Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigns, flees country as protesters storm palace
New Age Islam News Bureau
05 Aug 2024
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina weeps while
she visits a metro station in Mirpur vandalised by students during the
anti-quota protests.(AFP file)
-----------
·
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
resigns, flees country as protesters storm palace
·
Contemplating Legal Redress: Any Change in Waqf
Act Will Not Be Tolerated, Says AIMPLB
·
'Pogrom Against Muslims and People of Colour':
Former Scottish Leader, Humza Yousaf, Urges Action as Far-Right Rallies
Continue
·
A New Islamist Underground Emerging, One Far
More Violent than Its Predecessor: Specialist on the North Caucasus
·
Head of Türkiye’s Diyanet Calls Muslim Unity to
Stop Invading Zionists
·
Imran Open to ‘Engaging with Generals’ If Freed
South Asia
·
Islamic Emirate’s Recognition; World Still
Seeking Excuses
·
National gathering held in Kabul to discuss
strengthening Islamic system
·
Ancient Artefacts Discovered in Ghor,
Afghanistan, Amid Concerns Of Preservation
·
Iranian diplomat defends country’s position on
inclusive Govt in Afghanistan
·
Herat Reports 46% Increase in Exports, Reaching
Over $43 Million in Early 2024
·
Kabul Mayor Emphasizes Compliance with Urban
Standards in Meeting with Traders
·
Panjshir Youth to Fill Thousands of Positions
in Civil and Military Sectors This Year
·
At least 93 dead as violence grips the country
·
Maldives hopes to make India one of its top 3
tourism markets again: Ibrahim Shiuree
--------
India
·
Waqf System Must Come Out of ‘Touch-Me-Not’
Syndrome: BJP Leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
·
"Attempt to Snatch the Rights of
Muslims": SP Chief Hits Out at BJP for Proposing to Amend Waqf Act
·
Punjab Waqf Board Grants 17.7L to Cash-Strapped
Mosques and Shrines In The Mohali-Rajpura Circle
·
Proposed amendments to Waqf Act are intended to
rob Muslims of Waqf Properties, violation of freedom of religion: Owaisi
·
Life Imprisonment for ‘Love Jihad’ Under New
Law Soon In Assam, Says CM
·
CM's permission must for transfer of land from
Hindus to Muslims in Assam soon
·
Article 370 abrogation: Amarnath Yatra
suspended for a day from Jammu
·
India advises citizens to avoid travelling to
Bangladesh amid violent protests
·
Security agencies’ meet discusses status of
cases against PFI since Sept ’22
--------
Europe
·
UK Announces $37M Funding Package for Mosque
Security Amid Far-Right Riots
·
UK leader vows tough action to end ‘far-right
thuggery’ as violent anti-migrant protests spread
·
Tommy Robinson falsely claims Stirling attacker
was an ‘alleged Muslim’
·
PM tells rioters ‘you will regret it’ as
mosques offered emergency support
·
Mosques to be offered greater protection with
new 'emergency security'
·
Extreme-right activists are terrorising UK’s
Muslims, says charity
·
Kamala Harris wins backing of key Muslim group
over Gaza stance
--------
North America
·
Yazidis Seek Justice On 10th Anniversary of
Islamic State Genocide
·
US CENTCOM chief in occupied Palestine over
fear of Iran, Hezbollah retaliatory strikes
·
US Green Party presidential candidate Jill
Stein considering pro-Palestinian VP
·
Harris overtakes Trump in new poll, set to name
VP pick ahead of swing state tour
--------
Mideast
·
Islamic Resistance confirms hitting Zionist military
sites
·
Jihad condemns Gaza genocide, praises
"Holon" operation
·
Illegal Israeli settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque
amid rise in tensions
·
US and Allies Prepare to Defend Israel As
Netanyahu Says It’s Already In ‘Multi-Front War’ With Iran
--------
Pakistan
·
India ‘Disregarded’ World Laws Through Aug 5
Step, Revoking Kashmir’s Special Status: President
·
Hurriyat Leader Calls for Peaceful Settlement
Of Kashmir Dispute
·
President, PM & armed forces reaffirm
solidarity with Kashmiris
·
What China is doing for Pakistan, US cannot do:
PM
·
Gandapur promises all-out support to police in
fight against militancy
·
Lakki jirga asks security forces to flush out
militants
--------
Africa
·
Tinubu Threatened Protesters, Told Security
Agencies to Continue Shooting – Buhari’s Minister
·
Lagos Protester Threatens to Join Boko Haram
·
I Beg You in The Name of God To End The Protest
Because Of Poor Nigerians – Atedo Peterside
·
Nigerian police deny Amnesty Int’l report,
blames Boko-Haram for protesters deaths
·
“It Is Almost Better for The President to Have
Kept Silent Than to Make This Kind Of Broadcast” – Protest Organizers Slam
Tinubu
·
Abuja Protest Was Peaceful Until Police Opened
Fire On Peaceful Protesters – Senator Ireti
·
Russian Flag: Don’t Allow Enemies of Democracy
Use You – Tinubu Tells Protesters
--------
Southeast Asia
·
Chants of ‘Free Palestine’ Fill Axiata Arena
·
Thousands gather in solidarity with Palestine
at Bukit Jalil
·
Kedah MB is leaving it to ‘Allah’ to bring the
rain, restore water levels in dams
·
Malaysian interfaith Council against Bible
course advertised outside a Muslim prayer hall
·
Situation in UK alarming, M’sians urged to
avoid protest areas
·
PMO summons Meta representatives for
explanation on removal of posts
·
PM Anwar recognises civil servants’
contributions to nation’s success
--------
Arab World
·
Festival for Asian Communities’ Dazzles
Audiences in Jeddah
·
Project Masam Clears 670 Houthi Mines in Yemen
·
Saudi AI Olympiad Finalists Chosen for Oxford
Scholars Program
·
Jazan
·
Saudi Arabia is now self-sufficient in fig
production, says agriculture ministry
·
More than 25,000 environmental checks completed
in Saudi Arabia
·
Saudi Islamic minister meets Syrian Awqaf
minister in Makkah
·
Saudi Arabia urges citizens to leave Lebanon
immediately
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
Bangladesh
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigns, flees country as protesters storm palace
By HT
News Desk
Aniruddha
Dhar
Aug 05,
2024
Bangladesh
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina weeps while she visits a metro station in Mirpur
vandalised by students during the anti-quota protests.(AFP file)
--------------
Bangladesh
protests: Sheikh Hasina, 76, submitted her resignation and fled the country,
army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman confirmed.
Bangladesh
protests latest updates: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned
and left the country on Monday, Army chief Waker uz Zaman confirmed, adding
that an interim government to take over the power.
Protesters
stormed her official residence on Monday afternoon, Channel 24 reported. TV
images showed hundreds of people ransacking the building and taking away
chicken, fish and vegetables.
BBC
Bangla reported that Sheikh Hasina is heading to Tripura capital in Agartala in
India.
However,
there was no official confirmation about Sheikh Hasina quitting and leaving
Dhaka.
"I
am taking full responsibility," the Bangladesh Army general said, dressed
in military fatigues and cap, although it was not immediatly clear if he would
head a caretaker government.
“We will
form an interim government,” Waker said in a broadcast to the nation on state
television, adding that Sheikh Hasina had resigned.
"The
country has suffered a lot, the economy has been hit, many people have been
killed -- it is time to stop the violence," he added.
"I
hope after my speech, the situation will improve."
He said
he would talk to the president to form the interim government and had held
talks with the main opposition parties and civil society members -- but not
Hasina's Awami League.
The
prime minister - who has resigned - earlier left the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka
on a helicopter with her sister, according to reports.
The
private Jamuna television news channel reported that Sheikh Hasina was forced
to quit as prime minister after massive protests against her government over a
controversial quota system that reserved 30 per cent of government jobs for
relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's War of Independence in 1971.
The army
chief is expected to address the nation shortly, according to reports.
The
government earlier ordered a complete internet shutdown as protestors asked the
general public to join a "Long March to Dhaka". However, a government
agency gave a verbal order to start broadband internet around 1:15 on Monday.
Sheikh
Hasina's resignation follows mass protests in Dhaka, where thousands have taken
to the streets. Clashes between police and protesters have resulted in at least
98 deaths on Sunday.
Some
protesters have reportedly breached Sheikh Hasina's official residence in
Dhaka.
Over the
past month, around 300 people have died as authorities cracked down on
anti-government demonstrations.
Initially
starting as a student protest against civil service job quotas, the movement
has evolved into a broader anti-government uprising demanding Hasina's
resignation.
At least
11,000 people have been arrested in recent weeks. The unrest has also resulted
in the closure of schools and universities across the country, and authorities
at one point imposed a shoot-on-sight curfew.
Hasina
offered to talk with student leaders on Saturday, but a coordinator refused and
announced a one-point demand for her resignation.
Hasina
repeated her pledges to investigate the deaths and punish those responsible for
the violence. She said she was ready to sit down whenever the protesters want.
(With
inputs from agencies)
Source: hindustantimes.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/bangladesh-pm-sheikh-hasina-resigns-flees-country-as-protesters-storm-palace-report-101722850283514.html
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Contemplating
Legal Redress: Any Change InWaqf Act Will Not Be Tolerated, Says AIMPLB
August
04, 2024
Ziya Us
Salam
AIMPLB
spokesperson S.Q.R. Ilyas. Photo: Twitter/@AIMPLB_Official
------------
The All
India Muslim Personal Law Board has hit out at any proposed changes to the Waqf
Act, 2013. “Any change in the Waqf Act which alters the nature of Waqf
properties or makes it easier for the government or any individual to usurp
them will not be acceptable,” said AIMPLB spokesman SQR Ilyas. The board is
contemplating legal redress if the government makes any “sweeping changes” to
the Act.
He said:
“According to media reports, the Government of India wants to change the status
and nature of the Waqf properties through about 40 amendments to the Waqf Act,
2013, so that their possession becomes easier. A Bill may be introduced in the
Parliament next week. The Muslim Personal Law Board considers it important to
clarify that Waqf properties are donations made by Muslim philanthropists
dedicated to religious and charitable purposes — the government has only
enacted the Waqf Act to regulate them.”
Proposed
amendments to Waqf Act are intended to rob Muslims of Waqf Properties,
violation of freedom of religion: Owaisi
Incidentally,
the Waqf properties have been mired in controversy in recent months with more
than 20 mosques, dargahs and cemeteries in the Capital falling under the care
of the Centre after being maintained by the Waqf Board for long. There have
been allegations too of the Waqf properties being rented out or even sold for non-Waqf
purposes.
The Waqf
properties are protected by the Constitution of India and Shariat Application
Act, 1937.
“The
government cannot make any amendment that would alter the nature and status of
these properties,” Mr. Ilyas said. “In all the decisions taken by the Modi
government regarding Muslims, something has been taken away from them and
nothing has been given, whether it is the closure of Maulana Azad Foundation or
restricting minority scholarship or triple talaq.”
He said
this issue would not be restricted to Muslims only. “After wielding the axe on
Waqf properties, it is feared that the next number may be the endowments of
Sikhs and Christians and then on the Maths and other religious properties of
Hindus,” Mr. Ilyas feared. He said Muslims would never accept any amendment to
the Waqf Act.
He
appealed to the allies of the NDA and Opposition parties to reject any proposed
changes and make sure the Bill is not passed by Parliament. He asked the Muslim
community too “to unite against this malicious act of the government”.
Source: thehindu.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/any-change-in-Waqf-act-will-not-be-tolerated-says-muslim-personal-law-board/article68485615.ece
--------
'Pogrom
Against Muslims and People of Colour': Former Scottish Leader, Humza Yousaf,
Urges Action as Far-Right Rallies Continue
04.08.2024
Former
Scottish leader Humza Yousaf has called for decisive action, warning that the
situation is spiraling out of control following widespread unrest across the
UK.
"How
much worse does it have to get before the army is sent in Keir Starmer? The
Police clearly do not have a handle on this situation. This pogrom against
Muslims and People of Colour is going to cost lives unless these far-right
thugs are stopped," Yousaf said on X, highlighting the urgency of the
crisis.
More
than 100 people have been arrested after demonstrations organized by far-right
groups descended into disorder across several towns and cities, including Hull,
Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent, Blackpool, and Belfast.
The
violence has resulted in looting, attacks on police, and significant community
tension.
In
Liverpool, tensions reached a peak as approximately 1,000 anti-immigrant
protesters, some shouting Islamophobic slurs, clashed with counter-protesters.
Footage
posted on social media captured the chaotic scene as protesters attacked an
Islamic Dawah stall by far-right thugs in Liverpool city center.
The
local media reported the clashes on Sunday, underscoring the growing unrest.
A large
anti-immigration protest turned violent as far-right demonstrators attacked a
Rotherham hotel housing asylum seekers, smashing windows and setting the
building on fire.
The
incident took place just before midday and was marked by far-right
demonstrators’ intense clashes with police and counter-protesters.
Local
authorities are on high alert, anticipating more violent protests across the
country on Sunday.
The
unrest follows the tragic killing of three young girls in Southport on Monday,
an event that has further strained community relations and sparked additional
episodes of disorder in towns and cities across England.
Source: aa.com.tr
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/pogrom-against-muslims-former-scottish-leader-urges-action-as-far-right-rallies-continue/3294972
--------
A New
Islamist Underground Emerging, One Far More Violent than Its Predecessor:
Specialist on the North Caucasus
05-08-24
Staunton,
Aug. 1 – A new and more radical Islamist underground is emerging in the North
Caucasus, one far less secular, far more informed by Islamist practice in the
Middle East, and far more violent than the one Moscow and republic officials
thought they had defeated forever a decade ago, Vadim Dubnov says.
The
specialist on the North Caucasus who works for Radio Liberty says that this
becomes clear if one examines carefully the difference between the attack at the
Makhachkala airport and the attacks on synagogues and churches in Derbent and
the Daghestani capital earlier (theins.ru/opinions/vadim-dubnov/273292).
The
former was a protest against people returning from Israel, but the latter was
an attack on all Jews and an anti-colonial action against all Christians as
representatives of imperialism as such. The powers that be don’t yet fully
appreciate this shift and what it means and are not equipped intellectually or
practically to cope with it, Dubnov argues.
This
“new underground is much less involved in clan conflicts and connections with
the siloviki and much more religious: at its basis is radical Islam brought in
from the countries of the Middle East and supported by preachers locally. To
struggle with fanatics prepared to die is much more difficult,” he continues.
When Moscow suppressed the armed uprising in
Chechnya, many in Moscow assumed that it had eliminated the problems it faced
across the North Caucasus because Chechnya had been a model for many. But Dagestan,
always more religious, has become “the center” of a new underground based on
radical Islamism.
If the
former underground felt it could pick and choose those elements of Islam it
wanted to follow, the new one consists of people who believe that they must
accept all of Islam, not the denatured kind Sovietized and Russian Islam
offered but rather the true Islam found among radicals in the Middle East and
be prepared to die for it.
The
authorities believed they could defeat the former by fighting corruption and
using force to wean away those at the edges of the underground and to a large
extent they were right, but fighting this new underground is far more difficult
because it is far more ideological and far more ready to die for that ideology.
And the
authorities also believed, with the support of some sociological studies, that
if they promoted the kind of Islam in Dagestan on offer a decade ago, they
would win over the younger generation
(cyberleninka.ru/article/n/dinamika-religioznosti-gorodskogo-naseleniya-dagestana/viewer),
but that approach isn’t working with the new underground.
This new
force wants to demonstrate to the world that it is fully capable of forming its
own Islamic state on its own territory and doesn’t need the orders of outsiders
to do so. Instead, Dubnov suggests, it will increasingly draw on anti-Semitism
and anti-colonialism in Dagestan and elsewhere to achieve its goals. Fighting
that will be more difficult than Moscow imagines.
Source: windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2024/08/a-new-islamist-underground-emerging-in.html
--------
Head of
Türkiye’s Diyanet calls Muslim unity to stop invading Zionists
AUG 04,
2024
Ali
Erbaş speaks at the conference in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Aug. 4, 2024. (AA Photo)
-------------
Speaking
at an event in Saudi Arabia’s Mecca, Ali Erbaş, head of the Presidency of
Religious Affairs (DIB or Diyanet), urged Muslims to join forces to stop the
massacre of innocent Palestinians in Gaza by the occupying Zionists. “I pray to
Allah for all Muslims to combine their powers and exert efforts for the
establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its
capital,” Erbaş told participants of the Ninth Conference of Ministers of Awqaf
and Islamic Affairs hosted by Saudi Arabia.
Erbaş,
who was last seen at a funeral in absentia for slain Hamas leader Ismail
Haniyeh, highlighted ongoing genocide and cruelty in Palestine and said he
wished that the world would be a safer place for everyone, particularly
Palestinians facing oppression and genocide in their own homeland.
Türkiye
is a fervent advocate of the Palestinian cause for a free Palestinian state and
since the new round of the Palestine-Israel conflict erupted last October, it
advocated a peaceful, lasting solution to the issue. Yet, Israel’s relentless
attacks pushed Türkiye to escalate its rhetoric against the Netanyahu
administration. Türkiye, along with other countries, took its accusation of
genocide and war crimes against Israel to an international court.
Source: dailysabah.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/head-of-turkiyes-diyanet-calls-muslim-unity-to-stop-invading-zionists/news
--------
Imran
open to ‘engaging with generals’ if freed
August
5, 2024
ISLAMABAD:
Incarcerated former PM Imran Khan — who has consistently blamed the military
for his ouster from power and subsequent imprisonment, seemingly changed his
tune on Sunday, saying that it would be “foolish” not to have “excellent”
relations with the army.
Aug 5
marks a whole year since he was jailed on dozens of charges, ranging from
corruption to leaking state secrets.
Claiming
that his criticisms since his ouster had been directed at individuals, not the
military as an institution, he said: “The miscalculations of the military
leadership shouldn’t be held against the institution as a whole”.
In an
interview published by the Reuters news agency over the weekend, the PTI
founder also said that there would be “no harm” in engaging with the generals
if he should be released from jail and seek to return to power.
In
written responses to Reuters questions relayed by his media and legal team, Mr
Khan said, “Given Pakistan’s geographical position and the military’s
significant role in the private sector, it would be foolish not to foster such
a relationship.”
Last
week, Mr Khan had offered “conditional negotiations” with the military if
“clean and transparent” elections were held and the “bogus” cases against his
supporters were dropped.
