Bengali-Origin Muslim Singer Arrested for Protest Song About Targeting of ‘Miya’ Muslims

New Age Islam News Bureau

02-Sep-2024

 

Singer Altaf Hussain. (HT PHOTO)

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·         Bengali-Origin Muslim Singer Arrested for Protest Song About Targeting of ‘Miya’ Muslims

·         Free Hand to Target Muslims: Rahul Gandhi Slams Modi Government for Attacks On Minorities

·         Saudi FM Calls for Intensifying Arab-Islamic Efforts to Stop Israeli Violations; After Phone Calls with His Counterparts from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, And Gambia

·         Political Deputy Reiterates Doors of Islamic Emirate Are Open to The Public

·         'Walk of Unity':  A Month After Riots; Muslim, Jewish and Christian Faith Leaders Will Join Local Politicians

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India

·         Jammu: Army personnel critically injured in suspected terror attack on army camp

·         Why the oppression of Muslims continues despite a weakened Modi

·         How The Bohra, Khoja, And Memon Communities of Gujarati Muslims Became Formidable At Business

·         ‘Whitewashing crimes of Pakistani…’ BJP slams ’IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ makers for concealing Muslim names

·         Why Bengali Muslim workers are being driven out of Upper Assam

·         Hundreds protest against 'illegal' construction of mosque in Shimla

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Arab World

·         Saudi crown prince discusses developments in Palestinian territories with Egyptian president

·         Saudi crown prince discusses efforts to support Palestinians with Turkish president

·         Saudi Arabia’s Al-Wahbah Crater Ranked Among World’s Top Geological Wonders

·         Saudi-Qatari Coordination Council meeting held in Riyadh

·         Makkah Launches Digital Tree-Planting Initiative

·         MWL’s chief meets Tanzanian president in Dar es Salaam

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South Asia

·         China’s Greed for Minerals Looks Set To Turn Afghanistan Into Hell

·         Cubeinside Creates Red-Brick Bait Ur Raiyan Mosque In Bangladesh Cubeinside creates red-

·         Muttaqi discusses bilateral relations with some countries’ representatives in Cameroon

·         UN Security Council to hold session on Afghanistan

·         150 foreigners currently held in prisons in Afghanistan

·         New Grand Mosque Enhances Religious Facilities in Maidan Wardak with AFN 20 Million Investment

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Europe

·         Labour Whitewashes Right-Winger Who Called Muslim Woman A ‘Hamas Member’

·         Mezze, Juice And Calls For Unity: Muslim Votes Matter Campaign Kicks Off

·         Austria to Deport Afghan ‘Criminal’ Refugees

·         Throwing bricks through Muslims’ windows won’t solve our socio-economic issues - Noel Doran

·         Blackburn: New Dome Placed On Top Of Ambitious Issa Foundation Mosque

·         Islamic Cultural Centre and mosque damaged in Russian missile attack on Kyiv

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North America

·         Muslim-American Vote in Focus as 'Abandon Harris' Campaign Intensifies

·         Kamala Harris criticises Trump over Arlington Cemetery dispute

·         RFK Jr sues to remove name from North Carolina ballot

·         Three killed after small plane crashes into houses in Oregon

·         Trump signals backing for Florida marijuana legalisation

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Pakistan

·         Terrorists Undermining Pakistan in The Name of Nationalism: Balochistan CM

·         4 Countries ‘Commit’ $27bn Investment in Pakistan, Claims Federal Minister

·         Suspected mpox patient in Karachi tests negative

·         Three ‘militants’ killed as four security men injured in South Waziristan

·         PM hails lower inflation, Moody's upgrade as signs of economic stability

·         One killed, four injured in Quetta, Bajaur blasts

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Mideast

·         Waiting Game Continues for Lebanon Residents as Fear of Hezbollah-Israel War Persists

·         Israelis erupt in protest to demand a ceasefire after 6 more hostages die in Gaza

·         Gaza officials say 11 killed in Israeli strike on school

·         Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani Reviews Digital Transformation Roadmap with SAP Global Software Company

·         Projectiles strike ship in Red Sea in suspected Yemen Houthi attack

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Australia

·         Muslim groups to campaign on gambling and domestic violence in lead-up to Australian election

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Africa

·         A Libyan Human Trafficker Sanctioned By The UN Has Been Killed In Tripoli, Officials Say

·         I Warned Against Danger of Radicalising Bandits — Sheikh Gumi

·         NAF Neutralizes Notorious Terrorist Kingpin, 5 Others In Kaduna

·         African heads of state head to Beijing for China-Africa cooperation summit

·         AU race tightens as Islamic states back Djibouti candidate over Raila

·         Kebbi gov donates N50m to Islamic group

·         Presidency Speaks On Reports Of Rift Between Tinubu And Shettima

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Southeast Asia

·         Placing Jakim Officers In Govt Departments To Ensure National Policies Are ‘Islamic’ Clashes With Constitution, Interfaith Umbrella Group Says

·         Shafee Claims Swiss Court Did Not Mention Najib’s Role In US$1.8b 1MDB Fraud Conviction Of Two Petrosaudi Officials

·         Harness National Day spirit to strive for better performance - PM Anwar

·         Health minister: Malaysia to receive antiviral drug and vaccine for mpox through Asean fund

·         PM Anwar and NZ counterpart Luxon call for ceasefire in Gaza conflict, seek two-state solution

·         Indonesia to Partner with Africa Amid Slow Progress on UN Development Goals

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

URL:   https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/bengali-muslim-miya-assam/d/133105

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Bengali-Origin Muslim Singer Arrested for Protest Song About Targeting of ‘Miya’ Muslims

 

Singer Altaf Hussain. (HT PHOTO)

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Scroll Staff

2 Sep 2024,

The Assam Police on Saturday arrested a Bengali-origin Muslim singer for allegedly inciting hatred against the state’s ethnic communities through a song that he released last month.

The song asks: “Does Assam belong to your father that you want to chase them out?” Singing in Assamese, 31-year-old Altaf Hussain points out that although people of all communities commit crimes, only “Miyas” are targeted, referring to Bengali-origin Muslims in Assam who are often falsely accused of being undocumented immigrants.

Through the song, Hussain sought to highlight the targeting of Bengali-origin Muslims in the context of a campaign by nativist groups to drive them out of Upper Assam. The lyrics of his song are similar to a Bangladeshi protest song called “Desh ta tomar baaper naki”, which translates to “'Does the country belong to your father?”

A complaint against Hussain was filed in western Assam’s Dhubri district, the Deccan Herald reported. A case was filed on Saturday under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to promoting enmity between religious groups and hurting religious sentiments, after which the singer was arrested.

The complainant accused Hussain of distorting a traditional Bihu song and inciting hostility against indigenous communities in Assam.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in a social media post that the people of Assam would not tolerate attempts to alter Bihu songs.

“Some people are trying to popularise 'Miya Bihu'. One such singer, Altaf Hussain, has been arrested by the police today,” Sarma said, according to PTI.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader added: “We will not tolerate any attack on our social system. And there should not be such attempts to attack us either.”

Sarma had said on August 27 that he would not allow Miya Muslims to “take over the state” and asked why members of the community needed to move to Upper Assam. The administrative division of Upper Assam, comprising nine districts, is the heartland of Assamese politics and is home to several ethnic communities.

The chief minister’s remarks came after fundamentalist organisations allegedly threatened Bengali-origin Muslims in Upper Assam to leave the administrative division. The threats were issued following the alleged gang-rape of a 14-year-old girl in the Dhing area of Assam’s Nagaon district on August 22.

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 Free Hand to Target Muslims: Rahul GandhiSlams Modi Government for Attacks On Minorities

 

Rahul Gandhi/File picture

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Anita Joshua

02.09.24

Rahul Gandhi on Sunday took up the cudgels for minorities, particularly Muslims, after a migrant worker was lynched in election-bound Haryana and an elderly man was assaulted in a train in Maharashtra on the suspicion of carrying beef.

The leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha billed such targeting of minorities as yet another attack on the Constitution in an apparent bid to hurt the BJP at its most vulnerable spot.

The Opposition campaign that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would change the Constitution if voted in for a third time had hurt the BJP electorally and the NDA government has been rolling back decisions or going slow on policies that are perceived to be feeding this narrative.

In a detailed post in Hindi on X, Rahul said: “Those who have climbed the ladder of power by using hatred as a political weapon are continuously establishing the reign of fear across the country. Hateful elements hidden in the form of mobs are openly spreading violence, challenging the rule of law.”

Holding the BJP responsible for such violence, he said “these miscreants have got a free hand from the BJP government, that is why they have got the courage to do this”. He included in his post a screenshot each of the two attacks.

“Attacks on minorities, especially Muslims, are continuing and the government machinery is watching as a mute spectator,” Rahul said, appearing to be responding to criticism from the secular/liberal sections that the Congress is not taking a position on attacks that specifically target the

community.

Last week, when the Congress took a position against bulldozer justice, it had dealt with it as a minority issue without naming Muslims, drawing the ire of the secular sections of society.

Rahul said on Sunday: “The authority of law must be established by taking the strictest action against such anarchic elements. Any attack on the communal unity of India and the rights of Indians is an attack on the Constitution, which we will not tolerate at all. No matter how much effort BJP makes, we will win this historic battle to unite India against hatred.’’

In Haryana, Sabir Malik, a migrant worker from Bengal, was beaten to death in Charkhi Dadri district on August 27 by alleged cow vigilantes on suspicion of consuming beef. Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini contested the use of the word “mob lynching”, averring that there are strict laws for cow protection in the state.

In Maharashtra, where Assembly elections are scheduled this year, a 72-year-old man was abused, beaten and kicked on August 28 by youngsters travelling for a police recruitment exam on the Dhule-CSMT Express for carrying beef.

Preliminary investigations have shown that the victim was carrying buffalo meat, which is not banned in Maharashtra.

Source:telegraphindia.com

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 Saudi FMCalls for Intensifying Arab-Islamic Efforts to Stop Israeli Violations; After Phone Calls with His Counterparts from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, And Gambia

 

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

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September 01, 2024

RIYADH — Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan discussed the latest developments on the Palestinian issue and efforts to enhance joint Arab and Islamic actions aimed at restoring the legitimate rights of Palestine and its people, stopping Israeli violations, and supporting the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

The discussions took place through a series of phone calls with his counterparts from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and Gambia.

During his call with Egyptian Foreign Minister Dr. Badr Abdel Aty, Prince Faisal discussed the situation in Palestinian territories and the need for immediate action to halt severe Israeli violations and support the establishment of a secure and stable Palestinian state.

In his conversation with Dr. Ayman Safadi, Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Saudi minister emphasized the urgent need for a ceasefire and the importance of Arab and Islamic efforts to achieve a fair and comprehensive solution for the Palestinian people, including the establishment of an independent state in accordance with international resolutions.

Prince Faisal also spoke with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to discuss the Palestinian issue within the context of Islamic efforts to restore the legitimate rights of Palestine and its people. They stressed the need for intensified coordination to halt the Israeli violations of international laws and humanitarian principles.

Earlier, Prince Faisal held separate calls with Bahraini Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullatif Al Zayani and Gambian Foreign Minister Mamadou Tangara, where they reviewed the latest developments in Palestine. The ministers discussed ways to strengthen Arab-Islamic cooperation to support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, ensure the restoration of Palestinian rights, and stop all Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law.

Source:saudigazette.com.sa

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Political Deputy Reiterates Doors of Islamic Emirate Are Open to The Public

 

IEA The political deputy prime minister

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 September 2, 2024

 Ariana News

The political deputy prime minister said Sunday in a meeting that the doors to the offices of the Islamic Emirate are open to the people and that the government values ideas for reform from the public.

Addressing a meeting with officials from the previous government, elders, scholars and youths from different provinces, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir said every Afghan can share ideas directly with officials.

They said the world does not condone an Islamic system in Afghanistan and foreign countries are trying to harm the system in various ways but that Afghans will not allow them to weaken the system.

According to them, people welcome the laws promulgated by the Islamic Emirate, but people influenced by Western ideas oppose and condemn Islamic law.

They added that the orders of the leader of the Islamic Emirate are part of the Islamic system and supporting the Islamic system is the religious responsibility of Muslims.

Also, the political deputy added that the Islamic Emirate has fulfilled the wishes of the previous two periods of jihad and proved that after the end of the jihad, Afghans will live in an independent and safe system instead of chaos.

At the end of this meeting, Abdul Kabir said that the Islamic Emirate is paying attention to the laws and assured them that their advice and suggestions will be considered.

Source:ariananews.af

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'Walk ofUnity': A Month After Riots; Muslim, Jewish And Christian Faith Leaders Will Join Local Politicians

 

Tributes laid after the stabbing of three girls in Southport on 29 July

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2 September 2024

The Southport community is coming together in a Walk of Unity, a month after riots broke out following fatal stabbings in the town.

Muslim, Jewish and Christian faith leaders will join local politicians and the community for the walk between a mosque, synagogue and church before a shared meal.

The event will be a show of solidarity one month on from the start of violent disorder which saw Muslim communities and other minority groups targeted by far-right groups.

The violence that started in Southport spread to Manchester, Liverpool and across the country.

The riots were sparked by misinformation following the stabbing at a dance event in the town where three young girls were killed.

Seven year old Elsie Dot Stancombe, six year old Bebe King and nine year old Alice Dasilva Aguiar died in the attack.

Following the initial violence, the local community spoke out against the widespread damage and quickly mobilised to clear up and repair a mosque which was attacked by rioters.

Organisers say The Walk of Unity "serves as a reminder that amid tragedy, the community in Southport is committed to creating a lasting legacy of connection across divides, showing that extremists who sought to divide the town last month are not welcome."

Organisers hope the gathering inspires communities across the country to come together once again as the country continues to rebuild community connection following the riots.

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India

 

Jammu: Army personnel critically injured in suspected terror attack on army camp

02.09.24

An army personnel was critically injured when suspected terrorists opened fire on a sentry post of an army camp here on Monday, officials said as a massive search operation is underway to track down and neutralise the gunmen.

A defence spokesman said that a few rounds were fired at the Sunjawan Military Station in the outskirts of Jammu at around 10.50 am, resulting in critical injuries to a soldier.

Operation has been launched and further details being ascertained, the spokesman said without giving details about the assailants who fired on the sentry post.

Earlier, the officials said that a brief firing took place when suspected terrorists opened a few rounds on one of the army posts guarding one of the biggest security camps in the winter capital.

The firing sparked off panic as the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the local police rushed to the scene to join the army in a massive search operation to hunt down the fleeing terrorists.

The search operation is on but there was no contact with the terrorists so far, the officials said.

Earlier in February 2018, the terrorists attacked the Sunjawan military camp resulting in the killing of six soldiers, a civilian and three terrorists.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.

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Why the oppression of Muslims continues despite a weakened Modi

Samar Halarnkar

2 Sep 2024,

Even by India’s falling standards for extrajudicial, partisan government action against Muslims and Dalits, ignoring the violence of Hindu fundamentalists and tolerating hate speech by chief ministers from the ruling party, the days after Narendra Modi began his third term as prime minister have been ominous.

Electoral reverses were supposed to temper Modi 3.0, but a string of Islamophobic atrocities and comments have emanated from states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, indicating the continuing – even growing –impunity and confidence that Hindutva groups and the police enjoy.

While the virulence and violence against Muslims are not new, what is more blatant than ever in BJP states is the visible confidence of Hindu fundamentalists that the might of the law and the State will not be used against them.

Nowhere was this faith in police and government inaction clearer last week than in the gleeful faces of the young men on a Maharashtra train, confidently recording their attack on a 65-year-old man whom they accused of carrying beef; or in the young vigilantes in Haryana who murdered a young migrant because they suspected him for eating beef.

Most recent Muslim oppression is reported from BJP states, where chief ministers have, contrary to their constitutional oaths, deployed dog whistles against Muslims and attempted to scare or shame Hindus into backing their party.

In Madhya Pradesh, new chief minister Mohan Yadav said he opposed bulldozer sanskriti but allowed or ordered officials to continue demolition of Muslim homes – for allegedly finding beef in their refrigerators, for rioting. An Adivasi constable who refused to hand over a Muslim accused of “hurting religious sentiments” to Hindu fundamentalists was, instead of being commended, transferred.

Dalits, too, continue to face atrocities in a state with some of the highest crime rates against them – a mother and her child were recently beaten in a police station. The policemen and women concerned were suspended, since no Muslims were involved.

In Assam, where chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has randomly and bizarrely accused Muslims of “flood” and “fertiliser” jihad, declared he was indeed “partisan” and would not allow Muslims to “take over the state”, 30 nativist and Hindu organisations called Muslims “a cancerous disease”. They asked Muslims to leave or “face consequences” after a rape involving a Muslim suspect, who police said drowned in a pond while trying to escape (another Muslim, accused of cow slaughter, was similarly claimed by police in Uttarakhand to have drowned in a pond).

In Uttar Pradesh, where Modi during elections tried to play on Hindu insecurities, Chief Minister Adityanath told Hindus to “unite or perish”. A 55-year-old Muslim woman died after police, with no warrant, broke into her house to search for beef (they didn’t find any). There are few left to speak for Muslims in Uttar Pradesh, where 175 criminal cases have been filed against Muslim politicians, many of whom are in jail.

The escalating official violence and rhetoric against Muslims may come as a surprise since Modi 3.0 is struggling with coalition and a loss of absolute control. But that may precisely be the problem.

Modi has never had to compromise on his core beliefs until now. A series of rollbacks of policies – for instance, the takeover of Muslim land, an attempt to muzzle critics and media online, and the hiring of professionals without affirmative action – have revealed the limitations imposed by the loss of electoral majority.

