rest of the year might bring.

4. How do they do that?

By casting aside all desires, especially food and water. Fasting is one of the main pillars of Islam, and the requirements are fairly straightforward: no eating or drinking from dawn to sunset every day for a month, whatever the temperature, whatever the daily grind. These obligations are nonnegotiable.

5. But is it safe for everyone to fast?

No, which is why there are exceptions, such as when people are sick, elderly or traveling, or when women are pregnant, breast-feeding or menstruating. The faithful who break the fast in some of these cases are required to make up for the lost days later. Children don’t fast until they reach puberty.

The post 5 Things Everyone Should Know About Ramadan. appeared first on Muslim Blog.

raqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki warned that the latest escalation of violence in his country will spill over to those countries which led a “conspiracy” against Iraq as a major oil refinery caught fire after coming under militant attack.

“We will face terrorism and we will bring down the conspiracy. But be sure they will flee to you and your countries will also be burned by sectarian wars,” Maliki said in his weekly televised speech, referring to the countries that Iraq earlier accused of supporting terrorist groups.

“What happened in Mosul was a setback, but not a defeat,” he said, explaining the negative performance of the Iraqi security forces during the fall of the city of Mosul, the capital of Iraq’s northern province of Nineveh.

“We have managed to absorb the shock in Mosul and stopped the deterioration and psychological defeat for some soldiers and leaders. We have now started our reaction and regained the initiative by conducting strikes that would continue,” Xinhua quoted Maliki as saying.

Earlier Wednesday, Sunni militant groups attacked the strife-torn country’s largest oil refinery in Salahudin province sparking a huge fire, a provincial police source said.

Hundreds of gunmen, including the militants linked to the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL), an Al Qaeda offshoot, waged an attack at dawn on the refinery compound in Baiji city from several directions with machine guns and mortar rounds, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Fierce clashes between the attackers and security forces were underway. One mortar round hit a fuel storage and a large column of black smoke rose above the area, the source said.

The deterioration in security situation in Iraq started last week when bloody clashes broke out between the Iraqi security forces and hundreds of Sunni militants, who took control of several neighbourhoods in the western part of Mosul and expanded later to other areas and provinces after the Iraqi security forces withdrew from the city.

On Tuesday, a statement issued by Maliki’s office said neighbouring Saudi Arabia was responsible for “financing and supporting” the insurgent groups in Iraq that led to bloodshed of Iraqis and devastation in the country.

The statement came in response to comments from the Saudi government about the situation in Iraq, which was seen by the Iraqi government as “siding with terrorism” and “interference in the Iraqi internal affairs”.

“We strongly condemn such a stance,” said the statement.

“The Iraqi government is holding Saudi Arabia responsible for the material and moral support that these insurgent groups gained,” the statement said, adding that such support to the terrorists “makes it responsible for the crimes committed by the terrorist groups”.

Saudi Arabia’s government rejected in a statement Monday any foreign intervention in Iraq’s affairs and urged the Iraqi government to ensure the participation of all factions of the Iraqi people in determining the future of their country on an equal footing.

The Saudi statement also called for political and constitutional reforms in Iraq, and a speedy formation of a government of national consensus that can restore security and stability, and avoid policies that will instigate religious extremism and sectarianism.

The post Iraq PM warns violence may spread, militants attack refinery. appeared first on Muslim Blog.

] The UAE Red Crescent is to carry out aid projects in the Palestinian territories worth $80 million in 2014 and 2016, a senior official said.

Sami Mikawi, manager of the organisations operations in the occupied West Bank said the projects include education, health, the environment and service sectors. He said that the projects cover the needs of the Palestinians in different areas such as medicine supplies and providing spare parts for medical equipment.

Red Crescent will carry out the projects in cooperation with local Palestinian organisations.

He said that the aid reflects the strategy of the UAE Red Crescent and its philosophy, which is to offer support to the needy, patients, poor and those who are marginalised. The organisation also provides support for areas which have suffered from natural disasters

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Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki has sacked some senior security officers for failing to halt the advance of Sunni insurgent groups.

In a statement, Maliki said that they have decided to punish a number of officers who failed in the performance of their professional and national duties.

According to the statement, he has fired Lieutenant General Mehdi Sabih al-Gharawi, commander of Nineveh Operations Command, his deputy Major General Abdul Rahman Handhal, as well as Chief of Staff and Brigadier General Hassan Abdul Razak, and will take legal actions against them

The Xinhua news agency reported that he has also fired Brigadier General Hidayat Abdul Rahim, commander of the army’s 3rd infantry division, who has been “referred to the military court for his trial in absentia for his escape from the battlefield to an unknown destination”.

Thousands of Iraqi soldiers and officers fled their posts in Iraq’s northern province of Nineveh last Tuesday, which paved the way for Sunni militants, including those who are linked to the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant , an al-Qaida offshoot, to seize the provincial city of Mosul and then large parts of provinces of Salahudin and Diyala. (ANI)

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All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, the apex body of Indian Muslim organisations, condemned the continuing attacks on the Muslim minority in Sri Lanka since last Sunday. President of AIMMM, Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan said the continuing attacks, murders and burning of Muslim localities and uprooting of thousands of Muslims by armed Sinhala extremists is a blot on the face of Sri Lanka and proves that the Sri Lankan government has not learnt any lesson from the Tamil revolt which was extinguished at great cost over three decades of blood-letting.

The Sri Lankan government and Sinhala chauvinists have forgotten that Sri Lankan Muslims, including the Tamil-speaking ones, firmly stood with the government in that conflict and bore the brunt of LTTE attacks, killings and mass uprootings. Now the Sinhala chauvinists, with tacit government support, are forcing a peaceful and patriotic community to take up arms to defend itself. Such a development will not help anyone in Srilanka which has already paid a heavy price as a result of the Tamil insurgency which too was a result of similar Sinhala chauvinist attacks on Tamils in the 1980s. Dr Khan appealed to the Sri Lankan government to check Sinhala extremists before the violence snowballs into a major conflict.

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The United States must stop its assassination drone strikes and killing of innocent civilians, which are in breach of international law, a political analyst tells Press TV.

