New
Age Islam News Bureau
17
December 2020
Pakistan Ulema Council chairman Tahir Ashrafi.
PHOTO: INP
-----
•
Israel Joins the UAE-Based International Security Alliance in Latest Move of
Normalizing Ties
•
IRC lists Afghanistan Second in Humanitarian Emergency Watchlist
•
Will The Born-Again Masyumi Party Shake Up Indonesia’s Islamic Politics?
•
Ayodhya Mosque’s Foundation to Be Laid on the 71st Republic Day
•
Palestinians Left Waiting as Israel Is Set To Deploy COVID-19 Vaccine
•
US Plans To Seek Extradition Of Libyan Man Linked To Lockerbie Bombing: Reports
Pakistan
•
'No Space for Forceful Conversions, Underage Marriages in Islam': Special
Representative to the PM, Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi
•
‘Terror Camp Organizer Is Now Pakistan’s Interior Minister: How Can That Help
Image?’
•
Israel Stirs Media Hype As Pakistan Comes Under Pressure To Normalize Ties
•
A High-Level Delegation of the Afghan Taliban in Pakistan to Discuss Af Peace
Talks
•
Pakistan returns $1 billion of Saudi Arabia's soft loan, officials say
•
India trying to seek hegemony in South Asia: president
•
ANP claims terrorists regrouping in KP
•
Setting up democratic govt PDM's agenda: PML-N
--------
Arab
World
•
Israel Joins the UAE-Based International Security Alliance in Latest Move of
Normalizing Ties
•
An Israeli Torah Scroll In Memory Of Sheikh Zayed
•
A Nine-Year-Old Lebanese Boy’s Chicken Crossed the Road to Israel, Triggering
Panic among Israeli Soldiers
•
Hezbollah uses Lebanon’s health budget to disproportionately fund its
institutions
•
UAE’s Mohamed bin Zayed meets Egyptian President al-Sisi in Cairo
•
Two Lebanese ex-ministers snub judge after being charged over Beirut explosion
•
ISIS steps up Sinai fight with bombs in civilian homes in Egypt
--------
South
Asia
•
IRC lists Afghanistan Second in Humanitarian Emergency Watchlist
•
Taliban kill 13 Afghan policemen in checkpoint attacks
•
ANA Rebuffs Taliban Attack in Kandahar
•
Ghani Discusses Security Tensions with Gen. Milley
•
Turkey Bids to Extend Military Presence in Afghanistan
--------
Southeast
Asia
•
Will The Born-Again Masyumi Party Shake Up Indonesia’s Islamic Politics?
•
Perak Islamic Religious Council Introduces Zakat Payment Using Shopee
•
Mass Covid-19 Vaccination Necessary To Curb Spread Of Virus, Say Malaysian
Religious Leaders
•
Indonesian militant linked to 2002 Bali bombings flown to Jakarta for
questioning
--------
India
•
Ayodhya Mosque’s Foundation to Be Laid on the 71st Republic Day
•
'Muslim Voters Not Your Jagir', Asaduddin Owaisi Tells Mamata Banerjee
•
Modi to Be First PM to Attend an Aligarh Muslim University Event Since 1964
•
Ayodhya Masjid Blueprint to Be Revealed On Saturday
•
Bijnor Man Sent To Jail for ‘Love Jihad’, 8th Case In UP Under Anti-Conversion
Law
•
Girl Abducted By Youth for Marriage in Jajpur, Father Cries ‘Love Jihad’
•
Bangladesh pillar of 'Neighbourhood First' policy, deepening relations between
us top priority: PM Modi
•
Two armed Pak intruders shot dead at international border
•
Congress mulls committee for golden jubilee celebrations of 1971 win over
Pakistan
•
Nearly half of China’s investments in India’s neighbourhood went to Pakistan
--------
Mideast
•
Palestinians Left Waiting as Israel Is Set To Deploy COVID-19 Vaccine
•
Spokesman: 3 Years of Trump’s Sanctions Backfired to Strengthen Iran’s Economy
•
Turkey says France must change stance on Syria operations to improve ties
•
Erdogan denounces US sanctions as ‘hostile attack’ on Turkey's sovereign rights
•
Iran urges withdrawal of all illegal foreign forces from Syria
--------
Africa
•
US Plans To Seek Extradition Of Libyan Man Linked To Lockerbie Bombing: Reports
•
Nigerian gangs reportedly kidnap kids on behalf of Boko Haram
•
Boko Haram claims kidnapping of over 300 boys in Nigeria, marking an alarming
move west
•
Sudan says army officers ambushed by Ethiopian forces, militia
•
UN official calls for more international attention on South Sudan
--------
North
America
•
New Lawsuit Filed In New York Accuses Top Qatar Banks of Funding Terror In
Israel
•
Kenyan man charged with planning 9/11-style attack on US
•
US sanctions four Chinese, UAE-based companies over sale of Iranian
petrochemicals
•
Respected by world peace-lovers, Gen. Soleimani will live on to US desperation:
Etler
•
When the Far Right Penetrates Law Enforcement
--------
Europe
•
UK Lawmakers Urge Government to Designate Iran’s IRGC, Replace Nuclear Deal
•
Despite ceasefire, Nagorno-Karabakh accuses Azerbaijan forces of capturing
troops
•
Daesh gunman’s fugitive widow convicted in 2015 Paris attacks
•
Manchester Arena Inquiry: Bomber 'sent money to family before attack'
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/no-space-forceful-conversions-underage/d/123790
--------
'No
Space for Forceful Conversions, Underage Marriages in Islam': Special
Representative to the PM, Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi
December
16, 2020
Pakistan Ulema Council chairman Tahir Ashrafi.
PHOTO: INP
-----
Special
Representative to the Prime Minister on Interfaith Harmony and Middle East
Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi has said that no one will be allowed to make panic
in the country on the issues of forceful conversions and underage marriages.
Talking
to visiting delegates and representatives of different religions and religious
sects at his office on Wednesday, he said that there is "no space for
forceful conversions and underage forceful marriages in Islam".
Maulana
Ashrafi said that the issues of minorities will be addressed with formation of
Interfaith Harmony Councils in the country.
While
clearing the air, he said that any government representative has neither
visited Israel nor the state has any intention to make relations with the
Jewish country. "Some elements are fanning the baseless propaganda to
malign Pakistan in the Islamic world and to make anarchy in the country."
Some
enemies of Pakistan and Islam are fanning baseless propaganda in the country
and Indian lobbies are behind it, he added.
The
PM's aide said that the incumbent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government is
protector of the Islamic sections of the constitution of Pakistan,
Namoos-e-Risalat and belief in the finality of Prophethood.
He
also added that the complaints received last month about the issues of
minorities have been resolved.
Earlier,
while addressing seminary students at Jamia Masajid Marhaba, Hafiz Ashrafi said
that all sections of society including students of seminaries, schools and
colleges are united with Pakistan Army to eliminate the menace of extremism and
terrorism.
He
said that the incumbent PTI government created history by associating
registration of seminaries with the ministry of education.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2276222/no-space-for-forceful-conversions-underage-marriages-in-islam
--------
Israel
Joins the UAE-Based International Security Alliance in Latest Move of
Normalizing Ties
16th
December 2020
Israel’s Public Security Minister Amir Ohana, 24
July 2019 [Facebook]
------
In
furthering their diplomatic friendship, Israel has now officially joined the
UAE’s International Security Alliance (ISA) group, an Abu-Dhabi based
organization aimed at helping combat organized and transnational crime, as well
as helping stem “radicalization and violent extremism”. ISA was created by the
UAE and France in 2017, and with Israel joining is now a 10 member organization
(alongside the UAE, France, Bahrain, Italy, Senegal, Spain, Singapore, Morocco,
and Slovakia).
Israel’s
Public Security Minister Amir Ohana has described their partnership with ISA as
“an important step in promoting peace and security in our region”. During an
ISA forum last Wednesday, Ohana also stated:
On
behalf of the government of Israel, we are proud that you (the UAE) have chosen
us to be members of this important alliance. Progress with the Arab world
alongside the excellent relations with our European counterparts will allow us
to contribute to an alliance that touches on some of the most important issues
in the areas of safety and homeland security.”
Ohana’s
counterpart in the UAE who helped organize this new partnership is Sheikh Saif
Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, who also serves as Deputy Prime Minister. Al-Nahyan has
also highly praised this new move, stating that this alliance with Israel will
be “for the good of the world and humanity at large”. The UAE’s state-owned WAM
news site also reported that the Sheikh stated that “having Israel as a new
member will be an addition and strength to the alliance in seeking to achieve
the objectives for which it was founded”.
The
ISA, which Israel is now a part of, states that its mission is to combat
transnational organized crime, and to help prevent “radicalization and violent
extremism”. The organization also works in managing border relations as part of
its mission to help fight against transnational crime. While the UAE’s own human
rights record and move to normalize ties with Israel is itself deeply worrying,
the shock of allowing Israel to be an active member of an organization fighting
“violent extremism” would almost be comically ironic if it were not seriously
dangerous – given Israel’s track record of severe human rights abuses and
violent oppression of the people and lands of Palestine, this new move to
normalize ties with Israel is a deep betrayal to both the Palestinians living
under Israel’s colonial rule and to Muslims around the world who continue to
fight for Palestinian rights.
The
Arab Gulf, followed by a growing number of other Muslim-majority nations, are
paving the way towards normalizing ties with Israel without addressing the
Israeli state’s deeply troubling treatment of Palestinians. The UAE, Bahrain,
Sudan, and most recently Morocco have all signed deals with Israel to normalize
diplomatic relations – and this is only since August. By normalizing ties with
Israel, these countries are in fact accepting, allowing, and even supporting
Israel’s current treatment of Palestinians.
While
many human rights organizations do argue for a two-state solution to the
decades-long conflict between Israel and Palestine (which would include
recognizing the state of Israel within its pre-1967 borders), normalizing ties
with Israel while it is still actively pursuing a course of colonial-settler
apartheid is not the answer towards peace in Palestine. With countries like the
UAE normalizing the state of Israel as it stands today while Palestinians
continue to be oppressed, jailed, killed, and colonized by the state of Israel,
this essentially allows and stands in partnership with Israel’s continued human
rights abuses.
The
UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco, and other worrying countries with close ties to
Israel despite having Muslim majority populations are all on a course of
complete appeasement – and whatever lucrative financial, political, or military
gains that may come with a partnership with Israel, it seems that power-grabs
are now more important than basic human rights.
https://themuslimvibe.com/muslim-current-affairs-news/israel-joins-the-uae-based-international-security-alliance-in-latest-move-of-normalizing-ties?utm
--------
IRC
lists Afghanistan Second in Humanitarian Emergency Watchlist
By
Mohammad Haroon Alim
17
Dec 2020
Image Source (Credit: Lynsey Addario)
------
The
International Rescue Committee warned that Afghanistan is on the most dangerous
humanitarian emergencies list for 2021, the country is dealing with a triple
threat of COVID-19, climate change, and conflict.
IRC
in a published emergency watchlist on Tuesday said, that the most dangerous
humanitarian emergencies of 2021 were all neglected, IRC analysis indicates
Yemen a country most at risk of a humanitarian catastrophe, followed by
Afghanistan, Syria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, South
Sudan, Nigeria, Venezuela, and Mozambique.
According
to a report measures containing the coronavirus left women behind, as they face
devastating harm in regards to economical opportunities, schooling, and access
to health care in the listed countries.
Ongoing
conflicts compounded by COVID-19 and climate change led to unprecedented
emergencies globally,
David
Miliband, President and CEO at the IRC, said, “2020 will go down as one of the
most turbulent years in history, but the next year will be remembered for how
we either helped or turned away from those suffering the most”, adding that
“Watchlist 2021 should serve as a wake-up call for policymakers, government
leaders, and concerned citizens around the world about the cost of neglecting
humanitarian crises – and how they urgently need international attention”.
“the
most severe and devastating crises like Afghanistan, Syria, and DRC have been
reeling for years or even decades, and are expected to become even worse in
2021.” Miliband stated in the watchlist, said these threats, worsened living
situations for the people living in the listed countries, mostly impacted by
war, “as we see rises in violence against women, early and forced marriage,
loss of income and education opportunities.” Bilind stated.
Countries
listed in the IRC 2021 Watchlist.
1.
Yemen
2.
Afghanistan
3.
Syria
4.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
5.
Ethiopia
6.
Burkina Faso
7.
South Sudan
8.
Nigeria
9.
Venezuela
10.
Mozambique
Displacement also heavily impacted people in
conflict-ridden countries, and aid agencies like IRC are increasingly facing
obstacles or are under attack by conflicting parties, this prevents
organizations as such to reach those in need.
Humanitarian
supports in Afghanistan have increased “ 385% since 2015” and “are at risk of
an even more violent 2021”. Statement read.
According
to IRC, after 2016 94% of all aid workers were killed, 84% of them wounded, and
98% of aid workers were kidnapped in the listed countries on the watchlist.
It
is stated in the report that “Wars are increasingly fought without respect for
International Humanitarian Law, resulting in direct harm to civilians and
critical infrastructure,”.
https://www.khaama.com/irc-lists-afghanistan-second-in-humanitarian-emergency-watchlist/
--------
Will
the born-again Masyumi Party shake up Indonesia’s Islamic politics?
December
16, 2020
JAKARTA:
In early November, a group of Islamist activists led by the former leader of
the Indonesian Islamic Propagation Council, Cholil Ridwan, declared the
resurrection of Indonesia’s once-powerful but long-defunct Masyumi Party.
The
date for the declaration of Masyumi Reborn was carefully chosen to maximise
media attention.
It
coincided with the 75th birthday of the original Masyumi, which was disbanded
in 1960 after Indonesia’s first president, Soekarno, had accused it of
supporting a regional rebellion.
Reviving
the name of Masyumi evokes memories of a time when Islamists in Indonesia were
not only more unified, but also more successful at the ballot box. In the 1955
election, Masyumi won more than 20% of the vote.
No
contemporary Islamic party has replicated such a result. That’s why Masyumi
remains the gold standard of Islamic party politics in Indonesia, home to the
world’s largest Muslim population.
The
emergence of Masyumi Reborn may therefore be seen as an ambitious attempt to
revitalise Indonesia’s notoriously fragmented Islamist movement ahead of the
2024 elections.
Since
the mass demonstrations in 2016 and 2017 against Ahok, the then governor of
Jakarta, and the presidential election in 2019, Islamist groups have struggled
to maintain the momentum they generated during these election campaigns.
At
the same time, however, the return of Masyumi appears to mark just another
manifestation of that notorious fragmentation as it was announced shortly after
two other new Islamist organisations were formed.
First,
in August former Indonesian Army chief Gatot Nurmantyo and Din Syamsuddin, a
former chairman of Indonesia’s second-largest Muslim organisation,
Muhammadiyah, established the Action Coalition to Save Indonesia (Kami).
Then,
in October, another former Muhammadiyah chairman and former leader of the
National Mandate Party (PAN), Amien Rais, set up the new Partai Ummat.
All
these organisations may ostensibly aim to unite the opposition against
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. However, they also represent the personal
ambitions of former leaders whose influence among Islamists is fading.
This
uncoordinated opposition-building also coincided with the long-anticipated
return of Rizieq Shihab, leader of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI). The
firebrand cleric landed in Jakarta on Nov 10 after a long self-imposed exile in
Saudi Arabia.
In
contrast to the retired leaders behind Kami, Partai Ummat and Masyumi Reborn,
Rizieq commands substantial public support. This was evident in the chaotic
scenes at the airport on the day of his return.
In
recent weeks, Rizieq has been linked to all three of the new organisations. But
he has kept his cards close to his chest, despite meeting Amien Rais and
sending an audio message to a Kami event.
Significantly,
he also met with Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, who some observers regard as
“Islamism’s new hope” for the 2024 presidential election.
There
is little doubt that a constituency of Islamist voters feels poorly represented
by currently existing political parties.
While
Indonesia’s most conservative religious parties like the Prosperous Justice
Party (PKS) and the United Development Party (PPP) pursue Islamic causes, they
have become more moderate over time.
They
are also steeped in the complex transactional politics that characterises
Indonesia’s party system.
Therefore,
a sizeable segment of Indonesians would be open to voting for a more openly
Islamist party, as surveys have shown.
Whether
Masyumi Reborn or Partai Ummat will fill that void remains to be seen.
Not
only do their leaders lack mass support, but the parties face significant
administrative hurdles. While announcing the formation of a party is
straightforward, obtaining permission to contest elections is not.
Indonesia’s
regulatory framework for elections and political parties contains entry
barriers that make it extremely difficult for new parties to pass the General
Election Commission’s verification process.
Most
importantly, new parties are required to have branches in all provinces and 75%
of all districts and municipalities.
