Allahabad HC Rejects PIL Challenging Impeachment Motion Against Justice Who Made Anti-Muslim Remarks
New Age Islam News Bureau
7 January 2025
The Allahabad High Court. | Sanjay Kanojia/AFP
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· Allahabad HC Rejects PIL Challenging Impeachment Motion Against Justice Who Made Anti-Muslim Remarks
· Stand In Mina Directorate In Hodeida, Yemen, To Declare Mobilization, Readiness For Jihad To Support Palestine
· United Kashmir People's National Party Leader Condemns Call For Jihad By PoJK Prime Minister
· Anti-Extremism Group Etidal Helps Telegram Remove 160m Items Of Extremist Content In 3 Years
· Sabah Govt Says No To Public Caning For Islamic Offences Despite Mufti’s Support
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India
· Union Minister Criticises Maulana Razvi Over Maha Kumbh Remarks
· Sambhal violence: UP police to get non-bailable warrants against 91 absconding accused
· 2020 riots: Delhi HC to hear Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam bail pleas on January 7
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Mideast
· Islamic Jihad: "Kedumim" operation slap in face of war criminals
· Palestine: Israel Damaged 1,000 Mosques In Genocidal War On Gaza
· Long silenced by fear, Syrians now speak about rampant torture under Assad
· Syria unable to import wheat or fuel due to US sanctions, trade minister says
· West Bank camp under fire as Palestinian forces face off militants
· Over 45,850 Palestinians killed in Gaza offensive
· Lebanese army redeploys in Naqoura as Israeli ceasefire violations continue
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Pakistan
· Imran Can’t Be Tried For Failing To Deposit Gift In Toshakhana: IHC
· Legal community opposes civilians’ trial in military courts: Hamid Khan
· PTI bound to make 'mandate demand', says Sanauallah as party slams 'hurdles' in meeting Imran
· Imran Khan 'slams deferral of £190m case verdict'
· PIA expands international, domestic operations
· CDA takes charge of Diplomatic Shuttle Service in Islamabad
· German diplomat found dead in Islamabad
· PM for seizing assets of human traffickers
· Killing For A ‘Cause’: Lahore Shooter Does It For Umrah Tickets
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Arab World
· Saudi FM discusses regional developments with Blinken during call
· Saudi minister of Islamic affairs meets Palestinian ambassador to the Kingdom
· Makkah authorities on high alert amid heavy rains
· Saudi program empowers youth as global ambassadors
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Southeast Asia
· Special Aidilfitri aid of RM200 for state, federal civil servants in Negeri Sembilan - MB
· Malaysia, Singapore reopen discussion on long-standing issues
· Najib 1MDB trial: Abu Kassim’s 2016 removal was routine, not my call, says former PM
· Najib denies AG replacement linked to 1MDB probe, says Gani Patail was tapped for judgeship
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Europe
· Mosque Leader Reveals Plans For 128-Year-Old Clydebank Building
· Oxford Muslims Submit Plans To Convert a House As Place Of Worship
· New book on Kilwinning poet known as the Muslim Rabbie Burns
· Ukraine launches Christmas Eve attack on Russia’s Belgorod – governor
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South Asia
· BDR Massacre: Probe Body May Seek Hasina’s Extradition
· Afghan refugees still facing harassment, arrest in neighboring countries
· Iraqi Company Explores Power Project Investments in Afghanistan
· Russian Delegation Visits National Museum of Afghanistan
· Around 800 Afghan migrants detained in Pakistan
· 300 Afghans arrive in the Philippines for US relocation
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North America
· New Orleans Attack Validates ADL’s Warnings About Islamist Extremism
· Harris certifies Trump's US election win, four years after Capitol riot
· Trump Jr to visit Greenland after dad says US should own the territory
· Biden meets exiled Venezuelan opposition candidate
· Who might replace Trudeau as Liberal Party leader?
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Africa
· Libya Military Says Air Strikes Target Smuggling Sites
· Troops Eliminate Notorious Terrorist, Sani Russu In Zamfara
· We Are Ready To Be Guarantors For Nnamdi Kanu, Release Him – Abaribe Tells Tinubu
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/allahabad-hc-rejects-justice-muslim/d/134271
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Allahabad HC Rejects PIL Challenging Impeachment Motion Against Justice Who Made Anti-Muslim Remarks
Scroll Staff
The Allahabad High Court. | Sanjay Kanojia/AFP
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The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday rejected a public interest litigation challenging the impeachment motion against Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav for his anti-Muslim remarks in December, Bar and Bench reported.
Speaking at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad event on December 8, Yadav said that India would be run as per the wishes of its Hindu majority. He also uttered a communal slur used for Muslims who have been circumcised and described the community as “harmful to the country”.
“They are the kind of people who do not want the country to progress and we need to be cautious of them,” Yadav, a sitting High Court judge, said. He added that India would soon adopt a Uniform Civil Code – a common set of laws governing marriage, divorce, succession and adoption for all citizens.
The remarks by Yadav had led to demands for his impeachment, with some critics calling for his judicial work to be suspended.
On December 13, 55 Opposition MPs filed a notice in the Rajya Sabha calling for his impeachment. The 21-page motion, initiated by Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal, said that the judge’s speech “prima facie [showed] evidence [that he] has targeted minorities and displayed bias and prejudice against minorities”.
Opposition leaders who signed the motion included Congress MPs Chidambaram and Digvijaya Singh, Aam Aadmi Party’s Raghav Chadha, Trinamool Congress legislators Sagarika Ghose and Saket Gokhale, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Manoj Jha and Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s John Brittas.
Advocate Asok Pande had filed the public interest litigation in the High Court seeking to prevent the chairman of the Rajya Sabha from acting on the motion, arguing that Yadav had made the comments in his capacity as a Hindu.
The petitioner further argued that the use of the communal slur does not qualify as hate speech as Yadav’s remarks could be seen as a criticism of specific individuals within the Muslim community.
The Allahabad High Court, however, held that the plea was not maintainable.
The process to impeach a High Court judge is governed by the Constitution and the 1968 Judges Inquiry Act.
A motion for removal must be submitted in either the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. The speaker or the chairperson of the House decides whether to admit the motion.
If admitted, the matter is referred to a judicial committee for investigation. The committee has three members: a Supreme Court judge, a High Court chief justice and an eminent jurist. Based on the committee’s findings, Parliament debates and votes on the motion. The motion must secure a two-thirds majority in both Houses. Upon approval, Parliament advises the president to remove the judge from office.
Besides the impeachment motion in the Rajya Sabha, the Supreme Court has also taken cognisance of Yadav’s comments and sought a report from the High Court about the matter.
Scroll looked at several of his orders over the last three-and-a-half years and found that Yadav has a pattern of referring to Hindutva talking points.
In his judgements, Yadav has suggested that the state should honour the cow as well as Hindu gods, referred to conspiracy theories about religious conversions and accused people of making false complaints under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act.
Source:scroll.in
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Stand In Mina Directorate In Hodeida, Yemen, To Declare Mobilization, Readiness For Jihad To Support Palestine
06 Jan 2025
The people of the Mina Directorate in the city of Hodeidah organized a massive stand today, confirming the continuation of the mobilization and raising the readiness and readiness for jihad to support the Palestinian people.
The participants in the stand, which was led by the governor of the province, Abdullah Abdo Atifi, and the governor's deputies, Mohammed Halisi and Ali Al-Kabari, raised the Yemeni and Palestinian flags, chanting slogans of jihad, freedom and independence that distinguish the Yemeni people under their wise and courageous leadership.
They chanted with pride the growing Yemeni position in supporting the injustice of the Palestinian people and what the Yemeni armed forces have achieved in confronting the ships and destroyers of the American and British enemy and performing the religious, moral and humanitarian duty represented in supporting the Mujahideen in the Gaza Strip.
They stressed that the continuation of their gathering and their exit comes as an affirmation of the continuation of supporting and backing the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, who are being subjected to the most heinous ethnic cleansing and genocide operations in light of international silence and collusion and Arab and Islamic inaction.
They expressed their indignation, anger and condemnation of what the criminal Zionist entity is committing, which continues its crimes of exterminating the sons of the brotherly Palestinian people with all brutality in order to satisfy its instinct for killing and its thirst for shedding the blood of children, women and civilians.
They also renewed their condemnation of the continued shameful position of the regimes of the Arab and Islamic countries and their evasion of their religious, moral and humanitarian duty and responsibility in supporting the Muslim people of Palestine out of fear of America, Israel and those who revolve in their orbit.
The participants called on the rulers, presidents and kings of the regimes of the countries claiming Islam to review their calculations and follow the firm and steadfast position of the struggling Yemeni people, their armed forces and their leadership, headed by Sayyed Leader Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi, in supporting and backing the Palestinian people and their resistance despite the conspiracy and aggression.
They stressed that jihad is the right choice to reunite the diaspora and humiliation suffered by the Arab countries, and to restore the unity of the Islamic ranks to confront the evil trinity of Zionism, America, Britain, and to emerge from its guardianship, liberate itself from hegemony and triumph for the stolen dignity.
They sent warning messages to all those lying in wait, that Al-Hodeidah Governorate will remain resistant to invaders and occupiers, and that any suspicious movements by the mercenaries of aggression to harm the interests of the Yemeni people will be met with a more violent response and unparalleled popular and official support, stressing their readiness to confront any threats and confront any attempts.
During the vigil, Undersecretary Halisi stressed that Yemen, despite the ongoing aggression and threats it is exposed to by the American-Zionist-British enemy, has become stronger, more steadfast, more resolute and more proud in its defense of Palestine and its afflicted people.
He praised the sacrifices and heroism of the people of the governorate in confronting the aggression and thwarting its conspiratorial plans that it has sought to achieve for more than ten years.
The statement of the vigil denounced the crimes of genocide committed by the Zionist enemy entity against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in front of the eyes and ears of the world, with the support of America and some European and Western countries, in light of global silence and shameful and humiliating Arab and Islamic inaction.
He called on the Arab and Islamic nations to beware of America's plots aimed at dismantling the nation and drowning Muslims in secondary disputes and problems, and he also demanded that they carry out their religious, moral and humanitarian responsibilities and duties towards what is happening in Gaza.
The statement expressed regret for the shameful positions of some Arab and Islamic regimes that have made themselves a bridge of passage and supply for the Zionist enemy at a time when the Palestinian brothers in Gaza are suffering from deadly hunger as a result of the criminal siege of the Zionist enemy.\
Source:saba.ye
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United Kashmir People's National Party Leader Condemns Call For Jihad By PoJK Prime Minister
Jan 07, 2025
UKPNP leader Sajjad Hussain Condemns PoJK PM's call for jihad as a threat to peace.(Photo:ANI)
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Brussels [Belgium], January 7 (ANI): Sajid Hussain, leader of the United Kashmir People's National Party (UKPNP), has strongly criticized recent remarks by Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq, Prime Minister of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), who publicly called for jihad.
Hussain described the statements as a serious threat to both regional and global peace, labeling them as a dangerous incitement to violence.
In a video message, Hussain condemned the Prime Minister's rhetoric as rooted in extremism, emphasising that such remarks, made under the guise of advancing the Kashmir issue, represent a harmful shift away from diplomatic norms.
"We are deeply concerned and alarmed by the recent public statements made by the so-called Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq, in which he openly called for initiating Jihad. This rhetoric, steeped in extremism, is a direct incitement to violence, posing a significant threat to regional and global peace. Such declarations, made under the guise of advancing the Kashmir issue, represent a dangerous departure from diplomatic norms and a blatant endorsement of terrorism in the name of Islam," Hussain said.
The UKPNP leader further expressed his concern that such extremist rhetoric contradicts Pakistan's commitments to promoting peace, as outlined in the United Nations (UN) Charter. He noted that these statements are especially troubling given Pakistan's recent election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and its upcoming chairmanship in July.
"These developments are particularly concerning in light of Pakistan's recent election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and its upcoming chairmanship in July. This prestigious role obligates Pakistan to adhere to the principles of the UN Charter, which include promoting international peace, resolving disputes through dialogue, and combating terrorism in all its forms. However, such statements, like those made by PM, are in direct contradiction to these commitments," Hussain remarked.
Hussain also warned that such statements could harm Pakistan's international credibility. "Such rhetoric risks isolating Pakistan diplomatically and weakening its influence within the international community. Pakistan's efforts to improve its standing in global institutions, such as the Financial Action Task Force, are now at risk," he added.
The UKPNP leader called for accountability and urged the international community to take stronger action against those who advocate violence.
He said, "We urge the international community, including the UN, FATF, and other institutions, to take serious note of extremist rhetoric and its potential consequences." (ANI)
Source:aninews.in
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India
Union Minister Criticises Maulana Razvi Over Maha Kumbh Remarks
January 6, 2025
New Delhi: Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Monday, strongly criticised Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi, president of the All India Muslim Jamat (AIMJ), for his comments on the Maha Kumbh Mela that 55 bighas of Waqf land were being used for the event and remarked that they were trying to provoke Hindus.
Reacting to the Maulana’s claim that 55 bighas of Waqf land was being used for the event, Singh said, “The Kumbh Mela predates the birth of Islam and is a deeply respected cultural and religious tradition. Statements like these are an attempt to provoke Hindus and incite communal tensions.”
He further asked, “Are leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Uddhav Thackeray, Lalu Prasad Yadav, and Akhilesh Yadav silent because they endorse such unrest? Do they want to create a situation like Bangladesh in India?”
Giriraj Singh accused some “radical elements” of trying to disrupt the country’s harmony by twisting historical and cultural facts. He added, “The Kumbh Mela is not just a religious event; it is a cultural heritage of India, respected globally. Such provocative remarks are unacceptable.”
The controversy began when Maulana Barelvi claimed in a video that Muslims of Prayagraj had shown a “large heart” by allowing the mela to take place on Waqf land. He also criticised the All India Akhara Parishad’s call to bar non-Hindus from participating in the event, accusing Hindu groups of being “narrow-minded.”
Maulana Barelvi said, “Akhara Parishad, Naga Sanyasis, swamis and babas have banned the entry of Muslims from Kumbh Mela. On the other hand, a Muslim man named Sartaz from Prayagraj has said that the land where preparations are being made for the Kumbh Mela belongs to the Waqf, and is owned by local Muslims.”
He added that while Muslims have shown a large heart, Hindu groups are showing narrowness by not allowing Muslims in the Kumbh Mela. — IANS
Source:muslimmirror.com
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Sambhal violence: UP police to get non-bailable warrants against 91 absconding accused
by Amit Sharma
January 7, 2025
The police in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal are set to approach a local court to get non-bailable warrants issued against 91 absconding accused allegedly involved in the large-scale violence that broke out in the town on November 24 last year following a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid. Five people died and several others, including police officials, were injured in the violence.
