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Islamic World News ( 11 Sept 2023, NewAgeIslam.Com)

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'Where Hate Is Proof Of Patriotism': Javed Akhtar While Receiving Honorary Degree In London's SOAS University

New Age Islam News Bureau

11 September 2023

 

Javed Akhtar. PTI file

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India

·         Bilateral Trade, Defence Ties Feature In Talks Between Saudi Crown Prince Bin Salman And Prime Minister Modi

·         Narendra Modi urges Justin Trudeau to cooperate with India in dealing with Khalistani threat in Canada

·         3,000 More To Be Arrested In 2nd Round Of Assam Child Marriage Crackdown: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

·         Humayun’s Tomb To Qutub Minar: A Day Out In Delhi For Delegate Partners

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South Asia

·         Afghanistan’s Quest for Economic Recovery Amidst Challenges

·         UN expresses concern over reduction in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan

·         Afghan diplomat receives demarche for Chitral attack: Pakistani FM

·         France respects Bangladesh's policy independence, PM says after talks with Macron

·         Sagar-Runi murder: Probe report submission deadline extended for 103rd time

·         Dhaka, Paris sign bilateral instruments on infrastructure, satellite system

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Arab World

·         King Salman, Crown Prince order air bridge to provide aid to Morocco earthquake victims

·         Crown Prince Mohammed hints at oil production rise in meeting with Japan’s PM

·         Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman holds bilateral talks with world leaders on the sidelines of G20 summit in New Delhi

·         Areeb Capital acquires property west of the Grand Mosque of Makkah for SR521 million

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Southeast Asia

·         Malaysian Law On Revision Of Death Sentences And Life Imprisonment Comes Into Force On Sept 12

·         Islamic Affairs Minister: Jakim To Develop New Halal Certification Module To Produce More Professionals In Halal Field

·         Azalina: Prisoners Can Start Applying For Court To Review Death Sentences From Tomorrow

·         PM Lee: Multilateralism hit by tensions between major powers, but Singapore has made progress with ‘like-minded friends’

·         Tahfiz fire murder appeals: Court upholds jail sentence of one youth, acquittal of another

·         Speaker's rejection on Zahid's DNAA motion sends out negative message, says MCA

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North America

·         US, Allied Terrorist Groups Continue To Loot Syria’s Wealth, Strategic Resources: Damascus

·         ‘US to support economic recovery in Pakistan’

·         US, Vietnam agree to deepen ties as China worries grow

·         Escaped US killer seen farther afield with new look: Police

·         Canada’s Trudeau stuck in India after aircraft breaks down

·         US president and ‘Stalin’ shake hands at G20

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Pakistan

·         Caretaker Govt Plays Down Escalation In Acts Of Terror

·         'Govt launches massive crackdown against hoarders, smugglers across country'

·         Death anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah being observed today

·         Four killed in road accident in Zhob District

·         No criminal should be spared: Sarfraz Bugti

·         7 terrorists killed in Chitral gun battle: ISPR

·         No headway in talks on Torkham issue

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Mideast

·         Hezbollah: Israel To Benefit From Hostilities In Palestinian Refugee Camp

·         Iran Thwarted 400 Bombings Planned By Enemies: Intelligence Minister

·         Iran Optimistic Prisoner Swap With US Will Happen In ‘Near Future’

·         Iran To Host 150 Muslim Luminaries In 5th Mustafa Prize

·         Iran very serious in confronting hostility of enemies: Leader

·         Iranian Red Crescent ready to send aid to Morocco

·         Islamist factions in a troubled Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon say they will honor a cease-fire

·         Iran welcomes any EU initiative on boosting mutual cooperation: Deputy FM

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Africa

·         At Least 40 Killed In Airstrike On Market In Sudan's Khartoum, Volunteers Say

·         Morocco Earthquake: Race Against Time To Find Survivors

·         Nigeria Secret Police, DSS Arrests, Grills Central Bank Deputy Governor, Aishah Ahmad

·         Nigeria ready to play vital role in G-20, Tinubu lobbies world leaders

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Europe

·         UK police arrests two persons amid claims of spying for China

·         Two dead, four injured in Hungary air show crash

·         EU greenlights seizure of personal phones and cars from Russians

·         Ukrainian pensioner jailed for social media ‘likes’

·         Polish ambassador blasts Ukraine over memorials to WW2 Nazi collaborators

·         France accused of planning ‘aggression’ against Niger

·         West failed to ‘Ukrainize’ G20 – Lavrov

·         Mosque holds ceremony to reward excelling students

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

URL:    https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/hate-patriotism-london-soas-javed-akhtar/d/130652

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'Where Hate Is Proof Of Patriotism': Javed Akhtar While Receiving Honorary Degree In London's SOAS University

 

Javed Akhtar. PTI file

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11.09.23

Amit Roy

Screenwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar spoke of the power of poetry when he was given an honorary degree by the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

Without mentioning any names, he said: “Is it just a coincidence that the fascist ideologies have not been able to produce one major poet? That is because poetry is the language of love, peace, justice and equality.”

In his acceptance speech, Akhtar began by saying: “We are living in the era of post-truth where we arrive at conclusions before searching for logic and reason.

“Where favourable laws for the powerful corporates are called effort for development.

“Where greed to take over oil resources of some places is called war on terrorism.

“Subjugating and stripping a woman of all her rights is called protecting her dignity and chastity.

“Where hating the minorities is the ultimate proof of one’s patriotism.”

Akhtar, who was accompanied by his wife and actor Shabana Azmi, went on: “We are living in a world where all the means of information and communication, one after another, are falling in the hands of the powerful.

“So in these times many people are discontented, unhappy and frustrated and that is why they are looking towards religion or its second line of defence — spiritualism and Sufism. One must accept they provide solace to an average person by making them look away from day-to-day realities. They give you painkillers to relieve your pain, not to heal the injury, they never challenge the status quo.

“On the other hand, poetry provides you with the music of language, pleasure and solace. But at the same time sensitises you to the pain and deprivation of the world. Take a look at the poets of the twentieth century, from one end of the world to another, you will see poets have turned their pens into swords, to battle the evil forces of the world. Be it Pablo Neruda of Chile, Mahmood Darvesh of Palestine, Breyten of South Africa, in India, Nazrul from Bengal and Faiz from Punjab (now in Pakistan).”

He posed the question: “Are such poets required today? The answer is a big ‘yes’.”

He added: “Actually with great pride I must tell you that in India, in the late thirties, there was a literary movement which lasted till the sixties. The Progressive Writers Movement was a pan-Indian movement in which the authors and

poets consciously passed a resolution undertaking the responsibility to write against colonialism, economic exploitation and encourage women empowerment.”

Akhtar concluded: “This movement created great literature but I have reservations about the word ‘responsibility’. Responsibility is most often an imposition, I believe it is not the duty but the right of every writer and poet to raise their voice.”

Akhtar said: “I hope that such patronage and felicitation of poets and writers will encourage them to fully claim their right to speak and write and challenge the status quo to usher in social change in the world.”

The citation for Akhtar’s honorary award of Doctor of Literature last week was read by Naresh Sharma, senior lecturer in Urdu and Hindi for SOAS’s School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, who said: “If you (want to) know anything about Bollywood cinema, and you have not heard about this guy, look up his back catalogue — you will be amazed!

“Beyond cinema, Javedsaab is a prominent Urdu poet with collections like Tarkash and Lava, writing verses of profound social relevance whilst pushing the boundaries of Urdu poetry.

“Javedsaab has also made significant contributions to politics and social activism, serving in the Rajya Sabha and championing the Copyright Amendment Act of 2012 — described as 'revolutionary', it secured royalties for lyricists and composers.

“Beyond this, he has been a leading voice in social justice campaigns, promoting gender equality, communal harmony, and opposing religious extremism.”

Source: telegraphindia.com

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https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/javed-akhtar-speaks-of-power-of-poetry-while-receiving-honorary-degree-in-soas-university-london/cid/1965255

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Sufism Plays Role In Developing Islamic Thoughts And Culture: Minister Bangladesh

 

Photo: BSS News

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10 Sep 2023

DHAKA, Sept 10, 2023 (BSS) - Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni today said Sufism has been playing profound impacts in developing of Islamic thoughts and cultures and is continuously playing role as a source of inspiration for people all over the world.

"Sufism is a mystical tradition of Islam that makes a path to self-realization. The purpose of human existence is to create a world of harmony that can be achieved through empathy and understanding," said Dr Dipu Moni.

The minister was addressing the opening ceremony of the 4th International Conference on Sufism titled "Sociology of Sufism, Full-Humanity and Divine Quest for Social Harmony" at Dhaka University's Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate auditorium on DU campus.

DU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Md Akhtaruzzaman gave the welcome remarks in the programme while Calcutta University history department professor Dr Amit Dey presented the keynote speech.

"Sufism has a long and rich history in the context of Bangladesh. It has played an important role in the culture and society of the country and has remained as a source of inspiration for thinkers and writers," said Dr Akhtaruzzaman.

The two-day long conference was organized by Darul Irfan Research Institute (DIRI) in collaboration with Dhaka University's Department of World Religions and Culture.

Chattogram BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology Prof. Dr. Mohammed Obaidul Karim, Sajjadanshin of Gauchia Ahmadiyya Manjil and founder of Hazrat Maulana Shah Sufi Syed Emdadul Haque Maizbhandari addressed as special guests.

DU Arts faculty dean Dr Abdul Bashir, Dhaka University's WRC department Chairman and ICSSPHDQSH 2023 convener Professor Dr. Mohammad Jahangir Alam and Darul Irfan Research Institute (Diri) Managing Trustee Syed Irfanul Haque also addressed on the occasion.

A total of 102 research articles by researchers of 66 universities from 16 countries including - Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Brazil, Sweden, Algeria, the United Kingdom, and the United States are being presented in the conference.

Besides, a photo exhibition on Sufism was also arranged on the premises of Senate building.

Source: bssnews.net

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https://www.bssnews.net/news/146737

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Saudi Arabia, India Sign 47 MoUs To Bolster Investment Landscape

  

September 11, 2023

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and India have signed a bilateral agreement to bolster the investment climate in both countries, said a senior minister at the ongoing Indian-Saudi Investment Forum in New Delhi.

Speaking at the forum, Badr Al-Badr, the deputy minister of investor outreach at the Saudi Ministry of Investment, said: “The Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia and Invest India have signed a bilateral agreement to strengthen mutual investments endeavors, and give the comfort zone to investors and traders to do more business.”

The deputy minister further revealed that both nations signed 47 memorandums of understanding, including agreements between private and public sector undertakings.

“Saudi Arabia and India are the right fit for each other. Your demand is our supply, and our demand is your supply as well,” said Al-Badr.

Al-Badr further urged Indian investors and businessmen to invest in the Kingdom.

“You know Saudi Arabia as a long-term global superpower in traditional energy. But you now know that we developed into something much more than that. Our dynamic transformations have been created under the framework of Vision 2030,” said the deputy minister.

Echoing the sentiment, the Indian government felt the time was right to develop the bilateral relationship into an alliance of strength and economic power.

“The time is right, and the time is now. Forever, we knew the strength and power of Saudi Arabia, and you knew what India stood for. So far, we were thinking with our minds, and now, we are thinking with our minds and hearts,” said Invest India CEO Nivruti Rai at the event.

The ISIF in New Delhi seeks to explore investment opportunities across information and communications technology, entrepreneurship, chemicals, energy and advanced manufacturing sectors.

The event is taking place on the sidelines of the official state visit to India by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.

The crown prince also led the Saudi delegation for the G20 leaders’ summit this weekend to seek solutions to the world’s shared challenges.

The Indian-Saudi Investment Forum follows several events hosted by investment counterparts from countries such as Italy, Japan, Brazil and France.

The forum is part of initiatives designed to attract foreign direct investment to Saudi Arabia in line with its Vision 2030 and the National Investment Strategy, which seeks to unlock $3 trillion in investment opportunities.

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2371251/business-economy

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Malaysian Law On Revision Of Death Sentences And Life Imprisonment Comes Into Force On Sept 12

 

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said. Photo: Bernama

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11 Sep 2023

PUTRAJAYA: The Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023 or Act 847 will come into force on Tuesday (Sept 12).

This follows the commencement of the Abolition of the Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 (Act 846) on July 4.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said the Cabinet had on Aug 30 agreed with the mechanism of court proceedings in relation to the revision of mandatory death sentences and life imprisonment as proposed after an engagement with stakeholders.

"The implementation of the handling mechanism of court proceedings will allow all 1,020 prisoners who have been sentenced to mandatory death and life imprisonment, to file an application in court to review their respective sentences," she said in a statement on Monday (Sept 11).

She said considerations that take priority in the implementation mechanism will include factors like prisoner age, health status and sentence duration.

She said the unity government will – through this agreed mechanism – see that prisoners under mandatory death sentences who cannot afford counsel for the revision can seek legal representation through court-assigned lawyers.

"Those sentenced to life imprisonment can get (help) from the National Legal Aid Foundation," she added.

She said both forms of assistance reflected the government's stance of guaranteeing access to justice and maintaining the principle of equality for all Malaysians.

She said the enforcement of Act 847 also showed the government's commitment to promoting and protecting universal human rights, and showed that Malaysia held firmly to the principle of restorative justice.

"In fact, this also proves the concern of the unity government in giving a second chance to prisoners sentenced to death and life imprisonment to return to society and their families as well as (for) their survival as ordinary people," she said.

Source: thestar.com.my

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https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/09/11/law-on-revision-of-death-sentences-and-life-imprisonment-comes-into-force-on-sept-12

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US, Allied Terrorist Groups Continue To Loot Syria’s Wealth, Strategic Resources: Damascus

 

In this file picture, American military vehicles are seen in an oil-rich region in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah. (Photo via social media)

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10 September 2023

Syria says the United States and its allied Takfiri terrorist groups continue to violate the country's sovereignty and plunder its wealth and strategic natural resources.

Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates made the remark in two identical letters on Sunday, which were addressed to Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres and the rotating President of the Security Council FeritHoxha.

Damascus demanded that the US administration be held accountable for looting the country's riches and be obliged to compensate for the unlawful act.

Syria also called for an end to aggressive practices and violations of international principles and the UN Charter by US occupation troops, who are illegally present in the northeastern part of the country and the strategic southeastern region of al-Tanf.

The letters further noted that Washington and its allied terrorists plunder Syria’s strategic assets in order to increase the strain of unilateral sanctions on Syrian people, prolong their suffering, and deprive them of their national assets.

The Syrian foreign ministry put the damage inflicted on the Syrian oil and mineral sectors as a result of "acts of aggression and sabotage" by US forces and their allied terrorists at $115.2 billion.

