Muslims of Kerakat Tehsil,Jaunpur,UP, Use Brahmin Surnames, Take Lord Ram As A Symbol Of India’s Spiritual Prosperity
New Age Islam News Bureau
11 December 2024
Naushad Ahmad Dubey tending to cows (Photo | Special arrangement)
---------
· Muslims of Kerakat Tehsil,Jaunpur,UP, Use Brahmin Surnames, Take Lord Ram As A Symbol Of India’s Spiritual Prosperity
· Supreme Court Seeks Allahabad HC Report On Sitting Judge’s Anti-Muslim RemarksAt Vishva Hindu Parishad Event
· PM Anwar Urges Muslim Nations To Collaborate With Russia Amid Growing Western Islamophobia
· Scientific Journal Nature: Yunus Among Top 10 Personalities, Describes Him As A "Nation Builder"
· Islamophobia Conference To Discuss Crackdown On Muslim ExpressionAcclaimed anti-Zionist Scholars
-----
India
· Impeachment Notice To Be Moved Against Allahabad HC Judge Over Anti-Muslim Remarks, Labelling Them As “Hate Speech”
· Lawyers’ Union Demands Action Against Allahabad HC Judge For Anti-Muslim Hate Speech At VHP Event
· Portion Of 185-Year-Old Mosque In UP’s Fatehpur Bulldozed, Authorities Allege ‘Encroachment’
· TMC MLA’s Plan To Build Babri-Like Mosque In BengalLeads To Row, TMC, However, Distanced Itself From The Statement
· Seelampur MLA, Abdul Rehman, Resigns From AAP, Says Muslim Rights ‘Ignored’
· Jailed Azam Urges SP To Raise Rampur Muslims’ Plight In Parliament
· Delhi Lt Governor Calls For "Strict Action" Against Bangladeshi Immigrants Living Illegally In Delhi
· IED found on Jammu & Kashmir highway
------
Southeast Asia
· Wishing ‘Merry Christmas’, Sabah CM Announces RM70m For Non-Muslim Religious Bodies And Schools For 2025
· Malaysian Govt Sees No Need For New Religious Harmony Act, Existing Laws Sufficient, Says Deputy Minister
· High Court deny PetroSaudi and its director Tarek Obaid permission to use US$340m linked to 1MDB
· 2024 in review: Installation ceremony of Sultan Ibrahim as 17th King of Malaysia
-----
South Asia
· EU Envoy Applauds Anti-Corruption and Drug Control Measures in Afghanistan
· Department Of Narcotic Control Office Attacked After Raid On Jamaat-E-Islami Leader’s House
· 70 arrested, 88 cases filed over communal violence between Aug 5-Oct 22
· Suhail Shaheen Meets France’s Chargé d’Affaires for Afghanistan in Doha
· Kunduz Breshna Sherkat Collects Over 229 Million AFN in Monthly Revenue
· Ministry of Foreign Affairs of IEA Condemns Israel’s Airstrikes in Syria
· Afghanistan Embassy Engages Iran on Consular Service Improvements
------
Europe
· Three Arrested In Germany Over Suspected Islamist Plot
· UK-Gulf Deals Create 4,000 New Jobs, Raise UK Living Standards, Starmer Says
· Russia Testing ‘Sovereign Internet’ On Muslim Minority
· GB News broadcasts half of all UK stories about Muslims, study finds
· Germany's one million Syrians at centre of fierce debate over their future
-----
Mideast
· Israel Prevents Lebanese Army And UNIFIL From Opening Key Road
· Sit-In By Families Of Islamist Prisoners In Lebanon In Front Of Roumieh Prison
· 218 killed in Syria in fighting between pro-Turk and Kurdish forces: war monitor
· Assad exit puts US at perilous crossroads in Syria
· Humanitarian aid to North Gaza mostly blocked for the last 2 months, UN says
· In Damascus, life resumes without Assad
· Red Cross urges Syrians not to exhume their own dead
------
Pakistan
· Lawmakers Call For Probe Into Kurram Violence, Terrorists’ Infiltration
· Political Rivals Say Former Spymaster Gen Faiz’s Indictment To Spell Doom For Imran Khan
· Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl Not On Same Page Over Civil Disobedience Movement
· Asif dares PTI to 'stand firm' on civil disobedience call after Islamabad protest debacle
· SC ready to hear PTI plea for judicial probe into post-May 9 ‘suppression’
· Court releases 24 MQM-L workers held for violating Section 144 in Karachi
------
Arab World
· International Anti-Corruption Day Sees Saudi Scouts Promote Integrity
· Saudi-UK Military Cooperation Committee Holds Fourth Meeting
· Saudi foreign affairs minister discusses regional developments with French counterpart
· Saudi crown prince receives phone call from Canadian PM
· Saudi, Malaysian foreign ministers chair cooperation meeting in Riyadh
· Diriyah forum explores history, trade, heritage
-----
Africa
· Abuja National Mosque To Get More Imams, Digitalise Friday Sermons
· Family accuses Army of detaining Miyetti Allah leader in Nasarawa
------
North America
· Lawyer Cites 300 Potential Cases Against Diddy
· Luigi Mangione fights extradition to face charge of murdering CEO
· Dick Van Dyke and Cher among thousands fleeing Malibu wildfire
· Secret Service urged to reduce number of protectees
· Trump takes jab at 'governor' Trudeau
· How the six-day hunt for New York shooting suspect unfolded
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/muslims-india-lord-ram-spiritual-prosperity/d/133999
------
Muslims of Kerakat Tehsil,Jaunpur,UP, Use Brahmin Surnames, Take Lord Ram As A Symbol Of India’s Spiritual Prosperity
Namita Bajpai
0th Dec, 2024
Naushad Ahmad Dubey tending to cows (Photo | Special arrangement)
----------
LUCKNOW: Dehri, a small nondescript village around 35-40 km from the Jaunpur district headquarters in eastern UP, is in the limelight for a rare phenomenon.
Dehri is predominantly a Muslim village with over 7000 Muslims and 5000 Hindus living together in perfect harmony for ages. Suddenly a new trend is emerging in the village. Around 70 Muslims of the village have added ‘Brahmin’ surnames to their names. However, they claim that they have not reconverted to Hinduism.
Naushad Ahmad of this village in Kerakat tehsil has drawn obvious attention when he mentioned his name as Naushad Ahmad Dubey on his daughter's wedding card.
In the same village lives Pandey ji or Irshad Ahmad Pandey who stays just two houses away from Naushad Ahmad Dubey.
Many others like Naushad and Irshad are following the same practice by adding the surnames Mishra, Pandey, Tiwari to their names.
“We started this practice around two years back when we came to know about our genuine ancestry. We got to know that we all were Hindus who got converted many generations ago,” says Naushad Ahmad with a saffron stole around his neck.
He adds that on tracing his roots, he learned that his forefathers especially Lal Bahadur Dubey had converted to Islam eight generations back and became Sheikh.
“As people used to address the senior members of my family as 'Panditji', I was curious about my ancestry and lineage. My great-grandfather told me that eight generations back, our ancestor Lal Bahadur Dubey of Rani ki Sarai had arrived in Dehri and purchased a 'Zamindari' from Hazari Singh. When he came here, he had already converted to Islam,” says Naushad mentioning that his quest to know the conditions under which Lal Bahadur embraced Islam is still on.
“After getting the information about my ancestry, I decided to put my original surname ‘Dubey’ with my name,” says Naushad who now has turned into a Gau Bhakt and Gau Sewak (cow caretaker). However, no one else in his family has added Dubey's surname.
Similarly, Ehtesham Ahmad of the same village claims that he also has Hindu lineage. “My ancestors were also Brahmins but I have not added their surname to my name yet,” he says, adding that many Muslim men have started using other Brahmin surnames and have started tending the cows. Dehri gram Pradhan (village head) Farhan says that he traced his ancestors four generations back and learned that they were Hindus.
Similarly, Abdullah Sheikh is now Abdullah Sheikh Dubey, Mohammad Gufran is now known as Thakur Gufran and those with Sayyad as surname are now Shandilya.
They all follow Islamic practices but go to the temple as well to pay obeisance to Hindu deities. They follow the holy Quran but also take part in aarti at the village temple.
However, many of their relatives have yet to be convinced about adding Hindu surnames to their names. Sheikh Mariam Siddiqui, a relative of Naushad Ahmad Dubey, feels that her name is her identity and there is no need to change it.
Naushad Ahmad Dubey feels others should also trace their roots and connect with them by adding their original surnames to their present names.
“These surnames like Sheikh, Pathan, Sayyad and Mirza are not our original surnames. These have been brought in by foreigners. We have not come from Afghanistan or Gulf. I cannot say under what conditions our ancestors had to convert to Islam but we can always use our original surnames to strike a harmonious chord with our Hindu brothers and live peacefully. This will also strengthen the nation,” says Israr Ahmad who also uses the surname Dubey.
When asked if he believed in Lord Ram, Naushad says he does, as Lord Ram is not only a Hindu deity but a symbol of India’s spiritual prosperity, a uniting factor.
Source:newindianexpress.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.newindianexpress.com/amp/story/states/karnataka/2024/Dec/11/karnataka-four-students-washed-away-at-murdeshwar-beach-school-staff-suspended
-----
Supreme Court Seeks Allahabad HC Report On Sitting Judge’s Anti-Muslim RemarksAt Vishva Hindu Parishad Event
December 10, 2024
The Supreme Court of India. | Sajjad Hussain / AFP
---------
The Supreme Court has sought a report from the Allahabad High Court detailing Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav’s controversial remarks about Muslims at an event organised by the Vishva Hindu Parishad, reported Live Law.
“The Supreme Court has taken note of the newspaper reports of a speech given by Mr Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, a sitting judge of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad,” the top court stated. “The details and particulars have been called from the High Court and the matter is under consideration.”
Speaking at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad event on Sunday, Yadav said that India would be run as per the wishes of its Hindu majority. He also uttered a slur used for Muslims who have been circumcised and described the community as “harmful to the country”.
“They are the kind of people who do not want the country to progress and we need to be cautious of them,” Yadav, a sitting High Court judge, said. He added that India would soon adopt a Uniform Civil Code – a common set of laws governing marriage, divorce, succession and adoption for all citizens.
Critics have questioned the appropriateness of the Allahabad High Court allowing a programme by a Hindutva organisation on its premises and the decision of a sitting judge to participate.
On Sunday, Yadav said that Hindu scriptures regard women as goddesses, while some people from “a particular community” continue to practice polygamy, Halala and Triple Talaq.
Scroll looked at several of his orders over the last three-and-a-half years and found that Yadav has a pattern of referring to Hindutva talking points. In his judgements, he has suggested that the state should honour the cow as well as Hindu gods, referred to conspiracy theories about religious conversions and accused people of making false complaints under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act.
In Sunday’s speech, Yadav claimed that children from “one community”, implying Hindus, are taught values like compassion and non-violence, while those from “another community”, implying Muslims, were exposed to animal slaughter and lack tolerance.
The remarks have sparked demands for Yadav's impeachment, with some critics calling for his judicial work to be suspended. Videos of his speech were widely circulated on social media, prompting strong reactions from Opposition parties, which described the statements as “hate speech”.
Kapil Sibal seeks Yadav’s impeachment
On Tuesday, Kapil Sibal, Rajya Sabha MP and president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, stated that Yadav had violated his oath of office by uttering hate speech, reported PTI.
He also said that along with other Opposition MPs, he will soon submit a notice to impeach the High Court judge.
“If he is violating the oath of office he has no right to sit on that chair,” Sibal said at a press conference. “If a High Court judge can make a speech like this then the question arises how do such people get appointed in the first place.”
He added: “The question also arises how do they get the courage to make such remarks. Question also arises why these things are happening in the last 10 years.”
Sibal stated that he was not speaking in the capacity of the president of the bar association but as a “citizen of this country, who believes in the Constitution, rule of law and who believes passionately in the independence of the judiciary”, reported Bar and Bench.
Not apologetic, says VHP chief
Meanwhile, Vishva Hindu Parishad chief Alok Kumar told PTI that while he was not aware of the exact remarks made by Yadav at the Prayagraj event, he “would not be apologetic” even if the judge had said that India would run as per the majority.
“We had invited the judge to speak on the Uniform Civil Code,” Kumar told the news agency. “I would not be able to authenticate those views of his, but then the sentiments and emotions of the majority society deserve as much respect as the sensitivities of the minority.”
He said that there should be “mutual tolerance for others' sensitivities”, without which, “there cannot be any integration”.
“So, I would not be apologetic about it if he [Yadav] said so,” said Kumar. “If a majority holds a particular view, then others should not make an issue of it.”
Source:scroll.in
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://scroll.in/latest/1076656/supreme-court-seeks-allahabad-hc-report-on-judges-anti-muslim-remarks
---------
PM Anwar urges Muslim nations to collaborate with Russia amid growing western Islamophobia
By Syed Jaymal Zahiid
11 Dec 2024
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim speaks (third from left) at Russia-Islamic World Meeting held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur on December 11, 2024. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin
----------
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today hailed the Russia-Islamic World Conference as a step towards deeper ties and understanding in a “multipolar” world, amid growing Islamophobia in the West and geopolitical tension that is forcing smaller nations to pick sides.
Anwar said Muslim nations should bolster collaboration with Russia, adding that such cooperation should be viewed as a celebration of dialogue and understanding.
“We still have problems which is why this sort of engagement is important. We thought with development, progress and knowledge we will have more wisdom, more tolerance of course in the Muslim world between Muslim leaders. But this is not the case,” he said at the opening ceremony of the Strategic Vision Group: Russia-Islamic world meeting held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel here.
“This is a period of great tragedy not only for mankind in general but also for the Muslims...the rise of fascism, racism, and intolerance. Our duty is of course to promote understanding, tolerance, peace and humanity because that is what Islam stands for,” he added.
“It’s important that we use this sort of conference to reflect.”
Russia has long enjoyed close diplomatic relations with many of the world’s Islamic nations even as the West seeks to isolate it.
Malaysia, under Anwar’s leadership, has said it would remain neutral about Russia’s incursion into Ukraine.
Malaysia has formally asked to join Brics, an acronym for the economic group comprising Brazil, Russia, India, and China, and South Africa whose collective economies make up roughly a quarter of the global GDP.
As of October, Malaysia is an official Brics partner, along with Indonesia and Thailand.
The Group of Strategic Vision “Russia-Islamic world” was created in 2006 after the Russian Federation joined the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation as the observer.
On its official website, the group said its primary focus now is on “development of actions for further strengthening of long-term cooperation of Russia and the Islamic states, on coordination of joint efforts on fight against international terrorism, on implementation of strategic partnership between the Russian Federation and the Muslim world”.
Anwar told the conference here that Putrajaya remains committed to stamping out any form of religious extremism and protecting the rights of minority faith groups, and urged other Muslim governments to do the same as he called for more respect towards human rights.
“What we want is a coherent and consistent message from all (member) countries. Islam (in Malaysia) is the religion of the federation... but at the same time, we show extreme tolerance, patience and respect for the dignity of men and women of all faiths,” Anwar said.
He also urged the group to widen its scope of work to include economic and social well-being, pointing to Russia as a potential enabler.
“I spoke about the need to forge better and effective economic collaboration, not only through Brics, but through our efforts and (multilateral) interactions, so that no one in society would be left behind,” he said.
“I believe Russia to be able to introduce this sort of instrument, because with the strength and technology of Russia, they can complement and assist or even enhance the capacity and effectiveness of these economic institutions (shariah-compliant banks and financial services).”
Source:malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/12/11/pm-anwar-urges-muslim-nations-to-collaborate-with-russia-amid-growing-western-islamophobia/159511
---------
Scientific Journal Nature: Yunus Among Top 10 Personalities, Describes Him As A "Nation Builder"
Dec 11, 2024
File photo
---------
Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus has been named among the top 10 personalities in 2024 by the prestigious scientific journal Nature.
The publication described him as a "Nation Builder" for his impactful contributions to society.
The Nature Top 10 list highlights key developments in science and the people who have driven these advancements over the past year.
According to its website, the list is curated by Nature's editors to reflect important trends in science, technology, engineering, and medicine and to recognise people shaping the world.
This year's achievements span a range of remarkable contributions, from redefining weather forecasting to leading a nation.
Yunus, born in Chattogram during British-occupied India, witnessed significant geopolitical changes in his early life.
After the partition of India in 1947, Chattogram became part of East Pakistan. During the 1960s, Yunus pursued his studies in the United States, where he was mentored by Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen, a pioneer in ecological economics. This field seeks to understand the relationship between economic systems and the natural world.
Following the Liberation War of 1971, which led to the birth of Bangladesh, Dr Yunus returned home to contribute to building the newly independent nation.
Dr Yunus is widely acclaimed for his pioneering work in microcredit, providing small loans—often less than $100—to empower the underprivileged. While some companies offering small loans have faced criticism for exploiting the poor with exorbitant interest rates, Dr Yunus demonstrated how fair lending practices can transform the lives of the most vulnerable.
Source:thedailystar.net
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/nature-magazine-yunus-among-top-10-personalities-3773096
---------
Islamophobia Conference To Discuss Crackdown On Muslim ExpressionAcclaimed anti-Zionist Scholars
December 10, 2024
A stellar panel of speakers is lined up to present papers at the annual Islamophobia Conference this weekend.
Among the luminaries are the acclaimed anti-Zionist historian, Prof. Ilan Pappé, former Bristol University academic Prof. David Miller, decolonial thinker Prof. Ramon Grosfoguel and Imam Dawud Walid from the USA.
Tickets sold out very quickly for this year’s event for which the theme is the crackdown on Muslims participating in the public sphere.
The genocide in Gaza has brought into specific relief the forces that have mobilized in many Western countries to stifle and squash any expressions of solidarity with the Palestinians as well as any appeals to humanitarian measures and adherence to international law.
