ASI Finds Ganesh, Brahma, Narasimha Images at Bhojshala Kamal Maula Mosque Complex, Tells Court That ‘Existing Structure Was Made from Parts of Earlier Temples’

New Age Islam News Bureau

16 July 2024

Police personnel stand guard outside the Bhojshala Temple as ASI submits survey report on Bhojshala complex before Madhya Pradesh High Court. (ANI)

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·         ASI Finds Ganesh, Brahma, Narasimha Images at Bhojshala Kamal Maula Mosque Complex, Tells Court That ‘Existing Structure Was Made from Parts of Earlier Temples’

·         Officer in Houthi Ansar Allah Militia: A Year from Now We'll Have Missiles That Can Threaten Europe, U.S. Nuclear Targets

·         Trump's Vice President Pick, JD Vance, Called UK 'First Islamist Country to Get Nukes'

·         Violations of Muslim Women’s and Girl’s Human Rights Through Hijab Bans in Sports in France

·         Taliban Leaders Filmed in Afghanistan Dancing, With Guns Slung Over Their Shoulders, Despite Ban

 

India

·         Kolhapur: Video of Mob Vandalising Mosque Goes Viral, Police Issues Prohibitory Orders Amid Clashes

·         Don’t Refer Cases of Hindus, Sikhs, Christians to Foreigner Tribunals, Urge Them To Apply Under CAA: Assam Govt To Border Police

·         “Muslim Community”: Udupi Police File Suo Motu Case Against Social Media Account for Derogatory Post Against Muslims

·         Regional Parties Allowed Pak to ‘Infiltrate’ Kashmir Civil Society: J&K DGP

·         False Communal Claims: Sudarshan News Falsely Claims Sadhus Caught in Meerut Are Muslims

·         SC's Alimony Verdict: A Win for Muslim Women's Rights or Reinforcement of 'Saving Muslim Women' Narrative?

·         Indian FM: People-To-People ‘Foundation’ Of Afghanistan Ties

·         SC issues notice after son claims Mukhtar Ansari was poisoned

·         Army officer among four soldiers killed in encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda

·         Kashmir: Muharram procession in Srinagar becomes a show of solidarity with Palestinians

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Mideast

·         Four killed, several wounded by gunfire near mosque in Oman: local police

·         Israel waging ‘war of revenge’ on Palestinian prisoners: PA minister

·         Iran, other nations mourn Imam Hussein martyrdom on Ashura

·         Islamic Resistance in Lebanon announces targeting 3 Zionist military sites

·         Israel releases Al-Aqsa Mosque guard after 3-year detention

·         How IDF commandos destroyed Hamas recruitment center, PIJ rocket factory

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North America

·         Israel Using US-Provided Internationally Prohibited Weapons: Hamas

·         Republicans to single out Israeli regime for ‘extraordinary’ US support

·         Elon Musk pledges $45 million a month to fund Donald Trump election

·         US judge dismisses Trump classified documents case

·         Biden says it was a ‘mistake’ to say he wanted to put a ‘bull’s-eye’ on Trump

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Europe

·         TikTok terrorist jailed for encouraging violence against Jews and sharing Islamic State propaganda

·         Zelensky party MP claims top general wants Ukraine to surrender

·         Poll reveals Ukrainians’ attitude to peace talks

·         Russian military liberates another Donbass village

·         Russian broadcasters to boycott Paris Olympics — media

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South Asia

·         EU nations consider restoring ties with Afghanistan

·         Azerbaijan reopens embassy in Iran as the two countries try to ease tensions

·         State Dept: Three US Citizens Detained in Afghanistan

·         China Announces 100M Yuan to Aid Afghan Returnees

·         New Restrictions Imposed on Trade Between Afghanistan, Pakistan

·         Storms in Eastern Afghanistan kill 35, injure 230

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Pakistan

·         Move to Ban Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Finds Little Support Among Allies and Foes

·         JUI-F Chief Urges End to Army's 'Political Role' For Stability In Country

·         Four killed, several wounded by gunfire near mosque in Oman, police say

·         Blasts, gunfire rock Bannu as terrorists’ storm check post

·         Lahore ATC remands Imran Khan for 10 days in dozen May 9 cases

·         Lahore ATC indicts PTI’s Shah Mahmood Qureshi in May 9 case

·         Imran Khan remanded in 12 cases linked to May 9 riots

·         Political parties slam govt’s ‘unconstitutional' decision to ban PTI

·         Journalist Malik Hassan Zaib shot dead in Nowsehra

·         Govt committed to empower women: Shaza

·         Pakistan, China reaffirm commitment to CPEC

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Arab World

·         Saudi Arabia Condemns Terrorist Attack On Cafe in Mogadishu

·         NEOM-KAUST Partnership to Target Insects Threatening Saudi Arabia’s 36 Million Palm Trees

·         British PM praises Saudi crown prince for role in promoting Middle East stability

·         Saudi Shoura Council delegation arrives in Bahrain for official visit

·         Harvesting season fuels Madinah Date Market

·         Saudi Arabia invests $46m on cutting-edge veterinary lab

·         Saudi ambassador presents credentials to Egypt’s president

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Africa

·         Police Warn Against Protest by Islamic Movement of Nigeria

·         Nairobi quarry unveils grim truth as suspected serial killer confesses to 42 murders

·         ‘Protest Is The Only Language Government Understands’ – Sheikh Gumi

·         Video shows airdropped supplies in Central African Republic nature reserve, not Boko Haram receiving weapons

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Southeast Asia

·         Indonesian Government Distances Itself As Meeting Of Five Islamic Activists And Israel’s President Draws Condemnation

·         Wisma Putra says monitoring aftermath of Oman mosque shooting

·         Mosque that started from renovated house in west Japan takes root in community

·         Singapore issues ISA orders to self-radicalised student and ex-public servant, Israel-Hamas war cited as trigger

·         DPM Zahid calls on MARA to continue exploring global potential of halal industry

·         Six Foreign Nationals Arrested for Alleged Online Prostitution in Jakarta

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/kamal-maula-mosque-narasimha-brahma/d/132721

 

ASI Finds Ganesh, Brahma, Narasimha Images at Bhojshala Kamal Maula Mosque Complex, Tells Court That ‘Existing Structure Was Made From Parts Of Earlier Temples’

Report submitted to Madhya Pradesh High Court, which had ordered a survey in March last year

Written by Anand Mohan J

July 16, 2024

Police personnel stand guard outside the Bhojshala Temple as ASI submits survey report on Bhojshala complex before Madhya Pradesh High Court. (ANI)

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Police personnel stand guard outside the Bhojshala Temple as ASI submits survey report on Bhojshala complex before Madhya Pradesh High Court. (ANI)Police personnel stand guard outside the Bhojshala Temple as ASI submits survey report on Bhojshala complex before Madhya Pradesh High Court. (ANI)

The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) Monday submitted its survey report on the disputed Bhojshala temple-cum-Kamal Maula mosque complex in Dhar district to the Madhya Pradesh High Court, stating that the scientific investigation reveals that the “existing structure was made from the parts of earlier temples”.

The court had in March last year ordered the ASI to conduct the survey, observing that the nature and character of the structure needs to be “demystified and freed from the shackles of confusion”.

Hindus regard the ASI-protected complex as a temple dedicated to Goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati), while Muslims consider it the site of the Kamal Maula mosque. Under an arrangement made in 2003, Hindus perform puja at the complex on Tuesdays while Muslims offer namaz on Fridays.

On the structure’s nature and age, the ASI report states that the “retrieved architectural remains, sculptural fragments, large slabs of inscriptions with literary texts, Nagakarnika inscriptions on pillars, etc suggest that a large structure associated with literary and educational activities existed at the site”.

“Based on scientific investigations and archaeological remains recovered during the investigations, this pre-existing structure can be dated to the Paramara period,” the report states.

According to the ASI, the Mihrab (a niche in the wall of a mosque) in the western colonnade “is a new construction and therefore it is beautifully decorated. It is made of different material than the entire structure”.

“Walls of the mihrab in the west abut against the platform made of basalt and having mouldings running under it. The material of the platform and the walls of the mihrab are different. Images carved on previous structure, pillars, pilasters, beams, windows, were chopped off to reuse them in the present structure. A number of large inscriptions in Sanskrit and Prakrit were damaged… by chiselling written surfaces,” the report states.

The structure is decorated with 106 pillars and 82 pilasters. “Art and architecture of these pillars and pilasters in colonnades suggest that they were originally part of temples. For their reuse in the existing structure, figures of deities and humans carved on them were mutilated,” the report states.

The ASI studied a total of 94 sculptures, sculptural fragments, and architectural members with sculptural depiction. “Sculptures of four armed deities were carved on windows, pillars and beams used in the existing structure. Images carved on these included Ganesh, Brahma with his consorts, Narasimha, Bhairava, gods and goddesses, human and animal figures. Images of animals in different mediums include lion, elephant, horse, dog, monkey, snake, tortoise, swan, and bird…,” the ASI report states.

Since “human and animal figures are not permitted in mosques, at many places such images have been chiselled out or defaced,” the ASI submitted.

“It is noteworthy that kirtimukha with human, animal and composite faces carved on a number of pillars in western colonnade were not destroyed. Small figures of deities carved on frames of windows fixed in north and south walls of the western colonnade are also comparatively in good state of preservation,” the report states.

The ASI submitted that from the art and architecture of decorated pillars and pilasters, “it can be said that they were part of earlier temples and reused (to make) colonnades of the mosque…”

The report states that while the ASI studied Arabic and Persian inscriptions at the site, the ones in Sanskrit and Prakrit are older, “indicating that users or engravers of the Sanskrit and Prakrit inscriptions occupied the place earlier”.

“Based on scientific investigations, survey and archaeological excavations, study and analysis of retrieved finds, study of architectural remains, sculptures, inscriptions, art and sculptures, it can be said that the existing structure was made from the parts of earlier temples,” the report states.

Manorathangal is a highly anticipated anthology series featuring nine segments based on iconic stories by MT Vasudevan Nair, directed by top Malayalam filmmakers and starring a star-studded cast including Mohanlal and Mammootty. The series features Fahadh Faasil too and Kamal Haasan is also associated with it. Its trailer was released today and the series will premiere on ZEE5 in August.

Source: indianexpress.com

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https://indianexpress.com/article/india/bhojshala-complex-asi-ganesh-brahma-narasimha-images-9454964/

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Officer in Houthi Ansar Allah Militia: A Year From Now We'll Have Missiles That Can Threaten Europe, U.S. Nuclear Targets

July 15, 2024

Aziz Rashed (Image: Aljazeera.net)

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On July 13, 2024 the website of Qatar's Al-Jazeera network published an interview with Aziz Rashed, who was presented as a brigadier-general in the Moral Guidance Administration of the Ansar Allah Defense Ministry. In the interview Rashed threatens that, a year from now, the Houthi Ansar Allah militia will have missiles " that can reach Europe or the Atlantic Ocean, so that America's nuclear targets" will be within their range. According to Rashed, the militia's hypersonic missiles, which can currently reach Bab Al-Mandeb,  the Red Sea, the Arabia Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean, along with the military force of Iran and the militias loyal to it in Iraq and Lebanon, deter the U.S. and deprive it of "strategic options."   He warns that, if the U.S. and its allies in the region decide to expand the war against the Houthis in Yemen, the resistance axis will support the Houthis with all its resources and abilities.

Aziz Rashed begins by addressing the Houthis' cooperation with the Iran-backed Shi'ite militias in Iraq and their joint attacks on Israel.[2]  These Attacks, he says, "are coordinated in a joint operations room, and their timing and targets are chosen so as to enable the drones and missiles to hit the depth of the Israeli targets." The website notes that Rashed "did not rule out that [the Houthis] will be present on all the fronts," and quotes him as saying that, "if the region sees extensive military activity, the resistance axis will be part of it. The campaign will be fateful and will impact everyone. The Palestinian cause is a central one for the resistance axis." He also notes that "the strategic missiles allow Yemen [i.e., the Houthis] to dictate the [geographical] scope of the military activity, even if we are not present in South Lebanon or in Iraq."

Rashed claims that the Houthis asked Egypt to allow them into Rafah so they could send Yemeni forces into Gaza to help the Palestinians there. He clarifies that, "if the U.S. pressures the countries that are subordinate to it in the region to act against us jointly in Yemen, the resistance axis will obviously support us with all its resources and abilities."

Assessing that the U.S. "will not intervene directly in any war in this region, because Iran, Iraq and Lebanon are a terrifying force," Rashed warns that such a war will have a far greater impact on the West than on the East. He states that, if war breaks out, "vital facilities of the regional countries, and of any participating country, will be hit, [and] Bab Al-Mandeb will be under our complete control."

Thanks to their supersonic missiles, says Rashed, the Houthis have managed to dictate the boundaries of the battlefield, which stretches from the Red Sea through Bab Al-Mandeb, the Gulf of Aden the Arabian Sea to the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean – thus "eliminating America's strategic options and rendering it unable [to act]."

Rashed also threatens that, "in exactly one year, Yemen will have missiles that can reach Europe or the Atlantic Ocean, so America's nuclear targets will be within the range of the Yemeni missiles."

Source: memri.org

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https://www.memri.org/reports/officer-houthi-ansar-allah-militia-interview-al-jazeera-website-year-now-we%E2%80%99ll-have-missiles

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Trump's Vice President Pick, JD Vance, Called UK 'First Islamist Country to Get Nukes'

16 July 2024

Donald Trump's vice presidential pick recently described the UK as the world’s first “Islamist country” with nuclear weapons.

Mr Trump announced on Monday that first-term Senator JD Vance, who has spent less than two years in Congress, would be his running mate.

The decision came just days after the former President was nearly shot in the head during an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

Footage has since emerged of a recent speech by Mr Vance, who said he and a friend had been joking about which Islamist nation will gain access to nuclear weapons first.

Speaking at the National Conservatism Conference, he said: “I was talking about what is the first truly Islamist country that will get a nuclear weapon.

“We were like ‘maybe it’s Iran, maybe Pakistan already kind of counts’ and then we decided maybe actually it’s the UK since Labour just took over.

“But to my Tory friends I have to say - you have got to get a handle on this.”

The 39-year-old Republican had once been a critic of Mr Trump and in 2016 he reportedly told an associate: "I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical asshole ... or that he's America's Hitler".

But Mr Vance has rallied support for Mr Trump in recent months.

The Yale-educated entrepreneur is behind the best-selling book Hillbilly Elegy, a memoir that followed his blue-collar upbringing in the "rust-belt" Midwest.

Also a veteran of the marines, he ran for the Senate in 2022 with Mr Trump's crucial endorsement.

The senator, who is anti abortion, said recently: "I want to help him (Mr Trump) however I can.”

It comes as a new Times poll suggests Mr Trump is on course to win the 2024 presidential election, and just days after he was shot at a campaign rally.

A bullet pierced Mr Trump’s right ear while an audience member was killed and two other people were left injured during the shocking attack in Pennsylvania.

Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was spotted on a nearby roof and shot dead at the scene within seconds by a Secret Service sniper.

Source: standard.co.uk

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https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/jd-vance-donald-trump-uk-islamist-nuclear-weapons-b1170899.html

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Violations of Muslim Women’s and Girl’s Human Rights Through Hijab Bans in Sports in France

JULY 15, 2024

(Catalina Martin-Chico/Panos Pictures)

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In the summer of 2024, the attention of sports enthusiasts all across the world will be on the city of Paris, France, the host of the XXXIII Olympic and Paralympic Games. Held every four years, they are a celebration of sport in its many different forms, informed by the values of “excellence, respect and friendship.” The Olympic Charter states: “the practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have access to the practice of sport, without discrimination of any kind in respect of internationally recognized human rights within the remit of the Olympic Movement. The Olympic spirit requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.”

On International Women’s Day, the International Olympic Committee and the Paris Games organizers proudly announced that “France is preparing to host the first Games with full numerical gender parity on the playing field.” President of the French National and Olympic Sports Committee Tony Estanguet thanked local authorities in the country who committed to renaming sports facilities after renowned women: “We thank the local authorities working with us who, through these symbolic actions – which are not only strong but also concrete – contribute to making sport more inclusive and equal.”

The French authorities made it emphatically and unashamedly clear however that their proclaimed efforts at improving gender equality and inclusivity in sports do not apply to one group of women and girls – those Muslim women and girls who wear religious head coverings. In September 2023, the Minister of Sports and Olympic and Paralympic Games Amélie Oudéa- Castéra announced while speaking to the broadcaster France 3 that “representatives of our delegations, in our French teams, will not wear the headscarf.”

This publication attempts to shed light on the discriminatory practices described above and how they violate the human rights of Muslim women and girls in France. Amnesty International believes that when the world will be watching its athletes compete for medals and exercising their right to practice sports without discrimination, it should also cast a critical eye on the Olympics host country, which does not apply Olympic values to everyone. When the French authorities are boasting about gender parity in sports, they purposefully do not count Muslim hijab-wearing women as women.

Source: amnestyusa.org

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://www.amnestyusa.org/reports/we-cant-breathe-anymore-even-sports-we-cant-do-them-anymore-violations-of-muslim-womens-and-girls-human-rights-through-hijab-bans-in-sports-in-france/

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Taliban Leaders Filmed InAfghanistan Dancing, With Guns Slung Over Their Shoulders, Despite Ban

14 July 2024

Taliban officials in Afghanistan have been filmed dancing to music

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Taliban officials in Afghanistan have been filmed dancing to music – both of which they immediately banned in a draconian crackdown when they returned to power.

The militant group – who outlawed music, dance, and any form of public celebration – were caught on video swaying and twirling with guns slung over their shoulders in a park in western Herat.

Shortly after seizing power in Afghanistan, the Taliban not only banned music but also publicly beat and humiliated musicians, the custodians of rapidly disappearing Afghan cultural traditions.

The Taliban’s morality police still patrol streets day and night, searching for violators. Afghans caught breaking the ban can be beaten or jailed.

The morality police enforce the Taliban’s strict laws, including a strict dress code and gender segregation in society.

However, numerous videos, reviewed by The Telegraph, show the Taliban contradicting their own rules.

In one clip, a group of fighters dance while others watch from atop a US-abandoned 4x4 vehicle. In another, ordinary people appear to look on as they dance.

A break from Western culture

“When my commander’s son was born, we celebrated by dancing in our police station’s courtyard,” a Taliban official from southern Helmand province admitted to The Telegraph.

He explained that many fighters do not believe dancing is restricted by religion, but the ban is upheld by officials wanting to mark a break from Western culture.

“They aim to intimidate the people and let them know the Americans have left and we are in power now,” he said.

