Aurangzeb, Tipu, ‘Love Jihad’, Processions: 12 Incidents since March, Maharashtra on Edge
New
Age Islam News Bureau
10
June 2023
Communal
tension has been heightened in several districts of Maharashtra recently over
social media messages glorifying Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan. (File)
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India
• 8,600 KMs in Nearly 370 Days: Indian
Man's Epic Haj Journey from Kerala to Mecca
• Cases of ‘love jihad’ rising, cops
told to take action: Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami
• All love jihad cases to be probed if
BJP comes to power in Bihar in 2025, says party's state chief
• I Dare UP Police to Show Me 400 Cases
of Islamic Conversions in Mumbra: MLA Jitendra Awahad
• RJD MP Reacts to BJP Leader's ‘Osama
Bin Laden’ Comment on Rahul Gandhi's Beard
• Islamic State module busted in
Gujarat's Porbandar, woman among 4 accused nabbed
--------
South Asia
• Bangladesh: Protest against China over
Attempt To Destroy Minaret Of 13th-Century Najiaying Mosque
• Daesh claims responsibility for
Badakhshan mosque attack
• UK Appoints Robert Dickson as New
Charge d’affaires For Afghanistan
• 1 Killed, 2 Injured in Afghanistan’s
Jawzjan Oil Station Fire
• Facing Unemployment, Young People
Illegally Migrate
• After a Decade, Bangladesh
Jamaat-e-Islami Gets Permission to Hold Rally in Dhaka
--------
Europe
• Decrying ‘Witch Hunt’, Boris Johnson
Resigns From UK Parliament
• ITV Manhunt: What happened after Levi
Bellfield's arrest from murder 'confessions' to conversion to Islam
--------
Southeast Asia
• Central region seeks ways to lure more
Islamic tourists
• ‘Allah’ issue: Home Ministry holds
engagement session with Islamic scholars, religious teachers in Parliament
• One of largest mosques in Central Asia
opens in Dushanbe with participation of Emir of Qatar
--------
North America
• Why LGBTQ Muslim Discourse Is Stalled
In Canada
• Canada Muslim Charity Wins Settlement
In False Terror Accusation
• Oregon, mecca of weed, to crack down
on illegal pot growers by holding landowners responsible
--------
Arab World
• Saudi Digital Artist Adapts Video-Game
Heroes with Arabian Elements
• Saudi Arabia to create ‘Woven’
cultural legacy at 4th London Design Biennale
• Amir, Tajik president tour new mosque
in Dushanbe
• Saudi FM, Solomon Islands PM discuss
ways to develop joint cooperation
• ‘Banan’ event weaves local,
international heritage in Riyadh
• Saudi Arabia’s Farasan Islands offer
rich biodiversity and ecotourism potential
• US-Saudi ties strong despite differing
views on OPEC+ oil production cut: Blinken
• Saudi Arabia’s environment award
launched to encourage conservation
--------
Mideast
• Palestinians Tweet in Rejection of Israeli
Occupation Plans to Divide Al-Aqsa Mosque
• Mosul Remembers Dark Day City Fell to
Islamic State Militants
• Azari people’s bond with Islam cannot
be broken by conspiracies: President Raisi
• Iran’s Top Sunni Cleric Tells Regime
to Address “People's Suffering”
--------
Africa
• Several People Killed In Al Shabaab Attack
on Mogadishu Beach Hotel
• Fulfil your campaign promises to
youths, Muslim group urges Tinubu
• Muslim-Muslim ticket: 10th Senate
should pick Christian President — Clark
• Miyetti Allah urges FG to deploy
security to Zamfara over ‘heart-breaking’ killings
• Deploy security agents to Zamfara over
killings – Miyetti Allah begs Tinubu
• Aregbesola has made us proud – Chief
Imam, Osogbo
--------
Pakistan
• ‘No Haircuts or Write-Offs’: Govt Mulling
Talking To Bilateral Partners for Debt Restructuring, Says Dar
• PTI accuses Dar of figure fudging,
piling on debt
• Cop martyred in exchange of fire with
outlaws in Lakki Marwat
• Terrorist Sanaullah Ghafari, involved
in attack on Pakistan embassy, killed in Kabul
• Hajj Mission procures 240 buildings
for comfortable lodging to pilgrims: Director Moavineen
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
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Aurangzeb, Tipu, ‘Love Jihad’, Processions: 12 Incidents since March, Maharashtra on Edge
Communal
tension has been heightened in several districts of Maharashtra recently over
social media messages glorifying Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan. (File)
-----
Cases spread after Aurangabad renaming,
Oppn accuses Shinde Sena-BJP govt of 'polarising' state ahead of next year's
polls; BJP accuses NCP of 'creating instability'
Written by Mohamed Thaver
June 10, 2023
Jan Aakrosh Morcha calls for economic
boycott of MuslimsAt a 'Hindu Jan Aakrosh Morcha' rally in Vashi, Navi Mumbai,
in February. Express file
THE tension in Beed died down without an
incident on Friday, but since March, communal tension has been simmering in
Maharashtra, with at least 12 cases of unrest arising from social media posts
or religious processions. In the violence that has erupted in some of these
cases, at least two people have been killed, while many have been injured.
In many of these social media posts, the
common figure is Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.
In Beed, local Hindu organisations
called a bandh on Friday after a 14-year-old boy allegedly praised Aurangzeb on
social media. The minor deleted the post soon after and put up a video
apologising for it, but worried over the bandh call, shops downed their
shutters in Ashti market area of Beed district Friday. The 14-year-old is now
facing an FIR.
A day earlier, on Wednesday, Kolhapur
was left on the edge following social media posts on Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan,
leading to an FIR.
The Opposition has accused the Shinde
Shiv Sena and BJP of “polarising” the state ahead of the state and Lok Sabha
elections next year. At the receiving end of Opposition criticism, Deputy Chief
Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the Home portfolio, has blamed the violence
on “Aurangzeb ki auladein (Aurangzeb’s descendants)”.
On Thursday, BJP leader and former MP
Nilesh Rane called NCP supremo Sharad Pawar a descendant of Aurangzeb, while
BJP leader Chitra Wagh said the entire Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) fell in that category.
love jihad
November 2022
Four months after the Shiv Sena (Shinde)
and BJP came to power, the state saw the start of ‘Hindu Jan Aakrosh Morcha’
rallies. Beginning in November last year, they have been held across the state.
The organisers are Hindu right-wing outfits, which allege an ongoing “love
jihad” and “land jihad” and demand economic boycott of the Muslim community.
The rallies, with BJP leaders in
attendance in many of them, have been accused of promoting hate speech. In
March, a petition was filed before the Supreme Court, saying that in spite of
an earlier court order to act against hate speeches, the Maharashtra Police is
not acting against these “love jihad” rallies.
On March 30, the Supreme Court said hate
speech is happening “because the State is impotent, State is powerless, State
doesn’t act in time”, and will stop “the moment politics and religion are
segregated”.
On April 26, in an affidavit, the
Maharashtra government told the Supreme Court that FIRs had been registered in
24 cases across the state in connection with hate crime cases. Among those
charged were BJP Telangana MLA T Raja Singh, suspended by the party for
communal remarks, self- styled spiritual leader Kalicharan Maharaj and Kajal
Shingla alias Kajal Hindustani.
March 17, 2023
Clashes were reported from Sarvade
village in Kolhapur district, soon after Aurangabad town was renamed as
Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar. Khuldabad near Aurangabad is the burial place of
Aurangzeb, and the town had been named after him.
Two locals of Sarvade – Mohammad Momin
(19) and Faizan Saudagar (23) – were alleged to have changed their WhatsApp
status, praising Aurangzeb and criticising the name change. After crowds
gathered outside their residences, an FIR was registered against the two —
Momin, a jute bag seller, was arrested, while Saudagar, a tempo driver, went
missing.
The locals demanded that their families
leave the village. While the gram panchayat declined to back this, the families
left.
Vadgaon Senior Inspector Bhairav Talekar
said Momin was released on bail after 10 days, while Faizan got anticipatory
bail. And that their families are now back in Sarvade.
March 30
Jalgaon’s Paldhi area saw communal
clashes after a religious procession with loud DJ music was taken out in front
of a mosque. A scuffle followed, and saw stone-pelting and looting of houses.
Two FIRs were registered and 45 people were arrested.
March 31
Violence broke out in Kiradapura area of
Sambhaji Nagar over alleged communally charged slogans at a procession. A mob
of over 500 pelted stones at the police, injuring at least 10 personnel. Later,
in police firing, one person was killed. Seventy-six people were arrested for
the violence, nine of them minors.
The same day, in the Malwani area of
Mumbai, a Ram Navami procession being taken out from near a mosque led to a
clash. While those in the mosque alleged loud music was being played by the
procession, the marchers alleged stones and slippers were pelted at them.
Twelve members, all from the minority community, were arrested in the case.
May 13
Violence erupted in Akola district after
an allegedly inflammatory post enraged Muslims. Caught in the crossfire was one
Vilas Gaikwad (39), an electrician and sole breadwinner of the family, who was
hit by a stone and pipe and died. His family came to know about his death a day
later from a newspaper.
More than 30 people were arrested in the
case.
May 14
Violence broke out in Ahmednagar,
leaving seven injured, in the wake of a Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Jayanti
procession. The police arrested 30 people and curfew was imposed in the area.
The same day, a video went viral of
Muslims appearing to enter the Trimbakeshwar temple in Nashik. Deputy CM
Fadnavis ordered an inquiry into the incident, though many residents attested
that as part of an age-old tradition in the town, the Muslims paid their
obeisance to the deity in the temple during their Urs procession, and that they
did so from the temple steps outside.
June 4
Videos emerged of four participants in
an Urs procession of Dam Bara Hazari Baba dargah in Fakirwada area of
Ahmednagar allegedly carrying posters of Aurangzeb. They were booked and two
were arrested, with Fadnavis declaring that “glorification of Aurangzeb” will
not be tolerated in the state.
June 6
At Sangamner in Ahmednagar district,
around 90 km from the Fakirwada dargah, two persons were injured and five
vehicles vandalised in stone-pelting, minutes after a rally organised by the
Sakal Hindu Samaj had passed. The rally was organised in the wake of a fight
between members of the two communities over traffic issues on May 28.
An FIR was registered and 17 people were
arrested. The police said they were going through the speech of Sudarshan TV
Editor-in-Chief Suresh Chavhanke, who was present at the Sakal Hindu Samaj
rally, to see if he said anything incendiary.
June 7
After a social media post on Tipu Sultan
and Aurangzeb shared by some persons, a group of Hindutva organisations called
for a bandh in Kolhapur. The police registered two FIRs in the case, one
against persons who uploaded the post and another against people from
right-wing Hindu organisations who gathered at the police station demanding
action. The police have made 36 arrests in the case.
June 8
On Thursday, shopkeepers in Mirajgaon
village of Ahmednagar shut shops till noon in connection with an incident of a
local youth sharing a video of some youngsters allegedly carrying a photo of
Aurangzeb during a procession in Ahmednagar a few days back. The local police
said the shops were shut also because of some other reasons.
On Thursday night, the police registered
a case under Section 505(II) of the IPC against the youngster who had shared
the video and served him a notice.
Around the same time, an FIR was
registered against the 14-year-old boy from Beed district for allegedly posting
a social media ‘status message’ backing Aurangzeb. The boy, said to be in
Mumbai currently, deleted the message later and apologised for his post, but
there was tension as some Hindutva organisations called for a bandh.
Beed SP Nandkumar Thakur said, “Once the
boy returns, we will question him to find out from where he had procured the
image and if anyone else was involved. The boy will then be produced before a
juvenile court.”
Thakur added: “Ever since the name of Aurangabad
has been changed to Sambhaji Nagar, there have been such instances.”
Officials in the police and
administration argue that the violence has been contained, and that in most
cases, the situation was brought under control within hours. While Maharashtra
DGP Rajnish Seth did not respond to calls and messages, a senior IPS officer
who did not wish to be named said the police alone could do little. “This has
now become more of a social issue. If tension is built between communities,
such instances are bound to happen… All we can do is prevent the damage,” the
officer said.
Opposition leaders say the fact that the
violence is contained but continuous is precisely the BJP strategy, to keep the
communal cauldron boiling but not letting it spill over.
On Wednesday, NCP chief Pawar said the
ruling party (BJP) “encourages” instances of communal violence. “Incidents of
communal clashes in Ahmednagar and Kolhapur have taken place over some mobile
messages. What is the meaning of hitting the streets over such messages?”
The BJP refuted this, accusing the NCP
of creating “instability” in the state whenever out of power. On charges of the
BJP trying to polarise votes ahead of 2014, party spokesperson Keshav Upadhyay
said: “The BJP has a strong force of pracharaks and has ample issues to reach
out to people… It does not need such issues… It is the NCP, Congress and Uddhav
Thackeray Sena who have nothing to tell the people and hence they are making
such statements.”
(with inputs from Vallabh Ozarkar)
Source: indianexpress.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/aurangzeb-tipu-love-jihad-processions-12-incidents-since-march-maharashtra-on-edge-8655084/
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Afghanistan Dy PM Praises Courage and
Sacrifices of Mujahideen during Jihad against Invaders
Photo:
Bakhtar News Agency
-----
2023-06-10
KABUL (BNA) Deputy Prime Minister for
Administrative Affairs, Abdul Salam Hanafi, in a meeting with the head of the
Central Army Corps, reminded saying that the system and security that are
ruling the country today are the results of the tireless efforts of the
Mujahideen.
Deputy PM, Mawlavi Abdul Salam Hanafi,
met with Mullah Abdul Manan Mahmood, the head of the Central Army Corps of the
Islamic Emirate and a group of Mujahideen, a statement said.
In the meeting, Mullah Abdul Manan
Mahmood speaking at the meeting shared details about the activities,
achievements, and status of the Mujahideen of the Central Army Corps.
The mujahideen of this corps are working
day and night to ensure the security of the citizens and guarding the Islamic
Emirate and they are ready to enforce any orders of the officials of the
Islamic Emirate, said the head of the central army corps.
For his part, Mawlavi Hanafi praised the
courage and sacrifices of the Mujahideen during the Jihad against the invaders
and also after the establishment of the Islamic system.
Deputy PM Hanafi deemed the system and
security that prevails in the country today as the result of the tireless
efforts of the Mujahideen and added that the people and the Islamic Emirate
appreciate their efforts and sacrifices.
Source: bakhtarnews.af
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://bakhtarnews.af/en/hanafi-praises-courage-and-sacrifices-of-mujahideen-during-jihad-against-invaders/
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Yorkshire Cricket Club Signs Charter To
Support Muslim Members Following Racism Row
The Headingly
Stadium complex, home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Getty
-----
Neil Murphy
Jun 09, 2023
Yorkshire have signed a charter
committing them to recognising the needs of Muslim players, staff and
supporters.
The club is awaiting sanctions over its
handling of allegations of racism and bullying by former player Azeem Rafiq and
a failure to address the systemic use of racist and discriminatory language
over a prolonged period.
The Rafiq case led to major changes in
the club’s leadership, with Lord Kamlesh Patel appointed chairman in November
2021 and overseeing a series of governance changes before he stood down in
March this year.
That has included working with Nujum
Sports, a group that seeks to challenge clubs and organisations to make
progress in supporting Muslim sportsmen and women.
Now Yorkshire have signed up to Nujum’s
Muslim Athlete Charter.
There are 10 points contained within the
charter, such as providing alcohol-free spaces, including during celebrations,
the provision of appropriate places to pray, halal food, and accommodating
staff and players who are fasting during Ramadan.
Yorkshire’s equality, diversity and
inclusion manager Mo Hussain said: “The pledge is another step in fulfilling
our commitment to becoming a truly inclusive club.
“Alongside our multi-faith space,
providing non-alcohol family stands and provision of halal food, our player
changing spaces have also been upgraded to ensure the religious and cultural
needs of our players can be met.
“We have been working closely with Nujum
Sports for more than a year and look forward to developing this relationship
further.”