Such forces have manifested themselves through political and legal/judicial means, but have also occurred in social/cultural and academic spaces. While not always explicitly singling out or targeting Muslim voices, the objective appears to be focused on Muslims.
In countries like the US, UK, France and Germany, pre-existing sentiments of Islamophobia have gained new and bolder currency, with suppressions of free speech, press and the right to assemble and protest coming from both the public and private sectors. Selective outrage accompanies selective enforcement of laws and regulations under the guise of maintaining order, security and protecting allegedly unsafe communities. The net result is the chilling effect on Muslims being full and equal participants in the public sphere, restricting not only what they profess and practice, but also for their mere presence in society.
This conference will explore the various restrictions placed on Muslims to suppress their voice and presence in the public sphere. It will examine both state policy, like the UK Gove Initiative on Extremism, censorship efforts in France and Germany, the CAA laws and prohibition of Muslim schools in India, as well actions taken by civil society, including “doxxing” and social media bans based on content. Finally, this conference will assess potential prescriptions for Muslims to reclaim and reassert their civil rights and civil liberties in societies that claim such principles as cardinal values to liberal democracy.
The Islamophobia conference has become a staple in IHRC’s event calendar since it was inaugurated in 2014 to discuss key issues with regard to structural and institutionalised Islamophobia. The project began as part of a Decolonial International Network (DIN), Europe wide project. Each conference has been co-organised with Scotland Against Criminalising Communities (SACC). Every year there has been a conference held in London, and in most years a parallel event in Edinburgh.
Prof. Saeed Khan has written the background paper for the 2024 conference. With civil and political spaces shrinking world-wide, Muslims as political agents find themselves pushed to the margins and disappeared from all forms of social engagement.
Source:ihrc.org.uk
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.ihrc.org.uk/press-releases/islamophobia-conference-to-discuss-crackdown-on-muslim-expression/
---------
India
Impeachment Notice To Be Moved Against Allahabad HC Judge Over Anti-Muslim Remarks, Labelling Them As “Hate Speech”
Dec 11, 2024
National Conference leader and Lok Sabha MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi on Tuesday said he would submit a notice seeking an impeachment motion against Allahabad High Court judge Shekhar Kumar Yadav over his alleged remarks against Muslims at a VHP event.
Mehdi claimed to have secured support from the Congress, Samajwadi Party, DMK, and Trinamool Congress members for the impeachment motion.
“I am moving impeachment motion in the Parliament in accordance with Art 124(4) of the constitution for the removal of this Justice namely Shekhar K Yadav, a sitting Judge in Hon'ble High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, on the charges mentioned in the notice,” Mehdi said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Speaking at a provincial convention of the Vishva Hindu Parishad’s legal cell and high court unit on December 8, Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav described the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) as a means to foster social harmony, gender equality, and secularism.
A day later, videos of the judge speaking on provocative issues, including the law working according to the majority, were circulated widely on social media, prompting strong reactions from several quarters, including opposition leaders who questioned his presence at the VHP event and his reported statements, labelling them as “hate speech.”
Mehdi said he has secured the support of seven members but needs 100 members to sign the notice for the impeachment motion.
“I need the signatures of 100 members to move this motion. More than 7 members including @asadowaisi sahab, Shri Rajkumar Roat Hon'ble MP from Rajasthan, Shri Sudhama Prasad ji Hon'ble MP from Bihar, Jinab Mohibbullah Sahab Hon'ble MP from U.P and Jinab Ziau Rahman sahab, Hon'ble MP from U.P signed it and I thank them for their support and signatures,” Ruhullah Mehdi added.
Mehdi said he has also talked with the members of the Congress, Samajwadi Party, DMK and Trinamool Congress who have “assured me that they will sign and support the motion after consultation with their respective party leaderships.”
“I am hopeful that they will support this motion because these are the parties who believe in the idea of India and it principles and values,” said the Srinagar MP.
Source:hindustantimes.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/kashmir-mp-to-move-impeachment-notice-against-allahabad-hc-judge-shekhar-yadav-over-anti-muslim-remarks-101733894480211.html
---------
Lawyers’ union demands action against Allahabad HC judge for anti-Muslim hate speech at VHP event
Dec 10, 2024
The All India Lawyers Union on Monday wrote to the president and the chief justice of India seeking action against the Allahabad High Court’s Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav for propagating anti-Muslim hate speech at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad event a day prior, reported The Hindu.
The union said that Yadav’s remarks “amounted to hate speech against the Muslim minority”.
Delivering an address on the “Constitutional Necessity of Uniform Civil Code”, Yadav said on Sunday that India would be run as per the wishes of its Hindu majority.
He also uttered a slur used for Muslims who have been circumcised and described the community as “harmful to the country”.
“They are the kind of people who do not want the country to progress and we need to be cautious of them,” said Yadav, a sitting High Court judge. He added that India would soon adopt a Uniform Civil Code – a common set of laws governing marriage, divorce, succession and adoption for all citizens.
Currently, such personal affairs of different religious and tribal groups – except in Uttarakhand and Goa – are based on community-specific laws largely derived from religious scripture.
The letter from the lawyers’ union said that Yadav’s speech was “against the Constitution, its ethos and a direct affront to its basic structure - secularism and independence of judiciary”, reported The Hindu.
“It tantamounts to sabotaging of independence of the judiciary from within,” the letter read.
“His imputations, allegations and expressions against the Muslim minority are of vicious, vitriolic and venomous nature; most unbecoming of a sitting judge of a constitutional court – violation of constitutional oath of office of a judge of the HC,” the union said, claiming that Yadav's concept of democracy was based on the doctrine of Hindutva.
The group urged President Droupadi Murmu and Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna to intervene and initiate proceedings against the judge.
The letter, signed by All India Lawyers Union President and Rajya Sabha MP Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya and General Secretary PV Surendranath, said that Yadav’s speech illustrates the weaknesses of the Collegium system in selecting and appointing judges to constitutional courts, including High Courts and the Supreme Court.
The letter said the system had failed to address judicial misdemeanours or protect judicial independence. It called for an independent constitutional mechanism for selecting and appointing judges, ensuring no dominance by the executive or judiciary.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi also criticised Yadav’s remarks, saying it was unfortunate that a High Court judge attended the conference organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, an organisation that has been banned on several occasions.
“This speech can be easily rebutted, but it’s more important to remind his honour that the Constitution of India expects judicial independence and impartiality,” Owaisi wrote on X. “May I direct his attention to 'AoR Association vs Union of India: ‘Impartiality, independence, fairness and reasonableness in decision-making are the hallmarks of the judiciary.’”
The MP from Hyderabad said that the Constitution is democratic, not majoritarian, and protects minority rights, and asked if minority groups could expect justice from someone like Yadav.
Violation of constitution oath: Brinda Karat writes to CJI
Brinda Karat, former MP and Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member, wrote to the chief justice, saying that Yadav’s speech violated his constitutional oath and sought that action be taken against him, reported The Hindu.
“This speech is a hate speech,” Karat wrote in the letter. “This speech is an assault on the Constitution. This speech is an affront to the collective conscience of a secular and democratic country. That it should have been made by a justice of the Allahabad High Court is also an assault on the processes of justice.”
“No litigant can expect justice in a court where a judge holds biased, prejudiced views against minorities and supports a majoritarian approach,” she added.
Karat said that judges like Yadav discredit the judicial system and that there should be no place for them in a court of justice.
Judicial ethical conduct disregarded: Ashish Goel
Supreme Court lawyer Ashish Goel wrote to the chief justice of the Allahabad High Court, saying that the “mere fact” that Justice Yadav chose to participate in a Hindutva organisation’s event “disregards judicial ethical conduct and has a tendency to compromise the judiciary’s reputation for impartiality”.
Goel further said the comments have “caused great damage to the democratic fabric of the nation”. He urged the chief justice of the High Court to take steps so as to “preserve people’s faith and trust in the independence and impartiality of the judiciary”.
Demand for in-house inquiry
On Tuesday, the Campaign For Judicial Accountability and Reforms sought an in-house inquiry against Yadav and demanded that be removed from his judicial duties.
In a letter to Khanna, the group’s convenor advocate Prashant Bhushan said that Yadav’s “veiled and direct attacks against India’s Muslims amounts to gross judicial impropriety”.
It said that Yadav’s use of a slur against Muslims brought disrepute to the office of the judge and undermined the rule of law.
The letter said Yadav’s participation in the event and his statements violated Articles 14 (right to equality), 21 (right to life and personal liberty), 25 (right to religion) and 26 (the right of religious denominations to manage their religious affairs) of the Constitution.
The letter said that “communally charged statements by a sitting judge not only “hurt religious sentiment” but also “completely erode faith of the general public in the integrity and impartiality of the judicial institution”.
The speech is “a brazen violation of his oath as a judge where he had promised to uphold the constitution and its values impartially”.
Source:scroll.in
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://scroll.in/latest/1076644/lawyers-union-demands-action-against-allahabad-hc-judge-for-anti-muslim-hate-speech-at-vhp-event
---------
Portion of 185-year-old mosque in UP’s Fatehpur bulldozed, authorities allege ‘encroachment’
Dec 11, 2024
Authorities in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district on Tuesday demolished a portion of a 180-year-old mosque, alleging that it was obstructing the widening of a highway, The Hindu reported.
The structure was bulldozed even though the mosque committee of the Noori Jama Masjid had approached the High Court against the demolition.
The district administration cited satellite and historical images to claim that the demolished portion had been constructed in the past two to three years, PTI reported. The main building of the mosque was said to be intact.
In August, the district administration issued a notice to the Noori Jama Masjid, claiming that a portion of it encroached onto the Banda-Bahraich state highway. However, the management committee of the mosque moved the Allahabad High Court seeking relief earlier this month.
“The committee has filed some petition in high court but it is yet to be listed for hearing,” said Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Avinash Tripathi.
Notices were issued to 139 persons, including shopkeepers, house owners and the mosque committee, by the Public Works Department in August to remove the structures that were encroaching onto the road, according to Tripathi.
The department cited the strengthening of the road and the construction of drains as reasons for the removal.
“The Public Works Department had marked the encroached section of all the buildings,” the additional district magistrate was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. “All those served notices removed the encroachment in September. The mosque committee also demolished the encroached parts of the shops built adjacent to the mosque.”
He added that the committee assured that it would remove the portion of the mosque that was encroaching onto the road. “But they did not do it,” Tripathi said, according to The Hindu.
On Tuesday, police personnel, including personnel from the Rapid Action Force, were deployed at the site during the anti-encroachment drive. However, no protests took place during the demolition, the additional district magistrate said.
The Congress, however, accused the Chief Minister Adityanath-led government in the state of selectively targeting Muslim religious structures.
“If a structure is 180-year-old, mechanism should be there to protect them,” Congress leader Shahnawaz Alam was quoted as saying by The Hindu. “But when the intention is to selectively target a particular community aimed at humiliating them, then such incident happens. Such activities show that institutions of the state apparatus are not with the Muslim community.”
Source:scroll.in
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://scroll.in/latest/1076677/portion-of-185-year-old-mosque-in-ups-fatehpur-bulldozed-authorities-allege-encroachment
---------
TMC MLA’s Plan To Build Babri-Like Mosque In BengalLeads To Row, TMC, However, Distanced Itself From The Statement
Dec 10, 2024
TMC MLA Humayun Kabir on Tuesday said he would construct a Babri Masjid-like mosque in Murshidabad district by 2025, drawing sharp criticism from the opposition BJP and Congress.
The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC, however, distanced itself from the statement made by Kabir who is known for hitting the headlines with controversial comments.
"By 2025, Murshidabad will witness the construction of a mosque similar to the Babri Masjid," he told reporters.
"The project will serve as a tribute to the historical mosque demolished in Ayodhya in 1992," he said, vowing to bring the Muslim community together for its realisation.
Kabir, the MLA of Bharatpur in Muslim-dominated Murshidabad, said the mosque would reflect the aspirations of the "34 per cent minority population" of the state.
"The mosque will come up at Beldanga," he said.
Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said it was an attempt to polarise communities for political gains.
"The TMC is deliberately playing with fire by making such provocative statements. We demand an immediate explanation from the chief minister," he said.
Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who hails from Murshidabad, also criticised Kabir's comment, calling it "irresponsible" and "divisive".
The TMC, meanwhile, distanced itself from the statement.
A senior leader, who did not wish to be named, said the remarks made by Kabir did not reflect the party's views.
In the face of the backlash, Kabir defended his statement, saying the project aims to honour history.
"This is about preserving our heritage, not creating division," he said in response to the criticism.
"I was merely expressing the pain felt by Muslims over the demolition of the Babri Masjid. My statement reflects an emotional connection, not an intent to incite," he claimed.
Kabir had apologised to the leadership of his party last month for his comment that a "coterie" was influencing the chief minister's key decisions.
Source:tribuneindia.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/tmc-mlas-plan-to-build-babri-like-mosque-in-bengal-leads-to-row/
----------
Seelampur MLA, Abdul Rehman, Resigns From AAP, Says Muslim Rights ‘Ignored’
Dec 11, 2024
New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party's Seelampur MLA, Abdul Rehman, resigned from the primary membership of the party on Tuesday.
Rehman announced his resignation on X with a post: "Today, I am resigning from the primary membership of the Aam Aadmi Party. The party ignored the rights of Muslims by getting entangled in politics. Arvind Kejriwal always did his politics by running away from the issues of the people. I will keep fighting for justice and rights."
Rehman attached his two-page resignation letter addressed to the AAP chief, Kejriwal. He later joined Congress in the presence of DPCC chief Devender Yadav. The Seelampur MLA had defeated BJP's Kaushal Kumar Mishra in the 2020 Assembly polls.
Sources said that Rehman was denied a ticket from Seelampur, and this was the reason behind Rehman leaving the party. AAP had released its second list of candidates, where it selected Zubair Ahmed instead of Rehman for the Seelampur seat. Rehman announced his departure within a day of the list's announcement, while criticising the party for its alleged disregard towards minority interests.
AAP won 62 seats in the 70-member Delhi assembly in the Feb 2020 assembly elections, while the BJP won the remaining eight. Congress could not win a single seat.
Source:indiatimes.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/abdul-rehman-resigns-from-aap-joins-congress-amid-allegations-of-ignoring-muslim-rights/articleshow/116184442.cms
---------
Jailed Azam urges SP to raise Rampur Muslims’ plight in Parliament
Dec 10, 2024
Lucknow: Urging Samajwadi Party to raise the issue of atrocities on Muslims in Rampur in Parliament as strongly as Sambhal violence, jailed party veteran Azam Khan has asked the INDIA bloc to clarify its stand on Rampur Muslims.
Azam's statement comes days after SP chief Akhilesh Yadav raised the issue of police firing in Sambhal in Parliament. The SP leadership is already unhappy with ally and INDIA bloc partner Congress for not backing it in Parliament on Sambhal issue.
"Samajwadi Party should raise the issue of atrocities on Muslims in Rampur as assertively as Sambhal violence which was a repeat of the template that was first successfully experimented in Rampur," read Azam Khan's message from his jail cell. The message was released on the official letterhead of Rampur district president Ajay Sagar, duly signed by the jailed neta.
"INDIA bloc has stood as a mute spectator to the destruction in Rampur and saw the Muslim leadership being destroyed. INDIA bloc will have to clarify its stand on the issue else one will be compelled to think about the status and future of Muslims," read Azam's message, the tallest Muslim neta of SP who has mostly been in jail since his arrest in Feb 2020 in a case related to fake birth certificate of his son Abdullah.
"Clarify your position and policy on the attacks on Muslims and their present status. If Muslim votes do not mean anything and their right to vote is resulting in their genocide, then they will be compelled to examine if their right to vote should exist or not," Azam said in the written statement.
Azam, 76, is lodged at Sitapur jail. He has been convicted in six criminal cases in the past 18 months. He has over 70 criminal cases pending against., most of which were lodged after BJP came to office in UP in 2017.
Having represented Rampur 10 times in the state assembly and thrice in Parliament, Azam Khan and his family were out of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. With none from the Khan family in the fray, SP fielded Mohibullah Nadvi - the Imam of mosque at Parliament Street – as the party candidate. Mohibullah won the election.
Source:indiatimes.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/azam-khan-urges-samajwadi-party-to-address-rampur-muslims-atrocities-in-parliament/articleshow/116183270.cms
---------
Delhi Lt Governor Calls For "Strict Action" Against Bangladeshi Immigrants Living Illegally In Delhi
December 10, 2024
New Delhi: Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has called for "strict action" against Bangladeshi immigrants living illegally in the national capital.
In a letter to the Delhi government's Chief Secretary and the city's police chief, Mr Saxena has demanded a special drive over the next 60 days to identify and deport illegal immigrants per extant rules and in a time-bound manner.
The move follows representations by delegation of Muslim community leaders from the Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin and Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin; they expressed concern over attacks in Bangladesh on Hindus and other minority communities and, by way of retaliation, said they wanted action against "infiltrators" from that country living in the national capital.
"They have demanded that illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators should neither be given houses on rent nor any employment by any establishment... their children should not be given admission in government or private schools," they declared, also demanding the revocation of government documents, like Aadhaar or voter IDs, that were illegally acquired," the LG's office said.
"In the wake of the gravity and seriousness of the issue, the Lt Governor has desired a two-month-long special drive be launched to take stringent and time-bound action..."
Ill-feeling against illegal Bangladeshi immigrants has skyrocketed over the past weeks following attacks on Hindus in that country; on Saturday police in Tripura's Agartala detained 10 Bangladeshis - from the Hindu community - for having entered this country illegally.
Authorities and some civilians in Tripura, which shares a border with Bangladesh, have been particularly vocal and harsh on this topic. Earlier this month a hotelier association said it would not accept bookings by tourists from Bangladesh and restaurants would not serve them food.
Over 50 protesters also vandalised the Bangladeshi mission in Agartala.
India - which has expressed concern over a "surge" of violence against Hindus - described the incident as "deeply regrettable", and said diplomatic and consular properties should not be targeted. However, India also called on Bangladesh to protect all minorities living in its territory.
