Indian Faith Leaders Pledge Unity During Ramazan At The First-Ever Iftar Organized By The Archdiocese Of Delhi
New Age Islam News Bureau
25 April 2022
Archbishop Anil Joseph Thomas Couto of Delhi (left)
with faith leaders at the first-ever iftar organized by the Archdiocese of
Delhi on April 22. (Photo: Bijay Kumar
Minj/UCA News)
---------
• On The Jahangirpuri Violence, The I&B Advisory
Said The Channels Used “Provocative Headlines And Videos Of Violence That May
Incite Communal Hatred
• I Have No Guilt, Says UP Seer , Bajrang Muni Das,
Accused Of Giving Rape Threat To Muslim Women
• Terror Acts In Afghanistan Intended To Sow Division,
Foster Islamophobia: Islamic Awakening Body
• Iraq’s Sadr Bloc To Introduce Bill To Criminalize
Normalization With Israel
India
• Indian Faith Leaders Pledge Unity During Ramazan At
The First-Ever Iftar Organized By The Archdiocese Of Delhi
• On The Jahangirpuri Violence, The I&B Advisory
Said The Channels Used “Provocative Headlines And Videos Of Violence That May
Incite Communal Hatred
• I Have No Guilt, Says UP Seer , Bajrang Muni Das,
Accused Of Giving Rape Threat To Muslim Women
• Telangana Muslim Neighbours Offer Their Home Foran
Orphan Hindu Girl’s Marriage In Ramzan
• Nagpur Mosque In Hindu Area Lowers Azaan Pitch To
Maintain Harmony
• From Silence To Blaming ‘Bangladeshis, Rohingyas’,
Why AAP’s Vocabulary On Muslims Has Changed
• Mishkal Mosque Attack Commemoration InKerala Delivers
Lesson In Communal Harmony
• Udupi Muslim Okkoota condemns BJP leader’s statement
on hijab
• Muslims close shops for Sri Ram Sene’sRam Navami procession
at Aland in Kalaburagi district
• Fair to assume bulldozer-enabled demolitions aimed
at Muslims, poor: P Chidambaram
--------
South Asia
• Taliban’s Defence Minister: Will Not Tolerate
“Invasion” from Neighbours
• UNICEF: Education should not Be Hostage to Politics
• Turkey Repatriates 227 Afghan Refugees
• Taliban shifting terrorists away from Pak-Afghan
border after Islamabad warning
--------
Arab World
• Boat carrying migrants sinks off Lebanon, 45
rescued: Minister
• Saudi King and Crown Prince congratulate Macron on
re-election
• Yemen's Houthis offer to release 200 prisoners
before Eid al-Fitr: Al-Masirah
• First Sanaa flight in six years cancelled over
Houthi-issued passports: Yemen govt
• Saudi Arabia safely welcomes 14 million visitors to
Prophet’s Mosque during Ramadan
• Hezbollah chief warns of plots to plunge Lebanon
into strife after boat tragedy
--------
Pakistan
• Imran Khan ‘Playing With’ Pakistan’s Interests To
Keep His Failed Politics: Minister
• Govt, PTI leaders exchange harsh comments over
Miftah Ismail's statement
• Jamaat-e-IslamiKarachi Emir Calls For Elimination Of
Dynasties In Political Parties
• IHC suspends order asking ECP to decide PTI funding
case in 30 days
• Cuban envoy calls out Ahsan Iqbal for 'disrespectful'
remarks on his country
• FO 'deplores' Indian advisory stopping students from
seeking higher education in Pakistan
• Pakistan, Iraq to sign deals on cooperation in
various sectors
• Imran Khan fighting for Pakistan’s sovereignty, says
ex-minister
--------
Southeast Asia
• Shariah Court Sentences Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin To
One Week Jail For ‘Insulting’ Islamic Judicial System
• Maria Chin’s sentence should be reversed, says
ex-law minister
• Party leadership not a personal right, says Annuar
--------
Mideast
• Iran's UN Envoy Warns of Increasing Islamophobia in
European States
• Ansarullah: Saudi Arabia Showed Not Serious About
Peace
• Hamas: Situation In West Bank Similar To Lead-Up To
Gaza War
• Israel FM Says Committed To Al-Aqsa Status Quo
• Iranian President Urges Taliban to Punish
Perpetrators of Terrorist Attacks in Afghanistan
• Diplomat: Iran Ready to Treat People Injured in
Afghanistan Terrorist Attacks
• Report: Iranian, Saudi FMs Possibly to Meet Soon
• Iran's Border Crossing with Afghanistan Reopens
• Jerusalem church glows in ‘Holy Fire’ ritual
attended by thousands
--------
Africa
• Violence In Sudan’s Restive Darfur Kills 168: Aid
Group
• King Abdullah heads to Cairo for trilateral talks
with UAE, Egypt: Royal court
• Ethiopian peacekeepers from Tigray seek asylum in
Sudan
--------
North America
• Ex-US Commander Claims ‘Mistake’ In Backing Syrian
Kurds In Bid To Mend Turkey Ties
• Famous Hollywood Director, Mark Ruffalo: Israel
Systematically Targets Muslim Worshipers, Journalists At al-Aqsa Mosque
• Biden plans to visit Israel in the coming months:
Israeli PM's office
--------
Europe
• France's Macron Wins New Presidential Term After
Far-Right Battle
• UN chief discusses Jerusalem tensions with Israeli
and Palestinian leaders
• Britain: Yemen frees Briton held since 2017, thanks
Saudi Arabia and Oman for help
• Turkish diplomats killed in Armenian terrorist
attacks commemorated
• Russia dismisses ‘fake’ reports on receiving Iranian
arms to use against Ukraine
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
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Indian Faith Leaders Pledge Unity During Ramazan At
The First-Ever Iftar Organized By The Archdiocese Of Delhi
By Bijay Kumar Minj
April 25, 2022
Archbishop Anil Joseph Thomas Couto of Delhi (left)
with faith leaders at the first-ever iftar organized by the Archdiocese of
Delhi on April 22. (Photo: Bijay Kumar
Minj/UCA News)
----------
Leaders of different faiths at the first-ever Iftar
organized by the Archdiocese of Delhi pledged to remain united amid sectarian
violence and growing unrest in India.
The iftar or evening meal with which Muslims end their
daily Ramazan fast at sunset was a symbolic gesture to show solidarity with
members of the national capital’s Islamic community who are fasting during the
holy month.
“Through this program we wanted to spread love and
peace among all people,” Archbishop Anil Joseph Thomas Couto of Delhi said at
the interreligious event held by the archdiocese’s Commission for Ecumenism and
Interfaith Dialogue on April 22.
The prelate said there was nothing to gain from what
was happening in the country, where one community was pitted against the other
in the name of religion, caste and creed.
“Let not the communal forces divide us,” said
Archbishop Couto while urging all faith communities to come together and
address the challenges before the country.
Faith leaders from the Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu
communities acknowledged with concern that India was indeed facing a difficult
situation due to communal strife in the past few years.
Father Felix Jones, who heads the Commission for
Ecumenism and Interfaith Dialogue, said more than 50 people of different faiths
attended the event. Among them were Goswami Sushil Maharaj, national convener
of the Bhartiya SarvDharmSansad, Swami Veer Singh Hitkari of the All India
RavidasiyaDharmSangathan, A.K. Merchant of the Bahai Community of India,
Mohammad Salim Engineer and Mohammad Ahmad of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Buddhist
monk Dhammapiya, secretary-general of the International Buddhist Confederation,
and Brahmakumari sisters’ Husain Bandi Imam.
Father Felix said holding the iftar was just the
beginning and more such events would be held to address issues facing society.
“It is the best time of the month, so let’s pray for
brotherhood and fraternity. Yes, there is no doubt the country is facing a
difficult time with the fascist forces becoming more active and trying to
divide people in the name of religion,” said Engineer, the Muslim leader.
He said the only way to fight the fascist forces was
to stand united and fight back. “For that, the religious leaders will have to
lead the way,” he added.
Buddhist monk Dhammapiya said nobody can exist alone.
“The principle of hatred destroys and divides while the principle of love
builds.”
Goswami Sushil Maharaj who is also the national
president of the Indian Parliament of Religions, said: “Whichever faith we
believe in, one faith common to all is that we all are brothers and sisters of
the Almighty and when one suffers others can’t celebrate. We should respect
each other’s faith.”
Meanwhile, Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore is also
going to host an interfaith iftar on April 26.
Source: UCA News
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.ucanews.com/news/indian-faith-leaders-pledge-unity-during-Ramazan/97009
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On The Jahangirpuri Violence, The I&B Advisory
Said The Channels Used “Provocative Headlines And Videos Of Violence That May
Incite Communal Hatred
By Anisha Dutta | New Delhi |
April 24, 2022
A view of the anti-encroachment drive in Jahangirpuri,
New Delhi. (Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)
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CITING COVERAGE of the violence in Delhi’s
Jahangirpuri last week, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and “certain news debates”,
the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) issued a strong advisory
to all private television channels on Saturday.
The ministry said the coverage “appeared to be
unauthentic, misleading, sensational and using socially unacceptable language
and remarks, offending good taste and decency, obscene and defamatory, and
having communal overtones”.
While the advisory listed specific instances, it did
not name any channel.
“Incorrect and misleading information was being shown
against friendly nations also and the way the news was being shown… the
ministry has issued a notice on that and it has also warned TV channels not to
repeat such mistakes in the future,” Union I&B Minister Anurag Thakur said.
On the Jahangirpuri violence, the I&B advisory
said the channels used “provocative headlines and videos of violence that may
incite communal hatred… and disrupt peace”; “scandalous and unverified CCTV
footages” which could “disrupt the ongoing investigation process”; showed
“footages of a specific community thus aggravating the communal tensions”;
“fabricated headlines, sensationalising and giving communal colours to the
actions of authority”.
The ministry flagged headlines on some channels like
“Delhi meinamankedushmankaun?” (Who is the enemy of peace in Delhi?); and “Badi
saazishdangewali, Karauli, Khargone vaya Delhi” (Big conspiracy of riots,
Karauli, Khargone via Delhi).
“A channel repeatedly carried a video clipping of a
man belonging to a specific community carrying a sword,” it said. Footage
headlined “Hinsa se ek raatpehlesaazish ka video” (video of conspiracy night
before violence) was aired by some to claim that “it was pre-planned to spread
violence in a religious procession,” it said.
The ministry also objected to a news debate titled
“vote bank vs majoritarian politics” aired by a channel on April 19.
Citing Section 6 (1) (c) of the Programme Code barring
criticism of friendly countries, the advisory said that with regard to the
Ukraine-Russia conflict, “channels have been making false claims and frequently
misquoting international agencies”; using “scandalous headlines/ taglines that
are completely unrelated to the news item”; and “many of the journalists and
news anchors of these channels made fabricated and hyperbolic statements
intending to incite the audiences”.
“One channel aired a news item ‘Ukraine
meinatomihadkamp’ (Atom bomb scare in Ukraine)… during which it mentioned that
Russia is planning a nuclear attack on Ukraine. It further sensationalised the
situation and mentioned that the attack will happen in the coming few days. The
report misquoted international agencies also,” it said.
“Another channel indulged in war mongering… factless
speculation to an extent that had the tendency to infuse fear… as it claimed
that Russia has given a 24-hour deadline for the nuclear attack on Ukraine,”
said the advisory.
It listed use of headlines/ taglines like “Parmanu
Putin se pareshanZelenski” (Zelenski worried about nuclear Putin); “Parmanu
action ki chinta se Zelenski ko depression” (Zelenski in depression over worry
of nuclear action); “Ukraine se Putin ka parmanu plan taiyar?” (Putin’s nuclear
plan against Ukraine ready?) and “unverified claims misquoting” international
agencies that World War-III has started.
One channel showed footage with false claims that the
Russian President was carrying a “nuclear briefcase” with him, it said.
“Another channel misreported and made unverified claims (that) ‘US agency CIA
believes that Russia will use nuclear weapons on Ukraine’… One of the channels
frequently made sensational claims of nuclear war… The channel made several of
these exploitative and scandalous ‘war promoting’ claims multiple times,” it
said.
“It was found that one channel ran a sensational
speculative commentary on the active conflict during prime time. It used
fabricated headlines such as ‘atom bomb girega? Teesravishwayudhshuruhoga?’
(Atom bomb will fall? Third world war will start?) on April 19… Anchors of many
of these channels talk in hyperbole and make factually wrong comments even
misquoting other sources. One such news titled ‘Mariupol finished! Full and
final’ on April 20,” it said.
The advisory said a journalist, while reporting for a
channel from Mykolaiv, made several comments that seemed to be promoting war
like “Russia parmanuhamlakabkarega? Kahan karega?” (When and where will
Russia’s nuclear strike happen).
The ministry said some channels also broadcast debates
having “unparliamentary, provocative and socially unacceptable language,
communal remarks and derogatory references which may have a negative
psychological impact on viewers and may also incite communal disharmony and
disturb the peace at large”.
“Some are also found to be disrespectful, passing on
insulting remarks or giving reference to the different religions or faiths or
their founders,” it said.
“A news channel broadcast a programme titled ‘Hunkar’
on April 20. During the debate, several speakers used unparliamentary and
derogatory language towards each other. It was also found that the overall
tenor and tonality of the show remains very aggressive and disturbing. Such
ambience has a tendency to negatively impact the viewers especially children
and may have a long lasting psychological distress and subliminal impact on
them,” it said.
It said that during a prime time show aired on April
15, a journalist of a channel used instigating statements and derogatory
references.
Expressing “serious concern” over such incidents, the
ministry “strongly advised” the channels “to immediately refrain from
publishing and transmitting any content which is violative of… The Cable
Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 and the rules thereunder”.
Source: Indian Express
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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I Have No Guilt, Says UP Seer, Bajrang Muni Das,
Accused Of Giving Rape Threat To Muslim Women
April 24, 2022
Bajrang Muni Das was arrested on April 13. (Photo:
File)
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Bajrang Muni Das, a seer from Uttar Pradesh, who
allegedly made a hate speech and issued rape threats to Muslim women in
Sitapur, was granted bail by a local court. The seer of Maharishi Shri Laxman
Das Udasi Ashram said he does not feel guilty about the remarks he made.
