Christians in Muslim-Majority Malaysia Can Use 'Allah' In Publications
New Age Islam News
Bureau
10 March 2021
Arabic calligraphy that
reads 'Allah' is written on the wall of the old mosque in Edirne on March 8,
2020 AFP
------
•
United Nations Censures as Deeply ‘Regrettable’ a Swiss Vote In Favour Of
Banning Face Coverings for Muslim Women
•
Afghan Buddha in Virtual Return on Anniversary of Destruction by Taliban
•
Gilgit-Baltistan House Passes Joint Resolution for Interim Provincial Status
for Region
•
US Blacklists Two IRGC Interrogators in First Iran Sanctions under Biden Admin
•
Aligarh Muslim University to Set Up Centre of Sufism and Islamic Philosophy
•
US Says It Will Not Ease Pressure on Syria after UAE Criticism of Caesar Act
•
Iran Nuclear Probe Is Endless Task for IAEA, Grossi Says Don’t Politicize
Inspections
•
Libyan Parliament Votes To Approve Government Headed By PM Abdulhamid Dbeibeh
Southeast Asia
•
Christians in Muslim-Majority Malaysia Can Use 'Allah' In Publications
•
UNICEF Malaysia: Child Marriage Likely Rose during Covid-19 Pandemic as Schools
Closed, Economy Worsened
•
Bukit Aman says man who allegedly insulted Islam, converted Muslim woman
surrenders
•
Extreme Right-Wing Ideology Arrives in Singapore
--------
Europe
•
United Nations Censures as Deeply ‘Regrettable’ a Swiss Vote In Favour Of
Banning Face Coverings for Muslim Women
•
Pope Francis Thanks Iraqis for Historic Visit, Says They Deserve Peace
•
British-Australian Academic Says Iran Tried To Recruit Her as Spy for Freedom
•
Islamophobia getting mainstreamed in Europe, say webinar speakers
--------
South Asia
•
Afghan Buddha in Virtual Return on Anniversary of Destruction by Taliban
•
31 Taliban Killed in Kandahar, ‘Hawz-e-Madad’ area fallen to Taliban
•
ANDSF surprised ’10 Taliban suicide bombers’ in an ambush attack
•
Local Tajiks on Afghan Border Trained To Defend Against 'Taliban Attack'
•
Feni River Bridge To Link Tripura to Bangladesh; Hasina Calls It ‘Historic’
•
OIC SG discusses prospects of cooperation with Bangladesh
--------
Pakistan
•
Gilgit-Baltistan House Passes Joint Resolution for Interim Provincial Status
for Region
•
End in sight for Imran Khan's 'Naya Pakistan' amid rising inflation in Pakistan
•
IHC dismisses PTI petition challenging Gilani's Senate victory
•
US blocks delivery of Turkish gunships to Pakistan
•
Five ‘militants’ killed in Mastung operation
•
COAS, UK CDS discuss Afghan peace process
--------
North America
•
US Blacklists Two IRGC Interrogators in First Iran Sanctions under Biden Admin
•
US Citizen Held for 3 Years in Iran Tells Of ‘Psychological Torture’: I Was A
‘Pawn’
•
Republicans, Democrats come together to call on Biden to be hard on Iran
•
US sanctions two Iranians on allegations of ‘human rights violations’
--------
India
•
Aligarh Muslim University to Set Up Centre of Sufism and Islamic Philosophy
•
Al-Badr commander Abdul Gani Khawaja’s killing a big success, says J&K
Police
•
Zufar Farooqui elected chairman of UP Sunni Waqf Board for third consecutive
term
•
Delhi High Court stays ED summons to Mehbooba Mufti
•
India to buy 30 US armed drones to counter China, Pakistan
•
Russia calls meeting to broker peace in Afghanistan; India won’t be at table
•
Terrorist violence in J-K reduced significantly post abrogation of Article 370,
says govt
•
State Information Commission blasts Waqf Board for not issuing order on free
burials
--------
Arab World
•
US Says It Will Not Ease Pressure on Syria after UAE Criticism of Caesar Act
•
Top Bahraini Cleric Cautions against Death of Political Inmates, Warns About
Instability
•
Millions of young Syrians paid heavy toll during 'decade of savage loss': ICRC
•
Deteriorating Lebanon concerns US officials after army warns of ‘social
explosion’
•
Saudi Arabia’s FM Prince Faisal, Russian FM meet in Riyadh
•
Saudi envoy to US blasts Yemen’s Houthis: ‘They believe they can act with
impunity’
•
Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet says Houthi attacks on Kingdom target global economy
•
Crown Prince, Malaysian PM witness signing of 3 agreements
--------
Mideast
•
Iran Nuclear Probe Is Endless Task for IAEA, Grossi Says Don’t Politicize
Inspections
•
Israel, Cyprus reach an understanding for settling offshore gas dispute
•
Palestine PM urges new US administration to adopt measures against Israeli
settlements
•
Yemeni ballistic missiles haunt Saudi Arabia, senior Ansarullah official says
•
Invaders partially withdraw from Ma’rib amid Yemeni army advances: Report
•
Turkey gives life sentences to 5 over 2016 killing of Russian ambassador
--------
Africa
•
Libyan Parliament Votes To Approve Government Headed By PM Abdulhamid Dbeibeh
•
France to speed up access for researchers to controversial Algeria war files
•
At least 39 migrants die, 165 others rescued as two boats sink off Tunisia
•
Flights resume between Libya’s rival cities of Benghazi, Misrata after seven
years
•
Brother-in-law of Tunisia’s ousted late president gets 10 years for corruption
•
At least 39 die as two refugee boats sink off Tunisia
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
--------
Christians
in Muslim-Majority Malaysia Can Use 'Allah' In Publications
Arabic calligraphy that
reads 'Allah' is written on the wall of the old mosque in Edirne on March 8,
2020 AFP
------
Mar
10, 2021
A
Malaysian court on Wednesday ruled that Christians in Muslim-majority Malaysia
can use the word "Allah" in publications, a court ruled Wednesday,
overturning a decades-old ban after a lengthy legal battle that fuelled
religious tensions.
The
Arabic word for God has long been divisive in Malaysia, with Christians
complaining attempts to stop them using it to highlight creeping Islamisation.
But some Muslims accuse Christians of overstepping boundaries.
Wednesday's
case began 13 years ago when officials seized religious materials in the local
Malay language from a Christian woman at Kuala Lumpur airport that contained
the word "Allah".
Jill
Ireland Lawrence Bill, a member of an indigenous group then launched a legal
challenge against a 1986 ban on Christians using the term in publications.
After
repeated delays, the Kuala Lumpur High Court finally sided with her, ruling she
had the right not to face discrimination on the grounds of her faith.
According
to the judge's lawyer, Annou Xavier, the ban on Christians using
"Allah" was "unlawful and unconstitutional".
Malaysia's
constitution guarantees freedom of religion.
Christians
in Malaysia say they have used the word "Allah" for centuries.
But
authorities had argued against using the term in non-Muslim literature, saying
it could confuse Muslims and entice them to convert.
In
another high-profile case in 2014, Malaysia's top court dismissed a bid by the
Catholic Church for the right to use the word "Allah" in the
Malay-language edition of a church newspaper.
Malaysia
has largely avoided overt religious conflict in recent decades, but tensions
have been growing.
In
2014 a church was hit with petrol bombs, while Islamic authorities have seized
Bibles containing the word "Allah".
In
2017 a Christian pastor was dragged from his car by masked men and kidnapped.
He is still missing, with a public inquiry concluding he was probably snatched
by "agents of the state".
Less
than 10 per cent of Malaysia's 32 million people are estimated to be Christians,
coming from mostly ethnic Chinese, Indian or indigenous backgrounds, while 60
per cent are Muslim ethnic Malay.
https://www.wionews.com/world/christians-in-muslim-majority-malaysia-can-use-allah-in-publications-369394
--------
United
Nations Censures as Deeply ‘Regrettable’ a Swiss Vote In Favour Of Banning Face
Coverings for Muslim Women
Campaigners from Muslim, feminist, and rights
organisations across Switzerland have been handing out flyers, holding social
media campaigns, engaging in conversations with friends and colleagues,
participating in public debates, and in an effort to sway voters to vote
against the ban. (Reuters)
----
09
March 202
The
United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) has censured as “deeply regrettable”
a Swiss vote in favour of banning face coverings for Muslim women in public
places, saying the measure will be discriminatory and problematic from a rights
perspective.
In
a controversial referendum on Sunday, Swiss voters narrowly approved a bill
that bans Muslim women from wearing a burqa, a covering for the whole body, or
a niqab, a covering for the face.
The
national referendum on the “Burka Ban” was proposed by the right-wing,
anti-Muslim party of UDC in Switzerland and approved by 52 percent of voters,
despite opposition from the government and the national parliament.
“Switzerland
has joined a minority of countries in which the law actively discriminates
against Muslim women and this is deeply regrettable,” Ravina Shamdasani, a
spokeswoman for the OHCHR, said at a regular UN briefing in the Swiss city of
Geneva on Tuesday.
Shamdasani
said “a legal ban in this regard will unduly restrict women’s freedom to
manifest their religion or beliefs and has a broader impact on their human
rights.”
The
UN official also said that in cases where women were actually being forced to wear
the veil, the ban would punish them for something outside their control and
further marginalize them.
“Vague
justifications on how the wearing of face coverings would be a threat to
safety, health, or the rights of others cannot be considered a legitimate
reason for such an invasive restriction of fundamental freedoms,” she added.
Shamdasani
told reporters at the briefing that the measure was approved “after an
advertising campaign with a strong xenophobic tone” and at a time that Muslim
women in Europe are already facing increased discrimination, stereotyping,
hostility, and in some cases, even physical violence because of their clothing.
The
approval put Switzerland on track to join countries that have already enacted
similar anti-Muslim measures, such as Germany, Austria, Denmark, France,
Belgium, Latvia, and Bulgaria.
Anti-Muslim
sentiments have been on the rise across Europe in recent years in the wake of
terrorist attacks in the continent. The attacks were carried out by the Daesh
sympathizers or the terror group’s members who had returned home following
their defeat in Iraq and Syria.
Muslim
leaders in Europe and around the world have condemned the terrorist attacks.
Moreover,
the rise of far-right ideology and the propagation of anti-immigration policies
have exacerbated the status of religious minorities in Europe.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/03/09/646940/Switzerland-veil-ban-Burqa-Ban-UN-rights-office-
--------
Afghan
Buddha In Virtual Return On Anniversary Of Destruction By Taliban
The projection filled the alcove that once housed
Salsal -- the 55-meter (155-feet) high statue. "These moments also remind
you of what a great treasure we lost," said Gulsoom Zahra, a 23-year-old
Bamiyan resident who attended the ceremony. (Image: AFP)
-----
March
10, 2021
BAMIYAN:
Twenty years after being blasted out of Afghanistan’s rugged central highlands,
one of the country’s famed Buddha statues made a brief virtual return on
Tuesday night as a three-dimensional projection filled the alcove that hosted
the statue for centuries.
The
projection topped off a day commemorating the destruction of the two famous
Buddha statues by the Taliban in March 2001 in central Afghanistan’s Bamiyan
valley. “We do not want people to forget what a horrific crime was committed
here,” said Zahra Hussaini, one of the organisers of the “A night with Buddha”
event.
After
a lantern-lit procession, hundreds gathered at the base of the cliff where the
statues once stood alongside a network of ancient caves, monasteries and
shrines.
The
projection filled the alcove that once housed Salsal — the 55-metre (155-feet)
high statue. “These moments also remind you of what a great treasure we lost,”
said Gulsoom Zahra, a 23-year-old Bamiyan resident who attended the ceremony.
The
Taliban drew international revulsion when they blew up the centuries-old
figures during their brief, iron-handed rule over the country as they went on a
rampage against Afghanistan’s rich pre-Islamic cultural heritage.
With
its snowy backdrop and clear blue skies, Bamiyan has been one of Afghanistan’s
few popular destinations for outdoor enthusiasts and history buffs keen to
explore the country’s archaeological heritage. The commemoration has been
clouded by fears the Taliban are on the verge of returning to power after
signing a landmark deal with the US that could see international troops exit
the country in coming months. Few expect the government’s beleaguered security
forces to last long against the Taliban’s withering onslaught without the
protection of US airpower and its special forces.
“We
also want to express our concern about the future, and what will happen to our
historical heritage in the future, and whether history will repeat and the
remaining artefacts will once again be left to the mercy of extremist groups,”
Hussaini added.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1611688/afghan-buddha-in-virtual-return-on-anniversary-of-destruction-by-taliban
--------
Gilgit-Baltistan
house passes joint resolution for interim provincial status for region
Mar
10, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
The Gilgit-Baltistan legislative assembly unanimously passed a joint resolution
on Tuesday demanding that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and Pakistan’s
state institutions grant the region interim provincial status.
The
resolution, tabled jointly by G-B chief minister Khalid Khurshid Khan and
opposition leaders, also demanded representation in the National Assembly and
other federal bodies.
The
resolution stated that a bill to amend the constitution to declare G-B a
provisional province of Pakistan should be passed by Parliament without causing
any damage to the country’s stance on the Kashmir issue.
A
copy of the resolution was also forwarded to the prime minister’s office by the
GB assembly secretariat.
