SC Stays Release of Movie 'Hamare Baarah', Takes Note of Allegations That the Film Is Derogatory to The Islamic Faith and Married Muslim Women
New Age Islam News Bureau
13 Jun 2024
The bench stayed the screening of the film till
disposal of the petition by the Bombay High Court.
-----------
·
SC Stays Release of Movie 'Hamare Baarah',
Takes Note of Allegations That the Film Is Derogatory to The Islamic Faith and
Married Muslim Women
·
Anti-Muslim Hate Groups in US Surge Back into
Spotlight, Reinvigorated By The Israel-Hamas War In Gaza
·
'Security Forces Kill 181 Terrorists in Over
7,000 anti-Terror Operations'from April 1 To June 10
·
At Least 41 Dead In Fire At Building Housing
Workers In Kuwait
·
Hamas: Blinken Part of Problem in Gaza
Ceasefire Talks
India
·
Child Trafficking Case Labelled A
“Misunderstanding” And Closed but The Damage Had Been Done to Five Madrasa
Teachers
·
DU Professor Claims BJP Government Has Done a
Lot for Muslims; Data Defies
·
CRPF Constable, 2 Pakistan Terrorists Killed in
Kathua, 7 Personnel Wounded in Doda
·
Islamic Scholar Sentenced to 56 Years of
Imprisonment for Sexual Assault of Minor
------
North America
·
CAIR Urges Officials to Stand with New Maryland
Mosque Facing Islamophobic Opposition
·
CAIR Seeks Probe of U.S. Soldier Fighting for
Israel in Rafah Who Posted Image of Mosque with Islamophobic Graffiti
·
Hamas and Islamic Jihad Respond to U.N.
Ceasefire Plan
--------
Pakistan
·
LHC chief justice forms six more election tribunals
·
LHC summons IG on ATC judge’s ‘harassment’ plea
·
Mianwali police besiege Sargodha court to
rearrest acquitted PTI workers
·
Peshawar ATC indicts PTI activists for last
year’s violent protest
·
Budget: Govt to provide medical facility to
thousands of journalists, media workers
·
PPP joins federal budget session after
withdrawing boycott decision
·
Pakistan urges UN to address specific cases of
missing persons in IIOJK
·
MPA Amina Hassan Sheikh holds meeting with CSJ
delegation
------
Arab World
·
Awareness Campaign On Animal Sacrifice Launched
in Madinah Ahead of Eid Al-Adha
·
Saudi crown prince cancels G7 Summit attendance
due to Hajj commitments
·
Riyadh doctors working remotely save Jordan
pilgrim from stroke in Madinah
·
Elderly Malaysian pilgrim fulfils decades-long
Hajj dream
·
KSrelief chief discusses aid efforts in Gaza
with Palestinian ministers
·
Saudi leaders send condolences to Kuwait’s emir
over victims of deadly fire
--------
Mideast
·
Illegal Israeli Settlers Storm into Al-Aqsa
Mosque Complex to Mark Jewish Holiday
·
Hamas urges US to put ‘pressure’ on Israel for
permanent Gaza ceasefire: statement
·
Iran expanding enrichment capacity after IAEA
resolution, diplomats say
·
Hamas, Jihad hand over response of Palestinian
resistance factions to mediators
·
Iran diplomat urges Muslims to counter Israel
regime crimes
·
Islamic Resistance in Iraq targets Umm
Al-Rashrash city with drones
·
President Sisi congratulates Egyptian Muslims
abroad on Eid al-Adha
--------
Europe
·
Reform Candidate Rants That ‘Islam and Nazis Are
the Same Thing’ In Unearthed Footage
·
US company stops supplying life-saving drug to
Russia
·
How this little-known Eurasian economic bloc
helped blunt Western sanctions
·
UK’s Labour pitches for power with promise of
growth
·
NATO to take over coordination of arms
deliveries to Ukraine ahead of possible Trump win
--------
Southeast Asia
·
Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Demands
Israel Be Held Accountable for Gaza Genocide
·
Expert Proposes Hajj Agency under Religious
Affairs Minister to Improve Services
·
Hamas Should Accept Ceasefire Proposal, Blinken
Tells Prabowo
·
Malaysia hopes diplomatic ties with the
Philippines continue to strengthen - Nanta
·
Singapore fully supports Malaysia as ASEAN
chair 2025 under PM Anwar
--------
Africa
·
Military Will Continue to Protect Democracy –
Defence Chief
·
Rwanda says UN refugee agency lying in British
asylum policy case
·
Fighting between two Somalia clans kills at
least 55
·
Haiti inaugurates new cabinet as country looks
to end political unrest
·
Malawi announces state funeral and 21 days of
mourning for vice president killed in a plane crash
·
Outrage as Niger State Gov, Deputy, Speaker,
State EXCO Members Travel To Saudi For Hajj At Same Time
·
120 million people displaced by war, violence
globally — UN
·
Terrorists killed, military uncovers warehouse
with looted foodstuffs
--------
South Asia
·
Afghanistan Among Top Five Refugee-Origin
Countries; 6.4 Million Displaced: UNHCR
·
Herat Officials Emphasize Enhanced Coordination
with International Organizations
·
Congressman urges Biden to prioritize
American’s release from Taliban
·
World Day Against Child Labour: OCHA reports
19% of Afghan children engaged in hard labour
·
Iran Air starts flights to Kabul for first
time, ministry
·
Inter-Ministerial Committee Meeting Discusses
Major Investment Proposals
Compiled by
New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
SCStays
Release of Movie 'Hamare Baarah', Takes Note of Allegations That the Film Is
Derogatory to The Islamic Faith and Married Muslim Women
PTI
13 Jun
2024
The
bench stayed the screening of the film till disposal of the petition by the
Bombay High Court.
-----------
NEW
DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the June 14 release of Annu
Kapoor's movie 'Hamare Baarah' after taking note of allegations that the film
is derogatory to the Islamic faith and married Muslim women.
A
vacation bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta took note of
the submissions of lawyer Fauzia Shakil, who represented the petitioner Azhar
Basha Tamboli, and asked the Bombay High Court to take an expeditious decision
on the plea.
"We
have seen the movie trailer in the morning and all the offensive dialogues
continue in the trailer," the bench observed while staying the release of
the film.
The
bench stayed the screening of the film till disposal of the petition by the
Bombay High Court.
Shakil
said the high court vacated the stay on release of the movie by an
"unreasoned order".
"The
high court could not have directed the CBFC to constitute a committee because
the CBFC was a party, interested in the litigation," she said.
All
objections, including the direction to the Central Board of Flim Certification
(CBFC) to select the committee, have been left open for the parties to raise
before the high court, the top court said.
The
movie, which is already banned in Karnataka, was to be released on June 14.
Source: newindianexpress.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2024/Jun/13/sc-stays-release-of-movie-hamare-baarah-2
-------
Anti-Muslim
Hate Groups in US Surge Back into Spotlight, Reinvigorated By The Israel-Hamas
War In Gaza
June 13,
2024
Pilgrims
offer prayers outside at the Grand Mosque during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in
Mecca, Saudi Arabia, June 12, 2024.
-------------
WASHINGTON
— Once seemingly fading into obscurity, anti-Muslim hate groups in the United
States have surged back into the spotlight in recent months, reinvigorated by
the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Many of
these groups, such as Jihad Watch and ACT for America, emerged in the aftermath
of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. and thrived on public fears of terrorism. But
as those fears waned in recent years, so did the groups’ sway. Some disbanded,
while others gravitated to other hot-button issues.
From a
peak of 114 in 2017, their number dropped to a mere 34 last year, according to
the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit that tracks hate groups.
In early
2023, "Islamophobia was down to a slow trickle," SPLC senior research
analyst Caleb Kieffer said.
Then
came the October 7 Hamas assault on Israel, which claimed about 1,200 lives and
triggered a massive Israeli military response in Gaza.
Anti-Muslim
groups that had "opportunistically" seized on divisive issues, such
as critical race theory and LGBTQ-inclusive policies, swung back into action.
"These
anti-Muslim groups went right back to their core messaging," Kieffer said
in an interview with VOA. "They've been going hard on the rhetoric since
October last year."
Take ACT
for America. Founded in 2007 by Brigitte Gabriel, a Lebanese American political
activist and self-described "survivor of terrorism," it grew into one
of the country's leading anti-Muslim organizations.
At its
peak, the group had more than 50 active chapters, each counted as a separate
hate group by the SPLC. But in recent years, most of those chapters either shut
down or shifted into other areas, leaving ACT for America with just eight on
SPLC’s most recent list.
According
to the SPLC, ACT for America embraced a "nativist tone" before
October 7, circulating, among other things, a petition calling to "Stop
the Taxpayer Funded Border Invasion."
After
October 7, the group launched another petition more in line with its agenda and
with a call by former U.S. President Donald Trump to stop admitting Palestinian
refugees from Gaza.
Warning
her followers about homegrown jihadi terror, Gabriel, a staunch Trump
supporter, began peddling her bestselling anti-Muslim book, Because They Hate:
A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America, in exchange for a $25 donation.
In a
video titled "Wake Up America" in October, she claimed, "Hamas
has a large network of cells spreading all across America," from Laurel,
Maryland, to Tucson, Arizona.
Other
groups that had also latched onto contentious issues similarly pivoted back to
their core agenda.
Jihad
Watch, a website run by prominent anti-Muslim figure Robert Spencer, published
an article last October claiming, "We’re in a war between savages and
civilization. Everything else is a detail."
Eight
days later, an affiliated political website called FrontPage Magazine ran a
piece titled "It's Islam, Stupid," arguing that everything Hamas did
"has been done by Muslims throughout history and is still being practiced
today.''
FrontPage
Magazine is published by the David Horowitz Freedom Center, another leading
anti-Muslim group. Jihad Watch is a project of the center.
ACT for
America, Jihad Watch and the David Horowitz Freedom Center are part of what
experts describe as a well-funded, close-knit anti-Muslim industry, with each
group playing a distinct role in the ecosystem.
With
chapters across the country, Washington-based ACT for America provides the
"grassroots muscle" to the movement, Kieffer said. The Center for
Security Policy serves as its think tank, he said.
The
SPLC-designated groups appear on other hate lists. Several SPLC-branded groups
contacted by VOA condemned their designation.
In a
statement to VOA, a spokesperson for ACT for America rejected the
"anti-Muslim" label, saying the organization has "always
welcomed and included members of all faiths," including Muslims, and
hosted Muslim keynote speakers at its conferences.
ACT for
America works "on a broad range of issues, none of which are
anti-Muslim," the spokesperson said. "As a matter of fact, since the
defeat of ISIS and al-Qaida between 2018 and 2024, you didn't hear a blurb from
ACT for America about radical Islam."
In
response to a VOA query, Jihad Watch's Spencer accused the SPLC of smearing and
defaming "organizations that oppose its far-left political agenda by
lumping them in with the likes of the KKK and neo-Nazis."
In a
brief interview with VOA, J. Michael Waller, a senior analyst for strategy at
the Center for Security Policy, called the designation "slander,"
saying it was tied to his group's criticism of the Iranian government and the
Muslim Brotherhood.
Kieffer
defended the SPLC's methodology, saying it only designates groups that
"vilify" and "demonize" people because of their race,
religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity.
The SPLC
defines anti-Muslim hate groups as organizations that "broadly defame
Islam and traffic in conspiracy theories of Muslims being a subversive threat
to the nation."
Not
every anti-Muslim hate group has stood the test of time. In recent years,
dozens of ACT for America chapters have closed.
The ACT
for America spokesperson said most of its member groups have "turned into
digital chapters meeting via zoom or other technology platforms."
Last
year, an anti-refugee and anti-Muslim blog called Refugee Resettlement Watch
became inactive and was dropped from SPLC's list of hate groups.
Another
well-known anti-Muslim group called Understanding the Threat announced last
year it was shutting down. The group was operated by a former FBI agent known
for spreading anti-Muslim conspiracy theories.
Other
groups have rebranded. One former ACT for America chapter now operates as AlertAmerica.News,
according to SPLC. Its focus ranges from "strengthening national
security" to "fighting communism and American Marxism."
Kieffer
said while the group's central focus may have shifted away from Islamophobia,
it continues to invite well-known, anti-Muslim speakers to its events.
With the
war in Gaza still raging, the resurgence in Islamophobia remains unabated,
Kieffer said. But that's likely to change in the run-up to the presidential
election in November.
"I
imagine that we're going to slowly see a decline again as these groups start to
push other issues," he said.
Brian
Levin, a criminologist and hate crime researcher, noted that anti-Muslim hate
crimes have surged in recent years, even as the number of hate groups has
dwindled.
That's
because hatred has found a new home in the mainstream, rendering niche groups
such as Islamophobic outfits increasingly obsolete, he said.
"The
bottom line is, the way we associate to express and amplify hatred has
changed," Levin said in an interview with VOA. "Up-and-coming bigots
of all sorts will find an array of xenophobic bigotry and conspiracism within
general mainstream platforms."
Source: voanews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.voanews.com/a/anti-muslim-hate-groups-in-us-surge-back-into-spotlight-/7654021.html
--------
'Security
Forces Kill 181 Terrorists in Over 7,000 anti-Terror Operations'from April 1 To
June 10
June 12,
2024
Security
forces' personnel are seen taking position during an anti-terror operation at
an undisclosed location. — ISPR/File
--------------
RAWALPINDI:
As Pakistan continues to combat the menace of terrorism, the country's security
forces carried out as many as 7,745 anti-terror operations from April 1 to June
10, sources told Geo News on Wednesday.
The
largest number of operations were carried out in Balochistan (4,902), followed
by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (2,702) and Sindh (142).
Meanwhile,
a total of 181 terrorists were gunned down in these operations of which 128
were killed in KP followed by 51 in Balochistan and two being killed in Sindh.
In May
alone, the security forces killed 42 terrorists in KP and neutralised another
12 in Balochistan. Meanwhile, 61 militants were apprehended in both provinces
last month.
Looking
at province-wise anti-terror operations, the security forces killed seven
terrorists and arrested two others as they attempted to infiltrate into
Pakistan at the Zhob border with Afghanistan.
Another
five militants were gunned down and one was apprehended during an infiltration
attempt in Pishin and Killa Abdullah
Additionally,
two suicide bombers, including an Afghan national, were also arrested along
with their handlers.
The
security forces also confiscated arms and ammunition from terrorists including
explosives, four suicide jackets and 14 improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
In KP,
the security forces gunned down 12 terrorists in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank,
whereas 19 others were killed in North Waziristan.
