Abu Omar Khorasani, Head Of Daesh Terrorist Group In Afghanistan Killed: Taliban
New
Age Islam News Bureau
26
September 2021
Khorasani’s execution has
been well received amid concerns about what the Taliban’s stance will be
regarding the IS threat in the region.
------
• Abu Omar Khorasani, Head Of Daesh Terrorist Group In
Afghanistan Killed: Taliban
• Muslim Man Moves Gujarat HC After Three-month Wait
on Complaint Over Daughter's 'Forced Conversion' to Hinduism
• Taliban Commander Mullah Baradar Listed Among 100
Most Influential People By TIME
• Egyptian Court Bans Use Of Mosques For Political
Purposes
South Asia
• Current National IDs, Passports Valid, Will Change
In Future: Taliban
• Russia, Pakistan, China, US Working Together To
Ensure Taliban’s Pledges Implemented
• How The Taliban Benefited From Internal Rifts
Amongst Islamic Powers In West Asia
• US condemns amputation, execution by Taliban
• Taliban kills and hangs four kidnappers in Herat
province
-----
India
• Unease Over AIMIM's Move To Contest UP Polls On
Issue Of Giving Leadership To Muslims
• ‘Love Jihad’ Creeps Into Govt Letter, ‘Love Jihad’
Was Mentioned As A Type Of Offence
• Wherever Muslims are in majority, there is violence:
Delhi BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri
-------
Arab World
• Taste Of History As Saudi Turns Old Police Station
Into Heritage Eatery
• Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, Greece complete military
exercises
• Arab coalition destroys Houthi ballistic missile
launched toward Najran
• Delighted to offer Friday prayers at mosque, say
worshippers in Oman
• Digital infrastructure enabled Saudi Arabia to
confront pandemic
-----
Africa
• Scores Of Officials Quit Tunisia's Main Islamist
Party In Protest
• How Primate Olorunwo donated land to mosque
-----
Pakistan
• Nawaz Sharif, Ashraf Ghani Are Spending The Same
Kind Of Life Today: Pakistan Information Minister
• Islamabad Chamber Of Commerce And Industry Calls For
Promoting Islamic Banking
• Pakistan Islamic Medical Association Provides Life
Support Training To General Public In Mosques
• PML-N condemns massacre of Muslims in Assam
• Punjab govt takes over Badshahi Mosque from
impoverished, negligent Auqaf
• Four soldiers martyred in bomb attack
• Lahore court extends Shehbaz, Hamza's bail in money
laundering case till Oct 9
-----
Mideast
• Hamas, Islamic Jihad Censure US As Accomplice To
Israeli Occupation For Funding Regime’s Iron Dome
• Iran says nuclear talks to resume soon amid
sanctions row
• Iran embassy in Italy organizing virtual photo
gallery on Sacred Defense
• Russia calls on US to 'be more active' to revive
Iran nuclear deal
• Imam Khamenei agrees to request to declare Ali Landi
a martyr
• Iranian reciter ranks 1st in Int’l Qur’an
Competition Zagreb
------
Southeast Asia
• VP Amin accentuates four focus areas for Islamic
economic development
• After 18 months of frequent closures, Penang’s
boutique hotels hang their hopes on interstate travel being allowed soon
• Kuching South mayor reminds parents to send their
children for Covid-19 vaccination according to given date, time
-----------
Europe
• 'Time's Up - The Racket's Over': Angela Rayner Takes
Aim At Tories Over Contract Spending
• Temporary visas for truck drivers to ease UK crisis
• Keir Starmer forced to water down leadership
election changes after backlash
• Germany goes to polls in election to decide Angela
Merkel's successor
-----------
North America
• US Senators Call On State Dept To Confront Al-Khalifah
Regime Over Repression In Bahrain
• I Came To Arbaeen Walk With 50 Canadian Citizens: Shiite
Missionary From Canada
• Concerned United Nations Can Only Sidestep Myanmar
Crisis
• Deputy Chief Under Investigation After Firing Gun in
Office
• At UN, Turmoil in Haiti, Ethiopia Draws Global
Concern
• 14 Mexican Soldiers Crossed Into US; 1 Had Marijuana
• Turkey Could Buy More Russian Missiles Despite US
Warnings
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/khorasani-omar-daesh-afghanistan-taliban/d/125439
--------
Abu Omar Khorasani, Head Of Daesh Terrorist Group In
Afghanistan Killed: Taliban
September 26, 2021
Khorasani’s execution has
been well received amid concerns about what the Taliban’s stance will be
regarding the IS threat in the region.
------
The Taliban have announced that Abu Omar Khorasani,
leader of the Daesh terrorist group in Afghanistan, has been killed.
Khorasani had reportedly succeeded Sheikh Abdul Haseeb
Logari in April 2017 after he was killed.
After the Taliban captured the Afghan capital, Kabul,
on August 15, conflicting reports were released about his fate with some
suggesting that Khorasani was released along with thousands of other prisoners
while others said he had been killed by the Taliban.
In an August 26 report, The Wall Street Journal said
the Taliban had killed the militant and eight other members of his terror group
after seizing Kabul and its prison the previous week.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Khorasani said
he had left Nangarhar last year as the remnants of Daesh militants dispersed
inside Afghanistan. He was arrested by US and Afghan forces in a house outside
Kabul in May 2020.
Daesh has a foothold in eastern and northern
Afghanistan, particularly in Nangarhar, which is regarded as its base in the
war-torn country.
Following President Joe Biden’s decision to fully
withdraw US forces from Afghanistan, the Afghan government swiftly collapsed
and the Taliban took control of the entire country.
Before the United States invaded the country under the
pretext of fighting terrorism following the 9/11 attacks and toppled the
Taliban-run government in 2001, the group had ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to
2001.
Source: PressTV
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://en.abna24.com/news//head-of-daesh-terrorist-group-in-afghanistan-killed-taliban_1183113.html
----------
Muslim Man Moves Gujarat HC After Three-month Wait on Complaint Over Daughter's 'Forced Conversion' to Hinduism
SEPTEMBER 26, 2021
Justice Ilesh J Vora on Friday directed assistant
public prosecutor to get instructions from police on the complaint filed by
petitioner with superintendent of police, Anand.
The petitioner alleged that police in Anand district,
Gujarat, have not yet registered a case on his complaint that his daughter was
abducted and forcibly converted to Hinduism after marriage.
The Gujarat High Court has sought more information
from the authorities after a man filed a petition claiming that police did not
register FIR on his complaint under the recently amended Gujarat Freedom of
Religion Act. Mohammad Saiyed, the petitioner, alleged that police in Anand
district have not yet registered a case on his three-month-old complaint that
his daughter was abducted and forcibly converted to Hinduism after marriage.
Justice Ilesh J Vora on Friday directed the Assistant
Public Prosecutor to get instructions from the police regarding the complaint
dated June 24, 2021, filed by the petitioner with the Superintendent of Police,
Anand. The HC kept the matter for further hearing on October 27. The petitioner
said his daughter went missing on June 16, 2021, and he later learnt that a man
had lured her into marriage and “forcibly converted her religion".
He approached Khambhat police station with a criminal
complaint seeking registration of FIR against the person under the Gujarat
Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act that had come into force on June 15. But
the police only made entry in the station diary and no FIR was registered,
Saiyed alleged, seeking that police be directed to register a case.