"I have no guilt for what I said...," he
said after his release from the district jail on Sunday.
After his release, the seer said he is ready to go to
jail a thousand times and face many attacks, but will continue to safeguard his
religion and women.
READ | FIR filed against religious leader after he
threatens to 'rape' Muslim women
The hate speech video was purportedly shot in the town
on April 2 on the occasion of Navratri and Hindu New Year. The video showed
Bajrang Muni addressing a gathering from inside a vehicle.
“If a man from your community harasses any girl in the
area, I will pick up your daughters from your homes and rape them,” he was
heard saying in Hindi, as the crowd cheered him on.
Das also alleged that Rs 28 lakh was collected for a
plot to murder him. He also threatened to kill the Muslim residents, who he
alleges had hatched the murder plot.
Another video of the incident, which was shot from a
different angle, showed Das making the hate speech in the presence of police
officers. Das was also heard calling Muslim residents “jihadis” while issuing
the threat.
After the video went viral on social media, the
Sitapur police initiated a probe and Das was arrested on April 13.
Source:IndiaToday
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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Terror Acts In Afghanistan Intended To Sow Division,
Foster Islamophobia: Islamic Awakening Body
April 24, 2022
"Certainly, such actions are planned to create
tension and wage ethnic and religious wars, launch massacre and killings of
Muslims, and as a result, portray an unrealistic image [of Islam] and [spread]
Islamophobia," the assembly said in a statement released on Saturday.
It went on to say that the acting Taliban governing
body in Afghanistan is responsible for ensuring the safety of all Muslims doing
religious activities and should be held accountable.
The recent terrorist assaults in Afghanistan on
mosques are a desecration of the holy month of Ramadan and a continuation of
the slaughter of innocent people carried out by U.S.-backed criminals and
terrorists with the goal of inciting a regional crisis, according to the
organization.
“The recent terrorist act in Mazar-e-Sharif in fact
completes ... a conspiracy and plan that seek to create division among the
Muslim Ummah… and shows that such crimes know no boundaries,” the statement
mentioned.
It highlighted that the Afghan Muslim people will soon
respond appropriately to such atrocities, and it urged all Muslim governments,
nations, groups, and parties, as well as international freedom fighters, to
preserve unity, coherence, and solidarity in the face of the enemies'
machinations.
Since the Taliban took control of the country in
August last year multiple assaults have been recorded, some of which have been
claimed by Daesh.
Taliban’s rule has yet to be recognized by
governments. The former Taliban government was solely recognized by Pakistan,
Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
At least 33 Afghans, including children, were killed
and 43 others were injured as an explosion ripped through a mosque in the
northern city of Kunduz on Friday, the latest in a string of horrific strikes
in the war-torn country.
It happened only a day after a blast at a mosque in
Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan's northernmost city, which left dozens dead and
wounded in the country's second significant attack on the Shia Hazara
population in a week.
Source: Tehran Times
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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Iraq’s Sadr bloc to introduce bill to criminalize
normalization with Israel
25 April 2022
Iraqi lawmakers attend the first session of the new
Iraqi parliament in Baghdad, on January 9, 2022. (File photo via Reuters)
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The political bloc of Iraq’s influential Shia cleric
Muqtada al-Sadr is set to submit a bill criminalizing the normalization of ties
with the Israeli regime.
“The Sadrist bloc and its allies ... will soon
announce a draft project to criminalize normalization and dealing with the
Zionist entity at all,” Sadr wrote in a tweet on Saturday, adding that the bill
would be forwarded to the parliament for a vote.
The “issue of normalization and Israeli ambitions to
dominate our beloved Iraq,” he said, “was one of the core reasons that got the
Sadrist Movement involved with the electoral process again.”
Sadr’s coalition won more than 70 seats in the October
parliamentary election.
The top Shia cleric previously slammed a gathering
that was held in Iraq’s Kurdistan region last September with the aim of pushing
for joining the so-called Abraham Accords and normalizing relations with the
Tel Aviv regime.
Back then, he said Erbil “must forbid such terrorist
Zionist meetings.”
Back in September 2020, the United Arab Emirates and
Bahrain signed normalization deals with Israel. Morocco and Sudan later signed
similar agreements with the Israeli regime as well.
The so-called Abraham Accords were pushed by the US
under former president, Donald Trump.
Palestinians have denounced the normalization deals,
describing them as a “stab in the back” and a “betrayal” to their cause.
Late last year, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry reiterated
Baghdad’s support for the Palestinian cause, stressing that the Arab country
categorically rejects any normalization scheme with the Tel Aviv regime.
Source: Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/04/25/680946/Iraq-Sadr-bloc-bill-criminalize-normalization-Israel
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India
Telangana Muslim Neighbours Offer Their Home For an
Orphan Hindu Girl’s Marriage In Ramzan
24 APR 2022
A Muslim family here offered their house in this month
of Ramzan to organise the marriage function of a Hindu girl, who had lost her
father in the first Covid wave.
The family welcomed the marriage procession at their
home and participated in the celebrations along with relatives of the bride,
Pooja.
The girl's family had fixed her marriage for April 22
and reached out to their Muslim neighbours for help at the last moment.
Rajesh Chaurasia who lives in small house in Alwal
locality of the district said, "We were not able to book any marriage hall
for the marriage of my niece Pooja due to lack of funds and there was no space
at our home to hold such a function."
"When I informed our neighbour Parvez about it,
he offered to hold the marriage in the courtyard of his house, without any
hesitation," he added.
Relieved of this worry, Rajesh and his family focused
on making other arrangements while Parvez and his family looked after the task
of setting up the Mandap.
The family vacated its courtyard where the marriage
Mandap was placed, decorated the place and seating arrangements were made for
guests.
On the day of the wedding, Parvez along with his wife
and other family members welcomed the marriage party. While male members of the
family stood side by side in taking care of the guests, the women of Parvez's
house sang wedding songs along with other women.
The family also hosted the traditional meal and
offered gifts to the guests after the wedding. "Parvez gifted a gold chain
to the groom before the marriage procession returned. They treated the guests
as if Pooja is their own daughter," said Chaurasia.
Parevez's wife Nadira said Pooja and her mother often
use to visit their house and are treated as family members.
"Pooja is like my daughter. So, when we came to
know about her wedding, we tried to do whatever little we could, as family
members. It's also the holy month of Ramzan and what can be better than
organising the marriage of a daughter," said Nadira.
Source: OutlookIndia
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Nagpur Mosque In Hindu Area Lowers Azaan Pitch To
Maintain Harmony
Apr 25, 2022
Nagpur: Amid loudspeaker controversy pitching some
groups from two communities against each other across the country, Telangkhedi
Masjid, the lone mosque in Hindu-dominated locality of Ram Nagar in the city,
has set an example of communal harmony.
For years, prayer calls (Azaan) using loudspeaker from
Telangkhedi Masjid were part of the daily scene in the area. The calls which
could be heard as far as Amravati Road are not being heard for over a fortnight
now.
The masjid management says it has voluntarily decided
to reduce the loudspeaker volume considering the social and political situation
these days. “Times are tough these days and we do not want to offend anyone,”
says Mohammed Salim, secretary. It has been decided to give prayer calls in a
lower pitch,” he says.
“We have been living peacefully with our Hindu
neighbours for years. As a gesture of maintaining communal harmony, we have
decided to keep the loudspeaker volume low,” said Salim, as preparation of a
small iftar went ahead at the doorstep.
Salim said they have faced no complaints from the
neighbours. Rather many could wake up in time and head for their work due to
the fazr call that happens early in the morning, he said.
Members of Muslim socio-religious organizations said a
number of mosques, especially those located in mixed population areas, have
decided to lower the loudspeaker volume. The idea is to avoid any controversy,
especially during Ramzan as it would dampen the spirit.
“There are mosques that have stopped morning prayer
calls. The fazr calls happen early in the morning and largely there have been
complaints against it. As a result, it has been decided to lower the
loudspeaker volume in fazr prayers at least,” said Dr Anwar Siddique, president
of Nagpur unit of Jamaat-e-Islami-e-Hind.
“The recent events including those in Delhi have left
Muslims cautious. We do not want to get instigated and also not give chance to
others,” he said.
Nadeem Shaikh, a social activist attached to
Ahle-Sunnat Wal Jamat, also confirmed that the sound of azaan was lowered down
in his locality. People are also depending on messages on mobiles about the
namaz timings, he said.
As TOI went around localities, there were
confirmations in certain pockets that the loudspeaker sound was lowered. At the
same time, there were reports of the azaans happening as usual in
Muslim-dominated pockets. Sources in the management committees said the volumes
were already within the permissible limits. A shopkeeper in Sadar area said
azaan using loudspeaker has been continuing as usual. Of course, there has not
been any animosity due to it, he added.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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From silence to blaming ‘Bangladeshis, Rohingyas’, why
AAP’s vocabulary on Muslims has changed
ABHISHEK DEY
25 April, 2022
New Delhi: There’s been a sea change in the Aam Aadmi
Party’s (AAP) political vocabulary on issues involving Muslims, from its
earlier strategy of staying silent and keeping a distance, to now blaming
“Bangladeshis” and “Rohingyas” for the communal violence in Delhi’s
Jahangirpuri earlier this month.
According to party insiders — some of whom are
critical of the new approach — this is part of an attempt, as AAP expands
nationally, to appeal to Hindu voters who are ideologically aligned with the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but are disaffected by its governance.
Earlier, AAP had maintained a safe distance from the
Shaheen Bagh protest — largely led by Muslim women — in late 2019 and early
2020 against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), and on multiple issues
concerning Muslims in the following two years.
At the same time, the party included core Hindu
elements in its politics, such as the worship of Hanuman and organising grand
events on Diwali with structures that replicated the under-construction Ram
temple in Ayodhya.
But, in case of Jahangirpuri, AAP put two Muslim
communities at the centre of a blame-game in pursuing its larger strategy of
attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This, several party functionaries
said, is a major change in the party’s vocabulary in terms of taking a
political stand on a communal issue.
Commenting on the Jahangirpuri violence, Delhi Deputy
Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and AAP spokesperson and MLA Atishi alleged that
Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingyas were being settled across India by the
(BJP) to stage riots. BJP leaders had themselves pinned the blame on the same
communities.
Speaking at a press conference Tuesday, Sisodia
alleged, “There is hooliganism across the country because of the BJP today… I
ask them, in the last eight years why did the BJP give shelter to Bangladeshis
and Rohingyas across the country? They gave shelter to them and then used them
to cause communal disharmony across the nation.”
According to several senior AAP functionaries, this
change in the party’s vocabulary from Shaheen Bagh to Jahangirpuri is in line
with its electoral strategy to appeal to a voter base comprising Hindus who may
be ideologically aligned with the BJP but disgruntled with it over issues such
as unemployment, lack of development, and inflation.
They believe that this could be electorally favourable
for the party ahead of assembly elections in the BJP-ruled states of Gujarat
and Himachal Pradesh later this year.
However, another set of senior AAP leaders believe
that this strategy could backfire as it may act as an obstacle to a potential
consolidation of Muslim votes for the party in Gujarat, Karnataka and Telangana
— the latter two are scheduled to hold elections next year — which have sizable
Muslim populations.
ThePrint reached out to Sisodia, Atishi, and other AAP
spokespersons for comments on the matter through phone calls and messages, but
they had not responded by the time this article was published. The article will
be updated with their comments when they respond.
AAP’s shifting stance
In January 2020, ahead of the Delhi assembly polls,
Sisodia had said that he stood with the people of Shaheen Bagh, which triggered
criticism from the BJP. But eventually, AAP stepped back, saying it had no
responsibility towards the Shaheen Bagh protesters.
Later, on several occasions, AAP chief and Delhi CM
Arvind Kejriwal said that the party would oppose the CAA, but he continued to
maintain a distance from Shaheen Bagh. He also said that if his government had
the Delhi Police under its jurisdiction, it would have opened the road blocked
by the protesters in two hours. After the CM’s statement, a large number of
Shaheen Bagh protesters claimed that they felt let down by AAP.
Around the same time, AAP threw its weight behind the
Hindu deity Hanuman, with Kejriwal reciting the Hanuman Chalisa in several TV
interviews and his party colleagues investing in Hanuman rallies and religious
events such as the recitation of Sundarkand — a chapter from Tulsidas’s
Ramcharitmanas that is dedicated to Hanuman.
Soon after AAP won its second term in Delhi with a
majority in February 2020, communal riots rocked northeast Delhi, claiming 53
lives.
Kejriwal visited the affected areas after three days
of violence, organised a peace prayer at Rajghat, and blamed “outsiders” —
maintaining silence on how the violence had primarily started with clashes
between groups led by Hindus supporting the CAA and groups led by Muslims
opposing the law.
A year later, when 25-year-old Rinku Sharma was
stabbed to death in Mangolpuri, AAP claimed that the youth was killed for
chanting “Jai Shri Ram” while the Delhi Police, which comes under the BJP-led
Union government, ruled out a communal angle in the case.
Then, in August 2021, when a group led by a BJP leader
chanted anti-Muslim slogans in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, Kejriwal remained silent
on the issue. Jantar Mantar is located in the New Delhi assembly constituency
where Kejriwal is the MLA.
However, in its reaction to the communal violence in
Jahangirpuri this month, AAP went one step further by putting Bangladeshi
nationals and the Rohingya community — both predominantly Muslims — at the
centre of a blame game while training its guns on the BJP.
“I don’t remember any such instance earlier in which
the party has put any community at the centre of a political blame-game,” said
an AAP legislator who did not wish to be identified.
The BJP, too, has been blaming Bangladeshis and
Rohingyas for the Jahangirpuri violence.
AAP has also maintained a distance from Jahangirpuri.
