Today's Top Islamic News (DAILY)

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MOGADISHU — 10-year-old Abdi Adan Nur can't remember a happy moment in his life. "I have never done anything nice in my life, let alone go to school," he told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Monday, March 16.

"I can only read a few lines of the Qur'an," added the young child, wearing a torn red T-shirt dangling from his bony shoulders with no shoes.

Every morning, Nur leaves home without breakfast to polish shoes in central Mogadishu.

"On a good day, I get about 40,000 shillings (1.5 dollars) and I give it to my mother so that she can prepare a decent meal," he said, fumbling a wad of grimy notes in his trouser pocket.

Somali boys become bread-winners at a very early age and many of them begin their lonely struggle for survival as shoe-shiners.

In a country where the alternative would often be to join an armed militia, all they dream of is a chance to a normal life and go to school.

"I believe I have the right to a better life and education, just like the children in the West," said Hassan Qasim, a 12-year-old orphan.

According to UN estimates, only 22 percent of Somali children attended primary school between 2000 and 2006. Only six percent were enrolled in secondary schools.

"The war took everything, leaving children from poor families like me in misery," said Qasim.

Somalia has been without effective government since the ouster of former president Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

More than 14 attempts to restore a functional government have since failed.

Worst-ever

As the country is still wracked by daily violence, many Somali children fell prey to militias and armed gangs.

"The children in this country are facing their worst time ever," said Abdullahi Mohamed Yasin, a human rights activist in Mogadishu.

"Nobody is caring for them. Some of them have joined armed groups and are dying in the war."

Abdirasak Ali lost three of his friends after joining an armed group.

"Some of my friends went with the armed groups and three of them died already," he told AFP.

"I don't want to join them."

The small boy hopes the election of Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed as Somalia's president will augur well for the future of his war-torn homeland.

"I believe that with the election of the new president our hopes are higher than before," Ali said.

"We need an education, we don't want to spend all day running after people's shoes in the streets."

Before the Ethiopian invasion in 2006, Sharif and his Islamic Courts Union managed to restore a rare security to the Horn of African nation.

"I hope the new president will set up programs to improve our lives, if he manages to ensure security that is," said Qasim, the 12-year-old orphan.

But many Somali children are still pessimistic about any change in their life.

"I think there is more suffering ahead," said Abdulkadir Kusow.

"I have been a shoe-shiner for nearly two years and see no hope for peace yet. Everybody is armed in this country and everybody wants to be president."

Picking from a pile of gravel and tossing the stones one by one on the street, the young child shakes his head with the dejected smirk of a wizened adult.

"So I just need to work hard and forget about all this stupid politics."

Source: IslamOnline

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CAIRO — In a classified report, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) blasted physical and psychological brutality against terror detainees in CIA prisons overseas to "the verge of death and back." "The ill-treatment to which they were subjected while held in the CIA program, either singly or in combination, constituted torture," according to the report cited the Washington Post on Monday, March 16.

The report, which dates back to 2007, said physical and psychological brutality inside CIA prisons overseas amounted to "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment."

It said detainees were routinely beaten, doused with cold water and slammed head-first into walls.

"On a daily basis…a collar was looped around my neck and then used to slam me against the walls of the interrogation room," detainee Tawfiq bin Attash says in the report.

He said waterboarding, or simulated drowning, was a common technique used before interrogation sessions.

"I would be wrapped inside the sheet with cold water for several minutes. Then I would be taken for interrogation."

The report, based on access to 14 high-value CIA detainees, said that detainees were stripped off clothing, bombarded with loud music, exposed to cold temperatures and deprived of sleep and solid food for days.

Some were even forced to stand for days, with their arms shackled above them, wearing only diapers.

The ICRC report was shared with the CIA and White House officials in 2007, but was prohibited from public release.

Legal Implications

Zayn al-Abidin Mohammed Hussein, a Saudi-born Palestinian detainee, was also subjected to waterboarding, which the Obama administration recognizes as torture.