He
maintained that it was useless to hold any such talks with the Shehbaz Sharif
government as, in his view, it does not enjoy public backing.
Rather,
Mr Khan said, it would be “more productive to engage with those who actually
wield power”.
The
military has previously ruled out any talks with him or his party, holding them
responsible for the events of May 9.
Mr Khan
also rejected the idea of reaching an out-of-court settlement with the
government or military, unless they accepted that his party had won a majority
in February’s election.
Source: dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1850155/imran-open-to-engaging-with-generals-if-freed
--------
South Asia
Islamic
Emirate’s recognition; world still seeking excuses
August
5, 2024
The
national gathering in which, religious scholars, tribal elders, influential
figures and a number of youths from up to 28 provinces of the country attended,
was held in the country’s capital Kabul. The aim of the grand auspicious
get-together was to discuss the way of strengthening the Islamic system, and
all factors behind the international community’s failure to recognize the
Islamic Emirate has been negated. As the participants of the gathering stated,
the Islamic Emirate now controls all over the country and the budget of the
entire institutions of Afghanistan, including security and civil organs coming
from the country’s national revenues, while the former government relied on
foreign aids by up to 85 percent. On the other hand, the Islamic Emirate has
fulfilled all its conditions for its internal legitimacy, paving the way for
its global recognition. But the world is thought to have been seeking excuses
in this field and the international community is clearly, seen to have been
creating obstacles in the way of the Islamic system’s recognition as well as to
keep freezing the country’s national assets abroad. Against all international
norms, the world still wants to reorganize malicious groups and former corrupt
officials who have looted public properties and besieged them against
Afghanistan to once again reach their vicious goals to pave the way for their
invasion of the country. This is while, the islands of power for warlords and
corrupt politicians, has been vanished, the powers of strongmen, warlords and
other mafia groups have been concluded and poppy cultivation has reached zero
countrywide through a centralized system. All these indicate that the Islamic
Emirate has accomplished all its responsibilities towards the country and the
nation and deserves recognition by the world. On the other hand, there is no
sign of terrorist activities in the country, after the resumption of power by
the Islamic Emirate. The security forces of the country have strongly fought
terrorist groups and eliminated them everywhere, they were found and the claim
of some certain world countries are not unfair and injustice about the presence
of anti-security elements. So, the international community, instead of seeking
more excuses about Afghanistan, should pay attention to the realities and step
up to further normalization of relations with the Islamic Emirate as well as
step up towards recognition of the ruling Islamic system. The entire people of
Afghanistan, particularly, the youths of the country, should get united and
gathered around their Islamic system and support strongly and oppose any
propaganda against the Islamic Emirate. They should say no to the malicious
groups and help their country develop in all fields.
Source: thekabultimes.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://thekabultimes.com/islamic-emirates-recognition-world-still-seeking-excuses/
--------
National
gathering held in Kabul to discuss strengthening Islamic system
August
5, 2024
KABUL: A
national gathering was held in the country’s capital Kabul on Sunday to discuss
the way of strengthening the Islamic system. Religious scholars, tribal elders,
influential figures and a number of youths from 28 provinces of the country,
have attended the grand gathering, according to a valid source. The aim of the
grand auspicious get-together was to discuss the way of strengthening the
Islamic system, and all factors behind the world’s failure to recognize the
Islamic Emirate has been negated. A senior adviser to the Ministry of Water and
Energy, Faruq Azam said the Islamic Emirate has now control all over the
country and the budget of the entire institutions of Afghanistan comes from the
country’s national revenues, while the former government relied on foreign aids
by 85 percent. On the other hand, the Islamic Emirate has fulfilled all
criteria of recognition for its internal and international legitimacy. “The
past regimes have killed their oppositions, while the Islamic Emirate announced
public amnesty and destroyed all islands of power. It put an end to the poppy
cultivation, while only Helmand has produced 46 percent of the country’s poppy
opium through a centralized government,” he said. Meanwhile, Abdul Latif Nazari
the Deputy Minister of Economy said that after the restoration of the Islamic
Emirate, both ethical and administrative corruption has ended and the employees
of the country, are receiving their salaries regularly. Other elders and
religious scholars who attended the meeting expressed their support for the
Islamic system and called for recognition of the ruling government and the
unfreezing of the country’s national assets. Deputy Minister of Propagation of
Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Shaikh Mohammad Faqir spoke about the rights of
women and added that their rights are secured as after the Islamic Emirate
power resumption, no woman has been given in exchange marriage or against
murder. They are now receiving their legacy properly, while in the past they
had been deprived of all their religious and civil rights. The Kabul Times
Source: thekabultimes.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://thekabultimes.com/national-gathering-held-in-kabul-to-discuss-strengthening-islamic-system/
--------
Ancient
Artefacts Discovered InGhor, Afghanistan, Amid Concerns Of Preservation
August
5, 2024
Officials
from Ghor’s cultural department have announced the discovery of nine ancient
artifacts from the Shaharak district, which have been handed over to the
provincial museum’s Department of Information and Culture.
Abdul
Hai Zaeem, the head of Ghor’s Department of Information and Culture, stated
that these ancient artifacts, unearthed from the salt mine area of Kotal Guwk
in Shaharak district, include a cauldron, frame, and goblet dating back to the
Ghurid period.
The head
of Ghor’s Department of Information and Culture further mentioned that the
historical significance and periodization of these ancient artifacts would soon
be determined by archaeologists.
It is
worth noting that recently, four ancient artifacts were also discovered around
the Minaret of Jam in Ghor, which were subsequently handed over to the
provincial museum’s Department of Information and Culture in the presence of
local officials.
These
discoveries highlight the ongoing efforts to preserve and study Ghor’s rich
archaeological heritage, contributing to a deeper understanding of the region’s
historical legacy.
Preserving
and safeguarding these ancient artifacts is crucial not only for understanding
Ghor’s historical narrative but also for their cultural significance on a
global scale.
This
comes amid concerns about the smuggling of Afghanistan’s artifacts, attributed
to inadequate security and transparency in the country.
Source: khaama.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.khaama.com/ancient-artifacts-discovered-in-ghor-afghanistan-amid-concerns-of-preservation/
--------
Iranian
diplomat defends country’s position on inclusive Govt in Afghanistan
August
4, 2024
Senior
Iranian diplomat Seyed Rasoul Mousavi has reiterated his emphasis on
establishing a inclusive government in Afghanistan, defending it as not a
coalition or participatory government, contrary to some interpretations.
Mr.
Mousavi, in a note published on social media, welcomed the meeting of the
Afghanistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss relations with the new
government in Iran.
Recently,
the Afghanistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced holding a “scientific
session” to assess relations with the new Iranian government.
Jafar
Mahdi, a speaker at this session, criticized Iran’s position on creating a
inclusive government in Afghanistan.
Seyed
Rasoul Mousavi has criticized the remarks of the Afghanistan Ministry of
Foreign Affairs speaker in his writings and clarified the concept of “inclusive
government,” stating it is not a participatory, coalition, or oppositional
entity.
According
to him, a inclusive government effectively engages all members of society and
serves them. If its conditions and implementation of laws are transparent,
impartial, and accountable to all citizens, such a government is inclusive and
accountable.
Meanwhile,
Seyed Rasoul Mousavi has consistently stressed the necessity of establishing a
inclusive government in Afghanistan, while the Afghanistan Ministry of Foreign
Affairs maintains that their government is inclusive.
Source: khaama.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.khaama.com/iranian-diplomat-defends-countrys-position-on-inclusive-govt-in-afghanistan/
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Herat
Reports 46% Increase in Exports, Reaching Over $43 Million in Early 2024
2024-08-04
HERAT(BNA):
Herat has reported a substantial increase in exports, with over $43 million USD
in goods shipped out during the first three months of the year, reflecting a
46% rise compared to the same period last year, according to Hamidullah Khadem,
Head of the Herat Chamber of Industries and Mines.
Meanwhile,
Mohammad Yousuf Amin, Executive Director of the Herat Chamber of Commerce and Investment,
highlighted that the exports include agricultural products, locally
manufactured goods, and marble stones, reaching both domestic and international
markets.
Notably,
exports of Herat-produced carpets also saw growth, with 2,189 square meters sold
for $44,260 to Dubai and Bulgaria.
Hamidullah
Khadem further reported that Herat’s industrial towns hosts 800 active
companies. Key exports from the region include fiberglass products,
non-alcoholic beverages, glassware, pottery, textiles, paints, and decorative
stones, which are consistently shipped both locally and internationally.
Source: bakhtarnews.af
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/herat-reports-46-increase-in-exports-reaching-over-43-million-in-early-2024/
--------
Kabul
Mayor Emphasizes Compliance with Urban Standards in Meeting with Traders
2024-08-04
KABUL
(BNA): Mawlawi Abdul Rashid, Mayor of Kabul, met with traders and investors to
discuss the implementation of urban development programs and plans.
In a
statement issued by the Kabul Municipality’s media office, Mayor Abdul Rashid
reiterated that urban laws are applied uniformly to all citizens, leaving no
room for lawlessness.
He
emphasized that any modifications to the facades and structures of commercial
markets must comply with urban standards and that all constructions must align
with the master plan.
Mayor
Mawlawi Abdul Rashid called on traders and investors to collaborate with the
Kabul Municipality in achieving sustainable development and structured growth
for the city.
He
further highlighted that the economic growth of the country heavily relies on
capable and honest national investors. To this end, the municipality is
providing enhanced facilities and opportunities to support investors.
In turn,
the traders and investors expressed their support for the urban development
plans and assured their cooperation with the municipality.
Source: bakhtarnews.af
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/kabul-mayor-emphasizes-compliance-with-urban-standards-in-meeting-with-traders/
--------
Panjshir
Youth to Fill Thousands of Positions in Civil and Military Sectors This Year
2024-08-04
PANJSHIR
(BNA): This year, thousands of positions in civil and military institutions
have been dedicated to the youth of Panjshir province.
Haji
Hafiz Mohammad Agha Hakim, Governor of Panjshir, announced that 2,000 positions
in the National Police, 600 in the Islamic Army, and 700 in the civil sector
have been allocated for the youth by the Islamic Emirate’s leadership.
He added
that, since the start of the year, 320 individuals have joined the Islamic
Emirate Army, hundreds have been recruited into the National Police, and 400
have been employed in the civil sector, with ongoing recruitment for the
remaining positions.
Governor
Hakim assured that efforts to create job opportunities for Panjshir’s youth
will continue, noting that approximately 20,000 people are currently employed
in the province’s mining sector.
He
further emphasized that while progress has been made, more efforts are needed
to ensure adequate employment opportunities for the residents of Panjshir.
Source: bakhtarnews.af
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/panjshir-youth-to-fill-thousands-of-positions-in-civil-and-military-sectors-this-year/
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At least
93 dead as violence grips the country
Aug 5,
2024
At least
93 people were killed and more than a thousand others injured, many with
bullets, as a new wave of violence convulsed Bangladesh yesterday.
Ruling
party activists and police clashed with anti-government protesters in at least
20 districts on the first day of the student-led non-cooperation movement
designed to keep pressure on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step down.
With
yesterday's count, the total death toll in anti-government protests crossed 300
in just three weeks, making it the bloodiest period in the history of
Bangladesh's civil movement.
The day began
with an eerie calm, but it turned violent after supporters of the ruling Awami
League descended on the streets to subdue anti-government protests.
As
violence spread, an angry mob attacked a police station in the northern
district of Sirajganj, beating 13 police personnel to death. Separately, at
least five people died in clashes in Raiganj upazila of Sirajganj, taking the
total death toll to 18 in the district, the highest tally among all.
In the
capital, at least 12 people were killed. Most of them were brought dead to
Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.
With the
country already on the boil, attackers torched or vandalised the homes of some
ruling party lawmakers, Awami League offices, police stations, law-enforcement
vehicles, prison vans and hospital buses throughout the day, forcing the
authorities to tighten a nationwide curfew and block 4G mobile internet to
quell the violence.
Details
of death and destruction kept coming from across the country until late last
night. The death toll is likely to rise as many were hospitalised with grievous
injuries, according to reports filed by The Daily Star's district
correspondents. At least 70 establishments owned by individuals or the
government were set on fire, according to fire service data.
Bangladesh
announced the shutdown of public and private offices, including banks, for
three days, while students scheduled a long march for today, setting themselves
on a potential collision course with pro-government groups.
It all
came as protesters whittled their demands down to just one: the resignation of
Hasina and her cabinet members. Simultaneously, they started a non-cooperation
movement, urging citizens not to pay taxes and migrant workers not to send
remittances from abroad through banking channels.
The latest
spell of violence was born out of job quota reform protests led by students.
The protests entered a dangerous phase after at least 208 people were killed in
indiscriminate firing by law enforcers, members of Border Guard Bangladesh and
ruling party activists, in a spasm of violence from July 16 to August 3.
Tension
in Bangladesh has been simmering since Saturday night, following AL General
Secretary Obaidul Quader's announcement that the ruling party activists would
be on the streets to maintain their positions against protesters.
In
Dhaka, some areas felt like battlefields yesterday as police, ruling party
activists and protesters engaged in three-way violence at Farmgate, Dhanmondi,
Mirpur 10, Uttara, Shahbagh and Gulistan.
Hundreds
of ruling party supporters wielding sticks walked down Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue
towards the Karwan Bazar intersection around 12:50pm, raising fears of
violence.
The road
stretching from Farmgate to Bangla Motor resembled a "battlefield" as
police and ruling party men fired indiscriminately on a huge crowd of
protesters, who were advancing towards Farmgate with sticks in hand. They were
also carrying drums and plastic traffic barriers to the protest site. At times,
they threw brickbats at the police and Awami League supporters along the way.
A clash
broke out between protesters and ruling party men near the Awami League office
in the capital's Dhanmondi around 12:30pm when protesters from Dhanmondi-2
moved to Dhanmondi-3. Sounds of gunshots and stun grenades rang out in the area.
Most
shopping malls, shops, bank branches and other establishments were closed.
Public transport disappeared from the streets, forcing people to walk home or
to workplaces, while long-haul buses and trains suspended their services.
In Old
Dhaka, a clash between police and protesters halted proceedings at the Chief
Metropolitan Magistrate's Court premises.
Over a
hundred protesters, along with pro-BNP lawyers, broke a collapsible gate to the
court premises, which the police had cordoned off since morning. The protesters
threw brickbats at the doors and windows in the court area, witnesses said. Two
prison vans and two police cars were vandalised by unidentified people as
violence broke out.
The
Shahbagh intersection was on edge after rival groups gathered since morning,
leading to a violent clash. Both groups barged into the Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujib Medical University premises and engaged in another round of clashes. At
least 24 vehicles were set on fire with black smoke billowing skywards.
Meanwhile,
the Mirpur-10 intersection turned into a hotspot as protesters arrived in
droves. AL men, some of them with firearms, had already occupied the area,
backed by police. Numerous gunshots rang out, sending panic through the area.
Violence
beyond Dhaka
In
Laxmipur, eight people were killed and 100 others were wounded in a clash
between protesters and members of Jobo League and Chhatra League, police said.
Three of the victims suffered gunshots, while five were beaten dead.
In
Narsingdi, at least six AL leaders were beaten to death and several others
injured in a clash between AL supporters and protesters. The incident took
place in front of a mosque next to the Madhabdi Municipal Building, according
to KM Shahidul Islam Shohag, additional superintendent of police.
In Feni,
at least eight people were killed in clashes as Awami League men attacked
protesters. Several people were injured in the incident, reports our
correspondent. Their identities could not be immediately confirmed.
In the
northern city of Rangpur, four people died in clashes. Abdul Jalil, an official
of the Rangpur Medical College and Hospital, confirmed two of the deaths.
One of
the dead was identified as Haradhan Roy, president of the Parshuram Thana Awami
League and councillor of Ward 4 in Rangpur city. The second man was his driver
whose name could not be known.
In
Sylhet, four people were shot dead and at least 25, including policemen and
members of Border Guard Bangladesh, were injured in a clash. One of the
deceased was identified as Taj Uddin, 43, a businessman of Dharabohor village
in Sylhet's Golapganj upazila.
Meanwhile,
protesters and police clashed around 12:00pm, half an hour after hundreds of
demonstrators gathered at the Court Point area in Sylhet city. Police fired
shotguns, tear shells and stun grenades to disperse the protesters.
In
Bogura, separate clashes left at least five people dead and many others
injured, with 32 hospitalised.
One of
them, Manirul Islam, 24, was shot dead as police opened fire on protesters
after they attacked Dupchanchia Police Station. He was brought dead to a local
hospital, according to a doctor. Besides, two others were brought dead to
Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College in Bogura.
"It
seems they died of gunshot wounds. But we could not confirm it," Abdul
Wadud, deputy director of the hospital, told The Daily Star. At least 32 people
are currently undergoing treatment at the hospital.
In
Pabna, at least three people were killed and 50 others injured during a clash
between protestors and ruling party men. One person was brought dead, while two
others died of their injuries at the Pabna Sadar Hospital, said its assistant
director, Rafiqul Hasan.
In
Munshiganj, at least three persons were killed and 20 others injured near the
Super Market area.
Abu Hena
Mohammad Jamal, superintendent of Munshiganj General Hospital, said two persons
were brought dead and many were hospitalised with injuries. The doctors,
however, could not give details on the nature of the injuries.
Police
did not open fire, Munshiganj Additional Superintendent of Police Khairul Hasan
said, adding that he was unaware of any casualty.
In
Magura, at least four people were killed and 20 others were injured in clashes
that involved protesters on one side and police and ruling party men on the
other.
In Kishoreganj,
at least three people, including a woman, were killed and over 100 injured in a
clash between protesters and AL activists.
Witnesses
reported that the AL office was vandalised and set on fire during the conflict.
Subsequently, the protesters blocked the road for three hours.
In
Cumilla's Debidwar upazila, three persons were killed and several others were
injured in a clash. One of them was Md Rubel, 33, who was rushed to a local
hospital with a head injury, where a doctor declared him dead.
The clash
started as AL supporters attacked protesters with sharp weapons in the New
Market area in Debidwar upazila.
In
Chattogram, at least 172 people have been admitted to Chattogram Medical
College Hospital, after they were wounded with bullets in a clash between
protesters, police and AL activists.
In
Khulna, unidentified people torched the Khulna Zilla parishad office.
In
Faridpur, the district Awami League office was vandalised, while a BCL office
was torched allegedly by protesters. The protesters also set fire to 10
motorcycles in front of the district AL office in the town. Besides, police
fired rubber bullets, sound grenades and teargas shells when the Kotwali Police
Station was attacked.
