Hakeem,Wali confirm Mehsud’s death

PAKISTAN: Taliban leaders Hakeemullah Mehsud and Waliur Rehman confirmed the death of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud. Talking to a British news agency, both the Taliban leaders said their chief Baitullah Mehsud has passed away two days back on Sunday.
They said Mehsud was unconscious ever since he was hit in a drone attack on August 5 near Pak-Afghan border, he died in this state of unconsciousness, succumbing to injuries.
Both the Taliban leaders told that Hakeemuall has assumed the chieftaincy of the outfit, after the death of Baitullah Mehsud.
It should be mentioned here that Baitullah Mehsud was the chief of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and accepted the responsibility for several sabotage activities across Pakistan.

US Muslims turn to Jews for Ramadan prayers

Muslims flock to synagogues due to mosque overcrowding
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DUBAI - A booming Muslim population in the United States is creating a shortage of mosques and prayer space, forcing the faithful to get creative during the holy month of Ramadan as Muslims in Virginia rent out Jewish synagogues.
In Reston, Virginia, a synagogue has opened its doors to Muslim worshipers to perform daily prayers during Ramadan, according to the Washington Post. The extra space is crucial to accommodate the additional worshippers expected.
"Just like you have Easter Christians, Hanukkah Jews, we have what we call Ramadan Muslims. They just come out of the woodwork on the holy days," Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, outreach director at the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, told the Post.
With estimates of the numbers of Muslims in America ranging anywhere between 2.5 and seven million, the Muslim population has doubled since 1990 according to a Trinity College study, challenging the ability of Muslims to build enough mosques to keep up with demand.
The Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation once depended on space in a Catholic church before its synagogue was built. Rabbi Robert Nosanchuk noted that: “The prophet Isaiah said our houses would be houses of prayer for all people. Now, I don’t know if Isaiah could have imagined us hosting Ramadan in the synagogue, but the basic idea is there."
Overcrowded mosques
Islam prohibits the charging of interest, so most congregations spend years raising the entire amount needed to build a mosque in cash in order to avoid taking a mortgage. Despite a building boom in suburban Virginia, mosques are often full from the minute they open and must rent additional space.
Mosques like the 4,000-strong ADAMS mosque in Herndon, whose membership has increased by a factor of 13 since 2000, have not been able to build apace with membership growth.
The mosque rents space from hotels, a wedding hall and two synagogues to accommodate those attending Friday prayers.
Others, like the 2,000-capacity Dar al-Hijrah, have had to turn away worshippers because of space constraints.
Abdul-Malik said he had to turn many away last Ramadan to avoid violating occupancy rules, and refused to say how many the mosque would accommodate this year out of concern for the fire inspector.

Young Guantanamo detainee returns to Afghanistan

KABUL: A young Afghan whose six-year detention at Guantanamo arrived in his home country, less than a month after a federal judge in Washington ordered his release.

Mohammed Jawad, whose confession to throwing a hand grenade that wounded two U.S. soldiers was rejected as coerced by torture, was helicoptered into Kabul from Bagram Air Base and taken to the office of the Afghan attorney general.

One of his defense attorneys, Marine Major Eric Montalvo, said Jawad then met with President Hamid Karzai and was scheduled to be released to an uncle.

French court accepts SMS as divorce proof

PARIS: French appeal court has ruled that a text message can be used as evidence of an affair in divorce proceedings.

The ruling stems from a case, which hinged on a text found by a woman on her husband’s phone.

While a lower court in Lyon initially ruled this was a breach of the husband’s privacy, this decision has been overturned by the appeal court ruling.

Like letters and emails, text messages will be accepted as evidence as long as they were obtained “without violence or fraudulently”.