With his trademark consultation-free and sudden, grand proclamations no longer available, and millions struggling for livelihood more aware than ever of his administrative incapacities, Modi may have little left but Hindutva.

Allowing his chief ministers to continue business as usual when it comes to physical and verbal abuse of Muslims is not just a signal of defiance but a signal to his core constituency that their desire to subjugate Muslims has not been forgotten.

More complicated is the pushback that Modi has been facing from his party’s ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, whose chief has publicly expressed discomfort with the cult of Modi. There is, in the Sangh, some privately expressed discomfort about the relentless tide of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim violence, but that may be insincere since the organisation’s affiliated bodies are often directly responsible.

While the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is known for playing the long game, surely, even its selective interpretation of the past and the present should make it realise that the disempowerment of Muslims cannot deliver a secure and prosperous nation.

The general elections provided indications that Modi’s divide-and-rule policy, which had earned substantial electoral dividends in terms of growing the Hindu vote and further oppressing Muslims, was delivering diminishing returns. Things may get better, but they will likely get worse before they do.

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How the Bohra, Khoja, and Memon communities of Gujarati Muslims became formidable at business

Michael O’Sullivan

2 Sep 2024,

The fracturing of Mughal power over the course of the 18th century had assorted regional effects throughout the subcontinent, ushering in a volatile mixture of market expansion and rapid political turnover. As historians writing on late Mughal North India have shown, the weakening of central Mughal power fostered the conditions for an assortment of parvenu entrepreneurs and social groups to vie for abundant, albeit hotly contested, political and mercantile resources.6 Although conforming to patterns seen elsewhere on the subcontinent, Western India was arguably an exceptional case, for there a matrix of corporate merchant power, state fiscalism, and political polycentrism coalesced (and persisted, albeit to a lesser degree, after the colonial conquest), with few parallels in other parts of South Asia.

At the risk of oversimplification, while in the second half of the 18th century, the Mughal successor states in the north, south, and east of the subcontinent tended to be expansive entities covering large tracts of territory, in Western India the political map was far more disjointed. Alongside the heavies like the Afghans, the Marathas, the Sikhs, and the British East India Company stood innumerable smaller potentates of Rajput origin whose dynasties survived until the end of colonial rule as princes under British suzerainty. Beneath these potentates were the smaller caste combines, able to flex their corporate muscles in the face of grasping state power.

To be sure, such groups were scattered across India – for example, in the Gangetic Plain, where Hindu and Muslim corporate groups arose throughout the “rurban” landscape, which was segmented by a hierarchy of markets and occupational structures. These groups were of a piece with the Bohras, Khojas, and Memons in that they never acquired the capacity to seize political power outright but nonetheless were highly active players in the theatre of politics. What these Hindu and Muslim corporate combine in interior North India lacked was not only access to transregional export markets via a presence in overseas shipping. They also lacked the middle power eventually afforded to the Gujarati Muslim commercial castes by way of Western India’s idiosyncratic incorporation into frameworks of company rule.

Even before the cementing of company hegemony, the corporate power that Indian merchant communities acquired in eighteenth-century Western India was conspicuous but disconnected. In Surat the preeminent trading entrepôt of the region before Bombay’s rise in the early 19th century, corporate merchant bodies were pivotal to the functioning of the state taxation system from the late seventeenth century onward. But even in Surat corporate power did not mutate into a single merchant assembly arrayed against state authority, and merchants showed no willingness to emancipate themselves entirely from the boundaries of community. Yet the divide between merchant and state power remained porous into the 1830s. This porousness stemmed from a phenomenon that historians have identified as portfolio capitalism, whereby entrepreneurs blended interests in trade, revenue collection, and kingmaking. The conditions of portfolio capitalism permitted individual entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies to which they belonged by dint of caste origin to shape the flight path of political fortunes. The permeable political/mercantile divide intrinsic to portfolio capitalism persisted throughout the first half of the 19th century, until formal colonialism eventually drew a definitive wedge between the political and mercantile spheres. Gujarati Muslim middle power emerged within the interstices of that wedge.

In spite, or perhaps because of, its political fragmentation and volatility, eighteenth-century Greater Gujarat has often been framed as one of the select regions of India that possessed the “sprouts” of a dynamic mercantile capitalism in the precolonial period. Some historians assert that its pre-1800 economic indicators may have even rivalled southern England and southern China in the period before the so-called Great Divergence gathered pace.

None of that preempted Surat, from enduring considerable commercial setbacks in the early decades of the eighteenth century. Muslim-owned shipping is said to have especially suffered, but with the demise of late Mughal-era merchant dynasties, new Indian corporate groups came to the fore, among them the Bohras, Khojas, and Memons. While the latter two groups were still outside circuits of British East India Company rule, the Bohras relied heavily on British ships for freighting to ports in Western Asia, a partnership that foreshadowed a deeper relationship to come. Moreover, regional textile networks – and the broader global “cotton sphere” – continued to serve as a link between Greater Gujarat and various parts of Afro-Eurasia into the 20th century, even in the face of de-industrializing trends in the first half of the nineteenth century. Surviving examples of these textiles, such as a late 19th-century silk garment produced by Memon women, reveal a level of artisanal sophistication which surely contributed to the perpetuation of Gujarati Muslim economic prowess.

Just like the textiles they trafficked, the Bohras, Khojas, and Memons were in no sense secluded to Greater Gujarat in the late eighteenth century. Over centuries of sultanate and Mughal rule they had extended their footprint throughout considerable portions of Central and Western India. By the late eighteenth century, traces of these three groups can be found as far east as Ujjain, as far west as Karachi, as far south as Poona, and as far north as Udaipur. In other words, even within the subcontinent they were scattered throughout Baluchistan, Greater Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Sindh. They thus inhabited a territory that was, by the reckoning of an Indian lexicographer in the 1840s, larger than Great Britain and Ireland, with their shared mother tongues serving as the principal language of business in Central and Western India.

Even if these groups operated across a swath of territories, the problem is locating them in this medley of dissonant sovereignties and attending to their specific trajectories. Unfortunately, so far as is known, source material for these centuries has not survived. Still, one can safely surmise that these groups became part of the increasingly differentiated fabric of Muslim life in Gujarat, which revolved around the twin poles of Sufi orders and sultanic authority.

The Bohra, Khoja, and Memon commercial profile was not exclusively maritime in its contours but operated along the dividing line between agriculture and trade. In a telling case, a Kachchhi Memon jamaat was founded in Bhuj in 1799. Bhuj is thirty-odd miles inland from the port of Mandvi, and the decision of the Memons to settle there is a reminder that they did not merely hug the coasts of Western India but also operated in the hinterland. Nonetheless, the ability of Bohra, Khoja, and Memon ship captains to maintain their overseas presence – even amid the partial decline of Indian shipping from the mid-eighteenth century onward – was fundamental to the preservation of their precarious economic position in the transition to colonial rule. It meant that the Gujarati Muslim commercial castes were present, albeit in small numbers, in Jeddah, Madagascar, Mocha, Mozambique, Muscat, and Zanzibar by 1800.

A Gujarati pilot’s map from around 1750 betrays familiarity with the leading commercial entrepôts of the western Indian Ocean, well before formal colonial conquest.21 British East India Company and Dutch East India Company sources from the eighteenth century reveal passing interactions with Bohras and Khojas. This intimacy with overseas trade was consequential in facilitating Gujarati-Muslim interactions with the bricolage of political authorities jostling for supremacy in Western India. But it also partially insulated these groups from the recurring cycles of economic depression that beset agricultural production in colonial India throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries.

For all their commonalities, it is best to attend to the finer points of each community. The Memons materialise on only rare occasions. Community traditions of later centuries state that the Memons moved out of Sindh to the Kathiawar Peninsula in the early 15th century. From a supposedly once unified community of Lohana Hindus four umbrella Memon communities emerged in the wake of their conversion to Islam in this period: the Kachchhi (Cutchi), the Halai, the Surti (Surati), and the Sindhi. As they migrated, each developed its own incipient corporate identity based on geographic origin.

In the late 18th century, Memons began to attain influence over upstart political authorities. An illuminating and representative example comes from the early history of the Dhoraji Memon jamaat. According to community traditions, in the early 18th century, a Memon merchant named Abd al-Rahman settled in Dhoraji. There he was granted worship and trading rights by the Darbar Haloji of Gondal. Some of Abd al-Rahman’s descendants stayed in Dhoraji, while others migrated to Bantva, about thirty-two miles away, which became another haven for Memons. By 1780 the population of Memons in Dhoraji had reached critical mass, compelling one Adamji, a grandson of Abd al-Rahman, to establish a Dhoraji Memon jamaat. Eventually, the Dhoraji Memon jamaat became a vehicle for local Memons to voice their grievances with the local darbar (royal court) and to combat what they regarded as the arbitrary power of the mahajans, essentially a guild of Hindu moneylenders.

Perturbed both by the taxation policies of the darbar and the influence of the mahajans, the leaders of the Dhoraji Memon jamaat decided to migrate as a group in response to these taxation measures. They ended up travelling to Junagadh, which was only some seventeen miles away but was governed by another ruler. In time, however, the Dhoraji Memon jamaat was attracted back to Dhoraji by the local ruler, whose revenue had been hard hit by the Memon exodus, and he had decided to reextend privileges. Dhoraji, though witness to occasional scenes of tension between the Memons and local authorities, would be a center of Halai Memon corporate power in Greater Gujarat until 1947. The example of the Dhoraji Memon jamaat was repeated among Memons across Western India in the transition from Mughal to colonial rule.

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‘Whitewashing crimes of Pakistani…’ BJP slams ’IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ makers for concealing Muslim names

2 Sep 2024,

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has jumped into the controversy over the Netflix series – ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ – for allegedly shifting the blame away from Pakistani terrorists involved in the 1999 hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight.

The party accuses series director Anubhav Sinha of ‘legitimising’ the criminal intent of terrorists, by furthering their non-Muslim names.

'The hijackers of IC-814 were dreaded terrorists, who acquired aliases to hide their Muslim identities. Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, legitimised their criminal intent, by furthering their non-Muslim names. Result? Decades later, people will think Hindus hijacked IC-814," BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya said in a post on X.

Directed by Sinha, ‘IC-814 The Kandahar Hijack,’ is based on the 1999 hijacking of an Indian aircraft. The hijacking took place on December 24, 1999 after the plane took off from Kathmandu, Nepal. The series was released on Netflix on August 29.

The series which features Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Vijay Varma, Dia Mirza, Arvind Swamy and Dia Mirza has been facing online criticism and boycott calls for allegedly hiding the real identities of the terrorists involved in the incident.

‘Left agenda to whitewash crimes’

In the series, the codenames Bhola, Shankar, Doctor, Burger and Chief have been used for the five hijackers which has irked those criticising it.

“Left’s agenda to whitewash the crimes of Pakistani terrorists, all Muslims, served. This is the power of cinema, which the Communists have been using aggressively, since the 70s. Perhaps even earlier,” Malviya said.

In the incident, the hijackers – Ibrahim Athar, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Zahoor Ibrahim, Shahid Akhter, and Sayed Shakir – had taken control of the plane on its way from Kathmandu to Delhi. The crisis ended with the release of three terrorists – Masood Azhar, Omar Sheikh, and Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar – in exchange for about 150 hostages.

“This will not just weaken / put in question India’s security apparatus in the long run, but also shift the blame away from the religious cohort, that is responsible for all the bloodshed,” Malviya pointed out.

‘Used fake names’

Series casting director, Mukesh Chhabra, however, defended using codenames for hijackers.

i am reading so many tweets about the names of the hijackers. We did the proper research. 🫶 They used to call each other by those names—nicknames or fake names, whatever you want to call them. 🫶❤️

And thank you, everyone, for loving the ensemble cast. A big thank you to my…

— Mukesh Chhabra CSA (@CastingChhabra) September 1, 2024

"I am reading so many tweets about the names of the hijackers. We did the proper research. They used to call each other by those names—nicknames or fake names, whatever you want to call them. And thank you, everyone, for loving the ensemble cast. A big thank you to my team, and especially to Anubhav Sinha for trusting us and giving me the freedom to explore," he wrote on X.

Source:livemint.com

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Why Bengali Muslim workers are being driven out of Upper Assam

Rokibuz Zaman

On August 25, Zakaria Alam took a train from Namtiali railway station in Upper Assam and made his way back home.

The 36-year-old was accompanied by 11 other construction workers, all of whom decided it was no longer safe to stay in Sivasagar district. Hours ago, a number of organisations that claim to represent “indigenous” Assamese interests had given an ultimatum – that all Bengali-origin Muslim workers in the district should leave within seven days.

It was, they said, a Miya Kheda andolan – a movement to drive out Miyas, the derogatory term used in Assam for Bengali-origin Muslims, from the Upper Assam district.

The administrative division of Upper Assam, comprising nine districts, is the heartland of Assamese politics and home to several ethnic communities.

For six-odd years, Alam has been working as a raj mistri or mason in Namtiali at construction sites, earning Rs 700 daily by working 8-12 hours. “I have not faced such threats earlier,” said Alam, who returned to his family in Laharighat in Morigaon district. “Our employer said it is better not to take a risk and that we could return later when the situation is less tense. He said no one will take responsibility if anything happens.”

Hundreds of other Bengali-origin Muslim workers from towns in Lower Assam like Hojai and Jagiroad, too, returned from Sivasagar, Alam said. “We came back together,” he said. “Everyone has returned because of the fear.”

Five contractors who work in the region told Scroll that over 100 workers left Sivasagar because of the district.

A 40-year-old Bengali-origin Muslim worker, who is still in Sivasagar and lives in an area inhabited by Assamese Muslims, said he knows about 30- 40 workers who have left the district. “We are afraid. What if they come and beat us up?”

He said he had been living in Sivasagar for seven years, having married to an Assamese Muslim woman and bought land. “There are 12 workers under me. I’m not sure whether I should send them back or not.”

Contractor Taijul Islam, who helped Alam get work in Sivasagar, said the exodus of workers was triggered by news of an assault on a group of migrant workers in Charaideo district allegedly on the orders of a Bharatiya Janata Party leader.

When Opposition leaders brought up the threats to the workers from Lower Assam in the state Assembly, Chief Minister Sarma did not offer any assurance. Instead, he asked: “Why will people definitely go from Lower Assam to Upper Assam? That means all of you insist on taking all of Assam…You Miya Muslim people will insist on taking all of Assam.”

He added: “If they [those living in Upper Assam] want, they [Miya Muslims] may go…If you go to Upper Assam against the wishes of those living there, there will be no security.”

A gang rape and threats

The call to drive out the migrant workers was triggered by the gang rape of an Assamese teenager in Dhing in Nagaon district, in which three Bengali Muslim youths were accused.

Commenting on the incident, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said that “a certain community” had become a threat to the “indigenous” in Assam.

In Upper Assam, the public anger against the crime was quickly directed at the Bengali-origin Muslims. Several groups like the All Tai Ahom Students’ Union, Veer Lachit Sena, among others, reacted by asking the Bengal-origin Muslims to leave.

Members of the All Tai Ahom Students’ Union reportedly visited houses in Sivasagar and Tinsukia districts to determine if Muslims with “doubtful citizenship” lived there.

In a video of one such incident, the members were seen asking landlords and the owners of brick kilns, where many of these individuals are employed as labourers, not to employ them. Other videos shared on Facebook also showed members of the students’ unions threatening Muslim workers to leave the district. They can be heard shouting: “Miya jaati go back” (Miya community go back).”

This is being seen as the latest attempt to marginalise the Bengal-Muslim community in Assam. They are often portrayed as "infiltrators"taking over the resources, jobs and land of the indigenous and are portrayed as a threat to Assamese culture and identity.

A senior official at the state home department, which is responsible for the law and order situation in the state, however, told Scroll that there are no reports of any mass exodus of migrant workers.

“We don’t know or have any information of a mass exodus,” the home department official said. He also admitted that the state has no data of inter-district migration. “They don’t migrate by informing us.”

He said that there may be “stray incidents of people going and harassing the workers, bashing up a few people” but there have been no major incidents.

‘Why do they go to Upper Assam?’

The migrant workers from Lower Assam told Scroll that the answer to the chief minister’s question was fairly simple – they travel to Upper Assam because they find regular work.

“If we work in our home district, we can work 20 days in a month,” Alam said. “But in Upper Assam, we can work 30 days as there is no dearth of construction activities.”

Alam, who has been working as a daily-wage labourer since he was 17, said he had few other options. “I have not studied, I don’t have any land [to cultivate] and our survival depends on my work,” he said.

He said he was reluctant to leave the state to look for work, as he wanted to stay close to his wife, children and old parents. “This way, I can return home whenever I want.”

He was anxious about this interruption in his work. “ I am sitting idle, no work or income,” said Alam. “Not sure when I can return. My two children study in a private school…not sure how I will pay their fees.”

Journalist-turned entrepreneur Manoram Gogoi said most of the construction labourers in Upper Assam were Bengal-origin Muslims.

“For the last two-three decades, all kinds of construction, from roads to buildings, have largely been done by migrants,” Gogoi, who lives in Guwahati, told Scroll.

He added: “If they (workers) have been sent back from Upper Assam, there will be ill effects in every public and private construction project. It may also break the age-old harmony between communities.”

Gogoi said the divide has been created by the politicians for their vested interest.

Saranga Gogoi, a Sivasagar-based road contractor, admitted that many workers have gone back but could not hazard a number.

“The data on the number of migrant workers is not maintained by anyone,” he said. “Only the concerned contractor may have the details about the number of the workers.”

Opposition leaders criticised the chief minister and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party for stoking communal fires and creating the spectre of a “Miya takeover” of the state.

