Anti-Trump Protests Across US: Thousands on Street Chant ‘Not My President!’

New Age Islam News Bureau

10 Nov 2016

“I’m just really terrified about what is happening in this country,” said 22-year-old Adriana Rizzo in Chicago, who was holding a sign that read: “Enjoy your rights while you can.” (Source: AP)

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•  Anti-Trump Protests Across US: Thousands on Street Chant ‘Not My President!’

•  ISIS Reacts To Trump Election: Islamic State Group Followers Predict End of United States

•  Trump Victory May Create New Tension between US and Islam: Indonesia Clerical Body

•  Turkey Urges Trump to Extradite Gulen

•  Syrian Army Imposes Control over 90 Percent of Menyan District

 

North America

•  Anti-Trump Protests Across US: Thousands on Street Chant ‘Not My President!’

•  ISIS Reacts To Trump Election: Islamic State Group Followers Predict End of United States

•  'I Am Very Afraid': Muslims in Shock As Trump Becomes US President

•  Trump's website retracts statement on banning Muslims

•  Want to Move to Canada? Europe? Somewhere? Trump’s Impact Will Follow You

•  Islamist Extremists Celebrate Trump’s Election Win

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Southeast Asia

•  Trump Victory May Create New Tension between US and Islam: Indonesia Clerical Body

•  UK Keen to Promote Malaysia’s Initiative on Islamic Moderation to the World

•  DPM: Misplaced secular interests and tribalism motivate radicalism, terrorism

•  Despite fiery talk, pundits say Trump unlikely to harm Malaysia-US ties

•  Sarawakian Christian Roneey Rebit finally gets new IC without ‘Islam’

•  PAS to snub Pakatan convention due to DAP presence

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Mideast

•  Turkey Urges Trump to Extradite Gulen

•  Troops Kill 30 Qaeda Suspects in Yemen

•  Israeli settlers attack al-Aqsa Mosque compound again

•  US Gives Green Light to Turkey to Join Raqqa Battle

•  Turkey arrests 55 more pilots in coup probes

•  EU warns ‘backsliding’ Turkey to decide on membership

•  Iran again tests a limit of nuclear deal: IAEA report

•  UN report notes minor Iranian violation of nuclear deal

•  Yemeni demonstrators call for formation of government

•  Turkey violating UN judge’s diplomatic immunity: UN court

•  Israel after sowing discord among Muslims: Iran official

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Arab World

•  Syrian Army Imposes Control over 90 Percent of Menyan District

•  Coalition Strike ‘Kills 20 Civilians’ Near IS-Held Raqa

•  Terrorists Use Chemical Weapons in Syria's Aleppo Again

•  Iraqi Commanders: Turkish Spies Helping ISIL Terrorists Flee to Turkey, Syria

•  Syrian Army Gains More Ground Southwest of Aleppo City

•  Syrian Commander: Countdown Started for Liberation of Eastern Aleppo

•  Traces of Islamic State 'mass grave' rot in Iraqi spa town

•  Saudi King to Trump: Let us work for peace

•  42,000 displaced since start of Mosul assault

•  Syrian troops down 14 drones operated by militants

•  Retired General: Only Syrian Army Can Seize Back Raqqa

•  US Sends 1,700 Parachute Troopers to Iraq for Unspecified Objective

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Pakistan

•  Country Not Safe Under Incumbent Rulers: Jamaat-E-Islami Chief

•  JI Demands Fiscal Package for FATA Rehabilitation

•  Trump's victory is triumph of the American people, Nawaz says

•  Jamaat seeks Rs500 billion package for Fata

•  Pakistan owes debt of gratitude to Allama Iqbal, says Nawaz Sharif

•  Pakistan concerned over threats to UN peace ops

•  CTD arrests 4 terror suspects

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India

•  Another Soldier Martyred In Pakistani Firing In Kashmir; 2 Terrorists Killed In Encounter

•  Government to Try Increase Online Haj Applications

•  Pakistanis worry that President Trump may favour rival India

•  India, China to set up joint working groups on fake notes, sharing terror info

•  Jagan Mohan Reddy’s Party Extends Support to Muslim Personal Law Board

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Africa

•  Boko Haram: Nigeria Police Train Local Hunters on Intelligence Gathering

•  Tunisian Military Kills Head of Daesh Takfiri Terrorist Group

•  Gunmen kill 36 gold miners in Nigeria

•  First batch of Kenyan troops return from UN mission in South Sudan

•  Tomb of Usman dan Fodio’ inspire and divide in northern Nigeria

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Europe

•  Moscow Readying to Launch Devastating Air, Missile Strikes in Aleppo

•  World leaders take stock of Trump win

•  'Europe needs to ends Muslim immigration

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South Asia

•  Myanmar aid curbs hit children in Muslim-majority region: UN

•  India-Pakistan: Bangladesh Resists Islamic Radicalism

•  Hefajat protests B'baria attacks, Rohingya persecution

•  Taliban call on Trump to withdraw US troops

•  Attacks on Nasirnagar Hindus planned to embarrass govt, say Hifazat-e Islam

•  Turning A Blind Eye: The Plight Of Hindu Minorities In Bangladesh

•  Ghani Confers High State Wazir Mohammad Akbar Medal on Atmar

•  Police officer arrested months after handing over security posts to Taliban

•  Afghan Taliban react on Donald Trump’s election as US president

•  Abdullah congratulate Trump on victory, Americans on successful election

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

URL:  https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/new-age-islam-news-bureau/anti-trump-protests-across-us--thousands-on-street-chant-‘not-my-president!’/d/109064

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Anti-Trump Protests Across US: Thousands on Street Chant ‘Not My President!’

November 10, 2016

The raw divisions exposed by the presidential race were on full display across America on Wednesday, as protesters flooded city streets to condemn Donald Trump’s election in demonstrations that police said were mostly peaceful. From New England to heartland cities like Kansas City and along the West Coast, demonstrators carried flags and anti-Trump signs, disrupting traffic and declaring that they refused to accept Trump’s triumph.

In Chicago, where thousands had recently poured into the streets to celebrate the Chicago Cubs’ first World Series victory in over a century, several thousand people marched through the Loop. They gathered outside Trump Tower, chanting “Not my president!” Chicago resident Michael Burke said he believes the president-elect will “divide the country and stir up hatred.” He added there was a constitutional duty not to accept that outcome.

A similar protest in Manhattan drew about 1,000 people. Outside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in midtown, police installed barricades to keep the demonstrators at bay.

Hundreds of protesters gathered near Philadelphia’s City Hall despite chilly, wet weather. Participants — who included both supporters of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who lost to Clinton in the primary — expressed anger at both Republicans and Democrats over the election’s outcome.

In Boston, thousands of anti-Trump protesters streamed through downtown, chanting “Trump’s a racist” and carrying signs that said “Impeach Trump” and “Abolish Electoral College.” Clinton appears to be on pace to win the popular vote, despite losing the electoral count that decides the presidential race.

The protesters gathered on Boston Common before marching toward the Massachusetts Statehouse, with beefed-up security including extra police officers.

Also read:  Five shot near anti-Trump protest rally in downtown Seattle

Protests flared at universities in California and Connecticut, while several hundred people marched in San Francisco and others gathered outside City Hall in Los Angeles. And they spread south to Richmond, Virginia, and to Middle American cities like Kansas City and Omaha, Nebraska.

Hundreds of University of Texas students spilled out of classrooms to march through downtown Austin. They marched along streets near the Texas Capitol, then briefly blocked a crowded traffic bridge.

Marchers protesting Trump’s election as president chanted and carried signs in front of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Media outlets broadcast video Wednesday night showing a peaceful crowd in front of the new downtown hotel. Many chanted “No racist USA, no Trump, no KKK.” Another group stood outside the White House. They held candles, listened to speeches and sang songs. Earlier Wednesday, protesters at American University burned U.S. flags on campus.

In Oregon, dozens of people blocked traffic in downtown Portland, burned American flags and forced a delay for trains on two light-rail lines. Earlier, the protest in downtown drew several Trump supporters, who taunted the demonstrators with signs. A lone Trump supporter was chased across Pioneer Courthouse Square and hit in the back with a skateboard before others intervened.

The only major violence was reported in Oakland, California, during a protest that began shortly before midnight and lasted into early Wednesday morning. Some demonstrators set garbage bins on fire, broke windows and sprayed graffiti at five businesses in the downtown area, police said. No arrests were made. Another protest began Wednesday evening downtown, with several hundred chanting, sign-waving people gathering in Frank Ogawa Plaza.

In San Francisco, hundreds are marching along Market Avenue, one of the city’s main avenues, to join a vigil in the Castro District, a predominantly gay neighborhood.

Hundreds massed in downtown Seattle streets. Many held anti-Trump and Black Lives Matter signs and chanted slogans, including “Misogyny has to go,” and “The people united, will never be defeated.” At Evergreen State College south of Seattle, scores of students walked out of classes Wednesday to gather with anti-Trump signs.

Back in New York, several groups of protesters caused massive gridlock as police mobilized to contain them under a light rain. They held signs that read “Trump Makes America Hate” and chanted “hey, hey, ho, ho Donald Trump has got to go.” and “Impeach Trump.”

indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/donald-trump-victory-protest-us-presidential-elections-2016-not-my-president-4367365/

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ISIS Reacts To Trump Election: Islamic State Group Followers Predict End Of United States

BY TOM O'CONNOR @SHAOLINTOM

11/09/16

Supporters of the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, celebrated Wednesday the presidential victory of Republican Donald Trump as the beginning of the end of the United States.

A number of jihadist commentators and followers of Islamic militant organizations have expressed their praise for the U.S. election results on social media and in online chat rooms. One user, Khorasani, reportedly explained how Trump's victory, which came after the billionaire openly insulted various minority groups like Muslims, proved the ignorance of the U.S.

"9/11 was the beginning of the renaissance of the Muslim nation. 11/9 will be the beginning of the fall of the Satan (America) of this age," the user wrote, according to a screenshot surfaced by New York Times journalist Rukmini Callimachi.

While not active supporters of Trump's policies, some ISIS supporters have said they believe that Trump's political ambitions and controversial nature will signal the decline of the U.S. as an international power and pave way for the rise of radical Islam. American support is currently crucial for the Iraq-led operation to liberate ISIS' stronghold in Mosul.

"Rejoice with support from Allah, and find glad tidings in the imminent demise of America at the hands of Trump,” the Washington Post reported al-Minbar Jihadi Media, an ISIS-affiliated network, recently wrote online. "Trump’s win of the American presidency will bring hostility of Muslims against America as a result of his reckless actions, which show the overt and hidden hatred against them."

Ultraconservative Islamic commentators and members of other militant jihadist organizations also took the time to weigh in on Trump's victory. Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, an Al Qaeda follower and the spiritual mentor of ISIS godfather Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, wrote on Twitter that Trump's victory "exposes the true mentality of the Americans, and their racism toward Muslims and Arabs and everything."

Hamza al-Karibi, spokesperson of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, formerly Al Qaeda's Nusra Front, reportedly added that "Trump’s victory is a powerful slap to those promoting the benefits of democratic mechanisms."

ISIS supporters have previously expressed their enthusiasm for Trump's success, like when he secured the Republican nomination in June. The militant group sees Trump's alienation of Muslims in the West as an ideal recruiting tool.

Trump, meanwhile, has said he will take a hard-line stance against ISIS. He has criticized President Barack Obama's administration for mishandling intervention in the Middle East and has even accused Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of being the "cofounders" of the extremist group.

http://www.ibtimes.com/isis-reacts-trump-election-islamic-state-group-followers-predict-end-united-states-2444320

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'I am very afraid': Muslims in shock as Trump becomes US President

Nov 09, 2016

Trump had called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States after a mass shooting in California.

Jakarta: "I'm very afraid, will there be more wars? Will America attack Muslim countries again?" asked Indonesian activist Alijah Diete as Donald Trump edged closer to a shock victory in the US election.

Muslims across Asia were struggling on Wednesday to accept the news that the populist politician who has made fiery anti-Islamic rhetoric a key part of his campaign becomes the president of the world's greatest power.

He made his most controversial remarks about Islam in December last year, sparking anger among the world's 1.5 billion followers of Islam when he called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States after a mass shooting in California.

"Americans have just screwed the world yet again," said Syed Tashfin Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi who has several close friends in the US. Thousands in the country watched in shock as the results rolled in and Facebook lit up with horrified reactions.

A senior Pakistani government official, speaking anonymously, called the news "absolutely atrocious and horrifying" while others in the country also lamented the results.

"I am disappointed to see Donald Trump winning because Hillary Clinton is a good woman, she is good for Pakistan and Muslims all over the world," said Ishaq Khan, 32, speaking at an Islamabad market.

"She was talking about world peace but Trump was talking about fighting against Muslims."

Muslims are foreigners to him

In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, there was growing nervousness about how the relationship with traditional ally the United States would shape up, and how a Trump presidency would affect relations between America and the Muslim world.

"I am very concerned that the relationship between the US and Muslim countries will become tense again," said the female Muslim activist Diete, 47.

Nikken Suardini, who works for a law firm in the capital Jakarta, was concerned about the proposed Muslim ban. "If he is elected president he will block Muslims from entering the US well, that's just not fair."

There was also concern that tough anti-Islamic policies under Trump could fan Muslim extremism globally at a time when the world is struggling with a growing threat of Islamic militancy.

"When the United States uses hard power, extremists gain a momentum," said Zuhairi Misrawi, an Islamic scholar from moderate Indonesian Islamic organisation Nahdlatul Ulama.

"Those who will be the happiest when Trump wins are ISIS," he said, referring by another name to the Islamic State group, which is struggling to hold onto its territory in Iraq and Syria in the face of a fierce military onslaught.

Some observers were more sanguine hoping that his populist rhetoric was aimed at winning votes and would not be translated into tough xenophobic policies when he enters the White House.

"We hope that Trump's remarks against Muslims were only to boost his campaign and he will realise that Muslims are a large population in the US," said Tahir Ashrafi, a senior Pakistani government cleric.

Others echoed the concerns that his policies would likely discriminate against American Muslims.

"His policies against Muslims will be discriminative," said Munarman, a spokesman for Indonesian hardline group the Islamic Defenders' Front. "Muslims are foreigners to him."

http://www.asianage.com/international/i-am-very-afraid-muslims-shock-trump-becomes-us-president-989

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Trump victory may create new tension between US and Islam: Indonesia clerical body

November 09, 2016

Donald Trump's US election victory may create fresh tension between the United States and the Islamic world, an official at Indonesia's top Muslim clerical body said on Wednesday.

Trump, who once proposed a ban on Muslims entering the United States, stunned the world by defeating heavily favored Hillary Clinton in the presidential race, ending eight years of Democratic rule.

Trump had made "negative, cynical" comments about Muslims in the past, Din Syamsuddin, a senior official at the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), told reporters in Jakarta. "He had forgotten that many Americans are immigrants."

Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population.

http://nation.com.pk/international/09-Nov-2016/trump-victory-may-create-new-tension-between-us-and-islam-indonesia-clerical-body

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Turkey urges Trump to extradite Gulen

9 November 2016

Turkey’s prime minister has called on Donald Trump on Wednesday to extradite a US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen - blamed by Ankara for the failed coup in July - as soon as he is sworn in.

American authorities are studying the evidence against Gulen provided by Turkey before deciding on whether or not to extradite the former Erdogan ally.