An official in the Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture refused to comment on the apparent double standards.

The videos have emerged as the government has tightened its iron grip on music and dance in recent weeks, declaring it a vehicle for “moral corruption” that must be purged from society.

The draconian policies have even reached into personal vehicles, where music is not allowed to be played on the radio.

Checkpoints

Taliban checkpoints have sprung up across urban centres and rural roads. Stern-faced fighters, rifles at the ready, force vehicles to stop if the passengers are listening to music.

“They stop me almost daily,” said Reshad, a resident of northern Maymana.

“They threaten me, saying I shouldn’t listen to music and should listen to the Quran instead. Last time, they took me to a police station for listening to an Iranian song in my car.

“They slapped me in the face and said they will hold my car for three weeks,” he claimed.

Afghan weddings, once vibrant with music and dance, have also been muted.

The traditional sounds of the dhol drum and the harmonium, which for centuries have celebrated new unions, are now outlawed.

Silent weddings

Families are forced to hold the events in silence or with approved religious chants and talks.

Wedding venues, once lively, now sit silent and empty. Many have closed down as they cannot attract clients for ceremonies.

“Around 20 of them raided my wedding,” Jalili Ahmad, 28, claimed, describing how his wedding in a private garden outside Herat city was attacked by the Taliban because of music and dance in May.

He and several of his guests were beaten, women were dispersed, and six people, including his father and father-in-law, were detained for 10 days.

“They humiliated us and destroyed the best day of my life,” he said. “They are at war with happiness.”

Source: telegraph.co.uk

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https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/07/14/taliban-islamic-law-music-dance-ban-afghanistan/

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India

 

Kolhapur: Video of Mob Vandalising Mosque Goes Viral, Police Issues Prohibitory Orders Amid Clashes

16 July 2024

A mob vandalised a mosque in Maharashtra's Kolhapur on Monday. In viral videos across social media platform X, the mob was seen vandalising the Kolhapur mosque and hoisting saffron flags at the site.

As per local reports, the mob was led a former Rajya Sabha MP Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati, who is also the 13th descendent of Maratha King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

As per a report by PTI, the Sanbhaiji Raje as the one who led the marches against illegal encroachments in the area and demanded their removal irrespective of caste and religion of the illegal occupants.

Citing the videos on X and local ground reports, the mob also vandalised the houses of neighbouring Muslims in the area. Around 40 Muslims are believed to have been injured, including children.

Viral videos of the incident show members of the mob climbing on the mosque, breaking the minaret with a hammer and hoisting saffron flags on the roof. The mob was also heard chanting "Jai Shri Ram".

Owaisi Slams Shinde, Maharashtra Government Over Viral Video

Taking to social media platform X, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen President slammed the Maharashtra government over the vandalism incident.

"6 December continues. Under your government a Masjid is attacked by a Mob,this is an attack on Rule of Law but your government is not concerned. Muslims of Maharashtra must reply through Ballot by ensuring your party MIM candidates win the forthcoming elections to stop the Mobs and the political leaders & parties who give them patronage and support and remember the Silence of parties who are claiming they won “Moral victory," stated Owaisi.

Local AIMIM leaders have also approached the authorities for action against the culprits.

Amid Anti-Encroachment Rallies, Police Issues Prohibitory Orders

Following the attack on the mosque, Kolhapur police have issued prohibitory orders. Police officials have not commented on the video but have asked users to not "circulate any posts that will harm religious sentiments".

Prohibitory orders have been issued under Section 37(A) A to F and Section 37(3) of the Maharashtra Police Act 1951 till July 29.

As per reports, the attack occurred during an anti-encroachment drive in and around the Vishalgad Fort area. Tensions have been high in the region after Raje demanded the removal of all illegal encroachments in the area.

The drive took a violent turn after the mob hurled stones at police personnel and damaged properties. As per officials, cases have been registered against 500 people and 21 have been arrested.

Source: outlookindia.com

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https://www.outlookindia.com/national/kolhapur-mosque-vandalised-by-mob-viral-video-all-eyes-on-mosque-attack-sambhaji-raje

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Don’t refer cases of Hindus, Sikhs, Christians to Foreigner Tribunals, urge them to apply under CAA: Assam govt to border police

The CAA enables the fast-tracking of the citizenship process for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christans from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who entered India before December 31, 2014.

Written by Sukrita Baruah

July 16, 2024

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Monday that only eight people from the state have applied for citizenship under the CAA’s special provisions in the four months since the rules were notified. (Express file photo)Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Monday that only eight people from the state have applied for citizenship under the CAA’s special provisions in the four months since the rules were notified. (Express file photo)

The Assam government has instructed the state’s border police not to directly refer citizenship cases of “Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian” people, who entered India before the end of 2014, to Foreigners Tribunals. Instead, the border police have been told to encourage them to apply for citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

The CAA, which had incited protests in several parts of the country including Assam’s Brahmaputra Valley, but was welcomed in the state’s primarily Bengali-speaking Barak Valley, was finally set in motion with the notification of rules for its implementation in March this year.

The CAA enables the fast-tracking of the citizenship process for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christans from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who entered India before December 31, 2014. However, Assam, which shares a long border with Bangladesh and where the question of “illegal immigration” from the neighbouring country has long been a contentious issue, has different processes for declaring people who entered the state after March 24, 1971 – the cut-off date for citizenship as determined by the Assam Accord – as “foreigners” and “illegal immigrants”. Among these are trials by Foreigners Tribunals to determine whether suspected “illegal immigrants” referred to them by the border police are Indian nationals or foreigners.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Monday that only eight people from the state have applied for citizenship under the CAA’s special provisions in the four months since the rules were notified. He went on to say that of these eight, only two have appeared for interviews as part of the process.

On July 5, the Home and Political Department of the Assam government wrote to the Special Director General of Police (Border) of the Assam police, stating that people eligible to apply for citizenship under the provisions of the CAA not be referred to Foreigners Tribunals and that a special registry of such people be maintained.

“…the border police may not forward cases of persons belonging to Hindu, Sikhs, Buddhist, Parsi, Jain and Christian communities who entered India prior to 31st December 2014 directly to Foreigners Tribunals. Such persons may be advised to apply to the prescribed form on the [CAA] portal… for citizenship, which will be decided by the Government of India based on facts and circumstances of the case. A separate register may be maintained for this category of persons,” states the communication by Partha Pratim Majumdar, Secretary to the Home and Political Department.

The letter states that this “differential treatment” will not apply to people who entered Assam after December 31 2014, “irrespective of their religion”. “Once detected, they should be straight away forwarded to the jurisdictional Foreigners Tribunal for further action,” it said.

About the aim of the instruction, a government source said, “The new law is very clear that people of the specified communities, who entered before December 31, 2014, are eligible to apply and are not to be prosecuted. But many people will not even be aware of the provision and this direction basically allows for that sensitization.”

The Foreigners Tribunals of Assam are quasi-judicial bodies which determine whether a person presented before them is a “foreigner” or an Indian citizen. The tribunals receive two kinds of cases – those referred to them by the border police when they suspect someone of being a foreigner, and those related to people listed as ‘Doubtful (D)’ voters in electoral rolls.

Speaking to the media on Monday, CM Sarma said, “Anybody who has come into India before 2015, they have the first right to apply for citizenship. If they do not apply, then we lodge a case against them. This is a statutory instruction.”

He said that even those currently facing proceedings in Foreigners Tribunals should first be given a chance to apply for citizenship under the CAA, but that the state government is not authorised to pass directions to the tribunals.

However, he said it was unlikely that such people would seek to get citizenship under the CAA, arguing that Hindu Bengalis in particular are more likely to want to complete the due procedure and establish that they were already citizens.

“Almost all Hindu Bengalis, whoever we have approached, have said ‘we are Indians, we have documents’. They would like to continue with proceedings instead of applying under the CAA… We have done outreach programmes from our party’s side in the Barak Valley, but no one is applying,” he said.

In the Assembly session held in February this year, the Assam government had submitted that the 100 FTs in Assam had disposed of 3,37,186 cases by the end of last year and that 1,59,353 people had been declared foreigners by them. It had submitted that 94,149 cases are pending before the FTs.

Source: indianexpress.com

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https://indianexpress.com/article/india/assam-government-border-police-foreigner-tribunals-cases-9454758/

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“Muslim Community”: Udupi Police File Suo Motu Case Against Social Media Account for Derogatory Post Against Muslims

July 15, 2024

The Udupi Town police booked a suo motu case against the handler of an X (formerly Twitter) account for allegedly posting a derogatory comment. The handler of the account is suspected to be a doctor working at a hospital at Brahmavara in Udupi district.

A post on X by social media influencers Abhi and Niyu on July 13 read: “If you could delete one thing from the planet today – what would it be.” Responding to it, Dr. Upadhya having the X account @lonelystranger replied: “Muslim community”.

Many on X said that the reply was by a laparoscopic surgeon working at a hospital in Brahmavar and asked the Director General and Inspector General of Police to take action against the “suspected” doctor.

Udupi Superintendent of Police K. Arun told The Hindu that a suo moto case was registered against the person holding the X handle @lonelystranger. The case is registered for offences punishable under Sections 196 (promoting enmity between groups on grounds of religion, race, and place of birth) and 353 (Statements conducive to public mischief) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. “We are verifying whether this X account is of the doctor from Brahmavar,” Dr. Arun said.

Meanwhile, activist Mohammed Zubair in his post on Sunday, July 14, said that the holder of X account @lonelystranger has deleted his tweet and changed the account name to @Stranger_Solo. He has protected his tweets in the changed account after getting exposed for his earlier comment, Mr. Zubair posted.

The activist also posted the image of the post of @Stranger_Solo that states: “The funny thing is there was a post in my account today. I had stopped using Twitter a few months back. Realised something unwanted was posted. Someone was using my account. I have changed password login details and everything related to the account. Account was hacked. Apologies to all here”.

When checked by The Hindu on Monday, July 15, the account @lonelystranger gave the name as solo stranger. It said, “this account does not exist.”

Source: thehindu.com

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https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Mangalore/udupi-police-file-case-against-social-media-account-for-derogatory-post-against-muslims/article68406625.ece

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Regional parties allowed Pak to ‘infiltrate’ Kashmir civil society: J&K DGP

An inter-state security meeting has deliberated on the new methods of infiltration by terrorists, who have been entering the state from the Punjab border, said the officer.

July 16, 2024

Kashmir civil society, J&K DGP on Kashmir issue, Kashmir civil society, function at IIM Jammu, Regional parties, Indian express news

Jammu and Kashmir DGP R R Swain on Monday said the regional parties in the Valley were responsible for Pakistan ‘infiltrating’ Kashmir civil society. He even accused them of “cultivating leaders of terror networks to further their electoral prospects”.

“Pakistan successfully came to infiltrate all important aspects of our civil society, thanks to the regional, so-called mainstream politics in the Valley. There is ample evidence to show that many had owned the art of running with the hare and hunting with the hounds, which left both the common man and the security men bewildered, frightened, and confused. Visiting homes of killed terrorists and expressing sympathy in public became the normal.

While the elimination of new recruits in terrorism was allowed and tacitly encouraged, those who facilitated the recruitment and arranged finances were never investigated,” said the senior officer while speaking at a function at IIM Jammu.

Talking about the death by accidental drowning of two girls in 2014, he said the incident was allowed to be “hijacked by the narrative terrorism, who held the Valley at ransom with hartals, arson, and rioting for many weeks”.

“A very detailed investigation by the CBI and verified by the AIIMS forensics proved it was an outright falsehood. Things had come to such a pass that the so-called mainstream political parties had started cultivating leaders of terror networks… and sometimes directly to further their electoral prospects…,” said DGP Swain.

On the increase in terror attacks in J&K in the recent past, he said that terrorists are not much in number in Kashmir, but that does not define the situation because they are unaccountable entities. “I will give you the statistics. There are not many terrorists … there are only a few. But as I said, the situation is often not measured by the numbers. Because they are unaccountable entities,” Swain said.

An inter-state security meeting has deliberated on the new methods of infiltration by terrorists, who have been entering the state from the Punjab border, said the officer.

“Some infiltration is taking place (through the Punjab border) and it is a commonplace knowledge. We tried to deliberate between ourselves as to the new methods and the modus operandi they are adopting,” Swain told reporters on the sidelines of the event. “We also talked about tunnels. How to sort it out. We talked about how to address more effectively their use of tunnels to infiltrate,” he said.

Source: indianexpress.com

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https://indianexpress.com/article/india/regional-parties-allowed-pak-to-infiltrate-kashmir-civil-society-jk-dgp-9455471/

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False Communal Claims:Sudarshan News Falsely Claims Sadhus Caught InMeerut Are Muslims

16 July 2024

A video of three sadhus being caught and asked to identify themselves in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut is circulating with false communal claims that they hid their Muslim identity. The video was posted on X by Sudarshan News UP handle which amplified the claim further stating that one of the sadhu's name is Mohammed Shamim. According to Sudarshan News UP's X post, the three men falsely identified themselves as Hindus. The caption further claims, "Their Aadhaar Card says the name is Mohammed Shamim. Mohd. Shamim along with his gang used to do recce of Hindu localities wearing saffron clothes. The public also accused the three of stealing children."

Click here to view an archive of Sudarshan News UP's X post. BOOM reached out to Meerut Police who dismissed any communal angle to the incident. Meerut Police told BOOM that the three sadhus belong to the Nath community and are residents of Haryana's Yamunanagar. People caught them on suspicion of child theft and beat them up.

Fact Check Upon searching with relevant keywords, we BOOM a report published by Aaj Tak on July 14. According to the report, the incident took place in Prahlad Nagar, Meerut, where three sadhus were beaten up on suspicions of being child kidnappers. After the video of the fight related to the incident went viral, the police took cognizance of the matter and arrested three accused named Puneet, Mickey and Sudhanshu. Reports from TV 9 Bharatvarsh and News 18 stated that locals expressed suspicion about the identity of the sadhus. They assumed that they were Muslim child kidnappers and thus kept the three men as hostages and beat them up. BOOM also came across quotes from Meerut Police which confirmed that the sadhus are not Muslims but from the Nath community. Meerut Police also replied to Sudarshan News' X post and corroborated the same. According to the post, the sadhus were brought to the police station and upon interrogation, it was found that the three are residents of Yamunanagar, Haryana. They are fakir / sadhus who belong to the Nath community.

Meerut Police has also lodged a case against three men after video of them assaulting the sadhus emerged. In a video released by the police, it was said that people of the Hindu community had caught three people on the suspicion of roaming around disguised as sadhus. The incident happened in Prahlad Nagar of Lisadi Gate police station. In another video it was said that "Three people have been arrested in connection with the viral video of assault on sadhus, whose names are Puneet, Mickey and Sudhanshu. All three of them are residents of Lisadi Gate."

Police stated that the reason for the fight was the three men were looking at a child, which raised suspicions among the locals. We then reached out to Meerut Police. SP City, Ayush Vikram Singh told BOOM , "The communal claims being made regarding the incident are wrong. All three sadhus have been identified. Their names are Gaurav son of Bobby, Gopi son of Rishipal, Sunil son of Fakirnath. All three of them come from Nath community, they are residents of Darwa Majri village of Yamunanagar, Haryana. The local people and SHO there also confirmed this." He further told BOOM, “After the first video surfaced, the police called the three sadhus and interrogated them and after some formalities they were released. After this, another video surfaced in which these sadhus are being badly beaten. Under this, a case was registered by the police under relevant sections and three people were arrested who were seen fighting in the video."

Source: boomlive.in

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SC's Alimony Verdict: A Win For Muslim Women's Rights Or Reinforcement Of 'Saving Muslim Women' Narrative?

16 July 2024

After decades of debate and conflicting views, the Supreme Court last week passed a significant judgement allowing divorced Muslim women to seek alimony from their husbands. While the move has been hailed by many, including the ruling BJP—which has often presented itself as the saviour of Muslim women from allegedly restrictive Muslim laws—it is being criticised as a verdict that goes against Muslim personal law and is being challenged by Muslim scholars and organisations. This decision follows the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Uttarakhand and the criminalisation of triple talaq in 2019.

The apex court upheld, in the case being heard — Mohd Abdul Samad vs The State of Telangana — that the divorced Muslim woman had the right to claim maintenance under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973. According to the SC bench, the decision was made in light of it being seen as a socially beneficial provision, and added that the right to alimony is not taken away by the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act (MWA).

Following the ruling, Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi at a press conference said the verdict had ended a threat to the Constitution posed by the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, which was enacted by a past Congress government. Trivedi referred to the Shah Bano case from 1985 when the Indian judiciary allowed Shah Bano, a divorcee to seek maintenance from her former husband, but the decision was later overruled when a law was passed in the Parliament by the then Rajiv Gandhi-led government.

While Trivedi says he hails the verdict for the sake of the Muslim women, Member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board Dr Asma Zehra Tayeba is of the opinion that Muslim women do not need “saving”.

“We do not want emancipators, we do not want people to make an issue of our matters and without consultation with the Muslim women across India,” she said in a video shared on her social media platforms.

“For us Muslims, this is a matter of our identity, this is a matter of religion. This is part of our belief that we follow Muslim Personal Law and we believe that Muslim women have been liberated by the personal laws. We have the dignity not to take any amount from the husbands who have divorced us after the completion of iddat.”

Dr Tayeba also referred to the criminalisation of triple talaq saying mainstream media and the government had portrayed women as being “chained to the sharia law” and in need of someone to free them.

“Talaq is a solution to an unhappy and unsuccessful marriage. If talaq was so cruel, why did the Hindu code bill incorporate divorce in the bill? The framers of the bill felt Muslim women are more empowered because they have the right to remarry after a divorce and divorce rights empowered women which is why it is incorporated in the Hindu code,” she said.

Addressing a crowd in Aligarh before the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he enjoyed the support of the Muslim women because he had saved their lives and that of their families by “passing a law against [instant] Triple Talaq”. Interestingly, Modi’s speech in Aligarh had come a day after he delivered a hate speech against Muslims in Banswara, alleging the Congress wanted to take away the people’s wealth and redistribute it amongst those who had “more children” and were “infiltrators”.

The saffron party has in the past been accused by opposition members, analysts, and Muslim organisations of using the "saviour of Muslim women" trope for political gains. Palestinian-American academic and anthropologist Lila Abu-Lughod, in her book "Do Muslim Women Need Saving?", argues that the idea of "saving Muslim women" is often used to support political agendas. This narrative welcomes "good" Muslims (women who need help) into the nation while portraying "bad" Muslims (men who might be seen as threats) as dangers to the country. While the Muslim women are seen as victims and in need of protection from the state, Muslim men are criminalised and portrayed as someone the women need to be rescued from.

