bounty for Saeed

Saeed was placed under house arrest in December 2008, but a court set him free by August 2009 [EPA]

The US has announced $10m bounty on Hafiz Saeed, accused of masterminding the 2008 attacks in Mumbai. Wendy Sherman, the US undersecretary of state, on a visit to India, said a $3m bounty had also been announced for Abul Rehman Makki, the brother-in-law of Saeed, leader of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (Army of the Righteous) group. Speaking to Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder shortly afterwards, Saeed said the US move was prompted by the fact that he had been organising rallies against the opening of supply lines to NATO forces in Afghanistan. Pakistan closed down the crucial supply route in November after a US cross-border attack left 28 Pakistani soldiers dead. Rewards for Justice, a programme sponsored by the US State Department, announced the cash reward for the 62-year old Saeed on its website. "Saeed is suspected of masterminding numerous terrorist attacks, including the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which resulted in the deaths of 166 people, including six American citizens,” the page said. Ajmal Kasab, the only surviving gunman involved in the three-day rampage in November 2008, has been sentenced to death by an Indian court. Kasab accused Saeed of organising the attack, which involved 10 gunmen, 9 of whom were killed during the shootout. Lashkar-e-Taiba, designated as a terrorist organisation by the US in December 2001, is accused by India of carrying out several attacks, including the one on Mumbai. "Popular man" India welcomed the move as a reflection of India and US's commitment "to bring perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attacks" to justice. Mumbai Attacks Timeline: Mumbai assault ISI link to Mumbai attack claimed FBI was 'alerted' to Mumbai plot Mumbai attacker sentenced to death Hafiz Saeed rejects Indian charges "[The bounty] sends a strong signal to Lashkar-e-Taiba as also its members and patrons that the international community remains united in combating terrorism," Syed Akbaruddin, spokesman for India's ministry of external affairs said on Twitter. Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Lahore, where Saeed is believed to be based, said Pakistan was pressured to ban Saeed's outfits after the US invasion of Afghanistan. Lashkar-e-Taiba was the military wing of his larger organisation, Jamaat-ud-Dawah. "He started a foundation, and his men played a key role in aid efforts after earthquake in Kashmir, and the floods in Pakistan. They still are the main frontline in any calamity. He has denied that he has any links to militancy," our correspondent said. “A man who is popular across the country- it's not going to go down very well. It is also symbolic - that the annoucment came in India, by a high ranking US diplomat. That will be an irritant.” The announcement comes as Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan's president, is due to visit India for the first time since the attacks in Mumbai. The bounty on Saeed, same as the Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar, is only second to Ayman al Zawahiri, who succeeded Osama bin Laden as the al-Qaeda chief. Zawahiri has $25m bounty on his head.

Pakistan court sentences bin Laden wives

A Pakistani court has sentenced Osama bin Laden's three widows and two of his daughters to a month and a half in prison for illegal residency.

The court on Monday also ordered the government to arrange the repatriation of the wives.

"The judge has announced a one-and-a-half month imprisonment to all the five accused. The punishment was announced today. He has also imposed a fine of 10,000 rupees," Zakarya Ahmad Abd al-Fattah, the Yemeni brother of one of the wives, told reporters.

"The court has also given direction to the government to arrange the necessary documents for their earliest repatriation, so that they can go to their own country as soon as possible," Fattah told reporters.

Muhammad Aamir, their lawyer, said the period of detention began on March 3, when they were formally arrested on charges of illegal entry and residency in Pakistan and that they would continue to be held at their villa in Islamabad.

"The interior secretary has been directed to arrange their deportation," Aamir told reporters outside the villa, which officials have declared a "sub jail".

"I think it will be completed probably in two weeks," he said.

Bin Laden's two Saudi and one Yemeni widows, together with their children, have been living under the protection of the authorities in Pakistan since he was killed last year.

Bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, was in hiding since the September 11 attacks on the United States.

He was killed on May 2 in a secret raid by US special forces when he was found to be hiding out in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad.

Bin Laden's wives, and an undisclosed number of children, were among the 16 people detained by Pakistani authorities after the raid.

A Pakistani commission has interviewed the family members for clues about how the former al-Qaeda chief managed to stay in the country undetected.

The country has always said it would look after bin Laden's family until they could be repatriated to their homelands.

Jazeera

Deaths in US college shooting

A suspect is detained after seven people are killed by a gunman at a Christian institution in Oakland, California.