US-Turkish relations have worsened since the July 15 coup and the former's refusal to bow to Turkey's demands regarding Gulen. He is accused of coordinating "terrorist" activity in Turkey from the US state of Pennsylvania through what Erdogan's government describes as the Fethullah Terror Organisation (FETO).

Gulen, who has lived in the US since 1999, claims to run a peaceful religious and educational network called the Gulen Movement.

Binali Yildirim also said Wednesday that he hoped that the new leadership in the United States would take into consideration Turkey’s “sensitivities concerning the fight against terrorism,” give priority to policies that would bring peace and stability to the region and advance traditional friendship between the two countries.

Ties between the two allies have been strained over perceptions in Turkey that the United States is reluctant to arrest and extradite Gulen. Turkey’s is also frustrated by Washington’s backing to Syrian Kurdish militia that are fighting the ISIS group in Syria and which Ankara considers to be a terrorist group.

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/11/09/Turkey-s-PM-calls-Trump-on-Gulen-s-extradition.html

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Syrian Army Imposes Control over 90 Percent of Menyan District

Nov 09, 2016

"Army soldiers have liberated over 90 percent of Menyan while fierce clashes are underway to take back the remaining 10 percent," the sources said.

"Simultaneous with the recapture of Housing Project 1070 and al-Hikmah School, other units of the army are expanding control over the Western part of Aleppo city, including large parts of Menyan," they added.

"In the meantime, army soldiers are engaged in fierce clashes with the terrorists in Zahiyeh al-Assad and Jam'iyat al-Zahra districts in Western Aleppo and have inflicted major losses on them," the sources went on to say.

Reports said earlier today that Syrian Army soldiers pushed terrorists back from more positions in the Southern parts of Aleppo city and captured al-Hikmah School following hours of fierce clashes.

"After the liberation of Housing Project 1070 and Tal al-Rakaham and Tal al-Moa'ta hills that extended the security ring around the Aleppo Military Academy Buildings on Tuesday, the Syrian army continued to storm the terrorists' positions in the Southern part of Aleppo city and freed al-Hikmah School," the sources said.

"The al-Rashedeen 4 and 5 districts are under the pro-government troops' fire control and have fallen to the government fighters in military terms," they said, adding that the army troops are very much likely to start an offensive soon to impose full control over the two regions. 

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950819000936

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North America

 

'I am very afraid': Muslims in shock as Trump becomes US President

Nov 9, 2016

Jakarta: "I'm very afraid, will there be more wars? Will America attack Muslim countries again?" asked Indonesian activist Alijah Diete as Donald Trump edged closer to a shock victory in the US election.

Muslims across Asia were struggling on Wednesday to accept the news that the populist politician who has made fiery anti-Islamic rhetoric a key part of his campaign becomes the president of the world's greatest power.

He made his most controversial remarks about Islam in December last year, sparking anger among the world's 1.5 billion followers of Islam when he called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States after a mass shooting in California.

"Americans have just screwed the world yet again," said Syed Tashfin Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi who has several close friends in the US. Thousands in the country watched in shock as the results rolled in and Facebook lit up with horrified reactions.

A senior Pakistani government official, speaking anonymously, called the news "absolutely atrocious and horrifying" while others in the country also lamented the results.

"I am disappointed to see Donald Trump winning because Hillary Clinton is a good woman, she is good for Pakistan and Muslims all over the world," said Ishaq Khan, 32, speaking at an Islamabad market.

"She was talking about world peace but Trump was talking about fighting against Muslims."

Muslims are foreigners to him

In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, there was growing nervousness about how the relationship with traditional ally the United States would shape up, and how a Trump presidency would affect relations between America and the Muslim world.

"I am very concerned that the relationship between the US and Muslim countries will become tense again," said the female Muslim activist Diete, 47.

Nikken Suardini, who works for a law firm in the capital Jakarta, was concerned about the proposed Muslim ban. "If he is elected president he will block Muslims from entering the US well, that's just not fair."

There was also concern that tough anti-Islamic policies under Trump could fan Muslim extremism globally at a time when the world is struggling with a growing threat of Islamic militancy.

"When the United States uses hard power, extremists gain a momentum," said Zuhairi Misrawi, an Islamic scholar from moderate Indonesian Islamic organisation Nahdlatul Ulama.

"Those who will be the happiest when Trump wins are ISIS," he said, referring by another name to the Islamic State group, which is struggling to hold onto its territory in Iraq and Syria in the face of a fierce military onslaught.

Some observers were more sanguine hoping that his populist rhetoric was aimed at winning votes and would not be translated into tough xenophobic policies when he enters the White House.

"We hope that Trump's remarks against Muslims were only to boost his campaign and he will realise that Muslims are a large population in the US," said Tahir Ashrafi, a senior Pakistani government cleric.

Others echoed the concerns that his policies would likely discriminate against American Muslims.

"His policies against Muslims will be discriminative," said Munarman, a spokesman for Indonesian hardline group the Islamic Defenders' Front. "Muslims are foreigners to him."

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/world/asia/091116/i-am-very-afraid-muslim-shock-as-trump-becomes-us-president.html

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Trump's website retracts statement on banning Muslims

November 10, 2016

British online newspaper The Independent has reported that Donald Trump’s team has removed the statement on his website to ban all Muslims from the US.

On the same night that millions of votes were pouring in for the real estate mogul turned politician, the page linking to his December statement regarding a temporary and complete Muslim has been removed.

The page now redirects to a page encouraging his voters to donate to his campaign.

The page was available on the morning of the election on 8 November, according to online caches. But the redirected was added later the same night.

Caches like the Wayback Machine work by crawling websites intermittently and making a copy of what it finds there. As such, it's not possible to say exactly what time the redirect was added, but only that the change had been made between those two times it was crawled.

Mr Trump was widely condemned for his call shortly after the terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015 to temporarily ban all Muslims until he figured out "what the hell was going on".

Full report at:

http://nation.com.pk/international/10-Nov-2016/trump-s-website-retracts-statement-on-banning-muslims

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Want to Move to Canada? Europe? Somewhere? Trump’s Impact Will Follow You

By JONAH ENGEL BROMWICH

NOV. 9, 2016

It has become a reflexive pledge, often half-joking, after an election: Worried about the next president? Move to another country.

After the news of Donald J. Trump’s victory in the presidential election was confirmed early Wednesday, many Americans apparently considered doing just that.

One likely destination was north. Late at night, Canada’s citizenship and immigration website crashed as it was flooded with interest.

Remi Lariviere, a spokesman for the Canadian immigration agency, confirmed Wednesday morning that the cause was “a significant increase in the volume of traffic.”

By then, the site was taking about half a minute to load but was accessible shortly before 8 a.m. Eastern. “Move to Canada” remained among the top trending search topics on Google.

There is no way, of course, to be sure how serious these queries are. And experts point out that anyone seeking refuge in another country would be hard-pressed to escape the global effects of a new American administration or outlook on the world.

Stephen J. Farnsworth, a co-author of the 2013 book “The Global President: International Media and the U.S. Government” and a professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington, said that escaping to Canada would not shield you from the influence of a President Trump.

“America’s global reach being what it is, the impacts that America has in the world will also follow you wherever you go,” he said. “Decisions that the U.S. makes with respect to NATO policy, for example, would be part of your experience if you move to say, a NATO country.”

(Canada is one of the founding members of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.)

Of course, many of those exploring their options would be fleeing not just the new president and his policies, but also the America that voted for him. And Canada was not the only country people appeared interested in checking out.

Immigration officials in New Zealand said that its website dealing with residency and student visas had received over 1,500 registrations from American citizens in November, according to Reuters, more than 50 percent the usual amount.

Many people who already have or are close to achieving dual citizenship in other countries and the United States said they were considering staying in, or leaving for, their alternate homelands.

Full report at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/10/us/-canada-immigration.html

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Islamist extremists celebrate Trump’s election win

By Ishaan Tharoor

November 9

Donald Trump's presidential election victory has already been cheered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, a constellation of right-wing European populists, a former Ku Klux Klan leader and a Middle Eastern strongman. But there's another curious constituency that seems to be happy about the new American president-elect.

Shortly after Trump was declared the victor, a number of prominent Salafist ideologues linked to jihadist outfits in the Middle East took to social media to cheer the prospect of a Trump presidency.

The remarks signaled the militants' apparent belief that the victory of a candidate like Trump, who has suggested potentially unconstitutional blocks on Muslim immigration and advocated torture, undermines the United States' moral standing in the world.

Social-media sites associated with both the Islamic State and al-Qaeda also hailed Trump’s success as the beginning of “dark times” for the United States, marked by domestic unrest and new foreign military campaigns that would sap the strength of the American superpower.

"Rejoice with support from Allah, and find glad tidings in the imminent demise of America at the hands of Trump,” said the Islamic State-affiliated al-Minbar Jihadi Media network, one of several jihadi forums to post commentaries on the results of the U.S. election.

"Trump’s win of the American presidency will bring hostility of Muslims against America as a result of his reckless actions, which show the overt and hidden hatred against them,” continued the essay, provided by the SITE Intelligence group, a private organization that monitors jihadists’ web sites.

Al-Minbar is among several jihadist-lined online publications that sought to capitalize on Trump’s controversial statements about Muslim during the election campaign, saying that the alienation of ordinary Muslims is key to their recruitment of foreign fighters. Dabiq, the Islamic State’s English-language magazine, said its terrorist campaign in Europe was intended to spark an anti-Muslim backlash by Western governments that would force European Muslims to choose sides.

A pro-a-Qaeda al-Maqalaat Twitter account predicted that Trump would “make the U.S. Enemy No. 1 again” in the Muslim Middle East.

“Trump will serve as the perfect straw man for the next four years, like Bush did before him,” it said.

Now News, a Lebanese English-language website, aggregated a series of other comments from noted Salafist ideologues.

"Trump’s victory is a powerful slap to those promoting the benefits of democratic mechanisms,” tweeted Hamza al-Karibi, a media spokesman for Syrian jihadist group Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, which was formerly affiliated with al-Qaeda before rebranding itself this year in a bid to avoid being targeted by both Russian and American airstrikes.

Full report at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/11/09/islamist-extremists-celebrate-trumps-election-win/

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Southeast Asia

 

UK Keen to Promote Malaysia’s Initiative on Islamic Moderation to the World

November 9, 2016

LONDON, Nov 9 — Malaysia’s initiative on moderation known as Wassatiyyah has attracted the interest of the United Kingdom.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the UK had stated its interest to help promote the concept internationally in the effort to tackle terrorism.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also Home Minister, said UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd disclosed this to him during their meeting here yesterday.

“They in principle are willing to work with Malaysia to organise a convention on Wassatiyyah in UK itself.

“This to me is a recognition of the efforts made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak to promote Islamic practice that are truly in line with the teachings of Islam,” he told Malaysian journalists here.

Ahmad Zahid, who is on a five-day working visit to the UK since Monday, said this development showed that the UK government appreciated the measures taken by Malaysia to tackle terrorism and also its system to promote harmony among Malaysia’s multi-racial and multi-religious population.

In his discussion with Rudd on the concept of moderation, the Deputy Prime Minister said he, among other, had also suggested that the UK appoint a Mufti to find similarities between the followers of various sects in the UK to enable moderation programmes be implemented among the masses.

They also exchanged views on issues of common interest including terrorism and measures to address the problem  that include de-radicalisation programme used by Malaysia.           

Ahmad Zahid said his UK counterpart had also suggested that Malaysia host the Global Child Abuse Convention.

Hence, he said that he will ask Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Rohani Abdul Karim to prepare a proposal to be approved by the Prime Minister and the cabinet.

Deputy Prime Minister also held meetings with UK members of Parliament both from the House of Lords and House of Commons where they discussed steps that will be taken by the UK government when they are outside the European Union.

This was because they wanted trade and cooperation in various aspects between UK and Malaysia to continue and be strengthened, he said.

There were also MPs who voiced their concerns about the possibility of terrorist groups from various Asean countries forming networks, he added.

“They fear that Asean will also be affected by terrorism as the groups want to establish a united Islamic state in the region.

It certainly will disrupt existing agreements like the Five Powers Defence Arrangement (FPDA) between Malaysia, the UK, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand,” he said.

However, Ahmad Zahid said the UK is committed to continue training and patrolling alongside the five countries involved in the defence agreement.

The Deputy Prime Minister also said Malaysia would start making preparations to host the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 2020, by taking steps to address issues of common interest such as climate change.

Ahmad Zahid yesterday night attended a dinner with the Malaysia diaspora in the UK at the Felda-owned Hotel Park City Grand Plaza here. The dinner attended was by 400 Malaysians residing and working in UK as well as Malaysian students.

The Malaysian High Commission in London estimates that there are approximately 73,000 Malaysians living and working in the UK, excluding 17,632 students at various UK higher institutions. — Bernama

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/dpm-uk-keen-to-promote-malaysias-initiative-on-islamic-moderation-to-the-wo

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DPM: Misplaced secular interests and tribalism motivate radicalism, terrorism

November 10, 2016

OXFORD, Nov 10 — Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said extremism, radicalism and terrorism are not only motivated by misguided religious orientation but also by misplaced secular, tribal and other human interests and affiliations. 

The Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister said the world community shouldered the responsibility to de-root all elements of these negative trends by addressing both the internal and external factors which contributed to the problem in a concurrent manner with all seriousness.

“Extremism, radicalism and especially terrorism have always been condemned in traditional Islamic teachings and practises. However, the responsibility for the misguided doctrines and horrendous actions of a very small minority should never be placed on the shoulders of the innocent majority.

“Such action not only is an injustice but would also imply a form of extremism, and in some cases even terrorism,” he said in his keynote address entitled “De-Rooting Radicalism and Extremism” at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS), Oxford University, here yesterday. The lecture was attended by scholars and other guests.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also Home Minister, said the injustice would unintentionally become useful fodder for real extremists and terrorists to justify their mistrust in majority opinions, international laws and conventions, and to recruit new members worldwide.

Ahmad Zahid, who is on a five-day working visit to the United Kingdom from Monday, said there were many inter-related factors that led to extremism, radicalism, wars and terrorism.

In a globalised world, he said, radicalism and extremism and their impact on international relations and security were not only limited to Muslims but also to those who profess other religions and secular ideologies, but these have been justified often times wrongly, in the names of religion, ideology, King, Country, ethnic and linguistic purity, or even Humanity.

Giving some of the examples to prove his point on the causes of radicalism, Ahmad Zahid said the First and the Second World Wars, and the Korean and Vietnam Wars could be attributed primarily to ideological causes while the Balkan Tragedy was essentially based on ethnic-religious ground.

The mass genocide in the Christian majority state of Rwanda, he said was largely motivated by tribalism; the Ugandan civil war was primarily due to Christian religious radicalism, the mass killings of the Muslims in the Ivory Coast were ethnic-religious, committed by Christian and indigenous groups.

However, the world was now focusing on de-rooting Muslim extremism, radicalism, and terrorism and these phenomena have victimised not only those who were directly targeted, but also Muslims worldwide and stoked the lingering ambers of Islamophobia, he added.

The Deputy Prime Minister said de-rooting extremism, radicalism, and terrorism among a small minority of Muslims involved a keen and correct understanding of their real internal and external causes, and the application of wise, bold, and consistent multi-dimensional corrective, punitive, and preventive approaches.

Sharing Malaysia’s experience in de-rooting radicalism, extremism and terrorism, Ahmad Zahid said Malaysia uses a three-pronged and mutually interconnected approach, namely educational and re-traditionalisation; legal and de-radicalisation; and social and economic approach.

