Chinese Companies Prohibit Pakistani Employees from Namaz
New Age Islam News Bureau
30
Jun 2020
•
Hajj Medic: Here's Why It's A Blessing in Disguise That the Hajj Pilgrimage Has
Been Cancelled
•
Pompeo Calls China Muslim Sterilization Reports 'Shocking' And 'Disturbing'
•
Israel’s Annexation Plan in West Bank ‘Illegal’: UN Rights Chief
•
Tablighi Jamaat Meet: SC Asks MHA To Clarify on Visa Status of Foreign
Attendeesfrom 35 Countries
•
Kremlin Rejects Reports of Russian Bounties to Taliban To Kill US Troops in
Afghanistan
•
Taliban Release Details of Mullah Baradar’s Meeting with Iran’s Special Envoy
---------
Pakistan
•
Chinese Companies Prohibit Pakistani Employees from Namaz
•
Pakistan Reopens Kartarpur Corridor on Ranjit Singh’s Death Anniversary
•
Pakistan-American body hails Joe Biden’s support to Kashmiris’ cause
•
4 separatist gunmen storm stock exchange in Karachi, kill 7 before being shot
dead
•
Drop in Covid-19 patients’ inflow at hospitals
•
Masterminds of Karachi attack to be traced soon: minister
--------
Arab
world
•
Hajj Medic: Here's Why It's A Blessing in Disguise That the Hajj Pilgrimage Has
Been Cancelled
•
Idlib Turns Into ‘Ticking Bomb’ Amid Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham Domination
•
UAE Announces Gradual Reopening of Mosques, Other Places Of Worship From 1st
July
•
‘We turned the page,’ says US ambassador to Lebanon after order to silence her
•
Arab Coalition, US Envoy Brian Hook reveal Iranian weapons used against Saudi
Arabia
•
Millions of Syrians at risk of starvation, warn leading aid groups
•
UN report on Iranian missiles in Yemen used against Saudi: Key takeaways
explained
•
Lebanese seek to fly out of dire economic situation as Beirut airport reopens
•
Saudi Arabia and US push for extension of Iran arms embargo
--------
North
America
•
Pompeo Calls China Muslim Sterilization Reports 'Shocking' And 'Disturbing'
•
For Muslim Americans, A Moment Of 'Deep Reflection' After Floyd
•
Secretary Pompeo to address UN Security Council on Iran arms embargo
•
US and its allies are leading an arms race in Middle East, not Iran: Scholar
•
US: Lifting arms embargo on Iran will trigger regional arms race
•
Violence by far-right is among US’s most dangerous terrorist threats, study
finds
--------
Mideast
•
Israel’s Annexation Plan in West Bank ‘Illegal’: UN Rights Chief
•
Israeli Annexation Plan An ‘Existential Threat’ To Palestinian People: PM
Shtayyeh
•
Israeli defense chief says West Bank annexation 'will wait'
•
‘Day of Rage’ protests against Israeli annexation to hit US, Europe
•
Iran issues arrest warrant for Trump, US officials over top IRGC general’s
assassination
•
Turkish coastguard rescues 35 migrants from half-sunken boat in Aegean Sea
•
Turkish soldier dies in clashes with Kurdish PKK rebels in northern Iraq
•
US in no position to undermine nuclear deal’s achievements: Iran
•
Iran’s arms shipments to Houthis fuel war in Yemen, experts say
--------
India
•
Tablighi Jamaat Meet: SC Asks MHA To Clarify on Visa Status of Foreign
Attendeesfrom 35 Countries
•
Delhi High Courts Seeks Reply on Islamic Sect Members' Request for
Accommodation
•
Syed Ali Shah Geelani quits Hurriyat, passes separatist baton to Pak-based
successor
•
Mosque Assets Illegally Diverted to Manjeshwar MLAAnd IUML Leader M C
Kamaruddin's Gold Business: CPM
•
Top Hizbul commander, Lashkar duo killed in Anantnag encounter
•
India slams Pakistan foreign minister's 'absurd' remarks on Karachi terror
attack
•
Pakistan violates ceasefire along LoC in Naugam sector of Jammu and Kashmir
•
2 terrorists responsible for killing CRPF trooper, 5-yr-old shot dead in J-K
encounter
--------
Europe
•
Kremlin Rejects Reports of Russian Bounties to Taliban To Kill US Troops in
Afghanistan
•
Macron slams Turkey’s ‘criminal responsibility’ in Libya
•
'France isolated after Haftar's defeat in Libya'
•
Intel: Congress pushes European Union to fully designate Hezbollah as terrorist
group
•
ISIS Militant Lands in UK Jail for Inciting Violence in Germany
•
Belgium strips Islamic State returnee of Belgian nationality
--------
South
Asia
•
Taliban Release Details of Mullah Baradar’s Meeting with Iran’s Special Envoy
•
23 Civilians, Kids Included, Die In Rain Of Rockets On Afghan Market
•
Bangladesh boat crash kills at least 32, as ferry sinks in 20 seconds
•
Taliban militants suffer heavy casualties in Jawzjan province
--------
Southeast
Asia
•
Factory Supervisor Fined RM6,000 For Insulting Islam, By The Sessions Court In
Kuala Lumpur
•
Freeze Temple Demolitions in Kedah Pending New Policy, Says Former Exco
•
‘New beginning’ as 500 Muslim Bumiputeras join Kitingan’s party
•
MCO: All theme parks in Malaysia allowed to operate July 1, says Ismail Sabri
--------
Africa
•
Sudan Detains 122 Fighters, Including Eight Children, Headed For Libya
•
Over 90 migrants, including woman who gave birth on dinghy, returned to Libya:
IOM
•
Ethiopia’s grand mufti commends Hajj decision
•
Boko Haram militants killed in Nigerian military airstrikes in northeast region
•
Chad denies claims 44 Boko Haram suspects suffocated to death
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
--------
Chinese
companies prohibit Pakistani employees from namaz
30 Jun 2020
Representational
Image
----
Islamabad
[Pakistan], June 29 (ANI): Some Chinese companies operating in Pakistan do not
seem to allow time to Pakistani employees to offer namaz, one of the five basic
tenets of Islam.
In
a video that surfaced on social media on June 26, a Muslim cleric, while
delivering a sermon, is urging Pakistanis to be firm and tell the Chinese that
in Pakistan "they'll have to follow local laws and the country does not
belong to them.""We cannot ignore namaz. People are afraid that they
will lose their jobs. But it has now become a matter of self respect for
us," the cleric is saying in what appears to be a sermon.
China
is known to be an all-weather ally; a 'dearest friend' of Pakistan, from
playing a central role in Asia's geopolitics to being the greatest economic
hope and the most trusted military partner. But Beijing's continued and
aggressive repression of homegrown Chinese Muslims, especially the Uighur
ethnic minorities in its northwestern Xinjiang province, may soon enable the
mainland to losen its grasp on Pakistani public opinion. And amid such
condition Beijing will obviously find Pakistan a difficult ally to work with.
In
a misguided attempt to thwart a terrorism problem that China primarily
associates with the country's Muslim Uighur population, the city of Karamay in
Xinjiang banned "men with beards and women with Muslim headscarves"
from using public transportation. Additionally, the declaration bans people
sporting the Islamic star and crescent from using public transport as well.
China's
discrimination against Muslims is growing. The domestic consequences of its
policies is controversial. However, according to media reports, Beijing, in
2014, publicly spoke with leaders from both Afghanistan and Pakistan about
concerns over the uighurs staging attacks against the Chinese populations.
While the governments in Kabul and Islamabad expressed interest in complying
with the Communist Party's request to better monitor their northern borders,
China still faces the prospect of alienating the Pakistani and Afghan public
with its policies of religious intolerance. (ANI)
https://www.malaysiasun.com/news/265612921/chinese-companies-prohibit-pakistani-employees-from-namaz
--------
Hajj
Medic: Here's Why It's A Blessing In Disguise That The Hajj Pilgrimage Has Been
Cancelled
June 30, 2020
After
almost a decade participating in camps for 50,000 to 60,000 pilgrims during the
busiest times, it pains me to say this year’s downscaling is the right decision
----
This
year’s announcement that Hajj will be limited to only those living in the
region has brought mixed emotions. Hajj is a wonderful spiritual experience for
so many practising Muslims – a pilgrimage to Mecca attended annually by 2.5
million people with religious activities lasting a week. Denying so many people
this unique opportunity is heart-breaking. But as a frontline NHS doctor and
regular Hajj medic, not only have I seen the devastation Covid-19 has brought,
I can see how a Hajj outbreak could be catastrophic.
Despite
having been blessed with the opportunity to attend regularly, I still eagerly
look forward to returning the following year. The Hajj is always an uplifting
spiritual experience, meeting fellow pilgrims from around the world, dressing
in white robes of humility and performing the same rituals in a grand
demonstration of unity. But therein lies the problem: with attendees from all
corners of the world in attendance, side by side and breathing the same air in
tightly confined places, a single pilgrim carrying Covid-19 would be a recipe
for disaster.
Moreover,
whilst exhilarating and uplifting, Hajj is also challenging. The exhausting
schedule, sleep deprivation and close proximity of so many pilgrims from around
the world provides the perfect storm to transmit viral infections. The “Hajj
cough” – a lingering dry upper respiratory tract infection born out of the
spread of multiple viruses from different locations around the world, is a real
phenomenon – if not a rite of passage for pilgrims! I often need to prescribe a
few doses of strong antibiotics and strict bed rest, and even these are not
enough sometimes, with some patients needing hospitalisation, ventilation and
monitoring.
For
medics like myself, Hajj is busy at the best of times and whilst the Saudis
have made extraordinary efforts to support the influx of pilgrims, it is still
incredibly challenging. Waiting for ambulances to arrive is often futile, and
on more than one occasion I have had to navigate crowds of tens of thousands to
take a critically ill person to nearby emergency facilities. These facilities
are often overwhelmed too; many groups don’t have medical support, and rely
heavily on the local services to assist elderly or chronically unwell pilgrims
who fall ill. Of course, outside of the Holy Precincts, Hajj is also a huge
social affair, an opportunity to meet and spend time with brothers and sisters
in faith from across the world. Introducing Covid-19 to this scenario doesn’t
bear thinking about.
That’s
why, after almost a decade as a volunteer doctor looking after groups of 150
and participating in camps for 50,000 to 60,000 pilgrims during the busiest
times, it pains me to say this year’s downscaling is the right decision.
For
the 2.5 million attendees, the pilgrimage is more than an obligation, it is an
intensely emotional, uplifting and transformative experience, representing the
spiritual pinnacle of their faith. Many will sadly miss out on that this year,
but with Saudi Arabia currently suffering from one of the largest coronavirus
outbreaks in the Middle East, with 161,000 declared infections and more than
1,300 deaths, tempting a potential global spread by opening its doors is
unthinkable.
Limiting
the Hajj makes sense for a whole host of logistical reasons too. Organisational
efforts are mammoth – add to that measures to protect against Covid-19 and you
can see how difficult a 2020 Hajj would be. With almost all nationalities in
attendance, the chance of Hajj becoming the epicentre for a global Covid-19
outbreak would be huge; a kick in the teeth to the stringent measures being
taken by countries to prevent outbreaks, and a potential public relations disaster.
On
balance, the downscaling of Hajj appears to be an acceptable solution for all
parties concerned. And in the end, the wisdom of Prophet Mohammed has given
solace to many Muslims, with his advice remembered and shared widely at this
time: “If you hear of an outbreak of plague in a land, do not enter it; but if
the plague breaks out in a place while you are in it, do not leave that place.”
Whilst listening to Prophet Mohammed’s call to the Hajj 1400 years ago is a
priority, at this time his advice on health and safety is just as important.
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/hajj-cancelled-saudi-arabia-mecca-pilgrimage-coronavirus-outbreak-a9591031.html
--------
Pompeo
calls China Muslim sterilization reports 'shocking' and 'disturbing'
JUNE 30, 2020
A
Uighur woman beside a propaganda painting outside a military hospital near
Kashgar in China's Xinjiang region, where China is accused of using coercive
family planning to reduce the Muslim population [File: Greg Baker/AFP]
-----
WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday labeled as “shocking”
and “disturbing” reports that China’s ruling Communist Party is using forced
sterilization, forced abortion and coercive family planning against minority
Muslims.
Pompeo
highlighted a report about the situation in China’s Xinjiang region by German
researcher Adrian Zenz published by the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation
think tank.
Pompeo,
a persistent critic of China, including its treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang,
said in a statement the findings were consistent with decades of Chinese
Communist Party practices “that demonstrate an utter disregard for the sanctity
of human life and basic human dignity.”
“We
call on the Chinese Communist Party to immediately end these horrific practices
and ask all nations to join the United States in demanding an end to these
dehumanizing abuses.”
In
his report, Zenz said his findings represented the strongest evidence yet that
Beijing’s policies in Xinjiang met one of the genocide criteria cited in the
U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,
namely “imposing measures intended to prevent births within the [targeted]
group.”
Zenz
said analysis of Chinese government documents showed natural population growth
in Xinjiang had fallen “dramatically.” He said that in its two largest Uighur
Muslim prefectures, growth rates fell by 84% between 2015 and 2018 and further
in 2019.
The
Chinese Embassy in Washington referred to a statement by Foreign Ministry spokesman
Zhao Lijian, saying that “some institutions are bent on cooking up
disinformation on Xinjiang-related issues. ... Their allegations are simply
groundless and false.”
Documents
from 2019 revealed plans for a campaign of mass female sterilization targeting
14% and 34% of all married women of childbearing age in two Uighur counties,
Zenz wrote. The campaign, he said, likely aimed to sterilize rural minority
women with three or more children, as well as some with two children -
equivalent to at least 20% of all women of childbearing age.
“Budget
figures indicate that this project had sufficient funding for performing
hundreds of thousands of tubal ligation sterilization procedures in 2019 and
2020,” he wrote.
Zenz
said that by 2019, Xinjiang planned to subject at least 80% of women of
childbearing age in its four southern minority prefectures to intrusive birth
prevention surgeries - placement of intrauterine devices or sterilizations.
He
said that in 2018, 80% of all new IUD placements in China were performed in
Xinjiang, while only 1.8% of the population live there.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-china-xinjiang/pompeo-calls-china-muslim-sterilization-reports-shocking-and-disturbing-idUKKBN24030P
--------
Israel’s
annexation plan in West Bank ‘illegal’: UN rights chief
29
June 2020
Israel’s
aim to annex parts of the occupied West Bank was clearly “illegal”, the UN’s
human rights chief said on Monday, warning that the consequences could be
“disastrous”.
“Annexation
is illegal. Period,” Michelle Bachelet said in a statement, adding that “the
shockwaves of annexation will last for decades, and will be extremely damaging
to Israel, as well as to the Palestinians”.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/06/29/Israel-s-annexation-plan-in-West-Bank-illegal-UN-rights-chief.html
--------
Tablighi
Jamaat Meet: SC Asks MHA To Clarify on Visa Status of Foreign Attendees from 35
Countries
BY
RASIA HASHMI
JUNE
29, 2020
New
Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday asked Ministry of Home Affairs to clarify
its stand about the status of visa of around 2,500 citizens from 35 countries,
who were blacklisted for ten years for their alleged involvement in Tablighi
Jamaat activities.
The
top court asked the Centre to place on record whether individual notices were
issued with regard to cancellation of visas of the foreign nationals.
A
bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna, which
took up a batch of pleas filed by foreign nationals against their blacklisting
for hearing through video conferencing, posted the matter for further hearing
on July 2.
If
the visas of the foreigners who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat meet in Delhi
in mid-March were cancelled, why were they still in India? “You deport them,”
the top court said.
The
bench noted that the MHA notification said that the decision has to be taken on
case to case basis by the state authorities. The bench said if visas have been
cancelled, then it needs an explanation as to “why they (foreigners) are still
here in India. And if visas have not been cancelled, it is a different
situation.” The bench said let the Centre issue a statement on this matter.
Nair,
who initially appeared for the Centre said that the copies of these petitions
has not been served upon them, therefore they need time to file reply.
Senior
advocate C U Singh, appearing for the petitioners said that they have served
the copy of the petition upon advocate on record and added that blacklisting
note was a general order for over 900 persons.
The
bench said that the notification of Ministry of Home Affairs says the decision
has to be taken on case to case basis by the authorities and it needs to be
found out whether any such orders were passed.
Singh
said that there should not be any violation of visa norms, now their native
countries want them back and embassies are asking about them.
The
bench said then let the Union of India make a statement on the status of their
visa and told Mehta to find out whether any individual orders were passed for
cancellation of visa of these foreign nationals.
At
the outset, the bench asked Singh as when was the order for cancellation of
visa was served upon them, to which he replied that it was a general order and
no individual notices were given to them.
The
bench said its understanding is that in each case separate order needs to be
passed for cancelling the visa.
However,
what is before the court is a press release and no specific order, it said.
Singh
contended that as far as blacklisting or visa cancellation is concerned there
was no individual order was served on any person and even during the hearing of
bail applications before the High Courts, no such orders were placed on record.
On
June 26, the top court had asked advocates appearing for petitioners to serve
the copy to Centre’s counsel.
Four
petitions have been filed by 34 individuals, including a Thai national who is
seven months pregnant, challenging the Centre’s orders of April 2 and June 4 by
which over 2,500 foreign nationals, who are currently in India, were
blacklisted.
The
impugned decision, by its very unilateral nature, infringes the principle of
natural justice, particularly audi alteram partem’ by blacklisting the said
foreigners present in India without first granting an opportunity of being
heard or notice of any form, and resultantly depriving the aggrieved foreign
nationals of their right of locomotion and travelling back to the country of
their citizenship, said the plea filed by the Thai woman.
One
of the petitioners named Fareedah Cheema, a Thai national in the seventh month
of her pregnancy, said she was quarantined in March, like other foreign
nationals but was released from quarantine only in late May and is still at a
facility under restricted movements, without the avenue to go back to her home
nation and experience the birth of her child with security and dignity, with
her loved ones.
The
petitions, filed through advocate Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi and drafted by advocates
Ibad Mushtaq and Ashima Mandla, have contended that the en-masse blacklisting
of foreigners without any opportunity to defend themselves is a blatant
violation of Article 21 (protection of life and personal liberty) of the
Constitution.
