Half Of Muslim College Students In California Facing Harassment, Discrimination: Cair Report
New Age Islam News Bureau
20 Nov 2024
Osman Khan, director of Center for the Prevention of Hate and Bullying, announces the 2024 campus climate report done with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, titled, Examining Islamophobia on California College Campuses, on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Anaheim. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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· Half Of Muslim College Students In California Facing Harassment, Discrimination: Cair Report
· Afghanistan wants relations with countries not opposed to Sharia law: Haqqani
· Whose safe did cash come from, asks Rahul Gandhi; 'note jihad', says Uddhav Thackeray
· Hamas: Demolishing al-Shiyah Mosque in al-Quds Judaization, crime against religions
· Boko Haram Overrun Military Camp In Borno, 20 Soldiers Feared Dead
· Govt vows no concession as PTI adamant on holding 'final' demonstration
· Saudi Arabia foreign minister urges a balanced energy transition at G20 Summit session
· Most Muslims feel Islamophobia has become more widespread summer riots
· Over 2,000 arrests made since KL Strike Force established - Zaliha
……..
North America
· A-State students hold Islamic awareness event
· Trump picks WWE co-founder Linda McMahon for education secretary
· Los Angeles declares itself an immigration 'sanctuary'
· Prosecutors back delaying Trump sentence until he leaves White House
· 'Bomb cyclone' to bring rain, snow and winds to US northwest
· Republican lawmaker moves to bar trans colleague from women's bathrooms
· Logan Paul accused of misleading fans over crypto investments
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South Asia
· Japan and Afghanistan Strengthen Agricultural Cooperation
· Muslims disappointed over lack of Cabinet representation
· Beradar meets Islamic scholars of India, Bangladesh in Kabul
· Muttaqi seeking WHO’s cooperation in enhancement of Afghanistan’s healthcare system
· Commercial market worth 40 mln Afghani to be built in Jawzjan
· Stable Afghanistan Benefits Region and World, Says Deputy PM Mullah Baradar Akhund
· Commitment to Transparency and Efficiency Highlighted at Mining Agreement Signing
· Kandahar Reports Return of 727 Families Through Spin Boldak
· Deputy Minister of Railways Engages Iranian Officials on Key Railway Projects and Investment
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India
· In Kerala, after BJP leader’s switch to Congress, CPI(M) publishes his ‘remarks on Muslims’ in 2 newspaper ads
· ‘In general elections, police scared Muslim voters,’ SP writes to UP election body ahead of by-polls
· Muslims come out in numbers to protest Waqf (Amendment) Bill in Kolkata
· Why Muslims Prefer This BJP Candidate
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Mideast
· Netanyahu says Israel offering $5 mn reward for each Gaza hostage freed
· UN chief slams ‘systematic’ looting of Gaza humanitarian aid
· Israeli troops kill three Islamic Jihad gunmen in West Bank gunbattle
· US imposes sanctions on senior Hamas officials
· Argentina withdraws from UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon
· Turkiye’s Erdogan says Israel’s Herzog was denied airspace en route to Azerbaijan
· Hospital chief decries ‘extreme catastrophe’ in north Gaza
· Turkiye asks export group to help snuff out Israel trade
· Lebanon’s first responders caught in the line of Israel-Hezbollah fire
· Last Israelis in bombed out Metula hope for Lebanon ceasefire to rebuild lives
· Iraq to hold first nationwide census since 1987
· Italy says Hezbollah staged UN base attack it had blamed on Israel
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Africa
· Children Of The Poor Will Chase Us Out If We Don’t Send Them To School — Tinubu
· Gangs launch fresh attack on Haiti’s capital
· Bawumia to commission new Walewale Central Mosque on Friday
· Niger CAN commiserates with govt, Muslims over chief imam’s death
· FG Signs Contract For Enugu-Abakaliki-Ogoja Highway
· Intensify Efforts To End Open Defecation In Five Years – FG To Governors
· Nigerian Army To Investigate Viral Video Of Major General, Aide Brutally Assaulting Couple
· Ortom Files ₦1 Billion Suit Against Gov Alia’s Aide Over Alleged Defamation
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Pakistan
· Punjab, Islamabad police gear up for upcoming PTI protest
· Govt unveils plan to crush militancy in Balochistan
· Punjab Information Minister Azma questions ‘jihad’ slogans raised at KP CM house
· Imran okays talks with establishment ‘on PTI’s terms’
· Over dozen security men martyred in separate KP attacks
· PTI’s agitation cost govt over Rs1.1bn in capital since July: police
· Seven-judge constitutional bench assumes full court role
· PTI wants to avoid Imran’s indictment, claims Vawda
· Services of 137 college teachers in capital regularised, Senate body told
· Schools in Lahore and Multan divisions open today
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Arab World
· Saudi Arabia, China, Iran meet to advance Beijing Agreement
· Multi-billion global AI spending transforming business efficiency, SDAIA official tells Riyadh conference
· Waste not, want not: Misk Global Forum touts benefits of recycling to businesses and environment
· MoU signed to establish Saudi-Brazilian Coordination Council in Rio de Janeiro
· Saudi entrepreneurs present expertise at Misk forum in Riyadh
· Climate change is a key driver of worldwide hunger, according to IFAD
· Al-Baha farms offer an escape from busy lives
· Forum focuses on women’s role in Saudi economy
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Europe
· Biden agrees to give Ukraine anti-personnel mines
· Most Ukrainians now want quick end to war – poll
· Ukraine fires US-supplied longer-range missiles into Russia, Moscow says
· Controversial plans for mosque and school at former nursery site rejected
· Russian gains accelerate as Ukraine's Kursk gamble falters
· Son of Norwegian princess arrested on suspicion of rape
· Germany suspects sabotage behind severed undersea cables
· Gisèle Pelicot condemns rape accused and says French society must change
· Kremlin indicates why Ukraine conflict will last ‘a little longer’
· Muslim-bashing Marcus jailed after spitting at Hanley riot police
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Southeast Asia
· New syllabus, Next-Gen identity card among highlights of Dewan Rakyat sitting today
· Immigration denies link to alleged assault of foreigner at KLIA
· JPN in final phase of next-gen ID card procurement, Dewan Rakyat told
· PM Anwar returns from four-nation tour, strengthening ties and attending Apec, G20 summits
· RM300 million allocated for land acquisition in S’wak-Sabah link road project - Sarawak Assembly told
· Govt plans major overhaul of Sabah’s Cap.123 Ordinance with 48 new sections, addressing citizenship and administrative updates
· UMNO, Selangor UMNO given more time to settle SRC’s RM19.5 million suit
· Deputy minister: Govt to enhance i-Lindung, medical plans for M40 as Malaysia nears ageing nation status by 2040
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
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Half Of Muslim College Students In California Facing Harassment, Discrimination: Cair Report
November 20, 2024
Osman Khan, director of Center for the Prevention of Hate and Bullying, announces the 2024 campus climate report done with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, titled, Examining Islamophobia on California College Campuses, on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Anaheim. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Nearly half of Muslim students surveyed at California colleges and universities have faced harassment or discrimination on campus this year.
A school should be a place where students can learn and live in peace.
But many Muslim students experience a very different reality on California campuses, including Stanford University student Iman Deriche.
"I remember the first day after October 7, receiving a phone call from my father telling me to stay inside, lock my doors and be careful when I'm walking around campus," Deriche said. "I didn't understand at first, but just after one week, his suggestions became a necessary part of my daily routine. The fear and anxiety I experience every time I leave my dorm has been overwhelming since last year."
It's the same Islamophobia that a majority of 720 students surveyed from 87 California colleges and universities feel, according to the 2024 Council on American-Islamic Relations Campus Climate report.
"Unfortunately, the numbers paint a troubling picture," CAIR-SFBA senior civil rights attorney Jeffrey Wang said.
"Islamophobia has become persistent, pervasive and normalized in colleges across the nation and our Muslim students are paying the price," CAIR-SFBA policy coordinator Musa Tariq said.
UC Berkeley student Zaid Yousef worries normalization and fears for safety have led to under-reporting.
"Especially post 9/11, we've lived in a world where Islamophobia is so normalized, that even Muslims sometimes feel that Islamophobia is normal - that the casual life of a Muslim entails Islamophobia at almost every level," Yousef said. "So, we ask the larger community to acknowledge this reality and work on undoing this normalization of Islamophobia."
These students worry how Islamophobia may only increase under a new presidency.
But they hope by raising awareness with this report, change can come and the community can protect those at risk.
"There's definitely uncertainty about what the future will bring and justifiably so," Yousef said. "But at the same time, we have hope in our allies, we have hope in our community, our institutions, in organizations, like CAIR, who are doing amazing work to protect our rights. And we hope to keep fighting the good fight."
The fight for a safe and inclusive society for all.
Source:abc7news.com
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https://abc7news.com/post/muslim-college-students-california-facing-harassment-discrimination-cair-report/15560950/
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Afghanistan wants relations with countries not opposed to Sharia law: Haqqani
November 19, 2024
Acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani says the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) wants relations with countries around the world which are not opposed to Islamic principles and Sharia law.
Speaking at an event on Monday in Khost province, Haqqani emphasized that the IEA was not against interaction with the world but that it was against colonialism.
“If we want relations and interactions, we want them based on principles. As the world interacts with each other, we also want to be a partner in this interaction with the world because our interests and needs depend on trade and other matters,” said Haqqani.
Source:ariananews.af
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https://www.ariananews.af/afghanistan-wants-relations-with-countries-not-opposed-to-sharia-law-haqqani/
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Whose safe did cash come from, asks Rahul Gandhi; 'note jihad', says Uddhav Thackeray
Nov 20, 2024
MUMBAI: The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Tuesday attacked BJP over the controversy around Vinod Tawde allegedly distributing money to voters.
Congress's Rahul Gandhi said on X, "Modiji, this Rs 5 crore has come from whose safe? Who looted the public's money and sent you in the tempo?" Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said the alleged cash for votes case was BJP's 'note jihad, and Supriya Sule of NCP (SP) wondered where so much cash had come from post-demonetization.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge posted on X, "PM Modi wants to make Maharashtra 'safe' with 'money power' and 'muscle power.' On one hand, there is a deadly attack on the former home minister (Anil Deshmukh) of the state, on the other hand, a senior BJP leader is caught red-handed with Rs 5 crore in cash. The public will answer this by voting tomorrow."
In a spin on BJP's 'batenge toh katenge' slogan, Uddhav said, "We need to ask if their new slogan is 'baatenge to jeetenge' (If we distribute, we will win). Paisa baatenge aur election jeetenge." He said the tip-off might have come from an internal war within BJP. "This could be within BJP or between BJP and CM Eknath Shinde's party," he said. "Tawde should get a PhD. He is praised for toppling and forming govts. Now we know the secret of how he does it," he said.
Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said the home department had kept Tawde under surveillance and a BJP neta gave the tip-off to Hitendra Thakur. arrangements were made to catch him. "Vinod Tawde will be a problem for them, because he is the face of Bahujan Samaj. A man from Maharashtra is the national general secretary. He has some secrets in his head. Therefore, a conspiracy was hatched within BJP to catch him this way," Raut said. Sule asked how a sum of Rs 5 crore was available in cash and could be taken to Virar without interception. "The PM implemented demonetization to curb black money. How did a sum of Rs 5 crore in cash reach BJP?" she asked.
Source:indiatimes.com
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/whose-safe-did-cash-come-from-asks-rahul-gandhi-note-jihad-says-uddhav-thackeray/articleshow/115463270.cms
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Hamas: Demolishing al-Shiyah Mosque in al-Quds Judaization, crime against religions
19 Nov 2024
The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas confirmed Tuesday that the Zionist enemy authorities' demolition of al-Shiyah Mosque in the town of al-Mukaber in occupied al-Quds comes within the framework of the religious and cultural war they are waging against the city of al-Quds, its landmarks and its Islamic identity.
The movement said in a statement "The demolition of the mosque that was built more than 20 years ago in al-Quds is a new crime committed by the extremist Zionist entity government against our Palestinian people."
It pointed out that the Zionist enemy is working to escalate its aggressive measures in the city of al-Quds, with the aim of Judaizing it and tightening its control over it.
The movement stressed that the escalation of the dangers threatening al-Quds, its landmarks, mosques and churches, requires the Arab and Islamic nation, peoples, governments and organizations, to take immediate and effective steps to deter the Zionist enemy and impose the protection of Islamic and Christian sanctities, most notably the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque.
On Tuesday morning, the Zionist enemy authorities demolished al-Shiyah Mosque in Jabal al-Mukaber neighborhood, east of occupied al-Quds, under the pretext of building without a permit.
Source:saba.ye
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https://www.saba.ye/en/news3399021.htm
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Boko Haram Overrun Military Camp In Borno, 20 Soldiers Feared Dead
19 November 2024
Boko Haram fighters launched a deadly assault on a Nigerian military camp in Kareto, Borno State, leaving significant casualties and material losses in its wake, according to military sources.
The attackers reportedly stormed the camp on Saturday with a variety of weapons, including a suicide car bomb.
While official casualty figures are yet to be released, sources estimate that around 20 soldiers lost their lives during the violent confrontation.
Sources further revealed to Channels Tv that the attack led to the destruction of a military vehicle, the burning of the camp, and the loss of 14 vehicles.
Additionally, the fighters seized four four-wheel-drive vehicles and heavy machine guns before retreating to their positions.
Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has expressed his condolences to the military, describing the incident as a stark reminder of the brutality of Boko Haram terrorists.
In a statement issued by Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, Usman Tar, the governor reaffirmed the state’s commitment to supporting security efforts against terrorism.
READ STATEMENT BELOW:
Following the attack on Kareto town in Mobbar LGA of Borno State on 16 November 2024, the Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Umara Zulum has condemned in strong terms the atrocious attack and reaffirmed the loyalty, commitment, and support of the people and Government of Borno State.
Gov Zulum also commiserated with the armed forces and the families of the victims: “On behalf of the government and good people of Borno, I convey our heartfelt condolences to the armed forces and families of the deceased over the demise of our fellow compatriots. May Allah rest their souls and grant fortitude to the affected families.”
Gov Zulum noted that the Kareto attack is a painful reminder of the callousness of the Boko Haram insurgents who are bent on reversing the gains made in mass resettlement of internally displaced persons back to their ancestral homes in northern Borno. Kareto, a vibrant town, is one of over 20 settlements that are being targeted for resettlement of IDPs from Maiduguri and other locations.
Gov Zulum noted that the attack on Kareto will not deter the government from carrying out its constitutional duty of providing the dividends of democracy to the people in collaboration with federal agencies.
Gov Zulum thanked the armed forces and security agencies for standing in harm’s way in order to secure our territory and way of life. “We are eternally grateful to our gallant military and security forces for all they have been doing to safeguard lives and property in our state. Kareto attack was a painful reminder of the heinous desperation of the adversary to torpedo our modest achievement, and cause panic in our communities. I call on our good people to stand firm, not to waver, and to support the armed forces as they work daily to confront our collective threats” noted Gov Zulum.
Gov Zulum reiterated the resolve of the Borno State Government to continue to work closely with the armed forces to secure our country and provide development:
“Be rest assured that the Borno State Government, under my watch, will continue to work closely with the armed forces to execute our development and Peacebuidling programmes” affirmed Gov Zulum.
Source:naijanews.com
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https://www.naijanews.com/2024/11/19/boko-haram-overrun-military-camp-in-borno-20-soldiers-feared-dead/
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Govt vows no concession as PTI adamant on holding 'final' demonstration
November 20, 2024
The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has rejected the demands of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ahead of its "do-or-die" protest as the former ruling party determined to hold a demonstration "whether the government holds talks or not".
The former ruling party, for months, has been engaged in a political tug-of-war with the ruling coalition — which it alleges came into power via rigged February 8 polls — and has held multiple protests in the federal capital.
In continuation of what PTI calls "a struggle", incarcerated party founder Imran Khan, last week, called for "final" nationwide protest against the alleged rigging in the February 8 elections, arrests of party workers, and the passage of the judiciary-centric 26th Constitutional Amendment.
Following the announcement, the authorities have started taking measures to counter the potential demonstration, with Islamabad administration imposing Section 144 for two months.
Additionally, the Islamabad police have sought the services of 9,000 personnel of Rangers and FC with full anti-riot kits since November 22.
Deployment of 5,000 additional personnel of the Pakistan Rangers and 4,000 of the FC has been sought by the Islamabad Police IG through a letter.
Speaking on Geo News programme 'Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath', Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said that if the authorities accepted the former ruling party’s demands then they would also have to give concessions to "terrorists".
He noted that the participants of the apex committee expressed determination to not allow "lawlessness", what he believed occurred in 2014 such as attack on Parliament House, PTV building and police stations — referring to the 126-day long sit-in staged by the PTI in Islamabad against alleged rigging in 2013 elections.
"The committee gave very clear message that no one will be allowed to play with country’s economic growth and stability as such terrorist take advantage of shortcomings and leniency in governance to create anarchy in the country," he added.
Speaking on the same show, PTI leader Asad Qaiser reiterated the party’s demands including the release of party founder and return of “stolen mandate”.
“The country is heading towards anarchy and the institutions are paralysing,” the former National Assembly speaker said. The senior party leader said the PTI was ready for its November 24 Islamabad protest “whether government holds talks with PTI or not”.
Qaiser also lashed out at the incumbent rulers, saying that they came to power via “rigged elections”. “Do they [rulers] realise that people rejected them but they are still holding top positions.”
He said the country can only move forward when rule of law and Constitution was established in the country.
Earlier in the day, Imran’s lawyer Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry and sister Aleema Khan said that the former premier has given a go-ahead to PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur to hold talks but only with the "powerful quarters".
Responding to the PTI founder's statement, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif — while speaking on Geo News programme 'Capital Talk' today — said that if PTI founder wants to negotiate then "the bridge of May 9" must be crossed as he referred to the violent protests triggered after the arrest of former premier.
By crossing the bridge, the defence minister said he was asking the former ruling party to apologise over the violent protests.
He questioned how the people, who according to him can be seen in the videos released by the government earlier this week, can deny their involvement in May 9 events. "Imran demanded video evidence [for apology], which has been released."
Another ruling party leader, PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui, termed the PTI demands "absurd" as he rejected the impression of government holding talks with the Imran Khan-founded party.
"PTI’s all-four demands are non-starters, no concessions can be given," he said, adding that the former ruling party leaders after getting stuck into blind alley were seeking other options.
He further said that it would be great if PTI "takes back" its Nov 24 call, vowing that the government would fulfill its duty to protect the lives and property of the people as per the Constitution and law.
Source:thenews.com.pk
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https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1252788-govt-vows-no-concession-as-pti-adamant-on-holding-final-demonstration
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Saudi Arabia foreign minister urges a balanced energy transition at G20 Summit session
November 19, 2024
RIO DE JANEIRO: Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister highlighted the importance of a balanced, inclusive approach to energy transition while ensuring global energy security and sustainable development at a Group of 20 session on Tuesday, Saudi Press Agency reported.
Prince Faisal was leading the Kingdom’s delegation during a session titled “Sustainable Development and Energy Transition,” SPA added.
Energy security represented a global challenge and an obstacle to development and poverty eradication, the minister said, calling for energy plans that considered each country’s circumstances and development needs.
Prince Faisal outlined three pillars for effective energy transition: Ensuring energy security, maintaining access to affordable energy, and achieving environmental sustainability.
He said that the transition required significant investment and time to maintain market stability while ensuring fairness and inclusivity.
Prince Faisal also highlighted the role of technological innovation in managing emissions and environmental impacts.
He said that Saudi Arabia’s investments in innovative technologies had resulted in one of the world’s lowest emissions intensity rates in oil and gas operations, adding that the Kingdom was also advancing its renewable energy goals, aiming for 50 percent of electricity generation from renewables by 2030.
Prince Faisal added that the Kingdom was also expanding its clean hydrogen production and implementing the circular carbon economy framework to repurpose emissions into valuable products.
During his address, the prince also outlined Saudi Arabia’s commitment to global sustainability through its flagship initiatives, the Saudi Green and Middle East Green programs, which are tailored to the country’s development needs.
He called for enhanced international cooperation to ensure energy transitions were equitable, inclusive and supportive of global development goals.
Prince Faisal expressed Saudi Arabia’s appreciation for Brazil’s leadership of the G20 in 2024 and extended well wishes to South Africa as it assumes the presidency in 2025, SPA reported.
Source:arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2579977/saudi-arabia
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Most Muslims feel Islamophobia has become more widespread summer riots
20 November 2024
A majority of Muslims feel Islamophobia and hate against them has become more widespread since the summer riots, but around half also feel able to be more open about their identity, according to a survey.
Tell Mama, a charity monitoring such incidents, said its latest survey indicated that one in two of those asked said they had become more open, mainly through conversations with friends and colleagues, about their Muslim identity after the violence which erupted following the Southport attack.
The organisation analysed, as part of the annual No2H8 campaign, the opinions of 750 Muslims across the UK eight weeks after disorder broke out in parts of England and Northern Ireland following the fatal stabbings of three young girls in Southport.
Tell Mama said just under three-quarters (71%) felt anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia had become more widespread since the unrest.
Almost two-thirds (62%) said the potential risk of harm to Muslim communities had since increased significantly or somewhat.
While one in three Muslims surveyed said they had considered leaving the UK as a result of the violence – which saw mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers targeted – 55% said they felt safe or very safe in the UK.
Iman Atta, Tell Mama director, said: “Many British Muslims are very scared at the moment. They need our Government to show it hears their fears, and is working to keep them safe.
“This poll is proof of the terrifying impact anti-Muslim hate and Islamophobia is having.
“More work must be done to reassure these people. And we need greater focus on supporting social cohesion in the worst affected areas. These findings should be a wake-up call for the Government.”
A Government spokesperson said: “These results are extremely concerning. Attacks and hatred against Muslim communities are unacceptable and we have been clear that we will seek to stamp out Islamophobia and racism wherever it occurs.
“All communities must feel safe, especially in places of worship, which is why we introduced the Protective Security for Mosques scheme and will continue to work with communities and across government to deliver a new approach to tackling racial and religious hatred.”
Source:independent.co.uk
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https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/muslims-islamophobia-hate-crime-riots-b2650123.html
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Over 2,000 arrests made since KL Strike Force established - Zaliha
BERNAMA
20-11- 2024
KUALA LUMPUR: The KL Strike Force has carried out more than 500 enforcement actions involving more than 2,000 arrests since it was established in May (2024), says Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa.
She said the enforcement activities involved various government ministries and agencies, among them issues related to the encroachment of government land, illegal immigrants and prostitution.
However, she said the team could no longer remain reactive only to complaints, but instead should be more proactive by thinking about the measures required to ensure that the same incidents do not recur.
“For example, on the issue of prostitution in Kuala Lumpur. Perhaps we can take ‘Dolly’ in Surabaya, Indonesia as an example where an area that used to be notorious as a red-light district was rejuvenated to become a tourism hotspot, including turning the area into a green area.
“From red to green. We will implement this in Kuala Lumpur,” she said in a message on X after chairing the Federal Territories state security committee meeting.
At the same time, Zaliha asked the Federal Territories Department (JWP) and the National Security Council (MKN) to examine aspects of legislation, particularly weak and outdated regulations so that enforcement could be implemented more comprehensively.
According to Zaliha, she also attended a security briefing on Labuan from the police and the Labuan Immigration Department who stated that the security situation in the federal territory was being well monitored.
However, she said several suggestions needed to be examined to step up the safety level for Labuan residents.
Source:thesun.my
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https://thesun.my/malaysia-news/new-syllabus-next-gen-identity-card-among-highlights-of-dewan-rakyat-sitting-today-HA13315031
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North America
A-State students hold Islamic awareness event
Nov. 20, 2024
JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) - Arkansas State’s Muslim Student Association titled this week their Islamic Awareness Week, intending to inform students about the Islamic religion.
On Tuesday, Nov 19, students were set up inside the Student Union building, handing out Middle Eastern desserts while informing students about common Islamic sayings and quotes.
Student Salma Abdel-Karim said it was a way for students to learn more about Islamic culture.
“Just to help the A-State community learn more about Islam and to help correct any misconceptions and stereotypes, and show Islam is a religion of peace, and we want to teach people about our beautiful religion,” she said.
The group also hosted an event on Monday with a guest speaker, and there will be an event on Wednesday where students will be able to try on a Hijab.
Source:kait8.com
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https://www.kait8.com/2024/11/20/a-state-students-hold-islamic-awareness-event/
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Trump picks WWE co-founder Linda McMahon for education secretary
November 20, 2024
Donald Trump has picked World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) co-founder and his transition co-chair, Linda McMahon, as his nominee for education secretary.