Ties between India and Bangladesh have come under strain since the interim government in that nation - headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus - came to power following the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August.
Since then, at least three Hindu priests - from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, beginning with Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari - have been arrested. He has been charged with sedition. Several temples have also been vandalised.
The Yunus government has reaffirmed "in the strongest terms" that every Bangladeshi, regardless of their religious identity, has the "right to establish, maintain or perform respective religious rituals and practices or express views without hindrance."
Source:ndtv.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/strict-action-delhi-lt-governor-on-muslim-bodies-evict-illegal-bangladeshis-call-7217260
---------
IED found on Jammu & Kashmir highway
11 Dec 2024
SRINAGAR: Security forces on Wednesday detected and destroyed a suspected improvised explosive device (IED) on the Handwara-Baramulla highway in Kashmir, officials said.
A joint patrolling party of police and army found a suspicious bag by the roadside on the highway at Langate in the Handwara area of Kupwara district, the officials said.
They said a bomb disposal squad was rushed to the spot and the suspicious bag taken to an isolated place.
The bomb disposal squad destroyed the suspected IED in a controlled explosion, the officials said, adding there was no damage done.
Source:newindianexpress.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2024/Dec/11/ied-found-on-jammu-kashmir-highway
---------
Southeast Asia
Wishing ‘Merry Christmas’, Sabah CM Announces RM70m For Non-Muslim Religious Bodies And Schools For 2025
11 Dec 2024
KOTA KINABALU, Dec 11 — The Sabah government has allocated RM70 million for non-Muslim religious bodies, mission schools, and private schools for 2025, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
He said it is an increase of RM13.25 million compared to the 2024 allocation of RM56.75 million.
“The state government is committed and consistently practices a policy of fairness and equality in all aspects to assist the people, regardless of race or religion, to maintain harmony in the community,” he said during today’s launch of the 2024 Kota Kinabalu Christmas Celebration (KKCC) at Padang Merdeka.
His speech text was read by Deputy Chief Minister I, Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey G. Kitingan who is also the Sabah Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food Industry.
He said that the 19th KKCC celebration this year, themed “Kasih Melalui Tindakan” (Love in Action), is particularly fitting, especially in Sabah, a state with a population of diverse ethnicities and religions.
“The theme is highly supported as it encourages us to love one another, not just by speaking about love but by translating and demonstrating it through action. Love among a society of diverse ethnicities, races, and religions is crucial for the well-being, prosperity, and peace of our beloved state of Sabah,” he stressed.
“Let us all work together and strive hard so that this state continues to progress. Merry Christmas to all Christians and Happy New Year 2025 to the people of this state,” he said. — Bernama
Source:malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/12/11/wishing-merry-christmas-sabah-cm-announces-rm70m-for-non-muslim-religious-bodies-and-schools-for-2025/159484
---------
Malaysian Govt Sees No Need For New Religious Harmony Act, Existing Laws Sufficient, Says Deputy Minister
By Malay Mail
11 Dec 2024
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 — The government does not plan to introduce a new act on religious harmony, Deputy National Unity Minister Saraswathy Kandasami told the Dewan Rakyat today.
She said existing laws were sufficient to safeguard racial and religious unity in the country.
According to a report by New Straits Times, Saraswathy highlighted that current legislation such as Subsection 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948 addresses sedition, while Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 deals with the misuse of network facilities or services.
“Anyone who intentionally commits any act, incites, or makes any statement that will undermine racial and religious unity can be investigated and prosecuted,” she said.
She added that the Penal Code also includes Section 295 for offences involving the defiling or desecrating of places of worship to insult a religion, as well as Sections 298 and 298A, which cover actions that hurt the religious feelings of others.
Saraswathy emphasised that the Federal Constitution guarantees equality before the law and fair protection for all individuals.
She was responding to a question from RSN Rayer (PH-Jelutong), who asked if the government intended to draft a religious harmony act to address religious polemics in Malaysia.
Saraswathy said it would be more effective to enhance the enforcement of existing laws instead of introducing new legislation.
“However, if the situation calls for it, the existing laws could be reviewed to curb certain types of speeches, statements or provocative actions that could cause division within the society,” she added.
Source:malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/12/11/govt-sees-no-need-for-new-religious-harmony-act-existing-laws-sufficient-says-deputy-minister/159515
----------
High Court deny PetroSaudi and its director Tarek Obaid permission to use US$340m linked to 1MDB
11 Dec 2024
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 — The High Court here today allowed the government’s application to block PetroSaudi International Ltd (PSI) and its director Tarek Obaid from using US$340 million (RM1.61 billion) linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
The monies, allegedly linked to the multimillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund scandal, are currently held in a client account at Clyde & Co LLP in the United Kingdom on behalf of PetroSaudi Oil Services (Venezuela) (PSOS-VZ).
PSOS-VZ is a subsidiary of PetroSaudi Oil Services Ltd (PSOSL). PSOSL is a unit of PSI, co-founded by Obaid.
Justice Datuk Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh granted the prohibition order after the public prosecutor successfully demonstrated, through an affidavit, that the sum of US$340 million is either the subject matter or evidence of a money-laundering offence under Subsection 4(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing, and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLATFPUAA).
“In perusing the application, affidavits and considering the submission of the learned deputy public prosecutor and the learned counsel, this court is satisfied that sufficient evidence has been presented in accordance with Subsection 53(2)(a) of the AMLATFPUAA.
“Subsection 53(2)(a) of the act stated that so long as the evidence is produced to demonstrate the satisfaction of any one of the categories, it is mandatory for this court to make the order prohibiting the person but by whom the property is held, or with whom it is deposited, from dealing with it,” said Justice Ahmad Shahrir in his brief grounds.
At today’s proceeding, deputy public prosecutor Norinna Bahadun appeared for the prosecution, while Obaid is represented by counsel Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden and counsel Alex Tan is acting for PSI, PSOS-VZ and Temple Fiduciary Services Ltd. Clyde & Co is not represented.
In 2020, the court granted the government’s application for an interim order to block the parties from moving the monies linked to 1MDB and keeping it in an escrow account held by the firm.
The interim order is to maintain the status quo of the parties until the disposal of the government’s prohibition application seeking an order to restrain any dealings on the monies belonging to PSI and PSOS-VZ.
The Malaysian government claimed that the money involved came from 1MDB funds in a joint venture with PSI to establish 1MDB PetroSaudi Ltd in 2010.
The application was filed under Section 53 of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.In August this year, the international media reported that the Swiss Federal Criminal Court convicted Obaid over embezzlement of US$1.8 billion from 1MDB and he was sentenced to seven years imprisonment. — Bernama
Source:malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/12/11/high-court-deny-petrosaudi-and-its-director-tarek-obaid-permission-to-use-us340m-linked-to-1mdb/159526
----------
2024 in review: Installation ceremony of Sultan Ibrahim as 17th King of Malaysia
11 Dec 2024
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 — The installation ceremony of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim as the 17th King of Malaysia on July 20, 2024 marked a historic event for Malaysia this year.
Held at Istana Negara with full regal tradition, the ceremony underscored Malaysia’s uniqueness as one of 43 nations practising the Constitutional Monarchy system and the only country in the world implementing a rotational system among its nine Malay Rulers.
The ceremony was held six months after Sultan Ibrahim took the oath of office on Jan 31, following his election as the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong for a five-year term, during the Special 263rd Meeting of the Conference of Rulers in October 2023.
The same meeting saw the Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah appointed Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong for the third time, with his oath-taking ceremony also held on Jan 31.
Sultan Ibrahim, 65, succeeds Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, whose five-year tenure as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong concluded on Jan 30.
The installation ceremony undoubtedly evoked personal nostalgia for Sultan Ibrahim, as it mirrored the historic process experienced by his late father, Almarhum Sultan Iskandar Sultan Ismail, who was installed as the eighth Yang di-Pertuan Agong 40 years ago.
Adding to its significance, the ceremony, graced by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei and King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, alongside 700 distinguished guests, saw Sultan Ibrahim seated on the same throne previously used by his late father.
The timeless strains of the Perak Royal Nobat accompanying the installation ceremony held deep personal significance for Sultan Ibrahim as it was also played during the royal wedding of His Majesty to Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah, Queen of Malaysia at Istana Iskandariah, Kuala Kangsar, Perak, on Sept 22, 1982.
In fact, the same nobat was also used during the installation of the late Sultan Iskandar in 1984.
The request to bring the Perak Royal Nobat to Istana Negara was handled with utmost respect. Sultan Ibrahim personally penned a letter addressed to Sultan Nazrin, which was delivered through Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil in his capacity as chairman of the Special Committee for the Installation Ceremony.
By tradition, the nobat cannot leave Perak without the ruler’s consent.
In preserving cultural heritage, the Jawi calligraphy was used for the Instrument of Royal Invitation with an added motif of hibiscus on the gold and silver capsules used to store these documents, as decreed by Sultan Ibrahim.
The installation ceremony also featured the royal couple’s favourite colours, Tiffany blue and royal yellow, reflected in invitations, commemorative items, medals and publicity materials.
In keeping with tradition, Sultan Ibrahim donned the Muskat, the official attire of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, featuring intricate gold embroidery with motifs of awan larat and hibiscus – the national flower – complete with tengkolok, pending and keris.
Meanwhile, Raja Zarith Sofiah graced the occasion in an elegant golden Kurung Johor, adorned with crystal embellishments reflecting hibiscus and awan larat motifs, complemented by the Royal Tiara (Gendik) and Necklace.
To mark the commencement of the installation ceremony, Sultan Ibrahim kissed a copy of the Quran – a symbolic gesture depicting His Majesty’s role as head of the Islamic religion for states without rulers and the Federal Territories.
His Majesty was then presented with the Keris Panjang Diraja, symbolising the central authority of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in reigning the nation, transcending state boundaries.
Sultan Ibrahim’s solemn oath to justly perform his duties in reigning Malaysia in accordance with the laws and the Constitution while faithfully upholding the Religion of Islam and standing firmly with the just and peaceful administration of the country marked the culmination of the grand and momentous installation ceremony.
Nearly a year into the reign, His Majesty has undertaken three State Visits, beginning with Singapore in May, then China and Brunei Darussalam in September and October, respectively.
Accompanied by Raja Zarith Sofiah, these visits have further strengthened Malaysia’s ties with these nations.
According to the rotation order of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim is the second-to-last in the current cycle, to be followed by the appointment of Sultan Nazrin, should he be elected by the Conference of Rulers. After that, the third cycle of rotation will commence.
Born on Nov 22, 1958, at Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Johor Bahru, Johor, Sultan Ibrahim is regarded as the sovereign umbrella of the nation, providing shelter to all citizens regardless of race, religion or political affiliation.
As the Head of State, His Majesty symbolises harmony and unity, and it is incumbent upon the people to honour and uphold their loyalty to the King.
This spirit of loyalty should already be deeply ingrained within every individual, as it is instilled from an early age in school through the Rukun Negara, specifically the second principle, Loyalty to the King and Country, and reflected in the lyrics of the national anthem, Negaraku: “Rahmat Bahagia Tuhan Kurniakan, Raja Kita Selamat Bertakhta.” — Bernama
Source:malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/12/11/2024-in-review-installation-ceremony-of-sultan-ibrahim-as-17th-king-of-malaysia/159501
---------
South Asia
EU Envoy Applauds Anti-Corruption and Drug Control Measures in Afghanistan
2024-12-11
KABUL(BNA): Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, the Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs, met with the European Union’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Tomas Niklasson, and his accompanying delegation in Kabul. The meeting was attended by Veronika Bošković Pohar, Chargé d’Affaires of the EU Delegation in Kabul.
According to a statement released by the ARG, Niklasson praised the progress achieved in Afghanistan under the Islamic Emirate’s administration. He highlighted the effective measures taken by the Islamic Emirate in establishing peace, combating corruption, and addressing drug-related issues. Niklasson emphasized the need for international cooperation to provide alternatives to drug cultivation and to support the treatment of drug addicts in Afghanistan.
Niklasson further announced the EU’s plan to allocate 45 million euros in the near future to assist Afghan farmers in adopting alternative crops. He stressed the importance of unrestricted access for EU staff to all regions of Afghanistan to facilitate humanitarian aid delivery. Moreover, he confirmed the EU’s ongoing dialogue with neighboring countries to halt the forced expulsion of Afghan refugees.
For his part, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir expressed gratitude for the EU’s support, particularly its efforts to assist in alternative crop cultivation. He noted that the Islamic Emirate has established a High Commission dedicated to the sustained fight against drugs and intoxicants and reaffirmed its commitment to fulfilling its promises.
Mawlawi Kabir also emphasized the Islamic Emirate’s efforts in treating addicts from the previous administration and equipping them with vocational skills to reintegrate into society. He called for continued cooperation from international organizations, including the EU, to address the challenges faced by Afghan refugees, urging neighboring countries to cease forced deportations.
Source:bakhtarnews.af
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/eu-envoy-applauds-anti-corruption-and-drug-control-measures-in-afghanistan/
---------
Department Of Narcotic Control Office Attacked After Raid On Jamaat-E-Islami Leader’s House
Dec 11, 2024
A mob vandalised the Teknaf office of the Department of Narcotic Control (DNC) following a raid at the house of local Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mohammad Ismail on Monday night.
Ismail, vice-president of the Jamaat's Teknaf Municipality unit and a former ward councillor, claimed that DNC officials attempted to frame him with yaba pills during the raid at his Jaliapara residence around 6:00 pm. He alleged that four plainclothes men, posing as DNC officers, tried to abduct him, but locals intervened and rescued him.
In response to the raid, Ismail's followers drove the DNC team out of the house, prompting them to seek refuge at Teknaf Police Station. Later, the mob staged a protest and hurled brickbats at the DNC office.
Sifat Tasnim, Assistant Director of DNC (Teknaf region), confirmed that the raid was based on intelligence that yaba pills were at Ismail's house. He accused Ismail of inciting his followers to resist the raid, leading to the injury of three DNC officers. The DNC plans to take legal action against the perpetrators.
Teknaf Police Station's OC, Muhammad Gias Uddin, said no formal complaint had been received as of yet.
Source:thedailystar.net
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/dnc-office-attacked-after-raid-jamaat-leaders-house-3773271
---------
70 arrested, 88 cases filed over communal violence between Aug 5-Oct 22
Dec 10, 2024
A total of 88 cases were filed in connection with communal violence that took place between August 5 and October 22 and 70 people were arrested in connection with the cases, said Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam.
Updates regarding the incidents that took place after October 22 will be provided soon, he said in a press briefing today.
"All those who commit such violence and heinous acts in Bangladesh will be brought under the law."
Asked whether the political identities of the detainees were known, Alam said: "None is arrested on political identity. Anyone who is suspected or charged is being brought under the law."
Although 88 cases were related to violence against minorities, it has come to their notice that in many cases, people who faced violence were members of the previous ruling party, he said.
"How would you evaluate this in the context of whether he was attacked for his faith or as a former activist of the ruling party?"
At least 2,010 incidents of violence against minorities took place across the country from August 4 to 20, according to the inter-religious group Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad.
Citing a report by the Sweden-based Netra News on the findings of the parishad, Alam said: "It [the report] said that almost every case took place due to political or personal reason and attacks did not take place as he or she was a member of the minorities communities."
Source:thedailystar.net
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/hate-crime/news/70-arrested-88-cases-filed-over-communal-violence-between-aug-5-oct-22-3773001
---------
Suhail Shaheen Meets France’s Chargé d’Affaires for Afghanistan in Doha
2024-12-11
KABUL(BNA): The head of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s Political Office in Doha, Mohammad Suhail Shaheen, has reported a meeting with Jean Marin Schuh, France’s Chargé d’Affaires for Afghanistan.
In a statement on his social media account X, Suhail Shaheen stated that the meeting was held in Doha, where they discussed several pressing issues, including the current situation in Afghanistan, healthcare, non-governmental organizations, and technical requirements for Kabul International Airport.
Source:bakhtarnews.af
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/suhail-shaheen-meets-frances-charge-daffaires-for-afghanistan-in-doha/
---------
Kunduz Breshna Sherkat Collects Over 229 Million AFN in Monthly Revenue
2024-12-10
KUNDUZ(BNA): The officials of the Kunduz Breshna Sherkat (Electricity Directorate) have reported that the directorate collected more than 229 million Afghanis in revenue during the month of Aqrab, 1403.
According to the director of public relations for the Kunduz Breshna Sherkat, Omar Kandzi, the directorate earned a total of 229,509,310 Afghanis from the sale of various electricity services during the month of Aqrab. This amount has been deposited into the state treasury.
It is worth mentioning that the Kunduz Breshna Sherkat has accumulated over 600 million Afghanis in revenue during the first six months of this year.
Source:bakhtarnews.af
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/kunduz-breshna-sherkat-collects-over-229-million-afn-in-monthly-revenue/
---------
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of IEA Condemns Israel’s Airstrikes in Syria
2024-12-10
KABUL(BNA): The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has condemned the continued airstrikes by the Israeli regime in Syria, denouncing them as a blatant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an independent nation.
In an official statement released today, the Ministry expressed strong opposition to Israel’s persistent attacks, describing them as “an unjustifiable aggression” that undermines Syria’s freedom and sovereignty. The statement further added that such actions exacerbate instability in the region and violate international norms and principles.
The Ministry criticized Israel’s escalation of attacks in Syria, including strikes on military facilities and civilian areas, which have resulted in significant casualties and extensive damage to infrastructure. These actions, it asserted, demonstrate a strategy aimed at pursuing illegitimate objectives in the Middle East.
Reaffirming Afghanistan’s commitment to supporting Syria’s independence and sovereignty, the Ministry called on regional and international powers to respect the Syrian people’s right to determine their future without external interference. It emphasized the need for all nations to promote peace and stability by allowing the Syrian people to make independent decisions regarding their destiny.