They
said the sudden blacklisting, apart from registration of FIRs, led to the
forfeiture of their passports by state authorities, thereby resulting in a
complete deprivation of their personal liberty sans procedure established by
law.
The
impugned decision, therefore, has been passed arbitrarily against the aggrieved
foreign nationals, being devoid of any documentary proof or evidence to
substantiate the allegations of alleged Tablighi activities, and in the absence
of any opportunity being afforded to defend or to explain, is an affront to not
only the right to life and personal liberty, guaranteed under Article 21 but
also to the rudimental principles of natural justice, the Thai woman’s plea
said.
In
barely 50 words, the impugned decision as reflected in the press release dated
April 2, 2020 has arbitrarily first forfeited the personal liberty of more than
960 foreign nationals, belonging to 35 countries, presently in India, having
entered on valid tourist visas, by merely alleging their involvement in
Tablighi Jamaat Activities’ despite the guidelines of the Respondent No.1 (MHA)
placing no bar on attending religious congregations or visiting religious
places, it said.
The
Respondent No.1 (MHA) baselessly and arbitrarily passed a blanket ban on the
aggrieved foreign nationals under the garb of alleged visa violations pursuant
to alleged Tablighi activities, forcing such persons to remain in India under
restricted movements, it said.
It
has sought direction to MHA and Ministry of External Affairs to remove the said
foreigners from the blacklist and reinstate their visas and facilitate their
return to their countries.
The
petitions sought to declare the decision of the MHA of blacklisting the foreign
nationals who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation as “arbitrary”.
“All
human beings are born with some unalienable rights like life, liberty and
pursuit of happiness. The importance of these natural rights can be found in
the fact that these are fundamental for their proper existence, and no other
right can be enjoyed without the presence of the right to life and liberty.
Life bereft of liberty would be without honour and dignity and it would lose
all significance and meaning and the life itself would not be worth living,”
read the plea.
“Unilateral
blacklisting of 960 foreigners by the Home Ministry vide press release dated
April 2, 2020, and the subsequent blacklisting of around 2500 foreigners as
reported on June 4, 2020, is in violation of Article 21. Therefore, it is void
and unconstitutional as the petitioners have neither been provided any hearing
nor notice or intimation in this regard,” the plea said.
These
foreign nationals presently in India were blacklisted for a period of 10 years
from traveling to India for their alleged involvement in Tablighi Jamaat
activities.
The
Home Ministry had said that foreign Tablighi Jamaat members, who were staying
in India in violation of visa rules during the nationwide lockdown implemented
to combat the COVID-19 spread, have been blacklisted.
A
large congregation organised by Tablighi Jamaat in the national capital in
March had emerged as a major COVID-19 hotspot in the country.
The
government had said the decision of banning the foreign Tablighi Jamaat members
was taken after details of foreigners found illegally living in mosques and
religious places emerged from various states across the country.
https://www.siasat.com/tablighi-meet-sc-asks-mha-clarify-visa-status-foreign-attendees-1916075/
--------
Kremlin
rejects reports of Russian bounties to Taliban to kill US troops in Afghanistan
29
June 2020
Russia
has dismissed as “lies” media reports alleging that a Russian military
intelligence unit attempted to pay bounties to members of the Taliban militant
group to kill American troops in Afghanistan.
In
a controversial report on Friday, the New York Times, citing an unnamed source,
claimed that a top-secret unit within the Russian military intelligence, or the
GRU, had allegedly offered monetary rewards to Taliban-linked militants to kill
US troopers in the country last year.
The
bombshell report, which was soon “confirmed” by some other newspapers,
including the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, further claimed that
US intelligence officials had also reached the conclusion about the clandestine
payments and then briefed President Donald Trump in March.
However,
Trump on Sunday tweeted that “nobody” had ever briefed him about such a report
by the “Fake News” NYT, calling on the daily to name the anonymous source for
its story, “which ‘Everybody is denying it.’”
Later
in the day, he added in a separate Tweet that “Intel just reported to me that
they did not find this info credible, and therefore did not report it to me or
@VP.”
On
Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov lambasted the Times story as a bunch of
“lies,” stressing that media outlets should take heed of Trump’s comments and
also said that the American President and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir
Putin, had never discussed the allegations.
Furthermore,
Russia’s top Afghanistan diplomat denounced the Times story as “fake news,”
whose aim is to target the Trump administration and his attempts to pull
American troops out of Afghanistan.
“It
is clear that there are forces in the US which don’t want to withdraw from
Afghanistan, want a justification for their own failures. This is what it’s all
about,” Zamir Kabulov said in an interview with RT.
“We
really shouldn’t waste time commenting on the obvious lie,” he added.
The
Taliban likewise has denied having had any deal with the Russian intelligence
service.
In
2019, 20 US soldiers were killed in Afghanistan but ever since Washington and
the Taliban reached an agreement in February, there have been no reported
attacks by the militant group on the US positions.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/06/29/628509/Russia-report-Afghanistan-US-troops
--------
Taliban
release details of Mullah Baradar’s meeting with Iran’s special envoy
30
Jun 2020
The
Taliban group released the details of the meeting between Mullah Abdul Ghani
Baradar and Mohammad Ibrahim Tahiryan, the special envoy of the government of
Iran for Afghanistan.
Suhai
Shaheen, a spokesperson for the political office of Taliban in Qatar, said
Mullah Baradar met with Tahiryan in Qatari capital of Doha on Monday.
According
to Shaheen, the two sides held talks on issues of the Afghan refugees in Iran,
border issues and the intra-Afghan talks.
Mullah
Baradar urged Tahiryan that the authorities in Iran must deal with the Afghan
refugees in accordance with the Islamic brotherhood principles, Shaheen added.
In
regards to intra-Afghan talks, Mullah Baradar said the Taliban group is
committed to all materials of the peace agreement, emphasizing that the group
would start intra-Afghan talks once all Taliban prisoners are released,
according to Shaheen.
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-release-details-of-mullah-baradars-meeting-with-irans-special-envoy-08930/
--------
Pakistan
Pakistan
reopens Kartarpur corridor on Ranjit Singh’s death anniversary
June
30, 2020
LAHORE:
The government on Monday reopened the Kartarpur Corridor after three-and-a-half
months to commemorate the death anniversary of Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
According
to Sardar Gobind Singh, Head Granthi Darbar, Kartarpur, the death anniversary
rituals of Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Darbar Baba Guru Nanak Kartarpur will
begin at 12:30pm.
However,
due to the lockdown, the entry to Kartarpur Gurdwara has been closed.
Gobind
Singh said that the entire Sikh nation is immensely happy with the reopening of
corridor after nearly four months.
He
said that Sikh pilgrims from all over the world, including Pakistan, would
participate in prayer ceremony on the occasion while the Indian government
should also allow Sikh pilgrims to visit Kartarpur corridor.
Prime
Minister Imran Khan had inaugurated the Kartarpur Corridor on November 9 last
year but the corridor was closed after the outbreak of the Covid-19.
On
the other hand, Pakistan had announced to open Kartarpur corridor on June 29
and India was also informed about the development but New Delhi had refused to
open the corridor for its pilgrims.
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/06/29/pakistan-reopens-kartarpur-corridor-on-ranjit-singhs-death-anniversary/
--------
Pakistan-American
body hails Joe Biden’s support to Kashmiris’ cause
JUNE
30, 2020
A
prominent Pakistani-American organization Sunday welcomed Democratic
presidential nominee Joe Biden’s call for restoration of the rights of people
in Indian occupied Kashmir as well as those of Muslims and other minorities in
India, with the hope that, as US president, he would take immediate practical
steps to uphold their respective causes.
Biden,
a former US vice president, drew attention to the Kashmir issue and the plight
of Indian Muslims in a policy paper, entitled: “Joe Biden’s agenda for Muslim
American community’ which his campaign unveiled on Friday. He also expressed
disappointment over the Prime Minister’s Narendra Modi’s other controversial
measures, including Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of
Citizens in Assam, that discriminate against Muslims. “We warmly welcome Mr.
Biden’s policy declaration in support of people in occupied Kashmir and Muslims
in India”, Dr. Ijaz Ahmed, chairman of the American-Pakistani Public Affairs
Committee (APPAC), issued here.
The
APPPAC chairman said Biden’s pronouncements reflected his determination to
promote peace, justice and equality in the world and that the US Democratic
leader would have their full support. By highlighting the human rights
violations in Indian occupied Kashmir and the discriminatory policies against
Muslims and other minorities in India, he said that Biden had fully exposed the
really nature of ‘democracy’ in that country.
Last
week, Biden held a virtual meeting with Dr. Ijaz Ahmed and several members of
the Pakistani-American community during which he sought their support for his
White House bid.
Full
report at:
https://dailytimes.com.pk/633881/pakistan-american-body-hails-joe-bidens-support-to-kashmiris-cause/
--------
4
separatist gunmen storm stock exchange in Karachi, kill 7 before being shot
dead
Jun
29, 2020
ISLAMABAD:
Four heavily armed separatist gunmen stormed the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX)
in the southern port city of Karachi on Monday, killing four people and
wounding several others before being shot dead by security officials.
According
to the police, one sub-inspector and three security guards were killed in the
attack.
PTI
put the toll at 11 dead — 4 terrorists, one police SI, four security guards and
two civilians.
The
Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), an ethnic Baloch insurgent group in southwestern
Balochistan province, claimed responsibility for the attack in social media
posts. "Majeed Brigade of Baloch Liberation Army has carried out a
self-sacrificing attack on Karachi stock exchange today," the group
claimed.
According
to the police, four gunmen, armed with assault rifles, hand grenades and
explosives, drove up to the gate in front of the PSX. Two of them managed to
enter the parking area before all of them were gunned down in a firefight with
security forces.
"The
gunmen hurled grenades at the main gate to the building and opened
indiscriminate fire but they failed to enter the building," the police
said, adding that the staff inside locked themselves into rooms and many were
evacuated.
"The
attackers came in a silver Toyota Corolla and were stopped by the police at the
gate outside where the exchange of fire took place," said Ghulam Nabi
Memon, additional IG, Sindh police.
Witnesses
working inside the PSX building said they heard heavy gunfire and explosions
when the attackers entered the complex. "We were all terrified," said
Abid Habib, PSX’s director "There was gunfire and suddenly everyone was
rushing to the windows to see what was happening. As the firing was close by,
everyone was scared and we closed our outside doors," Habib said.
Video
footage of the attack showed four assailants getting out of a car and taking up
positions at a security barrier to the building, firing at security guards.
PSX
Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest stock exchange, has offices for hundreds of
financial institutions and is situated in the city’s high security zone along
with the head offices of banks and other businesses.
Several
thousand people work at PSX on a normal day but numbers were low because many
were working from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Balochistan,
a resource-rich region, has seen a decades-long rebellion by the Baloch ethnic
minority for independence.
Efforts
by the Pakistani security forces to put down the insurgency have led to
disappearances and widespread accusations of abuses.
In
recent years, the group has targeted Chinese interests in Balochistan, a centre
for huge development projects that are part of China’s Belt and Road
Initiative. Separatist militants in Balochistan oppose Chinese investment,
saying it is of little benefit to local people.
Omer
Ahmed Bukhari, director-general of the Sindh Rangers, a paramilitary force,
said the terrorists had planned to take hostages in the building. All the
attackers were equipped with AK-47s, hand grenades, food and water supplies,
suggesting that they had prepared for a long standoff," he said.
Pakistani
officials have long accused India of supporting Baloch separatists and the
accusation was levelled yet again after the attack on the PSX. Bukhari claimed
the possibility of the involvement of foreign agencies, especially India’s
Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), cannot be ruled out. "Such attacks are
not ‘stand-alone incidents’ and cannot take place without the aid of outside
intelligence agencies," he told media.
"Straightaway,
I can assure you that this terrorist incident cannot have taken place without
the help of an outside agency. And among them, RAW’s frustration is apparent to
all of you," he said.
Full
report at:
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/4-separatist-gunmen-storm-stock-exchange-in-karachi-kill-7-before-being-shot-dead/articleshow/76697740.cms
--------
Drop
in Covid-19 patients’ inflow at hospitals
Ikram
Junaidi
June
30, 2020
ISLAMABAD:
Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar
has said that all the circumstantial evidence indicates a drop in patients’
inflow at hospitals despite the recent increase in the number of Covid-19 tests
across the country.
But
the positive development has enhanced the worries of the decision makers, as
they feared that people might stop taking precautionary measures against the
highly contagious virus with the slight improvement in the situation.
While
talking to Dawn, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives
Asad Umar said the number of daily tests, which had dropped to around 20,000
[during last week], was again increased to around 25,000 across the country.
“However,
the inflow of the patients has decreased. Though the Sindh has not given us
proper feedback, the feedback given by Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
and Islamabad shows that the inflow of the patients has reduced,” he said.
“There
are four different parameters through which it can be identified that if the
spread of the virus has been reduced. In other words, the system exhibits its
situation through number of daily positive cases, number of admitted patients,
number of patients on ventilators and number of deaths. All four parameters
have been showing positive signs as numbers are decreasing,” he said.
The
minister said the anecdotal evidences were also showing that number of
coronavirus cases had been on the decline.
“I
have talked to health minister of Punjab Yasmin Rashid and she also told me
that the inflow of patients, at hospitals, has reduced. On Monday, during the
meeting of the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) Dr Faisal Sultan
[Focal Person to PM on Covid-19] said he used to see crowds at the mobile
testing van which remains outside his house. However, for the last few days
people hardly came there to get themselves tested for the deadly virus,” he
said.
While
replying to a question, the minister said he was very happy over the situation
but at the same he was also worried that people might stop following the SOPs
due to the decrease in cases. “Every person should strictly adopt precautionary
measures, because otherwise there will be another spike of cases in coming
days,” the minister said.
Over
the past 24 hours, the country reported 2,711 coronavirus cases and 100 more
deaths, taking the national tally of new cases to 208,358 and death toll to
4,254.
Media
coordinator of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), Islamabad, Dr
Waseem Khwaja said 75pc beds, dedicated for Covid-19 patients, were vacant at
Pims. “There are 212 oxygenated beds and 25 ventilators in the hospital, but
only 56 Covid-19 patients are admitted (on Sunday) of which 10 are on the
ventilators,” he said.
Full
report at:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1566059/drop-in-covid-19-patients-inflow-at-hospitals
--------
Masterminds
of Karachi attack to be traced soon: minister
Kalbe
Ali
June
30, 2020
ISLAMABAD:
Interior Minister retired Brig Ejaz Shah on Monday said that the masterminds of
the terrorist attack on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) would be traced soon.
He
said in a statement that the terrorists could not enter the PSX building as
Sindh Rangers, Sindh police and PSX’s security guards conducted a successful
operation against them.
“The
law enforcement and intelligence agencies will destroy the bases of these
terrorists as they have done it in the past,” Mr Shah added.
The
minister said an inquiry had been launched on the incident.
SECP
asks PSX management to abide by advisories of intelligence agencies
Meanwhile,
PSX chairman Suleman Mehdi told Dawn that the terrorist attack had been foiled
only due to the tips received in the past from the intelligence agencies.
There
was a meeting with the security officials in November last year, he added.
“The
style and modus operandi of the terrorists were very similar to the attack on
the Chinese consulate in Karachi in November 2018 and we have been informed by
the intelligence personnel that the same group was involved in the attack on
the stock exchange,” Mr Mehdi said.
Incidentally,
the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) had written to the
PSX management on May 5 that there were reports that the terrorists could
strike economically sensitive installations, mainly in Karachi.
Then
the PSX management held several meetings with the quarters concerned and it was
asserted that the outlawed groups, along with proscribed sectarian
organisations, could target the stock exchange.
The
SECP has directed the management of the stock exchange and other entities to
abide by the advisories of intelligence agencies.
The
PSX had ensured extraordinary security arrangements which included deployment
of Sindh police personnel, Pakistan Rangers armored personnel carriers and
snipers of elite force.
In
addition, full-dress rehearsals were conducted by Pakistan Rangers in
collaboration with the anti-terrorist team of Sindh Rangers.
The
PSX also raised the height of the stock exchange’s boundary wall with
installation of concertina razor security wires, constructed firing posts,
installed modern technology X-ray scanning machines, electronic walkthrough
gates and additional CCTV cameras.
“The
PSX has a good quality SOPs in terms of security developed with the help of
Rangers and police,” Mr Mehdi said.
The
PSX management held online meetings in the afternoon with the senior stock
brokers, the SECP and security officials.
The
SECP said that while the horrific incident was going on, the stock market
remained operational and trading continued uninterruptedly, which demonstrated
the confidence of investors on the foolproof security system of the PSX.
SECP
chairman Amir Khan talked to the chairman and managing director of the PSX and
agreed to ensure continuity of trading that was essential to retain the
confidence of investors.
Full
report at:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1566072/masterminds-of-karachi-attack-to-be-traced-soon-minister
--------
Arab
world
Idlib
turns into ‘ticking bomb’ amid Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham domination
June
30, 2020
ANKARA:
The deployment of a Turkish convoy with 15 armored cars and trucks laden with
logistical materials to Syria’s last major rebel bastion Idlib is causing
concern about an incoming military offensive.
The
convoy reportedly entered Syrian territories from the Kafr Losin border
crossing and is aimed at supplying Turkish observation posts.
Hayat
Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), which is still the dominant rebel group in Idlib,
recently reinforced its military footprint in the region by increasing its
pressure on radical jihadis.
But
HTS has opted for a pragmatic approach toward Ankara after allowing the
circulation of Turkish lira as an alternative to the devalued Syrian currency,
even though Syria lists the group as a terrorist organization.
It
was the Shura Council, linked to the HTS-backed Salvation Government in Idlib,
that decided to replace the Syrian pound with the Turkish lira after convening
a meeting in early June.
HTS
has been criticized by its rivals for siding with Turkey after it was allegedly
instructed by Ankara to prevent local attempts to block the strategic M4
highway, where Turkish and Russian soldiers conduct regular patrols.