Additionally,
the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) network involved in the deadly Bisham
suicide attack that killed five Chinese nationals in March, has also been
apprehended with the responsible terrorists facing cases before the courts.
The data
comes a day after 11 terrorists, involved in the martyrdom of seven army men,
have been killed during an intelligence-based operation in the Lakki Marwat
district.
Last week,
Pakistan Army soldiers including a captain were martyred after an improvised
explosive device (IED) hit the vehicle of the security forces in Lakki Marwat
district.
Pakistan
has time again raised its concerns with the interim Afghan Taliban government
over the use of Afghan soil by various militant organisations including the
TTP.
The
country has witnessed a surge in terrorist attacks in recent months with
Balochistan and KP facing the brunt of them.
As per
the Q1 2024 Security Report issued by the Centre for Research and Security
Studies (CRSS) in April this year, at least 92% of all fatalities and 86% of
attacks in Pakistan, including those related to terrorism and security forces
operations, were recorded in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces
in the first quarter of 2024.
The
report mentioned that the country witnessed at least 432 violence-linked
fatalities and 370 injuries among civilians, security personnel and outlaws
resulting from as many as 245 incidents of terror attacks and counter-terror
operations.
Among
the 432 fatalities, 281 included that of civilians and security forces
personnel.
Source: thenews.com.pk
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1199675-security-forces-kill-181-terrorists-in-over-7000-operations
--------
At least
41 dead in fire at building housing workers in Kuwait
June 13,
2024
At least
41 people have been killed when a fire broke out in a building that housed
workers in Kuwait, according to authorities. The blaze early on Wednesday
morning in the southern Mangaf district also injured dozens of people, the
Health Ministry said. The area is heavily populated with foreign labourers, but
there was no immediate information on the nationality of the casualties. Deputy
Prime Minister Sheikh Fahad al-Yousuf al-Sabah ordered the arrest of the
building’s owner during a visit to the site. “Unfortunately, the greed of real
estate owners is what leads to these matters,” said Sheikh Fahad, who also runs
the interior and defence ministries. Authorities said the fire had been brought
under control and were investigating what caused it. “The building in which the
fire occurred was used to house workers, and there was a large number of
workers there. Dozens were rescued, but unfortunately there were many deaths as
a result of inhaling smoke from the fire,” a senior police commander told state
TV. “We always alert and warn against” cramming too many workers into housing
accommodation, he said, without providing details on the workers’ type of
employment or place of origin. Aljazeera
Source: thekabultimes.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://thekabultimes.com/at-least-41-dead-in-fire-at-building-housing-workers-in-kuwait/
--------
Hamas:
Blinken part of problem in Gaza ceasefire talks
12 June
2024
Hamas
official Osama Hamdan speaks during a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon, on
April 4, 2024. (File photo by Reuters)
-----------
The
Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has slammed remarks by US Secretary of
State Anthony Blinken blaming the movement for the Gaza ceasefire stalemate,
saying the remarks show he’s part of the problem and not the solution to the
conflict.
Osama
Hamdan, the senior Hamas representative in Lebanon, said that the Israeli
occupation is the one hindering the ceasefire in Gaza.
“We told
the mediators that the side rejecting the proposals is the Israeli side,” he
said in an interview with the Al-Araby television on Wednesday.
“The
American administration is complicit with Israel in evading any commitment to a
permanent ceasefire proposal,” he said.
Blinken
had earlier on Wednesday criticized Hamas’s response to the ceasefire plan
outlined by US President Joe Biden and said some of the group’s demands are not
workable.
"We
believe that some of the requested changes are workable and some are not,"
Blinken told reporters in Doha.
The top
American diplomat said they would continue to work to seal a ceasefire
agreement, but that the onus was on Hamas.
The plan
Biden laid out on May 31 calls for an Israeli withdrawal from "major
population centers" and a ceasefire for six weeks, which could then be
extended if negotiators need more time to seek a permanent deal.
Hamas
has reportedly proposed amendments including a clear ceasefire timeline and the
complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, according to sources.
Hamas
slams Biden’s remarks on Israeli captives as a setback to Gaza ceasefire
negotiations.
In his
remarks, Blinken also said that they’ll put forward proposals for the
administration of Gaza following the ongoing war in the coming weeks.
Blinken
said the proposals would cover how to handle Gaza governance, security, and
reconstruction.
‘Palestinians
to decide their future’
Hamdan
rejected Blinken’s remarks on planning for the governance of post-war Gaza,
saying that the “day after the war will be a Palestinian day in which we will
decide our reality and our future.”
The
Hamas official said they demand guarantees from the mediators to prevent the
Israeli occupation from evading its responsibilities.
“The
Israeli proposal seeks a temporary ceasefire to catch its breath before resuming
the war,” he said, referring to the Biden plan, which the US says has the
regime’s support.
Qatari
Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, speaking alongside
Blinken in a joint presser, acknowledged that one key divide between the Israeli
regime and Hamas was on whether a ceasefire would be temporary or permanent.
Al-Thani
said the emirate would keep working with Egypt and the United States to
"bridge the gap to find a way to end the war as soon as possible".
Source: presstv.ir
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/06/12/727354/Hamas-Blinken-Israel
--------
India
Child
Trafficking Case Labelled A “Misunderstanding” And Closed butThe Damage Had
Been Done to Five Madrasa Teachers
Mumbai:
June6, 2024
The
Government Railway Police (GRP) in Manmad and Bhusawal have officially closed
two criminal cases involving five madrasa teachers, initially accused of
trafficking 59 children from Bihar to Maharashtra for alleged child labor. The
teachers, who were arrested in May 2023 and detained for four weeks, have now
been cleared of all charges.
The
cases were closed in March 2024 after GRP officers determined that the initial
FIRs were filed due to a “misunderstanding.” According to the case details, on
May 30, 2023, 59 children aged 8 to 17 from Bihar’s Araria district were
traveling by train to Pune and Sangli to attend Islamic theology classes at
madrasas. Acting on information from a senior officer associated with the
juvenile justice board in Delhi and the Railway Board, the Railway Protection
Force (RPF), in collaboration with an NGO, intervened and “rescued” the
children at Bhusawal and Manmad stations.
Authorities,
suspecting the children were being trafficked for child labor, housed them in
shelter homes in Nashik and Bhusawal for 12 days. This led to significant
parental outrage, demanding the children’s return. The Nashik district
administration eventually escorted the children back to Bihar.
RPF
officials claimed the five madrasa representatives accompanying the children
could not provide adequate documentation for their travel, leading to the
filing of FIRs under sections 370 (trafficking of persons) and 34 (common
intention) of the Indian Penal Code. The arrested individuals were identified
as Mohammed Anjur Alam Mohammed Syed Ali (34) from Sangli, Saddam Hussain
Siddiqui (23), Noman Alam Siddiqui (28), EzajZiyabbul Siddiqui (40), and
Mohammed Shahnawaz Haroon (22) from Araria.
During
the investigation, Government Railway Police officers verified the credentials
of the accused and the children. “After due verification, we ascertained there
was no human trafficking and filed a ‘C-Summary’ closure report before the
court,” said Inspector Sharad Jogdand of Manmad GRP.
“Though
people knew the cases were false, the FIRs and arrests caused social and
psychological suffering,” said Mohammed Shahnawaz Haroon.”…
Advocate
Niyaz Ahmed Lodhi, representing the teachers, emphasized the need for
compensation for the wrongful arrest and harassment.
Source: radianceweekly.net
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://radianceweekly.net/madrasa-teachers-cleared-of-child-trafficking-charges-after-investigation/
-----
DU
Professor Claims BJP Government Has Done a Lot for Muslims; Data Defies
13.06.24
The non-inclusion
of Muslims in the Union cabinet headed by Narendra Modi has sparked another
debate after a Delhi University professor claimed that the BJP government has
done a lot for Muslims, contradicting government data that speaks of the dismal
condition of the community.
Experts
on this subject have questioned the claim made by Sangit Kumar Ragi, the head
of the political science department at DU, who wrote on X: “I am happy that BJP
has decided not to keep Muslims in the cabinet. Enough has been done by the
party to bring Muslims closer. But it is well established that Muslims vote to
defeat BJP.”
Facts,
however, differed from the assertion made by Ragi. According to the All India
Survey on Higher Education, 2021-22, conducted by the ministry of education (MoE),
the enrolment of Muslims was less than five per cent against their population
share of 14.2 per cent. Nearly 4.33 crore students were enrolled in higher
educational institutions out of which only 21.08 lakh were Muslims.
The
India Discrimination Report, 2022, brought out by Oxfam India said Dalit,
tribal and Muslim workers earn less than other workers because of caste and
sectarian bias in the labour market. The report analysed the disparities among
different groups in access to regular and casual jobs, self-employment and
earnings. It used government data such as the 61st-round National Sample Survey
on employment and unemployment (2004-05) and the Periodic Labour Force Surveys
of 2018-19 and 2019-20. For instance, the report says, Muslims in rural areas
earned ₹12,796 a month in 2020 compared to ₹13,440 for the
rest.
A
ministry of women and child development report suggested that Muslim women had
the lowest literacy rate and their labour force participation rate was lowest
compared to other social groups.
Zafarul-Islam
Khan, the president of All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat and the former
chairman of Delhi Minorities Commission, said Modi and his party had done
everything in their power in the last 10 years to target, criminalise and
invisibilise the Muslims.
“Today,
for the first time in the history of independent India, there is no Muslim
minister in the central cabinet. Campaigns were unleashed against Muslims in
the name of fake issues like hijab, halal, beef, conversion, love Jihad. Mr
Modi himself stooped so low as to directly target Muslims day in and day out
during the recent prolonged election campaigning,” he said.
Source: telegraphindia.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/data-defies-delhi-university-professors-claim-of-bjp-government-having-done-a-lot-for-muslims/cid/2026544
--------
CRPF
constable, 2 Pakistan terrorists killed in Kathua, 7 personnel wounded in Doda
Jun 13,
2024
JAMMU: A
CRPF constable from Madhya Pradesh and two suspected Pakistani terrorists were
killed in a 15-hour overnight operation that began late Tuesday in the frontier
village of Seda Sohal in Kathua district of Jammu division, where an
intelligence alert about a likely fidayeen strike was sounded Wednesday. The
region is reeling from four terrorist attacks, beginning with Sunday’s ambush
on a pilgrim bus in Reasi district that left nine people dead and 41 wounded.
In Doda
district, five Rashtriya Rifles troopers and a special police officer (SPO)
were wounded in a terrorist attack on a checkpost near Chattergala mountain
pass on Bhaderwah-Pathankot highway around 1am Wednesday. The busy road has
been closed and additional forces deployed to intensify an operation to track
down the attackers.
Later in
the evening, constable Fareed Ahmed from J&K police’s special operation
group was wounded when terrorists fired at a search team in Kerloo Bhalessa in
Doda district’s Gandoh area, leading to a gunfight. An official said this is a
new group of terrorists as Chattergala is about 125km away from Gandoh. “The
operation is on,” he said.
This was
the second terrorist attack in Doda in 24 hours and fourth in three days in
Jammu region.
Police
released sketches of four terrorists suspected to be involved in the Doda
strikes and announced a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh for information on them. The
terrorists, who are of Pakistani origin and aged between 20 and 42, are armed
with AK-series rifles, American M4 carbines and pistols, officials said.
Security
forces are on high alert following intelligence reports of potential terrorist
attacks, particularly in the increasingly volatile Poonch and Rajouri
districts. Intelligence agencies warned that “terrorists are planning suicide
attacks on security forces/camps/installations, particularly in Suderbani,
Nowshera, Lamberi, Akhnoor and Domana areas of Rajouri and Jammu districts, in
next 48 hours”. A search operation has been launched in Kalal area of Nowshera
sector in Rajouri district following reports of suspicious activity.
In Seda
Sohal, about 60km from Jammu and near the international border, the first
terrorist was killed Tuesday night in a shootout with security forces after
villagers raised an alarm and reported to police the presence of a group of
terrorists when an unidentified man asked for water in a house around 8pm. The
group retaliated by attacking the house with a grenade and hail of bullets
before escaping into nearby forests.
Sources
initially reported two villagers were killed in the attack, but officials ruled
out Wednesday any civilian fatalities. They said a villager named Onkar, 45,
suffered gunshot wounds in his left arm and he is being treated in hospital.
The
second terrorist was killed Wednesday noon after a long gunfight with a
combined team of police, Army, and CRPF personnel. Constable Kabir Das Uike of
121 Battalion CRPF was fatally wounded when the terrorist tried to break the
security ring, firing a hail of bullets with an American M4 carbine.
Counter-fire cut down the terrorist.
Uike, 35,
a native of Pulpuldoh village in MP’s Chhindwara, is survived by his wife
Mamta, four siblings and an elderly mother. He had joined CRPF in 2011. “We
have not informed his wife…She is tense and asking questions. They got married
just two-and-a-half years ago. Kabir was here on leave and had joined duty
hardly a week ago,” brother-in-law Ravi Shankar said. Uike’s mortal remains
will reach his village Thursday.
During
the operation, DIG Sunil Gupta and SSP Anayat Ali Choudhary also came under
attack as a volley of bullets hit their vehicles. They are unhurt.
ADG
(Jammu zone) Anand Jain, who oversaw the operation, said a large cache of
weapons — including an M4 carbine, an AK-47 assault rifle, 10 magazines, 382
live ammunition, IEDs, and eight grenades — over Rs 2 lakh in cash, and
Pakistan-made food items and medicines, including painkiller shots, were found.
He
cautioned that there might be more terrorists hiding in the area, as the slain
terrorists had recently infiltrated from across the Pakistan border.
Without
naming Pakistan, ADG Jain said: “It is our hostile neighbour who always tries
to damage the peaceful environment in our country.”
About
the Chattergala checkpost attack, DIG (Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban range) Shridhar
Patil said: “It is a hilly and forested area. Tactically we go slow as we have
to eliminate terrorists and also prioritise the safety of our people. We have
also involved Kathua police because the area is close to Kathua.” He also
informed that “temporary security camps have been set up in the upper reaches”
following intelligence alerts about suspicious movement in the area.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jammu/crpf-constable-2-pakistan-terrorists-killed-in-kathua-7-personnel-wounded-in-doda/articleshow/110948363.cms
--------
Islamic
Scholar Sentenced to 56 Years of Imprisonment for Sexual Assault of Minor
June 12,
2024
Thiruvananthapuram:
An elderly man was convicted and sentenced by a Kerala court to a cumulative of
56 years imprisonment for repeated aggravated sexual assault of a minor boy who
went to the convict for Islamic classes.
Thiruvananthapuram
Fast Track Special Court (POCSO) judge R Rekha sentenced the man to varying
jail terms for several offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences (POCSO) Act and the IPC for a total of 56 years.
