Hacked Files Focused on Counter-Terrorism, And Deradicalisation Divulge China’s Persecution of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang
New Age Islam News Bureau
25 May 2022
As the UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, visits cities in the region, a new cache
of hacked Chinese police photographs and documents has been leaked, revealing
the human toll of Beijing’s treatment of its Uyghur minority in Xinjiang.
-----
• Change Gyanvapi Mosque to Gyanvapi Temple on Google
Maps: Bengaluru School Emails Alumni, Preethi Krishnamoorthy, Based In Hawaii
• ‘Appalled’ US Suspects Uyghur Abuse Approved At
Beijing ‘Highest Levels’
• Islamophobia 'More Common' In Bosnia Herzegovina
than In Rest of Europe
• The Taliban Sets Up a Commission to Convene a Loya
Jirga for the Peace and Development of Afghanistan
Southeast
Asia
• Indonesia May Outlaw Gay Sex amid Growing Anti-LGBTQ
Sentiment
• Reject Preachers Who Go Against Islamic Values of
Humanity and Mercy: Singapore Muslim Leaders Urge
• Malaysia’s support of Palestinians should be echoed
by all Muslim countries: Envoy
--------
India
• “Temple-Like Architectural Structure" Inside
the Malali Juma Masjid near Mangaluru; the Mosque Was Once a Temple,
Section 144 Imposed
• Varanasi's Gyanvapi Mosque: New Plea in Court from
Where Case Was Moved
• BJP woos Muslim faces from backward castes
• Was Pune’s Punyeshwar Temple Destroyed to Build a Muslim
Shrine? Historian Disagrees
• Varanasi: Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh chief seeks ban
on entry of Muslims into Gyanvapi premises
• Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi: Copy of HC order on Shahi
Idgah Mosque dispute submitted to Mathura court
• 3 Pakistani terrorists, Jammu and Kashmir cop killed
in Baramulla encounter
• Witnesses: Dawood is in Pakistan, sends Rs 10 lakh
per month to siblings
• ‘Lashkar man’ trying to recruit cadre held in Pune,
hunt on for 3 others
• NSA Ajit Doval to bat for inclusive Afghanistan govt
at Dushanbe meet
--------
North
America
• FBI Says It Thwarted Islamic State Supporter’s Plot
to Kill Ex-US President Bush
• US adds Hamas-linked individual, entities to
sanctions list: Treasury
• US urges Greece, Turkiye 'to work together to
maintain peace'
• US condemns, warns Turkey against plans for military
operation in Syria
--------
Europe
• Six Convicted For Harassing French Teenager Over
Anti-Islam Videos
• Social entrepreneurship project for refugees, host
communities in Turkiye to start this week
• NATO chief acknowledges Turkiye’s concerns on
Sweden, Finland's membership bids
Sweden, Finland delegations in Turkey for NATO talks
--------
South
Asia
• UN Security Council Calls on the Taliban to
“Reverse” the Policies Restricting the Human Rights
• The Taliban Signs the Agreement with UAE to
Cooperate on Airport Operations
• Boat carrying Rohingya fleeing Myanmar capsizes,
killing 16
--------
Pakistan
• Pak-Afghan People Bound In Religious, Social Ties:
Minister Religious Affairs
• Imran Khan's Azadi March: PTI Members Arrested, Islamabad
Sealed
• Parvez supports PTI’s long march, Tahirul Qadri
stays away
• Default Threat Reaches Pakistan in Deepening
Political Crisis
• Pakistan bans ousted PM Khan's protest march after
policeman killed
• Gwadar anti-terrorism court grants bail to terror
suspect
--------
Arab
World
• Iraq's Political Stalemate Raising Chances of Shia on
Shia Clashes
• Egypt approves flights from Houthi-held Yemen
capital: Government
• Lebanon currency hits new low after vote, crisis
deepens
• Three Turkish soldiers killed in Iraq: Defence
ministry
• Iraqi officials: Attacks by ISIS militants kill 12
civilians
• PKK terror group targets TV station building with
rockets in Iraq's Duhok city
• Egypt's National Dialogue unlikely to include Muslim
Brotherhood
--------
Mideast
• Iranian Deputy FM: West Rewards Terrorists by
Silence
• President: US Admits Disgraceful Failure in Maximum
Pressure Policy against Iran
• Commander: Iran to Make Enemies Regret Terror Attack
on IRGC Officer
• Iran: Israel Playing Role of Terrorists in Syria
• Palestinian teen shot dead in Israeli raid on West
Bank
• Turkish minister aims to boost Palestinian economy
in rare West Bank trip
• 5 Turkish soldiers killed by PKK terror group in
northern Iraq
• Turkish foreign minister’s visit to Israel ‘very
important’: Spokesman
--------
Africa
• Al-Sunni Stresses Importance of US Role in Libyan Peace
Process
• Somali foreign minister suspended over charcoal
export to Oman breaking UN sanctions
• Somali prime minister suspends foreign minister
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
--------
Hacked Files Focused On Counter-Terrorism, And
Deradicalisation Divulge China’s Persecution of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang
As the UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, visits cities in the region, a new cache
of hacked Chinese police photographs and documents has been leaked, revealing
the human toll of Beijing’s treatment of its Uyghur minority in Xinjiang.
-----
By Saqalain Eqbal
24 May 2022
As the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle
Bachelet, visits cities in the region, a new cache of hacked Chinese police
photographs and documents has been leaked, revealing the human toll of
Beijing’s treatment of its Uyghur minority in Xinjiang.
Thousands of photos of those detained are included in
the files, as well as details of a shoot-to-kill policy for those who attempt
to escape.
The governing Chinese Communist Party is accused of
detaining over a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the far-western
province, which according to the US and western politicians is called “genocide”.
Researchers and protesters accuse Chinese authorities
of pursuing a campaign of forced labour, coercive permanent contraception,
massive incarceration and the destruction of Uyghur cultural heritage in
Xinjiang, in addition to widespread detentions.
Chinese officials and diplomats dismiss such claims as
“lies,” insisting that Beijing’s Xinjiang policy is focused on
counter-terrorism, and deradicalization.
The files contained “shocking details of China’s human
rights violations” against the Uyghur Muslim people, according to UK Foreign
Secretary Liz Truss.
Truss said UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle
Bachelet should be allowed full access to Xinjiang during her official visit to
China.
The files’ source claims to have hacked, retrieved,
and decrypted them from a number of Xinjiang police computer servers, which was
then passed to the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
The Chinese government’s treatment of Muslims in
Xinjiang has sparked international outrage and been criticised by some Islamic
governments.
Source: Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.khaama.com/hacked-files-divulge-chinas-persecution-of-uyghur-muslims-in-xinjiang38493/
--------
Change Gyanvapi Mosque to Gyanvapi Temple on Google
Maps: Bengaluru School Emails Alumni, Preethi Krishnamoorthy, Based In Hawaii
Although the management has reportedly approached the
police, nothing has been registered so far. (File)
-----
By Sanath Prasad | Bengaluru |
May 25, 2022
After a controversy over its May 20 email to alumni
asking them to change the name of Gyanvapi Mosque to Gyanvapi Temple on Google
Maps, New Horizon Public School in Bengaluru has issued a clarification, saying
that the email was sent “without proper screening procedures”.
“Reports of the email sent out about disrespecting
certain religious sentiments have come to our notice and the issue is being
handled with the highest priority. We wish to clarify that the email was sent
without proper screening procedures that is required of all our email
communications. We take pride in the cultural and religious diversity of India,
we practice the same in the letter and spirit every day with everything we do
at our school,” the school said.
Preethi Krishnamoorthy, an alumnus based in Hawaii,
received the controversial email on May 20. She even took to social media to
expose the school’s “shocking” conduct. “I was shocked when I received the
email, not because it was sent by my school but because such an extreme email
was sent by a school. A school is supposed to teach its students to think
critically, so they can grow up to be reasonable individuals capable of
differentiating between right and wrong based on the information presented to
them. Any educational institution should be a place for free thought, unlike
the email that is brainwashing the present and future generations into
unthinking obedience,” she said.
The email was a part of the alumni emails that the
students who have signed up for receive. According to Krishnamoorthy, the
school had also sent an email during the release of ‘The Kashmir Files’. The
email contained texts encouraging the alumni to watch the movie and also
equated some of the incidents and characters of the movie to Mahabharata. Only
3-4 newsletters are sent to students in the course of a year. Most of the
newsletters are related to the meets and events that have happened in the
school.
An alumnus, who did not wish to be named, said the
email on the Gyanvapi mosque controversy has disturbed her personally. “The
first email on ‘The Kashmir Files’ was very weird and I found it strange that a
school is promoting a movie. The second email on the mosque was very
disturbing. I had stopped reading news after the controversies over azaan and
halal and now this incident has disturbed me further. I have unsubscribed the
newsletter. A lot of my school memories are now destroyed after this incident.
I am feeling let down,” said the alumnus.
According to officials at the Kothanur police station,
the school’s management claimed that a fake WhatsApp group has been created and
the alleged letter is being circulated on different groups. Although the
management has reportedly approached the police, no case has been registered so
far.
Source: Indian Express
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
‘Appalled’ US Suspects Uyghur Abuse Approved At Beijing
‘Highest Levels’
"We are appalled by the reports and the jarring
images," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. (File/AFP)
----
May 24, 2022
WASHINGTON: The United States voiced horror Tuesday at
new files on the incarceration of China’s Uyghur minority and said they showed
that abuse was likely approved at the highest levels in Beijing.
“We are appalled by the reports and the jarring
images,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
“It would be very difficult to imagine that a systemic
effort to suppress, to detain, to conduct a campaign of genocide and crimes
against humanity would not have the blessing — would not have the approval — of
the highest levels of the PRC government,” he said, referring to the People’s
Republic of China.
The United States accuses Beijing of carrying out
genocide against the Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim, Turkic-speaking people in
the western region of Xinjiang, where rights groups say more than one million
people have been rounded up.
“We have and we continue to call on the PRC to
immediately release all those arbitrarily detained people, to abolish the
internment camps, to end mass detention, torture, forced sterilization, and the
use of forced labor,” Price said.
Adrian Zenz, an academic who has probed the treatment
of the Uyghurs, published a leak of thousands of photos and official documents
that shed new light on violent methods to enforce mass internment.
The files, parts of which have been verified by
multiple news organizations including the BBC and Le Monde, also provide a
window into life in detention facilities.
Photos appear to show officers restraining hooded and
shackled inmates with batons, while other guards wearing camouflage stand by
with firearms.
The release comes just as UN human rights chief
Michelle Bachelet started a visit to China that was criticized by the United
States, which says that she had not secured sufficient access.
The US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda
Thomas-Greenfield, said in a tweet that Bachelet “must take a hard look at
these faces and press Chinese officials for full, unfettered access — and
answers.”
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2088936/world
--------
Islamophobia 'More Common' In Bosnia Herzegovina Than
In Rest Of Europe
Photo: aa.com
----
Talha Ozturk
24.05.2022
BELGRADE, Serbia
There is more Islamophobia in Bosnia and Herzegovina
than there is in the rest of Europe, the head of a Muslim organization in the
country said on Tuesday.
"Unfortunately, Islamophobia exists in our
society. We may suffer it from Bosnians, Croats, or Serbs. Islamophobia, we can
say, is more common in Bosnia and Herzegovina than in (other) European
countries," Husein Kavazovic Kavazovic, the president of the Islamic Union
group, told Anadolu Agency in an interview.
Explaining that Islamophobia is "a kind of
racism," Kavazovic said this form of discrimination is still rife in the
Balkan country despite Muslims and non-Muslims living together within its
borders.
"Even though we see each other often,
unfortunately, this is the case," he lamented, adding that most people do
not expect to encounter Islamophobia in Bosnia and Herzegovina or its capital,
Sarajevo.
Kavazovic argued that Islam is not fully understood in
Bosnia and Herzegovina, nor, for example, the meaning of the headscarf, also
known as a hijab, that many Muslim women wear.
Noting that some Muslim women are forced out of their
jobs or not given work because they wear the hijab, he said this was a
"ridiculous" practice by employers.
No force can bring repeat of events in 1990s
Amid rising concerns in the country of ethnic
secessionism, Kavazovic said many feared that the simmering tensions would
devolve into a new war.
"As a small country, we went through a very
painful war," said the Muslim leader, adding, however: "When I look
at the current situation, there's no force that can repeat what happened in the
1990s in Bosnia and Herzegovina."
"People who talk about stories of a possible war
only make life difficult. That's why our young people and children go live
abroad. But, it's still good to be careful," said Kavazovic.