HTS
ended its infighting with a challenger group led by Huras Al-Din in Idlib
through a cease-fire after the death of 30 militants. But it still continues a
wide-ranging crackdown on alternatives to its regional domination as well as on
defectors within its ranks. It has arrested some of its senior members, such as
Abu Malek Al-Tali and Abu Salah Al-Uzbeki, over charges of insurrection and
defection.
Aydin
Sezer, an expert on Turkish-Russia relations, said that the ongoing situation
in Idlib was like a ticking bomb.
“Anything
can happen at any time, including a provocation which would mobilize the Syrian
regime’s army or the Turkish armed forces,” he told Arab News.
Under
the Astana, Sochi and March 5 Moscow deal with Russia, Turkey committed to eliminate
all terrorist groups in the region including HTS.
“In
the latest deal in March, Moscow reportedly gave a deadline to Ankara to
eradicate them in six months,” Sezer added. “We already reached the fourth
month of this period. I personally think that Russia prevented President Bashar
Assad’s regime from taking any offensive against Turkish troops in this time
frame.”
According
to Sezer, the recent attacks by HTS and related groups toward Russian bases
were some attempts of provocation against the Kremlin.
But,
for the time being, the priority of Ankara is to prevent any refugee exodus
from Idlib toward its borders and to avoid the anger of any Al-Qaeda-inspired
group toward Turkey.
Interior
Minister Suleyman Soylu, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife
Emine Erdogan recently donated dozens of briquette houses to displaced Syrians
seeking shelter at camps close to Turkish borders, with the aim of keeping them
within Syrian territory in the event of a possible violation of a cease-fire in
the region.
Orwa
Ajjoub, an affiliated researcher at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at
Lund University, said that HTS had managed to develop a sort of interdependent
relationship with Ankara.
“In
January 2019 for example, in return for Turkey’s silence regarding the HTS
offensive against the National Front of Liberation supported by Turkey, HTS
leader Abu Muhammad Al-Jolani expressed his support for the potential Turkish
operation in northeast Syria to uproot the PKK (the Kurdistan Workers Party),”
he told Arab News.
Ajjoub
said that the power dynamics shifted after the Turkish military intervention in
May, without which the Syrian regime would have probably advanced to Idlib,
while the latest developments, with the introduction of the Turkish lira, had
already started to corner HTS with an increased dependency on Turkey.
“This
should not suggest, however, that Turkey’s need for HTS is over. As the most
potent group in Idlib, HTS provides security, stability and governance in
Idlib. It, furthermore, can achieve Turkey’s commitment to Sochi and Astana by
eliminating radical jihadi groups.”
But
Navar Saban, a military analyst from the Istanbul-based Omran Center for
Strategic Studies, said that if Turkey conducted any operation against HTS
right now it would need to offer a “Plan B” for the administration and security
services in Idlib that were currently being provided by HTS.
“Turks
are not in a position to provide these kinds of services to the province,” he
told Arab News. “It is the main reason that Turkey doesn’t conduct a
large-scale operation against HTS. They keep a monitoring eye on them because,
although HTS is not a well-accepted group, it keeps many governance
responsibilities under its control.”
Experts
were skeptical about Russia’s potential reaction to Turkey’s military presence
in Idlib and the interdependent regional dynamics.
“For
Russia, the Turkish military reinforcements in the north cannot be seen but
with a suspicious eye,” said Ajjoub. “Nevertheless, I do not think that Ankara
will break the March 5 deal, which came after the killing of more than 40
Turkish soldiers.”
Ajjoub
said that the recent Turkish presence was meant to provide it with a better
position for the coming rounds of talks.
“We
should not forget also that Russia and Turkey have another open battlefront,
which is Libya. What happens in Syria can be felt in Libya and vice-versa.”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1697496/middle-east
--------
UAE
announces gradual reopening of mosques, other places of worship from 1st July
29-06-2020
ABU
DHABI, 29th June, 2020 (WAM) – The UAE government today announced that mosques,
prayer spaces, and other places of worship will gradually reopen nationwide
from 1st July and operate at 30 percent capacity. The development comes in
coordination with relevant federal and local authorities who continue to take
all considerations for precautionary and preventive measures.
However,
prayer spaces located on motorways, industrial areas, labour camps, cooperative
societies, commercial centres and parks twill all remain closed until further
notice.
The
development was announced during the UAE government’s regular media briefing
today wherein Amna Al Dahak Al Shamsi, official spokesperson of the UAE
Government, and Dr. Saif Juma Al Dhaheri, Spokesman for the National Emergency
Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) provided an update on
Covid-19 developments and the measures taken to reduce its impact.
Al
Shamsi said that the daily average rate of recoveries exceeds 660 cases,
heralding the tireless efforts made by the medical staff in all UAE healthcare
facilities, including doctors and nurses.
She
noted that more than 43,551 additional Covid-19 tests were conducted among UAE
citizens and residents, resulting in the detection of 449 new cases, taking the
total number of infections in the country to 48,246.
Al
Shamsi said an additional 665 individuals have fully recovered from Covid-19,
bringing the total number of recoveries to more than 37,076, with a total of
10,856 individuals still being treated, most of whom are in stable condition.
She
also announced the death of one individual as a result of Covid-19
complications, taking the total number of fatalities in the country to 314.
Dr.
Al Shamsi expressed her sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and
wished current Covid-19 patients a speedy and full recovery.
"All
UAE departments and institutions are forging ahead with all measures needed to
ensure a safe return to normalcy across all fields," she said.
"However, we are in a critical period that requires enhanced awareness and
increased cooperation from all community members."
Addressing
the briefing, Al Dhaheri said the decision to reopen places of worship does not
include prayer spaces located on motorways, industrial areas, labour camps,
cooperative societies, commercial centres and parks; these will all remain
closed until further notice."
He
added, "Reopening places of worship is due to the tremendous efforts made
by all relevant departments who initiated the Covid-19 testing of all mosque
imams and workers in places of worship.
"Friday
prayers will remain suspended in all mosques until further notice and therefore
mosques will remain closed on Fridays only," he said. The public is again
instructed to comply with precautionary and preventive measures while coming
for prayers, including adhering to a minimum 3-metre safety distance between
worshippers, and avoiding congregations and handshaking in all forms.
"All
should perform ablution at home and hand sanitize regularly in addition to wearing
face masks before coming for each prayer," he added.
"Quran
recitals and readings should be from the worshiper’s own personal or electronic
Moshaf," he said, noting that using communal Holy books already available
in mosques is prohibited.
"Every
Muslim should bring his own prayer mat and should not leave it behind or store
it at mosques after prayers," he said, noting all mosque goers have to
download Al Hosn app on their smart phones.
All
the guidelines related to the gradual reopening of mosques will be circulated
to all places of worship by the relevant authorities.
"Elderly
people, including Emiratis and residents, as well as children aged under 12
years old and people with chronic and respiratory diseases are not allowed to
come to mosques or other places of worship under the current circumstances to
ensure their safety," he warned.
He
stressed the need for all those who are living with people in contact with
COVID-19 patients as well as those living with patients under treatment should
not to come to mosques until they get treated in order to ensure public safety.
"Mosques
and places of worship where COVID-19 cases is detected shall be closed and
necessary measures shall be taken," he said.
In
the meantime, Al Dhaheri announced that excursion boats, and personal and
commercial yachts can now operate at 50 percent. Jet skis are to be used by
only one rider.
Concluding
the briefing, Al Shamsi warned that any negligence and recklessness may undo
all efforts made by the nation’s first line of defence and other authorities
concerned.
Full
report at:
http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302852048
--------
‘We
turned the page,’ says US ambassador to Lebanon after order to silence her
29
June 2020
After
a judicial order banning her from speaking to local televisions, the US
ambassador to Lebanon said Monday that it was time to “turn the page” despite a
judge’s non-binding order to silence the diplomat for comments made against
Hezbollah.
Ambassador
Dorothy Shea met with Lebanon’s foreign minister, Nassif Hitti, following the
latter’s summoning over an interview Shea gave to Al Hadath last week. In her
interview, Shea criticized Iran-backed Hezbollah for jeopardizing Lebanon’s
economic recovery and the country’s stability.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
A
south Lebanon judge issued an order Saturday banning local media outlets from
conducting interviews with Shea. But Shea said that the Lebanese government
apologized and downplayed the order. Lebanon’s information minister said this
was not true, in which Shea said, “the information minister doesn’t have all
the information.”
On
Monday, after meeting Hitti, Shea said, “We turned the page on this unfortunate
distraction so we can all focus on the real crisis at hand, which is the
deteriorating economic situation in Lebanon.”
Shea
said she had a “positive meeting” with the Lebanese foreign minister, where
they reinforced the importance of the bilateral relationship between each
country.”
Over
the weekend, Shea expressed her surprise at “such a brazen attempt to silence
the media and to curb freedom of expression. They really caused quite a tempest
in a teapot.”
She
said that in her original interview, she called out Hezbollah “on some
inaccurate and inappropriate and violent language,” adding that “it’s more
reminiscent of what you might see in Iran, not met here in Lebanon.”
A
week prior, the group’s leader, Hasan Nasrallah, said the US was trying to
starve the Lebanese people and that Washington was preventing US dollars from
entering the Lebanese market. Nasrallah also called out Shea in his televised
remarks, before calling on Lebanon to “go East” and strike deals with Iran and
China.
China
and Iran
Separately,
China and Iran’s embassies in Beirut lashed out at Shea and the US Embassy.
“The
more she [Ambassador Shea] gossips, the more she insults herself and her
country. She does not have the right to attack another country with fabricated
claims,” the Iranian embassy wrote on Twitter.
China’s
embassy posted a statement on its website. “We hope that the United States can
view China’s cooperation with other countries in a correct and objective way.
The US side should at least stop impeding others from assisting these
developing countries, whereas serving its own political needs at the cost of
the developing countries’ benefit,” the statement said.
Full
report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/06/29/-We-turned-the-page-says-US-ambassador-to-Lebanon-after-order-to-silence-her.html
--------
Arab
Coalition, US Envoy Brian Hook reveal Iranian weapons used against Saudi Arabia
29
June 2020
New
Iranian missiles and weapons found in Yemen were revealed by the Arab Coalition
in a press conference on Monday.
US
Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook and Saudi Arabia's Minister of State
for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir hosted a joint press conference after
examining the weapons.
Saudi
Arabia is consulting with all the countries on the UN Security Council on the
dangers of not extending the arms embargo on Iran, says the Kingdom's Minister
of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubair.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
A
UN report recently stated that missiles and drones used in attacks against
Saudi Arabia were of Iranian origin, marking the first time that the
organization’s Secretary-General has explicitly recognized Iran’s role in
attacks on the Kingdom.
The
US President Donald Trump pulled out of a nuclear deal with Iran in 2018,
saying that it had not stopped Iran from continuing to destabilize the region.
Since then, the Iranians have violated the deal several times.
"Iranian
leaders are rejecting diplomacy, fueling instability, and worsening the
suffering of innocent Yemenis...Iran will never be allowed to develop a nuclear
weapon," Hook said at the press conference.
The
US submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council saying that the
current arms embargo on Iran should be extended beyong its expiration date on
October 18, 2020.
“The
weapons that we see here today … are all the evidence we need, that the arms
embargo on Iran must not be lifted. If the embargo expires, Iran will be able
to purchase and sell these weapons, as well as many other kinds of weapons
without any restrictions at all,” Hook said.
Full
report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/06/29/Exclusive-Saudi-Arabia-to-reveal-new-Iranian-missile-cargo-today-3-30-p-m-Riyadh-.html
--------
Millions
of Syrians at risk of starvation, warn leading aid groups
29
June 2020
Leading
aid groups called on Monday for increased access and funding for millions of
Syrians at risk of starvation, on the eve of a key conference in Brussels.
More
than nine years into the conflict, the fighting has receded but the
humanitarian emergency remains acute, the international NGOs said in a joint
statement.
“A
staggering 9.3 million Syrians are now going to sleep hungry and more than
another two million are at risk of a similar fate,” they said.
The
statement -- signed by the Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam, CARE, Mercy Corps
and others -- said the number of Syrians facing food insecurity has risen by 42
percent since last year.
“Almost
a decade of war has thrown Syrians into a spiral of despair and destitution
that keeps worsening every year. International assistance is needed now more
than ever,” the aid groups said.
The
Brussels IV conference hosted by the European Union and United Nations opens on
Tuesday to assist war-affected people inside and outside Syria.
“Unless
funding and humanitarian access are increased, many Syrians, including those
living as refugees in the region, will be pushed to the brink of starvation,”
the aid groups said.
Full
report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/06/29/Millions-of-Syrians-at-risk-of-starvation-warn-leading-aid-groups-.html
--------
UN
report on Iranian missiles in Yemen used against Saudi: Key takeaways explained
29
June 2020
A
new UN report endorses long-standing claims that weapons “of Iranian origin”
were used in several attacks against Saudi Arabia last year and have been
exported to the Houthis in Yemen.
The
report provides evidence for US officials in their case to extend the arms
embargo on Iran and further calls into question Tehran’s public commitments to
dialogue and the nuclear deal.
Authored
by the UN’s chief, Secretary-General António Guterres, it examines the
implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 – the resolution by which
the UN endorsed the Iran nuclear deal, officially known as The Joint Comprehensive
Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015.
Limited
information from the report was leaked on June 11, including the key finding
that missiles launched against Saudi Arabia in recent attacks were “of Iranian
origin.”
Now,
Al Arabiya English has obtained the full report, along with a range of
photographic and video evidence of Iranian missiles and arms shipments,
including exclusive images of Iranian weapons found from a previously
undisclosed raid on a dhow in April, 2020, and footage showing a new angle of the
attack on Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport in 2019.
With
the UN Security Council set to discuss extending the arms embargo on Iran past
October, the report is “significant in its content and timing” and will
strengthen the US case for extending the embargo, according to Jason Brodsky,
the policy director at United Against a Nuclear Iran.
Saudi
Arabia has also welcomed the report, saying that it confirmed Iran’s well-known
destabilizing regional behavior.
“The
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has consistently warned of the security consequences of
arms agreements that overlook Iran’s regional expansion and ignore the
legitimate security concerns of regional states. Today, we are glad that
international partners are acknowledging these issues. It might have taken some
time, but better late than never,” Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the UN
Ambassador Abdallah Y. al-Mouallimi told Al Arabiya English.
Here
is all you need to know about the new report and its evidence.
Key
takeaways
1)
Missiles and drones used in attacks against Saudi Arabia were “of Iranian
origin.”
Secretary-General
Guterres said the UN examined debris of weapons used in attacks on a Saudi oil
facility in Afif in May, on the Abha international airport in June and August
and on the Saudi Aramco oil facilities in Khurais and Abqaiq in September.
“The
Secretariat assesses that the cruise missiles and/or parts thereof used in the
four attacks are of Iranian origin,” said Guterres. The drones used in the May
and September attacks were also “of Iranian origin,” he said.
While
Saudi Arabia, the US and other investigators had reached this conclusion
previously, it is the first time the UN secretary-general has explicitly
confirmed their findings.
“There
was always a very strong suspicion that the cruise missiles used were Iranian.
Initially the UN said that it acknowledged the US and the Saudi findings, but
couldn’t endorse their findings until they’d examined the evidence. Now it
looks like they’ve come to the same conclusion,” said Douglas Barrie, senior
fellow for military aerospace at the International Institute for Strategic
Studies.
2)
Iranian arms “may have been transferred in a manner inconsistent” with UN
resolution 2231 and the JCPOA.
The
US seized two hauls of arms and related materials in the Arabian Sea, believed
to be headed for Yemen, in November 2019 and February 2020.
The
UN found these shipments to contain the following material:
a)
Container launch units of anti-tank missiles “of Iranian origin,”
b)
Fifteen POS-type optical weapon sights that were delivered to Iran between
February 2016 and April 2018,
c)
Thermal optical weapon sights that had “design characteristics similar ... to
those also produced by a commercial entity in Iran,”
d)
A keyboard of a computer terminal associated with the anti-ship missile, a
relay box tester of an unidentified missile, and a navigation antenna and
module of the cruise missile, all of which had Farsi markings on them.
According
to Guterres, “these items may have been transferred in a manner inconsistent”
with UN resolution 2231.
3)
Despite these findings, the UN still sees the JCPOA as the best way to ensure
Iran does not develop a non-peaceful nuclear weapon.
Secretary-General
Guterres reiterated the UN’s support for the nuclear deal.
“I
regret the May 2018 withdrawal of the United States from the Plan, as well as
the steps taken by the Islamic Republic of Iran since 2019 to cease performing
its nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,”
wrote Guterres.
Guterres
also acknowledged the concerns raised by the UK, France, and Germany and their
call for Iran to reverse its violations of the deal.
“I
appeal again to the Islamic Republic to return to full implementation of the
Plan. I also urge the Islamic Republic of Iran to carefully take into account
and urgently address the other concerns raised by other participants,” he said.
Guterres
also said that it is “vital” that the procurement channel for nuclear-related
provisions continue to operate.
Video
and photographic evidence of Iranian missiles and weapons
The
UN report examined several pieces of evidence.
The
first were two caches of arms and related material seized by US raids on ships
in the Arabian Sea in November, 2019, and February, 2020.
November
25, 2019, dhow seizure
“On
November 25, a US warship conducted a flag verification boarding in the Arabian
sea in accordance with international law of what was subsequently determined to
be a stateless vessel, and discovered a cache of weapons and advanced missile
components,” said Pentagon spokesperson Cmdr. Sean Robertson in a statement at
the time. “An initial investigation indicates that these advanced missile
components are of Iranian origin. A more thorough investigation is underway.”
Additional
evidence seen by Al Arabiya English
On
top of the evidence surveyed by the UN, Al Arabiya English has obtained a range
of photographic and video evidence of Iranian missiles and arms shipments
collected by the Arab Coalition.
For
a full analysis of the new material, click here.
This
material comes from a previously undisclosed raid on a dhow on April 17, 2020,
revealing caches of weapons and arms bound for Yemen for the first time.
The
material obtained by Al Arabiya English also includes missile parts and debris
from a range of attacks against Saudi Arabia, as well as exclusive footage
showing new angles of the attack on Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport in 2019.