To
fulfil these requirements, parties need massive financial resources, which
neither Masyumi Reborn nor Partai Ummat currently possesses.
What
the formation of these parties has demonstrated is that Indonesia’s Islamists
are still grappling with the loss of momentum and leadership since their
political influence peaked in 2016 and 2017.
The
defection of their former patron Prabowo Subianto to President Jokowi’s cabinet
and the government’s effective crackdown on Islamist opposition has left a
leadership vacuum, which no individual or organisation has been able to fill
yet.
With
Rizieq now back in Indonesia, the competition for leadership of the anti-Jokowi
opposition has entered a new phase.
The
government and police are already watching him very closely, well-aware that
Rizieq’s activities in the coming months are likely to be more important than
those of Masyumi Reborn and the other recently formed organisations.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2020/12/16/will-the-born-again-masyumi-party-shake-up-indonesias-islamic-politics/
--------
Ayodhya
Mosque’s Foundation to Be Laid on the 71st Republic Day
Dec
17, 2020
AYODHYA:
The foundation of the Ayodhya mosque complex will be laid on January 26 next
year — the 71st Republic Day — at Dhannipur village, 20km off the existing Ram
Janmabhoomi complex. The mosque is coming up over five acre land given to the
UP Sunni Waqf Board as per the directives of the Supreme Court in its November
2019 judgment.
The
foundation would be laid exactly six months after the Sunni waqf board set up a
trust — Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation -- for the construction. “The Trust
chose January 26, 2021, for laying the foundation of the Ayodhya mosque as on
this day our Constitution came into effect more than seven decades ago. Our
Constitution is based on pluralism, which is the leitmotif of our mosque
project,” said Athar Hussain, secretary of Indo- Islamic Cultural Foundation.
The
blueprint of the mosque and other facilities, including multispeciality
hospital, community kitchen and library will be unveiled by the mosque Trust on
December 19 as per the project plan finalized by its chief architect, Professor
S M Akhtar. Talking to TOI, Prof Akhtar said, “the mosque will have the
capacity of 2,000 namazis at a time and the structure will be round-shaped
"
"The
new mosque will be bigger than Babri masjid, but won’t replicate the structure
which once stood in Ramjanmabhoomi premises. The hospital of course will hold
the centrestage on the five-acre land. It will serve people in the true spirit
of Islam as taught by the prophet in his last sermon 1,400 years ago. The
hospital will be in sync with the architecture of the mosque, replete with
calligraphy and Islamic symbols. It will house a 300-bed speciality unit, where
free treatment will be given," Akhtar said.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/ayodhya-mosques-foundation-to-be-laid-on-republic-day/articleshow/79769027.cms
--------
Palestinians
left waiting as Israel is set to deploy COVID-19 vaccine
December
17, 2020
RAMALLAH,
West Bank: Israel will begin rolling out a major coronavirus vaccination
campaign next week after the prime minister reached out personally to the head
of a major drug company. Millions of Palestinians living under Israeli control
will have to wait much longer.
Worldwide,
rich nations are snatching up scarce supplies of new vaccines as poor countries
largely rely on a World Health Organization program that has yet to get off the
ground. There are few places where the competition is playing out in closer
proximity than in Israel and the territories it has occupied for more than half
a century.
Next
year could bring a sharp divergence in the trajectory of the pandemic, which
until now has blithely ignored the national boundaries and political enmities
of the Middle East. Israelis could soon return to normal life and an economic
revival, even as the virus continues to menace Palestinian towns and villages just
a few miles (kilometers) away.
Israel
reached an agreement with the Pfizer pharmaceutical company to supply 8 million
doses of its newly approved vaccine — enough to cover nearly half of Israel’s
population of 9 million since each person requires two doses. That came after
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally reached out multiple times to
Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla, boasting that at one point he was able to
reach the CEO at 2 a.m.
Israel
has mobile vaccination units with refrigerators that can keep the Pfizer shots
at the required minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94 Fahrenheit). It plans to
begin vaccinations as soon as next week, with a capacity of more than 60,000
shots a day. Israel reached a separate agreement with Moderna earlier this
month to purchase 6 million doses of its vaccine — enough for another 3 million
Israelis.
Israel’s
vaccination campaign will include Jewish settlers living deep inside the West
Bank, who are Israeli citizens, but not the territory’s 2.5 million Palestinians.
They
will have to wait for the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority, which
administers parts of the occupied West Bank in accordance with interim peace
agreements reached in the 1990s. Israel captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip
and east Jerusalem, territories the Palestinian seek for their future state, in
the 1967 Mideast war.
The
PA hopes to get vaccines through a WHO-led partnership with humanitarian
organizations known as COVAX, which aims to provide free vaccines for up to 20%
of the population of poor countries, many of which have been hit especially
hard by the pandemic.
But
the program has secured only a fraction of the 2 billion doses it hopes to buy
over the next year, has yet to confirm any actual deals and is short on cash.
Rich countries have already reserved about 9 billion of the estimated 12
billion doses the pharmaceutical industry is expected to produce next year.
Complicating
matters is the fact that the Palestinians have only one refrigeration unit — in
the oasis town of Jericho — capable of storing the Pfizer vaccine. They are
among nearly 3 billion people worldwide for whom lack of adequate refrigeration
capacity could pose a major obstacle.
Dr.
Ali Abed Rabbo, a senior Palestinian health official, said the PA is in talks
with Pfizer and Moderna — whose vaccines require extra-cold storage — as well
as AstraZeneca and the makers of a largely untested Russian vaccine, but has
yet to sign any agreements beyond COVAX.
The
PA hopes to vaccinate 20% of the population through COVAX, beginning with
health workers, he said. “The remainder will depend on Palestine purchasing
from the global supply, and we are working with several companies,” he said.
Both
Israel and the Palestinian Authority have struggled to contain their outbreaks,
which have fed off one another as people travel back and forth — mainly tens of
thousands of Palestinian laborers employed in Israel. Israel has reported more
than 350,000 cases, including more than 3,000 deaths.
The
Palestinian Authority has reported more than 85,000 cases in the West Bank,
including more than 800 deaths, and the outbreak has intensified in recent
weeks. The situation is even more dire in Gaza, home to 2 million Palestinians,
which has been under an Israeli and Egyptian blockade since the Hamas militant
group seized power in 2007. Authorities there have reported over 30,000 cases,
including 220 deaths.
With
Gaza’s Hamas rulers shunned by the international community, the territory will
also rely on the Palestinian Authority. That means it could be several months
before any large-scale vaccinations are carried out in the impoverished coastal
strip.
Dr.
Gerald Rockenschaub, the head of the WHO office for the Palestinian
territories, said the PA will provide vaccines to Gaza, but they will arrive in
batches and it will take time to reach the first 20%. “We hope that sometime
during the first quarter of the next year that the first vaccines will start
arriving,” he said.
The
Israeli Health Ministry said Israel is in contact with the Palestinians and
will ensure the smooth import of vaccines. But Israel has no immediate plans to
share its own supplies, which will initially go to health workers and nursing
home residents.
Dr.
Ashi Shalmon, an Israeli Health Ministry official, said its approach is in line
with past agreements. The Oslo accords require the PA to maintain international
vaccination standards and for the sides to exchange information and cooperate
in combating epidemics.
Israel
plans to issue special “passports” to those who have been vaccinated, exempting
them from restrictions and paving the way for the revival of travel and
commerce.
But
the pandemic would continue to rage in Palestinian cities like Bethlehem —
where hotels and shops have been empty for months and Christmas celebrations
were mostly called off — even as a sense of normalcy is restored in Israel and
in nearby settlements.
Still,
tens of thousands of Palestinians work in Israel and the settlements. They
could potentially transfer the virus to Israelis who have not been vaccinated, slowing
Israel’s path to herd immunity, the point at which the virus can no longer
easily spread.
Physicians
for Human Rights-Israel, a group that advocates for more equitable health care,
says Israel has a legal obligation as an occupying power to purchase and
distribute vaccines to the Palestinians. It says Israel must also ensure that
vaccines that don’t meet its own safety guidelines — like the Russian shot —
are not distributed in areas under its control.
“Israel
still maintains control over many aspects of the Palestinians’ lives, whether
checkpoints, importing goods and medication, and controlling the movement of
people,” said Ghada Majadle, the director of the group’s activities in the
Palestinian territories.
“The
Palestinian health system, whether in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip, is in
dire condition, mainly (because of) restrictions imposed by Israel.”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1778736/middle-east
--------
US
plans to seek extradition of Libyan man linked to Lockerbie bombing: Reports
16
December 2020
The
US plans to unseal charges soon against a Libyan man suspected of assembling
the bomb that blew up a US airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, US
newspapers reported on Wednesday.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
suspect, Abu Agila Mohammad Masud, is currently held by the Libyan authorities,
according to The Wall Street Journal, and US authorities are seeking his
extradition to stand trial in the US.
The
New York Times said Masud’s exact whereabouts are unknown but he was imprisoned
in Libya at one point for unrelated crimes.
The
Journal said Masud, alleged to have been a top bomb-maker for the former Libyan
President Muammar Gaddafi, is suspected of assembling the device that blew up
Pan Am Flight 103.
The
Journal and Times said US prosecutors are expected to unseal charges soon
against Masud.
Monday
is the 32nd anniversary of the bombing which killed a total of 270 people,
including 190 Americans and 11 people on the ground.
Two
Libyans were put on trial in the Netherlands for their alleged roles in the
attack and one of them was convicted in 2001.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/16/US-plans-to-seek-extradition-of-Libyan-suspected-of-making-Lockerbie-bomb-Reports
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Pakistan
‘Terror
Camp Organizer is now Pakistan’s Interior Minister: How can that help image?’
December
14, 2020
Pakistan
has a new Interior Minister. It is a man Prime Minister Imran Khan once said he
would not even appoint as a ‘chaprasi’ (peon). But first Sheikh Rasheed was
appointed Minister of Railways (August 2018 -December 2020)by Khan and will now
have all law enforcement under him. A great promotion for someone who was not
worthy of being a chaprasi!
Sheikh
Rasheed is the leader of his one-man party, Awami Muslim League. He has been a
member of the National Assembly from Rawalpindi since March 1985 and boasts of
being close to the Pakistan army. He is also close Pakistan’s Jihadi groups and
boasts, also, of having run training camps for Jihadi militants.
He
has changed parties like we all change our smartphones, every year: from
running as an independent to running on the tickets of Islamic Democratic
Alliance (IDA), then Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N), to Pakistan Muslim
League – Quaid (PML-Q), to Awami Muslim League (AML).
In
2005, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) leader Yasin Malik while on a
visit to Pakistan gave a speech where he praised Rasheed who was then Federal
Information Minister and said: “Sheikh Rashid has played a great role for
Kashmir’s liberation. He used to support the frontline jehadis from Kashmir,
but few know of his contributions.”
Though
Rasheed tried to deny this, the Daily Times, published an article titled
“Minister trained 3,500 Kashmiri militants, says Malik” which reported that “it
was at the Information Minister’s farmhouse on the outskirts of the national
capital that some 3,500 Kashmiri jehadis, including Malik, received arms
training.”
Further,
journalist Hamid Mir confirmed the story by saying “Yes, according to the
information I have, Sheikh Rashid’s Rawalpindi farmhouse was dubbed Freedom
House and used to be a hub of Kashmiri activists belonging to the JKLF. The
camp was operational from 1988-90 to train JKLF cadre and Sheikh Rashid accompanied
JKLF leaders, including Yasin, to the LoC several times. The camp’s existence
was known to high officials in Islamabad.”
Over
the years, Rasheed has openly attended rallies and meetings organised by the
Difa-e-Pakistan Council, a Pakistani deep state backed coalition of 40
religious parties and extremist groups headed by Hafiz Saeed, who heads Jamaat
ud Daawa / Lashkar e Taiba.
At
a 2012 rally of Difa e Pakistan Council attended by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Amir
Syed Munawwar Hasan, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and Abdul Rehman Makki of the
Jamaat-ud-Daawa, Sheikh Rashid Ahmad of the Awami Muslim League, Lt General
(retd) Hamid Gul, Rasheed warned against support to the United States and the
NATO-mission in Afghanistan.
A
few months later that very year, when Rasheed traveled to Houston, he was
briefly detained at the airport. According to The Express Tribune Rasheed was
detained by American immigration authorities “for his alleged links with
Lashkar-e-Tayiba and freed after five hours of interrogation.” However, it
could also have been his close association with Hafiz Saeed and Difa e
Pakistan.
In
August 2020, while participating in a television show, Rasheed claimed that
Pakistan’s generals had found a way that they could drop a nuclear bomb on
India in such a way that it would only kill non-Muslims, not Muslims in India
This
was not the first time that Rasheed threatened war on India. In August 2019,
when India revoked Article 370 (that granted special status to Indian held
Kashmir), Rasheed stated “The time of the last battle for the liberation of
Kashmir has arrived and this time the war with India will be full and final.”
At
a time when Pakistan faces both internal and external challenges, and the
country remains on the grey list of the UN-Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
because of concerns related to terrorist activities, why would we want someone
who has links to terror groups as the Interior Minister?
http://new-pakistan.com/2020/12/14/terror-camp-organizer-is-now-pakistans-interior-minister-how-can-that-help-image/
--------
Israel
stirs media hype as Pakistan comes under pressure to normalize ties
17
December 2020
Israeli
news outlets are spreading a rumor that a senior advisor to Pakistan’s Prime
Minister Imran Khan visited the Israeli-occupied territories last month,
despite Islamabad’s repeated rejections of speculation about ties with Tel
Aviv.
Citing
a source close to the Israeli cabinet, Israel Hayom and other newspapers
claimed on Wednesday that the Pakistani aide had met with Israeli officials during
his trip to Tel Aviv.
British
Airways Flight 165 took Khan’s advisor from London to Ben Gurion Airport on
November 20. He flew in business class from Islamabad to London and then to the
occupied territories, the reports claimed.
The
official was carrying a message from Khan, who the reports said had made a
“strategic decision” to open political and diplomatic talks with Israel, they
added.
The
Pakistani advisor stayed in Israel for a few days and met several high-ranking
Israeli officials,
The
Jerusalem Post newspaper also covered the news of the alleged visit, but
removed it later.
Separately
on Wednesday, Noor Dahri, founder and executive director of the UK-based
Islamic Theology of Counter Terrorism (ITCT), claimed that Khan’s advisor had
travelled to Tel Aviv on his British passport to propose the Pakistan-Israel
normalization in return for the regime’s support for Islamabad “to halt down
Pakistan’s current cold situation with the Arab countries as well as … in many
international issues.”
In
an interview with Israel’s i24 News TV channel, Dahri also claimed that the
official “was welcomed by the Israeli officials at the airport as the visit was
approved by the US.”
He,
the researcher added, met the head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, Yossi Cohen,
and delivered a secret message of the Pakistani army chief to him.
The
aide later held talks with several political officials and diplomats at the
Israeli Foreign Ministry, where he and delivered the message of the Pakistani
premier, he noted.
“Pakistan
is facing pressure from Arab countries to leave the Turkish bloc and normalize
ties with Israel,” Dahri said.
Pakistan
has a traditionally close partnership with Saudi Arabia and receives crucial
financial assistance and oil supplies from the kingdom.
But,
it has in recent years sided with Turkey on a range of regional issues in a
move that has undermined Islamabad’s relations with Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.
Some
reports say Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has over the past few months
refused to meet with Khan. The kingdom also almost completely halted its oil
supplies to Pakistan and even sought back the $3 billion in aid money provided
as a loan to Islamabad.
In
November, the Pakistani prime minister revealed that his country is “under
pressure from friendly countries to recognize Israel,” adding, however, “We
will not do so without a fair settlement to the Palestinians.”
Many
speculated that Khan was actually referring to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Asked
to name the countries exerting pressure on Pakistan, he replied, “Leave this
[question]. There are things we cannot say. We have good relations with them.”
“Let
us stand on our own feet in terms of the economy, then you may ask these
questions,” he further said, referring to Pakistan’s economic dependence on the
oil-rich Persian Gulf states.
Also
in November, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri
emphasized that Islamabad will not establish relations with the Tel Aviv regime
until there is “a viable, independent and contiguous” Palestinian state
acceptable to the Palestinians.
Pakistan
“steadfastly supports the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to
self-determination,” he said in a statement. “For just and lasting peace, it is
imperative to have a two-state solution in accordance with the relevant United
Nations and OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) resolutions, with the
pre-1967 borders, and al-Quds al-Sharif as the capital of a viable, independent
and contiguous Palestinian State.”
In
recent months, four Arab countries — the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco — have
established formal diplomatic relations with Israel in deals brokered by the
US.