“The government of Assam led by Himanta Biswa Sarma has been trying very hard to create communal disturbances in Assam and the Chief Minister himself is the prime motivator,” Pradyut Bordoloi, a Congress Member of Parliament from the state, said. “That's why all Opposition parties of Assam have demanded that he should be actually suspended immediately from the post of the chief minister of Assam.”

Source:scroll.in

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Hundreds protest against 'illegal' construction of mosque in Shimla

01 September 2024,

Shimla: Hundreds of people gathered at Sanjauli, a suburb of Shimla, on Sunday and protested against "illegal" construction of a mosque and an attack on a trader in Malyana area of the city.

The protesters demanded demolition of the structure and registration of a case of attempt to murder against those who attacked the businessman, seriously injuring him on Friday. Nearly 500 people from different parts of the city participated in the ...

They said that the matter is sensitive and religious sentiments of communities are involved. Shimla Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi said the case of attack on a businessman would be dealt with under the section of attempt to murder and...

Source:deccanherald.com

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Arab World

 

Saudi crown prince discusses developments in Palestinian territories with Egyptian president

September 01, 2024

RIYADH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed developments in the Palestinian territories with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Sunday, Saudi Press Agency reported.

During a phone call with the president, the crown prince stressed the need to exert all efforts to stop the escalation in Gaza and ongoing Israeli violations against the Palestinian people.

Prince Mohammed also called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday.

Source:arabnews.com

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Saudi crown prince discusses efforts to support Palestinians with Turkish president

September 01, 2024

RIYADH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday, Saudi Press Agency reported.

During the call, the crown prince stressed the Kingdom’s keenness to unify the efforts of Arab and Muslim countries to support the Palestinian people in the face of brutal aggression carried out by Israeli forces.

They also discussed the need to intensify efforts to stop ongoing Israeli attacks and violations against the Palestinian people.

In a post on X, Erdogan’s office said that the two leaders discussed Gaza as well as regional and global developments.

Source:arabnews.com

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Saudi Arabia’s Al-Wahbah Crater ranked among world’s top geological wonders

September 01, 2024

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s Al-Wahbah Crater, a striking geological wonder, has earned a place among the world’s top 100 geological heritage sites for 2024.

The recognition by the International Union of Geological Sciences and UNESCO highlights the crater’s extraordinary significance not just within the Kingdom, but globally.

Al-Wahbah Crater, also known as Maqla Tamiyyah, is a maar crater — a type of volcanic site formed by a phreatic eruption, a violent steam explosion caused by magma interacting with groundwater.

The crater, located in the Harrat Kishb basaltic plateau about 270 km northeast of Jeddah, stands out for its immense scale and beauty.

Formed about 1.1 million years ago, it measures about 2.3 km in diameter and 250 meters in depth, making it the largest and deepest volcanic crater in Saudi Arabia. Its depth and diameter are significantly larger than the average volcanic crater, and it features a shallow salt lake formed by rainwater accumulation.

The crater is part of a larger volcanic field that includes 175 volcanic cones, dating back millions of years and spanning an area of about 6,000 sq. km, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

Tariq Aba Al-Khail, spokesperson for the Saudi Geological Survey, highlighted the global significance of the Al-Wahbah Crater.

“The recognition of the Al-Wahbah Crater as one of the top 100 geological heritage sites is expected to boost its profile as a prime destination for both scientific study and tourism. This distinction emphasizes its exceptional geological features and underscores its significance on both local and global scales.”

The crater was selected from 174 nominated sites across 64 countries, including Saudi Arabia, the US, Italy, Canada, New Zealand, China, Iceland, Egypt and Finland, Al-Khail added.

The bottom of Al-Wahbah Crater is covered with white sodium phosphate crystals. While it was once believed that the crater was formed by a meteorite due to its circular shape and elevated sides, geologists now widely agree that it is a maar crater.

Abdulaziz bin Laboun, a geological expert and chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi Geologists Cooperative, said: “Publicizing natural phenomena like the Al-Wahbah Crater through the media and highlighting their scientific importance is essential for enhancing their global profile and advancing geological research.

“This recognition not only highlights the crater’s significance, but also supports the broader development of geological sciences in Saudi Arabia.”

The crater has several unique aspects, Laboun added.

“The crater’s geological features are remarkable, including its depth, which makes it the deepest crater in the Kingdom, and its diameter of 2,000 meters. The area around the crater is characterized by natural springs, trees and palm groves, making it a rare and distinctive geological site. Moreover, its location in the volcanic field mainly adds to its uniqueness,” he said.

There are at least 23 volcanic fields formed millions of years ago in Saudi Arabia, covering about 90,000 sq. km, or about 5 percent of the Kingdom.

The eruptions in these fields vary, but what sets Al-Wahbah Crater apart is its formation in an aquatic environment — a characteristic of maar craters. “The crater is a stage for imagination, often associated with local folklore, including tales of a lover named Tamia, who, according to legend, flew from this crater toward Qattan Mountain in Najd,” Laboun said.

“Geological sites like Al-Wahbah Crater offer valuable insights into the Earth’s history and processes. By highlighting such landmarks, we enhance public awareness and support the advancement of geological research.”

Source:arabnews.com

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Saudi-Qatari Coordination Council meeting held in Riyadh

September 01, 2024

RIYADH: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani chaired a Saudi-Qatari Coordination Council meeting in Riyadh on Sunday.

Prince Faisal said the meeting would strengthen relations between the Kingdom and Qatar in a way that achieves the aspirations of both countries.

The Kingdom’s foreign minster added that the leaderships of the two countries view the council as a platform that works to shape work in all fields and consolidate relations in a way that achieves both the Saudi and Qatari Vision 2030.

Source:arabnews.com

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Makkah launches digital tree-planting initiative

September 01, 2024

MAKKAH: The Holy Makkah Municipality has launched a digital afforestation initiative, enabling citizens and residents to join efforts to increase vegetation cover, expand green spaces, protect the environment and reduce carbon emissions.

The municipality first identifies tree species appropriate for Makkah and the holy sites, along with suitable planting locations, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.

The details are then uploaded to the Nabatik online platform, which enables individuals to choose their preferred tree, select the location, make online payments and have the trees planted on their behalf, allowing the community to invest in tree-planting efforts from the comfort of their homes.

Through the scheme, the municipality aims to contribute to climate goals, increase the number of trees in Makkah and the holy sites, and document afforestation efforts through the Nabatik platform.

Source:arabnews.com

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MWL’s chief meets Tanzanian president in Dar es Salaam

September 01, 2024

JEDDAH: Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, the secretary-general of the Muslim World League, has met Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan in Dar es Salaam, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.

The two officials discussed the MWL’s programs and initiatives in Africa, specifically in Tanzania.

Al-Issa delivered the sermon and led prayers at the largest mosque in Dar es Salaam on Friday. The sermon focused on the concepts of mercy, forgiveness, and tolerance in Islam, as well as the etiquette and wisdom of Muslims in dealing with others.

He stressed that Muslims had demonstrated civilized values through their behavior.

Source:arabnews.com

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South Asia

 

China’s greed for Minerals looks set to turn Afghanistan into hell

ByNoman Hossain

September 2, 2024

This year, in February, China became the first country in the world to give diplomatic recognition to the Taliban that seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021. Even as the international community was taking note of it, Beijing’s motive behind deepening its engagement with the Taliban started unravelling like sloughing off skin by a snake in the summer.

China has been eyeing Afghanistan’s mineral deposits for years. Therefore, soon after Beijing gave diplomatic recognition to the Taliban, the first thing that the East Asian country did was to execute its projects related to mines and minerals in Afghanistan.

In July, China’s state-backed Metallurgical Group Corp (MCC) laid the foundation of a copper mine plant in Logar province of Afghanistan. The Metallurgical Group Corp was awarded the contract in 2007 but the Chinese company made no progress since then.

Hence, when the Chinese company decided to set up the copper mine plant, residents of Kabul and Logar province saw it as a recipe for disaster instead of welcoming the upcoming copper mine plant. They feared that development without proper management would prove to be calamitous for the poverty-ridden country.

While mining would cause severe pollution, the large amount of water that will be required to run the project is expected to cause a huge problem for the inhabitants as the region is arid with water being scarce there, Nikkei Asia, quoting experts, said.

The Metallurgical Group Corp (MCC) is executing the project in MesAynak area of Logar province which lies 30 km away from Kabul. MesAynak is considered Afghanistan’s ‘El Dorado,’ containing the country’s largest untapped copper deposits, with an estimated 4.4 billion tons of copper ore.

It is estimated that the MesAynak site would yield 2.5 million tons of copper per year and as such, can help Kabul in earning a revenue of $300 million to $400 million. But all this at the huge cost–in terms of environmental degradation and unmitigated loss of scarce water. If experts are to be believed processing just one ton of copper leads to generating 200 tons of waste.

It means the copper mining plant can severely pollute earth, water, and air– affecting the life of millions of people living in Kabul and Logar province. As per media reports, people in this area of Afghanistan rely on groundwater and if this waste is not properly handled, it can eventually contaminate the Logar River, impacting the health of people of the country.

China’s bad reputation for waste management and environmental abuses adds grist to people’s fear in Afghanistan. Chinese companies involved in the mining sector in Africa and other parts of the world have poor records of maintaining quality environmental safeguards.

In 2020, four Chinese companies engaged in gold mining in the Central African Republic (CAR) were forced to leave the African country after they were found to be involved in polluting the Ouham River, a source of food and water for the local community. The river water was found to have high-level presence of mercury.

In June 2022, civil society groups in Cameroon raised an alarm over the pollution of the Djiengou River by two Chinese gold mining companies: Meng Cheng Mining and Zinquo Mining. These Chinese companies were accused of contaminating the Djiengou River, which was found to have dangerously high levels of mercury and cyanide, Mongabay, a US-based news portal that reports on environmental-related issues, said.

Even in Indonesia, China’s neighbour in Southeast Asia, companies from the East Asian nation have been accused of causing huge environmental damage. A report from the US Geological Survey said that Indonesia is known for proven reserves of 21 million metric tons of nickel, a key component for lithium-ion batteries.

As per the London-based Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), Chinese companies involved in nickel production in Indonesia have caused air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination, flood, deforestation, and biodiversity loss, as well as loss of livelihood in the Southeast Asian country.

Given such a pathetic display of disregard by China-owned mining companies for the environment and lack of technical expertise by the Taliban government, worries among ordinary people of Afghanistan over the looming impact of the copper mining by the Chinese company on public health and environment have intensified. More so in the background of the fact that the Chinese mining company has, as per Nikkei Asia, reneged on several elements of the contractual agreement with Afghanistan.

For instance, the Chinese company has refused to lay a railway line from Bamiyan in Afghanistan to Khyber Pass in Pakistan despite it being the specific issue of the contractual agreement. In fact, for the Taliban government, nothing is as important as business and investment. Analysts say it will not pressure the Chinese company to go by rules and contractual agreements as long as it brings money and investment to Afghanistan.

But then, it is not just the environment that is going to be threatened, the Chinese company’s MesAynak project is about to severely impact a Buddhist complex which comprises over 20 ruins, including temples and more than 1,000 statues. Beneath the copper deposits, signs of ancient Bronze Age settlements have been found in MesAynak, South China Morning Post quoting Afghanistan’s Mines and Petroleum Ministry said.

Experts maintain that any mishandling of the mining project by the Chinese company has the potential to bring inevitable disaster to the region. Despite this, ordinary Afghans cannot lodge complaints against China or prevent their country from facing negative consequences because all that the Taliban government wants at present is revenue and the flow of foreign direct investment in the country.

Source:khaama.com

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Cubeinside creates red-brick Bait Ur Raiyan Mosque in Bangladesh

Jon Astbury

 1 September 2024

Local architecture studio Cubeinside has completed a red-brick mosque in Bangladesh, eschewing traditional ornamentation in favour of "timeless" geometric forms.

Located near the Arial Kha River in rural Madaripur, Bait Ur Raiyan Mosque is housed within a rectilinear brick volume, topped by a central dome and minarets at each of its four corners.

While mosque buildings commonly incorporate elements of traditional Islamic ornamentation, Dhaka-based Cubeinside purposefully created a stripped-back building that is hoped to feel "sacred yet intimate".

"The project brief had the firm requirements of having the traditional symbolic elements of a mosque like the dome, minarets and arch," explained Cubeinside.

"Islam prescribes symbolic or suggestive approach rather than literal representation of any sort – this makes geometry one of the most vital tools in the abstraction of symbolism in mosque design," the studio added.

"This imposed criterion was taken as rather an opportunity to exercise the abstraction of the traditional symbols in mosque architecture through the concept of 'abstract semiotics'."

Surrounded by low brick walls and areas of planting, Bait Ur Raiyan Mosque is raised on a plinth of dark marble. Steps lead up to an entrance set within a deep-set brick arch.

This arch is among the only details on the otherwise blank exterior, which is formed of locally sourced bricks, with others being perforated brickwork and narrow vertical openings at each of the mosque's corners for ventilation.

"To achieve timeless materiality, red brick and stones are used, which go back a long way in Bangladeshi mosque heritage," explained the studio.

"The deep red of the brick brings about a mellow contrast to the surrounding greenery of the area."

Once inside, a single prayer hall sits beneath the mosque's central dome, which has been raised slightly to create a halo-like skylight.

The brick exterior has been left exposed internally, complemented by a marble floor, concrete ceiling and a stone-lined mihrab – a niche that points toward Mecca – that is bisected by a tall, narrow window.

Large sections of glazing cover the perforated sections of the wall, allowing the natural ventilation to be controlled.

"The dome here is a floating dome, allowing the daylight through the interior, giving an experience of the vastness of the sky," said Cubeinside. "The single-storey mosque with a lofty height gives the users a brilliant experience in terms of spatial quality."

Four minarets rise from each corner of Bait Ur Raiyan Mosque, described by the studio as "sculptural elements soaring towards the sky".

To the north, a smaller standalone brick structure fronted by a colonnade contains an ablution area and toilets alongside rooms for the muezzin and imam.

Elsewhere in Bangladesh, Studio Morphogenesis also recently offered a modern take on mosque architecture at the Zebun Nessa Mosque in Dhaka, which is finished in perforated, pink-toned concrete.

Other mosques featured on Dezeen include one in Kuwait by Babnimnim Design Studio with a rotated square form and one in Muscat by Altqadum that features a cone-shaped minaret.

Source:dezeen.com

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Muttaqi discusses bilateral relations with some countries’ representatives in Cameroon

September 2, 2024

KABUL: The Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Mawlavi Amir Khan Muttaqi, in separate meetings with representatives of several countries, in Cameroon, discussed the strengthening of bilateral relations, the ministry’s spokesman Hafiz Zia Ahmad said in a statement on his X official page said the other day. On the sidelines of the 50th meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, in Yaounde, the capital of the Republic of Cameroon, Mawlavi Muttaqi met separately with the representatives of different countries, including Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Oman, Indonesia, Iran, Palestine and Somalia, the statement said. According to the statement, the acting foreign minister discussed the strengthening of bilateral relations and the creation of new opportunities for cooperation in various fields with the representatives of the said countries. Muttaqi and his accompanying delegation, a few days ago, left for Yaounde, the capital of the Republic of Cameroon, to attend the 50th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The Kabul Times

Source:thekabultimes.com

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UN Security Council to hold session on Afghanistan

By Fidel Rahmati

September 2, 2024

The United Nations Security Council has announced plans to convene a session on Afghanistan in September.

The exact date of the session has not been specified, but Sima Bahous, the head of UN Women, and Rosemary DiCarlo, the head of UNAMA, are expected to participate.

While the session’s agenda remains unclear, at least one representative from Afghanistan’s civil society has been invited to speak.

Rosemary DiCarlo is expected to provide the Security Council with her latest assessment of the situation in Afghanistan.

This session takes place as the Taliban has reacted to UNAMA’s criticism of their rule by severing cooperation with the United Nations.

Moreover, the dire humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is exacerbated by severe restrictions on girls’ and women’s rights, including bans on education and employment, highlighting ongoing human rights abuses in the country.

The suppression of fundamental freedoms continues to deepen the humanitarian plight of Afghans, necessitating urgent international attention and action to address the worsening situation.

Source:khaama.com

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150 foreigners currently held in prisons in Afghanistan

By Fidel Rahmati

September 2, 2024

The Prison Administration Authority of Taliban released its annual report, stating that the country currently holds approximately 23,000 inmates, including 1,000 women and 150 foreigners.

Foreign detainees are incarcerated for various criminal offenses, according to prison officials.

Efforts are underway to reopen Bagram prison, with some inmates already transferred there.

Over the past year, 3,243 prisoners were released, and 3,016 were moved between Kabul, provincial prisons, and among provinces.

Additionally, the authority has been collaborating with the Supreme Court to decide the fate of 1,562 prisoners.

Officials affirm that prison staff have undergone training, ensuring no reports of prisoner mistreatment or torture within Afghan prisons. Inmates are encouraged to participate in vocational training and religious studies as part of rehabilitation efforts.

However, international human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, have issued reports alleging instances of gang rape, torture, harassment, and arbitrary detention of Afghan women and men by Taliban forces. These reports underscore ongoing concerns regarding human rights abuses despite official assurances of improved prison conditions and staff training.

Despite efforts to improve conditions and training within Afghan prisons, reports of human rights abuses by Taliban forces highlight ongoing challenges in ensuring prisoner welfare and rights protection.

Source:khaama.com

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New Grand Mosque Enhances Religious Facilities in Maidan Wardak with AFN 20 Million Investment

: 2024-09-01

Maidan Wardak(BNA): Local officials in Maidan Wardak report that a new grand mosque has been constructed and inaugurated in the Charki area of Maidan Shar, with an investment of 20 million Afghanis.

According to Bakhtar News Agency, the mosque, which features separate facilities for men and women, is built over two floors and represents a significant enhancement of religious infrastructure in the region.