Source:bakhtarnews.af
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/ministry-of-foreign-affairs-of-iea-condemns-israels-airstrikes-in-syria/
---------
Afghanistan Embassy Engages Iran on Consular Service Improvements
2024-12-10
KABUL(BNA): The Embassy of Afghanistan in Tehran has reported a meeting between its Acting Ambassador and the General Director for Consular Affairs at Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to a press release from the Afghanistan Embassy, Mawlawi Fazl Mohammad Haqqani, Afghanistan’s Acting Ambassador in Tehran, met with Mojtaba Shasti, General Director for Consular Affairs at the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in his office.
During the meeting, both sides discussed improving consular services for Afghan migrants and travelers. Topics included enhancing coordination, facilitating consular processes, and addressing issues related to the issuance of internal passports and identity verification.
It is worth noting that the Acting Ambassador had previously met with the General Director for South Asia at Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss matters concerning Afghan migrants, traders, and investors residing in the country.
Source:bakhtarnews.af
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/afghanistan-embassy-engages-iran-on-consular-service-improvements/
----------
Europe
Three arrested in Germany over suspected Islamist plot
December 11, 2024
Three men were arrested in Germany on suspicion of plotting an Islamist terror attack, authorities said on Tuesday. Police found an assault rifle and knives amongst their possessions, as well as evidence of preparations for a "serious act of violence."
Authorities said the trio was planning something that could have "endangered the state," though emphasizing that the plan was in its early stages and there was no concrete danger to the public at any time.
Investigators alleged that the two brothers had "strong religious ideology and profound sympathy" for the so-called "Islamic State" terrorist organization.
The suspects included two German-Lebanese brothers from the city of Mannheim, aged 15 and 20, and a 22-year-old German-Turkish man from the Hochtanus region in the central state of Hesse.
Police in the state of Baden-Württemberg, where Mannheim lies, said the suspects had expressed "profound sympathy" for "Islamic State" terrorists. Besides weapons, authorities also found protective vests, a balaclava and several mobile phones during a search of the suspects' homes.
Source:dw.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.dw.com/en/three-arrested-in-germany-over-suspected-islamist-plot/a-71015367
---------
UK-Gulf deals create 4,000 new jobs, raise UK living standards, Starmer says
MANAL AL-BARAKATI
December 10, 2024
RIYADH: Recent British deals with Saudi Arabia and the UAE have created 4,000 new jobs in Britain and are part of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s plans to raise living standards, he said during a recent visit to Riyadh.
Starmer was received by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Al-Yamamah Palace in the Saudi capital this week, where discussions centered on enhancing bilateral cooperation in areas of mutual economic interest.
“The UAE and Saudi Arabia are key partners of ours. So I’ve been making the case that now is the time for further investment into our country, as far as Saudi Arabia is concerned,” Starmer told local press.
“For example, some of the deals we’ve done in the last few weeks have yielded 4,000 jobs, and so I’m here driving growth with the sole intention of making sure that when I say living standards will go up in the UK, people will feel better off that we’ve got the plan to follow through and deliver on that, with acts, with investment around the world.”
The visit included a high-profile business roundtable on Monday featuring Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Commerce Majid Al-Kassabi, Saudi Ambassador to the UK Prince Khalid bin Sultan, and Starmer.
Trade and investment: Key drivers
Trade between the UK and Saudi Arabia has seen robust growth in recent years, with bilateral trade valued at £14 billion annually. The UK is a key exporter to the Kingdom, supplying machinery, vehicles and pharmaceuticals, while Saudi Arabia exports crude oil, petrochemical products and significant investments in non-oil sectors.
Recent discussions placed a particular emphasis on diversifying this trade relationship. Sectors such as green energy, digital transformation and health care innovation are seen as crucial for the next phase of bilateral economic engagement.
Saudi Arabia’s investments in its ICT sector, projected to reach $37.5 billion by 2024, present significant opportunities for British firms.
“The Kingdom’s investment in ICT is a clear signal of its ambitions. For UK technology firms, this is a market of immense opportunity,” said Sarah Walker, CEO of ZainTECH UK, in a previous interview with Arab News.
Renewable energy at the forefront
A cornerstone of the Saudi-UK partnership lies in renewable energy. Saudi Arabia has emerged as a global leader in clean energy, particularly in green hydrogen, where it aims to become a dominant producer.
James Penlington, CEO of London-based Renewable Edge, told Arab News previously: “Saudi Arabia’s investments in green hydrogen are unmatched globally. As a UK company, we are keen to contribute our expertise to support the Kingdom’s sustainability goals.”
The Kingdom’s focus on renewable energy is in line with its Vision 2030 target of generating 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by the end of the decade. This ambitious goal has attracted significant interest from UK firms specializing in solar, wind and hydrogen technologies.
Expanding educational and training partnerships
The growing Saudi-UK trade relationship is also fostering collaborations in education and training.
British universities and institutions are increasingly playing a role in developing Saudi Arabia’s workforce, particularly in high-tech fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics and health care.
These partnerships are critical to Vision 2030’s goal of building a skilled and diversified workforce.
“Educational collaboration is an area where UK institutions can bring real value,” Lucy Harper, managing director of Tech Frontier UK, told Arab News on Tuesday.
“With Saudi Arabia focusing on human capital development, we are seeing opportunities to engage in programs that drive innovation and prepare the workforce for future challenges.”
Building on Vision 2030 success
Since the launch of Vision 2030 in 2016, Saudi Arabia has achieved significant progress in economic diversification.
According to official data, 87 percent of its 1,064 initiatives are either completed or on track, demonstrating the Kingdom’s dedication to transforming its economy and creating new opportunities for international investors.
This progress has positioned Saudi Arabia as a key destination for foreign investment.
The Kingdom has been actively fostering global partnerships, as reflected in its agreements with the UK. For example, trade between Saudi Arabia and the UK reached £17.2 billion in 2022, marking a 68 percent increase compared to the previous year.
With Saudi Arabia advancing its Vision 2030 reforms and the UK pursuing new trade partnerships post-Brexit, the bilateral relationship has continued to strengthen.
The focus on renewable energy and technology aligns with Saudi sustainability goals, while UK businesses have benefitted from opportunities in the Saudi Arabia’s $37.5 billion ICT market.
These agreements signal a clear commitment to innovation and sustainable economic growth.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2582576/saudi-arabia
---------
Russia testing ‘sovereign internet’ on Muslim minority
December 10, 2024
Russia has disrupted access to popular websites and messaging apps in several Muslim-majority regions as it continues testing a national alternative to the global internet.
Internet disruptions were reported in several Russian republics with Muslim-majority populations, including Chechnya, Dagestan, and Ingushetia – all part of Russia’s North Caucasus federal district.
Residents in these republics were unable to access foreign websites and online services, such as YouTube and Google, as well as messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, according to the US-based non-profit Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which monitors military and geopolitical developments in Russia, Ukraine, and the Middle East.
Issues were also reported with accessing some domestic services, including those provided by the Russian internet giant Yandex. The services were inaccessible even when using virtual private networks, or VPNs, the reports said.
According to NetBlocks, which tracks global network connectivity, the disruptions in Dagestan lasted up to 24 hours.
It was reported last month that Russia’s censorship body Roskomnadzor would conduct “routine” tests in December to disconnect the Russian internet, also known as RuNet, from the global network.
Roskomnadzor said that the exercises would only take place in “certain regions” and should not affect the wider population, according to Meduza, an independent Russian outlet.
The censors confirmed last week they were carrying out tests to ensure that “key replacement infrastructure” can function if the Russian internet is disconnected from the global network.
However, these tests appear to be primarily targeting regions dominated by ethnic or religious minorities.
“Roskomnadzor likely intended in part to test its ability to successfully disconnect Chechnya, Dagestan, and Ingushetia – Russian federal subjects with Muslim-majority populations and recent histories of instability – from services like Telegram in order to control the information space in the event of instability in the future,” the ISW said in its analysis.
The Russian authorities previously attempted to disconnect users in Dagestan from Telegram during the antisemitic riots in November 2023. It also blocked internet access in the Far East republic of Sakha, as well as Bashkortostan in the southern Urals, during protests there in January this year.
What does sovereign internet mean?
The so-called sovereign internet law passed in Russia in late 2019 and seeks to shield the country from being cut off from foreign infrastructure, or what Roskomnadzor describes as “deliberate external interference.”
However, free speech and digital rights activists say that legislation is a tool of censorship, as it tightens Moscow’s control over the global network and strengthens the government’s oversight of the country’s cyberspace.
The law requires the Russian internet isolation drills to take place at least once a year. Several widespread internet outages in early 2024 were linked to these drills, with exercises also reported in 2019, 2021, and 2023.
The Kremlin has recently invested roughly 59 billion rubles ($576 million) into developing capabilities to restrict internet traffic, according to Russian-language Forbes.
Roskomnadzor also indicated it may force Russians to migrate their websites from Western hosting providers to Russian hosting providers to better enforce Russian censorship laws. Last week, it warned it could block eight foreign web service hosting providers, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), GoDaddy, and HostGator for “non-compliance” with Russian laws.
“Roskomnadzor has previously issued such warnings ahead of blocking Western websites and online services likely to test the reaction to these blocks before implementing them and pressure Russians to switch to domestic, Kremlin-approved and -controlled platforms and services,” the ISW said.
Roskomsvoboda, a Russian digital rights group, stated that the move marks a “new stage in Russian online censorship.” It warned that many popular apps and websites could cease functioning if the measure is implemented.
Source:cybernews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://cybernews.com/news/russia-sovereign-internet-muslim-minority/
---------
GB News dismisses report accusing it of ‘almost obsessive’ coverage of Muslims
December 10, 2024
GB News has hit out at a report accusing it of “almost obsessive” coverage of Muslims, saying it is “inaccurate and defamatory” and that it was not approached for comment beforehand.
The new report, released by the Muslim Council of Britain’s Centre for Media Monitoring, assessed two years of output from GB News, BBC News and Sky News, finding that the opinion-led station accounted for almost half of all mentions of Muslims among the three.
CfMM said the channel used certain words associated with Muslims — for example Islamism, jihad, mosque, Sharia, prophet, Caliphate and burka — 17,000 times across the period assessed.
It also claimed that GB News mentioned Islamophobia 1,180 times — mostly in a critical way — and that during the summer’s far-right unrest, it “accounted for 62% of all clips on UK news channels that associated Muslims with the riots”.
The report concluded that while its findings did not mean “that every contributor or presenter hates Islam and Muslims or that GB News does not sometimes publish good commentary… structurally and systematically, we believe there is an endemic problem with GB News’ coverage of Islam and Muslims”.
Muslim commentators are rarely brought on, CfMM said, and “its stories about Islam and Muslims are overwhelmingly negative… its presenters often fail to challenge Islamophobic remarks from guests, contributing to an unbalanced and biased narrative”.
A GB News spokesperson said in response: “This inaccurate and defamatory report is nothing more than a cynical, self-serving attempt to silence free speech.
“It proves exactly why a news organisation like GB News needs to exist and why it is succeeding.
“We are concerned that at no point did this project of the Muslim Council of Britain contact GB News or its presenters to allow them to respond to these highly defamatory allegations.”
The channel did not identify specific inaccuracies. An un-bylined article on the GB News website also noted: “The UK Government has a longstanding position of not engaging with the Muslim Council of Britain due to previous leaders of the organisation having ‘taken positions that contradict our fundamental values’ as a country.”
CfMM called on broadcast regulator Ofcom to “either stop the pretence that it is actually regulating the channel and enforcing impartiality, or do its job and regulate the channel”.
Stewart Purvis, a former editor and chief executive of ITN and a one-time Ofcom content and standards partner, commented in the report’s foreword that the findings had “come about because of a series of deregulatory actions taken by Ofcom…
“The CfMM report creates a clear challenge to Ofcom: has its deregulated model for broadcast news created an unintended consequence? Can a broadcaster be allowed to try to build its audience and political influence by a consistently negative portrayal of a minoritised ethnic community?”
An Ofcom spokesperson said in response: “All regulated broadcasters must comply with our broadcasting rules. We enforce these rules fairly and proportionately, acting independently and impartially at all times.
“We have found GB News in breach of our rules 12 times, and recently imposed a £100,000 financial penalty on GB News for breaking due impartiality rules.”
GB News is currently pursuing a legal case against Ofcom, asking the High Court to block a sanction relating to the Q&A programme with then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that resulted in that fine.
In November GB News for the first time received more viewership than Sky News for a full month, according to BARB data.
The Centre for Media Monitoring has long campaigned on the representation of Muslims in the news, often lodging complaints with press regulator IPSO or carrying out sentiment analysis of newspaper coverage. A 2021 report found that nearly 60% of online news articles about Muslims were negative.
Source:pressgazette.co.uk
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/broadcast/gb-news-muslims-ofcom-centre-for-media-monitorin/
---------
Germany's one million Syrians at centre of fierce debate over their future
December 11, 2024
Damien McGuinness
Across Germany Syrians have been celebrating in the streets the downfall of former president Bashar al-Assad. But now many will be feeling less euphoric, as some politicians question their future in Germany.
There are around a million people with a Syrian passport in Germany. Most of them came from 2015-16, after Angela Merkel's government made a decision not to close Germany's borders to refugees fleeing Syria's civil war.
The mood at the time was that Germany would manage. The climate now is rather different.
Within hours of the news of Assad's fall, a fierce political debate erupted in Germany over whether Syrian refugees should go back to Syria.
Snap elections are being held in Germany on 23 February. With migration topping surveys of voters' concerns, some politicians clearly feel talking tough on Syrian refugees will win them votes.
Conservative hardliners and far-right politicians are arguing that if Syrians had fled to Germany to escape Assad, then they can immediately now return back to Syria.
Some right-wingers want to stop granting asylum to people from Syria immediately.
"If the reason for asylum disappears, then there is no longer any legal basis to stay in the country," said Markus Söder, conservative leader of Bavaria.
Jens Spahn, deputy leader of the conservative CDU parliamentary group, has suggested chartering planes and giving Syrians €1,000 (£825) to leave the country.
"Whoever in Germany celebrates a 'free Syria' obviously has no reason any more to have fled," the leader of the far-right AfD party, Alice Weidel, posted on X. "He should go back to Syria immediately."
Sahra Wagenknecht, who this year set up a new anti-migrant far-left populist party, echoed the AfD's rhetoric.
"I expect the Syrians, who are celebrating here the takeover of power of Islamists, to return back to their home country as soon as possible," she said in an interview with German magazine Stern.
Left-wing and Green politicians meanwhile have expressed outrage, calling such comments irresponsible, populist and inappropriate, particularly given how unclear the situation in Syria is.
"Whoever tries to misuse the the current situation in Syria for their own party political purposes has lost touch with reality in the Middle East," said Annalena Baerbock, Germany's Green foreign minister.
"No-one can predict today - and in the next few days - what will happen in Syria and what that means for security policy."
Some left-wingers have been blunter. "All those who start now talking about deportations to Syria are, and excuse me for the language, quite simply depraved scumbags," Jan van Aken, leader of the radical left Linke party, told journalists.
On Monday Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees put on hold all pending applications from Syrian asylum seekers.
This affects 47,270 Syrians in Germany, who are waiting for an answer to their application for asylum.
In a written statement to the BBC, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees said it was temporarily postponing decisions on applicants from Syria because the situation in Syria was so unclear. "Based on the current situation and the unforeseeable developments, no final decision can currently be made on the outcome of an asylum procedure."
If the situation becomes more stable, officials say, applications will be assessed again, possibly using different criteria.
Studies show that the Syrians who arrived a decade ago are young, on average 25 years old, and tend to have higher levels of education and good rates of employment.
The Syrian men who arrived in 2015 have higher rates of employment than native-born German men.
Many Syrians work in healthcare, including 5,000 Syrian doctors. If the situation in Syria is unstable, it is unlikely they would want to leave.
Many have also received German citizenship, meaning they have learnt German and are financially supporting themselves: 143,000 Syrians received German citizenship between 2021 and 2023, forming the largest nationality to get a German passport.
But about 700,000 Syrians are still classed as various types of asylum seekers. Some are registered as refugees, others have been granted political asylum, while many have what is called subsidiary protection, which means their country of origin is unsafe.
The freeze on pending application decisions does not mean Germany will necessarily stop taking in refugees from Syria once the situation becomes clearer.
And it should not at the moment impact those who already have been granted asylum or refugee status.
But some politicians argue that once the country of origin is no longer dangerous, then refugees can go back home. This could effectively mean in many cases withdrawing the current right to remain.
A decade ago Germany opened its arms to Syrians. Now, the ferocious and polarised political debate will only add to the uncertainty many are already feeling.
Source:bbc.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy7kxn6p878o
---------
Mideast
Israel prevents Lebanese army and UNIFIL from opening key road
NAJIA HOUSSARI
December 10, 2024
BEIRUT: The Israeli army fired a warning shot on Tuesday at a joint patrol of the Lebanese army and a Polish unit operating under UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL while trying to unblock the Aitaroun-Bint Jbeil public road.
The Israeli military blocked the road last Thursday with a mound of earth.
UNIFIL and Lebanese army vehicles were seen on Tuesday driving on the Bint Jbeil road for the first time since the ceasefire.
Israel is being criticized for continuing to violate the ceasefire agreement under the pretext of having 60 days to withdraw from the south.
Its violations involve destroying remaining buildings, houses, facilities and roads along the border, rendering the area unlivable.
The Israeli army carried out extensive explosions in Khiam to destroy houses and buildings.
The entry of the Lebanese army’s engineering teams to southern Lebanon has been postponed. A five-member committee responsible for enforcing the ceasefire agreement had previously approved the teams’ entry.
The committee convened secretly on Monday in Naqoura, UNIFIL’s headquarters, with the presence of military representatives of the Lebanese army, the Israeli army, the US, France, and UNIFIL.
A joint statement from the US and French embassies in Lebanon and UNIFIL said that the meeting aimed to coordinate the participants’ support for the cessation of hostilities that went into effect on Nov. 27.