The Bosnian War began on March 1, 1992 and lasted
until Dec. 14, 1995.
More than 100,000 people lost their lives in the war,
while around 2 million were uprooted from their homes.
The country suffered greatly during its war of independence,
which included a siege of Sarajevo and the genocide of Srebrenica, Europe's
worst war-time atrocity since 1945.
The siege of the capital Sarajevo began on April 5,
1992. It took 1,425 days in total and a total of 11,541 people in Sarajevo,
1,601 of whom were children, were killed.
More than 50,000 civilians were injured by about
500,000 shells dropped on the city.
An average of 329 mortar shells were fired into the
city every day.
In the town of Srebrenica, about 80 kilometers east of
the capital, more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed when
Bosnian Serb forces attacked in July 1995, despite the presence of Dutch
peacekeeping troops.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
The Taliban Sets Up a Commission to Convene a Loya
Jirga for the Peace and Development of Afghanistan
Shahabuddin Delawar, Taliban Minister of Mines and
Petroleum, announced the formation of a commission to convene a Loya Jirga.
----
By Saqalain Eqbal
24 May 2022
Shahabuddin Delawar, Taliban Minister of Mines and
Petroleum, announced the formation of a commission to convene a Loya Jirga.
The Taliban official did not provide a specific date
for the Jirga, but stated that all Afghans, particularly influential peace
figures, would be invited.
“There will be a Loya Jirga in which all Afghans will
participate,” Delawar stated. “The influential Afghans who will be effective
for the peace and development of Afghanistan,” he added.
So far, no information on the members of the
commission or the Loya Jirga’s date has been disclosed.
The international community also emphasized
reconciliation talks as a means of establishing a government that is
“acceptable to all Afghans.”
According to the National Resistance Front, the
Taliban have formed the Loya Jirga commission and seeking legitimacy and
international recognition through this “tribal approach.”
On Monday, May 23, the front tweeted that the Taliban
were on the wrong track and that the only way to restore Afghanistan’s
international dignity was for the country to resist and form an election-based
government.
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai had previously
urged the Taliban to convene a Loya Jirga in order to gain domestic legitimacy
and international recognition.
Source: Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.khaama.com/the-taliban-sets-up-a-commission-to-convene-a-loya-jirga37648/
--------
Southeast
Asia
Indonesia may outlaw gay sex amid growing anti-LGBTQ sentiment
2022.05.24
Indonesia’s parliament is debating a bill that would
outlaw so-called deviant sexual behavior, raising alarm among human rights
activists about a possible increase in violence against LGBTQ people.
Homosexuality and extramarital sex are not outlawed in
Muslim-majority Indonesia, but some among the more conservative followers of
Islam here view them as vices. It is only in Aceh province where a version of
Islamic law, or sharia, is in force, punishable by up to 100 lashes of the
cane.
However, a contentious new bill to amend Indonesia’s
criminal code contains provisions that would criminalize sex outside marriage,
including homosexual acts, said Kurniasih Mufidayati, a lawmaker involved in
deliberating the bill that may be passed in July.
“Yes, it’s true [there are clauses in the draft bill
under which extramarital sex] is subjected to criminal punishment ... LGBT
included,” she told BenarNews on Tuesday.
She also said there were clauses criminalizing
“deviant sexual behavior.”
“Allowing promiscuity is against … the constitution,”
she added, but declined to give details.
Bill discussion on Wednesday
Anti-LGBT sentiment has been growing in Indonesia
lately.
On Monday, Indonesia summoned the United Kingdom’s
envoy after the British embassy came under fire from conservative Muslim groups
and politicians here for flying a rainbow flag in support of sexual minorities.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah called the
embassy’s move “utterly insensitive.”
Last week, the embassy also had posted a rainbow flag
photo on Instagram to mark the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia
and Transphobia, with text that said: “The U.K. will champion LGBT+ rights and
support those who defend them … LGBT+ rights are fundamental human rights.
The post led to a flurry of criticism from conservative
Muslim leaders and politicians, who accused the British embassy of
disrespecting “Indonesian values and norms.”
Earlier this month, there was a public backlash
against a popular YouTube talk show hosted by an Indonesian celebrity that
featured a gay couple. The host was forced to remove the video and later
apologized.
In a Twitter exchange with a conservative Muslim
politician who called for action against homosexuality prompted by this
episode, a minister, Mohammad Mahfud MD, said he had advocated for the
inclusion of extramarital sex and same-sex relations in the criminal code since
2017.
“But you guys [lawmakers] still have not passed it. We
can’t take legal action until there is a legal basis. When will it be passed?
We’ll wait,” tweeted the coordinating minister for political, legal and
security affairs.
The proposed amendments to the criminal code did not
specifically mention LGBT but they called for criminal penalties against anyone
engaging in same-sex activity “in certain circumstances and ways,” Mahfud MD
also said. He did not elaborate.
Last week, he called on those who object to its
contents to challenge it at the Constitutional Court.
On Monday, Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Edward
Hiariej said there was no mention of “LGBT” in the draft bill.
He said officials from his ministry would meet with
lawmakers to discuss the bill on Wednesday.
‘Violation of human rights’
To outlaw same-sex relations would violate the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Indonesia
has ratified, according to Johanna Purba, a researcher at the Center for Legal
and Policy Studies.
“Criminaliz[ing] someone because of their sexual
orientation is a violation of human rights and interferes with the right to
privacy,” Johanna told BenarNews.
Dede Oetomo, an activist for gay rights, criticized
Mahfud MD for advocating the outlawing of homosexual relations at a time when
more countries have started to recognize the rights of sexual minorities.
Source: Benar News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Reject Preachers Who Go Against Islamic Values of
Humanity and Mercy: Singapore Muslim Leaders Urge
Hariz Baharudin
MAY 24, 2022
SINGAPORE - A group of senior Muslim religious leaders
in Singapore on Tuesday (May 24) called on Muslims to reject preachers who hold
views that go against Islamic and universal values of humanity and mercy.
The Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG) did not name
any individuals in its statement, but shared in a Facebook post media reports
on why Singapore had denied entry to Indonesian preacher Abdul Somad Batubara
over his extremist teachings.
"The Religious Rehabilitation Group responds with
deep embarrassment and utmost regret to a fellow preacher who appears to
possess and propagate views that are opposed to accepted Islamic and universal
values of humanity, mercy and unconditional love to others," said the
group in a Facebook post.
"We stand strong by the Singapore Government's
position that divisive and segregationist views have no place in this
country."
The RRG brings together Islamic scholars and teachers
who voluntarily assist in the religious counselling of radicalised individuals,
including terror detainees, and inoculate the wider community against extremist
views.
On Monday, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam
shared that Somad had been on the authorities' radar for some time, when it
emerged that some individuals investigated for radicalisation had been watching
his videos and following his preachings.
Among them was a 17-year-old detained under the
Internal Security Act in January 2020, who had watched Somad's YouTube lectures
on suicide bombing, and began to believe such bombers were martyrs.
The minister also noted that Somad had denigrated
Christian symbols, and after Somad publicised his being turned away, some of
his supporters posted threats against Singapore online.
Somad has a sizeable following online, but is also a
controversial figure in Indonesia, where mainstream Muslim leaders have
criticised his divisive teachings.
In its statement, the RRG specifically addressed three
points concerning Somad's teachings, and clarified how these are opposed to
accepted Islamic and universal values.
One, by suggesting a parallel between prophetic wars
and suicide bombings, he "shows a severe lack of understanding of the
principles and tenets of wars in Islam".
Two, "by degrading the places, ways or
instruments of worship of others, he has breached the foundational principle of
interfaith relations and dialogue in Islam - respect", the RRG said.
It noted that interfaith relations are built upon
similarities and appreciation of differences as a divine blessing.
Three, Muslims should reject such preachers or others
with views opposed to the spirit of the shariah, or Islamic law, even if they
are from within their own fold, the RRG said.
This is because they should support the truth and
reject falsehoods, no matter who they originate from.
The RRG said that it regards harmonious and cohesive
life in a multiracial society as a key part of living in Singapore, and called
on Muslims here to value and cherish the country's peace and harmony.
"Let us preserve this stability and not let any
divisive statements be a setback to the harmonious preservation of faith and
humanity that we all work for," it added.
Source: Straits Times
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Malaysia’s support of Palestinians should be echoed by
all Muslim countries: Envoy
05- 23- 2022
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri
Yaakob’s(pix) statement at the ASEAN-United States Special Summit recently is a
strong message to all Muslim nations to be united in defending the oppressed
Palestinian people, said Palestinian Ambassador to Malaysia Walid Abu Ali.
Calling Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
member countries and Arab League as well as all nations that believe in
democracy and human rights to take similar action, he said they have to use
their influence to put serious pressure on Israel.
“Be united once, just to give hope to Palestinians,
just to make Palestinians feel that they are backed up by their own 1.7 billion
Muslim brothers and sisters around the world. It’s not enough to keep silent.
“I know the maximum we could get out of Arab and
Muslim countries just condemn on the Israeli settlement. This is not enough.
“Malaysia doesn’t hesitate to do its best, but
Malaysia alone can’t do it. We need other countries to do the same. There’s no
reason why other countries can’t do the same,” he said in a talk show programme
titled ‘Bicara Khas: Justice for Palestine’ on Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM)
on Sunday night.
During the ASEAN leaders’ meeting with President Joe
Biden at the special summit in Washington, D.C. on May 13, Ismail Sabri urged
the United States to be honest and transparent in dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.
“Israeli atrocities must be stopped. The US must be
honest in resolving the issue. If the US can take swift action in Ukraine, we
want the same swift action to be taken on the Palestinian issue,” the Prime
Minister said.
He stressed that the state of terrorism carried out by
the Israelis against the Palestinians continued and witnessed by the
international community on daily basis, but no concrete actions have been taken
to stop the Israeli atrocities.
“Europe and United States of America managed to take
sanctions against Russia and for what’s happening in Ukraine. Why for one time
(they) can’t do the same against Israel?
“We as Palestinians are so frustrated and we believe
that we have been ignored by the international community,” he said.
Noting that the stability in the Middle East could
only be achieved if Palestinians get their rights, Abu Ali said Israel will
never enjoy peace without putting an end to the Palestinian suffering.
Source: The Sun Daily
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
India
“Temple-Like Architectural Structure" Inside the Malali Juma Masjid near Mangaluru; the Mosque Was Once a Temple, Section 144 Imposed
MAY 25, 2022
The discovery of a “temple-like architectural
structure" inside the Malali Juma Masjid on the outskirts of Mangaluru has
prompted authorities to impose Section 144 within a 500-meter area of the
mosque till 8 am of May 26.
The Hindu temple-like architectural design was
discovered underneath the old mosque in Malali village on the outskirts of
Mangaluru city on April 21 during the renovation work of the mosque. The
matter, however, is now brewing with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) performing
ritual in Malali to find out whether the mosque was once a temple.
Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said that the
the district administration is monitoring everything, adding that section 144
has been imposed in the area.
The prohibitory orders came amid VHP performing
‘Tambula Prashne’ at Sri Ramanjaneya Bhajana Mandira in Malali on Wednesday.
After the structure was discovered, VHP had hinted at
the possibility of a “Ram Mandir-like campaign" and vowed to continue the
legal fight for the premises.
In the ritual conducted on Wednesday, the VHP claimed
to have found “presence of divine Shivasanidya (divine power of lord Shiva) at
the mosque premises. They claimed that the place belongs to Vasu Vadhiraj Matt
and that along with lord Shiva, there are other powers too.
Source: News18
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Varanasi's Gyanvapi Mosque: New Plea In Court From
Where Case Was Moved
May 25, 2022
New Delhi: A new petition seeking a ban on the entry
of Muslims to the Gyanvapi Mosque complex is likely to be taken up by a
Varanasi court today.
The petition, which was filed by the Vishwa Vedic
Sanatan Sangh in the court of civil judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar yesterday, also
sought permission for Hindus to worship the "Shivling" purportedly
found in the mosque complex
The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the transfer of
the Gyanvapi mosque case from civil judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar to the district
judge, Varanasi in a view complexity of matters.
The Court asked district judge A K Vishevesh to decide
on priority, the issue of 'maintainability' in the case as sought by the mosque
committee. The committee says that a case over the right to worship inside the
mosque, and the court-ordered filming are both illegal.
The top court also said that its order asking for
status quo inside the mosque complex would remain in operation pending the
disposal of the mosque committee's plea, and "thereafter for a period of
eight weeks so as to enable any party which is aggrieved by the order of the
District Judge to pursue its rights and remedies in accordance with the
law."