The Iraqi political faction affirmed that the presence of US forces in Syria is aimed at supporting terrorist groups there.

The ministry stated that 150,000 barrels of Syrian crude oil are being smuggled out of the country on a daily basis, adding that 59.9 million cubic meters of natural gas as well as 413 thousand tons of refined gas, worth $21.4 billion, have also been stolen.

Moreover, vandalism and theft of specialized equipment have resulted in damages amounting to $3.2 billion.

The US-led military coalition, purportedly formed to fight the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group, has also inflicted losses standing at $2.9 billion on Syria's oil and gas facilities, the letters highlighted.

The value of indirect losses to Syria’s economy amounts to $87.7 billion, which includes lost benefits from crude oil, natural gas and refined gas as a result of a sharp drop in their production, the letters read.

Iran advises the United States to take its military forces out of Syria.

The Syrian foreign ministry also called for an end to the illegal presence of US occupation forces and return of Syria’s energy reserves and natural resources to the Damascus government, so that it can improve the humanitarian and living conditions of Syrians.

The letters came on the same day that the US military used dozens of tankers to smuggle crude oil from Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah to neighboring Iraq.

Syria’s official news agency, SANA, citing local sources in al-Ya'rubiyah town, reported that a convoy of 40 tankers left Syria through the illegal Mahmoudiya border crossing on Sunday, heading towards Iraq.

The sources added that another convoy of US occupation forces, consisting of 55 tankers, rumbled through the same border crossing hours later and entered Iraq.

The US military has stationed forces and equipment in northeastern Syria, with the Pentagon claiming the deployment is aimed at preventing the oil fields in the area from falling into the hands of Daesh terrorists.

Damascus, however, maintains that the unauthorized US deployment is aimed at plundering the country’s rich mineral resources.

Source: presstv.ir

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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/09/10/710617/US,-allied-terrorists-continue-to-loot-Syria%E2%80%99s-strategic-resources,-says-Damascus

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India

Bilateral trade, defence ties feature in talks between Saudi Crown Prince Bin Salman and Prime Minister Modi

Our Web Desk, 11.09.23

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held wide-ranging talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, focussing on shoring up bilateral trade and defence ties.

Bin Salman is currently on a State visit to India following the end of the G20 Summit. Ahead of the talks, the Crown Prince was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Here are the highlights of the discussion between Bin Salman and Modi.

PM holds bilateral talks with Saudi Crown Prince

India-Saudi Arabia partnership crucial for stability, welfare of region and world: PM Modi

We are adding new dimension to our ties in tune with changing times: PM Modi at India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council meeting

Europe-Middle East-India infra project discussed

For India, Saudi Arabia is one of our most important strategic partners: PM Modi in talks with Saudi Crown Prince

Saudi Prince: We have to work together for humanity's benefit

Saudi Prince: Will work diligently for infra projects

'India-Saudi friendship much needed'

Saudi Prince: We're working on future opportunities

Source: telegraphindia.com

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https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/bilateral-trade-defence-ties-feature-in-talks-between-saudi-crown-prince-mohammed-bin-salman-and-prime-minister-narendra-modi/cid/1965384

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Narendra Modi urges Justin Trudeau to cooperate with India in dealing with Khalistani threat in Canada

11.09.23

Anita Joshua

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to cooperate with India in dealing with the threat posed by Khalistani elements in Canada, stating that they posed a threat to the North American country too.

The Prime Minister underscored this during his bilateral meeting with Trudeau on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.

According to an external affairs ministry readout, Modi conveyed India’s strong concerns about continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada, pointing out that they are promoting secessionism and inciting violence against diplomats, damaging diplomatic premises, and threatening the Indian community in Canada and their places of worship.

“The nexus of such forces with organised crime, drug syndicates and human trafficking should be a concern for Canada as well. It is essential for the two countries to cooperate in dealing with such threats," the ministry said.

Source: telegraphindia.com

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https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/prime-minister-narendra-modi-takes-up-khalistani-threat-with-canadian-prime-minister-justin-trudeau/cid/1965239

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3,000 more to be arrested in 2nd round of Assam child marriage crackdown: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

By SukritaBaruah

Guwahati | September 11, 2023

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday announced that the state would launch the second round of its crackdown against child marriage within the next few days, during which he said another 3,000 people would be arrested.

In February this year, the Assam government had launched an unprecedented, punitive crackdown against child marriage in the state in which around 3,141 people had been arrested within a span of a month. Those arrested included men who had married underage girls as well as family members and religious leaders who had facilitated these marriages.

Addressing the National Executive of the BJP Mahila Morcha in Guwahati on Sunday, Sarma said, “Six months ago, I had gotten 5,000 people arrested for child marriage. I was waiting for G-20 [summit to conclude], and now, within 10 days, another 3,000 men will be arrested for child marriage,” he said.

“This (child marriage) needs to be stopped. There is a law made that this should not happen, but if this keeps happening time and again, then the daughters of a particular section will never be able to go ahead. They will always be the targets of oppression,” he added.

Earlier, Sarma had said that the second round of arrests would be specifically targeted at those who have participated in child marriage in the period after the last crackdown earlier this year.

An analysis of records of those arrested in the last crackdown showed that 62.24% of those arrested were Muslims, while the rest were Hindus and people from other communities.

A district-wise break-up of the arrests showed that the top five districts in terms of the number of arrests were Nagaon (224), Hojai (219), Dhubri (217), Baksa (179) and Barpeta (174). In Baksa, a Lower Assam district with a mixed population, Hindus and others constitute 62.64% of those arrested. The other four districts are Muslim-dominated.

“Today, some people say that I am anti-Muslim. But I think that by ending [triple] talaaq, polygamy and child marriage, the amount of work we’re doing for Muslims, no government of the Congress has ever done. We don’t see them as a vote back. We want that there be liberty and freedom for women from oppression,” Sarma said.

Since the last crackdown, Sarma has said on different occasions that the government was working towards “completely eradicating” child marriage in Assam by 2026.

Source: indianexpress.com

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https://indianexpress.com/article/north-east-india/assam/arrest-assam-child-marriage-crackdown-cm-himanta-biswa-sarma-8934571/

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Humayun’s Tomb to Qutub Minar: A day out in Delhi for delegate partners

by Saman Husain , Upasika Singhal

New Delhi : September 10, 2023

As G20 delegates and their spouses visited various monuments in the Capital starting Friday, Humayun’s Tomb seems to have left many, including Argentinian President Alberto Fernández, fascinated.

“The (Argentinian) President felt that the Humayun’s tomb is grander and prettier than even the Taj Mahal…The delegation was extremely fascinated by its beauty,” officials deployed on the field said.

On Saturday, Turkey’s first lady, Emine Erdogan, visited the tomb. She was escorted around the monument by an official from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which had also allotted translators and tour guides to accompany the foreign dignitaries and explain to them the history of various monuments.

A Turkish delegate accompanying the first lady to the 16th-Century monument also drew its parallels with the Taj Mahal. “On a first look, it seems to be a smaller version of the Taj Mahal,” Mariway, who goes by only one name, told The Indian Express.

An ASI official accompanying the entourage told them that Humayun’s Tomb was used as a site to experiment with new architectural concepts, which was eventually perfected by the Taj Mahal.

Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Taj Mahal hotel in Central Delhi, Joe Biden, G20, G20 meet, G20 meeting, G20 Summit, G20 countries, India news, Indian express, Indian express India news, Indian express India The Ertiga car was to report at ITC Maurya, Saturday. PTI

Earlier, on Friday, delegates from the Netherlands, Nigeria, the UAE, and the European Council visited the monument.

The next stop for Erdogan was Qutub Minar, according to officials present at the Qutub Minar complex. Meanwhile, the Argentinian delegation visited the Lodhi Garden.

Two Saudi visitors, Ibrahim and Mohammad, who are accompanying Saudi Arabia’s Prime Minister and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, were present at the Qutub Minar Complex Saturday evening. When asked about the monument, they expressed praise and awe for it. “It has been a good experience to look at the Indian monuments,” Ibrahim said.

In media room, some keep to themselves, others exchange notes At the international media centre. (Express photo by TashiTobgyal)

Several monuments including the Qutub Minar have been beautified for the visit by international dignitaries.

“Every time a delegation visits the monuments, orders are given just half an hour prior to the visit and the whole premises is emptied out… no prior information on which delegation is visiting the monument is provided to us,” an official deployed on the field at the Humayun’s Tomb and Qutub Minar said.

Spouses of the delegates also visited the cottage emporium near Janpath where they were introduced to Indian art and handicrafts, sources said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes US President Joe Biden at the Bharat Mandapam on Saturday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes US President Joe Biden at the Bharat Mandapam on Saturday.

Later in the day, the Turkish first lady visited NanajiDeshmukh Plant Phenomics Centre. She posted on X, formerly Twitter: “We met with the spouses of the world leaders in New Delhi as a part of the G20 Summit in India. We had the opportunity to visit the NanajiDeshmukh Plant Phenomics Centre. At the centre dedicated to the study of plant characteristics, we have been provided with insights regarding plant species and the studies conducted to enhance agricultural yield and promote environmental sustainability. #G20India .”

The spouses of member countries also participated in a unique exhibition organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare at IARI Campus, Pusa, which featured a millet-focused live cooking session led by celebrity chefs. Besides, agricultural technology from prominent Indian startups was displayed. In addition, the guests interacted with Indian women agri-champions at a meet-up titled ‘Agri-Street’.

As the guests entered the premises, they were welcomed by two ‘millet rangolis’.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Bharat Mandapam on Saturday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Bharat Mandapam on Saturday.

At the live cooking session, in keeping with the theme International Year of Millets, celebrity chefs KunalKapur, Anahita Dhondy and Ajay Chopra along with culinary experts from the ITC Group, chef Kusha and chef Nikita, prepared a full-course meal with millets as the starring ingredient.

While chef Anahita created a Raw Banana Barnyard Millet Tikki topped with puffed Amaranth, chef Kunal prepared a Jowar-Mushroom Khichda. For dessert, chef Ajay rustled up Millet Thekua and Lemon Shrikhand Mille-feuille.

The guests received a token of appreciation in the form of a hamper with handwoven stoles crafted from silk sourced from the Sal forests of Chhattisgarh, a handcrafted bell metal figurine created using an ancient wax technique, and a Cheriyal painting.

Source: indianexpress.com

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https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/humayuns-tomb-to-qutub-minar-a-day-out-in-delhi-for-delegate-partners-8932580/

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South Asia

 

Afghanistan’s Quest for Economic Recovery Amidst Challenges

September 11, 2023

Noman Hossain

A few months ago, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Afghanistan’s acting Deputy Prime Minister for economic affairs, thanked the World Bank for its thorough evaluation of the nation’s economy. The international institution highlighted that Afghanistan managed to curtail inflation to 18.3% in 2022, which further subsided to 1.94% in March 2023, down from 3.5% the preceding month. As per the national records, exports between January and April 2023 reached USD 600 million, marking a growth of over 4% from the previous year, whereas imports in the period between January and July 2023 surged by 32% from the same timeframe in 2022.

The promising economic indicators, which include local food production enhancement, banking system improvements, and regularized salaries for public servants, led MawlawiHibatullah Akhundzada, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), to issue a decree on August 22. This decree mandates all ministries and relevant agencies to foster trade facilitation at ports, transit points, and highways, with a keen eye on the country’s commercial and economic interests. The decree further emphasized treating the private sector favorably and prioritizing domestic products to bolster local industry growth and self-sufficiency.

The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI) lauded this decree, with Chairman Mohammad Yunus Momand expressing optimism about future export increases. The ACCI also acknowledged the recent spike in transit transport and made pleas for tax reductions, improved monetary transfer processes abroad, and the promotion of Afghanistan’s clothing manufacturing.

Representatives from the Afghanistan Industry Association highlight the country’s self-sufficiency in 52 sectors, emphasizing the need to address the scarcity of land and energy to bolster local production.

Key economic reforms initiated by the “Taliban 2.0” have contributed to stabilization efforts. These include effective revenue collection, preventing multiple taxation by issuing tax receipts to transporters, and stringent measures against smuggling and corruption.

Despite initial economic downturns, stabilizing signs emerged, attributed partly to UN cash injections for humanitarian assistance, governmental restrictions on illicit imports, and sound macroeconomic management. Yet, the balance remains delicate. A considerable portion of Afghans still struggle to meet basic needs, relying heavily on humanitarian aid.

William Biard, an Afghanistan specialist at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), commends the Taliban’s economic management but warns of potential future declines reminiscent of the chaos post the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021. The economic plunge was aggravated by factors such as the termination of financial aid, sanctions, and freezing of Afghanistan’s foreign exchange reserves.

Remarkably, despite these adversities, the Taliban’s economic governance has outperformed many expectations. A significant catalyst for this resilience is their inheritance of functional macroeconomic institutions. However, their lackluster attention to social service delivery and limited support for the needy are areas of concern, which now heavily depend on international humanitarian aid.

According to USIP’s analysis, Afghanistan’s fragile economy faces threats from declining humanitarian assistance and the effects of the Taliban’s opium poppy cultivation ban. These factors, combined with depleting household coping mechanisms, suggest a challenging winter ahead for Afghanistan.

To bolster economic recovery, USIP recommends sustained humanitarian support, efficient aid usage, and greater international cooperation focused on private sectors and the broader economy.

Source: khaama.com

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https://www.khaama.com/afghanistans-quest-for-economic-recovery-amidst-challenges-87985/

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UN expresses concern over reduction in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan

September 10, 2023

Fidel Rahmati

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) expresses concern about a budget shortage for providing humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. More than 3 6600 children under five years old in Afghanistan are deprived of essential aid packages.

On its social media platform on Sunday, OCHA emphasised that due to the budget shortage, access to primary healthcare services in Afghanistan has decreased by approximately 100,000 people.

OCHA provides statistics indicating that over 3 6600 children under five years old are deprived of humanitarian aid packages in Afghanistan due to insufficient funding.

Furthermore, the UN’s humanitarian aid coordination office said that 173 mobile nutrition and health centres in Afghanistan are at risk of closure due to budget constraints.

According to the agency’s report, out of 944,000 children under five years old, 1.8 million suffer from moderate to severe malnutrition, and 521,934 children under five face severe acute malnutrition, depriving them of essential healthcare services.

Previously, OCHA had reported that one million women and girls in Afghanistan have been deprived of humanitarian assistance.

This is happening when the increase in poverty and hunger, especially among women and children, has become a severe concern in Afghanistan.

