In Bangladesh, 20 Ruling Party Youth Sentenced To Death, 5 To Life Imprisonment, For Lynching, Killing Over Anti-Government Facebook Post
New Age Islam News Bureau
9 December 2021
Students protest over the killing of BUET student
Abrar Fahad [File: Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]
-----
• Sir, I Do Not Want to live as a Jihadi: Mentally Ill
Muslim Man Alleges Assault for His Conversion Attempt
• ‘Zero Tolerance' Towards Incidents Like Ghastly
Lynching Of The Sri Lankan National, Says Pakistan Army
• Muslim Staff in US Congress Condemn Lauren Boebert's
“Islamophobic and Racist Comments” And Seek Action against Islamophobia
• Uniforms of Malaysian Air Stewardesses ‘Being Too
Revealing’ Raised In Parliament
South Asia
• Afghanistan’s Humanitarian Crisis May Cause One
Million Death in Winter: Crisis Group
• Taliban Deploy Dozens of Officials at Afghan
Embassy, Consulates in Pakistan
• Indigenous Christians protest attempted eviction in
Bangladesh
• Uzbekistan asks International community to release
Afghanistan’s assets
• Italy welcoming Afghan Refugees
--------
India
• Police Superintendent's Letter Putting Sikhs, Muslims
at Par With Terrorists Stirs Controversy In MP
• Namaz Row: Civil Society and Activists Call To
‘Protect Social Fabric’
• Friday Namaz Row: Muslims Demand Legal Action, Land
for Mosques in Gurugram
• Waseem Rizvi’s Family Says ‘Not Concerned’ With His
Decision To Convert To Hinduism
• ED raids Kerala PFI offices, leaders’ houses over
money-laundering charges
--------
Pakistan
• Pakistan Frees Jailed Taliban Militants as Part Of
Truce Deal
• EU hails Pakistan’s progress on FATF action plans
• PM Imran unveils Naya Pakistan Card initiative
• Saad Rizvi sees TLP as 'kingmaker' in next general
elections
• Pakistani Shia Cleric Announces Divorce and Heritage
Will Be Settled as per Fiqah e Jafferia's Norms
• Pakistan reports first 'suspected' case of Omicron
variant in woman from Karachi
--------
North America
• House to advance legislation to combat Islamophobia
as pressure mounts to punish Boebert for anti-Muslim comments
• US envoy to return to Vienna over weekend for Iran
nuclear talks
• US house votes to punish China over Uyghur treatment
--------
Southeast Asia
• Indonesian militant given life sentence in 2005
attack
• Converted Japanese Muslim Teaches His Students about
Islam
• Malaysian court upholds ex-PM’s graft conviction in
1MDB scandal
--------
Arab World
• UAE Fatwa Council, International Fatwa Authorities
Discuss Cooperation
• Iraqi army seize explosives from resurgent Islamic
State group
• As Iraqi and Syrian migrants leave Belarus, some are
afraid to go home
• Qatar and Turkey extend currency swap deal
--------
Mideast
• Leader's Top Adviser: Resistance against Enemies to
Continue in Syria
• Police in Southwestern Iran Dismantles
Foreign-Backed Terrorist Group
• Iran Freezes Hundreds of Bank Accounts over Illegal
Trade of Foreign Currencies
• US, Israel to discuss military drills for Iran
scenario: US official
• Erdogan asks Turks to trust new economic model as
lira weakens
--------
Africa
• South Sudan Violence Could Amount To ‘War Crimes’: Amnesty
• Libya’s upper house proposes delaying December
presidential elections
• French foreign minister arrives in Algeria in bid to
‘relaunch relationship’
• South Sudan's peace deal under serious threat, warns
UN
--------
Europe
• Will Friday Be A Day Off For Muslims In Russia?
• Exhibition on 'Iran, five thousand years of culture
and art' opened in Berlin
• Greek court acquits Turkish minority’s elected
religious official
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/bangladesh-lynching-20-death-sentences/d/125929
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In Bangladesh, 20 Ruling Party Youth Sentenced To Death, 5 To Life Imprisonment, For Lynching, Killing Over Anti-Government Facebook Post
Students protest over the killing of BUET student
Abrar Fahad [File: Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]
-----
By Faisal Mahmud
8 Dec 2021
Dhaka, Bangladesh – A court in Bangladesh has
sentenced 20 university students to death and five more to life imprisonment
for the killing of a fellow student who criticised the government on social
media.
Abrar Fahad, a 21-year-old second year student of the
country’s prestigious Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
(BUET) was beaten to death on October 7, 2019 by 25 BUET students who were
members of Chhatra League, the student wing of the ruling Awami League party.
The killing sparked widespread student protests, as
thousands took to the streets across the country to demand justice.
Announcing the sentences on Wednesday, Judge Abu Zafar
Md Kamruzzaman of Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 said: “The court has given them
the highest punishment so that such a gruesome incident does not happen again.
“We feel that we should not hesitate to use the sword
of justice with the utmost severity, to the full and to the end, if the gravity
of offence so demands,” the judge added.
Fahad’s father Barkat Ullah told reporters outside the
court premise that he was “happy” with the verdict.
“I am not going to get my son back but this verdict is
at least some sort of consolation for our family,” Ullah said, “I hope they
[convicts] will be punished soon for what they did,” he said.
One of the defence lawyers, Faruk Ahmed, told Al
Jazeera that he would appeal against the sentences.
Harrowing murder
Hours before his killing, Fahad published a Facebook
post that criticised the Sheikh Hasina-led government for making a
water-sharing agreement with India.
Dhaka and New Delhi have for decades struggled to sign
a deal on sharing river waters. A controversial agreement on sharing water from
the Ganga River has long been seen in Bangladesh as favourable to India.
After Fahad’s post went viral, he was summoned by
Chhatra League activists at the university. Leaked security camera footage that
was shared widely on social media showed him walking with some activists in a
corridor of the dormitory. He was interrogated by the activists inside a room
in the dormitory.
Court documents revealed harrowing accounts of how
Fahad was clobbered with a cricket bat and skipping ropes for hours. Fahad’s
body was later dropped from the staircase of the dormitory before doctors
pronounced him dead the next morning.
Police later arrested 21 people for their involvement
in the killing and another suspect turned himself in. Three others named in the
charge sheet remain at large.
Wider issues remain unaddressed
Some activists from the student wing of the Awami
League have been accused of killing, violence and extortion in recent years.
Members allegedly violently suppressed a major
anti-government student protest in 2018.
Law professor Asif Nazrul said Fahad’s killing
highlighted wider problems within Bangladeshi universities.
“We have to remember that all those handed death
penalty and life imprisonment are meritorious students and were between 22-24
years. They were at their prime time of life,” he said.
“We have to address how they had turned into
monsters”.
Nazrul said Chhatra League activists have come to feel
a sense of entitlement on university campuses.
“The gruesome death of Abrar [Fahad] is a reminder of
the level of lawlessness that years of overindulgence of Chhatra League by
their parent body have resulted in,” said Nazrul.
Mizanur Rahman, director of student welfare of BUET,
told Al Jazeera that the verdict delivered a “strong message” to students at
universities across Bangladesh who indulged themselves in student politics.
“The verdict shows you can’t get away with wrongdoings
even you are affiliated with the ruling party,” said Rahman.
Source: Al Jazeera
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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Sir, I Do Not Want to live as a Jihadi: Mentally Ill
Muslim Man Alleges Assault for His Conversion Attempt
Representative image
-----
Dec 9, 2021
Kanpur: A man reached Colonelganj police station with
a saffron scarf on his shoulder in Kanpur on Wednesday and alleged that he was
assaulted brutally by members of his community when he expressed his desire to
adopt Hinduism as his religion. A video of the man making the allegations went
viral on social media, where Aslam could be heard telling the cops, “Sir, I do
not want to live as a jihadi.”
After listening to his words, the police were stunned,
while some people also made a video of the man.
Though the police officers termed him as “mentally
ill,” the man maintained that he wanted to adopt Hinduism.
He also accused the people of his religion of assault,
on which the police have started an investigation.
“On Tuesday, a man profusely bleeding from his head,
reached the Colonelganj police station with saffron scarf on his shoulder and
claimed that as he wanted to convert from Islam to Hinduism, but people of his
religion were angry over this and had beaten him,” police said.
He told cops that his name is Aslam. When asked why he
wanted to become a Hindu, he replied that he did not want to live as a
‘jihadi’. He also threatened that if he was stopped from converting, he will
leave the locality and go somewhere else.
Additional commissioner of police (ACP) Colonelganj
Tripurari Pandey said that NCR (non- cognizable report) has been registered on
the complaint of the man.
“The mental condition of the man doesn’t seem to be
well, and at present the police are investigating the matter,” the ACP added.
Source: Times of India
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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‘Zero Tolerance' Towards Incidents Like Ghastly
Lynching Of The Sri Lankan National, Says Pakistan Army
Country: Pakistan
----
Dec 8, 2021
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's top military brass on Wednesday
expressed “zero tolerance” towards incidents like the ghastly lynching of the
Sri Lankan national at the hands of an irate mob in Sialkot last week,
underlining the need to eradicate forms of terrorism and extremism from the
country.
In a grisly incident, a top Sri Lankan executive of a
garment factory named Priyantha Kumara Diyawadana, 49, was lynched and his body
burnt by angry supporters of a hardline Islamist party which attacked the
facility in Pakistan's Punjab province over blasphemy allegations.
The incident has sparked widespread condemnation from
Sri Lankan and Pakistani leaders.
Pakistani authorities have booked over 800 people
under terrorism charges while 13 prime suspects being among the 118 people
arrested.
“Taking note of the heinous lynching incident in
Sialkot, forum unequivocally affirmed zero tolerance for such elements so as to
eradicate extremism and terrorism from the country,” the Army statement said.
On Wednesday, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed
Bajwa presided over the 245th Corps Commanders' Conference held at the General
Headquarters in Rawalpindi.
“The participants reviewed global, regional and
domestic security milieu," a statement by the Pakistan army's media wing
Inter-Services Press Relations said.
Referring to the brewing humanitarian crisis in
Afghanistan, General Bajwa said continuous support and timely international
humanitarian assistance is imperative for not only peace and prosperity of
Afghanistan but also for stability of the region at large.
The COAS expressed satisfaction over security measures
along the borders, emphasized on maintaining high vigil to guard against any
threat, while adding that the objective evaluation of doctrine and training is
necessary to evolve and meet emerging challenges in a technology-driven future
battlefield.
The Corps Commanders' Conference is held every month
to evaluate the internal and external security threats and review the
preparedness to deal with them.
Source: Times of India
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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Muslim
Staff in US Congress Condemn Lauren Boebert's “Islamophobic and Racist
Comments” And Seek Action against Islamophobia
House
Democrats seek to punish GOP Rep. Boebert
------
December
9, 2021
Scores
of Muslim congressional staff members have condemned US Representative Lauren
Boebert's “Islamophobic and racist comments” about Muslims and Congresswoman
Ilhan Omar.