However,
as the sentences have to be served concurrently and the highest of the jail
terms given to the man was 20 years, he will be serving 20 years in prison,
Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) R S Vijay Mohan said.
The
court also imposed a fine of ₹ 75,000 on the convict.
According
to the prosecution, between October 2020 and January 2021, the then 11-year-old
boy was sexually assaulted on several occasions when he went to the convict, an
Islamic scholar, for religious classes.
The
convict had also threatened to kill the boy by drowning him in a pond if he
were to disclose the sexual assault to anyone, the SPP said.
Besides that,
the convict had also shown nude pictures of ladies from his mobile and other
pornographic media to the boy, the prosecution said.
Source: ndtv.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/islamic-scholar-sentenced-to-56-years-of-imprisonment-for-sexual-assault-of-minor-5875537
--------
North America
CAIR
Urges Officials to Stand with New Maryland Mosque Facing Islamophobic
Opposition
June 12,
2024
The
Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today
joined more than 30 Maryland mosques and Muslim community organizations that
are part of the IMAN Network in urging the public to act now to call on
officials in Harford County, Maryland, to stand in solidarity with the Harford
Islamic Center (HIC)/Masjid Ibrahim.
TAKE
ACTION: https://bit.ly/standwithhic
The
mosque, which recently opened its doors in March of this year after extensive
measures to satisfy all the legal, building and zoning requirements, is now
once again facing attempts to close down operations by individuals in the area.
Some community members attending the mosque have reportedly experienced or
observed suspicious or hostile behavior, including invasive questioning and
photographs that were taken without permission.
In a
statement, CAIR’s Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry said:
“The HIC
board and leadership has patiently and steadfastly worked to satisfy all the
necessary requirements to create a safe and welcoming space to serve their
growing community’s needs. Just as they join nearly two billion Muslims around
the world preparing to celebrate Eid al-Adha marking the end of the pilgrimage
to Mecca, they’re now once again sadly facing frivolous attempts to uproot and
undermine their operations.
“Houses
of worship are sacred spaces that unite diverse communities and offer a
sanctuary especially during tumultuous times. They all deserve to be protected.
CAIR joins the IMAN Network serving over 350,000 Maryland Muslims in urging
county and state officials to take steps to end the campaign against this
mosque immediately so that the community can have peace of mind and resume
their focus on the upcoming Eid festivities and other matters.”
The
Islamic Maryland Action Network (IMAN) is a statewide crisis response working
group that represents over 350,000 Muslims in the state. Members include over
two dozen mosques and Muslim organizations.
SEE:
IMAN Network
https://www.imanaction.org
The IMAN
Network’s mission is to foster a coordinated, compassionate, and effective
response to crises, uniting diverse Muslim communities across the state.
CAIR’s
mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote
justice, and empower American Muslims.
Source: cair.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-urges-officials-to-stand-with-new-maryland-mosque-facing-islamophobic-opposition/
--------
CAIR
Seeks Probe of U.S. Soldier Fighting for Israel in Rafah Who Posted Image of
Mosque with Islamophobic Graffiti
June 12,
2024
Muslim
civil rights group calls on Pentagon to ban U.S. soldiers from participating in
Gaza genocide
The
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil
rights and advocacy organization, called on the Biden administration to
investigate reports that an American soldier is taking part in the far right
Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza and reportedly posted an image of herself
and a destroyed mosque defaced with insults targeting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.
[NOTE:
More than 23,000 American citizens currently serve in the Israeli military.]
Israel
has slaughtered more than 37,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children.
In a statement,
CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“These
disgusting and despicable images of an American soldier in Rafah celebrating
desecration of a mosque and the slandering of the Prophet Muhammad (may peace
be upon him) are an example of why the Pentagon should not allow any U.S.
servicemembers to serve in the Israeli military, much less participate in its
Gaza genocide.
“We call
on the Biden administration to investigate this incident, take appropriate
action against this reported U.S. soldier, and ban all American servicemembers
from taking part in the Israeli government’s war on the people of Gaza.”
Yesterday,
CAIR called on the Biden administration to act after UNICEF reported that
almost 3,000 children have been cut off from treatment for malnutrition in
southern Gaza by Israel’s ongoing offensive, which President Biden previously
called a “red line.”
Previously,
welcomed a United Nations Security Council resolution supporting a ceasefire in
Gaza. CAIR also commended Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) after he announced that
he would not attend Netanyahu’s speech.
CAIR
urged all Americans to use its click-and-send action alert to call on members
of Congress to follow suit and boycott or protest Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress on July 24th due to
his openly racist views, genocidal war crimes, disrespect for the United
States, and opposition to a Palestinian state.
TAKE
ACTION: URGE CONGRESS TO BOYCOTT OR PROTEST WAR CRIMINAL NETANYAHU’S SPEECH TO
CONGRESS
Over the
weekend, CAIR condemned the “horrific massacre” of almost 300 Palestinians at
the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
CAIR’s
mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote
justice, and empower American Muslims.
La
misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del
Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados
Unidos.
Become a
Fan of CAIR on Facebook
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to CAIR’s Email List
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Donate
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Do you
like reading CAIR press releases and taking part in our action alerts? You can
help contribute to CAIR’s work of defending civil rights and empowering
American Muslims across the country by making a one-time contribution or
becoming a monthly donor. Supporters like you make CAIR’s advocacy work
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Source: cair.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-seeks-probe-of-u-s-soldier-fighting-for-israel-in-rafah-who-posted-image-of-mosque-with-islamophobic-graffiti/
--------
Hamas
and Islamic Jihad Respond to U.N. Ceasefire Plan
JUN 12,
2024
Hamas
and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad have submitted a formal response to a United
Nations ceasefire proposal for the Gaza Strip. A Hamas spokesperson said the
group’s priority is to bring a “complete stop” to Israel’s assault on Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to respond publicly to the
U.S.-backed ceasefire resolution, which was approved by the U.N. Security
Council on Monday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday
Netanyahu had “reaffirmed his commitment to the proposal.”
This
comes as Israel continues its unrelenting assault on the Gaza Strip. Among the
latest attacks was an airstrike on a home in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood
earlier today that killed at least six people. In Jordan, world leaders and top
aid officials gathered Tuesday for an emergency humanitarian summit on Gaza.
They were joined by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.
Secretary-General
António Guterres: “Excellencies, the horror must stop. It’s high time for a
ceasefire, along with the unconditional release of hostages. I welcome the
peace initiative recently outlined by President Biden and urge all parties to
seize this opportunity and come to an agreement.”
Source: democracynow.org
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.democracynow.org/2024/6/12/headlines/hamas_and_islamic_jihad_respond_to_un_ceasefire_plan
--------
Pakistan
LHC
chief justice forms six more election tribunals
June 13,
2024
LAHORE:
The chief justice of Lahore High Court, Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan, on
Wednesday constituted six more election tribunals (ETs) for Punjab in light of
an LHC judgement that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) considers
‘meaningless’ after the promulgation of an ordinance empowering it to appoint
retired judges to head ETs.
“The
Hon’ble Chief Justice in light of a judgement passed by this court in writ
petition No.25985/24, has been pleased to constitute the following tribunals
and assigned the areas to act as Election Tribunals for General Election-2024,”
said a notification issued by LHC registrar Chaudhry Abdul Rashid Abid.
Besides
the six new ETs, two judges working at the existing ETs in Lahore and Multan
have been reassigned constituencies of neighbouring districts and tehsils.
The
names of the election tribunal members along with their assigned jurisdiction
at the principal seat are Justice Anwaar Hussain for Lahore; Justice Shahid
Karim for Gujranwala, Gujrat, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin and Narowal; and,
Justice Chaudhry Mohammad Iqbal for Faisalabad, Chiniot, Toba Tek Singh, Jhang,
Pakpattan, Okara, Sargodha and Khushab.
Justice
Karim to hear PTI-backed independent candidate’s plea against ECP powers
Justice
Mirza Viqas Rauf has been appointed to head Rawalpindi ET for hearing poll
disputes related to constituencies of Jhelum, Chakwal, Attock, Mianwali, Sarai
Alamgir tehsil and Rawalpindi.
At the
LHC Bahawalpur bench, Justice Asim Hafeez has been appointed to head the
election tribunal covering constituencies of Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Rahim
Yar Khan and Lodhran. Justice Raheel Kamran Sheikh has been appointed to head
the Multan election tribunal to hear challenges related to the constituencies
of Multan, Bhakkar, Khanewal, Vehari and Sahiwal.
Re-assigned
areas
Justice
Sultan Tanvir and Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar, working at the
existing Lahore and Multan ETs, have been re-assigned jurisdiction to hear the
poll disputes.
Justice
Tanvir will hear challenges related to Kasur, Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib and
Sialkot constituencies, while Justice Dogar will take up matters pertaining to
Dera Ghazi Khan, Layyah, Muzaffargarh and Rajanpur constituencies.
Earlier
on May 29, an LHC bench comprising Justice Shahid Karim allowed two identical
petitions filed by PTI-backed independent candidates Advocate Salman Akram Raja
and Rao Omar Hashim Khan, who had lost their contests from Lahore (NA-128) and
Pakpattan (NA-139), respectively.
In the
order, Justice Karim also asked the ECP to notify within a week six more ETs
for Punjab in light of the nominations sent by the LHC chief justice, otherwise
it shall be deemed to have been issued and the court office shall proceed ahead
and place the matters before the chief justice for assigning areas to ETs.
ECP to
file appeal
A senior
ECP official had previously told Dawn that LHC’s order became ‘meaningless’
after the issuance of the Elections (Amendments) Ordinance, 2024, and the
verdict would be challenged in the Supreme Court.
Also,
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja while referring to the LHC
order to the ECP to notify the tribunals recently stated: “Why does the law
empower the ECP to appoint election tribunals? Is our role that of a mere post
office?”
Commenting
on the latest move by the LHC chief justice, a lawyer pointed out that since
the judicial commission had already approved the elevation of Justice Malik
Shahzad Ahmad Khan along with Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan to the Supreme Court,
the CJ should not get involved in the decision making process such as issuing a
notification about ETs. He said Justice Hassan had already abandoned judicial
work after the approval of his elevation to the SC, as judges usually shun
hearing cases and administrative work after being nominated for elevation to
the SC so that any personal interest may not affect their decisions in future.
Challenge
to ECP powers
On the
other hand, Justice Karim of the LHC will take up on Thursday (today) a
petition moved by Advocate Salman Akram Raja, the PTI-backed independent
runner-up candidate from NA-128, against ECP’s powers to appoint ETs and
transfer poll disputes from one tribunal to another.
The writ
petition asks the court to declare retired judges’ appointment by the ECP to
head ETs without prior consultation with the LHC CJ illegal.
Filed
through Barrister Sameer Khosa, the petition assailed the vires of Section 151
of the Elections Act, 2017, empowering the ECP to transfer election petitions
from one tribunal to another, and the Election (Amendments) Ordinance 2024
whereby Section 140 of the Act has been amended to empower the ECP to appoint
retired judges to act as ETs.
The
petition argued that the ECP powers regarding transfer of the election
petitions from the tribunals were against the concept of the independence of
judiciary and amounted to interference in its internal affairs.
It urged
the LHC to strike down Section 151 for being unconstitutional. It argued that
the creation of a parallel stream of ETs comprising ex-judges was in
contravention of the established constitutional principles.
Source: dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1839550/lhc-chief-justice-forms-six-more-election-tribunals
--------
LHC summons
IG on ATC judge’s ‘harassment’ plea
June 13,
2024
LAHORE:
Lahore High Court Chief Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan on Wednesday summoned
Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Anwar and other officials on a
complaint by the presiding judge of an anti-terrorism court of Sargodha
alleging harassment by the intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
The LHC
registrar office received a special report on June 7 from District &
Sessions Judge (D&SJ) Muhammad Abbas, wherein he said on May 25, the first
day of his new charge as judge of the ATC Sargodha, a message was conveyed to
him that some authority of ISI wanted to meet him in his chamber.
But, the
judge said, he straightaway refused to meet him (the alleged authority).
The
judge said ever since, he had been receiving some other oral reports from his
family members, who are still staying at his previous residence allotted to him
as judge of an Anti-Corruption Court, Bahawalpur, that some unknown persons at
night time damaged the sui-gas meter installed outside the house.
Chief
Justice converts the complaint into a contempt petition
He
submitted that an electricity bill for the previous month with a huge amount
has been received by his family, which was apparently a fake and possibility
cannot be ruled out that the said bill has been sent with the connivance of
Disco concerned by the crew of the intelligence agency.
The
judicial officer further reported that his relatives are being teased by some
unknown questioners with regard to his personal information.
He also
reported an incident of firing on June 6, which damaged a transformer installed
outside the main gate of the ATC.
The
special judge sent another special report to the registrar on June 10 saying 19
post-arrest bail petitions and trials of nine other cases were fixed before his
court on the said date.
He said
the prosecution department moved an application for adjournment in two of the
cases on the pretext that the prosecution has moved an application before the
LHC for transfer of the cases but he declined the request to adjourn the cases
as no stay order was produced before him.
He added
that later on the same day the staff of the court and the in-charge police
guard of ATC Sargodha told him that all roads leading to the court have been
blocked on account of alleged threat alert. He said no one including the
litigants were allowed access to the court. Even the under-trial prisoners were
not produced by the police, he added.
The
judge said the DSP concerned, when asked, was unable to give any satisfactory
answer to the situation.
In his
order, Chief Justice Khan noted that D&SJ Abbas enjoys a good reputation
and he is an honest and hardworking judicial officer of this institution.
He said
the judicial officer levelled serious allegations in his reports regarding the
threats and harassment.
The
chief justice converted the complaint of the judge into a contempt petition and
issued a notice on it.
The
chief justice summoned the IGP, regional police officer and district police
officer in person for Thursday (today).
Source: dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1839581/lhc-summons-ig-on-atc-judges-harassment-plea
--------
Mianwali
police besiege Sargodha court to rearrest acquitted PTI workers
Khurshid
Anwar Khan
June 13,
2024
MIANWALI:
A contingent of Mianwali police cordoned off the sessions court premises since
Wednesday morning to rearrest the 37 Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf workers booked in
May 9 cases.
On
Tuesday, all 37 PTI workers were acquitted by ATC courts in Sargodha, including
former MNA Amjad Ali Khan, but Mianwali City Police arrested them from the
compound of Sargodha central jail as soon as they came out of the prison and
brought them to Mianwali under section 16 MPO (Maintenance of Public Order).