The court of district judge A K Vishevesh, which is
now hearing the case as per the Supreme Court's directions, yesterday fixed May
26 for a hearing on the maintainability issue.
The court also gave a week's time to both Hindu and
Muslim sides to file objections to the report of court-mandated filming at the
mosque.
Early last week, lawyers representing Hindu
petitioners claimed that a "Shivling" was found during the filming of
the Gyanvapi mosque complex.
The claim was disputed by the mosque committee members
who said it was part of the water fountain mechanism in the wazookhana
reservoir, used by devotees to perform ritual ablutions before offering namaz.
The district court had then ordered the sealing of the wazookhana.
Source: ND TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
BJP woos Muslim faces from backward castes
25th May 2022
By Rajesh Kumar Thakur
NEW DELHI: Buoyed by the recent growth in votes from
the backward castes of Muslims in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP is said to have
chalked out a pan-India strategy to woo the “prominent, influential and young
new faces” from these sections in every state in the run up to the next general
elections.
Plans are afoot to highlight the benefits of welfare
schemes launched for these segments of OBCs by the union as well as BJP states
in order to engage them in the party affairs at the local level. The BJP’s
think tank believes that the schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, the
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna, free ration, the Ujjawala Yojna and
others have hugely benefited the backward castes of Muslim.
A party insider said that the Uttar Pradesh poll
results made the party confident that the voters from backward castes of the
Muslim community had reposed trust in the leadership of PM Narendra Modi and
the welfare schemes started by the BJP governments.
“We will now bring prominent and influential people
and young faces of backward Muslim to the forefront in the party assigning them
responsibility at local level and in governance also,” said a senior BJP
leader.
Citing some recent moves in promoting Muslim leaders
within the party in states like Uttar Pradesh and others, the BJP source said
that Danish Azad Ansari, who belongs to backward caste of Muslim was made a
minister in the Yogi Adityanath government as part of the party’s new
strategy.
Source: New Indian Express
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Was Pune’s Punyeshwar temple destroyed to build a
Muslim shrine? Historian disagrees
Pankaj Khelkar
Pune
May 25, 2022
Following claims by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena
(MNS) claims that the Punyeshwar and Narayaneshwar temples in Pune were
demolished to make way for dargahs, writer and historian Sanjay Sonawani has
conjectured that there were no temples on the land when the Kwaaja Sheikh
Sallauddin Shrine was built in the 14th century.
Speaking to India Today, Sonawani said it was around
1328 that Sheikh Saluddin Gazi Chisty, a Sufi saint, came to Devagiri along
with the invader Allauddin Khilji. At that time, Khilji had already established
the Delhi sultanate.
Alauddin Khilji had invaded Ramdevrai's kingdom in
Devagiri area around the year 1290, he had signed a treaty signed with
Ramdevrai of Devagiri. But Bhillam, the son of Ramdevrai, decided to rebel a
few years later. Consequently, Alauddin Khilji sent Malik Kaffur to Devagiri to
once again to invade the Yadav Kingdom. This time, Sufi saint Sheikh Saluddin
Gazi Chisty came to Devagiri, and later to Pune, with Arab Sadar, the commander
of Kaffur.
Devagiri was completely destroyed in the attack, but
Malik Kaffur did not destroy the Grishneshwar temple, the Elora caves or the
Kailash caves of Lord Shiva. This shows that Malik Kaffur respected other
religions, said Sonawani.
Kaffur continued to camp in Devagiri area (present
Aurangabad) for some time. Later, he ordered his commander Arab Sadar to attack
Kondana (present day Sinhanad). So in 1320, Commander Arab set his camp near
Punavadi village, which is modern day Pune.
Historical records say that Sheikh Sallauddin Gazi
Chisty had accompanied him. It is believed that this was a regular practise by
invaders to have a religious expert along with the army, to boost the troops’ morale
and also give religious preachings.
It was in Punavadi that Sheikh Sallauddin Gazi Chisty
had a small shrine constructed. After his demise in 1358, the shrine was
converted into a dargaah, Sonawani said. Today, it is in Pune’s Kasba Peth.
Source: India Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Varanasi: Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh chief seeks ban
on entry of Muslims into Gyanvapi premises
May 24, 2022
VARANASI: Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh (VVSS) chief
Jitendra Singh Visen on Tuesday filed a petition before the court of civil
judge (senior division), demanding ban on entry of Muslims into the Gyanvapi
compound, handing over the Gyanvapi premises to Hindus and permitting regular
"puja-archana" (worshipping) of Lord Aadi Visheshwar.
He has made his wife Kiran Singh plaintiff in the
matter.
According to Visen, the court has accepted the VVSS
petition and fixed May 25 for hearing it.
Visen-led VVSS is backing the five women plaintiffs
seeking permission for daily worship and performing rituals at Shringar Gauri,
Lord Ganesh, Lord Hanuman and Nandi in the Gyanvapi premises.
Visen reached the court of civil judge to file the
petition on Tuesday.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi: Copy of HC order on Shahi
Idgah Mosque dispute submitted to Mathura court
24th May 2022
MATHURA: A copy of the Allahabad High Court order
directing the disposal of pleas related to the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi
Idgah Mosque dispute within four months was submitted to a court here.
The Allahabad High Court on May 12 has directed the
lower court concerned to decide within four months the temporary injunction
application as well as a plea for bunching together the trial in all pending
cases related to the dispute.
The copy of the order was submitted in the court of
civil judge (senior division), a petitioner's counsel said.
The civil judge directed to present the order during
next hearing on July 1, said Deepak Sharma, a counsel for petitioner Manish
Yadav.
Source: New Indian Express
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
3 Pakistani terrorists, Jammu and Kashmir cop killed
in Baramulla encounter
May 25, 2022
SRINAGAR: Three Pakistani terrorists and a Jammu and
Kashmir policeman were killed in an encounter in Baramulla district on
Wednesday, police said.
"Three Pakistani terrorists killed. One JKP
personnel also attained martyrdom in this chance encounter. Incriminating
materials including arms and ammunition recovered. Further details shall
follow," inspector general of police, Kashmir zone, Vijay Kumar tweeted.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Witnesses: Dawood is in Pakistan, sends Rs 10 lakh per
month to siblings
May 25, 2022
Mumbai: A witness in the money-laundering case against
NCP minister Nawab Malik has told Enforcement Directorate that Iqbal Kaskar had
told him that his older brother, fugitive terror accused Dawood Ibrahim, who is
based in Pakistan, sends Rs 10 lakh to his siblings every month.
“Kaskar told me Dawood would send money through his
men. He said he too would get Rs 10 lakh every month. On a couple of occasions,
he showed me wads of cash and said he’d received the money from Dawoodbhai,”
Khalid Usman Shaikh told ED.
Khalid’s brother, who was Kaskar’s childhood friend,
was killed in a gang war. He was also known to Dawood’s sister Haseena Parkar’s
driver-cum-bodyguard Salim Patel. Khalid told ED that once Patel had told him
that he, along with Haseena, were extorting money using Dawood’s name and
encroaching upon properties. ED alleged that Patel, along with Haseena, also
illegally grabbed the Goawala compound in Mumbai’s Kurla area which they later
sold to Malik’s family.
Several witnesses, including Kaskar and Haseena’s son
Alishah (29), have also spoken about Dawood residing in Pakistan. “His wife’s
name is Mehjabeen. He has five children. One son named Moin. All his daughters
are married. His son also married,” said Kaskar, who is arrested in extortion
and money-laundering cases. Kaskar added that another brother, Anees, an
accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, too lives in Pakistan.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
‘Lashkar man’ trying to recruit cadre held in Pune,
hunt on for 3 others
May 25, 2022
PUNE: The Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) arrested
a man from Pune’s Dapodi neighbourhood on Tuesday for his alleged links with
Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives in Kashmir and for conspiring with a terrorist
module to recruit members for the outfit and impart weapons training to them.
ATS is looking for three men from Kashmir linked to
the arrested suspect, Mohammed Junaid alias Mohammed Ata, 28. They allegedly
gave Junaid money to buy a cell phone and 10 SIM cards. Junaid has been accused
of using the cell phone and SIM cards to create five Facebook accounts with
different names to recruit people and train them as terrorists. Junaid from
Maharashtra’s Buldhana district was working with a scrap dealer in Dapodi. A
special judge sent him to ATS custody till June 3. ATS inspector Swapnil Chavan
has registered an FIR against Junaid and the three others.
Special prosecutor Vilas Fargade told the court that
between 2021 and April this year, Junaid became a member of a WhatsApp group in
which anti-national and terrorism-linked messages were posted with an objective
to incite members. He said ATS needed time to question Junaid and find out the
module’s modus operandi.to recce and attack high-security installations and
public places. Junaid did not engage any counsel to present his case. The court
appointed lawyer Yashpal Purohit from the Pune legal services authority to
defend him.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
NSA Ajit Doval to bat for inclusive Afghanistan govt
at Dushanbe meet
May 25, 2022
NEW DELHI: NSA Ajit Doval will travel to Dushanbe
later this week for a security conference on Afghanistan that will review the
situation in the country 9 months after the Taliban took over the country, ToI
has learnt. The meeting on May 26-27 is expected to address the unfolding
humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and also security challenges including the
threat from cross-border terrorism
Doval is expected to underline India’s position that
Afghanistan needs a fully inclusive government that can take care of the
fundamental rights of women, children and minority communities and that it
should not be allowed to turn into a safe haven for terrorism.
This will be the 4th regional security dialogue on
Afghanistan. The last conference was hosted by Doval himself here on November
10. While China and India had not participated then, the conference still saw
expanded presence with participation by Russia, Iran and all central Asian
countries. Russia, Iran and China are expected to join the conference in
Dushanbe along with central Asian countries. ToI couldn’t confirm if Pakistan
was going to participate. The new government in Pakistan is yet to appoint a
national security adviser.
India’s decision to host the conference in November
along with its proposal to send 50,000 MT of wheat to Afghanistan through the
land border with Pakistan helped India retain a toehold in the country after
the situation changed dramatically in August 2021 with the return of the
Taliban and the hurried departure of the US. The Taliban, in fact, have
repeated thanked India for the wheat and also called upon Indian authorities to
consider reopening the mission in Kabul. The Taliban, however, are said to have
again clamped down on women’s rights by imposing fresh curbs on them.
Doval will also seek cooperation from his counterparts
in Dushanbe in ensuring that Afghanistan is not used to carry out terror
attacks in the region. This has all along been India’s main concern about
Afghanistan since the return of the Taliban.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
North
America
FBI says it thwarted Islamic State supporter’s plot to
kill ex-US president Bush
By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS
24 May 2022
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Iraqi man who came to the
United States two years ago and applied for asylum hatched a plot to
assassinate former President George W. Bush in retaliation for casualties
against his compatriots during the Iraq war, the government announced Tuesday.
Shihab Ahmed Shihab Shihab, 52, also schemed to
smuggle other Iraqis into the US from Mexico to aid in the plot, after which
they’d be smuggled out back through Mexico, according to a criminal complaint
filed in federal court in Columbus.
Shihab insinuated he had contacts with the Islamic
State group, but it did not appear the plot came close to materializing, with confidential
informants briefing the FBI from April 2021 through this month, the complaint
said.
Shihab was ordered held without bond by federal
Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Preston Deavers during a short hearing in court
Tuesday. Deavers scheduled a detention hearing for Friday.
Shihab was not required to enter a plea. Soumyajit
Dutta, a federal public defender representing Shihab at the hearing, declined
to comment. If convicted, Shihab could face up to 30 years in prison and
$500,000 in fines.
A message was left with the George W. Bush
Presidential Library and Museum seeking comment.
Shihab worked at restaurants in and around Columbus
and also at a market in Indianapolis where he had an apartment, the government
said.
Shihab told a confidential informant that he assisted
in the killing of American soldiers during the Iraq War, and said he and others
“wished to kill former president Bush because they felt that he was responsible
for killing many Iraqis and breaking apart the entire country of Iraq,” the complaint
said.
Shihab traveled in February to Dallas, where he took
video of the entrance gate to the neighborhood where Bush lives, and also
traveled to Detroit in November to investigate smuggling Iraqi nationals into
the US, the government said.
Shihab met a confidential informant a Columbus hotel
room in March to examine weapons and US border patrol uniforms, according to
the complaint. Shihab allegedly planned to use a Columbus car dealership to
help transfer money from an Islamic State official into the US
Source: Times Of Israel
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
US adds Hamas-linked individual, entities to sanctions
list: Treasury
24 May ,2022
The US imposed sanctions on an individual who acted as
a finance official for the Palestinian group Hamas, a network of three
financial facilitators and six companies that generated revenue for the
US-designated terrorist group, the Treasury Department said on Tuesday.