In
an open letter to the US House of Representatives leadership on Wednesday, the
group said a “heightened climate of Islamophobia” on Capitol Hill has created
“a feeling of anxiety and fear,” according to Al Jazeera website.
They
added that “hateful rhetoric by public officials directly impacts us and puts
our safety at risk, both at the workplace and in our everyday lives.”
“Witnessing
unchecked harassment of one of only three Muslim members of Congress – and the
only visibly Muslim member – we feel that our workplace is neither safe nor
welcome,” reads the letter, which is signed by 62 Muslim staff members in the
House of Representatives and the Senate and 378 allied staff.
Boebert
in a statement last week apologized for her recent “Islamophobic and racist
comments” after Omar and other Democrats called for an “appropriate action”
against her for "anti-Muslim bigotry.”
But
after a few days, Boebert showed no sign of remorse, posting a video that
described her call with Omar and doubled down on her rhetoric against Muslims.
"Make
no mistake. I will continue to fearlessly put America first, never sympathizing
with terrorists. Unfortunately, Ilhan can't say the same thing and our country
is worse off for it," Boebert said.
During
an event in her Colorado district last month, Boebert told the audience about
an encounter with Omar in the Capitol — which Omar says never happened.
“I
was getting into an elevator with one of my staffers,” Boebert told the
laughing crowd. “You know, we’re leaving the Capitol and we’re going back to my
office and we get an elevator and I see a Capitol police officer running to the
elevator. I see fret all over his face, and he’s reaching, and the door’s
shutting, like I can’t open it, like what’s happening. I look to my left, and
there she is. Ilhan Omar. And I said, ‘Well, she doesn’t have a backpack, we
should be fine.’”
Congresswoman
Omar has said Republicans do not have the ability to condemn Islamophobia and
anti-Muslim rhetoric because they are “normalizing anti-Muslim bigotry,” in the
United States.
Omar,
a Somali-born American Muslim, also blasted House Minority Leader Kevin
McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Sunday for his reaction to Boebert's comments about
Muslims, calling the GOP leader “a liar and a coward.”
The
incident and a subsequent video of Boebert making Islamophobic comments about
Omar at an event in September caused outrage at Capitol Hill, with Democrats
calling for Boebert to be reprimanded, and being stripped of her committee
assignments. Republicans, however, have not shown willing to take those steps.
On
Tuesday, Omar said, “We need accountability for Rep. Boebert’s hateful,
anti-Muslim remarks.”
“This
blatant Islamophobia should have no place in the halls of Congress,” she added.
In
their letter on Wednesday, the Muslim congressional staff members urged
Congress to “categorically reject this incendiary rhetoric that endangers the
physical, mental and emotional well-being of staff across both sides of the
aisle”.
“This
type of harmful behavior normalizes hate against an entire religious community
that has already faced decades of derogatory rhetoric, hate crimes, surveillance,
distrust, discrimination, demonization and violence,” the letter said.
On
December 5, Omar said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a “promise to me that she
will take care of this,” adding, “I believe her.”
“When
I first got to Congress, I was worried that I wasn’t going to be allowed to be
sworn in because there was a ban on the hijab. She promised me that she would
take care of it. She fulfilled that promise. She’s made another promise to me
that she will take care of this. And I believe her," Omar said.
“I
think it's important for us to say, this kind of language, this kind of hate
cannot be condoned by the House of Representatives,” she added.
Source:
ABNA24
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
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Uniforms
Of Malaysian Air Stewardesses ‘Being Too Revealing’ Raised In Parliament
Malaysia's
budget airlines have come under fire for their "sexy" cabin crew
uniforms.
-----
08
Dec 2021
KUALA
LUMPUR: The issue over uniforms of Malaysian air stewardesses being too
revealing was raised in Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (Dec 8).
The
matter was brought up by Abdul Latiff Abdul Rahman (PN-Kuala Krai) who wanted
to know what was the government's stand on the issue.
"I
would like to raise the issue over the rights of Muslim air stewardesses who
are required to wear uniforms that do not ‘tutup aurat’ (covering parts of the
body that should not be exposed according to Islamic belief).
"There
are some who cover up at home or while on land but are forced to wear uniforms
that do not cover up due to their job and rice bowl," he said when taking
part in debates on Budget 2022 in Dewan Rakyat.
He
wanted to know if the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry would
champion the cause of Muslim air stewardesses on this issue.
In
response, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Harun said
that the issue of workers’ welfare came under the Human Resources Ministry
based on the provisions under the Employment Act.
"Also
the issue of workers' uniforms is governed under the policy of the airline
companies which does not require approval from the Cabinet," she said,
adding that she would take note of the issue raised by Abdul Latiff.
Last
week, Abdul Latiff raised the issue in Dewan Rakyat of female Muslim hotel
workers who were forced to wear short skirts while working.
He
said there had been complaints by female Muslim employees working in hotels
that they were not allowed to wear the tudung and made to wear short skirts
instead.
He
also lamented that Muslim employees working at convenience stores are required
to sell alcohol beverages to customers, which was against Islamic teachings.
Source:
The Star
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
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South Asia
Afghanistan’s
humanitarian crisis may cause one million death in winter: Crisis Group
09
Dec 2021
Crisis
Group has warned that the ongoing humanitarian crisis and winter season will
cause one million death if not addressed and sanctions are not lifted from
Afghanistan.
The
Group has called on the International community to step forward and lift its
sanctions to avert mass starvation as the country is facing deadly winter
ahead.
In
the meantime, the group has warned that the ongoing crisis and starvation will
cause more deaths than the two decades of war in Afghanistan.
“The
Afghan state is falling after the world responded to the Taliban’s takeover by
freezing assets, cutting aids and offering only limited sanctions relief for
humanitarian purposes. Government employees lack salaries, basic services are
not being delivered and the financial sector is paralyzed.” Reads the latest
report of Crisis Group.
The
reports also criticized the international community to be the real culprit as
they had made a dependent government to foreign aid and then imposed sanctions
on the country after they withdrew from Afghanistan.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Taliban
deploy dozens of officials at Afghan embassy, consulates in Pakistan
Dec
08, 2021
By
Rezaul H Laskar
The
Taliban have posted four senior officials and dozens of junior operatives at
the Afghan embassy and consulates in Pakistan in recent weeks, reflecting
Islamabad’s close ties with the setup in Kabul.
One
of the senior Taliban officials was deployed at Afghanistan’s embassy in
Islamabad and the others at consulates in Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta, people
familiar with the matter said.
“This
has happened even though there is no formal recognition of the Taliban’s
interim government in Kabul by any country, not even Pakistan. It is a de facto
recognition of the Taliban administration,” said one of the people cited above.
Dozens
of junior Taliban operatives have been sent to the four missions to take over
operations and to keep an eye on diplomats posted during the term of the former
Ashraf Ghani government, which collapsed when the Taliban marched into Kabul on
August 15.
An
Afghan diplomat appointed by the Ghani government in Bangladesh switched over
to the Taliban side and was also sent to Pakistan recently, the people said.
The
Taliban have sought to play down the posting of officials to Pakistan, with
spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid contending that they are not official envoys. The
Taliban have said these officials were meant to help Afghan refugees living in
Pakistan and to facilitate the travel of people who wish to visit Afghanistan.
Muhammad
Shokaib, who has used the aliases Mosa Farhad and Qari Yousaf Ahmadi and served
as a Taliban spokesman, is the de facto ambassador in Islamabad. The Taliban’s
acting foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, known to be close to the Pakistani
establishment, issued official letters regarding the appointment of the
officials in Pakistan.
The
Afghan embassy in Islamabad had been without a head since July, when the Ghani
government recalled ambassador Najibullah Alikhil and other staff to protest
the kidnapping and assault of the envoy’s daughter by unidentified men. She was
abducted from a commercial district in the heart of Islamabad and held for
several hours. Pakistan denied she was kidnapped, taking ties to a low at the
time.
The
Taliban have also been making efforts for several months to woo diplomats
appointed by the Ghani government in key countries, including West Asian states
and India, to work for the setup in Kabul but have been unable to make much
headway. In some cases, Muttaqi himself has been involved in these efforts, the
people said.
Some
70 Afghan missions around the world are still using Afghanistan’s tricolour
flag and issuing a limited number of visas, mainly for humanitarian workers.
However, they are grappling with a funds crunch that has resulted in cutting
down the number of local staff and some functions.
Diplomats
appointed by the former government have also been enthused by the UN General
Assembly’s move on Monday to defer a decision on who will represent Afghanistan
at the world body. This effectively allows the Ghani government’s
representative, Ghulam Mohammad Ishaqzai, to remain as the envoy.
Source:
Hindustan Times
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Indigenous
Christians protest attempted eviction in Bangladesh
Stephan
Uttom
December
07, 2021
Landless
indigenous Christians have sought support and justice from the government
following an attempted eviction and death threats allegedly from Muslims in
northern Bangladesh.
A
group of 30 Muslims with an influential leader attempted to evict some 23
indigenous families by force, wanted to plant trees on the disputed land and
threatened to kill them on Dec. 3, claimed Simon Marandi, 28, an ethnic Santal
youth.
The
incident took place in Badhair village in the Tanore area of Rajshahi district.
The
Muslims were armed with bamboo sticks and sharp weapons and warned villagers
that their houses would be burned down if they didn't move out willingly, he
said.
Durul
Huda, the Muslim leader, and his brothers have allegedly been trying to occupy
12,500 square meters of khas (government-owned fallow land) land where the
families have lived for months.
A
video of the incident on Facebook showed Muslims and villagers embroiled in a
heated altercation as the villagers resisted the eviction.
They
threatened to kill us and burn our houses. We appeal to the government to save
us from eviction
Simon
Marandi, a Seventh-Day Adventist Christian, said 65 members of ethnic families
have been living in extreme fear since the attack. A youth group has been
guarding the village to resist a possible arson attack.
“Since
we have no place to live, we have been living here for months building houses
because it is khas land and we are landless people. But local influential
Muslims are threatening us in various ways to evict us from here. They
threatened to kill us and burn our houses. We appeal to the government to save
us from eviction,” Marandi told UCA News.
Villagers
told UCA News that the ethnic people have been living on the government land
for months but don’t have any written permission or land document. Earlier they
lived in other areas in Rajshahi but moved to the village more than two months
ago as the number of their family members increased.
Durul
Huda claimed the property as his own and denied allegations of an attack and
death threats.
“When
I went to plant trees on my land, they started arguing with us, but I did not
threaten them in any way. I am the owner of this land in the ancestral lineage.
They are forcibly living here,” Huda told UCA News.