"A black cloth was then placed over my face and the interrogators used a mineral bottle to pour water on the cloth so that I could not breathe," he said.

"I struggled against the straps, trying to breathe, but it was hopeless.

"I though I was going to die."

He was also placed in coffin-like wooden boxes in which he was forced to crouch, with no light and a restricted air supply.

"The stress on my legs held in this position meant my wounds both in my leg and stomach became very painful."

Geneve Mantri, a counterterrorism specialist at Amnesty International, said the findings were shocking.

"This story goes even further and deeper than many of us suspected. The more details we find out, the more shocking this becomes," he said.

"It's clear that senior officials were warned from the very beginning that the treatment that detainees were subjected to amounted to torture."

Many of the abuse details have been reported previously, but the ICRC report is the most authoritative account and the first to use the word "torture" in a legal context.

"It could not be more important that the ICRC explicitly uses the words 'torture' and 'cruel and degrading,' " Journalism professor Mark Danner, who obtained the report, told the Post.

"The ICRC is the guardian of the Geneva Conventions, and when it uses those words, they have the force of law."

Source: IslamOnline

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PILIBHIT/NEW DELHI: Varun Gandhi, a member of the Gandhi-Nehru family and a BJP candidate in the coming Lok Sabha elections, has stirred a major
controversy by making inflammatory remarks against members of a community over which the Election Commission has slapped a notice seeking his explanation.

"This is not a 'Hand' (Congress symbol), it is the power of the 'Lotus' (BJP symbol). It will cut the head of ... Jai Shri Ram," Gandhi, son of the late Sanjay Gandhi and Maneka, said from the top of his voice addressing an election meeting in Pilibhit from where he is being fielded.

Continuing in the same vein, he told another meeting "If anyone raises a finger towards Hindus or if someone thinks that Hindus are weak and leaderless, if someone thinks that these leaders lick our boots for votes, if anyone raises a finger towards Hindus, then I swear on Gita that I will cut that hand."

Congress, headed by Varun's aunt Sonia Gandhi, was quick to condemn the remarks as "unethical and against law".

"It is condemnable... He (Varun) is associated with a party which has this ideology (anti-minority) and culture," Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters here.

On a complaint from the Congress party, Varun was slapped with a notice by the Election Commission charging him with violation of the model code of conduct for elections by his alleged making communal remarks during a rally held on March 6 in Pilibhit.

"Notices have been issued to BJP candidate from Pilibhit and state unit president for their alleged communal remarks. They have been asked to submit their replies," election officials in Lucknow said here.

But Varun, whose mother is also a BJP MP, denied the charge in his reply submitted to the District Magistrate M P Agarwal.

The DM said that a complaint was received from the Congress against Varun on which an inquiry had been ordered. He said that the inquiry would be conducted by sub-divisional magistrate Bisalpur M S Akhtar.

"Making communal or casteist remarks amounts to violation of the model code of conduct," officials said.

Varun Gandhi is contesting from Pilibhit seat from where Maneka was elected in the last general election. Maneka, is contesting from Aonla parliamentary constituency this time.

Asked if he was surprised by Varun's speech, Singhvi shot back "why should we be surprised". The BJP has this ideology and culture, he added.

BJP leader Chandan Mitra said the Election Commission has to take cognisance of the remarks.

If Election Commission is convinced that Varun Gandhi has said the remarks attributed to him, the young BJP leader should be given full opportunity to defend himself, Mitra said.

"If the Commission comes to a conclusion that he (Varun) had indeed said it and it does violate the election code of conduct then obviously, the laws of the land must take precedence," he said.

Mitra added that the Election Commission alone can determine what constitutes violation.

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It is the worst kind of communal provocation and comes from the 29-year-old great grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru, Varun Gandhi. Varun, who is fighting elections from his mother's pocket borough of Pilibhit in western UP, targets the Muslim community with hatred and venom. Hear his chilling words spoken at a series of election rallies in Pilibhit.