The petition has made both the Superintendent of
Police and collector of Anand district respondents. The Gujarat Freedom of
Religion (Amendment) Act, 2021, which penalises forcible or fraudulent
religious conversion through marriage, was notified by the BJP government in
the state on June 15. Notably, the high court has stayed some of its
provisions.
Source: News18.Com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
---------
Taliban Commander Mullah Baradar Listed Among 100 Most
Influential People By TIME
September 25, 2021
File photo of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar | AP
------
KABUL – TIME has revealed its list of the 100 most
influential people of 2021 and Afghan Deputy PM and Taliban co-founder Mullah
Abdul Ghani Baradar has been named as ‘charismatic military leader and a deeply
pious figure’.
The ‘prestigious’ list is broken into six categories
including icons, pioneers, titans, artists, leaders, and innovators. The
53-year-old made the list in the ‘leaders’ category.
Source: The Kabul Times
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
---------
Egyptian Court Bans Use Of Mosques For Political
Purposes
25 Sep 2021
Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court issued on Saturday
a final verdict banning the use of mosques for political purposes and upholding
the state's right to supervising them.
The ruling upheld a previous decision by the minister
of Awqaf to place 42 mosques in Beheira governorate under the ministry's supervision,
stating that the government should control the mosques by all legal means.
This comes as part of the country’s efforts to control
the religious discourse and teaching methods within worship houses.
Source: English.Ahram
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
----------
South Asia
Current National Ids, Passports Valid, Will Change In
Future: Taliban
By Najibullah Lalzoy
25 Sep 2021
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has said that the
national identity cards and the passports that are issued by the previous
Afghan government are valid for the time being.
Source: Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/current-national-ids-passports-valid-will-change-in-future-taliban-57567547/
-----------
Russia, Pakistan, China, US working together to ensure
Taliban’s pledges implemented
By Najibullah Lalzoy
26 Sep 2021
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said that
Russia, Pakistan, China, and the United States are in sync to ensure that the
Taliban abide by the promises they have made.
The Taliban has promised to be respecting human and
women’s rights, will not allow extremism in Afghanistan and will establish an
all-inclusive government.
The Russian foreign minister said that representatives
of Russia, Pakistan, and China recently visited the Taliban leaders, Hamid
Karzai, and Abdullah Abdullah in Kabul after their visit to Doha.
Source: Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
-----------
How the Taliban benefited from internal rifts amongst
Islamic powers in West Asia
KABIR TANEJA
25 September 2021
The three-day long visit of Saudi Arabia’s Foreign
Minister, Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al-Saud, to India came at a time when the
Taliban had firmed its control over Kabul and two weeks after the US completed
what was a botched withdrawal from its 20-year long war in Afghanistan. The
Saudis were one of the three countries (with the UAE and Pakistan) to recognise
the first Taliban regime in 1996. However, today, the geopolitics of the Gulf
are different, and representative more of intra-Gulf realpolitik than a unanimous
‘Gulf’ take on regional and international politics.
“They (Taliban) have made commitments to the
international community as regards security and as regards not allowing any
transnational terrorist groups to take root. And, of course, we need to find a
way to hold them accountable to those commitments. And that will take a
coordinated approach among the international community,” Prince Faisal said.
The Taliban’s swift takeover of Afghanistan at some
level even surprised the Taliban itself. While US intelligence estimates
suggested that the Afghan crisis was at an inflection point and that the Afghan
armed forces may be able to hold their territories for around a year or so, the
collapse came over just a 120-hour period. In mid-August 2021, the Taliban entered
the Afghan capital. On September 7, the militant group announced the
re-establishment of its Islamic Emirate by presenting an interim cabinet to
rule the country.
While US intelligence estimates suggested that the
Afghan crisis was at an inflection point and that the Afghan armed forces may
be able to hold their territories for around a year or so, the collapse came
over just a 120-hour period.
While reactions from the international community on
the outcomes in Afghanistan are well documented, the outlook of the Islamic
nations towards the crisis merits a deeper look into what transpired—how the
Middle East (West Asia), specifically the Gulf region, which is a historical
patron of the Taliban, became internally divided on the Afghan crisis. From the
Middle East’s perspective, the fault lines can be traced back to the Arab
Spring movement, which started in 2010 in Tunisia, and spread across the region
toppling multiple autocracies and challenging ideological concepts around Islam
and the state; the influence of organisations such as the Muslim Brotherhood;
and the coming of brutal Islamist groups such as the so-called Islamic State
(also known as ISIS or Daesh in Arabic) in Iraq and Syria.
The Arab Spring saw significant political upheaval,
leading to leadership loss and states descending into civil conflict. The rule
of long-time leaders such as Zine ben Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, Muammar
Gaddafi of Libya, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen came
to an end through popular uprisings that were often, at times tacitly and
others more directly, aided by Western support and intervention. While the Arab
Spring did dislodge long-standing autocratic and theocratic power structures,
it left a trail of political and social upheaval across the region which in
many cases, such as Syria, remain unresolved even today. However, what the Arab
Spring also managed to do was shake-up bridges between the ideological and
strategic relationship of countries that were bound by Islam. A deeper sense of
self-protection by long-standing monarchies showed through, aided by the lack
of support by the then US President Barack Obama to long-time US allies such as
Mubarak’s Egypt, which instilled further urgency to consolidate power
domestically and regionally alike, and hedge between support received from
outside to solidifying internal political power first. This marked a
fundamental shift on how some Middle Eastern leaders saw Western support, one
that was not absolute and could not be unquestionably relied upon.
The Taliban’s office was the outcome of backdoor
meetings between the group and the US, aided by the Qatari leadership, with
tacit support for the dialogue from other Gulf powers.
In 2013, three years after the Arab Spring began, the
Taliban opened its first ‘political office’ in Doha, capital of the small Gulf
nation of Qatar. This was also the year of a significant moment within Islamic
politics in wake of the Arab Spring, when a military coup in Egypt dislodged
the Brotherhood-led government of Mohamed Morsi, which had come to power,
ironically, on back of a popular revolution that dislodged the Mubarak rule in
Cairo. However, a Brotherhood-led leadership was neither palatable to Egypt’s
more powerful neighbours, nor to the US. This, along with the rise of ISIS in
2014 were two notable ideological and political moments that significantly
re-shaped a post-Arab Spring era in the region.
The Taliban’s office was the outcome of backdoor
meetings between the group and the US, aided by the Qatari leadership, with tacit
support for the dialogue from other Gulf powers. Interestingly, while the
Taliban may have had other options in the Gulf to host their address, Qatar was
chosen because of the fact that the Taliban viewed the dispensation in Doha as
being neutral. A lot of the Taliban’s diplomacy through the Doha address came
into high-visibility public view much later, specifically when said diplomacy
started to work in tandem with on-ground military gains. In fact, at the same
time as the Taliban opened its Doha office in 2013, its leadership started to
court a dialogue with India as well.
Some of the initial Taliban figures who were part of
the Doha opening were also the ones that played a role in mediating the
hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 which was flying from Kathmandu in
Nepal to Delhi, before being diverted by the hijackers to Kandahar in
Afghanistan. Overtures to India began even before the Doha office for the
Taliban became fully functional. In January 2013, Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil, who
was the Taliban’s foreign minister during the reign of Mullah Omar, offered
similar arguments to what the Taliban is giving today to New Delhi. “I want to
say that India should look at Afghanistan through its own lens, not through the
Pakistani lens. One of India’s biggest mistakes was to support the puppet
Soviet regime in Kabul because the mujahideen were based in Pakistan. India’s
second mistake was not to recognise the Taliban. Even today, the Indian
government should accept the presence of the Taliban in Afghanistan and support
the peace process. After all, the Taliban are a part of Afghan society,” he had
said in an interview.
