Clinton ends tough Pakistan trip

Hillary Clinton, reaching out one more time to Pakistan, is working to overcome tensions in a relationship she has described as scarred.

On her third day here and after countless roundtables and town hall meetings it appeared people were starting to be a bit more receptive. But in a BBC interview she acknowledged that challenges remained. Washington wants Pakistan to go after al-Qaeda and the hardcore Afghan Taliban.

Mrs Clinton leaves Pakistan encouraged by what she heard in official meetings but very much aware of the deep-seated mistrust of America here. Washington doesn't necessarily want to be loved here but it does need to manage the tension.

Web address revolution ends Latin-alphabet monopoly

nternet regulators today heralded a new era of international web use that will no longer be dominated by the Latin alphabet.

The board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) voted unanimously to allow Hebrew, Hindi and scores of other scripts to be allowed as domain names.

Until now Chinese, Russian and Arabic computer users have been among the billions who are forced to contend with letters and characters not used in their own languages in order to navigate the internet.

Today’s decision comes after years of debate and testing on the future of domain names, the addresses that define websites often ending “.com” or “.co.uk”.

Portions of internet addresses have been allowed to use non-Latin scripts in the past but, until now, the final suffixes had to use those 37 characters.

That limit meant users with little or no knowledge of English had to struggle with Latin characters even to access web pages that were written entirely in other scripts such as Chinese or Arabic.

Although search engines can sometimes help users reach those sites, companies still need to include Latin characters on posters and other advertisementsUnder the new rules, countries can only request one suffix for each of their official languages, and the suffix must somehow reflect the name of the country or its abbreviation.

Non-Latin versions of the dominant “.com” and “.org”, however, will not be permitted for at least a few more years while Icann considers broader implications such as whether the incumbent operator of a “.com” domain should automatically get a Chinese version. Beijing is lobbying for a system that does not have any automatic crossover rights.

Pakistan's 'fanatical' Uzbek militants

In South Waziristan, the Pakistani army is bracing itself for confrontation with what it says are "a large group of Uzbek extremists". So who are they and what are they doing in Pakistan?

Most of the Uzbek militants in South Waziristan belong to the al Qaeda-linked group, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU).

Renowned for their fanaticism, Uzbek militants initially fled their home country in the early 1990s after a government crackdown on people who advocated the introduction of Sharia law in secular Uzbekistan.

Nobody knows exactly how many there are in Pakistan - estimates vary wildly from 500 to 5,000. Not all Uzbeks there are active militants - some are merely supporters of the Taliban while others are little more than "hired guns".

Taliban loyalty

When founded in August 1998 in the north of Afghanistan, the IMU's main aim was to overthrow the government of President Islam Karimov and establish an Islamic state in Uzbekistan

In 1999 the IMU set up several military camps in northern Afghanistan from where it launched incursions into southern Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in 1999 and 2000.

When the US-led alliance invaded Afghanistan in 2001, the IMU announced its loyalty to the Taliban.

The IMU is believed to have suffered heavy losses while fighting alongside the Taliban against US-led forces in 2001. But it successfully re-organised itself in the tribal areas of North and South Waziristan over the following years.

The military say that Uzbek militants are a formidable enemy.

Pakistani security forces believe that some of the major bomb attacks in Islamabad are the work of Central Asian militants

Pakistan drama: 'Fight to the finish'

As Taliban militants in Pakistan wage war on the state and the army goes on the offensive against the militants in south Waziristan, a drama series on Pakistani TV is urging citizens to get behind the military.

The producers of the 16-part soap opera are portraying the conflict in terms of good versus evil: how the valiant armed forces and a resolute nation take on the militants to win back their freedom and land.

Newshour's Julian Marshall been speaking to one of the leading actors in the series, Syed Jibran, about the character he portrays, Captain Asfandyar.

Clinton arrives in Pakistan to write new chapter in relations

The U.S. secretary of state arrived Wednesday in nuclear-armed Pakistan, a country hit hard by terrorism, economic crisis and rising sentiment that it is paying too high a price for its partnership with the United States in fighting extremists.