Source: khaama.com

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https://www.khaama.com/un-expresses-concern-over-reduction-in-humanitarian-aid-to-afghanistan/

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Afghan diplomat receives demarche for Chitral attack: Pakistani FM

September 10, 2023

Fidel Rahmati

Pakistan’s Caretaker Foreign Minister, Jalil Abbas Jilani, has officially confirmed the issuance of a demarche to the Afghan charge d’affaires in Islamabad. This action comes in response to the recent attack on two military posts in the Lower Chitral district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa earlier this week.

During a press conference, in response to a question about whether the issue had been discussed with the interim Afghan government, it was reported that Pakistan registered a strong protest over the incident. They summoned the Afghan Charge d’Affaires (Cd’A) in Islamabad and handed him a protest note (demarche), as per Dawn.com.

Jilani described the incident as “very unfortunate” and emphasized that Pakistan takes the increase in terrorism seriously. He stated that Afghanistan is responsible for preventing attacks from their territory.

Additionally, he spoke about a “close-knit conversation” with Kabul on an Aaj News show to reduce terrorism and build peace between both nations. He said developments so far were “positive,” and the government was actively trying to bring the two regimes together on the same page.

“Previous governments have worked to some extent in this manner, and now we are developing the existing policy. This is a closed-room dialogue with the Afghan government, and only positive developments have occurred. However, elements from both sides of the border might impact the progress. However, we are moving in the right direction,” he said.

When asked about improving relations with India and Afghanistan, he emphasized that Pakistan is actively working towards peace with neighbouring countries.

“The Indian government needs to cooperate with us on various issues, especially concerning Kashmir. I believe that without active dialogues, which benefit both of us, there will be no concrete solution,” he said.

“Our end goal is to achieve peace, and I am sure they (India and Afghanistan) also want the same,” he concluded, highlighting a shared desire for peace as the ultimate objective in Pakistan’s approach towards its neighbouring countries.

Following the Chitral attack, Pakistani officials have shut down the Torkham crossing border. This move has left Afghan traders and their properties stranded on both sides, with a significant risk of loss. Despite Afghan officials’ calls for the border’s reopening, it remains closed, causing growing concern and uncertainty.

Source: khaama.com

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France respects Bangladesh's policy independence, PM says after talks with Macron

Sep 11, 2023

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said France expressed its reverence and support to Bangladesh's sovereign policy independence, particularly in the context of the ongoing geopolitical instability and economic uncertainty.

"We both hope that this new strategic move between Bangladesh and France will play an effective role in establishing regional and global stability and peace," she said in a joint press briefing after holding bilateral talks at her office with visiting French President Emmanuel Macron.

She said the cornerstone of this new relationship is based on the constitutional and democratic continuity, development and good governance in Bangladesh over the past one and a half decade.

"The Government of France has expressed its satisfaction with the responsible and committed activities of the Government of Bangladesh in protecting the fundamental and human rights of its people," she said.

The prime minister said the confidence of the French government in the spectacular and consistent progress of the Bangladesh's economy was greatly appreciated as well.

She mentioned that France reiterated its commitment to stand by the people and the government of Bangladesh in the implementation of Vision-2041 by continuing privileges for Bangladesh to the trade facilitation of the European Union under GSP+ scheme.

"In our talks, we had detailed discussions aimed at advancing the bilateral relations between the two countries and we were able to reach some consensus," she said.

As leading and responsible resident powers in the Asia and Pacific, the prime minister said Bangladesh and France will act to ensure geopolitical stability of the region.

As a trusted development partner of Bangladesh, Hasina said France has assured Bangladesh of its continued cooperation in infrastructure development.

"Besides, they expressed their interest in providing advanced and specialised technical assistance in building our strategic security infrastructure," the PM said.

She mentioned that Bangladesh welcomed France's leadership in combating the negative effects of climate change and lauded President Macron's call for establishing a sustainable fund.

In addition, she said, there have been effective discussions with France on educational, cultural and linguistic exchanges in the meeting.

Sheikh Hasina, on behalf of the people of Bangladesh, expressed sincere thanks to the French government and the people of France under the leadership of President Macron.

A joint statement on this visit will be issued shortly and further details will be communicated from the responsible levels of the governments of the two countries, she added.

"Today is a historic day in the bilateral relationship between France and Bangladesh that has been evolving for more than five decades," Hasina said.

The prime minister said that the friendly ties that her father, the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman initiated in 1972 have reached a new dimension.

Source: thedailystar.net

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https://www.thedailystar.net/news/news/france-respects-bangladeshs-policy-independence-pm-says-after-talks-macron-3416161

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Sagar-Runi murder: Probe report submission deadline extended for 103rd time

Sep 11, 2023

A Dhaka court today extended till October 15 the deadline for submitting the probe report of a case filed over the murders of journalist couple SagarSarowar and MeherunRuni in February 2012.

This is the 103rd extension of the submission deadline.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate MdRashidul Alam passed the order after Rab Additional Superintendent of Police KhondokerMdShafiqul Alam, also the investigation officer of the case, failed to submit the report today, court sources said.

On August 7 this year, the same court asked Rab to submit the probe report by today.

Earlier, two separate courts expressed dissatisfaction over the probe and the investigators' failure to unearth the motive behind the murders and arrest the real culprits.

Sagar, news editor at private TV channel Maasranga, and his wife Runi, senior reporter at ATN Bangla, were killed in the early hours of February 11, 2012, in their rented flat in the capital's West Razabazar.

Their only son MahirSarowarMegh, then 5, was home at the time. Nousher Ali Roman, Runi's brother, filed a case with Sher-e-Bangla Police Station the following day.

Source: thedailystar.net

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Dhaka, Paris sign bilateral instruments on infrastructure, satellite system

Sep 11, 2023

Dhaka and Paris today signed two bilateral instruments to enhance cooperation in different fields including infrastructure and satellite, officials said.

The documents were inked in presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and France President Emmanuel Macron at Karobi Hall of the Prime Minister's Office.

The agreements are:

1. A Credit Facility Agreement between Economic Relations Division (ERD), Bangladesh and the France Development Agency (AFD), France on "Improving Urban Governance and Infrastructure Program"

2. Letter of Intent (LOI) on Cooperation between Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited (BSCL) and Airbus Defence and Space SAS, France related to Bangabandhu-2 Earth Observation Satellite System.

Earlier in the day, Hasina and Macron held talks to explore new areas of cooperation between the two countries.

Macron, the first French president to visit Bangladesh in 33 years, arrived here in Dhaka on Sunday evening after attending the G20 summit in New Delhi. The French leader is scheduled to leave Dhaka at 2:00pm today.

Francois Mitterrand was the last French president to visit Bangladesh on 22-24 February, 1990.

Total trade between Bangladesh and France soared from 210M€ to 4.9 billion€ today with France being the 5th country for exports.

French companies are now involved in various sectors including engineering, energy, aerospace and water sectors.

Source: thedailystar.net

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https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/diplomacy/news/dhaka-paris-sign-bilateral-instruments-infrastructure-satellite-system-3416181

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Arab World

 

 

King Salman, Crown Prince order air bridge to provide aid to Morocco earthquake victims

September 10, 2023

RIYADH: Under directives issued on Sunday by King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) will operate an air bridge to provide relief aid to Morocco following a deadly earthquake in the country, Saudi Press Agency reported.

Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah confirmed that the assistance provided comes out of the keenness of the king and crown prince to stand by and support those affected by Friday's 6.8 magnitude earthquake.

The disaster has killed more than 2,100 people — a number that is expected to rise.

Al-Rabeeah said a Saudi search and rescue team from the General Directorate of Civil Defense and teams from the Saudi Red Crescent Authority, led by KSrelief, will be sent to participate in relief and humanitarian work for those affected and rescue any survivors.

He added that the gesture was “an extension of the humanitarian role played by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in standing with those affected and in need around the world in various crises and tribulations,” SPA added.

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2371101/saudi-arabia

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Crown Prince Mohammed hints at oil production rise in meeting with Japan’s PM

September 11, 2023

TOKYO: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday that Saudi Arabia may consider an increase in oil production in response to global demand, according to a statement from Japan’s Foreign Ministry.

The two leaders met in India on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.

During the meeting, Kishida said he hopes Saudi Arabia would continue to play a leading role in stabilizing the international crude oil market.

He added that Japan and Saudi Arabia were seeking to further strengthen ties, including on the clean energy “Lighthouse Initiative.” To support this initiative, Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi recently visited the Kingdom.

The crown prince said he was pleased with the outcome of the meeting he had with Kishida during the latter’s visit to Saudi Arabia in July and hoped cooperation would be further strengthened.

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2371321/saudi-arabia

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Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman holds bilateral talks with world leaders on the sidelines of G20 summit in New Delhi

September 10, 2023

NEW DELHI: On the sidelines of the G20 leaders’ summit in the Indian capital New Delhi, which drew to a close on Sunday, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held bilateral talks with several world leaders and their representatives.

The crown prince was in the city to lead the Kingdom’s delegation at the summit before embarking on an official state visit at the invitation of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which will take in trade talks and a business forum.

The crown prince met Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio on Saturday, the parties discussing developments in Saudi-Japanese relations. The nations have enjoyed long-standing cooperation on energy, including hydrogen power.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held bilateral meetings in New Delhi with a number of world leaders, including Japanese PM Kishida Fumio. (SPA)

High-ranking officials from both governments attended the talks, including the Kingdom’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan; National Security Adviser Dr. Musaed Al-Aiban; Minister of Commerce Dr. Majid Al-Qasabi; Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih; and Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan.

The crown prince held talks with Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister of Bangladesh, on Sunday morning, during which he reiterated the Kingdom’s commitment to bolstering relations with the South Asian nation, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2370796/saudi-arabia

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Areeb Capital acquires property west of the Grand Mosque of Makkah for SR521 million

September 10, 2023

Areeb Capital has successfully acquired a property within the Jabal Omar project in Makkah for an impressive sum of SR521 million.

This acquisition was facilitated by one of the company’s real estate funds, overseeing the entire acquisition process.

Areeb Capital is a rapidly expanding group headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with Khalid Al-Jabri serving as the chief executive officer.

The company specializes in innovative investment offerings across Saudi Arabia, Europe, and North Africa.

The property in question is strategically situated approximately 300 meters from the western side of Al-Masjid Al-Haram, also known as “the Grand Mosque of Makkah.”

This mosque holds immense significance as a direction of prayer for millions of Muslims.

Covering an area of 3,065 square meters, the acquired property is designated for the construction of a mixed-use tower, including residential apartments.

The planned tower will boast a total built-up area exceeding 59,668 square meters, with a saleable area of 36,921 square meters.

This substantial acquisition underscores Areeb Capital’s optimistic outlook for the broader Saudi market and, more specifically, the real estate sector in Makkah.

The company’s move aligns seamlessly with the forward-thinking vision of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and the visionary Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Salman.

Areeb Capital’s press release also emphasizes its strong commitment to encouraging foreign investors to participate in Makkah’s real estate sector, in compliance with relevant regulations and laws.

This initiative aims to contribute to the realization of the goals of Vision 2030, the ambitious blueprint for making the Saudi financial market appealing to both domestic and international investors.

By doing so, Areeb Capital will play a pivotal role in driving economic growth and diversifying income sources.

Furthermore, the press release outlines Areeb Capital’s intention to make a portion of this investment available through the “Cadaa” platform, set to launch during the current quarter of 2023.

“Cadaa” is a specialized investment platform designed to provide seamless and reliable access to investments for all segments of the investment community.

It’s worth noting that “Areeb Capital” holds a valid license (number 30-08119) from the Capital Market Authority (CMA) in Saudi Arabia. — SG

Source: saudigazette.com.sa

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Southeast Asia

 

Law on revision of death penalty, life imprisonment comes into force Sept 12

September 11, 2023

A total of 1,020 prisoners who have been sentenced to mandatory death and life imprisonment can now file an application in court to review their respective sentences.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said said this follows the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023 (Act 847) which will come into force tomorrow (Sept 12).

This follows the enforcement of the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 (Act 846) on July 4, 2023.

Azalina said that the Cabinet, on Aug 30, agreed with the mechanism of court proceedings in relation to the revision of mandatory death sentences and life imprisonment as proposed after an engagement with stakeholders.

They include the Attorney General's Chambers, the Federal Court chief registrar's office, the Prisons Department, the National Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK), the Malaysian Bar Council, the Sabah Law Society, the Advocates Association of Sarawak, and the Prime Minister's Department's legal affairs division.

"Priority to the implementation of this mechanism includes factors such as the prisoner’s age, level of health, and the period of imprisonment, as well as other considerations," she said.

She said that one of the agreed mechanisms was that for prisoners who were sentenced to death and were unable to appoint a lawyer to represent them in the sentence review process, they could seek legal services through court-assigned lawyers.

For prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, they can get legal services from YBGK, she said.

"These two legal aid services offered reflect the government's priority and stance in ensuring justice is given to all Malaysians," she said.

She added that the enforcement of Act 847 through the mechanism agreed upon by the Cabinet reflected the government's high commitment to promoting and protecting universal human rights.

"This proves that the principle of restorative justice in the criminal justice system in Malaysia is always maintained.

"This also proves the concern of the Unity Government to give a second chance to prisoners sentenced to death and life imprisonment to return to society and family and continue their survival as ordinary citizens," she said.

Source: malaysianow.com

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https://www.malaysianow.com/news/2023/09/11/law-on-revision-of-death-penalty-life-imprisonment-comes-into-force-sept-12

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Islamic affairs minister: Jakim to develop new halal certification module to produce more professionals in halal field

11 Sep 2023

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 — The Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) is developing a new International Halal Executive Module to produce more professionals in the Halal field.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk MohdNa’im Mokhtar said he was confident that through the renewed module, the country would be able to ‘export’ more professionals in the Halal field to other countries in an effort to develop the Halal industry internationally.

“This is an endorsement to the country because the new developed module can certainly provide added value to new talents, both locally and internationally,” he told reporters after attending a dinner in conjunction with the 13th Convocation of the Halal Certificate Presentation, here last night.

The three-day Halal Convocation which started on Saturday, gathered participants from 84 countries while Jakim presented certificates to participants from 47 countries who were involved.

Meanwhile, Jakim director-general Datuk HakimahMohdYusoff said the department was convinced that the initiative to develop a new module would enhance the Halal certification process in other countries.

“The current module is only a cooperation with the local Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) with factories in other countries,” she said. — Bernama

Source: malaymail.com

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Azalina: Prisoners can start applying for court to review death sentences from tomorrow onwards as new law takes effect

By Ida Lim

11 Sep 2023

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 — Prisoners in Malaysia who had been sentenced to death or to life imprisonment can start applying for the courts to review their sentences from tomorrow onwards, as a new law enabling such reviews by the Federal Court will take effect from tomorrow, minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said today.

