“Throw This ‘Mullah’ Out. “This Mullah Is a Terrorist": BJP MP’s Communal Slurs In LS Spark Outrage; Refers To Danish Ali As A “Muslim Ugrawadi” (Muslim Terrorist), “Bharwa” (Pimp), And “Katwa” (Circumcised).
New Age Islam News Bureau
22 September 2023
BSP MP
Danish Ali has approached Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for action against BJP
member Ramesh Bidhuri (in pic) over remarks made by the latter regarding him.
(File photo)
------
India
·
Don't Provide Platform To People Facing
Terrorism Cases, I&B Ministry Advises TV Channels
·
Denying remission can crush spirit of convict
who's reformed: Supreme Court
·
Jammu and Kashmir: Mirwaiz Umar Farooq released
from house arrest after four years
-------
Mideast
·
47 Israeli Settlement
Organizations Work to Judaize Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque
·
Dubai To Build World's First
Floating Mosque Worth Dhs55 Million
·
Mideast Peace Only Possible
When Palestinians Get Full Rights: Abbas
·
Syrians Feel Growing Pressure
from Türkiye’s Anti-Migrant Political Wave
·
Palestine refugee funding woes
‘absolutely unbearable’: UNRWA chief
·
President Raeisi brings 3,500
Achaemenid tablets from US to Iran
·
'Oldest Fortified City': UNESCO
honours Tell es-Sultan in Palestine
·
Kuwaiti PM says Iraqi ruling on
maritime navigation contains ‘historical fallacies’
--------
Arab World
·
Saudi ties with Israel will
betray Palestinians, fears Raisi
·
Saudi Arabia Calls for Reform
of Global Cooperation Frameworks Ahead of Summit of The Future
·
Drugs seized, arrests in Jeddah
and Asir
·
2-year jail and SR20000 fine
for expat convicted of manufacturing adulterated veterinary products
-------
Africa
·
Independence Day: Mali's Junta
Cancels the Festivitiesin The Face of Rising Tensions in The North of The
Country
·
Tunisia arrests cartoonist over
drawings mocking prime minister
·
West’s ‘plundering’ of Africa
blamed for migrant crisis
·
Sudan leader urges UN to
designate RSF a ‘terrorist’ group
·
Nigerian journalist found dead
three days after declared missing
·
Kenya Marks 10th Anniversary of
Deadly Westgate Mall AttackKilling More Than 60 People
·
After Niger coup, sanctions
pain strikes at shutdown Benin border
·
IOM: Libya flood disaster
displaces over 43,000 people
-------
South Asia
·
650 Mujahideen Graduated from
207 Al-Farooq Army Corps Training Centre
·
IEA Rejects UNAMA’s Prison
Report as Baseless
·
Traffic accident kills 1,
injures 1 in Afghanistan’s Badghis
·
Iran Is Not A Safe Haven For
Afghanistan’s Opponents: Iranian Diplomat
·
Thousands of Afghans Returned
Via Spin Boldak Over Past Month: Officials
·
Tanzim Hasan Sakib is the
victim of a sexist culture
·
Memorial meeting for journalist
Quamrul Islam Chowdhury tomorrow
-------
Southeast Asia
·
Malaysia And Turkiye Condemn
Quran Burning, Hate Speech Against Muslims
·
Largest Buddhist temple
structure unearthed in Bukit Choras, dating back 1,200 years
·
Muslim NGOs Want JawiTo
Investigate Bersatu’s Radzi, Mubin Over Offensive Remarks Against PM Anwar
·
Perak police refer report on
Ipoh Timur MP’s alleged Quranic verse misinterpretation to Bukit Aman
·
'Soft heart, hard head':
Shanmugam says Singapore relies on hard facts and compassion over drugs, death
penalty
·
Indonesia protesters set fire
to mayor’s office in mining company demo
-------
Europe
·
Quran Burnings Put Sweden’s
Global Stature At Stake
·
European action day against
Islamophobia: Assessing the ongoing struggle of Muslims
·
Zelensky says Ukraine may lose
– top US senator
·
France accused of threatening
press freedom
·
Serbian President compares
Russia's attack on Ukraine to bombing of Yugoslavia
-------
Pakistan
·
Pakistan, Muslim World League
Agree to Explore Solutions of Issues Facing Muslims
·
Another Ahmadi worship place
comes under attack in Karachi
·
PML-N voted for extension in
return for help with Imran problem: Rana Sanaullah
·
Resurrected’ graft cases back
in court
·
SHC grants bail to Ranipur
‘pir’, rejects spouse’s plea in maid’s murder case
·
President urges world to take
notice of Indian involvement in Sikh leader's murder
·
Imran Summoned In ‘Illegal’
Nikah Case On 25th
·
NAB returns 26 cases to
accountability courts
·
PTI condemns fresh charges in
May 9 cases
-------
North America
·
CAIR-Ohio Presents on
Islamophobia and White Supremacy to High School Class
·
Canada's Trudeau wants India to
cooperate in murder probe, declines to release evidence
·
Report: 9/11 detainee driven
insane by CIA torture will not stand trial
·
Afghans who recently arrived in
US get temporary legal status from Biden administration
·
Canada’s assassination claim
revives long-simmering tensions within Indian diaspora
Compiled by
New Age Islam News Bureau
-----
“Throw This ‘Mullah’ Out “This Mullah Is
A Terrorist": BJP MP’s Communal Slurs In LS Spark Outrage; Refers To Danish
Ali As A “Muslim Ugrawadi” (Muslim Terrorist), “Bharwa” (Pimp), And “Katwa”
(Circumcised)
BSP MP
Danish Ali has approached Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for action against BJP
member Ramesh Bidhuri (in pic) over remarks made by the latter regarding him.
(File photo)
------
22nd September 2023
Amidst a wave of hate crimes targeting
Muslims in the country, a ruling party MP on Thursday spewed communal slurs
against a Muslim Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislator Kunwar Danish Ali and
reportedly called him "Atankwadi" (terrorist), "Ugrawadi"
(militant) in the Lok Sabha.
The BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri during a
discussion on the success of India's moon mission Chandraayan-3, called Danish
Ali, a terrorist, a militant, and a pimp.
In a video shared by an X (formally
known as Twitter) user, Ramesh Biduri can be seen shouting at the BSP MP in
Hindi.
What is more appalling is that the two
BJP MPs and former ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Harsh Vardhan were seen
laughing and making jokes while Bidhuri continued with his tirade.
“Throw this ‘mullah’ out. “This mullah
is a terrorist," the ruling party MP said.
Congress MP Kodikunnil Suresh, who was
in the Chair, urged him to sit down, however, Bidhuri did not stop his
hate-filled rant.
The comments from Bidhuri came after
Kunwar Danish Ali referred to a statement made by IIT-Mandi Director Laxmidhar
Behera who had claimed that landslides and cloudbursts in Himachal Pradesh are
a result of people eating meat. Bidhuri's comments attracted criticism from
netizens.
Shivam Kumar, a journalist, urged Om
Birla to take against the MP.
He said," If you do not take action
today, you will bring down the dignity of the post of Speaker. The country will
not forgive you."
Meanwhile, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on
Friday took "serious note" of certain objectionable remarks made by
Bidhuri in the House and warned him of "strict action" if such
behaviour is repeated in the future.
According to PTI, Union Defence Minister
and Deputy Leader of the Lok Sabha Rajnath Singh expressed regret over the
comments made by Bidhuri. Singh stated that he did not hear what Bidhuri said.
Meanwhile, the Congress on Friday took
strong objections to BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri's remarks in the Lok Sabha and
demanded his suspension from the House.
Terming the remarks as an insult to all
MPs, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the apology offered by Union
Minister Rajnath Singh was a mere eyewash and not sufficient. Strict action
should be taken against him, he demanded.
Source: newindianexpress.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2023/sep/22/bjp-mp-ramesh-bidhuri-uses-communal-slurs-in-ls-calls-bsps-muslim-mp-danish-ali-terrorist-2617306.html
-----
Brotherhood: Muslim Men Share Shoulders to
Carry Hindu Neighbour to Crematorium: Bore the Expenses of Cremation
For
representational purposes
----
21st September 2023
By Express News Service
KOLKATA: Setting up an example of
brotherhood between two religious communities, Muslim neighbours of a poor
Hindu family came forward to provide all help—right from renting a hearse to
engaging a group to chant mantras—to cremate the body of an 82-year man in
Murrshidabad’s Rejinagar in south Bengal, the state known for its communal
harmony.
Kanai Mondal, who had been suffering
from an age-old illness, passed away on Wednesday morning and his daily-wage
earner family members were sitting helplessly with the body as they did not
have money to cremate the deceased.
On hearing about the death of their
neighbour, residents of the minority-dominated village, where only four Hindu
families reside, did not spare a minute. They started collecting money from the
other Muslim residents to bear the expenses for Kanai’s cremation.
Tahidul Islam and Babar Sheikh collected
bamboo from their own bamboo groves to make structures to carry the body to the
crematorium. Sahidul Islam arranged a vehicle to transport the body.
“The family is so poor that they
couldn’t even think of making these arrangements. Mondal was our neighbour. We
decided to engage a keertan group to chant mantras as it is a religious
practice of the Hindu community when the body of an elderly deceased is being
taken to a crematorium,” said Tahidul.
Tahidul, Babar, Sahidul and others
lifted the bamboo structure on their shoulders to carry the body to the rented
vehicle and to the platform of the crematorium.
“We don’t believe in differences in the
religion. We live in the village like each other neighbours who stand by each
other during any crisis period. We don’t think we have done anything special as
it was our duty to help a neighbour,” said Babar.
Mondal’s niece Alpana Mondal, expressed
her gratitude to her neighbours. “My uncle’s family was unable to perform the
last rites as they were financially stressed. Had the neighbours not come
forward and provided all necessary help, cremating him would not have been
possible,” she said.
The homemaker said the Muslim neighbours
attend Hindu religious festivals organised by a handful of Hindu households in
the village and they also visit the houses of the minority community during
religious festivals.
Murshidabad is one of the
minority-dominated pockets in the state which never witnessed any communal
discord in recent memories.
Source: newindianexpress.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2023/sep/21/brotherhood-muslim-menshare-shoulders-to-carry-hindu-neighbour-to-crematorium-2617018.html
-----
Framework For Saudi Normalisation Deal
'Possible' By Early 2024, Israel FM Says
Israeli
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen speaks at a program in Manama, Bahrain, Sept. 20,
2023. (AA Photo)
----
21 September, 2023
A US-brokered framework agreement for
forging relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia could be in place by early
next year, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Thursday after the three
countries signalled progress in the complex negotiations.
An Israeli-Saudi normalisation would
dramatically redraw the Middle East by formally bringing together two major US
partners in the face of Iran - a foreign-policy flourish for President Joe
Biden as he seeks re-election in late 2024.
Biden voiced optimism about the
prospects in talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the
sidelines of the UN general assembly on Wednesday. Separately, Saudi Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman said "every day we get closer" to a deal.
But a Rubik's cube of tie-in issues
looms. Riyadh's quest for a civilian nuclear programme tests US and Israeli
policy.
Saudi Arabia is also seeking greater
rights for Palestinians, who continue to suffer continued Israeli occupation
which has become more deadly and oppressive under Benjamin Netanyahu's
far-right government.
Bin Salman, also known as MbS, said in
an interview with Fox News on Wednesday that "the Palestinian issue is
very important," and needs to be "solved."
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen
told Israel's Army Radio that "the gaps can be bridged."
"It will take time. But there is
progress," he added.
"I think there is certainly a
likelihood that, in the first quarter of 2024, four or five months hence, we
will be able to be in at a point where the details (of a deal) are
finalised."
Such a timeline could enable the Biden
administration to get through a review period in the US Congress and Senate and
clinch ratification ahead of the November presidential ballot.
Normalisation with Israel is a
controversial issue in the Arab world.
Palestinians - and much of the Arab
public - condemned states such as the UAE, Morocco and Bahrain for establishing
diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020, pointing out that they were rewarding
Israel while it continued to occupy the West Bank and besiege the Gaza Strip.
The normalisation deals were brokered by
then-President Donald Trump.
Speculations regarding a normalisation
deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia have been ongoing for years.
Source: newarab.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.newarab.com/news/framework-saudi-deal-possible-early-2024-israel
-------
Saudi FM Affirms Support for Muslim
Communities in Protecting Their Islamic Identity and Upholding Their Dignity
Prince Faisal bin Farhan
-----
September 21, 2023
NEW YORK — Minister of Foreign Affairs
Prince Faisal bin Farhan has reiterated Saudi Arabia's unwavering commitment to
standing alongside Muslim communities in safeguarding their Islamic identity
and upholding their dignity.
Prince Faisal played a key role on
Wednesday at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) Contact Group on
Jammu and Kashmir meeting, held in conjunction with the 78th session of the
United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 78).
During his address, Prince Faisal
emphasized the Kingdom's steadfast support for those facing turmoil and
conflict in various regions, including the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Highlighting the significance of the
Jammu and Kashmir issue, the Saudi minister emphasized that it represents a
critical challenge to the security and stability of the region. He cautioned
against leaving the matter unresolved, as doing so could contribute to regional
instability.
Prince Faisal underscored the Kingdom's
continuous efforts to mediate between conflicting parties with the aim of
de-escalation and the pursuit of a peaceful resolution in line with relevant
international resolutions. These diplomatic endeavors stem from Saudi Arabia's
enduring commitment to supporting Islamic communities.
The meeting was attended by Deputy
Minister for International Multilateral Affairs Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Rassi and
Director-General of the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulrahman
Al-Dawood.
Source: saudigazette.com.sa
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/636062/SAUDI-ARABIA/Saudi-FM-affirms-support-for-Muslim-communities-in-protecting-Islamic-identity
-------
'Truly Unbearable': Timbuktu Suffocates
Under Jihadist Blockade
Timbuktu Kenya
-----
September 21, 2023
When jihadists in Mali announced they
would blockade the ancient city of Timbuktu, residents thought it was just
another intimidation tactic.
But a month and a half later, the tens
of thousands of inhabitants remain almost completely cut off from the world
with the agonising scenario having become a reality.
Half a dozen witnesses have described to
AFP a life of scarcity and fear, as shells have begun to rain down and people
increasingly feel in danger in a city where basic necessities are starting to
run short.
The Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist alliance
Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM) announced in a series of messages at
the beginning of August that it was declaring "war in the Timbuktu
region".
"We thought it was just voice
messages to spread fear," said Abdoul Aziz Mohamed Yehiya, a civil society
organiser.
"Today, frankly, what we are
experiencing is exactly the blockade" they had promised, he said.
Local GSIM commander Talha Abou Hind has
warned that any lorries that try to run the blockade and enter the region would
be "targeted and set on fire".
A Timbuktu resident who asked to remain
anonymous told AFP he had recently returned to the city by road, travelling
from the direction of Goundam, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) to the southwest.
Along the way, he said, "I met
nothing but heavily armed jihadists with 12.7 mm machine guns on
motorbikes".
"I was practically the only
motorbike... there was no activity", he added.
One alternative to the increasingly
dangerous road had been the Niger River, which flows a few kilometres south of
Timbuktu, offering a transport link between northern towns.
But this option disappeared on September
7 when an attackon a ferry, attributed to jihadists, killed dozens of
civilians.
All river boat journeys have now been
cancelled until further notice, the company operating them told AFP.
Sky Mali, the only airline serving
Timbuktu, has temporarily cancelled its service to the northern city following
a shell attack near the airport.
Jihadists have been extending their hold
over rural areas around the better-defended towns in northern Mali, likely with
the aim of increasing pressure on the central government rather than taking
over the towns.
Mali's ruling junta, which seized power
in 2020, faces a multitude of security challenges throughout the country. It
has been playing down the situation in Timbuktu.
Having refused to call it a blockade,
the junta on September 5 finally acknowledged there was a "restriction on
the flow of goods" to the city, as well as "soaring prices of basic
necessities".
'People are very scared'
Trade has also taken a hit in the city.
"If you go around the town, you'll
find lorries parked and unable to move -- no lorries are coming into
Timbuktu," said Oumar Baraka, president of a youth association.
Baba Mohamed, a shopkeeper, told AFP the
city is "in crisis".
"A lot of sugar, milk and oil aren't
coming into town -- if it goes on like this, many shops will close," he
said.
In the poor, long-neglected region,
consumers have already been paying the price of shortages and speculation.
"A litre of petrol costs 1,250 CFA
francs ($2.00), whereas people used to pay 700 CFA francs," said Baraka.
Jihadists have tightened their grip,
firing shells into the city, since the mission began to withdraw.
"People used to go out and have
fun, but that's all disappearing because of the shells being fired in the
street," said one resident. "People are very scared."
In addition to the jihadist insurgency,
northern Mali is also under threat of an offensive by predominantly Tuareg and
Arab separatist groups.
Arab and Tuareg residents of Timbuktu
"have mostly emptied their shops" for fear of possible reprisals, one
civil society leader who asked to remain anonymous told AFP.
"The streets are empty, the
atmosphere is gloomy, and anxiety is setting in," he said.
The separatist groups captured Timbuktu
in 2012 before losing it to jihadists who destroyed some of its famous
mausoleums, causing an international outcry.
"People are too afraid of the
Malian authorities, and Bamako says that there is no blockade and that they are
not going to negotiate with terrorists," said another civil society
leader, who has called on traditional authorities to hold talks with the
jihadists.
"I don't see any way out."
When Prime Minister ChoguelKokalla Maiga
met representatives from Timbuktu on September 5, his message was clear.
"You have to sacrifice everything
for a while to reverse the trend -- it's a painful process," he said.
Source: africanews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.africanews.com/2023/09/21/truly-unbearable-timbuktu-suffocates-under-jihadist-blockade/
-------
India
Don't provide platform to people facing
terrorism cases, I&B ministry advises TV channels
21st September 2023
By Parvez SultanExpress News Service
NEW DELHI: The ministry of information
and broadcasting (I&B) on Thursday advised television news channels against
inviting individuals against whom there are 'serious' criminal or terrorism
cases registered or belonging to an organisation banned in the country.
The advisory has been issued in the wake
of a discussion aired on a channel in which a person in a foreign country
against whom there are serious cases of crime including terrorism, belonging to
an organisation proscribed by law in India, made an appearance.
During the discussion, the person in
question had made several comments which are detrimental to the sovereignty,
integrity of the country, security of India, friendly relations of India with a
foreign state and also have the potential of disturbing public order in the
country, stated the ministry.
“Attention is invited to Section 20 of
the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 laying down the
circumstances and conditions under which the Central Government may, by order,
regulate or prohibit transmission/retransmission of any television channel or
programme in public interest, and where it is considered necessary and
expedient to issue such orders in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity
of India, security of state, friendly relations of India with any foreign
state, or public order or decency or morality,” read the advisory.