A long-time Trump ally, McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump's first presidency and donated millions of dollars to his presidential campaign.
Announcing his pick on Truth Social, Trump said McMahon would "use her decades of leadership experience, and deep understanding of both Education and Business, to empower the next Generation of American Students and Workers".
Trump has criticised the Department of Education, and has promised to close it down - a job McMahon could be tasked with.
Her nomination came shortly after Trump chose Mehmet Oz, a celebrity doctor and former television host, to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The two selections on Tuesday, along with Trump's choice of Howard Lutnick for commerce secretary, follows a pattern of the president-elect nominating loyal supporters to top roles in his cabinet.
McMahon has a long history with the WWE and Trump, who used to make occasional appearances at wrestling matches. She co-founded the wrestling league with her husband in 1980, resigning as CEO in 2009 in order to undertake a failed bid to run for the Senate.
She has little background in education, but did serve on Connecticut state's board of education from 2009 until 2010.
She is the board chair of the pro-Trump think tank the America First Policy Institute, meaning her confirmation in the Republican-majority Senate is likely.
“For the past four years, as the Chair of the Board at the America First Policy Institute, Linda has been a fierce advocate for Parents’ Rights,” Trump said in his statement.
He said McMahon would "spearhead" the effort to "send Education BACK TO THE STATES", in reference to his pledge to close the department.
McMahon was named in a lawsuit filed last month involving the WWE.
It alleges that she, her husband and other company leaders knowingly allowed young boys to be abused by a ringside announcer who died in 2012.
The McMahons deny wrongdoing. A lawyer representing the pair told USA Today Sports that the allegations are "false claims" that stem from "absurd, defamatory and utterly meritless" media reports.
Celebrity TV doctor picked to run Medicaid
Trump earlier picked Mehmet Oz to run the powerful agency that oversees the healthcare of millions of Americans.
Oz, who was selected to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service, trained as a surgeon before finding fame on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the early 2000s, later hosting his own TV programme.
Oz has been criticised by experts for promoting what they called bad health advice about weight loss drugs and "miracle" cures, and suggesting malaria drugs as a cure for Covid-19 in the early days of the pandemic.
“There may be no Physician more qualified and capable than Dr. Oz to Make America Healthy Again," Trump said in a statement
The Trump transition team said in a statement that Oz "will work closely with [Health Secretary nominee] Robert F Kennedy Jr to take on the illness industrial complex, and all the horrible chronic diseases left in its wake".
Oz will need to be confirmed by the Senate next year before he officially takes charge of the agency.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services oversee the country’s largest healthcare programs, providing coverage to more than 150 million Americans. The agency regulates health insurance and sets policy that guides the prices that doctors, hospitals and drug companies are paid for medical services.
In 2023, the US government spent more than $1.4 trillion on Medicaid and Medicare combined, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Trump said in a statement that Oz would “cut waste and fraud within our Country's most expensive Government Agency”, and the Republican Party platform pledged to increase transparency, choice and competition and expand access to healthcare and prescription drugs.
Oz, 64, trained as a cardiothoracic surgeon – specialising in operations on the heart and lungs – and worked at New York City’s Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University.
After he appeared in dozens of Oprah segments, he started The Dr Oz Show, where he doled out health advice to viewers.
But the line between promotion and science on the show was not always clear, and Oz has recommended homeopathy, alternative medicine and other treatments that critics have called “pseudoscience”.
He was criticised during Senate hearings in 2014 for endorsing unproven pills that he said would “literally flush fat from your system” and “push fat from your belly”.
During those hearings Oz said he never sold any specific dietary supplements on his show. But he has publicly endorsed products off air and his financial ties to health care companies were revealed in fillings made during his 2022 run for the US Senate in Pennsylvania.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Oz promoted the anti-malaria drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, which experts say are ineffective against the virus.
Source:bbc.com
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Los Angeles declares itself an immigration 'sanctuary'
November 20, 2024
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Los Angeles, the second largest US city, is setting itself up for a standoff with President-elect Donald Trump over immigration.
On Tuesday, its city council passed a "sanctuary city" ordinance to bar using local resources to help federal immigration authorities.
LA's public school system also reaffirmed itself as a "sanctuary" for undocumented immigrants and LGBTQ students in a series of emergency resolutions.
Trump, who will be sworn in in two months, has promised mass deportations once he returns to the White House. His chosen "border czar", Tim Homan, has urged sanctuary cities to "get the hell out of the way" of federal immigration crackdowns.
The term "sanctuary city" has been popular in the US for more than a decade to describe places that limit their assistance to federal immigration authorities. Since it is not a legal term, cities have taken a variety of approaches to becoming "sanctuaries", such as setting policies in laws or simply changing local policing practices.
Aimed at making a 2019 executive order into city law, the city council's sanctuary city ordinance prohibits using city resources for immigration enforcement, including cooperating with federal immigration agents, NBC News Los Angeles reports.
The ordinance will "prevent federal immigration enforcement from being able to access city facilities or to use city resources in the pursuit of immigration enforcement", council member Nithya Raman told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, ahead of the vote.
It will also prohibit some data sharing between immigration authorities and city officials and agencies.
The ordinance will go into effect once it has been signed by Mayor Karen Bass.
Officials in a number of other cities, including Boston and New York City, have similarly promised that local resources would not be allocated to helping federal immigration enforcement issues.
Since Trump was elected the first time, dozens of school districts have declared themselves "sanctuaries" or "safe havens" to reassure students they will not be deported.
The Los Angeles school district - roughly 140 miles (225km) from the country's southern border with Mexico - also voted on a series of emergency resolutions explicitly aimed at combatting what the board's president, Jackie Goldberg, has described as an anti-immigrant and LGBTQ sentiment from the incoming president.
As well as restating a sanctuary policy for students and families within the school district, the resolution also calls for training for teachers and staff about how they should communicate with immigration authorities.
"We're not going to be running in fear," she said in quotes cited by the LA Times ahead of the resolution's passing. "We're going to fight you, every inch of the way."
The move is likely to put the city on a collision course with the incoming Trump administration, which has vowed it will begin a large-scale mass deportation effort from the very beginning of the administration.
Trump's chosen "border czar", former acting Immigrations and Customs Enforcement director Tom Homan, has repeatedly said that "sanctuary" city designations would not prevent the administration from carrying out its immigration policy goals.
In an 11 November interview with Fox, Homan said "nothing will stop us from deporting migrant criminals."
"We're going to do the job with you, or without you," he said.
Source:bbc.com
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Prosecutors back delaying Trump sentence until he leaves White House
November 20, 2024
Kayla Epstein
New York prosecutors have vowed to oppose President-elect Donald Trump’s effort to overturn his criminal conviction, but they expressed a willingness to wait to sentence him until he completes his upcoming presidential term.
Prosecutors urged the judge who is overseeing Trump's sentence after his guilty verdict to consider options other than dismissal, including holding off until the president-elect is scheduled to leave the White House in 2029.
The Manhattan district attorney's office asked Justice Juan Merchan to set a new deadline of 9 December for both sides to consider the case and file new motions.
Trump's sentencing is scheduled for 26 November, but it could be delayed further.
In May, Trump was convicted on 34 charges of falsifying business records, stemming from an attempt to cover up a potential sex scandal ahead of his first presidential victory in 2016.
A few weeks later, however, the US Supreme Court held in a separate case that presidents enjoy a degree of immunity from criminal prosecution for "official acts."
Trump's lawyers want a judge to overturn his New York conviction on the grounds of presidential immunity, and because of his impending term in the White House.
But prosecutors argued on Tuesday that the issues at the centre of their case did not have to do with official presidential duties.
They stressed that the trial and conviction occurred before the US Supreme Court decided this summer that presidents had broad protection from criminal prosecution.
They did acknowledge Justice Merchan's "need to balance competition consititutional interests", however.
They asked the judge to consider "non-dismissal options" that could included "deferral of all remaining criminal proceedings until after the end of Defendant's upcoming presidential term".
“The DA is saying that the court should put off sentencing until after Trump leaves the White House," said New York attorney and former prosecutor Mitchell Epner. "Don’t drop the conviction - but don’t do anything until after Trump leaves office."
With Trump's inauguration just weeks away, little time remained on the calendar for a new round of motions and briefs, Mr Epner said. The case would be paused anyway after 20 January, when Trump takes the oath of office, he said.
Of the four criminal prosecutions against Trump, the New York case was the only one to go to trial and reach a guilty verdict.
But the final outcome is now uncertain as Trump prepares to head to the White House next January.
Nevertheless, Trump's spokesman Steven Cheung - who has been tapped to serve as White House director of communications - declared "total and definitive victory".
Justice Merchan has yet to rule on the matter, however.
Former Manhattan prosecutor Diana Florence said that this request makes it doubtful that Trump would face sentencing at the scheduled hearing on 26 November, as the judge will probably accept the prosecutors' proposal.
"I think there's less than half a percent chance that he'd be sentenced next week," she said.
The judge has a range of options for Trump's sentence, from fines and probation all the way up to a four-year prison sentence - though legal experts say the president-elect could avoid any legal punishment.
The Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg first charged Trump with falsifying business records in April 2023, accusing the president-elect of a hush-money scheme in the waning days of the 2016 presidential campaign.
Prosecutors said that Trump tried to disguise reimbursements to his personal attorney, who had paid off an adult film star with whom Trump allegedly had an affair. Because of the scheme's proximity to the election, they claimed it amounted to election interference.
Trump maintained his innocence, denied that the affair ever occurred and alleged the case was a form of political persecution.
But in May, a jury of 12 New Yorkers found the president-elect guilty.
Trump's sentencing hearing was delayed multiple times. The court agreed to hold off any decisions until today while all parties sorted out the historic implications of his re-election.
Source:bbc.com
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'Bomb cyclone' to bring rain, snow and winds to US northwest
November 20, 2024
A storm developing off the coast of the US northwest is forecast to bring high winds, flooding and snow to over seven million residents living in states along the Pacific Ocean.
It started impacting the region Tuesday and is expected to worsen through the end of the week, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Beyond wind, rain and snow, the storm could also bring flash flooding, rock slides and debris flows as well as heavy mountain snow and blizzard conditions in areas of high elevation.
The "bomb cyclone" - as forecasters call it - is caused by air pressure quickly dropping off the coast, which has rapidly intensified the weather system.
When and where will it hit?
Parts of the northwest are already starting to feel impacts from the storm, with strong wind gusts already observed in the Seattle area.
NOAA's weather prediction centre said the storm is expected to bring heavy, wet snow to mountain ranges in the Pacific Northwest with accumulation rates of 2-3in (5-8cm) per hour and wind up to 65 mph (29mps).
The weather could bring whiteout conditions that will make travel difficult, according to NOAA. There could be 10-20in (25-50cm) of snow in spots.
Wind gusts could bring power outages, downed trees and high surf along the coastline, the US weather agency said, which issued a "high risk excessive rainfall outlook" for northwest California.
The heaviest rainfall - which could bring mud slides - is expected to hit northern California and southwest Oregon, according to the NOAA.
The National Weather Service also issued winter weather alerts and a winter storm warning through Wednesday for several other areas along the Pacific coast.
"Numerous flash floods, hazardous travel, power outages, and tree damage can be expected as the storm reaches max intensity," the National Weather Prediction Centre wrote in a post on X.
What is a bomb cyclone?
Bomb cyclone is a term given by meteorologists to a storm that appears to intensify rapidly, with its central air pressure dropping to at least 24 millibars in 24 hours.
They are referred to as 'bomb' cyclones due to the explosive power of these storms caused by the rapid fall in pressure.
The storm brings with it an array of weather, ranging from blizzards to severe thunderstorms to heavy precipitation.
BBC Weather forecaster Helen Rossington has said that the bomb cyclone will first deliver strong winds, rain and snow to the north-west coast before the region is walloped by a prolonged spell of heavy rain, mountain snow and flood risk.
These weather events are not unusual for this time of year.
Similar atmospheric river events - when small regions of moisture travel outside tropical regions - have occurred throughout North America over the last few weeks.
But the conditions of an atmospheric river combined with a bomb cyclone can create a major weather event.
Source:bbc.com
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Republican lawmaker moves to bar trans colleague from women's bathrooms
November 20, 2024
A Republican congresswoman has introduced a bill to ban transgender women from using female bathrooms in the US Capitol, just weeks after the first-ever openly transgender lawmaker was elected to the House of Representatives.
On Tuesday, South Carolina's Nancy Mace said her resolution was "absolutely" a response to the election of Sarah McBride, who will be sworn into office in January.
McBride called the move “a blatant attempt from far-right-wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing”.
Republicans campaigned heavily on opposing transgender rights during the election. At a closing rally, Donald Trump said he would keep "transgender insanity the hell out of our schools... and men out of women’s sports".
The resolution introduced on Monday does not specifically mention McBride, but Mace told reporters on Tuesday, that “it’s 100 percent because of McBride”, according to the Washington Post.
“This is about women and our right to privacy, our right to safety,” Mace said. “I’m not going to allow biological men into women’s private spaces. It is the height of hypocrisy.”
On Monday, McBride responded to the measure, posting on X: “Every day Americans go to work with people who have life journeys different than their own and engage with them respectfully, I hope members of Congress can muster that same kindness.”
House Democrats strongly condemned the resolution and accused Mace of bullying a fellow member of Congress.
"This is your priority, that you want to bully a member of Congress, as opposed to welcoming her to join this body so all of us can work together to get things done and deliver real results for the American people?" Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said.
It is unclear when the measure may be taken up by Congress for a vote. It is expected to be part of the House rules package that members vote on after being sworn in.
Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson on Tuesday declined to say that it would be part of the rules package, telling reporters that lawmakers would seek consensus as they approach the "unprecedented" issue.
"We’re going to do that in a deliberate fashion with members’ consensus on it, and we will accommodate the needs of every single person,” Johnson said.
"We treat everybody with dignity,” he added. “We’ll provide appropriate accommodation for every member of Congress.”
It comes as Republicans in Washington DC and in state capitols have focused sharply on transgender issues, including seeking to limit access to gender-related surgery for minors and to bar transgender athletes from female-only sports categories.
During his 2016 campaign, Donald Trump said transgender students should be allowed to use whichever bathroom "they feel is appropriate", but he reversed his stance after facing Republican criticism.
Source:bbc.com
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Logan Paul accused of misleading fans over crypto investments
November 20, 2024
Jamie Tahsin
Logan Paul, the massively popular social media personality, is facing fresh questions over his cryptocurrency dealings amid ongoing concerns he may have profited from misleading fans.
The BBC has seen new evidence suggesting he promoted investments without revealing he had a financial interest in them.
The influence of Paul - whose YouTube channel has more than 23 million followers - appears to have caused prices in these investments to spike, leading to suggestions he could have profited from sales of any tokens he held.
Paul also currently faces a multi-million-dollar lawsuit over a failed crypto project called CryptoZoo.
He denies any wrongdoing.
The BBC has discovered that shortly before Paul tweeted about a particular crypto coin in 2021, an anonymous crypto wallet with close connections to his public wallet had traded in the coin.
That anonymous wallet went on to make a $120,000 (£92,000) profit.
Crypto wallets (which can be physical devices or an online service) hold users' keys to their accounts, and let people send, receive and spend crypto.
Our finding comes after Time Magazine reported similar activity involving a different cryptocurrency and another anonymous wallet.
For several months, Paul refused to talk to the BBC about our investigation. Then he appeared to relent, inviting us to interview him at his gym in Puerto Rico.
However, when our crew arrived, a Logan Paul lookalike turned up in the YouTuber’s place, shortly followed by a crowd shouting abuse about the BBC.
Minutes after abandoning the interview, we received a lawyer’s letter on behalf of Paul, warning us of the possible consequences if we published our findings.
Meme coins
Logan Paul built a worldwide following as an internet celebrity by uploading short video clips, first to the now-closed platform Vine, and then on YouTube.
About three years ago, Paul’s videos began mentioning cryptocurrency (crypto, as it is commonly known) more and more.
Crypto is a form of digital money that uses secure technology to work, without the need for a central bank.
In 2021, Paul promoted a series of extremely high-risk crypto tokens called “meme coins”.
These are usually inspired by internet jokes or memes and are supported by online communities. Meme coins have no other real purpose other than to be traded and, since they have no intrinsic worth, their value can - and often does - drop to zero.
Paul extolled the virtues of an Elon Musk-themed meme coin known as Elongate. “Elongate made me rich. Elon baby let’s go!” Paul announced in a video clip to Maverick Club, his subscription-only fan club.
Following this namecheck, the price of Elongate rose by over 6,000% to an all-time high. It then remained at that price for a few hours before it crashed.
We cannot be sure of Logan Paul’s intentions when he released his clip. However, it seems likely that his mention of Elongate affected its price.
Tech journalist Will Gotsegen says crypto is a market driven to some extent by social media and influencers: “A big guy with a lot of influence... someone like Logan Paul, buys a tonne of crypto and tells their followers about it. They're going to buy it too.”
The anonymous crypto wallet analysed by the BBC appears to have close connections to Paul.
Anyone can see the transactions made by a wallet, but the owner can choose to remain anonymous. If an owner attaches their name or personal details it becomes a public wallet.
We could see that the wallet first received funds in February 2021 from a public wallet owned by Logan Paul. It then started buying and trading crypto.
Logan Paul: Bad Influence?
Logan Paul, one of the biggest social media influencers in the world, is facing criticism for his role in promoting cryptocurrency projects. Matt Shea investigates the allegations.
Speaking to law enforcement and alleged victims, and trying to get close to the man himself, Shea seeks to finally answer the question: did Logan Paul do anything wrong?
The wallet was later paid funds from Maverick Club and held Elongate when Paul promoted it on 10 May 2021.
Shortly after, it also traded in another Musk-related meme coin - after Paul had tweeted that it was headed “to the moon”. In the crypto community, this means someone believes the price of the coin is about to shoot up.
About an hour before Paul’s tweet, the unknown wallet purchased almost $160,000 (£123,000) worth of the token. The tweet prompted an influx of buyers, spiking the price.
Twelve hours later, the wallet sold most of its holding. The total profit made from this trade appears to be just over $120,000 (£92,000).
Logan Paul chose not to respond to the BBC’s allegations regarding the crypto wallet, the trading that occurred within it, or his connection to it, despite responding to some of our other requests via his legal team.
Dink Doink
In June 2021, Paul also promoted a meme coin called “Dink Doink”.
Anyone who bought it would own shares in a cartoon character that resembled a metal coil. They would earn a portion of its earnings if it appeared in a TV show or film.
Paul promoted the token on Twitter (as the site was then known), and told a Telegram group dedicated to Dink Doink that he “believed” in it, saying: “I think it’s going to go crazy.”
Again, this led to a huge influx of buyers, causing Dink Doink's value to spike. Then - following a familiar pattern - large-scale holders of the token began selling, causing its price to fall by 96% in just two weeks.
Time Magazine analysed another anonymous wallet that had bought Dink Doink prior to Logan Paul’s promotion of the coin and then sold its holding shortly after. This wallet later sent $100,000 (£78,000) to Paul’s public wallet.
When the BBC asked the influencer about this wallet, his lawyers did not deny that it belonged to him, or was held for his benefit, but were adamant that the $100,000 that was transferred was not related to Dink Doink.
They do accept that Paul traded Dink Doink, but say he only made $17,000 (£13,400).
Puerto Rico
For several months, Paul refused to be interviewed by the BBC.
Then, unexpectedly, he agreed to talk to us at the boxing gym in Puerto Rico that he co-owns with his brother.
We sent Paul a list of the allegations we wanted him to respond to, and his PR team requested we travel to the Caribbean island, so he could answer in person.
They also insisted we flew into the island while it was being pummeled by Tropical Storm Ernesto, which had knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people.
At the gym, we noticed a strange atmosphere - with a suspicious number of his own cameras pointed at us. Paul’s assistant insisted our cameras should be recording from the moment the star entered the room, because of his strict schedule and timekeeping.
Then things became even stranger. Instead of Logan Paul, a lookalike arrived and sat down in front of our reporter, Matt Shea, and began impersonating the YouTuber.
We called him out and began complaining to Paul’s assistant, asking whether the real Logan Paul would be coming. At that moment, a group of people suddenly appeared, apparently from nowhere, wielding banners and shouting that the BBC were “paedophiles”.
We had flown all that way just to be trolled.
In the past few years, a number of celebrities have run into legal trouble for promoting crypto to followers without disclosing that they had vested interests.
Kim Kardashian was fined $1.26m (£1m) in 2022 for promoting a token called EthereumMax on her Instagram account.
According to Gary Gensler, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the body policing the US investment industry, if a celebrity is promoting a particular crypto token, they are “supposed to tell you if they get paid, how much they get paid, whether they own the tokens, whether they made money on the tokens, whether they actually know something about the project”.
CryptoZoo
Logan Paul is now facing a lawsuit concerning his next venture in crypto - CryptoZoo.
This was marketed as an online trading card game, but instead of cards, CryptoZoo was to use NFTs (non-fungible tokens) - collectible pieces of digital art that can have a value of their own.
To play CryptoZoo, it was necessary to buy a cryptocurrency called Zoo Token, that could then be used to buy NFT “eggs”.
These eggs were supposed to eventually hatch into NFT “animals” that would breed and give birth to NFT “hybrid animals” with names like penguin-shark and panda-fin.
Paul’s team claimed these hybrid animals would somehow make participants money by passively generating more Zoo Tokens.
“It’s a really fun game that makes you money,” he told his audience shortly ahead of the launch in September 2021.
CryptoZoo attracted about $18.5m (£14.3m) in investment.
Rueben Tauk - a 21-year-old from north-east England - was among the Logan Paul fans who bought into CryptoZoo.
“I was really excited to be part of something that he was doing.”
However, the game was beset by problems from the moment it was released.
“We were given certain expectations about features that would be released,” Rueben told us. “A lot of the time those features wouldn’t work.
“After a certain point, you start to realise that something’s wrong.”
The value of the Zoo Tokens and the eggs started to plummet. Rueben says he personally lost £33,000.
At least 130 investors are now involved in a lawsuit against Paul (Rueben is not one of them). They claim they lost about $4.2m (£3.25m).
The lawyer behind the claim, Tom Kherkher - himself a popular YouTuber on legal affairs - says the failure to deliver the game forms only part of the case.
He says leaked messages reveal Paul and his team were involved in a “stealth launch” of the Zoo Tokens, allowing them to quietly buy in at a low price.
“The team appeared to agree that they can begin selling once the total value of all the Zoo Token in circulation hits $200m [£157m],” he says.
“If you had that document with that exact verbiage issued by a CEO of a publicly traded company, they would be charged with fraud in two seconds. That is insider trading.”
Paul has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing relating to CryptoZoo. Instead, he has laid the blame on other members of the team whom he also says failed to deliver the promised features.
Earlier this year, Paul announced a partial compensation scheme for disappointed investors. He promised to refund people who had bought the NFT eggs, but only if they agreed not sue him for anything relating to CryptoZoo.
Paul is also bringing a libel claim against one of his online detractors in the USA, for claims made about his motives.
Logan Paul’s immense popularity depends on his fans, and shows little sign of declining.
In recent years, Paul has turned his hand to boxing and wrestling, as well as launching the drinks company Prime, with British influencer KSI.
The product became notorious for its viral launch - with only a limited stocks made available, Prime spawned a re-sale market with bottles being advertised for hundreds of pounds. It was a testament to both Logan Paul and KSI’s influence over their primarily young audience.
However, for at least one fan, his image has been tarnished for good.
“Once you listen to someone and trust what they’re saying and they betray that trust,” says Rueben Tauk, “their words don’t mean anything to you any more.”
Source:bbc.com
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South Asia
Japan and Afghanistan Strengthen Agricultural Cooperation
2024-11-20
KABUL(BNA): The Acting Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock, Mawlawi Ataullah Omari, met with Japan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan, Takayoshi Kuromaya, to discuss ongoing collaborations aimed at revitalizing Afghanistan’s agricultural sector.
The meeting took place at the Minister’s office and focused on Japan’s continued support in agriculture, livestock, and the implementation of projects initiated by the late Dr. Tetsu Nakamura.
Ambassador Kuromaya reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to enhancing alternative livelihoods, improving crop and vegetable production, and combating narcotics.
He highlighted the importance of irrigation projects and better water management practices as critical components of their support. Additionally, he stressed the need to project a positive image of Afghanistan and the Islamic Emirate to the international community.
Minister Omari pointed out the significant challenges faced by Afghanistan’s agricultural sector due to decades of conflict, emphasizing the necessity for external assistance to rebuild. He assured that any aid received would be utilized transparently and effectively, aiming for substantial benefits for Afghan farmers and livestock owners.