This development is part of a broader initiative by the Islamic Emirate, which has led to the construction of several modern mosques equipped with advanced facilities across Maidan Wardak since its reestablishment.

Source:bakhtarnews.af

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https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/new-grand-mosque-enhances-religious-facilities-in-maidan-wardak-with-afn-20-million-investment/

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Europe

 

Labour Whitewashes Right-Winger Who Called Muslim WomanA ‘Hamas Member’

By SKWAWKBOX (SW)

01/09/2024

‘No further action’, party tells horrified Muslim victim

Labour’s hard-right disciplinary panel of its national executive committee (NEC) has whitewashed a Muslim woman’s complaint against a male right-winger who called her a ‘Hamas supporter’ for opposing Israel’s genocide in Gaza and Labour’s Islamophobia under the Keir Starmer regime.

The Bristol-based Starmeroid member, whose name is temporarily blurred out pending the opportunity to reach him for comment, attacked Jill Azzouzi after she posted a Facebook video showing Yocheved Lifshitz, an 85yo Israeli captive released three weeks after the Hamas raid last October, describing how well she and others had been treated by their Palestinian captors:

The right-winger launched a series of unpleasant replies at Ms Azzouzi in response, starting by dismissing the clear video evidence because of the source:

And when Ms Azzouzi continued to point out his fallacies, he described as as a ‘years’-long supporter of Hamas – and when another reader challenged him, suggested she did too:

The culprit’s comments led to him being accused by a Muslim woman respondent of ‘mocking dead babies and innocent Palestinian civilians’ and of holding a ‘racist dehumanising viewpoint’:

Understandably, the appalled Ms Azzouzi complained to the Labour party. After a period of apparent inaction, the party contacted her to inform her that ‘a Panel of the NEC’ had met to consider her complaint and decided no further action was needed:

Labour’s NEC, and particularly its usual disciplinary panel – chaired until recently by the hard-right Gurinder Singh Josan, who is now a Labour MP after being – has an appalling record when it comes to dealing with complaints against right-wing figures, even ignoring the legal advice of its own barrister to dismiss allegations of ‘serious sexual assault’ against a right-wing council leader (and now MP).

Josan personally welcomed back another notorious right-winger and Israel supporter, Lukey Stanger, who had been suspended for awful racist and bullying comments, while another well-known right-wing NEC member – yet another now given a safe seat as an MP by the Starmer regime – wrote Stanger’s defence against the various complaints against him.

Starmer’s party has been condemned for its anti-Muslim racism even by Labour’s own Labour Muslim Network. Labour lost half or more of its 2019 vote among Muslims and lost several MPs in July’s general election because of fury among voters at Keir Starmer’s support for Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, which has killed as many as 200,000 Palestinian civilians so far. Israel-supporter and ex-MP Steve McCabe was caught on doorbell camera similarly calling an independent candidate a ‘Hamas supporter’ when a householder not wanting to vote for Starmer’s candidate. No action appears to have been taken against him.

Source:skwawkbox.org

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https://skwawkbox.org/2024/09/01/exclusive-labour-whitewashes-right-winger-who-called-muslim-a-hamas-member/

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Mezze, juice and calls for unity: Muslim Votes Matter campaign kicks off

SHAKIRA HUSSEIN

SEP 02, 2024

For long-term observers of Muslim community politics, there was much that was familiar about the launch of the Muslim Votes Matter campaign at Broadmeadows Town Hall on Sunday afternoon.

There were the tables set out with platters of mezze and jugs of juice and soft drinks, the observance of the asr prayer, the familiar faces of veteran community leaders, the impassioned calls for unity. Also familiar during the lead-up to the event were the dog-whistling responses from LNP politicians, with Peter Dutton having described the potential election of Muslim candidates in western Sydney as a “disaster”. For his part, Anthony Albanese claimed that religious political parties (Muslim Votes Matter stresses that it is an advocacy group rather than a party) would undermine social cohesion.

For the 350-strong cohort of mostly middle-aged, middle-class Muslims, yesterday’s launch was in many regards a well-practiced routine. But if the seasoned campaigners were going over familiar territory, they were also exploring new ground, as the organisers of Muslim Votes Matter embark on a campaign of education and engagement in the lead-up to the next federal election.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton (Image: AAP/Mick Tsikas)

The impetus, of course, was the federal government’s failure to stand with Palestine during the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Australian surgeon Dr Bushra Othman provided an emotional account of her recent experiences working in Gaza’s collapsing healthcare system, while GP Umber Rind cited her Afghan cameleer and Badimiya Yamitji Aboriginal heritage in her description of the similarities between Israeli and Australian colonialism.

The ultimate decision to launch the campaign is also a response to the changing political landscape. Dwindling support for the major political parties in favour of the Greens and teal independents has created what campaigners consider a genuine moment of opportunity. Former Islamic Council of Victoria executive director Nail Aykan stated that a hung Parliament would be the best possible outcome for the Muslim community, empowering independents whose values aligned with “ours” — particularly in regard to Palestine.

The theme of the evening was the line from Aykan: “There is no such thing as a safe seat”. And there is certainly no such thing as a rusted-on ALP voter, with some speakers and attendees describing themselves as former party loyalists who had left in frustration after finding themselves unable to bring about change from within. There were frequent references to Senator Fatima Payman, derided by Labor Party leadership as a rat for voting with her conscience and eventually leaving the party over Gaza.

If Muslim Votes Matter has given up on the idea of change from within the major parties, it is extremely upbeat about its capacity to reshape the political landscape. The UK recently saw the election of five independent candidates (including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn) who aligned themselves in solidarity with Palestine. Recorded messages of support from the organisers of the UK Muslim Vote campaign were played at the Australian launch event, and their tactics were cited as an illustration of what could be achieved here.

Muslim Votes Matter has issued scorecards on Gaza for MPs in 32 marginal electorates with large Muslim populations. These electorates are nearly all held by the ALP, with Blaxland (Jason Clare) and Watson (Tony Burke) at the top of the list. Non-Labor electorates on its radar include Banks (currently held by Liberal David Coleman), Mitchell (currently held by Liberal Alex Hawke) and Fowler (currently held by independent Dai Le). The scorecards are based only on comments made in Parliament rather than in the community, a measure contested by some of the targeted MPs, who say that it ignores support they have provided outside Parliament.

The horrorscape of Gaza loomed large over the gathering in Broadmeadows, yet the mood was upbeat and optimistic. The CEO of Muslim Women Australia Maha Abdo described the launch as a development which she and other leaders had dreamt of for many years. The community was finally ready to flex its political muscle, not just in regard to Gaza but over a range of political issues ranging from gambling advertising to alcohol regulation to domestic violence. (However, “family values”, aka LGBTQIA+ rights, were low on the agenda. The organisers emphasised the need to prioritise issues where their intervention was likely to be effective, and rolling back LGBTQIA+ rights was not among them.)

Last night’s launch was only the beginning, the organisers stressed. They are yet to determine which candidates they will support at the next election. And the movement has its sights set on the very long term. One day, they claimed, we would tell our grandchildren that we were present on this historic evening.

That, of course, remains to be seen. But ALP parliamentarians in marginal electorates are right to feel concerned.

Source:crikey.com.au

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https://www.crikey.com.au/2024/09/02/muslim-votes-matter-campaign-launch/

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Austria to Deport Afghan ‘Criminal’ Refugees

ByFidel Rahmati

September 2, 2024

The Austrian Ministry of Interior has announced its decision to deport “criminal” Afghan migrants from the country.

Gerhard Karner, the Austrian Minister of Interior, stated that negotiations with the German government had been initiated to facilitate the expulsion of criminal Afghan migrants.

According to him, “Currently, the possibility exists to deport asylum seekers to Afghanistan […] Therefore, in close cooperation with regional partners, we are working to facilitate the return of criminal migrants to Kabul directly.”

Prior to Austria, Germany became the first European country to prioritize the deportation of criminal Afghan migrants, sending 28 individuals directly to Kabul in its initial actions.

Now, Austria has joined this initiative and may soon begin the deportation of criminal Afghan migrants.

These deportation efforts reflect Austria’s and Germany’s stance on ensuring the return of individuals deemed to pose a threat to public safety back to Afghanistan.

The collaboration between these countries and regional partners underscores a coordinated approach to managing migrant populations with criminal backgrounds.

The effectiveness and humanitarian considerations of such policies will remain under scrutiny both domestically and internationally amid ongoing debates over migration policies and their implications.

Source:khaama.com

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https://www.khaama.com/austria-to-deport-afghan-criminal-refugees/

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Throwing bricks through Muslims’ windows won’t solve our socio-economic issues - Noel Doran

By Noel Doran

September 02, 2024 at

What should be the single most disturbing aspect of the letter sent to the Stormont education minister Paul Givan last week by a group of mothers expressing fears about the safety of Muslim pupils was that it came as absolutely no surprise.

Racist extremists have launched a range of recent attacks which could have killed innocent men and women across Belfast and beyond, so there is every possibility that they would be prepared to target children as well.

The 400 women who wrote to Mr Givan as the new term got under way were completely justified in voicing their concerns as much of the violence has taken place in the vicinity of both primary and secondary schools.

Unionist pessimism and the dawning realisation that the union could be lost - Noel DoranOpens in new window

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Public apology to priest a landmark moment for Irish Church – Noel DoranOpens in new window

In a poignant BBC interview last week, one mother said that her youngest child, rather than looking forward with excitement to her first day in the classroom, was worried about the risks she might face.

Troubles ceasefires showed that the political process always offered an alternative to violence - The Irish News view

IRA ceasefire came too late for far too many - The Irish News view

The woman, who was among those who signed the letter to the minister said that, after she offered reassurance, her daughter replied: “You know what the first thing I will do when I get to school is to hug my friends.”

It was the type of conversation that no P1 pupil should ever have to have with her parents, but it demonstrated the direction in which an irrational hatred of outsiders can take us.

Mr Givan responded by saying that his department and the Education Authority were carrying out risk assessments on a number of schools and he also provided the chilling but necessary message that guidance would be offered on managing emergency incidents.

It was an entirely reasonable reply from the DUP minister, who also said he was ready to meet with the Muslim mothers, and it must be hoped that its implications will be fully studied by all his party colleagues.

Some DUP figures have spoken out firmly about the growing campaign of racist intimidation, but others have only made equivocal statements while a number have so far said nothing of note.

Regular suggestions that trouble has broken out in certain areas because residents somehow feel disenfranchised and marginalised hardly reflect well on the wider performance of the DUP.

Most of the upheaval has been concentrated in the parliamentary constituencies of North, South and East Belfast, which as well as sitting MLAs have either had DUP MPs in the recent past or are presently represented by that party at Westminster.

Some DUP figures have spoken out firmly about the growing campaign of racist intimidation, but others have only made equivocal statements while a number have so far said nothing of note

It is not only unionists who have made embarrassing interventions over the last month with perhaps the most toe-curling moment coming when a small group of vocal anti-migrant protestors from the Coolock district of north Dublin joined a demonstration in central Belfast.

When the southern visitors were then encouraged to lead a shameful and unauthorised march including loyalist elements towards a mosque in the south of the city, they promptly took a wrong turning and had to hastily retreat when they were confronted by angry nationalists on the lower Ormeau Road.

It was an episode which among many others demonstrated vividly the consequences of false reports circulating online, whether in Coolock or anywhere else, and it is long beyond the time when the hugely profitable social media companies need to be held accountable for their actions.

All responsible politicians have a duty to point out that immigration is a natural part of modern society, and that our health service in particular would collapse without the vital contribution of those who have moved here from other countries.

Logic dictates that hospital staff members will often wish to live close to their places of work, but the idea that the overall ethnic balance of the north is changing dramatically does not stand up to any serious scrutiny, as the most recent available statistics, from the 2021 census, indicate that only six per cent of the population, an amazingly low level, were born outside the UK and Ireland.

Our latest movement of people figures are also telling, with 5,000 arriving from the rest of the world but 2,700 departing for other parts of the UK, meaning a net annual migration total in 2022 of just 2,300 in a region of almost two million, and it should be abundantly clear that rumours about a massive influx of newcomers being given favoured access to jobs, housing and public services do not have a factual basis.

While there are many genuine social and economic issues which urgently need to be addressed in all parts of the north, none of them will be resolved by throwing bricks through the windows of terrified Muslim families.

Source:irishnews.com

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https://www.irishnews.com/opinion/throwing-bricks-through-muslims-windows-wont-solve-our-socio-economic-issues-noel-doran-I22BFRZTIFBYPGJ44YS7J6OKBE/

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Blackburn: New Dome Placed On Top Of Ambitious Issa Foundation Mosque

By Shuiab Khan

2 September 2024

The dome joins two towering minarets as building work continues on Preston New Road, on the site of the former Westholme Nursery school.

The mosque and community facility is being built by the Issa Foundation a family charity run by the EG Group founders, brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa.

Many larger mosques have distinctive intricate designs on the inside of the dome.

The archways and pillars of the mosque have slowly taken shape around the mosque itself. Once the work on the dome and minarets have been completed work will then take place on making the building completely watertight.

The four-storey high building which stands at the back of the site appears to be complete.

The entrance to the site will be off Preston New Road which is cordoned off with CCTV cameras installed at a location nearby.

The mosque backs on to homes at the top section of Buncer Lane.

The former infant and first school at the site was demolished and plans were revealed for the mosque in December 2020.

Plans for the £5 million scheme were approved in mid-2021 but it is unsure what the cost for the final structures will be.

The plans said applicants the Issa Foundation would pay £30,000 to improve safety at the junction of nearby Preston New Road, Revidge Road and Billinge End Road.

The facility will aim to serve those living around the areas of Revidge, Corporation Park and Beardwood.

It will be the seventh mosque within walking distance of the area to meet demand in the community.

It will also become the second most expensive mosque to be built in the north west behind the Raza Jamia Masjid in Accrington which cost upwards of £8.6m when it opened in 2017.

Source:lancashiretelegraph.co.uk

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https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/24555209.new-dome-placed-top-ambitious-blackburn-mosque/

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Islamic Cultural Centre and mosque damaged in Russian missile attack on Kyiv

2 SEPTEMBER 2024

STANISLAV POHORILOV

The building of the Islamic Cultural Centre and the mosque on its premises have suffered significant damage as a result of the missile strike on Kyiv on 2 September.

Source: Refat Chubarov, Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, on Facebook

Quote: "This morning, as a result of yet another large-scale missile strike by Russian barbarians on Kyiv, significant damage was inflicted on the building of the Islamic Cultural Centre of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (the mosque in Nyvky (neighbourhood in Kyiv – ed)."

Details: He said the buildings of the Islamic Centre, particularly the mosque located within it, will require repairs.

Military chaplain Suleiman Khairullaiev, the Deputy Mufti of Crimean Muslims, reported that there were no casualties.

"Yet another proof that Russia is a country of absolute evil," Chubarov noted.

Air defence systems were responding in the city of Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast on the morning of 2 September, with recorded wreckage falling, fires breaking out and one person being injured.

Kyiv City Military Administration said the Russians attacked the capital using more than 10 cruise missiles, about a dozen ballistic missiles and an attack drone.

Source:pravda.com.ua

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https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/09/2/7473027/

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North America

 

Muslim-American Vote in Focus as 'Abandon Harris' Campaign Intensifies

| Sep 2, 2024,

The "Abandon Harris" campaign is intensifying its efforts to mobilize Muslim-American voters against Vice President Kamala Harris, focusing on key swing states in the upcoming election. This renewed push comes in response to Harris’s stance on the Gaza conflict, which the campaign criticizes as inadequate. The campaign's statement on X last week condemned Harris for her support of policies they claim contribute to ongoing violence in Gaza. “We are not interested in hollow rhetoric or empty platitudes,” the campaign said, criticizing Harris for not addressing their concerns about the Gaza situation.

— Abandonbiden24 (@Abandonbiden24)

Originally based in Dearborn, Michigan—a city with a large Muslim population—the campaign initially focused on President Biden’s re-election campaign, arguing that his support for Israel was problematic. The campaign successfully mobilized over 100,000 voters to cast uncommitted ballots in Michigan during the primaries.

Following Biden's withdrawal from the race and Harris's ascension as the Democratic nominee, the campaign shifted its focus to Harris. The group’s criticism of Harris highlights their dissatisfaction with her response to their demands for policy changes regarding Gaza.

— Abandonbiden24 (@Abandonbiden24)

The campaign's influence is expanding to other critical swing states such as Wisconsin. These states, which have been decided by narrow margins in previous elections, are now seeing

Source:timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/muslim-american-vote-in-focus-as-abandon-harris-campaign-intensifies/articleshow/112979243.cms

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Kamala Harris criticises Trump over Arlington Cemetery dispute

Nadine Yousif

Vice-President Kamala Harris is criticising former president Donald Trump over a recent controversy involving his campaign at Arlington National Cemetery, saying the military burial site is “not a place for politics”.

Ms Harris took aim at Trump on Saturday in a post on social media, writing that he “disrespected sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt”.

The US Army said a Trump staffer “abruptly pushed aside” a cemetery employee who was trying to warn his team about rules against filming in the cemetery.

The Trump campaign has disputed the cemetery's version of events and said it received permission from the families of the fallen soldiers to film.

The incident happened on Monday, when Trump was at an event honouring 13 US military service members who were killed during the country's withdrawal from Afghanistan three years ago.

Saturday’s post marks the first time Ms Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, has commented on the controversy.

She wrote that she has visited Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia several times during her tenure as vice-president, and she would never use the site for political gain.

“If there is one thing on which we as Americans can all agree, it is that our veterans, military families, and service members should be honored, never disparaged, and treated with nothing less than our highest respect and gratitude,” Ms Harris said.