The ministry cautioned the channels
saying that the government upholds media freedom and respects its rights under
the Constitution but at the same time the content telecast by TV channels must
adhere to the provisions of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act,
1995.
“Television channels are advised to
refrain from giving any platform to reports/references about and views/agenda
of persons of such background including those against whom there are charges of
serious crimes/terrorism and belonging to organizations which have been
proscribed by law, having regard to the reasonable restrictions laid down under
Article 19(2) of the Constitution and mentioned under sub-section (2) of
Section 20 of the Act,” stated the advisory.
Source: newindianexpress.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2023/sep/21/dont-provide-platform-to-people-facing-terrorism-cases-ib-ministry-advises-tv-channels-2617022.html
-----
Denying remission can crush spirit of
convict who's reformed: Supreme Court
Sep 22, 2023
NEW DELHI: Pitching for reformative
approach to justice and change of the government's mindset to allow remission
plea of convicts, the Supreme Court on Thursday said a person convicted of
heinous offence should not be condemned to die in jail and should be released
after spending a long period behind bars if his conduct has been good, reports
Amit Anand Choudhary. A bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Dipankar Datta
came to the rescue of a convict who spent 26 years in jail in a murder case but
his remission pleas were repeatedly rejected by the Kerala government over the
years.
SC: Remission denial signifies society's
resolve to be harsh
The bench directed release of the
convict who is now 65 years' old.
Justice Bhat, who penned the verdict,
said that not granting relief to such convicts is a reflection of unforgiving
nature of society which should change.
"Excluding the relief of premature
release to prisoners who have served extremely long periods of incarceration
not only crushes their spirit and instils despair but signifies society's
resolve to be harsh and unforgiving. The idea of rewarding the prisoner for
good conduct is entirely negated," he said.
The convict was sentenced to life
imprisonment for killing a woman and he has been in jail since 1989.
His remission plea was considered by
Advisory Board nine times and on three of such occasions, the Board recommended
his premature release. However, the state government rejected his request for
pre-mature release every time.
Finding fault with the state
government's decision, the court quashed the order.
The court said that referring the case
back to the state for re-consideration would further prolong his incarceration
and directed his release from jail.
"Regardless of the morality of
continued punishment, one may question its rationality. The question is, what
is achieved by continuing to punish a person who recognises the wrongness of
what they've done, no longer identifies with it, and bears little resemblance
to the person he was years earlier," the bench said.
In its verdict passed last month, the
apex court had held that a government should not be guided only by the severity
of offence or opinion of the trial court or police for deciding remission plea
of a convict.
While deciding a plea filed by a convict
who spent 24 years in jail in a triple murder case and whose remission plea was
rejected on the ground of negative opinion from trial judge, the court said the
decision on remission should not be taken on the basis of same judicial record.
It added that the remission policy should be guided by "reformative"
rather than "retributive" concept of justice.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/denying-remission-can-crush-spirit-of-convict-whos-reformed-sc/articleshow/103849524.cms
-----
Jammu and Kashmir: Mirwaiz Umar Farooq
released from house arrest after four years
PTI Srinagar Published 22.09.23
Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz
Umar Farooq was released from house arrest on Friday, four years after he was
taken into detention in the wake of abrogation of the provisions of Article 370
of the Constitution in August 2019, officials said here.
The Mirwaiz will be allowed to take part
in the Friday congregational prayers at the historic Jamia Masjid in the
Nowhatta area here, the officials from the Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid -- the
management committee of the mosque -- said.
"Senior police officials visited
the residence of the Mirwaiz on Thursday to inform him that the authorities
have decided to release him from house detention and allow him to go to Jamia
Masjid for Friday prayers," the Auqaf said in a statement.
The release of the Mirwaiz, who heads
various religious organisations and is the chairman of the separatist Hurriyat
Conference, comes days after he moved the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
The court, on September 15, gave four
weeks' time to the Jammu and Kashmir administration to file its response to the
Mirwaiz's petition.
The Hurriyat leader was put under house
arrest at his Nigeen residence on August 5, 2019 -- the day the BJP-led Centre
abrogated the provisions of Article 370 and bifurcated the erstwhile state of
Jammu and Kashmir into Union territories.
Source: telegraphindia.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/jammu-and-kashmir-mirwaiz-umar-farooq-released-from-house-arrest-after-four-years-to-take-part-in-prayers-at-srinagars-jamia-masjid/cid/1968074
-----
Mideast
47 Israeli Settlement Organizations Work
to Judaize Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque
September 21, 2023
Israeli occupation launched on Thursday,
21 September 2023 a new settlement movement bringing the number of institutions
working on judaizing Al-Aqsa Mosque to 47 organizations.
The new settlement movement will hold a
demonstration in front of the home of the far-right Israeli Minister of
National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, to demand that the Israeli settlers be
allowed to perform all public rituals in Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Earlier, the Union of Temple Mount
Groups called the Israeli settlers to invade Al-Aqsa Mosque in mid-September
citing the so-called Jewish holidays as a pretext.
Temple Mount Groups mobilized their
colonial settler to carry out large-scale incursions into the Al-Aqsa mosque
citing the Jewish holiday season which will begin in mid-September as a
pretext.
In response, Palestinian activists and
officials called on the Palestinian people to intensify their presence at
Al-Aqsa Mosque in the coming days to confront settlers’ widespread incursions.
Right-wing colonial settlers repeatedly
raid the Muslim holy sites in occupied Jerusalem basically the Al-Aqsa Mosque,
using Jewish holidays as an excuse.
In August 2023, at least 3891 colonial
Israeli settlers invaded Al-Aqsa Mosque, performed provocative Talmudic rituals
in its yards, and conducted the so-called “epic prostration” at its gates.
As part of a decades-old accord between
Jordan and the Israeli occupation, non-Muslims are not allowed to perform any
religious rituals inside the confines of Al-Aqsa Mosque, nor are Israeli
symbols allowed to be displayed.
Source: daysofpalestine.ps
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://daysofpalestine.ps/47-israeli-settlement-organizations-work-to-judaize-jerusalems-al-aqsa-mosque/
--------
Dubai to build world's first floating
mosque worth Dhs55 million
The Islamic Affairs and Charitable
Activities Department (IACAD) in Dubai, on Thursday, announced the launch of a
number of new plans, programmes and initiatives to promote religious tourism in
the emirate.
This came during a press conference held
at the IACAD's headquarters in the presence of Dr. Hamad Bin Sheikh Ahmed Al
Shaibani, Director General of IACAD, Mohammed Ali Bin Zayed Al Falasi,
Executive Director of the Mosques Affairs, Dr. Omar Mohammed Al Khatib,
Executive Director of the Islamic Affairs, Ahmed Khalfan Al Mansouri, Advisor
for Cultural Communication, and Mohammed Musabah Dahi, Executive Director of
the Charitable Work, along with directors of departments.
For his part, Al Mansouri explained that
the new projects are expected to contribute to increasing the number of annual
visitors from Muslims and non-Muslims to the emirate by 3-4 per cent.
On the top of these projects, IACAD
unveiled plans to build the world's first floating mosque in Dubai at a total
cost of Dhs55 million.
The mosque will be located on the water
under the Tolerance Bridge.
The mosque, which scheduled to be
completed by 2024, will consist of three floors, as the first will be
underwater and dedicated to prayer. It accommodates 75 people.
The second floor will be a multi-purpose
hall, while the third floor will be an Islamic exhibition.
IACAD is also going to establish a
Quranic exhibition in one of the emirate's mosques. This exhibition will
introduce the journey of the late Sheikh Maktoum Bin Rahsid Al Maktoum's Mushaf
from since it was just an idea to its writing and distribution around the
world.
The Department is also planning to carry
out various religious and social events that bring together the people of the
new neighborhoods in the Emirate of Dubai under the Hala Ramadan initiative.
Moreover, it will establish markets next
to some vital mosques in Dubai, or centers affiliated with the department, with
the aim of targeting Muslim and non-Muslim tourists, to learn about our customs
and traditions in the Islamic occasions.
Source: gulftoday.ae
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.gulftoday.ae/news/2023/09/21/dubai-to-build-world-first-floating-mosque-worth-dhs55-million
-------
Mideast peace only possible when
Palestinians get full rights: Abbas
September 21, 2023
LONDON: Those who think peace can
prevail in the Middle East without the Palestinian people enjoying their full
rights are mistaken, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on
Thursday.
Addressing the UN General Assembly, he
said Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory “violates the principles of
international law and legitimacy while it races against time to change the
historical, geographical and demographic reality on the ground, aimed at
perpetuating the occupation and entrenching apartheid.”
Abbas said his country remains hopeful
that the UN will be “able to implement its resolution demanding an end to the
Israeli occupation of our territory and realizing the independence of the fully
sovereign state of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the
borders of June 4, 1967.”
He added that Israel continues to attack
his people, and its “army and its racist, terrorist settlers continue to
intimidate and kill our people, to destroy homes and property to just steal our
money and resources.”
Abbas said Israel “continues to assault
our Islamic and Christian sacred sites … especially the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque,
which international legitimacy has recognized as an exclusive place of worship
for Muslims alone.”
He added that Israel is digging tunnels
under and around the mosque, threatening its full or partial collapse, “which
would lead to an explosion with untold consequences.”
He urged the international community to
assume its responsibilities in preserving the historic and legal status of
Jerusalem and its holy sites.
He also requested an international peace
conference in which all countries concerned with achieving peace in the Middle
East would participate.
“I ask your esteemed organization and
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to call for and undertake the necessary
arrangements to convene this peace conference, which may be the last
opportunity to salvage the two-state solution and to prevent the situation from
deteriorating more seriously, and threatening the security and stability of our
region and the entire world,” Abbas said.
He also urged states that have not yet
recognized the state of Palestine to do so immediately. “I call for the state
of Palestine to be admitted to full membership in the United Nations,” he said.
“There are two states that the entire
world is talking about: Israel and Palestine. But only Israel is recognized.
Why not Palestine?
“I can neither understand nor accept
that some states …are reluctant to recognize the state of Palestine, which the
UN has accepted as an observer state.
“These same states confirm every day
that they support the two-state solution. But they recognize only one of these
states, namely Israel. Why?”
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2378276/middle-east
--------
Syrians feel growing pressure from
Turkiye’s anti-migrant political wave
September 22, 2023
ISTANBUL: Anti-migrant sentiment,
economic woes and political pressures are leading some of the 3.3 millions
Syrians living in Turkiye to plan a return to Syria or seek shelter in Europe,
according to migrants interviewed by Reuters.
They are concerned that rhetoric against
migrants may rear up in campaigning for March local elections, echoing efforts
to tap into nationalist sentiments during May’s general elections.
Many of those now living in Istanbul
face a more immediate worry — authorities’ Sept. 24 deadline for them to leave
the city if they are registered in other Turkish provinces.
One 32-year-old Syrian said he is saving
up to pay smugglers and plans to go to Belgium. Hardship caused by Turkiye’s
rampant inflation and anti-migrant rhetoric motivated his decision.
“We are blamed and scapegoated for the
worsening economy. Discrimination is rising. It is becoming impossible for us
to live here,” he told Reuters, declining to give his name for security
reasons.
The 32-year-old is among those affected
by Sunday’s deadline because he was registered in southeastern Sanliurfa
province.
According to rights groups, racist
violence against Syrians is increasing and authorities have adopted a tougher
policy on migrants not registered in Istanbul, stoking migrants’ fears.
Another Syrian man, a 33-year-old
teacher, said he could no longer afford to live in Turkiye after 10 years spent
in Istanbul with his two children, with his expenses exceeding his income.
“I decided to return to Syria because of
the bad financial situation in Turkiye. I know the situation is bad in Syria
too but here it’s worse for me,” he said, declining to be named.
It was not possible to quantify the
number of Syrians currently planning to leave for Europe or return to Syria.
Turkiye is home to 3.3 million Syrians
with temporary protection permits, according to Turkish authorities. Istanbul
has the highest Syrian population with more than 532,000.
While Syrians were assigned to provinces
throughout Turkiye, many went to Istanbul due to more job opportunities.
Authorities said it was unclear how many such people there were in the city.
DEADLINE TO MOVE
AdemMaarastawi, a 29 year-old Syrian
activist working in Istanbul, is registered in central Turkiye’sKirsehir
province.
As Sept. 24 approaches, he fears being
sent to Kirsehir.
“I struggled to build a life here. How
can I rebuild my life from scratch in another city?” he said, adding that he
looked for a job in more than 30 cities before settling in Istanbul.
Experts believe anti-migrant sentiment
will dominate opposition campaigning for the March votes, as it did in the May
elections, and worry this could lead to more physical and verbal violence
against migrants including more social media hostility.
“Anti-migrant rhetoric is likely to rise
before the March elections,” said Deniz Sert, associate professor of
international relations at Ozyegin University.
Local government expert Ali Mert Tascier
said opposition parties are likely to use anti-migrant rhetoric, with
municipalities being the main players in managing migrants.
During campaigning for the May
elections, the main opposition CHP vowed to send Syrians back. It declined to
comment on its migration perspective for the local votes.
President Tayyip Erdogan has been
fiercely critical of the opposition’s stance, telling a conference this week
that Turkiye’s hosting of refugees would continue unchanged.
However, ahead of the May elections,
Erdogan played up his plans to repatriate a million Syrian refugees.
“We will continue to pursue our
voluntary return policy. It is, however, inappropriate to use migrants for
political gain,” said Osman Nuri Kabaktepe, Istanbul head of Erdogan’s AK
Party.
But Maarastawi said he feared such
campaigning would lead to a deterioration in the situation for migrants.
“I believe everything will just worsen
for us as a result of more populist discourse during the local elections,” he
said.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2378481/middle-east
--------
Palestine refugee funding woes
‘absolutely unbearable’: UNRWA chief
September 22, 2023
New York City: The funding crisis for
Palestinian refugees in Jordan and other host countries has created an
“absolutely unbearable” situation that could soon reach an inflection point,
the chief of the UNRWA has warned.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East supports more than 5 million Palestinian
refugees across the Middle East, but has been met with a series of financial
crises due to donor countries slashing funding.
The agency is set to mark 75 years since
its establishment next year, but its commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini,
has warned that immediate funding is required to safeguard millions of
Palestinian refugees.
Lazzarini appeared at a press briefing
Thursday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly alongside Ayman Safadi,
Jordan’s deputy prime minister and minister for foreign affairs and
expatriates.
The two had earlier taken part in a
high-level meeting organized by Jordan and Sweden to encourage increased
funding for the UNRWA.
Lazzarini said that the agency required
between $170 and $190 million just to keep its activities in Jordan, Lebanon,
Gaza and elsewhere running until the end of the year.
He added: “We had some pledges today
which will definitely help us to provide more clarity and run the operation in
the foreseeable future, but we haven’t yet met our objective.
Jordan’s foreign minister spoke at
length about his country’s issues hosting large numbers of Palestinian refugees
amid the UNRWA funding crisis, saying that the agency is “the only beacon of
hope in a very bleak situation full of deprivation.”
He added: “The challenges are huge. The
difficulties facing UNRWA are complicated and increasing in scope. Therefore,
we call on the international community to act to provide the support UNRWA
needs.
“If we are still unable to establish
justice for the Palestine refugees, let us at least give them a chance to live
decently.”
Despite several UN member states
pledging Thursday to boost their contributions to the UNRWA, the agency still
only has the means to provide services through to October.
Lazzarini told the media: “I told the
member state mission: ‘I know that it sounds like a broken record when we talk
about the financial crisis of the agency.’ But I also told them: ‘Please don’t
take our ability to muddle through this crisis as a given.’
“There will be a point where we reach an
inflection point. It has become absolutely unbearable to deal with a situation
where the needs of the Palestinian refugees increase, the expectations
increase.
“This tension cannot continue. It’s
highly unsettling. It’s unsettling for the communities … for the host
countries.
“And this is also fueling in the region
a feeling of abandonment by the international community.”
The UNRWA chief warned that his agency’s
funding crisis would hit children the hardest. Lazzarini recently oversaw the
opening of a school for Palestinian refugee students, but said that he did not
know if the site would exist by the end of the year.
The COVID-19 pandemic and austerity
measures have also compounded the woes of refugee children, Lazzarini said.
“One indicator which I was sharing with
a member state here today was that in the fourth grade this year, only 20
percent of the (Palestinian refugee) students reached the average for Arabic
and mathematics, whereas in 2015, it was 60 percent.
“And this is quite significant, and
collectively, we have to look at how can we bring back a quality education.”
Safadi was asked about the possibility
of engagement between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the EU and the US over the
Palestine issue, and the potential for a solution to the plight of Palestinian
refugees.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
said recently that the Kingdom was taking steps to reach a political agreement
with Israel.
Safadi said: “I will not comment on what
the crown prince of Saudi Arabia has said in terms of efforts made towards
reaching a political agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel but we trust the
position of our brothers in Saudi Arabia.
“They have a very firm position in terms
of supporting the Palestinian question, the Palestinian right, and supporting
the two-state solution as the only path towards achieving peace and stability
in the region.”
The foreign minister reiterated Jordan’s
position: “We insist on the two-state solution, that if undermined, and if hope
is lost completely in reaching this solution, then there will be a one-state
solution, and this is not a solution.
“It will be a heinous situation of
racial discrimination that would lead to further conflict and further
deterioration.”
Lazzarini said that his chief focus
during the UN General Assembly has been to place the issue of Palestinian
refugees “back on the political agenda.”
He added: “My main ask is that the issue
of the safeguarding of the right of the Palestinian refugees be brought to the
agenda, and by having this conversation we talk also after that, about the
sustainability of an agency like UNRWA.”
Lazzarini also discussed the recent
eruption of violence in Ain Al-Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon, which he
described as “very worrying.”
He added: “As we know, it has prevented
our kids to go back to school. Our schools have been used by the militants. We
have called more than once to the militants to vacate our schools.
“They need to be protected. They need to
be respected. And sadly, this has not been the case.
“So, I think the fighting in Ain
Al-Hilweh right now is adding a layer to the extraordinary human misery
prevailing already in the camp.”
Safadi spoke on his country’s engagement
with the political process, saying that Jordan is “talking with everybody” in a
bid to reach a resolution.
He added: “We are engaged with all
parties, including with the Israelis. We’re talking to everybody.
“We’re working with the Americans, with
the Europeans, we’re in full coordination with the Palestinians, with other
Arab countries, Egypt and others to try and find a political horizon.”