Furthermore, Minister Omari elaborated on a comprehensive alternative livelihood plan, encouraging international organizations, states, and donors to collaborate within this framework. He underscored the crucial role of women in agriculture and livestock, stating, “Much of the farming and livestock work in Afghanistan is carried out by women.
Source:bakhtarnews.af
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https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/japan-and-afghanistan-strengthen-agricultural-cooperation/
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Muslims disappointed over lack of Cabinet representation
20 November 2024
Colombo, November 20 (Daily Mirror) - Even though 70 percent of Sri Lankan Muslims voted for the National People's Power (NPP) government, no Muslim representatives were included in the recent Cabinet appointments, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Kandy District candidate Rishad Mahroof said.
Addressing the media at the SLPP office in Colombo, he said that the Sri Lankan Muslim community has expressed their displeasure over the matter.
"During the election period, the NPP claimed that several representatives from the Muslim and Tamil communities would be appointed. This is the first time a government has decided to form a Cabinet without any Muslim representation since the country gained independence," he said.
"When the current government came to power, they relied heavily on Sri Lankan Muslim votes and even acknowledged that fact. It is questionable why no Muslims were appointed as Cabinet Ministers, and it raises suspicions that this might be part of some other agenda," he added.
Former Minister Ali Sabry represented the Muslim community in the Cabinet during Gotabaya Rajapaksa's government in 2019.
The current Parliament includes several Tamil representatives and even the first vision-impaired MP, but none from the Muslim community, he said.
Source:dailymirror.lk
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https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/Muslims-disappointed-over-lack-of-Cabinet-representation/108-296342
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Beradar meets Islamic scholars of India, Bangladesh in Kabul
November 20, 2024
KABUL: The Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Beradar Akhund, said that the Islamic Emirate has always strived to present the blessed religion of Islam to its people in its purest form, free from any superstitions. According to a statement from his office, Beradar made the remarks in a meeting with a number of Islamic scholars from India and Bangladesh Tuesday. The Islamic Emirate has strengthened its educational institutions, worked on the establishment of new academic bodies, and implemented significant reforms in the educational curriculum, he said, emphasizing that the current system has initiated effective measures to improve the economic situation of the country. “Large economic projects have been launched, trade with neighboring countries, the region, and the world has expanded, there has been progress in the industrial sector, and the foundation for a self-reliant economy, free from foreign dependence, has been established,” the statement quoted him as saying. He also pointed out that the freezing of Afghanistan’s national assets and the economic sanctions have been major obstacles hindering the country’s economic growth. The Deputy Prime Minister highlighted that the Islamic Emirate seeks to establish political and economic relations with the world based on mutual benefits, under the guidance of Islamic Sharia, and advocates for a self-sufficient Afghanistan, which would be beneficial for both the region and the world. The scholars from India and Bangladesh expressed their happiness with the establishment of the Islamic system in Afghanistan and shared their views on strengthening the Islamic system. The Kabul Times
Source:thekabultimes.com
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https://thekabultimes.com/beradar-meets-islamic-scholars-of-india-bangladesh-in-kabul/
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Muttaqi seeking WHO’s cooperation in enhancement of Afghanistan’s healthcare system
November 20, 2024
KABUL: The acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Mawlavi Amir Khan Muttaqi, during a meeting with the regional head of the World Health Organization, Dr. Hanan Balkhy, and her accompanying delegation, urged the WHO to enhance and support Afghanistan’s domestic healthcare system, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. Mawlavi Muttaqi said that due to four decades of war and instability in Afghanistan, a large number of Afghans don’t have access to basic healthcare services in the remote areas and the WHO’s cooperation is very vital in providing the people with the necessary health services in the deprived areas of the country. Furthermore, he emphasized enhancing local healthcare infrastructure to support Afghan health centers financially, fostering self-sufficiency in healthcare among Afghans. Meanwhile, Hanan Balkhy expressed gratitude to the Islamic Emirate for their consistent collaboration with the WHO, enabling fruitful opportunities for work. Dr. Balkhy also pledged to work closely with local health institutions in Afghanistan to enhance and equip them effectively. The Kabul Times
Source:thekabultimes.com
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https://thekabultimes.com/muttaqi-seeking-whos-cooperation-in-enhancement-of-afghanistans-healthcare-system/
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Commercial market worth 40 mln Afghani to be built in Jawzjan
November 20, 2024
SHEBERGHAN: Construction work on a commercial market worth 40 million Afghani has been kicked off in the country’s northern Jawzjan province, the Director General of the provincial State-Owned Enterprises Mawlavi Abdul Razaq Ghulamullah, said in a statement Tuesday. He said that the project includes the construction of a mar ket featuring 50 shops, a fuel station, a vehicle washing facility, and a high-capacity weighbridge and will provide job opportunities for scores of local residents. Residents of Jawzjan have welcomed the initiative, describing it as beneficial, and have urged the government to implement similar projects in the province. The Kabul Times
Source:thekabultimes.com
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Stable Afghanistan Benefits Region and World, Says Deputy PM Mullah Baradar Akhund
2024-11-20
KABUL(BNA): In a meeting with several scholars from India and Bangladesh, the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund, expressed that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan views a self-reliant Afghanistan as advantageous for both the region and the world.
According to a press release from the Deputy Prime Minister’s office, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund recently met with the scholars at his office. During the meeting, he emphasized that the Islamic Emirate is committed to promoting a pure and correct understanding of Islam, free from superstitions. To achieve this, the government is strengthening schools, establishing new educational institutions, and implementing significant reforms in the curriculum.
Furthermore, Mullah Baradar Akhund highlighted that the Islamic Emirate is actively working to improve the country’s economic situation. Large-scale economic projects have been launched, trade with neighboring countries, the region, and the world has expanded, and progress in the industrial sector has been made. These efforts aim to create a self-sufficient economy, free from external dependencies.
He also mentioned that the freezing of Afghanistan’s national assets and economic sanctions have been major obstacles, slowing the country’s economic growth.
The Deputy Prime Minister further stated that the Islamic Emirate seeks to establish political and economic relations based on mutual interests and in accordance with Islamic principles. He reiterated that a self-sustained Afghanistan is beneficial for both the region and the world.
During the meeting, the scholars from India and Bangladesh expressed their satisfaction with the governance of the Islamic system in Afghanistan and shared their views on strengthening the Islamic system further.
Source:bakhtarnews.af
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https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/stable-afghanistan-benefits-region-and-world-says-deputy-pm-mullah-baradar-akhund/
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Commitment to Transparency and Efficiency Highlighted at Mining Agreement Signing
2024-11-20
KABUL(BNA): General Director of Administrative Affairs, Mawlavi Noor-ul-Haq Anwar, emphasized the commitment of the Islamic Emirate during a signing ceremony for an implementation agreement focused on the Islamic Emirate working hour procedures.
The event, held between the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum and the Administrative Reforms and Civil Services Authority, marked a pivotal moment in the ongoing efforts to improve administrative efficiency.
The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum announced that the primary goal of the meeting was to smooth and expedite the bidding procedures for both large- and small-scale mining projects.
The agreement also aims to establish clear implementation guidelines, ensuring that the process is more accessible and efficient for all stakeholders involved.
Acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum, Mullah Hedayatullah Badri, highlighted the progress made in simplifying contract procedures, stating that the ministry is dedicated to introducing further improvements to create standardized and efficient mining operations.
Mufti Shahzad Noor Rashid, Head of Administrative Reforms and Civil Services, provided insights into the broader administrative reforms currently underway. He noted that several initiatives aimed at process simplification are being implemented under the General Directorate of Administrative Affairs, all designed to enhance ease and efficiency for citizens.
Source:bakhtarnews.af
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https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/commitment-to-transparency-and-efficiency-highlighted-at-mining-agreement-signing/
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Kandahar Reports Return of 727 Families Through Spin Boldak
2024-11-20
KABUL(BNA): Officials from the Registration, Verification, and Reception Committee in Kandahar have reported the return of 727 families to Afghanistan through the Spin Boldak border crossing during the current month.
According to the committee’s representatives in the Anzargai Camp of Kandahar’s Takhta Pul district, from October 22 till November 19th, a total of 727 families, comprising 3,748 individuals, returned to the country from Pakistan. Additionally, 222 prisoners were repatriated during this period.
The committee noted that these families have been introduced to various organizations for assistance.
Source:bakhtarnews.af
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https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/kandahar-reports-return-of-727-families-through-spin-boldak/
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Deputy Minister of Railways Engages Iranian Officials on Key Railway Projects and Investment
2024-11-19
KABUL(BNA): The Deputy Minister of Railways at the Ministry of Public Works, Mawlawi Mohammad Ishaq Sahebzada, held a meeting with Hassan Kazemi Qomi, the special envoy of the President of Iran, and officials from Iranian companies involved in railway development.
According to the Ministry’s media office, the discussion focused on increasing transportation through the third section of the Khaf-Herat railway, Iran’s support for this route, and the creation of new regional trade and transit pathways through Afghanistan. The talks also emphasized the effectiveness of bilateral railway cooperation.
Additionally, the Deputy Minister of Railways met with the Executive Director of Iran’s Transport Infrastructure Construction and Development Company to discuss ongoing railway projects in Afghanistan, particularly the Herat-Nimruz, Nimruz-Kandahar, and Chabahar railway projects. The Iranian officials expressed readiness to invest and collaborate on the technical aspects of these projects.
In a related development, the Deputy Minister of Railways also met with representatives from six railway companies operating in the sector, who committed to supporting the standardization and expansion of Afghanistan’s railway network.
It should be noted that the delegation from the Ministry of Public Works, led by the Deputy Minister of Railways, is on an official visit to Iran to seek cooperation and attention from regional countries for the development of Afghanistan’s railway infrastructure.
Source:bakhtarnews.af
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https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/deputy-minister-of-railways-engages-iranian-officials-on-key-railway-projects-and-investment/
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India
In Kerala, after BJP leader’s switch to Congress, CPI(M) publishes his ‘remarks on Muslims’ in 2 newspaper ads
by Shaju Philip
November 20, 2024
On the eve of the bypoll in Kerala’s Palakkad Assembly, the CPI(M)-led LDF on Tuesday issued advertisements in two newspapers, displaying alleged anti-minority community statements and social media posts of BJP leader Sandeep Varier who joined Congress last Saturday.
When Varier distanced himself from the BJP a week back, CPI(M) was first to “welcome him” to the party, with its central committee member A K Balan hailing Varier as a “crystal clear person’’ who can “become a good cadre”. But with Varier opting for the Congress, CPI(M) did a volte-face, dubbing him as a link between the Congress and RSS.
The advertisement titled “Sarin Wave” (referring to LDF-backed independent candidate Dr P Sarin) was published in the Palakkad edition of ‘Siraj’ and ‘Suprabhatham’, two dailies run by factions of Sunni Muslims in Kerala. More than half of the full-page advertisement was dedicated to screenshots and statements alleged to be Varier’s comments on Muslims during his Sangh Parivar days. The copies of the newspapers were distributed in various houses on Tuesday a day before the bypoll.
By giving this controversial advertisement, the CPI(M) has departed from the tradition of highlighting the achievements of the government led by Pinarayi Vijayan.
Varier responded, “I had left BJP, but why is CPI(M) worried about me? The campaign is aimed at creating communal polarisation. Many statements in the advertisement had been wrongly attributed to me.”
Opposition leader and senior Congress legislator V D Satheesan said CPI(M) had crossed all boundaries in campaigning. “After Varier joined Congress, CPI(M) wanted to communalise the issue. They want to split minority votes to ensure the BJP victory. Why is Vijayan worried about a BJP leader joining the Congress?”
CPI(M) minister M B Rajesh, however, said, “There is nothing controversial in the newspaper advertisement. Everything we have given in the advertisement is from Facebook posts of Varier. Congress fears setback in the elections. Is Congress ready to say no to SDPI (the political wing of banned PFI) votes? If our advertisement was wrong, let them file a case.’’
Source:indianexpress.com
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https://indianexpress.com/article/india/cpi-bjp-leader-switch-congress-kerala-publishes-remarks-muslims-newspaper-ads-9678705/
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‘In general elections, police scared Muslim voters,’ SP writes to UP election body ahead of by-polls
19 November, 2024
Lucknow: Samajwadi Party Uttar Pradesh Chief Shyam Lal Pal on Tuesday wrote to the state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and urged that no police personnel should check the voter ID of any voter in the state by-polls scheduled on November 20.
In the letter, SP’s Shyam Lal Pal sought that a written order be issued to the Returning Officer, Returning Officer/District Magistrate, General Observer, and Police officials that “no police personnel will check the voter ID of any voter” on November 20 (the date of polling).
The letter stated that the right to check voter IDs lies with the Polling Officer.
The Samajwadi Party leader also alleged that during the Lok Sabha elections 2024, the Police officials deployed at polling stations misused their power and position, and made SP supporters, especially Muslim women voters remove their veils, causing fear among the women.
“Many of them left the polling stations without casting their votes. A significant number of SP supporters returned without exercising their voting rights, which affected the election and led to a decline in voter turnout at polling stations,” he said.
Shyam Lal Pal also claimed that in the nine Legislative Assembly by-election constituencies, voter slips have not been distributed by BLOs (Booth Level Officers) in areas predominantly populated by SP supporters, particularly in Muslim communities.
“A large number of voters are unaware of their booth numbers and voter serial numbers, which is impacting the election. The 100 per cent distribution of voter slips must be ensured so that voters are not deprived of their right to vote.”
The SP leader, in his letter to UP CEO, alleged further that in the Karhal Legislative Assembly by-election constituency, BJP candidate Anujesh Pratap Singh is influencing the election.
“It must be ensured that the Election Commission assigns a videographer to record 100 per cent of Anujesh Pratap Singh’s movements at polling stations on election day to ensure a fair election,” the letter said.
Nine seats in Uttar Pradesh including Meerapur, Kundarki, Ghaziabad, Khair, Karhal, Sishamau, Phulpur, Katehari and Majhawan in Uttar Pradesh will go to voting on November 20 with results set to be declared on November 23. (ANI)
Source:theprint.in
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https://theprint.in/politics/in-general-elections-police-scared-muslim-voters-sp-writes-to-up-election-body-ahead-of-by-polls/2363131/
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Muslims come out in numbers to protest Waqf (Amendment) Bill in Kolkata
November 19, 2024
Different Muslim organisations came together in Kolkata on Tuesday to oppose the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. Introduced in Parliament earlier this year, the bill seeks to amend the Waqf Act of 1995, with the goal of streamlining the works of the Waqf Board and improving the management of Waqf properties.
Hundreds of protesters, led by organisations such as All India Muslim Personal Law Board, All Bengal Imam Muazzin Association, and Joint Forum For WAQF Protection, among others, gathered at RR Road near Shaheed Minar in Esplanade to demand the revocation of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
They claimed the proposed amendment was a direct attack on their faith and urged the central government not to pass it. “We will come out with greater strength in upcoming days and send a message to the fascist government in Delhi that we will not allow this bill,” one of the organisers of Tuesday’s rally said.
Criticising opposition MPs for repeatedly walking out of JPC meetings on the Waqf Amendment Bill, protesters warned secular MPs against further walkouts, saying such actions could lead to permanent removal from Parliament. They also threatened to paralyse Kolkata, urging the West Bengal government to pass a resolution opposing the bill.
Notably, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the ruling party in West Bengal, has opposed the amendment so far. Along with MPs and other INDIA bloc parties, TMC parliamentarians have let their dissent known during the JPC meetings.
Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee, who was suspended from the JPC due to “unruly behaviour”, accused the JPC chairman Jagadambika Pal of “high-handedness” and “arbitrary action” on the Waqf Amendment Bill.
Banerjee also alleged that Pal was deliberately rushing the discussions on Waqf in the meetings. He further accused the chairman of fabricating opinions by collecting testimony from individuals who have no direct involvement with Waqf matters.
Source:.theweek.in
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https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2024/11/19/muslims-come-out-in-numbers-to-protest-waqf-amendment-bill-in-kolkata.html
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Why Muslims Prefer This BJP Candidate
November 19, 2024
In Bandra West, where Muslims make up a little more than a quarter of the electorate (25.3%), the Bharatiya Janata Party's Ashish Shelar is being preferred by some in the community over his rival Asif Zakaria of the Congress. Shelar had defeated Zakaria in 2019.
Interestingly, in the Lok Sabha polls held just six months ago, Muslims of this constituency had, like their counterparts across Maharashtra, helped defeat the BJP by voting for the INDIA alliance's Varsha Gaekwad.
Despite Gaekwad being new to the area, the 4-time Congress MLA from Dharavi defeated the BJP's high profile candidate, former public prosecutor Ujwal Nikam by 16,514 votes.
However, her party colleague now standing opposite Shelar may not get the same support from Muslims, despite being a Muslim himself.
A three-time corporator from the area, Zakaria inherits the legacy of his father, the late Congress MLA Ahmed Zakaria.
In addition, he is the candidate of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA, the Uddhav Sena-Congress-Sharad Pawar NCP alliance), which enjoys the support of most Muslims.
Despite these advantages, it was reported that Zakaria had to be persuaded to stand.
The reason may lie in Shelar's popularity -- in 2019, he received 57% of the vote, up from 51% in 2014, when the Modi wave was at its peak. Zakaria received only 37%.
Shelar's unique appeal lies in his focus on resolving local issues affecting Muslims.
These were issues that could not have been resolved by the community on its own, not only because authorities rarely listen to those directly impacted by their decisions, but even more because BJP governments rarely listen to Muslims.
Yet, Shelar managed to get the railways and the MMRDA, an agency accountable only to the chief minister, to change their designs for infrastructural projects so that the only Muslim graveyard available to Sunnis in the area, and the 220-year-old landmark Jama Masjid, were not adversely affected.
Auto owner-driver Fahim Qureshi was more than willing to talk about why he supported Shelar.
That the MLA financed the purchase of his new auto meant as much to him as what Shelar did for Qureshi's kinsmen -- got them a brand new direct train to their hometown Moradabad, a long-standing demand ignored by other politicians.
The train, that currently runs only once a week, was inaugurated in October.
It's obvious that Shelar can get such crucial work done only because of his political clout -- he is the ruling party's city president. However, how many BJP bigwigs help Muslims, specially when it comes to matters concerning mosques and graveyards?
What makes Shelar do so?
It may have something to do with the 52 year old having grown up among Muslims in Bandra.
At a rally held last week behind Bandra's famous Lucky restaurant, Shelar spoke of how he crossed the very lane where the rally was being held to go to school, how he played cricket there.
Qureshi has known Shelar since the latter went to college, joined the ABVP (the BJP's student wing), and then entered politics.
All through, said Qureshi, their relationship didn't change. "When I'm desperate, he's the person I can turn to for help."
No fan of the BJP, Qureshi had no hesitation in saying that he and his family would vote for Shelar. "I'm no namak haram," he added.
Seated in the office of the Bandra Urdu High School adjacent to the Bandra mosque, Zameer Ali Shaikh, trustee, Bombay and Bandra Bakkar Kasai Jamat Mosques Trust which runs both the school and the mosque, spoke of how Shelar's interventions had helped get essential approvals, held up for months by the BMC, for the trust's English school and the community's jamatkhana.
As we spoke, Prime Minister Narendra D Modi was holding his last campaign rally in Shivaji Park.
All the candidates of the BJP and the Shinde Sena were in attendance with their supporters. Why had Zameer not gone?
"I've nothing to do with the BJP; I'm a Shelar supporter," shot back Zameer.
"People tell me to worry about my imaan (religious belief). Well, my imaan lies in voting for the man who has done so much for our community."
In exchange, these Muslims are willing to ignore Shelar's recent utterances on 'vote jihad' as arising out of political compulsions.
But not all Muslims feel similarly obliged. Advocate Adil Khatri was as agitated as the average Muslim about the impact of the railways' plans on the community's graveyard. However, though Shelar resolved that issue, Khatri points to the increase in hate speech and attacks on Muslims under the new government.
"Ashish Shelar, despite holding a powerful position, stood as a mute spectator," said the young lawyer.
Tellingly, the Muslim women who occupied all the chairs at last week's rally couldn't say why they supported Shelar.
When probed, one of them smiled and admitted that they'd been brought to the rally, paid Rs 300 each.
Not too far away, the Versova constituency presents a contrasting scenario. This is where the only Muslim to get a ticket from Uddhav Thackeray is standing for election.
Muslims make up more than a third of the electorate here (33.5%), and with their fondness for the Sena chief, Haroon Khan may be assured of the majority of the community's vote, except for those swayed by the AIMIM's appeal. The AIMIM's city president, builder Raees Lashkariya, is contesting the election from Versova.
But what of the Hindus?
Dilip Meghwal, who has worked for every political party in the area, is sceptical.
This was one of the seats the Congress had wanted, and the name of its mahila morcha chief, Bhavna Jain, had been doing the rounds.
"Jain would have got the vote of all communities," said Dilip. "Now Hindus won't vote for Haroon Khan. They'll go for the BJP's Bharti Lavekar."
One section of Hindus seem ready to prove this prediction wrong: The Uddhav Sena's Shiv Sainiks, and not only because they are used to obeying whatever aadesh comes from Matoshree, where the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief lives.
Khan carries a weightier stamp of approval: "Balasaheb himself had appointed him shakha pramukh," says Meenakshi Kale, campaigning for the Muslim who has been in the Sena for the last 35 years.
It was his standing as a shakha pramukh that got his wife Shaheda a ticket for the 2017 municipal elections. Since the ward was reserved for women, Khan couldn't fight, but locals credit him for the work done during his wife's tenure, listing toilets, pucca road and temples.
Dr Ravindra Yadav, who practises in the area, recounts an interesting story. Khan's name was recommended as trustee of a new temple in the area.
When the BJP objected to a Muslim being inducted in the running of a temple, Khan recited Sanskrit shlokas and quoted the Mahabharat to prove that he was fit for the post.
He didn't get it, but even BJP supporters can't fault him for being a Muslim.
Khan refuses to describe himself as a "Muslim candidate". "I'm just a Shiv Sainik," he says.
In fact, on the campaign trail, it is difficult to make out Khan from a typical Shiv Sainik. Tika on forehead, he waits patiently while women perform aarti for him.
As the campaign was drawing to an end, he performed aarti in a temple, following the priest's instructions.
Will all this help? Or will Versova confirm the stereotype that in 'New India', Hindus won't vote for Muslims?
Source:rediff.com
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https://www.rediff.com/news/special/why-muslims-prefer-this-bjp-candidate/20241119.htm
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Mideast
Netanyahu says Israel offering $5 mn reward for each Gaza hostage freed
November 20, 2024
JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel was offering a reward of $5 million to anybody who brings out a hostage held in Gaza.
“Anybody who brings out a hostage will find with us a secure way for them and their family to leave” Gaza, Netanyahu said in a video filmed inside the Palestinian territory, according to his office.
“We will also give them a reward of $5 million for each hostage.”
Wearing a helmet and a bullet-proof jacket, Netanyahu spoke with his back to the Mediterranean in the Netzarim Corridor, Israel’s main military supply route which carves the Gaza Strip in two just south of Gaza City.
“Anyone who dares to do harm to our hostages is considered dead — we will pursue you and we will catch up with you,” he said.
Accompanied by Defense Minister Israel Katz, Netanyahu underlined that one of Israel’s war aims remained that “Hamas does not rule in Gaza.”
“We are also making efforts to locate the hostages and bring them home. We won’t give up. We will continue until we’ve found them all, alive or dead.”
During Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack which triggered the war in Gaza, militants took 251 hostages. Of those, 97 are still held in Gaza, including 34 who have been confirmed dead.
Source:arabnews.com
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UN chief slams ‘systematic’ looting of Gaza humanitarian aid
November 19, 2024
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations chief on Tuesday denounced the “systematic” looting of humanitarian aid in Gaza, a day after the territory’s Hamas authorities said 20 people were killed in a security operation targeting such actions.
“Armed looting has become systematic and must end immediately. It is hindering life saving aid operations and further endangering the lives of our staff,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
“However, the use of law enforcement operations must be lawful, necessary and proportionate.”
Israel imposed a total siege on Gaza in the early stages of the war last year, and the UN warned on November 9 that famine was looming in some areas due to a lack of aid.
Aid distribution in Gaza is complicated by shortages of fuel, war-damaged roads and looting, as well as fighting in densely populated areas and the repeated displacement of much of the territory’s 2.4 million people.
Several humanitarian officials have told AFP on condition of anonymity that almost half the aid that enters Gaza is looted, especially basic supplies.
On Monday, Gaza’s interior ministry said it had carried out a major operation targeting looters.