The
normalization trend has sparked widespread anger among the Pakistani people,
who have strong feelings for the Palestinian cause.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/17/640920/Pakistan-Israel-visit-normalization
--------
A
High-Level Delegation Of The Afghan Taliban In Pakistan To Discuss Af Peace
Talks
Dec
17, 2020
ISLAMABAD:
A high-level delegation of the Afghan Taliban, led by Taliban co-founder Mullah
Abdul Ghani Baradar, met Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in
Islamabad on Wednesday and discussed the Afghan peace process amid growing
incidents of violence in the war-torn country.
Qureshi
urged the Afghan leaders to seize the historic opportunity for bringing lasting
peace to their country, the foreign office said. “Pakistan will continue to
facilitate the Afghan peace process,” he told the Taliban Political Commission
(TPC) delegation. Welcoming the announcement of the agreement on Rules and
Procedures between the two negotiating sides in Doha, he conveyed that the
agreement reflects a common resolve of the parties to secure a negotiated
solution. Pakistan will respect the decisions taken by the Afghan parties
through the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process, he said.
The
delegation thanked Pakistan for hosting millions of Afghan refugees for more
than four decades and appreciated its role in the Afghan peace process. The
delegation, which is in Pakistan on a three-day visit, will also call on PM
Imran Khan. It is the second visit of the TPC delegation this year after it
visited Pakistan in August. AP reported that Baradar and his delegation were
summoned to Islamabad from Qatar, officials close to the talks said.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/taliban-team-in-pak-to-discuss-af-peace-talks/articleshow/79770347.cms
--------
Pakistan
returns $1 billion of Saudi Arabia's soft loan, officials say
17
Dec 2020
Pakistan
has returned $1 billion to Saudi Arabia as the second instalment of a $3
billion soft loan, as Islamabad reaches out to Beijing for a commercial loan to
help it offset pressure to repay another $1 billion to Riyadh next month,
officials said on Wednesday.
Analysts
say it is unusual for Riyadh to press for the return of money. Relations
between historically close friends Pakistan and Saudi Arabia suffered a strain
earlier this year when Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, in an unusually
sharp warning, asked Saudi Arabia-led Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
to stop dilly-dallying on the convening of a meeting of its Council of Foreign
Ministers (CFM) on Kashmir.
Army
Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa subsequently visited Riyadh in August to ease the
tensions. Gen Bajwa also met the Saudi ambassador in Islamabad on Tuesday.
With
the $1 billion flowing out, Pakistan — which has $13.3 billion in State Bank
foreign reserves — could face a balance of payments issue after clearing the
next Saudi instalment.
“China
has come to our rescue,” a foreign ministry official told Reuters.
A
finance ministry official said the SBP was already in talks with Chinese
commercial banks.
“We've
sent $1 billion to Saudi Arabia,” he said. Another $1 billion will be repaid to
Riyadh next month, he said. Islamabad had returned $1 billion in July.
Although
a $1.2 billion surplus in the current account balance and a record $11.77
billion in remittances in the past five months have helped support the economy,
having to return the Saudi money is still a setback.
Saudi
Arabia gave Pakistan a $3 billion loan and a $3.2 billion oil credit facility
in late 2018. After Islamabad sought Riyadh's support over human rights
violations by India in occupied Kashmir, Saudi Arabia has pushed Pakistan to
repay the loan.
The
People's Bank of China did not respond to a Reuters request for comment, and
Riyadh didn't issue any details.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1596109/pakistan-returns-1-billion-of-saudi-arabias-soft-loan-officials-say
--------
India
trying to seek hegemony in South Asia: president
Syed
Irfan Raza
17
Dec 2020
ISLAMABAD:
President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday said India, with the help of Israel, was
trying to have its hegemony in South Asia.
“Being
part of nexus with Israel, India is bringing demographic changes in the Indian illegally
occupied Kashmir and procuring weapons with a craving to become a super power,”
the president said in his keynote address at a seminar on ‘Understanding
Hindutva Mindset and Indian Hegemonic Aspirations’ organised by the Institute
of Strategic Studies Islamabad.
He
said by pursuing Hindutva ideology and marginalising the minorities, India was
creating an exploitative society and falling into pits of extremism and
polarisation.
“India
is on very dangerous course. They have left secular proclamations aside. We
recognise India as a developing fascist state,” he added.
The
president said the seminar coincided with the anniversaries of 1971 tragedy of
Pakistan’s disintegration and terrorist attack at Peshawar’s Army Public School
with both the happenings linked with the three factors of love, hate and phobia
as the main driving force behind any ideology.
He
said looking through the prism of bias, the Modi regime was eying for desired
results by creating an exclusive society contrary to Pakistan, which had
supported its poor population with a vision to create an inclusive society.
He
said India, which once was the most prosperous country in British era, now
stood atop for its wealth inequality in the society.
Dr
Alvi said Indian hegemonic aspiration and Hindutva mindset would also have
implications in the region, particularly Pakistan’s defence strategy.
He
said being part of nexus with Israel, India was bringing demographic changes in
the held Kashmir and procuring weapons with a craving to become a super power.
No
nation without including all segments of the society could never succeed, he
stressed.
Referring
to an Indian journalist M. J. Akbar’s book, the president said the Indian
Muslims were the most downtrodden in India.
He
said Indian Muslims were never given proper representation in politics and the
political parties gave tickets to people who had no say in their areas or the
community.
The
president said despite biased policies, Modi did not lose his popularity
because he was playing the card of racial supremacy. It always took time to
subside the mindset of racism and that it would also continue in India as it
took around 15-20 years to get rid of Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s racists
approach.
Calling
India a belligerent state, the president said the neighbouring countries,
including Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka, were unhappy with Indian policies.
He
said even the national institutions like judiciary compromised their neutrality
to support the supremacist ideologies.
The
president said Hindutva was a total capture of India that had created huge
imbalance in the society just for sake of its desire to become a super power.
He
said at every international forum, India always portrayed Pakistan as a
terrorist state. He urged think tanks to play their role to guide and even help
modify the government’s policies.
He
said it required economic strength to become a great nation.
Referring
to Pakistan’s high moral standing by hosting millions of Afghan refugees, the
president said the country was on the course to become a great nation as in
future the world would be looking for the nations with having room for morality
in their policies.
Earlier,
ISSI Director General Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry gave the audience an overview of the
views expressed by several renowned scholars and diplomats during the daylong
seminar.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1596137/india-trying-to-seek-hegemony-in-south-asia-president
--------
ANP
claims terrorists regrouping in KP
17
Dec 2020
PESHAWAR:
Awami National Party has said that terrorists are regrouping in different parts
of the country, urging the government to implement National Action Plan in real
sense to restore lasting peace.
ANP
president Asfandyar Wali Khan in a statement here on Wednesday said that
government failed to enforce all points of NAP and anti-state elements were
regrouping in many areas including Buner, Dir, Swat, Bajaur and Quetta.
He
stressed said that immediate and across the board action should be taken to
eliminate the menace of terrorism once for all. Expressing sympathies with the
families of the martyred of Army Public School, he said that NAP was devised
after the APS tragedy but the wounds of affected families could not be healed
up due to lack of government’ will to hit hard the terrorists.
The
ANP chief said that APS tragedy brought the military and civilian leadership on
the same page to take unified action and restore peace in the country. He said
that government should take stern action against all those people, who were
involved in attacks on educational institutions.
Mr
Khan said that government should put peace on top of its priorities to overcome
lawlessness and pave way for development and progress of the country.
The
ANP chief said that better relations with Afghanistan were must. He linked
peace in Pakistan with restoration of peace in Afghanistan. He said that
negotiations for restoration of peace in Afghanistan were also important for
Pakistan and the entire region.
He
said that all stakeholders should play active role for success of the ‘Afghan
owned and Afghan-led’ dialogue.
Meanwhile,
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz provincial president Amir Muqam also asked
government to take practical steps for protection of people and strengthening
of national economy instead of making tall claims.
In
a statement here on Wednesday, he expressed sympathies with the families of the
APS tragedy victims and said that it was duty of the government to take
effective steps for restoration of peace.
The
PML-N leader said that terrorists shed blood of thousands of people belonging to
different walks of life including law enforcers, elected representatives,
students and journalists and caused irreparable loss to the country.
Mr
Muqam said that government was unable to take effective steps for restoration
of peace and strengthening of economy. He added that government focused its
attention only on victimisation of opposition leaders.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1596179/anp-claims-terrorists-regrouping-in-kp
--------
Setting
up democratic govt PDM's agenda: PML-N
December
17, 2020
LAHORE:Pakistan
Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Punjab Information Secretary Azma Bukhari has said
that the government has not been coming out of the Lahore rally for the last
four days.
She
said the PDM's Lahore meeting was bigger than the PTI’s 2011 meeting due to which
Imran Khan could not sleep for three days. In her statement, she said “PDM is
representing 220 million people of Pakistan and its agenda is only to establish
a democratic government in the country”.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/759679-setting-up-democratic-govt-pdm-s-agenda-pml-n
--------
Arab
World
An
Israeli Torah Scroll In Memory Of Sheikh Zayed
Michal
Michelle Divon
December
16, 2020
The
film ‘Amen-Amen-Amen’ is expected to be released in early 2021.
Few
know about the Torah scroll that was dedicated to the memory of United Arab
Emirates founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and
presented to his son, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown
Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
This
seemingly unlikely event took place in 2018, pre 'Abraham Accords' and pre
'Year of Tolerance' in the UAE, and at the time there was one small
"underground" Jewish community that would meet at a private villa to
pray.
Celebrating
Hanukkah with local media coverage and congratulatory messages at hotel lobbies
as seen this year, is something no one in the Emirates Jewish community
believed would happen so soon. "It took everyone by surprise, it still
feels like a dream" Alex Peterfreund the community Cantor said in a pre
candle-lighting event at Dubai's newest kosher restaurants by Ellie's Kitchen
at Hilton Al Habtoor.
Back
then, with no idea that a normalization agreement would be reached between
Israel and the UAE two years later, the Jewish community, known today as the
Jewish Council of the Emirates (JCE) teamed up with Religion Media Company in
order to document the unique story of the dedicated Torah scroll, calling the
film 'Amen-Amen-Amen'.
From
a workshop in Jerusalem where the scroll was written, to a workshop in
Brooklyn, NY where the Torah's case was finished, to a November 2019 dedication
ceremony at an Abu Dhabi palace, exclusive footage kept under wraps until now,
takes the viewer inside an intimate story that is indicative of the global
transformation shaping the Middle East and Gulf region.
"The
gesture of dedicating a Torah scroll to an Arab ruler is unimaginable,"
says Eli Epstein, a businessman and interfaith activist who first came up with
the idea.
David,
a Jewish craftsman in Jerusalem who fled Baghdad with his parents says he hopes
this Torah scroll will bring Jews and Muslims closer together. "My son
told me that we are making a Torah scroll for Dubai. I told him- prepare the
most beautiful book, the most professional, the most correct. I feel that a
Torah scroll, reaching a Muslim country- it's gives me such a good
feeling"
As
Jews around the world celebrate Hanukkah, with thousands of Israelis visiting
Dubai for the first time this holiday, the film 'Amen-Amen-Amen' sheds light on
the undercurrents leading up to the Abraham Accords, and the close pre-existing
ties between the newest Jewish community on the Arabian Peninsula and the
leadership of the UAE.
The
documentary is expected to be released in early 2021.
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/news/special-an-israeli-torah-scroll-in-memory-of-sheikh-zayed
--------
A
Nine-Year-Old Lebanese Boy’s Chicken Crossed the Road to Israel, Triggering
Panic among Israeli Soldiers
17
December 2020
A
nine-year-old Lebanese boy’s chicken crossed the road to Israel, triggering
panic among Israeli soldiers, who fired a round of warning shots on Tuesday as
the fowl crossed the border between the two states still technically at war.
The
child, Hussein Chartouni, from Meiss Al Jabal village in south of Lebanon, had
just opened the cage behind his family’s house when the chicken jumped out
suddenly and absconded toward the Lebanese-Israeli border.
Chartouni
said he went to the cage with his brother to feed the chickens that they had
bought the day before along with his father, according to a video posted by
Lebanese journalist Ali Shoeib, who documented the incident.
“When
I chased and wanted to grab the chicken and bring it, the frightened Israeli
soldiers opened fire in the air. I didn’t feel scared because I wanted my
chicken. They [Israelis] took the chicken and never gave it back … I want it
back,” Chartouni is heard as saying in Arabic.
The
head of Meiss Al Jabal Municipality Abdul Moniem Choucair told Al Arabiya
English that the incident happened around 8:30 a.m. when the boy opened the
cage to feed the chicken.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
“[The
chicken] reached the fence located nearly 70 meters away from boy’s house. Once
it seemingly touched the fence, the Israeli soldiers were alarmed and shot a
round of bullets in the air mistaking it for an infiltration attempt. This is
an act of aggression and bullying,” said Choucair.
Recently
Israel has been flying more drones and planes than usual over southern Lebanon
and Beirut.
The
UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon [UNIFIL] that was established to safeguard
the fragile truce between Lebanon and Israel, according to Choucair, should do
their job and stop Israelis from constantly terrorizing villagers and famers
especially those working in their own lands and properties.
He
said the chicken hasn’t been returned yet.
Israeli
surveillance in southern Lebanon – and even over the capital Beirut – is fairly
common, but recently there have been more jets flying at a low altitude over
Lebanon’s south.
Security
incidents at the UN-demarcated Blue Line are relatively common between the two
nations. In August, Israel’s armed forces launched air strikes against
Iran-backed Hezbollah observation posts in Lebanon after shots were fired from
the northern border into Israeli territory the day before.
A
similar incident of animal infiltration occurred in May 2019 when a monkey
called Tachtouch ran away from a farm in Al Qawzah village, crossed the border
fence and found its way to northern Israel where it triggered panic among
villagers.
The
monkey Tachtouch was reunited with his owner, a French nun, after 17 days when
Israelis handed over the runaway monkey to UNIFIL officers to return him to his
owner in the southern Naqoura area.
The
runaway chicken incident prompted Twitter users to create a hashtag #بدي_دجاجتي: [I want my chicken] that trended in
Lebanon shortly after the chicken crossed the border.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/features/2020/12/17/Why-did-a-Lebanese-boy-s-chicken-cross-the-Lebanon-Israel-border-
--------
Hezbollah
uses Lebanon’s health budget to disproportionately fund its institutions
16
December 2020
Hezbollah
has used Lebanon’s health budget to disproportionately fund its own medical
institutions, according to a government document issued by the Health Ministry
currently run by pro-Hezbollah minister Hamad Hasan.
The
official document showed the health budget allocations for both public and
private hospitals, which the caretaker Lebanese government signed before its
resignation last August only four days following the Beirut port explosion. It
showed that the ministry raised the budgets of Hezbollah-sponsored medical
institutions.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
In
recent governments, Hezbollah began demanding more ministerial portfolios that
have access to state services and funding such as the Ministry of Health and
Ministry of Industry.
This
disproportionate budget allocation by the Ministry of Health has raised the
concerns of Lebanese citizens on Hezbollah’s use of ministries to fund and
support its own parallel economy.
Earlier
this year, the Ministry of Health was also criticized for trying to replace
medicines produced in Europe with alternatives produced in Iran.
The
document seen by Al Arabiya English showed that al-Rassoul al-Azam Hospital,
which was not affected by the Beirut port explosion and is affiliated with
Hezbollah, received 14.7 billion Lebanese pounds ($9.7 million at the country’s
official pegged rate), an increase of 5.5 billion Lebanese pounds ($3.6
million) compared to the prior year.
The
same budget allocations were not increased for prominent hospitals such as the
American University, Roum, and Hotel Dieu despite their recent challenges
following the impact of the Beirut blast in August and being the major
hospitals to receive and treat the number of dead and injured.
The
total allocation for all three prominent hospitals did not exceed 16.4 billion
pounds ($10.8 million), compared to 14.7 billion Lebanese pounds ($9.7 million)
for one hospital sponsored by Hezbollah, the document showed.
A
source from the health ministry said, "the scandal of distributing
financial ceilings is not limited to al-Rassoul al-Azam Hospital, which is
classified as a first category.”
“Rather,
it includes raising the budget allocations of Hezbollah hospitals,
institutions, and clinics run by its health authority, including newly
established institutions, with an overall increase of 14 billion Lebanese
pounds ($9.2 million),” the source added, wishing not to be named.
Al
Arabiya English reached out to Dr. Hadi Mourad, who said that the budget's
massive addition only targeted Hezbollah medical institutions across the
country.
"Moreover,
the ministry added 15 new medical institutions that were not previously funded
by the ministry for the first time. Those additions did not target Shia
predominantly areas, for example, Baalbek public hospital received minimal aid,
despite its importance in the region. Similarly, other institutions sponsored
by the Amal movement did not receive any bonuses from the ministry. These
bonuses clearly targeted only Hezbollah sponsored institutions," Mourad
said.