“In my mind and understanding of the law, everyone who is being killed in an illegal military operation is innocent civilian and so they are all war crimes and they should all be stopped, but the very least, should be compensated,” Leah Bolger, with the Veterans for Peace organization, said in an interview with Press TV.

She added that the US government is interested in drones because they will not put the lives of American people at risk while attacks by unmanned aerial vehicle seem to be effective at killing people that it wants to kill.

“The fact is that the combat drones…being used by the United States are violating international law, and not just in Afghanistan, but in Pakistan and Yemen and every life that is taken is a war crime,” the commentator pointed out.

She expressed concern over the killing of people including the Afghans, the Somalis, the Yemenis, and the Pakistanis by the American government and said little attention is being paid to these innocent civilians who are “trying to go about their daily business.”

The US carries out targeted killings through drone strikes in several Muslim nations such as Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Somalia.

Washington claims the targets of the drone attacks are militants, but local officials and witnesses maintain that civilians have been the main victims of the attacks over the past few years.

The United Nations and several human rights organizations have identified the US as the world’s number one user of “targeted killings,” largely due to its drone attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

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At least five people were killed in a US drone strike launched early Wednesday in Pakistan’s tribal region of North Waziristan, a media report here said.

The strike was carried out at about 4.00 a.m. when US drones fired six missiles at a house and a vehicle in Miranshal town of North Waziristan, a restive tribal area along Pakistan-Afghan border.

The dead could not be immediately identified.

Wednesday morning’s US drone strike was the first of its kind since the armed forces of Pakistan launched a massive operation against the local and foreign militants hiding in North Waziristan.

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Islamist Hamas movement Tuesday warned Israel over the tough measures that the Israeli security forces are taking against its leaders and lawmakers in the West Bank.

“The Zionist enemy is held fully responsible for the consequences of its crimes against our striking prisoners, against our people in the West Bank and Gaza, and against the PLC (Palestinian Legislative Council) lawmakers,” Xinhua quoted Hamas as saying in its statement.

Israel accused Hamas of being behind kidnapping three Israeli teenagers who are believed to have been taken captive near the southern West Bank city of Hebron.

Israeli security forces arrested 41 Hamas operatives, including Aziz Dweik, speaker of the Hamas-dominated parliament, in raids carried out in the West Bank Tuesday to trace three Israeli teenagers abducted by militants last week.

Around 200 people have been arrested during the campaign against the Hamas movement in the West Bank since the search was launched and a large number of weapons were also seized, the Israeli Army said.

Overnight, Israeli war jets carried out three successive air strikes on militants’ training facilities in southern Gaza Strip and eastern Gaza city, but no casualties were reported.

The post Hamas warns Israel over tough measures in West Bank. appeared first on Muslim Blog.

Israeli military continued its massive invasion and arrests in different parts of the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, and so far kicked out three Palestinian families from their homes, to use them as military posts, and even to sleep there.

Resident Saleh al-‘Oweiwy said the army kicked out three families, including his own, and the family of his brother, and informed them that the soldiers will be sleeping there.
He added that the families, under gunpoint, had no other option but to leave, especially amidst threats by the soldiers to use force against them, and even to shoot them if they do not leave.
Another family was also forced out, and dozens of soldiers occupied their home to use it for sleeping, and to turn it into a military post and a monitoring tower.
The army also occupied ‘Ayesh as-Sayyed School, west of Hebron city, and used it as a military base.
On Monday at night, dozens of soldiers invaded the al-Jenan neighborhood in the central West Bank city of Ramallah, and searched several homes.
Soldiers also invaded Anata town and Shu’fat refugee camp, in occupied Jerusalem.
In related news, a number of fanatic Israeli settlers fired rounds of live ammunition at Palestinian cars driving near Beit Rima town, north of the central West Bank city of Ramallah. Damage was reported, no injuries.
Eyewitnesses said the settlers came from Halamish illegal settlement, built on lands illegally confiscated from residents of Nabi Saleh and Dir Nitham villages.
As the army continues to search for three missing Israeli settlers, dozens of Palestinians have been kidnapped by the soldiers who broke into and searched hundreds of Palestinian homes and property, in Hebron, Bethlehem, and different Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank.
The army also kidnapped the elected head of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Dr. Aziz Dweik, along with legislators Bassem az-Za’arir and Azzam Salhab.
In addition, soldiers shot and killed a young Palestinian man in the al-Jalazoun refugee camp, north of Ramallah, injured at least two Palestinians and kidnapped several residents.

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The Pakistan Air Force aircraft pounded militant hideouts early Tuesday morning in parts of North Waziristan, killing more than 50 militants, sources said.

The sources said that the air strikes were conducted in Mir Ali and other areas of the agency as part of Pakistan’s newly launched offensive against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other foreign militants in NWA that borders war ravaged Afghanistan.

Official sources said that as many as eight hideouts were targeted in the latest air strikes and death toll might rise.

The operation was launched a week after militants stored Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport,causing many casualties.

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US President Barack Obama has told Congress that the US is to deploy up to 275 troops to Iraq, to support diplomatic staff in the capital, Baghdad. Once there, their mission will be to protect the US embassy.

The president told Congress on Monday that the US was sending up to 275 military personnel to Iraq, providing support and security for employees at Washington’s embassy in Baghdad.

The move comes after jihadists calling themselves the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) seized much of the north of the country in a lightning sweep last week that took major towns, including the country’s second city, Mosul.

The latest deployment was said to have begun on Sunday.

“This force is deploying for the purpose of protecting US citizens and property, if necessary, and is equipped for combat,” Obama said in a letter to Congress lawmakers. “This force will remain in Iraq until the security situation becomes such that it is no longer needed.”

A number of US citizens were airlifted from an airbase to the north of the capital late last week, as the fighting drew nearer.

Even ahead of the deployment, there were some 160 troops already stationed in Iraq, including some 50 Marines and more than 100 Army soldiers. The White House said the troops with the consent of the Iraqi government.

Some staff to be moved out

In a statement, the White House said that troops would also be helping relocate diplomatic staff to consulates in Arbil and Basra, as well as across the border to Jordan. However, it added that the embassy remained open and that the majority of staff would reamin in place in Baghdad.

Obama said he was notifying Congress under the War Power Resolution, which allows a US president to deploy troops without the consent of the houses, but places a 60-day time limit on the length of time troops are stationed.