On
Wednesday, police produced them before Duty Magistrate Mohammad Asif Mustafi
and it was revealed that on Tuesday night, Wan-Bhachran police in Mianwali
registered another case against all of them under sections 148 (Rioting, armed
with deadly weapon), 149 (Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence
committed in prosecution of common object), 324 (attempted murder) and 353
(assault) of the Pakistan Penal Code and 16 (Dissemination of rumours) of MPO
(while they were in police custody).
The duty
magistrate deleted sections 324 PPC and 16 MPO, while the remaining sections
were bailable and released them on personal bonds. The court released all 37
workers and ordered the police to remove the handcuffs in the court, but they
refused to do so.
The
matter was brought to the notice of the district and sessions judge, who
ordered police to release them or be ready to face legal action, since police
cannot arrest them from court premises.
The
police removed the handcuffs and remained deployed outside the court to arrest
the party workers again till the filing of this report.
Talking
to Dawn, bar association president Fateh Khan Niazi said police action is
unconstitutional and illegal. He said Amjad Ali Khan and some workers have been
arrested under section 3 of MPO, but a majority of them are still sitting on
the premises of the court.
Source: dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1839580/mianwali-police-besiege-sargodha-court-to-rearrest-acquitted-pti-workers
---------
Peshawar
ATC indicts PTI activists for last year’s violent protest
June 12,
2024
PESHAWAR:
An anti-terrorism court here has indicted around 115 Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf
leaders, including current and former lawmakers, and workers for last year’s
violent protest that claimed a life and damaged public property.
The
accused pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Judge
Iqbal Khan scheduled the next hearing for June 26 and directed prosecution
witnesses to appear before him on that date.
Noted
among the accused were MNAs Arbab Sher Ali and Asif Khan, former Peshawar
district nazim Arbab Mohammad Asim, MPAs Fazal Ilahi Khan and Meena Khan, and
former MPAs Taimoor Saleem Jhagra, Kamran Bangash, Arif Yousaf and Wajid Ali.
The FIR
of the violence was registered at Peshawar’s Khan Raziq Shaheed police station
on May 10, 2023, under different provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code and
Anti-Terrorism Act.
The
complainant in the FIR, sub-inspector Roman Khan, insisted that scores of
people gathered near the Balahisar Fort protesting the arrest of PTI leader
Imran Khan.
He
alleged that the protesters attacked public and private properties, torched an
ambulance of the Edhi Foundation, damaged several ATM machines, and smashed the
main gate of a women’s college.
The
complainant added that the protesters also dismantled grills around the
greenbelt outside the fort and resorted to firing that resulted in a man’s
death.
The
police named 29 suspects in the FIR but later charged more people with
committing violence amid claims that they’re identified through CCTV footage of
the protests.
The
court granted them pre-arrest or regular bail from time to time.
The
accused had claimed that they were falsely implicated in the case as no
evidence was available to connect them with the offence.
Source: dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1839358/peshawar-atc-indicts-pti-activists-for-last-years-violent-protest
--------
Budget:
Govt to provide medical facility to thousands of journalists, media workers
June 12,
2024
ISLAMABAD:
The federal government plans to grant a health insurance scheme to journalists
and media workers, said Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb, with 5,000
people to benefit from it in the first phase.
During
the federal budget 2024-25 speech in the National Assembly Aurangzeb said
10,000 more journalists and media workers could avail the facility under its
second phase.
The
60-year-old lauded Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for resuming a health
insurance scheme while assuming the charge of premiership for the second time.
The
minister congratulated the Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah
Tarar and his team for their contribution to the relaunch of the scheme.
During
the budget speech, Senator Aurangzeb also revealed the leading efforts of the
government to address the climate crisis including the establishment of the
Pakistan Climate Change Authority which is intended to implement climate
mitigation and adaptation efforts.
Moreover,
a National Climate Finance Strategy was being prepared that would be finalised
by October 2024 that would help devise strategies to bring global climate
finance to Pakistan which would help undertake initiatives to reduce carbon
emissions, he added.
The
Minister further announced that a national digital climate finance monitoring
dashboard would be established to maintain data related to climate finance
received from global financing facilities.
Source: thenews.com.pk
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1199760-federal-govt-provides-medical-facility-to-thousands-of-journalists-media-workers
--------
PPP
joins federal budget session after withdrawing boycott decision
June 12,
2024
ISLAMABAD:
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has taken back its decision to boycott the
federal budget 2024-25 session in the National Assembly today after being
convinced by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Deputy
Prime Minister Senator Ishaq Dar held multiple meetings with the PPP’s top
leaders to convince them to attend the federal budget session which seemingly
remained successful.
In a
recent development, two senior PPP leaders Syed Khurshid Shah and Syed Naveed
Qamar reached the parliament. Sources said that only Khurshid, Naveed and Aijaz
Jakhrani will attend today’s session.
PPP
Information Secretary Shazia Marri announced that her party lawmakers will not
attend the budget 2024-25 session in the National Assembly as the ruling PML-N
did not consult its key ally for budgetary proposals.
Marri
confirmed the major decision taken by the Bilawal-led party while talking to
Geo News ahead of the federal budget for FY25.
She said
that PPP lawmakers will not attend the budget session and urged the ruling
Nawaz-led party to fulfil the contents of the agreement made with her party.
Marri
complained that her party was not consulted on Public Sector Development
Programme (PSDP) by the PML-N-led federal government.
PPP not
consulted on Public Sector Development Programme by the PML-N-led federal
government, slams Shazia Marri
She
added that the party lawmakers expressed serious reservations about not being
included in the budget-related consultations by the federal government.
Sources
closer to the PPP told Geo News that the PPP lawmakers recommended not to
attend the budget session in a parliamentary party’s session chaired by Bilawal
Bhutto-Zardari — a crucial occasion when the coalition government is going to
unveil its direction for bringing the country out of severe financial crisis.
However,
the Bilawal-led party has also not fully stepped back from supporting Prime
Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led administration in the Centre and decided to
“provide maximum support to the PML-N to pass the budget and vote in its favour
despite all reservations”, the sources added.
It was
also learnt that the PPP lawmakers will assist the federal government to pass
the budget despite lodging protests and delivering speeches over the weak
sections of the federal budget in the Parliament.
The
sources said that the PML-N government assured its major ally to make the
latter’s recommendations part of the budget.
Source: thenews.com.pk
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1199727-ppp-decides-against-attending-federal-budgets-session
--------
Pakistan
urges UN to address specific cases of missing persons in IIOJK
June 13,
2024
Pakistan
has urged the United Nations to address specific cases of missing persons in
Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
Speaking
at an Arria Formula meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, Deputy
Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, Ambassador Usman Jadoon said
the cases of missing persons in IIOJK have led to the tragic phenomenon of half
widows, referring to Kashmiri women who live in uncertainty about the fate of
their husbands, sons, and brothers.
He said
Pakistan believes that the most effective response to the issue of missing
persons in armed conflict is the strict application of international law and a
process of accountability.
Source: radio.gov.pk
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.radio.gov.pk/13-06-2024/pakistan-urges-un-to-address-specific-cases-of-missing-persons-in-iiojk
--------
MPA Amina Hassan Sheikh holds meeting with CSJ delegation
June 13, 2024
Lahore: MPA Amina Hassan Sheikh visited the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) office, where she was warmly welcomed by the CSJ team and presented with a bouquet.
The meeting with MPA Amina Hassan Sheikh and the civil society delegation led by Peter Jacob discussed several critical issues facing religious minorities. They included the lack of: policy decisions approving jail remission for minority prisoners, implementation of a 5% job quota, the inclusion of Jinnah’s speech in textbooks, etc. CSJ’s representatives present at the meeting included Suneel Malik, Tayyaba Rafiq, Yasar Talib, Nasir William, and Iqra Tabassum.
MPA Amina Hassan assured the delegation that the Punjab government is committed to addressing human rights issues. She expressed her intent to consult with minority legislators on policy proposals related to minorities, and pledged her full support for reforms aimed at safeguarding minorities' rights.
Peter Jacob, executive director of CSJ stressed the need for the government to introduce and strengthen affirmative measures to address the marginalization and inclusion of citizens, irrespective of discrimination. He expressed deep concerns over the incidents of religion-based hatred and violence in Punjab, and emphasized the need for decisive action of the Punjab government to prevent attacks against minorities.
The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to continue working together towards contributing to the goal of equality of rights and citizenship in Pakistan.
Source: nation.com.pk
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https://www.nation.com.pk/13-Jun-2024/mpa-amina-hassan-sheikh-holds-meeting-with-csj-delegation
--------
Arab World
Awareness
Campaign On Animal Sacrifice Launched in Madinah Ahead OfEid Al-Adha
June 13,
2024
RIYADH:
A campaign on how to choose the proper animals for sacrifice and ensure that it
is free of diseases has been launched in Madinah province ahead of Eid Al-Adha.
Dubbed
"My Sacrifice,” the awareness campaign is a project of the Ministry of
Environment, Water and Agriculture's Department of Animal Wealth, according to
the Saudi Press Agency.
"The
campaign, which is supervised by a number of specialists and veterinarians,
shows the most important and sound methods for preserving meat and keeping it
safe from poisoning," SPA said.
The
activities include field visits and tours to livestock markets "to guide
beneficiaries on the most important health requirements that must be met by the
sacrifice," it added.
Experts
will explain how to choose good sacrificial animals, particularly the age.
An
awareness-raising exhibition will also be held in one of the commercial
complexes in the region, and a children’s studio, the report said.
Eid
Al-Adha this year falls on June 16.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2529611/saudi-arabia
--------
Saudi
crown prince cancels G7 Summit attendance due to Hajj commitments
June 12,
2024
RIYADH:
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has declined an invitation to
attend a communication session of the G7 Summit in Italy on Friday.
He sent
a message to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni thanking her for the invitation but
said he is unable to participate because of his obligations to supervise the
work of officials in the Kingdom during Hajj season, the Saudi Press Agency
reported on Wednesday.
The
prince noted the strength of the relationship between their countries and
wished Italian authorities success in hosting the summit.
Italy
will host the annual summit of leaders of the G7 group of major democracies
from June 13 to 15 at Borgo Egnazia, in the southern Puglia region. Hajj will
begin on June 14.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2529476/saudi-arabia
--------
Riyadh
doctors working remotely save Jordan pilgrim from stroke in Madinah
June 13,
2024
RIYADH:
Doctors working remotely from Riyadh helped a 72-year-old Jordanian pilgrim in
Madinah survive a stroke this week, the Saudi Press Agency reported on
Wednesday.
The
medical team specializing in telestroke medicine is affiliated with the Seha
Virtual Hospital in Riyadh, the SPA reported.
The
pilgrim, who has a history of chronic illness, was treated at the Madinah
General Hospital.
In a
joint effort, doctors from the Ministry of Health, the Seha Virtual Hospital,
and the Madinah General Hospital located a brain clot and performed a cerebral
catheterization procedure.
The
pilgrim is recovering, the SPA said.
A total
of 5,466 volunteers, in over 16 locations in Madinah and Makkah, are helping
with first aid and emergency care for Hajj pilgrims this year.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2529661/saudi-arabia
--------
Elderly
Malaysian pilgrim fulfils decades-long Hajj dream
June 13,
2024
JEDDAH: Malaysian pilgrim Mohammed Safwan, 66,
is finally achieving a decades-long dream of performing Hajj.
Hailing
from Johor in the south of the country, Safwan worked as an aviation safety
technician for Malaysia Airlines, but after retirement had little savings
because he had continued to support his family.
When
Malaysia’s government approved Safwan’s Hajj request, his children collected
$26,000 so that he could fulfil his dream.
“Nothing
compares to the unity and strength of a family, and no joy can match the
elation of realizing a dream cherished by the closest of people,” Safwan told
the Saudi Press Agency on Wednesday.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2529651/saudi-arabia
--------
KSrelief
chief discusses aid efforts in Gaza with Palestinian ministers
June 12,
2024
RIYADH:
The general supervisor of Saudi aid agency KSrelief, Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, on
Wednesday discussed the situation in Gaza with the Palestinian minister of
health, Majed Abu Ramadan, and minister of social development, Samah Abdul
Rahim Hussein Hamad.
Their
meeting took place during “Call for Action: Urgent Humanitarian Response for
Gaza,” an international emergency conference that began in Jordan on Tuesday.
They
discussed “the delicate humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and ways to
deliver aid to those displaced there,” the Saudi Press Agency reported. They
also exchanged views on the main topics addressed by the conference.
The
Palestinian ministers thanked the Kingdom, as represented by KSrelief, for the
aid and assistance it has provided to the people of Gaza to help alleviate
their suffering during the current humanitarian crisis. They expressed their
sincere appreciation in particular for the support provided by Saudi
authorities to healthcare efforts in the territory.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2529486/saudi-arabia
--------
Saudi
leaders send condolences to Kuwait’s emir over victims of deadly fire
June 12,
2024
RIYADH:
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Wednesday sent a message of condolence and
sympathy to the emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah,
following a fire that killed and injured dozens of people in the country.
The king
wrote: “We learned of the news of the outbreak of a fire in the Mangaf region,
and the deaths and injuries that resulted from it, and we send to Your
Highness, to the families of the deceased, and to the brotherly people of the
State of Kuwait, our warmest and most sincere condolences.”
He also
wished those injured a speedy recovery, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent similar messages of condolence to the emir and
Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah.
Forty-nine
people were killed when the fire ripped through a building housing nearly 200
foreign workers on Wednesday, the Kuwaiti government said. The blaze, which
broke out in the six-story building south of Kuwait City at around dawn, left
dozens injured, the health ministry added.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2529471/saudi-arabia
--------
Mideast
Illegal
Israeli settlers storm into Al-Aqsa Mosque complex to mark Jewish holiday
12.06.2024
Hundreds
of illegal Israeli settlers on Wednesday forced their way into the Al-Aqsa
Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem to mark a Jewish holiday, Wafa news
agency reported.
The
settlers performed Talmudic rituals at the complex to mark Shavuot, also known
as the Feast of Weeks.
Local
sources estimated that hundreds of settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex
and the Al-Buraq Wall, which Jews call the Wailing Wall.
Israeli
forces also closed roads near the Damascus Gate area to secure the entry of the
settlers into the complex.
In a
statement, the Jordan-run Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem said 590
settlers stormed mosque this morning, following calls by extremist groups.
Israeli
forces also restricted the entry of Palestinian worshippers into the mosque
amid tightened restrictions.
Al-Aqsa
Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the
Temple Mount, saying it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel
occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli
war. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the
international community.
