By Kaveh L Afrasiabi The assassination of Dr Massoud Ali Mohammadi, a Tehran University nuclear physicist, on Tuesday, blamed by the Iranian government on the United States and Israel and their fifth-column allies inside Iran, is the latest sign of an ominous, growing shadow war with Iran over its nuclear standoff with the West. The US has officially denied any role in the incident in which a remote-controlled bomb attached to a motorbike went off near the 50-year-old professor’s home in the Qeytariyeh neighborhood in northern Tehran. Bill Burton, the White House deputy press secretary, called the accusation “absurd”, saying … Continue reading A killer blow against US-Iran ties

By Irfan Husain In Malaysia, the trigger for this recent bout of anti-Christian frenzy was a High Court decision that allowed non-Muslims to use ‘Allah’ to denote their deity. —Reuters Photo News from Cairo and Kuala Lumpur over the last week is a clear sign of the intolerant times we live in. In Egypt, drive-by killers have murdered several Coptic Christians as they were leaving church, sparking riots that left more people dead. And in Malaysia, half a dozen churches have been torched or attacked. Not on the same savage scale, but nevertheless an indicator of the rising resentment of … Continue reading Building barriers instead of bridges

Australian cricketers like captain Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Matthew Hayden and Shane Watson are star attractions in the third edition of the lucrative Indian Premier League in March-April. —AFP/File Photo Cricket PCB chief hopeful of better future for Pakistan cricket GUARDED OPTIMISIM PCB chief hopeful of better future for Pakistan cricket NEW DELHI: An influential right-wing Hindu party in Mumbai warned on Wednesday that it would prevent Australia’s cricketers playing in parts of India because of attacks on Indians living Down Under. Bal Thackeray, who heads the radical Shiv Sena party, said the Australians will be barred from playing in … Continue reading We will not allow kangaroo cricketers in India: Shiv Sena

Islam4UK: bad, but not worth banning Banning groups like Islam4UK – repugnant as they undoubtedly are – is not only ineffective, but threatens our open society Inayat Bunglawala guardian.co.uk, Alan Johnson’s decision to ban al-Muhajiroun and its various incarnations (including Islam4UK) will no doubt be publicly welcomed by many of our tabloids – ironically the very same ones that have done so much in recent years to hype the activities of this minuscule group – but is banning the group really how a confident liberal democracy should be responding? To be sure, the overwhelming majority of British Muslims have been … Continue reading Banning groups like Islam4UK – repugnant as they undoubtedly are – is not only ineffective, but threatens our open society

The death of a scientist is another blow to officials charged with maintaining the secrecy of Iran’s nuclear programme Meir Javedanfar guardian.co.uk, At 10:13 am this morning, the Tehran-based Fars news agency reported that Masoud Ali Mohammadi, a prominent physics lecturer, had been killed by a “terrorist act”. According to the report, he was killed by a remote control bomb placed in a motorcycle. The bomb exploded as he left his house in the semi-upmarket Gheytariye neighborhood of Tehran. One hour and nine minutes later, at 11:22 am Tehran time, the same news agency, this time quoting Tehran’s chief prosecutor, … Continue reading Is Iran losing the intelligence war?