Yorkshire have admitted to four charges
in total related to the racism scandal, with a Cricket Discipline Commission
panel holding a sanctions hearing on June 27.
Six former Yorkshire players were
sanctioned by the commission last month in relation to the same case, with a
seventh – former England captain Michael Vaughan – cleared at the end of March
of using racist language towards Rafiq and three other Yorkshire players of
Asian ethnicity.
Source: thenationalnews.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/uk-news/2023/06/09/yorkshire-cricket-club-signs-charter-to-support-muslim-members-following-racism-row/
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China's Campaign to Redesign 'Arabic-Style
Mosques' Threatens Muslim Identity
The
government's plans to remove the domes and reshape the minarets in a more
"Chinese" style sparked resistance [Getty]
----
09 June, 2023
A recent attempt by authorities in China
to remove "Arabic-style" dome and redesign the minarets in the
southwest of the country.
Controversy surrounding the Najiaying
Mosque was met with confrontation in Nagu - a small town in the mountains of
southwestern China - following plans to revamp the Islamic designs.
The incident highlights the Chinese
Communist Party's campaign to exert control over religion through the targeting
of lesser-known groups like the Hui ethnic minority, a report by The New York
Times said on Thursday.
While the Hui have historically
assimilated well with the majority Han population, the party has closed,
demolished, or redesigned mosques in Hui enclaves, considering Arabic
architectural features as "unwanted" foreign influence.
The mosques in Nagu and the nearby town
of Shadian hold cultural significance and are among the last major ones with
traditional Arabic-style architecture in China.
The government's plans to remove the
domes and reshape the minarets in a more "Chinese" style sparked
resistance from the locals in Nagu.
They see the proposed changes as an
infringement on their freedom and an attempt to erase their cultural identity.
"These mosques symbolize that the
Chinese government accepted that they were wrong during the Cultural
Revolution," Ruslan Yusupov, a scholar of China and Islam at Harvard
University, told NYT.
The Shadian mosque in particular, he
said, serves as a reminder "both about violence but also about
state-sponsored recovery".
China's relationship with Islam has
fluctuated between conflict and coexistence. Yunnan Province, where Nagu and
Shadian are located, is ethnically diverse, and the Hui people have lived there
for centuries.
However, the government has increasingly
imposed restrictions on Islam, especially after a 2014 attack attributed to
Uighur separatists.
Officials have promoted the Sinicization
campaign to remove Arabic features, which has caused concerns among Hui
residents that their way of life and religious practices are under threat.
"The first step is exterior
renovations," a local woman in her 30s told NYT. "The second step
will be telling you to erase the Arabic script that we have on every
home."
Li Heng, an official from the local
bureau of ethnic and religious affairs, "the Quran came from Saudi Arabia,
but after arriving in China, it must adapt".
“When our imams give sermons, they must
integrate the core socialist values the government is promoting,” he said.
"Patriotism is the highest form of religious belief."
Climate of fear
Despite the recent clashes at the
Najiaying Mosque and the residents' resistance, the authorities remain
determined to proceed with the remodelling plans.
Islamophobic comments on Chinese social
media platforms have surged and the authorities have issued notices denouncing
the protest and promising a severe crackdown.
The tension and security measures
created a climate of fear and surveillance, with plainclothes police officers
monitoring and restricting access to the mosque.
The Hui residents of Nagu express
concerns that compromising on the mosque's architecture could lead to further
encroachments on their freedoms and cultural identity.
They fear that their rights to practice
and pass on their religion to future generations may be undermined.
The clash in Nagu serves as a stark
example of the challenges faced by religious minorities in China and the
potential consequences of the government's campaign to control and reshape
religious practices.
Source: newarab.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.newarab.com/news/china-campaign-redesign-mosques-threatens-muslim-identity
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'We Don't Need Secret Evidence': California
Muslims Argue FBI Spying Case Should Move Forward
Muslims pray
during closing prayers for Ramadan at Baitul Hameed Mosque in Chino,
California, on 5 July 2016 (AFP)
-----
9
June 2023
After more than a decade of shuttling
through the US court system, three Muslim men who fell victim to the FBI's
covert surveillance programme are back in court arguing that their case against
the government should continue to move forward.
During a hearing on Thursday at the US
Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, Peter Bibring, the lawyer representing
the Muslim men, argued that the court should hear the case despite the
government's arguments the case should be dismissed based on the state secrets
privilege.
"We've taken the position that we
don't need any discovery into the secret evidence," said Bibring, saying
that they could present their arguments with non-privileged evidence.
Judge Marsha Berzon, one of the three
judges listening to the arguments, voiced scepticism of the government's
defence around state secrets being a reason for altogether throwing out the
case.
"The underlying problem here is
that there is an inherent conflict of interest by the government. They're both
the defender and protector of the interests and having no eyes on that is very
troublesome," Berzon said during the hearing that was streamed on YouTube.
"The notion that things are going
to leak out that haven't leaked out in the last 20 years is not very
believable."
In response to the government's
arguments, Judge Berzon said it is rare for cases to be dismissed at this stage
of litigation.
"That's our problem here. I mean,
how much do we hamper both sides because of this problem or do we just close
the courthouse door altogether and say we're not going to bother?"
Operation Flex
In the early 2000s, the growing Muslim
community in southern California was just getting on its feet both financially
and socially following the 9/11 attacks and the vitriol and Islamophobia that
Muslims in the US faced in the years after.
By 2004, the city of Irvine, California,
had its own mosque, the Islamic Centre of Irvine, which was regularly seeing a
thousand people attend its weekly Friday prayer services.
However, in the next few years, the
entire social fabric of the community was ruptured after a paid FBI informant
infiltrated and began working to entrap young Muslim men.
Between 2006 and 2007, the FBI sent
Craig Monteilh, otherwise known to many in the community as Farouk al-Aziz, to
spy on California's Orange County - home to multiple mosques and 120,000
Muslims at the time. The affair was known as Operation Flex.
Years later in 2011, Yassir Fazaga, an
imam at the Orange County Islamic Foundation, and Ali Uddin Malik and Yasser
Abdelrahim, who both attended the Islamic Center of Irvine, filed a lawsuit
against the government.
The three men accused the FBI of using
an informant to infiltrate mosques in southern California and spy on Muslim
Americans, including religious leaders, on the basis of their religion.
Among the issues the plaintiffs have is
that Monteilh had planted recording devices in the office at the mosque, and
had brought up violence and jihad to young men in the community and asked them
to join him in violent plots on US soil
In one case, Monteilh went with two
Muslims in the community on a drive to a mosque in Culver City, where he asked
them to join in an attack on US soil.
Despite trying to convince him against
the act and also telling him that they would not get involved in any plots, one
of the men, Ahmadullah Niazi, was later arrested on perjury and
immigration-related charges.
While the charges were dropped, his
entire social circle distanced themselves from Niazi, members of the community
previously told MEE.
By targeting Muslims, the men say the
FBI's alleged actions constitute religious discrimination in violation of the
US Constitution's First Amendment, as well as violating the Fourth Amendment
prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures.
State secrets
The plaintiffs argue that they should be
given the opportunity to challenge the unlawful surveillance and targeting of
the Muslim-American community.
The government called for the case to be
dismissed by asserting the "state-secrets" privilege, saying that
defending the case in court would threaten the disclosure of information that
could pose a threat to national security.
After the case was dismissed at the
district level in 2012, the Ninth Circuit ruled in 2019 that the case could
move forward on the basis of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA),
which governs how surveillance-related evidence can be used in court.
The Supreme Court in March 2022
unanimously overturned the appeals court ruling in favour of the men,
determining that the court misapplied the law, and ordered the lower court to
reassess whether the case can move forward based on the state secret privilege.
Bibring, the lawyer on behalf of the
plaintiffs, argued that the state secrets privilege does not authorise
dismissal of this case. The privileged material in question can be removed
without preventing them from presenting their own non-secret evidence, according
to Bibring.
"The government cannot have its
cake and eat it too. It can claim that it still needs to keep secret
information about this 17-year-old investigation of law-abiding Southern
California residents, or it can try to defend its dragnet surveillance
practices in federal court," Ahilan Arulanantham, counsel for plaintiffs
and faculty co-director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA
School of Law, said in a statement given to MEE after the hearing.
"But it cannot hide behind the
shield of secrecy and simultaneously avoid any accountability for its
actions."
Source: middleeasteye.net
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following URL to read the full text of the original
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India
8,600 KMs in nearly 370 days: Indian
man's epic Haj journey from Kerala to Mecca
Jun 9, 2023
By India Today News Desk: It took a
Kerala man a little over a year (approximately 370 days) to walk from his state
to the holy city of Mecca. For Shihab Chottur, the journey, which spanned 8,640
km, took him through Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and finally Saudi Arabia.
And just to reiterate, he completed the journey on foot.
Shihab Chottur, who hails from
Valancherry in Kerala’s Malappuram district, started his marathon trek to Saudi
Arabia to perform Haj on June 2, 2022. He reached Mecca this month.
During his journey on foot, Shihab traversed
India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait, and crossed the Saudi Arabian border
from Kuwait in the second week of May.
After entering Saudi Arabia, Shihab went
to Medina, an important Islamic pilgrimage site. He spent 21 days in Medina
before he left for Mecca.
Shihab covered the 440 km distance
between Medina and Mecca in nine days. Shihab will perform the Haj after his
mother, Zainaba, arrives to the city from Kerala.
The Kerala man, who runs his own YouTube
channel, has been keeping his viewers regularly updated about his journey from
the southern state in India to holy city of Mecca.
WHEN SHIHAB’S JOURNEY HIT BRIEF PAUSE AT
WAGAH BORDER
After starting on his Haj journey in
June last year, Shihab walked through several states in the country before he
reached the Wagah border, via which he wanted to enter Pakistan.
Here, he faced his first hurdle as he
was stopped by Pakistan's immigration authorities as he did not have a visa.
He had to wait for months at a school in
Wagah to get a transit visa. Finally, in February 2023, Shihab managed to get a
transit visa and entered Pakistan and his journey to Saudi Arabia resumed after
a brief pause. Four months later, Shihab Chottur reached his destination for
Haj pilgrimage.
Source: indiatoday.in
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/indian-man-epic-haj-journey-from-kerala-to-mecca-2391082-2023-06-09
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Cases of ‘love jihad’ rising, cops told
to take action: Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami
Jun 10, 2023
DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand chief minister
Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday directed the state director general of police
Ashok Kumar and additional director general of police (ADGP), law and order, V
Murugesan, to take “strict action against the accused in cases of “love jihad”.
This comes amid the ongoing communal tension in some parts of the state with
“at least four ‘love jihad’ incidents reported in the past 12 days”.
“The DGP has been asked to compile ‘love
jihad’ cases of past months. People of Uttarakhand live harmoniously, but that
doesn’t mean we would tolerate such crimes here. The number of such cases has
risen in the last couple of months. People are now aware of it and coming
forward to prevent it. Their anger is understandable…” said chief minister
Dhami.
The CM added: “We think that ‘love
jihad’ is being carried out as a planned strategy. Our government has already
introduced a strict anti-conversion law and will continue to take every
possible action to stop such crimes.”
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/cases-of-love-jihad-rising-cops-told-to-take-action-chief-minister-pushkar-singh-dhami/articleshow/100887107.cms
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All love jihad cases to be probed if BJP
comes to power in Bihar in 2025, says party's state chief
JUN 09 2023
By Press Trust of India: Bihar BJP
president Samrat Choudhary on Friday said that all alleged ‘love jihad’ cases
will be probed in the state if his party is voted to power in the 2025 assembly
elections.
‘Love jihad’ is a term used by
right-wing activists to allege a ploy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into
religious conversion through marriage.
“If voted to power in 2025, we will
probe all love jihad cases. Not only this, we will ban cow slaughter in the
state,” Choudhary said while addressing a public meeting here.
Those who try to create disturbances
will be dealt with strictly and they will be sent behind the bar as it is
happening in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, he said.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s party, the
JD(U), will face a humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections next year and
the 2025 Bihar assembly polls, the BJP leader claimed.
“Under the leadership of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, India has changed in the last nine years. Democracy has been
strengthened... India is touching new heights on the world stage under PM
Modi,” Choudhary said.
Source: indiatoday.in
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/bihar-assembly-polls-bjp-love-jihad-cow-slaughter-nitish-kumar-2391102-2023-06-09
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I Dare UP Police to Show Me 400 Cases of
Islamic Conversions in Mumbra: MLA Jitendra Awahad
JUNE 09, 2023
Questioning the Ghaziabad Police’s
claims that 400 people were converted to Islam using online games in
Maharashtra’s Mumbra, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Member of
Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the region Jitendra Awhad sought “proofs”,
terming it “an attempt to malign the image of the town which is seeing
development”.
The racket was exposed on May 30 when
the father of a juvenile filed a complaint at Ghaziabad police station,
alleging that his kid had suddenly started to offer namaz five times a day.
When he confronted the child, he got angry and said that he would leave the
house and stay with the maulvi he was in touch with. The Ghaziabad Police are
looking for the alleged mastermind Shahnawaz Khan alias Baddo, a resident of
Thane near Mumbai and have reached Mumbra. Two others have been arrested in the
case.
While speaking to News18, Awhad said: “A
senior officer of the UP Police has alleged that 400 children were converted to
Islam via online gaming apps and there is a Mumbra connection to it. They should
produce proofs and evidence of their claim. Why are they maligning the name of
Mumbra town which is developing,” Awhad asked.
“Investment is coming to Mumbra. A lot
of housing projects are underway in the city. It is a clear attempt to tarnish
the image of Mumbra with such baseless news,” he said.
Mumbra is a largely Muslim-dominated
town, with 25-27% Hindu population. Awhad has been representing this assembly
constituency for the past three terms.
‘CONSPIRACY OF BJP GOVTS IN UP, MAHA’
Awhad also termed it a conspiracy of the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra to
defame the Muslim-dominated area. “They want to silence my voice, so all these
attempts are being made by the UP and Maharashtra governments. Earlier, the
state government had put a false case against me, and even added new sections
to an old case to target me. I dare the UP Police to show me the 400 cases of
conversions. They won’t find a single case,” said Awhad.
‘DEFAMING MVA FOR POLL GAINS’
“As their internal survey has shown that
they will not get good number of seats in Maharashtra in the upcoming
elections, they are trying to defame the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) by resorting
to such tactics,” he said.
“It has become a routine for BJP leaders
and ministers to make statements without facts. BJP minister Mangal Prabhat
Lodha had made statement on the floor of Maharashtra assembly that there are
one lakh cases of love jihad, but when I asked for proofs, he couldn’t produce
one. The UP Police is doing the same. If they have proofs, they should show
us,” he said.
Awhad also raised questions on the
Maharashtra Police.
“How is it possible that so many
conversions are happening in Mumbra town and our police are clueless about it?
Why would the Maharashtra Police remain silent?”
Source: news18.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.news18.com/india/i-dare-up-police-to-show-me-400-cases-of-islamic-conversions-in-mumbra-mla-jitendra-awahad-8040397.html
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Islamic State module busted in Gujarat's
Porbandar, woman among 4 accused nabbed
Jun 10, 2023
Gopi Maniar Ghanghar
By Gopi Maniar Ghanghar : The
Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Gujarat Police has busted an Islamic State module
in the coastal town of Porbandar and apprehended four suspects, including a
woman.
According to ATS sources, raids are
underway at the premises of one more person, who is a foreign national.
ATS had received input that the four
accused were part of the IS terror module. They had been in contact with each
other for the past one year and had planned to flee the country and join the
IS. The ATS identified them and tracked their movements.
Under the leadership of DIG Deepan
Bhadran and SP Sunil Joshi, the operation to nab the four accused, including a
woman named Sumera, started in Porbandar late on Friday. Several prohibited
items were found during the raid.
All the four accused were radicalised by
their handlers across the border in Pakistan.
A few days ago, the Gujarat ATS arrested
three more people, suspected to be IS members, in Ahmedabad.