The group will meet regularly and coordinate closely to implement the ceasefire agreement and Resolution 1701, it added.
The Lebanese army links the gradual deployment of its soldiers south of the Litani River to the end of Israeli hostilities and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli military forces, allowing Lebanese troops to enter the areas.
Israeli forces in the south launched several artillery shells from a Merkava tank on the outskirts of Chihine and Jebbayn.
The Israeli army opened heavy machine-gun fire on the outskirts of the southern villages of Chakra, the Doubiyeh castle, and valleys adjacent to Qabrikha and Majdel Selem.
Several Israeli Merkava tanks backed off from Wata Al-Khiam toward Sarda and Aamra adjacent to the Wazzani orchards.
Parallel to its duties in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese army is also dealing with the developments at illegal crossings and on smuggling routes on the border between Lebanon and Syria, as Syrians attempt to enter Lebanon forcibly with militants gaining control of the country.
Israeli airstrikes had targeted Lebanon’s land crossings with Syria under the pretext of preventing Hezbollah supplies from reaching Syria.
The Israeli airstrikes also put out of service the Al-Qaa-Jussiyeh crossing in the Bekaa and the Arida and Dabousieh crossings in the north, in addition to the Tal Kalakh crossing in Akkar in the north.
Lebanon’s reopening of the Masnaa border crossing, the legal route to Damascus, facilitates the return of Syrian refugees in Lebanon to their home country.
For the third consecutive day, the Masnaa border crossing witnessed heavy movement of Syrian refugees leaving for their country.
The Lebanese General Security reported that the situation at the Masnaa crossing had improved after chaos erupted due to the absence of the Syrian General Security at the Jdeidet Yabous border post, causing a large influx of Syrians.
The Lebanese army is involved in controlling the Masnaa border crossing, and Lebanon strictly vets which Syrians it allows to enter Lebanon — requiring either a travel document through the Beirut airport, a residency permit in Lebanon, or a sponsor who confirms their employment in Lebanon.
Also on Tuesday, the Syrian Embassy in Lebanon lowered the flag previously used by the regime of Bashar Assad, raising that of the militants.
In other developments, Lebanese prisoner Muath Muraab arrived in his hometown of Bireh in Akkar on Tuesday after being detained in Sednaya Prison for 20 years.
He is the third prisoner to return to Lebanon from a list of dozens of Lebanese detainees in Syrian prisons, whose existence had previously been denied by Syrian authorities during the Assad regime.
In the past two days, freed prisoners Suhail Hamaoui, Marwan Nouh, Mohammed Omar Al-Flaiti, and Moaz Merheb rejoined their families.
Additionally, Khalidiya Fayyad, who was arrested 22 years ago in the town of Sindiana in Akkar, was freed from the women’s prison.
The Lebanese State Security denied protecting anyone linked to the former Syrian regime after their relocation to Lebanon.
Recent media reports indicated that the Lebanese State Security was protecting some Syrian figures and officials who fled to major hotels in Lebanon due to ongoing developments in Syria.
Hezbollah — in its first statement regarding the Israeli airstrikes on Syria and the incursion into Syrian territory — emphasized its “support for Syria and its people, asserting the importance of maintaining the unity of Syria, both in terms of its land and its people.”
Hezbollah said that “the continuing crimes committed by Israel, whether by occupying more lands in the Golan Heights or striking and destroying the defensive capabilities of the Syrian state, constitute a flagrant act of aggression and a brazen violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian state and its people, and an attempt to destabilize this brotherly country.”
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2582583/middle-east
---------
Sit-in by families of Islamist prisoners in Lebanon in front of Roumieh prison
10 December 2024
Families of Islamist detainees in Lebanon held a sit-in outside Roumieh prison on Tuesday to demand the release of their loved ones.
"Yes, we are angry if our dignity is violated," they chanted. Holding portraits of their relatives, they called on caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati to "quickly resolve the issue."
The protesters also insisted on the release of the young people from Arsal who had supported the Syrian revolution.
On the eve of the fall of the Assad regime, the head of the Committee of Families of the Kidnapped and Disappeared in Lebanon, Wadad Halwani, held a press conference on Saturday after the release of prisoners by rebels in several Syrian cities. The committee asked the Lebanese authorities to inquire about the fate of any Lebanese among them.
Source:lorientlejour.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1439169/sit-in-by-families-of-islamist-prisoners-in-lebanon-in-front-of-roumieh-prison.html
----------
218 killed in Syria in fighting between pro-Turk and Kurdish forces: war monitor
December 11, 2024
BEIRUT, Lebanon: Fighting between Turkish-backed and Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria has left 218 people dead in just three days, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor reported on Tuesday.
The British-based monitor said that at least “218 members of pro-Kurdish forces and pro-Ankara factions were killed during three days of fighting in and around Manbij” where Turkish-backed factions launched an offensive.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2582604/middle-east
---------
Assad exit puts US at perilous crossroads in Syria
December 11, 2024
WASHINGTON: For more than a decade, the United States has sought to keep out of Syria's political debacle, seeing no viable partner. Islamist rebels' toppling of strongman Bashar al-Assad has forced a change of tune -- and a debate over just what US interests are.
Donald Trump, who returns to the White House in little more than a month, on the eve of Assad's fall called Syria "a mess" and stated in his plain-speaking style that the United States should not be involved.
Joe Biden's administration, after putting Syria on the backburner in a turbulent region, has offered a tacit rebuttal by stating that clear US interests are at stake -- including preventing Syria from fragmenting and avoiding a resurgence of the Daesh extremist group.
Steven Cook, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Trump's and Biden's statements could be combined and "together they make a kind of decent policy."
The United States needs to address real concerns about the Daesh group and Al-Qaeda but "as far as getting involved in arranging the politics of Syria, I think that no good can come from it," Cook said.
Since the presidency of Barack Obama, the United States has walked a fine line on Syria that critics often derided as a non-policy.
The United States questioned the legitimacy of Assad, demanding accountability for brutality in one of the 21st century's deadliest wars, but stopped short of prioritizing his departure due to suspicions about the main rebels.
The Islamist movement Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which has now led Assad's ouster, traces its roots to Syria's Al-Qaeda branch and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States.
Since Obama's time, the United States instead has allied itself in Syria with a smaller fighting force of the Kurdish minority -- over strenuous objections of neighboring Turkey, which backs HTS -- with a narrow mission to counter the Daesh group. Some 900 US troops remain in Syria.
Assad fell in a lighting surprise offensive as his protector Russia is bogged down in its invasion of Ukraine and after Israel's military heavily degraded Assad's other key supporters -- Iran and Lebanese militia Hezbollah.
How to deal with Islamists?
Robert Ford, the last US ambassador to Syria, helped spearhead the terrorist designation of HTS in 2012 but said that the group since then has not attacked US or Western targets and has instead fought Al-Qaeda and Daesh forces.
Ford also pointed with hope to post-victory statements by rebel chief Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, including welcoming international monitoring of any chemical weapons that are discovered.
"Can you imagine Osama bin Laden saying that?" said Ford, now a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.
"I'm not saying 'trust Jolani.' He's obviously authoritarian. He's obviously an Islamist who doesn't believe that Christians have an equal right to power as Muslims. But I sure as hell want to test him on some of these things," Ford said.
He said that the United States should encourage HTS, as well as other Syrian actors, to reach out and reassure the country's diverse communities including Christians, Kurds and Alawites -- the sect of the secular-oriented Assad.
Beyond that, Washington should take a back-seat and let Syrians sort out their future, he said.
"We should learn from the experience in Iraq that trying to impose exiles on a population traumatized by a brutal dictatorship and war is not a recipe for success," Ford said.
Outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday offered US recognition to a future government that is "credible, inclusive and non-sectarian."
Weighing terrorist label
Trump in his first term, at the urging of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, abruptly said he would pull troops out of Syria. He backtracked after intense criticism at home and appeals from French President Emmanuel Macron, who pointed to the risk of Daesh filling the vacuum.
Trump has not indicated how he would change Syria policy this time. But he has shown no reluctance in the past to negotiate with foreign adversaries on the US blacklist, from Afghanistan's Taliban to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said there was no legal restriction on US contact with designated terrorists, although he indicated there was no direct dialogue with HTS.
Natasha Hall, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Syria could face "devastating economic and humanitarian consequences" unless the United States reconsiders the terrorist designation of HTS, which impedes aid groups.
"That said," she said, "if there isn't sort of an established framework for negotiations and good behavior now, before that designation is lifted, that could potentially also be a major mistake down the line for Syria's future."
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2582609/middle-east
---------
Humanitarian aid to North Gaza mostly blocked for the last 2 months, UN says
December 11, 2024
UNITED NATIONS: Humanitarian aid to North Gaza, where Israel launched a ground offensive on Oct. 6, has largely been blocked for the past 66 days, the United Nations said Tuesday. That has left between 65,000 and 75,000 Palestinians without access to food, water, electricity or health care, according to the world body.
In the north, Israel has continued its siege on Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and Jabaliya with Palestinians living there largely denied aid, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA, said. Recently, it said, about 5,500 people were forcibly displaced from three schools in Beit Lahiya to Gaza City.
Adding to the food crisis, only four UN-supported bakeries are currently operating throughout the Gaza Strip, all of them in Gaza City, OCHA said.
Sigrid Kaag, the senior UN humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, told reporters after briefing the UN Security Council behind closed doors Tuesday afternoon that civilians trying to survive in Gaza face an “utterly devastating situation.”
She pointed to the breakdown in law and order and looting that has exacerbated a very dire situation and left the UN and many aid organizations unable to deliver food and other humanitarian essentials to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in need.
Kaag said she and other UN officials keep repeatedly asking Israel for access for convoys to North Gaza and elsewhere, to allow in commercial goods, to reopen the Rafah crossing from Egypt in the south, and to approve dual-use items.
Israel’s UN mission didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment
The UN has established the logistics for an operation across Gaza, she said, but there is no substitute for political will that humanitarians don’t possess.
“Member states possess it,” Kaag said. And this is what she urged Security Council members and keeps urging the broader international community to press for — the political will to address Gaza’s worsening humanitarian crisis.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2582605/middle-east
---------
In Damascus, life resumes without Assad
December 10, 2024
DAMASCUS: In Damascus, life is cautiously returning to normal as residents step out of their homes into a Syria transformed by the ousting of long-time president Bashar Assad.
“We were a little worried, but since Sunday, we are no longer afraid,” said Lina Al-Ostaz, referring to when the Syrian capital fell to a coalition of Islamist-led rebels.
The 11-day lightning offensive by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and allies ended over half a century of unchecked rule by the Assad dynasty.
Ostaz said she left her house for the first time since the offensive began to go shopping in central Damascus on Tuesday. She strolled through the market with her husband, smiling at patrons and passersby.
“We Syrians, we love life, and life goes on,” said the 57-year-old, who hesitated before mentioning she was arrested by government forces in 2015.
“I hope that the future will be better for young people,” she said.
After more than half a century of repression, Syrians seem to be speaking more freely.
In Qassaa, a predominantly Christian neighborhood, cafes are bustling with patrons smoking shisha and playing cards.
“We were very afraid... but we encouraged each other to go out and resume our normal lives,” said Rania Diab, a 64-year-old doctor who left home for the first time to meet up with friends at a cafe.
“But we remain cautious, we go home early, the situation is not yet clear,” she added.
She said her only hope was “that we can live normally in our country, that our freedoms are preserved... and that we can live in security and with freedom of opinion.”
The curfew imposed on the capital’s residents since Sunday has been relaxed, now starting at 9:00 p.m. (1800 GMT) instead of 5:00 p.m. and lasting until morning.
In the streets, portraits of Bashar Assad have been torn down. The green, white, and black flag of the revolution now flies, replacing the red, white, and black of the Syrian flag adopted during Assad’s father Hafez’s reign.
Spent bullet casings litter the vast central Umayyad Square, where revellers play out revolutionary songs.
Armed men from various rebel groups, clad in fatigues and often wearing balaclavas, patrol the streets of the capital. Regime soldiers and police officers deserted their posts in large numbers on Sunday.
At the police headquarters in Damascus, there are officers from the self-proclaimed rebel government of Idlib, led by Mohammad Al-Bashir, who was appointed as the head of Syria’s transitional government on Tuesday.
A man who introduced himself as the new head of the police and declined to give his name told AFP that they would take up their duties in the coming days.
“We will ensure the security of all government buildings and maintain security in the capital,” he said.
In the upscale Malki neighborhood, people sat in outdoor cafes, while young people staged an impromptu demonstration, dancing to the familiar tunes of the 2011 uprising.
The peaceful demonstrations were brutally repressed by Assad’s forces, sparking a civil war that fragmented Syria and killed more than half a million people.
In the historic heart of the capital, the bars of the Christian neighborhood of Bab Touma, which serve alcohol, are still closed.
In the restaurants and cafes that are open, alcohol is not served, out of caution as residents await the new order under Damascus’s new rulers.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2582579/middle-east
---------
Red Cross urges Syrians not to exhume their own dead
December 10, 2024
GENEVA: Syrian families whose loved ones disappeared under ousted president Bashar Assad should not try to exhume their bodies themselves, which could prevent forensics experts from identifying them, the Red Cross said Tuesday.
After years of brutal conflict, families have an understandable urge to find and retrieve missing relatives’ bodies from formerly off-limits areas now that Assad has fled the country, but it is important to “follow all the steps correctly,” Christian Cardon, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), told AFP in an interview.
The issue of the missing is “central today, but also for the future,” with proper autopsies needed to “eventually pave the way for peace and reconciliation negotiations,” he said.
More than 100,000 people have disappeared during Syria’s civil war, according to rights groups. They say most of the disappearances came at the hands of Assad’s side, which was overpowered by an Islamist-led militant coalition, causing the long-time leader to flee the country Sunday.
As militants flooded into Damascus, images on social media showed dozens of emaciated men, some so weak they had to be carried, leaving the notorious Saydnaya prison, which Amnesty International has condemned as a “human slaughterhouse.”
With families searching for their missing loved ones, alive or dead, Cardon appealed to them to “respect cemeteries and other places where people may be buried.”
“Key forensic processes” must be followed so victims’ bodies can be identified, he added.
The Red Cross is also urging Syrians to “protect the registry documents in which thousands of prisoners’ names were recorded,” along with “thousands of people believed to be dead,” Cardon said.
“There’s a real urgency today to ensure that in administrative offices as well as prisons and detention centers across the country, people preserve and maintain that vital information.”
“Anyone in a position of authority in Syria today needs to make sure the different buildings are protected,” Cardon said.
The Red Cross is in touch with “influential actors” in the country, including Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), the group that spearheaded the anti-Assad offensive, he said.
An ICRC team visited Saydnaya prison on Tuesday and “observed that many documents related to detainees held at the prison have been damaged and scattered in different rooms,” the organization said on X.
With thousands of prisoners now freed, the ICRC, which has around 500 staff in Syria, says it hopes to reunite as many families as possible using information gathered by its offices around the world over the years.
The organization has set up two hotlines, for both ex-prisoners (+963 953 555 431) and families seeking their loved ones (+963 936 033 628).
Its employees are also doing outreach on the ground in Syria to help families reunite.
It is a “puzzle” that will take time to complete, given that those involved have been through “major traumatic events,” said Cardon.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2582578/middle-east
---------
Pakistan
Lawmakers call for probe into Kurram violence, terrorists’ infiltration
Mohammad Ashfaq
December 11, 2024
PESHAWAR: Members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Tuesday urged the government to probe the recent violence in Kurram tribal district and ascertain how terrorist organisations infiltrated the region to threaten public life.
During an assembly session chaired by Deputy Speaker Suriya Bibi, member of the ruling PTI from Upper Kurram Abdul Hadi highlighted the brutality of the recent incidents and complained about the killing of a six-month-old child and the shooting of a four-year-old girl in her mouth during an attack on a convoy headed for Parachinar.
He said those committing such heinous crimes were no less than beasts.
Mr Hadi said the armed people involved in the killing of innocent civilians, including children and women, had nothing to do with Islam as Muslims never killed people without any sin.
He said social media and other platforms pointed out terrorist outfits involved in the recent violence, so the government should conduct a thorough investigation to uncover the truth.
The lawmaker said the residents of Upper Kurram visited religious places in other countries but that didn’t denote that they were not Pakistanis.
“We are Pakistani and have been living lives here in line with the Pakistani Constitution and laws,” he said.
Mr Hadi alleged that terrorists from across the border were involved in violence.
“The government should conduct a probe into who are the supporters and facilitators of terrorists in Kurram,” he said.
Another lawmaker from Lower Kurram Riaz Shaheen alleged that if an operation against the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan could be conducted in Kurram, why that couldn’t happen against other terrorist outfits.
He also demanded a government probe into the presence of terrorist organisations in the region and the hoisting of their flags on some bunkers during the recent clashes.
The MPA said residents of the Bagan area were killed and their houses and markets were torched the night after an attack on a convoy of vehicles.
“People of the Bagan area were not involved in the convoy attack,” he said, adding that a local TTP commander took responsibility for the terrorist act.
Mr Shaheen also demanded that the government investigate the use of heavy weapons in the recent clashes and from where they came in.
He urged the government to collect heavy weaponry from warring groups in the “larger interest” of the residents.
MPA Makhdoom Syed Aftab came down hard on the provincial government over “discrimination” in the release of development funds to tehsil councils and declared that act a violation of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act, 2013, and Provincial Finance Commission Award.
He said the provincial government was bound by the LG Act to release 20 per cent of total annual development programme funding to local bodies.
The lawmaker, however, said the provincial government had released development funds to 56 out of 130 tehsil councils whose chairmen belonged to the ruling PTI.
He said the PTI had been ruling KP for the last 11 years but it had done nothing for the people who elected it to power for three consecutive times.
“The PTI has failed to improve education and health facilities and is unable to declare a proper economic policy to put the province on the track of development,” he said.
The chair adjourned the session until next Monday.
