Trial Court Judge Apologises Before Allahabad High Court for Discriminating Against Muslim Lawyer

New Age Islam News Bureau

17 April 2024

  

The Allahabad High Court. | Sanjay Kanojia / AFP

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·         Trial Court Judge Apologises Before Allahabad High Court for Discriminating Against Muslim Lawyer

·         NYT Tells Journalists Covering Israel’s War to Avoid Words ‘Genocide,’ ‘Ethnic Cleansing’ And ‘Occupied Territory’: Report

·         ‘Green Islam’: Indonesia’s Clerics Chip in To Fight Climate Change

·         Saudi Couple, Khalid Al-Zahrani and Haifa Mahzari, Aim to Bring Art of Yoga to Every Home

·         70,000 Pro-Palestine People in UK Urge London to End Arms Exports to Israel

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India

·         Mathura Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Dispute Maintainable, Argues Hindu Side In Allahabad HC

·         Kerala: Austrian Jewish tourist tears down pro-Palestine mural, booked

·         Muslim Candidates Continue to Be Underrepresented inKarnataka Electoral Fray

·         Monitoring Israel-Hamas War to Train Soldiers to Tackle Similar Situations: Army

·         Indian on-board ship captured by Iran speaks to family: ‘Have enough food, doing duties as usual’

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North America

·         US president faces pro-Palestinian protest in his hometown

·         US, Europe to up Iran sanctions as Israel pressed to ditch threatened retaliation

·         US to impose new sanctions targeting Iran's missile and drone program

·         Blinken tells Jewish leaders in the US does not want Israel to ‘escalate’ after Iran attack

·         Declare India ‘Country of Particular Concern’, Demands Indian American Muslim Council

·         Encourage India, Pakistan to find resolution via talks: U.S. on alleged anti-terror ops across border

·         Trudeau To Introduce ‘Halal Mortgage’ For Muslims In Canada, Bans Foreigners From Buying Home For 2 Years

·         CAIR Condemns Latest Israeli Massacre of Children in Gaza, Attempts to Lure People to Death with Fake Baby Cries, Destruction of Homes in ‘Buffer Zone’

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Southeast Asia

·         Pastor Gilbert Lumoindong Reported to the Police for Sermon on Islam and Zakat

·         Religious counsellors to support govt priority programs: Ministry

·         DPR seeks government's proactive approach to Iran-Israel conflict

·         Minister Marsudi urges US to help de-escalate Iran-Israel tension

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Arab World

·         Saudi Arabia to host Islamic Development Bank Group annual meetings and golden jubilee

·         Saudi crown prince discusses military escalation in the region with UAE president, Qatar emir

·         OIC calls for action amid Gaza crisis at Jordan meeting

·         Saudi air force to participate in Desert Flag drill in UAE

·         Dr. Al Rabeeah Announces the Kingdom's Humanitarian Plan for Sudan and its Neighbouring Countries

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Europe

·         Spanish PM Vows to Work for Palestine's Full UN Membership

·         Palestine Conference: Germany is complicit with Zionist enemy entity

·         Protesters in Croatia call on Germany to stop supporting Gaza genocide

·         France condemns violence by illegal Jewish settlers against Palestinians

·         Italy foreign minister calls on Israel to halt military operations in Gaza

·         Petition calling for suspension of UK arms sales to Israel handed to Downing Street

·         Scottish Government gives go ahead to capital’s first Muslim faith school despite council’s fears

·         Putin: Iran’s Retaliatory Attack on Israel Best Way To Punish Aggressor

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Pakistan

·         Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to Stage Sit-In for Imran Khan’s Release

·         Pakistan and Saudi Arabia call for Gaza ceasefire, lament efforts so far

·         President, Saudi FM discuss challenges being faced by Muslim Ummah

·         Army sees Afghanistan-based terrorists acting as proxies against CPEC

·         Imran condemns Bahawalnagar incident, calls for equal law for all

·         COAS, Saudi FM discuss bilateral cooperation in various sectors

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South Asia

·         Iran's Dep Envoy: Islamic Emirate Opposition Barred from Political Activity

·         US Military Review: ISIS Kabul Airport Bombing In 2021 Not Preventable

·         Second Phase of Migrant Deportation; Over 50 Afghans Expelled from Pakistan

·         Delegates of Afghan Union in Europe Meet with Mawlawi Abdul Kabir

·         President urges universities to adopt world class curricula

·         Hekmatyar slams US for ‘occupying’ Afghanistan’s airspace

·         Economy Ministry’s data on NGOs and Institutions in Afghanistan raises doubts

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Mideast

·         Prisoners’ Institutions Say 9,500 Detainees in Enemy Prisons, Including More Than 200 Children, 80 Female Detainees

·         King Abdullah II: Jordan Won’t Become ‘Theatre of War’ Between Israel and Iran

·         Israeli tanks push back in northern Gaza Strip, warplanes hit Rafah

·         Israeli war cabinet puts off third meeting on Iran’s attack to Wednesday

·         1.7 million Palestinians forcibly displaced in Gaza: UNHCR

·         Israel Kills Local Hezbollah Commander InLebanon Strike

·         Israel has lost deterrence against Iran: Islamic Jihad

·         Iran's attack on Israel united Islamic world against Zionists

·         Gaza Media Gov. says Zionist enemy seeks to displace people of Beit Hanoun, of eastern region Jabalia

·         UN Security Council expected to vote on Palestine's UN bid soon

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Africa

·         Over 30 Boko Haram Fighters Killed in Borno Air Raid – Nigerian Air Force

·         Miyetti Allah demands immediate release of national president, Bodejo

·         Our democracy in danger – APC members frown at alleged suspension of Ganduje

·         UN Libya envoy Abdoulaye Bathily resigns amidst mediation challenges

·         Nigeria, Israel Set to Deepen Cooperation In Sustainable Agriculture Initiatives

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Australia

·         Father Of Boy Accused Of Stabbing 2 Sydney Clerics Saw No Signs Of Extremism, Muslim Leader Says

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

URL:   https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/court-judge-apologises-muslim-lawyer/d/132150

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Trial Court Judge Apologises Before Allahabad High Court For Discriminating Against Muslim Lawyer

 

The Allahabad High Court. | Sanjay Kanojia / AFP

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Apr 16, 2024

A trial court judge on Monday apologised before the Allahabad High Court after he was summoned for religious discrimination against a Muslim lawyer and making observations about the Muslim community in his orders, reported Bar and Bench.

The bench of Justice Shamim Ahmed had last month stayed the orders passed by Additional District and Sessions Judge Vivekanand Sharan Tripathi in a case pertaining to alleged forced religious conversions by Muslim clerics. This was after one of the persons accused in the case moved the High Court.

The case in the trial court was filed by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad against two Muslim clerics, Mohammad Umar Gautam and Mufti Qazi Jahangir Alam Qasmi, and other persons.

On January 19, Tripathi had acted against the men’s wishes in appointing an amicus curia to represent them in the trial. Tripathi did so citing that the counsel for the accused men, a Muslim, often left the court to offer prayers.

On April 3, the High Court said that this move shows “clear discrimination on the part of the trial court on the basis of religion, which is a clear violation of fundamental right enshrined in Article 15 of the Constitution of India”.

Article 15 guarantees that the state will not discriminate against any person on the basis of their religion, caste or sex. The High Court held that Tripathi had “clearly discriminated” against one community solely on the basis of religion.

The High Court also observed that the trial court had failed to provide the accused men with electronic copies of the evidence being relied on to prosecute them.

“It is a cardinal principal that a person tried of serious offence should be furnished with all the material and evidences in advance,” the High Court said. “Any other view would not only impinge upon the statutory mandate contained in CrPC [Code of Criminal Procedure] but also the right of the applicant to a fair trial.”

Following the court’s orders, Tripathi appeared before the single-judge bench and offered an unconditional apology for his conduct, reported Bar and Bench. Tripathi said that he had passed the orders “under misconception” and would remain cautious in future.

The High Court in its order on April 3 remarked that judges must be held accountable to legal and ethical standards. “In holding them accountable for their behaviour, judicial conduct review must be performed without invading the independence of judicial decision-making,” the court said.

Source: scroll.in

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NYT Tells Journalists Covering Israel’s War To Avoid Words ‘Genocide,’ ‘Ethnic Cleansing’ And ‘Occupied Territory’: Report

 

Pro-Palestine protesters flood the lobby of the New York Times offices and block the security entrances during a demonstration against the newspaper’s coverage of Israel's war on Gaza on March 14, 2024, in New York City. Photo: Michael Nigro/Sipa via AP Images

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16 April 2024

It has been revealed by an online American investigation publication that the New York Times has instructed reporters and journalists covering Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to restrict the use of the terms “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” and to “avoid” using the phrase “occupied territory” for the Palestinian lands occupied by Israel.

The Intercept obtained a copy of a New York Times internal memo that also instructs reporters not to use the word Palestine “except in very rare cases.”

The memo — written by Times standards editor Susan Wessling, international editor Philip Pan, and their deputies — also asks journalists to steer clear of the term “refugee camps” to describe areas of Gaza historically settled by displaced Palestinians expelled from other parts of Palestine during previous Israeli–Arab wars.

The United Nations recognizes these areas as refugee camps that house hundreds of thousands of registered refugees.

The memo “offers guidance about some terms and other issues we have grappled with since the start of the conflict in October.”

Several Times staffers told The Intercept that the memo proves the paper follows Israeli narratives.

“It’s the kind of thing that looks professional and logical if you have no knowledge of the historical context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” said a Times newsroom source, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, of the Gaza memo.

“But if you do know, it will be clear how apologetic it is to Israel,” the source added.

The Intercept writes that the memo presents an internal window into the thoughts of Times international editors.

The memo was first distributed to Times journalists in November.  It has been regularly since then.

The regime began the genocidal campaign in Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Israel has killed at least 33,800 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, since.

The Save the Children organization is deeply alarmed by the toll and suffering being exacted on children in the Gaza Strip.

According to the charity, more than 14,500 of Gaza’s 1.1 million children have been killed. And thousands more are missing, presumed buried under the rubble, their deaths unmarked.

The life-saving aid that families rely on has either been drip-fed or denied by Israeli authorities – while essential services have been decimated by ongoing Israeli hostilities.

The Global Education Cluster estimates that as of March 30, 87.7% of all school buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed.

Source: presstv.ir

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‘Green Islam’: Indonesia’s Clerics Chip In To Fight Climate Change

 

Inspecting solar panels that provide electrical power to Istiqlal Mosque in December in Jakarta, Indonesia.

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APR 17, 2024

JAKARTA – The faithful gathered in an imposing modernist building, thousands of men in skullcaps and women in veils sitting shoulder to shoulder. Their leader took to his perch and delivered a stark warning.

“Our fatal shortcomings as human beings have been that we treat the earth as just an object,” Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar said. “The greedier we are toward nature, the sooner doomsday will arrive.”

Then he prescribed the cure as laid out by their faith, which guides almost one-quarter of humanity. Like fasting during Ramadan, it is every Muslim’s Fard al-Ayn, or obligation, to be a guardian of the earth. Like they give alms, his congregants should give waqf, a kind of religious donation, to renewable energy. Like daily prayers, planting trees should be a habit.

The environment is a central theme in the sermons of Mr Nasaruddin, the influential head of the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, who has tried to lead by example.

Dismayed by the rubbish sullying the river that the mosque sits on, he ordered a clean-up.

Shocked by astronomical utility bills, he retrofitted South-east Asia’s largest mosque with solar panels, slow-flow faucets and a water recycling system – changes that helped make it the first place of worship to win a green building accolade from the World Bank.

The grand imam says he is simply following the Prophet Muhammad’s instructions that Muslims should care about nature.

He is not alone in this country of more than 200 million people, the majority of them Muslims, in trying to kindle an environmental awakening through Islam. Top clergy have issued fatwas, or edicts, on how to rein in climate change. Neighbourhood activists are beseeching friends, family and neighbours that environmentalism is embedded in the Quran.

“As the country with the largest number of Muslim people in the world, we have to set a good example for Muslim society,” Mr Nasaruddin said in an interview.

While other Muslim nations also have strains of this “Green Islam” movement, Indonesia could be a guide for the rest of the world if it can transform itself. The world’s biggest exporter of coal, it is one of the top global emitters of greenhouse gases. Thousands of hectares of its rainforests have been cleared to produce palm oil or dig for minerals. Wildfires and flooding have become more intense, byproducts of the extreme weather propelled by higher temperatures.

Lasting change is a tall order.

Its vast reserves of nickel, which is used in electric car batteries, are a pathway to a cleaner future. But processing nickel requires burning fossil fuels.

President-elect Prabowo Subianto has campaigned to expand production of biofuels that could lead to deforestation. With the capital, Jakarta, sinking into the sea, the departing president, Mr Joko Widodo, is building a new capital that is billed as a green metropolis powered by renewable energy. But to do this, he has cleared forests.

Some clerics see environmentalism as peripheral to religion. And surveys suggest there is a widespread belief among Indonesians that climate change is not caused by human activity.

But educating 200 million Muslims, the proponents of the Green Islam movement say, can drive the change.

“People will not listen to laws, they don’t care,” said Mr Hayu Prabowo, the head of environmental protection at the Indonesian Ulema Council, the nation’s highest Islamic authority. “They listen to religious leaders because their religious leaders say you can escape worldly laws, but you cannot escape God’s laws.”

The fatwas issued by the council are not legally binding, but he said they have had a notable effect. He pointed to studies that found that people living in areas with rich forests and peatlands are now more aware that it is wrong to clear these lands because of the fatwas declaring these activities as haram, or forbidden.

Clerics have not always been on board with the movement. Two decades ago, a regional branch of the Ulema Council issued a fatwa against Mr Aak Abdullah al-Kudus, an environmentalist in East Java province who tried to combine a tree-planting campaign with the celebration of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. He also received death threats.

But support for Mr Aak grew over time, and he went on to start the Green Army, a group of tree-planting volunteers working to reforest Mount Lemongan, a small volcano where 2,000ha of protected forest had been cut down. Today it is covered with verdant bamboo and fruit trees.

“Our task is to be khalifahs, the guardians, of the earth,” Mr Aak said. “That is the mission of Islam.”

Ms Elok Faiqotul Mutia was inspired by the same sentiment. When she was six and growing up in a city in central Java, her father took her along to teak forests where she watched trees being cut down for her family’s furniture business. She said she wanted to “replace my father’s sins to the earth”.

One of her first jobs was as a researcher for Greenpeace. She later founded Enter Nusantara, an organisation that aims to educate youth on climate change.

Ms Mutia said she believed Islam could offer Indonesians a gentler message about environmental conservation, pointing to a survey that found that Indonesian Muslims heed religious leaders more than scientists, the media and the president.

“Environmental activism always uses negative terms like ‘Phase out coal, reject coal power plants!’” Ms Mutia said. “We want to show that in Islam, we already have values that support environmental values.”

Last June, her group raised more than US$5,300 (S$7,230) so that a small mosque in the city of Yogyakarta could install solar panels. More than 5,500 people donated funds, which went to the Al-Muharram Mosque, where congregants often sat in darkness because of chronic power shortages.

The new panels helped slash the mosque’s monthly power bill, its leader AnantoIsworo said. Congregants were already using harvested rainwater to cleanse themselves.

Mr Ananto said many of his peers call him the “crazy ustaz”, or the “crazy Muslim teacher”, saying preaching about the environment has nothing to do with religion. He counters by saying there are roughly 700 verses in the Quran and dozens of hadiths, or sayings, by the Prophet Muhammad that speak about the environment. He cites Muhammad’s dictum: “God is kind and likes kindness, God is clean and likes cleanliness.”

“This is an order to preserve the environment by cleaning it,” Mr Ananto said.

The Istiqlal Mosque is a testament to what can be achieved. Mr Nasaruddin said installing 500 solar panels has lowered the mosque’s power bill by 25 per cent. With slow-flow faucets and a water recycling system, worshippers use far less water to cleanse themselves before prayers.

It was the first place of worship in the world to be awarded a green building certificate by the World Bank’s International Finance Corp. The grand imam said that he wants to help transform 70 per cent of Indonesia’s 800,000 mosques into “eco-masjids”, or ecological mosques.

The Green Islam movement is also getting a push from Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, the country’s largest Muslim grassroots organisations, which fund schools, hospitals and social services. Nahdlatul Ulama has recruited Mr Aak, the environmental activist, for its “spiritual ecology” programme that uses Islamic teachings to drive environmental conservation.

One effort involves helping Islamic schools upgrade their waste management. Girls are encouraged to use reusable tampons, and the schools have a system that allows students to turn waste into things such as organic fertiliser.

On a recent Tuesday, Mr Aak led about four dozen 12-year-olds up a small hill on a Green Army mission. Many of the students were panting and sweating as they carried backpacks with plants poking out of them.

“Let’s pray to Allah and plant more often, because the Prophet Muhammad once said that even if you know that the end of the world is tomorrow and there are still seeds in the ground, he ordered: ‘Plant them,’” Mr Aak said to them.

Stopping near the top of the hill, Mr Aak knelt down to plant a banyan sapling. A breeze blew through, rustling the leaves of the nearby trees. NYTIMES
Source: straitstimes.com

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Saudi Couple, Khalid Al-Zahrani and Haifa Mahzari, Aim to Bring Art of Yoga to Every Home

 

Khalid Al-Zahrani and his wife Haifa Mahzari with one of their students. (Supplied)

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April 16, 2024

JEDDAH: Khalid Al-Zahrani and Haifa Mahzari are a young Saudi couple who aspire to bring the benefits of yoga to every home.

