307 Madrasas Including Darul Uloom, Deoband—An Islamic Education Institution Declared Illegal, Says UP Survey
New Age Islam News Bureau
24 October 2022
Darul Uloom
-----------
• 'Insaniyat' Above All: Muslims and Hindus Join Hands
To Worship Kali In Kolkata
• Dubai’s Multi-Cultural Growth Shines As Diwali
Begins: Community Leaders
• Islam Rejects Sectarianism, Extremism, And Terrorism
In All Forms: PM’s Special Representative
• Salman Rushdie Loses Sight In One Eye And Use Of One
Hand Following Attack: Agent
India
• RSS Leader Indresh Kumar Pays Visit To Delhi's
Nizamuddin Dargah Ahead Of Diwali
• RSS Construct Of Muslim Unrelated To Real Muslims: Patnaik
• Germany Sticks To Jammu &Kashmir Line
• MHA cancels FCRA licences of Sonia Gandhi-led trusts
accused of getting funds from China, Zakir Naik
• Marathi Muslim Seva Sangh Meets Uddhav Thackeray,
Vows Support
• Muslim Personal Law Board Suspends Its Women’s Wing;
Faces Criticism
• Security forces bust terrorist hideout in J&K
• Doctor Using ‘Zakat’ Money To Treat Patients From
All Communities
--------
Arab
World
• Rights Commission Highlights Saudi Arabia’s Efforts,
Reforms In Human Rights
• 9 Daesh/ISIS terrorists captured in al-Bab, northern
Syria
• Lebanon’s top Christian cleric raps MPs for creating
‘presidential vacuum’
• Egypt’s Dar al-Iftaa launches ‘Fatwa Pro’ app
• Lebanon, Syria discuss sea border after Beirut’s
deal with Israel
• Saudi Crown Prince will not travel to Algeria for
Arab summit per doctor’s advice
• JPMorgan set to hire 20 more bankers to boost
operations in Saudi Arabia
• West seeking to throw independent countries, like
Iran, into disarray: Top Syrian diplomat
--------
Pakistan
• Media’s Role In Countering Disinformation About Islam
Critical: Marriyum
• Transgender rights law: Activists, religious leaders
come face to face
• No bar on Imran from contesting election: IHC chief
justice
• Bajaur peace body resents officials’ ‘failure’ to
honour commitments
• Terrorist killed in Shalobar IBO: ISPR
• Soldier martyred thwarting terrorists’ attack from
Afghanistan: ISPR
--------
Europe
• Dutch Police Disperse Planned Quran Burning Rally Of
Islamophobic Group Pegida
• UK says Russia continues to use Iran's UAVs against
Ukraine
• Tens of thousands rally in Berlin in support of
anti-government protests in Iran
• Türkiye rescues over 50 irregular migrants illegally
pushed back by Greece
• Finnish delegation to visit Türkiye for talks on
terrorists' extradition
• Iran blasts 'destructive' Western measures after
'baseless' drone claims
--------
South
Asia
• Taliban Says Educational Institutions Should Conform
to International Standards
• Afghanistan: Islamic Clerics In Balkh Call On
Taliban To Form Inclusive Govt
• Taliban Claims Killing ISIS Commanders in
Northeastern Afghanistan
• Women’s Participation in Peace Negotiations
Decreased: UN Report
• Taliban Criticize Alleged Abduction of Afghan Baby
by US Marine
• Afghan envoy demands UN committee to investigate
Hazara genocide
--------
North America
• US Envoy Malley Lambasted For Saying Iranians
Protesting For ‘Respect’ From Regime
• Iran may be sending more drones to Russia: Blinken
• Iran says Washington lacks political will to revive
nuclear deal
• Files seized from Trump home included secret docs on
Iran, China
--------
Africa
• Christian, Muslim Leaders Brainstorm On Religious
Tolerance, Unity
• Northern APC Christians Seek Boycott Of Campaign
Over Muslim-Muslim Ticket
• Bomb blast, gunfire at Somali hotel kill 3, wound 8
• Burkina Faso junta leader names lawyer as prime
minister
• At least nine killed in Somalia car bomb, shooting
attack on Kismayu hotel
• Sudan suspends NGO that took government to court
over internet access
• Thousands protest deadly tribal clashes in Sudan’s
south
• Somalia looks to Turkish support to help fight
terror in communications domain
--------
Southeast
Asia
• Malaysia Int’l Quran Contest Manifestation of
Islamic Unity: Religious Affairs Minister
• Malaysian politicians must reckon with a more
demanding electorate
• Young ones don’t have what it takes, says Dr M
• Ex-Johor poster boy Hasni being considered for
parliamentary seat
• Veterans group slams Hadi for masterminding Sheraton
Move
--------
Mideast
• Iran’s Guards Accuse Cleric Of ‘Agitating’ Youths
Against ‘Sacred’ Islamic Republic
• 'Türkiye doesn't see Iraqi peace, stability,
well-being as separate from its own'
• President Rayeesi: Iran Ups Export by 40 Percent in
1 Year
• Iranian Army Ground Force Holds Large-Scale Military
Exercise
• FM Reiterates Iran's Opposition to Geopolitical
Changes in Region
• Iran says will provide Russia with ‘40 turbines’ to
help its gas industry
• Yemen's National Defence Council labels Houthis as
terror group
• Yemen’s separatists call for placing Houthi rebels
on terror list
• Yemeni government condemns Houthi attack on oil port
in Hadhramaut
• Palestinian resistance fighters open fire on Israeli
forces in Nablus
• Iran supports Iraqi nation, government, determined
to expand ties: Foreign minister
• Israeli court rejects early release of
cancer-stricken Palestinian prisoner
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
--------
307 Madrasas Including Darul Uloom, Deoband—An Islamic
Education Institution Declared Illegal, Says UP Survey
Oct 24, 2022
Darul Uloom
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SAHARANPUR: Saharanpur district officials on Sunday
declared Darul Uloom, Deoband—an Islamic education institution — as an
'illegal' unrecognised Madrasa, following a survey conducted by the government
submitted its report.
The district officials named 306 other unrecognised
Islamic education institutions in their report as illegal. “Information about
306 illegal madrasas that were traced was sent to administration. Darul Uloom
Deoband is also an illegal Madrasa and is deprived of scholarships & other
schemes,” Bharat Lal Gond, district minority welfare officer said.
“An investigation was done on basis of parameters set
by the administration like the year of establishment of the madrasa, the
society that runs it, the name of the madrasa, and their source of income,” he
added.
“Whatever decision the administration takes, based on
that complaint will be filed,” BL Gond further said.
According to reports, 754Madrasas are registered with
the district administration. Of which 664 runs up to fifth grade, 80 are up to
eighth grade, and the remaining 10 Madrasas are class 10 bound.
Source: Times Of India
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original story:
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'Insaniyat' Above All: Muslims and Hindus Join Hands
To Worship Kali In Kolkata
Oct 24, 2022
Members of both Hindu and Muslim communities at the
Kali Puja pandal on Sunday
------------
KOLKATA: A more than four-decade-old Kali Puja in the
city has been - and still is, in these times of religious intolerance - a
beacon of inclusivity, with Muslims and Hindus celebrating the festival each
year with equal gusto.
Both communities have been conducting the puja, now in
its 42nd year, under the banner of Railways Lines Young Boys Association in
Cossipore. As Ayub Rangrez, the president of the puja for the last three years,
put it bluntly: "Insaniyat (humanity) is the greatest religion. Our blood
is red."
For Amit Jaiswara, 32, the club's joint secretary, the
idea is to include everyone - religion no bar - in the festivities. "We
hear so much negative news nowadays, but here we celebrate the festive season
together and help each other during crises. Ayub Bhai even proposed we
celebrate Chhath together for the first time."
Shabnam Khan, 26, who is a member of the puja
committee, as is her best friend Anjali Gond, 21, said: "For the last
couple of years, we have been celebrating Kali Puja and Diwali with lots of
fanfare, like we celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr every year." On Saturday, Shabnam
and Anjali were busy receiving guests who had come to inaugurate the puja.
Priyadarshini Ghosh Bawa, one of those guests, said
the experience was touching. "It was a beautiful moment when Shabnam
felicitated us, Abda welcomed us, and Hindu members asked for a small pause in
the inauguration programme to allow the evening azaan," she said.
‘We stay together and celebrate together’
Priyadarshini Ghosh Bawa, one of those who inaugurated
the Kali Puja, said it was the perfect representation of “our secular, tolerant
country, where humanity rises above the limits of religion”. Bawa works
extensively in this belt, in which her father — Kolkata deputy mayor Atin Ghosh
— is a councillor.
“The Isha azaan started around 7. 45pm on Saturday at
Bibi Bazar Mosque, next to our pandal, when we were in the middle of the
inauguration programme. It continued for about five minutes, and we had paused
our inauguration,” said Ayub Rangrez, the president of the puja association.
The Kali Puja is held in an area popularly known as 22
Number Basti, where most residents are labourers in the Cossipore railway goods
yard. “The puja was small before I took over as president in 2020. Now we have
an average budget of Rs 1. 5 lakh,” Rangrez said. “We stay together and
celebrate our festivals together,” said Abda Begum, a 45-year-old homemaker who
is in charge of the arrangements. On Sunday morning, she was busy buying
vegetables at the nearby Bibi Bazar market.
Vicky Begum, 34, in charge of handling the khichdi
Bhog where more than 1,000 people will have Prasad on Tuesday evening, said:
“This year, members of four nearby clubs have also been invited to have Prasad
which we serve the day after the puja is complete. ”
Source: Times Of India
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original story:
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Dubai’s multi-cultural growth shines as Diwali begins:
Community leaders
24 October, 2022
Fireworks light the sky above Dubai Festival City to
celebrate Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, in the Gulf emirate of Dubai,
on October 23, 2022. (AFP)
--------------
Diwali, the famous Indian festival of light, usually
celebrated with crackers, gifts and sweetmeats, returns to Dubai with
much-anticipated pomp following a brief lull owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Al Arabiya English connected with some Indian
community leaders in the Gulf city, home to over three million from the Asian
sub-continent, to understand what the festival stands for now ahead of the
celebration today.
Traditionally celebrated by the Hindu, Sikh and Jain
communities, the multi-day festival symbolizes the triumph of good over evil or
light over darkness.
“Diwali in Dubai is special,” Dr Aman Puri, the Consul
General of India, told Al Arabiya English.
Affirming a widely believed large-scale return of
Diwali celebrations post-COVID, Puri said, “the Indian diaspora are eager to go
in full swing with their celebrations this time after scaled-down events in the
last two years.”
The vibrancy of the festival is best displayed on the
streets of old Dubai, primarily Karama and Bur Dubai, where apartment balconies
sport an array of colorful LED lights, clay oil lamps and flower decorations.
“Over the past couple of years, we have had the heads
of state come around and acknowledge the celebration and allow us to integrate
closely with them once again,” claimed the temple chairman.
“Every year, over 10,000 devotees flock to the Shri
Krishna Temple to seek the Lord’s blessings… Now that Dubai has successfully
helped bring the pandemic to a close, we are all free to congregate and
celebrate,” said Karani.
“From the days of having to burst crackers for the
children secretly to the point of complete acceptance and support [by the local
authorities] has by far been the biggest celebratory change,” remarked the
honorary chairman of the decades-old temple.
“The lights installed at everyone’s homes make the sky
light up like never before. Dubai surely knows how to be outstanding at this,
even here, building upon building all over Dubai look like they are ready for
the next global event,” he told Al Arabiya English.
A festival for everyone
Another community leader, Surender Kandhari, Chairman
of Dubai’s Guru Nanak Darbar, passionately explained the history of the
festival’s relevance to the Sikh community.
“Diwali is doubly important for us,” said Kandhari in
a chat with Al Arabiya English. The Gurudwara welcomes thousands of UAE
residents through its doors during the celebration.
“Since the Gurudwara opened in 2012, every year we
celebrate Diwali with great pomp,” said Kandhari, crediting the UAE government
with aiding its success as a “community center” for people of all beliefs.
Backed by a long history of service to the community,
the Sikh place of worship offers free food in a large hall throughout the day by
employing cooks and volunteers in a community kitchen called ‘langar’.
“The society in the UAE is very inclusive. So, every
single celebration of ours is done with everybody in mind; we celebrate Diwali,
Christmas, New Year, and even Ramadan,” he said, adding that Iftar is made
available for all 30 days in the Sikh place of worship for those who observe
the Islamic tradition.
For Diwali, the Gurudwara is expecting nearly 40,000
attendees at its prayer hall and community dining place, with support from the
Dubai Police and Roads and Transport Authority for security and traffic
management, the Gurudwara chairman said.
With festivals like Diwali fostering a sense of
cross-cultural understanding between the various communities and their
traditions, Kandhari said that the government supports these activities to a
great extent.
“Each religion shows us how to live together, how to
exist together, how to support each other.
“Festivals like Diwali allow us to forward these
aspects,” Kandhari said decisively.
Karani agrees and noted: “Diwali celebrations have
grown in leaps and bounds like the city of Dubai. We as a community have never
felt away from home for the warmth, openness and hospitality extended by the
local communities.”
Source: Al Arabiya
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original story:
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Islam Rejects Sectarianism, Extremism, And Terrorism
In All Forms: PM’s Special Representative
Oct 23 2022
Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Interfaith
Harmony and Middle East Maulana Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi. — Photo Tahir
Ashrafi's Twitter
------------
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister’s Special Representative for
Interfaith Harmony and the Middle East Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi
said Islam rejected sectarianism, extremism, and terrorism in all their forms
and manifestations.
Addressing an "International Tahzeem-e-Harmain
Al-Sharifain Conference" in Abuja (Nigeria), he said to get rid of these
social evils, it was necessary to disseminate the message of Islam in its
actual context, which Muslims received from the holy lands of Makkah and
Madinah.
Ashrafi, who is also the Chairman of the Pakistan
Ulema Council and Secretary-General of the International Tahzeem-e-Harmain
Al-Sharifain Council, said there was no room for such myths in Islam as it was
a religion of peace, security, and moderation.
He said the situation of unrest in some Islamic
countries was due to external interference which could be stopped by forging
unity in the Muslim Ummah.
He said the union would help contain Islamophobia and
resolve the issues confronting the Muslim Ummah on the global level.
Ashrafi also endorsed the stance of Saudi Arabia on
the oil issue and said that Pakistan and the entire Islamic world were standing
by its narrative for global economic stability.
Ashrafi said the entire Muslim Ummah’s message was
loud and clear that they would not compromise on the security, sanctity, and
stability of the soil of Harmain Al-Sharifain at all costs.
The PM's aide further said that Kashmir and Palestine
were the two burning issues of the Muslim Ummah, and they should be resolved as
per the will of the Kashmiris and Palestinians.
He maintained that interfaith dialogue was also the
need of the hour adding that Pakistan had prepared a document, titled
"Paigham-e-Pakistan" (Message of Pakistan) to get rid of
sectarianism, extremism, and terrorism.
Terming Harmain Al-Sharifain as the centre of Muslim
Ummah, he said the way Saudi Arabia serves humanity was admirable and
praiseworthy.
Besides leading Ulema, Mashaykh and religious scholars
from all over the Islamic world addressed the conference, including Dr Ibrahim
Jamia Otoyo, Dr Dawood Abdul Baqi Muhammad, Dr Imam Issa Abdul Kareem, Dr
Sulaiman Usman, Dr Muhammad Abdullah Al-Thani, Dr Sharafuddin Badibur Aji, Dr Muhammad
Munir Ilyas, Dr Muhammad Al-Haaj Abu Bakr, Dr Abu Bakr Muhammad Al-Thani, and
Dr Al-Khizar Abdul Baqi Muhammad.
Source: Geo TV
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https://www.geo.tv/latest/448027-islam-rejects-sectarianism-extremism-terrorism-in-all-forms-ashrafi
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Salman Rushdie loses sight in one eye and use of one
hand following attack: Agent
23.10.22
Salman Rushdie
File Picture
----------
Salman Rushdie lost sight in one eye and the use of
one hand following an attack on stage at a literary event in western New York
in August, his agent said. Andrew Wylie, who represents literary giants such as
Saul Bellow and Roberto Bolano, described the extent of the injuries Rushdie
suffered in the“brutal” attack in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais.
Wylie described the author's wounds as“profound,” and noted the loss of sight
of one eye.
“He had three serious wounds in his neck. One hand is
incapacitated because the nerves in his arm were cut. And he has about 15 more
wounds in his chest and torso.” The agent declined to say whether The Satanic
Verses author, 75, was still in hospital more than two months after police said
a 24-year-old New Jersey man stabbed the writer in the neck and torso just
before Rushdie was to give a lecture at Chautauqua Institution, a retreat about
12 miles (19 km) from Lake Erie.
The novelist was rushed to the hospital after sustaining
severe injuries in the attack, including nerve damage in his arm, wounds to his
liver, and the likely loss of an eye, Wylie said at the time.