Police
arrived in the village shortly after the incident and no lawsuit has been
filed, said Rakibul Hasan, officer in charge of Tanore police station.
"We
went to the spot as soon as we heard about the incident. Now the situation is
normal. Since no case has been filed, we are keeping an eye on the village,” he
told UCA News.
However,
he didn’t confirm the status of the disputed land and whether it is khas land
or private poverty as claimed by Huda.
Church
officials from Rajshahi Diocese said they were not aware of the incident.
Father
Patrick Gomes, a senior priest and convener of the Interfaith Dialogue
Commission, said that if the incident is true, this is a case of injustice to
indigenous people.
Land
disputes and violence involving ethnic groups are common in Muslim-majority
Bangladesh.
Source:
UCA News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.ucanews.com/news/indigenous-christians-protest-attempted-eviction-in-bangladesh/95253#
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Uzbekistan
asks International community to release Afghanistan’s assets
09
Dec 2021
Foreign
Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov in his contribution at the
Italy-Central Asia Second Ministerial Meeting in Tashkent on December 8 urged
the world community to lift sanctions and unfreeze the assets of Afghanistan.
Neighboring
Uzbekistan has now become another country in the region that asks for the
release of over $9.5 billion preserves of Afghanistan now frozen in American
banks.
Earlier,
Pakistan, China, and Russia had urged the world to unfreeze Afghanistan’s
assets.
The
Uzbek Foreign Minister asks the world to undertake actions to lift sanctions of
Afghanistan, unfreeze its assets, and work for the restoration of its banking
system as the country is going through the worst humanitarian situation.
“The
people of Afghanistan are in a very difficult situation and the humanitarian
situation of the country is nearing disaster. It is important to provide
effective assistance to the people of Afghanistan.” Said Kamilov.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Italy
welcoming Afghan Refugees
08
Dec 2021
Italy’s
local media have reported that the country is welcoming Afghan refugees to the
country who have been granted refugee status.
Along
with other European countries, the US, and the UK, Italy is one of these
countries where a large number of Afghans are finding ways to, seeking asylum.
Among
others, Prato which is an industrialized province of Italy has been welcoming a
large number of Afghan refugees.
The
province has been welcoming Afghan asylum seekers since September this year and
is estimated to welcome up to three thousand people.
As
per the reports, specific reception paths have been set up where women with
children will be welcomed in apartments to preserve their unity.
In
the meantime, the University of Florence that is one of the prominent
universities in Italy has allocated 26 scholarships for Afghan students to
complete their education.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/italy-welcoming-afghan-refugees-3464326346/
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India
Police
superintendent's letter putting Sikhs, Muslims at par with terrorists stirs
controversy in MP
09th
December 2021
BHOPAL:
A political controversy has erupted in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh over a district
police superintendent's VIP visit related security letter, which equated the
Sikh and Muslim community with terrorist groups like JKLF, LTTE, ULFA and SIMI.
The
two-page order signed by Katni district police superintendent Sunil Kumar Jain,
dated December 6 2021, pertained to
security related arrangements for state's Governor Mangubhai C Patel's December
7 visit to Katni district.
It
was the sixth point of the 23 point general instructions to the security
apparatus that actually triggered the row.
The
sixth point instructed to keep a strict eye on Sikhs, Muslims, JKLF, ULFA, SIMI
and LTTE terrorists.
Tweeting
a copy of the controversial order, senior Congress leader and party's state
general secretary KK Mishra wrote, "Thanks to SP Katni, till now it was
the BJP, which treated country's farmers and Muslims as terrorists. But you (SP
Katni) and your police have officially termed Sikhs and Muslims as terrorists
for the Governor's visit. Are you a police superintendent or BJP spokesperson?
This government will definitely felicitate you with Padmashree."
State
Congress spokesperson and Sikh community leader Narendra Saluja also objected
to the letter, saying "it was sad that the patriotic Sikh community has
been equated with terrorists in the letter. Action should be taken against SP
Katni, failing which it would understood that it's also the belief of the
Shivraj Singh Chouhan government and the BJP."
Source:
New Indian Express
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Namaz
Row: Civil Society And Activists Call To ‘Protect Social Fabric’
Dec
9, 2021
New
Delhi: Several members of the civil society, including social activists, a former
MP and a Delhi University professor, urged people to protect the country’s
social fabric in the backdrop of weeks of protest in Gurgaon against Namaz
being offered in public spaces. The protests, they said, were part of a larger
plan to make minorities “invisible”.
Addressing
a press conference at the Constitution Club of India on Wednesday, Altaf Ahmed
of the Gurgaon Muslim Council said Muslims were forced to pray in open spaces
in the city due to the lack of mosques. “There are 5 lakh Muslims in Gurgaon
and not enough masjids to accommodate them. So, we started offering prayers at
designated sites (by the administration). These (number of sites) are being
pruned again and again by the administration,” he said.
This
Monday, after a meeting with Gurgaon deputy commissioner Yash Garg and DCP
(west) Deepak Saharan, outfits involved in official discussions on namaz sites
had indicated that the number of public spaces where Friday prayers can be
offered would be reduced to six, from 37 when the protests began. There has,
however, been no formal announcement by the district administration.
The
press conference was organised by former MP Mohammad Adeeb, who is also a
resident of Gurgaon. Others present included former planning commission member
Dr Syeda Hameed, DU professor Apoorvanand, former IIT professor VK Tripathi,
social activists Shabnam Hashmi and Daya Singh, advocate Suroor Mander, and
religious leader Mufti Saleem Qasmi.
“We
are talking here about public land. Public land is maintained by taxpayers’ money
and both Hindu and Muslims are taxpayers. So, how come a certain section can
dictate what should happen on that land?” Apoorvanand said.
Source:
Times of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Friday
Namaz Row: Muslims Demand Legal Action, Land for Mosques in Gurugram
Dec
09, 2021
By
Abhishek Behl
Members
of the Muslim community on Wednesday alleged that the government authorities
have failed to take action against miscreants who have been disrupting the
Friday Namaz in the city, and added that they were being denied their
constitutional right to practice their religion.
“We
have submitted a report to 18 political parties in the hope that they will take
up the issue in Parliament and other public fora. Communal slogans and
provocative speeches are being made against Muslims, and the authorities are
taking no action,” said Mohammad Adeeb, former Rajya MP and a member of Gurgaon
Muslim Council, at a press conference organised by the two groups at the
Constitution Club in New Delhi.
The
district administration said efforts were on resolve the sensitive issue, and
the city police added that they were providing adequate security at all
designated Namaz sites.
The
presser was also attended by political and social activists such as Prof
Apoorvanand and Dr Syeda Saiyidain Hameed.
Hindu
right wing groups have been protesting against Friday Namaz in open public
spaces in Gurugram since 2018. The same year, the administration designated 37
sites for Muslims to perform the Friday prayers. However, in November this
year, the number of sites was cut down to 20 after members of the right-wing
outfits continued to protest and disrupt prayers. The Muslims, however, have
maintained that they were forced to use public spaces since there were not
enough mosques in the city.
On
Wednesday, members of the two Muslim groups who have been raising the issue
with the administration also demanded action against members of the Hindu
groups against whom the Gurugram police were given complaints on November 30
for alleged provocative communal speeches.
“The
BJP backed by RSS is bent upon reducing the minorities to second-grade citizens
and they plan to achieve this agenda through polarisation. The disruption in
Namaz is being carried out by the same 20 to 30 people but they are not being
taken into preventive custody,” said Apoorvanand, a political commentator.
The
Haryana BJP, however, rejected the charge, saying the state government and its
bodies were taking action as per the law, and added that some people were
trying to politicise the issue.
“The
activities of some people show their intention to politicise this issue. They
are creating a law and order situation and disharmony in the society at large,”
said Raman Malik, Haryana BJP spokesperson.
Mufti
Saleem Qasmi, a Gurugram-based religious leader, said baseless allegations were
being levelled by the right-wing groups such as by offering namaz at public
spaces the Muslims were waging a land jihad, and that those performing prayers
were Rohingya, Bangladeshis and not local residents. “There are only 13 mosques
in the city, and several people don’t get space to perform namaz. We have
approached the authorities to allocate land for establishing religious sites,
but nothing has happened,” he said.
Altaf
Ahmad of the Gurgaon Muslim Council said the authorities should provide safety
at the designated namaz sites and end the harassment by Hindu groups. “The
right to perform namaz (freedom to practice one’s religion) is provided by the
Constitution. The population of Muslims in the city is around five lakh, but
there are only 13 small mosques. The government must provide us sites for
building new mosques, and ensure safety at designated sites and stop this
targeted harassment” Ahmad said.
Dr
Syeda Hameed, a former member of Planning Commission, said, “Efforts must be
made to stop communal polarisation and bring people together for peaceful
coexistence.”
The
Gurugram police said they have been providing adequate security at all
designated sites to ensure safety of the worshippers and maintenance of law and
order. “Police personnel are deployed in adequate strength at all designated
sites as per directions of the administration. No untoward incident has been
allowed to happen till date, and in future too nobody will be allowed to
disturb law and order in the city,” Subash Boken, Gurugram police spokesperson,
said.
Yash
Garg, deputy commissioner, Gurugram, said all steps were being taken to resolve
the “sensitive” issue. “Concerns of all stakeholders will be taken into
consideration and the issue will be resolved. No one will be allowed to disturb
the communal harmony and take law and order into their hands,” he said.
Reacting
to the claims about availability of land for mosques, Malik said development
agencies hold regular auctions of land for religious sites, and everyone is
free to participate in it. “The waqf board too has acres of land in Gurugram
district, which may be used for establishing mosques. Details of these
properties are available in the public domain,” the BJP leader said.
Source:
Hindustan Times
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Waseem
Rizvi’s Family Says ‘Not Concerned’ With His Decision To Convert To Hinduism
Abhishek
Mishra
December
8, 2021
The
family of Waseem Rizvi, the former Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board chairman who
converted to Hinduism this week, has distanced from his decision to renounce
Islam. The family said they were “not concerned” with his decision to convert
to Hinduism.
Rizvi,
who took a new name as Jitendra Narayan Singh Tyagi, converted to Hinduism
under the guidance of Dasna Devi temple priest Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati in
Ghaziabad on Monday.
Rizvi's
brother Shanu told India Today TV, “Waseem is a common man for us, like any
other person. He is nothing to our family and has no relation with us. We are
not concerned with whatever decision Waseem has taken."
This
is not the first time that Rizvi’s family has distanced themselves from him.
Earlier, when Rizvi had questioned some of the verses of the Quran, Shanu had
said that he had no relation with the former Shia Waqf Board chief.
Shanu
said that he lived in an ancestral house in Chowk, where Rizvi did not come or
try to make contact with the rest of the family. “It has been more than seven
months that I have spoken to him,” Shanu said.