“And it is my belief that someone who cannot meet this simple, sacred duty should never again stand behind the seal of the President of the United States of America.”

At a campaign rally in Michigan on Thursday, Trump hit back at those who had criticised him over the incident.

He said he had been asked to pose for a photo at the site after the memorial by family members of the soldiers who had died.

“I go there, they ask me to have a picture and they say I was campaigning,” Trump said. “The one thing I get plenty of is publicity. I don't need that. I don't need the publicity.”

On Sunday, the Trump campaign released a statement from the Gold Star military families that invited him to the event, saying the former president was there to honour the sacrifice of their relatives who were killed.

They also took aim at Ms Harris in the statement, saying she has "disgracefully twisted this sacred moment into a political ploy".

Meanwhile, Trump's running mate JD Vance used the controversy to attack the Biden administration over its handling of the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying that Ms Harris "can go to hell".

"Three years ago, 13 brave, innocent Americans died, and they died because Kamala Harris refused to do her job," Mr Vance said in response to questions from BBC's US partner, CBS News.

NPR reported earlier that two members of Trump’s campaign staff verbally abused and pushed the cemetery worker aside when she tried to intervene.

Federal law prevents use of the cemetery for political campaigning and the US Army said participants were warned of the rules in advance.

A US Army spokesperson said that “the incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked.”

The Trump campaign has denied that a physical altercation took place at the cemetery, adding “we are prepared to release footage if such defamatory claims are made”.

House Democrats have since asked the US Army for a report into the incident, asking for a “full account” of what happened.

Source:bbc.com

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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c39k379grzlo

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RFK Jr sues to remove name from North Carolina ballot

Nadine Yousif

 September2 2024

Robert F Kennedy Jr has sued North Carolina’s election board to get his name off the state’s ballot ahead of November's US presidential election, just months after he fought to have his name included in several states.

Mr Kennedy filed the lawsuit on Friday after the North Carolina Election Board denied his request to remove his name as a third-party candidate.

The former independent candidate suspended his campaign in August and endorsed the Republican nominee, former president Donald Trump.

Since then, he has fought to remove his name from ballots in several battleground states, saying he wants to avoid a Democratic win in those key races.

The lawsuit, filed in North Carolina’s Wake County Superior Court, alleges the state has “irreparably harmed” Mr Kennedy and interfered with his right to free speech by denying his request to be removed from the ballot.

Mr Kennedy’s lawsuit stated that with ballot deadlines looming, he had “no choice but to turn to this Court for immediate relief”.

The state’s majority Democratic board voted to deny his request earlier in the week, saying it would be impractical to remove him as some counties have already begun printing absentee ballots.

A reprint, they said, would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The two Republican members on the board disagreed, and argued that the state could delay the statutory deadline for absentee ballots being sent out.

Mr Kennedy’s name will appear on North Carolina’s ballot in November unless the court intervenes.

Similar requests by Mr Kennedy to have his name taken off ballots in the key swing states of Michigan and Wisconsin have also been denied.

These requests mark a reversal for Mr Kennedy, who earlier this year fought against legal challenges that would have removed him from the ballot in several states, including in the battleground states of Pennsylvania and Nevada.

After his withdrawal from the race, the 70-year-old has said that he will work to remove his name in “battleground states where my presence would be a spoiler”.

Since suspending his campaign, Mr Kennedy has thrown his support behind Trump, who has vowed to appoint Mr Kennedy as a member of his presidential transition team should he get elected.

Mr Kennedy, who had been a member of the Democratic party for most of his life, added that “by staying on the ballot in the battleground states, I would likely hand the election over to the Democrats, with whom I disagree on the most existential issues”.

Meanwhile, he is trying to remain on the ballot in New York - a traditionally Blue state that favours Democratic candidates - where his presence likely would not alter the election’s outcome.

Source:bbc.com

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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgw9dg55l9o

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Three killed after small plane crashes into houses in Oregon

Nadine Yousif

September2 2024

Three people are dead after a small plane crashed into a row of townhouses in the US state of Oregon on Saturday.

The plane, a twin-engine Cessna, was carrying two people on board, local authorities said. Both of them were killed, along with a resident of one of the homes the plane crashed into.

Multiple units were set ablaze as a result of the crash, displacing a number of families and injuring others, authorities said.

The crash happened in Fairview, around 11 miles (17 kilometres) east of Portland, near the Troutdale Airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it is now investigating the incident along with the National Transportation Safety Board.

The crash happened around 10:30 PST (17:30 GMT) on Saturday, officials with the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office told reporters on Saturday.

“At some point during the crash, (the plane) hit a power pole or tower, causing it to fall over,” Deputy Sheriff John Plock said.

He added that the plane later “crashed into a building of town homes and that structure also caught fire.”

Authorities initially said two people aboard the aircraft were missing, plus one resident of the homes that caught fire. On Sunday, the Gresham Fire Department confirmed all three were killed.

The identities of the victims have not been released. An unspecified number of people were also injured, authorities said.

Videos of the crash show a fiery blaze and smoke plumes rising from a row of homes. Fire Chief Lewis told reporters that the fire had spread to at least four houses and at least five families had been displaced.

Donni Calvert, a witness, told local ABC affiliate KATU TV that he heard the plane descending. “Then the next thing I know there are explosions,” Mr Calvert said.

A separate brush fire ignited from collapsed power poles nearby, authorities said, but it did not spread far. The damage also caused a brief power outage in the area.

Source:bbc.com

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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2l12127rx8o

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Trump signals backing for Florida marijuana legalisation

Dearbail Jordan

September2 2024

Donald Trump has signalled that he will vote in favour of legalising marijuana for personal use in his home state of Florida, ahead of a ballot on the issue in November.

The Republican presidential nominee wrote on his Truth Social platform that voters are highly likely to approve the measure "whether people like it or not" and therefore "it should be done correctly".

The former US president's stance puts him at odds with other senior Republican figures, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has argued that legalising recreational cannabis use would "be bad for quality of life".

Medicinal marijuana was made legal in Florida in 2016.

Cannabis for both personal and medical use is legal in 24 US states, according to the Pew Research Centre. A further 14 states have legalised medical marijuana.

Trump said: "Someone should not be a criminal in Florida, when this is legal in so many other states.

"We do not need to ruin lives and waste taxpayer dollars arresting adults with personal amounts of it on them."

The proposal is one of a number of amendments Florida residents will vote on in November at the same time as the US chooses its new president. Trump is running against incumbent vice-president and Democratic Party nominee Kamala Harris.

On legalising marijuana for personal use, Trump said that there would need to be rules in place to "prohibit the use of it in public spaces, so we do not smell marijuana everywhere we go, like we do in many of the Democrat-run cities".

Mr DeSantis has claimed that making cannabis legal for recreational use "would turn Florida into San Francisco or Chicago" - both cities in Democrat-run states.

Marijuana was legalised in Illinois 2020 and between January and July this year, cannabis sales reached more that $1bn (£760m), according to state government statistics.

In California, where personal use was legalised in 2016, marijuana sales reached $4.4bn last year.

However, it is not clear how those figures compare to black market sales of cannabis which, according to some, still thrives.

Legalised growers and sellers have to get permits and pay tax, which can prove costly and risk making their cannabis more expensive.

"The black market is very pervasive and it is definitely larger than the legal market," Bill Jones, the head of enforcement for California's Department of Cannabis Control, told US broadcaster NPR earlier this year.

Trump has already caused some confusion about a different amendment that will be on Florida's ballot in November. On Friday he said he would vote against a measure in Florida that would protect abortion rights, after facing backlash from conservative supporters.

Abortion is banned in Florida after six weeks of pregnancy - the amendment proposes expanding that to 24 weeks. Trump had initially signalled support for the proposal.

His campaign later claimed he had not said how he would vote in ballot, simply that he thought that the six week period was "too short". The following day, Trump, whose Mar-a-Lago estate is in Palm Beach, Florida, said he would be voting "no".

Source:bbc.com

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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq6rj3n8nrdo

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Pakistan

 

Terrorists undermining Pakistan in the name of nationalism: Balochistan CM

September 01, 2024

Ruling out talks with terrorists who carried out Aug 26 deadly attacks that claimed over 50 lives in Balochistan, Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti vowed on Sunday that the government would certainly chase the terrorists and wipe them out.

"It was not a 'Baloch' individual who killed a Punjabi, but the 'terrorists' who targeted Pakistanis. They have no religion or nationality," CM Bugti stated while addressing a press conference at a local hotel in Lahore.

The chief minister said that "some elements" were bent on undermining Pakistan in the name of nationalism.

Lamenting the Musakhel massacre, he said innocent citizens from Punjab, were brutally killed by terrorists after being forcibly removed from a bus.

"These are terrorists, not disillusioned Balochs," the CM insisted. "The state will stand with the oppressed, and this has nothing to do with nationalism."

The province witnessed one of the deadliest attacks on August 26 wherein over 50 people, including 14 security personnel, were martyred in different terrorist attacks.

He reiterated that the state would not show any leniency to the terrorists, adding that the Balochistan government along with the security forces would take revenge on the terrorists.

Referring to the National Action Plan’s provincial apex committee meeting three days ago, the chief minister thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir for their Quetta visits during which important decisions were taken to eliminate terrorists.

“We will take the facilitators and sympathisers of the terrorists to task.”

He said the government had solid evidence that “it is a [Indian intelligence agency’s] RAW-funded war” and an organised plot was prepared to sabotage the country [via disturbing peace situation] in Balochistan.

To a question, CM Bugti said that the terrorists could not choose hard targets, therefore, they were going after “soft targets” by killing common people and labourers.

The chief minister once again ruled out dialogue with those elements who were involved in the killings of innocent people and rejecting the Constitution of Pakistan.

The politico clarified that no operation was being conducted in Balochistan, however, the government would certainly chase the terrorists and wipe them out.

Last week, CM Bugti pledged that the state would establish its writ and take all necessary steps to cope with security challenges after a surge in terrorism in the province.

Vowing to bring the situation under control via smart intelligence-based operations (IBOs), Bugti, in the same statement, revealed that the government was pursuing a smart kinetic approach against terrorists as they lacked strong capacity in Balochistan.

He also hinted at limiting 4G internet services in Balochistan following a surge in terrorist attacks and propaganda by anti-state elements against the state.

Source:thenews.com.pk

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1226098-terrorists-undermining-pakistan-in-the-name-of-nationalism-balochistan-cm

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4 Countries ‘Commit’ $27bn Investment in Pakistan, Claims Federal Minister

September 1, 2024

Khalid Hasnain

LAHORE: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal says that four countries have allocated $27 billion for investment through launching various mega projects in Pakistan under framework of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).

“The SIFC is a very useful institution and framework under which our four brother countries have allocated $27bn for investment. Saudi Arabia allocated $5bn, UAE and Kuwait $10bn each and Azerbaijan $2bn,” he said while responding to various questions at a press conference in Lahore on Saturday. “And this is the vision of our Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who wants investment from friendly countries instead of getting loans from them,” he added.

The minister said the investment is expected to be made within the next two to four years, as, presently, the government is busy in preparing feasibilities for various projects.

According to him, Pakistan seeks trade, not loans, from China and Saudi Arabia. These two countries have consistently provided unconditional support in times of need since the existence of Pakistan. He said talks with the IMF were underway and soon an agreement would be finalised.

Flanked by secretary general, the Institution of Engineers Pakistan Engineer Amir Zamir Ahmed Khan and Usman Farooq, member Pakistan Engineering Council, Ahsan Iqbal said the PML-N,under Nawaz Sharif’s leadership, have put Pakistan’s economy back on track. He was of the view that the ongoing period is not a time for long marches or spreading chaos. He said any party having a programme for economic recovery must share it with the government.

Regarding the energy crisis, Iqbal assured that it would be controlled within a year. Additionally, the inflation rate will be brought down to single digit by the end of the year.

He said the interior minister has been asked to get the irregularities in the Engineers Council elections investigated. “I couldn’t even cast my vote in the election due to a glitch,” he added.

Ahsan said in a bid to revitalise Pakistan’s economy, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to announce a comprehensive five-year plan outlining national economic goals. The plan aims to address pressing issues such as the energy crisis, tax evasion, and instability. “Pakistan must avoid chaos and instability to achieve progress and development,” Ahsan emphasised. “Without peace, there will be no investments, and the energy crisis will persist.”

He urged traders to contribute to the country’s progress by paying taxes, highlighting that 70 per cent of taxes are borne by the industrial sector, while the service sector’s contribution is negligible. He said that tax evasion forces the government to borrow from others and sign agreements with the IMF.

In a message to opposition parties, particularly Jamaat-I-Islami, Ahsan appealed for collective efforts to resolve issues. “If they have an alternative plan, they should present it. We will open our books and share all resources to tackle the challenges.” He emphasised for paying tax and said: “We must pay taxes and curb electricity theft. Strikes and shutdowns will only harm the national economy. This is not the time for protests and exploiting people’s emotions.”

In another media talk, the minister criticised Imran Khan for making unnecessary noise over the facilities in Jail. “He (Imran Khan) is living in five-star jail having cooked meal, exercise machines etc. But when I was sent to jail by Imran Khan’s government, it didn’t even allow me for physiotherapy of my arms that was operated by doctors three days before he was imprisoned. And due to this my arm became deformed forever,” he deplored.

He said Imran Khan is allowed to meet his lawyers, party leaders, talk with media besides having other facilities. But during Imran Khan’s government, he and other PML-N and opposition leaders were not even allowed to meet their lawyers. “I haven’t seen or heard that Imran Khan is sweating while he appears in court. But, on the other hand, I have seen Nawaz Sharif, three-time PM, sweating in jail,” he said, adding that the government has never thought of taking revenge from Imran Khan.

Source:dawn.com

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Suspected mpox patient in Karachi tests negative

September 2, 2024

KARACHI: A suspected patient of the monkeypox virus admitted to a hospital in the metropolis a day earlier was found to have scabies, officials said on Sunday.

“He has been discharged after his test came negative today,” shared a senior doctor at the Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital and Research Centre where the patient was admitted a day earlier.

His symptoms and medical history suggested that he had scabies, he added.

The patient, a 32-year-old man, had arrived from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday at the Jinnah International Airport where he was examined under the provincial disease surveillance system.

The patient had rashes and raised red lesions on the skin. His samples were sent to the Dow University of Health Sciences for analysis, and the result came on Sunday.

So far, not a single confirmed case of mpox has been reported in Sindh.

Source:dawn.com

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Three ‘militants’ killed as four security men injured in South Waziristan

Dawn Report

September 1, 2024

PESHAWAR: Three alleged militants were killed and four security personnel injured in an operation in tehsil Tiaraza of Upper South Waziristan district on Saturday.

According to sources, the militants allegedly attacked the security forces in the Sholam/Toorwam area of Tiaraza.

The security forces retaliated and killed three militants, the sources said, adding that four security personnel suffered injuries and were shifted to Frontier Corps Hospital.

Soon after the attack, security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to trace the attackers. They also recovered weapons from the slain militants.

Separately, in North Waziristan district’s Miramshah area, two rockets fired from an unknown location landed on a helipad. Sources said two security personnel were injured when the rockets exploded.

They said security forces immediately cordoned off the area and launched a search operation.

No statement was released from ISPR till filing of this report.

Meanwhile, a senior official from the military’s Special Services Group (SSG) said a series of intelligence-based operations (IBO) were conducted against foreign militants who had infiltrated into Pakistan from Afghanistan since August 20.

The official said the foreign militants, affiliated with the banned Lashkar-i-Islam and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, entered Tirah valley of Khyber district, through the Koh-i-Sufaid area of Afghanistan.

He said that in most of the IBOs, the SSG along with light commandoes achieved their objectives by neutralising a huge number of foreign militants, including their main leader, Abu Dhr alias Saddam. He said security forces had started an effective offensive against the foreign militants who had built various hideouts in Tirah.

“In view of the increasing number of foreign terrorists in Thira valley, the SSG has been assigned the mission of clearing the area of terrorists,” the official said, adding that security forces resisted incursion of the militants and that under an integrated strategy, it was ensured that the loss of the local population and security forces remained minimal.

The official said the SSG and light commandos were deployed and assigned the mission to destroy the militants’ strongholds in the valley.

He also said that despite being a difficult mission due to weather and extreme thirst, “security forces inflicted damage on the enemy”.

“We inflicted heavy losses on the enemy in these operations,” the platoon commander said, adding that security forces were determined to protect the lives and property of people against militants.

Source:dawn.com

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PM hails lower inflation, Moody's upgrade as signs of economic stability

September 01, 2024

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday expressed satisfaction with the recent decline in inflation rates and Pakistan's upgraded ratings by Moody’s, stating that the country’s economy is moving towards stability.

Welcoming the forecast that inflation may continue to decrease in September, the Prime Minister noted that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) dropped to a record low of 11% in July 2024, which is heartening to note, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

The Ministry of Finance — in its monthly outlook report — stated that on account of stability in economic indicators, inflation was expected to remain within the range of 9.5-10.5% in August and further decline to 9-10% in September.

“After Fitch, a global rating agency, Moody’s recently upgraded Pakistan’s credit rating, which is an acknowledgement of the country’s positive economic indicators by the international financial institutions,” PM Shehbaz said in the statement.

The government is actively pursuing economic reforms, with rapid progress in implementing its rightsizing policy, which is being directly monitored by the Premier, according to the communique. The PM expressed confidence that the positive impact of these reforms on the economy would become visible soon.

He also highlighted that the federal and Punjab governments had provided significant relief to electricity consumers regarding monthly bills, adding that the prices of petroleum products were further reduced from today.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led government recently announced a reduction of Rs14 per unit in the electricity tariff for August and September under a power subsidy plan for consumers using 201 to 500 units.