Fighters from ISIS are now in control of a swathe of land to the north of Iraq and have vowed that they will continue to press towards the capital. The group, whose extremist Sunni followers perceive Shiite Muslims to be infidels, is alleged to have carried out numerous summary executions in the towns that they have taken over. The militants also posted pictures that showed an alleged massacre of captured government soldiers.

Earlier on Monday, US officials discussed the crisis in Iraq with counterparts from Iran – which is largely Shiite – on the sidelines of a meeting about Iran’s nuclear program.

Hazy details on Iran cooperation

The US State Department’s deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf confirmed to CNN television that there were “brief discussions.” While acknowledging that Washington and Tehran had “a shared interest” Harf said it remained unclear if the US would wish to continue to engage with Iran on the matter.

Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby ruled out the possibility of any US-Iran military involvement in Iraq, saying: “there is absolutely no intention, no plan to coordinate military activities between the United States and Iran.”
Earlier, US Secretary of State John Kerry had appeared to leave the door open to any such military cooperation. “I wouldn’t rule out anything that would be constructive,” he said.

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Syrian regime helicopters today dropped barrel bombs on opposition-held districts in the northern city of Aleppo, killing at least 30 people including several children, an NGO said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a number of people were injured, some of then seriously, in the attacks on the Sukkari and Ashrafiyeh neighbourhoods.

The group distributed gruesome images from the scene of the attacks on Sukkari, where 24 people were killed, showing residents holding body parts of victims from the raid.

Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said a first attack created chaos, with residents and medics rushing to the scene to help.

Several minutes after the first attack, a second bomb was dropped on the same site, with those there trying to flee but many failing to do so in time.

Another six people died in a separate barrel bomb attack in a rebel-held area in Ashrafiyeh neighbourhood, in the north of the city.

Syria’s regime has waged a fierce aerial offensive against rebel-held parts of Aleppo since last December.

The Observatory said in May that the campaign had killed nearly 2,000 people — more than a quarter of them children — since the beginning of 2014.

Rights groups have decried the regime’s use of barrel bombs as unlawful because they lack an aiming mechanism, causing indiscriminate casualties.

Tens of thousands of people have fled Aleppo’s opposition districts because of the aerial campaign.

Elsewhere, the Observatory said 11 people, including eight children, were killed on Sunday night by rebel shelling of a government-held area in western Idlib province.

More than 162,000 people have been killed in Syria’s conflict, which began with peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in March 2011 before spiralling into a bloody war after a massive government crackdown on dissent.

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The Indian nurses stranded in Tikrit, the town seized by the fighters from Al Qaeda-influenced Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) last week, are completely safe, the Indian embassy in Iraq Monday said.

“The International Red Crescent Society volunteers visited the 46 Indian nurses that were stranded in a hospital they were working in since last week,” India’s Ambassador A. Ajay Kumar told IANS from Baghdad Monday.

In all, there are 46 Indian nurses stranded in Tikrit – most of them from Kerala – and 41 construction workers are in Mosul, the embassy said.

“Till now, they are completely safe,” Kumar assured.

The nurses sought assistance from the Indian embassy Friday as they were caught in the conflict zone after armed militants seized Tikrit city, 140 km northwest of Baghdad, and took control of the abandoned posts of Iraqi security forces.

The nurses were sending SOS to their friends and families over the last week.

They could not be moved to any other places as all the areas around the town were highly unsafe, an official said.

“The volunteers found them completely safe and working in the hospital,” Ambassador Kumar added.

Tikrit is the hometown of deposed dictator Saddam Hussein, who was executed nine years ago.

Meanwhile, the Indian mission in Iraq has been considering a slew of measures to ensure safety of an estimated 18,000 Indian citizens as the week-long strife intensified in the restive northern parts of the country.

“We are monitoring the situation closely and keeping all options ready. So far, everything is under control and there is nothing to worry,” Kumar told IANS by phone from Baghdad Sunday.

Fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have seized the cities of Mosul and Tikrit in the northern region of the oil-rich Arab nation and were moving closer to Baghdad.

Iraq’s top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani exhorted all able-bodied Iraqis to take up arms as the advancing Sunni militants captured more towns and started moving towards Baghdad.

Depending on how the security situation unfolds in the volatile northern parts of the country, the Indian embassy plans to evacuate Indians from Mosul, the conflict-ridden second largest Iraqi city, Tikrit, and other nearby towns and villages, the ambassador said.

According to him, the Indian citizens in Baghdad are completely safe, though Indian workers in the restive northern region have raised concerns over their safety with the embassy.

However, the exact number of Indians stranded in Iraqi provinces was not officially available as most of the expatriate are not registered with the embassy.

“We are keeping all options open, as an ‘element of uncertainty’ prevails in such areas,” Kumar added.

The ambassador said the mission has been mulling possible measures that can be carried out in an emergency.

“We are planning to transport the citizens from various cities in the Iraq’s north to the Irbil, capital of autonomous Kurdistan region of Northern Iraq, and then flying them out to India, in a day or two,” Kumar said. Irbil lies 88 km east of Mosul.

“We are also considering airlifting our citizens with helicopters,” the ambassador said, adding that a few Indians hadve already been airlifted from Iraqi city of Samarra, 125 km north of Baghdad, by the Iraqi authorities, along with other foreign citizens.

After the Indian government revoked the advisory against travel to Iraq, which was in operation from 2004 till May 2010, the number of Indian workers has been steadily increasing in the more developed and peaceful Kurdistan region (KRG) comprising Irbil, Sulaimaniya and Dohuk governorates, with better salaries and working conditions in steel mills, oil companies and construction projects, an embassy statement said.

The number of Indians in KRG is estimated to be around 15,000.

Indians, with or without travel documents, have been advised to seek assistance from the Indian Embassy in Baghdad and a 24-hour help-line has also been set up to assist the stranded citizens.

The post Stranded nurses, workers in Iraq safe, assures Indian envoy. appeared first on Muslim Blog.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s help today in securing the release of three kidnapped teenagers, as the army launched a massive crackdown on Islamist movement
Hamas.