Source: thedailystar.net
Please click the following URL to read the
text of the original Story
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/least-93-dead-violence-grips-the-country-3669636
--------
Maldives
hopes to make India one of its top 3 tourism markets again: Ibrahim Shiuree
The
MMPRC CEO & Managing Director speaks about Maldives’ India plans, the
footfall so far this year, and why Maldivians, too, like to visit India. Edited
excerpts:
Written
by Divya A
August
4, 2024
Maldives
tourism, Maldives tourism markets, Ibrahim Shiuree interview, Ibrahim Shiuree, Maldives,
India-Maldives relations, India tourism industry, Indian express news, current
affairsIbrahim Shiuree, CEO-MD, Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corp
AFTER A
diplomatic row late last year triggered a boycott by Indian travellers,
Maldives is once again attempting to woo India to take back its position as one
of its top three tourism source markets. Maldives Tourism Minister Ibrahim
Faisal, who is on a six-day visit to India, has kicked off a series of
roadshows in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru under the “Welcome India” initiative,
launched by the Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC).
MMPRC
CEO & Managing Director, IBRAHIM SHIUREE, speaks to DIVYA A about Maldives’
India plans, the footfall so far this year, and why Maldivians, too, like to
visit India. Edited excerpts:
Which is
the number one market for Maldives in terms of tourism footfall this year?
Where does India figure?
India
has been a significant contributor to Maldives’ tourism industry for many
years, especially during the pandemic. Currently, it ranks sixth in our top 10
markets this year. The top market for the Maldives currently is China.
As of
July 30, 2024, a total of 71,381 Indian travellers have visited Maldives — 6.1%
of the overall tourist market share. We have high hopes that with activities
such as this roadshow, we will be able to improve this figure even further and
reinstate India among the top three markets.
What are
the initiatives to boost tourism numbers back to last year’s, when over two
lakh Indians visited Maldives, more than Chinese travelleres?
India is
a significant market for Maldives’ tourism industry. We are employing a
data-driven approach that covers everything: from promoting the destination to
accommodations, services, and USPs in order to boost numbers from India. We are
positioning Maldives as a year-round destination through strategic campaigns.
Maldives
can be an attractive and affordable short-haul destination for Indian
travellers, and we aim to solidify its position as the most-preferred holiday
destination for Indian tourists through these initiatives.
Is there
a plan to increase connectivity? Are more flights being planned?
Currently,
there are five airlines flying directly between India and Maldives, operating
multiple flights weekly. To further drive tourism growth in the market, we are
actively exploring opportunities to increase flight connectivity by introducing
additional direct flights from more Indian cities to various regions of the
Maldives.
Do
people from Maldives also visit India for tourism?
While
Maldives is a premier tourist destination for Indians, Maldives is also a
significant outbound market for the Indian tourism industry. Many Maldivians
visit Indian cities like Bangalore, Cochin, and Trivandrum, primarily for medical
tourism. India is a popular and trusted choice for Maldivians seeking advanced
medical treatments.
Additionally,
a considerable number of Maldivians also visit India for leisure and shopping.
Ooty, for instance, which has a geography very different to Maldives, is a
loved location for Maldivians to stop by on their way back home from cities
more popular for shopping such as Bangalore or Mumbai.
Source: indianexpress.com
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https://indianexpress.com/article/india/maldives-hopes-to-make-india-one-of-its-top-3-tourism-markets-again-ibrahim-shiuree-9493514/
--------
India
Waqf
System Must Come Out Of ‘Touch-Me-Not’ Syndrome: BJP Leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
August
4, 2024
Former
minority affairs minister and senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Sunday
said the Waqf system has to come out of the “touch-me-not” syndrome, and
asserted that a “communal attack on inclusive reforms” is not right.
His
remarks came after it emerged that the government is all set to bring a Bill in
Parliament to amend the 1995 law governing Waqf boards to ensure more
accountability and transparency in their functioning and mandatory inclusion of
women in these bodies.
Sources
claimed that the move comes in the backdrop of demands from within the Muslim
community.
The
amendment Bill will make it mandatory for Waqf boards to register their
properties with district collectors to ensure their actual valuation.
In a
post in Hindi on X, Naqvi said, “The Waqf system will have to come out of the
madness of ‘touch-me-not’ syndrome-politics.” He also said “communal attack on
inclusive reforms is not right”.
Several
Muslim organisations and clerics have opposed the proposed amendments in the
Waqf Act, with the All India Muslim Personal Law Board saying that any
interference with the legal status and the powers of Waqf boards will not be
tolerated.
All
India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIMI) chief Asaduddin Owaisi alleged that
the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre wants to take away the autonomy of
Waqf Boards.
Source: indianexpress.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/waqf-system-must-come-out-of-touch-me-not-syndrome-mukhtar-abbad-naqvi-9495115/
--------
"Attempt
to Snatch the Rights of Muslims": SP ChiefHits Out at BJP for Proposing to
Amend Waqf Act
Aug 05,
2024
Lucknow:
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav on Monday said that Bhartiya Janata Party
wants to "snatch the rights of Muslim Brothers" after reports of the
government's plans to amend the Waqf board Act came out.
"BJP
has no work except Hindu-Muslim or how to snatch the rights of Muslim brothers.
The rights they have got, the right to freedom or the right to follow their
religion, the right to maintain their working system," Akhilesh Yadav
said.
"He
(CM Yogi Adityanath) came to know that Nazul is an Urdu word, and the officials
kept explaining to him that Nazul means something else. But he thought that
Nazul meant the land of Muslims," He further added.
Akhilesh
Yadav said that those aligned with the BJP and are worried about Dalits,
tribals and minorities should leave BJP.
"Those
who are worried about reservation, backwards, Dalits, tribals and minorities
should leave BJP immediately. Their aim from the very first day has been to
defame the socialists and especially their thinking about Muslims is
undemocratic and unconstitutional," he said.
Akhilesh
Yadav further attacked the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh and said CM Yogi is
not a Yogi as he does not believe in democracy.
"If
a 'Yogi' does not believe in democracy, the Constitution, he cannot be a
'Yogi," Akhilesh Yadav said.
According
to sources, the central government is considering making amendments to the Waqf
Act which could restrict the power of the Waqf Board said sources. According to
the sources, 32-40 amendments are being considered in the Waqf Board Act.
Waqf Act
was first passed by Parliament in 1954. Subsequently, it was repealed and a new
Waqf Act was passed in 1995, giving more powers to Waqf Boards. In 2013, this
Act was further amended to give far-reaching powers to the Waqf Board to
designate the property as 'Waqf Property'.
According
to sources, the proposed amendments are likely to make it mandatory for the
Waqf Board to register its property in the District Collector's office to
evaluate the property. The amendments also aim to enhance inclusivity by
ensuring women's representation on the Central Waqf Council and state boards.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/attempt-to-snatch-the-rights-of-muslims-akhilesh-yadav-hits-out-at-bjp-for-proposing-to-amend-waqf-act/articleshow/112283106.cms
--------
Punjab
Waqf Board Grants 17.7L to Cash-Strapped Mosques and Shrines In The
Mohali-Rajpura Circle
Aug 5,
2024
Mohali:
Punjab Waqf Board recently released a grant of Rs 17.75 lakh to various mosques
in the Mohali-Rajpura circle, giving the cash-strapped shrines some much-needed
relief. The board, under ADGP Mohammad Fayyaz Farooqui, has been working to
support the Muslim community in Punjab. The grant includes Rs 2 lakh for the
cemetery in Balsuana village, Rs 4 lakh for Jama Masjid, Khizrabad, Rs 1.50
lakh for Lalru Masjid, Hazara, Rs 1.50 lakh for Masjid Bilal Gadhera, Rs 1 lakh
for Muhammadi Masjid, Nandpur Kalour, Rs 3 lakh for Madrasa Rajpura, Rs 1 lakh
for Pahar Khurd Masjid, and Rs 2 lakh for Mecca Masjid, Ballopur. tnn
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Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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the text of the original Story
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/punjab-waqf-board-grants-177l-to-mosques-in-mohali-rajpura-circle/articleshow/112273623.cms
--------
Proposed
amendments to Waqf Act are intended to rob Muslims of Waqf Properties,
violation of freedom of religion: Owaisi
Adjudication
of disputes over waqf properties is the domain of judiciary, and not of the
executive
August
04, 2024
Syed
Mohammed
Hyderabad
parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi on August 4, while reacting to media reports
about proposed amendments to the Waqf Act, said these would trample upon the
freedom of religion and were intended to grab waqf properties from the Muslims.
Mr
Owaisi was speaking to the media at party headquarters in Darussalaam where he
said that if media reports are to be believed, then the proposed amendments
were reflective of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya
Janata Party’s (BJP) agenda to end waqf. “The BJP since the beginning has been
against waqf and waqf boards. And it is the RSS’ Hindutva agenda to finish waqf
properties, and waqf boards.”
“The
proposed amendments, as reported by media, show that Modi government wants to
snatch the autonomy of waqf boards, and also wants to interfere in the object
of waqf, that of administering waqf properties. This itself is against the
freedom of religion,” Mr Owaisi, who is also the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul
Muslimeen president, said.
Mr
Owaisi objected to what he described as the government’s “leaks to the media”.
He emphasised that at a time when the parliament was in session, it was
imperative that these proposed amendments, as reported by the media, be brought
to the attention of parliamentarians first.
The
AIMIM president stated per the Waqf Act, state governments appoint a survey
commissioner [of waqfs] who identifies waqf properties, and subsequently
prepares a list of waqfs. The list is then sent to the State government which
issues a gazette notification, which itself is an official act. If unchallenged
for a year, the final nature of the property becomes waqf, he said.
“They
want to change this. Meaning, the properties which are already waqf, it would
have to be re-established that they are waqf. This is an impossibility.
Secondly, you want to dilute the conclusive nature of the gazette. Many have
illegally encroached upon waqfs. This means they will get a chance to claim
that the property is theirs,” Mr Owaisi said.
The
Hyderabad parliamentarian raised further objections to what he said was the
executive’s intervention to survey disputes waqf properties. “If a property is
disputed, then adjudication is the judiciary’s domain. Here, the Modi
government will create a dispute and will get it surveyed. The executive or the
Chief Minister will get the survey done, and if the BJP is in power It is
obvious what result this will yield,” he said. “There are many dargahs and masjids
which the BJP and RSS claim are not dargahs and masjids. The executive wants to
snatch the power of the judiciary.”
Source: thehindu.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/proposed-amendments-to-waqf-act-are-intended-to-rob-muslims-of-waqf-properties-violation-of-freedom-of-religion-owaisi/article68484634.ece
--------
Life
Imprisonment For ‘Love Jihad’ Under New Law Soon In Assam, Says CM
05-08-24
Assam
will soon introduce a law providing for life imprisonment in cases of “love
jihad”, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Sunday.
“Love
jihad” is a conspiracy theory espoused by Hindutva groups, alleging that Hindu
women are forcibly converted to Islam through marriage.
“At the
time of elections, we had spoken about love jihad,” Sarma said in Guwahati at a
Bharatiya Janata Party state executive meeting. “In the coming days, we will
bring a new law that will introduce life imprisonment as a penalty for love
jihad cases.”
Sarma
also said that the government’s permission will be made mandatory for the sale
of land between Hindus and Muslims.
“Earlier,
there was inter-religious land transfers,” Sarma was quoted as saying by The
Indian Express. “Hindus’ lands were bought by Muslims, Muslims’ lands were
bought by Hindus. The government cannot prevent such transactions but it has
decided that for the land of a Hindu to be bought by a Muslim and vice-versa,
there can be land sale permission only after the chief minister’s consent is
taken.”
Sarma
said that these decisions were aimed at “protecting the rights of indigenous
people” and sought to fulfill promises made before the 2021 elections.
He added
that the BJP government in the state would introduce restrictions on the sale
of land to a “particular community” in Lower Assam’s Goalpara region, where the
Koch Rajbongshi community resides.
“Undivided
Goalpara was an integral part of Assam, of great importance to the Koch
Rajbongshi community,” he said. “But people from a particular community kept
snatching land from our indigenous people there and today we are in the
minority in our own land.”
He added
that the state government has decided to bring a law that in the erstwhile
Undivided Goalpara district, no land “can be sold to people of special
communities”.
Source: scroll.in
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://scroll.in/latest/1071637/life-imprisonment-for-love-jihad-under-new-law-soon-in-assam-says-cm-himanta-biswa-sarma
--------
CM's
permission must for transfer of land from Hindus to Muslims in Assam soon
04
August 2024
Guwahati:
BJP-led government in Assam will soon introduce a bill in the Assembly for
making the Chief Minister's permission mandatory for transfer of land from Hindus
to Muslims.
Making
this announcement, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said in the past
three years, his government reclaimed land from encroachers belonging to a
particular community (apparently referring to Muslims), which is similar to the
size of Chand...
"But
land which will match the size of another 20 Chandigarh is still being occupied
by a section. We will continue our efforts to bring the land rights back to our
indigenous people," Sarma said.
"Earlier
inter-religious transfer of land was a normal affair but our government has
decided to introduce a bill in the Assembly soon under which Chief Minister's
permission will be made mandatory to get a sale permission for transfer of land
from Hi...
"In
the undivided Goalpara district, Koch Rajbongshi community was politically very
strong. But over the decades, they have become minorities in their own land and
their land has been snatched away by people belonging to a particular
community. But o...
CM Sarma
further said his government would soon come up with a new domicile policy under
which only those born in Assam will be eligible for state government jobs.
Lifer
for love jihad Sarma added that his government will also introduce another bill
that will prescribe life imprisonment for those found guilty of 'love jihad'.
"We know love jihad is a reality now in Assam," he said.
"We
know that we can not send anyone to Bangladesh but we will create an atmosphere
where rights of our indigenous people will remain protected for the
future," he said. BJP has targeted the Bengali-speaking Muslims as
"infiltrators" from neighbourin...
Sarma
also said that only indigenous people, belonging to both Brahmaputra and Barak
Valley, would be provided government jobs.
Source: deccanherald.com
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Article
370 abrogation: Amarnath Yatra suspended for a day from Jammu
August
5, 2024
No fresh
batch of Amarnath Yatra pilgrims was allowed to leave the Bhagwati Nagar base
camp here for Kashmir as a precautionary measure in view of the fifth
anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 on Monday, officials said.
More
than 4.90 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance at the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine
so far this year.
“The
yatra has been halted for the day as a precautionary measure. No fresh batch
was allowed from Jammu to Kashmir today,” an officer told PTI.
This step has been taken by the administration
in view of the fifth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370. Security has
been beefed up in the city, the officials said.
On
August 5, 2019, the Centre abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, which
accorded a special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, and
divided it into two union territories — Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Source: indianexpress.com
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India
advises citizens to avoid travelling to Bangladesh amid violent protests
The MEA
also advised the Indian citizens in Bangladesh to exercise extreme caution,
restrict their movements and remain in contact with the High Commission of
India in Dhaka.
August
5, 2024
Bangladesh
protestMen run past a burning vehicle inside the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib
Medical University Hospital, set on fire by protesters, during a rally against
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government demanding justice for the
victims killed in the recent countrywide deadly clashes, in Dhaka, Bangladesh,
Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
The
Ministry of External Affairs on Sunday advised all its citizens to avoid travelling
to Bangladesh amid the ongoing violent protest in the country till further
notice.
The
Ministry of External Affairs also advised the Indian citizens in Bangladesh to
exercise extreme caution, restrict their movements and remain in contact with the
High Commission of India in Dhaka with their emergency phone numbers.
The
information regarding India’s advisory was posted on X by Ministry of External
Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
This
comes amid widespread violent clashes and protests in the country which has led
to the death of 91 people, including 14 police personnel, and injured hundred
others. The protesters have been demanding the resignation of Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina.
The
Awami League led government cut off the mobile internet and implemented a
nationwide curfew for an indefinite period.
The
administration has also announced a three day general holiday on Monday,
Tuesday and Wednesday in order to ensure public safety, according to local
media outlet Dhaka Tribune.
Bangladesh
protest. Activists take part in a protest march against Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina and her government to demand justice for more than 200 people killed in
last month’s violent demonstrations, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, Aug. 2,
2024. (AP Photo)
Meanwhile,
PM Hasina has called out the protesters and said those engaging in “sabotage”
across Bangladesh are not students but terrorists. She added “I appeal to the
countrymen to suppress these terrorists with a firm hand.”
During
an earlier protest which took place in June-July, over 200 people lost their
lives as violent clashes took place between police and students regarding the
end of the controversial quota system in jobs.
The
quota system against which the violent protests in Bangladesh took place
reserved 30 percent of government jobs for relatives of war veterans who fought
for the independence movement of Bangladesh in 1971.
At least
11,000 people have been arrested since the protests started and stricter laws
have been enforced by the administration to curb the violence.
Source: indianexpress.com
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Security
agencies’ meet discusses status of cases against PFI since Sept ’22
In their
meeting, a source said, all the state police were asked to share specific
details of the people visiting jails to meet the arrested leaders, how many of
the leaders got bail and on what grounds.
Written
by Mahender Singh Manral
August
4, 2024
Popular
Front of India, Intelligence Bureau (IB), PFI, Security agencies meet, Popular
Front of India (PFI) ban, Indian express news, current affairsIn the last three
years, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) lodged multiple cases against
the PFI and conducted raids in several states Bihar, UP, Punjab, Goa, Tamil
Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala in order to collect evidence against the accused
and suspects in their cases.
In a
recent meeting of the Standing Focus Group (SFG) along with the state police
and the NIA, called by the Intelligence Bureau (IB), the agencies discussed the
status of cases filed by the state police and central agencies against the
banned Popular Front of India (PFI) since September 2022.
The key
points discussed included efforts to arrest the former leaders who are still
absconding or have fled the country; details of persons visiting jailed PFI
leaders; whether Friday prayers in jail where PFI leaders are lodged being monitored,
and any migration of PFI leaders/cadres to other organisations.
“The
number of arrested leaders and former PFI leaders, who are accused in their
cases, but are now absconding was also discussed. All the concerned police were
asked to share efforts by them to nab these absconding leaders and were asked
to share their points with each other,” a source said.
In the
last three years, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) lodged multiple cases
against the PFI and conducted raids in several states Bihar, UP, Punjab, Goa,
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala in order to collect evidence against the
accused and suspects in their cases.
In their
meeting, a source said, all the state police were asked to share specific
details of the people visiting jails to meet the arrested leaders, how many of
the leaders got bail and on what grounds.