Source: indiatoday.in
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/gujarat-ats-isis-module-busted-gujarat-woman-four-suspects-nabbed-raids-2391202-2023-06-10
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South Asia
Bangladesh: Protest against China over
attempt to destroy minaret of 13th-century Najiaying Mosque
Jun 09, 2023
Dhaka [Bangladesh (/topic/bangladesh)],
June 9 (ANI): To show solidarity with the Muslims (/topic/muslims) of Yunan
province, Islamic Movement (/topic/islamic- movement-bangladesh)Bangladesh
(/topic/bangladesh) (IMB (/topic/imb)) on Friday organised a protest denouncing
China (/topic/china) for attempts to
destroy the minaret and dome of
the mosque in the Nagu area of Yunnan province (/topic/yunnan-province).
In June, a court ruled that some of the
mosque's most recent renovations were illegal and demolition was ordered
following which clashes broke out between Chinese Police and people in a
Muslim-majority town in southwestern China (/topic/china).
The members of the Islamic Movement
(/topic/islamic-movement- bangladesh)Bangladesh (/topic/bangladesh) formed a
human chain at Baitul Mukarram, Dhaka, criticising China (/topic/china) for
attempts to destroy
the minaret and dome of the 13th-century mosque. People assembled here
to protest despite heavy rain.
Protestors led by Advocate Khairul
Islam, chairman of Islamic Movement
(/topic/islamic-movement-bangladesh)Bangladesh (/topic/bangladesh), highlighted the Chinese atrocities (/topic/chinese-atrocities) on
Uyghur Muslims (/topic/muslims) and
warned China (/topic/china) to stop
such practices immediately.
Protesters carrying banners and posters
gathered at the protest site. They urged the people of Bangladesh
(/topic/bangladesh) to extend support to the oppressed Muslims (/topic/muslims)
living in China (/topic/china) whose culture is facing an existential threat.
Speakers also alleged that Muslim women
are being raped, harassed and Muslim males are being continuously tortured.
They added that China (/topic/china) has now started to destroy symbols of
Islam, which they said will not be tolerated.
Earlier in June, clashes were witnessed
between Chinese Police and people in China (/topic/china) as protestors tried
to stop the cops from demolishing a domed roof of the centuries-old Najiaying
Mosque (/topic/najiaying-mosque), Washington Post reported.
Dozens of officers got into a clash with
a crowd as they pushed toward the gate of the Najiaying Mosque
(/topic/najiaying-mosque), an important seat of worship and religious teaching
for ethnically Hui Muslims (/topic/muslims) in Yunnan province
(/topic/yunnan-province), according to videos viral on Twitter.
Videos viral on Twitter showed that police
had retreated from the area while demonstrators staged a sit-in outside the
gate that continued through the night.
The incident is related to a court
judgment from 2020 that ruled some of the mosque's most recent renovations were
illegal and ordered demolition, Washington Post reported.
On Sunday, Tonghai County Police
labelled the incident "seriously harmful to orderly social
management", urging anyone involved to surrender themselves to law
enforcement before June 6 for a chance at a lighter punishment.
The 13th-century Najiaying Mosque
(/topic/najiaying-mosque) was expanded many times over the years to add
buildings, as well as four minarets and a domed roof.
In 2019, part of the structure was
listed as a protected cultural relic.
In recent years, however, Communist
Party restrictions on religions have escalated. The country's top leader, Xi
Jinping, has demanded absolute political loyalty of faith communities and the
"Sinicization" of religion.
Surveillance of religious leaders has
also intensified. Washington Post reported that a nationwide database of
officially approved Islamic, Protestant and Catholic religious teachers was
launched this month.
The campaign has focused on Islam and
Christianity because of the party's deepseated fear of faith being a vector for
foreign influence. As well as restricting international exchanges and
donations, authorities have remodelled religious buildings whose outward
appearance was deemed insufficiently Chinese.
Xinjiang, a northwestern region that was
home to millions of Turkic-languagespeaking Uyghur Muslims (/topic/muslims),
was hit the hardest.
There, the Sinicization push was
combined with a "deradicalization" program of mass detention and
reeducation, which the United Nations ruled last year may amount to crimes
against humanity. Estimates of the number of mosques and shrines destroyed in
the region reach into the thousands.
Unlike in Xinjiang, the Mandarin
Chinese-speaking Hui minority originally avoided similarly severe restrictions.
But eventually, the crackdown spread to Islamic communities across the
country's northwest, including to Hui in Qinghai. Situated in an ethnically
diverse and remote region of China (/topic/china), the Hui of Yunnan are among
the last to face scrutiny. The region is often held up as an example of an
ethnically and religiously diverse place, where residents are adept at
navigating various identities and being politically flexible when necessary,
Washington Post reported. (ANI)
Source: aninews.in
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.aninews.in/news/world/asia/bangladesh-protest-against-china-over-attempt-to-destroy-minaret-of-13th-century-najiaying-mosque20230609202956/
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Daesh claims responsibility for
Badakhshan mosque attack
June 10, 2023
Daesh on Friday claimed responsibility
for an explosion inside a mosque in northern Badakhshan province the day
before.
The blast inside Nabawi mosque in
Badakhshan on Thursday killed at least 11 people and wounded more than 30
others during prayer ceremony of provincial deputy governor, Nisar Ahmad
Ahmadi, who was killed in a car bombing two days earlier.
That attack was also claimed by Daesh.
Source: ariananews.af
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.ariananews.af/daesh-claims-responsibility-for-badakhshan-mosque-attack/
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UK Appoints Robert Dickson As New Charge
d’affaires For Afghanistan
By Fidel Rahmati
June 10, 2023
The UK government has appointed Robert
Chatterton Dickson as Britain’s charge’ d’ffaires for the interim mission of
the UK to Afghanistan, a statement said.
The UK Foreign, Common and Development
Office (FCDO) stated on Friday that Dickson replaces Hugo Shorter, whose term
as director ended in February.
“Mr Robert Chatterton Dickson has been
appointed Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of the UK Mission to Afghanistan in
succession to Mr Hugo Shorter,” the statement said.
According to the FCDO, Dickson will take
up his appointment in July. Previously, he held the position of British High
Commissioner in Dhaka.
From 2013 until 2015, he worked as the
United Kingdom’s deputy ambassador to Afghanistan.
In August 2021, the previous Afghan
government was toppled, and Britain relocated its diplomatic presence to Doha.
Source: khaama.com
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.khaama.com/uk-appoints-robert-dickson-as-new-charge-daffaires-for-afghanistan/
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1 Killed, 2 Injured in Afghanistan’s
Jawzjan Oil Station Fire
By Fidel Rahmati
June 9, 2023
One person was dead, and two others were
injured after a fire broke out at a fuel station in the capital city of
Sheberghan, Jawzjan province of Afghanistan, on Friday.
Abdul Sattar Halimi, a Taliban
spokesperson in the province, said that at least one person was killed and two
others were wounded in the incident.
The injured persons were taken to the
hospital, where they were partially burned.
The tragedy happened last night at
around 3 o’clock in the Alam Yar Bayat fuel station near Andkhoi port, located
in the city centre of Shabarghan province, Halimi said.
At the same time, the firefighters and
rescue crews were quickly dispatched by local authorities to control the
blazing fire. Fortunately, they controlled the fire and prevented it from
spreading to the surrounding areas.
The fire caused the loss of human beings
and substantial financial damage. According to the sources, the financial loss
of the incident has been estimated at around $ 100 000.
Meanwhile, it has been said that the
cause of the fire was the carelessness of the fuel station employees.
Source: khaama.com
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.khaama.com/1-killed-2-injured-in-afghanistans-jawzjan-oil-station-fire/
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Facing Unemployment, Young People
Illegally Migrate
10-06-23
Young people who are fed up with poverty
called on the government to provide opportunity in the work and education
field.
Youth in Kabul told TOLOnews that at as
the unemployment level in the country rises, young people must inevitably take
the path of illegal immigration.
Young people said it has become more
difficult to cover the costs of living in the current situation and therefore
they have to go to neighboring countries or farther away.
Abubaker is a resident of Laghman and
head of a 9-member family and decided to go to Iran illegally.
“I want to go to Iran for work, I am in
the 12 grade but now I will leave school,” said Abubaker.
Young people who are fed up with poverty
called on the government to provide opportunity in the work and education
field.
“There is no work, and we have to go
there to another country and travel,” said Emal, a Nangarhar resident.
“We ask the government to provide work
for youth and to provide an educated generation so that young people are not
forced to go abroad,” said Abdul Ali, a Kabul resident.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economy said
that they have large economic projects to reduce poverty in the country, which
will provide job opportunities for hundreds of young people.
“To reduce poverty, strengthen small and
medium industries, activate half-finished projects and developmental projects,
as well as launch macroeconomic projects, these are on our agenda,” said Abdul
Latif Nazari, deputy of the Economic Ministry.
According to reports, every day hundreds
of people go on smuggling routes into neighboring countries.
Source: tolonews.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-183723
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After a Decade, Bangladesh
Jamaat-e-Islami Gets Permission to Hold Rally in Dhaka
Sat Jun 10, 202
After a decade, Bangladesh
Jamaat-e-Islami got permission from the police to hold a rally in Dhaka.
The party will hold its rally today at
Institute of Engineers at 2:00pm.
The party got permission to hold the
rally under some conditions including party supporters cannot gather outside
the auditorium.
Jamaat will hold the rally protesting
price hikes of daily essentials, demanding release of its leaders and holding
the next election under a caretaker government system.
Jamaat sources said the last time it
held a rally securing police permission was on February 9, 2013.
Source: thedailystar.net
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/politics/news/after-decade-jamaat-gets-permission-hold-rally-dhaka-3342466
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Europe
Decrying ‘witch hunt’, Boris Johnson
resigns from UK parliament
June 10, 2023
Former British prime minister Boris Johnson
abruptly quit as a member of parliament on Friday in a furious protest against
lawmakers investigating his behaviour, reopening deep divisions in the ruling
Conservative Party ahead of a general election expected next year.
Johnson had been under investigation by
a parliamentary inquiry looking into whether he misled the House of Commons
about lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street during the Covid-19 pandemic.
After Johnson received a confidential
letter from the committee, he accused lawmakers investigating him of acting
like a “kangaroo court” and being determined to end his political career.
Accusing the committee of mounting a
“political hit job”, Johnson said in a statement: “I am being forced out by a
tiny handful of people, with no evidence to back up their assertions.”
Parliament’s privileges committee — the
main disciplinary body for lawmakers — had the power to recommend Johnson be
suspended from parliament. If the suspension is for more than 10 days, voters
in his constituency could have demanded he stood for re-election to continue as
their representative.
Johnson hinted that he could return to
politics, declaring he was leaving parliament “for now”.
But the decision to resign may be the
end of his 22-year political career, where he rose from parliament to mayor of
London and then built a profile that tipped the balance of the 2016 European
Union referendum in favour of Brexit.
Johnson, whose premiership was cut short
in part by anger in his own party and across Britain over Covid rule-breaking
lockdown parties in his Downing Street office and residence, said the committee
had not found “a shred of evidence” against him.
“I am not alone in thinking that a witch
hunt is underway to take revenge for Brexit and ultimately to reverse the 2016 referendum
result,” he said. “My removal is the necessary first step, and I believe there
has been a concerted attempt to bring it about.”
The investigation is chaired by a senior
Labour Party lawmaker, but the majority of lawmakers on the committee are Conservatives.
The committee said it will meet on
Monday to conclude its inquiry and will publish its report soon. A spokesperson
for the committee said Johnson had “impugned the integrity” of parliament with
his resignation statement.
Attack on Sunak
The resignation will trigger a
by-election for his constituency in west London. It is the second in a day for
incumbent Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after an ally of Johnson, Nadine Dorries,
announced she would step down.
Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labour
Party, said: “The British public are sick to the back teeth of this
never-ending Tory soap opera played out at their expense.”
Johnson came to power nearly four years
ago, promising to deliver Brexit and rescue it from the bitter wrangling that
followed the 2016 referendum. He shrugged off concerns from some fellow
Conservatives that his narcissism, failure to deal with details, and a
reputation for deceit meant he was unsuitable.
Some Conservatives enthusiastically
backed the former journalist, while others, despite reservations, supported him
because he was able to appeal to parts of the electorate that usually rejected
their party.
That was borne out in the December 2019
election. But his administration’s combative and often chaotic approach to governing
and the scandals exhausted the goodwill of many of his lawmakers. Opinion polls
show he is no longer popular with the public at large.
Johnson used his resignation statement
on Friday to deliver an attack on the premiership of Sunak, whom he partly blames
for ending his government. The men, who worked closely together during the
pandemic, have had a feud since Sunak resigned as finance minister last summer
in protest against Johnson’s leadership.
“When I left office last year the
government was only a handful of points behind in the polls. That gap has now
massively widened,” he said.
“Our party needs urgently to recapture
its sense of momentum and its belief in what this country can do.”
Source: dawn.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.dawn.com/news/1759002/decrying-witch-hunt-boris-johnson-resigns-from-uk-parliament
---------
ITV Manhunt: What happened after Levi
Bellfield's arrest from murder 'confessions' to conversion to Islam
9
JUN 2023
Levi Bellfield is a name that still
haunts Londoners and undoubtedly the entire nation years after his original
arrest. The efforts and determination of DCI Colin Sutton, and the police,
captured serial killer Bellfield and have been told through the ITV drama Manhunt.
The BAFTA-nominated police procedural
has two series, the first looking at the hunt for Bellfield from West London,
and the second focusing on efforts to catch serial rapist Delroy Grant in South
London.
The Manhunt series is adapted from Colin
Sutton's book of the same name, and originally aired in 2019, but it's
currently getting a second run on ITV and concludes on Friday evening (June 9).
Martin Clunes stars as DCI Colin Sutton of the Metropolitan Police in the story
based on brutal real-life events. So here's everything you need to know about
murderer Levi Bellfield.
Levi Bellfield, now 54, is serving a
whole-life term at HMP Frankland for the murders of Marsha McDonnell, Amelie
Delagrange, and schoolgirl Milly Dowler between March 2002 and August 2004.
The former bouncer earned the moniker
the "Bus Stop Killer" because he stalked girls and young women who
passed, approaching them in his van.
The cruel and twisted killer spent the
last two years before he was arrested on suspicion of the murder of Amélie
Delagrange in 2004 living in number 11 Little Benty in West Drayton.
Since the serial killer was convicted of
the murders of 22-year-old French exchange student Amélie Delagrange in
Twickenham, 19-year-old Marsha McDonnell in Hampton, his name has continued to
appear in the media.
Serving three life sentences, he has
also been convicted of the murder of 13-year-old schoolgirl Milly Dowler, who
disappeared from Station Road in Walton-on-Thames in 2002.
He's thought to be responsible for
countless sexual assaults, rapes and murders.
If they dared reject his advances he
would explode in a fit of violent rage and attack them with hammers or baseball
bats.
Fathering 11 children, he had a string
of partners and wives, often at the same time. Ex-girlfriend Jo Collings has
spoken out since his arrest in 2004, claiming he raped her repeatedly and had
an obsession with younger girls, reports The Sun.
She once found a bin bag in Bellfield's
shed filled with a balaclava, a kitchen knife, and a magazine with the faces of
blonde models scratched out.
Bellfield's daytime exploits involved
driving around in his car with a gang of violent thugs and using his employment
as a car clamper to blackmail legally-parked drivers into paying him money.
Although locked up for life, Bellfield
has managed to get his way back into the headlines. Here are just a few of the
reasons he's stayed in the limelight.
The payout for a prison assault
Bellfield's name first returned to
headlines in a storm of media fury amid fears the killer could receive a payout
after he was attacked in prison.
Bellfield was eventually awarded a
taxpayer-funded compensation sum of £4,500 in 2014 after he was hit in the back
of the head by prisoner Albert Willett, who used a makeshift weapon.
The incident allegedly took place in the
communal kitchen of the maximum security prison HMP Wakefield in West
Yorkshire.
Willett was jailed in 2008 for the murder of
father of two Balbir Matharu, who challenged the killer as he attempted to
steal the radio from his car.
Claiming prison staff should have
protected him, Bellfield fought Ministry of Justice lawyers for three years
before they were finally forced to admit liability.