“The
demand for constitutional rights is an unanimous demand of the people of GB,
not of an individual/ party only. The unity we’ve shown on this issue needs to
be repeated again at the federal level,” KK Khan posted on Twitter.
Pakistan’s
parliament would have to amend the constitution to grant interim provincial
status to Gilgit-Baltistan. A constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds
majority in the National Assembly and in the Senate, which is not possible
without the support of the opposition parties currently struggling to oust
Imran Khan from office.
The
Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an anti-government alliance of a dozen
opposition parties, has called for a “long march” on Islamabad by the end of
this month, vowing that they will not end their sit-in protest before packing
off the incumbent government.
Last
year, PM Imran Khan had announced during his visit to the region that he would
grant provisional provincial status to Gilgit-Baltistan. He had said the
decision was taken keeping in mind UNSC resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.
China
also has reportedly been pressing Pakistan to grant G-B constitutional status
given that the region is Pakistan’s only land link to China’s Xinjiang
province. The region is at the centre of Beijing’s ambitious
multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a key constituent of
China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Gilgit-Baltistan,
formerly known as the Northern Areas, has been the subject of a dispute between
India and Pakistan since 1947. India considers it an integral part of its Union
Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/gilgit-baltistan-house-passes-joint-resolution-for-interim-provincial-status-for-region/articleshow/81418389.cms
--------
US
blacklists two IRGC interrogators in first Iran sanctions under Biden admin
10
March ,2021
Tuqa
Khalid and Joseph Haboush
The
US State Department blacklisted on Tuesday two of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps (IRGC) interrogators for human rights violations during the 2019
and 2020 protests in Iran, amid an ongoing standoff between Washington and
Tehran over reviving the abandoned 2015 nuclear deal.
Secretary
of State Antony Blinken announced designating IRGC interrogators Ali Hemmatian
and Masoud Safdari for “involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely
the torture and/or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of
political prisoners and persons detained during protests in 2019 and 2020 in
Iran.”
The
two Iranian officials and their immediate family members are now barred from
entering the United States.
Iran
is notorious for its widespread human rights abuses, specifically its violent
crackdown during protests against the clerical regime.
Hundreds
of Iranians took to the streets in November 2019 to protest against fuel price
rises, which then turned into political anti-regime demonstrations. Protests
rocked Iran again in January 2020 after the IRGC acknowledged they shot down
the Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 plane in error shortly after
takeoff, mistaking it for a missile.
The
UN said Iranian security forces used excessive and lethal force, which caused
the deaths of over 300 people, including women and children, during the
protests.
Thousands
were arrested, and the UN said the regime’s forces “used physical and
psychological torture against detained protesters, including for the purposes
of extracting forced confessions.”
Some
of the detained have been handed long prison sentences, and others have been
executed.
Nuclear
standoff
This
was the first move to impose sanctions on Iran by President Joe Biden's
adminsitration.
Other
than affirming the new administration’s stance on human rights, the State
Department’s decision could be interpreted as Washington sending Tehran a
signal that it will now bow to the latter’s pressure amid the impasse over
reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Since
taking office in January, Biden has taken steps, perceived as extending an
olive branch to Iran, to revive talks over the nuclear deal which has unraveled
since his predecessor Donald Trump pulled the US out of the agreement in 2018.
Biden
reversed Trump’s determination that all UN sanctions against Iran had been
restored and the State Department eased stringent restrictions on the domestic
travel of Iranian diplomats in New York.
Yet,
Tehran adamantly demanded that all Trump-era sanctions on Iran be lifted before
taking any real action to return to the deal. The regime repeatedly made
threats of upping their nuclear activities, effectively “turning up the heat”
on Biden, trying to get as many concessions from Washington as possible before
taking any real action.
Biden
has also faced a lot of pressure at home. Lawmakers urged him not to lift
sanctions which they say is necessary “leverage” that Washington would appear
“weak” if it were to give it up to “appease” Tehran during nuclear
negotiations.
Levinson
anniversary
The
sanctions came on the 14th anniversary of former FBI agent Bob Levinson’s
abduction. Levinson disappeared on Iran’s Kish Island in 2007, although it
remains unclear what he was doing.
Blinken
demanded answers on Tuesday, saying the case “is not closed.”
“We
call on the Iranian government to provide credible answers to what happened to
Bob Levinson and to immediately and safely release all US citizens who are
unjustly held captive in Iran. The abhorrent act of unjust detentions for
political gain must cease immediately,” Blinken said.
The
top US diplomat said the US would “never forget Bob Levinson.”
The
Trump administration imposed sanctions on two senior Iranian intelligence officials,
believed to be involved in Levinson’s disappearance and “likely death” as
Blinken said Tuesday.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/03/10/US-blacklists-2-IRGC-interrogators-for-rights-abuses-amid-nuclear-standoff-with-Iran
--------
Aligarh
Muslim University to set up centre of Sufism and Islamic Philosophy
March
10, 2021
The
Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has proposed to set up a Centre of Sufism and
Islamic Philosophy with the aim to provide a platform for inter-religious
studies and dialogues at national and international levels, The centre will
re-examine the core issues of Islamic Philosophy in its historic-cultural
context. It will also revisit the classical Islamic tests to provide a deeper
understanding of Islamic thought, culture and civilisation.
“We
aim to bring a clear picture of Islam and its relevance in all times. AMU is
perhaps the only seat of learning that has three disciplines of Philosophy,
namely Indian, Islamic and Western Philosophy,” Prof. Latif Shah Hussain Kazmi,
Chairman, Department of Philosophy, said. The objective is to propagate
secular, humanist, pluralist and liberal ethos of Islam, added Kazmi.
The
proposal to set up the Centre of Sufism and Islamic Philosophy has been passed
unanimously at the Ordinary Meeting of the Academic Council. “We hope for a
better mutual understanding among all religions, a sense of brotherhood with
the teaching of the saints,” Kazmi added.
The
proposed centre also has plans to conduct research in the fields of Sufism,
comparative study of Sufism and mystic traditions in other religions such as
Hinduism, Christianity and Judaism, etc. “We will encourage research on the
various dimensions of Sufism and Islamic Philosophy and the ways of enhancing
religious understanding in our country,” he said.
The
centre also plans to organise inter-faith dialogues, seminars, conferences and
extension lectures on Sufism, mysticism and bhakti movement etc.
The
concept note of the centre envisages that Islamic Philosophy has remained for
long spells of time under a shadow of doubt, criticism and uncertainty. Some
thinkers, mostly orientalists, denied its very existence. Those philosophers
who tended to deny the very existence of an Islamic Philosophy in view of their
social and religious prejudices, misunderstood the very vision and mission of
Islam. They consequently maintained that the teachings of Islam are opposed to
all free discussion and rational investigation. The only fruits that Islam,
according to these philosophers, has borne for its followers have been
intellectual despotism, irrationalism and dogmatism, the concept note states.
“The
centre would serve as the platform for advanced learning and research
investigating the philosophical doctrines of the great Islamic philosophers
such as Ab Bakr al Razi, Suhravardi,al Farabi etc. Their philosophical
contributions in Islamic framework need to be revisited, explored and
re-examined in the light of contemporary philosophical discourse.” Prof. Kazmi
said.
“Throughout
centuries, Sufis travelled across Asia, Africa and Europe. They lived with or
co-existed with Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Confucionists, Christians and Pagans.
They were at peace with all of them. These men of God mingled with all human
beings irrespective of caste, creed, gender, colour, race and culture,” he
said.
According
to the plan, the centre “will focus on classical, medieval and modern framework
that needs to be synthesised into a horizontal framework with science and
modern social scientific studies”. The centre will offer diploma as well as
Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D. degree in Sufism and Islamic philosophy
https://indianexpress.com/article/education/amu-to-set-up-centre-of-sufism-and-islamic-philosophy-amu-ac-in-7221308/
--------
US
says it will not ease pressure on Syria after UAE criticism of Caesar Act
09
March ,2021
Joseph
Haboush
The
United States signaled Tuesday that it would not ease up on its stance toward
Syria, hours after the top UAE diplomat implicitly criticized US sanctions that
aim to cut off funds to the Assad regime.
Under
the Trump administration, Washington enacted the Caesar Act in an effort to
prevent foreign entities or nations from taking part in Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad’s reconstruction plans.
Foreign
Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed made his comments after meeting Russia’s
foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov. “To keep the Caesar Act as it is today makes
this path very difficult for us as a nation and for the private sector,” Sheikh
Abdullah said.
These
sanctions aimed to force Assad to comply with UN Security Council resolutions,
specifically UNSCR 2254, which calls for a political transition to end the
yearslong war.
As
a result of the Assad regime’s gross violations and crimes against humanity,
including using chemical weapons against civilians, the Arab League suspended
Syria’s membership in 2011.
“The
bigger challenge facing coordination and working with Syria today is the Caesar
Act,” he said.
In
2018, the UAE reopened its embassy in Damascus. It has been hindered from doing
more diplomatically or in terms of reconstruction due to the Caesar Act.
Asked
about Sheikh Abdullah’s remarks, a US State Department official told Al Arabiya
English that the only way to achieve stability in Syria and the region was
through a political process “that represents the will of all Syrians.”
“We
are committed to working with allies, partners, and the UN to ensure that a
durable political solution remains within reach,” a State Department
spokesperson said.
Assad
has been accused of blocking humanitarian aid to the Syrian people while using
dwindling state funds for personal gains.
“It
is imperative for the regime and its supporters to engage seriously in
political dialogue and allow humanitarian assistance to reach communities in
need in order to achieve a sustainable end to the Syrian people’s suffering,”
the State Department official said.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/03/10/US-foreign-policy-US-says-it-will-not-ease-pressure-on-Syria-after-UAE-criticism-of-Caesar-Act
--------
Iran
nuclear probe is endless task for IAEA, Grossi says don’t politicize
inspections
09
March ,2021
The
international probe into Iran’s atomic activities may go on for years,
according to the official whose efforts to ensure the country doesn’t develop a
nuclear weapon are inextricably linked with diplomacy to calm spiraling
tensions in the Gulf.
International
Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said that even if
Tehran manages to clarify the source of man-made uranium particles detected
last year at several undeclared locations, the work of his inspections team
won’t be finished.
“Additional
information may come up,” Grossi, 60, said in an interview Tuesday. “In
non-proliferation, there is no final, definite clean bill of health.”
Grossi
will need to deploy the skills he developed as an Argentine diplomat and honed
during earlier IAEA stints investigating Iran’s past. The agency is pressing on
with its work just as Iran and world powers approach a crucial juncture in
their attempts to resuscitate a five-year-old accord that was supposed to cap
Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
While
former President Donald Trump’s attempt to kill the deal failed, the US exit in
2018 left the agreement badly hobbled. The administrations of Joe Biden and
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani say they want Washington to return to the pact
but each is insisting the other side act first.
“These
next few months are going to be complex,” Grossi said. “They need to see
eye-to-eye at a higher political level.”
The
IAEA and Iran agreed last week to talks in April where technical experts will
probe how decades-old uranium particles wound up at a warehouse in Tehran, as
well as other locations first flagged by Israeli spies. Iran was previously
subject to a 12-year IAEA investigation that only ended after the 2015 deal
capped the enrichment needed to produce warheads.
Iran
assented to the latest round of investigations after IAEA inspectors made it
clear that “this isn’t going to disappear” and that stonewalling “may have a
deleterious effect,” Grossi said.
Short
of a new compromise, tensions between Iran, the US and its Arab Gulf allies
will surge over the nuclear issue. Recent flashpoints include attacks on
shipping and strikes on Saudi oil facilities by Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen.
The
original negotiators of the 2015 pact repeatedly warned that war, along with
major disruptions to the global economy, was the only alternative to a
negotiated settlement.
Safeguarding
nuclear material in Iran “is a constant process,” said Grossi, while insisting
that inspections shouldn’t become a pawn in global politics. “Please don’t put
the IAEA into the tradeables. Inspection work is a prerequisite.”
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/03/09/Iran-nuclear-deal-Iran-nuclear-probe-is-endless-task-for-IAEA-Grossi-says-don-t-politicize-inspections
--------
Libyan
parliament votes to approve government headed by PM Abdulhamid Dbeibeh
10
March ,2021
Libya’s
parliament voted on Wednesday to approve a government of national unity headed
by prime minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh as part of a UN-backed plan to resolve a
decade of chaos and violence with an election in December.
More
than 100 members of the divided parliament voted to back his government in a
rare session in the frontline city of Sirte, with only a handful voting
against.
Its
approval represents the biggest opportunity in years for a resolution to
Libya’s conflict but huge hurdles remain in uniting the country’s rival
administrations and preparing for fair national elections.
The
manner of Dbeibeh’s own appointment and the expansive size of his cabinet have
drawn criticism in Libya with accusations of corruption and influence peddling
that spoilers could leverage to deny his legitimacy.
Libya
has been split for years between the UN-recognized Government of National
Accord in Tripoli and a rival administration in the east backed by eastern
General Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/north-africa/2021/03/10/Libya-conflict-Libyan-parliament-votes-to-approve-government-headed-by-PM-Abdulhamid-Dbeibeh
--------
Southeast Asia
Unicef
Malaysia: Child marriage likely rose during Covid-19 pandemic as schools
closed, economy worsened
10
Mar 2021
BY
THASHA JAYAMANOGARAN
KUALA
LUMPUR, March 10 — While much is being done by United Nations Children’s Fund
(Unicef) stakeholders, youth groups, ministries and watchdogs around the world
to end child marriage, the Covid-19 pandemic has posed a serious threat to this
progress.