“All the
officers were asked whether Friday prayers in jail where PFI leaders are lodged
are being monitored and with whom they are talking in jails. All the police
officers also shared their notes related with the modus-operandi of PFI for
collecting funds and also social media activities of ex-cadres of PFI from
abroad,” the source said.
An
official in the Central agencies said the arrested accused had “conspired in
committing terrorist acts, recruited members for furthering their extremist
ideology and imparted training to commit terrorist activities, organised mass
drills for displaying their might by gathering their members in combat
uniforms, intending that the participants in such activity shall be trained to
use criminal force for violence against other religious communities to spread
fear or alarm or insecurity among members of other religions.
Source: indianexpress.com
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Europe
UK
announces $37M funding package for mosque security amid far-right riots
Home
Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced a $37.65 million (£29.4 million) funding
package to enhance the protection of mosques following a series of attacks on
places of worship during riots across the UK.
The move
on Sunday comes in response to escalating violence and threats targeting these
religious institutions.
The new
rapid response process introduced by the government will ensure that mosques at
risk of violent disorder can receive additional security personnel promptly.
This
initiative aims to provide communities with essential support and reassurance,
supplementing the ongoing efforts by local police forces to protect these
critical religious places.
Deployment
of security measures
Under
this newly implemented process, police, local authorities, and mosques can
request rapid deployment of security measures.
"In
light of the disgraceful threats and attacks that local mosques have also faced
in many communities, the government is providing rapid additional support
through the Protective Security for Mosques Scheme," Cooper stated.
She
emphasised that this support will be in conjunction with efforts from local
police forces, and reiterated the government's firm stance against disorder and
violence:
"Anyone
involved in this disorder and violence will face the full force of the
law."
The
unrest comes after the tragic death of three young girls in Southport on
Monday, which has further strained community relations and sparked additional
episodes of disorder in towns and cities across England.
Courts
could operate around the clock to expedite prosecutions, said the proposed Home
Office minister Diana Johnson, to swiftly bring to justice those causing unrest
on the streets.
The
police have also beefed up security and deployed forces to tackle ongoing
disturbances, as indicated by Johnson.
Source: trtworld.com
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UK
leader vows tough action to end ‘far-right thuggery’ as violent anti-migrant
protests spread
August
04, 2024
LONDON:
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer strongly condemned an attack Sunday on a hotel
housing asylum seekers that saw at least 10 police officers injured, one
seriously, describing it as “far-right thuggery,” as more violence broke out
across the country in the wake of a stabbing rampage at a dance class that left
three girls dead and many more wounded.
In a
statement from 10 Downing Street on Sunday afternoon, the prime minister vowed
that the authorities will “do whatever it takes to bring these thugs to
justice” and that justice will be swift.
“I
guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder, whether directly or
those whipping up this action online and then running away themselves,” he
said. “This is not a protest, it is organized, violent thuggery and it has no
place on our streets or online.”
Starmer
was speaking after another day of far-right violence, which was particularly
acute in the north of England town of Rotherham where police struggled to hold
back hundreds of rioters who sought to break into a Holiday Inn Express hotel
being used as accommodation for asylum-seekers.
Before
bringing the riot under some sort of control, police officers with shields had
faced a barrage of missiles, including bits of wood, chairs and fire
extinguishers. A large bin close to a window of the hotel was also set alight
but the small fire was extinguished.
South
Yorkshire Police, which is responsible for Rotherham, said at least 10 officers
have been injured, including one who was left unconscious.
“The
behavior we witnessed has been nothing short of disgusting. While it was a
smaller number of those in attendance who chose to commit violence and
destruction, those who simply stood on and watched remain absolutely complicit
in this,” said Assistant Chief Constable Lindsey Butterfield. “We have officers
working hard, reviewing the considerable online imagery and footage of those
involved, and they should expect us to be at their doors very soon.”
Far-right
agitators have sought to take advantage of last week’s stabbing attack by
tapping into concerns about the scale of immigration in the UK, in particular
the tens of thousands of migrants arriving in small boats from France across
the English Channel.
Tensions
were also running high Sunday in the northeastern town of Middlesbrough, where
some protesters broke free of a police guard. One group walked through a
residential area smashing the windows of houses and cars. When asked by a
resident why they were breaking windows, one man replied, “Because we’re
English.” Hundreds of others squared up to police with shields at the town’s
cenotaph, throwing bricks, cans and pots at officers.
Starmer
said anyone targeting people for the color of their skin or their faith is
far-right.
“People
in this country have a right to be safe, and yet we’ve seen Muslim communities
targeted, attacks on mosques, other minority communities singled out, Nazi
salutes in the street, attacks on the police, wanton violence alongside racist
rhetoric, so no, I won’t shy away from calling it what it is: far-right
thuggery,” he said.
The
violence over the past days, which has seen a library torched, mosques attacked
and flares thrown at a statue of wartime leader Winston Churchill, began after
false rumors spread online that the suspect in the dance class stabbing attack
was an asylum-seeker, fueling anger among far-right supporters.
Suspects
under 18 are usually not named in the UK, but the judge in the case ordered
Axel Rudakubana, born in Wales to Rwandan parents, to be identified, in part to
stop the spread of misinformation. Rudakubana has been charged with three
counts of murder, and 10 counts of attempted murder.
Hundreds
of people have been arrested in connection with the disorder and many more are
likely as police scour CCTV, social media and body-worn camera footage.
However, police have also warned that with widespread security measures in
place, with thousands of officers deployed, other crimes may not be investigated
fully.
With so
many arrests, the courts will face a challenge in processing all the charges at
a time when the criminal justice system is overstretched, following years of
austerity and the COVID pandemic. In May, the National Audit Office warned that
the courts faced a backlog of more than 60,000 cases, while the government said
last month that thousands of inmates would have to be released early to ease
prison overcrowding.
Stephen
Parkinson, director of public prosecutions for England and Wales, said extra
lawyers have been deployed over the weekend and will work “around the clock”
over coming days to ensure justice is served. He said he has directed
prosecutors to make immediate charging decisions where key evidence is in
place.
“I am
determined that we will act swiftly and robustly, giving the courts maximum
ability to pass sentences that reflect what has occurred,” he said.
Many of
the demonstrations over the past week were organized online by far-right
groups, who mobilize support with phrases like “enough is enough,” “save our
kids” and “stop the boats.”
Rallying
cries have come from a diffuse group of social media accounts, but a key player
in amplifying them is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, a longtime far-right agitator who
uses the name Tommy Robinson. He led the English Defense League, which
Merseyside Police has linked to the violent protest in Southport on Tuesday,
near the scene of the stabbing attack.
Yaxley-Lennon,
41, was banned from Twitter in 2018 but allowed back after it was bought by
Elon Musk and rebranded as X. He has more than 800,000 followers. He currently
faces an arrest warrant after leaving the UK last week before a scheduled
hearing in contempt-of-court proceedings against him.
Nigel
Farage, who was elected to parliament in July for the first time as leader of
Reform UK, has also been blamed by many for encouraging — indirectly — the
anti-immigration sentiment. He has sought to link many of the problems the
country faces, such as in health and housing, on the big annual increases in
the country’s population.
Source: arabnews.com
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Tommy
Robinson falsely claims Stirling attacker was an ‘alleged Muslim’
2024-08-05
First
Minister John Swinney has warned against “unhelpful speculation” relating to
the stabbing of a woman in Stirling.
The
woman, 21, was treated in hospital for a “non life-threatening” injury on
Saturday and a 29-year-old man was charged in relation to the attack, which
took place at about 8.20pm in the town’s King Street.
Social
media reports on Saturday suggested three people had been stabbed and the
attacker had appeared to be Muslim.
However,
in an unusual move for the force, Police Scotland said the man arrested was
white and from the local area.
The
rumour had been promoted by Tommy Robinson, the founder of the English Defence
League (EDL).
The
claim, described by police as “false”, comes amid unrest across England and in
Belfast in recent days after the murders of three young girls in Southport on
Monday.
Bebe
King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, were
killed in the attack, with 17-year-old Axel Muganwa Rudakubana appearing court
charged with the crime.
In a statement
after the man was charged, Chief Inspector Liam Harman said: “We fully
appreciate the impact this incident has had in the local community and
appreciate the support provided to our investigation.
“This is
being treated as an isolated incident and there is no wider risk to the public.
“We are
aware of speculation and false information circulating on social media
regarding this incident. I would urge people not to add to this speculation.”
Meanwhile
Mr Swinney, who stressed there was no wider threat to the public, said: “This
is a serious incident and my thoughts are with the victim.
“This is
an isolated incident and I have been advised there is no wider threat to the
public.
“I would
encourage everyone to refrain from unhelpful speculation on social media.”
Justice
Secretary Angela Constance said she and the First Minister were being kept
updated by the Chief Constable over the course of the weekend as violence
unfolded in England and Northern Ireland, while the force remains in “constant
contact” with police across the UK.
She
added: “The violence we have seen is the product of criminal far-right
thuggery, it will not be tolerated, and Police Scotland have the appropriate
powers to deal with public protection to keep communities safe.”
But Mr
Swinney’s predecessor, Humza Yousaf, urged Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to
call in the army to quell violence in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, after a hotel
reportedly housing asylum seekers was attacked.
On X,
formerly Twitter, he said: “How much worse does it have to get before the army
is sent in @Keir_Starmer?
“The
police clearly do not have a handle on this situation.
“This
pogrom against Muslims and people of colour is going to cost lives unless these
far-right thugs are stopped.”
While Mr
Swinney said: “The latest incident in Rotherham, just like other events in
recent days, is the product of far-right racist thuggery. Racism must be
confronted whenever and wherever it appears.”
Later,
speaking to BBC News, Mr Yousaf described the violence as “race riots” and
“pogroms against Muslims and against people of colour”.
He went
on to challenge the framing by the broadcaster and other media outlets of the
disorder as being “protesters versus counter-protesters” adding: “That is not
right.
“We’re
seeing violent race riots and those who are protesting against those race
riots.”
Source: thelondoneconomic.com
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PM tells
rioters ‘you will regret it’ as mosques offered emergency support
04-08-24
Keir
Starmer vowed rioters would “regret” engaging in “far-right thuggery” after a
sixth day of escalating violence in England as the Government announced
emergency security for mosques amid the threat of further disorder.
In a
televised address to the nation, the Prime Minister condemned an attack on a
hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham and promised those involved in unrest
would “face the full force of the law”.
Speaking
from Downing Street, Sir Keir suggested that rioters taking to the streets, and
those “whipping up this action online and then running away themselves,” would
face consequences.
Meanwhile,
the Home Office announced mosques would be offered greater protection under a
new “rapid response process” designed to quickly tackle the threat of further
attacks on places of worship.
“People
in this country have a right to be safe, and yet we’ve seen Muslim communities
targeted, attacks on mosques,” the Prime Minister said on Sunday.
“Other
minority communities singled out, Nazi salutes in the street, attacks on the
police, wanton violence alongside racist rhetoric, so no, I won’t shy away from
calling it what it is: far-right thuggery.”
Sir Keir
indicated the response to the violence could mirror elements of how the 2011
riots were handled, at which time he was director of public prosecutions.
“We do
have standing arrangements for law enforcement which means that we can get
arrests, charge remanded in custody and convictions done very quickly,” he
said.
“I
myself was part of that in 2011 when I was director of public prosecutions, and
I’m determined we will do whatever it takes to bring these thugs to justice as
quickly as possible.”
Ministers
have suggested that courts could sit 24 hours to fast-track prosecutions – as
they did in 2011 – while police forces have measures in place to draft in extra
officers to tackle potential unrest.
It comes
after ugly scenes of anti-immigration rioters attacking police and smashing the
windows of a hotel in Rotherham on Sunday as the atmosphere turned increasingly
febrile on the sixth day of unrest in England.
Masked
men launched lengths of wood and sprayed fire extinguishers at officers outside
a Holiday Inn Express, with some storming past a police line and into the
ground floor, which was set on fire during the disorder.
At least
10 officers were injured, including one who was knocked unconscious, South
Yorkshire Police confirmed later, saying one person was already arrested and
others involved should “expect us to be at their doors very soon”.
Another
Holiday Inn in Tamworth was later targeted, with Staffordshire Police warning
people to stay away from the unrest after one officer was injured.
Specialist
drone surveillance and the national police air service have been sweeping the
area as part of efforts to identify those involved, a spokesman said.
Meanwhile,
a group of rioters in Middlesbrough smashed the windows of houses and cars and
hurled objects at officers on Sunday afternoon, with one seen shouting a racial
slur and another telling police: “It’s our f****** country.”
It
follows similar scenes of unrest in Southport, Belfast, Hartlepool, Hull,
Liverpool, Stoke-on-Trent, Nottingham, Sunderland and elsewhere earlier in the
week.
Cleveland
Police has said nine arrests have been made so far.
Home
Secretary Yvette Cooper said the deliberate torching of a hotel where people
were known to be inside was “utterly appalling” and police have Government backing
to take “the strongest action”.
The Home
Office on Sunday offered mosques greater protections as part of a new process,
under which it said “rapid security” deployment can be requested in order to
allow a return to worship as fast as possible.
Violence
has broken out in parts of England and Northern Ireland following the killing
of three young girls in Southport on Monday, with 147 arrests made since
Saturday alone.
Axel
Rudakubana, a 17-year-old from Lancashire, is accused of the attack, but false claims
spread online that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had travelled to the UK
by boat.
The far
right have been widely condemned as the organising force behind the subsequent
unrest, which has seen bricks pelted at police officers, community facilities
including a library set on fire, mosques attacked and shops looted.
Ms
Cooper said: “Britain is a proud and tolerant country, and nobody should make
any excuses for the shameful actions of the hooligans, thugs and extremist
groups who have been attacking police officers, looting local shops or
attacking people based on the colour of their skin.
“In
light of the disgraceful threats and attacks that local mosques have also faced
in many communities, the Government is providing rapid additional support through
the Protective Security for Mosques Scheme, alongside the support from local
police forces and we repeat that anyone involved in this disorder and violence
will face the full force of the law.
“As a
nation we will not tolerate criminal behaviour, dangerous extremism, and racist
attacks that go against everything our country stands for.”
Sir Keir
said he wanted those who “feel targeted because of the colour of their skin” to
know “this violent mob do not represent our country”.
In his
message to rioters, the Prime Minister said: “I guarantee you will regret
taking part in this disorder, whether directly or those whipping up this action
online and then running away themselves.”
It comes
after far-right agitator Tommy Robinson was accused of stoking tensions from
afar after he promoted a “pro-UK” rally and appeared to defend the unrest on
social media while on holiday abroad.
Forces
are bracing for further unrest, with Greater Manchester Police issuing a
Section 60AA order in Bolton requiring people to “remove face coverings used to
disguise or conceal their appearance” which will stay in force until 10pm.
The
widespread unrest poses the biggest challenge yet to Sir Keir’s premiership,
with MPs including Ian Byrne and Dame Priti Patel saying Parliament should be
recalled as it was in 2011 so the Commons could debate the riots.
Ministers
have so far insisted police have the resources they need to respond and
insisted that despite plans to release some offenders from prison early, there
is capacity to hand custodial sentences to violent rioters.
But the
Police Federation for England and Wales has voiced concerns that officers will
be left unable to attend other incidents as they focus efforts on quelling the
disorder, warning “there is a cost to all this”.
Deputy
chairman of the federation Brian Booth told the PA news agency: “Every day this
continues means a certain amount of officer hours are being taken away from
other policing duties. It has a massive effect on already significant
under-resourcing.”
Conservative
leader Rishi Sunak said the scenes had “nothing to do with the tragedy in
Southport” and warned that “violent, criminal behaviour has no place in our
society”.
Stephen
Parkinson, Director of Public Prosecutions, said extra lawyers had been drafted
in over the weekend and would continue to work round the clock to ensure
justice is served.
He has
directed prosecutors to make immediate charging decisions where key evidence is
in place “and they are doing so”, he said.
“I am
determined that we will act swiftly and robustly, giving the courts maximum
ability to pass sentences that reflect what has occurred.”
Source: belfasttelegraph.co.uk
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---------
Mosques
to be offered greater protection with new 'emergency security'
4th
August
Mosques
will be offered greater protection with new "emergency security" that
can be rapidly deployed to respond to violent disorder sweeping across parts of
England, the Home Office has announced.
The
statement came amid anti-immigration demonstrators attacked police and smashed
the windows of a hotel, as unrest across the country continues.
Masked
rioters launched lengths of wood and sprayed fire extinguishers at police
officers outside a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.
Videos
from social media appeared to show demonstrators storming into the hotel, with
reports of a fire inside.
A police
helicopter circled overhead, and at least one injured officer in riot gear was
carried away as the atmosphere turned febrile.
Elsewhere,
Greater Manchester Police said a Section 34 dispersal notice has been
authorised covering Bolton until 10pm on Sunday, where a protest is expected
later.
Merseyside
Police have introduced two section 60 orders giving officers greater
stop-and-search powers covering Liverpool and Southport.
The
orders were put in place at 2pm on Sunday and will stay active for a 12-hour
period until 2am on Monday.
Inspector
Al McKeon said: "The scenes we saw yesterday in Liverpool and Walton, and
on Tuesday in Southport, were despicable. They left dozens of officers
requiring hospital treatment and have already led to the arrests of a total of
33 suspects."
Police
have "all the resources they need" to deal with riots and disorder, a
minister said earlier.
Prime
Minister Sir Keir Starmer has given police his "full backing" to take
any action necessary to respond to "extremists" attempting to
"sow hate" after scenes of disorder in England and Northern Ireland
this week.
Teams
worked through the night to reopen streets in cities like Hull, where
volunteers armed with brushes turned up from 7am to assist council crews.
"Yesterday
we saw the worst of Hull but already today we have seen the best,"
councillor Jack Haines of Hull City Council said.
Asked
whether enough is being done to respond to the disorder, policing minister Dame
Diana said the Government has been "reassured" that forces are able
to meet the scale of the challenge.
"The
police have made it very clear that they have all the resources they need at
the moment ... they have the powers that they need," the minister told BBC
News.
The
far-right has drawn widespread condemnation as the organising force behind
scenes of disorder in multiple towns and cities in the wake of the killings of
three young girls in Southport on Monday.
False
claims had spread online that the suspect, later identified as 17-year-old Axel
Rudakubana from Lancashire, was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by
boat.