Source:dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1877949/lawmakers-call-for-probe-into-kurram-violence-terrorists-infiltration
---------
Political Rivals Say Former Spymaster Gen Faiz’s Indictment To Spell Doom For Imran Khan
By Web Desk
December 10, 2024
After former spymaster Lieutenant General (retd) Faiz Hamid's indictment on charges of engaging in political activities, Senators Faisal Vawda and Talal Chaudhry claimed on Tuesday that the trial would increase legal woes of incarcerated former premier Imran Khan and his already embattled party — the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The former ISI chief has been formally charged with multiple offences, including engaging in political activities, violating the Official Secrets Act, misuse of authority and government resources and causing wrongful loss to a person(s), as per the military's media wing.
These violations have compromised state security and interests, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Tuesday.
Speaking to Geo News, Senator Vawda reiterated that the PTI's civil disobedience call for December 14 was aimed at influencing the Hamid's trial.
The senator said it was highly likely that Hamid's facilitators and supporters' trial would be initiated in the coming day. Vawda claimed that the former spy master, ex-PM Imran and ex-first lady Bushra Bibi cannot be separated from the violent protests on May 9, 2023.
"It won't be surprising for me if the PTI founder is taken into military custody," Vawda added.
Detailing his point of view, Vawda noted that PTI's top leadership, including Imran, Buhsra Bibi, Ali Amin Gandapur and its absconding leaders like Murad Saeed, Hammad Azhar, and others would be tried in the military court when evidence related to Hamid's involvement would be presented.
The politician, who had served as a federal minister in the PTI government, said that the matter would not stop at Hamid’s court-martial but exemplary punishments would be given to all those who acted against the national interests.
Pointing towards the May 9 riots that saw attacks on the government and the military installations, he urged all parties to separate themselves from militancy. He also stressed dialogue among all parties to bring political stability to the country.
"This charge sheet is not only for Hamid but for PTI as well," Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Chaudhry commented on today's development.
He claimed that a May 9 riots last year was an attempt to cause mutiny in the armed forces under the guise of protests and the PTI gave civil disobedience call to "sabotage the trial".
"This charge sheet revolves around the nexus of Hamid and PTI founder."
The PML-N senator also termed PTI's long march in 2022 "part of a conspiracy" to stop the appointment of the army chief.
He claimed that the matter was progressing towards a conclusive end as "they [PTI] are not getting any support within the institutions".
Chaudhry added that the events, including post-February 8 general elections demonstrations, PTI's November 26 protest in Islamabad, and the civil disobedience call were an attempt to manipulate Hamid's trial.
Meanwhile, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) lawmaker Mustafa Kamal termed Hamid's indictment a "significant development" in the country's history, saying that it would set new political protocols in the country for the next 40 years.
Kamal said that Hamid was not an ordinary individual as he enjoyed "absolute powers" as DG ISI during his tenure. However, it would be a lesson for everyone who thinks their powers would not come to an end, he added.
The MQM-P lawmaker also termed Hamid’s arrest an "extraordinary" move as individuals, he believes, on that post had never seen such actions followed by today’s development.
He expressed views that the decision would be taken on the basis of concrete evidence before making it public and leave a great impact the future course of politics in the country.
The process of field general court-martial (FGCM) was initiated against Lt Gen (retd) Hamid, who has served as the ISI chief, under provisions of the Pakistan Army Act on August 12.
Hamid's arrest
The ex-ISI chief was taken into custody by the military on charges of abuse of power and violating the Army Act earlier this year in August.
The Pakistan Army, following Supreme Court orders, had conducted a detailed inquiry to investigate complaints against Hamid in the Top City case, according to the military's media wing.
It added that the court-martial process was started against the former spy chief based on these complaints.
It said that multiple instances of violation of the Pakistan Army Act post-retirement had also been established against the former general, who also served as Peshawar corps commander.
The arrest was made in connection with a petition filed by the housing society's chief executive officer in the Supreme Court last year, wherein Hamid was accused of land grabbing and stealing valuables from the owner of a private housing society during a raid.
Three more retired officers were also taken into military custody after Hamid’s arrest in connection with the same housing scheme case.
Source:thenews.com.pk
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1260201-political-rivals-say-gen-faiz-s-indictment-to-spell-doom-for-imran-khan
---------
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl Not On Same Page Over Civil Disobedience Movement
By Web Desk
December 11, 2024
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) senior leader Hafiz Hamdullah has said that his party and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were not on the same page regarding the civil disobedience movement announced by the latter.
Speaking on Geo News' programme "Capital Talk", Hamdullah ruled out any decision regarding a joint campaign with the PTI and remarked that the civil disobedience movement would harm PTI itself the most.
However, highlighting that there were no absolute certainties in politics, he said that the matter would be considered if the former ruling party approached the JUI-F.
The politician's statement came in light of PTI leader Asad Qaiser's claims about ongoing communication with Maulana Fazlur Rehman for a unified anti-government campaign.
Meanwhile, PTI leader Shaukat Yousafzai has threatened to declare a civil disobedience movement from December 14 if the government does not engage in serious negotiations.
Qaiser, in conversation with the media in Peshawar on Tuesday, had said: "We are in contact with [JUI-F Emir] Maulana Fazlur Rehman. We want to launch a joint movement against the government."
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif lambasted the PTI for threatening the government to launch civil disobedience, terming the move an "enmity with Pakistan".
Addressing a cabinet meeting, the prime minister expressed satisfaction over the rise in remittances and said the development occurred despite the call for civil disobedience from a particular political party, adding that it reflects the trust of overseas Pakistanis in the government.
He also emphasised the need for political stability for economic development, saying that directions have been given to ensure that those who recently attempted to attack Islamabad will not be spared.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, moreover, challenged the former ruling party to stand firm on its newly-announced civil disobedience movement after failed attempts to "attack" the capital.
"I challenge them [PTI] that their civil disobedience call will fail [...] no one will burn their utility bills," the PML-N leader said while speaking on the National Assembly floor.
Source:thenews.com.pk
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1260469-pti-jui-f-not-on-same-page-over-civil-disobedience-movement-hamdullah
----------
Asif dares PTI to 'stand firm' on civil disobedience call after Islamabad protest debacle
By Web Desk
December 10, 2024
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday challenged the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to "hold its ground on its civil disobedience movement and do not run away" following the failure of its "do-or-die" protest in Islamabad.
"I challenge them [PTI] that their civil disobedience call will fail [...] no one will burn their utility bills," the PML-N leader said while speaking on the National Assembly floor on Monday.
Incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan — in a post on X — had warned the government of launching a "civil disobedience" movement if his demands — judicial inquiry of the May 9, 2023, riots and November 26 crackdown on PTI protesters and release of its "political prisoners" — are not met.
The ousted prime minister also constituted a five-member negotiation committee comprising Omar Ayub Khan, Ali Amin Gandapur, Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Salman Akram Raja and Asad Qaiser.
The committee, he said, would negotiate with the federal government on two points — the release of “political prisoners” facing trial and the constitution of a judicial commission to probe the events of May 9, 2023 and a late-night crackdown on PTI protesters on November 26.
The PTI's much-hyped protest in Islamabad, aimed at securing the PTI founder's release who has been behind bars for more than a year, culminated in the party's hasty retreat after the government's midnight crackdown on the protesters.
Responding to the PTI’s allegations regarding the late-night crackdown, the defence minister — in today’s speech — said none of the relatives of 12 protesters, which the former ruling party claimed were killed, came forward.
"Levelling such allegations without evidence is an insult to collective consciousness," he added.
He noted that the PTI has been affected by internal divisions with every leader giving a separate statement. "Even Bushra Bibi [the wife of PTI founder] said that the PTI leaders ran away and abandoned her."
Furthermore, he said, the PTI workers also attacked the vehicle of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, when he tried to "run away". "It’s also on record that Gandapur’s guards fired shots at the workers."
"For the third time, their [PTI] assault on Islamabad failed. Now they have announced a civil disobedience movement," he said, noting that the party had also given the same call ten years ago — when Imran burned the utility bills on the container during 2014’s sit-in.
Asif said that no one "answered their call then and no one will now", challenging the Imran-Khan founded party to maintain its stance on the movement. "They [PTI] will get a reality check on how many Pakistanis are on their side."
He also accused the PTI of fanning provincialism, saying that it was former dictator Ayub Khan who was primarily responsible for the creation of Bangladesh and now his descendants were playing "a provincial card".
"First serve your province and deliver and then talk about provincialism," he said, slamming the PTI for fueling hatred and creating division.
'Why bullets were fired'
Speaking on the NA floor, Leader of the Opposition Omar Ayub lambasted the authorities over "straight firing at the peaceful protesters" of the former ruling party during a late-night crackdown on November 26.
"Our 12 workers were killed [...] we want to know why peaceful protesters were shot at," he said, adding that 200 workers were missing and over 5,000 party members were arrested.
He claimed that PTI’s peaceful protest had not caused any destruction. "Not a single pot was broken during the protest. The coming generations will keep asking why bullets were fired," he added.
Ayub also demanded the formation of an impartial judicial commission to investigate why peaceful protesters were fired upon. "The blood of Model Town and November 26 is on [Prime Minister] Shehbaz Sharif's hand," he added.
Source:thenews.com.pk
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1260253-asif-dares-pti-to-stand-firm-on-civil-disobedience-call-after-islamabad-protest-debacle
---------
SC ready to hear PTI plea for judicial probe into post-May 9 ‘suppression’
Nasir Iqbal
December 11, 2024
ISLAMABAD: The constitutional bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday admitted for hearing a plea moved by PTI founder Imran Khan seeking the formation of a judicial commission to probe alleged ‘state suppression’ against party workers and leaders in the wake of May 9 violence.
While the bench removed the objections raised by the registrar office, it did not give any date for fixing the case before it.
In the petition, the PTI founder demanded that a judicial commission look into alleged political and non-political interference in the functioning of the state authorities and violation of their constitutional oaths by the functionaries and identify those responsible for it.
Filed by PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, the petition asked the apex court to issue order to ensure the protection of fundamental rights of citizens, including the right to life, freedom of assembly, expression, movement, information and fair judicial redress.
It highlighted alleged disproportionate application of laws to stifle dissent, impede political participation, and erode public trust in democratic institutions, thereby undermining the rule of law and constitutional governance.
When the matter of registrar’s objections was taken up by the bench, senior counsel Hamid Khan remarked that the country was witnessing an ‘undeclared martial law’.
Justice Jamal Mandokhail intervened to remind the counsel that he was making a sweeping statement though the civil government can seek assistance of the army under Article 245. Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar observed the petitioner had to challenge the vires of the constitutional authority under Article 245, adding how the petitioner could call it an undeclared martial law.
At this, Additional Attorney General (AAG) Chaudhry Aamir Rehman pointed out that the court had yet to determine the question as to how the petition was in public interest.
Justice Aminuddin Khan explained that the court was not hearing arguments on the merit of the case but on the objections raised by the registrar’s office.
Contempt proceedings
Separately, the constitutional bench suggested that the AAG may take fresh instruction from the government about its intention to pursue the 2022 contempt plea, pointing out that charges would be framed only in presence of the PTI founder in the court.
Headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, the constitutional bench issued directions to seek fresh instructions when the AAG claimed the government intended to pursue the matter seriously.
The court had taken up the federal government’s petition against Mr Khan for allegedly flouting the court’s May 25, 2022 order of restraining PTI from holding rally near H-9 and G-9 sectors despite categorical assurances on behalf of party’s top leadership and their counsel that the gathering would not cause any inconvenience to the public at large.
In its petition, the interior ministry regretted that despite assurances, PTI’s top leadership, by acting in blatant disregard to the court directions, exhorted supporters to reach D-Chowk, falsely professing as if the court had allowed the march without any conditions.
The contempt plea highlighted the reports furnished by the interior ministry, Islamabad chief commissioner, police chief, ISI and IB DGs stating that PTI leadership was bent upon reaching D-Chowk on Mr Khan’s directions despite court order.
The government had urged the Supreme Court to also issue a comprehensive guideline for all future protests to be held in the federal capital that should also include providing prior intimation of the date, selection of the venue, assurance of not causing any hindrance to the public life and a commitment to ensure that protesters do not cause any damage to public or private property in order to safeguard fundamental rights guaranteed under the constitution.
Previously, a five-judge bench headed by then CJP Umar Ata Bandial had taken up the government’s request and in his additional note, Justice Yahya Afridi had observed that Mr Khan, prima facie disobeyed May 25 court directions, therefore for the alleged disobedience, contempt proceedings should be initiated instead of calling reports from the state agencies.
On Tuesday, when the case was taken up, Justice Mandokhail highlighted that the matter of contempt was between the court and the contemnor and while pointing towards AAG, Justice Mandokhail wondered why the government was getting emotional in this matter. The court is suggesting a way out to the government, Justice Mandokhail remarked.
Meanwhile, Salman Akram Raja, representing Imran Khan, explained that the verbal order of the court had not reached Mr Khan as his lawyers could not inform him about it due to the suspension of mobile phone services.
The court, however, postponed further proceedings for an indefinite period, with directions to take fresh instructions from the government.
Military trial
The constitutional bench adjourned until Dec 12 the intra-court appeal against the Oct 23, 2023, order nullifying civilians’ trial by military courts when the AAG requested for postponement as senior counsel for defence ministry Khawaja Haris Ahmed was indisposed.
The court rejected Sardar Latif Khosa’s plea to transfer all the suspects arrested in connection with the May 9 incidents to normal prisons.
Source:dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1877974/sc-ready-to-hear-pti-plea-for-judicial-probe-into-post-may-9-suppression
----------
Court releases 24 MQM-L workers held for violating Section 144 in Karachi
Mohammad Hussain Khan
December 11, 2024
KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on Tuesday discharged 24 leaders and workers of the Altaf Hussain-led Muttahida Qaumi Movement, commonly known as MQM-London, who were arrested in Karachi for allegedly violating a ban imposed under Section 144 of the criminal procedure code (CrPC).
A total of 30 MQM-L activists were arrested in Karachi and Hyderabad for holding rallies to mark their party’s ‘Youm-i-Shuhda’ on the call of their London-based leadership.
In Karachi, the investigating officer produced the 24 held activists before Judicial Magistrate (Central) Wajid Ali Channa.
He submitted that they had committed an offence under Section 188 (disobedience to an order lawfully promulgated by a public servant) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) by organising a gathering near Mukka Chowk in Azizabad in violation of Section 144.
The IO also asked the court to send all the suspects to prison on judicial remand till Dec 23.
However, defence counsel Jamal Nazir Panhwar requested the court to discharge the suspects under Section 63 (discharge of person apprehended) of the CrPC.
After hearing the IO and defence counsel, the court discharged the 24 MQM-L men against a personal bond of Rs50,000 each.
The court noted in its order that there were no grounds to remand them in police custody or send them to prison on judicial remand.
The magistrate also directed the IO to file an investigation report within the stipulated period as per law.
A day before, police had picked up 24 MQM-L workers near Mukka Chowk in Federal B Area, when a large number of party workers and sympathisers, including women, tried to reach the Jinnah ground on the call of their London-based leadership, who asked their followers to go there and pay respect at the monument built there in memory of MQM activists and supporters killed over the years to mark ‘Youm-i-Shuhda’.
In view of the MQM-L call, the Karachi commissioner, at the request of the city police, had issued a notification and imposed a two-day ban under Section 144 of the CrPC on pillion riding of motorcycle, protests, demonstrations, rallies and assembly of more than four persons in district Central for two days.
A case was registered at the Azizabad police station under Section 188 (disobedience to an order lawfully promulgated by a public servant) of the PPC.
Six Hyderabad activists sent
to prison in sedition case
Unlike their colleagues in Karachi, the six activists held a day before in Hyderabad were booked in a terrorism and sedition case.
The police produced the six MQM-L activists — Mohammad Yamin, Abdul Majeed, alias Bhola, Mohammad Ashfaq, Mohammad Arsalan, Syed Ahsan Warsi and Mohammad Akbar Shaikh — before the antiterrorism court in Hyderabad.
The IO asked the ATC judge to remand the suspects in police custody for 14 days.
However, defence counsel Shakeel Zai said that the judge sent them to prison on eight-day judicial remand.
The MQM-L activists were booked in a case registered at the Fort police station on behalf of the state under Sections 123-A (condemnation of the creation of the State, and advocacy of abolition of its sovereignty), 124-A (sedition) of the Pakistan penal Code read with Sections 6/7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997.
The FIR against them stated that they tried to pay their respect to their slain party workers by visiting the Shuhda graveyard in Pucca Qilla. However, the police did not allow them to proceed and they raised anti-state slogans.
Banker remanded in Chinese convoy attack case
Another ATC in Karachi on Tuesday remanded a bank employee in police custody in a case pertaining to suicide bombing targeting a Chinese convoy near Karachi airport.
The IO brought suspect Bilal, said to be associated with a private bank as a business development officer in Hub, to the ATC court in Clifton and asked the judge to remand him in the custody of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) for 14 days for further interrogation.
However, the court remanded him in CTD custody until Saturday and directed the IO to submit a progress report at the next hearing.
The police had registered a second FIR on the alleged confession made by Javaid, implicating the banker and a trader under Sections 302 (murder), 324 (attempted murder), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) and 34 (common intention) of the PPC read with Section 3/4 of the Explosives Substances Act 1908 and Sections 7, 11-F and 21-I of the ATA.
Source:dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1877998/court-releases-24-mqm-l-workers-held-for-violating-section-144-in-karachi
---------
Arab World
International Anti-Corruption Day sees Saudi scouts promote integrity
December 10, 2024
RIYADH: The Saudi Arabian Scouts Association joined in International Anti-Corruption Day on Monday by distributing brochures and materials to raise awareness of the value of integrity.
Association Secretary-General Abdulrahman Al-Mudaris said the association was committed to its annual participation in the occasion, which was designated by the UN General Assembly to foster a culture of integrity within society.