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2378461/middle-east
-------
President Raeisi brings 3,500 Achaemenid
tablets from US to Iran
21 September 2023
Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi has
arrived in Tehran from New York where he took part in the 78th session of the
UN General Assembly, bringing back home thousands of historical clay tablets of
the Achaemenid Empire.
“Thanks to proper follow-ups by the
Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicraft Organization, the
permanent mission of Iran to the United Nations in New York and the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, the tablets of the Achaemenid Empire, which were being kept in
the United States and the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of
Chicago (CEAS) for 84 years were repatriated to Iran. The tablets were
originally set to stay there for three years for study purposes,” Raeisi told
reporters on Thursday evening upon arrival at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport after a
trip to New York.
“It is questionable why the tablets were
in the possession of Americans. The scientists who worked on the tablets are of
Iranian origin, and have been undertaking studies on them for more than 10
years.”
The Iranian president said 3,500 clay
tablets have been repatriated, and they will be given to Iranian museums in
order to be put on display.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Raeisi said
participation in the annual UN General Assembly creates an opportunity for
interaction and clarification of the positions of states.
“The two important issues of
amplification of Iran's position as well as safeguarding the country’s
interests and values were underscored during the event and separate meetings
with heads of state,” he said.
The Iranian president says Tehran will
never abandon its nuclear rights and expects the parties to the JCPOA to take a
practical move to fulfill their commitments.
“Those who forego values would
occasionally serve others’ interests. Protection of values is therefore of
paramount significance. Homage to the Holy Qur’an is an important issue as it
constitutes our identity. Emphasis on family values is also of significance to
us and human societies, and should be paid attention to by anyone.”
“We had twenty meetings and interviews
with journalists, scholars and politicians. During the meetings, Iran’s
positions were made clear. The main focus of the meetings with the heads of
more than 10 countries was to elaborate on Iran's trade and economic relations
with other countries as well as regional and extra-regional institutions,”
Raeisi said.
The Iranian president also highlighted
that Tehran’s preparedness to cooperate and work with various countries and
international organizations, particularly as regards political and economic
ties, was also emphasized.
Source: presstv.ir
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/09/21/711288/Raeisi-Iran-Achaemenid-tablets
-------
'Oldest Fortified City': UNESCO honours
Tell es-Sultan in Palestine
22 September 2023
UNESCO has voted to include the ancient
archaeological site Tell es-Sultan, literally meaning the 'Sultan's Hill', in
Jericho, on the World Heritage List in Palestine, declaring it 'the oldest
fortified city in the world'.
Jericho is situated within the West
Bank, an area administered by the Palestinian Authority. The decision has been
met with enthusiasm by local authorities and experts.
''This site has universal values that
made it eligible to apply for the World Heritage list. It is the oldest
agricultural settlement in the world. This location, Ain al-Sultan, had
witnessed the human transition from a life of gathering to a life of hunting
and agriculture. God willing, being on the list will help preserve it and
provide the people economic benefits,'' said Iyad Hamdan, General Director of
Tourism and Antiquities in Jericho.
The Tell el-Sultan area contains
prehistoric ruins dating back to the ninth millennium BC, predating even the
Egyptian pyramids.
''It features 29 layers of ancient
civilizations, starting from the Natufian period, where people built the oldest
tower in history, and the beginning of the construction of semi-elliptical
houses, rectangular houses, pottery, and economic systems, all of this was in
this location,'' Hamdan further elaborated.
For its part, Israel's Foreign Ministry
has expressed reservations about the decision, viewing it as another instance
of the Palestinian Authority's politicization of UNESCO, according to media
reports.
''It is not strange for Israel to object to
this decision, under false pretexts. The Israeli occupation competes with us in
everything, shares with us and encroaches on every meter of Palestinian land.
Israel's position is not unusual as it confirms that we are on the path to
independence. Moreover, when UNESCO, the largest international organization,
and the World Heritage Committee recognize it as being under Palestinian
control, this is a Palestinian achievement in itself,'' explained Hamdan.
The decision was taken at a meeting of
the UN World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Source: presstv.ir
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/09/21/711291/UNESCO-Tell-es-Sultan
--------
Kuwaiti PM says Iraqi ruling on maritime
navigation contains ‘historical fallacies’
September 22, 2023
Kuwait’s Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad
Nawaf Al-Sabah described an Iraqi ruling on regulating navigation in the Khor
Abdullah waterway between the two states as containing “historical fallacies.”
In remarks carried by state news agency
KUNA early on Thursday, Sheikh Ahmad also called on Iraq to take “concrete,
decisive and urgent measures” to address the ruling.
The prime minister’s comments came
during a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, on the
sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New
York.
Tensions have been rising between Kuwait
and Iraq after the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court earlier this month ruled an
agreement regulating navigation in the Khor Abdullah waterway was
unconstitutional. The court said the law that ratified the accord should have
been approved by two-thirds of parliament.
The land border between the two was
demarcated by the United Nations in 1993 after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, but
it did not cover the length of their maritime boundaries, and this was left for
the two oil producers to resolve.
An agreement between the two nations was
reached in 2012 and ratified by each of their legislative bodies in 2013.
Sheikh Ahmad also called for the
complete demarcation of Kuwaiti-Iraqi maritime borders “in accordance with
international law,” KUNA added, echoing a Wednesday call by the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the United States.
Iraqi parliament speaker Mohammed
Al-Halbousi on Thursday met with a delegation from the Kuwaiti national
assembly and emphasized “the importance of respecting and implementing
bilateral agreements that are in the interest of the two brotherly peoples,” a
statement from his office said.
The statement did not refer specifically
to the Khor Abdullah waterway.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2378371/middle-east
-------
Arab World
Saudi ties with Israel will betray
Palestinians, fears Raisi
September 22, 2023
UNITED NATIONS: Iranian President
Ebrahim Raisi has accused regional rival Saudi Arabia of betraying the
Palestinians by seeking to normalise relations with Israel.
“We believe that a relationship between
regional countries and the Zionist regime would be a stab in the back of the
Palestinian people and of the resistance of the Palestinians,” he said.
“The initiation of a relationship
between the Zionist regime and any country in the region, if it is with the aim
to bring security for the Zionist regime, will certainly not do so,” Raisi told
a news conference on Wednesday as he attended the UN General Assembly.
Saudi Arabia and Israel have bonded in
part over shared hostility to Iran’s clerical state, although Riyadh has moved
to ease tensions with Tehran through talks brokered by China.
US President Joe Biden is hoping to
transform the Middle East — and score an election-year diplomatic victory — by
securing recognition of the Jewish state by Saudi Arabia.
Tehran has ‘no problem’ with IAEA
inspections
On Wednesday, Biden met Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York on the sidelines of the UN General
Assembly, Biden quipped that he had “Irish optimism” on securing a deal with
Saudi Arabia.
“If you and I, 10 years ago, were
talking about normalisation with Saudi Arabia,” Biden told Netanyahu, “I think
we had to look at each other like, ‘Who’s been drinking what?”
Netanyahu, who has had rocky relations
with Biden, said he believed a deal was “within our reach” and credited him. “I
think that under your leadership, Mr President, we can forge a historic peace
between Israel and Saudi Arabia,” Netanyahu said.
Saudi Arabia’s de factor ruler, Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has said that US-brokered talks are moving forward
on normalisation with Israel.
In an interview with Fox News, MBS said
talks were moving forward with Israel, denying a media report that the process
was suspended. “Every day we get closer,” the prince said. “For us, the
Palestinian issue is very important. We need to solve that part,” he said.
“We need to ease the lives of the
Palestinians”, he added.
Iran has no issue with the UN nuclear
watchdog’s inspection of its nuclear sites, Raisi said on Wednesday, days after
Tehran barred multiple inspectors assigned to the country.
“We have no problem with the inspections
but the problem is with some inspectors ... those inspectors that are
trustworthy can continue their work in Iran,” Raisi told media.
Iran’s move was a response to a call led
by the United States, Britain, France and Germany at the International Atomic
Energy Agency’s Board of Governors earlier this month for Tehran to cooperate
immediately with the agency on issues including explaining uranium traces found
at undeclared sites.
“Tehran’s decision was in reaction to
some unfair statements by the Western members of the IAEA,” Raisi said. UN
nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi has condemned Iran’s “disproportionate and
unprecedented” move.
Tehran’s move, known as “de-designation”
of inspectors, is allowed; member states can generally veto inspectors assigned
to visit their nuclear facilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
and each country’s safeguards agreement with the agency governing inspections.
Source: dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.dawn.com/news/1777217/saudi-ties-with-israel-will-betray-palestinians-fears-raisi
-------
Saudi Arabia calls for reform of global
cooperation frameworks ahead of Summit of the Future
September 21, 2023
SARAH GLUBB
NEW YORK: Saudi Arabia on Thursday
called on the international community to reform multilateral cooperation
frameworks to better take into account the concerns and needs of all states,
including developing countries.
“We need more-influential and
more-effective multilateral mechanisms … and international development that
will be supported as we work toward a world that is more just and more
peaceful,” said Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the
78th UN General Assembly session in New York, at a ministerial meeting to
prepare for the Summit of the Future in September 2024. The UN describes the
upcoming summit as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enhance global
cooperation to tackle critical challenges, address gaps in global governance,
reaffirm existing commitments, including to the UN’s charter and Sustainable
Development Goals, and establish a multilateral system better positioned to
positively affect people’s lives.
Prince Faisal said the summit aims to
help overcome the challenges that undermine global hopes for a better future,
and stressed the need to reaffirm shared principles and intensify consultations
to agree a mutual vision that can “improve the world for our populations.”
UN bodies need to be included in the
reforms process, he added, in particular the Security Council, which “must be
expanded and more representative in nature,” and that implementation of the
Sustainable Development Goals through international partnerships must be high
on the list of topics for discussion at the event next year.
“The Global Sustainable Development
Report for 2022 noted the significant progress made by the Kingdom because we
have prioritized sustainable development as a priority for the Saudi Vision
2030,” the prince told the meeting.
“The Kingdom is working tirelessly,
through its membership in international organizations and blocs, to revitalize
the path of development in relations between countries, to support better
understanding and better cooperation.”
He said constructive relationships that
rely on dialogue to resolve differences, and cooperation in establishing
security and stability, offer a path toward achieving comprehensive
development.
“International cooperation frameworks
must be facilitating and supportive of partnership and cooperation, resistant
to the pressures of competition and polarization, and discouraging any calls
that spread hatred between peoples, disrespect for religions, and fuel
extremism and terrorism,” said Prince Faisal.
The summit will also take into account
the comprehensive nature and specificity of human rights concepts, he added,
while also addressing inherent rights such as the rights to development and
food, preservation of the pivotal role of the family, and reject of contempt
for or belittlement of religions.
Thursday’s meeting provided an
opportunity for ministers to set out their visions and priorities for the
Summit of the Future, and to outline their expectations for the action-oriented
outcomes that can be achieved when the heads of state and government meet next
year.
The summit aims to build on a two-day
Sustainable Development Goals summit that took place on Monday, and breathe new
life into the multilateral system so that it can deliver on the promises of the
UN Charter and the organization’s 2030 agenda for a sustainable future.
“The Summit of the Future is a unique
opportunity to help rebuild trust and bring outdated multilateral institutions
and frameworks into line with today’s world, based on equity and solidarity,”
said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
“But it is more than an opportunity; it
is an essential means of reducing risks and creating a safer and more peaceful
world.”
During the summit, UN member states are
expected to adopt a Pact for the Future that covers five main issues:
sustainable development and related financing; international peace and
security; science, technology, innovation and digital cooperation; youth and
future generations; and transforming global governance.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2378316/saudi-arabia
--------
Drugs seized, arrests in Jeddah and Asir
September 22, 2023
JEDDAH: Saudi authorities seized a large
cache of drugs in Jeddah and Asir on Friday.
The Jeddah Traffic Department arrested
two Yemeni nationals for selling 300 kg of qat, and border guards in Asir
thwarted an attempt to smuggle 57,600 prescription pills into the Kingdom.
Qat leaves are chewed for their
stimulatory effects.
The Saudi government has urged anyone
with information related to suspected smuggling operations or customs
violations to call the confidential hotline 1910, the international number 00
966 114208417, or email 1910@zatca.gov.sa. Reports notifying the authorities of
suspected cases of drug smuggling are treated with strict confidentiality.
Financial rewards are offered for tips leading to arrests.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2378511/saudi-arabia
-------
2-year jail and SR20000 fine for expat
convicted of manufacturing adulterated veterinary products
September 21, 2023
RIYADH — A specialized court in Dammam
awarded two years in prison and a fine of SR20000 to an expatriate who was
convicted of manufacturing and possessing adulterated and unregistered
veterinary preparations. He was also found guilty of manufacturing and printing
packets for containers of veterinary preparations with the intention of fraud.
The expatriate was caught by criminal
investigation officers from the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) during
their inspection tour in the city of Dammam, while transporting veterinary
preparations in an unrefrigerated car with a high temperature without having
thermal maps and temperature gauges, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
It was found in the examinations of SFDA
that the expatriate sales representative possessed unregistered veterinary
pharmaceutical preparations, and used raw materials to manufacture veterinary
preparations, such as a spray for treating parasites and eye diseases of
animals. The results of the analysis showed that they did not comply with the
technical regulations, in addition to purchasing empty containers in commercial
quantities for the purpose of filling these preparations without obtaining
regulatory licenses.
The authority stressed that the
possession, manufacture, formulation and marketing of any veterinary
preparation without obtaining the necessary regulatory licenses is considered a
violation of the provisions of the Veterinary Products Law in the Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC) countries and its executive regulations, based on Article 27 of
the law.
This article stipulates that anyone who
deceives in a veterinary preparation or attempting to do so, or selling,
possessing, manufacturing, or preparing a veterinary mixture that is
adulterated, damaged, expired, or in violation of the regulations of the
preparation, or making, printing, possessing, selling, or displaying containers
or wrappers for a specific veterinary preparation with the intention of fraud
is considered as an act of violation.
After carrying out the necessary
investigation, the Public Prosecution in the Eastern Province referred the case
to the competent court, which issued the verdict. The SFDA called on the public
to report violations of establishments under its supervision by calling the
unified number 19999 or through the Tameni application
Source: saudigazette.com.sa
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/636059/SAUDI-ARABIA/2-year-jail-and-SR20000-fine-for-expat-convicted-of-manufacturing-adulterated-veterinary-products
--------
Africa
Independence Day: Mali's Junta Cancels
the Festivitiesin The Face of Rising Tensions in The North of The Country
September 22, 2023
Mali's ruling junta has cancelled the
festivities planned to mark the anniversary of independence and is considering
mobilising reservists in the face of rising tensions in the north of the
country.
In a speech to the nation on Thursday,
the head of the junta, AssimiGoïta, assured the nation that the defence and
security forces would "once again be deployed throughout the
country".
He added: "After ten years of the
presence of foreign forces on our soil, we understood that the logic was rather
to maintain insecurity and keep us dependent. This is the fundamental reason
why the Malian people have decided to take their security into their own
hands."
The Malian military are counting on
Russia's help to re-establish their sovereignty, even though vast stretches of
land remain outside their control.
AssimiGoita took advantage of his speech
to express his gratitude to Russia: "I would like, on this occasion, to
salute Mali's sincere partners, in particular the Russian Federation, whose
efforts and support have been extremely useful to us in preserving our
sovereignty in a national, regional and international context marked by
multi-faceted tensions against a backdrop of divergent views".
Tuareg-dominated groups resumed
operations against the Malian army in the north in September after months of
tension with the government. They had signed a peace agreement with the central
government in 2015 that was supposed to put an end to the hostilities sparked
by the independence and Salafist insurrections of 2012.
Source: africanews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.africanews.com/2023/09/22/independence-day-malis-junta-cancels-the-festivities/
-------
Tunisia arrests cartoonist over drawings
mocking prime minister
22 September, 2023
The Tunisian public prosecutor has
ordered the detention of cartoonist Tawfiq Omrane over drawings mocking the
prime minister, his lawyer Anas Kadoussi told Reuters on Thursday.
Omrane is well known for publishing
satirical cartoons of President Kais Saied, who seized almost all powers two
years ago after he shut down Tunisia's elected parliament in a move that the
opposition described as a coup.
Source: newarab.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.newarab.com/news/tunisia-arrests-cartoonist-over-drawings
-------
West’s ‘plundering’ of Africa blamed for
migrant crisis
September 22, 2023
UNITED NATIONS: The head of the Central
African Republic on Thursday accused the West of triggering the migration
crisis on his continent by pillaging its natural resources through slavery and
colonisation.
Taking the podium at the UNGA, Faustin
Archange Touadera addressed the migrant crisis on the Italian island of
Lampedusa, where thousands of African migrants arrived last week.
“This escalation of the migrant crisis
is one of the appalling consequences of the plundering of natural resources of
countries made poor by slavery, colonisation and Western imperialism, terrorism
and internal armed conflicts,” he added.
Touadera lauded the “solidarity and the
incredible efforts” by the countries hosting the migrants, but said that Africa
must be given a greater say in solving the migrant crisis.
Italian PM urges UN to wage ‘war without
mercy’ on human trafficking
‘Without mercy’
Touadera’s statement contrasted sharply
with comments on Wednesday by Italy’s right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni,
who blamed the crisis on migrant smugglers and charged that Africa was in fact
a rich continent.
Meloni urged the UN to launch a “global
war without mercy” against migrant smugglers while addressing at the UNGA.
She said that Italy, which next year
heads the Group of Seven wealthy democracies, was ready to lead efforts against
the “slave traders of the third millennium.” “Can an organisation like this
which reaffirms in its founding document the faith in the dignity and worth of
human beings turn a blind eye to this tragedy?” she asked.
“I believe it is the duty of this
organisation to reject any hypocritical approach to this issue and wage a
global war without mercy against the traffickers of human beings,” she said.
Meloni put the blame on human traffickers, calling them a “mafia”.
Source: dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.dawn.com/news/1777231/wests-plundering-of-africa-blamed-for-migrant-crisis
-------
Sudan leader urges UN to designate RSF a
‘terrorist’ group
September 22, 2023
WASHINGTON: The military leader of
Sudan, Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, has called on the international community
to declare the Rapid Support Forces a “terrorist” group responsible for war
crimes in the country.
Al-Burhan, president of the Transitional
Sovereign Council of the Republic of Sudan, said during his speech Thursday at
the UN’s 78th General Assembly debate in New York, that the RSF and its allied
tribal militias have committed “horrendous crimes” against civilians in West
Darfur and other parts of the country.
He accused the RSF and its allies of
committing “war crimes” and “crimes
against humanity.”
“These groups have committed rape,
looted property, seized citizens’ homes and properties, looted banks and
destroyed public hospitals and buildings,” he said.