Sir Keir
held crisis talks with ministers on Saturday over the unrest, with Justice
Secretary Shabana Mahmood telling colleagues "the whole justice system is
ready to deliver convictions as quickly as possible".
There
was violence on Saturday in towns and cities such as Hull, Liverpool,
Stoke-on-Trent, Nottingham, Bristol, Manchester, Blackpool and Belfast which
saw several police officers injured.
Faith
leaders across Merseyside have called on communities to "remain calm and
peaceful" in the aftermath of the Southport killings, saying some people
"have sought to use the tragedy to create division and hate".
The
joint statement signed by several faith leaders said: "Division can destroy
the very relationships and environment that we depend upon every day of our
lives and there is no place for hate in our communities.
"It
can - and has - left communities in fear and has put people in danger."
Source: heraldscotland.com
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Extreme-right
activists are terrorising UK’s Muslims, says charity
4 August
2024
The surge
in extreme rightwing activity in the past week has led to a fivefold increase
in threats to Muslims, such as of rape and death, and a threefold increase in
hate crime incidents, a national monitoring group said on Sunday.
Muslims
in Britain have been left “terrorised” by the increase in extreme rightwing
activity since Monday, which is directly linked to a large increase in
anti-Islamic hate crimes, according to initial analysis from Tell Mama.
Tell
Mama is a monitoring group that tracks complaints of anti-Muslim hate crimes.
It says the increase in fear Muslims have experienced is directly linked to the
extreme far right.
A total
of 10 mosques, the charity says, have faced attacks or threats, including
Islamic places of worship in Southport, Liverpool and Hartlepool.
The
charity says people have been left too scared to leave their homes, with women
wearing head coverings such as the hijab facing threats in the street.
The
increases are from initial figures collected from 26 July to 2 August, and are
compared with the same period last year. The data includes incidents online and
in the real world.
The
charity says the figure a year ago was already higher than normal because of a
rise in hate crime incidents triggered by the Israel-Gaza conflict. The full
data will be released soon, and the experience of Tell Mama, and the Community
Security Trust (CST), which monitors anti-Jewish hate incidents, is that
threats and attacks are underreported.
Tell
Mama’s director, Iman Atta, said the initial data showed a clear trend: “This
is due to the extreme far right’s misinformation and disinformation after the
Southport attacks, which falsely linked Muslims to the incident.
“This
led to far-right anti-Muslim hate marches across the UK, and to the far right
mobilising and spreading more hate online. It is a direct result of the surge
in far-right activity.
“The
marches and violence are terrorising communities. People do not want to be
visible, do not want to go to the mosque. People can have legitimate concerns
about immigration but that does not mean they vandalise mosques or attack or
threaten Muslim communities.”
The
analysis is based on reports to Tell Mama; police keep their own data. After
the start of the Israel-Gaza conflict last year police recorded higher rises
than the CST in antisemitic hate crime.
Source: uk.news.yahoo.com
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https://uk.news.yahoo.com/extreme-activists-terrorising-uk-muslims-125811356.html
--------
Kamala
Harris wins backing of key Muslim group over Gaza stance
04
August, 2024
A key US
based Muslim organisation has announced they are backing Kamala Harris in the
presidential bid, citing her proclaimed sympathy for Palestinians in Gaza amid
Israel's brutal war on the enclave.
The
group is the political action arm of the Black Muslim Leadership Council NGO,
which refused to endorse Joe Biden prior to when he pulled out of the election
campaign.
The
group was initially created in March in an effort to put pressure on the Biden
administration to demand a ceasefire in the Gaza war, which has killed nearly
40,000 Palestinians and injured over 90,000.
"[Harris]
has shown more sympathy towards the people of Gaza then both President Biden
and former President Donald Trump," Salima Suswell, the founder and chief
executive of the organisation said in an interview.
She
added that during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to
Congress, Harris chose not to attend.
"She
[Harris] has repeatedly called for a ceasefire, and I believe she has also
expressed empathy towards civilian life and has been very caring as it relates
to getting aid to the people of Gaza," Suswell added.
Harris’
campaign said they were “grateful” to the organisation for their support, as
more groups who were against another Biden term declare their support for her.
"The
vice-president is committed to combating Islamophobia wherever it exists and
advancing opportunity for black Americans…we look forward to working with BMLC
to win this November and defeat Donald Trump’s divisive, unpopular
agenda," a Harris campaign spokesperson said.
Harris
has made pro-Israel statements recently, saying she condemns any individuals
associating with Hamas, adding "Israel has a right to defend itself".
However, she also said "how it does so matters" and claimed she would
"not be silent" about civilian deaths and suffering in Gaza.
Harris’s
stance on Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip has raised hopes of a shift in US
policy. The 59 year-old has previously also called for the establishment of a
Palestinian state.
Source: newarab.com
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--------
North America
Yazidis
seek justice on 10th anniversary of Islamic State genocide
August
04, 2024
AMMAN,
JORDAN — Advocates for justice for Iraq’s Yazidi community say much more needs
to be done 10 years on to address the brutal genocide it experienced at the
hands of Islamic State militants on August 3, 2014, and its aftermath.
On
August 3, 2014, Islamic State militants invaded Iraq’s Sinjar province brutally
attacking, killing, displacing, and enslaving hundreds of thousands of Yazidis
in their ancient homeland in the country’s north. Ten years on, more than 6,000
women and children remain captives of the Islamic State with nearly 2,800 still
missing. Many of the displaced still live in camps which Iraq says will close.
Yazidi
activists and religious freedom advocates say restorative justice is needed for
the community to recover from the genocide and remain in Iraq. Speaking at
Washington’s Wilson Center, they use the terms Islamic State and ISIS
interchangeably.
Yazidi
lawyer Natia Navrouzov of the Yazda organization, which supports genocide
victims, said much of the response to Islamic State has been military “to take
back territory,” but restorative justice for the victims is also needed.
“What we
really need from Iraq and KRG [Kurdistan Regional Government] with support from
the international community is a proper transitional justice legal framework.
All the components of transitional justice. So, criminal accountability, truth
telling, reparations. And what is really missing is guarantees on
non-repetition. People are asked to go back but nothing guarantees that another
genocide won’t happen in five, 10, two years,” she said.
Navrouzov
called for an international court to try the militants from more than 80
countries which committed atrocities against the Yazidis. Iraq, meanwhile, says
it will shut down a U.N. investigation team, UNITAD, documenting crimes by
September 17.
“All we
got in Iraq is terrorism trials, so ISIS members are just being prosecuted for
terrorism, membership to a terrorism group. Survivors are not aware, not
involved, often the perpetrators clearly mentioned that they enslaved Yazidis,
and this is completely disregarded. We don’t know if the evidence UNITAD
collected will be accessible to continue at least these prosecutions by third
states, like Germany and others. So that’s very worrying. What is missing now
is the component of trust,” she said.
Other
activists point to Germany’s prosecution of eight Islamic State members,
including three for genocide, while the Netherlands and Sweden are believed to
be preparing trials later this year for such crimes.
Former
U.S. representative for Virginia, Frank Wolf told the panel that another way to
rebuild trust was by giving Yazidis, an underrepresented minority in Iraq,
“greater representation in leadership positions at the federal level in
Baghdad.”
Nadine
Maenza, president of the International Religious Freedom Secretariat told VOA
that Yazidis and other religious minorities in Iraq need robust representation.
“There
hasn’t been an election in Sinjar since 2003. The people that live in Sinjar
should be able to choose their own leaders. They should be a part of their own
governance and security. It’s in the best interest of the Iraqi government to
have peace and security in Sinjar and this is how you get it,” she said.
Pari
Ibrahim, who directs the Free Yezidi Foundation, added that it is “key for the
prevention of future genocide against our community to make sure that those who
funded the Islamic State structure are held accountable.”
The
Yazidis have endured 74 genocides throughout their history.
Source: voanews.com
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--------
US
CENTCOM chief in occupied Palestine over fear of Iran, Hezbollah retaliatory
strikes
04
August 2024
The
commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has arrived in the
occupied territories to help Israel prepare for Iran and Hezbollah’s
retaliatory strikes in response to the recent assassination of Hamas chief
Ismail Haniyeh and the deadly strike on southern Beirut, US media says.
General
Michael Kurilla landed in the occupied lands on Saturday, the American news
website Axios quoted two US officials as saying in a report.
“The US
general in charge of American forces in the Middle East arrived in the region
on Saturday as preparations continue for a possible attack against Israel from
Iran in retaliation for the assassinations of senior Hamas and Hezbollah
leaders,” the report said.
Axios
said that his trip was planned before the killing of Hezbollah’s top commander
Fuad Shukr in an Israeli air strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday
night, and Haniyeh’s killing in Tehran hours later.
It added
that Kurilla is expected to use the trip to try to mobilize West Asian allies
to foil any attack emanating from Iran, similar to Operation True Promise, a
large-scale operation against Israeli-occupied territories last April.
In
Operation True Promise, a multi-pronged attack, the Iranian armed forces
launched dozens of drones and missiles at the occupied territories late on
April 13 in response to the regime’s aggression on the Iranian diplomatic
premises in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on April 1.
The
Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s embassy compound in Damascus had killed two
generals of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC),
Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi and General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi,
as well as five of their accompanying officers.
Three US
officials told Axios they expect an Iranian retaliation to Haniyeh’s killing
“as early as Monday.”
According
to the report, Washington is concerned it will be difficult to garner the same
amount of regional support in defense of Israel as it did in April, given that
Haniyeh’s assassination comes within the context of the bloody Gaza war – for
which Israel has drawn major criticism from the Arab world and internationally.
Kurilla
is also expected to visit Jordan and Persian Gulf countries.
Amman
has already vowed to confront any violation of its airspace.
However,
Jordan opened up its airspace to US and Israeli jets during Iran’s April
operation.
“The
United States hopes the same will happen again if needed,” another US official
told Axios.
US and
Israeli officials also “don’t know if Iran and Hezbollah will conduct a
coordinated attack or operate separately … they think both Iran and Hezbollah
are still working on finalizing their military plans and approving them at the
political level.”
On
Friday, Washington announced it would send navy cruisers, destroyers, and
fighter jets to West Asia to bolster support for its main regional ally Israel.
Iran’s
interim Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani has said that the Islamic Republic
will use its legitimate and inherent right to punish the Israeli regime for the
assassination of senior Palestinian resistance leader Haniyeh on Iranian soil.
Several
foreign officials have contacted the top Iranian diplomat over the past few
days, calling on Tehran to exercise self-restraint over a widely anticipated
military response.
Source: presstv.ir
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--------
US Green
Party presidential candidate Jill Stein considering pro-Palestinian VP
04
August 2024
US Green
Party presidential candidate Jill Stein is considering choosing a
pro-Palestinian running mate in the 2024 US presidential election, according to
her campaign.
Stein’s
campaign said their team was reviewing three Palestinian rights advocates,
including two Arab Americans, to be her running mate in the upcoming election,
Aljazeera reported on Saturday.
The
three candidates being vetted for the spot are political activists Jacqueline
Luqman and Amer Zahr, in addition to Abed Ayoub from the American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee.
They are
all vocal pro-Palestinian activists, critical of the Israeli regime and supporting
community-level efforts to stop the US government from going all out defending
Tel Aviv’s months-long genocidal war on the helpless Palestinian people trapped
in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Two-time
Green Party presidential candidate Stein is herself a longtime supporter of
Palestinian rights actively pursuing a ceasefire in Gaza.
She has
called for an investigation into the Israeli “war crimes” in Gaza and denounced
US President Joe Biden and other political leaders in Washington for their role
in decades-long atrocities against Palestinians.
“President
Biden and bipartisan leaders are not only complicit, but they are full partners
in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s crimes,” Stein said in a video
posted on X.
“We call
for an investigation of the Netanyahu regime’s war crimes as well as the role
of Biden and US leaders in aiding and abetting them,” she added.
“The war
crimes being perpetrated by Netanyahu against Palestinians… are in a league of
their own and have reached genocidal proportions with Palestinians denied food,
water and electricity while being relentlessly bombed as they are forced to
flee from their homes, running for their lives.”
Meta,
which owns and controls Instagram and Facebook social media platforms, canceled
her accounts in November.
Source: presstv.ir
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/08/04/730659/Green-Party-Presidential-Candidate-Jill-Stein-Considering-Pro-Palestinian-for-VP
--------
Harris
overtakes Trump in new poll, set to name VP pick ahead of swing state tour
August
05, 2024
WASHINGTON:
A new poll confirmed Sunday that Kamala Harris — set to name her vice
presidential pick imminently — has drawn level with Donald Trump, transforming
a White House race that the Republican had been increasingly confident he was
going to win.
As the
November 5 election rapidly approaches, Harris has erased the growing lead that
Trump was building before President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid.
According
to the CBS News/YouGov poll released Sunday, Harris has a one percent advantage
on Trump nationwide — compared to Trump’s previous five point edge on Biden.
In the
swing states that decide the Electoral College contest in US elections, Harris
and Trump — who shocked the world with his 2016 presidential victory but was
beaten by Biden in 2020 — are equal.
These
are considered good numbers for a Democratic candidate who parachuted into the
race only last month, when Biden bowed to mounting concerns over his mental
acuity and ability at 81 years old to serve a second term.
But
Harris, who is Biden’s vice president and the first Black and South Asian woman
ever in the role, is in a sprint to define herself to voters before Trump does.
A big
moment in that process will be when Harris announces her choice for running
mate in a historic bid to become America’s first female president.
“It’s
her first major decision that she’s making as an executive, so it tells you
about her thought process,” Amy Walter, a polling expert from Cook Political
Report newsletter, told CBS News.
The CBS
poll, which echoes numerous other surveys indicating rapid gains by Harris,
shows that Trump is still favored by voters on the key issue of the economy.
Only 25
percent said they expected to be better off financially if Harris wins,
compared to 45 percent who said so about Trump.
However,
when it comes to trust in the candidates’ temperament, the poll shows voters
prefer the former California prosecutor to Trump, a convicted felon who has
made a career out of publicly insulting those who oppose him — including while
president.
The
issue of cognitive health, which used to bedevil Biden, is now a liability for
78-year-old Trump, the poll found. Only 51 percent of respondents thought Trump
is mentally capable for the presidency, compared to 64 percent for Harris.
The
Democrats believe that if you “make this referendum on Trump rather than a
referendum on the current state of the economy, then we have a real opportunity
to win,” Cook said.
Trump
was riding high politically last month after surviving an assassination attempt
at a rally, then using the Republican convention to highlight his image of
vigor against the physically frail Biden.
But with
Biden’s dramatic exit and Harris’s fast start, he’s scrambling to recalibrate.
At a
rally on Saturday in the swing state of Georgia, Trump called Harris a
“Marxist” and a “radical left freak,” claiming she would cause an “economic
crash.” On Wednesday, he shocked many when he told an audience of Black
journalists that Harris had “turned Black” out of political expediency.
Where
Biden often attacked Trump as a threat to democracy, given his unprecedented
refusal to accept his loss in 2020, Harris’s team has honed a sharper — more
meme-friendly — line built around branding Trump and his vice presidential pick
J.D. Vance “weird.”
On
Saturday, the Harris campaign said Trump was “scared” to debate her after he
turned down a previously scheduled televised debate on ABC, while saying he’d
be ready to debate her on Fox News — a network that has for years given him
support.
Who will
she choose as runningmate?
All
paths to the White House run through a handful of swing states, and Harris will
kick off her five-day run Tuesday in the largest — Pennsylvania — as she builds
momentum for her showdown with Republican Donald Trump on November 5.
Expectations
are that Harris will pick a white man to balance the ticket — and likely a
moderate Democrat who would help counterweigh attacks on Harris from
Republicans that she is too far to the left.
The
three figures seen as heading the short list — Minnesota Governor Tim Walz,
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona — were all
visiting Harris in Washington on Sunday, The Washington Post reported.
“At this
moment, we face a choice between two visions for our nation: one focused on the
future and the other on the past... This campaign is about people coming
together, fueled by love of country, to fight for the best of who we are,” she
posted on X.
Fresh
from winning enough delegate votes to secure the Democratic nomination, the
country’s first female, Black and South Asian vice president heads into the
national convention in Chicago in two weeks in total control of her party.
In a
campaign that is barely two weeks old, the 59-year-old former prosecutor has
obliterated fundraising records, attracted huge crowds and dominated social
media on her way to erasing the polling leads Trump had built before President
Joe Biden quit the race.
Next on
the agenda is a vice presidential pick, with an announcement expected any time
before her rally Tuesday evening alongside the mystery nominee in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania’s largest city.
The
Keystone State is the most prized real estate among the closely fought
battlegrounds that decide the Electoral College system.
It is
part of the “blue wall” that carried Biden to the White House in 2020,
alongside Michigan and Wisconsin — two states where Harris is due to woo crowds
on Wednesday.
Pennsylvania
is governed by 51-year-old Democrat Shapiro, a frontrunner in the so-called
“veepstakes” shortlist.
Later in
the week, Harris will tour the more racially diverse Sun Belt and southern
states of Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina, as she seeks to shore up
the Black and Hispanic vote that had been peeling away from the Democrats.
Just a
month ago, Trump was in cruise control, having opened a significant lead in
swing state polling after a dismal debate performance by Biden, with the
Republican tycoon keeping the country in suspense over his own vice
presidential pick.
Trump’s
White House bid was upended on July 21 when 81-year-old Biden, facing growing
concerns about his age and lagging polling numbers, exited the race and backed
Harris.
Energetic
and two decades younger than 78-year-old Trump, the vice president has made a
fast start, raising $310 million in July, according to her campaign — more than
double Trump’s haul.
While
Biden made high-minded appeals for a return to civility and the preservation of
democracy, Harris has focused on the future, making voters’ hard-fought
“freedom” the touchstone of her campaign.
She and
her allies have also been more aggressive than the Biden camp — mocking Trump
for reneging on his commitment to a September 10 debate and characterizing the
convicted felon as an elderly crook and “weird.”
While
she has disavowed some of the leftist positions she took during her ill-fated
2020 primary campaign, Harris hasn’t given a wide-ranging interview since
jumping into the race, and rally-goers will look for more detail on her plans
for the country.
Meanwhile
Trump and his Republicans have struggled to adapt to their new adversary or
hone their attacks against Harris — at first messaging that she was dangerously
liberal on immigration and crime, before suggesting she was lying about being
Black.
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2562701/world
--------
Mideast
Islamic
Resistance confirms hitting Zionist military sites
04 Aug
2024
BEIRUT
August 4. 2024 (Saba): The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon, led by Hezbollah,
announced today, Sunday, that it had targeted Zionist military sites and
achieved direct hits in its.