The sanctions targeted Hamas’ investment office, which
holds assets estimated to be worth more than $500 million, including companies
operating in Sudan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and the UAE, the Treasury
said.
“Today’s action targets the individuals and companies
that Hamas uses to conceal and launder funds,” said Assistant Secretary of the
Treasury for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes Elizabeth Rosenberg while
in Israel to discuss counter terrorist financing efforts.
“Hamas has generated vast sums of revenue through its
secret investment portfolio while destabilizing Gaza, which is facing harsh
living and economic conditions,” she added.
The sanctioned finance official is Abdallah Yusuf
Faisal Sabri, a Kuwait-based Jordanian national who the Treasury describes as
an “important figure in the terrorist organization since 2006, and played a
role in expanding Hamas’s reach in the region.”
The three financial facilitators sanctioned are Ahmed
Sharif Abdallah Odeh, a Jordanian national, was in charge of Hamas’
international investment portfolio until 2017; Usama Ali, who was a Hamas
operative and maintained direct contact with senior leaders of the group; and
Hisham Younis Yahia Qafisheh, a Turkey-based Jordanian national who served as
Ali’s deputy and played an important role in transferring funds on behalf of various
companies linked to Hamas’s investment portfolio.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
US urges Greece, Turkiye 'to work together to maintain
peace'
Michael Hernandez
24.05.2022
WASHINGTON
The US called on Greece and Turkiye on Tuesday
"to work together to maintain peace" in the region.
State Department spokesman Ned Price called on Athens
and Ankara "to resolve differences diplomatically," urging the fellow
NATO allies to "avoid rhetoric that could further raise tensions."
"We know that Greece is an indispensable partner,
and a key NATO ally to the United States. Similarly, Turkey is an important
partner of the United States and important NATO ally," he told reporters.
"We want to see our partners work together to maintain peace and security
in the region."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday wrote
off Greek Premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis, saying he will no longer speak with the
Greek leader, and called off a Strategic Council Meeting with Greece.
“We had agreed with (Kyriakos Mitsotakis) to not
include third countries in our dispute,” Erdogan said after chairing a Cabinet
meeting in the capital Ankara.
Last week, during an official US visit the Mitsotakis
addressed a joint session of Congress and urged lawmakers not to sell F-16
fighter jets to Turkiye, he added.
The US will likely make up its own mind on the F-16s
without needing to consult the Greek premier, Erdogan added.
US 'deeply concerned' by potential Turkish operation
in northern Syria
On national security, Erdogan said Ankara will take
steps to complete the remainder of a 30-kilometer (18-mile) safe zone along its
southern border.
Asked about the remarks, Price said the US is
"deeply concerned about reports and discussions of potential increased
military activity in northern Syria, and in particular, its impacts on the
civilian population there."
"We condemn any escalation. We support
maintenance of the current ceasefire lines. We believe it's crucial for all
sides to maintain and respect the ceasefire zones that serve to enhance
stability in Syria, and to work towards a political solution to this
conflict," he said.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-urges-greece-turkiye-to-work-together-to-maintain-peace/2596726
--------
US condemns, warns Turkey against plans for military
operation in Syria
24 May, 2022
The State Department on Tuesday criticized Turkey’s
plans to conduct a military operation in northern Syria after the Turkish
president said he wanted to create a 20-mile “safe zone” along the southern
border with Syria.
“We expect Turkey to live up to the October 2019 Joint
Statement, including to halt offensive operations in northeast Syria,” State
Department Spokesman Ned Price said during a briefing.
Adding that the US recognized Turkey’s security
concerns along its southern border, Price said any new offensive would
undermine regional stability and “put at risk US forces in the Coalition’s
campaign against ISIS.”
Price said the US condemned any escalation in the area
and said all sides needed to respect ceasefire zones.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Europe
Six convicted for harassing French teenager over
anti-Islam videos
24 May 2022
A French court has convicted six people for harassing
a teenager online over her anti-Islam videos, in a case that has sparked debate
about free speech and the right to insult religions.
The girl, known as Mila, was forced to change schools
and accept police protection due to threats to her life after videos in which
she insulted Islam went viral in January 2020 and November the same year.
The court handed sentences ranging from a three-month
suspended prison term to four months with an electronic bracelet to the two men
and four women, aged 19 to 39.
They were ordered to pay damages of 3,000 euros
($3,200) each to Mila.
“Their conviction was necessary,” said Mila’s lawyer
Richard Malka, but added that he felt no satisfaction at seeing them sentenced.
“My only satisfaction would be if Mila were able to
lead a normal life … and that is not the case,” Malka said.
In the first video, posted on Instagram in January
2020, Mila responded to personal abuse from a boy who she says insulted her
about her sexuality “in the name of Allah”.
She launched into an expletive-laden rant against
Islam along with other explicit comments about Allah deemed highly offensive to
practising Muslims.
She published a second video with similar content in
November of the same year, after the jihadist murder of French high-school
teacher Samuel Paty, who had shown students controversial cartoons of the
Prophet Mohammed.
Mila’s lawyer says she had received more than 100,000
extremely virulent messages in response to the videos, with one person writing
that Mila deserved “to have her throat cut”, while others threatened sexual
assault.
In July 2021, a French court convicted 11 people for
harassment and handed suspended sentences, with some ordered to pay damages of
1,500 euros.
Source: The Guardian
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Social entrepreneurship project for refugees, host
communities in Turkiye to start this week
Gökhan Ergöçün
25.05.2022
The Social Entrepreneurship, Empowerment and Cohesion
in Refugee and Host Communities in Turkiye Project (SEECO), aiming to support
women and young people, will be launched Thursday in the southeastern Turkish
province of Mardin.
Funded as part of the European Union’s Facility for
Refugees in Turkiye (FRIT), the €39.5 million ($42.4 million) project will be
conducted by the World Bank and the Turkish Industry and Technology Ministry's
General Directorate of Development Agencies, according to a press release
Tuesday by the ministry.
The two-year project will cover 11 Turkish provinces:
Adana, Mersin, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Kilis, Mardin, Hatay, Osmaniye,
Kahramanmaras, Diyarbakir and Sanliurfa.
Within the scope of the project, women and young
people will be trained and supported financially with up to €25,000 ($26,803).
"Inactive facilities will be renewed and 70
facilities in 11 provinces that can benefit at least 7,000 people will be
restored," it added.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
NATO chief acknowledges Turkiye’s concerns on Sweden,
Finland's membership bids
Agnes Szucs
24.05.2022
BRUSSELS
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged on Tuesday
the relevance of Turkiye’s concerns on Sweden and Finland's membership bids for
the defense alliance, reiterating that it is an “important NATO ally.”
“I also recognize the importance of addressing the
concerns that Turkey has raised,” Stoltenberg told the World Economic Forum in
Davos, Switzerland.
He said Turkiye “is an important ally” that has played
a "key role in the fight against ISIS/Daesh” and has a “strategic
geographic location,” which “is important for the whole Alliance.”
Stoltenberg pointed out that “no other NATO ally has
suffered more terrorist attacks than Turkey.”
“We have to sit down and find a way forward,” he said.
Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO last
week, a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine, which began in February.
But Turkiye, a longstanding member of the alliance, has
voiced objections to the membership bids, criticizing the countries for
tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups such as the PKK/YPG. The
accession requires unanimous approval from all 30 NATO member states.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Sweden, Finland delegations in Turkey for NATO talks
May 25, 2022
ANKARA: Delegations from Sweden and Finland were
scheduled on Wednesday to hold talks in Ankara with senior Turkish officials in
an effort to overcome Turkey’s objections to their historic bids to join the
NATO alliance.
Sweden and Finland submitted their written
applications to join NATO last week in a move that marks one of the biggest
geopolitical ramifications of Russia’s war in Ukraine — and which could rewrite
Europe’s security map.
Turkey has said it opposes the two Nordic countries’
membership in the military alliance, citing grievances with Sweden’s — and a to
a lesser extent Finland’s — perceived support to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party,
or PKK, and other entities that Turkey views as a security threat. It also
accuses the two of imposing arms exports restrictions on Turkey and refusing to
extradite suspected “terrorists.”
Turkey’s objections have dampened Stockholm’s and
Helsinki’s hopes for their quick membership in NATO amid Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine and puts the trans-Atlantic alliance’s credibility at stake. All 30
NATO members must agree to admit new members.
The Swedish and Finnish delegations are poised to take
up Turkey’s grievances with Ibrahim Kalin, the spokesman of President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, and Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal. The Swedish
delegation would be headed by state secretary Oscar Stenström while Jukka
Salovaara, the foreign ministry undersecretary, would lead the Finnish
delegation, Turkish officials have said.
The PKK, which is listed as a terror organization by
several of Turkey’s allies, has waged a decades-long insurgency against Turkey,
a conflict that has cost the lives of tens of thousands people.
Turkey this week listed five “concrete assurances” it
is demanding from Sweden, including what it said was “termination of political
support for terrorism,” an “elimination of the source of terrorism financing,”
and the “cessation of arms support” to the banned PKK and a Syrian Kurdish
militia group affiliated with it. The demands also called for the lifting of
arms sanctions against Turkey and global cooperation against terrorism.
Turkey said that it has been requesting the extradition
of Kurdish militants and other suspects since 2017, but hasn’t received a
positive response from Stockholm. Among other things, Ankara claimed that
Sweden had decided to provide $376 million to support the Kurdish militants in
2023 and that it had provided military equipment to them, including anti-tank
weapons and drones.
Sweden has denied that it was providing any “financial
assistance or military support” to Kurdish groups or entities in Syria.
“Sweden is a major humanitarian donor to the Syria crisis
through global allocations to humanitarian actors,” Foreign Minister Ann Linde
told the Aftonbladet newspaper.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2089221/middle-east
--------
South
Asia
UN Security Council Calls on the Taliban to “Reverse”
the Policies Restricting the Human Rights
By Saqalain Eqbal
25 May 2022
Members of the United Nations Security Council
released a joint statement calling on the Taliban to cease policies that impede
Afghan women’s and girls’ human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The United Nations Security Council released a
statement on Tuesday, May 24 that specifically mentioned that Security Council
is deeply concerned regarding the Taliban’s “restrictions on education,
employment, freedom of movement, and the full, equal, and meaningful
participation of women in public life.”
The UN Security Council’s statement comes just days after
the Taliban ordered female Afghan television presenters to cover their faces
when performing on air.
The Taliban order is the group’s most recent action
against civil society activists, with many Taliban directives targeting women
and girls.
The Security Council called on the Taliban to “swiftly
reverse” their policies restricting human rights and women’s and girls’
freedoms.
The UN Security Council has also expressed “deep
concern” and called on the Taliban to reopen the schools for all female students
“without further delay”.
Discussions on the draft of the statement took two
weeks, according to diplomats, since China and Russia disagreed to the focus on
human rights in Afghanistan.
As a result, Security Council members included a
paragraph to the statement, expressing their concerns over the humanitarian,
political, economic, social, and security situation in Afghanistan.
Source: Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
The Taliban Signs the Agreement With UAE to Cooperate
on Airport Operations
By Saqalain Eqbal
24 May 2022
The Taliban and the United Arab Emirates signed an
agreement for the management of four Afghan airports. The management of Kabul,
Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif, and Herat airports is officially handed over to the
United Arab Emirates.
In the presence of Razzaq Aslam, representative of
GAC, UAE, and Hamidullah Akhundzada, acting Minister of the Taliban Ministry of
Transport and Aviation, the agreement was signed today, Tuesday.
Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar made the
announcement on Twitter following months of talks with the UAE, Turkey, and
Qatar to establish an agreement on airport security cooperation.
After the country was thrown into disarray last year
when the Taliban took control and foreign forces withdrew, Qatar and Turkey
dispatched temporary technical teams to assist in airport operations and
security.
The Taliban’s deputy prime minister, Mullah Abdul
Ghani Baradar, recently instructed the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry officials to
set a schedule for the new contract for the management of Afghanistan’s
airports.
Source: Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Boat carrying Rohingya fleeing Myanmar capsizes,
killing 16
May 24, 2022
BANGKOK: At least 16 people from Myanmar’s Rohingya
minority have died after a storm capsized the boat they were traveling on to
seek refuge in another country, officials and a recovery team member said
Tuesday.
There were 35 survivors of Saturday’s accident that
took place Saturday off Myanmar’s southwestern coast and four people were
missing, the officials said.
UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, expressed shock and
sadness about the accident in a statement and said at least 17 Rohingya,
including children, had died.