“We have so far arrested 54 accused, including six women who pelted stones on the police from their rooftops that day. Ninety-one more offenders are on the Sambhal police’s radar for their involvement in the violence. They have either taken shelter in other states or are at their relatives’ places in nearby districts. We will approach the court to get the non-bailable warrants to hasten the arrest process. None will be spared,” Krishna Kumar Bishnoi, Superintendent of Police (SP), Sambhal, said on Monday evening.
The district police recently arrested Adnan Mohammed, 30, a resident of the Deepa Sarai locality in the town from Batla House in New Delhi. Mohammed had allegedly fired at the SP during the violence. The police have also arrested Zikra Khatun, 45, who had allegedly pelted stones at senior police officials during the violence.
The local court had ordered a survey of the mosque after a suit was filed claiming that it was built after destroying a temple. The suit was presented on November 19, and on the same day, the trial court allowed the request for appointing an advocate commissioner for a survey of the mosque. The violence broke out while a second survey was being carried out on November 24.
Source:indianexpress.com
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2020 riots: Delhi HC to hear Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam bail pleas on January 7
Jan 6, 2025
NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court will on January 7 hear bail pleas of student activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and other accused in the UAPA case related to February, 2020 violence. Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur are scheduled to hear the cases.
Delhi Police is likely to commence its submissions in the cases.
Khalid, Imam and others were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the IPC for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the February 2020 riots, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.
The violence erupted during the protests against the CAA and NRC.
The accused persons sought bail from the court on the grounds, including their prolonged incarceration and parity with co-accused who were granted on bail.
Most accused persons, including Imam, Gulfisha Fatima and Khalid Saifi, filed their bail applications in 2022 with different benched hearing the cases from time to time.
Umar Khalid approached the high court last year seeking bail for the second time, after the dismissal of a similar bail plea by the high court in October 2022.
On December 20, the court deferred the hearing for January 7, after the counsel for Delhi Police said the case would be argued by additional solicitor general S V Raju on behalf of the prosecution.
All accused were arrested by Delhi Police on different dates following the violence.
Source:indiatimes.com
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Mideast
Islamic Jihad: "Kedumim" operation slap in face of war criminals
06 Jan 2025
Jihad Movement in Palestine confirmed Monday that the Kedumim operation came in response to the crimes of the Zionist enemy in the West Bank and Gaza and a slap in the face of war criminals.
The movement said in a statement "We bless the heroic operation near the "Kedumim" settlement east of Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank, this morning, which left a number of dead and wounded among the settlers occupying our land, and it is a natural response to the crimes of the occupation against our people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, and a slap in the face of war criminals and those who shed the blood of children and women."
It added "The continuation of the heroic operations carried out by our people sends a message to the leaders of the entity that all their crimes and terrorism will only increase our determination to continue the resistance."
Source:saba.ye
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Palestine: Israel damaged 1,000 mosques in genocidal war on Gaza
06 Jan 2025
The Zionist enemy army has destroyed about 1,000 mosques in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs said on Sunday, while settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque more than 250 times, and the call to prayer was prevented from being raised in the Ibrahimi Mosque more than 670 times last year.
The Ministry issued a special report on the occupation's violations of Islamic and Christian sanctities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip for the year 2024.
Since the beginning of last year, the occupier has destroyed 815 mosques and 19 cemeteries completely and 151 mosques partially, violated graveyards' sanctity by attacking them, digging up their graves and removing the bodies, and targeted and destroyed three churches in Gaza City, the Ministry said in its report.
The Israeli occupier attacked Al-Aqsa Mosque by allowing settler gangs to storm it and desecrate its courtyards and benches with (256) incursions last year, during which they practiced unusual Talmudic rituals that are now practiced daily, such as the epic prostration that began for the first time on August 13, 2024, and blowing the trumpet, the Ministry added.
The Talmudic rituals are now practiced in a specific place and at specific times to consecrate the division of Al-Aqsa in terms of time and space, under the supervision and protection of Israeli police, which permanently prevents the guards of Al-Aqsa Mosque affiliated with the Quds Endowments Department from doing their work during these incursions.
According to the report, the so-called "Temple Groups" facilitated the settlers' Jewish New Year celebrations inside Al-Aqsa Mosque during the past year, and incited "Temple Mount activists" to burn Al-Aqsa Mosque, by publishing a video clip showing the burning of Al-Aqsa Mosque and attaching a comment: "Soon in these days."
On the anniversary of the so-called alleged destruction of the Temple, the Endowments indicated that the settlers performed collective rituals for the first time in the western area opposite the Dome of the Rock, and the eastern area of Al-Aqsa Mosque is treated as an undeclared "synagogue."
The ministry stated in its report that the terrorist Ben-Gvir, supported by his far-right government, has stormed Al-Aqsa (seven) times since he took office, and four times since the start of the war on Gaza, and issued a number of far-right statements in which he threatened to establish a Jewish synagogue in Al-Aqsa Mosque. He also worked to intensify the Jewish presence through government support and legal cover.
The report said (2567) settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Jewish holiday of (Hanukkah), and during which they committed numerous violations, the most prominent of which was the storming of "Ben Gvir", and Rabbi Yisrael Shalita performed Talmudic rituals, and practiced dancing, singing and epic prostration.
Regarding the Ibrahimi Mosque, the occupation forces committed their violations on a daily basis, whether by preventing the call to prayer from being made in it, which has reached (674) times since the beginning of the year, or by restricting Muslims by preventing them, and closing it (ten) times during the same period.
The occupier also installed the so-called "candelabrum" and Israeli flags on the roof and walls of the Ibrahimi Mosque, and held noisy parties and Talmudic rituals in the occupied section, as practiced banging, shouting, cursing and swearing at doors. The occupier also obstructed the celebrations of the Prophet's birthday inside the mosque.
The report indicated that the number of worshipers in the Ibrahimi Mosque during the year 2024 amounted to only 236,530 worshipers, and this number is considered less than expected due to the strict measures imposed by the occupation, including closing the entrances to the mosque since October 7, 2023, which hindered the arrival of large numbers of worshipers.
The Ibrahimi Mosque was stormed by 3,381 Israeli soldiers during the year, in a flagrant violation of the sanctity of the religious place, and provoking the feelings of Muslims. The occupation intensified the checkpoints around the mosque, and closed all its entrances, leaving only the market door, which made it more difficult for Palestinians to reach it.
The report pointed out that the Ibrahimi Mosque received only 12,663 tourists during the year 2024.
With regard to the rest of the places of worship and mosques, the Awqaf reported that the occupation attacked (20) mosques in different areas in the West Bank, with a clear focus on the Tulkarm and Jenin governorates, either by partially destroying a number of facilities or by desecrating them with writing and mocking Islamic rituals.
The Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs monitored in its report a number of attacks on holy places and Christian worshipers, where extremist Jewish religious groups attacked and spat on Christian pilgrims in the occupied city of Quds, specifically in the area of the Church of the Prison of Christ. They also restricted them during Christian holidays and prevented them from reaching the Church of the Nativity and the Church of the Resurrection.
The Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs called on the international community to force the occupation to stop these violations that have become increasingly frequent, especially with the war of extermination on the Gaza Strip.
Source:saba.ye
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Long silenced by fear, Syrians now speak about rampant torture under Assad
January 07, 2025
DAMASCUS: Handcuffed and squatting on the floor, Abdullah Zahra saw smoke rising from his cellmate’s flesh as his torturers gave him electric shocks.
Then it was Zahra’s turn. They hanged the 20-year-old university student from his wrists until his toes barely touched the floor and electrocuted and beat him for two hours. They made his father watch and taunted him about his son’s torment.
That was 2012, and the entire security apparatus of Syria’s then-President Bashar Assad was deployed to crush the protests that had arisen against his rule.
With Assad’s fall a month ago, the machinery of death that he ran is starting to come out into the open.
It was systematic and well-organized, growing to more than 100 detention facilities where torture, brutality, sexual violence and mass executions were rampant, according to activists, rights group and former prisoners. Security agents spared no one, not even Assad’s own soldiers. Young men and women were detained for simply living in districts where protests were held.
As tens of thousands disappeared over more than a decade, a blanket of fear kept the Syrian population silent. People rarely told anyone that a loved one had vanished for fear they too could be reported to security agencies.
Now, everyone is talking. The insurgents who swept Assad out of power opened detention facilities, releasing prisoners and allowing the public to bear witness. Crowds swarmed, searching for answers, bodies of their loved ones, and ways to heal.
The Associated Press visited seven of these facilities in Damascus and spoke to nine former detainees, some released on Dec. 8, the day Assad was ousted. Some details of the accounts by those who spoke to the AP could not be independently confirmed, but they matched past reports by former detainees to human rights groups.
Days after Assad’s fall, Zahra – now 33 — came to visit Branch 215, a detention facility run by military intelligence in Damascus where he was held for two months. In an underground dungeon, he stepped into the windowless, 4-by-4-meter (yard) cell where he says he was held with 100 other inmates.
Each man was allowed a floor tile to squat on, Zahra said. When ventilators weren’t running — either intentionally or because of a power failure — some suffocated. Men went mad; torture wounds festered. When a cellmate died, they stowed his body next to the cell’s toilet until jailers came to collect corpses, Zahra said.
“Death was the least bad thing,” he said. “We reached a place where death was easier than staying here for one minute.”
Assad’s system of repression grew as civil war raged
Zahra was arrested along with his father after security agents killed one of his brothers, a well-known anti-Assad graffiti artist. After they were released, Zahra fled to opposition-held areas. Within a few months, security agents returned and dragged off 13 of his male relatives, including a younger brother and, again, his father.
They were brought to Branch 215. All were tortured and killed. Zahra later recognized their bodies among photos leaked by a defector that showed the corpses of thousands killed while in detention. Their bodies were never recovered, and how and when they died is unknown.
Rights groups estimate at least 150,000 people went missing after anti-government protests began in 2011, most vanishing into Assad’s prison network. Many of them were killed, either in mass executions or from torture and prison conditions. The exact number remains unknown.
Even before the uprising, Assad had ruled with an iron fist. But as peaceful protests turned into a full-fledged civil war that would last 14 years, Assad rapidly expanded his system of repression.
New detention facilities sprung up in security compounds, military airports and under buildings — all run by military, security and intelligence agencies.
Touring the site of his torture and detention, Zahra hoped to find some sign of his lost relatives. But there was nothing. At home, his aunt, Rajaa Zahra, saw the pictures of her killed children for the first time. She had refused to look at the leaked photos before. She lost three of her six sons in Branch 215 and a fourth was killed at a protest. Her brother, she said, had three sons, now he has only one.
“They were hoping to finish off all the young men of the country.”
Syrians were tortured with ‘the tire’ and ‘magic carpet’
The Assad regime’s tortures had names.
One was called the “magic carpet,” where a detainee was strapped to a hinged wooden plank that bends in half, folding his head to his feet, which are then beaten.
Abdul-Karim Hajjeko said he endured this five times. His torturers stomped on his back during interrogations at the Criminal Security branch, and his vertebrae are still broken.
“My screams would go to heaven. Once a doctor came down from the fourth floor (to the ground floor) because of my screams,” he said.
He was also put in “the tire.” His legs were bent inside a car tire as interrogators beat his back and feet with a plastic baton. When they were done, he said, a guard ordered him to kiss the tire and thank it for teaching him “how to behave.” Hajjeko was later taken to the notorious Saydnaya Prison, where he was held for six years.
Many prisoners said the tire was inflicted for rule violations — like making noise, raising one’s head in front of guards, or praying – or for no reason at all.
Mahmoud Abdulbaki, a non-commissioned air force officer who defected from service, was put in the tire during detention at a military police facility. They forced him to count the lashes — up to 200 — and if he made a mistake, the torturer would start over.
“People’s hearts stopped following a beating,” the 37-year-old said.
He was later held at Saydnaya, where he said guards would terrorize inmates by rolling a tire down the corridor lined with cells and beat on the bars with their batons. Wherever it stopped, the entire cell would be subjected to the tire.
Altogether, Abdulbaki spent nearly six years in prison over different periods. He was among those freed on the day Assad fled Syria.
Saleh Turki Yahia said a cellmate died nearly every day during the seven months in 2012 he was held at the Palestine Branch, a detention facility run by the General Intelligence Agency.
He recounted how one man bled in the cell for days after returning from a torture session where interrogators rammed a pipe into him. When the inmates tried to move him, “all his fluids poured out from his backside. The wound opened from the back, and he died,” he said.
Yahya said he was given electric shocks, hanged from his wrists, beaten on his feet. He lost half his body weight and nearly tore his own skin scratching from scabies.
“They broke us,” he said, breaking into tears. “Look at Syria, it is all old men ... A whole generation is destroyed.”
But with Assad gone, he was back visiting the Palestine Branch.
“I came to express myself. I want to tell.”
The mounting evidence will be used in trials
Torture continued up to the end of Assad’s rule.
Rasha Barakat, 34, said she and her sister were detained in March from their homes in Saqba, a town outside Damascus.
Inside a security branch, she was led past her husband, who had been arrested hours earlier and was being interrogated. He was kneeling on the floor, his face green, she said. It was her last brief glimpse of him: He died in custody.
During her own hours-long interrogation, she said, security agents threatened to bring in her sons, 5- and 7-years-old, if she didn’t confess. She was beaten. Female security agents stripped her and poured cold water on her, leaving her shivering naked for two hours. She spent eight days in isolation, hearing beatings nearby.
Eventually she was taken to Adra, Damascus’ central prison, tried and sentenced to five years for supporting rebel groups, charges she said were made up.
There she stayed until insurgents broke into Adra in December and told her she was free. An estimated 30,000 prisoners were released as fighters opened up prisons during their march to Damascus.
Barakat said she is happy to see her kids again. But “I am destroyed psychologically … Something is missing. It is hard to keep going.”
Now comes the monumental task of accounting for the missing and compiling evidence that could one day be used to prosecute Assad’s officials, whether by Syrian or international courts.
Hundreds of thousands of documents remain scattered through the former detention facilities, many labeled classified, in storage rooms commonly underground. Some seen by the AP included transcripts of phone conversations, even between military officers; intelligence files on activists; and a list of hundreds of prisoners killed in detention.
Shadi Haroun, who spent 10 years imprisoned, has been charting Assad’s prison structure and documenting former detainees’ experiences from exile in Turkiye. After Assad’s fall, he rushed back to Syria and toured detention sites.
The documents, he said, show the bureaucracy behind the killings. “They know what they are doing, it is organized.”
Civil defense workers are tracking down mass graves where tens of thousands are believed to be buried. At least 10 have been identified around Damascus, mostly from residents’ reports, and five others elsewhere around the country. Authorities say they are not ready to open them.
A UN body known as the International Impartial and Independent Mechanism has offered to help Syria’s new interim administration in collecting, organizing and analyzing all the material. Since 2011, it has been compiling evidence and supporting investigations in over 200 criminal cases against figures in Assad’s government.
