Representatives Of 50 Nations, Including Muslim Countries To Be Invited For Ram Temple Opening In Ayodhya
New Age Islam News Bureau
11 December 2023
Under
construction Ram temple in Ayodhya (HT file photo)
------
·
Representatives
Of 50 Nations, Including Muslim Countries To Be Invited For Ram Temple Opening
In Ayodhya
·
Teacher
Fired By His School For Not Responding To ‘Ram Ram’ Greeting By A Student In UP
·
US
Students Pressure Their Universities To End Financial Ties With Israel
·
Solidarity
Demonstrations For Palestine Held In Europe On Human Rights Day
·
Global
Human Rights Federation Of Malaysia Urges Govt To Pass Law Against Racial,
Religious Hate Speech
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India
·
‘In
Contradiction With Fundamental Values’: Doctors Protest Hindu God On National
Medical Commission Logo
·
Article
370 Verdict: For INDIA Bloc, The Twofold Political Challenge That Now Awaits
·
Rais
Shaikh, The Samajwadi Party MLA Demands Scrapping Of Govt’s ‘Love Jihad’
Committee
·
100 Years
On, Remembering Maulana Azad’s Words On Hindu-Muslim Unity
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North America
·
US senator
says giving Israel another $10B in military aid would be 'irresponsible'
·
Blinken
calls sexual violence inflicted by Hamas ‘beyond anything I’ve seen’
·
Biden to
host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at White House Tuesday
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Europe
·
Russian
Foreign Minister: No Justification For Collective Punishment Of Palestinian
People
·
Russia
calls for international monitoring mission in Gaza strip
·
EU
ministers consider next steps in response to Israel-Hamas war
·
UN
launches global roadmap to end hunger in line with Paris Agreement
----
Southeast Asia
·
Indonesian
couple jailed 35 years each for murdering employer
·
Indonesia
vows to assist Rohingya refugees humanely amid surge of arrivals
·
Over 300
Rohingya refugees stranded on Indonesian beaches
----
Mideast
·
Islamic
Jihad: US Orchestrating Israel’s War Tactics in Gaza
·
Hamas says
no hostage will leave alive unless demands met
·
International
Union of Muslim Scholars calls for global strike in solidarity with Gaza
·
Hamas says
it is committed to right of Palestinian people to self-determination
·
Battles
rage across Gaza as Israel indicates it's willing to fight for months or more
to beat Hamas
·
'Surrender
now, don't die for Sinwar': Netanyahu tells Hamas militants
·
Israel
bombs south Gaza after Hamas hostage threat
·
UN General
Assembly meets Tuesday to discuss Gaza
·
Iran
accuses jailed Swedish EU diplomat of conspiring with Israel
·
Gaza
crimes reveal disintegration of defeated, deranged Israeli regime: Iran cmdr.
·
Hezbollah
ramps up strikes against Israeli targets in show of support for Gaza
·
Former
Hamas minister: Current leadership of terror group 'destroyed Gaza'
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Arab World
·
Historic
Jeddah Launches Art Events To Boost Culture, Tourism
·
OIC calls
for end to human rights ‘double standards’
·
Islamic
Ministerial Committee meets with Trudeau
·
Al-Aqsa
Support Committee member hails Yemeni army’s operations in solidarity with Gaza
·
Yemeni
forces block Israel-bound ship in Red Sea, force it to turn back
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South Asia
·
Islamic
Emirate to Iran FM: Govt is Inclusive
·
Deportation
of hundreds of Afghan migrants from Pakistan
·
Afghanistan’s
UN Representative: No legal protection for citizens’ rights
·
US
provides $77 million aid to support Afghan refugees in Pakistan
·
Over
345,000 Afghan Refugees Deported by Iran in Past 3 Months: Ministry
·
UN Agency
Warns of Afghans Dying in Harsh Winter If There’s No Proper Shelt
·
IEA is
part of today’s reality in Afghanistan: Iran’s FM
-----
Pakistan
·
Tributes Paid
In Quetta To Martyred Palestinian Journalists
·
Pakistan
supports reliable safe routes for humanitarian aid in Gaza: Nadeem
·
Imran,
Bushra’s marriage case hearing today
·
Pakistan
stands united on the issue of Palestine: Ashrafi
·
UN must
take note of HR violations in Palestine, IIOJ&K: CM
·
International
Human Rights Day: Alvi bemoans global inaction against Israel
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Africa
·
Cleric
seeks inclusion of Islamic Studies in curriculum
·
Thousands
of Moroccans urge government to cut ties with Israel over Gaza onslaught
·
War-torn
Sudan faces ‘catastrophe’ as UN funds run short
·
B’Haram
commander, others killed in Niger air strike – NAF
·
Hajj:
Saudi Arabia increases Nigeria’s tour operators to 40
·
NASFAT
demands compensation for Kaduna bomb victims
Compiled by
New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/ayodhya-ram-mandir-muslim-countries/d/131292
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Representatives Of 50 Nations, Including
Muslim Countries To Be Invited For Ram Temple Opening In Ayodhya
Under
construction Ram temple in Ayodhya (HT file photo)
------
Dec 10, 2023
Senior RSS and VHP leaders in New Delhi
are finalising the list of foreign representatives for the consecration
ceremony
Shri Ram Janmabhoomi TeerthKshetra Trust
will invite representatives from 50 countries, including those from Muslim
nations, for the pranpratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla.
The Trust has dispelled the
misconception that only believers of Sanatan Dharma will be invited for the
consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla.
Senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)
and VHP leaders in New Delhi are finalising the list of foreign representatives
who will be invited for the consecration ceremony.
The RSS is trying to contact authorities
concerned of these nations through its offices in 50 countries to invite them
for the January 22 pranpratishtha ceremony.
“Representatives of 50 countries will be
invited for the pranpratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla. The RSS will send invites
through its office in these countries,” said Champat Rai, general secretary of
Shri Ram Janmabhoomi TeerthKshetra Trust.
“Do not be surprised if you see a
representative from Dubai, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries at the
pranpratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla,” said Rai.
“We want to make sure that
representatives from 50 countries attend the event and not from America,
Australia and UK alone,” asserted Rai.
Rai said apart from VVIPs, other
invitees on priority list of the Trust were lawyers who had represented the
Hindu side in the decades-long legal battle from district court in Ayodhya
(then Faizabad) to Supreme Court and kin of karsevaks who lost their lives in
the Ram Mandir movement.
The trust will send invites to 7,000
people, including 3,000 VVIPs, for the opening ceremony of Ram Mandir.
Eminent people from various walks of
life, including politics, business, sports, media and movies, along with
prominent seers from across the country will feature in the guest list being
finalised for the consecration ceremony of the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya,
said the Trust.
All four Shankaracharyas (heads of the
four main Hindu monasteries) will be special guests at the event, the temple
trust said in a statement.
“Invitations are also being sent to
other saints, religious leaders, former civil servants, ex-Army officers,
lawyers and musicians,” it added.
Trust is seeking help of senior Army
officials in preparing the list of invitees from the Army, said Rai.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is the
chief guest at the event, will perform the rituals in sanctum sanctorum of the
Ram Temple at around 12.15pm during the pranpratishtha (consecration) ceremony.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will also share
the stage with the Prime Minister.
Source: hindustantimes.com
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Teacher Fired By His School For Not
Responding To ‘Ram Ram’ Greeting By A Student In UP
Scroll.in
Image for representation. | Adnan Abidi/ Reuters
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10th December 2023
A teacher from the minority community
was dismissed by his school after he refused to reciprocate to a “Ram Ram”
greeting by a student.
The incident occurred on December 5 in
Hathras, Uttar Pradesh. A class XI student greeted his teacher, Mohammed Adnan,
by saying ‘Ram Ram’. Adnan reportedly reprimanded the student.
Soon, a few right-wing members came to
know about the incident and started protesting outside the school premises.
They even recited Hanuman Chalisa as a gesture of protest.
Adnan was soon fired by the school
principal. “Children from both communities have studied in our school for the
last 30 years and we never faced such an accusation before. However, we have
removed Mohammad Adnan from duty, and the administration has formed a probe
committee into the matter,” the principal said. He also promised to take “measures
to prevent such incidents in the future.”
Source: siasat.com
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US Students Pressure Their Universities
To End Financial Ties With Israel
11 December 2023
Reza Javadi
Students across US university campuses
have staged widespread protests urging their universities to divest from
companies associated with Israel, as the occupying regime intensifies its
bombardment of residential areas in the Gaza Strip.
Last week, hundreds of Brown University
students rallied against Israeli atrocities and slammed the lack of safety for
pro-Palestinian students, after three Palestinian students were shot by a
gunman while walking on the street in the state of Vermont.
This came weeks after protesters from a
pro-Palestine group called Jews for Ceasefire Now staged a sit-in in University
Hall, calling for the university to strip away its endowment from Israeli weapons
companies.
“Palestinian students and our
co-strugglers have felt unsafe and scared and uncertain, and rising, racist,
violent climate in the US for several weeks now,” SherenaRazek, president of
Brown’s Graduate Labor Organization (GLO) and a member of GLO’s Palestine
Solidarity Caucus, told The Nation. The shooting “was shocking, but also not
surprising at the same time.”
Brown’s president, Christina Paxson,
finally addressed a vigil for one of the victims, telling a gathering of
several hundred students that she lamented her institution’s inability to stop
such tragedies. “We are powerless to do everything we’d like to do,” she said.
Her remarks were met with angry students
who booed her and shouted “shame on you.” They demanded that the university cut
ties with corporations associated with the Israeli military.
“Divest!,” “Divest from genocide!,”
“Shame on you Paxson!,” “You’re profiting from Palestinian deaths!,” “If he was
in Palestine, you wouldn’t care!” the students shouted.
The protesters warn that by investing in
the companies associated with the Israeli military, universities are
contributing to and profiting from the current destruction and loss of life in
Gaza.
“We don’t really trust the university to
have their priority be keeping us safe,” Rita Feder, a member of Jews for
Ceasefire Now, said after the vigil.
“If they really cared about keeping
their students safe, they wouldn’t have publicly paraded arrested students in
the first place.… If they really cared about their students, [they would]
divest from weapon manufacturing companies that are continuing to profit off of
the ongoing unbelievably horrifying massacre in Gaza,” she added.
Brown University students are
circulating a petition that states, “Until Brown heeds the multiple democratic
demands to divest the endowment from Israel and the military-industrial
complex, the university remains complicit in the ethnic cleansing of
Palestine.”
Students across other US campuses also
reiterated similar demands in the aftermath of Israel’s brutal aggression on
the besieged Gaza Strip which began early in October. Students from the Rhode
Island School of Design joined a pro-Palestinian march to the Providence
headquarters of the military-focused conglomerate Textron.
Furthermore, students from New York
University, Columbia University, and the City University of New York gathered
outside the headquarters of the JPMorgan Chase bank, condemning the bank and
other corporations for helping to supply the Israeli military.
In the course of student rallies against
US universities’ ties with Israel, students from a pro-Palestinian group at
Cornell University occupied two buildings on campus earlier this week, voicing
similar demands as other university students.
The Coalition for Mutual Liberation
(CML) called on the university to cut its support of Israel’s military
components such as Technion (Israel Institute of Technology) and Tata Motors
(an automobile production company based in India), to adopt policies against
doxxing and to revise its definition of antisemitism.
CML warned in the statement that
Cornell’s investment in these companies, which are included in Cornell’s
endowment fund, “has alienated Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students as
Israel’s siege of Gaza intensifies.”
The movement is not new as the
Pro-Palestinian student activists began pushing campuses more than two decades
ago. That push quickly evolved into the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions (BDS)
movement, which has thrived on college campuses. While the movement has made
some progress, no university has actually divested from companies with links to
Israel.
US universities suspend pro-Palestine
voices
The Israeli atrocities against
Palestinians have prompted the academic community across the US to raise their
voices against the aggression. However, as the economic and political power in
the US remains most clearly on the side of Israel, every pro-Palestinian voice
is suppressed across the country.
In a controversial move last month,
University of Southern Florida officials violated students’ free speech rights
by moving to ban a pro-Palestinian student group from university campuses.
The move prompted the USF’s Students for
Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter to file a lawsuit against state and
university officials alleging that the order to disband the group violated the
First Amendment rights of an organization that’s promoting peace.
Moreover, the faculty members and senior
academics, who raised their voices against Israeli aggression, have also been
subjected to suppression or firing from their positions.
Benjamin Neel, a professor of medicine
at New York University (NYU) and former director of its Perlmutter Cancer Centre,
was suspended from his positions after reposting social media content that
criticized those “who supported the violence toward and the death of Israelis.”
However, Professor Neel has filed a
lawsuit over the matter against the university.
Source: presstv.ir
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Solidarity demonstrations for Palestine
held in Europe on Human Rights Day
People,
holding Palestinian flags and banner, march from Koekamp Square to the
Binnenhof and city center as they gather to stage a protest against Israeli
attacks on Gaza in The Hague, Netherlands on December 10, 2023. ( Abdullah
Asiran - Anadolu Agency )
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Selen Valente Rasquinho
11.12.2023
Protests in solidarity with Palestine
were held Sunday in Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands, with
hundreds of people demanding a permanent cease-fire in Gaza.
Demonstrators in Belgium gathered in
front of the municipal building in Heusden-Zolder.
The event was organized to mark the UN’s
Human Rights Day, which is observed every year on Dec. 10, with participants
carrying Palestinian and Turkish flags while advocating for justice and an end
to the conflict in the region.
Demonstrators, united in their cause,
prominently showcased banners bearing messages such as "Freedom for
Palestine," "Stop the genocide in Gaza" and "Stop war
crimes against children."
The crowd passionately expressed their
support for the Palestinian cause, demanding an immediate halt to the conflict
and calling on the international community to take action.
Distinguished representatives from
various think tanks took the stage, delivering impassioned speeches that shed
light on the dire situation in Palestine.
Protesters in the German capital Berlin
gathered in front of the headquarters of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the
major coalition partner in the German government, calling for a cease-fire in
response to Israel's attacks on Gaza and Palestine.
Chanting slogans such as "Freedom
for Palestine," "Freedom for Gaza," "Cease-fire now," "Germany
finances, Israel bombs" and "Stop the genocide," they marched in
front of the Berlin Cathedral in the rain.
Along the march route, some Berliners
showed support by waving Palestinian flags from their windows.
The protesters also carried banners and
signs with messages such as "We condemn your silence,"
"Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine - Freedom for Palestine,"
"From the world's largest prison to the largest cemetery,"
"Cease-fire," and "Justice for Palestine."
In the Swedish capital Stockholm,
protesters demonstrating in solidarity with Palestine marched towards the
Israeli embassy.
Dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators
gathered in the Odenplan area of Stockholm in the evening to protest Israel's
siege and attacks on Gaza.
Assembled in response to the calls of
numerous civil society organizations in the country, they demanded an end to
Israel's attacks on Gaza, an immediate cease-fire and unrestricted access for
humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
Chanting slogans like "Freedom for
Palestine," the protesters then marched towards the Israeli embassy.
They carried banners with messages such
as "Children are being killed in Gaza," "Stop the
genocide," "Free Palestine" and "Boycott Israel."
In the administrative capital of the
Netherlands, The Hague, thousands of people organized a demonstration in
support of Palestine.
They gathered to protest Israel's
attacks on Gaza, initiating a march from Koekamp Square that passed in front of
the Dutch Parliament and through the city center, concluding back at the same
square.
Carrying a banner that read "From
the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," the demonstrators also held
signs with messages such as "Cease-fire now," "Stop the
genocide" and "Holocaust is happening in Palestine."
During the protest, Palestinian flags
were waved and slogans such as "Free Palestine," "Israel is a
terrorist, Netanyahu is a terrorist" and "Shame on you, Rutte, your
hands are bloody" were chanted, referring to Netherlands’ Prime Minister
Mark Rutte.
Israel resumed its military offensive on
the Gaza Strip on Dec. 1 after the end of a weeklong humanitarian pause with
the Palestinian group Hamas.
Nearly 18,000 Palestinians have been
killed and more than 49,229 others injured in relentless air and ground attacks
on the enclave since Oct. 7 following the cross-border attack by Hamas.
