Islam Is Not Hostile To the Concept of Family Planning: Muslim Can Exceed Hindu Population Is Propaganda, Says Ex Chief Election Commissioner
New Age Islam News Bureau
29 March 2022
SY Quraishi said nowhere
has the Quran prohibited family planning
-----
• Repressive Edicts: Taliban Hard-Liners Turning Back
the Clock In Afghanistan; Bar Government Employees Without Beards From Work
• Sabah Lawyers Give Thumbs down To PAS Leader’s Call
for Only Muslims As PM
• Israel, Bahrain Ink Framework Agreement for
Cooperation
• Lebanese Cleric Becomes Member of Vatican Commission
for Religious Relations with Muslims
India
• Take Action against People Seeking Ban on Muslim
Traders, Says Former Minister H.D. Revanna
• Karnataka: Many Muslim Girls Heed Call Not To
Imperil Education
• Majitha village clash: Signs of normalcy return as
Sikh, Muslim leaders step in
• Karnataka right-wing group mobilises support against
Halal meat, triggers polarisation
• Mumbai: Sufi Islamic Board condemns UN declaration
of March 15 as Anti-Islamophobia Day
--------
South
Asia
• Bangladesh PM Hasina Slams US Sanctions on RAB, Elite
Paramilitary Force, Says It's 'Abominable' Act
• Three media workers detained in Kandahar
• EU urges Taliban to reopen girls’ schools, warns of
“far-reaching implications”
• IEA’s FM Amir Khan Muttaqi meets Indonesian, Qatari
officials in Doha
--------
Southeast
Asia
• Separatist attacks dampen hopes for peace in
southern Thailand
• Dr Mahathir says ‘expected to die’, thanks IJN
experts, medical specialists for saving his life
• Indonesian University grants Saudi Islamic Affairs
Minister honorary PhD in Shariah sciences
--------
Mideast
• Israeli security fears heightened in wake of Daesh
killing of 2 policemen
• Hamas Says Next ‘Game-Changer’ Battle with Israel
Will ‘Open Up Gates Of Hell’
• Ansarullah leader says Riyadh will be regretful if
it misses three-day truce opportunity to end war
• Iran: US Undecidedness Main Hurdle to Agreement
• Daesh/ISIS claims shooting attack on Israeli police
• New round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks kicks off in
Istanbul
--------
Europe
• Protesters slam Irish gov’t over failure to condemn
Saudi-led war on Yemen
• British rapper vows not to be silenced on Palestine
after bid to remove him from Spotify
• French Far-Right Presidential Candidate Eric Zemmour
Appeals To Muslims Amid Putin-Linked Polls Slump
• Ukraine-Russia talks start in Turkey without
handshake: Report
• Turkey faces risks acting as sanctions ‘safe haven’
for Russians
-----
North
America
• US Expresses Concern over Restrictions on Afghan
Media By Taliban
• U.S. trial begins for member of Islamic State
'Beatles' cell
• Riz Ahmed becomes first Muslim to win Oscar for
live-action
• US, Middle East allies show unity during meet in
Israel amid Iran worries
--------
Africa
• Jordan’s King Lands in West Bank on Rare Trip to
Meet Abbas: Official
• Tunisia’s president warns against attempts to hold
sessions of suspended parliament
• Libyan Education Ministry makes adjustments to
schools’ schedules ahead of Ramadan
--------
Arab
World
• EU Says $132 Million In Lebanese Assets Frozen Over
Money Laundering Concerns
• Angry protesters torch Kurdish party office in
Baghdad
• UAE defies US, Europe to reaffirm oil alliance with Russia
• Kurdistan has energy capacity to help Europe: Iraqi
Kurdish PM
• Lebanese MPs once again fail to adopt capital
controls
--------
Pakistan
• ‘Terror Outfits’ Regrouping In Balochistan via The
Iranian Province Of Sistan And Baluchestan, NA Told
• Maryam Nawaz tells PM Imran Khan time now for 'final
push' towards his defeat
• Pak opposition tables no-trust move against Imran,
forces Punjab CM's exit
• Pakistan Interior Minister unaware of ‘written
letter’ giving evidence against PTI members
• JUI-F supporters vow to stay in Islamabad till PM’s
removal
• FM Qureshi leaves for China to attend meeting on
Afghanistan
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
--------
Islam Is Not Hostile To the Concept of Family
Planning: Muslim Can Exceed Hindu Population Is Propaganda, Says Ex Chief
Election Commissioner
SY Quraishi said nowhere
has the Quran prohibited family planning
-----
March 28, 2022
New Delhi: Islam is not hostile to the concept of
family planning and it is mere "propaganda" that Muslims can overtake
Hindus in terms of population numbers, former chief election commissioner S Y
Quraishi said on Monday.
There are several myths being spread about the Muslim
population in India which are creating hostility among the Hindus against the
Muslims, Mr Quraishi said during a discussion on his book "The Population
Myth: Islam, Family Planning and Politics in India" at the India
International Centre here.
Listing the "myths" about the Muslim
population in India, he said one of them is that they produce too many children
and are solely responsible for the population explosion.
"Yes Muslims have the lowest levels of family
planning (FP) -- only 45.3 per cent. Their total fertility rate (TFR) is 2.61
which is the highest. But the fact that Hindus are not far behind, with second
lowest FP at 54.4 per cent, and second highest TFR of 2.13, is completely
missed," Mr Quraishi said.
Mr Quraishi said it is also a myth that the Muslim
population growth is upsetting the demographic balance.
The demographic ratio of India indeed shows an
increase in Muslims from 9.8 per cent in 1951 to 14.2 per cent in 2011, and
decline in Hindus from 84.2 per cent to 79.8 per cent, but this is an increase
of 4.4 percentage points in 60 years, he pointed out.
Asserting that Muslims are adopting family planning
faster than Hindus, he said the gap in their number of children is narrowing.
Pointing out that another propaganda is that there is
an organised conspiracy by Muslims to overtake the Hindu population to capture
political power, he said no Muslim leader or scholar has asked Muslims to
produce more children to overtake Hindus.
Citing a mathematical model by professors Dinesh
Singh, former Delhi University Vice Chancellor, and Ajay Kumar, he said Muslims
can "never" overtake Hindus.
Busting another "myth", he said it is wrong
to state that Muslims use polygamy for increasing population as a government
study in 1975 found that all communities had some polygamy but the Muslims were
the least polygamous.
He said there is a general misconception that Islam
encourages polygamy but the reality, however, is different.
Polygamy is also statistically not possible in India
as the gender ratio (only 924 women per 1,000 men) does not permit it.
Asserting that Islam is not against family planning,
Mr Quraishi said nowhere has the Quran prohibited family planning and there are
only interpretations -- both for and against.
Numerous verses of Quran and citations from Hadith
emphasise quality over numbers, health of women and children and right of
children to good upbringing.
Islam is not only not opposed to family planning but
in fact is the pioneer of the concept, he said.
Former Jammu and Kashmir governor N N Vohra, former
health secretary K Sujatha Rao and The Population Foundation of India Executive
Director Poonam Muttreja also participated in the book discussion.
Source: ND TV
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
Repressive Edicts: Taliban Hard-Liners Turning Back
the Clock In Afghanistan; Bar Government Employees Without Beards From Work
Photograph :( AFP)
------
Mar 28, 2022
ISLAMABAD: Taliban hard-liners are turning back the
clock in Afghanistan with a flurry of repressive edicts over the past days that
hark back to their harsh rule from the late 1990s.
Girls have been banned from going to school beyond the
sixth grade, women are barred from boarding planes if they travel unaccompanied
by a male relative. Men and women can only visit public parks on separate days
and the use of mobile telephones in universities is prohibited.
International media broadcasts — including the Pashto
and Persian BBC services, which broadcast in the two languages of Afghanistan —
are off the air as of the weekend. So are foreign drama series.
Since the Taliban seized control of the country in
mid-August, during the last chaotic weeks of the U.S. and NATO pullout after 20
years of war, the international community has been concerned they would impose
the same strict laws as when they previously ruled Afghanistan.
The latest assault on women's rights came earlier this
month, when the all-male and religiously driven Taliban government broke its
promise to allow girls to return to school after the sixth grade. The move
stunned much of the world — and many in Afghanistan — especially after the
Taliban had given all "the necessary assurances" that this was not
going to happen.
The United Nations has called the banning of
international media broadcasts "another repressive step against the people
of Afghanistan." The website of the BBC Pashto service said it was "a
worrying development at a time of uncertainty and turbulence."
Officials: Taliban blocked unaccompanied women from
flights
"More than 6 million Afghans consume the BBC's
independent and impartial journalism on TV every week and it is crucial they
are not denied access to it in the future," BBC World Services' head of
languages Tarik Kafala said in a statement Sunday.
On Monday, members of the Taliban vice and virtue
ministry stood outside government ministries, ordering male employees without
traditional turbans and beards — seen as a symbol of piety — to go home. One
employee who was told to go home said he didn't know if and when he would be
able to return to work. He spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for his
safety.
According to a senior Taliban official and Afghans
familiar with the Taliban's leadership, the push to return to the past — which
resulted in the edicts — emerged from a three-day meeting last week in the
southern city of Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban.
They say the edicts stem from the demands of the
Taliban's hard-line supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, who is apparently
trying to steer the country back to the late 1990s, when the Taliban had banned
women from education and public spaces, and outlawed music, television and many
sports.
"The younger among the Taliban do not agree with
some of these edicts but they are not comfortable contradicting the
elders," said Torek Farhadi, an analyst who served as adviser to previous
Afghan governments. Farhadi, who has been in contact with Taliban officials
since their return to power, did not elaborate.
The more pragmatic among the Taliban are resisting the
edicts — or at least silently ignoring them, Farhadi said.
Since their takeover of the country, the Taliban have
been trying to transition from insurgency and war to governing, with the
hard-liners increasingly at odds with the pragmatists on how to run a country
in the midst of a humanitarian crisis and an economy in free fall.
The Taliban leadership today is different from the
one-man rule of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the reclusive founder of the Taliban
movement in the mid-1990s who reigned with a heavy hand. A divide is growing
between some within the old guard, who uphold the harsh rule of the past and a
younger generation of Taliban leaders who see a future of engagement with the
international community.
The younger generation sees rights for both men and
women, though still within their interpretation of Islamic law — but one that
allows school for girls and women in the workforce.
"The younger Taliban need to speak up," said
Farhadi.
Still, Akhundzada has modelled himself on Mullah Omar,
preferring to stay in remote Kandahar, far from the eyes of the public, rather
than rule from the Afghan capital of Kabul. He also adheres to Pashtun tribal
mores — traditions where women are hidden away and girls are married off at
puberty.
Akhunzada ran a madrassa, or a religious school, in
Pakistan's border regions before his 2016 rise as the new Taliban leader. Those
with knowledge of Akhunzada say he is unconcerned about international outrage
over the latest restrictive Taliban edicts and about the growing discontent and
complaints from Afghans, who have become increasingly outspoken.