Doha’s regional policies were quickly known as the
country ‘punching above its weight’, and internal feuds of the Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC) finally spilled over into the open when the UAE and Saudi-led
Arab block.
However, this changed quickly as internal rifts within
the Gulf nations started to play out. The likes of the UAE and Saudi Arabia
increasingly started to look at Qatar as not toeing their line of regional and
foreign policy narratives, with Doha’s funding of certain non-state groups in
the Syrian civil war rubbing Abu Dhabi and Riyadh the wrong way. Moreover,
Qatar’s increasing strategic relevance in Washington DC’s view of the Middle
East had the potential of diminishing the US’ leadership role of the region,
traditionally led by the House of Saud, and more recently, the UAE’s Prince
Mohammed bin Zayed, who not only heralded aggressive regional and foreign
policies but also mentored Saudi Arabia’s young heir-apparent, Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman (MbS).
MbS came to the centre stage of Saudi Arabia’s power
structure in 2017. Doha’s regional policies were quickly known as the country
‘punching above its weight’, and internal feuds of the Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) finally spilled over into the open when the UAE and Saudi-led Arab block,
which included Bahrain and Egypt amongst others, severed diplomatic ties with
Qatar and installed an economic blockade, blaming Doha for its alleged support
of terrorism (this accusation had nothing to do with Afghanistan). Qatar took
the blockade as a sign of aggression by its Arab allies and started to hedge
its geopolitical capital with the likes of Iran and Turkey, both of whom are in
contest with the UAE-Saudi block, specifically Iran which is embroiled in a
proxy war with the Saudis in Yemen and is at fundamental odds on an ideological
level, being the global seat of power of Shia Islam.
The abovementioned contest unravelled further in public
in December 2019 when Malaysia, Qatar, Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan planned to
hold a conference on Islam, effectively as a new Muslim power block, in direct
challenge to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which since its
inception in 1969 has been the premier pan-Islamic multilateral institution
based out of Jeddah. During the Qatar blockade, Iran had sent multiple flights
of aid to an import reliant Doha while Turkey sent troops to be stationed there
in a bid to solidify the Qatari monarchy’s political control of the island
against any misadventures to orchestrate a regime change—Jordan got a whiff of
such a plan in June 2021 when Prince Hamza reportedly sought help from Riyadh
to overthrow the rule of King Abdullah II.
For the Taliban, Trump brought a level of policy
clarity on the Afghanistan war that the insurgency had desired for many years,
one that was committed to an expedited exit from the conflict at all costs.
Earlier in 2017, Lebanon had also gone through a
similar experience with the Saudis. All these events took place while the
Taliban operated its office via Qatar and continued to approach international
players in a bid to market its control of the Afghan war. A tighter Qatari
takeover of a more puritan narrative of Islam, not seeking legitimacy with
Israel, and doubling down on the Palestinian cause while other Arab states
seemed to balk gave the Taliban marketable agency with Qatar as its diplomatic
home as well with a large section of the Muslim world. Doha in this period also
did not back down in its geopolitics in a bid to protect its own sovereign
decision-making capacity. The Qatari leadership expanded its aid to Palestine,
an area where both UAE and Saudi Arabia had somewhat changed their policy
directives, highlighted by UAE, Bahrain, and other Muslim nations normalising
ties with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords. In fact, the pro-Palestine
militant group, Hamas, was one of the first few entities that congratulated the
Taliban on its victory against the US and ending the “occupation” of the
country. In May 2021, Qatari leaders also met with senior Hamas official,
Ismail Haniya, in Doha. From an ideological point of view, tactical victories
such as the one gained by the Taliban against both the erstwhile Soviet Union earlier,
and the US now, lead to strategic and political victories on the back of
Western ‘cultural aggression’ and ‘necolonialism’ being militarily defeated
from Islamic lands.
Source: Orfon Line
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
-----------
US condemns amputation, execution by Taliban
By Najibullah Lalzoy
26 Sep 2021
The United States strongly reacted to the recent
statement of the Taliban over implementing the laws of their previous regime
which includes amputation and execution of criminals.
Spokesperson of the department of state Ned Price said
the laws are a clear violation of human rights and they are working along with
the international community to ensure human rights in Afghanistan.
Source: Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/us-condemns-amputation-execution-by-taliban-78678658/
---------
Taliban kills and hangs four kidnappers in Herat
province
By Najibullah Lalzoy
25 Sep 2021
The Taliban members in western Herat province said on
Saturday, September 25 that four kidnappers have been killed after they had an
armed confrontation with them.
Members of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan have
though punished and imprisoned criminals since their takeover, this is the
first time they hang dead bodies inside a big city.
Source: Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-kills-and-hangs-four-kidnappers-in-herat-province-5547456/
-----------
India
Unease over AIMIM's move to contest UP polls on issue
of giving leadership to Muslims
Sep 26, 2021
Lucknow: The decision of Asaduddin Owaisi's All India
Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) to contest the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly
polls on the main issue of giving leadership to Muslims has created an unease
among parties which consider them as their core vote bank.
Different castes, including Jatavs, Yadavs, Rajbhars
and Nishads, which constitute a relatively small part of Uttar Pradesh's
population, have more or less their own leadership, but Muslims, which
constitute more than 19 per cent of the population, do not see any such
leadership.
There are 82 assembly seats in the state where Muslim
voters are in a position to make or botch political fortunes, but they have nothing
in the name of political participation.
Whether it is the Samajwadi Party, which gets the most
votes of Muslims, or the BSP, which talks about Dalit-Muslim unity for social
justice, no one has given leadership to Muslims.
AIMIM national spokesperson Syed Asim Waqar told PTI
on Sunday that the main goal of his party is to create a political thought and
leadership among Muslims for the progress of their community and a better
future.
"Even the so-called secular parties, which were
getting the votes of Muslims, never allowed a Muslim leadership to
emerge," he said.
He said that now when Owaisi is talking about giving
leadership to Muslims, there has been "an uproar among the parties which
consider this community as their political slave".
Opinion of experts differ on the question on whether
Muslims, after the rise of Hindutva politics, have become aware enough to
create their own acceptable leadership.
"The reason for this is that after the rise of
hardline Hindutva politics in the country, a large section of Muslims has
started to understand the importance of their separate leadership. SP, BSP and
parties which claim to be Muslim friendly have kept silence on the issues of
Muslims," he said.
The idea is now gaining strength in the Muslim
community that if it does not have any leadership of its own, then the alleged
atrocities against them will only increase, he added.
He said this time Owaisi is not on the target of BJP
but those parties which till now have been trying to get Muslim votes by
creating fear of the BJP among voters.
Source: Deccan Chronicle
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
-----------
‘Love Jihad’ Creeps Into Govt Letter, ‘Love Jihad’ Was
Mentioned As A Type Of Offence
Sep 26, 2021
Ahmedabad: An oft-used political phrase for conversion
by marriage, ‘Love Jihad’, has found a place in an administrative communique of
the state government. The state home department used it when it wrote a letter
to the director general of police (DGP) last week.