Source: aa.com.tr
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/illegal-israeli-settlers-storm-into-al-aqsa-mosque-complex-to-mark-jewish-holiday/3247421
--------
Hamas
urges US to put ‘pressure’ on Israel for permanent Gaza ceasefire: statement
June 13,
2024
GAZA
STRIP: The Hamas militant group in Gaza called on Washington on Thursday to
“pressure” Israel to accept a permanent ceasefire in the territory, as US
Secretary of State Antony Blinken wraps up a Mideast tour.
“He
continues to talk about Israel’s agreement of the latest (ceasefire) proposal,
but we have not heard any Israeli official speak out on this,” Hamas said in a
statement, urging Blinken to put “direct pressure” on Israel.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2529531/middle-east
-------
Iran
expanding enrichment capacity after IAEA resolution, diplomats say
June 13,
2024
VIENNA/PARIS:
Iran is responding to last week’s UN nuclear watchdog board resolution against
it by expanding its uranium-enrichment capacity at two underground sites, but
the escalation is not as big as many had feared, diplomats said on Wednesday.
Iran
bristles at such resolutions by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s
35-nation Board of Governors, and it reacted to the previous one 18 months
earlier by enriching to up to 60 percent purity, close to weapons grade, at a
second site and announcing a large expansion of its enrichment program.
This
time it plans to install more cascades, or clusters, of centrifuges, the
machines that enrich uranium, at both its underground enrichment sites, five
diplomats said. IAEA inspectors observing Iran’s progress plan to issue a
report to member states on Thursday, three of the diplomats said.
“It’s
not as much as I would expect,” one Vienna-based diplomat said, referring to
the scale of Iran’s escalation.
“Why? I
don’t know. Maybe they’re waiting for the new government,” they said, referring
to the death in a helicopter crash last month of Iranian President Ebrahim
Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, and the presidential
election due to be held on June 28.
The IAEA
Board passed a resolution a week ago calling on Iran to step up cooperation
with the IAEA and reverse its recent barring of inspectors despite earlier US
concerns Tehran would respond with atomic escalation. Only Russia and China
opposed.
Diplomats
did not go into specifics on the number or type of centrifuges being added or
what level they would enrich to, though one diplomat said they would not be
used to quickly expand Iran’s production of uranium enriched to up to 60
percent, close to the 90 percent of weapons grade.
The
diplomats said they would wait to see what the IAEA said Iran had actually done
but they were aware of Iran’s plans.
The move
is “at the lower end of expectations and something we’re pretty sure they were
going to do anyway,” one diplomat said, meaning it would have happened even
without the resolution.
Iran did
not fully follow through on its November 2022 announcement after the previous
resolution. While it installed all the centrifuges it said it would at its
underground enrichment plant at Natanz, 12 cascades of one advanced model, the
IR-2m, are not yet in operation.
Iran is
only enriching to up to 60 percent at an above-ground pilot plant at Natanz and
its Fordow site, which is dug into a mountain. In November 2022 it started
enriching to up to 60 percent at Fordow but it has yet to install all the
additional cascades it said it would.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2529526/middle-east
--------
Hamas,
Jihad hand over response of Palestinian resistance factions to mediators
[12/June/2024]
GAZA
June 11. 2024 (Saba) - Hamas and Jihad had announced that the leaders of the
two movements, Ismail Haniyeh and Ziad al-Nakhalah delivered the response of
the resistance factions to the Qatari mediators bduring a meeting with the
Qatari Prime Minister and then response was also sent to the Egyptian
mediators.
The two
movements affirmed in a press statement that the response gives priority to the
interest of the Palestinian people, and the necessity of completely stopping
the ongoing aggression against Gaza, and withdrawing from the entire Gaza
Strip.
It is
noteworthy that the Palestinian delegation expressed its readiness to deal
positively to reach an agreement that ends this war against the Palestinian
people, based on a sense of national responsibility.
On
Monday evening, the UN Security Council adopted a draft US resolution calling
for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the unconditional implementation of a
prisoner exchange deal.
Fourteen
member states of the Security Council voted in favor of the draft resolution,
which was submitted by the United States of America, while Russia abstained
from voting.
Source: saba.ye
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https://www.saba.ye/en/news3339676.htm
--------
Iran
diplomat urges Muslims to counter Israel regime crimes
Jun 13,
2024
TEHRAN,
Jun. 13 (MNA) – Speaking to the Secretary General of the Organization of
Islamic Cooperation, Iran’s Acting Foreign Minister, Bagheri Kani emphasized
the need for practical action by Islamic countries to stop the crimes of the
Zionist regime.
Ali
Bagheri Kani and Hissein Brahim Taha particularly exchanged views on the
Zionist crimes in Gaza and Rafah and the need for Islamic countries to act in
this regard.
The top
Iranian diplomat, referring to the continuation and increase in Zionist crimes
in Rafah, emphasized the need for practical action to stop such crimes.
Pointing
to the efforts of some countries, including South Africa for lodging a genocide
case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, as well as the
severance of relations between some Latin American countries and the Zionist
regime, Bagheri Kani called for more serious steps by the Islamic countries,
especially by convening an extraordinary meeting of OIC foreign ministers.
Brahim
Taha, for his part, condemned the crimes against Palestinians and stressed the
need for practical measures against the Israeli regime by Islamic countries.
Source: en.mehrnews.com
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https://en.mehrnews.com/news/216442/Iran-diplomat-urges-Muslims-to-counter-Israel-regime-crimes
--------
Islamic
Resistance in Iraq targets Umm Al-Rashrash city with drones
[12/June/2024]
BAGHDAD
June 12. 2024 (2024) - Islamic Resistance in Iraq late on Tuesday targeted Umm
Al-Rashrash (Eilat) occupied city with drones.
The
resistance said in a statement that the bombing came "in continuation of
our approach to resisting the occupation and supporting our people in Gaza, and
in response to the massacres committed by the usurping entity against
Palestinian civilians, including children, women and the elderly,"
reiterating its continued attacks to destruct enemy strongholds.
The
Islamic Resistance in Iraq said earlier Tuesday that it had launched a drone
strike against a “vital target” in the Israeli port of Haifa, in northern
occupied Palestine.
The resistance
said in a statement that this operation comes in support of the Gaza Strip, and
in response to the massacres committed by the Israeli occupation against the
Palestinians, including children, women, and the elderly, vowing to continue to
“strike enemy strongholds,” in completion of the second phase of operations to
resist the occupation.
The
Iraqi resistance's military media published scenes of an operation carried out
yesterday using drones, targeting a vital target in Eilat (Umm Al-Rashrash),
south occupied Palestine.
Source: saba.ye
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https://www.saba.ye/en/news3339835.htm
--------
President
Sisi congratulates Egyptian Muslims abroad on Eid al-Adha
June 12,
2024
Egyptian
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi congratulated Egyptian Muslims abroad on the
occasion of Eid al-Adha.
This
came in the form of a congratulatory telegram transmitted by Egyptian embassies
and consulates abroad on Tuesday evening, to members of Egyptian expatriate
social media communities.
Sisi’s
telegram reads: “My brothers and sons, the Muslims of Egypt abroad, it gives me
great pleasure to send you my most sincere heartfelt congratulations on the
occasion of the blessed Eid al-Adha, asking the Lord – the Most High, the
Almighty – to make it a happy and blessed Eid, and to bring it back to us and
to our dear Egypt and its great people with goodness and blessings. Happy Eid.”
Source: egyptindependent.com
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https://www.egyptindependent.com/president-sisi-congratulates-egyptian-muslims-abroad-on-eid-al-adha/#google_vignette
--------
Europe
Reform
candidate rants that ‘Islam and Nazis are the same thing’ in unearthed footage
13 June
2024
A video
of the father of one, who’s standing in the Ealing Southall constituency in
West London, was posted online at the time, in which he also said Paris was
“full of Islamic, immigrant, scum”.
LBC has
also unearthed previously unseen footage, filmed by one of our reporters in
2018, of Mr Chilcott saying the “only reason” Islam was growing was because of
a “lack of contraception”.
Reform’s
leader Nigel Farage and chairman Richard Tice have publicly defended the
party’s vetting process for candidates, but last month, Tice admitted to LBC
that they rely on the media to do certain background checks for them.
Steve
Chilcott is understood to be a regular at Speakers Corner in Hyde Park - an
area set aside in law for public speeches and debates, since the mid-1800s.
But the
footage found by LBC shows Mr Chilcott has used the location for controversial
rants relating to Islam.
In the
YouTube video from 2017, he likened the religion to the Nazis, saying: “They
both want to kill Jews.
“They
both hate homosexuals, they both want to kill homosexuals.
“Islam;
Nazis - they are the same thing”.
Steve
Chilcott describes himself as being a “very strong advocate for free speech”
having moved his political support from the Lib Dems, to Labour, to UKIP, the
Brexit Party and now Reform.
Earlier
this year he stood for Reform UK in the London Assembly elections and is now
one of 609 candidates the party has put forward in the General Election.
Muslims
account for around a fifth of the population in the constituency Mr Chilcott is
standing in.
This
week, Reform has already been forced to defend another candidate who said
Britain should have “taken Hitler up on his offer of neutrality”.
A party
spokesperson told the BBC the view was not an endorsement but was “probably
true” and “shared by the vast majority of the British establishment including
the BBC of its day”.
While
Ian Gribbon said his grandparents were “Russian Jews fleeing persecution” and
his comments were taken out of context.
Questions
had been raised last month about the level of background checks done on Reform
candidates, with just two weeks to secure enough people to stand for the party.
Mr Tice
told LBC a vetting company was doing checks for them but added that they rely
on the media and other scrutinisers to do it for them.
He told
us: “The great thing is that lots of the press are doing that job for us. It's
a huge job.
“We’ve
got a vetting company but one of the things it relies on is actually people
telling the truth.
“And the
vetting is a bit like an MOT, it’s valid on the day that you pass but if
someone then writes or says something daft one week later, or a year later,
then you’ve got to deal with it.
“But I
repeat, we will deal with people who behave inappropriately better and faster
than any of the parties who try to kick the can down the road.”
LBC has
contacted Steve Chilcott and Reform UK for comment.
Source: lbc.co.uk
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/reform-candidate-rants-that-islam-and-nazis-are-the-same-thing/
--------
US
company stops supplying life-saving drug to Russia
12 Jun,
2024
The
supply of Humalog-brand insulin produced by Eli Lilly has practically run out
in Russia, the Kommersant newspaper has reported. Most of the drug’s customers
in the country are children with type-1 diabetes.
In March
2022, following the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, Lilly
announced that it would stopping the export of “non-essential” drugs to Russia,
such as the erectile dysfunction pill Cialis, but that cancer and diabetes
drugs would be unaffected.
Since
then, the US pharma giant delegated its Russia operations to a Swiss
subsidiary, Swixx BioPharma. According to Kommersant, that company notified
Russian authorities in February that it was halting new deliveries of Humalog,
also known as insulin lispro. No reason was given for the move.
Russia’s
drug monitoring body Roszdravnadzor said that as of Monday, there were more
than a million doses of insulin lispro in circulation, “which meets the annual
need for the drug.”
Three
domestic substitutes are already in circulation and “patients’ need for this
drug will be fully met,” Roszdravnadzor added.
Two
generic substitutes for Humalog have been manufactured by the Russian company
Geropharm. Another company, JSC Pharmsintez-Nord, began producing the same kind
of insulin earlier this year. Lilly had accounted for almost all the insulin on
the Russian market as late as 2019.
“The
departure of Eli Lilly should not affect Russian patients – the foreign
manufacturer systematically reduced the volume of supplies of original drugs to
our country, giving preference to other markets, which may be due to both
economic considerations and the political position of the manufacturer,” a
Geropharm spokesperson told Kommersant.
This has
been cold comfort to some parents of diabetic children, who said they might be
willing to pay a steep markup to get the American drug on the “gray market,”
according to Maria Blokhina, who runs the Telegram channel T1D News.
Blokhina
is a mother of a child with type 1 diabetes, a congenital condition that
requires external insulin.
“Parents
are generally afraid to switch their children to other insulins,” she told
Kommersant. “Besides, Humalog is time-tested, one might say, the standard
fast-acting insulin. Almost 30 years of use has played a role in its
reputation, as did the Lilly company itself, a pioneer in the production of
insulin in the world.”
According
to Blokhina, some parents are unwilling to switch to the Geropharm product and
will continue to buy Humalog from Germany, Türkiye and other countries.
“True,
the price of such packaging from Germany will be 15,000 rubles instead of 1,700
rubles we used to pay at the pharmacy,” she said. “Parents are simply afraid to
experiment.”
Source: rt.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.rt.com/russia/599192-insulin-children-delivery-stopped/
--------
How this
little-known Eurasian economic bloc helped blunt Western sanctions
12 Jun,
2024
The
rumble of guns is now so loud across the world that it’s easy to forget that
there can be any relationship between states other than those based on brute
force. But that is not the case.
However
fierce the contradictions between the great powers may be, international
politics and economics are not all about conflict. There is always room for
cooperation, which is no less natural to human nature than competition and
coercion. And it would be a mistake to ‘fall for’ the West’s suggestion that
the benefits are only one-sided – it is not necessarily the case. It only
becomes so if the US and its Western European satellites initially see
cooperation as a one-way street. The opposite is true, in reality. And it even
produces quite tangible results.
Against
the backdrop of dramatic events in the zone of direct confrontation between
Russia and the West, the ten-year anniversary of a unique organization uniting
five countries of the former USSR went virtually unnoticed by observers. We are
talking about the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), whose founding treaty was
signed in Astana in May 2014.
During
those days, when Ukraine was sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss of civil
war, the leaders of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia created an association of
states with the main purpose of building favorable conditions for business. To
think that this was premature, given the growing global crisis, is to distrust
the strategic intentions of the three most experienced politicians of their
time.
This is
first and foremost because no conflict, even the most violent, should lead to
the freezing of all other life. We in Russia have already seen this for
ourselves during two years of confrontation with the West in Ukraine. The
efforts of a modern state cannot be focused only on violent confrontation –
because then it risks losing the time needed for development. Moreover, in the
context of growing pressure from the US and EU on Russia’s position in Eastern
Europe, the creation of a purely economic union was a bold, asymmetric response
to this challenge.
The EAEU
is first and foremost an experiment in organizing a fundamentally new way of
life on a large scale. We have never tried anything like it before and,
luckily, we took the risk. So far, the experiment is working and has already
passed two serious tests: the Covid pandemic and a barrage of Western sanctions
against the EAEU’s largest economy, Russia.
Initially,
however, the feasibility of the project was questionable. After the collapse of
the USSR in 1991, any close cooperation between Russia and its other former
republics was seen as having only two alternatives: a mechanism for civilized
divorce or a way of restoring a unified state.