The Israeli death toll in the Hamas
attack stood at 1,200, according to official figures.
Source: aa.com.tr
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Global Human Rights Federation Of Malaysia
Urges Govt To Pass Law Against Racial, Religious Hate Speech
The Global
Human Rights Federation has called on the government to table a Racial and
Religious Hatred Bill in parliament, which would ensure that those making any
statement deemed as hate speech directed at a particular race or religion will
be prosecuted. – The Vibes file pic, December 10, 2023
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10 Dec 2023
AN NGO has called on the government to
table a Racial and Religious Hatred Bill in parliament, which would ensure that
those making any statement deemed as hate speech directed at a particular race
or religion will be prosecuted.
Global Human Rights Federation (GHRF)
president S Shashi Kumar also called for an independent body to oversee
conversions into Islam. He said there need to be strict laws and guidelines
drafted and enforced to prevent such conversions from being done covertly,
coercively and in a partial manner favouring the converted against the
unconverted.
In a statement in conjunction with Human
Rights Day today, Shashi lamented that people are growing increasingly
impatient, dissatisfied, and perplexed over the government’s uncertain roadmap
in leading the nation.
He said that promises of “reformation”
made during the 15th general election campaign trails in November last year
have yet to be delivered to the people, remaining merely political speeches.
He also expressed GHRF’s disappointment
at the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), which he claimed has
failed to address all the critical issues pertaining to human rights and
violations towards minorities.
“Public opinion holds Suhakam as totally
inefficient and inactive in speaking up for the minorities and the injustice
shown as well as the double standard policies impacting non-Muslims and
non-Malays in the country,” he said in a statement today.
“For years over decades now, they were
merely being a puppet to the government given the fact that they are
politically appointed representatives.
“Today, NGOs and netizens are deeply
concerned and increasingly disturbed over the level of racial and religious
intolerance in the country, which is morphing into a threat to national unity
and harmony,” he added.
He stressed that it is widely perceived
that racial divisions in Malaysian society are pulling people further apart,
and this cannot continue to be ignored if patriotism is regarded as a vital
ingredient for national peace and progress.
Shashi added that GHRF currently has
three active cases pending in the courts with regards to inflammatory speeches
and posts in the public domain, related to insulting and deriding non-Islamic
religions in the country.
“It has always been either the NGOs or
the public who have to individually or privately seek justice as the law
enforcement agencies and authorities who are supposed to act on the matter
without prejudice or bias seem to be operating on double standards,” he said.
Sarawak groups raise awareness
Meanwhile, a group of 15 civil society
groups fighting for greater human rights and rights of vulnerable communities
today celebrated the 75th anniversary of Human Rights Day in Kuching.
They gathered at the La Promenade
Shopping Mall in the state capital of Sarawak to observe the event with the public.
Suhakam, Rise of Sarawak Efforts,
Sarawak Aids Concern Society, and numerous other bodies representing women,
children and family advocates held exhibitions, talks and dialogues.
Among the topics of concern that were
highlighted were on the issue of child abuse, human trafficking, re-delineation
of electoral boundaries, and the rights of vulnerable groups.
Suhakam’s team also highlighted the
rights of children and minors, and the women associations stressed on
empowering women in more areas in society.
Human Rights Day is meant to commemorate
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was proclaimed by the United
Nations General Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948. – The Vibes, December
10, 2023
Source: thevibes.com
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India
‘In Contradiction With Fundamental
Values’: Doctors Protest Hindu God On National Medical Commission Logo
11.12.23
G.S. Mudur
Sections of doctors have criticised a
decision by India’s apex medical regulatory authority to adopt Dhanvantari, the
Hindu god of medicine, on its logo, questioning the use of an image associated
with a specific religion.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA),
the country’s largest body of doctors, has asked the National Medical
Commission (NMC) to revise its logo, asserting that the medical profession, including
all its regulatory and statutory bodies, has to be “religion-neutral”.
“The new logo of the NMC is in
contradiction with our fundamental values as doctors,” the IMA said in a
statement signed by its national president Sharad Agarwal and national secretary
Anil Nayak.
“It is not in conformity with the oath
and the duty of doctors which is not towards any particular religion. Such a
logo is also inconsistent with the dignity and decorum of an institution such
as the NMC,” the IMA said.
A member of the NMC — a regulatory body
for medical education and medical practice established in 2020 to replace the
Medical Council of India (MCI) — said the commission had adopted the new logo
after a process of public consultations.
The MCI had a logo that displayed Greek
religious imagery and was used for decades in India, said Yogender Malik,
member of the NMC’s ethics and medical registration board.
“We felt there was a need for a new
logo. After wide public consultations, the NMC passed this logo…. We also
decided to colour Dhanvantari’s image to make it clearly visible and look good
when printed,” Malik said.
He said he did not understand why there
was a controversy over the image.
The IMA said it had been compelled to
express its “strong objection and disapproval” of the new NMC logo, which “is
contrary to our fundamental ethos and the values carried on for centuries by
our great nation”.
“The logo of any national institution
ought to capture the aspirations of all our citizens in an equal manner and by
remaining neutral in all respects thereby eliminating any possibility of any
part or section of society feeling aggrieved in any manner,” the IMA said.
Some doctors have interpreted the
emergence of Dhanvantari on the NMC logo as a symbolic move in line with the
Narendra Modi government’s plans to “mainstream” or “harmonise” ayurveda and
other traditional systems of medicine with modern medicine.
The Centre has said it plans to open
“integrative medicine centres”, where different systems of medicine “complement
each other”, at all government medical establishments. An integrated medicine
centre opened at the Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi earlier this year.
Sections of doctors have said they are
concerned about such efforts because many traditional medicine treatments have
not been evaluated through scientific methods.
Some say the logo appears to be part of
broader efforts to inject credibility into traditional medical systems by
“piggybacking” on modern medicine.
“Instead of addressing core issues
affecting medical education and the practice of medicine, the NMC is diverting
attention through potentially controversial decisions, such as this new logo or
its suggestion that medical students should do yoga for 10 days a year and be
introduced to the CharakShapath,” said K.V. Babu, a Kerala-based doctor.
The CharakShapath is a pledge attributed
to Charak, an ancient Indian physician who lived before AD 100 and is viewed as
one of the primary contributors to ayurveda.
Babu had earlier this year complained to
the Union health ministry, saying NMC members had violated the commission’s own
rules by not making their assets and liabilities public.
Source: telegraphindia.com
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Article 370 Verdict: For INDIA Bloc, The
Twofold Political Challenge That Now Awaits
by Manoj C G
New Delhi: December 11, 2023
With the Supreme Court upholding the
constitutional validity of the abrogation of Article 370 on Monday, the INDIA
bloc’s primary challenge now will be framing a response to the verdict as the
BJP is expected to project it as a ringing endorsement of its actions in Jammu
and Kashmir in August 2019.
Most of the parties in the Opposition
alliance believed there was little chance of the top court reversing the
revocation of the special status enjoyed by the erstwhile state under the
now-scrapped law. Most of them were already of the view that it was a “done
deal” but hoped the court would restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and
direct holding of elections. The court in its ruling told the Election
Commission (EC) to conduct Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir by September
30, 2024, and directed the Centre to restore J&K’s statehood at the
earliest.
For the INDIA bloc, the political
challenges are two-fold. First, it has to reconcile differences within. The AAP
supported the Centre’s decision in 2019, the Congress initially opposed the
scrapping of Article 370 but later nuanced its position, while the Left and the
socialist bloc continued to strongly believe that Article 370 should be
reinstated as it was the only link between Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of
India.
Second, and most importantly, the
alliance has to formulate its response, and a united one at that, as many
leaders believe popular sentiment has always been in favour of the abrogation
of Article 370. The parties are mindful of the fact that Lok Sabha elections
are just around the corner. From demonetisation and Pegasus row to the
controversy surrounding the purchase of Rafale fighter jets, the Opposition’s
criticism of the BJP government in the past lost steam after the top court ruled
in the government’s favour. The parties also had to nuance their positions
after the Ayodhya verdict.
Sources in several Opposition parties
said they were reconciled to the fact that reinstating Article 370 was
impossible. The Congress was a divided house in 2019 and remains a divided
house now. Minutes after the verdict, Congress leader and former Union Minister
MilindDeora posted on X, “I welcome the Supreme Court’s verdict on Article 370
& believe that the judgement transcends politics. Furthermore, my stance on
the issue is shaped by personal experiences in Kashmir.”
Festive offer
The Congress strongly opposed the
abrogation of Article 370 in the Rajya Sabha on August 5, 2019, but several
leaders, mostly the younger lot, backed the move outside.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC),
which met on August 6, discussed the issue threadbare and slammed the
government but was silent on the question of restoring special status. Several
young leaders at the time argued that the public sentiment was in favour of abrogation
and the party would have to factor in the nation’s mood.
Taking a cautious stand, the CWC said
Article 370 was the “Constitutional recognition of the terms of the Instrument
of Accession between the State of Jammu & Kashmir and India” and that it
“deserved to be honoured until it was amended, after consultation with all
sections of the people, and strictly in accordance with the Constitution of
India.” It deplored the “unilateral, brazen and totally undemocratic manner” in
which it was abrogated and the “State of Jammu and Kashmir was dismembered by
misinterpreting the provisions of the Constitution”.
But the Congress did not demand the
reinstatement of Article 370. Since then, it has time and again pointed to the
CWC resolution as the party’s stand. “I do believe that the statehood issue
about J&K is far more important in comparison to Article 370 issue which
now, irrespective of legalities and nuances, is a done deal. As a practitioner,
I didn’t expect the apex court to reverse the latter. However, statehood is a
vital issue of deprivation of democratic aspirations and impulses which must be
rectified by the central government without dilatory excuses,” CWC member
Abhishek Singhvi told The Indian Express in his personal capacity.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and
the National Conference (NC), which are part of the INDIA bloc, strongly
opposed the abrogation. Given that the AAP had backed the government, NC leader
Omar Abdullah took a swipe at the Arvind Kejriwal-led party when it asked Opposition
parties to come together earlier this year to oppose the Centre’s ordinance for
control of services in the national capital.
On Monday, Omar posted on X,
“Disappointed but not disheartened. The struggle will continue. It took the BJP
decades to reach here. We are also prepared for the long haul.”
“People of J&K not going to give up,
our fight for honour and dignity will continue. Not end of road: Mehbooba Mufti
on SC verdict,” PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti said on X.
Navigating a minefield
Asked how the INDIA alliance would
reconcile the divergent views, senior Janata Dal (United) leader K C Tyagi
said, “AAP kochhodiye (Forget about AAP). All the Communist parties, the entire
socialist movement led by Akhilesh Yadav, Lalu Yadav and Nitish Kumar, the NCP,
the DMK, the Lok Dal factions, and the Congress were in favour of restoration
of status quo ante.”
He added, “JD(U) and the Socialist
movement led by JP and Ram Manohar Lohia before that agreed with the inclusion
of Article 370 in the Constitution. Lohia and JP even visited Sheikh Abdullah
in jail many times. In the manifesto of the Janata Party in 1977 — the Jana
Sangh was also a part — said Article 370 would not be touched and it would
remain a part of the Constitution. When we joined the NDA (during Vajpayee’s
time when George Fernandes was the convenor), our first condition was that
Article 370 should not be disturbed. When the Narendra Modi government brought
the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, we were in the NDA but we walked out.”
Tyagi, like many Opposition leaders, is
cognizant of the political minefield that the Opposition now has to navigate.
“We respect the honour and majesty of the Constitution. The BJP has criticised
the Supreme Court on many issues, even the ministers. We were of a different
opinion on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid issue but we said we respect the
court verdict. The BJP, on the other hand, went jubilant. The issue went in
favour of the politics of polarisation of the Sangh. They celebrated it so that
we oppose it and they can further the politics of polarisation. So, it is
difficult for the Opposition when one stands firm with one’s political views,”
he said.
Source: indianexpress.com
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Rais Shaikh, The Samajwadi Party MLA
Demands Scrapping Of Govt’s ‘Love Jihad’ Committee
Dec 11, 2023
The Interfaith Marriage Family
Coordination Committee was set up on December 13, 2022, by the then WCD
Minister and BJP leader Mangal Prabhat Lodha
MUMBAI: Rais Shaikh, the Samajwadi Party
MLA from Bhiwandi constituency, has demanded the scrapping of the Interfaith
Marriage Family Coordination Committee set up by the Women and Child
Development (WCD) department to track alleged ‘love jihad’ cases. The
legislator has written a letter to deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and WCD
minister Aditi Tatkare in this regard.
The Interfaith Marriage Family
Coordination Committee was set up on December 13, 2022, by the then WCD
Minister and BJP leader Mangal Prabhat Lodha. The committee was the result of
several agitations by Hindutvavadi organisations who were opposed to interfaith
marriage and termed the latter ‘love jihad’.
After Ajit Pawar joined the state
government, the WCD department, which was with the BJP, went to the NCP. Unlike
the BJP’s political agenda of Hindutva, the NCP under Ajit Pawar’s leadership
has continuously claimed that it has not given up its secular ideology even
after joining hands with the BJP. It is against the backdrop of this change of
guard that Shaikh wrote the letter to Ajit Pawar and Aditi Tatkare.
“The then minister Lodha had claimed
that there were more than one lakh cases of alleged love jihad in the state,”
says Shaikh’s letter. “However, I have received information under RTI that the
committee has received only 402 complaints so far. These complaints include not
just two particular communities but other communities as well. Hence the
government should scrap this committee and the government resolution.” Shaikh
also questioned the intention behind setting up the committee.
The SP MLA has also written to
legislative assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar, reiterating that Lodha lied.
“Lodha claimed in the legislature on March 8, 2023, that there were one lakh
cases of alleged love jihad in the state. However, the information provided to
me by the WCD department under RTI shows that the committee did not receive a
single complaint till March 20, 2023. Lodha made a false, baseless and
misleading statement in the House. Hence the government should clarify the
facts in this matter in the House,” demanded Shaikh.
Source: hindustantimes.com
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100 years on, remembering Maulana Azad’s
words on Hindu-Muslim unity
December 11, 2023
Syeda Hameed
Today, a filmmaker from Kolkata arrived
to film my work on Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Since 1990, my academic work has
mostly been on Azad. Azad was in my DNA. I had grown up listening to my elders
talk reverentially about him. They all called him “Maulana”, as if there was
only one Maulana in the world. Some followed his translation, explication and
commentary on the Quran, others loved him for his erudition — he was a
voracious reader, a master of Farsi, Arabic, French, Latin and Greek — while
several admired his writing. Many, such as my family, admired his lifelong
commitment to Hindu-Muslim unity. It all started when he was 16 or 17 and
joined the guerrilla movement called Jugantar in Bengal. That commitment
continued until the end of his life when he addressed terrified Muslims on the
brink of mass exodus to the newly-created state of Pakistan. On December 15,
1947, from the steps of the Jama Masjid in Delhi, he said to the crowds, “Kahan
jarahehoaurkyunjaaraheho? (Where are you going and why?)”
When the Partition Resolution was on the
table, three men of conscience refused to sign it: Gandhiji, Khan Abdul Ghaffar
Khan and Maulana Azad. The Pathan spoke seven words to his comrades, words that
were emblazoned on the heart of every Indian: “You are throwing us to the
wolves.” Azad spoke four words: “Over my dead body.’’ Gandhi’s anguish was
palpable, but being the Mahatma, he bowed before his friends and the die was
cast.
This was 24 years after Azad, as the
youngest Congress President, spoke these immortal words at the session in Delhi
on December 15, 1923: “If an angel were to descend from heaven and declare that
India would get Swaraj in 24 hours, provided she relinquishes Hindu-Muslim
unity, I will answer, ‘Never’. If Swaraj is delayed, it will be a loss for
India, but if Hindu-Muslim unity is lost, it will be a loss to humanity.”
This week, it will be 100 years since
Azad spoke these words. In a few weeks, it will be 2024. Hindu-Muslim ittehad
(unity) is at stake as never before. The angel has descended and made his
declaration, but he has been shown his place. Indians are being swept by a
tsunami of hate. They don’t know what is in store for the future. Hate is the
favoured word; expressions like “mohabbatkidukaan” are sniggered at. A
newspaper recently reported a speech in Parliament with the headline “Nehru
kigaltiyonkakhamyaza Kashmir kobhugatnapada (For Nehru’s mistakes, Kashmir
suffers).”