“More than 20 members of gangs involved in stealing aid trucks were killed in a security operation carried out by security forces in cooperation with tribal committees,” the ministry said in a statement.
It said the operation was “the beginning of a broad security campaign that has been long planned and will expand to include everyone involved in the theft of aid trucks.”
On Tuesday, the US-based Washington Post newspaper cited a UN memo as saying some of the gangs were receiving “passive if not active benevolence” or “protection” from the Israel Defense Forces.
Dujarric said he was unaware of the memo, but that the allegation was “fairly alarming” if true.
“The idea that the Israeli forces may be allowing looters or not doing enough to prevent it is frankly, fairly alarming, given the responsibilities of Israel as the occupying power to ensure that humanitarian aid is distributed safely,” he said.
Source:arabnews.com
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Israeli troops kill three Islamic Jihad gunmen in West Bank gunbattle
19 November 2024
Three gunmen from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group were killed by Israeli forces during a firefight in the northern West Bank, the army said Tuesday.
No Israeli soldiers were injured in the Tuesday morning exchange, which came as troops raided the Jenin area as part of an ongoing anti-terror operation.
Border police troops had entered the town of Qabatiya south of Jenin to arrest Raed Hanaysha, 24, a PIJ operative previously imprisoned for terrorism. Hanshaya is suspected of being involved in shooting and bombing attacks against soldiers in the West Bank that did not cause casualties, according to a joint statement from the Israel Defense Forces, Israel Police, and Shin Bet security service.
Officers laid siege to the building where Hanaysha was holed up after coming under fire from two other gunmen in the building, using a tactic known as a “pressure cooker,” which involves escalating the volume of fire against a building to flush suspects out.
Both Hanaysha and the two gunmen were killed, with Islamic Jihad later confirming that the three had been members of the terror group.
The other two men were identified by PIJ as Anwar Saba’neh, 25, and Suleiman Tazazaa, 32.
Three assault rifles and other military equipment were found on the bodies of the terrorists.
In addition, the Israeli troops found three more weapons and destroyed two bomb-making labs, as well as several bombs that had been placed under roads to harm soldiers.
Since October 7, 2023, when the Hamas terror group attacked Israel, starting the ongoing war in Gaza, troops have arrested some 5,250 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 2,050 affiliated with Hamas.
According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, more than 716 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops or terrorists killed while carrying out attacks.
During the same period, 41 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another six members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.
Since October 7, 2023, the IDF has carried out more than 70 airstrikes in the West Bank, using drones, attack helicopters, and fighter jets.
Source:timesofisrael.com
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US imposes sanctions on senior Hamas officials
November 19, 2024
WASHINGTON: The US on Tuesday imposed sanctions on six senior Hamas officials, the US Treasury Department said, in further action against the Palestinian militant group as Washington has sought to achieve a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza.
The Treasury Department said in a statement the sanctions targeted the group’s representatives abroad, a senior member of the Hamas military wing and those involved in supporting fundraising efforts for the group and weapons smuggling into Gaza.
“Hamas continues to rely on key officials who seemingly maintain legitimate, public-facing roles within the group, yet who facilitate their terrorist activities, represent their interests abroad, and coordinate the transfer of money and goods into Gaza,” Treasury’s Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Bradley Smith, said in the statement.
“Treasury remains committed to disrupting Hamas’s efforts to secure additional revenue and holding those who facilitate the group’s terrorist activities to account.”
Among those targeted was Abd Al-Rahman Ismail abd Al-Rahman Ghanimat, a longtime member of Hamas’s military wing who is now based in Turkiye, the Treasury said, accusing him of being involved in multiple attempted and successful terrorist attacks.
Two other officials based in Turkiye, a member based in Gaza who has participated in Hamas’s engagements with Russia and a leader authorized to speak publicly on behalf of the group and who previously oversaw border crossings at Gaza were also among those targeted, according to the Treasury.
The US on Monday warned Turkiye against hosting Hamas leadership, saying Washington does not believe leaders of a terrorist organization should be living comfortably.
Asked about reports that some Hamas leaders had moved to Turkiye from Qatar, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller did not confirm the reports but said he was not in a position to dispute them. He said Washington will make clear to Turkiye’s government that there can be no more business as usual with Hamas.
Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
More than 43,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza over the past year, Palestinian health officials say, and Gaza has been reduced to a wasteland of wrecked buildings and piles of rubble, where more than two million Gazans are seeking shelter in makeshift tents and facing shortages of food and medicines.
Source:arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2579972/middle-east
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Argentina withdraws from UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon
November 19, 2024
GENEVA: Argentina has notified the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon of its withdrawal from the force, a UNIFIL spokesperson said on Tuesday, in the first sign of cracks in the unity of the mission following attacks it has blamed on Israel.
The 10,000-strong peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL is deployed in southern Lebanon to monitor the demarcation line with Israel, an area where there have been hostilities between Israeli troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters for over a year.
“Argentina has asked its officers to go back (to Argentina),” UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said in response to a question about a newspaper report.
He declined to comment on the reason for their departure, referring the question to Argentina’s government.
Argentina is one of 48 countries contributing peacekeepers to UNIFIL, with a total of three staff currently in Lebanon, a UN website showed. It did not immediately respond to Tenenti’s comments.
UNIFIL has previously referred to “unacceptable pressures being exerted on the mission through various channels.”
Peacekeepers have refused to leave their posts despite more than 20 injuries in the past two months and damage to facilities which UNIFIL blames on the Israeli military.
Israel has denied such incidents are deliberate attacks. Israel says UN troops provide a human shield for Hezbollah fighters and has told UNIFIL to evacuate from southern Lebanon for its own safety — a request that the force has rejected.
Tenenti said there was no broader indication of declining support for the mission.
“The idea is to stay. So there is no discussion of withdrawing at all,” he said.
He said that its monitoring activities were “very, very limited” because of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict and repairs to some of its facilities.
“We’re still working on fixing some of the positions, but this has been definitely a very difficult moment, because we’ve been deliberately attacked by the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) in recent months, and we’re doing our utmost to rebuild the areas,” he said.
Israel’s military did not immediately comment on Tenenti’s remarks.
Source:arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2579966/middle-east
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Turkiye’s Erdogan says Israel’s Herzog was denied airspace en route to Azerbaijan
November 20, 2024
ANKARA: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkiye refused to allow Israeli President Isaac Herzog to use its airspace to attend the COP climate summit in Azerbaijan, highlighting Ankara’s stance amid tensions with Israel.
“We did not allow the Israeli president to use our airspace to attend the COP summit. We suggested alternative routes and other options,” Erdogan told reporters at the G20 Summit in Brazil.
Herzog ended up canceling the visit.
“In light of the situation assessment and for security reasons, the President of the State has decided to cancel his trip to the Climate Conference in Azerbaijan,” the Israeli presidency said. Israel launched a devastating war against Hamas in Gaza a year ago after the Palestinian Islamist group’s deadly cross-border attack.
Turkiye withdrew its ambassador in Israel for consultations after the Gaza war broke out, but has not officially severed its ties with Israel and its embassy remains open and operational.
“But whether he was able to go or not, I honestly don’t know,” Erdogan said on Herzog’s visit to Baku.
“On certain matters, as Turkiye, we are compelled to take a stand, and we will continue to do so,” he said.
Source:arabnews.com
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Hospital chief decries ‘extreme catastrophe’ in north Gaza
November 19, 2024
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: The World Health Organization expressed grave concern on Tuesday for hospitals still partly operating in war-stricken northern Gaza, where one hospital director described the situation as an “extreme catastrophe.”
“We are very, very concerned, and it’s getting harder and harder to get the aid in. It’s getting harder and harder to get the specialist personnel in at a time when there is greater and greater need,” WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told journalists in Geneva.
She said the organization was “particularly concerned about Kamal Adwan Hospital” in Beit Lahia, where Israeli forces launched an offensive against Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups last month.
Kamal Adwan Hospital director Hossam Abu Safiyeh told AFP by phone: “The situation in northern Gaza is that of an extreme catastrophe.
“We’re beginning to lose patients because we lack medical supplies and personnel,” he said.
Abu Safiyeh added that his hospital had been “targeted many times by the occupation forces, most recently” on Monday.
“A large number of children and elderly people continue to arrive suffering from malnutrition,” the doctor said.
He accused Israel of “blocking the entry of food, water, medical staff and materials destined for the north” of the Gaza Strip.
The WHO’s Harris estimated that between November 8 and 16, “four WHO missions we were trying to get up to go were denied.”
“There’s a lack of food and drinking water, shortage of medical supplies. There’s really only enough for two weeks at the very best,” she said.
A statement from COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body responsible for civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said Tuesday: “COGAT-led humanitarian efforts in the medical field continue.”
It said that on Monday, “1,000 blood units were transferred” to Al-Sahaba hospital in Gaza City, outside the area where Israel’s military operations are taking place.
In its latest update on the situation in northern Gaza, the UN humanitarian office OCHA said Tuesday that “access to the Kamal Adwan, Al Awda and Indonesian hospitals remains severely restricted amid severe shortages of medical supplies, fuel and blood units.”
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Turkiye asks export group to help snuff out Israel trade
November 19, 2024
ISTANBUL: Turkiye’s government has asked one of the country’s top export associations to help enforce a ban on trade with Israel, slowing the flow of goods in recent weeks, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Ankara has faced public criticism that trade may be continuing with Israel given a spike in exports to the Palestinian territories since the ban in May. So it turned to the Central Anatolian Exporters’ Association, the sources said.
The Trade Ministry has asked the association to require more checks and approvals of proposed shipments, including vetting with Palestinian authorities, they said.
One of the sources, from an export association, said the new system began in mid-October, causing an initial backlog. The “main concern was goods still going to Israel, so there is a procedural change in exports to Palestine,” he said.
In response to a query, the Trade Ministry said goods were only shipped if approved by Palestinian authorities under a bilateral trade mechanism. “The destination is Palestine and the importer is a Palestinian,” it said.
According to official Turkish Statistical Institute data, Turkiye, among the fiercest critics of Israel’s war in Gaza, has cut exports there to zero since May, from a monthly average of $380 million in the first four months of the year.
But at the same time exports to Palestinian territories — which must flow through Israel — jumped around 10-fold to a monthly average of $127 million in June-September, from only $12 million in the first four months of the year, the data show.
The top goods leaving Turkish ports and earmarked for Palestinian territories in recent months are steel, cement, machinery, and chemicals, according to the Turkish Exporters Assembly, also known as TIM.
The jump in such exports raised suspicions the trade ban was being circumvented, sparking street protests that questioned one of the main policies President Tayyip Erdogan’s government imposed to oppose Israel’s war with Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.
Opposition lawmakers have also sought answers in parliament.
Trade Minister Omer Bolat said this month that, before the ban, some $2 billion of Turkiye’s $6.5 billion annual trade with Israel was goods ultimately purchased by Palestinian buyers.
Last week, Bolat told parliament that the Palestinian Economy Ministry vetted all shipments. Turkiye’s Trade Ministry said that Palestinian confirmations then run through an electronic system, after which customs declarations require a separate approval.
The Central Anatolian Exporters’ Association is an umbrella body for sector-specific export groups. In the past, they all usually quickly approved shipments with little question, the sources said.
Under the new instructions from the government, the association is the main approval body, two sources said. It must first confirm receipt of information about the proposed export including the Palestinian authorities’ approval, and then approve a separate application for export, they said.
The first source said the system was working now, but slower than in the past due to relevant checks.
In the first 10 months of the year, exports to Palestinian territories were up 543 percent from a year earlier, TIM data show. In the first four months, before the Israel ban was imposed, they were up only 35 percent.
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Lebanon’s first responders caught in the line of Israel-Hezbollah fire
November 19, 2024
LONDON: Since tensions between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah flared up on Oct. 8 last year, paramedics and rescue workers in south Lebanon have found themselves in the line of fire, despite their protected status under international humanitarian law.
In the latest deadly incident, at least 13 people were killed on Thursday in an Israeli strike that hit the main civil defense center in the eastern Baalbek area, according to Lebanon’s General Directorate of Civil Defense.
Bachir Khodr, the regional governor, was quoted by BBC News as saying that the facility belonged to the Lebanese government and that among the victims was the city’s civil defense chief
In a post on X, EU High Representative Josep Borrell said the “EU strongly condemns” the loss of life and that the pattern of attack “mirrors appalling trends in other conflicts, from Syria to Ukraine or Sudan.”
As of Oct. 31, 2024, Israeli military strikes had killed at least 173 emergency workers, injured 277 others, and damaged 243 medical vehicles and 55 hospitals, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.
Humanitarian organizations and rights groups have joined the ministry in condemning attacks on first responders, their facilities, and ambulances.
“The killing of first responders in south Lebanon is a heartbreaking violation, not just of international law, but of basic humanity,” Tania Baban, the Lebanon country director of the US-based charity MedGlobal, told Arab News.
The media office of the Lebanese Civil Defense earlier shared with Arab News a list documenting 13 personnel and volunteers killed in Israeli strikes while performing their duties. The document, received on Nov. 13, detailed the victims’ names, positions and place of death.
Six of the deaths occurred in the southern governorate of Nabatieh, which has come under regular bombardment since mid-September, while six others occurred in the town of Dardaghia, east of Tyre, and one in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
An Israeli strike directly hit the civil defense center in Dardaghia on Oct. 9, leaving it “completely destroyed” and killing five of its staff, according to the organization’s media office.
The document provided by the Lebanese Civil Defense also listed 70 personnel and volunteers injured in Israeli attacks while carrying out their duties. Injuries ranged in severity and included burns, head trauma, and inhalation of toxic fumes.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry condemned “the continued targeting of emergency medical teams by occupation forces,” calling on the international community “to put an end to this series of ongoing war crimes.”
The statement came after an airstrike on an ambulance in Zefta, a town in Nabatieh, reportedly killed a paramedic and injured two others on the morning of Oct. 31. According to the ministry, the vehicle belonged to the Al-Risala Emergency Medical Association.
“These are people who willingly risk their lives to help others, driven by a duty to save lives, often under extreme conditions. To see them become targets is devastating,” MedGlobal’s Baban said, referring to the first responders.
She said such attacks “undermine the very core of humanitarian work,” stressing that “medics are meant to be neutral, protected under international law.”
Indeed, Article 18 of the First Geneva Convention, Articles 16(1) and 17(1) of Protocol I, and Article 10(1) of Protocol II prohibit harming or punishing anyone performing medical activities, regardless of the person benefiting from them.
Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Oct. 30 that it had documented three direct Israeli attacks on “medical personnel, transports, and facilities” in Lebanon, which it said constituted “apparent war crimes.”
The three reported attacks involved a civil defense center in central Beirut on Oct. 3, as well as an ambulance and a hospital in southern Lebanon on Oct. 4, which killed 14 paramedics.
In a statement on Oct. 11, Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the UN human rights office, said the conflict had killed more than 100 medics and emergency workers across Lebanon within the past year.
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN special coordinator for Lebanon, said at least “27 attacks targeted ambulances used by first responders” since early October last year.
Following the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that triggered the war in Gaza, Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel in solidarity with its Palestinian ally. Israel retaliated, sparking a year-long exchange of fire along the shared Israel-Lebanon border.
However, this tit-for-tat suddenly escalated in September, with Israel mounting a wave of air and ground attacks against Hezbollah’s communications network, weapons caches, and leadership, eliminating the group’s secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah on Sept. 27.
Residential buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs have not been spared, nor have villages in south Lebanon, including Ayta Al-Shab, Ramyeh, Kfar Kila, and Mhaybib, according to an analysis of satellite data by The Washington Post.
Some 1.2 million people have been displaced from southern and eastern Lebanon, according to UN figures. As of Oct. 12, more than 283,000 of them — most of them Syrian nationals — had crossed the border into war-torn Syria.
Since the conflict began, at least 3,189 people — more than 770 of them women and children — have been killed, while some 14,078 others have been wounded, according to the Ministry of Public Health.
In Israel, 72 people have been killed by Hezbollah attacks, including 30 soldiers, according to the prime minister’s office. More than 60,000 people have been displaced from their homes.
The Israeli military has not denied targeting ambulances in south Lebanon, a Hezbollah stronghold that has become a battleground between Israeli forces and Lebanese and Palestinian armed groups. On Oct. 12, it even threatened to target medical vehicles.
Avichay Adraee, the Israeli army’s Arabic-speaking spokesperson, said: “Hezbollah operatives are using ambulances to transport fighters and arms.”
In a post on the social media platform X on Oct. 12, he warned that “action will be taken (by the Israeli military) against any vehicle carrying armed men, regardless of its type.”
Prior to Adraee’s statement, on Oct. 3, the UK’s Guardian newspaper reported that Israel had struck a civil defense center in central Beirut belonging to the Islamic Health Committee, which is affiliated with Hezbollah.
The following day, the BBC reported that an Islamic Health Committee ambulance was struck near the entrance of Marjayoun Hospital in southern Lebanon, killing seven paramedics and forcing the facility to close.
Human Rights Watch said in its Oct. 30 statement that “membership or affiliation with Hezbollah, or other political movements with armed wings, is not a sufficient basis for determining an individual to be a lawful military target.”
“Medical personnel affiliated with Hezbollah, including those assigned to civil defense organizations, are protected under the laws of war,” the rights monitor added.
It called on the Israeli military to “immediately halt unlawful attacks on medical workers and health care facilities,” urging Israel’s allies to “suspend the transfer of arms to Israel given the real risk that they will be used to commit grave abuses.”
MedGlobal’s Baban said the targeting of first responders in Lebanon “leaves communities even more vulnerable, depriving families and neighborhoods of essential care and support at a time when they need it most.”
“Every attack on medical staff not only steals lives but shakes the hope and resilience of those they serve,” she said. “We must continue to demand respect and safety for all who work to heal and protect in these conflict zones.”
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Last Israelis in bombed out Metula hope for Lebanon ceasefire to rebuild lives
November 19, 2024
METULA, Israel: When darkness descends on Metula, Tamira Lang, one of the Israeli border town’s last remaining residents, switches off her house lights to avoid detection by Lebanese group Hezbollah, whose fighters sit a few kilometers away.
Lang, who is part of the town’s small rapid response security force made up of local volunteers, has already been wounded by shrapnel from a projectile and had to put out a fire in her next door neighbor’s home caused by a salvo.
“We live in darkness. If they (Hezbollah) see light, I have no house,” she said, surveying damage to nearby homes that overlook the nearby Lebanese border.
Metula saw most of its population of some 2,200 people leave in early October last year after Hezbollah launched rocket attacks against Israel on Oct. 8 in solidarity with Palestinians after Islamist group Hamas launched a devastating raid on Israel, prompting Israel’s war in Gaza.
The US has led a renewed push in recent days to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah while Israeli forces have stepped up their offensive seeking to ensure that over 60,000 evacuated Israelis can return to their homes in the north.
A senior US official said on Tuesday there was a “real opportunity” to end the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and that gaps were narrowing. Sirens went off in Metula on Tuesday.
Parts of Metula, which was founded in 1896, have been destroyed with many houses smashed up by mortars or missiles fired from Lebanese villages that surround it, Reuters found on a visit this week to the town, which currently remains a closed military zone.
The periodic sound of artillery from Israeli batteries firing into Lebanon and a burning smell from bombed homes are constant reminders of the day-to-day reality for those who remain in Metula.
“You don’t hear the sound of birds anymore,” Lang said. “The silence can also be deafening,” she said.
Hezbollah has fired over 16,000 missiles at Israel, while massive Israeli airstrikes and ground operations have left 1 million Lebanese uprooted from their homes.
For Liat Cohen-Raviv, a Metula resident currently living in the northern Israeli town of Rosh Pina after being evacuated, people will need assurances before they move back.
“In order for me to come back, I need to know, first of all, that it’s safe, that I’m protected,” she said, noting past agreements had collapsed.
Cohen-Raviv said Israelis in the north were nervous after Israel released details last month which it said showed Hezbollah had dug tunnels under the border, with the aim of launching attacks into Israeli territory.
This has led to fears of a follow up to the Oct. 7 Hamas’ attacks in Israel that killed some 1,200 people, with 101 hostages still being held in Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed nearly 44,000 people, according to the Gaza health ministry.
A source close to Hezbollah told Reuters last month the tunnels detected by Israel were built for its Radwan special forces units to one day enter the Galilee region of northern Israel.
“Today, more than ever, you can’t allow this to be a weak border,” Cohen-Raviv said.
“Metula will need at least a year just to recover in terms of infrastructure,” she added.
A survey published by Israeli think tank INSS in early November found 80 percent of those polled – comprising Jews and Arabs living in Israel – said the current security situation does not allow the majority of residents to return to northern towns.
Ruslan Bachinsky, who was born in Ukraine, is also part of Metula’s security detail. His pregnant wife has been evacuated. He says Israel’s operations have meant Hezbollah is firing less at the town.
“But we know that something can happen in a minute ... there is danger all the time,” he said. “I think we (need) more time (to finish operations in Lebanon) ... Hezbollah is still next to Metula.”
“We are expecting a girl in four months and my wife doesn’t want to come back to Metula. So this is a problem. So unfortunately, it will take time.”
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Iraq to hold first nationwide census since 1987
November 19, 2024
BAGHDAD: Iraq will begin its first full national census in more than three decades on Wednesday, a pivotal moment as it looks to gather demographic data for future planning and development.
The census, the first full one since Saddam Hussein was President in 1987, aims to provide a comprehensive count of Iraq’s population, estimated to exceed 43 million people by the end of 2024, said Iraq’s planning ministry spokesperson Abdul Zahra Al-Hindawi.
Attempts at conducting a national census were delayed by years of conflict, instability and disagreement among political factions, but with the country now in a period of stability, authorities hope the process will be completed successfully.
A census carried out in 1997 excluded the Iraqi Kurdistan region, which had been governed by Kurdish authorities since the 1991 Gulf War.
It counted 19 million Iraqis and officials estimated there were another 3 million in the Kurdish north, according to official statistics.
The census was repeatedly postponed over worries it was being politicized. Ethnic groups in contested areas like the northern city of Kirkuk, home to Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen and a valuable part of Iraq’s oil fields, opposed it because it might reveal demographics that would undermine political ambitions.
“We have fears (of the census) not only in Kirkuk but all other disputed areas which are subjected to strong disagreements between various powers,” said Shwan Dawoodi, a Kurdish politician.
The data gathered will be used to guide decisions in areas such as infrastructure development, education, health care and social services, said Hindawi.
The census will feature only one question regarding religious affiliation — Muslim or Christian — and none about ethnic background or sectarian affiliation.
The Iraqi government has made extensive efforts to ensure the process, scheduled to take two days to complete, is as inclusive and accurate as possible, imposing a two-day curfew from midnight on Tuesday.
Preliminary results will be announced within 24 hours and final results released in two to three months.
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Italy says Hezbollah staged UN base attack it had blamed on Israel
November 19, 2024
BEIRUT: Italy’s defense minister said Tuesday that the Hezbollah group staged an attack on a UN peacekeeping base in Lebanon that it initially blamed on Israel.
Defense Minister Guido Crosetto had said in Brussels that Israeli forces staged the new attack on the UN base in the Lebanese town of Chamaa. But a defense ministry source said that Crosetto “did not have the right information” when he spoke. “Hezbollah was responsible for the attack,” the source told AFP.
The UNIFIL force has complained of increasing attacks since Israel started its campaign targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,544 people and wounded 15,036 in Lebanon since October 2023, with 28 fatalities reported on Monday, the Lebanese health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
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Africa
Children Of The Poor Will Chase Us Out If We Don’t Send Them To School — Tinubu
20 November 2024
By Justina Otio
President Bola Tinubu has warned against neglecting the education of poor children.
He stated that this could lead to social upheaval that would consume the rich.
Tinubu stated this at a roundtable on northern Nigerian youth development in Abuja on Tuesday.
“We can afford to send our wards to private schools, but the children of the poor that we leave behind will certainly chase us out of this land,” he said.
Tinubu, represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, urged Northern leaders to address the region’s educational challenges with urgency.
The event was organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation with the theme ‘Empowering the Next Generation: Strategies for Sustainable Youth Development in Northern Nigeria’.
“Whatever disrupts the growth of one region sets back the entire nation.
“Unless we as leaders wear our thinking caps and come up with robust solutions to Northern Nigeria’s problems, it is not beyond us. It is not rocket science; we can do it.
“This is why we prioritise initiatives such as the Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Commission, which collaborates with all levels of government to ensure that every child has access to quality education.
“For the dividends of democracy to reach every corner of our nation, we must empower local governments to serve as pipelines of governance.