Their efforts included encouraging the adoption and practice of integrity while reinforcing the religious, ethical and national principles that inspire the Saudi community to uphold it, he added.
Al-Mudaris said the initiative also sought to motivate scouts, leaders and community members to embrace the principles of integrity and raise awareness about strategies for safeguarding it. It also aims to guide the community on effective and secure measures to combat corruption.
Activities will continue until Dec. 19, he added.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2582574/saudi-arabia
----------
Saudi-UK military cooperation committee holds fourth meeting
December 11, 2024
RIYADH: The Saudi-UK Bilateral Military Cooperation Committee held its fourth meeting in Riyadh on Tuesday.
The meeting discussed bilateral relations, defense and military cooperation, and a number of topics of common interest.
Saudi Arabia’s Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Fayyadh Al-Ruwaili, and the Chief of the UK Defense Staff, Admiral Sir Antony Radakin, co-chaired the meeting.
Senior Saudi and British officers attended the meeting.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2582603/saudi-arabia
---------
Saudi foreign affairs minister discusses regional developments with French counterpart
December 11, 2024
RIYADH: The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah received a phone call on Tuesday from Jean-Noel Barrot, France’s minister of Europe and foreign affairs.
The Saudi Press Agency reported that the two ministers discussed regional developments and topics of common interest during their call.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2582598/saudi-arabia
---------
Saudi crown prince receives phone call from Canadian PM
December 10, 2024
RIYADH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received a phone call from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday, Saudi Press Agency reported.
During the call, Prince Mohammed and Trudeau reviewed aspects of relations between their countries and ways to enhance them in a number of areas.
They also discussed developments in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories, developments in Syria, and topics of common interest.
The need to support efforts aimed at reducing escalation and achieving security, peace, and stability in the region was also discussed.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2582569/saudi-arabia
---------
Saudi, Malaysian foreign ministers chair cooperation meeting in Riyadh
December 10, 2024
RIYADH: Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his Malaysian counterpart chaired the first meeting of the Saudi-Malaysian Coordination Council in Riyadh on Tuesday.
Following the meeting, Prince Faisal and Dato’ Seri Utama Hajji Mohamad bin Hajji Hasan, Malaysian minister of foreign affairs, signed a memorandum of understanding on mutual exemption from a short-stay visa for holders of diplomatic, private or official passports.
A second memorandum on social development was signed by Hasan and the Saudi deputy minister of human resources, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The Saudi-Malaysian Coordination Council discussed aspects of cooperation in political, security, trade, investment, Islamic affairs and socio-cultural sectors.
Prince Faisal and Hasan stressed the brotherly relations that connect Saudi Arabia and Malaysia and pledged to continue their joint coordination and support for their mutual interests in bilateral, regional, and international issues.
Mesaad Al-Sulaim, Saudi ambassador to Kuala Lumpur, and several other senior Saudi and Malaysian aides and officials, attended the meeting.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2582559/saudi-arabia
---------
Diriyah forum explores history, trade, heritage
December 10, 2024
RIYADH: The Diriyah Gate Development Authority hosted the International Diriyah Forum, themed “Knowledge that Extends,” from Dec. 8-9.
This year’s forum explored “Diriyah at the Intersection of History and Trade,” highlighting the region’s role in global exchange.
Discussions focused on three themes: tangible heritage, showcasing Diriyah’s archaeological and environmental legacies; intangible heritage, featuring oral histories, poetry, and traditional songs; and textual heritage, analyzing manuscripts and linguistic shifts documenting the region’s history.
The event included interactive sessions and presentations on topics like preserving commercial heritage, cultural exchanges, Saudi coffee sittings, the portrayal of Najd in literature, and European travelers’ views of the area.
The forum also covered Diriyah’s economic history, sustainable trade, and the study of trade routes and ports, highlighting its role as a regional link to the world.
It drew significant local and international participation, including academic institutions, research centers, cultural heritage organizations, and experts from various fields, all focused on promoting academic research on Diriyah and the Central Region.
The exhibition displayed publications, documents, artifacts, and photographs highlighting the history of Riyadh and Diriyah.
The forum also featured visual presentations of fieldwork along historic trade routes and a pavilion showcasing Saudi cultural heritage elements listed by UNESCO.
The event was held in partnership with the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives, the Heritage Commission, and Al-Turath Foundation.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2582573/saudi-arabia
---------
Africa
Abuja National Mosque To Get More Imams, Digitalise Friday Sermons
11 Dec 2024
The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has unveiled five additional new imams for the Abuja National Mosque, saying more may soon be added.
The imams were unveiled on Tuesday in Abuja after their consideration by the General Purpose Committee (GPC) and endorsed by the National Fatwa Committee (NFC).
The five new Imams are Prof. Ilyasu Usman (Enugu State – visiting), Prof. Luqman Zakariyah (Osun State -resident), Dr Abdulkadir Salman (Kwara State – visiting), Barrister Haroun Muhammad Eze (Enugu State – resident), and Prof. Khalid Aliyu Abubakar (Plateau State – visiting).
The Secretary-General of NSCIA, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, at the event said the additional new imams were appointed as part of measures to strengthen the Religious Affairs Unit of the National Mosque and to further harness its vast potential as a centre for worship, training, learning and scholarship.
He also said that additional imams may soon be appointed, including from the South-South part of the country, which is yet to have an appointee.
“Definitely, there will be at least one imam that will come from the South-South. We will continue to have more imams then, but I cannot give you the specific number of imams we have now,” Oloyede said.
He, however, said the appointments were not based on geo-political consideration alone, but on merit and competency, and the ‘resident’ are those living in Abuja, while the ‘visiting’ are those who would be coming to observe their roles from outside Abuja.
He also said that the management of the mosque is planning to give more time to the khutbah (Friday weekly sermon) presentation, such that people can come to the mosque with their headsets or earpieces to tune to their preferred languages while the khutbah is delivered in Arabic, thus eliminating the allocation of different periods to translations.
“During a similar press conference held on Thursday, 16th November 2017, where the changes in the administrative and management of the Abuja National Mosque with the appointment of Prof. Shehu Ahmad Sa’id Galadanci as the Murshid was announced, I informed you of the intention of the council to appoint more imam, particularly from the South-South/South-East geopolitical zones. Today’s press conference, therefore, is a further fulfilment of that promise.
“The NSCIA, since the establishment of the National Mosque in 1984, has been appointing, in succession, qualified Muslims who are worthy in character and scholarship to oversee the spiritual activities of the faithful.
“The establishment of the Abuja National Mosque Management Board (ANMMB) is a further step to create a structure for the management of the National Mosque on behalf of the NSCIA.
He said the development was simply acting Islam as what Islam is: to be accommodating, and ensure that you have everybody on board. Thus the reason why the Abuja National Mosque translates the weekly khutbah (sermon) in the four major languages – Hausa, English, Igbo and Yoruba.
Source:dailytrust.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://dailytrust.com/abuja-national-mosque-to-get-more-imams-digitalise-friday-sermons/
---------
Family accuses Army of detaining Miyetti Allah leader in Nasarawa
10th December 2024
The family of the leader of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Bello Badejo, has accused the Nigerian Army of unlawful arrest and detention.
According to his family, Badejo was apprehended on December 9, 2024, by officers of the 117 Battalion, based in Keffi, Nasarawa State.
Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, his brother, Suleiman Waziri, stated that Badejo was arrested in connection with an incident involving a retired Army General at Tudun Wada, Karu Local Government Area, on December 8, 2024.
Waziri said Badejo, who was not involved in the incident, was targeted for his attempts to mediate as a respected community leader.
“On December 8, 2024, an incident occurred at Tudun Wada, Karu Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, involving a retired General of the Nigerian Army. The General reportedly discharged firearms at a herd of cattle, causing significant losses for the herders. Acting in self-defence, the herders disarmed the General and reported the matter to the police.
“Despite having no connection or involvement with this incident, Alhaji Bello Badejo was arrested on the 9th of December 2024 at his office in Maliya, Nasarawa State, in a commando-style operation carried out by the 117 Battalion. His arrest is wholly unwarranted and appears to be based on unfounded allegations
“My brother was in Maliya on the day of the incident, preparing for the opening of the Maliya Market Ceremony. He had no connection to what happened in Tudun Wada.
“My brother’s only involvement in this matter arose when relatives of the herders approached him earlier on the morning of 9th December 2024, pleading for his intervention as a respected leader to help secure the release of their confiscated cattle.”
Waziri lamented the treatment his brother has received, including the denial of access to legal counsel and family members.
“Efforts by our legal team to see him have been blocked by the 117 Battalion. The Commanding Officer insists that permission must come from higher authorities,” he added.
The family has called on the Chief of Army Staff and other relevant authorities to facilitate the immediate and unconditional release of Badejo.
“Allow his legal representatives unfettered access to him. Conduct a transparent and impartial investigation into the Tudun Wada incident,” he added.
The Acting Public Relations Officer of the Guards Brigade, Lieutenant Olokodana Odunayo, confirmed to journalists that Badejo has been transferred to the Defence Intelligence Agency.
“The Commanding Officer of the 117 Battalion said the man has been handed over to the DIA,” Odunayo said, without providing further details.
Source:punchng.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://punchng.com/family-accuses-army-of-detaining-miyetti-allah-leader-in-nasarawa/#google_vignette
---------
North America
Lawyer cites 300 potential cases against Diddy
11 Dec, 2024
Mark Savage
A lawyer representing several alleged victims of Sean "Diddy" Combs says the potential number of civil legal cases against the musician "is probably in the 300 range".
Tony Buzbee told the BBC his team had received about 3,000 calls since he held a news conference calling for clients in October.
He has already issued 20 lawsuits from men and women seeking damages from the musician; and says that "realistically" the final total will be "about 100 to 150". Others will not make it to court because the time limit for filing claims has expired in certain states.
Mr Combs has denied all the charges against him, calling the accusations "sickening" and the result of people looking for a "quick payday".
His lawyers have characterised the multiple civil lawsuits, including the claims of 300 potential victims, as a part of a "reckless media circus".
They said Mr Buzbee's press conference, and the creation of a toll-free phone number for tip-offs, were "clear attempts to garner publicity".
In a statement to the BBC, his attorney Erica Wolff said: "Mr Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process.
"In court, the truth will prevail: That Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone - man or woman, adult or minor."
The musician is currently being held in Manhattan's Metropolitan Detention Center, awaiting trial on separate criminal charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, which he also denies.
'We get calls every day'
Mr Buzbee, whose practice is based in Houston, is an outsized character in US legal circles, once described by the New York Times as "a big, mean, ambitious, tenacious, fire-breathing Texas trial lawyer".
A former Marine and a TV show host, he made his name suing the energy giant BP after an explosion at an oil refinery in Texas City killed 15 people; and successfully defended former Texas governor Rick Perry against abuse-of-power allegations.
More recently, he helped a sizeable group of women reach out-of-court settlements with American Football player Deshaun Watson over allegations he had sexually assaulted them during private massage sessions.
His involvement with Mr Combs began last year - after his co-counsel Andrew Van Arsdale, who previously represented hundreds of victims in a sexual abuse lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America, began receiving calls about the star.
“I think he got a little bit overwhelmed, and he realised that this might be more than he could handle [on his own]”, Buzbee says.
After agreeing to help, Buzbee asked potential victims to come forward via an Instagram post. In the next 10 days, he estimates his team received 3,000 calls.
Those claims were screened by a team of lawyers and former law enforcement officials, who arrived at a list of clients with cases “that are viable, that have been thoroughly vetted, that will ultimately be filed”, he says.
"We still get [calls] every single day," he added. "I think that the potential [number of] cases is probably in the 300 range, but I think realistically, it'll ultimately be about 100 to 150."
The alleged victims include a roughly equal number of men and women; whose accusations span a 20-year period.
Anonymity will be waived
Among them are a woman who claims Mr Combs raped her in a hotel room in 2004 when she was a 19-year-old college student; and an aspiring young musician who alleges the musician drugged him and forced him to perform oral sex when he was 10 years old.
Lawyers for Mr Combs have denied the allegations, saying in a statement to the BBC that he "has never sexually assaulted anyone - adult or minor, man or woman".
The lawsuits have so far been filed anonymously, with the alleged victims referred to in court documents as John Doe or Jane Doe.
However, Mr Combs' laywers have asked the courts to release their identities so he can adequately prepare for any potential trial.
In three cases so far, including that of the 19-year-old woman, a judge has ruled that they will have to reveal their names for their claims to move forward.
"It happens a lot," Mr Buzbee told the BBC. "If the plaintiff is forced to reveal her or his or her identity, Mr Combs hopes that they will quietly go away and never bring the claim again.
"The good news is, that's not going to happen. That's something I screened for... so if they're forced to reveal their identity, they'll reveal their identity, and we'll keep pressing forward.”
Mr Buzbee added that he had taken similar measures in the DeShaun Watson case, where several women publicly attached their names to the lawsuits following a challenge from the sportsman's lawyers.
Celebrities 'likely' to be named
One lawsuit has received particular attention because it claims other celebrities were involved in Mr Combs' alleged crimes.
The case, filed in New York in October, regards a 13-year-old who claims she became disorientated and dizzy after accepting a drink at one of Mr Combs' parties.
Soon after, she claims that a man, originally identified as "Celebrity A" removed her clothes and raped her, while Mr Combs and a woman named as "Celebrity B" watched.
On Sunday, the plaintiff updated the lawsuit to identity the first celebrity as the rap legend Jay-Z.
In an extensive statement, Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, called the claims "idiotic" and accused Mr Buzbee of attempting to blackmail him by threatening to make his name public.
"My heart and support goes out to true victims in the world, who have to watch how their life story is dressed in costume for profitability by this ambulance chaser in a cheap suit," he added.
The musician had previously filed an anonymous lawsuit in Los Angeles, accusing Mr Buzbee of "shamelessly" trying to extort him.
Mr Buzbee fired back that the "frivolous" lawsuit was a "last-ditch attempt" to stop Mr Carter's name being made public.
"I am a US Marine," he wrote in an Instagram statement. "I won't be silenced or intimidated. Neither will my clients."
Mr Combs' legal team also deny the claims, and said the extortion charge against Mr Buzbee "expose his barrage of lawsuits… for what they are: Shameless publicity stunts, designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them, just as lies have been spread about Mr Combs".
The back and forth has only fuelled speculation that more high-profile music industry figures will become ensnared in the upcoming trials.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Buzbee called that eventuality "very likely".
"If you just look at the conduct that's being alleged, it's pretty ubiquitous. There was a culture that was created, a party culture, where anything goes," he says.
"There was just a general feeling that he [Mr Combs] was above the law, that he could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, with whomever he wanted."
Social media has seen a flurry of speculation, linking people to Mr Combs' alleged crimes - based on little more than photos of showbusiness parties in the 1990s and 2000s.
Needless to say, there is no evidence to back up those allegations.
There have also been widely-discredited fakes, including a tell-all biography purportedly written by Mr Combs' late partner, Kim Porter; and a viral song, in which Justin Bieber purportedly sang, "I lost myself at a Diddy party". The latter turned out to be an AI-generated fake.
Lawyers for Mr Combs have argued that the number of "false and outrageous" claims being made by "government agents, plaintiffs' attorneys, and others with questionable motives" could be "perceived as prejudicing potential jurors".
Mr Buzbee disagrees.
"Obviously, the people who come into the court as jurors, don't come in in a vacuum," he tells the BBC.
"They read the press, and they know what's going on, but I think most people are willing to say, 'Let's judge this claim on its merits. What is the proof and what is the defence?'"
In the end, Mr Buzbee's clients may face a long wait to have their cases heard in court.
Jennie VonCannon, a former federal prosecutor with experience of sex trafficking and racketeering cases, says the criminal trial against Mr Combs will have to conclude before the civil claims can proceed.
"That's because the Fifth Amendment gives you the right to remain silent," she told the BBC.
"So you need the criminal case to go first, because if you made statements in the civil cases in order to defend yourself, you could possibly incriminate yourself."
The BBC understands that Grand Jury hearings for Mr Combs' criminal trial have continued since charges were filed against him in September.
Some of the alleged victims who are suing him in civil court are believed to have given testimony in these hearings. VonCannon says the government could easily amend their case as a result.
"There's a school of thought that no investigation is ever complete," she says.
"It sounds like the government is still actively producing discovery, so it's possible they will supersede [replace or amend] the indictment, and even add more defendants."
The criminal trial is currently scheduled to begin in May 2025.
Source:bbc.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8ewld21p14o
---------
Luigi Mangione fights extradition to face charge of murdering CEO
11 Dec, 2024
The man accused of shooting dead healthcare insurance CEO Brian Thompson in New York jostled with police and shouted at reporters as he was led into court on Tuesday, as more details emerged about a potential motive in the killing.
Luigi Mangione appeared at an extradition hearing in Pennsylvania where his lawyer, Thomas Dickey, said the 26-year-old would contest being moved to New York to face murder charges. "I haven't seen any evidence that he's the shooter," he said.
Wearing an orange jumpsuit, Mr Mangione tried to address reporters as he arrived for the hearing. He was heard shouting "completely unjust" and "insult to the intelligence of the American people" before he was bundled into court by officers.
He was arrested on Monday after he was spotted at a Pennsylvania McDonald's following a days-long manhunt that spanned several states. He was allegedly found with a gun similar to the murder weapon, a silencer and a fake ID.
Mr Mangione was denied bail for a second time on Tuesday after prosecutors said he was too dangerous to be released.
The judge then gave prosecutors 30 days to seek a warrant from New York Governor Kathy Hochul to secure his extradition to the state.
Hochul later said she would provide one. "I am co-ordinating with the District Attorney's Office and will sign a request for a governor's warrant to ensure this individual is tried and held accountable," she said.
Mr Mangione looked around at the rows of reporters in court and smiled at times. At one point he interrupted his own lawyer who quickly quieted him.
Following the hearing on Tuesday afternoon, that lawyer, Mr Dickey, spoke to reporters outside court. "You can't rush to judgment in this case or any case," he said. "He's presumed innocent. Let's not forget that."