Full report at:

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/dpm-misplaced-secular-interests-and-tribalism-also-motivate-extremism-radic

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Despite fiery talk, pundits say Trump unlikely to harm Malaysia-US ties

BY IDA LIM AND A. RUBAN

November 10, 2016

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 — For all his wild remarks in the run-up to winning the US presidency yesterday, Donald Trump will likely take a pragmatic approach in foreign relations, including with Malaysia, regional analysts said.

Ooi Kee Beng of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore said that while it was still too early to call on what the US foreign policy will look like under Trump, he believed Malaysia’s bilateral ties with the world superpower will largely remain unchanged.

“There will be more continuity than one would assume from listening to Trump’s speeches, due to systemic constraints and habits. So, there is no need to expect radical changes in bilateral ties,” the deputy director of the Singapore institute told Malay Mail Online when contacted yesterday.

The Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia’s senior analyst Shahriman Lockman said Trump’s inconsistency made it hard to predict how the president-elect would act when it came to policy decisions for the entire country.

“Will Trump’s campaign tirades be translated into actual policy? We won’t know until the implementation stage – when the rubber hits the road,” he said.

However Shahriman noted that Malaysia-US relations “pretty much runs on autopilot”, with the work on the US side carried out by officials such as those in the US State Department and the Pacific Command, rather than the US president and his Cabinet secretaries.

“Whether it’s implementing the details of the Malaysia-US Comprehensive Partnership or holding military exercises, these will continue to go on as usual. So I don’t foresee a big change in the day-to-day aspects of bilateral ties,” he said.

The bigger concerns for Malaysia, he said, would be how Trump will approach our country with regards to five key issues: international trade, the rise of China, the US alliance system in Asia, US relations with the Muslim world, and human rights.

“Mix these together and you’ll get the broad outlines of how the US will relate to Malaysia,” he added.

Oh Ei Sun from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) believes that the US under Trump will likely be more “reclusive” towards other countries.

But at the same time, the senior adjunct fellow in the NTU’s Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies said the new Trump administration will also be more pragmatic and be “willing to cut painful deals in international affairs”, which would then translate into “less pressure on Malaysia to improve various records or choose sides”.

Prof William Case from the City University of Hong Kong said Trump has little knowledge and interest in South-east Asia, adding that the incoming US president’s personal views on Muslims may push Malaysia closer to China.

“But with respect to Malaysia, his generalised anti-Muslim vitriol will further alienate the Malays from the United States. And his neglecting trade and security ties will drive Malaysia deeper into the arms of China.

“The US State Department can only try to manage the weakening in relations that results,” he said when contacted.

Case, who is attached to the university’s Asian and international studies department, also noted Trump’s protectionist views on trade.

“US export markets will, of course, when protected by new tariffs, grow much harder to access. And so, Malaysia’s progress along the new Silk Road will accelerate. And as China’s investments mount, US investment in Malaysia will be vastly overshadowed,” he said.

Economic relations and trade barriers

Wan Saiful Wan Jan who heads local think-tank Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs also noted Trump’s protectionist attitude towards the US economy and said the US administration under the Republican maverick’s helm “might not be so passionate on creating a free trade”.

“Trade relationship between both countries will still need to continue but there may be barriers created by the US, such as reducing access to the American market,” he said.

Weighing in on US investment levels in Malaysia, Oh said: “US investment in Malaysia has remained stagnant over the past years, and will remain so as long as US economy is still tanking.”

Full report at:

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/despite-fiery-talk-pundits-say-trump-unlikely-to-harm-malaysia-us-ties

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Sarawakian Christian Roneey Rebit finally gets new IC without ‘Islam’

BY IDA LIM

November 10, 2016

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 — A Sarawakian Christian has been issued a new identification card (IC) that recognises his non-Muslim identity and does not contain the word “Islam”, his lawyer confirmed.

When asked for updates on Roneey Rebit’s case, lawyer Chua Kuan Ching said her client had applied for the new document from the National Registration Department (NRD) four months ago.

Chua said the lawyers were informed that he had collected his new IC from the NRD’s Kuching office in late October.

She confirmed that both the IC and the NRD’s official registry now reflect Roneey’s religious status as a Christian and uses his name at birth.

“I’m glad that he finally got his IC after years of going around for this matter and months of waiting despite the decision given in March this year,” she told Malay Mail Online.

Chua was referring to the Kuching High Court’s landmark ruling on March 24, which recognised Roneey’s constitutional right as an adult to choose his religion and ordered the NRD to issue him a new Mykad without the word “Islam” and with his name at birth restored.

Roneey, now 41, had said he was converted as a child by his Christian-turned-Muslim parents.

Kuching High Court judge Datuk Yew Jen Kie had in the judgment noted Roneey’s mother’s conversion certificate showed he was converted at the age of 10, adding that the facts showed that Roneey’s conversion to Islam then was not of his own volition but was a choice decided by his mother for him as a minor.

The judge noted that Roneey was brought up in a Christian Bidayuh community since birth, never practised Islam and embraced Christianity on his own volition.

In granting all three specific orders sought by Roneey in a December 8, 2014 judicial review application, the High Court judge declared that the Bidayuh man is a Christian.

The judge also ordered the NRD to amend his given Muslim name of Azmi Mohamad Azam Shah @ Roneey to his name at birth, also directing the department to change Roneey’s religious status in his Mykad and the national registry to Christianity.

A fourth order sought by Roneey was previously granted last June 12, in which the High Court ordered two Islamic bodies to issue him a letter of release from Islam and to forward it to his lawyers. It was a consent order that both Islamic bodies did not contest.

In the same June consent order, the High Court had also allowed Roneey’s judicial review bid against the Sarawak Islamic Religious Department’s (Jais) director, the Sarawak Islamic Religious Department (Mais) and the Sarawak state government.

Chua today confirmed that Jais had four months ago issued the letter of release from Islam for Roneey.

Full report at:

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/sarawakian-christian-roneey-rebit-finally-gets-new-ic-without-islam

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PAS to snub Pakatan convention due to DAP presence

BY RAM ANAND

November 10, 2016

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 — PAS has rejected PKR’s invitation to attend the maiden Pakatan Harapan convention this weekend as it will not share the same space with DAP, the Islamist party’s information chief Nasrudin Hassan said today.

Speaking to reporters at the Parliament lobby, Nasrudin said PAS has “long severed ties with DAP”.

He also pointed out that his party was not a member of the pact, even if it does maintain ties with PKR.

“Sending an invite is their right, but we will not join their gathering or conventions because we are not a part of them (Pakatan),” he said.

“PAS do not have a co-operation with Pakatan Harapan, and this is not a PKR convention,” he added, referring to the invitation sent by PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli.

Rafizi previously said that the Islamist party was invited to the convention, as Pakatan Harapan was seeking to gather all federal opposition parties on the same platform ahead of a general election due in less than two years.

The previous Pakatan Rakyat pact of PAS, PKR and DAP collapsed last year after DAP and PAS fought over the latter’s bid to implement hudud law in Kelantan.

PAS went on to form its own coalition with Parti Ikatan Bangsa Malaysia, while the party’s progressives left to form Parti Amanah Negara, which joined DAP and PKR in Pakatan Harapan.

Full report at:

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/pas-to-snub-pakatan-convention-due-to-dap-presence

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Mideast

 

Troops kill 30 Qaeda suspects in Yemen

November 10, 2016

ADEN : Yemeni troops loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's government killed at least 30 suspected al Qaeda militants in a raid backed by a Saudi-led military coalition, the Yemeni military said on Wednesday.

Four soldiers were also killed in the operation on Tuesday at a farm west of Mukalla, the port city and capital of the province of Hadramout, the military said on its Facebook page.

The raid was supported by the Saudi-led Arab coalition that has been fighting on the side of Hadi in a war against Houthi rebels and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Yemeni officials on Tuesday reported that six militants were killed in the raid, while four others were captured.  Al Qaeda militants took advantage of the civil war which began last year, seizing parts of southern Yemen, including Mukalla, before Yemeni government soldiers and Arab coalition troops drove them out. The militants have since dispersed into the desert or have gone into hiding, but continue to launch occasional attacks on state officials and institutions.

The United States, which regards al Qaeda in Yemen as one of the deadliest branches of the network founded by Osama bin Laden, has used drones to hunt down leaders and elements of the militant group.

http://nation.com.pk/international/10-Nov-2016/troops-kill-30-qaeda-suspects-in-yemen

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Israeli settlers attack al-Aqsa Mosque compound again

Nov 10, 2016

Israeli settlers have stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem al-Quds in the latest incursion into one of the holiest sites in Islam. 

At least 100 settlers broke into the compound through the Moroccans' Gate on Wednesday under the full protection of Israel's special police forces, the Ma’an news agency reported.

The Islamic Waqf, which manages the al-Aqsa Mosque affairs, held Israeli authorities responsible for the incursion and reneging on international laws.

The religious trust stated that al-Aqsa Mosque is revered by more than 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide, and that the existing accords prohibit Jewish prayers at the mosque.

On Monday, Israeli Knesset (parliament) speaker Yuli Edelstein joined three cabinet ministers and three lawmakers to launch a lobby on changing the al-Aqsa Mosque status quo and permitting Jewish rituals there.

The al-Aqsa Mosque compound is a flashpoint holy Muslim site, which is highly respected by Jews and Christians as well. The mosque is Islam’s third holiest site after Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina, Saudi Arabia.

Full report at:

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/11/10/492942/Israeli-settlers-attack-alAqsa-Mosque-Jerusalem-alQuds-court-prison-sentence-stabbing-attack

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US Gives Green Light to Turkey to Join Raqqa Battle

Nov 09, 2016

"The commanders of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have declared an agreement (with Turkey) without disclosing the details," the sources told FNA on Wednesday.

"Based on the agreement, Turkey will control bordering regions like Tal Abyadh and Salouk and the SDF will be responsible for controlling Raqqa and then they will continue to advance towards regions in the Southern districts of Raqqa province to take full control of its territories," the sources added.

Politicians in Turkey say the US is playing with the Kurds and Ankara to implement its plots to disintegrate Syria and Iraq.

"During a meeting between the Turkish and US military officials, it was decided that the US paves the ground for Turkey's access to the strategic city of al-Bab in Northern Aleppo and instead, the Kurds will be able to use Turkey's greenlight to capture Raqqa," sources privy to the talks, who asked to remain unnamed, said on Tuesday.

The sources, al-Bab is so important for Ankara that it has accepted to play a part in Washington's game as control over the city and its surrounding region would prevent geographical coordination among Kurdish cantons in Northern Syria; this is while the Kurds and the Syrian government consider al-Bab as a strategic region given its rich oil resources and special geographical situation.

Also on Tuesday, a Kurdish member of the Syrian parliament rapped the SDF for coordination with the US to retake the ISIL's self-proclaimed capital of Raqqa, describing it as Washington's plot.

Full report at:

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950819001381

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Turkey arrests 55 more pilots in coup probes

November 10, 2016

ANKARA: Turkish prosecutors ordered the detention of 55 more air force pilots on Wednesday, broadcaster NTV and other media reported, as part of an ongoing crackdown following a failed coup in July.

Authorities previously detained more than 300 pilots, most of them at an air base in Konya, as part of the unprecedented crackdown in which more than 110,000 people - from soldiers and judges to teachers and journalists - have been detained or suspended, and 37,000 formally arrested. The latest operation targeting supporters of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for orchestrating the putsch, was carried out in eight provinces but centered in Konya, NTV said. Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1999, has denied the charges and condemned the coup.  The extent of the purges has worried rights groups and some of Turkey's Western allies, who fear that President Tayyip Erdogan is using the failed coup as a pretext to curtain dissent.

Full report at:

http://nation.com.pk/international/10-Nov-2016/turkey-arrests-55-more-pilots-in-coup-probes

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EU warns ‘backsliding’ Turkey to decide on membership

November 10, 2016

BRUSSELS -  The EU warned Turkey on Wednesday that "backsliding" on rights after a coup attempt was putting its membership bid at risk and urged Ankara to decide whether or not to commit.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan however hit back at the "shameless" European Union and challenged it in return to make a final choice on Turkey's long-stalled application for a place in the bloc.

"Turkey has apparently chosen to move away from Europe," EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn said as he unveiled an annual report on EU candidate countries. "The ball is clearly in Turkey's court now. Turkey's leadership must tell us what they want."

Hahn told European lawmakers the 28-nation union had "serious concerns" about the crackdown launched by Erdogan in the wake of the deadly attempt by part of the military to oust his government in July.

"Turkey as a candidate country must fulfil the highest standards to which it committed itself and on which there cannot be any compromise. In this year's report we therefore stress Turkey's backsliding in the area of rule of law and fundamental rights," Hahn said.

Ankara's moves to reinstate the death penalty were also "incompatible with Turkey's official desire to become a member of the European Union", he said.

The EU report however hailed Turkey's efforts to cut the number of migrants crossing to the Greek islands and its efforts to meet the criteria needed to begin visa-free travel to the bloc for Turkish nationals.

Turkey has been seeking to join the EU since the 1960s with formal accession talks opening in 2005.

The process was meant to be accelerated after the EU and Turkey agreed in March on a deal to tackle the migrant crisis. But the process has been close to collapse since the crackdown in response to the coup.

Tensions have flared further in recent days, with Turkey slamming fresh EU criticism of its crackdown and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker warning that Turkey is moving away from the EU "each day"

Speaking an hour before the release of Wednesday's EU report, Erdogan said: "They shamelessly say that Turkey's EU negotiations should be reviewed. You are late. Review it as soon as possible.

"But do not just review, make your final decision."

Following the release of the report Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin warned against halting the accession process.

"If the European Union takes the decision to cut off negotiations, then they will also suffer the consequences," he told Haber TV.

Meanwhile, Turkey on Wednesday slammed as "far from objective" an EU report on its stalled membership bid that accused Ankara of backsliding on criteria and told the government to decide whether it was serious about accession.

"There are sections in the report that are very far from being objective," Turkish EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik told a televised news conference in Ankara.

"We are faced here with a report that is far from being constructive and offering a way forwards," he added.

The report came days after the EU vehemently criticised Turkey over the arrest of 10 MPs from the main pro-Kurdish party, including its two co-leaders, and nine staff from the opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper were also imprisoned.

The EU has also expressed alarm over the scale of the crackdown in the wake of the July 15 coup bid, with Ankara in turn saying Brussels has failed to show sufficient solidarity over the failed putsch.

Full report at:

http://nation.com.pk/international/10-Nov-2016/eu-warns-backsliding-turkey-to-decide-on-membership

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Iran again tests a limit of nuclear deal: IAEA report

November 09, 2016

VIENNA: Iran has exceeded a soft limit on sensitive material set under its nuclear deal with major powers, the UN atomic watchdog said on Wednesday, hours after Donald Trump - who has strongly criticized the agreement - won the US presidential election.

It is the second time Tehran has surpassed the 130 metric tonne threshold for heavy water, a material used as a moderator in reactors like Iran's unfinished one at Arak, since the deal was put in place in January. It had 130.1 tonnes of the material on Tuesday, the watchdog said.

The last time it overstepped that mark was brief and passed without major criticism from other countries that signed the deal. But Trump's comments raise questions about whether his administration will react to such incidents the same way.

"On 2 November 2016, the director general expressed concerns related to Iran's stock of heavy water to the vice president of Iran and president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, ... Ali Akbar Salehi," the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a confidential report seen by Reuters.