It was Akhunzada who reportedly vetoed the opening of
schools to girls after the sixth grade as the Taliban had promised to do in
late March, at the start of the new schoolyear. On Saturday, dozens of girls
demonstrated in Kabul, demanding the right to go to school.
Ethnic Pashtuns elsewhere have resisted Taliban
adherence to tribal laws. In Pakistan, where ethnic Pashtuns also dominate the
border regions, movements such as the Pashtun Rights Movement have emerged to
challenge backward tribal traditions and disavow Taliban interpretations of
Islamic law.
Manzoor Pashteen, the movement's leader, has been an
outspoken opponent and has accused the Taliban of hijacking ethnic Pashtun
sentiments and misrepresenting their traditions — and misinterpreting them as
religious edicts.
Akhunzada's onslaught against progress comes at a time
when the health of the Taliban-appointed prime minister, also a hard-liner,
Hasan Akhund, is reported to be deteriorating. Akhund did not meet with China's
Foreign Minister Wang Yi last week, when the top Chinese diplomat made a
surprise one-day visit to Kabul.
Farhadi has hope the younger, more pragmatic Taliban
leaders will find their voice and urged for an outreach to them by Islamic
countries and scholars, as well as Afghan scholars and political figures.
"The Taliban movement needs a reform," said
Farhadi. "It is slow to come and it is frustrating for everyone involved.
But we mustn't give up."
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
Sabah Lawyers Give Thumbs down To PAS Leader’s Call
for Only Muslims As PM
The Prime Minister’s
Department in Putrajaya. A PAS official has proposed that only Muslims be
allowed to become the prime minister.
------
Durie Rainer Fong
March 29, 2022
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah lawyers have criticised a PAS
leader’s proposal for a constitutional amendment to reserve the post of prime
minister for Muslims only.
Yong Yit Jee said the proposal by Khairil Nizam
Khirudin, a senator and PAS information chief, was “baseless and fundamentally
flawed”.
Yong said the Federal Constitution stipulates only
that the prime minister is a MP who commands a majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
“It is this concept of majority that is pertinent, not faith,” he told FMT.
In a Facebook post last week, Khairil said his
suggestion was made to protect and preserve the sanctity of Islam as the religion
of the federation.
He said the state constitutions of Terengganu, Kedah,
Perlis, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang also stipulated that only a Muslim could
hold the post of menteri besar.
However, Yong said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the
head of Islam under the Federal Constitution, and the protection of Islam and
preservation of its sanctity is under his purview. The King is also advised by
the respective state Islamic affairs councils.
“Is Khairil implying that the King and the respective
councils are not sufficiently protecting the sanctity of Islam?” Yong asked.
Khairil’s suggestion was discriminatory to non-Muslim
MPs, he added, and the parliamentary system would be severely undermined if the
proposal went ahead.
Another lawyer, Roger Chin, said Khairil’s statement
displayed intolerance and an unwillingness to embrace differences.
He said the constitution does not provide for race or
religion as a qualification for the prime minister’s post.
Pertubuhan Suara Anak Sabah president Adrian
Lasimbang, a former senator, said the proposal was against the spirit of the
formation of Malaysia and the freedom of religion, which was one of the main
assurances given to Sabah natives by Malaysia’s founding prime minister, Tunku
Abdul Rahman Putra
“What the PAS senator is saying is purely political
rhetoric and for their own interests instead of serving Malaysians as a whole,”
he said.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
Israel, Bahrain Ink Framework Agreement for
Cooperation
Israeli Foreign Minister
Yair Lapid (R) and Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Bin Rashid Al Zayani
(L) sign a cooperation agreement after their meeting within "Negev
Summit" in Negev district of Be'er Sheva, Israel on March 28, 2022. (
Photo Credit: Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs )
----
Abdelraouf Arna'out
28.03.2022
JERUSALEM
Israel and Bahrain on Monday signed a framework
agreement for cooperation on the sidelines of a six-party summit held in the
southern city of Negev.
The summit, which concluded earlier Monday, brought
together the foreign ministers of Israel, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates
(UAE), Egypt, Morocco, and the United States.
A statement issued by the Israeli Foreign Ministry
said the cooperation agreement, which was signed in the presence of the
summit's participants, will be supervised by the foreign ministries of both
countries.
The Bahraini Foreign Ministry said in a statement that
Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al-Zayani discussed with his Israeli counterpart
Yair Lapid ways to develop bilateral cooperation as well as the latest
political and security developments in the Middle East.
In 2020, Bahrain, the UAE, Sudan, and Morocco signed
US-sponsored agreements to normalize relations with Israel, in a move decried
by the Palestinians as a “betrayal” of their cause.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israel-bahrain-ink-framework-agreement-for-cooperation/2548256
--------
Lebanese Cleric Becomes Member Of Vatican Commission For
Religious Relations With Muslims
The Vatican appointed
Lebanese scholar Sayyed Ali Sayyed Qassem as a member of the Commission for
Religious Relations with Muslims.
----
March 29, 2022
The Vatican appointed Lebanese scholar Sayyed Ali
Sayyed Qassem as a member of the Commission for Religious Relations with
Muslims.
Hojat-ol-Islam Qassem, who is the head of Lebanon’s
Center for Dialogue among Faiths and Cultures, joined the commission.
It is part of the Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue (PCID).
He received the official appointment order in a
ceremony held in Lebanon.
It was attended by officials and scholars from the
Arab country as well as the Vatican, including Archbishop Joseph Spiteri, the
representative of Pope Francis.
The Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims is
a body within the Roman Curia tasked with maintaining positive theological ties
with Muslims.
It is distinct unit within the Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue, and the president of the council is also president of
the commission.
Source: ABNA24
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
India
Take Action Against People Seeking Ban On Muslim Traders, Says Former Minister H.D. Revanna
MARCH 28, 2022
JD(S) leader and former Minister H.D. Revanna has
urged the Hassan district administration to take action against those who want
a ban on Muslim traders in festivals.
Speaking at a press conference in Hassan on Monday,
Mr. Revanna said the Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police should
take action against people, parties and organisations demanding a ban on Muslim
traders. “We are all like brothers. Whoever tries to create rift and divide
society should be taught a lesson”, he said.
He said all these years there was no issue of banning
any shopkeeper. “Nobody can stop people of a particular community from entering
a temple. Similarly, there should not be a ban on any trader”, he said.
Members of progressive organisations staged a dharna
in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office on the day urging the district
administration not to heed the demand of pro-Hindutva groups to restrict Muslim
traders in festivals.
Representatives of CPI(M), Dalit Sangharsha Samiti,
Hasirubhoomi Trust, Tipu Sangharsha Samiti and others took part in the dharna.
They said they would oppose any attempt to divide society on the basis of
religion. The government should not listen to people demanding a ban on Muslim
traders at Channakeshava Jatre in Belur, they added.
CPi(M) district secretary Dharmesh, DSS leaders H.K.
Sandesh, Krishnadas, Tipu Sangharsha Samiti leader Mubashir Ahmed, artist
K.T.Shivaprasad and others were present.
Source: The Hindu
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Karnataka: Many Muslim girls heed call not to imperil
education
K.M. Rakesh
29.03.22
Thousands of Muslim girls had to remove their hijab to
write Monday’s Class X state board exams in Karnataka, with ministers warning
of strict action against anyone violating the government’s headscarf ban at its
schools and colleges.
Many Muslim girls who wear the hijab had been skipping
school since the state’s BJP government banned the headgear and Karnataka High
Court upheld the decision on March 15.
But religious leaders and Opposition politicians have
appealed to the girls not to boycott the exams and harm their education and
careers.
“We urge Muslim students not to skip their exams even
if they have to remove the hijab. The board exams decide their future and no
one should use the hijab as a reason to spoil their career and life,” the imam
of the Juma Masjid of Bangalore, Maulana Mohammed Maqsood Imran, told The
Telegraph.
“Four appeals (against the high court judgment upholding
the school hijab ban) are pending with the Supreme Court. Let us wait for the
court’s judgement rather than take unreasonable decisions that will spoil the
children’s life.”
Muslim religious leaders had earlier opposed the exam
boycott calls sounded by some within the community.
Former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy of the Janata
Dal Secular too urged the students to focus on writing their exams.
“Students of all faiths should write the exam keeping
their religious feelings aside. Do not skip the exam for any reason. A time
will come to respect the feelings of children by clearing (the) tense
atmosphere,” he tweeted.
Bans on assemblies of more than five people, under
Section 144, were clamped around the 3,440 centres across the state where more
than 8.74 lakh students wrote their exams.
Such prohibitions are usual during exams every year
but took on an added significance this time in the light of the recent
pro-hijab protests and the warnings issued to the examinees by ministers.
“There is additional deployment of police in sensitive
areas. The police will naturally act against those who violate the government
rules. But I hope no child will give them a chance to take such action,”
primary and secondary education minister B.C. Nagesh said on Monday.
Home minister Araga Jnanendra said: “Whoever violates
the rule will have to face action. Everyone must obey the court order and write
their exam after removing the hijab.”
On Saturday, the state government had issued a
circular making it mandatory for students of all its schools to write their
exams in their school uniform.
Udupi deputy commissioner Kurma Rao, who visited
several exam centres, told reporters the uniform rule was strictly followed by
all students.
Students of private schools writing their exams in
another private school could keep their hijab on if neither school has banned
the headscarf.
Everywhere else, girls who had arrived wearing the
hijab took it off before entering the exam centre.
The controversy began late last December when a
government pre-university college in Udupi stopped hijab-wearing students from
entering classrooms. Eight Muslim girls refused to budge and had to spend the
class hours loitering on the premises.
Six of these eight students approached the high court
saying wearing religious attire was their constitutional right. The issue
snowballed as Sangh parivar outfits heckled hijab-wearing students and
encouraged Hindu students to don saffron scarves in class, while some Muslim
groups protested the ban.
Source: Telegraph India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Majitha village clash: Signs of normalcy return as
Sikh, Muslim leaders step in
Mar 29, 2022
After days of unrest, signs of normalcy returned to
Anaitpura village, falling under the Majitha sub-division, on Monday.
To diffuse tension, Sikh activists gathered in the
village and met Muslim leaders.
Following the March 22 clash that claimed two lives,
almost all farmers had left the village, fearing police action.
The families had also alleged that Gujjars were
threatening them.
On Monday, Sikh activists reached the village in
support of the farmers and asked them to return to the village, taking the
responsibility to protect them amid the presence of heavy police force.
Besides, the activists also met the Muslim leaders who
reached from Ludhiana to support Gujjars to bury the hatchet.
They called for communal harmony and universal
brotherhood.
Both sides also met Amritsar (Rural SSP) Deepak Hilori
and other senior police officers to ensure that no innocent person was
arrested.