A
statement by the Islamic Resistance said, "In support of our steadfast
Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in support of their valiant and
honorable resistance, our Mujahideen targeted the Birkat Risha site this
afternoon, Sunday, with artillery shells and hit it directly."
Source: saba.ye
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https://www.saba.ye/en/news3355885.htm
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Jihad
condemns Gaza genocide, praises "Holon" operation
04 Aug
2024
GAZA
August 04. 2024 (Saba) - The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine on Sunday
endorsed the "Holon" operation in "Tel Aviv", which
resulted in multiple casualties among settlers.
The
movement stated in a press release "This operation is a natural and
legitimate response to the ongoing crimes and genocide committed by the entity,
including the recent bombings of displaced persons' tents inside hospitals in
the Gaza Strip."
The
statement added "The racist remarks made by the so-called Minister of
National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, against the rightful owners of the land,
and the enemy's siege of Salfit as a form of collective punishment, reflect the
criminal gang mentality upon which this entity was founded."
Earlier
today, a settler man and woman were killed, and three others were injured in a
stabbing attack near Tel Aviv. The attacker was shot and succumbed to his
wounds hours later.
Source: saba.ye
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https://www.saba.ye/en/news3355735.htm
--------
Illegal
Israeli settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque amid rise in tensions
04.08.2024
Under
Israeli police protection, a mob of illegal Israeli settlers stormed Al-Aqsa
Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday.
Israeli
forces and illegal settlers entered the flashpoint mosque performing religious
rituals while Israeli police established checkpoints around the Old City of
East Jerusalem, restricting Palestinian access to the mosque, according to
official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Separately,
the Palestinian Awqaf and Religious Affairs Ministry released a monthly report
detailing increased violations at Al-Aqsa Mosque and Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron,
reporting that Israel conducted 23 raids on Al-Aqsa Mosques this July.
The
report also highlighted that Israeli forces had obstructed the call to prayer
at Ibrahimi Mosque 43 times last month and prevented Palestinians from entering
the mosque.
The
illegal settler incursion came amid rising tensions across the occupied West
Bank as Israel continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has
killed nearly 40,000 people since last October following a Hamas attack.
Source: aa.com.tr
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--------
US and
allies prepare to defend Israel as Netanyahu says it’s already in ‘multi-front
war’ with Iran
August
05, 2024
TEL
AVIV, Israel: Israel is already in a “multi-front war” with Iran and its
proxies, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a Cabinet meeting
Sunday, as the United States and allies prepared to defend Israel from an
expected counterstrike and prevent an even more destructive regional conflict.
Tensions
have soared following nearly 10 months of war in Gaza and the killing last week
of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas’ top political leader in
Iran. Iran and its allies have blamed Israel and threatened retaliation. Hamas
says it has begun discussions on choosing a new leader.
Netanyahu
said Israel was ready for any scenario. Jordan’s foreign minister was making a
rare trip to Iran as part of diplomatic efforts — “We want the escalation to
end,” Ayman Safadi said — while the Pentagon has moved significant assets to
the region.
“We are
doing everything possible to make sure that this situation does not boil over,”
White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer told ABC.
In
Israel, some prepared bomb shelters and recalled Iran’s unprecedented direct
military assault in April following a suspected Israeli strike that killed two
Iranian generals. Israel said almost all the drones and ballistic and cruise
missiles were intercepted.
A
stabbing attack on Sunday near Tel Aviv killed a woman in her 70s and an
80-year-old man, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service, and two
others were wounded. The police said the attack was carried out by a
Palestinian militant, who was “neutralized.”
Inside
Gaza, the Health Ministry said at least 25 people were killed and 19 others
injured when Israel struck two schools in Gaza City. AP video showed at least
one child among the dead. Israel’s military, which regularly accuses
Palestinian militants of sheltering in civilian areas, said it hit Hamas
command centers.
“As you
can see, there is no equipment to recover the injured. Rescuers are digging with
their hands,” said one man, Yusuf Al-Mashharawi.
Earlier,
Israeli strikes killed at least 18 people. One hit a tent camp for thousands of
displaced Palestinians in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, killing
four people, including one woman, the Health Ministry said. The Israeli
military said it targeted a Palestinian militant in the strike, which it said
caused secondary explosions, “indicating the presence of weaponry in the area.”
The
hospital in Deir Al-Balah is the main medical facility operating in central
Gaza as many others in the territory no longer function. A separate strike on a
home near Deir Al-Balah killed a girl and her parents, according to the
hospital.
Another
strike flattened a house in northern Gaza, killing at least eight, including
three children, their parents and their grandmother, according to the Health
Ministry. Another three people were killed in a strike on a vehicle in Gaza
City, according to Civil Defense first responders.
Palestinian
militants in Gaza fired at least five projectiles at Israeli communities near
the border without causing casualties or damage, the military said. The
military later told people in some parts of the southern Gaza city of Khan
Younis to evacuate.
The
Health Ministry also said an Israeli strike on Saturday at a
school-turned-shelter in Gaza City killed at least 16 people. Israel’s military
said it struck a Hamas command center.
The war
in Gaza was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel that killed some
1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 people hostage.
Israel’s
massive offensive in response has killed at least 39,580 Palestinians,
according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between
civilians and combatants. Heavy airstrikes and ground operations have caused
widespread destruction and displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million
people, often multiple times.
The
militant group Hezbollah and Israel have continued to trade fire along the
Lebanon border since the war began, with the severity growing in recent months.
The Lebanese state-run National News Agency said an Israeli strike targeted a
house in Beit Lef, and the Lebanese Health Ministry said two people were
critically wounded.
Hezbollah
says it’s aimed at relieving pressure on fellow Iran-backed ally Hamas. A
growing number of countries, including the US, are encouraging citizens to
leave Lebanon after last week’s killing of a senior commander.
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2562661/middle-east
--------
Pakistan
India
‘Disregarded’ World Laws Through Aug 5 Step, Revoking Kashmir’s Special Status:
President
August
5, 2024
ISLAMABAD:
President Asif Ali Zardari has said India’s actions in the held Kashmir since
August 5, 2019, demonstrated a complete disregard for international laws, the
aspirations of the Kashmiris and the UN Security Council resolutions.
In his
message on Youm-i-Istehsal — observed on Aug 5 to mark the Indian government’s
action of revoking Kashmir’s special status — the president criticised New
Delhi for its “unilateral actions”.
“Today
marks the completion of five years of India’s latest campaign to consolidate
its illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir,” Mr Zardari said.
India’s
“unilateral and unlawful steps” five years ago undermined the region’s
“internationally recognised disputed status”.
Since
August 5, 2019, India has embarked upon a ceaseless campaign to alter the
demographic structure and political landscape of the valley, and the precedent
has continued.
He said
the continued presence of hundreds of thousands of Indian troops has turned
held Kashmir into “one of the most heavily militarised zones in the world”.
He vowed
Pakistan will continue to extend moral, diplomatic and political support to the
just struggle of Kashmiris and the realisation of their right to
self-determination.
In his
message, Senate Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani stated that August 5, 2019,
will be remembered as a dark day in history.
He
stressed that the global community should acknowledge the pain and suffering of
the Kashmiri people and raise their voices on humanitarian grounds.
Mr
Gilani added that India’s disregard for UNSC resolutions continues to pose a
threat to regional peace and stability.
National
Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq Sunday said the resolution of the Kashmir dispute
was “essential for achieving lasting peace in the region”.
He
reiterated the need to resolve this dispute in accordance with the UN
resolutions and as per the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
Federal
Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, Amir Muqam, said Kashmiri
people have rendered countless sacrifices for their right to
self-determination.
Source: dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1850150/india-disregarded-world-laws-through-aug-5-step-president
--------
Hurriyat
leader calls for peaceful settlement of Kashmir dispute
August
03, 2024
Chairman
Kashmir Institute of International Relations and Hurriyat Leader Altaf Hussain
Wani says Jammu and Kashmir is a UN recognized disputed territory and Kashmir
dispute should be resolved peacefully on the basis of right to
self-determination.
In an
exclusive interview with Radio Pakistan, he said illegal and unilateral actions
taken by India on August 5, 2019 are gross violations of all United Nations
Security Council’s resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.
He said
United Nations Security Council Resolutions clearly maintain that no assembly
has any power to decide on behalf of state of Jammu and Kashmir or part of it.
So, neither Indian parliament, nor Supreme Court or the President of India have
any legal standing to take decision over sovereignty of Indian Illegally
Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Altaf
Hussain Wani said India has been using its military might to suppress the
legitimate aspirations of the people of IIOJK.
He
criticized India for its claims of development and normalcy in Indian illegally
occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
He said
since August 5, 2019, Kashmiris have been stripped of their identity and all
their economic, social and political rights by the Hindutva regime.
The
Chairman Kashmir Institute of International Relations said that India's
development claims are designed to bolster its grip on the territory, offering
no benefits to the common citizens.
He said,
India has employed various tactics to cement its illegal occupation of IIOJK,
including altering a series of laws such as the domicile law, which now
guarantees jobs, voting rights, and land ownership to non-locals in the
disputed territory.
Altaf
Hussain Wani said that India is attempting to change the religious landscape of
IIOJK.
He said
Narendra Modi regime is now planning to construct around fifty thousand
temples, with funds and land already allocated for these Hindu projects.
He said
youth can play an important role in promoting Kashmir cause and highlighting
the plight of Kashmiris through the effective use of digital platforms.
Source: radio.gov.pk
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.radio.gov.pk/03-08-2024/aphc-leader-calls-for-peaceful-settlement-of-kashmir-dispute
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President,
PM & armed forces reaffirm solidarity with Kashmiris
August
05, 2024
In their
messages on Youm-e-Istehsal, President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz
Sharif and forces chiefs have reaffirmed their steadfast solidarity with
courageous and resilient people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
In his
message on Youm-e-Istehsal, President Asif Ali Zardari said that India's
actions since 5 August 2019 have demonstrated complete disregard for
international law, aspirations of Kashmiri people and the UN Security Council
resolutions regarding Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
He said
it is crucial that the international community urges India to end its human
rights violations in Kashmir and implement the relevant UN Security Council
resolutions.
In his
message, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan will continue to
extend its strong moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmiri people
till realization of their inalienable right to self-determination.
He said
in interest of lasting peace and security in South Asia, India must move from
dispute denial to dispute resolution.
Deputy
Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar in his message said that
Pakistan will continue to extend all possible support to Kashmir people of
IIOJK for the fullest realization of their legitimate rights.
On the
occasion of Youm-e-Istehsal, the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee,
Services Chiefs and the Pakistan Armed Forces paid tribute to the martyrs of
IIOJK for their extraordinary sacrifices and reaffirmed their unwavering
commitment to supporting the Kashmiri people in their righteous struggle
against oppression and tyranny, on political, moral and humanitarian grounds.
Source: radio.gov.pk
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.radio.gov.pk/05-08-2024/president-pm-armed-forces-reaffirm-solidarity-with-kashmiris#google_vignette
--------
What
China is doing for Pakistan, US cannot do: PM
August
5, 2024
LAHORE:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Sunday that whatever China was doing for
Pakistan, the United States could not, and reiterated that relations with
Washington should be repaired, but not at the cost of ties with Beijing.
The
prime minister, who had a busy weekend, met with a group of journalists at his
Model Town residence in Lahore. The journalists had recently returned from an
official visit to China, undertaken on the invitation of the China Public
Diplomacy Association.
Speaking
on the occasion, PM Shehbaz said that work was progressing fast on the second
phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and during the visit of
Chinese experts to Pakistan, there was positive movement on the promotion of
cooperation in different fields.
Talking
about his letter to Beijing requesting debt re-profiling, he said that if China
agreed to give Pakistan five to seven years to pay back the loans, the
government would be able to bring down inflation, including electricity prices.
However,
when asked if he had received any response so far, he said: “No… [our request]
is under consideration”.
“We hope
for a positive response from China in this regard,” he said.
When
asked about Pakistan-US relations, the PM was of the view that the country
needed to repair its relations with Washington, as that was in its best
interests.
“I think
our relations with the US must be repaired, as it is very necessary for
Pakistan… But it shouldn’t be at the cost of China… and I had told [the
Americans] recently in presence of various dignitaries including Mr Ishaq Dar,”
he explained.
“I also
told them that similarly, the friendship with China is not at the cost of US,
as both have significance for us,” he clarified.
The PM
said he believed that whatever China was helping Pakistan accomplish, the US
cannot do.
He was
also very concerned about the safety and security of Chinese nationals in
Pakistan, and assured that the government would use all its resources to ensure
their well-being.
There is
no place for politics of any kind on relations with a close friend like China,
he remarked.
He said
he was well aware of problems, including the inflation and energy prices, being
faced by the public at large.
For
this, he said, the government had taken Rs50 billion out of the Public Sector
Development Programme (PSDP) and allocated it for relief in energy prices to
those using up to 200 units of electricity.
The premier
also appeared supportive for those using 400 units and said they should also be
given such relief. “We are really worried about the energy prices. And we are
reassessing our priorities concerning Independent Power Producers,” he
maintained.
Youm-i-Istehsal
Today
(Monday), marks the fifth anniversary of India revoking Kashmir’s special
status. In commemoration, the country will observe Youm-i-Istehsal in
solidarity with their Kashmiri brethren.
According
to PTV News, PM Shehbaz Sharif is expected to visit Muzaffarabad, where he is
expected to make an important policy statement.
While
stressing continued support for the people of Kashmir for the realization of
their right to self determination on the eve of Youm-i-Istehsal, PM Shehbaz
said in his message that since 2019, “India has been trying to convince the
world that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of its territory. However,
international law, historical facts, moral principles and the situation on the
ground deny India’s baseless claims.”
He said
that efforts were being made in India to silence the genuine leadership of the
Kashmiri people and muzzle the media.
The
number of political prisoners remains in the thousands, while 14 political
organisations have been outlawed, he said.
Harassment
of innocent people, arbitrary detentions, and the so-called ’cordon and search
operations have become a matter of routine.
The
Indian forces are operating with impunity, according to them under different
draconian laws, he added.
He
saluted the indomitable courage of the Kashmiri people that has enabled them to
withstand every Indian attempt to subjugate them.
“History
has proven, time and again, that durable peace in South Asia remains contingent
upon the settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. In the interest of
lasting peace and security in South Asia, India must move from dispute denial
to dispute resolution,” he added.
Source: dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1850192/what-china-is-doing-for-pakistan-us-cannot-do-pm
--------
Gandapur
promises all-out support to police in fight against militancy
August
5, 2024
PESHAWAR:
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur has said that fighting
against the state is not Jihad but ignorance, and the state will fight till
militancy is eliminated and peace is restored in the country.
“Come
out of ignorance and reform yourself. Whatever you do, we will fight until the
last one of you is eliminated,” Mr Gandapur asked the militants while
addressing a function held here on Sunday to mark the Youm-i-Shuhada.
Mr
Gandapur also offered the militants that if they really wanted to do jihad, a
meeting would be arranged between them and religious scholars, and the ulema
would identify the places for Jihad.
The
chief minister said that the province could not develop until militancy was
rooted out, and assured the provincial police chief of all-out support and
provision of everything required ‘even if the treasury was empty.’
“We will
keep other priorities at a side for maintaining law and order in the country.
We will release funds for whatever technology and equipment required for
fighting militants,” Mr Gandapur said.
He said
that he was proud of being the chief executive of KP –the province on the
frontlines in the war against militancy – and added that all the law
enforcement agencies, including police and the security forces, were fighting
against both internal and external forces.
“Avoid
criticising the forces, officers and Ghazis due to mistakes of a few
individuals. They need our support,” the chief minister requested people,
saying that children of the Shuhada would be prioritised ‘from the Chief
Minister’s House to every government office’.
The
chief minister said that police department was already short of funds and
announced that 20% of the revenue generated from traffic chalans would be spent
on children of the martyred personnel.
“The
peace you see in the province is just because of the sacrifices these martyred
personnel have offered. We will reduce developmental schemes and prioritise
facilities and education for children of the martyred personnel,” the chief
minister said.
In his
address on the occasion, KP police chief Akhtar Hayat Khan said that he was
proud of leading a brave force. “Over 2,000 police personnel, including
officers, have offered sacrifices,” he said, adding that in order to strengthen
the force, modern weaponry and latest technology was being provided to it.
Youm-i-Shuhada
was also observed in other parts of the province.
In
Hazara division, martyred police personnel were paid homage for sacrificing
their lives in the war against militancy. Officers and personnel visited the
graves of the martyred personnel across the division and offered Fateha.
In Lower
Kohistan, a ceremony was held at the Pattan Police Lines, where district police
officer Mohammad Umar and other officers offered Fateha for the policemen and
officers who laid their lives in the line of duty.
The
ceremony was also attended by the family members of the martyred officers and
personnel.
Speaking
at a ceremony held in Bannu, regional police officer Imran Shahid said that the
supreme sacrifices offered by the police force were unprecedented and would
always be remembered. He along with deputy commissioner Abdul Hamid, district
police officer Ziauddin Ahmed and military authorities visited the monument of
the martyrs at the Iqbal Shaheed Police Lines, presented salute to the martyred
cops and offered prayers.
In Lakki
Marwat, a function held at the police lines in the District Headquarters
Complex, Tajazai, was attended among others by DPO Aqeeq Hussain Bangash,
assistant commissioner Yasir Nazir, SP investigations Murad Khan, army
officials and family members of the martyrs.
The
participants also participated in a peace walk on the premises of the district
complex. Officials of the district administration, the police and army
distributed gifts among children of the martyred policemen.
Yaum-i-Shuhada
was also observed in Dera Ismail Khan to pay homage to the sacrifices rendered
by the policemen.
A
ceremony was held at the Ejaz Shaheed Police Lines, where regional police
officer Nasir Mehmood Satti, acting district and sessions judge Mian Mehmood,
additional sessions judge Jameel Khan, district police officer Nasir Mehmood,
officers of the Pak Army, SPs investigation, CTD, city, Saddar, sub-divisional
police officer, relatives of the martyrs, religious leaders, traders,
mediapersons and people from other walks of life participated.
On the
occasion, Mr Satti said that the rank and position that the Almighty had given
to a martyr in Islam was matchless. “The martyrs are our real heroes and their
families are a source of boosting morale of the force,” he said.