The boat left the western state of Rakhine last
Thursday and encountered bad weather two days later off Ayeyarwaddy Region on
Myanmar’s southwestern coast, causing it to capsize, the statement said.
The Rohingya, a Muslim minority, have long been
persecuted in Myanmar. More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled the country to
neighboring Bangladesh since August 2017 to escape the brutal counterinsurgency
campaign of Myanmar’s military following an attack by a Rohingya insurgent
group in Rakhine State.
Myanmar’s government has denied accusations that
security forces committed mass rapes and killings and burned thousands of
homes, but the US government recently labeled actions by the country’s military
as genocide.
There are more than 100,000 Rohingya left in Myanmar,
confined in squalid displacement camps, along with those living in crowded
refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Groups of Rohingya from camps in both countries embark
on hazardous voyages to the Muslim-majority countries of Malaysia and Indonesia
to seek a better living.
“Some 630 Rohingya have attempted sea journeys across
the Bay of Bengal from January to May 2022,” the UNHCR statement said, with
women and children making up 60 percent of those trying to flee.
The statement added: “The risk of abuse at the hands
of smugglers and the peril of the sea journey itself are both exacerbated
during prolonged journeys, when a safe harbor for disembarkation cannot be
found.”
An Ayeyarwaddy Region resident said the 16 bodies,
including those of two young boys, were recovered near Pathein township, about
300 kilometers (180 miles) west of Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city. He spoke on
condition of anonymity because Myanmar’s military government seeks to tightly
control the flow of information.
A local official, who also requested anonymity for the
same reason, said most of the 50 people on board the boat were men under 30
years old. He said the bodies were buried and that the 35 survivors were taken
away by the security forces.
Maung Maung Than, a spokesperson for the Ayeyarwaddy
Region government, confirmed that the accident happened but did not give
further details.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2088881/world
--------
Pakistan
Pak-Afghan People Bound In Religious, Social Ties:
Minister Religious Affairs
Fahad Shabbir
May 24, 2022
ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th
May, 2022): German Special Representative for Pak-Afghan Affairs Dr Jasper
Wieck along with German Ambassador Bernhard Schlagheck on Tuesday called on
Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Minister Mufti Abdul Shakoor in his
office.
They discussed various issues including Pak-Afghan
economic and social situation besides peace and development of the region in
detail.
Mufti said Pak-Afghan people were bound in religious,
social and cultural ties and their future was intertwined.
He said Pakistan had always made serious efforts for
peace and stability in Afghanistan.
He said Islam was a religion of broad-minded approach
as there were no restrictions on women's education and employment. Women had
more rights rather than responsibilities in Islam, he added.
The religious affairs minister said the world had a
wrong perception about Taliban as they gave more importance to the prestige of
women than their higher education.
He said Afghanistan itself was a victim of terrorism.
If the situation improved, it would definitely bring women into the national
mainstream. To understand the problems of Afghanistan, we needed to know the
nature of this society, he added.
He said for the sake of humanity, no country should
step back from the help of Afghan people in the world.
He said Germany could mobilize modern world to fight
Islamophobia adding Muslims were victims of terrorism and genocide in Kashmir,
India, Palestine and Burma.
Dr Jasper said Germany had invested 800 million Euro
in Afghanistan's reconstruction and development.
Source: Urdu Point
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.urdupoint.com/en/pakistan/pak-afghan-people-bound-in-religious-social-1515536.html
--------
Imran Khan's Azadi March: PTI members arrested,
Islamabad sealed
May 25, 2022
ISLAMABAD: Ahead of former Prime Minister of Pakistan,
Imran Khan's Azadi March scheduled on Wednesday, police arrested key members of
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and cut off the capital Islamabad under the direction
of the Shehbaz Sharif government.
The Pakistan police raided the houses of the PTI
leaders and workers. PTI leader, Mian Mehmood-ur- Rasheed was arrested after
the police made a late-night raid under section 16 of the Maintenance of the
Public Order (MPO), reported Geo News.
The government rounded up over 1,000 PTI leaders and
workers in a crackdown designed to derail the party's plans for a massive power
show in Islamabad.
Section 144 was imposed in Lahore, the twin cities of
Rawalpindi and Islamabad and Karachi, as well as other major cities in the
country, while the Punjab government sought the deployment of Rangers to
control the law and order situation.
The federal capital has been sealed from the rest of
the country as all entry and exit points leading towards Islamabad were closed
down with the heavy deployment of police and containers. Officers in the
capital have stated that the government has agreed on two plans, either
allowing the PTI marchers to enter Islamabad or intercepting them at entry
points, reported Dawn newspaper.
The Pakistan officers had planned to take the ousted
Pakistan Prime Minister into custody last Friday. A well-equipped contingent of
the capital police also reached Banigala to make his arrest. However, Imran
Khan was in Multan in lieu of the public rally, which rendered the mission
unsuccessful.
According to the first plan, although the PTI marchers
would be permitted to enter Islamabad, they would be forbidden to cross
Zero-Point. On the hand, the next plan will be implemented if the government
decides to forbid the entry of the PTI leaders. In that case, all the entry
points will be sealed and the marchers would be intercepted on Attock and
Jhelum bridges.
Meanwhile, 500 containers were given to the Pakistan
police and 300 are deployed to seal the Red Zone. Further, the government has
also decided to cancel leaves for the Capital police, except for emergencies,
reported Dawn newspaper as cited by the officers.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan
announced that his party's long protest march to Islamabad will begin on May 25
demanding the dissolution of the national assembly and a date for the next
general election and invited people to join in large numbers.
The former prime minister said the main demands for
the march to the capital were the immediate dissolution of the national
assembly and a date for the next general election.
Imran Khan also told the military to stick to its
stated stance of being "neutral".
"The foreign conspiracy against Pakistan was
hatched eight months ago and I was alerted about it in June, and after August,
I fully understood what was happening. We did our best that somehow this
conspiracy could be voided but unfortunately we couldn't stop it," Khan
said.
The PTI chairman explained in detail his allegations
of conspiracy as well as the purpose of his march before announcing the date.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Parvez supports PTI’s long march, Tahirul Qadri stays
away
Amjad Mahmood
May 25, 2022
LAHORE: ‘Revolting’ against its federal chapter, the
Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid Punjab leadership has announced its support for
the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s long march whereas Pakistan Awami Tehreek of Dr
Tahirul Qadri has distanced itself from the protest.
While two PML-Q MNAs Chaudhry Shujaat’s son Salik
Hussain and Tariq Bashir Cheema are members of the federal cabinet and as
central president Shujaat has not extended his party’s support for the march,
Punjab Assembly Speaker Parvez Elahi directed ‘Q’ workers to be part of the PTI
“independence march” on Tuesday. He claims the march is meant for strengthening
the country, its economy and democracy.
Addressing a press conference, he condemns police
raids on the residences of PTI leaders and workers and their arrests in the
run-up to the march, and threatens that every government official will be held
accountable. He asks the chief secretary and administration not to harass
workers as public sentiment cannot be restrained with the closure of transport
and roads. He says the workers will reach Islamabad in any case.
He says as a custodian of the Punjab Assembly, it is
his duty to protect fundamental rights of the members of the provincial house
and video clips of the raids on their houses will be presented in the assembly
as well as courts as evidence of violation of fundamental rights.
The Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) has distanced itself
from the march. Both the parties had earlier taken out a joint long march on
Islamabad back in 2014 and staged a sit-in there in a bid to seek justice in Model
Town police raid case in which 14 activists of PAT had been killed.
The PAT had ended the sit-in after 70 days but the PTI
continued it for 126 days and terminated it only after a terrorist attack on
the Peshawar Army Public School in December 2014.
Dr Qadri has been critical of Imran Khan for not doing
anything worthwhile for the Model Town victims during PTI’s over three and a
half years’ rule in the country.
Nurullah Siddiqui, a spokesperson for Dr Qadri, says
the PTI had done nothing for the Model Town case victims and had not taken the
party into confidence on the May 25 long march. Therefore, he says, the PAT
will not consider extending its support to Imran Khan.
March to go ahead: Shafqat
After cancelling press conferences twice on Tuesday to
avoid arrest, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf provincial chief Shafqat Mahmood
released a video message telling the workers that the march for democracy would
go on as planned.
“Since the government has already blocked motorway
connecting Lahore and Islamabad, the march would take GT Road route, but it
would certainly reach Islamabad to join its leader Imran Khan,” Shafqat said in
the message.
For the last 24 hours, police have raided homes of
more than 1,100 workers and leaders across Punjab. It scaled boundary walls in
the dead of night, invaded homes and trampled privacy of people to pick up
leaders and PTI workers. Three MNAs have been rounded up. But, nothing will
deter the workers. “They all would gather at 7am at a point, to be conveyed
later in the night, to start their march on the capital. It will go on come
what may,” he asserted.
The PTI has constitutional right to peaceful protest
and it had planned it as such. “Why did the government panic? However, despite
arrests and panic, the march will go on, as planned,” Shafqat told his viewers
and workers.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1691339/parvez-supports-ptis-long-march-tahirul-qadri-stays-away
--------
Default threat reaches Pakistan in deepening political
crisis
May 25, 2022
ISLAMABAD: Soaring inflation. Squabbles over fuel
prices. A fractious political environment. For months, Pakistan has struggled
to keep its economy afloat, raising the prospect that one of the world’s most
populous nations could soon follow Sri Lanka in a wave of potential global
defaults.
Investors are getting nervous. Without a bailout from
the International Monetary Fund, Pakistan may default for the second time in
its history. As talks with the IMF conclude Wednesday in Doha, officials
acknowledge that winning a loan from the multilateral lender might involve
trade-offs, including the politically tough decision of raising fuel prices.
“We are confident we’ll get to the finish line,”
Murtaza Syed, acting governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, said in an
interview with Bloomberg TV on Tuesday.
The negotiations come at a time when citizens are
battling Asia’s second-fastest inflation and ousted premier Imran Khan is
poised to occupy the nation’s capital with his supporters to force early
elections. With a barrage of financial shocks caused by the pandemic, Russia’s
war in Ukraine, and rising interest rates, Pakistan is one of several emerging
economies facing debt restructuring.
Pakistan is seeking the release of $3 billion from the
IMF. That amount would augment the nation’s foreign-exchange reserves, which at
$10.2 billion cover less than two months of imports. The government is staring
at a $45 billion trade deficit this year. Last week, international bonds due
2031 fell to a record-low.
“Pakistan is in a tight situation,” said Lars Jakob
Krabbe, portfolio manager for Frontier Markets fixed income at Coeli Frontier
Markets AB in Stockholm.
Fighting between the government and former Prime
Minister Khan has complicated a path forward with the IMF. In recent weeks,
Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, has pushed for elections a year earlier
than planned in a bid to recapture power. And Khan called on his supporters to
hold protests Wednesday in Islamabad.
The city is bracing for unrest. Police have placed
barricades in front of the so-called Red Zone, a neighborhood with key
government buildings, including Parliament, embassies and the prime minister’s
offices. The government has said demonstrations won’t be allowed, raising
concerns that more mayhem and social unrest could follow.
A sticking point for the IMF connects to Khan’s
tenure. Before leaving office in April, he reduced fuel and gasoline prices and
then froze them for four months, a last-ditch attempt to improve his image
among voters and quell frustration over rising costs.
But the IMF has delayed giving Pakistan more money
until the government scraps the fuel subsidies. And Khan’s successor, Shehbaz
Sharif, has deferred raising prices despite the subsidies costing $600 million
a month. The government has resisted angering a population already struggling
to afford staples like wheat and sugar.
“Three weeks ago, I would have said there’s a 0%
chance of Pakistan becoming the next Sri Lanka,” said Mattias Martinsson, chief
investment officer of Tundra Fonder AB in Stockholm. “The inaction of the new
government is, however, worrying.”
For now, at least, Pakistani officials say they are
confident of finding a middle ground with the IMF, even if the subsidies
remain.
In the Bloomberg TV interview, Syed said “gaps are
being closed.” He expressed optimism that IMF money would enable the country to
easily fill funding holes until the end of the next fiscal year. Apart from
reviving a rescue package from 2019, Pakistan is asking for an additional $2
billion from the IMF.
Edwin Gutierrez, London-based head of emerging-market
sovereign debt at abrdn plc, which owns Pakistan’s bonds, said the company is
comfortable with some volatility and doesn’t plan to sell its holdings.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Pakistan bans ousted PM Khan's protest march after
policeman killed
May 24, 2022
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's government on Tuesday banned a
planned protest march by ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is demanding
fresh elections as a political and economic crises deepens in the South Asian
nation, officials said.
The ban was announced by interior minister Rana
Sanaullah at a news briefing hours after a policeman was shot and killed during
a crackdown on Khan's supporters across the country.