Implications
for the nuclear deal
Guterres’
suggestion that the transfer of Iranian arms to Yemen may be “inconsistent”
with UN resolution 2231 and the JCPOA could have implications for negotiations
on the future of the deal, or any replacement deals.
While
Iran has already violated several elements of the JCPOA following the US withdrawal
from the deal, experts said that this UN report will weaken Iran’s overall case
as a credible partner.
“Fundamentally,
I think the issue is above all bad PR for the Islamic Republic,” said Alex
Vatanka, senior fellow and director of the Iran program at the Middle East
Institute in Washington, DC.
“The
fact that this is the UN providing this report makes Iranian denials that much
harder to be credible,” he said.
However,
Vatanka pointed out that Russia and China are still committed to using their
veto power in the UN Security Council to protect Iran at the UN level. Unless
Moscow and Beijing shift their position, the growing international consensus
that Iran has been committing malpractice won’t result in meaningful change
within the UN Security Council.
Other
experts pointed to the “sunset provisions” of UN resolution 2231, under which
the current arms embargo expires in October.
Implications
for the arms embargo
The
UN report has been seen as bolstering the case for extending the arms embargo on
Iran, which is currently set to expire in October, 18, 2020.
On
Tuesday, the US said it has shared a draft resolution with members of the UN
Security Council that would extend an arms embargo on Iran indefinitely,
according to diplomats.
The
resolution cites the conclusions of this UN report regarding the attacks on
Saudi Arabia, and expresses “grave concern about the risk that these attacks
posed to global energy supplies, to freedom of navigation in the region, to the
safety of persons working in the energy and maritime transportation sectors and
to the environment.”
“Such
attacks and continued proliferation of arms and related material by Iran
constitute a threat to international peace and security,” adds the resolution.
According
to Jason Brodsky, the report “will add to the US case for extension of the arms
embargo, which is set to expire on October 18, 2020. In fact, there is evidence
Tehran is expanding its weapons shipments, with Iranian anti-tank guided
missiles being found in Libya.”
“The
sunset provisions in UN Security Council Resolution 2231 should have never been
agreed to in the first place, as Iran never made a reciprocal and binding
commitment to change its malign regional posture,” he added.
However,
both China and Russia have suggested they will oppose the extension of the
embargo.
UN
Security Council vote on Iran approaches
The
Security Council began negotiations on the resolution on Wednesday, diplomats
said.
If
the council votes not to extend the embargo, Washington has threatened to trigger
a return of all UN sanctions on Iran under the nuclear deal.
On
the other hand, Iranian officials have recently threatened to rip up the
nuclear deal and continue regional destabilization if the arms embargo is
extended.
According
to missile expert Douglas Barrie, the expiration of the arms embargo would
allow Iran to access external sources of technology to significantly enhance
their existing capabilities.
Full
report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/features/2020/06/29/UN-report-on-Iranian-missiles-in-Yemen-Key-takeaways-explained.html
--------
Lebanese
seek to fly out of dire economic situation as Beirut airport reopens
29
June 2020
When
Ziad Moutran, a Lebanese architect, returned to Lebanon after five years
working in Montreal, he thought he was coming home for good.
But
now, a year and a half after that homecoming, he’s preparing to head back
across the Atlantic, fleeing skyrocketing inflation and an increasingly
unstable political situation in Lebanon.
At
48, Moutran has lived through Lebanon’s civil war and multiple other periods of
crisis. After mass anti-government protests broke out last October, he joined
them, hoping that they could bring about change. But now, he’s not hopeful that
it will come, or at least not soon enough.
“I
sacrificed a lot here, and I cannot sacrifice another five years before the
country gets a little better,” he told Al Arabiya English. “…Today is bad,
tomorrow is worse, and the day after is going to be worse. We have to be
realistic.”
As
Lebanon prepares to reopen its airport July 1 and travel becomes possible again
following a three-and-a-half-month closure amid the coronavirus pandemic, many
Lebanese are planning their exit.
Emigration
is nothing new for Lebanon. Even before the current economic crisis, which has
seen the real value of the Lebanese lira deteriorate from the official rate of
about 1,500 lira to the dollar to about 8,000 to the dollar on the black
market, job opportunities for skilled young people were scarce.
According
to a 2017 report by Lebanese bank Credit Libanais, at the end of 2015, there
were some 798,140 Lebanese emigrants abroad. The remittances they sent back
totaled around $7.31 billion as of the end of 2016, representing 14.10 percent
of GDP.
Looking
to leave
But
now, as inflation and unemployment accelerate, along with increasing political
tensions that have raised fears of violence, even Lebanese who had firmly
resisted emigrating before are preparing to pack their bags.
Salam
Abdel Samad, an immigration attorney in Beirut, said that in the weeks since
the countrywide COVID-19 lockdown was eased, he has received 20-25 calls a day
from people inquiring about immigration options and taking five or six
appointments in his office. That’s about double the rate from before the
crisis, he said.
And
where before many of those wanting to emigrate were fresh graduates in search
of career opportunities, Abdel Samad said, “Now, no, now families are looking
at immigration.” And rather than traveling for a job, he said, they are looking
for stability.
“Really
we are expecting many, many, people to take [to] the airport with a one-way
ticket and to not be back,” he said.
Charbel,
35, is one of the Lebanese who, until now, had never thought he would go
abroad.
Charbel,
who asked to be identified only by his first name because his employer is not
aware of his plans, has a wife and two-year-old daughter and a job in the
banking sector that allowed the family to live comfortably, if not in luxury,
before the lira collapsed.
“For
me it was more than enough, especially that I’m near my parents and near my
brother and sisters, and my wife, as well, is near her family, so I never
thought of leaving,” he said.
But
now, worried about their own future and their daughter’s, he and his wife are
applying for immigration; their first choice is Australia, then the United
States and Canada.
Although
he is set on leaving, Charbel said, “I’m still thinking about the many things I
will be losing if I want to quit the country for good, especially that my
parents are here – we are a very close family with my brother and sisters. We
gather often all together around the table and have dinner or lunch.”
It’s
not only the economic situation that has them ready to leave; Charbel said he’s
also fearful of the possibility of instability turning to war and wants a Plan
B.
“I
don’t have hope (for a future in Lebanon) currently, now at this moment,” he
said. “I can’t see it. I can’t find any other solution.”
Escape
routes
Meanwhile
those, like Moutran, who have a second nationality, are planning their moves
and applying for visas for family members – in Moutran’s case, for his mother.
Moutrain
applied for and got citizenship in Canada to have an escape route just in case
of such a crisis, but now he’s using it reluctantly.
“I’m
very sad, because I love it here in all terms,” he said. “I love Canada too – I
mean, Montreal was very good to me, but it doesn’t compare. I was raised here.”
Dalia
Abirafeh is another dual citizen planning to leave.
Abirafeh
is a Lebanese-American who grew up in the US and came to Lebanon for
university. She fell in love with the country and then with her now-husband,
who is from her family’s hometown of Aley. She has been living in Lebanon since
2011 and now has two small children.
Abirafeh
said until recently, her husband, who owns a car mechanic garage, had never
been interested in leaving Lebanon. But as the situation began to deteriorate,
he agreed to apply for a green card. For her own part, Abirafeh said after the
mass protests began last year, she was ready to leave, fearing political
instability; meanwhile, the currency situation has pushed her husband over the
edge.
“He
loves Lebanon, but he’s gotten to a point where he’s completely fed up,”
Abirafeh said. “Every year he would say, ‘Let’s wait, it will get better, maybe
it will get better, we’re stable, we’re fine.’ And then this year, it was just
like the final straw, he was like, ‘I’m done.’”
They
are waiting for the US Embassy to reopen to complete the final steps in the
application process and are planning to leave Lebanon within a few months.
Brain
drain
While
the expected exodus might mean an increase in remittances from abroad, experts
said it will also drain much-needed human resources from the country.
Kamal
Badr, associate dean of medical education at the American University of Beirut
(AUB), has been part of an effort to coax Lebanese expats working in the health
field to come back to work at AUB’s medical center, an effort that brought more
than 200 physicians back to the country.
But
now, Badr said unless there is a major investment from the international
community in saving Lebanon’s economy, along with an overhaul of the political
system, “There will be a big reversal of the reversal of the brain drain.”
It’s
a pattern the country is all too familiar with, as periods of relative
stability and prosperity have been repeatedly interrupted by local or regional
crises, sending new waves of emigrants abroad.
Before
the latest set of crises hit, Badr said, Lebanon “was poised, really to be the
Silicon Valley of this area.”
Full
report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/features/2020/06/29/Lebanese-look-to-leave-dire-economic-situation-as-country-s-airport-reopens-July-1.html
--------
Saudi
Arabia and US push for extension of Iran arms embargo
June
29, 2020
JEDDAH:
Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir and US Special
Representative for Iran Brian Hook on Monday called on the international
community to extend a UN embargo on sales of weapons to Iran to prevent any
expansion of the nation’s state-sponsored terrorism.
Speaking
during a joint press conference in Riyadh, Al-Jubeir said Saudi and US policies
on Iran are identical.
“We
both see Iran as a grave danger not only to regional stability, but
international stability,” he said.
“We
believe that Iran is the chief sponsor of terrorism and that the international
community has to be more firm in dealing with the Iranians and their proxies.”
To
illustrate the threat, the Arab Coalition displayed weapons, including drones
and missiles, believed to have been supplied by Iran to Houthi militias in
Yemen, which were used in cross-border attacks on Saudi cities.
Iran-backed
Houthis have carried out 1,659 attacks on Saudi Arabia in the past five years,
using a variety of weapons, including 318 ballistic missiles, 371 drones, 64
explosive boats and 153 naval mines. The attacks are designed to threaten and
target civilians, harm the global economy and disrupt shipping in violation of
international and humanitarian laws, the coalition said.
Al-Jubeir
said a shipment of weapons from Iran bound for Houthi militias was seized off
the Yemeni coast on Sunday. It is unlikely to be the last shipment, he added,
and so the international community must extend the embargo to limit Iran’s
ability to supply weapons.
The
UN embargo, which imposed 13 years ago, is due to expire in October. Adopted
under UN Resolution 1747, which tightened sanctions in response to Tehran’s
refusal to halt its nuclear program, it prohibits Iran from moving conventional
weapons beyond its borders.
Al-Jubeir
said that Tehran continues to supply terrorist groups with weapons despite the
embargo, and if it is lifted Iran will become even more aggressive and
disruptive.
US
envoy Hook agreed, saying: “The weapons that we see here today ... are all the
evidence we need that the arms embargo on Iran must not be lifted. We need to
ensure that Iran has a harder time spreading deadly weapons.
“This
is a fraction of the kind of deadly arms that have made their way not only here
to Saudi Arabia, but around the Middle East, so this is the right time for the
Security Council to do the right and necessary thing.”
Both
officials agreed that the international community must put strong pressure on
Tehran to abide by international laws, cease its support of terrorism, stop
dealing with criminal organizations and drug cartels, and halt the killing of
innocent people.
They
added that Washington and Riyadh are working closely to mobilize international
allies in an attempt to end this threat posed by Iran to the international
community. Al-Jubeir said that this threat extends beyond the Gulf region to
Europe, South America and Asia.
“We
both wish for nothing more than Iran to be a normal country that lives in the
international community the way other countries do, respecting international
law and the sovereignty of other states, not interfering in their internal
affairs, and that it (ends) its ballistic missile and terrorism programs,” he
added.
The
minister said that the Iranian regime grows more ideological and aggressive
with every passing year, increasing its interference in the affairs of other
countries at the cost of innocent lives.
Hook
said that the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — the US, the
UK, China, France and Russia — have a shared interest in ensuring the Middle
East is more peaceful and stable, and that Iran never acquires the ability to
build a nuclear weapon. He is hopeful and optimistic, therefore, that they will
make the right decision regarding the arms embargo on national security
grounds.
He
added that the Iranian regime had exploited the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan
of Action, the so-called Iran nuclear deal, as a cover to further its
expansionist and sectarian foreign policies. US President Donald Trump withdrew
the US from the agreement in May 2018.
However,
the regime is increasingly facing rejection, especially in Iraq and Lebanon,
and even within its own borders, Hook said.
“Iran
faced the worst wave of protests in the past 41 years last November,” he said.
“The
regime responded to the demonstrations by killing 1,500 people, injuring
thousands and arresting between 8,000 and 10,000 people.”
If
the arms embargo expires, Iran will acquire new technologies and step up
exports to its proxies in the region, he added.
Hook
also praised Saudi Arabia’s prominent humanitarian role in Yemen, compared with
Iran’s complicity in the humanitarian catastrophe afflicting the war-torn
country.
Hook
also met with the Kingdom's deputy defense minister Prince Khalid bin Salman,
and hey discussed the bilateral relations between the two countries and
stressed the importance in preserving peace and security in the region and
addressing the destabilizing hostile activities of Iran.
Full
report at:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1697251/saudi-arabia
--------
North
America
For
Muslim Americans, a moment of 'deep reflection' after Floyd
June
29, 2020
By
Mariam Fam
As
a young student, Hind Makki recalls, she would call out others at the Islamic
school she attended when some casually used an Arabic word meaning
"slaves" to refer to Black people.
"Maybe
85% of the time, the response that I would get from people ... is, 'Oh, we
don't mean you, we mean the Americans,'" Ms. Makki said during a virtual
panel discussion on race, one of many organized in the wake of George Floyd's
death.
"That's
a whole other situation about anti-Blackness, particularly against African
Americans," said Ms. Makki, who identifies as a Black Arab Muslim.
In
recent weeks, many Muslims in the United States have joined racial justice
rallies across the country and denounced racism in sermons, statements, and
webinars. American Muslims, Black and non-Black, are also having raw
conversations like Ms. Makki's as they grapple with questions of racial equity,
tensions, and representation in their own faith communities.
"Everyone
is talking about this, like from the uncle who's been here since the early
'70s, was a retired doctor somewhere, a retired board member of a mosque to ...
a high school student in the suburbs," Ms. Makki, an anti-racism and
interfaith educator, said in an interview. "The question needs to be
pushed further than what words, what slurs you're using, which you shouldn't be
using. How can we reach equity ... in the spaces that we actually can
change?"
Muslims
in America are diverse. No racial or ethnic group makes up a majority of Muslim
American adults, and 20 percent are Black, according to a 2017 survey by Pew
Research Center.
Margari
Hill, executive director of the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative, says she has seen
a surge of interest, questions, and demand from Muslim communities for her
expertise: Can she look at a statement or provide topics for a program? Are
there resources in Arabic or Bengali? Is it more appropriate to say Black or
African American? Can she talk about anti-Blackness?
"There's
been a lot of calling out and calling in and deep reflection," she said.
"We're asking people to be committed to, like, unlearning, you know, and
building authentic relationships" that last beyond the current moment.
Questions
about how much change the flurry of discussions can spark echo those about a
larger, national reckoning.
"The
openness of all different corners of the Muslim community to have this
conversation in a really robust way is unprecedented and it is commendable,"
said Imam Dawud Walid, the executive director of the Michigan chapter of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations. "The challenge is when the protests
eventually fizzle and the next calamity hits our country, will the conversation
continue within the Muslim community?"
For
this not to be a fleeting moment, Mr. Walid said, the makeup of leadership at
national Islamic organizations must be more representative. He and others have
called for more Black Muslim speakers and not just to talk about race or only
during Black History Month.
At
the Islamic Society of North America, where the current elected board of 10
directors has no African Americans, executive director Basharat Saleem said the
organization has been working to boost diversity but acknowledged that more
must be done.
African
American Muslims have been well represented as speakers at ISNA events, he
said, but attendance from people in that community at annual conventions has
been low.
"We
have to do more work to basically reach out to the community," Mr. Saleem
said. "Also, [the] same thing has to happen from that community."
Through
the likes of art and social media hashtags, many Black Muslims have worked in
recent years to amplify their stories and highlight a narrative that many of
them say have been overshadowed by that of other Muslims. Some reflect on what
it's like to be Black and Muslim.
Some
experiences feel "exhausting," Ms. Hill said. She remembers being
referred to as a "slave" in Arabic at a Muslim store. One time, she
was asked if she could "really read" a copy of the Quran she wanted
to buy. "No one wants to, you know, feel like they have to justify their
humanity or their faith."
Ubaydullah
Evans, resident scholar for the American Learning Institute for Muslims, says
he's experienced "interpersonal racism," from some Muslims. Still,
other non-Black Muslims "have always sought to build community," and
work with African Americans, he said.
Mr.
Walid, like many others, says Islam sends a clear message of egalitarianism.
Over
the years, there have been efforts to build bridges. More recently, some have
taken an oath against using the Arabic word for "slaves."
Others
focused discussions on how to improve relations between Arab and Muslim store
owners and the Black communities they serve. Dozens of American Muslim
organizations came together to demand
police reform and pledged to support Black-led groups.
Mr.
Evans credits younger Muslims with a lot of work challenging racial inequality.
He hopes "we get the maximum mileage out of this moment," but says
some Black American Muslims "have been hurt so badly that it's hard for
them to summon that trust."
Sylvia
Chan-Malik, who teaches about race and about Islam in America at Rutgers
University, said some of the tensions stem from divergent views of America.
Many African American Muslims have, historically, engaged Islam as a
repudiation of anti-Black racism and "have long viewed the police as a
threat to Black communities," she said. Meanwhile, some immigrants
"really want to believe in the promise of America" and have faith in
the system, she added.
And
because Islam's history in the U.S. is "marginalized," Ms. Chan-Malik
argued, misconceptions by some about African American Muslims may include
thinking that they are all converts or practice an inauthentic form of Islam.
"Islam
entered this country as a religious presence through the bodies, the culture,
the voices, and perspectives of enslaved Africans," she said. "You
cannot divorce Islam in America from the African American experience."
On
a recent virtual panel to bring attention to the history of Black American
Muslims and address racism, Imam Jihad Saafir said he was "hopeful and
happy" about Muslims' response.
Some
imams, he said, have been telling him they want to learn more and better
understand racism. He shared plans to send African American imams to different
California mosques for a day.
"No
co-opting our issues on that day," he told participants. "The
pleasure of Allah lies in us building community with one another."