Robert Petit, director of the UN body, said the task is so enormous, no one entity can do it alone. The priority would be to identify the architects of the brutality.
Many want answers now.
Officials cannot just declare that the missing are presumed dead, said Wafaa Mustafa, a Syrian journalist, whose father was detained and killed 12 years ago.
“No one gets to tell the families what happened without evidence, without search, without work.”
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Syria unable to import wheat or fuel due to US sanctions, trade minister says
January 07, 2025
DAMASCUS: Syria is unable to make deals to import fuel, wheat or other key goods due to strict US sanctions and despite many countries, including Gulf Arab states, wanting to do so, Syria’s new trade minister said.
In an interview with Reuters at his office in Damascus, Maher Khalil Al-Hasan said Syria’s new ruling administration had managed to scrape together enough wheat and fuel for a few months but the country faces a “catastrophe” if sanctions are not frozen or lifted soon.
Hasan is a member of the new caretaker government set up by Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham after it launched a lightning offensive that toppled autocratic President Bashar Assad on Dec. 8 after 13 years of civil war.
The sanctions were imposed during Assad’s rule, targeting his government and also state institutions such as the central bank.
Russia and Iran, both major backers of the Assad government, previously provided most of Syria’s wheat and oil products but both stopped doing so after the rebels triumphed and Assad fled to Moscow.
The US is set to announce an easing of restrictions on providing humanitarian aid and other basic services such as electricity to Syria while maintaining its strict sanctions regime, people briefed on the matter told Reuters on Monday.
The exact impact of the expected measures remains to be seen.
The decision by the outgoing Biden administration aims to send a signal of goodwill to Syria’s people and its new Islamist rulers, and pave the way for improving basic services and living conditions in the war-ravaged country.
At the same time, US officials see the sanctions as a key point of leverage with a new ruling group that was designated a terrorist entity by Washington several years ago but which, after breaking with Islamist militant group Al Qaeda, has recently signalled a more moderate approach.
Washington wants to see Damascus embark on an inclusive political transition and to cooperate on counterterrorism and other matters.
Hasan told Reuters he was aware of reports that some sanctions may soon be eased or frozen.
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West Bank camp under fire as Palestinian forces face off militants
January 07, 2025
JENIN, Palestinian Territories: A month into a crackdown by Palestinian security forces on militants in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the streets of Jenin refugee camp are deserted, except for a few residents briefly checking on their homes.
Shops are closed, and militants have erected metal barricades to block Palestinian forces, in the area where Israeli army raids are more common.
Black military vehicles from the Palestinian Authority (PA), which exercises limited control over the West Bank, are stationed beyond roadblocks at the camp’s entrances.
“I only came back to check on my house,” said Muayyad Al-Saadi, a 53-year-old resident of Jenin camp, riding a bicycle down roads stripped of pavement.
Saadi, one of around 17,000 Palestinians who live in the camp, fled when clashes began in early December, citing a lack of electricity and running water.
The fighting, triggered by the arrests of several militants, has involved Palestinian militant factions affiliated with opponents of the PA’s leadership.
One of these factions, the Jenin Battalion, is largely made up of fighters affiliated with Islamic Jihad or Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered war in Gaza.
Hamas, in power in Gaza since 2007, is the main political rival of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah party, which dominates the PA.
Fourteen Palestinians have been killed, including six security forces, seven civilians, and one gunman in the clashes.
Gunshots occasionally rung out from inside the camp, an AFP correspondent reported this week.
Since bakeries have closed, an unusually long line stretched from a shop that delivers bread from outside the camp.
“I’ve lived through wars since I was eight years old,” said the shopkeeper, Umm Hani, who is in her 70s.
She said there was “never anything like this” since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, when Israel captured the West Bank.
“Let them (the security forces) come and arrest whoever they want. We have nothing to do with it,” said Umm Hani.
Another woman, in her 30s, said: “Everyone wants to speak out, but they’re afraid of repercussions from both sides.”
“We’re suffering. We can’t leave or enter the camp freely.”
The intra-Palestinian clashes erupted amid a major PA raid on the camp after the December 5 arrest of a Jenin Battalion commander on charges of possessing weapons and illicit funds.
Armed factions in Jenin and elsewhere see themselves as more effective resistance to Israeli occupation than the PA, which coordinates security matters with Israel.
“They (the PA) don’t want any resistance against the occupation,” said a fighter carrying an M16 rifle, blocking a road with militants.
The militants accuse the PA of cutting off the water and power supply to the camp, a claim the Ramallah-based authority denies.
“The gunmen fire at electricity and water crews whenever they attempt to repair the networks,” Anwar Rajab, spokesman for the PA forces, told AFP.
He said militants were also shooting at distributors of food aid.
Rajab added that the PA was trying to spare civilians, accusing militants instead of disrupting the lives of residents.
“We’re not besieging the camp. People are entering and leaving the camp normally.”
One gunman said the fighting has been “incredibly difficult for civilians. They have no water, no food, and they’ve stopped working.”
Walls throughout the camp are riddled with bullet holes, some from past Israeli army incursions and others from the recent fighting.
A 19-year-old Hamas fighter, who requested anonymity, said residents of Jenin camp have been exposed to violence long before the current operation.
“Every house here has a martyr, a prisoner or an injured person,” he said.
The fighter accused the PA’s forces of firing indiscriminately.
Both sides have traded blame for the deaths of the seven civilians, including a father and son killed on a rooftop on Friday.
“If they’re targeting us — the resistance factions and the Jenin Battalion — why don’t they come for us directly instead of targeting civilians?” said the young militant.
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Over 45,850 Palestinians killed in Gaza offensive
January 06, 2025
GAZA CITY: The Health Ministry in Gaza said on Monday that 49 people were killed in the Palestinian territory in the past 24 hours, taking the overall death toll of the war to 45,854.
The ministry also said in a statement that at least 109,139 people had been wounded in nearly 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas, triggered by the Palestinian group’s October 7, 2023 attack.
Also on Monday, the UN World Food Programme said that Israeli forces opened fire on its convoy in Gaza on Jan. 5 in an incident it described as “horrifying.”
The agency said that its convoy of three vehicles carrying eight staff members was struck by 16 bullets near the Wadi Gaza checkpoint, causing no injuries.
The WFP statement said the convoy was clearly marked and had received prior security clearances from Israeli authorities.
Israeli forces kept up their bombardment of Gaza on Monday, with the territory’s civil defense agency reporting 13 people killed in strikes in the territory.
Mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and the US have been working for months to strike a deal to end the fighting in Gaza, but both warring sides have accused the other of derailing the negotiations.
Israel said on Monday that Hamas had yet to clarify whether 34 hostages it claimed it was ready to free were dead or alive, throwing doubt on the group’s assertion that it needed time to ascertain their fate.
The offer from Hamas came as Israel continued to pound the Gaza Strip, where rescuers said 13 people were killed on Monday.
In recent days, mediators have resumed indirect talks, and a senior Hamas official said late on Sunday that the group was prepared to release an initial batch of captives but would need “a week of calm” to determine whether they were still alive.
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer, however, rejected that claim on Monday.
“They know precisely who is alive and who is dead. They know precisely where the hostages are,” Mencer told journalists in an online briefing. “Gaza is a very small place. Hamas know exactly where they are.”
In an earlier statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel had not received any confirmation or comment from Hamas regarding the “status of the hostages,” adding those slated for inclusion were part of a list “originally given by Israel to the mediators” last year. The Hamas official had also said the group came from a list presented by Israel and would include all the women, children, elderly, and sick captives still held in Gaza.
“Hamas has agreed to release the 34 prisoners, whether alive or dead,” the official said, but the group needed time “to communicate with the captors and identify those who are alive and those who are dead.”
On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced confidence that a ceasefire deal would come together, but possibly after President Joe Biden leaves office on Jan.20.
“If we don’t get it across the finish line in the next two weeks, I’m confident that it will get its completion at some point, hopefully, sooner rather than later,” Blinken said on a visit to Seoul.
President-elect Donald Trump, who takes over on Jan. 20, has vowed even stronger support for Israel and has warned Hamas of “hell to pay” if it does not free the hostages.
Israel’s left-leaning Haaretz newspaper reported Monday that negotiations with Hamas “are approaching a crossroads, and Israeli decision-makers are optimistic that a deal can be finalized within the next few days.”
Some Israeli news websites reported that the chief of Israel’s spy agency, Mossad, was joining the country’s negotiators in Doha.
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Lebanese army redeploys in Naqoura as Israeli ceasefire violations continue
NAJIA HOUSSARI
January 06, 2025
BEIRUT: Lebanese army convoys entered the coastal city of Naqoura on Monday to be redeployed and repositioned following the withdrawal of Israeli forces that had invaded the area during last year’s war.
The redeployment came as the quintet committee tasked with implementing the ceasefire agreement held a meeting in Ras Al-Naqoura, which US envoy Amos Hochstein attended for the first time.
Lebanese army vehicles have gathered in the south of Tyre in preparation for their entry to Naqoura after the army’s bulldozers carried out sweeping operations in the area for the past two days following the Israeli army’s withdrawal.
A security source said that the army was expected to reposition itself in the sites it had evacuated before the Israeli invasion last year.
A US military representative, a French military representative and military members representing Lebanon, Israel and UNIFIL were present at the quintet committee’s meeting.
The committee met amid increasing Lebanese and UNIFIL complaints about Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement.
A significant Israeli violation took place last Saturday.
UNIFIL said in a statement: “The peacekeepers observed an Israeli army bulldozer destroying a blue barrel marking the line of withdrawal between Lebanon and Israel in Labbouneh, as well as an observation tower belonging to the Lebanese armed forces immediately beside a UNIFIL position.”
The peacekeeping force described the move as “deliberate and direct destruction of both clearly identifiable UNIFIL property and infrastructure belonging to the Lebanese armed forces, which is a flagrant violation of Resolution 1701 and international law.”
Earlier, Israeli bulldozers uprooted a Lebanese army observation tower 10 meters from where the quintet committee’s meeting would later take place at UNIFIL headquarters.
Hochstein, who helped draft the ceasefire agreement between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, arrived on Tuesday morning at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport.
He held talks with Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun before the quintet committee’s session, followed by meetings with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
Meanwhile, a patrol from UNIFIL removed the earthen barrier that Israeli forces had set up on Sunday at the southern entrance of the town of Burj Al-Muluk.
In the morning, Israeli forces demolished several houses in Naqoura before the scheduled deployment of the Lebanese army.
UNIFIL forces activated their alarm sirens in two phases, at level three and level two, from their headquarters in Naqoura.
The Israeli army demolished several houses in the town of Al-Jabin, located in the Tyre district.
The home of Lebanese Army Brig. Gen. Abbas Hassan Aqil was destroyed in the operation.
Israeli violations during the past 48 hours included combing operations in the towns of Maroun Al-Ras and Aitaroun in the Bint Jbeil district, using heavy machine guns, and blowing up houses in Aitaroun.
An Israeli force penetrated Taybeh, carried out a combing operation, and blew up several houses inside the town.
Lebanese Army Command said: “In light of the violations by Israel of the ceasefire agreement and its assaults on Lebanon’s sovereignty and its citizens, hostile forces infiltrated the area of Taybeh–Marjeyoun on Sunday.
“They proceeded to block three roads with earthen barriers.
“Subsequently, a patrol from the army was dispatched to the incursion site to monitor the situation in coordination with the five-member committee overseeing the ceasefire agreement, and the roads were reopened.
Israel also fired shells at homes in Bint Jbeil, Wadi Al-Hujayr, Markaba, Mays Al-Jabal and Burj Al-Muluk.
On Monday, civil defense personnel recovered the bodies of seven Hezbollah fighters who had died in previous confrontations with Israel in the town of Khiam.
Some bodies in southern border villages have yet to be retrieved due to the Israeli incursion, despite 41 days passing since the ceasefire was reached.
Meanwhile, statements by Hezbollah officials asserting that the party has not been defeated provoked local reactions.
Hezbollah’s Liaison and Coordination Unit official Wafiq Safa said from Beirut that the party “has not been defeated and will not be defeated. It is stronger than iron, and there will be no possibility for anyone to break our morale.”
Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem said: “Our patience with Israel's violations is linked to the appropriate time to confront the enemy.
“It can run out before or after the 60-day deadline. When we decide to do something, you will directly see it.”
The statements sparked a series of responses.
Former President Michel Sleiman said: “This is a Hezbollah official imposing a security veto against the state carrying out its responsibilities.
“May God have mercy on those who lost their lives, houses and livelihoods due to unilateral war decisions. A futile support war that had catastrophic consequences.”
The Tajadod (Renewal) parliamentary bloc said: “The positions expressed by Wafiq Safa confirm that Hezbollah is trying to cover up its losses, surrender, suicidal choices and continued disruption of the constitution and institutions.
“It would have been better for Hezbollah, following the disastrous war it caused, to learn and return to its Lebanese identity just like any other component in the country. However, it insists on its behavior that contradicts the meaning of Lebanon as a diverse and open country and the concept of the state and its institutions. Enough is enough. The era of terrorizing the Lebanese people is over.”
MP Sethrida Geagea addressed Safa, saying: “Wafik Safa, look at yourself. Feel your hands. You know very well what you have committed against your people and the Lebanese. A final phrase to summarize your situation: People with any sense of shame are a thing of the past.”
MP Michel Daher said: “Should not Wafik Safa ask about who will take in the displaced again if war is renewed, God forbid? We are tired of this rhetoric and approach. We want a proper country.”
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Pakistan
Imran can’t be tried for failing to deposit gift in Toshakhana: IHC
Malik Asad
January 7, 2025
• Detailed order on bail plea says rules amended in 2023 can’t be applied retroactively
• FIA prosecutor completes cross-examination of Toshakhana official
• Much-awaited decision in £190m reference deferred again due to absence of judge
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC), in a detailed judgement on the post-arrest bail petition of former prime minister Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case, has declared that the accused cannot be prosecuted for failing to deposit a Bulgari jewellery set — gifted by the Saudi crown prince — to the state treasury under the rules.
In a 14-page verdict, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb explained that only the submission of a receipt was mandatory, and not the gift itself, under the Toshakhana rules of 2018.
While penalties were introduced in 2023 through changes in the rules for non-submission of gifts to the state treasury, the same could not be applied retroactively to actions from prior years, the court ruled.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had initiated criminal proceedings against Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi, alleging procedural violations, undervaluation of the expensive jewellery set gifted by the Saudi crown prince, and a resulting loss of Rs32.8 million to the national exchequer.
The agency argued that Mr Khan influenced the ‘undervaluation’ of the gift. However, the IHC judgement noted “no direct threats or pressure” were attributed to the former premier in the case.
Besides, the detailed verdict also cited that Sohaib Abbasi, who evaluated the gift, became a sworn witness after being pardoned by the head of the anti-graft watchdog National Accountability Bureau (NAB), but his testimony remains unrecorded.