“I would like to reiterate our demand to
the international community to designate the RSF and their allied militias as
terrorist groups in order to protect the Sudanese people and the world,” he
said.
The war in Sudan broke out in April when
the RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who was formerly allied with Al-Burhan,
began fighting in a bid to gain control of the country.
At least 5,000 people have been killed
since the start of the conflict and over 12,000 wounded, according to the UN
and international agencies. Tens of thousands of Sudanese became refugees in
neighboring countries as a result of the fighting.
The UN Special Envoy for Sudan Volker
Perthes, who resigned from his position last week, had reportedly claimed that
there were at least 13 mass graves in and around Geneina, the capital of West
Darfur’s province.
Al-Burhan has rejected claims that the
battle between his forces and the RSF was a civil war.
“Some characterized this war as an
internal war between two parties, however the aggression by the RSF was not
only against the armed forces, but it extended to all state components,” he
said.
Al-Burhan said his government has used
every opportunity to seek an end to the conflict, including attending meetings
hosted by Saudi Arabia, with the participation of the US, Turkiye and South
Sudan.
“The rebels have refused every solution
to the crisis.” Instead they are “destroying the state and committing
genocide,” he said.
Despite the seemingly intractable
situation, Al-Burhan said he remains hopeful of reaching a peaceful resolution
to the crisis.
“Till this day we extend the hand of
peace to stop this war and the suffering of the Sudanese people,” he said.
Al-Burhan said he remains committed to
civilian rule through democratic elections.
“We are still committed to our previous
pledges to transfer power to the people of Sudan and that the armed forces
would leave politics once and for all,” he said.
Dagalo, the leader of the RSF, said in a
statement on Thursday, coinciding with Al-Burhan’s UN speech, that he is “fully
prepared for a ceasefire and to engage in comprehensive political talks for an
end to its civil conflict with the armed forces.”
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2378476/middle-east
--------
Nigerian journalist found dead three
days after declared missing
Mohammed Babangida
September 21, 2023
A veteran radio reporter in Zamfara
State, Hamisu Danjibga, has been found dead in a soakaway pit in his house
three days after he was declared missing.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered from a family
source who asked not to be named, that the journalist was declared missing on
Sunday.
Mr Danjibga worked with the Voice of
Nigeria (VON) for several years before his death.
“I was informed by his family that he
had not been seen since morning, so I started calling his line but it was
unreachable. We couldn’t get him throughout that day,” he said in a phone
interview.
The source said Mr Danjibga’s family
informed the Correspondent Chapel and later the police.
The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ)
confirmed the death of the journalist in a statement.
“Zamfara State Council of the Nigeria
Union of Journalists regret to announce the death of Hamisu Danjibga a reporter
with Voice of Nigeria (VON) whose body was found in a sock away behind his
house three days after missing.
“The discovery of his corpse was a
result of an unpleasant odour observed by Islamiya Children in the evening of
Wednesday 20th September 2023 who drew the attention of their teachers.
“After breaking the soak away the body
was confirmed to be that of Danjibga by his family and some neighbours. His
funeral rites have since been observed according to Islamic injunctions,”
Ibrahim Ahmad, the NUJ secretary in Zamfara State said.
The union called on security agents to
thoroughly investigate the matter and bring the perpetrators of the act to
justice.
In his lifetime as a reporter, Mr
Danjibga was praised for his style of reporting. Several of his colleagues said
his “broadcast voice” gave him an edge over others in the industry as he spent
over three decades as a reporter.
Mr Danjibga reported extensively on the
widespread insecurity in Zamfara State.
“May God forgive Hamisu Danjibga his
shortcomings…. His main concern was the security situation, unknown to him that
it would be the reason for his death…,” Ibrahim Zauma, the immediate former
Director General of New Media at the Zamfara Government House said.
When contacted, the police spokesperson
in Zamfara State, Yazeed Abubakar promised to get back to this reporter but has
not done so for hours.
Source: premiumtimesng.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/nwest/627275-nigerian-journalist-found-dead-three-days-after-declared-missing.html
-------
Kenya Marks 10th Anniversary of Deadly
Westgate Mall AttackKilling More Than 60 People
September 21, 2023
On Thursday Kenyans gathered to
commemorate the deadly attack on September 21, 2013, infamously known as the
Westgate Mall attack.
_"Innocent lives were lost, and our
sense of security was shattered. But today, as we gather to remember those who
were taken from us too soon, we also gather to celebrate something much more
powerful than the senseless of violence that befell us a decade ago. We gather
to celebrate the resilience of our nation. “Jeremy Van Tongeren, Chairman,
Kenya Security Industry Association said.
On that day, a four-man commanded team
raided the upscale Westgate shopping mall in the Kenyan capital, throwing
grenades and firing indiscriminately on shoppers and business owners, killing
anyone on sight.
A four-day siege ensued during which
Kenyan security forces launched a series of assaults to retake the mall and
subdue the attackers. 67 people were killed, and more than 150 people injured.
"I hope that it won't happen again.
I'm still scared sometimes. I still have that flashback, like today I'm really
remembering the people that passed away, but I'm also remembering that I have
this chance to live and I’m grateful yes, and I pray."
The attack was claimed by Al-Shabaab in
retaliation for Kenya's military intervention in southern Somalia in 2011. Only
two people have been convicted over the atrocity, receiving separetly a 33 and
a 18-year prison sentence .
Source: africanews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.africanews.com/2023/09/21/kenya-marks-10th-anniversary-of-deadly-westgate-mall-attack/
-------
After Niger coup, sanctions pain strikes
at shutdown Benin border
September 21, 2023
Lines of hundreds of trucks stretch back
many kilometres close to Benin's northern border with Niger, their cargo
wasting and their drivers going broke after weeks stranded at the closed
frontier.
Almost two months since a coup ousted
Niger's president, the trucks blocked in Malanville at Benin's border are the
most striking symbol of the fallout Niger's neighbours are suffering from
sanctions imposed on Niamey.
After 15-member West African bloc ECOWAS
banned trade with Niger and threatened military action to restore democracy,
the new junta also blockaded a bridge border crossing with Benin.
Nigerien driver Mahamat Kabirou Amadou
left Benin's economic capital Cotonou for Niamey 50 days ago and now sits stuck
in Malanville.
Not only has the coup and border closure
cut him off from his country and family, but weeks of rain and sun have rotted
his cargo of rice.
"We are tired and sick. We've let
our assistants go because we were starting to run out of enough cash," the
35-year-old driver said. "We gradually sold all the diesel in our tanks
just to eat."
ECOWAS -- the Economic Community of West
African States -- imposed hefty sanctions against Niger after rebel elite
soldiers on July 26 overthrew Mohamed Bazoum, the democratically elected
president.
Negotiations to restore civilian rule
have yet to bear fruit, with the junta demanding a three-year transition and
ECOWAS calling for Bazoum's immediate return.
Wary of long transitions after coups in
Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, ECOWAS says a possible intervention in Niger is
still a last option.
Already one of the world's poorest
nations, the sanctions are squeezing Niger hard. Food prices have spiked about
21 percent, with the UN warning more people are at risk of severe food
insecurity.
Earlier this month, the UN said 7,300
tons of food aid destined for Niger was stuck in transit because of border
closures.
Malanville now resembles a parking lot
packed with container trucks and buses that once transported passengers cross
the border.
Drivers sleep under trucks, play cards
and try to endure the seemingly endless wait for a resolution.
Nearby, on the bridge connecting
Malanville with Gaya in Niger, four container trucks blockade the bridge and
sandbags reinforce the military positions there.
"Our boss's money is finished.
Hunger is getting to us," said Koudjegah Justin, 18, a Togolese driver’s
assistant. "We ask the Beninese government to help us by opening the
border. We want to cross."
Regional fallout
Niger shares southern frontiers with
ECOWAS members Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Benin, but it is also a major trading
route with other nearby members of the bloc such as Togo, Ghana and Ivory
Coast.
ECOWAS sanctions suspend all commercial
transactions with Niger under the control of a military junta.
For Ghana, the sanctions have caused a
shortage of onions as Niger was a key exporter in West Africa. It also hit
supplies of beans and millet.
Before the coup, a 100-kilo (220-pound)
sack of onions was selling at US$61 in Ghana, but now it is $105. About 20
trucks would arrive daily from Niger at AdjenKotoku Onion market near Accra
before. Now only a few can make the trip.
"Most of them are stuck at the
borders," said Yakuba Akteniba, president of an onion sellers association.
"By the time most of them get here the onions are already rotten. It’s
killing our business."
Traders in Nigeria's northern border
communities with Niger also said they were feeling the economic fallout.
"The last two months have been
particularly hard for our town due to the near collapse of trade," said
Mohammed Aliyu, a trader in the border town of Illela, Sokoto state.
"We rely on cross-border
interactions for our mutual survival but that has been cut."
A trickle of drivers would take illegal
routes to make it over the border, he said.
A bag of rice which cost 28,000 naira
($36) before the border closure now sells for 42,000 naira. Local markets also
sourced much of their livestock from Niger.
'Too much suffering'
With the land route from Niger to Benin
closed, many have turned to informal motorised canoes and boats ferrying
passengers across the River Niger that divides them.
Prices for the 30-minute journey have
jumped tenfold on high demand, operators said.
Boats used to transport fuel across the
river, but that trade has dried up due to increased security presence, so
operators say they are making the most of the border closure.
Boats transport everything they can fit
in -- motorbikes, food, livestock, people. Moto-taxis and cars wait on
riverbanks to transport passengers.
"It's the only way to get to the
other side now," said Chabi Nourou, a baggage handler. "There is
really too much suffering."
Source: africanews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.africanews.com/2023/09/21/after-niger-coup-sanctions-pain-strikes-at-shutdown-benin-border/
--------
IOM: Libya flood disaster displaces over
43,000 people
22 Sep 2023
DERNA, Sept 22 — Libya’s flood disaster,
which killed thousands in the city of Derna, also displaced more than 43,000
people, the International Organization for Migration said yesterday.
A tsunami-sized flash flood broke
through two ageing dams upstream from the coastal city after the Mediterranean
Storm Daniel lashed the area on September 10.
It razed entire neighbourhoods, sweeping
untold thousands of people into the sea.
The official death toll stands at more
than 3,300 — but the eventual count is expected to be far higher, with
international aid groups giving estimates of up to 10,000 people missing.
“An estimated 43,059 individuals have
been displaced by the floods in northeastern Libya,” the IOM said, adding that
a “lack of water supply is reportedly driving many displaced out of Derna” to
other areas.
“Urgent needs include food, drinking
water and mental health and psychosocial support,” it said.
Mobile and internet services were
meanwhile restored after a two-day disruption, following protests Monday that
saw angry residents blame the authorities for the high death toll.
Authorities had blamed the
communications outage on “a rupture in the optical fibre” link to Derna, but
some internet users and analysts charged there had been a deliberate
“blackout”.
Tripoli-based Prime Minister Abdelhamid
Dbeibah announced that communications had been restored in the east, in a post
on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday.
War-scarred Libya remains split between
Dbeibah’s UN-backed and nominally interim government in the west, and another
in the disaster-hit east backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
‘Arrests of critics’
The eastern authorities “must
immediately lift all undue restrictions... and facilitate the delivery of
humanitarian aid to all affected communities”, Amnesty International said in a
statement on Thursday.
The rights group, citing witnesses,
reported “arrests of critics and protesters” in Derna, decrying “efforts to
choreograph and control media access” to the disaster-hit city.
The dams that burst had developed cracks
as far back as the 1990s, Libya’s top prosecutor has said, as residents accused
authorities of negligence.
Much of Libya’s infrastructure has
fallen into disrepair in the chaos since a Nato-backed uprising toppled and
killed dictator MoamerKadhafi in 2011.
Haftar’s forces seized Derna in 2018,
then a stronghold of radical Islamists, and with the reputation as a protest
stronghold since Kadhafi’s days.
The US embassy in Libya said the
ambassador Richard Norland and the commander of the US military’s Africa
Command, Michael Langley, flew into the main eastern city of Benghazi on
Thursday with 13 tonnes of aid.
The “critical supplies” in the shipment
included blankets, hygiene products and emergency shelters, the embassy posted
on X.
Africom chief Langley and Norland also
met with Haftar “to discuss the importance of forming a democratically elected
national government, reunifying the Libyan military, and safeguarding Libyan
sovereignty by removing foreign mercenaries”, the embassy said.
The Tripoli-based government said
security forces had located bodies between Derna and Al-Baida, to its west,
with emergency responders dispatched to the area to recover them.
A team from the Abu Dhabi police force
specialising in identifying disaster victims arrived in eastern Libya to assist
operations.
The mission includes experts in forensic
medicine, and DNA and fingerprint identification, team leader Issa Ahmad
al-Awadhi told reporters.
In a televised interview on Wednesday
evening, Libya’s prosecutor general Al-Seddik al-Sour promised “rapid results”
in the investigation into the cause of the tragedy.
He added that those suspected of
corruption or negligence “have already been identified”, without naming them.
Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa
deputy director, Diana Eltahawy, said there was “an urgent need to establish
the facts and circumstances surrounding the staggering loss of life and
destruction”.
“This includes examining whether Libyan
authorities and those in de facto control of affected areas failed to protect
the population’s rights to life, health and other human rights,” Eltahawy said.
— AFP
Source: malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2023/09/22/iom-libya-flood-disaster-displaces-over-43000-people/92251
-------
South Asia
650 Mujahideen Graduated from 207
Al-Farooq Army Corps Training Center
2023-09-21
KABUL (BNA): Six hundred and fifty
Mujhaideen graduated from 207 Al-Farooq Army Corps training center on Thursday
during a special ceremony after undergoing three months of military training,
according to a statement.
According to a Defense Ministry
statement, the graduation ceremony was attended by Mufti Latifullah Hakimi, the
Ministry of National Defense’s chief inspector, Sheikh Mawlawi Noor Ahmad Islam
Jar, the governor of Herat, and Mawlavi Nasrullah Mati, the commander of the
army corps.
The graduates expressed their desire to
serve the Islamic Emirate and the people before receiving their certificates.
Source: bakhtarnews.af
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://bakhtarnews.af/en/650-mujahideen-graduated-from-207-al-farooq-army-corps-training-center/
--------
IEA Rejects UNAMA’s Prison Report as
Baseless
2023-09-21
KABUL (BNA): Zabihullah Mujahid, the
spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, has dismissed a report by
the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) as baseless and
propagandistic. The report pertains to the conditions in Afghan prisons.
In a statement, Mujahid strongly
rejected UNAMA’s allegations of mistreatment and coercion in Afghan detention
centers and prisons.
He emphasized that no individual,
whether in detention centers, prisons, or any military or civil institution of
the country, is permitted to harass others.
The statement further highlighted that
the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Emirate has expressly forbidden any form of
beating or harassment without a court order.
All departments are adhering to this
directive.
Mujahid asserted that prisoners in the
Islamic Emirate’s prisons are provided with all necessary services, including
vocational training and good facilities. He denied any claims of prisoner
suffering.
The statement also criticized UNAMA for
its silence during the occupation of Afghanistan when innocent prisoners were
beaten and tortured in Bagram, Pul-e-Charkhi, and other prisons.
Mr. Mujahid claimed that under the new
administration, the situation has significantly improved.
Prisoners are no longer subjected to
harassment or torture and are provided with all necessary services, including
the opportunity to meet their relatives.
In conclusion, Mujahid dismissed reports
about prisoner harassment as propaganda against the Islamic government of
Afghanistan.
Source: bakhtarnews.af
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://bakhtarnews.af/en/iea-rejects-unamas-prison-report-as-baseless/
--------
Traffic accident kills 1, injures 1 in
Afghanistan’s Badghis
Fidel Rahmati
September 22, 2023
A traffic accident in Badghis,
Afghanistan’s western province, resulted in one person’s death and another
person getting injured, according to the provincial police.
Sadiqullah Sadiqi, the spokesperson for
the security department of Badghis, announced on Thursday, through a
newsletter, that this incident occurred this morning in the fourth district of
“Qal’ah-e-Naw” city.
According to officials, this accident
occurred due to a collision between a motorcycle and a Coaster-type motorbike.
So far, one person’s death and another’s injury in this incident have been
confirmed.
Traffic accidents have increased in
various parts of the country in recent months.
Previously, following the overturning of
a motorbike in the “Sang-iBuridah” area, the centre of Kapisa province, ten
family members were injured.
According to experts, several critical
factors contribute to traffic accidents in the country.
Reckless driving, excessive speeding,
road defects, and failure to comply with traffic laws are among the primary
causes. These issues highlight the urgent need for improved road safety
measures and increased awareness about responsible driving practices in
Afghanistan.
Addressing these factors is crucial to
reducing the frequency and severity of traffic accidents in the country.
Promoting responsible driving behaviours, maintaining roads, and enforcing
traffic regulations will help to create safer road conditions and prevent
unnecessary accidents.
Source: khaama.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.khaama.com/traffic-accident-kills-1-injures-1-in-afghanistans-badghis/
-------
Iran is not a safe haven for
Afghanistan’s opponents: Iranian Diplomat
Fidel Rahmati
September 22, 2023
During a meeting with the Minister of Hajj and
Islamic affairs, Iran’s Deputy Ambassador in Kabul said that Iran has always
stood alongside the Afghan people and is not a safe haven for Afghanistan’s
opponents.
Sheikh Noor Mohammad Saqib, the Minister
of Hajj and Islamic affairs, met with Mr. Seyed Hasan Mortazavi, the Deputy
Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in Kabul to strengthen religious
and cultural relations between the two countries.
The Iranian Deputy Ambassador in Kabul
emphasized that Afghanistan and Iran are Islamic countries with a long history
of relations.
Mr Mortazavi clarified, “Iran is not a
safe haven for Afghanistan’s opponents.”
The press release issued by the Ministry
does not provide much detail about the purpose of the Iranian Deputy
Ambassador’s discussion with Afghanistan’s opponents.
Mr. Mortazavi also invited the acting
minister of Hajj to participate in the 37th International Islamic Unity
Conference in Iran.
During this meeting, Mr. Saqib pointed
out, “Fortunately, good coordination has been established in the relations
between the two countries, and these relations must develop further and
strengthen.”
Meanwhile, Iran is among the countries
whose diplomats have interacted most with the Taliban administration in the
past two years.
Source: khaama.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.khaama.com/iran-is-not-a-safe-haven-for-afghanistans-opponents-iranian-diplomat/
--------
Thousands of Afghans Returned Via Spin
Boldak Over Past Month: Officials
September 21, 2023
Thousands of Afghan refugees have
returned via Spin Boldak crossing over the last month as since Pakistan's
increasing repressive measures against Afghans, local officials in Kandahar
told TOLOnews.