The MoJ said it was "hugely
disappointed" by the judge's decision to award damages to the murderer.
The Milly Dowler confession
In 2016 police reported Bellfield had
admitted responsibility for the brutal rape and murder of schoolgirl Milly
Dowler for the first time.
Bellfield had refused to give evidence
at his trial and repeatedly denied killing the teenager. Her family released
details of the confession, which came as a result of police investigations into
whether Bellfield had an accomplice.
Milly's family said of the confession:
"The effect of this information has been devastating for a family which
has already had to endure so much."
In a shocking twist, Bellfield released
a statement two days after the alleged confession, claiming he had made no such
admission, and challenging the police to prove what he had said.
His solicitor wrote to Surrey Police
requesting a tape of the alleged confession. According to Bellfield, he was
being formally questioned by police about other murders he was suspected to
have committed before the tape recorder was turned off and he was informally
asked about Milly Dowler.
DCI Colin Sutton, whose memoirs from the
investigation into Bellfield have been used as the basis for ITV's new drama
Manhunt starring Martin Clunes, said: "I am almost lost for words on this.
“He has been toying around with the
police and also the victims’ families, particularly the Dowlers. It is even
beyond the cruel, wicked games that I know he was capable of."
The conversion to Islam
Now calling himself Yusuf Rahim,
Bellfield converted whilst in prison. He was one of thousands of prisoners allegedly
becoming 'convenience muslims' in order to have access to extended rights and
better conditions.
A newly Muslim inmate, Bellfield now has
access to better food, more time out of his cell, and is excused from work
duties to attend prayer meetings.
Bellfield's letters to pals have been
signed from his new name, Yusuf Rahim.
The Daily Star reported that Bellfield
had been targeted, alongside fellow serial killer Ian Huntley, by Muslim
extremists looking to extend their gang influence over the prison.
Elizabeth Chau 'confession'
Police are reportedly preparing a dig
for the remains o f a university student missing since 1999 after Bellfield
allegedly admitted to her murder.
In a prison interview last month,
Bellfield told detectives he'd hidden the body of Elizabeth Chau in a forest.
Ms Chau, 19 at the time of her
disappearance, was a computer studies student at Thames Valley University. Her
body was never found, and her disappearance was never solved. In May, officers
visit Bellfield at HMP Frankland.
Bellfield is said to have 'admitted' to
killing Ms Chau last year to a prison officer, before writing a confession.
He is said to have described the way in
which he killed her and pointed roughly to where he'd allegedly buried her body
on a map.
Theresa Clark, Bellfield's solicitor,
said: "He tells me he feels it's important that her family have some
closure. He wants to see justice done because they have had to live this for so
long and that's unfair.
"He gains nothing from it, there is
no positive publicity for him."
Source: mylondon.news
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.mylondon.news/news/tv/itv-manhunt-what-happened-after-27093324
---------
Southeast Asia
Central region seeks ways to lure more
Islamic tourists
June 10, 2023
Da Nang (VNA) – A workshop on developing
a supply chain of tourism services for Islamic visitors in central Vietnam
opened in the central beach city of Da Nang on June 10.
Jointly organised by Malaysia Tourism
Promotion Board in Vietnam, the Islamic Tourism Centre under the Ministry of
Tourism, Arts and Culture of Malaysia, and the Da Nang Department of Tourism,
the event saw the participation of representatives of more than 100 enterprises
in the sector in three central localities, namely Thua Thien-Hue, Da Nang and
Quang Nam.
Nguyen Son Thuy, Director of Duy Nhat
Dong Duong Tourism Limited Company, said that Vietnam has welcome many Muslim
tourists in recent years, but the sector has yet to enjoy due attention.
Deputy Chairman of the Da Nang
Department of Tourism Nguyen Xuan Binh said the city has developed several
plans to attract more tourists following the COVID-19 pandemic, and this market
sector is seeing a chance to further expand.
According to Marina Muhamad, Director of
Islamic Tourism Centre, Da Nang should pay attention to special services
catering the needs of Islamic tourists such as praying areas and Halal food.
Delegates at the event exchanged ideas
on trends and consumption habits in tourism among Islamic tourists and Halal
culinary services.
There are about 1.8 billion Muslims in
the world, the ASEAN region accounts for 255 million. Recently, the early
reopening of direct flights between Da Nang and Singapore, Malaysia and India
have created favorable conditions for the number of foreign tourists visiting
Da Nang to grow strongly in Southeast Asia./.
Source: en.vietnamplus.vn
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https://en.vietnamplus.vn/central-region-seeks-ways-to-lure-more-islamic-tourists/254488.vnp
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‘Allah’ issue: Home Ministry holds
engagement session with Islamic scholars, religious teachers in Parliament
Saturday, 10 Jun 2023
KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 — The Ministry of
Home Affairs (KDN) held an engagement session with Islamic scholars and
religious teachers in Parliament on Thursday in its effort to prepare a
proposal to improve the administrative directive on the use of the word
‘Allah’.
According to KDN, it is in line with the
order of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa
Billah Shah on June 5 for the government to harmonise the current issue and
place the use of the word Allah in the right context by taking into account the
national security, the benefit of the ummah, as well as His Majesty’s position
and the position of other Malay Rulers as heads of Islam.
The participants were given the
opportunity to give suggestions to put an end to rising issues regarding the
control and enforcement of relevant publications in Malaysia within the scope
of maintaining the existing policy regarding the use of the ‘Allah’ word.
“The findings will be examined and
formulated into a proposal for the improvement of new administrative directive
before it is submitted to the Cabinet, after taking into account the policy
decisions of the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs Malaysia and
the Conference of Rulers which are all scheduled in 2023,” read the statement
yesterday.
KDN also gave a detailed explanation to
the stakeholders about the government’s stance and commitment to coordinating
the provisions of Islamic law for the sake of national security, the welfare of
the ummah and the position of the royal institution, it said.
It said more engagement sessions will be
held with other stakeholders, particularly with key opinion leaders, state
Islamic Religious Councils and the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia
(JAKIM) to get holistic recommendations and coordination over the matter.
The ministry also expressed its
commitment to maintaining public safety and order by imposing action against
publications that are deemed harmful to public order from time to time, in line
with the provisions under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984
(Amendment) 2012 and Article 11 of the Federal Constitution. — Bernama
Source: malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2023/06/10/allah-issue-home-ministry-holds-engagement-session-with-islamic-scholars-religious-teachers-in-parliament/73491
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One of largest mosques in Central Asia
opens in Dushanbe with participation of Emir of Qatar
JUNE 9, 2023
AKIPRESS.COM - A solemn opening ceremony
of one of the largest mosques in Central Asia was held in Dushanbe on June 8,
Khovar publication reported.
After the official opening ceremony, it
was proposed to name the mosque after Imam Aʿẓam - Abū Ḥanīfa
Nuʿmān ibn Thābit.
The opening ceremony was attended by President
of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani,
who is on a state visit to the country.
The mosque can simultaneously
accommodate 133,000 people, of which 43,000 will be inside the building, and
the rest around it.
The mosque project cost almost $100
million, $30 million of which was allocated by the government of Tajikistan,
and $70 million by the authorities of Qatar.
Source: akipress.com
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https://akipress.com/news:713917:One_of_largest_mosques_in_Central_Asia_opens_in_Dushanbe_with_participation_of_Emir_of_Qatar/
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North America
Why LGBTQ Muslim discourse is stalled in
Canada
June 9, 2023
Despite the presence of queer Muslim
groups for over two decades in Canada, the discourse on LGBTQ Muslims remains
stalled.
In May 2022, Western University removed
an Instagram image that showed two Muslim women in hijab in a kissing embrace.
The university responded to a petition that received about 39,625 signatures
which called out the depiction of hijab as “disrespectful,” “sexualizing,” and
“fetishizing.”
The image was showcased on the
International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia on May 17,
before being removed a day later on May 18.
As a corporation, the university
followed its interest. It responded to the petitioners that drew on jargon like
“colonist mindset” and “ethnocentrism” that is popular in social justice
activist circles. In the absence of a countervailing narrative from LGBTQ
Muslims, the university’s decision was to be expected.
Studying LGBTQ Muslims in Canada
There is recent academic work on LGBTQ
Muslims in Canada that explores intersectional lives of LGBTQ Muslims and which
shows that religious belief is not a main determinant of acceptance. This is
apart from the various theses that have been submitted by students at the
undergraduate and graduate levels.
Yet, academic publications do not
necessarily change the ground reality of LGBTQ Muslims. What is missing are
social justice Muslim activists who can broach conversations in Muslim
communities instead of engaging in lateral violence, where personalities and
egos clash and dissuade LGBTQ Muslims from making meaningful progress.
My own academic work on Islam and
same-sex unions culminated with a book in 2016, several papers during
2010-2018, and a Tedx talk in 2019.
My activism work between 2005 and 2019
consisted of community workshops, broaching conversations with academics,
Imams, and leaders like Dr. Shabir Ally, pushing academically against
reparative therapy, volunteering for Alberta’s conversion therapy working
group, maintaining media visibility,
challenging homophobia in Muslim spaces on campus, hosting a conference
on campus, and creating a private group space for LGBTQ Muslims.
Lateral violence from closeted LGBTQ
Muslims
Since then, I have withdrawn from such
work. This is to focus on my own neglected academic career, to avoid being a
gatekeeper, and to make way for the younger generation to express their
concerns themselves.
But it is equally due to lateral
violence that emanates from closeted LGBTQ Muslims. I distinctly recall a young
man whom I facilitated towards a private LGBTQ Muslim space and to Ramadan
Iftar dinner for LGBTQ Muslims. He was apparently facing inner shame and
problems with family acceptance.
And I did not have a recipe to fix his
life. Nobody does. He deflected his angst by labelling my work as
“disingenuous” and as “inflicting violence on queer Muslim bodies.”
In August 2022, the premier Muslim LGBTQ
organization in Canada announced “permanent closure” after citing “deep ruptures
and fissures that exist in our communities” in March.
Such lateral violence and hyperbole also
come from keyboard LGBTQ Muslim activists that indulge in weaponized victimhood
and purity politics. This uncompromising activism has been called out by former
President Obama, queer activists like Frances Lee, and writers like Irshad
Manji.
Weaponized victimhood cuts through
communities. Hindutvists that threaten academics studying Hindu supremacism in
Canada project themselves as perpetual victims of Hinduphobia.
Similarly, Muslims who try to homogenize
Islam, assume a monopoly position on its contours, and oppose LGBTQ Muslim
accommodation view themselves as victims of Islamophobia.
Indeed, the petition against Western
University contains the words “Specifically targeting Islam.” But the image of
hijab or a beard cannot be appropriated by conservative Muslims.
For instance, New Age Islam in Delhi
used cartoon images of an Arab gay couple in traditional Arabic attire and
Muslim girls wearing hijabs in loving embrace for my article on lateral
violence. While the images seem out of place in a serious article, the point is
that at least the Muslim readership in Delhi did not raise concerns on such a
depiction.
Additionally, if one Googles, there are
videos of Muslim hijab wearing pole dancers, ballet dancers, hip hop dancers,
and so on. It is up to Muslim women to decide what hijab means to them.
Thus, the meaning of the hijab cannot be
appropriated by petitioners who take offense that lesbian Muslim women choose
to break the binary between spirituality and sexuality.
Moreover, when the petitioners decide to
police Muslim morality in Canada, they only show that they can flex their
muscles with a group that does not have much public visibility.
In contrast, such petitioners would find
it an uphill task to start campaigns against Muslim men who wear skimpy posing
trunks in body building contests, which far outdo the modesty concerns on a
kissing embrace between women.
Petitioners who are offended by one thing
or another will always exist, as will corporations that are driven by the
profit motive rather than principles. Foisting rainbow flags and pasting
rainbow stickers is performative activism. The same corporations would have
stayed a mile away from Pride protests and events in the 1980s when only
principled people stood by a community overwhelmed by the AIDS epidemic.
The need for more LGBTQ Muslim voices
This brings us back to the main issue of
why LGBTQ Muslim discourse seems to have stalled in Canada. It is simply due to
the absence of strong LGBTQ Muslim voices that defy the hegemonic Muslim public
discourse.
This absence has to do with the fact
that those who dare to speak out face lateral violence from their own.
Speaking out then becomes a thankless
job, as closeted Muslims consumed by guilt and shame bring down openly out
voices that are often alone. It seems that engaging in lateral violence becomes
a purification ritual for closet cases to cleanse themselves from sin.
Past LGBTQ activists from the days of
Delwin Vriend in Alberta openly asserted their truth and were visibly out to
face their oppressors for meaningful change. However, many LGBTQ Muslims in
Canada choose to remain in the corrosive closet even in 2023.
This does not mean that every LGBTQ
Muslim should be out. But it does mean that without visibility by a certain
percentage of LGBTQ Muslims, the discourse on LGBTQ Muslims in Canada will
remain stalled.
The status quo then is of ghettoization,
where a few LGBTQ Muslims meet secretly away from the scrutiny of the
mainstream Muslim communities. And many prefer it that way due to inner guilt
and shame. To reiterate, they do not wish to reconcile their spirituality and
sexuality.
Partly, it is due to finding limited
acceptance or facing judgment in mainstream gay spaces. But more significantly,
it seems as if they feel that they don’t deserve an equal standing within
Muslim communities.
In essence, even in 2023, internalized
homophobia stalls LGBTQ Muslim acceptance in Muslim spaces in Canada.
Source: rabble.ca
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https://rabble.ca/human-rights/why-lgbtq-muslim-discourse-is-stalled-in-canada/
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Canada Muslim charity wins settlement in
false terror accusation
09.06.2023
TRENTON, Canada
A large Muslim charity suing those who
charged it funded terrorist groups won an out-of-court settlement against its
accusers, it was reported Friday.
The defendants also retracted their
claims as part of the settlement.
Islamic Relief Canada, one of the
country’s largest Muslim charities, filed a CAN$2.5 million (US$1.87 million)
defamation lawsuit in December 2018 against seven individuals. The lawsuit
revolved around the spreading of false information via social media, especially
YouTube.
Two of those named in the lawsuit were
involved in the Freedom Convoy trucker protest movement that paralyzed the
Canadian capital of Ottawa for nearly three weeks beginning in January 2022.
Thomas Quiggin, a former military
officer, was interviewed about Islamic Relief Canada for a YouTube video, where
false claims were made and Quiggin tried to tie the charity to the militant
organization Hamas and talked about an “Islamic cancer.”
The charity argued in the lawsuit that
this video, which had more than 10,000 views, contained false and malicious
information that harmed the charity.
"This case illustrates the kind of
misinformation that legitimate aid organizations too often face in carrying out
their vital humanitarian missions," said Usama Khan, Islamic Relief
Canada's CEO., as reported by the Canadian Press.
The defendants admitted the statements
made were unfounded.
"We did not exercise sufficient due
diligence in researching, drafting and/or publishing the defamatory
statements," the defendants said.
“The settlement reached by Islamic
Relief Canada is a milestone in this fight," said Khan. "By holding
those who spread misinformation accountable for their actions, we can send a
clear message that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated."
As part of the settlement, the
defendants also said they “never intended” to imply that the charity “supported
terrorist groups” or that it was a sham charity.
The amount of the settlement was not
disclosed.
Source: aa.com.tr
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/canada-muslim-charity-wins-settlement-in-false-terror-accusation/2918713
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Oregon, mecca of weed, to crack down on
illegal pot growers by holding landowners responsible
JUNE 9, 2023
SALEM, Ore. — Oregon has long been known
as a mecca for high-quality marijuana, but that reputation has come with a
downside: illegal growers who offer huge amounts of cash to lease or buy land
and then leave behind pollution, garbage and a drained water table.
Now, a bill passed by the Oregon
Legislature seeks to tackle that by making the landowners themselves
responsible for the aftermath. The bill also prohibits the use of rivers or
groundwater at the illegal site, as well as criminalizes seizing the identity
papers of migrant workers who tend the plants or threatening to report them for
deportation.