The attack came 33 years after Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini, then Iran's supreme leader, issued a fatwa, or religious edict,
calling on Muslims to assassinate Rushdie a few months after The Satanic Verses
was published. Some Muslims saw passages in the novel about the Prophet
Muhammad as blasphemous. Rushdie, who was born in India to a Muslim Kashmiri
family, has lived with a bounty on his head, and spent nine years in hiding
under British police protection.
While Iran's pro-reform government of President
Mohammad Khatami distanced itself from the fatwa in the late 1990s, the
multimillion-dollar bounty hanging over Rushdie's head kept growing and the
fatwa was never lifted. Khomeini's successor, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, was suspended from Twitter in 2019 for saying the fatwa against
Rushdie was“irrevocable.”
The man accused of attacking the novelist has pleaded
not guilty to second-degree attempted murder and assault charges. He is being
held without bail in a western New York jail.
Source:TelegraphIndia
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India
RSS leader Indresh Kumar pays visit to Delhi's Nizamuddin Dargah ahead of
Diwali
Oct 23, 2022
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) National Executive
member and Muslim Rashtriya Manch patron Indresh Kumar on Saturday paid a visit
to Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, New Delhi, and lights earthen lamps inside the
premises of the shrine, ahead of Diwali.
The RSS' Muslim wing, Muslim Rashtriya Manch called
for peace and prosperity in the country.
The move of Muslim Rashtriya Manch patron and senior
RSS leader Indresh Kumar lighting 'earthen lamps' inside the Nizamuddin Dargah
complex, marks a message of peace, prosperity, and communal harmony.
RSS leader Indresh Kumar reached Hazrat Nizamuddin
Dargah in Delhi yesterday. He also offered flowers and chadar at the dargah of
Sufi saints.
Also Read | RSS body slams AAP govt in Delhi for
firecracker ban: ‘Hurting sentiments…’
"The festival of Diwali is celebrated in the
world including India. It brings happiness and prosperity to every household.
This festival erases all the religious differences and the differences between
the provinces. India is a land of pilgrimages, festivals, and fairs. All of
them give bread to the poor and increase brotherhood among themselves. He said
that every festival teaches us that we do not want bigotry, malice, hatred,
riots, or war. We want peace, harmony, and brotherhood," Indresh Kumar
said.
"No one should be forced to convert and do
violence. Everyone should follow their own religion and caste. Do not criticize
and insult other's religions. When all religions are respected in the country,
then the country will be free from the fundamentalists who make stone pelting
on Friday. India is the only country that respects and accepts all
religions," he added.
Source: Hindustan Times
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RSS construct of Muslim unrelated to real Muslims:
Patnaik
Subhoranjan Dasgupta
24.10.22
If RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is worried about the
supposedly higher population growth among Muslims, he should advocate the
spread of education among Muslim women and oppose the hijab ban in Karnataka
that is keeping Muslim girls out of educational establishments: Prabhat
Patnaik, professor emeritus with JNU The first part was published on October
17.
Q: If you analyse the entire past of the RSS, do you
come across a single example of sympathetic understanding on its part of the
role and position, genuine and alienated, of the Muslim in the Indian scenario?
Patnaik: The Muslim, as the RSS sees him, is a pure
construction, unrelated to reality. (This pure construction is different from
the construction of concepts that characterises thought in general). In fact,
the RSS uses this phantom notion of a Muslim to attack flesh-and-blood Muslims.
This construction, however, can retain its integrity
only if it is not empirically grounded, only if the empirical Muslim is not
allowed to intrude into the picture. That is why you will find that very few
staunch RSS cadres have any acquaintance with any real Muslim; and that is also
why, when ordinary Hindus have any contact with a real Muslim, the RSS
dissuades them by giving all such contacts a fantastic interpretation. Thus, if
a Hindu girl marries a Muslim man, it becomes “love jihad”, a union with an
ulterior motive.
This is not to say that persons who follow the RSS do
not have Muslim contacts at all, or that persons with Muslim contacts do not
get into the RSS flock, but typically their justification in such cases would
be: “My Muslim contact is an exception.”
The question of the RSS developing any sympathy for
the empirical Muslim or appreciating his role in any context runs contrary to
its construction of the Muslim. It would either not have any sympathetic understanding
of any empirical Muslim, or if perchance it does, it would do so with the idea
that the object of its sympathy is not really a Muslim.
Q: Lalu Prasad has declared that the RSS should be
banned as well. Your studied comment on this weaving of equivalence?
Patnaik: The RSS had been banned by the then home
minister, Sardar Patel, following Gandhi’s assassination, but the ban was
lifted when it gave an undertaking that it would abjure all political activity.
It has blatantly violated that promise. Even the argument that it has never
directly engaged in political activity (though it has done so through political
parties that constitute its front organisations) cannot stand scrutiny any
longer.
If it were a pure socio-cultural organisation, then
foreign ambassadors, industrialists, educationists and prominent Muslims, not
to mention ministers and BJP bigwigs, would not be making a beeline to meet its
chief, Mohan
Bhagwat. Hence, even if we ignore its active role at
present in fomenting communal hatred, it would still be liable to the serious
charge of having violated its original undertaking. And, of course, the
principle on which the PFI is banned applies equally to the RSS.
I am, however, generally opposed to the idea of
banning organisations. If they engage in any criminal activity like terrorism,
then that should be dealt with under the law of the land. But as far as their
influence on people is concerned, that should be combated through
counter-influence and through political activity by progressive, secular
forces.
Q: Bhagwat’s annual Vijaya Dashami address this year
dwells on a religion-based population imbalance and the silence of the minority
community when it comes to criticising Islamist terrorism. On two other recent
occasions, he has called for the total abolition of the caste system and urged
that all Dalits and marginal groups be brought under the huge Hindutva
umbrella. What are the political compulsions behind the pronouncement? Do these
remind you of the famous French adage: The more it changes (outreach to Muslims
and Dalits) the more it remains the same (Hindutva)?
Patnaik: In my answer I would like to concentrate on
the aspect of population imbalance. Several writers have already pointed out
that, according to the Government of India’s own National Family Health Survey,
while the fertility rate has declined in India for all groups, this decline has
been faster among Muslims than among other religious groups. In fact, the
difference between the Hindu and Muslim fertility rates now is quite marginal,
because of which many talk of a “convergence in fertility rates” across
religious groups.
It is well established all over the world that a major
determinant of population growth is the level of education among women. If
Mohan Bhagwat is so concerned about the supposedly higher rate of population
growth among Muslims, he should advocate the spread of education among Muslim
women; and he should oppose the stand of the Karnataka government headed by the
BJP, his own organisation’s front party, that is keeping Muslim girls out of
educational establishments through its hijab ban.
But he does not do so, from which one can infer that
he is not really worried about the so-called differential rates of population
growth across these communities, which he knows to be untrue, but rakes it up
only as a means of targeting the minority community. This completely belies the
so-called “reaching out” he is supposed to be doing.
Even in discussing the “convergence” of fertility
rates among religious communities, we are getting trapped in Bhagwat’s
discourse. He has talked of the need for a population balance but a population
imbalance, far more serious than between religious groups, exists between
states in India.
Kerala and, to a lesser extent, other southern states,
have been remarkably successful in effecting population control, while northern
states like Uttar Pradesh have been much less successful. This has actually
been a disadvantage for Kerala whenever the devolution of central funds occurs
on the basis of population. This differential, therefore, requires urgent
addressing because it entails penalising success in population control.
If Bhagwat is really concerned with population balance
per se, he should be asking states like Uttar Pradesh to reduce birth rates.
But his sole preoccupation is with the Hindu-Muslim dichotomy, where each of
these categories is taken as an integrated and pure totality, and that too
without drawing distinctions between, say, the “Kerala Muslims” and “UP
Muslims”, and the “Kerala Hindus” and “UP Hindus”.
His so-called “outreach” to Muslims, therefore,
involves a logical contradiction: it does not visualise an overcoming of
differences but a perpetuation of differences within which adjustments have to
be made by the minority community if it hopes to be “acceptable”.
Exactly the same holds on his stand vis-a-vis Dalits.
If Bhagwat’s idea is to overcome differences between Dalits and upper caste
Hindus, he should be welcoming marriages across these two groups, should be
castigating atrocities on Dalits which are actually growing, and should be
directing his organisation to protest against such atrocities. But none of this
has been on the RSS agenda. His professed concern for Dalits therefore appears
a mere electoral gambit.
Source:TelegraphIndia
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Germany sticks to Jammu & Kashmir line
24.10.22
Germany on Sunday said it had not changed its position
on Kashmir and the “bilateral path” was the way forward to resolve the vexed
issue, days after India rejected a call by the German and Pakistani foreign
ministers for involving the UN for a solution.
German ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann told PTI
in an interview that there was no new German policy on the Kashmir issue.
India reacted sharply after German foreign minister
Annalena Baerbock and her Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari at a
joint media conference in Berlin on October 7 spoke about a possible role by
the UN to resolve the Kashmir issue.
“Frankly, we were a little surprised by the harshness
of the media. You know the media and social media were a bit harsh. We take
note of it. So, apparently, the wording she (Baerbock) used was the reason for
misunderstandings,” Ackermann said.
Source:TelegraphIndia
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of the original story:
https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/germany-sticks-to-jammu-kashmir-line/cid/1893869
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MHA Cancels FCRA Licences Of Sonia Gandhi-Led Trusts
Accused Of Getting Funds From China, Zakir Naik
Oct 24, 2022
NEW DELHI: The Union home ministry has cancelled the
foreign funding licences of two trusts linked to the Gandhi family—Rajiv Gandhi
Foundation (RGF) and Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT), citing violations of
the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.
Sonia Gandhi is the chairperson of both the trusts.
The FCRA cancellation follows investigations by a
government panel set up in 2020 after BJP president J P Nadda said RGF had
received $300,000 from China and the Chinese embassy in 2005-06 to “conduct
studies that are not in the interest of India”.
RGCT was in the news for having got a Rs 50 lakh
donation in 2011 from Islamic Research Foundation, an NGO headed by Zakir Naik,
and now banned as an “unlawful association” under UAPA.
'Panel with MHA, CBI, ED and tax officials probed
Sonia-led trusts'
The inter-ministerial committee probing the trusts
comprised senior officials of MHA, CBI, ED and the income-tax department.
Apart from Sonia Gandhi, other trustees of RGF, set up
on June 21, 1991, include former PM Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra, P Chidambaram, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Suman Dubey and Ashok
Ganguly.
BJP chief JP Nadda’s claim that RGF had received
donations from China came close on the heels of Rahul questioning Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership in the context of Chinese incursions along
LAC in Ladakh in 2020.
Nadda had then said Congress had no moral right to
talk about the country’s security after having taken money from China through
trusts linked to the Gandhi family.
"This is a secret relationship between Congress
and China. These people take funds from China and then conduct studies that are
not in the interest of the country. These studies create the environment for
that. The nation wants to know for what they were paid and what study they
conducted,” Nadda had said.
RGF was also cornered by BJP for allegedly having
received funds from fugitive Mehul Choksi; former Yes Bank CEO Rana Kapoor
accused of money laundering; and foreign embassies.
BJP had also alleged that foreign receipts were being
transferred between RGF and RGCT, in violation of FCRA rules.
As per FCRA, the Centre can prohibit an entity from
accepting foreign donations if it finds that they are likely to prejudicially
affect sovereignty and integrity of India, public interest or friendly
relations with any foreign state, among others.
RGF, despite being a privately-run trust, has its
office at Jawahar Bhawan, located on prime government land.
Gandhi family, organisations linked to it not above
law: BJP
Welcoming the cancellation of the FCRA licenses of two
NGOs headed by Sonia Gandhi, BJP on Sunday said the Gandhi family and organisations
linked to them can't be above law and the action taken by them has exposed
their corruption.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said the MHA's decision
to cancel the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act licences of the Rajiv Gandhi
Foundation (RGF) and the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT) was as per law.
He also hit out at the RGF for receiving donations from controversial Islamic
preacher Zakir Naik, the Chinese embassy and the Chinese government besides
several people accused of corruption charges, including Yes Bank founder Rana
Kapoor, when the Congress-led UPA was in power.
Source: Times Of India
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Marathi Muslim Seva Sangh Meets Uddhav Thackeray, Vows
Support
Oct 23, 2022
Mumbai: After the Communist Party of India, the
Marathi Muslim Seva Sangh (MMSS) has met former CM Uddhav Thackeray and
extended its support to him as his Shiv Sena eyes secular and Muslim votes
riding on its anti-BJP stand ahead of the BMC polls.
Several prominent MMSS functionaries met Thackeray on
Friday. The organisation said Thackeray was preserving the real Hindu culture.
Assuring the team that his Sena would back Marathi Muslims, Thackeray said,
“Nationalist Muslims have always supported the Sena. You have come with a
feeling of brotherhood and extended support, I am very thankful. We are all
Marathi, so we will work together.”
Meanwhile, Raigad Congress leader Snehal Jagtap, who
is an arch rival of Mahad MLA Bharat Gogawale, also met Thackeray at Matoshree.
Sources said she may join the Sena and fight against Gogawale.
Source: Times Of India
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Muslim Personal Law Board suspends its women’s wing;
faces criticism
22nd October 2022
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has dissolved
its women’s wing after seven years of its formation. The body is now being
criticised strongly by several members publicly complaining of the move as
‘unfair and unjust’.
Members have alleged that the move was prompted by the
differences between the executive members with women members over their board’s
position on the hijab row.
Women’s wing convenor Dr Asma Zehra, received a letter
on October 11 from AIMPLB general secretary, Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani
informing her that the wing was suspended, stopping her from holding any
program under the wing banner. Social media accounts used by the wing members
were also asked to be deleted, the letter said.
Executive member Qasim Rasool Ilyas, in a report by
the Times of India, however, said that the wing was suspended temporarily for
the board to study its mandate, and will be functional again. When asked about
the reason for the dissolution of the wing, Qasim Rasool Ilyas said that the
wing members carried out activities like teaching women sewing, tailoring, and
stitching and also started giving scholarships to students which is not a part
of the board’s purview.
In an open letter, Tahniyat Ather, a member of the
board from Hyderabad, said that the wing was dissolved since the men were
unhappy and the board was thus considered the board male and maulvi dominated.
The board has over 251 general members, of which about 30 are women. Its
executive committee, which is the governing body, has 51 members and about five
women members.
“We do not know what happened, and we were not
informed of the decision. We were actively working, and are shocked by the
decision. I won’t be able to say more at this point,” Ather said.
The board suspended the wing on recommendations of a
four-membered enquiry committee formed in March 2022. Many members including
senior committee members called AIMPLB’s decision arbitrary and unilateral.
Speaking to Deccan Herald, Dr. Shaista Amber, founder,
and president of the All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board said that the
disbanding was shameful. “This is very unfortunate; the talent and the freedom
of our sisters have been stopped. This move goes against the grain of gender
equality, and is shameful,” she said.
Zakia Soman of the Bharatiya Muslim Andolan, also a
petitioner in the triple talaq case, said that the move exposes the true face
of the board. “The board has lost its relevance after women took matters into
their own hands; they have no connections with women’s rights and equality and
they work to create impediments to women’s rights. The board serves to maintain
the status quo,” Soman said.
Source: Siasat Daily
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https://www.siasat.com/muslim-personal-law-board-suspends-its-women-wing-faces-criticism-2439800/
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Security forces bust terrorist hideout in J&K
Oct 23, 2022
JAMMU: Security forces in a joint operation on
Saturday busted a terrorist hideout in a forest area in the Ramban district of
Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the recovery of a huge cache of ammunition and
explosives.
Police said that information was received through
reliable sources regarding the presence of arms, ammunition, and related
material in the far-flung hilly and forested area of Khari, following which a
joint team of the Army’s 23RR and police launched a search operation and
suspected hideout locations were searched, which led to the recovery of a huge
haul of arms and ammunition. “The recovery included 310 AK-47 rounds (rusted
condition), 30 rounds of 9mm ammunition (rusted), one 9mm magazine, six AK-47
magazines (rusted), one grenade and other material,” said a police official.
A case under Arms Act and Explosives Substances Act
was registered at Banihal.
Source: Times Of India
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Doctor Using ‘Zakat’ Money To Treat Patients From All
Communities
Oct 24, 2022
Mumbai: Nandu Yadav, a BMC contract employee has been
visiting Dr Aqeel Khan’s clinic in Bandra for the past four months as his
family gets treated there at a nominal cost. Yadav, 45, is among the 150-odd
people who benefits from the clinic daily.
Dr Aqeel Khan, a pathologist from Bandra, has been
using Zakat money contributed by members of the Muslim community to treat the
poor and the needy regardless of the religion of the patient.
As per Sharia, zakat can be used only for the Muslim
community and hence Dr Khan took permission from the head of a local mosque to
use the money to buy medicines for all the communities.
“Zakat amount is purely for helping the
underprivileged Muslims. However, by using the ‘Ela Shari’ principle wherein a
person or organisation helping the needy is made the owner of the Zakat amount,
it can then be utilised for helping people from other communities as well,”
said Maulana Tohid Akhtar, pesh Imam, Bandra mosque.