Though many farmers returned home, some Sikh
organizations, including Waris Punjab De, decided to stay back.
Meanwhile, the Muslim leaders said there won’t be any
attacks and that all farmers should return to the village.
Earlier, a group of Sikh activists along with farmers
owing allegiance to farm organisations, including Baba Banda Singh Bahadur
Kisan Union and Kirti Kisan Sabha, and those associated with the the left wing
exchanged heated arguments.
Source: Hindustan Times
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Karnataka right-wing group mobilises support against
Halal meat, triggers polarisation
Mar 28, 2022
A Hindu right-wing group in Karnataka on Monday
announced that they are starting a campaign against the purchase of Halaal
meat, fuelling the already growing communal tensions in the southern state.
The Hindu Janajagrithi Samithi said that meat that is
culled under Islamic practices cannot be offered to other gods.
“During Ugadi, there is a lot of buying of meat and we
are starting a campaign against Halaal meat. As per Islam, Halaal meat is first
offered to Allah and the same cannot be offered to Hindu gods,” Mohan Gowda,
the spokesperson for the outfit told HT on Monday.
The statements come at a time when Muslims across
Karnataka have been at the receiving end of various bans called for by
right-wing groups, adding to the growing polarisation in the southern state
under the Basavaraj Bommai-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. “Each
time Muslims cull an animal, the face is turned towards Mecca and some prayers
are uttered. The same meat cannot be offered to Hindu gods. In Hinduism, we do
not believe in torturing the animal and it is culled by (electric) shock,”
Gowda added.
The campaign is the latest in a series of attacks
against Muslims in the state who have faced the wrath of Hindu religious groups
over the Hijab ban which has since manifested into restricting members of the
minority community from participating in religious fairs associated with the
majority.
The same group had also met with officials of the
Karnataka endowments department on Thursday and submitted a memorandum that
near whichever temples come under the department, non-Hindus should not be
given an opportunity to set up shops.
Residents of districts like Chikmagaluru, Dakshina
Kannada and even Bengaluru witnessed communally charged incidents as right-wing
groups continue to impose restrictions on Muslim traders, adding to tensions in
the state in which its prowess in technology and start-ups continue to be
overshadowed.
JC Madhuswamy, Karnataka’s minister for law,
parliamentary affairs and minor irrigation on Wednesday informed the
legislative assembly that these laws were made in 2002 when the Congress was in
power.
“Under rule no 12, any nearby land, building and
housing included, none of them should be given to anyone from other
communities,” Madhuswamy said on Wednesday in the ongoing budget session of the
state legislature in Bengaluru.
Right-wing groups have run riot since the beginning of
the week, banning Muslim shopkeepers from setting up shop near temples,
emboldened by the state government’s stand.
The Bommai-led administration has been accused of
giving right-wing groups a free hand to operate against interests of minorities
by the opposition political parties as well as activists.
On Wednesday, right-wing groups forced the closure of
shops around the Anjaneya Swamy temple in the busy Majestic area of Bengaluru,
citing that it was illegal for them to set up commercial establishments there.
Source: Hindustan Times
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Mumbai: Sufi Islamic Board condemns UN declaration of
March 15 as Anti-Islamophobia Day
Mar 28, 2022
MUMBAI: Members of Sufi Islamic Board, an organisation
to promote and protect Sufi thoughts, have condemned UN General Assembly's
recent resolution to declare March 15 as the International anti-Islamophobia
Day.
"It is quite shocking as well as laughable too
that the resolution was introduced by Pakistan, a country which role in
providing sanctuaries to terrorists has been proved time and again. It is
Pak-aided terrorism which has fuelled Islamophobia in the West, “said Waseem
Khan, member of Dargah Committee, Dargah Khwaja Ajmer and Central Wakf Council.
Khan added that the resolution, adopted by consensus
by the 193-member world body and cosponsored by 55 mainly Muslim countries in
the UN, is part of an attempt to create the narrative that Muslims in India
face persecution.
Rashid Kapadia, president (South Mumbai), Sufi Islamic
Board, said that Pakistan and members of OIC themselves are responsible for the
rise in Islamophobia. "Had Pakistan and OIC members tried to curb terrorism
in their backyard and present the real message of Islam, Islamophobia would not
have seen such a rise, " Kapadia said.
The members of the Board who addressed mediapersons on
Saturday appealed to the Muslims to not get misled by the UN resolution. They
also criticised the resolution at the OIC Council of Ministers in Islamabad
where "irresponsible, baseless" statements were made against India.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
South
Asia
Bangladesh PM Hasina Slams US Sanctions On RAB, Elite
Paramilitary Force, Says It's 'Abominable' Act
PTI | Mar 28, 2022
DHAKA: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on
Monday criticised the US for imposing sanctions on the country's elite
paramilitary force as "an abominable act."
Virtually addressing the 18th founding anniversary of
the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), organised at the RAB Forces Headquarters, the
Prime Minister said that Bangladesh has internal provisions to punish members
of law enforcement agencies if they get involved in criminal activities.
The RAB, an elite paramilitary force of Bangladesh,
and seven of its former and current members were slapped with sanctions imposed
by the US Treasury Department in 2021, for alleged human rights abuse and
abductions.
Hasina called the US sanctions on RAB "an
abominable act" after all the success of the elite force in containing
militancy, drugs, piracy and terrorism, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.
"It's a matter of regret that they (US) imposed
sanctions on some RAB members without any fault or cause. In their country they
do not take any action against any member of their forces for their criminal
activities," she said.
To bring out the disparities in the kind of action
taken, she mentioned that in the US, a child was shot dead just for putting his
hands in his pockets, and in another case a person was strangled on the street
by a law enforcement agency member; "For that reason they did not get
punished," she said.
She said that the US gave shelter to war criminals and
the killers of the Father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibar Rehman. She
also criticised the US for providing convicted criminals with citizenship.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Three media workers detained in Kandahar
28 Mar 2022
Afghanistan Journalists Union has announced that the
Taliban members have arrested three journalists/media workers of the local
Milat Ghag radio station in the southeastern Kandahar province.
The Union in a Twitter post on Monday, March 28, 2022,
said Newsroom manager Farid Alizai, the technician Mahmood Mehraban, and
producer Rahimullah Noori are those arrested.
Head of the radio station Bismillah Watandos said that
the Taliban have stopped broadcasts of the station and have shut the media.
Neither the provincial officials nor officials in the
capital Kabul have commented on the detention of media workers but media
workers of ten different media were summoned by the Taliban in Kandahar
province on Sunday.
The media workers and officials were ordered to stop
telecasting music or they will be held accountable.
Source: Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/three-media-workers-detained-in-kandahar-657676/
--------
EU urges Taliban to reopen girls’ schools, warns of
“far-reaching implications”
29 Mar 2022
The European Union in a declaration on Monday, March
28, 2022, condemned the ban on girls’ secondary schools and asked the Taliban
to immediately reopen the schools as one million teenage girls have been
deprived of education across Afghanistan.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that no religion and custom in
the world can justify a ban on girls’ education.
“No religious or social reason could ever justify such
unequal treatment. the move is a blatant violation of the fundamental right to
education for all children.” Said Borrell.
He said the decision by the Taliban is backtracking
from their previous commitments that will undermine domestic legitimacy and
also credibility in the eyes of the international community.
Borrell warned the EU’s aid to Afghanistan was
conditioned on women’s rights to education; if not reversed, the decision will
have far-reaching implications.
President of the European Commission von der Leyen
October last year announced a $1.1 billion aid package to be distributed
directly to the Afghan people with the help of UN agencies.
Source: Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
IEA’s FM Amir Khan Muttaqi meets Indonesian, Qatari
officials in Doha
28 Mar 2022
Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
said the acting FM Amir Khan Muttaqi met with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno
Mersudi and Deputy Foreign Minister of Qatar Lolwah Al-Khater in the Qatari
capital Doha on Monday, March 28, 2022.
Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry said the trio discussed
Afghanistan’s humanitarian, economic, and educational situation.
Indonesia’s Deputy Foreign Minister pledged continuing
humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan adding they will support
the educational sector in the country and will grant scholarships to Afghan
students, reads the press release.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Deputy Foreign Minister pledged
that Qatar’s Charity Foundation will open its office in Kabul in near future.
Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister expressed gratitude to
both Indonesia and Qatar and pledged cooperation with the country’s operations
in Afghanistan.
Source: Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/ieas-fm-amir-khan-muttaqi-meets-indonesian-qatari-officials-in-doha-76567587/
--------
Southeast
Asia
Separatist attacks dampen hopes for peace in southern
Thailand
March 29, 2022
A separatist Islamist insurgency in southern
Thailand’s Muslim-majority provinces appears to have ratcheted up attacks
against security forces in a blow to ongoing reconciliation efforts.
In one of the latest attacks by suspected insurgents,
four Thai Army rangers were injured on March 26 in the province of Narathiwat
when a remotely activated roadside bomb exploded as two pickup trucks with
eight rangers in all passed by on their way back to their base.
One of the rangers suffered a serious injury while
another three were lightly wounded in the attack.
The attack came days after another four rangers were
injured in Pattani, a neighboring Muslim-majority province, when a bomb placed
beside an irrigation canal was exploded as they were on their way to repair a
faulty water pump near their base.
One of the soldiers was severely injured and the other
three suffered less serious wounds.
A few days prior to that, another four rangers and two
civilians were injured in Yala, another Muslim-majority province with an active
separatist movement, when a bomb exploded in front of a school.
These attacks have taken place despite stepped-up
security measures, indicating that loosely connected cells of suspected
Islamist militants can continue to stage bomb attacks in all of Thailand’s
southernmost Muslim-majority provinces with predominantly ethnic Malay
populations.
Since the insurgency erupted in violence in 2004, more
than 7,000 people, both Muslims and Buddhists, have died in violent attacks by
insurgents and reprisals by security forces.
Recently Thailand’s military-allied government, which
has promised but failed to pacify the restive region, has relaunched on-and-off
negotiations with representatives of separatists with the help of Malaysian
mediators.
However, the ongoing attacks by suspected Islamist
insurgents against security forces have dampened hopes that a political resolution
might soon be in sight to the long-running conflict.
Last month Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, a former
army chief, met with his Malaysian counterpart, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, to discuss
bilateral issues, including possible ways to end the simmering conflict in
Thailand’s three southernmost provinces that border Malaysia.
In a joint statement, the two prime ministers said
their countries remained committed to finding a peaceful solution to the
conflict and promoting economic development in Thailand’s Muslim-majority
provinces to improve the livelihoods of local residents.
The three provinces, which are home to ethnic Malays,
are among Thailand’s poorest and least developed regions with the low-level
insurgency there having isolated it from the rest of Thailand for nearly two
decades.