Under the bill, local governments are
authorized to file a claim of lien against property used for illicit marijuana,
if the owner doesn't pay for the cleanup.
A leader of the state's cannabis and
alcohol regulatory agency has said southern Oregon is to marijuana what
Bordeaux is to wine. But the state faces challenges on two fronts: The
regulated industry has a glut of product that has slashed prices and profit
margins, and there has been huge growth in illegal pot farms operating under
the guise of growing hemp, which became legal nationally in 2018.
After passing the Senate and House, the
House Speaker Dan Rayfield signed the measure Wednesday, over the objections of
some Republicans. Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek is expected to sign it next week.
''This is just an assault on property
rights here in the state of Oregon,'' GOP Sen. Dennis Linthicum said on the
Senate floor.
But Sen. Jeff Golden, of Ashland, said
property owners should know something is amiss when they are ''approached at
the beginning of the growing season with requests to lease their property for
tens, sometimes hundreds of thousand dollars for a single year.''
Witnesses have described backpacks with
thousands of dollars in cash being handed over to landowners and getting
numerous offers to buy.
''We pay CASH and offer a fast close,''
says one letter received by a landowner last year, one of three offers.
Jackson County Sheriff Nathan Sickler
told lawmakers that after police raid illegal pot farms, neither landowners nor
the suspects make efforts to remove the cheaply built greenhouses, known as
''hoop houses,'' latrines, and other debris, including plastics and chemicals.
''Frankly, it's an eyesore for our
community, with no means to deal with it,'' Sickler said.
Some two years ago, the ideal growing
conditions began attracting criminal gangs from Mexico, Russia and other
countries, police said. Thousands of hoop houses cropped up and police were
overwhelmed, nailing only a fraction of the sites. Workers at these farms often
live in squalid conditions and use open latrines, and they are sometimes
cheated out of their pay.
Due to persistent police raids, which
netted over 100 tons of illegal marijuana across the state last year, the grow
sites have become smaller and more dispersed. For example, on Thursday,
Josephine County Sheriff's deputies and other officers raided a property in
Cave Junction and destroyed about 2,000 marijuana plants and 100 pounds of
processed marijuana.
Landowners who have been intimidated and
suffered environmental damage from illegal grow sites are applauding the bill.
''At least most of the landowners knew
what they were doing was wrong. I believe this measure will help to stem the
tide,'' said Jack Dwyer, who has a house near the community of Selma. In 2021,
Dwyer said a large illegal grow site nearby siphoned all the water from a creek
that runs through his property, causing it to run dry.
Christopher Hall, who works to engage
the public in water stewardship, said the bill shows that Oregon officials
understand the problem of large-scale illicit cannabis operations and are
committed to solving it.
The illicit sites ''not only turn
streams into gravel roads but also lead to serious human rights violations and
dumping of trash, sewage, chemicals, and other waste into ditches, riparian
areas, and streams," he said.
The Senate approved the measure before
GOP senators began a walkout on May 3 over Democratic measures on abortion,
gender-affirming care and gun safety. The House passed the marijuana bill on a
53-3 vote on May 31. The bill will now go to Kotek to sign into law, taking
immediate effect.
"The governor supports cracking
down on illegal cannabis operations that have been prevalent in southern
Oregon,'' said Elisabeth Shepard, Kotek's spokesperson.
Source: startribune.com
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https://www.startribune.com/oregon-mecca-of-weed-to-crack-down-on-illegal-pot-growers-by-holding-landowners-responsible/600281319/
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Arab World
Saudi digital artist adapts video-game
heroes with Arabian elements
June 09, 2023
RIYADH: Saudi digital artist Jewmana
Al-Jifri has carved a niche for herself in the gaming and anime industry with
illustrations marked by elements drawn from Arab culture.
Al-Jifri, 32, forayed into the world of
illustration by chance. “My father’s gift of a tablet to me in 2009 marked my
accidental introduction into the world of digital art. I used to be a
traditional painter, but after getting the tablet, I committed all of my time
and energy to mastering digital sketching,” Al-Jifri told Arab News in a recent
interview.
Over time, Al-Jifri’s passion for video
games inspired her to seek greater creativity in her work. Her illustrations
are inspired by video-game heroes and characters from “Final Fantasy” and
“Assassin’s Creed.”
One of her reworkings is a character
from “Assassin Creed” seen with a sambosa, a popular snack that Muslims consume
during iftar in Ramadan in the Gulf. She also uses mosques, Arabian falcons and
Arabic typography to give her illustrations a Middle Eastern look.
“My mother is a superb artist, and she
gave me the inspiration to start drawing when there was no current technology
available. I learned to draw exclusively (from) the TV screen. And as the years
went by, video games became a major source of inspiration for me because they
offer more intricate drawings than cartoons do in a variety of different
aspects, such as costume and character design.”
Al-Jifri’s all-time favorite is
“Assassin’s Creed” because she considers it different from other video games.
“It tells a lot about (real) historical stories and events that are mentioned
in the history books.
“It allows players to see famous
historical cities and monuments in various eras such as Al-Aqsa Mosque in
Jerusalem and Santa Maria del Fiore in Italy and Hagia Sophia Mosque in
Istanbul.”
Al-Jifri started displaying her work on
social media, and in 2021, joined the official Assassin’s Creed Rebellion
Community Server on Discord as she was eager to have her work recognized by the
gaming community.
The community allows players of the game
to network, compete in challenges, and provides a platform for talented
individuals to showcase their creative skills.
She published her first work on the
community’s network in May 2021, “thanks to the continuous motivation from the
members. In October 2022, I was selected as an interactive artist in the server
to volunteer to create digital stickers for the server with the help of an
artist from Malaysia, and we finished creating the posters last April.”
The poster highlights stickers that
could be used by the community to display a range of emotions, from surprise to
anger. It has been posted permanently on the community’s server.
Al-Jifri not only adapts existing
characters but produces original work for clients, encompassing video games,
YouTube channels and books.
“In 2018, some players in FFXIV (Final
Fantasy XIV) knew me and offered me a commission to make a special drawing for
them for their desktop. Honestly, my target back then, (by) accepting these
commissions, was to pay for a new tablet and a new program for developing my
digital art skills,” she said.
“I previously turned my passion into
freelancing where many clients would come to me for character designs and I
faced a lot of criticism, but I overcame these things and changed the concept
of digital art for the better,” Al-Jifri added.
Her passion for illustrating earned her
a Final Fantasy runners-up prize for one of the best shield designs for the
game in 2018. “This is only the beginning and I am still developing my
technical skills to do more when I get opportunities like this.”
Al-Jifri believes that stepping into the
digital world is important for artists who want to get global recognition.
“This made it easier for many painters
to share their work around the world, not just in one city. In recent years,
I’ve gained a lot of followers and fans who inspire me with their admiration
for my work, to produce more graphics of the well-known video game series
‘Assassin’s Creed,’ as a historical game between reality and fantasy that
varies in its curation.”
In future, Al-Jifri wants to set up a
character-design institute for creatives who want to collaborate and connect
with video game developers.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2318871/saudi-arabia
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Saudi Arabia to create ‘Woven’ cultural
legacy at 4th London Design Biennale
June 09, 2023
LONDON: Saudi Arabia is participating in
the 4th London Design Biennale with a pavilion entitled “Woven” created by two
leading female designers.
Over the course of the 25-day biennale,
which kicked off on Thursday, a 50-meter-long tapestry will be woven by
visitors to the Saudi Pavilion, based on the traditional “Sadu” weaving
practice.
This is the first time that the Kingdom,
which is being represented by the Architecture and Design Commission — part of
the Ministry of Culture — has participated in the annual exhibition with a
large-scale interactive display.
“We had an invited call for
participation to allow many of our designers to have an opportunity to be part
of showcasing their work,” which “shows how now there is a legacy that we are
building on,” Dr. Sumayah Al-Solaiman, CEO of the commission, told Arab News.
“The traditional arts of weaving, for
instance, it’s also very future, forward-looking in the sense that it’s a
collaborative design piece where every thread that is now put into the woven
canvas is some sort of a timestamp of what is important in our future. And
allowing all the participants who would like to be part of this to have a voice
and tell us what is important to them,” she added.
The installation has been designed and
curated by leading Saudi designers Ruba Alkhaldi and Lojain Rafaa, and consists
of a large loom and visual displays. Participants have a choice of weaving one
of five different color threads, each representing innovation, nature,
spirituality, knowledge and wellness.
Al-Solaiman said one of the commission’s
aims was to showcase the richness of Saudi culture. “If we look at the
traditional art, traditional architecture and how all of that is influencing
our cultural renaissance at this time, it’s an amazing time for us to have this
multiplicity of voices coming in and showcasing that.”
She said the response has been
“resoundingly positive,” and they were excited to see the outcome as it would
give them a more historical view, while also creating a legacy that they would
display at future venues.
Al-Solaiman said that the work had to
follow the theme of this year’s biennale, which is “The Global Game: Remapping
Collaborations.”
“When you remap collaboration, thinking
about the past, the present, but then also the future, I think this work really
brings all of those together.”
The commission’s strategy is aligned
with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan and is responsible for regulating and
uplifting the architecture and design sector, she said. This includes community
engagement, talent development, gross domestic product contribution,
diversification of the economy, research, and celebrating the products of Saudi
architects and designers nationally and internationally, she added.
Alkhaldi, who is a design innovation
strategist, said she focuses on how design could drive future innovation. The
collaborative interactive installation was a platform where the participants’
thoughts and perceptions about the future “will be bonded and connected through
what we call the fabric of humanity.”
Alkhaldi said that they were inspired by
the Sadu craftspeople because it was led by powerful nomad women in the desert
who had limited resources and created multiple ways to assemble and create
fabric.
“That fabric, at the end, extended value
to affect us socially, culturally and even on the level of architecture and art
— it’s included in tents, in houses and part of our culture till now.
“It was a symbol of revolution and we
wanted to recreate that sense of revolution within the experience in the London
Design Biennale,” said the 34-year-old from Dammam in the Eastern Province.
Alkhaldi added that they were also
inspired by Vision 2030 which focuses on creating an innovative community in
Saudi Arabia and encourages people to share their thoughts and opinions, and
the installation was meant to show their welcoming nature.
“We’re trying to tell people that we are
welcoming our opinions, our thoughts and let’s interlace it together to shape
the future globally, not just locally,” she added.
She said there was positive feedback
from people of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds, interacting and sharing
stories about their culture and weaving techniques.
Victoria Broackes, director of the
biennale, said the theme of remapping collaboration was about bringing
countries, nations and cities together — and also different disciplines and
ideas, to find new ways of working.
“The exhibits that we have here from
Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Dubai visibly show how these ideas do not come from
one type of discipline, they come from a multitude of different people and
types of people working together,” she added.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2318831/saudi-arabia
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Amir, Tajik president tour new mosque in
Dushanbe
JUNE 10, 2023
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin
Hamad al-Thani and President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon toured the Imam Abu
Hanifa Al-Nu'man bin Thabit Mosque after its inauguration in Dushanbe on
Thursday. They toured the cultural building, the library, and the educational
departments of the mosque, which aims to contribute to the consolidation of
Islamic and educational values. The mosque has been built with the support of
Qatar.
Source: gulf-times.com
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https://www.gulf-times.com/article/662733/qatar/amir-tajik-president-tour-new-mosque-in-dushanbe
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Saudi FM, Solomon Islands PM discuss
ways to develop joint cooperation
June 10, 2023
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister
Prince Faisal bin Farhan received the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands,
Manasseh Sogavare, and his accompanying delegation during their official visit
to the capital, Riyadh, the Kingdom’s foreign ministry said on Friday.
At the beginning of the reception,
Prince Faisal conveyed greetings from King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman to Sogavare, and their wishes for continued stability, progress and
prosperity to the government and people of the Solomon Islands.
The two side reviewed the bilateral
relations and ways to enhance and develop them in various fields, and discussed
intensifying joint coordination on many issues of concern to both countries,
the ministry said in a statement.
They also discussed opportunities for
economic cooperation in light of the Kingdom’s Vision 2023, and exchanged views
on international developments.
Source: arabnews.com
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2318991/saudi-arabia
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‘Banan’ event weaves local,
international heritage in Riyadh
June 09, 2023
RIYADH: A handicrafts event in Riyadh is
shedding light on local and international heritage passed down from one
generation to the next.
Titled “Banan,” meaning fingertips in
Arabic, the Saudi International Handicrafts Week is highlighting the
community-building aspect of multinational crafts, including woodworking,
blacksmithing, weaving and embroidery, among others.
The event, which kicked off on Tuesday,
will run until June 12 at Riyadh Front.
“There’s no doubt that handicrafts play
an important part in economic and cultural projects, and are a factor for
creating job and investment opportunities, in addition to their role in
preserving cultural heritage and strengthening national identity,” Saudi Deputy
Minister of Culture Hamed Fayez said.
The event also invites craft enthusiasts
to engage in hands-on workshops throughout the week, gathering centuries of
collective stories and legacies from across the globe in one platform.
From Mexico, Regina Velasco Marin and
Alberto Lopez Gomez are highlighting the tradition of weaving, filigree design
and openwork embroidery techniques using existing cotton materials, like
clothing or drapes. The fabric is undone, and cotton threads are reused to
create unique patterns and wearable pieces on a backstrap loom.
“I’m proud to be representing five generations
of artisans, from my great grandmother to myself. It’s so surprising that my
culture has expanded and reached Saudi Arabia. I’m very thankful to my mom for
teaching me all of this, and I’m especially proud of her and my grandmother now
that I’m here,” Marin told Arab News.
Pottery artist Zaki Al-Gharrash, from
the Eastern region of the Kingdom, showcases the unique soil that characterizes
the governorate of Al-Qatif and gives off the pale green hue in pottery
production.
“This was a hobby first that turned into
a profession. If it wasn’t for my love and passion for it, I wouldn’t have kept
pursuing it, because it is tiring,” Al-Gharrash said, demonstrating the
elongated process, from extracting soil from deep underground, to drying out
the product, then working it to clay.
While his father, years ago, made clay
pans and water coolers out of necessity, people now look for antiques, driving
the craft’s demand. More people are also recognizing the benefits of drinking
from clay cups.
“(It) actually revives its qualities,
making water more alkaline and healthier for humans, and gives it life again
after it dies in plastic. It also keeps it cool, especially in the desert,” the
artisan said.
While the profession has become
commercialized, it takes an artisan to preserve the unique qualities of pottery
during production.
Fahad Al-Shammary from Hail uses the
stems of Saudi’s national treasures, palm trees, to craft unique doors for
interior decorating and miniature ones for gifting. Utilizing the abundance of
palms on his family farm, he has managed to take part in a profitable hobby for
15 years and counting.
“This event brings together all the
cultures of the north, south, east, and west and its heritage … it’s our
ancestor’s, so we have to preserve it,” he said.
Banan is an opportunity for artisans to
educate others on the history of their regions and also sell their products
through 11 sections of the space.
Italian handcraft store Lisa Tibaldi
Terra Mia attracts customers with the charm of its story. The store’s modern
jewelry utilizes plants sourced from the Aurunca land, located between Naples
and Rome. “After a (special process), they can be made into a jewel, into a
semi-precious material,” Ludovica Zanon, a representative of the business, told
Arab News.
The store also carries a collection of
authentic silk scarves influenced by the natural palette of the region, with
some of the collections delicately printed in native butterflies and ocean
waves. A home decor line by Lisa Tibaldi Terra Mia also champions
sustainability using 3D printing and biodegradable organic materials.
Zanon said: “Our vision is in strict
contact with our territory, so we like to make and craft all our things
(sustainably) in Italy because we want to help our territory and make it
valuable and not waste our land.
“It’s (very emotional) for me to come
here and represent my country and city because Aurunca land is a small
territory between Rome and Naples, so it’s important to us to bring our land
here and be proud of that.”
Source: arabnews.com
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Saudi Arabia’s Farasan Islands offer
rich biodiversity and ecotourism potential
June 09, 2023
RIYADH: Located in the pristine
turquoise waters of the Red Sea, roughly 50 km west of the Saudi port city of
Jazan in the southwest corner of the country, is an archipelago made up of
about 170 islands known as the Farasan Islands.