They spent years researching and practicing yoga before launching Ananda Yoga Studio in Jeddah in 2019, and offered free courses and continue to give back to the community.

“Yoga has a significant impact on the mind and body. We want to help those in need and promote yoga to all ages because it is beneficial to joints and can be practiced at any age,” Mahzari said. “We also offer voluntary and awareness classes.”

Mahzari knew very little about yoga when she first met Al-Zahrani, but his commitment to the practice inspired her to give it a try. After reading books about yoga and doing research, she realized the value and health advantages of the practice and developed an obsession with it.

Al-Zahrani had trained under numerous instructors. Nouf Al-Marwaai, the first Saudi yoga acharya, first Arab recipient of the Padma Shri Award and president of the Saudi Yoga Committee, was one of the trainers who saw his dedication.

“I obtained a 200-hour instructor certificate and a 500-hour master certificate, and I have a level one and two Himalayan meditation certificate,” he said.

Al-Zahrani added: “We competed in a competitive yoga tournament and won the gold and silver medals in 2023 and two gold, two silver and one bronze medal in 2024.”

The tournament was organized by the Saudi Yoga Committee under the umbrella of the Ministry of Sport.

Al-Zahrani received support from the committee to open Ananda Yoga and was awarded many gold medals at the Saudi Yoga Asana Championship.

The International Yoga Sports Federation nominated Al-Zahrani for a scholarship in April, for the “advanced international yoga asana coach” certification program.

This is in recognition of his work founding the first Saudi yoga asana squad, called “Team Ananda,” which competed in several regional competitions, winning first place.

“The Saudi Yoga Committee has given me unending support, whether it be through the courses they helped me complete, the certifications they gave me, the yoga judges courses or the scholarship to (attend the) yoga instructor training program in Switzerland at their headquarters,” Al-Zahrani said.

Many have trained at Ananda Yoga Studio, making it a success story for yoga enthusiasts in Jeddah, and with plans to open more locations throughout the Kingdom. 

Al-Zahrani said that the Kingdom was encouraging yoga practice and its dissemination as it fostered a healthier community, both physically and spiritually.

Numerous yoga sessions are offered by the studio, including children’s yoga and yoga for anxiety and stress, among others. The center also offers qualified instructors for kung fu, shaolin, chi kung and other Chinese martial arts.

Source: arabnews.com

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70,000 Pro-Palestine People In UK Urge London To End Arms Exports To Israel

 

(L to R) Brendan O’Hara MP, Beth Winter MP, Richard Burgon MP, PSC Director Ben Jamal, War on Want Director Asad Rehman, Alison Thewliss MP and Chris Law MP are seen outside 10 Downing Street on April 16, 2024 as they deliver a petition calling for an end to arms sales to Israel. (Photo by Palestine Solidarity Campaign)

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16 April 2024

Nearly 70,000 people have signed a petition calling on 10 Downing Street to put an end to Britain’s arms exports to Israel.

The petition was launched by Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and a cross party group of British lawmakers.

It came as Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, MP Alicia Kearns, has already admitted that the Foreign Office has received “official legal advice that Israel has broken international humanitarian law, but the government has not announced it.”

The UK’s arms export guidelines maintain that it “will not grant a license if it determines there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”

On Monday, Labour MP Zarah Sultana grilled Prime Minister Rishi Sunak when she asked him whether Kearns told the truth about Israel’s violation of international humanitarian law.

“Was the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee telling the truth – yes or no?” Sultana asked Sunak, who refused to deny that the Foreign Office had received such legal advice. “Israel is committed and capable of complying with international humanitarian law,” Sunak said.

His remarks came as a majority of Britons have called on London to no longer give arms to Israel, whose military has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip since October 7.

They fear Israel may be using British-made weapons in military actions that violate international law in the Palestinian territory.

More than 1,000 lawyers, academics, and retired judges, including former president of the Supreme Court Baroness Hale, have signed an open letter underscoring that the constant flow of British arms into Israel puts the UK in clear breach of international law.

Late March, a cross party group of 135 lawmakers wrote to the foreign and business secretaries, stating the case for a suspension of arms export licenses to Israel is “overwhelming.”

Canada, Japan, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands have already announced they no longer ship arms to Israel.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, however, said on April 9 that the UK would keep exporting arms to the occupying regime anyway and that London’s position in this regard remained “unchanged.”

Sunak echoed Cameron’s remarks on April 10. He said arms exports to Israel would continue as before and that the flow would not be suspended.

Early this month, Israel’s deadly strikes on the World Central Kitchen (WCK) in central Gaza drew worldwide condemnation.

Three of the WCK aid workers killed by Israeli airstrikes were Britons, who were all UK military veterans working on its security team.

Britain supplied 42 million pounds ($53 million) of arms to Israel in 2022.

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India

 

Mathura Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi IdgahDispute Maintainable, Argues Hindu Side InAllahabad HC

16th April 2024

Marziya Sharif 

Prayagraj: The Hindu side submitted Tuesday in the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute in the Allahabad High Court that the suit is maintainable and the plea regarding application of the places of worship Act and the waqf Act can only be determined by evidence.

The matter is being heard by Justice Mayank Kumar Jain on applications under Order VII Rule 11 of Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC), moved by the Muslim side regarding maintainability of suits.

Under Order VII Rule 11 of CPC, the court is empowered to summarily dismiss a suit at the threshold, without proceeding to record evidence and conducting a trial, on the basis of the evidence adduced, if it is satisfied that the action should be terminated on any of the grounds contained in this provision.

The court fixed April 22 as the next date of hearing.

In reply to the arguments raised by the Muslim side, the counsel for the Hindu side, Vishnu Shankar Jain, submitted that the suit is maintainable and the plea regarding the application of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 as well as the Waqf Act, 1995 can only be determined by evidence by the parties in suit and cannot be decided while hearing an application under Order VII Rule 11 of CPC.

Jain said the waqf Act will not apply merely by saying that now a mosque exists there. The religious character of the property cannot be changed merely by demolishing it.

He further submitted that it has to be seen and decided whether the alleged waqf deed is valid or not. All these things have to be seen in trial and thus, the present suit is maintainable, Jain said.

On the question of limitation, he said the present suit has been filed well within time. The alleged compromise of 1968 came to knowledge of the plaintiff in 2020 and within three years of knowledge, the suit has been filed, he said.

Jain further submitted that it was also said if the Sibayat or trust is negligent and not performing its duty, the deity can come forward through the next friend and can file suit. In such a case, the question of limitation does not arise, he added.

Earlier, arguing on behalf of the Muslim side, Taslima Aziz Ahmadi had appeared through video conference and submitted that the suit is barred by limitation.

According to her, the parties had entered into a compromise on October 12, 1968 and the said compromise has been confirmed in a civil suit decided in 1974. The limitation to challenge a compromise is three years but the suit has been filed in 2020 and thus, the present suit is barred by limitation, she argued.

She further submitted that the suit has been filed for possession after the removal of structure of Shahi Idgah masjid as well as for restoration of the temple and for permanent injunction.

The prayer in the suit shows the structure of the masjid is there and the committee of management is in possession of the same, Ahmadi said.

She said in this way, a question or a dispute has been raised on the waqf property and thus, the provisions of waqf Act will apply. In such cases, it is the waqf tribunal which has jurisdiction to hear the matter and not a civil court, she added.

Ahmadi argued that the suit is not maintainable as it is barred by the provisions of the waqf Act as well as the places of worship Act.

Source: siasat.com

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Kerala: Austrian Jewish tourist tears down pro-Palestine mural, booked

 17th April 2024

An Austrian Jewish tourist was summoned by Kerala Police after a video of her tearing down a pro-Palestinian mural in Fort Kochi, Ernakulam district, went viral on social media.

The incident occurred on Monday night near the Fort Kochi boat jetty, where the tourist allegedly destroyed a pro-Palestine poster put up by the Students Islamic Organisation (SIO).

The police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the woman at the Fort Kochi police station under Indian Penal Code section 153 (wantonly giving provocation with the intent to cause riot, whether or not riot is committed). The offense is bailable, and the woman was released from the station.

The altercation began when the woman tore down a pro-Palestine poster that the SIO had erected. Local youths confronted the tourists, leading to a heated debate between the two parties.

On Tuesday, K S Azeem, the area leader of the SIO, filed a complaint with the police, seeking action against the woman. SIO activists managed to trace the woman to a homestay near Fort Kochi.

Despite the complaint, the police initially showed reluctance to take action. This led to a large gathering of SIO activists at the police station on Tuesday night, demanding that a case be filed and strict action against the woman.

The police were reluctant to respond at first, even after receiving the report. Subsequently, a large gathering of SIO activists gathered at the police station on Tuesday night and demanded that the woman be subjected to severe consequences and that a case be launched.

The SIO also staged a protest in front of the police station as the situation worsened. Around Tuesday midnight, the crowd demanded that they wouldn’t leave until a case had been filed.

The pro-Palestine posters had been put up during the New Year celebrations. The police stated that no permission had been granted to erect the posters in public places, but it was the responsibility of the local civic body to remove them.

The woman’s identity has not been revealed, and it is not clear whether she has been charged with any other offenses. The Kerala Police have not issued any statement on the matter, and it is unclear whether any further action will be taken against the woman.

Source: siasat.com

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Muslim candidates continue to be underrepresented in Karnataka electoral fray

April 16, 2024

HARIPRIYA SUREBAN

The Muslim community in Karnataka constitutes 13 per cent vote share but continues to be poorly represented in the political fray. In the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections, only one of the 58 candidates announced by the three major parties is Muslim.

The Congress’ Mansoor Ali Khan, son of veteran Congress leader Rehman Khan, will contest from Bengaluru Central - a largely minority-populated constituency - against BJP’s three-time winner P C Mohan.

The party has received flak for not guaranteeing enough tickets for Muslim candidates. Before Congress leaders announced the list, Muslim leaders in the party had demanded at least three seats for their community.

Muslim representation

Historically, Muslim representation in the polls has been weak in the State. Even in the last (2019) Lok Sabha polls, Congress’ Rizwan Ahmed for the Bengaluru Central constituency was the only Muslim candidate. Tracking back, 2014 and 2009 saw three Muslim candidates and 2004 saw four Muslim candidates.

The Congress, BJP and JD(S) together have allotted seats to only 11 Muslim candidates in the past four elections, according to reports. The only Muslim MP who made it to the Lok Sabha was Iqbal Ahmed Saradgi from Gulbarga, way back in 2004.

Growing majoritarianism and polarisation in the country are counted as reasons for the persistent decline in Muslim leaders coming to the forefront. Political analyst Rajendra Chenni notes that the right-wing parties have openly said they do not need the Muslim vote bank to win the elections, which is quite different from the earlier rhetoric that there was a need to at least cater to the Muslim voter bank.

Even in the Left wing parties, the number of Muslim candidates has been falling over the years because there is not much focus on grooming such candidates and bringing them to the forefront. “It’s challenging to see improvement on the horizon because the prevailing political strategy relies heavily on polarisation, which appears to be effective. This mindset is increasingly permeating the entire political landscape, where even parties that champion secularism find themselves embracing polarisation tactics during elections,” he said.

Source: thehindubusinessline.com

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https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/elections/muslim-candidates-continue-to-be-underrepresented-in-karnataka-electoral-fray/article68072273.ece

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Monitoring Israel-Hamas war to train soldiers to tackle similar situations: Army

16th April 2024

Marziya Sharif

Shimla: The Indian Army has been monitoring the Israel-Hamas conflict so that its soldiers are trained to tackle similar situations on the border if terrorist attacks are launched from Pakistan or any other country, the general heading the Army Training Command said here on Tuesday.

“We are also closely watching the Russia- Ukraine war for three years to know how the drones and new technologies are impacting the war,” Lt Gen Manjinder Singh, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Shimla base Army Training Command (ARTRAC) also said.

Addressing mediapersons after the investiture ceremony of ARTRAC, Singh said the Army has to understand and study these scenarios so that it is prepared if it has to undergo a similar situation tomorrow.

So the training content imparted to soldiers and field army is made accordingly to prepare them for such contingencies, he said.

The Israel-Hamas war is a “classic case where we may also be impacted by similar situations on our borders with Pakistan or another country with terrorist attacks”, so military training has to be relevant, Lt gen Singh said.

“War is a dynamic and evolving process and what wins you the last war may not be very good to win the next war and when economy evolves, threats also evolve. It is for the military commanders to be aware about it,” he added.

ARTRAC is unique in nature and different from the other six operational Commands of the Indian Army, mandated to ensure operational preparedness through institutionalised training in the Army, a statement issued here said.

With 34 training establishments under it pan-India reach, the ARTRAC encompasses conceptualisation and implementation of training in 8 specialised fields covering a wide spectrum to include Agniveer training, officers’ pre-commission training, combat arms and combat support arms training, technical, logistic, specialist and leadership training, it said.

Over the time, the Indian Army has not only become self-reliant with 90 per cent of its requirements being met indigenously but defence equipment worth Rs 35,000 crore has also been exported, Singh said.

“We also focus on training the foreign students who come to India and send our officers and students abroad for training,” he said.

“We have 11 mobile training teams deployed in friendly foreign countries on request of their embassies. We are subscribing for 22 foreign courses in eight foreign countries and also offering 273 courses to 74 foreign countries to learn best practices,” he added.

Source: siasat.com

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https://www.siasat.com/monitoring-israel-hamas-war-to-train-soldiers-to-tackle-similar-situations-army-3009977/

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Indian on board ship captured by Iran speaks to family: ‘Have enough food, doing duties as usual’

April 17, 2024

For the first time since Israel-linked cargo ship ‘MSC Aries’ was seized by Iran’s military near the strait of Hormuz in the Gulf of Oman on April 13, one of the 17 Indian sailors on board the ship was allowed to speak to his brother Monday evening after the Indian Embassy in Iran intervened.

Michael, the brother of one of the sailors, told The Indian Express, “He spoke for about 30 minutes yesterday (Monday) evening, reportedly after Indian officials visited the Iranian officers guarding the ship. They seem to have made a request to allow the crew to use phones and laptops for an hour every day. They were in custody and not allowed to use any communication equipment.”

Michael’s brother assured the family they were not harmed by Iranian officers. “They have a proper supply and enough stock of food. The ship is anchored off the coast of Bandar Abbas Port. He said they are performing operational duties on board as usual,” Michael said.

“We are worried about his safety as tensions in that region seem to be escalating. We hope that the Indian authorities will take immediate steps for their rescue and return to India. We are waiting for a response (from the Indian authorities),” he said.

The ship, with 25 crew members on board, owned by an Israeli businessman and flying the Portuguese flag, was reportedly leased for operations by a Swiss company. Among the 17 Indians are four Tamils. An official with the Commissionerate of Rehabilitation and Non-Resident Tamils said two of the Tamils on the ship are from Thoothukudi, one from Cuddalore, and another from Mannargudi.

The Tamil Nadu government has written to the Ministry of External Affairs seeking information and help for the crew members on board the ship, which was headed for India.

The ship’s capture comes amid tensions between Israel and Iran, which escalated following an Israeli airstrike on April 1 on the Iranian embassy in Damascus, killing 16 people, including senior officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

On Sunday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar dialled his Iranian counterpart H Amir Abdollahian and demanded the release of all the 17 Indian crew members. “Discussed the current situation in the region. Stressed the importance of avoiding escalation, exercising restraint, and returning to diplomacy. Agreed to remain in touch,” Jaishankar had tweeted.

Source: indianexpress.com

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https://indianexpress.com/article/india/indian-ship-captured-iran-family-9274060/

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North America

 

US president faces pro-Palestinian protest in his hometown

Diyar Guldogan

17.04.2024

US President Joe Biden was confronted by protesters in his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania on Tuesday over his backing for Israel’s war on Gaza.

As Biden’s motorcade was making its way to his next campaign event from the Scranton Cultural Center, a crowd of protesters chanted: "Biden, Biden you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide."

Carrying Palestinian flags, they also chanted: "Free freefree Palestine."

Israel has waged a military offensive on Gaza since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October, which killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 33,800 Palestinians have since been killed and 76,600 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the seaside enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while much of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in January issued an interim ruling that ordered it to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Source: aa.com.tr

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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-president-faces-pro-palestinian-protest-in-his-hometown/3193737

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US, Europe to up Iran sanctions as Israel pressed to ditch threatened retaliation

LAZAR BERMAN

16 April 2024,

The United States and European allies redoubled efforts Tuesday to press Israel for restraint following Iran’s unprecedented weekend bombardment, promising to levy tough sanctions on Tehran’s ability to sell oil and build attack drones.

Western powers fear an Israeli retaliation could plunge the region into a wider war that could draw them in while further eroding international support for Jerusalem. Senior Israeli officials have vowed to respond while promising to take the position of the US and other allies into account.

“Further significant escalation will only deepen instability in the region,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he told Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call Tuesday evening. “This is a moment for calm heads to prevail.”

In the US, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the US would work with allies and pass sanctions in the coming days to keep disrupting Iran’s “malign and destabilizing activity.”