As some members of the community tried to take zakat
money fradulently, Dr Khan thought of disbursing medicines to the needy,
irrespective of their religion.
The doctor and his wife, who is also a doctor, now
provide medicines for common ailments for ₹25 to underprivileged families from
different communities. The small clinic at SV Road, Bandra, treats and gives
medicines to nearly 150-170 patients a day and also offers various medical
tests at discounted rates.
Taking out Zakat from one’s income and savings is one
of the pillars of Islam and is a religious duty for all Muslims who meet the
necessary criteria for wealth. A Muslim has to keep aside 2.5% of his annual
savings and income as Zakat. The amount is meant to help the needy persons from
the community and is a mandatory charitable contribution, often considered to
be a tax, as per Sharia.
How did it start?
Dr Khan, who has been running a pathology lab at S V
Road for more than 15 years, received a sum of ₹9 lakh Zakat amount from his
acquaintances in the United Kingdom (UK) last year. He was told that as there
were not many eligible people to receive the amount in that country, the amount
should be disbursed to the needy Muslims in India.
When word of Dr Khan wanting to disburse a Zakat
amount had spread, many needy persons approached him and after the initial
verification, he gave them the amount. During this period, a couple approached
him seeking a huge amount for their 14-year-old daughter’s cancer treatment.
After going through the hospital and medicine bills, Dr Khan gave a substantial
amount of the Zakat money to the couple.
After a couple of days, Dr Khan inquired about the
couple and was stunned to know that the couple was well endowed as they owned
two flats in the buildings in Bandra. The man also had a business from which he
made a decent income, hence the couple was not eligible to get the benefit of
the Zakat amount.
On learning about the fraud, he felt guilty about
misusing the religious fund intended to help the needy and hence consulted
Maulana Tohid Akhtar, the pesh Imam (head of congregation) of the Sunni Mosque
outside Bandra station and discussed his dilemma.
The doctor also sought to know whether the remaining
amount of Zakat with him could be used to buy medicines for the needy so that
only the destitute would benefit. Maulana Akhtar permitted him after which Dr
Khan and his wife Dr Nasreen Khan started offering medicines at ₹25 at the
clinic next to the Badi Masjid at S V Road.
“I hit on the idea of buying and disbursing medicines
among the poor after the fraud was played on me. Maulana Akhtar guided me on
how the Zakat amount could be utilised for fulfilling the religious obligations
of the givers,” said Dr Khan.
He added that he is relieved of not violating any
religious norms by accepting the amount through an NGO which works for the
upliftment of the needy, regardless of which religion they belong to.
According to patients, the medicines are very
effective and economical hence they prefer to visit the clinic rather than
consulting other doctors who charge at least ₹300 per consultancy. The patients
are usually people who earn less than ₹15,000 a month and some of them who have
moved away still prefer to visit the clinic whenever they are unwell and need
medication.
“We were living at J J Nagar and used to visit the
clinic for cheap medicines. However, after shifting to Kurla last month we
realised that consultancy charges of doctors were very high,” said Shaukat
Shaikh, a timely visitor of Dr Khan.
Source: Hindustan Times
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Arab World
Rights commission highlights Saudi Arabia’s efforts,
reforms in human rights
October 24, 2022
RIYADH: The President of the Human Rights Commission
(HRC), Dr Hala bint Mazyad Al-Tuwaijri, highlighted Saudi Arabia’s latest
efforts and reforms in human rights, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on
Sunday.
Al-Tuwaijri stressed that the advancements come as
part of the leadership’s aim to protect and promote human rights and
consolidate the principles of justice and equality, according to SPA.
The reforms in the Kingdom also aim to raise the
quality of life in the country, protect various segments of society, and
empower women, the HRC president said.
Saudi Arabia has placed empowering women, enhancing
their rights, and activating their role in the national economy at the
forefront of its reforms, she added.
The latest developments have also ensured the
protection of the rights of children, the elderly, and persons with
disabilities, as well as the combating of human trafficking, and developing a
system of specialized legislation.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2186856/saudi-arabia
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9 Daesh/ISIS terrorists captured in al-Bab, northern
Syria
Ahmet Sertan Usul
23.10.2022
Nine Daesh/ISIS terrorists, including four ringleaders,
were captured in al-Bab, northern Syria, an area near Türkiye’s southern
border, the Turkish Interior Ministry said Sunday.
Intelligence work by the Syrian Task Force al-Bab
Gendarmerie Advisory Command under the follow-up and coordination of the
Gaziantep Provincial Gendarmerie Command found that Daesh/ISIS units in Syria
have been giving training to members of the group in the suicide bombing,
sabotage, attack, handmade explosives (IED), assassination, and intelligence
and that the terrorists are looking to attack al-Bab and Türkiye, said a
ministry statement.
During the operation on Saturday, nine terrorists,
including the group’s assassination/execution ringleader and also an assistant
of the Syria/Damascus/Maddava region, codenamed Abu Mushap, was detained, along
with two logistics supervisors and financial affairs supervisors.
A large cache of digital materials was seized during
searches at the residences of the terrorists, who were arrested by the local
court to which they were referred.
Al-Bab, cleared of the Daesh/ISIS terror group five
years ago through Turkiye's Operation Euphrates Shield, became a safe haven for
400,000 civilians despite mounting attacks of the terrorist group YPG/PKK, but
terrorists occasionally try to infiltrate the area.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Lebanon’s top Christian cleric raps MPs for creating
‘presidential vacuum’
NAJIA HOUSSARI
October 23, 2022
BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi has
accused Lebanese MPs of trying to lead the country into a presidential vacuum.
Parliament is set to hold its fourth session to elect
a new leader on Monday, as President Michel Aoun’s term ends on Oct. 31.
Addressing the Lebanese ruling class in his Sunday
sermon, Al-Rahi said: “We have reached the height of political corruption,
which is even worse than financial corruption.”
He said that during recent parliamentary sessions,
some MPs had acted “as if they were in a play, instead of presenting our
crises-hit Lebanon with a president who would be accepted by the Lebanese
people and act as a true statesman, instead of a politician who is concerned
with his own interests at the expense of the public good.”
He continued: “Is there higher treason toward the
homeland than disrupting the election of a new president? Is there a better way
to create more division than leading the country into a presidential vacuum?
“Is this how you respond to the statement issued by
the International Support Group for Lebanon, calling on electing a president
within the constitutional deadline who would assume his responsibilities at
home and abroad in the current circumstances?”
Al-Rahi’s remarks came as Lebanon flounders with an
economic crisis that has damaged infrastructure and caused social and health
crises.
The latest challenge is a cholera outbreak in the
Bekaa, the north and south, as water refining plants are no longer operating
due to the public electricity network being out of service for more than two
days. The power outage has also disrupted services at Beirut Airport and Beirut
Port.
Caretaker Minister of Public Works Ali Hamiyeh said
the airport had become dependent on three private generators.
“The cost of buying diesel for the generators is very
high and we cannot guarantee that the airport can continue operating this way,”
he said.
“We will discuss this issue with caretaker Prime
Minister Najib Mikati and caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayyad to find a
solution.”
The airport relies on Middle East Airlines to supply
it with diesel for the generators, but the carrier has expressed its inability
to continue to help indefinitely due to the high costs involved.
Meanwhile, US mediator Amos Hochstein is expected to
arrive in Beirut this week with the text of the official US agreement to
demarcate the maritime borders between Lebanon and Israel.
On Sunday, Israel’s Supreme Court rejected all
petitions against the deal, which paves the way for the Israeli Cabinet to
approve it within the week.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said the court’s decision
“will allow us to move forward with the important agreement on the maritime
border with Lebanon in the coming days.”
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon command in Naqoura is
preparing to host the signing ceremony and Aoun is expected on Tuesday to name
the official who will represent Lebanon at the event.
Lebanon and Israel are scheduled to send two separate
letters to the UN about the terms of the understanding to ensure that no
violations occur and to fix the coordinates of the maritime borders.
Meanwhile, a Cypriot delegation will arrive in Lebanon
on Monday to discuss the demarcation of the borders between their two
countries.
The delegation is expected to meet with Deputy
Parliament Speaker Elias Bou Saab, caretaker Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib
and Fayyad.
The Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier
received a letter from the Cypriot government calling for dialogue to “correct
the maritime border points and coordinates between Lebanon and Cyprus in light
of the Lebanese-Israeli maritime border demarcation agreement, before
reestablishing them with the UN.”
Lebanon began demarcating its borders with Cyprus
through negotiations between 2007 and 2009. But Cyprus violated the
understanding with Lebanon in 2011 and demarcated its borders with Israel.
The agreement between Lebanon and Cyprus stipulated
that the latter could not complete the demarcation with Israel without an
understanding with Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Aoun instructed Bou Saab to head a
delegation to Damascus to discuss the maritime border demarcation with Syria.
The delegation includes Bou Habib, Hamiyeh and Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim,
director general of Lebanon’s General Security.
Aoun is reported to have contacted his Syrian
counterpart Bashar Al-Assad a few days ago to discuss demarcating the borders.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2186731/middle-east
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Egypt’s Dar al-Iftaa launches ‘Fatwa Pro’ app
October 23, 2022
The Egyptian Dar al-Iftaa institute announced the
launching of its ‘Fatwa Pro’ application, during the seventh international
edition of the “Fatwa and Sustainable Development Goals” conference.
‘Fatwa Pro’ is a multilingual app established to
communicate with all forms of Muslim communities, especially in English and
French speaking countries in its first stage to serve as a moderate mufti
(judicial source of Islamic opinion) through a credible channel.
The application came out of a belief in the importance
of internationalizing religious knowledge and overcoming all obstacles in order
to reach its seekers.
It comes in response to issues Muslims face especially
in abroad and the need for fatwas and religious rulings free of any extremist
influence.
‘Fatwa Pro’ aims to be the #1 application for all
legal and fatwa reference by providing a number of religious services,
including: providing fatwas in an easy and simplified manner, receiving
questions from all over the world and in more than one language, and responding
quickly to various questions with educated opinions.
The application seeks to focus on placing fixed
sections that include religious, social and psychological guidance for Muslims to help them face various problems.
‘Fatwa Pro’s’ work cycle is supported by a group of
experts, scholars, specialists and translators, to ensure the highest quality
service.
Source: Egypt Independent
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https://www.egyptindependent.com/egypts-dar-al-iftaa-launches-fatwa-pro-app/
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Lebanon, Syria discuss sea border after Beirut’s deal
with Israel
22 October, 2022
The Lebanese and Syrian presidents discussed
delineating their countries’ shared maritime border on Saturday before a visit
to Damascus next week by a Lebanese delegation tasked with negotiating the
issue, a Lebanese official said.
A dispute over their shared sea boundary emerged last
year after Syria granted a license to a Russian energy company to begin
maritime exploration in an area Lebanon claimed. Several gas discoveries have
been made in the eastern Mediterranean.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun earlier said
demarcating the border would be next after Lebanon agreed its southern maritime
boundary with longtime foe Israel following years of indirect US-mediated
talks.
Aoun told Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that
Lebanon was keen “to begin negotiations with Syria to delineate its northern
maritime boundary,” the Lebanese official told Reuters after Saturday’s talks.
Aoun then tasked Elias Bou Saab, the deputy speaker of
parliament who negotiated on behalf of Lebanon in the indirect talks over the
boundary with Israel, to head a delegation to Damascus next week to kickstart
discussions, the official said.
The delegation would include the Lebanese foreign and
transport ministers as well as the head of the General Security agency Abbas
Ibrahim, the official added.
Syria’s Sham FM radio reported that details of the
delineation had yet to be discussed and that Assad proposed holding direct
talks via the countries’ foreign ministries.
The two leaders discussed delineation last year.
Aoun’s term as president of Lebanon, which is the
midst of a deep political and economic crisis, ends on October 31. Three
parliamentary sessions have failed to elect a successor.
Assad secured another seven-year term last year in an
election derided by Syria’s opposition and the West as a farce.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Saudi Crown Prince will not travel to Algeria for Arab
summit per doctor’s advice
23 October, 2022
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will
not travel to Algeria to attend the Arab League summit based on the advice of
his doctors, state news agency SPA reported on Sunday.
“King Salman had originally directed the Crown Prince
to head the Kingdom’s delegation to the Arab League summit in Algeria. However,
the medical team at the royal clinics recommended that the Crown Prince avoid
traveling by plane for non-stop long distances to avoid ear barotrauma and
effects on the middle ear. This made it impossible for the Crown Prince to
visit Algeria, given that the length of the roundtrip journey should not exceed
24 hours,” SPA quoted the royal court.
Source: Al Arabiya
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JPMorgan set to hire 20 more bankers to boost
operations in Saudi Arabia
23 October, 2022
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is set to add another 20
people to its Saudi Arabia operation by the end of the year as it looks to
capitalize on one of the world’s few bright spots for equity capital markets.
The US bank will have doubled the size of its Saudi
operations by the end of the year, compared to 2016, Bader Alamoudi, JPMorgan’s
senior country officer said in an interview.
The bank will be hiring across investment bankers,
local custody, client services and back office staff, he said.
“We see a very strong pipeline of deals coming up
across M&A and IPOs, there’s still a lot of interest from local companies
to list and from foreign investors looking to get exposure to the Saudi
market,” he said.
JPMorgan chairman and chief executive officer Jamie
Dimon is due to arrive in Riyadh later this week to attend Saudi Arabia’s
flagship investment conference, dubbed Davos in the Desert.
US bankers have significantly expanded their presence
in Saudi Arabia since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched a plan to
overhaul the Kingdom’s economy by opening up to foreign investors, selling off
state-owned assets, and seeking to build one of the world’s largest sovereign
wealth funds. That’s helped make Saudi Arabia a hotspot for initial public
offerings even as deals dry up in other parts of the world.
Source: Al Arabiya
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West seeking to throw independent countries, like
Iran, into disarray: Top Syrian diplomat
23 October 2022
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mikdad has said that
the West is seeking to plunge independent countries, like Iran, into confusion
and disarray, stating that the US and its allies want the Islamic Republic to
be dependent and in ruins.
Mikdad made the comments during a telephone
conversation with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Sunday.
The top Syrian diplomat pointed to the bitter and
disastrous results of foreign interventions in his war-ravaged country under
the false pretext of protecting human rights, and the abject failure of the Tel
Aviv regime and its supporters in hatching plots and creating crises for the
Syrian government and nation.
“They [the West] seek to plunge independent countries,
including the Islamic Republic of Iran, into crisis. The United States and the
West want Iran to ruin and become dependent, not prosperous, developed, and
independent. Everyone saw what the US and its allies did to Syria, Iraq, and
Afghanistan,” Mikdad said.
Amir-Abdollahian, for his part, reiterated that the
Palestinian issue and support for the resistance front as well as the Syrian
government and people are among Tehran’s principled and logical positions.
“Political and propaganda campaigns could by no means
undermine the Iranian government and nation’s determination to follow the path
to progress, independence, and dignity, protect the stability and security of
regional countries and counter foreign interference and the Zionist regime’s
acts of aggression,” the Iranian foreign minister said.
The Iranian nation will vigilantly thwart the enemies’
plots, Amir-Abdollahian stated.
The two senior diplomats also discussed issues of
common interest in regional and international affairs and stressed the need to
promote the relations between Tehran and Damascus, especially economic and
trade ties.
Last week, Iran’s Foreign Ministry vehemently censured
the United States over meddling in the Islamic Republic’s domestic affairs
after President Joe Biden voiced support for riots in the country, made an
interventionist statement, and sought encouragement of violence.
“On Saturday, Biden interfered for the umpteenth time
in Iran's state matters by supporting the riots as he has done ever since the
outbreak of recent developments in Iran,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser
Kan’ani said.
He added, “Given the fact he neither does enjoy
trusted advisers nor a good memory, I remind him that Iran is so strong and
steadfast that it would not give in to his cruel sanctions and idle threats. It
is also so proud that would be unfazed by the interventions and exclamations of
a politician tired of years of the futile campaign against Iran.”
Source: Press TV
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Pakistan
Media’s
role in countering disinformation about Islam critical: Marriyum
October
23, 2022
ISTANBUL:
Minister
for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb urged the Organisation of
Islamic Conference (OIC) member states to “optimally utilise” opportunities
offered by digital platforms and social media to help improve the image of
Islam and Muslims.
“The
media’s role in this regard, while critical, would only be meaningful if it is
given a common sense of direction,” said Marriyum.
She
was in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul to attend a two-day 12th Conference
of the Information Ministers of the OIC which concluded on Saturday.
The
conference underscored the need to combat Islamophobia and hatred against Islam
in all manifestations while calling for “utilising new and emerging platforms
and technological innovations to present the truth” about Islam effectively.
It
also emphasised the importance of cooperation among OIC member states in
“developing necessary mechanisms to fight disinformation and other related
challenges of the post-truth era, and devising short, medium, and long-term
strategic processes in the total fight against disinformation.”
Pakistan's
current role in OIC
Pakistan
currently holds the chair of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM), which
Marriyum told Anadolu Agency, is a “singular honour and important
responsibility” for the South Asian nation.