“This is why we have prioritised Local Government Autonomy, enabling them to receive their full entitlements and improve primary education funding.
“But governance is a shared responsibility, and citizens must hold their leaders accountable to ensure that every child is given a fighting chance,” Tinubu said.
He urged Northerners, especially the youth, to imbibe the spirit of tolerance, work, and worship as embraced by the late Sardauna of Sokoto.
He said that the energy, creativity, and ingenuity of Nigerian youth offer the chance to not only transform Nigeria but also to lead Africa into a new era of growth and innovation.
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Gangs launch fresh attack on Haiti’s capital
19 November 2024
Gangs launched a fresh attack on Haiti’s capital early Tuesday, targeting an upscale community in Port-au-Prince where gunmen clashed with residents who fought side-by-side with police.
The attack on Pétionville was led by the Viv Ansanm group, whose leader, former elite police officer Jimmy Chérizier, had announced the plan in a video posted on social media.
At least 28 suspected gang memb ers were killed and hundreds of munitions seized, according to Lionel Lazarre, deputy spokesman for Haiti’s National Police.
It was not immediately clear if police had prepared for the attack or tried to preventively protect Pétionville given that Chérizier, who is also known as Barbecue, had announced plans to attack it. Lazarre did not return a message for comment.
In Port-au-Prince people walked around the bodies of those killed.
"There are a lot of gang members who were killed (by the police and the public). Those who run away go into hiding." said one local resident, who did not give his name to The Associated Press.
Eyewitnesses told The Associated Press that residents were angered by yet another gang attack on their community. They said some of the suspected gunmen were decapitated or had their feet cut off, while bodies were placed in a pile and set on fire.
The pre-dawn attack began when two trucks carrying suspected gang members entered Pétionville. One of the trucks blocked the main entrance to the community.
Chérizier had threatened reprisals against the management and staff of any hotels in the area where politicians or “oligarchs” may have taken refuge.
The attack comes days after gang violence forced Haiti’s main international airport to shut down for the second time this year as the country swore in a new prime minister following political infighting.
On November 11, gunmen opened fire on a Spirit Airlines plane as it prepared to land, wounding a flight attendant.
The shooting prompted the airport to close and several airlines to temporarily cancel flights to Port-au-Prince.
Gang violence has forced more than 20,000 people to flee Port-au-Prince in recent days, according to the United Nations.
Gangs control 85% of the capital and in recent weeks have launched attacks in previously peaceful communities to try and gain control of even more territory.
The attacks have escalated since police officers from Kenya, who are leading a U.N.-backed mission to quell violence in Haiti, arrived in late June.
The U.S. government has been pushing for a U.N. peacekeeping force to replace the Kenyan-led mission because it lacks funds and personnel.
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Bawumia to commission new Walewale Central Mosque on Friday
Nov - 19 - 2024
The mosque, facilitated by Dr. Bawumia, who hails from the town, boasts facilities, including separate sections for men and women, as well as offices for the Imam.
Walewale, with its significant Muslim population, has long struggled with an old mosque that could no longer accommodate the growing number of worshippers.
The new mosque, whose construction began a few years ago, has been expanded to address this challenge and cater to the town's increasing population.
The commissioning ceremony will coincide with the congregational Friday (Jummah) prayers in the afternoon, drawing traditional rulers, Imams, and members of the Walewale community and surrounding areas.
Dr. Bawumia has extended support to Zongo and Muslim communities, funding the construction and renovation of mosques and schools across the country.
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Niger CAN commiserates with govt, Muslims over chief imam’s death
November 19, 2024
By Priscilla Dennis
The Niger State chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Most Rev Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, has commiserated with the state government and the Muslim Ummah over the death of the Chief Imam of Minna, Mallam Ibrahim Isah Fari.
Most Rev Yohanna, who is also the Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese, in a condolence message signed by his media aide, Daniel Atori, described the late imam as a prominent Islamic scholar who preached love, unity and peaceful coexistence for Christianity and Islam.
“On behalf of the State Executive Council members and the entire Christendom, I want to condole with the state government and the entire Muslim Ummah, especially those in Minna Emirate, over the demise of the Chief Imam of Minna Central Mosque, Mallam Ibrahim Isah Fari, who passed away on Saturday night.
“The death of the Chief Imam is indeed a loss to us and, of course, the entire Muslim community. He will be greatly missed,” the cleric stated.
He also stated that, until his death, the late imam was a humble and peaceful ambassador who lived a selfless life, giving his all, especially wise counsel.
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FG Signs Contract For Enugu-Abakaliki-Ogoja Highway
20 November 2024
By Udeze Ekene
The Federal Ministry of Works has signed a contract for work to commence on the construction of Section I of the Enugu-Abakaliki-Ogoja highway of the Africa Trans-Sahara trade route, cutting across Cross River, Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa states and terminating in Apo, Abuja.
A statement by the spokesman to the Minister of Works, David Umahi, Uchenna Orji, said that the deal was in furtherance of the road infrastructure revolution master plan of President Bola Tinubu.
Speaking during the ceremony marking the contract execution in Abuja, Umahi noted the strategic importance of the project to boosting the transportation and economy through the South East and North Central.
Umahi added that it would stimulate trade and agricultural development along the corridor and foster inter-regional cohesion, cooperation and collaboration, and create a seamless movement of goods and services between the South East and Northern routes of the road.
He thanked the president for carrying on with the execution of the inherited road projects across the six geo-political zones, including those in the South East.
“Mr. President has engaged in four critical investments, which we call for Renewed Hope Legacy Projects. Lagos- Calabar 750 kilometers sections 1 and 2, construction already going on despite all the envy and jealousy by people that even took us to court. But that project is a must.
“There is Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, 1,068 kilometers. Two sections are already ongoing. The very lengthy one; the biggest any state got in these four legacy projects, is the Kebbi section, 258 kilometres. It’s ongoing.
“We’ve flagged off, and we have paid the first mobilization fee. The work is ongoing there, and of course, Sokoto, 120 kilometers. Work is also ongoing,” Umahi said.
He also spoke of the third and fourth projects, which is the one passing through South East extending to Cross River, and then coming to Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa, and Abuja.
“We also have a project we inherited from the past administration, which is Makurdi to 9th mile. And this one is crisscrossing it. And so this is very good for the country and this is what Mr. President is doing in every part of the country.
“The fourth legacy project is the 439 km Akwanga-Jos- Bauchi, Gombe road. This project was awarded before now to CGC under the funding of China Exim Bank, but nothing happened. So the president directed that the projects be redesigned using reinforced concrete, which we are concluding now.
“And so our aim in 2025 is that part of the counterpart funding of the federal government should be used to kick-start this project just like every other project on the EPC plus F. So this is what you are doing. The president has not stopped any of the inherited projects,” Umahi added.
In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Works, Yakubu Korfamata said, “Today, this signing of the agreement will seal everything. I would like to use this opportunity to thank Mr. President on behalf of Nigerians for this great feat that he has achieved.
“I’m sure with this signing, Nigeria will be better for it, and Nigerians will be happy. I would like to sign this agreement on behalf of the federal government.”
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Intensify Efforts To End Open Defecation In Five Years – FG To Governors
20 November 2024
By Udeze Ekene
The federal government has called on governors to work hard to end open defecation across the country in the next five years.
The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, said that the campaign’s importance cannot be overemphasized, as every step taken towards ending open defecation will improve health, boost productivity, and enhance the dignity and safety of Nigerians.
Shettima made the call on Tuesday during the 5th anniversary of the ‘Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet’ campaign where he also formally launched the Strategic Plan at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Represented at the event by Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Office of the Vice President), Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia; he urged state governments to be deliberate in mobilizing “high-level political support that would drive the campaign, especially at the sub-national level.”
He noted that the sanitation sector in Nigeria has great economic opportunities for growth. He explained that aligning these opportunities with the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration can create jobs, provide alternative energy sources, and produce biological fertilizers.
“It is against this background that the need to re-strategize the critical elements that will progressively increase our level of advocacy and awareness came to be. The new Strategic Plan for the Clean Nigeria Campaign is a comprehensive, actionable framework for Clean Nigeria that will help to actualize the call for reasonable access to use a toilet by the year 2030.
“I, therefore, urge State Governors to provide the necessary support to drive the campaign at the State and Local Government Areas levels to achieve our target of an Open Defecation Free Nigeria within the next five years,” Shettima said.
The Vice President cautioned against the hazards of open defecation, saying it is “a critical public health and environmental issue that compromises our water sources, spreads disease, and negatively impacts the quality of life, education, and economic productivity of the populace.
“Inadequate sanitation facilities to address open defecation pose a great risk, especially to women, girls and vulnerable communities.
“The present administration is committed to the call for Open Defecation Free in Nigeria, as part of measures to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 6.2 target aimed at contributing to building a healthy and thriving nation. We are all aware that the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation rolled out several initiatives to bridge the existing gap of inadequate basic sanitation services,” he stated.
He applauded the support provided by stakeholders, especially state governors, chairmen of local government areas, national and state legislators, members of the international community, development partners, the private sector, civil societies, and the media.
In his opening remarks, the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Terlumun Utsev, said the 5th anniversary of the Campaign aligned with the World Toilet Day set aside by the United Nations to accelerate the drive towards Open Defecation Free in countries around the world.
He recalled that the ‘Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet’ campaign was launched in 2019 under the national programme to end open defecation in Nigeria and is backed by Presidential Executive Order 009.
Prof. Utsev explained that the campaign was informed by the unfortunate position of Nigeria as one of the countries with the highest number of people practicing open defecation, estimated at 48 million persons.
“It is a transformative movement to end open defecation in Nigeria and since its commencement, appreciable progress has been made over the past few years, with One Hundred and Thirty-Five (135) LGAs having attended an Open Defecation Free status.
“More State Governments and Local Government Areas are currently undergoing a verification process in line with the National Protocol on Open Defecation Free, and over Thirty Thousand (30,000) other communities were certified as ODF. Despite all these attainments, the progress rate appears grossly inadequate compared to the Campaign target date of 2025, which expects nationwide advocacy,” Utsev said.
In his goodwill message, the Chairman, the Senate Committee on Water Resources, Senator Eze Kenneth Emeka, thanked the federal government for coming up with the campaign of clean water and ending open defecation, saying no one should lose focus of the target to terminate it in 2025.
He commended the government through the Ministry of Water Resources for coming up with the initiative of sustaining the campaign and setting the target to end the menace in 2025.
Source:naijanews.com
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https://www.naijanews.com/2024/11/20/intensify-efforts-to-end-open-defecation-in-five-years-fg-to-governors/
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Nigerian Army To Investigate Viral Video Of Major General, Aide Brutally Assaulting Couple
20 November 2024
By George Oshogwe Ogbolu
The Nigerian Army has launched an investigation into an incident involving Major General G.S. Mohammed and his aide, Corporal A. Abubakar, who were caught on video assaulting a couple, Mr. Vershima Mker and Ms. Lami Jennifer Iorvihi, in Abuja.
The altercation, reportedly sparked by a road rage incident, has drawn widespread condemnation.
The viral video shows the senior military officer and his aide physically attacking the couple after Mr. Mker allegedly overtook Major General Mohammed’s vehicle in the Federal Capital Territory.
According to the couple, the officer stopped their car, dragged them out, and subjected them to severe physical abuse.
Ms. Iorvihi, who attempted to record the encounter, was allegedly targeted for her actions.
Following the assault, the couple claims they were handcuffed, forced into the trunk of a vehicle, and taken to Gwarimpa Police Station, where the General allegedly ordered the police to detain them indefinitely.
Responding to the incident, Nigerian Army spokesperson Major General Onyema Nwachukwu confirmed the Army was aware of the video and has initiated a thorough investigation.
“The Chief of Army Staff has directed an inquiry into the matter to ascertain the veracity of the incident,” he stated.
Nwachukwu acknowledged that while the video depicts an altercation, the circumstances leading to the confrontation remain unclear.
“We were not privy to what led to the exchange. Once we hear from the Major General involved, we can determine the full context. For now, the investigation is ongoing,” he added.
The incident has sparked public outrage, with many calling for accountability and justice for the victims.
Source:naijanews.com
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https://www.naijanews.com/2024/11/20/nigerian-army-to-investigate-viral-video-of-major-general-aide-brutally-assaulting-couple/
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Ortom Files ₦1 Billion Suit Against Gov Alia’s Aide Over Alleged Defamation
20 November 2024
By Richard Ogunsile
Former Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, has called upon Mkor Aondona, the Special Adviser to the current Governor on Research and Documentation, to retract the recent allegations of financial misconduct he made against him.
He added that should Aondona fail to do so, he must be prepared to substantiate his claims in a court of law.
Naija News reports that formal notice from Ortom’s legal representative, Barr. S. E. Irabor, was sent to Aondona and delivered through the office of the Secretary to the Benue State Government. The notice asserts that Aondona’s actions constitute cyberstalking, criminal defamation, malicious falsehood, and libellous online publication against the former governor.
Irabor stated: “On November 8, 2024, you published a damaging post on your Facebook page (Mkor Aondona Donatus) with the title – ‘May God Almighty Never Allow The Wickedness Of An Ortom To Overshadow His Glory!
“What followed this banal headline was a godless cacophony of mischievous, malicious and malevolent webs of lies that bothered on the utterly ridiculous.”
He went further to allege that Mkor’s publication on social media deeply harmed Ortom’s hard-earned reputation in the eyes of the public.
“By your deliberate design, you ensured that these defamatory and libellous falsehoods received prominent attention on social media platforms where gullible persons took turns to pour invectives on our client.
” By your latter Facebook post of 9th November 2024, you sustained your incontinence against our client and even scoffed at the suggestion of legal action against you.
“It is the brief of our client that the said publication is in all material particular false, unsubstantiated, concocted, malicious, mischievous, wicked, offensive, in bad taste and made in utmost bad faith to bring him to public ridicule, hatred and opprobrium,” he stressed.
He asserted that, contrary to Mkor’s claims, the previous administration led by Ortom did not allocate any funds from Benue for the proposed Cargo Airport at Daudu or the Igumale Cement Factory, nor did it make any payments related to any Memorandum of Understanding.
He further clarified that Ortom does not possess any water factory along the banks of the River Benue and has never been involved in any legal proceedings, either within the state or outside its jurisdiction, concerning tax evasion.
Additionally, he emphasized that Ortom never utilized imported industrial machinery intended for Benue State for personal purposes, as alleged by Mkor.
As a result, the demand notice requires Mkor to issue a letter of retraction and apology to the former governor regarding his false, defamatory, and libellous statements.
Furthermore, it stipulates that the Special Adviser to the Governor must ensure the retraction/apology is published in at least five national newspapers that circulate in Benue State, along with paid advertisements to the same effect during prime time slots on Arise News, Channels Television, AIT, TVC News, Nigerian Television Authority, Radio Benue, and Harvest FM Makurdi.
Mkor must also provide a written commitment not to engage in any similar false publications against Chief Ortom in the future.
Lastly, he must compensate the former governor with N1 billion as exemplary, aggravated, and general damages.
Source:naijanews.com
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https://www.naijanews.com/2024/11/20/ortom-files-%e2%82%a61-billion-suit-against-gov-alias-aide-over-alleged-defamation/
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Pakistan
Punjab, Islamabad police gear up for upcoming PTI protest
By Ayaz Akbar Yousafzai & Mian Abid
November 20, 2024
The Punjab and Islamabad police have intensified their preparations to uphold law and order ahead of the November 24 protest announced by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as authorities vowed to take firm action against any efforts disturbing the peace.
Over 10,700 police personnel from across Punjab have been put on standby, according to a letter issued by the Additional Inspector General (AIG) of Operations to all the relevant officers at the behest of Punjab’s police chief.
The standby force includes 3,500 personnel from the Punjab Highway Patrol, 1,000 personnel from the Special Protection Unit and 1,200 from the Training Directorate, the letter states.
The measure by the Punjab police comes after the PTI’s call for nationwide demonstrations on November 24, with former Prime Minister Imran Khan urging his supporters to march to Islamabad, emphasising that the party’s entire leadership would actively participate in the protest.
Khan's lawyer, Faisal Chaudhry, said that the protest would not only take place in Islamabad, but throughout Pakistan and across the world where Imran's supporters were present.
The party has made four demands — revoke the 26th Constitutional Amendment, "restore" democracy and the Constitution, return the public’s mandate, and release all innocent political prisoners.
The Punjab police deployment plan includes contributions from various regions. For instance, 1,300 personnel from Gujranwala are already deployed, while 500 law-enforcers from Sargodha will remain on standby.
Other contributions include 200 personnel from Sheikhupura, 300 from Bahawalpur, and 300 from Muzaffargarh, the letter states.
Meanwhile, the Islamabad administration also has begun preparations to counter the PTI's unauthorised gathering.
Police have been supplied with tear gas, rubber bullets, and anti-riot gear. Leaves for all officers have been cancelled, while the Islamabad administration has requisitioned 8,000 additional personnel from Punjab, Sindh, and Kashmir. The reinforcements are expected to arrive in the federal capital by November 21.
It should be mentioned here that Section 144, prohibiting gatherings of more than five people, has been imposed in Islamabad for two months.
The Rangers and the Frontier Corps (FC) are already deployed in Islamabad. The city may be sealed off with shipping containers by Friday (November 22).
Meantime, the Capital Police have also compiled lists for potential arrests of elements who are likely to disrupt peace.
Source:thenews.com.pk
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https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1252922-punjab-islamabad-police-gear-up-for-upcoming-pti-protest
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Govt unveils plan to crush militancy in Balochistan
Syed Irfan Raza
November 20, 2024
• NAP apex committee okays military operation against banned outfits, vows to revitalise Nacta
• PM stresses link between peace and economic stability
• Questions PTI’s focus on sit-ins over country’s progress ahead of Nov 24 protest
• Army chief reaffirms resolve to eliminate threats
ISLAMABAD: The National Action Plan (NAP) apex committee on Tuesday approved a full-fledged military operation in Balochistan to target militancy and separatist movements.
The committee once again vowed to revitalise the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (Nacta) under the vision of Azm-i-Istehkam to eradicate resurging terrorism.
Presiding over the meeting, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed a firm commitment to crush the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which has been implicated in recent attacks on civilians and security forces in the province.
The meeting was attended by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Asim Munir, all chief ministers, the prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, federal cabinet members and senior officials.
“The participants also approved a comprehensive military operation against terrorist organisations operating in Balochistan, including the Majeed Brigade, BLA, BLF (Balochistan Liberation Front) and BRAS (Baloch Raaji Aajoi Sangar), who are targeting innocent civilians and foreign nationals to scuttle Pakistan’s economic progress by creating insecurity at the behest of hostile external powers,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement.
It said the COAS reiterated the Pakistan Army’s unwavering resolve to eliminate all threats to national security and support the government’s initiatives to ensure peace and stability.
The apex committee meeting focused on “Reinvigorating Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Campaign”, with participants being briefed on measures to counter terrorism, action against efforts to stoke sub-nationalism, religious extremism and disinformation campaigns, among other issues.
The committee highlighted the need for a unified political voice and a cohesive national narrative to address these multifaceted challenges effectively.
It was emphasised that political support across party lines and complete national consensus are critical to reinvigorating the national counterterrorism campaign under the framework of Vision Azm-i-Istehkam.
Threat assessment cell
“The revitalisation of Nacta and the establishment of National and Provincial Intelligence Fusion and Threat Assessment Centre was also agreed upon,” the PMO statement said.
A whole-of-system approach was adopted, incorporating diplomatic, political, informational, intelligence, socio-economic and military efforts to address these issues comprehensively.
The committee also decided to establish district coordination committees under the provincial apex committees to implement federal and provincial directives seamlessly.
Addressing the participants, the prime minister said the country was moving on the path to stability due to the economic efforts and sincerity of purpose shown by all the stakeholders in governments, from the provincial chief ministers to the federation.
He said economic and political stability were interrelated and no society could aspire to progress with these two vital factors. “It is imperative for the economic and political stability that all the leadership should play their due role,” he added.
The premier stressed that the country’s progress and prosperity were linked with peace and an end to terrorism.
‘Sit-ins or progress?’
As the meeting took place days before PTI’s planned sit-in on Nov 24 (Sunday), PM Shehbaz urged the main opposition party to think about whether it wanted sit-ins or the progress of the country.
“Our Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit was successful, but such occasions have often been disrupted by sit-ins. It is time to decide whether we want protests or progress,” he told the participants.
“The choice is yours. Time and tide wait for none,” the prime minister urged the opposition party without naming it in the presence of PTI leader and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.
The government has vowed to prevent PTI’s rally. Main highways and motorways leading to the capital are expected to be blocked, and clashes between police and PTI supporters at all entry points of the city are anticipated.
At the conclusion of Tuesday’s meeting, PM Shehbaz directed all stakeholders to pursue the outlined initiatives with vigour, ensuring their timely implementation.
He underscored the importance of sustained, coordinated efforts to protect Pakistan’s sovereignty.
PTI’s demands ‘unrealistic’
Meanwhile, PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui criticised PTI’s demands on Tuesday as “unrealistic and impractical” but insisted that the government remain open to dialogue on reasonable issues.
“There can be no talks about irrational demands such as repealing the 26th amendment, returning the self-claimed mandate, dropping cases and releasing all prisoners,” he said, adding that PTI pushed itself into a dead end after announcing the Nov 24 protests.
He said that during Imran Khan’s tenure, false and absurd cases like treason and heroin were fabricated, and opposition members were imprisoned.
Source:dawn.com
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1873614/govt-unveils-plan-to-crush-militancy-in-balochistan
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Punjab Information Minister Azma questions ‘jihad’ slogans raised at KP CM house
November 19, 2024
LAHORE: Responding to the sloganeering at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister House where the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) agitation was termed jihad (holy war), the Punjab government has reminded the opposition party that ‘jihad’ cannot be waged against the state.
“Slogans of ‘jihad’ were raised in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister House. Against whom they are waging jihad? Jihad cannot be waged against the state,” Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari told a press conference here on Monday.
Taking on Bushra Bibi, wife of the PTI supremo Imran Khan, the minister said: “I have heard that a woman, known for being apolitical, used to run the [previous] prime minister’s office through remote control. Now, she [Bushra] is only delivering speeches and conveying the messages of the PTI founder. What kind of political statements are these?”
The minister asked Ms Bushra that if she wanted to engage in politics, she should do it openly. “She should not hide behind veils. Politics requires courage and conviction. Decide whether Aleema Khan will do politics or you,” she said and added that PTI MNAs and MPAs from Punjab were being summoned to Peshawar by Bushra Bibi.
Regarding the PTI’s protest march scheduled for Nov 24, the minister forewarned the party that the Punjab government knew how to establish its writ. “Are Bushra Bibi and Aleema Khan here to wage “jihad” with their children participating in the agitation? They bring others’ children to the front line, but don’t bring their own. Bring Qasim, Suleman, and Tyrian forward; they should lead from the front,” she said and added that just as smog was ruining the public health, the PTI people were damaging Pakistan’s economy.
She claimed that the masses would not respond to the PTI’s call on Nov 24, like they did last month.
About the economy, Ms Bokhari said inflation was on the decline. “The national economy is gradually standing on its own feet and relief is beginning to reach the common man,” she said.
The minister announced that certain changes were being made to the health card and a dialysis programme was also being launched in Punjab, with dialysis cards worth up to Rs1 million to be introduced in a few days. In Punjab, 25 to 30 per cent of the patients seeking treatment were not from the province, she said.
The minister said smog had been a recurring problem during the winter months in the country, with authorities yet to find a sustainable solution to the crisis.
Earlier this month, she said, NASA’s satellite images revealed a dense layer of smog stretching between Lahore and New Delhi, underscoring the severity of the environmental crisis.
The development had prompted climate experts to demand urgent action, as Pakistan’s meteorological department forecasts that smog will persist until mid-December, she said and added that with schools reopening in most districts of Punjab, the EPA emphasised the importance of continued vigilance and compliance with safety measures. She warned that smog could return if weather patterns shifted or mitigation efforts are relaxed.
Source:dawn.com
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Imran okays talks with establishment ‘on PTI’s terms’
Malik Asad
November 20, 2024
• Warns leaders, ticket holders to join Nov 24 protest or quit party
• Wants ex-bureaucrat to testify in £190m case
ISLAMABAD: After his sister confirmed that Imran Khan had authorised top leaders to hold talks with the establishment, the former prime minister called on PTI leaders and ticket holders on Tuesday to “disassociate themselves from the party” if they could not participate in the power show, scheduled for Nov 24.
In a brief media interaction after Tuesday’s court proceedings, Mr Khan issued a stern warning for party leaders who would skip the November 24 protest.