Azalina, who is a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of law and institutional reform, said the federal government will enforce the new law — known as the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023 or as Act 847 — on September 12 (tomorrow).

This follows the enforcement of another new law — the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 — on July 4 this year.

Azalina said the Cabinet had on August 30 this year agreed with the mechanism to conduct court proceedings in relation to the revision of mandatory death penalties and life imprisonment which had been proposed following engagement sessions with stakeholders.

She listed the stakeholders as including the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC), the Chief Registrar’s Office of the Federal Court (PKPM), the Malaysia Prisons Department, the National Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK), the Malaysian Bar, the Sabah Law Society, the Advocates Association of Sarawak (AAS) and the Legal Affairs Division in the Prime Minister’s Department (BHEUU JPM).

“The implementation of this mechanism to conduct court proceedings will enable all 1,020 prisoners who had been imposed the mandatory death sentence and life imprisonment, to file applications in court to make revisions on their respective sentences.

“Priority for the implementation of this mechanism covers factors such as prisoners’ age, health levels and length of prisoner’s imprisonment period and other considerations,” she said in a statement today.

To ensure access to justice and to uphold the principle of equality, the federal government — through the agreed mechanism — has agreed that prisoners sentenced to death and who cannot afford to appoint a lawyer to represent them in the revision of their death sentence can obtain legal services through a court-assigned counsel, she said.

As for prisoners who are facing life imprisonment, they can seek legal services from YBGK, she said.

Azalina said both these legal aid services which are being offered reflect the government’s priority and stance in ensuring justice is given to all Malaysians, and that the enforcement of Act 847 — which enables the revision of death and life imprisonment sentences — through the Cabinet-agreed mechanism also reflects the government’s high commitment in promoting and protecting universal fundamental human rights.

“This proves that the principle of restorative justice in Malaysia’s criminal justice system is always upheld,” she said.

“This also proves the Unity Government’s care in giving a second chance to prisoners who were sentenced to the death penalty and life imprisonment to return to society and their family and continue their life as ordinary citizens,” she said.

Both Act 847 and the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 received royal assent on June 9 and were gazetted on June 16.

Under Act 847, the Federal Court cannot review the conviction of anyone who was given the mandatory death sentence, but will have the power to retrospectively review the mandatory death sentences handed down — upon conviction for offences such as murder, drug trafficking, firearm crimes — before Act 847 came into force and even if their pardon application was previously rejected.

“Upon reviewing the application, the Federal Court shall affirm or substitute the sentence of the applicant in accordance with the Penal Code, the Arms Act 1960, the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971, the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and the Kidnapping Act 1961, as amended by the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023,” Act 847 states.

Under Act 847, death row prisoners are allowed to file only once a written application to the Federal Court within 90 days of this law coming into effect to seek a revision of their death sentence, with the Federal Court empowered to grant an extension of the timeline for the filing of the revision application if there are good reasons to do so.

Similarly, those who have been sentenced with life imprisonment can only apply once in writing within 90 days of the law coming into effect to the Federal Court, and with the Federal Court also able to extend the deadline for filing if there are good reasons.

Under Act 847, the Federal Court is to substitute the life sentence of prisoners who applied for a revision of their sentence with imprisonment between 30 years to 40 years.

Source: malaymail.com

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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2023/09/11/azalina-prisoners-can-start-applying-for-court-to-review-death-sentences-from-tomorrow-onwards-as-new-law-takes-effect/90171

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PM Lee: Multilateralism hit by tensions between major powers, but Singapore has made progress with ‘like-minded friends’

11 Sep 2023

NEW DELHI, Sept 11 — While tensions between major powers have affected multilateral cooperation, what Singapore has done is to work with “like-minded friends”, and there has been progress as a result, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday.

He noted that multilateralism is based on a mutual desire to achieve win-win outcomes.

“But if there’s not the trust or if there’s not the goodwill, or in some cases where you’re in conflict with one another, ‘I don’t want win-win, I want win-lose’. And so that makes it very difficult to do multilateral cooperation,” he said to the media at the end of his three-day working visit to New Delhi, India, where he attended the Group of 20 (G20) Leaders’ Summit.

But despite the current environment, smaller groups of “like-minded” people can still come together to make progress “on a second-best basis”.

“Not everyone is there, but those of us who are all participating, we can work together. And I think that is happening,” said Lee.

On Singapore’s part, while it “would much prefer” to have a big framework that works for everyone, it acknowledges how things are in the current global situation.

“So in this environment, we do our best to make friends and in the bilaterals... to see what we can work out,” he said.

Lee cited the developments between Singapore and the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom as examples of how progress has been made in the current environment.

Earlier on Sunday, Lee met with the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. They reafffirmed warm relations between Singapore and the EU, and welcomed the recent launch of negotiations for the EU-Singapore Digital Trade Agreement, said a spokesperson from Singapore’s Prime Minister’s Office.

Both leaders also “exchanged views on the global geopolitical outlook and reaffirmed the importance of upholding the rules-based multilateral order”.

Lee said that in such bilateral discussions, on top of the interest in finding specific areas of cooperation, there is also interest in “exchanging views, understanding their perspectives on our region, and they wanting our perspective on what’s happening in the world”.

“And I think that these are very valuable contacts,” he said.

Singapore is not a member of the grouping but has been regularly invited to the annual summit and its related meetings. Lee attended the summit at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in India’s capacity as G20 president for 2023.

Over the weekend, Lee spoke to an audience of global leaders about tackling climate change, as well as the challenges facing multilateralism and how to overcome them.

He also held bilateral meetings with various leaders on the sidelines of the summit. They include UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, with whom Lee issued a joint declaration on Saturday upgrading bilateral relations between the two countries to a “strategic relationship”.

G20 communique: Principles laid out, but substance takes time

The G20 leaders adopted a consensus declaration at the end of the first day of the summit on Saturday. It covered a broad range of issues including the war in Ukraine, but refrained from condemning Russia for the conflict.

Commenting on the declaration, Lee said that many areas of desired cooperation were “comprehensively covered”, be it on artificial intelligence, the reform of the United Nations or multilateral development.

“We also put in principles, how to address them, but the specifics of it, the actual substance of the cooperation, I think that progress takes a lot of time in this environment,” he said.

Distrust between nations partly explains why certain deals cannot be achieved, said Lee.

“But it’s also because ‘I don’t want you to have a successful result. And so I would rather there not be an outcome than there would be an outcome’. There is some of this dynamic in play,” he added.

Given this context, Lee said G20 did well to have a communique and to have a meeting where views over substantive issues could be ventilated.

Notably absent from this year’s summit were Chinese President Xi Jinping — the first time that he has skipped G20 — and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Chinese premier Li Qiang and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov attended in their stead respectively.

On China — which currently has tense relations with the United States — Lee noted how US President Joe Biden said “it would be better” if Xi had attended the summit.

“Nevertheless, the discussions... proceeded. Premier Li Qiang was here. So as far as engagements are concerned, I think the discussions proceeded,” he said.

“I do not know the reasons why President Xi was not able to come or President Putin, but obviously it would have been better if they were here.”

The Prime Minister said that as the world environment becomes more complex, global leaders will continue to find opportunities to cooperate on.

And while not every collaboration would yield great results, progress will still be made, said Lee.

India has held the rotating presidency of the G20 since Dec 1 when it took over from Indonesia. On Sunday, Modi handed over the ceremonial gavel of the presidency to Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who will assume presidency for 2024. — TODAY

Source: malaymail.com

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Tahfiz fire murder appeals: Court upholds jail sentence of one youth, acquittal of another

11 Sep 2023

TEH ATHIRA YUSOF

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has upheld the prison sentence on the youth found guilty of killing 23 people in a fire at the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah Tahfiz Centre in 2017.

It also upheld the acquittal of another youth charged in the same incident.

The three-judge panel chaired by Justice Datuk Abu Bakar Jais who sat together with Justices Datuk CheMohdRuzima Ghazali and Datuk See Mee Chun made both decisions unanimously on Monday (Sept 11).

On Aug 17, 2020, the first teenager, now 22, was convicted by the High Court for the murders and ordered to be detained at the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

At the same time, the High Court acquitted and discharged the other teenager, also aged 22 now, for the same offence without calling him to enter his defence.

The convicted youth subsequently filed an appeal against the conviction while the prosecution appealed against the acquittal of the second accused.

Justice CheMohdRuzima, in reading the judgment, said the High Court’s decision must be upheld as it did not err in its decision to convict and sentence the accused.

Ruzima said the panel agreed with the High Court findings on closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage which decided the evidence presented by the prosecution was strong.

The CCTV footage from four different locations, namely a nearby Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia (PPIM) office, a petrol station, snooker centre, and the appellant’s neighbour proved that he (the appellant) was involved in causing the fire intentionally.

“It (the CCTV) only points to one direction which is that PKK1 (the appellant) climbed over the back fence of the tahfiz school together with an unidentified individual to start the fire, causing 23 deaths.

“With that the appellant’s appeal is rejected since there was no argument presented by the defence regarding the sentence (jail) issued by the High Court, so the decision is upheld,” he said.

On the Court of Appeal's decision on the appeal by the prosecution, Justice CheMohdRuzima said there was no reason to change the High Court's acquittal of the co-accused.

The High Court verdict found it was difficult to ascertain that the co-accused was present at the scene during the particular time of the fire based on testimonies of prosecution witnesses and CCTV footage, he said.

“The decision... to release and acquit PKK2 (the co-accused) of all 23 charges at the end of the prosecution case is correct in terms of facts and law.

“Therefore, the prosecutor’s appeal is without merit and should be rejected, the decision of the High Court is upheld,” he said.

On May 11 this year, in appealing against the acquittal, deputy public prosecutor How May Ling argued that the fire must have been caused by more than one perpetrator because it was impossible for a teenager to lift two gas cylinders weighing 28kg at one go.

How said one gas cylinder was placed vertically and the other horizontally in front of a door before petrol was poured and an active lighter was placed there.

Haijan Omar, counsel for both the accused, argued that there were no witnesses who testified that the convicted youth had set the school on fire, adding that the prosecution only relied on circumstantial evidence.

The prosecution called a total of 71 witnesses, while six defence witnesses were called to testify throughout the trial which began on May 30, 2018.

According to the original charges, both teenagers, together with another unidentified individual, were accused of murdering and causing the death of 23 people – 21 students and two teachers – at the tahfizcentre at JalanKeramatHujung, Kampung Datuk Keramat, WangsaMaju here, between 4.15am and 6.45am on Sept 14, 2017.

They were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, read together with Section 34, which provides for the mandatory death penalty upon conviction.

However, Section 97(1) of the Children's Act 2001 provides that offenders under the age of 18 cannot be subjected to the death penalty, which can be replaced with a prison sentence as long as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong approves, in accordance with Section 97(2) of the same Act.

Source: thestar.com.my

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Speaker's rejection on Zahid's DNAA motion sends out negative message, says MCA

Olivia Miwil

September 11, 2023

KOTA KINABALU: Dewan Rakyat's rejection over the motion to discuss the Attorney-General's (AG) explanation on the discharge of Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's corruption case will send out a negative message to the people.

Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research (Insap) deputy chairman Datuk Dr Pamela Yong said it does not bode well for the government to not address the people's concerns head on.

"In view that Ahmad Zahid is also the deputy prime minister, she is most concerned with the decision of the speaker today and the negative message and impact that comes with it.

"And this will most definitely affect the people's confidence towards this unity government.

"Therefore, it really is prudent and imperative for Ahmad Zahid and Umno to come forward to explain and convince the people otherwise," she said in a statement.

Yong, who is also MCA deputy secretary-general, said that most people are hiding behind the excuse that it was the court's decision to drop Ahmad Zahid's case.

She added that till today, there has yet to be a clear and convincing explanation with regards to the dismissal of Ahmad Zahid.

"We are all ignoring the white elephant in the room, which is the repercussions and the negative impact it has on Umno and Barisan Nasional as a whole, with MCA, MIC, and PBRS being the BN component parties, all included.

"And in the absence of this, the controversy and the negative repercussions regarding his dismissal continues to snowball, stripping further the trust deficit of the people towards BN dragging the component parties- MCA included- down with it."

On Sept 4, Ahmad Zahid was freed from all 47 corruption charges for misappropriating funds belonging to Yayasan Akal Budi (YAB).

Source: nst.com.my

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North America

 

US, allied terrorist groups continue to loot Syria’s wealth, strategic resources: Damascus

10 September 2023

Syria says the United States and its allied Takfiri terrorist groups continue to violate the country's sovereignty and plunder its wealth and strategic natural resources.

Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates made the remark in two identical letters on Sunday, which were addressed to Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres and the rotating President of the Security Council FeritHoxha.

Damascus demanded that the US administration be held accountable for looting the country's riches and be obliged to compensate for the unlawful act.

Syria also called for an end to aggressive practices and violations of international principles and the UN Charter by US occupation troops, who are illegally present in the northeastern part of the country and the strategic southeastern region of al-Tanf.

The letters further noted that Washington and its allied terrorists plunder Syria’s strategic assets in order to increase the strain of unilateral sanctions on Syrian people, prolong their suffering, and deprive them of their national assets.

The Syrian foreign ministry put the damage inflicted on the Syrian oil and mineral sectors as a result of "acts of aggression and sabotage" by US forces and their allied terrorists at $115.2 billion.

The Iraqi political faction affirmed that the presence of US forces in Syria is aimed at supporting terrorist groups there.

The ministry stated that 150,000 barrels of Syrian crude oil are being smuggled out of the country on a daily basis, adding that 59.9 million cubic meters of natural gas as well as 413 thousand tons of refined gas, worth $21.4 billion, have also been stolen.

Moreover, vandalism and theft of specialized equipment have resulted in damages amounting to $3.2 billion.

The US-led military coalition, purportedly formed to fight the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group, has also inflicted losses standing at $2.9 billion on Syria's oil and gas facilities, the letters highlighted.

The value of indirect losses to Syria’s economy amounts to $87.7 billion, which includes lost benefits from crude oil, natural gas and refined gas as a result of a sharp drop in their production, the letters read.

Iran advises the United States to take its military forces out of Syria.

The Syrian foreign ministry also called for an end to the illegal presence of US occupation forces and return of Syria’s energy reserves and natural resources to the Damascus government, so that it can improve the humanitarian and living conditions of Syrians.

The letters came on the same day that the US military used dozens of tankers to smuggle crude oil from Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah to neighboring Iraq.