Unicef’s
findings released on International Women’s Day warned that school closures,
economic stress, service disruptions, pregnancy, and parental deaths due to the
pandemic are putting the most vulnerable girls at increased risk of child
marriage worldwide.
Chief
of Child Protection at Unicef Malaysia, Sarah Norton-Staal, said this was
evident during the pandemic, especially since fewer children attended school
and parents’ bid for financial survival resulted in them considering marrying
their children off as a solution.
Worryingly,
Unicef said such changes increase the likelihood of child marriage over the
next decade, with possibly up to 10 million more girls exposed as a result of
the pandemic.
Even
before the Covid-19 outbreak, 100 million girls worldwide were already at risk
of child marriage in the next decade, despite significant reductions in several
countries in recent years.
“The
current data available is not comprehensive and there are issues about
registration of marriages, thus trying to ascertain exact numbers and patterns
is difficult.
“However,
it appears there is an upward trend in particular as a result of the pandemic
during the past year,” Norton-Staal told a group of panelist and members of the
media in an online launch of Unicef advocacy brief towards ending child
marriage yesterday morning.
The
event was held virtually to acknowledge and renew Malaysia’s commitments in
ending child marriage in conjunction with International Women’s Day and saw
participaton by various stakeholders.
These
included Malaysia’s Women, Family and Community Development Ministry and its
Indonesian counterpart, the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA), the Girl
Guides Association Malaysia, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, and PACOS
Trust, a non-governmental organisation specialising in native affairs.
What
is the situation in Malaysia?
In
Malaysia, an average of 1,500 children from various religions, ethnicities, and
communities marry each year, according to Women, Family and Community
Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Harun who spoke in a pre-recorded video
played during the launch.
She
said this practice occurred in both urban and rural areas, among Muslim and
non-Muslims, Orang Asli or indigenous people, and even amongst migrant and
refugee communities.
In
2018, available data showed that 1,856 children were married, of which around
90 per cent were girls. It was also reported that between 2007 and 2017,
approximately 15,000 cases were recorded.
“It
is a violation of a child’s rights with negative implications, on the child’s
ability to fulfill their potential and future opportunities, not least that of
the girl child. The ministry’s stand is that children should always be allowed
to develop their full potential,” Rina said.
“Study
has shown that child marriage,can have serious long-term consequences on their
health and well-being, including educational and economic opportunities.”
Why
is child marriage legal in Malaysia and what is the government doing?
According
to Norton-Staal, in Malaysia, it is primarily the "exceptions" to the
law that allow parents to petition for their children to marry.
Authorities,
both civil and religious, tend to approve these requests for
"exceptional" marriages, but she argued that these exceptions should
not be allowed.
Rina
said, however, that Malaysia is committed to addressing child marriage, as seen
in the ratification of, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw), in 1995 and the subsequent
removal of the reservation to Article 16(2) about child marriage in 2010.
The
government also ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child (CRC) in 1995, in which she said it committed under Article 24(3) “to
take all effective, and appropriate measures with a view to abolishing
traditional practices prejudicial, to the health of the children.”
She
also said In recognition of the importance of this issue, in January 2020, the
government introduced a six-year National Strategy Plan in Handling the causes
of child marriage.
Legislative
reforms alone not enough
Amending
laws alone will not end child marriage but conditions, attitudes and behaviour
must also change, according to Unicef.
According
to its country representative, Dr Rashed Mustafa Sarwar, the legislative issue
is only one part change and there are
many other factors and solutions that need to be stepped up.
“It
requires a multicultural and multilevel mindset change in protecting a child
from marriage. It must be our own unique effort (society and stakeholders), to
end child marriage in Malaysia.
“That
will bring gender equality...” he said adding 90 per cent of child marriage
compromised females.
Rina
also echoed addressing child marriage in Malaysia is a shared responsibility
involving many stakeholders
“Child
marriage is deeply rooted in society, and economic circumstances, which makes
it is very difficult for individuals, or families, to end the practice on their
own.
“Change
has to take place across many levels of society. The best interests of children
must be the motivating factor to garner support and push for reform on all
fronts,” she said.
During
the launch, seven areas were highlighted as contributing to child marriage:
legislation that allows or facilitates child marriage; lack of access to sexual
reproductive health education information and services; low household income
and poverty; lack of access to education and poor school attendance; lack of
access to parenting support; social norms that condone child marriage; and lack
of legal status or rights for children affected by migration.
Unicef
said reforms in these areas would have the most effect in preventing child
marriage.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/03/10/unicef-malaysia-child-marriage-likely-rose-during-covid-19-pandemic-as-scho/1956392
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Bukit
Aman says man who allegedly insulted Islam, converted Muslim woman surrenders
09
Mar 2021
KUALA
LUMPUR, March 9 — Police have arrested a local man for allegedly insulting
Islam and converting a Muslim woman.
Bukit
Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Huzir Mohamed said the
29-year-old suspect was detained at 12.05pm today after surrendering himself at
Bukit Aman.
“Also
seized were an Oppo A5S mobile phone and a SIM card belonging to the suspect.
“We
have also received police reports and are investigating the case under Section
4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948, Section 298 of the Penal Code, Section 505 (c)
as well as Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1988,” he said
in a statement today.
He
said an application for a remand order on the suspect would be made tomorrow
under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code for further investigation.
He
said police are now identifying and tracing if any other individuals were
involved in the case.
“Police
also urge the public to be smart and prudent social media users as well as not
to use the platform to cause anger or disrupt the harmony in the country.
“Stern
action will be taken, without compromise, against any individuals who purposely
threaten public peace and safety,” he said.
Recently,
a three-minute-and-26-second video clip, which went viral and received
thousands of views among netizens, showed a man admitting to converting the
Muslim woman, who is believed to be his wife. — Bernama
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/03/09/bukit-aman-says-man-who-allegedly-insulted-islam-converted-muslim-woman-sur/1956387
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Extreme
Right-Wing Ideology Arrives in Singapore
By
Kenneth Yeo Yaoren and Amalina Abdul Nasir
March
10, 2021
In
January, Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs announced the arrest of a
16-year-old boy under the nation’s Internal Security Act (ISA). The Secondary 4
student was the first detainee to be inspired by extreme right-wing ideologies
and the youngest person to be handled under ISA on terrorism-related charges.
The unprecedented arrest highlighted the need for Singapore’s approach to
violent extremism to find ways of dealing with extremist ideologies beyond
militant Islamism.
The
16-year-old protestant Christian was reportedly self-radicalized online and
motivated by a strong sense of antipathy towards Islam and fascination for
violence. He was particularly inspired by the New Zealand Christchurch attacks
that took place in March 2019, and decided to replicate the attack at two local
mosques on the same day, March 15, to commemorate the second anniversary of the
carnage. His consumption of Islamic State (IS) propaganda reaffirmed his
anti-Muslim sentiments when he “came to the erroneous conclusion that IS
represented Islam, and that Islam called on its followers to kill
non-believers.”
The
youth’s detention became the center of eight questions filed by members of the
Singapore Parliament. During a February 16 parliamentary session, the
government indicated that Singapore is constantly fortifying its measures and
policies to meet the evolving threat of terrorism, including stricter measures
on procurement of offensive weapons and firearms. Even so, these improved hard
preventive measures must be accompanied by improved soft countering measures
like rehabilitation policies.
While
the fundamentals of inter-religious harmony remain stable and robust in
multicultural Singapore, authorities know that this state of affairs cannot be
taken for granted. Hence, while the arrest of the country’s first far-right
extremist was novel, the anti-Muslim sentiments he displayed were not exactly a
bolt out of the blue. The Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs
(RIMA) has observed an increase in anti-Muslim sentiments posted on local
social media, and is seeing more instances of microaggressions and
discrimination towards the city-state’s Muslim community. This observation
corresponds with a 2019 Institute of Policy survey which revealed that while
majority of Singaporeans felt that “people of different faiths can get along
when living close together,” some 15 percent of Singaporeans find Muslims
“threatening.”
To
take some concrete examples, in 2016, three madrasah students on their way to
school were attacked by a Chinese man. The following year, the word “terrorist”
was scrawled across the picture of a woman wearing a hijab outside an MRT
station. Just last year, a 19-year-old Temasek Polytechnic student was detained
for making “alarming and offensive posts” against Muslims on his social media account.
He claimed to have dreamt about going on a shooting spree and massacring
Muslims with an AR-15 assault rifle. Such incidents suggest that far-right
extremism, fueled by anti-Muslim prejudice, is potentially as significant a
challenge as the Islamist extremism with which Singapore has long been
familiar.
Singapore’s
Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) efforts are shaped by its
encounter with the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), and the continuous
exchange of intelligence and expertise with its neighboring countries.
Singapore’s rehabilitation program was only formulated in the early 2000s
following a series of arrests involving militants from JI.
In
2003, the Singapore government set up the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG)
out of an urgent need to “address the misinterpretations of several Islamic
concepts such as jihad and bai’ah (pledge of allegiance).” The RRG’s main
objective is to rehabilitate detained JI members and their family members
through various forms of counseling. RRG’s mission has since expanded to
include “self-radicalized individuals and those in support of IS,” and the
group also conducts outreach programs designed to educate the public. The
group’s efforts have grown in tandem with the heightened terror activities and
growing IS network within Southeast Asia. Given the nature of the threat,
Singapore’s P/CVE efforts have mostly been focused on addressing Islamist
radicalization.
To
further mitigate the Islamist jihadist threat, Singapore rolled out an initiative
to mobilize the nation called SGSecure, which aims to to help Singaporeans
identify the terrorism threat and the actions they can take during an attack.
Today,
pro-Islamic State groups like the Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), Mujahideen
Indonesia Timur (Mujahideen of Eastern Indonesia, or MIT), Abu Sayyaf Group
(ASG), and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) continue to dominate the
terrorist landscape in Southeast Asia. However, the recent arrest in Singapore
highlights the need for security agencies to look beyond the region and prepare
for threats which have largely appeared in the West so far. These include
extreme right-wing ideology, or XRW for short.
Violent
XRW gained traction in 2011 after Anders Behring Breivik massacred 77 people at
a conference for young people in Oslo, Norway. His manifesto, entitled “2083 –
A European Declaration of Independence,” detailed disturbing Islamophobia and
linked the acceptance of diversity to the purported genocide of European
culture. However, contemporary XRW sentiments gained popularity in Europe after
the Muslim refugee migration in 2014. This diversified the culturally
homogeneous region and increased social polarization. Populist xenophobic
sentiments have since come to dominate the political narratives in many
countries.
Breivik
remains the paragon of violent Islamophobia, racism, and xenophobia. His
manifesto, a bible to many XRW groups, inspired the March 15, 2019 Christchurch
massacre and the August 4, 2019 . The arrested 16-year-old Singaporean was reportedly
influenced by Brenton Tarrant, the perpetrator of the Christchurch massacre, a
potent illustration of the transferability of extreme ideologies between the
different socio-cultural contexts of Singapore and the West.
The
continuously evolving threat of terrorism and extremism requires that Singapore
broadens the scope of its counterterrorism and P/CVE policies. Such policies
can be formulated by analyzing the similarities between jihadi and XRW
terrorism.
Research
has shown that most extremist groups, regardless of ideology, share similar
narrative elements. Deeper appreciation of the shared attributes of jihadi and
XRW terrorism can aid Singapore in developing a more holistic counterterrorism
and P/CVE strategy.
The
fundamental premise of both jihadi and XRW terrorists is the assumption that
their existence is threatened by the mere presence of an “Other” and that the
survival of their culture is dependent on the destruction of it. This is
reflected in Al Qaeda’s ideologue Abu Mus’ab al-Suri’s “Call to Global Islamic
Resistance,” which preached about the injustice against Muslims and the threats
from the “Crusader West.” Al-Suri concluded that militant jihad is, thereby, an
obligation of all Muslims aimed at the defense and survival of the religion.
In
the same vein, Breivik’s manifesto delineated his idea of “White Replacement
Theory,” in which he claimed that “western” identity is under siege by the
waves of immigration of non-whites from non-European countries that would
eventually replace white Europeans in Europe. Breivik asserted that the
“pacifist indoctrination” of liberals would render white European Christians
“simply unable to defend themselves.” Hence, he argued that violence is
“justified” because of the threat to “white” people.
Consequently,
for terrorists of both sides, it is very natural to adopt a binary world view
to justify violence against the other. Jihadist terrorists divide the world
into dar al-Islam (the land of peace) and dar al-harb (the land of war).
Moreover, through the concept of al-Wala wal-Bara (loyalty and disavowal), they
looked at people as either mukmin (faithful) or kuffar (infidels).
Similarly,
XRW is fueled by anti-minority sentiments including antisemitism, Islamophobia,
and xenophobia. Hope not Hate, a U.K.-based advocacy group, has reported that
XRW groups in Europe are increasingly willing to explicitly champion openly
racist policies. This trend has also been reflected in many far-right responses
to the Black Lives Matter protests in the United States.
Such
violence and language of hate fuels the reciprocal radicalization, the cycle of
increasing violence and hate between two competing groups primarily driven by
vengeance. In fact, both groups have used language to glorify violence against
the “out-group.” Jihadi terrorists honor suicide bombers as Shaheed (martyr),
while XRW venerates their terrorists as “heroes” or “saints.”