The IAEA is policing the restrictions placed on Iran's nuclear activities under the deal it signed last year with the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. The agreement also lifted international sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Iran told the agency it would prepare to transfer 5 tonnes of heavy water out of the country, as provided for in the deal, and a senior diplomat said Iran planned to carry out the shipment in the coming days.

Full report at:

http://nation.com.pk/international/09-Nov-2016/iran-again-tests-a-limit-of-nuclear-deal-iaea-report-says

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UN report notes minor Iranian violation of nuclear deal

 9 November 2016

The UN agency monitoring the nuclear pact between Iran and six world powers is reporting that Iran’s stockpile of heavy water is marginally over the allowed limit but Tehran plans to return to compliance.

The deal specifies a heavy water limit of 130 metric tons (143.3 tons.) The confidential report seen by The Associated Press that was issued Wednesday says that Iran’s stockpile exceeded that amount by 0.10 metric tons.

Full report at:

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/11/09/UN-report-notes-minor-Iranian-violation-of-nuclear-deal.html

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Yemeni demonstrators call for formation of government

Nov 10, 2016

Yemeni people have held a rally in the capital Sana’a to call for an immediate formation of a government in the face of a Saudi military campaign against the impoverished nation.

People converged on a main square on Wednesday to express support for the formation of a government to help put an end to the Saudi aerial, naval and ground attacks as well as its blockade of the country.

“Amid the brutal Saudi aggression, the formation of a government of technocrats to run the country during these difficult circumstances has become necessary,” a demonstrator told Press TV.

The demonstrators also denounced a peace initiative put forward by US Secretary of State John Kerry, saying it amounted to a call for “surrender.”

Full report at:

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/11/10/492943/Yemen-Sanaa-rally-Saudi-Arabia

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Turkey violating UN judge’s diplomatic immunity: UN court

Nov 10, 2016

Turkey has violated a UN judge’s diplomatic immunity after arresting him as part of its post-coup crackdown, says a UN court.

The president of the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT), Theodor Meron, told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that Ankara has been ignoring requests to visit Judge Aydin Sedaf Akay since he was detained in September.

"The UN Office of Legal Affairs has requested his release from detention and the cessation of all legal proceedings against him," he added.

Meron noted that Akay’s arrest violates both his diplomatic immunity and his judicial independence.

At the time of his detention, Akay was scheduled to preside over the appeal case of a Rwandan politician sentenced in 2012 to 35 years in prison over genocide charges.

"As a result of his detention, the proceedings have come to a standstill," said Meron.

In 2009, Akay, a former diplomat, was appointed as a judge on the UN tribunal trying Rwanda genocide perpetrators. He later became a judge on MICT, which succeeded the tribunal.

The July 15 coup in Turkey began when a faction of the military declared it was in control of the country and the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was no more in charge.

Tanks, helicopters, and soldiers clashed with police and people on the streets of Ankara and Istanbul. Between 200 and 300 people were killed on all sides in the attempted coup d’état.

A state of emergency was first imposed a few days after the putsch bid. It was prolonged for another 12 weeks in October.

Emergency decrees have since extended the period of police detention without judicial review from four to 30 days and allowed the authorities to deny detainees access to lawyers for up to five days.

Full report at:

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/11/10/492917/turkey-un-judge-coup-diplomatic-immunity

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Israel after sowing discord among Muslims: Iran official

Nov 9, 2016

An Iranian official says the Israeli regime seeks to weaken Muslim nations by pitting them against one another.

“The Zionist regime has always pursued a policy of weakening Muslims and creating rifts among Islamic faiths,” said Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Iranian parliament speaker's special advisor on international affairs.

He made the remarks in a meeting with Khalid Qaddoumi, the representative of the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, in Tehran on Wednesday.

The Iranian official called for unity and vigilance among Muslims in the face of their enemies' plots, adding that the US and Israel must be held accountable for the growing number of terrorist groups in the Middle East region.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Amir-Abdollahian reaffirmed Iran’s unwavering support for the rights of the Palestinian nation.

Full report at:

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/11/09/492887/Iran-Hamas-AmirAbdollahian-Qaddoumi-Palestine-Israel-US

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Arab World

 

Coalition strike ‘kills 20 civilians’ near IS-held Raqa

November 10, 2016

AIN ISSA, Syria -  US-backed forces pressed offensives Wednesday on the Islamic State group's strongholds in Syria and Iraq, as an air strike by the American-led coalition reportedly killed 20 civilians near the Syrian city of Raqa.

Supported by coalition air raids, Iraqi forces have pushed into IS's Mosul stronghold and a Kurdish-Arab militia alliance has been advancing on the militants' de facto Syrian capital Raqa.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a coalition strike overnight had hit the IS-held village of Al-Heisha, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Raqa.

Rami Abdul Rahman, the head of the Britain-based monitoring group, said nine women and two children were among the 20 civilians killed and that 32 others had been wounded.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the militia alliance which Washington is supporting in the assault, denied the civilian deaths. "There is no such thing, and any such claims are IS news," SDF spokeswoman Jihan Sheikh Ahmed told AFP.

Colonel John Dorrian, a spokesman for the coalition, told AFP it appeared there had been strikes in the area. "After an initial assessment... the coalition confirms it did conduct strikes in the area described in the allegation," he said. "However, more specific information is needed to conclusively determine responsibility" for civilian casualties. The Observatory said the latest deaths brought the number of civilians killed since US-led air strikes in Syria began in September 2014 to 680, including 169 children.

Some 200 families had fled Al-Heisha, according to an SDF official.

"Daesh fighters brought heavy weapons to our village and stayed among us so that if there were strikes they would hit us," 45-year-old Saada al-Aboud said after fleeing the town, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

"They wouldn't let us leave. We had to escape by running out into the fields, with our children and old people. What else could we do? We left everything behind."

The SDF launched the drive towards Raqa on Saturday, upping pressure on the militants three weeks after Iraqi forces began their assault on Mosul.

Raqa and Mosul are the last major cities in Syria and Iraq under IS control, after the militants suffered losses that greatly reduced the size of the self-styled "caliphate" they declared in mid-2014 following their seizure of large parts of both countries.

The US-led coalition, which launched its air campaign against IS two years ago, hopes that driving the group from the two cities will deal it a knockout blow.

The SDF has been pushing south from areas near the Turkish border towards Raqa, seizing a string of villages and moving to positions about 35 kilometres (22 miles) from the city.

An AFP correspondent east of Ain Issa, the main staging point for the offensive, said coalition aircraft could be seen on Wednesday carrying out repeated air strikes in the distance and that IS fighters were shelling SDF positions.

In Iraq, an official said Tuesday that Kurdish peshmerga fighters had seized the town of Bashiqa near Mosul, which would be a final step in securing the eastern approaches to Mosul.

There were still pockets of resistance in the town, officials said, and an AFP correspondent in Bashiqa reported continued air strikes, gunfire and explosions on Tuesday.

The peshmerga and Iraqi federal forces have been advancing on Mosul from the north, east and south since October 17, and last week pushed into the city's eastern outskirts.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Wednesday he hoped for enduring US support following Donald Trump's presidential election win.

"We look forward to the continued support of the world and the United States in standing with Iraq in its confrontation with terrorism," Abadi said in a statement congratulating Trump.

Officials are warning of long and bloody battles ahead in Mosul and Raqa, with IS expected to put up fierce resistance and to use trapped civilians as human shields.

More than a million people are believed to be in Mosul. Raqa in 2011 had a pre-war population of some 240,000, and more than 80,000 people have since fled there from elsewhere in Syria.

The International Organization for Migration said Wednesday that nearly 42,000 people had fled their homes since the start of the Mosul operation.

That was an increase of more than 7,000 from the figure the IOM gave the previous day.

The IOM said a significant part of that increase was the result of new counts of people who were already present in camps, though more were also still arriving.

http://nation.com.pk/international/10-Nov-2016/coalition-strike-kills-20-civilians-near-is-held-raqa

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Terrorists Use Chemical Weapons in Syria's Aleppo Again

Nov 09, 2016

Local media quoted sources as saying that the militants shelled government troops with improvised mortars filled with Chlorine gas during the battles which took place recently to control two strategic hilltops.

The terrorist groups have used chemically armed weapons against the civilian population in Aleppo several times in the last two months..

Last week, Syrian state news agency cited a medical source in Aleppo's General Hospital as saying that since the attacks by terrorists on Menyan district in Western Aleppo at least eight chemically wounded people with suffocation symptoms were brought to the hospital.

Five people were killed last Thursday and scores were injured in attacks by terrorists with chemically-armed shells and mortar rounds on government-held neighborhoods in Western Aleppo.

Full report at:

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950819000791

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Iraqi Commanders: Turkish Spies Helping ISIL Terrorists Flee to Turkey, Syria

Nov 09, 2016

"It has become known over the past few days that some ISIL commanders are Turkish nationals, and all those who are in charge of ISIL's Mosul operations have received Turkish citizenship, hence Turkey intends to help them escape from Mosul through a safe corridor," Spokesman of Iraq's Hezbollah Battalion Jafar al-Hosseini told FNA on Wednesday.

Al-Hosseini noted that Hashd al-Shaabi popular troops are also responsible for confronting the withdrawal of these top commanders and other terrorists toward Baishqa military base in addition to helping Iraq's joint military forces against the ISIL in Nineveh province.

Meantime, a senior commander of Sayyed al-Shohada battalions Hassan Abdol Hadi disclosed the Turkish agents' spying activities in different cities of Nineveh province, specially the city of Tal Afar.

"The most important goal of the Turkish spies is helping the ISIL terrorist commanders to escape to Syria or Turkey," Abdol Hadi said.

On Monday, a senior commander of the Iraqi volunteer forces announced that his forces have started advancing towards Tal Afar airport, and cautioned that the Hashd al-Shaabi fighters might clash with the Turkish army troops in the area.

"Hashd al-Shaabi forces started the second round of their mop-up operation mission at Tal Afar airport; the airport is located 8 kilometers from Tal Afar city and Hashd al-Shaabi forces are advancing cautiously due to the possibility of clashes with the Turkish army," Hassab Abdel Hadi said.

Full report at:

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950819001529

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Syrian Army Gains More Ground Southwest of Aleppo City

Nov 09, 2016

"Syrian pro-government forces have continued their operation to reinvigorate security in the Western neighborhoods of Aleppo and have beaten back the terrorist groups from more positions near Housing Project 1070 and al-Hikmah School," the source said.

"After the liberation of Housing Project 1070, the army soldiers stormed militants' centers Northwest of the complex and engaged in fierce clashes with militants on the hill, Tal Batikh," the sources said, adding that "the government forces inflicted a heavy death toll on the militants and captured the hill".

"After seizing al-Hikmah School, army men clashed and killed a number of militants fleeing towards al-Rashedeen district," the sources said.

The army's engineering units have defused the bombs and landmines planted in al-Hikmah School and the surrounding neighborhood.

Reports said earlier today that Syrian Army soldiers pushed terrorists back from more positions in the Southern parts of Aleppo city and captured al-Hikmah School following hours of fierce clashes.

Full report at:

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950819001014

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Syrian Commander: Countdown Started for Liberation of Eastern Aleppo

Nov 09, 2016

"The operations to fully liberate Eastern Aleppo will most likely kick off in the next few hours with the support of the Russian air force," Mohannad Haaj, commander of al-Mahavir Battalion in the Syrian army, said on Wednesday.

He stated that the terrorists have lost the chance that the Russian air force gave them by pausing its airstrikes against them in Aleppo, adding that it is now too late for the terrorists as a big battle is underway.

Haaj also referred to the Syrian army's preparedness to attack the militants in al-Bab city in Northern Aleppo province, and said that such a battle is more important politically than militarily since Ankara is seeking to establish a region on the Syrian territories stretching from al-Mare' to al-Bab.

"When the Syrian army and its allies start battle in Raqqa, Idlib and the Northern parts of Aleppo, the terrorists will have no escape route but the Turkish territories, but Ankara is trying to create a buffer zone in Northern Syria; therefore, Damascus is attempting to capture al-Bab and prevent others from using this region for political gains," he added.

Sources in the Russian Defense Ministry disclosed on Tuesday that the country's aircraft carrier group is ready to launch a strike targeting terrorists in the province of Aleppo in the next 24 hours.

The source told Russia's Gazeta that the attack, which will likely engage Kalibr cruise missiles, will target militants outside Aleppo, and not the residential areas.

The group, which includes Russia's 'Admiral Kuznetsov' aircraft carrier, 'Pyotr Veliky' nuclear power guided missile cruiser and two destroyers, has completed its transfer to the Mediterranean Sea and is getting ready to strike, the Defense Ministry source said.

"The group's main goal is to carry out missile strikes on terrorists outside of Aleppo that are attempting to get into the city", the source added.

Full report at:

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950819000550

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Traces of Islamic State 'mass grave' rot in Iraqi spa town

November 10, 2016

HAMMAM AL-ALIL, IRAQ: On the banks of the Tigris river, men sit and watch, smiling with relief as Iraqi policemen, soldiers and local youths bathe in muddy spring water in a town that was recaptured from Islamic State just a few days ago.

Across town, there is a grimmer scene: two stinking corpses, their feet tied together, rot in the sun in a large dirt quadrant walled by four man-made earth berms.

One body is intact. The other has parts missing. A severed head lies next to them, its skull mostly visible. What appear to be several other corpses protrude from the dirt and detritus.

A policeman cautions not to approach or touch the bodies, in case they are booby-trapped.

Narrow, shallow trenches up to 20 yards long have been dug in some parts of the quadrant.

Residents of the town, Hammam al-Alil, say this is the site of a mass grave which Iraqi forces reported to have uncovered on Monday after driving out Islamic State militants.

Iraq has launched an investigation into what would be further evidence of the ultra-hardline group's brutality against people living in areas under its control since it established its self-styled "caliphate" across much of northern Iraq and Syria more than two years ago.

An operation involving the Iraqi army, Kurdish forces, Shi'ite and tribal militias and backed by U.S.-led air strikes has driven the jihadists out of many areas surrounding Mosul, with the aim of recapturing its last major city stronghold in Iraq.

As Islamic State has retreated, it has lashed out, with local residents such as those of Hammam al-Alil paying the price.

"Some were beheaded, and some were shot," said 35-year-old Odeh, whose brother was taken away by Islamic State fighters in the town near the start of the Mosul operation last month.

"They rounded up people from the town, and from other areas, and killed them there, where the grave is. It was revenge, they took it out on anyone over the age of 15," he said.

Islamic State held the agricultural college, 200 yards from the site, as a base and a place to torture or kill people, residents said. Many estimated that up to 200 people were killed in the weeks before Islamic State withdrew from the town.

Reuters could not access the college because Iraqi police said it had not been cleared and might still be rigged with explosives.

Aid organizations and local officials have cited reports that Islamic State executed dozens of people in Hammam al-Alil and barracks nearby on suspicion of planning rebellions in and around Mosul to aid the advancing troops.

The Iraqi military said its forces at the complex discovered the decapitated corpses of at least 100 civilians.

BODIES DUMPED IN TIGRIS

The militants transported 1,600 abducted civilians from the town of Hammam al-Alil to Tal Afar last week, possibly for use as human shields against air strikes, and told some they may be taken to Syria. They also took 150 families from Hammam al-Alil to Mosul.

Most of those executed in Hammam al-Alil were former members of the Iraqi police and army, taken from villages the group was forced to abandon, a local official said.