Talking with reporters en route to Pakistan, Clinton said she wants to "turn the page" on what has been, in the past few years, "primarily a security-anti-terrorist agenda."

The twin suicide blasts that rocked a Pakistani university campus this week are the latest in a series of comparable incidents attributed to Islamic fundamentalists that have again and again claimed innocent lives throughout the Muslim world in recent years.

In Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, and in other parts of the world in which a peaceful Islam once thrived, the raw cruelty of those attacks, which are undoubtedly contrary to the principles of Islam, regularly remind us that confronting the radical elements within the Muslim community is an urgent necessity.

In this case, the specific targeting of an academic institution strikes a severe blow to a central pillar of Islam: education.

Despite the efforts of many Islamic radicals to disrupt educational institutions in scores of societies, it is widely accepted that Islam sanctions the importance of education; the prophet famously called on the religion’s followers to seek knowledge even if that journey brought them as far as China.

The legacy of Islam, which brought together the right conditions for the members of those societies to develop knowledge, also serves as a witness to the importance of this belief for Muslims historically. At a time when much of the world lived in darkness, it was Islamic tenets that enlightened it by making discoveries in the fields of science and literature.

Islam calls for the best in each of its followers. Yet, as hundreds of thousands of Pakistani students are forced out of their schools and universities – they are now closed nationwide as a result of Tuesday’s attacks – an entire generation of students suffers from the concrete consequences of Islam’s misinterpretation by a handful of individuals.

Islam is undoubtedly a religion of forgiveness and tolerance, but the actions of the few extremists that struck in Pakistan on Tuesday give a smear to the entirety of its community.

Tuesday’s attacks call for a widespread outcry from Muslim leaders worldwide. But objecting with words is not enough; those leaders must also engage in an active reversal of the deterioration of the values they profess in the name of Islam.

As they have fought to eradicate radical mantras, governments have unfortunately too often relied on force. But force can only address flagrant symptoms.

Muslim leaders are also burdened with the obligation to fight radicalism by spreading Islam’s true sense. Their sustained dialogue should be given an equal importance as coercive measures, if not more.

Short of these measures, the achievements of the peaceful majority will constantly be undermined by the fanaticism of the few.

The growing interest in Pakistani art globally is a result of exceptional art being produced by Pakistani artists. The work is not only beautiful but socially and politically relevant, which makes it even more exciting for a new audience to view and experience.

After a successful group show in May, Villano6 is bringing another collection of Pakistani contemporary art for connoisseurs in the Emirates.

This collection, entitled Horizons Within not only includes works of some of the last exhibition’s favourite artists but will also showcase the paintings of exciting new talent never before seen in the UAE.

Pakistani artists,

activists to participate

in peace festival

This is happening for the first time in the history of India and Pakistan that such a huge number of artists are coming to Amritsar from Lahore to participate in this peace festival.

Amritsar is all set to host the 10-day ‘Peace Festival 2009′ from Wednesday that will see the participation of around 90 artists and activists from neighbouring Pakistan.
This festival is being organised by the South Asia Foundation, a non-profit organisation that has eight autonomous chapters in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Pakistan wins Karate gold in South Africa

Pakistan’s Saadi Abbas has won gold medal in the below 67kg category at the Commonwealth Karate Championship in Johannesburg, South Africa, a Pakistan Karate Federation media release said.

Saadi, who belongs to Karachi and represent Wapda in the national events, also claimed gold medal in the South Asian Games 2006 in Sri Lanka.

Saadi Abbas defeated a South African opponent in the 67 kg final to kiss the gold, the first ever medal which Pakistan have secured at this level.

War next door creates

havoc in Pakistan

Pakistan, increasingly destabilized by the U.S.-led war in neighbouring Afghanistan, is getting closer to blowing apart.

Bombings and shootings have rocked this nation of 167 million, including a brazen attack on army HQ in Rawalpindi and a massive bombing of Peshawar's exotic Khyber Bazaar.

Pakistan's army is readying a major offensive against rebellious Pashtun tribes in South Waziristan. Meanwhile, the feeble, deeply unpopular U.S.-installed government in Islamabad faces an increasingly rancorous confrontation with the military.