Shanu
said Rizvi had no business with him, their sister and mother. He said, “Rizvi
has been speaking against Islam, which is highly objectionable and none of his
family members stands with him. Even his wife and children don't support him.
No one is going to support him with this decision.”
Source:
India Today
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
ED
raids Kerala PFI offices, leaders’ houses over money-laundering charges
Dec
09, 2021
The
Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday raided several offices and houses of
the Popular Front of India (PFI) leaders in different locations across Kerala
in connection with an ongoing investigation into money laundering charges,
officials said.
People
close to the central agency said they received a tip-off that a huge amount was
transferred from west Asian countries to the PFI leaders, allegedly being used
to foment trouble in the country. Officials said they got clinching evidence in
this regard during the raids. But the organization has stoutly denied these
charges.
“It
is a cheap harassment tactic carried out by the central agency at the behest
Sangh Parivar outfits. Our struggle will continue to uphold human and minority
rights. The BJP and Parivar outfits are using central agencies to stifle
dissent,” said PFI general secretary Anis Ahmed.
“The
PFI has been co-operating well with all ED investigations, but nothing has been
found so far. But it is still harassing our members with arbitrary raids. We
condemn this,” said PFI chairman O M A Salam.
The
PFI said raids were conducted at four locations, Kannur, Muvattupuzha,
Malappuram and Idukki, officials in the know of the development said. At some
locations, angry workers raised slogans against the ED officials but dispersed
after local police intervened.
The
central probe agency has been investigating the PFI’s alleged “financial links”
on charges of fuelling the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests in the
country, the Delhi riots that took place in February last year and a few other
instances
The
controversial outfit was in the news two weeks back in connection with the
murder of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader A Sanjith in Palakkad. Four
workers of the Social Democratic Party of India, political wing of PFI, were
arrested. He was waylaid and stabbed to death before his wife. Five are
absconding.
Source:
Hindustan Times
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Pakistan
Pakistan
Frees Jailed Taliban Militants As Part Of Truce Deal
December
08, 2021
Pakistan
has released 12 members of the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from custody, a
source told RFE/RL on December 8, amid ongoing negotiations to reach a peace
deal with the Islamist group fighting a guerrilla war in the northwestern
tribal region bordering Afghanistan.
The
government and the banned militant group, also known as the Pakistani Taliban,
announced a monthlong cease-fire on November 8 as the two sides advanced talks
for a possible agreement to end 14 years of conflict.
The
release of 100 jailed TTP members was one of the group's preconditions for
reaching a permanent cease-fire agreement.
A
source in Pakistan's tribal region told RFE/RL that 12 inmates held in the
Jandola area of South Waziristan had been transferred on December 7 to the
neighboring Afghan province of Paktika, where they were handed over to the TTP.
The
move came on the eve of the expected end of the monthlong truce.
Most
of the freed militants were said to be from Pakistan's Bajaur tribal district.
The
group did not include prominent TTP members, the source told RFE/RL, adding
that more prisoners are expected to be released in the next few days.
Over
the past 15 years, Pakistan has signed three peace deals with the Pakistani
Taliban, but none of them have lasted beyond a few months.
Pakistan
conducted a massive military operation against the TTP across the northwestern
regions in June 2014, forcing the group's militants and leadership to take
refuge across the border in Afghanistan.
However,
the TTP has gradually staged a comeback in the mountainous, tribal regions
since late 2019 and considerably increased the frequency of their attacks this
year.
Sources
told RFE/RL that the current talks were being held by senior Pakistani military
officials and top TTP representatives, with the mediation of the Afghan
Taliban.
The
TTP is a separate militant group from the Afghan Taliban, which toppled the
Western-backed government in Kabul in mid-August. But Pakistan's militant
groups are often interlinked with those across the border in Afghanistan and
the TTP follows the same hard-line Sunni Islam as its Afghan counterparts.
Source:
Gandhara
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/pakistan-taliban-militants-freed/31599975.html
--------
EU
hails Pakistan’s progress on FATF action plans
December
9, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
The European Union (EU) has welcomed progress made by Pakistan to implement
action plans of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and lauded adoption of
the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Bill by parliament that
later became an Act with the presidential approval.
A
joint communique issued on Wednesday at the conclusion of sixth round of the
EU-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue said the EU also welcomed ongoing efforts to
implement the remaining FATF action plans.
The
meeting was co-chaired by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and High
Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of
the European Commission Josep Borrell in Brussels on Tuesday.
The
two sides reviewed ongoing cooperation between Pakistan and the EU based on the
Strategic Engagement Plan, said the joint communique shared by the Foreign
Office here.
They
agreed to further enhance EU-Pakistan mutual engagement, particularly on
security and regional cooperation.
FM
discusses Afghan situation with Nato chief
Both
sides agreed to hold the first meeting of the new EU-Pakistan security dialogue
with sub-groups on non-proliferation and disarmament and counter-terrorism in
2022.
Mr
Borrell and Mr Qureshi reaffirmed the resolve to protect human rights and
fundamental freedoms, focusing on freedom of religion and belief, interfaith
harmony, religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence and rights of minorities.
Foreign
Minister Qureshi raised concern at the rising trends of Islamophobic acts,
xenophobia and religious intolerance in the world and the need for common
resolve to counter them.
Both
sides expressed strong political commitment towards the GSP+ and the
implementation of 27 international conventions on human rights, labour rights
and protection of environment and good governance that are linked to it.
Mr
Borrell raised concern on misuse of the blasphemy law in Pakistan.
He
hoped that the Anti-Torture Bill and other human rights-related legislation
that were before the parliament would be adopted soon.
Mr
Borrell informed the foreign minister about a coming follow-up visit of the EU
Election Observation Mission to Pakistan.
He
welcomed Pakistan’s pronouncement, prior to the Glasgow conference, about its
contribution to the common climate objectives.
The
high representative and the foreign minister had an extensive exchange of views
on the situation in Afghanistan. They agreed on the importance of maintaining
sustained engagement with Afghanistan to promote stability and counter drug
trade and threat of terrorism.
Both
sides acknowledged Afghanistan’s liquidity challenges strain the legitimate
banking services. They agreed on the need for continuing urgent and unhindered
humanitarian assistance and basic social services support to the Afghan people.
Both
sides supported dialogue among the Afghan parties for achieving national
reconciliation.
Mr
Borrell thanked Pakistan for its support in evacuation of nationals of EU
member countries and safe passage of people from Afghanistan.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1662714/eu-hails-pakistans-progress-on-fatf-action-plans
--------
PM
Imran unveils Naya Pakistan Card initiative
Zulfiqar
Ali
December
9, 2021
PESHAWAR:
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday formally launched the Naya Pakistan Card
initiative, bringing mega welfare programmes of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf
(PTI) government covering health, education, food and agriculture sectors under
one umbrella.
With
the launch of Naya Pakistan Card, which covers Ehsaas Ration Programme based on
a food subsidy package for low-income families, Kisan Card, Sehat Card and
scholarships for students, beneficiaries of various initiatives can avail all
services on the same card.
Addressing
the ceremony held at the Governor House, Prime Minister Khan said that Kamyab
Pakistan scheme was also in the pipeline under which two million eligible
families would receive Rs400,000 interest-free loans for self-employment, free
technical education to one member of each registered family, Rs2.7 million loan
for house construction and free health insurance.
He
said the proposed Kamyab Pakistan programme to be launched in the KP province
would be extended to other provinces later.
Says
a project promising interest-free loan for 2m eligible families is on the anvil
Besides,
the government was awarding 6.3m scholarships to students to encourage them to
pursue higher education as Rs47bn had been allocated in this regard, he said.
In
order to ensure award of scholarships on merit, a special cell was being set up
at the PM secretariat to collect students’ data, he announced.
Mr
Khan said that the PTI got two-thirds majority during the previous elections in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa due to development projects and reforms in different
sectors. A UNDP report had also acknowledged reduction in poverty in KP during
2013-18 due to the provincial government initiatives, he added.
On
the occasion, Prime Minister Khan also distributed cheques among prayer leaders
of Jamia mosques under a KP government initiative, among less privileged women
under Kifalat programme and scholarship among students under the Ehsaas
education programme.
He
said the Punjab government was replicating KP’s model in the health sector and
would launch health insurance programme from January 1 and the entire
population of the province would be covered within next three months. The
government of Balochistan, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan also intended to
launch the mega programme, he added.
Appreciating
the performance of National Command and Operation Centre on Covid-19, the PM
said the country had effectively tackled the pandemic that severally affected
supply chain across the world and caused increase in prices of petroleum, gas
and food commodities. Food inflation was a global phenomenon, yet prices of
essential commodities were lower than in rest of the world, he added.
In
this situation, he said the historic Ehsaas food subsidy package worth Rs120bn
would benefit over 20 million families, as 30pc discount would be given on
purchase of ghee, flour and pulses to the families with less than Rs50,000
monthly income.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1662707/pm-imran-unveils-naya-pakistan-card-initiative
--------
Saad
Rizvi sees TLP as 'kingmaker' in next general elections
December
8, 2021
Tehreek-i-Labbaik
Pakistan (TLP) chief Saad Hussain Rizvi, who was recently released from jail
after nearly seven months in detention, foresees his party as a
"kingmaker" in the 2023 general elections, saying that its vote bank
will likely get a massive boost in Punjab and Sindh, provided that the polls
are held in a free and fair manner.
In
an exclusive interview with Newsweek Pakistan, Rizvi said: "No opposition
will be able to function and no party will be able to make government without
the support of the TLP,” as he went on to claim that his party's vote banks in
Punjab and Sindh had experienced a massive boost since the last general
elections.
“The
TLP enjoys good support in both provinces and its vote bank has increased
manifold compared to last elections,” he told the magazine.
When
asked about other political parties approaching him following his release and
the chances of the TLP forming electoral alliances with them, Rizvi said they
were ready to talk to all parties. However, he added, a final decision on the
matter would be taken after taking into consideration ground realities ahead of
the elections.
To
another question about women joining his party, Rizvi said they were willing to
giving as much as 50 per cent representation to women in the TLP.
“We
will not only encourage women to join the party on reserved seats, we plan to
bring them on general seats as well,” he said.
Rizvi's
comments come less than a month after his release from Lahore's Kot Lakhpat
jail on November 18 in the aftermath of an agreement with the government. The
agreement had come following days of protest by his party workers, who also
clashed with police, and were marching towards the capital. The details of the
agreement were not made public.
Police
had arrested Rizvi on April 12 as a "pre-emptive measure", ahead of
planned protests by the TLP as the party's April 20 deadline for the
implementation of the its demands — including the expulsion the French ambassador,
severing ties with France and boycotting French products over blasphemous
sketches of Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) — neared. The next day, police had
registered a first information report (FIR) against the TLP chief under
sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997.
His
name was later placed on the Fourth Schedule — a list of proscribed individuals
who are suspected of terrorism or sectarianism under the ATA — on April 16.