The court noted that the defence counsel maintained that the receipt for the gift money was submitted to the Toshakhana as per 2018 rules, thus the accused did not violate any law.
Justice Aurangzeb further observed that the former premier, despite being in detention for more than four months, had not been indicted. The trial faced significant delays, he noted, pointing out that the investigation had been completed by NAB before the case was transferred to the FIA.
Misuse of bail
The judge also noted that there was no fear of tampering with evidence in the case, but emphasised that bail conditions required Mr Khan to appear at all trial court hearings, warning that “misuse of bail can lead to its cancellation”.
Meanwhile, the cross-examination of Toshakhana Section Officer Bin Yamin was completed before FIA’s special court.
Judge Shahrukh Arjumand also recorded the testimony of cabinet division’s deputy secretary coordination Mohammad Ahad in the case.
While a total of three witnesses provided evidence at Monday’s hearing, the court summoned four additional prosecution witnesses to record their statements at the next hearing on Jan 8.
Decision in £190m reference
On the other hand, a decision in the £190 million corruption reference was delayed once again due to the absence of Judge Nasir Javed Rana of the accountability court on Monday.
The pronouncement of the verdict, which has been postponed twice after being reserved on Dec 18, is now expected on Jan 13.
In its reference against Mr Khan, NAB alleged that the then cabinet approved a confidential deed in 2019 to give £190m — seized by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and returned to Pakistan — back to real estate tycoon Malik Riaz. It was alleged that then PM Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, misused the authority to “legalise” the money and in return received billions of rupees and hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town.
As per the reference, Malik Riaz’s son transferred 240 kanals of land to Farah Shahzadi while Zulfi Bukhari received land under a trust, which NAB argued did not exist at the time of transfer.
The prosecution further alleged that a trust was created only after the adjustment of the £190m, raising doubts about its legitimacy and purpose.
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Legal community opposes civilians’ trial in military courts: Hamid Khan
Wajih Ahmad Sheikh
January 7, 2025
LAHORE: Senior bar leader Senator Hamid Khan on Monday said the lawyers share a unanimous opinion against trials of civilians by military courts.
Speaking at a press conference in the auditorium of the Lahore High Court Bar Association, he said that the sentences announced by the military courts in cases related to the May 9 events were unconstitutional.
He pointed out that there was already a decision by a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court on this matter.
He said the seven-member bench of the Supreme Court has deeply disappointed the legal fraternity.
“By allowing the announcement of the decision by the military courts, the Supreme Court has let us down,” Senator Hamid said.
He stated that the lawyers did not consider military courts as legitimate and did not accept their decisions.
He said that the decision to allow military trial verdicts was a stain on the Supreme Court.
He said the military courts were only meant for trying military personnel and taking civilians’ trials to military courts was unconstitutional.
Senator Hamid Khan further said that the cases related to the 26th Amendment should be heard by a bench comprising all judges of the Supreme Court.
“We all demand that these cases be presented before a full court,” he added.
He said the so-called constitutional bench was a product of the 26th Amendment.
He claimed that the constitutional bench has no right to hear cases against the amendment.
The PTI senator also demanded the case against the 26th Amendment should be broadcast live, saying the Supreme Court proceedings have been broadcast live in the past as well.
LHCBA President Asad Manzoor Butt and other leaders of the Professional group of lawyers were present at the press conference.
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PTI bound to make 'mandate demand', says Sanauallah as party slams 'hurdles' in meeting Imran
By Web Desk
January 06, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Prime minister's aide on political affairs Rana Sanaullah has asserted that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf would definitely demand its mandate, which the party claims was "stolen" during the February 8 general elections, as the former ruling party expressed frustration over "hurdles" in meeting incarcerated party founder Imran Khan.
"Whether now or later, PTI will definitely demand its mandate," the PML-N leader said while speaking on Geo News programme 'Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath'.
After months of a political tug-of-war, the coalition government and the embattled PTI finally sat down to defuse tensions, with the Khan-founded party initially putting forth two initial demands: the release of all political prisoners and a judicial probe into the events of May 9 and November 26.
During the second round of talks — being held under chairmanship of National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, the PTI negotiation team sought frequent meetings with party founder Imran Khan to finalise the "charter of demands".
While the PTI has been quite vocal about its key demands — the release of political prisoners and a judicial probe into the events of May 9, 2023 and November 26 crackdown — it could not share these demands with the government committee in writing.
Meanwhile, it was reported that the talks faced a stalemate with sources attributing to the PTI negotiators' failure to meet their jailed party founder and present written demands to the government.
The opposition claimed that they have not been allowed to meet Khan by Adiala jail authorities, while the government cited the former ruling party's inability to present a written charter of demand leading to the NA speaker's hesitance in calling a third meeting, added the sources.
Responding to a question, Sanaullah — in today's programme — likened the February 8 general elections to 2018 elections, stressing that the politicians "must sit together and take decision to hold free and fair elections." After 2018, he said, the PML-N was ready to sit down with the PTI founder.
When asked about the opposition's claims of "hindrance" in meeting with Imran, the PML-N leader said that only those who "have access can obstruct the meeting", expressing hope that the committee would be able to meet the PTI founder tomorrow morning.
"The reason for the delay in the meeting may be due to arrangements so that the committee does not raise any objection again," he added.
In response to a question, the PM's aide said that they too wanted the negotiations to remain unaffected by whatever the decision comes in Al-Qadir Trust case.
Speaking on the same programme, Imran's lawyer — Faisal Chaudhry — said that some elements were attempting to sabotage the negotiations. "We want to move ahead in serious manner," he said, asking the government to allow PTI negotiation committee to meet jailed founder.
The Imran Khan-founded party has already given an ultimatum that talks should conclude by the end of the ongoing month.
The talks were being held in the wake of the former ruling party's announcement of a civil disobedience movement if their demands go unmet. The jailed PTI founder last month called on his supporters to launch the anti-government movement by withholding remittances in the first phase.
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Imran Khan 'slams deferral of £190m case verdict'
By Web Desk
January 06, 2025
RAWALPINDI: Amid ongoing talks between the major opposition party and the coalition government to settle political disputes, jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan on Monday slammed the deferment of the £190m case's verdict by terming it a "pressure tactic" of rulers.
"They want a sword hanging on my neck by not giving a verdict of £190m case," Aleema quoted the former premier as saying while talking to reporters outside Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail.
This statement came after Islamabad's accountability court postponed the case's verdict till January 13 earlier today.
It was the third time that the verdict — reserved on December 18 — in the said case, also known as the Al-Qadir Trust case, has been deferred as it was previously scheduled to be announced on December 23 and then on January 6.
Aleema said that the PTI founder "wants them to sentence him so entire world would know what kind of case is this". She said that Imran would immediately challenge the accountability court's verdict in the high court if he is sentenced.
Slamming the rulers, Imran's sister said that the government was giving the impression that the PTI founder wanted to get out of jail after striking an NRO-like deal.
The NRO is a term derived from former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf's National Reconciliation Ordinance back in 2007 to grant amnesty to politicians, political workers and bureaucrats who were accused of corruption, money laundering, murders and terrorism.
She also claimed that the government attempted to send Imran out of the country for three years and later offered him "house arrest" in return for "staying silent" to let the incumbent function
She said that Imran emphasised securing his release after proving his innocence via legal battle.
Aleema also rejected the impression of any "backdoor talks" with the PTI founder, saying that Imran made it very clear that no behind the scenes developments were taking place other than the negotiations between the former ruling party and government committees.
"The PTI founder had given a two-point agenda to its dialogue committee, including constitution of a judicial commission on May 9 and November 26 incidents and release of political prisoners," she reiterated.
The ex-premier also urged the government to expect only a quick response from the PTI after exhibiting seriousness in negotiating disputed matters from its side.
"Things will move forward after PTI's dialogue committee meets Imran to apprise him about developments, however, it is not being allowed to meet him so far," she added.
Meanwhile, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan also spoke to journalists outside the Adiala Jail today.
He emphasised that a meeting with the PTI founder was necessary before the third round of negotiations with the government.
Amid no progress in the ongoing parleys between the major opposition party and the government despite two rounds of talks, the deadlock between the two sides has been attributed to the PTI negotiators' inability to meet their jailed party founder Imran Khan and present written demands to the government, sources told Geo News.
The existing stalemate comes after the two sides, following months of heightened political tensions, commenced much-hyped negotiations of which two meetings were held on December 27, 2024 and on January 2, 2025.
"We had informed the government's dialogue committee about their willingness to meet Imran. We were hoping that the meeting would be arranged today, however, there is no confirmation yet,” said Gohar.
The PTI chairman hoped that they would meet Imran tomorrow and also clarified that Bushra Bibi was not part of the negotiation process.
He categorically refuted rumours of "backdoor talks" with former premier's wife parallel to the PTI's dialogue committee which held two meetings with the government.
He reiterated that the PTI founder had given a timeframe for holding dialogue, referring to the "cut-off date" of January 31.
Commenting on £190m case, Gohar said that Imran "did not gain any personal benefits from Al-Qadir Trust case and want to see verdict".
He added that witnesses had also apprised the court that the PTI founder has no direct link in the case and hoped for Imran and Bushra's acquittal.
The former prime minister along with his wife and others have been accused by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of causing a loss of £190 million to the national exchequer via a settlement between the PTI government and a property tycoon.
The said case is part of the plethora of legal challenges faced by the incarcerated PTI founder who has been behind bars since August last year after he was sentenced in Toshakhana case-I.
Source:thenews.com.pk
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https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1269299-imran-khan-slams-deferral-of-190m-case-verdict
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PIA expands international, domestic operations
Mohammad Asghar
January 7, 2025
RAWALPINDI/ LAHORE: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has announced plans to expand both its domestic and international operations by launching new flights starting in January. The national flag carrier is adding flights to Kuwait, Bahrain, Doha, Dammam and Jeddah.
A spokesperson for PIA said the airline has introduced new international routes to Kuwait, Bahrain and Doha, in addition to expanding its services to Dammam and Jeddah. The airline is also expanding its domestic network with additional weekly flights between Karachi and Peshawar. A third weekly flight from Karachi to Peshawar will be part of the schedule beginning January 25.
The spokesman said PIA would resume its weekly two-way flights between Lahore and Kuwait from January 25. In addition, two new weekly flights from Lahore to Dammam will begin of January 22.
He said additional flights would be operated from Sialkot to Jeddah from January 20. A new two-way weekly flight from Sialkot to Doha will begin on January 21. These new flights are part of the airline’s efforts to restore and introduce international services to and from various cities in Pakistan.
The spokesman emphasised that PIA is committed to enhancing connectivity and ensuring convenient travel options for its passengers, both domestically and internationally.
This expansion follows the European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) decision to lift the ban on Pakistani flights to EU countries. After this, PIA has also resumed its services to Europe and the United Kingdom.
As part of its fleet rejuvenation efforts, PIA is working on bringing back aircraft that had been grounded for extended periods. Recently, an ATR aircraft, which had been in long-term storage, was reintroduced to service. With the addition of this ATR, PIA has strengthened its domestic operations, particularly on routes to Gilgit, Sukkur, Turbat and Gwadar.
The PIA management is focused on ensuring punctuality, with an on-time performance target set at 90 per cent, the spokesperson said, adding that the airline is currently meeting this target consistently on a daily basis.
Source:dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1883593/pia-expands-international-domestic-operations
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CDA takes charge of Diplomatic Shuttle Service in Islamabad
Kashif Abbas
January 7, 2025
ISLAMABAD: The role of private contractors became a thing of the past on Monday after the Capital Development Authority (CDA) took control of a shuttle service for citizens visiting the diplomatic enclave for their visa applications.
Ten electric buses have been deployed for this service as CDA Chairman Muhammad Ali Randhawa directed the CDA’s engineering and design wings to provide the best facilities to visa applicants and upgrade facilities.
The service commenced with 10 buses and Rs1,000 will be charged for a trip. Several officials appreciated the CDA/MCI move to end the role of the contractors and endorsed this service to stop the exploitation of citizens. “The fare should be decreased from Rs1,000, as instead of focusing on revenue generation, the CDA/MCI should focus on providing services to citizens,” said an official.
It is relevant to note that private contractors, who were allowed to get Rs500 to Rs1,000 per trip, had been overcharging the passengers besides running an illegal car service, sometimes minting up to Rs20,000 per trip. Last year, a European diplomat had also informed the then CDA chairman about the overcharging issue faced by visitors to embassies. Following the complaint, the then chairman of the CDA, Anwarul Haq, chaired a meeting and reprimanded DMA officials, prompting them to issue a warning letter to the contractor on September 25.
The bus service has put an end to this practice.
Sources told Dawn that the private parties allegedly in connivance with the Directorate Municipal Administration were making all out efforts to remain in charge of the service instead of the CDA.
The said service, which transports citizens from outside the diplomatic enclave to embassies inside the enclave, is seemingly the most expensive service across the country.
It was launched after the 9/11 attack as a security measure after the federal government banned the entry of private vehicles into the enclave.
The contract, which expired on Friday, was awarded in 2020 for Rs102.6 million per year.
According to sources, some DMA officials wanted the service to “continue” through contractors because they allegedly enjoyed a good relationship with them. Now the CDA buses will charge Rs1,000 per passenger and a computerised fare system will be in place to facilitate the citizens.
“The CDA should run this service permanently to help citizens or this service should be ended for good and visa seekers should be allowed to move freely into the diplomatic enclave of their own country,” said an official. It is relevant to note that on December 27, the DMA tried to award a new contract, but at the eleventh hour, the tender was deferred and one of the DMA officials was also suspended.
Sources said that when the matter was brought to the notice of the chief commissioner, he had directed that instead of private contractors, the CDA’s buses should be utilised for the services to help citizens.
On the first day of the service, the contractor’s staff was still present on the site. However, DMA Director Dr Sania Pasha told Dawn that there was no role of the contractor in running this service anymore.
“Today, some of their staff members were present there to guide the DMA staff about the operations. From now on, they have nothing to do with this project. They are not even allowed to enter the premises,” she said.
Source:dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1883540/cda-takes-charge-of-diplomatic-shuttle-service-in-islamabad
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German diplomat found dead in Islamabad
Munawer Azeem
January 7, 2025
ISLAMABAD: A German diplomat was found dead in Diplomatic Enclave on Monday, police said.
The deceased was identified as Thomas Jurgen Bielefeld, 58, second secretary at the embassy of Germany.
Police said the diplomat was found dead with his eyes, nose and mouth bleeding at his residence located in Karakoram Heights inside the high security area.
The police said the diplomat did not come to office on Monday and also did not respond to phone calls made from the embassy.
In response, the embassy sent an employee to the residence of the diplomat, who did not get any response from inside the house.
Later, officials from embassy reached the residence and broke the locks open and entered the flat without informing the police, and found him dead.