No AAP leader visited the spot between 16 April, when the violence took place,
and 20 April, when the BJP-ruled North Delhi Municipal Corporation demolished
several shops and other structures in the area in an “anti-encroachment”
exercise that was eventually stayed by the Supreme Court.
On Thursday, AAP sent an MLA to the area.
Also read: Delhi’s Jahangirpuri back to normal, says
police as they monitor 24/7
Electoral calculations
An AAP functionary who did not wish to be named told
ThePrint, “What you call a change in vocabulary is directly linked to electoral
politics. The party is expanding across states. You have to see how there are a
large number of voters who may have voted for the BJP but now there is
disgruntlement among them because the BJP has failed to give them jobs, better
education, better healthcare, better income, better living, etc. AAP has to tap
those votes.”
Another AAP leader, also speaking on condition of
anonymity, asserted that the party had never discriminated against Muslims or
any community in terms of the delivery of good governance, welfare benefits, or
financial assistance.
“But when it comes to what to highlight and what not
to, what stand to take on certain affairs involving Hindus and Muslims, that’s
a total political issue. AAP’s strategy is simple: If the BJP has to be
replaced, you have to beat it at its own game,” the leader said.
However, another senior functionary asserted that this
strategy could backfire, saying, “Maintaining silence over an issue that
affects Muslims is one thing, but to put Muslims at the centre of a blame game
is another thing. This is something that we have seen the party do for the
first time. This can backfire. In Gujarat, Karnataka and Telangana, there is
the possibility of consolidation of Muslim votes — as happened in case of
Delhi. The recent stand of the party may give a wrong signal to voters in those
states.”
In the 2020 Delhi assembly election, AAP emerged
victorious in constituencies with high Muslim populations, such as Okhla,
Jaffrabad, Seelampur, Matia Mahal, and Mustafabad, with these areas witnessing
a consolidation of Muslim votes in favour of the party, said several AAP
leaders.
Former AAP leader Ashutosh told ThePrint, “This is
political opportunism of the highest order. AAP is knowingly jumping into
communal politics, and that can be dangerous. A Hindu vote base, which the
party does not want to disrupt, is clearly at the centre of its politics, and
Kejriwal is projecting himself as a CM for Hindus.”
Ashutosh recalled how he had accompanied Kejriwal when
he visited the family of Akhlaq in Uttar Pradesh’s Dadri in 2015 — a prominent
case of a Muslim man being lynched by a Hindu crowd over suspicion of beef
stored in his refrigerator.
“From those days, the AAP has definitely come a long
way in terms of its political vocabulary — a decline that has been evident only
in recent years,” Ashutosh added.
Praveen Rai, a political analyst with the Delhi-based
Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, told ThePrint, “The political
posturing of AAP on the Jahangirpuri incident is not only intriguing, but is
also bereft of political wisdom. It departed from its earlier stand of either
maintaining silence or guarded statements on Hindu-Muslim issues to avoid
unnecessary controversies and negative electoral impact.”
“The change in strategy with the aim of eyeing Hindu
votes to expand its political outreach could alienate the Muslim community that
seems to be gravitating towards it due to the
Congress vacating the opposition space. It has the potential to backfire,
especially at a time when they are invested in assembly polls in the states of
Gujarat and Karnataka, where they may end up losing both Hindu and Muslim
votes,” he added.
Source: ThePrint
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Mishkal Mosque attack commemoration in Kerala delivers
lesson in communal harmony
25th April 2022
KOZHIKODE: For
every Muslim in Kozhikode, and the people associated with the historic Mishkal
Mosque at Kuttichira, the 22nd day of Ramadan fasting is a poignant occasion.
It marks another anniversary of the Portuguese attack on the mosque, on January
3, 1510. Though the mosque still bears traces of the assault, it now stands as
a prime example of communal harmony. For it was the Zamorin, a Hindu king, who
soothed the nerves of his Muslim subjects by repairing the mosque.
In remembrance of this great harmony between the two
communities, the representatives of the Khasi Foundation of Kozhikode visited
the residence of the current descendants of the erstwhile Zamorin kings’ as a
mark of respect. They presented the family head with a painting of the Mishkal
Mosque, along with a ponnada. Made of wood, the mosque had five-storeys
initially but was damaged in arson during the Portuguese attack.
The major highlights of the mosque are the
Italian-tiled entrance, 24 engraved wooden pillars that support the entire
structure, 47 carved doors and a big prayer hall capable of accommodating
around 300 people. The over seven-centuries-old mosque is now the headquarters
of the Khasi Foundation of Kozhikode.
History has it that the Portuguese force, led by
Alfonso de Albuquerque who came to Kozhikode as the successor of Vasco da Gama,
entered the town via the Kallai river and set the Mishkal Mosque on fire. The
attack destroyed the mihrab (pulpit) of the mosque and damaged the first floor
partially.
During the counter-attack, the Portuguese fort was
demolished by the Zamorin’s army and the Muslims, and its timber was used to
rebuild the mosque. Sheikh Zainuddin Makhdoom Tuhfatul Mujahideen reports that
more than 500 Nair-Muslim soldiers fought against the Portuguese soldiers, many
of whom were killed, and that it took 100 years to rebuild the mosque in
various stages.
Source:New Indian Express
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Udupi Muslim Okkoota condemns BJP leader’s statement
on hijab
APRIL 25, 2022
The Udupi Zilla Muslim Okkoota has condemned the
recent statement of Yashpal Suvarna, national general secretary of BJP Backward
Classes Morcha, that India will ban wearing hijab in public places even before
France which he had claimed is planning to ban it along with halal food.
Mr. Suvarna is also the vice-president of college
development committee of Government Pre-University College for Girls in Udupi
from where the controversy over wearing Hijab in classrooms spread to other
parts in the State.
Secretary of the okkoota Ismail Hussain said in a
press release in Udupi on Sunday that Mr. Suvarna’s statement aims at stirring
the cordial relationship among communities in the society and also paint hijab
in a poor light. Being a member of a national political party which pledged to
keep the democratic principles up, Mr. Suvarna’s statement demeans the
democracy of India, he said.
“If BJP as a national political party resorts to
silence and indirectly accepts his statement, it is a worrying situation,” Mr.
Hussain said. Stating that Mr. Suvarna should stop sowing the seeds of hatred
and behave responsibly Mr. Hussain said that countries like New Zealand,
England, Ireland, and Canada among other Western countries which have allowed
wearing hijab even for police staff.
Source:TheHindu
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Muslims close shops for Sri Ram Sene’s Ram Navami
procession at Aland in Kalaburagi district
APRIL 24, 2022
Some down shutters voluntarily, but others were asked
by police to do so
Shops and business establishments owned and operated
by Muslims in Aland town, Kalaburagi district, remained closed on Sunday for
facilitating the procession organised by the Sri Ram Sene to celebrate Ram
Navami.
Some of the traders said that they had closed their
units voluntarily just to avoid any damage to them considering the recent
communal disturbance in the town, when the same organisation attempted to storm
the Ladle Mashak Dargah on the pretext of doing purification puja for the
Raghava Chaitanya Shivalinga allegedly present.
But others said that they were asked by the police to
close their establishments, especially those on the route through which the
procession was planned.
On March 1, many right-wing activists, including
members of the ruling BJP and the Sri Ram Sene, gathered in the town defying
the prohibitory orders clamped under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code
and attempted to enter the dargah.
but the police had stopped the mob and averted a major
communal clash.
Subhash Guttedar, MLA for Aland, who flagged off the
Ram Navami procession on Sunday at the main market in the town, told The Hindu
that the procession was systematically planned for the first time in the town
to mobilise the youth from villages.
“Keeping in mind the untoward incidents in the recent
past, I am leading today’s procession to ensure a peaceful celebration of Ram
Navami. Youth from the surrounding villages have come to participate in the
event,” Mr. Guttedar said.
Kalaburagi Superintendent of Police Isha Pant, who had
camped in the town along with Additional Superintendent of Police Prasanna
Desai, said that adequate police force was deployed in the town to ensure
peaceful celebration.
“Around 1,000 police officials have been deployed.
Contingents of the District Armed Reserve, the Karnataka State Reserve Police,
the Civil Police from Bidar and Yadgir districts, apart from Kalaburagi
district police, have been deployed in the town. Sixty CCTV cameras are
installed and five drone cameras are deployed to keep a vigil on the procession.
We are also monitoring the visuals on over 30 CCTV cameras that were already
installed at various private establishments. Besides, 15 cameramen with
handicams are capturing the visuals of processions,” Ms. Pant told The Hindu.
Source:TheHindu
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Fair to assume bulldozer-enabled demolitions aimed at
Muslims, poor: P Chidambaram
24th April 2022
NEW DELHI: The recent bulldozer-enabled demolitions
reflect a "complete breakdown of law and order" and it is fair to
assume that this "novel" method of removing encroachments is aimed at
the Muslim community and the poor, senior Congress leader and former home
minister P Chidambaram said on Sunday.
In an interview with PTI, Chidambaram came down hard
on the Jahangirpuri demolitions and those in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone earlier,
saying the BJP leaders' justification of the bulldozer-enabled demolitions
"flies in the face of the law" On criticism from certain quarters
that the Congress delegation was late by a day in visiting the Jahangirpuri
demolition site with Opposition leaders such as Brinda Karat and Asaduddin
Owaisi reaching there first, the former Union minister said, "I am not
aware of who visited when. I know that a Congress delegation visited the area
shortly after the demolitions were carried out. If there was an unexplained
delay, I regret it."
"Why do you bring religion into the issue when my
concern is the gross and blatant violation of the established legal
procedure," he said while responding to a question on whether the alleged
delay was due to the Congress fear of the BJP's Muslim appeasement charge.
Asked if the Congress should push for secularism more
aggressively in the face of the soft Hindutva charge against the party,
Chidambaram said secularism is part of the basic structure of the Constitution
and it is a basic foundational value of the Congress.
"It is not enough to remain secular. Everyone
must speak the language of secularism and raise a protest when secularism is
violated. I cannot accept any departure from secularism," Chidambaram
said.
There is nothing to be gained by straying from the
straight path, he added.
On "bulldozer politics" becoming the
buzzword in the political lexicon in light of the events in Delhi's
Jahangirpuri and Madhya Pradesh's Khargone, Chidambaram said the BJP leaders'
justification of bulldozer-enabled demolitions "flies in the face of the
law".
In every municipality or panchayat law, there are
provisions for gathering information on encroachments/illegal constructions,
issuing notice to the person concerned to remove the encroachment, giving an
opportunity to submit objections, passing a reasoned order, a provision for an
appeal and, if the appeal is dismissed, issuing another notice before the
demolition squad is deployed, he said.
"Was any of these steps complied with in any of
the recent demolitions? That is why there is no law, no order and it is a
complete breakdown of law and order. Whose house or shop was demolished is not
material," he asserted.
On observations by certain quarters that Muslims were
being targeted through such actions, he said that based on information in the
public domain, it appears that most of the houses and shops that were
demolished belonged to Muslims and the poor.
"If that perception is wrong, the authorities
concerned should publish the correct data. As long as the perception remains —
and is not contradicted — it is fair to assume that this 'novel' method of
removing encroachments/ illegal constructions is aimed at the Muslim community
and the poor," Chidambaram said.
By the way, there are whole colonies in which the rich
live where many houses are illegal constructions, he said.
Those who justify the bulldozer-enabled demolitions
without observing the law are digging a hole into which they may fall in the
future, the senior Congress leader said.
"I am not raising the question of secularism, I
am asking simply 'does law allow such demolitions?' If the answer is no, that
is enough to condemn the demolitions. If you ignore the law, you do so at your
peril," he said.
Asked about the Aam Aadmi party bringing in
Bangladeshis and Rohingyas in the discourse of the Jahangirpuri demolitions,
Chidambaram said the AAP is becoming "adventurous" like the BJP.
"I am concerned by the tendency of political
parties to see a burning issue as an opportunity to score a political point
that has no relevance to the issue at hand," he said.
The issues of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas have nothing
to do with bulldozer-enabled demolitions, Chidambaram stressed.
Several concrete and temporary structures in
Jahangirpuri were brought down last week as part of an anti-encroachment drive
by the BJP-ruled North MCD, days after the northwest Delhi neighbourhood was
rocked by communal violence.
The Supreme Court had to intervene twice to stop the
drive after it took cognisance of a petition filed by Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind
against the demolition.
A delegation of Congress leaders visited the area on
Thursday but were stopped by the police from going to the site where the
anti-encroachment drive was conducted a day before.
Bulldozers razing several structures in violence-hit
Jahangirpuri during an anti-encroachment drive had triggered political sparring
with the Opposition alleging it was a demolition of India's constitutional
values and the BJP asserting it was a legal exercise which had nothing to do
with religion.
Earlier this month, the Madhya Pradesh government
launched a drive in Khargone against "illegal" properties allegedly
belonging to those involved in the stone-pelting and other forms of violence
that broke out during a Ram Navami procession on April 10.
Source:New Indian Express
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South Asia
Taliban’s Defence Minister: Will Not Tolerate
“Invasion” from Neighbours
25 Apr 2022
Acting Defense Minister of the Islamic Emirate of
Afghanistan Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob Mujahid reacted to Pakistan’s recent
airstrikes in Khost and Kunar provinces saying “invasion” will not be tolerated
next time.
Speaking at his late father and the founder of the
Taliban Mullah Muhammad Omar Mujahid’s anniversary the defense minister said,
they (Taliban) tolerated Pakistan’s airstrikes for the sake of national
interests but will not keep quiet next time.
“Afghanistan is still facing big challenges both from
the world and neighboring countries, a clear example of the latter is the
recent invasion of Pakistan in Khost and Kunar provinces. We are both
responsible for protecting our country but also our people.” Said Mullah
Yaqoob. “We tolerated the invasion this time for our national interest and next
time we might not do so.” He added.
In Pakistan’s recent airstrikes in the Spera district
of the southeasternKhost province, 47 civilians were killed and more than 20
wounded.
Source: Khaama Press
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UNICEF: Education should not Be Hostage to Politics
25 Apr 2022
United Nations International Children Emergency Fund
(UNICEF) has once again expressed concern over the closure of secondary schools
for girls adding that education in Afghanistan should not be a hostage to
politics.