He said that PTI lawmakers who got elected due to their party affiliation but don’t stand with its ideology “have no place in the party”.
The PTI founder hailed incarcerated party leaders Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Yasmin Rashid, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Ejaz Chaudhry and Mahmoodur Rashid for their patience.
He said these leaders would be released forthwith “if they hold a press conference”. This was an apparent reference to former PTI leaders who parted ways from the party after the May 9 attacks and announced their decision in media talks.
The former prime minister acknowledged that he had previously only called on people associated with the PTI to protest, but, now he was extending the call to the entire nation.
Despite his call for protest, the PTI founder said he was “still ready for dialogues” and set three demands for calling off the upcoming protest: the return of PTI’s “stolen mandate”, reversal of the 26th Constitutional Amendment and the release of all political prisoners.
The statement came in the wake of Aleema Khan’s revelation that KP CM Ali Amin Gandapur and Barrister Gohar Ali Khan had sought permission from her brother to hold talks with the establishment.
Speaking to reporters after meeting her brother in Adiala jail on Monday, Aleema Khan quoted Mr Khan as saying that political parties never close their doors on talks, adding that the negotiations should remain limited to their stated three-point agenda.
Bureaucrat to testify
Separately, Mr Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi have asked an accountability court judge to summon 16 witnesses, including a former cabinet secretary, in the £190m corruption case.
The couple submitted an application through their counsels, Advocate Usman Riaz Gill and Zaheer Abbas, before the Accountability Court judge, Nasir Javed Rana.
They urged the court to summon the former top bureaucrat, Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera; Government College University, Punjab vice chancellor; Punjab Higher Education Commission chairman and other witnesses.
The defence counsels sought testimonies of those witnesses, which the prosecution initially mentioned in the list but reneged later on.
These witnesses included the executive director at Al-Qadir University Project, Dr Amjadur Rehman, and Mr Sukhera.
The applicants stated that these witnesses initially joined the investigation but the prosecution, with a “mala fide”, did not mention their names in the final list of witnesses or produced them before the trial court.
The petition requested the court to summon these witnesses before recording the statements of Mr Khan and his spouse.
Source:dawn.com
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1873609/imran-okays-talks-with-establishment-on-ptis-terms
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Over dozen security men martyred in separate KP attacks
Ibrahim Shinwari
November 20, 2024
KHYBER: Over a dozen security personnel were martyred in two separate incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over the past 24 hours.
Although Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) did not officially confirm the death toll, official sources said that at least eight security personnel were martyred and three injured in fierce gun battles with militants over the weekend in the Tirah valley.
The AFP news agency reported on Tuesday that “nine militants” were also killed in the gunfight.
The clashes ensued after armed gunmen attacked a military camp near the Bagh-Maidan Markaz.
Shops in Tirah opened on Tuesday following a tense calm that prevailed in the valley after two days of gunfights.
Local traders also held a demonstration demanding peace and compensation for their shops damaged due to mortar shelling on Sunday evening.
Then, on Tuesday, several security personnel were martyred in a suicide attack near the Mali Khel checkpoint in the Janikhel area of Bannu.
Although initial reports were sketchy, sources said that around 11 personnel embraced martyrdom in the attack, while the condition of two of the men is said to be critical.
Sources said the Mali Khel explosion was followed by an assault by armed militants, leading to a gunfight with security personnel. The martyred and wounded were subsequently evacuated and moved to hospitals after reinforcements arrived at the scene.
The attacks came on the same day as the NAP apex committee met to take stock of the security situation.
The restive Bannu district has seen heightened militant violence of late. On Tuesday, over half a dozen policemen who were abducted from a check post on the border with North Waziristan a day earlier were recovered safely by police, with the help of tribal elders.
Around a week ago, unknown miscreants attacked the under-construction building of a girls’ primary school in the Shah Najeeb Landidak Naikum Kallay area.
Earlier, three security men, including an army major, embraced martyrdom in a shootout in the Bakka Khel area of the same district, late last month.
In recent demonstrations, a peace jirga had demanded serious efforts to restore peace in the area and initiate action against armed groups, who locals claimed ruled the roads in the absence of law enforcement.
Source:dawn.com
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1873613/over-dozen-security-men-martyred-in-separate-kp-attacks
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PTI’s agitation cost govt over Rs1.1bn in capital since July: police
Munawer Azeem
November 20, 2024
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) repeated protests since July have cost the national exchequer a whopping Rs1.11 billion besides damages to public and private property worth Rs152 million.
Officers of the capital police told Dawn that since July the PTI kept the police busy by holding strikes, protests and public gatherings which cost the government over Rs1.11 billion. Besides, the protesters also damaged properties worth Rs152,744,823.
Moreover, a policeman was martyred and 42 personnel — 38 police officials and four Rangers - were injured in these protests.
During the last five months, the capital police along with other provincial police and paramilitary forces remained on their toes — two days in July, 30 days in August and September, six days in October and two days in November — to ensure law and order besides protecting public and private properties.
Moreover, the government also had to pay Rs247,730,500 as rent to owners of 1,641 containers that were used to block different roads. Besides, the exchequer also suffered a loss of Rs870,000,000 by paying the rent of vehicles used for transportation of personnel of police, FC and other law enforcement agencies to their duty points and for fuel. An amount of Rs320,000,000 was to be paid for providing food to police and FC personnel deployed on law and order day.
Furthermore, the protesters damaged 221 cameras worth Rs151,000,000 of Safe City Authority Islamabad. About 21 vehicles, including two armed personnel carriers, five prison vans, a bus, a track, a land cruiser, a water tanker and nine pickups were also damaged.
Likewise, three coasters, a van and two motorcycles were damaged by the PTI protesters.
The officers said 220 cameras of Safe City Authority, 31 motorcycles of police officials and three private guards were partially damaged and a crane and two motorcycles were set on fire.
The capital was put under virtual curfew as extraordinary security measures had been adopted to counter the PTI’s public gatherings or check protesters from entering the capital.
The residents of the capital also suffered as their routines were disturbed due to the blockades. Labourers and daily wage employees suffered the most due to the law and order situation.
It also affected private and government educational institutes and health centres as due to the road blockades students and patients could not reach their destinations. Most of the commercial centres also remained closed during these protests.
Meanwhile, the Central Police Office Islamabad has approached the Punjab police and sought 16,000 personnel.
It has demanded 3,500 personnel from Punjab Highway Police in addition to 500 already committed; 1,000 from the Punjab Constabulary in addition to 3,000 already committed; 1,300 from Gujranwala region in addition to 600 already committed; 500 from Sargodha region in addition to 400 already committed, and 500 from Faisalabad district in addition to 800 already committed.
Besides, 1,000 personnel have been sought from Special Protection Unit, 1,2,00 from Training Directorate, 200 from Sheikhupura district, 100 from Nankana Sahib, 200 from Sargodha, 200 from Khushab, 200 from Bahawlnagar, 300 from Bahawlpur, 300 from Muzaffarabad and 200 from Okara.
It may mentioned that the capital police have sought 22,000 personnel from the Punjab and Sindh police along with Frontier Constabulary and Rangers along with 1,200 containers to strengthen its manpower for the PTI’s November 24 protest.
Additionally, funds in millions were also demanded to provide food and transportation to the local and visiting force during their deployment in the city.
The police also made a demand for 40,000 teargas shells along with 2,000 teargas guns and 50,000 rubber bullets as well as 2,500 guns. Besides, 5,000 anti-riot kits were also required to strengthen the Anti-Riot Unit, they added.
Source:dawn.com
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1873522/ptis-agitation-cost-govt-over-rs11bn-in-capital-since-july-police
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Seven-judge constitutional bench assumes full court role
Nasir Iqbal
November 20, 2024
ISLAMABAD: In a loud and clear message, the seven-judge constitutional bench on Tuesday clarified that, for all practical purposes, it functions as the full court for hearing constitutional matters.
The observation appears to resolve uncertainty surrounding the handling of constitutional cases which, before the passage of the 26th Constitutional Amendment, were heard by the full court comprising all available Supreme Court judges. One such case is the reserved seats verdict, which was heard by a full court comprising 13 judges, the review petition of which has yet to be taken up by the SC.
Similarly, several petitions have been filed in the SC challenging the validity of the 26th amendment. In all these challenges, the petitioners have requested that the matter be heard by a full court consisting of all the judges of the top court.
Tuesday’s observation came as the seven-judge constitutional bench took up a case relating to the levy of cess on different ghee manufacturing mills.
Headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, the bench comprised Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha A. Malik, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Musarrat Hilali and Naeem Akhtar Afghan.
During the hearing, when one of the counsel pointed out that a judgement on the matter had been delivered by the full court, Justice Mazhar explained that the concept of the full court had become redundant following the adoption of the 26th amendment.
“Consider this seven-judge constitutional bench as the full court now,” Justice Mandokhail observed, adding that he should recuse himself from the case since he had been a member of the Balochistan High Court, which had previously decided the present matter.
The bench, however, issued notices to all provinces and adjourned the hearing indefinitely.
Talking to the media, senior counsel Hamid Khan said the bench should wait for the outcome of the challenges to the 26th amendment by a full court to ensure its validity is determined once and for all. He opposed the idea of the constitutional bench hearing petitions challenging the vires of the amendment.
He asserted the constitutional bench was merely one of the SC benches and did not have the authority to declare itself the full court. He was of the opinion that the 26th amendment had created two rival courts within the SC. “It is our demand that challenges to the amendment should be heard by a full court comprising all judges of the apex court,” he said.
Case sent back to regular bench
Also, the constitutional bench referred a case back to a regular bench headed by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah.
When the constitutional bench took up an appeal filed by Saeed Ahmed Khoso through his counsel Liaquat Tareen, Justice Aminuddin questioned how the case had been assigned to the constitutional bench.
At this, Justice Ayesha Malik explained she was part of the regular bench that had referred the matter to the constitutional bench on Oct 23, following a request by the lawyer concerned.
Justice Mazhar said that not every case should be sent to the constitutional bench, emphasising that only those involving questions of constitutional interpretation should be referred.
Petition dismissed
The constitutional bench also dismissed a petition challenging the extension granted to the army chief.
The petition, filed by Syed Mehmood Akhtar Naqvi, was rejected due to non-prosecution as the petitioner failed to appear in court.
The petition had contested the registrar office’s decision to return the case, but the court upheld the office’s objections by dismissing the appeal.
In his original petition, the petitioner had requested the SC to order that the army chief’s appointment be based on seniority, arguing that granting a three-year extension after retirement caused injustice.
Source:dawn.com
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1873593/seven-judge-constitutional-bench-assumes-full-court-role
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PTI wants to avoid Imran’s indictment, claims Vawda
Ikram Junaidi
November 20, 2024
ISLAMABAD: Senator Faisal Vawda on Tuesday claimed the PTI has given a call for a sit-in on Nov 24 to avoid the indictment of its founding chairman Imran Khan.
Mr Vawda, however, did not mention in which case the indictment of Mr Khan is possible. Apparently, he was talking about the second Toshakhana case.
Speaking at a press conference here, he criticised the US and said it should not interfere in the internal affairs of Pakistan.
He said the Congress has come forward to support Mr Khan, but it did not bother about violations of human rights in Palestine and held Kashmir.
Mr Vawda, who was once very close to former prime minister Khan, claimed there was a small group of what he called compromised people around the PTI founder, which was protecting its own interest.
He said it was unfortunate that resources of KP were being used for protests, warning it will be the last call of protest from the founder of PTI.
Mr Vawda said the PTI protest will fail and it will not be possible for the party workers to get their leader released from Adiala jail.
Although Mr Vawda asserted that he has nothing to do with the government, he said the PTI workers will not be allowed to enter the Red Zone, adding that a separate place will be allocated to PTI to hold protest there.
The former PTI leader claimed that it will be a “social gathering instead of the protest”.
Mr Vawda claimed if the PTI violated the rules, the court will intervene.
He also criticised leaders of PTI and asked why they do not bring their children to Pakistan.
He also slammed the US Congress and the UN for making statements about human rights violations in Pakistan and questioned why these organisations were silent about Dr Aafia Siddiqui, destruction of Afghanistan and attacks on former President Donald Trump in the US.
Source:dawn.com
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1873569/pti-wants-to-avoid-imrans-indictment-claims-vawda
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Services of 137 college teachers in capital regularised, Senate body told
Kashif Abbasi
November 20, 2024
ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Federal Education and Professional Training was informed on Tuesday that services of 137 college teachers of the capital, whose regularisation was pending for years, have been regularised.
The Senate panel was headed by Senator Bushra Anjum, which took up regularisation issues of college teachers besides other agenda items.
The committee was informed by the education ministry officials that services of the said teachers have been regularised and a notification was issued on Monday.
The committee members said following tireless efforts and continuous day-to-day hearings by the committee, the said teachers had been successfully reinstated, as their notification of regularisation was issued last year, but it was halted by education ministry later on.
The committee chairperson, Senator Bushra Anjum Butt, emphasised that the committee’s primary objective was to facilitate deserving individuals, particularly youth, in overcoming challenges in their educational journey.
She said the matter had been stalled for years and only gained momentum during the last six months due to the committee’s persistent efforts and daily hearings.
It is relevant to note here that over 500 college teachers in the Federal Directorate Education-runs colleges had been serving for years as daily wage employees. Out of them, 231 were regularised through the Federal Public Service Commission, 137 were regularised by the ministry while cases of around 150 such college teachers were still pending. Similarly, cases of around 1,000 school teachers, who had been serving in the FDE-run schools for years, have yet not been decided.
“Let me appreciate the standing committee for its efforts in the regularisation of 137 college teachers; we will request the committee to look into our issues, as we have been serving as daily wage teachers for the last over one decade,” a daily wage school teacher told Dawn.
Meanwhile, the committee also discussed Private Members Bill on curriculum moved by Senator Quratul Ain Marri. A subcommittee was formed led by senators Kamran Murtaza, Khalida Ateeb and Quratul Ain Marri, to review the Federal Supervision of Curricula, Textbooks, and Maintenance of Standards of Education (Amendment) Bill 2024.
The bill will undergo further scrutiny, with special attention given to the viewpoints of the Islamic Council of Ideology on whether reproductive health should be included in the curricula.
The committee chairperson also advocated for mental health education to be incorporated into the national curriculum, highlighting the importance of addressing issues like depression, anxiety and demotivation among youth. Additionally, she emphasised the need for comprehensive education on reproductive health as presented in the bill.
Senator Bilal Ahmed Khan had raised a point of public importance concerning derogatory remarks about Pakhtuns in O level textbooks in the Senate and the matter was subsequently referred to this standing committee.
The committee took action, securing a formal apology from the author. It was told that all copies of the offending textbooks were confiscated, and an official notification was issued to remove them from the market. The books will be reprinted and republished without errors.
The committee was also briefed by the CEO of Pakistan Education Endowment Fund (PEEF), formerly known as NEST, regarding the organisation’s performance and the status of scholarships offered to students.
Senator Butt emphasised the need for an official audit report to ensure there had been no fraudulent activity. She also stressed the importance of appointing a permanent CEO to ensure that the organisation operates effectively and efficiently.
Source:dawn.com
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Schools in Lahore and Multan divisions open today
Imran Gabol
November 20, 2024
LAHORE: The Punjab government on Tuesday reopened schools in remaining divisions of Lahore and Multan from Wednesday (today) following an improvement in air quality.
The smog was declared a “calamity” in Punjab last month and the government announced the closure of all educational institutions in 18 districts across the province after the situation worsened on Nov 6.
The smog situation improved during the last four days in the province with the change in wind direction. Lahore’s air quality index (AQI) also showed a slight improvement as it dropped out of the hazardous category on Sunday for the first time in 12 days. The meteorologists predicted a further decrease in smog intensity in the coming days.
Earlier, the government had reopened the schools across the province two days ago except Lahore and Multan divisions.
The maximum AQI in Lahore was recorded at 404 (hazardous) at 9am on Tuesday. The situation remained comparatively better during the rest of the day and lowest AQI was recorded at 154 at 3pm.
However, Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) notification [available with Dawn] states, “The ambient air quality has improved in Punjab, due to rain in upper parts of Punjab, change in wind direction and speed. Therefore, all the educational institutions in the whole province, including Lahore and Multan Division, shall be opened with effect from Nov 20 (Wednesday) with physical presence of students/staff.”
It directed that the opening time of schools would not be before 8:45am, adding that wearing masks was also mandatory for students and staff.
It further said that there would be a complete ban on outdoor sports and outdoor co-curricular activities till further orders.
The agency ordered all educational institutions to introduce class-wise school closing timings to avoid traffic congestion.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Higher Education Department (HED) also issued a notification, stating that all public and private educational institutions under its control would open from Wednesday subject to the same restrictions mandated by the EPA.
It also directed the vice chancellors of universities and the directors of colleges across the province to ensure compliance with its order.
Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said that an anti-smog grand operation was being conducted in the province to mitigate the effects of smog.
She said strict actions were taken against multiple brick kilns and industrial units over the past four days.
She said 34 brick kilns operating without zigzag technology were demolished in operations from Nov 15 to 17, with the highest numbers in Multan (14) and Layyah (8).
Additionally, on Nov 15, 20 industrial units in Lahore and Gujranwala were razed for causing pollution. On Nov 16 and 17, 16 more industrial units were demolished, and 51 sealed, including 30 units in Lahore, where five units were demolished, and fines worth Rs400,000 were imposed.
She said vehicle inspections were underway at entry points and major highways, while actions are being taken against unsafe transportation of construction materials.
Commercial generators in green lockdown zones are being closely monitored, and the situation is under surveillance through Safe City cameras. Water sprinkling is being carried out on Lahore’s roads to control dust.
Earlier, the Punjab government also gave additional charge of the post of chairperson of the Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) to HED secretary Dr Farrukh Naveed for a period of three months or till appointment of the regular incumbent.
Source:dawn.com
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Arab World
Saudi Arabia, China, Iran meet to advance Beijing Agreement
November 19, 2024
RIYADH: The second meeting of the Saudi-Chinese-Iranian Joint Tripartite Committee to follow up on the Beijing Agreement was held in Riyadh on Tuesday, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed bin Abdulkarim Elkhereiji chaired the meeting, with Vice Foreign Minister of China Deng Li and Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Majid Takht Ravanchi present.
The Saudi and Iranian representatives reaffirmed their commitment to fully implementing the Beijing Agreement and strengthening neighborly relations through adherence to the UN Charter, the Charter of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and international law, emphasizing respect for sovereignty, independence, and security.
Saudi Arabia and Iran also welcomed China’s ongoing positive role and emphasized the importance of its support in following up on the Beijing Agreement’s implementation. China reiterated its readiness to encourage further steps by both nations to enhance their relationship in various fields.
The three countries praised the progress in Saudi-Iranian relations, highlighting the significance of direct communication at all levels and the opportunities for mutual cooperation amid regional tensions that threatened global and regional security.
They noted the progress in consular services, enabling over 87,000 Iranian pilgrims to perform Hajj and more than 52,000 to perform Umrah securely in 2024.
They also welcomed the first meeting of the Saudi-Iranian Joint Media Committee and the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Prince Saud Al-Faisal Institute for Diplomatic Studies and Iran’s Institute for Political and International Studies.
Saudi Arabia and Iran expressed their readiness to sign a double taxation avoidance agreement and, along with China, looked forward to expanding economic and political cooperation.
The three nations called for an immediate end to Israeli aggression in Palestine and Lebanon, and condemned violations of Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
They stressed the need for uninterrupted humanitarian aid to Palestine and Lebanon and warned that continued violence posed serious threats to regional and global security, including maritime safety.
They also reaffirmed their support for a comprehensive political solution in Yemen, in line with internationally recognized principles under UN auspices.
Source:arabnews.com
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Multi-billion global AI spending transforming business efficiency, SDAIA official tells Riyadh conference
November 19, 2024
RIYADH: Global spending on artificial intelligence to improve operational efficiency exceeded $120 billion in 2023, with over 72 percent of organizations integrating AI into at least one area of their business, according to data cited by the director of the National Information Center at the Saudi Data and AI Authority.
Esam bin Abdullah Al-Wagait highlighted these figures during his keynote address at the 9th National Quality Conference, held on Tuesday at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Al-Wagait emphasized the growing role of AI in enhancing leadership capabilities, referencing a study from the 2024 Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo, which found that 97 percent of CEOs believe AI has improved their performance, reduced administrative burdens, and strengthened their ability to lead effectively, SPA added.
Al-Wagait told the conference that AI’s integration across various industries reflected its transformative potential and cited the number of industrial robots deployed in manufacturing operations exceeding 4 million globally in 2023, as reported by the International Federation of Robotics, further underlining AI’s role in operational excellence.
“AI is now a trusted partner for organizational leaders, offering accurate analytics and predictions that enable impactful decision-making,” he said. This trend, he explained, aligned with the concept of AI-augmented leadership, which is reshaping organizational strategies worldwide.
The conference session, themed “Role of Advanced Technologies in Ensuring the Quality of Services and Products,” brought together industry leaders and experts to discuss the role of AI and advanced technologies in improving quality assurance and operational outcomes.
Source:arabnews.com
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Waste not, want not: Misk Global Forum touts benefits of recycling to businesses and environment
TAMARA ABOALSAUD
November 20, 2024
RIYADH: The world’s economy is shifting towards a state in which sustainability and circularity will no longer be considered optional extras but the baseline for how we operate, experts said at the Misk Global Forum in Riyadh on Tuesday.
During a panel discussion titled “A Circular Revolution,” the participants explored ways in which waste materials can be reused or recycled to help achieve a circular economy that is beneficial to the environment while also generating profits.
“Waste is the gold of the 21st century,” said Moemen Sobh, the Egyptian founder and CEO of Visenleer, described as the first initiative of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa region, which transforms fish and ocean waste into sustainable textiles.
Noting that the fashion industry produces more greenhouse gas emissions than the oil and gas industries, he added: “By 2030, 50 percent of the gas emissions will be because of fashion.” Meanwhile, Egypt has a water deficit of 7 billion cubic meters a year and could run out of the vital resource as soon as 2025, UNICEF warned in 2021.
Sobh said his passion for finding sustainable solutions to these problem stems from his heritage as part of a northern Egyptian family descended from a long line of fishermen. So he decided to launch an initiative that buys fish waste that was being collected in plastic bags and dumped into freshwater sources, and instead use it to produce a more environmentally friendly alternative to animal and faux leather.
Through Visenleer, Sobh created the first sustainable fashion line in the region that uses only ocean waste to create its materials. He said the traditional tanning process for leather generates 90 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions produced by the fashion industry, so it was important for him to develop an alternative process that uses only glycerin, water and sunlight.
Electronic waste is another major environmental issue, and Alex Mativo, co-founder and CEO of Duck Analytics, spoke about the ways in which old devices can be transformed into products such as jewelry and fashion accessories.
He said he learned early on in his career that the circular economy means “turning something that is obsolete into something really beautiful.”
Mativo, who has been featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, added that Duck Analytics uses data and artificial intelligence to help make the supply chains of global companies, such as Coca Cola and Red Bull, more efficient.
A circular economy, which is one based on the reuse and regeneration of materials or products, is beneficial both for businesses and the planet because it helps to reduce waste and generate profit, he said.
Louise Mabulo is the founder of the Cacao Project, an initiative that helps farmers build sustainable, resilient livelihoods through agroforestry, which involves the integration of trees and shrubs into crop and animal farming systems to create environmental, economic and social benefits for farmers and communities.
“Food systems account for 30 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions,” she said. The Cacao Project has worked with more than 200 farmers to plant almost 200,000 trees and regenerate more than 370 acres of land, she added. And that is not all.
“All of these farmers are being upskilled into businessmen and they are using agricultural waste; they are using cacao pods to make chocolate products and using that to create an income but also create economic benefits for themselves and for their communities, to protect them against storms and to provide better food,” Mabulo said.
As young innovators seek to develop sustainable solutions to environmental challenges, she said that “sometimes looking into the future requires looking back into the past.”
Rather than focusing only on new technologies, Mabulo added, knowledge of many solutions that can help solve the world’s problems already exists within communities.
“The key lies in unlocking them and finding innovative ways to marry ancestral knowledge or the resources we have with science, with facts, being able to communicate it well, and being able to talk to the communities in a language that they understand, and serve that gap.”
Source:arabnews.com
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MoU signed to establish Saudi-Brazilian Coordination Council in Rio de Janeiro
November 19, 2024
RIYADH: A memorandum of understanding to establish the Saudi-Brazilian Coordination Council was signed by the foreign ministers of both countries in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The agreement was signed during a meeting between Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
It is a “continuation of what was agreed upon between the leaderships of the two countries during the visit of the President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to the Kingdom on November 30, 2023,” SPA said.