Some of the returnees said that they
have been tortured and mistreated by the Pakistani police over the past
two-months.
Abdul Matin, a resident of Spin Boldak,
said that he had taken a family member who was
ill to Quetta in Pakistan for medical treatment but was detained. Abdul
Matin said that he lost the vision of one eye after he was harshly beaten by
the Pakistani police.
“I was walking when I turned my face,
they punched me in the eye from behind. They were dragging me and said go back
to the Chaman area (crossing). I told them, "how can I go back to Chaman,
you get the water out of my eye,” he said.
The Afghan refugees who returned from
Pakistan said that the detention of Afghans in Pakistan has significantly
increased in the recent months.
“They were oppressing us. They were
knocking on doors and would storm into the houses,” said Abdullah, a returnee.
The officials in Kandahar said that
around 6,600 Afghan refugees have returned to the country through Spin Boldak
crossing. At least 240 of them were detained by Pakistan before being deported
to Afghanistan.
“The conditions of our refugees in
Pakistan have deteriorated. They are being deported by the Pakistani government
and their houses are being raided,” Agha said.
This comes as Pakistan has recently
detained scores of Afghan refugees with many of them suffering from severe
health conditions in the country’s prisons.
Source: tolonews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-185203
--------
Tanzim Hasan Sakib is the victim of a
sexist culture
Sep 22, 2023
Aasha Mehreen Amin
The first time I saw cricketer Tanzim
Hasan Sakib's social media posts, I laughed incredulously at the inanity of his
declarations: that a working woman ruins the family and society. Apparently,
the poor young man forgot that his country was being run by a woman; that
practically everything would stop if women refrained from working outside the
home. What would happen to education if all female teachers dropped out? What
would happen to the highest remittance earner – the readymade garment industry
– if all the female garment workers went on strike? What would happen to
patients if all the female nurses and doctors decided to stay home? What would
happen to all the formal and informal sectors that are filled with women if,
suddenly, they disappeared?
Of course, one should not be too harsh
on a 20-year-old who probably grew up being exposed to patriarchal definitions
of the role of women – definitions reinforced by some religious clerics, some
of whom base their sermons on spewing hateful tirades against women. In a
society where outdated cultural practices are confused with religious piety, it
is hard for boys (and girls) to accept (enlightened) concepts that seem to
contradict regressive ideas in the garb of religious diktats. Which is why I am
no longer angry at this young man and am trying my best not to judge those men
who actually lauded, instead of condemned, his misogynistic statements in the
viral posts. In fact, I feel sorry for Tanzim, who obviously has a lot of
potential as a cricketer, but as a young person has been shortchanged by the
society he lives in. Tanzim – who said in a post that men marrying women who
are used to "free-mixing at addas" would be depriving their children
of a "modest" mother – is a victim of the toxic masculinity prevalent
in his surroundings.
Reminding Tanzim and the ardent
supporters of these posts that we are living in the 21st century, a time when
women working is an integral part of development, that even the most revered
prophet of Islam (PBUH) had married a working woman who had her own business,
may prove to be futile. Prejudice, after all, precludes logic or reason, and
conveniently ignores truth. Prejudice, moreover, is weaponised to brainwash
human beings and control them. Religion, having the greatest influence on
people, can be used and distorted to serve the purpose of certain groups to
control and dominate others.
The biggest threat to patriarchy is
women who have minds of their own, and therefore, they "must be
controlled." And, of course, it is the men who must exercise this control
over women's bodies, minds and movement; whether they are wives, sisters,
daughters, daughters-in-law, or women in general. Even the idolised mothers are
not spared from the shadow of control. Otherwise, heaven forbid, they will
start thinking independently and believing that they should be treated as equal
human beings. Worse, if they start going out of the house and working, the very
structure of society will break down and men will be rendered powerless.
The fear of being emasculated is the
driving force behind male chauvinism, which is unfortunately also internalised
by many women who have been brainwashed by the system. Thus, women resign to
giving up their education, their jobs, and their dreams in order to conform to
the patriarchal society they live in. Usually, they don't have a choice. And
when they become mothers they continue the legacy, turning their sons into
entitled chauvinists who are then influenced by the male role models in their
lives – fathers, older brothers, peers, religious clerics, and so on. The
mothers of these entitled sons become mothers-in-law who unleash the legacy of
patriarchy on their daughters-in-law – and the cycle goes on.
It is therefore hard to change people's
mindsets, which have been formed through centuries of mind-control; mindsets
that are allowed to flourish even while the tide of progress is rising. I will
be audacious enough to say that, in Bangladesh, while women have moved forward
and become active drivers of development, the mindsets of the majority have
stayed stagnant or even regressed into the dark ages.
Women are not allowed to reach their
potential because they are constantly held back by archaic, sexist cultural
perspectives that have been blended into religious narratives, making them
almost impossible to be phased out. So when a misguided sporting star chooses
to post sexist views that demean working women, they get overwhelming
endorsement from like-minded men.
If I were to make Tanzim realise just
how inaccurate those posts are, I would tell him to look around him and see who
these working women are. I would tell him about Noorjahan Begum, who worked for
more than 50 years as a cook because she had to fend for herself and her
children after her husband remarried when she was still a teen. I would tell
him about Rashida, who worked as a day labourer for years after she was widowed
and had to raise her four children. I would tell him about Chameli, who saved
up money from working as a domestic worker and bought two cows so that her
husband, a farmhand who often refuses to work, could work them in the fields
and sell them during Eid to buy food for their two daughters. I would also let
him know of the thousands of women garment workers, bankers, lawyers, doctors,
nurses, NGO workers, caregivers, and women in almost every sector he can think
of, who go to work not only to financially support their husbands, parents,
children, and in-laws, but also because they are equal citizens of an
independent country and have the right to choose to work or not to work.
Source: thedailystar.net
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/views/news/tanzim-hasan-sakib-the-victim-sexist-culture-3424986
-------
Memorial meeting for journalist Quamrul
Islam Chowdhury tomorrow
21 Sep 2023
DHAKA, Sept 21, 2023 (BSS) - A memorial
meeting remembering senior journalist and former news editor of national news
agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) Quamrul Islam Chowdhury will be held
at 4pm at the Jatiya Press Club (JPC) here tomorrow.
The meeting, organized by Forum of
Environmental Journalists of Bangladesh (FEJB), will be held at the Tofajjal
Hossain Manik Mia Hall of the JPC on Friday at 4pm, family sources said.
Quazi Shahnaz, wife of the late
journalist, has requested his friends, colleagues and well-wishers to be
present at the meeting to reminisce his memories and pray for the eternal peace
of his departed soul.
Quamrul, the pioneer of environmental
journalism in Bangladesh, died of liver ailment at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib
Medical University (BSMMU) Hospital on May 2 this year.
He served as the former general
secretary of Jatiya Press Club and earned his repute as a financial journalist
as he made his debut in the 'Daily Sangbad'.
He was also the general secretary and
president of FEJB and represented Bangladesh in several international
conferences on environment and climate change at home and abroad.
Source: bssnews.net
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.bssnews.net/news/148597
--------
Southeast Asia
Malaysia And Turkiye Condemn Quran
Burning, Hate Speech Against Muslims
22-09- 2023
NEW YORK: Malaysia and Turkiye have
expressed deep concern about the increasing hatred and acts of violence against
Muslims and their sanctities, that have reached an alarming level in many parts
of the world, especially Europe.
In a joint statement, Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan underlined
the emergence of a new form of racism characterised by xenophobia, negative
profiling and stereotyping of Muslims.
Both leaders condemned in the strongest
terms the recent incidents of the burning of copies of the Holy Quran in
several European countries based on the argument of freedom of expression as
well as a discourse that incites abuse, hate speech and aggression against
Islam and Muslims.
They both welcomed the adoption of the
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 76/254 to declare March 15 as
“International Day to Combat Islamophobia”, which stresses that terrorism and
violent extremism cannot and should not be associated with any religion,
nationality, civilisation or ethnic group.
“We also welcome the urgent debate at
the 53rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) to discuss the alarming
rise in premeditated and public acts of religious hatred as manifested by the
recurrent desecration of the Holy Quran, and the adoption of HRC resolutions
defining the burning of holy books as religious hatred,” the statement read.
Both leaders are in New York to attend
the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly and held a bilateral meeting at the
Turkish House yesterday.
Anwar said Turkiye will implement the
strategies at activity locations in Europe and the Middle East and Malaysia
will do so in Asia. “A series of conferences were organised before this and
they will continue (to be held). Further discussions on efforts against
Islamophobia will continue to be pursued during Erdogan’s visit to Malaysia in
December,” he said.
Anwar said in addition to conferences
and explanatory sessions, efforts to address prejudice and extreme attitudes
towards Islam in the global community through publications would be done, and
one of the ways is by publishing 100,000 copies of the Quran in various
languages.
“This includes 15,000 copies translated
into Swedish, which have been sent to that country. Copies of the Quran have
also been distributed in Australia and the United States as well as learning
centres, universities and mosques,” he said.
Source: thesundaily.my
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.thesundaily.my/local/m-sia-turkiye-condemn-quran-burning-hate-speech-against-muslims-JH11522685
-------
Largest Buddhist temple structure
unearthed in Bukit Choras, dating back 1,200 years
Adie Zulkifli
September 22, 2023
YAN: The National Heritage Department
and Universiti Sains Malaysia's Global Archaeology Research Centre (GARC) have
announced the discovery of the largest Buddhist temple structure in Bukit
Choras, dating back 1,200 years.
The team led by GARC chief researcher Dr
Nasha Rodziadi Khaw has also discovered two well-preserved life-sized statues
made of stucco (a type of plaster), with architectures identical to ancient
Srivijaya Kingdom artifacts discovered in Sumatra and West Java, Indonesia.
National Heritage Department
commissioner Mohd Azmi Mohd Yusof hailed the finding following two-week
excavation works that began on Aug 28, as the most significant archaeology
discovery in the country since the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The most unique feature about this
discovery is that most of the artifacts are still intact, the temple still
retaining its full structure.
"We hope to make more discoveries
to bring elements into Kedah civilisation besides adding a new archaeo-tourism
product in the state.
"This is the first discovery under
a pilot project following an MoU signed between the department and 11 local
universities," he said in a press conference after visiting the site
today.
Present were USM vice-chancellor Prof
Datuk Ir Dr Abdul Rahman Mohamed, GARC director Professor Dr Stephen Chia and
Nasha.
He added that the excavation works as of
Sept 8 had exposed the whole western wall of the temple and half of its
northern and southern walls, as well as staircase structures on its base.
"The team has also discovered
inscriptions in Pallava and fragments of pottery. The site is believed to be
built between the 8th and 9th century A.D, positioning it on a similar timeline
with Bujang Valley and Srivijaya period.
"The statues and artifacts
discovered from the site will be taken back to GARC USM for conservation and
further research," he said.
The second phase of the excavation works
on the remaining structure of the temple is set to resume by December.
USM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Ir Dr
Abdul Rahman Mohamed said the university would continue working with the
National Heritage Department to carry out more excavation works at
archaeological sites to further expand archaeo-tourism products.
"There are many that are still to
be explored in Bujang Valley as we need more time to carry out excavation
works.
"More importantly, these
discoveries shall enable us to review historical events written by the western
historians," he said.
Meanwhile, Nasha said the findings had
raised new questions on the cultural relationship between Lembah Bujang and
other ancient civilisations in Southeast Asia.
"This site is special because most
of the archaeology sites were discovered in Bujang Valley that are located
south of Gunung Jerai, namely along Sungai Merbok and Sungai Muda.
"Bukit Choras is the only site
located in the north of Gunung Jerai and totally isolated. We were surprised by
the discovery of the biggest Buddhist ancient temple site.
"This suggests that there was a
huge population nearby this hill which used to be cape prior to the
sedimentation process which pushed the current coastline to some 8km away from
here. We hope to make more discoveries soon," he said.
Source: nst.com.my
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2023/09/958333/largest-buddhist-temple-structure-unearthed-bukit-choras-dating-back-1200
--------
Muslim NGOs want Jawi to investigate
Bersatu’s Radzi, Mubin over offensive remarks against PM Anwar
22 Sep 2023
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 ― Two Muslim
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have called for the Federal Territory
Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) to investigate the action by Bersatu
vice-president Datuk Radzi Jidin and another person for allegedly making
offensive remarks categorised as a qazaf offence against Prime Minister Datuk
Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
National Muslim Students Association
Malaysia president Ahmad Farhan Rosli described the action by the two
individuals as inappropriate because of the nature of the qazaf offence which
is serious and wrong in Islam.
“So today, we have submitted two reports
to Jawi regarding several cases of qazaf accusations made either on social
media or publicly under Section 41 of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal
Territories) Act 1997.
“We hope that Jawi will evaluate the
matter and take appropriate action,” he said when met by reporters at the lobby
of the Jawi building here today.
The section states that a person who
makes a false statement against another person shall be guilty of an offence
and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding RM5,000 or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both, upon conviction.
He said the report against Radzi was
over the accusation hurled at Anwar during a heated exchange when the prime
minister, who is also the finance minister, was winding up the debate on the
motion of the 12th Malaysia Plan Mid-Term Review in the Dewan Rakyat last
Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Muslim Youth Movement of
Malaysia (ABIM) vice-president Zairudin Hashim lodged a report to Jawi
regarding a post on the Facebook account of former political secretary to Datuk
Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, Mubin Salleh, whose full name is Mohd Hafez Mubin Mohd
Salleh, which contained offensive words against Anwar.
Zairudin said it is not wrong to differ
in politics but to avoid slandering another person of qazaf.
“This is not a common offence because it
involves Islamic law and as Muslims, avoid making it a normal practice or
posting on social media such a slander,” he said.
Also present were Federal Territory ABIM
secretary Khairul Fahmi Helmi Muharor, Federal Territory ABIM president Muhamad
Aliemran Norasid and ABIM activist Ainol Azril AinolZaffery. ― Bernama
Source: malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2023/09/22/muslim-ngos-want-jawi-to-investigate-bersatus-radzi-mubin-over-offensive-remarks-against-pm-anwar/92325
-------
Perak police refer report on Ipoh Timur
MP’s alleged Quranic verse misinterpretation to Bukit Aman
By John Bunyan
22 Sep 2023
IPOH, Sep 22 — A police report on Ipoh
Timur MP Howard Lee Chuan How, as lodged by a non-governmental organisation
(NGO) for allegedly coming up with his own interpretation of Quran verses, will
be referred to Bukit Aman, said Perak police chief Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan
Basri.
He said the report was referred to the
police headquarters as the initial report on the matter was made in Kuala
Lumpur.
“Yes, we received a report yesterday
from an NGO relating to a video involving the Ipoh Timur MP. So far, we only
have received one report regarding this case in Perak.
“We have referred this report to the
initial report which has been made at the Jalan Tun Razak police station in
Kuala Lumpur.
“The case is being investigated by Bukit
Aman’s Classified Crime Investigation Unit (USJT),” he told a press conference
at the Perak police headquarters here.
When asked if Lee would be called to
give statement over the matter, Mohd Yusri said it will be decided by Bukit
Aman.
Yesterday, Sinar Harian reported that
Jalinan Bersatu Sahabat (Jabat), a local NGO, had lodged a police report
against Lee over the matter at the Manjoi police station here.
Perak Jabat president Amiruddin Mohd
Daud said the police report was made in order to request an investigation into
Lee for allegedly insulting Islam.
Amiruddin said that any matters related
to the interpretation of the holy verses of the Quran should only be
interpreted by those who are experts in the field, and not non-Muslims.
Similarly, Perak PAS Youth chief Hafez
Sabri also criticised the DAP leader for interpreting and distorting the
meaning of verse 59, surah an-Nisa through a video uploaded on the TikTok
account belonging to the member of Parliament.
Hafez said Lee’s speech in the video was
very superficial and contained elements of extreme provocation against the
purity of Islam.
He said that Lee’s actions can be
categorised as an offence under the Sedition Act 1948 and Section 223 of the
Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
Source: malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2023/09/22/perak-police-refer-report-on-ipoh-timur-mps-alleged-quranic-verse-misinterpretation-to-bukit-aman/92289
--------
'Soft heart, hard head': Shanmugam says
Singapore relies on hard facts and compassion over drugs, death penalty
21 Sep 2023
SINGAPORE, Sept 21 — When it comes to
its stance on drugs and the death penalty, Singapore takes on a “soft heart,
hard head” approach by looking objectively but with compassion at data on the
impact of illicit drugs.
“For public policy making... you need a
hard head to analyse, understand facts. You need a soft heart because you need
to have compassion,” Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said yesterday.
He was speaking during a dialogue
conducted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and National Youth Council.
Addressing about 80 youths aged between
15 and 35, Mr Shanmugam explained the rationale for Singapore’s stance on drugs
and the death penalty.
On the “soft heart, hard head” approach,
Mr Shanmugam said that this approach is through the Government’s policy that
looks at hard facts, yet has compassion towards the victims of drugs.
Showing a video by United States
broadcaster NBC News of infants suffering from severe withdrawal symptoms and
children found in drug dens as examples of these victims, he asked: “Who cries
for these children?”
He also noted that Singapore has changed
its stance on drug abusers, investing in rehabilitation programmes and not
treating them as criminals for their drug consumption should they not have
committed other crimes.
The issue of Singapore's continuing
tough stance on cannabis in particular has come to the fore in recent times
with significant developments overseas. In Thailand, for example, cannabis has
been made completely legal and is widely available.
In Europe, many pharmacies sell
pharmaceutical products over the counter containing some ingredients of the
cannabis plant with medicinal value. These countries include Spain and France.
Youths at the dialogue were polled about
whether they felt the death penalty is an effective deterrent in safeguarding
Singapore against serious crimes such as drug trafficking.
The results were: Nearly two-thirds, or
64.4 per cent, said "yes", 22.4 per cent were neutral while the rest
said "no".
As the dialogue came to a close, the
moderator asked for a show of hands of those who had changed their views on the
death penalty.
About 20 youths raised their hands
though it was not clear whether they had shifted from anti-death penalty to
support or the reverse.
Two youths who attended the dialogue
told TODAY that while they were originally neutral towards the death penalty’s
effectiveness, they now feel the death penalty is somewhat of an effective
deterrent.
Singapore a target for drug traffickers
Mr Shanmugam said that Singapore was a
target for drug traffickers due to its busy port and high average income.
Showing examples of how drugs have
impacted other countries which take on soft stances towards it — such as
increased crime and deaths — Mr Shanmugam said Singapore must avoid this.
This is not to say the Government does
not review its stance regularly, he said, pointing to amendments made in 2019
such that drug abusers who do not commit other crimes no longer face long-term
imprisonment or have a criminal record.