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2020/0629/For-Muslim-Americans-a-moment-of-deep-reflection-after-Floyd
--------
Secretary
Pompeo to address UN Security Council on Iran arms embargo
30
June 2020
US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will address the United Nations Security Council
on Tuesday on the expiration of a UN arms embargo on Iran, the US State
Department said on Monday.
The
United States is pushing the 15-member UN Security Council to indefinitely
extend an arms embargo on Iran, which is currently set to end in October under
Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
The
UN Security Council will decide on the matter and veto-powers Russia and China
have signaled they oppose re-imposing the ban.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
A
new UN report endorses long-standing claims that weapons “of Iranian origin”
were used in several attacks against Saudi Arabia last year and have been
exported to the Houthis in Yemen.
Full
report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/06/30/Secretary-Pompeo-to-address-UN-Security-Council-on-Tuesday-on-Iran-arms-embargo.html
--------
US
and its allies are leading an arms race in Middle East, not Iran: Scholar
29
June 2020
The
United States and its allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia, are leading an arms race
in the Middle East region, not Iran, an American scholar has said.
Kevin
Barrett, an author, journalist and radio host with a Ph.D. in Islamic and
Arabic Studies, made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Monday, after
US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said that lifting the arms
embargo on Iran will trigger an arms race in the Middle East.
Speaking
at a joint news conference with Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs
Adel al-Jubeir in Riyadh on Monday, Hook said lifting the ban would "only
embolden" Iran and destabilize the region.
"This
is not an outcome that the UN Security Council can accept. The council's
mandate is clear: to maintain international peace and security," Hook
added.
Barrett
said that “Brian Hook is the US Special Representative to the United Nations
and he's trying to extend the UN weapons embargo on Iran, and he's claimed to
be doing so under provisions of the JCPOA, which the US has withdrawn from.”
“So,
this is quite mind-boggling. Why he thinks the US has the right to invoke the
JCPOA after it exited the JCPOA is a mystery. Likewise, it's a mystery why he
thinks that the lack of an arms embargo on Iran would lead to an arms race in
the Middle East region,” he stated.
“Clearly,
the regimes that are arming themselves and initiating an arms race in the
region are the US allies, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, and Iran is far from
leading an arms race in the region. If we look at population, and so on, Iran
is actually relatively under-armed, although it seems to be doing okay despite
the fact that it's essentially been embargoed and so it has to do everything
itself, make its own rockets, and it's managed to put satellites into space
despite all of these sanctions, and opposition from other countries including
sabotage,” he said.
“We
just saw an explosion in Iran maybe some form of sabotage; certainly, we know
that Iran's enemies have been supporting terrorism in Iran, and elsewhere in
the region. They've killed nearly 20,000 innocent civilians in Iran, through
support for some of the world's worst terrorist groups,” he noted.
“So,
this is of course absurd, but it just goes to show that the US Empire is still
in its arrogant phase. It has not yet been fully humbled although its
reputation in the world has certainly taken a hit after the coronavirus
pandemic, which many suspects is a US biological attack, or perhaps a
biological attack by the Western international bankers who largely own the US
and dictate policy in the US, that the US has had such a terrible response to
it,” the analyst said.
“The
US now has the worst coronavirus caseload in the world per capita, and it's
still growing here. And yet the US pretends that it's going to be running
around the world dictating policy and telling people what they can do in each
region. And of course, if Brian hook really wants to end the arms race in the
Middle East, the first thing he should do is stop selling the weapons that
Saudi Arabia is using to commit genocide in Yemen and stop handing the Israelis
billions of American taxpayer dollars to commit genocide in occupied
Palestine,” he said.
“If
the US did those two things there would be a much more peaceful Middle East or
Muslim east as a result, but don't hold your breath because decadent empires
often become rabid before they die. And that seems to be what's happening here
in Washington,” he concluded.
Washington
has stepped up calls for the extension of the UN arms embargo on Iran, which
will expire in October under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which
endorses Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action (JCPOA).
The
Trump administration has threatened that it may seek to trigger a snapback of
all sanctions on Iran if its attempts to extend the arms embargo fail.
Tehran,
however, has firmly rejected Washington’s plans as the US is no longer a party
to the nuclear deal ever since it withdrew from the multilateral agreement in
2018.
China
and Russia, which are both signatories to the JCPOA, echoed Tehran’s position
in their recent statements.
“US
failed to meet its obligations under Resolution 2231 by withdrawing from Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action,” China’s UN mission said.
Full
report at:
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/06/29/628535/%E2%80%98US-and-its-allies-are-leading-an-arms-race-in-Middle-East%E2%80%99
--------
US:
Lifting arms embargo on Iran will trigger regional arms race
29
June 2020
US
Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook has again called for extending an
expiring United Nations weapons embargo on the Islamic Republic, claiming that
lifting the arms embargo on the country will trigger an arms race in the Middle
East region.
Speaking
at a joint news conference with Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs
Adel al-Jubeir in Riyadh on Monday, Hook said lifting the ban would "only
embolden" Iran and destabilize the region.
"This
is not an outcome that the UN Security Council can accept. The council's
mandate is clear: to maintain international peace and security," Hook
added.
Jubeir
said, "Despite the embargo, Iran seeks to provide weapons to terrorist
groups, so what will happen if the embargo is lifted? Iran will become more
ferocious and aggressive.”
"We
urge the international community to extend the embargo on selling arms to Iran and
on Iran's ability to sell arms to the world," the Saudi foreign minister
added.
The
accusations come as the United States, the biggest arms exporter in the world,
has been supporting a devastating Saudi-led war in Yemen, which the UN has
described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Washington
has stepped up calls for the extension of the UN arms embargo on Iran, which
will expire in October under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which
endorses Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action (JCPOA).
The
Trump administration has threatened that it may seek to trigger a snapback of
all sanctions on Iran if its attempts to extend the arms embargo fail.
Tehran,
however, has firmly rejected Washington’s plans as the US is no longer a party
to the nuclear deal ever since it withdrew from the multilateral agreement in
2018.
China
and Russia, which are both signatories to the JCPOA, echoed Tehran’s position
in their recent statements.
“US
failed to meet its obligations under Resolution 2231 by withdrawing from Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action,” China’s UN mission said.
Also
noting that Washington is in gross violation of Resolution 2231, Russian Deputy
Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stressed that "no one is allowed to
implement UNSC Security Council resolutions selectively and extremely
fragmentarily".
In
May 2018, President Trump unilaterally pulled his country out of the JCPOA,
unleashing the “toughest ever” sanctions against Iran.
While
the US is no longer a party to the 2015 deal, it has launched a campaign to
renew the arms ban through a resolution
at the UN Security Council.
The
Security Council is scheduled to discuss the measure on June 30, but Russia and
China are most likely to veto it.
Earlier
this month, Iran’s UN ambassador said Washington’s call for the extension of
the arms embargo on Tehran lacks legal standing in international law.
Majid
Takht-e Ravanchi said the US ambassador to the UN "wrongly" believes
the US retains the right to initiate snapback of sanctions under the Security
Council Resolution 2231.
"WRONG:
US cannot be a JCPOA 'Participant', since Donald Trump ceased US
participation," the Iranian ambassador noted, referring to Trump's 2018
decision to withdraw his country from the Iran nuclear deal in violation of the
Resolution 2231.
Full
report at:
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/06/29/628514/US:-Lifting-Iran-arms-embargo-will-trigger-arms-race
--------
Violence
by far-right is among US’s most dangerous terrorist threats, study finds
27
Jun 2020
Violence
by far-right groups and individuals has emerged as one of the most dangerous
terrorist threats faced by US law enforcement and triggered a wave of warnings
and arrests of people associated with those extremist movements.
The
most recent in-depth analysis of far-right terrorism comes from the Center for
Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
In
a report released last week, the Escalating Terrorism Problem in the United
States, CSIS analyzes 25 years of domestic terrorism incidents and finds that
the majority of attacks and plots have come from the far right.
The
report says “the majority of all terrorist incidents in the United States since
1994, and the total number of rightwing attacks and plots has grown
significantly during the past six years”, with the far right launching
two-thirds of attacks and plots in 2019, and 90% of those in 2020.
The
report adds: “Far-right terrorism has significantly outpaced terrorism from
other types of perpetrators.” The second most significant source of attacks and
plots in the US has been “religious extremists”, almost all “Salafi jihadists
inspired by the Islamic State and al-Qaida”.
The
report shows the far left has been an increasingly negligible source of attacks
since the mid 2000s. At that time the FBI defined arsons and other forms of
property damage as domestic terrorism during a period some have called the
“Green Scare”.
The
CSIS study came during a new wave of terror attacks and plots from white
supremacist and anti-government extremists.
Last
Monday, the Department of Justice announced that it had brought an array of
charges, including terrorism related offenses, against a US army soldier who
subscribed to a mix of white supremacist and satanist beliefs which are
characteristic of so-called “accelerationist” neo-nazis like Atomwaffen
Division.
Last
week, federal charges were brought on Steven Carillo for the murder of a
federal security officer and a sheriff’s deputy. Like the three men arrested
for an alleged terror plot in Nevada earlier this month, the FBI says Carillo
identified with the extreme anti-government “boogaloo” movement, which is
principally concerned with removing government regulation of firearms.
But
critics question the timing and motivations of the intelligence community’s
pivot to combatting rightwing extremism as it comes at a time when some are
arguing the legal and institutional counterterrorism apparatus developed to
combat overseas terror groups should now be adapted to domestic extremists.
For
some that has deep implications for civil liberties and constitutional rights,
especially when it comes to suggestions that new laws should be drafted to
certify such groups as domestic terrorist organizations.
Eric
Ward, executive director of the civil rights nonprofit the Western States
Center, said: “We are deeply concerned by the idea of any type of law that
creates a legal definition around domestic terrorism. There are significant
laws already on the books that meet the challenges of this moment.”
Ward
said that rather than new laws, “we need a responsible leadership that is
actually willing to use the tools that are already on hand”.
Ward
added: “Too often we have to respond to political crisis with criminalization.
And I think that is a mistake”.
But
the push for new laws is an ongoing one.
In
April, a joint report from George Washington University’s Program on extremism
(GWU PoE) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) included a proposal for a
“rights protecting domestic terrorism statute”. They said the law could provide
“more tools for the investigation and prosecution of groups and individuals”
associated with rightwing extremism.
The
report did acknowledge “significant constitutional questions” would be raised
by such a statute, and the possibility of “unintended consequences, particularly
for members of minorities”.
There
are also concerns around the creation of a surveillance state.
The
GWU/ADL proposal called for increased information sharing between law
enforcement agencies, increased data collection and increased resourcing.
Similar
arguments have been made by influential legal and national security academics,
national security nonprofits and policy shops.
Congressman
Max Rose, a New York Democrat, has gone further in calling for the formal
designation of US-based groups with international connections as Foreign Terror
Organizations.
The
FBI, meanwhile, is increasingly prepared to make comparisons between right wing
extremists and Islamist terror groups.
Seth
Jones, the lead author of the CSIS report, offered qualified support for the
formal designation of terror groups, saying: “I still think it’s important to
think through the first amendment implications and other pros and cons. But I
do support taking a serious look at designation.”
Designation
could open the way, he said, to also investigating people who support such
groups without having formal membership in any.
But
critics are alarmed by what they see as the application of ideas derived from
the “war on terror” to domestic extremists.
Mike
German, Brennan Center fellow, is a former FBI agent who investigated rightwing
extremists but is now focused on law enforcement and intelligence oversight and
reform. He sees arguments for domestic terror statutes as part of a broader
reorientation of the “national security establishment” away from conflicts in
the Middle East.
German
attributes this move to a realization “that Isis and al-Qaida were were not as
threatening to Americans as they had been, and that foreign counter-terrorism
in general was sort of running out of steam”.
German
said: “It’s a way of expanding the target realm that gives the counterterrorism
enterprise targets that they can use to to get statistical accomplishments,
rather than looking at whether or not the violence itself is reduced.”
German
has argued federal authorities should prioritize the investigation of the
violent crimes of far right extremists, and call them terrorist acts where
appropriate, but that they should be prosecuted using existing laws, with a
consideration of alternative responses like restorative justice.
Full
report at:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/27/us-far-right-violence-terrorist-threat-analysis?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1322256_
--------
Mideast
Israeli
annexation plan an ‘existential threat’ to Palestinian people: PM Shtayyeh
June
29, 2020
LONDON:
Palestine’s prime minister on Monday branded Israel’s annexation plan an
“existential threat” to the Palestinian people and urged European countries to
take the lead in multilateral peace negotiations.
In
an online briefing premier Mohammad Shtayyeh said: “Annexation of the West Bank
is part of the systematic destruction of a future Palestinian state, but not
only that. It is an existential threat to Palestinians as a people.”
Israel’s
parliament will on Wednesday vote on whether to initiate the highly
controversial plan of annexing up to 30 percent of the West Bank.
Shtayyeh
warned that if the move went ahead it could be the beginning of a far more
expansive Israeli expansion, threatening almost all Palestinian land.
“This
annexation is a creeping annexation — a gradual annexation — that will only end
by Israel swallowing all of the West Bank. This would leave Palestinians only
with Gaza,” he added.
Israel’s
plans, which have been rejected outright by all Palestinian groups, were
developed and approved by the US without consultation with the Palestinians.
Shtayyeh
said this showed that America was not an “honest broker” in the negotiations
and that it could not be trusted, adding that the US should no longer take the
lead in the peace process.
Instead,
the PM urged a “paradigm shift from bilateralism to multilateralism,” and
pushed for European countries and the EU to take the lead in negotiating a fair
settlement.
He
proposed an international conference to start a multilateral process and said:
“We are ready for serious negotiations based on international law.” He added
that British and European recognition of Palestinian statehood would be a
justified and significant step in supporting the Palestinian people.
In
a late development on the issue Monday, Benny Gantz, Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition partner, suggested that the annexation vote may
not take place on Wednesday at all, saying that Israel should instead focus on
fighting the country’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.
Netanyahu,
however, told members of his Likud party that the issue was “not up to” Gantz.
Israeli
plans for annexation have been met with widespread international condemnation,
including from the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and
the EU.
Human
rights experts from the UN have likened it to “21st-century apartheid,” and
British Middle East minister, James Cleverly, told the UN Security Council last
week that the UK “strongly opposes” annexation as a breach of international
law. “Annexation could not go unanswered, and we implore Israel to reconsider,”
he said.
However,
it remains unclear what concrete steps the British government, EU and many
other objecting countries will take should Israel follow through with the
annexation.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1697346/middle-east
--------
Israeli
defense chief says West Bank annexation 'will wait'
June
29, 2020
JERUSALEM:
Israel’s defense minister says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to
begin annexing West Bank territory will have to wait due to the country’s
coronavirus crisis.
Benny
Gantz, who also holds the title of alternative prime minister, told his Blue
and White Party on Monday that his top priority is helping the country navigate
the health and economic crisis stemming from the coronavirus.
“Anything
unrelated to the battle against the coronavirus will wait,” he said.
Netanyahu
has said he wants to begin annexing occupied land as soon as this week.
The
UN’s human rights chief on Monday said that Israel’s planned annexation of
parts of the occupied West Bank would have “disastrous” consequences for the
region, as US and Israeli officials were meeting in Jerusalem to try and
finalize the move.
The
warning by Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, added
to the growing chorus of international voices urging Israel not to annex
territory in line with President Donald Trump’s Middle East plan.
The
UN secretary-general, the European Union and key Arab countries have all spoken
out against annexation, saying it would violate international law and all but
destroy any remaining hopes of establishing a viable Palestinian state
alongside Israel.
“The
precise consequences of annexation cannot be predicted,” Bachelet said in a
statement issued by her office in Geneva. “But they are likely to be disastrous
for the Palestinians, for Israel itself, and for the wider region.”
Israel’s
Foreign Ministry accused Bachelet of politicizing her office and noted that it
froze ties with her office early this year due to what it called her
“one-sided” attitude.
“It
is not surprising that she decided today to join the Palestinian campaign
against the American peace plan, and to publish declarations before any
decision has been made,” the ministry said in a statement.
The
Trump plan, unveiled in January, envisions leaving some 30% of the West Bank
under permanent Israeli control, while granting the Palestinians autonomy in
the remainder of the area.
The
Palestinians claim all of the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza
Strip, for a fully independent state. Israel captured all three areas in the
1967 Mideast war, though it withdrew from Gaza in 2005, clearing the way for
Hamas militants to seize control two years later.
Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a strong supporter of Trump, has been
unswayed by the international criticism. He says the supportive Trump
presidency has provided a rare opportunity to redraw the Mideast map and annex
Israel’s scores of settlements, as well as the strategic Jordan Valley. He has
pledged to move forward as soon as July 1, seeking to take action well before
the US presidential election in November.
In
a speech to evangelical Christian supporters of Israel late Sunday, Netanyahu
said Trump’s plan “finally puts to rest the two-state illusion” and would
“advance peace.”
“President
Trump’s plan doesn’t really change the reality on the ground. It recognizes the
reality on the ground,” he said.
Netanyahu’s
coalition partner, Defense Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz,
however, has appeared to be more cautious. Both Netanyahu and Gantz were
meeting with White House envoy Avi Berkowitz and the US Ambassador to Israel
David Friedman to work on a final map outlining which areas will be annexed.
The talks were continuing after a series of meetings in Washington last week
ended inconclusively.
Gantz
was quoted by Israeli media as saying that Netanyahu’s target date of this
Wednesday is not “sacred.” The plan has also come under surprising criticism
from West Bank settler leaders, who believe it does not go far enough and say
that any plan that envisions even a watered-down Palestinian state must be
opposed.
Israeli
media have reported that Netanyahu is considering scaling back his plans and is
expected to annex just a small number of settlements in a largely symbolic
move.
But
in her statement, Bachelet warned that even a small annexation would create a
“highly combustible mix.”
She
said deepening Israel’s control of West Bank land would likely harm Palestinian
freedom of movement, turn Palestinian population centers into “enclaves” and
clear the way for Israel to “illegally” expropriate Palestinian land.
“The
shockwaves of annexation will last for decades, and will be extremely damaging to
Israel, as well as to the Palestinians,” Bachelet warned. “However there is
still time to reverse this decision.”