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New Delhi: Varun Gandhi's hate speech against Muslims has landed him in trouble with the Election Commission sending a notice to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader after CNN-IBN showed his speech.

The Election Commission will meet on Tuesday to discuss the issue and has also asked for the tapes to review his speech.

CNN-IBN on Monday showed Varun making a provocative speech targeting Muslims.

On the campaign trail, Varun had reportedly said that he will cut the hands of those who target Hindus.

"They have scary names - Karimullah, Nazarullah - its scary to see them at night. I have a cousin - my aunt's daughter - she saw a pamphlet which had photos of all candidates. When my cousin who is seven-eight years old, saw Samajwadi Party's candidate's photo, she said Bhaiya (big brother), I didn't know that Osama Bin Laden is fighting from your constituency," Varun said in his speech.
IBN

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Varun's speech marks a new low in Indian politics

"This is not a "hand", this is the power of the lotus. This will cut the head of the Muslim. Jai Shri Ram. If anyone raises a finger towards Hindus, or if someone thinks that Hindus are weak and leaderless... if someone thinks that these leaders lick our boots for our votes... if anyone raises a finger towards Hindus - then I swear on the Gita that I will cut that hand," he said.

Varun had been sent a notice by the District Magistrate on Sunday but he denied the charge in his written reply to the District Magistrate.

"I did not make any communal comments. It's been misquoted," he said.

The issue came to light when a local group filed a report which claimed Varun had made provocative speeches with communal undertones during his election rallies. Varun is contesting from Pilibhit seat from where his mother Maneka Gandhi was elected in the last Lok Sabha.

Constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap said prime facie the speech is a violation of the Model Code of Conduct.

"Once enquiry results are out then only it can be decided if action can be taken against Varun Gandhi. The speech is a violation of Model Code of Conduct," said Kashyap.

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MUMBAI: The Andheri tantrik who allegedly raped two minor sisters living in Mira Road, and who encouraged their father to rape the older girl
over a period of nine years, may have sexually preyed on other women and girls as well.

The older sister, who is 21 years old today, told her maternal uncle (the man who had helped the girls take the matter to the police) that the 55-year-old tantrik, Hasmukh Rathod, had sexually abused other women as well. The uncle told TOI, “There is another woman and her daughter from Mira Road and a girl from Santa Cruz who were also sexually abused.’’

The Mira Road police said that as of now they had no knowledge about whether the tantrik was involved in a wider sex racket, but they would investigate the matter. They said the girl had not mentioned other victims in her initial statement. However, when she is released from the Thane Civil Hospital today, the police said they would get a detailed statement from her and ask about other possible victims, their names, addresses and other details.

The girls’ maternal uncle said he hoped the police would uncover the truth because he wanted the tantrik to face the strictest possible punishment and to be denied bail. The police said the younger sister, who is 17, had been raped once by the tantrik but not by her 49-year-old father. The girl told police that she was taken to the tantrik’s home in Juhu Gully by her mother. “Rathod chanted something and tied sacred threads on our wrists, before he stripped us,’’ she said. He then had sex with both women.

The tantrik allegedly encouraged the father of the family to rape his elder daughter, saying that he could become prosperous by doing so. The abuse went on for nine years and the mother was aware of it. She has said she had consensual intercourse with the tantrik. The tantrik had sex with the older girl as well and allegedly made the mother stand nearby naked during the act.

The father and the tantrik will be produced before a local court in Thane on Saturday, along with the 47-year-old mother who has been booked for abetting the rapes.

While the two girls want their father to be punished severely, they appear to be sympathetic towards their mother. “She had no choice but to obey our father and the tantrik,’’ the older girl said. The younger sister added, “She should be allowed to go home as she has severe arthritis in her knees.’’