A suspect has been detained in a shooting attack at a private Christian college in Oakland, California, in which seven people have been killed, police said. Three others were wounded in the shooting at Oikos University on Monday morning. The institution offers studies in theology, music, nursing and Asian medicine. The suspect was taken into custody at a shopping mall several miles away from the scene of the shooting, police said. Authorities did not immediately offer a motive for the rampage, but said they believed the gunman had acted alone. He was not immediately identified. The Oakland police department had tweeted that the suspect was "male, Asian, heavy build, khaki clothing, near or in area." The school's founder, Pastor Jong Kim, told the Oakland Tribune newspaper that the gunman had been a nursing student there, but was no longer enrolled. A spokeswoman for Highland Memorial Hospital in Oakland said four people were being treated there for injuries sustained in the attack. Nearby business centres were evacuated and shut down for the day as officers searched the school and surrounding area. Police and SWAT teams took position around the building and rushing inside as officers helped students evacuate the campus. Five ambulances were dispatched to a "multi-patient medical scene," the  Oakland fire fepartment said on its Twitter feed, citing reports of "multiple  stabbing/gunshot victims." Local television footage showed wounded victims being carried from a building. Institution not accredited The institution does not show up on the US Department of Education's list of accredited schools, and appears to cater largely to the area's Korean community. Its website says it trains men and women "for Christian leadership, both lay and clerical." It's not clear how many students attend the school, or the size of its faculty. The shooting came just over a month after a student gunman in Ohio opened fire in a high  school cafeteria, killing three students. It was the deadliest outburst of gun violence at a US school since a Virginia Tech student shot and killed 32 people and himself in a 2007 massacre on that campus

Russian passenger plane crashes in Siberia

A Russian passenger plane has crashed in Siberia, killing at least 29 of the 43 people on board, according to state media. The ATR 72, a twin-engine, turbo-propeller airplane, crashed on Monday about 30-35km from the Western Siberian city of Tyumen. "Twenty nine people are reported now to have died, and 14 others evacuated or rescued," Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford reporting from Moscow said, citing state media. "We're also hearing that two black boxes, the flight recorders, have been recovered from the flight, and emergency services have put out the fires." The plane took off from the Siberian town of Tyumen and was heading towards Surgut when it crashed. Children among victims According to Russian news agencies, the plane disappeared from radar screens shortly after take-off and crashed about 40km from the airport at around 7:50am (01:50 GMT). Rescue teams found the plane's cabin ablaze along with other debris. The aircraft burst into flames and broke into pieces upon impact, Russia Today television said. It also said that children were among the victims of the crash. Survivors are said to have sustained serious injuries and burns and were transported to a nearby hospital by helicopter, and five survivors were in the hospital in critical condition, the television station said. "This particular airline does have a history of air accidents... but at this point there are no details on exactly what happened," our correspondent said. "It seems as if a criminal investigation has opened on the case... We don't know what caused the crash at this stage." Thanks : AlJazeera

For Our French Brothers And Sisters - Observateur et très vigilant sont des qualificatifs appliqués aux deux anges qui notent les actes des fidèles serviteurs (d'Allah)

Est-ce que l'Observateur et le Vigilant sont des anges? Quelles sont leurs fonctions? Suivent ils l'homme même dans les toilettes?

Louanges à Allah

Premièrement, les deux qualificatifs sont appliqués aux anges chargés d'écrire tous ce que les humains font bon ou mauvais. Ils s'appliquent à chacun d'eux réellement. Celui qui se trouve à droite de l'individu est un observateur vigilant comme celui qui se trouve à sa gauche. A ce propos Allah le Puissant et Majestueux dit: «Nous avons effectivement créé l'homme et Nous savons ce que son âme lui suggère et Nous sommes plus près de lui que sa veine jugulaire, quand les deux recueillant, assis à droite et à gauche, recueillent. Il ne prononce pas une parole sans avoir auprès de lui un observateur prêt à l'inscrire» (Coran,50:16-18).

Al-Hafizh ibn Kathir (puisse Allah lui accorder Sa miséricorde)dit : «quand les deux recueillant recueillent…» renvoient aux deux anges qui enregistrent les actes de l'humain «assis à droite et à gauche» signifie en position d'observateur «il ne prononce pas» c'est-à-dire: l'humain. «une parole» c'est-à-dire un mot «sans le contrôle d'un observateur très vigilant» c'est-à-dire sans que ses propos et actes ne soient notés. C'est dans ce sens que le Très haut dit: «alors que veillent sur vous des gardiens de nobles scribes, qui savent ce que vous faites» (Coran, 82: 10-12).Tafsir al-Qour'an al-azhim,7/398.

Quant à dire que l'un des deux anges s'appelle Observateur et l'autre Vigilant, c'est s'opposer au sens apparent du noble verset. Le docteur Souleyman al-Ashquar (puisse Allah le protéger) dit: «certains ulémas mentionnent qu'il y a un ange qui s'appelle Observateur vigilant en s'appuyant sur la parole du Très haut: «  Il ne prononce pas une parole sans avoir auprès de lui un observateur prêt à l'inscrire» (Coran,50:16-18).. Ce qu'ils ont mentionné n'est pas exact. L'observateur et le très vigilant sont des qualificatifs appliqués aux deux anges qui enregistrent les actes des fidèles. Les qualificatifs signifient: anges témoins toujours présents puisqu'ils ne s'absentent jamais. Il ne s'agit pas de deux noms pour les deux anges.» Extrait de aalam al-malaika al-abaar,p. 12. Voir dans notre site la réponse donnée à la question n° 6523.