"The government is committed to passing on the benefits of these policies to the public and is aware of the people’s issues, actively working to address them,” the premier said.

Earlier in August, Moody's Ratings upgraded Pakistan's local and foreign currency issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to Caa2 from Caa3 owing to improvement in macroeconomic conditions.

“We have also upgraded the rating for the senior unsecured MTN programme to (P)Caa2 from (P)Caa3. Concurrently, the outlook for the Government of Pakistan has changed to positive from stable,” the rating agency said in a statement.

Accordingly, Pakistan's default risk has reduced to a level consistent with a Caa2 rating, as per Moody’s.

“There is now greater certainty on Pakistan's sources of external financing, following the sovereign's staff-level agreement with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) on 12 July 2024 for a 37-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of $7 billion.”

The release of the IMF's executive board's latest schedule is a significant development, but the absence of Pakistan's loan approval on the agenda is a cause of concern as the country must secure the loan to shore up its sinking economy.

On the other hand, the government is optimistic that the country will secure approval for a $7 billion bailout package from the IMF next month, sources privy to the matters told Geo News earlier this week.

Finance Minister Aurangzeb last week dismissed concerns about the IMF declining the staff-level agreement, exuding confidence that "the lender will approve it next month".

Pakistan and the global lender reached an agreement on the 37-month loan programme in July.

The IMF said the programme was subject to approval from its Executive Board and obtaining "timely confirmation of necessary financing assurances from Pakistan's development and bilateral partners".

Source:thenews.com.pk

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One killed, four injured in Quetta, Bajaur blasts

Saleem Shahid | Amjad Mahmood

September 2, 2024

QUETTA / LAHORE: One person was killed and four others were injured in bomb blasts in Quetta and Bajaur on Sunday.

On the same day, Balochistan Chief Mini­ster Sarfraz Bagti denied any operation was going on in the province and ruled out talks with anyone who “doesn’t respect the Constitution”.

According to officials, the blast in Quetta took place close to a Frontier Corps checkpoint near the Chaman railway crossing gate, a high-security area.

A senior police officer said an improvised explosive device (IED) was planted at the back wall of the checkpoint, which exploded with a loud bang.

A man and his son, who were passing through the area, were injured in the incident. Police and Counter-Terrorism Depart­ment officials moved the injured to Civil Hospital, where their condition is said to be stable, according to Dr Wasim Baig, the hospital’s spokesman.

They have been identified as Haji Ghulam Rasool and his son Muhammad Osama.

The blast damaged a car, two rickshaws and several motorcycles. The windowpanes of nearby buildings and houses were smashed due to the impact of the blast.

The FC personnel posted at the checkpoint remained safe.

According to the bomb disposal squad, a device with 0.5kg of explosives was connected to a timer.

Investigators are reviewing footage of nearby surveillance cameras installed in the area.

No group claimed responsibility for the blast.

One killed in Bajaur

In Bajaur district, one person was killed and two others were injured when an IED went off in Salarzai tehsil, officials said.

Police, Rescue 1122 officials and locals said the blast took place near Dara bazar, located some 28km northeast of Khar, the district headquarters.

A senior police official, who visited the explosion site, told Dawn that the victims were all pedestrians.

A statement issued by Rescue 1122 said three people were critically injured in the attack, one of whom died while being shifted to the Khar district hospital.

The deceased was identified as 28-year-old Rahimullah, while the injured included 25-year-old Fazal Hadi and 29-year-old Muhibullah.

They are said to be in a critical condition.

According to the police, the deceased and injured were relatives and belong to the Bai China area of Khar tehsil.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack till the filing of this report. In a statement, Bajaur police said a case has been registered and an investigation launched into the attack.

No operation in Balochistan

CM Bugti, who was in Lahore, told a press conference that he would not negotiate with those who killed innocent people. “One can negotiate with those who believe in the Constitution within the constitutional framework.”

Denying that any operation was going on in Balochistan, he said efforts were being made through social media to encourage the youth to rebel against the state.

CM Bugti said those who dismounted passengers belonging to Punjab from buses and killed them should not be called “angry Balochs”.

His remarks came days after militants shot dead 23 people after checking their identity documents in Musakhail, a district on the Balochistan-Punjab border.

“The militants who made innocent citizens belonging to Punjab get off the buses and then killed them are terrorists, and they should not be called angry Baloch,” Mr Bugti said. “No Baloch killed a Punjabi, but terrorists killed Pakistanis.”

The chief minister said the state would stand with the oppressed irrespective of nationalism.

“The terrorists killed Pakistanis. Our hearts are with the heirs of the martyrs,” he said and vowed to bring to justice the “sympathisers and facilitators of terrorists”.

Mr Bugti claimed that the unrest in Balochistan was being funded by Indian intelligence agency RAW and the government has solid evidence to prove the claim. “In the name of nationalism, these terrorists want to weaken Pakistan.”

He said there was a systematic conspiracy “to weaken Pakistan”.

In Balochistan, common people and labourers are soft targets. They are killed by terrorists as they “don’t have the capacity to hit hard targets”.

Mr Bugti also thanked the prime minister and army chief who visited Quetta last week and attended the Apex Committee meeting.

Condolences

In Lahore, CM Bugti visited the residence of Captain Muhammad Ali Qureshi, who embraced martyrdom in a counter-terrorism operation in Balochistan last week, APP reported.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Quetta Corps Commander Lt Gen Rahat Naseem accompanied the chief minister.

They met the martyred soldier’s parents and expressed condolences to the family. They also paid tribute to the sacrifice of Captain Qureshi.

Mr Naqvi said the soldier bravely fought with terrorists and foiled their nefarious designs. CM Bugti called the martyred captain “a brave son of soil” while Lt Gen Naseem said his sacrifice was “a symbol of unflinching resolve of Pakistan Army and people against terrorism”.

Later, they visited the grave of the martyred captain, laid floral wreaths and offered fateha.

Anwarullah Khan in Bajaur also contributed to this report

Source:dawn.com

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Mideast

 

Waiting game continues for Lebanon residents as fear of Hezbollah-Israel war persists

NAJIA HOUSSARI

September 01, 2024

BEIRUT: After weeks of tension, residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs as well as towns and villages in south Lebanon have resumed semi-normal routines, yet they remain cautious, keeping evacuation kits at their doorsteps.

Since Hezbollah’s retaliation for the killing of a senior military commander and close associate of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, residents feared that Israel might exploit the situation to launch a devastating assault on the Iran-backed Shiite Lebanese group.

Hezbollah’s muted response, coupled with Israeli indications that it did not want a full-scale war, has brought some relief to residents of south Lebanon. Yet many of them consider the reprieve merely temporary and the risk of a future conflict as high, in the absence of an agreement to calm the border front with Israel and a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Hezbollah and Israel each claimed victory on Aug. 25, when the former lobbed hundreds of missiles and drones at the latter to avenge the elimination of Fuad Shukr on July 30.

Hezbollah launched its assault in two stages — first with 340 rockets aimed at Israeli intelligence and military bases, then with drones targeting the Glilot base near Tel Aviv. Israel claimed it pre-emptively thwarted the attacks, destroying 90 percent of the Hezbollah rockets in the process.

The short confrontation on that day was regarded as mutually satisfactory, allowing a return to “business as usual” and rules of engagement in place since Oct. 8, 2023.

“From the start, Hezbollah has declared it doesn’t want war, but it is ready to confront any Israeli aggression,” a source close to Hezbollah told Arab News, adding that the group’s aim is to protect Lebanese civilians.

Analysts and experts have a somewhat different opinion. Some believe that a strong American military presence in the region played a role in deterring further escalation. The UN Security Council’s unanimous vote to extend UNIFIL’s mandate by another year was viewed by politicians, including caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, as a sign that Lebanon’s stability is an international priority.

Lebanon has been in a state of financial meltdown that started in October 2019. The crisis, believed to be the world’s worst since the mid-19th century, has created dire living conditions for its population.

To make matters worse, political divisions have prevented the election of a new president and the adoption of economic reforms needed for Lebanon to qualify for international loans. Analysts say the last thing the country can afford now is a bigger war.

Yet questions linger. Can Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, prevent future conflicts, despite the limitations that have become evident over the past 11 months?

“The southern front has returned to traditional patterns of confrontation,” Ali Fadlallah, a Lebanese expert in international relations, told Arab News. “Israel’s claim of pre-empting Hezbollah’s attack was false. Hezbollah’s drones reached their targets. Israel’s quick declaration of the end of its military operation suggested that Hezbollah’s response had acted as a deterrent.”

Nevertheless, he acknowledges that cross-border tensions are high, although they have eased slightly. “I expect this situation to continue until the US elections in November,” he said.

Israel has solid reasons to avoid a full-scale war with Hezbollah, at least for now. Its soldiers have been fighting on two fronts since the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, without being able to destroy the Palestinian militant group and secure the release of scores of Israelis still held captive in Gaza.

Since Oct. 8, the Israeli military has also failed to push Hezbollah fighters at least 10 to 12 kilometers from its border to allow the safe return of 80,000 displaced people to northern Israel.

Against this backdrop, Israel’s demand for a ceasefire, rather than a cessation of hostilities as called for in Resolution 1701, is seen as reflecting a continuing view of southern Lebanon as an active front.

Citing repeated Israeli breaches of Lebanon’s airspace and sovereignty, as well as territorial disputes along the border claimed by Lebanon, Fadlallah said Resolution 1701 was flawed from the beginning since UNIFIL forces were stationed only on Lebanese soil.

Still, he said, “despite its flaws, 1701 remains the most accepted framework for maintaining stability.”

Resolution 1701 led to UNIFIL peacekeepers being deployed in southern Lebanon to monitor a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel. Yet provisions of the resolution remain unfulfilled, including full Lebanese sovereignty over border areas.

Robert Wood, the US ambassador to the UN, recently highlighted what he called continued efforts by Hezbollah to undermine the resolution, threatening both UNIFIL’s mandate and regional security.

“Resolution 1701 is the best hope for stability amid Hezbollah’s war of attrition,” Mohieddin Houshaimi, an international law expert, told Arab News.

Disconnected from Lebanese state institutions, Hezbollah’s unilateral decisions have not protected the country from Israeli aggression or civilian displacement, he said

At least 130 civilians have been killed in Lebanon since Hezbollah joined the fight with Israel as a “support front” on Oct. 8. According to Imran Riza, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon, more than 110,000 people have been displaced from the border villages and a further 150,000 remain within 10 kilometers of the UN-patrolled “Blue Line” in areas of south Lebanon.

Houshaimi warned of a dead-end situation, with unregulated engagement and Hezbollah undermining state authority. “Resolution 1701 remains key to any solution, and the recent decision to extend UNIFIL’s mandate took on unusual importance due to the escalating situation,” he said.

Despite widespread breaches by Hezbollah and Israel, he believes Resolution 1701 still holds value even though it has failed to earn the full respect of either side

Fares Souaid, a political analyst and former Lebanese MP, believes Hezbollah chief Nasrallah’s speech after Shukr’s elimination by Israel clarified a few things.

“Hezbollah proved that Israel cannot win a war without US support, just as Hezbollah and Hamas need Iran. With US-Iran indirect communication ongoing, we might see a temporary truce,” he said.

Souaid also pointed to Nasrallah’s announcement that Hezbollah had moved its arsenal north of the Litani River before Shukr’s killing, saying that it offered Israel a kind of security assurance.

Under the circumstances, Souaid believes a full-blown war is not imminent. Instead, he sees instead indirect negotiations between the US and Iran as a driving force in future developments

Nevertheless, late on Friday the Israeli air force reportedly struck military structures and launchers allegedly belonging to Hezbollah in the Tayr Harfa area of south Lebanon. Warplanes also launched strikes at Maryamine and Yaroun in southern Lebanon while Hezbollah fired about 40 rockets into Israel that landed in the Upper Galilee.

“War could break out at any time,” said MP Bilal Abdullah of Lebanon’s Democratic Gathering political bloc, adding that the killings of Shukr in Beirut and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran were a hint that Israel might take more unilateral actions to reshape the region’s geopolitical landscape.

Abdullah said the unresolved Palestinian issue has been a source of instability since 1948. “The failure to grant Palestinians their natural rights fuels instability,” he said

Despite an overall decrease in tensions along the southern border, Lebanon faces two stark possibilities: either reaching a significant agreement with international powers, or the postponement of an inevitable war, as Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has suggested.

Meanwhile, residents of border towns affected daily by Israeli shelling and airstrikes remain on edge, fearing further escalation. Recently, images circulated of trucks carrying goods from the southern border town of Mays Al-Jabal to safer areas, prompting worries about future displacement.

Some say these departures amount to a permanent move by local residents out of a war-prone area, but Hezbollah has rejected this theory. Activists of the group called the evacuation “a step to minimize losses” rather than an abandonment of border towns.

Whatever the truth, intense Western-led diplomatic efforts continue with a view to reduce tensions and avoid deadly miscalculations

Source:arabnews.com

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Israelis erupt in protest to demand a ceasefire after 6 more hostages die in Gaza

September 01, 2024

JERUSALEM: Grieving and angry Israelis surged into the streets Sunday night after six more hostages were found dead in Gaza, chanting “Now! Now!” as they demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reach a ceasefire with Hamas to bring the remaining captives home.

Israel’s largest trade union, the Histadrut, also pressured the government by calling a general strike for Monday — the first since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that started the war. The strike aims to shut down or disrupt major sectors of the economy, including banking, health care and the country’s main airport.

Tens of thousands of Israelis were expected to protest. Many blame Netanyahu for failing to reach a ceasefire during nearly 11 months of war. Negotiations have dragged on for months. Israel’s army has acknowledged the difficulty of rescuing dozens of remaining hostages and said a deal is the only way to bring a large-scale return.

“I’m crying the cry of humanity,” said one protester who gave his name as Amos as thousands, some of them weeping, gathered outside Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem.

The military said all six hostages were killed shortly before Israeli forces arrived. Netanyahu blamed the Hamas militant group for the stalled negotiations, saying “whoever murders hostages doesn’t want a deal.”

Militants seized Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, and four other hostages at a music festival in southern Israel. The native of Berkeley, California, lost part of his left arm to a grenade in the attack. In April, a Hamas-issued video showed him alive, sparking new protests in Israel.

The army identified the other dead hostages as Ori Danino, 25; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Almog Sarusi, 27; and Alexander Lobanov, 33; also taken from the festival. The sixth, Carmel Gat, 40, was abducted from the nearby farming community of Be’eri.

The army said the bodies were recovered from a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, around a kilometer (half a mile) from where another hostage was rescued alive last week.

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, a military spokesperson, said Israeli forces found the bodies several dozen meters (yards) underground as “ongoing combat” was underway, but that there was no firefight in the tunnel itself. He said there was no doubt Hamas had killed them.

Hamas has offered to release the hostages in return for an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants.

Izzat Al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, said the hostages would still be alive if Israel had accepted a US-backed ceasefire proposal that Hamas said it had agreed to in July.

Funerals began for the hostages, with more outrage. Sarusi’s body was wrapped in an Israeli flag. “You were abandoned on and on, daily, hour after hour, 331 days,” his mother, Nira, said. “You and so many beautiful and pure souls. Enough. No more.”

Hostages’ families urge a ‘complete halt of the country’

Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas is destroyed.

Critics have accused him of putting his personal interests over those of the hostages. The war’s end likely will lead to an investigation into his government’s failures in the Oct. 7 attacks, the government’s collapse and early elections.

“I think this is an earthquake. This isn’t just one more step in the war,” said Nomi Bar-Yaacov, associate fellow in the International Security Program at Chatham House, shortly before Sunday’s protests began.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu got into a shouting match at a security Cabinet meeting Thursday with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who accused him of prioritizing control of a strategic corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border — a major sticking point in the talks — over the lives of the hostages.

An Israeli official confirmed the report and said three of the hostages — Goldberg-Polin, Yerushalmi and Gat — had been slated to be released in the first phase of a ceasefire proposal discussed in July. The official was not authorized to brief media about the negotiations and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“In the name of the state of Israel, I hold their families close to my heart and ask forgiveness,” Gallant said Sunday.

A forum of hostage families has demanded a “complete halt of the country” to push for a ceasefire and hostage release. “Were it not for the delays, sabotage and excuses, those whose deaths we learned about this morning would likely still be alive,” it said in a statement.

Even a mass outpouring of anger would not immediately threaten Netanyahu or his far right government. He still controls a majority in parliament. But he has caved in to public pressure before. Mass protests led him to cancel the dismissal of his defense minister last year, and a general strike last year helped lead to a delay in his controversial judicial overhaul.

A family’s high-profile campaign

Goldberg-Polin’s parents, US-born immigrants to Israel, became perhaps the most high-profile relatives of hostages on the international stage. They met with US President Joe Biden and Pope Francis and on Aug. 21, they addressed the Democratic National Convention — after sustained applause and chants of “bring him home.”

His mother, Rachel, who bowed her head during the ovation and touched her chest, said “Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you, stay strong, survive.”

Biden on Sunday said he was “devastated and outraged.” The White House said he spoke with Goldberg-Polin’s parents and offered condolences.

Some 250 hostages were taken on Oct. 7. Israel now believes 101 remain in captivity, including 35 who are thought to be dead. More than 100 were freed during a ceasefire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Eight have been rescued by Israeli forces. Israeli troops mistakenly killed three Israelis who escaped captivity in December.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, when they stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not say how many were militants. It has displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, often multiple times, and plunged the besieged territory into a humanitarian catastrophe.

Source:arabnews.com

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Gaza officials say 11 killed in Israeli strike on school

September 01, 2024

GAZA STRIP: Gaza health officials said an Israeli air strike targeting a group of policemen in a school sheltering displaced Palestinians killed at least 11 people on Sunday, while the military said it had struck a Hamas command center.