“We don’t preview our sanctions tools. But in discussions I’ve had, all options to disrupt terrorist financing of Iran continue to be on the table,” Yellen said.

A senior Treasury official told reporters the department was working to enlist the aid of China, G7 partners and other major global suppliers to erode Iran’s ability to continue to export oil and to get the microelectronics needed for the drones it used to attack Israel and was selling to Russia.

Yellen said that the Treasury and State Department have taken previous action to contain Iran’s “destabilizing” behavior by diminishing its ability to export oil.

“Clearly, Iran is continuing to export some oil. There may be more that we could do. I don’t want to preview our actual sanctions activities, but certainly that remains in focus as a possible area that we could address.”

Some analysts said the Biden administration was unlikely to seek to sharpen sanctions on Iran’s oil exports due to worries about a big spike in oil prices and angering top buyer China.

Sunak said Monday the Group of Seven major democracies were already working on a package of coordinated measures against Iran. Italy, which has the G7 presidency, suggested any new sanctions would target individuals.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell later said the 27-nation bloc was also looking to expand sanctions against Iran in response to requests from some member states, following an informal meeting with other foreign ministers.

“I will send to the External Action Service the request to start the necessary work related to these sanctions,” he said.

Borrell said the proposal would expand a sanctions regime that seeks to curb the supply of Iranian drones to Russia so that it would also include the provision of missiles and could also cover deliveries to proxies in the Middle East.

Germany, France and several other EU members have publicly backed such a proposal.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday that aside from pushing for sanctions, she was also set to head to Israel Tuesday to discuss how to prevent an escalation.

Also traveling to Israel Tuesday was British Foreign Minister David Cameron, who was set to meet Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Israel Katz, and possibly war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, a British official said.

While the Iran attack would be on the agenda for the meetings, Cameron planned to focus on efforts to increase aid into Gaza, according to the official.

The sanctions announcements came after Katz said he was “leading a diplomatic attack” to isolate Iran, writing to 32 countries to ask them to place sanctions on Iran’s missile program and follow Washington in proscribing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group.

Borrell said the move had come up in discussions, but could not go forward without evidence from a “nation of authority” that the IRGC was involved in terrorist activity.

However, he said he would ask the EU’s legal team to see if there was any other way to slap sanctions on the dominant military force.

The EU foreign affairs czar said the sanctions push was designed to pull Israel and Iran back from “the edge of an abyss.”

“The region doesn’t need a full war embracing the whole region, and the world neither and the people of Gaza neither,” he said.

The message was echoed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a meeting with American Jewish leaders, who told them that an escalation of the conflict is not in Washington or Jerusalem’s interests, Axios reported, citing meeting attendees.

The Biden administration has avoided publicly telling Israel not to strike back against Iran over the attack, but privately has urged Israel to ensure that its response doesn’t spark a regional war, according to officials familiar with the matter.

Blinken told attendees that the US was not telling Israel not to respond, and that it is ultimately Israel’s decision. “Be smart, strategic, and limited as possible,” one participant said, describing Blinken’s message.

Iran fired over 300 attack drones and missiles at Israel on Saturday, in retaliation for a deadly April 1 strike on what it said was a building in Tehran’s embassy compound in Syria, in which several commanders of Iran’s IRGC were killed, which it blames on Israel.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, Iran’s attack comprised 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles — 99 percent of which were intercepted by air defenses.

Most of the projectiles were intercepted before they reached Israel, with the help of the US, Jordan and other allies, and the sole injury was a Bedouin girl, who was struck and seriously wounded by falling shrapnel in the Negev desert. The IAF’s southern Nevatim base suffered minor damage to infrastructure, the IDF said, but continued to function during the attack.

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi promised Monday that the attack “will be met with a response,” but gave no details.

An Israeli source told The Times of Israel that a majority in the three-man war cabinet were in favor of a forceful retaliation, but for now, is happy to keep Iran guessing.

“Let them be anxious,” the source said.

Iran has vowed to launch an even larger attack should Israel respond, claiming it does not seek an escalation.

A US official told Axios that the US believes that if Iran attacks again, “it will be very hard to replicate the huge success we had on Saturday… and the Israelis know it.”

Source: timesofisrael.com

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https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-europe-to-up-iran-sanctions-as-israel-pressed-to-ditch-threatened-retaliation/

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US to impose new sanctions targeting Iran's missile and drone program

APRIL 17, 2024

New sanctions targeting Iran and sanctions against entities supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran's Defense Ministry will be imposed in the coming days, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement on Tuesday evening.

"Following Iran's unprecedented air attack against Israel, President Biden is coordinating with allies and partners, including the G7, and with bipartisan leaders in Congress, on a comprehensive response," Sullivan said.

It's anticipated that US allies and partners will soon be following with their own sanctions, according to the statement.

Sullivan said the White House continues to work through the Department of Defense and US Central Command to "further strengthen and expand" the successful integration of air and missile defense and early warning systems across the Middle East to "further erode the effectiveness of Iran's missile and UAV capabilities."

The new sanctions and other measures will "continue a steady drumbeat of pressure" to contain and degrade Iran's military capacity and effectiveness, Sullivan said.

US has sanctioned over 600 people, entities connected to Iranian proxies

Sullivan said over the last three years in addition to missile and drone-related sanctions, the US has sanctioned over 600 individuals and entities connected to terrorism and terrorist financing for proxy groups including Hamas, Hezbollah the Houthis and Kataib Hezbollah.

"The pressure will continue. We will not hesitate to continue to take action, in coordination with allies and partners around the world, and with Congress, to hold the Iranian government accountable for its malicious and destabilizing actions," Sullivan said.

Source: jpost.com

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https://www.jpost.com/international/article-797500

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Blinken tells Jewish leaders in the US does not want Israel to ‘escalate’ after Iran attack

RON KAMPEAS/JTA

APRIL 17, 2024

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Biden administration does not want tensions between Iran and Israel to “escalate” after Iran’s massive attack on Israel over the weekend, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told American Jewish leaders.

Blinken called the meeting at the State Department on Tuesday morning as Israel contemplates how and when to retaliate against Iran. Blinken underscored how eager the Biden Administration is for the Israel-Hamas war not to spread across the region.

“We understand and appreciate why the Israelis feel like they must respond,” Blinken said according to the notes of one participant, confirmed by three others. “In our estimation, it is not in Israel’s interests or in America’s interest for this to escalate. However, that is a decision for Israel to make. We would never tell Israel what to do — we just give the best advice we can.”

That message came after reports that President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States would not participate in or support an Israeli attack on Iran. The United States did help defend Israel from the Iranian attack, shooting down missiles and drones fired by Iran. It was part of a coalition of countries that came to Israel’s defense, including the United Kingdom, France and Jordan.

Tuesday’s meeting was off the record, but a number of participants agreed to describe it on condition they not be identified. Groups represented included the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, J Street, the Reform movement, the Jewish Democratic Council of America, the National Council of Jewish Women, the Jewish Federations of North America, the Israel Policy Forum, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the American Jewish Committee, the Conservative movement, Hadassah and the Anti-Defamation League.

Deborah Lipstadt, the State Department’s envoy to combat antisemitism, moderated the gathering. The State Department did not return a request for comment.

Unconditional support for the Jewish state

There was some pushback from the centrist and right-wing Jewish officials present, who called on the United States to support whatever decision Israel makes. “If and when and how Israel responds, we said it’s very important for that to be backed up by the United States, so that Iran and others see that the coalition [that repelled Iran’s attack] will stay together and remain a deterrent to Iran,” one of the participants said.

Overall, the Jewish leaders evinced gratitude, with the word “miracle” used multiple times to describe the relief that Israel and its allies downed most of the missiles and that no one was killed by the attack. There was relief, too, the US-Israel tensions over the Gaza war, intensifying in recent weeks, appeared to dissipate for the time being. “The alllyship solidified this weekend,” a participant said.

The centrist and center-right officials also decried the tensions between Israel and the United States prior to the Iran attack over Israel’s prosecution of the war against Hamas. They said that divisions between Israel and the United States should remain private, and that creating public “daylight” between the countries encourages their enemies and spurs antisemitism.

Blinken said he too preferred to keep disagreements private, and noted that most leaks regarding US-Israel disagreements come from the Israeli side. No one in the room argued with that.

Others in the room, representing the more liberal groups, were sympathetic to the Biden administration’s pressing Israel to facilitate the entry of more aid into the Gaza Strip, which is experiencing a humanitarian crisis.

Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J Street, the liberal Jewish Middle East lobby,  praised the Biden Administration for sanctioning Jewish extremists the Biden Administration says are terrorizing West Bank Palestinians.

The atmosphere was warm despite the pushback on Israel’s potential retaliation against Iran, all participants said; the hour-long meeting opened and closed with the Jewish groups lavishing praise on the Biden Administration for rapidly coming to Israel’s assistance to repel the attacks.

“While there might be specific policy disagreements, everyone there was also coming from the same fundamental place, having the same fundamental values and the same fundamental concern for the safety of the Jewish people and the safety of the Israeli people,” Amy Spitalnick, the CEO of the JCPA, a liberal-leaning public policy group, said in an interview.

Spitalnick thanked Blinken for the work the Biden Administration was undertaking to identify foreign-sourced misinformation in an election year, noting how the toxicity in the misinformation often morphs into bigotry and antisemitism, which spreads.

“We see how post-Oct. 7, antisemites of all stripes are being empowered and emboldened and amplified by a number of these foreign bot farms and disinformation campaigns,” she said. “And it’s having very real impacts on Jewish safety.”

Source: jpost.com

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https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/blinken-tells-jewish-leaders-the-united-states-does-not-want-israel-to-escalate-after-iran-attack-797507

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Declare India ‘Country of Particular Concern’, Demands Indian American Muslim Council

17th April 2024

Hyderabad: The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), a Washington-based advocacy organization, asked the US Department of State to accept the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom’s (USCIRF) recommendation to designate India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its egregious violations of human rights and religious freedoms.

The IAMC released its annual report, “365 Days of Hate: 2023 in Modi’s India,” which gives a detailed analysis of BJP policies and their relationship to human rights conditions in India. It documents the alleged state-led persecution, hate crimes, religious apartheid policies, and economic discrimination that have come to dominate everyday life in Modi’s India.

Rasheed Ahmed, IAMC Executive Director, said the President of the US has the power to place sanctions on individuals who have committed, directly aided, ordered, or are complicit in gross human rights violations through the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. These sanctions include barring entry to the US or blocking any transactions relating to property or interests held in the US. “These sanctions could also apply to those responsible for—or complicit in—the ongoing persecution of religious minorities, including politicians and elected officials from India’s ruling political party, the BJP,” the IAMC stated.

The report highlighted the bureaucrats at the federal level and in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Uttarakhand, along with the elite Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS), for their alleged decades-long persecution of religious minorities and dissenters, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, the northeastern states of Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh, and the eastern states of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, Odisha.

“The US government should use its diplomatic channels to express concern over the issue of religious persecution in India and publicly condemn any acts of violence or discrimination against religious minorities. The U.S. State Department must include human rights and religious freedoms as an integral part of the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue,” the IAMC demanded.

The IAMC stressed the US government must also make defense relations and the sale of U.S. weaponry and systems conditional on an improvement of human rights conditions in India. Also, it must use its trade and economic leverage to encourage the Indian government to take action to protect the rights of religious minorities. This can include linking trade agreements and economic aid to improvements when it comes to human rights.

The IAMC advised that, as state parties to the 1948 Genocide Convention, the Union government is obligated to take the repeated calls for genocide and mass violence against Muslims and Christians throughout India seriously, condemn the genocidal sentiments, and hold those who made the speeches accountable.

It stated, “As signatories to the UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious, and Linguistic Minorities, the Union government has a responsibility to ensure that police effectively investigate, prosecute, and prevent instances of harassment and violence committed against religious minorities, especially Muslims and Christians.”

The Union government must ratify the Convention against Torture, to which India has been a signatory since 1998, and ensure that comprehensive legislation to prevent, prosecute, and punish torture is enacted in line with India’s international obligations. Furthermore, it must be ensured that the 2015 DK Basu Guidelines issued by the Indian Supreme Court for the prevention of torture are implemented and action is taken against the erring officials.

The IAMC recommended the Union government reformulate the existing guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) for police and other forces coming under the ambit of the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding their conduct in dealing with protesters and stop using draconian laws, including the UAPA, PSA, and NSA, to arbitrarily arrest and detain activists, journalists, and dissenters. Also, it asked the government to repeal the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and stop using the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to disenfranchise Muslims.

“The Union government must pass a national anti-lynching bill to protect religious minorities from Hindu militias and cow vigilante groups. It must uphold every citizen’s right to a safe home and immediately stop bulldozing Muslim homes, livelihoods, and places of worship in the name of anti-encroachment,” the IAMC stated.

It said the BJP-ruled state governments should repeal their beef ban laws, which it stated are used as a pretext by the Hindu militias and cow vigilante groups to commit atrocities against Muslims over allegations of selling, transporting, slaughtering, or consuming beef.

Source: siasat.com

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https://www.siasat.com/declare-india-as-country-of-particular-concern-us-muslim-body-demands-3009996/

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Encourage India, Pakistan to find resolution via talks: U.S. on alleged anti-terror ops across border

April 17, 2024

Quizzed about reported statements by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on crossing borders to kill terrorists, the Biden administration said the U.S. would not involve itself on the matter but “encouraged India and Pakistan to avoid any escalation and find a resolution through dialogue”.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller was responding to questions at a news conference on April 16 on alleged operations by India in other countries to eliminate terrorists.

When asked if Mr. Modi and Mr. Singh’s comments can be seen as “confessions” on the alleged “assassination of [Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh] Nijjar in Canada, [designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh] Pannun's murder-for-hire plot in New York, and killings in Pakistan”, Miller said the US will not get involved in the matter.

“The United States is not going to get into the middle of this, but we do encourage both India and Pakistan to avoid escalation and find a resolution through dialogue,” the State Department spokesperson said.

To a question on why the U.S. has not considered sanctions on India over the matter, Mr. Miller said, “I am never going to preview any sanctions actions, which is not to say that there are any coming. But when you ask me to talk about sanctions, it's something that we don't discuss openly.” Earlier this month, Mr. Singh, referring to New Delhi's assertive approach to dealing with cross-border terrorism, had said if terrorists try to disturb peace in India or carry out terror activities, a befitting response will be given, and if they run away to Pakistan, India will enter the neighbouring country to kill them.

The Defence Minister was responding to a question on a report by British newspaper 'The Guardian' that claimed Indian intelligence agencies carried out assassinations of terrorists in Pakistan as part of an emboldened approach to national security after 2019.

Source: thehindu.com

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https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/encourage-india-pakistan-to-find-resolution-via-talks-us-on-alleged-anti-terror-ops-across-border/article68074997.ece

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Trudeau to introduce ‘halal mortgage’ for muslims in Canada, bans foreigners from buying home for 2 years

Apr 17, 2024

The Canadian government is exploring options to broaden access to financing alternatives, including halal mortgages. This initiative is part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's efforts to support Canadians aspiring to become homeowners, with a particular focus on the Muslim community.

Trudeau to introduce Halal mortgage for Muslims

In the recent federal budget, the Liberal government revealed that it has initiated consultations with financial services providers and various communities. The goal is to better understand how federal policies can cater to the diverse needs of Canadians seeking home ownership.

Canada Budget 2024 announces, “This could include changes in the tax treatment of these products or a new regulatory sandbox for financial service providers, while ensuring adequate consumer protections are in place.”

What are Halal Mortgages?

Halal mortgages are compliant with Islamic law, which prohibits the charging of interest, considering it a form of usury. While other Abrahamic faiths, such as Judaism and Christianity, also view usury as a sin, Islamic financial institutions uniquely offer mortgage and lending products that avoid conventional interest payments.

Although some Canadian financial institutions already offer Islamic law-compliant mortgages, none of the country's five major banks currently provide them. Experts believe, these alternative mortgages might not be entirely interest-free but could involve regular fees as substitutes for interest charges.

Many on social media called it a 'woke idea' that intends to benefit one section of the society, “Religious financial products with different tax treatment? What?,” wrote Paul Mitchell.

Canada imposes 2 year ban on foreign investors to buy home

In its budget document Canada government has introduced a two-year ban on the purchase of residential property by foreign investors, effective January 1, 2023. The government claims this has been done to ensure there are homes for Canadians to live in and not as a speculative asset class for foreign investors

In the budget proposal, “the government announced it intends to extend the ban on foreign buying of Canadian homes by an additional two years, to January 1, 2027.”

"Foreign commercial enterprises and people who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents will continue to be prohibited from purchasing residential property in Canada," budget document stated.

Canada Budget: Key highlights

In the housing-focused budget presented by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, the government projected a deficit of $39.8 billion for fiscal 2024-25. This budget includes $53 billion in new spending over the next five years, with a significant portion aimed at ensuring generational fairness and assisting younger Canadians, specifically Millennials and Generation Z, through programs for renters and first-time homebuyers.

To partially offset the new spending, the government introduced "tax fairness measures," which are expected to generate an additional $18.2 billion in revenue over the next five years.