Netanyahu’s phone call to Abbas was their first direct political contact since 2012, and took place as Israel carried out a vast search operation in the West Bank to find the three youths, whom the Israeli premier said were kidnapped by Hamas militants last week.

As the manhunt entered its fourth day, Israeli troops arrested scores of Hamas members, among them MPs and former
ministers, bringing the total number of Palestinians rounded up since Friday to 150, the biggest sweep in the territories in years.

“I expect you to help in the return of the kidnapped youths and the capture of the kidnappers,” Netanyahu told
Abbas.

“The Hamas kidnappers went out from territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority and returned to territory
controlled by the Palestinian Authority,” he said.

So far, there has been no formal claim of responsibility, and Hamas has dismissed Israel’s accusations as “stupid”.

Abbas’s office issued a statement condemning “the kidnapping of three Israeli youths”.

But it also denounced Israel’s “raids on Palestinian homes” and arrests of “many innocents” during which a
19-year-old Palestinian was killed.

Ahmad Arafat Sabarin, was shot dead during clashes in Jalazoun refugee camp near Ramallah which erupted when troops arrived on an arrest mission, medics told AFP.

After the shooting, Egypt urged Israel to show “restraint” in its crackdown on Hamas.

Although arrests have taken place across the West Bank, troops are focusing their search on the southern city of
Hebron and the surrounding area, home to some 663,000 Palestinians.

Overnight, soldiers arrested more than 40 Palestinians, the army said, including parliament speaker Aziz Dweik, who is a Hamas member.

New York-based watchdog Human Rights Watch urged Israel to refrain from “arbitrary” arrests in their search for the teenagers.

“Israeli forces should respect the laws of war with respect to the Palestinian population in the occupied
territory and not carry out mass, arbitrary arrests,” it said.

“Anyone arrested should be released unless promptly brought before a judge and charged with a credible offence.

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The United Nations said today it was moving dozens of employees out of Baghdad as a precaution due to the deteriorating security situation in Iraq.

A spokesman said 58 of the 200 international staff working for the UN in and around Baghdad “are being relocated
temporarily to other areas” outside the capital.

The staff were taken to the Jordanian capital Amman today, with the ultimate goal to be to move them again to Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region, said the spokesman, Farhan Haq.

Some other relocations may also take place in the next few days,” Haq said. “The situation has changed on the ground and we are adjusting our posture accordingly.”

Haq insisted that the UN mission would continue working in Iraq despite the eruption of fighting between jihadists and security forces.

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A Muslim woman standing outside her burned house after a clash between Buddhists and Muslims in the southwestern Sri Lankan town of Aluthgama on Monday.

ALUTHGAMA, Sri Lanka — In some of the worst religious violence in Sri Lanka in decades, three people have been killed and 78 injured in riots between Buddhists and Muslims in this southwestern coastal town after months of rising tensions, officials said Monday.

The riots on Sunday followed a protest march by a hard-line Buddhist group, Bodu Bala Sena, which is led in part by monks. Its name roughly translates as Buddhist Power Force. Shops and homes in the area, many of them owned by Muslims, were set ablaze and vandalized in violence that continued throughout the night. Mobs shouting anti-Muslim slogans and hurling gas bombs and stones advanced on a Muslim part of the village of Welipitiya, where men were protecting a mosque.

Three mosques and several Muslim prayer houses were set on fire, according to unofficial reports. “They fought us face to face for two hours,” said M. Hussein, a Muslim man involved in the fighting on Sunday night. “The police didn’t show up until after people were dead.” Police teams eventually appeared in the early hours of Monday to transport the dead and injured, Mr. Hussein said.

Muslim residents said Monday that their lives had changed forever. “They finished the Muslims in this area,” said M. Farina, who added that the police watched impassively Sunday evening as Buddhist mobs attacked Muslim shops and homes.

The Sri Lankan justice minister, Rauff Hakeem, denounced his own government’s inaction.
“The law-and-order machinery completely failed,” said Mr. Hakeem, who is the leader of the country’s largest Muslim party and confirmed the number of dead and injured. “For 72 hours, we begged the government to prevent this rally from taking place on Sunday for fear of riots.”“I am ashamed,” he added. “I couldn’t protect my people.”

Local tensions, which have been building for months, began to bubble over Thursday after a fight between a Muslim youth and a Buddhist monk. That clash led to the protest march Sunday, which degenerated into riots. The police imposed curfews in Aluthgama and the adjoining town of Beruwala to prevent violence from spreading, but they had little effect on violent mobs.On a visit to Bolivia, President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka wrote on Twitter late Sunday night that the government would not allow anyone to take the law into his own hands.“I urge all parties concerned to act in restraint,” he wrote. He said the police would bring the perpetrators to justice.

Buddhist radicalism has been increasing in Sri Lanka just as it has in Myanmar, which has experienced a surge in attacks by the Buddhist majority on the minority Muslim community.

Many in Sri Lanka believe that the Bodu Bala Sena has the quiet backing of Mr. Rajapaksa as well as his brother, Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, although the Rajapaksas have denied any link. Previous attacks by the Bodu Bala Sena have gone unpunished, and hard-line monks have been able to operate largely with legal impunity.

The Rajapaksas are hoping to consolidate the Sinhalese majority vote, which is about 75 percent of the country, by demonizing minority Muslims and Tamils, said Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, the executive director of the Center for Policy Alternatives, a nonpartisan policy institute in the capital, Colombo. The presidential election is not scheduled until 2016, but there is speculation that President Rajapaksa will call elections far earlier.

Allowing religious rioting is often an effective political ploy in South Asia, home to a wide mix of religions. But it is a dangerous one, since passions can quickly get out of hand and voters can sometimes punish incumbents if the law-and-order situation deteriorates badly.

“When you let this genie out of the bottle, sometimes you can’t get it back in again,” Mr. Saravanamuttu said. “The Rajapaksas have very short-term political goals, and they are doing whatever it takes to remain in power.”

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Leader of Pakistan’s Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party Altaf Hussain said Sunday it was time to wipe out the terrorists who are eating away the country’s very vitality, and stressed terrorists and Pakistan could not go together.

Hussain said terrorism and Pakistan were not compatible, if Pakistan has to exist, terrorists must be wiped out, Geo News reported.