The Kingdom’s foreign minister visited Brazil to attend the G20 Summit that ended on Tuesday.
Prince Faisal and Vieira reviewed relations between their countries and ways to develop them. They also discussed regional and international developments and efforts made in this regard.
Source:arabnews.com
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Saudi entrepreneurs present expertise at Misk forum in Riyadh
GHADI JOUDAH
November 19, 2024
RIYADH: “If you don’t channel your passion for executing a business, then you simply have a hobby,” Essa Behbehani said at the Misk Global Forum on Tuesday.
The CEO of Prepline, a food and beverage investment and development company, made the statement during the panel discussion “Dream, Do, Dare: The Entrepreneur’s Cookbook,” which discussed core business skills, provided guidance on overcoming common startup challenges, and offered essential advice on scaling enterprises through funding.
“Passion is one of the main elements you need to build a business on, but it is not the main element,” Behbehani said.
He outlined the four key roles in business success, saying: “You are either an investor, manager, developer, or craftsman. Each one needs the other element to succeed.”
Reflecting on the evolution of business fundamentals over two decades, Behbehani noted a significant shift, and added: “Back then, (around) 2003 to 2004, the most important elements in a business were the product, resistance, and community approval.”
Behbehani noted that at that time, entrepreneurs like himself lacked marketing knowledge and did not have modern tools like social media to promote their businesses.
However, today’s business landscape demands different priorities, and he said: “These skill sets that you have need to be transferred into three main elements: You need to have a mindset, speed, and quality of product.
“Mindset nowadays is everything — without a mindset, you can never grow a business.”
He cautioned current entrepreneurs about the limitations of focusing solely on product excellence, asking: “What are you going to do with an amazing product without the right mindset and the right speed to execute it?”
During the same session, Abdullah Al-Saleem, the CEO and co-founder of Mushtari, a platform for business acquisition, shared valuable insights on when and how entrepreneurs should seek guidance for their ventures.
“Every time is the right time to seek help,” Al-Saleem said, highlighting the importance of continuous learning and consultation in business development.
He advocated for a two-pronged approach to seeking advice, distinguishing between general business consultants and industry-specific experts.
He added: “There are two people you have to seek help from: People that know generally about the industry, and people that know specifically about the industry.”
Using the restaurant business as an example, Al-Saleem described how he would consult general business experts for fundamentals like “hiring, culture, (and) cash flow,” while seeking industry-specific guidance for specialized operations.
However, gathering advice, he said, was just the first step. He noted that it was crucial to ensure team involvement in implementing recommendations.
He said: “When I take all these ideas or all these bits of advice, I brainstorm it with the team.”
This collaborative approach ensured that potential solutions were thoroughly evaluated before implementation, he said.
Al-Saleem further emphasized the importance of practical application through trial and error, and he always involved his team in the process.
He added: “They are the engine of the business and without the team, there is no business.”
Source:arabnews.com
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Climate change is a key driver of worldwide hunger, according to IFAD
HAIFA ALSHAMMARI
November 19, 2024
BAKU: Climate change is dangerously impacting crops and driving worldwide hunger, according to the head of the International Fund of Agricultural Development.
“Food security is intertwined with the current extreme weather events, as it has impacted the world,” IFAD President Alvaro Lario said in an interview with Arab News on the sidelines of the COP29 UN climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.
IFAD reported that in 2023, about 735 million people suffered from hunger caused by climate change.
In addition, unusual rainfalls, according to IFAD, caused a decrease in wheat production and food quality in Europe.
Floods and heat waves caused damage to orange crops in Brazil. In Southern Africa, above-average temperatures led to below-average maize harvests, and in parts of West Africa, erratic rains affected cocoa production and cut output by half.
“We are seeing a lot of the crops are fully being impacted in Brazil, which has been hit by a historic drought, or in Ghana, for example, where there has not been enough rain, cutting the cocoa production by half.”
The IFAD is a UN specialized agency as well as a development finance institution. The organization provides concessional funds and grants to countries and invests in the private sector.
The organization’s key focus is to provide livelihoods and raise income as well as production in low- and middle-income countries.
“Our biggest investments are in the Sub-Saharan region. Fifty-five percent of our funding goes to Sub-Saharan Africa, and up to 60 percent into Africa. But we also operate in the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. We are currently investing in 90 countries,” said Lario.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the main contributors to IFAD. According to the organization, Saudi Arabia has contributed over $536 million to IFAD since it started and is among the top 10 donors.
In the last 10 years alone, the Kingdom has contributed a total of $96.6 million.
IFAD implemented the first phase of a project to support coffee and mango farmers in the Jazan region.
From 2018 to 2023, the project established 50 model coffee farms and five mango farms in the region, which benefited nearly 30,000 smallholder farmers, according to IFAD.
Furthermore, the project adopted strategic plans through a group of development solutions and pillars that include agricultural sustainability and innovation.
“Small-state islands are among the most vulnerable (to climate change),” said Lario. “We are seeing that sea levels are rising. They are also suffering from hurricanes and long droughts. They suffer from access to potable drinking water.”
Strategies to address the problem and implement adequate solutions have been developed by IFAD according to each country’s climate situation.
“For IFAD, we do have strategies on how we work and how we design our projects. All the strategies are to promote sustainable food systems, also to increase rural non-farm crops, so they can also diversify their income.”
One of the programs the organization is working on is in Belize, in Central America, for heat-tolerant and drought-resistant crops such as maize or beans. Another project involves mixing trees with crops that provide shade to conserve water and combat the rising temperatures in Cuba.
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Al-Baha farms offer an escape from busy lives
November 19, 2024
AL-BAHA: People seeking a tranquil escape from the hustle and bustle of their daily lives are flocking to tourist farms in Al-Baha region.
The centers offer a unique blend of natural beauty, agricultural experiences and recreational activities, where visitors can spend their time picking fruit, helping with crop harvesting or learning about organic farming techniques.
There are also activities such as cycling and hiking and some farms offer overnight accommodation, enabling guests to experience the beauty of the starry night skies.
The farms are committed to sustainability and use eco-friendly practices to protect the environment.
Fahd Al-Zahrani, director of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture branch in Al-Baha, said agritourism was becoming increasingly important in the region as it created jobs, boosted the local economy and helped diversify the tourism sector.
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Forum focuses on women’s role in Saudi economy
November 19, 2024
RIYADH: Eastern Province Gov. Prince Saud bin Naif inaugurated the Women’s Economic Forum in Dammam on Tuesday.
The event, organized by the Asharqia Chamber through its Women’s Empowerment Center, features broad participation from experts, officials, academics and professionals, focusing on the women’s business sector.
Prince Saud highlighted the Saudi leadership’s commitment to empowering women across various sectors, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
He emphasized the importance of economic programs designed to enhance women’s contributions to the national economy.
The chamber’s chairman, Badr Al-Rizaiza, briefed the governor on the forum’s objectives and the key initiatives supporting Saudi women’s empowerment.
The forum featured four sessions examining the evolving role of Saudi women under Vision 2030.
Topics included women’s contributions to achieving Vision 2030’s goals, opportunities in the entrepreneurship ecosystem, strategies for business sustainability, and the significance of training in preparing women for leadership roles.
On Wednesday, the forum will host four workshops focusing on key areas, including the Dhahran Techno Valley system and its support for entrepreneurship, as well as tourism entrepreneurship.
The workshops will also cover fostering workplace diversity and inclusiveness, and creative leadership as a cornerstone for success in today’s dynamic business environment.
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Europe
Biden agrees to give Ukraine anti-personnel mines
20 November 2024
US President Joe Biden has agreed to give Ukraine anti-personnel land mines, a US defence official told the BBC, a move seen as an attempt to slow Russian troops who have been steadily advancing in Ukraine's east in recent months.
The official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, said such mines would be delivered soon and Washington expected that they would be used on Ukraine's territory.
Ukraine was also committed to not using the mines in densely-populated areas, the official said.
Separately, the US State Department said it would close its embassy in Kyiv after it "received specific information of a potential significant air attack on 20 November".
"Out of an abundance of caution, the embassy will be closed, and embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place," it said in a statement.
"The US embassy recommends US citizens be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced."
Overnight, both Ukraine and Russia reported major drone attacks on their respective territories.
It was not immediately known whether there were any casualties.
The provision of anti-personnel land mines is the latest move by the outgoing US administration to bolster Ukraine's war effort before Donald Trump returns to the White House on 20 January.
Russia has deployed landmines liberally since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 but international objections to the use of such weapons on the grounds that they pose a risk to civilians had prevented the Biden administration from signing off on them.
The US defence official confirmed to the BBC that Ukraine had pledged to use only mines that remained active for a limited period of time.
The US "non-persistent" mines differ from Russia's as they become inert after a pre-set period of time - anywhere from four hours to two weeks. They are electrically fused and require battery power to detonate. Once the battery runs out, they will not detonate.
Washington has already been providing anti-tank mines to Ukraine, but the anti-personnel land mines - which can be rapidly deployed - are designed to blunt the advances of ground forces.
Earlier, it was confirmed that US-made longer-range Army Tactical Missile System (Atacms) missiles had struck targets inside Russia only days after reports emerged that the White House had granted permission for their use.
Russia's defence ministry said the strike had targeted the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine to the north on Tuesday morning.
It said five missiles had been shot down and one had caused damage - with its fragments starting a fire at a military facility.
But two US officials said initial indications suggested Russia had intercepted just two missiles out of around eight fired by Ukraine.
The BBC has not been able to verify independently the contradicting figures.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Washington of trying to escalate the conflict.
The Kremlin has vowed to retaliate.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, setting out new conditions under which the country would consider using its arsenal.
It now says an attack from a non-nuclear state, if backed by a nuclear power, will be treated as a joint assault on Russia.
Commenting on the changes, US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said: "Since the beginning of its war of aggression against Ukraine, [Russia] has sought to coerce and intimidate both Ukraine and other countries around the world through irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and behaviour."
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Most Ukrainians now want quick end to war – poll
19 Nov, 2024
A majority of Ukrainians now favor a rapid end to the ongoing conflict with Russia through peace negotiations, according to a recent survey conducted by Gallup.
In its latest report, on Tuesday, the American pollster reported that 52% of respondents believe Kiev should pursue peace talks to end the war as soon as possible. This marks a substantial rise from 27% in 2023 and just 22% in 2022.
Gallup’s data reflects a major shift in public sentiment as the prolonged fighting takes a toll on Ukrainian society. “The rising number of Ukrainians advocating for a diplomatic resolution suggests growing fatigue with the conflict,” the report noted, adding that domestic concerns are increasingly influencing opinions.
Support for continuing military action until a decisive victory is achieved has been on the decline. In February 2022, 73% of Ukrainians backed continued hostilities. By 2023, that number had fallen to 63%, and it has dropped further, to 38% in 2024. The poll indicates that Ukrainians are reconsidering their positions as the conflict drags on, and their military continues to retreat.
Of those calling for negotiations, 52% say that Kiev should be willing to consider territorial concessions during any potential peace talks. Gallup highlighted this willingness as indicative of shifting priorities amid growing hardships and doubts about future international support, particularly following US President-elect Donald Trump’s recent victory and speculation about possible changes in American foreign policy.
Meanwhile, Moscow has consistently signaled readiness for negotiations. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently reiterated at a Valdai Club meeting that peace talks should be based on the agreements reached in Istanbul in 2022. Those talks proposed a neutral, non-aligned status for Ukraine, alongside restrictions on deploying foreign weaponry.
However, the Kremlin also asserts that any new negotiations must also account for the current situation on the ground, where Moscow’s troops have been advancing.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized last week that Russia’s military campaign continues because Ukrainian officials have rejected dialogue. “The operation in Ukraine is occurring in the context of what we perceive as a broader conflict initiated by Western nations against Russia,” Peskov said.
Source:rt.com
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Ukraine fires US-supplied longer-range missiles into Russia, Moscow says
20 November 2024
Ukraine has fired US-supplied longer-range missiles at Russian territory for the first time, the Russian government said, a day after Washington gave its permission for such attacks.
US officials also confirmed use of the Army Tactical Missile System (Atacms) to CBS news, the BBC's US partner. Ukraine has not commented.
Russia's defence ministry said the strike had targeted the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine to the north on Tuesday morning.
It said five missiles had been shot down and one had caused damage - with its fragments starting a fire at a military facility.
But two US officials said initial indications suggested Russia had intercepted just two missiles out of around eight fired by Ukraine.
The BBC has not been able to independently verify the contradicting figures.
Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, accused Washington of trying to escalate the conflict.
"That Atacms was used repeatedly overnight against Bryansk Region is of course a signal that they [the US] want escalation," he said.
"And without the Americans, use of these high-tech missiles, as [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has said many times, is impossible."
He said Russia would "proceed from the understanding" that the missiles were operated by "American military experts".
"We will be taking this as a renewed face of the Western war against Russia and we will react accordingly," he told a press conference at the G20 in Rio de Janeiro.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Kremlin approved changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, setting out new conditions under which the country would consider using its arsenal.
It now says an attack from a non-nuclear state, if backed by a nuclear power, will be treated as a joint assault on Russia.
Commenting on the changes, US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said: "Since the beginning of its war of aggression against Ukraine, [Russia] has sought to coerce and intimidate both Ukraine and other countries around the world through irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and behaviour."
He added that the US had not "seen any reason" to change its own nuclear posture, but would "continue to call on Russia to stop bellicose and irresponsible rhetoric".
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also described the move as "irresponsible rhetoric", adding that was "not going to deter our support for Ukraine".
Ukraine has already been using Atacms in Russian-occupied areas of its own territory for more than a year.
The missiles can hit targets at a range of up to 300km (186 miles) and are difficult to intercept.
Kyiv is now able to strike deeper into Russia using the missiles, including around the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces hold more than 1,000 sq km of territory. Ukrainian and US officials reportedly expect a counter-offensive in the region.
In a statement, Russia’s defence ministry said the strike had been launched at 03:25 (00:25 GMT).
A fire caused by fallen debris from one of the missiles was quickly extinguished and there were no casualties, it said.
Ukraine’s military earlier confirmed that it had struck an ammunition warehouse in the Russian region of Bryansk, but it did not specify whether Atacms had been used.
It said the attack, on a depot around 100km from the border near the town of Karachev, had caused 12 secondary explosions.
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Controversial plans for mosque and school at former nursery site rejected
ByBill Jacobs
20 NOV 2024
A proposal to turn a large former nursery building in Blackburn into a new mosque and madrassah has been turned down by planners.
The Muslim Welfare Institute wanted to convert the former Emerald Street Nursery in Emerald Street, Roe Lee, which was originally part of a local mill. It also proposed a single-storey extension to house ablution and toilet facilities.
However, Blackburn with Darwen Council has rejected the planning application for the changes. The scheme generated six objections on grounds of parking, access to neighbouring businesses, implications for bus routes along Emerald Street, and adverse highway safety impacts.
A report recommending refusal by senior planner Christian Barton said: “The site comprises of a two-storey building, rear play area and off-street vehicle parking for around four vehicles. The nursery use appears to have vacated some time in 2022.
“Prior to that use the building was used as offices. This application involves changing the use of the building to form a place of worship and Islamic education centre or madrassah.
“A single-storey rear extension would be constructed to provide an ablution area and toilet facilities. Part of a prayer hall would also be provided within the space following the removal of an external wall.
The three proposed madrassah classrooms would be operated separately to the prayer halls, and potentially at the same time. Should that happen then the number of individuals within the extended building as a whole would be significantly more than the anticipated numbers.
“Moreover, opening hours are proposed for the place of worship element from 04:30 to 23:00, seven days a week. The proposals would result in the loss of an employment premises that could potentially be used by smaller scale businesses.
“An insufficient level of information has submitted to justify the proposed alternate uses and the proposed mix of uses contravenes a number of planning policies. The proposals would involve the introduction of uses significantly more intensive than the former nursery.
“It has not been adequately demonstrated that the proposals would secure a satisfactory level of amenity with reference to noise pollution and nuisances and they would have the potential to lead to adverse impacts resulting from noise on the health and the quality of life of the immediate neighbours. The proposed rear extension would be built an insufficient distance away from main habitable room windows in the rear elevations of 94 and 96 Cornelian Street.
“The proposals would be provisioned with a significant shortfall in off-street vehicle parking and would cause an adverse level of conflict between road users which would in turn lead to an unacceptable impact on highway safety.”
Source:lancs.live
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Russian gains accelerate as Ukraine's Kursk gamble falters
20 November 2024
The Russian military is accelerating its gains along the front line in Ukraine at a crucial time for the conflict.
Data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) shows that Russia has gained almost six times as much territory in 2024 as it did in 2023, and is advancing towards key Ukrainian logistical hubs in the eastern Donbas region.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's surprise incursion into Russia's Kursk region is faltering. Russian troops have pushed Kyiv's offensive backwards. Experts have questioned the success of the offensive, with one calling it a "strategic catastrophe" given manpower shortages faced by Ukraine.
These developments come at a time of heightened uncertainty with a second Donald Trump administration looming. The US president-elect has vowed to bring the war to a close when he takes office in January, with some fearing he could cut future military aid to Ukraine.
Russia advances in eastern Ukraine
In the first few months of the war the front line moved quickly, with Russia gaining ground quickly before being pushed back by a Ukrainian counteroffensive. But in 2023 neither side made any major gains - with the conflict largely sliding into a stalemate.
But new ISW figures suggest the story in 2024 is more favourable for Russia. The ISW bases its analysis on confirmed social media footage and reports of troop movements.
The ISW data shows Moscow’s forces have seized around 2,700 sq km of Ukrainian territory so far this year, compared with just 465 sq km in the whole of 2023, a near six-fold increase.
Dr Marina Miron, a defence researcher at Kings College London, suggested to the BBC that there was a possibility the Ukrainian eastern front “might actually collapse” if Russia continued to advance at pace.
More than 1000 sq km was taken between 1 September and 3 November, suggesting the push accelerated in recent months. Two areas bearing the brunt of these advances are Kupiansk in Kharkiv region, and Kurakhove, a stepping stone to the key logistical hub of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region.
Kupiansk and areas to the east of the Oskil river were liberated in the Kharkiv offensive of 2022, but Russia has progressively retaken the latter area. In a recent intelligence update, the UK's Ministry of Defence said Russian forces were trying to breach the north-eastern outskirts of the city.
Footage posted on 13 November and verified by the BBC is consistent with this analysis. The video shows a convoy of Russian armour being repelled after making it to within 4km of the key bridge at Kupiansk, the last major road crossing in the area.
While these reports do not necessarily translate to control of an area, it is indicative of how stretched Ukraine’s defensive line has become.
Elsewhere, since retaking the city of Vuhledar in October - an elevated position which sits above key supply lines and which Moscow spent two years fighting for - Russia has thrown resources at Kurakhove.
Ukraine’s forces defending the city have so far repelled attacks to the south and east. But the front line creeps ever closer, with Russia also threatening to encircle defenders from the north and west.
Col Yevgeny Sasyko, a former head of strategic communications with Ukraine’s general staff, said Russia places “powerful jaws” around the flanks of a city that slowly “grind though” defences until they collapse.
Footage from the city verified by the BBC showed massive destruction, with residential buildings heavily damaged.
The ISW concludes Moscow now holds a total of 110,649 sq km in Ukraine. For comparison, Ukrainian forces seized just over 1,171 sq km in the first month of its incursion into Kursk - though Russian forces have now retaken nearly half of that territory.
Despite its territorial gains, Russia's advance has come at a huge cost.
An analysis carried out by BBC Russian confirmed that at least 78,329 troops have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, with Moscow’s losses from September to November this year more than one-and-a-half times greater than the same period in 2023.
The losses are compounded by the “meat grinder” approach said to be favoured by Russian commanders - describing the waves of recruits thrown towards Ukrainian positions in a bid to exhaust troops.
Despite the Russian advances, some experts have noted that the actual speed of the offensive is still slow. David Handelman, a military analyst, suggested Ukrainian troops in the east were slowly withdrawing to preserve manpower and resources, rather than suffering from a broader collapse.
The Kursk gambit
Ukraine launched its shock incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August. It is unclear why Russia took so long to respond to the operation, which saw Kyiv’s troops quickly gain control over a number of border communities.
Dr Miron suggested that while the Kremlin would suffer a domestic political cost for as long as the incursion continued, Russia’s general staff had been keen to keep Ukraine’s forces tied down in Kursk as its forces made gains elsewhere along the front line.
But Moscow is now clearly intent on reclaiming the territory lost on its own soil. Some 50,000 troops have been deployed to the region.
Verified videos from the Kursk region show fierce fighting is taking place - and that Russia is suffering considerable losses in terms of manpower and equipment. But the data clearly shows Ukraine’s control of the region is shrinking.
Since the start of October, Russian counter-attacks have regained some 593 sq km worth of territory in the border region, ISW figures showed.
The Kursk incursion was initially a major boon for Ukraine in terms of morale at a time of serious setbacks, and the audacity of the operation was a reminder of its ability to surprise and harm its enemy.
But Dr Miron said while the Kursk incursion was a moment of “tactical brilliance” it has also been a “strategic catastrophe” for Ukraine.
“The whole idea was to maybe gain some political leverage in potential negotiations, but militarily to draw the Russian forces away from the Donbas in order to liberate Kursk. And what we're seeing instead is that Ukrainian units are tied down there.”
Some of Kyiv’s most experienced and effective units are known to be fighting in Kursk. Mechanised units equipped with state-of-the-art Western armour are also involved in the offensive.
Ukrainian leaders had hinted that they hoped the incursion would force Moscow to redirect some of its forces from eastern Ukraine, slowing the Russian advance there. Instead, experts say most reinforcements were moved to Kursk from parts in Ukraine where the fighting is not as intense.
“According to Ukrainian soldiers from different parts of the front, the Russian troops reinforcing Kursk were mainly pulled from Kherson and Zaporizhzhia,” Yurri Clavilier, a land analyst with the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told the BBC.
“The fighting there is not as intense as it is in the East. Some Russian units attacking Kharkiv were also redirected to Kursk as Ukraine managed to stall the Russian onslaught there,” he added.
The importance of territory to both sides is the strength it lends to their position in any potential negotiations. Although no peace negotiations have been discussed, US President-elect Trump has claimed he could end the war within 24 hours, without saying exactly how.
On Tuesday, Ukraine fired US-supplied long-range missiles into Russia for the first time - a day after Washington gave it permission to do so. It is thought that the decision was made in part to help Ukraine hold on to part of the Kursk region, to use as a bargaining chip in future negotiations.
But Dr Miron told the BBC that Russia’s advance has handed them a stronger negotiating position as Trump’s new foreign policy team prepare to take office.
“What they're controlling right now, it does give them a certain advantage,” she said. “If it came to negotiations, I'm sure that as the Russian side has been stressing, ‘we will do it based on the battlefield configuration’.
“From a Russian perspective, they have much better cards than the Ukrainians.”
Source:bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn0dpdx420lo
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Son of Norwegian princess arrested on suspicion of rape
20 November 2024
The son of Norway's crown princess Mette-Marit has been arrested on suspicion of rape.
Marius Borg Høiby, 27, is the stepson of the heir to the Norwegian throne, Crown Prince Haakon, but does not a have a royal title or official duties.
On Tuesday, Norwegian police said Mr Høiby had been charged with sexual intercourse with "someone who is unconscious or for other reasons is unable to resist the act".
Mr Høiby, who has reportedly denied the rape allegation, is facing a number of charges for offences allegedly committed against four other victims.
In a statement, police said the rape "concerns [a] sexual act without intercourse" and that the victim was "said to have been unable to resist the act".
According to local reports, the Norwegian palace has declined to comment on the latest arrest of Mr Høiby.
Mr Høiby was arrested by police at 23:12 (22:12 GMT) on Monday in a car with a victim from a separate incident.
In relation to this separate incident, on 4 August, he faces charges of violence and criminal damage.
Police said on Tuesday that the charges had been expanded to include "maltreatment" in close relationships and "another violation" of a restraining order against the same victim.
They added that a report had been made for driving without a valid driver's licence.
Mr Høiby's residence at Skaugum, close to where the crown prince and his wife live, has also been searched by police.
Mr Høiby has also previously been charged with abuse against ex-girlfriends Julianne Snekkestad and Nora Haukland, as well as with threatening a man.
Source:bbc.com
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Germany suspects sabotage behind severed undersea cables
20 November 2024
Henri Astier & Paul Kirby
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has said damage to two undersea cables in the Baltic Sea looks like an act of sabotage and a "hybrid action", without knowing who is to blame.