Source: UCA News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.ucanews.com/news/separatist-attacks-dampen-hopes-for-peace-in-southern-thailand/96689
--------
Dr Mahathir says ‘expected to die’, thanks IJN
experts, medical specialists for saving his life
29 Mar 2022
KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today
thanked medical experts at the National Heart Institute (IJN) and external
medical specialists for treating him while he was undergoing treatment at the
heart treatment centre last January.
The former Prime Minister said with the treatment
provided by them, as well as staff at IJN, his health was restored.
“To me this is a miracle, I didn’t expect to live. I
expected to die because I am old and also I am suffering from serious diseases
affecting...first my heart, when the heart is weak, it affects the lung and
when the lung is weak, it affects the kidney and so on.
“But somehow or rather the doctors turn me around and
eventually I was discharged and am quite well, not one hundred per cent, but
enough for me to continue with the little work I have to do,” he said through
his official YouTube CHEDET channel today.
Tun Mahathir said this was something to be proud of
because it showed that Malaysians no longer needed to go abroad for treatment
because the country already had doctors who could treat serious illnesses, like
those affecting him.
“...as you know I was also trained as a doctor and
when I started practice in the late1950’s and early 1960’s, at that time there
were ‘slot khas’ for Malaysian doctors, especially Malay doctors, the doctors
at the hospital at that time where known as assistante medical officer...no
Asian can become full medical officer... because there was no faith in
Malaysian doctors.
“I believe fully that we can do what others can do.
During my time (as prime minister) I used to say that Malaysia can... we are
competent,” he added.
In the eight-minute video, Dr Mahathir, who is also
the Member of Parliament for Langkawi, looked energetic and healthy.
Source: Malay Mail
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Indonesian University grants Saudi Islamic Affairs
Minister honorary PhD in Shariah sciences
March 29, 2022
JAKARTA — Indonesia's Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic
State University granted the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance of
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Sheikh Dr. Abdullatif bn Abdulaziz Al Al-Sheikh the
honorary PhD degree in Shariah sciences for his efforts in serving Islamic
affairs and enhancing relations and bonds between the two countries, it was
announced.
This came during a ceremony the university held
Monday, where head of the University’s Senate Dr. Abuddin Nata read the
university’s decision granting the honorary PhD degree, followed by a visual
presentation on the minister’s scientific journey, his efforts and
achievements.
Sheikh Dr. Al Al-Sheikh expressed his appreciation of
the Indonesian government and administration of the university for granting him
the honorary PhD degree, referring to the role of Islamic universities in
spreading Shariah sciences that contribute to graduating scholars, preachers
and intellectuals who serve the message of Islam.
He also referred to efforts of Saudi Arabia’s
leadership in serving Islam and Muslims, paying attention to education and
supporting educational institutions and universities locally and globally,
spreading the doctrine of moderate Islam, fighting terrorism and extremism, and
spreading tolerance, love and peace.
Source: Saudi Gazette
Please click the following URL to read the full text of
the original story:
--------
Mideast
Israeli security fears heightened in wake of Daesh
killing of 2 policemen
March 28, 2022
GAZA CITY: Security fears were on Monday heightened in
the wake of Sunday’s killing by Daesh gunmen of two Israeli policemen in the
city of Hadera just hours ahead of a key meeting of foreign ministers.
The two assailants involved in the shooting were shot
dead at the scene.
The incident followed stabbings last week in Beersheba
that left four Israelis dead. Daesh has claimed responsibility for both terror
attacks which have rocked security services working to ease tensions in
Palestine.
On Monday, the foreign ministers of Egypt, the UAE,
Bahrain, Morocco, Israel, and the US held a summit in Israel to discuss the
Palestinian issue and other regional matters. The same day, Jordan’s King
Abdullah visited the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Political leaders recently discussed the beefing-up of
security measures in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in preparation for the month
of Ramadan.
The Israeli government also agreed to increase from
10,000 to 20,000 the number of Palestinian workers from Gaza allowed to enter
Israel, while easing import restrictions on certain goods.
Israeli army radio said that Israel’s government
coordinator in the Palestinian territories, Ghassan Alyan, had recently
travelled to Cairo for security talks with Egyptian officials, and Israel was
also reportedly set to press ahead with pre-coronavirus pandemic plans to allow
Palestinians in the West Bank to visit Jerusalem.
Events last year in Jerusalem and the city’s eastern
Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood led to violence and contributed toward a fourth
conflict between Gaza and Israel and security talks are aimed at avoiding a
repeat of tensions this year.
Mostafa Ibrahim, a writer on Israeli affairs, told
Arab News that Israel currently wanted to avoid any confrontations with the
Palestinians. “It is clear that there is an Israeli desire, backed by American
pressure, to calm the situation in the Middle East in light of the
Russian-Ukrainian war,” he said.
The Hebrew newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, said that the
Israeli security system faced a number of challenges in the run-up to the month
of Ramadan, adding there were real fears in Israel of an escalation of violence
in the Palestinian territories.
Ramadan coincides with the revival of Land Day on
March 30, Palestinian Prisoners’ Day on April 17, the anniversary of the Great
March of Return, and in May the first anniversary of last year’s Gaza conflict,
and Nakba Day on May 15. All the events had the potential to spark
confrontations.
And the newspaper claimed that Hamas was attempting to
destabilize security and calm in the West Bank and Jerusalem, while maintaining
them in the Gaza Strip.
“Hamas realizes that the escalation creates a security
problem for Israel at the tactical level. At the strategic level, it threatens
and undermines the legitimacy of the Palestinian Authority,” it reported.
However, despite underlying tensions, it did not
predict any fresh flare ups in Gaza, Sheikh Jarrah, or at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Ibrahim said recent international visits and dialogue
would help contribute toward maintaining calm.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2052266/middle-east
--------
Hamas says next ‘game-changer’ battle with Israel will
‘open up gates of hell’
29 March 2022
A high-ranking official from the Palestinian
resistance movement Hamas says the next round of confrontation with the Israeli
army in defense of the al-Aqsa mosque compound and other sacred sites in the
occupied al-Quds will be “a game-changer” that will “open up gates of hell” to
Israel.
“The 11-day Operation Sword of al-Quds between the
Gaza-based Palestinian resistance groups and the Zionist regime (in May 2021)
was a prelude to a longer fighting, for which we were prepared,” Hamas deputy
political chief Saleh al-Arouri said in an interview with Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen
television news network on Monday evening.
He added, “The next confrontation with the Israeli
occupation for defense of al-Quds will be much broader and more popular. It
will be a game-changer in the history of the conflict with the Tel Aviv
regime.”
Arouri underscored that “any Israeli aggression
against Palestinian worshippers at the al-Aqsa mosque compound will escalate
the ongoing tensions.”
“Restrictions on the worshipers and preventing them
from reaching the al-Aqsa mosque compound during the holy fasting month of
Ramadan will open up the gates of hell to the occupying Israeli regime,” the
top Hamas official noted.
“Any Israeli aggression against worshipers at al-Aqsa
will create more tensions,” Arouri said, warning that “the Israeli occupation
is now facing the test of al-Quds and al-Aqsa. It is now the time for the
occupiers to learn the lesson that al-Quds, its holy places, and the al-Aqsa
mosque are a red line to us.”
‘Constant meetings held between Hamas, Hezbollah’
Commenting on Palestinian prisoners’ hunger strike, he
said, “We have informed relevant parties that there will inevitably [lead to
the] explosion of the status quo in the occupied territories as we enter
Ramadan and the detainees continue their strike.”
Arouri then pointed to the latest operations in the
southern Israeli city of Beersheba and the northern city of Hadera, stating
that they “represent an outright rejection of attempts aimed at the
obliteration of the Palestinian cause and the nation’s identity. Our resistance
fighters are constantly engaged in the struggle against the Israeli
occupation.”
He also highlighted that there are “constant,
declared, and undeclared meetings” between officials from his group and those
of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement.
“Not only there exists serious dialogs and responsible
cooperation between Hamas with Hezbollah, but the Palestinian group also has
interactions with other movements, countries, and peoples as well,” Arouri
said.
He also touched upon the normalization scheme
involving some Arab states and Israel, stressing that “any step aimed at
legitimizing Israel and cooperating with the regime is considered an aggression
against the entire Palestinian nation and its sanctities.”
Arouri added, “Unfortunately, Israel is turning into
an ally of certain Arab regimes. Any rapprochement between Israel and an Arab
or Muslim state, whether Turkey or Qatar, is rejected.”
Source: Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Ansarullah leader says Riyadh will be regretful if it
misses three-day truce opportunity to end war
28 March 2022
The leader of Yemen’s popular Ansarullah resistance
movement has urged the Riyadh regime to seize on the movement's announcement of
a three-day truce with the Saudi-led coalition to immediately halt all military
operations and brutal siege against the impoverished country.
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi made the remarks in a televised
speech broadcast live from the Yemeni capital city of Sana’a on Monday
afternoon as he addressed clerics and religious scholars ahead of the holy
Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
“There is no chance for the countries waging
aggression against Yemen to escape our retaliatory attacks, and get out of the
current predicament unless they end the onslaught, lift the all-out blockade
and end occupation,” Houthi pointed out.
The Ansarullah chief warned the Saudi-led coalition
against losing the opportunity provided by the three-day truce, calling on
Saudi Arabia and its allies to agree to a permanent ceasefire. “You will be
regretful if you miss the chance,” Houthi said.
“We will spare no effort to confront [the Saudi-led]
aggression and economic blockade with all available means. We will not allow
the siege against Yemen to continue in any way,” the Ansarullah leader
highlighted.
“The eighth year of Yemen war started with Operation
Breaking the Siege III, which made headlines worldwide. We will fight off the
blockade, and God willing will target the aggressor countries until they are
forced to lift the siege,” Houthi noted.
On Saturday evening, Chairman of Yemen’s Supreme
Political Council Mahdi al-Mashat announced the suspension of retaliatory
missile and drone attacks and all military actions against Saudi Arabia for a
period of three days.
“This is a sincere invitation and practical step to
rebuild trust and take all the sides from the arena of talks to the arena of
acts,” Mashat said.
“And we are ready to turn this declaration into a
final and permanent commitment in the event that Saudi Arabia commits to ending
the siege and stopping its raids on Yemen once and for all,” he added.
The truce came a day after a wave of drone and missile
attacks hit targets across Saudi Arabia.
The spokesman for Yemeni armed forces said in a
statement aired by the Arabic-language al-Masirah television network that
Yemeni troops had carried out a large-scale offensive, dubbed Operation
Breaking the Siege III, against a number of vital and sensitive targets deep
inside Saudi Arabia, using domestically-developed ballistic and winged missiles
as well as combat drones.
Brigadier General Yahya Saree stated that Yemeni
troops and their allies pounded high-value sites in the Saudi capital Riyadh,
energy facilities in the strategic Jizan and Najran regions, as well as an
Aramco fuel distribution station in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah among
others.