Read
Pakistan seeks $6.3b China debt rollover
Several
initiatives were taken under Islamabad’s leadership, she said, including the
Plan of Action on the Kashmir dispute, the peace, and security architecture at
the OIC, launching and strengthening of humanitarian assistance for
Afghanistan, efforts for the appointment of a special envoy on Islamophobia and
enhancing economic coordination amongst OIC member states in critical areas
like trade, investment, and IT cooperation.
The
initiatives are part of resolutions adopted at an Islamabad summit of OIC
foreign ministers in March.
“Pakistan
is committed to playing an active role in these important areas during and
beyond our chairmanship of the CFM,” she said.
Fraternal
relations with Türkiye
The
minister said Pakistan and Türkiye “enjoy excellent fraternal relations” which
have been “transformed into a strategic partnership.”
In
recent years, Ankara and Islamabad have upgraded bilateral relations through
what is called the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC) – where
annual meetings are held in either country.
“Both
countries are making progress in deepening bilateral relations in diverse
areas: political, defense, trade and economy, health, education, and
agriculture and industry.
“We
have excellent ongoing cooperation through Joint Working Groups (JWGs) in these
respective areas as well as the Strategic Economic Framework (SEF),” said
Marriyum, urging the two sides “to step up their cooperation in deepening
economic and trade ties.”
She
said because of the signing of the Trade in Goods Agreement (TGA) in August,
during the Turkish trade minister’s visit to Pakistan, “We hope that both
countries would be able to achieve the target of $5 billion in the next three
years.”
Current
trade stands at a little more than $1 billion while the target to boost trade
to $5 billion was set when Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited
Ankara in June.
Will
‘never forget’ Turkish solidarity during floods
Marriyum
said Türkiye dispatched 15 humanitarian flights and 13 “Kindness Trains” to
Pakistan during recent floods which devastated the country with damage of
around $30 billion, according to government estimates.
More
than 1,700 people were killed during the flooding which affected 33 million
Pakistanis.
“Türkiye
is one of the foremost countries contributing to the flood relief efforts in
Pakistan.
Read
More Muslim schoolchildren in France often denied food options that fit their
faith
“We
immensely thank President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and our Turkish brothers and sisters
for generously contributing to relief efforts being undertaken in Pakistan
after recent catastrophic climate-induced floods in the country,” she said.
“Turkish solidarity with Pakistan during these challenging times is a testament
to our heart-to-heart relations. We will never forget this.”
Cooperation
in co-production of audio-visual services
Marriyum
said her ministry had concluded two “cooperation protocols” with the Turkish
Radio Television Corporation during the 6th High-Level Strategic Cooperation
Council when the Turkish president visited Islamabad in March 2020.
In
addition, two more “cooperation agreements” were signed within the same HLSCC
framework.
“These
instruments provide great avenues of bilateral cooperation on information and
content sharing as well as collaboration in broadcasting,” the minister said.
She
said an agreement on co-production in audio-visual services “is being actively
considered from both sides.”
Presidential
orchestra gives Turkish rendition of Pakistani anthem
Expressing
“profound appreciation and indebtedness” to the Presidential Symphony Orchestra
of Türkiye, Marriyum said the Pakistani national anthem was given a fresh
rendition by Turkish artists.
Thanking
Turkish maestro Cemi'i Can Deliorman, she said he “not only graciously agreed
to render the recording but also declined to accept any payment of a fee to the
orchestra as an expression of the close friendship between the two nations.”
“An
orchestral version of the national anthem using stringed instruments, in addition
to brass band instruments, is a unique asset in the national anthem repertoire
of Pakistan,” she said.
She
said the excellent quality of the new Pakistani anthem by the Presidential
Symphony Orchestra “reflects high levels of professional artistry and skills
and its audio-visual content has been uploaded for streaming on relevant online
platforms and websites of the government of Pakistan for everyone to benefit
from.”
Pakistan’s
‘balanced, logical approach’ to disinformation
Acknowledging
the “improved” penetration of the internet in Pakistani society and “into our
lives as a global phenomenon,” Marriyum said the advent of powerful smartphones
and easy-to-use graphic editing software, “users can create and post some
content online, which is defamatory, or false or fake, leading to
misinformation and disinformation.”
But
she said Pakistan has “adopted a balanced and logical approach on this issue.”
“On
one hand, the legal framework is being strengthened to protect people from the
effects of this disinformation.
“On
the other hand, the government is making every effort to educate, inform the
masses on the topic as well as to create awareness in the masses,” she said.
Marriyum
said her ministry is “taking every effort to inform and educate the masses on
this.
“Any
fake news worthy of clarification is rebutted through print, electronic and
social media,” she said, adding that a dedicated cyber wing at the ministry
responds to “fake news” related to the government of Pakistan.
Urges
OIC to send journalists to Kashmir, Palestine
Calling
for strategic partnerships with media organizations in OIC member states, the
minister said: “The situation in the Indian illegally occupied Jammu and
Kashmir is very well-known to the world. International media has regularly highlighted
the plight and continued violation of human rights of Kashmiris at the hands of
Indian occupation forces.”
“This
is despite the fact that Pakistan and the Kashmiris have been subjected to one
of the severest forms of sustained government-funded disinformation campaigns,”
Marriyum said.
“The
EU DisinfoLab’s revelations unearthed a years-long disinformation operation
carried out by Indian agencies to target Pakistan and the Kashmiris,” she said.
A
15-year campaign to “denigrate” Pakistan and Kashmir at international forums
was discovered by the Europe-based disinformation watchdog in late 2020.
The
EU DisinfoLab exposed how India Chronicles targeted the European Union and UN
with more than 750 fake local media outlets and more than 10 sham non-governmental
organizations.
Source:
Tribune Pakistan
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Transgender
rights law: Activists, religious leaders come face to face
Sheharyar
Rizwan
October
24, 2022
LAHORE:
In a session on the concluding day of the Asma Jahangir Conference, while on
one hand activists attempted to explain to the audience what the transgender
rights law was all about, religious leaders stressed it needed to be in line
with Islamic principles.
The
session, ‘Transgender Rights Law Under Threat and the Plight of the Community
in Pakistan’, was moderated on Sunday by lawyer Reema Omer.
In
her keynote address on the occasion, National Commission for Human Rights
(NCHR) Chairperson Rabiya Javeri Agha talked about incidents of violence
against transgender persons and how the killers have never been punished.
She
also referredto the Khaki vs Rawalpindi case of 2009 that argued that the
transgender community needed legal representation and equal treatment as
granted under the Constitution.
“These
directions under the judgement were realized in the 2018 transgender rights
law; it’s not about homosexuality, gay marriage. It establishes the right to
self-identify – the right of a person to choose their legal sex based on their
perception of their gender, what you feel inside.”
She
questioned why the transgender community should be subjected to the humiliation
of a test for getting an identity card when a man or woman wasn’t.
“Rolling
back of the law has made a vulnerable community extremely more vulnerable now,”
she concluded.
Senator
Kamran Murtaza of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) attempted to clarify
how religious parties were not opposed to the law, and claimed the community
was being exploited by society as a whole and not by the religious circles.
“If
the Constitution and law gave them all the rights, there should not have been
any problem, but since they didn’t, it means the problem lied somewhere else.
We want to correct the law; our issue is Islam, religion.”
Explaining
the concerns with the law, the senator said the idea that a person chose their
gender based on their perception was problematic; genders were determined on
physical features.
These
things were in turn related to issues of inheritance among others, so if there
was any ambiguity over a gender, a medical board could be engaged for
clarification, otherwise perceptions would create many issues, he added.
Researcher
and activist Mehlab Sheikh charted the history of violence, discrimination and
persecution of the community since the British era.
She
explained the law, in essence, was anti-discrimination and saved the community
from embarrassing procedures to determine their genders, and provided mechanism
to report gender-based violence through gender expression and identity.
“Once
again, a moral panic has been created that the law endangered family values and
promoted homosexuality. Transgender persons were only being scapegoated,” she
added.
Activist
and Transgender Protection Unit in-charge Nayyab Ali questioned under what
research transpersonswere labelled homosexuals.
She
remarked that vulnerable communities needed legal protections because they
weren’t given constitutional rights, lamenting there was gatekeeping to stop
the transgender community from benefiting from the law, becoming doctors,
professor, experts in ministries.
She
blamed religious parties of using the law to appease their vote bank, claiming
if these parties won in courts, they could use it as a vehicle to undo all
progressive legislation in the country.
Islamic
scholar Haider Farooq Maududi said a solution to the issue lied in the
scientific and biological aspect of a transgender that could be solved amicably
by seeking views of relevant experts.
Nature
created a man and woman, and transgenders were categorized as those with a
different chromosomal composition due to certain medical reasons. To clear any
doubts, an international medical commission under the World Health Organisation
(WHO) had suggested names and titles for such people that could be referred to.
Source:
Dawn
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--------
No
bar on Imran from contesting election: IHC chief justice
Tahir
Naseer
October
24, 2022
Islamabad
High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Athar Minallah observed on Monday that PTI
Chairman Imran Khan had not been barred from contesting in future elections
following the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) verdict in the Toshakhana
reference against him, adding that the former premier “won’t face any problems”
to contest in the NA-45 (Kurram-I) by-election scheduled to be held on Oct 30.
His
observation came during a hearing on Imran’s petition challenging the ECP
decision to disqualify him over what the electoral watchdog said was his
failure to properly account for monetary proceeds from the sale of Toshakhana
gifts while he was the prime minister.
At
the outset of the hearing, Imran’s lawyer, Barrister Ali Zafar, urged the court
to start hearing the petition despite administrative objections by the
registrar.
When
Justice Minallah questioned what the hurry was, Zafar replied that his client
had been disqualified ahead of the by-election in Kurram.
The
IHC chief justice observed, “Imran Khan is not disqualified for that election.
“There
should be one standard for all. There is no need to rush in this case.”
The
court would hear the petition once the objections were removed, the judge said.
When
Zafar requested the court to issue a stay order on the verdict, Justice
Minallah pointed out that the ECP’s detailed judgement was not available yet.
“Which
verdict should the court stay?” he asked. “Imran does not want to return to the
same seat he was disqualified from, does he?”
Zafar
argued that the stay was needed because the PTI chairman was contesting in an
upcoming by-election. However, Justice Minallah said Imran would not face any
problems in this regard.
When
the counsel argued that the public would not understand the matter, Justice
Minallah replied that it was not the court’s job to explain to the public.
“This
has not happened previously. The court cannot set such an example,” the judge
remarked.
Zafar
then said the ECP’s decision was also unprecedented. However, the IHC chief
justice observed that it was normal practice to issue a detailed judgement
later.
The
court expected a copy of the judgement to be released within three days,
Justice Minallah said, adding that if it did not happen, then the court would
look into the matter.
“The
court issued directives to implement [its verdict] the same day in connection
with a case related to inmates. The court should issue directives to the ECP to
submit the verdict today in our case as well,” Zafar contended.
At
this, the judge noted that in the case Zafar referred to, the inmates were
being tortured which was why urgent directives were needed.
The
PTI counsel said the present case was related to a democratic issue and the ECP
could “change the verdict”.
Justice
Minallah, however, remained firm, observing that the court would have listened
to the petition if there was any reason to rush.
Zafar
argued that the ECP had “changed its verdict” in the prohibited funding case
against the PTI. “This case has become a black mark against Imran Khan. He does
not want to contest the election with it.”
“Many
[people] have been disqualified before this case. Did it affect their politics?
This court does not issue directives to any constitutional body. We are giving
a week’s time. If the verdict’s copy is not received, we will see [then],”
Justice Minallah said.
“Wait
for the [written] verdict. This is a routine matter. The Election Commission is
not delaying it,” he observed.
Zafar
then told the court that the ECP had also directed to initiate legal
proceedings against Imran to which the judge replied that the sessions court
would hear that matter.
Subsequently,
the court directed the PTI counsel to remove the objections on the petition
within three days.
Imran’s
disqualification and plea
The
Toshakhana is a department under the administrative control of the Cabinet
Division and stores precious gifts given to rulers, parliamentarians,
bureaucrats, and officials by heads of other governments and states and foreign
dignitaries.
According
to Toshakhana rules, gifts/presents and other such materials received by
persons to whom these rules apply shall be reported to the Cabinet Division.
A
reference alleging that Imran had not shared details of the gifts he retained
from the Toshaskhana and proceeds from their reported sales was filed by
lawmakers from the ruling coalition in August, and the ECP concluded on Friday
that the former premier had indeed made “false statement and incorrect
declarations” regarding the gifts — a ruling that prompted widespread protests
by the PTI.
The
watchdog’s order said Imran stood disqualified under Article 63(1)(p) of the
Constitution.
Subsequently,
Zafar filed a writ petition in the IHC on Imran’s behalf, requesting the court
to declare the order “against the settled principles of law” on Article 63.
The
plea further urged the court to declare the ECP’s order “misconceived” and set
it aside.
Imran
also sought a court declaration stating that the ECP lacked the jurisdiction to
decide “any questions of ‘corrupt practices and disqualification’” under the
Election Act and Election Rules, 2017.
Kurram
by-election
NA-45
was one of the four National Assembly constituencies of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
where polling for by-elections was originally scheduled for Oct 16, but the ECP
postponed it. It later issued a notification for holding the polls in the
constituency on Oct 30.
Source:
Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1716675/no-bar-on-imran-from-contesting-election-ihc-chief-justice
--------
Bajaur
peace body resents officials’ ‘failure’ to honour commitments
October
24, 2022
BAJAUR:
Members of Bajaur peace action committee comprising elders and political
leaders have deplored authorities’ failure to take concrete measures to curb
attempts to sabotage the ‘hard-earned’ peace in the region.
They
voiced their concern at a meeting held here on Sunday under the chair of the
body’s president Maulana Abdur Rasheed, who is also Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl’s
Bajaur chief.
PPP
leader Akhunzada Chattan, JI’s Sardar Khan, Qari Abdul Majeed, PML-N district
president Malik Gul Kareem Khan, ANP’s Sheikh Jan Zada, PPP’s Mohammad Anees
Khan, and other notables were in attendance.
The
participants regretted that the local authorities had yet to honour their commitments
made to the committee to take steps to curb sabotage activities in the
district.
They
said the officials had assured to implement a 12-point agenda put forward by
the committee members at the end of their week-long protest on August 28, but
to no avail.
The
participants slammed the PTI local lawmakers for not playing their due role in
that regard.
APPEAL:
Family members have demanded of the authorities to help trace the body of a man
drowned in the Indus River in Upper Kohistan when a car he was driving plunged
into the waters a few days ago. Six members of a family, also travelling in the
car, had also drowned in the incident. Search for the bodies is ongoing.
Source: Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1716575/bajaur-peace-body-resents-officials-failure-to-honour-commitments
--------
Terrorist
killed in Shalobar IBO: ISPR
October
24, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
The security forces on Sunday killed a terrorist during an intelligence-based
operation (IBO) conducted in general area Shalobar of Khyber District,
following reports about presence of terrorists after intense fire exchange.
The
Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) informed in a news release that the
forces also recovered weapon and ammunition from the killed terrorist. The
killed terrorist remained actively involved in terrorist activities against the
security forces, it added.
A
day earlier, four terrorists were killed in an intelligence-based operation
(IBO) conducted by the security forces in North Waziristan.
Security
forces conducted the IBO in the Spimwam area of North Waziristan after a
tip-off about presence of the terrorists. After an intense exchange of fire,
four terrorists were killed by the security forces.
According
to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the killed terrorists had been
involved in attacks on the security forces. Arms and explosive material were
also recovered from the killed terrorists’ possession during the IBO, the
statement added.
Source:Pakistan
Today
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of the original story:
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2022/10/24/terrorist-killed-in-shalobar-ibo-ispr/
--------
Soldier
martyred thwarting terrorists’ attack from Afghanistan: ISPR
October
23, 2022
RAWALPINDI:
A soldier of Pakistan Army on Sunday embraced martyrdom while thwarting
terrorists’ attack from inside Afghanistan across the international border who
opened fire on a military post in Hassan Khel Sector of North Waziristan
district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The
Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a news release said the Pakistan Army
troops responded in a befitting manner. The martyred soldier was identified as
Assistant Lance Daffadar Waqar Ali, 32-year-old, resident of Chota Lahore,
Swabi who embraced martyrdom during the fire exchange.
“Pakistan
has consistently been requesting Afghanistan to ensure effective border
management. Pakistan strongly condemns the use of Afghan soil by terrorists for
activates against Pakistan,” the ISPR said.
Source:Pakistan
Today
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--------
Europe
Dutch
police disperse planned Quran burning rally of Islamophobic group Pegida
Selman
Aksünger
22.10.2022
ROTTERDAM,
Netherlands
Dutch
police on Saturday arrested a leader of far-right Islamophobic group Pegida,
which ended the planned Quran burning rally of the group in Rotterdam before it
started.
Anti-Islam
movement Pegida earlier announced that they would gather in the city center of
Rotterdam on Saturday to burn a copy of Quran, Muslims’ holy book.
As
a small group of people attended the demonstration, the police warned the
Pegida members on the grounds that they used hate speech.