An official of Khan's party had shot and killed the
policeman when police visited his house, information minister Marriyum
Aurangzeb told a news briefing, adding that the accused and his father had been
arrested.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's government on Tuesday banned a
planned protest march by ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is demanding
fresh elections as a political and economic crises deepens in the South Asian
nation, officials said.
The ban was announced by interior minister Rana
Sanaullah at a news briefing hours after a policeman was shot and killed during
a crackdown on Khan's supporters across the country.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Gwadar anti-terrorism court grants bail to terror
suspect
Behram Baloch
May 24, 2022
GWADAR: An anti-terrorism court, headed by judge Abdul
Samad Mengal, accepted the bail application of Noor Jahan Baloch and ordered
her release on bail on Monday.
Senior lawyer Jarden Dashti and former advocate
general for Balochistan Nazimuddin had filed the bail application contending
that all allegations levelled by the CTD officials against Noor Jahan were
fabricated and wrong.
Ms Baloch was arrested by the CTD during a raid at her
house in Hoshab town last week on a charge of planning a suicide attack on a
convoy of foreigners on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Highway near
Hoshab.
The CTD officials had claimed to have recovered a
suicide jacket and explosives from her house during the raid.
The court, after hearing the bail application, had
reserved its judgement on Saturday.
A protest sit-in started immediately by the people in
Hoshab, including activists of political parties and members of civil society,
after the arrest of Ms Baloch, was called off following her release on bail on
Monday.
The protest sit-in had kept the CPEC Highway blocked
for a week, causing suspension of all kinds of vehicular traffic on the
highway.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1691240/gwadar-anti-terrorism-court-grants-bail-to-terror-suspect
--------
Arab
World
Iraq's political stalemate raising chances of Shia on
Shia clashes
By Suadad al-Salhy
24 May 2022
After months of frustration and impasse, relations
between Muqtada al-Sadr and his Iran-backed Shia rivals have deteriorated so
badly that Iraqi Shia leaders are predicting armed clashes could even be on the
cards.
Sadr, an influential Shia cleric with a fiercely loyal
following, emerged from Iraq’s October parliamentary elections as the clear
winner. But his victory was quickly followed by a series of defeats that have
stopped him and his allies forming a government.
Shia factions close to Iran were set to be frozen out
of government, with Sadr allying with the Sunni bloc and Kurdish KDP. But a
Federal Supreme Court ruling over the quorum needed for the
government-formation process has meant Sadr has been unable to swear in his
choice of president and prime minister due to his rivals boycotting parliament.
The cleric then settled on sticking with the current
government led by Mustafa al-Kadhimi, only for the federal court to again rule
against him, saying Kadhimi’s cabinet was just operating in a caretaker role
and could not make the important decisions necessary to keep Iraq going.
That decision unleashed an anger in Sadr not seen by
his rivals since government-formation negotiations began. It prompted him to
publicly denounce the judiciary, accusing it of "going along" with
the "disgraceful" actions of the "blocking third" of MPs
boycotting parliament.
In a broadcast last week, Sadr claimed the “blocking
third” had obstructed government formation because they "do not exist
without authority". He promised not to abandon his project, which would
see two decades of rule-by-consensus ripped up for a majority government
excluding the Iranian-backed parties.
Sadr warned his opponents of his anger and impatience.
“Do you think that your actions will force us to ally with you?” he asked.
"No, a thousand nos. We will not return Iraq to
quotas, corruption and abhorrent consensus."
Angering Iran's allies
The three-minute-long speech frightened many Iraqis
and provoked Sadr's opponents, particularly the leaders of the armed Shia
factions. What followed made it worse.
Any ambiguity about Sadr’s intentions was soon
dispelled by Abu Mustafa al-Hamidawi, head of Sadr’s armed wing Saraya
al-Salam, who tweeted afterwards: “We are ready, so wait for us."
Hundreds of Saraya al-Salam fighters then paraded in
Sadr City, an impoverished east Baghdad neighbourhood that is the Sadrist
stronghold, declaring their readiness to carry out the orders of their leader.
Meanwhile, media platforms affiliated with Sadr began
publishing names of leaders of Asaib Ahl al-Haq and the Kataeb Hezbollah, the
fiercest and most influential Shia armed factions. Their names were accompanied
by their addresses, headquarters and photos, as well as threatening and
intimidating expressions.
In response, the leaders of the Shia forces, including
the armed factions, monitored the developments and readied all their fighters,
ordering them to exercise maximum restraint, Shia leaders familiar with the
developments told MEE.
Hours later, on 16 May, the leaders of the
Coordination Framework Shia alliance met at the home of former prime minister
Haider al-Abadi in Baghdad to decide how they would respond to Sadr's threats.
The meeting, which lasted until the early hours of the
next morning, resulted in a written statement, criticising Sadr for
“questioning” and “challenging” the decisions of the Federal Court, which it
described as a “dangerous development that establishes chaos and instability”.
It called on Sadr and his allies to abandon their
plans for a majority government and "give priority to the national
interest, abandon the policy of acquisition and monopolising power, and deal
positively with initiatives”.
What the statement didn’t convey, however, was that
the Coordination Framework leaders were “very provoked” by the Sadrist moves,
and changed the wording several times to soften and dial down the anger and
language, two people at the meeting told MEE.
"Everyone was angry and provoked, especially the
leaders of the armed factions. Sadr went too far this time," one said.
According to the source, former prime minister Nouri
al-Maliki, the most prominent political leader in the Coordination Framework alliance,
refused to be drawn into exchanging threats with Sadr “and pressed a lot to
change the content of the statement and its wording several times”.
"We didn't want to precipitate the collision that
was imminent," the source said.
Nominating the PM
The relationship between Sadr and the Iranian-backed
armed Shia factions, especially Kataeb Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq, is
tense. The scramble between the three for influence and benefits is at its
highest level in years.
The situation has worsened further since the October
elections, in which Sadr won 74 seats, while the armed factions suffered severe
losses, gaining only 17 MPs.
Worried they could be completely marginalised, the
leaders of the armed factions allied with Maliki and some independents and small
parliamentary blocs, creating a Shia parliamentary alliance of 83 MPs - just
two fewer than the bloc Sadr had brought together.
Under Iraq’s constitution, the prime minister can be
named only by the biggest parliamentary bloc. But under the power-sharing
political system adopted by Iraqi forces since 2003, the premiership is a post
that is always filled by a member of the Shia community.
To undermine Sadr’s supremacy in parliament, the Shia
forces have begun insisting that rather than the largest parliamentary bloc
having the right to nominate the next prime minister, it should be the largest
Shia bloc - Maliki’s.
To counter this, Sadr has tried to build a larger Shia
bloc by courting independents and smaller Shia parties, even offering them the
position of prime minister on the condition that they form a bloc of 40 MPs and
join his alliance. He was not successful.
Three options
Aware of the success they achieved in undermining
Sadr's parliamentary supremacy, but also the dilemma that Sadr is currently
facing, the leaders of the Iranian-backed armed factions decided in the meeting
in Abadi’s home to adopt a new strategy.
According to one leader of a Shia armed faction, who
is also a member of the Coordination Framework, the strategy of containing Sadr
has to end because it pushed him too far.
“He thinks that we are afraid of confronting him, and
that he can get away with whatever he or his group does. He is completely
wrong,” the leader said.
"We were very patient with him, but he translated
our patience into fear or weakness. This stage is over and he will see another
face in the coming days."
The Baghdad meeting also agreed that three options
will be put to Sadr, two people there told MEE.
The first option is an alliance with the Coordination
Framework to form a power-sharing consensus government that will last for one
year only. If it fails, the majority government that Sadr wants will be formed.
The second option is to dissolve parliament and call
for new elections. The third would be to keep the situation as it is, but any
attempts by Sadr or his allies to make any governmental or legislative changes
that could alter the current balance of power “would be met by all available
means”.
"Our biggest fear all the time was that a
Shia-Shia fight would break out, so we were turning a blind eye to his threats
and the violations of his people,” a prominent commander of a Shia armed
faction told MEE.
"We are not afraid of any kind of confrontation
now. If he speaks in the language of threat, we will speak in the same
language, and if he goes further than this and chooses armed confrontation, we
do not mind,” he added.
Source: Middle East Eye
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/iraq-political-stalemate-raising-chances-shia-clashes
--------
Egypt approves flights from Houthi-held Yemen capital:
Government
24 May, 2022
Egypt has approved direct flights between Yemen’s
Houthi-controlled capital and Cairo, the Yemeni government said Tuesday, in the
latest sign of progress in the war-torn country.
The green light comes after the first commercial
flight in six years flew from Sanaa to Amman in Jordan last week, as part of a
UN-brokered truce between Yemen’s internationally recognized government and the
Iran-backed Houthi militia.
“We express our deep thanks to the brotherly Egyptian
government... for agreeing to operate direct flights between Sanaa and Cairo in
accordance with the armistice agreement,” Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed bin
Mubarak wrote on Twitter.
“The competent authorities in the two countries will
work in the coming days to coordinate and complete the technical procedures for
operating the flights,” he added.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres
called Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to express his “sincere thanks...
for allowing direct flights between Cairo and Sanaa within the framework of the
UN armistice in Yemen,” an Egyptian foreign ministry statement said.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Lebanon currency hits new low after vote, crisis
deepens
24 May, 2022
Lebanon’s currency hit a new low Tuesday as deep
divisions within the newly elected parliament raised concerns that political
paralysis could further exacerbate one of the worst economic meltdowns in
history.
The legislature elected May 15 showed no clear
majority for any group and a fragmented and polarized parliament divided
between pro- and anti-Hezbollah lawmakers. The sides will likely find it
difficult to work together to form a new government and enact desperately
needed reforms.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
Among those elected to the 128-member parliament were
13 independents. They took part in the protest movement against Lebanon’s
entrenched political class blamed for the crisis rooted in decades of
corruption and mismanagement.
This sets up a potential clash in parliament between
the two camps, raising concerns of a protracted deadlock to form a new Cabinet
desperately needed to resume negotiations with the International Monetary Fund
over a bailout program.
On Tuesday afternoon, the dollar was selling at 34,000
pounds on the black market, surpassing the 33,000 pounds to the dollar recorded
in January. The Lebanese currency was pegged at 1,500 pounds to the dollar for
22 years until the crisis erupted in in October 2019.
Since then, more than 80 percent of the population has
been plunge into poverty, suffering acute shortages in electricity, medicine
and other necessities as central bank reserves dry up. The crisis has also
triggered the biggest wave of emigration since the 1975-90 civil war.
On Friday, Lebanon’s outgoing government approved a
recovery plan for pulling the Mideast nation out of its economic meltdown. The
development came during the Cabinet’s last official meeting before it becomes a
caretaker government following the elections. The plan is a key IMF demand.
Outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati told reporters
last week that the plan aims to protect small depositors while plans for
protecting large depositors will be negotiated with the IMF. He offered no
figures but had in the past said that small depositors are those with $100,000
or less.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Three Turkish soldiers killed in Iraq: Defence
ministry
24 May, 2022
Three Turkish soldiers serving in northern Iraq as
part of operations against Kurdish militants were killed Tuesday, the defense
ministry announced.
Another four soldiers were wounded during fighting,
said the ministry statement, which did not say where the clash took place.
Turkey’s official news agency Anadolu said the Turkish
soldiers had clashed with fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK),
which Ankara and its western allies say is a terrorist organization.
The PKK has training camps and bases in autonomous
Iraqi Kurdistan and has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state
since 1984, a conflict that has killed 40,000 people, many of them civilians.
Ankara has launched a series of operations against PKK
fighters in Iraq and Syria, the latest one in northern Iraq beginning in April.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday
that Turkey would soon launch a new military operation into northern Syria
which he said was designed to create a 30-kilometre (19-mile) “security zone”
along
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2022/05/24/Iraqi-officials-Attacks-by-ISIS-militants-kill-12-civilianstheir
border.
Since 2016, Turkey has also launched three offensives
into northern Syria against the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a
Syrian-Kurdish group it considers to be part of the PKK.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iraqi officials: Attacks by ISIS militants kill 12
civilians
24 May ,2022
Militants from ISIS killed 12 civilians and wounded at
least six in two separate attacks in Iraq, apparently taking advantage of a
sandstorm that sharply reduced visibility across the country, security
officials said Tuesday.
The attacks occurred on Monday evening in Kirkuk and
Diyala provinces, where farmers came under fire while harvesting their crops.
The Iraqi Security Media Cell said in a statement that
six civilians were killed in the attack in the village of Sami Asi, south of
the city of Kirkuk.