Some years ago near the very Calcutta
where Azad grew up, a place called Kakinara hit the headlines. Some miscreants
armed with pickaxes vandalised his statue that stood in the market square.
Today, obscenities uttered in the name of religion in Parliament are greeted
with smiles by venerable Members. How long before some eager (to please) hands
tear down the portraits of all the Muslims from its halls and corridors? If
Azad goes, then a whole slew of freedom fighters will follow. Gandhi’s lathi,
spectacles and langot may save him for a few days.
As I talked to Anindita, the filmmaker,
we both cried; me with a lifetime filled with hope behind me, she with a
lifetime filled with hopelessness ahead of her. Sitting near us and happily
oblivious was her beautiful bespectacled six-year-old son, eating a chocolate
pastry. She and I talked of my uncle, the filmmaker K A Abbas, an unabashed
admirer of Nehru. I used to love the lines from a song in his film Rahi, about
tea garden labourers in Assam: “Julamdhha le, tusitamdhha le/ Hamare bhi to din
hainaanewaale (Take down oppression, take down suffering/ Our day, too, will
come).”
Ever an optimist, even after witnessing
so much violence — Partition, Kashmir, Gujarat, Delhi, Manipur — today, I grope
about in the endless darkness in which my country has been enveloped.
Source: indianexpress.com
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-----
North America
US senator says giving Israel another
$10B in military aid would be 'irresponsible'
EcemSahinli
11.12.2023
US Senator Bernie Sanders said Sunday
that it would be “irresponsible” for the US to provide an additional $10
billion in military aid to Israel to sustain its war against Hamas.
Sanders made the remarks while appearing
on the CBS News program Face the Nation, according to The Hill news outlet.
"I think that it would be
irresponsible for the United States to give (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin)
Netanyahu another $10 billion to continue to wage this awful war," he
said, alluding to the thousands of Palestinian civilians killed during Israel's
attacks on Gaza.
"What the Congress has got to do is
make it clear to Netanyahu that we're not going to simply give them a blank
check to kill women and children in Palestine," he added.
He highlighted that there are “1.9
million people displaced, going around without any water, food. Without any
medical supplies. It is a humanitarian disaster. And the United States has got
to put all of the pressure that it can to tell Netanyahu to stop this
disastrous military approach.”
Sanders reiterated that Israel has the
right to self-defense but emphasized that it has no right to wage war against
civilians in Gaza.
He also said that Netanyahu's goal
regarding Gaza is unclear.
Senate rejects budget request
Sanders’ comments come after a $105
billion budget request by US President Joe Biden, which included military aid
for Israel and Ukraine, was rejected in the Senate on Dec. 7.
Typically aligning with Democrats,
Sanders joined Republicans in the vote, citing aid to Israel as the reason for
rejection.
He opposes giving unconditional military
funding to Netanyahu, saying that while Israel has the right to defend itself
from Hamas, it lacks the legal or moral right to kill innocent Palestinians.
Israel resumed its military offensive on
the Gaza Strip on Dec. 1 after the end of a weeklong humanitarian pause with
the Palestinian group Hamas.
Nearly 18,000 Palestinians have been
killed and more than 49,229 others injured in relentless air and ground attacks
on the enclave since Oct. 7 following a cross-border attack by Hamas.
The Israeli death toll in the Hamas
attack stood at 1,200, according to official figures.
Source: aa.com.tr
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------
Blinken calls sexual violence inflicted
by Hamas ‘beyond anything I’ve seen’
December 10, 2023
(CNN) — Secretary of State Antony
Blinken on Sunday forcefully condemned sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas
during the October 7 attack and blasted those who have not forcefully condemned
it or were slow to do so.
“I don’t know why countries, leaders,
international organizations were so slow to focus on this, to bring it to people’s
attention. I’m glad it is finally happening,” Blinken told CNN’s Jake Tapper on
“State of the Union.” “The atrocities that we saw on October 7 are almost
beyond human description or beyond our capacity to digest. And we’ve talked
about them before, but the sexual violence that we saw on October 7 is beyond
anything that I’ve seen either.”
The United Nations heard testimony about
allegations of sexual and gender-based violence by Hamas at a panel hosted by
Israel at the UN headquarters in New York last week. Several speakers
reiterated that some human rights groups such as UN Women were too slow to
condemn the alleged rape and sexual violence.
Asked by Tapper why the United Nations
and the international community have been so slow to respond to the allegations,
Blinken said, “I think it is a question that these organizations, these
countries need to ask themselves.”
House Democrats are planning to
introduce a resolution condemning Hamas’ use of sexual violence and rape
against Israeli women after they were dismayed by the response to the
allegations from some lawmakers on the left, including Progressive Caucus
Chairwoman Rep. Pramila Jayapal.
Israeli police are interrogating
suspects and compiling evidence, including video, forensics and witness testimony,
to investigate accusations of rape during the attacks. Witnesses to the
aftermath of the attacks say women and girls were sexually assaulted, tortured
and killed.
CNN cannot independently verify
individual allegations and claims. However, several first responders who
attended the scenes of the October 7 attack told CNN the attacks were
overwhelmingly gruesome and that some female victims were found undressed.
Hamas denied that its militants
committed rape during the attacks in a statement last week on Telegram and
decried what it called “the coordination of some Western media outlets with the
Zionist misleading campaigns that promote unfounded lies and allegations aimed
at demonizing the Palestinian resistance… .”
Organizers of the UN meeting refuted that
denial by showing mounting evidence that rape occurred during the attacks on
October 7, including graphic video footage of bodies, videos of Hamas fighters
admitting under interrogation that rape occurred and testimony from Israeli
police officers and witnesses to the attack and its aftermath. Speakers who
prepared bodies for burial described evidence that militants gang raped some
victims and purposely shot or mutilated victims in genital regions.
Blinken warns Israel
The top US diplomat also warned that as
Israel continues its operations in southern Gaza, more needs to be done to
protect civilians and provide humanitarian aid.
More than 17,000 people have been killed
in the territory since October 7, the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza said
Saturday.
“Even as Israel has taken additional
steps, for example, to designate safe areas in the south, to focus on
neighborhoods, not entire cities in terms of evacuating. What we’re not seeing
sufficiently is a couple of things. One, making sure that the humanitarian
operators who are there – starting with the United Nations performing
heroically – that there are deconfliction times, places and routes so that the
humanitarians can bring the assistance that’s getting into Gaza to the people
who need it,” Blinken told Tapper.
The Israel Defense Forces issued “an
urgent appeal” on Saturday for civilians to evacuate from much of the main
southern city of Khan Younis amid fierce fighting in the area. It is unclear
how many people were aware of the instruction given the lack of communications
networks and internet availability in much of Gaza.
The IDF on Sunday said that it had
struck more than 250 targets in the past 24 hours, including what it called
Hamas military communication sites and tunnels in the Gaza Strip.
According to Hamas, 104 mosques and
three historical churches have so far been destroyed. It accused Israel of the
destruction of the oldest mosque, the Great Omari, calling it a “heinous and
barbaric crime.”
Blinken added that “we need to see the
same kind of deconfliction time, pauses, designated routes, plural, not just
one, and clarity of communication, so that people know when it is safe and
where it is safe to move to get out of harm’s way before they go back home.
These are the kinds of things we’re working on every single day again to make
sure that that gap between intent and result is as narrow as possible.”
When pressed by Tapper on the timeline
going forward and whether Israel has told the US how long they think this
current phase of operations will last, Blinken said the US has discussions with
Israel but wouldn’t provide any further details.
“Israel has to make these decisions,”
Blinken said. “Of course everyone wants to see this campaign come to a close as
quickly as possible.”
But, he noted, “when the major military
operation is over. This is not over.”
“Because we have to have a durable,
sustainable peace. And we have to make sure that we’re on the path to a durable
sustainable peace,” Blinken said.
Source: cnn.com
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-----
Biden to host Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky at White House Tuesday
December 10, 2023
(CNN) — President Joe Biden will host
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House Tuesday as
discussions on a Ukraine aid deal remain stalled in Congress.
The visit, which the White House
announced Sunday, is Zelensky’s third visit to Washington since the war in
Ukraine began. He last visited in September.
Zelensky’s visit comes at a critical
moment in congressional negotiations for emergency aid to Ukraine. Congress
appears no closer to a deal tying immigration and border policy changes to the
emergency aid package that will provide funding for Ukraine and Israel before
lawmakers leave town for the holidays.
The Ukrainian president was also invited
to speak at an all-senators meeting Tuesday morning by Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, a Senate leadership aide said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson will meet with Zelensky too, his office said in a
statement.
The White House meeting is meant to
“underscore the United States’ unshakeable commitment to supporting the people
of Ukraine as they defend themselves against Russia’s brutal invasion,” press
secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
“As Russia ramps up its missile and
drone strikes against Ukraine, the leaders will discuss Ukraine’s urgent needs
and the vital importance of the United States’ continued support at this
critical moment,” she said.
The pair will discuss “further defense
cooperation” in a series of meetings Tuesday, the office of the Ukrainian
presidency said in a statement Sunday.
Zelensky will focus on “securing unity
among the US, Europe, and the rest of the world” on their support of Ukraine’s
defense against Russia and “strengthening the international order based on
rules and respect for the sovereignty of nations,” the statement read.
Zelensky and Biden will also discuss
defensive cooperation efforts for the coming year, including joint projects to
produce weapons and air defense systems.
If Congress leaves town for the holidays
without reaching a deal, the White House will have to make tough choices about
supplying allies such as Ukraine at the potential expense of US military
readiness. Top Biden administration officials have been sounding the alarm for
weeks about funding for Ukraine running dry and the potential consequences.
The administration’s proposed $106
billion aid package includes about $60 billion in aid toward Ukraine’s defenses
against Russia, with the rest going toward Israel’s war with Hamas, security in
Taiwan and funding for operations at the US-Mexico border.
But top Republicans, wary of adding more
to the $111 billion the US has already sent to Ukraine, have asked that any
further funding be tied to major immigration-related policy changes.
“History’s going to judge harshly those
who turn their back on freedom’s cause,” Biden said earlier this month. “We
can’t let Putin win.”
The president said he was willing to
make “significant compromises on the border,” conceding the country’s
immigration system is “broken,” but added Ukraine’s needs are too critical to
wait. He called out “extreme Republicans” as negotiators remain at a critical
impasse over the sticking point issue of border security, saying those
Republicans are “playing chicken with our national security.”
“Frankly, I think it’s stunning we got
to this point in the first place. … Russian forces are committing war crimes –
it’s as simple as that,” Biden said.
News of Zelensky’s trip to Washington
received pushback from some Republicans in Congress, including Sen. J.D. Vance
of Ohio, who tweeted: “In the midst of a historic border crisis, Zelensky will
come to Washington and demand that the Congress care more about his border than
our own.”
Ukraine said Saturday that Russia
launched nearly 100 air attacks across the country in the space of 24 hours, as
its first lady warned Ukraine was in “mortal danger” without Western military
aid.
“We really need the help,” Ukraine’s
first lady, OlenaZelenska, recently told the BBC of support to Ukraine. “In
simple words, we cannot get tired of this situation, because if we do, we die.
“And if the world gets tired, they will
simply let us die.”
Source: edition.cnn.com
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-----
Europe
Russian Foreign Minister: No
Justification For Collective Punishment Of Palestinian People
December 10, 2023
MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey
Lavrov on Sunday said it was not acceptable for Israel to use the Hamas attack
on Oct. 7 as justification for the collective punishment of the Palestinian
people and called for international monitoring on the ground in Gaza.
Israeli tanks battled their way to the
center of Khan Younis on Sunday in a major new push into the heart of the
central city in the southern Gaza Strip.
President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly
blamed the war between Israel and Hamas on the failure of years of US diplomacy
in the Middle East, while aiming to position Russia as an important player with
ties to all the
major actors in the region.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on
Sunday voiced Israel’s “dissatisfaction” to President Putin over Russia’s vote
in favor of a UN Security Council resolution calling for a Gaza ceasefire.
“The prime minister expressed his
dissatisfaction with the positions expressed against Israel by Russian
representatives at the UN and in other forums” when he spoke with Putin on
Sunday, Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
“Any country that had been struck with a
criminal terrorist assault such as Israel experienced would have reacted with
no less force than Israel is using,” he told Putin.
The US vetoed Friday’s Security Council
resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza war.
Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday Israel
helped Cyprus foil an Iranian-ordered attack against Israelis and Jews on the
island, claiming that such plots were on the rise since the Gaza
war erupted.
Netanyahu’s office said in the statement
on behalf of the Mossad intelligence service that Israel was “troubled” by what
it saw as Iranian use of Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus “both for terrorism
objectives and as an operational and transit area.”
Earlier on Sunday, a Greek Cypriot
newspaper in Cyprus’s government-controlled south reported authorities had
detained two Iranians for questioning over suspected planning of attacks on
Israeli citizens living in Cyprus.
The two individuals were believed to be
in the early stages of gathering intelligence on potential Israeli targets, the
Kathimerini Cyprus newspaper said without citing sources. Those individuals had
crossed from the north, it said.
Barely a 40-minute flight from Israel,
both sides of Cyprus are a popular holiday and investment destination for
thousands of Israelis.
Source: arabnews.com
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------
Russia calls for international
monitoring mission in Gaza strip
December 11, 2023
MOSCOW: Russia on Sunday called for an
international monitoring mission to go to Gaza to assess the humanitarian
situation, and said it was unacceptable for Israel to use Hamas’ Oct 7 raid as
justification for punishing the Palestinian people.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
condemned the Oct 7 raid, however, at the same time “we do not believe it is
acceptable to use this event for the collective punishment of the millions of
Palestinian people with indiscriminate shelling.”
Lavrov told Al Jazeera in an interview
aired on Sunday at the Doha Forum conference that for there to be “humanitarian
pauses” in Gaza “some kind of monitoring on the ground” was needed.
“We addressed the Secretary General
[Antonio Guterres] suggesting that he use his authority to consider some kind
of monitoring - but so far to no avail,” Lavrov said.
Netanyahu speaks to Putin, voices
disapproval of Iran ties
“This happened not in a vacuum,” Lavrov
said, pointing to decades of blockade and unfulfilled promises about a
Palestinian state.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday and
voiced displeasure with “anti-Israel positions” taken by Moscow’s envoys at the
United Nations, an Israeli statement said.
Russia backed a UN Security Council
resolution for a Gaza truce, which was vetoed by the United States on Friday.
Speaking to Putin, Netanyahu also voiced “robust disapproval” of Russia’s
“dangerous” cooperation with Iran, the Israeli statement said.
The Kremlin said Russia was ready to
give all possible assistance to alleviate the suffering of civilians and
de-escalate the ongoing situation.
“Vladimir Putin reaffirmed the principle
position of rejecting and condemning terrorism in all its forms,” the Kremlin
said in a statement.
Source: dawn.com
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----
EU ministers consider next steps in
response to Israel-Hamas war
December 11, 2023
BRUSSELS: European Union foreign
ministers on Monday consider possible next steps in response to the Middle East
crisis, including a crackdown on Hamas’ finances and travel bans for Israeli
settlers responsible for violence in the West Bank.
At a meeting in Brussels, ministers from
the bloc’s 27 countries will also hear from Ukrainian counterpart DmytroKuleba
as they discuss future security assistance to Kyiv.
While EU officials insist helping
Ukraine repel Russia’s invasion remains a top priority, the eruption of the war
between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas has forced the bloc to
focus anew on the Middle East.
The war has exposed long-running and
deep divisions on the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict among EU countries.
But the ministers will try to find
common ground as they consider a discussion paper from the EU’s diplomatic
service that outlines a broad range of possible next steps.
Hamas is already listed by the European
Union as a terrorist organization, meaning any funds or assets that it has in
the EU should be frozen.
The EU said on Friday it had added
Mohammed Deif, commander of the military wing of Hamas, and his deputy, Marwan
Issa, to its list terrorists under sanction.
The discussion paper – seen by Reuters —
suggests the EU could go further by targeting Hamas finances and disinformation.
EU countries including France and
Germany have said they are already working together to advance such proposals.