The long-standing debate around the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) was reignited ahead of the general elections. The UCC, proposed as a poll promise, aimed to establish a common set of personal laws for all Indian citizens, regardless of religion, gender, or sexual orientation. This proposal faced widespread objections, with many arguing it was an attempt to interfere with Muslim laws on inheritance, marriage, divorce, and polygamy under the guise of promoting gender equality.

In February earlier this year, Uttarakhand became the first state to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). However, the code, which promised gender equality, failed to grant inheritance rights to Adivasi women, who had been hopeful for change under the new law. Under Adivasi customary laws, women do not have ancestral property rights and have long been fighting for them.

In addition to the Uniform Civil Code and Triple Talaq, the BJP had also sparked controversy by targeting other Muslim practices for 'reform,' such as the ban on hijabs in Karnataka’s educational institutions.

Source: outlookindia.com

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Indian FM: People-to-people ‘Foundation’ of Afghanistan ties

July 16, 2024

India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar emphasized the foundational role of people-to-people connections in India’s relationship with Afghanistan during an interview with Kazinform News Agency in Astana, Kazakhstan.

He underscored India’s commitment to supporting Afghan people through humanitarian aid, including food, essential medicines, and pesticides.

Jaishankar highlighted the historical ties between India and Afghanistan, noting that these connections are the bedrock for bilateral relations.

He pointed out that India has been addressing concerns raised during the SCO summit over several years, focusing on development, humanitarian assistance, capacity building, and sports initiatives to impact Afghanistan society positively.

Regarding India’s assistance efforts, Jaishankar mentioned that India continues to supply medicines to Afghanistan hospitals, acknowledging the country’s critical shortage of medical supplies.

He also mentioned India’s provision of wheat to address food shortages exacerbated by recent challenges like locust attacks, alongside supplying pesticides to combat agricultural threats.

Reflecting on the recent SCO summit held in Astana, Jaishankar echoed the sentiment shared by leaders of SCO member countries, emphasizing the importance of establishing an inclusive government in Afghanistan to achieve sustainable peace.

Meanwhile, the foreign minister of India reiterated that India’s approach towards Afghanistan remains centered on enhancing people-to-people ties and providing essential support to address humanitarian needs and foster socio-economic development.

He emphasized that India’s commitment to Afghanistan’s stability and prosperity will continue to guide its diplomatic efforts and engagements in the region.

Source: khaama.com

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SC issues notice after son claims Mukhtar Ansari was poisoned

July 16, 2024

Supreme Court notice, Mukhtar Ansari poisoned allegation, Mukhtar Ansari, denial of treatment, Indian express newsMukhtar Absari (File Photo)

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice on late gangster Mukhtar Ansari’s son Umar Ansari’s prayer alleging that his father died due to poisoned food and denial of treatment.

Issuing notice, a bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S V N Bhatti also recorded the submission of Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for the petitioner. Sibal asserted that “It was not a death simpliciter, but was the result of specific action taken by the jail authorities”.

Sibal told the bench, “All we can say is…what we feared, happened…the man was sent back to the jail…this is shocking”. Justice Roy remarked, “We can’t bring him back…you were apprehending an encounter sort of a situation…”

Sibal urged the court that there should be some inquiry into the matter. Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj pointed out that the original petition was filed seeking transfer of Mukhtar Ansari to any jail outside Uttar Pradesh and protection for him. Nataraj sought four weeks to file response to the fresh notice.

Mukhtar Ansari, a five-time MLA who was in jail since 2005, died of a purported heart attack on March 28, 2024. It was concluded in his autopsy report that the cause of death was “heart attack/myocardial infarction”. Doctors also ruled out any poison in the viscera.

Source: indianexpress.com

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Army officer among four soldiers killed in encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda

It is suspected that a group of six to eight terrorists were involved in the encounter, including foreign terrorists — much higher than the number assessed initially.

Written by Arun Sharma , Amrita Nayak Dutta

July 16, 2024

5 security men ‘critical’ after J&K encounter coda DODAThe injured were evacuated to hospital and their condition was stated to be “critical”, the officials said.

Four army personnel including a Major-rank officer succumbed to their injuries after an encounter on Monday night in Doda district’s Desa forests in Jammu and Kashmir.

As per sources, firing shots were heard in between Uddan Bagi and Dheri Goth at Dessa district of Doda at around 7.45 pm.

The encounter started after terrorists hiding inside the forests suddenly opened fire on a security forces party, which was carrying out searches in the area. The security forces retaliated and the exchange of fire between two sides continued for nearly half an hour. Since then, there has been no firing from terrorists’ side.

It is suspected that a group of six to eight terrorists were involved, including foreign terrorists — much higher than the number assessed initially.

As part of the operation, neighboring units have also been inducted, including 26 RR and 9 RR, alongside a special forces team, drones and helicopters for the search operation. Additional troops are also being moved into the area.

Sources said that at least five soldiers sustained bullet injuries after they chased terrorists into the forests who fled after the brief encounter. The injured were evacuated to the hospital but four of them later succumbed to injuries.

The Nagrota-based White Knight Corps, citing initial reports, had confirmed “injuries to our brave hearts”, but did not give details about the injured. It posted on its official handle on ‘X’ that “contact with terrorists was established at about 2100 hrs in which heavy firefight ensued”.

Sources, however, had said that the injured included a Major rank officer.

In a post on X, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s office said that he had spoken to Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi this morning. The Army Chief apprised Singh of the ground situation and the ongoing counter-terrorist operation in the Doda.

Following spurt in incidents of terror attacks and reports about movement of terrorists from different places in Jammu division, the police and security forces have launched joint combing and search operations at a massive scale in various parts of the division.

Source: indianexpress.com

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Kashmir: Muharram procession in Srinagar becomes a show of solidarity with Palestinians

16.07.24

A thousand-strong Muharram procession in Srinagar’s city centre turned into a show of solidarity with Palestinians on Monday, with protesters defying the administration by waving Palestinian flags and chanting anti-Israel slogans.

Lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha’s administration has strictly barred pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Kashmir since the outbreak of the Gaza war and even shut down Jamia Masjid on several occasions to prevent an outpouring of support for Palestine.

The administration on Monday allowed the Shia community to take out a procession to mark the eighth day of mourning of the death of Prophet Mohammed’s grandson on the traditional Guru Bazar-Dalgate route in Srinagar.

The procession, banned for more than three decades, was allowed for the first time last year in an attempt to forge relations with the Valley’s Shia minority.

There were no restrictions on the procession this year too, but mourners were directed to keep it strictly apolitical.

The procession started from Guru Bazar and passed through the designated route via Jehangir Chowk and Maulana Azad Road before culminating at Dalgate. The procession was bigger this time and continued for much of the day although the organisers were granted a limited time window to avoid inconveniencing the commuters.

Many in the procession waved Palestinian flags and chanted slogans in support of Palestine as they walked slowly through the city centre.

Traffic on city roads was diverted and barricades were erected at multiple places to facilitate the procession.

Muharram processions were banned after the eruption of militancy in Kashmir as authorities were apprehensive that separatists might misuse the large gathering for ulterior motives. Spearheaded by a separatist Shia group, the procession always used to metamorphose into a pro-Azadi demonstration. The group would routinely defy police to take out the procession in the face of tear gas shells and cane charges.

Kashmiri Sunnis, who form around half of Jammu and Kashmir’s population, were in the vanguard of the separatist movement and got support from other Muslim communities.

Many believe the government has all along tried to woo other Muslim groups — Kashmiri Shias, Gujjars and Paharis — to break the “Muslim unity” but without much success.

Source: telegraphindia.com

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Mideast

 

Four killed, several wounded by gunfire near mosque in Oman: local police

July 16, 2024

RIYADH: Four people were killed and several wounded by gunfire in the vicinity of a mosque in Oman’s Wadi Al-Kabir, the Omani Police said on X early Tuesday.

“All security measures have been taken to deal with the situation. Evidence-gathering and investigation procedures will continue,” the police said.

The omani force expressed condolences to the families of the victims and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

Source: arabnews.com

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Israel waging ‘war of revenge’ on Palestinian prisoners: PA minister

July 16, 2024

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: The Palestinian Authority’s prisoners affairs minister on Monday accused Israel of waging an abusive “war of revenge” against Palestinian detainees since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

Accounts of alleged mistreatment including torture, rape and other sexual abuses in Israeli jails have all been denied by Israeli authorities.

“Israel has been waging a war of revenge against prisoners within the walls of prisons and detention centers since the first day of the decision to go to war against Gaza,” said the PA’s Prisoners’ Affairs Authority head Qadura Fares.

Speaking at a press conference in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, he added that Palestinian prisoners were treated as “hostages” and the mistreatment was part of the “pressure.”

The authority’s lawyer Khaled MaHajjna denounced abuses which he said he had been told of when he visited detained Gaza journalists Mohammed Arab and Tariq Abed at the Ofer detention center near Ramallah.

MaHajjna said he was told how guards forced one prisoner to “lay on his stomach naked and then a fire extinguisher tube was inserted into his buttocks and the fire extinguisher was turned on.”

He said he was told how other inmates had “electric prods” used on their bodies.

In parallel to increasing complaints by Palestinians, some Israeli rights groups are fighting for a court order to close Sde Teiman, a desert detention camp just for detainees during Israel’s war with militant group Hamas.

The Israeli military said it “rejects outright allegations concerning systematic abuse of detainees in the ‘Sde Teiman’ detention facility, including allegations of sexually abusing detainees.” It also said that it acts within international law.

The lawyer said prisoners were handcuffed when they ate and that meals consisted of 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of bread or tomatoes with some milk.

MaHajjna quoted Arab as saying that he saw one handcuffed prisoner die after being beaten for demanding medical treatment. He said about 100 detainees had diseases and wounds in desperate need of treatment.

He alleged that some prisoners had their hands bound before dogs were then set upon them.

Five Israeli rights groups have gone to court over conditions at Sde Teiman.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), one of the five, said that the high court on Monday ordered the government to respond within three days to the original petition filed in May.

ACRI, Physicians for Human Rights, HaMoked, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel and Gisha have demanded the closure of Sde Teiman, saying that “severe violations of detainees’ rights” make imprisonment at the facility “unconstitutional and untenable.”

The government has not commented on the case.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club, around 9,600 Palestinians are in Israeli jails, including hundreds under administrative detention which allows the military to keep detainees for long periods without being charged or produced in court.

The war started with Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

The militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom are still in Gaza including 42 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel’s military retaliation has killed at least 38,664 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to data from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

Source: arabnews.com

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Iran, other nations mourn Imam Hussein martyrdom on Ashura

Jul 16, 2024

TEHRAN, Jul. 16 (MNA) – The Iranian people along with other nations across the world are mourning the martyrdom of the third infallible Imam, Imam Hussein (AS), on Ashura Day of the month of Muharram on Tuesday.

The Day of Ashura- the anniversary of the Battle of Karbala, when the 3rd Shia Imam, Hussein ibn Ali, a grandson of Prophet Muhammad, was martyred by the forces of Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad - is marked across the world.

The following are the latest about the ceremonies held across the world to mark Ashura Day:

The video footage sent by Mehr correspondent shows the night before Ashura Day in the holy city of Karbala in Iraq where the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) is located.

The following video shows people in the Al Qatif in the east of Saudi Arabia holding a Muharram mourning ceremony to mourn the anniversary of the martyrdom of the third Shia Imam.

Source: en.mehrnews.com

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Islamic Resistance in Lebanon announces targeting 3 Zionist military sites

16 Jul 2024

BEIRUT July 16. 2024 (Saba) - The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon, led by Hezbollah, announced on Monday, that it targeted three Zionist military sites on the Lebanese border with occupied Palestine.

The Islamic Resistance said in a statement, via its channel on the Telegram application: "In support of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, the resistance fighters targeted today, Monday, a gathering of Zionist enemy soldiers in the vicinity of the Branit barracks with missile weapons and hit it directly."

The Lebanese Resistance added that it also targeted the espionage equipment at the Al-Raheb site with guided missiles, indicating that it was directly hit and destroyed.

The Islamic Resistance also targeted the Al-Samaqa site in the occupied Lebanese Kfar Shuba hills with artillery shells.

Source: saba.ye

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https://www.saba.ye/en/news3349356.htm

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Israel releases Al-Aqsa Mosque guard after 3-year detention

15 Jul 2024

OCCUPIED AL-QUDS July 15. 2024 (Saba) - Zionist enemy's intelligence on Sunday released the guard of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Fadi Alyan, on the condition that he be exiled from Quds for three days.

Alyan's family said that the Zionist intelligence imposed on their son, Fadi, deportation from Al-Aqsa Mosque, and deportation from the city of Quds to Jericho city for three days, in addition to not speaking to the media, and signing a bail worth three thousand shekels.

The Zionist enemy intelligence arrested the prisoner Fadi Alyan the moment he was released this morning from the Negev prison, after spending three years in the occupation prisons, and took him to rooms “4” in the Al-Maskobiyya Center, west of occupied Quds.

It is noteworthy that the prisoner Fadi Alyan was subjected to many arrests before his last arrest, and was deported from Al-Aqsa Mosque several times, and the enemy municipality demolished a building belonging to his family in Al-Issawiya village.

Source: saba.ye

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How IDF commandos destroyed Hamas recruitment center, PIJ rocket factory

JULY 15, 2024

Since the IDF started withdrawing from parts of Gaza where it had taken apart Hamas’s battalions in the late winter and early spring, the Gaza terror group has been using innovative ways to rebuild its combat forces and to keep the broader population dependent on its rule.

In recent months, the IDF’s commando unit – composed of the Duvdevan, Egoz, and Maglan special units – has taken on many unique missions in Gaza, beyond the standard clearance of a certain sector of terrorist operations carried out by the regular IDF infantry.

The commando unit is run by Col. Omer Cohen, with whom The Jerusalem Post was embedded in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza in December.

During an operation in Tel el-Awa in northern Gaza near Shifa Hospital last Friday, the IDF said that Cohen’s commandos had uncovered a new Hamas headquarters within a UNRWA building.

What the IDF did not disclose until Monday, however, was that Hamas was using the UNRWA building as one of its critical centers for recruiting new fighters, drone-makers, and bomb builders.

After a firefight and the killing of a number of Hamas operatives inside, the IDF also took apart a series of stations at the UNRWA building, which included: Hamas controlling food aid right next to a station for signing up to its combat units, right next to a workshop for building drones, right next to a separate workshop for building improvised explosives.

Recruitment methods exploit current humanitarian disaster

In other words, Hamas used an UNRWA facility where all civilians would need to come to receive food, to juxtapose all of its various fighting needs and connect Gazan civilians’ conception of their future to Hamas first in terms of food, and then in terms of terrorism.

This new method of recruitment can sidestep significant periods of ideological orientation by using the current humanitarian disaster in Gaza as the main motivation for getting civilians to join Hamas and immediately also learn how to build threatening weapons.

Near the UNRWA facility, the commandos also found a rocket-making seminar concealed in a university.

In another operation connected to Rafah in southern Gaza where the IDF has been since early May, the IDF commandos eliminated the most important remaining weapons development location for Islamic Jihad in Gaza, aspects of which were underground.

THE IDF COMMANDOS acted rapidly and with precise intelligence to overcome all resistance at the Islamic Jihad weapons location and were able to intercept many of the Jihad fighters as well as the weapons they were making.

Despite these successes, the IDF warned that its soldiers would continue to encounter these systematic Hamas efforts to exploit humanitarian areas or tunnels for reconstituting its forces and its weaponry.

The IDF did not have real answers to what would break Hamas’s will to rebuild its military other than continued IDF missions to break apart any such rebuilding attempts before they expand to a dangerous point.

According to the IDF, Hamas is also using houses that seem half-destroyed and which the IDF has already attacked and moved on from, to hide many of its weapons, expecting that the military will not think to return to such locations.

Further, the IDF said that Hamas is often using children to run interference and as human shields when planting improvised explosives in areas where it anticipates IDF forces are likely to raid.

Also on Monday, leaks appeared in Yediot Aharonot regarding aspects of the IDF’s upcoming report on Hamas’s invasion of Kfar Aza.

Despite the leaks, the IDF said it has no plans to move up its publication of the Kfar Aza report, though that report was expected in the near future.

According to the report, 64 residents of Kfar Aza were massacred by Hamas, 19 were taken hostage, and five remain hostages of the terror group.

At the high-point of the fighting, 20 different IDF units fought there against 400 to 600 Hamas forces.

The initial Hamas force which invaded Kfar Aza included around 100 Hamas Nukhba terrorists.

In addition, the report notes, as with the Be’eri report which came out last week, that many IDF forces came to the Kfar Aza area, but then dawdled about what to do and what their mission parameters were for a crucial extended period, while Kfar Aza residents were being slaughtered.

There were also some new disclosures regarding Israel’s attempt to kill Hamas military chief Mohammad Deif on Saturday, with The New York Times reporting that Israeli intelligence had been tracking Hamas Khan Yunis Chief Rafa Salameh for weeks, but did not kill him, hoping to wait for Deif to show up.

There were no new indications on Monday about whether Deif was killed, and the issue may remain open for an extended period, even though Israeli intelligence is somewhat confident that he was killed.

Meanwhile, IDF soldiers have killed numerous Hamas terrorists in continued operations throughout the Gaza Strip, including RPG-armed terrorists in close combat in Rafah, the IDF announced on Monday.

Soldiers from Division 162 eliminated gunmen in close combat, while fighters from Brigade 8 killed one who was planting explosives in central Gaza.

On Sunday, the Nahal reconnaissance unit eliminated a group of RPG-armed fighters, and the air force struck dozens of Hamas targets, as well as Hamas forces who were trying to carry out surveillance of IDF forces.

IN THE NORTH, there were light exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah. Three security sources told Reuters that prominent Syrian pro-regime businessman Baraa Katerji was killed in an Israeli air strike.

The IDF said it targeted two Hezbollah positions at Mas-al-Jbil and fired artillery at Hezbollah forces maneuvering in a dangerous way in the al-Disa area.

Further, the military said that Hezbollah fired three separate solo rockets at different points, with the IDF air defense shooting down one of them and allowing the other two to fall into open spaces.

There were no reports of large fires after the rocket strikes.

Overall, recent days have seen a significant drop in military exchanges between the sides.

Separately, a vehicle was targeted in a strike on the Lebanese-Syrian border on Monday, according to Lebanese and Syrian reports.

The vehicle was reportedly on the Syrian side of the border.

