An airliner has crashed near the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, killing all 152 people on board.

The plane, a domestic flight from Karachi operated by the private company Airblue, came down in hills just north of the city as it was about to land.

There is no word on the cause of the crash. At the time the area was shrouded in fog.

The government has declared Thursday a day of national mourning for the victims.

Imtiaz Elahi, chairman of the Capital Development Authority, which deals with emergencies, said the crash was "heartbreaking".

"It is a great tragedy, and I confirm it with pain that there are no survivors," he told the Associated Press news agency.

The plane, reported to be an Airbus A321 with 146 passengers and six crew on board, is thought to have left Karachi at 0750 (0350 GMT).

Source: BBC

Civil war escalates as groups fight for power

Clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbek residents in the cities of Osh and Jalalabad began on the 10th June and escalated over the weekend. The number of refugees fleeing the ‘ethnic violence’ may soon rise to 100,000, a US envoy said on Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of ethnic Uzbeks have fled their homes in Kyrgyzstan and crossed the border into Uzbekistan after violence which has claimed many lives. [Image: BBC]

Continue reading "Kyrgyzstan’s War With Itself"...

A convoy on its way to the Gaza strip was attacked by the Israeli Navy. Shooting and tear-gas was involved. 20 people lost their lives, dozens wounded, and about 16 men ended up in a prison in southern Israel. It’s been reported that most deaths were among the Turks. A demonstration against Israel will take place in Manchester, London, and other major cities.

Demonstration against Gaza
Monday 31st May 2010
5PM
BBC Radio building
Oxford Road, Manchester

This is the Israeli's way of "unarmed" approach. More pictures on BBC.

The Freedom Flotilla action was set up to break open the blockade to Gaza. The convoy consists out of six ships with 750 activists (different nationalities) and fifteen tonnes of supplies such as cement, medical equipment and school supplies. See here the condition of one of the boats. If you feel like following the mission, see below live-stream video by Al Jazeera

Last Wednesday it has been directed by The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (TPA) to block Facebook indefinitely. The reason was an on-line competition to draw The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

This order followed a decision by the Lahore High Court temporarily banning Facebook in Pakistan. Pakistan's media reported that the competition would be held tomorrow.

Pakistan protests:
Reuters/Idrees Boby.

Continue reading "Pakistan banned from Facebook?"...

Last Wednesday I was supposed to arrive in Geneva to attend a Media Seminar by FEMYSO. 

So, I was supposed to deliver a presentation on Social Media. It's just Chaos. As I arrived at Manchester Airport, I was exactly six minutes late... SIX! But as Ustadh Usama Canon once said to us "Sometime it's better to miss a party". As I was thinking about that while my ticket got re-booked. I thought, well I could improve my presentation and I'll just go on the next available flight. Shouldn't be a problem at all. I spoke with the FEMYSO people in Geneva, and they said that it shouldn't be a problem for me arriving tomorrow.

Yesterday, as I was getting ready and Vakaas Khan went to drop me off for the second time, I was kind of proud of myself that I'm arriving an hour before departure. As we got to Airport, I had a smile on my face being so happy that I'm on time for today's flight. Untill I went inside and the Airport was filled with like a billion people... It was MAD! 

This happened in Iceland:

It was said to me that the ash is the result of the second eruption in Iceland in less than a month. It happened under a glacier in the Eyjafjallajokull area and there are fears it could erupt again. I'm advised to check with my airline before setting off for the airport. A spokesman of Man Airport said that we could compare this chaos to, or even worse than the chaos after the attacks on 9/11...

So, here I am waiting for my flight (which I think won't happen as I just received a phone-call from Vakaas saying that they're not flying until Monday) and hoping whether I'll still be able to attend the Media Seminar. Also have to fly to Texas on Monday to meet Saad Naveed. It's just chaos!

These days, it seems Israel is mentioned quite a few times in the news. One of the most recent scandals regarding Israel is the forgery of 12 British Passports used by suspects in the killing of a Hamas official in Dubai.

Continue reading "Israel, what's next?"...

According to recent reports, it seems that President Obama may be breaking tradition and moving to do something right for once with Israel. Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to downplay tensions with US, which are steadily rising due to Israel's determination in establishing settlements in occupied territory.

Continue reading ""Obama Greatest Disaster for Israel""...

This week a fatwa, or religious ruling, has been issued by one of the eminent scholars of our time, Dr. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri. A fatwa that is is unique and one of a kind, a 600-page fatwa condeming Al-Qaeda and the terrorists that perform their vicious acts based on the Qur'an and Islam.

Continue reading "Terrorism Haram! 600 pages explain it by Pakistani leader Tahir-ul-Qadri."...

Uh oh! It seems that Britain has struck a personal blow to Pakistan by blaming Islamabad for all its home-grown terror plots.

Continue reading "Love is Not in the Air"...

The situation in Haiti is getting worse by the minute unless we step into help them. If you haven't heard by now, Haiti was hit by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake, an earthquake the country hasn't witnessed in 200 years. Initial death toll was placed at 100,000, but is gradually rising to 200,000 people who could be dead. There's people who are desperate for food, clothing, and shelter.

This is our time to help these people in need. Even worse, the majority of the Haitian captial Port-au-Prince has been completely obliterated, including the Presidential Palace. This is a test from Allah (swt) for the people of Haiti, but even more for us because it tests our ability to help our brothers and sisters who are struggling to hold onto their lives.

Continue reading "Help Haiti, Heal Haiti!"...