Syria’s official news agency, SANA, citing local sources in al-Ya'rubiyah town, reported that a convoy of 40 tankers left Syria through the illegal Mahmoudiya border crossing on Sunday, heading towards Iraq.

The sources added that another convoy of US occupation forces, consisting of 55 tankers, rumbled through the same border crossing hours later and entered Iraq.

The US military has stationed forces and equipment in northeastern Syria, with the Pentagon claiming the deployment is aimed at preventing the oil fields in the area from falling into the hands of Daesh terrorists.

Damascus, however, maintains that the unauthorized US deployment is aimed at plundering the country’s rich mineral resources.

Source: presstv.ir

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‘US to support economic recovery in Pakistan’

September 11, 2023

WASHINGTON: US Senator Chris Van Hollen has said that the United States played a “very instrumental” role in arranging the latest economic relief to Pakistan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and would continue to support Islamabad’s efforts to stabilise its economy.

At the annual meeting of the DC, Maryland, Virginia (DMV) chapter of the Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America (APPNA), Senator Van Hollen, who was born in Karachi, also underlined the need for an enduring relationship between the United States and Pakistan.

“The United States has been very instrumental in making sure that the IMF came forward with its emergency economic relief,” said the US senator while talking to Pakistani journalists at the annual APPNA dinner.

“Obviously, there are continuing challenges, but the United States recognizes that a good relationship between the United States and Pakistan is important to Pakistan and the United States, to regional stability and to security around the world,” he added.

In July this year, the IMF approved a 9-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) for Pakistan for an amount of about $3 billion — 111 per cent of the country’s quota — to support the government’s economic stabilisation programme and, as the senator said, Washington played a key role in arranging this deal.

The Biden administration, he said, was supporting Pakistan’s efforts to stabilise its economy because “it wants to have very strong bilateral relations with Pakistan. And this is why in the aftermath of the terrible flooding, you saw a substantial US response”.

Mr Van Hollen who, like President Joe Biden, is also a Democrat, assured Islamabad that the Biden administration had no intentions of interfering in the internal politics of Pakistan and was never involved in political engineering.

“Let me be clear, the Biden administration was not interfering in Pakistani politics,” said the US lawmaker when asked about the US role in Pakistani politics.

“I have been in regular communications with the Biden administration over a period of time and I can say with great confidence that they were not trying to engineer anything with respect to Pakistan’s politics.”

The dispute about the alleged US involvement in former prime minister Imran Khan’s ouster refuses to go away as PTI supporters continue to raise it at various fora, including news briefings and congressional panels.

In Pakistan, Mr Khan is being investigated for allegedly leaking a diplomatic cipher that the party chief claimed contained the evidence of US involvement in his ouster from power in April last year through a no-confidence vote.

This has further galvanized PTI supporters, as was evident at Senator Van Hollen’s press talks where he was persuaded to respond to several questions about the Cipher controversy and the Biden administration’s alleged role in Pakistani politics.

“The main message is … it’s up to the people of Pakistan to decide their leaders,” said the senator when asked what his message to Pakistani authorities was.

“In order to make sure that the will of the people of Pakistan is heard and reflected, there absolutely need to be fair and free elections.,” he said.

Explaining America’s position on the current political turmoil in Pakistan, he said: “The United States and other democracies, and most of the people of Pakistan have an interest in making sure that the elections are free and fair.”

He said that as a US senator, he was “watching things closely” and felt that “it’s very important … most of all to the people of Pakistan … that there be free and fair elections”.

Source: dawn.com

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https://www.dawn.com/news/1775245

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US, Vietnam agree to deepen ties as China worries grow

11 Sep 2023

HANOI, Sept 11 — US President Joe Biden hailed closer ties with Vietnam on Sunday as the two countries struck a deal to deepen cooperation, including on semiconductors, but said he was not aiming to contain China.

The “comprehensive strategic partnership” with Hanoi is part of Washington’s push to bolster its network of allies around Asia and the Pacific in the face of Beijing’s rising influence.

Biden accused Beijing of seeking to bend the international order to its will.

“One of the things that is going on now is China is beginning to change some of the rules of the game, in terms of trade and other issues,” Biden said.

Sometimes to Beijing’s chagrin, Washington has invested heavily in building alliances as part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, including the Quad security dialogue with India, Australia and Japan, and the AUKUS pact with Britain and Australia.

Biden said he wanted establish clear ground rules for relations.

“I don’t want to contain China. I just want to make sure we have a relationship with China that is on the up and up, squared away, everybody knows what it’s all about,” he said.

Biden flew in to Hanoi straight from a G20 summit that failed to agree to a phase-out of fossil fuels and highlighted deep divisions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The US president said he had met Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the G20 — a meeting the White House had not announced — and discussed “stability”.

Semiconductor deal

Global supply chain shocks and fears about US reliance on China for strategic resources have further driven the push to boost ties with the likes of Vietnam.

The new partnership includes an agreement on semiconductors, with the United States committing to help Vietnam develop its capabilities and expand production.

There is also a section on rare earth minerals, which used in the manufacture of high-tech devices such as smartphones and electric car batteries.

Vietnam has the world’s second-largest deposits of rare earths after China and US officials say it has a key role to play as it looks to diversify and strengthen its supply chains.

Biden moved last month to restrict US investment in Chinese technology in sensitive areas including semiconductors, quantum computing and artificial intelligence.

“This can be the beginning of even a greater era of cooperation,” Biden said as he met Nguyen PhuTrong, the head of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party and the country’s paramount leader.

“Vietnam and the United States are critical partners at what I would argue is a very critical time.”

The deal puts the United States on a par with China — as well as Russia, India and South Korea — at the top level of the Vietnamese hierarchy of diplomatic relations.

Trong thanked Biden for his contribution to improving US-Vietnamese ties and said his country would work hard to implement the new agreement.

Although it is careful to be seen as not taking sides between the United States and China, Vietnam shares US concerns about its neighbour’s growing assertiveness in the contested South China Sea.

However, The New York Times reported just ahead of Biden’s visit that Vietnam was secretly arranging to buy arms from Russia in contravention of US sanctions.

The report cited a Vietnamese finance ministry document that laid out plans to fund arms purchases from the Kremlin through a joint oil and gas project in Siberia.

AFP has contacted the Vietnamese government for comment.

US Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer told reporters that Washington acknowledged Vietnam’s decades-long military relationship with Russia.

But he said there was “increasing discomfort on the part of the Vietnamese with that relationship”, and the new partnership would help Hanoi “diversify away from those partnerships” by allowing it to source from the United States and its allies.

Human rights

Biden said he had raised human rights in his meeting with Trong and pledged to “continue our candid dialogue in that regard”.

Vietnam has a dire rights record. Government critics face intimidation, harassment and imprisonment after unfair trials, and there are reports of police torture to extract confessions, Human Rights Watch says.

While Biden has often criticised China’s human rights record, he has largely stayed quiet on Vietnam and campaigners feared he may not raise the subject.

On Monday Biden visit a Hanoi memorial to his friend John McCain, the former US senator shot down and held captive during the Vietnam War who in later years helped rebuild ties between the two countries. — AFP

Source: malaymail.com

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Escaped US killer seen farther afield with new look: Police

September 11, 2023

WASHINGTON: As an intense US manhunt for an escaped killer entered its 11th day, Pennsylvania authorities on Sunday released security camera pictures showing the man had slipped through a search perimeter and changed his look.

DaneloCavalcante's escape from the Chester County Prison in the northeastern US state sparked a huge search, with hundreds of law enforcement officers as well as helicopters, drones and search dogs out in force, while fearful locals locked their doors.

But photos released Sunday showed the 34-year-old Brazilian national was no longer sporting the dark beard and mustache seen in his original "wanted" poster.

"He is now clean-shaven and was wearing a yellow or green hooded sweatshirt, black baseball style hat, green prison pants and white shoes," said a statement from the Pennsylvania State Police.

Authorities posted four pictures of Cavalcante, all apparently taken by a door-mounted camera as he stood or sat on a house porch.

Police said the convicted murderer had reportedly been seen overnight near the town of Phoenixville, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of the prison and about 30 miles northwest of the major metropolis of Philadelphia.

Phoenixville is the town where Cavalcante killed his girlfriend, Deborah Brandao, in April 2021. He had lived nearby.

Authorities had previously said that Brandao's relatives in the area were under 24-hour protection.

Police said Sunday that the escapee was driving a 2020 White Ford Transit van, reportedly stolen from a dairy in West Chester. But he abandoned it apparently because of a lack of fuel, said Lt. Col, George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police.

Early Sunday, a reporter for the NBC affiliate in Philadelphia who drove through the area said the only cars seen on the road were from law enforcement agencies. Police carrying long guns were checking the area in the pre-dawn dark.

There have been several sightings of the convict so far, including some in which he was shirtless.

This week state and local police as well as federal authorities searched in Kennett Square in suburban Philadelphia, where the fugitive had been seen near a botanical garden. They used drones, helicopters and sniffer dogs, but he still gave them the slip.

"No perimeter is 100 percent secure, ever," said Bivens, explaining the failure to catch the man.

"Unfortunately there are a lot of circumstances. There are a lot of issues associated with that property. Tunnels, very large drainage ditches, things that could not be secured," he added.

Bivens said bad weather hampered the search from the air.

"In the end I am confident we will capture him," Bivens said.

He said Cavalcante had tried to contact two acquaintances in the Phoenixville area and they called the police. Bivens said the fugitive's sister, who was in the country without papers, has been arrested.

On Wednesday, prison officials released a video showing how Cavalcante, who was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his girlfriend, was able to make his escape.

It shows the convict, then wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, crab-walking up two parallel walls and then climbing to the roof before making his way over two razor-wire fences. –AFP

Source: nst.com.my

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Canada’s Trudeau stuck in India after aircraft breaks down

11 Sep 2023

NEW DELHI, Sept 11 — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his entire delegation were forced to extend their stay in New Delhi for the G20 summit by an extra day Sunday when his aircraft broke down, Canadian officials confirmed.

Trudeau arrived in India for the meeting of the leaders of 20 leading economies on Friday.

He was due to return home Sunday after laying a wreath at a memorial to Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, but a mechanical fault kept him in India overnight.

The Canadian High Commission in New Delhi referred AFP to a statement from Trudeau’s office saying that the Canadian air force, which operates the plane, had informed the delegation it “was experiencing technical difficulties”.

“These issues are not fixable overnight, our delegation will be staying in India until alternative arrangements are made,” it added.

Canada’s CTV identified the plane as an Airbus, saying it was not clear when it would be able to return, adding it “isn’t the first time” it had had problems.

Trudeau’s presence at the G20 summit was lower-key than some of his G7 counterparts, and came against a backdrop of tensions between his government and host India over Ottawa’s handling of rightwing Sikh separatists.

New Delhi accuses Ottawa of turning a blind eye to the activities of radical Sikh nationalists who seek a separate Sikh homeland in northern India. — AFP

Source: malaymail.com

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US president and ‘Stalin’ shake hands at G20

September 11, 2023

NEW DELHI: A Stalin shook hands with a US president for the first time in decades on the sidelines of the G20 summit in India at the weekend.

Rather than the long-dead former Soviet dictator, the guests at the all-vegetarian G20 gala dinner in New Delhi included the chief minister of Tamil Nadu state, M.K. Stalin, as well as US President Joe Biden.

M.K. Stalin was born in 1953, days before Joseph Stalin died and was named by his father after the Soviet leader.

The smiling Indian minister posted a picture of himself shaking hands with Biden at Saturday’s dinner, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi standing alongside.

But he refrained from making any historical references on X, captioning it simply: “Attended the #G20Dinner at Kaveri Table hosted by Hon’ble President of India.”

Others were less restrained. X user psychicsoul2 replied: “Amazing, a US president is meeting a Stalin after WW2.”

The United States and the Soviet Union’s World War II alliance rapidly broke down after the defeats of Germany and Japan, to be replaced by the Cold War.

India was officially non-aligned, but leaned more towards the Soviet Union during the period, and Moscow remains by far its biggest arms supplier.

Russian monikers are not unheard of in India, particularly in the south, including both Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Kerala, which has elected Communist governments for much of the past six decades.

In 2021, a man named Engels married in Kerala with his friends Marx, Lenin and Ho Chi Minh looking on. And a wedding in M.K. Stalin’s state the same year saw Socialism married off in front of brothers Communism, Leninism and Marxism.

Source: dawn.com

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Pakistan

 

Caretaker govt plays down escalation in acts of terror

September 11, 2023

Syed Irfan Raza

ISLAMABAD: As Pakistan faces a surge in terrorist attacks, caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti on Sunday downplayed the increase in militancy, saying there was no need for alarm as “a little surge [in terrorism] is not so big as to make us panic”.

The statement by the interim minister came amid reports of almost daily skirmishes between the security forces and terrorists — the most recent being the infiltration attempt in Chitral in which over a dozen attackers were killed while several troops embraced martyrdom.

Speaking about the Chitral attack at a press conference flanked by interim Information Minister Murtaza Solangi, MrBugti confirmed that Afghan soil was being used against Pakistan to foment violence.

He hoped the Afghan government would uphold the Doha agreement, ensuring that its soil was not used against anyone.

In reply to a question, MrBugti said it was confirmed that the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan’s attack was launched from Afghanistan, but the government had yet to ascertain whether only the TTP members conducted the attack or Afghan nationals were also involved in it.

“It doesn’t matter who carried out the attack. For us they are all terrorists,” he added.

The minister vowed that the country’s security forces will respond to such attacks in future in a befitting manner. “Our response will be visible.”

The minister commended the Pakistan Army’s swift response and the Chitralis’ resilience against terrorism. “The government will not allow anyone to impose their agenda through force and will defend every inch of the territory,” he said.

Crackdown on hoarders

MrBugti said the government had decided to launch a massive crackdown on smugglers, hoarders and illegal immigrants while also announcing a cash reward for those citizens who will provide information on these activities.

About the prize money for informers, he said: “We are announcing prize money for those people … who become our informants and tell us where smuggling and hoarding, [including] of dollars, is happening. We are also setting prize money for [information] on illegal immigrants and the FIA (Federal Investigation Agency) is leading that [initiative].”

He said a toll-free number would be set up at the FIA and interior ministry on which any Pakistani could call to help the government.

He said the action was also underway against culprits who had resorted to hoarding and artificially setting prices of items such as wheat and sugar.

The interim minister said the FIA has arrested 59 accused for being involved in hundi/hawala businesses and 49 cases have been registered. “We will public their names through media,” he added.

“The entire cabinet and government have decided that all of our institutions and provincial governments will go to the extreme against these evils of smuggling and hoarding.”