The embassy then informed the police and officials from Secretariat police station who reached the flat and shifted the body to hospital.
The police were told that the diplomat was a heart patient. It was not clear when the diplomat died. However, he had last used his Whatsapp at 7:44pm on Saturday, police said.
Spokespersons for the German diplomatic mission did not respond to Dawn’s requests for comment.
Source:dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1883542/german-diplomat-found-dead-in-islamabad
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PM for seizing assets of human traffickers
Syed Irfan Raza
January 7, 2025
• Asks FO to extradite Pakistanis involved in ‘heinous trade’ abroad
• Sukkur court summons PM, other officials on Jan 15 over boat tragedy
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday ordered strict legal action against human trafficking gangs in the country, including immediate confiscation of their properties and assets.
The directives came hours after an additional sessions judge in Sukkur summoned the premier, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Deputy PM Ishaq Dar on Jan 15 in connection with a recent incident in which 75 Pakistanis were killed when their boat capsized off the coast of Greece.
The judge issued the summons while hearing a petition which contended that due to the government’s “negligence”, unemployed Pakistanis were trying to reach Europe through illegal means and losing their lives in the process. The petitioner demanded action against those responsible for the killings.
Chairing a review meeting on measures taken against human trafficking, PM Shehbaz praised the Federal Investigation Agency for taking action against government officials for their involvement in the illegal practice.
He directed that strict punitive measures be taken against the facilitators, said a press release issued by the PM Office’s media wing.
The prime minister was briefed on the measures taken against human trafficking, progress on the legal actions against facilitators and about legislation for the eradication of this practice.
The premier said that prosecution process against all the individuals involved in the heinous trade should be made more effective, adding that top lawyers be appointed for prosecution in consultation with the ministry of law and justice.
He said the Foreign Office should contact the countries concerned to expedite the extradition of those Pakistanis who are running human trafficking operations abroad.
He directed that the ministry of information and broadcasting, in collaboration with the ministry of interior, should launch an awareness campaign to educate the general public about using only legal channels for overseas employment.
He said the country should promote technical training institutions that could provide certified professionals to the international market in accordance with modern requirements, adding that the screening process for individuals travelling abroad should be made more effective at the airports.
Notices
Earlier, Additional Sessions-II Judge Sukkur Javed Mirani issued notices to the PM, the foreign minister, and the interior minister through the speaker of National Assembly and directed them to appear before the court on Jan 15 on a petition filed by advocate Mohammad Ali Shah.
The petitioner held the respondents responsible for the deaths of 75 Pakistanis who he said were compelled to go abroad for employment because the government had failed in fulfilling its responsibilities, adding that the government had lost its writ.
The petitioner appealed to the court that a case be registered at the Rohri police station against the government officials for their alleged negligence.
Homage to Aitezaz
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid tribute to Shaheed Aitezaz Hasan who had laid down his life 11 years ago to save his school and classmates from a devastating attack. Aitezaz died on Jan 6, 2014, while preventing a suicide bomber from entering a school at Hangu village. More than 2,000 students were attending classes at the time of the incident.
He noted that at a young age of 15 years, Aitezaz displayed unparalleled bravery and sacrificed his life to shield his school and classmates from a devastating attack.
Source:dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1883552/pm-for-seizing-assets-of-human-traffickers
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Killing For A ‘Cause’: Lahore Shooter Does It For Umrah Tickets
January 7, 2025
LAHORE: Sabzazar police have arrested a young man identified as Usman, accused of killing Muhammad Riaz on Jan 1 in exchange for two Umrah tickets and a motorcycle.
A police official stated that the suspect was allegedly hired by Imtiaz, deceased’s brother-in-law, over a property dispute.
Imtiaz had previously transferred his house in his wife’s name but demanded it back after a domestic dispute. His wife refused, stating she would consult her brother, Riaz, before making any decision.
The disagreement escalated and led to heated exchanges. Following this, Imtiaz’s wife left his home and moved in with Riaz.
Imtiaz allegedly hired Usman to kill Riaz.
The police tracked the suspects using Safe City cameras and call data records. The police arrested the shooter and are raiding for the arrest of the other suspect, the police official said.
Source:dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1883631/killing-for-a-cause-lahore-shooter-does-it-for-umrah-tickets
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Arab World
Saudi FM discusses regional developments with Blinken during call
January 06, 2025
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan discussed regional developments and efforts made with regard to them during a call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday.
Blinken called for a final push for a Gaza ceasefire before President Joe Biden leaves office during a visit to South Korea on Monday.
“We very much want to bring this over the finish line in the next two weeks, the time we have remaining,” Blinken told a news conference.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2585453/saudi-arabia
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Saudi minister of Islamic affairs meets Palestinian ambassador to the Kingdom
January 06, 2025
RIYADH: Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs Abdullatif bin Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh received the newly appointed Palestinian Ambassador to the Kingdom Mazen Ghoneim in his office on Monday in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Al-Sheikh discussed the ministry’s programs in service of Palestinian pilgrims performing Hajj and Umrah.
Ghoneim praised the Saudi authorities for their services to all Muslims worldwide.
He highlighted the generous program that hosts the family members of Palestinian martyrs, enabling them to perform Hajj with ease.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2585447/saudi-arabia
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Makkah authorities on high alert amid heavy rains
January 06, 2025
JEDDAH: The Saudi Red Crescent Authority’s Makkah branch has increased its readiness in response to warnings of heavy rain issued by the National Center for Meteorology.
On Monday, several regions of the Kingdom, including Makkah and Madinah, experienced heavy rain and thunderstorms, with the Civil Defense expecting the weather to continue until Wednesday, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The authority stated that its command-and-control room, ambulance stations, rapid response teams, and volunteer ambulance units in Makkah are fully operational.
The Makkah region has on standby teams of doctors, specialists, and emergency medical technicians, the authority said.
A total of 1,420 staff members are ready to respond, supported by 149 vehicles. This includes advanced ambulances, disaster response vehicles, and an air ambulance for critical situations, the SPA added.
The authority urged citizens and residents to follow official instructions, exercise caution, and prioritize road safety during heavy rainfall.
The public was also asked to cooperate with ambulance teams by clearing the way for them on the roads, the SPA reported.
The authority operates 24/7, and individuals can request ambulance services by calling 997 or through the Asefne app in emergencies.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2585437/saudi-arabia
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Saudi program empowers youth as global ambassadors
January 06, 2025
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Youth Leaders Program welcomed its latest group of graduates on Monday, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The new graduates are the seventh group to complete the initiative, run by the Salam Project for Cultural Communication under the patronage of Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Elkhereiji attended the event, expressing gratitude to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for their continued support of Saudi citizens.
He emphasized the Kingdom’s commitment to equipping youth with the skills needed to effectively represent the nation internationally.
Elkhereiji noted that the program aligns with Saudi Vision 2030 by empowering young people to become influential global ambassadors.
Launched in 2018, the program has seen 432 young men and women graduate across seven cohorts, the SPA reported.
Notably, 240 graduates have participated in over 120 international conferences both within and outside the Kingdom, leveraging the program’s comprehensive curriculum, which covers key areas such as Saudi Vision 2030, intercultural communication, global issues, international representation, media engagement, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and international diplomacy.
Mohammed Al-Sayed, executive director of the project, said it aims to support efforts to build bridges of cultural communication with diverse peoples and cultures.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2585431/saudi-arabia
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Southeast Asia
Special Aidilfitri aid of RM200 for state, federal civil servants in Negeri Sembilan - MB
BERNAMA
07-01- 2025
SEREMBAN: The Negeri Sembilan government today announced a special financial aid of RM200 in conjunction with the upcoming Aidilfitri for nearly 50,000 civil servants working in the state.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun said that the aid, which will be distributed before March, is being implemented for the first time and involves all civil servants, including those from federal departments, teachers, police, firefighters and military personnel, working in the state, with an allocation of nearly RM10 million.
“This initiative is hoped to serve as motivation and encouragement for every civil servant to continue providing the best service to the people.
“However, it also comes with a greater responsibility for us to strive to improve the effectiveness of the public service delivery system for the benefit and well-being of the people in the state,” he said at the State Government Administration Assembly 2025, attended by approximately 1,500 state civil servants at the Seremban City Hall today.
Also present were the State Secretary Datuk Zafir Ibrahim, and senior state executive council member Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias.
Meanwhile, Aminuddin said that the state government is also ‘appointing’ all the civil servants as ambassadors to help promote Negeri Sembilan in conjunction with the Visit Negeri Sembilan Year 2026.
He stressed that the tourism sector is a sustainable and resilient economic source for the state, as it has shown a remarkable increase in tourist arrivals by 30%, reaching 15 million people in 2023, compared to 11.5 million the previous year.
“We are preparing and ready to host the Visit Negeri Sembilan Year, alongside Visit Malaysia Year, in 2026. This year, we are targeting 20 million tourist arrivals, compared to 17 million in 2024.
“The state government has also outlined tourism segments with 60% allocated to beach tourism, 30% to eco-tourism, and 10% to cultural, heritage, and traditional tourism,” he said.
Aminuddin also proposed to the Negeri Sembilan Tourism Board (LPNS) to provide initiatives and suitable packages to assist civil servants in the state with this promotion.
Source:thesun.my
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://thesun.my/malaysia-news/special-aidilfitri-aid-of-rm200-for-state-federal-civil-servants-in-negeri-sembilan-mb-GP13490042
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Malaysia, Singapore reopen discussion on long-standing issues
BERNAMA
07-01- 2025
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia and Singapore are reopening discussions on long-standing issues such as water supply, maritime delimitation and airspace.
In fact, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the technical teams will also discuss the parameters of the issues.
“These are complex issues and our position is of course, as (Singapore) Prime Minister Lawrence has said, to deal with it holistically or in a comprehensive manner, so that some areas which are demanded by Singapore, some demanded by Malaysia, should be fully considered and the final settlement should be a win-win position.”
Anwar said this at the joint press conference with Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong after the delegation meeting in conjunction with the 11th Leaders’ Retreat, here today.
Anwar said the issue of the export of Sarawak’s energy to Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore was also further deliberated with his visiting Singaporean counterpart.
Anwar said the long-standing issues should not detract from any of both countries’ positive attitudes and positions but working together on the fundamentals such as economic, energy, digital, investments and trade.
“These negotiations have been going on for the last few decades. So I do not think we should wait for new decades to come. We can always do it, but not necessarily at the next annual retreat.
“We agree that on this quarterly basis, we should have a form of short meeting to review this and, in that manner, compel our technical team and experts to deal with it expeditiously,” he said.
Anwar said he and Wong also discussed the issue of the Flight Information Region (FIR), recognising the needs of Malaysia in terms of its connectivity with Sabah and Sarawak and also the requirement of Singapore to ensure that the performance and activities in Changi and Selangor are unaffected and will be further facilitated.
Meanwhile, Wong also acknowledged that these are long-standing issues and complex in nature, but both sides will continue to discuss these issues holistically and constructively within the overall context of a broader relationship.
Source:thesun.my
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://thesun.my/malaysia-news/malaysia-singapore-reopen-discussion-on-long-standing-issues-HP13490016
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Najib 1MDB trial: Abu Kassim’s 2016 removal was routine, not my call, says former PM
By Ida Lim
07 Jan 2025
PUTRAJAYA, Jan 7 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak today denied involvement in the 2016 removal of Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed as Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief, describing it as part of an “administrative reshuffling” unconnected to him.
Testifying in his corruption trial over 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) funds allegedly transferred into his personal accounts, Najib said the leadership change at the MACC did not disrupt investigations into the scandal.
“Tan Sri Abu Kassim’s departure from the MACC was an administrative decision, and there is no evidence to suggest that I had any role in his removal. The MACC continued its investigations into 1MDB under new leadership without interruption,” he told the High Court.
Najib emphasised that such transitions in governance were routine and did not indicate ulterior motives or wrongdoing. He also pointed out that Abu Kassim had not sued the government for wrongful dismissal.
Abu Kassim stepped down as MACC chief on August 1, 2016, although he was only set to retire in 2020.
Najib also denied pressuring then Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz to issue a statement declaring “no wrongdoing” in connection with funds deposited into his accounts.
“At no point did I ask her to issue such a statement,” he said.
Najib claimed he had merely requested Zeti to address growing public concerns and speculation about the funds’ source. However, he said Zeti had declined his request.
He further stated that he relied on Bank Negara Malaysia to flag any suspicious transactions related to his accounts.
“Bank Negara alone would have known the source of the funds. Even as finance minister, I lacked the authority under the Banking and Financial Institutions Act (BAFIA) to determine the source of funds,” Najib said, referring to the now-repealed law.
He insisted it would not have been improper for him to request Zeti to issue a statement about the funds, saying, “I simply wanted to know the truth.”
Najib added that Zeti could have raised concerns about the legitimacy of the funds at the time if she believed there was anything dubious about their origins.
Reflecting on his years in court over the 1MDB case, Najib quipped about his unintended legal education.
“After six years of this, I feel like I could teach law — not just criminal law, but civil law and even how taxation law can be misused. It’s been an intensive, hands-on learning experience, though I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone!”
Najib’s 1MDB trial continues this afternoon.
Source:malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/01/07/najib-1mdb-trial-abu-kassims-2016-removal-was-routine-not-my-call-says-former-pm/162327
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Najib denies AG replacement linked to 1MDB probe, says Gani Patail was tapped for judgeship
By Ida Lim
07 Jan 2025
PUTRAJAYA, Jan 7 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak today refuted claims that he ordered the removal of Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail as attorney general in 2015 to hinder investigations into 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Testifying in his 1MDB trial, Najib said that, as the then prime minister, he had intended to recommend Abdul Gani for appointment as a Federal Court judge.
“In the case of Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, I had planned to propose his appointment as a Federal Court judge. However, this plan did not materialise. The suggestion that his replacement as attorney general was aimed at blocking 1MDB investigations is entirely false,” he told the High Court.
Najib was responding to questions from his lawyer, Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin, regarding allegations that Abdul Gani’s successor, Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali, had later closed the 1MDB case.
Denying any involvement in the case’s closure, Najib asserted that the changes in the Attorney General’s Chambers were part of an administrative reshuffle unrelated to directives or interference from him.
Najib dismissed claims that Apandi had ended the 1MDB investigations, noting that probes continued under multiple agencies, including Bank Negara Malaysia, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), and law enforcement bodies.
“I’d like to add that neither Abdul Gani nor Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief at the time, sued the government for wrongful dismissal,” he said.
Abdul Gani’s tenure as attorney general ended on July 27, 2015, while Abu Kassim left his role on August 1, 2016, before reaching retirement age.
On July 27, 2015, a special government task force on 1MDB — comprising Abdul Gani, Abu Kassim, then-inspector-general of police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, and then Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz — was disbanded.