The
Dutch police told Anadolu Agency that Edwin Wagensveld, head of Pegida
Netherlands, who ignored the warnings and continued his hate speech, was
arrested, while other members were dispersed.
Meanwhile,
several Muslim communities in the Netherlands held a counter-demonstration in
the same square in Rotterdam on Saturday.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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UK
says Russia continues to use Iran's UAVs against Ukraine
Oct
24, 2022
Russia
continues to use Iranian unscrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) against targets
throughout the Ukrainian territory, the British Ministry of Defence said on
Monday.
Russia
is likely using the Iranian Shahed-136 UAVs to infiltrate Ukranian air defences
and as a substitute for Russian-manufactured long-range precision weapons that
are becoming increasingly scarce, the ministry said in its update on Twitter.
Source:
Times Of India
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Tens
of thousands rally in Berlin in support of anti-government protests in Iran
22.10.2022
BERLIN
Tens
of thousands of people rallied in Germany's capital on Saturday to show
solidarity with the anti-government protesters in Iran.
Nearly
80,000 people gathered around the historical Victory Column in Berlin, chanting
slogans against the Iranian government and calling for a regime change in the
country.
Protesters
held Iranian flags and signs bearing the messages "Free Iran,"
"No to dictatorship," "Women, Life, Freedom," and
"Down with Theocracy."
The
rally was organized by the Woman-Life-Freedom Kollektiv and supported by
opposition groups and Iranian diaspora organizations from various European
countries.
Iran
has found itself in the midst of mass protests following the death of
22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody last month.
Amini
died on Sept. 16 under mysterious circumstances after being detained by the
morality police in Tehran for allegedly violating Iran's Islamic dress code.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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--------
Türkiye
rescues over 50 irregular migrants illegally pushed back by Greece
Ferdi
Turkten, Gokhan Duzyol
22.10.2022
The
Turkish Coast Guard on Saturday rescued 52 irregular migrants who were pushed
back by Greece in defiance of international law.
Local
Coast Guard teams rushed to the help of 15 irregular migrants on rubber boats
off the coast of Mugla’s Bodrum district in the Aegean Türkiye and saved them,
the Interior Ministry said.
It
also said one of the rescued, who was identified to be a Turkish citizen, was
electroshocked by Greek security forces when he and 14 others were caught on
the island of Istankoy (Kos) on Thursday.
Other
migrants also told Turkish authorities that they were also subjected to
mistreatment and stripped of their valuable items by the Greek security forces,
according to the ministry.
In
a separate incident, 37 migrants, all foreign nationals who were pushed back by
Greece, were rescued off the coast of Didim district in the western province of
Aydin.
Türkiye
has been a key transit point for irregular migrants aiming to cross into Europe
to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.
Human
rights groups and media outlets have frequently reported on illegal pushbacks
and other human rights breaches by Greek authorities.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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Finnish
delegation to visit Türkiye for talks on terrorists' extradition
Kemal
Karadag
22.10.2022
A
delegation from Finland will visit Türkiye next Tuesday to hold technical talks
on the extradition of accused terrorists sought by Ankara, as stipulated in a
recent treaty.
Finnish
Justice Ministry officials will meet in the capital Ankara with a delegation
headed by Kasim Cicek, director general of foreign relations and the European
Union at the Turkish Justice Ministry.
During
the meeting, Turkish officials will reiterate their request to the Finnish
delegation to extradite members of two terrorist groups, the separatist PKK and
the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the latter the group behind the
2016 defeated coup in Türkiye. Evidence of the accused terrorists’ guilt will
also be laid out in documents.
Finland
and Sweden formally applied to join NATO in June, a decision spurred by
Russia's war on Ukraine.
However,
Türkiye, a NATO member for over 70 years, voiced objections to the membership
bids, criticizing the two countries for tolerating and even supporting
terrorist groups.
The
three countries signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding at NATO's June
summit in Madrid, which stipulates that Finland and Sweden will not provide
support to the YPG/PYD – the PKK terrorist group's Syrian offshoot – or FETO.
The
PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the European Union, and the
US, and is responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women,
children, and infants. The YPG – which also has a presence in Europe, openly
sanctioned by several governments – is the terrorist PKK’s Syrian branch.
The
Nordic countries also agreed to address Ankara's pending deportation or
extradition requests for terror suspects.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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--------
Iran
blasts 'destructive' Western measures after 'baseless' drone claims
22
October 2022
Iran
has condemned fresh sanctions the EU and Britain have imposed against Tehran
under the “bogus and baseless pretext” that Iranian-built unmanned aerial
vehicles were used in the Ukraine war.
Foreign
Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani on Saturday severely denounced the decisions
by the EU's Council of Foreign Ministers and London to slap the new embargoes,
dismissing the claims raised by Britain, France and Germany.
The
Iranian diplomat went on to refute the groundless allegations about the delivery
of drones to Russia for use in the Ukraine war, reiterating that Tehran has
“always insisted that all United Nations member states should fully respect the
goals and principles enshrined in the UN Charter and the international law,
including the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of world
countries.”
Kan’ani
underscored that Iran supports peace and an immediate end to the war in Ukraine
through a political process.
He
also lambasted the European troika for their “irresponsible, destructive and
illegal measures” to create “a poisonous political atmosphere” against the
Islamic Republic.
“They
are attempting to give a misleading interpretation on the United Nations
Security Council Resolution 2231 and make a connection between their baseless
claims and the Resolution,” the spokesman said.
He
underlined that the issues regarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the
UNSC Resolution 2231 are totally unrelated both in terms of subject and
context.
Kan’ani
also pointed to the deceptive policies of European governments, saying, “The
great Iranian nation would never forget that certain European countries, which
have raised claims against the Islamic Republic of Iran, are partner in [slain
Iraqi dictator] Saddam Hussein’s crimes as they had supplied him with weapons
of mass destruction, including chemical weapons, during the eight years of
imposed war.”
He
stated that Tehran still holds those European governments accountable for
aiding and abetting the former Iraqi dictator in perpetrating crimes against
Iranians.
“The
Islamic Republic of Iran considers the ongoing provocative approaches taken by
the European Union and the UK as part of a purposeful political scenario that
runs counter to their hollow and hypocritical claims on contributing to sustainable
peace and stability in the world,” Kan’ani said.
He
also denounced the European Union over its “destructive” moves in recent days,
adding, “In order to protect the national interests and ensure the legitimate
rights of the noble Iranian people, the government of the Islamic Republic of
Iran reserves the right to respond to any irresponsible action and would not
hesitate about defending the Iranian nation’s interests.”
Iran
has previously denied allegations it provided Russia with drones, asking Kiev
to submit evidence of such drones if it has any.
"We
have told Ukrainian officials to produce any evidence on deployment of Iranian
drones in the Ukraine war," Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said
Wednesday during a telephone conversation with his Croatian counterpart Gordan
Grlić Radman.
Amir-Abdollahian
was commenting on claims made by some Ukrainian officials about alleged
unmanned aerial vehicles provided by the Islamic Republic to Russia.
He
also said, "We have been and continue to be strongly opposed to warfare
and armament of either side of the war."
The
Iranian official acknowledged Tehran's years-long defensive cooperation with
Moscow, but asserted that the Islamic Republic had not "supported the war
on Ukraine, and had not provided any Iranian armaments to Russia for
application in this war."
Source:
Press TV
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--------
South Asia
Taliban
Says Educational Institutions Should Conform to International Standards
By
Saqalain Eqbal
23
Oct 2022
The
administrative Deputy of the Taliban government’s Prime Minister, Mawlawi Abdul
Salam Hanafi, stated that educational institutions should conform to
international standards during the ceremony introducing the new acting Minister
of Higher Education.
The
Taliban’s former Acting Minister of Higher Education, Abdul Baqi Haqqani,
previously stated that he would align the curriculum with international
standards.
The
Taliban’s new Minister of Higher Education, Neda Mohammad Nadim, was introduced
by Deputy PM Hanafi on Saturday, October 22, during a ceremony in Kabul, who
also urged private universities to enforce international standards.
Nadim,
who formerly held the position of Taliban governor for Kabul, the capital of
Afghanistan, stated in the ceremony that the academic curriculum will be
produced in accordance with Islamic Sharia and international standards.
However,
there has been a significant backlash against the Taliban’s approach in academic
institutions because; over the past year, and due to the Taliban’s influence,
there have been significant changes in Afghan universities.
There
has been a threefold increase in the teaching of religious subjects, an 80%
drop in student enrollment in some faculties, widespread gender segregation,
and the hiring of professors with inadequate education.
All
these occurrences demonstrate how Afghan educational institutions have deviated
enormously from so-called international standards and have become religious
hotspots.
There
are currently 7 students in the class out of a total of 60, according to a
graphic design department student at Kabul University. Despite the fact that
the core subjects are not properly taught, he asserts that only the subject of
Islamic Studies is taught seriously.
Source:
Khaama Press
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Afghanistan:
Islamic clerics in Balkh call on Taliban to form inclusive govt
23
October, 2022
Kabul
[Afghanistan], October 23 (ANI): A gathering of Islamic clerics in
Mazar-e-Sharif called on the Taliban to form an inclusive government in
Afghanistan.
The
clerics made the remarks in a gathering in which the charge d’affaires of the
Iran embassy in Kabul also participated, saying that all tribes should be
included in the government, reported Tolo News.
“All
tribes– whether they are Pashuns, Uzbek, Tajik or Hazara or any other tribe,
they should take them on their side based on their contribution,” said
Mubaligh, a cleric.
“There
is employment. They (Taliban) may pay attention to the employment to provide
job opportunities for the citizens,” said Mohammad Younus Ayoubi, a tribal
elder.
“The
Islamic Emirate cannot address the problems due to the challenges it faces.
Addressing the problems of unemployment is in fact addressing the hunger in
Afghanistan,” said Rahmatullah, a cleric.
Earlier,
the Taliban said that its government is inclusive and that calls from foreign
countries for the formation of an inclusive government is an interference in
Afghan internal affairs, reported Tolo News.
Several
Afghan experts said the establishment of an inclusive government could be a
pathway to ending challenges that currently exist in Afghanistan.
The
international community has spelt out at least four conditions before
recognizing the Taliban government: forming an inclusive government, respect
for the rights of women and girls and other minorities, as well as that
Afghanistan not becoming a haven for insurgent groups.
This
comes at a time when Afghanistan is facing a dire situation as a result of the
takeover by the Taliban in August 2021. The Taliban’s swift rise to power
resulted in economic disorder and food shortages that pushed the country to the
brink of a humanitarian crisis.
Source:
ThePrint
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--------
Taliban
Claims Killing ISIS Commanders in Northeastern Afghanistan
By
Saqalain Eqbal
23
Oct 2022
The
Taliban government security authorities claim that the group’s forces have
killed 4 ISIS militants including 2 commanders in the northeastern Afghan
province of Takhar.
Qari
Aminullah Tayeb, commander of the Taliban 217th Omari Army Corps in the
Northeast Zone, was quoted as saying that they found an ISIS hideout in Takhar
during a joint operation on Saturday, October 22, by the Taliban-controlled
Bakhtar news agency.
ISIS
4 members, including 2 of their senior commanders, allegedly died in a village
in Takhar province’s Dashti Qala district, according to Qari Aminullah, who
made the claim in the report.
In
a different statement on Saturday, the Taliban government claimed to have
killed six ISIS members on Friday night in Kabul, the Afghan capital.
The
people killed, the Taliban government claimed, were responsible for both the
deadly assault on the Kaaj education center and the explosion that occurred
close to the Wazir Muhammad Akbar Khan mosque in Kabul.
However,
independent sources have not, to date, backed up the Taliban government’s
assertions.
Source:
Khaama Press
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of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-claims-killing-isis-commanders-in-northeastern-afghanistan-346472/
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Women’s
Participation in Peace Negotiations Decreased: UN Report
By
Saqalain Eqbal
23
Oct 2022
The
percentage of women participating in peace negotiations is decreasing,
according to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, despite evidence that
indicates that such agreements are more enduring when women are present.
Only
with equal representation of women in leadership and participation, we can
build stable, peaceful societies, said the top UN official in a tweet on
Sunday, October 23.
The
latest UN Secretary-General report demonstrates that the women, peace, and
security agenda is further away than ever from realizing its objectives against
a backdrop of escalating violent conflicts and the rollback of generational
gains in women’s rights.
The
report makes clear that the abrupt decline in world peace and security is
resulting in untold suffering, with women and girls in countries with active
conflicts particularly impacted.
Women
are being persecuted for speaking out or for simply being female in many countries
where violent extremist groups and military actors have taken power through
violent means and rescinded commitments to gender equality, according to the
report.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/womens-participation-in-peace-negotiations-decreased-un-report-37474/
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Taliban
Criticize Alleged Abduction of Afghan Baby by US Marine
Ayaz
Gul
October
23, 2022
ISLAMABAD
—
Afghanistan’s
ruling Taliban have sharply reacted to reports a U.S. military officer had
forcibly taken a child away from an Afghan couple who arrived in the United
States as refugees.
The
couple filed a federal lawsuit against Marine Corps Attorney Major Joshua Mast
and his wife last month, accusing them of allegedly abducting their baby girl,
accusations Mast has denied. Mast argues that he and his wife are the child’s
legal guardians.
The
Taliban Foreign Ministry said Sunday it “considers this case as worrying, far
from human dignity and an inhumane act, and will seriously pursue this issue
with American authorities so that the said child is returned to her relatives.”
The
baby, now 3-and-a-half years old, had been rescued in 2020, two years ago from
the rubble of a U.S. military raid that killed her parents and five siblings.
She
had gone to live with her cousin and his wife after spending months in a U.S.
military hospital before they were flown to Washington by Mast along with tens
of thousands of Afghans during the chaotic U.S.-led foreign troop withdrawal
from Afghanistan last year.
Court
records say Mast, an active-duty Marine officer, took the baby from the couple
five days after they arrived in the U.S. The couple hasn't seen the child
since.
The
marine and his wife had adopted the child in a Virginia court, according to
court documents.
"After
they took her, our tears never stop," the Afghan woman, who asked to
remain anonymous, told The Associated Press. "Right now, we are just dead
bodies. Our hearts are broken. We have no plans for a future without her. Food
has no taste, and sleep gives us no rest,” she added.
The
Taliban Foreign Ministry renewed its criticism of mass evacuation of Afghans,
saying they were “inappropriately” taken out of the country by the United
States and its allies. It went on to allege that many of the evacuees “are now
kept in various camps in a state of legal limbo and deprived of basic human
rights.”
The
statement urged the host countries to safeguard the human and legal rights of
Afghan refugees in line with international laws and through consular services.
The
Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021 when the U.S.-backed
government in Kabul collapsed, and foreign forces withdrew after nearly 20
years of war with the then-Islamist insurgency.
The
Taliban takeover prompted a chaotic evacuation by the United States and other
Western allies of Afghans who feared retribution for siding with the international
forces against the insurgency. The U.S. alone airlifted more than 120,000
people to safety.
Many
of the evacuees were flown to third countries to be processed for resettlement
in the U.S. but they have yet to be resettled and reportedly face housing issues
as well challenges in sending their children back to school.
No
country has yet formally recognized the Taliban government’s legitimacy, citing
terrorism and concerns over human rights, particularly those of Afghan women
and girls.
The
radical group has placed restrictions on women, undermining their access to
education and work. While public and private universities across Afghanistan
are open to females, teenage girls are banned from attending secondary schools
from grades seven to 12.
Thomas
West, the U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan, told VOA last week that his
delegation held a fresh round of talks with the Taliban earlier this month in
Qatar and renewed Washington’s concerns over human rights issues.
“I
think both sides brought a constructive attitude to those talks. I think we are
on our way to rebuilding trust,” West noted.
“I
made very clear that it is my view that nothing would improve the Taliban
standing domestically in Afghanistan or internationally more than were they to
allow over a million girls who are currently denied secondary education, the
fundamental right they have to pursue those studies, and also for women to
work,” the U.S. envoy stressed.
Source:
VOANews
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Afghan
envoy demands UN committee to investigate Hazara genocide
23rd
October 2022
KABUL:
Afghanistan's representative to the UN, Naseer Ahmad Faiq demanded a committee
to investigate and report the targeted attacks against the Hazaras, which he
termed as "acts of genocide".
While
speaking at the Committee on Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Affairs of the
UN General Assembly, he accused the Taliban of not being able to establish
security till now, the Khama Press reported.
His
statement came in the wake of the deadly attack on the Kaaj education centre in
the Afghan capital. He expressed his concern about the targeting of children
from a particular ethnic group.
Faiq
demanded a committee to investigate and report on serious human rights
violations, citing the most recent attack on the Kaaj education centre as
evidence that Hazaras are systematically targeted in these attacks.
The
representatives of the country in the UN also termed this situation as
"extremely worrying", reported Khama Press.
He
elaborated his demand saying that a fact-finding committee will be able to look
into and report on all serious violations of human rights, such as the genocide
of Hazaras, forced migration, and extrajudicial killings of people without a
fair trial.