Rizvi's
arrest had led to three days of violent protests across the country, following
which a ban was placed on the party under the anti-terror law. This episode of
the protest had reached a climax when Lahore became a battleground as TLP
workers and policemen clashed, with the former taking 11 policemen hostage, who
were released when the government and the TLP began talks.
However,
the protest was called off on April 20, following a second round of talks
between the government and the TLP, with Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid
announcing that the government would present a resolution on the expulsion of
the French ambassador in the National Assembly (NA) on the day.
A
session of the NA was then called the same day during which a resolution was
tabled to discuss and decide on the expulsion of the French ambassador from
Pakistan. But since then, the assembly has not taken up the matter again.
However,
at that time, Prime Minister Imran Khan had made it clear that the government
had no intention of lifting a ban on the TLP.
The
TLP had then launched another round of protest in October, with scores of TLP
workers taking to the streets in Lahore. They had later announced a "long
march" towards Islamabad, which is when the situation turned violent as
party workers clashed with law enforcers. Deaths of at least five policemen
were reported in the riots.
Meanwhile,
TLP protesters marching on the capital were stopped at Wazirabad, where they
had camped until the then-proscribed group and the government had reached a
deal, the details of which have not been revealed till now.
Negotiations
between the TLP and government had started on October 30, with the members of
the negotiating team from the government side claiming the next day that they
had reached an "agreement".
However,
sources had told Dawn at the time that the TLP was assured that the government
would not pursue minor cases against the TLP leadership and workers, but the
cases registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act would be decided by courts. It
also assured the TLP leadership that it would unfreeze the accounts and assets
of the proscribed outfit and take steps to lift the ban on it.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1662656/saad-rizvi-sees-tlp-as-kingmaker-in-next-general-elections
--------
Pakistani
Shia cleric announces divorce and heritage will be settled as per Fiqah e
Jafferia's norms
December
9, 2021
The
Shia Community living in Pakistan has been waiting for 74 years to settle
Divorce and Heritage issues of women according to their norms. Now, the Former
Member of the Islamic Ideological Council and Chairman of Imam Khomeini Trust,
Allama Syed Iftikhar Hussain Naqvi announced that the disputes of Shia women
can be resolved according to Fiqah e Jafferia rather than Fiqah e Hanfi.
He
added that after 9 years long legislative struggle, it is a big achievement.
Now, the Shia community has obtained its right of personal law given in the
Constitution of Pakistan on the above said 2 issues.
He
revealed that the President of Pakistan has signed the amended bills on Section
4 and 7 of Muslims Family Laws in a joint meeting of the National Assembly and
the Senate.
Allama
Iftikhar Naqvi further said that following recent legislative development, the
people of the Shia community will enjoy justice in the light of Fiqah e
Jafferia in honorable courts on the above said two issues.
Source:
ABNA24
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Pakistan
reports first 'suspected' case of Omicron variant in woman from Karachi
Imtiaz
Ali
December
9, 2021
Pakistan
reported its first "suspected" case of the new coronavirus variant Omicron
in a woman in Karachi on Wednesday, Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho
said, adding that a genomic study was being carried out for confirmation.
In
a video message, she said that the genomic study of the coronavirus patient's
sample had not been conducted but "the way the virus is behaving, it seems
like it is Omicron."
She
further said the patient was 57 years old.
"Omicron
is very transmissible but deaths or serious [conditions] have not been seen in
recent reports coming from South Africa (where the variant was first detected).
There is no cause for concern. We are conducting a genomic study which will
take one or two weeks."
It
would be confirmed whether the woman was infected with the Omicron variant once
the study was completed, she added.
The
minister's statement came hours after her spokesperson Mehar Khursheed
confirmed the detection of the first Omicron case in a woman from Karachi. She
said the infected woman was unvaccinated and had been admitted for treatment at
Aga Khan University Hospital.
According
to a letter written by the district health officer of Karachi's East district
to the provincial director general of health, the Regional Disease Surveillance
and Response Unit in the metropolis "reported the first case of new
Covid-19 'Omicron' variant on December 8, 2021, at 7pm".
The
letter, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, stated that the woman, who
was 65 years of age, was unvaccinated and did not have a travel history. She
was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday and was isolating at home.
The
rapid response team was "taken on board immediately" for tracing,
testing, quarantining, vaccination and other preventive measures to control the
infection's spread as per the guidelines of the National Command and Operation Centre,
the letter stated.
The
district's health team also "immediately" contacted the woman's
family to take a detailed history and trace her contacts.
The
deputy commissioner of the district was also requested to take the necessary
action — micro smart lockdown — according to the letter.
'Inevitable'
arrival
Last
month, Federal Planning Minister Asad Umar and Special Assistant to the Prime
Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan had sounded the alarm, saying that the
arrival of the Omicron variant was inevitable and a matter of time.
"This
[strain] has to spread in the whole world as we saw before that when a variant
comes, the world is so interconnected that it is impossible to stop it,"
Umar had said, adding that vaccination was the most logical solution to curb
the threat.
On
November 30, the Sindh government issued new guidelines — applicable from
December 1-15 — to curb Covid-19's transmission in wake of the threat posed by
the new variant.
Covid-19
curbs in Sindh:
Indoor,
outdoor gatherings allowed for vaccinated individuals. For Karachi, Sukkur and
Sanghar the limit is 500 people for indoor events and 1,000 for outdoor. For
the rest of the province it is 300 people for indoor and 1,000 for outdoor.
Indoor
dining allowed for vaccinated people till 11:59pm. 70pc occupancy for Karachi,
Sukkur, and Sanghar and 50pc for the rest of the province.
Outdoor
dining is allowed for fully vaccinated citizens till 11:59pm.
Markets
and businesses can function till 10pm while essential services can operate
24/7.
Shrines,
indoor gyms and cinemas are open for fully vaccinated individuals.
100pc
attendance at offices with routine timings.
Amusement
parks and swimming pools will operate at 70pc occupancy in Karachi, Sukkur and
Sanghar and 50pc for the rest of the province.
The
Sindh chief secretary had also directed the district administration to exhibit
its full commitment to enforcing non-pharmaceutical interventions and take
strict action against violators.
The
Sindh health department had also earlier decided to inoculate all residents
with a booster shot of Pfizer keeping in view the increased risk of
transmission and re-infection posed by the Omicron variant.
Travel
ban
Pakistan
had placed a complete ban on Nov 27 on travel from six south African countries
— South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia — and Hong
Kong in the wake of the variant's discovery.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
North America
House
to advance legislation to combat Islamophobia as pressure mounts to punish
Boebert for anti-Muslim comments
December
8, 2021
(CNN)The
House is planning to advance Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar's legislation to create
a special envoy to combat Islamophobia on Thursday, marking the first step
members are taking since Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert's anti-Muslim comments
calling Omar a terrorist.
The
bill, led by Omar that CNN exclusively reported in July, is scheduled to get
voted out of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday, Omar's office
told CNN, setting up a final floor vote that could come as soon as the end of
the year. The bill would still need to pass the Senate before it could go to
President Joe Biden's desk to be signed into law.
"As
the United Nations said this year, anti-Muslim hatred has reached 'epidemic
proportions' and every country must take action," Omar said in a statement
to CNN.
"I
am excited for the opportunity to bring forth legislation to address this
crisis alongside Rep. Jan Schakowsky. I want to thank Chairman (Gregory) Meeks
for taking this bill up in the House Foreign Affairs Committee," the Minnesota
Democrat added. "And we look forward to it passing this bill and sending
it to the President's desk."
Omar
and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke on the phone and at the Library of
Congress on Wednesday and discussed Omar's bill, according to a source familiar
with the exchanges.
Moving
forward this legislation that addresses the rise in incidents of Islamophobia
worldwide, which has been sitting in committee for months, comes as Pelosi has
been facing increasing pressure from members within her own party to take
aggressive action against Boebert.
Progressive
Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts is introducing a resolution,
cosigned by other progressives, that would strip the Colorado Republican of her
committee assignments.
Pelosi
dodged when she was asked if she supported that resolution on Wednesday and
repeated her call for GOP leadership to punish members of their conference.
"It's
the responsibility of Republicans to discipline their members," the
California Democrat said, a reference to how GOP House leadership has declined
to take any action against Boebert since she her remarks have been widely
circulated.
Omar
has called on both Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to take
decisive action against Boebert.
"I
think it's important for us to say this kind of language, this kind of hate
cannot be condoned by the House of Representatives, and we should punish and
sanction Boebert by stripping her of her committees, by rebuking her language
by doing everything that we can to send a clear and decisive message to the
American public that if the Republicans are not going to be adults, and condemn
this, that we are going to do that," Omar said on CNN's "State of the
Union."
Source:
CNN
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/12/08/politics/ilhan-omar-bill-islamophobia/index.html
--------
US
envoy to return to Vienna over weekend for Iran nuclear talks
09
December ,2021
US
Special Envoy for Iran Rob Malley plans to travel to Vienna over the weekend
for fresh talks on reviving Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, US
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Wednesday.
The
talks seek to find a way for the US and Iran to resume compliance with the
agreement, under which Iran restricted its nuclear program in return for relief
from US, European Union and UN sanctions.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Then-President
Donald Trump pulled the US out of the deal in 2018 and reimposed US sanctions,
prompting Iran to start violating the nuclear restrictions about a year later.
Iran struck the original deal with six major powers: Britain, China, France,
Germany, Russia and the US.
Enrique
Mora, the senior European Union official chairing the talks, said on Twitter
that they would resume on Thursday.
The
talks have effectively been indirect negotiations between Iran and the US, with
diplomats from other nations shuttling between them because Tehran has refused
face-to-face meetings with US officials.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
US
house votes to punish China over Uyghur treatment
09
December ,2021
The
US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed legislation restricting imports
from China’s Xinjiang region over its treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority,
as tensions continue to escalate between Washington and Beijing.
Members
of the House voted 428-1 to pass the “Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act,”
which requires corporations to prove “with clear and convincing evidence” that
any goods imported from the region were not made using forced labor.
“Right
now, Beijing is orchestrating a brutal and accelerating campaign of repression
against the Uyghur people and other Muslim minorities,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi
told lawmakers ahead of the vote.
“In
Xinjiang, across China, millions are enduring outrageous human rights abuses:
from mass surveillance and disciplinary policing; to mass torture including
solitary confinement and forced sterilizations; intimidation of journalists and
activists who is have dared to expose the truth.”
She
added: “And, the government of China’s exploitation of forced labor reaches
across the oceans to our shores and across the world.”
The
US Senate has previously approved a similar measure and the two will now need
reconciling.
The
bill will then need to be signed into law by President Joe Biden and it was
unclear whether it had White House support.