For the first time, ‘Love Jihad’ was mentioned as a
type of offence when the state home department’s additional secretary (law
& order), Nikhil Bhatt, sent the letter to DGP Ashish Bhatia on September
17. Bhatt told Bhatia to convey to senior police officials to bring to the
government’s notice important events and serious offences before they are
flashed in electronic and social media.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
---------
Wherever Muslims are in majority, there is violence:
Delhi BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri
Amit Bhardwaj
September 26, 2021
Delhi BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri made a flurry of
controversial comments against a minority community, and student activists of
JNU while addressing a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-backed event in New
Delhi on Saturday.
During his speech, Ramesh Bidhuri made several
objectionable remarks against Muslims, human rights activists and student
leaders of Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Source: India Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
---------
Arab World
Taste of history as Saudi turns old police station
into heritage eatery
HUDA BASHATAH
September 26, 2021
ABHA: A young Saudi “jack of all trades” has used his
creative talent and love of cooking to transform a former police station in
Abha into a traditional restaurant.
Now Ibrahim bin Mansour Bashashah Al-Asiri’s Al-Hosn
Al-Turathi — or Abha castle heritage restaurant — has become a landmark
attraction, serving up traditional southern flavors to tourists visiting the
historic southwest Saudi city.
Al-Asiri, a plastic artist, and gift and flower
designer, told Arab News that the restaurant was previously a coffeeshop owned
by his brother.
“The building was originally the Asir police station.
I did not favor strong additions and alterations that would erase the designs
that characterize the building,” he said.
Being a jack of all trades, Al-Asiri decided to invest
his talents and help preserve the city’s heritage by turning the coffeeshop
into a restaurant.
One form of art found in the restaurant is Al-Qatt
Al-Asiri, a traditionally female interior wall decoration and ancient art form
considered a key element in Asir’s history.
Al-Hosn Al-Turathi restaurant relies on the work of
two people — Al-Asiri, who cooks and oversees artistic tasks, and his brother,
who handles management.
ged Saudi youth to work hard, saying Saudi Arabia
offers many opportunities to realize the objectives of the Kingdom’s Vision
2030. “We need to be patient and active, and try to reach the top with the
capabilities that we have. So we need to be persistent and work hard,” he said.
Source: ARAB NEWS
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1935576/saudi-arabia
----------
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, Greece complete military
exercises
SPA
September 26, 2021
RIYADH: Special security forces of Saudi Arabia, the
UAE, Greece and Egypt completed joint drills in the Greek capital, Athens.
Taking part what was hailed as further cooperation
between allied states were the Royal Saudi Land Forces paratroopers, Emirati
Special Forces, the Egyptian Army’s El-Saa’ka (Thunderbolt) Forces and
Paratroopers and the Greek Joint Special Operations Forces.
Source: ARAB NEWS
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1935586/saudi-arabia
---------
Arab coalition destroys Houthi ballistic missile
launched toward Najran
ARAB NEWS
September 25, 2021
RIYADH: The Arab coalition said on Saturday that it
had destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis toward Saudi Arabia’s
southwestern city of Najran.
Source: ARAB NEWS
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1935406/saudi-arabia
---------
Delighted to offer Friday prayers at mosque, say
worshippers in Oman
By: Times News Service
25/September/2021
Muscat: Worshippers were delighted to return to
mosques for Friday prayers this weekend, after being unable to do so for more
than 18 months, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mosques were required to close for Friday prayers on
March 15, 2020, as part of measures to stop the spread of the virus. On
reopening for Friday prayers on September 24, 2021, they were required to
operate at only 50 per cent capacity, with a number of preventive measures in
effect.
“It’s definitely a step in the right direction,” said
Ibrahim Al Ajmi, an Omani national. “This is thanks to everyone following COVID
precautions and an uptake in vaccination numbers. I ask everyone to continue on
this path for the good of society.”
Pakistani national Iqbal Karim said in this context,
“We only understand the value of something when it is gone, and Friday prayers
are a way of life for so many of us that it took some time to adjust to
worshipping at home. I am very grateful to be able to return to mosques to
offer prayers now.”
Source: Times Of Oman
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
----------
Digital infrastructure enabled Saudi Arabia to
confront pandemic
ARAB NEWS
September 26, 2021
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s strong digital infrastructure
has enabled the public and private sectors to meet the devastating challenges
of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the Kingdom’s envoy to the UN
has said.
“Guided by the national transformation program, the
Kingdom’s technological progress has contributed to raising the level of
transparency and digital efficiency,” said Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, Saudi
Arabia’s permanent representative to the UN.
Al-Mouallimi made these remarks during a high-level
side event organized by the Digital Cooperation Organization under the theme
“Shaping a Comprehensive Digital Age,” a recently established global
organization working toward achieving “digital prosperity for all.”
The DCO works with governments, the private sector,
international and nongovernmental organizations and civil society to push for
an inclusive digital transformation and the growth of digital industries.
The DCO’s seven-member body includes Saudi Arabia,
Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Nigeria, Oman, and Pakistan. It accounts for a
population of 480 million, 80 percent of which are under the age of 35. It said
it is open to any new member that shares the same goals of “empowering youth,
women, and entrepreneurs and leapfrogging the digital transformation.”
“They helped to make it possible to work remotely and
adapt to the new conditions imposed by the pandemic,” said the ambassador,
adding that the world is undergoing a shift towards digital transformation at a
faster pace than ever before.
Source: ARAB NEWS
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1935591/saudi-arabia
----------
Africa
Scores of Officials Quit Tunisia's Main Islamist Party
in Protest
September 25, 2021
TUNIS, TUNISIA —
More than 100 officials of Tunisia's Islamist party
Ennahda announced their resignations Saturday to protest the choices of the
movement's leadership in confronting the North African country's political
crisis.
The split within the ranks of Ennahda comes amid a
deep political crisis in Tunisia. In July, President Kaïs Saied's decided to
sack the country's prime minister, suspend parliament and assume executive
authority, saying it was because of a national emergency. His critics called it
a coup.
"This is a definitive and irrevocable
decision," Samir Dilou, an Ennahda lawmaker and minister from 2011 to
2014, told The Associated Press.
Source: Voa News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
---------
How Primate Olorunwo donated land to mosque
September 25, 2021
by Olushola Ricketts
ALTHOUGH Primate Omolaja Olorunwo was buried on
Friday, September 12, 2021, his legacies will be hard to erase. Asides from
building a cathedral for God, Olorunwo Cathedral of the C&S Church in
Gbagada, Lagos, he also once donated land for the building of a mosque.
Source: The Nationonl
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://thenationonlineng.net/how-primate-olorunwo-donated-land-to-mosque/
---------
Pakistan
Nawaz Sharif, Ashraf Ghani Are Spending The Same Kind
Of Life Today: Pakistan Information Minister
Dawn.com
September 25, 2021
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Saturday said
PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani were living
the same kind of life today.
Talking to the media in Jhelum, Chaudhry said:
"Today Nawaz Sharif and Ashraf Ghani are spending the same kind of life
because when you're not connected with the soil then you spend the kind of life
as they are — one is lying in London and the other in Dubai.
"Both have gone abroad with bags full of dollars
so this is a misfortune [and] lesson for those people who are in politics but
are not connected to their land. Today the condition of such people is before
us."
The information minister continued his criticism of the
PML-N supremo, saying that his response to the arrest of Indian spy Kulbhushan
Jadhav was inadequate.
"You can guess how shameless people have been
rulers in Pakistan who did not have the ability to look beyond their own feet
except for accumulating money and inviting Narendra Modi to weddings — apart
from this they did no constructive work."