Source: hindustantimes.com

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https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/trudeau-to-introduce-halal-mortgage-for-muslims-in-canada-bans-foreigners-from-buying-home-for-2-years-101713326127838.html

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CAIR Condemns Latest Israeli Massacre of Children in Gaza, Attempts to Lure People to Death with Fake Baby Cries, Destruction of Homes in ‘Buffer Zone’

Ismail Allison

April 16, 2024

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned the latest Israeli war crimes in Gaza, including a massacre of children, reports that drones are broadcasting sounds of babies crying to lure Gazans to kill zones and massive Israeli destruction of homes in a so-called “buffer zone” in Gaza.

The WAFA News Agency reports that a new massacre in the al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza resulted in the killing of 11 people, the majority of whom were children.

Online reports indicate that Israeli drones flying over Al-Nuseirat refugee camp play recordings of screaming women and children to draw residents out in search of the victims so that they can be killed.

According to Israeli media, 90 percent of buildings within a so-called “buffer zone” being constructed by Israeli forces in Gaza were damaged or destroyed. That destruction could constitute a war crime.

In a statement, CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper said:

“These Israeli crimes against humanity are being committed daily – even hourly – with the active support of the Biden administration. Without concrete action to end the genocide, ethnic cleansing and forces starvation in Gaza, our nation’s reputation on the world stage will be irreparably harmed.”

Over the weekend, CAIR condemned the far-right Israeli government’s attack on Palestinian families – mostly women and children – seeking to return to their homes in devastated North Gaza.

CAIR also condemned widespread attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank by illegal Israeli settlers, protected by the Israeli military.

CAIR recently said the Biden administration must reject the far-right Israeli government’s “transparent” attempt to distract from the Gaza genocide by dragging the U.S. into a regional war and instead demand that the Israeli government de-escalate the crisis it started by bombing an Iranian embassy building.

Last Friday, CAIR said that President Biden must take action following comments by USAID Chief Samantha Powell agreeing with the UN’s assessment that a famine is imminent in Gaza and reports of massacres committed by Israeli forces at the Al-Shifa Hospital.

CAIR also condemned the killing of 25 people in an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza City.

Democrats, Republicans and independents have all become less supportive of Israel’s operation in Gaza than they were in December. Then, a narrow majority approved of Israeli conduct. The latest figures show that a majority, 55%, disapprove of Israel’s actions, while 36% approve.
Source: cair.com

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https://www.cair.com/press_releasehttps://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-condemns-latest-israeli-massacre-of-children-in-gaza-attempts-to-lure-people-to-death-with-fake-baby-cries-destruction-of-homes-in-buffer-zone/

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Southeast Asia

 

Pastor Gilbert Lumoindong Reported to the Police for Sermon on Islam and Zakat

Ilham Oktafian

 April 17, 2024

Jakarta. Pastor Gilbert Lumoindong has been officially reported to the Jakarta Metro Police for a sermon addressing prayer and almsgiving in Islam (Zakat).

According to Jakarta Metro Police spokesperson Ade Ary Syam Indradi, Gilbert faces allegations of blasphemy, with the report received on April 16.

Ade Ary mentioned that the case would be handled by the Jakarta Metro Police's Directorate of Criminal Investigation.

When asked about the report, Gilbert did not respond directly but issued an apology for his sermon.

"Once again, I apologize to the hurt and offended community, and we will strive for improvement in the future," he said.

Previously, Gilbert gained attention on social media for comparing the 2.5 percent almsgiving obligation (Zakat) in Islam to the 10 percent obligation in Christianity.

He emphasized the importance of cleanliness in Islam before prayer and explained the difference in almsgiving requirements between the two religions.

Zakat is considered a form of wealth purification and a way to earn spiritual rewards in Islam, typically distributed annually to those in need.

Gilbert argued that the 10 percent almsgiving requirement in Christianity alleviates worship burdens compared to Islam, where Muslims pray five times daily due to the lower zakat percentage.

The video excerpt also showed Gilbert demonstrating prayer-like movements, with him noting the difficulty in folding legs at the end, a practice in Islamic prayer.

Source: jakartaglobe.id

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Religious counselors to support govt priority programs: Ministry

 April 16, 2024

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Religious Affairs Minister YaqutCholilQoumas issued Circular Letter Number 2 of 2024 to call on extension workers and counselors to play an active role in supporting government priority programs.

"Minister Qoumas asked religious extension workers and counselors to play an active role in the promotion and education processes (of government programs)," the minister's special staff, Wibowo Prasetyo, remarked here on Tuesday.

Prasetyo highlighted that four government programs specifically mandated in the circular are stunting rate reduction, poverty elimination, economic empowerment, and environmental conservation.

He highlighted that the Religious Affairs Ministry, under Minister Qoumas' leadership, is seeking to strengthen the role of extension workers and counselors in the community.

Along with the dawah preachers, counselors, and religious extension workers, the ministry strives to improve the quality of religious education in order to create a healthy and prosperous society, in terms of the physical and mental aspects.

"They are strategic actors in educating the public, which is related to the efforts of reducing stunting, eliminating poverty, economic empowerment, and conserving the environment," Prasetyo stated.

He explained that in the circular, the ministry mandated the heads of regional religious offices from the province, district, city, to the sub-district levels to carry out guidance, monitoring, and reporting on activities supporting the government programs.

"The process of guidance and monitoring in the circular implementation is carried out regularly to ensure that all religious extension workers and counselors play an active role in supporting the government's priority programs," he stated.

Earlier, the ministry had urged religious extension workers to improve their insights and literacy on technology.

"Now is the age of information technology, and every religious extension worker must be technologically literate," the ministry's Director General of Islamic Community Guidance Kamaruddin Amin remarked.

Source: antaranews.com

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DPR seeks government's proactive approach to Iran-Israel conflict

 April 16, 2024

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Chairperson of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives (DPR), Said Abdullah, called on the government to be proactive in responding to the Iran-Israel conflict to create world peace.

“I ask the government to be proactive in taking strategic measures,” Abdullah remarked here on Tuesday.

According to the DPR chairperson, there are five strategic measures, namely the first, being proactive in making diplomatic efforts through international institutions, such as the United Nations (UN), to press for a ceasefire between the two countries.

He admitted that this was replete with challenges, considering the strong support of the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) for Israel.

Moreover, regarding the economic benefits, the escalation in the Middle East, which pushed up the world oil prices, benefited the two large political blocs, namely China and Russia, and the US, Saudi Arabia, and Canada, which are large oil and weapons producers in the world.

Nevertheless, Abdullah expressed hope that the government would push international institutions to have a greater significance in creating world peace.

As for the second effort, he called on the government to secure oil supply to meet domestic needs, as data in 2023 showed that Indonesia depends on crude oil and oil product imports of an average of 3.5 million tons per month.

"Iran is among the 10 largest countries in the world that produces up to 3.45 million barrels of oil per day in 2023. The impact of rising world oil prices will be a big burden on our state budget," he stated.

Third, the government is urged to be proactive in preparing the state budget to face external pressures from the increase in oil prices and the depreciation of the US dollar against the rupiah.

According to Abdullah, for every Rp500 (around US$0.031) that the rupiah weakens and oil prices rise by US$10 per barrel, the subsidy or compensation budget is projected to increase by Rp100 trillion (around US$6.17 billion).

For the fourth measure, the government is urged to be proactive in ensuring the availability of US dollars for importers of strategic commodities, such as food and oil, for at least the next six months. This step is aimed at ensuring the effectiveness of hedging.

It also includes being proactive in developing more varied payment schemes to replace the US dollar by continuing to develop the local currency settlement (LCS), especially in the payment of strategic commodities in the food and energy sectors.

Lastly, as the fifth measure, the government is urged to be proactive in ensuring its ability to pay government securities (SBN) and foreign debt denominated in US dollars.

This step is deemed necessary, considering the trend of depreciation of the rupiah against the US dollar from the average limit set in the 2024 state budget.

Source: antaranews.com

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Minister Marsudi urges US to help de-escalate Iran-Israel tension

 April 16, 2024

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi called on the United States to help ease the Iran-Israel conflict that broke out after Tehran, on Saturday (April 13), retaliated against Tel Aviv's attack on its consulate office in Damascus.

In an effort to de-escalate the conflict in the Middle East region, Marsudi said she had called several of her counterparts, including US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt M. Campbell, on Tuesday morning local time.

"We know the US has a very big influence to make the de-escalation happen," she remarked after attending a limited meeting on the Iran-Israel conflict, at the Presidential Palace, here on Tuesday.

Hence, Marsudi urged Campbell to use the US' major influence in defusing conflicts in the Middle East so as not to further expand their impact.

According to media report, the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1 killed at least 13 people, including seven Iranian military advisers.

The US, which is an ally of Israel, reaffirmed its commitment to Israel's security and underlined the need to de-escalate the conflict.

Earlier, on Monday (April 15), Minister Marsudi called Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who she said has sound relations with Indonesia.

During their conversation that lasted about 50 minutes, she emphasized that escalation of the situation would benefit no one.

Marsudi said she had also spoken to several countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, the Netherlands, and Germany, whom she considered to have an influence in this case, both on Iran and Israel.

"Hence, we continue to carry out diplomatic efforts, so that de-escalation occurs," she remarked.

However, she emphasized that amid the diplomatic efforts, Indonesia does not plan to normalize relations with Israel.

Source: antaranews.com

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Arab World

 

Saudi Arabia to host Islamic Development Bank Group annual meetings and golden jubilee

April 17, 2024

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will host the annual meetings and golden jubilee celebrations of the Islamic Development Bank Group in Riyadh between April 27 and 30, under the patronage of King Salman.

This year’s meetings will take place under the theme “Taking Pride in Our Past and Shaping Our Future: Authenticity, Solidarity and Prosperity,” the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The bank describes itself as a pivotal platform for development dialogue, and said it is celebrating 50 years of fostering social and economic growth among its members. As a leading multilateral development bank, it said it expects the event to attract significant international and regional attention.

Participants will include economic, planning and finance ministers from the 57 member countries of the bank, along with representatives of international and regional financial agencies and organizations, Islamic banks, the private sector, development finance institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and chambers of commerce and industry.

Organizers said the annual gathering serves as a vital forum for the enhancement of economic ties and expansion of cooperation among participants. Its agenda includes forums, seminars and meetings on a range of topics, with particularly notable events including the Governors’ Round Table, the 18th IDB Global Forum on Islamic Finance, and the IDB Group Private Sector Forum.

Topics for discussion will include the role of small and medium enterprises in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 development and diversification agenda, strategies for the financing of efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goals, the leveraging of Islamic finance for the development of resilient infrastructure, and the establishment of the Arab Coordination Group Forum.

The Future Vision Symposium and the General Assembly of the Union of Consultants in Islamic Countries will also take place during the event.

Source: arabnews.com

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Saudi crown prince discusses military escalation in the region with UAE president, Qatar emir

April 17, 2024

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received two separate calls from UAE president Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Qatar’s emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Saudi Press Agency said early Wednesday.

The calls discussed the recent military escalation in the region and its repercussions on safety and security, in addition to the latest developments in Gaza.

They also underscored the importance of exerting efforts to prevent the situation from worsening and to spare the region the dangers of this escalation, the SPA added.

Source: arabnews.com

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OIC calls for action amid Gaza crisis at Jordan meeting

April 16, 2024

RIYADH: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Tuesday took part in the 37th session of the Islamic Committee of the International Crescent, held virtually in the capital of Jordan, Amman.

The OIC Assistant Secretary-general for Humanitarian, Cultural and Social Affairs Ambassador Tarig Ali Bakheet said the session was happening as Israel continued to escalate acts of genocide against the people of Palestine in Gaza, in clear disregard for international law, human values and divine laws and when its occupation forces were impeding the arrival of aid.

He called for concerted efforts and initiatives across Red Crescent societies in the Muslim world to contain the fallout of the situation in the Gaza Strip.

The session was held amid serious humanitarian challenges for the Muslim world in the form of natural disasters and crises caused by conflicts and wars, Bakheet said.

Effective efforts were required to alleviate the impact and dimensions of these problems, he said.

On behalf of OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha, Bakheet thanked Jordan for hosting the session and all those who had helped to ensure its success.

The session runs until Wednesday, when the activities of the Islamic Committee of the International Crescent will be showcased.

Source: arabnews.com

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Saudi air force to participate in Desert Flag drill in UAE

April 16, 2024

RIYADH: The Royal Saudi Air Force will participate next week in the multinational air exercise Desert Flag at Al-Dhafra Air Base in the UAE, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.

RSAF Commander Lt. Gen. Prince Turki bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz saw off the Saudi team participating in the drill at King Faisal Air Base in the northern sector.

Prince Turki was briefed by the commander of the air force team on the readiness of the team and equipment, met members of the team, and urged them to exercise the utmost effort to fully benefit from the exercise, to honor the RSAF, and to maintain the air force’s distinction in all forums, highlighting the importance of commitment to safety standards.

The RSAF commander said that Desert Flag was one of the important exercises in the region, adding that the RSAF would participate in the exercise with the F-15SA aircraft, along with all its air, technical and support crews.

Prince Turki said that participation would enable the exchange of military experience, boost readiness and combat efficiency, and strengthen relations with the participating forces.

Members of the Royal Saudi Air Force also recently participated in the annual medium-scale exercise INIOCHOS 2024 air drill in Greece.

INIOCHOS 2024 is one of the largest military exercises on the European continent. The RSAF participated with six Typhoon aircraft and their air, technical and support crews.

The drill included offensive, defensive and strategic counterair operations, as well as counterland and maritime operations, along with practice in combat search-and-rescue operations.

Source: arabnews.com

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Dr. Al Rabeeah Announces the Kingdom's Humanitarian Plan for Sudan and its Neighbouring Countries

16 Apr, 2024

Advisor at the Royal Court and Supervisor General of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Rabeeah said that the close ties between the Kingdom and the Republic of Sudan prompted the Kingdom to move urgently to conduct relief bridges, including 13 aircraft and four sea bridges to provide a complete humanitarian aid and implement 43 humanitarian projects in Sudan and the neighbouring countries with over $59 million in partnership with UN, international and local organizations. Twenty voluntary medical teams were also sent to Sudan.

This plan was announced in a speech yesterday at the International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan and neighbouring countries organized by France and the European Union in Paris, with the participation of countries backing the peace efforts in Sudan, major donors, and UN and international organizations.

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not allow the Sudanese and its neighboring countries' crises to be overlooked or forgotten. The Kingdom has been at the forefront of calling for permanent and complete peace in this country and supporting humanitarian efforts in Sudan. While the Kingdom played a pivotal role in hosting and facilitating negotiations to resolve the conflict in Sudan, the Kingdom's leadership ordered the provision of $100 million in aid to Sudan. The Kingdom also announced the addition of over $20 million. The Kingdom will implement relief and humanitarian projects in Sudan and neighbouring countries for over $1.2 billion in the coming period," he said.

At the end of his speech, Dr. Al Rabeeah emphasized that the Kingdom will continue its efforts to reach a sustainable, peaceful solution in the geographical areas mentioned in his speech and underscored its humanitarian role through KSrelief.

Source: alriyadhdaily.com

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Europe

 

Spanish PM vows to work for Palestine's full UN membership

Apr 17, 2024

TEHRAN, Apr. 17 (MNA) – Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez has emphasized that his country will try for Palestine's membership in the United Nations.

According to Al Jazeera, some European Union member states, including Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, and the Republic of Malta, support the recognition of an independent Palestinian state and expressed their readiness to cooperate in this regard.

Sánchez had also met his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Støre to gain support for the recognition of the Palestinian state.

He also raised the issue of the formation of an independent Palestinian state during his visit to Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar last week and told reporters that Spain would recognize Palestine as a country by the end of June.

If the international community does not recognize Palestine, it will not help to form an independent Palestinian state, he added.

Earlier on April 13, Støre said that Oslo is ready to recognize Palestine as an independent state.

He noted that his government has not yet determined a firm timetable, but Norway will coordinate with "like-minded countries" to speed up efforts to recognize the Palestinian state.

In November, Norway's parliament approved a government proposal to recognize an independent Palestinian state.

Although the EU did not support the move to recognize the Palestinian state unanimously, Ireland and Spain have repeatedly announced their readiness since the onset of war in Gaza.

Source: mehrnews.com

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Palestine Conference: Germany is complicit with Zionist enemy entity

[17/April/2024]

BERLIN April 17. 2024 (Saba) - Participants in the "Palestine Conference" held in Berlin confirmed that the German government is involved in complicity and participation in the heinous crimes of the Zionist enemy in Gaza, ignoring the demands of justice and humanity and suppressing movements in support of the Palestinian victim on its land.

The German police stormed the "Palestine Conference" organized by groups supporting Palestinian rights in the capital, Berlin, and cut off its electricity and live broadcast, after they had previously pressed to prevent a number of invitees from participating in it.

A statement issued by the conference on Tuesday said “The Zionist war leadership seeks directly to undermine the identity and existence of the Palestinian people, and to complete their expulsion and forced displacement from Palestine.”

The statement added "These criminal acts and their results, including the killing of tens of thousands and the displacement of hundreds of thousands, constitute genocide in every sense of the word and with all its elements and elements."

The conference revealed that “Germany is the second most important supplier of weapons used to commit genocide, since October 2023, as the Federal Security Council increased arms exports to the Zionist enemy entity tenfold,” according to the statement.

It denounced "Germany's denial of genocide in Gaza, specifically after the decision of the International Court of Justice, which saw indications that the Zionist enemy committed genocide against the Palestinian people." It also condemned the starvation policy in Gaza supported by Berlin and practiced by the government of the Zionist entity.