Najib denied involvement in disbanding the task force, stating there was no evidence linking him to the decision. He cited testimony from Zeti, who had said that Apandi informed task force members that the group was no longer needed and that agencies should continue their investigations independently.
“The dissolution of the task force was not my directive but an administrative decision communicated through institutional channels,” Najib said.
He argued that disbanding the task force did not impede 1MDB investigations, highlighting actions by various agencies.
“Bank Negara Malaysia launched its independent probe, leading to a RM15 million fine against 1MDB in 2016. Concurrently, the PAC held hearings, and other law enforcement agencies continued their inquiries,” he explained.
Najib served as prime minister from April 2009 to May 2018 and as finance minister from September 2008 to May 2018.
The 1MDB trial resumes this afternoon.
Source:malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/01/07/najib-denies-ag-replacement-linked-to-1mdb-probe-says-gani-patail-was-tapped-for-judgeship/162323
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Europe
Mosque Leader Reveals Plans For 128-Year-Old Clydebank Building
6th January
The leader of a new mosque which has taken over a former church building has revealed their plans for the future as they aim to integrate into the local community and set up a centre.
Mohammed Khobaib, 24, is the Imam (prayer leader) at the SHAD Learning Centre which took over the former Morison Memorial United Reformed Church (URC) on Dumbarton Road in Clydebank last year.
Known as the SHAD, it also contains the Central Masjid Abu Bakr Mosque.
The former church which went up for sale in April 2023 after struggling to keep up with running costs, was snapped up by the mosque which has big plans for the 128-year-old building.
Mohammed said: "We'd just seen the church was up for sale when we thought, let's try it.
"In Scotstoun there's a fair Muslim population, in Drumchapel not so much and in Clydebank they are all spread around so we wanted a place for everybody to come together, and once we're all united, then we can start the community work to start integrating.
"We've done a lot of work in this place, there was a lot of work that needed to be done, but it’s a 100-year-old building so you would expect that.
"We are still confirming a lot of plans but at the moment it is to provide a space for our community so that they can pray and connect together in one place."
The former church, which at one point almost became a listed building, was struggling to maintain worshipers after going online during lockdown.
In January 2023, the congregation were looking for somewhere smaller to run out of and has since ended up in a unit across the road.
However, it is not the end of their connection as the church reached out to the mosque to begin collaborating on their plans for the future.
Mohammed added: "Just now it's just a mosque but we're still liaising with the church as well.
"We gave Joyce and Barclay at the Morrison Memorial Church a tour of the building.
"They said that they didn't have the congregation anymore, so when we said we were making it into a mosque they were very happy with the fact that it was going to some sort of faith."
Work is ongoing at the SHAD Learning Centre which has been undergoing renovations to keep the century-old building in good condition.
Mohammed said: "The ceiling was a mess and there were a lot of cracks in the wall but we’ve given it our touch, keeping the original historical feature.
"It’s a 100-year-old building and the beauty in it you won't find anywhere else.
"When we started it was only open for Friday prayers. Then later on we used to have a class on a Monday for the youth to get them off the streets. We don't want them hanging about and getting into trouble, rather they can use their time wisely and plan for their future.
"We were talking about trying to deliver food parcels to people's addresses as I know sometimes people can get embarrassed going in somewhere for food. We're still liaising with a few organisations to try to connect with them.
"We were always looking for a space to make a community centre to help our community and to integrate more into other societies."
Source:glasgowtimes.co.uk
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/24810465.mosque-leader-reveals-plans-128-year-old-clydebank-building/
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Oxford Muslims Submit Plans To Convert a House As Place Of Worship
6th January
By Toby Oliver
Plans have been lodged to convert a house in an Oxford suburb into a place of worship for Muslims.
The scheme, submitted by an applicant listed as Mr Faruq to Oxford City Council, is a retrospective plan for a property in Ashhurst Way in Rose Hill.
The property has been used as a place of worship by the Muslim community since July 2019.
In the scheme's planning statement, it said the the original need for the new place of worship was due to the three mosques elsewhere in east Oxford, at Stanley Road, Bath Street and the Bangladesh Indian Centre in Cowley Road being a long way from the Rose Hill area.
The statement added: “Moreover, there are only very limited public transport bus routes from Rosehill to any of those locations, and with many elderly worshippers, the location now in Ashhurst Way, alongside the community centre, is ideally and centrally located to the Rosehill Muslim community.
“The majority of worshippers can walk to their place of worship. The location could not therefore be more accessible nor sustainably located, hence the choice of place.
“The owner of the property in Ashhurst Way has most generously donated the use of his former dwellinghouse to the Rosehill Muslim community for their place of worship use, in response to the community’s desire to find their own dedicated premises.”
The statement said: “The local Rosehill Muslim community have been worshipping at Ashhurst Way now for five years.
"During that time, they have been excellent neighbours and their use of the premises has largely gone unnoticed indeed, and not caused any known environmental or other such problems to the wider area.
“It has now become established as a precious and cherished community asset, that is well used on a daily basis by many worshippers.
"Its potential loss would have a devastating impact to the cultural benefits and general well-being of the local community.”
One objection has been submitted by a member of the public who had concerns about parking.
A comment on the planning portal by a householder listed as Mr A Lele, of Desborough Crescent, said: “I would like to object to the conversion of this proposal."The current permission was granted on a temporary basis during the pandemic and it made sense as people were unable to travel far to their usual places of worship.
“Now that the travel restrictions have been lifted, there is no such necessity.
“Furthermore, the property has insufficient parking space around it for the visitors. This results in a lot of vehicles parked on the Ashhurst Way blocking traffic, and also on the side lanes in the area.
“A lot of the visitors do not obey the speed limit and I have personally witness vehicles travelling to and from the property at speeds higher than the 20mph limit.”
Source:oxfordmail.co.uk
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/24836036.oxford-muslims-submit-plans-use-house-place-worship/
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New book on Kilwinning poet known as the Muslim Rabbie Burns
6th January
By Neil Smith
THE remarkable story of a Kilwinning author and poet who converted to Islam and became known as the Muslim Rabbie Burns has been told in a new biography.
John 'Yehya' Parkinson was born in the town in 1874 to Irish parents. A wool spinner by trade, his life and work would bridge cultures, continents and communities before his death in 1918.
The new biography, by Philip S Blair - a distant cousin of Parkinson - is called The Muslim Rabbie Burns - The Remarkable Life of John 'Yehya' Parkinson and is now available on Amazon.
The poet and author was largely forgotten - although he has a plaque on the Kilwinning Heritage Trail - until recent years.
A revival of his work in the 2000s saw several of his poems set to music.
The new book tells of his early life in Kilwinning. Having lost both his Irish-born parents whilst still a baby, he lived his entire life in the home of his grandparents.
After their death, he supported himself from the age of 16 as a wool spinner in the nearby Busby Spinning Company, later the site of Bridgend Motors.
He taught himself astronomy, mathematics, science, geography and philosophy before converting to Islam around 1900.
Discovering a talent for poetry, he adopted the name Yehya-en-Nasr. Some of his early work was first published in the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald around that time.
Although relatively isolated in Scotland, Parkinson maintained contact with the Liverpool Muslim Institute between 1901 and 1908 which helped to establish his literary reputation by publishing his early work.
As well as his column in the local newspaper, writing under the name of 'Ingomar', Parkinson published several books, including Essays on Islamic Philosophy, and his collection of poems, Lays of Love and War, which deal with romance and Jihad.
He had a two-year sojourn in Burma as a deputy editor of a Rangoon newspaper in 1908-10, but ill-health forced him to return to Scotland, where he died in December 1918 after a short bout of pneumonia.
Those who took care of his burial and effects chose not to mention his association with the British Islamic Movement and he was buried in Kilwinning Cemetery in a grave with no memorial stone.
The new book, with a foreword by renowned Islamic scholar Yahya Birt, research director at the Ayaan Institute, London, looks at his early life in Kilwinning, his self-taught education and his Irish roots, which he discussed at length in his writing.
Source:irvinetimes.com
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Ukraine launches Christmas Eve attack on Russia’s Belgorod – governor
7 Jan, 2025
Ukraine launched a new attack on Russia’s Belgorod Region on Christmas Eve, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said in the early hours of Tuesday.
“Our air defenses have been activated in Belgorod and [the surrounding] region. Several aerial targets have been shot down,” Gladkov wrote on his Telegram channel. He added that there are no casualties.
The governor said a car and two houses hd been damaged by shrapnel in the village of Tavrovo.
According to Telegram news channel SHOT, residents of Belgorod and the Shebekino area, which borders Ukraine, heard more than 10 “powerful explosions” at around 10 pm local time.
The channel cited “early reports” that Ukraine had “attempted to use cluster munitions.”
Earlier on Monday, a kamikaze drone struck a power line, causing outages in six villages, Gladkov said.
Belgorod and Shebekino have come under frequent drone, mortar and rocket attacks since the start of the conflict in early 2022. Shebekino was partially evacuated in 2023 due to heavy shelling.
In its daily briefing on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported heavy fighting on different parts of the frontline, including Ukraine’s failed attempt to break through the lines in Russia’s Kursk Region, which was invaded in August.
Source:rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/russia/610521-belgorod-christmas-eve-attack/
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South Asia
BDR Massacre: Probe body may seek Hasina’s extradition
Jan 7, 2025
The National Independent Investigation Commission, formed to re-investigate the 2009 BDR massacre, has said it will either seek Sheikh Hasina's extradition from Indian authorities or try to arrange a meeting with her over there.
Maj Gen (retd) ALM Fazlur Rahman, the commission chief and former director general of BGB, disclosed the developments yesterday following a views exchange meeting with the families of victims of the BDR massacre at the Retired Armed Forces Officers' Welfare Association (RAOWA) club.
"Those we suspect, especially Sheikh Hasina, are currently residing in India. We will either request her extradition through the Indian High Commission or send our team over there to question her. We will do whatever is legally permissible, either through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or directly," he said, adding that other people's names that appear on the inquiry commission's list will also be questioned.
He also said that the inquiry commission will give an opinion through investigation about the possible involvement of other countries.
"It is not enough to say that the BDR killings were carried out by locals and foreigners... it is not enough to say that India is involved; evidence must be presented in support of it," he stressed, adding that all evidence, regardless of how major or minor they are, will be taken into account.
Assuring that the commission will maintain neutrality during this investigation, the commission chief said, "In the last 16 years, much of the evidence related to the BDR killings has been destroyed. Whatever we'll do now will be transparent."
He also said that the commission will try to complete the investigation within three months, and they do not intend to extend the deadline. "Extension will be requested, only if necessary."
"Let's assume that the then-government was involved, some conspirators from India were involved, and some Bangladeshi politicians were involved—I understand all of that. But if the army had gone there that day, would there have been a massacre? No, there wouldn't have been."
"I don't think this was a mutiny... it was a conspiracy to murder the officers."
Source:thedailystar.net
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https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/bdr-massacre-probe-body-may-seek-hasinas-extradition-3793141
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Afghan refugees still facing harassment, arrest in neighboring countries
January 7, 2025
Afghan refugees living in neighboring countries such as Pakistan and Iran have started to face with new phases of harassment and arrest. Based on reports, Pakistani police have started house-house searches to harass and arrest Afghans, including women and children in various cities of the country. The reports say that Pakistani police have even arrested those Afghan refugees having legal documents. The new phase of arresting and harassing Afghan refugees has recently started in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. In meantime, Afghan refugees living in neighboring Iran are also facing with forced deportation as the country plans to deport all Afghan migrants from Semnan province until the end of next solar year, according to media reports. Acting security and political director of Semnan, Mahdi Agha Barari, while commenting on the management of foreign nationals, has said: “It has been planned to collect all foreign nationals from Semnan until the end of the 1404 solar year.” Referring to a crackdown on such aliens by the end of next year, Barari said the illegal presence of Afghan migrants has become an urgent issue to decide about. The deportation process of Afghans has been expedited by Pakistani and Iranian authorities in recent months. This comes amid of concerns of the increasing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. The ongoing return and expulsion of Afghan refugees highlight the continuing challenges faced by these individuals and the significant efforts required to support their reintegration. The Islamic Emirate is also working to address challenges facing those families who have returned in the past one year as well as those newly returning to their homes in the country. The country’s Ministry of Urban Development and Housing has recently announced the allocation of lands for returnees. Officials of the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing have announced that 48 townships have been built in 30 provinces of the country for families who were forcibly deported from neighboring countries, and in addition, another 14,000 acres of land have been allocated for destitute returnee families in Kabul, Ghazni, Uruzgan, Farah, Kandahar, Jawzjan, Samangan, Panjshir, and Bamyan provinces. Based on the recent report of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 1.2 million Afghan migrants returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan and Iran in 2024. According to the organization’s statistics, over 1.1 million people returned from Iran, 80,500 from Pakistan, and 100,000 entered Afghanistan by
Source:thekabultimes.com
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https://thekabultimes.com/afghan-refugees-still-facing-harassment-arrest-in-neighboring-countries/
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Iraqi Company Explores Power Project Investments in Afghanistan
2025-01-07
KABUL (BNA): A delegation from Iraqi companies expressed their interest in investing in Afghanistan’s power projects during a meeting with the Director General of Sustainable Energy at the Ministry of Energy and Water.
Mawlawi Abdulrahman Rahmani, the Director General of Sustainable Energy, met with officials from the Al Raji Group of Companies. They discussed potential investments in electricity generation projects from various sources.
Mawlawi Rahmani welcomed the group’s investment interest and urged them to coordinate with the ministry’s technical team for project selection.
The Iraqi company officials promised to soon share their financial and technical proposals with the relevant ministry officials.
Source:bakhtarnews.af
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https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/iraqi-company-explores-power-project-investments-in-afghanistan/
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Russian Delegation Visits National Museum of Afghanistan
2025-01-07
KABUL (BNA): Yesterday afternoon, the delegation from the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation visited various sections of the National Museum of Afghanistan.
According to a Bakhtar News Agency reporter, during the visit, officials from the National Museum of Afghanistan provided information about the museum and its historical artifacts to the Russian delegation.
The head of the Chechen Republic delegation, Jambulat Umarov, described the artifacts preserved in the Afghanistan National Museum as the historical and cultural identity of Afghanistan. He noted that Afghanistan’s ancient history demonstrates the country’s cultural richness.
The delegation, led by Jambulat Umarov, President of the Academy of Sciences of the Chechen Republic and Deputy Chairman of the Council of Nations of the Russian Federation, is on an official visit to Kabul and is scheduled to discuss cultural issues with Afghanistan officials.
Source:bakhtarnews.af
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Around 800 Afghan migrants detained in Pakistan
ByFidel Rahmati
January 7, 2025
The Taliban’s embassy in Islamabad has responded to the mass arrests and deportations of Afghan migrants in Pakistan, confirming that around 800 Afghan migrants have been detained by Pakistani police in Islamabad.