In contrast, he said, Prime Minister Imran Khan
represented the feelings of the nation on a host of issues from Afghanistan to
the Kashmir dispute to environmental concerns and corruption in poor countries.
"The way [last] night he presented the Kashmir
issue in the UN, the way he called out Narendra Modi, this has never happened
before."
The information minister said the only political party
with a presence in all quarters and regions was the PTI, predicting that it
would form the next government with a two-thirds majority.
He said the PPP and PML-N had "completely
scattered" and could not find willing contestants for their tickets.
Chaudhry claimed that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had offered Rs50
million to people during his visit to South Punjab to contest from the PPP's
ticket while the PML-N was also subject to internal power struggles, according
to him.
"You will see that this [next] election will be
the last for the PML-N and the PPP and they won't be in a position to contest.
The PTI and Imran Khan are going to make the next government with a great
majority."
Chaudhry said the government would not consult PML-N
President Shehbaz Sharif on the appointment of the new National Accountability
Bureau chairman.
Responding to a question on disputes with other
institutions, he acknowledged that "sometimes differences come up"
but added that issues with the Election Commission of Pakistan were moving
towards improvement.
"We don't have a personal quarrel with the
[chief] election commissioner or other election personnel so the hope is the
situation there will improve."
Chaudhry said as the Afghan issue evolved and
Pakistan's global repute rose, "the international leadership is looking to
Imran Khan and Pakistan for all regional decisions which is a moment of pride
for us."
Addressing those individuals who were
"jealous" of this success and Pakistan's government and institutions
being on the same page, he said: "You will spend the next five to seven
years crying like this too."
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
-----------
Islamabad Chamber Of Commerce And Industry Calls For
Promoting Islamic Banking
APP
September 26, 2021
ISLAMABAD - President of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce
and Industry (ICCI), Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan Saturday called upon the
government to take strong policy measures for further promoting the Islamic
banking products for the private sector. It would help in boosting the business
activities and the overall economy. He said that the Pakistani nation has
expressed more confidence in the Islamic banking products. Expanding the
network of Islamic banking branches across the country would facilitate in
expansion and diversification of businesses, purchasing industrial machinery
and plants for upgradation and making investment in start-ups leading to
creating more employment and speeding up the growth of the overall economy.
President ICCI expressed these views after inaugurating Raast Islamic Banking
Branch of the Bank of Khyber (BoK), said a press release issued here. Sardar
Yasir Ilyas Khan congratulated the management of BoK for opening its Islamic
Banking Branch in one of the important commercial centres of the federal capital
and hoped that it would provide attractive products to the business community
for business promotion. He expressed appreciation for the leadership of BoK to
spearhead the continued success of the bank and wished them many more
achievements in future. Speaking at the occasion, Muhammad Ali Gulfraz,
Managing Director, Bank of Khyber thanked Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan for
inaugurating Raast Islamic Banking Branch of BoK.
Source: Nation.Com
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://nation.com.pk/26-Sep-2021/icci-calls-for-promoting-islamic-banking
---------
Pakistan Islamic Medical Association Provides Life
Support Training To General Public In Mosques
Our Staff Reporter
September 26, 2021
Islamabad-Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA)
on Saturday provided life support training to the general public in mosques in
three provinces and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
A statement issued said that under the ‘Lifesavers
project’ of PIMA, doctors provided Basic Life Support (BLS) training in as many
as 189 mosques in 40 cities of Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Azad
Kashmir on Saturday.
Source: Nation.Com
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://nation.com.pk/26-Sep-2021/pima-provides-life-support-training-to-general-public-in-mosques
---------
PML-N condemns massacre of Muslims in Assam
September 26, 2021
LAHORE: PML-N MPA Hina Pervaiz Butt tabled a
resolution in Punjab Assembly secretariat here on Saturday condemning the
massacre of Muslims in the Indian state of Assam.
Source: The News.Com
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/895376-pml-n-condemns-massacre-of-muslims-in-assam
---------
Punjab govt takes over Badshahi Mosque from
impoverished, negligent Auqaf
Ayesha Atta
Sep 25, 2021
The Punjab government has decided to take over
Badshahi Mosque from the Auqaf and Religious Affairs Department and hand its
management to the Walled City of Lahore Authority.
The Walled City of Lahore Authority meeting was held
Saturday with Chief Minister Usman Buzdar in chair. Archeological and
historical building protection projects were reviewed.
The WCLA will renovate the buildings of 10 historical
shrines, including the Badshahi Mosque. The minister also ordered that Roshnai
Gate should be opened to the public.
mran Khan said the religious affairs department is not
financially strong enough to take care of the mosque. It should be handed over
to the tourism department or the Walled City of Lahore Authority.
Source: Samaa.Tv
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
---------
Four soldiers martyred in bomb attack
Saleem Shahid
September 26, 2021
QUETTA: Four security personnel were martyred and two
others injured in a bomb attack on a vehicle of the Frontier Corps in the
Khosat area of Harnai district on Saturday.
The FC soldiers were performing their patrolling duty
and when their vehicle reached the Safar Bash area the improvised explosive
device went off resulting in martyrdom of four soldiers and injuries to two
officers.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1648430/four-soldiers-martyred-in-bomb-attack
---------
Lahore court extends Shehbaz, Hamza's bail in money
laundering case till Oct 9
Rana Bilal
September 25, 2021
A Lahore court on Saturday extended the interim bail
of PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz till October 9 in a
money laundering case.
Shehbaz and his son, Hamza, are facing Rs25 billion
money laundering charges in the sugar scandal. The FIA had booked them in the
case under sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, the Prevention of Corruption
Act and Anti-Money Laundering Act in November 2020.
During today's hearing, Shehbaz and Hamza appeared
before the court upon the expiration of the bail previously granted to them on
September 17.
When the judge asked about the progress of the
inquiry, the FIA official told the court that the probe was initiated in 2020,
when the involvement of the sugar mafia was unearthed in the case.
"The FIA was asked back then to initiate an
inquiry into corporate fraud [charges]," he said, adding that the probe
had revealed transactions worth billions into the bank accounts of peons and
other employees of Ramzan Sugar Mills, which is owned by the members of the
Sharif family.
"They kept opening and closing [fake bank]
accounts between 2008 and 2018, and 56,894 transactions were made [during this
period], into which the FIA is investigating."
When asked whether the inquiry had been completed or
more time was needed for the probe, he said all the records collected by the
FIA had been presented to the court, but the agency was "not yet in the
position to submit a challan".
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
---------
Mideast
Hamas, Islamic Jihad censure US as accomplice to
Israeli occupation for funding regime’s Iron Dome
September 26, 2021
Gaza-based Palestinian resistance groups, Hamas and
the Islamic Jihad, have denounced the US House’s approval of funding for
Israel’s Iron Dome system in spite of the regime’s continued aggression against
Palestinians.
In a statement on Friday, Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif
al-Qanoa said the US House’s approval of $1 billion in new funding for the
Israeli regime’s Iron Dome system highlights the United States’ bias in favor
of the Israeli occupation and against the Palestinian people.
“By providing such financial assistance, the US
becomes a partner of the Israeli occupation and kills the Palestinian people’s
aspirations for freedom and independence,” he said.
The spokesman noted that the continued US support to
equip the Israeli regime with high-tech weapons will never legitimize its
occupation of Palestine.
“Finally, we call on the Palestinian Authority not to
count on the US administration and take serious positions against the US bias
towards the Israeli occupation,” he added.