Residents confirmed most of those taken were police or their family members, including the brother of Mohammed Hassan, himself a former policeman.

Full report at:

http://nation.com.pk/international/10-Nov-2016/traces-of-islamic-state-mass-grave-rot-in-iraqi-spa-town

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Saudi King to Trump: Let us work for peace

9 November 2016

Custodian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud had a telephone conversation with President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, during which he congratulated him on winning the presidential election, Saudi Arabia’s official news agency SPA has announced.

During the conversation, King Salman confirmed Saudi Arabia’s aspiration to promote the historical and strategic relations with the United States, and work together to bring peace and stability to the Middle East and the world, and wished the American people further progress and prosperity under his leadership.

Full report at:

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2016/11/09/Saudi-King-congratulates-Trump-after-winning-.html

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42,000 displaced since start of Mosul assault

9 November 2016

Nearly 42,000 people have fled their homes since last month’s start of the operation to recapture Mosul from the Islamic State group, the International Organization for Migration said Wednesday.

Aid organisations have warned that more than a million people could be displaced in the battle for Mosul, and while it has not yet reached that scale, the numbers are growing.

The IOM said on its displacement tracking web page that 41,988 people have been “displaced as a result of the ongoing Mosul operations which began on 17 October 2016.”

That was an increase of more than 7,000 from the figure the IOM gave the previous day, but it was unclear when the spike in displacement occurred.

The vast majority of those displaced are from Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital, but the IOM has also included people from several other provinces in the Mosul operation figures.

Full report at:

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/11/09/42-000-displaced-since-start-of-Mosul-assault-.html

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Syrian troops down 14 drones operated by militants

Nov 9, 2016

Syrian army soldiers and allied fighters have shot down 14 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operated by foreign-backed terrorists in the southwestern province of Dara’a.

An unidentified military source said on Wednesday that the drones intended to carry out reconnaissance missions and target a number of Syrian army positions.

The development came amid latest gains made by the Syrian forces against Takfiri elements operating in the Arab country.

Also on Wednesday, the Syrian army units and allies wrested control of al-Hikma school on the western outskirts of Aleppo.

An unnamed military source said that the advance came after clashes with terrorists, mostly from Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as al-Nusra Front. The fighting inflicted dozens of casualties on the terrorists and destroyed their equipment.

Elsewhere, the Syrian troops foiled an attack on a number of military posts to the east of Hadir on the northern outskirts of Quneitra province. The fighting killed scores of the terrorists and destroyed their vehicles, some of which were equipped with heavy machine guns.

A number of other militants further lost their lives after another Syrian army unit targeted gatherings of militants and their supply routes in the countryside of Quneitra.

Clashes were also reported with Jabhat Fateh al-Sham in Mashara in eastern Quneitra.

Meanwhile, another military source said the Syrian forces had destroyed a Daesh vehicle equipped with a heavy machine gun, a mortar launcher and a bulldozer in al-Tharda Mountain and along the eastern barricade of Dayr al-Zawr Airport.

Full report at:

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/11/09/492868/Syria-Daraa-Jabhat-Fateh-Sham

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Retired General: Only Syrian Army Can Seize Back Raqqa

Nov 09, 2016

"The Raqqa operations by the US-backed forces that is done at the same time that the terrorist groups are being defeated in the Aleppo operations is a major political tactic by Washington," retired Syrian Army General Ali Maqsoud told FNA on Wednesday.

He underlined that no one except the Syrian army and its allies can seize back control of Raqqa from the ISIL.

"Everyone was talking about the difficulties of the Raqqa battle and the need to prepare the conditions to set it off at a proper time and everyone believed that the operation could be conducted only after thorough studies, but everything suddenly changed without any specific reason and they rushed to stage this operation," Maqsoud added, stating that the US is the driving force behind the rush in conducting the assault for the sake political gains.

In relevant remarks on Tuesday, a Kurdish member of the Syrian parliament rapped the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) for coordination with the US to retake the ISIL's self-proclaimed capital of Raqqa, describing it as Washington's plot.

"The SDF forces' operation to take back Raqqa from ISIL in coordination with the western coalition, led by the US, is a strategic mistake with negative impacts on the Syrian Kurds," Omar Ousi, also chairman of the National Initiative of Syrian Kurds, said in an interview with al-Watan newspaper.

"The US is not serious about annihilation of the ISIL in Syria since the ISIL still plays a role in the US plots to redraw the region's geopolitical map," he added.

Noting that the US will betray the Syrian Kurds and will strengthen ties with Turkey, Ousi said, "The only safe way for the Syrian Kurds is the resistance front and coordination in joint operation rooms with the Syrian army and their allies from Iran, Russia and the Lebanese Hezbollah group."

His remarks came after senior member of the Syrian Democratic Council Rizan Hado underlined that the Kurdish forces fighting to liberate Raqqa have not counted on the US-led coalition's support and only rely on their own capabilities, adding that they also have enough power to confront any possible Turkish aggression.

"Any attempt by Turkey to make an aggression against Manbij will certainly impede liberation of Raqqa and we will not remain silent. Our priority is confronting Turkey's aggression against Manbij. The ball is now in the coalition's court and its seriousness will be shown in forcing the Turks to withdraw from the region," Hado said on Monday.

Certain dissident sources in Syria have also disclosed Turkey's new scenario to further expand the Euphrates Shield operation after it was excluded from the Raqqa operation under pressure from the Kurdish sides.

Meantime, the battle in al-Bab which is still under the ISIL occupation is important for the Kurdish forces.

Certain sources affiliated to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) underlined that "we have established our position in al-Bab battle, and if Turkey continues attacks and approaches the town, we will take action".

SDF Spokesman Talal Sallo said that the coalition has not accepted to support the al-Bab military council in operations to liberate the town.

Meantime, Hado also welcomed any move by the Syrian army towards al-Bab, and expressed the hope that operations to retake Raqqa would be carried out in coordination with the Syrian army and a similar scenario like what was played in Mosul would be repeated in Raqqa.

In relevant remarks on Saturday, Sallo announced that the US-led coalition is due to play no role in the imminent operation to liberate Syria's Raqqa city from the ISIL terrorist group.

"The liberation operation of Raqqa will start soon. The US-led coalition will play no role in Raqqa operation, but they have vowed to only supply the SDF with equipment. They will also dispatch their military advisors with the combat forces for coordination and advice," the SDF spokesman said.

The US-led coalition also said that over 40,000 SDF fighters are ready to attack ISIL positions in Raqqa.

Full report at:

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950819001444

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US Sends 1,700 Parachute Troopers to Iraq for Unspecified Objective

Nov 09, 2016

A sum of 1,700 US army parachute troopers from its special forces will cooperate with the Iraq's joint military forces to help take control of the city of Mosul, the Arabic-language edition of the Russian Izvestia newspaper reported.

It said that the US parachute troops have undergone two months of intensive military training, including street battle and ISIL's chemical attacks.

Izvestia said that while the US troops have undergone very special military training in Louisiana's Forte Black military base, their commander claimed that they will not take part in any military operation in Iraq.

There are about 5,000 US military forces in Iraq, but only between 100 to 200 of them are declared to be helping Iraqi forces.

 After months of preparation, Iraqi army soldiers, backed by volunteer fighters and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, launched an operation on October 17 to retake the strategic city of Mosul from the ISIL terrorists.

Full report at:

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950819001482

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Pakistan

 

Country Not Safe Under Incumbent Rulers: Jamaat-E-Islami Chief

10-Nov-16

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Senator Sirajul Haq has said that the ruling ‘junta’ in the country did not mend its ways even after losing half of Pakistan of Allama Iqbal and Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, while the remaining country is also not safe from their exploitation.

He was talking to the media at the mausoleum of Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal after offering Fateha there on the 139th birthday of the poet, who conceived the idea of Pakistan. He was accompanied by JI Deputy Secretary General Muhammad Asghar, JI Punjab chief Mian Maqsood Ahmed, JI Information Secretary Amirul Azeem and JI Lahore chief Zikrullah Mujahid.

Speaking on the occasion, Siraj said it was the height of ungratefulness that the rulers had not raised a single voice in support of the JI leaders in Bangladesh who had embraced martyrdom for their love of the Pakistan ideology.

He declared that the JI, after coming into power, would make Pakistan an Islamic and prosperous country according to the vision of the founding fathers by getting rid of the corrupt ruling elite.

The JI chief said that Pakistan lost its eastern wing due to economic, political and ideological corruption of the ruling circle. He said that those who had betrayed the Pakistan ideology were the real villains who caused the dismemberment of the country only to serve their personal ends. He said that the Pakistan Resolution had been moved by great Bengali leader Fazle Haq, and the Bengalis had offered huge sacrifices for the establishment of Pakistan, but the rulers had deprived the country of both its ideology and geography.

Siraj said that a corruption-free Pakistan was necessary to safeguard the country’s ideology and geography, which was free from tyranny and where the common man could lead a respectable life. He said that Panama leaks case was the continuation of corruption, adding that the JI was the first one to raise its voice against the evil. He said that the families and the names mentioned in the Panama leaks were known to the entire nation, and all of them would be held accountable.

http://dailytimes.com.pk/punjab/10-Nov-16/country-not-safe-under-incumbent-rulers-siraj

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JI demands fiscal package for FATA rehabilitation

10-Nov-16

PESHAWAR: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) FATA has demanded of the federal government to announce a comprehensive fiscal package for rehabilitation and reconstruction of damaged infrastructure in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), and called for immediate merger of FATA into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The demand was made by JI FATA Ameer, Sardar Khan while addressing a press conference at press club on Wednesday. He was flanked by JI FATA General Secretary Mohammad Rafiq, Zarnoor Afridi, Dr Munsif Khan, and Qari Abdul Habib.

He said the roads, schools and other major infrastructure has badly affected due prolonged militancy in the FATA, which was also deprived from basic amenities. He demanded of the government to announce Rs 500 billion package for rehabilitation of affected people, re-building roads infrastructure, health and education facility in tribal region.

Commenting on the recent announced Fata reforms package, Sardar Khan said the people of FATA have been deprived of their basic rights to get access to Supreme Court and High Court and every decision is being imposed upon them under black law of Frontier Crime Regulation (FCR), he added. He alleged that bureaucracy still conspiring to delay FATA reforms and block its merger into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa however he said that these conspiracies will no more work. He demanded of the government to abolish the draconian law of FCR in FATA and merge it in KP before 2018 general elections.

Full report at:

http://dailytimes.com.pk/khyber-pakhtunkhwa/10-Nov-16/ji-demands-fiscal-package-for-fata-rehabilitation

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Trump's victory is triumph of the American people, Nawaz says

Nov 10, 2016

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday congratulated President-elect of the United States (US) Donald Trump on his historic victory in the 2016 US Presidential elections, Radio Pakistan reported.

Donald Trump stunned America and the world, riding a wave of populist resentment, to defeat Hillary Clinton in the race to become the 45th president of the United States.

The Republican mogul defeated his Democratic rival, plunging global markets into turmoil and casting the long-standing global political order, which hinges on Washington's leadership, into doubt.

Trump secured at least 290 electoral votes, securing more than the 270 he needed to succeed Barack Obama.

"On behalf of the government and people of Pakistan, and on my own behalf, I wish to extend to you and the people of the United States, our most sincere felicitations on your election as the 45th President of the United States," Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said.

PM Nawaz in his message stated that Trump's election is a triumph of the American people and their enduring faith in the ideals of democracy, freedom, human rights, and free enterprise.

"Most importantly, your momentous success is a testimony to the confidence that the people of the United States have reposed in your leadership, vision and commitment to serve your great country," the PM said.

He said Pakistan and the United States have enjoyed a strategic partnership, rooted in the shared ideals of freedom, democracy, mutual respect, and commonality of interests.

Nawaz Sharif said a strong partnership between the two countries remains critical to promoting and sustaining peace, security and stability in the wider region, and continue to underpin the resilience in Pak-US ties.

Full report at:

http://www.dawn.com/news/1295249/trumps-victory-is-triumph-of-the-american-people-nawaz-says

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Jamaat seeks Rs500 billion package for Fata

Nov 10, 2016

PESHAWAR: The Fata chapter of Jamaat-i-Islami has demanded of the federal government to announce a comprehensive financial package of Rs500 billion for rehabilitation of internally displaced persons and reconstruction of damaged infrastructure in tribal areas.

The party also demanded immediate merger of Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to enable the tribal people to take part in the 2018 general elections and play role for development of their areas.

Addressing a news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Wednesday, Fata JI emir Sardar Khan said that roads, schools and other infrastructures were badly affected owing to prolonged militancy in the tribal areas. He said that tribal people were kept deprived of basic amenities by the successive governments.

Demands merger of tribal areas with KP before general elections

Flanked by Fata JI general secretary Mohammad Rafiq, Zarnoor Afridi, Dr Munsif Khan and Qari Abdul Habib, Mr Khan demanded of the government to announce Rs500 billion package for rehabilitation of affected people, rebuilding of roads and provision of health and education facilities to the tribal people.

The JI leader said that people of Fata were deprived of their basic rights to get access to Supreme Court and high court. Every decision was being imposed on them under black law of FCR, he added.

Full report at:

http://www.dawn.com/news/1295368/jamaat-seeks-rs500-billion-package-for-fata

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Pakistan owes debt of gratitude to Allama Iqbal, says Nawaz Sharif

10-Nov-16

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said the ideology of national poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal demands ensuring democratic norms in the country to transform it into an Islamic welfare state. In his message on the birth anniversary of Allama Iqbal, the Prime Minister said it was the joint responsibility of the government and the people to contribute towards national development in accordance with Iqbal's ideology.

The Prime Minister said, "Iqbal is a luminous star at our national horizon, who guided us at a time when the nation had lost its way." Iqbal through his poetry not only rejuvenated the spirit among the Muslims of South Asia for their movement but also provided them the leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah who made "the impossible possible," he added.

The Prime Minister said Pakistan owed a debt of gratitude towards Allama Iqbal, who dreamt for the establishment of this land. He mentioned that Allama Iqbal in his address at Allahabad presented the roadmap of a secure future for Muslims of South Asia and also pointed the ideological challenges the new State could face.

The Prime Minister said Iqbal emphasised on following the Islamic traditions of Ijtehad, which could prove helpful in finding ways to restructure political, social and economic institutions of the country. Today, it is important that we resolve economic issues in line with the vision of Iqbal and transform Pakistan into an Islamic welfare state,

he added.

"We can still seek guidance from Iqbal's vision on the issues of sectarianism and ideological extremism," he said. The Prime Minister said Iqbal regarded the parliament as the modern alternate of 'Ijmaa' and advised the Muslims to establish institutions on the basis of collective wisdom. He said Iqbal was of the view that the opinion of a common man should be considered important in state affairs. In this way, a democratic state can be ensured in accordance with the vision of Iqbal.

Full report at:

http://dailytimes.com.pk/pakistan/10-Nov-16/pakistan-owes-debt-of-gratitude-to-allama-iqbal-says-nawaz-sharif

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Pakistan concerned over threats to UN peace ops

November 10, 2016

UNITED NATIONS - Pakistan has called for strengthening the hands of UN peacekeepers who now face targeted and asymmetric hostile acts during their deployment in conflict areas.

Speaking in the UN Security Council, Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi said that it was, therefore, unfair to blame the UN peacekeepers when they fall short of expectations after having been placed in a role for which they have traditionally not been mandated much less equipped.