Senior EU officials such as foreign
policy chief JosepBorrell, have also expressed alarm at rising violence by
Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The paper suggests an EU response could
include bans on travel to the EU for those responsible and other sanctions for
violation of human rights.
France said last month the EU should
consider such measures. And Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said last
week that “extremist settlers in the West Bank” would be banned from entering
the country.
Diplomats said it would be hard to
achieve the unanimity necessary for EU-wide bans, as countries such as Austria,
the Czech Republic and Hungary are staunch allies of Israel.
But some suggested a decision last week
by the United States, Israel’s biggest backer, to start imposing visa bans on
people involved in violence in the West Bank could encourage EU countries to
take similar steps.
Source: arabnews.com
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------
UN launches global roadmap to end hunger
in line with Paris Agreement
BarisSeckin
11.12.2023
The UN’s Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) unveiled a “global roadmap” on Sunday to end hunger and all
forms of malnutrition in line with the Paris Climate Accords.
The Global Roadmap for Achieving
Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2) without Breaching the 1.5°C Threshold
outlines various actions and milestones to transform food production in
response to threats from the climate crisis and chronic hunger while limiting
the global temperature rise to 1.5C (2.7F) as outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
The statement called for transformative
change by 2030 in light of the growing global climate crisis and situation of
600 million people facing chronic hunger.
It also highlighted a roadmap presented
at the COP28 summit in Dubai, outlining 120 actions across 10 areas, including
clean energy, fisheries, food waste, forests, wetlands, healthy nutrition,
livestock, soil and water, aiming to reconcile food systems with climate.
The roadmap aims to reduce methane
emissions from agrifood production and systems by 25% by 2030, relative to 2020
levels, before reaching carbon neutrality by 2035. Its long-term targets
include transforming the sector into a net-positive carbon sink by 2050,
capturing 1.5 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu
underscored the importance of climate financing for agrifood systems
transformation “to achieve good food for all, today and tomorrow.”
The statement also warned that the
transformation of agricultural food systems, crucial for tackling climate
change, biodiversity loss and food insecurity, is at risk due to declining
funding.
Source: aa.com.tr
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----
Southeast Asia
Indonesian couple jailed 35 years each
for murdering employer
11-12- 2023
JOHOR BAHRU: An Indonesian couple were
sentenced to 35 years in prison each by the High Court today for the murder of
their employer in Kulai three years ago.
Judge Datuk Abu Bakar Katar handed down
the sentence on BartolomeusFransceda and his wife, Ekalia, both 23, who pleaded
guilty to the murder charge.
The judge ordered the couple to serve
jail from the date of their arrest, which was March 21, 2020, and also for
Bartolomeus to be given 12 strokes of the cane for the offence.
In his judgement, Abu Bakar said the
sentence on the accused was made after considering the oral and written
submissions for mitigating the sentence by the lawyer for both accused,
submissions on the weighting of the sentence by the Deputy Public Prosecutor
and the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023.
“This court also takes into account the
victim’s impact statement and the facts of the case presented by the
prosecution as well as the principles of sentencing,“ he said.
Bartolomeus, a gardener, and his wife, a
domestic maid, had pleaded guilty to the charge last Nov 29.
They confessed to jointly killing Lau
Yen Na, 73, in a house on JalanAnak Bukit, Palm Resort Senai, Kulai, at 2 pm on
March 17, 2020.
The charges were framed under Section
302 of the Penal Code, which is punishable by death, or between 30 and 40 years
imprisonment, and at least 12 strokes of the cane, upon conviction.
Based on investigations and closed
circuit TV footage of the scene, the couple killed Lau with a small, sharp
two-pronged hoe measuring 50 centimetres, hitting her on the head while she was
resting, and taking off with her Toyota Alphard vehicle and mobile phone.
The couple then headed to Kuala Lumpur
to meet their friends to seek work but were later nabbed at a restaurant in
Petaling Jaya, Selangor, on March 21, 2020.
The pathology report showed the cause of
death as multiple slash wounds to the head. The victim’s DNA was found on the
weapon and Ekalia’s DNA was also detected on a pillowcase.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad
SyafiqMohd Ghazali prosecuted while lawyer Ooi Pen Lyn represented the couple. –
Bernama
Source: thesun.my
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----
Indonesia vows to assist Rohingya
refugees humanely amid surge of arrivals
December 10, 2023
JAKARTA: Indonesia will continue to
handle the influx of Rohingya refugees humanely, the National Refugee Task
Force said on Sunday, after the latest batch of people from the minority group
arrived in the westernmost province of Aceh amid a pushback from local
residents.
Two boats carrying more than 300
Rohingya refugees docked at different beaches in Aceh Besar and Pidie districts
in the early hours of Sunday. Most are women and children who left their
refugee camps in Bangladesh last month and had been adrift for weeks in the
Andaman Sea.
More than 1,200 Rohingya refugees have
arrived in Aceh since mid-November and were met with some opposition from local
authorities and residents, who threatened to push them back to sea.
The safety of the Rohingya is a priority
for the government, Indonesia’s National Refugee Task Force said.
“We will continue to handle the Rohingya
refugees humanely, even when many local residents are rejecting them,” Eros Shidqy
Putra, a member of the task force, told Arab News.
“Our main priority is their safety. For
Aceh residents, we are also trying to raise awareness about the refugee
situation.”
The mostly Muslim Rohingya have faced
decades of suffering in Myanmar and are described as the “world’s most
persecuted minority” by the UN.
In 2017, more than 730,000 Rohingya fled
to neighboring Bangladesh following a brutal crackdown by the Myanmar military
that the UN said amounted to genocide. For the last six years, the refugees
lived in squalid and overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar where humanitarian aid
has dwindled, facing rising insecurity and uncertainty.
Over 3,500 Rohingya attempted deadly sea
crossings in 2022, more than 340 of whom died or went missing, highlighting the
“growing sense of desperation” among them in both Myanmar and Bangladesh, the
UN said earlier this year.
The Indonesian government suspected
human trafficking behind the recent escalation in boat arrivals, President Joko
Widodo said on Friday, as he promised to work with international organizations
to address the issue.
Indonesia is not a signatory to the 1951
UN Convention on Refugees, but has a history of taking in refugees on
humanitarian grounds when they arrive on the country’s shores.
This year’s arrivals prompted a backlash
on social media and some pushback from people in Aceh, but the rejection of
Rohingya refugees has been around since 2018, according to Geutanyoe, an
Aceh-based humanitarian organization which has worked with Rohingya refugees
for over a decade.
Geutanyoe director Al-Fadhel said the
opposition in Aceh has mostly been protests against the official handling of
refugees in the province, which does not have permanently designated shelters
to host them.
“In Aceh, the handling of refugees has
always been on an emergency basis,” Fadhel told Arab News in a phone interview.
“So the rejection has mostly been a form of protest on the silence of the local
government, and the absence of a good mechanism to handle the arrival of refugees
in Aceh.”
There was no opposition during programs
organized by Geutanyoe, which saw participation of the local community and the
Rohingya, he said, adding that the handling of the refugee situation in Aceh
must prioritize protection for both local residents and the Rohingya.
“The refugee situation is a humanitarian
issue that we must address, to which we must give our assistance. But there are
also legal aspects that we must uphold, because in their arrivals there must be
people who are involved in smuggling, and this needs to be sorted.”
Source: arabnews.com
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-----
Over 300 Rohingya refugees stranded on
Indonesian beaches
December 11, 2023
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia: More than 300
Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, were stranded on the coast of
western Indonesia Sunday after being adrift at sea for weeks, the latest in the
biggest wave of arrivals since 2015.
A group of 180 refugees from the
persecuted Myanmar minority arrived by boat at 3:00 am local time (2000 GMT
Saturday) on a beach in the Pidie regency of Aceh province.
Another boat carrying 135 refugees
landed in neighbouring Aceh Besar regency hours later after being adrift at sea
for more than a month.
The mostly Muslim Rohingya were the
target of a 2017 crackdown by Myanmar’s military that is the subject of a UN
genocide probe.
Around a million have fled to
Bangladesh, and from there thousands risk their lives each year on long and
expensive sea journeys to reach Malaysia or Indonesia.
“We had been in the sea for almost one
month and 15 days. [...] We left on November 1st,” 24-year-old refugee Muhammad
Shohibul Islam said.
The refugees gathered on a plantation
next to the shore, where they drank water given to them by locals. Some lay on
the ground, trying to rest after their journey.
Police found stacks of United Nations
refugee cards in a cardboard box brought by the refugees, an AFP journalist
saw.
“We noticed that some of these refugees
have refugee cards. So, let them be re-registered first by the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organisation for Migration
[before we act further],” local police chief RollyYuiza Away said by telephone.
The authorities kept the refugees on the
shore where they landed, with mothers cradling their children, some of whom
were naked, in their arms.
The local government in Pidie said
earlier it would not take responsibility for providing the refugees with tents,
or other basic needs.
They said they would not “bear any
expenses” and that no shelters were available.
Local authorities and residents have
been rejecting the Rohingya, threatening to push them back to sea since more
than 1,000 arrived last month.
On Wednesday, about 150 protesters in
Sabang Island in Aceh clashed with police as they called for the Rohingya
refugees to be relocated.
“We continue to explain the situation to
the people and ensure that they will not be burdened with the handling of
refugees,” said United Nations refugee agency protection associate Faisal
Rahman.
He acknowledged that designated shelters
were over capacity but said the agency and the Indonesian government were
trying to find a place for the refugees.
“The government is working to provide
shelter as the number of refugees arriving is very high,” Rahman said.
President Joko Widodo said Friday that
temporary relief would be provided for refugees “with a priority on the
interests of the local community”.
He accused a human trafficking network
of being behind the rising number of Rohingya refugees reaching his country by
boat, vowing to take strict action against the perpetrators.
Indonesia is not a signatory to the UN
Refugee Convention and says it is not compelled to take in refugees from
Myanmar.
But neighbouring countries have also
shut their doors, leaving the Rohingya with few other options.
Rohingya refugees among the recent
arrivals in Aceh said they fled escalating brutality in the camps in and around
Cox’s Bazar, which hold more than one million people and where gangs regularly
abduct and torture residents for ransom.
Source: thenews.com.pk
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-----
Mideast
Islamic Jihad: US Orchestrating Israel’s
War Tactics in Gaza
2023-December-11
TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior leader of the
Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian resistance group based in Gaza, said the United
States continues to offer unlimited support without condition to the Israeli
regime amid its onslaught on Palestine.
“We said from the beginning ... that the
American generals are main architects of this war,” said Abu Samer Musa in an
interview with Al-Alam TV news channel on Sunday.
Abu Samer said US generals have been
present at the operation meetings held in the occupied Palestine for the
purpose of managing the war.
He said Washington has delivered more
than 10,000 metric tons of weapons and ammunition to the Israeli regime via
over 200 military flights it has carried out to the Israeli occupied Palestine
since October 7.
The senior resistance leader said,
however, that despite the massive support provided by the US, the regime has
failed to secure a clear victory.
“The best proof of this is that Israeli
newspapers are expressing doubts about (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu’s
claims of victory in the war on Gaza,” said Abu Samer.
Israel has killed around 18,000 people
in Gaza since it launched its full-scale aggression on that October day. The
hostilities erupted after Gaza’s main resistance movement Hamas carried out an
operation into the Israeli-occupied territories.
Source: farsnews.ir
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-----
Hamas says no hostage will leave alive
unless demands met
10th December 2023
Hamas warned Sunday that no hostages
would leave Gaza alive unless its demands for prisoner releases are met, while
the World Health Organization said the territory's health system is collapsing
after more than two months of war.
Hamas triggered the conflict with the
deadliest-ever attack on Israel on October 7 in which it killed some 1,200
people, according to Israeli figures, and dragged around 240 hostages back to
Gaza.
Israel has responded with a relentless
military offensive that has reduced much of Gaza to rubble and killed at least
17,997 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health
ministry.
As aid groups warn the territory is on
the brink of being overwhelmed by disease and starvation, the head of the
United Nations decried a divided and "paralysed" Security Council for
failing to agree on a ceasefire.
"Gaza's health system is on its
knees and collapsing," said World Health Organization chief
TedrosAdhanomGhebreyesus, with only 14 of 36 hospitals functioning at any
capacity.
The United Nations estimates that 1.9
million of Gaza's 2.4 million people have been displaced -- roughly half of
them children -- many forced south and running out of safe places to go.
"We have been stuck here for 18
days. Whenever I want to go somewhere, we hear bombing and shelling and feel
scared and go back," said Noura al-Sayed Hassan, trapped in Rafah despite
having an Egyptian passport.
"I've been searching for bread for
my daughter for over a week now."
The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said
only 100 aid trucks entered Gaza via the Rafah crossing with Egypt on Saturday,
well below the pre-war average.
"The restrictions and challenges
being placed on the delivery of lifesaving aid... are another death sentence
for children."
'Not human beings'
Hamas said Sunday that Israel had
launched "very violent raids" targeting the biggest southern city of
Khan Yunis and the road linking it to Rafah near the border with Egypt.
"Neither the fascist enemy and its
arrogant leadership... nor its supporters... can take their prisoners alive
without an exchange and negotiation and meeting the demands of the
resistance," Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida said in a televised broadcast.
There are still 137 hostages held in
Gaza, according to Israel. Activists say around 7,000 Palestinians are detained
in Israeli jails, and senior Hamas official BassemNeim said in late November
that the movement was "ready to release all soldiers in exchange for all
our prisoners".
On Sunday a source close to Hamas and
Islamic Jihad told AFP both groups were engaged in "fierce clashes"
with Israeli forces near Khan Yunis, where an AFP journalist also reported
heavy strikes, as well as Jabalia and Gaza City's Shejaiya district in the
north.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said
Israel would continue its "just war to eliminate" Hamas, while army
chief HerziHalevi urged his forces to "press harder" in their
offensive.
The army said it struck more than 250
targets in 24 hours, it said Sunday, including "a Hamas military
communications site" and "underground tunnel shafts" in southern
Gaza, as well as a Hamas military command centre in Shejaiya.
It says 98 soldiers have died in the
Gaza campaign and around 600 wounded have been evacuated.
Some 7,000 "terrorists" have
been killed, according to National Security Adviser TzachiHanegbi.
Senior Israeli military officials,
speaking on December 4, were asked about media reports that 5,000 Hamas
fighters had been killed. That figure is "more or less right," one of
the officials said.
"Hamas should not exist, because
they are not human beings, after what I saw they did," Menahem, a
22-year-old soldier injured on October 7, told AFP during a military-organised
tour that did not allow him to give his surname.
'UN credibility undermined'
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
said the Security Council's "authority and credibility were severely
undermined", after the United States on Friday blocked a ceasefire
resolution.
"I can promise, I will not give
up," Guterres told Qatar's Doha Forum.
Qatar said it was still working on a
fresh truce, but that Israel's relentless bombardment was "narrowing the
window" for success.
The Gulf emirate, where Hamas's top
leadership is based, was a key mediator for a seven-day truce last month that
saw 80 Israeli hostages exchanged for 240 Palestinian prisoners and
humanitarian aid.
Hundreds of Israelis rallied for the
hostages on Saturday in Tel Aviv, holding placards reading "Bring them
home now" and "They trust us to get them out of hell".
Israel launched a failed rescue
operation late Thursday. Hamas said a captive was killed in the operation. The
death of Sahar Baruch, 25, was later confirmed by his community of Beeri, one
of the worst hit on October 7
Source: newindianexpress.com
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International Union of Muslim Scholars
calls for global strike in solidarity with Gaza
Safiye Karabacak, MahmutGeldi and
GulsenTopcu
11.12.2023
The International Union of Muslim
Scholars has called for a global strike on Monday to demand an immediate
cease-fire as Israel continues its attacks in the Gaza Strip.
The statement called on people
worldwide, especially in the Islamic world, to take part and urged
institutions, parties, movements and influential figures globally to continue
the strike until its objectives are achieved, aiming to stop the
"unjust" war and save innocent lives.
It noted the success of boycotts and
humanitarian efforts but highlighted the UN Security Council's failure to stop
the war.
It suggested a review of the Security
Council’s veto system, proposing that decisions be based on a simple majority
vote.