"Karantina
hospital, which was destroyed completely by the Beirut Port explosion, received
only 75 million Lebanese Liras," he added.
Mourad
said that the prior health minister, Ghassan Hasbani, established a precise
formula for those bonuses based on the number of beds in each hospital and its
significance in the country's medical sector. The government at the time
rejected Hasbani’s formula “because they wanted to keep going with the corrupt
sectarian quota divisions to which the political class is used to,” according
to Mourad.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/16/Decree-shows-Hezbollah-use-of-Lebanon-s-health-budget-to-fund-its-institutions
--------
UAE’s
Mohamed bin Zayed meets Egyptian President al-Sisi in Cairo
Emily
Judd
16
December 2020
Abu
Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met Egyptian President
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo on Wednesday and discussed peace and stability in
the Middle East.
The
Crown Prince, who is also the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces,
said the two leaders discussed ways to strengthen bilateral ties between the
UAE and Egypt and the development of areas of cooperation.
“We
also considered issues of peace and stability in the region,” the Crown Prince
said in a tweet.
The
Crown Prince recently spearheaded the UAE’s normalization of relations with
Egypt’s neighbor Israel, which was made official in September in a ceremony at
the White House.
The
UAE became the third Arab country to make peace with Israel, following Egypt
and Jordan.
The
visit on Wednesday marked the second high-level meeting this month for both
al-Sisi, who met with French President Emmanuel Macron in France on December 7,
and the Crown Prince, who met with Prince Charles in England on December 10.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/16/UAE-s-Mohamed-bin-Zayed-meets-Egyptian-President-al-Sisi-in-Cairo
--------
Two
Lebanese ex-ministers snub judge after being charged over Beirut explosion
16
December 2020
Two
former Lebanese ministers charged with negligence over a huge explosion at Beirut
port in August that killed 200 people indicated on Wednesday they would not
appear for questioning before the judge handling the case.
Judge
Fadi Sawan charged three former ministers and the caretaker prime minister last
week, sparking a fierce debate about whether the judge had the authority to
charge the politicians in a nation still seeking answers about the blast.
The
explosion added further strains to a country struggling with its worst crisis
since the 1975-1990 civil war.
Some
leading parties rebuked the judge for his action, including Iran-backed
Lebanese Hezbollah and the Sunni group led by former Prime Minister Saad
al-Hariri.
Ali
Hassan Khalil, a former finance minister, and Ghazi Zeaiter, a former public
works minister, who were both charged, said they had not been officially
informed of Wednesday's session, which protocol demanded.
Both
are lawmakers from Amal, the Shia party led by powerful Parliament Speaker
Nabih Berri who is allied to Hezbollah.
Sawan
could not immediately be reached for comment.
Hassan
Diab, the caretaker prime minister whose cabinet resigned after the explosion,
declined to be questioned on Monday. An official source said the judge set a
new appointment for Friday but had yet to receive a response. Diab says his conscience
is clear over the matter.
Families
of blast victims are increasingly frustrated that details have not emerged from
an investigation since the Aug. 4 explosion caused by a huge stockpile of
ammonium nitrate, which was stored in unsafe conditions.
The
blast, one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions in history, injured thousands
of people and devastated several districts in the centre of the capital.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/16/Two-ex-ministers-snub-judge-after-being-charged-over-Beirut-blast
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ISIS
steps up Sinai fight with bombs in civilian homes in Egypt
DEC
16, 2020
CAIRO
(AFP) - Residents of Egypt's restive North Sinai region ran for their lives
when an Islamic State group affiliate occupied their villages. Now, they are
returning to find their homes booby-trapped.
"I
lost my sister-in-law and her nine-month-old baby when an explosive device
planted in their home went off," said a young resident of Aqtiya village,
who asked not to be named for fear of repercussions.
Around
15 people have been killed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) since
mid-October in villages around Bir al-Abd, in the northwest of the troubled
province, say Egyptian security sources.
The
IED attacks that have multiplied in the vast, remote and sparsely populated
region which authorities have declared off-limits to journalists recall those
the ISIS launched to sow terror in Iraq and Syria.
The
recent deaths have badly shaken the 1,000 or so residents who returned in
October after seeking refuge elsewhere in Egypt for three months as the army
continued its grinding battle to crush ISIS.
Another
resident, speaking to AFP by phone, said locals found ISIS had taken over their
homes, used them as hideouts and then booby-trapped them.
"They
even stole our livestock," he added.
Egyptian
security forces have been battling a long-running Islamist insurgency in the
Sinai Peninsula, spearheaded by a local ISIS affiliate.
The
fighting intensified after the military's 2013 ouster of Islamist president
Mohamed Morsi. In February 2018, security forces launched a nationwide
operation against militants, focused on the sparsely populated North Sinai.
The
Egyptian army said Tuesday that since September it had killed 40 suspected
jihadist militants in air and ground operations in the Sinai region, and that
seven of its own personnel had been either wounded or killed.
In
a slickly produced video set to rousing military music, the army showed panning
shots of its troops, tanks and air strikes, along with blurred, bloody pictures
of what it said were dead militants.
Reflecting
the militants' significant fire power, the army said it had also destroyed 437
weapons caches, defused 159 improvised explosive devices, and confiscated
dozens of other types of weapons.
Rigging
children's toys
The
coastal town of Bir al-Abd lies on the edge of the barren desert.
In
2017, it saw modern Egypt's deadliest attack, when 300 worshippers were killed
in a gun and bomb assault at the Rawda mosque during Friday prayers.
The
attack was carried out by armed men carrying flags similar to those of ISIS,
although the jihadist group never formally claimed the attack.
In
recent months, attacks have spiked.
The
US State Department estimates that ISIS conducted 137 IED attacks last year,
centred on north and central Sinai, along with "near-weekly complex
assaults on government-fortified positions".
"The
booby traps in north Sinai directly follow the precedent set by ISIS operations
in Iraq and Syria," said Nadia al-Dayel, a Washington-based ISIS expert
and head of Critica, a think tank.
She
said the militants have honed their techniques, investing "considerable
time and resources rigging doors, household furniture, appliances, and even
children's toys".
Such
tactics mirror those found in Syria and northern Iraq where, three years ago,
retreating and encircled ISIS militants would rig explosives to fridges, toys
and even copies of the Koran.
Civilians
in northern Iraq told AFP last year that they were still afraid of returning to
their homes because of the bombs planted in unsuspecting places.
"It
is likely that the tactic of targeting civilian life will not only continue but
will be taken up by other violent groups," warned Dayel, regarding ISIS in
Sinai.
'Not
going away'
Human
Rights Watch last year accused both Egyptian security forces and insurgents of
committing "war crimes" in North Sinai, a report rejected by Egyptian
authorities.
Some
970 suspected militants and dozens of security personnel have been killed in
North Sinai since February 2018, according to official figures.
No
independently verified death toll is available and the region is largely cut
off to journalists.
Residents
told AFP the main threat remained ISIS and its indiscriminate attacks.
Neither
Egypt's military spokesperson nor North Sinai's governor responded to requests
for comments on IEDs killing residents.
But
the civilian death toll has continued to rise, with locals caught between the
army operations and a hardening insurgency.
One
resident, who also declined to be identified, told AFP that the governor's
office had provided schools as shelters for those displaced after ISIS razed
five villages around Bir al-Abd.
That
offensive followed a deadly counter-terrorism operation in July.
Dayel
said that even though the militant group had been largely crushed in Iraq and
Syria, North Sinai provided a fertile ground for its expansion.
"Even
with limited resources, ISIS has proven to be a constant threat in Sinai,"
she said. "They are not going away anytime soon."
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/isis-steps-up-sinai-fight-with-bombs-in-civilian-homes-in-egypt?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1824450_
--------
South
Asia
Taliban
kill 13 Afghan policemen in checkpoint attacks
16
December 2020
At
least 13 Afghan policemen have been killed when Taliban militants attacked two
checkpoints overnight in the north of the country, officials say.
The
militants stormed and briefly held the checkpoints on the outskirts of Pule
Khumri, capital of northern Baghlan province, officials said Wednesday.
The
dead, and five wounded, had been taken to the provincial hospital, said
Ainuddin Sayad, the director of the facility.
Provincial
police spokesman Ahmad Jawed Basharat confirmed the attack.
The
Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a wave of violence
to rock the country in recent weeks.
In
a separate incident Wednesday, five security personnel and 17 Taliban militants
were killed when government forces countered an offensive in southern Uruzgan
province, another official said.
Violence
has surged across several provinces of Afghanistan even as the Taliban and
Afghan government engage in peace talks to end the war.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/16/640868/Taliban-kill-Afghan-policemen-checkpoint-attacks
--------
ANA
Rebuffs Taliban Attack in Kandahar
By
Mohammad Haroon Alim
17
Dec 2020
The
Ministry of Defense (MoD) said on Thursday that the Taliban attack in the
Zherai district of Kandahar province had been repulsed.
Taliban
fighters attacked security and defense forces in the Pashmul area of Jiri
district of Kandahar province yesterday, the statement said.
Security
and defense forces are said to have repulsed a Taliban attack in which 12
Taliban fighters were killed and eight others were wounded.
The
Taliban have not yet commented.
Earlier
this morning, President Ghani has led a high-level delegation to Kandahar to
assess the security situation in teh province.
“The
president’s visit to Kandahar is one day and the purpose of his visit is to
assess the security situation in Kandahar,” presidential spokesman Dawa Khan
Minapal told media.
President
Ghani traveled to the western part of the province where the Taliban insurgency
has increased.
20
kilometers from Kandahar capital, Arghandab district, wherein the Taliban are
present and most of the time attacks Afghan national security outposts.
https://www.khaama.com/ana-operation-in-kandahar-claim-12-taliban-fighters-8766566/
--------
Ghani
Discusses Security Tensions with Gen. Milley
By
Mohammad Arif Sheva
17
Dec 2020
KABUL,
Afghanistan – President Ashraf Ghani at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday
met with General Mark Milley, the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
discussing current security tensions and the ongoing peace process.
First
Vice President Amrullah Saleh, National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib, Chief
of Army Staff Mohammad Yasin Zia, AOP Director General Dr. Fazly, Chargé
d’affaires of the US Embassy in Kabul, General Commander of the Resolute
Support Mission Gen. Scott Miller were present at the meeting.
“Both
sides expressed their concerns over the escalation of violence in Afghanistan
and discussed the Afghan peace process and the immediate need for a ceasefire
in the country,” said the Palace in a tweet.
Meanwhile,
Gen. Milley assured United States will continue to support the Afghan National
Defense and Security Forces.
Later
that night, President Ghani spoke with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan
“about the Afghan peace process and expressed their concerns over the
escalation of violence in Afghanistan,” the Palace added.
While
violence in the country has increased more recently, Khan vowed his country
will “help Afghanistan to bring down the level of violence leading to a
ceasefire.”
https://www.khaama.com/ghani-discusses-security-tensions-with-gen-milley-45345/
--------
Turkey
Bids to Extend Military Presence in Afghanistan
By
Mohammad Arif Sheva
17
Dec 2020
KABUL,
Afghanistan – Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday submitted a
motion to parliament to extend the deployment of Turkish troops in Afghanistan
for 18 months as part of NATO’s support mission, according to sources.
Turkey
has about 1,200 soldiers in Afghanistan under the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) support mission.
“Turkey,
which has deep friendship and brotherhood ties with Afghanistan, has always
backed the unity, integrity and independence of Afghanistan,” the statement
read.
The
motion will be debated in parliament after December 18, as local media Anadolu
Agency reported.
A
legislation was put into effect on January 6, 2019, allowing the Turkish
government to send troops to Afghanistan to support the NATO-led mission
Resolute Support.
Turkey
Provides $13M Worth Funds for Afghan Forces
This
came days after the Afghan and Turkey government signed Military-Financial
Cooperation Agreement and the International Protocol of Financial Assistance in
Ankara, providing a five-year financial aid to Afghan forces.
The
financial aid that sums up around $13 million, will furnish Afghan National
Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) with military equipment for at least five
upcoming years, according to the statement posted by the Afghanistan Embassy in
Turkey.
https://www.khaama.com/turkey-bids-to-extend-military-presence-in-afghanistan-345/
--------
Southeast
Asia
Perak
Islamic religious council introduces zakat payment using Shopee
16
Dec 2020
IPOH,
Dec 16 ― The Perak Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIPk) has
introduced zakat (tithe) payment using the Shopee e-commerce platform starting
Friday to facilitate Muslm consumers.
Chief
executive officer Shahrul Azam Shaari said the selection of the e-commerce
platform was to keep in step with the changing times as more consumers were
opting for online transactions and purchases that were easier and faster.
He
said Muslim consumers could pay zakat by selecting “Deals, Top-ups & Bills”
in the Shopee application and follow the simple steps provided.
“Muslim
consumers can make zakat payments via Shopee whether by using ShopeePay mobile
wallet, debit card, online banking. Apart from that, payment in cash can also
be made at the 7-Eleven counter,” he said in a statement here today.
The
collaboration with Shoppee will provide convenience to Muslim consumers in
paying zakat, especially in Perak, he said, adding that the zakat collection
will be distributed for the benefit of the asnaf group (deserving recipients).
He
said to boost the zakat collection, a zakat campaign would be conducted on
Shopee from December 22 to 31 with the offer of 200 Shopee coins to the first
1,000 selected payers every day. ― Bernama
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/12/16/perak-islamic-religious-council-introduces-zakat-payment-using-shopee/1932361
--------
Mass
Covid-19 Vaccination Necessary To Curb Spread Of Virus, Say Malaysian Religious
Leaders
17
Dec 2020
KUALA
LUMPUR, Dec 17 — Vaccination is important as a preventative measure which is
demanded by all religions to prevent the spread of diseases or epidemics, such
as Covid-19 because of its effect on the human population, said religious
leaders.
They
are of the opinion that taking the vaccine is a trait that is demanded and
categorised as a good practice for a person’s own health, the surrounding
people, the community and the country as a whole.
Federal
Territories mufti Dr Luqman Abdullah said the Covid-19 is a pandemic that could
risk the lives of other Muslims and therefore, precautionary measures should be
taken to prevent it from spreading and endangering others.
“As
we know, there is no specific law that (Covid-19) vaccination (when available
in the market) is mandatory. So we have to move within the legal framework. The
vaccination is harus (in Islam), but it should be encouraged on the advice of
the Ministry of Health that it is necessary to curb the spread of the Covid-19
pandemic.
“If
the vaccination is not given priority, there will be the possibility of the
presence of other diseases that are feared will bring similar problems like
Covid-19. So, when the vaccine is available, it will prevent that situation,”
he told Bernama.
The
government is still waiting for the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong
Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and the Conference of
Rulers for the fatwa (edict) on the use of the Covid-19 vaccine among Muslims
in the country.
Minister
in the Prime Minister’s Department, Senator Datuk Seri Dr Zulkifli Mohamad
Al-Bakri said, the decision of the Special Muzakarah Committee Meeting on the
matter had been presented to the Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal last week.
Prime
Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was reported to have said that the Covid-19
vaccine would be given free to Malaysians, while foreigners would be charged a
certain fee to be determined by the Health Ministry.
The
Prime Minister also said the government had no plan to make the vaccination
compulsory and the vaccine will be administered only to those who agree to take
it voluntarily, especially those who are at risk and prone to diseases.
Meanwhile,
Luqman, who is a former lecturer in the Department of Fiqh and Usul, Academy of
Islamic Studies, Universiti Malaya (UM), said there is a need to ascertain the
vaccine is sourced from halal ingredients and is certified by the Health
Ministry, as well as the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti)
to avoid a prolong polemics.
“As
such, it is important that Muslim scientists around the world mobilise their
efforts to come up with a vaccine that
is 100 per cent from halal ingredients or sources, as well as to ensure that it
has no side effects or negative effects,”
he added.
He
said administration of vaccines from non-halal sources for Muslims is allowed,
but depending on the situation and circumstances as long as it does not deviate
from Islamic law.
Meanwhile,
Malaysian Hindu Sangam (MHS) president Datuk RS Mohan Shan said the vaccination
should be given to all for the well-being of the people, regardless of
religion, race and country.
“It
is an important for health. A good person is one who does not bother give
problems to others and is not selfish.
“Do
not die in vain because of Covid-19. We need to prioritise health and
vaccination is the best preventive measure,” he added.
Meanwhile,
president of then Buddhist Missionary
Society Malaysia (BMSM) Sister Loh Pai Ling said the practice of doing good, as taught by Buddha, also includes taking the
vaccination because of its good to the individual concern and society.
She
said Covid-19 vaccine could make the world a safe, healthy and stable place to
stay.
“We
need to have pure and good intentions to make the country or world a safe place
with a community that is healthy and free of Covid-19.