He also took aim at international media
outlets and activists who have framed the death penalty as inhumane given that
drug traffickers are executed by the state, as they “do not talk about lives we
saved”.
On why the death penalty is used, Mr
Shanmugam said that the number of kidnappings, firearm offences and amount of
drugs trafficked had dropped after the death penalty was introduced. The death
penalty applies to these offences.
He also said that based on an MHA 2021
study from people in the region, 87 per cent believed that the death penalty
deterred people from trafficking substantial amounts of drugs into Singapore.
Adding that two-thirds of Singaporeans
felt that the mandatory death penalty was appropriate for drug trafficking
based on the 2021 study, he said it is a sign Singaporeans believed the penalty
plays a strong role.
Supposing that public opinion turned
against the death penalty, Mr Shanmugam said that it is on public policymakers
to persuade the public, not deceive it, that it works.
Singaporeans could also vote out the
Government of the day, or they could bring pressure to bear to try to persuade
the Government to change its policy.
Youths question about morality, clemency
Youths asked Mr Shanmugam about the
death penalty, including whether the studies he cited as evidence of the impact
of illicit drug use on one’s mental health is accurate.
One youth, who cannot be named as
"Chatham House rules" applied, said that the studies used showed an
association between cannabis usage and mental health, but not a correlation.
Under Chatham House rules, participants
may disclose information that emerges during a discussion, but not the identity
of the person disclosing the information.
Mr Shanmugam responded that the studies
come from reputable sources such as the National Institutes of Health.
One youth asked about the moral and
ethical implications of capital punishment, to which Mr Shanmugam said that
thousands of lives are saved when Singapore executes a few people.
“You say you shouldn’t execute. I
respect that position. I’m not saying it's wrong,” he replied.
“But it’s a position based on
ideology... I come from a slightly different value, which is a state’s
obligation to ensure safety and security within Singapore and to save lives.”
Mr Shanmugam repeated this message of
needing to balance compassion and hard facts in response to one youth’s
question about when the Cabinet recommends clemency.
“(It has to be in) very exceptional
circumstances. Something has happened after the penalty is imposed, in some
circumstances where their physical health is deteriorating substantially,” he
said, adding this is a matter of 'soft heart, hard head'.
If Singapore were to give clemency for
unexceptional reasons, drug kingpins may find people with a similar profile to
act as drug mules as they would be spared death should they be found guilty of
drug trafficking, increasing drug trafficking here, he said.
Speaking to TODAY after the event,
22-year-old Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University student Rodney
Lim said that it was interesting to see the viewpoints of other youths who
agreed and disagreed with the death penalty.
As for 17-year-old Republic Polytechnic
student Putra Aqid, gaining deeper insights into how the death penalty can save
lives was something he took away.
However, he was interested in one
youth’s suggestion during the dialogue that policymakers should speak to people
on death row, so they could gain an understanding of how the policy impacts
people directly. — TODAY
Source: malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.malaymail.com/news/singapore/2023/09/21/soft-heart-hard-head-shanmugam-says-singapore-relies-on-hard-facts-and-compassion-over-drugs-death-penalty/92210
-------
Indonesia protesters set fire to mayor’s
office in mining company demo
22 Sep 2023
GORONTALO, Sept 22 — Protesters have set
fire to a mayor’s office on an Indonesian island to demand compensation over a
mining company’s activity in their area, police said, adding that several
arrests had been made.
The growing presence of mining companies
on Indonesia’s main islands has caused riots and clashes in recent years over
poor working conditions and land encroachment.
The unrest began Thursday in Pohuwato
regency in Gorontalo province on mineral-rich Sulawesi island when a march
involving some 2,500 protesters approached the local mayor’s office but no
official was willing to meet with them, according to local media reports.
Community activists had organised a
march to demand compensation over gold mining activity in their area by PT
PuncakEmas Tani Sejahtera, a subsidiary of PT Merdeka Copper Gold which
oversees the Pani Gold Project mine.
“Regarding the demo, the police are
still working hard to investigate the riot that happened during the
demonstration in Pohuwato,” Gorantalo police said on its website late
yesterday, quoting spokesman DesmontHarjendro.
After the mayor’s office was set on
fire, protesters headed to the local parliament to stage another demonstration,
where the building was also damaged, according to reports.
Harjendro said “several protesters” were
detained and that police were guarding the sites.
“They will be questioned regarding the
violent demonstration that ended in the destruction of several facilities
including the burning of Pohuwato mayor’s office,” he said.
He warned other protesters they would be
arrested if they engaged in violent attacks or damaged public property.
Boyke Poerbaya Abidin, president
director of Merdeka Copper Gold and PT PuncakEmas Tani Sejahtera, criticised
the demonstrators.
“We deeply regret the incident and we
condemn the violent acts by the irresponsible protesters that has caused
damages,” he said in a statement Thursday.
He said the mining project was operating
on a government-approved licence. — AFP
Source: malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2023/09/22/indonesia-protesters-set-fire-to-mayors-office-in-mining-company-demo/92322
--------
Europe
Quran burnings put Sweden’s global
stature at stake
SEPTEMBER 22, 2023
After a series of Quran burnings this
year, Sweden has seen heated debates at home and outcry in the Muslim world,
along with risks to its economic and geopolitical interests. It has also
grappled with a more fundamental question: can freedom of speech coexist with
tolerance?
Sweden today has about 10.5 million
inhabitants, of which some 20 percent are born abroad, including over 14
percent from countries outside the European Union. Of these, there are an
estimated 800,000 Swedes with Muslim religious or cultural backgrounds – many
of them who now feel offended by the recent burnings.
In January, Rasmus Paludan – a
Danish-Swedish, anti-immigrant politician– carried out a high-profile Quran
burning outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, leading to protests in
several Muslim countries. Weeks later, Swedish police denied applications for
two public gatherings to hold Quran burnings outside the Turkish and Iraqi
embassies, again involving Mr. Paludan.
Authorities stood their ground, pointing
to the risk of terrorist acts in retribution if the burnings were allowed to be
carried out. A security review concluded that Sweden’s threat assessment was
affected by previous Quran burnings, and that the risk of future attacks would
be escalated further. Nevertheless, the decisions to reject the two
applications were appealed. Both the Administrative Court and the Court of
Appeals sided against the police: the threats to order and security alleged by
authorities needed a clearer connection to the planned gatherings or their
immediate surroundings to justify a refusal of permission. Police are now
exploring whether burning a Quran outside a mosque can be deemed incitement
against an ethnic group.
Legal experts are divided over whether
and how Sweden could seek to limit the burning of holy books.
In June, Salwan Momika, an Iraqi man,
carried out a Quran burning outside a mosque in Stockholm, and several similar
actions followed. This provoked more protests against Sweden abroad, demands
from Muslim countries to ban Quran burnings and even warnings from al-Qaeda in
terrorist propaganda.
The terror threat level in Sweden has
now been raised to “high,” fourth on the five-point scale, owing not to any
specific event but increased risks over time in the wake of the burnings,
according to Swedish security forces. The government has also analyzed the
legal situation surrounding Quran burnings and similar actions linked to
Sweden’s security.
Who is behind the burnings?
Of the 10-plus million Swedes, only a
few have applied to burn religious books. One of them is Mr. Paludan, the
Danish-born lawyer and right-wing extremist. In addition to the episodes this
year, he provoked riots in several Swedish cities in the spring of 2022 after
burning copies of the Quran during an “election tour” for his political party,
Stram Kurs (“Hard Line”).
Over Easter weekend, he visited various
cities, leaving riots, vandalism and violence in his wake, mainly directed at
the police. Over 300 incidents were reported, over half considered severe or to
seriously affect the police working environment. Several people have already
been sentenced or prosecuted for their involvement in the riots, and
investigations are ongoing regarding tens of further suspects. Along with
Salwan Momika, an Iraqi with a Swedish residence permit, these two men account
for the majority of all applications to demonstrate in the form of Quran
burnings. No native-born Swedes have applied so far.
Mr. Momika is a Christian Iraqi who came
to Sweden in 2018 and received refugee status three years later. Since then, he
has been active on social media, spreading publicity about his Quran burnings.
There is also media speculation about his background in an Iraqi militia with
close ties to Iran. He has claimed he burns the Quran because he wants the
scripture banned in all of Sweden and will continue until that goal is reached.
He has added that he “does not want [his] demonstration to be negative to Sweden’s
request to join NATO.”
Mr. Paludan’s rationale has more to do
with singling out the presence of Muslims as a major problem and pressuring
them to leave the country. He describes Islam as being incompatible with the
West. Referring to the Turkish president, he has declared, “The way I see it,
[Recep Tayyip] Erdogan is a liar, and it is his fault that it is necessary to
burn a Quran to teach him how freedom of speech works.”
The underlying motivations and financial
backing (aside from social media revenues) for the incidents are very unclear.
Some have claimed that Russia is somehow behind the burnings, in a bid to
disrupt Stockholm from joining NATO. Another theory blames Iran, seeking to
pressure Sweden into a prisoner exchange. A third charges Sweden with generally
being hostile to Muslims, seeing it as a legitimate target for terrorism. More
personal for Mr. Paludan is anti-immigrant sentiment – and, for Mr. Momika, perhaps
a desire to express a greater freedom of opinion than offered in his country of
birth, Iraq. Both appear to be driven by hatred toward Muslims and the Quran.
Regardless of the reasons, the events have reverberated outside of Sweden.
Reactions outside Sweden
Many Muslims reacted in anger to the
incidents. President Erdogan threatened once again to stop Sweden from joining
NATO. In Iraq, the Swedish embassy in Baghdad was attacked by locals, and in
Beirut, Lebanon, similar attempts were made but failed. At one point, an
official at the Swedish consulate in Izmir, Turkey, was seriously injured.
In July, Iraqi Communications Minister
Hayam al-Yasiri announced a ban on business with all Swedish companies. This
came after Iraq revoked a work permit for the telecommunications company
Ericsson and its employees operating in the country. This was later resolved,
and Ericsson and other Swedish businesses were able to continue their Iraqi
operations.
All this led the foreign ministers of 57
Muslim countries to urge the Scandinavian countries to take tough action. The
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation said it “deplored the recurrence of acts of
desecration [of the Quran] and deeply regrets … [the] failure to take the
necessary measures to prevent such acts in Sweden and Denmark.” It called on
members to take “measures they deem appropriate,” including recalling their
ambassadors for consultation.
Today, threats are also coming from
violent Islamist groups such as al-Qaeda and others. The organization published
threats on its official media channel, describing Sweden as a small, despicable
country and calling on Muslims to take “revenge” over the Quran burnings.
Domestic debate
Within Sweden, the media is regularly
filled with commentary on the Quran burnings: arguments for and against
granting the permits, defenses of freedom of expression, security assessments
and various proposed solutions. Muslims in Sweden organized a large, quiet and
dignified counterdemonstration, without a fight. Many Swedes argue that just
because burning scripture is protected by the constitution, that does not mean
one has to do so. It is seen as a matter of respect for another’s culture.
Legal experts are divided over whether
and how Sweden could seek to limit the burning of holy books. Prime Minister
Ulf Kristersson has said that his government is not looking at limiting free
speech, but is examining how to factor national security considerations into
the demonstration permitting process.
In a debate about Quran burnings,
Archbishop Martin Modeus stated that while Christian theology does not back
limits on the freedom of speech, it does support restricting hatred worldwide.
The bishop expressed deep compassion for Muslims and emphasized sanctity,
respect and freedom of speech as three of the most important values in weighing
the issue. Cultures differ in what they consider sacred; freedom of speech laws
vary between states. But the desire to receive and give respect unites most
people.
Freedom of speech is not the problem,
but disrespect and hate. It is impossible to legislate against bad judgment.
Moreover, those who advocate hate are inventive: if one path is blocked, they
inevitably find another. The practice of respect is vital for any good society,
and most agree that very few individuals actually want to spread hatred. In a
healthy society, freedom of expression should be combined with respect and
space for the sacred.
Disinformation from other countries has
escalated since the Quran burnings. Many actors in Muslim countries, as well as
in Russian media, have claimed that the Swedish government and Swedish society endorsed
the burnings. Nothing could be more false; permits are issued by police, who
cannot deny a protest because of its ideological content. What is often left
out of the debate is that Sweden has welcomed many thousands of Muslims over
the past decades, including the very Iraqi who burned a Quran this summer.
Source: gisreportsonline.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/sweden-Quran/
-------
European action day against
Islamophobia: Assessing the ongoing struggle of Muslims
September 21, 2023
As September 21 is marked as the
European Action Day against Islamophobia, we are confronted with an unsettling
reality: Europe has become a breeding ground for anti-Islam hatred.
Islamophobia remains a pressing issue
across the European countries, impacting society at large, and challenging the
government to address its multifaceted nature./ Photo: AA Archive
Islamophobia remains a pressing issue
across the European countries, impacting society at large, and challenging the
government to address its multifaceted nature./ Photo: AA Archive
From the beginning of the school year to
the peak of summer, during election campaigns, or even international sports
events like the FIFA World Cup, Islamophobia consistently infiltrates public
discourse across Europe.
Year after year, the realms of politics
and media entertain notions about the intentions of European Muslims, speculate
about their practices, delve into their beliefs, and scrutinise their
interactions with others. These depictions, sometimes absurd and often deeply
troubling, carry significant consequences.
They narrow the expression of Islamic
faith to a myopic lens of nationalism or security, where every aspect of Islam
is at risk of being misconstrued as inherently threatening to the national
order.
In recent years the surge in influence
of far-right ideologies reverberated across Europe. Within this context, Muslim
communities often became the focal point of the rhetoric of this political
current, which regarded them as unwelcome in Europe, leading to increasingly
extreme forms of dehumanisation.
As we observe the European Action Day
Against Islamophobia today, let's briefly examine some European governments
that have garnered notoriety for their implementation of Islamophobic measures,
bans, and policies.
In the UK, 8,730 cases of religiously
aggravated hate crimes were reported in 2022, representing a 37 percent
increase compared to the year before. Among these incidents, 3,459, accounting
for 42 percent of all cases categorised as hate crimes, targeted individuals of
Muslim faith and background.
Research also reveals that Muslims rank
as the second least-liked group in the UK, following only Roma and Irish
Travellers.
Approximately 26 percent of the
population holds negative sentiments toward Muslims, with over 18 percent
supporting a complete ban on Muslim immigration to the UK.
Beyond the concerning statistics that
highlight a distressing increase in hate crimes against Muslims in the UK, the
government's tactics appear to not only downplay Islamophobia’s significance
but also contribute to its persistence within state institutions, particularly
through the UK's contentious counter-terrorism strategy.
For example, while previous British PM
Liz Truss promised to adopt a "zero-tolerance" approach to
Islamophobia, Rishi Sunak, in contrast, largely overlooked the matter, choosing
instead to defend one of the government's most controversial counter-terrorism
strategies, Prevent. Sunak emphasised a shift in focus toward countering the
threat of "Islamist extremism."
Counter-extremism strategy, PREVENT
Prevent, as part of the UK's
counter-terrorism strategy, claims to operate in a pre-crime space and
intervenes before any criminal intent, often affecting individuals who have
never contemplated criminal actions.
However, it has faced criticism for
scapegoating British Muslims, and targeting vulnerable individuals, including
children as young as 3-4 years old: “The current counter-extremism strategy, we
argue, divides the population; it scapegoats British Muslims, encourages
suspicion, and it damages community cohesion.”
“Most importantly, it targets our most
vulnerable and important members of society – our children – placing their
education and self-development under a security lens,” says Prevent Watch,
which is a community-led initiative supporting people impacted by Prevent Duty.
Despite the limited available data
provided by the government , a consistent and concerning pattern emerges,
clearly indicating an undue focus on Muslims.
The majority of individuals referred to
Prevent are Muslim, with over 65 percent of referrals being Muslims in 2016.
This includes nearly 2,000 Muslim children. This stark disproportionality
stands in stark contrast to the fact that the Muslim population in the UK
comprises less than 5 percent. Alarmingly, this disproportionate targeting of
Muslims lacks accountability.
Further exacerbating the issue, a
substantial portion of Prevent funding has been channelled into 'Muslim areas,'
often referred to as 'priority areas.' This approach means that all Muslims in
a given area are viewed through the narrow lens of counter-terrorism,
inadvertently leading to the creation of what can be termed as 'suspect
communities.'
In sum, Islamophobia remains a pressing
issue in the UK, impacting society at large, and challenging the government to
address its multifaceted nature.
France: Lack of statistics and the
systemic obstruction policy
While the French government's recent ban
on wearing long modest dress, the abaya, in schools has garnered widespread
attention as a glaring example of Islamophobia, it is merely a single facet of
France's broader problematic stance towards Muslims and Islam.
France not only fails to combat
Islamophobia but actively sponsors it through various laws and policies. Among
these is the Systemic Obstruction Policy, initiated by the French government in
2018, aimed at countering so-called 'radical Islam,' and the Anti-Separatism
Law, adopted in 2021 to reinforce France's secular system, which has faced
criticism from the UN for its marginalisation of Muslims.
Under the Systemic Obstruction Policy,
the French Interior Minister, Darmanin, openly stated that its purpose was to
intimidate the Muslim community, resulting in a sustained assault on civil
society and a curtailing of civil liberties.
To illustrate the extent of the state's
targeting of Muslim communities, French government data reveals that in less
than four years, approximately 24,000 Muslim-owned associations, charities, and
businesses faced unjustified investigations. Of these, 718 were compelled to
close, with 46 million euros confiscated from the Muslim community.
While the Ministry of Interior has yet
to release official data, the Collective Against Islamophobia in Europe (CCIE,
Collectif Contre l’Islamophobieen Europe) reported a staggering 501 incidents
in France in 2022 alone, further highlighting the pressing issue of
Islamophobia within the country.
Germany: Rise in racist attacks and
under-reporting
Germany, a nation with a population
exceeding 84 million, boasts the second-largest Muslim community in Western
Europe, trailing only behind France. Official figures suggest that over 5
million Muslims call Germany home.
However, for many Muslims in Germany,
racism is an unfortunate aspect of their daily lives, with women frequently
bearing the brunt of recorded cases.
The Collective for Countering
Islamophobia in Europe (CCIE), a NGO based in Belgium founded in 2020 stresses
that a significant number of Islamophobic incidents remain under-reported,
resulting in a substantial gap in statistical reporting due to a lack of trust
in institutions.
The issue of under-reporting, coupled
with certain countries strategically choosing not to collect or publish
relevant statistics, exacerbates the trivialisation of anti-Muslim racism, as
highlighted in the CCIE’s annual report on Islamophobia in Europe.