“A number of bomb-laden drones targeted the oil
refineries in Ras Tanura and Rabigh, as well as the Aramco oil facilities in
Jizan and Najran. A barrage of winged missiles targeted Aramco oil facilities
in Jeddah and vital facilities in the
Saudi capital Riyadh,” he said.
The spokesman for Yemeni armed forces added that
important targets in the southern cities of Dhahran al-Janub, Abha and Khamis
Mushait were also hit with a high numbers of ballistic missiles.
Saree highlighted that Yemeni troops will conduct more
qualitative strikes with the intent to break the crippling Saudi-led siege,
emphasizing they will not hesitate to expand their military operations until
the Saudi-led aggression stops and the blockade is completely lifted.
Saudi Arabia launched the devastating war against
Yemen in March 2015 in collaboration with a number of its allies and with arms
and logistics support from the US and several Western states.
Source: Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran: US Undecidedness Main Hurdle to Agreement
2022-March-28
Amir Abdollahian made the remarks in a meeting with
visiting EU Deputy Foreign Policy Chief Enrique Mora on Sunday night.
"Iran’s top priority is to benefit from the
economic advantages of the removal of sanctions," he added.
Amir Abdollahian and Mora discussed the latest
negotiations in Vienna over the lifting of sanctions on Iran.
Noting that Iran has participated in the talks with a
serious resolve and has put forward the necessary initiatives, the Iranian
foreign minister said that other parties to the talks, the US in particular,
have to take a realistic approach so as to be able to resolve the remaining
issues.
The deputy EU foreign policy chief, for his part,
presented a report of the latest developments in the course of talks in Vienna.
Source: Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010107000682/Iran-US-Undecidedness-Main-Hrdle-Agreemen
--------
Daesh/ISIS claims shooting attack on Israeli police
Mücahit Aydemir
28.03.2022
JERUSALEM
The Daesh/ISIS terrorist group on Monday claimed
responsibility for a shooting attack that left two Israeli police officers dead
in the central city of Hadera a day earlier.
The claim came in a statement released by the group’s
Amaq news agency.
Two gunmen opened fire on police and passers-by in
Hadera Sunday evening, killing the two police officers and injuring three
others.
The shooting attack came as Israel hosted a six-party
summit in the southern city of Negev that brought together the foreign ministers
of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Israel, and the United
States.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/daesh-isis-claims-shooting-attack-on-israeli-police/2548418
--------
New round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks kicks off in
Istanbul
Iclal Turan and Handan Kazanci
29.03.2022
ISTANBUL
A fresh round of peace talks between Russia and
Ukraine brokered by Turkiye kicked off in Istanbul on Tuesday.
The two-day peace talks are being held at the
presidential Dolmabahce office.
The first session for the day started at 10.30 a.m. local
time (0730GMT).
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators arrived in Istanbul
on Monday.
Ahead of the talks, Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan reiterated his call for a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine as the
war enters its second month.
“We believe that a just peace will have no losers, and
a prolonged conflict is not in anyone’s interest,” Erdogan told Russian and
Ukrainian negotiators in the Turkish metropolis.
Ahead of the delegations' talks, the heads of the
Ukrainian and Russian delegations, David Arakhamia and Vladimir Medinsky, held
a face-to-face meeting.
"Delegations are working in parallel on the
entire spectrum of contentious issues," Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine’s lead negotiator in the peace talks
with Russia, wrote on Twitter, sharing a photo from the meeting.
Earlier, Erdogan said he will sit down with both sides
for a "short meeting" before the peace talks.
He also said that phone talks with his Ukrainian and
Russian counterparts are continuing in a "favorable direction."
Several rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine
have been held in Belarus so far, and the last talks were in a video conference
format on March 14, with no concrete results achieved yet.
Turkiye made headlines worldwide on March 10 for
hosting the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers in the southern city of
Antalya, the highest-level meeting of the two sides since the war began on Feb.
24.
Although the sides failed to reach an agreement on a
cease-fire, they agreed to continue negotiations over the conflict.
Russia's war on Ukraine has been met with
international outrage, with the European Union, US and UK among others
implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.
At least 1,151 civilians have been killed in Ukraine
and 1,824 injured, according to estimates by the UN, which cautioned that the
true figure is likely far higher.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Europe
Protesters slam Irish gov’t over failure to condemn
Saudi-led war on Yemen
March 29, 2022
Hundreds of protesters marched towards Saudi Arabia’s
embassy in Dublin, Ireland, to protest the Saudi-led coalition’s seven-year war
on Yemen and criticize the Irish government’s response to the war.
The demonstration took place on Saturday, marking the
seventh anniversary of the Saudi aggression on Yemen, upon a call by Ireland’s
anti-war movement.
The protesters slammed the Irish government over its
failure to condemn the Saudi aggression on the impoverished country, comparing
its stance on the war in Yemen to its “robust intervention” in the conflict in
Ukraine, Middle East Eye reported on Sunday.
“What’s happening in Yemen is a crime against humanity
and we are responsible for it. Our governments are criticizing what’s happening
in Ukraine, but they are not looking at what’s happening in Yemen, even though
we can actually make a huge difference,” said Patricia Mckenna, a former member
of the European Parliament.
A hundred body bags were laid on the ground and pulled
through the streets of Dublin to draw attention to the Yemeni civilians who
lost their lives since the beginning of the war.
The protesters also urged the United States and the
United Kingdom to stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,
which is the most important member of the Saudi-led military coalition.
Sara O’Rourke of the Irish Anti-War Movement (IAWM)
described Yemen as a “forgotten war.”
“People are not aware of what’s happening mainly
because of media silence, mainstream media silence,” O’Rourke said.
“And as we have seen with the invasion of Ukraine, the
media plays a big role in how people react to these stories when they hear
them,” she added.
Launched in late March 2015, the war on Yemen was
aimed at crushing the Ansarullah resistance movement and re-installing the
former Riyadh-friendly regime in the Yemeni capital Sana’a within weeks, but
Riyadh continued the war after failing miserably.
The Saudi-led coalition has been mainly using airstrikes
to attack Yemeni targets, including residential areas in the capital Sana’a and
elsewhere around the country. The coalition has received logistical and
intelligence support from the United States, Britain, and France.
In recent months, there have been serious escalations
in the still-asymmetrical war, as the Yemeni armed forces pushed forward with
and broadened their retaliatory strikes, bringing the war into the Saudi and
Emirati soil. In turn, Saudi Arabia has intensified its air raids and tightened
its siege on Yemen by seizing its fuel tankers on several occasions.
Source: ABNA24
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
British rapper vows not to be silenced on Palestine
after bid to remove him from Spotify
March 29, 2022
British rapper and activist Kareem Dennis has said he
“will not be silenced on Palestine” after a pro-Israel lobby group campaigned
to get his tracks off Spotify music streaming platform over his pro-Palestine
stance and condemnation of the Israeli occupation.
This coordinated campaign is an extension of the
brutalization of the Palestinians, Lowkey, better known by his stage name
Lowkey, told London-based online news outlet Middle East Eye.
“Palestinians are routinely arrested by Israel for
posts on social media, even children. Dareen Tatour spent almost a year in
occupation jail for posting a poem to her Facebook,” he said.
“The attempt to remove my music from Spotify by a
group which was birthed and cultivated by BICOM (Britain Israel Communications
and Research Centre), worked with the Ministry of Strategic Affairs and
publicly identified itself as an Israel lobby group is ultimately an own goal
for the apartheid regime,” he added.
“Artists and musicians should never have to fear
threats to their livelihood or person for the music they make. We will not be
silenced on Palestine, not now, not ever” Lowkey asserted.
The pro-Israel British grassroots group “We Believe in
Israel” has said it is lobbying to remove the British rapper's music off
Spotify after calling his songs “problematic” material, including his 2010 song
“Long Live Palestine – Part 2.”
The director of the group, Luke Akehurst, is
reportedly a regular attendee at Israeli regime events aimed at developing
ideas on how to ban pro-Palestine solidarity from online platforms.
In 2019, the Israeli Act.IL online troll army listed
We Believe in Israel as one of its partners.
This is not the first time that Lowkey has been
targeted by the Israeli lobby for his support of the Palestinian cause.
Earlier this month, the Cambridge Palestine Society
was forced to postpone a talk by the rapper following a smear campaign by the
Israeli lobby on campus.
While the talk went on a week later despite the
attempts to cancel it, Lowkey’s planned appearance at a conference organized by
the National Union of Students (NUS) was canceled.
The move was due to a campaign from another pro-Israel
group called the Union of Jewish Students to get him removed from the panel.
Lately, an independent UN human rights expert
denounced Israel for practicing “apartheid” against Palestinians over the past
decades, calling on the world body to devise a list of measures aimed at
effectively holding the occupying regime to account for the crime.
In a report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva,
Michael Lynk, the UN Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in
the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, complained about “a deeply
discriminatory dual legal and political system” that privileges 700,000
settlers in occupied East al-Quds and the West Bank.
“With the eyes of the international community wide
open, Israel has imposed upon Palestine an apartheid reality in a
post-apartheid world,” he wrote.
Source: ABNA24
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
French far-right presidential candidate Eric Zemmour
appeals to Muslims amid Putin-linked polls slump
28 March, 2022
French far-right presidential candidate Eric Zemmour
has appealed to Muslims to back him in France’s upcoming elections, amid a
slump in his popularity in the polls.
Zemmour's campaign has been characterised by his
anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric, however, he recently appealed directly
to France's Muslims at a recent campaign rally.
"If you do not like our people, our culture, our
way of life and you do not want to be French, well it's your right, but assume
it. I am honest with you, be honest with France. It is not up to France to
adapt to your culture," Zemmour said.
After cheers from supporters, he went on to claim that
his views had been misrepresented by rivals and the media.
"They have often lied about my intentions, they
have often played on fears with my words. Journalists and politicians lie to
you... they make you believe that I want to prevent you from practising your
religion, it is false."
Recent polling has placed the pundit-turned-politician
at fourth place, with observers speculating that he has struggled to shake off
controversy from recently resurfaced comments he had made in praise of Russian
President Vladimir Putin.
Source: The New Arab
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/france-far-right-zemmour-appeals-muslims-amid-polls-slump
--------
Ukraine-Russia talks start in Turkey without handshake:
Report
29 March ,2022
Talks between Ukraine and Russia began in Turkey on
Tuesday without a handshake, Reuters reported citing a Ukrainian television
claim.
“There was a cold welcome, no handshake,” a Ukrainian
reporter said, without making clear whether he had witnessed the delegations
meeting or had been told this by officials.
Mykhailo Podolyak, a political adviser to President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Twitter the delegations were discussing “the
fundamental provisions of the negotiation process. Delegations are working in
parallel on the entire spectrum of contentious issues.”
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators began face-to-face
talks in Istanbul with host Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urging them
to “put an end to this tragedy.”