The
vote comes shortly after the White House announced a diplomatic boycott of the
Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics over what it termed China's "genocide"
of the Uyghur minority and other human rights abuses, a move that drew a harsh
rebuke from Beijing.
Earlier
this summer, the US government imposed similar restrictions on some Chinese
imports, including solar panel materials, over Beijing's treatment of Uyghurs.
China
called those restrictions "bandit-like."
In
a separate 428-0 vote, the House also passed a resolution stating that the
International Olympic Committee "failed to adhere to its own human rights
commitments" amid doubts about the safety of Chinese tennis star Peng
Shuai, who has accused a top Communist Party leader of sexual assault.
Campaigners
say that at least one million Uyghurs and other Turkic-speaking, mostly Muslim
minorities have been incarcerated in camps in China's northwestern region of
Xinjiang.
Human
rights groups and foreign governments have found evidence of what they say is
mass detentions, forced labor, political indoctrination, torture and forced
sterilization. Washington has described it as genocide.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/2021/12/09/US-house-votes-to-punish-China-over-Uyghur-treatment
--------
Southeast Asia
Indonesian
militant given life sentence in 2005 attack
December
08, 2021
By
Niniek Karmini
(Eds:
Updating with additional details)
Jakarta,
Dec 8 (AP) An Indonesian court sentenced an Islamic militant who eluded capture
for 16 years to life in prison on Wednesday after finding him guilty of making
bombs used in a 2005 market attack that killed 22 people.
Upik
Lawanga, known as “professor,” is a key member of the Jemaah Islamiyah militant
network, which the US has designated a terrorist group.
It
is widely blamed for attacks including the 2002 bombings on the Indonesian
resort island of Bali that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists, as well
as attacks in the Philippines.
The
East Jakarta District Court found Lawanga, 43, guilty of involvement in the May
28, 2005, attack at Tentena market in Poso district which killed 22 people and
injured 91 others, mostly Christians. Muslim-Christian conflicts in Poso in
Central Sulawesi province killed at least 1,000 people from 1998 to 2002.
Lawanga
was also accused of building bombs used in a 2004 passenger minibus attack that
killed six people and a 2006 attack using a flashlight bomb that killed a
Christian woman.
“What
the defendant has done was a crime against humanity that left deep wounds,
trauma and sorrow for the families of the victims,” said Presiding Judge
Sutikna, who goes by a single name.
Lawanga
said he would appeal the decision.
He
argued in court that he helped make the bombs but did not carry out the
attacks, saying he did not know how they would be used.
He
said he was only obeying orders from other senior members of the group to
assemble bombs to avenge Christians for the massacre of Muslims at an Islamic
boarding school during sectarian conflict in May 2000.
He
said his motive was the deaths of relatives and friends in the Muslim-Christian
conflict and the burning of mosques and his brother's house.
Other
militants testified that Lawanga was nicknamed the “professor” because of his
ability to build bombs and firearms. They described him as an important figure
because of his expertise.
Lawanga
said he joined Jemaah Islamiyah in Poso in 2002 and learned how to assemble
bombs from Azahari bin Husin, a Malaysian bomb-making mastermind who was killed
in a police raid in Indonesia in 2005.
Lawanga
left Poso after the 2005 attacks and lived with his wife and children in
Lampung as a duck farmer.
The
trial began early September and was held remotely due to the coronavirus
pandemic.
Lawanga,
whose real name is Taufiq Bulaga, became one of the country's most wanted
militants after being named as a suspect in the Tentena market attack.
He
was arrested last year in the same southern town on Sumatra island where
Zulkarnaen, believed to be the military leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah network,
was arrested by counterterrorism police a week later.
Zulkarnaen
had been on the police wanted list for 18 years.
Police,
who learned of their hideout after interrogating several militants arrested
earlier, found a bunker at Lawanga's house with handmade guns and explosive
materials.
The
two were tried separately at the same court.
An
Indonesian court banned Jemaah Islamiyah in 2008, and a sustained crackdown by
security forces with support from the US and Australia helped weaken the
militant network.
Militant
attacks on foreigners in Indonesia have largely been replaced in recent years
by smaller, less deadly strikes targeting the government, mainly police and
security forces, inspired by Islamic State group tactics abroad.
Source:
The Week
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/international/2021/12/08/fgn38-indonesia-militant-ld-trial.html
--------
Converted
Japanese Muslim teaches his students about Islam
Abdullah
Dogan
08.12.2021
KONYA,
Turkey
After
converting to Islam over a decade ago and settling in Turkey, today a Japanese
academic gives religious education in Istanbul to Muslim converts from his
country.
Visiting
Konya in central Turkey to take part in the International Conversion Congress,
Kayyim Naoki Yamamoto told how he encountered the religion of Islam and
converted.
Yamamoto,
32, said he was deeply affected by the moral and social teachings of Islam and
converted 12 years ago. Then he came to Turkey in a bid to learn history, law,
and Muslim rules, and studied Turkish, Arabic, and Persian as well as Quran and
Islamic studies in Istanbul.
Yamamoto,
who continued his studies at Istanbul’s Marmara University, said the number of
Muslims in Japan is growing every year.
"It’s
easy to become a Muslim in Japan but living as a Muslim is important,” he said.
“The information on Islam in Japan is really lacking. It’s hard to live a Muslim
identity.”
"I
got truly happy upon becoming a Muslim, and now have a project: I bring
converted Japanese people to Turkey and teach them Islam and cultural
studies," he explained. "They also learn Turkish, Arabic, and
Persian. We’re raising Muslim intellectuals and giving them an opportunity for
an education."
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/culture/converted-japanese-muslim-teaches-his-students-about-islam/2442415
--------
Malaysian
court upholds ex-PM’s graft conviction in 1MDB scandal
09
December 2021
KUALA
LUMPUR: The Malaysian Court of Appeal upheld on Wednesday former Prime Minister
Najib Razak’s 12-year jail sentence for his role in a multibillion-dollar
corruption scandal at the 1Malaysia Development Berhad state investment fund.
Najib
was sentenced by a high court in July 2020 and fined $50 million on charges of
criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power relating to
illegally receiving RM42 million ($10 million) from SRC International, a former
subsidiary of the now-defunct 1MDB.
Investigators
allege at least $4.5 billion was embezzled from 1MDB and laundered by Najib’s
associates. Najib has pleaded not guilty and consistently denied any
wrongdoing, saying he had been misled by Malaysian fugitive financier Low Taek
Jho. The scandal brought down Najib’s government in 2018.
As
the Court of Appeal upheld the 2020 verdict, lead judge Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil
said the case was a “national embarrassment.”
“This
is not something that can be said to have been done in the national interest,”
he said while reading the decision. “There is no national interest here, just
national embarrassment.”
The
court had agreed to the defense’s request to stay the jail term pending a final
appeal. Until then, Najib will remain out on bail.
The
former prime minister and his legal counsel, Mohammed Shafee Abdullah, attended
the court proceedings via a video call, as they had reportedly been in touch
with contacts who tested positive for COVID-19.
In
an online press conference afterward, Najib said he was “very disappointed”
with the judgment.
“I
would like to reiterate and say I didn’t know, nor did I ask or …direct anyone
for RM42 million to my account,” he said.
Lead
prosecutor V. Sithambaram told reporters that a decision in Najib’s final
appeal will be made by the federal court, the country’s top court, within the
next six to nine months, but the appeal court’s verdict showed the conviction
“according to law and facts.”
The
68-year-old politician remains a key figure in the ruling United Malays
National Organization party, which has led coalition governments since
independence from Britain in 1957.
Toppled
in 2018 over the 1MDB scandal, the party returned to power in August.
While
the Court of Appeal verdict may not dent Najib’s popularity, it deals a blow to
his possible comeback to the country’s top office in the next general election
scheduled to take place by 2023.
“In
terms of popularity, I don’t think there will be any effect, as the supporters
will support Najib regardless of his conviction,” Dr. Oh Ei Sun, a senior
fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, told Arab News.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1983541/world
--------
Arab World
UAE
Fatwa Council, international Fatwa authorities discuss cooperation
08-12-2021
ABU
DHABI, 8th December, 2021 (WAM) -- The UAE Fatwa Council has organised a
meeting between Fatwa authorities and organisations from around the world, on
the sidelines of the eight meeting of the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim
Communities, which concluded yesterday in the capital, Abu Dhabi.
In
his welcome speech during the meeting, Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, President of
the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Communities and Chairman of the UAE
Fatwa Council, highlighted the importance of such meetings, thanks to their key
role in promoting cooperation between Fatwa authorities around the world, and
encouraging coordination in new jurisdictional matters.
Dr.
Omar Habtoor Al Derei, Director-General of the UAE Fatwa Council, explained the
role of the council, phases of its development, its organisational structure,
along with its competencies and plans.
He
also noted the council’s previous achievements and highlighted its future
vision, which is based on the UAE Government’s vision for the upcoming 50
years.
Source:
Emirates News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
http://wam.ae/en/details/1395303000895
--------
Iraqi
army seize explosives from resurgent Islamic State group
08
December, 2021
A
large quantity of weapons and explosives belonging to the Islamic State were
seized by Iraqi security forces on Tuesday evening, as the group attempts to
resurface in the country.
Hundreds
of shells were found and confiscated in Al-Habbaniyah district in western
Iraq’s Anbar governorate, according to the military's Security Media Cell
(SMC).
Military
intelligence seized at least 200 Austrian-made artillery shells which were to
be used by IS, the SMC said.
Military
intelligence arrested six Syrian nationals who were ambushed as they attempted
to infiltrate Iraqi territory, it added.
Iraqi
security forces killed at least four IS militants in Anbar in a separate
incident earlier on Tuesday.
Iraq
has seen a spate of attacks in recent weeks, many of which have been claimed by
IS. Despite losing territory in 2017,
the group's cells remain active across the country.
In
the north, several fighters from the Peshmerga - Iraqi Kurdistan's armed forces
- have been killed over the past fortnight in attacks that have been blamed on
IS.
Source:
The New Arab
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/iraq-army-seize-explosives-islamic-state-group
--------
As
Iraqi and Syrian migrants leave Belarus, some are afraid to go home
08
December ,2021
Exhausted
after several failed attempts to enter Poland amid freezing temperatures, Saeed
Jundi and his family of Iraqi Yazidis had just made it back to the Belarusian
capital when he said security forces showed up at their rented apartment.
When
he confirmed the family was from Iraq, he said they were taken to the airport
and deported.
Jundi,
his wife and their three children landed in Iraq's Kurdistan region on Nov. 28,
two days after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had told migrants at
the border with Poland that they would not be forced to leave.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
family was among hundreds of migrants from Iraq and elsewhere flown out of
Belarus in recent weeks after failed attempts to enter the European Union -
where they were seeking a better future.
Some
of them say they had no choice, while others saw little alternative given how
hard it was to cross into Poland and because of their treatment at the hands of
border guards.