Deuxièmement, quant à savoir si les anges en question suivent l'individu dans les toilette, on a déjà abordé la question exhaustivement dans le cadre de la réponse donnée à la question n° 147161. On y a indiqué clairement que selon le Livre et la Sunna, tout fidèle serviteur d'Allah est confié à deux anges qui observent ses mouvements et repos, enregistrent ses actes et recensent tout ce qui provient de lui, qu'il s'agisse d'un bon acte ou d'un acte de rébellion, qu'il soit dans un endroit honorable ou dans un lieu méprisable.

Cependant, il n'est pas mentionné dans le Livre et la Sunna l'explication de la modalité du recensement et s'il impliquent que les anges suivent l'individu dans chaque endroit et restent avec lui pendant qu'il accomplit les différents composantes de chacune de ses actions ou si Allah les a dotés de la capacité de connaître les actes et de les enregistrer sans avoir à accompagner le fidèle dans chaque endroit qu'il pénètre. C'est un devoir que de s'en tenir à ce qui est reçu, quitte à s'en remettre à Allah de ce qui n'est pas reçu. C'est dans ce sens que Said ibn Djoubayr (Puisse Allah lui accorder Sa miséricorde) «A bien fait celui qui s'en tient à ce qu'il a entendu.»

Allah le sait mieux.

Media battle heats up in Sri Lanka, again

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On March 22, the UN Human Rights Commission voted to investigate alleged war crimes committed during the Sri Lankan civil war. The war itself ended back in 2009, but the battle against independent journalists is far from over. In the past two months, state-run media have been targetting journalists critical of the government, labelling them as 'traitors'. Mervyn Silva, the public relations minister to Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Sri Lankan president, took to the airwaves announcing that he would 'break the limbs' of any journalist who attempted to challenge the government's narrative on the war. Thanks -Al Jazeera Opposition voices on this island have been continuously threatened, silenced and forced into exile, so journalists and press freedom groups alike are not taking the threat lightly. In this week's News Divide, we look at the media battle that is intensifying in an already fragile media environment.

ALMONDS

 

The health benefits of almonds include getting relief from constipation, respiratory disorders, cough, hearth disorders, anemia, impotency, and diabetes. It also helps in hair care, skin care (psoriasis), and dental care.

Found in places like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Israel, almond is a very nutritious nut. It is a rich source of vitamin E, calcium, phosphorous, iron and magnesium. It also contains zinc, selenium, copper and niacin. Almonds contain the most nutrients in comparison to all other nuts.

Both sweet and bitter almonds are available. Usually, sweet almonds are edible and bitter almonds are used to make almond oil, which is used to add flavor to food. Almonds are usually eaten raw, but people also add them as ingredients in salads. Almond milk is a delicious drink.

You can eat almonds directly, preferably eat it empty stomach to ensure absorption of their nutrients. You can soak them in water overnight and eat in the morning. You can also garnish various dishes with crushed almonds.

Almonds are also known to have great medicinal value. Few of the benefits of almonds are given below.

Good for brain: Almond is a source of many nutrients which help in development of the brain. Almond induces high intellectual level and has been considered as an essential food item for growing children. Many mothers give almonds soaked in water to their children daily in the morning (2-3 pieces of soaked almonds are good enough, you can also remove the outer shell if it causes allergy to you.

Regulates cholesterol: Regular consumption of almonds helps to increase the level of high density lipoproteins (HDL) and reduce the level of low density lipoproteins (LDL), thereby effectively controlling cholesterol levels. LDL cholesterol is called bad cholesterol.

Good for heart: Mono-saturated fat, protein and potassium contained in almonds are good for the heart. Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant and reduces the risk of heart diseases. The presence of magnesium in almonds helps to avoid heart attacks. Almonds help reduce C-reactive protein which causes artery-damaging inflammation. Almond is also a source of folic acid. They therefore help to reduce the level of homocystein, which causes fatty plaque buildup in arteries.

Skin care: The benefits of almond for skin care are well known, and hence a massage with almond oil is often recommended for new born babies. Almond milk is also added in some soaps as almonds help in improving the complexion of the skin.

Regulates blood pressure: Potassium present in almond helps to regulates blood pressure. Almonds are very low in sodium which also helps in containing blood pressure.

Prevention of cancer: Almond improves the movement of food through the colon, thereby preventing colon cancer.
Protection against diabetes: Almonds also help in reducing the rise in sugar and insulin levels after meals. This offers protection from diabetes.

Good in pregnancy: Almond contains folic acid. Folic acid helps to reduce the incidence of birth defects in newborn babies.
Weight loss: Unsweetened almond milk helps one to reduce weight. The mono-saturated fat contained in almonds satisfies appetite and prevents over-eating. Studies have revealed that almond rich low
calorie diet is good for obese people to assist in shedding their weight
.
Prevention of constipation: Almonds are rich in fibre. Like most other fibre rich food, almonds also help in preventing constipation. Make sure you drink good amount of water after eating almonds.
Boosts energy: The presence of manganese, copper and Riboflavin helps in energy production.
One avoids the risk of Alzheimer's disease by consuming almonds. But just like any other food, even almonds have their cons. They contain oxalates and excessive oxalates can cause crystallization. So people having kidney or gallbladder problems should avoid eating almonds.