Youm-i-Shuhada
was also observed in Bajaur with a ceremony held at the police lines in Khar
Civil Colony. Senior officials of the district administration, police, security
forces and the family members of the martyred cops were also present on the
occasion.
A
ceremony was held at the Ghalanai Police Lines in Mohmand district to mark the
Youm-i-Shuhada.
Similar
events were held in North and South Waziristan districts attended by police,
military officials and civilians, mostly relatives of the martyred policemen.
The participants paid tribute to the sacrifices offered by the police in order
to protect the motherland.
Youm-i-Shuhada
was also observed in Shangla and Battagram districts.
Shangla
deputy commissioner Mohammad Fawad Khan was the chief guest at the function
held at the police lines. District police officer Imran Khan, SP investigations
Zahid Khan, DSPs, SHOs and other police officials were also present. Relatives
and children of the martyred police officials were also in attendance.
Youm-i-Shuhada
was also observed in Charsadda, Chitral and other districts across KP.
Source: dawn.com
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--------
Lakki
jirga asks security forces to flush out militants
August
5, 2024
LAKKI
MARWAT: Marwat Qaumi Jirga (MQJ) has asked security forces to flush out
militants from the district or give a free hand to police to launch an
offensive against them.
The
jirga met here at Children Park in Lakki city on Sunday. Former federal
minister Anwar Saifullah Khan, MQJ head Haji Mohammad Aslam Khan, former
federal secretary Akhtar Munir Marwat, former MNA Naseer Mohammad Khan, MPA
Johar Mohammad, Ghaznikhel tehsil council chairman Zeeshan Mohammad Khan, Lakki
tehsil council chairman Shafqatullah Khan, Naurang tehsil council chairman Haji
Azizullah Khan, former tehsil nazims Faridullah Khan and Haji Hidayatullah
Khan, Malik Ali Sarwar and Iqbal Hussain attended the jirga.
Local
elders and a large number of people from across the district also participated
in the jirga. “People pay taxes to the government hence it is the prime
responsibility of government and its institutions including security forces and
other law enforcement agencies to restore peace and ensure provision of
security to people in the district,” said Akhtar Munir Marwat.
He said
that elders could not leave their people on the mercy of militants. “A handful
of militants cannot be allowed to occupy the district with a population of
nearly one million,” he added.
Mr
Marwat questioned as to how a handful of militants had become a constant threat
to peace and harmony in the district.
He asked
security forces to eliminate militants or empower police to take action against
them.
“To
maintain law and order is the responsibility of police and if they swing into
action against miscreants locals will fully back them,” he said.
The MQJ
leader said that tribesmen would stand against militants if security forces and
police did not accomplish the task.
MPA
Johar said that the jirga had been convened with the sole agenda of restoration
of peace on the soil of Marwats. He said that wrong policies of former rulers
and military establishment were the main reason for growing lawlessness and
deteriorating law and order in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“Those
wrong policies are still in vogue and people are facing the brunt of them,” he
said. He added that growing militancy was unacceptable to people and they
wanted peace on their land.
Maulana
Samiullah Mujahid, Naseer Turab, Inayatur Rehman and others also spoke on the
occasion.
Source: dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1850105/lakki-jirga-asks-security-forces-to-flush-out-militants
--------
Africa
Tinubu
Threatened Protesters, Told Security Agencies To Continue Shooting – Buhari’s
Minister
5 August
2024
A former
Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, who served under
former President Muhammadu Buhari, has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s national
broadcast, seeking the suspension of the ongoing nationwide hunger protest.
Dalung,
who led the anti-government protest in Jos, Plateau State, last Thursday, was
again at an open-air Sunday church service held by the protesters in Jos.
Naija
News reported that the service was held at the Old Airport Roundabout,
attracting a large crowd, including Christian and Muslim leaders.
Protesters
carrying Nigerian flags blocked the roundabout, forcing motorists to find
alternative routes through the city.
Many
attendees explained that the church service was crucial because they believed
divine intervention could change Nigeria’s situation and benefit its struggling
citizens.
Speaking
with journalists, Dalung described Tinubu’s broadcast as empty, stating that
the President was merely talking to himself and the cabinet members.
According
to him, Tinubu failed to appeal to the protesters; instead, he threatened them
and told security agencies to continue with the clampdown, shooting and
killing.
The
ex-minister said, “The President did not say anything in his speech. He did not
appeal to the protesters to stop the protest. He only threatened them and told
the security agencies to continue with the clampdown, shooting and killing. He
did not even address Nigerians. He was just talking to himself and members of
his cabinet. All these things he said only go to strengthen our resolve to
continue with this protest.”
Source: naijanews.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.naijanews.com/2024/08/05/tinubu-threatened-protesters-told-security-agencies-to-continue-shooting-buharis-minister/
--------
Lagos
Protester Threatens to Join Boko Haram
AUGUST
3, 2024
At the
Ojota location of the #EndBadGovernance protest, an angry demonstrator expressed
frustration over the protest’s declining momentum on the third day of a planned
ten-day event.
The
protest, which saw only a small number of participants chanting anti-government
slogans, failed to meet his expectations.
The
Lagos protester, who traveled from Ikorodu, hoped to see a unified stand
against the government’s economic policies. He expressed disappointment at the
low turnout after several hours, noting that the usual crowd was absent.
He
emphasised that unity among the masses is impossible without mutual love and
support. Out of frustration, he remarked that if the current situation
persists, he might be left with no choice but to join the terrorist group, Boko
Haram.
Source: newscentral.africa
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https://newscentral.africa/lagos-protester-threatens-to-join-boko-haram/
--------
I Beg
You In The Name Of God To End The Protest Because Of Poor Nigerians – Atedo
Peterside
4 August
2024
The
founder of Stanbic IBTC, Atedo Peterside, has appealed to the protesting
#EndBadGovernance protesters to end their protest in the interest of poor
Nigerians.
Peterside
submitted that poor Nigerians could no longer bear the weight of the protest,
adding that the more the protest lingers, the more likelihood that hoodlums
would hijack it.
He told
the youths that they have proven their points and made their voice heard, and
it is time to go home.
Peterside
noted that the President has heard the demands of the protesters, and it is
time to give room for implementation. He added that if their demands are not
met, the protesters can regroup and make a fresh push.
“You
have shaken Nigeria to the core and dispelled the falsehood that many of our
youths are not politically active and/or do not care to demand good
governance,” Peterside wrote on his X account on Sunday.
“I beg
you in the name of God to please call off the protest now. In the aftermath of
#EndSars, I explained that any mass street action that goes on for more than a
few days will be infiltrated and overtaken by hoodlums.
“Please
end the protests today (Sunday). Poor Nigerians cannot endure protests for more
than a few days. You have made your point. Your massive turnout has frightened
many people. FG is not deaf.
“The
President has spoken this morning. Perhaps even the Legislators have heard you
also.
“If they
collectively fail to significantly reduce the cost of governance, stop wasteful
expenditures and tighten their own belts or lead by example, please then
re-strategise, regroup and call them to order again,” he added.
Naija
News reports the nationwide protest against economic hardship and bad
leadership kicked off on Thursday, 1st August.
The
protest, however, became marred with violence in some states.
On
Sunday, President Bola Tinubu addressed Nigerians in a nationwide broadcast in
which he appealed for an end to the protests and explained the decisions of his
government.
Source: naijanews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.naijanews.com/2024/08/04/i-beg-you-in-the-name-of-god-to-end-the-protest-because-of-poor-nigerians-atedo-peterside/
--------
Nigerian
police deny Amnesty Int’l report, blames Boko-Haram for protesters deaths
August
4, 2024
The
Nigerian police force has dismissed the reports of rights group, Amnesty
International on the number of casualties recorded during the first two days of
the protests against bad governance across the country, and the cause of their
deaths.
The
police say only seven Nigerians were killed during the protests, contrary to
Amnesty International’s report of thirteen and attribute their deaths to
attacks from Boko-Haram, ISWAP and other “unidentified” culprits, denying
reports from the rights groups that security personnel deliberately shot at and
killed protesters while trying to contain the demonstrations.
While
speaking to the Nigerian press on Saturday, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the Police
Public Relations Officer, revealed that the 7 deaths were recorded in the
Northern part of the country, specifically in Borno, Nasarawa and Kebbi states.
According
to him, 34 others were severely injured in Borno state where 4 were killed
after a “terrorist attack by suspected Boko Haram and ISWAP elements who
infiltrated the crowd of protesters and detonated an improvised explosive
device (IED).”
The
police report recorded 2 casualties in Nasarawa caused by an “unregistered car
that ran into the protesters,” and another in the Yauri LGA of Kebbi State
“where a group of individuals mobilised to loot a shop.” “In the process, a
local vigilante man shot and killed one of the looters,” Adejobi reported,
stating that the Commissioner of Police in charge of Kebbi state is currently
investigating the incident.
“There
were no other recorded fatalities during the protests apart from those
mentioned above,” the police said.
The
planned protests from agitated Nigerians enters its fourth day after three days
of demonstrations against poor living conditions all across the country, with
Nigerians calling for better reforms to ease the cost of living, including food
and basic amenities due to high inflation and an initial removal of fuel
subsidy by the Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the country’s president, upon assumption of
office.
Tinubu
is set to speak to the nation in the early hours of the fourth day to address
these lingering issues.
Source: businessday.ng
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://businessday.ng/news/article/nigerian-police-deny-amnesty-intl-report-blames-boko-haram-for-protesters-deaths/
--------
“It Is
Almost Better For The President To Have Kept Silent Than To Make This Kind Of
Broadcast” – Protest Organizers Slam Tinubu
4 August
2024
The
organizers of the protest stated this while reacting to the nationwide
presidential address by Tinubu on Sunday in response to the protest which has
engulfed some major cities in the country since Thursday, August 1.
The
protest organizers submitted that it would have almost been better for the
President not to make a speech than to have made a speech which failed to
address their demands nor ignite any trust in the heart of the masses.
Addressing
journalists in Abuja on Sunday, the National Coordinator of Youth Rights
Campaign, Micheal Lenin, expressed disappointment with the President’s speech.
He said the President in his speech, only justified the violence against
protesters and journalists while dismissing the demands of the protesters.
He said,
“We wish to express our sadness and deep disappointment at the latest broadcast
by President Tinubu, which is his first address to the nation on the
#EndBadGovernance protests, after over three weeks since Nigerians started
mobilizing to take to the streets and after scores of dead protesters and
assaulted journalists from the first three days of the protests.
“Many had
requested that the President should just address the nation when the protest
was being mobilized and when it started to escalate, but most of us did not
know that the President would only justify state violence on protesters and
journalists while dismissing the demands of the protesters whenever he decides
to speak. This, plus the failed attempt to co-opt the progressive and radical
language of the protests, only shows how much President Tinubu is out of touch
with the masses.”
Emiola
Osifeso, representing the Take It Back Movement, disagreed with the president’s
claim that the protests are politically motivated. He added that the protests
are a lawful response by Nigerians who have become frustrated with the policies
of the current government.
In his
words, “The claim by President Tinubu that our protests are driven by a
political agenda to tear Nigeria apart is nothing but an attempt to call a dog
a bad name so that he can easily hang it. It is a gross misrepresentation of
the obvious facts that have become the economic reality of all Nigerians.
“These
protests have been largely faceless and leaderless because it was a spontaneous
response of Nigerians triggered by the deep multidimensional poverty, sharp
inequality, barbarous corruption and gross human rights abuses that we see
every day before us.
“The
protest was the lawful response of the Nigerian people to the failure of the
Tinubu government to address these endemic systemic issues after over 14 months
in power.
“These
protests were mobilised for by the flagrant extravagance of political office
holders in Nigeria for the past 14 months while asking Nigerians to be patient
in our hunger and hardship – which they claim to be our sacrifice for the
nation. It is almost better for the President to have kept silent than to make
this kind of broadcast in which he continued his attitude of ignoring the
legitimate grievances of the Nigerian people, by delegitimizing our protests as
politically-motivated.”
On his
part, the Initiator of Creative Change Centre, Omole Ibukun, said the
President’s speech was filed with empty promises and vague assurances.
He said,
“President Tinubu claimed to understand the pain and frustration driving our
protests, yet the long broadcast was filled with empty promises and vague assurances.
We must not forget that this same President and his ruling APC have deployed
security forces, including the Army, the Police, and the DSS, to suppress the
rights to dissent of protesters by using teargas on protesters, beating,
injuring, arresting and killing scores of protesters.”
Ibukun
added that the policies of the Tinubu government are anti-people and only about
pleasing the political elites, who are his friends.
He said,
“To further confirm that President Tinubu’s disconnection from the masses
borders on psychopathy, the president started reeling out economic figures in
the typical neoliberal attitude that prioritizes some abstract economic growth
over the immediate welfare needs of the people.
“The
broadcast further confirms how much the President is incapable of meeting the
Nigerian masses at the point of their needs, but very capable of making
policies that will benefit the private ‘investors’ of his elite clique at the
expense of the public. The excess talks about economic growth and infrastructure
development conveniently ignored the fact these benefits have not trickled down
to the masses for 14 months now. This is why we are protesting.”
Ibukun
added that “The President’s call for dialogue rings hollow as much as his
acclaimed commitment to democratic governance, given the fact that he has not
only ignored the demands of those he claims to want to dialogue with
consistently, but he has also suppressed and disregarded the human rights of
those he claims he wants to dialogue with.”
Protests
Continue
Lenin,
however, said the protest would continue massively on Monday, calling on the
citizens not to get tired.
He added
that the weapons of violence and propaganda deployed by the government would
not work and the protest would continue until their demands are met.
He said,
“We, therefore, call on Nigerians, to come out in large numbers to continue
these protests on Monday until our demands are met. The two-pronged approach of
violence and propaganda has failed.
“The
violence and repressions are just attempts to silence and control us, and the
propaganda cannot sway or fool us. The struggle for a new and better Nigeria
continues. We must not be tired.
“The
future of Nigeria depends on our determination at this moment. We must continue
to organize, resist and build till we have a country that prioritizes the
people over the profit and power of a few people. The struggle continues!”
Source: naijanews.com
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https://www.naijanews.com/2024/08/04/it-is-almost-better-for-the-president-to-have-kept-silent-than-to-make-this-kind-of-broadcast-protest-organizers-slam-tinubu/
--------
Abuja
Protest Was Peaceful Until Police Opened Fire On Peaceful Protesters – Senator
Ireti
5 August
2024
Senator
Ireti Kingibe said Abuja protesters were peaceful until the FCT Police Command
personnel fired live shots and tear gas canisters on the citizens.
The FCT
Senator added that there was no violence or looting of public infrastructure
and shops or any act of criminality from the protesters.
Senator
Kingibe’s statement on Sunday followed her earlier comment on the ongoing
#EndBadGovernanceinNigeria protest that generated reactions, the same day.
In her
earlier tweet, Mrs Kingibe said, “My heart is shattered seeing the devastating
violence and destruction unfolding between the Nigerian police and protesters,
especially in our federal capital.
“It’s
time for us to come together, engage in dialogue, and find alternative
solutions to this senseless cycle of violence. We must prioritize protecting
the lives and properties of both our government and our people.
“As the
senator of the good people of the FCT and a mother, I feel the pain and anguish
of our citizens, and I am deeply saddened by the injuries and loss of life. My
thoughts are with those who are suffering, and I pray for the souls of the
departed to rest in peace.
“Let us
work towards healing, recovery, and rebuilding our beloved Nigeria. We must
find a way to engage our citizens and address their concerns, ensuring that we
don’t continue to lose our children to senseless violence. Let’s move forward
together, with empathy, compassion, and a commitment to peace and
understanding. It is time to engage for good good governance.”
Following
criticism from X users that she was political in her statement, she explained
that she knew protesters in Abuja, at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, were
peacefully demonstrating until the FCT Police personnel fired tear gas and live
shots at them.
“I have
read most of the comments to my earlier tweet today and for the record let me
categorically state that the protest in Federal Capital Territory remained
peaceful until the police launched an attack, firing teargas and shots at the
protesters. To the best of my knowledge, there were no reports of any shops
being looted or vandalized in Abuja,” Senator Ireti said.
Source: naijanews.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.naijanews.com/2024/08/05/abuja-protest-was-peaceful-until-police-opened-fire-on-peaceful-protesters-senator-ireti/
--------
Russian
Flag: Don’t Allow Enemies Of Democracy Use You – Tinubu Tells Protesters
4 August
2024
President
Bola Tinubu has cautioned protesters against being manipulated by
anti-democratic forces seeking to destabilize his government.
Naija
News reports that in his Sunday nationwide broadcast, Tinubu emphasized the
importance of protecting Nigeria’s democratic progress, which has been
sustained for 25 years.
The
warning comes after viral images and videos on Saturday showed
#EndBadGovernance protesters in Kano displaying Russian flags while chanting
against poor governance in Hausa.
The
protest, comprising predominantly young participants, called on Russian
President Vladimir Putin to intervene in Nigeria’s affairs.
One
protester reportedly told TheCable, “We are raising the Russian flag because we
believe Tinubu is following the directives of imperial powers like the World
Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the United States.”
Legal expert
and commentator Bulama Bukarti noted the increasing support for Russia in
Northern Nigeria, reflecting a shift in sentiment.
Russia,
which is currently engaged in tensions with Western powers, has been linked to
recent coup d’états in several West African nations, including Mali, Burkina
Faso, and Niger.
Although
President Tinubu did not specifically mention Russia in his address, he urged
Nigerians to resist any attempts to derail the nation’s constitutional
democracy.
He
appealed for unity and progress, stating, “Let us work together to build a
brighter future for ourselves and for generations to come. Let us choose hope
over fear, unity over division, and progress over stagnation. The economy is
recovering; Please, don’t shut out its oxygen.
“Now that
we have been enjoying democratic governance for 25 years, do not let the
enemies of democracy use you to promote an unconstitutional agenda that will
set us back on our democratic journey. FORWARD EVER, BACKWARD NEVER!“
Source: naijanews.com
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the text of the original Story
https://www.naijanews.com/2024/08/04/russian-flag-dont-allow-enemies-of-democracy-use-you-tinubu-tells-protesters/
--------
Southeast Asia
Chants
of ‘Free Palestine’ fill Axiata Arena
04-08-
2024
KUALA
LUMPUR: Chants of ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘Israel Bacul’ resonated across Axiata
Arena, Bukit Jalil, as participants began arriving for the ‘Himpunan Pembebasan
Palestin’ rally.
The
public started filling every space inside Axiata Arena at 6.20 pm after
undergoing security checks, dressed in white to show solidarity with the
Palestinians.