The talks at the Dolmabahce palace in Istanbul are
aimed at trying to end a war has killed an estimated 20,000 people and forced
more than 10 million from their homes.
“The two parties have legitimate concerns. It’s
possible to reach a solution acceptable to the international community,”
Erdogan said.
“It’s up to the two parties to put an end to this
tragedy,” he insisted, adding that the “extension of the conflict is in no
one’s interest.”
“The whole world is waiting for good news from you,”
Erdogan continued.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was also due
to meet the Ukrainian and Russian delegations on Tuesday.
Turkey previously hosted on March 10 the first meeting
between the Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers following Russia’s invasion
of Ukraine on February 24.
Those talks in the southern city of Antalya failed to
produce a ceasefire or make any other visible progress.
On Monday evening, Erdogan said his country was the
only one, since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, to have made genuine
efforts to find a solution to the crisis through dialogue, negotiation and an
agreement.
Turkey, which shares a Black Sea coast with both
Russia and Ukraine, is seeking to maintain good relations with both and has
offered to mediate since the start of the war.
Ankara is a traditional ally of Kyiv’s and has
supplied the country with Bayraktar drones, which Ukraine has deployed in the
conflict.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Turkey faces risks acting as sanctions ‘safe haven’
for Russians
28 March ,2022
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sparked a flurry of
Western sanctions on Moscow, at least one oligarch and thousands of other
Russians have arrived in Turkey, seen as a safe place to stay, invest and hold
assets despite its NATO membership.
Acting as a safe haven raises risks for Turkey’s
government, banks and businesses that could face tough decisions and penalties
if the United States and others ramp up pressure on Moscow with broader
“secondary” sanctions.
Here is what is at stake:
Why is Turkey attractive to Russians?
Turkey has said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s
decision to invade Ukraine is unacceptable but opposes the sanctions on
principle and is not enforcing them.
Turkey’s economy, already battered by a currency
crisis and soaring inflation, relies heavily on Russian oil, gas, trade and
tourism.
Some 14,000 Russians have reportedly arrived in Turkey
since the war began on Feb. 24, many carrying wads of cash due to blocks on
their US credit cards and challenges in doing basic banking. Realtors say many
are using cash and converted crypto currencies to buy property as a safe
investment.
Roman Abramovich, one of several Russian oligarchs
blacklisted by the West, has also visited Turkey and two of his superyachts
worth a combined $1.2 billion docked at Turkish resorts last week. Oligarchs
could invest more, sources familiar with private talks have told Reuters.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on
Saturday Russian oligarchs and citizens were “of course” welcome and could do
business in Turkey according to international law.
Can the safe haven last?
Western governments have already seized some
oligarchs’ assets, have frozen Russia’s reserves and ousted it from the SWIFT
banking system, and they could press Ankara to tighten loop holes. Analysts say
they could impose secondary sanctions on those doing business with the main
target, Russia.
“If the humanitarian tragedy persists and Putin has no
intention of backing down, I think secondary sanctions are inevitable,” said
Hakan Akbas, founding partner of Istanbul-based Strategic Advisory Services,
which deals with sanctions.
“The West will pay more attention to any potential
loop-hole countries so they don’t become safe havens,” he said. “Ankara’s hands
would be tied... and it would inevitably have to take a tougher stance against
Russia.”
This could send a chill through Turkish banks and
companies dealing with Russian clients or doing business abroad. In 2020, the
US Treasury applied secondary sanctions on Turkey’s Defense Industry
Directorate, its chief and others over Ankara’s purchase of Russian S-400
missiles.
Yet given Turkey’s efforts to mediate between Moscow
and Kyiv, it could avoid the sanctions crossfire. Another round of peace talks
is due to take place in Istanbul this week.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has welcomed Ankara’s
diplomatic role, while adding “we would very much like Turkey to implement all
the sanctions.”
How are banks and companies preparing?
Faced with a flood of new Russian customers, Turkish
banks have resisted some deposit and transfer requests and ramped up compliance
checks for fear of contravening sanctions.
This has frustrated some Russians. But it reflects
caution across the sector that seeks to avoid a repetition of the years-long US
prosecution of Turkish state lender Halkbank, which is accused of having helped
Iran evade US sanctions.
The BDDK bank regulator said it has given no
instruction to limit citizens of any country. But a senior banking source said
the sanctions were nonetheless “perceived as a new risk” and firms had met
several times to discuss it since the war began.
Akbas said big Turkish companies and conglomerates
have more than $10 billion in assets in Russia, and Moscow is now pressing them
to continue operations and pay workers or risk bankruptcy.
Many of them do far more business in the West and may
have to make a “binary decision” whether to leave Russia as several big US and
European brands have done, he said.
Any sanctions fallout could further bruise Turkey’s
reputation among foreign investors after years of unorthodox monetary policy
and outflows.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
North
America
US expresses concern over restrictions on Afghan media
by Taliban
March 29, 2022
The United States on Tuesday (local time) expressed
concern over the latest series of restrictions imposed on Afghan media by the
Taliban and urged the group to cease infringements, including education and
human rights of Afghan people.
The US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in
a statement said that the US is committed to supporting the right of freedom of
expression the world over, especially for journalists and human rights defenders,
to operate freely without fear of violence against them.
On Sunday, the Taliban banned British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC) and Voice of America (VOA) broadcast services in Afghanistan.
The ban is the latest in a series of restrictions the
Islamist group has imposed on Afghan media to stifle freedom of expression
since taking control of the country last August.
"The United States is committed to supporting the
right of freedom of expression the world over, especially for journalists and
human rights defenders, to operate freely without fear of violence against
them," added Price.
"In addition to this restrictive new media
policy, the Taliban continue to move Afghanistan in the wrong direction by
failing to uphold commitments they have made, including their March 23 decision
to prevent girls from attending secondary school. Each of these actions alone
is alarming, but combined, they make clear the Taliban are not living up to the
essential commitments they made to the Afghan people and the international
community," he said.
The US statement further said that the United States
and the international community are paying close attention to the Taliban's
actions inside Afghanistan, and "it is with alarm and deep concern we
learned of the Taliban's decision to stifle the Afghan people's access to
independent, objective, international media sources."
Education and freedom of expression are human rights
held by every person in Afghanistan, the US statement said.
Source: Business Standard
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
U.S.
trial begins for member of Islamic State 'Beatles' cell
By
Jan Wolfe
March
29, 2022
WASHINGTON,
March 29 (Reuters) - An alleged member of a group of Islamic State militants
that beheaded American hostages in Iraq and Syria, nicknamed "The
Beatles" for their British accents, faces a U.S. criminal trial beginning
on Tuesday.
El
Shafee Elsheikh, 33, will stand trial in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia,
just outside Washington, on charges including lethal hostage-taking and
conspiracy to commit murder.
Elsheikh
was one of four ISIS militants belonging to the four-member Islamic State cell.
The cell garnered international attention after releasing videos of the murders
of U.S. journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Kayla
Mueller and Peter Kassig, among other victims.
Two
of the cell's four members, Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey, were held in Iraq by
the U.S. military before being flown to the United States to face trial.
Mohammed
Emwazi, a British citizen who oversaw the executions, died in a drone strike in
2015. Aine Lesley Davis, the fourth member of the group, was convicted in
Turkey on terrorism charges and jailed.
Kotey
pleaded guilty in September 2021 to the murders of Foley, Sotloff, Mueller and
Kassig. He will be sentenced next month.
Kotey
was a citizen of the United Kingdom, but the British government withdrew his
citizenship.
The
charges against Elsheikh, a UK citizen, carry a potential death sentence, but
U.S. prosecutors have advised British officials that they will not seek the
death penalty against Elsheikh or Kotey.
Source:
Reuters
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.reuters.com/world/us-trial-begins-member-islamic-state-beatles-cell-2022-03-29/?rpc=401&
--------
Riz
Ahmed becomes first Muslim to win Oscar for live-action
28th
March 2022
Los
Angeles: Actor Riz Ahmed has made everyone proud, especially the Muslim
community, by winning his first Oscar for Aneil Karia’s live-action short film
‘The Long Goodbye’.
During
his acceptance speech at the 94th Academy Awards, Ahmed talked about the
importance of togetherness at the time when Ukrainians are battling a war.
“In
such divided times, we believe that the role of story is to remind us there is
no ‘us’ and ‘them’. There’s just ‘us’. This is for everyone who feels like they
don’t belong. Anyone who feels like they’re stuck in no man’s land. You’re not
alone. We’ll meet you there. That’s where the future is. Peace,” he said in the
speech.
Ahmed,
who’s British of Pakistani descent, has co-written ‘The Long Goodbye’ along
with Aneil.
Source:
Siasat Daily
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.siasat.com/riz-ahmed-becomes-first-muslim-to-win-oscar-for-live-action-2298083/
--------
US,
Middle East allies show unity during meet in Israel amid Iran worries
28
March ,2022
US
Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a show of unity with Middle East allies
at a rare Israeli-hosted summit on Monday, hoping to allay their misgivings
about an emerging Iranian nuclear deal and Washington’s commitment to the
region.
The
two-day desert retreat was further clouded by US-Russia tensions over Ukraine,
an ISIS-linked attack in Israel and health worries as Israeli Prime Minister
Naftali Bennett was diagnosed with COVID-19 after meeting Blinken.
The
foreign ministers of United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco, which
normalized ties with Israel in a 2020 US diplomatic drive, attended the summit
in Sde Boker -- where the founding Israeli prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, is
buried.
Also
there was the foreign minister of Egypt, which in 1979 became the first Arab
country to make peace with Israel.
“The
(region’s) moderates are convening to talk and to form a front against the
extremists,” Gil Haskel, an official with Israel’s Foreign Ministry, told
public broadcaster Kan, referring to Iran’s hardline rulers.
“There
are nuances, different perspectives being discussed or argued about, there is
some agreement about some issues and less so about others -- but there’s no
doubt in this room around the table that Iran must not be nuclear.”
World
powers’ nuclear talks with Iran were close to a deal several weeks ago until
Russia made last-minute demands of the United States, insisting sanctions
imposed on Moscow over its Ukraine invasion should not affect its trade with
Iran.
Speaking
in Jerusalem alongside his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid, Blinken said on
Sunday that restoring a 2015 nuclear deal was the best way to rein in Iran’s
nuclear program.
But
he added: “When it comes to the most important element, we see eye to eye. We
are both committed, both determined that Iran will never acquire a nuclear
weapon.”
Iran
says its nuclear ambitions are peaceful.
In
another sign the allies were closing ranks against Iran, the Israeli ambassador
to Manama, Eitan Naeh, said on Monday that Israel will appoint a military
attache to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain soon.
Blinken
has been pressing Arab allies to step up support for Ukraine to fend off
Russia’s invasion as several Gulf nations have so far stopped short of
providing meaningful assistance.