“However,
those who refuse to take the vaccination, must follow the stipulated standard
operating procedures (SOP), she said.
Meanwhile,
Malaysian Gurdwara Council president Sardar Jagir Singh said the Sikh religion
does not ban vaccination as a measure against the Covid-19 threat.
“It
is also important for the community to take vaccine for personal safety and
also for the good and safety of the community. If we do not want to take the
vaccination, we will be threatening ourselves, as well as the safety of our
family and the community we live in,” he added. — Bernama
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/12/17/mass-covid-19-vaccination-necessary-to-curb-spread-of-virus-say-religious-l/1932681
--------
Indonesian
militant linked to 2002 Bali bombings flown to Jakarta for questioning
16
December 2020
Indonesian
authorities on Wednesday transferred 23 militants to the capital Jakarta for
questioning, including one of the suspected bomb makers behind the 2002 attacks
on the resort island of Bali.
Zulkarnaen,
thought to be one of the seniormost members of Al Qaeda-linked militant group
Jemaah Islamiah, was arrested on Sumatra island last week along with 22 others
in a series of raids.
After
the group’s charter plane had landed at Jakarta airport, Zulkarnaen, who was
wearing an orange shirt with a sarong, was escorted by anti-terrorism police
from the plane.
At
a news conference at the airport, national police spokesman Aswin Siregar
desribed Zulkarnaen as “a very, very dangerous person” for Indonesia and the
world.
Zulkarnean
is believed to have been involved in making the bombs that were used in the
Bali bombings that killed 202 people and the 2003 bombing of the J.W. Marriott
hotel in Jakarta that killed 12 people.
Indonesia
has been dealing with militant attacks for the past two decades from groups
such as Jemaah Islamiah, some of whose members trained in Afghanistan, Pakistan
and the southern Philippines.
In
the wake of the Bali attacks and with backing from Australia and the US,
Indonesia set up an elite anti-terrorist unit that helped weaken Jemaah
Islamiah and resulted in scores of suspected militants being arrested or
killed.
But
the ability of Zulkarnean to stay hidden for so long raises questions about
whether the group has managed to remain a force and potentially regenerate.
Police
spokesman Aswin told reporters authorities aimed to track all the networks that
helped him evade capture.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/12/16/Indonesian-militant-linked-to-2002-Bali-bombings-flown-to-Jakarta-for-questioning
--------
India
'Muslim
Voters Not Your Jagir', Asaduddin Owaisi Tells Mamata Banerjee
16
December 2020
A
day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the BJP for trying
to import Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM in Bengal to sharpen the communal
polarisation and divide the Hindu-Muslim votes among themselves, the AIMIM
chief hit back saying "Never was a man born who can buy Asaduddin Owaisi
with money."
The
Lok Sabha MP also said that Muslim voters are not Ms Banerjee's
"jagir" or property.
The
All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) after its good show in the
Bihar assembly polls has announced to contest in next year's Bengal polls.
In
the recently concluded Bihar elections, the AIMIM won five seats in the Muslims
dominated Seemanchal region on the border of West Bengal.
"To
divide the Muslim votes, the BJP is spending crores of rupees to bring in a
party from Hyderabad. The plan is that BJP will eat into Hindu votes, and this
Hyderabad party will eat into Muslim votes.
"In
recent Bihar elections, they did the same thing. This party is a B-team of the
BJP," Banerjee said while addressing a rally here.
The
political parties in West Bengal are apprehensive that political equations in
the communally polarised state are set to witness significant changes as the
sway of non-BJP parties over minorities, a key factor in several seats, appears
to be set for a stiff challenge with AIMIM announcing that it will enter the
poll fray in Bengal.
A
deciding factor in nearly 100-110 seats in the state, the 30 per cent Muslim
population, till 2019, have acted as a bulwark of the TMC against its rivals,
with most of them voting in favour of the party, considering it to be
"credible" force that can resist the saffron surge.
A
section of the TMC leadership is apprehensive that with the entry of AIMIM,
equations are likely to alter.
Elections
to the 294-member West Bengal assembly are due in April-May next year.
https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-muslim-voters-not-your-jagir-asaduddin-owaisi-tells-mamata-banerjee/367432
--------
Modi
to be first PM to attend an Aligarh Muslim University event since 1964
Dec
17, 2020
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi will be the chief guest at the centenary celebration of
Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on December 22 via video link, Omar Saleem
Peerzada, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of AMU, said on Wednesday.
PM
Modi will be accompanied by Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.
This
is the first time PM Modi will participate in a programme of the Aligarh Muslim
University. The event will be held online due to the coronavirus restrictions
in place.
Moreover,
the last time a sitting prime minister visited the varsity to attend an event
was in 1964, when the then PM Lal Bahadur Shastri delivered the convocation
address there.
"The
vice-chancellor is very grateful to the Prime Minister and education minister
for taking out time from their busy schedules to attend the celebration. This
is an important day for the university," Peerzada added.
Times
of India quoted a senior AMU official saying the PM Modi’s presence would
"send a strong message to BJP functionaries who keep attacking the
institution."
Last
year, protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act led to a backlash against
the government and the varsity's scholars have been vocal against cases of
violence against women in UP and in favour of the ongoing farmers’ protest in
Delhi.
Set
up as Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the
institution was later renamed as Aligarh Muslim University in 1920. It was
formally inaugurated as a university on December 17 that year.
https://www.dnaindia.com/india/news-modi-to-be-first-pm-to-attend-an-aligarh-muslim-university-event-since-1964-2862497
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Ayodhya
Masjid blueprint to be revealed on Saturday
17.12.20
The
foundation of the mosque at Ayodhya to replace the Babri Masjid will be laid on
Republic Day on the five-acre land allotted, while its blueprint will be
revealed on Saturday, members of the Trust formed for its construction said.
“The
Trust chose January 26, 2021 for laying the foundation stone of the Ayodhya
mosque as on this day our Constitution came into effect over seven decades ago.
Our Constitution is based on pluralism, which is the leitmotif of our mosque
project,” Athar Hussain, secretary of the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation
(IICF), said.
The
Sunni Waqf Board created the IICF six months ago and tasked it with building
the mosque.
As
finalised by chief architect Professor SM Akhtar, the blueprint of the mosque
will be revealed on December 19. It includes a multi-speciality hospital, a
community kitchen and a library as parts.
“The
mosque will have a capacity to hold 2,000 namazis at a time, and the structure
will be round-shaped,” Akhtar told PTI.
The
Supreme Court on November 9 last year had paved the way for the construction of
a Ram Temple at the disputed Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid site at Ayodhya, and
directed the Centre to allot an alternative five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf
Board for building a new mosque at a ‘prominent’ place in the town in Uttar
Pradesh.
The
UP government allotted a five-acre land in Dhannipur village in Sohaval Tehsil
of Ayodhya.
“The
new mosque will be bigger than Babri Masjid, but won't be a lookalike of the
structure. The hospital will take centre stage in the complex. It will serve
humanity in the true spirit of Islam as taught by the Prophet in his last
sermon 1,400 years ago,” Akhtar said.
“The
hospital won't be a usual concrete structure but will be in sync with the
architecture of the mosque, replete with calligraphy and Islamic symbols. It
will house a 300-bed speciality unit, where doctors will work with missionary
zeal to provide free treatment to the ailing,” he said, adding, “The mosque
will be self efficient for power as it is designed based on solar energy and a
natural temperature maintenance system.”
“When
we talk about the hospital project at Dhannipur, one thing is sure that it will
be a multi speciality hospital,” Hussain said. “The community kitchen will
serve good quality meals twice a day to cater to the needs of nourishment of
the poor people living nearby,” he added.
“We
can establish a nursing and paramedic college to provide human resources to the
hospital. We can manage doctors from local resources from Faizabad, and for
specialised needs in terms of critical surgeries, we have a group of doctor
friends in prominent government and private institutions who want to offer
their services,” he said.
“We
are looking forward to corporate funding for the hospital. There are many
donors who are willing to contribute when we have 80 G approval. After that, we
will go for FCRA and seek foreign funds from Muslims of Indian origin,” the
IICF secretary added.
https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/ayodhya-masjid-blueprint-to-be-revealed-on-saturday/cid/1800828
--------
Bijnor
Man Sent To Jail for ‘Love Jihad’, 8th Case In UP Under Anti-Conversion Law
Dec
17, 2020
Bijnor:
Police in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor on Wednesday registered the state’s eighth
case under the new anti-conversion law when it booked and sent to jail a
21-year-old man under its provisions, three days after he allegedly eloped with
a minor girl of his village and tried to “convert” her to Islam.
Shaqib
alias Sonu, a resident of Bijnor’s Dhampur area, was also booked under section
366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage, etc) of
Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under provisions of Posco and SC/ST Acts.
The
accused had eloped with the girl on Saturday and the couple was “recovered” on
Tuesday, police said, adding that the girl was a minor, 16 years old, and a
student of Class XI.
The
case was filed on the basis of a complaint filed by the girl’s father, who
alleged that the youth had “lured” his minor daughter.
“My
minor daughter studies in a school in Dhampur. The accused, Shaqib, used to
follow her after school hours. He lured her by saying that his name was Sonu,
and he was a Hindu. He took her away on Saturday after which I filed a
complaint,” the father said.
Station
house officer (SHO) of Dhampur, Arun Kumar Tyagi, said, “We have recovered the
girl. The accused was sent to jail on Wednesday. Medical examination of the
girl also is being conducted. The girl said that Shaqib had lured her.” This is
the second case under the new anti-conversion law in Bijnor and eighth in the
state.
On
December 12, a 21 years old man was arrested in the district for allegedly
trying to marry a 19-year-old girl without “disclosing his religion”.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/meerut/bijnor-man-sent-to-jail-for-love-jihad-8th-case-in-up-under-anti-conversion-law/articleshow/79765906.cms
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Girl
abducted by youth for marriage in Jajpur, father cries ‘Love Jihad’
17th
December 2020
JAJPUR:
The father of a 21-year-old girl of Dharmasala has lodged a complaint against a
youth for kidnapping his daughter alleging it to be a case of ‘Love Jihad’.In
his complaint to the Jajpur SP on Wednesday, the girl’s father alleged that a
Muslim youth named Shaik Abdul Sehmat Khan alias Bobby of Choramuhan has
kidnapped his daughter to marry her after changing her religion.
He
said his daughter cleared graduation this year and had gone to Vyasa Nagar
Autonomous college at Jajpur Road to collect her migration certificate on
December 5. When she did not return home in the evening, family members
enquired about the whereabouts of the girl. Efforts to contact her proved
futile as her mobile phone was switched off. The family launched a frantic
search to trace her but to no avail.
“After
I failed to trace my daughter, my suspicion fell on Bobby who had earlier made
several attempts to kidnap and marry her by changing her religion. Claiming
that he was in love with my daughter, the accused had even threatened to kidnap
her. It is a clear case of Love Jihad by the Muslim youth,” he alleged in his
complaint.
The
father also alleged that he first went to Dharmasala police station to file an
FIR but the officials refused to register his complaint. He was forced to file
a complaint with Jajpur SP. Contacted, Jajpur SDPO Chinmaya Kumar Nayak said,
“We have received the complaint and are investigating into it.”
https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2020/dec/17/girl-abducted-by-youth-for-marriagein-jajpur-father-cries-love-jihad-2237436.html
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Bangladesh
pillar of 'Neighbourhood First' policy, deepening relations between us top
priority: PM Modi
Dec
17, 2020
NEW
DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that ever since taking
office, it has been his priority to strengthen and deepen the relationship
between India and Bangladesh and pointed out that the nation is a significant
pillar of our 'Neighbourhood First' policy.
"Bangladesh
is a significant pillar of our 'Neighbourhood First' policy. To strengthen and
deepen our relations with Bangladesh has been a priority for me since the first
day. It is true that because of the pandemic, this year has been challenging
but in these challenging times, the relations between the two countries, have
seen immense cooperation," PM Modi said at a virtual summit with Prime
Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina.
The
summit is being held a day after Vijay Diwas, marking India's victory over
Pakistan in the 1971 war that led to the creation of Bangladesh.
"It
is an honour for us to celebrate Bangladesh's victory against the
anti-liberation forces with you. When Bangladesh is celebrating 50 years of
Independence, I would want to pay tribute to the martyrs of both nations, who
sacrificed their lives," PM Modi added.
Prime
Minister Modi also thanked the Bangladeshi Prime Minister for inviting him for
a visit to the nation next year where he said that "it would be an
honour" to pay tribute "to the martyrs".
India
and Bangladesh have continued to maintain regular exchanges at the highest
level with Bangladesh Prime Minister paying an official visit to India in
October 2019.
Prime
Minister Modi had delivered a video message on the historic occasion of Mujib
Borsho in March 2020. Both leaders have remained in regular touch during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Bangladesh
is commemorating the year 2020 as Mujib Borsho - the birth centenary of the
father of the nation of Bangladesh - Sheikh Mujibur Rahman popularly known as
Bangabandhu.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bangladesh-pillar-of-neighbourhood-first-policy-deepening-relations-between-us-top-priority-pm-modi/articleshow/79773968.cms
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Two
armed Pak intruders shot dead at international border
Dec
17, 2020
AMRITSAR:
Border Security Force (BSF) shot dead two Pakistani armed intruders who were
trying to enter India by taking advantage of the thick layer of fog in the wee
hours of Thursday.
According
to sources, a patrolling party of BSF observed some suspicious movement in the
area of jurisdiction of Border outpost Rajatal in Amritsar sector.
The
BSF troops challenged the intruders who ignored the warning and continues to
move towards the international border fence and instead opened fire on BSF
jawans.
In
a retaliatory action BSF shot dead two Pakistani intruders who were carrying
AK-47 rifles.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/two-armed-pak-intruders-shot-dead-at-international-border/articleshow/79770583.cms
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Congress
mulls committee for golden jubilee celebrations of 1971 win over Pakistan
Dec
17, 2020
NEW
DELHI: To stress the importance of the 1971 war for the liberation of
Bangladesh and the leadership of Indira Gandhi during it, the Congress may form
a committee for year-long celebrations of the golden jubilee of the victory
over Pakistan.
Sources
said Congress would observe the 50th anniversary of the war across the country
through a variety of programmes culminating in December 2021.
The
war between India and Pakistan concluded with the fall of Dhaka and surrender
of Pakistan Army chief General Niazi with 93,000 of his troops on December 16,
1971. It marked the birth of Bangladesh as a nation and its liberation from
Pakistani rule.
Senior
Congress leaders, including those from the defence background, are being
drafted in the panel to draw up the anniversary plan, sources said. The panel
may be headed by senior leader Meira Kumar, daughter of Jagjivan Ram, who was
the defence minister in 1971.
Congress
is looking to project the 1971 war as an achievement of its government and the
leadership, eager to contrast it with what it calls is a crisis on the national
security front under the Modi government.
On
Vijay divas on Wednesday, Congress lauded the leadership of late Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi while also using the anniversary of Pakistan’s surrender in
Bangladesh to take aim at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the continued
standoff with the Chinese forces that have intruded into India in Ladakh.
Rahul
Gandhi tweeted, “In celebration of India's historic victory over Pakistan in
'71, I greet the countrymen and salute the valor of the army. It is about a
time when India’s neighbours respected the Prime Minister of India and were
afraid of violating our national borders.”
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/congress-mulls-committee-for-golden-jubilee-celebrations-of-1971-win-over-pakistan/articleshow/79767402.cms
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Nearly
half of China’s investments in India’s neighbourhood went to Pakistan
Rezaul
H Laskar
Dec
16, 2020
India
provided support for a slew of connectivity and cross-border development
projects and extended currency swaps and financial support in the region
spanning from Bangladesh to the Maldives, even as China invested more than $4
billion in the neighbourhood this year. China’s investments and contracts remain
cloaked in opacity, with virtually no official figures available, though
reliable estimates showed $1.93 billion, or almost half of its investments and
construction contracts in India’s neighbourhood, had gone to its traditional
ally Pakistan.
India’s
support for connectivity and development projects in the neighbourhood picked
up pace soon after the border standoff with China emerged in the open in May,
and New Delhi has pumped in hundreds of millions of dollars for key schemes and
to extend financial support to the governments of countries such as Sri Lanka
and the Maldives that were impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The
Indian side provided currency swap facilities of $400 million each to Sri Lanka
and the Maldives to bolster economic revival. India also provided a soft loan
of $250 million to the Maldives as budgetary support.
Another
$500 million, including a grant of $100 million, was provided for the Greater
Male Connectivity Project, which is set to be largest infrastructure project in
the Maldives with 6.7 kilometre-long bridge and causeway links between the
national capital and three islands.
New
Delhi also handed over 10 broad gauge locomotives to Dhaka, launched the first
cross-border container train service and began shipping goods from Kolkata to
Tripura in the northeast via Bangladesh’s Chattogram port.