At the same time, the Pakistani envoy said that the UN could not turn away from conflict areas where peace is so gravely threatened by actors that recognise no restraints in their brutal tactics against civilians and peacekeepers. “But then the mandate needs to be clearly distinguished between peace- enforcement and peace-keeping.”

Maleeha Lodhi said that the changing nature of threats was challenging peacekeeping’s traditional role, citing the presence of rebel groups and flow of illicit weapons among the contemporary threats in that regard.

Greater clarity was required on how peacekeepers should function in asymmetric threat environments, which placed them in harm’s way since they faced situations beyond their capabilities and resources, she said.

Deployment decisions must be based on consultation, preparation and knowledge of the ground situation, she said, adding, that, as principal stakeholders, troop-contributing countries must be fully consulted on mandate design and idea testing.

The Council, she said, must be more circumspect when mandating enforcement tasks, as peacekeepers should neither become a party to conflict nor perceived as a tool of external intervention.

Full report at:

http://nation.com.pk/national/10-Nov-2016/pakistan-concerned-over-threats-to-un-peace-ops

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CTD arrests 4 terror suspects

November 10, 2016

BAHAWALNAGAR -  The Counter-Terrorism Department claimed to have arrested 4 terror suspects here on Wednesday.

Earlier, the CTD had received a tip-off that four terrorists were planning terror attack in Bahawalnagar. The CTD raided and arrested four suspects from Arifwala Bypass. The suspects were identified as Ramzan, Bahadur, Yahoo and Khalifah. They belong to banned outfits Sipah-e-Sihabah and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.

Full report at:

http://nation.com.pk/national/10-Nov-2016/ctd-arrests-4-terror-suspects

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India

 

Another soldier martyred in Pakistani firing in Kashmir; 2 terrorists killed in encounter

Nov 9, 2016

NEW DELHI: A soldier was martyred in Pakistani firing on Wednesday in the Machhal sector of Jammu and Kashmir. The Army retaliated with fire assault on many Pakistani posts using heavy weapons.

In another encounter in North Kashmir, security forces killed two terrorists and recovered two weapons. The operation is still on.

Meanwhile, an Army jawan who was injured in Pakistani shelling along the LoC in Naushera sector on Tuesday succumbed today while four others were injured in overnight ceasefire violation.

On Tuesday, an Army jawan was killed and two others injured as Pakistani troops shelled Indian posts and civilian areas along the Line of Control in Naushera sector of Rajouri district. Three posts of Pakistani army were damaged in retaliatory action by the Army.

Amid continued Pakistani provocations, India today summoned the deputy high commissioner of Pakistan to express concern over repeated ceasefire violations.

India protested the manner in which the information about eight of its officials in Islamabad was made public, thereby endangering their security and safety.

The foreign ministry summoned the deputy high commissioner of Pakistan and conveyed the strong concern of the government of India on the continued violation of ceasefire along the International Border and the Line of Control by Pakistan, MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in New Delhi.

"Despite calls for restraint, Pakistan forces have committed 16 ceasefire violations since 3 November 2016 alone. As a result, there have been three fatalities during this period among Indian security forces.

"The Government conveyed that such loss of life is unacceptable and is strongly protested. In addition, the injuries to civilians during the shelling by Pakistan forces are deplorable and strongly condemned," he said.

Swarup said India has also protested the manner in which the photographs of eight officials of the High Commission of India in Islamabad were prominently displayed in newspapers in the wake of factually incorrect allegations by Pakistan government, and conveyed that this is against basic norms of diplomatic practice and courtesy, besides having the potential to endanger their security and safety.

"It is expected that the Pakistan side will desist from such actions in the future and will ensure the safety and security of all members of the High Commission of India in Islamabad and their families," Swarup added.

Pakistan also summoned Indian diplomat to register protest.

In Islamabad, Foreign Office (FO) said Director General (South Asia & SAARC) Mohammad Faisal summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh to "strongly condemn the unprovoked ceasefire violations on November 8 by the Indian Forces on the Line of Control (LoC) in Khuirata and Battal sectors".

This is the sixth time in over two weeks that the Indian Deputy High Commissioner was summoned to the FO.

The FO said the violation by India resulted in the death of four civilians, including a woman and a 10-year-old girl, besides causing injuries to seven others.

On his part, Singh protested against the unprovoked firing from Pakistani Rangers, saying it was primarily to give cover to infiltrators.

He also said casualties on the Indian side include both civilians and security forces in the ceasefire violations by the Pakistan.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Another-soldier-martyred-in-Pakistani-firing-in-Kashmir-2-terrorists-killed-in-encounter/articleshow/55334910.cms

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Government to try increase online Haj applications

Nov 10, 2016

The government is working out ways to increase the number of online Haj applications to at least 70 per cent of the total number of people willing to make the pilgrimage, from the 11 per cent recorded last year. Last year, the number of online applications was 45,843, whereas this year, the Haj committee has set a target for lakhs of people.

Union minister of state for minority affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi held a meeting at Haj House on Wednesday to conduct a review of issues pertaining to difficulties faced by Muslim pilgrims while filing online applications for travelling on Haj tours.

After the meeting, Mr Naqvi said, “The government is working out ways to promote online applications for Haj. Last year, we only had 45,843 people, which is 11 per cent of the total applications. We plan to increase this number to at least 70 per cent.”

Mr Naqvi said, “One of the steps being taken to provide the best services and facilities to Haj pilgrims is preparing a film with all the necessary information.”

He added: “Along with the Haj Committee of India, private tour organisers also have an important role to play during Haj. We are ready to extend all possible help and guidance to private operators,” Mr Naqvi said.

He further said that the Centre has already started making preparations for the next Haj pilgrimage and chief ministers and MPs from all states have been asked to give their suggestions.

Full report at:

http://www.asianage.com/mumbai/government-try-increase-online-haj-applications-159

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Pakistanis worry that President Trump may favour rival India

Nov 9, 2016

Donald Trump's surprise election as U.S. president has Pakistanis wary that he may accelerate what they see as a shift in American policy to favour arch-foe India in the long rivalry between nuclear-armed neighbours, analysts said on Wednesday.

Historical allies in the region, Islamabad and Washington have seen relations sour over U.S. accusations that Pakistan shelters Islamist militants, a charge Pakistan denies.

They hit new lows in May when a U.S. drone killed the leader of the Afghan Taliban movement on Pakistani territory.

At the same time, Pakistan's ties with traditional rival India have also deteriorated this year, with India saying Pakistan-based militants killed 19 of its soldiers in a September attack on an army base in the disputed Kashmir region.

To many Pakistanis, Trump's anti-Muslim rhetoric - he once proposed banning Muslims entering the United States - and business ties to India are signs that his administration could shift further toward New Delhi.

"America will not abandon Pakistan, but definitely, Trump will be a tougher president than Hillary Clinton for Pakistan," said Hasan Askari Rizvi, Lahore-based foreign policy analyst.

"I think India will have a better and smoother interaction compared to Pakistan."

Trump has yet to lay out a detailed policy for South Asia, although he recently offered to mediate between India and Pakistan in their dispute over the divided territory of Kashmir.

He also told Fox News in May he would favour keeping nearly 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan "because it's adjacent and right next to Pakistan which has nuclear weapons."

CONGRATULATIONS, ASSURANCES

On Wednesday, a U.S. diplomat in Pakistan sought to assure the country that Trump's election did not signal a drastic policy change.

"Our foreign policy is based on national interest and they don't change when the government changes," Grace Shelton, U.S. Consul General in Karachi, told Geo News television.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif congratulated Trump.

"Your election is indeed the triumph of the American people and their enduring faith in the ideals of democracy, freedom, human rights and free enterprise," Sharif said in a statement.

Still, the uncertainty of a Trump presidency has many Pakistanis on edge, even if the country has leaned towards China in recent years for investment and diplomatic support.

"Trump is a bit of a wild card," said Sherry Rehman, a Pakistani senator and former ambassador to the United States.

"Pakistan obviously cannot rule out engaging with whomever America elects, but his anti-Muslim rhetoric may cast a shadow on relations in times of uncertainty."

INDIA HOPEFUL

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated Trump on Wednesday.

"We look forward to working with you closely to take India-US bilateral ties to a new height," Modi said in a tweet.

Trump has partnered with Indian businessmen on a handful of real estate ventures, but apart from courting the Indian-American vote he has not articulated how he would develop the bilateral relationship.

India-U.S. ties have flourished under President Barack Obama and Modi, who came to power in 2014, with the two countries striking key defence agreements this year.

Modi's government has also waged a campaign to isolate Pakistan diplomatically.

Shaurya Doval, director of the India Foundation, a think-tank close to Modi's government, called Trump's election "a very positive development", but added that India and the United States would have continued to grow closer under a Hillary Clinton presidency as well.

"My sense is that India-U.S. relations are not dependent on individuals – there are strong institutions and processes there," he said.

One fringe Hindu nationalist group in India held a victory gathering at New Delhi's speakers' corner on Wednesday.

"He's an American nationalist. We are Indian nationalists. Only he can understand us," Rashmi Gupta of the Hindu Sena, or Hindu Army, told Reuters. "We expect him to support us when it comes to terrorist attacks on India from Pakistan."

AFGHANISTAN WAR

Trump will also have to decide whether to maintain the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan or change the scope of the mission, 15 years after a U.S.-led campaign toppled the hardline Islamist Taliban government.

Full report at:

http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-election-pakistan-idINKBN1342UL

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India, China to set up joint working groups on fake notes, sharing terror info

Nov 9, 2016

NEW DELHI: India and China will soon set up two joint working groups to deal with Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) and a round-the-clock hotline to exchange information related to terror and organised crimes.

The issues were discussed threadbare by a Chinese delegation led by Vice-Minister of Public Security Fu Zhenghua and an Indian delegation led by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi here.

"Both sides discussed the setting up of two Joint Working Groups to deal with the FICN and the setting up of a 24x7 hotline to exchange information. They also discussed issues relating to e-Visa, telecom fraud and security matters," a Home Ministry statement said.

India and China are also likely to conclude negotiations and ink an agreement on security cooperation by March next year. The proposed pact will ensure cooperation on tackling transnational crimes and cyber crime.

Later, when Meng Jianzhu, Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China, and his delegation met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said terrorism poses the gravest threat to international peace and security. Modi and Meng, a top aide of Chinese President Xi Jinping, discussed issues of mutual interest, including bilateral counter-terrorism cooperation.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-China-to-set-up-Joint-Working-Groups-on-fake-notes-sharing-terror-info/articleshow/55337372.cms

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Jagan Mohan Reddy’s Party Extends Support to Muslim Personal Law Board

November 10, 2016

Hyderabad: A delegation of leaders of YSRCP led by Mr. Hafeez Khan met Mr. Amer Ali Khan, News Editor of Siasat Urdu Daily at Siasat office yesterday under instruction from the party Chief, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

It is reported that Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy had directed the local leaders of his party to meet Editor of Siasat Urdu Daily to extend support to the stand taken by Muslim Personal Law Board.

Mr. Amer Ali Khan told the delegation to convince their party to support the issues like Triple Talaq and Uniform Civil Code. Mr. Amer Ali Khan further told that this is not the first time that such attempts are being made. Earlier, such attempts have been foiled by secular forces and they had protected the freedom of religion and faith. He further told that the stand the Central Govt. has taken on these issues is not acceptable to Muslims. The issue of Uniform Civil Code is not only a matter of anxiety for Muslims but a large number of people of other religions also won’t accept it. The issue of Uniform Civil Code is against Islamic Shariat. Muslims cannot tolerate any interference in their personal laws.

A delegation consisted of Mr. Hafeez Khan, MLA, Mr. Shaik Siraj Basha, Mr. Syed Habeebullah Bukhari, Mr. Syed Waliullah Husaini, Mr. I.H. Farooqui and others.

Full report at:

http://www.siasat.com/news/ysrcp-extends-support-muslim-personal-law-board-1061852/

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Africa

 

Boko Haram: Nigeria Police train local hunters on intelligence gathering

November 10, 2016

In continuing efforts to rid the north-east of Boko Haram insurgents and bolster security in the region, the Nigerian Police have conducted a five-day basic intelligence gathering programme for 251 members of vigilante groups from Adamawa and Taraba states.

The vigilante groups, made up of local hunters, have been assisting Nigerian troops in the fight against Boko Haram.

During the training programme, Wednesday, at Mobile Police 14 base in Yola, Adamawa, the state commander of the vigilantes, Murtala Aliyu, said the training would boost the capacity of members by providing them with necessary techniques to operate more effectively in supporting the police and other security agencies against the insurgency.

Mr. Aliyu also said that the training would help members conform to standards in their operations.

He lauded the support his members were enjoying from the public in Adamawa, but said the state and local governments were not doing much to support the operation of his members.

Mr. Aliyu said that as people who mix with the public, his members if fully supported would play a more effective role in gathering intelligence that would help reduce crime to the minimum.

While restating the commitment of his members to effectively contribute to national security in view of their presence in all nooks and crannies, Mr. Aliyu said there was plan to recruit more members in Adamawa next year.

“Currently, Adamawa has 2,800 members and we hope to increase the number next year,” he said.

He explained that though membership is voluntary, the intending recruits must be responsible members of society and have their applications endorsed by their ward, village or district heads and divisional police officers.

On their relationship with other hunters, Mr. Aliyu said that they are different but work together.

“Some of our members are also hunters,” he said.

On disciplinary measures against erring members in the state, the commander said that about 20 members had been sanctioned within the year.

“Some of them were suspended and some dismissed”, he said.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/nnorth-east/214954-boko-haram-nigeria-police-train-local-hunters-intelligence-gathering.html

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Tunisian Military Kills Head of Daesh Takfiri Terrorist Group

Nov 9, 2016

The Tunisian army has hunted down and shot dead a leader of a militant group affiliated with the Daesh Takfiri terrorists that killed a soldier at his home in central Tunisia.

"After giving chase to an armed group on the night of November 8 in the Mount Salloum area, military units gunned down the terrorist Talal Saidi," a leader of the Jund al-Khilafa group, on Mount Mghilla, the Tunisian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

On November 5, militants killed the soldier at his home in the central region, which is a major hideout for the Takfiri terrorists. A day later, Daesh claimed responsibility for the killing.

The ministry said Saidi was from the restive region of Sidi Bouzid, adding that he was the leader of the group that killed the soldier.

Full report at:

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/11/09/492891/Tunisia-army-terrorist-commander

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Gunmen kill 36 gold miners in Nigeria

November 10, 2016

KANO -  Gunmen believed to be cattle rustlers have killed 36 miners in northern Nigeria, the government and residents said Tuesday, the latest in a long-running series of such raids.

Motorcycle-riding attackers struck late on Monday at a goldmine outside Bindin village in northern Zamfara state, shooting dead miners and gold merchants, they said.

The state governor condemned the attack "in strongest terms" in a government statement, describing it as an "act of terrorism". The statement said an investigation had been launched, while local residents said it was just the latest deadly raid by cattle thieves on herding communities in the state.

"We have no doubt that the cattle thieves that have been terrorising us were behind the attack," resident Lawwali Usmanu told AFP.

"We buried 36 bodies of those killed in the attack today. For us it is a day of mourning," he said.

Zamfara is known for its huge gold deposits and mines still using traditional methods. A local chief said the gunmen entered the mine tunnels, shooting dead the miners after killing traders standing at the surface.

Many local herders and subsistence farmers turn to gold mining to boost their income.

Rural communities in the state have long been plagued by cattle thieves, who kill villagers, loot and torch homes, prompting locals to form vigilante groups to fight off the gangs.