Ali Al-Qaradaghi, the Secretary-General
of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, emphasized that the union's
global strike call is a message of support for the Palestinian cause and a call
to the world to stop the war in Gaza.
Al-Qaradaghi emphasized the strike's
significance as a protest option, given the international community's failure
to stop the war in Gaza.
He said Muslims can contribute to the
campaign's success by inviting others to join the strike and conveying the
message openly.
"I call on everyone to actively
participate in (the) comprehensive strike, to stand together against injustice
and oppression," he said.
Israel resumed its military offensive on
the Gaza Strip on Dec. 1 after the end of a weeklong humanitarian pause with
the Palestinian group Hamas.
Nearly 18,000 Palestinians have been
killed and more than 49,229 others injured in relentless air and ground attacks
on the enclave since Oct. 7 following a cross-border attack by Hamas.
The Israeli death toll in the Hamas
attack stood at 1,200, according to official figures.
Source: aa.com.tr
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-----
Hamas says it is committed to right of
Palestinian people to self-determination
HalimeAfraAksoy
11.12.2023
The Palestinian resistance group Hamas
reiterated its commitment to the Palestinian people's right to
self-determination and rejected the forced displacement of Palestinians.
In a statement Sunday marking the 75th
anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, Hamas called for the protection of the legitimate rights of the
Palestinian people, an end to the massacres and genocide committed by Israel
against civilians and the prosecution of the perpetrators.
The statement emphasized the political,
moral and humanitarian responsibility of stopping the genocide in Gaza and
filing a lawsuit in international courts to try the perpetrators as war
criminals.
Hamas has also called on the UN and
international organizations to end the policy of double standards and advocate
for justice in recognizing the legitimate rights and just cause of the
Palestinian people.
Israel resumed its military offensive on
the Gaza Strip on Dec. 1 after the end of a weeklong humanitarian pause with
Hamas.
Nearly 18,000 Palestinians have been
killed and more than 49,229 others injured in relentless air and ground attacks
on the enclave since Oct. 7 following a cross-border attack by Hamas.
The Israeli death toll in the Hamas
attack stood at 1,200, according to official figures.
Source: aa.com.tr
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-------
Battles rage across Gaza as Israel
indicates it's willing to fight for months or more to beat Hamas
Dec 11, 2023
DEIR AL-BALAH (GAZA STRIP): Battles
raged across Gaza on Sunday as Israel indicated it was prepared to fight for
months or longer to defeat the territory's Hamas rulers, and a key mediator
said willingness to discuss a cease-fire was fading.
Israel faces international outrage after
its military offensive, with diplomatic support and arms from close ally the
United States, has killed thousands of Palestinian civilians. About 90% of
Gaza's 2.3 million people have been displaced within the besieged territory,
where UN agencies say there is no safe place to flee.
The United States has lent vital support
in recent days by vetoing a United Nations Security Council resolution to end
the fighting and pushing through an emergency sale of over $100 million worth
of tank ammunition to Israel.
Russia backed the resolution. Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday spoke to Russian President Vladimir
Putin and expressed dissatisfaction with “anti-Israel positions” taken by
Moscow's envoys at the UN and elsewhere, an Israeli statement said.
Netanyahu told Putin that any country
assaulted the way Israel was "would have reacted with no less force than
Israel is using,” the statement added.
The UN General Assembly scheduled an
emergency meeting Tuesday to vote on a draft resolution demanding an immediate
humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to
the UN, told The Associated Press that it's similar to the Security Council
resolution the US vetoed Friday.
There are no vetoes in the General
Assembly but unlike the Security Council its resolutions are not legally
binding. They are important nonetheless as a barometer of global opinion.
Israel's air and ground war has killed
thousands of Palestinians, mostly civilians, since the October 7 attack by
Hamas and other militants killed 1,200 people and captured around 240. Over 100
of them were released during a weeklong cease-fire last month.
With very little aid allowed in,
Palestinians face severe shortages of food, water and other basic goods. Some
observers openly worry that Palestinians will be forced out of Gaza altogether.
"Expect public order to completely
break down soon, and an even worse situation could unfold including epidemic
diseases and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt,” UN
secretary-general Antonio Guterres told a forum in Qatar, a key intermediary.
Eylon Levy, an Israeli government
spokesman, called allegations of mass displacement from Gaza “outrageous and
false.”
Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Tamim bin
Hamad Al Thani, told the forum that mediation efforts seeking to stop the war
and have all hostages released will continue, but “unfortunately, we are not
seeing the same willingness that we had seen in the weeks before.”
Israel's national security adviser,
TzachiHanegbi, told Israel's Channel 12 TV that the US has set no deadline for
Israel to achieve its goals. “The evaluation that this can't be measured in
weeks is correct, and I'm not sure it can be measured in months,” he said.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken
told CNN that as far as the duration and the conduct of the fighting,
"these are decisions for Israel to make."
This is a war that cannot be won,
Jordan's foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, asserted to the Qatar forum, warning
that “Israel has created an amount of hatred that will haunt this region that
will define generations to come.”
Fighting and arrests in the north
Israeli forces face heavy resistance,
including in northern Gaza, where neighborhoods have been flattened by air
strikes and where ground troops have operated for over six weeks.
Israel's Channel 13 TV broadcast footage
showing dozens of detainees stripped to their underwear, hands in the air. One
man held an assault rifle above his head, walked forward and placed a gun on the
ground.
Other videos have shown groups of
unarmed men held in similar conditions, without clothes, bound and blindfolded.
Detainees from a group released Saturday told The Associated Press they had
been beaten and denied food and water.
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel
Hagari said dozens of arrests took place in two Hamas strongholds and that
people are undressed to make sure they are not hiding explosives.
Residents said there was still heavy
fighting in the Gaza City neighborhood of Shijaiyah and the Jabaliya refugee
camp, a dense urban area housing Palestinian families who fled or were driven
out of what is now Israel during the 1948 war.
“They are attacking anything that
moves,” said Hamza Abu Fatouh, a Shijaiyah resident. He said the dead and wounded
were left in the streets as ambulances could not reach the area.
Israel ordered the evacuation of the
northern third of the territory, including Gaza City, early in the war, but
tens of thousands of people have remained.
Heavy fighting also was underway in and
around the southern city of Khan Younis.
Waiting days for food
The price of dwindling food in Gaza has
soared. Abdulsalam al-Majdalawi said he had come every day for nearly two weeks
to a UN distribution center, hoping to get supplies for his family of seven.
“Thank God, today they drew our name,”
he said.
One hundred trucks with humanitarian aid
entered Sunday, said Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings
Authority. That's far short of what's needed.
With the war in its third month, the
Palestinian death toll in Gaza has surpassed 17,900, the majority women and
children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory.
The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.
Israel holds Hamas responsible for
civilian casualties, saying the militants put civilians in danger by fighting
in residential neighborhoods. The military says 97 Israeli soldiers have died
in the offensive. Palestinian militants have continued firing rockets into Israel.
Netanyahu's office said Hamas still has
117 hostages and the remains of 20 people killed in captivity or during the
October 7 attack. The militants hope to exchange them for Palestinians
imprisoned by Israel.
Israel says it has provided detailed
instructions for civilians to evacuate to safer areas, even as it strikes what
it says are militant targets. Thousands have fled to areas along the border
with Egypt — one of the last places where aid agencies are able to deliver food
and water.
Demonstrations were again held in
several cities in support of the Palestinians and calling for an end to the
war, while thousands marched in Europe against antisemitism.
The war has raised tensions across the
Middle East, with Lebanon's Hezbollah trading fire with Israel along the border
and other Iran-backed militant groups targeting the US in Syria and Iraq.
Israeli artillery, drone, and airstrikes over Lebanon border towns intensified.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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'Surrender now, don't die for Sinwar':
Netanyahu tells Hamas militants
Dec 11, 2023
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, in a resolute statement on Sunday, urged Hamas militants to cease
their resistance, signaling what he believes to be the nearing end of the
Palestinian Islamist group amidst the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. "The
war is still ongoing but it is the beginning of the end of Hamas. I say to the
Hamas terrorists: It's over. Don't die for (Yahya) Sinwar. Surrender now,"
Netanyahu declared, referring to the Hamas chief in Gaza.
Netanyahu's call comes as the conflict,
which began over two months ago, shows no signs of abating. He further stated,
"In the past few days, dozens of Hamas terrorists have surrendered to our
forces." However, the Israeli military has not provided evidence to support
this claim, and Hamas has firmly denied such occurrences.
This development follows a statement
made nearly a month ago by Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who asserted
that Hamas had "lost control" of Gaza. Contrasting this, Hamas
members boasted of their resilience and success against Israeli forces. Izzat
al-Rishq, a senior Hamas political bureau member, proclaimed, "The end of
the occupation has begun in Gaza," and predicted that history would regard
Gaza as a significant victory for Palestinian militants.
The conflict, which escalated following
Hamas' deadliest attack on Israel on October 7, resulted in approximately 1,200
Israeli deaths and the abduction of around 240 hostages, as per Israeli
reports. In response, Israel launched a relentless military offensive, leading
to widespread destruction in Gaza and the death of at least 17,997 people,
predominantly women and children, according to figures from the Hamas-run
health ministry.
Israeli tanks reach centre of Khan
YounisThe Israeli military's recent focus has been Khan Younis, the main city
in the southern Gaza Strip. Despite Israeli leaders' claims of Hamas fighters
surrendering, the militant group has dismissed these as "false and
baseless." The city has witnessed intense combat, with residents reporting
heavy tank movements and continuous airstrikes.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
expressed grave concerns about the situation, foreseeing a complete breakdown
of public order and potential epidemic diseases, along with mass displacement
towards Egypt.
Amidst the chaos, Palestinians released
by Israel's military in Gaza recounted physical abuse during custody, a claim
currently under investigation by the Israeli military.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has
described the situation in Gaza as "catastrophic," with the health
system nearing collapse. TedrosAdhanomGhebreyesus, the head of WHO, highlighted
the dire medical needs and increased risk of disease, while only a fraction of
hospitals remain operational.
Hamas warns hostages doomed unless
demands met
As the conflict continues, Hamas has
warned that no hostages will be released alive unless their demands are met.
This statement comes as international aid organizations warn of an impending
humanitarian crisis, with the UN estimating that nearly 1.9 million of Gaza's
2.4 million residents have been displaced.
In a televised statement, a Hamas
spokesman said Israel will not receive "their prisoners alive without an
exchange and negotiation and meeting the demands of the resistance."
Senior Hamas official BassemNeim said in
late November the movement was "ready to release all soldiers in exchange
for all our prisoners".
Israel says there are still 137 hostages
in Gaza, while activists say around 7,000 Palestinians are in Israeli jails.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Israel bombs south Gaza after Hamas
hostage threat
December 11, 2023
GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories:
Israel bombed southern Gaza’s main city on Monday after Hamas warned no Israeli
hostages would leave the territory alive unless its demands for prisoner
releases were met.
Hamas triggered the conflict when it
carried out the deadliest-ever attack on Israel on October 7, killing 1,200
people, according to Israeli figures, and taking about 240 hostages back to
Gaza.
Israel has responded with a military
offensive that has reduced much of Gaza to rubble and killed at least 17,997
people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
The ministry said on Monday that dozens
of people had been killed in Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip, while
Israel’s army reported rocket fire from Gaza into Israel.
An AFP correspondent reported that
Israeli strikes on Monday hit the main southern city of Khan Yunis, while
Palestinian militants Islamic Jihad said they had blown up a house where
Israeli soldiers were searching for a tunnel shaft.
Hamas on Sunday warned that Israel would
not receive “their prisoners alive without an exchange and negotiation and
meeting the demands of the resistance.”
Israel says there are still 137 hostages
in Gaza, while activists say around 7,000 Palestinians are in Israeli jails.
Months of intense bombardment and clashes
have left Gaza’s health system on the brink of collapse, with most hospitals no
longer functioning and nearly two million people displaced.
AFP visited the bombed-out ruins of the
Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City and found at least 30,000 people taking refuge
amid the rubble after Israeli forces raided the medical facility last month.
“Our life has become a living hell,
there’s no electricity, no water, no flour, no bread, no medicine for the
children who are all sick,” said Mohammed Daloul, 38, who fled there with his
wife and three children.
No safe place
The UN estimates 1.9 million of Gaza’s
2.4 million people have been displaced from their homes — roughly half of them
children.
Israel had urged people to seek refuge
in the south, but after expanding the war to include southern targets, there
are few safe places for civilians to go.
Humanitarian organizations continued to
press Israel for greater protection of civilians in the conflict.
Mapping software deployed by Israel’s
army to try to reduce non-combatant deaths was condemned as inadequate Sunday
by Lynn Hastings, UN humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories.
“A unilateral declaration by an
occupying power that patches of land where there is no infrastructure, food,
water, health care, or hygiene are ‘safe zones’ does not mean they are safe,”
she said.
Only 14 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are
functioning at any capacity, according to the United Nations’ humanitarian
agency OCHA.
“Gaza’s health system is on its knees
and collapsing,” said World Health Organization chief TedrosAdhanomGhebreyesus,
as the agency called for immediate, unimpeded aid deliveries.
Israel’s army chief HerziHalevi said
Sunday his troops were using “significant force” in Gaza, hailing “significant
achievements” in the war.
The army told AFP on Monday that 101
soldiers have died in the Gaza ground offensive, and previously put the number
of wounded at around 600.
It said Sunday it had struck more than
250 targets in 24 hours, including “a Hamas military communications site,”
“underground tunnel shafts” in southern Gaza, and a Hamas military command
center in Shejaiya in Gaza City.
Some 7,000 “terrorists” have been
killed, according to National Security Adviser TzachiHanegbi.
“Hamas should not exist, because they
are not human beings, after what I saw they did,” Menahem, a 22-year-old
soldier wounded on October 7, told AFP during a military-organized tour that
did not allow him to give his surname.
UN to demand ceasefire
The UN General Assembly will meet on
Tuesday to discuss the situation in Gaza, its president said, after the United
States vetoed a Security Council resolution for a ceasefire on Friday.
A draft of the text seen by AFP closely
follows the language of Friday’s failed Security Council resolution,
“expressing grave concern over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the
Gaza Strip.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
told a leaders’ gathering in Qatar on Sunday that the Security Council’s
“authority and credibility were severely undermined” by the US veto.
Qatar, where Hamas’s top leadership is
based, said it was still working on a new truce like the week-long ceasefire it
helped mediate last month that saw 80 Israeli hostages exchanged for 240
Palestinian prisoners and humanitarian aid.
But Israel’s relentless bombardment was
“narrowing the window” for success, said Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed
bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on
Sunday again rejected a ceasefire.
“With Hamas still alive, still intact
and... with the stated intent of repeating October 7 again and again and again,
that would simply perpetuate the problem,” he told ABC News.
But Blinken also said the United States
was “deeply, deeply aware of the terrible human toll that this conflict is
taking on innocent men, women and children.”
There are fears of regional escalation
with frequent cross-border exchanges between Israel and Lebanese militants, and
attacks by pro-Iran groups against US and allied forces in Iraq and Syria.
Syria’s state news agency said Israel
had carried out strikes near Damascus late Sunday, but air defense systems had
prevented any significant damage.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
war monitor said the strikes had targeted Hezbollah sites in the Sayeda Zeinab
district and near Damascus airport.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi
rebels threatened to attack any vessels heading to Israel unless more aid was
allowed into Gaza.
France said Sunday one of its frigates
in the Red Sea had shot down two drones launched from Yemen.
Source: arabnews.com
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UN General Assembly meets Tuesday to
discuss Gaza
December 11, 2023
UNITED NATIONS, United States: The UN
General Assembly will meet on Tuesday to discuss the humanitarian crisis in
Gaza, officials and diplomats said Sunday, after the United States last week
vetoed a Security Council resolution for a ceasefire.
A special meeting of the General
Assembly has been called for Tuesday afternoon by the representatives for Egypt
and Mauritania “in their respective capacities as Chair of the Arab Group and
Chair of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation,” a spokesperson for the
Assembly president said.
According to diplomatic sources, the
General Assembly, whose resolutions are nonbinding, could vote on a text for a
ceasefire resolution at the meeting.
A draft of the text seen by AFP closely
follows the language of Friday’s vetoed Security Council resolution,
“expressing grave concern over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the
Gaza Strip.”