Long the subject of fascination, not
least for their natural beauty but also their rich history dating back to the
ancient Romans and the time of Ottoman rule over the Arabian Peninsula, the
Farasan Islands are considered a rising star by the Kingdom’s tourism industry.
“Saudi has more than 1,300 islands
spotted across its coastlines,” a spokesperson for the Saudi Tourism Authority
told Arab News. “As part of Vision 2030, Saudi is working on a number of
ambitious island projects with sustainability at the heart of preserving these
natural wonders.”
A paradise for divers, the archipelago’s
coral islands offer precious opportunities for the study and appreciation of
marine biodiversity.
The coastlines and islands of the Red
Sea are characterized by a variety of ecosystems, including red and black
mangroves, seagrass beds, coral, saltmarshes and macroalgal reefs.
The islands are composed of reef
limestone, rising to elevations of between 10 to 20 meters above sea level. The
highest point among the islands reaches some 75 meters above sea level.
The coastlines surrounding the islands
are covered in pristine white sand made from powdered coral and seashells,
while their waters are home to a variety of fish and other sea creatures,
including whales, dolphins, green and hawksbill turtles and manta ray.
On dry land, the local fauna includes
the largest population of Idmi gazelle in the Kingdom, sooty falcon, white-eyed
gull, osprey and Red Sea Noddy birds, among others. Additionally, the islands
are home to numerous rare and endemic species of plant, including endangered
red mangrove trees.
In 1996, the “Juzur” Farasan, as the
islands are also known, were declared a protected area by royal decree, thereby
recognizing them as one of the Kingdom’s most treasured natural assets.
The Farasan Islands Protected Area
includes more than 84 islands, the largest of which is the Farasan Al-Kabir, or
Greater Farasan, followed by the Saqid, or Lesser, Farasan and Qummah — all of
which are inhabited by people working in fishing and producing millet and
maize.
Officials managing the protected area
are building on extensive research and fieldwork to preserve both marine and
terrestrial ecosystems, as well as animal and plant species, many of which
originate from the Tihamah coastal plain of western Saudi Arabia.
Included in the protected area program
are educational talks and campaigns to help raise awareness about the
importance of preserving the area for fishermen, farmers, schools, local
leaders and young people.
The area is part of the Regional
Organization for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of
Aden. Additionally, the Saudi Wildlife Authority has developed a plan to
oversee and maintain the rich biodiversity of the islands.
In March 2021, the International
Advisory Committee for Biosphere Reserves welcomed the first nomination dossier
from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of “Juzur” Farasan as a biosphere reserve.
The nomination was approved by the
International Coordinating Council of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme
on Sept. 15, 2021, during the commission’s session held in Abuja, Nigeria,
marking the first time the MAB-ICC had met in Africa.
Underway are several projects to develop
the area for ecotourism, including its various natural and cultural heritage
sites and numerous archaeological sites that reflect the history of the area.
Several civilizations, including the Romans, visited and occupied the islands.
In August 2022, Saudi Arabia’s Heritage
Commission announced the discovery of several structures and artifacts from the
2nd and 3rd centuries following extensive excavation work by a joint
Saudi-French team.
The pieces included Roman folded armor
made of copper ingots and armor known as “lorica squamata,” which was
frequently used during the Roman era between the 1st and 3rd centuries.
Archaeologists also found an inscription
of garnet for “Genos,” a renowned Roman figure in the Eastern Roman Empire, and
the head of a small stone statue.
The Saudi-French team has made several
exploratory trips since 2005, and has uncovered architectural and
archaeological remnants dating as far back as 1400 BC. Such discoveries
underline the importance of the ancient ports that once controlled the marine
trade routes of the Red Sea.
Such archaeological discoveries also
demonstrate the importance of the Farasan Islands and the mainland in ancient
times as a crucial meeting point for trade and cross-cultural exchange.
Now, with the Kingdom’s borders open to
global investment and visitors and with numerous giga-projects underway, the
Farasan Islands have the potential to become one of Saudi Arabia’s top tourism
destinations.
While upscale hotels and resorts are
still under construction as part of the Red Sea Project, a trip to the Farasan
Islands can be an enriching journey of leisure and discovery in a still largely
untouched region of Saudi Arabia.
“Saudi is something of the last frontier
in terms of tourism and I certainly felt that last year when I went and wanted
to take a weekend trip outside of Riyadh,” Ciara Philips, a British expatriate,
told Arab News.
“I chose the Farasan Islands and booked
FlyNas flights to Jazan, leaving after work on Thursday and arriving back early
evening on Saturday. The flight schedules worked perfectly.”
Philips, who moved to Riyadh at the end
of 2020 to accept a job in cultural strategy, said that she found it difficult
to find “concrete information about the islands, other than what is on VisitSaudi
and blog posts from other intrepid expats.”
At the last minute, just a day before
setting off, she found a weekend trip with Masarat Tours. In Jazan she met a
local guide and spent two days with him and two girlfriends who had traveled
from Jeddah.
Together they went to a small fishing
harbor where they explored the mangroves by boat and various tiny islands
inhabited by birds, crabs and other native species.
“It was magical,” said Philips. “Totally
Robinson Crusoe. I had bought a snorkel and mask the day before and explored
the warm, still waters, finding all sorts of brightly colored shoals of fish.
There were pelicans swimming in the sea and the shells on the beach were
enormous.”
Over the course of her two-day trip,
Philips says that she saw barely anyone besides her friends and their guide —
an ideal break from the busy, sweltering and dusty streets of Riyadh during
July.
“I learned a few more words of Arabic,
but better still was the truly contemplative time exploring the seas and the
many uninhabited islands of Farasan,” she said.
As Saudi Arabia continues to diversify
its economy, these pristine islands, so sparsely populated and so rich in
nature and wildlife, constitute an ideal resource in the Kingdom’s quest to
become a global hub for sustainable tourism.
Source: arabnews.com
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US-Saudi ties strong despite differing
views on OPEC+ oil production cut: Blinken
June 09, 2023
RIYADH: The decades-long strategic
relationship between Saudi Arabia and the US remains strong and is going
through a period of “increasing convergence,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken
said on Thursday.
During an official trip to Saudi Arabia,
Washington’s top diplomat told Hiba Nasr of Asharq News that the Kingdom and
the US are successfully working together despite “a difference in views” over
the decision by OPEC+ nations last October to cut oil-production targets.
“We’ve had a partnership together for
decades that was grounded in security, in cooperation, energy and, in recent
years, counterterrorism, and that foundation remains,” Blinken said.
“But what we’re also seeing — and what
this visit reconfirms — is that there are important opportunities for our two
countries to work together to advance some very positive issues, very positive
trends.”
Blinken, who attended a Global Coalition
Against Daesh conference in Riyadh this week, said the deescalation of tensions
in the Middle East was a priority for both countries, but that the Kingdom and
the US have also been working together well on a “positive trajectory based on
interests we share” in other arenas.
This includes “collaboration between our
countries in addressing some of the challenges that not only are of concern to
our people but to people around the world, from health security to climate
security to energy security to food security and, of course, the transition to
clean energy, working on emerging technologies,” he added.
Blinken said the US is not abandoning
the Middle East in the face of growing Chinese and Russian influence and is
“here to stay” in the region.
“Day-in, day-out, we’re working with
partners throughout the region and what I hear in almost all of my engagements
is the US remains the No. 1 partner of choice; that is clear in what I hear,
what we hear from all of our partners,” he added.
“And we’re engaging with them, working
with them both to deal with many of the challenges (that you just talked
about), which are real and urgent and acute, but also — and this is so
important — on an affirmative agenda for the future; not just dealing with the
crisis but actually trying, together, to build a better future for our people
in the US and for people throughout this region.
“So, yes, we’re dealing with crises,
we’re dealing with security challenges, but we’re also dealing with an
affirmative agenda. And across the board on all of that, as I said, what I hear
again and again is the US is our preferred partner. We are a partner and we’re
here.”
On the issue of the recent
Beijing-brokered agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Blinken said any and
all contributions by countries, including China, to the advancement of peace in
the region is a positive step.
“We applaud what happened,” he said.
“Anything that deescalates tensions, that takes at least one problem off of the
agenda, and in this case also may have the additional benefit of helping to
advance a peace in Yemen, we think is a good thing.
“Of course, the Saudis and Iranians have
been talking together for at least a couple of years to get to this place.
We’ll see what happens now.
“If countries — including China — can
play a positive role, wherever it is, in helping to advance peace, to reduce
tensions then, again, I think that’s positive, that’s what we should all be
trying to do.”
Blinken also praised Saudi Arabia for
its role in joint humanitarian efforts and its attempts to help end the
conflict in Sudan.
“We had, by the way in very close
partnership with Saudi Arabia, some success in getting very limited ceasefires
that were highly imperfect but did allow more humanitarian assistance to get in
(to Sudan) and reach about 2 million people that otherwise would not have had
this assistance provided to them,” he said.
With both sides in the conflict
increasingly ignoring truce commitments, Blinked added that if neither side was
serious about the ceasefire process, Washington has “tools at its disposal” to
help bring about a lasting peace.
Source: arabnews.com
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Saudi Arabia’s environment award
launched to encourage conservation
June 09, 2023
MADINAH: Governor Prince Faisal bin
Salman launched the Madinah Award for Environment to encourage conservation.
Twenty-three private, government and
local entities will be entered in the first year of the award, under the slogan
“the environment is for us and for our generations”.
The award has seven categories:
combating desertification and increasing plant cover, the use of alternatives
to plastic, the production of environmental awareness work, research and
innovation in recycling, combating carbon emission and marine environment
conservation.
The secretary general of the Madinah
Award Foundation, Mohammed bin Ibrahim Abbas, said the new award was “an
opportunity to recognize the efforts made by different sectors, to promote
awareness of the importance of protecting Madinah’s environment and to
contribute to building a better future for our future generations.”
Foundation CEO Majid Al-Bijawi said
award organizers studied dozens of other similar schemes and held workshops to
finalize the judging criteria. He added that a ceremony would be held to
announce the winners.
Source: arabnews.com
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Mideast
Palestinians Tweet in Rejection of
Israeli Occupation Plans to Divide Al-Aqsa Mosque
10 June, 2023
Palestinian activists tweeted on
Saturday, 10 June 2023 using social media platforms to express their rejection
of the Israeli occupation’s plans to divide Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Palestinian activists tweeted using
hashtags supporting the Al-Aqsa mosque and rejecting the Israeli occupation’s
plans to divide the sacred mosque.
Earlier this month, Israeli far-right
wing member of Knesset Amit Halevi proposed a new plan to divide Al-Aqsa Mosque
between Muslims and Jews.
Within the plan, the southern part of
Al-Aqsa Mosque will be allocated for Muslims while Jews will receive the
central and northern areas, including the Dome of the Rock.
In addition, Halevi suggested changing
the procedures for Jews’ access to Al-Aqsa, demanding that Jews will be allowed
to enter the Mosque via its other gates.
Colonial settlers’ backed by the Israeli
occupation forces repeatedly invade Muslims and holy places in the occupied
West Bank and Jerusalem in a flagrant violation of all international
conventions and laws, guaranteeing Palestinian people’s right to worship in
their sacred sites.
Illegal settlers repeated violations of
Muslim, as well as Christian, symbols as a deliberate attempt to Judaise the
occupied Jerusalem, with the progressive expulsion of the local population; the
Palestinians
Israeli settlers and other non-Muslims
are allowed to visit the Al-Aqsa mosque compound at certain times but are
forbidden to pray or display any religious or national symbols under a
long-standing agreement with the Muslim authority which administers the
compound.
The site is known to Muslims as Haram
al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) and contains the al-Aqsa (Qibli) mosque, the third
holiest place in Islam.
In May 2023, 5943 colonial settlers
invaded Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards and performed Talmudic provocative rituals in
its squares, according to Palestinian figures.
Source: daysofpalestine.ps
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Mosul Remembers Dark Day City Fell to
Islamic State Militants
10/06/2023
ERBIL — Today marks nine years since the
Islamic State (IS) jihadists captured the Iraqi city of Mosul, which remained
under their barbaric rule for three years.
Initially, the jihadist group had
infiltrated Iraqi territory from neighboring Syria. The group, estimated to be
numbering just over 1,000 fighters at the time, attacked the city of Mosul on
June 4th, and managed to capture the city six days later.
There were at least 30,000 Iraqi
soldiers including the city's ghost troops along with thousands of other
security personnel in the city at the time, according to media reports. Yet,
the city surrendered, despite having relatively strong combat capabilities.
The fall of Mosul forced thousands of
people to flee to safety in the Kurdistan Region, which still remains home to
hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Iraqi forces launched a massive
operation in October 2016 to recapture the city in what is known as one of the
toughest urban battles. The city was eventually liberated the following year in
July 2017.
During their rule, the Islamic State
also captured the Yezidi hometown of Sinjar, where they killed thousands of
innocent men, women and women, and enslaved thousands of Yezidi women and
girls.
Source: basnews.com
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Azari people’s bond with Islam cannot be
broken by conspiracies: President Raisi
2023/06/10
Raisi made the remarks while addressing
the people of Charuymaq County, on the second day of his provincial visit to
East Azarbaijan Province.
“The Azari people have a love [for
Islam] that cannot be reduced by conspiracy,” he said, adding, “The people’s
connection to Islam is unbreakable.”
The president further said that the
Azari people have an intrinsic love for the religion and are filled with the
message of unity, cohesion and resistance against the enemies.
Raisi arrived in East Azarbaijan
Province through Tabriz’s Martyr Madani International Airport on Thursday, for
the second time since he assumed office in 2021.
Earlier on Friday, the president
inaugurated the Bostanabad-Tabriz railway, which is the second phase of the
broader Mianeh-Tabriz railway project and has a length of 44 kilometers.
Source: ilna.ir
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Iran’s Top Sunni Cleric Tells Regime to
Address “People's Suffering”
JUNE 9, 2023
Iran's most prominent Sunni cleric urged
the Shia-ruled Islamic Republic to address the people’s economic needs instead
of allocating excessive funding to the military, after officials unveiled what
they described as the country’s first domestically produced hypersonic
ballistic missile.
Molavi Abdulhamid, the Sunni Friday
prayer leader of Zahedan, made the call in his sermon on June 9, ahead of
weekly anti-government protests in the restive south-eastern city.
"We are happy that advanced weapons
are unveiled for the defense, but we would be happier if, instead of weapons,
the stomachs of these people were fed – the people who are shouting in the
streets every day," Molavi said.
On June 6, the Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force unveiled a new missile named Fattah, or
“Conqueror” in Persian, saying that it is able to reach 15 times the speed of
sound. No substantial evidence was provided to support the claim.
The move came amid heightened Western
concerns about Iran’s missile capabilities and nuclear program. The Islamic
Republic is believed to have the largest and most diverse ballistic missile
arsenal in the Middle East.
In his Friday sermon, Molavi drew
attention to the hardships suffered by Iranian villagers and those living on
the cities’ outskirts.
"As long as the Iranian people
experience this pain, their lament won’t be silenced. The voice of the nation
will persist until you address the people's suffering. Our greatest sorrows are
national, not regional," the 76-year-old cleric said.
He said that pressure is being exerted
on him to cease his criticism of the Islamic Republic, adding, "If you
wish to put an end to the complaints, the solution lies in alleviating the
people's pain."
Molavi has been a key dissenting voice
inside Iran since the eruption of nationwide protests in September 2022
demanding fundamental economic, social and political changes.
After his June 9 sermon, hundreds of
Zahedan residents took to the streets of Zahedan for their 35th consecutive
Friday of demonstrations against the country’s Shia clerical rulers.
The protesters chanted slogans such as
"I swear to the blood of my comrades, we will stand until the end"
and "My martyred brother, I will avenge your blood."
Internet monitor NetBlocks reported that
“internet connectivity has been disrupted in Zahedan, adding that “the incident
is in keeping with a pattern of internet shutdowns targeting weekly
anti-government protests during Friday prayers.”