In July, Nigeria deployed troops to rid the state of cattle rustling and other criminal activities.

Full report at:

http://nation.com.pk/international/10-Nov-2016/gunmen-kill-36-gold-miners-in-nigeria

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First batch of Kenyan troops return from UN mission in South Sudan

 Nov 9, 2016

The first batch of Kenyan troops, who served in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, have returned home, in response to the UN’s sacking of a Kenyan commander in charge of the forces over negligence of duty.

About 100 troops of a total of around 1,000 Kenyan soldiers landed in Nairobi on Wednesday, a week after Kenya said it would pull out its forces from the UN mission in South Soudan, known as UNMISS, in protest at the firing of Lieutenant General Johnson Mogoa Kimani Ondieki. 

"Today we have started our withdrawal from South Sudan following President [Uhuru] Kenyatta's directive last week," Kenyan Major General Benjamin Biwott told reporters at Nairobi's international airport, adding that the remaining soldiers would arrive in coming days.

The official said Kenya had served in over 40 peacekeeping missions, adding, “In all the places we have gone, we have performed very well."

Last week, the Kenyan president ordered the withdrawal, accusing the UN of covering up its failure to establish peace in South Sudan by blaming the Kenyan commander.

Kenyatta said last week that the UN was “scapegoating” the Kenyan forces deployed to South Sudan for the failing of its mission in the country.

The Kenyan commander was sacked after the results of a special UN investigation blamed him and a "lack of leadership" in UNMISS for the "chaotic and ineffective response" to an attack in a hotel in the capital in July.

Full report at:

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/11/09/492870/South-Sudan-Kenya-UN-mission-Ondieki-UNMISS

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Tomb of Usman dan Fodio’ inspire and divide in northern Nigeria

10 November 2016

Pilgrims must walk through three rooms, a foyer and a 200-metre-long corridor before accessing the dimly-lit chamber where Usman dan Fodio and two of his sons are buried in Sokoto, northern Nigeria.

Old women sit against the plastered white mud walls begging for money. Inside the tomb, more than a dozen visitors sit with their palms cupped and lifted upwards in prayer, seeking dan Fodio’s blessing.

Textile trader Sammani Yusuf is one of them. He drove more than 500 kilometres (300 miles) from the city of Kano to visit the graves and ask for his bed-ridden mother to get better and his business to pick up.

“Allah is everywhere but tombs of saints have sacred status and one’s prayers are more readily answered by Allah through their intercession,” Yusuf told AFP.

“I’m very optimistic that Allah will grant my needs by the sacredness of the saint lying in this tomb,” he added.

Asma’u Lawwali believes her prayers for a child were granted on a previous visit to the tomb of dan Fodio, also called “Shehu.”

“I’m here with more requests to God through Shehu’s intercession and I’m confident they will be granted in the same way my request for a child was answered,” she said.

Tour guide Isa Abubakar said Yusuf and Lawwali were not alone in their conviction.

“Any person you see here has come for dan Fodio’s intercession,” Abubakar said. “By his sanctity, when you pray to Allah (at the tomb) your request is granted.”

Revered figure

Usman dan Fodio is one of the most famous names in Nigerian history — a fact borne out by the steady stream of visitors who still flock to his final resting place in the heart of the ancient city.

Nigeria’s Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo cited dan Fodio in a recent speech, saying his condemnation of corruption and extremism were still relevant today.

Two centuries ago, the reformist scholar, who is considered a saint by many in Nigeria and West Africa, declared jihad or holy war against tyrannical local rulers in the Muslim-majority region in 1804.

The result was the creation of an Islamic state — the Sokoto Caliphate — which covered most of modern-day northern Nigeria and parts of neighbouring Niger and Cameroon.

Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the radical Islamist group Boko Haram, whose insurgency has devastated northeast Nigeria in the last seven years, has name-checked dan Fodio in several of his messages.

Shekau himself declared a caliphate in 2014 after his fighters captured swathes of territory in the region.

But the comparisons end there.

And despite reverence for dan Fodio himself, pilgrimages to his tomb have come under attack from religious conservatives, in a sign of the complex mix of Islamic ideologies and affiliations in the region.

Nigeria’s north is mainly Muslim and predominantly Sunni but there have been increasing tensions in recent months with minority Shiites.

Ideological tensions

The conservative Wahhabist ideology, which is dominant in Saudi Arabia, made inroads in northern Nigeria in the early 1980s. Until then, it had been dominated by the mystical Sufi tradition.

Full report at:

http://guardian.ng/news/tombs-of-usman-dan-fodio-inspire-and-divide-in-northern-nigeria/

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Europe

 

Moscow Readying to Launch Devastating Air, Missile Strikes in Aleppo

Nov 09, 2016

Gazeta news website reported that the Russian army has deployed a large number of reconnaissance systems in Syria to this end.

Another military source said that the terrorists have misused the ceasefire in Aleppo to recruit and bring in more reinforcements from different parts of the country for a new attack to enter the Eastern parts of Aleppo.

The source, meantime, added that Russia plans to launch massive air campaign on the terrorists to deter other militants who plan to join their comrades in the Eastern parts of Aleppo city.

He added that the missile attacks that the Russian ships launched last year from the Caspian Sea destroyed tens of terrorists' targets, "but this time the strikes are to smash hundreds of bases and positions in the outskirts of Aleppo in a 48 to 72 hour period".

Yet, the source said no missile attack would be launched on any specific district inside Aleppo city in a bid to prevent casualties among the civilian population that are used by the terrorists as human shields.

In relevant remarks on Friday, a senior Syrian lawmaker underlined Moscow's preparedness for any military option in Syria, and said the Russian air fleet's deployment in the Mediterranean Sea sends a strong message to the terrorists and their supporters.

"The deployment of the Russian warships in the Mediterranean Sea sent a message to the terrorists that Moscow is ready for any the military possibility," Zahir Taraf told FNA.

He also said that the dispatch of the Russian fleet of warships to the regions near Syria is a winning card in the political talks on the Syrian crisis.

Russia's Frigate Admiral Grigorovich armed with Kalibr cruise missiles left the port of Sevastopol to join the aircraft carrier group in Syria on Thursday, a source in Crimea's uniformed services said.

On October 15, Russia's Northern Fleet's press service said that a group of warships headed by the Admiral Kuznetsov accompanied by the Pyotr Veliky battle cruiser, the Severomorsk and Vice-Admiral Kulakov anti-submarine destroyer and support vessels had been sent to the Mediterranean to hold drills and strengthen capabilities.

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950819001331

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World leaders take stock of Trump win

November 10, 2016

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow is ready to contribute to rebuilding relations with the US with Donald Trump as president. “We have heard the pre-election statements by then-candidate (Trump), which were directed at rebuilding relations between Russia and the US,” Putin said.

China’s President Xi Jinping sent congratulations to Donald Trump and said he looked forward to working with him. “I highly value China-US relations, and look forward to working together with you, and holding fast to mutual respect and non-conflict, non-confrontation.”

Saudi King Salman expressed hope that US president-elect Donald Trump would bring stability to the Middle East. “We wish your excellency success in your mission to achieve security and stability in the Middle East and worldwide,” Salman said in a message. Hassan Rouhani said there was “no possibility” of its nuclear deal being overturned by Trump. “Iran’s understanding in the N-deal was that accord was not concluded with one country or govt but was approved by a resolution of the UNSC and there is no possibility that it can be changed by a single govt.”

Full report at:

http://nation.com.pk/international/10-Nov-2016/world-leaders-take-stock-of-trump-win

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'Europe needs to ends Muslim immigration

09/11/16

Legendary Mossad agent and former MK Rafi Eitan told a European audience that the European Union (EU) should halt Muslim immigration into Europe.

Eitan, one of the agents who captured Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichman, was invited to speak in Austria by the populist Freedom party. He spoke of the dangers of open borders and the growing terrorist threat that is the consequence of letting masses of Muslims immigrate without being able to integrate them.

“The Muslim world is markedly different from Western culture,” he said. “When there are Muslims, now, in every European country, we must expect violence and terror.”

He warned that Germany and Austria would become a Muslim countries if present policies of welcoming Muslim refugees continue.

When asked what the solution to Europe's migrant crisis is, Eitan said that he had “three points of advice: First, stop immigration, set your limits, and secondly, give money for incentives , so that the refugees go back to Syria or to Iraq. Thirdly, do not let them have any spare time.”

Full report at:

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/220045

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South Asia

 

Myanmar aid curbs hit children in Muslim-majority region: UN

November 9, 2016

Unrest in Myanmar’s northwest is taking a “terrible toll” on children, the UN children’s agency UNICEF said and called for full humanitarian access to the Muslim-majority north of Rakhine state. Tens of thousands of people have been cut off from food and other aid normally provided by international agencies since deadly attacks on police guard posts along the border with Bangladesh on October 9.

“While some aid has been delivered in recent days, UNICEF calls for full resumption of essential services and the urgent lifting of all restrictions of movement of health and other professionals so they can safely reach children and families,” UNICEF said in a statement from New York on Tuesday.

Troops have poured into the region in response to the attacks, in which assailants believed to be from the mostly stateless Rohingya group killed nine policemen.

The army declared the area an “operation zone”, blocked aid and barred foreign journalists and observers from the Maungdaw area. Residents and human rights monitors say extra-judicial killings, rape and arbitrary arrests have taken place.

Security forces have killed 33 alleged attackers, while five soldiers and one policeman have been killed, according to state-run media.

On Tuesday, the World Food Programme said it had begun the first deliveries of food aid in Maungdaw in more than a month, reaching about 6,500 people in four villages affected by the violence.

WFP said its assistance would normally reach 152,000 people in northern Rakhine. The majority in the area are Rohingya Muslims, a 1.1 million strong group in Rakhine who face restrictions on their movements and access to services.

The malnutrition rate is 19 per cent among children under five in Maungdaw, according to UN statistics.

The limited access came after a request from diplomats and the UN’s top official in Myanmar, who visited Maungdaw over two days last week. The delegation called for an independent investigation

into alleged rights abuses and for aid programmes to be allowed to resume.

UN officials and diplomats from Western countries privately expressed concern at the public response to the crisis from the government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, which has flatly denied allegations of abuses committed by the military.

State-run newspapers have said last week’s visit by diplomats – who stressed they were not able to verify claims of rights abuses – revealed that the allegations were baseless. A key official spokesman singled out a journalist reporting allegations and said the claims were concocted by people with links to insurgents.

http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/myanmar-aid-curbs-hit-children-in-muslim-majority-region-un-4366114/

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India-Pakistan: Bangladesh Resists Islamic Radicalism

Nov 10, 2016

November 9, 2016: In Bangladesh police have arrested 53 suspects in the October 30th mob violence against Hindus in eastern Bangladesh (Brahmanbaria). This began when some local Moslems decided a Facebook post by local Hindus was disrespectful of Islam and deserved punishment. That led to a mob of Islamic radicals attacking a Hindu neighborhood and destroying or damaging over a dozen Hindu temples and injuring at least a hundred Hindus. The reaction to that anti-Hindu violence was even greater (but much less violent) with large groups of Hindus and Moslems demanding that all those involved in these attacks be arrested and prosecuted.

Islamic terrorists are very much a tiny minority in Bangladesh and a very unpopular one at that. The current outbreak of Islamic terrorism reached a peak with the July 1st attack on a popular café in Dhaka that left 20 dead (including 17 foreigners). The local Islamic terrorists have been on the run ever since. Last month police raids left eleven, most of them members of JMB (Jamaat ul Mujahideen Bangladesh). While ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) took credit for the July 1 attack those who carried it out belonged to JMB, which has been around since 1998 and wants to turn Bangladesh into a religious dictatorship. JMB turned to violence in 2005 and has been at war with the government ever since.

According to Islamic radicals, Hindus are the worst kind of infidel (non-Moslem) because, unlike Christians and Jews, they have no common religious roots with Islam. Actually, Hindus do, as there was a lot of Hindu influence in Arabia before Islam appeared there 1,400 years ago, but the founders of Islam choose not to openly recognize their Hindu roots. Thus the harder line on Hindus, who are eight percent of the population of Bangladesh and 1.2 percent in Pakistan. There used to be a lot more Hindus in Pakistan but decades of violence against Hindus (and Christians and other religious minorities) have led a disproportionate number of Hindus to leave.

Bangladesh also blames Pakistan for supporting Islamic terrorism within Bangladesh. This goes back to a 1971 uprising in Bangladesh (then part of Pakistan as “East Pakistan”) that led to a war between Pakistan and India. Many Pakistani military leaders see this 1971 loss as a major reason for Pakistani obsession with India. Not only was the Pakistani army decisively defeated in 1971, but the Pakistan lost much territory (which actively sought to secede and became Bangladesh). Former Pakistani military commander and dictator (via another coup) Pervez Musharraf admitted in late 2014 that he started the 1999 Kargil border war with India as another attempt to avenge the defeat (and loss of Bangladesh) in 1971. Pakistani officers (and many other Pakistanis) have always attributed the loss of Bangladesh to an Indian conspiracy with traitorous politicians in Bangladesh (that used to be called East Pakistan). Bangladesh calls that conspiracy theory absurd and that the real reason for the rebellion was corruption and incompetent government imposed by troops from “West Pakistan” (which after 1971 was all that remained of pre-1971 Pakistan).

Kashmir

Since September violence in Indian Kashmir had left over a hundred dead and many more wounded. India blames Pakistan for the sharp increase in separatist and Islamic terrorist activity there this year. Many Pakistanis believe the Pakistani military is responsible because that is how the generals deal with bad press or elected officials determined to curb the independence of the military. This is nothing new because Pakistan has been sponsoring Islamic terrorism in Indian Kashmir since the 1980s. That efforts has never succeeded in doing anything for the Moslem majority in Indian Kashmir and that became more of an embarrassment for Pakistan. This can be seen in the way terrorism deaths in Kashmir peaked in 2001. By 2011 India had reduced Islamic terrorist related violence in Kashmir by over 95 percent. Despite that Pakistan kept recruiting, training and sending Islamic terrorists into India without anything to show for it.

Seeking an alternative method in the last few years Pakistan has been using cash (to buy more local support) and exploiting social media in an effort to encourage young Moslems in Kashmir to join Pakistani backed terror groups. That led to a popular (especially on social media) young (21) Kashmiri Islamic terrorist (Burhan Wani) becoming a local celebrity for his largely fictional efforts to make Kashmir an independent state. Then Wani got into a gun battle with police on July 8th and was killed. For an Internet celebrity getting killed unexpectedly can be a great career move, at least in the short term. In Kashmir this led to an outbreak of massive, and often violent protests that have left 80 dead and over 6,000 wounded so far. While alive Burhan Wani was seen as someone who could revive Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), which was once the most powerful Islamic terror group in Indian Kashmir. HM has been fading away since 2010 as more of its leaders were killed or captured and few local replacements came forward. HM is unique in that it came to be dominated by Indian Kashmiris and resisted control by Pakistan. While still receiving personnel and other aid from Pakistan, HM was more sensitive to Kashmiri needs and desires, not what Pakistani foreign policy demanded. As a result, when the Kashmiri population turned against Islamic terrorism after 2001 HM began to decline but still retained more local support than the groups that were basically Pakistani inventions. Thus HM maintained its position as the major Islamic terror group in Kashmir because increased Indian success at border security hurt the groups more dependent on personnel and aid from Pakistan. The current increase in violence is fading, in large part because older Kashmiri Moslems know that Pakistan is financing the violence but it is Kashmiri families that are paying the price in lost children, property and employment opportunities. While young Kashmiris have little respect for the past, their elders do.