“Eleven people, including a woman and girl, were killed when an Israeli air strike struck the Safad school in Gaza City sheltering displaced people,” civil defense agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP, adding several people were also wounded.

The school had a Hamas police outpost, another Gaza health official said on condition of anonymity.

The Israeli military said its air force had struck a Hamas command center in the Safad school.

“The IAF struck Hamas terrorists who were operating within a command and control center embedded inside the area that previously served as the Safad school in Gaza City,” the military said in a statement.

The war between Israel and Hamas erupted after Palestinian militants attacked Israel on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Since then, the Israeli military has been relentlessly bombing the Gaza Strip from the air, sea and ground, which has so far killed at least 40,738 people, according to the territory’s health ministry.

According to the UN, the majority of the dead are women and children.

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Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani Reviews Digital Transformation Roadmap with SAP Global Software Company

September 1,

Baghdad-INA

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani followed up, today, Sunday, with the global software company SAP, the digital transformation map in Iraq.

 The Prime Minister's media office stated in a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that “Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani met today with representatives from SAP, a global leader in software solutions, to discuss an executive summary provided by the company outlining a roadmap for digital transformation in Iraq.”

 During the meeting, Prime Minister Al-Sudani highlighted that Iraq had suffered through decades of wars and sanctions, leading to a disconnect from the global technological advancements during a critical period of digital evolution. This situation has driven the government to focus intently on digital transformation across all state levels. A high-level committee has been formed under his chairmanship, including relevant ministers and heads of government authorities, to prioritize efforts that will enable the country to make significant strides in this area.

The government has also begun a comprehensive review of what has been achieved so far to strengthen and build upon successful initiatives.

 The roadmap proposed by SAP aims to enhance governance, drive economic growth, and improve public services through strategic implementation of digital technologies. It includes a general assessment of the country's digital infrastructure and workforce skills, strategic planning in critical sectors like healthcare and education, and collaboration with the government to address various challenges.

The roadmap also focuses on bolstering cybersecurity measures and raising digital awareness across all age groups.

 SAP’s solutions are expected to streamline processes, enhance citizen engagement, and increase transparency in sectors such as infrastructure and transportation. Additionally, these initiatives will support smart city projects, create jobs, and improve public services, ensuring digital inclusion for all citizens.

Source:ina.iq

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Projectiles strike ship in Red Sea in suspected Yemen Houthi attack

September 02, 2024

SANAA: A suspected attack by Yemen’s Houthis targeted a ship in the Red Sea on Monday, authorities said, just north of where crews hope to salvage a tanker loaded with oil and still ablaze after another assault by the group.

Monday’s attack marks the latest in the Iranian-backed militia’s campaign that has disrupted the $1 trillion in goods that pass through the Red Sea each year over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip as well as halted some aid shipments to conflict-ravaged Sudan and Yemen.

Meanwhile, the efforts to salvage the still-burning Sounion seek to head off the potential ecological disaster posed by its cargo of 1 million barrels of crude oil.

In Monday’s assault, two projectiles hit the vessel, and a third explosion occurred near the ship, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said.

“Damage control is underway,” the UKMTO said. “There are no casualties onboard and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call.”

The timing of the attack and coordinates offered by the UKMTO corresponded to the reported path of the Panama-flagged oil tanker Blue Lagoon I, now traveling south through the Red Sea to an unlisted destination. The Blue Lagoon I was coming from Russia’s port of Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea and had been broadcasting that it had Russian-origin cargo on board.

In recent months, the Blue Lagoon I traveled to India, which gets more than 40 percent of its oil imports from Russia despite Moscow’s ongoing war on Ukraine and the international sanctions it faces over it.

The Greek-based firm operating the ship could not be immediately reached.

The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack. However, it can take the militia hours or even days to acknowledge their assaults.

The Houthis have targeted more than 80 vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a United States-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets.

The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.

Meanwhile Monday, a salvage effort appeared to be underway to tow away the Sounion oil tanker, which was earlier hit by the Houthis and abandoned by its crew. Jamel Amer, an official with the Houthis, wrote online Saturday that tug boats assigned to pull the Sounion away should arrive Sunday. However, NASA fire satellites showed a blaze at the site of where the Sounion had been abandoned on Monday morning.

The Sounion was carrying some 1 million barrels of oil when the Houthis initially attacked it on Aug. 21 with small arms fire, projectiles and a drone boat. A French destroyer operating as part of the European Union’s Operation Aspides rescued the Sounion’s crew of 25 Filipinos and Russians, as well as four private security personnel, after they abandoned the vessel and took them to nearby Djibouti.

Last week, the Houthis released footage showing they planted explosives on board the Sounion and blew them up in a propaganda video, something the rebels have done before in their campaign.

Source:arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2569538/middle-east

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Australia

 

Muslim groups to campaign on gambling and domestic violence in lead-up to Australian election

Adeshola Ore

 2 September 2024

A political advocacy group seeking to mobilise Muslim Australians before the next election says it will elevate the community’s voice on non-faith issues including gambling and domestic violence, alongside Israel’s war in Gaza.

On Sunday afternoon Muslim Votes Matter, a new grassroots group, launched its national campaign in the lead-up to next year’s federal election at the Broadmeadows town hall, in the federal seat of Calwell, where it plans to back candidates.

The group is planning to campaign in 32 federal seats – the majority Labor-held – with a significant Muslim population.

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While it will not run candidates or provide financial resources, Muslim Votes Matter will back candidates whose values align with its priorities and will produce how-to-vote cards to distribute at polling booths. It says these will be based on an eight-point criteria it will assess candidates against, which will include their position on the war in Gaza.

Ghaith Krayem, a member of Muslim Votes Matter’s national team, told the crowd of about 300 people it was “unashamedly a group of Muslims” and would seek to engage its community on non-faith issues.

“Within our faith, we have valuable insights to share … There’s a debate going right now about gambling,” he said. “Where is our voice? Why aren’t we out there engaging in that discussion about gambling?

“We have important issues to talk about. Gambling, alcohol, drug addiction, domestic violence. We are Muslims and we’re going to talk about those issues which are important to all of the society.”

Krayem, a former president of the Islamic Council of Victoria and chief executive of the Australian Federation of Islamic Council, said people who attended the group’s sessions across Australia had consistently said, “Just tell us who to vote for.”

Related: Western Sydney has long been Labor ground. But is anger over Gaza making voters think twice?

Among the 32 seats Muslim Votes Matter are aiming to target are Wills – where the Greens are hoping to seize the Labor-held seat, Calwell – held by the retiring Labor MP Maria Vamvakinou and Watson – held by the home affairs minister, Tony Burke.

The group’s target seats also include Fowler – held by the independent Dai Le – and Liberal-held Banks and Mitchell.

Samantha Ratnam, the Greens candidate for Wills and the party’s former Victorian leader, was among those in attendance on Sunday.

Nail Aykan, the founder of Muslim Voices of Calwell, told the launch the shift away from the two major parties in Australia meant there “had never been a better time for Muslim Australians to flex their political muscle and be counted”.

“The influence of Muslim voters in key safe seats, predominantly Labor seats, is becoming more apparent and will become hotly contested,” he said.

He argued there were numerous merits of a hung-parliament, saying electing independents and minor parties would send a message to the incumbent government to “not get complacent” and “not take Muslim Australians for granted.”

Dr Naser Alziyadat, Victoria’s state lead for Muslim Votes Matter, told the audience that the UK election, where the Labour party lost four seats to independent candidates, despite its thumping majority, showed the Australian group’s aims were achievable.

Muslim Votes Matter, and a separate grassroots group the Muslim Vote – which plans to back independent candidates at the election – have been at the centre of fierce political debate since the Western Australian senator Fatima Payman’s dramatic exit from the Labor party.

Anthony Albanese said Australia should not go down “the road of faith-based political parties”, arguing it would undermine social cohesion. The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has warned against “a minority government with the Greens, the green teals and Muslim independents”.

Krayem told the audience the group was not focused on isolating Muslim Australians.

“We are not causing division. We’re bringing a community into the public debate, into the political arena.”

Related: The path for Labor to lose western Sydney over Gaza is narrow – but it’s there | Karen Middleton

In an interview before the launch event, Krayem told Guardian Australia the group – which he estimated has 1,000 members, including non-Muslim – would home in on eight to 12 seats for targeted campaigning closer to the election.

While declining to outline the group’s eight-point criteria for backing candidates, he said this included a position on the war in Gaza: “Gaza isn’t an issue. Gaza is a cause.”

Krayem said the group’s other issues would “become very clear” as it ramped up its public messaging.

The Australian government has called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza since December and voted at the UN in May to enhance the status of the Palestinian diplomatic mission but has said it is open to recognising Palestine only as part of a peace process.

It has refrained from labelling the bombardment of Gaza as genocide and has acknowledged Israel’s right to self-defence after the Hamas attacks, while urging it to comply with international law.

Krayem said the group, which had previously been self-funded, had begun accepting community donations.

Source:yahoo.com

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https://uk.news.yahoo.com/muslim-groups-campaign-gambling-domestic-001027793.html

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Africa

 

A Libyan human trafficker sanctioned by the UN has been killed in Tripoli, officials say

September 02, 2024

CAIRO: One of Libya’s most wanted human traffickers was killed Sunday in the capital, Tripoli, Libyan officials said, fueling tension in the western part of the North African country.

Abdel-Rahman Milad, who commanded a coast guard unit in the western town of Zawiya and was sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council, was shot dead by unknown assailants, the officials said.

The circumstances of his death were not immediately known, and no group claimed responsibility for his killing.

Libyan media outlets reported that he was shot while he was in his vehicle in the Sayyad area, in the western part of Tripoli. Footage circulated online showed a white Toyota Land Cruiser for Milad with bullet marks on its side.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity for their safety. There was no comment from the Tripoli-based government of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.

Moammar Dhawi, a militia leader in western Libya, mourned Milad’s death. In a statement, posted on Facebook, he called for an investigation to bring the perpetrators to account.

Libya has been plagued by corruption and turmoil since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 2011. The county has since then split between two administrations, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments.

Amid the chaos, the oil-rich country has emerged as a major conduit for people from Africa and the Middle East fleeing wars and poverty and hoping to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

In June 2018, the Security Council imposed sanctions on Milad and five other leaders of criminal networks allegedly engaged in trafficking migrants and others from Libya. At the time, Milad was described as the head of a coast guard unit in Zawiya “that is consistently linked with violence against migrants and other human smugglers” from rival gangs.

UN experts monitoring sanctions claimed Milad and other coast guard members “are directly involved in the sinking of migrant boats using firearms.”

Milad had denied any links to human smuggling and said traffickers wear uniforms similar to those of his men. He was jailed for about six months between October 2020 and April 2021 on human trafficking and fuel smuggling charges.

Source:arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2569703/middle-east

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I Warned Against Danger Of Radicalising Bandits — Sheikh Gumi

1 September 2024

 Enioluwa Adeniyi

Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Gumi, has reiterated his concerns about the growing radicalization of bandits in Nigeria.

On Saturday, the influential cleric took to his Facebook page to share a disturbing video that showcases bandits celebrating and chanting in Arabic, underlining the dangers he has consistently warned about.

In the video, the bandits appear jubilant, chanting religious slogans that Sheikh Gumi suggests could indicate their increasing radicalization.

The cleric, who has previously advocated for dialogue and negotiation with the bandits as a means to address the security crisis in the North, emphasized the urgent need for the government to intervene before the situation escalates further.

Sheikh Gumi has long been a controversial figure in the discussions around Nigeria’s security challenges, particularly regarding his stance on engaging with bandits.

Sheikh Gumi wrote, “Initially, bandits were fighting an ethnic war that could be resolved. I warned if the kinetic [approach] is intensified, they will turn into ideologically motivated guerilla warfare. Nobody listened.”

He noted the shift in the nature of the conflict, emphasising the complexities of ideological warfare.

“The difference between the former and the latter is that ideological war is almost intractable; Boko Haram (BH) is an example. They commit the same crime, but this time, they think they are serving God. The picture is gloomy,” he added.

This statement comes amid ongoing concerns about the increasing radicalisation of bandits in Nigeria.

Source:naijanews.com

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https://www.naijanews.com/2024/09/01/i-warned-against-danger-of-radicalising-bandits-sheikh-gumi/

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NAF Neutralizes Notorious Terrorist Kingpin, 5 Others In Kaduna

 1 September 2024

Enioluwa Adeniyi

A notorious and wanted terrorist kingpin and five members of his gang, on Saturday, were neutralied by Special Forces of the Nigerian Airforce from the 413 Force Protection Group during a shootout.

The shootout happened along Sabon-Birni road, Kaduna.

Director of NAF Public Relations and Information, Air Vice Marshal Edward Gabkwet who made this known on Sunday, said the terrorists were on their way to attacks and kidnapped innocent citizens in nearby communities when the encounter ensued

AVM Gabkwet said, “Following intelligence report received on 31 August 2024 that a known terrorist kingpin, Mustapha Abdullahi, and 5 members of his group were sighted near Sabon Gida Forest along Sabon Birni Road in Igabi Local Government Area (LGA), Kaduna State with likely intent to kidnap, harm or kill innocent civilians, a team of Special Forces from the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) 413 Force Protection Group was dispatched to comb the location.

“After making contact with the terrorists who were on motor cycles, on sighting the Special Forces, the terrorists immediately opened fire and were met with superior fire power by the troops, eliminating all the terrorists.

“Items recovered from the terrorists included 5 den guns, locally fabricated sub-machine gun, and live ammunitions.

“Others include assorted charms, lighters, sim cards and phone cases.

“Efforts by the troops to rid Igabi, Birnin Gwari and environs of criminals and their activities remain ongoing.

“Troops have also been commended and urged to intensify ongoing efforts to safeguard lives and properties.”

Source:naijanews.com

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https://www.naijanews.com/2024/09/01/naf-neutralizes-notorious-terrorist-kingpin-5-others-in-kaduna/

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African heads of state head to Beijing for China-Africa cooperation summit

By Rédaction Africanews

1 September 2024

African heads of state have begun arriving in the Chinese capital, Beijing, ahead of the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit which gets underway on Wednesday.

This ninth gathering is expected to provide a framework for navigating China’s evolving strategic partnership with the continent in the post-Covid era.

It is taking place at a time of rising geopolitical tension that will see Beijing prioritise its position in relation to other world powers.

Climate and energy are expected to be among the key topics for negotiation between Chinese and African stakeholders

Discussions will also focus on digital and technology cooperation in a bid to close Africa’s digital divide.

In the past, FOCAC has yielded notable financial commitments for projects spanning infrastructure, agriculture, and manufacturing.

Experts warn, however, that African countries should use the summit to foster cooperation that is both sustainable and mutually beneficial.

China has been intensifying its efforts to strengthen ties with the Global South.

Analysts say it views these relationships not just as economic opportunities but as crucial to its own broader geopolitical goals.

The investments do not always align with the recipient countries’ needs and development priorities, and are associated with high debt burdens.

Analysts suggest African countries need to rethink the future direction of the partnership.

They say, if approached correctly, FOCAC could foster a new era of cooperation that is both sustainable and mutually beneficial.

Source:africanews.com

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https://www.africanews.com/2024/09/01/african-heads-of-state-head-to-beijing-for-china-africa-cooperation-summit/

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AU race tightens as Islamic states back Djibouti candidate over Raila

02 September 2024

by MOSES ODHIAMBO

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga faces stiff competition for the African Union Commission top job as diplomatic intrigues begin more than four months before the vote.

On Friday, just two days after Raila secured the backing of East Africa Community, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) resolved to back Djibouti's Mahmoud Ali Youssef.

The resolution was reportedly made by OIC Foreign ministers in Cameroon.

Djibouti’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia Dya-Eddine Bamakhrama posted on X that the ministers adopted the resolution in its session of August 29 to August 30.

At least 27 members of the OIC are from Africa, a situation some pundits hold wILL give Raila a run for his money.

However, the backing for Djibouti by these Islamic countries remains to be seen.

Algeria, Egypt, Libya and Morocco who are all member of OIC have fronted candidates for deputy chairperson.

This means they would want to team up with other regions, say East Africa to ensure their candidates sail through.

Some members of the OIC such as Uganda, Nigeria, Guinea Bissau are also believed to be backing Raila.

Other countries such as Niger, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Gabon and Mali are suspended from AU.

Besides the AUC chairmanship and deputy, there are three other continental jobs for grabs.

These are African Development Bank President, Commonwealth secretary general and World Health Organization chief.

Tanzania already grabbed the latter.

Other than Djibouti, Raila will also face off with Anil Gayan of Mauritius, and Richard Randriamandrato of Magascar.

Ahmed Hashi, a governance and policy expert, said looking at how countries behave at the ballot, “Raila is going to lose the election in Addis Ababa.”

“I would be shocked if he gets even a slim majority. Djibouti candidate will win with a landslide,” he said.

For Hashi, the vote will be determined by how the French, English and Portuguese speaking nations will act.

“AU is divided based on these fundamental tectonic plates and the biggest influence is the French,” he said.

According to Hashi, this is why Amina Mohamed lost in 2017.

It is also widely believed that the French speaking countries have historically backed one of their own and in this case, Djibouti.

“The same scenario is going to take place at the AU. The French, Sahel areas, Central Africa are going to stand up to the candidature of Odinga and say no, ” Hashi predicted.

Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi reinforced this assertion saying “it will be a great mistake to underestimate the Djibouti candidate.”

Moronge Obonyo, an expert in international relations laws, says Francophone member states appear to do better diplomacy.

“With Djibouti in the race, a united Francophone vote will be a threat. Secondly, how the Southern Africa region will vote may haunt Raila,” he said.

