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Israel kills 3 Palestinians

TULKAREM, West Bank, (AFP) - Israeli troops killed three Palestinians on Sunday, one of them in a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank and two in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, officials on both sides said. In the northern West Bank town of Tulkarem, Israeli troops shot dead Mohammad Qozah, 25, of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a group loosely linked with president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah party, medics and Palestinian security sources said. In the Gaza Strip, two Palestinians - one from Islamic Jihad and another from the Popular Resistance Committees - were killed early on Sunday. The army claimed an Israeli patrol saw the men approaching the border fence that separates the impoverished territory from Israel and killed them in a subsequent exchange of fire. Palestinian medics and witnesses said the two men were killed in an exchange of fire after shooting on an Israeli patrol that had entered the central Gaza Strip. Later in the day eight people were wounded in the north of the Gaza Strip by Israeli artillery fire, medics said."

80 Taliban killed in coalition strikes

KHOST (AFP) - Around 80 Taliban were killed in a series of air raids by international military forces near eastern Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan, officials said Sunday. About 65 of the rebels were killed in a single air assault late Saturday in eastern Paktia province on a ‘large group of Taliban’, said Din Mohammad Darvish, a spokesman for the local administration. Four others were killed in a second assault targeting a vehicle carrying rebels in the same region of the province, Patan district, and four in a nearby area, he said. Another three were killed in an air strike near Gardez, the capital of the restive province, he said. “Altogether 76 Taliban were killed in separate air strikes by coalition forces,” Darvish told AFP. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and separate US-led coalition could only immediately confirm the last incident, which they said was targeted at three militants spotted planting a bomb near Gardez. The Afghan defence ministry announced earlier that four other rebels were killed in a different part of Paktia, Zurmat, also on Saturday. Seven were seized, it said in a statement. Casualty tolls in battles between insurgents and Afghan security forces and their international allies are often difficult to establish, with officials regularly issuing different"

Teacher of Mercy

"Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was a compassionate man, full of love and understanding. He took an interest in the physical and spiritual problems of his friends, relatives, and all those around him, and he took all appropriate measures to ensure their health, security, and happiness. He took them under his wing and always bore in mind their lot in the hereafter by encouraging them to remain godly. These features of the Prophet, which are examples for all of humanity, are referred to in the Qur'an: [A Messenger has come to you from among yourselves. Your suffering is distressing to him; he is deeply concerned for you; he is gentle and merciful to the believers.](At-Tawbah 9:128) [And lower your wing (in kindness) unto those believers who follow you.] (Ash-Shu`araa' 26:215) Since the Companions of the Prophet took him as a model, they made the appropriate sacrifices as mentioned in the Qur'an, behaving with empathy and compassion toward one another. A verse speaks of the sacrifices the faithful made for the sake of one another: [Those [the Ansar, Muslims of Madinah] who were already settled in the abode, and in belief, before they [the Muhajirun; immigrants from Makkah to Madinah] came, love those who migrated"

The Prophet's Forgiveness of His Enemies

Anas, a close Companion of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) reported, "A Jewish woman brought a poisoned lamb to the Prophet, and he ate of it. When the woman was brought to him, people suggested, 'Shall we kill her?' The Prophet said, 'No.' I have recognized the effects of that poisoning in the Prophet's throat ever since." (Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood, Ahmad, and others).

Following the Prophet's example in any situation is to make sure of choosing the right course of action. Some people may think that this applies to matters of religion only. In Islam there is no differentiation between religious and "worldly" matters. Everything in people's lives is evaluated from the Islamic viewpoint. Hence the Prophet's example provides guidance to us in all spheres of life.

It is needless to say that this applies, in perhaps greater measure, to social behavior and relations with other people. It is important to study how the Prophet treated other people in a comprehensive range of situations in order to understand the Islamic approach to social relations. Here, we are giving a few brief notes on one characteristic that manifested itself in the Prophet's behavior in a variety of situations. That characteristic is forgiveness of one's enemies.

Perhaps the description "a personal enemy" cannot be attached more appropriately than to one who tries to kill someone. When the attempt is the result of careful plotting, then the hostility is deeply rooted. During his life, the Prophet had many enemies who plotted against his life. One such attempt took place soon after the Prophet won the battle of Khaibar that he fought against the Jews of Madinah, resulting in the destruction of the Jewish military power in Arabia. Khaibar fell to the Prophet after a long siege culminating in a fierce fighting to win several of the many forts of which this Jewish stronghold consisted.

In order to appreciate the significance of the story quoted in the hadith at hand, we have to remember that the Prophet was the head of the Islamic state, in addition to his being a Prophet and a messenger from Allah to all humankind. In any state, an attempt on the life of the president or monarch is always viewed very seriously. Anyone caught making or preparing to make such an attempt is normally charged with high treason and with making an aggression on the state and all its people. Such a person hardly ever escapes the death penalty. Yet the immediate reaction of the Prophet was that the woman must not be killed. Moreover, there was no question about the identity of the perpetrator of that ghastly attempt on the life of the Prophet. The woman herself brought the lamb and told the Prophet that she had prepared it as a present to him.

When the woman was brought before the Prophet, he asked her about her motives. She did not deny having poisoned the lamb. She said, "I thought that if you were truly a Prophet, you would not be harmed. If you were a king (meaning that if his claim to prophethood was false), then I would have rid people of you."