It calls for “an immediate humanitarian
ceasefire” as well as the “immediate and unconditional release of all
hostages.”
On Friday the United States blocked the
ceasefire resolution which came after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
called an emergency meeting of the Security Council, deploying the rarely-used
Article 99 of the UN Charter to bring to the council’s attention “any matter
which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and
security.”
The body’s “authority and credibility”
have been “severely undermined” by its delayed response to the war, Guterres
said afterward.
At the end of October, in another of its
resolutions, the General Assembly called for an “immediate, durable and
sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities” between
Israel and Hamas.
Two weeks later the Security Council
broke its silence on the war for the first time by calling for “extended pauses
and humanitarian corridors” — using less clear language than a ceasefire or a
truce.
Source: arabnews.com
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Iran accuses jailed Swedish EU diplomat
of conspiring with Israel
December 10, 2023
TEHRAN: Iranian authorities have accused
a Swedish EU diplomat, held in a Tehran prison for more than 600 days, of
conspiring with Israel to harm Iran, the judiciary said.
“Johan Floderus is accused of extensive
measures against the security of the country, extensive intelligence
cooperation with the Israeli regime, and corruption on earth,” the judiciary’s
Mizan Online news agency said.
Corruption on earth is one of Iran’s
most serious offenses, which carries a maximum penalty of death.
“The defendant has been active against
Iran in the field of gathering information for the benefit of the Israeli
regime in the form of subversive projects,” Mizan quoted the prosecution as
saying.
Earlier Sunday, the EU’s foreign policy
chief JosepBorrell called for the immediate release of the Swedish diplomat,
arguing “there are no grounds for keeping Johan Floderus in detention.”
Floderus, 33, works for the EU
diplomatic service.
He was arrested on April 17, 2022, at
Tehran airport as he was returning from a trip abroad and is being held in
Tehran’s Evin Prison.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias
Billstrom said on Saturday the trial had begun in Iran.
“There is no basis whatsoever for
keeping Johan Floderus in detention, let alone bringing him to trial,”
Billstrom said.
Rights groups and Western governments
have accused Iran of trying to extract political concessions from other
countries through arrests on security charges that may have been trumped up.
Tehran says such arrests are based on
its criminal code, and it denies holding people for political reasons.
Relations between Sweden and Iran have
been tense since 2019, when Sweden arrested a former Iranian official for his
part in the mass execution and torture of political prisoners in the 1980s.
Source: arabnews.com
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Gaza crimes reveal disintegration of
defeated, deranged Israeli regime: Iran cmdr.
11 December 2023
A senior Iranian Army commander says
Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip are a sign of
the regime’s weakness and decay.
“Now, the Zionist regime (Israel) is in
a position of weakness and collapse and the presence of media has revealed all
the realities on the ground and nothing is hidden from anyone,” Rear Admiral
HabibollahSayyari, deputy chief of the Iranian Army for Coordination, told Mehr
news agency.
He urged the self-styled advocates of
human rights to pay heed to Israel’s ongoing atrocities against the oppressed
and defenseless people of Gaza.
The Israeli regime would have collapsed
by now if it were not for the United States and European countries’ support, he
argued.
The top Iranian commander further said
if the Israeli regime was not weak and sought to fight strongly, it would have
used practical military tactics instead of targeting women and children in Gaza
hospitals.
Sayyari likened the Israeli regime to a
mad person who carries out whatever act and emphasized, "This indicates
its weakness."
No one in the world regards harming
innocent civilians, particularly women and children, as a military operation or
a tactic, he added.
Sayyari slammed Israel’s raids on the
Gaza Strip’s al-Shifa Hospital under the pretext that there were hidden tunnels
under it that were used by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, saying
the regime has failed to even prove its claims and “everyone acknowledged that
this was an exaggeration.”
Israel has turned Gaza’s hospitals into
a specific target of its ongoing war of genocide against the coastal sliver,
alleging that those facilities house Palestinian resistance fighters and their
equipment.
Al-Shifa, Gaza’s biggest hospital, has
taken the brunt of the Israeli assaults on the territory’s healthcare system,
with the regime claiming that it houses a “command center” belonging to Hamas.
The World Health Organization describes
the current condition of Gaza
The World Health Organization (WHO) last
month issued its new assessment of the situation in al-Shifa Hospital,
describing it as a “death zone” and the situation as “desperate.”
Israel waged the devastating war on Gaza
on October 7 after the territory’s Palestinian resistance movements carried out
a surprise retaliatory attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against the
occupying entity over its intensified violence against Palestinians.
The health ministry in the Hamas-run
Gaza Strip on Sunday said the death toll from the Israeli war on Gaza had risen
to at least 17,997, most of them women and children. There were an additional
49,229 wounded.
Tel Aviv has also cut off one of the
most densely populated places in the world from basic supplies, such as water,
electricity, and fuel. Shortage of medical supplies and food has left 2.3
million Palestinians at risk of starvation.
Source: presstv.ir
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Hezbollah ramps up strikes against
Israeli targets in show of support for Gaza
11 December 2023
Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance movement
says it has ramped up strikes against Israeli targets in support of
Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip who are under a ferocious genocidal war
waged by the occupying regime.
Through several consecutive statements
carried by Lebanon's al-Manar television network on Sunday the movement said it
had hit many such targets on the country's border with the occupied
territories.
The first strike hit the Jal al-Allam
site, using "appropriate weapons" and "achieving a direct
hit," the movement said.
A simultaneous "aerial attack with
assault drones" hit a newly-established command headquarters of the
Israeli army south of the Ya’ara Barracks, Hezbollah added.
The Israeli army confirmed that its
forces have taken fire from Lebanon, which has left several of its soldiers
injured.
The group targeted Israeli soldiers in
al-Samaqah region with a number of missiles, causing casualties among the
troops.
Hezbollah then staged a strike with
Burkan missiles targeting Zibdine and Ruwaisat al-Alam sites on the KfarShuba
hills and in Lebanon's occupied Shebaa Farms. At the same time, the movement
hit "a gathering of Israeli enemy soldiers" between Zibdine and
al-Ramtha sites in Shebaa Farms.
Subsequently, three simultaneous attacks
by the movement hit "a fortified military structure" at the al-Abbad
site, a gathering of Israeli forces at the Hounin Castle, and the BirkatRisha
site, Hezbollah said, adding that the strikes caused direct hits and losses
among the occupation army's ranks.
The movement said its new attacks took
place "in support of the resilient Palestinian people in Gaza and in
solidarity with their courageous and honorable resistance."
Hezbollah says it will continue to
support Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip and is not intimidated by US
and Israeli threats.
The Israeli military has been carrying
out attacks against the Lebanese territory since October 7, when it launched
its war of genocide on Gaza, prompting a firefight with Hezbollah.
The movement has vowed to keep up its
retaliatory operations as long as the regime continues its onslaught against
the besieged Palestinian territory.
So far, the Israeli military aggression
has claimed the lives of around 18,000 people across Gaza.
Source: presstv.ir
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Former Hamas minister: Current
leadership of terror group 'destroyed Gaza'
Dec 11, 2023
Yousef al-Mansi, a former high-ranking
official of Hamas, has accused certain leaders within Gaza, including Yahya
Sinwar, of instigating the recent war, stating that the general Palestinian
population does not support them. This revelation came from an interrogation
video released recently, where al-Mansi, who previously served as the
communications minister for Hamas, criticized Sinwar for leading a group of
extremists responsible for the conflict that erupted following the October 7
terrorist attack, which resulted in over 1,200 casualties.
Al-Mansi described the situation as
being caused by "a group of madmen" led by Sinwar, who he says has
"delusions of grandeur." He emphasized that Sinwar and his group have
set back Gaza by 200 years and that their actions are not supported by the
civilians in Gaza. Al-Mansi's comments were part of an interrogation by
Israel's Shin Bet security agency.
The Gaza Health Ministry, affiliated
with Hamas, estimates that more than 17,000 Palestinians have been killed in
the war, with significant damage to the infrastructure in northern Gaza.
Al-Mansi expressed that the people of Gaza are praying to be freed from
Sinwar's leadership, highlighting a widespread disapproval of his actions.
Al-Mansi also noted that the October 7
attack went against the values of Islam, which prohibits the killing of women,
children, and the elderly. His condemnation comes as Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu reported a wave of surrenders by Hamas members in Gaza,
urging more members of the group to surrender and stop fighting for Sinwar.
"The war is still ongoing but it is
the beginning of the end of Hamas. I say to the Hamas terrorists: It's over.
Don't die for (Yahya) Sinwar. Surrender now," Netanyahu said in a
statement, referring to the chief of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu's call for surrender follows
an operation where the IDF surrounded Sinwar's home, although it is believed
that Sinwar managed to escape and is hiding in Hamas' underground tunnel
system.
Hamas warns hostages doomed unless
demands met
Meanwhile, Hamas warned Sunday that no
hostages would leave Gaza alive unless its demands for prisoner releases are
met, while the World Health Organization said the territory's health system was
collapsing after more than two months of war.
In a televised statement, a Hamas
spokesman said Israel will not receive "their prisoners alive without an
exchange and negotiation and meeting the demands of the resistance."
Senior Hamas official BassemNeim said in
late November the movement was "ready to release all soldiers in exchange
for all our prisoners".
Israel says there are still 137 hostages
in Gaza, while activists say around 7,000 Palestinians are in Israeli jails.
(With inputs from agencies)
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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Arab World
Historic Jeddah Launches Art Events To
Boost Culture, Tourism
December 11, 2023
JEDDAH: The Historic Jeddah Program has
several new activities that will strengthen the Kingdom’s culture and tourism
sectors, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.
The activities were launched under an
initiative entitled “Balad Al-Fann,” and will run until March 9.
The initiative includes four art
exhibitions, music programs, theatrical performances, and specific events for
schoolchildren.
Abdulaziz Ibrahim Al-Issa, the general
supervisor of the Historic Jeddah Program, said the events would help with
artistic skills development and entrepreneurship in the sectors, in line with
the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan.
Source: arabnews.com
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OIC calls for end to human rights
‘double standards’
December 10, 2023
RIYADH: The Independent Permanent Human
Rights Commission of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation has condemned what
it describes as double standards in applying human rights norms globally in
light of the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip.
The IPHRC voiced its concerns after
joining worldwide events to mark Human Rights Day 2023 on Dec. 10, the 75th
anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In a statement, the commission said that
after more than two months of Israeli aggression in Gaza, and more than 17,000
civilian casualties, the international community is failing in its
responsibility to act on credible accounts of war crimes being committed by
Israeli forces.
The commission urged the international
community to intervene for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in the enclave.
It also described Israeli orders for
civilians in Gaza to evacuate without basic necessities as a violation of
International humanitarian law.
The commission voiced concern about
human rights violations affecting millions worldwide, and cited the
deteriorating conditions for Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, persistent violence
and discrimination against Muslims in India, and the continued plight of
Palestinians and Kashmiris under oppressive regimes.
The IPHRC called for an end to double
standards in applying human rights norms globally, and reaffirmed its
commitment to promoting good governance, the rule of law, and safeguarding
fundamental freedoms.
It also highlighted the need for
technological equality and equitable development for OIC member states and
other developing nations, and urged the international community to prioritize
bridging the technological divide, saying that developing countries face
disparities in accessing cutting-edge technologies.
The commission urged member states to
adopt innovative, rights-based approaches to address economic, social, and
cultural challenges.
Source: arabnews.com
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Islamic Ministerial Committee meets with
Trudeau
December 10, 2023
OTTAWA — Members of the Ministerial
Committee, appointed by the Riyadh-hosted Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary
Summit and led by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan, convened for
an official meeting in Ottawa on Saturday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau.
Present at the meeting were Palestine
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riyad Al-Malki, and the Turkish
Minister of Foreign Affairs HakanFidan.
The focus of the discussions centered on
the rapidly unfolding events and concerning developments in the Gaza Strip,
particularly the military escalation against unarmed civilians.
The committee stressed the urgent need
for an immediate ceasefire to restore security and stability in the region.
Emphasizing the imperative for swift
international action, the committee called on the global community to fulfill
its responsibilities in safeguarding civilians from the Israeli occupation's
actions, condemning the violence against unarmed civilians.
They asserted that deliberations about
the future of Gaza and the broader Palestinian cause should follow an immediate
ceasefire and the de-escalation of military tensions.
The committee further highlighted the
necessity of taking serious and immediate measures to establish humanitarian
corridors for the delivery of relief assistance into Gaza.
They expressed strong opposition to any
restrictions on aid entry to the Strip.
In addition, the committee underscored
the importance of fostering a genuine political environment to pave the way for
the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the borders of June 4,
1967, in accordance with relevant international resolutions.
They firmly rejected any discussions
about the Gaza Strip separate from the broader Palestinian cause.
Source: saudigazette.com.sa
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Al-Aqsa Support Committee member hails
Yemeni army’s operations in solidarity with Gaza
[11/December/2023]
SANA'A December 11. 2023 (Saba) -
Director of the Office of the Presidency of the Republic and member of the
Supreme National Committee for Supporting al-Aqsa Ahmed Hamed saluted the
military operations carried out by the heroes of the Yemeni army in solidarity
with Gaza, the most recent of which was the historic decision to prevent the
passage of ships heading to the Zionist entity of any nationality if food and
medicine do not enter the Gaza Strip.
Hamed confirmed in a statement to Saba
that this decision comes within the framework of confronting American terrorism
and the Zionist crimes against the people of Gaza, the most recent of which was
America’s use of the “veto” in the Security Council to prevent stopping the
aggression against Gaza, which is considered evidence of terrorism. America and
at the same time exposes its slogans about human rights and the rights of women
and children.
He said "The positions of the
Yemeni armed forces come in response to the directives of the leadership, and
in response and in harmony with the demands of the Yemeni people, who have been
taking to the squares continuously since the beginning of the aggression on
Gaza until today without any tirelessness or boredom to confirm their standing
with the people of Palestine, and in victory for their oppression."
Hamed called on the people of the
Islamic nation to continue popular demonstrations, boycott American and Israeli
goods, and expose the crimes of the Zionist entity against civilians in
occupied Palestine.
He pointed out that the Yemeni people
will continue to support their brothers in occupied Palestine and will not
change their faith and moral position, whatever the consequences.
Source: saba.ye
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Yemeni forces block Israel-bound ship in
Red Sea, force it to turn back
11 December 2023
The Yemeni Armed Forces have blocked the
passage of a merchant vessel bound for the Israeli-occupied Palestinian
territories as it was sailing in the Red Sea, after declaring a decision to
block the passage of all ships heading toward Israeli ports in support of the
Gaza Strip.
Lebanon’s Arabic-language al-Mayadeen
television news network, citing a statement released by Yemen’s Defense
Ministry, reported on Sunday that “a proper interaction was carried out with
the ship, but it did not pay heed to our warnings.”
The statement added that the vessel was
subsequently “blocked from passing through and was forced to turn back.”
On Saturday, spokesman for the Yemeni
Armed Forces Brigadier General Yahya Saree warned that if Gaza does not receive
the food and medicines it needs, all the ships passing through Yemen’s
territorial waters towards the occupied territories would turn into a
“legitimate target.”
He emphasized that all ships from around
the world can continue their commercial activity, except those related to the
Israeli regime or destined for the ports of the occupied territories.
The Yemeni army has warned that it will
prevent the passage of all ships bound to the occupied territories in the Red
Sea, stressing that they will become a legitimate target if they pass the
country’s territorial waters.
Yemenis have declared their open support
for Palestine’s struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime
launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 7 after the territory’s
Palestinian resistance movements carried out a surprise retaliatory attack,
dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against the occupying entity.
The relentless Israeli military campaign
against Gaza has killed at least 17,997 people, most of them women and
children, in Gaza since. More than 49,229 people have been wounded as well.
On December 4, the Yemeni army targeted
two Israeli ships in the Red Sea as they were attempting to cross the Bab
el-Mandeb Strait.
Reports have shown that Israeli shipping
companies have already decided to reroute their vessels in fear of attacks by
Yemeni forces.
Yemeni forces have also launched missile
and drone attacks on targets in the Israeli-occupied territories of Palestine
after the occupying regime’s aggression on Gaza.