Islamic Jihad spokesman Daoud Shehab said the US
House’s decision demonstrates Washington's support for Israel and is a defeat
for those who looked forward to real change in the US government’s policy on
the Palestinian issue.
The US House of Representatives on Thursday
overwhelmingly voted to give $1 billion to Israel for its so-called Iron Dome
missile system.
In a 420 to 9 vote, the House passed the measure which
was then sent to the Senate. Eight Democrats and one Republican voted against
the measure.
The United States began financially supporting
Israel’s development of the Iron Dome system about a decade ago and has
provided the regime with huge financial support for its production and
maintenance.
“Thank you to the members of the US House of
Representatives, Democrats and Republicans alike, for the sweeping support for
Israel and commitment to its security,” Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett
said in a statement.
“Those who try to challenge this support received a
timeless answer,” Bennett said, in a veiled reference to a number of House
progressives who objected to the provision’s inclusion in an earlier broad
spending bill.
Khaled Elgindy, a senior fellow at the Middle East
Institute, argued in an article that while the Iron Dome may have saved Israeli
lives, it may actually have done the opposite of saving Palestinian lives or
minimizing the scale of destruction on the Palestinian side.
Source : PressTV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran says nuclear talks to resume soon amid sanctions
row
Sep 26, 2021
As Russia said the US should be more
"active" to revive the nuclear talks with Iran, foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian added that talks
would resume soon without setting a specific date.
Amirabdollahian added that Iran is looking into the
Vienna negotiations while asserting that negotiations with four plus one
countries are set to begin.
Although EU foreign policy head Josep Borrell
expressed his optimism to revive the stalled nuclear talks, Amirabdollahian
took a dig at the United States stating that President Biden should end
sanctions imposed by the previous Trump administration.
Amirabdollahian said Biden displayed "paradoxical
behaviour" while keeping negotiations open and "simultaneously
levying new sanctions".
Source: Wio News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.wionews.com/world/iran-says-nuclear-talks-to-resume-soon-amid-sanctions-row-416029
---------
Iran embassy in Italy organizing virtual photo gallery
on Sacred Defense
September 25, 2021
The Iranian Embassy in Italy is holding a virtual
photo gallery about the eight years of imposed war against Iran, known as
Sacred Defense.
The event is also co-organized by Islamic Culture and
Relations Organization on the occasion of the 41st anniversary of the start of
Sacred Defense.
Source: IQNA
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Russia calls on US to 'be more active' to revive Iran
nuclear deal
25/09/2021
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called Saturday
on the United States to take a more active approach to help resume stalled
talks aimed at reviving the Iran nuclear deal.
"It seems evident they should be more
active" in "resolving all issues related" to the accord, Lavrov
told reporters at the United Nations in New York.
Lavrov added that he hoped negotiations in Vienna
among Iran, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany would resume "as
soon as possible."
ran's foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said
Friday the talks would resume "very soon," but the United States said
Tehran had not been specific about the timeframe.
Source: France24
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Imam Khamenei agrees to request to declare Ali Landi a
martyr
September 26, 2021
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution agreed to the
request of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs to declare Ali Landi,
the self-sacrificing teenage Iranian boy, a martyr.
Source: Khamenei.ir
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
----------
Iranian reciter ranks 1st in Int’l Qur’an Competition
Zagreb
Sep 25, 2021
The top rank of Tabbakhi was gained with unanimous
votes of the jury members of the competition that had started three days ago
and 33 reciters from 26 countries around the globe competed in it. The 2nd best
reciter in the competition was from Malaysia and the 3rd from the United
States.
Iranian Ambassador to Croatia Parviz Esmaili was
present at the final of the completion in Saturday and the plaque of honor and
prizes of were given to the winners by Dr. Husein Kavazović, Bosnian Islamic
cleric and since September 2012 the Grand Mufti (Reis-ul-Ulema) of Bosnia and
Herzegovina.
Source: En.Irna
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://en.irna.ir/news/84484025/Iranian-reciter-ranks-1st-in-Int-l-Qur-an-Competition-Zagreb
---------
Southeast Asia
VP Amin accentuates four focus areas for Islamic
economic development
26-09-2021
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin
highlighted four focus areas for development of the Islamic economic and
financial industry in Indonesia.
"The first focus area is the halal industry that
is implemented by developing the halal industry zone within industrial
areas," Vice President Amin stated in his keynote speech at the Bizare
Investment Conference 2021 held online from Jakarta on Saturday.
The government remains committed to prioritizing
Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) while formulating policies for
development of the domestic halal industry, Amin affirmed.
"Our second focus is the Islamic financial
industry aimed at establishing a modern and reliable financial system as the
backbone of the national industry and trade," the vice president remarked.
The merger of three Islamic state-owned banks into a
single state-owned Sharia Bank Indonesia (BSI) is testament of the government's
commitment to developing the Islamic financial industry, Amin noted.
Source: Antara News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
-----------
After 18 months of frequent closures, Penang’s
boutique hotels hang their hopes on interstate travel being allowed soon
BY OPALYN MOK
26 Sep 2021
GEORGE TOWN, Sept 26 — Over the past 13 years —
coinciding with the city’s inscription as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2008
— the city of George Town has become known for much more than its excellent
street food.
Boutique hotels, especially those located in the
heritage zone, were particularly popular with out-of-state visitors as well as
international tourists as they were uniquely adapted and retained the
building’s original heritage features.
Hotel manager Belinda Boey said the hotel has closed
since January this year and only a small number of staff were kept on for basic
maintenance and cleaning of the hotel.
“We did have some business in June and July last year
when everything reopened after the first movement control order but after that,
it continued to go downhill as most of our customers are Europeans,” she said.
International borders have closed since March last
year while interstate travel has been frequently disrupted throughout the
different iterations of the movement control order since last year.
Boey said most of the hotel staff found other jobs
last year and the hotel did not hire new ones as they could already foresee
that they would not be getting a high number of bookings due to the closure of
international borders.
However, they are now hopeful that interstate travel
might be allowed soon as the hotel has been getting week-long bookings from
out-of-state customers.
“We are getting bookings for December so we will
prepare to reopen the hotel at that time. Hopefully interstate travel will have
reopened by then,” she said.
She added the hotel building belonged to the owner so
they don’t have to worry about rent and have managed to stay afloat till now.
“We want to create more spaces where we can have more
interactions such as this restaurant which is in collaboration with the
restaurant operator and we are planning to open a cafe and bar soon where our
museum is now,” she said.
She said the hotel is located in a busy spot in the
heart of Little India so the opening of an Indian restaurant fits its location
perfectly.
Eu added that food is the only business that can
remain open, with delivery and takeaways, even during lockdowns and this will
at least provide some revenue.
The recipient of an honorary mention under the
category of conservation, enhancement and adaptation at George Town World
Heritage Incorporated’s (GTWHI) Heritage Recognition Award 2020, Seven Terraces
too has not been able to welcome as many guests as before because of the
pandemic.
GTHH owner Chris Ong said he organised various events
like afternoon tea soirees and even pop-up boutiques in every room of one of
his other hotels Muntri Mews and Kebaya nights at Seven Terraces.
“We also offered private catering services where we
send chefs to prepare meals for the birthdays of elderly parents whose children
could not come back to celebrate with them,” he said.