In 2022, a total of 898 documented
anti-Muslim incidents occurred in Germany, with a high number of unreported
cases, as indicated in a June situation report by the Berlin-based
non-governmental organization, the Alliance Against Islamophobia and Muslim Hostility.
Among these documented incidents, 500
involved verbal attacks, ranging from inflammatory statements and insults to
threats and coercion. Eleven threatening letters were sent to mosques,
containing "often excessive threats of violence and death" and
featuring Nazi symbols or references to the Nazi era.
Furthermore, racially motivated attacks
on young people and children are on the rise, with instances of women being
assaulted in front of their children and pregnant women subjected to kicks or
blows to the stomach.
According to the same report, the actual
number of unreported cases is substantial due to limited media coverage.
Therefore, there is a pressing need for the expansion of reporting structures
and increased awareness of the issue among authorities, schools, and the
healthcare sector.
The European Action Day against
Islamophobia on September 21 serves as a vital reminder of the enduring
challenges confronted by Muslim communities throughout Europe.
The establishment of this day as a means
to draw attention to this pervasive issue, initiated in 2014 by the Council of
Europe, marks a promising start.
However, it's imperative for European
countries and EU institutions to build upon this foundation and take more
proactive steps towards holding member states accountable for their efforts in
combating Islamophobia.
Source: trtworld.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.trtworld.com/europe/european-action-day-against-islamophobia-assessing-the-ongoing-struggle-of-muslims-15067575
---------
Zelensky says Ukraine may lose – top US
senator
22 Sep, 2023
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky
has pegged his nation’s continued fight against Russia to sustained US military
assistance, according to US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“There was a single sentence that summed
it all up, and I am quoting him verbatim. Mr. Zelensky said: ‘If we don’t get
the aid, we will lose the war,’” the lawmaker told journalists after meeting
Zelensky on Capitol Hill on Thursday.
The Biden administration has requested
an additional $24 billion in spending for Ukraine, but this proposal faces
resistance from Republican lawmakers. A group of over two dozen GOP senators
and representatives sent a letter to the White House on Thursday, expressing
concerns about the allocation of funds and seeking clarification on the
progress of the counteroffensive.
“The American people deserve to know
what their money has gone to. How is the counteroffensive going?” the letter
read.
Are the Ukrainians any closer to victory
than they were 6 months ago? What is our strategy, and what is the president’s
exit plan? What does the administration define as victory in Ukraine?
The message was penned after Biden
officials briefed Congress behind closed doors on Wednesday evening about their
plans for Ukraine. Senator Josh Hawley, a skeptic of the White House’s policy,
said the executive branch wanted indefinite funding with no clear path to a
Ukrainian victory.
“What was it, $24 billion? That is not
the end, they made it very clear. It’s not close to the end,” he said of the
briefing. “What we were basically told is ‘Buckle up and get out your
checkbook.’”
While bipartisan support for funding the
Ukraine war remains intact, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has faced resistance
within his party, according to US media. He opted for a private meeting with
Zelensky during his visit to Washington, D.C., instead of convening a formal
House session.
During its summer ongoing
counteroffensive, the Ukrainian military has encountered strong Russian
resistance and suffered significant losses in manpower and weaponry, resulting
in a failure to make substantial territorial gains. Both the Zelensky government
and the White House have shifted their messaging to emphasize slow but steady
progress in the long term.
Source: rt.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.rt.com/russia/583381-zelensky-aid-defeat-schumer/
------
France accused of threatening press
freedom
21 Sep, 2023
The arrest this week of a journalist in
France, in connection with their reporting in 2021 that French intelligence had
been used by Egypt to kill civilians – could be viewed as an infringement of
press freedom, Amnesty International has said.
“To put in police custody a journalist
for doing her job, moreover for revealing information of public interest, could
be a threat to freedom of the press and confidentiality of sources,” Katia
Roux, freedoms advocacy officer at Amnesty International France, said on
Tuesday according to Reuters. Roux added that she was “very worried” by the
development.
The comments followed the arrest earlier
on Tuesday of Ariane Lavrilleux, who spent the night of September 19 in custody
for questioning as part of an investigation by France’s domestic intelligence
agency, the DGSI, into potentially compromising national security.
The investigation stems from a series of
reports by Lavrilleux, which cited leaked classified government information in
alleging that Egyptian authorities had used French intelligence to kill
smugglers in an operation on the border between Egypt and Libya, between 2016
and 2018. Lavrilleux claimed in her reporting that French intelligence had been
used in “at least 19 bombings” in which civilians had been killed.
The French investigative journalism
website Disclose, which originally published Lavrilleux’s articles,
acknowledged at the time that the allegations included sensitive national
security details. However, the publication said it had a duty to publish “in
the name of a fundamental principle of democracy: the right to information.”
The website also argued that the concept
of some information being classified “cannot be invoked to protect a campaign
of arbitrary executions against civilians.”
Virginie Marquet, a lawyer representing
both Lavrilleux and Disclose, said shortly after the journalist’s arrest that
the investigation “risks seriously undermining the confidentiality of
journalists’ sources.”
However, the French ministry for the
armed forces, in an official legal complaint filed in the aftermath of the
reports, said Lavrilleux and Disclose had violated “national defense secrets”
and jeopardized a “protected agent.”
Source: rt.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.rt.com/news/583360-france-journalist-press-freedom/
------
Serbian President compares Russia's
attack on Ukraine to bombing of Yugoslavia
22 SEPTEMBER 2023
Aleksandar Vučić, President of the
Republic of Serbia, has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has used the
same narratives and explanations for his attack on Ukraine as NATO countries
did when they launched their military operation against Yugoslavia.
Source: Aleksandar Vučić during the
general debate of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on 21
September; European Pravda, with reference to Ukrinform news agency
Quote: "For the first time,
unprecedented in world history, the most powerful 19 countries made a decision,
without involvement of the UN Security Council, I repeat, without any decision
by the UN Security Council, to brutally attack and punish a sovereign country
on the European soil, as they had said, to prevent a humanitarian disaster.
They did not laugh out loud when the
Russian president used the very same words justifying his attack against
Ukraine. They forgot that they themselves had used the same narrative, the same
words and the same explanations."
Details: Aleksandar Vučić said that
Serbia "do support it and will keep supporting" Ukraine's territorial
integrity, "because we do not change our politics, we do not change our
principles, regardless of centuries-long traditional friendship with the
Russian Federation".
"To us, every violence is the same,
any violation of the UN Charter is the same, regardless of the strength of the
power that exerts it or the inevitably similar excuses made for it illegal and
immoral behaviour," the Serbian leader said.
Source: pravda.com.ua
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/09/22/7420929/
-------
Pakistan
Pakistan, Muslim World League agree to
explore solutions of issues facing Muslims
September 21, 2023
Pakistan and Muslim World League have
agreed to explore solutions of issues facing the Muslims in the World.
The understanding came at a meeting
between Minister for Religious Affairs Aneeq Ahmed and Muslim World League
Secretary-General Dr Mohmmad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa in Riyadh.
The Minister highlighted the urgent need
to strengthen the unity and perception of the Muslim Ummah on the globe.
Both the leaders also expressed their
mutual desire to promote dialogue and poster understanding about Islam and
Muslims.
Source: radio.gov.pk
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.radio.gov.pk/21-09-2023/pakistan-muslim-world-league-agree-to-explore-solutions-of-issues-facing-muslims
-------
Another Ahmadi worship place comes under
attack in Karachi
September 21, 2023
Sameer Mandhro
KARACHI:In yet another act of vandalism,
a group of people on Thursday stormed the premises of an Ahmadi place of
worship located in Karachi’s Martin Road area, a spokesperson for the community
said.
According to Amir Mehmoid, the unknown
miscreants vandalised the minority community's worship place in a vintage area
of Karachi, historically inhabited by a predominantly immigrant population from
India. The area was once known for its tolerance and away from the sway of
extremism.
Sharing the ordeal, the spokesperson
revealed that on Thursday morning at approximately 11:30am, a group of eight to
10 people gained access to the place of worship using a ladder and proceeded to
vandalise the belongings.
"The attack has resulted in a huge
damage to the belongings of the Ahmadis within the worship place, including
windows, glass doors, wooden doors, cameras, LED screens, tables, and
chairs," he lamented.
He further disclosed that the attackers,
in a bid to insult, defaced images of the founder of the Ahmadi community and
its present head.
"Although the police were called to
the scene, the miscreants had already fled by the time they arrived," he
claimed, adding that efforts were underway to register a case regarding the
incident.
A similar attack occurred in the same
area on January 18. During this earlier incident, approximately eight to 10
people attacked the minarets, desecrating them and causing damage to the
worship place's building.
Read More: Ahmadiyya community’s local
head convicted of blasphemy in Algeria
The spokesperson said that in the
aftermath of this prior attack, the community had registered a case with the
Jamshaid Quarters police station under FIR No. 29/23. “But, unfortunately, no
action was taken and according to our knowledge no arrest was made in this
regard,” he regretted.
He urged the authorities to take
immediate action against the culprits responsible for the recent attack on
their worship place, expressing deep regret that due to previous inaction,
these miscreants had once again targeted their place of worship.
Notably, this marks the fifth incident
of its kind within a span of nine months where an Ahmadi worship place has been
subjected to such an attack.
”Not only were the properties
vandalised, but the minarets were also partially damaged, bearing a resemblance
to the incident that occurred on January 18, 2023," he disclosed.
Source: tribune.com.pk
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2437048/another-ahmadi-worship-place-comes-under-attack-in-karachi
--------
PML-N voted for extension in return for
help with Imran problem: Rana Sanaullah
Zulqernain Tahir
September 22, 2023
LAHORE: As the top leadership of the
PML-N continues to rail against the former generals, in an apparent bid to
reclaim their “vote ko izzat do” narrative before going into elections, a key
leader confessed on Thursday that the party had supported an extension for
former army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa in order to contain PTI Chairman Imran
Khan’s onslaught.
“Voting for Gen Bajwa’s extension [in
2020] was a tactical move by the party to fight the fitna (anarchy),” former
interior minister Rana Sanaullah said during an appearance on Samaa TV on
Thursday, using a term he frequently employs to refer to the PTI chief.
The former army chief’s extension became
a bone of contention between the judiciary and the PTI regime in 2019 when the
top court suspended then-PM Imran Khan’s notification, granting Gen Bajwa an
extension. After much legal wrangling, the court had allowed the general to
continue in office for six months after the government assured it that it would
legislate to provide legal cover to this ‘grey area’.
Eventually, in early 2020, parliament
had unanimously passed amendments to the Army Act that cemented the extension,
with the PML-N being among the parties that voted for it.
This was Mr Sanaullah’s second outburst
against the former top brass in as many days. A day earlier, he had assailed
former generals Bajwa and Faiz Hameed, declaring them “national criminals” and
demanded action against them. “The way the PML-N brought Gen Pervez Musharraf
to justice, it will do the same to [both men],” he had said on Wednesday.
He had also reinforced party supremo
Nawaz Sharif’s recent statement, seeking ‘strict accountability’ of former
generals and judges, saying that it was a policy statement on behalf of the
party.
In an online address to party ticket
holders in Lahore a couple of days ago, the elder Sharif had said: “(Former)
chief justices Saqib Nisar and Asif Saeed Khosa were tools of former army chief
Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and his spy chief Gen Faiz Hameed. Their crime is bigger
than a murder offence. Pardoning them will be an injustice to the nation. They
don’t deserve a pardon.”
However, it should be noted that on the
same day, the elder Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz had tried to walk back some
of the venom in her father’s comments by saying that “neither he nor she
believed in taking revenge”.
Sources told Dawn that the party supremo
had told the leaders to adopt “an aggressive stance” against both Gen Bajwa and
Gen Hameed and some former and incumbent judges.
Meanwhile, a leader from the Shehbaz
camp, while talking to Dawn, said that after Mr Nawaz’s outburst, some quarters
advised the party not to take an extreme position on the matter.
Mr Shehbaz, who left for London on
Wednesday, might talk to his brother and convince him to dilute his tone.
“Mr Shehbaz never uttered a word against
Gen Bajwa since he assumed the prime minister’s office and even after leaving
the position, showing how careful he is in such matters,” the leader said.
Source: dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.dawn.com/news/1777248/pml-n-voted-for-extension-in-return-for-help-with-imran-problem-rana-sanaullah
--------
Resurrected’ graft cases back in court
Malik Asad
September 22, 2023
ISLAMABAD: Cases that were closed as a
result of amendments made in the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) by the
PDM government have been revived by accountability courts after the Supreme
Court set aside the amendments last week.
An apex court bench, headed by former
Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, had on Sept 15 declared the
amendments void and directed the NAB to revive the closed cases within seven
days.
NAB sources said that the cases had been
returned to the accountability courts of Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Quetta.
NAB prosecution submitted the record of
80 cases to the accountability court, Islamabad.
It may be mentioned that the judges of
two accountability courts were transferred as the amended law curtailed the
NAB’s jurisdiction.
Zardari, Gilani, Shaukat Aziz among
those who will be facing cases
The cases transmitted to the local
accountability court included the Park Lane case against PPP leader Asif Ali
Zardari, Universal Services Funds in which former prime minister Syed Yousaf
Raza Gilani and others are suspects, the Rental Power Projects case against NA
speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, and the case of Benazir Income Support Programme’s
former chairperson Farzana Raja.
The references against former prime
minister Shaukat Aziz and fake accounts cases against Mr Zardari and Omni
Group’s directors also stand revived.
The Supreme Court in its ordered had
directed: “The NAB and/or all other fora shall forthwith return the record of
all such matters to the relevant fora and in any event not later than seven
days from today, which shall be proceeded with in accordance with law from the
same stage these were at when the same were disposed of/closed/returned.”
It explained that Section 3 of the
Second Amendment pertaining to Section 5(o) of NAO sets the minimum pecuniary
threshold of NAB at Rs500 million and Section 2 of the 2022 amendments
pertaining to Section 4, which limits the application of the ordinance by
creating exceptions for public office-holders, were declared void ab initio.
Likewise, Section 3 of the Second
Amendment and Section 2 of the 2022 amendments pertaining to Section 5(o) and
Section 4 of the NAO were declared to be valid.
Under this provision, the persons in the
service of Pakistan have been omitted from the NAO since these persons can
still be tried under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 for the offence of
corruption and corrupt practices even if they stand excluded from the
jurisdiction of NAB.
The phrase “through corrupt and
dishonest means” inserted in Section 9(a)(v) of the NAB ordinance along with
its Explanation II was also struck down from the date of commencement of the
First Amendment for references filed against elected holders of public office.
Similarly, Section 14 was also omitted, which allowed the accountability court
to draw different evidentiary presumptions against the suspects.
Likewise, Section 21(g) of NAO was
restored from the date of the commencement of the First Amendment. The
amendment had omitted this provision, which allowed evidentiary material
transferred by a foreign government through Mutual Legal Assistance as evidence.
Consequently, Sections 10 and 14 of the First Amendment are declared void.
Therefore, “all orders passed by the NAB
and/or the Accountability Courts placing reliance on the above sections are
declared null and void and of no legal effect”, the judgement said.
Source: dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.dawn.com/news/1777250/resurrected-graft-cases-back-in-court
--------
SHC grants bail to Ranipur ‘pir’,
rejects spouse’s plea in maid’s murder case
September 22, 2023
HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad circuit bench
of the Sindh High Court on Wednesday granted protective bail to Pir Syed Fayyaz
Shah for a sum of Rs50,000 till Sept 26 but denied the same to his wife Hina
Shah though both were prime suspects in the murder case of their minor
housemaid, Fatima Furro, at their mansion in Ranipur on Aug 14.
The division bench comprising Justices
Mahmood A Khan and Zulfiqar Ali Sangi noted that counsel for Ms Shah would have
to satisfy the court first how her application could be entertained in view of
the fact that she had earlier approached the court’s Sukkur bench on Aug 17 and
was bailed for seven days but she failed to approach proper forum for seeking
relief during the bail term.
It showed that she apparently misused
the concession granted to her hence the surety she had submitted to the court
had already been forfeited for non-compliance.
The bench also issued notice to
additional prosecutor general directing him to appear in court on Sept 26 and
said that till then Fayaz Shah would not be arrested for the crime (No.126/23)
filed under Sections 302, 34, 370, 374, 328-A, 506, 171, 311, 376(3), 377 PPC
read with Section 3, 14 of the Sindh Prohibition of Employment of Children Act
2017, and Sections 6, 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act.
The applicants argued in the bail
application that the FIR registered against them was fabricated and result of
mala fide intentions of local police and the complainant. It was lodged with
ulterior motives to cause harassment, humiliation, arrest and detention of the
applicants, they said.
The applicants’ counsel said that the
alleged incident took place on Aug 14, 2023, but the FIR was lodged on Aug 16
after a delay of two days and no plausible explanation was given for the delay
in the FIR.
He said that Fayaz Shah was not
initially nominated in the FIR, his name was subsequently added by police. The
complainant had narrated a story on the basis of ‘hearsay’ and no specific role
was assigned to the applicants for causing murder of Fatima alias Saya Furro in
the FIR, he said.
The complainant did not mention in the
FIR Naseem, son of Aftab, who informed her of the death of her daughter and
even her own mobile phone number through which she received the information.
He said that according to the FIR close
circuit television camera’s footage went viral on social media but the
complainant failed to identify the person and his ID through which the footage
went viral. Ms Shah belonged to a respectable family and could not even imagine
committing such an offence, he added.
He said that police had misapplied
sections as they had no relevance to facts of the case and had been
incorporated on the sweet will of a high police official. On Aug 30, civil
judge and judicial magistrate of Sobho Dero ordered inclusion of ATA provisions
on an application of the investigating officer without applying judicial mind,
he said.
Source: dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.dawn.com/news/1777159/shc-grants-bail-to-ranipur-pir-rejects-spouses-plea-in-maids-murder-case
--------
President urges world to take notice of
Indian involvement in Sikh leader's murder
September 21, 2023
President Dr Arif Alvi has strongly
condemned the involvement of India in the murder of Canadian Sikh leader
Hardeep Singh Nijjar and urged the world to take serious note of the
state-sponsored killing on the Canadian soil.
The President in a statement said that
it had been the policy of India to persecute and eliminate the leadership of
minority groups in India and outside world.
He said the brutal murder of the Sikh
leader exposed the real face of India that has been intolerant towards the
minority groups.
The President said that India had
unleashed a reign of terror against the Muslims in Indian Illegally Occupied
Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K) and other minority communities for decades. He
regretted that the silence and the inaction of the world over the atrocities
being committed by India in the IIOJ&K and the persecution of minorities
and demolishment of their places of worhip emboldened India to carry out such
operations on foreign soil.