Dozens
of Jewish legal scholars, meanwhile, sent a letter to the Israeli government
urging Israel to drop the annexation plan.
Full
report at:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1697336/middle-east
--------
‘Day
of Rage’ protests against Israeli annexation to hit US, Europe
29
June 2020
Protests
condemning the Israeli plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank are set to
take place in the United States and Europe on the same day prime minister
Benjamin Netanyahu plans to begin the process.
The
demonstrations will be held on Wednesday in Chicago, San Diego, Brooklyn, Los
Angeles and San Francisco. Other Western cities will also witness similar protests,
including Toronto, Madrid and Valencia.
Students
for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, and American Muslims for
Palestine are among the pro-Palestinian groups organizing the protests.
The
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, one of the organizers, urged
"direct actions and popular mobilizations in [Palestinian] refugee camps,
cities and villages," and professed "loyalty to the martyrs" on
its call for the events.
Another
group, Al-Awda or the Palestinian Right to Return Coalition, decried "72
years of genocide, ethnic cleansing and dispossession" of Palestinians.
It
also tied their demonstrations to the protests against anti-black racism in the
US and beyond.
"We
demand the defunding and dismantling of US police alongside the defunding and
dismantling of Zionist colonialism and racist Israeli apartheid," Al-Awda
said on its website.
Netanyahu
has set July 1 as the date for the start of cabinet discussions on the
annexation plan.
He
has been driven ahead by US President Donald Trump, who unveiled a “peace” plan
for the Middle East in January that effectively sidelines the Palestinians
altogether.
The
plan, which Trump himself has described as the “deal of the century,” envisions
Jerusalem al-Quds as “Israel’s undivided capital” and allows the Tel Aviv
regime to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley.
The plan also denies Palestinian refugees the right of return to their
homeland, among other controversial terms.
Full
report at:
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/06/29/628478/Anti-annexation-protests-US
--------
Iran
issues arrest warrant for Trump, US officials over top IRGC general’s
assassination
29
June 2020
A
senior Iranian judge says Interpol Red Notices have been issued for the
prosecution of dozens of military and political officials of the United States,
including President Donald Trump, on charges of planning and implementing a
terrorist attack in the Iraqi capital that assassinated Iran’s top general
Qassem Soleimani and his companions.
"Thirty-six
people who were involved in the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani
have been identified, including
political and military officials from the United States and other
governments," Tehran Prosecutor Ali Alqasi-Mehr said on Monday.
He
added that Iran's Judiciary has issued arrest warrants and requested "Red
Notices" to be put out for them by Interpol.
The
Iranian judicial official emphasized that these individuals would face charges
of “murder and act of terror," saying that Iran would continue to pursue
Trump's prosecution even after his presidency ends.
"At
the top of the list is US President Donald Trump, and his prosecution will be
pursued even after the end of his term in office," the Iranian judge said.
US
terrorists assassinated Lieutenant General Soleimani, the commander of the Quds
Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), along with Abu Mahdi
al-Muhandis, deputy head of Iraq’s Hashd al-Sha’abi, and their companions by
targeting their vehicles outside Baghdad International Airport on January 3.
The
act of terror was carried out under the direction of Trump, with the Pentagon
taking responsibility for the strike.
General
Soleimani is viewed by the world's freedom-seeking people as the key figure in
defeating Daesh, the world’s most notorious terrorist group, in the Middle East
battles.
Several
million people attended the funeral processions held for the commanders in the
Iraqi cities of Kadhimiya, Baghdad, Karbala and Najaf as well as the Iranian
cities of Ahvaz, Mashhad, Tehran, Qom and Kerman.
NBC
News has revealed the details of the assassination, saying the terrorist
operation used Israeli intelligence and was run from the US Central Command
(CENTCOM) headquarters in Qatar.
Iran's
Judiciary chief Ebrahim Raeisi said in February that judicial officials in the
Islamic Republic have been in contact with Iraqi authorities to pursue the case
of General Soleimani's assassination by terrorist US forces in Iraq.
"We
are seriously pursuing the case and have no doubt and are confident that … we
will avenge his assassination," the top Iranian judiciary official stated.
Trump
has doubled down on the insanity of General Soleimani's assassination, saying
he should have been killed “many years ago.”
In
a series of tweets, he accused the top Iranian military commander of killing
and wounding thousands of Americans over an extended period of time and
“plotting to kill many more.”
‘Iran
identified about 40 persons related to Gen. Soleimani’s assassination’
In
a related development on Monday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and
International Affairs Mohsen Baharvand said about 40 people have been
identified in relation to the assassination of Lt. Gen. Soleimani and his
companion.
“Our
intelligence and security agencies have so far identified about 40 Americans,
who have been one way or another involved in this assassination through issuing
order or facilitation of the process. A number of other people, including some
American drone operators, have are not known yet, but will be identified in the
near future,” he said.
The
deputy foreign minister emphasized that after the rest of American and
non-American people involved in the assassination of Lt. Gen. Soleimani are
identified, “the judge will indict them on the basis of undeniable evidence and
the Islamic establishment in its entirety will not stop until they are brought
to justice.”
Full
report at:
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/06/29/628502/Soleimani-Tehran-prosecutor-Ali-Alqasimehr-Red-Notice-arrest-warrant-Interpol
--------
Turkish
coastguard rescues 35 migrants from half-sunken boat in Aegean Sea
29
June 2020
Turkey’s
coastguard said it rescued 35 migrants from a boat found half sunken in the
Aegean Sea early on Monday, and was searching for four more missing people.
The
migrants were rescued around 2:45 a.m. (2345 GMT) near a small island off the
coast of Ayvalik in Turkey’s western Balikesir province, the coastguard said.
Greece
has been the main gateway into the European Union for people fleeing conflict
in the Middle East and beyond, largely via its islands near the Turkish coast.
More than a million people reached its shores from Turkey in 2015-16.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Earlier
this year, tens of thousands of migrants tried to cross into Greece via land
and sea borders after Ankara said it would no longer stop them, as it had
agreed in a 2016 deal with Brussels in return for European aid for Syrian
refugees.
Full
report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/06/29/Turkish-coastguard-rescues-35-migrants-from-half-sunken-boat-in-Aegean-Sea.html
--------
Turkish
soldier dies in clashes with Kurdish PKK rebels in northern Iraq
29
June 2020
A
Turkish soldier died on Sunday in clashes with rebels from the banned Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK) during an offensive in northern Iraq, the defense ministry
said in a statement.
The
soldier “fell as a martyr during clashes with terrorists in the Operation
Claw-Tiger region” in Iraq, the ministry said, without specifying where the
fighting occurred.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Turkey
launched on June 17 an air and ground offensive against the PKK, which has
fought an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 and which is listed
as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.
The
army frequently conducts operations against PKK hideouts in southeast Turkey
and rear bases in Iraq.
The
latest offensive has sparked protests from Iraq which has summoned the Turkish
envoy in Baghdad twice over the operation.
Local
Kurdish officials in northern Iraq say at least five civilians have been killed
since the operation began nearly two weeks ago.
Full
report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/06/29/Turkish-soldier-dies-in-clashes-with-Kurdish-PKK-rebels-in-northern-Iraq.html
--------
US
in no position to undermine nuclear deal’s achievements: Iran
29
June 2020
Iran
says the United States has forfeited all rights to bring the 2015 Iran nuclear
deal’s achievements into doubt, urging Washington and its European allies
against trying to damage the agreement any further.
“The
Americans, due to their destructive actions against the JCPOA and Resolution
2231, have lost the position to question the deal's achievements,” ministry
spokesman Abbas Mousavi told a press conference on Monday.
The
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is the official name of the historic
nuclear accord that was signed between the Islamic Republic and the P5+1 group
of states -- the US, the UK, France, Russia, and China plus Germany -- in
Vienna that year, while Resolution 2231 refers to the UN Security Council
resolution that enshrined the deal after it was concluded.
The
agreement led to many achievements, including certain voluntary changes to
Iran’s nuclear energy program and the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions
against the Islamic Republic. It also foresaw the removal of an arms embargo
against the country in October.
The
United States, however, began discrediting the JCPOA in 2018 by leaving the
accord and returning the sanctions. And now, it is trying to prevent the
removal of the arms embargo, although, it is no longer a JCPOA partner.
Mousavi
critiqued Washington and its Western allies’ attitude towards Iran’s defensive
capability as witnessed, among other things, in their bid to extend the
embargo, calling their approach “inadmissible.”
The
country “does not stand on ceremony when it comes to its defensive capability,”
he added, and advised the allies to stop trying to violate the Resolution.
Extension
of the arms embargo “carries its own repercussions,” the official said, warning
that Tehran has planned several “special measures” to take in the event of the
ban’s prolongation.
He,
however, said, “We predict another defeat for the US in this area,” adding, “I
don’t think things will proceed in such a way (as far as the embargo’s
extension).”
US
elections
The
Islamic Republic would not interfere in the US or any other country’s internal
affairs, Mousavi said, turning to the issue of the United States’ next
presidential polls.
What
goes on between American electoral candidates concerns their own internal and
party political affairs and “is of no consequence to us how they choose to
decide their country’s fate,” he noted.
What
is important for Iran is the US’s regional policy, according to which Iran
regulates its behavior, the official pointed out.
Regional
fight against terror
Mousavi
then addressed a recent coincidence between Iran and Turkey’s attacks on the
terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)’s elements along the countries’
borders.
Despite
the coincidence, there was currently no joint operation against the anti-Ankara
separatist group, he said, but notified that the anti-terror fight was on the
joint agenda of the regional countries, including Iran, Turkey, and Iraq where
the terrorists could engage in border area activity.
European
havens for terrorists
The
spokesman renewed the Islamic Republic’s criticism of some European countries
for their providing safe havens for anti-Iran groups, including the terrorist
cult of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) that is responsible for slaying
around 17,000 Iranians since the 1979 victory of Iran’s Islamic Revolution.
Iran
has, time and again, cautioned the countries against housing the terrorists,
who have the blood of the Iranian people on their hands, he said, adding the
issue of their accommodating the terrorists constitutes “one of our main issues
with the Europeans.”
The
Islamic Republic wonders how those European states suddenly took the MKO out of
their terror lists, Mousavi said.
He,
however, called the MKO “a disintegrated and displaced group in Europe,” whose
effectuality does not go much beyond causing social media fanfare.
Humanitarian
blockade on Iran
The
official, meanwhile, pointed to the ongoing prevention of the transfer of
humanitarian supplies to the Islamic Republic.
He
reminded how these supplies, including medical items, were exempted from the
US’s illegal sanctions after Tehran won an International Court of Justice case
against Washington.
“Although,
medical and humanitarian items are exempt from the bans, they have practically
blocked their entrance into the country,” Mousavi said.
“Here,
we’re addressing the European firms and countries, for whom the human rights
issues are apparently very important,” he said.
Romania
should be transparent on fugitive judge’s death
The
official separately urged Romania to trust Iran with more information in the
aftermath of a fugitive former Iranian judge’s recent death in Bucharest.
Gholamreza
Mansouri’s body was found at a hotel in the Romanian capital earlier in June.
Mansouri was a co-defendant in a major financial corruption trial that is
currently underway in Iran.
“There
are some ambiguities concerning this issue, and the Romanian government has not
done anything yet, despite our requests,” Mousavi said.
He
asked Bucharest to help Iran clarify the matter in light of the case’s
“sensitivity and complexity.”
Full
report at:
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/06/29/628492/Iran-United-States-nuclear-deal-arms-embargo
--------
Iran’s
arms shipments to Houthis fuel war in Yemen, experts say
June
30, 2020
AL-MUKALLA,
YEMEN: The latest Saudi-led-coalition seizure of an Iranian arms shipment
destined for the Houthis is further evidence of Iran’s destabilizing role in
war-torn Yemen, according to government officials and experts.
“This
is concrete proof of Iran’s involvement in Yemen,” Salem Al-Khanbashi, the
deputy prime minister of Yemen, told Arab News.
At
a press conference in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Monday, the Saudi-led
coalition announced intercepting a dhow carrying hundreds of weapons, made in
Iran, early this month, including missiles, sniper rifles and ammunition. The
dhow was seized off the Yemeni coastal town of Mocha on the Red Sea and was
heading to the Houthis, the coalition said.
The
Yemeni government has swiftly demanded that the international community put an
end to Iranian meddling in Yemen in their sending arms shipments that fuel the
war to the Houthis.
“There
must be strong punishments against this country that supplies Houthis with
those advanced weapons,” Al-Khanbashi said.
Even
before the start of the war 5 years ago, consecutive Yemeni governments accused
Iran of smuggling arms to the Houthis, enabling them to keep fighting despite
coming under heavy attacks by government and Saudi-led coalition forces. The
Yemeni coast guard has intercepted many similar arms shipments off the Yemeni
coast over the past several years.
“There
is a continuous smuggling process that resupplies Houthis with advanced
weapons. The national army forces have seized many Iranian weapons from Houthis
during fighting,” Al-Khanbashi said.
Gerald
Feierstein, the former US ambassador to Yemen, said that the Iranians supported
the Houthis with weapons and trained them in using them long before the start
of the Saudi-led military operation in Yemen.
“The
Iranian engagement began long before the outbreak of the civil war or the Saudi
coalition’s intervention. It’s clear that the Iranians saw the Houthi movement
as an opportunity to put pressure on Saudi Arabia and to threaten its southern
border,” he told Arab News in an interview in March.
The
Yemeni government and military officials believe that the Houthis are bringing
in shipments of Iranian weapons through coastal areas under their control on
the Red Sea.
The
Houthis remain in control of strategic seaports on the Red Sea, including
Hodeidah. The impact of the undisrupted supplies of the advanced Iranian
weapons to the Houthis can been seen on the battlefield. Yemeni military
commanders have recently told Arab News that the Houthi bombardment has become
more destructive and precise, killing more soldiers and civilians. This shows
that Houthis resupplied their depleted arsenal of weapons that were destroyed
during fighting with advanced weapons that sometime gave them superiority on
the battlefield, army commanders say.
Experts
argue that the continuing supplies of weapons from Iran has not only extended
the conflict in Yemen, but also allowed them to target Saudi Arabia through
ballistic missiles and drones.
“The
Iranian support to the Houthis has not only prolonged the war, but also enabled
the Houthis to target civilian areas in neighboring Saudi Arabia, as well as oil
shipments, and to threaten international navigation through the Bab Al-Mandab,”
Saleh Al-Baydhani, a Yemeni political analyst, told Arab News.
To
stem the flow of Iranian weapons to Yemen, military experts suggest increasing
sea patrol vessels near the Yemeni coast and liberating the remaining Yemeni
coastal areas under Houthi control.
“Each
time an arms shipment is intercepted, an attack inside Yemen or on Saudi Arabia
is foiled. So I see the latest interception as a success,” Brig. Khaled
Al-Nasi, a Yemeni military analyst, told Arab News.
Full
report at:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1697466/middle-east
--------
India
Delhi
High Courts Seeks Reply on Islamic Sect Members' Request for Accommodation
June
29, 2020
New
Delhi: The Delhi High Court Monday asked the centre, Delhi government and
police to reply to a plea by several foreign nationals, who are connected to
the Islamic Sect Tablighi Jamaat and had participated in the religious
congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz event earlier this year amid the coronavirus
outbreak, seeking permission to add three more places of alternate
accommodation for them.
A
bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rajnish Bhatnagar issued notices to the
centre and Delhi government and Delhi Police and asked them to take instructions
on the matter.
The
court, which conducted the hearing through video conferencing, listed the
matter for further hearing on Tuesday.
The
application sought modification to the court's May 28 order by seeking to
include three more places of alternate accommodation for the foreign nationals
connected to the Tablighi Jamaat in light of the ongoing criminal proceedings.
On
May 28, the high court had directed that 955 foreign nationals, who had
participated in the Nizamuddin event, be shifted from institutional quarantine
centres, where they were kept since March 30 despite testing negative for
coronavirus, to nine alternate accommodations.
The
plea, filed through advocates Mandakini Singh and Ashima Mandla, said that
during the course of the month, 65 foreign nationals housed at Meeraj
International School have faced discomfort with regard to the arrangements
there.
It
said the community is praying for permission to immediately shift these 65
foreign nationals from Meeraj International School to Texan Public School in
Delhi's Moujpur, a new accommodation suggested by them.
"Apart
from the Texan Public School, the community has now identified an additional 2
alternate places of accommodation, which may be used in the future, if need be,
to house any of the 955 foreign nationals in question. The community once again
undertakes to bear all costs for shifting accommodation and further duly notify
the Respondent No 4 (Delhi Police) of the whereabouts of the foreign
nationals," it said.
The
high court had on May 28 disposed of two petitions filed by various foreign
nationals seeking to be shifted to alternate accommodation and stating that the
financial burden will be borne by the community, Tablighi Jamaat.
The
high court had warned that they should not shift to any other location without
the permission of Delhi Police.
Delhi
Police had told the High Court that 47 chargesheets have been filed against 910
foreign nationals belonging to 35 countries.
After
being exposed to a large gathering in March amid the coronavirus lockdown, many
members of Tablighi Jamaat who attended an event at Delhi's Hazrat Nizamuddin
were taken out by the authorities and lodged in different quarantine centres in
Delhi. Some of them were sent to the centres a few days later after being detained
from various mosques.
In
April, COVID-19 cases in Delhi spiked after hundreds of Tablighi Jamaat
members, who had attended the large congregation in Nizamuddin, tested
positive.
The
other members were directly taken to quarantine centres to contain the spread
of COVID-19.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/delhi-high-courts-seeks-reply-on-islamic-sect-members-request-for-accomodation-2254076
--------
Syed
Ali Shah Geelani quits Hurriyat, passes separatist baton to Pak-based successor
Jun
29, 2020
SRINAGAR:
In a sudden move that left Kashmir's separatist conglomerate in disarray,
pro-Pakistan hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Monday quit his faction of the
All Parties Hurriyat Conference and named Rawalpindi-based Abdullah Geelani as
his successor amid speculation that he was doing ISI's bidding.