Since
last month, Iraq's government has chartered evacuation flights for over 3,100
Iraqis in Belarus.
Hemn
Amin, a 29-year-old Iraqi Kurd from the town Khurmal, was among them.
He
said Belarusian border guards beat him and that he was pushed back and forth
between the Belarusian and Polish border several times. He was then taken to a
warehouse in Grodno region where hundreds of other migrants had gathered.
Amin
and about 40 other Iraqis booked a plane ticket in order to be allowed to
leave.
They
boarded buses hoping to get off in Minsk, but were taken straight to the
airport, he said.
“We
waited in the airport for about five days, in an overcrowded hall guarded by
the police,” Amin said.
The
Belarusian foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Fouad
Hamad, Belarus' honorary consul in Iraqi Kurdistan from where many migrants
started their journey, said beatings at the border were “a possibility”, but
not in cities.
He
said migrants in cities would be detained and deported when their visas expired
“according to the law” and that he received regular calls from Iraqis asking
him to help relatives detained in Minsk for having overstayed their tourist
visas.
Safeen
Dizayee, head of the Kurdistan regional government's foreign relations in
Erbil, told Reuters that none of those aboard the flights chartered by the
government had said they were being deported against their will.
“If
they overstayed their visas, naturally each country has their rules and
regulations,” Dizayee said. “Whatever measures Belarus takes, it is their
jurisdiction.”
He
said authorities in Belarus and Poland should investigate allegations of abuse
of migrants along the border.
Syrians
stuck
Officials
and migrants say hundreds of migrants remain stuck in Belarus, having spent
thousands of dollars on a journey they had hoped would end in the EU. Among
them are Syrians, some of whom do not want to return to their homeland.
“We
are being contacted and receive reports about different cases, including of
Syrians, some of whom would like to return and some still hope to be able to
cross to Poland and some wishing to reunite with their families in the EU,”
UNHCR Senior Communications Officer, Natalia Prokopchuk, told Reuters.
On
Wednesday, private Syrian airline Cham Wings chartered the first evacuation
flight for Syrians wishing to return to Damascus, with about 97 passengers on
board.
Speaking
over the telephone from a small hostel in Minsk, a Syrian man from Halab who
asked to not be named said he and 12 other Syrians travelling with him were
barely leaving their rooms anymore, fearing deportation.
He
said his tourist visa expired nearly two months ago and he had nowhere to go.
He has been banned from re-entering Lebanon, where he lived for the last six
years, and fears he will be punished if he flies back to Damascus because he
has not carried out his military service.
Dozens
of Syrian respondents told an online poll set up by migrants that they did not
want to go back to Syria from Belarus for fear of retribution from the authorities.
The
Syrian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Qatar
and Turkey extend currency swap deal
08
December ,2021
Qatar
and Turkey have announced they agreed to extend a currency swap deal between
their central banks, as Ankara’s lira has plunged in value fuelling an economic
crisis.
According
to a joint statement on Tuesday, the two sides “welcomed the signing of the
agreement on the extension and amendment of the Turkish lira-Qatari riyal
currency exchange arrangement” between their central banks.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
announcement came during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to
Doha, where he met with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and
discussed enhancing cooperation in various fields including the economy.
The
agreement in 2018 was extended for the first time in May 2020, with the overall
limit increased from $5 billion equivalent of Turkish lira and Qatari riyal to
$15 billion.
Turkey’s
annual inflation rate surged last week above 20 percent – its highest in three
years.
The
nation of 84 million has seen the lira plummet and consumer prices soar, with
the lira losing more than 45 percent of its value against the dollar since the
start of the year.
Turkey’s
currency crisis is now more acute than one it experienced during a diplomatic
standoff with then US president Donald Trump in 2018.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://english.alarabiya.net/business/economy/2021/12/08/Qatar-and-Turkey-extend-currency-swap-deal
--------
Mideast
Leader's
Top Adviser: Resistance against Enemies to Continue in Syria
2021-December-8
"The
path of resistance and confrontation with enemies in Syria continues and unity
of the Resistance Front's member states in recent years has made it possible to
take effective, successful and unprecedented measures against continued
domination of foreigners in this very sensitive region coveted by the US and
Britain in the past," Velayati said in a meeting with Syrian Foreign
Minister Faisal Mekdad in Tehran on Tuesday.
He
pointed out that the formation of the resistance front has resulted in
"very useful" outcomes and brought hope to the Muslim world that
aggressive powers would be defeated through resistance.
"The
resistance front will undoubtedly achieve a final victory, God willing,"
Velayati added.
He
further pointed to "strategic" relations between Tehran and Damascus
and called on both sides to concentrate their efforts on the expansion of
all-out ties.
The
Syrian foreign minister, for his part, commended Iran's support for the Syrian
people and government.
"Constant
acts of aggression by the Zionist regime of Israel and its military presence in
Syria, as well as US unlawful sanctions against Damascus, are in violation of
Syria's territorial integrity and the root cause of insecurity and economic
pressure in that country," Mekdad said.
The
Syria foreign minister, however, emphasized that the Syrians have thwarted all
enemies' plots by their full resistance.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Police
in Southwestern Iran Dismantles Foreign-Backed Terrorist Group
2021-December-8
The
Police announced in a statement that its forces managed to dismantle a
terrorist team affiliated to foreign intelligence services.
The
terrorist team had carried out anti-security operations, including armed attack
against Mahshahr police patrol, the statement added, saying that the terrorist
team was affiliated to and supported by foreign-based anti-revolutionary groups
and foreign intelligence services.
The
terrorist team had earlier martyred Second Lieutenant Zarqamparast in Mahshahr
city and wounded another police officer, according to the statement.
Relevant
reports also said last month that the Iranian Law Enforcement police forces
disbanded a terrorist team in Khuzestan province, seizing a cache of weapons
and ammunition.
The
Law Enforcement police said in a statement said that the members of a terrorist
team had attacked a patrol vehicle at a police station in Shadegan City in
July.
Following
the intelligence activities of the police forces of the Khuzestan province, all
three members of the terrorist team were identified in Shadegan city and were
arrested during a series of operations in their hideouts, it added.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Iran
Freezes Hundreds of Bank Accounts over Illegal Trade of Foreign Currencies
2021-December-8
The
Iranian intelligence ministry said on Tuesday that it has identified and
blocked more than 700 bank accounts that it believes have been used to launder
massive proceeds obtained from illegal trading of foreign currencies.
The
ministry announced in a statement that its anti-smuggling department had
coordinated the freezing of the accounts with the Central Bank of Iran (CBI).
“The
turnover of some of these accounts had amounted to 200 trillion rials (over
$645 million) in the past nine months,” said the statement.
It
added that a list of account holders had been submitted to the Iranian
judiciary for prosecution.
The
intelligence ministry said it will continue to constantly monitor suspicious
bank accounts held by people involved in forex trade
Its
statement said that more bank account related to illicit forex trade will be
blocked in the upcoming days.
The
statement comes following a fresh surge in the price of foreign currencies in Iran
which government authorities believe is purely due to speculative trading.
CBI
officials have insisted the rise in prices in recent days have had nothing to
do with the country’s actual state of forex reserves.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
US, Israel to discuss military drills for Iran scenario: US official
09
December ,2021
US
and Israeli defense chiefs are expected on Thursday to discuss possible
military exercises that would prepare for a worst-case scenario to destroy
Iran's nuclear facilities should diplomacy fail and if their nations' leaders
request it, a senior US official told Reuters.
The
scheduled US talks with visiting Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz follow an
Oct. 25 briefing by Pentagon leaders to White House national security adviser
Jake Sullivan on the full set of military options available to ensure that Iran
would not be able to produce a nuclear weapon, the official said on Wednesday,
speaking on condition of anonymity. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons, saying
it wants to master nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
The
US-Israeli preparations, which have not been previously reported, underscore
Western concern about difficult nuclear talks with Iran that President Joe
Biden had hoped would revive a 2015 nuclear deal abandoned by his predecessor
Donald Trump.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
But
US and European officials have voiced dismay after talks last week at sweeping
demands by Iran's new, hardline government, heightening suspicions in the West
that Iran is playing for time while advancing its nuclear program.
The
US official declined to offer details on the potential military exercises.
“We're
in this pickle because Iran's nuclear program is advancing to a point beyond
which it has any conventional rationale,” the official said, while still
voicing hope for discussions.
The
European Union official chairing the talks has said they will resume on Thursday,
and the US special envoy for Iran plans to join them over the weekend.
The
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said last week that Iran had started
the process of enriching uranium to up to 20 percent purity with one cascade,
or cluster, of 166 advanced IR-6 machines at its Fordow plant, which dug into a
mountain, making harder to attack.
The
2015 agreement gave Iran sanctions relief but imposed strict limits on its
uranium enrichment activities, extending the time it would need to produce enough
fissile material for a nuclear weapon, if it chose to, to at least a year from
around two to three months. Most nuclear experts say that period is now
considerably shorter.
Underlining
how badly eroded the deal is, that pact does not allow Iran to enrich uranium
at Fordow at all, let alone with advanced centrifuges.
Compromised
With
the deal's nuclear benefits now badly compromised, some Western officials say
there is little time left before the foundation of the deal is damaged beyond
repair.
Such
drills by the United States and Israel could address calls by Dennis Ross, a
former senior US official and Middle East expert, and others to openly signal
to Tehran that the United States and Israel are still serious about preventing
it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“Biden
needs to disabuse Iran of the notion that Washington will not act militarily
and will stop Israel from doing so,” Ross wrote last month.
Ross
even suggested the United States should perhaps signal a willingness to give
the Israeli's the US military's bunker-busting Massive Ordnance Penetrator, a
30,000-pound bomb.
Asked
about such remarks about deterrence, the senior US official said: “When
President Biden says Iran will never get a nuclear weapon, I mean, he means
it.”
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Erdogan asks Turks to trust new economic model as lira weakens
08
December ,2021
President
Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday Turks should be patient and trust his
government's new economic model, under which he has prioritized economic growth
driven by low interest rates, as the lira fell 2 percent towards record lows.
The
lira's slide has been driven by aggressive monetary easing which economists and
opposition politicians say is reckless. Inflation jumped to a three-year high
of 21.3 percent last month.
Speaking
after a cabinet meeting, Erdogan said price increases in Turkey were being
caused by greed and import prices, adding that he would not allow what he
called the “major crime” of stockpiling in any institution.
“We
are aiming for lasting prosperity, lasting stability. The prices we pay will be
justified by the gains we make,” he said.
The
lira weakened as much as 2.6 percent to 13.8070 against the dollar before
Erdogan spoke. It traded at 13.73 at 1651 GMT. It has lost 46 percent of its
value to the US currency this year, touching an all-time low of 14.0 last week.