MrBugti said a “zero-tolerance” policy would be adopted against all hoarders and smugglers, adding that the culprits would be sent to jail, prosecuted and sentenced.

“It is shameful that these people are living among us and doing these things to the people of our country,” he stated.

The minister added that even stricter punishments would be meted out to those members of his ministry who were involved in such activities.

About the abduction of six teenage football players in Balochistan, the minister claimed that the players were kidnapped by the banned Balochistan Republican Army and efforts were underway for their recovery.

On Thursday, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar said a crackdown to prevent cross-border smuggling was initiated across the country.

“The crackdowns carried out during the last 48 hours against smuggling have yielded positive results,” the premier had said without giving any further details.

Source: dawn.com

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'Govt launches massive crackdown against hoarders, smugglers across country'

September 11, 2023

Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti has announced to launch a massive crackdown against hoarders and said that there will be zero tolerance against smuggling and hoarding.

Addressing a news conference, along with Caretaker Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi, in Islamabad, he said all the state institutions and provincial authorities are committed to go to any extent to eradicate the menaces of smuggling and hoarding from the face of the motherland.

The Interior Minister further said operation, against smuggling of wheat, sugar, urea, dollars and other commodities, has been continuing and the government recovered sugar and urea worth thousands of metric tons in various parts of the country.

He said 59 people involved in the illegal business of hawala hundi, have also been arrested. But, what an irony it is that now the elements involved in smuggling have started hoarding of various things. However, he made it clear that no one would be spared and the state machinery is determined to curb smuggling and hoarding.

SarfarazBugti also announced price money for Pakistani citizens, who will help the government authorities, in identifying smuggling rackets. He said action will also be taken against illegal immigrants in the country and soon price money will be announced in this regard.

To a question regarding terrorists' attacks from Afghanistan, Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti urged the Afghan government to abide by the Doha Agreement which ensures that Afghan soil will not be used against any country.

He said every inch of the country will be defended.

Source: radio.gov.pk

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Death anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah being observed today

September 11, 2023

The 75th death anniversary of father of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah is being observed with due solemnity today.

In this connection, Quran Khawani and Fateha Khawani will be held at the Mazar-e-Quaid in Karachi.

Radio Pakistan and Pakistan Television are broadcasting special programmes on this occasion to pay tribute to Quaid-e-Azam for his unmatched services for freedom of Pakistan.

Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah passed away on this day in 1948 shortly after achieving freedom for the nation.

President Dr Arif Alvi has reiterated commitment to make Pakistan a modern Islamic welfare state in accordance with the vision of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

In his message on the occasion of death anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam, he said we will have to follow the golden principles of the founding father for the development of Pakistan. He said there is a need to work for the welfare of women, youth and weaker segments of the society.

The President said attention must be focused on providing education and eradication poverty to make Pakistan a great country.

In his message on death anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said there is no better way to pay homage to the founder of Pakistan than to make Pakistan an Islamic welfare state.

Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said we have to eliminate all kinds of differences and work together day and night for development of Pakistan.

He said Pakistan is currently going through a difficult period and we need to adhere to the principles of founder of the nation as much as ever.

Source: radio.gov.pk

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https://www.radio.gov.pk/11-09-2023/death-anniversary-of-quaid-e-azam-muhammad-ali-jinnah-being-observed-today

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Four killed in road accident in Zhob District

September 10, 2023

Four persons, including Chairman Municipal Committee Zhob Khan Nasar, are killed in a roadside accident at Sura Pul area of District Zhob on Sunday.

Caretaker Chief Minister Balochistan Ali Mardan Khan Domki has expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious human lives in the accident.

He expressed sympathies with bereaved families and prayed for the departed souls.

Source: radio.gov.pk

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https://www.radio.gov.pk/10-09-2023/four-killed-in-road-accident-in-zhob-district

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No criminal should be spared: Sarfraz Bugti

September 10, 2023

Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti says no effort should be spared in disposing of criminal elements in the country.

He stated this in a statement issued on Sunday while expressing sorrow and grief over martyrdom of police constable Adeel Zafar in an encounter with dacoits in Rawat.

Interior Minister paid tributes to Constable Adeel Zafar for sacrificing his life in the line of duty.

The Minister also prayed for the early recovery of police officers who got injured during this operation.

He issued instructions for providing best medical facilities to the injured.

Source: radio.gov.pk

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https://www.radio.gov.pk/10-09-2023/no-criminal-should-be-spared-sarfraz-bugti

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7 terrorists killed in Chitral gun battle: ISPR

September 11, 2023

RAWALPINDI: Security forces killed seven terrorists while another six were critically injured in an exchange of fire in Ursoon, Chitral district.

On September 9, a firing exchange took place between security forces and terrorists in general area of Ursoon, Chitral District, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

Troops effectively engaged terrorists’ location and after an intense exchange of fire, seven terrorists were killed while another six were critically injured.

Sanitisation of the area is being carried out to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area. Locals of the area appreciated the operation by security forces and expressed their full support to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country.

Source: thenews.com.pk

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https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1108648-7-terrorists-killed-in-chitral-gun-battle-ispr

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No headway in talks on Torkham issue

Kamran Yousaf

September 10, 2023

ISLAMABAD:The main crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan remained closed on Sunday for the 5th day as talks between the two countries to reopen the border remained inconclusive.

The Torkham border crossing was shut on September 6 after an exchange of fire between the Pakistan and Afghan border security forces.

The clashes were triggered by the construction of a new post along the border by the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan deems this construction as a violation of understanding between the two countries.

The Afghan Taliban said at least 2 of their border guards were killed in the exchange of fire. The border has remained shut since then.

Read more: Torkham border shuts after Pakistan-Afghanistan skirmish

The two sides held talks to reopen the border on Sunday but these talks ended without any agreement.

Sources said the Pakistani side informed the Taliban officials that a decision to reopen the border would be taken by the federal government.

There is no official word yet from the government over the impasse. But officials privately said Pakistan would not accept any construction of post that challenges its territorial sovereignty.

The Afghan government on Saturday issued a statement expressing concerns over the closure of the border, saying it was causing huge losses to the businessmen. Kabul has sought negotiations to resolve the issue.

Hundreds of trucks and trawlers have remained stranded on both sides of the border crossing while people who use the route for travel have also been suffering since last Wednesday.

Read more: Torkham border crossing closed, residents report gunfire

The closure of the border following the clashes highlights the troubled relationship between Pakistan and the interim Afghan Taliban government.

The day Pakistan and Afghan forces exchanged fire at Torkham, hundreds of terrorists from across the border attacked border posts in Chitral district. At least 12 terrorists from the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were killed while 4 Pakistani security personnel embraced martyrdom.

On Saturday, Pakistani security forces and terrorists clashed in the general area of Chitral, leaving at least seven militants dead.

The latest encounter suggested that the TTP terrorists seem to have managed to enter Chitral.

Pakistan has also issued a demarche to the Afghan Charge D’affaires over the Chitral attack, asking Kabul to tackle the TTP threat. The Afghan Taliban spokesperson, however, denied Afghan soil was used in the Chitral attack.

The evidence suggested otherwise as the TTP chief could be seen in a video directing the militants, who carried out the Chitral attack. Pakistan seems to have hardened its stance on the TTP issue and has been putting pressure on the Afghan Taliban.

 Some observers believe that it is possible Pakistan has kept the Torkham border shut to pressure the Afghan Taliban into taking action against the TTP.

Torkham border crossing is a financial lifeline for landlocked Afghanistan.

Its closure means that the economic situation of Afghanistan would only worsen at a time when the Taliban regime is still under sanctions by the West.

Source: tribune.com.pk

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https://tribune.com.pk/story/2435177/no-headway-in-talks-on-torkham-issue

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Mideast

 

Hezbollah: Israel to benefit from hostilities in Palestinian refugee camp

10 September 2023

A high-ranking official with the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has expressed regret about continued tension at a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, saying the Israeli regime is the only side to benefit from hostilities and clashes within Palestinian factions.

Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem said on Sunday that the armed clashes in the Ain al-Hilweh camp in southern Lebanon would lead to no victory and serve the regime’s interests.

“We feel so much regret about the conflicts in Ain al-Hilweh because these clashes are between Palestinian brothers and have environmental effects,” Qassem said.

“Undoubtedly, these incidents will not win any victory and none of the involved parties will benefit from them,” he said. “These events are only in line with the interests of the occupying regime because the camps for refugees must be calm to prepare them to confront the enemy and prepare their return to their land after liberation; not for war and conflict.”

Fresh clashes in the Palestinian refugee camp in the city of Sidon in southern Lebanon continued on Sunday for a fourth day. There has been no tangible result despite rigorous efforts to establish a ceasefire and end the conflict between the Palestinian groups.

Confrontations in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp have so far left five people dead and dozens injured.

The Palestinian Hamas resistance movement asks Hezbollah to help stop clashes between Palestinian factions in a densely populated refugee camp in Lebanon.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said over 2,000 people were forced to flee since the beginning of the clashes in the camp in late July, which involved heavy weaponry.

The violence erupted in the refugee camp when an unknown gunman attempted to kill a member of an armed group named Mahmoud Khalil, but fatally shot his companion instead. In the confrontations that ensued, Abu Ashraf al-Armouchi, a senior commander with the Palestinian Fatah Party, who was in charge of security inside Ain al-Hilweh, was killed along with several of his aides.

Local media reports said many terrorists and extremists had infiltrated the camp, targeting Fatah members and trying to create chaos.

A ceasefire subsided the fighting but heavy confrontations sporadically resumed afterwards.

Ain al-Hilweh camp was established in 1948 to house Palestinians displaced by Israeli forces during Nakba Day or “Day of Catastrophe,” when the Tel Aviv regime was created at the expense of the forced expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homeland.

According to the UNRWA, more than 63,000 people live in the camp.

Source: presstv.ir

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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/09/10/710614/Hezbollah-Palestinian-refugee-camp-Israel

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Iran thwarted 400 bombings planned by enemies: Intelligence minister

11 September 2023

Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib says Iran has recently foiled 400 bombings that were plotted by the enemies in a bid to spark “fabricated riots” across the country.

Speaking during a TV program on Sunday, Khatib said the enemies waged a hybrid war on the Islamic Republic by pursuing acts of terror and trying to provoke riots in the country.

“We receive many reports saying that they (the enemies) are trying to take advantage of another [wave of] fabricated riots. During this time, we collected about 400 bombs, including more than 40 which were supposed to set off in mourning congregations of the first 10 days of [the lunar calendar month of] Muharram,” he added.

Foreign-backed riots broke out in Iran last September, when 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini died in a hospital in the capital Tehran, three days after she collapsed at a police station.

The findings of an investigation into her death later attributed the tragic incident to Amini’s pre-existing medical condition, debunking claims that she was beaten by the police.

Rioters, nonetheless, went on rampage across the country, causing massive material damage to public property and, in some cases, lynching security forces as well as civilians whom they regarded as supporters of the Islamic establishment.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Khatib said that prior to the riots, the sworn enemies of the Islamic establishment, including separatists, terrorists, and pro-Shah elements, held meetings with over 50 intelligence agencies in different countries and trained 200 media outlets to provoke the riots.

The budget allocated to the 50 intelligence services that are operating against the Islamic Republic is more than Iran’s annual budget, he noted.

He further explained that the main intelligence services acting against Iran are those of Britain, Israel, and the United States, which coordinate and direct the activities of other agencies.

The anti-Iran intelligence services, he continued, have set up a weapons factory near Iran’s border with its products being smuggled into the country.

Source: presstv.ir

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Iran optimistic prisoner swap with US will happen in ‘near future’

September 11, 2023

DUBAI: Iran is optimistic a prisoner swap with Washington will happen “in the near future,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday, adding that Tehran’s frozen $6 billion assets in South Korea will be unblocked in the coming days.

However, Nasser Kanaani said the two issues were not linked to one another.

Sources told Reuters last week that transfer of Iranian funds to banks in Qatar as early as this week will trigger a carefully choreographed sequence that will see as many as five detained US dual nationals leave Iran and a similar number of Iranian prisoners held in the US fly home.

As a first step, Iran on Aug. 10 released four US citizens from Tehran’s Evin prison into house arrest, where they joined a fifth, who was already under house arrest. Later that day US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the move the first step of a process that would lead to their return home.

Source: arabnews.com

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Iran to host 150 Muslim luminaries in 5th Mustafa Prize

Sep 10, 2023

Hossein Rabbani, the head of Isfahan’s Elites Foundation, said the 5th Mustafa Prize ceremony will be held on October 2, when high-profile scientists in the field of Artificial Intelligence convene in Isfahan from 57 Islamic countries.

The prestigious ceremony will also host the 9th round of Science and Technology Exchange Program (STEP), which is a platform organized by Mustafa Science and Technology Foundation to expand the scientific network among the Islamic world’s scholars by holding international events and laying the groundwork for enhancing scientific synergy and cooperation.

“Awarding a prize is regarded as a way of identifying outstanding people in scientific fields and brings to the fore the existing capacities in different areas of science,” Rabbani said.

“An international award, like the Mustafa Prize, has profound impacts given its media aspect,” he said, adding that it conveys the message that the Muslim world pays attention to science and technology.

Mustafa Prize was established in 2012 as one of the symbols of scientific excellence and has been held biennially since 2015, recognizing leading researchers and scientists of the Islamic world.

The laureates are awarded $500,000, which is financed through the science and technology endowment. They will also be adorned with Mustafa Medal and Honorary Diploma.

The prize is awarded in the four categories of Information and Communication Science and Technology, Life and Medical Science and Technology, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and All Areas of Science and Technology.

In 2016, the Science Magazine called the prize “the Muslim Nobel.”

Source: mehrnews.com

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Iran very serious in confronting hostility of enemies: Leader

Sep 11, 2023

TEHRAN, Sep. 11 (MNA) – The enemies are serious in their enmity and plotting, and the Islamic Republic of Iran is also very serious in confronting them, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said.

Addressing a group of people from Sistan and Baluchestan, and South Khorasan provinces on Monday, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said that the world is on the verge of an evolution.

This transformation includes several issues, including the weakening of the world's arrogant powers, he said, adding that arrogant powers such as the US and some European countries have weakened and will become weaker.

The emergence of new regional and global powers is another part of this global transformation, he added.

The Leader went on to say that based on the received information, the American government has created a group, the mission of which is to create a crisis in countries, including Iran.

The American government has found out that there are several sensitive issues in Iran that can be turned into crises through provocation, Ayatollah Khamenei highlighted, referring to the diversity of ethnic groups, religions, and the issue of gender and women.

According to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, such dreams will never come true.