This
view partly reflected a lack of experience of relations other than the subordination
of all to a single vertical of power. The other option for relations between
Russia and its neighbors was mutual rejection by increasingly isolated
nation-states. The West’s assessments and recommendations had actively
contributed to making this the way forward. The US-led group has always been
interested in hostility between other countries of the world. And they’ve tried
to instil the idea of its inevitability into everyone’s consciousness. We have
to admit that they were quite successful.
That is
why the EU and the US have never recognized the EAEU and refuse to engage in
direct dialogue with it. Unlike China, which signed a cooperation agreement in
2015. The reason is that the West immediately sensed in the EAEU the most
dangerous thing possible for the implementation of its plans – that there could
be solutions other than those offered to the world by Washington and Brussels.
In the long run, this is even worse for the West than political disagreements,
simply because an essential part of its power lies in the absence of any choice
for other states.
As soon
as such options appear, the West’s fascination disappears. The most vivid
example is modern Georgia, which has gone from being a pariah country to a
fairly reliable participant in Eurasian economic relations.
Since
the creation of the EAEU, mutual trade between its member countries has almost
doubled, and their foreign trade has grown by 60%. Industrial production has
increased by 22% and agricultural production by 25%. At the same time, investment
in fixed capital has increased by a third, and the volume of bilateral
settlements in national currencies has reached 90% in recent years. All this
shows that in just 10 years the EAEU has become a vitally important driver of
national economic growth for its members.
The most
impressive growth rates, directly related to participation in the EAEU common
market, have been achieved by Armenia and Kyrgyzstan – small service economies.
Like the Netherlands in Western Europe, they fulfil the functions of
intermediate countries. Especially after the beginning of the Western economic
war against Russia and Belarus, this type of activity has become the most in
demand. In Armenia, GDP grew at a record rate of 11-13% in 2022-2023, and
Kyrgyzstan set new records.
With few
exceptions, the openness of the markets creates reasons for Russia’s EAEU
partners to be more resistant to Western pressure to support sanctions.
Pressure can be successful in areas where the West dominates the financial
infrastructure. But in cases where the open market operates, it becomes
completely powerless.
Trade
between EAEU countries and those partners in Europe with whom Russia has
virtually cut off economic relations has also grown significantly. The current
Armenian government cannot be considered pro-Russian at all, and there is room
for serious misunderstandings in our relations. But no one is even considering
the possibility of voluntarily curtailing economic ties. And the longer the
relationship is driven by market logic rather than politics, the more dangerous
it will be for any government to take drastic steps.
In other
words, the practice of Eurasian integration has shown that the quiet work of
officials can be a very effective weapon against the West’s attempts to isolate
everyone. And it is completely superfluous to speculate now on how long and
geographically large the integration project will be in the future. Eurasian
integration has already existed for ten years and is bringing tangible economic
benefits to its participants. Let us repeat: the benefits are now, not in the
“bright future” that the European Union promises to the countries that depend
on it.
This is
the difference between a forward-looking model of development and a dead-end
one: the former focuses on the outcome now, while the latter is based on the
probability of complete happiness and prosperity sometime in the future. The
second path has, as we know, been taken by Ukraine, where every coup d’état –
and the resultant bloodshed – has been driven by the promise that something
delightful lies ahead. The result is obvious. The other way is to work
patiently to increase the number of people who personally benefit from good
rather than bad relations between countries.
This
article was first published by ‘Vzglyad’ newspaper and was translated and
edited by the RT team.
Source: rt.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.rt.com/russia/599135-eaeu-blunt-eu-sanctions/
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UK’s
Labour pitches for power with promise of growth
June 13,
2024
LONDON:
Britain’s Labour party on Thursday launches its general election manifesto,
hoping that a promise to get the economy growing again will catapult it into
power after 14 years in opposition.
Labour
has been consistently some 20 points ahead of Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives for
nearly two years, making its leader Keir Starmer a virtual shoe-in as the
country’s next prime minister if polls are correct.
But
Starmer, 61, still has work to do before polling day on July 4 to overcome
persistent Tory claims about Labour profligacy with public finances and
warnings that it will increase personal taxes.
The
manifesto launch comes two days after the Tories promised voters more tax cuts,
in a campaign where the affordability of the main parties’ spending plans have
come under close scrutiny.
In
details trailed in advance by the party, Starmer will describe Labour’s
blueprint for government as a “manifesto for wealth creation” and call it “our
number one priority.”
“The
mandate we seek from Britain at this election is for economic growth,” the
former human rights lawyer and chief public prosecutor will tell party members
in Manchester, northwest England.
“Growth
is our core business — the end and the means of national renewal,” he will add,
promising sustained economic growth to drive up living standards.
To get
there, Labour is promising to restore economic stability after the turbulence
of recent years that saw inflation hit 11.1 percent in October 2022 — its
highest in 40 years.
It vowed
to introduce tough new spending rules to allow businesses to plan, a cap on
corporation tax at 25 percent and an industrial strategy for longer-term
investment, particularly in green tech and AI.
Starmer
and his likely finance minister Rachel Reeves look set to have little room for
maneuver, however, with the economy stagnant in April after emerging from
recession in the first quarter.
Both
Labour and the Tories have ruled out increasing the VAT sales tax, income tax
rates and National Insurance, which pays for state health care, pensions and
unemployment, if they win.
Economists
said the incoming government could get some momentum from expected falls in
interest rates and inflation by the end of the year.
Many
Labour policies — from continued support for Ukraine and scrapping the Tories’
plan to deport failed asylum seekers to Rwanda, to recognizing Palestinian
sovereignty as part of the peace process — have been drip-fed over months.
As in
1997, when Tony Blair won a landslide after 18 years of Tory rule, Starmer
knows that he needs to reassure a jittery electorate that Labour can provide
stability and economic competence.
At the
last election in 2019, his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn stood on a radical
platform that included proposals for sweeping renationalization of key
industries, and tax hikes for high earners.
Starmer,
who took over after Labour was routed by Boris Johnson’s Tories and has dragged
the party back to the less threatening center ground, and will vow it is “pro business
and pro worker.”
Britons
have endured an unprecedented period of political upheaval, with five Tory
prime ministers since 2010, and three in just four months in 2022.
Much of
that was the result of Brexit, the country’s tortuous departure from the European
Union, but also self-inflicted wounds such as Liz Truss’s short-lived tenure,
when her unfunded tax cuts spooked the markets and crashed the pound.
One of
Starmer’s first tasks if he finds himself in Downing Street on July 5 will be
to prepare for a crunch NATO summit in Washington the following week, and to
host a meeting of European leaders.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2529551/world
--------
NATO to
take over coordination of arms deliveries to Ukraine ahead of possible Trump
win
June 13,
2024
BRUSSELS,
Belgium: NATO is set to take over the coordination of arms deliveries to
Ukraine from the US, the alliance’s chief said on Wednesday, in a bid to
safeguard the military aid mechanism as NATO-skeptic Donald Trump bids for a
second term as US president.
“I
expect tat ministers will approve a plan for NATO to lead the coordination of
security assistance and training to Ukraine,” Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on
the eve of a two-day meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.Hours
before, Hungary had given up its resistance to the Ukraine support package NATO
aims to agree at its Washington summit in July, comprising a financial pledge
and the transfer to NATO of the coordination of arms supplies and training.
During a
visit by Stoltenberg to Budapest, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said his country
would not block NATO decisions on providing support for Ukraine but had agreed
that it would not be involved.
He added
he had received assurances from Stoltenberg that Hungary would not have to
provide funding for Ukraine or send personnel there.
Hungary
has been at odds with other NATO countries over Orban’s continued cultivation
of close ties to Russia and refusal to send arms to Ukraine, with Budapest’s
foreign minister last month labelling plans to help the war-torn nation a
“crazy mission.”
Stoltenberg
had proposed that NATO take on coordination of international military aid for
Ukraine, giving the alliance a more direct role in the war against Russia’s
invasion while stopping well short of committing its own forces.
The move
is widely seen as an effort to provide a degree of “Trump-proofing” by putting
coordination under a NATO umbrella.
But
diplomats acknowledge such a move may have limited effect, as the US is NATO’s
dominant power and provides the majority of weaponry to Ukraine. So if
Washington wanted to slash Western aid to Kyiv, it would still be able to do
so.
Stoltenberg
has also asked allies to keep up funding military aid for Ukraine at the same
level as they have since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, adding up to
some 40 billion euros per year.
On
Wednesday, he said he was hopeful allies would find agreement on a financial
pledge before the summit to make the support for Ukraine more robust and more
predictable.
Meanwhile,
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will announce up to 242 million pounds
($309.69 million) in bilateral assistance to Ukraine in the G7 summit, his
office said on Wednesday, to support immediate humanitarian, energy and
stabilization needs for Ukraine.
“We must
be decisive and creative in our efforts to support Ukraine and end Putin’s
illegal war at this critical moment,” Sunak said ahead of the summit.
The
Group of Seven nations and the European Union are also considering how to use
profits generated by Russian assets immobilized in the West to provide Ukraine
with a large up-front loan to secure Kyiv’s financing for 2025.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2529536/world
--------
Southeast Asia
Human
Rights Commission OfMalaysia Demands Israel Be Held Accountable For Gaza
Genocide
13 Jun
2024
KUALA
LUMPUR, June 13 — The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) today
called on the international community to hold Israel accountable for its
genocidal actions in Gaza, after the case was brought to the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) by South Africa.
In a
statement, Suhakam also urged the International Criminal Court’s (ICC)
prosecutor to conduct a just and fair investigation into the war crimes without
any interference.
“Suhakam
is deeply concerned about the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, which has
been described as 'beyond catastrophic' by the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights, Volker Türk, during his recent visit to Malaysia.
“The
United States (US) must move beyond rhetoric and ensure that Israel fully
complies unconditionally with the recent United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
Resolution 2735 (2024) on June 10,” it said.
Suhakam
also expressed its full support for Türk's call for accountability and an end
to the siege on Gaza and the West Bank.
“We urge
all parties involved to respect international humanitarian law and prioritize
the protection of civilian lives.
“The
humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the deteriorating situation in the West Bank
demand immediate and coordinated action from the global community,” it said.
Suhakam
also asked the United States to exercise its veto power to “derail” the
recognition of Israel and stop the supply of arms to Israel.
“A
ceasefire must be followed by a comprehensive reconstruction plan to restore
Gaza and make it livable again.
“All
parties need to engage in constructive dialogue to seek a peaceful resolution
to the conflict. It is imperative that international humanitarian law is upheld
and that all necessary measures are taken to protect the lives and rights of
civilians.
“The
ongoing conflict has resulted in severe human suffering, widespread
destruction, and an urgent need for international intervention,” it said.
It added
that the international community must take decisive action to dismantle
oppressive structures and ensure equal rights for all.
“The
ongoing occupation and discriminatory policies must end,” it added.
Suhakam
also called on the international community and local authorities to help
rebuild homes, hospitals, schools, and infrastructure in Gaza to ensure access
to basic necessities such as clean water, food, and medical care.
“We urge
the Malaysian government to continue its efforts in providing humanitarian
assistance to the people of Gaza and to work closely with international
organizations and other nations to ensure the delivery of aid and support to
those in need.
“Suhakam
also encourages the global community to increase their efforts in addressing
the root causes of the conflict and to support initiatives aimed at achieving
lasting peace in the region.
“In such
times, Suhakam stands in solidarity with the people of Gaza and reaffirms its
commitment to promoting and protecting human rights for all.
“We
extend our deepest condolences to the victims and their families and call for
urgent and coordinated action to alleviate the suffering of the affected
population,” it said.
Source: malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/06/13/suhakam-demands-israel-be-held-accountable-for-gaza-genocide/139559
--------
Expert
Proposes Hajj Agency under Religious Affairs Minister to Improve Services
June 13,
2024
Jakarta.
A state administrative expert suggested that the Religious Affairs Ministry
establish an agency dedicated to handling the Hajj pilgrimage, rather than
entrusting the task to a directorate general as it is done today.
The
separation of Hajj management from the directorate is intended to improve
services and avoid lengthy bureaucratic procedures when it directly falls under
government supervision, said Djohermansyah Djohar.
"Such
an agency will be more service-oriented, unlike the function of a directorate
general,” Djohermansyah said on Wednesday.
Indonesia
regularly sends over 200,000 Muslim pilgrims to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi
Arabia every year, more than any other country in the world.
The Hajj
pilgrimage management would be more efficient and effective if it were led by a
service-oriented organization, rather than a fully government-run directorate,
he said.
The
former director general of regional autonomy at the Home Affairs Ministry
disagreed with the idea of establishing a separate ministry exclusively to
handle the Hajj pilgrimage.
"It’s
not an urgent matter to establish a ministry whose sole task is handling the
Hajj pilgrimage," he said.
"Hajj
management isn’t as complex as education, public works, or transportation, so I
don’t see the urgency of having a separate ministry for that," he added.
Source: jakartaglobe.id
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https://jakartaglobe.id/news/expert-proposes-hajj-agency-under-religious-affairs-minister-to-improve-services
--------
Hamas
Should Accept Ceasefire Proposal, Blinken Tells Prabowo
June 12,
2024
Jakarta.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently held talks with President-Elect
Prabowo Subianto in Jordan, shortly after the UN Security Council adopted a
three-phase ceasefire proposal to end the Gaza war.
Blinken
said that he and Prabowo had talked about the US-sponsored ceasefire proposal.
The US is hoping for the militant group Hamas to accept the proposal, which
includes a hostage release deal.
“Met
with Indonesian Defense Minister and President-Elect @prabowo, as well as
@MalaysiaMFA Foreign Minister Dato’ Seri Mohamad Hasan here in Jordan. We talked
about the importance of Hamas accepting the ceasefire proposal that is on the
table,” Blinken posted on his social media platform X on Wednesday.
The US
appears to have a stance that the fate of the ceasefire plan rests in Hamas’s
hands. On Tuesday evening, a Jakarta-based American diplomat made similar
remarks, saying that the ball is in Hamas’s court for the ceasefire resolution
actually to make progress.
“The
next step [after we adopt the resolution is for] Hamas to say yes. If Hamas
says yes, the fighting stops,” Michael F Kleine, the Chargé d’Affaires ad
interim of the US Mission to Indonesia, told reporters in Jakarta.
Kleine
added: “If Hamas says yes, the humanitarian assistance flows, hostages go home,
and move on to the process that starts with a ceasefire that moves onto a
permanent cessation of hostilities. That means the end of the war.”