Afghanistan

Faced with unprecedented foreign and internal pressure (from politicians who are no longer afraid to challenge the Pakistani generals) Pakistan is putting pressure on the Afghan Taliban to negotiate a peace deal with the Afghan government and prepare to leave their sanctuaries in Quetta (capital of the southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan). The Pakistani generals are more interested in preserving the independence and wealth of the Pakistani military than in appeasing furious foreigners. The Afghans make it clear that the key to ending decades of violence in Afghanistan is cooperation from Pakistan. The Americans and Indians openly agree with this and Iran does so more discreetly.

If the Taliban sanctuaries are shut down Afghanistan says it will cooperate (and the U.S. will finance) the expulsion of several million Afghan refugees from Pakistan. The Americans will no longer threaten airstrikes on Islamic terrorists based in Pakistan, something that the Pakistani military can’t even attempt to stop with risking even more embarrassment. Pakistan has reportedly told Afghan Taliban leaders to either begin serious peace talks with the Afghan government or face eviction from their Quetta sanctuary.

At the same time the Afghan Taliban is facing internal problems as the many semi-independent factions that comprise the Afghan Taliban continue to fight each other and the new leadership, which appears to really be the head of the Haqqani Network (not the figurehead officially installed recently). Since 2014 the Afghan Taliban has been unable to agree on who should run the organization and that has led to more of the factions going into business for themselves. The several dozen factions have territories and different Pushtun tribes and clans they depend on for recruits. To maintain those tribal connections the Taliban need cash to pay full time staff and attract new recruits each year. The tribal leaders and local officials also have to be bribed. The faction leaders have been sending less (increasingly no) cash to the senior leadership in Quetta. More of the faction leaders are responding to family needs and many of those kin want to get out of Afghanistan. That costs money and there is but one source.

Meanwhile there is growing pressure from an informal coalition (of the United States, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and India) demanding Pakistan stop lying about its support for Islamic terrorists that are allowed sanctuary in Pakistan as long as they only carry out attacks elsewhere (especially in Afghanistan and India). Pakistan has been doing this since the 1980s and always denied it. This began in the 1980s when Pakistan provided a refuge for Afghans fleeing the Russian violence (similar to what the Russians are now doing in Syria) following a 1979 invasion. Pakistan, with cash and weapons from oil rich Arabian countries and America providing protection from Russian retaliation, allowed Afghan rebels to maintain bases alongside Afghan refugee camps. The problem was that after the Russians left in 1989 Pakistan has never stopped supporting Afghan rebels and interfering in Afghan affairs. Pakistan also encouraged Islamic terrorist attacks inside India. Pakistan admits they created the Taliban, but only to stop the 1990s civil war in Afghanistan. All the rest they have always denied.

The truth was that Pakistan expected the Taliban to ensure that whatever government was running Afghanistan would do whatever Pakistan needed done. That meant tolerance for the Afghan drug trade (which made many Pakistanis rich), no contacts with India and no criticism of the Pakistani military or its intelligence branch (the ISI). It was of little concern to Pakistan that the Taliban and the drug gangs have been tearing Afghanistan apart ever since. Only about ten percent of Afghans got any economic benefit out of the drug business and millions of Afghans, Pakistanis and people throughout the region have become drug addicts. Pakistan has been using Islamic terrorist groups against India as well and this turned India and Afghanistan into allies. It is telling that while Pakistan supports terror against India every other Moslem nation in the region (especially Iran and Bangladesh) regards non-Moslem India as someone they can get along with. Pakistan, despite sharing a long border with Iran, is considered more troublesome and less reliable than India. Bangladesh used to be part of Pakistan but rebelled in the 1970s and despite savage reprisals from the Pakistanis, achieved independence and continue to hold Pakistan responsible for those atrocities. Pakistan has always denied the Indian, Afghan and Bangladeshi accusations but now the United States is becoming more forceful in demanding that Pakistan stop lying and terrorizing its neighbors and threating the world. All this came to a head recently in the UN where many nations, especially Afghanistan, and India, openly demanded that Pakistan stop supporting Islamic terrorist groups, particularly those that specialize in terrorizing neighbors. The Pakistan military, which always portrays itself as a victim, responded by up increasing violence along the Indian border, blaming it all on India, and risking a nuclear war because India, unlike Afghanistan, has nukes. Meanwhile Afghanistan, Iran and India are developing new trade routes that will ignore Pakistan.

Full report at:

https://www.strategypage.com/qnd/india/articles/20161109.aspx

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Hefajat protests B'baria attacks, Rohingya persecution

November 10, 2016

Hefajat-e Islam Bangladesh yesterday demanded exemplary punishment for those who instigated and carried out attacks on Hindus in Brahmanbaria's Nasirnagar upazila last month centring a Facebook photograph deemed insulting to Islam.

The qawmi madrasa-based organisation also urged the government and the international community to put pressure on the Myanmar administration so that it stops persecuting the minority Rohingya Muslims in its Rakhine state.

“We are not asking the government to declare war against Myanmar but to create diplomatic pressure for the recent attacks on Rohingya Muslims,” said Hefajat Secretary General Junaid Babunagari.

Its joint secretary general, Mohiuddin Ruhi, urged the government to give shelter to Rohingyas as refugees.

They made the call at a press conference, organisedat Chittagong Press Club, to protest “Muslim Genocide in Arakan [Rakhine]”.

Full report at:

http://www.thedailystar.net/city/hefajat-protests-bbaria-attacks-rohingya-persecution-1312396

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Taliban call on Trump to withdraw US troops

November 10, 2016

KABUL:- The Afghan Taliban on Wednesday called on US president-elect Donald Trump to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan. “Our message is that the Americans should draft a policy not to take away the independence and sovereignty of other nations. Most importantly they should withdraw all their troops from Afghanistan,” the Taliban said in a statement in reaction to Trump’s surprise election win.–Reuters

http://nation.com.pk/international/10-Nov-2016/taliban-call-on-trump-to-withdraw-us-troops

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Attacks on Nasirnagar Hindus planned to embarrass govt, say Hifazat-e Islam

2016-11-09

Hifazat-e-Islam has reiterated ruling Awami League’s line of argument and said that the attacks on Hindus in Brahmanbrahia’s Nasirnagar were designed to embarrass the government.

The Chittagong-based group said whoever is behind the mayhem perpetrated on the Hindus in Nasirnagar, has done it with the motive to stall the ongoing progress of the country.

“The way the destruction had been planned indicates a motive to topple the government,” Secretary General Junaid Babu Nagari said during a press meet on Wednesday.

Joint Secretary General Moinuddin Ruhi said: “It has been done only to embarrass the government and destroy the law and order situation of the country.”

BNP holds the Awami League responsible for the attack on Oct 30, but the ruling party said: “A conspiracy had been hatched to slow down the progress of the government.”

Unruly mob ransacked at least 15 temples and more than a hundred Hindu households in Nasirnagar over a Facebook post allegedly insulting Islam.

The rampage was carried on while ‘Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat’ and ‘Khanti Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat’ were holding demonstrations in the area.

Ahle Sunnat arranged a press conference following the incident where it denied its involvement in the attack and blamed Hifazat.

“Islam does not support such oppression on people, Hifazat-e Islam does not support such attacks,” Junaid Babu Nagari.

Hifazat Joint Secretary General Moinuddin Ruhi said: “Hifazat has released statements condemning the attacks in Nasirnagar. A 26-member team led by our leader Mawlana Saidur Rahman has visited the area.”

Full report at:

http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2016/11/09/attacks-on-nasirnagar-hindus-planned-to-embarrass-govt-say-hifazat-e-islam

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Turning A Blind Eye: The Plight Of Hindu Minorities In Bangladesh

By Amity Saha

NOVEMBER 10, 2016

Islamic hooligans vandalised and looted at least 15 Hindu temples along with hundreds of houses of the minority Hindu community as the latter celebrated Kali Puja and Diwali in Brahmanbaria’s Nasirnagar on the afternoon of October 30, 2016. The violence began around 1:30 p.m. in protest of a Facebook post that rumour has it was posted a few days ago by a Hindu fisherman named Rasraj.

Around 150 to 200 people indulged in the attacks and vandalised at least seven to eight idols of five temples in that locality. In a little while, the attacks spread to Kashipara, Ghoshpara and Dashpara areas and several other places of the same district. While the Bangladesh government claims the existence of secular and peaceful conditions for the Hindus and other minorities, the Hindu-Buddhist-Christian-Tribal minorities in Bangladesh are in reality being treated viciously by the majority Muslim population.

The Hindu minority, particularly, is facing a grim situation where it is facing persecution at the hands of radical Islamic groups having links with the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami, Hefajat-e-Islam, Awami Ulema League, Hizbut Tahrir, Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamat etc. Without any doubt, Brahmanbaria is an illustrative example of this situation.

In 1947, Hindus constituted nearly 30 per cent of the population of then East Pakistan and now Bangladesh. But an estimated 20 million Hindus were “missing” from Bangladesh by the year of 1991. Today, Hindus comprise less than 9 per cent of the 157 million population of the country — and this number will certainly diminish now after the Brahmanbaria rampage of 2016.

Prominent Bangladesh economist Prof. Abul Barkat, in a recent paper titled “Seventh Five Year Planning (2016-20) in Bangladesh: The Dream and Reality”, has estimated that over 1.1 crore (over 11 million) Hindus had left Bangladesh due to religious maltreatment and discrimination between 1964 and 2013. Prof. Barkat observed that the regular outflow of the minorities, tribals and marginal people living in the plain or hilly areas of the country is the result of their being denied their traditional rights to lands, water bodies and forests.

Prof. Barkat said over 25 lakh acres of land belonging to minority and tribal people have been forcibly occupied by those belonging to both ruling and opposition parties as if in a fundamental attitude of Islamic perpetuity.

Criticising ‘The Enemy Property (Custody and Registration) Act of 1965’ and its subsequent versions ‘The East Pakistan Enemy Property (Lands and Buildings Administration and Disposal Order of 1966)’, ‘The Enemy Property (Continuance of Emergency Provision) Ordinance No.1 of 1969′, or the latest avatar of it, ‘The Vested and Non-Resident Property (Administration) Act (XLVI of 1974)’, Prof. Barkat said all these Acts and Ordinances were orchestrated to repudiate the rights of the Hindu minority as well as other non-Muslims from the territory of Bangladesh.

Prof. Barkat estimates that, on an average, 632 Hindus left Bangladesh every day in the 49 years between 1964 and 2013 — which means that a total of 1,13,03,320 (49 x 365 x 632) Hindus have fled Bangladesh during 1964-2013.

The reasons are obvious — and related to brutality, persecution and discrimination on the ground of their belonging to the religious minority.

Fisherman Rasraj was arrested under section 57 of the ICT Act (Information and Communication Technology Act, 2006). It is a strict legal provision and the punishment is evenly unforgiving.

But those people who attacked the minority members and ransacked their houses and vandalised temples are not penalised under similar strict regulations. For such brutal offences, the law must be strict.

Besides, the Facebook post in question is also highly questionable as the Photoshop thing could not have been done by a primary-level-pass fisherman. These Facebook posts are obviously being created by people who have an interest in fomenting unrest and thereby conditions amenable for looting property and land of the minorities.

Such false Facebook posts and their brutal aftermath have been witnessed earlier at Ramu, in Chittagong division, four years ago. Mobs destroyed 12 Buddhist temples and monasteries and 50 houses in reaction to a tagging of an image depicting the desecration of a Quran on the timeline of a fake Facebook account under a Buddhist male name.

Full report at:

http://www.eurasiareview.com/10112016-turning-a-blind-eye-the-plight-of-hindu-minorities-in-bangladesh-oped/

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Ghani Confers High State Wazir Mohammad Akbar Medal on Atmar

Nov 10 2016

President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani conferred High State Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan Medal on National Security Adviser Mohammad Hanif Atmar.

The Office of the National Security Adviser in a statement said the medal was conferred ahead of a high level meeting in ARG Palace on Wednesday.

The statement further added that the medal was conferred on Atmar for his major services.

President Ghani said admired Atmar for his service, patriotism, and intelligence as the Afghan nation admires it.

He also hailed Atmar for his services as the Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, specifically mentioning his achievement in National Solidarity Program which was turned into reality under his leadership.

Full report at:

http://www.khaama.com/ghani-confers-high-state-wazir-mohammad-akbar-medal-on-atmar-02246

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Police officer arrested months after handing over security posts to Taliban

Nov 10 2016

An officer of the Afghan National Police (ANP) forces was arrested months after he handed over a number of the security posts to the Taliban insurgents.

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) said the police officer was arrested by the operatives of the counter-terrorism directorate.

MoI further added that the officer was arrested from the vicinity of southern Uruzgan province where he handed over the security posts after establishing links with the Taliban earlier in September.

According to MoI, the police officer managed to escape the area after handing the posts, weapons, and ammunition to the Taliban insurgents.

Full report at:

http://www.khaama.com/police-officer-arrested-months-after-handing-over-security-posts-to-taliban-02245

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Afghan Taliban react on Donald Trump’s election as US president

Nov 09 2016

The Taliban militants group in Afghanistan issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon to react on Donald Trump’s election as the new US president.

The group in its statement said “Thee US election appears to show the victory of the Republican presidential runner Donald Trump.”

The Taliban statement further added “Our message to him is that the US government policies should be made in a way that do not compromise with the freedom of the other nations and do not seek its interests in the killing and conviction of the others.”

The statement further added that the adoption of such a policy will lead to universal peace and will put an end to the ongoing violence.

Taliban urged the newly elected US President to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan as it claimed victory in the ongoing war in Afghanistan, claiming that the US should not further harm its prestige, economy, forces and generals in the country.

The statement by Taliban comes as the US Ambassador to Afghanistan Michael McKinley earlier said the presidential election in United States will not affect the policies of Washington in Afghanistan and the bilateral pacts available between the two countries.

“Today I was asked many times what the impacts of these elections would be on US-Afghanistan relations and my answer is always the same, America’s long term commitment to our partnership with Afghanistan was renewed this year in Warsaw and Brussels. The US Afghan relationship will remain strong and and close because it is based not anyone election, leader or party on our common interests, our people to people ties, our shared values that so deeply rooted,” Ambassador McKinely said.

Full report at:

http://www.khaama.com/afghan-taliban-react-on-donald-trumps-election-as-us-president-02244

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Abdullah congratulate Trump on victory, Americans on successful election

Nov 09 2016

The Chief Executive Abdulah Abdullah congratulated the Republic presidential nominee Donald Trump for his victory in the presidential election today.

“I would like to congratulate Donald Trump for becoming the 45th president of the United States of America,” Abdullah said, adding that “I also congratulate the people of the United States for the successful election and wish them all the best.”

Abdullah further added that Afghanistan is looking forward to the expansion of mutual cooperation with the new US administration under Donald Trump.

“I also extend best wishes to Hillary Clinton and her campaing. May we extend the cooperation further and build on the progress,” Abdullah added.

The Afghan people have mixed reaction regarding the election of Trump as the new US president with majority of the people welcoming his election, considering his stance regarding the regional policy.

Full report at:

http://www.khaama.com/abdullah-congratulate-trump-on-victory-americans-on-successful-election-02242

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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/new-age-islam-news-bureau/anti-trump-protests-across-us--thousands-on-street-chant-‘not-my-president!’/d/109064

 

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