While
the ideological motivations of terrorism have diversified, the broad underlying
narratives remain the same. Hence, P/CVE practices such as religious
rehabilitation should be broadened more effectively to address a wider array of
ideological motivations. Fortunately, Singapore is not starting from ground
zero. Singapore’s policies which encourage social mixing and cross-cultural
community initiatives to foster racial and religious harmony have served as the
first line of defense against extremist narratives.
Moreover,
the accumulated experience of religious counselors in RRG could be an asset for
religious counselors of other faiths in rehabilitating their flock who have
come under extremist influence. Through the RRG, best practices about religious
rehabilitation could be shared and adapted to meet the needs of different
communities. More specifically, patterns of self-radicalization, common
elements in extremist narratives as outlined above, and challenges encountered
during counseling sessions could be shared between religious counselors to
improve the counseling capacity of all faith groups collectively.
Religious
scholars and prospective religious counselors can also leverage existing
institutions to strengthen trust and confidence between Singapore’s various
faith communities. Community networks like the Inter-Racial and Religious
Confidence Circles can facilitate such trust building and the exchange of
knowledge. Such fellowship could also be used to raise awareness about the
presence of extremist ideologies and narratives within and between communities,
and more importantly, how to refute them.
While
Singapore’s counterterrorism and P/CVE policies have evolved in accordance with
the Islamist jihadist threat in the region, the recent discovery of an
attempted XRW attack signals that far right extremism – until recently deemed
to be a solely Western phenomenon – may be taking root closer to home.
As
the threat of terrorism diversifies, it is imperative for Singapore to broaden
the scope of its counterterrorism and P/CVE practices. Capitalizing on the
common narrative structures of jihadi and XRW terrorism, Singapore should
consider fortifying its public education efforts with counter-terrorism and
P/CVE frameworks that are flexible enough to cope with a range of diverse
extremist ideologies.
https://thediplomat.com/2021/03/extreme-right-wing-ideology-arrives-in-singapore/
--------
Europe
Pope
Francis thanks Iraqis for historic visit, says they deserve peace
10
March ,2021
Pope
Francis thanked the people of Iraq on Wednesday for allowing him to make his
historic trip to the country, saying Iraqis deserve to live in peace.
In
his weekly audience, the 84-year-old pope reflected on the packed three-day
program that saw him travel throughout Iraq last weekend, offering
encouragement to persecuted Christians and extending a hand to Shiite Muslims.
“After
this visit, my soul is filled with gratitude -- gratitude to God and to all
those who made it possible,” he said, citing political and religious leaders.
These
include top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, “with whom I had an
unforgettable meeting”.
He
said he heard first-hand of “wounds still open” from the destruction wrought on
Iraq’s Christian communities, which have been decimated after decades of
conflict.
“And
at the same time, I saw around me the joy of welcoming Christ’s message,” he
said.
“The
Iraqi people have the right to live in peace. They have the right to rediscover
the dignity that belongs to them.”
He
condemned the “monster” of war, adding: “I ask myself, who sells arms to
terrorists? Today, who sells them to terrorists?
“They
are waging wars in other places as well, in Africa, and it’s a question that I
want an answer to.”
But
he noted that Iraqis “are trying hard to rebuild. The Muslims are inviting the
Christians to return and together they are restoring churches and mosques.
Fraternity is there."
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2021/03/10/Pope-Francis-thanks-Iraq-for-historic-visit-says-they-deserve-peace-
--------
British-Australian
academic says Iran tried to recruit her as spy for freedom
10
March ,2021
A
British-Australian academic who spent two years imprisoned in Iran has claimed
Tehran tried to recruit her as a spy in exchange for her freedom.
In
her first media interview since returning to Australia last November, Middle
East scholar Kylie Moore-Gilbert said Iranian officials asked her “many times”
to work as a spy.
She
was arrested in 2018 and sentenced to 10 years in jail for espionage, an
allegation she has denied.
“I
knew that the reason that they didn’t engage in any meaningful negotiations
with the Australians was because they wanted to recruit me. They wanted me (to
work) for them as a spy,” she told Sky News Australia on Tuesday.
Moore-Gilbert
also said she was beaten during her detention and suffered “psychological
torture” from spending seven months in solitary confinement.
“It
is so damaging. I would say I felt physical pain from the psychological trauma
I had in that room,” she said.
“It
is a two-by-two meter box -- there is no toilet, there is no television, there
is nothing whatsoever.”
She
said at times she “felt broken” by the experience of prison and had suicidal
thoughts.
“I
felt if I have to endure another day of this -- if I could I would just kill
myself. But of course I never tried and I never took that step,” she said.
Moore-Gilbert
also criticized the Australian government’s approach to her case, which
involved keeping it quiet from the media while negotiating behind the scenes
for her release.
“I
think had my ordeal been made public, there’s no way I would have got 10
years,” she said.
“But
there was no spotlight, there was no attention... And there was nobody to hold
them to account.”
Moore-Gilbert
added that “much greater attention” was paid to her health and wellbeing once
her detention made headlines.
She
was arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after attending an academic
conference in the holy city of Qom in central Iran.
She
was released reportedly in a swap for three Iranians linked to a botched plot
to kill Israeli officials in Bangkok.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/03/10/British-Australian-academic-says-Iran-tried-to-recruit-her-as-spy-for-freedom-
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Islamophobia
getting mainstreamed in Europe, say webinar speakers
March
10, 2021
ISLAMABAD
- Speakers at a webinar here on Tuesday warned that Islamophobia was rapidly
getting mainstreamed in Europe and it was time that leaders of Muslim countries
urgently and proactively engage with the European leadership to address the
problem.
They
were speaking at a webinar hosted by Islamabad Policy Institute, an Islamabad
based think tank, to discuss the growing number of Islamophobic incidents in
Europe.
The
speakers worried that the tacit support extended to Islamophobic organisations
and individuals by the European governments was helping them advance their
agenda and project Islam and Muslims as a threat to the European societies.
Massoud
Shadjareh, chairman of the United Kingdom based Islamic Human Rights
Commission, said Islamophobia was becoming a “culture” in Europe and such
attitudes towards the Muslims were being reinforced by governmental policies,
actions of political figures, and the security machinery targeting the
followers of Islam.
“Attacks
such as pulling the veils off Muslim women, spitting on people and calling
Muslims ‘terrorists’ are becoming common. Recently Islamophobic elements are
prevailing in the media,” he maintained.
Speaking
about the history of Islamohobia in Europe, the human rights campaigner said,
though the phenomenon was very old, but events of 9/11 “legalised such
sentiments.” Policies to counter terrorism, adopted by the European
governments, had singled out Muslims and Islam as a threat and acted against
them. This provided enabling conditions for Islamophobic sentiments to
flourish.
IPI
Researcher Mobeen Jafar Mir, who presented his paper on Islamophobia on this occasion,
while agreeing with Shadjareh’s assessment said that use of provocative phrases
by European leaders further helped in spread of the anti-Islam and anti-Muslim
sentiments.
“Islamophobia
gets intense when popular leaders also use controversial terms. Like German
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s using the term ‘Islamic Extremism’ and French
President Emmanuel Macron’s usage of words like ‘Islamic Separatism’,” he
maintained.
“Similarly,
Islamophobia is also whipped up through works of conservative think tanks,
like, Policy Exchange and the Centre for Social Cohesion, now merged with the
Henry Jackson Society, which normalise the anti-Muslim discourse,” Mobeen
added.
Islamophobic
Groups like Stop Islamisation of Denmark and English Defense League, Mobeen claimed,
enjoyed the backing of their respective governments. Their anti-Islamic
rhetoric was later translated into national foreign policy discourse, he said.
IPI
Executive Director Professor Sajjad Bokhari, speaking on the occasion, said
that there was “a clear and present danger” that anti-Muslim sentiments in
Europe could inflame further because of poor governance and economic losses
suffered by those societies due to mishandling of Covid-19 pandemic. The
problem, he said, had “far-reaching political and humanitarian impact.”
“Leaders,
representatives, academics and religious scholars from the Muslim world must
come forward and play a constructive role in stemming the rise tide of
Islamophobia,” he added.
https://nation.com.pk/10-Mar-2021/islamophobia-getting-mainstreamed-in-europe-say-webinar-speakers
--------
South Asia
31
Taliban Killed in Kandahar, ‘Hawz-e-Madad’ area fallen to Taliban
09
Mar 2021
The
Ministry of Defense says at least 31 Taliban including five of their Leaders
were killed in clashes between Afghan national defense and security forces and
Taliban militants in Herat province.
MoD
in a released statement said Tuesday, that ANDSF backed by Air support has
launched a clearance operation in Zawal district of Herat province.
According
to MOD, 31 Taliban insurgents were killed alongside five of their leaders and
further 16 Taliban fighters were wounded during the operation.
The
statement added that massive premises under the Taliban have been cleared and
an AK47, a PK machine gun, and two motorbikes belonging to the group were
seized.
21
Taliban planted landmines aimed at harming civilians and government security
forces were also discovered and defused in the same region.This comes as Local
sources in Kandahar province say that the “Hawz-e-Madad” area in the Zherai
district of the province has fallen to Taliban fighters.Provincial council
members told the media, that following the fall of the “Hawz-e-Madad” area
Taliban have destroyed some parts of the Kandahar-Helmand Highway, the group
have also destroyed three culverts by blowing them up with explosives.
Younesi
also said that the Taliban blocked the highway to the Traffic, transport
trucks, and passenger vehicles are using sideroads in the area to reach their
destinations.
On
the other hand, Jamal Naser Barakzai, a police spokesman for the Kandahar
police HQ denied the fall of the area to the Taliban but added that the Taliban
group have setup checkpoints on some parts of the Kandahar-Helmand highway in
the Haw-e-Madad area.
The
recent violence erupts despite peace efforts in Doha, Qatar.
https://www.khaama.com/mod-31-taliban-killed-in-kandahar-hawz-e-madad-fell-to-taliban-5646666/
--------
ANDSF
surprised ’10 Taliban suicide bombers’ in an ambush attack
10
Mar 2021
A
statement on Wednesday said that 10 Taliban suicide bombers were ambushed by
ANA forces in the Almar district of Faryab province.
The
ministry’s bulletin added, that the Taliban planned to target Afghan national
defense and security forces in Almar district last night with a vehicle loaded
with explosives.
In
the preventive operation conducted three suicide bombers were hit and seven
other Taliban affiliates were reported injured.
Earlier
in a separate incident, Afghan national defense and security forces backed by
air support targeted Taliban fighters in the capital of Almar, killing 12
Taliban insurgents and wounding four others.
In
another warring incident at least 2 ANA soldiers were wounded in an explosion
in eastern Nangarhar province on Wednesday morning, security sources reported.
The
incident happened at around 9:00 am local time in PD8 of Jalalabad city when a
military vehicle struck a roadside bomb.
Security
officials have not yet commented on the incident.
So
far no group including the Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.
This
comes as the security situation escalates to extreme violence across the
country and the Taliban fighter and the government forces clashes face to face
in various parts of the region.
https://www.khaama.com/andsf-surprised-10-taliban-suicide-bombers-in-an-ambush-attack-535777333/
--------
Local
Tajiks On Afghan Border Trained To Defend Against 'Taliban Attack'
March
09, 2021
SHURO-OBOD,
Tajikistan -- Villagers in southern Tajikistan along the border with war-torn
Afghanistan have been told they should be prepared "to take up arms"
if militants try to enter the region.
Local
authorities in the Tajik district of Shamsiddin Shohin have held meetings with
residents -- including army reservists and hunters -- to discuss the situation,
Governor Pochokhon Zarifzoda says.
"In
coordination with the police and intelligence departments, we've registered all
hunters who live in the border areas. They will have to take up arms to defend
our country. In fact, all of us will have to take up weapons if the situation
dictates," Zarifzoda said in an official meeting on March 6.
Similar
warnings are being issued in other Tajik districts near the mountainous border,
which is marked by the Panj River.
Authorities,
however, have not provided any details about their plans to train the men who
they say could be given weapons to help defend the border.
It
comes as fighting between the Afghan National Army and the Taliban and other
insurgent groups has intensified in areas close to Tajikistan in recent months.
Adding to concerns in Dushanbe, Afghan officials have warned that there are
many Tajik nationals fighting with the militants.
In
very rocky, mountainous terrain of brush and cliffs, much of the 112-kilometer
border between Shamsiddin Shohin and northeastern Afghanistan is considered one
of the most difficult parts of the frontier for Tajik border troops to control.
As
in many Tajik border villages, people in Shamsiddin Shohin are used to hearing
the sound of gunfire coming from Afghanistan and even fear being struck by a
stray bullet or artillery shell.
Two
weeks ago, several bullets and shells fired from Afghanistan landed in the
backyards of two residential houses and a school in the nearby village of
Ruzvai in the Darvoz district.
Tajik
villagers narrowly missed being hit by gunfire from an exchange between Afghan
government forces and the Taliban during a night of fighting on February 24 in
Afghanistan's Nusai (Darwaz) district.
The
following day, Nusai Governor Zainalabedin told RFE/RL there had been at least
two Tajik citizens among the militants killed in the clashes. He identified
them as Muhammad Yunus and Huzaifa.