Paloma Escudero, Director of Global Support and
Communications of UNICEF who visited girls’ primary schools in Kabul on
Saturday said it has been more than a month that girls over grade sixth are
denied their rights to education across Afghanistan.
The Directorate added that Afghan girls need
international support and called on the donor countries not to spare any
support when it comes to backing schools girls in Afghanistan.
Further, Escudero added that the US as one of the
donor countries will continue it assistance to Afghanistan and that girls’
education is the top priority of UNICEF in Afghanistan.
The UNICEF plans to pay two-month stipends o 200,000
teachers across Afghanistan and has so far distributed 35 million textbooks in
the country.
Source: Khaama Press
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https://www.khaama.com/unicef-education-should-not-be-hostage-to-politics-5487567/
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Turkey Repatriates 227 Afghan Refugees
25 Apr 2022
Turkish officials announced that they have sent back
up to 227 Afghan refugees that had entered the country illegally in a bid to
combat irregular migration to the country.
The Afghan refugees were expedited to their homeland
after having been kept in a repatriation camp for a short period of time.
The refugees were flown out from the eastern Malatya
province of Turkey in a chartered flight, the local migration office said.
The Malatya airport has seen up to 681 Afghan refugees
having been flown out since the resumption of chartered flights.
Turkey is currently dealing with an influx of refugees
from conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Syria, and now Ukraine which has made
it difficult for the host country to handle as it goes through a bad economic
situation.
Turkey which hosts 4 million refugees is the biggest
refugee-hosting nation in the world.
The country is the favorite for refugees who intend to
move to Europe.
Source: Khaama Press
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Taliban shifting terrorists away from Pak-Afghan
border after Islamabad warning
Kamran Yousaf
April 25, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
The Afghan Taliban-led interim government has started
taking steps to shift terrorist groups away from Pakistan-Afghan border regions
to other parts after a series of recent cross-border attacks drew strong
reaction from Islamabad.
Officials familiar with the development told The
Express Tribune on Sunday that Pakistan after recent spate of cross-border
terrorist attacks conveyed to the Afghan Taliban in clear terms to take action
against terrorist groups or face the consequences.
In response to Pakistan’s strong message, the Taliban
have decided to persuade banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its
affiliates to move from border regions to other areas of Afghanistan.
"Some of the groups have already been moved out
of our border regions," said a senior Pakistani official, who deals with
the issue. He requested not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the
issue.
Pakistan, the official said, though doesn't agree with
the approach but accept the Taliban’s decision to at least to stop immediate
cross-border terrorist attacks.
"Our demand is clear that these groups must be
eliminated or dealt with in a manner that they never pose threat to us
again," the official added.
There has been a surge in cross border terrorist
attacks in recent weeks with scores of Pakistani soldiers embracing martyrdom.
On Saturday, three Pakistani soldiers lost their lives
in North Waziristan district when terrorists from across the border launched an
attack. On April 14, seven Pakistani soldiers were martyred in a similar
terrorist attack.
After that attack, Pakistan reportedly carried out air
strikes in Kunar and Khost provinces of Afghanistan to eliminate the terrorist
hideouts.
The foreign office also issued a strongest statement
yet condemning the cross-border terrorist attacks.
The strongly-worded statement said terrorists were
using the Afghan soil with impunity and urged the Afghan Taliban to take stern
section against them.
When the Taliban returned to power, Pakistan hoped
that the new dispensation would deal with these terror groups. Despite
promises, officials said the Taliban haven't yet taken decisive action to
fulfil their commitments.
"It only makes their (Taliban) case difficult as
far as the recognition is concerned," the official said without mincing
any words.
Pakistan in recent months has been increasingly
frustrated by the Taliban government's reluctance to eliminate TTP and other
groups.
Part of the reason that the Taliban are not ready to
take action these groups is because they fought alongside them against the
US-led foreign forces and also share the same ideology.
Source: Tribune Pakistan
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Arab World
Boat carrying migrants sinks off Lebanon, 45 rescued:
Minister
24 April ,2022
A child died and 45 people were rescued Saturday after
a boat carrying around 60 migrants sank off Lebanon, where deadly sea crossings
have spiraled due to an economic crisis.
“Forty-five people have been rescued and the corpse of
one child,” has been retrieved from the boat that sank near the coast of the
northern city of Tripoli, Public Works and Transport Minister Ali Hamie told a
local broadcaster.
He said around 60 people were on the vessel carrying
illegal migrants out of Lebanon.
“The search is ongoing,” Hamie said.
The Lebanese Red Cross said it had sent 10 ambulances
to Tripoli.
An AFP correspondent said the army had closed off the
port, allowing entry only to ambulances which were zipping in and out.
The families of some of the passengers gathered to
check on their loves ones but they were denied access.
“This happened because of the politicians who forced
unemployed Lebanese to leave the country,” said one man waiting for news of a
relative outside the port.
Lebanon, a country of around six million people, is
grappling with an unprecedented financial crisis that the World Bank says is on
a scale usually associated with wars.
The currency has lost more than 90 percent of its
purchasing power and the majority of the population lives below the poverty line.
The UN refugee agency says at least 1,570 people, 186
of them Lebanese, left or tried to leave illegally by sea from Lebanon between
January and November 2021.
Most were hoping to reach European Union member
Cyprus, an island 175 kilometers (110 miles) away.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Saudi King and Crown Prince congratulate Macron on
re-election
25 April ,2022
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman congratulated French President Emmanuel Macron on his reelection,
the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Monday morning.
The King and Crown Prince sent their best wishes to
the President and the French people following Sunday’s election.
Macron has previously worked with Saudi leaders to
cooperate on solving the economic crisis in Lebanon.
He visited the Kingdom as part of a Gulf tour in
December, becoming the first major Western leader to do so since 2018.
Macron beat rival Marine Le Pen by a comfortable
margin on Sunday, avoiding what would have been a massive shake-up of the
political establishment if his far-right opponent had won.
The centrist Macron won with around 57 percent of the
vote, initial tallies showed.
In his victory speech he acknowledged that many had
simply voted for him to keep the far-right out of power.
“Many in this country voted for me not because they
support my ideas but to keep out those of the far-right. I want to thank them
and know I owe them a debt in the years to come,” he said.
“No one in France will be left by the wayside,” he
said in a message that had already been spread by senior ministers doing the
rounds on French TV stations.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Yemen's Houthis offer to release 200 prisoners before
Eid al-Fitr: Al-Masirah
25 April ,2022
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement made a new offer
to the United Nations that includes the release of 200 prisoners from each of
the warring parties in Yemen before Muslim's Eid al-Fitr, Al-Masirah TV said on
Sunday citing the head of the Houthis' prisoner affairs committee, Abdul Qader
al-Murtada.
Murtada said the reason for the new offer is the delay
in the implementation of a prisoner swap agreement, adding the group is waiting
for a response of the Arab Coalition, which it hopes will be positive.
Last month, Yemen's warring parties discussed a
possible prisoner swap which could see hundreds of detainees freed, including
16 Saudi nationals and a brother of the Yemeni former President Abd-Rabbu
Mansour Hadi, but no final agreement had been reached since.
Murtada has said that the deal, under the auspices of
the United Nations, could free 1,400 Houthi prisoners in return for 823
coalition prisoners, including 16 Saudis and three Sudanese prisoners.
Source: Al Arabiya
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First Sanaa flight in six years cancelled over
Houthi-issued passports: Yemen govt
24 April ,2022
The first commercial flight due to take off from
Yemen’s capital in six years was canceled on Sunday.
Moammar al-Iryani, the information minister of the
country’s internationally-recognized government, said flight was canceled as
some passengers had been issued passports by the Iran-backed Houthi militia.
While 104 passengers bore government-approved
passports, 60 had “unreliable” passports issued by the Houthis, al-Iryani said
in a tweet.
The Yemeni government announced in March 2017 that it
doesn't recognize documents issued by the Houthis.
As part of a truce between the warring sides that
began at the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan in early April, the two
parties agreed to operate two commercial flights a week to and from Sanaa to
Jordan and Egypt.
Sunday’s flight was destined to land in Jordan’s
capital Amman.
Hans Grundberg, the UN special envoy for Yemen, urged
both sides to “work constructively” with the UN to address the challenges that
delayed the flight.
“The Truce is meant to benefit civilians including
through reducing violence, making fuel available, and improving their freedom
of movement to, from and within their country,” he said on Twitter. He did not
elaborate.
Along with the flights, the truce also included
allowing 18 vessels carrying fuel into the port of Hodeida, which is controlled
by the Houthis.
The sides have also yet to convene on a reopening of
roads around Taiz and other provinces as part of the truce. The government
accused the Houthis of delaying the meeting as they did not send their
delegation’s members to the UN envoy's office where the meeting was to be held.
The truce has resulted in a subsiding of ground and
air fighting and the Houthis have stopped their cross-border attacks on Saudi
Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, another pillar of the anti-Houthi
coalition.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Saudi Arabia safely welcomes 14 million visitors to
Prophet’s Mosque during Ramadan
23 April ,2022
At least 14 million worshippers have attended prayers
at the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina since the beginning of the holy month of
Ramadan, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Saturday.
The organizing authority said they worked with
“auxiliary agencies” in addition to in-house staff to enhance the operational
capacity of the mosque during the high-influx month.
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channel online or via the app.
The team worked 24 hours a day and “doubled efforts”
to host the millions of visitors who flocked to the place of worship, the
Adviser and Under-General for Executive and Field Affairs Abdulaziz al-Ayoubi
said, according to SPA.
Meanwhile, as the Kingdom ramped up safety measures in
light of this visitor influx, the country’s minister of health confirmed that
there were no “epidemic outbreaks, diseases, or events threatening public
health,” SPA reported.
Minister Fahd al-Jalajil also said that the authority
“continues to provide preventive, curative and ambulatory services” for Umrah
attendees through hospitals and primary health care centers.
Preventive measures, epidemiological examination
procedures and rapid infection response have also been planned, he added,
according to SPA.
To achieve the scale of this operation, al-Jalajil
said that the Ministry had recruited more than 18,000 people to serve visitors
in the holy month.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Hezbollah chief warns of plots to plunge Lebanon into
strife after boat tragedy
25 April 2022
The secretary-general of the Lebanese Hezbollah
resistance movement has warned of a slide towards violence in a country
grappling with a major economic crisis after at least six people, including a
child, died as a boat carrying dozens of migrants sank in the eastern
Mediterranean.
“We must not allow anyone to take the country to
strife, and this incident must be addressed at the national level,” Sayyed
Hassan Nasrallah said during a speech in the Lebanese capital city of Beirut on
Sunday evening.
He made the remarks on the occasion of Laylat al-Qadr
or the Night of Destiny – a holy night during the last 10 days of the holy
month Ramadan in which the first verses of the Holy Qur’an were revealed to
Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) some 14 centuries ago.
“All of the elements of the investigation are known
and hurrying up in the probe is the least duty that one can do,” the Hezbollah
leader added.
Nasrallah also called on the government to “stand by
the victims’ families.”
Earlier on Sunday, at least six people died and 48 people
were rescued after a boat carrying about 60 migrants sank off the coast of
Lebanon.
“The army’s naval forces managed to rescue 48 people
and retrieve the body of a dead girl … from a boat that sank while trying to
illegally smuggle them out,” the army said in a statement.
“Most people on board were rescued,” the army said,
without specifying their nationalities.
The army retrieved five corpses off Tripoli’s coast,
the state-run National News Agency reported, hours after the body of a little
girl was returned to shore.
The latest incident stoked public anger in Tripoli,
Lebanon’s second city and one of its poorest.
Since late 2019, Lebanon has been mired in a deep
financial crisis that has caused the Lebanese pound to lose around 90 percent
of its value to the US dollar and led its banking system to collapse, plunging
the bulk of Lebanese into poverty.
The economic and financial crisis is mostly linked to
the sanctions that the United States and its allies have imposed on Lebanon as
well as foreign intervention in the Arab nation’s domestic affairs.
The United Nations refugee agency says at least 1,570
people, 186 of them Lebanese, left or tried to leave by sea from Lebanon
between January and November 2021.
Most were hoping to reach the island country and
European Union member state of Cyprus, which lies 175 kilometers (109 miles)
away.
Most of those trying to leave Lebanon by sea are
Syrian refugees, but Lebanese nationals have increasingly joined them.
Hezbollah offers condolences to victims’ families
Moreover, Hezbollah expressed its deepest condolences
over the Tripoli boat tragedy and described the disaster as a manifestation of
Lebanon’s financial and economic crisis caused by decades of flawed policies,
neglect of public demands, and deprivation of people’s rights.
Hezbollah termed the incident a wake-up call, calling
on senior Lebanese officials and all political parties to collaborate and
maintain social solidarity in order to cope with the repercussions of the
ordeal.
Source: Press TV
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Pakistan
Imran Khan ‘playing with’ Pakistan’s interests to keep
his failed politics: Minister
24 April, 2022
Islamabad [Pakistan], April 24 (ANI): Pakistan’s
Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal on Sunday said that former
Prime Minister Imran Khan is “playing with Pakistan’s interests” to keep his
“failed politics” alive.
The minister, who is a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz
(PML-N) leader, made the remarks while addressing a press conference in Lahore.
The minister said the National Security Committee
(NSC) of Pakistan twice dismissed the possibility of any foreign conspiracy,
however, “Imran Niazi is playing with national interests to keep his politics
alive,” Dawn reported.
“If Pakistan wants to be a strong country, we need to
have a strong economy,” he reportedly said, adding, “That can only happen when
we align ourselves with the global economy.”
The comments come at a time when Imran Khan, who was
ousted following a historic no-confidence motion in the country, has been
addressing rallies in various cities making claims that he was ousted as a
result of a foreign-backed conspiracy.
Iqbal, in his presser, termed the frequent mentions of
“conspiracy” by the ex-PM the “rona-virus”, vowing the country would move
forward and the coalition government would fix all issues facing the country.