"The enemies are serious in their enmity and plotting, and we are also very serious in confronting them," the Leader noted.

Source: mehrnews.com

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Iranian Red Crescent ready to send aid to Morocco

Sep 10, 2023

TEHRAN, Sep. 10 (MNA) – In a message to the President of the House of Representatives of Morocco, the Iranian Parliament Speaker announced the Iranian Red Crescent Society's readiness to send aid teams to the Arab country amid the deadly earthquake.

In his message to Rachid TalbiAlami, Mohammad BagherGhlaibaf expressed condolences to the people, lawmakers and government of Morocco on the deadly earthquake.

The Iranian speaker further wished speedy recovery for the injured, forgiveness for the dead, and for the survivors and all those who have lost loved ones patience.

Ghalibaf said that the Iranian parliament, the government and the people are ready to stand alongside Morroco, adding that the Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran is fully prepared to send relief and paramedical teams and carry out humanitarian activities to the quake victims.

According to the latest figures, the death toll from the Saturday 6.8 magnitude quake in Morroco has risen to 2,100.

Source: mehrnews.com

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https://en.mehrnews.com/news/205894/Iranian-Red-Crescent-ready-to-send-aid-to-Morocco

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Islamist factions in a troubled Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon say they will honor a cease-fire

September 11, 2023

SIDON: Islamist factions in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp said Sunday they will abide by a cease-fire after three days of clashes killed at least five people and left hundreds of families displaced.

Fighting between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement and Islamist groups has rocked southern Lebanon’s Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp since Friday. Fatah and other factions in the camp had intended to crack down on suspects accused of killing one of their military generals in late July.

Besides the five killed, 52 others were wounded, Dr. Riad Abu Al-Einen, who heads the Al-Hamshari Hospital in Sidon that has received the casualties, told The Associated Press. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, however stated that four people were killed and 60 others wounded.

The Lebanese military said in a statement that five soldiers were wounded after three shells landed in army checkpoints surrounding the camp. One of the soldiers is in critical condition.

“The army command repeats its warning to the concerned parties in the camp about the consequences of exposing military members and positions to danger, and affirms that the army will take appropriate measures in response,” the statement said.

Ein el-Hilweh, home to some 55,000 people according to the United Nations, is notorious for its lawlessness and violence is not uncommon in the camp. It was established in 1948 to house Palestinians who were displaced when Israel was established.

Lebanese officials, security agencies and the UN have urged the warring factions to agree on a cease-fire. The interim chief of Lebanon’s General Security agency Elias Al-Baysari said that he will attend a Monday meeting between Palestinian factions and urge the factions to reach a resolution.

The clashing factions in the camp said in a statement published Sunday by Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency that they planned to abide by a cease-fire.

UNRWA said hundreds of families displaced from the camp have taken shelter in nearby mosques, schools and the Sidon municipality building. The UN agency and local organizations are setting up additional shelters after Lebanon’s prime minister and interior minister shut down an initiative by the municipality, the Lebanese Red Cross, and local community groups to set up a few dozen tents for families.

Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics set up stations at the camp’s entrance to treat the wounded and provided food packages to displaced families.

Among the wounded was Sabine Al-Ahmad, 16, who fled the camp with her family. She was being treated for shrapnel wounds. “We were running away and a shell exploded over us,” she told the AP.

Dorothee Klaus, Director of UNRWA in Lebanon, said armed groups are still occupying the agency’s schools in the camp. “UNRWA calls on all parties and those with influence over them to stop the violence,” Klaus said in a statement.

Several days of street battles in the Ein el-Hilweh camp between Fatah and members of the extremist Jund Al-Sham group erupted earlier this summer that left 13 people dead and dozens wounded, and ended after an uneasy truce was put in place on Aug. 3. Those street battles forced hundreds to flee their homes.

However, clashes were widely expected to resume as the Islamist groups never handed over those accused of killing the Fatah general to the Lebanese judiciary, as demanded by a committee of Palestinian factions last month.

Lebanon is home to tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees and their descendants. Many live in the 12 refugee camps that are scattered around the small Mediterranean country.

Source: arabnews.com

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Africa

 

At least 40 killed in airstrike on market in Sudan's Khartoum, volunteers say

10 September, 2023

At least 40 civilians were killed and dozens injured in an airstrike by the army on a market in southern Khartoum, a local volunteer group said in a statement on Sunday, marking the largest single-incident death toll since the war in Sudan began in April.

Air and artillery strikes in residential areas have intensified as the war between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) nears the five-month mark with neither side declaring victory or showing any concrete signs of pursuing mediation.

Drones carried out a series of heavy airstrikes on Sunday morning on southern Khartoum, a large district of the city occupied mainly by the RSF, an eyewitness who saw the strike told Reuters, asking not to be identified for security reasons.

Images shared by a body of local volunteers called the Southern Khartoum Emergency Room showed many women and men injured as well as what appeared to be dead bodies covered in cloth, some piled together.

Residents of the area tend to be day workers who, cut off from jobs, are too poor to afford the cost of escaping from the capital.

Mohamed Abdallah, a spokesman for the Emergency Room, which tries to provide medical and other services, said the injured had to be transported on rickshaws or donkey carts.

In a statement, the RSF accused the Sudanese army of carrying out the attack, as well as other strikes. The Sudanese army denied responsibility and blamed the RSF.

"We only aim our attacks at the enemy's groupings and stations in different areas," Brigadier General Nabil Abdallah told Reuters.

While the RSF has fanned out across residential areas throughout the capital Khartoum and neighbouringBahri and Omdurman, the army has used its advantage of heavy artillery and air strikes to try to push them back, resulting in hundreds of civilian casualties.

Strikes in western Omdurman last week killed at least 51 people across two separate days. With most hospitals closed and no functioning local government, volunteers struggle to document the full extent of deaths.

Medical aid agency MSF, which operates Bashair hospital in southern Khartoum, said on social media network X, formerly called Twitter, that the crowded Gorro market was hit at 07:00 (05:00 GMT), and that at least 60 people were wounded. Doctors had stopped trying to count as they operated on torn body parts.

"Khartoum has been at war for almost six months. But still, the volunteers… are shocked and overwhelmed by the scale of horror that struck the city today," emergency coordinator Marie Burton said.

On Friday, the Southern Khartoum Emergency Room said in a statement that the hospital, one of few still operating, was threatened with closure as supplies run out and staff struggle to reach it.

The army and RSF began fighting on 15 April, after tensions arose over integration of their troops in a new transition to democracy.

While several countries have launched mediation efforts, none has succeeded in bringing a halt to the fighting.

Source: newarab.com

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Morocco earthquake: Race against time to find survivors

September 11, 2023

Moroccan rescue workers, backed by foreign teams, continued Monday in a race against time to find survivors and provide assistance to hundreds of homeless people whose homes were razed to the ground, more than 48 hours after the earthquake that killed more than 2,100 people.

Morocco announced on Sunday evening that it had responded favorably, "at this stage", to offers from four countries "to send search and rescue teams": Spain, Great Britain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

These teams have been in contact with their counterparts in Morocco with a view to coordinating their efforts, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Spain said it had already sent 86 rescue workers to Morocco, accompanied by dogs specialized in searching for victims, while a Qatari humanitarian flight took off on Sunday evening from the Al-Udeid air base on the outskirts of Doha, according to an AFP journalist.

Other offers could be accepted in the future "should needs evolve", the ministry added.

Numerous countries, from France to the United States and Israel, had offered to help Morocco in the wake of the devastating earthquake, which left 2,122 people dead and 2,421 injured, according to the most recent report.

Pending the deployment of foreign rescue teams on the ground, the Moroccan authorities have begun to erect tents in the High Atlas, where villages have been completely destroyed by the earthquake.

Apocalyptic landscape

Rescue workers, volunteers and members of the armed forces are working to find survivors and pull bodies from the rubble, particularly in villages in the province of Al-Haouz, the epicenter of the quake south of the tourist city of Marrakech in central Morocco.

In Tikht, a small village near Adassil, a minaret and a handful of unpainted clay houses stand amidst an apocalyptic landscape.

"Life is over here," laments Mohssin Aksum, 33, a resident. "The village is dead.

Not far away, Moroccan security forces are digging graves for the victims, while others are setting up yellow tents for earthquake survivors left homeless.

The earthquake, which struck late on Friday evening and registered a magnitude of 7 according to the Moroccan Center for Scientific and Technical Research (6.8 according to the US Seismological Service), was the strongest ever measured in Morocco.

Faced with the scale of the destruction, solidarity is being organized in Marrakech, where many residents have rushed to hospitals to donate blood for the victims.

"We're collecting food to help the areas affected by the earthquake," Ibrahim Nachit, a member of the Draw Smile association, told AFP. The association is also planning to send a "medical caravan" to the worst-hit areas.

"I think the food supplies collected today should be able to support at least 100 families for a week", added AbdeltifRazouki, vice-president of the association.

Source: africanews.com

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https://www.africanews.com/2023/09/11/morocco-earthquake-race-against-time-to-find-survivors/

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Nigeria Secret Police, DSS Arrests, Grills Central Bank Deputy Governor, Aishah Ahmad

September 10, 2023

The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested and detained the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria in charge of Financial System Stability, Aishah Ahmad.

According to NTA on its X (formerly Twitter) handle, Ahmad was arrested and detained over the alleged fraudulent acquisition of shares in Polaris Bank, Titan Bank/Union Bank.

The report added that the CBN Deputy Governor is currently being interrogated on how the $300 million to complete the acquisition of Union Bank was raised by Titan Bank.

Her arrest and grilling followed the arrest and detention of the suspended Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, also by the DSS.

Ahmad was appointed Deputy Governor at the CBN on March 23, 2018. As Deputy Governor in charge of Financial System Stability, she is responsible for leading the effort to promote a sound financial system in Nigeria; one of the principal objects of the Bank as specified within the CBN Act. In this role, Ahmad is a member of the CBN's Governing Board and Committee of Governors and Chairman of the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC).

SaharaReporters had reported how Emefiele had perfected plans to cover up his corruption records when Muhammadu Buhari was Nigeria’s president.

Multiple sources told SaharaReporters how Emefiele secretly sent the names of Mrs. Aishah N, Ahmad, Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability Directorate and Mr. Edward L. Adamu Deputy Governor, Corporate Services Directorate to President Muhammadu Buhari for renewal.

The move by Emefiele to nominate his stooges for re-appointment was part of plans to cover his corruption records in the bank, it was learnt.

“Emefiele has secretly sent Aisha and Edward’s names for renewal months before time to stop the next government from appointing their own candidate and to allow them to cover his back,” a source in the bank had told SaharaReporters.

“He has paid the villa cabals millions in dollars to get the renewals approved. Edward was that one on the audio SaharaReporters exclusively leaked.

“Aisha is that deputy governor Samaila Isa Funtua and his son brought.”

SaharaReporters had reported that Emefiele; the President of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), and Prof. Benedict Oramah; among others were under investigation over the $300 million the pan-African multilateral financial institution gave to Titan Trust Bank Limited to acquire 93.4 per cent stake in the Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.

Others being investigated were AminuYaro, a Northern business mogul and one Farouk Gumel.

Sources had told SaharaReporters that the EFCC, DSS, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) were all investigating Oramah, Emefiele and others.

In December 2022, the Peoples Gazette reported that Ahmad helped facilitate the sale of Polaris Bank at a favourable price in order to be considered for the position of CBN Governor.

The CBN denied these allegations and described the sale of Polaris Bank aas an institutional decision supervised by a committee of senior representatives of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and the CBN.

The CBN stated that no other party made a higher purchase offer as alleged by the newspaper.

Source: saharareporters.com

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https://saharareporters.com/2023/09/10/nigeria-secret-police-dss-arrests-grills-central-bank-deputy-governor-aishah-ahmad

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Nigeria ready to play vital role in G-20, Tinubu lobbies world leaders

AdegbiteTaoheed

 September 10, 2023

As Africa’s largest economy and democracy, President Bola Tinubu has lobbied for Nigeria’s inclusion in G-20 group, saying the country has the potential to play a significant role within the group and contribute to creating a more just world.

The President made the call when he addressed world leaders, on Saturday, at the 18th G-20 Leaders’ Summit holding in New Delhi, India.

This is according to a statement released and signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, AjuriNgelale, titled ‘President Tinubu to G-20 leaders: As Africa’s largest market, economy and democracy, Nigeria is ready to play vital role in G-20.’

“Nigeria is poised, able, and willing to be a major player in this family of the G-20 and in shaping a new world, without whom, the family will remain incomplete,” the President said.

According to him, most of today’s pressing issues are international in character which must be addressed with multilateral cooperation. He also acknowledged the vital role of the G-20 in shaping a rules-based world order that promotes shared prosperity and security.

He added: “Therefore, stronger collaboration, cooperation, and partnerships among diverse regions are the pathways to a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable future for the world.

“A world that lives as one family, but is divided by staggering income inequalities and uneven access to basic social goods by the vast majority of our people cannot result in a peaceful and secure world where shared prosperity is achieved.”

Continuing, the President, while welcoming the inclusion of African Union in the G-20, noted that it will open the group opportunity for future membership in a manner that “reflects the relative balance of power and inclusiveness of humanity as One Family.”

Source: tribuneonlineng.com

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Europe

 

UK police arrests two persons amid claims of spying for China

September 10, 2023

LONDON —- UK police have confirmed Sunday that two men, one in his 20s and another in his 30s, were arrested under the official secret act in March, amid claims of spying for China, said BBC Sunday.

The BBC quoted the Sunday Times as saying one of the men, in his 20s, was a researcher with links to several Tory MPs, adding that both men were taken to a south London police station, and were subsequently released on police bail until a date in early October.

“One of the arrested men is alleged to have had links to security minister Tom Tugendhat and foreign affairs committee chairwoman Alicia Kearns, among others,” it added.

On Sunday morning, UK prime minister spokesperson said Rishi Sunak had expressed concerns about Chinese interference to a senior official from China.

Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee issued a long-awaited report in July, warning that the government had been slow to come to terms with the security risks from Beijing.

“It appears that China has a high level of intent to interfere with the UK government, targeting officials and bodies at a range of levels to influence UK political thinking and decision-making relevant to China,” the report said.

A spokesperson said the prime minister had met Chinese Premier Li Qiang during the G20 summit in India, and “conveyed his significant concerns about Chinese interference the UK’s parliamentary democracy”.

Several government sources declined to comment on security matters.

The Metropolitan Police said: “A man in his 30s was arrested at an address in Oxfordshire and a man in his 20s was arrested at an address in Edinburgh.

“Searches were also carried out at both the residential properties, as well as at a third address in east London.”