The statement stressed that "the emergency supplies that the West sends to Gaza via air and sea bridges are nothing but hypocrisy in the guise of humanity to cover up the horror of war crimes."

The statement demanded "An immediate ceasefire, the immediate withdrawal of the Zionist army, and a full investigation into all war crimes committed."

It also stressed the need to "immediately lift restrictions on humanitarian aid to Gaza and fully fund UNRWA," and demanded "the immediate opening of all border crossings from Rafah to Allenby. Demolishing the walls of apartheid."

The statement stressed the necessity of "the immediate cessation of all forms of military, diplomatic and economic support for the Zionist entity by the German state, in addition to the comp

rehensive military embargo."

It noted the need to "end the criminalization and suppression of the Palestine Solidarity Movement in Germany, immediately stop all forms of criminalization of Palestinian organizations and individuals as well as all deportations, open borders and accept all refugees with their full rights to housing, education and work."

The statement called for "implementing the right of return for Palestinian refugees and ending Zionist settler colonialism and the ethnic cleansing of all occupied Palestine that has been ongoing for more than 76 years."

Source: saba.ye

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https://www.saba.ye/en/news3321643.htm

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Protesters in Croatia call on Germany to stop supporting Gaza genocide

Talha Ozturk 

17.04.2024

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Croatia gathered Tuesday in front of the German Embassy in the capital Zagreb and demanded that Germany stop supporting Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Participants of the demonstration, which was organized by the Free Palestine Initiative, came to the embassy with their hands painted red and unfurled a banner that said "Germany, stop supporting genocide.”

The demonstrators also reacted to Germany's termination of the Palestine Congress in the capital Berlin last week, which was attended by academics and activists.

One of the demonstrators, Aneta Vladimirov, told the media that the red paint on their hands symbolizes the blood on the hands of Germany.

"We came here by painting our hands red to symbolize the blood on the hands of Germany, which continues to export weapons to Israel despite the killing of approximately 40,000 people in Gaza,'' said Vladimirov.

"This is how Germany becomes a party to genocide," she added.

The Palestine Congress, which started with a delay on April 12, was shut down by the police.

Palestinian researcher Salman Abu Sitta attended the congress via a live stream.

The police allowed 250 people to enter the hall but intervened and ended the live broadcast and then cut off the hall’s electricity. They then announced that the congress had been terminated and asked everyone to leave the hall.

Source: aa.com.tr

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France condemns violence by illegal Jewish settlers against Palestinians

Esra Taskin 

17.04.2024

France on Tuesday condemned the ongoing violence by illegal Jewish settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

The French Foreign Ministry issued a statement on its website on violent incidents that resulted in the deaths of four Palestinian civilians in the territory.

It described the actions as "unacceptable" and also condemned the killing of an Israeli teenager in the area before the incidents.

The statement emphasized that the death of the teenager in no way justifies violence against Palestinians and called on Israeli authorities to bring the perpetrators of these violent acts to justice.

While calling on the Israeli government to protect civilians in line with its international obligations, the statement also noted that these acts of violence are a result of the continuation of colonial policies in the region and constitute a serious violation of international law.

It also indicated that France is considering taking new measures with its partners against illegal Jewish settlers.

Source:

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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/france-condemns-violence-by-illegal-jewish-settlers-against-palestinians/3193726

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Italy foreign minister calls on Israel to halt military operations in Gaza

17 Apr 2024

ROME, April 17 — Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Wednesday called on Israel to halt its military operations in Gaza, reiterating that it was time for a cease-fire in the Palestinian enclave.

Italy initially backed Israel’s actions following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on its southern territories, but more recently it has softened its support in the light of the thousands of civilian deaths.

In an interview with daily La Stampa, Tajani stressed that the war in Gaza was triggered by the Hamas’s “barbaric” assault.

He then added: “however, now a cease-fire is necessary. Israel must stop the military operations that have massively affected the Palestinian population.”

The interview was conducted ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of Seven wealthy nations which will be hosted by Tajani on the Italian island of Capri. Italy holds the rotating presidency of the G7. — Reuters

Source: malaymail.com

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Petition calling for suspension of UK arms sales to Israel handed to Downing Street

April 17, 2024

LONDON: A petition calling for the UK government to halt arms sales to Israel was handed in to 10 Downing Street on Tuesday by a pro-Palestinian activist organization and a cross-party group of lawmakers.

Launched on April 2 and signed by almost 70,000 people, the document, which is addressed to UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron, also urges the government to publish any legal advice it has received regarding possible breaches of international law.

“On 2nd April 2024, Israel killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including UK citizens, in targeted air strikes in the Gaza Strip,” the petition, drawn up by the UK-based Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said.

“This attack, on an agency distributing food to a population facing famine, is part of the broader Israeli war crime — as acknowledged by the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell — of intentionally using starvation as a weapon of war.

“It also comes following Israel’s two week siege on Al-Shifa hospital, killing over 400 Palestinians and leaving the hospital complex in ruins.”

The UK’s Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, under which all arms exports are assessed, specifies that the government will not grant a license if it determines “there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate internal repression … or a serious violation of international humanitarian law,” according to a January 2023 report on developments in UK strategic export controls.

“The ICJ (International Court of Justice) ruling of plausible genocide therefore requires the UK to immediately halt arms transfers to Israel,” the petition said.

“It is also understood the government has received — though not published — legal advice that Israel is breaking international humanitarian law which would also require a suspension of arms exports.”

The ICJ issued a landmark ruling in January finding it plausible that Israel’s acts could amount to genocide, offering the first concrete step toward possible sanctions.

“UN experts have called on all states to immediately suspend arms exports to Israel, as required by the 1949 Geneva Conventions and to comply with the Genocide Convention,” the petition said.

“The UK is putting itself at legal risk by ignoring this advice, and is also isolating itself from key international partners including Canada, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy, who have all suspended their arms exports to Israel.”

Conservative Party MP Alicia Kearns, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, on Friday said the UK Foreign Office “has received official legal advice that Israel has broken international humanitarian law, but the government has not announced it.”

On Monday in parliament, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak refused to deny the Foreign Office had received such advice and when asked by Labour Party MP Zarah Sultana whether Kearns was telling the truth said: “Israel is committed to and capable of complying with international humanitarian law.”

Ben Jamal, director of the PSC, said: “Israel’s genocidal assault on Palestinians and its attacks on Lebanon, Syria and Iran prove that arming it not only makes the UK complicit in violating international law but also in the sparking of a regional war with catastrophic consequences.

“Continuing to arm Israel cannot help the cause of peace or justice in the Middle East. Any government truly committed to upholding international law does not sell weapons to a state that continually breaches it.”

The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Tuesday that more than 33,000 Palestinians had been killed since Israel launched its assault on Gaza on Oct. 7, 70 percent of them women and children. Most of the civil infrastructure in the besieged enclave has been destroyed and the UN has issued warnings that famine is imminent for its population of 2 million people.

Israel uses British weaponry, surveillance technology and military equipment on Palestinians, and 15 percent of the components used by its F-35 aircraft to bomb Gaza are provided by the UK, according to the pro-Palestinian nongovernmental organization Friends of Al-Aqsa.

“Israeli bomber aircraft are being used in the ongoing genocide taking place in Gaza,” the UK-based group said.

According to a statement by the PSC, more than 1,000 lawyers, academics and retired judges, including the former President of the Supreme Court Baroness Brenda Hale, have signed an open letter stating that the “continued supply of arms to Israel puts the UK in breach of international law.”

On March 27, Sultana and a cross-party group of 134 UK lawmakers wrote to Cameron and Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch asking them to immediately suspend export licenses for arms transfers to Israel as “the case for this is overwhelming.”

Earlier this month, Cameron said the UK would not suspend arms sales to Israel, despite Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, Spain and Belgium announcing they would do so.

The PSC said it would lead a “Stop Arming Israel” rally outside parliament at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
Source: arabnews.com

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Scottish Government gives go ahead to capital’s first Muslim faith school despite council’s fears

April 16, 2024

A MUSLIM faith school will be the first to open in the Scottish capital after the Scottish Government dismissed fears from the City of Edinburgh Council. 

The council had initially claimed that the primary school which is set to house up to 100 pupils would create an “inappropriate” level of noise. 

The plans for the school were submitted by Akeel Umar who claimed there was a growing need for a specialist Muslim school as the capital’s Muslim population continues to rise. 

However, Mr Umar has revealed that whilst the school will be “underpinned” by core values of the Islamic faith, the school will have an “open to all” policy and accept children from Edinburgh.

Locals were quick to try and kibosh the plans for the school with 209 residents complaining that the school would create parking chaos. 

However, more than three times as many people – 627 – offered letters of support to the council for the proposed plans, which have now been accepted. 

Councillors have spoken out on behalf of their constituents with Ross McKenzie, independent councillor for Sighthill and Gorgie saying the decision “makes a mockery of planning policy”. 

A social media post shared earlier this week has sparked debate online around the school with users being left divided by the plans.  

The post reads: “A woman I work with (who has prejudice against pretty much anybody who isn’t ‘Scottish’) was ranting how awful this news is.  

“Interestingly another one of my colleagues who had a Muslim upbringing but is now part of the LGBT+ community expressed discomfort to me.  

“Saying that she felt the school would not teach that it is okay to be part of the LGBT+ community. A couple of interesting takes I thought. 

“I’d rather kids weren’t separated by religion, but if other faith schools, like Roman Catholic ones are allowed to exist then I personally don’t see why some members of the Muslim community shouldn’t be allowed to operate their own school. 

“As long as it follows the Scottish curriculum and adheres to Scottish Gov. standards.”  

The post received dozens of likes and comments from locals who debated the plans furiously.  

One user said: “Given that Catholic schools have always taken students from other religions, will this school do the same? 

Do away with religious segregation in schools altogether. It’s nonsense, and, thankfully, the younger generations are less and less interested in religion.”  

Another added: “All schools being non-denominational but with a multifaith quiet room would cover all bases. Could be nice for non-religious students to take a breather too.”  

A third commented: “So two people unhappy because it won’t educate children to their way of thinking?”  

Another replied: “So it’s a busy junction and at the same time they moved there because it’s quiet? Umm. Must admit I would not think of Calder Road as quiet.”

Speaking this week Mr Umar said: ““We are delighted to hear of the appeal outcome and look forward to serving the local communities as an educational setup, food bank, local support services hub and much more.  

“We truly believe the setup at 21 Calder Road will be of a great benefit to the local community.”

Source: deadlinenews.co.uk

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https://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/2024/04/16/scottish-government-gives-go-ahead-to-capitals-first-muslim-faith-school-despite-councils-fears/

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Putin: Iran’s retaliatory attack on Israel best way to punish aggressor

16 April 2024

Russian President Vladimir Putin says Iran’s “tactful and wise” response to Israeli aggression on its consulate in Syria was the best way to punish the aggressor.

Putin made the remarks in a phone conversation with President Ebrahim Raeisi on Tuesday.

“What the Islamic Republic of Iran did in response to what happened criminally and in the light of the inaction of the [UN] Security Council, was the best way to punish the aggressor and represented the tactfulness and rationality of Iran's politicians,” Putin said.

The Russian president said the Israeli regime’s “terrorist act” against the Iranian consulate in Damascus was against all international standards and rules.

He also strongly criticized the United States and certain Western countries for creating tension in the region. “We believe that the Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the main pillars of stability and security in the region.”

“We firmly declare that we will respond to any action against Iran's interests with greater force and broader and more painful than the previous [response],” President Raeisi said in the phone call.

The Iranian president also said Tehran's response to the Israeli regime was within the framework of international law, saying Israel’s terrorist act was a clear violation of international law and a serious threat to global peace.

“The destructive role of the US and some western countries and the inaction and inefficiency of international institutions, including the United Nations and the Security Council, in dealing with the aggressive action of the Zionist regime in attacking the Iranian consulate in Syria caused the Islamic Republic of Iran to exercise its right to self-defense.”

Raeisi further thanked Moscow for its “principled and constructive” stance against the Israeli aggression in Damascus.

He appreciated the diplomatic efforts of the Russian government to thwart the conspiracies of the United States and certain Western countries in the UN Security Council.

“To those countries that have adopted double standards in the face of the crimes of the Zionist regime and express concerns about escalating tensions in the region, we advise them to rather stop supporting the Zionists genocide and crimes against the oppressed Palestinian people to preserve peace and stability in the region,” Raeisi said.

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) launched extensive missile and drone strikes against the occupied territories late on April 13 in response to Israel’s missile attack on the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus.

Operation True Promise has inflicted damage on Israeli military bases across the occupied territories. The extent of damage is yet to be specified.

Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a commander of the IRGC Quds Force, his deputy, General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, and five of their accompanying officers were assassinated in the Israeli attack on Iran’s diplomatic mission.

Source: presstv.ir

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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/04/16/723810/Iran-Russia-Putin

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Pakistan

 

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to stage sit-in for Imran Khan’s release

17 April, 2024

Islamabad [Pakistan], April 17 (ANI): A prominent leader of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Sher Afzal Marwat, has announced the party’s intention to hold a sit-in demanding the release of its founder from jail, ARY News reported.

“I can safely say that the release of Imran Khan will become easy if we could stage a sit-in in Islamabad within a month,” Marwat said while speaking during the ARY News.

He disclosed that both the former Prime Minister and the party leadership were in agreement to commence protests after April 21.

Marwat indicated that if the government attempted to suppress protests by PTI workers across cities, the party might escalate by organising a march towards Islamabad.

Regarding party dynamics, Marwat mentioned the possibility of reinstating some leaders who had resigned from PTI following the May 9 riots. While no specific criteria have been established for their reinstatement, Marwat cited Imran Khan’s indication that two to three individuals might be readmitted. However, he emphasized that those who had publicly criticized PTI should not be readmitted.

Marwat mentioned Usman Dar among the names considered for reinstatement due to the hardships faced by his family. Additionally, Maleeka Bokhari, Ali Nawaz Awan, and Aon Abbas were also being deliberated for potential reinstatement.

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Addressing queries about Fawad Chaudhry, Marwat stated that although Chaudhry had expressed interest in rejoining PTI, there was opposition from party workers.

Marwat made allegations against former finance minister Asad Umar, claiming that Umar resigned from PTI after being assured release from a legal case. Despite Marwat’s attempts to advocate for Umar’s reinstatement, Imran Khan opted against it, ARY News reported. (ANI)

Source: theprint.in

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https://theprint.in/world/pakistan-tehreek-e-insaf-to-stage-sit-in-for-imran-khans-release/2044577/

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Pakistan and Saudi Arabia call for Gaza ceasefire, lament efforts so far

16 April 2024

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday called for an immediate ceasefire and uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, on a visit to Islamabad, said that international efforts toward a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas have been “wholly insufficient.”

“We are now actively discussing the potential for famine in Gaza, and it means people are starving to death because humanitarian assistance is not getting to them,” he said. “This is an unacceptable situation.”

Without directly mentioning an Iranian attack on Israel over the weekend, he said “we are already in an unstable region, and the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is already inflaming the region. We do not need more conflict in our region, we do not need more confrontation in our region, so it is our position that the de-escalation must be everybody’s priority.”

Tensions in the region have ramped up since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, when Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two terror groups backed by Iran, carried out a devastating cross-border attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians. The thousands of attackers who burst through the boundary and into southern Israel also abducted 253 people and took them as hostages to Gaza.

Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza to destroy Hamas, replace its regime, and free the hostages, of whom 129 remain in captivity, not all of them alive.

The Hamas-run health ministry says at least 33,600 Palestinians have been killed and over 76,00 injured in Gaza since the war started. Those figures cannot be independently verified, and are believed to include both civilians and Hamas members killed in Gaza, including as a consequence of the terror groups’ own rocket misfires.

The Israel Defense Forces says it has killed over 13,000 operatives in Gaza, in addition to some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar described the killings in Gaza as “genocide,” and said that the “world’s conscience must wake up” and there should be “an immediate and unconditional ceasefire” with aid flowing into the territory.

Six months into the war, Israel has ramped up efforts to deliver aid to the territory in light of growing international warnings of a humanitarian crisis and potential famine, including opening a new land crossing.

On Sunday, White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said that humanitarian aid getting into the Gaza Strip has increased by a large amount in the last few days.

International mediators, including the United States, Egypt and Qatar, have worked to reach an agreement that would include at least a temporary lull in the fighting along with the release of hostages. However, with both Israel and Hamas laying down conflicting terms, so far no deal has been reached.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier met with Prince Faisal and called for closer cooperation with Saudi Arabia to help his cash-strapped nation with investment, a government statement said.

Sharif last week met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, one of Pakistan’s closest allies and a leading supplier of oil to Islamabad. According to Pakistani officials, Prince Mohammed had assured Pakistan that Saudi Arabia would invest $5 billion in Pakistan.

In July, Saudi Arabia deposited $2 billion into Pakistan’s central bank to boost its foreign exchange reserves.

Source: timesofisrael.com

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https://www.timesofisrael.com/pakistan-and-saudi-arabia-call-for-gaza-ceasefire-lament-efforts-so-far/

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President, Saudi FM discuss challenges being faced by Muslim Ummah

April 16, 2024

President Asif Ali Zardari says Pakistan desires to transform the existing ties with Saudi Arabia into a long-term strategic and economic partnership.