The older girl told the police that she had considered committing suicide or running away from home, but the damage it would have caused to her family’s reputation had prevented her from doing so. “There were times when I had given up on life completely,’’ she said in her statement. “When a child is in trouble, she first approaches her parents for help and protection, but who would protect me from my own father who had behaved like a beast?’’ The girl had however confided in a close friend, who had encouraged her to complain about her parents.

Police officials said the girl was in complete control of her emotions while the FIR was being registered, but she could not bear to face her father at the police station. “She gets furious at the mere mention of him and doesn’t want to see his face again. For nine years, she was repeatedly raped by him and the tantrik. They threatened her with dire consequences and she was forced to keep mum. In November, when the tantrik raped her 15-year-old sister and also involved her mother in the act, the victim decided she had had enough. She is extremely protective about her younger sister,’’ a senior police official said.

“Rathod had group sex with the victim’s parents on the pretext of helping them achieve ‘spiritual growth’. The victim’s mother has admitted that she had consensual intercourse with Rathod in her husband’s presence,’’ the officer said.

The older girl also said that Rathod would give her birth-control pills and sedatives on occasion. “We have asked the Thane civil hospital to conduct medical tests and prepare a report on the number of times the victim was raped, whether she was pregnant at any time and had to undergo an abortion, whether she has any internal injuries and, most important, if she has contracted any disease,’’ said SDPO Maithili Jha.

The uncle is now worried about the future of the two sisters. “My elder niece had started working in a family-owned shop for designed radium number plates at Santa Cruz. The family has another shop at Mira Road. But the younger girl was to appear for her Class X CBSE board exams in April. She is traumatised and I doubt whether she will be able to write her papers,’’ he said. She now plans to do the exam privately.

The uncle added that he was planning to adopt both girls so that they would never have to return to their parents. He runs a car interiors business.

The younger girl’s statement will be recorded in the presence of a Special Executive Magistrate. The police plan to counsel both girls once they are discharged from hospital on Saturday.

The girls’ grandmother, who lives at Santa Cruz, is with them at the hospital. “The victim’s father used to prevent her from visiting her grandmother’s place as he was scared she would disclose the goings-on,’’ an officer said.
TOI

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LONDON
: A row has erupted in Britain over the government's new campaign to encourage young women to carry condoms, with Labour ministers being
accused of promoting promiscuity.

The 5.2 pound million publicity drive by the UK Department of Health tells women that men are attracted to females who carry contraceptives.

The campaign labelled, "Condom confidence boosts sex appeal", advises that "men like nothing better than a woman who knows what she wants", the Daily Telegraph reported on Friday.

The campaign launched by health minister Dawn Primarolo also gives tips to young women on how to persuade their partners to use condoms.

Recommended phrases include "If you make it clean, I'll make it dirty" and "Let's get you ready for the ride of your life", the report said. Women are told that they are no longer regarded as "easy" for carrying a condom.

"Taking a condom on a night out should be as normal as taking a phone, keys and purse," Cosmopolitan magazine writer Sarah Hedley, brought in to speak for the campaign, is quoted as saying by the British daily.

"There has never been a better time for women to be condom confident and enjoy a healthy, active sex life," she said.

However, Conservative lawmaker Julian Brazier, while accepting condoms have some role to play in fighting sexually-transmitted infections, said "it is very sad that the authors of this document do not seem to understand that the problem starts with growing levels of sexual activity by people with multiple partners."

"This campaign is contributing to the further growth of the problem rather than to public health," the Tory MP underlined.

Patricia Morgan, author of studies of teenage pregnancy, said the campaign was like notices on girls foreheads "saying they are available".

"You could hardly do more to encourage promiscuity. It is close to asking girls to go about the place with notices on their foreheads saying they are available," Morgan said.
BBC

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EIU: UK at risk of social unrest, Iran safe
Sat, 21 Mar 2009 03:19:56 GMT
On March 19, nationwide strikes by angry workers demanded that French President, Nicolas Sarkozy do more to fight the economic crisis.
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) says the UK faces the risk of social unrest in two years, while for Iran the risk is close to none.