Source: jpost.com

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North America

 

Israel using US-provided internationally prohibited weapons: Hamas

15 July 2024

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says Israel is using the US-provided internationally prohibited weapons against people in Gaza.

Hamas said in a statement on Monday that more than 320 martyrs and injured have reached hospitals in the past 48 hours with their bodies burned due to the use of internationally prohibited weapons by Israeli occupation forces.

The weapons used by the Israeli occupation forces have caused third-degree burns which thermal or chemical arms cause, Hamas said. 

The group added that these “are unconventional, internationally banned weapons, mostly of American manufacture.”

“These weapons cause a chemical reaction with the skin, leading to the direct chemical erosion of tissues in the bodies of martyrs and the injured,” it added.

“They cause severe pain and deep physical damage, resulting in fatal burns within 27 hours or less. We have indeed lost many martyrs in this tragic manner,” the statement added.

Hamas said they strongly condemn the crimes against humanity committed by the Israeli occupation against civilians, children, and women.

“We call on all countries of the world to denounce these incendiary crimes against civilians and to pursue and prosecute the occupation in international courts,” it added.

Hamas said it holds the US administration “fully responsible, both legally and morally, for supplying the Israeli occupation with these various types of internationally prohibited weapons.”

“We also hold the Israeli occupation responsible for the crimes and massacres it commits against civilians and displaced persons,” the resistance movement said.

“We call on the international community, all international and UN organizations, and all free countries of the world to pursue the Israeli occupation and pressure it to stop the genocide that the occupation army is committing to kill and destroy our Palestinian people,” it concluded.

Gaza Civil Defense Service has in several statements pointed to the “dissolution of victims corpses and their conversion into ashes.”

A Euro-Med Monitor report highlights that the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, the Geneva Conventions of 1949, and international humanitarian law all forbid the use of thermal bombs against civilians in populated civilian areas.

“The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court also classifies the use of thermal bombs as a war crime.”

Two weeks into the war, Gaza’s Health Ministry warned in a statement that “medical staff monitored the usage of unusual weapons that caused severe burns to the bodies of the martyrs and wounded.”

Analysts believe that the Gaza war is the latest laboratory for Israel’s arms industry as the regime is known to test its weapons on Palestinians in its offensives against the occupied nation.

At least 90 Palestinians mostly women and children were killed and almost 300 others were injured in the July 13 Israeli aerial assault on the densely-populated camp near Khan Younis.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after Palestinian resistance groups carried out a surprise retaliatory operation into the occupied territories.

Concomitantly with the war, the regime has been enforcing a near-total siege on the coastal territory, which has reduced the flow of foodstuffs, medicine, electricity, and water into the Palestinian territory into a trickle.

So far during the military onslaught, the regime has killed at least 38,664 Gazans, most of them women, children, and adolescents. Another 89,097 Palestinians have sustained injuries as well.

Source: presstv.ir

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Republicans to single out Israeli regime for ‘extraordinary’ US support

15 July 2024

The Israeli regime has been singled out for "extraordinary" US support in the upcoming Republican party’s platform.

The Tel Aviv regime is the only foreign entity cited in the Republican Party’s newly published platform, signaling Donald Trump’s strong support for the Israeli regime should he win November’s US presidential election, media reports said on Monday.

The Republican Party’s newly published platform was released ahead of the Republican Party’s national convention scheduled to be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Donald Trump is to be formally declared on Thursday as the Republicans' nominee for the 2024 US presidential election.

The Republicans’ newly published platform will be ratified at the upcoming convention.

The party's platform details Trump’s agenda for the next four years. If he defeats incumbent Joe Biden or his replacement, he will be elected once more as US president.

Strengthening the United States domestically and abroad, restoring fiscal balance, and fighting immigration were cited as some of the policies Trump should pursue in the next four years, in addition to supporting the Israeli regime, according to the party's platform.

Trump's future support for Israelis was emphasized in the platform as such, “We will stand with Israel, and seek peace in the Middle East.” Trump has been portraying himself to the Israelis as “the best [US] president in the history of Israel.”

Republicans are especially notorious for voicing their extra strong military support for the Israeli war machine.

The Israeli regime's war-mongering Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his governing extremist Likud Party are said to be favorites of most of the Republican politicians in the United States.

Washington has provided billions of dollars of weapons and ammunition to the Israeli regime since it launched its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October killing more than 38,580 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 88,881 others with the remains of thousands more buried under rubble or found on the roads as ambulances and civil defense crews are banned by the Israeli military from approaching victims.

Source: presstv.ir

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Elon Musk pledges $45 million a month to fund Donald Trump election

July 16, 2024

WASHINGTON: Tech billionaire Elon Musk said he plans to commit roughly $45 million each month to a new fund backing Donald Trump for US president, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Musk’s donations will go to a political group dubbed America PAC, which will focus on promoting voter registration, early voting and mail-in ballots among residents in swing states ahead of the November general election, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Musk is one of several major backers of the new fund, with others reportedly including Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, former US ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft and cryptocurrency investors Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.

The Tesla founder formally endorsed Trump’s candidacy for US president on Saturday after the former president survived a shooting at a political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” Musk wrote on the social media platform X, which he acquired in 2022.

Musk, the wealthiest man in the world with an estimated net worth of $250 billion, has grown increasingly friendly with Trump over the course of the 2024 US election.

In March, the two met in person during a donor breakfast hosted at the Florida residence of billionaire Nelson Peltz.

Though individual campaign donations in the United States are capped at $3,300 per person, loopholes in the campaign finance system allow political mega donors to contribute to funds known as political action committees or “PACs,” which support candidates.

Trump previously decried mail and absentee voting, but has backtracked on his criticisms after it became clear Democrats had an edge among mail voters.

Source: arabnews.com

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US judge dismisses Trump classified documents case

July 16, 2024

MIAMI: A Florida judge appointed by Donald Trump on Monday dismissed one of the criminal cases against him, concerning charges that he mishandled top secret documents — a decision the prosecution is set to appeal.

The dismissal was a stunning victory for Trump, effectively removing a major legal threat against the former president, who faces other criminal cases that he says should be thrown out as well.

The court decision added to Trump’s seemingly unstoppable momentum on the first day of the Republican National Convention, where he became the party’s official nominee to run against President Joe Biden just days after surviving an assassination attempt.

In her ruling, Judge Aileen Cannon said that Special Counsel Jack Smith, who brought the charges, was unlawfully appointed and that the case should be therefore tossed.

Smith was named in 2022 by Biden appointee Attorney General Merrick Garland to oversee the investigations into Trump’s handling of classified documents after he left office, as well as his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

Peter Carr, the spokesman for Smith’s office, said the prosecutor had been authorized by the Justice Department to appeal Cannon’s decision.

“The dismissal of the case deviates from the uniform conclusion of all previous courts to have considered the issue that the attorney general is statutorily authorized to appoint a special counsel,” Carr said in a statement.

The Trump-appointed judge made her ruling after lawyers for the 78-year-old argued for a partial stay of proceedings to allow for an assessment of a new Supreme Court ruling that a former president has broad immunity from prosecution for actions taken in his official role as president.

In a 93-page opinion, Cannon said Smith’s appointment and funding usurped the role of Congress, echoing a recent opinion put forward by Clarence Thomas, one of the conservatives who dominate the Supreme Court.

“The Court is convinced that... Smith’s prosecution of this action breaches two structural cornerstones of our constitutional scheme — the role of Congress in the appointment of constitutional officers, and the role of Congress in authorizing expenditures by law,” she concluded.

“The clerk is directed to close this case,” the judge wrote.

Cannon did not make a ruling on the merits of the case, which critics have accused her of slow-walking.

The judge’s decision followed Trump’s win earlier this month at the Supreme Court with the immunity decision.

That decision has helped Trump in his quest to delay the trials he faces until after the November election.

These include charges in Washington and Georgia related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost to Biden.

But one of the cases dogging Trump on the campaign trail already resulted in a conviction: he was found guilty in New York in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels, who alleged she had a sexual encounter with the real estate tycoon.

“This dismissal of the Lawless Indictment in Florida should be just the first step, followed quickly by the dismissal of ALL the Witch Hunts,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

Reaction to the decision was split down the ideological divide.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson hailed the ruling as “good news for America and the rule of law” and called on the government to halt the “witch hunt,” especially in the wake of the weekend assassination attempt on Trump.

Eric Holder, who was attorney general under president Barack Obama, said tossing the case was “so bereft of legal reasoning as to be utterly absurd.”

The decision was “all about delay,” and the “incompetent” Cannon should be removed, he added.

In the case, Trump was facing 31 counts of “willful retention of national defense information,” each punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

He also faced charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements.

Trump allegedly kept classified documents — which included records from the Pentagon and CIA — unsecured at his Mar-a-Lago home and thwarted efforts to retrieve them.

The material included secret nuclear and defense documents, according to prosecutors.

Republicans contended the prosecution was unfair and selective, after a federal prosecutor in February opted not to pursue charges against Biden, who kept some classified material at his home after leaving the vice presidency in 2017.

Biden cooperated in returning his documents.

Source: arabnews.com

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Biden says it was a ‘mistake’ to say he wanted to put a ‘bull’s-eye’ on Trump

July 16, 2024

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden told NBC News in an interview airing Monday that it was a “mistake” to say he wanted to put a “bull’s-eye” on Republican nominee Donald Trump, but argued that the rhetoric coming from his opponent was more incendiary while warning that Trump remained a threat to democratic institutions.

Those remarks from Biden came during a private call with donors last week as the Democrat had been scrambling to shore up his imperiled candidacy with key party constituencies. During that conversation, Biden declared that he was “done” talking about his poor debate performance and that it was “time to put Trump in the bull’s-eye,” saying Trump has gotten far too little scrutiny on his stances, rhetoric and lack of campaigning.

Insisting “there was very little focus on Trump’s agenda,” Biden told NBC anchor Lester Holt that while he acknowledged his “mistake,” he nonetheless is “not the guy who said I wanted to be a dictator on day one” and that he wanted the focus to be on what Trump was saying. It’s Trump, not Biden, who engages in that kind of rhetoric, Biden said, referring to Trump’s past comments about a “bloodbath” if the Republican loses to Biden in November.

“Look, how do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he says?” Biden said. “Do you just not say anything because it may incite somebody?”

The interview was occurring the same day that his reelection team was preparing to resume full-throttle campaigning after the assassination attempt on Trump, particularly after the GOP nominee announced Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate — which unleashed a flurry of criticism from the Biden campaign and other Democrats about the young freshman senator’s policy positions.

“He’s a clone of Trump on the issues,” Biden told reporters at Andrews Air Force Base shortly before departing for Nevada for a series of speeches and campaign events. “I don’t see any difference.”

The NBC interview, scheduled before the attempt on Trump’s life at a rally in Pennsylvania, had been part of Biden’s broader strategy to prove his fitness for office after angst grew among Democrats because of his disastrous June 27 debate performance.

The Biden campaign recalibrated some of its political plans in the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt on Saturday, pulling advertising off the air and hitting pause on messaging. The White House also scrapped Biden’s planned Monday visit to the Lyndon B. Johnson library, where he had been slated to deliver remarks on civil rights.

It’s still not finalized when Biden’s campaign ads will resume airing. But Biden is pressing on with the Nevada portion of his previously scheduled western swing, which will include remarks to the NAACP and UnidosUS, a Latino civil rights and advocacy group. He’ll also headline what’s been billed as a “campaign community event” on Wednesday in Las Vegas.

Hours ahead of the NBC interview, his campaign issued a blistering statement on Trump’s selection of Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate, saying he picked the freshman senator because he would “bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda.”

“Over the next three and a half months, we will spend every single day making the case between the two starkly contrasting visions Americans will choose between at the ballot box this November,” said Biden campaign chairwoman Jen O’Malley Dillon. “The Biden-Harris ticket who’s focused on uniting the country, creating opportunity for everyone, and lowering costs; or Trump-Vance – whose harmful agenda will take away Americans’ rights, hurt the middle class, and make life more expensive – all while benefiting the ultra-rich and greedy corporations.”

Biden has acknowledged that his candidacy and agenda will be under attack at the Republican National Convention this week, and aides feel no need to put their campaign on complete pause while Biden comes under scrutiny in Milwaukee. But they’ll tread carefully in the aftermath of the shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“I’ll be traveling this week, making the case for our record and the vision — my vision of the country — our vision,” Biden said during his Oval Office remarks on Sunday night, just the third such address of his presidency. “I’ll continue to speak out strongly for our democracy, stand up for our Constitution and the rule of law, to call for action at the ballot box, no violence on our streets. That’s how democracy should work.”

Biden’s renewed campaigning this week comes as Democrats have been at an impasse over whether the incumbent president should continue in the race even as he was defiant that he would stay in. Biden has made it clear in no uncertain terms that he remains in the race, and aides have been operating as such.

It was unclear if the attempt on Trump’s life would blunt Democratic efforts to urge Biden to step aside, but it appears to have stalled some of the momentum, for now. No Democrats have called for him to exit the race since the shooting Saturday night.

In the hours before the shooting, Biden was still being confronted by frustration and skepticism from Democratic lawmakers. Rep. Jared Huffman of California said he asked the president during his meeting with the Congressional Progressive Caucus about objectively assessing the trajectory of the race, and if the Lord almighty doesn’t intervene would Biden consider “the best earthly alternative”: meeting with former presidents Obama and Clinton, and the Democratic leadership including Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer, and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi “to seek their advice.”

Huffman said on a social media post that Biden “disagreed with the notion that we are on a losing trajectory.”

And while Biden expressed a “willingness to listen” to other voices, Huffman said he doubted any would be persuasive. “I continue to believe a major course correction is needed, and that the President and his team have yet to fully acknowledge the problem, much less correct it,” he said.

But now, several Democrats who requested anonymity were skeptical that there would be enough drive among lawmakers to successfully try and pressure Biden not to run, especially because they are scattered and away from Washington until next week and because Biden has said he won’t step aside and seized the opportunity to quickly respond to the shooting over the weekend. The people requested anonymity to characterize private conversations.

Many in the Democratic Party had been looking to congressional leaders Jeffries and Schumer to voice concerns directly to the president. Jeffries met with Biden at the White House on Thursday night, while Schumer went to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Saturday for his visit with Biden, which occurred just before the assassination attempt on Trump.

There were still deep concerns that Biden is not up to the job and a sense that pressure to try and find another candidate could ramp up again when lawmakers return to Washington. Congressional Democrats were watching the Republican National Convention and Biden’s appearances this week with awareness that the dynamics could change — again.

Source: arabnews.com

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Europe

 

TikTok terrorist jailed for encouraging violence against Jews and sharing Islamic State propaganda

July 16, 2024

A terrorist who used social media platforms such as TikTok to encourage terrorism has been jailed for four years, the Crown Prosecution Service has said.

Hamza Alam, 22, from Chadwell Heath in Romford, Essex, disguised himself before posting videos on TikTok and described himself as “merely an online librarian” in an effort to evade detection, according to the CPS.

His videos included hostile references to Jewish people alongside a post that encouraged viewers to attack and kill Jews following the Gaza and Israel conflict.

Another post celebrated the 9/11 attacks.

One of his TikTok accounts, which was public, had 126 videos that had amassed 31,000 likes.

Alam also created a shareable folder that included Islamic State propaganda and videos containing images of public floggings.

He was previously found guilty of three counts of disseminating a terrorist publication and one count of encouraging terrorism and sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on Monday.

He was arrested in June 2022 by the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command who had been looking into a Telegram discussion group, which counted Alam as one of its main contributors.

The CPS said his phones were seized and investigators uncovered photographs in which his face had been superimposed onto Islamic State fighters.

Warnings were issued from TikTok moderators saying there had been multiple breaches of community guidelines and that further breaches could result in account penalties.

Bethan David, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s counter terrorism division, said: “Hamza Alam used social media platforms including TikTok to discuss, share and spread his vile extremist views.

“He also recklessly shared material that glorified the commission, preparation and acts of terrorism.

“Alam thought that by disguising his appearance and claiming he was merely an online librarian he would not be caught out – but he was wrong.”

She added: “Posting such extreme and illegal material online poses a high risk of serious harm to the public through encouraging and inciting others into extremist activity, and it is only right that Alam has been brought to justice today.”

Source: jewishnews.co.uk

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Zelensky party MP claims top general wants Ukraine to surrender

15 Jul, 2024

Ukraine’s top commander Aleksandr Syrsky is ready to lay down arms and capitulate to Russia, a lawmaker from Vladimir Zelensky’s party has claimed.

Syrsky was appointed Ukraine’s highest-ranking general in early February, replacing Valery Zaluzhny, who oversaw last year’s failed attempt to push back Russian forces. According to MP Mariana Bezuglaya from Zelensky’s ‘Servant of the People’ party, the two are secretly colluding to prevent a Ukrainian victory.

Bezuglaya, who is also deputy chair of the National Security, Defense and Intelligence Committee, laid out her case for a top-level military conspiracy in a lengthy post on Facebook on Saturday.

She claimed that Syrsky and Zaluzhny both belong to a “generals’ mafia” protecting their privileges from a younger generation of military leaders, whom Bezuglaya believes to be more competent and innovative, and thus capable of defeating Russia.

”Every further day that Syrsky remains in his position reduces our fighting capability and kills people,” the lawmaker declared, urging Zelensky to intervene and fire Syrsky.

She cited unspecified sources as saying that Syrky and his inner circle favor a ceasefire with Russia and an eventual capitulation.

”He doesn't believe in victory and earnestly thinks that we cannot get an edge over the Russians on our own land,” the member of parliament added.

Bezuglaya alleged that Syrsky is actively exposing Ukrainian troops to Russian attacks, supposedly to eliminate “witnesses” of his wrongdoings.

Zelensky fired Zaluzny after the general contradicted him, by telling foreign media that the Ukraine conflict had reached a “stalemate”. TIME magazine reported at the time that Zelensky’s belief in victory was “immovable, verging on the messianic.” Zaluzny was later appointed as Kiev’s ambassador to the UK.

A new profile by Reuters praising the Ukrainian leader, published last Saturday, acknowledged that he has become “less tolerant of mistakes and even prone to paranoia,” during the conflict.

Bezuglaya is a medic by background and reportedly a graduate of a leadership program of the US Department of State. She has a reputation as a hardliner and a Zelensky loyalist, who makes public allegations that the office of the Ukrainian leader does not want to voice directly, to prepare public opinion for policy changes.

Source: rt.com

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Poll reveals Ukrainians’ attitude to peace talks

16 Jul, 2024

A significant portion of Ukrainians support the idea of launching “official peace talks” with Russia, a new survey has shown. However, an absolute majority are still not ready to make concessions to Moscow and believe Kiev could prevail in the conflict.