Source: presstv.ir
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South Asia
Islamic Emirate to Iran FM: Govt is
Inclusive
December 10, 2023
The Islamic Emirate reacted to the
recent remarks of Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian regarding
the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan, saying that its
government is inclusive and that other countries should not interfere in the
internal affairs of Afghanistan.
Amirabdollahian said in a gathering that
the “Taliban are not [like] Daesh and that they are today’s reality in
Afghanistan.”
He said that the Islamic Emirate has
fought with Daesh, and that Iran should boost efforts for security and
stability in Afghanistan.
“Afghanistan can steer toward stability
and security when all tribes have a role in the governance of the country. We
have clearly told the Taliban’s officials that the Taliban and Pashton tribe is
part of the reality in Afghanistan but not the whole reality,” Amirabdollahian
said.
The formation of an inclusive
government, observing human rights including women’s education and work, and
preventing Afghan soil from being used as a threat to foreign countries are the
main demands of the international community of the Islamic Emirate.
“We can prove it from many angles that
our country is at the level which is called for, but there is a need for more
development and we are trying to make more progress,” said Zabiullah Mujahid,
Islamic Emirate spokesman.
The political analysts said that Iran as
a neighboring country can play an important role in the improvement of
Afghanistan.
“The regional countries including Iran
can create a more political space for negotiations of the various political
parties and diplomacy for the formation of an inclusive government,” said Wahid
Taqat, political analyst.
Earlier, the acting Foreign Minister, Amir
Khan Muttaqi, said that the international community doesn’t have a clear
definition of an inclusive government.
Source: tolonews.com
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Deportation of hundreds of Afghan
migrants from Pakistan
Fidel Rahmati
December 11, 2023
As the crisis of deporting Afghan
migrants from Pakistan continues, the Ministry of Migrants and Repatriates of
Afghanistan has reported that hundreds of migrants, including 10 women, have
returned to their home country after being released from detention once more.
The ministry Sunday, stated on its
social media platform X that 574 Afghan migrants residing in Pakistan have
returned to their home country.
The ministry added that this number of
migrants returned to the country through the Torkham border in Nangarhar
province.
However, the Ministry of Migrants and
Repatriates, quoting the border commander of Torkham in Nangarhar province,
stated that returning migrants included 107 families, comprising a total of 574
individuals who were forcibly deported from Pakistan.
Furthermore, the ministry has clarified
that 10 Afghan migrants who had been previously detained by the Pakistan police
were returned to the country via the Torkham border in Nangarhar province on
Saturday.
This is happening amidst a surge in
deportations of Afghan citizens in Pakistan, despite widespread criticism from
both national and international organizations.
Source: khaama.com
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Afghanistan’s UN Representative: No
legal protection for citizens’ rights
Fidel Rahmati
December 10, 2023
The Acting Representative of Afghanistan
at the United Nations stated on World Human Rights Day that there is no legal
protection and safeguard for citizens’ rights to life, freedom, personal
security, and privacy.
Naseer Ahmad Faiq mentioned that for the
past two years, women and girls have been deprived of their right to education
and the right to work.
On Sunday, in a message commemorating
the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, he
wrote on his Twitter account that the Taliban has explicitly violated the
fundamental rights and freedoms of the people, including civil, political,
economic, social, and cultural rights, especially those of women and girls.
In a separate message, the United
Nations Political Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has called on the Taliban to
embrace human rights obligations as the cornerstone of a peaceful and stable
future and to support these rights.
UNAMA stated, “Despite security
improvements since August 2021, the human rights situation in Afghanistan remains
grave.”
Roza Otunbayeva, the head of UNAMA,
reminded Taliban officials in a statement on the occasion of the seventy-fifth
anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that
“Afghanistan, as a country, was a party to international human rights treaties
and has a historic role in them.”
The UN Special Envoy highlighted
“systematic discrimination against women” and documented rights violations
against women. Advocates for human rights, especially women and girls, face
threats and arrests.
Since the return of the Taliban in
August 2021, they have imposed extensive restrictions on women through numerous
directives. Some human rights defenders have described the Taliban’s actions
towards women as an “organized erasure of women” from society and “gender
apartheid.”
The United Nations adopted the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights in Paris on December 10, 1948.
Source: khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/afghanistans-un-representative-no-legal-protection-for-citizens-rights/
------
US provides $77 million aid to support
Afghan refugees in Pakistan
December 11, 2023
The Special Representative of the United
States for Afghanistan Thomas West has announced a $77 million contribution to
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to support Afghan
refugees in Pakistan.
West on Saturday said in a post on X
that during his trip to Pakistan, he held discussions and meetings with the
leadership of UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
“I am proud that the United States has
contributed $77 million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
for these efforts and $9 million to the International Organization for
Migration this year,” he stressed.
According to West, the purpose of this
meeting was to support vulnerable citizens and those at risk, with a particular
focus on Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
Source: ariananews.af
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-----
Over 345,000 Afghan Refugees Deported by
Iran in Past 3 Months: Ministry
HadiaZiaei
December 11, 2023
A senior official of the Ministry of
Refugees and Repatriation said that more than 345,000 Afghans have been
deported from Iran to Afghanistan over the past three months.
Iran and Pakistan both escalated
deportation of the Afghan refugees with thousands of them crossing to
Afghanistan.
"Since the first of Mizan (23rd
September) till 17 Qaws (December 8) there were approximately 345,000. Each
family have been provided with 10,000 Afs cash assistance by the Islamic
Emirate," said Abdul Rahman Rashid, deputy Minister of Refugees and
Repatriation.
TOLOnews interviewed the Afghan
deportees who were expelled from Iran.
Mohammad Yousuf and Fatih Khan left
Afghanistan for Iran in a bid to make ends meet but both were deported by the
country’s police.
They also complained about the
mistreatment of Iranian forces towards the Afghan refugees.
"There was no work here, then we
went to Iran through illegal paths. They beat us and detained us," Yousuf
said.
"They captured us and beat us. They
beat us badly and forced us to return,” Khan said.
The deportees also voiced concerns about
the lack of employment in the country and called on the Islamic Emirate to make
efforts to create jobs for the citizens.
"We call on our government to
provide us with work so the people are not forced to leave," said Shirin
Agha, a deportee.
"We call on the Islamic Emirate to
provide us with work. Provide us with work here," Ahmadullah, a deportee.
This comes as Iranian officials have
recently announced that Afghans without legal documents will be deported from
Iran.
Source: tolonews.com
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https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-186431
----
UN Agency Warns of Afghans Dying in
Harsh Winter If There’s No Proper Shelt
Associated Press
December 11, 2023
(AP) — The U.N. refugee agency has
warned that Afghans could die in harsh winter conditions if they don’t get
adequate shelter once they cross the border from Pakistan.
Almost half a million Afghans have left
Pakistan since early October, when the Islamabad government announced it would
arrest and deport foreigners it said were in the country illegally. The
overwhelming majority of them are from neighboring Afghanistan, though
Islamabad insists the policy doesn’t target a specific nationality.
The forced returns are piling pressure
on Afghanistan and aid agencies, which are providing the bulk of essential
services like health care. Freezing temperatures are setting in and conditions
at the border remain dire.
“Many Afghan returnees are vulnerable,
including women and children, who could lose their lives in a harsh winter if
left without adequate shelter,” the U.N. refugee agency said in a report
published Friday. “People arriving at the border are exhausted and require
urgent assistance as well as psychosocial support.”
Families told the agency they were
worried that colder winter temperatures in certain areas, particularly
mountainous regions, may prevent them from returning home right away.
“Many are arriving with illness, for
example bronchitis, as a result of the cold weather and the difficult journey
from Pakistan,” the agency said in a message to The Associated Press on Sunday.
“They may not have all their belongings, including clothing, and therefore be
unable to protect themselves from the elements.”
It said that among those returning to
Afghanistan are families who have never lived in the country. They have been
living in Pakistan for one or more generations and may not have homes or
extended family to return to.
Cash to pay rent is needed, while
families with some existing social networks could stay with family or friends.
Others may return to homes needing repair. The agency said it will provide
tents to such households.
“For those who have nowhere to go, with
limited means, they may stay in camps, established near the border,” the
refugee agency said.
A Taliban committee said it is
distributing food, water, SIM cards, clothing and cash at two key border
crossings: Torkham and Spin Boldak. Families are also learning about Afghanistan,
the Islamic system, temporary living arrangements, registration and relocation,
the committee said Sunday.
But extreme temperatures and limited
access to clean water and sanitation have led to a surge in infectious diseases
and malnutrition.
U.N. Women said there are additional
challenges for Afghan women and girls leaving Pakistan as they have to deal
with Taliban restrictions that could affect their mobility and access to
information and services if they don’t have a male relative. It expressed similar
concerns after October’s deadly earthquakes in Afghanistan’s west.
The agency said around 80% of Afghans
returning through Torkham and Spin Boldak are women and children.
Source: tolonews.com
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https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-186439
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IEA is part of today’s reality in
Afghanistan: Iran’s FM
December 10, 2023
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir
Abdollahian says the Islamic Emirate is not “Daesh”, but is part of today’s
reality in Afghanistan.
Speaking at a conference, Amir
Abdollahian said that the IEA is currently fighting against the Daesh group,
but it does not mean that it will not form an inclusive government.
He emphasized that the only solution in
Afghanistan is to establish a comprehensive government and that Tehran should
work for more security and stability in Afghanistan.
The head of Iran’s diplomatic system
also added that Afghanistan can be on the path of stability and security when
all ethnic groups have a role in the administration and governance of this
country.
IEA’s spokesman meanwhile said that the
ruling system in Afghanistan is inclusive and all ethnic groups see themselves
in the mirror of the government and this process is moving towards completion.
Mujahid stressed that security in
Afghanistan is an important issue for the Islamic Emirate because providing
security in Afghanistan helps the stability of the region and neighboring
countries.
Source: ariananews.af
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https://www.ariananews.af/iea-is-part-of-todays-reality-in-afghanistan-irans-fm/
-----
Pakistan
Tributes paid in Quetta to martyred
Palestinian journalists
December 11, 2023
QUETTA: Glowing tributes were paid at a
function held at Khana-i-Farhang on Sunday to martyred Palestinian journalists
who sacrificed their lives while performing their duties in Gaza to expose
Israeli state terrorism and its aggression against innocent people of
Palestine, especially women and children.
Expressing solidarity with the
Palestinian people who lost their loved-ones due to Israeli acts of terrorism
in Gaza, the Balochistan Forum of Environmental Journalists, in collaboration
with Khana-i-Farhang, Iran, launched a tree plantation campaign across Balochistan.
Senior journalists Abdul Shakoor Khan,
Zahir Khan Nasar, NiamatullahAkhandzada and others spoke on the occasion and
appealed to the world to play its role to stop Israeli war crimes against
people of Gaza and for a permanent ceasefire in the area.
“The Islamic world should come forward
and make efforts to end suffering of Palestinian people,” they said.
Source: dawn.com
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-----
Pakistan supports reliable safe routes
for humanitarian aid in Gaza: Nadeem
December 11, 2023
A Special meeting of the Executive Board
of World Health Organization was held to discuss the health situation in
Palestine.
Addressing the participants, Caretaker
Minister for Health Dr. Nadeem Jan thanked WHO and other stakeholders for
providing health services to affected people under difficult circumstances.
He said that the risk of infectious
diseases in the war affected area is increasing.
Dr Nadeem Jan said that Pakistan
supports consistent and reliable safe routes for humanitarian aid, including
medical supplies and their delivery to war affected people in Gaza.
During the meeting, the World Health
Organization Executive Board adopted a resolution urging for prompt and
unobstructed humanitarian aid access to the Gaza Strip.
Source: radio.gov.pk
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https://www.radio.gov.pk/11-12-2023/pakistan-supports-reliable-safe-routes-for-humanitarian-aid-in-gaza-nadeem
-----
Imran, Bushra’s marriage case hearing
today
December 11, 2023
ISLAMABAD:The hearing of the case
against the marriage of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founding chairman Imran Khan
and his wife, Bushra Bibi, will be held on Monday (today).
Civil Judge Qudratullah will hear the
case. The court has called for arguments on admissibility from the counsel of
the complainant.
The court recorded the statements of all
the witnesses.
A witness, Latif, while recording his
statement, said that Imran used to visit Bushra in her house before their
marriage in the absence of Khawar Maneka.
Both Imran and Bushra did not used to
sit in the drawing room rather Imran and Bushra used to sit in the Bushra’s
room.
Latif said that the former premier had
started visiting Maneka’s house located in Bani Gala in 2015. Imran rarely
visited Maneka’s house in 2015 but he increased his visits in 2016 and 2017.
Further, the accountability court will
also hear Imran’s pre-arrest bail application in the Toshakhana case today.
Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir will hear the case.
The PTI chairman's bail application in
the case will be heard at Adiala Jail. The Islamabad High Court had restored
the bail application in the Toshakhana case. The IHC has ordered the
accountability court to decide on the bail application.
Source: tribune.com.pk
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https://tribune.com.pk/story/2449620/imran-bushras-marriage-case-hearing-today
----
Pakistan stands united on the issue of
Palestine: Ashrafi
December 11, 2023
ISLAMABAD:Prime Minister’s Special
Representative on Religious Harmony and Pakistani Diaspora in the Middle East and
Islamic Countries Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi on Sunday asserted that
the government of Pakistan and the nation had remained steadfastly united on
the issue of Palestine since day one.
Speaking at a press conference held at
the Press Information Department, he emphasised that on this International
Human Rights Day, he aimed to spotlight Israeli atrocities in Gaza at the
global stage. Ashrafi, who is also the Chairman of Pakistan Ulema Council,
underlined that both Palestine and Kashmir were not only issues of humanity but
also vital concerns for the Muslim Ummah.
He stated that Pakistan had consistently
shown unwavering support for Palestine throughout its history. He emphasised
the significance of acknowledging the vision of Pakistan's Founder Quaid-e-Azam
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who advocated for an independent and sovereign Palestine
state with Al-Quds as its capital.
Ashrafi said Caretaker Prime Minister
Anwaarul Haq Kakar reaffirmed this position at the recent Arab-Islamic Summit
in Riyadh, aligning with Pakistan's consistent support for the two-state
solution expressed in OIC meetings from 2004, 2006, and preceding years.
Following the Gaza events on October 7, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq
Kakar, Foreign Affairs Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, and Chief of Army Staff
General Syed Asim Munir had actively engaged in unwavering efforts for
peace-building and voicing their concerns against Israeli aggression in
Palestine at all the relevant forums globally.
Emphasising Pakistan's stance in the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the United Nations, he said
Pakistan highlighted the nation's call for the establishment of a tribunal to
address Israeli crimes in Gaza.
Source: tribune.com.pk
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https://tribune.com.pk/story/2449617/pakistan-stands-united-on-the-issue-of-palestine-ashrafi
-----
UN must take note of HR violations in
Palestine, IIOJ&K: CM
2023-12-11
KARACHI: Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister
Former Justice Maqbool Baqar on Sunday dubbed the Genocide in Palestine and
atrocities in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) as a sheer
violation of human rights.
He said that the United Nations (UN)
must intervene in the violation of human rights in Palestine and IIOJK. He said
this in his message on the occasion of International Human Rights Day.
The Chief Minister on the occasion
appealed to the international community to come forward and save innocent human
lives from Israeli barbaric aggression and Indian atrocities.
The CM said that the basic
responsibilities of the state included the observance of human rights. The CM
said that freedom of expression, access to education and health were part of
human rights. He said that all citizens had equal rights across the country
including the Sindh province.
Source: brecorder.com
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https://www.brecorder.com/news/40277864/un-must-take-note-of-hr-violations-in-palestine-iiojk-cm
-----
International Human Rights Day: Alvi
bemoans global inaction against Israel
2023-12-11
ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has
termed it unfortunate for failure of the international community to take action
against Israel and stop it from committing genocide of the Palestinian people
in Gaza, as well as, to hold India accountable for unleashing a reign of terror
against the people of India Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
The president in his message noted that
Pakistan along with the international community commemorated International
Human Rights Day on December 10 under the theme of “Freedom, Equality and
Justice for All.” This day reminds us of our responsibility to protect and
respect the rights of all people.