Many
were seen carrying and waving Palestinian and Malaysian flags, as well as
banners displaying messages of support and prayers for those affected by the
situation in Gaza.
Yesterday,
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said that approximately 20,000 people were
expected to show their support for the Palestinian people during the rally.
The
rally aims, among other things, to send a message to the world that Malaysia
condemns the killing of Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh and opposes
the ongoing atrocities of the Zionist regime.
Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is also expected to deliver a speech at the
rally to support the Palestinian struggle alongside several other leaders.
The
programme includes talks on Palestinian solidarity, congregational Maghrib
prayers, a special video screening, and reciting the Qunut Nazilah prayers.
Source: thesun.my
Please click the following URL to read
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https://thesun.my/local-news/chants-of-free-palestine-fill-axiata-arena-IK12816187
--------
Thousands
gather in solidarity with Palestine at Bukit Jalil
04-08-
2024
KUALA
LUMPUR: In a powerful show of solidarity, thousands gathered at the Axiata
Arena, Bukit Jalil this evening for the ‘Himpunan Pembebasan Palestin’ rally.
Blessed
with pleasant weather, the event kicked off at around 6.30 pm with the
Palestine Liberation Speech, setting the tone for a heartfelt evening.
Attendees,
who mostly dressed in white, wearing Palestine-theme scarves and carrying
Palestinian flags, also listened to a tazkirah and tadabur ibrah on the
Palestinian cause and performed congregational Maghrib prayers led by a
Palestinian representative.
The
programme also featured performances by singers Amir Masdi and Faizal Tahir, as
well as moving poetry recitals by TV personality Fedtri Yahya and Grand
Chamberlain of Istana Negara Datuk Azuan Effendy Zairakithnaini.
A
special video from Gaza captured the hearts of the audience, followed by an
emotional performance by Palestinian children.
The
Palestine Liberation Speech then continued with contributions from Human
Resource Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin
Nasution Ismail, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad
Sabu, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk
Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is also scheduled to deliver a speech after
the screening of a tribute video for the late Hamas Political Bureau chief
Ismail Haniyeh.
The
gathering is set to conclude with performances by Rabbani and Awla, followed by
the recitation of the Qunut Nazilah.
A
participant, Ammar Abdul Razak, 40, said he travelled from Johor with friends,
arriving at the venue as early as 5 pm to join the solidarity gathering for
Palestinians oppressed by the Israeli regime.
“I’m
deeply moved to see people from various backgrounds and ethnicities coming
together at this rally to stand against Israel’s atrocities,” he told Bernama.
On
Thursday, the prime minister said that the solidarity gathering is one of the
moves to send a strong message to the world that Malaysia is condemning the
assassination of Haniyeh and will continue to support Palestine.
Yesterday,
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said that approximately 20,000 people were
expected to show their support for the Palestinian people during the rally.
Source: thesun.my
Please click the following URL to read
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https://thesun.my/local-news/thousands-gather-in-solidarity-with-palestine-at-bukit-jalil-GK12816374
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Kedah MB
is leaving it to ‘Allah’ to bring the rain, restore water levels in dams
04 Aug
2024
GUA
MUSANG, Aug 4 — Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor is
leaving it to Allah to bring rain to restore the water levels in three dams in
Kedah.
“Wait
for Allah to bring rain. We humans can’t make rain ourselves, pray to Allah
(for) rain. Allah will command the angels to bring rain.
“Rain
comes, fills up the dams again, asking for a human solution to God’s work,
there isn’t one, humans can’t do it, wait for God to give,” he told reporters
during a “Breakfast Programme with the Kedah Menteri Besar” in Renok here
today.
Also
present was PAS candidate for the Nenggiri state by-election, Mohd Rizwadi
Ismail.
On
Thursday, Bernama reported that the water level at Muda Dam was at eight per
cent, Pedu Dam at 39.09 per cent, and Ahning Dam at 81.80 per cent, with an
overall average of 43.68 per cent across the three dams.
When
asked if the depletion of the dams’ water levels would affect agricultural
activities, Muhammad Sanusi said the issue would not have an impact as water
had been released from padi fields into Muda Agricultural Development Authority
(MADA) rivers and they were (rivers) full now.
Mohd
Rizwadi faces Barisan Nasional candidate Mohd Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani,
representing the Unity Government, in the Nenggiri by-election on Aug 17.
The
by-election was called following a casual vacancy announced by Kelantan State
Assembly Speaker Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah on June 19, after the former
incumbent Mohd Azizi Abu Naim ceased to be a member of Bersatu on June 13. —
Bernama
Source: malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/08/04/kedah-mb-is-leaving-it-to-allah-to-bring-the-rain-restore-water-levels-in-dams/146018
--------
Malaysian
interfaith Council against Bible course advertised outside a Muslim prayer hall
08/04/2024
Kuala
Lumpur (AsiaNews) – The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism,
Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Taoism has urged a Surau (prayer hall)
committee in Malacca (Melaka) to file a complaint with police against an
unidentified group promoting a free Bible course outside its premises.
Such
action could be exploited politically in a country that cannot afford more
religious misunderstandings after the recent issue of socks with the word Allah
written on them.
The
Interfaith Council, in a statement, said it is wrong for any religious group to
propagate its beliefs outside the house of worship of another faith. Council
President Tan Hoe Chieow said that religious groups should follow an ethic of
respecting others in propagating their faith.
The case
became public after a 16-second video was posted on social media and began
spreading around the country. It shows a small group of people sitting and
standing near a book trolley with a sign that reads "Free Bible Course”.
Tan
speculates that those involved may belong to some "deviant sect"
since the country's traditional Churches do not break the country's laws by
proselytising among Muslims.
He
called on Churches and Christian leaders to identify the group.
“While
the federal constitution provides the right to profess and practice any
religion, it is prohibited to propagate other religions to Muslims,” Tan
explained.
Cassel
Krishnan, a leading member of Democratic Action Party (DAP), strongly condemned
the promotion of free Bible classes outside a surau, calling the incident
irresponsible, but also warned against politicising the incident.
“Respect
and tolerance are not optional, they are imperative,” Krishnan said, adding
that “Churches and Christian groups in Malacca have always been prudent and
wise when conducting their activities in public.”
Malacca
City was the gateway through which the first seeds of the Gospel were brought
to the Malay Peninsula by the Portuguese conquerors in the 16th century. After
them came the Dutch.
While Terengganu
is said to hold the earliest evidence of the coming of Islam in the Malay
Peninsula, Malacca in the 14th century was an important trading centre and a
regional bastion of Islam due to the many Muslim traders who proselytised to
locals.
Source: asianews.it
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--------
Situation
in UK alarming, M’sians urged to avoid protest areas
05-08-
2024
SEREMBAN:
The ongoing protests in several areas of the United Kingdom (UK) are becoming
increasingly alarming and have escalated into violence, said Foreign Minister
Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
Therefore,
he advised Malaysians residing in or visiting the UK to stay away from protest
areas and register with the Malaysian High Commission in London to facilitate
safety-related matters.
“Malaysians
are advised to avoid anticipated target areas and keep in touch with the High
Commission so that we can know they are in good condition,” he told reporters
at Wisma Negeri here today.
Mohamad
said the current protests were seen as a new pattern of right-wing resurgence
with low tolerance and expressed hope that these incidents would not spread
further.
He also
said that the dissemination of false information on social media poses a threat
and could cause issues for any nation.
The
Foreign Ministry, in a statement earlier, said Malaysians requiring consular
assistance can contact the Malaysian High Commission in London at 45-46
Belgrave Square, London, UK or call +44 20 3931 6196 or +44 20 7235 8033 or
email at mwlondon@kln.gov.my.
According
to media reports, UK authorities are facing growing pressure to end the worst
rioting in England in 13 years, which was triggered by a stabbing attack in
Southport on July 29.
Source: thesun.my
Please click the following URL to read
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https://thesun.my/local-news/situation-in-uk-alarming-m-sians-urged-to-avoid-protest-areas-GK12818718#google_vignette
--------
PMO
summons Meta representatives for explanation on removal of posts
05-08-
2024
KUALA
LUMPUR: The Prime Minister’s Office has summoned representatives of Meta
Platforms Inc (Meta) today to explain the removal of content related to
Palestinian issues from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s social media
platforms.
According
to sources, this includes content related to the assassination of Hamas
Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, which was removed and blocked on
platforms like the Prime Minister’s Facebook and Instagram.
It is
understood that the Prime Minister, who was upset over the removal of his
posts, also wants further explanations from Meta on the matter.
The
meeting, expected to take place this afternoon, will also seek clarification on
the disruptions reported during a live broadcast on Facebook of the Himpunan
Pembebasan Palestin rally yesterday at Axiata Arena Stadium, Bukit Jalil, which
was attended by more than 15,000 people.
Yesterday,
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said a meeting would be held with Meta
regarding the removal of Palestine-related content from the Prime Minister’s
social media platforms in Putrajaya today.
Fahmi
said the government would be firm in the meeting if any content related to the
Himpunan Pembebasan Palestin rally was removed by the social media platform
provider.
Fahmi
had previously expressed the government’s regret over the removal of the Prime
Minister’s posts about Haniyeh’s killing and requested an explanation from
Meta.
A check
on the Prime Minister’s Instagram account found that three of his posts on July
31 condemning Haniyeh’s assassination and sharing photos of his meeting with
the Hamas leader had been removed from the social media application.
The removal
of the posts was accompanied by the caption “Dangerous individuals and
organisations”.
This led
the Prime Minister’s Office to condemn Meta’s actions, while Anwar on Aug 1
reminded Meta to stop acting as instruments of the oppressive Zionist Israeli regime.
Source: thesun.my
Please click the following URL to read
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https://thesun.my/local-news/pmo-summons-meta-representatives-for-explanation-on-removal-of-posts-IK12817906
--------
PM Anwar
recognises civil servants’ contributions to nation’s success
05-08-
2024
PUTRAJAYA:
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has acknowledged the crucial role
played by civil servants in helping to enhance the country’s performance and
ensure its success.
He said
the government is grateful that the country has recently received numerous
recognitions, recording progress in terms of economic growth and the
strengthening of the ringgit.
“This
success is certainly due to more stable politics, as well as clearer policies
and frameworks. But a very important element to highlight is that we have a
tradition of civil service that has worked hard to improve performance and
ensure (the country’s) success.
“Although
it is not often publicised, that is the reality,“ he said during a monthly
assembly with staff of the Prime Minister’s Department (JPM) here today.
Anwar
emphasised that despite recording many successes, civil servants should remain
humble and continuously strive to improve efficiency and address weaknesses to
do even better.
Also
present were Deputy Prime Minister and Rural and Regional Development Minister
Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Deputy Prime Minister and Energy
Transition and Water Transformation Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
The
ringgit continued to be well supported and sustained its upward momentum for 11
straight days against the US dollar as investors redirected their investments
towards the Asia-Pacific region following weaker US jobs data last Friday, said
an analyst.
At 8 am
today, the ringgit appreciated to 4.4930/5010 versus the US dollar from last
Friday’s close of 4.4945/4995.
Source: thesun.my
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https://thesun.my/local-news/pm-anwar-recognises-civil-servants-contributions-to-nation-s-success-HK12817220
--------
Arab World
Festival
for Asian communities dazzles audiences in Jeddah
August
04, 2024
JEDDAH:
The Equestrian Club hosted the Asian Communities Festival over the weekend,
featuring special participation from Pakistani and Indonesian communities, as
part of Jeddah Season 2024.
The
event was a spectacular celebration of the rich cultural heritage and artistic
traditions of these countries, creating an atmosphere of joy and interaction
among the audience.
Artistic
groups from Pakistan and Indonesia took turns to perform on stage traditional
dances and melodies, donning traditional costumes while using musical
instruments to add ambience and delight the audience.
The
festival also included a children’s corner, featuring games and interactive
activities that combined entertainment with education. Additionally, a food
corner offered traditional dishes from the participating countries, giving
visitors the opportunity to taste different flavors from around the world.
Jeddah
Season 2024 aims to promote cultural exchange and dialogue through the Asian
Communities Festival, highlighting the role of culture in uniting people.
The
festival also seeks to support tourism in Jeddah, presenting it as an
attractive destination for visitors of various nationalities.
Jeddah
Season 2024 will continue to offer diverse cultural performances in the coming
weeks, with artistic groups from other Asian countries participating.
These
performances will open new horizons for cultural exploration and provide a
unique experience, combining the rich heritage of Asian countries with the
enthusiasm of the audiences.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2562461/saudi-arabia
--------
Project
Masam clears 670 Houthi mines in Yemen
August
04, 2024
RIYADH:
Members of Saudi Arabia’s Project Masam removed 670 explosive devices from
various regions of Yemen last week.
The
total included five anti-personnel mines, 47 anti-tank mines, 570 unexploded
ordnances and 21 explosive devices, according to a recent report.
Ousama
Al-Gosaibi, the initiative’s managing director, said a total of 453,968 mines
had been cleared since its inception in 2018.
The
explosives were planted indiscriminately and posed a threat to civilians,
including children, women and the elderly.
The
demining operations took place in Marib, Aden, Jouf, Shabwa, Taiz, Hodeidah,
Lahij, Sanaa, Al-Bayda, Al-Dhale and Saada.
Project
Masam trains local demining engineers and provides them with modern equipment.
It also offers support to Yemenis injured by the devices.
Teams
are tasked with clearing villages, roads and schools to facilitate safe
movement for civilians and the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2562441/saudi-arabia
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Saudi AI
Olympiad finalists chosen for Oxford scholars program
August
04, 2024
RIYADH:
Almost 300 Saudi students have been selected to take part in Oxford
University’s prestigious Scholars Programme, reported Saudi Press Agency.
In
April, the group reached the finals of the National Olympiad for Programming
and Artificial Intelligence, an initiative spearheaded by the Saudi Data and
Artificial Intelligence Authority. It aims to develop data and AI expertise,
especially among young talent, in line with the broader objectives of Saudi
Vision 2030.
The
event is a collaboration between the Ministry of Education and the King
Abdulaziz and his Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity
(Mawhiba), with sponsorship from the Saudi Technology and Security
Comprehensive Control Company (Tahakom).
The
Olympiad took place over several months, starting with 260,000 students which
was whittled down to 298 for the final stage. Gold medals were awarded to 10
students aged between 14 and 18.
The
Oxford Scholars Programme will provide the group with a chance to enhance their
skills in programming and AI and offers access to education at one of the
world’s leading universities.
Participants
will receive a certificate from the British Accreditation Council which could
bolster their chances of gaining academic recommendations for future admission
to Oxford University.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2562431/saudi-arabia
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Saudi
Arabia is now self-sufficient in fig production, says agriculture ministry
August
05, 2024
RIYADH:
Saudi Arabia has achieved self-sufficiency in fig production, with annual
output exceeding 28,000 tonnes on 1,421 hectares of land across the country,
the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture has announced.
In a
statement posted on its website over the weekend, the MEWA said Jazan and
Riyadh are the biggest producers with annual production in tonnes of 9,906 and
8,010, respectively.
Asir is
third with 3,970, Makkah 1,635, Hail 1,033, Al-Jouf 874, Al-Baha 790, Qassim
737, Najran 645, Tabuk 348, Madinah 245, and the Northern Border 36.
Fig
production season is from February to November, with the Madani, Turkish,
Waziri, Kadota, and White King varieties the most popular, in addition to local
ones.
Figs are
known to have multiple health benefits, including helping to prevent
Alzheimer’s disease, regulate blood pressure, strengthen bones, and improve
hair and skin, according to the MEWA statement.
The
ministry is working to develop the production, processing and marketing of figs
through the Sustainable Agricultural Rural Development Program across the
country.
The
government wants to raise awareness about the Kingdom’s diverse fruit options,
and to support farmers by improving marketing and distribution.
Local
farmer Bassam Al-Haboub, who has also joined the production initiative, planted
1,200 fig trees in two years.
He said
he focuses on having high-quality soil and water, and cultivates a fig variety
known for its abundant yield, firmness and transportability.
A
graduate in agriculture, Al-Haboub has leveraged his expertise to market his
produce locally.
He
thanked the MEWA for organizing festivals that provide a platform for farmers
to display their products and access valuable support services.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2562741/saudi-arabia
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More
than 25,000 environmental checks completed in Saudi Arabia
August
04, 2024
RIYADH:
The National Center for Environmental Compliance has said it conducted more
than 25,000 inspections across various sectors and activities during the first
half of 2024, representing a substantial increase over the number of
inspections carried out last year.
Abdullah
Al-Ayuni, the NCEC’s director general, said the increase in inspection visits
to facilities would boost adherence to regulations. This heightened compliance
will result in benefits to the quality of essential environmental resources
such as water, air, and soil.
He said
the inspection tours were conducted by specialized national teams and followed
a detailed schedule based on the environmental impact of various activities and
the public sector.
The
second quarter of this year has seen an 18 percent increase in inspections
compared to the same period last year.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2562566/saudi-arabia
--------
Saudi
Islamic minister meets Syrian Awqaf minister in Makkah
August
04, 2024
MAKKAH:
Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dawah, and Guidance Sheikh Abdullatif Al-Asheikh
met Syrian Minister of Awqaf Dr. Mohammad Abdul-Sattar Al-Sayyed and his
accompanying delegation in Makkah on Sunday.
Al-Sayyed
praised the Kingdom’s efforts to serve Islam and Muslims, the Two Holy Mosques,
and the rest of the holy sites, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
He added
that the Conference of Ministers of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, which is being
held in Makkah until Aug. 5, would significantly help Islamic advocacy to
promote coexistence, cooperation, and interdependence.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2562576/saudi-arabia
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Saudi
Arabia urges citizens to leave Lebanon immediately
August
04, 2024
RIYADH:
Saudi foreign ministry urged its citizens on Sunday to leave Lebanon
‘immediately’ as regional tensions recently surged.
In a
statement, the ministry has reiterated its call for all Saudi nationals to
avoid traveling to Lebanon.
It said
the Kingdom's embassy in Lebanon was closely monitoring the developments in the
southern region of the country.
Travellers
were forced to wait in long lines at Beirut airport on Sunday, some after
cutting summer holidays short, as airlines cancelled flights amid fears of
all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Saudi
calls echo those from the US, UK and France who have also warned their
nationals to leave the country as soon as possible.
Several
airlines including Lufthansa and Air France delayed or suspended flights to
Lebanon.
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2562341/saudi-arabia
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/bangladesh-sheikh-hasina-protesters-storm-palace/d/132869