Also
read: India slips a spot in UN’s human development index, ranks at 131 now
Some
eight railway projects are being implemented for Bangladesh under lines of
credit, including the $78-million Kulaura-Shahbazpur rail line and the $389
million Khulna-Mongla rail line that are expected to be completed in 2021.
During their virtual summit on December 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina are set to launch the revived
Chilahati-Haldibari railway link, which was snapped during the 1965 war with
Pakistan.
Last
month, work was launched on the third integrated check post on the Nepal
border, which is being built at Nepalgunj at a cost of almost $20 million to streamline
and boost cross-border trade. In August, India provided $5 million under a
border area development programme to Myanmar, where the country’s total
development cooperation is worth almost $1.4 billion.
According
to figures collated by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), which closely
tracks China’s investments and construction projects around the world, Chinese
investments in India’s neighbourhood this year included $1.93 billion in
Pakistan, $1.25 billion in Bangladesh, $450 million in Sri Lanka and $280
million in Myanmar.
The
investments in Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka were all under China’s Belt
and Road Initiative (BRI), according to AEI.
Amit
Bhandari, a fellow at Gateway House who tracks China’s economic activities in
the region, said the figures could be significantly higher, given the lack of
transparency regarding such investments, especially by Chinese state-run firms.
“Recent
estimates showed 60 per cent of the FDI in Pakistan, more than 40 per cent in
Myanmar and more than 30 per cent in Sri Lanka came from China, which has a
bigger cheque book to throw around. Such large investments in what aren’t
vibrant economies are aimed at generating geo-political influence but also lead
to badly designed projects that make problems worse. For instance, rates for
power generated by China-backed projects in Pakistan are 20 per cent to 50 per
cent more than in India,” he said.
India,
Bhandari said, had improved its performance but is yet to match China in
implementing big-ticket projects. Experts also have concerns about the pace of
work on India-backed projects despite the external affairs ministry
streamlining its development partnership administration by creating sections
that focus on specific projects and regions.
For
instance, though the 130-kilometre-long India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline
was launched in September 2018, the ground-breaking for the construction of the
pipeline to supply fuel from Numaligarh Refinery in Assam to Dinajpur in
Bangladesh was done only on December 4 this year.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/nearly-half-of-china-s-investments-in-india-s-neighbourhood-went-to-pakistan/story-QKTlADkHpFo90D7rQeIyxK.html
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Mideast
Spokesman:
3 Years of Trump’s Sanctions Backfired to Strengthen Iran’s Economy
2020-December-16
“3
years of management and protection of economy from collapse has shaped a type
of economy of resistance in Iran whose result was nullification of sanctions
with or without Trump,” Rabiyee told reporters in a press conference in Tehran on
Wednesday.
He
referred to the difficulties that the Iranian government and people tolerated
in the past 3 years, and said certainly next year Iran will not see an economic
growth less than 4%.
In
relevant remarks on Tuesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the
US-orchestrated sanctions that had aimed at collapsing Iran's economy in a
short period have now failed, adding that the Iranian nation has won the
economic war imposed by Washington.
“Although
the economic war has caused a lot of difficulties, but, finally the Iranian
nation won the US war and has become more resilient than before,” Rouhani said.
“Our
nation's resistance against the US economic war and the sanctions revealed
great realities to the world and to all ill-wishers of Iran,” he added.
Also,
on December 1, President Rouhani said enemies are infuriated with the calmness
and improvement of Iran's economy and intend to send negative waves to
undermine Iran.
“The
enemies are angry that they have failed to destabilize Iran’s economy,” Rouhani
said, adding that the government has made every effort to prevent psychological
insecurity and instability in the economic environment.
He
stressed that the enemies have failed to make Iran's economy collapse via
maximum-pressure.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13990926000567/Spkesman-3-Years-f-Trmp%E2%80%99s-Sancins-Backfired-Srenghen-Iran%E2%80%99s-Ecnmy
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Turkey
says France must change stance on Syria operations to improve ties
17
December 2020
Foreign
Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday Turkey could normalize ties with
France but Paris must change its stance over Turkey’s military operations in
Syria.
Turkey
has repeatedly traded barbs with France over policies in Syria, Libya and
Nagorno Karabakh, and the publication of cartoons of Prophet Mohammad in
France. Paris has led a push for EU sanctions on Turkey.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/17/Turkey-says-France-must-change-stance-on-Syria-operations-to-improve-ties
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Erdogan
denounces US sanctions as ‘hostile attack’ on Turkey's sovereign rights
16
December 2020
Turkey’s
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has denounced the US sanctions imposed on Ankara
over its purchase of advanced Russian S-400 missile defense systems as a
“hostile attack” on the sovereign rights of his country.
On
Monday, the US imposed sanctions on Turkey’s top defense procurement and
development body Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), its chairman Ismail
Demir and three other Turkish defense officials, namely Mustafa Alper Deniz,
Serhat Gencoglu and Faruk Yigit.
In
his first public comments on the US move, Erdogan slammed Washington for
targeting a NATO ally with sanctions.
"What
kind of alliance is this? What kind of partnership is this? This decision is an
open hostile attack against our country's sovereign rights," he said in a
televised speech on Wednesday.
He
vowed that Ankara would overcome the negative impacts of the sanctions, and
would redouble its efforts to “make our defense industry independent”.
"The
real goal is to block the advances our country started in the defense industry
recently and to once again render us absolutely dependent on them," he
said, adding "Surely there will be problems, but each problem will push
open a door for us for a solution."
The
US and Turkey have long been at loggerheads over Ankara’s purchase of the S-400
from Moscow under an agreement inked in 2017.
Washington
first tried to kill the agreement by suspending Turkey from its advanced F-35
jet program, but to no avail.
Washington
claims the activation of the S-400s would compromise NATO’s defenses and could
give Russia access to intelligence about the American F-35 fighter jets and
other military equipment.
Ankara,
however, rejects the argument, saying the Russian-made systems will not be integrated
into NATO’s command-and-control infrastructure, but rather “used as a
standalone system.”
On
Wednesday, Erdogan reiterated that the US concerns had no technical basis.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/16/640862/Erdogan-sanctions-hostile
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Iran
urges withdrawal of all illegal foreign forces from Syria
17
December 2020
Iran’s
UN ambassador says all foreign forces, including the American troops, who are
illegally present on Syrian soil, must leave the war-torn state, stressing that
Tehran will keep supporting Damascus in its fight against terrorism and
occupation.
Majid
Takht-Ravanchi made the remarks on Wednesday during the Security Council open
video teleconference (VTC) on the Situation in the Middle East (Syria),
Political and Humanitarian briefing.
Everyone
should fully respect the sovereignty, political independence, unity and
territorial integrity of Syria, the Iranian envoy said.
He
added that all foreign forces whose presence is not permitted by the Syrian
government must leave the country.
The
Islamic Republic, he said, is committed to helping resolve the Syria conflict
through a political solution and this message was conveyed to Syrian Foreign
Minister Faisal Mekdad during his visit to Tehran earlier this month.
Iran
began providing Syria with advisory military assistance after numerous
countries — at the head of them the US and its Western and regional allies —
started funding and arming terrorists with the aim of deposing Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad’s government.
Despite
initially losing considerable expanses of territory to Daesh and other terror
outfits, the country regained its strength with the help of Iran and Russia,
another Damascus ally, and managed to reverse the balance in favor of itself on
the battleground.
Takht-Ravanchi
emphasized that Iran would continue to support the Syrian nation and government
in their battle to overcome terrorism and foreign occupation.
Referring
to consultations between Iran and the UN special envoy for Syria, Geir
Pedersen, about the latest political developments in the Arab country and the
meeting of the Syria Constitutional Committee, he said that the body must
operate without any external interference or pressure to meet an artificial
deadline for its work.
He
further said that areas like Idlib Province should not turn into a safe haven
for terrorist groups, and while every effort must be made to protect the lives
of civilians there, the counter-terrorism fight must go on.
Iran,
the envoy added, strongly condemns Israel’s continued acts of aggression
against Syria and urges an end to such provocative military adventurism.
He
also underlined the need for facilitating Syria’s reconstruction process and
the safe return of refugees and internally displaced people to their home
towns.
Unilateral
sanctions against Syria, particularly those imposed by the US, target the most
vulnerable people and add to their sufferings, so this inhumane practice must
stop, Takht-Ravanchi said.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/17/640901/Iran-Takht-Ravanchi-Syria-foreign-forces
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Africa
Nigerian
gangs reportedly kidnap kids on behalf of Boko Haram
16
December 2020
Boko
Haram recruited three local gangs in northwest Nigeria to kidnap hundreds of
schoolboys on its behalf, security and local sources said Wednesday.
The
militant group has claimed responsibility for Friday's attack, which targeted a
secondary school in the town of Kankara, in Katsina state.
But
sources told AFP the operation was carried out on Boko Haram's orders by a
notorious local gangster called Awwalun Daudawa.
The
43-year-old worked in collaboration with Idi Minorti and Dankarami, two other
crime chiefs with strong local followings, they said.
Criminal
gangs, known as bandits, have terrorized communities in northwest Nigeria for
years, and experts had recently warned of attempts by militants to forge an
alliance with them.
Daudawa
"was an armed robber and a cattle rustler before he turned to gun-running,
bringing in weapons from Libya, where he had received training, and selling them
to bandits," said a security source.
"Over
time, he forged an alliance with Boko Haram and became their gunrunner, taking
weapons the group seizes from the Nigerian security forces in raids and
ambushes and selling them to bandits for a cut."
The
source added: "Awwalun Daudawa was spotted in the forest in the Kankara
area where he recently relocated and there were reports that he was planning
something but it was not clear what it was."
Another
source with intimate knowledge of "bandit" activities in Katsina and
Zamfara states said: "From available information, Awwalun Daudawa was
ordered by Abubakar Shekau to kidnap the schoolboys and he enlisted the help of
Idi Minorti and Dankarami."
"After
the children were taken, they went across the border into Zamfara state and
split them among different gangs 'for safe keeping'. And some of the gangs have
been in touch with the authorities for the release of the boys."
The
attack occurred hundreds of kilometres (miles) from Boko Haram's stronghold in
northeast Nigeria, where it launched a brutal insurgency a decade ago.
The
militants made a claim of responsibility in a four-minute audio, sent to AFP
through the same channel as previous messages from the group.
"I
am Abubakar Shekau and our brothers are behind the kidnapping in Katsina,"
said the voice in the recording, resembling that of the elusive Boko Haram
leader.
'Contacts'
Shekau
was behind the 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok that sparked global
outrage, but another source said that the two incidents were not immediately
comparable.
"There
is an ongoing peace pact between bandits and (the) Zamfara state government
which the bandits don't want to breach. They have been under intense pressure
to release the boys," the source said.
"This
situation makes the Kankara abduction different from that of Chibok schoolgirls
who were directly in the custody of Boko Haram. This time, the bandits who are
keeping the children hold the ace, not Shekau."
The
governor of Katsina state, Aminu Bello Masari, said late Monday that the
abductors "have made contacts with the government."
"Talks
are ongoing to ensure their safety and return to their respective
families," he said on Twitter.
The
government has not immediately reacted to Boko Haram's claim or confirmed its
authenticity, and the number of missing students remains unclear -- 320 or 333,
according to two accounts by officials, while locals in Kankara put it at more
than 500.
Nigeria
to block unregistered SIMs after two weeks
Separately,
Nigeria has given telecoms operators two weeks to block subscribers who fail to
link their mobile SIM cards with national identity numbers, angering many.
Nigerians
must have a national identity number as part of measures the government says
will help tackle insecurity in the country and build a unified database.
The
Nigerian Communications Commission in a statement late Tuesday directed
operators to "require all their subscribers to provide a valid national
identification number to update SIM registration records."
The
commission said the decision was taken by all with a stake in the question,
including the telecommunications companies that serve 203 million subscribers.
It
gave operators two weeks, from December 16 to December 30, to comply.
"After
the deadline, all SIMs without national identification numbers are to be
blocked from the networks," it warned, adding that it would not hesitate
to revoke licenses.
Industry
analysts say the two-week deadline is not realistic.
"The
timeline is too short. Although the government's intention is to tackle
insecurity which is a number one problem of Nigeria, they are doing it the
wrong way," Sola Oni of Sofunix Invesment told AFP.
The
telecoms companies need time to properly verify subscribers affected by the
directive, he added.
The
leading operators in Nigeria are South Africa's giant MTN, Airtel, Etisalat and
Global Communications.
In
2015, MTN was sanctioned after failing to disconnect 5.1 million subscribers --
amid concerns the lines were being used by Boko Haram insurgents.
Africa's
biggest wireless operator was initially fined 3.2 billion euros ($3.9 billion)
but after series of negotiations, the fine was reduced to 1.2 billion.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/16/640865/Nigeria-Boko-Haram
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Boko
Haram claims kidnapping of over 300 boys in Nigeria, marking an alarming move
west
By
Danielle Paquette
Dec.
16, 2020
DAKAR,
Senegal — Boko Haram claimed responsibility Tuesday for abducting more than 300
boys from a secondary school in northwest Nigeria, marking a striking leap from
the extremist group's usual area of operation and a chilling expansion of
Islamist militancy in West Africa.
Hundreds
of gunmen surrounded the boarding school in Katsina state on Friday and opened
fire in a community that had never known such violence, witnesses said, before
dragging the students deep into the woods.
The
mass kidnapping shocked the continent's most populous country as deaths from a
multifront conflict in the region soar. West Africa is home to the
fastest-growing Islamist insurgencies in the world, conflict researchers say,
with unrest by disparate forces gripping Nigeria and three of its regional
neighbors: Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Boko
Haram has killed at least 36,000 people and displaced millions over the past
decade, but the campaign of terrorism has rarely stretched far from its
stronghold in the Lake Chad Basin. The assault in the town of Kankara, however,
signaled that the fighters’ murderous reach has shifted nearly 500 miles west,
endangering peace in new territory.
The
extremist footprint is growing five years after Nigerian President Muhammadu
Buhari announced that Boko Haram had been “technically defeated.” Yet analysts
warn that the group is plotting moves to show its strength on the global stage
and wrest more of the nation from the state’s control.
Boko
Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, said in a predawn audio message that militants
stormed the school in the town of Kankara to discourage “Western education,”
according to Nigerian media outlets and researchers who reviewed the recording.
“What
happened in Katsina was done to promote Islam and discourage un-Islamic
practices,” Shekau said in the audio.
The
group set off international outrage in 2014 when it abducted more than 270
girls in the northeastern town of Chibok. Then-first lady Michelle Obama drew
attention to the horror with a hashtag that went viral: #BringBackOurGirls.
Shekau
— a commander known for bloodthirstiness even among the world’s deadliest
extremist organizations — seemed to be sending a message, said Bulama Bukarti,
a Boko Haram specialist at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change in
London.
“He
wanted to make a big political statement that we are attacking you in the
northeast, we are abducting your children in the northeast, and now we are
doing it in the northwest,” Bukarti said. “This is a huge announcement — an
audacious demonstration of capacity.”
The
Science School in Kankara is now empty. More than 800 students studied there
before the attack — all boys.
The
victims risk being forced into Shekau’s army.
Boko
Haram has swollen its ranks over the years by striking towns, kidnapping
children and ordering them to join or die. Those who escape often speak of
having killed people against their will, leaving the children traumatized and
subject to state punishment. They tend to face months of military detention
after fleeing Boko Haram to return home, as authorities investigate them for
signs of loyalty to the group.
Boko
Haram is just one of several insurgencies in West Africa at risk of colliding
as they push into new territory. More than 13,000 people have died as a result
of conflict in the region this year, according to the Armed Conflict Location
and Event Data Project (ACLED), up from 10,126 last year in the most-affected
countries.
Groups
that have pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda or the Islamic State are driving much
of the bloodshed. Each has carved out its own areas of influence that keep
spreading.
“The
geographic space is indeed narrowing,” said Héni Nsaibia, a senior researcher
at ACLED.
The
Islamic State’s center of gravity has shifted to the continent from Iraq and
Syria, according to the 2020 Global Terrorism Index, which tracks geographic
threats. Deaths linked to the group surged by 67 percent south of the Sahara
desert in 2019.
The
Nigerian president initially blamed bandits for Friday’s kidnappings. Gangs in
the area are known to abduct people for ransom.
Parents
in Kankara took to the streets in protest, urging Nigerian leaders to rescue
their children while a new social media trend took hold: #BringBackOurBoys. The
Katsina governor told reporters Tuesday that he had made contact with the
abductors but did not provide details. He said 333 boys remained missing.
Schools
have closed across the state, suspending the education of tens of thousands of
students, as security forces search for the abducted boys in the region’s dense
forests.