Despite
its depleted reserves, the central bank intervened in markets twice last week
over what it called unhealthy prices, keeping the lira below 14 to the dollar.
The
central bank has cut its policy rate by 400 basis points since September, under
pressure from Erdogan, and is expected to ease policy again this month.
Erdogan
said financial market volatility will eventually stop and that price hikes
stemming from rising energy costs will stabilize soon. He called on Turks
owning foreign currency to take advantage of his new economic model's
opportunities.
Earlier,
Turkish media reported Erdogan repeating his commitment to low interest rates
on a flight returning from Doha.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Africa
South
Sudan violence could amount to ‘war crimes’: Amnesty
09
December ,2021
Fighting
between armed groups aligned with government and opposition forces in South
Sudan this year subjected civilians to “unimaginable violence” that could
amount to war crimes, Amnesty International said Thursday.
The
rights watchdog documented fighters on all sides indiscriminately murdering and
mutilating civilians and razing entire villages during an upsurge in fighting
between June and October in the Western Equatoria region.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
clashes around Tambura county split along ethnic lines after politicians
stirred local grievances and encouraged young people to take up arms, Amnesty
said in a new report.
But
the “death, destruction and division” that followed involved not just local
combatants but fighters aligned to rival political factions in Juba, suggesting
wider forces at play.
“The
testimonies we have gathered speak of unimaginable violence, including
civilians killed as they fled and bodies set on fire and mutilated,” said
Amnesty’s regional director, Deprose Muchena.
“That
the attacks not only involved local groups, but also fighters affiliated to
government and opposition forces, indicates this is much more than inter-communal
violence.”
South
Sudan attained independence in 2011 but plunged into a brutal civil war two
years later that killed nearly 400,000 people and forced millions to flee.
A
ceasefire was signed and a new coalition government formed in early 2020 between
the political rivals, who promised to bring their forces under one banner and
rebuild their shattered country.
But
the process has stalled and distrust is deepening between President Salva Kiir
and his deputy, former rebel leader Riek Machar.
Key
provisions of the peace deal have not been honored, and fighters loyal to each
man remain bitterly divided.
Amnesty
said the violence in Western Equatoria could be traced to Machar being
allocated the state under the power-sharing deal, and appointing a governor opposed
by some in the community.
The
bloodshed pitted two ethnic groups against one another, with dozens of
civilians killed in tit-for-tat exchanges and tens of thousands forced to flee.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Libya’s
upper house proposes delaying December presidential elections
09
December ,2021
Libya’s
upper house on Wednesday proposed delaying December presidential elections by
two months, the latest dispute over the vote intended to help end 10 years of
violence.
A
United Nations-led political process targeting December 24 polls has been
undermined by bitter divisions over the legal basis for elections and who
should be allowed to run, with a string of controversial figures stepping forward.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
High Council of State, which is equivalent to a senate, suggested the
presidential vote could take place in February to avoid further threatening the
country’s political transition.
“Pushing
forward with presidential elections without any formal constitutional or legal
rules, amid tension, mistrust among (Libyan) actors and foreign interference,
could destroy the entire political process,” it said in a statement.
Omar
Boshah, first deputy president of the Council, told journalists in Tripoli that
if the vote goes ahead on December 24, “the results will not be accepted.”
The
Council, based in the western city of Tripoli, has been in disagreement over
electoral laws with a rival body, the House of Representatives based in the
eastern city of Tobruk.
In
October the eastern-based body said the legislative ballot had been delayed
from December 24 to January.
But
the United Nations mission in Libya has urged leaders to stick to this month’s
date for both presidential and legislative ballots in order to boost their
credibility.
The
elections come after more than a year of relative peace in the North African
country, following an October 2020 ceasefire between warring eastern and
western camps.
However,
analysts have warned that violence could easily flare again surrounding the
vote.
The
Council suggested parliamentary elections go ahead in February.
It
said the newly elected house’s first task would be to draft a revised constitution
– the first since longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi cancelled the last one in
1969.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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French
foreign minister arrives in Algeria in bid to ‘relaunch relationship’
08
December ,2021
French
Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian arrived in Algeria on Wednesday on his
first visit since Algeria recalled its envoy to Paris in October, Algerian
Ennahar TV reported.
The
former French colony had recalled its envoy to Paris and closed its airspace to
French military planes, citing comments attributed to President Emmanuel Macron
that Algeria’s rulers had rewritten the history of its colonization based on “a
hatred of France.”
Le
Drian is making a “working visit, to evaluate and relaunch the relationship”, a
French foreign ministry source, who asked not to be named, told AFP, adding
that Le Drian had already arrived in the country.
The
source said that during the visit, which was only revealed at the last moment,
Le Drian would hold talks with his counterpart Ramtane Lamamra but also,
crucially, be received by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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South
Sudan's peace deal under serious threat, warns UN
Benjamin
Takpiny
08.12.2021
JUBA,
South Sudan
The
UN on Wednesday warned that the South Sudan peace deal was under serious threat
due to slow progress on its implementation.
Speaking
to reporters in the capital Juba, Nicholas Haysom, the UN chief’s special
representative for South Sudan and head of the UN Mission in South Sudan
(UNMISS), said: “I commend the progress made by the parties since the signing
of the peace agreement, but the pace of implementation remains too slow.”
Urging
the parties to urgently finalize the critical tasks of the 2018 agreement,
Haysom warned: “If this continues, there is a risk that the viability of the
broader agreement will come under threat.”
“Put
simply, a ‘business as usual’ approach cannot continue. The parties must inject
fresh urgency into the process and demonstrate a sustained, and collective
political will to finalize critical areas of the agreement. This includes
transitional security arrangements, legislation promoting financial and
judicial reforms, and constitution-making so that elections can be held.
“This
agreement must be implemented for South Sudanese. It has nothing to do with
foreigners, and it is something that South Sudanese should be concerned about,”
he added.
He
reaffirmed the mission's willingness to support all stakeholders in the process
and help restore peace and stability in the country.
Martin
Elia Lomoro, South Sudan’s cabinet affairs minister, said the delay in
implementation of key components of the 2018 revitalized peace deal, such as
security arrangements, was largely due to insufficient funds.
“The
government has contributed $81 million since the signing of the agreement.
There are things that need money. When they say the agreement is going slow, it
is because we are not able to get the money necessary to train our forces,”
Lomoro told Anadolu Agency.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/south-sudans-peace-deal-under-serious-threat-warns-un/2442364
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Europe
Will
Friday be a day off for Muslims in Russia?
December
9, 2021
Muslims
speak out for establishing a day off on Friday, but such decisions need to be
discussed with the public, Mufti Albir Krganov, chairman of the Spiritual Assembly
of Muslims of Russia (SAMR), told RIA Novosti.
"For
representatives of three main religions - Christians, Muslims, Jews - holidays
fall on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
"For
Jews it is Saturday, for Christians - Sunday is public holidays, and Friday for
Muslims is a working day in Russia.
"We
did not have a request to make Friday a day off, but from time to time in talks
Muslims repeatedly expressed the opinion that, of course, it would be nice ...
But such decisions should be discussed with the general public,” Krganov said.
Source:
ABNA24
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https://en.abna24.com/news//will-friday-be-a-day-off-for-muslims-in-russia_1206686.html
--------
Exhibition
on 'Iran, five thousand years of culture and art' opened in Berlin
December
9, 2021
The
opening ceremony of the exhibition "Iran, Five Thousand Years of Culture
and Art" was held at the Museum of Islamic Arts in Berlin, Germany.
The
director of the Museum of Islamic Arts, the Cultural Attach of the Islamic
Republic of Iran, director of Sarikhani Foundation and director of the
exhibition, delivered speech during the opening ceremony of the exhibition.
The
uniqueness of the works presented in the exhibition, its importance in terms of
history and cultural art and the high level of value of the exhibition were
among the most important topics that the speakers touched upon in their speech.
The
works presented in the exhibition "Iran, Five Thousand Years of Culture
and Art" are a combination of a collection of valuable and unique museum
works from the Sarikhani Gallery in London, which has been transferred to
Berlin, and a number of items from the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.
Holding
an exhibition on Iranian culture and art at such a high and extensive level in
Berlin is unprecedented and is a very big cultural event.
Source:
ABNA24
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Greek
court acquits Turkish minority’s elected religious official
Ahmet
Gencturk
08.12.2021
A
Greek court on Wednesday found an elected mufti of the country’s 150,000-strong
Muslim Turkish minority not guilty of overstepping his authority by carrying
out his duties as a religious official.
Ibrahim
Serif, the elected mufti of Komotini (Gumulcine) in northeastern Greece, had
been charged by Greek authorities in 2018 with usurping authority after he
attended a circumcision ceremony in 2016 and was to stand trial in the northern
city of Thessaloniki on Thursday.
Speaking
to Anadolu Agency, Ercan Ahmet, Serif’s lawyer, said that the prosecutor asked
the court to acquit the mufti, saying there is insufficient evidence to
convict.
Lawyers
from the Istanbul, Turkey-based International Jurists Union and 2nd Istanbul
Bar Association were also present in the court.
In
a statement, they stressed that they are worried that the Turkish Muslim
minority are not able to exercise the rights under various bilateral and
international treaties, including the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne.
“Furthermore,
Greek doesn’t respect decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in
favor of the Turkish Muslim minority,” the statement said, adding that the
European Parliament overlooks this illegal state of affairs.
Pointing
to Turkey’s constructive approach towards Greece, the statement called on Greek
authorities to comply with the treaties and ECHR rulings, and the European
Parliament to monitor minority-related developments in the country.
Greece's
Western Thrace region – in the country’s northeast, near the Turkish border –
is home to a substantial, long-established Muslim Turkish minority numbering
around 150,000.
The
rights of the Turks of Western Thrace were guaranteed under the Treaty of
Lausanne, a pact forged in the aftermath of World War I, but since then the
situation has steadily deteriorated.
After
a Greek junta came to power in 1967, the Turks of Western Thrace started to
face harsher persecution and rights abuses by the Greek state, often in blatant
violation of European court rulings.
The
Turkish minority in Greece continues to face problems exercising its collective
and civil rights and education rights, including Greek authorities banning the
word “Turkish” in the names of organizations, shuttering Turkish schools, and
trying to block the Turkish community from electing its own muftis.
Elected
muftis in Greece
Serif
was elected mufti of Komotini in 1990 by the local Muslim Turkish community.
Ahmet
Mete, the current mufti of Xanthi (Iskece), and his predecessor Mehmet Emin Aga
had been previously convicted by Greek courts for usurping authority.
In
Greece's Western Thrace region, muftis have legal jurisdiction to decide on
family and inheritance matters in the local Turkish Muslim community.
The
issue of mufti elections has been a problem since 1991.
The
election of muftis by Muslims in Greece was regulated in the 1913 Treaty of
Athens with the Ottoman Empire and was later included in Greek law.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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