The Kurdish news network Rudaw said after the
killings, an Iraqi federal police force that arrived on the scene was ambushed
and three policemen were killed.
Earlier, ISIS launched an attack in Diyala’s town of
Gulala, killing six residents, two Iraqi security officials said.
The Sunni extremist group claimed responsibility late
Monday for the Kirkuk attack, claiming it killed five Shias in their
agricultural fields in al-Rashad area in Kirkuk and set fire to five vehicles.
It said its fighters clashed with a supporting unit
from the federal police and destroyed one of their vehicles.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
PKK terror group targets TV station building with
rockets in Iraq's Duhok city
24.05.2022
DUHOK, Iraq
The PKK terror group carried out a rocket attack
Tuesday on a television station’s building in Duhok, in Iraq's Kurdistan
Regional Government (KRG).
There was property damage because of the attack.
The Duhok-based Hani Press and Communication Center'
said a building owned by Duhok Radio and Television Media Group was targeted
with rockets by the terror group.
"We condemn this terrorist attack. The PKK must
leave the Kurdistan region. The PKK should know that media centers are an
indicator of civilization. These attacks and threats will not put pressure on
anyone," it said.
The Media Group is known for its closeness to the
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by Massoud Barzani.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Egypt's National Dialogue unlikely to include Muslim
Brotherhood
May 24, 2022
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's call for a
political dialogue with his opponents in the country renewed talks about the
future of the Muslim Brotherhood and the possibility of the group’s
reintegration into political life. This comes nine years after sweeping
nationwide protests that ousted the Muslim Brotherhood from power.
The Muslim Brotherhood has been battling unprecedented
internal division and rift since its ouster from the rule of Egypt in July
2013. Ever since, the group has been searching for a foothold that guarantees
the security of its members and the continuity of its activities amid the
restrictions imposed on it in Egypt, where most of its top-level leaders are in
prisons and face conclusive death penalties.
Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood has also been
increasingly wary of the noticeable improvement in Egyptian relations with
countries that once strongly supported them. Since January, ties between Egypt
and Qatar have been steadily improving.
For its part, Turkey is expressing a pressing desire
to mend its ties with Egypt as part of its efforts to break its regional
isolation. For this purpose, Ankara seems to be inclined to put an end to the
support it had once lent to the members of the Muslim Brotherhood and its
supporters over the past years.
Qatar and Turkey hosted hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood
members and supporters who sought asylum in their territories since the
overthrow of former President Mohammed Morsi in Egypt. Ankara was for years
seen as the regional hub for the Muslim Brotherhood. Turkey is a host for
television channels opposed to Sisi and a haven for most of the Brotherhood's
leaders — most of whom are on terrorist lists in Egypt.
Commenting on the possibility for a dialogue with the
Egytian government a few days following Sisi’s call, prominent Muslim
Brotherhood leader and the group’s former international political foreign
emissary Youssef Nada said in statements relayed by media outlets in early May
that the Brotherhood is ready to turn the page on the past after “repaying the
injustices.”
However, the Muslim Brotherhood's Change Movement —
the most hard-line wing within the group — rejected the dialogue with the
Egyptian authorities, describing Sisi's call as a “farce.”
Of note, the Change Movement in the Muslim Brotherhood
arose in the wake of profound administrative and organizational disputes that
engulfed the group following Morsi’s overthrow in 2013. The group’s members
were not satisfied with its leaders and some of its positions. Subsequently,
the movement formed its own administrative structure, but the mother group has
yet to recognize it.
However, it seems that the chances of the Muslim
Brotherhood of participating in any political dialogue to be held are off the
table. After calling for a political dialogue in the country, Sisi lashed out
at the Muslim Brotherhood, albeit with less intensity than before.
At an event held to mark Eid al-Fitr in Cairo on May
2, Sisi said that the Muslim Brotherhood has repeatedly threatened to target
the army forces and sow chaos in the country. He mentioned that the Brotherhood’s
Deputy Supreme Guide Khairat el-Shater even threatened him personally when the
group ruled the country.
Shater is currently in prison for several cases,
including on charges of spying for foreign parties.
Sisi said on the sidelines of an iftar banquet on
April 26 that the Muslim Brotherhood directly threatened the Egyptian people
and the state during their rule (2012-2013), stressing that the group was not
ready back then to run the country.
Sisi served as defense minister during the rule of the
Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. He led the army that ousted Morsi in the wake of
popular protests against his rule in 2013 — one year after the group came to
power in the first elections in Egypt in the aftermath of the 2011 uprising.
Since then, Sisi has led a massive crackdown on the
leaders of the Brotherhood, which Egypt considers a terrorist group, and
prosecuted those found to be affiliated with it. Most of the group's senior
leaders are currently in Egyptian prisons or have fled the country.
Since the end of 2013, Egypt has classified the Muslim
Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, banned its activities, and frozen its
assets and the assets of a number of its affiliates. Egypt accuses the group of
being behind many terrorist attacks in which police, army and civilians were
killed over the past years.
Sisi’s attacks coincided with the broadcast of a
television series chronicling the period of the Brotherhood's rule in Egypt and
highlighting the country’s suffering and political tension during this period,
which eventually led to mass protests that ousted the group after only a year
in power.
Season three of the series "Al-Ikhtiyar 3"
("The Choice 3") aired during the month of Ramadan when television
viewership rates are high.
The 30-episode series tells the story of Sisi’s role
during the Muslim Brotherhood era, up until the ouster of the group and his
ascending to power in subsequent elections in 2014.
In his April 27 speech, Sisi praised the actors in the
series, saying the series “tells exactly what happened at the time.”
This comes as authorities prepare to launch a national
dialogue with opposition forces for the first time since Sisi took power in the
summer of 2014. Sisi had made the call during the iftar banquet to hold talks
with all political forces “without exception or discrimination.”
No details have been made public so far about the
parties to attend the dialogue or its schedule.
However, observers believe that the Egyptian
government is seeking, through this dialogue, to build cooperation bridges with
the opposition at a time when the country is working to address a devastating
economic crisis sparked by the Russia-Ukraine war.
Sisi also urged the participating parties to submit
their recommendations to him, promising to attend the final phases of the
dialogue.
In an article published in Shorouk newspaper on May 8,
Egyptian writer Abdullah al-Sanawi explained that Brotherhood leader Nada's
statement — in which he left the door open to the possibility of participating
in the dialogue — aimed to test the water to explore whether Sisi's invitation
to dialogue could present an opportunity for reintegrating the group into
political life.
However, Sanawi ruled out an invitation by the
Egyptian authorities to the Brotherhood representatives to the dialogue.
“Dialogue between the government and the Brotherhood is not probable, and deals
are impossible, he said.
On more than one occasion, Sisi voiced his opposition
to the idea of reconciliation with the Muslim Brotherhood or for the group to
have any role in the Egyptian political scene during his time in power,
stressing that the people of Egypt will not accept their return to political
life again.
Meanwhile, some Egyptian parliament members refused to
invite the Muslim Brotherhood to any political dialogue. They said that those
who have blood on their hands or have been implicated in terrorist crimes
cannot be invited to such a national dialogue.
Ammar Ali Hassan, a researcher in political sociology,
told Al-Monitor that that the proposed dialogue between the opposition and the
authorities should discuss giving the public space for freedom of opinion and
expression, releasing political detainees and lifting restrictions on the work
of civil society.
Egyptian authorities released on April 24 dozens of detainees,
including several prominent authors and activists who had been held in
pre-trial detention for years. The move was seen as a goodwill gesture to begin
a serious dialogue with the opposition.
In his April 26 speech, Sisi expressed happiness at
the prisoners’ release, saying, “The homeland embraces all of us and …
differences of opinion do not spoil the homeland’s affairs.” He added that he
is keen on reactivating political reform programs, which was not a priority in
the past period.
Hassan added, “The current state may have realized
that its way of running the country needs to be reconsidered and that internal
political action alongside economy and security is a priority and a necessity.”
Human rights groups place the number of prisoners of
conscience in Egyptian prisons at tens of thousands. The Egyptian state
categorically denies the detention of any person for political reasons.
Sisi’s call for dialogue was widely welcomed by the
opposition forces and political parties. Under Sisi's rule, the country has
seen a widespread crackdown on dissent with thousands of people imprisoned,
mostly Islamists but also secular activists who participated in the 2011
uprising that toppled Mubarak.
Egypt's human rights record and campaigns to suppress
dissent and restrict freedom of the press have strained relations between Cairo
and Western capitals since Sisi's rise to power.
Hassan Nafea, a political science professor at Cairo
University, tweeted on April 29 that the proposed dialogue must include all
parties, including the Islamic movement in all its currents, in reference to
the Muslim Brotherhood. He said this would be the only way to help Egypt
overcome its current crisis.
However, independent observers expect the proposed
dialogue to be attended by active key opposition parties and figures, in
addition to the leaders of the Salafi movement and its political arm, al-Nour
Party, with the exclusion of the participation of the Muslim Brotherhood or any
of its figures residing abroad.
Source: Al Monitor
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Mideast
Iranian Deputy FM: West Rewards Terrorists by Silence
2022-May-24
Baqeri Kani made the remarks in a meeting with family
members of martyred officer of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)
Colonel Hassan Sayyad Khodayee in Tehran on Monday night.
He blasted the western governments for keeping silence
on terrorism, describing the stance as a reward for terrorists.
Baqeri Kani added that terrorism will not be uprooted
as long as terrorists receive such rewards.
He also said acts of terrorism cannot affect Iran’s
determination to fight terrorism in the region and the country will undoubtedly
go ahead with its policy to promote security.
Colonel Sayyad Khodayee was assassinated by two
motorcyclists who shot him five times before fleeing the scene on Sunday.
He was dismounting his car to enter his home in an
eastern neighborhood of the Iranian capital when three bullets hit him in the
head and two bullets in the hand.
Earlier on Monday, President Ebrahim Rayeesi said that
"the global arrogance" is behind the terrorist act, vowing “definite
revenge” for the blood of the martyr.
Source: Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010303000464/Iranian-Depy-FM-Wes-Rewards-Terrriss-by-Silence
--------
President: US Admits Disgraceful Failure in Maximum
Pressure Policy against Iran
2022-May-24
“The westerners and Americans aimed to stop Iran's
progress with sanctions, but everyone saw that the Americans themselves
admitted to their disgraceful failure of the maximum pressure campaign,”
Rayeesi said in Muscat on Monday.
“Nuclear weapons have absolutely no place in Iran's
doctrine, but we use peaceful nuclear energy for agriculture, medicine and the
petrochemical industry," he added.
Rayeesi also said that Iran-Oman relations are not
limited to neighborliness, and that the deep religious and doctrinal interests
and commonalities of the two nations have been linked for centuries.
Stressing that Tehran-Muscat relations have always
been good and constructive throughout history, the Iranian president said,
"Although we see good relations between the two countries, but this level
of relationship is not convincing."
Rayeesi underscored the need to revive various
neglected capacities between Iran and Oman, noting that the amount of trade,
transportation and economic cooperation between Tehran and Muscat, specially in
the field of energy and transit of goods, can certainly increase.
He pointed to Iran's progress in industry and
medicine, and said Iran can be a good choice for Omani people in the field of
health and medicine
“Despite US threats and sanctions, the Islamic
Republic has made great headway in areas mostly affected by sanctions, such as
the peaceful nuclear, medical, and defense industries,” Rayeesi stressed.
He said in addition to the use of foreign vaccines
against the coronavirus, six Iranian companies produced the jabs, of which four
companies took advantage of indigenous knowledge, and the vaccines are
currently being exported.
Mahmoud al-Said, for his part, referred to historical
and brotherly relations between the two nations. “Development of relations
between the two countries is the result of a mutual understanding between the
leaders of Iran and Oman," he said.
"Iran-Oman relations will not be limited to
economic and trade relations and will include such major areas as political
interactions and cooperation," he added.
The Omani deputy prime minister also lauded Iran as an
ancient and historical country.
Figures by the Iranian customs office show trade
between Iran and Oman reached $1.3 billion over the Persian calendar year to
late March, a record high and an increase of 53% against the previous year.
President Rayeesi's administration has reached major
agreements with Qatar while trade delegates have been dispatched to the UAE and
Oman in recent months to explore increased economic ties with those states.
Source: Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Commander: Iran to Make Enemies Regret Terror Attack
on IRGC Officer
2022-May-24
"Our reactions will be harsh and crushing and we
will definitely make the enemy regret" its action, General Salami said,
addressing a ceremony in Khorramshahr city in Southwestern Iran on Monday.