One
teenager who escaped the attack in Katsina, speaking on the condition of
anonymity because he feared retaliation, told The Washington Post that gunmen
struck the campus after dark.
“They
split us into groups,” he said, “and led us into different directions in the
forest.”
The
assailants seemed to be taking orders from someone on the phone, the teenager
said, and summoned more men on motorbikes to haul off the boys.
He
managed to flee with a classmate when the kidnappers seemed distracted. The
pair ran into what he called a good Samaritan on a motorbike, who returned them
to Kankara, he said.
“With
the way they split us into groups,” he said, “it’s going to be very hard to
rescue all of my classmates.”
Boko
Haram followed the same strategy with the Chibok girls.
The
girls, who had attended a Christian school, were divided up and taken to remote
hideouts, where they were forced to convert to Islam and marry fighters. (Girls
as young as 9 are “suitable” for marriage, Shekau has said.)
Dozens
have been freed over the past four years through government negotiations,
activists say, but 112 are believed to remain in captivity.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/boko-haram-nigeria-300-boys-kidnap/2020/12/15/98a4bf32-3eaf-11eb-b58b-1623f6267960_story.html?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1824450_
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Sudan
says army officers ambushed by Ethiopian forces, militia
17
December 2020
Sudan’s
military says several of its officers have been ambushed by Ethiopian “forces
and militias” during a security patrol of the border region.
“During
the return of our forces from combing the area around Jabal Abutiour inside our
territory, they were ambushed by Ethiopian forces and militias inside Sudanese
territory, as a result of which lives and equipment were lost,” the Sudanese
army said in a statement on Wednesday, adding the attack had occurred a day
earlier.
However,
it did not reveal the precise number of the officers killed in the ambush.
According
to locals, reinforcements were being sent to the area, which is part of
al-Fashaqa, a locality that stretches over about 600 square kilometers of
highly fertile agricultural land and where some Ethiopian refugees have crossed
into after fleeing hostilities at home.
Fierce
fighting broke out between Ethiopia’s government and the then-governing party
in Tigray region — the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) — on November 4,
when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced the launch of military operations
against the regional government there.
The
prime minister has accused rebel forces loyal to the TPLF of launching deadly
attacks on a pair of federal military camps in the region. He has also accused
the party of defying his government and seeking to undermine it.
The
clashes are believed to have killed thousands of people and displaced 950,000,
some 50,000 of them into Sudan, according to United Nations (UN) estimates.
On
Sunday, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok visited Ethiopia briefly and
expressed his concerns about threats to Sudan’s security along its border with
the flashpoint Tigray region. His visit came two weeks after the Ethiopian
leader declared victory in the fight against the TPLF.
Sudan,
one of the world’s poorest countries, is now faced with the massive influx. UN
agencies have been mobilizing resources and trying to assist the refugees, who
have been arriving in growing numbers with few possessions or provisions.
Regional
experts have suggested that Sudan could use its control over key border
crossings as leverage to press the warring sides in Ethiopia to talk. But so
far there are no public signs it is doing so.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/17/640906/Sudan-says-army-officers-ambushed-by-Ethiopian-forces,-militia
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UN
official calls for more international attention on South Sudan
December
16, 2020
NEW
YORK: The head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has urged the
international community to direct its attention to the country as it struggles
to get back on its feet following a 2018 peace deal.
The
agreement, signed by South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir with rebel factions,
was designed to end a civil war that had killed over 50,000 people, displaced 2
million, and stalled the country’s political progress since it had gained
independence in 2011.
While
intercommunal violence remains a threat, political violence has reduced
significantly since the peace deal was signed.
UNMISS
chief David Shearer praised the progress made in the formation of a
transitional government, led by Kiir with First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar.
“These
achievements are to be commended, but progress is lagging,” Shearer warned,
adding that many other peacebuilding benchmarks stipulated in the deal, such as
the Transitional Security Arrangements aimed at unifying the security forces,
continue to stagnate.
“This
hold-up leaves a local vacuum of power and makes it difficult to nip in the bud
brewing intercommunal violence,” he said.
Briefing
a virtual meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC), Shearer stressed the
importance of international engagement in driving the momentum of the peace
process in South Sudan.
The
lack of international support and guidance contributes to “the sense of drift
that people are frequently remarking upon,” he said.
“Nevertheless,
collectively we still need to remain focused on South Sudan and guide the peace
implementation.”
Despite
a recent 64 percent drop in violent incidents, 2,000 people lost their lives
this year in intercommunal conflicts that are being “weaponized and
turbocharged by external actors acting in their own economic or political
interests,” Shearer said.
He
warned of an imminent descent into chaos, prompted by several factors that have
come to form a “perfect storm” on top of the widespread poverty the South
Sudanese are reeling under.
The
top UN envoy to the country told ambassadors that severe food insecurity is
plaguing half the population.
“It’s
driven by displacement from conflict and severe flooding, which is affecting
around a million people, with the loss of livestock and crops,” he said.
Amid
fears that tensions may worsen with the onset of the dry season — which often
sees farmers competing over scant resources — and the worsening economic situation
caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the specter of famine is now looming large
over the world’s youngest nation.
The
latest IPC Acute Food Insecurity analysis has found that communities in six
South Sudanese counties are facing “famine likely” or “catastrophic”
conditions.
Mark
Lowcock, the UN humanitarian affairs chief, pointed to the link between
“catastrophic levels of food insecurity” and violence.
“We
see the highest levels of food insecurity in the places most affected by
violence,” forcing civilians who are already in a precarious position to adopt
“harmful coping mechanisms” such as early marriage or dropping out of school,
Lowcock told the UNSC.
The
UN has allocated $40 million for South Sudan this year, but he called for more
funding to meet growing needs.
“We
need more funding to ensure food and livelihoods, health services and other
lifesaving programs are supported (across) the entire country,” he said.
Shearer
said: “What South Sudanese citizens want is very simple: Peace.” He urged
parties “to take concrete steps to breathe fresh life into the (peace) process
— above all, to compromise — to achieve the peace dividends that citizens
deserve.”
He
added: “As always, we’ll be right by their side, doing everything we can to
make the hopes of the South Sudanese people for a peaceful and prosperous
future a reality.”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1778461/world
--------
North
America
New
Lawsuit Filed In New York Accuses Top Qatar Banks of Funding Terror In Israel
16
December 2020
A
new lawsuit has been filed in New York against Qatari financial institutions
and charity accusing them of funneling money to fund Palestinian extremist
groups responsible for the killing of Americans in Israel, according to an
initial court complaint filed to the court.
The
initial complaint was filed on Tuesday in the United States District Court for
the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn by the family of Pinches
Przewozman, an American who was killed in rocket attacks on Israel from the
Gaza Strip on May 5, 2019.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Tuesday’s
suit directly alleges that Qatar had funneled money to groups in Palestine
under the guise of charitable donations that were then used to fund Hamas and
the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
“To
accomplish its goal of spreading acts of terrorism and violence in Israel while
evading international sanctions, Qatar coopted several institutions that it
dominates and controls to funnel coveted U.S. dollars (the primary currency of
Middle East terrorist networks) to Hamas and PIJ under the false guise of
charitable donations,” read the 71-page legal complaint document obtained by Al
Arabiya English.
Przewozman’s
family are directly accusing Qatar Charity, Masraf Al Rayan Bank and Qatar
National Bank in their case against Qatar.
The
lawsuit said accused Qatar Charity of soliciting donations in Qatar and around
the world and then transferring those funds to its account at Masraf Al Rayan
in Doha, Qatar.
“Masraf
Al Rayan then utilized its “correspondent” bank account located in New York to
conduct transactions involving U.S. dollars (“USD”) and to transfer funds from
Doha, through New York, to Qatar Charity’s accounts in the Palestinian
Territories at either the Bank of Palestine or the Islamic Bank in Ramallah,”
according to the complaint.
The
new lawsuit filed on Tuesday follows an earlier complaint filed separately in
June by US attorney Steven Perles, who has prosecuted notable cases involving
terrorism and terror-financing on behalf of families and victims seeking
compensation of past terror attacks.
That
lawsuit also accuses Qatar of secretly funding Hamas and the PIJ groups with
millions of dollars who carried out terror attacks that killed US citizens.
Perles specifically alleges that the money used by Hamas and PIJ were used to
carry out at least six attacks between 2014 and 2016. The June lawsuit said
that between March and September 2015, Qatar Charity gave $28 million to groups
in the Palestinian territories that may have been then transferred to Hamas and
PIJ.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/16/Palestinian-Israeli-conflict-New-lawsuit-filed-in-New-York-accuses-Qatar-banks-charity-finance-terror-in-Israel
--------
Kenyan
man charged with planning 9/11-style attack on US
17
December 2020
Federal
authorities on Wednesday unsealed an indictment charging a Kenyan man with
trying to stage a 9/11-style attack on the US on behalf of the terrorist
organization al-Shabab.
For
the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Cholo
Abdi Abdullah, 30, who was arrested in the Philippines in 2019, was transferred
to US custody Tuesday on charges he conspired to hijack an aircraft and slam it
into a building.
He
pleaded not guilty to terrorism-related charges during a brief court appearance
Wednesday and was ordered held without bond. He faces a mandatory minimum 20
years in prison if convicted. His defense attorney declined to comment.
Prosecutors
said Abdullah got flight training in the Philippines between 2017 and 2019 and
obtained a pilot’s license in preparation for an attack. During that time,
authorities said in a news release, Abdullah researched “the means and methods
to hijack a commercial airliner,” including how to breach a cockpit door and
“information about the tallest building in a major US city.”
“This
case, which involved a plot to use an aircraft to kill innocent victims,
reminds us of the deadly threat that radical Islamic terrorists continue to
pose to our nation,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John
Demers said in a statement.
Acting
Manhattan US Attorney Audrey Strauss called it a “chilling callback to the
horrific attacks of September 11, 2001.”
Abdullah,
prosecutors said, started planning the attack in 2016 under the direction of an
al-Shabab commander who was also involved in planning a deadly attack in 2019
on a hotel in Nairobi, Kenya.
The
State Department in 2008 designated al-Shabab, which means “the youth” in
Arabic, as a foreign terrorist organization. The militant group is an al-Qaeda
affiliate that has fought to establish its own state in Somalia based on Sharia
law.
Prosecutors,
in announcing the hijacking plot, said the extremist group recently “embarked
on a string of terrorist attacks” following the US’ decision to move its
embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
Those
include the 2019 attack that killed some 21 people — including an American
businessman who survived the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center — at a
Nairobi hotel.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/12/17/Kenyan-man-charged-with-planning-9-11-style-attack-on-US
--------
US
sanctions four Chinese, UAE-based companies over sale of Iranian petrochemicals
16
December 2020
The
United States has blacklisted four Chinese and UAE-based companies over
supporting the sale of Iranian petrochemicals as US President Donald Trump
increases pressure on Tehran in the final days of his administration.
In
a statement issued on Wednesday, the US Treasury Department announced that it has
imposed sanctions on China-based Donghai International Ship Management Ltd,
China-based Petrochem South East Limited, UAE-based Alpha Tech Trading FZE and
UAE-based Petroliance Trading FZE for facilitating the export of Iranian
petrochemical products through Triliance Petrochemical Co. Ltd, which is
already under the US sanctions.
Moreover,
the Treasury noted that it has targeted Vietnam Gas and Chemicals
Transportation Corporation for its role in the transport of petroleum products
from Iran.
“The
United States will act against persons who support illicit actors engaged in
the movement of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical sales,” Treasury Secretary
Steven Mnuchin claimed in the statement.
Tensions
between Iran and the US drastically increased after the Trump administration
reimposed anti-Iran sanctions in 2018 after leaving a historic and
internationally-lauded nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers.
Departure
from the deal -- that is officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action -- and restoration of the bans both constituted illegal actions because
they came in absolute disregard for the fact that the JCPOA has been ratified
by the United Nations Security Council. The illegal measures were also marked
by sheer unilateralism as they violated the international nature of the deal
that has the UK, France, Russia, and China plus Germany as its other parties.
However,
US President-elect Joe Biden has promised to return the United States to the
Obama-era deal.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/16/640884/US-sanctions-China-UAE-companies-over-sale-of-Iranian-petrochemicals
--------
Respected
by world peace-lovers, Gen. Soleimani will live on to US desperation: Etler
16
December 2020
Lt.
General Qassem Soleimani is “respected by peace-loving people the world over,”
and “will forever live on as a symbol of resistance to the depredations of US
Imperialism,” says Dennis Etler, an American political analyst who has a
decades-long interest in international affairs.
“The
assassination of Iran’s senior commander Lt. General Qassem Soleimani, one year
ago today by the criminal regime in Washington DC, is a day that will live in
infamy,” he said. “Lt. General Soleimani is a hero of the Iranian Revolution
and a leader of the global resistance against US Imperialism, respected by
peace-loving people the world over. His memory is enshrined in the hearts and
minds of the Iranian people and their friends and supporters worldwide.”
Earlier
in the day, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei
warned of a tough response awaiting “those who ordered and perpetrated General
Soleimani's killing” adding that, “this revenge is certain [and will be taken]
at the [earliest] possible time.”
Hajj
Qasem helped the Palestinians to stand up and resist.#Soleimani
pic.twitter.com/tS9MWBlM5J
—
Khamenei TV (@Khamenei_tv) December 16, 2020
Etler
further added that those resisting US hegemony are “resolute in their
opposition to the criminal acts of the US and its surrogates.”
“They
will surely suffer repercussions and
ultimate defeat.”
The
political commentator also enumerated other instance of resistance against US
Imperialism across the globe.
“This
has been seen time and time again. The resistance of the people of Korea,
Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq and many other nations to US aggression has shown
how futile the efforts of the imperialists are.,” noted the analyst, based in
Santa Cruz California. “The protracted struggle of the Iranian nation and
people to US aggression adds another illustrious chapter to the
anti-imperialist struggle.”
Such
was the courage of this man that the enemy saw him as a formidable force to
reckoned with.
Ohh
Qasem Soleimani your valor is itself a mountain of being a HERO for all of us.
pic.twitter.com/UlieD5lfcK
—
Kumail Ansari (@kumailansari) December 13, 2020
He
concluded that the martyred Iranian commander “will forever live on as a symbol
of resistance to the depredations of US Imperialism.”
Known
as the Daesh nemesis in the region, General Soleimani was the former commander
of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/16/640883/Respected-by-world-peace-lovers-Gen-Soleimeni-will-live-on-to-US-desperation-Etler
--------
When
the Far Right Penetrates Law Enforcement
By
Cynthia Miller-Idriss
December
15, 2020
The
past decade has seen a notable spike in incidents of far-right terrorist
violence around the world, from the 2011 attack in Norway that left 77 people
dead to the Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand in 2019 that killed
51. Americans have mourned slaughters at a Walmart in El Paso in 2019, a
Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018, and a predominantly Black church in Charleston in
2015, among other white supremacist, anti-Semitic, and anti-immigrant assaults.
Far-right activists have recently marched in U.S. cities to protest the
electoral defeat of President Donald Trump, engaging in street brawls,
stabbings, and shootings. People across the globe are waking up to the general
threat of far-right violence, but another troubling development has not won
commensurate attention: the penetration of these extremists within the ranks of
law enforcement and the military—the very institutions charged with keeping the
public safe.
Newspaper
investigations and government probes in Germany this year uncovered organized
networks of far-right sympathizers in the rank and file of the country’s
security services. Last month, military intelligence officials questioned eight
individuals, including German soldiers, who are suspected of involvement in an
antigovernment “sovereign citizen” movement. Lawmakers sounded the alarm:
“There isn’t any room in the military for enemies of the constitution,” the
country’s defense minister said. Germans are reckoning with the problem of
far-right extremism within their country’s military, intelligence agencies, and
law enforcement.
The
United States, however, has evinced no similar recognition of the problem of
far-right penetration into its army and police. Former FBI agent Michael German
correctly described the U.S. government response as “strikingly insufficient”
in a report that the Brennan Center released on the subject in August. Nearly
15 years earlier, an FBI bulletin warned of the growing “threat of white
nationalists” who might deliberately infiltrate the police, disrupt
investigations, and try to recruit fellow officers. That warning was not
heeded. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies,
right-wing violence has grown precipitously in the United States in the last six
years, accounting for the great majority of known terrorist plots and attacks
in the country. U.S. officials must take this threat to national security as
seriously as their German counterparts have done, or they risk imperiling the
constitutional protections that law enforcement and the military are sworn to
uphold.
GERMAN
REVELATIONS
For
decades, German authorities viewed far-right and white-supremacist extremism
within the military and security services as a matter of a few bad apples. But
there is now a growing realization that this presence is in fact widespread and
has coalesced into organized networks. In late November, German authorities
conducted two investigations that identified 26 soldiers and nine police
officers who organized and participated in chat groups that shared far-right
and anti-Semitic content.