The President said it is an open secret
that India is the major source of trouble and de-stabilization in the region
using the soil of neighboring countries against Pakistan, false flag
operations, providing training, funding and support to the militants for
terrorist activities in Pakistan but, regrettably, the world chose to remain
silent.
Source: radio.gov.pk
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.radio.gov.pk/21-09-2023/president-urges-world-to-take-notice-of-indian-involvement-in-sikh-leaders-murder
--------
Imran summoned in ‘illegal’ nikah case
on 25th
September 22, 2023
ISLAMABAD: Judicial Magistrate
Qudratullah Thursday issued summons to former prime minister and PTI Chairman
Imran Khan for appearance in his court on September 25 in a case concerning to
his alleged ‘illegal, un-Islamic’ nikah with his third wife Bushra Bibi.
The judge has directed the Attock Jail
superintendent to present Imran in his court.
In May this year, a district and
sessions court rejected a plea challenging Imran’s Nikah.
The application, according to the court,
was “inadmissible” and fell outside its jurisdiction, but in July another
Islamabad court dismissed the civil court’s verdict.
Additional District and Sessions Judge
(ADSJ) Islamabad Muhammad Azam Khan remanded the case to a civil judge.
The petitioner, Muhammad Hanif, claimed
that Bushra Bibi was divorced by her former husband in November 2017 and
married Khan on January 1, 2018 despite the fact that her ‘Iddat’ period had
not ended, “which is against the Sharia and Muslim norms.” The complainant
submitted to the court the statement of Mufti Muhammad Saeed who solemnized the
Nikah. Imran’s close friend Aun Chaudhry was one of the witnesses.
Source: thenews.com.pk
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1112126-imran-summoned-in-illegal-nikah-case-on-25th
--------
NAB returns 26 cases to accountability
courts
September 22, 2023
Arshad Aziz Malik
ISLAMABAD/ PESHAWAR: The National
Accountability Bureau (NAB) Thursday started sending back corruption references
to the accountability courts in light of the Supreme Court’s September 15
verdict.
The apex court verdict declared certain
provisions of the National Accountability (Amendment) Act 2022 and the National
Accountability (Second Amendment) Act 2022 as ultra-vires of the constitution.
Sources in the NAB said the regional
offices of Karachi, Rawalpindi and Quetta had started submitting the references
to the accountability courts, while the regional offices of Lahore, Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa and Multan were compiling the data and would be submitting the
details to the relevant accountability courts possibly within a day or two.
Of the 80 references submitted to the
accountability courts registrar office, Islamabad, 26 have been sent to the
accountability courts, while 54 would be sent to the relevant courts on Friday
(today).
On the other hand, the judges of two of
the three accountability courts established in Islamabad would be appointed
soon, while the staff of accountability courts number 2 and 3 have been called
back.
The record of cases was brought on two
vehicles and submitted to the registrar office.
The Universal Services Funds corruption
reference against former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has been submitted to
the Accountability Court No. 2, while the rental power plant reference against
National Assembly Speaker and former premier Raja Pervez Ashraf has been
submitted to the Accountability Court No. 3. The court has summoned the
speaker.
The record of reference against a
citizen, Abdul Ali, has been submitted to the Accountability Court No. 1, while
the record of a reference filed against another citizen, Imran Mohsin, has been
submitted to the Accountability Court No 2.
The record of reference against Farzana
Raja and others concerning alleged misappropriation of Rs540 million in Benazir
Income Support Program has been submitted to the Accountability Court No. 3,
while Naudero Power Plant reference record against Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has been
submitted to the Accountability Court No 3.
A list of 80 references was given to the
Registrar Office.
According to the list, the Universal
Services Fund reference was filed against Yusuf Raza Gilani in 2018 and another
reference in 2020.
A reference was filed against former
prime minister Shaukat Aziz.
The Park Lane reference against former
president Asif Ali Zardari was filed in 2019 and another in 2021.
A reference against Raja Pervaiz Ashraf
was filed in 2015, and one in 2016 and two in 2017.
Benazir Income Support Programme
reference was filed against Farzana Raja in 2020. References against Ijaz
Haroon etc. in Kidney Hill and Abdul Ghani Majeed and Anwar Majeed are also
included in the list.
Meanwhile, in order to make the
accountability process more efficient and effective, the NAB has decided to
hire officers from the sensitive intelligence institutions.
According to sources, with the approval
of NAB Chairman Nazir Ahmed, a letter was written to the Establishment Division
a month ago for hiring the services of civil and military intelligence officers
and personnel from on deputation.
Sources said, “Besides the services of
intelligence agencies, the NAB has sought the technical services of officials
from the State Bank of Pakistan, FBR, FIA and others for investigation of
white-collar corruption inquiries.”
Sources said intelligence officers and
officials appointed on deputation will perform their duties in the NAB offices
on their own scale and salary.
In a related development, the NAB Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa has sent around 134 cases back to the accountability courts.
The Peshawar Regional Office has resumed
processing all the pending and closed inquiries which were stopped after the
parliament amended the NAB Act.
The NAB KP has sent a letter to the
registrar Accountability court-II, Peshawar.
The letter said the Hon’ble Supreme
Court of Pakistan passed a judgment on September 15, 2023, wherein certain
provisions of the National Accountability (Amendment) Act 2022 and National
Accountability (Second Amendment) Act 2022 have been declared ultra-vires,
whereas certain provisions have been declared intra-vires depending upon the
classification of the accused persons.
Furthermore, paragraph 49 of the said
judgment is of much importance seeking immediate compliance, saying that all
orders passed by the NAB and/or the Accountability Courts placing reliance on
the above Sections are declared null and void and of no legal effect.
The judgment said: “Therefore, all
inquiries, investigations, and references which have been disposed of on the
basis of the struck-down sections are restored to their positions prior to the
enactment of the 2022 Amendments and shall be deemed to be pending with the
relevant fora.”
The letter further said the Supreme
Court had directed the NAB and all accountability courts to proceed further
with the restored proceedings in accordance with the law and therefore
immediate compliance of the Supreme Court is requested.
Source: thenews.com.pk
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1112124-nab-returns-26-cases-to-accountability-courts
--------
PTI condemns fresh charges in May 9
cases
September 22, 2023
LAHORE:The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
(PTI) has vehemently opposed the introduction of new provisions in the May 9
cases and called upon the Supreme Court to take cognisance of the inclusion of
fresh allegations levelled against PTI Chairman Imran Khan and other party
members.
A PTI spokesperson, on Thursday,
underscored that the addition of new provisions in the May 9 cases represents
an attempt to shield the true wrongdoers involved in these incidents.
He urged the apex court to investigate
the inclusion of serious charges, such as sedition, in politically motivated
cases against PTI.
Furthermore, the spokesperson called for
the top court to take action against police officials involved in this misuse
of the law, as well as other prosecuting authorities.
Reiterating Imran Khan's call for a
high-level judicial inquiry to ascertain the true culprits behind the May 9
incidents, the spokesperson stressed that levelling serious charges, like
incitement to rebellion, against the leaders and members of the country's
largest party amount to a reprehensible attempt at exacting extrajudicial
revenge.
The ongoing illegal actions against PTI,
under the pretext of May 9 incidents, reveal sinister intentions aimed at
sidelining former premier and PTI from the political arena, the spokesperson
said.
He noted that more than 180 baseless
cases were filed against the PTI chairman as part of a premeditated plan.
Imran Khan, while addressing the Supreme
Court, strongly condemned the arson incidents of May 9, which the court
subsequently incorporated into its decision, the spokesperson said, adding that
despite the PTI chief’s demand for a high-level judicial inquiry into the
riots, no progress had been made to date.
In response to the Election Commission
of Pakistan's (ECP) announcement to hold elections in the last week of January,
the spokesperson censured the polls supervisory body for specifying an election
month instead of an exact date.
The spokesperson emphasised that the
Constitution mandates the ECP to conduct elections within a fixed 90-day period
after the dissolution of the assembly.
Regardless of the January date chosen by
the election commission, it will fall outside the constitutionally prescribed
90-day timeframe, he added.
The matter of holding elections within
90 days is currently before the Supreme Court, and the spokesperson underscored
that the nation cannot accept any date beyond the stipulated 90-day period
until the apex court reaches a final decision.
The election commission, the
spokesperson added, has failed to create the environment required under the
Constitution for fair, transparent, and impartial elections.
In accordance with the Constitution, the
responsibility to conduct free, fair, and impartial elections rests with the
ECP, and adhering to these principles is the only way to guide the country and
its people out of the current crisis, the spokesperson concluded.
Source: tribune.com.pk
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2437144/pti-condemns-fresh-charges-in-may-9-cases
-------
North America
CAIR-Ohio Presents on Islamophobia and
White Supremacy to High School Class
Ismail Allison
September 21, 2023
(COLUMBUS, OH, 9/21/2023) — On September
15, 2023, students in a Political Radicalism class at Worthington Kilbourne
High School had the unique opportunity to gain insights into Islam, combat
Islamophobia, and understand the challenges of white supremacy. CAIR-Ohio
Outreach Director Victoria Hickcox conducted an “Islam 101” presentation and
engaged students in a thoughtful Q&A session.
The presentation began by demystifying
Islam, sharing its core beliefs and practices. She emphasized the diversity
within the Muslim community and dispelled common misconceptions. The
presentation fostered a deeper understanding of Islam and laid the foundation
for addressing Islamophobia.
Following the “Islam 101” presentation,
students participated in a robust Q&A session. They had the opportunity to
ask candid questions about Islam, its cultural aspects, and how to combat
Islamophobia and white supremacy in their communities.
Source: cair.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-ohio-presents-on-islamophobia-and-white-supremacy-to-high-school-class/
-------
Canada's Trudeau wants India to
cooperate in murder probe, declines to release evidence
September 22, 2023
NEWYORK:Canadian Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau on Thursday called on India to cooperate with an investigation into the
murder of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia and said Canada would
not release its evidence.
Trudeau said on Monday that Ottawa had
credible allegations linking Indian government agents to the murder of Hardeep
Singh Nijjar in June, prompting an angry reaction from New Delhi. Nijjar, 45,
was a Canadian citizen.
Read More: Kashmiri, Sikh groups seek
joint strategy against India after Canada murder
Traditional Canadian allies have so far
taken a relatively cautious approach to the matter. Analysts says this is
partly because the United States and other major players see India as a
counterweight to the growing influence of China.
"There is no question that India is
a country of growing importance and a country that we need to continue to work
with ... and we're not looking to provoke or cause problems," Trudeau said
in a press conference in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations
General Assembly.
"But we are unequivocal around the
importance of the rule of law and unequivocal about the importance of
protecting Canadians."
"That's why we call upon the
government of India to work with us to establish processes to discover and to
uncover the truth of the matter."
The United States is in touch with both
Canada and India over Ottawa's allegations, U.S. national security adviser Jake
Sullivan said on Thursday, confirming for the first time that Washington was
talking to New Delhi about the matter.
"There's not some special exemption
you get for actions like this," Sullivan told reporters when asked about
Trudeau's statement about possible Indian involvement. "It is a matter of
concern for us, it is something we take seriously."
Source: tribune.com.pk
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2437099/canadas-trudeau-wants-india-to-cooperate-in-murder-probe-declines-to-release-evidence
--------
Report: 9/11 detainee driven insane by
CIA torture will not stand trial
22 Sep 2023
WASHINGTON, Sept 22 — A judge at the US
military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay yesterday ruled that a Yemeni detainee who
was tortured by the CIA is unfit to stand trial in a death-penalty case, US
media reported.
Ramzi bin al-Shibh, 51, had been
scheduled to be one of five defendants in a trial related to the September 11,
2001, attacks on US cities by Al Qaeda that left almost 3,000 people dead.
But Colonel Matthew McCall, a military
judge, said the prisoner was too psychologically damaged to help defend
himself, The New York Times reported.
Doctors at the US base on the eastern
tip of Cuba diagnosed al-Shibh with post-traumatic stress disorder and
secondary psychotic features, as well as a delusional disorder.
The military psychiatrists said his
condition left him “unable to understand the nature of the proceedings against
him or cooperate intelligently” with his legal defence team, the Times
reported.
al-Shibh has for years complained of
being “tormented by invisible forces that caused his bed and cell to vibrate
and that stung his genitals, depriving him of sleep,” the paper added.
al-Shibh’s defence lawyer has claimed
that his client was tortured by the CIA and went insane as a result of what the
agency called enhanced interrogation techniques, that included sleep
deprivation, waterboarding and beatings.
He had been due to face pretrial
proceedings on Friday with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, believed to be the
mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, and three other defendants. Their hearing will
proceed as scheduled, the paper said.
al-Shibh was accused of helping organise
the Al Qaeda cell in Hamburg, Germany, that hijacked one of two passenger jets
that crashed into the World Trade Centre in New York.
Another suicide airliner attack targeted
the Pentagon in Washington, and a fourth plane crashed in rural Pennsylvania
when passengers overpowered the hijackers. — AFP
Source: malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2023/09/22/report-911-detainee-driven-insane-by-cia-torture-will-not-stand-trial/92290
--------
Afghans who recently arrived in US get
temporary legal status from Biden administration
September 21, 2023
WASHINGTON: The Biden administration
said Thursday it was giving temporary legal status to Afghan migrants who have
already been living in the country for a little over a year.
The Department of Homeland Security said
in the announcement that the decision to give Temporary Protected Status to
Afghans who arrived after March 15, 2022, and before Sept. 20, 2023, would
affect roughly 14,600 Afghans.
This status doesn’t give affected
Afghans a long-term right to stay in the country or a path to citizenship. It’s
good until 2025, when it would have to be renewed again. But it does protect
them from deportation and give them the ability to work in the country.
A relatively small number of people are
affected. On Thursday the administration announced it was giving Temporary
Protected Status to nearly 500,000 Venezuelans in the country.
But many Afghans who would benefit from
the new protections took enormous risks in getting to the US, often after
exhausting all other options to flee the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Supporters have argued that they are deserving of protection.
“Today’s decision is a clear recognition
of the ongoing country conditions in Afghanistan, which have continued to
deteriorate under Taliban rule,” Eskinder Negash, who heads the US Committee
for Refugees and Immigrants, said in a statement.
Separately, the Department also
continued the protected status for a smaller group of Afghans — about 3,100
people. That group already had protection but the administration must regularly
renew it.
The news Thursday would not affect tens
of thousands of other Afghans who came to the country during the August 2021
American airlift out of Kabul or Afghans who have come over the years on
special immigrant visas intended for people who worked closely with the US
military or government.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2378466/world
------'
Canada’s assassination claim revives
long-simmering tensions within Indian diaspora
22.09.23
Vjosa Isaland, Ian Austen
The stunning allegation that India was
behind the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia has
revived long-simmering tensions within Canada’s Indian diaspora, pitting
staunch Hindu nationalists against supporters of the creation of Khalistan.
Last October, in the city of Mississauga
in Ontario, the police broke up a fight in which one man was slightly injured
after a crowd, carrying Indian and Khalistan flags, became unruly during a
Diwali celebration. In March, a Punjabi radio journalist covering a protest of
an Indian high commissioner’s visit to Surrey, British Columbia, was attacked
by demonstrators.
These episodes underscore the challenges
that Canada — home to the world’s largest Sikh population outside India — faces
following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s claim on Monday that India was
responsible for fatally shooting the Sikh leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in June
outside a gurdwara in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver.
The long-running, tense and sometimes
combative relationship between extremists on both sides threatens to spill over
into new violence as their members are either empowered or enraged by Trudeau’s
allegation.
While Canada has long said that
anti-India protests by Sikhs, provided they are not violent, are
constitutionally protected free speech, a senior federal government official,
who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information, said the
country recognises that there is a need to find a way to rein in more extreme
and inflammatory actions.
Sikhs make up about 2.1 per cent of
Canada’s population, roughly 770,000 people, just over half of all people with
Indian heritage in the country.
An episode in June prompted an
objection from India’s foreign minister, S. Jaishankar. That month, a march in
Brampton, Ontario, a city west of Toronto, included a parade float presented by
Sikh nationalists that mocked the assassination of Indira Gandhi, who was
killed in 1984 by two of her Sikh bodyguards.
Speaking at a news conference several
days later in New Delhi, Jaishankar called attention to a video on social media
that showed the parade float.
“I think it’s not good for the
relationship, and I think it’s not good for Canada,” he said.
Since Nijjar’s killing, tensions between
the two communities have intensified. In July, protesters outside the Indian
Consulate General, in downtown Toronto, promoted the Khalistan cause with large
signs that accused Indian diplomats of being behind Nijjar’s death.
In a statement on the social media site
X, formerly known as Twitter, Mélanie Joly, Canada’s foreign minister, called
the posters “unacceptable” and said the country takes its duties “regarding the
safety of diplomats very seriously”.
Last October, the police intervened
after a fight erupted at Diwali celebrations in Mississauga, where a crowd of
several hundred was dotted with Khalistan flags on one side and Indian flags on
another. The police described the fighting as isolated and did not make any
arrests.
Last July, the murder of another Sikh
man stoked fears of targeted killings in the Sikh community in Surrey.
Ripudaman Singh Malik, 75, was shot to
death in daylight by two men in their 20s whom the police later charged with
first-degree murder. Malik was one of the men accused in the 1985 Air India
bombing that killed 329 people aboard a flight to New Delhi from Toronto.
He was acquitted in 2005 in a lengthy
trial that came after the deaths of many witnesses — some of whom were
murdered. Other witnesses were intimidated into not testifying.
Malik’s shooting prompted Balpreet Singh
Boparai, a Toronto-based lawyer for the World Sikh Organisation, to approach
the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Canada’s spy agency, with his
concerns about the safety of Nijjar and other Sikh activists, he said. He said
he had also spoken to the local police.
“I had expressed concerns generally
about Indian interference in Canada, but also of Sikh activists being
targeted,” said Boparai. The statement from Trudeau, he said, validated the
community’s fears.
“Sikhs have talked about foreign
interference, specifically Indian interference here in Canada, for decades and
this is a lived reality for our community,” Boparai said. “But often, this was
just written off as conspiracy theories.”
Such stories have swirled around the
Sikh community for decades, Mukhbir Singh, a director of the World Sikh
Organisation, told reporters during a news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday.
“The younger generation that grew up in
Canada, they grew up hearing stories about the persecution, of fear, of
speaking out a little too much and you might get on a list or be targeted,” he
said. “To see that happening right now in 2023, in Canada, it’s certainly
shocking.”
Source: telegraphindia.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/canadas-assassination-claim-revives-long-simmering-tensions-within-indian-diaspora/cid/1967963
------