Zahedan is the capital of Sistan and
Baluchistan province, home to Iran's Sunni Baluch minority of up to 2 million
people. The city has been rocked by protest rallies every Friday since
September 30, when security forces killed nearly 100 people in the deadliest
incident in the nationwide demonstrations sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death in
police custody in September.
Iranian security forces have responded
to the protest movement with brutal force, killing more than 520 people during
demonstrations and unlawfully detaining over 20,000 others, activists say.
Following biased trials, the judiciary has handed down stiff sentences,
including the death penalty, to protesters.
The protests and clampdown on dissent
have been particularly intense in western Kurdish areas and Sistan and
Baluchistan.
Source: iranwire.com
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Africa
Several people killed in Al Shabaab
attack on Mogadishu beach hotel
09/06/2023
The rebels, affiliated with al Qaeda,
have been waging an insurgency against the internationally backed federal
government for more than 15 years and have often targeted hotels, which tend to
host high-ranking Somali and foreign officials.
"Six civilians were martyred in the
attack... and 10 others were wounded. Three brave members of the security
forces were martyred," the Somali Police Force said in a statement, adding
that 84 people were rescued from the premises.
Security and intelligence sources
confirmed the attack had ended.
Witnesses reported hearing gunfire and
explosions at the hotel on Lido beach.
"I was near the Pearl Beach
restaurant when (a) heavy explosion occurred in front of the building,"
witness Abdirahim Ali told AFP.
"I have managed to flee but there
was heavy gunfire afterwards and the security forces rushed to the area."
The Deputy Minister of Health @DrBulaale
and the Emergency Medical Response team are present at Pearl Beach hotel in
#Mogadishu where security forces are working to neutralize #Alshabab terrorists
who attacked the building. pic.twitter.com/6PAQSbbrRK
— SONNA (@SONNALIVE) June 9, 2023
Yaasin Nur was at the restaurant and
told AFP it was "full of people as it was recently renovated".
"I'm worried because there are
several of my colleagues who went there and two of them are not responding to
their phones," he said.
Several ambulances were also parked
nearby, an AFP journalist saw.
Al Shabaab has been driven out of
Somalia's main towns and cities but retains power in large swathes of rural
areas, and continues to carry out attacks against security and civilian
targets, including in the capital.
In August 2020, Al Shabaab launched a
large-scale attack on the Elite, another hotel at Lido beach popular with
officials, killing 10 civilians and a police officer.
It took security forces four hours to
regain control over the site in that attack.
'All-out war'
The latest attack at Lido beach
highlights the endemic security problems in the Horn of Africa country as it
struggles to emerge from decades of conflict and natural disasters.
Last year, Somalia's President Hassan
Sheikh Mohamud launched an "all-out war" against Al Shabaab, rallying
Somalis to help flush out members of the jihadist group he described as
"bedbugs".
His pledge came after 21 people were
killed and 117 others were wounded in an Al Shabaab siege on a Mogadishu hotel
in August 2022 that lasted 30 hours.
The attack raised serious questions
about the security forces, who failed to protect a heavily guarded
administrative district.
In October 2022, twin car bombings in
Mogadishu killed 121 people and injured 333, in the country's deadliest attack
in five years.
The army and militias known as
"macawisley" have in recent months retaken swathes of territory in
the centre of the country in an operation backed by the African Union mission
ATMIS and US air strikes.
But Al Shabaab fighters killed 54
Ugandan peacekeepers in an attack on an African Union base in the southern town
of Bulo Marer last month.
Source: france24.com
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Fulfil your campaign promises to youths,
Muslim group urges Tinubu
10th June 2023
The youth wing of the Ahmadiyya Muslim
Community, Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya Nigeria, has called on President Bola
Tinubu to fulfil all the promises he made to Nigerians.
The group decried that Nigeria was
lagging behind because there was a lack of fulfilling promises by leaders who
had governed the country in the past.
The National President of the
association, Mr Roqib Akintunde, made the call in Akure, the Ondo state capital
while speaking with journalists at the kick-off of the 49th annual National
Ijtema Convention. The convention was themed, “Upholding the institution of
Khilafah through activities of Nizam-e-jama’at.”
He said, “Tinubu should leave by the
promises he has made to Nigerians and by show doing Nigeria will move forward.
There must be justice at this point in time, and when there is justice there
will be peace. If we want peace to reign in our society, there must be justice.
“Every stakeholder must be given what is
due to them. So we as citizens of Nigeria are going to obey the authority while
the president of the nation must fulfil his promises because it is because of
the promises we voted for you.
“Tinubu must be committed to the
development of this nation, he should engage youths of nowadays to move the
country forward through their wisdom and knowledge. The simple way for the
developing nation to get there is for the leaders who have been voted for to
leave by their promises and they should ensure that all that they are doing are
done with the sincerity of purpose.”
Speaking on the convention, held in Owo,
Akintunde said over 2000 youths will be participating at the 49th annual
convention, comprises of 16 states of the country.
“The convention aims at deepening the
participants’ understanding of these principles and inspire them to play an
active role in their implementation within the Muslim community.”A good
understanding of this theme is critical to peace and harmony in our community
and to our individual moral and spiritual success. The primary purpose of
creation is to serve our Creator as the Holy Qur’an 51 vs 57 states; “And I
have not created the Jinn and the men, but they may worship Me”. It is also our
responsibility to serve humanity and give back to our community.”
Source: punchng.com
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Muslim-Muslim ticket:10th Senate should
pick Christian President — Clark
June 9, 2023
Elder statesman and leader of the
Southern and Middle Belt Leadership Forum (SMBLF), Chief Edwin Clark, has
condemned the statement attributed to former Kaduna State governor Nasir
el-Rufai on his assertion about the aim of Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket,
noting that the 10th Senate should elect a Christian president.
In an open letter to senators-elect of
the 10th national assembly on Friday, he also warned that the race for the
principal positions in the legislature was heating up the polity.
The leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum
(PANDEF) pointed out the fragile nature of the unity of the country and urged
the lawmakers to handle it with care.
Clark recalled the decision of President
Bola Tinubu to step aside from becoming the running mate to President Muhammadu
Buhari in 2014 because of the potential for a Muslim-Muslim presidency and
wondered what has changed now.
He wrote: “The tension over who occupies
what position in the 10th Senate is overheating our polity and hurting the
fragile peace and unity we are currently having in our beloved country.
“Let us not make pretensions of the fact
that our dear country has never experienced the sort of division that has
pervaded us in the past eight years.
“It is, in your hands, to handle this
fragility with utmost care; it is your duty as the legislative arm of
government to produce, during your term, a united country where the citizens
genuinely trust one another, regard themselves as equal citizens, and as
brothers and sisters.
“Our division is hindering us from
taking our pride of place both in the African continent and globally.
“It is time to heal our land, and in so
doing, what I expect of the 10th Senate is to give the position of Senate
President to a Christian Senator from the southern part of the country. It is
only fair, equitable, and just, to do so.
“We have Their Excellencies, Senator
Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Senator Kashim Shetima as President and Vice President of
the country, respectively. Both of them are Muslims. The Chief Justice of the
Federation, Olukayode Ariwoola, is a Muslim.
Making a Muslim the Senate President
will be unacceptable to any discerning mind that thinks well of this country.
As it will mean that the three arms of government are all headed by Muslims. It
is also to be noted that the person tipped to be the Speaker of the House of
Representatives is equally a Muslim.
“Nigerians and indeed those agitating
for this unequal and unjust treatment to be meted on Christians should remember
what happened in 2014.
“Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu was to be the
running mate to General Muhammadu Buhari, rtd, under the ticket of the
All-Progressives Congress (APC). It was the same party leaders who objected to
this arrangement on the grounds that a Muslim-Muslim ticket is not suitable for
Nigeria. Sen.
“Tinubu listened to the voice of
reasoning and nominated Prof Yemi Osinbajo for the position of Vice President.
What has changed now?
“The insensitive, irresponsible,
uncouth, and arrogant statement credited to Nasir El-Rufai, on his plan to
impose the Islamic religion on the country, lasting for the next 20 years, is
still causing bad blood.
“It is unthinkable how someone who
describes himself as a leader could utter such statements, except to cause
confusion, which is very obvious that he benefits from such confusion. Because
there is no other way of explaining such crass behaviour and statement.
“It is a shame and embarrassment that
El-Rufai, who has been in government since 1999 and has served with President
Olusegun Obasanjo’s government, should commit such a seditious act that could
incite violence and tear the country apart.
“What else is a treasonable felony? What
is the difference between the action of El-Rufai, and the offence that Nnamdi
Kalu is accused of?
“El-Rufai is hereby reminded of Section
10 of the 1999 Constitution (As Amended) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on
Prohibition of State Religion, which says, ‘The Government of the Federation or
of a State shall not adopt any religion as State Religion.’
“He should also be reminded that it is
because of the fact that Nigeria is a secular State with ethnic diversity that
the Federal Character principle is enshrined in our laws for equity, justice,
and inclusivity.
“Once again, I appeal to the 10th Senate
that as they chose their leaders, to be directed by a true sense of reasoning.
The position should be given to a Christian Southerner.
“I appeal to the northerners to look
into their stand again. The Muslims need the Christians, and the Christians
need the Muslims. No one group should think that they can do it alone.
“Let us pray for a country where
everybody and persons of all groups are equal and positions evenly
distributed.”
Source: tribuneonlineng.com
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://tribuneonlineng.com/muslim-muslim-ticket10th-senate-should-pick-christian-president-clark/
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Miyetti Allah urges FG to deploy
security to Zamfara over ‘heartbreaking’ killings
June 9, 2023
The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders
Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has pleaded with the Federal Government to
deploy security agencies to Zamfara to prevent the ‘heartbreaking’ killings in
some parts of the state.
Atleast seven people were reported
killed on Tuesday, after unknown gunmen went from house to house killing people
in the Chafe Local Government Area of the state.
Mr Bello Gotomo, National Secretary,
MACBAN, in a statement on Friday, allege that the attacks were carried out by
an outlawed group tagged “Yan Sa Kai Group”.
He called on the government of the state
to ban the activities of the group and ensure that the perpetrators of the
dastardly killings were brought to book.
“So much innocent blood had been shed in
the state that a firm and convincing solution must be found to this unwholesome
bloodletting.
“The causes of the crisis are well known
and the solutions to it are also very clear, it is therefore up to the state
government to take the bull by the horn and restore lasting peace for all
communities in the state.
“The association also call on the
federal government to intervene by deploying more security to arrest not only
the perpetrators but also their financiers.
“The new administration is being tested
in the resurgence of this sectarian violence and it is up to it to be firm from
day one in dealing with this unwanted calamity,” he said.(NAN)
Source: newsdiaryonline.com
Please click the
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https://newsdiaryonline.com/miyetti-allah-urges-fg-to-deploy-security-to-zamfara-over-heartbreaking-killings/
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Deploy security agents to Zamfara over
killings – Miyetti Allah begs Tinubu
June 9, 2023
The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders
Association of Nigeria, MACBAN, has urged President Bola Tinubu-led Federal
Government to deploy security agencies to Zamfara State to prevent the
‘heartbreaking’ killings in some parts of the state.
No fewer than seven people were
reportedly killed on Tuesday after unknown gunmen went from house to house
killing people in the Chafe Local Government Area of the state.
However, Bello Gotomo, the National
Secretary of MACBAN, alleged that the attacks were carried out by an outlawed
group tagged “Yan Sa Kai Group”.
In a statement on Friday, Gotomo called
on the state’s government to ban the group’s activities and ensure that the
perpetrators of the dastardly killings were brought to book.
“So much innocent blood had been shed in
the state that a firm and convincing solution must be found to this unwholesome
bloodletting.
“The causes of the crisis are well known
and the solutions to it are also very clear, it is, therefore, up to the state
government to take the bull by the horn and restore lasting peace for all
communities in the state.
“The association also called on the
federal government to intervene by deploying more security to arrest not only
the perpetrators but also their financiers.
“The new administration is being tested
in the resurgence of this sectarian violence and it is up to it to be firm from
day one in dealing with this unwanted calamity,” he said.
Source: dailypost.ng
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://dailypost.ng/2023/06/09/deploy-security-agents-to-zamfara-over-killings-miyetti-allah-begs-tinubu/
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Aregbesola has made us proud – Chief
Imam, Osogbo
The Chief Imam of Osogbo, Sheikh Musa
Animashaun, has described the immediate past Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf
Aregbesola, as a worthy ambassador whom the citizens of the state are always
proud of.
Sheikh Animashaun, who doubles as the
Grand Imam of Osun State described the former Governor as a true servant of
Allah, lauding him for his contributions to the growth and development of Islam
in Osogbo, Osun and the country at large.
He said Ogbeni Aregbesola is a
thoroughbred public administrator who governed the state with the utmost fear
of God.
Sheikh Animashaun stated this in a
sermon during the special thanksgiving Jumat Service in honour of the former
Minister at the Osogbo Central Mosque, on Friday.
He encouraged politicians to always
strive to use their positions of authority to serve God and see to the
advancement of humanity, as it is the only window to be on the right side of
the Almighty on the day of reckoning.
The Chief Imam stated: “As a Governor,
he was with us and represented both himself and the Muslim Community well in
bringing development to the State of Osun. This was the path he continued in
when he became a Minister.
“Rauf is a true servant of Allah. God’s
Grace has always reflected positively and remarkably in his life. The way he has
associated with Muslims and contributed to the growth of Islam in Osogbo and
Osun, in general, is noteworthy.
“We thank Allah on your behalf. Being in
public office or serving humanity is not a mean feat. You have survived all the
challenges of leadership and succeeded tremendously in all the positions of
authority you have held. You are a definition of rarity in humanity and
excellence.
“The opportunity to serve the masses and
lead is not a leeway to move away from serving God and contributing one’s quota
to people and humanity in general. We have a good example in the former
Governor and former Minister who has never because of the exalted positions he
has occupied forgotten Islam and his people.”
Responding, the former Minister thanked
the Muslim community for its support.
Aregbesola pledged to continue to work
for the growth of Osogbo and Osun in general, just as he urged people to
embrace patience and peaceful co-existence at all times.
Quoting from Suratul Al-Imran of the
Holy Quran, the ex-Governor enjoined people of all faith to remain steadfast in
obedience to God and embrace patience with all men.
He said: I was here in 2011 and all of
you prayed for me. Your prayers have continued to strengthen me to excel in all
ramifications. I cannot forget all that you did for me to make us succeed here
in Osun and as a federal appointee. That is why I am here to thank you.
“The love that you have shown me over
the years has transformed me from a resident of Osogbo to an indigene of
Osogbo. I feel at peace being here with you all the time because of the
solidarity and honour you continue to give me. I am grateful.
“My admonition to us all is to take to
Allah’s directive of embracing patience at all times as it is key to being
successful in life and in the hereafter. Allah has promised us his good tidings
and endless blessings if we are patient. Let us show patience in all our
affairs because it is only those who are patient that Allah stands solidly
behind and blesses.”
Special prayers were offered for the
Minister, his family, aides, political associates and friends as well as at the
Ataoja of Osogboland, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun Larooye II, who attended the Jumat
Service.
Ogbeni Aregbesola also acknowledged
cheers from the waiting crowd who thronged the Mosque and the Ataoja’s Palace
after the prayers.
Source: vanguardngr.com
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/06/aregbesola-has-made-us-proud-chief-imam-osogbo/
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Pakistan
‘No haircuts or write-offs’: Govt
mulling talking to bilateral partners for debt restructuring, says Dar
June 10, 2023
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar stated on
Saturday that following the budget process the government is contemplating
discussions with bilateral partners regarding debt restructuring.
In a post-budget press conference in
Islamabad, he emphasised that the relief would not encompass “haircuts or
write-offs”, and affirmed that payments to multilateral creditors will be made
promptly.
“As far as Paris Club rescheduling, we
have no such plan on our menu. We will not go for rescheduling multilateral
debt. We will make the payments on time and when they become due. I don’t think
it is a dignified way to go and tell them that we cannot pay. That means you’re
declaring yourself that you are not in a position [to pay],” he added.