Iqbal alleged that when the PTI was in power, it had
hampered the CPEC’s progress and soured ties with the European Union, the
United States and even brotherly Muslim countries, risking the isolation of the
country.
“We have to set Pakistan on the path of (development,
like) Malaysia, Turkey, China and South Korea,” Iqbal said.
The PML-N leader also accused the PTI of trying to
pressurise the Election Commission of Pakistan in an alleged attempt to
influence the foreign funding case.
On Saturday, Imran Khan had called on Chief Election
Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja to resign, accusing him of bias.
Raja subsequently said there was no valid reason to do
so and would remain in his position in the best interests of the country.
Source:ThePrint
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Govt, PTI leaders exchange harsh comments over Miftah
Ismail's statement
24 April,2022
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Federal Finance Minister
Miftah Ismail’s controversial statement regarding Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
(PTI) Chairman Imran Khan brought the leadership of government and PTI face to
face, as both sides hurled criticism at each other.
According to details, Miftah Ismail, while talking in
Washington, quoted reference of Quranic verse in his statement about Imran
Khan. PTI leadership strongly condemned the remarks made by the finance
minister expressing that he shouldn’t have used the reference of Quranic verses
in such a non-serious manner.
Former Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari brutally
criticized Miftah Ismail saying that he should be ashamed of flattering
America. She was of the view that he has mentioned the basic Islamic concepts
like Amr bi al-Maruf in a very non-serious manner.
Shireen further said in her tweet that their ignorance
is evident from their murmurs.
The PTI leader termed them as ‘gang of thugs’ and said
that Isn’t anything sacred for this gang of thugs?
While Former Minister of State for Information Farrukh
Habib said that Muftah Ismail should not have quoted any Quranic verses.
Finance Minister tried to play religion card, Muftah
Ismail should apologize, he added.
JUI-F leader Hafiz Hamdullah replied to Shireen
Mazari’s tweet saying that we are patient because of the injunctions of Islam
and instruction of honor for women, do not force us.
The self-proclaimed liberal PTI gang is using religion
for its political purposes, he added.
He further bashed the PTI leader while harshly
taunting for Idolatry of a leader, who as per his remarks doesn’t know how to
honor the religion.
He said that Imran Niazi is Abu Jahl of politics who
neither sees the truth nor dares to follow it.
According to the JUI-F leader the PTI leadership are
invoking violence by making such statements and using the religion card.
He said Imran Niazi and Shireen Mazari will be held
responsible if any political opponent’s life is harmed as a result of
statements inciting violence.
Misinterpretation of religion for the sake of politics
is also a crime in Islam, stated Hafiz Hamdullah.
In this regard, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail wrote
in a message on the social networking website Twitter that first it was Imran
Khan using religion card for politics but now his ministers are following the
same path.
Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Faisal Subzwari
while talking in support of Miftah Ismail on the matter scoffed Shireen Mazari
by terming the use of religion card in politics to be a trade of illiterate
people.
Source:DunyaNews
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Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi Emir Calls For Elimination Of
Dynasties In Political Parties
April 24, 2022
Strengthened democracy is the key for a sustainable
political system in the country but dynasties within political parties are a
serious impediment to a strong democratic system.
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman
said this on Saturday while addressing an Iftar reception held in the honour of
notables of the city at the Idara Noor-e-Haq, the JI headquarters in Karachi.
Representatives from civil society organisations,
political parties and other segments of society as well as senior journalists
attended the ceremony.
Addressing the programme, Rehman demanded that the
government hold a fresh census in Karachi on a war-footing basis as elections
on the basis of flawed results of the 2017 census would be a grave injustice to
30 million individuals of the city.
He also demanded due share for Karachi and its people
in the resources, and reasonable proportional representation in the federal and
provincial legislatures. The JI leader maintained that a free and fair census
in Karachi was crucial to ensure its due share in the resources and a proper
representation of the city at the legislative forums.
He also demanded that the Sindh government act
accordingly as per the agreement between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and
JI to establish an empowered local government setup in Karachi.
Talking about the local issues of the city, Rehman
emphasised the need for eliminating the monopoly of the K-Electric (KE) in the
power sector. He criticised the power utility for causing trouble to 30 million
people in Karachi by increased load-shedding even in the holy month of Ramazan.
He also highlighted the issue of acute water shortage
in the city and demanded that the government complete the K-IV water project in
its original capacity of 650 million gallons of water per day to Karachi,
instead of the altered project of 260 million gallons per day.
The JI city chief urged political workers to challenge
dynastic politics in their respective parties to ensure merit-based decisions
in the parties. He said that elimination of dynastic system was essential for
stability of the country and democracy.
On the subject of electoral reforms, he said the JI
demanded a proportional-representation-based electoral system in the country.
Source:TheNews Pakistan
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IHC suspends order asking ECP to decide PTI funding
case in 30 days
Tahir Naseer
April 25, 2022
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday suspended its
earlier order directing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to decide the
foreign funding case against the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in 30 days.
A two judge bench, presided by Chief Justice Athar
Minallah and including Justice Babar Sattar, suspended the earlier order given
by the court's single-judge bench comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani.
In his ruling earlier this month, Justice Kayani had
dismissed PTI's petition seeking to keep its foreign funding confidential
terming it non-maintainable and misconceived. He had also rejected the request
to prevent giving access of the case's record to PTI founding member Akbar S
Babar and a request to remove him from the case proceedings.
Source: Dawn
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Cuban envoy calls out Ahsan Iqbal for 'disrespectful'
remarks on his country
April 25, 2022
Cuba Ambassador to Pakistan Zéner Caro on Monday
called out Federal Minister for Planning and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal
for his "disrespectful" remarks on Cuba, given during a press
conference in Lahore yesterday.
At a media talk on Sunday, Iqbal had said that
Pakistan wanted to become a strong country for which it needed a strong economy
and positioning with the global economy.
He said he did not want Pakistan to turn into Cuba or
North Korea. "We have to set Pakistan on the path of [development, like]
Malaysia, Turkey, China and South Korea," the minister had added.
Responding to Iqbal's comments today, Caro tweeted,
"Fortunately, Minister Ahsan Iqbal's disrespectful mention of Cuba in his
press conference in Lahore does not represent and has nothing to do with
Pakistanis' true respect and deep affection for Cuba."
Earlier, journalists and activists on Twitter had also
criticised the minister for his remarks, recalling Cuba's support for Pakistan
in tough times.
ZebunnisaBurki, a journalist, said someone needed to
explain basic history to Iqbal. "He seems to think Cuba = North
Korea," she added.
Another journalist Murtaza Solangi remarked that
Pakistan would always remain "grateful to the heroic people of Cuba".
Meanwhile, activist Ammar Ali Jan demanded an apology
from Iqbal.
Following the Cuban ambassador's tweet, the federal
minister took to Twitter and clarified that his remarks were "only in the context
of foreign policy".
Source: Dawn
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FO 'deplores' Indian advisory stopping students from
seeking higher education in Pakistan
Naveed Siddiqui
April 25, 2022
Pakistan on Monday slammed India's University Grants
Commission for advising its students against travelling to Pakistan for the
purpose of seeking higher education and sought a "clarification" from
the Indian government over the matter.
The statement from the Foreign Office comes in the
wake of a notice issued by the All lndia Council for Technical Education and
University of Grants Commission of India warning that "Indian nationals or
overseas Indian citizen who intended to take admissions in any Pakistani
educational institute or degree programme would not be eligible for employment
or higher education in India."
However, it added that migrants and their children who
had received higher education in Pakistan would be eligible for seeking Indian
employment, provided they were granted citizenship and obtained security
clearance.
Pakistan strongly condemned the notice as
"tyrannical authoritarianism".
"It is regrettable that driven by its incurable
obsession with Pakistan, the Government of India is unabashedly coercing the
students in order to deter them from pursuing quality education of their
choice," the FO said.
It stated that the contents of the notice had exposed
the BJP-RSS combine's deep-seated ideological animus and chronic hostility
towards Pakistan.
"It is deplorable that as part of its mission
'Hindu Rashtra', the Indian government has resorted to such moves in order to
stoke hyper-nationalism in the country."
Source: Dawn
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Pakistan, Iraq to sign deals on cooperation in various
sectors
April 25, 2022
ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of Iraq Hamid Abbas Lafta has
said that Pakistan and Iraq will sign agreements on cooperation in various
sectors, including trade promotion and tariff rationalisation, to enhance
bilateral economic and trade ties.
Pakistan and Iraq will sign 10 agreements to promote
such cooperation in coming June, which will mark the beginning of a new era in
enhancing bilateral relations, the ambassador told APP on Sunday.
These agreements would be signed on tax and tariff
exemptions, economic and trade cooperation, coordination against human trafficking
and other crimes, besieds air connectivity, he said.
Ambassador Lafta said there was a huge potential for
the development of bilateral trade between the two countries in near future. He
said Iraq was a free market, offering vast opportunities for Pakistani
investors, from which the local business community could benefit from.
He expressed the hope that the current $100 million
bilateral trade would be doubled, which would require cooperation in the
petroleum and tourism sectors as well as more air travel facilities.
According to him, talks are also under way to make air
connectivity more effective in both the countries and agreements will be signed
in this regard.
The ambassador said that in order to improve economic
and trade cooperation, it was necessary to know each other’s markets and in
this regard exhibitions and seminars should be organised to boost interest of
business class and investors from both countries.
He said that about 200 businessmen had gone to Iraq to
participate in the trade exhibition this year.
In response to a question, the ambassador said that
200,000 Pakistanis visited the Iraqi cities of Karbala, Najaf and Baghdad every
year and locals in those cities did not leave any stone unturned in their
service and love.
In addition, there was a need to attract Pakistanis
for traditional tourism in the tourist areas of Iraq, which would boost tourism
on both sides, he added.
He said: “We want to promote mutual cooperation with
Pakistan in petro-chemical and other fields of energy and in this regard
technical support and mutual cooperation can be extended in every possible
way.”
Ambassador Lafta said there were numerous investment
opportunities for Pakistani companies in the construction sector in southern
Iraq.
The ambassador said Pakistan is a youth-majority
country and the youth in Iraq and Pakistan need to be made aware of the
historical religious ties between the people of both countries.
Source: Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1686691/pakistan-iraq-to-sign-deals-on-cooperation-in-various-sectors
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Imran Khan fighting for Pakistan’s sovereignty, says
ex-minister
April 25, 2022
GUJAR KHAN: Former federal ministers Fawad Chaudhry
and Hammad Azhar here on Sunday said Imran Khan was fighting for the
sovereignty of Pakistan, not for coming back to power.
The senior members of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)
attended an Iftar dinner in the Ludhar area of Jhelum where a large number of
party supporters were present.
“Next elections are a few weeks away as preparations
for the long march towards Islamabad are underway,” Mr Azhar said, adding “the
imported government would soon be sent back and Imran Khan would return with a
two-third majority in the National Assembly.”
Fawad Chaudhry said the one who stabs their friends in
the back cannot be trusted. Referring to his cousin and disgruntled PTI MNA
from NA-66 (Jhelum-I) Chaudhry Farrukh Altaf, Mr Fawad said his politics would
have been buried long ago if he was not given a PTI ticket in 2018.
Many of the local PTI workers were not in favour of
awarding the ticket to Mr Altaf but Imran Khan was kind enough. However, he
left Imran Khan in hard times, the former minister said.
“You can either become rich or become honourable, and
we chose respect and did not change sides.” He said NA-66 would be won by the
PTI candidate as it was won in the name of Imran Khan last time.
”When I contested the election from PindDadan Khan in
2018, I chose a leader of good stature. If you choose dwarfs as leaders, they
cannot lead you,” he said.
Pakistanis living in Europe and America understand how
they are looked down upon because of Islamophobia and Imran Khan raised the
issue that got international attention, he said.
Meanwhile, disgruntled PTI MNA Chaudhry Farrukh Altaf
announced that he would contest the next elections on the ticket of the PML-N.
Speaking at a Iftar dinner arranged in Dina city, Mr
Altaf said the three-year government of the PTI was the worst in the history of
Pakistan.
Source: Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1686596/imran-khan-fighting-for-pakistans-sovereignty-says-ex-minister
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Southeast Asia
Shariah court sentences Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin to
one week jail for ‘insulting’ Islamic judicial system
25 Apr 2022
BY YISWAREE PALANSAMY
KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 — The Kuala Lumpur Shariah High
Court today sentenced Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah to one week in jail
for contempt of court over her statement that had reportedly “insulted” the
Islamic judicial system.
Free Malaysia Today reported that the decision was
over Maria’s statement on September 5, 2019, in which she remarked that Muslim
women in Malaysia are still being discriminated against under the shariah
judicial system here.
National news agency Bernama reported that Syarie
judge Mohamed Fouzi Mokhtar saying that the article published by Maria Chin on
September 5, 2019 as a respondent to a case initiated by prominent businessman
Datuk SM Faisal SM Nasimuddin and the latter’s ex-wife Emilia Hanafi had
belittled, demeaned and insulted the Shariah Court.
“The title used by the respondent in the article
itself has insulted the court and given a wrong impression of the Shariah Court
institution to the public. Her article also contained factual errors and
irrelevant points.
“The court hereby rules that the respondent has
committed contempt of court through her article. The court also rejects the
show-cause notice submitted by Maria Chin. Therefore, the court sentences the
respondent to seven days in jail beginning today,” Fouzi was quoted saying in
his judgment.
But Bernama also reported that the Syarie judge
granted a stay of execution pending an appeal to be filed at the Shariah Court
of Appeal.
Source: MalayMail
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Maria Chin’s sentence should be reversed, says ex-law
minister
Tsubasa Nair
April 25, 2022
PETALING JAYA: Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim said
Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah’s jail sentence was regrettable and should
be reversed as her criticism was not directed at Islam but at the shariah legal
system and process.
“These laws are man-made, not divine, and the courts
should not feel as though people who criticise the system are insulting the
religion,” Zaid told FMT.
He added that if people were unable to critique the
court system, it would never improve.