According to the survey, conducted by the non-governmental Razumkov Center for Political and Economic Studies on behalf of the ZN.ua news outlet between June 20 and 28, nearly 44% of respondents believe “it is time” to engage in talks with Moscow. The idea is opposed by 35% of Ukrainians, while 21% remain undecided on the issue.

When asked about potential concessions that Kiev could make during the talks, particularly those proposed by Russia, respondents appeared unwilling to consider any compromises.

Moscow has repeatedly stated that it is ready for talks if certain issues are addressed. Russian President Vladimir Putin has outlined his conditions for initiating a ceasefire, including a full withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from all Russian territories, including the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, and the regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye, as well as a legal commitment from Kiev to never join NATO.

The poll showed that 83% of respondents would not agree to the withdrawal of troops from former Ukrainian territories, and 84% would oppose recognizing those regions as part of Russia. Around 77% would oppose lifting sanctions imposed on Russia.

More than half of Ukrainians (51.5%) also named Kiev regaining all the territories it claims as a “minimal necessary condition” for a peace agreement. These include not just the four former Ukrainian territories that joined Russia in 2022 but also the Crimean Peninsula, which has been part of Russia since 2014. Some 25% of respondents said it would be sufficient to return to the early 2022 borders. Only 9% of Ukrainians said they would agree to a new border between Russia and Ukraine along the current frontline.

As many as 61.1% also stated they would not be ready to “give up anything” during the talks with Russia. More than 65% still believe that Kiev can achieve victory on the battlefield.

However, regarding personal participation in the conflict, more than 46% of respondents said there was “no shame” in dodging conscription. This position was particularly popular among younger people. Ukrainian media have repeatedly reported that the nation’s mobilization campaign has been marred by widespread draft dodging and corruption, as well as attempts to flee the country.

Most Ukrainians believe that Kiev would have gained the upper hand in the conflict had its Western backers provided “enough weapons” (82%) or sent their own forces to fight Russia (69.1%).

Moscow has repeatedly stated that Western arms shipments only prolong the conflict without changing its outcome, and warned that a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO could lead to World War III.

Source: rt.com

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Russian military liberates another Donbass village

14 Jul, 2024

The Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday announced the liberation of Urozhaynoye, a large village located in the southwest of the Donetsk People’s Republic.

The village has seen intense combat over the past few weeks, with Moscow’s forces gradually seizing control of the settlement, which had been home to around 1,000 residents before the conflict.

“As a result of successful actions, units of the ‘Vostok’ [’East’] grouping of troops captured the village of Urozhaynoye, Donetsk People’s Republic, and are currently conducting house-to-house searches and demining,” the ministry said in its daily briefing.

Earlier this week, a video surfaced online of Russian troops hoisting the country’s flag at the ruins of the village’s administration building. Footage gives a glimpse of the widespread destruction sustained by the settlement.

Urozhaynoye was among a handful of locations wrestled by Ukrainian forces from the Russian military amid the long-hyped counteroffensive last year. The push ultimately resulted in a major failure for Kiev, providing little gains coupled with heavy losses in personnel and hardware.

The few gains yielded by the counteroffensive have been largely reversed after the push waned late last year.

Source: rt.com

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Russian broadcasters to boycott Paris Olympics — media

14 Jul, 2024

Russian television channels and streaming services will not air this year’s Olympic Games, taking place from July 26 to August 11 in Paris, Russian media outlets reported on Saturday.

The IOC initially banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing internationally following the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. In December last year, however, the body removed the blanket ban and ruled that a limited number of individuals from the two countries could take part in the Olympics under a neutral flag. Just 36 Russian athletes are thought to have been approved, but 20 have since refused to take part, citing humiliating conditions.

The IOC also ruled that athletes from both countries would be barred from the traditional parade at the opening ceremony. It is expected to be an open-air event, with athletes traveling on boats down the River Seine for several kilometers, toward the Eiffel Tower.

The IOC also imposed a range of restrictions for qualifying. Athletes who have publicly supported Moscow’s military operation or are in any way linked to the Russian military are not be allowed to take part in the Games.

Major broadcasters such as Channel One Russia and Rossiya 1 have outright refused to show the event “without the flag and anthem of the Russian Federation.” Match TV, however, reportedly planned to purchase broadcasting rights to show selected tournaments featuring Russian participants, but abandoned the idea after wrestlers and judo athletes rejected the IOC invitation to compete.

“We believe that given the suspension of Russian athletes, the event is of little interest to audiences in Russia,” the press service of streaming platform Okko told RBK.

Popular Russian social network VK has also decided against securing digital rights to show the event.

On Saturday, Russian wrestler Shamil Mamedov refused to participate in the Paris Olympics. Out of ten approved wrestlers, he was the only one who was considering competing.

Earlier this month, several high-ranking Russian tennis players including Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov, Daria Kasatkina, Liudmila Samsonova, and Anna Kalinskai declined invitations to compete. The Russian judo federation has also decided against sending athletes to the games.

“The Russian national judo team will not accept the humiliating conditions and will not perform at the Games in Paris,” it said in a statement.

The Paris Summer Olympics is the first event in 40 years to be boycotted by Russia. Previously the USSR snubbed the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles citing “security concerns and chauvinistic sentiments and an anti-Soviet hysteria being whipped up in the United States.”

Source: rt.com

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South Asia

 

EU nations consider restoring ties with Afghanistan

16-07-24

Several European nations are contemplating the reopening of their embassies in Afghanistan.

A European diplomat revealed that officials in Brussels are beginning to recognize the necessity of reestablishing diplomatic missions in Afghanistan, News.Az reports citing Bloomberg.

Currently, only the EU's collective representation maintains a presence in Afghanistan, while individual European countries closed their embassies following the Taliban's rise to power.

Italy appears to be at the forefront of this potential diplomatic re-engagement. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani disclosed that the country's ambassador to Qatar recently visited Kabul, signaling Italy's interest in reopening its embassy. Tajani acknowledged the complexity of the situation, stating, "We are working on it. Solving the problem is very difficult and will take time."

Spain is adopting a similar approach. While the Spanish ambassador to Afghanistan currently operates from Qatar due to security concerns, Madrid plans to return its envoy to Kabul "as soon as possible." Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares explained, "As soon as minimum security conditions are met, we will return our ambassador. We were ready a month ago, but unfortunately, ISIS terrorists killed three Spaniards in Afghanistan at that time."

However, not all EU nations share this enthusiasm for immediate diplomatic reengagement. Officials from France, the United Kingdom, and Germany have indicated to Bloomberg that they have no immediate plans to reopen their missions in Kabul.

Source: news.az

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Azerbaijan reopens embassy in Iran as the two countries try to ease tensions

July 16, 2024

The embassy of Azerbaijan in Tehran resumed its work Monday after more than a year of negotiations between the two countries to ease tensions, Iran’s semi-official media outlets reported. A source in the Azeri embassy in Tehran told The Associated Press that the embassy has resumed its operations in the Iranian capital, but said it won’t be officially announced until the Iranian foreign ministry confirms the development. But an Azeri website news.az Monday quoted Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry as saying that its embassy in Iran has restarted work at a new address in Tehran. The report added that the embassy reopened following negotiations between Azerbaijan and Iran. Relations between Tehran and Baku, which have been tense for a long time, soured further after a gunman in January 2023 stormed Azerbaijan’s embassy in Iran’scapital, killing its security chief and wounding two guards. Iran said the attack was based on a personal cause, and said the gunman’s wife had disappeared after a visit to the embassy, but Azeri President Ilham Aliyev called the assault a “terrorist attack.” Baku accused Tehran of supporting extremists who tried to overthrow its government, a charge Tehran denied. In April 2023, Azerbaijan expelled four Iranian diplomats from Baku. A month later, Iran expelled four Azeri diplomats, who had been working in Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran and its consulate in the northwestern city of Tabriz. The attack spiked long-simmering tensions between the two neighboring countries. Relations between the two also remain tense because Azerbaijan in March 2023 opened an embassy in Israel. Azerbaijan also maintains close ties to Israel, which Tehran views as its top regional enemy. Iran has repeatedly opposed improving relations between Azerbaijan and Israel. Azerbaijan borders Iran’s northwest and belonged to the Persian Empire until the early 19th century. There are over 12 million ethnic Azeris in Iran who represent the Islamic Republic’s largest minority group. That means maintaining good relations with Baku is even more important for Tehran. There have been tensions between the two countries as Azerbaijan and Armenia have fought over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Iran also wants to maintain its 44-kilometer (27-mile) border with landlocked Armenia — something that could be threatened if Azerbaijan seizes new territory through warfare. alarabiya

Source: thekabultimes.com

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State Dept: Three US Citizens Detained in Afghanistan

14 JULY 2024

The US State Department has reported that three of its citizens are currently imprisoned in Afghanistan.

According to the Washington Examiner, a spokesperson for the department identified the American citizens as George Glezmann, Mahmood Habibi and Ryan Corbett, who are detained by the Islamic Emirate.

Sayed Akbar Sial Wardak, a political analyst, said: "When these individuals come to Afghanistan, it must be clarified whether they are coming for espionage, tourism, or to visit cultural sites. If their purpose is tourism, they should not be imprisoned according to the law; however, if their intentions are malicious and they come for espionage, they should be detained and punished according to the law."

However, the Islamic Emirate states that two American citizens are detained due to legal violations.

Hamdullah Fitrat, a spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, added that discussions have been held with American representatives regarding this issue.

Fitrat said: "Currently, two American citizens are imprisoned in Afghanistan. They violated the country's laws, which led to their arrest, and our representatives have discussed this matter with the American side."

Samiullah Ahmadzai, another political analyst, stated: "If these prisoners are exchanged and they agree, it would lead to progress in diplomatic relations."

Previously, a US State Department spokesperson had said in a press briefing that the detention of American citizens in Afghanistan is a significant obstacle to positive engagement with the Islamic Emirate.

Source: tolonews.com

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China Announces 100M Yuan to Aid Afghan Returnees

Zhao Xing, the Chinese ambassador in Kabul, announced a donation of 100 million Chinese yuan (around $13.7 million) to address the challenges faced by Afghan returnees from neighboring countries.

Abdul Rahman Habib, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Economy, said that Zhao Xing made this statement during a meeting with the acting Minister of Economy Din Mohammad Hanif.

According to Habib, in the meeting they discussed strengthening bilateral economic and trade relations, the construction of the Wakhan corridor, the economic and transit importance of the Wakhan corridor, the initiation of road construction for the Mes Aynak copper mine in Logar province, and China's investment in Afghanistan's infrastructure sectors.

The Ministry of Economy spokesperson said: "The Chinese ambassador met with the acting minister of economy, during which the ambassador assured the delivery of 100 million Chinese yuan to address the challenges of Afghan returnees. Part of this money will also be used to assist flood victims."

Meanwhile, the Japanese ambassador, in a meeting with Hedayatullah Badri, announced a $10 million aid package from Japan to provide alternative crops for farmers and health services for addicts in Afghanistan.

The spokesman for the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, Homayoun Afghan, wrote that Hedayatullah Badri, the acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum, had separate meetings with Takayoshi Kuromiya, the Japanese ambassador to Afghanistan, and Khawaja Awadov, Turkmenistan's ambassador in Kabul.

According to the spokesman, these meetings discussed the expansion of Afghanistan's relations with these countries, recent progress on the TAPI project, and resolving challenges of the Qashqari block project in the Amu Darya oil basin, as well as the initiation of the Mes Aynak copper mine project in Logar.

Homayoun Afghan, the spokesman for the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, added: "In this meeting, the TAPI project was regarded as important for Afghanistan and the involved regional countries, and it was assured that this project would be prioritized by the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum."

Meanwhile, officials of the Islamic Emirate have consistently emphasized that Afghanistan has an economy-focused policy and that economic integration among neighboring and regional countries with Afghanistan is beneficial for all nations.

Source: tolonews.com

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New Restrictions Imposed on Trade Between Afghanistan, Pakistan

According to an agreement between the interim Afghan government officials and Pakistan, as of July 15th of this year, trucks carrying commercial goods between the two countries will not be able to travel without obtaining a temporary transit permit.

A document received by TOLOnews shows that the Pakistani government has ordered the unloading of these trucks without a permit by this date as well.

At the same time, some Afghan traders have criticized the increase in customs tariffs by Pakistan and the enforcement of the temporary transit permit requirement for trucks carrying commercial goods. They urge both the interim government officials and the Pakistani government not to put traders under pressure until the end of the country's export season.

Naqibullah Safi, Executive Director of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce, said, "The Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber has shared this challenge with the office in Karachi, our embassy in Pakistan is working on it, and this issue is being pursued. We hope it will be resolved."

Some traders have again criticized the increase in customs tariffs on fresh vegetables and fruits from Afghanistan and the requirement for a temporary entry permit by Pakistan.

Omid Haidari, a trader, and Abdul Ghafoor Naseri, head of the General Council of Kabul Markets, said, "Unfortunately, our export traders are suffering. Right now, as I speak with them, hundreds of our trucks are halted due to high tariffs, transport, and fumigation costs. This problem has been created for us from both sides."

Abdul Ghafoor Naseri, Head of the General Council of Kabul Markets, said, "Most of Afghanistan's fruit goes to Pakistan and is sold there, and similarly, Pakistani fruit is sold in Afghan markets. We urge both governments to maintain friendly relations as it benefits both countries."

The Chamber of Commerce and Investment also considers the ongoing challenges in the transportation of commercial goods between Afghanistan and Pakistan to be detrimental to both countries and emphasizes resolving the issues through dialogue.

Mohammad Younus Momand, First Deputy of the Chamber of Commerce and Investment, said, "Daily blockages have exhausted Afghan traders. We request the Islamic Emirate and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to create a mechanism to separate trade from politics."

Yesterday, the Islamic Emirate's embassy in Islamabad expressed concern over the halt of 300 trucks carrying Afghan fruits and vegetables at the ports between Afghanistan and Pakistan, stating that the Islamic Emirate's delegation, in a meeting with Pakistani officials, emphasized resolving these issues.

Source: tolonews.com

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https://tolonews.com/business-189730

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Storms in Eastern Afghanistan kill 35, injure 230

July 16, 2024

Heavy rains and hail struck Jalalabad city and surrounding districts in Nangarhar province on Monday, resulting in the loss of at least 35 lives and leaving over 230 people injured.

Officials from Nangarhar’s Department of Information and Culture confirmed the death toll, reporting that the deceased and injured have been transported to Nangarhar Central Hospital and Nangarhar Provincial Hospital for treatment.

Initial assessments indicate that approximately 400 houses have been destroyed, causing substantial financial losses to local residents and businesses.

Authorities caution that these figures are preliminary and could escalate as further assessments are conducted.

In response to the natural disaster, efforts are underway to mitigate the immediate impact on the affected communities and provide necessary support for recovery.

The devastation caused by the heavy rains and hail underscores the urgent need for coordinated relief efforts to alleviate the suffering of those affected and rebuild damaged infrastructure.

As rescue and recovery operations continue, authorities are focused on ensuring that all necessary assistance reaches those in need, emphasizing solidarity and support for the affected families and communities.

Meanwhile, the tragedy in Nangarhar province highlights the vulnerability of communities to natural disasters and underscores the importance of preparedness and swift response to mitigate their impact.

Source: khaama.com

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Pakistan

 

Move to Ban Pakistan Tehreek-e-InsafFinds Little Support Among Allies and Foes

July 16, 2024

ISLAMABAD: The federal government’s move to ban the PTI has attracted flak from across the political spectrum, with the stakeholders calling the move undemocratic, which could have far-reaching ramifications if executed.

Besides the PTI, leaders from other parties — including the PPP, Awami National Party, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, and Jamaat-i-Islami — criticised the decision.

In a press conference, PTI leaders responded to the move, calling it the result of the ‘embarrassment’ faced by the government following the Supreme Court decision, which returned reserved seats to PTI, making it the largest party in the lower house of parliament.

Leader of the Opposition Omar Ayub Khan, flanked by party chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and other leaders, said that the government wanted to scare 240 million people through coercion, intimidation and harassment, but the PTI was not one to be intimidated. They vowed that they had fought and would continue to battle the elements ‘‘hell-bent on plunging the country into the quagmire of destruction and anarchy’’ by giving their wish the status of the law.

They said it was neither possible to crush the most popular political party with blind force nor could any positive outcome be expected from it.

PPP disowns move

On the other hand, the PPP distanced itself from the potential ban on the PTI, saying its leadership was not taken on board regarding the decision. “We have heard it just like others. We should do politics only because such decisions don’t address issues. Let us see what the court decides, but I will stand along with my party and its policy,” said PPP stalwart Khursheed Shah.

Ex-PPP senator Mian Raza Rabbani, in a statement, said that the talk of banning a political party by the government was against all norms of democracy and urged the government to refrain from taking such a step.

“Since the country is already facing grave economic and political instability, such a step will add political chaos and bog down the economy. The government, if aggrieved by the judgement of the full court, should follow the constitutional way and file a review petition. The step of banning a political party in Pakistan’s history has always been unsuccessful and been thrown into the dustbin of history,” he said.

Another PPP stalwart Farhatullah Babar also criticised the move. “Talk of banning a political party or trial of a political leader for treason is rubbish. Unsustainable. Compounding political crisis… Pakistani democracy, indeed state itself, is unlikely to sustain this self-imposed crisis. Be warned,” he posted on the social media site X.

Former PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who recently launched his own political party, Awaam Pakistan, also took exception to the move. He said that the ruling coalition was not able to understand the Constitution, adding that it would be unwise to invoke Article 6 because the rulers would end up facing sedition charges themselves. He warned that the decision would trigger unrest in the country and said that it was the same mistake which was committed by the PTI’s founding chairman Imran Khan. He suggested Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reconsider the move as the government’s mandate was already in question.

ANP leader Mian Iftikhar Hussain termed the move ‘childish’ and said that parties cannot be eliminated through such bans. He said his party was not in favour of such moves despite its differences with the PTI.

JUI-F leader Hafiz Hamdullah criticised the decision of the government and wondered if political and economic stability would be ensured through this decision. He also asked how a government, which came to power through form 47s, could make such decisions.

Similarly, Jamaat-i-Islami also criticised the decision and made it clear that such decisions could never stand in a court of law.

HRCP Chairperson Asad Iqbal Butt stated: “HRCP is shocked by the government’s decision to ban the PTI. Not only is this move in flagrant violation of party members’ right to association under Article 17 of the Constitution, but it is also an enormous blow to democratic norms, especially when the Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that the PTI is a political party.”