The minister had on Friday unveiled the
budget for the fiscal year 2023-24 with a total outlay of Rs14.46 trillion,
including a projected GDP growth rate of 3.5 per cent.
Talking about bilateral debt at the
presser, Dar clarified that while requesting a debt restructuring or write-off
was not on the table, negotiations could be pursued for extending the repayment
period. This option existed and could be explored after the budget process, he
added.
He reassured that the current
circumstances, such as the impact of Covid-19 and natural disasters, did not
necessitate an unusual approach. “Backloading the principal and focusing on
debt servicing could be considered for bilateral debt rescheduling.”
Dar insisted that there were no plans to
approach multilateral or development institutions to request debt rescheduling,
emphasising Pakistan’s commitment to meeting its obligations.
The minister emphasised that there was
no requirement for rescheduling domestic debt, expressing concerns about its
impact on the government’s ability to function effectively.
Dar pointed out that the previous
government had revoked the practice through amendments, which resulted in
commercial banks benefiting and an increase in the policy rate. He stressed the
need to review this and consider corrective actions.
The minister stated that he did not
believe Pakistan had any issues concerning domestic debt, highlighting the
country’s status as a sovereign nation. Regarding foreign debt, he emphasised
the importance of using external resources within affordable limits and
projecting future payments conservatively.
Dar expressed that if this approach had
been implemented years ago, Pakistan would not have faced its current
challenges. He deemed it “stupidity” to reschedule domestic debt at this time
and hoped that the right time for such a move may come.
‘Pakistan economy out of vulnerability
phase’
He also said that Pakistan had faced a
“deep and steep” economic vulnerability, which it had successfully overcome,
resulting in a halt to “any further decline”.
He underlined the government’s aim to
reverse all economic losses, adding “our first objective is to go back to
achieve 2017 economic indicators”.
He insisted that the proper and transparent
implementation of the PSDP would facilitate the attainment of a 3.5 per cent
GDP growth rate with ease.
The minister acknowledged the deep and
steep vulnerability faced by the country, but stated that efforts had been made
to prevent further decline.
He emphasised that it should be a
national goal to steer Pakistan towards the path of development.
The minister shared the government’s aim
to bring about an agricultural revolution, underlining that the country
possessed significant untapped potential in this sector.
Dar highlighted that debt servicing
constitutes one of the largest portions of the current year’s budget. He said
efforts would be made to reduce this burden and reverse the prevailing trend.
Dar emphasised the importance of
starting somewhere, stating that with economic growth, positive changes will
follow.
He highlighted that employment
opportunities would increase, leading to the correction of macroeconomic
indicators, a reduction in inflation, and the creation of more jobs.
Consequently, the policy interest rate would also decrease, he added.
The minister stated that there was a
customary practice of forming two committees within the FBR — one for
business-related issues and the other for technical matters.
He said that the FBR chairman will
obtain his approval on the matter, and the committees will be formed by Monday.
“The purpose of these committees is to address any missed aspects and provide
an opportunity for individuals with complaints or genuine recommendations to be
heard and considered by the government.”
Dar described the budget as being
different from traditional budgets, emphasising its focus on progress linked to
economic growth.
The minister highlighted that ad-hoc
relief measures had been announced consistently, insisting that the budget
should not create an impression that something unprecedented has been done for
the first time.
‘Country will not default’
The minister said that there had always
been a plan to make Pakistan self-sufficient and self-reliant.
He firmly stated that Pakistan will not
default, adding that those who talked about default had themselves made
mistakes and were complicit in the economic losses incurred by the country.
The minister stated that dignified
nations should take proactive measures to prevent economic defaults, noting
that Pakistan had also followed the same approach.
Dar stated that the government had
prioritised the ninth and tenth review of the International Monetary Fund
(IMF). He mentioned that he had requested the IMF to expedite the ninth review
and initiate the tenth review, but acknowledged that the IMF was an independent
body and the decision rested with them.
Nevertheless, Dar highlighted that the
country had alternative options available. He expressed the government’s
efforts in working diligently towards the ninth review and expressed hope for
the disbursement of payments.
‘Amount allocated for general elections
in budget’
Responding to a question, Dar clarified
that no government members had made any statements regarding the delay of
elections. He explained that if any coalition members made such statements, it
was within their right to express their views.
Dar emphasised that the budget
allocation for general elections was made based on consultations with the
Election Commission of Pakistan. He stated that the government could not
dictate its coalition partners and prevent them from making statements.
He said that a party mentioned had not
made any unconstitutional remarks, and the Constitution itself provides provisions
for such situations. Dar affirmed that funds had been earmarked for elections
and stressed the importance of holding elections on time.
Regarding statements made by leaders of
other parties, Dar mentioned that the government would engage in discussions
with them, reiterating that the government had no ill intentions regarding the
matter.
More reforms needed in power sector
Regarding subsidies, the minister
acknowledged that the government had provided numerous subsidies. Specifically,
he mentioned that over Rs1900 billion was allocated solely for the power
sector.
He underlined the need to address and
improve this sector, highlighting the efforts made thus far. He also noted that
the power sector had been a significant “stumbling block” in the talks with the
IMF, but it remained an area of focus.
Furthermore, he mentioned the emphasis
placed on renewable green energy and clarified that no new subsidies were being
introduced in this sector.
The minister addressed the circulation
of another report regarding the withdrawal of edible oil, clarifying that no
such withdrawal has taken place.
When asked about the government’s
promised targeted subsidy for motorists regarding fuel, the minister clarified
that the plan involved charging vehicles above 800cc a higher rate, while those
below 800cc would receive a discount of Rs50 on fuel.
He mentioned that although the plan was
feasible, it faced challenges in terms of “current lending and borrowing
process we are undergoing”.
However, he said that this matter was unrelated
to the budget.
GSP Plus status
Dar highlighted that Pakistan had been
recognised as the 24th largest economy in the world by global institutions
during his party’s previous tenure. He reiterated the government’s strong
commitment to boosting exports and mentioned that timely payments were made by
Pakistan.
He stated that the government
prioritised the exports sector. He acknowledged the overall contraction of
business, resulting in a growth rate of 0.29pc.
Regarding the GSP Plus status, he noted
the involvement of human rights and political influence, mentioning that the
commerce ministry and Foreign Office were proactively handling the matter. He
expressed hope for the extension of the GSP Plus status for the country.
Minimum wage
Dar also clarified that the minimum wage
has been increased from Rs25,000 to Rs32,000 and not Rs30,000 as was mentioned
in the booklets distributed to officials and reporters.
He also highlighted that the pension
amount was increased from Rs10,000 to Rs12,000, as well as “some allowances”.
When asked about cases where companies
failed to comply with the rule and given an example that private security
guards were paid as low as Rs10,000, Dar emphasised that civil society must
also play its role.
The minister added that in such a case,
a complaint should be forwarded to the relevant authorities. “I will make sure
that it is taken up by the interior ministry”, he asserted.
While noting that it was the nation’s
collective responsibility to ensure the welfare of everyone, Dar said the
government had “no tool” to monitor who was adhering to the minimum wage
guidelines and who was not.
Budgetary proposals
Unveiling the budgetary measures on
Friday, Dar announced the government’s proposal to increase the salaries of
government employees by 30pc-35pc and a 17.5pc in the pensions of the retired
persons.
There would be a raise of 35pc in the
salaries of employees from grade 1-16 and 30 per cent to grade 17-22 employees
aimed at increasing their purchase power.
Besides that, the government proposed to
fix the minimum pension at Rs 12,000 and raised the minimum monthly wage from
Rs 25,000 to Rs 32,000.
The government has budgeted total
current expenditure at Rs13.3tr for FY24, which is 53pc higher than last year’s
budgeted figure.
Of that, defence expenditure constitutes
Rs1.8tr, 15.4pc higher than last year’s budget, making up 1.7pc of GDP.
The government has projected a fiscal
deficit of Rs7.57tr (7.1pc of GDP) for the upcoming year, which is the highest
in history, surpassing the Rs6.4tr recorded during the current fiscal year.
This will be partially offset by an anticipated Rs650bn provincial cash
surplus, bringing the consolidated deficit to Rs6.9tr or 6.5pc of GDP.
Interest payments, or debt servicing,
budgeted for FY24 have risen a whopping 85pc from last year to Rs7,303bn —
accounting for 55pc of total current expenditure — making it the single largest
expenditure of the government.
The tax collection target for the
Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has been set at Rs9.2tr, which is 23pc higher
than last year’s target.
Following last year’s actual high
inflation at 28.2pc, the government set a target of 21pc for the next fiscal
year.
Even though the finance minister
insisted that all conditions of the IMF had been met and that a staff-level
agreement over the 9th review can be signed at the earliest, the budget
documents indicated no inflows from the IMF for the remainder of this year.
The external borrowing projections for
the next fiscal are 114pc higher than the actual Rs3.2tr of inflows recorded
this year. The government expects a total of $5bn in inflows from Saudi Arabia,
including $3bn in time deposits and $2bn fresh deposit, compared to about $2bn
received this year.
Source: dawn.com
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PTI accuses Dar of figure fudging,
piling on debt
June 10, 2023
ISLAMABAD: Terming it an “Instagrammable
budget” and accusing Finance Minister Ishaq Dar of figure fudging of Rs1
trillion in the amount of interest payments, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has
claimed that first time in Pakistan’s history the amount of interest on loans
has surpassed the expected revenue of the government due to which nation should
anticipate a series of mini and micro budgets in the upcoming financial year.
The PTI has alleged that some of the
announcements, such as salary increase, have been made to retain the vote bank,
but only a nominal increase has been proposed for Benazir Income Support
Programme.
PTI leader Hammad Azhar said that all
targets in the budget were artificial and not realistic like last year, besides
finance minister did not outline any plan to reduce inflation or to save the
sinking economy.
In reaction to Ishaq Dar’s budget speech
on Friday, Mr Azhar said: “All targets in this budget are artificial and not
realistic like last year.” He said that targets regarding economic growth, tax
collection, inflation rate, imports and remittances were written only to
balance the budget, as they had nothing to do with reality.
Similarly, he alleged that there was a
figure fudging of Rs1tr in the amount of interest payments and non-tax revenue.
He stated that the finance minister did not outline any plan to reduce
inflation or save the sinking economy, as the industrial production fell by
25pc in the last two months due to the ban on the import of raw materials and
the shrinking economy.
“The budget has a new external debt
target of $8.5bn but this would not be possible without the IMF, while the PDM
government seems in no mood for effective decision making because they do not
care about the economy, as they are only concerned about PTI Chairman Imran
Khan,” he added.
‘Instagrammable budget’
Party’s financial expert Muzammil Aslam,
while talking to Dawn, said that it was nothing but an “Instagrammable budget
with filters on”.
“It is going to be first time in the
history that the liabilities of interest on loans will be more than the total
income/revenue of the country. Some of the steps such as 35pc increase in
salaries and 17.5pc increase in pensions have been announced for the vote bank.
On the other hand, the most important
Ehsaas Programme [BISP] has been ignored as the amount allocated for it has
been only increased from Rs400 billion to Rs450 billion,“ he said. Mr Aslam
claimed that there will be a series of mini and micro budgets and the new
government will be left with no choice but to revise the budget.
Source: dawn.com
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following URL to read the full text of the original
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Cop martyred in exchange of fire with
outlaws in Lakki Marwat
June 10, 2023
LAKKI MARWAT: A policeman was martyred
during an exchange of fire between police and unidentified assailants in
Shahbazkhel area of Lakki Marwat district on Thursday night, an official said.
He said a team of Shahbazkhel police
post had set up a picket on the Bannu-DI Khan section of the Indus Highway
after receiving information that six armed motorcyclists believed to be
terrorists were seen roaming in the town.
The official said the cops took
positions after seeing masked men on three motorcycles coming from Darra Pezu
side. “As the cops moved towards them, the armed motorcyclists opened fire,
triggering an exchange of fire,” he added.
The official said during exchange of
fire, a constable, namely Zikrya, was martyred. He added the assailants
abandoned one of the motorcycles and ran towards the nearby forest. “Police
gave them a chase but they disappeared in the forest taking cover of night,”
the official said.
Body of the martyred constable was
shifted to the police lines for funeral after fulfilling medico-legal
formalities at the District Headquarters Hospital, Tajazai.
District police officer Mohammad Ashfaq
Khan, SP investigations Murad Khan, civil administration and military
authorities and people from different walks of life attended the funeral prayers.
A police contingent presented a guard of
honour to their martyred colleague while police and army officers put floral
wreaths on his coffin. Later, the martyred cop was laid to rest at a graveyard
in his native village with full official honour.
Source: dawn.com
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Terrorist Sanaullah Ghafari, involved in
attack on Pakistan embassy, killed in Kabul
June 09, 2023
One of the most-wanted terrorists in the
world and Daesh Khorasan leader Shahab al-Muhajir, also known as Sanaullah
Ghafari, has been killed in Afghanistan’s Kunar province.
Ghafari, who belonged to Afghanistan’s
capital city Kabul, was not only wanted in Pakistan but internationally
following his involvement in several terror attacks in countries including
Pakistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
He was leading Daesh Khurasan since
April 2020 during which he was the mastermind and head of operations in all the
activities conducted by the terrorist group. He had been nominated as the
mastermind and operation leader in several attacks in Pakistan and other
countries in the world.
The terrorist was involved in the attack
on Pakistan’s embassy in Kabul and the one that blew up an imam bargah in
Peshawar’s Qisa Khawani Bazar. He was also a part of the jailbreak in
Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province as well as the rocket attacks in Uzbekistan
and Tajikistan.
Ghafari, who was born in 1994 in Kaul,
was declared a global terrorist by the United Nations, the United States of
America and the European Union in December 2021, which also set head money
worth $10 million for information related to him. The US State Department stated
he was "responsible for approving all ISIS-K operations throughout
Afghanistan and arranging funding to conduct operations."
In Iran, Ghafari’s involvement was found
in the Shah Cheragh attack and one on a mosque in Afghanistan’s Mazar-i-Sharif.
The terrorist and his family had
migrated to Afghanistan from India, while he received his religious education
from the Ghafari Madrasa in Kabul.
According to the US State Department's
national security rewards programme, Rewards for Justice, a reward of up to $10
million was placed for information on Ghafari.
"In June 2020, ISIS core leadership
appointed al-Muhajir, also known as Sanaullah Ghafari, to be the leader of
ISIS-K, a US-designated Foreign Terrorist Organisation. An ISIS communiqué
announcing his appointment described al-Muhajir as an experienced military
leader and one of ISIS-K’s “urban lions” in Kabul who has been involved in
guerrilla operations and the planning of suicide and complex attacks," a
statement on the programme's website read.
Source: thenews.com.pk
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Hajj Mission procures 240 buildings for
comfortable lodging to pilgrims: Director Moavineen
June 10, 2023
Pakistan Hajj Mission has procured a
total of 240 buildings, divided into nine sectors in Makkah to ensure ample,
comfortable lodging for Pakistani pilgrims during Hajj.
In an Interview with Radio Pakistan’s
correspondent Javed Iqbal, Director Moavineen e Hujjaj Sajjad Haider Yaldram
said a total of 140 buildings are presently providing accommodation to 56,000
Pakistani hujjaj who have arrived in Makkah Mukarama so far.
Sajjad Yaldram said in Masquota, buses
are deployed sector-wise to facilitate intending pilgrims, and each bus is
labeled with its corresponding sector number for easy identification.
The buses are arranged in an orderly
line to efficiently pick up intending pilgrims.
Sajjad Yaldram commended the exceptional
services provided by Moavineen in assisting and supporting the pilgrims.
Director Hajj Makkah, Faheem Khan
Afridi, said that comprehensive guidelines have been issued to intending hujjaj
at each building regarding transportation arrangements.
In Masquota, there are plans to deploy
additional buses to meet the transportation needs of intending pilgrims. This
step has been taken to ensure that all pilgrims are adequately accommodated and
transported during their journey.
Source: radio.gov.pk
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