Talking to a Saudi delegation led by its Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Islamabad, the President said Pakistan and KSA enjoy a long standing and decades old relationship.

The President said the Government and the people of Pakistan have the highest regard for the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and would continue to stand with KSA.

The President said the prosperity of the Islamic world is linked to the progress of KSA. He lauded the courageous and visionary leadership of the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of KSA, Muhammad Bin Salman, and the remarkable progress being made under the Vision 2030.

Asif Ali Zardari also thanked the leadership of KSA for its support to Pakistan in difficult times.

The Saudi Foreign Minister said Saudi Arabia considers its relations with Pakistan very critical and is committed to building a strong partnership with Pakistan. He highlighted both countries enjoy strong bonds and had helped each other for decades. He appreciated the contributions of the Pakistani diaspora in the development of KSA.

The two sides reiterated their resolve to build a strong partnership and further promote economic cooperation for the mutual benefit of the two brotherly countries.

They discussed the regional dynamics and recent developments in the Middle East and called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and end to the Israeli atrocities in Gaza.

Both sides also exchanged views on issues of bilateral importance and the challenges being faced by the Muslim Ummah.

Source: radio.gov.pk

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https://www.radio.gov.pk/16-04-2024/president-saudi-fm-discuss-challenges-being-faced-by-muslim-ummah

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Army sees Afghanistan-based terrorists acting as proxies against CPEC

April 16, 2024

RAWALPINDI:The military said on Tuesday that terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan were acting as proxies against Pakistan and its economic interests, especially the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), posing a threat to regional and global security.

Chairing the 264th Corps Commanders’ Conference at the General Headquarters, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Syed Asim Munir directed the top military commanders to pro-actively deny any space to the terrorists, the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a news release.

According to the ISPR, Gen Asim praised the untiring efforts of the army and the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) in successfully thwarting several terrorist attacks and neutralising key terrorist commanders during the ongoing counterterrorism operations.

The news release stated that the forum took serious notice of the baseless propaganda against the LEAs and the security forces, and resolved to launch strict legal action against the perpetrators.

“The forum noted with concern the malicious propaganda campaign meant to demoralise the armed forces and underscored that unfounded and baseless allegations on law-enforcement agencies and security forces have become a fashion,” the news release said.

These allegations, it continued, were part of a larger design to drive a wedge between the people and the armed forces of Pakistan. “We will not allow such efforts to succeed and as per the law and Constitution, stern action will be ensured,” the media wing of the military stated.

The forum paid rich tributes to the supreme sacrifices of the Shuhada, including officers and men of the armed forces, LEAs and the citizens, who laid their lives for peace and stability in the country,” according to the ISPR news release.

“The COAS appreciated the untiring efforts of the Pakistan Army and the LEAs in successfully thwarting several terrorist attacks and neutralising key terrorist commanders during the ongoing counterterrorism operations,” it said.

“The army chief directed the commanders to pro-actively deny any space to the terrorists. He said: ‘The Armed Forces and LEAs of Pakistan, fully backed by the resilient nation, remain determined to permanently eliminate this menace from Pakistan, INSHA’ALLAH’,” it added.

The ISPR said that the forum received a briefing on how terrorist groups, operating from Afghanistan, posed a threat to regional and global security, besides acting as proxies against Pakistan and its economic interests, especially CPEC.

The Corps Commanders’ Conference condemned the heinous terrorist attack against Chinese nationals in Bisham as well as the killing of innocent civilians in Balochistan, the news release stated.

The forum expressed serious concern over the ongoing Indian aggression in the Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), and reaffirmed that Pakistan would continue to provide political, diplomatic and moral support to the Kashmiri brothers and sisters.

It expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine and condemned serious human rights violations, war crimes and genocide being perpetrated in Gaza. The forum also expressed concern over the escalating tensions in the Middle East and noted that a wider regional conflict could ensue if both sides did not de-escalate immediately.

The forum resolved to provide full support to the government towards achieving sustainable socioeconomic growth in the country, including wholehearted assistance in countering the illegal spectrum, particularly smuggling, hoarding, electricity theft and safe repatriation of all illegal foreigners.

“The COAS directed the field commanders to ensure the highest standards of operational preparedness and motivation within their outfits and to pursue professional excellence through objective training,” the news release concluded.

Source: tribune.com.pk

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https://tribune.com.pk/story/2462799/army-sees-afghanistan-based-terrorists-acting-as-proxies-against-cpec

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Imran condemns Bahawalnagar incident, calls for equal law for all

April 16, 2024

Strongly condemning the Bahawalnagar incident, former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan stated on Tuesday that there should be equal law for everyone in the country.

The incident, which garnered widespread attention after videos depicting individuals in army uniforms purportedly assaulting police officials circulated on social media, sparked outrage among citizens and journalists alike.

Addressing the incident on Friday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued a statement, emphasising that prompt action was taken to address as well as resolve the matter collaboratively between the military and police authorities.

ISPR regretted that certain elements with ulterior motives exploited the situation to propagate divisive narratives on social media, aiming to sow discord between state institutions and government bodies.

The Punjab Police also denounced what they termed as "false propaganda" surrounding the incident on various social media platforms.

The message from Khan was relayed by Chairman PTI Barrister Gohar Khan, and senior leader Sher Afzal Marwat following a meeting with him at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.

Speaking to the media, both expressed frustration over the hindrance posed by a glass sheet separating them from Khan, which restricted their ability to converse freely.

The PTI leaders reiterated Khan's stance that Pakistan cannot afford the existence of two different sets of laws. Gohar Khan further disclosed that Khan had tasked him and Omar Ayub Khan with mobilising the party in Punjab.

Source: tribune.com.pk

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https://tribune.com.pk/story/2462803/imran-condemns-bahawalnagar-incident-calls-for-equal-law-for-all

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COAS, Saudi FM discuss bilateral cooperation in various sectors

April 16, 2024

Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir has reiterated full support for the Saudi delegation and conveyed his best wishes for mutually beneficial outcomes from the interaction for both states.

He was talking to Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Furhan Al Saud, who called on him in Islamabad today.

Discussions centered on mutual interests and policies to further bolster bilateral cooperation across various sectors.

The esteemed visitor underscored the enduring and strategic nature of the relationship between the two nations, emphasizing on exploring multiple avenues for continued reinforcement of bilateral ties.

In response, the COAS conveyed appreciation for the delegation's visit, affirming traditional bond of fraternity between Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

He underscored the reverence and affection that the people of Pakistan hold for their Saudi brethren.

Source: radio.gov.pk

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https://www.radio.gov.pk/16-04-2024/coas-saudi-fm-discuss-bilateral-cooperation-in-various-sectors

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South Asia

 

Iran's Dep Envoy: Islamic Emirate Opposition Barred From Political Activity

April 16, 2024

The Deputy Ambassador of Iran in Kabul said that opponents of the Islamic Emirate who live as refugees in Iran are not allowed to engage in political activities.

The Arg in a statement wrote that the Iranian diplomat, during his meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, emphasized that Tehran is working to pave the way for positive interactions between the Islamic Emirate and regional countries.

"Both sides assured each other that they would not allow their territory to be used against neighboring countries for any political or military movements," said the head of the media directorate of the political deputy PM, Mohammad Hassan Haqyar.

In the meeting, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir also stated that Tehran's attack on Israel was Iran's legitimate right to defense.

He also emphasized the development of Kabul-Tehran relations, adding that the Islamic Emirate seeks good interactions with all neighboring countries.

"Iran and Afghanistan share a common border and have deep relations with each other that can never be eradicated, hence they [Iranians] do not want to support the political opponents of the [Islamic Emirate]," said Shamsur Rahman Ahmadzai, political analyst.

"The government has managed to normalize its relations with neighbors over the past few years; we can mention China, which even accepted the ambassador of the Islamic Emirate," said Salim Paigir, another political analyst.

The deputy ambassador of Iran also stressed that while facilitating the implementation of agreements made in various fields between Iran and the Islamic Emirate, Iran is ready to cooperate in economic, commercial, and health sectors with Afghanistan.

Source: tolonews.com

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https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-188331

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US Military Review: ISIS Kabul Airport bombing in 2021 not preventable

Fidel Rahmati

April 16, 2024

A recent U.S. military review has revealed that the perpetrator behind the bombing outside Kabul airport in August 2021, which resulted in the deaths of 170 Afghans and 13 American service members, was an Islamic State operative.

He had previously been detained in a coalition facility in Afghanistan but was released by the Taliban, marking the first identification of his involvement.

Despite claims from certain service members present at the airport on that fateful day, who asserted they had identified the suicide bomber and were instructed not to intervene, a review determined they had targeted the wrong individual. Consequently, the strike was deemed unpreventable.

“There was no opportunity to engage the bomber prior to the attack,” according to a high-ranking U.S. military official familiar with the supplemental review.

The US military confirmed that Abdul Rahman al-Logari, a Daesh bomber at Kabul Airport, had been released from prison after the Taliban took control.

“With access to analysis from across the intelligence community, we were able to identify the Abbey Gate person-borne IED bomber as Abdul Rahman al-Logari, an [ISIS-K] member since 2016,” said one Army official on the 12-person, joint supplemental review team. 

CENTCOM released its findings on the Kabul airport bombing of August 2021, on Monday, amid the tumultuous withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, following a suicide attack that killed 13 US soldiers and 170 Afghans.

Tyler Andrews, a former US Marine, testified to the House Foreign Affairs Committee in March this year that he and his colleagues had spotted a suspicious man who might have been a Daesh attacker, but their requests for action were denied at the time.

The US military also identified for the first time the suicide bomber at Kabul airport as Abdul Rahman al-Logari, a member of ISIS-K, who was imprisoned in Afghanistan and released after the Taliban took over.

Members of the Kabul Airport incident investigation team provided images of the suspected man to some reporters, identifying him as a potential threat, but after comparing the image with al-Logari, they concluded they were not the same person.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Defense, shortly after the incident, announced the primary perpetrator of the Kabul airport attack as Kabeer Idri and claimed that Idri was killed in a US airstrike on August 27.

According to recent US military reviews, the suspected Daesh militant was seen around 7 a.m. local time at Kabul Airport and was not seen after 10 a.m., nearly seven hours before the bombing occurred.

Despite receiving similar reports, some family members of the killed American soldiers at the Kabul airport explosion remain unconvinced.

A family member of a slain American soldier told the Associated Press, “Tyler Andrews saw what he saw and knows what he saw.”

While the military’s investigation team did not discredit Tyler’s statements, they stated he was mistaken. The military review team indicated that its findings suggest the attack was not preventable, and reports of threats prior to the bombing were highly ambiguous.

Source: khaama.com

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https://www.khaama.com/us-military-review-isis-kabul-airport-bombing-in-2021-not-preventable/

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Second Phase of Migrant Deportation; Over 50 Afghans Expelled from Pakistan

 Apr 17, 2024

On the first day of the second phase of deporting Afghan migrants from Pakistan, more than 50 individuals were forcibly expelled from the country.

The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation continues to assure full attention to the challenges faced by the returned migrants.

Ali Reza Karimi, an expert in the field of migration, said: 'We urge the Islamic Emirate to urgently engage with high-ranking officials of the United Nations in Pakistan, as well as the NGOs and offices responsible for migrants there, to have meetings that could convince the Pakistani authorities that deporting them to Afghanistan could be a major mistake.'

However, some Afghan migrants residing in Pakistan find Islamabad's policies towards migrants to be spiteful.

They are calling for Islamabad to reconsider their deportation.

Akhtar Mohammad, an Afghan migrant in Pakistan, said: "They told undocumented migrants to leave. We were deported in a very harsh manner."

Mohammad Younus Qarizada, another Afghan migrant in Pakistan, said: "Our other request from the United Nations is to arrange a program with the Pakistani government to ensure that those under the UN protection are not harassed, mistreated, or deported by the Pakistani government and police."

According to information from the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, currently, three and a half million Afghan migrants are living in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, in the first phase of deporting Afghan migrants from Pakistan, nearly six hundred thousand Afghan migrants were forcibly expelled from the country.

Source: tolonews.com

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https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-188342

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Delegates of Afghan Union in Europe Meet with Mawlawi Abdul Kabir

Nazir Shinwari

Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, the political deputy of the Prime Minister's Office, during a meeting with representatives and elders from the Union of Afghans Living in Europe, said permanent stability and unity among the citizens of the country are priorities of the Islamic Emirate.

The Political Deputy also stated that an Islamic regime is now established in the country and plans to divide Afghanistan have failed.

The current progress of the country was also discussed during this meeting.

Mohammad Hassan Haqyar, the general director of press and protocol of the political deputy of the Prime Minister's office, told TOLOnews: "The nation no longer dreams of corrupt officials from the past returning to power and does not want Afghanistan to again become islands of power and centers of usurpation, corruption, and drugs."

Mawlawi Abdul Kabir added that Afghanistan is the common home of everyone and the interim government has no problem with anyone.

Mohammad Hassan Haqyar stated that during this meeting, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir asked representatives and elders of the Union of Afghans Living in Europe to reflect the current realities of Afghanistan to the world. According to Haqyar, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir emphasized that the Islamic Emirate respects the independence and territorial integrity of countries and expects similar respect from the world.

Mohammad Hassan Haqyar added, "The Islamic Emirate seeks order and stability in the region and the world. Our stance is that we respect the independence and territorial integrity of countries and our independence should be respected too. The Islamic Emirate will never allow its territory to be used against anyone."

Meanwhile, some Afghans who have recently arrived in Kabul say that the political deputy of the Prime Minister's Office discussed current country progress, girls' education, women's work, the fight against drugs, and expanding relations with countries with the interim government.

Hekmatullah Hekmat, the head of the Union of Afghans in Sweden, told TOLOnews: "The Islamic Emirate should move its cabinet out of caretaker status and establish a permanent government."

On the other hand, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting minister, also in a meeting with a number of Afghan scientific and cultural figures living in European countries, said that every Afghan can participate in the reconstruction and progress of the country and strengthen the foundations of the Islamic system without any worries.

Source: tolonews.com

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https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-188333

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President urges universities to adopt world class curricula

Apr 16, 2024

President Mohammed Shahabuddin today urged the universities to formulate world-class curricula so that the students can establish themselves as qualified at the national and international levels.

The president said this when newly appointed Vice-Chancellor of Chittagong University Abu Taher paid a courtesy call on the president, also chancellor of the university, at Bangabhaban.

During the meeting, the VC informed the president about the academic and overall activities of CU.

At that time, Shahabuddin said that higher education is very important to be compatible with science and information technology.

Expressing his hope, the president said that the authorities will take necessary initiatives to expand formal education as well as non-formal education programmes in higher education institutions.

President also spoke about taking initiatives so that students can gain knowledge on various contemporary issues including the country's liberation war, independence, culture, and tradition.

Source: thedailystar.net

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https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/education/news/president-urges-universities-adopt-world-class-curricula-3588531

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Hekmatyar slams US for ‘occupying’ Afghanistan’s airspace

 April 16, 2024

Former Jihadi leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has criticized the United States for patrolling Afghanistan’s airspace with drones.

Hekmatyar said in a speech Tuesday that any form of American presence in Afghanistan is unacceptable.

“Afghanistan’s airspace is under occupation. Expressing this issue is our religious responsibility. We have sacrificed the most for freedom. We do not accept any presence of America. We do not accept any kind of foreign rule,” he said.

Hekmatyar also stated that there is a possibility of American troops entering the country again.

“[Former] President Trump’s national security advisor says that their departure was a mistake and that they should return. This is not an ordinary issue. The possibility that they will make a mistake again and return to Afghanistan is very strong,” he said.

The Islamic Emirate has not commented so far on Hekmatyar’s remarks, but it has confirmed sightings of drones over Afghanistan.

“It is required that the respected officials of the caretaker government give explanations on this matter and respond to the concerns of the Afghan people in this matter, because important and great national issues are important for every Afghan citizen and if there is a problem, it will be a cause of concern for everyone,” said Fazl-ul-Hadi Wazin, a university lecturer.

Source: ariananews.af

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https://www.ariananews.af/hekmatyar-slams-us-for-occupying-afghanistans-airspace/

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Economy Ministry’s data on NGOs and Institutions in Afghanistan raises doubts

Khaama Press-

April 16, 2024

After the resurgence of the Taliban administration, a significant number of domestic and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that provided essential social services in various sectors either ceased operations or suspended their activities in Afghanistan due to the ban on women working. This vacuum has created challenges in various sectors, and the exact number of active organizations in Afghanistan remains uncertain.

Officials from the Ministry of Economy of the de facto administration have also presented contradictory statistics over the course of several days: a spokesperson for the ministry says that 720 domestic and foreign organizations are active, while an official from the same ministry states that more than 6,500 domestic and foreign organizations are active in Afghanistan.

Non-governmental domestic and foreign institutions are referred to as groups formed by members of society, without any governmental or occupational titles, for social, civil, ethical, environmental, and similar purposes. The functioning and effectiveness of these institutions have been crucially highlighted by the United Nations for achieving sustainable development goals, and February 27 has also been designated as an annual global event to officially recognize the activities of these centers.

Afghanistan, as a country that has been embroiled in decades of bloody wars, has experienced a severe setback in the provision of social services, including education, health, mental health, and environmental services, due to the performance of these institutions. However, with nearly three years having passed since the return of Taliban in power, the exact number of institutions in Afghanistan is still unclear.