Source: Malay Mail
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
-----------
Kuching South mayor reminds parents to send their children
for Covid-19 vaccination according to given date, time
26 Sep 2021
KUCHING, Sept 26 — Kuching South Mayor Datuk Wee Hong
Seng has reminded parents to send their children aged 12 to 15 for Covid-19
vaccination according to the given date and time.
“Do not forget to bring all relevant documents to
avoid any delay or problem during the registration,” he said in a statement
issued by Kuching South City Council (MBKS) following his visit to Majma Mall
vaccination centre to observe the vaccination programme for eligible teenagers
aged 12 to 15 yesterday.
Source: Malay Mail
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
----------
Europe
'Time's up - the racket's over': Angela Rayner takes
aim at Tories over contract spending
25 September 2021
By Sophie Barnett
She outlined the party's new green paper for workers,
including improvements on pay, job security and equality.
She vowed to "stamp out the Tory sleaze that has
polluted our politics and corrupted our democracy" as she outlined
proposed reforms to workers' rights.
Ms Rayner told delegates: "What a contrast to a
government that is taking £1,400 out of the pockets of a nurse while over £2
billion of taxpayers' money has been dished out to Tory donors and mates of
ministers.
She claimed Conservative ministers had used the
"public purse as a personal cashpoint" and added: "We'll stop
the dodgy deals handing public money to ministers' mates. It's bad news for my
pub landlord, but good news for the public.
"And let me tell you this - as your minister for
procurement, I won't sign off a single penny that goes to a company that
exploits its workers or doesn't pay its taxes.
Source : www.Lbc.Co.Uk
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/angela-rayner-addresses-labour-party-conference-brighton/
----------
Temporary visas for truck drivers to ease UK crisis
26.09.21
Britain is expected to announce plans to issue
temporary work visas to truck drivers to ease an acute labour shortage that has
led to fuel rationing at hundreds of filling stations and long queues to fill
up — with pumps running dry in some places.
As retailers warned of significant disruption in the
run-up to Christmas, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said it was looking
at temporary measures to address the shortage of heavy goods vehicle (HGV)
drivers.
Newspapers reported that the government would allow up
to 5,000 foreign drivers into Britain on short-term visas, a measure that
logistics companies and retailers have demanded for months but which the
government had previously ruled out.
Shortages of truckers have been caused partly by
Brexit and Covid-19, which put a stop to driver training and testing for about
a year.
Source : Telegraph India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/temporary-visas-for-truck-drivers-to-ease-uk-crisis/cid/1832221
----------
Keir Starmer forced to water down leadership election
changes after backlash
Siba Jackson
25 Sep 2021
The Labour leader sparked a backlash after revealing
proposals to replace the one member, one vote system with a return to the
electoral college encompassing MPs, party members, unions and affiliated
organisations – with all three getting an equal share.
The shake-up would mean Labour’s 400,000 members would
have the equivalent vote to the party’s 199 MPs, giving them a significant
influence in the election of a new leader.
But Sir Keir’s proposals were met with bitter
opposition and threatened to divide the party amid fears of a civil war with
the left.
Left-wing campaign group Momentum described the
changes to the current system – which saw both Sir Keir and his predecessor,
Jeremy Corbyn, elected – as an ‘attack on democracy’ and ‘regressive’,
suggesting the proposals should ‘go in the bin’.
This afternoon deputy leader Angela Rayner tried to
turn the focus to ‘Tory sleaze’ during her speech in a bid to distract from
internal squabbling.
A watered-down set of plans have now been agreed by the
party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) and will be put to the
conference.
The new package will require prospective Labour
leaders to have the backing of 20% of MPs – double the current 10% threshold –
although Sir Keir is understood to have been pushing for 25%.
‘These proposals put us in a better position to win
the next general election and I hope constituency and trade union delegates
will support them when they come to conference floor.’
Source : Metro.Co.Uk
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
-----------
Germany goes to polls in election to decide Angela
Merkel's successor
26 September 2021
Polls point to a very close race between Mrs Merkel's
centre-right union bloc, with state governor Armin Laschet running for
chancellor, and the centre-left Social Democrats, for whom outgoing finance
minister and vice chancellor Olaf Scholz is seeking the top job.
About 60.4 million people in the nation of 83 million
are eligible to elect the new Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, which
will choose the next head of government.
Source : News.Sky.Com
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
----------
North America
US senators call on State Dept to confront Al-Khalifah
regime over repression in Bahrain
September 26, 2021
News Code : 1183124
A bipartisan group of United States senators has
called on Secretary of State Antony Blinken to press Bahrain's Al Khalifah
regime to end its “violent, systemic repression” of people in the tiny Persian
Gulf kingdom.
“We write to raise our concerns about the government
of Bahrain’s troubling rights record and to better understand your
administration’s strategy for pressing this issue...,” the group of seven
influential US senators wrote.
Signatories to the letter were Democratic Senators Ron
Wyden, Patrick Leahy, Bernie Sanders, Sherrod Brown, Tammy Baldwin and Jeff
Merkley, along with Republican Marco Rubio.
“Bahrainis continue to call for agency and
accountability, often at great risk to their safety and that of their
families,” the letter said.
Source : PressTV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
----------
I came to Arbaeen Walk with 50 Canadian citizens:
Shiite missionary from Canada
September 26, 2021
News Code : 1183092
A Shiite missionary to Canada said, “The Arbaeen
pilgrimage strengthen relations between Muslims and different countries.”
Explaining his activities in Canada, one of the Shiite
missionaries in this country, who participated in the Arbaeen Walk in 1433 AH,
2021, said, “We have a Hawza (Islamic Seminary) and a school in Windsor,
Canada, and every year I come to Iraq with the Mawkeb of Imam Hussain (a.s.)
from this city, along with a group of other North American Shiites, to attend the
Arbaeen Walk. This year is the eighth year that I participate in the great
Arbaeen Walk pilgrimage.”
In response to ABNA’s correspondent question on his
purpose of this journey, Lebanese-born Hojat al-Islam Abdul Mon’em Shararah
said, “There is no purpose higher than the pilgrimage of Imam Hussain (a.s.).
The highest goal of the Arbaeen journey is the pilgrimage of Hazrat Aba
Abdellah Al-Hussain (a.s.).”
Source : ABNA24
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
----------
Concerned United Nations Can Only Sidestep Myanmar
Crisis
By Associated Press
Sept. 26, 2021
BANGKOK (AP) — In his speech last week to open the
U.N. General Assembly, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres bracketed Myanmar
with Afghanistan and Ethiopia as nations for whose people “peace and stability
remain a distant dream.”
He declared unwavering support for the people of the
turbulent, military-ruled Southeast Asia state “in their pursuit of democracy,
peace, human rights and the rule of law.”
But the situation in Myanmar after the army’s seizure
of power eight months ago has become an extended bloody conflict with
ever-escalating violence. Yet the U.N. is unlikely to take any meaningful
action against Myanmar's new rulers because they have the support of China and
Russia.
When Myanmar’s army ousted the elected government of
Aung San Suu Kyi, it claimed with scant evidence that the general election her
party won last November in a landslide was marred by massive voting fraud. The
takeover almost immediately sparked widespread street protests that security
forces tried to crush. Since then, the pushback has become violent.
“The military’s iron grip on power faces resistance
from large segments of the society. Weapons of war continue to be deployed in
towns and cities to suppress opposition,” Michelle Bachelet, U.N. High
Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement Thursday. “These disturbing
trends suggest the alarming possibility of an escalating civil war.”