“This is bad for Islam itself and the higher
authorities should reverse the sentencing.”
Zaid also said the shariah high court’s decision set a
bad precedent as now no one would speak up on weaknesses in the system.
This morning, the shariah high court sentenced Maria
to seven days jail for contempt of court over her September 2019 statement:
“Muslim women are still being discriminated (against) under Malaysia’s shariah
legal system.”
She had said the shariah court’s decision to sentence
businessman SM Faisal SM Nasimuddin’s former wife, Emilia Hanafi, to seven days
in prison for rescheduling his visitation dates for her children was a “grave
injustice” and a “total disgrace to the judicial system”.
Judge Fouzi Mokhtar allowed a stay of execution and
ordered Maria’s legal team to file their appeal within 14 days.
Her lawyer, Rosli Dahlan, told the court she would be
appealing the decision.
Founder of Komuniti Muslim Universal (KMU) Aizat
Shamsuddin said the ruling was unjust as Maria was merely responding to the
injustices women faced as a result of laws and religious interpretations that
discriminated against them.
“This is to censor human rights advocates and
political dissent through the shariah legal system.
“The shariah legal system should instead respond by
improving the laws and staff capacity to promote gender equality and
accountability, like in other Muslim-majority countries that are progressing,”
Aizat told FMT.
Former deputy law minister HanipaMaidin said while he
respected the court’s decision, it was damaging to their reputation.
“This will not uplift the shariah court’s image. It
will only further diminish its reputation.
“I am of the view that the court ought to tolerate
freedom of speech,” Hanipa told FMT.
Source:Free Malaysia Today
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Party leadership not a personal right, says Annuar
April 24, 2022
KUALA LUMPUR: Umno veteran Annuar Musa spoke out about
loyalty today in what appeared to be a message to party leaders, saying it was
unwise to question the loyalty of those who had served Umno for a lifetime.
“If deeds are left unremembered, loyal friends
misunderstood, then don’t bother talking about loyalty. Don’t backstab,” he
said.
Warning that the party was often used as “a shield for
personal action”, he said that political parties “cannot be managed as a matter
of personal right”.
Annuar later defended the Muafakat Nasional (MN) alliance
between PAS and Umno, saying it was the foundation for future success as a
Malay-Muslim united front.
However, the alliance had been betrayed by others
behind the scenes for their own reasons, he said.
Annuar’s remarks were made in two online postings
today, which come a day after Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said that
party leaders should not dance to the beat of enemies and rebel against the
party.
Zahid’s statement appeared to be a response to Annuar
having played down the significance of documents purportedly about discussions
among PAS leaders to move against certain Umno leaders.
In his posting this morning, Annuar said: “Loyalty to
the party is very important. It is different from loyalty to the individual,
which is sometimes considered as a sign of loyalty to the party.
“Almost everyone talks about their loyalty to the
party; sometimes their loyalty is displayed by accusing others of being
disloyal,” he said.
Annuar, who serves as communications and multimedia
minister in the government of Ismail Sabri Yaakob, is seen as being friendly
towards Bersatu, which has been at odds with Umno.
In his follow-up posting about MN, he said he
supported the unity of Malays and Muslims.
Source:Free Malaysia Today
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Mideast
Iran's UN Envoy Warns of Increasing Islamophobia in
European States
2022-April-24
Takht Ravanchi made the remarks in a meeting of
ambassadors of Muslim countries with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on
Friday.
The Iranian envoy also proposed that Muslim nations
issue a joint statement to condemn the recent burning of the Holy Quran by the
extremist Swedish groups. The proposal was accepted by Muslim representatives.
He also highlighted the recent attacks by the Zionist
Regime on Muslim worshipers in Al-Aqsa Mosque, and called on the UN to act
immediately to stop the Zionist Regime’s aggression and occupation in
Palestine.
Ambassadors and representatives of other Muslim
nations emphasized the UN’s role in fair settlement of the Palestine issue and
ending the Zionist occupation of Palestinian lands.
Elsewhere in the meeting, the representative of
Afghanistan called on Muslim nations to condemn recent terrorist attacks in
Afghanistan.
The attendees agreed to include the condemnation in
the joint statement due to be issued in the coming days.
In relevant remarks in March, Takht Ravanchi had also
said that the country welcomes and supports the UN unified stance against
Islamophobia in the world.
Takht Ravanchi urged all UN members to act on their
responsibilities and legal commitments in this regard, thus contributing to the
promotion of common values, peaceful coexistence, tolerance, and mutual
understanding throughout the whole world.
‘”Over the past decades, anti-Islam and anti-Muslim
agitation have been chronically reinforced by some media outlets, politicians,
influencers, and also across the academic discourses,” he noted.
It is highly important for the UN members to adopt a
unified stance in the face of instances of Islamophobia, such as travel ban
against Muslims, hijab bans, bans on Muslim symbols, and “application of such
despicable and ignorant terms such as ‘Islamic terrorism”, the ambassador said.
“It is our conviction that terrorism, in all its forms
and representations, cannot and should not be attributed to any religion,
nationality, civilization or ethnic group,” he added.
Source: Fars News Agency
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Ansarullah: Saudi Arabia showed not serious about
peace
25 April 2022
Yemen's Ansarullah popular resistance movement has hit
out at the Saudi-led coalition for its continued blockade of Sana'a airport in
Yemen's capital in violation of a recently agreed ceasefire deal.
"The continued closure of Sana'a Airport and its
refusal to allow flights agreed under
the ceasefire and obstructing ships from reaching the port of al-Hudaydah
proves the coalition of aggressors' blatant defiance and lack of seriousness of
about peace," Ansarullah spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam tweeted Sunday.
The commercial flight, the first in six years, was
supposed to take passengers needing medical care to the Jordanian capital of
Amman.
Hours before the flight, however, national carrier
Yemenia said on its Facebook page that “it has not yet received operating
permits” and expressed “deep regret to the travelers for not being allowed to
operate” the long-awaited flight.
The United Nations brokered the truce earlier in the
month. The agreement was supposed to provide a let-up in the war that the Saudi
coalition began against Yemen in 2015.
Source: Press TV
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/04/25/680937/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-Sana-a-airport
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Hamas: Situation In West Bank Similar To Lead-Up To
Gaza War
24 April 2022
A senior Hamas official has hit out at the Palestinian
Authority (PA) for fraternizing Israel.
"There are two approaches among the Palestinians.
A major part resists the occupying regime, but the other front, namely the
Palestinian Authority, is Israel's mercenary and has normalized its relations
with the regime," Mahmoud al-Zahar, a member of the Gaza Strip-based
movement's leadership, told Iran's al-Alam Arabic-language television on
Sunday.
The first front, he said, is ready to make all
sacrifices to expel the occupying regime from the entire Palestine, but the
latter does not believe in Palestine's liberation.
'Sword of al-Quds could repeat itself'
The official said the escalation of the situation in
the occupied West Bank is similar to the lead-up to the Sword of al-Quds
Operation last year.
The operation saw Gaza's resistance groups rising up
in arms in support of the Palestinians, who were bearing the brunt of the
Israeli aggression in the West Bank.
The official, meanwhile, reminded how the operation,
during which the resistance groups fired thousands of rockets into the occupied
territories, managed to scuttle the Israeli regime's security doctrine.
Al-Zahar said Arab countries' failure to back up
Palestine in the face of the Israeli regime and the West's all-out support of
the regime led to the emergence of a new status quo in Arab relations with
Israel.
The official was apparently referring to some regional
Arab states' decision to normalize ties with Tel Aviv through United
States-brokered deals, which Palestinian groups slammed as a "stab in the
back" of Palestine.
"The situation has, however, drastically changed.
There was a time when they used to say that the West Bank is weak, while today
the experiences of Gaza are repeating themselves in the West Bank," he
said, pointing to Palestinians' uprising against Israeli aggression in the
occupied territory.
Ukraine crisis bearing on pro-Israeli countries
The Hamas official said the oil crisis after the war
in Ukraine has significantly changed the situation of the countries, which used
to support the Israeli regime.
"The countries that used to support the Israeli
regime have now been afflicted with weakness and bewilderment," he said.
'Fatah still glorifying security cooperation with
Israel'
Al-Zahar dismissed allegations that the ruling Fatah
party, which runs the Palestinian Authority, has undergone any changes.
"Fatah's official authorities still regard security
cooperation with Israel as sacred," he said, noting that the same
officials used to denounce the Gaza resistance group's military operation
against the occupying regime.
Situation in Yemen
Addressing the issue of Yemen, where the Saudi-led
coalition and the Yemeni defense forces have been observing a truce, al-Zahar
said the situation in the impoverished country has changed.
"Those, who used to take up arms against the
resistance in Yemen, have begun partaking in negotiations and launched efforts
towards reconciliation."
The regional countries, which have normalized their
relations with the Israeli regime, as well as the West have fallen short of
achieving their goals in Yemen, he noted.
'PA stonewalling Palestine's liberation'
Returning to the Palestinian Authority and its
dealings with the Israeli regime, al-Zahar said the body is stonewalling
Palestine's liberation through its security cooperation with Tel Aviv.
As part of the security cooperation, the Authority
relays information about pending anti-Israeli operations to Tel Aviv, he added.
US incapacity in the face of Russia
The official turned to the issue of US incapacity in
the face of Russia.
"The US that used to attack Iraq and Syria has
been incapable of firing a single bullet at Russians," he said.
Source: Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/04/24/680934/Palestine-Israel-Hamas-official-interview-al-Alam
--------
Israel FM says committed to al-Aqsa status quo
24 April ,2022
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said Sunday that
Israel was “committed” to the status quo at the flashpoint Jerusalem holy site
at the heart of a recent wave of violence.
“Muslims pray on the Temple Mount, non-Muslims only
visit,” Lapid said, using the Jewish term for the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the
holiest place in Judaism and the third-holiest in Islam.
“There is no change, there will be no change -- we
have no plans to divide the Temple Mount between religions,” he told
journalists.
Palestinian protestors have repeatedly clashed with
Israeli riot police at the al-Aqsa compound since the middle of the month, as
the Muslim holy month of Ramadan coincided with Jewish Passover.
Those clashes have come against a backdrop of wider
violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories that since late March has
killed 38 people.
Attacks by Palestinians and Israeli Arabs have killed
14 people in Israel, while 24 Palestinians have been killed, including
perpetrators of attacks and also in raids by Israeli security forces.
Palestinians have been angered by an uptick in Jewish
visits to the al-Aqsa compound in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, whereby
long-standing convention, Jews may visit but are not allowed to pray.
Palestinian officials and militants have repeatedly
accused Israel of seeking to divide the site into Jewish and Muslim sections or
visiting times, as with another sensitive holy site in nearby Hebron.
They have voiced anger at repeated incursions by
Israeli security forces into the mosque compound.
But Lapid blamed renewed tensions at the site on
“terrorists” trying to incite violence.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Iranian President Urges Taliban to Punish Perpetrators
of Terrorist Attacks in Afghanistan
2022-April-24
Rayeesi warned of the expansion of terrorist threats
against Afghanistan and other nations in the region, and emphasized the
necessity of providing security for all Afghan people, especially in schools,
mosques, and religious centers.
He highlighted the responsibility of authorities in
Afghanistan to identify and punish the perpetrators, and said that the Islamic
Republic of Iran was ready to deploy all its capabilities to help Afghanistan
prevent such threats.
President Rayeesi also expressed Iran’s readiness to
help in treatment of people injured in recent terrorist attacks.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh
voiced Tehran's deep concern over repeated terrorist attacks in Afghanistan.
Khatibzadeh's remarks came in reaction to reports on
the repeated bomb attacks in various cities of Afghanistan.
"Iran is concerned over the sharp rise in the
number of such bitter incidents," the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman
said.
Pointing out that the latest bomb attacks in
Afghanistan took place in the holy fasting month of Ramadan when mosques are
more crowded due to people’s presence, he said such terrorist attacks, whose
main targets are fasting Muslim prayers, are abhorrent.
Khatibzadeh wished patience for the families of the
victims of the terrorist attacks and recovery of the injured ones.
Two powerful explosions hit two mosques in
Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province.
According to the reports, at least 40 people were
killed and 100 injured in the explosion that took place in the largest Shia
mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif on Thursday.
Also, at least 26 people, mostly students, were killed
and tens of others wounded after two blasts targeted a boys’ school in Kabul’s
Dasht-e-Barchineighborhood earlier this week.
Two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) blew up
outside the Abdul Rahim Shahid high school in Western Kabul.
Source: Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Diplomat: Iran Ready to Treat People Injured in
Afghanistan Terrorist Attacks
2022-April-24
Mortazavi told reporters that Iran is also ready to
help the Taliban to maintain the security of the people in Afghanistan.
He added that Iran will stand by the Afghani nation
and will spare no efforts to help them, including helping them maintain
security.
Earlier this week, Iranian President Seyed Ebrahim
Rayeesi condemned the recent terrorist attacks on innocent people in
Afghanistan, and asked the ruling body in the country to punish the culprits
and prevent recurrence of such crimes.
Rayeesi warned of the expansion of terrorist threats
against Afghanistan and other nations in the region, and emphasized the
necessity of providing security for all Afghan people, especially in schools,
mosques, and religious centers.
He highlighted the responsibility of authorities in Afghanistan
to identify and punish the perpetrators, and said that the Islamic Republic of
Iran was ready to deploy all its capabilities to help Afghanistan prevent such
threats.
President Rayeesi also expressed Iran’s readiness to
help in treatment of people injured in recent terrorist attacks.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh
voiced Tehran's deep concern over repeated terrorist attacks in Afghanistan.
Khatibzadeh's remarks came in reaction to reports on
the repeated bomb attacks in various cities of Afghanistan.
"Iran is concerned over the sharp rise in the
number of such bitter incidents," the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman
said.
Pointing out that the latest bomb attacks in
Afghanistan took place in the holy fasting month of Ramadan when mosques are
more crowded due to people’s presence, he said such terrorist attacks, whose
main targets are fasting Muslim prayers, are abhorrent.