It's
unlikely the names will provide any clues for Tajik authorities as many Central
Asian militants who fight abroad usually get new nicknames, which are often
Arabic-style.
Zainalabedin
called on Dushanbe to cooperate in the fight against the militants and Tajik
nationals who the governor described as affiliates of the Taliban and the
Islamic State group.
Afghan
officials put the number of Tajik militants fighting in Afghanistan at around
200, but it's not possible to verify that number.
Border
Reinforcement
Dushanbe
has long been concerned about the concentration of militants -- including
insurgents from Central Asia -- in Afghanistan near the 1,360-kilometer border
the countries share.
In
December, Tajikistan deployed additional troops along the border after reports
emerged that a group of Tajik militants had helped the Taliban overrun an
Afghan district several days before.
Some
10 minutes of footage on social media purportedly showed Tajik insurgents
fighting against Afghan forces in Maymay, which borders Tajikistan.
The
video showed several fighters killing men in Afghan National Army uniforms and
civilian clothes while setting a building on fire. Some of the insurgents can
be heard speaking a distinct Persian dialect that is spoken in Tajikistan.
RFE/RL
cannot verify the authenticity of the video, which Afghan politician Latif
Pedram said depicted a militant attack on Maymay in November 2020.
Pedram,
a native of the area, also published a list of names he described as insurgents
from Tajikistan who took part in the Maymay raid.
Within
days, security services in Tajikistan identified at least 15 Tajik citizens who
appeared on the video or had their names included in the lists and statements
shared by Afghan officials in connection with the Maymay fighting.
Afghan
officials say the Tajik insurgents who took part in that raid belong to Jamaat
Ansarullah, a militant group founded in Afghanistan by Tajik national Amriddin
Tabarov in 2010. Tabarov was killed by Afghan forces in July 2015.
https://www.rferl.org/a/tajiks-afghan-border-training--taliban-attack/31142093.html
--------
Feni
river bridge to link Tripura to Bangladesh; Hasina calls it ‘historic’
Mar
10, 2021
NEW
DELHI: India and Bangladesh on Tuesday inaugurated a bridge over the river Feni
connecting Tripura to Bangladesh even as a new World Bank study said transport
connectivity between the two South Asian neighbours would increase national income
by as much as 17% in Bangladesh and 8% in India.
Inaugurating
the bridge virtually, PM Modi said, “Agartala will become the closest city in
the country to an international sea port.” Describing it as historic,
Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina said, “Opening of any bridge is testimony to
Bangladesh’s continued commitment to support our neighbour India in
strengthening connectivity in the region... the bridge will also help
Bangladesh’s trade with Nepal and Bhutan.”
A
World Bank report also found that improved connectivity could yield a 297%
increase in Bangladesh’s exports to India and a 172% increase in India’s
exports to Bangladesh.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/feni-river-bridge-to-link-tripura-to-bangladesh-hasina-calls-it-historic/articleshow/81421674.cms
--------
OIC
SG discusses prospects of cooperation with Bangladesh
09
Mar 2021
Secretary-General
of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Yousef A Al-Othaimeen and
state minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam had a meeting in Jeddah on
Monday, reports news agency UNB.
During
the meeting, the two sides reviewed areas and prospects of close cooperation
between the OIC and Bangladesh, according to OIC headquarters.
They
praised the good level of existing cooperation and consulted on ways to foster
coordination on the issue of the Muslim Rohingya in Myanmar, following the
visit conducted last week to Bangladesh by a delegation from the OIC General
Secretariat to take stock of the situation of Rohingya refugees on the ground.
The
Secretary-General renewed the OIC’s appreciation for Bangladesh for hosting
Rohingya refugees and for the efforts exerted by the Bangladesh government,
under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina, to provide those refugees with care and
support.
https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/oic-sg-discusses-prospects-of-cooperation-with-bangladesh
--------
Pakistan
End
in sight for Imran Khan's 'Naya Pakistan' amid rising inflation in Pakistan
MAR
10, 2021
With
political turmoil in Pakistan worsening with every passing day, the end seems
to be in sight for Prime Minister Imran Khan's 'Naya Pakistan' courtesy rising
inflation in the country.
According
to Imad Zafar, a political commentator for various media outlets and think
tanks, the Prime Minister is finding it tough to steer the country out of its
political and economic crisis.
Khan
won a vote of confidence from the National Assembly (NA). Khan needed that vote
to confirm his majority in the lower house of parliament after his party
suffered an embarrassing defeat in the Senate at the hands of the Pakistan
Democratic Alliance, a coalition of opposition parties.
Zafar
pointed out that not only did the PDM manage to get ex-prime minister Yousaf
Raza Gillani elected to the Senate, defeating the incumbent finance minister
Hafeez Shaikh, but it also managed to secure a majority in the upper house.
"Though
Khan somehow managed to thwart the crisis for the time being by getting a vote
of confidence from the NA, for sure the storm is not over for him. The rising
inflation and increasing poverty in the country are only making his Naya
Pakistan (New Pakistan) project a nightmare for the masses," Zafar wrote
for The Asia Times.
He
added, "Such is the state of affairs that even the military establishment
is unable to run the country from behind the scenes."
The
frustration of the elite, he said, was evident on the day of the vote of
confidence, when parliamentarians of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)
were attacked by a mob of supporters of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
(PTI).
"Imran
Khan is trying everything possible to stay in power. The question remains,
however, how he will survive the onslaught of the opposition at a point when
the establishment is about to ditch him and is looking for a new puppet to rule
the country on its behalf," the commentator wrote for the Asia Times.
He
added, "For Khan the game is almost over, as perhaps a few generals will
still support him, but he does not enjoy the unconditional support from the
establishment that he had after his relaunch in politics in 2011. So probably
he knows this is his first and last time to enjoy power, so he is trying
everything to stay in charge."
The
question is how long a few generals will be able to save him from the
inevitable, as the growing anger in the masses about inflation, unemployment,
and economic turmoil is growing with the passage of time, Zafar said further.
He
pointed out that this is "perhaps the first time" that the doctrine
of the military establishment to rule the country indirectly has backfired, and
it has happened in only two and a half years.
"Though
the majority of the mainstream media was behind the hybrid regime, still the
opposition managed to produce counter-narratives through international media
and digital news platforms, and the inability of Khan and his backers to manage
the economy and governance doomed the Naya Pakistan project," he said.
Zafar
added, "The endgame has started, and the interesting thing is that Khan
cannot even get rid of the government until both Sharif and Zardari agree to
topple him."
This
comes as Pakistan's financial debt continues to mount because the Imran Khan
government received USD 6.7 billion in gross foreign loans in the first seven
months of the current fiscal year, including a new commercial loan of USD 500
million from China last month.
According
to The Expresss Tribune, Ministry of Economic Affairs reported that during the
July-January period of fiscal year 2020-21, the government obtained USD 6.7
billion in external loans from multiple financing sources. The gross loans were
higher by 6 per cent or USD 380 million over the same period of the last fiscal
year.
Pakistan's
foreign debt and liabilities have mounted by USD 3 billion or 2.6 per cent
during the six months period ended in December last year, the central bank's
data reported in February.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/end-in-sight-for-imran-khan-s-naya-pakistan-amid-rising-inflation-in-pakistan-101615341506313.html
--------
IHC
dismisses PTI petition challenging Gilani's Senate victory
Tahir
Naseer
March
10, 2021
The
Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by PTI's Ali
Awan challenging the Senate victory of former prime minister Yousuf Raza
Gilani.
During
today's proceedings, the court also rejected a plea to disqualifying the former
premier's son, MPA Ali Haider Gilani
Earlier
this week, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) formally nominated Gilani as
its candidate for the office of the Senate chairman.
Gilani
caused a major upset by defeating Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh in
the March 3 Senate poll on a general seat from Islamabad.
IHC
Chief Justice Athar Minallah announced the verdict after listening to the
arguments. During the hearing, the PTI MNA told the court that the party wished
to bring transparency to the electoral process.
However,
the IHC CJ remarked that the party had approached the Election Commission of
Pakistan (ECP) in this regard, adding that there were "alternative
forums" to address their grievances. "The election process is
currently ongoing and, under the Election Act, you have other forums [for
addressing your grievances]," he said.
"Tell
us how the court can ignore these forums and hear this writ petition," the
chief justice asked. "You are levelling allegations of selling votes. Some
of your own are included in this," he remarked.
"The
court has faith in Parliament and has always respected parliamentarians."
The chief justice added that it was everyone's responsibility to abide by the
law. "Your case is pending in the ECP. Use that forum first," the
judge told the PTI MNA.
"You
are a good and respectable public representative, why have you brought such a
petition," he questioned, adding that "this writ petition is not
admissible on this occasion." "It is not appropriate to bring
political issues to the court unnecessarily," the judge said.
The
development comes a day after the ECP rejected a petition filed by the PTI
seeking to stop the issuance of the notification for Gilani's victory.
The
ECP asked the PTI to file an amended petition and make the lawmakers, who it
alleged had been bribed, a party to it.
The
petition filed last week by ruling PTI lawmakers Farrukh Habib, Maleeka Bokhari
and Kanwal Shauzab had asked the ECP not to issue the notification regarding
the opposition candidate’s victory in Senate elections.
The
petitions had been filed on the basis of a leaked audio clip of Sindh Minister
Nasir Hussain Shah purportedly bargaining with four PTI lawmakers for their
votes in Senate elections and a video of Gilani’s son, Ali Haider Gilani, in
which he was explaining to some PTI MNAs the techniques to waste their votes
and purportedly offering money and development funds.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1611736/ihc-dismisses-pti-petition-challenging-gilanis-senate-victory
--------
US
blocks delivery of Turkish gunships to Pakistan
Anwar
Iqbal
March
10, 2021
WASHINGTON:
The United States has prevented Turkey from supplying 30 locally-made attack
helicopters to Pakistan, diplomatic sources in Washington told Dawn.
According
to Bloomberg News, Turkey’s presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told reporters
on Monday that “the US has blocked Turkey’s helicopter sale to Pakistan, which
will likely lead to Islamabad buying it from China.”
The
ATAK T-129 is a twin-engine, tandem seat, multi-role, all-weather attack
helicopter based on the Agusta A129 Mangusta platform and is equipped with
American engines.
The
US is holding up export clearance for the LHTEC engine.
The
blockade could “cause more harm” to US interests, Mr Kalin added.
Turkey
and Pakistan signed a $1.5 billion deal for the Turkish-made helicopter
gunships in July 2018. But the delivery date was pushed back after the Pentagon
refused to issue the Turkish company an export license for the engines.
The
Turkish official mentioned the US blockade while briefing journalists on the
impact of US sanctions on Turkey, triggered by Ankara’s decision to buy S-400
missiles from Russia.
He
said Turkey was forced to buy Russian missiles because Washington had refused
to supply Patriot air defence missiles systems to Ankara on favorable terms.
The sanctions are designed to deter any country from signing military deals
with Russia and restrict US loans and credits to a defaulter.
Developed
by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in partnership with a European firm,
Agusta-Westland, the ATAK T-129 helicopter is designed for advanced attack and
reconnaissance missions in hot and high environments in both day and night
conditions.
The
United States announced the first blockade in July 2019, days before a meeting
between the former US president, Donald Trump, and Prime Minister Imran Khan in
Washington.
In
January 2020, the head of Turkey’s Defence Industries (SSB) said that Ankara
and Islamabad had extended the delivery deal by another year to ensure a smooth
delivery. The agreement gives Pakistan the option to buy the Chinese Z-10
helicopters should the Turkish deal not materialize.
Reports
in the Turkish media said that the Turkish-built T-129 ATAK helicopter was
still on the Pakistan Army shopping list.
In
August 2020, Turkey hired a Washington law firm to lobby with the US
administration and Congress for securing an export license which will help
complete its biggest ever defence deal with Pakistan.
The
US firm Greenberg Traurig and its subcontractor were paid a monthly retainer of
$25,000 to lobby for the deal.
The
latest blockade, however, is likely to force the two allies to cancel the deal,
persuading Islamabad to look for other options.
US
officials in Washington were contacted for comments on the announcement made in
Ankara but did not respond.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1611685/us-blocks-delivery-of-turkish-gunships-to-pakistan
--------
Five
‘militants’ killed in Mastung operation
Saleem
Shahid
March
9, 2021
QUETTA:
The counter-terrorism department (CTD) during an operation in Mastung district
on Monday killed five suspected militants belonging to a banned organisation.
According
to a spokesperson, CTD personnel raided a hideout of the militants in the
Splinji area of Mastung district, some 40km from here, in the early hours of
Monday morning.
He
said a large quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives had been seized.
The
spokesperson said that during interrogation of some arrested members of the
group, the CTD officials received information that some other militants were at
the hideout in Mastung district and that they were planning a major terrorist
attack in Quetta.
Acting
promptly after receiving information about the presence of the militants,
the CTD personnel surrounded the hideout and ordered the militants to
surrender. But the militants opened fire on the CTD personnel from inside the
hideout. An exchange of fire between the CTD personnel and the militants
continued for some time before five of the militants were killed and some others
managed to escape taking the advantage of darkness.
According
to the spokesperson, the slain militants have been identified as Shah Nazar,
Arif Marri, Yousuf Marri, Samiullah Pirkani and Jamil Ahmad Pirkani.