A
separate ministerial press statement revealed what Prabowo had talked about
with Blinken. Prabowo, who currently serves as the defense minister, welcomed the
adoption of the ceasefire resolution.
“Indonesia
is ready to work with the US, Qatar, and Egypt to make sure that the
negotiations take place, and achieve a permanent ceasefire as well as a just
and everlasting peace in Palestine,” Prabowo told Blinken, as reported by the
press.
“An
immediate, full and complete ceasefire is pivotal to revive the peace process,”
Prabowo said.
Earlier
this week, the UN Security Council adopted a three-phase ceasefire resolution
after most of its members approved the document. The council’s permanent member
Russia abstained from voting.
The
first phase of this resolution calls for a six-week ceasefire plan. It also
urges the release of hostages, and for Israel to withdraw its forces from
populated areas in Gaza. It will then progress to a permanent end to
hostilities in the second phase which sees the release of the remaining
captives and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces. The third phase is a
major multi-year reconstruction plan for Gaza. According to Reuters, senior
Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said his group would accept the proposal, but it
was up to Washington to make sure that Israel abides by it.
Source: jakartaglobe.id
Please click the following URL to read
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https://jakartaglobe.id/news/hamas-should-accept-ceasefire-proposal-blinken-tells-prabowo
--------
Malaysia
hopes diplomatic ties with the Philippines continue to strengthen - Nanta
12-06-
2024
KUALA
LUMPUR: Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi expressed his hope
that the diplomatic ties between Malaysia and the Philippines will continue to
strengthen and reach new heights, benefiting both governments and their people.
Nanta
conveyed this while representing Malaysia at the celebration of the 126th
Philippine Independence Day and the 60th Anniversary of Malaysia-Philippines
diplomatic relations held today.
“I was
welcomed by Her Excellency Maria Angela A. Ponce, Ambassador of the Republic of
Philippines to Malaysia. Representatives from most of the Asia countries also
came together to commemorate this auspicious occasion that showcased the rich
and diverse history and cultures from both countries.
“Thank
you for having the Malaysian Government in this memorable event. Happy
Independence Day to the people of the Republic of Philippines! Maligayang Araw
ng Kalayaan! (Happy Independence Day!),” he said in his posting on Facebook
today.
Source: thesun.my
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://thesun.my/local-news/malaysia-hopes-diplomatic-ties-with-the-philippines-continue-to-strengthen-nanta-AB12570808
--------
Singapore
fully supports Malaysia as ASEAN chair 2025 under PM Anwar
12-06-
2024
PUTRAJAYA:
Singapore fully supports Malaysia’s ASEAN chairmanship in 2025, said
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong as he expressed readiness to work
together towards a stronger and more integrated ASEAN.
Speaking
at a joint news conference with Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar
Ibrahim during his introductory visit on Wednesday, Wong expressed confidence
in Anwar’s leadership in steering ASEAN forward.
“Singapore
is confident that under Malaysia and Prime Minister Anwar’s leadership, ASEAN
will develop further as a stronger and more integrated community, and will
deepen our relations with our external dialogue partners.
“There
is still a lot of scope for us to work even more closely together. So,
Singapore will fully support Malaysia’s chairmanship of ASEAN, and we hope to
work together to set an ambitious and forward looking agenda for ASEAN for the
next 10 to 20 years,” he said.
On the
need to bolster the economic standing of ASEAN, Wong cited the many positive
collaborations between Malaysia and Singapore, including the establishment of
the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone and the Rapid Transit System Link,
which could serve as models of cooperation for ASEAN to advance economic
integration for mutual benefits.
While
noting that ASEAN had made progress over the past 20 years, Wong said there was
still significant economic potential waiting to be unlocked, especially in
emerging sectors such as the digital economy and renewable energy.
“What
ASEAN ought to be doing is to strengthen our economic integration as one. So,
I’m very hopeful that Malaysia and Singapore can provide a strong anchor for a
stronger and more integrated ASEAN community,” he said.
Earlier,
Wong attended a four-eyed lunch hosted by Anwar where both leaders discussed a
broad range of issues concerning the two countries, including the water
agreement, airspace and maritime borders, economic cooperation, and regional
issues of interest.
Wong,
51, was sworn in as Singapore’s fourth prime minister on May 15, replacing Lee
Hsien Loong who stepped down after 20 years at the helm.
Source: thesun.my
Please click the following URL to read
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https://thesun.my/local-news/singapore-fully-supports-malaysia-as-asean-chair-2025-under-pm-anwar-CB12570543
--------
Africa
Military
will continue to protect democracy – Defence chief
13th
June 2024
The
Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, has urged Nigerians to remain
optimistic in the face of ongoing challenges and to support the Armed Forces of
Nigeria in combating terrorism and criminal activities.
He also
pledged his loyalty and that of his personnel to the President and
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Bola Tinubu, noting that the military,
under him, would work to strengthen democracy in the country.
Despite
the military’s acclaimed accomplishments over the past year in its fight
against terrorism and other vices, many regions of the country have continued
to experience insecurity.
For
instance, in the first year of the incumbent administration, no fewer than
4,416 people were killed and 4,334 others abducted, according to the data by
some civil society organisations in the country.
Against
this backdrop, Musa assured Nigerians that victory was in sight against terrorism
and other acts of criminality.
The
acting Director, Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau, quoted the CDS to
have stated this in a statement issued to commemorate the Democracy Day
celebration on Wednesday.
“Gen.
Musa also appealed to all Nigerians to remain positive towards the challenges
being faced and to support the AFN in the fight against all acts of terrorism
and criminality.
“He
assured them that victory is in sight. The CDS wishes President Bola Tinubu and
all Nigerians a happy and peaceful Democracy Day celebration.
“Gen.
Musa reaffirms the unwavering commitment and loyalty of the Armed Forces of
Nigeria to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the
President, Commander-in-Chief.
“Accordingly, the AFN remains dedicated to supporting and
strengthening democracy for the benefit of all Nigerians, as we shall continue
to collaborate with national and sub-national institutions to entrench
constitutional governance,” the statement read.
Musa
commended the sacrifice of troops across the country, urging them to uphold the
tenet of democracy.
“The CDS
acknowledges the sacrifices made by members of the Armed Forces in various
theatres of operation across the country, which is evidence of their commitment
to the unity and growth of Nigeria.
“He
urges personnel to uphold the tenets of democracy, safeguard citizens’ rights,
and ensure a peaceful and secure environment for all,” the statement noted.
Source: punchng.com
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https://punchng.com/military-will-continue-to-protect-democracy-defence-chief/
--------
Rwanda
says UN refugee agency lying in British asylum policy case
JUNE 12
2024
Rwanda
said the UN refugee agency had lied when the organisation told a British court
this week that asylum seekers sent to the country could be moved on again to
states where they risked torture or death.
Lawyers
representing the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) told the
court on Monday that Rwanda's asylum system was inadequate, as part of a
challenge to the British government's policy to deport asylum seekers there.
The
lawyers said removing asylum seekers to Rwanda put them at risk of being
transferred again in a banned process known as refoulement - building on past evidence
which formed an important part of the UK Supreme Court's reasoning when it
ruled last year that the British plan was unlawful.
"UNHCR
is lying," Rwanda's government spokesperson said in a statement late on
Tuesday.
"The
organisation seems intent on presenting fabricated allegations to UK courts
about Rwanda's treatment of asylum seekers, while still partnering with us to
bring African migrants from Libya to safety in Rwanda," the spokesperson
added.
A UNHCR
spokesperson in Rwanda said she had no immediate comment.
Rwanda's
government said cases raised by the UNHCR lawyers in court had involved people
arriving in Rwanda who had legal status in other countries but did not meet
entry requirements, or of people leaving Rwanda voluntarily.
Britain
said last week that the first flight to Rwanda would take off on July 24,
though that was dependent on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Conservatives winning
national elections on July 4.
That
looks unlikely as Britain's opposition Labour Party, leading by about 20 points
in opinion polls, has pledged to scrap the plan if elected.
Source: theeastafrican.co.ke
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/rwanda-says-un-refugee-agency-lying-in-uk-asylum-policy-case-4655356
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Fighting
between two Somalia clans kills at least 55
JUNE 10
2024
The
fighting between the Dir and Marihan clans, which used to jointly fight al
Shabaab years ago, erupted on June 8, 2024, in Abudwaq and Herale towns in
Galmudug region over grazing land and watering points. MAP | NMG
A
violent clash over the weekend between two clans in central Somalia has killed
at least 55 people and injured another 155, residents and medical officials
said on Monday.
Somalia's
federal government is not only struggling to contain violence unleashed by the
Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group, but is also facing clan-based clashes over
control of land and water in the Horn of Africa nation.
The
fighting between the Dir and Marihan clans, which used to jointly fight al
Shabaab years ago, erupted on Saturday in Abudwaq and Herale towns in Galmudug
region over grazing land and watering points, said Farah Nur, a clan elder and
resident of Herale.
"Government
forces came late. Unfortunately 55 people died, this includes both clans,"
he told Reuters.
"It
was easy to stop (the fight) but it didn't happen. The situation got out of
hand and spread like a wildfire."
Senior
Galmudug officials did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comments
on the incident.
Personnel
from hospitals in Herale, Abuwaq and two other adjacent towns confirmed to
Reuters they had attended to 115 people who were wounded in the fighting. Those
who died were buried immediately, residents said.
The
fighting subsided following the arrival of federal government soldiers,
residents said.
"There
is (a) ceasefire but the mood is not good. A permanent ceasefire is
needed," Sadia Hussein, a mother of four, told Reuters from Abudwaq.
Source: theeastafrican.co.ke
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https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/fighting-between-two-somalia-clans-kills-at-least-55-4653174
--------
Haiti
inaugurates new cabinet as country looks to end political unrest
Haiti’s
new Cabinet was formally inaugurated on Wednesday, marking the final step in
rebuilding the government that will lead a country under siege by gangs.
In his speech,
Prime Minister Garry Conille repeated the need to increase security in the
country which is within the grips of gang warfare.
He also
spoke on the humanitarian crisis gripping the country.
"My
dear compatriots, Haiti is facing major challenges. Violence and security are
paralysing our daily lives. The humanitarian crisis is exacerbating the
suffering of our most vulnerable citizens."
Gangs
control at least 80% of the capital of Port-au-Prince.
Haiti is
preparing for the U.N.-backed deployment of a police force from Kenya expected
in the coming weeks.
Conille
also asked for a minute's silence, in memory of three police officers killed by
gangs the previous Sunday.
Weeks of
coordinated attacks by gangs forced former prime minister Ariel Henry to resign
in April, and his Cabinet was dissolved. Gunmen took control of police
stations, opened fire on the main international airport that remained closed
for nearly three months and stormed Haiti’s two biggest prisons.
More
than 2,500 people were killed or injured in the first three months of the year
and more than half a million others displaced as Haiti prepares for the
U.N.-backed deployment of a police force from Kenya expected in the coming
weeks.
Source: africanews.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.africanews.com/2024/06/12/haiti-inaugurates-new-cabinet-as-country-looks-to-end-political-unrest/
--------
Malawi announces
state funeral and 21 days of mourning for vice president killed in a plane
crash
The
Malawi government said Wednesday that Vice President Saulos Chilima will be
honored with a state funeral after he died in a plane crash along with eight
other people.
President
Lazarus Chakwera had already announced 21 days of national mourning on Tuesday,
when the wreckage of the small military plane carrying Chilima and a former
first lady was discovered in a mountainous area in the country's north. Flags
will fly at half-staff across the southern African nation during the period of
mourning.
Chakwera
has appointed a ministerial committee to oversee preparations for Chilima's
state funeral, the government said in a statement. No date was announced.
Chakwera
previously said that there were 10 people on the plane but the government now
says that a total of nine were on board when it crashed.
Everyone
was killed on impact when the twin propellor aircraft went down in a hilly,
forested area in bad weather, the president said. The victims included former
first lady Shanil Dzimbiri, the ex-wife of former Malawian President Bakili
Muluzi. Six passengers and three military crew members were killed.
The
plane was carrying Chilima and members of his staff on a short flight from the
capital, Lilongwe, to the northern city of Mzuzu to attend a funeral of a
former government minister when it went missing Monday morning.
The
president said the that air traffic controllers had told the plane not to land
in Mzuzu because of bad weather and poor visibility and to return to Lilongwe.
Air traffic controllers then lost contact with the plane and it disappeared
from radar.
Hundreds
of soldiers, police officers and forest rangers searched for more than 24 hours
before the wreckage was discovered in a forest plantation south of Mzuzu.
The
remains of the victims were brought back to Lilongwe on a Zambian Air Force
helicopter on Tuesday night, when officials and mourners including Chakwera and
Chilima's wife, Mary, gathered at an airport. The bodies of Chilima and the
others were transported from the airport in ambulances as soldiers lined the
tarmac and saluted.
Source: africanews.com
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https://www.africanews.com/2024/06/12/malawi-announces-state-funeral-and-21-days-of-mourning-for-vice-president-killed-in-a-plan/
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Outrage
As Niger State Gov, Deputy, Speaker, State EXCO Members Travel To Saudi For
Hajj At Same Time
12 June
2024
Some
residents of Niger State have expressed their anger following the decision of
Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago to embark on the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia,
accompanied by his deputy, Comrade Yakubu Garba, and the Speaker of the House
of Assembly, Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji.
Naija
News learnt that the governor and his deputy left the state sometime between
Sunday and Monday to partake in the annual pilgrimage.
The
residents have accused the governor of neglecting his duties and not taking
governance seriously.
They
argue that by leaving alongside his deputy, he has abandoned his
responsibilities and left the people to face the severe security challenges in
the state on their own.
The
opposition political parties in the state have also expressed their
dissatisfaction with this situation, highlighting that the absence of the
governor, deputy governor, Speaker, and a majority of the members of the State
Executive Council has resulted in the paralysis of government activities.
In a
statement on Wednesday, a chieftain of the Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Alhaji
Umar Danladi Abdulhamid, strongly criticized the state leaders’ action.
“I am
shocked at the way and manner Governor Mohammed Umar Bago’s administration has
been operating without respect to the feelings of the citizens in spite of the
current security problems facing the state.
“More
shocking is abandoning the state without transmitting power in line with the
Constitution. It is not a good omen for the state. This calls for caution and
reversal,” Abdulhamid said.
Also
reacting, the Niger North Zonal Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),
Alhaji Yahaya Ability, said the All Progressives Congress (APC), is known for
outright violation of the laws, especially under the leadership of Governor
Bago of Niger State.
He said:
“Most unfortunate is that Governor Bago left the country to perform Hajj in
Saudi Arabia without remorse. He left the state the very day two military
personnel were shot by the bandits at Tegina, Rafi Local Government Area, while
four LGAs, Rafi Shiroro, Munya and Mariga, were under attack daily and scores
being killed.