“Everyone knows that the Iranian nation and the
Islamic Revolution Guards Corps will avenge the blood of all their loved ones,”
he said.
“Revenge for the blood of these loved ones will be
harsh and revenge for his blood will be taken. No evil act of the enemy will go
unanswered and we will freeze the enemy in his aspirations,” General Salami
said.
The IRGC issued a statement soon after the
assassination, saying that its former member was assassinated in a terrorist
attack by counterrevolutionary elements.
The statement condoled with his family, adding that
necessary measures have been taken to identify and arrest the assailant or
assailants.
Also, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major
General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri said on Monday that the assassination will not
go unanswered.
“The assassination of this great martyr is a sign of
the despicability and humiliation of the false claimants of human rights, and
their desperate efforts to cover up their disgraceful defeats against the
Resistance Front,” General Baqeri noted.
He wished steadfastness for Sayyad Khodayee’s family
and his honorable comrades in continuing the path of martyrs.
Meantime, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Baqeri
Kani in a post on his Twitter post condemned the assassination of Sayyad
Khodayee, saying the Islamic Republic will use all its international capacities
to bring the assassins to justice.
“Tonight I had the honor to visit the place where
Islamic Iran combatant Sayyad Khodayee embraced martyrdom. Terrorism is as much
reprehensible as silence towards it. Iran shall exhaust international
capacities to identify, prosecute and punish its instigators and perpetrators,”
Baqeri Kani wrote.
Earlier on Monday, President Ebrahim Rayeesi said that
"the global arrogance" is behind the terrorist act, vowing “definite
revenge” for the blood of the martyr.
He called on Iran's judicial authorities to seriously
follow up on the assassination, underlining that revenge is certain against
those who perpetrated the criminal act.
Colonel Sayyad Khodayee was assassinated by two
motorcyclists who shot him five times before fleeing the scene on Sunday.
Source: Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran: Israel Playing Role of Terrorists in Syria
2022-May-24
The recent missile attack on a settlement near Lady
Zaynab Shrine in Syria targeted a public parking lot and led to damages and
injuries, Khatibzadeh said.
In recent years, the air force of the Zionist regime
has played the role of terrorist groups in Syria, he noted, adding that each
time the Syrian army has inflicted a failure on terrorists, the Zionist regime
has carried out aggressive attacks.
Khatibzadeh said that the overt and covert backing by
the US has had a significant role in emboldening the Zionist regime in a way
that it has not only continued occupation of Golan Heights but also has repeatedly
targeted the Syrian infrastructure.
Asked about the dust haze striking Iran and
surrounding countries, he said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been
trying to persuade neighboring countries to expand regional partnership and
implement a regional arrangement to fight the environmental phenomenon.
The spokesman said that the ministry has also worked
with international organizations, including UNEP and Organization of Islamic
Cooperation, to specifically address the dust issue.
On the political comments made by Canadian Government
officials on the preparatory soccer match between the national football teams
of Iran and Canada, he underlined that the match has been independently
organized by the football federations of the two countries and the Canadian
side has announced that it is determined to host the match.
He criticized the Canadian prime minister and
government for prioritizing mere political and partial viewpoints over broader
governmental dimension.
Israeli surface-to-surface missiles killed three
people near the Syrian capital Damascus on Friday, state media said quoting a
military source.
"The Israeli enemy carried out an aggression...
that led to the death of three martyrs and some material losses," Syria's
official news agency SANA quoted the source as saying.
The missiles came from the Israeli-occupied Golan
heights and were intercepted by the Syrian air defenses, the military source
said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor
said that the three people killed were officers and that four other members of
the air defense crew were wounded.
The Israeli strikes targeted Iranian positions and
weapon depots near Damascus, the monitor said.
A fire broke at one of the positions near the Damascus
airport, where ambulances were seen rushing to the site of the strikes,
according to the Observatory.
Source: Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010303000726/Iran-Israel-Playing-Rle-f-Terrriss-in-Syria
--------
Palestinian teen shot dead in Israeli raid on West
Bank
25 May ,2022
Health authorities said a 16-year-old Palestinian died
early Wednesday after being wounded during clashes with Israeli forces in the
occupied West Bank, the latest in a wave of violence that has persisted for
months.
The Palestinian health ministry said Ghaith Yamin was
wounded by a gunshot to the head and died at a hospital. Wafa, the official
Palestinian news agency, reported that the clashes erupted when Jewish
worshipers, escorted by the military, arrived at a shrine on the outskirts of
Nablus city to pray.
At least 15 Palestinians were wounded by live fire,
according to Wafa, during the clashes near Joseph’s Tomb, a frequent flashpoint
site. Some Jews believe biblical Joseph is buried at the site, while
Palestinians say it’s the tomb of a Sheikh.
On Tuesday, Israeli authorities said they have foiled
a wide-ranging plot by Palestinian militant Hamas group to shoot a member of
parliament, kidnap soldiers and bomb Jerusalem’s light rail system during a
surge of violence that has left dozens dead in recent weeks.
The police and Shin Bet security services said in a
statement that five Palestinian men from east Jerusalem had been arrested for
allegedly planning a shooting attack against far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir
and other targets at a time of heightened tensions in the flashpoint city.
The suspects, authorities said, had planned the
attacks last month, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, to “destabilize”
the area around the al-Aqsa Mosque, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.
Authorities said a drone was found, intended to be
armed and used in an attack on Jerusalem’s light rail, which sees daily crowds
of commuters and tourists.
They identified the plot leaders as Hamas militants
Rashid Rashak and Mansur Tzafadi, who “delivered many fireworks, flags and
Hamas videos” to east Jerusalem neighborhoods last month during Ramadan.
Security forces also seized a camera to be used to photograph “abductees,” cash
and other equipment.
The statement did not say how close they came to
carrying out the plot. There was no immediate comment from Hamas.
The arrests came at a time of heightened violence
between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli police in east Jerusalem, much of
it concentrated at a contested holy site. Israel also has stepped up military
activity in the West Bank in recent weeks in response to a series of deadly
attacks inside Israel.
Next week, Israeli ultranationalists plan to march
through the main Muslim thoroughfare of the Old City.
The march is meant to celebrate Israel’s capture of
east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel subsequently annexed the area in
a step that is not internationally recognized. The Palestinians claim east
Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.
Also inflaming tensions is the death of Al Jazeera
reporter Shireen Abu Akleh during a firefight in Jenin. A reconstruction by The
Associated Press lends support to assertions from both Palestinian authorities
and Abu Akleh’s colleagues that the bullet that cut her down came from an
Israeli gun.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Turkish minister aims to boost Palestinian economy in
rare West Bank trip
24 May ,2022
Turkey’s top diplomat announced Tuesday a raft of new
agreements to bolster the struggling Palestinian economy, during the first
high-level Turkish visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank in 15 years.
During Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu’s trip to
Ramallah, Turkey signed nine new pacts with the embattled Palestinian
Authority, ranging from agriculture to education and trade.
Cavusoglu will meet Israeli officials on Wednesday,
the latest step in a diplomatic thaw between Ankara and the Jewish state. He
will also make a private visit to the al-Asqa mosque compound in
Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.
Alongside his Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki,
Cavusoglu pledged to push ahead with plans for the construction of an
industrial zone in the Palestinian territories.
“The necessary order has been given; there is no
luxury for evading and delaying this project,” he said, also setting a $2
billion annual bilateral trade target and pledging more scholarships with
Palestinians to study in Turkey.
The World Bank warned this month that the Palestinian
economy was in a “precarious” state, with the cash-strapped Palestinian
Authority - a major West Bank employer - only paying partial wages since
November.
Maliki described Cavusoglu’s visit as “historic” and
reflecting the “special relationship between the two countries.”
Turkey has long been a vocal supporter of the
Palestinian cause, but visits to the West Bank had been obstructed by a 15-year
diplomatic rupture between Ankara and Israel.
Israel and Turkey proclaimed a new era in relations
following President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Ankara and Istanbul in March.
Cavusoglu’s Ramallah visit came as fresh violence
rocked the West Bank flashpoint of Jenin.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
5 Turkish soldiers killed by PKK terror group in
northern Iraq
Zafer Fatih Beyaz
24.05.2022
Five Turkish soldiers were killed by PKK terrorists in
northern Iraq, near the Turkish border, Turkiye's National Defense Ministry
said Tuesday.
Three of them were killed when clashes erupted between
Turkish troops and the terrorists in the region where Turkiye launched its
latest anti-terror operation, Claw-Lock.
Four other members of the Turkish forces were also
injured in the attack, and they were taken to a hospital, where two succumbed
to their wounds.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkiye,
the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the US, and European
Union – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people,
including women, children, and infants.
Turkiye has launched successive operations against the
PKK in northern Iraq since 2020, most recently Operation Claw-Lock in April to
target PKK hideouts in Iraq's Metina region.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Turkish foreign minister’s visit to Israel ‘very important’:
Spokesman
Abdelraouf Arna'out
24.05.2022
JERUSALEM
An Israeli spokesman on Tuesday hailed Turkish Foreign
Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu’s visit to Israel as "very important."
“This is a very important visit and part of a process
to warm up relations between the two countries,” Foreign Ministry spokesman
Lior Khayyat told Anadolu Agency.
Cavusoglu arrived in Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport
earlier Tuesday and headed to the West Bank city of Ramallah to meet
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki.
The top Turkish diplomat will meet on Wednesday with
several Israeli officials, including Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Tourism
Minister Yoel Razvozov, according to the Israeli Public Broadcasting
Corporation network (KAN).
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Africa
Al-Sunni stresses importance of US role in Libyan
peace process
May 24, 2022
Libya's Ambassador to the United Nations, Taher
Al-Sunni, reviewed during his meeting with his US counterpart, Linda
Greenfield, the developing situation in Libya and the challenges facing the
political track.
"Reiterated the importance of US role to support
Libyans towards a peaceful path to avoid any violence/military confrontation,"
Al-Sunni tweeted on Monday.
Ambassador Al-Sunni discussed international efforts,
including UN-led dialogues, and emphasized the need for consensus toward
national elections soon.
The two sides also exchanged notes on the impact of
the current international crisis on Libya and the importance of supporting
security, economic stability, and ending all kinds of foreign interference.
Source: Libya Observer
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.libyaobserver.ly/news/al-sunni-stresses-importance-us-role-libyan-peace-process
--------
Somali foreign minister suspended over charcoal export
to Oman breaking UN sanctions
24 May ,2022
Somalia’s prime minister suspended the foreign
minister on Tuesday, citing the authorization of a ship exporting charcoal to
Oman in violation of international sanctions.
The UN Security Council banned such shipments a decade
ago to cut funding for the extremist group al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda franchise
fighting Somalia’s central government.
Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble’s office said
that as well as suspending Foreign Minister Abdisaid Muse Ali, he had ordered
an audit and judicial investigation into the ministry’s authorization of the
shipment.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Somali prime minister suspends foreign minister
Mohammed Dhaysane
24.05.2022
MOGADISHU, Somalia
Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble announced
Tuesday that he suspended Foreign Minister Abdisaiid Muuse Ali for allegedly
releasing a ship carrying illegal charcoal that was detained in Oman.
Roble said he instructed the Office of the National
Auditor and security agencies to investigate the issue and give the results to
the country's judicial authorities.
He described the release of the ship as
"illegal" and against the nation’s laws and international law.
State media reported that Abdisaid has been suspended
for abusing his power.
Experts said relations between Roble and Abdisaid have
recently deteriorated.
"The PM waited for the right moment to fire him
since President Farmaajo (now former President Mohamed Abdulllahi Mohamed) lost
the elections and targeting his close allies was obvious," Abdurahman
Sheikh Azhari, director of the Centre for Analysis and Strategic Studies (
CASS), a think tank based in Mogadishu, told Anadolu Agency.
He said Roble based his suspension for alleged
violations Abdisaid made with several changes in diplomatic missions,
recruiting those close to him and communicating with the Omani government to
release a ship full of illegal charcoal without the knowledge of the prime
minister.
Meanwhile, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has made
his fifth appointment since taking office Monday when he appointed Hussein
Moalim as his national security adviser.
The appointment will help the new president with his
"profound commitment to achieving a safer Somalia," said a statement
by the State House.
"Mr. Hussein possesses rich experience &
expertise in National Security & has architected several security
strategies," according to the Somali presidency.
Hussein previously served in the post and he was
chairman of Mogadishu-based think tank, Hiraal Institute.
And as climate change-related drought hit the Horn of
African nation worsens, the president named Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame as
Special Envoy to Drought Response on Tuesday.
Warsame was a presidential candidate in the last
election.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/somali-prime-minister-suspends-foreign-minister/2596699
--------