Like the proverbial bull in the china shop, the Obama administration and U.S. Congress chose this explosive time to try to impose yet another layer of American control over Pakistan as Nobel Peace Prize winner Obama appears about to send thousands more U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

Tragically, U.S. policy in the Muslim world continues to be driven by imperial arrogance, profound ignorance, and special interest groups.

The current Kerry-Lugar-Berman bill, advanced with President Barack Obama's blessing, is ham-handed dollar diplomacy at its worst. Pakistan, bankrupted by corruption and feudal landlords, is being offered $7.5 billion US over five years -- but with outrageous strings attached.

The U.S. wants to build a mammoth new embassy for 1,000 personnel in Islamabad, the second largest after its Baghdad fortress-embassy. New personnel are needed, claims Washington, to monitor the $7.5 billion in aid. So U.S. mercenaries are being brought in to protect U.S. "interests." New U.S. bases will open. Most of this new aid will go right into the pockets of the pro-western ruling establishment, about 1% of the population.

Washington is also demanding veto power over promotions in Pakistan's armed forces and intelligence agency, ISI. This crude attempt to take control of Pakistan's proud, 617,000-man military has enraged the armed forces.

It's all part of Washington's "AfPak" strategy to clamp tighter control over restive Pakistan and make use of its armed forces and spies in Afghanistan. Seizing control of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, the key to its national defence against much more powerful India, is the other key U.S. objective.

However, 90% of Pakistanis oppose the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, and see Taliban and its allies as national resistance to western occupation.

Violence

Alarmingly, violent attacks on Pakistan's government are coming not only from once-autonomous Pashtun tribes (wrongly called "Taliban") in Northwest Frontier Province, but, increasingly, in the biggest province, Punjab. Recently, the U.S. Ambassador in Islamabad, in a fit of imperial hubris, actually called for air attacks on Pashtun leaders in Quetta, capital of Pakistan's restive Baluchistan province.

Washington does not even bother to ask the impotent Islamabad government's permission to launch air attacks inside Pakistan.

Along comes the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Big Bribe as most irate Pakistanis accuse President Asif Ali Zardari's government of being American hirelings. Zardari, widower of Benazir Bhutto, has been dogged for decades by charges of corruption. His senior aides in Pakistan and Washington are being denounced by what's left of Pakistan's media not yet under government control.

Washington seems unaware of the fury its crude, counter-productive policies have whipped up in Pakistan. The Obama administration keeps listening to Washington-based neoconservatives, military hawks, and "experts" who tell it just what it wants to hear, not the facts. Ottawa does the same.

Revolt

As a result, Pakistan's military, the nation's premier institution, is being pushed to the point of revolt. Against the backdrop of bombings and shootings come rumours the heads of Pakistan's armed forces and intelligence may be replaced.

Pakistanis are calling for the removal of the Zardari regime's strongman, Interior Minister Rehman Malik. Many clamour for the head of Pakistan's ambassador in Washington, my old friend Hussain Haqqani, who is seen as too close to the Americans. One suspects the wily Haqqani is also angling to get the U.S. to help him become Pakistan's next leader.

The possibility of a military coup against the discredited Zardari regime grows. But Pakistan is dependent on U.S. money, and fears India. Can its generals afford to break with patron Washington?

eric.margolis@sunmedia.ca

Army embarks on Rah-i-Nijat finally

The army on Saturday launched a three-pronged attack against Taliban stronghold in South Waziristan amid reports of roadside bombings and stiff resistance that left at least two soldiers dead and eight wounded.

Thousands of troops, backed by jet fighters and helicopter gunships, started advancing on the Mehsud tribe’s heartland at Makin from three points at first light.

Maj-Gen Athar Abbas, the chief of the Inter-Services Public Relations, told journalists: “The army has launched an operation after receiving orders from the government. The operation was launched early in the morning. Both air and ground troops are taking part.” The operation, code-named Rah-i-Nijat (path to deliverance), seems to be almost a replay of the one last year against Baitullah Mehsud. The action was called off all of a sudden, perplexing some observers as they felt the forces were close to achieving the objective.