When that woman contemplated her attempt, she must have realized that if she were to be successful, she would have avenged the defeat of her people. She was certain that the Prophet accepted any gift given to him and always tried to please the person who gave him a gift by eating from it if it was food or using it if it was something to be used. Moreover, she realized that the Prophet would not be the only one to eat of that lamb. Any of his Companions who would be attending with him would be invited to join him in his meal. Quite a number of them, probably some of the leading figures, would die with him. That could very well have been the outcome of her attempt. Indeed one of them, Bishr ibn Al-Baraa' was the first to eat. The Prophet himself ate one or two bites. He immediately signaled his Companions to stop. He told them, "Do not touch it. One of its organs is telling me that it is poisoned." Bishr ibn Al-Baraa' soon died.

The Prophet himself complained of the effects of the poison for the rest of his blessed life. Anas, who continued in the Prophet's service for 10 years until he passed away, was able to recognize the change that affected the Prophet as a result of this poisoned lamb. She must have used a very powerful poison to produce such a lasting effect. It is indeed reported that the Prophet said during his illness, just before passing away, that he continued to complain from the poisoned food he ate at Khaibar. For this reason, a number of scholars have argued that the Prophet was also a martyr. That means that Allah has given him the honor of being a martyr in addition to the honor of being a Prophet and a messenger.

In the light of the foregoing, the Prophet's tendency to forgive that woman, which was manifested in his immediate reaction to the suggestion of his Companions that they should kill her, is highly significant. He always forgave even the most hardened of his enemies, if the choice to forgive was his. In this case, it was his own life that was the immediate target of that woman. Allah foiled her attempt and the Prophet was inclined to forgive her.

Most hadiths and history books give this report the same as it has been given in this article. They do not mention whether the woman, who incidentally, was called Zainab bint Al-Harith, was punished in anyway. Indeed, Al-Bukhari includes this hadith in his highly valuable compilation entitled Al-Adab Al-Mufrad under the chapter heading "Forgiveness of other People."

It is mentioned, however, by a number of scholars that the Prophet subsequently ordered that the woman be executed. There is no contradiction between his earlier forgiveness of her and subsequent punishment. The Prophet first pardoned her for making an attempt on his life. Her attempt failed and he survived. He himself was the only one who had the authority to forgive her, since the attempt was made on him personally. Her punishment was for killing one of his Companions (i.e. Bishr ibn Al-Baraa') who ate of the poisoned lamb.

It is well known in Islam that no one, not even the Prophet, has the authority to waive punishment when one of the crimes for which a particular punishment is prescribed by Almighty Allah Himself. One of these is murder, which earns capital punishment. Once it is established beyond doubt that a certain person has committed a murder, no one may pardon or reduce such person's punishment. This applies to all similar crimes such as theft, adultery, and highway robbery.

This means that while the Prophet was always prepared to pardon an offender who might try to injure or kill him, he could not pardon a murderer, because it is the responsibility of the head of the state to make sure that Allah's law is implemented. When it came to personal injury, harm, or insult, the Prophet never hesitated to pardon such offenders. The Prophet pardoned the Jewish woman for plotting to assassinate him. She was, however, executed for poisoning to death one of his Companions.

I have deal with people but no deal with govt: Nawaz Sharif

I have deal with people but no deal with govt: Nawaz Sharif LAHORE: Former premier and PML (N) chief Muhammad Nawaz Sharif rejected the reports that he had retuned to Pakistan as a result of deal with government and said; “I have deal with people but no deal with government.” He stated this while addressing his reception gathering at Data Darbar where he arrived after 11 eleven hours of traveling from the Lahore airport. Nawaz Sharif accompanied by his wife Kulsoom and former Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif paid visit to Data Darbar as they arrived here after their seven years of exile. 'Together we will restore democracy and end dictatorship,' Sharif told supporters from the top of a lorry after stopping at one of the city's main markets. 'It is time for a decisive बत्तले.

Immune system driving cancers into dormant state A multinational team of researchers has shown for the first time that the immune system can stop the

" Scientists have been working for years to use the immune system to eradicate cancers, a technique known as immunotherapy. The new findings prove an alternate to this approach exists: When the cancer can't be killed with immune attacks, it may be possible to find ways to use the immune system to contain it. The results may also help explain why some tumours seem to suddenly stop growing and go into a lasting period of dormancy. 'Thanks to the animal model we have developed, scientists can now reproduce this condition of tumour dormancy in the laboratory and look directly at cancer cells being held in check by the immune system,' said Robert Schreiber, Ph.D, Alumni Professor of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis. 'That will allow us to see if we can model this state therapeutically,' he added. The study's authors call the cancer-immune system stalemate equilibrium. During equilibrium, the immune system both decreases the cancer's drive to replicate and kills some of the cancerous cells, but not quickly enough to eliminate or shrink the tumour. 'We may one day be"

Poultry farms to be monitored for bird flu outbreak

ISLAMABAD:
The government is making a plan to register all poultry farms to have proper monitoring system to check any outbreak of bird flu in the country. Executive Director National Institute of Health (NIH) Maj. Gen. (R) Masood Anwar said addressing the participants of media retreat on 'Bird Flu Prevention and Control' jointly organized by National Institute of Health (NIH), Ministry of Health and UNICEF. He said proper surveillance system is a must to proper monitoring the bird flu situation as chances of human cases are high in the country due to lack of awareness. Maj. Gen (R) Masood said those affiliated with poultry farm industry should follow guidelines disseminates by the Ministry of Health and Livestock from time to time to prevent people from bird flu virus. He said due to inadequate preventive measures adopted by the workers of poultry farms besides human being other animals including dogs and cats may also acquire this virus which can further spread to others. He said effective media campaign is essential to create awareness among masses about the disease and its prevention. He added citizens should also regular check their pet animals which may also a major source for spread of bird flu. Incharge Epidemic Investigation Cell, NIH, Dr. Jaleel Kamran apprised that after the recent outbreak of bird f"