“Southern Africa (largely, Anglophone) abstained in the last contest when Amina was up against Faki, dealing Amina a blow.”

Of the five past AUC chairs, only South Africa's Nkosazana Zuma was from Anglophone Africa.

The rest (Amara Easy, Alpha Konare, Jean Ping and Mahamat Faki) were Francophone.

“With a candidate from Madagascar, an SADC member, contesting as part of the Eastern Africa bloc, the race may be tricky,” Moronge said.

For the pundit, the last minute change of heart by EAC member states that was witnessed in 2017 may replay.

North and Arab Muslim nations are also viewed as would act based on how Kenya has treated the Morocco, Saharawi and Algeria question.

Already, Kenya has officially initiated steps to establish formal diplomatic ties with Morocco, a move tied to the upcoming vote.

Wilfred Muliro, foreign policy expert,  says some of the hurdles and questions have been answered.

Among them were concerns about whether Raila was going to the race alone or as an EAC candidate.

Raila’s age, 79, was also cited but pundits say he is the second high ranking individual to seek the seat after Mali’s Oumar Konare.

“Most of the voters here are his peers. He is an engineer and has been AU Infrastructure envoy. Most leaders would be interested with how he’d deal with infrastructure, which is Africa is top priority,” Muliro said.

For other pundits, the trade-ins in five key continental roles which have been up for grabs in Africa will be a factor.

Apart from AUC chair and deputy, posts such as WHO Africa chief, AfDB president and Commonwealth chief have elicited high-level negotiations.

Tanzania got WHO Africa chief and the two leading candidates for AfDB president come from Zambia (SADC) and Cameroon (Central Africa).

More candidates could emerge ahead of the September deadline, ostensibly from Chad, Mauritania and Egypt.

The latter being in the race for AUC deputy, it is argued its stakes sit better with Kenya, same with France, in its bid for the AfDB post.

Ecowas members are said to be keen on bagging the Commonwealth chief post hence could trade with the EAC for support.

Muliro says Raila has an upper hand, having been vouching for pan-Africanism and keeping to AU’s position on regional matters.

“The Arab question will also sort itself as they are only competing for the deputy chairperson seat,” he said.

He said there will be cases of candidates and blocs agreeing to step down “in favour of Odinga and the North will sort itself out.”

For some pundits, the assurances by Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu and Salva Kiir of South Sudan are not enough.

Professor Macharia Munene, an International Relations don, cited the absence of Felix Tshishekedi and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame at the campaign launch.

He said the show of no commitment by Burundi, Somalia and Ethiopia will hurt Raila’s campaign as the EAC candidate.

“Their absence is an indication that there may be some division in as much as Kiir spoke as the EAC chairperson,” Munene said.

“It is notable that Kenya and Ethiopia are not in good terms and Somalia is yet to fully endorse the Raila bid."

For Munene, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo’s influence in Africa is also waning hence may not be a dependable campaigner.

“For me, it is a 50:50 chance and negatively for Raila. The vote could end up as 60:40,” he said.

To beat the hurdle, Edward Kakumu, an International Relations expert, says Kenya must showcase excellence in diplomatic skills and etiquette.

“Kenya can do this by endearing its candidate to countries with interested candidates to sway them into allies and lobby other regional blocs,” Kakumu said.

He said Raila must clear his schedule of other activities for the next six months and rhythmically embody government’s efforts.

“This might include shuttling around the continent to build trust and connections with delegations of potential voters,” Kakumu said.

He said the former MP has to “make intriguing presentations that appeal to specific audiences without making regional messes.”

Kenya's trade policy and effect of trade disputes, especially with its neighbours, is also viewed as would be a determinant factor in the race as well.

Source:the-star.co.ke

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https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2024-09-02-au-race-tightens-as-islamic-states-back-djibouti-candidate-over-raila/

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Kebbi gov donates N50m to Islamic group

1st September 2024

By  Animashaun Salman

The Governor of Kebbi State, Dr Nasir Idris, has donated N50m to the Tijjaniya Islamic group.

The governor announced the donation while speaking at the Kebbi International Maulud for Sheikh Ahmad Tijjani 2024, held at the Haliru Abdu Stadium in Birnin Kebbi on Sunday.

The event was organised by the national body of the Tijjaniya group and hosted by its Kebbi chapter.

Idris pledged his readiness to support organisations with the zeal and courage to propagate Islam, and he urged them to sustain their efforts.

“We have been supportive of this sect long before I assumed my current position. Therefore, we are ready to support you in your success, even beyond the borders of this country,” he said.

The governor recalled that when he was contesting for the governor’s seat, some people said, “Kauran Gwandu has no money to win the election,” but with God’s help and your support, we succeeded.

“I will never forget your support, which culminated in my victory. Let me use this opportunity to appreciate those who came from Morocco, Algeria, and Senegal to attend this Maulud.”

Earlier, Sheikh Ibrahim bin Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, the son of the famous Islamic scholar Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, said the essence of the programme was to remember the contributions of renowned Islamic clerics to Islam.

He mentioned that the programme would be used to offer prayers for peace in the state, Nigeria, and the world at large.

The cleric recalled that Sheikh Ahmadu Tijjani, who was born in Algeria and died in Morocco, spent his life propagating Islam.

He thanked the governor for the support his administration has provided and requested continued assistance.

Source:punchng.com

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https://punchng.com/kebbi-gov-donates-n50m-to-islamic-group/

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Presidency Speaks On Reports Of Rift Between Tinubu And Shettima

2 September 2024

Enioluwa Adeniyi

The Presidency on Sunday categorically dismissed circulating reports suggesting a rift between President Bola Tinubu and Vice President, Kashim Shettima, labeling the claims as baseless and a product of malicious propaganda.

In a statement issued by the vice president’s spokesperson, Stanley Nkwocha, the Presidency condemned the reports as an unfounded smear campaign aimed at creating a false narrative of discord between the two leaders.

The statement emphasized that President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima share a strong, cordial relationship, which remains unshaken by the fabricated stories circulating in some quarters.

The clarification came as Vice President Shettima celebrates his 58th birthday today (Monday).

The Presidency took the opportunity to reaffirm the unity and harmony between the nation’s top two leaders, urging the public to disregard the false reports and continue to support the administration’s efforts in steering the country towards progress.

Nkwocha said, “In the history of Nigeria’s presidency, no Vice President has enjoyed the total confidence and full support of his principal like Shettima. In return, his loyalty to his boss, President Tinubu, as attested by well-meaning Nigerians who have been keeping tabs on the goings-on in the presidency, is absolute and unalloyed.

“In a political landscape where loyalty is often tested, Vice President Shettima stands out as a beacon of dedication and commitment to his principal, President Tinubu. His unwavering support and teamwork demonstrate a refreshing shift towards harmonious collaboration, setting a positive tone for their administration.”

Source:naijanews.com

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https://www.naijanews.com/2024/09/02/presidency-speaks-on-reports-of-rift-between-tinubu-and-shettima/

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Southeast Asia

 

Placing Jakim officers in govt departments to ensure national policies are ‘Islamic’ clashes with Constitution, interfaith umbrella group says

02 Sep 2024

By Zurairi A.R.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 — The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) has today raised concerns over plans to place officers from the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) in every government departments.

The group said that placing Jakim officers to ensure that government policies are in line with Islamic principles may contravene the Federal Constitution as the country’ supreme law.

“This move has the potential to affect the constitutional safeguards provided in the Constitution including the Fundamental rights guaranteed by Articles 5 to 13, which also form the basic structure of the Constitution,” it said in a statement here.

“Further, Article 4(1) provides for the ‘Constitution to be the supreme law of the Federation....’ This means any laws promulgated or policies decided must be in line and intra vires of the Constitution.”

Articles 5 to 13 are on fundamental liberties such as equality, freedom of speech and assembly, and freedom of religion.

According to a report in the Daily Express dated August 13, 2024, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Vice-President David Ong also expressed concerns regarding this matter.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had in June urged for Jakim's role to be expanded, and for it to be included in policymaking. However, the issue of placing Jakim officers in government departments have not been reported in the past.

Malay Mail is seeking for more information from the Prime Minister's Department.

The council today referred to the Supreme Court decision in the case of Che Omar bin Che Soh v. Public Prosecutor, which defined Islam under Article 3 as relating only to “rituals and ceremonies”.

It noted that involving Jakim in government policy-making may be unconstitutional, as the public sphere only includes Islamic acts related to rituals and ceremonies.

The MCCBCHST wrote that the Supreme Court decision in Che Omar Bin Che Soh V. Public Prosecutor has been upheld in three Federal Court decisions: Indira Gandhi A/P Mutho v. Pengarah Jabatan Agama Islam Perak & 2 others, Iki Putra Bin Mubarak v. Kerajaan Negeri Selangor & Anor (2021), and Nik Elin Zurina Binti Nik Abdul Rashid Anor v. Kerajaan Negeri Kelantan (2024).

Despite that, the group emphasised its support for Article 3(1) of the Constitution which stipulates Islam as the religion of the federation.

However, it argued that Jakim’s role in ensuring government policies align with Islamic principles would fall outside the constitutional scope of the term “Islam” as interpreted by the courts.

The interfaith group today called on the government and MPs to adhere to their oath to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution” and respect the Rukun Negara, which supports cultural diversity in Malaysia.

The council believes that such adherence will ensure unity among all races in Malaysia and contribute to the country’s progress.

Source:malaymail.com

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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/09/02/any-plan-to-place-jakim-officers-in-govt-departments-to-ensure-national-policies-are-islamic-may-clash-with-constitution-interfaith-umbrella-group-says/148946

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Shafee claims Swiss court did not mention Najib’s role in US$1.8b 1MDB fraud conviction of two PetroSaudi officials

By Ida Lim

02 Sep 2024

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 — The Swiss Federal Criminal Court did not mention former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s involvement when convicting two officials of PetroSaudi International for their company’s stealing of US$1.8 billion from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), Najib’s lawyer claimed today.

Najib’s lead defence lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah today raised the Swiss court’s August 28 conviction of Tarek Obaid and Patrick Mahony in the case, and claimed that the Swiss court had rejected the idea that fugitive financier Low Taek Jho was Najib’s representative.

“In the case of conviction of the two representing PetroSaudi International, the court found they misled the entire 1MDB.

“And the court apart from mentioning their defences, which the court rejected, as being the two representatives of Saudi and Jho Low was the representative of Datuk Seri Najib, the court rejected those defences and convicted them six and seven years respectively.

“In convicting them, the court never said anything about the involvement of Datuk Seri Najib,” Shafee claimed as he asked the High Court to take note of the Swiss conviction.

Shafee did not, however, produce news reports or any documents in court regarding this claim.

He said he mentioned this Swiss case as he wanted to introduce his additional point in Najib’s ongoing1MDB trial that there is allegedly “independent testimony and evidence that demolishes any idea that Datuk Seri Najib had authorised Jho Low as his representative in 1MDB”.

Among other things, Shafee today noted that Najib was not asked to testify in the Swiss case involving those two PetroSaudi officials.

“Yang Arif is aware nowadays, especially criminal law proceedings, can go global within seconds.

“Datuk Seri Najib, although has got restriction being a person who is not free, he could easily have been cross-examined or examined-in-chief by way of an audio facility from Switzerland, nobody has ever asked him about that,” he said.

In the 1MDB trial where Najib is being prosecuted over the misappropriation of over RM2.27 billion of 1MDB funds, the prosecution has said it will show that Low --- better known as Jho Low ---- was the mirror image and alter ego of Najib in 1MDB matters.

Najib’s lawyers have criticised the prosecution’s allegation, claiming that it is a fictitious theory.

Najib’s 1MDB trial before judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah resumes this afternoon.

Source:malaymail.com

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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/09/02/shafee-claims-swiss-court-did-not-mention-najibs-role-in-us18b-1mdb-fraud-conviction-of-two-petrosaudi-officials/148975

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Harness National Day spirit to strive for better performance - PM Anwar

BERNAMA

02-09- 2024

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has called on all Malaysians to harness the spirit demonstrated during the National Day 2024 celebrations to drive self-improvement and enhance performance in all areas.

He said the extraordinary success of the 67th National Day celebrations last Saturday proved that when there is determination, all Malaysians are capable of achieving much more.

“I witnessed the Jalur Gemilang being proudly displayed around the world, and we are thankful for the peace and stability in our country and the increasing (patriotic) spirit among our people.

“This spirit is not always consistently present. While we have celebrated 67 years of independence, not every year has seen the same level of enthusiasm. We must harness this spirit to boost our confidence and strive for improvement in all areas.”

Anwar said this when addressing the Prime Minister’s Department monthly assembly here today.

This year’s National Day was celebrated at Dataran Putrajaya under the theme ‘Malaysia MADANI: Jiwa Merdeka.’

Over 100,000 Malaysians from various races, religions and backgrounds attended the celebration to showcase their love for the nation, while enjoying a variety of performances and witnessing the parade of national assets, including defence assets.

Source:thesun.my

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https://thesun.my/local-news/harness-national-day-spirit-to-strive-for-better-performance-pm-anwar-DO12948975

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Health minister: Malaysia to receive antiviral drug and vaccine for mpox through Asean fund

 02 Sep 2024

By Dawn Chin

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 2 — Malaysia is set to receive the antiviral drug Tecovirimat (TPOXX) and the MVA-BN vaccine for mpox through the Covid-19 Asean Response Fund, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad.

Tecovirimat will be used to treat mpox, particularly for patients with severe infections or those with weakened immune systems, he announced in two posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, today.

He wrote, “MVA-BN mpox vaccination is only given based on examination and evaluation by medical experts. No general vaccinations.”

Dzulkefl added that the MVA-BN vaccine would be “reserved for high-risk groups, including healthcare workers and close contacts of confirmed cases.”

The World Health Organisation has declared an outbreak of mpox, a viral infection spread through close contact, as a global health emergency for the second time in two years.

In response, the Ministry of Health (MoH), in collaboration with Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd, has tightened screening procedures for travellers entering through Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1 as of August 29.

Dzulkefly said that every traveller arriving on international flights would be screened by thermal scanners to prevent mpox transmission.

The government has also activated a special operations room at the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre since August 16 to monitor and prevent the spread of mpox in coordination with other Asean countries.

The MoH stated that no suspected mpox cases have been detected among the nearly 2.64 million travellers screened at the country’s international entry points since August 16.

Source:malaymail.com

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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/09/02/health-minister-malaysia-to-receive-antiviral-drug-and-vaccine-for-mpox-through-asean-fund/148983

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PM Anwar and NZ counterpart Luxon call for ceasefire in Gaza conflict, seek two-state solution

02 Sep 2024

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 — Malaysia Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his New Zealand counterpart Chris Luxon today said they were united in calling for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict in Gaza and finding a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.

“We both are very united in calling for an immediate ceasefire, getting the parties around the negotiating table and finding a two-state solution,” Luxon said at a joint press conference.

Anwar said prospects for a ceasefire did not look encouraging at present, saying there was a lack of commitment from countries, particularly the United States, who could exert their influence to stop the conflict.

“The only hope is to engage the United States to take a stronger stance,” Anwar said.

Muslim-majority Malaysia is a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause and has long advocated a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

Anwar has good relations with the political leadership of Palestinian group Hamas but maintains he has no involvement in its military apparatus.

Luxon, who is on a three-day visit to Malaysia, also said New Zealand would expand defence cooperation with Malaysia and was deploying one of its air force’s P8 Poseidon patrol and reconnaissance aircraft to Butterworth in Malaysia’s northern Penang state, for a joint exercise. — Reuters

Source:malaymail.com

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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/09/02/pm-anwar-and-nz-counterpart-luxon-call-for-ceasefire-in-gaza-conflict-seek-two-state-solution/148967

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Indonesia to Partner with Africa Amid Slow Progress on UN Development Goals

Jayanty Nada Shofa

 September 2, 2024

Jakarta. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo recently told African leaders of Jakarta's intentions to establish partnerships with the said continent as countries race against time to work towards the UN's plan for a better world.

The global sustainable development goals (SDGs) -- and their sluggish progress -- dominated Jokowi’s speech at the Indonesia-Africa Forum in Bali. The SDGs are a universal call to action made by UN members to end poverty and world hunger, among others, by 2030.

But a recent UN report even showed that only 17 percent of the SDG targets were on track, sparking fears that having a better world could just be another pipe dream. The world even saw an additional 23 million people get pushed into extreme poverty, and over 100 million more suffered from hunger in 2022 versus 2019.

Speaking in front of his African counterparts including Liberian President Joseph Nyumah Boakai and Zimbabwean Veep Kembo Mohadi, Jokowi said that the world’s “multilateralism spirit” had waned amidst geopolitical challenges and economic slowdowns.

“Developing countries are the ones who suffer the most because of it. Millions of people in developing nations are the ones who struggle the most. And we only have six years until 2030, but we have only achieved 17 percent of the SDG targets,”  Jokowi told the Bali forum.

“Indonesia is ready to partner with anyone, especially with Africa, as a key to achieving the global development agenda,” Jokowi said.

Jokowi then revealed that the three-day Bali Forum recorded business deal commitments worth approximately $3.5 billion as a means to show Jakarta’s willingness to partner with Africa. Jokowi spoke of the need to align the SDGs with national and regional agenda, including Africa 2063 -- the continent’s signature blueprint which sums up its aspirations to be a global powerhouse.

“Indonesia vows to be a bridge builder to fight for equality, justice, and solidarity in accelerating the SDG progress,” the Indonesian leader said.

Source:jakartaglobe.id

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https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesia-to-partner-with-africa-amid-slow-progress-on-un-development-goals

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URL:   https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/bengali-muslim-miya-assam/d/133105

 

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