This had drawn criticism from independent observers and contributed to fresh allegations that the militants were the military’s surrogates and it would never take decisive action against them. Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a drone attack on Aug 5.

The operation, believed to be the most difficult of all against militants in a treacherous terrain in the tribal regions, followed a spate of terrorist attacks, including the one at the General Headquarters, that have left over 150 people dead.

Military and intelligence officials blame militants based in the Mehsud redoubt of South Waziristan for eighty per cent of terrorist attacks in the country. Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani briefed the political leadership on Friday on the “imperative” of a military operation against the Mehsuds. The military has been bracing for an operation for the past three months, putting in place 28,000 troops and enforcing a crippling blockade that forced thousands of people to flee their homes for safety.

Military officials said they had undertaken extensive studies to make the operation a success. The three previous operations in South Waziristan, — in 2004, 2005 and early last year — all ended up with the government suing for peace. Soon after daybreak on Saturday, forces stationed at Shakai and Tyarza moved towards Badar and Kanigoram from the south, converging on Kalkai from Jandola and Spinkay Raghzai from the east.

Global Muslim population reaches 1.57 billion

The global Muslim population stands at 1.57 billion, meaning that nearly one in four people in the world practice Islam, according to a report on Wednesday billed as the most comprehensive of its kind. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life report provides a precise number for a population whose size has long been subject to guesswork, with estimates ranging anywhere from one billion to 1.8 billion.

The project, three years in the making, also presents a portrait of the Muslim world that might surprise some. For instance, Germany has more Muslims than Lebanon, China has more Muslims than Syria, Russia has more Muslims than Jordan and Libya combined, and Ethiopia has nearly as many Muslims as Afghanistan.

“This whole idea that Muslims are Arabs and Arabs are Muslims is really just obliterated by this report,” said Amaney Jamal, an assistant professor of politics at Princeton University who reviewed an advance copy. Pew officials call the report the most thorough on the size and distribution of adherents of the world’s second largest religion behind Christianity, which has an estimated 2.1 billion to 2.2 billion followers.

The arduous task of determining the Muslim populations in 232 countries and territories involved analyzing census reports, demographic studies and general population surveys, the report says. In cases where the data was a few years old, researchers projected 2009 numbers.

The report provides further evidence that while the heart of Islam might beat in the Middle East, its greatest numbers lie in Asia: more than 60 per cent of the world’s Muslims live in Asia. About 20 per cent live in the Middle East and North Africa, 15 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2.4 per cent in Europe and 0.3 per cent in the Americas. While the Middle East and North Africa have fewer Muslims overall than Asia, the region easily claims the most Muslim-majority countries.

While those population trends are well established, the large numbers of Muslims who live as minorities in countries aren’t as scrutinised. The report identified about 317 million Muslims -- or one-fifth of the world’s Muslim population -- living in countries where Islam is not the majority religion. About three-quarters of Muslims living as minorities are concentrated in five countries: India (161 million), Ethiopia (28 million), China (22 million), Russia (16 million) and Tanzania (13 million). The immense size of majority-Hindu India is underscored by the fact that it boasts the third-largest Muslim population of any nation -- yet Muslims account for just 13 per cent of India’s population. Two-thirds of all Muslims live in 10 countries. Six are in Asia (Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Iran and Turkey), three are in North Africa (Egypt, Algeria and Morocco) and one is in sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria).—AP

"The Muslim world has youth, numbers and global ambitions. The West is growing old and enfeebled, and lacks the will to rebuff those who would supplant it. It's the end of the world as we've known it. An excerpt from 'America Alone"

Islamic

index

Fox News Reports

“Shariah-compliant banking, sometimes called Islamic banking, is growing in popularity in the Western and Islamic worlds. But critics say American interest in the system at a time of economic crisis is opening the door to increased Islamic influence in the American banking system. Worse yet, some fear the banks may be helping to finance international terrorism.