This day also marks the 75th anniversary
of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which serves as a
common standard of human rights for all peoples and nations.
He said, “we reiterate our commitment,
on this day, to make all possible efforts to protect the rights of all citizens
irrespective of their caste, colour, and creed,” adding that Pakistan is
committed to upholding all the rights as enshrined in the Constitution, the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and other relevant international
instruments.
He added that “our Constitution
guarantees fundamental rights, including political, social and economic rights,
to our citizens and we are cognizant of our duty to protect the vulnerable and
marginalized sections of our society.
Pakistan has adopted several legal,
economic and social remedies to promote and protect the rights of our people,
including women, persons with disabilities, and children.”
The president further stated that as the
international community observes International Human Rights Day, it is
unfortunate that the people of Palestine are being deprived of their rights and
have been subjected to the worst form of state terrorism and ethnic cleansing
by Israel.
The Israeli Defence Forces have killed
thousands of innocent people, including women, children, and healthcare and aid
workers, besides bombing hospitals, schools, and residential areas.
The international community has failed
to take action against Israel and stop it from committing a genocide of the
Palestinian people. Similarly, the Human Rights abuses in the Indian Illegally
Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) also demand the attention of the
international community to hold India accountable for unleashing a reign of
terror against the people of IIOJK.
I am glad that Pakistan has provided an
enabling environment and equal opportunities to all minority groups who enjoy
equal social, political and economic rights.
He said that today, “I also call upon
government organizations, civil society, and the international community to
play their role in protecting and promoting Human Rights.”
Source: brecorder.com
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https://www.brecorder.com/news/40277867/international-human-rights-day-alvi-bemoans-global-inaction-against-israel
-----
Africa
Cleric seeks inclusion of Islamic
Studies in curriculum
SegunShowunmi, Ibadan
December 11, 2023
Adirector and senior teacher at Ali
Institute for Quran Memorisation, (AIQM) Ibadan, Oyo State, Ali Abdulssalam,
has urged the government to consider inclusion of Quran and Arabic Studies in
the curriculum of primary and secondary schools.
He said this would inculcate the teaching of
Islam in children at a younger age, to make them useful citizens.
Speaking in Ibadan at the 4th Haflah
Graduation Ceremony of complete memorisation of the noble Quran, Ali said
considering contributions of Islam to the society’s uprightness, government
should recognise and support Quran and Islamic Studies. He said Islam is doing a great service to the
country by ensuring youths are well fed with the required spiritual diet,
thereby reducing crime in the society.
He said: “We take this opportunity to
also reiterate the need for government to create jobs for graduates of Arabic
and Quran schools in the country. This will also sanitise the society, as more
God-conscious youths will get employed, which will reduce criminality in the
society.
“Muslims are the liberators of the world.
Allah has given us fundamental responsibility of commanding virtues and forbidding
vices. We took it upon ourselves to teach Muslim youths memorisation of Quran,
Islamic morals, values and etiquette.
“Memorisation of Quran will never limit
the progress of a child, but will rather improve it because it has become
glaring that giving children only Western education without sound Quran
knowledge and its practice is like a beautiful vehicle with faulty engine.
“This is our 7th years of existence, as more
than 2,000 students have so far attended our institute since inception for
either part time, full time or short or long term programme. More than 200
students have graduated as memorisers of the Quran, out of which 114 of them
are graduating today.”
Source: thenationonlineng.net
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-----
Thousands of Moroccans urge government
to cut ties with Israel over Gaza onslaught
11 December 2023
Thousands of Moroccans have taken to the
streets in the capital Rabat to mount pressure on the government to cut its
relations with Israel over the regime's ongoing genocidal war on the besieged
Gaza Strip.
The demonstration took place on Sunday
with about 3,000 participants waving Palestinian flags and chanting,
"Palestine is not for sale" and "resistance go ahead to victory
and liberation."
The crowds also chanted, "The
people want an end to normalization," pressing the Moroccan government to
reverse the country's United States-facilitated détente with Israel in 2020.
Starting on October 7, the occupying
regime launched a devastating onslaught on Gaza following a surprise operation
by the territory's resistance groups, dubbed Operation al-Aqsa Storm.
According to Gaza's Health Ministry, the
Israeli aggression has so far killed around 18,000 people and injured nearly
49,000 others.
A coalition of Palestinian factions
calls for an international strike in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
This is not the first time Moroccans
have demonstrated in their thousands to protest Israel's ferocious military
aggression against Gaza.
Sunday's march, however, was the first
to be called by the opposition Justice and Development Party, which led the
Morocco's elected government from 2011 until 2021.
The participants also urged a boycott of
those brands that support Israel, while condemning the United States' heavy
military and political backing for the regime's genocide in Gaza.
"We call on Morocco to end
diplomatic relations with Israel...that [has] killed children and women in Gaza
and destroyed hospitals in full brutality," said a protester as he was in
line to sign a petition demanding reversal of the rapprochement deal between
Rabat and Tel Aviv. Source: presstv.ir
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War-torn Sudan faces ‘catastrophe’ as UN
funds run short
11 Dec 2023
PORT SUDAN, Dec 11 — The United Nations
has only been able to reach a fraction of the nearly 25 million people needing
aid in war-devastated Sudan, the head of the UN’s humanitarian response in the
country says.
But assistance to even those four
million could soon stop if the chronic lack of funding continues, Clementine
Nkweta-Salami told AFP in an interview on Sunday.
The UN’s humanitarian coordinator for
Sudan said the situation is “catastrophic”, eight months into a conflict
between rival generals that has torn the country apart.
Aid workers have called it the
“forgotten war”.
On April 15, army chief Abdel Fattah
al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed HamdanDaglo, who commands the
paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, turned their weapons on each other.
Two years after the former allies
jointly engineered a 2021 coup that derailed a fragile democratic transition,
their power struggle has killed more than 12,190 people, according to the Armed
Conflict Location & Event Data Project (Acled).
That figure is only a conservative
estimate, with entire parts of the country completely cut off from the world.
There are also “seven million people
displaced in Sudan, which is the highest displacement situation globally,” said
Nkweta-Salami, of Cameroon.
Yet despite the scale of the crisis, the
humanitarian response remains woefully underfunded.
“We’ve received only 38.6 per cent” of
the total US$2.6 billion needed for 2023, Nkweta-Salami said.
“There will come a time when even if we
have (physical) access, we will not have the resources to enable us to channel
the relevant assistance that we need to do,” she warned.
‘So little attention’
Sudan, whose tragedy has been
overshadowed by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, saw nearly all aid groups
disappear soon after fighting broke out. Their warehouses were looted and
workers harassed or attacked.
One of a handful of organisations still
providing vital aid across Sudan is the Norwegian Refugee Council.
“I have never, in all my years, seen
such a horrific mega-catastrophe with so little attention or resources to reach
people in their hour of greatest need,” said Jan Egeland, the NRC’s secretary
general.
“Millions are trapped in the crossfire,
in ethnic violence, in bombardments, and we are simply not there,” he told AFP.
The gaps, Egeland and Nkweta-Salami
agree, are huge.
According to the UN representative, “we
are facing a population that is about 24.7 million people in need of
humanitarian assistance,” or more than one in two Sudanese.
“To date, we’ve been able to reach about
four million and our goal is to hopefully reach around 18 million” who face
immense challenges with “health, water and sanitation, food and malnutrition,”
she continued.
Only recently was the UN able to regain
limited access through Chad into areas of Darfur, Sudan’s vast western region
where the UN has warned of a repeat of violence that occurred there in the
early 2000s.
Former strongman Omar al-Bashir armed
and unleashed the RSF’s predecessor, the Janjaweed militia, against Darfur’s
non-Arab ethnic minorities, leading to International Criminal Court charges including
genocide.
In recent weeks, pro-army demonstrators
and high-ranking officials loyal to Burhan have accused the United Arab
Emirates of supporting the RSF.
On Sunday the official news agency Suna
reported that Sudan’s foreign ministry declared 15 UAE diplomats persona non
grata, demanding they leave Sudan “within 48 hours.”
People ‘need peace’
Other parts of the country, including
Kordofan in the south and the capital Khartoum itself — where shots first broke
out — remain out of reach for aid workers.
From the first days of the war, the UN
withdrew to Port Sudan on the Red Sea, and the UN’s activities have since been
largely limited to the army-controlled east of the country.
“We continue to face significant
challenges as a result of insecurity, and accessing some of the really hot-spot
areas like Khartoum,” Nkweta-Salami said.
With ceasefire talks a consistent
failure, the country has become divided between the rival forces. Any
assistance that does make it to civilians has to manoeuvre a maze of checkpoints.
“We are providing assistance across
lines, which means that we have to go through quite an elaborate exercise of
negotiation for us to move the relevant relief items,” she said.
On December 1, the UN Security Council
terminated the mandate of the UN’s political mission to Sudan, after a request
from Sudan.
Experts said this will even further
limit civilian protection and accountability for violations committed against
them.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
said the blame lies with the “two generals that completely disregard the
interests of their population.” He also highlighted financial and weapons
support from unnamed parties.
For months, experts have said that Egypt
and Turkey have stood firmly with the army, while the United Arab Emirates has
supported the RSF, which controls much of the country’s lucrative gold mines.
Ultimately, Egeland said, even with
organisations scrambling for short-term fixes to help everyone they can, “there
is no humanitarian solution to this war”.
“We need the two parties to arrive at a
ceasefire,” Nkweta-Salami said.
“We need eventually a cessation of
hostilities. The people of Sudan need peace.” — AFP
Source: malaymail.com
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-----
B’Haram commander, others killed in
Niger air strike – NAF
11th December 2023
Solomon Odeniyi
The Nigerian Air Force has said air
strikes by the air component of Operation Whirl Punch in Niger State killed a
terrorist kingpin identified as Yellow Janbros and other terrorists.
The service said the terrorists were
trailed from Zamfara to Niger State.
The Air Force added that Janbros and his
fighters were about to cross the Jikudna River in GaladimaKogo District,
heading towards the Wurukuvhi axis of Chikun LGA when they were killed.
A statement on Sunday by NAF’s Director
of Public Relations and Information,
Edward Gabkwet, noted that the terrorists moved in convoy of 18
motorcycles during the day with the hope that air strikes had been suspended
following the accidental strike in Kaduna.
He said, “An air strike undertaken by
the Air Component of Operation Whirl Punch on Wednesday, 6 December 2023, in
the Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State has neutralised scores of the
terrorists, including the dreaded terrorist and kidnap kingpin, Yellow Jambros.
The terrorists met their end while attempting to cross the Jikudna River in
GaladimaKogo District, heading towards the Wurukuvhi axis of Chikun LGA.
“Prior to the strike, Yellow Jambros and
his cohorts were trailed from Zamfara State into Niger State riding 13
motorcycles along the Kaduna-Niger State border, precisely heading towards
Kusasu in Shiroro LGA of Niger State. At Kusasu, five other motorcycle-riding
terrorists joined Yellow Jambros’ convoy, bringing the total number of
motorcycles to 18, which then headed to the bank of River Jikudna.
“At the river bank, the terrorists and
their 18 motorcycles boarded a large motor-powered canoe in an attempt to cross
and link up with other terrorists across the river. It was at this point that
the authorisation to undertake a strike was given. The precision strike was
adjudged effective as it neutralised Yellow Jambros and his colleagues,
destroyed their motorcycles, and sank the boat.
“Though it was unusual for terrorists
riding in a convoy of 18 motorcycles to travel in broad daylight, it was
apparent that Yellow Jambros and his cohorts had assumed that air strikes were
suspended following the unfortunate incident at TudunBiri in Kaduna State and
wanted to exploit the perceived window of opportunity. “
Gabkwet said Jambros and his fighters
were responsible for several atrocities along the Abuja-Kaduna road as well as
other communities in Niger,
Katsina, Kaduna, and Zamfara
states.
“In October 2020, a kidnapped kingpin
known as Mohammed Sani, arrested by the police in Zamfara State for murdering
over 50 of his victims due to their inability to mobilise ransom, claimed that
he worked for Yellow Jambros, who usually supply him with fake military and
police uniforms, guns and other weapons needed to execute his operation,” the
statement added.
Source: punchng.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://punchng.com/bharam-commander-others-killed-in-niger-air-strike-naf/
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Hajj: Saudi Arabia increases Nigeria’s
tour operators to 40
11th December 2023
AdetutuSobowale
The Saudi Arabia Ministry of Hajj and
Umrah has increased the 2024 Hajj slots of Tour Operators from 10 to 40.
This development came following the
Federal Government’s demand for an increase in the 2024 Hajj tour operators.
In September, Saudi Arabia announced
that only 5% of each Hajj-participating country’s Licensed Tour Operators would
be permitted to conduct the 2024 Hajj exercise.
This means that Nigeria will only have
10 slots.
However, the federal government
unrelentingly engaged the Saudi Ministry over its course of promoting
indigenous entrepreneurs as a tool in sustaining the country’s socioeconomic
development.
Responding to the request, the Saudi
Ministry in charge of Hajj and Umrah reverted the decision in Nigeria’s favour.
Consequently, the National Hajj
Commission of Nigeria, in a press statement released on Sunday night, in Abuja
by its assistant director of public affairs, Fatima Usara, disclosed the
development.
Usara revealed the criteria for
screening the earlier announced 110 qualified tour operators.
The criteria used in selecting the
initial 110 tour operators included capacity of operation; years of experience;
historical antecedents, and clean bill of operation.
The commission noted that the top 40
scoring by a seven-man team of experts were adjudged to qualify and were
consequently approved after the evaluation of each operator’s ability,
experience, and quality of services.
The Commission urged the remaining 70
that have qualified (from the 110 earlier approved) to consider aligning with
the qualified 40 in the discharge of this religious obligation.
It assured that, as a stakeholder, it
was desirous of ensuring that this partnership was entrenched even before the
issuance of letters of approval.
In the principle of inclusivity, the
Commission announced that it will soon hold a meeting with the overall 110
qualified operators to explore avenues of synergy to ensure all parties are
carried along amicably.
Source: punchng.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://punchng.com/hajj-saudi-arabia-increases-nigerias-tour-operators-to-40/
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NASFAT demands compensation for Kaduna
bomb victims
11th December 2023
IdowuOyelere
The Chief Missioner of
Nasrul-Lahi-l-Fatih, also known as NASFAT, Imam Abdul-AzeezOnike, has urged the
Federal Government of Nigeria to take a step beyond commiserating with the
Kaduna bomb victims to providing palliatives that would aid their livelihood.
During a special prayer by the
organisation, tagged, “Remember me and I will remember you,” on Sunday, Onike
explained that Islam provides what is called Diyah and its purpose is to serve
as palliative to the dependants of the victim.
The PUNCH reported that the Kaduna
accidental bombing by the military killed over 100 innocent villagers.
He said, “It is quite unfortunate that
people have become widows in the village, children have turned to orphans; are
we going to close our eyes because we said such will not happen again? That’s
not justice. Allah has commanded us to be just and for the government to be
just they should identify the family of all the victims and compensate them
monetarily.”
Speaking on the impact of the incident,
the chief missioner said, “Some children will be taken out of school because
their breadwinners are gone; the women whose husbands were killed will now turn
to beggars, the government should give these children scholarships from primary
school to higher institution level.”
Speaking on the essence of the prayer
problem, NASFAT’s President, Mr Niyi
Yusuf, said, “Muslims believe in the power of prayers and we know that there is
nothing Allah cannot do. Today’s gathering is to pray that Almighty Allah
should guide our leaders to do the right things for us and grant us ease after
this difficult period that the country is going through.”
Yusuf maintained that Allah would not
change the condition of people unless they make the changes first within
themselves.
“Our request from our leaders is for
them to serve with integrity, and to be selfless and have the fear of Allah,”
he said.
The National Women Affairs Secretary for
the organisation, Kupolati Bola, urged Nigerians to maintain peace and exercise
patience with Allah and the government.
Kupolati said, “Allah will continue to
give us trials, those that pass it, they will be elevated in this world and
thereafter. Let us all be the
ambassadors of Islam,” she said.
Source: punchng.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://punchng.com/nasfat-demands-compensation-for-kaduna-bomb-victims/
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/ayodhya-ram-mandir-muslim-countries/d/131292