A
serious violation of human rights, according to him, includes "killings
without trial, torture, harsh treatment, and arbitrary arrests of former
security forces, journalists, human rights defenders, and people connected to
the resistance front."
The
Afghan representative also highlighted the Taliban's "hostility"
against Afghan women and termed the situation as worrying.
"The
Taliban must be put under the necessary pressure by the international community
in order to hold them responsible for their crimes," Faiq said.
This
comes at a time when the international community is concerned about the growing
human rights violations of the Taliban resulting in the deterioration of the
human rights situation in Afghanistan, reported Khama Press.
Earlier
on September 30, a terrorist attack at the Kaaj education centre west of Kabul
killed over 54 students, mostly girls.
It
led to worldwide protests and Twitter campaigns around the world raising the
topic of the Hazara genocide.
After
the attack on the Kaaj education centre on September 30, protests around the
world began in Sydney, Australia, and later spread to more than 100 cities,
parallel to the Twitter campaign.
The
Hazara demonstrations still continue bringing numerous people to the streets
screaming for justice. Thousands marched in London, the capital of England on
Wednesday to raise the topic of the Hazara genocide to the British Parliament,
reported The Khaama Press.
The
violent persecution of the Afghan Shia Hazara goes back more than a century but
has reached unprecedented levels in the last year under the Taliban.
Source:NewIndianExpress
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--------
North
America
US envoy Malley lambasted for saying Iranians protesting for ‘respect’ from regime
23
October, 2022
US
Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley came under fire on Twitter on Sunday after
tweeting that protesters in Iran have been demonstrating for “respect” from the
Iranian regime.
“Marchers
in Washington and cities around the world are showing their support for the
Iranian people, who continue to peacefully demonstrate for their government to
respect their dignity and human rights,” Malley wrote on Twitter.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Malley’s
tweet prompted a backlash from hundreds of Iranian users who noted that Iranian
protesters have been calling for the downfall of the regime, not for the regime
to respect their rights. Others called on Malley to resign.
Anti-government
protests sparked by the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini have
rocked Iran for the past five weeks.
The
protests quickly escalated and turned political with demonstrations taking
place country-wide. Protesters have been chanting against Supreme Leader Ali
Khamenei and calling for regime change.
“To
be clear, the protestors in Iran are not just demonstrating for their
government to respect their dignity and human rights,” Iranian-born Hollywood
actress and activist Nazanin Boniadi, who recently met with State Department
officials - including Malley - to discuss the protests, wrote on Twitter.
“They
are saying “death to the dictator,” and “death to the Islamic Republic.” They
don’t want reforms. They want an end to theocracy. Plain and simple,” she
added.
Malley’s
statement was “absolutely unacceptable,” Iranian American journalist Yashar Ali
said on Twitter.
He
added: “Iranians are fighting for their freedom from the Islamic Republic.
Iranians are calling for the Islamic Republic to end. Who approved this
statement??”
Columnist
and commentator Bobby Ghosh said Malley’s statement was a “poorly phrased” one.
“The
Iranian people are not asking for “their government to respect their dignity…”
They are saying this is NOT their government, and are calling for its
downfall,” Ghosh wrote on Twitter.
“If
a diplomat feels he can’t say exactly what the people are demanding (although I
can’t imagine why) he shouldn’t misrepresent their demands.”
Malley
is an unpopular figure among many Iranians opposed to the Islamic Republic who
view him as overly lenient with the Iranian regime.
Iranian
dissidents accuse Malley of prioritising reaching a nuclear deal with Tehran
over human rights.
Malley
was a key member of former President Barack Obama’s team that negotiated the
2015 nuclear deal with Iran, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action (JCPOA). Washington withdrew from the deal in 2018 under then-President
Donald Trump, reimposing sweeping sanctions on Tehran.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Iran
may be sending more drones to Russia: Blinken
23
October, 2022
Iran
may be sending more attack drones to help Russia’s equipment-starved forces
strike targets in Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, as the US
reiterated its condemnation of Tehran for aiding President Vladimir Putin’s
invasion.
“We
believe that Russia’s received dozens of these UAVs so far from Iran, with more
potentially in the works,” Blinken told reporters at a briefing alongside
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on Friday, referring to unmanned
aerial vehicles.
Blinken
spoke a day after the White House accused Iran of sending trainers and
technicians to Crimea to help advise and support Russian attacks on Ukrainian
targets.
Tehran
moved some trainers and technical support to help the Russians use them,
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Thursday.
Blinken
said the US was working to counter Iran’s efforts and bolster Ukraine’s ability
to ward off attacks.
He
has previously criticized Moscow’s reliance on Iran for weapons exports as a
sign of desperation amid US efforts to sanction and undermine Russian industry.
“We’re
interdicting the illicit traffic in arms, including UAVs, wherever we can see
them, find them and interdict them,” Blinken said.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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--------
Iran
says Washington lacks political will to revive nuclear deal
October
24, 2022
Iran’s
Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Monday that the United States lacked the
political will for the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal.
“We
do not do talks for the sake of talks. Iran is ready for the revival of the
2015 nuclear deal, but it seems Washington does not have the political will,”
ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said in televised news conference.
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2186971/world
--------
Files
seized from Trump home included secret docs on Iran, China
23
October 2022
Highly
sensitive US intelligence reports on Iran and China were among the documents
recovered by federal agents during their August search of former president
Donald Trump's home in Florida, a report has unveiled.
They
included secret documents that described US spying efforts against China and at
least one of them described Iran's missile program, Washington Post daily
reported Friday, citing unidentified “people familiar with the matter,”
emphasizing that the documents were considered to be “among the most sensitive”
in the materials seized by the FBI.
The
report then cited experts as insisting that the release of information in such
documents would pose multiple risks, including the leak of spies and other
intruding elements collaborating with US spying efforts as well as compromising
intelligence collection activities.
The
FBI searched Trump's Mar-a-Lago home as part of a probe into the potential
mishandling of classified information, obstruction, and destruction of
government records. With thousands of documents recovered, however, Trump and
his supporters have rebuked ongoing investigations and suits as a political scheme
to undermine his legitimacy.
Newly
surfaced findings have indicated that some of the documents seized during the
FBI search were so sensitive that many top officials were not aware of their
contents. In fact, confidential information about Iran and China have since
been regarded as among the most top secret recovered so far.
The
US Justice Department is investigating whether Trump broke the law by taking
government records, including about 100 classified documents, to his Florida
estate after leaving office in January 2021.
The
department is also looking into whether Trump or his team obstructed justice
when the FBI sent agents to search his home, and has warned that more
classified documents might still be missing.
The
sensitivity of the top secret documents, which could endanger US intelligence
liaisons, will count as an aggravating factor when prosecutors decide whether
or not to file charges in relation to the case.
Trump,
meanwhile, has been careful to deny any allegations, claiming in a recently televised
interview that presidents have the ability to declassify information “even by
thinking about it.” Lawyers who specialize in matters of national security have
dismissed such remarks.
“Who
could ever trust corrupt, weaponized agencies, and that includes NARA (National
Archives and Records Administration), who disrespects our Constitution and Bill
of Rights, to keep and safeguard any records, especially since they’ve lost
millions and millions of pages of information from previous Presidents,” said the
hawkish ex-president.
“Also,
who knows what NARA and the FBI plant into documents, or subtract from
documents — we will never know, will we?” asked Trump on his media platform,
Truth Social, on Friday afternoon.
Source:
Press TV
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--------
Africa
Christian,
Muslim leaders brainstorm on religious tolerance, unity
October
23, 2022
Joseph
Obung
Christian
and Moslem leaders, including leaders of traditional religion, weekend,
converged at the international headquarters of a Calabar-based Brotherhood of
the Cross and Star (BCS) to brainstorm on how to enhance religious tolerance
and foster peace among diverse religious bodies and tribes in Nigeria.
The
event, which was organised by the Inter-Religious Mega Conference of the BCS,
had in attendance Sheykh Imaam, Dr. Salih Animashaun, a one- time Chief Imam of
Muslim Students Society, as well as HRM, Barrister Evans Nwansi, from Imo
state.
Others
were Dr. Amaechi Ogbeje, founder of Heaven Concern Deliverance Ministry in
Agbor, Delta state, Apostle Chinedu Odenigbo, Protus Nathan Uzorma, professor
of philosophy of religions and lecturer at department of religious studies,
University of Uyo, amongst others.
Participants,
who were united in their calls for peace and unity amongst many tribes, beliefs
and races, said Nigeria, with its many tribes and religious beliefs, was better
staying together.
Chairman
of the International Organizing Committee, Archbishop Emmanuel A. Ekuri,
himself an academic, spoke to journalists shortly during th event.
“The
week-long event featured three eventful days of intensive Evangelical
Visitations to Royal fathers, top military personnel, government functionaries,
and 3-day Calabar Metropolitan City Crusade for people to avail themselves with
the Everlasting Gospel delivered by Leader Olumba Olumba Obu.
He
said, “The event was to lay a strong foundation for the rejuvenation of the
integrative spirit of unity, tolerance, love and brotherhood.”
Source:
BluePrint
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.blueprint.ng/christian-muslim-leaders-brainstorm-on-religious-tolerance-unity/
--------
Northern
APC Christians seek boycott of campaign over Muslim-Muslim ticket
By
Sodiq Omolaoye
24
October 2022
Following
the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign
Council (PCC), some stakeholders in the party, under the auspices of Concerned
Northern APC Christians Forum, have called for total boycott, reiterating their
rejection of a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
They
insisted that the ruling party must jettison its current combination of Bola
Tinubu and Kashim Shettima to get the support of Christians. Speaking at a
media briefing in Abuja, yesterday, General Secretary of the forum, Lukas Bako,
described the inauguration of the campaign council as a mere charade, saying
APC’s chances at the presidency is a failed mission.
He
observed that under the current arrangement, Christians would suffer untold
persecution under an APC government in Nigeria. Bako said Northern Christians
stand with the position of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Noting:
“Christians in the APC’s PCC are betrayers who have sold their conscience in
return for a plate of porridge.”
The
group urged the party leadership to “do the needful by replacing the vice
presidential candidate with a Christian before the commencement of campaigns.”
It
also advised Christians in the PCC to resign honourably in protest, until the
needful is done.
Bako
said: “APC must come to terms with the reality that northern Christians are
indeed notable stakeholders in the APC, and their contributions to the growth
and development of the party over the years cannot be overemphasized.
“It
is our firm position that the issue of a Muslim-Muslim ticket has been treated
with kid gloves by the leadership of the APC. This, in our considered opinion,
is a gross disregard for the religious configuration of the country and the
need to ensure a balanced ticket that would address the concerns and
reservations of religious groups in the country.”
Bako
noted further: “It remains a hard pill to swallow for the country’s Christian
community, given APC’s action in fielding a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the 2023
presidential elections.
“We
also find it worrisome that the APC has not deemed it necessary to address this
genuine concern in the overarching objective of carrying all members of the APC
family along in preparation for the 2023 presidential elections.
“The
Northern APC Christians Forum is concerned that the APC leadership’s lack of
respect for the Christians in northern Nigeria has reached an alarming
crescendo, which could pass for a deliberate attempt to delineate the Christian
population in the north.
“Our
concern also stems from the fact that the action of the APC can breed distrust
among the religious groupings in the country. It must be stated that, with the
Muslim-Muslim ticket, northern Christians have been marginalised without
recourse to the implication of such actions in the overall psyche of the
people.
Source:Guardian
Nigeria
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Bomb
blast, gunfire at Somali hotel kill 3, wound 8
23.10.2022
MOGADISHU,
Somalia
At
least three people were killed and eight others wounded when the terrorist
group al-Shabaab attacked a popular hotel in the southern port city of Kismayo
on Sunday, police said.
Mahad
Abdi, a regional police officer in Kismayo, said the attack started with
bombing followed by gunfire after al-Shabaab terrorists stormed Tawakal Hotel.
“We
can confirm that at least three people, including school children, were killed
in explosion,” Abdi told Anadolu Agency over the phone.
He
added that the wounded people, mostly civilians, were rushed to hospitals for
treatment.
Tawakal
is a popular hotel frequented by Jubaland state officials and security
officials.
Mahamed
Nasi Guled, deputy police chief of Somalia’s southern Jubaland state, told
reporters in Kismayo that the police believe that three attackers are inside
the hotel battling with security forces who are trying to eliminate them.
He
urged the public to stay calm.
Kismayo
is a major city which is the administrative capital of Jubaland. The port city
is located 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of Somali capital Mogadishu.
The
al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabaab terrorist group claimed responsibility for the
deadly attack and said it involved a suicide bombing before its fighters entered
the hotel.
The
attack comes as Somali military continues its offensive against the terrorist
group in central region and said gained a significant ground from al-Shabaab.
Somalia
has been grappling with security threats for years, with al-Shabaab being one
of the main ones in the country.
Since
at least 2007, al-Shabaab has waged a deadly campaign against the Somali
government and international forces that has claimed thousands of lives.
The
UN has warned of growing instability in the country, with its periodic reports
on Somalia this year detailing attacks by al-Shabaab and groups aligned with
the Daesh/ISIS terror group.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/bomb-blast-gunfire-at-somali-hotel-kill-3-wound-8/2718913
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Burkina
Faso junta leader names lawyer as prime minister
Aurore
Bonny
22.10.2022
DOUALA,
Cameroon
The
junta leader in Burkina Faso has appointed Joachim Kyelem de Tambela, a lawyer,
as prime minister by presidential decree.
Capt.
Ibrahim Traore's decision came late Friday after his own swearing-in as
transitional president in the West African country after a coup late last month
– the second in less than a year.
Traore
decided by decree to appoint Tambela, 64, as prime minister under the
Constitution and the Oct. 14 transition charter.
The
new head of government is a popular lawyer and writer in Burkina Faso, as well
as a research professor.
Head
of the Center for International and Strategic Research (CRIS) think tank, he is
known for frequent appearances on local TV and radio public affairs programs,
speaking on the country’s social and political situation.
The
lawyer will be in charge of leading a 25-member government amid general
instability.
He
succeeded Albert Ouedraogo, who held the same position this March to September
as part of the transition after the previous coup.
The
current junta staged a coup on Sept. 30 against Lt. Col. Henri Sandaogo Damiba,
the former leader of the junta known as the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard
and Restoration (MPSR).
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/burkina-faso-junta-leader-names-lawyer-as-prime-minister/2718264
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At
least nine killed in Somalia car bomb, shooting attack on Kismayu hotel
23
October, 2022
A
car bomb and shooting attack on a hotel in the Somali city of Kismayu killed
nine people on Sunday before security forces ended the siege at the hotel and
killed the attackers, a regional official said.
Gunfire
erupted after an explosives-laden vehicle rammed into the gate of the port
city’s Tawakal Hotel. The al Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militant group said it had
carried out the attack.
“In
the explosion, nine people including students and civilians were killed and 47
others were injured, some of them seriously,” Yussuf Hussein Dhumal, Security
Minister for Jubbaland, told Reuters.
“The
hotel where the explosion happened was near a school, so many students were
injured.”
Security
forces killed three of the attackers and a fourth died in the bomb blast,
Dhumal said.
Before
the attack, a meeting was being held at the hotel to plan how to fight
al-Shabaab, Farah Mohamed, a security officer, told Reuters from Kismayu.
Mohamed
Nur, a police captain, and Farah Ali, a shopkeeper in Kismayu, told Reuters the
blast at the hotel preceded the gunfire.
Video
footage from the Somali National Television posted on its Twitter account
showed security personnel load one of the wounded into an ambulance.
Abdiasis
Abu Musab, al-Shabaab’s military operation spokesperson, said the group was
behind the attack, which he said had targeted Jubbaland region’s administrators
who work from the hotel.
Kismayu
is the commercial capital of Jubbaland, a region of southern Somalia still
partly controlled by al-Shabaab.
Al-Shabaab
was driven out of Kismayu in 2012. The city’s port had been a major source of
revenue for the group from taxes, charcoal exports and levies on arms and other
illegal imports.
In
2019, a similar attack at another hotel in Kismayu killed at least 26 people.
The
group is battling to topple Somalia’s central government and impose its own
rule based on a strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law. It has killed
thousands of Somalis and hundreds of civilians across East Africa in a
decade-long insurgency.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Sudan
suspends NGO that took government to court over internet access
23
October, 2022
Sudan’s
military government has withdrawn the accreditation of a consumer protection
group that took it to court over internet cuts during last year’s military
coup, the group said Sunday.
The
Sudanese Consumer Protection Society (SCPS) asked a court last year to order
the government to restore internet services blocked during the October 25 coup,
a power grab that has derailed a fragile transition to civilian rule.
A
court had twice ruled that the internet should be restored, to no avail, before
services eventually resumed on November 18 last year.
Yasir
Mirghani, head of the SCPS, told AFP he was handed on Sunday a decision dated
October 9 to revoke the group’s permit after 24 years of operations.
A
copy of the order, which has been seen by AFP, stipulated the “deregistration,
seizure of assets and property, and the freezing of assets and accounts of the
Sudanese Consumer Protection Society in all banks within and outside Sudan,”
but did not list the group’s alleged violations.