In Shariah-compliant banking, lenders may not charge interest and investors cannot make money from forbidden industries like gambling, alcohol, pork and pornography. Selling debt, devising derivatives and short selling are also prohibited, and investments must be closely tied to actual assets.In the U.S., the Dow Jones Islamic Index tracks Shariah-compliant companies and funds, and funds have sprung up like the Amana Mutual Funds Trust and the Azzad Asset Management.

Islamic index operations will be completed and will be operational soon, said Hüseyin Erkan, chairman of the Istanbul Stock Exchange.

Today, there are hundreds of Islamic indexes created by Dow Jones and other stock exchanges, said Erkan. “However, these are companies of big economies such as Europe, the United States or even Japan. We barely see any companies from Islamic countries in those indexes. We met with index makers and told them ‘what if you created an index where only the shares of companies from the Islamic world could trade.’ Their reaction to our suggestion was a positive one, they just requested some data from us to enable such project and we said yes.”

“Turkey is one of the largest markets among the Islamic capital markets. It may even be the biggest. If such an investment fund would be created, Turkey would be the country to benefit the most from the situation. I believe this operation will be completed in the upcoming period and the Islamic index will become operational,” according to Erkan.

In the Pakistani mountains of Waziristan, young jihadis wait for martyrdom

In the mountains along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, a massive battle looms.

Thousands of Pakistani soldiers are waiting for orders to launch an offensive that could change the course of their country's bloody struggle against the Taliban.

The operation is an attempt to end Pakistan's escalating terrorist violence, which last week alone saw 50 people killed in a carbomb that ripped through a marketplace. A brazen attack yesterday on the army's headquarters also left six soldiers dead.

The army's target is South Waziristan, a lawless tribal region. It is the headquarters of the jihad against Islamabad's rulers and a key training ground for fighters in the war against British and American troops across the frontier.

Waiting to do battle with government soldiers is an army of 10,000 local fighters, along with thousands of foreign jihadists allied to al-Qaeda, for which the area has long been a refuge - possibly even for Osama bin Laden himself.

All summer American officials have urged the Pakistan to launch a knockout blow. US officials believe the Taliban has been on the ropes since they were driven out of the valley of Swat, further north, last May, and now is the time to strike.

The government offensive is not guaranteed success, however. Last week reporter Arif Janjua travelled into the heart of the Taliban stronghold to meet the jihadists who are keenly waiting to embrace martyrdom.

The attack on Pakistan's "Pentagon," home to the nation's most powerful institution, showed the continued strength of insurgents allied with al-Qaida and the Taliban despite military operations and U.S. missile strikes that have battered their ranks. It was the third major attack in Pakistan in a week and threatens to deflate the army's growing popularity in the wake of successful operations against the Taliban in the Swat Valley, Buner and Bajur.

GHQ Operation: Army troops once again crush terrorists

Pakistan Retakes

Army Headquarters; Hostages Freed

Pakistani commandos rescued 42 hostages early Sun

day who were held by militants inside the nation’s military headquarters, after gunmen dressed in army fatigues stormed the building in a brazen attack 18 hours earlier, according to the chief army spokesman.

Pak Army soldiers have once again defeated the terrorists, as the operation at General Headquarters against the intruding terrorists concluded to its logical end Sunday morning.

The commandos in their successful operation killed nine terrorists and recovered 39 hostages, while their top dog Aqeel alias Dr. Usman was nabbed. Two commandos and three hostages were martyred in the operation.

Following the operation, Army Chief General Ashfaque Perviz Kayani paid a visit to the GHQ. The operation beginning this morning on the whole rescued 25 hostages in the first phase and at the end of the operation five more hostages were recovered, while three hostages and two Pak Army commandos were also martyred. Earlier, SSG commandos had killed four terrorists in successful operation at GHQ security building.

The operation for the rescue of hostages taken on Saturday noon was started this morning at 6.00 A.M and SSG commandos with their great expertise successfully completed the operation in merely one hour and, thereafter, a search operation had started. Sources said that the terrorists occupying the building had planted explosives at four places in order to blow it up if any one tried to enter into the building, but the commandos did storm into the building in blitzing raid with great expertise and took action against the terrorists.