According to the HRCP chairperson, this move “reeks of political desperation, given that it follows closely on the heels of the apex court’s ruling that has effectively made the PTI the single largest party in the National Assembly after making it eligible for reserved seats for women and minorities”.

In a rather oblique reaction when asked about the move to ban PTI, US State Department spokesperson said that while Washington opposes such restrictions, it had reasons to believe that the announced ban on PTI was part of “a complex political process”

“We support the peaceful upholding of constitutional and democratic principles, including respect for human rights and freedom of expression,” he added.

The US, Mr Miller said, supports broader principles including the rule of law and equal justice under the law, “and as those internal processes continue to play out, we will monitor these decisions and any further decisions.”

Anwar Iqbal in Washington also contributed to this report

Source: dawn.com

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JUI-F chief urges end to army's 'political role' for stability in country

July 16, 2024

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has linked the end of the crisis in the country to the military's "detachment from national politics," as the political parties continue to condemn the government's potential move to ban the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

"The army will have to distance itself from politics in order to resolve the political crisis, otherwise the country will not be able to come out of the crisis," the veteran politician said in an X post highlighting the prevailing political crisis in the country.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led government on Monday decided to impose a ban on the rival PTI over its involvement in the anti-state activities and file references against then prime minister Imran Khan, then president Arif Alvi and then National Assembly deputy speaker Qasim Suri for treason under Article 6 for dissolving the lower house of parliament in April 2022.

Fazl said that the use of force against political forces was not a solution to the problems. Instead, the country could only be back on track if all the institutions limit their role in a framework defined in the Constitution.

"The sooner the powerful circle understands this fact, the better it will be for the country and themselves. The key state institutions should accept that the current hybrid system has failed," the JUI-F chief wrote on the site.

He further reiterated his long-maintained stance and demand for fresh elections in the country, saying that the solution to all the problems lies in holding new and transparent polls in the country.

Several political forces have joined the PTI in strongly condemning the government's potential move to ban the Imran Khan-founded party.

"The PTI and Pakistan cannot co-exist," Information Minister Ataullah Tarar told a press conference in Islamabad earlier today, saying that the matter be taken up in the federal cabinet before moving the Supreme Court.

The information minister said the decisions were taken in light of the former ruling party's alleged involvement in the May 9 riots and the PTI's former or current leaders' attempts to sabotage Pakistan's deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Farhatullah Babar, a member of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which is an ally of the ruling coalition, dubbed banning a political party "absurd", saying: "It is also absurdity to talk about launching a treason case against a political leader."

Meanwhile, the Awami National Party (ANP) termed the government's move to ban the PTI "childish and injudicious", saying that the path of the political parties could not be choked with restrictions and hurdles, stressing: "Restrictions on the political parties and political process are not acceptable at any cost."

Joining the chorus of the other political parties, recently launched Awam Pakistan's Shahid Khaqan Abbasi also voiced outright condemnation of the ruling coalition, saying the incumbent rulers cannot impose a ban as "they have not studied the Constitution and the law".

The rulers are too fond of invoking Article 6, Abbasi said, predicting that "they (rulers) themselves will end up facing treason charges if they invoke Article 6 against the PTI".

He said that banning the PTI would further deteriorate the situation.

Source: thenews.com.pk

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Four killed, several wounded by gunfire near mosque in Oman, police say

16-07-24

CAIRO: Four people were killed and several wounded by gunfire in the vicinity of a mosque in Oman, the Omani police said on Tuesday, a rare breach of security in one of the most stable countries in the Middle East.

“All security measures and procedures have been taken to deal with the situation, and procedures for gathering evidence and investigation are being completed,” the police said in a statement.

The US embassy in the capital Muscat said it is following reports of the shooting incident in Wadi al-Kabir, in the governorate of the capital city Muscat.

“US citizens should remain vigilant, monitor local news and heed directions of local authorities,” it said in a statement.

Oman has maintained its neutrality in the turbulent region and mediated in disputes including between the United States and Iran.

Source: brecorder.com

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Blasts, gunfire rock Bannu as terrorists storm check post

July 16, 2024

LAKKI MARWAT: An attempt by ‘terrorists’ to infiltrate the cantonment area in Bannu city was ‘foiled’ through a timely response by security forces on Monday morning, officials said.

However, a clearance drive launched in the area after the attack was still underway, with sporadic gunfire being reported from the area until late in the night.

Sources said that four security personnel were martyred, while scores others, including civilians, had suffered injuries.

No official statement, however, was issued by the military’s media wing.

Earlier in the morning, militants stormed a check post adjacent to a supply depot, officials said, adding that bombers hit the boundary wall of the cantonment near the depot in their attempt to force their entry but security forces besieged them.

“Two suicide bombers attacked the check post initially and then a few others managed to enter, but they were besieged,” the officials said.

They stated that security personnel were fully alert and engaged the militants foiling the attack with a timely response, adding that soldiers fought bravely.

The officials said that security forces launched a clearance and sanitisation drive in the area following the attack, but gunshots continued to ring out till filing of this report.

A police official said they increased patrolling in urban and rural localities of Bannu district after the explosion, adding that roads leading to the cantonment were sealed as part of measures to avert any loss to citizens during the exchange of fire between security forces and militants.

Locals said the magnitude of the blast could be judged from the fact that it was heard far and wide in the area. A resident said he heard the explosion in Domel town, some 15km from Bannu city. They said they saw black smoke billowing above the site and also heard gunshots in the cantonment area.

The residents said the blast caused damage to nearby houses and shops, smashed windowpanes and blew up shutters of outlets.

Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terrorist activities in the past year, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, after the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022.

Source: dawn.com

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Lahore ATC remands Imran Khan for 10 days in dozen May 9 cases

July 15, 2024

A Lahore anti-terrorism court granted police 10 days’ physical remand of PTI founder Imran Khan in connection with 12 cases over the May 9 riots.

Countrywide protests erupted on May 9 last year after the paramilitary Rangers whisked away Imran from the Islamabad High Court in a corruption case.

While the protests were underway, social media was flooded with footage of rioting and vandalism at various spots, including the Lahore Corps Commander’s residence and General Headquarters, the army’s head of office in Rawalpindi.

A 13-member team of the Lahore police’s investigation wing had visited Adiala Jail on Saturday to quiz the former prime minister regarding the violence.

Sources said the PTI leader had refused to meet the Lahore police team when they tried to gain access to him to interrogate him about the May 9 cases, in which he was nominated on various offences, including charges of provoking the public against the state.

Lahore Investigation DIG Zeeshan Asghar told Dawn that the police arrested the PTI founder as he was the prime suspect in the 12 cases registered at various police stations in the city. Another senior officer told Dawn that the investigation police arrested the PTI founder in 12 out of the total 16 cases registered by the Lahore police over the May 9 attacks.

Out of the dozen cases registered against the former premier, police officials said that two in particular, which pertained to the attacks on the residence of the Lahore corps commander and the Askari Tower, were the focus of police high-ups.

The cases were registered against Imran over his alleged involvement in the attack on a police station in Shadman, military installations, government properties and officials.

The first information reports were registered with the Sarwar Road, Gulberg, Race Course, Naseerabad, Shadman, and other police stations of Lahore.

Anti-Terrorism Court-I Judge Khalid Arshad conducted the hearing today in which the police requested a 30-day physical remand of the former premier to conduct an investigation on the 12 cases.

Imran was taken on a video call via WhatsApp from Adiala Jail while he was represented by his lawyers Azhar Siddique and Usman Gul who opposed the police’s remand request, saying that the PTI founder had to be presented in person for the process.

The judge reserved his verdict after hearing the arguments and announced it shortly later, granting the police Imran’s 10-day physical remand for five cases at Sarwar Road police station, three at Gulberg police station and one each at Race Course, Shadman, Model Town and Mughalpura police stations.

Source: dawn.com

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Lahore ATC indicts PTI’s Shah Mahmood Qureshi in May 9 case

July 15, 2024

A Lahore anti-terrorism court on Monday indicted former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the Shadman police station attack case of the May 9 riots.

Countrywide protests erupted on May 9 last year after the paramilitary Rangers whisked away PTI founder Imran Khan from the Islamabad High Court in a corruption case.

While the protests were underway, social media was flooded with footage of rioting and vandalism at various spots, including the Lahore Corps Commander’s residence and General Headquarters, the army’s head of office in Rawalpindi.

Shadman police had registered a case against PTI leaders and activists on charges of attacking and burning the police station during the May 9 riots.

Qureshi in December was implicated in at least 12 different cases registered by the Rawalpindi district police in connection with the May 9 violence. Qureshi was granted bail in 13 cases in February.

The prosecution last week gave a copy of the investigation report to the former foreign minister ahead of his indictment today in the Shadman case.

Anti-Terrorism Court-I Judge Khalid Arshad held a hearing in Kot Lakhpat jail today where the PTI leader was produced.

Qureshi — who is currently incarcerated in Adiala Jail for eight cases related to the violence last year — pleaded not guilty.

Judge Arshad summoned the witnesses for the next hearing and adjourned the hearing till July 18.

Source: dawn.com

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Imran Khan remanded in 12 cases linked to May 9 riots

July 15, 2024

LAHORE: Incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has been given a 10-day physical remand to the Lahore police by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in connection with a dozen cases related to the May 9, 2023, riots.

The deposed premier, who is currently imprisoned in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, attended the hearing via video link today (Monday) at the ATC judge Arshad Nadeem's courtroom.

Khan was represented by his lawyers Usman Riaz Gill and Azhar Siddique in today’s hearing.

The ATC was hearing 12 cases related to the May 9 riots against the former premier which erupted following his arrest from Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises last year in which protesters targeted government and military installations.

At the outset of the hearing, investigation officers requested the ATC judge for granting approval to Khan’s physical remand in the relevant cases.

The PTI founder denied the charges and told the court that he had neither any connection with the May 9 events nor had he ordered the riots.

“I was attacked in Wazirabad,” the PTI founder said, adding, “[...] but a first information report (FIR) was not registered according to my will despite my [party's] government [in Punjab].”

He further alleged that CCTV footage was disappeared from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises.

Referring to the raid on his Zaman Park residence in Lahore, the deposed PM said he gave a call for a peaceful protest in response to an “attack on my home”.

The former premier, who was ousted from power via opposition's no-confidence motion in April 2022, said that he had requested the Supreme Court to hold a judicial inquiry into the May 9 mayhem.

He added that he has also reminded the chief justice to hear his petition.

Judge Nadeem remarked that he would make the ex-premier’s statement and arguments raised by his lawyers part of his order to be given in accordance with the law.

During the hearing, Khan’s lawyers Usman Riaz Gill told the ATC judge that his client should be produced in the court as previous hearings of different cases via video were conducted inside the Adiala Jail.

Stressing Khan’s “personal appearance as per the law” in the hearing, he requested the court to order concerned security institutions to produce his client, otherwise, it would be considered as a “failure of the government’s writ”.

The jurist questioned the prosecutor about reasons for not producing the PTI founder in the court. To this, the government lawyer replied that they could not produce him owing to security reasons.

Khan’s lawyer Azhar Siddique asked the prosecution to provide remand papers to his client to ascertain reasons for demanding his remand. The prosecution replied, “You cannot see it [...] it is a cipher.”

The ex-premier’s lawyers insisted that the concerned authorities were bound to produce the accused within 24 hours after taking custody by the law.

Advocate Azhar said that transit remand could be granted to an accused in case of a delay and sought rejection of Khan’s physical remand plea from the prosecution.

Furthermore, they argued that the government did not issue any notification for Khan’s appearance in the hearing via video call and “restricted to their client’s jail trial or hearing in the jail”.

Advocate Azhar said that transit remand could be granted to an accused in case of a delay and sought rejection of Khan’s physical remand plea from the prosecution. He added that an investigation cannot be directly conducted taking an accused into custody.

They pleaded with the ATC judge to issue Khan’s production order and raised objections to authenticity of the notification provided by the prosecution.

To this, the prosecution offered to bring original notification within 30 minutes.

After listening to the arguments, the ATC judge reserved a verdict on the prosecution's request for Khan's physical remand.

Later, the ATC judge announced its reserved verdict and approved a 10-day physical remand of the PTI founder in 12 cases related to the May 9 countrywide riots.

Of 12 cases, five cases had been registered at Sarwar Road Police Station, three cases lodged at Gulberg Police Station, and one case each at Race Course, Shadman, Mughalpura, and Model Town police stations.

In a turn of events, Lahore police swung into action immediately after the ex-premier and his wife Bushra Bibi got acquitted in the iddat case — also known as the un-Islamic nikah case — on Saturday which was the last hurdle in the couple's release from jail.

The couple was arrested, again, in a new National Accountability Bureau (NAB) reference related to Toshakhana gifts on the same day.

After the anti-corruption watchdog secured Khan’s eight-day remand in the fresh Toshakhana case, Lahore police also declared the former premier’s arrest in connection with 12 cases related to the May 9 mayhem registered at different police stations of the provincial capital.

Source: thenews.com.pk

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https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1210115-imran-khan-remanded-in-12-cases-of-may-9-mayhem

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Political parties slam govt’s ‘unconstitutional' decision to ban PTI

July 15, 2024

Several political forces strongly condemned the ruling coalition's move to ban the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) just days after the Supreme Court allowed the Imran Khan-founded party to have reserved seats, potentially making it the largest party in the National Assembly.

The country's top court announced its short order on July 12 granting the PTI to have seats reserved for women and minorities in the lower house of the legislature.

The government announced earlier today that it had decided to ban the PTI and file cases against Imran Khan and former president Dr Arif Alvi for treason under Article 6 of the Constitution, according to Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Monday, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar claimed, "The PTI and Pakistan cannot co-exist."

The information minister said the decisions were taken in light of the former ruling party's involvement in the May 9 riots and the PTI's former or current leaders' attempts to sabotage Pakistan's deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Farhatullah Babar dubbed banning a political party "absurd", saying: "It is also absurdity to talk about launching a treason case against a political leader."

The senior party leader said no case regarding treason or a ban on a political party can sustain itself, adding that these decisions would further deepen the political crisis. "Democracy and the state will not be able to last longer in a critical situation created by the government."

Senior PPP leader Raza Rabbani said the talk of banning a political party by the government "is against all the norms of democracy".

The step of banning a political party in Pakistan’s history has always been unsuccessful and has been thrown in the dustbin of history, he added.

"The country is already facing grave economic and political instability such a step will add political chaos and bog down the economy."

Rabbani, the former Senate chairman, also said that the government should concentrate on curbing the increasing trends of internal terrorism, as a consequence of which "members of the armed forces, security forces, police and civilians are being targeted".

"The government, if aggrieved by the judgement of the SC full court, should follow constitutional way and file a review petition."

Terming the government's move to ban the PTI "childish and injudicious", the Awami National Party (ANP) said the path of the political parties could not be choked with restrictions and hurdles, stressing: "Restrictions on the political parties and political process are not acceptable at any cost."

"Despite the political difference with the PTI, we believe the government's move would be a folly," the ANP central spokesman said while underscoring the need to identify people who kick up political instability and economic crunch in the country.

Coming down hard on the government's decision, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Hafiz Hamdullah raised multiple questions: "Can the decision bring about political and economic stability in the country? Will the decision cause the confrontation to spiral or scale down? What benefit will this decision offer to the public and the country? Does the government of Form 47 have the right to make such decisions?"

The parties that faced restrictions in the past still face today, he added. "Those who slapped such restrictions are nowhere to be seen."

Hamdullah also wondered if the government advocating the powerful quarters or browbeating the court through this decision that comes on the heels of the Supreme Court's verdict in the reserved seats case that allowed the PTI-SIC to have seats reserved for women and non-Muslims in the National Assembly.

"The decision by the PML-N and other allied parties will strengthen the masked power," he said.

Hamdullah, the former senator, underscored the need for "free and fair elections inevitable for the political and economic stability in the country".

Joining the chorus of the other political parties, recently launched Awam Pakistan's Shahid Khaqan Abbasi voiced outright condemnation of the ruling coalition, saying they cannot undertake it as they have not studied the Constitution and the law.

The rulers are too fond of invoking Article 6, Abbasi said, predicting "they (rulers) themselves will end up facing treason charges if they invoke Article 6 against the PTI".

He said that banning the PTI would further spoil the situation. "It is not essential that we repeat the mistakes committed by the PTI founder."

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif should rethink the move as the government's mandate is under question, the former PM said, adding that the Pakistan Peoples Party and the PML-N both have committed blunders in the past.

Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Shibli Faraz also declared the press conference by the government minister as 'ridiculous', saying that the "rulers are making efforts to take the country to further chaos".

The PTI leader also said any such decision would lead the country to political instability. "The PTI will formally respond to the government decision after the party holds consultation in the Core Committee."

HRCP calls govt decision to ban PTI unconstitutional

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed shock over the government’s decision to ban the PTI. "Not only is this move in flagrant violation of party members’ right to association under Article 17 of the Constitution, but it is also an enormous blow to democratic norms, especially when the Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that the PTI is a political party," the rights watchdog said in a statement issued on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday.

"Moreover, such a move reeks of political desperation, given that it follows closely on the heels of the apex court’s ruling that has effectively made the PTI the single largest party in the National Assembly after making it eligible for reserved seats for women and minorities."

The HRCP demands the unconstitutional decision be withdrawn immediately, the human rights commission's statement said, adding that if pushed through, it would achieve nothing more than deeper polarisation and a strong likelihood of political chaos and violence.

Source: thenews.com.pk

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https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1210107-political-parties-slam-govts-unconstitutional-decision-to-ban-pti

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Journalist Malik Hassan Zaib shot dead in Nowsehra

July 15, 2024

A local journalist Malik Hassan Zaib was shot dead by two unknown assailants in the Nowshera district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Sunday.

The incident took place in the city area of Akbarpura, where the victim came under gun attack while he was on his way in a car along with his brother, District Police Officer (DPO) Azhar Khan said.

His brother escaped the attack, the police officer said, adding that the journalist's body had been shifted to a nearby hospital.

The law enforcers, arriving on the spot, collected clues and various CCTV footage from the crime scene. One of the footage clearly shows two attackers, riding a motorbike, opening fire at the journalist.

The slain journalist's brother filed a first information report (FIR) of the incident, the police officer said.

Police said three investigation teams had been constituted to probe the incident.

Reacting to the killing, journalists from across the country condemned Zaib's killing. The Khyber Union of Journalists, condemning the murder, demanded KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Inspector General of Police Akhtar Hayat Gandapur take notice and arrest the assassins immediately.

It is the third incident of the assassination of a journalist within two months, KHUJ President Nasir Hussain said.