Officially,
the 91-year-old Hurriyat patriarch cited disenchantment with the way fellow
constituents of the group responded to the nullification of Article 370 last
August as the primary reason for his decision to dissociate himself from them.
He also alleged lack of accountability within the Hurriyat and a rebellion
brewing in the ranks.
"I,
Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, have
decided to completely quit the amalgam," he said in an audio message.
A
spokesperson for the Hurriyat said the outgoing chairman and three-time MLA had
written to all eight constituents of the group, outlining the reasons for his
quitting, including a series of allegations against colleagues based in Pakistan-occupied
Kashmir. "The activities of these representatives are now limited to
seeking access to assemblies and ministries there (POK). Some members were
expelled while others started holding their own meetings. These activities were
endorsed by you (constituents) by holding a meeting here to ratify their
decisions," he wrote.
On
the alleged "inaction" by Hurriyat members after J&K lost its
special status and was split into two Union Territories, Ali Shah Geelani said,
"I sent messages to you through various means so that the next course of
action could be decided, but all my efforts went in vain. Now that the sword of
accountability is hanging over your heads for financial and other
irregularities, you thought of calling the advisory committee meeting."
Sources
said Abdullah Geelani being chosen to run the Hurriyat from Rawalpindi
effectively means sidelining the separatist cabal in the Valley. Abdullah
Geelani is the younger brother of SAR Geelani, the former DU professor who died
of a heart attack in 2019, 16 years after being acquitted in the 2001
Parliament attack case.
"Abdullah
Geelani is known to be close to ISI. Ali Shah Geelani was forced to relinquish
his post and hand over the reins to Abdullah Geelani because ISI wasn't in
favour of either Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin or Hurriyat veteran
Ghulam Mohammad Safi," an insider said.
The
feud within the secessionist set-up erupted last January when Ali Shah Geelani
removed Safi, once a close aide, as chief of the Hurriyat's POK chapter. The
bone of contention was apparently distribution of the spoils of the narcotics
trade that funds terrorism in the Valley, sources said.
The
recent attempt on the life of Hizb chief Salahuddin in Rawalpindi was allegedly
masterminded by Abdullah Geelani with the ISI's support. Kashmir-born
Salahuddin wanted to head the Hurriyat, the sources said.
Full
report at:
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/geelani-quits-hurriyat-passes-separatist-baton-to-pak-based-successor/articleshow/76697768.cms
--------
Mosque
Assets Illegally Diverted to Manjeshwar MLA And IUML Leader M C Kamaruddin's
Gold Business: CPM
30th
June 2020
KASARAGOD:
If last week Manjeshwar MLA and IUML leader of Kasaragod M C Kamaruddin was
mired in quicksand, this week he could be beginning to sink.
The
CPM has alleged that around nine mahal committees in Padna, Trikaripur, and
Valiyaparamba gram panchayats have illegally invested in Kamaruddin's Fashion
Gold business. "The investments were made without the permission of the
Kerala State Waqf Board," said CPM district secretary M V Balakrishnan.
Mahal
committees control the assets of the mosques under them, and if the mosques are
registered with Waqf Board, then the assets also belong to the board.
In
a press conference on Monday, Balakrishnan alleged the IUML leaders, including
Kamaruddin, misuse the influence as community leaders to raise money for their
business.
"With
the gold businesses tanking, many small investors and the Mahal committees are
in a spot of losing their money," said V P P Mustafa, CPM district
secretariat member and a party leader from Trikaripur, Kamaruddin's home town.
Mustafa
said the chairman of Fashion Gold is Kamaruddin and the managing director is T
K Pookoya Thangal, who is also the district president of the Sunni Mahal
Federation and president of Trikaripur Muslim Jamaath. "These positions
give Pookoya Thangal unquestioned access to and influence over the assets of
Mahal committees," Mustafa said and added that he was using the influence
to further his business interest.
Several
small investors in the coastal villages have also trusted their gold with
Kamaruddin's group.
"Fashion
Gold enters into an agreement with the small investors assuring them of monthly
dividends and return of their investment in the form of gold jewellery when
they need it back," said an investor who pledged gold worth Rs 7 lakh in
the group. The investor, who returned from the Gulf now after losing his job,
said he made the investment for his daughter's wedding. "I am not in a position
to ask the money back because of the presence of Thangal," he said.
A
Thangal is a revered figure in the Muslim community because he is considered to
be a descendant of Prophet Muhammad.
Last
week, it came to light that the Trikaripur Educational and Charitable Trust --
run by seven IUML leaders including Kamaruddin -- illegally bought two acres
and three cents of Wakf land at Rs 30 lakh when the purported market price is
Rs 6 crore.
The
land in West Trikaripur was managed by Jamia Sadiya Islamia, an organisation of
E K faction of Samastha Kerala Jamiat-ul-Ulema -- the principal Sunni scholarly
body.
Jamia
Sadiya Islamia is registered with Kerala State Wakf Board and was started to
set up as a home for orphans and the destitute in 1993.
Interestingly,
the chairman of Jamia Sadiya Islamia is Pookoya Thangal and the land was
illegally transferred to M C Kamaruddin, said Mustafa.
The
land has a 10,000 sqft two-storey Gems English Medium School, a 1,000 sqft
mosque, and two more buildings with an asbestos roof.
The
CEO of Kerala State Wakf Board B M Jamal has sent show-cause to the
stakeholders. "The Wakf Board should expedite the legal process and take
action," said Balakrishnan.
According
to Section 52 (A) of the Wakf Act, selling or buying of wakf property without
the board's sanction is a criminal offence and attracts rigorous imprisonment
of up to two years.
The
CPM's district secretary said the frontline leaders of the IUML in the district
were raising money from small households by promising them assured dividend and
return of the investment, and putting the money in jewellery businesses,
private colleges and schools and a hospital in Mangaluru. "They must have
raised at least Rs 100 crore in cash and gold," he said.
He
said the Trikaripur Educational and Charitable Trust -- which run Trikaripur
Arts and Science College -- is run by Kamaruddin, district panchayat president
A G C Basheer, Trikaripur panchayat standing committee chairperson V K Bava,
and Valiyaparamba panchayat president M T Jabbar among others.
The
CPM leader said the trust bought 10 acres of wet and marshy land in Trikaripur
to construct its own building for the college knowing very well that
construction on wetland was not allowed. "But the corruption in the land
dead will be known when the rate is made public," Balakrishnan said.
The
owners of the land got Rs 6,000 per cent, but the college committee paid Rs
58,000 per cent for the marshy land, the CPM district secretary said.
The
CPM leaders said the small investors who trusted the money with Trust stand to
lose the money.
According
to Kannur University's rules, a college should have its own building within
three years of starting academic activities. When Trikaripur Arts and Science
College failed to have its own building, the university forbade it from
admitting students in 2018.
In
2019, the Trikaripur Trust showed the building of Peace International School
and said it was shifting to the building and got permission to admit students.
"This
year (2020), the college showed the building of Gems English Medium School on
the 2.03 acres illegally bought from Jamia Sadiya Islamia. How long will they
continue this charade," Balakrishnan asked.
Full
report at:
https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2020/jun/30/mosque-assets-illegally-diverted-to-manjeshwar-mlas-gold-business-cpm-2163351.html
--------
Top
Hizbul commander, Lashkar duo killed in Anantnag encounter
Jun
29, 2020
SRINAGAR:
Top Hizbul Mujahideen commander Masood Ahmad Bhat of J&K’s Doda district
was killed along with two other Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists in south Kashmir’s
Anantnag district on Monday. With the killing of Masood, who was the
“last-surviving terrorist” in Doda, the district is now terrorist-free, J&K
DGP Dilbagh Singh said.
Early
on Monday, a joint team of Army’s 19 Rashtriya Rifles, CRPF and J&K Police
launched a cordon-and-search operation in Anantnag’s Runipora Khull Khulchohar
area based on intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists there, IGP
(Kashmir Range) Vijay Kumar said.
As
the forces neared the spot where the terrorists were cooped-up, the latter
opened fire at the search party, triggering a gunfight in which Masood and
Lashkar duo — Tariq Khan of Anantnag and Nadeem of Kulgam — were killed, IGP
Kumar said, adding that arms and ammunition were also recovered from the
encounter site.
DGP
Dilbagh Singh said Masood had shifted his area of operation from Doda in Jammu
region to Kashmir. With his killing, “Doda has once again become totally
militancy-free as Masood was the last surviving terrorist there,” Singh added.
The
bodies were sent to Handwara for last rites after the completion of
medico-legal formalities, including DNA collection. In case the family of the
slain want to claim their bodies, they can come forward for identification and
participation in the last rites at Handwara, IGP Kumar said.
Full
report at:
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/top-hizbul-commander-lashkar-duo-killed-in-anantnag-encounter/articleshow/76697789.cms
--------
India
slams Pakistan foreign minister's 'absurd' remarks on Karachi terror attack
Jun
29, 2020
NEW
DELHI: India on Monday hit out at Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood
Qureshi for his "absurd comments" linking India to the terror attack
on the Pakistan stock exchange building in Karachi.
In
a strongly-worded response, external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag
Srivastava said unlike Pakistan, India has no hesitation in condemning
terrorism anywhere in the world including in Karachi.
He
also reminded Qureshi how the Pakistan prime minister described a global
terrorist as a "martyr", a reference to Imran Khan's remarks in
Pakistan Parliament calling slain Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden a 'shaheed'.
Hours
after gunmen attacked the Pakistani stock exchange in Karachi, Qureshi alleged
that the clues of strike are leading towards sleeper cells activated by India.
"India
rejects the absurd comments of the Foreign Minister of Pakistan on the
terrorist attack in Karachi. Pakistan cannot shift the blame on India for its
domestic problems. Unlike Pakistan, India has no hesitation in condemning
terrorism anywhere in the world, including in Karachi," Srivastava said.
"Foreign
Minister Qureshi may wish to reflect on this, as also his own government's
position, including his prime minister's description of the global terrorist as
a martyr," the Spokesperson said.
Four
heavily armed militants attacked the busy Pakistan Stock Exchange building here
with guns and grenades on Monday morning, killing four security guards and a
police officer before being shot dead in an exchange of fire, Pakistani
authorities said.
Full
report at:
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-slams-pakistan-foreign-ministers-absurd-remarks-on-karachi-terror-attack/articleshow/76696853.cms
--------
Pakistan
violates ceasefire along LoC in Naugam sector of Jammu and Kashmir
Jun
30, 2020
Pakistani
troops opened unprovoked fire towards Indian positions along the Line of
Control (LoC) in Naugam sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday in violation of
a ceasefire agreement, an army official said.
“On
30 Jun 2020, in the morning hours, Pakistan initiated an unprovoked ceasefire
violation (CFV) along the LoC in Naugam sector (in north Kashmir’s Kupwara
district) by firing mortars and other weapons,” the official said.
He
said befitting response is being given to the Pakistani aggression.
There
were no reports of any casualties so far.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/pakistan-violates-ceasefire-along-loc-in-naugam-sector-of-jammu-and-kashmir/story-DmtR1PMHnoqubbpkFNhoSO.html
--------
2
terrorists responsible for killing CRPF trooper, 5-yr-old shot dead in J-K
encounter
Jun
30, 2020
Two
terrorists who killed a five-year-old and Central Reserve Police Force trooper
last week have been killed in an encounter with security forces in Anantnag
district’s Bijbehara area, Jammu and Kashmir police said on Tuesday.
The
forces are on the lookout for the third terrorist involved in the gunbattle in
Waghama village of Bijbehara.
An
INSAS rifle and pistol were recovered from the encounter site.
The
terrorists shot dead in today’s gunfight had opened fire at a road opening
party of CRPF’s 90 Battalion near the Padshahi Bagh bridge in Bijbehara area on
Friday injuring a CRPF personnel and a 5-year-old boy in the attack. Both of
them succumbed to their injuries in the hospital, an official said.
Tuesday’s
encounter comes a day after one Hizbul Mujahideen and two Lashkar-e-Taiba
terrorists were gunned down in the Khulchohar area of Anantnag.
One
of the terrorists killed in the encounter was identified as Masood Ahmad Bhat,
a resident of Doda, the region’s last surviving so-called commander of Hizbul
Mujahideen.
Dilbag
Singh, Jammu and Kashmir’s police chief, called his killing “a big success” and
pronounced the Union territory’s Doda district “totally militancy free”
The
terrorists were buried away from their native places in Baramulla, Handwara,
and Ganderbal due to Covid-19 restrictions over the last two months.
Full
report at:
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/encounter-breaks-out-in-south-kashmir-s-anantnag-district/story-JbKp8HCpsHtEKirFO07BmJ.html
--------
Europe
Macron
slams Turkey’s ‘criminal responsibility’ in Libya
June
29, 2020
MESEBERG,
Germany: French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday accused fellow NATO member
Turkey of “criminal responsibility” over its involvement in the Libyan
conflict, in an escalating row with Ankara.
Turkey
has increased its military presence “and massively re-imported extremist fighters
from Syria” even after foreign powers agreed earlier this year to end their
meddling and respect a UN arms embargo, Macron told reporters.
“I
think this is a historic and criminal responsibility for someone who claims to
be a member of NATO,” Macron said after holding talks with German Chancellor
Angela Merkel at Meseberg castle near Berlin.
Turkey’s
conduct in Libya is “unacceptable to us,” Macron said, adding that the moment
had come for Ankara to “urgently clarify” its stance.
Ankara
supports Libya’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in the
conflict against rebel strongman Khalifa Haftar.
France
is suspected by analysts of backing Haftar alongside Egypt, Russia and the
United Arab Emirates, but insists it is neutral in the conflict.
Oil-rich
Libya was thrown into chaos after veteran dictator Muammar Qaddafi was ousted
in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising.
Rival
administrations and militias have been vying for power ever since, increasingly
drawing in foreign countries and threatening the region’s stability.
Macron
last Monday accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government of
playing a “dangerous game” in the north African country that could no longer be
tolerated.
Turkey
fired back the following day, saying it was “actually France which is playing a
dangerous game in Libya” by supporting military leader Haftar in his campaign
to take Tripoli.
Tensions
have risen over the last year between Macron and Erdogan, notably when the
French leader said the lack of NATO response to a unilateral Turkish operation
in northern Syria showed the alliance was undergoing “brain death.”
The
Ankara-Paris strains soared further this month when France denounced an
“extremely aggressive” intervention by Turkish ships against a French navy
vessel participating in a NATO mission in the Mediterranean, a claim Ankara
dismissed as “groundless.”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1697331/world
--------
'France
isolated after Haftar's defeat in Libya'
Faruk
Zorlu
30.06.2020
France,
which has played a critical role in the rise of warlord Khalifa Haftar in
Libya, now finds itself isolated and in a difficult position after his defeat,
The Independent reported on Monday.
"Swallowing
France’s line that Paris was fighting 'terrorism' by supporting strongman
Haftar against the 'Islamists' in Tripoli, some within the French foreign
ministry and security apparatuses are reportedly beginning to push back"
following his defeat in Libya, said an article written by international
correspondent Borzou Daragahi.
Libya
has been torn by civil war since the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in
2011. The country's new government was founded in 2015 under a UN-led
agreement, but efforts for a long-term political settlement failed due to a
military offensive by Haftar's forces.
The
story also quoted a ranking official familiar with France’s Libya policy who
spoke on condition of anonymity as saying that France's backing of Haftar was
provided for "the sake of anti-terrorism, a tactical choice to eliminate
some of the [extremist] groups.”
Its
tactical choice turned into a strategy based on the belief that "tough
guys are the right protection against terrorism, which they never are,"
the official said.
Also,
by relying on the United Arab Emirates, France played a "vital role in the
rise of warlord Khalifa Haftar by providing him with a veneer of respectability
as well as diplomatic cover," it said.
The
story went on to say that Paris now finds itself isolated and has not benefited
from its political and diplomatic moves after Haftar's defeat in western Libya.
Recalling
French President Emmanuel Macron's remarks in which he referred to Turkey's
support for the Libyan government as a "dangerous game,” it said
"French officials now sound comical to their colleagues in London and
Berlin when they try to defend their Libya policy, blaming all of the country’s
problems on Turkey."
Meanwhile,
“They’ve been backing Haftar for so many years that they don’t know how to back
out. Instead of acknowledging mistakes, it’s easier to say Turkey is the country
causing all these problems," a risk management consultant specializing in
Libya said in the article.
The
UN recognizes the Libyan government headed by Fayez al-Sarraj as the country's
legitimate authority as Tripoli battles Haftar's militias.
Full
report at:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/france-isolated-after-haftars-defeat-in-libya/1894164
--------
Intel:
Congress pushes European Union to fully designate Hezbollah as terrorist group
Jun
26, 2020
A
bipartisan group of 30 US lawmakers sent a blanket letter to all European Union
member states Thursday asking them to designate the entirety of Lebanon’s
militia-cum-political party Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
“Unfortunately,
Hezbollah has increasingly used Europe as a launching pad for its criminal and
terrorist activities, including money laundering, drug smuggling, recruitment
and training,” the lawmakers wrote. “In particular, Hezbollah’s fundraising and
illicit business activities have generated additional annual revenue which the
organization uses to support its global terrorism, including a 2012 Hezbollah
terror attack in Bulgaria that killed five Israeli tourists and one Bulgarian
citizen.”
The
letter, signed by prominent pro-Israel lawmakers in both chambers, was
spearheaded by Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Jackie Rosen, D-Nev., as
well as House Middle East panel Chairman Ted Deutch, D-Fla., and Rep. Lee
Zeldin, R-N.Y.
Why
it matters: Although the European Union distinguishes between Hezbollah’s
political and military wings, some of its member states have moved closer to
the US position in recent months, which makes no such delineation. (Hezbollah
itself makes no distinction between its political and paramilitary wings.)
The
lawmakers commended Germany’s April “designation of Iranian-backed Hezbollah as
a terrorist organization and the nation’s associated ban of all Hezbollah
activity.” The United Kingdom designated all of Hezbollah as a terrorist group
in January.
What’s
next: The lawmakers also acknowledged “Austria’s efforts with regard to a
similar proposed resolution and encourage its passage in the coming months.”