“All
the five men belonged to the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and they were
involved in the killing of several innocent people in Balochistan,” he said.
He
added that the militants were involved in a number of terrorist attacks,
including a grenade attack on labourers on Samungli Road, a bomb attack on Azad
Khan Marri in Hazarganji and a grenade attack on security forces in Quetta.
The
weapons found in the hideout included three Kalashnikovs with 100 rounds of
ammunition, 10kg of explosives, three detonators, two explosive rods, two
grenades, a remote control device and 13 batteries.
The
spokesperson claimed that the CTD personnel also found information from the
hideout about some other members of the group hiding in Quetta. An operation
would soon be conducted to arrest them, he added.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1611519/five-militants-killed-in-mastung-operation
--------
COAS,
UK CDS discuss Afghan peace process
MARCH
10, 2021
Chief
of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Chief of Defence Staff,
United Kingdom Army, General Sir Nicholas Patrick Carter discussed Afghan peace
process on Tuesday, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
According
to the military’s media wing, General Sir Nicholas Patrick Carter called on
General Qamar Javed Bajwa at General Headquarters (GHQ). The statement said
that matters of mutual interests including Afghan peace process, security and
defence cooperation as well as evolving global geo-strategic environment were
discussed during the meeting.
The
visiting dignitary acknowledged Pakistan’s continuous efforts for peace and
stability in the region and pledged to further enhance bilateral relations
between both countries, said the ISPR.
The
visit of the UK general comes a day after US Special Representative for
Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad and Commander Resolute Support Mission in
Afghanistan General Austin Scott Miller called on Chief of Army Staff General
Qamar Javed Bajwa.
According
to the ISPR, the US delegation greatly appreciated Pakistan’s role in the
Afghan peace process. The military’s media wing said that matters of mutual
interest, regional security and ongoing Afghan reconciliation process were
discussed in the meeting.
Director
General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, Pakistan Special
Envoy on Afghanistan Muhammad Sadiq and PM Special Assistant on National
Security Dr Moeed Yusuf were also present in the meeting.
Khalilzad’s
visit, first under the Biden administration, came against the backdrop of
desperate attempts by the US to seek a political end to the war in Afghanistan.
Khalilzad flew from Doha where he held talks with the Afghan Taliban.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/732628/coas-uk-cds-discuss-afghan-peace-process/
--------
North America
US
citizen held for 3 years in Iran tells of ‘psychological torture’: I was a
‘pawn’
09
March ,2021
Xiyue
Wang, a US citizen who had been held in Iran for three years on spying charges,
told Al Arabiya in an exclusive interview, Iranian interrogators told him they
wanted to use him as a “pawn” and described the “psychological torture” he
endured.
“I
was thrown into solitary confinement in a very tight cell for 28 days. I was
questioned every day for hours. I experienced a lot of psychological torture,”
Wang said.
Human
rights organizations have long accused the Iranian regime of arbitrary arrests,
forced confessions and inhumane prison conditions.
“There
were etches on the wall of the cell, one of them was written in English saying:
364 days of imprisonment. That’s when I broke collapsed immediately,” Wang
said.
Wang,
a Princeton University graduate student, was convicted on espionage charges and
sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2017. His family and the university have
always said he was in Iran for research into a history degree and denied
spying.
“In
2016, I was studying the Persian language in Tehran and researching Iranian
archival materials. A few hours before my return to the US, members of the…
intelligence called me, claiming to be the police. They asked me to bring my
electronics and answer some questions,” Wang said.
“In
the beginning, there were no charges and it seemed like routine questioning by
authorities.”
International
diplomats, lawyers and relatives of detainees say Iran has a history of
arresting Westerners, especially dual nationals, mostly on spying charges.
“The
interrogator told me that he wanted to use me as a pawn to finalize a deal with
the US for the return of Iranian prisoners [held in the United States] and to
retrieve frozen funds in Washington,” Wang said.
“You
have to confess to being a spy or you’ll go back to solitary confinement until
you do. If you don’t, you will not see your wife and son ever again,” he added.
Iran
released Wang in 2019 during a rare prisoner swap between Tehran and Washington
at a time of heightened tensions under the administration of former US
President Donald Trump.
Switzerland
facilitated the swap. The country represents US diplomatic interests in Iran,
since Washington and Tehran cut diplomatic ties shortly after the 1979 Islamic
Revolution.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/03/09/US-citizen-held-for-3-years-in-Iran-tells-of-psychological-torture-I-was-a-pawn-
--------
Republicans,
Democrats come together to call on Biden to be hard on Iran
Joseph
Haboush
09
March ,2021
Almost
150 members of Congress - Republicans and Democrats - have signed a letter
imploring President Joe Biden not to ignore Iran’s militias and ballistic
missile program in any new deal with Tehran.
The
letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken comes amid increased
efforts by the Biden administration to negotiate the failed JCPOA, an acronym
for the Iran nuclear deal, with Iran.
It
is one of the first efforts to garner bipartisan support as the split between
Biden’s Democratic party and Republicans continues to grow.
The
letter, first reported by ABC News, calls for an all-inclusive deal, unlike the
original deal signed under the Obama administration in 2015. Iran’s “malign
behavior,” according to the letter, needed to be included.
Iran
has several proxies and militias throughout the Middle East, including
Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Unit (PMU) and Yemen’s
Houthis.
Mike
Waltz, a Republican Congressman, said the bipartisan consensus was clear.
“Halting the Iranian Regime’s nuclear program, ballistic missile program,
funding of terrorism, and release of political prisoners all must be included
in any future negotiations,” he tweeted.
Last
month, Republican lawmakers called on Biden not to lift sanctions on Iran - a
demand by Tehran before renegotiating with the US.
In
December, 150 Democrats signed a letter backing Biden’s plans to rejoin the
JCPOA.
Congressman
Anthony Brown, a Democrat, told ABC News that Iran policy was “not a numbers
game. “This letter provides a real opportunity for the administration to see that
there’s a significant number of members that would support a balanced approach
-- a bipartisan, balanced approach,” he said.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/03/09/US-foreign-policy-Republicans-Democrats-come-together-to-call-on-Biden-to-be-hard-on-Iran
--------
US
sanctions two Iranians on allegations of ‘human rights violations’
09
March 2021
The
United States has imposed sanctions on two Iranians for what it calls
“violations of human rights.”
US
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the sanctions against Ali Hemmatian
and Masoud Safdari in a statement released Tuesday.
“We
will continue to consider all appropriate tools to impose costs on those
responsible for human rights violations and abuses in Iran. We will also work
with our allies to promote accountability for such violations and abuses,"
Blinken claimed. "The United States will continue to support the rights of
people in Iran and demand the Iranian government treat its people with respect
and dignity."
The
US regularly repeats allegations that Iran is violating human rights.
Tehran
has time and again argued that Iran’s Judiciary is independent and committed to
due process in accordance with the applicable laws as well as Iran’s
obligations under relevant international instruments.
Washington
has for long been abusing the human rights mechanisms to interference in Iran’s
internal affairs.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/03/09/646944/-US-State-Dept-imposes-sanctions-on-two-Iranians
--------
India
Al-Badr
commander Abdul Gani Khawaja’s killing a big success, says J&K Police
By
Mir Ehsan
MAR
10, 2021
Jammu
and Kashmir police have identified the militant killed in the Sopore encounter
on Tuesday night as Abdul Gani Khawaja, chief commander of Al-Badr, and termed
his killing as a big success. Operation was launched at Tujjer Sharief on
Tuesday night after receiving a specific input, leading to the elimination of
Albadr chief, said police.
"During
the search operation, as the presence of a terrorist was ascertained, he was given
an opportunity to surrender, however, he fired indiscriminately upon the joint
search party, which was retaliated, leading to an encounter," the police
spokesman said, and added that one terrorist was killed in the encounter and
his body was retrieved from the site.
"The
killed terrorist has been identified as Abdul Gani Khawaja alias Skinder,
resident of Khawaja Mohalla Kralgund, chief of proscribed terrorist outfit Al-
Badr."
Police
said Khawja was involved in several terror cases including attacks on security
forces and civilians, besides being the main recruiter.
"Dozens
of cases have been registered against him in north Kashmir, which include
grenade blast at the bus stand in Sopore, in which 19 civilians sustained
injuries on 28-10-2019; rifle-grenade attack at police post Warpora, in which
two police personnel got injured on 21-03-2019; attack upon joint naka party of
police/ CRPF at Bismillah Colony, Model Town Sopore, in which four CRPF
personnel got seriously injured and one among them, while being evacuated to
hospital, succumbed to injuries. In the incident, one civilian identified as
Bashir Ahmad Khan got also killed by the bullets fired by terrorists on
01-07-2020; attack on CRPF Naka Party at Ahad-Baba Crossing, Noorbagh, Sopore,
in which 3 CRPF personnel were killed at 2 got seriously injured on 18-04-2020;
killing of one civilian namely Danish Manzoor Najar @ Ishfaq S/O Manzoor Ahmad
Najar, R/O Edipora Bomai, Sopore on 06-06-2020 and an attack on police party
from Police post Warpora at Warpora Chowk, in which one SPO and one civilian
were killed and one SPO got injured on 04-03-2020."
Police
spokesman said that he was also involved in providing arms and ammunition to
over ground workers of the terrorist organisation for carrying out subversive
activities in the area.
"He
was operating in the areas of North Kashmir including Langate, Upper/Lower
Qaziabad, Handwara, Sopore, Zainageer, Tujjar, Barahampora etc," he said.
He
added that incriminating materials, including arms and ammunition were
recovered from the site of encounter. "All the recovered materials have
been taken into case records for further investigation and to probe his
complicity in other terror crimes."
IGP
Kashmir, Vijay Kumar termed the killing of Al-Badr chief a big success and said
it was achieved without any collateral damage.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/albadr-commander-abdul-gani-khawaja-s-killing-a-big-success-says-j-k-police-101615341052384.html
--------
Zufar
Farooqui elected chairman of UP Sunni Waqf Board for third consecutive term
09th
March 2021
LUCKNOW:
Zufar Farooqui has been elected to head the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board
(UPSCWB) for the third time in a row here on Tuesday. Farooqui defeated his
nearest rival Imran Mabood Khan by one vote. Khan was supported by Samajwadi
Party.
While
Farooqui got six votes, advocate Imran Mabood Khan got five in a close contest.
All 11 members of the board voted to elect the chairman.
UP
Sunni Central Waqf Board tends to have 11 members of whom three are nominated by
the state government and the rest eight are elected.
Last
Friday, the board had elected 8 members unopposed followed by the nomination of
three members by the state government on Saturday.
Two
sitting MPs, 2 sitting MLAs, 2 Bar Council members, two Muttalvis, one social
activist, one Islamic Scholar, and an officer of joint secretary level together
form the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board.
In
the election for the broad members, only Sunni Muslims can contest.
The
government-nominated members of the Board are social worker Sabeeha Ahmed,
Sunni cleric and principal of Darul Uloom Firangi Mahal Maulana Naeem-ur-Rehman
Siddiqui, and UP Department of Health and Family Welfare’s joint director Dr
Tabassum Khan.
The
other members on the Board are its chairman Zufar Ahmad Farooqui, Indo-Islamic
Cultural Foundation (IICF) Trust member Adnan Farrukh, Samajwadi Party MP from
Moradabad ST Hasan, BSP MP from Amroha Kunwar Danish Ali, SP MLA from Isauli
(Sultanpur) Abrar Ahmad, SP MLA from Gopalpur (Azamgarh) Nafees Ahmad, and
lawyers Imran Mabood and Abdul Razzaq.
The
last time the Board was appointed as per the Waqf Act of 1995 on April 1, 2015,
for a five-year term. Amid the pandemic, the state government had extended its
term by six months twice.
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2021/mar/09/zufar-farooqui-elected-chairman-of-up-sunni-waqf-board-for-third-consecutive-term-2274437.html
--------
Delhi
High Court stays ED summons to Mehbooba Mufti
Mar
10, 2021
NEW
DELHI: The Delhi high court on Wednesday gave an interim stay on summons issued
by the Enforcement Directorate to former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister
Mehbooba Mufti, her counsel said.
The
matter came up for hearing before a division bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul
and Hairam Bhambhani.
The
court asked the ED to not press for her personal appearance and posted the
matter for March 19.
The
PDP leader had challenged the validity of the summons issued by the ED for
appearing before it on March 15 without specifying the case for which she was
being investigated. She asked the court to quash the summons, her counsel S
Prasanna said.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/delhi-high-court-stays-ed-summons-to-mehbooba-mufti/articleshow/81426922.cms
--------
India
to buy 30 US armed drones to counter China, Pakistan
Mar
10, 2021
NEW
DELHI: India plans to buy 30 armed drones from the US to boost its sea and land
defences as tensions persist with neighbours China and Pakistan, according to
officials with knowledge of the matter.
India
will approve next month the $3 billion purchase of 30 MQ-9B Predator drones
manufactured by San Diego-based General Atomics, the officials said, asking not
to be identified speaking with the media. The deal would add to India’s
military capabilities as the drones it has now can only be used for
surveillance and reconnaissance.
India
is emerging as a strategic defence partner for the US, particularly in
countering Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean and some areas of Southeast
Asia. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is in the midst of a 10-year,
$250 billion military modernization.
Spokespeople
from India’s defence ministry and General Atomics didn’t respond to requests
for comment. Pentagon officials didn’t respond to a request for comment either.