The Britain-based research and advisory company said in a report on Friday that "popular anger around the world is growing as a result of rising unemployment, pay cuts and freezes, bail-outs for banks" consequently, this economic turmoil may put political regimes at risk.

The report said that 95 countries were at "high or very high" risk of social unrest.

Zimbabwe, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cambodia and Sudan, were at the top of the list of high-risk countries.

However, three of the European Union's neighbors - Ukraine, Moldova and Hercegovina - were rated as being at "very high risk" of social upheaval, the report said.

The report pointed out two European governments - in Iceland and Latvia - had already fallen as a result of crisis, while hinting that the British government could follow the two.

"The UK has been among the worst-hit developed countries by the global downturn and the majority of the population fears a deep and long recession and the onset of mass unemployment. Popular discontent and anger are likely to rise, and populist sentiments to strengthen. The news of big personal pay-outs to bankers who have failed spectacularly has incensed public opinion," the report added.

"Somewhat surprisingly given the UK's traditions, according to a February 2009 poll for Prospect magazine, 37% of respondents (more than 50% among older age groups) predicted that "there will be serious social unrest in British cities" requiring the army to restore order. As in other countries, anti-immigrant sentiment could also intensify" the report said.

The report, however, listed Iran and China as the only countries in low risk categories, arguing that the economy of the two countries is not, or is less dependent on that of the others.

"As the downturn worsens, far more intense and long-lasting events can be expected, such as armed rebellions, military coups, and civil conflicts and perhaps even wars between states," the report concluded.

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SAN JUAN (PUERTO RICO): Many detainees locked up at Guantanamo were innocent men swept up by US forces unable to distinguish enemies from
noncombatants, a former Bush administration official said on Thursday.

“There are still innocent people there,” Lawrence Wilkerson, a Republican who was chief of staff to then-secretary of state Colin Powell, said. “Some have been there six or seven years.”

Wilkerson, who made the assertions in an internet posting, said he learned by communicating with army commanders that the US soon realized many Guantanamo detainees were innocent but nevertheless held them in hopes they could provide information for a “mosaic” of intelligence. He said analysts hoped to gather “sufficient information about a village, a region, or a group of individuals, that dots could be connected and terrorists could be identified.”

Former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld and vice president Dick Cheney fought efforts to address the situation, Wilkerson said, as “to have admitted this reality would have been a black mark on their leadership.” He said that many detainees “clearly had no connection to al-Qaida and the Taliban and were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Pakistanis turned many over for $5,000 a head.”

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India turns to Israel to avert Mumbai replay?
Sat, 21 Mar 2009 01:32:51 GMT
Launch of Tecsar, the previous satellite India bought from Israel.
India has purchased a high-precision reconnaissance satellite from Israel to beef up intelligence acquisition after the Mumbai terror attacks.

The radar-imaging satellite, which is now deployed in the Sriharikota spaceport in southern India, is to be launched by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in the first week of April, The Hindu reported on Thursday.

The orbiter, named RISAT 2, surpasses the currently operational Indian satellites in its capability to acquire images in all weathers and throughout the day.

New Delhi, which had already bought an Israeli satellite with comparable features, resolved on the purchase of a second one after last November's terror attacks on Mumbai. Ten militants, allegedly Pakistani nationals, attacked several sites across the financial hub during the calamitous incident.

Frequent warnings of the recurrence of the raids were also said to have fast-tracked the move.

New Delhi, which enjoys good defense cooperation with Israel, had also asked Tel Aviv to help launch retaliatory attacks inside Pakistan, Israeli website Debkafile said early last December.

Israel reportedly welcomed the move to avenge the murder of six Jews in Mumbai's Chabad center in November.

Israeli intelligence operatives' reputation for impeccable conduct of such missions had reportedly driven India to come up with such a request.

HN/SME/MMN