The statement came as several high-profile foreign terrorist commanders were killed in the bombingas by jet fighters in Pakistan’s North Waziristan Agency (NWA).

While Pakistani military’ media wing confirmed over 50 terrorists were killed in the air strikes, other media reports put the toll at 150.

Addressing a gathering through phone on the occasion of 36th foundation day of MQM-linked All Pakistan Muttahida Students Organisation, here, HUssain said his party was against all sorts of terrorism, violence and wanted peace.

The leader said terrorists from across the world are taking refuge in tribal areas and big cities were “eating away the very vitality of our country”. He added if (God forbid) these terrorists occupy the country, men would be slain and women would be shut in their houses across the country.

Hussain appealed to all Pakistanis within the country and abroad to realise their duty to the nation at this critical juncture and join hands to save Pakistan.

He said the MQM was not opposed to any religion, faith or sect, but it was certainly against religious fanaticism and murder of the innocent people in the name of religion and declaring the victims as infidels.

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Telangana BJP President, Mr. G. Kishan Reddy, MLA criticized TRS Govt. for its declaration to reserve 12% seats in educational institutions and jobs. He further told that BJP is opposed to giving reservation on the basis of religion. However it will not oppose giving reservation to the Muslims on the basis of poverty.

Addressing a press conference yesterday, Mr. Kishan Reddy told that the Govt. should waive bank loans to the farmers.

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The Arab League (AL) Sunday strongly slammed the attacks committed by Jihadist-led militants in Iraq, but rejected any attempts of interference in the domestic affairs of the conflict-stricken country.

“AL denounces terrorist attacks that are being perpetrated by the group called ‘Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)’ against the Iraqi people,” Xinhua quoted an AL statement as saying following an extraordinary meeting of permanent representatives in Cairo.

AL also slammed the recent terrorist attacks that “aim to destabilise Iraq and harm its unity”.

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A Palestinian child has died of injuries he sustained in a recent airstrike against the besieged Gaza Strip by the Israeli regime.

The seven-year-old Gazan boy, identified as Ali al-Awour, died on Saturday, said a spokesman for the Palestinian health services.

The boy was injured in a Wednesday airstrike in Beit Lahia, in the northern part of the besieged enclave, which also killed his uncle.

The boy was passing by on foot as an Israeli aircraft fired a rocket at his uncle, on a motorbike with another man who got wounded.

The Israeli military frequently targets Palestinians particularly along the border with the besieged enclave.

Over 160 Palestinians, including women and children, were killed and about 1,200 others were injured in the Israel’s eight-day offensive on the coastal enclave, which ended on November 21, 2012.

Gaza has been blockaded since June 2007, a situation that has caused a decline in the standards of living, unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty.

The apartheid regime of Israel denies about 1.7 million people in Gaza their basic rights, such as freedom of movement, jobs that pay proper wages, and adequate healthcare and education.

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The Pentagon has sent three warships into the Persian Gulf to provide US President Barack Obama with options should he decide to launch airstrikes against al-Qaeda-linked militants in Iraq

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered the USS George H.W. Bush, which carries dozens of fighter jets, to move into the Persian Gulf on Saturday.

The 103,000-ton warship is accompanied by the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea and the guided-missile destroyer USS Truxtun, which carry a large number of Tomahawk missiles, the Pentagon said in a statement.

The ships were due to arrive in the Persian Gulf late on Saturday.

“The order will provide the Commander-in-Chief additional flexibility should military options be required to protect American lives, citizens and interests in Iraq,” Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said.

On Friday, Obama said , “We will not be sending US troops back into combat in Iraq, but I have asked my national security team to prepare a range of other options that could help support Iraq’s security forces.”

On June 10, the militants from the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took control of Nineveh province, including its provincial capital Mosul, in a lightning advance, which was followed by the fall of Tikrit, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of the capital Baghdad.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres spoke Friday with Egyptian coup leader Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to congratulate him on winning the elections and emphasize the importance of Egyptian-Israeli relations.

The two phone calls came two days before the inauguration of Al-Sisi as president after elections that were marred by staggeringly low voter turnout due to the nationwide boycott of a process deemed farcical by many in Egypt and internationally.

According to a statement by the Israeli PM’s office, he spoke with Al-Sisi on the “strategic importance of bilateral relations between Egypt and Israel and about honoring the peace treaty.”

Israeli president’s office said in a statement that Al-Sisi thanked Peres “for his warm wishes.”

The post Al-Sisi thanks Israeli leaders for their “warm wishes”. appeared first on Muslim Blog.

The students, who were arrested during the protests in December and January at Al-Azhar University, also fined 100-thousand Egyptian pounds.
The event comes after a court in Cairo recently sentenced 112 anti-government protesters to one year in jail. The anti-government protesters received the jail terms on Monday over charges of violence during rallies in the capital on January 25.

Al-Azhar has been the scene of anti-government protests with continuous clashes between security forces and students since the military ouster of President Mohamed Morsi last year.

In February, the interim authorities issued a decree, allowing security forces to enter campuses and granting university administrators the right to expel the protesting students.

Egypt descended into chaos after the army deposed the country’s first democratically-elected president on July 3, 2013. Since then, Egypt’s military-backed government has launched a bloody crackdown on Morsi’s supporters and arrested thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members, including the party’s senior leaders.

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A student group opposed to former Egyptian army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has said that at least 197 university students had been killed since last year’s military coup, a number that was challenged by a security official.

In a report, the Freedom Student Observatory said that Al-Azhar University, a traditional stronghold for the Muslim Brotherhood, came at the top of the list in terms of students slain – it put the number at 74, including two female students – during clashes with security forces.

Another 1,812 students were arrested during the same period, including 33 female students, amid an ongoing crackdown on opposition forces launched by Egypt’s army-backed interim authorities following his removal from office last summer.

Since the beginning of the academic year last September, many Egyptian universities have seen almost daily protests by students, staged to denounce last summer’s “military coup” against the elected president.

Around 380 students were convicted – including 54 in absentia – of varying offenses, the report said. The remaining students have been detained pending trial, mostly on violence-related charges.

Jail terms handed down on student protesters come to a total 1,721 years of imprisonment, including 13 life sentences (25 years), while total fines equalled some $745,000, according to the report.