Sudan
has been in turmoil since army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ousted the
mainstream civilian bloc from a power-sharing government a year ago, triggering
widespread international condemnation.
The
power-sharing administration had been established in 2019 after the military
ousted long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir amid enormous street protests.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Thousands
protest deadly tribal clashes in Sudan’s south
23
October, 2022
Thousands
of protesters gathered Sunday in front of army headquarters in the Sudanese
city of Damazin, eyewitnesses said, protesting recent ethnic clashes in the
country’s south that have killed 200.
Protesters
“tried to enter the army headquarters” before “setting fire to the state
government building,” resident Abdel Qader Ibrahim told AFP by phone from
Damazin, the capital of Sudan’s southern Blue Nile state, which borders
Ethiopia and South Sudan.
At
least two hundred people were killed in two days last week, official media said
Saturday, after clashes broke out over reported land disputes between members
of the Hausa people and rival groups.
Residents
said homes and shops were set ablaze and that hundreds had fled intense
gunfire.
“Hospitals
are facing a huge shortage of medicine as the number of the injured increases,”
the state’s Minister of Health Jamal Nasser told AFP on Sunday.
State
governer Ahmed al-Omda Badi declared a state of emergency on Friday to quell
some of the worst fighting in recent months.
From
July to early October, at least 149 people were killed and 65,000 displaced in
Blue Nile, according to the United Nations.
Protesters
chanted, “Al-Omda must leave,” accusing the governer of failing to protect
them, according to eyewitness Haram Othman.
The
Hausa have mobilized across Sudan, claiming tribal law discriminates against
them by preventing them from owning land in Blue Nile because they were the
last group to arrive there.
Access
to land is highly sensitive in the impoverished country, where agriculture and
livestock account for 43 percent of employment and 30 percent of GDP, according
to UN and World Bank statistics.
Sudan
has been grappling with deepening political unrest and a spiraling economic
crisis since a military coup last year led by army chief Abdel Fattah
al-Burhan.
A
surge in ethnic violence in recent months has highlighted the security
breakdown in Sudan since the coup.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Somalia
looks to Turkish support to help fight terror in communications domain
Riyaz
ul Khaliq
23.10.2022
Somalia
is looking to learn from Türkiye’s experience to better fight al-Shabaab’s
“terror ideology” in the communications domain, according to a senior official
in the Horn of Africa nation.
Daud
Aweis, the minister for information, culture and tourism, said the East African
nation is fighting terror groups on various fronts.
“We
have the military front in which we are making some progress and then there is
a financial front that we are trying to regulate,” Aweis told Anadolu Agency in
Istanbul, where he took part in the two-day 12th Conference of the Information
Ministers of the OIC which concluded Saturday.
“The
last front which is very crucial is about the ideology and that is supposed to
be (spread) by using communication means,” said Aweis, who also held a meeting
with Türkiye's Communications Director Fahrettin Altun.
“We
discussed how the two countries can work together” in the information domain,
he said.
The
al-Shabaab terror group has been carrying out deadly attacks in Somalia against
government officials and African Union peacekeepers since 2007, including a
2017 bombing in the capital Mogadishu that killed more than 600 people and
wounded nearly 1,000 others.
Aweis
said disinformation and misinformation are “really part of the problem” and
Somalia was a victim of the menace.
“There
are media outlets run by al-Shabaab and other terrorist groups. They were
disseminating information or reports affecting the society sometimes … causing
conflict and problems inside Somali society (which) also is trying to brainwash
the people, especially youth,” he said.
“Now,
we are trying our best to make sure we tackle this problem.
“We
are trying to regulate how reports are disseminated by closing some of the
media outlets owned by al-Shabaab – like social media accounts owned by
terrorist groups that we identified and closed some of them,” said Aweis.
He
warned, however, that the war was still going on and “it is just the
beginning.”
“Misinformation
is one of the challenges that we are facing.”
“Türkiye,
with a background and experience, can work with Somalia and from that
cooperation Somalia will achieve something big to make sure that the (terror)
menace is completely eliminated from Somalia and the two countries can work
together in that (area),” he said.
Erdogan’s
2011 trip ‘crucial’
Aweis
said Türkiye and Somalia have longstanding relations “but the crucial time” was
when Recep Tayyip Erdogan, currently the nation's president, visited in 2011
amid a devastating drought.
“That
ushered a new era for Somalia (as) the international community, which was kind
of dormant about Somalia’s situation, came to wake up about Somalia because of
Erdogan’s visit to Mogadishu,” he said.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Southeast Asia
Malaysia
Int’l Quran Contest Manifestation of Islamic Unity: Religious Affairs Minister
October
23, 2022
Kuala
Lumpur (IQNA) – The Malaysian minister for religious affairs described the
participation of Quran activists from various countries in Malaysia’s
international Quran competition as a manifestation of Islamic unity.
Speaking
to IQNA’s correspondent in Kuala Lumpur, Idris bin Ahmad noted that the 62nd
edition of Malaysia’s international Holy Quran competition is being held after
a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He
said this year’s event has been organized in the recitation category only and
the memorization category has been ditched given the continued COVID-19
restrictions
Idris
bin Ahmad added that the religious affairs ministry has been working to hold
the event since six months ago.
He
also said that representatives of different countries are present in the final
round underway in Kuala Lumpur.
Stressing
the need for safeguarding Islamic values like Muslim unity, he said the
organizers of the contest have always sought to bring Muslims from all over the
world together under the banner of the Holy Quran and portray the true image of
Islam.
Elsewhere
in his remarks, the Malaysian official hailed the Islamic Republic of Iran for
sending top Quran reciters and memorizers to the competition every year, saying
it shows the importance that Iranian officials attach to the Quranic event’s
quality.
He
said he enjoyed the recitation of Iranian representative Masoud Nouri on the
first night of the competition, hoping that the Iranian qari, like the
country’s representatives who shone in previous editions, will be successful on
the path of promoting the Quran and Islamic teachings.
Idris
bin Ahmad also appreciated the International Quran News Agency for sending
correspondents to Malaysia to cover the international Quran event and for
producing Quranic content based on moderation in different languages, including
Malay.
Source:
IQNA
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of the original story:
--------
Malaysian
politicians must reckon with a more demanding electorate
Bridget
Welsh
October
23, 2022
The
leaders of Malaysia's longtime ruling party sought the early election that will
be held Nov. 19 to strengthen their hold on power and the spoils of office.
But
the announcement of the vote last month was less welcomed by the public. Many
worry about unnecessary risks from holding an election during the flood-prone
monsoon season and are fatigued by seemingly endless politicking by a
self-centered elite.
In
their rush for an election at all costs, it is the elite politicians of the
historically dominant United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) who will now
face a necessary reckoning, one in which Malaysians will determine whether the
country will continue to be held hostage to leaders more interested in
themselves than the country.
Malaysia
has gone through unprecedented, conflicting changes over the past four years.
Greater political instability has been accompanied by an expansion of
democratic space and greater citizen empowerment. Preelection coalition
politics has evolved into more fluid post-election coalition dynamics, forcing
policy compromises.
After
years of neglect, the east Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak in Borneo are
getting more acknowledgment. With weaker and fragmented parties, political
polarization around race and religion has ebbed. Yet ethnic minorities have
been increasingly displaced in new political alliances. At the same time, calls
for better governance have increased, especially in the wake of the COVID-19
pandemic.
The
instability that has brought four prime ministers in four years began with the
May 2018 victory of the opposition Pakatan Harapan coalition over the incumbent
front led by UMNO, which had led the country since independence.
Prime
Minister Najib Razak was ousted from office by predecessor Mahathir Mohamad
over the multibillion dollar 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal and policies
that had increased the cost of living, including a poorly implemented goods and
service tax. Najib was subsequently convicted on multiple corruption and abuse
of power charges.
After
pledging a political reset, Harapan's victory opened the political system but
the coalition underestimated the costs of overpromising, lacking clear
priorities, internal differences and subsequent voter disappointment. Mahathir
and longtime nemesis Anwar Ibrahim were unable to work together.
In
various state elections and federal by-elections since 2019, Harapan has been
punished by former supporters who either did not vote or changed political
loyalties. The coalition has struggled to win over younger voters, who now
represent a larger share of the electorate after the voting age was lowered to
18 and an automatic voter registration system was introduced.
After
2020, a new coalition led by defectors from Harapan working with UMNO and the
Malaysian Islamic Party, known as PAS, took over. UMNO built on its return to
power with political deals and state election victories in Malacca and Johor.
Driven
by its leaders' persistent destabilizing maneuvers, UMNO has positioned itself
as the favorite to win the lion's share of seats in the upcoming 15th national
general election, although it likely will not win a majority of votes and
considerable uncertainty looms over the outcome.
Over
a third of parliament's 222 seats are highly competitive and could be decided
by small vote swings. Another third of its constituencies include substantial
numbers of swing voters.
What
is locally known as GE15 will also feature many new voters, as registrations
have increased from 14.9 million people to over 21 million. Those under 30,
with less clear political loyalties, now make up 30% of the electorate.
Unlike
past elections that were touted as solutions to Malaysia's problems, this
election is more of a reflection of the country's challenges.
The
main battle lines are drawn between three major coalitions -- UMNO's Barisan
Nasional, Harapan and the Perikatan National comprised of PAS and Bersatu, its
defector allies from Harapan -- instead of two as in 2018. The vote will also
feature stronger regional blocs in Borneo.
The
national coalitions are led by UMNO President Zahid Hamidi, Harapan's Anwar
Ibrahim and former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, respectively.
Barisan
Nasional's official prime ministerial candidate, however, is incumbent Prime
Minister Ismail Sabri Yaacob. But following the party's recent maneuver in
Johor to replace its ostensible nominee to lead the state with another party
official following elections, there is doubt whether it will stick with Ismail.
Traditionally,
Malaysian elections have been a contest between economic performance legitimacy
and stability on the one hand and demands for reform on the other, a mirror of
tensions between conservative and liberal democratic forces globally.
Implicit
in Malaysia's identity politics is disagreement about the best way to
accommodate ethnic and regional minorities: whether through acceptance of a
secondary role to the Malay Muslim majority or by meeting demands for fairer
representation. Identity politics around race and religion have been the most
common forms of political mobilization.
Narratives
shaping GE15 have widened and been reframed. Barisan Nasional is pushing the
notion that it can end instability -- ironic given UMNO's recent destabilizing
role -- while Harapan still anchors itself around greater democratic
governance, especially reducing corruption and protecting the independence of
the country's political institutions.
UMNO
has called for Najib to be pardoned and released, citing alleged political
persecution. Even imprisoned, Najib continues to be an election issue.
Messaging
on inclusion varies widely. UMNO's Malay nationalist narratives highlight
displacement, while Harapan touts its greater pluralism. Borneo parties are
demanding greater decentralization, while PAS is pushing for more exclusivist
and Islamist conservative governance. New youth party Malaysian United
Democratic Alliance and Warisan, Sabah's regional opposition party, are calling
for a move away from identity mobilization altogether.
Voters
themselves are less interested in grand political narratives. Their focus is on
the economy, service quality and delivery, the social safety net such as it is,
and policies to address key challenges such as climate change.
The
COVID-19 pandemic has brought home the realities of vulnerability and encouraged
more public engagement on policies and calls for political competence.
Malaysian politicians are struggling to keep up with a more demanding and vocal
electorate.
From
afar, Malaysia's politics looks messy. Political transitions often are.
This
election will be pivotal in whether the country maintains momentum toward more
democratic, robust governance. Resistance to change is strong, especially as
reforms impact political patronage and ultimately involve difficult structural
changes in the economy.
Source:
Asia Nikkei
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of the original story:
https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Malaysian-politicians-must-reckon-with-a-more-demanding-electorate
--------
Young
ones don’t have what it takes, says Dr M
October
22, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad remains unconvinced that the
younger generations have what it takes to lead the country to greater heights,
saying their lack of experience works against them.
“Yes,
I think it is time that they become more prominent in the political field, but
of course their lack of experience works against them,” Mahathir told the South
China Morning Post in an interview published today.
Mahathir,
97, conceded that the space for youth to shine is cramped by the lack of
opportunity afforded to them in Malaysia’s politics over the years.
The
report said the youth vote is an issue with a real political edge as more than
one million voters between the ages of 18 and 20 are taking part in a general
election for the first time.
Mahathir,
who has been an MP for nine terms since 1964, said it is difficult for the
young to show their abilities because they are not actually leaders although he
agreed that old people should make way for the young.
“But
they must show in many other ways that they are very interested in the affairs
of the nation and that they can contribute towards the setting up of better
governance for this country,” the daily said.
Mahathir
was dismissive when asked if political parties should focus on fielding new and
young faces across the board for this election.
Instead,
he said that his experience is vital as a touchstone for voters who want
leaders with proven track records rather than unfamiliar faces advertising
their potential.
Mahathir
said real experience is needed to tackle big issues such as the growing wealth
disparity, weak management of the economy and an education system that has
fallen behind global trends.
Source:Free
Malaysia Today
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--------
Ex-Johor
poster boy Hasni being considered for parliamentary seat
October
22, 2022
JOHOR
BAHRU: State Umno chief Hasni Mohammad, who was passed over for the menteri
besar’s post after the state elections in March, says he is being considered as
a parliamentary candidate.
“I
do not deny that I am being considered by the party leadership to be listed as
a candidate in another area besides my parliamentary constituency, Pontian,” he
told Bernama today.
“As
long as I am given a chance to stand, it’s good enough,” said Hasni, who is
Pontian Umno division chief and the state assemblyman for Benut since 2008.
He
was the menteri besar from February 2020 to March 2022, when state elections
were held and was believed to be the frontrunner to be appointed menteri besar
again.
However,
Onn Hafiz Ghazi, the assemblyman for Machap, received the nod and was appointed
menteri besar.
Hasni,
who had previously been MP for Pontian from 2004 to 2008, said he did not
discount the possibility of negative reactions from local party members should
outsiders be fielded in any constituency.
“I
think such initial reactions are a normal thing, with some being lukewarm
towards such candidates but with Barisan Nasional’s experience, we can overcome
such problems. I am confident that it could be managed wisely.”
Hasni
said the choice of candidates for the general election would not be based on
the interest of individuals, but on ensuring victory for the party and the
peace and prosperity of Malaysians.
Source:Free
Malaysia Today
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--------
Veterans
group slams Hadi for masterminding Sheraton Move
October
22, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang has come under fire for admitting that he
masterminded the Sheraton Move that caused the fall of the Pakatan Harapan (PH)
government in February 2020.
Arshad
Raji, president of the National Patriots Association of military veterans, said
it was shocking that Hadi had announced this act proudly despite it being a
despicable act that had robbed the nation of its democratic rights, peace,
harmony and progress.
“By
engineering the Sheraton Move and nominating Muhyiddin Yassin as the prime
ministerial candidate, Hadi robbed the citizens of their democratic rights,
desecrated the Federal Constitution and certainly pushed the monarchy into an
unsavoury corner,” he said in a statement.
Hadi
had said last night that he was the prime mover of the Sheraton Move as PAS
felt that the then ruling coalition was moving to eradicate the special rights
of Malays by ratifying the International Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Arshad
said the justification that Hadi helped pull the rug because of attempts by PH
to ratify the convention was “most despicable”.
He
said: “What is so un-Islamic about eradicating all forms of racial
discrimination? Islam preaches that racial discrimination goes against the very
teachings of the Prophet.”
Source:Free
Malaysia Today
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--------
Mideast
Iran’s
Guards accuse cleric of ‘agitating’ youths against ‘sacred’ Islamic Republic
22
October, 2022
Iran’s
Revolutionary Guards accused a Sunni cleric of agitating against the Islamic
Republic and warned it may cost him dearly after he said officials including
the supreme leader were responsible for dozens killed in the city of Zahedan
last month.
Amnesty
International has said security forces killed at least 66 people in a crackdown
after Friday prayers in Zahedan, in the southeast, on September 30, some of the
deadliest unrest during five weeks of protests ignited by Mahsa Amini’s death.
Molavi
Abdolhamid, Zahedan’s leading Sunni cleric, said during his Friday sermon that
officials including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, head of the Shia-dominated
state, were “responsible before God” for the September 30 killings.
A
short statement on Sepah News, the Revolutionary Guards official news site,
said: “Mr. Abdolhamid, encouraging and agitating youths against the sacred
Islamic Republic of Iran may cost you dearly! This is the last warning!”
The
protests ignited by the death of Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who died
after being detained by morality police for “inappropriate attire,” have posed
one of the boldest challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979
revolution.
Though
the protests do not appear close to toppling the government, unrest has swept
the whole country including areas home to ethnic minorities with long-standing
grievances against the state.
Zahedan
is the provincial capital of the Sistan-Baluchistan province of southeastern
Iran at the border with Pakistan and Afghanistan, home to the Baluch ethnic
minority.
State
media said at the time of the September 30 violence that “unidentified armed
individuals” opened fire on a police station, prompting security forces to
return fire.