The Peshawar Press Club also regretted the killing of the journalist. PPC President Arshad Aziz Malik sought updates from the KP IG and DPO Nowshera. Talking to the media, he said the top police officer of the province assured him of the early arrest of Hassan Zaib's killers.

"The inspector general said the PPC would be apprised of any progress made in the investigation of the journalist's murder case," the PPC official said, adding that the IG has summoned an initial report from the DPO Nowshera.

Source: thenews.com.pk

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https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1209740-journalist-malik-hassan-zaib-shot-dead-in-nowsehra

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Govt committed to empower women: Shaza

July 16, 2024

Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja has said the government is committed to empowering women due to immense importance of their role in national development.

Addressing the Webinar titled ‘Women Shaping the Tech Landscape of Pakistan’ in Islamabad, she said steps are underway to empower women by equipping them with digital skills.

Shaza Fatima said with better digital skills women can also work online while sitting at home and added that the Ministry of IT is focused on skill development and capacity building of youth, especially women.

Source: radio.gov.pk

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https://www.radio.gov.pk/16-07-2024/govt-committed-to-empower-women-shaza

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Pakistan, China reaffirm commitment to CPEC

July 16, 2024

Pakistan and China have reaffirmed their commitment to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative, which continues to be a cornerstone of bilateral relations.

This commitment was made during a meeting between Minister for Planning, Development Ahsan Iqbal and Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission of China Zhao Chenxin, in Beijing.

The meeting underscored the mutual commitment of Pakistan and China to further strengthen their All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership.

During the meeting, both sides reviewed the progress of the CPEC with an emphasis on ensuring the timely completion of projects and launching an upgraded version of the CPEC as per the agreement reached at the leadership level.

They highlighted significance of CPEC projects in enhancing connectivity, trade, and socio-economic development in the region.

It was agreed to fast-track the work on the ML-I project, KKH realignment and, the Sukkur- Hyderabad motorway which is the only missing link within the Karachi-Peshawar motorway network.

Discussions were also held on expanding the scope of cooperation to new areas such as technology, innovation, education, connectivity, and renewable energy. 

Vice Chairman NDRC highlighted the potential for increased Chinese investment in Pakistan, particularly in the Special Economic Zones being developed under CPEC.

Zhao Chenxin reaffirmed China’s support for Pakistan’s development initiatives and expressed confidence in the continued success of the partnership between the two countries.

Source: radio.gov.pk

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https://www.radio.gov.pk/16-07-2024/pakistan-china-reaffirm-commitment-to-cpec

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Arab World

 

Saudi Arabia condemns terrorist attack on cafe in Mogadishu

July 15, 2024

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia condemned and denounced on Monday a terrorist attack targeting a cafe in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Sunday that killed nine people.

A car bomb exploded outside the cafe in Mogadishu on Sunday night, killing nine and injuring 20 as patrons were watching the final of the Euro 2024 football tournament on TV.

The Kingdom affirmed its support for the government and people of Somalia, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The Kingdom also expressed its sincere condolences to the families of victims and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2550161/saudi-arabia

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NEOM-KAUST partnership to target insects threatening Saudi Arabia’s 36 million palm trees

July 15, 2024

RIYADH: Citizens and residents of Saudi Arabia are no strangers to extreme heat conditions, and over the years they have learned to adapt. But as temperatures rise, so do the bugs. And sometimes the problem cannot simply be swatted away.

Tephriditae fruit flies, such as the Mediterranean fruit fly and the olive fruit fly, as well as insects such as the red palm weevil, are among the biggest antagonizing forces against the nation’s plant and fruit supply.

According to research by Topian, NEOM’s food company, the SR9.2 billion ($2.4 billion) date industry loses an average of SR1 billion annually in date palms and associated forgone revenues because of red palm weevil infestations.

At the launch of the Saudi Agrifood Tech Alliance in early July in Riyadh, Andrew Yip, head of innovation and ecosystem activation at Topian, revealed the development of new technology designed to target the red palm weevils threatening Saudi Arabia’s 36 million palm trees.

In partnership with AK-Sens, a King Abdullah University of Science and Technology start-up, Topian plans to commercialize and scale optical fiber sensing technology for early-stage detection of the insect in thousands of trees in under an hour, Yip said.

Following initial testing with only a handful of trees in Tabuk, the team’s latest trial at NEOM involved a thousand trees and achieved 96.3 percent accuracy with a two thirds reduction of set-up time from previous trials.

While the sensing technology has been so far exclusive to palm trees and red palm weevils, it has the potential to increase overall efficiency and sustainability in the agrifood sector and farms nationwide.

To better understand the health risks associated with consuming pest-infested fruits and vegetables, Arab News spoke to Dr. Basem Al-Bahrani, the emergency medicine consultant at Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare and a member of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians.

He said: “Eating vegetables and fruits is an essential part of a healthy diet, but there are health risks associated with eating them if they are contaminated or not washed properly. These risks may include a variety of issues that may affect individuals in different ways.”

Food poisoning as a result of salmonella, Escherichia coli (or E. coli), or listeria bacteria is among the most common issues and its symptoms include diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, abdominal cramps, and a fever, Al-Bahrani explained.

Other possible health risks are parasitic infections that at their best present the same as food poisoning and at their worst may cause weight loss and anemia. Finally, ingesting pesticide remnants could lead to hormonal imbalances, nervous system disorders, and increased risk of cancer.

Arab News also spoke to Salman Al-Wahib, a Saudi Advanced Business Co. Holding retiree turned farmer and owner of a plant tissue culture laboratory and nursery for outdoor and indoor plants, with 11 years of experience in the field.

He said that fruit pests are a problem that “requires great care from those responsible, farmers, and consumers.” Al-Wahib also warns that summer is an especially dangerous time because rising temperatures and humidity levels provide conditions for the pests to thrive and contribute to the spread of bacteria and plant mold.

He explained that the problem begins, expectedly, at the farming stage. While pests are most common in local fruits, it is more often than not the symptom of imported seeds and soil. If the seeds and soil are not properly treated before the initial shipment, these containers become welcoming habitats for pest procreation, ready to continue their infestation at their final destination.

Farmers and producers follow strict sanitation, inspection, and clearance procedures to avoid large-scale infestation. According to Al-Wahib, the fruit undergoes an interior and exterior inspection to check for any traces of pests. Then, fruit samples are taken to the lab and tested for pests and any pesticide remnants.

The Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture monitors farming sites to ensure that no highly poisonous and environmentally harmful pesticides are used and the standard provisions of Pesticide Law — agreed upon by the agricultural department of the Gulf Cooperation Council in 2005 — are followed. The law states that “it is essential to control and regulate the way they (pesticides) are formulated, used, marketed, stored and handled to stave off any potential risks.” Finally, a certification is granted deeming the selected crop pest and pesticide free and safe for human consumption.

As much as the development of organic pesticides has seen great strides in the last few decades, and farmers such as Al-Wahib agree that they are the superior option to chemical pesticides in efficacy and plant health, there is yet a long way to go to bring down that SR1 billion loss to a much more reasonable number and prevent widespread health issues.

According to Al-Wahib, in addition to thoroughly washing fruits at home, watching for signs of infestation, and using suitable storage techniques, the best way to avoid the dangers of fruit pests is to “buy from trusted local markets or farms that have an official certification deeming them free of harmful chemical pesticides and fertilizers.”

That way our favorite summer fruits may be readily enjoyed worry-free to refresh from the sweltering summer heat.

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2550346/saudi-arabia

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British PM praises Saudi crown prince for role in promoting Middle East stability

July 15, 2024

LONDON: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke on Monday.

Starmer thanked the crown prince for giving his congratulations on the Labour Party leader’s election victory and reported on his first days in government, a Downing Street statement said.

While discussing the situation in the Middle East, the prime minister praised the crown prince for his leadership in supporting regional stability, and emphasized the UK’s enduring commitment to peace and security in the region.

The prime minister and crown prince reflected on the strong relationship between the UK and the Kingdom, including through the Strategic Partnership Council.

The leaders look forward to meeting in person soon and working together to strengthen areas of shared interest, including trade, investment, and defense cooperation, the statement from No. 10 added.

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2550291/saudi-arabia

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Saudi Shoura Council delegation arrives in Bahrain for official visit

July 15, 2024

RIYADH: Saudi Shoura Council Speaker Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al Al-Sheikh is leading a delegation on an official visit to Bahrain, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.

During the visit, Sheikh Abdullah will hold a meeting with Ahmed bin Salman Al-Musallam, speaker of Bahrain’s Council of Representatives.

He will also meet Ali Bin Saleh Al-Saleh, chairman of the Bahraini Shoura Council, as well as other senior officials from the country.

It is believed that Sheikh Abdullah’s visit will include the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Saudi Shoura Council and the Bahraini House of Representatives aimed at developing parliamentary cooperation.

Sheikh Abdullah said the visit is driven by the Kingdom’s commitment, under the leadership of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to foster cooperation and coordination for the benefit and prosperity of both nations and their peoples, and to strengthen and unify Gulf ties.

Sheikh Abdullah highlighted the deep-rooted fraternal relations between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, adding that the close ties between the two countries in local, regional and international areas served as an example to be followed.

He pointed to the importance of the visit in activating parliamentary friendship committees, which significantly enhance coordination between the councils.

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2550201/saudi-arabia

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Harvesting season fuels Madinah Date Market

July 15, 2024

MADINAH: The central Madinah Date Market is witnessing an uptick in activity as the fruit’s harvesting season in Saudi Arabia continues apace.

The harvesting of date palms begins in the first quarter of June every year across 29,000 farms in the region.

The market is characterized by the variety of types of fresh dates on offer, which are famous in Madinah and its governorates, including Routhana, Rabia, Halia, Suwaidaa, Halwa, Lona Musaid and others.

High temperatures affect the speed of ripening at the first stage of the harvesting process, which continues until the end of July. Following that, the date harvesting process begins, lasting until the end of August, when farmers start displaying their dates in the market. Varieties include Ajwa, Safawi, Amber, Medjool, Barhi, and others.

The Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture has intensified inspection activities to monitor the operational status of the central date market, to ensure technical and health requirements are met and to verify the quality of produce.

This contributes to exports of dates and their products, and highlights the palm and date sector as one of the main agricultural production sectors in the Kingdom, in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.

Source: arabnews.com

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Saudi Arabia invests $46m on cutting-edge veterinary lab

July 15, 2024

RIYADH: A state-of-the-art veterinary laboratory will be built in Riyadh to develop local vaccines against animal diseases.

A contract worth more than SR175 million ($46.6 million) was signed by Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli to establish the site.

The laboratory will conduct disease diagnosis as well as vaccine development and localization in the Middle East, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The contract was awarded to a specialized national company. The lab is part of the Kingdom’s initiative to develop and produce veterinary vaccines for local disease strains.

It will serve as a hub for monitoring and controlling the spread of animal diseases, conducting specialized laboratory tests and identifying disease causes through DNA sequencing.

Scientists will develop Saudi-specific vaccines from local microbial strains, boosting the production of local vaccines and conducting applied research that benefits the Kingdom’s animal wealth and health sectors. This includes monitoring and updating standard methods for detecting animal diseases in line with the standards set by the International Organization for Animal Health.

According to the SPA, the facility will spearhead the development of cutting-edge vaccines derived from local disease strains, offering higher immune responses compared to global strains. The move toward localizing veterinary vaccine production will enhance the Kingdom’s ability to control and eliminate local diseases, thereby safeguarding its livestock wealth.

The ministry said that the project aligns with its efforts to develop the animal wealth sector and protect public health by combating zoonotic diseases and cross-species pathogens.

The laboratory will be equipped with cutting-edge technology and staffed by highly qualified specialists, the SPA reported.

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2550141/saudi-arabia

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Saudi ambassador presents credentials to Egypt’s president

July 15, 2024

CAIRO: Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Egypt Saleh bin Eid Al-Hosseini presented his credentials to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo on Sunday, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The ambassador conveyed the greetings of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and their wishes for continued progress and prosperity for the Egyptian people.

Al-Husseini was warmly welcomed by El-Sisi and wished him well in his role as ambassador.

El-Sisi asked the ambassador to extend his greetings to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, wishing them continued prosperity and progress.

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2549821/saudi-arabia

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Africa

 

Police Warn Against Protest By Islamic Movement Of Nigeria

July 16, 2024

A statement by the Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, said intelligence has It that the proscribed organisation also known as Shi’ite, is planning a procession to mark the 2024 Islamic calendar day of Ashura.

According to Adeh, antecedents have shown that such activities, carried out by the IMN members, often result in significant disturbances, leading to anarchy and chaos within the capital territory.

It said, “The command, therefore, urges any individual or member of the proscribed organisation, to refrain from or shun any intended form of protest or procession in the Nation’s Capital, as the command will not hesitate to use every legal means necessary to halt or incapacitate anyone that dares violate the ban by the police.”

The statement added that the command is committed to maintaining law and order, and will take all necessary measures to prevent any activities that threaten the safety and well-being of the populace.

Source: channelstv.com

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https://www.channelstv.com/2024/07/16/police-warn-against-protest-by-islamic-movement-of-nigeria/

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Nairobi quarry unveils grim truth as suspected serial killer confesses to 42 murders

In Kenya, authorities have apprehended a suspected serial killer after uncovering multiple bodies at a quarry in Nairobi.

On Monday, Mohamed Amin, the head of the Criminal Investigations Directorate, announced that 33-year-old Jumaisi Khalusha confessed to killing 42 women, including his wife, since 2022.

The suspect was apprehended in a bar during the early hours of Monday while watching the Euro final.

Shock and anger have gripped Kenya following the discovery of the first dismembered bodies on Friday at the Mukuru quarry in Nairobi.

The dumpsite where the bodies were found has been cordoned off by the police since Friday, with the victims aged between 18 and 30 all killed in the same manner.

The suspect is still being interrogated by the police to determine the motive for the killings, and he is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.

Source: africanews.com

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https://www.africanews.com/2024/07/15/nairobi-quarry-unveils-grim-truth-as-suspected-serial-killer-confesses-to-42-murders/

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‘Protest Is The Only Language Government Understands’ – Sheikh Gumi

15 July 2024

Gumi emphasized the importance of peaceful demonstrations as a way to express public grievances to the government.

In a video message, the Islamic scholar reminded viewers that former President Muhammadu Buhari had protested against ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

Gumi said, “Politicians are very stubborn; mass protests are the only thing that disturb them.

“In countries like Sudan and Liberia, conflicts were akin to family feuds, which are very dangerous. But Nigeria is different, with its diverse ethnicities, religions, cultures, tribes, and sects. Protest is the only language the government understands.”

He continued, “In 2015, Muhammadu Buhari and other top officials of the All Progressives Congress (APC) came out to protest, claiming that the previous government had ruined Nigeria. Back then, protest was legal; now it’s considered illegal. God willing, the protest will proceed peacefully, and the government must understand and respond positively to the language of protest.”

This appeal comes as activist-politician Omoyele Sowore calls for a revolutionary protest in August to address the country’s hardships.

Recall that President Tinubu along with Professor Wole Soyinka, among other All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains led an Occupy Nigeria protest in 2012 against ex-president Goodluck Jonathan’s administration’s policy to remove fuel subsidy.

On 1 December 2013, Tinubu wrote, “Nigeria needs a democratic revolution that will unleash infrastructural development and massive industrialization. Nigeria is a blessed.”

Source: naijanews.com

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https://www.naijanews.com/2024/07/15/protest-is-the-only-language-government-understands-sheikh-gumi/

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Video shows airdropped supplies in Central African Republic nature reserve, not Boko Haram receiving weapons

16 July 2024

A video has been posted online with the claim that it shows Boko Haram terrorists receiving weapons and ammunition from a helicopter.

It shows a helicopter landing in the bush, a man unloading bags from the aircraft and other men approaching to take them. A song and the sound of the wind from the rotating blades can be heard in the background.

The caption of the video reads: “In case you've been wondering how the Fulani bandits and Boko- Haram get their arms and ammunitions, wonder no more.”

The Fulani are an ethnic group scattered across many parts of Africa. They are mainly concentrated in Nigeria, Mali, Guinea, Senegal and Niger. They include a militia that has been blamed for several attacks on communities in Nigeria.

The claim appeared on Facebook here and here. (Note: See more instances of the claim at the end of this report.) 

But does the video show Boko Haram terrorists picking up air-lifted ammunition? We checked.

African Parks helicopter on routine resupply mission

A Google reverse image search of a screenshot from the video led us to a 2021 Imaz Press fact check in French, which said the video was from a “routine supply mission” in a park in the Central African Republic.

According to the fact check, the people in the video were “awareness agents” employed by African Parks in Chinko, a large nature reserve in the east of the Central African Republic.

But the video was subsequently used as evidence that France was supplying weapons to terrorists in Mali.

African Parks is a non-governmental natural conservation organisation. It confirmed to other news agencies, like the Observer, that the video was shot in Chinko, which it runs in partnership with the government.

The statement from Africa Parks reads: “African Parks can confirm that the videos shows one of its helicopters carrying out a routine resupply mission in Chinko, in the Central African Republic.”

In addition, a photo shared on the Facebook page of Chinko African Parks showed that the brown and yellow uniform worn by the Chinko park rangers in the photo matched that of the men in the video.

The Nigerian government has been accused of supplying arms to Fulani bandits in the past, using the same video.

The video was not shot in Nigeria, and it does not show Boko Haram receiving supplies by air. The Facebook claim is false.

The false claim also appeared here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Source: africacheck.org

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/meta-programme-fact-checks/video-shows-airdropped-supplies-central-african-republic

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Southeast Asia

 

Indonesian government distances itself as meeting of five Islamic activists and Israel’s president draws condemnation

16 Jul 2024

JAKARTA: Five members of Indonesia’s largest Islamic organisation have come under fire for visiting Israel and meeting with Israeli president Isaac Herzog as the war in Gaza rages on.

Indonesia does not have diplomatic relations with Israel and has been vocal in condemning Israel's attacks on Gaza, while providing aid to Palestinians.

The Indonesian government has distanced itself from the trip by the five activists of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), saying it does not reflect the government's official position.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not in a position to comment on the visit, which is not related in any way to the official position of the Indonesian government," ministry spokesman Roy Soemirat said as reported by news outlet Kompas.

The visit came to light after a participant, NU scholar Zainul Maarif, shared a group photo with Mr Herzog on Instagram on Jul 7, which triggered a wave of condemnation that forced him to disable the comments section of his account.

Besides Mr Zainul, who is a philosophy lecturer at the University of Nahdlatul Ulama Indonesia (Unusia), the four other activists who met Mr Herzog were Mr Munawir Aziz, Ms Nurul Bahrul Ulum, Mr Syukron Makmun and Ms Izza Annafisah Dania.