Khatibzadeh wished patience for the families of the
victims of the terrorist attacks and recovery of the injured ones.
Two powerful explosions hit two mosques in
Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province.
According to the reports, at least 40 people were
killed and 100 injured in the explosion that took place in the largest Shia
mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif on Thursday.
Also, at least 26 people, mostly students, were killed
and tens of others wounded after two blasts targeted a boys’ school in Kabul’s
Dasht-e-Barchineighborhood earlier this week.
Two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) blew up
outside the Abdul Rahim Shahid high school in Western Kabul.
Source: Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Report: Iranian, Saudi FMs Possibly to Meet Soon
2022-April-24
Nournews website, affiliated to Iran’s Supreme
National Security Council (SNSC), reported that the Iranian and Saudi officials
have held their fifth round of talks on a possible détente in the Iraqi capital
Baghdad, with sources close to the negotiations, describing them as
"constructive".
Senior officials from the Secretariat of the SNSC and
the head of the Saudi intelligence service attended the meetings as
representatives of the two sides.
Sources said that Iran and Saudi Arabia’s negotiators
managed to draw a clearer picture of how to resume bilateral relations.
High-ranking Iraqi and Omani officials have played an
important role in arranging the meetings between representatives of Tehran and
Riyadh.
During their five rounds of talks so far, the two
sides have held frank discussions on the main challenges of resuming relations
between the two neighbors.
Nournews added, given the constructive bilateral
dialogue so far, there is a possibility of a meeting between the Iranian and
Saudi top diplomats in the near future.
Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in January
2016 after angry protests were held outside its embassy in Tehran in a reaction
to the kingdom's execution of a senior Shiite cleric.
Source: Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010204000311/Repr-Iranian-Sadi-FMs-Pssibly-Mee-Sn
--------
Iran's Border Crossing with Afghanistan Reopens
2022-April-24
Doqaroun crossing located 18 kilometers off the
Eastern Iranian border with Afghanistan was closed on Saturday.
Reports said that the decision had come after some
border disputes emerged between Iranian and Afghan authorities.
They added that trucks waiting for border clearance at
Doqaroun had been transferred to parking spaces at a safe distance from the
frontier.
Other reports said that customs services had been
suspended temporarily and staff would only respond to emergency calls at the
crossing.
The closure came after reports suggested that Iranian
border guards had entered the Afghan territory to stop the construction of a
road that authorities said had not been coordinated with the Iranian side.
Doqaroun is the main trade gateway between Iran and
Afghanistan. It has seen a surge in shipments crossing from Iran into
Afghanistan in recent months.
Government figures show that Afghanistan has remained
one of five main importers of Iranian goods even after the rise of the Taliban
in August.
Iranian president’s special envoy to Afghanistan
Hassan KazzemiQomi said that Iran had submitted a protest to the Taliban’s
ministry of interior to inform the group that any construction project near the
border needed the approval of a joint border committee.
Source: Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010204000232/Iran's-Brder-Crssing-wih-Afghanisan-Repens
--------
Jerusalem church glows in ‘Holy Fire’ ritual attended
by thousands
23 April ,2022
Thousands on Saturday celebrated the traditional “Holy
Fire” ceremony of blazing candles at Christianity’s holiest site in Jerusalem
to mark the eve of Orthodox Easter.
Tens of thousands of faithful have attended the
ceremony in earlier years but coronavirus constraints severely limited
attendance on the past two occasions.
This year, joyous, shouting faithful crowded together
unmasked, holding aloft wads of thin candles bound together to produce thick
orange flames that danced inside the darkened Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
The church is built on the site where according to
Christian tradition Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.
Israel’s foreign ministry gave a crowd estimate of
thousands, who celebrated in a tense Jerusalem after days of clashes between
Palestinians and Israeli forces at the nearby al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the rest of the
Old City lies in east Jerusalem, occupied and later annexed by Israel following
the Six-Day War of 1967.
Worshipers had waited from the morning hours with
candles in hand. They cheered with excitement and bells rang in the early
afternoon when Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III exited the Edicule,
traditionally believed to be Christ’s burial place, holding burning candles.
The flames spread from believer to believer, filling
the ancient church with light.
Anthony Botros, who came all the way from Canada, said
that being able to participate in the ceremony was “honestly surreal.”
“I would not have imagined I would ever be here. It’s
something you can’t describe. You just have to be there and experience it. Just
tears. So peaceful,” the 25-year-old told AFP.
Church leaders had initially been at odds with Israel
over the event’s size, after authorities sought to limit the number of
participants to ensure their safety.
On Thursday, the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem
said it had rejected police limiting the numbers, which it considered an
“infringement to the right to freedom of worship,” noting the church’s capacity
of 11,000 people.
The Patriarchate petitioned the police decision at the
Supreme Court, with a compromise allowing 4,000 believers to attend the
ceremony in the church and square outside, a police spokeswoman told AFP.
Israel has tightened limitations on the number of
celebrants at all religious festivals after a stampede at a Jewish festival
last year caused the death of 45 men and boys.
The Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Roman Catholic
denominations share custody of the church.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Africa
Violence in Sudan’s restive Darfur kills 168: aid
group
April 25, 2022
KHARTOUM: Clashes between rival groups in Sudan’s
Darfur killed at least 168 people on Sunday, an aid group said, in the latest
bout of deadly violence to hit the restive region.
Darfur, which was ravaged by civil war that erupted in
2003, has seen a spike in deadly conflict since October last year triggered by
disputes mainly over land, livestock and access to water and grazing.
The latest fighting erupted on Friday in the Krink
region of West Darfur, said Adam Regal, spokesman for the General Coordination
for Refugees and Displaced in Darfur, an independent aid group.
“At least 168 people were killed on Sunday and 98
wounded,” said Regal, voicing fears that the death toll could rise.
The violence broke out when armed tribesmen attacked
villages of the non-Arab Massalit minority in retaliation for the killing of
two tribesmen, the aid group said.
At least eight people were killed on Friday, it added.
On Sunday, a tribal leader from the Massalit minority
described seeing multiple bodies in villages of the Krink region, which lies
some 80 kilometers (50 miles) from West Darfur’s provincial capital, Geneina.
Medics from the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors
warned of “catastrophic” health conditions in West Darfur, saying that several
hospitals were attacked in the violence.
The International Committee of the Red Cross called on
authorities to ensure the safe arrival of the wounded to hospitals.
The United Nations special representative Volker
Perthes condemned the killings and called for a probe.
Images posted online on Sunday showed burning houses
sending plumes of thick black smoke to the sky, while others showed round
patches of scorched earth where huts had stood before they were set alight.
AFP could not independently verify the authenticity of
the images.
On Sunday, the aid group accused the Arab Janjaweed
militiamen of orchestrating the latest attacks.
The mainly Arab militia gained notoriety in the early
2000s for its role in the repression of an ethnic minority rebellion in Darfur.
Many of its members have since been integrated into
the feared paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by General Mohamed
Hamdan Daglo, de facto deputy leader of Sudan, according to rights groups.
Regal said the militiamen had in recent weeks
“committed killings, burning, lootings, and torture without mercy.”
The conflict that erupted in 2003 pitted ethnic minority
rebels who complained of discrimination against the Arab-dominated government
of then-president Omar Al-Bashir.
Bashir’s government responded by unleashing the
Janjaweed, mainly recruited from Arab pastoralist tribes, who were blamed for
atrocities including murder, rape, looting and burning villages.
The fighting killed 300,000 people and displaced 2.5
million, according to UN figures
The main conflict has subsided across much of Darfur
but the region remains awash with weapons and deadly clashes often erupt mainly
over access to pasture or water.
Bashir was ousted in April 2019 following months-long
mass protests against his rule. He remains wanted by the International Criminal
Court over his role in the Darfur conflict.
In recent months, scores of people have been killed
and hundreds of houses torched in several bouts of violence in Darfur,
according to the UN and medics.
Source: ArabNews
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2069921/world
--------
King Abdullah heads to Cairo for trilateral talks with
UAE, Egypt: Royal court
24 April ,2022
Jordan’s King Abdullah headed to Cairo on Sunday for
trilateral talks with Egyptian and Emirati leaders that were not previously
scheduled, the royal palace said.
The meeting will include Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh
Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi,
according to Jordan’s state news agency.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Ethiopian peacekeepers from Tigray seek asylum in
Sudan
April 25, 2022
NAIROBI: More than 500 UN peacekeepers from Ethiopia’s
war-torn Tigray region have refused to return home, citing fears for their
safety and highlighting deepening ethnic fissures as they request political
asylum in Sudan.
Until last year, Ethiopian forces accounted for the
vast majority of the around 4,000-member peacekeeping mission in Abyei
(UNISFA), a disputed border region between Sudan and South Sudan.
The Ethiopian contingent was replaced by a
multinational force as ties between Addis Ababa and Khartoum deteriorate over a
territorial dispute and Ethiopia’s mega-dam on the Blue Nile, which Sudan fears
will threaten its access to water.
Most of the Ethiopian forces have returned home, but
some have now requested asylum, a UN peacekeeping spokesperson told AFP in New
York.
“A number of peacekeepers have chosen not to return
and are seeking international protection. They are being protected by the UN in
a secure location,” the spokesperson said.
“The responsibility to grant asylum lies with the
Sudanese authorities who are being assisted by the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in receiving these individuals.”
A total of 528 Ethiopian soldiers from Tigray have
requested asylum in Sudan, according to Major Gebre Kidane, a Tigrayan
ex-peacekeeper — a figure confirmed by two of his comrades also contacted by
AFP.
“It’s not secure to go back to Ethiopia and we want to
be the voice of the people of Tigray” before the international community, the
40-year-old told AFP in a telephone interview from Abyei, explaining his
decision to apply for asylum in early March.
Since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into
Tigray in November 2020 in response to what he said were rebel attacks on army
camps, the conflict has divided the multi-ethnic nation.
An early victory against the Tigray People’s Liberation
Front — which ruled Ethiopia for nearly 30 years until 2018 — was followed by a
rebel comeback last June, when they took back control of Tigray and expanded
into neighboring regions.
Since then the war has dragged on, with essential
services shut in Tigray for several months while aid trickles in at a snail’s
pace after both sides agreed to a conditional humanitarian truce in late March.
The region of 6 million people — around 6 percent of
Ethiopia’s population — has been under a de facto blockade, according to the
UN.
Tigrayan officers were purged from federal army ranks
soon after the war erupted while ordinary Tigrayans have described being
subjected to arbitrary arrests in Addis Ababa.
“Peacekeepers from Tigray previously went back to
Ethiopia. Some of them were arrested, some killed,” said Gebre Kidane, who has
been based in Abyei since July 2020.
“The people of Tigray have been living in darkness and
the international community is watching in silence. We want to make the
international community ... pay attention.”
The Ethiopian government has not responded to AFP’s
calls for comment on the troops’ request for asylum.
A second Tigrayan officer told AFP that he too had
asked for asylum like his comrades but refused to say anything further for fear
of reprisals against his family.
A third soldier, who spoke to AFP on condition of
anonymity for similar reasons, said he had asked for asylum “to express my
strong opposition” to the federal government’s treatment of Tigrayans.
Furthermore, he said senior officers like him “have a
military background and knowledge ... therefore we are considered as a main
challenging force by the government.”
“So we are being targeted to be eliminated,” he said.
His children understood his reasons for staying out of
Ethiopia, he explained: “If I go there, they know what will happen (to me).”
Source: ArabNews
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2069866/world
--------
North America
Ex-US commander claims ‘mistake’ in backing Syrian
Kurds in bid to mend Turkey ties
24 April 2022
A former US military commander has reportedly admitted
that his country made a mistake in sponsoring Syria-based Kurdish militants
against the wishes of its NATO ally, Turkey, adding that a delegation of
American lawmakers is now in the country to mend ties with Ankara.
"Our support for the PKK/YPG with weapons was a
big mistake and harmed our relationship with Turkey,” said Former Army general
and commander of US forces in Europe, Ben Hodges, during an interview with
Turkish Haberturk TV channel as reported by the local media on Saturday,
referring to Kurdistan Workers’ Party and the People’s Protection Units.
"I know that these words may surprise the Turks,
but we must admit our mistake," added Hodges, who is currently the
Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies at the Center for European Policy Analysis.
“Therefore, there is a delegation from Congress in
Turkey now that is trying to restore our relationship with Turkey," he
further noted.
For years, the US has supported Kurdish militants from
the People's Protection Units (YPG), using them to form a new force so-called
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as a cover to press their illegal military
objectives in northern Syria in the name of fighting the Daesh terrorist
group.
Turkey, however, criticized the US backing of the
Kurdish militants, considering it the groundwork for a terrorist corridor on
its borders.
Ankara and its Western allies have long classified the
PKK -- which has led a revolt against Turkey since 1984, killing tens of
thousands of people -- as a terrorist group.
Back in October 2019, Ankara-backed Takfiri terrorists
were deployed to northeastern Syria after Turkish military forces launched a
long-threatened cross-border invasion in a declared attempt to push YPG
militants away from border areas.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and other senior
officials have said Damascus will respond through all legitimate means
available to the ongoing ground offensive by Turkish forces in the northern
part of the Arab country.
The development comes just two weeks after US military
forces and allied militants from the Kurdish-led SDF held a joint military
exercise in Syria’s eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr near the Iraqi border,
amid concerns in Baghdad over a possible release of Daesh terrorists from
US-run prisons in Syria.
Local media outlets reported that dozens of American
occupation soldiers and Kurdish militants participated in the joint drill,
noting that the area where the training took place is close to the al-Omar oil
field.
The reports added that US troops and their allies
brought missile and armored units into play and used various types of
ammunition during the exercise.
The war games came days after the US Central Command
(CENTCOM) said in a statement that four American service members were being
evaluated for minor injuries and possible traumatic brain injuries after two
rounds of “indirect fire” hit support buildings at the Green Village in eastern
Syria.
The US military admitted last week that explosions at
their base in Green Village – near the al-Omar oil field where US forces are
based in Dayr al-Zawr province -- resulted from an insider attack.