Terror attack on GHQ

In a deadly terrorist attack on Pakistan army headquarters (GHQ), four terrorists who launched the assault with sophisticated weapons were killed whereas six soldiers including two senior army officials were martyred here on Saturday.

Later, some four to five terrorists also took some 10 to 15 security personnel hostage in a security office near check post No 2 near GHQ.

Military officials said the attackers were surrounded, and efforts were being made to recover the hostages safely as the operation continued till the filing of this report.

Why controversy in Pakistan over U.S. aid bill?

Pakistan's parliament has begun debate on a U.S. aid bill which critics say contains conditions that amount to a humiliating violation of sovereignty.The U.S. congress approved a bill on Sept. 30 tripling aid to Pakistan to $1.5 billion a year for the next five years and sent it to President Barack Obama for signing into law.But Pakistan's army on Wednesday expressed "serious concern" about the bill, raising the possibility of tension with the civilian government which could embolden government critics.Here are some questions and answers about the controversy.

WHAT ARE THE CONTROVERSIAL CONDITIONS?

The legislation, co-authored by Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar, mainly focuses on social and economic development of Pakistan, a front-line state in the U.S.-led campaign against Islamist militancy. No conditions have been attached to development aid. But in an effort to address U.S. concerns about terrorism, security related assistance depends upon the U.S. secretary of state certifying to relevant congressional committees the following:

- That Pakistan is cooperating in efforts to dismantle nuclear-weapons related material supplier networks and providing relevant information from, or direct access to, Pakistani nationals associated with such networks.

- That the government is making sustained efforts towards combatting militant groups and has made progress on ceasing support by any elements within the military or its intelligence agency, particularly to any group that has conducted attacks against U.S. or allied forces in Afghanistan or against the territory or people of neighbouring countries.

- That Pakistan is preventing al Qaeda and other militant groups including the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which was accused of last November's assault on the Indian city of Mumbai, from operating in Pakistan and attacking neighbouring countries.

- That Pakistan is dismantling terrorist bases in its northwest as well as in the city of Quetta and at Muridke in Punjab, where LeT supporters run a complex.

- That the Pakistani security forces are not "materially or substantially" subverting political or judicial processes.

The U.S. secretary of state must also provide an assessment of the extent to which the government exercises effective civilian control of the military, including a description of the extent to which civilian leaders and parliament exercise oversight and approval of military budgets, the chain of command and the process of promotion of top military leaders.

WHO IS SAYING WHAT?

Opposition politicians have criticised the government of President Asif Ali Zardari over the bill, saying the conditions are humiliating. Zardari has rejected the criticism, saying the bill's conditions do not undermine sovereignty.Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani and his top commanders met on Wednesday and expressed "serious concern" about clauses in the bill "impacting on national security". The military leaders did not elaborate but acknowledged it was parliament that would debate the issue and enable the government to respond. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani tried to soothe concern, telling the National Assembly the bill was not binding on Pakistan and vowing to build a consensus on it.

DOES THIS MEAN TENSION BETWEEN THE ARMY AND GOVERNMENT?

The military has ruled Pakistan for more than half its 62-year history and has a record of ousting civilian governments, so any disagreement between the military and the government will be watched closely.

But for now, no one is predicting military intervention. However, analysts say the military's public disapproval of the bill could embolden the government's critics who could take to the streets. The military could use the opposition to put pressure on the government over the clauses it objects to while avoiding direct conflict. The main opposition party of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, the last Pakistani leader to be deposed in a coup in 1999, has said it would not help or allow anybody to topple the government.

WHAT DO INVESTORS THINK?