The embassy stated on Monday, January 6, via the social media platform X, that Pakistani police have engaged in “arbitrary” arrests of Afghan migrants.
According to the statement, a significant number of Afghan migrants, including those with valid visas, Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, and Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC), have been detained by Pakistani authorities in Islamabad.
The embassy also revealed that among the deported individuals, 137 had expired visas but had already applied for renewals before being arrested.
Pakistan has recently intensified house-to-house searches, leading to the mass detention and deportation of Afghan migrants. This has drawn widespread criticism and international attention.
Even Afghan migrants registered under temporary protection programs like SHARP/UNHCR have reportedly been detained. AFP reported that Afghan migrants in these circumstances are living in conditions akin to imprisonment.
The Taliban embassy in Islamabad emphasized that the situation has led to the separation of families, including women and children, and many Afghan migrants remain stranded in Pakistan.
The embassy also accused Pakistani police of extortion, urging the Pakistani government, international migration offices, and human rights organizations to intervene and address the situation.
This wave of arrests and deportations has exacerbated the already dire humanitarian crisis for Afghan migrants. Many are living in fear, with no access to legal recourse or basic resources, making their survival uncertain.
The international community must urgently address the plight of Afghan migrants in Pakistan. Collaborative efforts between governments, humanitarian agencies, and human rights organizations are needed to ensure that these vulnerable populations are treated with dignity and provided with essential protections.
Source:khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/around-800-afghan-migrants-detained-in-pakistan/
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300 Afghans arrive in the Philippines for US relocation
ByFidel Rahmati
January 6, 2025
A plane carrying 300 Afghan citizens arrived in the Philippines on Monday to have their U.S. immigration visa applications processed. Under an agreement between Washington and Manila, these individuals will temporarily reside in the Philippines until they receive their U.S. visas.
U.S. and Filipino officials announced at a press conference in Manila that the eligible Afghans, who had previously worked with the U.S. in Afghanistan, were relocated to the Philippines. They are expected to receive special immigrant visas.
A Filipino official stated during the press conference, “This agreement is for a 100-day period, after which the process will conclude.”
Reports indicate that all applicants underwent various pre-screening procedures, including medical examinations, before receiving their Philippine visas.
The Afghan individuals can stay in the Philippines for a maximum of 59 days after their arrival. They will be housed in an undisclosed facility, where they will receive support, including social, educational, religious, and other services.
Officials did not disclose the exact location of the facility but emphasized that the applicants would have access to essential resources and services during their stay.
An official added, “The U.S. must complete the processing of each applicant’s visa request within this 59-day period.”
Under the agreement, the U.S. government will bear all expenses related to the Afghan citizens’ stay, including housing, security, food, medical services, and transportation.
This program represents a vital effort to support Afghan allies who worked with the U.S. in Afghanistan. The relocation and visa process aim to ensure their safety and provide a pathway to a secure future in the United States.
The initiative highlights the importance of international collaboration in addressing the plight of displaced individuals. Such agreements pave the way for a more coordinated global response to refugee crises, ensuring dignity and safety for those affected.
Source:khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/300-afghans-arrive-in-the-philippines-for-us-relocation/
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North America
New Orleans Attack Validates ADL’s Warnings About Islamist Extremism
SHIRA DICKER
01/06/2025
A New Year’s Eve terror attack on Bourbon Street killed 14 and injured over 30, underscoring the ADL’s warnings about rising Islamist extremism in the US
One month ago, America’s leading nonprofit addressing antisemitism released a sobering report warning of the threat of Islamist terrorism. “The dangers of Islamist extremism and terrorism cannot be ignored, even as the country also faces other significant terror threats, such as white supremacist mass shooters,” the Anti-Defamation League’s report read. Tragically, that report had to be updated last week to include an attack in New Orleans by Shamsud-Din Jabbar in which at least 14 people were killed and over 30 were injured.
During the attack, which took place on Bourbon Street on New Year’s Eve, Jabbar drove a rental truck that contained a flag of the Islamic State group (IS) into a crowd of revelers. The ADL described the incident as “the deadliest Islamist terror attack in the United States since the 2016 shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, which killed 49 people.”
Darryl Coulon, a senior regional associate for the ADL based in New Orleans, described the accuracy of the ADL’s monitoring work as impressive and chilling.
“It falls right in line with the work that ADL’s Center on Extremism has done,” Coulon told The Media Line. “They released an article last month that Islamist terrorism was increasing. Here we are in the wee hours of 2025, and already ADL’s reporting has proven highly accurate.”
Coulon recounted spending the hours after the attack fielding work messages about the incident while worrying about the well-being of his father, a police officer who had been working in the area of the attack.
“New Orleans is a city, but it also feels like a very small town,” he said. “Everyone is interconnected. And it’s a dream of a city, but when a nightmare like this happens, we are shaken.”
The ADL’s report noted that Islamist terror attacks in the US were rare in the years leading up to 2024. But the uptick over the past year was dramatic. The US saw two successful Islamist attacks, as well as five that were thwarted. The ADL said that during the same time frame, there were six incidents connected to far-right extremism and four others linked to far-left extremism or other ideologies.
According to the report, using a car or truck as a weapon is not unusual. “Islamist extremists have attempted a number of vehicular attacks in recent years,” the report read.
The FBI is also monitoring this tactic and has produced a report titled “Terrorist Use of Vehicle Ramming Tactics.” The report explains how attackers can use vehicles to carry out attacks and avoid acquiring weapons or undergoing training.
In the hours after the attack, pundits and counterterrorism experts spoke about the near-impossibility of preventing car-ramming assaults, which are remarkably lethal and effective, especially when carried out at public events such as parades, holiday markets, and outdoor festivals. For decades, Palestinian terrorists have used vehicles to ram into Israeli civilians at bus stops and other outdoor locations.
One troubling idiosyncrasy of Jabbar’s attack was the presence of unexploded improvised explosive devices filled with a rare “organic material” near the site of the ramming. According to experts, the explosive material had never before been used in the US or Europe.
An additional incident on New Year’s Day involving an exploding Tesla Cybertruck in front of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas has investigators working overtime to find possible links with the New Orleans terror attack. The second vehicle’s driver, a Green Beret, has been identified as Matthew Livelsberger. Livelsberger fatally shot himself seconds before the Tesla exploded.
Like Jabbar, Livelsberger rented the truck used in his attack from Turo, an online car rental company. On the homepage of the rental site, Andre Haddad, CEO of Turo, addressed the matter. “We’ve spent these tense, mournful hours investigating, partnering with law enforcement, and working around the clock to figure out how our platform could be misused by the perpetrators of such atrocities,” he wrote.
Coulon said that one “silver lining” of the Bourbon Street attack was that Jews weren’t specifically targeted.
He called on the American public to be conscious of the antisemitic nature of Islamist ideology. “Islamist terrorist organizations have targeted Jews previously, their messaging is very anti-Jewish, and their ideology overall is that there needs to be a war waged against the Jews,” he said.
The ADL report noted that an Egyptian citizen studying in Virginia had been arrested for allegedly planning a terror attack on the Israeli Consulate in New York City. The student “had praised Osama bin Laden and boasted about spreading Islamist propaganda online, including an ISIS-related video calling for the killing of Jews,” the report read.
Facts are still coming out about who Jabbar is and what inspired the attack. It was initially feared that Jabbar was operating with the help of accomplices or was part of a local terror cell. Explosives found around New Orleans—now known to have been placed by Jabbar—were thought to be evidence of other operatives.
President-elect Trump falsely suggested that Jabbar was in the country illegally, posting on his social media platform Truth Social that he was justified in saying “that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country.”
What emerged shortly after the attack was that Jabbar was a US citizen, a 42-year-old Army veteran from Texas who had served in Afghanistan. Since his release from active duty in 2015, he has served part-time in the Army Reserve.
Jabbar rented the truck in Houston, where he lived, and drove to New Orleans to carry out the attack. On the way, he filmed and posted videos meant to serve as a manifesto. In these videos, he declared his allegiance to IS and confessed that he had considered murdering his family. (Jabbar, twice divorced, was the father of three children.)
As more details came out, FBI spokespeople began describing Jabbar as “inspired by” IS.
“Once again, Americans are confronted by something they don’t want to admit—that the Islamist threat to the world isn’t confined to Europe and the Middle East but is dug into America itself,” conservative commentator Melanie Phillips told The Media Line.
Phillips’ forthcoming book, The Builder’s Stone: How Jews and Christians Built the West—and Why Only They Can Save It, argues that Islamist violence is poised to undo Western society.
Coulon described a similar sense of imminent danger to the US. “History teaches us we have to believe people when they tell us who they are for the first time. Americans should be under no delusions about the growing threat of Islamist terror,” he said.
He said that New Orleans residents would continue to be vigilant in the wake of the attack.
Source:themedialine.org
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https://themedialine.org/top-stories/new-orleans-attack-validates-adls-warnings-about-islamist-extremism/
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Harris certifies Trump's US election win, four years after Capitol riot
7 Jan, 2025
Four years to the day after a mob of Donald Trump's supporters violently besieged the US Capitol, Congress formally certified the incoming president's re-election in a special session.
Vice-President Kamala Harris, who Trump defeated in the 2024 election, presided over the event as required by the US Constitution.
But the shadow of 6 January 2021 lingered over Monday's proceedings, despite Trump and his allies' campaign to recast the attack as a "day of love."
Heavy security was in place in Washington DC, and current President Joe Biden vowed there would be no repeat of the violence four years ago.
Trump celebrated the moment on Truth Social, writing: "Congress certifies our great election victory today - a big moment in history."
The day was extraordinary in its normalcy, given the chaos of four years before. Harris stood at the front of the US House chamber with a sombre expression as lawmakers read out each state's election results before formally declaring their authenticity.
Though the results declared Trump the victor, Harris received a standing ovation from the Democratic side of the chamber when she read out her own electoral vote tally.
Vice-president-elect JD Vance was in attendance. Seated directly next to him was Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, one of the few remaining Republican senators who voted to convict Trump in an impeachment trial stemming from the riot - that vote ultimately failed and Trump was acquitted.
Earlier, House Speaker Mike Johnson had promised to go ahead with the certification in spite of the inclement weather, telling Fox News: "Whether we're in a blizzard or not, we're going to be in that chamber making sure this is done."
Harris, meanwhile, vowed to "perform my constitutional duty as Vice President to certify the results of the 2024 election".
"This duty is a sacred obligation - one I will uphold guided by love of country, loyalty to our Constitution, and unwavering faith in the American people," she said in a video statement.
Ordinarily there would be little need to remark on such procedures. The US Constitution requires the certification of a presidential election on 6 January, and for the vice-president to oversee the vote.
But last time the US Congress gathered to certify the election of a US president, the vote was delayed for several hours because rioters, animated by a false belief that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, smashed through windows, beat their way through lines of police officers, crashed the US House chamber, and ransacked the office of then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others.
In a speech in Washington DC that day, before the violence broke out, Trump told a crowd to "fight like hell" but also asked them to "peacefully" make their voices heard.
Lawmakers, including Republicans, were forced to take cover in the basement and Capitol staffers hid wherever they could find shelter. Then-Vice-President Mike Pence was whisked into hiding as rioters erected a gallows on the Capitol grounds and called for his hanging because he refused to inaccurately certify the results in Trump's favour.
In the aftermath, Capitol Hill custodial workers worked furiously to clean up shattered windows and trashed corridors. Congressional staffers spent the next several months reckoning with the trauma of the attack.
The riot caused nearly $3m (£2.4m) in damage, injured more than 100 police officers, and shocked America's political system.
In the immediate wake of the attack, which millions of Americans watched unfold on television and social media, there was little debate over who deserved blame.
The US House of Representatives impeached Trump on charges he incited the riot, but the US Senate did not achieve the two-thirds vote required to convict him. Then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, explicitly blamed Trump, saying rioters "did this because they had been fed wild falsehoods by the most powerful man on Earth – because he was angry he'd lost an election".
Trump himself faced federal charges for allegations that he attempted to subvert the 2020 election, to which he pleaded not guilty. But the Department of Justice (DoJ) was forced to drop the case once he was elected last year, due to protocols that prevented the prosecution of a sitting president.
As Trump sought a return to power, he and his allies have worked to dramatically change the narrative around the riot and its cause.
Trump said there was "nothing done wrong at all," at an October 2024 presidential campaign forum.
He has called the people convicted by the DoJ "hostages" and "political prisoners." And his new vice-president, JD Vance, refused to acknowledge in a presidential debate that Trump lost the 2020 election.
Americans now have starkly divided perspectives on the day. A January 2024 Washington Post/University of Maryland poll suggested that a quarter of Americans believed a conspiracy theory that the FBI instigated the attack. While a majority of Americans believed 6 January 2021 was an attack on democracy, only 18% of Republicans thought so, the poll indicated.
Trump's second term will begin after he is inaugurated on 20 January. It represents a stunning political comeback from his electoral defeat in 2020, and a criminal conviction in 2024 - a first for a current or former US president.
The president-elect has vowed to pardon people convicted of offences over the attack. He says many of them are "wrongfully imprisoned", though has acknowledged that "a couple of them, probably they got out of control".
Biden has called on Americans never to forget what happened.
"We must remember the wisdom of the adage that any nation that forgets its past is doomed to repeat it," Biden wrote in the Washington Post over the weekend.
For Trump's Republican Party, the new Senate Majority Leader John Thune has signalled a desire to move on, telling the BBC's US partner CBS News: "You can't be looking in the rearview mirror."
Source:bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd9x33z8nzpo
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Trump Jr to visit Greenland after dad says US should own the territory
7 Jan, 2025
Donald Trump Jr is planning to visit Greenland, two weeks after his father repeated his desire for the US to take control of the autonomous Danish territory.
The US president-elect's son plans to record video footage for a podcast during the one-day private visit, US media report.
Donald Trump reignited controversy in December when he said "ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity" for US national security.
He had previously expressed an interest in buying the Arctic island during his first term as president. Trump was rebuffed by Greenland's leaders on both occasions.
"We are not for sale and we will not be for sale," the island's Prime Minister, Mute Egede, said in December. "Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland."
President-elect Trump confirmed his son's trip on his Truth Social social media platform on Monday.
He said Don Jr and "various representatives" would travel to Greenland "to visit some of the most magnificent areas and sights".
Trump added that Greenland and its people "will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our nation".
"We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside world," he said. "Make Greenland great again!"
The president-elect's post also included a video featuring an unnamed Greenlander- wearing a red Make America Great Again hat - telling Trump to buy Greenland and free it from "being colonised" by Denmark.
The identity of the man in the clip is unclear.
Greenland lies on the shortest route from North America to Europe, making it strategically important for the US. It is also home to a large American space facility.
The president-elect's eldest son played a key role during the 2024 US election campaign, frequently appearing at rallies and in the media.