It is not yet known when the meeting took place but in his Instagram caption, Mr Zainul said they spoke about the Hamas-Israel conflict and relations between Indonesia and Israel.

"I am not a demonstrator, but a religious philosopher. Instead of demonstrating on the streets and boycotting, I prefer to discuss and express ideas," he wrote.

According to an NU scholar Nadirsyah Hosen, the visiting programme to Israel by Indonesian scholars has been running for years but tends to cause controversy each time a trip becomes public.

In 2018, for instance, prominent NU figure Yahya Cholil Staquf was criticised for meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He is NU’s current general chairman after being elected to the post in 2021.

The latest visit by the five activists is said to be in their personal capacities, but NU and Islamic leaders in Indonesia say they should have known better.

While they were personally invited through the Harvard alumni network for academic and startup purposes, according to Dr Nadirsyah, their affiliation with NU would have been a major reason they were invited.

"If they were just 'activists and scholars', I am sure they would not have been invited to meet the president. It is precisely because they are NU members that they were invited," wrote Dr Nadirsyah, who is also an associate professor at Melbourne Law School, on his Instagram account.

NU leaders and members should refuse such invitations for as long as the current conflict in Gaza persists, he opined.

“The only one who benefits (from this visiting programme) is Israel with a visit from NU," he said.

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), a body of the country’s top Islamic scholars, said it "deeply (regretted)" the visit at a time when tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed by Israel.

NU chairman Syafi Alielha said the meeting showed a lack of understanding of geopolitical conditions and NU’s policies, and added that it did not represent the organisation.

"We don't know what the purpose is and who sponsored it. This is a regrettable act,” he said in an official statement posted on NU’s website on Sunday (Jul 14).

NU secretary-general Saifullah Yusuf said the following day that NU is seeking clarification and will summon the five activists for an explanation.

If found to have violated any of the organisation’s principles, they could be dismissed from their NU positions, he said.

Unusia also said it would convene an ethics hearing on Mr Zainul and said the group’s visit has harmed its reputation. "Unusia fully supports Palestinian independence and strongly condemns the practice of genocide by Israel against the Palestinian people which is still ongoing," the university said in a statement.

Founded in 1926, NU promotes a moderate brand of Islam and has around 91.2 million members, based on 2019 data from Indonesia's Ministry of Home Affairs. Indonesia’s second-largest Islamic organisation, Muhammadiyah, has around 60 million members.

This is not the first time an issue related to Israel has stirred outrage in Indonesia amid the war in Gaza, which has killed over 39,000 people, according to the local health authority.

In April, Indonesia’s foreign ministry rejected media reports suggesting the country would normalise diplomatic ties with Israel in exchange for membership at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Source: channelnewsasia.com

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/israel-allows-un-bring-more-equipment-amid-gaza-lawlessness-4481581

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Wisma Putra says monitoring aftermath of Oman mosque shooting

16 Jul 2024

PUTRAJAYA, July 16 — Malaysia is closely monitoring the aftermath of the shooting incident that took place in the vicinity of a mosque in the Al-Wadi Al-Kabir area of Muscat, Oman earlier Tuesday.

The Foreign Ministry through Malaysian Embassy in Muscat, Oman is actively coordinating efforts with local authorities to obtain further information.

“Malaysians in the affected areas are urged to stay vigilant and follow the latest updates and guidance provided by the local authorities,” said the ministry also known as Wisma Putra.

Malaysians requiring consular assistance can contact the Embassy of Malaysia in Muscat at Villa No.2443, Way 3030 Shatti Al Qurum P.O. Box 51, Bareeq Alshati, Muscat or call +(968) 2469 8329, +(968) 7159 2388 or through email addresses mwmuscat@kln.gov.my.

Wisma Putra said it will strive to keep the public informed of any recent developments.

According to Anadolu Agency (AA) reports quoting police, at least four people were killed and several others were wounded by gunfire in the incident. — Bernama

Source: malaymail.com

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Mosque that started from renovated house in west Japan takes root in community

July 16, 2024

IBARAKI, Osaka -- On the morning of April 10 this year, when a chill remained in the air, Muslims gathered in a residential district of the Osaka Prefecture city of Ibaraki. They were there to celebrate Eid, marking the end of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting. Altogether, about 300 people from the Middle East, Southeast Asia and other regions visited the two-story Osaka Ibaraki Mosque, which is adorned with golden decorations. During prayer, the mosque was so full that some prayed on the rooftop.

Japan's Muslim population is increasing. According to Hirofumi Tanada, a professor emeritus at Waseda University familiar with the Muslim community in Japan, the number of Muslims grew from an estimated 30,000 at the end of 1990 to about 110,000 at the end of 2010, and to about 230,000 by the end of 2020. Based on statistics of foreign residents and the percentage of Muslims by country together with data from the Japan Muslim Association, the estimated number of Muslims in Japan at the end of 2023 is believed to be over 270,000.

In addition to people who came to Japan as laborers during the bubble economy, and later settled and formed families, an increase in the number of students and researchers from overseas and the influx of technical intern trainees are said to be factors behind the increase. The number of Japanese followers of the religion is also increasing. Meanwhile, the number of mosques in Japan has grown, too -- from three in the late 1980s to 50 in 2008, over 100 in 2017, and at least 133 as of May 2024.

Usually about 100 people, consisting mainly of students and researchers from the nearby Osaka University and their families, attend the Osaka Ibaraki Mosque. The mosque was established in 2006 after nearly 30 years of fundraising, mainly by students. They initially aimed to set up a mosque in the city center, but this proved financially difficult, so they bought a two-story wooden house near the local university and renovated it.

"At first I wanted them to move out quickly," reflected 72-year-old Kuniko Nakajima, who lives next to the mosque. When it was first established, she was busy with work and didn't have anything to do with it. She was also fearful of foreigners. People who came to the mosque would park their bicycles in front of her house, and some also littered, and she cautioned them. But after she retired from her job six years ago, and spent more time in her house, she came to recognize familiar faces, exchange greetings and receive souvenirs. Now she is friends with them, even doing neighborhood weeding with them and helping maintain the mosque's plants.

Mohammad Moinuddin, 45, an assistant professor at Osaka University's Graduate School of Humanities, who is from India, has been attending the mosque for many years. "It's for coexistence and harmony," he says. "When there's trouble, it's important to apologize right away and say, 'I'm sorry.'"

One resident commenting on the mosque said, "It was built before I realized it," while another remarked, "I thought it was a store because there was only a signboard." Amid such talk by locals, Muslims participated in local festivals, futsal tournaments, school community studies, and human rights lectures organized by the city, holding mosque tours and exchange gatherings. They distributed curry to local residents and handed out snacks before Ramadan, when the number of people coming to and leaving the mosque increases.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, they distributed masks, and after infections subsided, they greeted people while handing out towels and other items, valuing interactions with those living in the neighborhood. When the child of an international student couple remained on a waiting list for day care and they couldn't attend classes, elderly people from the community center took care of the child until a care facility was arranged.

When the number of people attending the mosque increased and it was decided to rebuild the facility, some Muslims considered moving to a more easily accessible location, but in the end, they decided to rebuild it in the same place, partly because doing so would enable them to keep costs down, and partly because they had already established a relationship with the local community. The new mosque was completed with over 100 million yen (about $704,000 at the time) in donations gathered domestically and through crowdfunding worldwide.

As the facility previously accepted Muslim victims of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and since the region including the mosque was damaged during the 2018 quake in northern Osaka Prefecture, more than 20 solar panels were installed, and propane gas was also prepared so that local residents could use the facility as a shelter in times of disaster. Residents were invited to the opening ceremony in September 2023, and the mayor of Ibaraki also gave a greeting there.

Professor Emeritus Tanada pointed out, "From the perspective of multicultural coexistence, ties with the community become increasingly important." Mohsen Bayoumy, 55, a teacher at Osaka Ibaraki Mosque, who is from Egypt, commented that those at the mosque were living as a part of the community, so it was only natural to make efforts to understand and be understood by people in the community.

Source: mainichi.jp

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Singapore issues ISA orders to self-radicalised student and ex-public servant, Israel-Hamas war cited as trigger

15 Jul 2024

SINGAPORE, July 15 — A 14-year-old student aspiring to fight for a prophesised Muslim army and launch attacks in Singapore was among two self-radicalised individuals issued with restriction orders under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

The student was issued the order in June, the Internal Security Department (ISD) said today. He is the youngest individual to date to be issued with an ISA order.

The other is An’nadya An’nahari, a 33-year-old former manager with a statutory board, who received her restriction order in July. This makes her the second public servant to be issued with one.

The two Singaporeans had been separately self-radicalised online, with the ongoing Israel-Hamas being the “common trigger”, ISD said.

The student, who is in Secondary Three, aspired to fight for the Black Flag Army. The Black Flag Army is prophesised to be a Muslim army carrying black flags led by Mahdi, the saviour of Muslims, which will emerge from Khorasan, a historical region covering parts of modern-day Afghanistan and north-east Iran, to engage in a final battle with non-believers during the apocalyptic “End of Times”.

The student also considered carrying out attacks in Singapore.

Meanwhile, An’nadya staunchly supported the Axis of Resistance (AOR), a network of Islamist militant and terrorist organisations including Hamas, Al-Qassam Brigades (AQB), Hizbollah and the Houthis.

She also advocated violence against Israelis and Jews.

Prior to this, the youngest individual to have received a restriction order was a then-15-year-old male Singaporean who was detained in December 2022.

Those issued with restriction orders cannot travel out of Singapore or access the internet without the approval of ISD’s director, among other conditions.

Tried radicalising schoolmates

The 14-year-old’s radicalisation was triggered by Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel last October, and occurred within a “short span of months” after extensively viewing online pro-Hamas content and news, said ISD.

By January, the youth supported the violent acts of Palestinian militant groups like Hamas, AQB and Al-Quds Brigades, seeing them as “legitimate defenders of Palestine”.

He also believed that Hamas’ attacks on Oct 7, 2023, were justified and that all “Zionists” were enemies to be killed.

Over time, after researching online, the teen became firmly convinced that the End of Times would occur in his lifetime, and it was his obligation as a Muslim to fight for the Black Flag Army and die a martyr.

When he was making preparations to fight for the “army”, the youth also started following segregationist beliefs, for example, that celebrating birthdays and talking to female classmates were forbidden under Islamic law.

He also planned to save money by working part-time to fund his travel to Afghanistan — where he believed the Black Flag Army would emerge — and was resolved to join it even if the authorities or his family tried to stop him, ISD added.

The youth also tried radicalising several schoolmates by trying to recruit them to fight, but was unsuccessful.

Among his attempts was to start an online chat group and invite six of his schoolmates to join. In the chat group, he shared videos and links on armed violence, as well as several videos of himself as a terrorist fighter.

The youth was willing to conduct attacks in Singapore on the Black Flag Army’s instructions if he could not travel to join them. He also aspired to expand the membership of his online chat group to up to 100 people.

Once he had sufficient numbers, he aspired to conduct attacks against non-Muslim communities during major festivals, such as Chinese New Year, Christmas and Deepavali.

He hoped such attacks would instil fear amongst non-Muslims and facilitate the establishment of an Islamic state in Singapore.

ISD added that the youth’s parents had noticed expressions of his increasingly segregationist beliefs but “did not think they warranted intervention and assistance”.

As part of the teen’s rehabilitation programme, he will undergo religious and psychological counselling.

ISD said its officers will also be working closely with his family and school to ensure that he has adequate support to stay on track with his rehabilitation, and that his studies will not be disrupted.

Called for violence against Singapore

The radicalisation of former public servant, An’nadya, started after Hamas’ attacks last October as well.

She had joined several social media groups that shared information on military operations by Hamas and AQB, subsequently becoming aware of the AOR and their military operations.

Despite knowing that they had been designated as terrorist organisations in several jurisdictions, she saw them as resistance fighters. She would identify herself as a Singaporean in pro-AOR social media groups and openly express her support for the AOR and its violent operations.

An’nadya frequently expressed her enmity towards Israel and Jews, and made violent threats against them. She also called for violence against Singapore.

In March, one of her foreign contacts invited her to start a new social media channel to spread awareness of AOR’s military operations. She agreed to become the channel’s administrator.

An’nadya shared the channel’s invite link with her family members and friends to encourage them to join, but was unsuccessful in recruiting them.

Before this, An’nadya briefly appeared on the authorities’ radar due to her May 2021 online posts that “had the potential to incite social disharmony”, ISD said.

It added that she did not exhibit radical inclinations then and had deleted her online posts after being advised by the authorities.

“Despite being advised in 2021 to be mindful of her social media activities, An’nadya did not heed the advice. Instead, she escalated her online activities to the point of participating in radicalisation,” ISD said.

“An’nadya’s staunch support for the AOR and their violent operations, and her willingness to spread propaganda to promote their cause, render her a security concern.”

It added that her close online contact with foreign extremist elements renders her vulnerable to being exploited or recruited for terrorist activities.

‘Those radicalised are getting younger’

The ISD said the latest cases show that overseas conflicts continue to have an impact on Singapore’s domestic threat landscape.

The individuals’ self-radicalisation in the months that followed after Hamas’ attack was illustrative of the radicalising risk that foreign extremist narratives can pose to national security and social harmony.

Speaking to reporters today, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam stressed that sympathy for any foreign cause does not mean supporting or allowing terrorism. “Action was taken against a young boy and An’nadya, not because they supported Palestine... but because of their support for armed violence.

“And in the case of the young boy, he was prepared to engage in armed violence himself.”

ISD also said in its statement that youth radicalisation “continues to be a pressing security concern”.

To this, Shanmugam added that Singapore must continue to deal with self-radicalisation, as with many other places in the world, such as Sydney in Australia and London in the United Kingdom.

In Singapore, 40 self-radicalised Singaporeans have been dealt with under the ISA since 2015, and 13 were aged 20 and under.

“Those radicalised are getting younger. This is a global trend. Anyone, regardless of age, gender, religion or profession, can be radicalised,” he said.

“And ISD will take action against anyone in Singapore who supports, promotes, or makes preparations to take up armed violence, regardless of how they rationalise that violence. And regardless of where the violence takes place.”

Asked why the two individuals were issued with restriction orders instead of being detained, Shanmugam said each case must be looked at individually, and the orders calibrated to deal with the assessed threat.

“To give an analogy, they were on a travellator travelling in one direction. ISD will assess how close they were to their destination and how serious and imminent the threat was. In their assessment, restriction orders were enough to get them off the travellator for the time being.”

The orders imposed broadly include prohibitions on overseas travel, changing residence without informing ISD, and certain restrictions on accessing social media.

“We try to let them continue with their lives as much as possible while moving them away from the path of radicalisation. Hopefully, families and friends will step in to help,” said Shanmugam.

ISD urged the public to remain vigilant against elements that encourage or legitimise acts of terrorism and violent extremism.

Possible signs of radicalisation include:

Frequently surfing radical websites

Posting or sharing extremist views on social media platforms, such as expressing support or admiration for terrorists or terrorist groups, as well as the use of violence

Sharing extremist views with friends and relatives

Making remarks that promote ill-will or hatred towards people of other races or religions

Expressing intent to take part in acts of violence overseas or in Singapore

Inciting others to take part in acts of violence — TODAY

Source: malaymail.com

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DPM Zahid calls on MARA to continue exploring global potential of halal industry

16-07- 2024

KUALA LUMPUR: Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) has been asked to continue exploring the global potential and international market opportunities for the halal industry which has great prospects through the Gate to Global (GTG) programme.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also Minister of Rural and Regional Development, said this is considering that last year alone, the contribution of the halal industry to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 7.9 per cent with the total export of halal products reaching RM53.72 billion.

“I’m confident that MARA can play its role better through the GTG. Given the fact that RM400 million in total sales have been contributed to the country’s GDP through GTG companies since 2020, I now challenge MARA to double this value.”

Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Malaysian Halal Industry Development Council chairman, said this at the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development’s (KKDW) monthly assembly, which was also attended by MARA Chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.

The GTG programme implemented by MARA since 2017 aims to increase the ability of entrepreneurs in terms of product development, strengthening branding and strategic marketing that can bring local products to international markets

Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid also wants efforts to drive the creation of Al-Quran generation through education, training, and career development to continue to be intensified from time to time.

He said the Community Development Department (Kemas) pre-tahfiz kindergarten programme, which began on a pilot basis involving 1,500 children at 100 Kemas kindergartens last year, will be expanded to 4,145 kindergartens with 64,175 children this year.

“To date, MARA, through its MRSM (Mara Junior Science College) Ulul Albab programme has also produced 3,564 huffaz (Quran memorisers),” he said.

On another development, Ahmad Zahid said as the number of gig workers currently estimated at more than 1.12 million, Ahmad Zahid also expressed hope that basic matters such as the welfare and career potential of the group would also be improved.

“The Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) himself has asked for a Commission for Gig Workers to be introduced and Insya-Allah, when this formal channel is established later, I want KKDW to also be involved, especially in the entrepreneurship and training sector,” he added.

Source: thesun.my

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Six Foreign Nationals Arrested for Alleged Online Prostitution in Jakarta

July 15, 2024

Jakarta. The Directorate General of Immigration has arrested six foreign nationals, five from Vietnam and one from China, suspected of violating their visa and residency permits through involvement in online prostitution.

Nur Raisha Pujiastuti, Head of the West Jakarta Immigration Office, reported that the arrests followed public tips about suspected prostitution at a hotel in the Gajah Mada area. In response, immigration officials conducted intelligence operations leading to the capture of the suspects.

"After receiving the community's report, our Immigration Intelligence and Enforcement Division promptly launched an operation," Nur stated at a press conference on Monday.

Undercover officers arrested VDN and five Vietnamese women—LTNM, 34, NTV, 23, PTP, 22, and NTT, 18—as well as LQ from China. The suspects were caught in the act, and authorities seized five Vietnamese passports and one Chinese passport.

Additionally, officials confiscated six mobile phones, 16 contraceptive devices, one lubricant, and Rp 50 million ($3,200) in cash. Two phones belonging to VDN contained chat records related to online prostitution.

VDN is suspected of acting as a pimp, with the women reportedly earning Rp 10 million ($640) per engagement.

The suspects were taken to the West Jakarta Immigration Office for further investigation. The Vietnamese nationals entered Indonesia under a visa-free entry policy, while LQ held a limited stay permit (ITAS).

R. Andika Dwi Prasetya, Head of the DKI Jakarta Law and Human Rights Ministry, confirmed that the individuals misused their immigration permits and will face deportation and entry bans.

Source: jakartaglobe.id

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