Both men were taken to a south London police station, and were subsequently released on police bail until a date in early October, it said.

The Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, which oversees espionage-related offenses, is investigating.

It is reported the researcher had access to Tugendhat before he became security minister in September last year.

Tugendhat is said to have had only limited contact with the man, and no dealings with him as a minister.

The man has not been named — but the Sunday Times said he had lived in China for a period.

Conservative MP Kearns said she was aware of the paper’s report but declined to comment, adding: “While I recognize the public interest, we all have a duty to ensure any work of the authorities is not jeopardized.”

Asked about the report on BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk said he could not comment on specific cases.

He defended the current stance towards China, saying the UK was right to “engage” with the country but Sunak had highlighted the need to “proceed with caution”.

The arrests will reignite the debate over London’s relationship with Beijing. There has been growing concern about Chinese espionage and also interference in Parliament, with questions about whether more action should have been taken to mitigate risks.

Last year, an unusual parliamentary interference alert was issued regarding the activities of Christine Lee.

MI5 alleged she had been carrying out political interference activities including donating funds to support the work of MPs. This was all said to be on behalf of China.

Other countries, notably Australia and Canada, have also seen recent claims of Chinese espionage or interference in politics, with the Chinese government denying any such activity.

Tensions have been increasing over both espionage and wider security threats in recent years — but the last few months has seen attempts by both Washington and London to stabilize relations with China.

The UK’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly visited Beijing less than two weeks ago and told the BBC it would not be “credible” to disengage.

Reacting to the arrests, Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith said it was “time for us to recognize the deepening threat that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) under (President) Xi now pose”.

He also questioned the UK’s approach to China, adding: “What price was Cleverly’s kowtow visit to Beijing?”

Tory MP Tim Loughton said: “This is yet further evidence of how far the tentacles of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) reach into British institutions.

“Yet again the security of Parliament has potentially been compromised, reinforcing how we cannot view the CCP as anything other than a hostile foreign threat.”

Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee issued a long-awaited report in July, warning that the government had been slow to come to terms with the security risks from Beijing.

“It appears that China has a high level of intent to interfere with the UK government, targeting officials and bodies at a range of levels to influence UK political thinking and decision-making relevant to China,” the report said.

It noted the challenges in prosecuting cases linked to espionage given that it was, at that time, not a criminal offence to be an agent of a foreign intelligence service.

MI5 and the wider intelligence community have long complained that the old Official Secrets Act was inadequate in dealing with hostile state activity. The US and Australia both have been able to use a wider range of powers.

National security legislation to provide new powers to investigate espionage and other security threats did come into effect this summer in the UK, but this was after the arrest of the two men which took place under the old Official Secrets Act. — Agencies/BBC

Source: saudigazette.com.sa

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https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/635698/World/Europe/UK-police-arrests-two-persons-amid-claims-of-spying-for-China

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Two dead, four injured in Hungary air show crash

September 11, 2023

BUDAPEST: A plane crashed during an air show in Hungary on Sunday, leaving two people dead and four injured, officials said.

The show took place at Borgond airport at Szekesfehervar city, some 70 kilometres southwest of Budapest.

"Based on preliminary information, apart from the pilot, there was one passenger on the aircraft, and tragically, both lost their lives at the scene," police said in a statement.

On the ground, four people were injured, including three suffering severe burns, according to a spokeswoman of the national ambulance service.

She added those injured severely were a woman, a man and a girl, while a boy suffered lighter injuries.

A video in local media showed the plane – a 1951 North American Aviation T-28 Trojan, according to media reports – tumbling from the sky and exploding on the ground.

"The small plane came down next to a parked car, which caught fire from the impact of debris," police said in the statement.

"The crash occurred very close to the premises of the air show," the national ambulance service spokeswoman told AFP.

Source: nst.com.my

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https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2023/09/953693/two-dead-four-injured-hungary-air-show-crash

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EU greenlights seizure of personal phones and cars from Russians

Russian nationals are effectively banned from taking many personal items with them when traveling to the EU, the European Commission confirmed this week. Goods ranging from personal cars and smartphones to soap and even toilet paper are sanctioned and thus cannot be brought into the bloc even temporarily or during tourist travels, it explained.

The latest set of answers to the ‘frequently asked questions’ by the EU Commission issued on Friday specifically focused on Russian cars. “It is not relevant whether the use of the vehicles is private or commercial” as long as they fall into the sanctioned goods category, it said.

The ban covers “vehicles having a Russian license plate” and “registered in Russia,” the commission’s statement said, adding that the duration of a car’s possible stay in the EU is “not relevant.” The clarification came following a series of incidents in which German customs authorities were seen confiscating private Russian cars entering the country at least since July.

Moscow then accused Berlin of “stealing” vehicles and warned its citizens against bringing their cars into Germany. The German authorities justified their actions by citing sanctions imposed against Russia as early as in 2014 and expanded after Moscow launched its military operation in Ukraine in February 2022.

The clarification on Friday by the EU Commission went even further and said that not just cars but a wide range of other personal goods are subject to sanctions as well if they originate from Russia. When asked whether Russian nationals can temporarily bring personal goods and vehicles into the EU, including when traveling as tourists, Brussels said “no,” adding that anything listed in Annex XXI to the EU regulation on sanctions against Russia is banned.

The Annex lists more than 180 categories of goods that, apart from private vehicles, include smartphones and any other phones, cameras, women’s clothing, various types of bags, footwear, soap, perfumery, and even toilet paper.

NATO and EU nations first imposed sanctions on Moscow in 2014, when Crimea voted to leave Ukraine and become part of Russia in the wake of the Maidan coup in Kiev that year. Moscow has insisted that trade restrictions and the seizure of assets and other Russian property are illegal and tantamount to theft.

Source: rt.com

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https://www.rt.com/news/582721-eu-seizure-phones-cars-russia/

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Ukrainian pensioner jailed for social media ‘likes’

10 Sep, 2023

A woman in Ukraine’s northern Chernigov Region was given a jail term of five years for simultaneously justifying, denying, and glorifying Russia’s “aggression” against Ukraine, local media reported on Friday, citing a court decision.

According to court documents, the defendant, whose identity was not made public, ‘liked’ three posts on the ‘Odnoklassniki’ website. The platform is popular in Russia and other former Soviet republics, particularly among the older population, but is banned in Ukraine.

The posts in question included a social media post, a video published by Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, and a “text and graphic material glorifying” the actions of the Russian forces in Ukraine. The woman also used a function that made all the posts she liked automatically reposted by her account, making them visible for her 178 social media friends, the court said.

At the court hearing, the defendant made a full confession and asked the judge not to punish her particularly harshly. She also said she was acting “under the influence of political shows” and did not understand that she was committing a crime.

The woman’s age was not revealed by the Ukrainian judicial authorities either. The court documents only state that she was an elderly person with no prior criminal records. Apart from sentencing her to jail time, the judge also ordered the confiscation of the woman’s mobile phone and notebook, and demanded she pay court expenses amounting to 18,122 hryvnas ($490).

The sanctions against a number of Russian websites, such as Odnoklassniki, were imposed by former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko in 2017. The ban was extended by the current president, Vladimir Zelensky. Prior to the ban, around 24 million people – more than half of the country’s population – used Russian sites.

In January 2022, around a month before the conflict between Kiev and Moscow broke out, a Ukrainian man was slapped with a fine of $350 for liking a post calling for the overthrow of the government in Kiev. He was charged with undermining national security.

Over the course of the conflict with Russia, Kiev has further tightened its grip on the media, internet, and politics with highly restrictive laws. In December 2022, it adopted a media law which was slammed by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) as having “systemic problems for democracy.”

Source: rt.com

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https://www.rt.com/russia/582726-ukrainian-pensioner-jailed-social-media/

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Polish ambassador blasts Ukraine over memorials to WW2 Nazi collaborators

10 Sep, 2023

Ukrainian authorities are “wrong” to erect monuments to war criminals, Poland’s ambassador to Ukraine told the BBC on Saturday. Kiev’s continued veneration of Nazi collaborators like Stepan Bandera is a source of “real pain” in Poland, he said.

“You say that war is no time to deal with the dead,” ambassador BartoszCichocki said in an interview with the BBC’s Ukrainian office. “But I can answer you: war is also not the time to erect monuments to criminals and name streets after them.”

By “the dead,” Cichocki was referring to the murders of between 40,000 and 100,000 Poles between 1943 and 1944 in the regions of western Ukraine and eastern Poland also known as Volhynia and Galicia. The Volyn Massacre, as the entire ethnic cleansing campaign has become known, was carried out by the UPA, a paramilitary wing of the Nazi-allied Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN).

The OUN was led at the time by Stepan Bandera, who today is celebrated by many Ukrainians as a national hero. Streets in multiple towns and cities have been renamed after Bandera, while the OUN leader has been honored with statues and monuments, including a seven-foot likeness in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.

“It is wrong in our Christian culture when loved ones cannot pray at the graves of their brutally murdered ancestors, when they cannot find them and bury them, and at the same time when monuments are erected to their murderers,” Cichocki said.

Cichocki explained that Polish authorities are still awaiting permission from Kiev to exhume a mass grave near the Ukrainian city of Ternopil. Should permission be granted, he said that this would go a long way toward “building trust between us.”

The ambassador also lashed out at claims that the Polish side is “fanning” the disagreement between Warsaw and Kiev.

“I very often hear when a monument to Stepan Bandera is opened somewhere and the Poles are indignant about it, they say, the Poles are fanning this topic,” he remarked. “And why does no one ask those who open this monument why they do it?”

The issue of the Volyn Massacre was raised earlier this summer by Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Lukasz Jasina, who called on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to “take more responsibility” and say “sorry” for the murders. Ukrainian officials were indignant, with Kiev’s ambassador to Warsaw, VasilyZvarych, declaring that “any attempt to impose on the Ukrainian president or Ukraine [and tell us] what we must [do] about our common past is unacceptable and unfortunate.”

Cichocki said that for the time being, Warsaw will keep its disagreements with Kiev “separate from the war,” and “help Ukraine defend itself.”

Source: rt.com

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https://www.rt.com/news/582723-poland-ukraine-bandera-monuments/

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France accused of planning ‘aggression’ against Niger

10 Sep, 2023

Paris is planning to intervene in Niger, as it continues to deploy troops to several countries in the region, the West African state’s military government has claimed. Relations between Niger and former colonial power France have deteriorated since a coup in July.

“France continues to deploy its forces in several ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) countries as part of preparations for an aggression against Niger, which it is planning in collaboration with this community organization,” Colonel AmadouAbdramane, spokesman for the government in Niamey, said in a statement broadcast on national television on Saturday, as quoted by AFP.

ECOWAS has threatened to intervene in the country to restore its ousted president Mohamed Bazoum to office. Top French officials have also stated several times that Paris would support military action by the bloc.

However, according to Niger’s military-appointed prime minister, Ali LamineZeine, military action by ECOWAS is not supported by all member states. He also told the media on Monday that the new government in Niamey was hoping to reach an agreement with the bloc in the “coming days.”

Nigerien military leaders have previously denounced the presence of French troops in the country as “illegal” and demanded their prompt withdrawal.

While speaking during the G20 summit in New Delhi, French President Emmanuel Macron said that since his country doesn’t recognize the Nigerien military government, any redeployment of its forces might be done only “at the request of President Bazoum.”

Paris already had to withdraw troops from Burkina Faso earlier this year. France also pulled its forces out of Mali following tensions with the military government after a coup in 2020.

Source: rt.com

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https://www.rt.com/africa/582702-france-accused-planning-aggression-niger/

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West failed to ‘Ukrainize’ G20 – Lavrov

10 Sep, 2023

The West failed to make the G20 summit in New Delhi revolve around the Ukraine conflict, thanks in no small part to the efforts of developing countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has noted.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Lavrov, who headed the Russian delegation at the gathering, praised summit host India, which he claimed has helped to consolidate the countries of the Global South. As a result, they stood up “to protect their legitimate interests,” which made it possible “to prevent the West from once again Ukrainizing the entire agenda” of the summit and diverting attention from the urgent problems facing emerging economies.

The foreign minister pointed out that the joint declaration “mentions the Ukraine crisis, but only in the context of the need to resolve all conflicts” in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter.

Lavrov insisted that the G20 must focus on economic and financial issues, and praised emerging countries, which prevented the meeting from turning into a “politicized club.”

The final G20 declaration, which was adopted on Saturday “highlighted the human suffering and negative added impacts of the war in Ukraine with regard to global food and energy security, supply chains, macro-financial stability, inflation and growth.” It also acknowledged that some G20 members had differing views on the hostilities between Moscow and Kiev.

Before the declaration was released, Reuters reported that the paragraph on Ukraine had been a major stumbling block as Western countries pushed for a strong condemnation of Russia, an approach that encountered opposition from other members.

Source: rt.com

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https://www.rt.com/russia/582700-west-failed-ukrainize-g20-lavrov/

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Mosque holds ceremony to reward excelling students

Nayan Murthy

 11 September 2023

A Southampton mosque held a ceremony to reward students who excelled in the past academic year.

Shahjalal Mosque and Islamic Centre on St Mary's Road held its annual award ceremony on September 3 aimed to allow the community to recognise children in Southampton who got good grades.

Many people from the area attended with the secretary of the Muslim Council of Southampton, Rashidul Islam, saying how nice it was to see so many children and parents attend the event.

Speaking at the event, he said: “It's always a pleasure to see how the children are doing well.

"We are happy to celebrate their success and give them and others motivation to continue with their successful path”.

Although this event was to celebrate the best and brightest, he also stressed that those who did not get their desired results should not lose hope.

Certificates were given to everyone who had passed their GCSEs, A levels, degrees and masters.

However, the three best results were awarded with prize money and books.

The first prize for GCSE results was presented to Adil Islam who got seven A*s and two A’s.

Adil said he was very happy to see so many people congratulating him and he hopes to go and study medicine one day.

His father, Alamgir Islam, said: “(I am) very proud of my son and I hope that he continues with the hard work and become a doctor which he aspires to be”.

The first place for A levels was received by Naseem Alom who achieved two A* grades and one A.

Hafiz Taif Molik Rahman was also awarded with a special award for memorising the Quran.

Taif, who is studying towards his law degree, said: “It was hard but I enjoyed it and it was worth the hard work”.

His father, ShajahanMolik Rahman, added: “I am proud of my son as it is not easy to Memorise the whole Quran and I hope he will continue to strive to be a better Muslim and human being”.

Source: uk.news.yahoo.com

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https://uk.news.yahoo.com/mosque-holds-ceremony-reward-excelling-023000284.html

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