Mr Mangione has been charged with several offences in Pennsylvania, including providing fraudulent identification to police and possessing an unlicensed firearm. He is being held at a Pennsylvania state prison and will plead not guilty.
In New York, he faces separate charges including murder for Mr Thompson's killing on 4 December. The UnitedHealthcare CEO was gunned down by a masked man outside a Manhattan hotel in what police have described as a targeted attack.
Mr Thompson was named chief executive of the company, which is the largest private insurer in the US, in April 2021.
He had received threats before his death relating to medical coverage, according to his widow, Paulette Thompson, but a motive for his killing has not been suggested by prosecutors.
On Tuesday, however, as police poured through evidence and worked to piece together Mr Mangione's movements after the shooting, more details emerged about his alleged grievances with the health insurance industry.
New York Police Department's Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told Good Morning America that he had read a three-page handwritten note allegedly found on the suspect when he was arrested.
"He does make some indication that he's frustrated with the healthcare system in the United States," he said. "He was writing a lot about his disdain for corporate America and in particular the healthcare industry."
The note, which has been seen by several US media outlets, reportedly refers to "parasites" that "had it coming". He also allegedly writes that he acted alone.
Former friends who spoke to the BBC said Mr Mangione had suffered from a back injury. They said he had left a surfing community in Hawaii over the summer of 2023 to undergo spinal surgery.
RJ Martin, a former roommate of the suspect who knew him in Hawaii, said the injury "prohibited him, at times, from just doing many normal things".
Various details of Mr Mangione's background have surfaced since his arrest. He was born in Maryland to a wealthy, well-known family, and police say he has ties to San Francisco, California. His last-known address was in Honolulu, Hawaii.
He attended the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League college, where he earned a bachelor's and a master's degree in software engineering.
Local media reported that Mr Mangione's mother had reported him missing last month, telling authorities in San Francisco that she had not heard from her son since July.
"Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi's arrest," Mr Mangione's family said in a statement posted on social media by his cousin. "We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved."
Source:bbc.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceqlj130rxpo
----------
Dick Van Dyke and Cher among thousands fleeing Malibu wildfire
11 Dec, 2024
Christal Hayes
Actor Dick Van Dyke and musician Cher are among thousands of residents who have been ordered to evacuate from the city of Malibu after a fast-moving wildfire broke out and burned acres of the wealthy Los Angeles-area enclave.
The blaze has been dubbed the Franklin Fire by authorities, who say it started in Malibu Canyon at about 22:50 local time on Monday (07:50 GMT) and has so far burned at least seven homes.
A mandatory evacuation order is in place for a swathe of Malibu. No injuries have been reported, but the blaze was still zero per cent contained as of Tuesday night.
It is not yet clear what caused the fire, but the region has been under a red-flag warning, meaning conditions are ripe for extreme fires.
More than 3,000 acres of land have so far been burned, according to the latest update from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
The blaze has left a trial of burnt-out cars and buses as well as the charred remains of homes.
Malibu is popular with celebrities. Homes owned by stars including Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Jay Z were reportedly among those in the evacuation zone.
Van Dyke was among the stars forced to flee, he said in a post on Facebook.
The Mary Poppins star, who turns 99 on Friday, said he and his wife Arlene safely left with their pets, except for one cat named Bobo, which remains missing.
"We're praying he'll be OK and that our community in Serra Retreat will survive these terrible fires," he wrote on Facebook.
Witnesses told KABC-TV that the home belonging to the actor's neighbour had caught fire, but that Dyke's was untouched.
Singer Cher also had to flee the fire, according to the New York Times.
Barbra Streisand is another famous resident of Malibu, however, her publicist told the New York Times it's unclear whether she has evacuated.
Schools in the area have closed, roads are shut, and power has been cut locally to prevent worsening the blaze.
Meanwhile, evacuation centres have been opened for residents and animals. More than 5,000 people were in the evacuation zone, according to data from Cal Fire.
The blaze broke out near Pepperdine University.
The college had directed students to shelter in place, but has since lifted that order.
Officials continue to encourage students to remain on the ocean-side campus since nearby roads are closed for crews fighting the blaze.
Power to much of the campus and wider area was expected to stay cut off for the "foreseeable future", Pepperdine said.
Footage showed students sheltering in the library as a wall of fire approached on Monday evening.
Fire crews hosed down the flames. Pepperdine reported there was minor damage on campus, but no students or staff had been injured.
Wildfires more generally in California have the capacity to burn through tens of thousands of acres of vegetation due to the typical dry conditions in the region.
The Franklin Fire is relatively small by comparison, though it has spread quickly.
Malibu city authorities initially said the fire was about three miles (4.8km) north of the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) - an iconic road along the Pacific Ocean known for its stunning views - but it quickly spread south, jumping across the route into the Malibu Pier area.
The evacuation order covered a region that included east of Malibu Canyon Road and south of Puma Road as well as the Serra Retreat area, the County of Los Angeles Fire Department said.
A map of the blaze shows it was bordering city hall government facilities, a school and a number of homes in the area - including a line of oceanfront properties.
In an update on Tuesday night, officials said they had to move the command centre to the city of Calabasas, after city hall was threatened by the flames.
Officials warn that the fires are being fuelled by the seasonal Santa Ana winds.
The latest incident comes about a month after another fire forced thousands of people to evacuate another nearby city, Moorpark.
California is a state that is prone to wildfires. The amount of burned areas in the summer in northern and central part of the state increased fivefold from 1996 to 2021 compared with the 24-year period before.
Scientists have attributed this to climate change, though not all wildfires can automatically be linked directly to this cause.
The science is complicated and human factors, including how we manage land and forests, also contribute.
However, scientists say climate change is making weather conditions that lead to wildfires, such as heat and drought, more likely.
Have you been asked to evacuate because of the fire? Get in touch.
Source:bbc.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2enepy8g8o
---------
Secret Service urged to reduce number of protectees
11 Dec, 2024
Bernd Debusmann Jr
A House Task Force investigating the assassination attempts against Donald Trump earlier this year has called on the Secret Service to reduce the number of people it protects and "review" its investigative role after "failures" almost led to tragedy.
The report identified a "litany" of failures before and during the 13 July shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, and a separate 15 September attempt in West Palm Beach, Florida.
One person was killed and two were seriously injured during the Butler shooting. Trump was shot in the ear.
A separate Senate report released in September found that security failures and poor communication "directly contributed" to the assassination attempt.
In the new 180-page report, the House Task Force said that "various failures in planning, execution and leadership" contributed to the July shooting, which it described as "preventable".
The primary failure, the report said, was a failure to secure a nearby rooftop from which the gunman, 20-year-old Matthew Crooks, opened fire before being shot and killed by a sniper.
The report also identified several technology and communication breakdowns, as well as issues in leadership and training.
Some Secret Service personnel were given "significant responsibility" for the high-risk outdoor event despite having "little to no experience in advance planning roles".
The Secret Service came under intense criticism following the attempt.
Its then director, Kim Cheatle, resigned just weeks after the shooting amid growing anger from both Democrats and Republicans.
As part of its recommendations, the task force suggested that the service reduce the number of protects, which has greatly expanded in recent years. The pool of people it protects includes foreign dignitaries, a number that swells during events such as the UN General Assembly.
The report added that the service - along with Congress and the Department of Homeland Security - should consider whether these additional protective duties "can be transferred or abrogated" in order to prioritise protecting the president and other "critical" US leaders.
Additionally, the report suggested that Congress and the Secretary of Homeland Security should review the service's investigative role, which focuses on fraud, financial crimes and cybercrime.
"The Secret Service's protective mission is at the core of the agency's purpose," the report says. "Anything that distracts or diverts resources from the agency's zero-fail mission must be reconsidered."
Last week, a shouting match erupted at a task force hearing after Republican representative Pat Fallon accused acting director Ronald Rowe of "playing politics" by attending a 9/11 memorial service, but not in a protective capacity.
Fallon said he endangered President Joe Biden's life as he stood nearby, rather than a protective detail, along with Trump and Vice-President Kamala Harris.
Mr Rowe, who replaced Cheatle after she resigned, told Fallon the president's detail also was close by and that he was "out of line" for the remark.
Source:bbc.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c17dq901g28o
----------
Trump takes jab at 'governor' Trudeau
11 Dec, 2024
Jessica Murphy
US President-elect Donald Trump took a light jab at his Canadian counterpart on Tuesday, referring to Justin Trudeau as the "governor" of the "Great State of Canada".
In an early morning social media post on Tuesday, he references a dinner the pair had in late November at Trump's Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago.
Prime Minister Trudeau travelled to meet Trump following a threat by the president-elect to impose a blanket 25% tariff on Canadian goods when he takes office in January.
Trump says in the post he hopes the pair can "continue our in depth talks on Tariffs and Trade, the results of which will be truly spectacular for all".
Canada, a country of 40 million people, is one of America's largest trading partners and it sends about 75% of its total exports to the US. The two countries also share deeply integrated supply chains.
On Monday, Trudeau told the Halifax Chamber of Commerce that Canada will respond to the tariffs if the Trump administration moves ahead with the threat following Trump's 20 January inauguration.
Trudeau noted Canada is still considering the "right" way to respond, but referenced retaliatory tariffs Ottawa imposed when the first Trump administration slapped levies on steel and aluminum.
"Our responses to the unfair steel and aluminum tariffs were what ended up lifting those tariffs last time," he said.
Ottawa placed tariffs on both metals, as well as over 250 US goods including beer kegs, whiskey and orange juice - designed to politically pressure the US and make it take notice of the affect on cross-border trade.
Trudeau on Monday called those counter-measures "carefully targeted" and "politically impactful to the president's party and colleagues".
It allowed Canada - which is economically much smaller than the US - to "punch back in a way that was actually felt by Americans", he said.
The president-elect's threatened the blanket tariff against Mexico as well unless the two nations secured their shared borders with the US.
The number of crossings at the US-Canada border is significantly lower than that at the southern border, according to US Border Patrol data on migrant encounters, as is the amount of fentanyl seized.
Trudeau said while he takes the potentially economically devastating tariff threat seriously, Canadians should not "freak out".
The president-elect's approach is often to "destabilise a negotiating partner", he said.
Trudeau is set to meet the leaders of Canada's provinces and territories for a second time on Wednesday to discuss the plan to approach negotiations with the US.
Tuesday's "governor" quip is not the first time Trump has needled Canada.
At Mar-a-Lago, Trump remarked that Canada should become the 51st US state - something that was "in no way a serious comment", said Public Safety Minister Dominic Leblanc, who accompanied Trudeau to the dinner.
"The president was telling jokes, the president was teasing us," he told reporters early this month.
Source:bbc.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgx1ezpx52o
----------
How the six-day hunt for New York shooting suspect unfolded
11 Dec, 2024
Mike Wendling
It wasn't DNA or facial recognition technology that cracked the case. Nor did amateur online sleuths make the breakthrough.
In the end, it was a McDonald's restaurant employee - hours away from the scene of the crime - who spotted a man resembling a "person of interest" photo.
The suspect was careful to wear a mask while traveling around New York City, but pulled it down for a second to flirt with a woman behind the desk at a youth hostel, and again to eat at McDonald's.
That may have been enough.
Police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, swooped into the restaurant and arrested Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old from a wealthy Baltimore-area family with a private and Ivy League education.
After six dramatic days, the hunt for the man alleged to have gunned down UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson was over.
A call from McDonald's
On Monday morning, a regular at the McDonald's in Altoona told the BBC that one of his friends spotted Mr Mangione as he entered the restaurant and commented: "There's that shooter from New York."
"I thought he was kidding," the customer said.
Police were called and when officers first approached Mr Mangione and asked him if he'd been in New York, he became "visibly nervous, kind of shaking", Altoona's Deputy chief of police Derick Swope told reporters.
As he was being led into a court hearing on Tuesday, Mr Mangione shouted about an "insult to the American people and their lived experience".
He now faces charges of second-degree murder along with weapons offences.
New York police say the suspect first arrived in the city on 24 November, in the busy run-up to the Thanksgiving holiday. He visited the Hilton Hotel, where the shooting would later happen, and his encounter with a clerk at the hostel, where he stayed, was captured on camera.
Ten days later, on 4 December, Mr Thompson was shot dead on his way to a meeting at about quarter to seven in the morning.
The suspect fled on foot, bike and taxi to a bus station near the George Washington Bridge. From there, he exited the city.
The killing was identified as a targeted attack early on in the investigation. Video showed the suspect ignored several pedestrians on the busy Manhattan pavement and zeroed in on Mr Thompson.
Shell casings at the scene had words written on them, thought to be references to the insurance industry: "delay", "deny", "depose".
'Everything going for him' - then he vanished
Mr Mangione comes from a large and wealthy family in Baltimore, Maryland, with business interests in nursing homes, real estate, a country club and a radio station, according to local news outlet the Baltimore Banner.
He attended the all-male private Gilman School, where he graduated as valedictorian – at the top of his class.
A former classmate, Freddie Leatherbury, told the Associated Press news agency that Mr Mangione came from a wealthy family, even by that private school's standards. "Quite honestly, he had everything going for him," Mr Leatherbury said.
Mr Mangione went on to the University of Pennsylvania. There he received bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science, according to the school, and founded a video game development club.
A friend who attended the Ivy League college at the same time as Mr Mangione described him as a "super normal" and "smart person".
He worked as a data engineer and a video game developer, and most recently was living in Hawaii.
Social media posts show that friends and family members had recently been attempting to contact him and asking about his whereabouts.
In a post on X from October, someone asked Mr Mangione: "Hey, are you ok? Nobody has heard from you in months, and apparently your family is looking for you."
Education, expertise and evading police for days
Monday's arrest ended a dramatic six days in which the alleged killer seemed to disappear, leaving few clues behind and eluding police.
Not only was he able to leave one of the busiest cities in the world using public transport, before Monday his name was not publicly known. It's also unclear exactly where he was hiding in the days after he left New York.
Juliette Kayyem, former assistant secretary for policy at the US Department of Homeland Security, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that his background in technology may have helped him evade capture for nearly a week.
"This was someone who was studying how law enforcement and how these cities try to protect themselves, which is essentially they have lots of cameras around," she said.
"Now that we know a little bit about him - that he's a smart person, he went to great schools, he had higher degrees, he studied engineering technology, he was into electronic gizmos - some of it is beginning to make sense," Kayyem said.
The suspect also wore a face mask almost constantly, and Mr Mangione was found with a fake driving licence and an untraceable "ghost gun" – a firearm assembled by the owner without a serial number, which police said may have been 3D-printed.
Authorities said he used cash for purchases in New York City and fled the scene of the crime into Central Park, where there are few surveillance cameras.
But he also appeared to make some elementary mistakes – including revealing his face in the hostel, and holding on to the gun and the fake identification card.
The Mr Mangione family released a statement Monday night through Mangione's cousin, a Maryland state lawmaker.
"Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi's arrest," said Nino Mangione. "We offer prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved."
Clues from a manifesto and book reviews
Mr Mangione's online footprint shows few messages about healthcare or the insurance industry. Instead there are comments about artificial intelligence and technology, science and pop philosophy, and reviews of a range of books, including 1984 and the Harry Potter series.
But a number of social media accounts matching his name and picture offer some potential clues about his motivation.
RJ Martin, a former roommate of Mr Mangione in Hawaii, said the suspect had a back injury, but he "never complained" about it.
"His back injury prohibited him, at times, from just doing many normal things," Mr Martin said.
The banner image on Mr Mangione's X account shows an X-ray of a spine with hardware in it.
Mr Martin, who eventually lost contact with Mr Mangione, said he believed his former friend "would have never conceived of hurting someone else".
And Mr Mangione's account on Goodreads, a user-generated book review website, indicated that he had read several books about managing back pain, one of them called Crooked: Outwitting the Back Pain Industry.
Also on the Goodreads site, Mr Mangione gave four stars to a text called Industrial Society and Its Future by Theodore Kaczynski – better known as the Unabomber manifesto.
Starting in 1978, Kaczynski carried out a bombing campaign that killed three people and injured dozens of others.
In his review, Mr Mangione acknowledged Kaczynski was a violent individual who killed innocent people. However, he also argued that the essay should not be dismissed as the manifesto of a lunatic but rather the work of an "extreme political revolutionary".
He quoted another online commentator who said: "When all other forms of communication fail, violence is necessary to survive."
Mr Mangione wrote that he found this viewpoint "interesting".
Police said a three-page, handwritten document Mr Mangione had when he was arrested expressed "ill will" towards corporate America.
A senior law enforcement official told the New York Times that the document said: "These parasites had it coming" and "I do apologise for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done".
Sympathy blooms for victim - and suspect
Meanwhile, mixed reactions to the shooting and Mr Mangione's arrest continue – sympathy for Mr Thompson and his family versus anger at the state of America's expensive, vastly complicated healthcare system.
Online, the shooting prompted some criticism of the medical insurance industry, and Mr Mangione was even hailed as a hero.
Police in Altoona said the department received hundreds of emails and calls, including death threats. Some members of the public called police in support of Mr Mangione, claiming they were actually the killer and that police "have the wrong guy".
And police are advising McDonald's employees not to give interviews or statements out of concern for their safety.
The restaurant received hundreds of negative reviews online, calling employees "rats" and criticising them for calling the police.
Similar sentiments have been expressed online, often in posts by anonymous accounts. But others have condemned such sentiments.
"In America, we do not kill people in cold blood to resolve policy differences or express a viewpoint," Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro told reporters.
"I understand people have real frustration with our healthcare system… But I have no tolerance, nor should anyone, for one man using an illegal ghost gun to murder someone because he thinks his opinion matters most.
"In some dark corners, this killer is being hailed as a hero. Hear me on this: He is no hero," Shapiro said.
Source:bbc.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0ewgp1qrqvo
----------
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/muslims-india-lord-ram-spiritual-prosperity/d/133999