US
defence secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to visit India this month, according
to local media, while President Joe Biden will soon join counterparts from
India, Japan and Australia in the first-ever meeting of the “Quad” bloc. The
leaders will meet virtually on March 12, according to an announcement posted on
the Indian government’s website, which said they would discuss issues including
supply chains, maritime security and climate change.
The
MQ-9B drone can fly for about 48 hours and carry a payload of about 1,700
kilograms (3,700 pounds). It will give the Indian Navy the ability to better
monitor Chinese warships in the southern Indian Ocean, and equip the army to
engage targets along the disputed India-Pakistan border in the Himalayas.
Last
year, India leased two unarmed MQ-9 Predators as border tensions with China
threatened to spin into a full-blown conflict. In the end they weren’t deployed
after the Air Force expressed apprehension about drones manned by US personnel
flying over the border.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-to-buy-30-us-armed-drones-to-counter-china-pakistan/articleshow/81422330.cms
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Russia
calls meeting to broker peace in Afghanistan; India won’t be at table
Mar
10, 2021
NEW
DELHI: After the US, Russia has stepped in and called a peace conference in
Moscow on March 18 with the Afghan government and Taliban representatives, and
including Pakistan, China and the US.
Afghan
President Ashraf Ghani and chairman of the High Council for National
Reconciliation (HCNR) Abdullah Abdullah are invited, HCNR spokesperson
Faraidoon Khawzon said.
“Politicians
from Afghanistan, including President Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah as well as
envoys from other states and representatives of the Taliban are expected to
take part in the Moscow meeting on March 18 to discuss the Afghan peace
process,” Khawzon was quoted as saying. However, the Afghan government is yet
to decide whether it will attend.
India
is not a part of this grouping, although in a previous meeting, India had sent
two former diplomats.
The
Moscow conference comes after several weeks of hectic outreach by Russia’s
special envoy Zamir Kabulov, who was in Pakistan in the last week of February
to shore up Pakistani support to get Taliban to the table.
The
US has put forward two proposals — one, to hold a peace meeting among regional
stakeholders Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, India and the US along with
Afghanistan under UN auspices; two, a peace conference between the Afghan
government and the Taliban in Turkey.
The
US proposal of an interim government has already had the Afghan leadership up
in arms. Vice President Amrullah Saleh has ruled out compromise on putting up
an interim government without elections. This was one of the proposals by US
secretary of state Anthony Blinken to Ghani on Sunday.
India
is yet to spell out the details of its own participation at the UN-led
conference.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/russia-calls-meeting-to-broker-peace-in-afghanistan-india-wont-be-at-table/articleshow/81421405.cms
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Terrorist
violence in J-K reduced significantly post abrogation of Article 370, says govt
March
9, 2021
The
Centre on Tuesday said the terrorist violence in Jammu and Kashmir has reduced
significantly after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 and cited a
decline in terror incidents in the Union Territory in 2020 in comparison to
2019.
Union
Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said in the Lok Sabha that 244 terror
incidents were reported in Jammu and Kashmir in 2020 in comparison to 594 in
2019, while 221 terrorists were killed in 2020 in comparison to 157 in 2019.
Till
February 2021, 15 terror incidents occurred in the Union Territory in which
eight terrorists were killed, he said in a written reply.
The
minister said 33 security personnel and six civilians were killed in Jammu and
Kashmir in 2020 and 27 security personnel and five civilians were killed in
2019.
“After
the abrogation of Article 370, the number of terrorist incidents in Jammu and
Kashmir has reduced significantly,” he said.
Reddy
said the central government has adopted a policy of zero tolerance towards
terrorism and has taken various measures, such as strengthening of security
apparatus, strict enforcement of law against anti-national elements,
intensified cordon and search operations to effectively deal with the
challenges posed by the terrorist organisations.
The
security forces also keep a close watch on persons who attempt to provide
support to terrorists and initiate action against them, he said.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/terrorist-violence-in-j-k-reduced-significantly-post-abrogation-of-article-370-says-govt-7221277/
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State
Information Commission blasts Waqf Board for not issuing order on free burials
By
Syed Hurairah
9th
March 2021
Hyderabad:
Many months after Telangana State Waqf Board Chairman Mohammed Saleem took a
strong stand against mutawallis (caretakers) and managing committees which
charge exorbitant fee for burials, it took the Telangana State Information
Commission (TSIC) to call his bluff. It was during a recent hearing that the
TSIC realised that neither Saleem, nor the board had issued anything in
writing, and only oral statements were made on social media platforms.
The
fact that no written orders or guidelines were issued, or even a board
resolution was passed came to the knowledge of the TSIC after submissions of a
Right to Information Act activist and the Public Information Officer of the
board were made.
The
activist, identified as Karim Ansari had filed a set of questions in which he
requested a copy of the ‘government order’, if one exists, on free burials, as
announced by Saleem. Another question dealt with the nature of the important
qabrastan (Muslim cemetery) Daira Mir Momin, named after Mir Momin Astarabadi,
one of the architects of Hyderabad.
“From
the perusal of the reply furnished by the PIO, it is observed that there are
oral instructions by the chairman in social media not to charge additional
expenditure and there is no G.O. for allotment of graveyards, whereas as per
submission of the appellant [Mr Karim Ansari] there is a G.O. of Telangana
Government to allot graveyards free of cost. The PIO could not give proper
reply as to whether there is any G.O/guideline issued by the Government, the
Commission is of the opinion that there is no proper supervision by the Waqf
officials in all the Muslim graveyards in the State and the local people are
taking advantage of situation and collecting huge amounts,” the order copy
stated.
But
the Commission does not stop at these damning observations in the order. It
adds that there is a ‘need to streamline the system’ and put a complete halt to
exorbitant charges for burials as it is a matter of larger public interest.
The
Commission then goes a step further by directing the PIO to pursue the matter
with the Chief Executive Officer Shahnawaz Qasim. “In view of the above
submission by the PIO, the Commission directs the PIO to pursue the matter with
the CEO and furnish to the appellant within 30 days from the date of receipt of
this order, the factual position on the renewal of the managing committee and
also the G.O. / guideline about charging of fee for allotment of graveyards to
the public and submit compliance to this commission,” the order stated, adding
that Qasim should take personal interest in the issue.
For
the past several months, the issue of affordable burials has been raised in
several forums many. It is indeed strange that Saleem, who is a former law
maker, has only issued oral instructions, even threatening mutawallis with
stringent action if they charge families of deceased for grave space. In the
absence of any written order, or resolution, enforcement of this plan will
remain a pipe dream.
Saleem
recently purportedly showcased his performance on the occasion of the
completion of four years in office. Free burials clearly are not one of his
achievements.
https://www.siasat.com/state-information-commission-blasts-waqf-board-for-not-issuing-order-on-free-burials-2106642/
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Arab World
Top
Bahraini cleric cautions against death of political inmates, warns about
instability
10
March 2021
Bahrain’s
most prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim has warned about the death of
political dissidents in the Manama regime’s prisons and demanded their
immediate release, stressing that their confinement would lead to instability
in the Arab country.
Sheikh
Qassim was quoted by the Arabic-language Bahrain Mirror news website as making
the remarks in a series of tweets on Tuesday, saying the Bahraini regime should
prevent from the death of political prisoners and not allow cemeteries to be
filled with their dead bodies since the country would no longer have stability.
فلتحذر حكومة البحرين أن يخرج السجناء نعوشاً على الأكتاف وجثثا تمتلئ لها القبور، فلا يبقى للوطن استقرار.
—
آية الله الشيخ عيسى قاسم (@ayatollahqassim)
March 9, 2021
"The
release of political prisoners and all prisoners of political movement is
necessary for justice and will be a serious introduction to reform if it
happens," Sheikh Qassim said in another tweet.
Bahrain’s
most prominent Shia cleric said no serious solution or successful
reconciliation would be accepted without the release of prisoners and that the
success of the solution is linked to the release of all prisoners of conscience
as well as top leaders and figures of the popular political movement, which was
launched in Bahrain in 2011 to protest the suffering of the people under the Al
Khalifah regime and to call for radical reforms in the government.
“The alternative punishment
system is not a solution and it is similar to the open prisons system,” he
added. “The solution lies in giving freedom to all prisoners of conscience. Do
it quickly for the sake of the whole nation."
The
popular uprising in Bahrain began in mid-February 2011, as recurring
demonstrations throughout the years demanded that the ruling Al Khalifah family
relinquish power.
However,
the regime has brutally suppressed dissent, and has arrested, injured and
killed thousands of people in the Persian Gulf country. Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates have also helped the Manama regime in its ruthless
crackdown.
The
February 14 Youth Coalition, a movement named after the date of the beginning
of the Bahraini uprising, called last month for the formation of a coalition
consisting of all political groups as well as the people of the Arab country to
overthrow the country’s political system.
In
a statement, the movement called for unity to bring about “fundamental changes”
in the country’s political system, describing such reforms as the most
important and legitimate demand of the Bahraini people.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/03/10/646954/Bahrain-Sheikh-Isa-Qassim-political-prisoners-stability
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Millions
of young Syrians paid heavy toll during 'decade of savage loss': ICRC
Jennifer
Bell
10
March ,2021
As
the crisis in Syria moves into its second decade, a survey commissioned by the
International Committee of the Red Cross highlights the heavy price paid by
young Syrians.
The
humanitarian charity surveyed 1,400 Syrians between the ages of 18-25 based in
Syria, Lebanon and Germany.
Across
the three countries, young people spoke of families and friendships torn apart,
immense economic hardship and worry, frustrated ambitions, missed milestones
and the profound psychological toll of years of relentless violence and
disruption.
A
decade of loss
“This
has been a decade of savage loss for all Syrians. For young people in
particular, the last ten years have been marked by loss of loved ones, loss of
opportunities and loss of control over their future,” said Robert Mardini, the
ICRC’s Geneva-based director-general.
“The
survey is a somber snapshot of a generation who lost their adolescence and
young adulthood to the conflict,” he added.
In
a country where more than half the population are under the age of 25, the
survey is a glimpse of what millions have endured over the last ten years.
It
found that in Syria, almost one in two young people (47 percent) said a close
relative or friend had been killed in the conflict. One in six young Syrians
said at least one of their parents was killed or seriously injured (16
percent). A further 12 percent had themselves been injured in the conflict.
It
also found 54 percent had lost contact with a close relative. In Lebanon this
rises to almost seven in ten.
In
total, 62 percent reported having to leave their homes, either within Syria or
abroad, while nearly half had lost their income because of the conflict (49
percent), and nearly eight in ten (77 percent) reported struggling to find or
afford food and necessities. In Syria, this rose to 85 percent.
The
survey found 57 percent reported missing years of education, if they went at
all, while one in five reported postponing marriage plans because of the
conflict.
Rami
Asfar, 29, left his hometown Hama to move to Aleppo during the conflict. He
said the decision to leave was one he will never forget.
“This
war changed my life completely. I’m changed where I live, my ambitions, all my
plans. I even changed my university major. I’ve been forced to find better
conditions in these bad ones."
Ahmad,
originally from Homs and living in Lebanon, says his situation is worsening by
day.
“I
had more money when I was 10 years old than now when I am 24. I have nothing of
my personal belongings I used to have at home. I used to have my own wardrobe,
desk and computer."
Iman
Shebli, 26, lived in Lebanon with her family for several years before moving to
Barcelona to study.
“I
started from zero. People around me told me it is difficult to find a job
because of economic problems and the coronavirus situation,” she said.
In
the survey, economic opportunities and jobs top young Syrians’ list of what
they need most, followed by healthcare, education and psychological support.
Women have been particularly hard-hit economically, with almost 30 percent in
Syria reporting no income at all to support their family.
Young
Syrians in Lebanon report humanitarian assistance among their top needs.
Mental
health impact
The
conflict’s impact on mental health is also clear. In the past 12 months, young
people in Syria have experienced sleep disorders (54 percent), anxiety (73
percent), depression (58 percent), solitude (46 percent), frustration (62
percent) and distress (69 percent) because of the conflict.
In
all three countries, young Syrians said access to psychological support was one
of the things they needed most.
Fabrizio
Carboni, the ICRC’s Geneva-based regional director for the Near and Middle
East, said: “These young people are now facing their second decade of this
agonizing crisis.”
“What
is so poignant about their situation is that, having lost much of their
childhood and teenage years to the violence, this generation will likely shoulder
much of the responsibility and work of reconstruction. Their children’s lives
will be marked by this conflict, too.”
The
conflict in Syria has been breathtakingly brutal for civilians, characterized
by destruction of cities and towns on a vast scale, massive internal
displacement and a refugee crisis that has reverberated across the world. In
the past year, millions of people have been pushed deeper into poverty by the
worst economic crisis since the conflict began, compounded by the impact of
sanctions and the global COVID-19 pandemic. Some 13.4 million people (out of
roughly 18 million) need humanitarian assistance.
Despite
everything, most young Syrians surveyed said they are optimistic about the
future.
Their
hopes and ambitions for the next decade are universally recognizable: safety
and stability, a chance to have a family and a well-paid job, affordable and
accessible healthcare and services, and an end to the upheaval and conflict.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/03/10/Millions-of-young-Syrians-paid-heavy-toll-during-decade-of-savage-loss-ICRC
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Deteriorating
Lebanon concerns US officials after army warns of ‘social explosion’
08
March ,2021
Joseph
Haboush
US
officials are growing increasingly concerned over the deteriorating situation
in Lebanon, with fears over a security incident rising and the country’s army
chief warning of a social “explosion.”