The
Revolutionary Guards said five members of its forces and the volunteer Basij
militia were killed during the September 30 violence. Authorities blamed a
Baluchi militant group. Neither that group nor any other faction claimed a
role.
More
protests
After
protests erupted in Zahedan again on Friday, deputy interior minister for
security, Majid Mir Ahmadi, said calm had returned, official news agency IRNA
reported on Saturday.
He
said 150 “thugs attacked public property and even those shops belonging to
Sunnis.”
On
Friday, police arrested at least 57 people, described as “rioters,” after
protesters threw rocks and attacked banks in the city, provincial police chief
Ahmad Taheri was quoted as saying by the official news agency IRNA on Friday.
State
television said up to 300 protesters marched in the city after Friday prayers.
It showed banks and shops with smashed windows.
Abdolhamid,
the Sunni cleric, described the September 30 killing as a massacre, saying
bullets had been fired at heads and chests. “Scores were killed here. I don’t
have the exact number. Some have reported 90, some say less, some say more,” he
said in the sermon posted on his website.
Rights
groups say the government has long discriminated against ethnic minorities
including the Kurds, in whose region unrest has also been particularly intense
since Amini’s death.
The
state denies accusations of discrimination.
Iran
has blamed unrest on an array of enemies including armed dissidents. The
Revolutionary Guards have attacked bases of armed Iranian Kurdish groups in
neighboring Iraq.
Protesters
have sought stress national unity with chants expressing solidarity between
various ethnic groups.
Rights
groups Hengaw reported that shopkeepers had gone on strike on Saturday in the
provincial capital of Iran’s Kurdistan province, Sanandaj, and Saqez – Amini’s
hometown, in addition to Bukan, another northwestern city.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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--------
'Türkiye
doesn't see Iraqi peace, stability, well-being as separate from its own'
Diyar
Guldogan
22.10.2022
ANKARA
Ankara
does not consider the peace, stability, and well-being of neighboring Iraq as
separate from its own, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday told
his new Iraqi counterpart.
In
a phone call, Erdogan congratulated Abdul Latif Rashid on his election as
Iraq’s new president, according to a statement from Türkiye's Communications
Directorate.
Iraqi
lawmakers elected Rashid on Thursday by a vote of 162-99, succeeding Barham
Salih, who had been president since 2018.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
President
Rayeesi: Iran Ups Export by 40 Percent in 1 Year
2022-October-23
The
Iranian president made the remarks at a ceremony on National Day of Export on
October 21.
"All
efforts should be taken towards production and development of basic
technology," President Rayeesi said, adding that the value of Iran's
exports to the world countries has increased by 40 percent.
He
reiterated that Iran is achieving success as, according to the US officials’,
their maximum pressure policy on Iran has been defeated.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010730000784/Presiden-Rayeesi-Iran-Ups-Expr-by-40-Percen-in-Year
--------
Iranian
Army Ground Force Holds Large-Scale Military Exercise
2022-October-23
The
wargame is staged at Pasveh and Piranshahr counties in Northwestern Iranian
province of West Azarbaijan, the public relations office of Iran's Army’
Northwestern headquarters announced on Sunday.
Colonel
Hamid Firuzjaei, the commander of the 164th Mobile Assault Brigade of the
Army’s Ground Forces, said the three-day exercise, codenamed ‘Brigade’s Role
Model’, launched in Pasveh District in Piranshahr County on Saturday in order
to evaluate the combat power of the forces and to display their military
capabilities.
“The
forces partaking in the exercise use organizational, light, semi-heavy and
heavy weapons in line with the goals of the exercise and demonstrate their
combat and defense capabilities,” Firuzjaei added.
The
commander stressed that the forces carry out heliborne parachute operations,
overnight raids, helicopter combat, control of communication roads, capture of
heights and offensive destruction and urban warfare during the drill in
Piranshahr.
Last
month, the Iranian Army's Ground Force staged a two-day-long set of wargames in
the city of Nasr Abad in Central Iran. The drills were participated by various
units that hail from the Army's infantry, armored, artillery, Army Aviation,
drone, engineering, airborne, and electronic warfare divisions.
Military
officials say Iranian forces are in the best possible conditions and ready for
defense against any possible aggression with the most state-of-the-art
home-made equipment.
Iranian
officials have repeatedly stressed that the country will not hesitate to
strengthen its military capabilities, including its missile power, which are
entirely meant for defense, and that Tehran’s defense capabilities will be
never subject to negotiations.
Back
in April, Iranian Army Commander Major General Abdolrahim Moussavi warned
enemies of Iran’s crushing response and dire consequences of any aggression
against the country.
The
Iranian Army has experienced real fighting in every geographical condition and
would respond to any threat at the highest level of capability, Major General
Moussavi said.
He
added the enemies that any aggression against Iran would cost them dearly.
The
military official stated that his forces are vigilantly monitoring threats
against the country and will confront them powerfully.
He
underscored that the army will counter any threat targeting the Islamic
Republic and its borders, as well as the Iranian people’s tranquility.
Brig.
Gen. Moussavi added that it has made significant progress in recent years in different
fields, including equipment and training.
He
also underlined that the Ground Force has promoted its combat power and made
progress on how to apply it during military missions.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
FM
Reiterates Iran's Opposition to Geopolitical Changes in Region
2022-October-23
Amir
Abdollahian made the comment during a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday.
The
foreign minister also expressed opposition to the presence of foreign forces in
the region, emphasizing that regional problems should be resolved by regional
countries.
The
top diplomat expressed Iran’s support for lasting peace between Armenia and
Azerbaijan Republic, adding that Tehran is ready to help its Northwestern
neighbors resolve their border dispute.
Amir
Abdollahian noted that the territorial integrity of all countries should be
protected.
He
called for protecting and developing the North-South Corridor via Armenia as
well.
Pashinyan,
on his part, thanked Iran for its efforts to establish peace and stability in
the Caucasus region.
The
two officials discussed bilateral relations between Tehran and Yerevan as well,
exploring ways on how to further develop the ties. Both expressed satisfaction
over the opening of the Iranian consulate general in the city of Kapan.
The
Armenian premier announced his country’s readiness to open a consulate general
in Iran’s Northwestern city of Tabriz, which was welcomed by Amir Abdollahian.
Iran's
foreign minister concluded his three-day visit to Armenia on Saturday.
Iranian
officials have repeatedly underlined Tehran’s opposition to geopolitical
changes in the region, and reaffirmed the country is ready to use all its
capacities to establish peace and stability in the Caucasus region and its
growth and development.
Tehran
believes that peace and stability in the region is enhanced through cooperation
among the regional countries, voicing hope that the ongoing negotiations
between Armenia and Azerbaijan over their long-running territorial dispute
results in lasting peace.
Back
in September, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad
Baqeri called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to solve their territorial disputes
through dialogue, warning that Tehran will not tolerate any change to the
borders of the countries in the region.
Delivering
a stern warning against any attempt aimed at changing the regional borders in
the vicinity of Iran, the top military commander called on neighboring
Azerbaijan and Armenia to resolve their border issues peacefully.
“We
have repeatedly declared that we do not tolerate any changes to the region’s
borders,” Major General Baqeri said.
“We
advise Azerbaijan and Armenia to resolve their problems through peaceful
channels. We do not tolerate any resort to clashes and war and will not sit
idly by in the face of it,” he added.
Iranian
officials have stressed the necessity for the settlement of the crises and
problems in the region through collective cooperation among the regional
states, and underscored that the presence of foreigners is harmful.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010801000088/FM-Reieraes-Iran's-Oppsiin-Gepliical-Changes-in-Regin
--------
Iran
says will provide Russia with ‘40 turbines’ to help its gas industry
23
October, 2022
Iran
announced Sunday a contract with Russia to supply it with 40 turbines to help
its gas industry amid Western sanctions over Moscow's war in Ukraine, local
media reported.
Iran's
“industrial successes are not limited to the fields of missiles and drones,”
Iranian Gas Engineering and Development Company's CEO, Reza Noushadi, was
quoted as saying by Shana, the oil ministry's news agency.
“Currently,
85 percent of the facilities and equipment needed by the gas industry are built
inside the country, and based on this capability, a contract has recently been
signed to export 40 Iranian-made turbines to Russia,” he added.
Noushadi
did not specify when the contract was signed, and when the turbines are due to
be delivered.
Following
the imposition of economic sanctions over the Kremlin's offensive in Ukraine,
Russia reduced or halted supplies to different European nations, causing energy
prices to soar.
The
Kremlin insists sanctions have prevented the proper maintenance of Russian gas
infrastructure and, in particular, blocked the return of a Siemens turbine that
had been undergoing repairs in Canada.
“Give
us a turbine, we will turn Nord Stream on tomorrow”, Putin said at the
Vladivostok forum in September, referring to a vital gas pipeline between
Russia and Germany.
Western
countries have accused Russia of using gas supplies as a “weapon”.
Noushadi
said the US sanctions on Russia are aimed at excluding Moscow from the gas
market.
“In
recent years, the United States of America has widely set up LNG production
plants, and recently, with the all-out embargo on Russia and then the explosion
in the Nord Stream gas pipeline, it effectively eliminated one of its biggest
competitors in gas exports,” he noted.
Russia
and Iran hold some of the world's largest gas reserves, and are both under
strict US sanctions.
Both
countries have in recent months stressed the importance of enhancing bilateral
cooperation.
Russia's
President Vladimir Putin visited Tehran in July where he met his Iranian
counterpart Ebrahim Raisi and the Islamic republic's supreme leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei who also called for stronger “long-term co-operation” with Moscow.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Yemen's
National Defence Council labels Houthis as terror group
Zeynep
Tüfekçi Gülay
23.10.2022
ADEN,
Yemen
Yemen’s
National Defense Council said Saturday that the Houthis are defined as a terror
organization and strict measures will be taken against people and entities that
support the rebel group.
The
Council decided on the move in accordance with its decision no. 1 dated 2022,
according to state news agency, Saba.
It
added that the decision was taken in accordance with international and regional
conventions adopted by Yemen, as well as the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Penal
Code.
The
National Defense Council, chaired by the President of the Yemeni Presidential
Council, Rashad al-Alimi, is the largest defense and security authority in the
country.
The
Houthis have commented on the move.
Governor
Mebhut bin Madi said Thursday that the Houthis attacked the Al-Dabba Port in
Hadhramaut with two unmanned aerial vehicles.
In
a written statement, the Houthis said: "We carried out the attack as a
minor warning to prevent a ship attempting to loot crude oil from the Al-Dabba
Port.”
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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Yemen’s
separatists call for placing Houthi rebels on terror list
22.10.2022
SANAA,
Yemen
Yemen’s
separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) has called for labelling the
Houthi rebels a terrorist group.
The
call came shortly after the rebels said on Friday that they had attacked a ship
trying to “loot oil” at the port of Dhabah in the southeastern Hadhramaut
province.
“The
terrorist Houthi militia continues its aggression with drones on oil
facilities,” STC spokesman Ali al-Kathiri said in a statement.
He
called on the international community “to place the Iranian-backed Houthi
militia on lists of terrorist groups.”
There
was no comment from the Houthi group on the STC call.
The
Yemeni government, for its part, said “all options are open” to deal with the
Houthi military escalation in Yemen.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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Yemeni
government condemns Houthi attack on oil port in Hadhramaut
Hacer
Baser
22.10.2022
The
Yemeni government on Friday condemned a recent attack by the Iranian-backed
Houthi rebels on a port in Hadhramaut.
“All
options against the attack are on the table,” said state news agency Saba,
citing a statement by the government.
The
statement urged all countries to take firm steps to condemn the attack.
The
Houthis have shown with the attacks that they are insistent on escalating the
war and humanitarian crisis and further disrupting international navigation
security, said the statement.
Governor
Mebhut bin Madi said Thursday that the Houthis attacked the Al-Dabba Port in
Hadhramaut with two unmanned aerial vehicles.
In
a written statement, the Houthis said: "We carried out the attack as a
minor warning to prevent a ship attempting to loot crude oil from the Al-Dabba
Port.”
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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Palestinian
resistance fighters open fire on Israeli forces in Nablus
24
October 2022
Palestinian
resistance fighters have opened fire on Israeli forces in the West Bank city of
Nablus, amid heightened tensions in the occupied territories.
Palestinian
sources said resistance fighters intensively opened fire on an Israeli military
position on Gerizim Mountain in Nablus on Sunday night.
The
Israeli army has imposed a strict siege on Nablus since October 11, blocking
the city’s entrances with military checkpoints and earth mounds, while Israeli
drones constantly hover over the northern West Bank city.
The
siege came in the wake of a shooting attack carried out by the Lion’s Den group
near Nablus which killed an Israeli soldier.
The
siege, which Israeli officials said will continue until further notice, has had
economic repercussions on a city that has a particular industrial and
commercial importance for the West Bank.
The
shooting took place as the Arin al-Osoud (Lion’s Den) group on Sunday vowed a
strong response to the assassination of one of its members earlier in the day.
In
the early hours of Sunday, Tamer al-Kilani was killed in Nablus in a bomb blast
blamed on Israeli forces.
Israeli
forces have recently been conducting overnight raids and killings in the
northern occupied West Bank, mainly in the cities of Jenin and Nablus, where
new groups of Palestinian resistance fighters have been formed.
At
least 175 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West
Bank as well as in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the year, including 51
Palestinians during Israel’s three-day assault on Gaza in August, according to
the Palestinian health ministry.
Local
and international rights groups have condemned Israel’s excessive use of force
and “shoot-to-kill policy” against Palestinians.
Moreover,
reports said Palestinian acts of resistance intensified in the past 24 hours
amid increased attacks by Israeli settlers and military.
Source:
Press TV
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Iran
supports Iraqi nation, government, determined to expand ties: Foreign minister
24
October 2022
Iranian
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has reiterated the Islamic Republic’s
support for the Iraqi government and nation, saying Tehran intends to expand
ties at all levels with Baghdad.
Amir-Abdollahian
made the remarks during a meeting with former Iraqi Prime Minister Adel
Abdul-Mahdi in Tehran on Sunday.
Iran
will always stand by the Iraqi nation and government, Amir-Abdollahian said,
expressing satisfaction with the current level of bilateral ties in political,
economic, and security fields.
He
highlighted, however, the need to make greater efforts to expand ties to a
level proportional to the available resources, particularly in the economic
sector.
Elsewhere
in his remarks, the Iranian foreign minister also hailed Abdul-Mahdi and other
Iraqi leaders’ attempts in preserving the country’s national unity resulting in
the election of a new president.
Last
week, Iraqi lawmakers elected Abdul Latif Rashid as the Arab country’s new
president, who immediately named a prime minister, thus breaking a months-long
political deadlock and paving the way for the formation of a new government.
Iraq
witnessed months of political deadlock after influential Iraqi Shia cleric
Muqtada al-Sadr’s bloc emerged from last October elections as the biggest
parliamentary faction, but was still far short of a majority, causing the
longest political vacuum in the country since the 2003 devastating invasion of
the Arab country led by the United States.
During
the Sunday meeting, the two sides also discussed the recent developments
concerning the talks over the removal of anti-Tehran sanctions and reviving the
2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action (JCPOA).
The
former Iraqi official and the Iranian minister also exchanged views on
reconciliation talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia mediated by Baghdad.
Iraq
has hosted several rounds of talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran at the level
of intelligence and security heads since last April.
Saudi
Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran in January 2016 after Iranian
protesters, enraged by the Saudi execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr
Baqir al-Nimr, stormed its embassy in Tehran.
Source:
Press TV
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Israeli
court rejects early release of cancer-stricken Palestinian prisoner
23
October 2022
An
Israeli court has rejected an appeal for the early release of a cancer-stricken
Palestinian patient held in jail, as his health condition has been seriously
deteriorating.
The
Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) said the district court in Lod on Sunday
turned down another request submitted by the lawyer of Nasser Abu Hamid who
asked Israeli judges to consider his critical health condition and order his
early release.
The
court hearing was held in the absence of the Palestinian prisoner due to his
medical condition.
The
PPS warned that Abu Hamid is wrestling with death as the Israeli prison service
(IPS) continues to deny him necessary medical care.
Last
September, Israeli doctors issued a medical report recommending Abu Hamid’s
release, saying his cancer had reached an irreversible stage.
The
prisoner had not received any dose of chemotherapy for several months because
of extreme lethargy leading to an inability to respond to cancer drugs.
The
49-year-old is serving seven life sentences and an additional 50 years in
prison for activism in favor of Palestinians' freedom from Israel’s
decades-long occupation and aggression. He began suffering from a
life-threatening condition in his lungs a few months ago, but the IPS refused
to allow him to receive medical attention in time.
bu
Hamid had contracted pneumonia, which prompted his transfer to hospital, but he
was later brought back to Israel’s Ramla prison.
Rights
groups have urged all advocates to urgently intervene and pressure the Israeli
regime to release him.
There
are reportedly more than 7,000 Palestinians held at Israeli jails. Human rights
organizations say Israel violates all the rights and freedoms granted to
prisoners by the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Source:
Press TV
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/10/23/691464/Palestinian-prisoner-Abu-Hamid
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