The
investigations came on the heels of a domestic intelligence agency report that
documented more than 1,400 cases of right-wing extremism in the police and
intelligence services over the past four years. Earlier in 2020, Germany’s
Defense Ministry identified 20 far-right extremists within a platoon of the
country’s elite antiterrorism and rescue Command Special Forces. The
authorities disbanded the platoon—but not before 48,000 rounds of ammunition
and more than 135 pounds of explosives had gone missing from the unit’s
arsenal.
In
2017, a German soldier posed as a Syrian refugee and planned a “false flag”
terror attack that would be blamed on Islamist extremists. Far-right groups and
political parties seized on the 2015 refugee crisis, in which nearly one
million mostly Muslim asylum seekers fleeing conflicts in Syria and elsewhere
sought refuge in Germany, to spread Islamophobic and anti-immigrant ideas and
promote xenophobic policies. Germany’s annual domestic intelligence report
released this July documented a more than 50 percent increase in the number of
right-wing extremists in the country since 2014. The German minister of the
interior stated that right-wing extremism represented the “biggest security
threat to the nation.”
That
threat has increasingly manifested within military and law enforcement
communities. Over the past two years, the German media has documented numerous
instances of far-right extremism in the army, police, and security services,
including reports of officers participating in racist and neo-Nazi online chat
groups and revelations of a group of soldiers and police officers gathering
weapons in preparation for the apocalyptic collapse of the state order—for
which they had ordered hundreds of body bags and quicklime and used police
databases to create target lists of 25,000 pro-refugee politicians.
Germans
are more attuned than many others to the threat of white supremacist and
right-wing extremist ideas due to the history of the Holocaust and the
resulting restrictions on speech and symbols affiliated with the Nazi Party.
Police are trained to assess crimes for right-wing extremist motivation, which
makes it more likely that they will recognize extremist ideologies within their
own ranks. German domestic intelligence agencies track not only the criminal
acts of extremists but also the precise number of extremists believed to be
present in the country, issuing an annual public report that breaks down the
numbers by ideology as well as by how many individuals are considered high risk
for violence. In 2017, the country implemented the strictest legislation in the
world regulating hate speech on social media platforms. And in late November,
the German federal government passed the most sweeping set of measures against
racism and right-wing extremism in modern German history, earmarking more than
one billion euros over the next three years to fund 89 specific programs,
including enhanced cooperation between security authorities, the judiciary, and
state and civil society organizations and more research on preventing
radicalization.
Some
critics still question the effectiveness of Germany’s response to right-wing
extremist involvement in the armed forces and police, calling for leaders to
acknowledge that the problem has moved beyond individual cases into networks of
extremists that, at the very least, demand additional investigations by federal
authorities. German authorities have insisted, for example, that less than one
percent of the members of the military and security services are engaged in
far-right extremist activities. But given the power such officers hold over
communities, along with their extensive training and access to weapons, any
extremism within these ranks is a cause for concern. The domestic intelligence
agency report warned that “state and society are in considerable danger if an
official who is armed becomes an extremist.” Minister of the Interior Horst
Seehofer called for such people to be held to account, declaring that “every
case is a scandal.”
AMERICAN
DISINTEREST
The
rigor and determination of the German response far exceeds that of U.S.
attempts to get a handle on far-right extremism in the military and law
enforcement. The scale of the problem in the United States became clear this
summer. The police murder of George Floyd in May touched off Black Lives Matter
protests that generated significant backlash from the extremist fringe,
including from militant far-right activists with backgrounds in the military.
An army reservist and two veterans were arrested in Las Vegas for plotting
violence against a Black Lives Matter protest there, while an active-duty air
force sergeant with ties to the so-called Boogaloo scene—a movement of
gun-rights activists and white supremacists who seek to start a civil war—went
on an eight-day rampage of shootings and attacks in which he murdered a federal
security guard. Across the country, officers were caught on video or police
scanners during Black Lives Matter protests acting in ways that favored white
militias, vigilantes, and armed counterprotesters.
The
problems go deeper than individual bad actors in local departments and units.
In 2019, ProPublica revealed that nearly 10,000 U.S. Border Patrol
agents—including the agency’s director—were members of a Facebook group that
shared racist, anti-migrant, and misogynistic memes and content. Another report
found hundreds of active-duty and retired police officers in racist and
extremist Facebook groups—revelations that led more than 50 local police
departments to initiate investigations, resulting in at least one case in which
an officer was fired for “violating department policies.”
These
findings highlight racism within law enforcement at a time when the public is
reckoning with its prevalence in police dealings with Black and brown
Americans. Police practices reflect an environment in which such troubling
attitudes can flourish. Gauging just how systemic the problem is, however,
remains difficult, in large part because the U.S. government has refused to
commit to the kinds of comprehensive investigations now underway across the
Atlantic. The lack of available data to assess the scope of far-right activity
in law enforcement and the armed forces fuels the perception that the problem is
limited to a few bad actors who need to be rooted out—and that notion hurts
both law-abiding members of the police and military as well as citizen groups
seeking real reform.
REASON
FOR ALARM
Anecdotal
evidence suggests that the American public has reason for alarm. Some law
enforcement officers are active members of hate groups, such as the Ku Klux
Klan in Florida and the neo-Confederate League of the South in Alabama. The
Oath Keepers, a private militia group founded in 2009, claims to have tens of thousands
of members who are current and former law enforcement officers and military
veterans, comprising some two-thirds of its membership.
Vigilantes,
extremists, and would-be terrorists are attracted to joining the police and the
armed forces because they see themselves as warriors who can act heroically in
defense of their communities. The 17-year-old police youth cadet who allegedly
shot and killed two people in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August had traveled there
to support local police officers during Black Lives Matter protests. A local
militia group in Kenosha had called for “patriots” to come “take up arms and
defend our city tonight from the evil thugs.” The same bravado extends to other
kinds of militants. Prior to killing 49 people in an Orlando nightclub in 2016,
the shooter who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, or ISIS, had twice
failed out of law enforcement and police academies and was employed as a
security guard.
The
experience of soldiering may make some veterans susceptible to far-right recruitment.
Soldiers are trained to dehumanize enemies and see conflicts in binary “us
versus them” terms that make sense on the battlefield but leave veterans
vulnerable to extremist propaganda in the civilian world. Army veteran and
white supremacist Timothy McVeigh was responsible for the worst domestic
terrorism attack in U.S. history, taking the lives of 168 people in the 1995
Oklahoma City bombing.
Of
course, the vast majority of law enforcement officers and members of the armed
forces are not extremists. Indeed, the diligence of law enforcement has been
essential to preventing violent extremist attacks, such as the recent
kidnapping plot against the Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. But Americans
should still be concerned that some police officers and soldiers—who are
charged with safeguarding the population—actively participate in extremist
groups.
The
pressure for a more comprehensive response in the United States is growing. Two
congressional hearings in 2020 in the House Armed Services Committee and the
House Committee on Oversight and Reform investigated incidents of white
supremacy in the military and white supremacist infiltration of local police
departments. Members of Congress are calling for more transparency from
military and law enforcement leaders. In July, more than three dozen lawmakers
from both parties wrote to Defense Secretary Mark Esper to ask him to review
and clarify his department’s policy on the involvement of active-duty personnel
in “extremist and white supremacist ideology and activity.” That same month,
Representative Pete Aguilar, Democrat of California, introduced an amendment to
the National Defense Authorization Act that would require the Defense
Department to report each year to Congress “every incident of white supremacist
activity” in the agency. This provision was in the NDAA that passed in the
House of Representatives in December. Representative Brad Schneider, Democrat
of Illinois, proposed an amendment to the NDAA which would have required the
reporting of white supremacist infiltration in uniformed services and federal
law enforcement agencies, but it was removed before the bill made it to the
House floor for a vote. Last year, a similar provision in the NDAA aimed at
“keeping white nationalists out of the U.S. military” was edited to use vaguer
phrasing about screening enlistees for “extremist and gang-related activity.”
Federal
agencies have not always been as helpful as they could be. The FBI refused to
attend a September 2020 House subcommittee hearing on the infiltration of white
supremacist views and networks in local law enforcement, which Chair Jamie
Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, noted in opening remarks was because the bureau
claimed that there was no evidence of this being a “widespread problem.”
THE
THREAT THAT IT IS
The
United States has much to learn from the German approach to combating white
supremacist extremism, even though it is rooted in the particular experience of
rebuilding democratic institutions after the Holocaust. German authorities
understand security work as integral to protecting democracy and defending the
constitution, whose first article calls on “all state authority” to respect and
protect human dignity. Since 1956, the German military has had a specialized
unit charged with countering extremism within the army, conducting
investigations and removing soldiers from active duty if they are confirmed to
harbor extremist views; its public website prominently displays the number of
suspected cases investigated each year. Local police agencies have dedicated
commissioners for extremism and for anti-Semitism.
Similar
efforts in the U.S. are nascent, including a new New York Police Department
unit to monitor and prevent extremist violence. But the United States lacks
Germany's data collection about far-right extremism nationally and within the
military and law enforcement. The Department of Justice and the Department of
Defense should be required to report data on relevant incidents to Congress or
to civilian oversight committees convened by the federal government. Given the
particular susceptibility of veterans to far-right recruitment, the government
should devote more resources to supporting their reintegration after service
through counseling and the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and
other psychological needs. Veteran support organizations and local law
enforcement agencies should receive staff training to better recognize warning
signs of extremist radicalization and know how to gain access to further
resources and help.
Scrutinizing
right-wing extremism in the military and law enforcement has its risks.
Investigations can drive extremists further underground, where they operate in
ways that are harder to monitor. But extremist ideas and groups cannot be left
to operate unchecked within the very organizations charged with protecting the
population, including its most vulnerable citizens. For the future of
multicultural democracy, extremism in the military and law enforcement must be
treated like the threat to national security that it is.
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2020-12-15/when-far-right-penetrates-law-enforcement?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1824450_
--------
Europe
UK
lawmakers urge government to designate Iran’s IRGC, replace nuclear deal
Yaghoub
Fazeli,
16
December 2020
UK
lawmakers urged Britain on Wednesday to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, declare Tehran’s detention of
foreign nationals as “state hostage taking,” and work towards brokering a
comprehensive deal to replace the current nuclear deal.
The
UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Select Committee released a report on Wednesday
urging Britain to take a tougher approach with Iran.
Proscribing
the IRGC
The
UK should designate Iran’s primary military force the IRGC a terrorist
organization, a move taken by the US in 2019, the committee’s report said.
“The
actions of the IRGC meet the criteria for proscription in the Terrorism Act
2000, due to its clear and enduring support for terrorists and non-state actors
working to undermine stability in the region,” the report said.
Replacing
the JCPOA
Parliament
members also urged the UK to work to broker a more comprehensive agreement to
replace the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action (JCPOA), which they described as a “shell of an agreement.”
“Despite
good intentions, the JCPOA was an agreement built on weak foundations. The slow
death of the nuclear deal seems to have been inevitable and, following the
actions in the [Iranian parliament], it now appears beyond repair,” Chair of
the Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Tugendhat said.
“The
UK government should work to broker a replacement to the JCPOA, which also
addresses regional security,” Tugendhat said.
Earlier
this month, Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas also said that a new broader
Iran nuclear accord must be reached and that the 2015 deal was no longer
enough.
Tehran
has rejected calls to renegotiate the JCPOA.
‘State
hostage taking’
Iran’s
detention of foreign and dual nationals amounts to “state hostage taking,” the
report said.
“The
UK Government must call the arbitrary detention of foreign nationals what it
is: hostage taking,” Tugendhat said.
“The
charges, trials and convictions of British citizens on Iranian soil are a
parody of a justice system … Using young mothers and retirees as bargaining
chips and leverage is an unacceptable form of diplomacy,” he added.
The
UK’s current approach to seeking the release of detainees is “clearly not working,”
the report said, adding that a “more decisive, coordinated approach is needed.”
Several
dual and foreign nationals are also currently under arrest in Iran, including
Iranian-Swedish scientist Ahmadreza Djalali, British aid worker Nazanin
Zaghari-Ratcliffe, and German-Iranian architect Nahid Taghavi.
The
Iranian regime is accused of pursuing a “hostage-taking” policy by arresting
foreign nationals on trumped-up charges and using them as hostages to try to
win concessions from other countries.
“The
UK should also prioritize using Magnitsky sanctions to target specific Iranian
human rights abusers,” the report said.
Iranians
are biggest victims of regime
The
Iranian people are the regime’s “greatest victims,” the report said, urging the
UK to support those “suffering under the violence of the regime.”
“The
greatest victims of the Iranian regime are the Iranian people themselves … for
too long innocent Iranians have suffered violence and human rights violations
at the hands of their own government,” Tugendhat said.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/16/UK-lawmakers-urge-government-to-designate-Iran-s-IRGC-replace-nuclear-deal
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Despite
ceasefire, Nagorno-Karabakh accuses Azerbaijan forces of capturing troops
16
December 2020
Ethnic
Armenian authorities in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh accused Azeri forces on
Wednesday of capturing several dozen of their troops, putting further strain on
a ceasefire deal that brought an end to bloody fighting in the region last
month.
The
Russian-brokered deal halted a six-week conflict between Azeri and ethnic
Armenian forces over the region and its surrounding areas, locking in
territorial gains for Azerbaijan.
Moscow
has deployed peacekeepers to police the ceasefire, but skirmishes broke out on
Sunday that Azerbaijan and Armenia each blamed on the other side. Four Azeri
troops were reported killed in the fighting and six ethnic Armenians wounded.
In
a new setback on Wednesday, Nagorno-Karabakh’s defense ministry said it had
lost contact with several military positions late on Tuesday in areas that were
supposed to remain under its control according to the Nov. 10 ceasefire deal.
Azerbaijan’s
defense ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s
ministry said it had failed to locate the troops despite carrying out search
operations through the night.
Hours
later, regional head Arayik Harutyunyan said the troops had been captured and
accused Azerbaijan of a “provocation.”
“Several
dozen servicemen were taken hostage by Azeri forces in the direction of
Ktsaberd village, and the defense ministry is currently trying to figure out
all the circumstances,” Harutyunyan said in a pre-written speech posted on his
Facebook page.
The
comments came shortly after Armenia and Azerbaijan confirmed they had begun
exchanging groups of prisoners of war, part of an “all for all” swap mediated
by Russia.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/12/16/Nagorno-Karabakh-accuses-Azerbaijan-forces-of-capturing-troops-despite-ceasefire
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Manchester
Arena Inquiry: Bomber 'sent money to family before attack'
December
16, 2020
The
Manchester Arena bomber transferred money to his family in Libya hours before
the attack, a public inquiry into the 2017 bombing has heard.
Rabie
Zreba, who made the transfer, said he was contacted by a man he did not know on
the afternoon of 22 May.
The
man was Salman Abedi, who provided Mr Zreba with a fake name and asked him to
transfer £470, the inquiry heard.
Later
that night, Abedi detonated a bomb at the end of an Ariana Grande concert,
murdering 22 people.
Mr
Zreba told the inquiry he was "well known within the Libyan
community" for being involved in small trade and money transfers.
He
said he met Abedi, who gave the false name "Mohamed Araby" and asked
him to transfer the money to his family, outside a mosque.
The
total amount transferred was £470 and Abedi gave the recipient's name as
"Muad Al-Tabbal".
The
surname of Abedi's mother, who is a suspect in the investigation into the
bombing, is Tabbal.
While
the attack was being prepared, Salman Abedi and his brother Hashem Abedi used
their mother's benefits money which was paid into a UK bank account despite her
having moved to Libya.
Mr
Zreba also described how he was "frightened and shocked" when on his way
home he ended up at Victoria station, located below the arena, shortly after
the bombing.
Asked
if Salman Abedi had said anything to him about avoiding the area, he replied:
"Had he said something like that, I would have [had] the honour to report
him to save the lives of the victims."
A
former friend of Hashem Abedi told the inquiry they became friends after
meeting at a party in Manchester in 2015 and spent time together in Libya,
where they took drugs.
The
witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said, following a pilgrimage to
Saudi Arabia, Hashem Abedi became "very devout, very religious".
But
he said Hashem Abedi continued to party and take drugs, describing him as
"weird" during a trip to Amsterdam in October 2016.
"We'd
smoke weed and he would go home and pray and ask for forgiveness," he
recalled.
The
witness said Hashem Abedi asked him in March 2017 to buy sulphuric acid for a
battery, which he declined to do after his father suggested the request was
"dodgy".
But
he told the hearing he broke off contact with Hashem Abedi out of embarrassment
at not making the purchase rather than because he suspected his friend was
planning something unlawful.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-55322182?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1824450_
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