It is now believed the April 7 attack was carried out
by the “deliberate placement of explosive charges” by one or more individuals
at an ammunition holding area and shower facility on the base, AP reported on
April 14 citing a statement issued earlier in the day by the so-called
Operation Inherent Resolve command that oversees illegal US military operations
in Syria and Iraq.
Source: Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Famous Hollywood Director, Mark Ruffalo: Israel
Systematically Targets Muslim Worshipers, Journalists At al-Aqsa Mosque
April 25, 2022
A famous American actor and director says Israel
systematically targets Muslim worshipers and journalists at the Aqsa Mosque
compound in the occupied al-Quds, amid intensified Israeli assaults on
Palestinians at the holy site.
Mark Ruffalo made the remarks in a post on his Twitter
account following a new round of Israeli aggression against Palestinians across
the occupied West Bank, including al-Quds, during which a number of Palestinians
were arrested and injured.
"Starting on Friday, almost 500 Palestinians were
arrested by the Israeli occupation authorities from al-Aqsa Mosque, and, as you
said, 170 were injured, several of whom were in critical condition and several
of whom were journalists … targeted by design by the Israeli soldiers,"
Ruffalo said, quoting Mohamed al-Kurd, who made the comment recently during an
interview with Democracy Now, the Palestinian Information Center reported.
This is not the first time Ruffalo has criticized
Israeli oppression of Palestinians.
Last year, he signed a letter along with 100 other
celebrities, accusing Israel of "apartheid occupation and settler
colonialism," as well as "gross human rights violations" and
being an "apartheid regime of institutionalized racial
discrimination."
The Hollywood director also urged the US
administration to sanction Israel during its brutal war on the besieged Gaza
Strip in 2021.
Also In 2020, he accused Israel of apartheid and
engaging in "asymmetrical warfare" on Palestinians.
The al-Aqsa Mosque compound has been at the center of
weeks of heightened Israeli violence against Palestinian worshipers since the
beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.
As a result, at least 19 Palestinians, including three
boys and three women, have been killed at the hands of Israeli regime forces
and hundreds have been wounded.
Thousands of people across the globe have taken to the
streets to deplore Israeli violence against Palestinians at the al-Aqsa Mosque
and elsewhere in the occupied territories.
Pro-Palestinian rallies have not been limited to
Muslim-majority countries. People in Western states, including the US and the
UK, also convened to reaffirm their support for Palestinians.
On Friday, Israeli military forces once again attacked
Palestinian worshippers at the al-Aqsa mosque compound. The Palestinian Red
Crescent Society affirmed that rubber-coated metal bullets injured 31 people,
including one paramedic while dozens more suffered from tear gas inhalation.
It also reported that three journalists were wounded
in the Israeli savage assault, including one who was hit with a rubber-coated
bullet in his throat.
At least 11 young men were transferred to hospital for
treatment, two of them in serious condition.
Palestinian media said at least 43 Palestinians were
injured in the raid.
The development came a day after as many as 30
Palestinians were wounded after Israeli forces continued their violent attacks
against worshipers at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied al-Quds.
Source: ABNA24
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of the original story:
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Biden plans to visit Israel in the coming months:
Israeli PM's office
24 April ,2022
US President Joe Biden has accepted an invitation from
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to visit Israel and intends to make the
trip in the coming months, Bennett's office said in a statement on Sunday.
The two leaders spoke on Sunday and Bennett briefed
Biden on efforts “to stop the violence and incitement in Jerusalem”, the
statement said, in reference to Israeli-Palestinian clashes at the site of the
Al-Aqsa mosque in the holy city.
At least 57 Palestinians were injured in clashes with
Israeli police within the Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Friday, raising concern of
a repeat of last year's war between Israel and the Hamas Islamists ruling Gaza.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Europe
France's Macron wins new presidential term after
far-right battle
April 25, 2022
French President Emmanuel Macron is set to begin
efforts to unite a deeply divided nation after winning re-election on Sunday in
a battle against rival Marine Le Pen that saw the far right come its closest
yet to taking power.
Centrist Macron won around 58.6 per cent of the vote
in the second-round run-off compared with Le Pen's 41.4pc, according to
official results from the Interior Ministry.
Macron is the first French president in two decades to
win a second term, but his latest victory over his far-right rival was narrower
than their last face-off in 2017, when the margin was 66.1pc to 33.9pc.
The historic gains for the far right dampened the
French leader's celebrations on Sunday night.
Addressing supporters in the shadow of the Eiffel
Tower, he vowed to heal rifts in a deeply divided country.
The 44-year-old president will start his second term
with the challenge of parliamentary elections in June, where keeping a majority
will be critical to ensuring he can realise his ambitions.
Several hundred demonstrators from ultra-left groups
took to the streets in some French cities to protest Macron's re-election and
Le Pen's score. Police used tear gas to disperse gatherings in Paris and the
western city of Rennes.
'New era'
In his victory speech on the Champ de Mars in central
Paris, Macron promised his next five-year term would respond to the
frustrations of voters who backed Le Pen.
“An answer must be found to the anger and
disagreements that led many of our compatriots to vote for the extreme right,”
he told thousands of cheering supporters.
“It will be my responsibility and that of those around
me.”
He also pledged a “renewed method” to governing
France, adding that this “new era” would not be one of “continuity with the
last term which is now ending”.
In a combative speech to supporters in the capital, in
which she accepted the result but showed no sign of quitting politics, Le Pen,
53, said she would “never abandon” the French and was already preparing for the
June legislative elections.
“The result represents a brilliant victory,” she said
to cheers.
“This evening, we launch the great battle for the
legislative elections,” Le Pen said, adding that she felt “hope” and calling on
opponents of the president to join with her National Rally (RN) party.
'Count on France'
For Le Pen, a third defeat in a presidential poll will
be a bitter pill to swallow after she ploughed years of effort into making
herself electable and distancing her party from the legacy of its founder, her
father Jean-Marie Le Pen.
Critics insisted her party never stopped being
extreme-right and racist while Macron repeatedly pointed to her plan to ban the
wearing of the Muslim headscarf in public if elected.
The projections caused immense relief in Europe after
fears a Le Pen presidency would leave the continent rudderless following Brexit
and the departure from politics of German chancellor Angela Merkel.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi called Macron's
victory “great news for all of Europe” while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said
French voters “sent a strong vote of confidence in Europe today”.
European Council president Charles Michel said the
bloc could now “count on France for five more years” while European Commission
chief Ursula von der Leyen also congratulated Macron, saying she was “delighted
to be able to continue our excellent cooperation”.
In another election on Sunday, Slovenia's three-time
Prime Minister JanezJansa, criticised by opponents as an authoritarian
right-wing populist, was at risk of losing power to a party led by political
newcomer Robert Golob.
'Ocean of abstention'
Macron will be hoping for a less complicated second
term that will allow him to implement his vision of more pro-business reform
and tighter European Union integration, after a first term shadowed by
protests, then the coronavirus pandemic and finally Russia's invasion of
Ukraine.
But he will have to win over those who backed his
opponents and the millions of French who did not bother to vote.
Polling organisations estimated turnout of just 72pc,
the lowest in any presidential election second-round run-off since 1969.
Meanwhile, 6.35pc of voters in the election voted for
neither candidate in blank ballots while 2.25pc spoilt their papers.
The third-placed candidate in the first round,
hard-left Jean-Luc Melenchon, had refused to endorse Macron.
Source: Dawn
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UN chief discusses Jerusalem tensions with Israeli and
Palestinian leaders
24 April ,2022
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres discussed the
ongoing flare-up of tensions around Jerusalem’s holy sites in separate calls
Saturday with the Israeli prime minister and Palestinian president.
In statements released after both calls, the UN said
Guterres discussed “efforts to lower tensions, end provocations and unilateral
steps, and restore calm”.
More than 200 people, mostly Palestinians, have been
wounded over the past week in clashes in and around the Al-Aqsa compound, a
holy site for both Muslims and Jews.
Palestinians have been outraged by a massive Israeli
police deployment and repeated visits by Jews to the holy site, which is
governed through a tenuous power-sharing agreement.
Guterres “reiterated that the status quo at the Holy
Sites must be upheld and respected,” both statements read.
The clashes at Al-Aqsa come amid a wave of deadly
violence, which has sparked fears of a wider conflict.
Rocket launches from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday and
Thursday prompted retaliatory strikes from Israel.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Britain: Yemen frees Briton held since 2017, thanks
Saudi Arabia and Oman for help
24 April ,2022
Britain said on Sunday it had secured the release of a
citizen held since 2017 in Yemen, where he was allegedly tortured.
“Delighted that Luke Symons, who was unlawfully
detained, without charge or trial since 2017 in Yemen by the Houthis, has been
released and will shortly be reunited with his family,” Foreign Secretary Liz
Truss said in a statement issued by her department.
“I pay tribute to our Omani and Saudi partners and our
team for securing his release.”
Symons, 30, was detained by Houthi rebels in southwest
Yemen along with his Yemeni wife on suspicion of espionage, which his family
strongly denies.
The Foreign Ministry of Oman tweeted that it had
“coordinated with the concerned authorities” in Yemen.
Symons and 11 other detainees were released and
transferred from Yemen capital Sanaa to Muscat on a plane belonging to the
Royal Air Force of Oman, it added.
Of the 11 other detainees released, Oman said seven
were Indians, one Filipino, one Indonesian, one from Myanmar and one from Ethiopia.
Symons' family say his arm was broken during one
interrogation session in a bid to force a confession, and that his physical and
mental health have degenerated during solitary confinement in the capital
Sanaa.
His wife had already been released and has been able
to visit him periodically in the prison. She recently voiced concern at his
condition, according to Symons' grandfather Robert Cummings.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Turkish diplomats killed in Armenian terrorist attacks
commemorated
APR 24, 2022
The Turkish diplomats killed in attacks by Armenian
terrorists during the 1970s and 1980s were commemorated in Austria's capital
Vienna.
The Martyred Diplomats Exhibition, devoted to the
memory of the Turkish diplomats, is organized in Vienna by Turkey's Directorate
of Communications.
A terror campaign against Turkish diplomats is the
continuation of the massacres initiated by the Armenian Dashnak gangs against
the Ottoman Empire's Muslim population in the early 20th century, Turkey's
Communication Director FahrettinAltun said in a video message.
Turkey has adopted a holistic approach to the 1915
events, instead of relying on assumptions and distorting the facts, he added.
Altun stressed that the country is keen to build a
common future with its Armenian citizens despite certain circles' efforts to
undermine it.
"We will continue to see the history as a source
of richness in order to establish common relations, and to resist forces that
would exploit and use it as a tool for hate speech," he added.
Armenian wave of terror against Turkish diplomats
According to data compiled by Anadolu Agency (AA), a
total of 77 people – 58 of them Turkish citizens, including 31 diplomats and
members of their families – were killed in attacks from 1973 to 1986 carried
out by ASALA and ARA terrorist groups.
The deadly campaign began in 1973 with the
assassination of Turkey's Consul General in Los Angeles Mehmet Baydar and diplomat
Bahadir Demir by a terrorist named GourgenYanikian.
ASALA was the first Armenian terrorist group to wage
war against Turkey. It not only targeted Turkey, but also other countries, and
it became notorious for a 1975 bomb attack on the World Council of Churches'
Beirut office.
The JCAG initially gained notoriety after claiming
responsibility, with ASALA, for the Oct. 22, 1975 assassination of
DanisTunaligil, Turkey's ambassador in Vienna.
The ARA is believed to be a continuation of the JCAG
under a different name.
1915 events
The exhibition also focuses on Turkey's efforts to
reveal the truth and facts about the 1915 events.
Turkey's position on the 1915 events remains that the
death of Armenians in eastern Anatolia took place when some sided with invading
Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces.
Turkey objects to presenting the 1915 events as
"genocide," describing them as a tragedy in which both Turks and
Armenians suffered casualties.
Source: DailySabah
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Russia dismisses ‘fake’ reports on receiving Iranian
arms to use against Ukraine
24 April 2022
The Russian embassy in Tehran has denied some “fake”
media reports about the transfer of Iranian weapons to Russia in order to be used
in the ongoing military operation in Ukraine.
“The information that appeared in some media about the
supply of Iranian weapons to Russia is fake and does not correspond with
reality,” the embassy said in a tweet on Sunday.
In an article published on April 12, The Guardian
claimed that Russia is receiving “munitions and military hardware sourced from
Iraq” for its military campaign in Ukraine with the help of “Iranian weapons
smuggling networks.”
The British daily newspaper also claimed that RPGs and
anti-tank missiles, as well as Brazilian-designed rocket launcher systems, have
been dispatched to Russia from Iraq “as Moscow’s campaign has faltered in the
last month.”
“An Iranian-made Bavar 373 missile system, similar to
the Russian S-300, has also been donated to Moscow by the authorities in
Tehran, who also returned an S-300,” The Guardian quoted a source as saying.
However, the Iranian embassy in London later dismissed
the article as an “unrealistic and baseless storytelling.”
It said “trying to link the recent developments in
Ukraine to the developments in the Middle East and mentioning the name of the
Islamic Republic of Iran is an unprofessional and unacceptable act and a kind
of disrespect to the readers of the newspaper.”
Iran’s refutation was immediately welcomed in Kiev,
with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressing his country’s
gratitude to Tehran for rejecting the allegations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special
military operation” against Ukraine on February 24. The conflict has provoked a
unanimous response from Western countries, which have imposed a long list of
sanctions on Moscow. Russia says it will halt the operation instantly if Kiev
meets its list of demands, including never applying to join NATO.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Tehran has
emphasized that it rejects both war and sanctions, calling for diplomatic
efforts to immediately end the war.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raeisi said last month that
the people of Ukraine have fallen victim to the United States’ evil policies,
reiterating the Islamic Republic’s opposition to war.
“The people of Ukraine, like the people of
Afghanistan, Yemen, and Iraq, have fallen victim to the United States’ evil
policies,” Raeisi said.
Source: Press TV
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/indian-leaders-ramazan-organized-delhi/d/126862