A security source, for his part, dismissed the figures as “inaccurate,” saying they “do not reflect reality.”

“The security agencies deal with rioting [on university campuses] in accordance with the law, regardless of the rioters’ professions or backgrounds,” he said on condition of anonymity.

Yet he added that the Interior Ministry had no precise figures for the number of students killed or arrested during recent confrontations with polic

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Sixteen militants were killed in in two US drone strikes within last 24 hours in Pakistan’s restive tribal region, ending a five-month hiatus.

Ten militants were killed in a US drone strike early today in a northwest tribal district which followed another strike in Dargah Mandi area of North Waziristan in which 6 militants perished, Dawn News reported.

The second strike took place hours after first drone strike killed at least six at the same location.

In the first strike, four missiles were fired at a vehicle parked near a mud compound in Dargah Mandi area of North Waziristan, a security official said.

“Six militants were killed in the attack and both the vehicle and hideout were destroyed,” the official said.

The last drone attack occurred in Pakistan in the last week of December, 2013, killing three insurgents.

The drone strikes had been temporarily halted since then to provide the Pakistani government a chance to have talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) aimed at ending their seven-year insurgency.

However, US President Barack Obama last month made it clear that he will continue to authorise CIA-operated drone strikes and covert operations abroad to capture terrorists based on “actionable intelligence”.

Pakistan has criticised drone strikes as a violation of sovereignty and counter-productive to anti-terror efforts.

The strike came as Pakistani Taliban confirmed that Uzbek militants took part in the deadly assault on Karachi’s international airport that killed at least 39 people.

Ten Uzbek militants entered the Jinnah International Airport on Sunday night from different directions in two groups, resulting in a bloody standoff lasting for about 13 hours that left 37 people dead including 10 terrorists.

A day after the attempted airport siege, Taliban militants attacked a training camp of the Airport Security Force outside Karachi international airport, but fled after Pakistani forces repulsed the assault.

Pressure has been mounting on Pakistan to react after the deadly Karachi airport attack.

At least 25 militants were killed Tuesday when Pakistani fighter jets pounded targets in the country’s northwestern tribal region. The early morning air strikes were launched at Taliban hideouts in Tirah valley of Khyber tribal agency.

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The Taliban in Afghanistan have reportedly issued a ‘final warning’ to people, asking them to stay clear of the June 14 presidential run-off vote.

The Taliban said the elections’ “conspiracy is plotted by Americans as they have always misused the public opinion by deceptions and temptations and have imposed their own policies over the nations and have kept them under the yoke of their brutal occupation for years and years,” The Express Tribune reports.

The Taliban warned the people of unpleasant consequences if they failed to follow the instructions and demands of the Islamic Emirate by participating in the elections

Afghanistan’s presidential election has come to a run-off poll as the competing candidates failed to secure more than 50 percent of the total number of votes cast, as required under the Constitution to win the election, the report said.

Dr Abdullah Abdullah and Dr Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, who emerged as the two leading candidates following the first round of presidential polls held on April 5, are now contending to succeed President Hamis Karzai. (ANI)

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Prime Minister David Cameron speaking at The Muslim News Awards for Excellent 2014 event

At London’s Grosvenor House Monday, Prime Minister, David Cameron, joined some 800 people to celebrate the Twelfth The Muslim News Awards for Excellence – Britain’s longest standing Muslim awards event. The coveted award ceremony recognises the very best of Muslim contribution to British society.

The Guest of Honour, Prime Minister, David Cameron, presenting the Enterprise award to Shabir Randeree, Executive Chair of DCD Group, said, “I’m delighted to have taken part in this year’s Muslim News ds for Excellence, where we were able to champion and celebrate the huge contribution British Muslims make to our country. I was truly impressed hearing about the extraordinary work of the nominees and winners, and it was great to have been able to meet some of them tonight.”

The special Judges award went to Ola Lawal, an active volunteer working to improve the lives of young and disabled people, as well as the local community around her.

Amongst the other 15 winners were, in sport, Mo Farah, Olympic gold medalist, who is also involved in various philanthropic initiatives; in the media, Roohi Hasan, a senior producer at ITV News; children’s award went to 10-year-old, Ahmed Saleh, who has won numerous kickboxing and freestyle karate titles at national, European, and global levels.
Cameron said that, “I see for myself on a daily basis the massive contribution of British Muslims. From my own colleagues, such as Sayeeda Warsi, Sajid Javid and Tariq Ahmad on the Government benches to the Muslim businesses and enterprises that are bringing growth back to Britain. And of course I frequently see the outstanding achievements of Muslim sportsmen and women, public servants, entertainers and community leaders. The list goes on and on.”

“Tonight we celebrate an entire community – one that is vibrant, hard-working and proud. My message to British Muslims is that this Government is here for you. We are backing hard-working families who want to get on and do the right thing; we are reforming the education system, giving parents more say and delivering the schools and skills that our young people need to succeed; we are reforming the welfare system so it rewards those who want to work; we are cutting taxes, so that people get to keep more of their hard-earned money, and we are creating jobs, so people can provide for their families and feel secure. This is all part of our long-term plan to build a stronger economy and I know that British Muslims will play a vital part in helping to achieve future prosperity and security for our country.”

Special guests included Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, Shadow Justice Secretary, Sadiq Khan, Minister of State at Ministry of Justice, Simon Hughes.

They were joined by civic and religious leaders, as well as representatives from the worlds of politics, business, sport and the arts, to honour unsung heroes and heroines of the community.

Now in its twelfth year, the ceremony has distinguished itself for pioneering an initiative that finds the very best in British Muslims.

The Editor of The Muslim News, Ahmed J Versi, said, “We began this event twelve years ago because we wanted to acknowledge the noble accomplishments and displays of distinction within the British Muslim community and showcase the tremendous contributions British Muslims make to Britain. We wanted also to identify and highlight Muslim role models for the younger generation.”

In a message, Opposition Leader Ed Miliband, said: “Tonight’s awards ceremony is an opportunity to celebrate the great talent shown and contribution given by Muslim people in all walks of life.

“The awards recognize not only excellence in business, sport, arts and technology, but also those who have served their communities selflessly. It is a true celebration of values core to our country – of community and commitment, of education and learning.”

Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of Liberal Democrats, said: “The Muslim News Awards for Excellence has become the flagship event for Muslim communities in the UK highlighting British Muslim contributions to society which might otherwise go unrecognized.

“The contribution of British Muslims to the country’s rich multicultural landscape cannot be underestimated.”

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In this Monday, June 2, 2014 photo, a foreign woman wearing a short dress walks at Souq Waqif in Doha, Qatar. A number of Qatari women are aiming to raise awareness with a campaign called ‘Reflect Your Respect’ that promotes modest clothing in the country.

Doha: Mariam Saleh avoids malls and outdoor markets on the weekends because the low-cut tops, sheer dresses and miniskirts that foreign women wear reveal much more than she would like her impressionable young children to see.

Mariam is part of a campaign in Qatar that was spurred by locals who are fed up with the way many tourists and visitors dress, especially as temperatures soar in the Gulf Arab nation. The campaigners say Qatar is, after all, their country, and they should not be the ones feeling uncomfortable because visitors want to show some skin or dress like they would back home.

The campaign is aimed at encouraging foreign women to dress more conservatively. However, it is not spearheaded by religious hard-liners, but by moderate locals who are concerned that a steady influx of foreigners is threatening to uproot their customs and traditions that are deeply rooted in Islam.

The campaigners say they are mothers and wives, but also gatekeepers of Qatar’s Islamic society. Most Qatari women cover their hair and wear long, loose black robes. Many also cover their faces as is common in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, where morality police enforce the region’s strictest dress code on locals and foreigners alike.

The campaigners began handing out flyers this week. They will set up booths on June 20 throughout Doha and plan to distribute more than 200,000 flyers to raise awareness about local sensitivities with slogans such as: “Leggings are not pants” and “If you are in Qatar, you are one of us.”

Children will be wearing the slogans on T-shirts, and men and women will be passing out traditional coffee, chocolates and roses along with the brochures.

The government, which allows alcohol in hotels to accommodate foreigners, is not involved in the campaign, which is being funded by volunteers as well as a women’s business club in Qatar.

The campaigners say it is a grassroots effort aimed at spreading information among foreigners rather than pressing for new laws or reforms. Political activism of any kind is heavily restricted in the country.

Four years ago, concerned citizens launched a campaign called “One of Us” to encourage foreign women to cover from their shoulders to their knees, but the campaign had little impact on visitors who felt out of touch with Qatari society.

This time around, the theme is “Reflect Your Respect.” The flyers that will be passed out have one central plea: “Help us preserve Qatar’s culture and values.”

Businesswoman Suhaila Al Harab, a supporter of the campaign, said: “We’re not telling you not to dress up. Get dressed up, but with respect, with modesty. “I’m coming to a conservative country. I have to respect the culture of this society. This is a sensitive society and one has to be considerate of this point.”

Speaking from her home in Doha, Al Harab says her sons are inundated with Western movies, music and fashion trends. She says Qatar is used to foreigners and is ready to welcome people from around the world for the World Cup, but she is urging visitors to be open to learning and embracing new ideas.

“It’s very nice for a woman to dress modestly,” she said.

British tourist Roger Maynard recently visited Doha’s old souk, or market, with his Spanish wife, who wore a sleeveless dress that came down to her knees. He said they were being careful not to dress inappropriately.

“I think, when in Rome, you should behave like the Romans, and I think you should be conscious of the local culture, and I think it’s quite reasonable,” he said of the campaign’s request.

“That doesn’t mean to say I agree with the culture or particularly the way women are, in a sense, discriminated against. But nonetheless, you come to visit a country, you should accept the culture of that country.”

Islamic teachings hold that most or all of a woman’s body should be concealed from people outside her immediate family.

“The earth has an outer sphere, an atmosphere, to cover and protect it. The egg has its shell. Everything has something that protects it,” Mariam said. “We feel that a woman is like a pearl. She has to have a shell to grow and flourish.”

The post Qataris warning foreigners to dress modestly. appeared first on Muslim Blog.

Farman Ahmad Khan is an eleven-year-old boy who is learning in standard six now in a local Urdu medium school in Pusad in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra. He is the son of an Urdu, Hindi, Persian and English poet and writer, Khan Hasnain Aaqib who is well known with regard to his creative writings in poetry and prose. Farman is the first among three siblings. He was a premature baby, with very little hope to survive but Allah had destined him to survive. When admitted to Al-Hira English School, in Pusad, he was an average student which he remained for the next three years. But suddenly he developed liking for languages spoken around him. Being in an English school, he polished his English under the supervision of his father who also took care of his Urdu. His father always advocated the knowledge of Persian language and literature saying that it had been the official language of India for about eight hundred years. He introduced Farman to Kareema of Saadi, Haafiz, Khusro and other Persian poets at an age when the child was still afraid of sleeping alone and when most of his class mates were busy playing in streets and doing meaningless mischiefs. Farman can now recite Persian poetry without any hesitation and can also explain its meanings. Then he proceeded to Marathi, the regional language which he would listen around him. Hindi has never been a problem to him as the script of Marathi and Hindi is Devnagri and Hindi is very close to Urdu. Soon Farman could read, write and speak Urdu, English, Hindi and Marathi with ease and he knew Persian too even when he was still in standard four at the age of just nine years. People are taken aback when they listen from him the couplets like kareema ba-bakhshaye bar haal-e ma. Ke hastam aseer-e kamand-e hawa. Na daram ghair az tu faryaad ras. Tu-ee ‘aasiyaaN ra khataa baksh-o bas. Nigah daar ma ra za rahe khataa. Khataa dar guzaar-o sawabam numa (Saadi) or Husn-e Yusuf, dam-e Eesa, yad-e baiza daari. AaN che khoobaaN hama darand, tu tanha daari (Wamiq).

Farman’s achievements have been receiving acclaim from all sections of society including professors, engineers, social and educational organizations and intellectuals. He participates in Mushairas and recites poetry with elan.

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Islamabad, May 28:

The Kashmir issue was raised by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his first meeting with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, a top Pakistani advisor said today, discounting reports that the issue was sidelined during the talks.

All contentious issues were discussed during the 45-minute meeting between Sharif and Modi in New Delhi, said Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan Prime Minister’s Advisor on National Security and Foreign Affairs.