Full
report at:
https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/06/congress-push-eu-designate-hezbollah-terror-group-lebanon.html?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1322256_
--------
ISIS
Militant Lands in UK Jail for Inciting Violence in Germany
26
June, 2020
An
ISIS militant who encouraged mass murder in Germany has been sentenced to at
least nine years in prison in Britain.
Fatah
Abdullah, 35, had been charged under Britain’s terrorism laws with encouraging
another person to plow a car into crowds, attack people with a meat cleaver and
detonate bombs, “with the aim of killing and/or causing serious injury.”
The
incitement took place between April 9 and Dec. 11, 2018, The Associated Press
reported.
Abdullah,
who was born in Iran but was living in the northern English city of Newcastle
after receiving asylum, was arrested after a joint investigation by British and
German police.
Full
report at:
https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2355616/isis-militant-lands-uk-jail-inciting-violence-germany?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1322256_
--------
Belgium
strips Islamic State returnee of Belgian nationality
26
June 2020
An
Antwerp court has stripped an Islamic State supporter of her Belgian
nationality and sentenced her to five years in prison.
The
32-year-old woman, identified as Rahma B., was also fined €8,000 as part of her
conviction for participating in the activities of a terrorist organisation.
In
the aftermath of Turkey’s military incursion into northern Syria in November,
Rahma B. fled to Turkey where authorities handed her over to Belgium after she
turned herself in.
She
arrived in Zaventem airport in November 2019 and was immediately transferred to
a prison in Bruges.
During
her time in Syria, she reportedly lost two husbands and three children in
attacks and now has to use crutches to move around, La Libre reports.
The
32-year-old had already been sentenced in absentia in June 2019 but appealed
her conviction upon her arrival to Belgium, arguing she now rejected the terror
group’s radical ideologies.
“I
realise that what I went through is my fault,” she told the court during her
trial. “This radical ideology, which caused nothing but problems, is now no
longer in me.”
Her
appeal was nevertheless rejected by the court, which ordered her immediate
arrest after public prosecutors described her profile as “worrying.”
Full
report at:
https://www.brusselstimes.com/all-news/world-all-news/118640/belgium-strips-islamic-state-returnee-of-belgian-nationality-turkey-syria-antwerp-court-five-years/
--------
South
Asia
23
civilians, kids included, die in rain of rockets on Afghan market
29
June 2020
Nearly
two dozen civilians, including children, have been killed and several others
injured when a barrage of rockets fell on a cattle market in Afghanistan’s
southern province of Helmand.
Hundreds
of villagers from the neighboring districts had gathered at the open-air weekly
cattle market in Sangin to trade sheep and goats on Monday.
It
was the rockets, fired from a source disputed by the Taliban militant group and
the Afghan government, that fatally disturbed the peasant life of the town of
about 20,000 people.
A
spokesman for Helmand’s governor confirmed the death of at least 23 civilians.
Kabul
and Taliban blame each other for the rain of rockets.
Qari
Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, said the Afghan army had fired several
rounds of mortars on civilian houses and the market.
A
government statement denied a narrative of that sort.
Khushakyar,
identified by a single name, said he was trying to sell a calf when the rockets
hit the market. He said his two nephews
were killed and his son was wounded.
“I
saw around 20 bodies on the ground,” he said, adding that dozens were wounded
and “livestock lay dead next to men.”
Some
local residents said the shelling occurred during fierce clashes between the
Taliban militants and security forces in residential areas surrounding the
market.
Violence
has surged despite a deal in February between the Taliban and the United
States. Official data shows Taliban bombings and other assaults have increased
70 percent since the militant group signed the deal with Washington.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/06/29/628503/Afghanistan-Helmand-Sangin-market
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Bangladesh
boat crash kills at least 32, as ferry sinks in 20 seconds
June
29, 2020
Dhaka
(CNN)More than 30 bodies have been recovered from a river in Bangladesh, and
more people are feared dead, after two ferries collided on Monday morning.
A
vessel called the Morning Bird, which was carrying up to 60 passengers, sank in
just 20 seconds after colliding with Mayur-2, a larger ferry, at around 8:55
a.m. in Dhaka, local police chief Shah Jamal told CNN.
Jamal
said the bigger boat was attempting to drop its anchor at a port on the River
Buriganga at the time of the crash. He added there were at least eight women
and three children among the deceased, and that the Morning Bird sank very
quickly, in around 15-20 seconds.
Shahidul
Islam, a Bangladesh Fire Service official, told CNN: "We have so far
recovered 32 bodies from the capsized ferry. We have already handed over the
bodies to the relatives. A joint team of Navy, water authorities and private
divers along with river police are working on the rescue mission."
Navy
diver Nazrul Islam pulled up two bodies to the surface, but he believes there
might more people inside the boat. He said the vessel is lying around 60-70
feet deep on the riverbed, which consists of soft earth and plastic trash.
A
four-member committee has been formed to look into the crash, said Commodore
Golam Sadeq, who is Chief of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority.
Full
report at:
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/29/asia/bangladesh-ferry-collision-intl/index.html
--------
Taliban
militants suffer heavy casualties in Jawzjan province
30
Jun 2020
The
Taliban militants suffered heavy casualties during the operations in northern
Jawzjan province of Afghanistan, the Afghan military said.
The
209th Shaheen Corps in a statement said at least 7 Taliban militants were
killed and 4 others were wounded during the operations in Khamaab district and
on the highway between Jawzjan and Sar-e Pul provinces.
The
statement further added that the security forces also destroyed 2 motorcycles
of the militants during the militants along with some weapons and munitions.
The
security forces also destroyed an armored vehicle of the militants during an
airstrike in the same areas, the 209th Shaheen Corps added.
Full
report at:
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-militants-suffer-heavy-casualties-in-jawzjan-province-08931/
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Southeast
Asia
Factory
Supervisor Fined RM6,000 For Insulting Islam, By The Sessions Court In Kuala
Lumpur
June
29, 2020
KUALA
LUMPUR: A furniture factory supervisor was fined RM6,000 in default three
months’ jail by the Sessions Court here today for posting an insulting comment
on Islam on Facebook.
Koh
Teen Ern, 37, pleaded guilty after the charge was read out by the court
interpreter before judge MM Edwin Paramjothy.
He
was accused of uploading a comment which insulted Islam, using his Facebook
account “Tim Koh”, with the intention to hurt the feelings of other people
between 2.47am on Dec 20 and 9.56am on Dec 21, 2019.
The
charge was framed under Section 233 (1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia
Act 1998, and punishable under Section 233 (3) of the same Act, which provides
for a maximum fine of RM50,000 or up to one year’s jail, on conviction.
Koh,
who was represented by counsel Wong Chiang Kiat, pleaded for a minimum fine but
deputy public prosecutor Annur Atiqah Abd Hadi asked for a deterrent sentence
as his action had sparked anger among the public.
“A
deterrent sentence would serve as a lesson to all Malaysians to be more
sensitive and mindful when expressing opinions on social media. Many people
have viewed and accessed the posting,” she said.
Koh
paid the fine.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/06/29/factory-supervisor-fined-rm6000-for-insulting-islam/
--------
Freeze
temple demolitions in Kedah pending new policy, says former exco
June
30, 2020
ALOR
SETAR: A former Kedah executive councillor today questioned the authorities’
handling of illegal temples following reports of several temples being torn
down and others threatened with demolition.
Former
local government chairman Tan Kok Yew said the previous Pakatan Harapan
administration had agreed to hold off on any enforcement action on places of
worship until a policy on the matter was formed.
In
a statement, he voiced regret over the move by the Alor Setar City Council to
demolish non-Muslim places of worship and issue notices for demolition.
This
follows reports that a Hindu shrine near the Alor Setar railway station had
been threatened with demolition as it was located on a road reserve.
The
demolition was later put on hold pending talks with the shrine’s caretaker and
the state government.
Tan,
who is Derga assemblyman, said many such temples and shrines were built by
roadsides, in housing areas and on government and private land.
“As
a responsible government, we must find solutions that are in line with the
constitutional aspirations of living in a harmonious and united community.”
Adding
that all enforcement action on places of worship should be stopped, he said the
state should meanwhile consider issuing reserve certificates or written
permission for temples located on government land.
Full
report at:
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/06/30/freeze-temple-demolitions-in-kedah-pending-new-policy-says-former-exco/
--------
‘New
beginning’ as 500 Muslim Bumiputeras join Kitingan’s party
Jason
Santos
June
29, 2020
KOTA
KINABALU: The opposition Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) has shed its
Kadazan, Dusun and Murut (KDM) image by welcoming 500 new Muslim Bumiputera
members from the Bajau heartland in Kota Belud.
Party
president Jeffrey Kitingan said the entry of the group led by a former Warisan
branch leader marked a new beginning for the party.
Kitingan
said STAR was expecting more new members from the east coast districts and
Kudat, where the majority of the people were from Muslim Bumiputera ethnic
groups.
“We
are pleased that more are joining us, especially from the east coast areas like
Semporna, as well as from Kudat, Kota Belud and Penampang,” he said after
receiving membership applications from the 500 Muslim Bumiputera members, led
by Awang Salleh Makmud, at the party headquarters in Penampang today.
Formed
in 2016, STAR holds the state seats of Bingkor and Tambunan and the Keningau
federal seat, where most of the voters comprise non-Muslim Bumiputera ethnic
groups, or better known as the KDM communities.
The
party has been vocal about the return of state rights and finding a solution to
the illegal immigrant problem in Sabah, which Kitingan has accused the
Warisan-led state government of failing to resolve.
FMT
has learnt that former Warisan members with connections in Sabah Umno have been
visiting the east coast districts to persuade party members to leave and join
Umno or STAR.
Sources
said hundreds of party members in Kinabatangan, Sukau, Beluran, Tawau, Lahad
Datu and Semporna on the east coast were expected to resign from Warisan in the
coming weeks.
Full
report at:
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/06/29/new-beginning-as-500-muslim-bumiputeras-join-kitingans-party/
--------
MCO:
All theme parks in Malaysia allowed to operate July 1, says Ismail Sabri
BY
JULIA CHAN
29
Jun 2020
KUALA
LUMPUR, June 29 — All theme parks, including water-based parks, are allowed to
operate again as of July 1, said Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri
Yaakob.
He
said that the special Ministers Meeting on MCO enforcement decided that some 54
registered theme parks in the country could open next month, which will involve
some 10,000 people going back to work.
“They
will have to follow and enforce strict SOPs and social distancing at all times
as well as limit the number of people depending on capacity and size of their
parks,” he said.
He
also said water parks will have the same SOP and criteria as swimming pools.
The guidelines are detailed on the National Security Council website while the
theme parks guidelines will be on the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture
website.
After
a motorcycle convoy resulted in the death of three men in Pahang, Ismail Sabri
said that police would take action against the group if they were flouting
rules of the RMCO, but they would not be rescinding rules for all convoys yet.
“We
believe this is an isolated incident. I hope this is the first and the last. We
won’t punish all motorcyclists.
“As
adults, they should be able to control themselves and practice caution. If
there are more cases after this, we will review the rules, but for now we won’t
ban it,” he said.
On
the SOP for Muslim wedding solemnisation (akad nikah) ceremonies, he said that
the same limit and SOPs that apply to weddings can be used.
“There
was some confusion in regard to the akad nikah ceremony which was not stated
under social events which was allowed to proceed starting July 1. We had agreed
to allow up to 250 guests for wedding ceremonies and akad nikah to be held at
mosques, halls, homes, or other venues,” he said.
Other
religions hold wedding ceremonies at houses of worship and premises of
religious associations.
On
schools reopening, Ismail Sabri said that students who are allowed to go back
to schools to prepare for their exams should know to continue practicing social
distancing even once they leave the school compound.
“They
are sitting for SPM and STPM. We are treating them like adults and they should
know how to practice discipline and take care of themselves.
Full
report at:
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/06/29/ismail-sabri-all-theme-parks-in-malaysia-allowed-to-operate-july-1/1879854
--------
Africa
Sudan
detains 122 fighters, including eight children, headed for Libya
29
June 2020
Sudan
said on Sunday it has arrested 122 of its nationals as they headed to
neighboring Libya to fight as “mercenaries,” state media reported.
The
Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) has long accused Sudan of
sending fighters to back Gen. Khalifa Haftar, who claims legitimacy from an
eastern-based elected parliament.
Sudan,
which shares a border with southeastern Libya, denies the allegations.
State
news agency SUNA on Sunday cited Brigadier Jamal Jumaa, spokesman for the Rapid
Reaction Forces, saying that “joint security forces detained 122 outlaws
including eight children who were heading to (fight as) mercenaries in Libya.”
SUNA
published a video showing dozens of youths sitting on the ground, surrounded by
military vehicles carrying soldiers armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles.
It
said the video was shot in Al-Junayna, the capital of West Darfur province.
Sudan’s
Foreign Minister this week denied that Sudanese forces were involved in the
conflict in Libya.
Full
report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/06/29/Sudan-detains-122-fighters-including-eight-children-headed-for-Libya-.html
--------
Over
90 migrants, including woman who gave birth on dinghy, returned to Libya: IOM
27
June 2020
More
than 90 migrants were returned to Khums, Libya, including a woman who gave
birth on the rubber dinghy, the International Organization for Migration said
in a tweet.
The
Libyan Coast guard returned 93 migrants to the coastal city east of Tripoli
Friday night. Migrants reported to the IOM that six people died during the
journey. The coast guard regularly returns people intercepted at sea to migrant
detention centers.
So
far, nearly 150,000 people have fled their homes to escape the civil war in
Libya that has raged for over a year.
Libya
has seen fierce fighting as warring factions have battled for the right to
rule, and there are an estimated 645,000 migrants, refugees and asylum seekers
in Libya. The New Humanitarian reported in February that “between 3,200 and
5,000 of them are being held in [Government of National Accord] GNA-affiliated
centres across western Libya, where conditions are often desperate, and abuse
is rife.”
In
early 2020, hundreds of refugees were forced to leave a UNHCR facility that was
opened in late 2018. While it was intended to be a safe space for migrants, the
center was mired in problems, the UK’s The Guardian reported. UNHCR suspended
operations, saying it would soon become a military target.
Refugees
said that GNA-aligned militias sheltered in the center and forced refugees to
work, with some refugees describing themselves as slaves.
“In
a country without a functioning government, huge sums of European money have
been diverted to intertwined networks of militiamen, traffickers and coast
guard members who exploit migrants. In some cases, UN officials knew the money
was going to militia networks, according to internal emails,” the Associated
Press reported in December.
Migrants
from other African countries, as well as Libyans, seeking to leave Libya have
often sought to reach Europe across the Mediterranean, but the EU funded the
Libyan Coast Guard in an attempt to prevent them from reaching European shores
as Europe struggled with an influx of refugees and migrants.
EU
countries have spent more than $97 million to provide training, equipment and
ships to assist the Libyan Coast Guard since 2017. But Italy, the leader of the
EU program, does not directly pay salaries and coast guard members reported not
being paid for months, the New Humanitarian reported.
“The
militias torture, extort and otherwise abuse migrants for ransoms in detention
centers under the nose of the UN, often in compounds that receive millions in
European money,” the Associated Press investigation found.
Full
report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/north-africa/2020/06/27/More-than-90-migrants-including-woman-who-gave-birth-on-dinghy-returned-to-Libya.html
--------
Ethiopia’s
grand mufti commends Hajj decision
June
30, 2020
RIYADH:
Sheikh Haji Omar Idris, the grand mufti of Ethiopia and the president of the
country’s Islamic Affairs Supreme Council, has praised the Kingdom’s decision
to hold Hajj this year with pilgrims from a limited number of nationalities who
are already in the country.
He
said the decision embodied the Kingdom’s keenness to hold the Hajj in a way
that met the safety requirements of coronavirus prevention.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1697516/saudi-arabia
--------
Boko
Haram militants killed in Nigerian military airstrikes in northeast region
June
30, 2020
Scores
of Boko Haram militants were killed in multiple airstrikes carried out by the
Nigerian military in the country’s northeast state of Borno, a military
spokesman said on Monday.
Saturday’s
airstrikes followed days of aerial surveillance missions by the military in
Warshale, a settlement in Borno, John Enenche, spokesman for the Nigerian
military, said in a statement.
The
missions conducted by two military jets found that the settlement was being
used by the terror group to launch attacks.
During
the airstrikes, several structures in the camps of Boko Haram were destroyed
and some terrorists were neutralized, Enenche added.
Since
2009, Boko Haram has been trying to establish an Islamic state in northeastern
Nigeria, extending its attacks to countries in the Lake Chad Basin.
https://africa.cgtn.com/2020/06/30/boko-haram-militants-killed-in-nigerian-military-airstrikes-in-northeast-region/
--------
Chad
denies claims 44 Boko Haram suspects suffocated to death
Jun
29, 2020
Chad's
government on Monday denied allegations that 44 men who died in a prison in
April were not Boko Haram jihadists but civilians who suffocated in a
scorching, overcrowded cell.
The
government of the semi-desert nation, insisted the prisoners were members of
the Nigerian Islamist group that has staged attacks in several sub-Saharan
countries.
On
Saturday, the Chadian Convention for Human Rights (CTDDH), said the 58 men
imprisoned were "farmers and villagers who were arbitrarily arrested ...
on last-minute instructions."
The
CTDDH said 44 of 58 prisoners died after being held in a windowless cell
measuring 6 metres by 3 metres (19 feet by 10 feet).
Despite
temperatures of more than 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit), they were not
given food or water, it said.
But
Justice Minister Djimet Arabi told AFP on Monday: "We will not give
credence to a report that does not correspond to reality at all."
Officials
at one point said the men had committed mass suicide and that traces of poison
had been found in their bodies.
But
the CTDDH said the Chadian authorities had committed several
"exactions" and routinely executed Boko Haram suspects.
All
the men were captured during a major army operation around Lake Chad launched
by President Idriss Deby Itno early in April.
That
operation came in response to the deaths of 98 Chadian soldiers in a March 23
attack on a base at Bohoma, in the Lake Chad marshlands -- the worst one-day
loss their army has ever suffered.
Full
report at:
https://www.wionews.com/world/chad-denies-claims-44-boko-haram-suspects-suffocated-to-death-309508
--------
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