A 1,170km (730-mile) telecommunications cable between Finland and Germany was severed in the early hours of Monday, while a 218km internet link between Lithuania and Sweden's Gotland Island stopped working on Sunday.
The incidents came at a time of heightened tension with Russia and Pistorius said "nobody believes that these cables were cut accidentally".
The Swedish and Lithuanian defence ministers said they were "deeply concerned" that the cable connecting their two countries had been cut.
"Situations like these must be assessed with the growing threat posed by Russia in our neighbourhood as a backdrop," ministers Pal Jonson and Laurynas Kasciunas said in a statement, with a call for sanctions to be used in response to acts of sabotage.
Germany and Finland also expressed grave concern on Monday in response to the severing of the C-Lion1 communications cable, warning that Europe's security was threatened by Russia's war, "but also from hybrid warfare by malicious actors".
A series of incidents involving Baltic pipelines have heightened fears of sabotage since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Finnish telecoms and cyber security firm Cinia said its cable may have been severed "by an outside force". "These kinds of breaks don't happen in these waters without an outside impact," a spokesperson told local media.
Cinia's chief executive said the damage had taken place close to Sweden's Oland Island and could take five to 15 days to repair.
On Tuesday, Finland said it had opened a police probe, while the Swedish Prosecution Authority said it had opened an investigation into "sabotage" .
"The preliminary investigation is ongoing and at an early stage. There is no further information to share about the investigation at this time," prosecutor Henrik Soderman said in a statement.
The two cables intersect in the Baltic although the damage is thought to have taken place elsewhere. Arelion, the company that operates the line to Lithuania, has not said where its cable was cut but expects the repair to take a couple of weeks.
Swedish civil defence minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said it was "absolutely central" to find out why two cables were not working. About a fifth of Lithuania's internet capacity has been reduced, although consumers are understood not to be affected.
Arelion spokesman Martin Sjogren told the BBC that cables in the Baltic did get damaged every now and then.
"Fishing vessels accidentally damage cables with anchors," he said. "The timing is odd of course but we haven’t been able to examine it so we don’t know what caused it."
Samuli Bergstrom, a Finnish government cybersecurity expert, said the failure of the cable from Finland to Germany had not affected internet traffic as other cable routes were available.
The biggest act of sabotage since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine took place in the Baltic in the same year.
German prosecutors are still investigating the explosion of Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany.
There have been conspiracy theories around that attack, with unconfirmed rumours that either the Ukrainian, Russian or US government was behind it.
In October 2023 a natural gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was severely damaged.
Finnish officials later said the incident had been caused by a Chinese container ship dragging its anchor.
Source:bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9dl4vxw501o
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Gisèle Pelicot condemns rape accused and says French society must change
20 November 2024
Gisèle Pelicot has denounced the mass rape case of 51 men as a "trial of cowardice", and said it is high time that France's "macho, patriarchal society" which "trivialises rape" changes.
Her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, has admitted recruiting dozens of men online to rape her while she was drugged and unconscious over the course of almost a decade at their home in Mazan.
During a dramatic day in court there was uproar when a defence lawyer accused her of still being under her ex-husband's control and of being unable to condemn him fully.
Ms Pelicot has attended the mass rape trial from its start in September. She has waived her right to anonymity so the entire trial can be heard in court in Avignon in the full glare of publicity.
The case has not just shocked France, it has attracted interest from around the world. It has highlighted the issue of drug-induced sexual assault and raised questions about whether consent should become part of the French definition of rape.
Warning: Some of the details in this report are graphic from the start
Tuesday's session was the last chance that lawyers for the men on trial for rape might have to convince the judges that her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot had somehow tricked them into raping her while she was unconscious.
About 15 defendants sat in the defendants' box while Dominique Pelicot sat in another box, resting his chin on his hand. A handful of the 50 admit raping Gisèle Pelicot, but the majority do not.
Dominique Pelicot was asked whether he accepted that he had manipulated the other defendants into raping his wife or if he had drugged them, he said firmly: "Absolutely not."
He suggested they had used that defence "to save themselves".
Gisèle Pelicot's lawyer also asked him what he had to say to his family, especially his daughter Caroline.
Partially naked images of Caroline were found on Dominique Pelicot's laptop, and when asked about the file he had called "my naked daughter", he addressed her across the room: "I have watched her fall apart... Caroline, I never touched you."
She shouted across the court: "You are lying; I am sick of your lies, you're alone in your lie, you will die lying."
There was complete silence as they looked at each other and Dominique Pelicot then held his head in his hands.
The rest of the family, their faces filled with anguish, stared at him, while Gisèle Pelicot herself did not react.
Not long before Ms Pelicot took the stand, the last of the 50 defendants, Philippe L, said he had been "surprised" by the situation when Dominique Pelicot had welcomed him into his home and insisted that he penetrate Gisèle Pelicot.
He also denies rape, arguing he put his conscience aside and "was thinking with my penis instead of my brain".
After Philippe L left the dock, Ms Pelicot told the court that by giving up her right to a trial behind closed doors she "knew what I was signing up for", although she conceded "today I can feel the tiredness".
Asked whether she thought there was a difference between those who had admitted to raping her and those who had not, Ms Pelicot said that "all came to rape me... all committed a crime".
But she emphasised that when the accused had admitted to rape in the dock "I looked them in the eye".
"I've seen individuals who deny rape parade before the court," she said. "I want to tell these men: at which moment when you enter that bedroom did Ms Pelicot give you consent?"
"I've heard 'I was manipulated', I've heard 'I drank a glass of water, I was drugged'. But at what point did they not realise?"
Ms Pelicot was also asked why she continued to use her ex-husband's name when her own children had been using other names.
The room was hushed as she responded calmly that when she had first gone into the court in Avignon her children were ashamed of the name, but that her grandchildren were still called Pelicot.
"Today I want them to be proud of their grandmother," she declared.
"My name is known across the world now. They shouldn't be ashamed of carrying that name. Today we will remember Gisèle Pelicot."
The atmosphere in the courtroom became heated when Ms Pelicot was questioned by defence lawyer Nadia El-Bouroumi, who suggested she had used "harsh words" towards the other defendants, but not her husband.
"Looking at you - and I'm sorry to say this - I wondered whether we'd ever see you cry," El-Bouroumi asked at one point.
The lawyer's combative and sometimes aggressive tone elicited gasps from the public and the media inside the courtroom, and several people shook their heads in disbelief.
Ms Pelicot rejected suggestions that looking back she might have "seen the signs" that something might not have been right on the mornings after being drugged: "I would wake up with my usual pyjamas on, so no."
She spoke of losing 10 years of her life through medical worries caused by the drugs her former husband had given her without her knowledge.
"I thought I'd either die or end up in a mental hospital," she reflected. "I am 72 now and I don't know how much time I have left."
Defence lawyers also asked her about the images on Dominique Pelicot's laptop of their daughter Caroline.
The Pelicots' children then stormed out of the courtroom and did not come back for some time, while Gisèle Pelicot said later that it "isn't a family trial".
When a defence lawyer put it to Ms Pelicot that she was still under her ex-husband's control and could not bring herself to condemn him fully, she stood silently in court as the lawyers from both sides shouted at each other.
The presiding judge had to intervene to bring the argument to an end.
Later in the day the court heard a statement from Dominique Pelicot given to police in November 2020, two months after he was caught filming under women's skirts by a supermarket security guard.
That eventually led police to find thousands of videos that he had filmed of men having sex with his wife while she was unconscious. She had no idea of what had gone on and realised he had been drugging her from 2011 to 2020.
The trial is due to wind up next month with a verdict in the second half of December.
Source:bbc.com
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Kremlin indicates why Ukraine conflict will last ‘a little longer’
19 Nov, 2024
Russia’s military operation was initially aimed at Ukraine but quickly expanded into a conflict with NATO, President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov has said.
Putin ordered troops to cross the border in February 2022 after the Ukrainian government openly rejected the Minsk Agreements and intensified its shelling of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.
In an extended interview with Indian media on Tuesday, Peskov was asked why the hostilities have taken 1,000 days and counting, and if he could predict when they might end.
“When all this started, it started against the Kiev regime. And now it is continuing as a war between Russia and NATO. That is why it took a little bit longer and will take a little bit longer,” the Kremlin spokesman said.
“It will come to an end as soon as we reach our goals,” Peskov said, adding that Russia would prefer to achieve its objectives through negotiations, but Ukraine has literally outlawed any talks with Moscow.
“So that’s why we’re continuing the military operation, because the possibility of peaceful negotiations is now being denied, both by Kiev and their [bosses] in Washington,” Peskov told the Indian media.
The initial spring 2022 peace talks between Russia and Ukraine were reportedly derailed by Boris Johnson, the British prime minister at the time, who told Kiev that the West was not ready to make peace with Moscow.
The US and its allies have funneled almost $200 billion worth of aid to Ukraine since 2022, including weapons, ammunition and combat equipment such as artillery, tanks, fighter jets and long-range missiles, while insisting this did not make them a party to the conflict.
On Tuesday morning, Ukraine used long-range ATACMS missiles provided by the US to strike Russia’s Bryansk Region, confirming media reports that Washington had given Kiev permission to do so.
Putin has warned that such a step would change the very nature of the conflict and make NATO a direct participant in the hostilities. He also updated Russia’s nuclear doctrine to allow a strategic response to a conventional attack by the proxy of an atomic power.
Source:rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/russia/607897-peskov-ukraine-nato-russia-conflict/
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Muslim-bashing Marcus jailed after spitting at Hanley riot police
20 NOV 2024
A dad who took part in the Hanley riots is missing his son's first birthday after being locked up for two years for spitting at police. Marcus Ramsden was invited to the Hanley riots by friends and family.
CCTV footage captured the 22-year-old - from Lakebrook Close, in Goldenhill - shouting, swearing and spitting at police officers on Town Road.
Fiona Cortese, prosecuting, told Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court: “Disorder took place on August 3 and police were deployed to Hanley to keep opposing groups away from each other. Police officers were assaulted during the incident, they were the subject of violence and abuse, and projectiles were thrown. This resulted in serious physical injury, fear, distress and disruption. There were costs to businesses. It had a detrimental effect on the community. There was racial hostility by protesters in general because it was a busy public area, there was clearly alcohol involved, and people were throwing things.
“Two clips show Mr Ramsden spitting at officers. Mr Ramsden was arrested on August 22, he gave a prepared statement and said he was invited by friends and family, is not racist, and doesn’t hold racist opinions. He admitted spitting at the police shield and says he was caught up in the moment and was struck by a brick himself."
Ramsden pleaded guilty to violent disorder and two counts of assaulting an emergency worker. The Hanley riots were triggered by the deaths of three children at a dance studio in Southport.
Emily Calman, mitigating, said: “Mr Ramsden fully accepts that his behaviour was appalling but his anger towards the police was because he doesn't think they are doing enough to protect young girls, particularly the ones in Southport. He isn't throwing things at police officers, but he should have left when he knew the violence was escalating."
Judge Graeme Smith interjected: “Mr Ramsden suggested Muslims are 'rapists' - that had nothing to do with Southport.”
Ms Calman replied: “He shouldn't have been acting in that way and fully accepts that. He has enrolled in anger management therapy and has spoken to his GP about his emotions.”
Judge Graeme Smith told Ramsden: “Violence was fuelled by misinformation and far-right sentiment spread across the nation. Asylum seekers were targeted, injuries were sustained, and there was damage to communities.
“It is up to the police to protect the public from this attack. On and around Town Road there is a mosque and this was a Saturday when members of the public were out shopping, eating, and enjoying leisure time and you decided to take part in the violence.
“I have no doubt many who attended the protest conducted so peacefully, but regretfully, many were not. Weapons were used on both sides, missiles were thrown by both sides, and police officers and protesters were injured. It is a public duty to keep the peace and there was widespread violent public disorder.
“There were threats of violence to people or property. This was unlawful activity that would have resulted in serious fear, distress, and destruction. There was substantial risk of livelihood to businesses and the public purse."
Source:stokesentinel.co.uk
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https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/muslim-bashing-marcus-jailed-after-9724864
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Southeast Asia
New syllabus, Next-Gen identity card among highlights of Dewan Rakyat sitting today
BERNAMA
20-11- 2024
KUALA LUMPUR: Issues regarding the new education syllabus and the latest status of the next-generation identification card are among the highlights of today’s Dewan Rakyat session.
According to the Order Paper on the official website of the Malaysian Parliament, Aminolhuda Hassan (PH-Sri Gading) will pose a question to the Minister of Education about the new syllabus set to be implemented by 2027 and the ministry’s plans to enhance student performance in literacy and numeracy.
Manndzri Nasib (BN-Tenggara) will question the Minister of Home Affairs on the latest status of the next-generation identification card to replace the current one as a measure to combat identity fraud.
In the same session, Chiew Choon Man (PH-Miri) will ask the Minister of Finance whether the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) could strengthen the i-Lindung programme through subsidies and negotiations with insurance companies to provide medical coverage up to the age of 99 at affordable rates.
After the oral question-and-answer session, the Dewan Rakyat will continue with debates and committee-stage wrap-ups on the Supply Bill 2025 by the respective ministers.
This Dewan Rakyat session spans 35 days, from Oct 14 to Dec 12.
Source:thesun.my
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https://thesun.my/malaysia-news/new-syllabus-next-gen-identity-card-among-highlights-of-dewan-rakyat-sitting-today-HA13315031
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Immigration denies link to alleged assault of foreigner at KLIA
20 Nov 2024
By Malay Mail
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 — The Immigration Department today said none of its officers were involved in the alleged assault of a foreigner who was also denied entry at KLIA.
It noted that reports based on videos of the alleged assault had incorrectly claimed Immigration officers were involved in the incident at Terminal 1 of the airport.
“All foreign travellers must meet Malaysia's entry requirements before being granted immigration clearance. Travellers who fail to comply are issued a Not-to-land (NTL) notice,” Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said in a statement.
“Under Section 24 of the Immigration Act, foreign travellers issued with an NTL notice are handed over to their respective airlines, which are responsible for returning them to their last port of embarkation.”
He also said NTL travelers are put in a designated holding lounge (HL) that has all basic amenities, with airlines also responsible for providing three meals daily pending repatriation.
This morning, the Malaysiakini news portal published videos and reports alleging that a foreigner was assaulted at the KLIA after being issued an NTL.
Source:malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/11/20/immigration-denies-link-to-alleged-assault-of-foreigner-at-klia/157464
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JPN in final phase of next-gen ID card procurement, Dewan Rakyat told
BERNAMA
20-11- 2024
KUALA LUMPUR: The Home Ministry (KDN), via the National Registration Department (JPN), is in the final phase of finalising the procurement of the Next-Generation identity card to replace the current version that has been issued since 2012.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said the new identity card is designed to ensure high security, enhanced safety features, and alignment with the latest security technology advancements.
“This new identity card also aims to prevent incidents and attempts to counterfeit and misuse identity cards, which are crucial documents for Malaysians,“ he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
He was replying to a question from Manndzri Nasib (BN-Tenggara) on the latest status of the Next-Generation identity card that the government plans to introduce as a replacement for the existing one.
Shamsul Anuar explained that the Next-Generation identity card is made from polycarbonate material and equipped with a high-capacity security chip featuring enhanced encryption and security standards to combat forgery.
“The design of the Next-Generation identity card will feature a more modern look, incorporating advanced laser engraving and holographic elements to align with the latest technological developments and high-security standards,“ he said.
He added that KDN, through the National Registration Department (JPN), is conducting a market study to ensure the implementation of the new identity card adheres to the principle of optimal cost-benefit to avoid burdening the government with production costs while ensuring resources are used efficiently.
Meanwhile, Shamsul Anuar disclosed that JPN carried out 2,103 enforcement operations nationwide, comprising 1,606 standalone operations and 497 joint operations with other enforcement agencies from 2022 to Oct 31, 2024.
As a result of these operations, JPN detained 519 individuals for offences under the National Registration Regulations 1990.
Of these, 190 individuals were prosecuted under Regulation 25(1)(e), which included 130 cases involving fake identity cards and 60 cases of possessing someone else’s identity card.
“This underscores the necessity of developing a more advanced ID card to effectively address these issues,” he said in response to a supplementary question from Datuk Che Mohamad Zulkifly Jusoh (PN-Besut) regarding the number of identity card forgery cases.
Source:thesun.my
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https://thesun.my/malaysia-news/jpn-in-final-phase-of-next-gen-id-card-procurement-dewan-rakyat-told-CA13316444
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PM Anwar returns from four-nation tour, strengthening ties and attending Apec, G20 summits
20 Nov 2024
SEPANG, Nov 20 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim returned to Malaysia today after completing visits to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Peru and Brazil from Nov 9 until yesterday.
The aircraft carrying Anwar landed at Kompleks Bunga Raya, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), at about 11.40 am.
Anwar and his delegation were greeted by the Prime Minister’s senior political secretary Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin and supporters.
The 11-day official and working visits to the four countries were fully utilised by the Prime Minister to strengthen ties and explore significant investment opportunities for Malaysia.
During the visit, Anwar led the Malaysian delegation to key events, including the 31st Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Week (AELW) in Peru and the G20 Summit in Brazil.
At the Extraordinary Arab and Islamic Summit in Riyadh, Anwar called on the global community to build a consensus on suspending or expelling Israel from the United Nations.
The Prime Minister also reaffirmed Malaysia’s stance in championing justice for Palestine and condemning Israel’s atrocities on the global stage. He emphasised that Putrajaya has never diplomatically recognised the existence of Israel as a state.
During his four-nation trip, Anwar engaged with world leaders and reiterated Malaysia’s commitment to driving sustainable growth, particularly as Malaysia prepares to chair Asean in 2025.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was among those invited to attend the 47th Asean Summit and Related Summits in Kuala Lumpur in 2025 as the Chairman’s Guest.
In Peru, Anwar was conferred the Order of the Sun of Peru or El Sol del Peru, the highest award from the Peru government.
The El Sol del Peru medal, in the Grand Cross rank, is awarded to monarchs, heads of state, heads of government, foreign ministers, state ministers, accredited foreign ambassadors, or presidents of public authorities. — Bernama
Source:malaymail.com
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RM300 million allocated for land acquisition in S’wak-Sabah link road project - Sarawak Assembly told
BERNAMA
20-11- 2024
KUCHING: A RM300 million allocation has been channelled to the Sarawak Land and Survey Department for land acquisition related to the Sarawak-Sabah Link Road (SSLR) project, said Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.
Awang Tengah, who is also the Second Minister of Natural Resources and Urban Development, said the land acquisition for the 122-kilometre stretch of the road will be completed by the end of this year.
“The remaining 275.5 km will be completed by 2025,” he said during his winding-up speech at the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly today.
On Nov 4, Deputy Works Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan was reported to have said that the first phase of the SSLR project, covering the route from Lawas to the Long Lopeng Junction in Sarawak, had achieved 38 per cent progress as of September 2024.
That 77 km stretch from Kampung Gelugus in Lawas to the Long Lopeng Junction is expected to be completed in 2026.
Ahmad Maslan also said the Letter of Acceptance for the second phase of the SSLR project was issued in March this year.
Awang Tengah also said for the Second Trunk Road/Coastal Highway project, RM220 million allocated by the Sarawak government enabled the Land and Survey Department to complete land acquisition for a 255.6 km stretch.
“For the Northern Coastal Highway project, RM20 million allocated by the Sarawak government allowed the Land and Survey Department to complete land acquisition for a six-kilometre stretch by the end of 2023.
“An additional RM140 million is required to complete land acquisition for the remaining 82.7 km,” he added.
Source:thesun.my
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Govt plans major overhaul of Sabah’s Cap.123 Ordinance with 48 new sections, addressing citizenship and administrative updates
20 Nov 2024
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 — The government is planning to amend the Registration of Births and Deaths Ordinance (Sabah Cap.123) to update and align its provisions to the National Registration Department’s (JPN) current administrative system, said Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah.
He said the proposed amendments have been presented to the Sabah State Attorney General, who has no objections to the matter.
“In summary, there are 35 sections to be amended, 48 new sections to be included, 26 sections to remain unchanged, and 13 sections or subsections to be repealed.
“The constitutional amendments related to citizenship, approved on Oct 17, also require Ordinance CAP. 123 to be reviewed and amended for relevant matters,” he said during a Special Chamber session in the Dewan Rakyat Tuesday.
He was responding to a supplementary question from Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis (Warisan-Kota Belud) on whether the government plans to amend Ordinance CAP.123 to address citizenship issues in Sabah and the justification for this move.
Shamsul Anuar said that since its enforcement on March 1, 1951, the ordinance, declared a federalised Sabah law, has never been amended, rendering some of its provisions irrelevant to JPN’s current administrative system.
Earlier, Isnaraissah Munirah, in her motion concerning undocumented migrants, citizenship, and non-citizenship issues in Sabah, sought an explanation from the Ministry of Home Affairs on why no responses were provided for the citizenship applications in Sabah between 1970 and 1990.
She also asked about the federal government’s measures to expedite late MyKad registration for Sabahans in remote areas and whether discussions with the state government have been held on establishing a fast-track lane for this purpose.
Shamsul Anuar explained that data on citizenship applications in Sabah from 1970 to 1990 could not be immediately retrieved due to differences in data collection methods at the time.
However, he said KDN has improved its citizenship data management system to ensure that current citizenship application records are documented transparently and systematically.
Regarding the late MyKad registrations, he said JPN has taken proactive measures to facilitate the late identity card registration (DLKP) cases, with DLKP applications now accepted at all JPN offices nationwide and through the ‘Menyemai Kasih Rakyat’ (MEKAR) programme.
At the same time, Shamsul Anuar said claims that the Sabah Foreigner Card was intended to grant citizenship to foreigners were unfounded. Instead, the card aims to manage the presence of undocumented migrants in Sabah and enable better identification and monitoring of this group. — Bernama
Source:malaymail.com
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UMNO, Selangor UMNO given more time to settle SRC’s RM19.5 million suit
BERNAMA
20-11- 2024
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here has given a one-week extension to UMNO and Selangor UMNO to update the court on the settlement of a lawsuit filed by SRC International Sdn Bhd and two of its subsidiaries over the allegation that the parties had received RM19.5 million from the companies in 2015.
Judge Datuk Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan allowed the request made by lawyers Mohamed Shahrul Fazli Kamarulzaman, who acted for UMNO and Datuk Hasnal Rezua Merican, who appeared for Selangor UMNO.
The matter was not objected to by lawyer Razlan Hadri Zulkifli, who appeared for the plaintiffs (SRC, Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd, and Jendela Pinggiran Sdn Bhd).
“As we indicated to My Lord, the settlement talks are progressing and we are seeking a few more days until Nov 27,” said Razlan.
The court then fixed Nov 27 for the parties to update on the settlement.
The plaintiffs filed the two suits in May 2021, the first of which is to recover RM16 million that was allegedly transferred to UMNO.
The companies claimed that UMNO knew, or ought to have known, that the money belonged to SRC and that UMNO had no basis to receive the funds.
The second suit is to recover RM3.5 million from Selangor UMNO, a sum which they claimed had been wrongfully received by the party.
Source:thesun.my
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Deputy minister: Govt to enhance i-Lindung, medical plans for M40 as Malaysia nears ageing nation status by 2040
20 Nov 2024
By Malay Mail
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 — Malaysia is committed to providing affordable healthcare and medical protection plans to address rising medical costs as its population ages, Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying said today.
According to the New Straits Times, Lim highlighted the government’s concern about the financial challenges faced by the M40 group, particularly as they contend with increasing medical insurance premiums.
“The government is always concerned about the issues faced by the M40 group, including the rising cost of medical insurance premiums as they age,” she said in response to a question by Chiew Choon Man (PH-Miri) in Parliament.
The M40 category refers to the middle 40 per cent of Malaysian households, comprising about 3.16 million families with incomes ranging from RM5,251 to RM11,819.
Malaysia is expected to become an aged nation by 2040, with over 17 per cent of its population aged 60 and above, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).
Lim added that the government aims to enhance the i-Lindung insurance programme, offering improved medical protection plans to Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members at affordable premium rates.
The i-Lindung is a self-service platform on i-Akaun, enabling EPF members to purchase insurance and takaful products under the EPF members’ protection plan.
Lim noted that 144,589 EPF members have utilised Akaun Sejahtera, formerly known as Account 2, to purchase protection products through i-Lindung. The initiative includes life and critical illness protection plans offered by five insurance operators.
“The government welcomes the proposal and is committed to thoroughly reviewing it,” she said, responding to Chiew’s supplementary question on whether subsidies and negotiations with insurance firms could make i-Lindung coverage more affordable, particularly for individuals up to age 99.
Source:malaymail.com
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