Human rights groups have cataloged many abuses by
government forces, including the use of deadly force against peaceful civilian
protesters and forced disappearances. But the army’s foes have also turned to
terror, as even its sympathizers admit. Local administrators who refuse to
abandon their posts are targeted for assassination, as are civilians tagged as
informers.
“Sabotage and assassinations, these are not the norms
in civilized society,” Mon Yee Kyaw, executive director of the Myanmar-based
Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica think tank, said in an email interview. But due to the
violence perpetrated by the military, tactics of bombings and assassination
were adopted as defensive measures, she said from Thailand, where she is
currently located.
“People believe unquestionably that they need to take
actions to vanquish the military before the monster kills the people,” she
said.
The stakes are big, warns the U.N.’s Bachelet. “The
national consequences are terrible and tragic. The regional consequences could
also be profound,” she said. “The international community must redouble its
efforts to restore democracy and prevent wider conflict before it is too late.”
But there is at least one major impediment to
prospective U.N. action, which could include such measures as a comprehensive
arms embargo. China and Russia are among the top arms suppliers to Myanmar, as
well as ideologically sympathetic to its ruling military. Both are members of
the Security Council, and would almost certainly veto any effort by the U.N. to
impose a coordinated arms embargo, or anything beyond an anodyne call for
peace.
Myanmar opposition forces have one small consolation.
It has been reported that the General Assembly’s Credentials Committee, which
each session goes through the formality of approving each country’s permanent
representative, will temporarily put off its decision on Myanmar’s permanent
representative.
The current envoy, Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, switched
his allegiance soon after February’s takeover to the opposition’s underground
National Unity Government, which styles itself as the legitimate alternative to
the ruling generals. For at least a couple of months, he appears likely to keep
his seat — or at least deny it to an appointee of the military government.
It is a rare feather in the diplomatic cap of the
shadow government, which has not been recognized by any nation, but it
reportedly comes at the cost of the envoy remaining silent during discussions
in the world body, including Monday's scheduled opportunity to speak for his
nation.
Countries sympathetic to the opposition, such as the
United States and Britain, have enacted diplomatic and economic sanctions that
pose a major inconvenience to the ruling generals. But pleas for more decisive
intervention, such as under the humanitarian doctrine of right to protect, long
ago fell on deaf ears.
The peaceful protests in cities and towns across
Myanmar that began in February were met with deadly force by the security
forces. To date, more than 1,100 individuals have been killed, according to the
U.N.’s Bachelet and human rights groups.
Consequently, protesters started wielding simple
homemade weapons and then organizing themselves into local militias that they
called "people’s defense forces." While these groups were established
mainly to defend localities against government attacks, some became more
proactive, engaging in assassinations and bombings of government offices and
commercial enterprises with ties to the military.
The National Unity Government aspires to forge them
into an army. It also has established alliances with militias established by
ethnic minority groups in the border regions where they are dominant. Most of
these ethnic armed organizations have been fighting the central government for
greater autonomy on and off over decades.
With up to 70 years of combat experience, groups such
as the Kachin in the north and the Karen in the east have the potential to put
extra pressure on the government. Some also provide military training for
militants and safe havens for opposition leaders.
Source : US News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
----------
Deputy Chief Under Investigation After Firing Gun in
Office
By Associated Press
Sept. 25, 2021
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — An internal investigation is
currently underway after a deputy police in the Hartford Police Department
unintentionally fired her weapon in her office in the city's public safety
complex.
Deputy Chief of Administrative Services Sonia Watson
discharged the gun as she was securing the weapon and preparing to leave work
on Wednesday evening, the Hartford Courant reported.
Source : US News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
----------
At UN, Turmoil in Haiti, Ethiopia Draws Global Concern
By Associated Press
Sept. 25, 2021
The speeches may be scripted, but the U.N. General
Assembly can sometimes be the only direct window into the regional challenges
that command global concern.
On Saturday, world leaders were speaking on behalf of
some of the most unstable and unsettling current conflicts. That includes
India’s fight over the Kashmir region with bitter rival Pakistan, Haiti’s
domestic crises spilling into a migrant crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border and
questions about the Ethiopian government’s role in reported starvation deaths
in the Tigray region.
Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry didn't shy away from
addressing his country's turmoil following a major earthquake and the
assassination of its president, Jovenel Moise, in recent months — alluding to
but not directly addressing reports that may implicate Henry himself in the
murder.
“I want to reaffirm here, at this platform, my
determination to do everything to find the collaborators, accomplices and
sponsors of this odious crime. Nothing, absolutely nothing, no political
maneuver, no media campaign, no distraction, could deter me from this
objective: rendering justice for President Moise,” Henry said in a prerecorded
speech.
“It is a debt to his memory, his family and the
Haitian people," Henry said. "The judicial inquest is going difficultly.
It’s a transnational crime. And for that, we formally solicit mutual legal
assistance. It is a priority of my government for the entire nation. Because
this crime cannot rest unpunished et those culpable, all those culpable must be
punished.”
The statement comes days after Henry fired his chief
prosecutor, who had asked a judge to charge Henry in the slaying of Moise that
has shocked the world and to bar the prime minister from leaving the country.
Haiti's troubles have moved beyond its borders, with
thousands of migrants fleeing to the United States. This week, the Biden
administration’s special envoy to Haiti, Daniel Foote, resigned in protest of
“inhumane” large-scale U.S. expulsions of Haitian migrants. Foote was appointed
to the position only in July, following the assassination.
Henry pointedly said that inequalities and conflict
drive migration. But he stopped short of directly criticizing Washington, whose
treatment of Haitian asylum-seekers has prompted an outcry.
Human beings, fathers and mothers who have children,
are always going to flee poverty and conflict,” Henry said. “Migration will
continue as long as the planet has both wealthy areas, whilst most of the
world’s population lives in poverty, even extreme poverty, without any
prospects of a better life.”
It was a flat-out denial for Ethiopia Deputy Prime
Minister Demeke Mekonnen, who rejected humanitarian concerns over Tigray as
part of a “twisted propaganda campaign" in the embattled corner of
northern Ethiopia.
“The criminal enterprise and its enablers created and
advertised horrific imagery of faked incidents. As if the real misery of our
people is not enough, storylines are created to match not the facts but
preconceived stereotypical attitudes," Mekonnen said.
Source : US News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
-----------
14 Mexican Soldiers Crossed Into US; 1 Had Marijuana
By Associated Press
Sept. 25, 2021
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Fourteen Mexican army soldiers were
briefly detained and then returned to Mexico after they crossed into the U.S.
at a border bridge in El Paso, Texas.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement
that two Mexican military vehicles crossed the bridge that links El Paso to
Ciudad Juarez, Mexico in the early hours of Saturday.
CBP said the soldiers, their weapons and equipment
“were secured for safety and processing,” and noted the soldiers said “they did
not realize they had entered the U.S.”
Source : US News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
----------
Turkey Could Buy More Russian Missiles Despite US
Warnings
By Associated Press
Sept. 26, 2021
ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s president has said he would
consider buying a second Russian missile system in defiance of strong
objections by the United States.
In an interview with American broadcaster CBS News,
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would have to decide its defense
systems on its own.
is one of several sticking points in Turkish-American
relations that also include U.S. support for Syrian Kurdish fighters who Turkey
considers terrorists, and the continued U.S. residency of a Muslim cleric
accused of plotting the failed coup attempt against Erdogan’s government in
2016.
Source : US News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
----------
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/khorasani-omar-daesh-afghanistan-taliban/d/125439