Israel
has been trying to mediate an end to the crisis, holding talks with the Russian
and Ukrainian leaders.
Blinken
on Sunday also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, where
he voiced continued US commitment to a two-state solution of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
However,
the prospect of reviving peace talks appears dim.
Jordan’s
King Abdullah arrived in Ramallah to hold talks with Abbas on Monday, a first
such visit in years that was expected to focus on efforts to reduce regional
tensions in the ahead of the holy month of Ramadan.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Africa
Jordan’s
king lands in West Bank on rare trip to meet Abbas: Official
28
March ,2022
Jordan’s
King Abdullah II landed in Ramallah on Monday to meet Palestinian president
Mahmoud Abbas, in his first trip to the Israeli-occupied West Bank since 2017,
Abbas’s office said.
Abdullah’s
visit comes as foreign ministers from four Arab states joined an unprecedented
meeting hosted in Israel, a gathering Israel hailed as “historic,” following a
series of normalization agreements last year, which angered the Palestinians.
The
visit also comes less than a week before Ramadan, the Muslim holy month which
last year saw waves of violence across the West Bank and Israeli-annexed east
Jerusalem.
The
Jordanian king met Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid earlier this month to
discuss strategies for containing unrest during Ramadan.
Palestinian
officials have repeatedly warned that the West Bank, which Israel captured from
Jordan in 1967, was on the verge of “exploding”.
Tensions
in the occupied territory remain high between Palestinian residents and Jewish
settlers, who live in communities widely regarded as illegal under
international law.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Tunisia’s
president warns against attempts to hold sessions of suspended parliament
29
March ,2022
Tunisia’s
president warned late on Monday against attempts to hold sessions of the
suspended parliament saying forces and institutions will confront those who
want to push Tunisians to fight.
Speaker
Rached Ghannouchi said earlier on Monday that parliament will hold two full
sessions this week, to consider revoking President Kais Saied’s moves toward a
new constitution and one-man rule.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Libyan
Education Ministry makes adjustments to schools’ schedules ahead of Ramadan
March
28, 2022
The
Libyan Ministry of Education made adjustments to the study and exam schedules
of schools across Libya, ordering four classes a day in the first week of
Ramadan.
The
Ministry of Education said that principals of schools where classes ate crowded
could coordinate with supervisors to find suitable solutions.
“Mid-year
or spring break will be from April 10 to May 05, while the end of the school
year for first to third graders would be June 30. The exams of second semester
for primary and secondary schools would be from June 26 to July 07.” The
Ministry said, indicating that certificate classes will be for a full day.
Source:
Libya Observer
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Arab
World
EU
says $132 million in Lebanese assets frozen over money laundering concerns
28
March ,2022
The
European Union’s criminal justice cooperation agency Eurojust Monday said it
assisted in freezing some 120 million euros ($132 million) of Lebanese assets
linked to a money laundering investigation.
The
properties and bank accounts, linked to five people suspected of embezzling
around $330 million, were seized in France, Germany, Luxembourg, Monaco and Belgium,
Eurojust said in a statement.
It
did not identify the suspects. A Eurojust spokesperson declined to comment
further and declined to name the suspects, in line with regulations.
Eurojust
has been involved in coordinating meetings between countries probing Lebanon
Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, who Swiss prosecutors suspect of embezzling
some $330 million along with his brother, Raja, according to a letter the Swiss
attorney general sent to Lebanese officials last year, which was seen by
Reuters. At least four other nations, including Germany, France and Luxembourg,
are also probing Salameh.
A
diplomat from one of the countries where the assets were seized confirmed the
move was related to the probes into Salameh and his brother.
A
spokesperson for the central bank did not respond to a request for comment.
The
statement said the assets seized included some 35 million euros worth in
Germany that included properties in Hamburg and Munich, two property complexes
in Paris worth 16 million euros, and Monaco bank accounts worth 46 million
euros.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Angry
protesters torch Kurdish party office in Baghdad
Ali
Jawad
28.03.2022
BAGHDAD
Angry
protesters torched the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in
the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, according to eyewitnesses.
The
incident took place on Sunday evening in protest of a Twitter post by a Kurdish
writer critical of Iraq’s leading Shia cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
Hundreds
of demonstrators stormed the party's headquarters, which was empty at the time,
and set it ablaze, witnesses said.
Iraqi
media said a group affiliated with Shia militias was responsible for the attack,
but without naming it.
For
its part, the KDP on Monday strongly condemned the Kurdish writer's tweet,
considering it an insult to all religious authorities.
"It
is no secret to anyone that the leadership of the KDP has the utmost respect
and appreciation for all rational religious authorities and honorable clerics
and constantly advises its members and cadres to respect all Islamic
authorities and other religions."
The
party also underlined that it believes in religious coexistence, adding that
the writer had no relationship or affiliation with the party and that “his
tweet represents his personal opinion.”
The
Iraqi authorities did not issue any immediate comment on the incident.
The
Kurdish writer has since posted a follow up tweet apologizing for al-Sistani
for what he termed as a “misunderstanding”, while also deleting his earlier
tweet.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/angry-protesters-torch-kurdish-party-office-in-baghdad/2547891
--------
UAE
defies US, Europe to reaffirm oil alliance with Russia
28
March 2022
The
United Arab Emirates (UAE) has underscored its commitment to an oil alliance
with Russia, defying a Western push for the global sanctioning of Russia over
the country’s long-running military operation in Ukraine.
Suhail
al-Mazrouei, the UAE’s energy minister and a former president of the oil
alliance, said on Monday that Russia, which exports roughly 10 million barrels
of oil a day, is an important member of the global OPEC+ energy alliance and no
producer could substitute its production.
"Unless
someone is willing to come and bring 10 million barrels, we don't see that
someone can substitute Russia," Mazrouei said during the Atlantic
Council's global energy forum in Dubai.
The
OPEC+ alliance has been following a plan for gradual oil production increases
based on a deal struck during the height of the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns,
when producers slashed output to make up for the loss in demand for fuel.
The
oil prices have soared to around $120 a barrel, with the United States and
several European nations calling on Persian Gulf Arab oil producers to do more
to help bring down prices.
Mazrouei,
however, said that the OPEC+ alliance was here to stay and shut down any
suggestions that the UAE would break away from the pact and unilaterally
increase production.
"Staying
together, staying focused, and not allowing politics to kick into this
organization ... we always believe that whatever we do as countries when it
comes to production and to this work, it needs always to stay out of
politics," he said.
The
comments by Mazrouei come as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, two close US allies and
leaders of OPEC+, have been constraining their criticism of Russia's military
campaign in Ukraine, while also dodging demands from the US to increase oil
output.
"They
don't want to risk the unity of the group. Having Russia being part of the
OPEC+ group is incredibly important, especially for the Persian Gulf
producers," Amena Bakr, chief OPEC correspondent for Energy Intelligence,
said during a Twitter Spaces panel on Monday morning. "We're at a point
where unity is considered one of the most important factors for the group, and
nobody wants to risk spoiling that unity by suggesting any kind of policy
change."
Abdullah
bin Zayed, the UAE's foreign minister, also visited Moscow earlier this month
to discuss ways to boost bilateral ties.
In
a televised speech on February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a
“special military operation” in Ukraine following Moscow’s recognition of the
eastern regions of Lugansk and Donetsk, collectively known as Donbass.
The
conflict has provoked a unanimous response from Western countries, which have
imposed a long list of sanctions on Moscow. Russia says it will halt the
military operation instantly if Kiev meets Moscow’s list of demands, including
ruling out Ukraine’s membership in NATO.
Since
the start of the conflict, there have been fears of disruptions to major oil
and gas supplied by Russia, prompting European Union states to pursue new
supplies of energy.
US
President Joe Biden last week announced $800 million in additional military aid
for Ukraine.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Kurdistan
has energy capacity to help Europe: Iraqi Kurdish PM
28
March ,2022
The
Kurdish region of northern Iraq has the capacity to make up for at least some
of the energy shortfall in Europe, Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said
on Monday.
Barzani
told an industry conference in Dubai that Kurdistan would soon become an
important source of energy that would meet global demand and it would export to
Turkey in the near future.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Lebanese
MPs once again fail to adopt capital controls
28
March ,2022
Lebanon’s
long-delayed draft capital control law was facing further hold ups on Monday
amid a worsening financial crisis now in its third year.
Formal
capital controls are a policy recommendation of the International Monetary
Fund, from which Lebanon hopes to secure an aid package after the country’s
financial system imploded in 2019, paralyzing the banking system and freezing
depositors out of US dollar accounts.
Members
of Lebanon’s parliament on Monday said they had not adopted at committee level
the draft law pushed for by the government and banks, having announced over the
weekend a new bid to pass the bill at a Tuesday general assembly of parliament.
MP
Ali Hasan Khalil, a top aide to House Speaker Nabih Berri, said that the
government must first formally adopt the law and then refer it to parliament
for approval, adding Berri was ready to schedule another session to adopt the
bill before parliamentary elections on May 15.
A
spokesperson for Lebanon’s Prime Minister said Cabinet would discuss the
capital control bill on Wednesday and refer it to parliament.
Khali
said the bill was referred directly to parliament by a committee, in an
apparent reference to Lebanon’s IMF negotiating team. Deputy Prime Minister
Saade Chami had told Reuters comments from the IMF had been included in the
draft.
The
latest attempt to pass the law comes amid growing tension between members of
the country’s judiciary and its banks, seven of which have had their assets
frozen in three separate actions this month.
Banks
have criticized what they have described as “arbitrary and illegal measures”
against them and renewed their demand for the government to introduce the
capital control law.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Pakistan
‘Terror
Outfits’ Regrouping In Balochistan Via The Iranian Province Of Sistan And
Baluchestan, NA Told
March
29, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
The interior ministry on Monday confirmed that anti-Pakistan terror outfits are
regrouping in Balochistan via the Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan.
This
was revealed in a written reply submitted to the National Assembly during the
question hour in response to a query posed by PPP MNA Dr Shazia Sobia Aslam
Soomro. She asked if it was true that “anti-Pakistan terror outfits are
regrouping in Balochistan via Sistan, and if yes, details thereof along with
action plan thereof, if any”.
In
its response, the interior ministry stated: “Yes, anti-Pakistan terror outfits
are regrouping in Balochistan via Sistan.”
The
response, attributed to Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, also mentioned
the measures being taken by the government to mitigate this trend.
According
to the response placed before the National Assembly on Monday, the National
Intelligence Coordination Committee (NICC) has been institutionalised to
integrate all federal and provincial intelligence grids for effective and
timely countermeasures.
Effective
border management and fencing along the western border would also stem this
tide, the response added.
“Persistent
intelligence-based operations are being undertaken to neutralise terror
organisations,” the response stated, adding that operational capabilities of
the counterterrorism apparatus were being enhanced.