Investors in Pakistani stocks were cheered when the Kerry-Lugar bill was passed and reacted cautiously after the military's expression of concern. The main index went as low as 9,755.66 points in the morning but recovered somewhat and was trading 1.11 percent lower at 9,727.16 at 0921 GMT

Muslim Women Heroes Celebrated in Award-Winning, Illustrated Book 'Extraordinary Women from the Muslim World'

We're proud to honor a few of the many Muslim heroines in this colorful, entertaining book

The publisher of the new illustrated children's book, 'Extraordinary Women from the Muslim World', announces the launch of the first-of-its-kind picture book of famous female role models from throughout Islamic history. Now available in the United States, the limited-edition hard back series has already won several top book awards including:

Through stunning illustrations, author Natalie Maydell and Egyptian artist Heba Amin share the fascinating lives of Muslim heroines with young readers for the first time. From the wives of Muhammad to an African poetess, from an Egyptian singer to a Turkish fighter pilot, 'Extraordinary Women from the Muslim World' tells inspirational true stories that dispel commonly held stereotypes about Muslim women.

"We're proud to honor a few of the many Muslim heroines in this colorful, entertaining book," explained Sep Riahi of Global Content Publishing, the publisher of 'Extraordinary Women from the Muslim World'. "Our hope is that these positive Islamic role models will inspire young people of all cultures and religions."

About 'Extraordinary Women from the Muslim World'The first limited-edition hard back series of 'Extraordinary Women from the Muslim World' is now available in the United States through the book's website, ExtraordinaryWomen.TV and various retailers. All profits from the sale of the book will benefit charities delivering aid to women and children of Darfur, Sudan. International distribution is planned for late 2009. For more information, visit ExtraordinaryWomen.TV .

Extraordinary Women from the Muslim World tells the stories of the following thirteen women who overcame adversity to make their unique contributions to society, art, politics, literature, spirituality and human freedom:
Khadija bint KhuwaylidArabia - First Wife of the Prophet (pbuh)
Aisha bint Abi BakrArabia - Wife of the Prophet (pbuh)
Al-KhansaArabia - Poet
Rabi’a al-AdawiyyaIraq - Woman Saint
Arwa bint Ahmed al-SulayhiyyaYemen - Queen of Yemen
Sultan RaziaIndia - Warrior Queen of Delhi
Nana AsmauNigeria - Scholar and Poet
Tjut Njak DienIndonesia - Guerrilla Leader
Halide Edib AdivarTurkey - Novelist and Activist
Umm KulthumEgypt - Singer
Sabiha GökçenTurkey - Military Pilot
Chaibia TallalMorocco - Painter
Shirin EbadiIran - Nobel Peace Prize Winner

Australia retain Champions Trophy title

Shane Watson struck another commanding century to lead holders Australia to a six-wicket win over New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final on Monday.Australia restricted New Zealand to 200 for nine before reaching 206 for four in 45.2 overs.

It was not all plain sailing for Australia, however, as New Zealand fast bowlers Kyle Mills and Shane Bond claimed a wicket each in the first three overs to leave the defending champions reeling on six for two.

New Zealand had elected to bat first and found themselves in early trouble when McCullum was caught behind off Peter Siddle for a 14-ball duck.

Pakistan's cricket team accused of throwing games

A Pakistani parliamentarian has accused the national cricket team of deliberately losing matches in this month's Champions Trophy tournament and has demanded an explanation from its coach, captain and chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.
"We will be meeting with them on Oct. 13 as we feel the team deliberately lost the games against Australia and New Zealand," Jamshed Dasti, chairman of the Standing Committee on Sports in the Pakistan Lower House.

"They lost to Australia just to keep India out of the tournament," Dasti said.

Australia might not have qualified for the semifinal had Pakistan won against the defending champion, and India could have advanced had they defeated West Indies by a big margin.
"There are lots of doubts on the performance of the team and we feel it has to be cleared by the PCB officials and the team management," Dasti said. "The way we lost in the semifinal, it has left the whole nation disappointed and the PCB has to give answers."

NZ trounce Pakistan to reach final

After New Zealand had restricted Pakistan to 233 for nine, Elliott’s 75 not out led his team to 234 for five with 13 balls to spare. The Kiwis now play Australia in the final on Monday.

New Zealand beat Pakistan by five wickets in the second semi-final of the Champions Trophy on Saturday. The Kiwis will now face the Aussies in the final on Monday.

Scores: Pakistan 233 for 9 (50 overs); New Zealand (234 for 5 in 47.5 overs)