“The issue of Kashmir was raised and to say that Kashmir was sidelined is not correct,” Aziz said when asked whether the Kashmir issue was sidelined during the meeting.

“Pakistan has a clear stance on Kashmir as without its resolution the objective of long-lasting peace could not be achieved,” he said.

Aziz was addressing a press conference on his return from New Delhi along with Prime Minister Sharif to attend India’s new Prime Minister Modi’s swearing-in ceremony.

He also said both countries have agreed to resolve all issues through dialogue and cooperation for bringing peace to the region.

Aziz, who heads the foreign ministry and considered very close to Shairf, emphasised that there was a clear recognition of each other’s concerns and that outcome of the meeting was much better than what the Pakistani delegation had expected.

Sharif stressed the need for moving forward in the dialogue process in the light of the Lahore Declaration signed in 1999 and work to resolve all outstanding issues.

During his visit, Sharif did not meet Kashmiri separatist Hurriyat representatives, a normal norm for most of the Pakistani leadership, nor did he mention Kashmir in his pre-departure statement.

Aziz said both countries also agreed to work together for eliminating terrorism.

During the meeting, Modi had voiced India’s concerns over terrorism originating from Pakistan.

Aziz said issues, including Mumbai attacks and Samjhauta Express incidents, were discussed in the meeting besides confidence building and enhancing bilateral trade.

The advisor said during the visit both the Prime Ministers had wide-ranging talks and discussed all contentious issues.

Aziz also said both leaders agreed that their foreign secretaries would meet to resume talks to move forward the peace process.

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Hyderabad, May 29:

TRS MLC Mohammed Mahmood Ali has appealed the people to make the Telangana bandh on May 29 successful. He appealed the people of Telangana region in general and people of twin cities Hyderabad and Secunderabad in particular to take part in the bandh being organized against discrepancy towards Telangana and express anger against Central government. He appealed educational and business institutions to take part in bandh as appealed by KCR.

Mahmood Ali told that with the formation of central government it is showing discrepancy dancing to the tune of Telugu Desam. Just two days after Narendra Modi took oath as Prime Minister anti- Telangana decision was taken, 7 mandals of Khammam are allotted to Andhra Pradesh while Khammam is the integral part of Telangana. He told that if silence is maintained at such discrepancies, injustices would be done in other fields in the coming days.

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Beirut, May 28:

Syrian nationals in Lebanon and Jordan started to cast their ballots for a new president at embassies Wednesday irrespective of strong criticism of the elections from western countries and the UN.

Balloting at the Syrian embassy in Beirut began at 7.00 a.m. Wednesday, and was previously scheduled to carry on till 7.00 p.m. before being extended, Xinhua reported.

“Due to the heavy participation in the elections, the embassy was forced to extend the voting till Thursday midnight, so all the Syrian nationals living in Lebanon could cast their votes,” Syrian ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali said.

“The Syrian embassy will prepare the list of turnouts to be submitted to the Supreme Election Commission authorized to announce the results,” he added.

“All Syrians who were unable to record their names at the embassy should head on June 3 to one of the electoral centres on the border crossings,” the ambassador said.

According to the latest UN statistics, Lebanon now hosts more than one million Syrian refugees, which, as the Lebanese government claims, adds to another half a million Syrians who already live in the country before the Syrian crisis erupted. The influx of refugees has brought a huge mount of pressure on the Lebanese society.

Also, hundreds of Syrian nationals in Jordan started to cast their ballots in the presidential elections. In addition to supporters of incumbent President Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian embassy in Amman also saw scores of Syrians carrying flags of the Free Syrian Army and chanting slogans against Assad and those who take part in the elections.

After overseas voting, a domestic one is scheduled for next Tuesday. More than 15 million eligible voters in and out of Syria are expected to cast their ballots.

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Benghazi, May 28:

Warplanes belonging to Libya’s “coup” general Khalifa Haftar Wednesday launched an air strike on Jihadist militia bases in Benghazi city, military officials said.

Two fighters bombed the February 17 Brigade militia compound and the Ansar al-Sharia militant base in Libya’s second largest city Benghazi, witnesses said. The two militia groups under attack did not disclose their casualties and damages.

The attacks came weeks after Haftar and his allied armed forces launched “Operation Dignity” to “purge terrorists.”

Haftar, who played a major role in toppling Libya’s former leader Muammar Gaddafi, is now waging a war on Benghazi and the interim parliament, trying to force the parliament to abandon power.

He claimed that his manoeuvers were to purge “terrorists” from the authorities, but his actions have been condemned as a “coup” by the parliament.

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Kabul, May 28:

Afghan government Wednesday welcomed US president’s plan to keep about 9,800 troops after 2014 in Afghanistan but virtually withdrawing all by the end of 2016.

“The United States government announced that, within a schedule, it will reduce to zero the number of its combat troops in Afghanistan. The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan welcomes this decision by the United States,” Xinhua quoted a statement issued by Afghan Presidential Palace as saying.

“When the government of Afghanistan first launched the security transition from foreign to Afghan forces, the intent was that the security and protection for Afghanistan be provided by its own forces. The process went ahead as planned and yielded the result,” it said.

President Barack Obama Tuesday announced a plan for keeping 9,800 troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014, but virtually withdrawing all by the end of 2016 and thus brings to end the America’s longest war.

Over 52,000 NATO-ISAF forces with some 33,000 of them Americans are presently stationed in Afghanistan.

–IANS

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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has congratulated newly-elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his party’s victory in the recently concluded parliamentary elections and expressed the hope that Tehran and New Delhi will enhance bilateral relations, media reported Tuesday.

“Undoubtedly, your election, which was marked by mass participation of people from all walks of life, indicates the full confidence of the Indian nation in your developmental and prudent policies,” the semi-official FARS news agency quoted the Iranian president as saying in his message Monday.

Rouhani also wished more success for Modi and prosperity for the Indian people.

Earlier this month, the Iranian foreign ministry had congratulated the Indian people for the successful parliamentary elections in the country.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran congratulates the holding of this vibrant election to the (Indian) people, government, political parties and leaders, specially the BJP,” Marziyeh Afkham, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, said.

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