The
response also recalled recent government initiatives to engage disgruntle
Baloch tribesmen for reconciliation, including special socio-economic
development packages for mitigating extremist threats in Balochistan and KP,
and addressing the most marginalised segment of society through the “Ehsaas
Programme” along with engaging the youth in constructive activities.
Banned
terrorist organisations — including Baloch separatists, the Tehreek-i-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP) and the self-styled Islamic State (IS) group — have recently
intensified their activists in different areas of the province, carrying out
terrorist attacks, bomb blasts and targeted killings.
Since
the beginning of the year, these groups have carried out at least seven major
attacks, in which at least 22 people lost their lives, including security
personnel.
Two
major attacks were carried out at the camps of Frontier Corps in Nushki and
Panjgur on Feb 2 at the same time. The attackers were well equipped with the
latest weapons and equipment.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1682311/terror-outfits-regrouping-in-balochistan-na-told
--------
Maryam
Nawaz tells PM Imran Khan time now for 'final push' towards his defeat
Mar
29, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice-President Maryam Nawaz has said that
the time for giving Prime Minister Imran Khan the "final push"
towards his defeat has come.
Addressing
a gathering of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) in Islamabad on Monday,
Maryam Nawaz launched a scathing attack on Imran Khan, in which she criticised
his economic, governance, and foreign policies.
After
the no-confidence motion against Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was tabled
in the National Assembly with a total of 161 votes in favour, the proceedings
were adjourned till March 31.
The
no-confidence motion was submitted by the Opposition parties on March 8. The
Opposition has been confident that its motion would be carried as many PTI
lawmakers have come out in the open against PM Imran Khan.
The
Pakistani National Assembly has a total strength of 342 members, with the
majority mark being 172. The PTI led coalition was formed with the support of
179 members, with Imran Khan's PTI having 155 members, and four major allies
Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid
(PML-Q), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA)
having seven, five, five and three members respectively.
Imran
Khan's situation is precarious given that three of the four allies, that is,
MQM-P, PML-Q and BAP have stated their support for the Opposition's
no-confidence motion and said that they will vote accordingly.
Meanwhile,
Pakistan Opposition has submitted a no-confidence motion against the chief
minister of Punjab province Usman Buzdar in the Punjab Assembly.
Source:
Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Pak
opposition tables no-trust move against Imran, forces Punjab CM's exit
Mar
29, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan PM Imran Khan's much-speculated moment of reckoning arrived on Monday
when leader of the opposition Shehbaz Sharif tabled a no-trust resolution
against his government in the National Assembly, hours after a similar motion
against chief minister Usman Buzdar of Punjab province led to him stepping down
from office.
After
the resolution was placed in the lower house of parliament, it was put to vote
by the chair to ascertain if the move should be accepted. Deputy speaker Qasim
Suri, who was presiding over proceedings in the National Assembly during the
day, granted permission to present the resolution after 161 lawmakers voted in
favour of it. Suri subsequently adjourned the session till March 31.
According
to the rule book, at least 20 per cent votes, which works out to 68 legislators
in the 342-member National Assembly, are required for a no-trust motion against
the PM to be accepted for voting. For the no-trust move to succeed, the
opposition needs votes from at least 172 lawmakers.
With
Shahzain Bugti of Jamhoori Watan Party quiting Imran's coalition, the strength
of the treasury benches has declined to 172, while the opposition’s current
numbers in the house stand at 170.
The
law states that the no-trust resolution shall not be voted on before three
days, or later than seven days, after it is moved in parliament.
Pakistan
Muslim League-Q (PML-Q), one of the government’s key allies, declared it would
vote for Imran. PML-Q’s decision prompted one of its lawmakers, Tariq Bashir
Cheema, to resign from the cabinet and publicly announce he would support the
opposition against the government.
PML-Q
has only five members in the lower house.
In
a bid to appease its ally, Imran's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said PML-Q
leader Pervez Elahi would be its candidate for the vacant Punjab CM's post.
This was followed by Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), another ally of the
government, declaring its support of the opposition’s move against the PM.
BAP’s
parliamentary leader Nawabzada Mir Khalid Khan Magsi made the announcement at a
presser alongside opposition leaders Shehbaz Sharif, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (F)
chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and former president Asif Ali Zardari. BAP has five
lawmakers in the National Assembly.
Mutahidda
Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), the last remaining government ally with seven
legislators in the lower house, has yet to decide which side it is going to
vote for. MQM-P is negotiating with both the government and opposition parties.
Over
two dozen dissident lawmakers of Imran's party are tipped to vote for the
opposition’s motion against the PM. Some of the PTI members, however, denied
defecting to the other side after they were issued show-cause notices by their
party.
In
the Punjab assembly, 127 lawmakers signed the no-trust motion against Buzdar,
while 120 gave their consent to the requisition notice. The signatures of 74
members are required to requisition an assembly session.
Source:
Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Pakistan
Interior Minister unaware of ‘written letter’ giving evidence against PTI
members
28
March, 2022
Islamabad
[Pakistan], March 28 (ANI): Pakistan Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed on Monday
said he does not have any information about the written letter received by Pak
Prime Minister Imran Khan that stated that money has been pouring in from
abroad and some PTI members are trying to topple the government, Pak media
reported.
Addressing
a press conference, Rasheed said the “written letter” provides evidence that
“money has been pouring in from abroad,” Geo TV reported.
“I
have never seen any government complete its tenure; however, my perception has
changed after the historic PTI rally was held yesterday, where the turnout of
supporters was massive,” Rasheed was quoted as saying by the Pakistani channel
Geo TV.
He
added that after 1977, this was his first time to lead a rally.
Regarding
the Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) public gathering scheduled today,
Rasheed said that the JUI-F is not allowed to hold the public rally today and
sit-in as their no-objection certificate (NOC) has expired; however, the
opposition party Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) has permission to hold
their rally today.
“Imran
Khan (Pakistani PM) is laying the foundation of an independent foreign policy,”
he further added.
Rasheed
said that he stands with the Pakistani PM whether he holds power or not.
Regarding
the no-confidence motion, Pakistan Interior Minister said that if the motion is
presented today then the voting in the National Assembly will take place next
Monday (April 4).
Rasheed
further said that he had advised the Pakistani PM to call for an early election
after Hajj and also asked to dissolve the Punjab Assembly and impose governor’s
rule in Sindh as Members of National Assembly (MNAs) were being bought.
Pakistani
PM on Sunday, while addressing a public rally in Islamabad’s Parade Ground,
flashed the letter before the people and said that he has “written evidence”
that “money has been pouring in from abroad,” while “some of our people are
being used to topple the government,” according to Geo TV.
Meanwhile,
Pakistan Opposition has submitted a no-confidence motion against the chief
minister of Punjab province in the Punjab Assembly.
This
comes in the wake of the Opposition’s no-confidence motion against Imran Khan
and increasing pressure within the PTI to remove the incumbent chief minister.
The
no-confidence motion was submitted by the Opposition parties on March 8. The Opposition
has been confident that its motion would be carried as many PTI lawmakers have
come out in the open against PM Imran Khan.
Source:
The Print
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
JUI-F
supporters vow to stay in Islamabad till PM’s removal
Ikram
Junaidi
March
29, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
While a number of political developments were observed at the national level on
Monday, workers of the opposition parties believed that the stage had been set
and their leaders needed to give a last push to topple the government.
Workers
of political parties, who reached Srinagar Highway to attend the public
gathering on Monday, said the government had earned a bad repute because of
price hike, unemployment and worsening economic conditions.
On
the other hand, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) said its workers and
supporters would stay at Srinagar Highway till the outcome of the no-confidence
motion, indicating their plan to move to D-Chowk.
A
worker of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Abdul Qadeer, who came from
Rawlakot (AJK), told Dawn that there were 99pc chances of the government being
removed through the no-trust move.
“I
suggest to my leadership to push a little more as the government was on the
verge of being toppled. Financial conditions of people and the country are
continuously worsening. I am 40 years old and have never seen such a situation
in the past,” he said.
“Though
I have come here because of my family’s affiliation with the PML-N, being a
transporter I can understand how much I have been affected during the last four
years. Four years ago, Rs6,000 were required to change the engine oil of my
vehicle but now it costs Rs14,000,” he said.
Mir
Shah Nawaz Khetran, who belongs to the Balochistan National Party (Mengal) and
came from Barkhan, said the situation was deteriorating across the country.
“Conditions
in Balochistan are even worse. We have reached here to raise a voice against
the law and order situation in the province,” he said, adding that Baloch
students were insecure even in Islamabad as recently one of them went missing
here.
“Sardar
Akhtar Mengal has been making efforts for the rights of the province,” said Mr
Khetran.
JUI-F
worker Abdullah, who came from Shikarpur, said because of the policies of Prime
Minister Imran Khan, people were left with no choice but commit suicide.
“I
have never seen such poor financial conditions of people. We have decided to
stay here and are ready to move towards D-Chowk on the call of Maulana Fazlur
Rehman.”
“We
will not leave the city until the prime minister resigns or is removed through
voting,” he added.
Maqbool
Ahmed, a PML-N supporter from Shakargarh (Punjab), said it was unfortunate that
differences among political leaders were rising.
“It
is not good for society and I suggest that political leaders promote an
environment of peace and harmony otherwise intolerance will increase,” he said.
Another
worker of PML-N, Riaz Ahmed from Sindh, said it was unfortunate that the prime
minister used abusive language against the leadership of his party and Maulana
Rehman.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1682369/jui-f-supporters-vow-to-stay-in-islamabad-till-pms-removal
--------
FM
Qureshi leaves for China to attend meeting on Afghanistan
Naveed
Siddiqui
March
29, 2022
Foreign
Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi left on Tuesday for China to attend the third
meeting of the 'Foreign Ministers of Neighbouring Countries of Afghanistan'.
In
a video message before departing, he said the talks would be attended by
foreign ministers of all the countries in the region. "We will run through
the situation of peace in Afghanistan and discuss its economic development and
connectivity projects."
During
the visit, Qureshi revealed, he would hold multiple bilateral meetings with his
counterparts from China, Russia and Iraq, among others.
"This
[the talks] is an important platform for consensus-building," he said,
adding that as a whole, the trip would be "fully packed".
Meanwhile,
according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office, the minister said
Pakistan wanted good relations with all nations, adding that other countries
wanted good ties with Pakistan as well – which was witnessed by the
participation of several countries in a recent meeting of the Organisation of
Islamic Cooperation’s foreign ministers hosted by Islamabad.
The
statement said Pakistan fully supports a regional approach on Afghanistan for
promoting durable peace and stability in the region.
"Pakistan
will continue to support the international community’s efforts to advance the
shared objectives of a peaceful, stable, sovereign, prosperous and connected
Afghanistan," it read.
He
is scheduled to return on Thursday (March 31).
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1682398/fm-qureshi-leaves-for-china-to-attend-meeting-on-afghanistan
--------