But he will not be travelling to Greenland on behalf of his father's incoming administration, according to the Danish foreign ministry.
"We have noted the planned visit of Donald Trump Jr to Greenland. As it is not an official American visit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark has no further comment to the visit," the ministry told BBC News.
Hours after President-elect Trump's latest intervention, the Danish government announced a huge boost in defence spending for Greenland. Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen described the announcement's timing as an "irony of fate".
On Monday Denmark's King Frederik X changed the royal coat of arms to more prominently feature representations of Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
Some have seen this as a rebuke to Trump, but it could also prove controversial with Greenland's separatist movement.
King Frederik used his New Year's address to say the Kingdom of Denmark was united "all the way to Greenland", adding "we belong together".
But Greenland's prime minister used his own New Year's speech to push for independence from Denmark, saying the island must break free from "the shackles of colonialism".
Trump is not the first US president to suggest buying Greenland. The idea was first mooted by the country's 17th president, Andrew Johnson, during the 1860s.
Separately in recent weeks, Trump has threatened to reassert control over the Panama Canal, one of the world's most important waterways. He has accused Panama of charging excessive fees for access to it.
Panama's president responded by saying "every square metre" of the canal and surrounding area belonged to his country.
Source:bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yv10knyd9o
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Biden meets exiled Venezuelan opposition candidate
7 Jan, 2025
US President Joe Biden has called the exiled candidate for Venezuela's opposition, Edmundo González, "the true winner" of the country's presidential election last July after meeting him at the White House.
In a post on social media, Biden said Venezuela deserved a "peaceful transfer of power".
González fled to Spain in September after turmoil following Venezuela's election, in which incumbent President Nicolás Maduro claimed victory - something disputed by González and many sections of the international community.
Caracas reacted to the meeting with fury, calling it "grotesque" and accusing Biden of backing a violent anti-democratic project, Reuters news agency reports.
Maduro is due to be re-inaugurated on Friday.
González, currently exiled in Spain, says July's presidential election was rigged and says he himself actually won it.
The opposition has called for mass protests this week, while the Maduro government offering a $100,000 (£81,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of González.
The voting tallies - a detailed official breakdown of the votes from each polling station - have been at the centre of the dispute over who won the election.
The government-aligned National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner but failed to provide the tallies to back up its claim.
The opposition, which with the help of accredited election witnesses collected and published more than 80% of the voting tallies, says these prove that González was the overwhelming winner.
The UN Human Rights Committee in December ordered Venezuela "to refrain from destroying" the voting tallies from July's election.
Source:bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp31ellx2nvo
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Who might replace Trudeau as Liberal Party leader?
7 Jan, 2025
Justin Trudeau's nine years as Canadian prime minister is coming to an end after he announced he will step down as leader of the governing Liberal Party.
It means his party must now find a new leader to compete in a general election in which polls suggest they are heading to defeat.
Here are some of the people expected to enter the Liberal leadership race.
Former Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland
The Toronto member of parliament became one of the most well-known members of Trudeau's team and is seen as one of the top contenders to replace the outgoing leader.
While she had long been seen as a trusted senior official in his inner circle, a rift with the prime minister's office led to her recent abrupt resignation in December.
Her criticism of Trudeau in her public resignation letter piled the pressure on him and made his departure seem inevitable.
Born to a Ukrainian mother in the western province of Alberta, the 56-year-old was a journalist before entering politics.
She entered the House of Commons in 2013 and two years later joined Trudeau's cabinet with a trade brief after he swept the party to power.
As Minister of Foreign Affairs she helped Canada renegotiate a free trade deal with the US and Mexico.
She was later named deputy prime minister and minister of finance - the first woman to hold the job - and oversaw Canada's financial response to the Covid pandemic.
Quitting last month, she criticised Trudeau as insufficiently strong in his handling of Donald Trump's threat to levy US tariffs on Canadian goods.
A 2019 Globe and Mail profile said depending who you asked, Freeland is either a last, best hope for the liberal world order or an out-of-touch idealist.
Her steadfast support of Ukraine earned praise in some quarters but the Harvard-educated MP has had her share of critics, including Trump who recently called her "toxic".
Former central banker Mark CarneyTrudeau himself admitted that he had long been trying to recruit Mark Carney to his team, most recently as finance minister.
"He would be an outstanding addition at a time when Canadians need good people to step up in politics," he told reporters on the sidelines of a Nato conference in July 2024.
Carney, 59, who has been serving in recent months as a special adviser to Trudeau, has long been considered a contender for the top job.
The Harvard graduate has never held public office but has a strong economic background, serving at the top of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England.
He also brings with him expertise on environmental matters through his role as the United Nations special envoy on climate action, recently calling the goal of net zero "the greatest commercial opportunity of our time".
Carney is a champion of some Liberal policies that have been unpopular within the country's conservative circles like the federal carbon tax policy, the party's signature climate policy that critics argue is a financial burden for Canadians.
He has also already criticised Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, saying his vision for the future of the country is "without a plan" and "just slogans".
"I'm the one in the conversation who's actually been in business, who actually is in business, and makes decisions," he said.
Anita Anand, transport ministerAnand is often touted as one of the more ambitious members of the Liberal caucus.
The 57-year-old lawyer entered the political scene in 2019 when she was elected to represent the riding of Oakville, just outside of Toronto.
An Oxford-educated academic, she has a background in financial market regulation and corporate governance.
She was immediately awarded the ministerial brief of public services and procurement, putting her at the helm of a mission to secure vaccines and personal protective equipment during the Covid pandemic.
Anand was then appointed minister of defence in 2021, leading Canada's efforts to provide aid for Ukraine in its war against Russia and overseeing a personnel crisis at the Canadian Armed Forces mired by sexual misconduct scandals.
When Anand was shuffled out of that department to oversee the Treasury Board, many saw it as a demotion and critics of Trudeau went as far as to speculate that it was punishment for her ambitions to one day lead the party.
In December, she was moved again during a cabinet shuffle, into the role of transport minister and minister of internal trade.
The former businessman and international trade specialist is another Liberal minister said to be eyeing the party's top job.
But his journey through the ranks to a major portfolio was slower than Anand's.
Champagne, 54, entered the Commons in 2015 but since then has gone through international trade, foreign affairs and most recently the department of innovation, science and industry.
But there are several things that work in his favour. Champagne is from Quebec, a province whose voice has often been consequential in federal Canadian elections.
He has also been dubbed "Canada's Energizer Bunny" by some pundits, who have watched his enthusiasm as he travelled around the world under his innovation portfolio with a mission to sell all that is Canada-made.
And because of his business acumen, political watchers see him as a viable option for luring centrist Liberals back into the fold.
Like Trudeau, Joly represents a Montreal-area riding.
To foreign leaders, the 45-year-old is a familiar face, having represented Canada on the world stage since 2021.
As the current foreign minister, she has taken several trips to Ukraine in a show of Canada's support. She travelled to Jordan to aid in the evacuation of Canadian citizens in the region when the Israel-Hamas war erupted.
Joly has also been at the heart of some of the government's greatest foreign policy challenges, including the diplomatic crisis sparked by the alleged assassination of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil by Indian agents.
The Oxford-educated lawyer is a well-connected francophone politician who previously ran for mayor of Montreal.
She was tapped by Trudeau personally to run for a federal job in politics.
"He would periodically call me to say, 'Mélanie you need to run, we want you to run,'" Joly has said.
Senior advisers have hailed her ability to work a room of either seven or 700, and she has long held ambitions to run for Liberal party leader, close friends told Canadian magazine Macleans.
Dominic LeBlanc, minister of finance and intergovernmental affairs
LeBlanc, 57, is one of Trudeau's closest and most trusted allies.
Their friendship runs deep, with LeBlanc even babysitting Trudeau and his siblings when they were young.
He has a record of stepping into portfolios at difficult moments, including becoming finance minister within hours of Freeland's bombshell resignation.
LeBlanc also took on the tricky assignment of accompanying Trudeau to Mar-a-Lago in November to meet Trump.
The former lawyer has been a parliamentarian for more than two decades, having been first elected in 2000 to represent a riding in the Atlantic province of New Brunswick.
Like Trudeau, LeBlanc was born into a political family. His father served as a minister in the cabinet of Trudeau's fabled father, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, and later as Canada's governor-general.
LeBlanc has shown previous ambitions to lead the party, running in 2008 but losing to Michael Ignatieff. He did not run again in the next leadership race, which was won by Trudeau.
He is in remission after cancer treatment and is known to be an affable and a strong political communicator.
Christy Clark, a former provincial premier
The former premier of British Columbia has expressed an interest in throwing her hat into the Liberal leadership ring.
In a statement in October, she said she was "would want to be part of the conversation on the future direction of the Liberal Party and of the country" if Trudeau stepped down.
Clark, 59, served as the leader of Canada's western-most province from 2011 to 2017, where she built a reputation of being able to balance environmental priorities while developing BC's energy industry.
She has repeatedly said in interviews in the past couple of years that Trudeau had become a drag on the federal Liberals.
She has also reportedly been taking French lessons, according to broadcaster Radio-Canada. A fluency in French is considered a prerequisite for federal politicians in Canada.
Source:bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3904r98lnlo
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Africa
Libya military says air strikes target smuggling sites
January 07, 2025
ZAWIYAH, Libya: Libya’s UN-recognized authorities have launched air strikes targeting drug trafficking and fuel smuggling hubs west of the capital, a military statement said on Monday.
It remained unclear if there were casualties from the strikes in Zawiya, a city on the Mediterranean coast about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of the capital Tripoli.
Libya was plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed strongman Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, with armed groups exploiting the situation to fund their activities through fuel smuggling and the trafficking of migrants.
The Libyan Army said the air strikes “targeted and destroyed fuel trafficking sites in Zawiya, specifically in Asban,” a semi-rural area outside of the city.
It also called on locals to clear areas it labelled as “strongholds for trafficking and crime.”
In May 2023, the Tripoli-based government carried out drone strikes as part of an anti-smuggling operation, killing at least two people and injuring several others, authorities said at the time.
Those strikes followed clashes between armed groups suspected of involvement in human trafficking and smuggling of fuel and other contraband goods.
Libya’s eastern-based parliament accused the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity of targeting the home of one of its lawmakers, an opponent of the government.
Libya is divided between the Tripoli-based GNU and a rival administration in the east, backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
Footage posted on the army’s Facebook page showed a military truck smashing into the facade of a small dwelling.
Other footage showed tanks and pickup trucks mounted with machine guns driving through Zawiya.
The city hosts Libya’s second-largest oil refinery, with smugglers trafficking the fuel across the border into neighboring Tunisia.
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2585494/middle-east
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Troops Eliminate Notorious Terrorist, Sani Russu In Zamfara
7 January 2025
By George Oshogwe Ogbolu
Troops of the 1 Brigade, Sector 2 Joint Task Force North West, Operation Fansan Yamma, have neutralized a notorious terrorist leader, Sani Russu, in Zamfara State.
Naija News reports that the military also achieved significant successes in multiple operations, leading to the recovery of arms and ammunition.
This was disclosed in a statement released on Monday in Gusau by the Coordinator, Joint Media Coordination Centre, Operation Fansan Yamma, Lt. Col. Abubakar Abdullahi.
According to the statement, troops conducted a fighting patrol on January 4 in Bamamu village, Tsafe Local Government Area, where they encountered terrorists. The operation resulted in the neutralization of the notorious terrorist kingpin, Sani Russu.
The troops also launched an ambush operation on the same day, acting on credible intelligence regarding terrorist activities at Kwanar Jollof in Shinkafi Local Government Area.
During the operation, several terrorists were neutralized, while others sustained severe injuries. Recovered items included an AK-47 rifle, a G3 rifle, eight rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, four rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition, three magazines, and three motorcycles.
In a separate mission, the Air Component of Operation Fansan Yamma carried out airstrikes on December 30 in the Fakai and Kware areas of Shinkafi. These strikes targeted a meeting of terrorists led by Bello Turji, following intelligence reports of their gathering.
Further air operations were conducted on January 2 in Maikaman Rini, Sububu Forest, targeting the camp of another terrorist kingpin, Ibrahim Chumo, in support of ground troops. On January 5, the troops launched additional offensives against Bello Turji’s camp in the Chida area of Shinkafi.
Aerial surveillance revealed that these operations inflicted significant casualties on the terrorists, injuring several and destroying their hideouts.
Lt. Col. Abdullahi reaffirmed the commitment of Operation Fansan Yamma to neutralize terrorist threats across the Joint Task Force Theatre of Operations and ensure lasting peace in the region.
He also called for continued cooperation from local communities to achieve the operation’s mandate.
“The joint task force remains resolute in maintaining peace and security across the region,” he stated.
Source: naijanews.com
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https://www.naijanews.com/2025/01/07/troops-eliminate-notorious-terrorist-sani-russu-in-zamfara/
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We Are Ready To Be Guarantors For Nnamdi Kanu, Release Him – Abaribe Tells Tinubu
6 January 2025
By Enioluwa Adeniyi
Abia South Senator, Enyinnaya Abaribe, has declared his readiness to stand as a guarantor for the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Abaribe made this known while addressing journalists after a meeting with Governor Alex Otti of Enugu State.
The senator also called on President Bola Tinubu to heed the advice of the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, and other stakeholders advocating for Kanu’s release.
“Releasing Kanu will put a stop to the issue of criminalities in the Southeast,” Abaribe emphasized during the briefing.
The renewed call for Kanu’s release comes amid escalating insecurity in the Southeast, with many stakeholders arguing that addressing IPOB’s grievances is crucial to restoring peace in the region.
He said, “I expect that the President will listen to both his Attorney General and every one of us who have been agitating that the issues in the Southeast; first of all the insurgency, the sit-at-home on Mondays and every other thing we have noticed in the Southeast, what we now know in the Southeast is that criminals and all other people who advocate violence have taken over and using the name Nnamdi Kanu to perpetuate all these their despicable acts.
“We know that the President, being a listening President, will also look at all the issues involved which we have presented to him from various mediums and that he will do the needful and release Nnamdi Kanu so that it will put a stop to all these things that are happening in the Southeast and bring back the Southeast as the hub of production in Nigeria.
“So he needs Nnamdi Kanu out so that all those things that are holding us down in the Southeast, that have made us not produce as much as we ought to produce, will not be there.
“So, we continue to call on President Tinubu to release Nnamdi Kanu and we are ready and willing to be guarantors for him to be released so that we can have life coming back into the Southeast and take it away from the criminals, kidnappers, the cultists and dangerous elements that are floating around us who have made it a point that they would perpetrate violence, do criminal activities and use Nnamdi Kanu’s name as their reason.”
Source: naijanews.com
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https://www.naijanews.com/2025/01/06/we-are-ready-to-be-guarantors-for-nnamdi-kanu-release-him-abaribe-tells-tinubu/
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/allahabad-hc-rejects-justice-muslim/d/134271