“The
matter is worse because the Assembly Speaker Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji, who was
supposed to receive a written letter of transmission of power also left
together with the governor. This goes to show that the Assembly is a stooge and
under the pocket of the governor.”
The
zonal PDP chairman further argued, “Section 190 (1) of the 1999 Constitution as
amended cannot be observed in breach as it makes clear provision for the
absence of a governor without anticipation of both of them leaving their seats
at the same time.”
He
encouraged the citizens of the state to reconsider their choices and make sure
they elect a new APC government in 2027 for better management.
The
ability demanded the immediate reinstatement of the governor, deputy governor,
and other state officials to ensure safety and uphold the country’s
Constitution.
Attempts
to get a reply from the state government to the concerns of the opposition
parties were unsuccessful.
According
to the Daily Post, the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Alhaji Abubakar
Usman, and the Chief Press Secretary, CPS, to the Governor, Bologi Ibrahim,
declined to answer when their phones were called.
Naija
News understands that due to the development, the state is currently being run
by the SSG together with the Chief of Staff, CoS, to the Governor, Abdullah
Usman Gbatamagi.
Nonetheless,
a government insider, who wished to remain anonymous, told journalists thatt
the governor”has the capability to govern the state from anywhere in the world
with the help of technology.
Source: naijanews.com
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https://www.naijanews.com/2024/06/12/outrage-as-niger-state-gov-deputy-speaker-state-exco-members-travel-to-saudi-for-hajj-at-same-time/
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120
million people displaced by war, violence globally — UN
13th
June 2024
A
staggering total of 120 million people are living forcibly displaced by war,
violence, and persecution, the UN said Thursday, branding the ever-increasing
number a “terrible indictment on the state of the world”.
The
United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said forced displacement globally had once
again smashed records, with conflicts in places like Gaza, Sudan, and Myanmar
forcing even more people to flee their homes.
The
global displaced population is now equivalent to that of Japan, it pointed out
in a statement.
“Conflict
remains a very, very big driver of mass displacement,” UN refugee chief Filippo
Grandi told reporters.
Did You
Know Saudi Arabia Imports Sand, Camels?0.00 / 0.00
At the
end of last year, 117.3 million people were displaced, UNHCR said in a report.
And by
the end of April, the number had swelled further, with an estimated 120 million
people around the world living in displacement.
The
number is up from 110 million a year ago, and has been rising for 12
consecutive years — nearly tripling since 2012 amid a combination of new and
mutating crises and a failure to resolve long-standing ones, UNHCR said.
Grandi
told AFP he had been shocked at the high displacement figure when he took the
job eight years ago.
Since
then it has “more than doubled”, he said, describing this as “a terrible
indictment on the state of the world”.
–
Figures will keep rising –
Grandi
pointed to a palpable increase in crises and also highlighted how climate
change is impacting population movement and driving conflicts.
UNHCR
last year declared 43 emergencies across 29 countries — more than four times
what was common just a few years ago, he told reporters.
In
particular, Grandi noted, “the way conflicts are conducted … in complete
disregard” of international law, and “often with the specific purpose of terrorising
people”.
“This of
course is a powerful contributor to more displacement.”
Grandi
acknowledged there currently seemed to be little hope of bucking the trend.
“Unless
there is a shift in international geopolitics, unfortunately, I actually see
the figure continuing to go up,” he said.
Of the
117.3 million displaced at the end of 2023, 68.3 million people were internally
displaced within their own country, Thursday’s report showed.
The
number of refugees and others in need of international protection meanwhile
climbed to 43.4 million, it said.
UNHCR
countered the perception that all refugees and other migrants go to wealthy
countries.
“The
vast majority of refugees are hosted in countries neighbouring their own, with
75 percent residing in low- and middle-income countries that together produce
less than 20 percent of the world’s income,” it said.
Source: punchng.com
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https://punchng.com/120-million-people-displaced-by-war-violence-globally-un/
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Terrorists
killed, military uncovers warehouse with looted foodstuffs
13th
June 2024
Troops
of the Nigerian Army have killed no fewer than three terrorists and recovered
several rustled sheep in Zamfara State.
The
operations were carried out on Monday in three local government areas of the
state in collaboration with the Zamfara State Community Protection Guards.
In a
statement on X on Wednesday, the Nigerian Army said two of the terrorists were
killed in the Zurmi Local Government Area of the state during an operation
targeted at a terrorist kingpin’s hideout.
The
service said the terrorist’s warehouse was uncovered and destroyed during the
operation.
Did You
Know Saudi Arabia Imports Sand, Camels?0.00 / 0.00
The
statement read, “In Rukudawa Village, located in Zurmi Local Government Area of
the state, troops launched an offensive operation targeting the hideout of
notorious terrorist kingpin Gwaska Dan Karami. In the encounter, troops
eliminated two terrorists and uncovered a terrorist warehouse stocked with
looted food supplies. The warehouse has been destroyed in situ.”
In the
Maru LGA, the service said troops engaged terrorists in a gun battle, leading
to the death of terrorists and the recovery of 410 rustled sheep.
A pair
of military uniforms and weapons were recovered from the terrorists during the
operation.
“In
another operation in the Mayanchi general area of the Maru Local Government
Area, troops on fighting patrol intercepted and engaged marauding terrorists
who had rustled a flock of sheep.
The
troops neutralised one terrorist in the overwhelming firefight compelling the
rest of the terrorists to flee, abandoning one AK-47 rifle, a magazine with
three rounds of 7.62 x 39 mm ammunition, two motorcycles, and 410 rustled
sheep; which have been recovered by the troops.
“Other
items recovered include a pair of military camouflage and a mobile police
uniform. The rescued sheep have been handed over to the Committee on Recovery
of Rustled Animals in Gusau,” the statement added.
The Army
added that troops foiled an attack by terrorists in Gummi LGA and recovered one
AK-47.
“Troops
also intercepted terrorists on a mission to carry out their nefarious
activities along Kairu road in Gummi
Local Government Area and recovered one AK-47 rifle from the terrorists, after
thwarting the mission,” the Army said.
The
PUNCH reports that troops have intensified their operations against terrorists
in the Northern part of the country leading to the death of no fewer than 9,303
terrorists in the last one year.
Also, troops have arrested 6,998 terrorists in
the last one year.
Source: punchng.com
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https://punchng.com/terrorists-killed-military-uncovers-warehouse-with-looted-foodstuffs/
--------
South Asia
Afghanistan
among top five refugee-origin countries; 6.4 million displaced: UNHCR
June 13,
2024
At least
117.3 million people, or one in 69 individuals worldwide, remain forcibly
displaced, including a significant number from Afghanistan, according to a
report released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
today.
Wars in
Afghanistan during the 1980s doubled refugee numbers to 20 million by 1990. The
2001 US invasion further escalated the crisis, increasing global displacement,
UNHCR global trend report said on Tuesday, June 13.
Forced
displacement has continued to increase in the first four months of 2024 and is
expected to surpass 120 million by the end of April. This alarming trend
underscores the urgent need for international action to address the underlying
causes of displacement.
Wars in
Afghanistan during the 1980s contributed to a significant increase in refugees,
doubling their numbers to 20 million by 1990. The US invasion of Afghanistan in
2001 further escalated the refugee crisis, contributing to the global increase
in displaced populations.
According
to the report, today, Afghanistan is one of the top five countries of origin
for refugees, with 6.4 million Afghans forcibly displaced. This number reflects
the ongoing instability and conflict in the region, which has persisted for
decades.
Almost
70 percent of refugees live in countries neighboring their countries of origin.
Iran and Pakistan, for instance, host nearly all Afghan refugees, with Iran accommodating
3.8 million and Pakistan 2 million Afghan refugees.
Germany
hosts a significant number of Afghan refugees despite not bordering
Afghanistan. At the end of the year, Germany had 255,100 Afghan refugees,
highlighting its role in providing international protection to those fleeing
conflict.
The
continuous rise in forced displacement, particularly among Afghan refugees,
underscores the need for global solidarity and comprehensive solutions.
Addressing the root causes of displacement and providing adequate support to
host countries are crucial steps toward mitigating this humanitarian crisis.
According
to the latest UNHCR Global Trends report for 2024, almost three-quarters (72
percent) of all refugees come from just five countries: Afghanistan (6.4 million),
Syria (6.4 million), Venezuela (6.1 million), Ukraine (6 million), and
Palestine (6 million).
Filippo
Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, called for urgent international
efforts to address the root causes of forced displacement, highlighting the
immense suffering and human tragedies behind the staggering displacement
numbers.
Of the
117.3 million forcibly displaced people, 68.3 million are internally displaced.
In Gaza, ongoing conflict has displaced over 1.7 million people, accounting for
75 percent of its population.
Source: khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/afghanistan-among-top-five-refugee-origin-countries-6-4-million-displaced-unhcr/
--------
Herat
Officials Emphasize Enhanced Coordination with International Organizations
2024-06-12
KABUL(BNA):
A coordination meeting was held in Herat, attended by the Deputy Minister of
Economy, the Deputy Governor of Herat, heads of various government departments,
and representatives from international organizations.
Mujahir
Farahi, the Deputy Governor of Herat, emphasized the importance of implementing
more development programs in underserved areas and called for greater
coordination between government agencies and international organizations.
Meanwhile,
Abdul Latif Nazari, the Deputy Minister of Economy, stressed the need to
prioritize the basic needs of the people in the work plans of foreign
organizations. He highlighted the importance of transparency in the operations
of these organizations, stating that serving the people is a key focus of the
Ministry of Economy.
The
heads of the education and environment departments in Herat also outlined the
current needs and requested support from international organizations in various
sectors.
Representatives
from international organizations, including UNICEF and the World Health
Organization, shared their challenges and work plans, and assured continued
cooperation with local authorities.
Source: bakhtarnews.af
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--------
Congressman
urges Biden to prioritize American’s release from Taliban
June 13,
2024
Michael
McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, stated that it is
still unclear what the Biden administration’s plan is for securing the release
of American citizen Ryan Corbett from Taliban custody.
He urged
President Biden to assert his authority as the President of the United States
and guarantee Corbett’s immediate release.
The
Taliban arrested Ryan Corbett on August 10, 2022. On Wednesday, the chairman of
the House Foreign Affairs Committee reported that Corbett is being held in
solitary confinement under extremely harsh conditions and is suffering from
physical health issues.
Michael
McCaul emphasized that Ryan Corbett, a loving husband and father, has been
engaged in humanitarian aid and providing opportunities to the people of Afghanistan
for over a decade.
He
should not be treated as a criminal. McCaul reiterated his call for President
Biden to act decisively and prioritize Corbett’s immediate release.
Ryan’s
wife has reported that her husband’s mental and physical health has significantly
deteriorated in recent months. The Taliban have not disclosed the reasons for
Corbett’s detention.
However,
the Wall Street Journal previously reported, citing a senior American official,
that the Taliban are demanding the release of Mohammad Rahim Al Afghani, who
has been held in Guantanamo since 2008, in exchange for Corbett’s freedom.
The
hasty withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in 2021 led to a rapid
deterioration of security in the country. The Afghan government, which relied
heavily on U.S. military and financial support, quickly collapsed, and the
Taliban took control of the country.
This
sudden change resulted in the Taliban capturing
Kabul and placing many Afghan citizens and foreigners in a state of
crisis.
The
United States and other Western countries were forced to launch large-scale
evacuation operations to extract their nationals and thousands of Afghans who
had collaborated with coalition forces from the country.
Source: khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/congressman-urges-biden-to-prioritize-americans-release-from-taliban/
--------
World
Day Against Child Labor: OCHA reports 19% of Afghan children engaged in hard
labor
June 12,
2024
Coinciding
with June 12, the World Day Against Child Labor, the United Nations Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that 19% of children in
Afghanistan are engaged in hard labor.
OCHA
stated in a press release on Wednesday, June 12 on the occasion of the World
Day Against Child Labor that this issue is concerning for the health and future
of children.
The
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
added, “We must collaborate to ensure that every child has the opportunity to
learn and grow in a safe environment.”
Previously,
the World Food Program, in its latest report, stated that 3.2 million children
in Afghanistan are also suffering from malnutrition.
Experts
believe that children are among the primary victims of poverty in society.
Compared to youth and adults, children lack the necessary resilience to fight
diseases, and the spread of diseases resulting from poverty and poor nutrition
initially affects children.
In
addition to the increasing poverty and unemployment rates in Afghanistan, years
of war have also contributed to the rise of child labor in the country.
The
World Day Against Child Labor is observed annually on June 12, aiming to
strengthen the global movement against child labor.
Source: khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/world-day-against-child-labor-ocha-reports-19-of-afghan-children-engaged-in-hard-labor/
--------
Iran Air
starts flights to Kabul for first time, ministry
June 13,
2024
KABUL:
In a significant move, the international airline ‘Iran Air’ has started flights
to Kabul for the first time, the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation said
in a statement Wednesday. Iran Air will have a flight to Kabul International
Airport per week, the statement said, adding that many other airlines like
Ariana, Kam Air, Mahan, Kish, and Yazd also conduct flights between the two
countries, providing facilities to businessmen and passengers. After the
resumption of power by the Islamic Emirate, significant achievements and
developments have been made in various fields as several international airlines
started flights to the country. The Kabul Times
Source: thekabultimes.com
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https://thekabultimes.com/iran-air-starts-flights-to-kabul-for-first-time-ministry/
--------
Inter-Ministerial
Committee Meeting Discusses Major Investment Proposals
2024-06-12
KABUL(BNA):
The regular meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Investment Committee was held,
focusing on several investment projects.
According
to a press release from the Economic Deputy Office of the Prime Minister, the
meeting took place yesterday, June 11th at the Marmarin Palace. Various
investment proposals from the private sector were discussed and reviewed.
The
meeting covered proposals for electrification of Mori Chaq village in Bala
Murghab district of Badghis province, the construction of a commercial market
and an underground road in Jalalabad city, and the development of the Bam Herat
recreational complex in Herat.
Among
these proposals, the construction of a commercial market and an underground
road at Bazazi Square in Jalalabad city was approved.
Additionally,
proposals to electrify Mori Chaq village in Bala Murghab and build the Bam
Herat recreational complex have been assigned to designated committees. These
committees will meet with proposing companies to evaluate the projects’
financial, economic, and technical aspects and report their findings.
Source: bakhtarnews.af
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https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/inter-ministerial-committee-meeting-discusses-major-investment-proposals/
--------
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/hamare-baarah-film-married-muslim-women/d/132503