Abdul Latif Nazari, an official from the Ministry of Economy, stated in an interview with the national radio and television, last week that 6,522 domestic and foreign non-governmental organizations are active in Afghanistan, with 515 of them being foreign institutions, and all these institutions are engaged in four sectors (social services, health, education, and agriculture).

Abdul Rahman Habib, the spokesperson for the ministry, appeared a few days after Mr. Nazari’s interview on national radio and television and announced that there are 720 domestic and foreign non-governmental organizations in Afghanistan, of which 172 are foreign and the rest are domestic, all operating in seven different sectors.

Experts believe that the statistics provided by these two officials from the Ministry of Economy of the Taliban are not reliable, as there is a discrepancy of several thousand (5,802) among the figures, and inaccurate figures have also been presented repeatedly in the past.

Professor Sayed Masoud, expert on economic affairs, stated in an interview with Khaama Press: Effective management stems from precise handling of figures and reliable statistics. If the numbers provided by two officials from the same ministry differ by even a four-digit number, it indicates ineffective management and undermines confidence in the work process of that ministry.

Meanwhile, the Directorate of Coordination of Non-Governmental Organizations of the Ministry of Economy of the Taliban administration has released different statistics, indicating that 5,999 domestic institutions and 520 foreign institutions have received permits from the Ministry of Economy to operate in Afghanistan.

According to experts, accurate statistics are a key component of policy-making and leadership in social activities. Without sufficient, accurate, and timely statistics, policymaking, planning, goal-setting, strategies, activities, and ultimately the evaluation of results will not be possible.

Source: khaama.com

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https://www.khaama.com/economy-ministrys-data-on-ngos-and-institutions-in-afghanistan-raises-doubts/

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Mideast

 

Prisoners’ institutions say 9,500 detainees in enemy prisons, including more than 200 children, 80 female detainees

[17/April/2024]

RAMALLAH April 17. 2024 (Saba) - Palestinian prisoner institutions said that the number of detainees in the prisons of the Zionist enemy reached more than 9,500 detainees, including 80 female detainees and more than 200 children, and this does not include all Gaza detainees who are subject to the crime of enforced disappearance.

In a fact sheet it reviewed about the reality of detainees since October 7, the prisoner institutions noted that the number of administrative detainees had risen to more than 3,660 detainees as of the beginning of April, including 22 women and more than 40 children, in addition to the increase in the number of sick detainees, the number of detainees classified by the occupation as illegal combatants is 849, and the number of detained journalists is 56, including 45 who were arrested after October 7, and are still in detention, including four female journalists.

It indicated that the number of former detainees after the martyrdom of detainee Walid Daqqa reached 21 detainees, the oldest of whom is detainee Muhammad Al-Tus from the town of Al-Jabaa in Bethlehem Governorate, who has been detained since 1985.

The number of detainees serving life sentences is about 600, the highest-sentenced detainee Abdullah Al-Barghouti, who has been sentenced to 67 life sentences, followed by Ibrahim Hamid, who has been sentenced to 54 life sentences.

Regarding the martyrs of the captive movement, the institutions indicated that the number rose to 252 martyrs since 1967, after 16 detainees died inside the occupation prisons. This does not include all the martyrs of the captive movement after October 7, while the identities of the majority of martyrs of Gaza detainees who were martyred continued to be hidden. In the camps of the Zionist enemy army, while the number of detained martyrs whose bodies are being held is 27 martyrs, the oldest of whom is the martyr Anis Dawla, whose body has been held since 1980.

The paper pointed out that 240 male and female detainees were released in seven exchange batches, and the occupation later re-arrested 15 of them, later releasing two, and maintaining the detention of 13, including five children and four female detainees.

Source: saba.ye

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https://www.saba.ye/en/news3321647.htm

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King Abdullah II: Jordan Won’t Become ‘Theatre of War’ Between Israel and Iran

April 16, 2024

DUBAI: Jordanian King Abdullah II said Tuesday that his country must not become ‘the theater of a regional war’ after Jordan intercepted multiple missiles and drones when Iran attacked Israel at the weekend.

The king reinforced the nation's commitment to upholding its security and sovereignty above all other considerations. He stressed Jordan's aim was to safeguard its own sovereignty rather than defend Israel.

Last weekend, Jordan was among a group of nations that helped Israel shoot down missiles, rockets and attack drones launched by Iran and its allies at Israel.

Earlier on Tuesday, Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the international community should stop Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from "stealing" attention away from Gaza by escalating his confrontation with Iran.

In remarks during a press conference with his German counterpart in Berlin, Safadi said Iran had responded to the attack against its consulate and had announced that it did "did not want to escalate further".

"We are against escalating. Netanyahu wants to draw attention away from Gaza and focus on his confrontation with Iran," Safadi added.

Iran's weekend attack caused modest damage in Israel and wounded a 7-year-old girl. Most missiles and drones were shot down by Israel's Iron Dome defence system and with help from the US, Britain, France and Jordan.

Iran -- which labelled its attack an act of self-defence after a deadly Israeli strike on its Syria consulate -- warned Jordan it could be “the next target”, a military source was reported as saying by Iran's Fars news agency.

Source: arabnews.com

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Israeli tanks push back in northern Gaza Strip, warplanes hit Rafah

April 16, 2024

GENEVA/CAIRO: Israeli tanks pushed back into some areas of the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday which they had left weeks ago, while warplanes conducted airstrikes on Rafah, the Palestinians’ last refuge in the south of the territory, killing and wounding several people, medics and residents said.

Residents reported an internet outage in the areas of Beit Hanoun and Jabalia in northern Gaza.

Tanks advanced into Beit Hanoun and surrounded some schools where displaced families have taken refuge, said the residents and media outlets of the militant Palestinian group Hamas.

“Occupation soldiers ordered all families inside the schools and the nearby houses where the tanks had advanced to evacuate.

The soldiers detained many men,” one resident of northern Gaza said via a chat app.

Beit Hanoun, home to 60,000 people, was one of the first areas targeted by Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza last October.

Heavy bombardment turned most of Beit Hanoun, once known as “the basket of fruit” because of its orchards, into a ghost town comprising piles of rubble.

Many families who had returned to Beit Hanoun and Jabalia in recent weeks after Israeli forces withdrew, began moving out again on Tuesday because of the new raid, some residents said.

Palestinian health officials said in one strike, Israel killed four people and wounded several others in Rafah, where over half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are sheltering and bracing for a planned Israeli ground offensive into the city, which borders Egypt.

The Israeli military said its forces continued to operate in the central Gaza Strip and that they had killed several gunmen who attempted to attack them.

“Furthermore, over the past day, IDF fighter jets and aircraft destroyed a missile launcher along with dozens of terrorist infrastructure, terror tunnels, and military compounds where armed Hamas terrorists were located,” it added.

In Al-Nusseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, residents said Israeli planes had bombed and destroyed four multi-story residential buildings on Tuesday.

Israel is still imposing “unlawful” restrictions on humanitarian relief for Gaza, the UN human rights office said on Tuesday, despite assertions from Israel and others that barriers have eased.

The amount of aid now entering Gaza is disputed, with Israel and Washington saying aid flows have risen in recent days but UN agencies say it is still far below bare minimum levels.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said 33,843 Palestinians have so far been killed by Israeli fire since Oct. 7, including 46 in the past 24 hours.

Israel is preventing UN investigators from speaking to witnesses and victims of the Oct. 7 attack, former UN rights chief Navi Pillay, who is chairing a three-person probe, said.

The unprecedented Commission of Inquiry was established by the UN Human Rights Council in May 2021 to investigate alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

“I deplore the fact that people inside Israel who wish to speak to us are being denied that opportunity, because we cannot get access into Israel,” Pillay said.

The investigation briefed diplomats at the UN in Geneva on its work and said that since Oct. 7, it had focused on the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas.

“So far as the government of Israel is concerned, we have faced not merely a lack of cooperation but active obstruction of our efforts to receive evidence from Israeli witnesses and victims to the events that occurred in southern Israel,” said Chris Sidoti, one of the three members of the inquiry.

The Gaza war began with Hamas’s attack against Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.

The militants also took about 250 hostages, of whom Israel estimates 129 remain in Gaza, including 34 who are presumed dead.

Pillay, 82, a South African former High Court judge, said the commission was investigating alleged crimes during the Hamas attack as well as some allegedly committed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank.

Sidoti, speaking via video-link, said the investigation had found it difficult to collect evidence from large numbers of witnesses.

Source: arabnews.com

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Israeli war cabinet puts off third meeting on Iran’s attack to Wednesday

April 17, 2024

JERUSALEM: A third meeting of Israel’s war cabinet set for Tuesday to decide on a response to Iran’s first-ever direct attack was put off until Wednesday, as Western allies eyed swift new sanctions against Tehran to help dissuade Israel from a major escalation.

Military chief of staff Herzi Halevi had promised that Saturday night’s launch of more than 300 missiles, cruise missiles and drones from Iran at Israeli territory “will be met with a response,” but gave no details.

While the attack caused no deaths and little damage thanks to the air defenses and countermeasures of Israel and its allies, it has increased fears that violence rooted in the six-month-old Gaza war is spreading, with the risk of open war between long-time adversaries Iran and Israel.

Iran launched the attack in retaliation for an airstrike on its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1 attributed to Israel, but has signalled that it now deems the matter closed.

An Israeli government source said the war cabinet session scheduled for Tuesday had been put off until Wednesday, without elaborating.

President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the weekend that the United States, Israel’s main protector, would not participate in an Israeli counter-strike.

Together with European allies, Washington instead strove on Tuesday to toughen economic and political sanctions against Iran in an attempt to steer Israel away from massive retaliation.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he was “leading a diplomatic attack,” writing to 32 countries to ask them to place sanctions on Iran’s missile program and follow Washington in proscribing its dominant military force, the Revolutionary Guard Corps, as a terrorist group.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the US would use sanctions, and work with allies, to keep disrupting Iran’s “malign and destabilising activity.”

She told a news conference in Washington that all options to disrupt Iran’s “terrorist financing” were on the table, and that she expected further sanctions against Iran to be announced in coming days.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell

, speaking in Brussels after an emergency video conference of EU foreign ministers, said some member states had asked for sanctions against Iran to be expanded and that the bloc’s diplomatic service would begin working on the proposal.

Borrell said the proposal would expand a sanctions regime that seeks to curb the supply of Iranian drones to Russia so that it would also include the provision of missiles and could also cover deliveries to Iranian proxies in the Middle East.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said earlier on Tuesday that several EU members had promised to look again at extending sanctions, adding she would head to Israel within hours to discuss how to prevent an escalation.

’CALM HEADS’

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

told Netanyahu in a call on Tuesday that escalation in the Middle East was in nobody’s interest and would only worsen insecurity in the region, so it was “a moment for calm heads to prevail,” Sunak’s office said.

Sunak had said on Monday the Group of Seven major democracies was working on a package of measures against Iran. Italy, which has the G7 presidency, suggested any new sanctions would target individuals.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani told state TV on Monday night that Tehran’s response to any Israeli counterattack would come in “a matter of seconds, as Iran will not wait for another 12 days to respond.”

The prospect of Israeli retaliation has alarmed many Iranians already enduring economic pain and tighter social and political controls since major protests in 2022-23.

Since the war in Gaza began in October, clashes have erupted between Israel and Iran-aligned groups based in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq.

Israel said four of its soldiers were wounded hundreds of meters inside Lebanese territory overnight, the first known Israeli ground penetration into Lebanon since the Gaza war erupted, although it has regularly traded fire with the heavily armed Lebanese Hezbollah militia.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby declined on Monday to say whether Biden had urged Netanyahu in talks on Saturday night to exercise restraint in responding to Iran.

“We don’t want to see a war with Iran. We don’t want to see a regional conflict,” Kirby told a briefing.

Some analysts said the Biden administration was unlikely to seek to sharpen sanctions on Iran’s oil exports due to worries about a big spike in oil prices and angering top buyer China.

In a call between the Chinese and Iranian foreign ministers, China said it believed Iran could “handle the situation well and spare the region further turmoil” while safeguarding its sovereignty and dignity, according to Chinese state media.

Iran’s weekend attack caused modest damage in Israel and wounded a 7-year-old girl. Most missiles and drones were shot down by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system and with help from the US, Britain, France and Jordan.

In Gaza itself, where more than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive according to Gaza health ministry figures, Iran’s action drew applause.

Israel began its campaign against Hamas, the Iranian-backed Palestinian militant group that runs Gaza, after the militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages, by Israeli tallies.

Iran’s attack prompted at least a dozen airlines to cancel or reroute flights, with Europe’s aviation regulator still advising caution in using Israeli and Iranian airspace.

Source: arabnews.com

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1.7 million Palestinians forcibly displaced in Gaza: UNHCR

17 April 2024

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) has announced about 1.7 million Palestinians have been forcibly displaced inside Gaza due to Israel’s genocidal war against the people of Palestine.

UNHCR spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said during a press conference at the United Nations office in Geneva on Tuesday that “resolving the catastrophic situation experienced by civilians in Gaza must remain a priority.”

“UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urges all states with influence to do everything in their power to halt the increasingly horrific human rights and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, rising violence and targeted attacks in the West Bank, and the heightened risk of a wider escalation of conflict in the Middle East,” Shamdasani said.

She said that “Israel continues to impose unlawful restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian assistance, and to carry out widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure.”

Shamdasani added, "There are about 1.7 million forcibly displaced people in Gaza. These people live in terrifying conditions and under constant threat."

“In the past week alone, fighting has intensified in Middle Gaza leading to the displacement of some 10,000 people from in and around a Nuseirat camp and near Wadi Gaza,” she said. 

Israel denies hindering humanitarian relief to Gaza. The regime has faced increased international pressure to let more supplies into the Gaza Strip since it attacked an aid convoy on April 1, killing international relief workers.

"Those delivering or trying to access humanitarian assistance must never be attacked," added Shamdasani.

Shamdasani said that UNHCR also received reports that during Eid al-Fitr last week, the Israel forces attacked at least eight mosques in a Nuseirat and Gaza City, and struck a further three on 14 April.

Since October 2023, 534 mosques have been destroyed or damaged according to the Gaza Government Media Office. Places of worship are protected under the laws of war, she noted.

Shamdasani pointed out that the increasing violence against Palestinian and their proprieties in the occupied West Bank the past days.

She stated that Palestinians are subjected to attacks by hundreds of Israeli colonists, who are often accompanied or supported by Israeli soldiers.

She stressed that the "occupying power" must take all measures within its authority to restore order and public security in the West Bank.

"The Israeli security forces must immediately put an end to their active participation and support for colonists attacks against Palestinians," Shamdasani added.

The regime began the genocidal campaign in Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Israel has killed at least 33,800 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, since.

The Save the Children organization is deeply alarmed by the toll and suffering being exacted on children in the Gaza Strip.

According to the charity, more than 14,500 of Gaza’s 1.1 million children have been killed. And thousands more are missing, presumed buried under the rubble, their deaths unmarked.

Source: presstv.ir

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Israel kills local Hezbollah commander in Lebanon strike

April 16, 2024

BEIRUT: An Israeli strike Tuesday killed a local Hezbollah commander in south Lebanon, the Israeli army said, with the Iran-backed group saying three of its members were killed and launching rockets in retaliation.

Israel and Hamas ally Hezbollah have been exchanging near-daily cross-border fire since the Palestinian militant group attacked southern Israel on October 7, triggering war in the Gaza Strip.

Tuesday’s exchanges came with regional tensions high after Iran launched missile and drone attacks on Israel over the weekend in retaliation for a deadly Israeli strike on Tehran’s consulate in Damascus.

The Israeli military said its “aircraft struck and eliminated Ismail Yusef Baz, the commander of Hezbollah’s coastal sector,” adding he was killed in south Lebanon’s Ain Baal area.

Aircraft also hit “Hezbollah military structures and terrorist operatives” elsewhere in south Lebanon on Tuesday, it said in a separate statement.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported one dead in an Israeli strike on a car in Ain Baal, about 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the border.

Hezbollah said in a statement that Baz had been killed, without mentioning his rank or role, while a source close to the group told AFP that “the field commander in charge of the Naqura region” had been killed “in an Israeli strike.”

The NNA also said an “enemy strike” targeted two cars in Shehabiya, about 10 kilometers from Ain Baal, reporting an unspecified number of dead and wounded.

Hezbollah later said that two more of its fighters had been killed, while its ally the Amal movement announced one dead in Ain Baal.

Hezbollah said it launched rockets at several Israeli military bases “in response to the Israeli enemy’s attacks” on Lebanese villages, in particular Ain Baal and Shehabiya.

Earlier Tuesday, Hezbollah had said its fighters launched an “air attack with suicide drones in two phases... striking the Iron Dome (air defense system) platforms and their crew” in the Beit Hillel area.

The Israeli military said “two armed” drones entered from Lebanon and exploded near Beit Hillel, with local Israeli authorities saying three people were wounded.

On Monday, Hezbollah targeted Israeli troops with explosive devices, wounding four soldiers who crossed into Lebanese territory, the first such attack in six months of clashes.

The violence has killed at least 368 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also including at least 70 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

In Israel, the military says 10 soldiers and eight civilians have been killed since hostilities began.

Tens of thousands of civilians have fled their homes on both sides of the border, with the violence fueling fears of all-out conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, which last went to war in 2006.

Source: arabnews.com

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Israel has lost deterrence against Iran: Islamic Jihad

17 April 2024

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad resistance movement says Israel has lost its deterrence against Iran as evidenced by the Islamic Republic's unprecedented drone and missile strike in the occupied territories.

"Israel's deterrence in the face of Iran has ended," the Islamic Jihad's deputy chief Mohammad al-Hindi said in an interview with Lebanon's Al Mayadeen.

Iran's Armed Forces launched hundreds of drones and missiles towards the occupied territories on Saturday night in response to a deadly Israeli attack on its diplomatic premises in Syria early this month.

On Tuesday, the Israeli regime's war cabinet convened for the fifth time since Sunday to weigh its options vis-a-vis the Iranian strike.

Al-Hindi underscored that Iran's retaliatory attack served as a preliminary warning to the Israeli occupation.

Iranian officials assert that the strike, dubbed Operation True Storm, was a deliberately "limited" military action meant to punish Israel, warning that any counterattack would be met with a swift and decisive response. 

"The balance of power is changing; America has its own problems and challenges, and Israel does not have the support or capabilities to assert dominance in the region," al-Hindi said.

"There are new rules of engagement today," he added.

The Palestinian official also criticized the complicity of the West in Israel's atrocities in Gaza, signaling the need for "reassessments" in the new geopolitical landscape of the region.

Addressing the issue of captives held by Hamas in Gaza, al-Hindi emphasized the resistance's leverage in negotiations and expressed skepticism about a proposal recently presented by mediators.

"The Americans and Israelis want to retrieve the captives at the lowest possible price, but that issue is the trump card in our hands," he said.

The Islamic Jihad official said the resistance has submitted its response to the proposal insisting that the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces and a ceasefire are the pivotal components of any agreement.

The Israeli regime must be forced to "pay a price" through a potential deal as it has suffered "strategic military failures on the battleground," he noted.

"Israel is facing a real impasse and its options are limited," the official said. "It has grown to appear weaker, and its strategic importance has diminished."

Source: presstv.ir

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Iran's attack on Israel united Islamic world against Zionists

Apr 17, 2024

TEHRAN, Apr. 17 (MNA) – Vice President of the Supreme Islamic Assembly of Shiites of Lebanon Sheikh Ali Al-Khatib says that Iran's retaliatory attack on Israel contributed to the unison of the Islamic world against the Zionist regime.

Iranian Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian met and held talks with Sheikh Ali Al-Khatib in Tehran on Tuesday.

During the meeting, the top Iranian diplomat hailed the efforts of the Lebanese Resistance against the Israeli regime's crimes and their support for the oppressed Palestinians.

For his part, Al-Khatib extended congratulations to Iran over the country's retaliatory military measure against the regime of Tel Aviv which was carried out early on Sunday.

He said that the Iranian retaliatory strike on Israel which targeted the Zionists' military bases in occupied Palestine led to the strengthening of the morale of the Muslim nations, especially the Palestinian people and the Resistance Front, and weakened the morale of the military and political officials of the Zionist regime.

The Israeli regime attacked Iran's consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus on April 1. The Israeli aggression led to the destruction of the entire building and the martyrdom and injury of the entire people inside it.

Seven of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) military advisors were martyred following the Israeli attack on Iran's consulate in Damascus, IRGC said in a statement.

In response to the Israeli aggression, Iran attacked the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories with a barrage of drones and missiles early on Sunday.

Following the attack, Iran announced that it does not seek to create tension in the region and had carried out the anti-Zionist operation to punish the Zionist regime. However, the Iranian political and military officials have strongly warned that the country would give a severe response in case of any fresh Israeli aggression.

Source: mehrnews.com

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Gaza Media Gov. says Zionist enemy seeks to displace people of Beit Hanoun, of eastern region Jabalia

[17/April/2024]

GAZA April 17. 2024 (Saba) - Head of the government media office in the Gaza Strip Salama Maarouf has confirmed that the Zionist enemy is seeking to empty the city of Beit Hanoun and the eastern region of Jabalia, northern Gaza by carrying out a military operation there.

Maarouf indicated, in a press statement, that the Zionist enemy’s bulldozers and tanks advanced towards the shelter centers in Beit Hanoun and surrounded Mahdia al-Shawa School, where hundreds of displaced people were there.

He added "The occupation army established a field investigation center behind the school and asked everyone to leave at gunpoint. The women were forced to take off their hijab, the men were stripped of their outer clothing, all the families in Beit Hanoun were forced to leave, and a number of young men were arrested."

Maarouf explained that this new heinous crime was carried out under the cover of violent artillery shelling by Zionist warplanes and under heavy gunfire.

He pointed out that military vehicles are still present at this moment near Abu Safiya area, eastern Jabalia and Beit Hanoun.

Maarouf called on the international community to put an end to the new crime of persecuting the Palestinian people and displacing them from their places of residence.

Source: saba.ye

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UN Security Council expected to vote on Palestine's UN bid soon

Diyar Guldogan

17.04.2024

The UN Security Council is expected to vote soon on a draft resolution prepared by Algeria recommending Palestine's admission as a member of the UN.

"Draft resolution on the State of Palestine membership to the United Nations put in blue by @AlgeriaUN on behalf of the Arab Group," Palestine's mission to the UN said Tuesday.

When the Security Council approaches the final stage of negotiating a draft resolution, the text is printed in blue.

The draft resolution is expected to be voted on Thursday during the Security Council ministerial session on the Middle East.

It is highly likely that the US will veto it, however.

US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood previously said that the US position on Palestine's bid has not changed.

"Our position is that the issue of full Palestinian membership is a decision that should be negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians," Wood told reporters.

In 2011, Palestine submitted a bid to become a full UN member but failed to secure the required support from Security Council members.

However, Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour announced on April 2 that he had sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres requesting that their membership application be reconsidered.

On April 3, Guterres wrote a letter to the UN Security Council calling for the consideration of Palestine's request.

The process of admitting new UN members has begun in the Security Council. Following discussions, the council is expected to refer the matter to the Committee on the Admission of New Members.

If the committee responds positively, the UN Security Council must vote, with none of its permanent members exercising their veto power and at least nine out of 15 members voting "in favor" of a positive outcome.

If the council approves, the matter is referred to the UN General Assembly. Membership approval in the 193-member UN General Assembly requires a two-thirds majority vote.

Since 1974, Palestine has been participating at the UN as an observer.

Source: aa.com.tr

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Africa

 

Over 30 Boko Haram Fighters Killed InBorno Air Raid – Nigerian Air Force

17th April 2024The Air component of Operation Hadin Kai has executed a precision airstrike on the hideouts of ISWAP terrorists, killing over 30 of their fighters within Kolleram village along the shores of Lake Chad.

The Director, Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force, AVM Edward Gabkwet, stated this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

Gabkwet said the air strikes, conducted on April 13, were a decisive blow against terrorism in the North-East.

He said the operation yielded significant success as the Battle Damage Assessment post-strike conducted revealed the neutralisation of over 30 terrorists.

Did You Know A Tribe Where Plump Men Is The New Charming?0.00 / 0.00

Gabkwet said that among those neutralised were some senior commanders of the insurgents, including Ali Dawud, Bakura Fallujah, and Mallam Ari.

“Additionally, numerous vehicles, motorcycles, and logistical assets were destroyed, severely hampering the terrorists’ operational capabilities.

“Intelligence gathered after the air strike further indicated that the aerial bombardment effectively obliterated a key facility within the Kolleram enclave, which served as a hub for the terrorists’ food processing activities, including grinding machines.”

Gabkwet said the success of the air strikes underscored NAF’s commitment to eradicating terrorism and ensuring the safety and security of Nigerian citizens.

“By neutralising key terrorist figures and destroying their logistical infrastructure, the operation has significantly degraded the capabilities of the ISWAP group in the region.

“These airstrikes complement the ongoing efforts of ground forces in the Lake Chad flank and represent a crucial step forward in the fight against terrorism in Nigeria,” he said.

Source: punchng.com

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Miyetti Allah demands immediate release of national president, Bodejo

April 17, 2024

The Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, a Fulani socio-cultural organization in Nigeria, has called for the immediate release of its president, Alhaji Abdullahi Bello Bodejo, who is currently in the custody of Nigeria’s Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).

The Secretary of the group, Engineer Saleh Alhassan, made the call in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja.

He expressed concern that Bodejo’s detention not only hindered the path toward harmony, understanding, and reconciliation among diverse ethnic groups, but stifled the invaluable contributions and wisdom he could bring to constructive dialogues and the resolution of existing tensions in the country.

“His release is not just a matter of justice; it represents a pivotal step toward fostering an environment of reconciliation, tolerance, and mutual respect among all communities,” Alhassan explained.

Recall that Bodejo was arrested on January 23 at the Miyetti Allah office in Karu LGA of Nasarawa State, over the unveiling of a vigilante group in the state.

Bodejo has since been arraigned before a Federal High Court in Abuja on a three-count charge bordering on terrorism.

Source: dailypost.ng

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Our democracy in danger – APC members frown at alleged suspension of Ganduje

April 16, 2024

Members of the All Progressives Congress under the umbrella of Concerned APC Members (CAM), have frowned at the purported suspension of Abdullahi Ganduje, the national chairman of the party.

DAILY POST reports that Ganduje was on Monday allegedly suspended by APC in his Ward in the Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of Kano state.

The state leadership of the party, however, denied the alleged suspension, describing those behind it as impostors.

CAM, under the leadership of Okpokwu Ogenyi, while reacting to the development at a press conference on Tuesday in Abuja, called for the immediate arrest of those behind the alleged suspension.

Ogenyi stated that the perpetrators must be brought to book, to serve as a deterrent to others.

“It is with rude shock, we received the news of the suspension of the APC National Chairman of our party, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje by some members of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP who disguised themselves as members of our party from his Ward of Kano State.

“The impostors even went far in using the name of our party’s legal adviser in Ganduje ward to announce the purported suspension of our National chairman without the prior consent of the said legal adviser even though a legal adviser lack the powers to suspend officers of the party hence such powers is vested on the ward chairman.

“Impersonation is a criminal offence punishable by law.

“We call on the Inspector General of Police and the Director General of State Security Service to immediately arrest the impostors and prosecute them to serve as a deterrent to others willing to orchestrate such a devilish act.

“If these impostors are not arrested and prosecuted immediately, in a short while, some members of the PDP or Labour Party may constitute themselves and suspend Mr. President from the APC.” Ogenyi said.

Source: dailypost.ng

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UN Libya envoy Abdoulaye Bathily resigns amidst mediation challenges

April 17, 2024

Abdoulaye Bathily, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), has tendered his resignation to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

On Tuesday, Bathily expressed his decision, citing significant challenges in his mediation efforts. He lamented that his attempts to foster dialogue and address concerns were met with "stubborn resistance, unreasonable expectations, and indifference to the interests of the Libyan people."

Bathily, who assumed his role in September 2022, highlighted the crucial need for Libyan leaders to reach a political settlement through negotiations and compromise. He stressed the importance of prioritizing the aspirations of the 2.8 million registered Libyan voters over the narrow interests of a select few.

The resignation of Bathily raises concerns about the trajectory of UN mediation efforts in Libya and the ongoing quest for political stability in the conflict-ridden nation.

With Bathily's departure, questions arise regarding the continuity of UNSMIL's leadership and the future direction of diplomatic initiatives aimed at resolving the crisis in Libya. The timing of Bathily's formal resignation remains unspecified, leaving uncertainties about the transition process and potential successors to lead UNSMIL.

Source: africanews.com

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Nigeria, Israel Set To Deepen Cooperation In Sustainable Agriculture Initiatives

16 April 2024

The Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Michael Freeman, has affirmed Israel’s willingness to strengthen cooperation with Nigeria to promote sustainable agriculture.

Speaking to the press on Tuesday in Abuja, during an executive roundtable convened by Gov. Bassey Otu of Cross River and attended by members of the diplomatic community, Freeman, who holds the position of Permanent Representative of Israel to ECOWAS, revealed this information.

The roundtable was organized to make the state’s business investment climate more visible.

“Israel has got a strong partnership with Nigeria, and we are looking to strengthen our partnership with the states of the federation as well.

“At our level, we want to partner with the Government of Cross River, particularly in the area of the blue economy that is there,” Freeman said.

Although no agreement has been signed, the cost implication of the investment between Israel and Cross River will be massive, according to him.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army warned Iran that it would face consequences after a series of missiles were launched over the weekend.

Recall that Iran had launched over 300 missiles and drones at Israel in retaliation for an attack on its consulate in Syria, killing some generals on April 1.

Israel’s defence system, with support from the US and other countries, intercepted most of the projectiles fired towards it.

However, Israel’s Army spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said, “Iran will not get (off) scot-free with this aggression.

“We will not allow this aggression in the region.”

Hagari displayed the remnants of a missile at Julis military base during a press conference with journalists.

He warned that while the world was preoccupied with the “nuclear threat from Iran,” the country was also building a “conventional threat,” intending to create a “ring of fire” around Israel.

Source: naijanews.com

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Australia

 

Father of boy accused of stabbing 2 Sydney clerics saw no signs of extremism, Muslim leader says

April 17, 2024

SYDNEY: The father of a boy accused of stabbing two Christian clerics in Australia saw no signs of his son’s extremism, a Muslim community leader said on Wednesday as police prepared to file charges against rioters who besieged a Sydney church demanding revenge.

The 16-year-old boy spoke in Arabic about the Prophet Muhammad after he stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and the Rev. Isaac Royel during a church service on Monday night that was being streamed online. Neither cleric sustained life-threatening injuries.

The Orthodox Assyrian congregation overpowered the boy and he remained in an undisclosed hospital on Wednesday under police guard. He sustained severe hand wounds in the struggle.

Lebanese Muslim Association secretary Gamel Kheir, an advocate for Sydney’s largest Muslim community, said he spent two hours with the boy’s distraught father at the family home soon after the attack. The family has since left their home for fear of retaliation.

“He was in shock,” Kheir told Australian Broadcasting Corp. of the father, who has not been identified.

“He was not aware of any signs of becoming more extreme other than the fact that he was becoming more disobedient to his father. But that was about it. He didn’t see any tell-tale signs, so to speak,” Kheir added.

Kheir is among several community leaders who have accused police of unnecessarily raising community tensions with a premature declaration on Tuesday that the attack at Christ the Good Shepherd Church fit the definition of a terrorist act under New South Wales state law.

“I’m concerned that we’ve rushed to a pre-judgment of a 16-year-old child,” Kheir said.

“He used the language of religion, we’re not debating that at all. In a sense that he targeted another religion, that’s not debatable,” Kheir said.

“What’s debatable is what mental state was this child in? Was he of a sane mind to even make such a rational call? All we’re saying is surely there was time for the police to do a more thorough investigation and a review before they labelled it a terrorist act,” Kheir added.

New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb on Wednesday stood by her declaration of a terrorist incident as defined by the Terrorism (Police Powers) Act 2002.

The act gives police expanded powers to stop and search people, premises and vehicles without a warrant and to detain suspects in response to a terrorist attack or an imminent threat of an attack.

The church attack met the act’s criteria of having a political, religious or ideological motivation and was intended to cause intimidation, she said.

“I was satisfied based on the information that was provided very early Tuesday morning that it met that criteria and I made that declaration without any hesitation,” Webb said.

She said whether the boy would be charged with terrorism offenses was a separate consideration and would depend on the results of the police investigation.

According to media reports, the boy had been convicted in January of a range of offenses including possession of a switchblade knife, being armed with a weapon with an intention to commit an indictable offense, stalking, intimidation and damaging property. He was released from court on a good behavior bond.

Police are also investigating the conduct of 600 people who converged on the church on Monday night and demanded police hand over the boy, who was temporarily barricaded inside for his own safety.

The crowd hurled bricks, bottles and fence boards at police. Two police officers were hospitalized and several police vehicles were damaged.

Webb said police were attempting to identify perpetrators of crimes during the riot from various sources of video and from fingerprints left on police cars. She expected arrests to be made as early as Wednesday.

“Not all those people there were rioting against the police, but those people who were, they can expect to be identified and arrested and put before the courts,” Webb said.

The Lebanese Muslim Association runs Australia’s largest mosque in the Sydney suburb of Lakemba. Security has been elevated at that mosque and several others since Monday when fire bombing threats were made.

Security has also been increased at shopping malls around Australia after a lone assailant stabbed six people to death at Sydney’s Westfield Bondi Junction mall on Saturday. The rampage ended when the 40-year-old assailant, who had a history of mental illness and no apparent motive, was shot dead by police. No terror declaration was made in that case.

Westfield Bondi Junction will open its doors on Thursday for the first time since it was shut down on Saturday as a crime scene. Shops will remain closed for what is described as a “community reflection day.”

Elliott Rusanow, chief executive of Scenter Group, which owns the mall, said families of victims made private visits on Tuesday.

The church attack is only the third to be classified by Australian authorities as a terrorist act since 2018.

Two police officers and a bystander were shot dead in an ambush by three Christian fundamentalists near the community of Wieambilla in Queensland state in December 2022. The shooters were later killed by police.

In November 2018, a Somalia-born Muslim stabbed three pedestrians in a downtown Melbourne street, killing one, before police shot him dead.

Source: arabnews.com

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