Lebanon
has been without a fully functioning government since last August and the
country’s politicians remain at loggerheads over the formation of a new
cabinet.
The
US State Department previously told Al Arabiya English that it was “closely”
monitoring the situation in Lebanon while also calling for a credible
government to be formed quickly.
However,
as the situation continues to deteriorate and no solution appears imminent,
skepticism is growing across the diplomatic arena.
“No
one should expect the people [Lebanese officials] in charge of saving the
situation to act any differently than they have for decades,” a Western diplomatic
source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Al Arabiya English.
The
political elite has been in power for years. Those who have stepped out of the
political scene or died have been succeeded by their sons or other family
members.
Despite
this, the security situation has been calm for the most part with nationwide
protests ongoing for the last week since the Lebanese pound dipped to record
lows.
But
comments made by the Lebanese Army chief on Monday were concerning.
“Soldiers
are suffering and they’re hungry. To the country’s officials I ask, where are
you going and what are you planning to do?” General Joseph Aoun said, during a
speech at the army’s headquarters.
Gen.
Aoun further criticized the country’s ruling elite as not caring about the army
or “the suffering of members of the military.”
He
also lashed out at continuous budget cuts for the army in the annual state
budget. As the currency has lost almost 80 percent of its value compared to
2019, many soldiers are now earning what is equivalent to around $80 per month.
Ranking
commanders and officers have seen their salaries become worth less than $500
per month. “I want to ask them [politicians], do you want an army or not? Do
you want the army to remain on its feet or not?” Gen. Aoun asked.
Security
sources told Al Arabiya English that there was a significant increase in the
number of soldiers requesting to be furloughed in the next few months, while
more senior commanders were demanding early retirement.
And
as the morale of the army - seen as one of the key pillars of Lebanon’s
stability over the years and a key US ally in the fight against terrorism -
declines, the less likely they are to listen to the orders of the country’s
rulers.
Aoun,
the army chief, made this clear on Monday when he said “political smear
campaigns” would not succeed and that he would not permit any interference in
the army’s affairs.
Aram
Nerguizian, a senior advisor at the Carnegie Middle East Center, warned that
Lebanon “appears to have entered the unknown in terms of civil-military
relations,” following the army general’s speech.
The
Pentagon did not respond to Al Arabiya English’s request for comment.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/03/09/Lebanon-crisis-US-officials-concerned-over-security-situation-in-Lebanon-after-army-chief-warning
--------
Saudi
Arabia’s FM Prince Faisal, Russian FM meet in Riyadh
10
March ,2021
Saudi
Arabia's foreign minister on Wednesday said the Kingdom would take deterrent
action to protect its oil facilities, following attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed
Houthis on energy sites.
Prince
Faisal bin Farhan also said in a news conference with Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov in Riyadh, that the Kingdom would continue to cooperate with
Russia in the OPEC+ framework.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2021/03/10/Saudi-Arabia-s-FM-Prince-Faisal-Russian-FM-meet-in-Riyadh-
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Saudi
envoy to US blasts Yemen’s Houthis: ‘They believe they can act with impunity’
Joseph
Haboush
10
March ,2021
Saudi
Arabia’s ambassador to the United States on Wednesday lashed out at the
Iran-backed Houthis for their “egregious terrorist attacks” against the
Kingdom, warning the international community that the Yemeni militia group
believes it can act with impunity.
“We
are exercising extreme restraint in the face of a daily barrage of weaponized
drones and ballistic missiles,” Princess Reema Bandar said in a statement
posted to the Saudi Embassy in Washington’s website.
Princess
Reema’s comments come as the Houthis have escalated their attacks on Saudi
Arabia in recent weeks, specifically following the Biden administration’s
decision to remove the group from its terror list.
Critics
of US President Joe Biden’s decision have said that the Houthis feel
emboldened, which has led to an uptick of its offensive on Marib, one of the
last government strongholds in the north.
Saudi
Arabia has repeatedly voiced its willingness to end the war in Yemen through a
political solution.
Washington
has also lauded Riyadh’s productive stance in expressing an interest in ending
the years long war.
Nevertheless,
the Houthis continue their daily targeting of Saudi Arabia using bomb-laden
drones and ballistic missiles.
“The
Kingdom is committed to ending the war in Yemen through a political resolution,
but on the other side of this conflict is a group driven by the extremist
ideology of the Iranian regime,” the Saudi ambassador said.
She
added: “The Houthis continue to show callous disregard for the suffering of our
Yemeni brothers and sisters. Quite simply, by their actions, they show they are
not interested in the type of serious dialogue it will take to end the
nightmare in Yemen.”
Princess
Reema reiterated Saudi Arabia’s commitment to working with Biden’s recently
appointed special envoy for Yemen and the UN’s special envoy, Martin Griffiths.
US
Special Envoy Timothy Lenderking is in the region for the second time since
being appointed, shortly after Biden took office. He has met with Houthi
officials directly, and through various diplomatic channels, sources familiar
with his meetings have said.
But
the recent Houthi attacks on Saudi Aramco facilities are becoming a direct
threat to the stability of global energy supplies, Princess Reema said. The
attacks are also “affecting the entire global economy and endangering the lives
of Saudi workers in Aramco and thousands more from 80 different nationalities,
including Americans,” she noted.
As
for Iran and its support for the Houthis, the Saudi ambassador called on the
international community to help end the smuggling of Iranian weapons into
Yemen.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2021/03/10/Saudi-envoy-to-US-blasts-Yemen-s-Houthis-They-believe-they-can-act-with-impunity-
--------
Saudi
Arabia’s Cabinet says Houthi attacks on Kingdom target global economy
10
March ,2021
Saudi
Arabia’s Cabinet said on Tuesday the recent attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on the
Kingdom’s oil facilities targeted the world economy, state news agency SPA
reported.
“The
Cabinet considered the two terrorist attempts to target Ras Tanura port and the
residential area in the city of Dhahran as flagrant violation of all
international laws and norms, and to the extent that such treacherous and
cowardly attempts target the Kingdom, they actually target in a greater degree
the world economy,” the statement read.
The
Saudi authorities said on Sunday Iran-backed Houthis fired an explosive-laden
drone at the Ras Tanura Port, site of a refinery and the world’s biggest
offshore oil loading facility.
And
shrapnel from a ballistic missile launched towards the Kingdom fell near a
residential area in the city of Dhahran, used by the world’s biggest oil
company, Saudi Aramco.
A
Ministry of Energy spokesperson said both attacks did not result in any injury
or loss of life or property.
The
attacks drove Brent crude prices above $70 a barrel to their highest since
January 2020, while US crude futures touched their loftiest since October 2018.
The
Saudi Cabinet “followed the measures taken by the Kingdom to protect its
national capabilities and gains in a way that preserves the security of world
energy, stop terrorist attacks to guarantee the stability of energy supplies,
oil exports security and guarantee free maritime navigation and international
trade,” SPA reported.
The
Houthi attacks are the latest in a series of escalated cross-border aerial
assaults on the Kingdom by the Iran-backed militia in Yemen.
In
2019, Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, was shaken by a big missile
and drone attack on oil installations just a few km (miles) from the facilities
hit on Sunday, which Riyadh blamed on Iran, a charge Tehran denies.
That
attack, which was claimed by the Houthis but which Riyadh said did not
originate from Yemen, forced Saudi Arabia to temporarily shut more than half of
its crude output, causing a huge price spike.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2021/03/10/Saudi-Arabia-s-Cabinet-says-Houthi-attacks-on-Kingdom-target-global-economy
--------
Crown
Prince, Malaysian PM witness signing of 3 agreements
March
09, 2021
RIYADH
— Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy prime minister and minister of
defense, met with the visiting Prime Minister of Malaysia Muhyiddin Yassin here
Tuesday.
During
the meeting, the Crown Prince and the prime minister reviewed bilateral
relations, aspects of cooperation and opportunities for strengthening them in
various fields, in addition to discussing developments in the region.
Following
the meeting, the Crown Prince and the Malaysian prime minister witnessed a
signing ceremony of three agreements between the two countries.
Minister
of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Bin Abdullah and Malaysian Minister
of Foreign Affairs Hishammuddin Hussein each signed for their respective
country. The meeting was attended by a number of officials.
Earlier,
during his stay in Madinah, Yassin visited the headquarters of the
International Exhibition and Museum of the Prophet's Biography and Islamic
Civilization in this holy city.
The
Malaysian prime minister expressed his thanks to and appreciation of the
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince for the efforts
made by the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in serving the two holy
mosques, and the Prophet’s biography and Islamic civilization.
Al
Bakri lauds deep relations between
Kuala
Lumpur, Riyadh, in all fields
In
Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr. Dhul-Kifl Mohammad
Al Bakri lauded Tuesday the deep-rooted relations binding Malaysia and Saudi
Arabia, pointing to its historical profoundness through decades, at all levels,
including religious, economic and commercial ties.
In
a press statement to the Malaysian news agency, Al Bakri said that the visit of
the Malaysian Prime Minister to the Kingdom reasserts the significance of
bilateral relations between Kuala Lumpur and Riyadh, indicating that these
relations have recently experienced an intensive activity in visits' exchange,
at the top level, in the two countries.
He
also explained that the relations between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia are based
on mutual cooperation, expressing appreciation of the efforts exerted by the
Saudi government to best serve Islam and Muslims, all over the world. — SPA
https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/604266
--------
Mideast
Israel,
Cyprus reach an understanding for settling offshore gas dispute
09
March ,2021
Israel
and Cyprus have reached an understanding over gas reserves straddling their
maritime border, the Cypriot energy minister said on Tuesday, in a key step
towards resolving a nine-year impasse over offshore spoils.
Development
of the Aphrodite gas field in Cypriot waters has been held up because a small
part of it stretches into Israel’s maritime zone and another gasfield there.
The Cypriot field was first discovered in 2011.
Cypriot
energy minister Natasa Pilides said she and her Israeli counterpart Yuval
Steinitz had agreed upon a framework to resolve the issue, and guidelines would
be passed on to the companies involved in the project.
“The
framework will be set out in a joint letter which is being prepared. We are
both very satisfied we are now at this point after nine years of discussion,”
Pilides told reporters as Steinitz, who was in Cyprus to sign a memorandum of
understanding on another project, prepared to depart the island.
Steinitz
said there was a ‘fair chance’ of an eventual resolution. “Nothing is certain,
but there is a good chance that this might lead us to a solution of this little
but significant obstacle in the wonderful relations and cooperation between
Cyprus and Israel on energy and on many other issues,” he said in comments
carried by the semi-official Cyprus News Agency.
Cyprus
had in 2019 signed a 25-year concession with Noble Energy, Shell and Delek
Drilling for exploitation of the Aphrodite field.
Israel
had maintained an agreement was required before work started because part of
Aphrodite overlapped on to the Israeli side.
Companies
on the Cypriot side would enter talks with those on the Israeli side to resolve
how the Israeli companies would be compensated, Steinitz’s office said in a
statement. If the companies did not reach agreement within 180 days it would be
referred to an international expert who would try to resolve it for another 180
days.
Should
there be no agreement by then, the issue would return to a state level, the
statement said.
The
Aphrodite field holds an estimated 4.1 trillion cubic feet of gas. At stake was
about 10 percent of the deposit, which is a fraction of the gas already
discovered in Israel.
Cyprus,
Israel and Greece on Monday signed an accord to create a subsea power cable
which will cross the Mediterranean and link their electricity grids.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/03/09/Israel-Cyprus-reach-an-understanding-for-settling-offshore-gas-dispute
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Palestine
PM urges new US administration to adopt measures against Israeli settlements
10
March 2021
Palestinian
Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has called on the administration of new US
President Joe Biden to make good on its opposition to Israel’s settlement
expansion across the occupied West Bank and take concrete measures to tackle
the expansionism.
Speaking
at the opening of the weekly cabinet meeting in Ramallah on Tuesday, Shtayyeh
said the uptick in Israeli settlement construction activities amid the global
coronavirus pandemic undermines international efforts to keep alive the
prospect for the establishment of an independent State of Palestine.
He
also condemned Israeli authorities’ decision to evict Palestinian families from
their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem
al-Quds, calling on international human rights organizations to urgently
intervene to stop the eviction.
The
senior Palestinian official then urged world states to condemn the Tel Aviv
regime’s land expropriation plans, and compel Israel to stop them immediately.
Last
October, the Israeli magistrate court of Jerusalem al-Quds ruled to evict 12 of
the 24 Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah and to give their homes to Israeli
settlers.
The
court also ruled that each family must pay 70,000 shekels ($20,000) in fees to
cover the settlers’ legal expenses.
The
families were given 30 days to file an appeal, but most expressed little hope
for a ruling in their favor, saying the Israeli judiciary is no more than an
instrument of the Israeli occupation policy of forcibly displacing and erasing
the Palestinian presence in al-Quds.
More
than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli
occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem
al-Quds. All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.
According
to human rights groups, acts of violence by Israeli settlers against
Palestinians and their property are a daily occurrence throughout the occupied
West Bank.
Elsewhere
in his remarks, Shtayyeh praised the International Criminal Court’s (ICC)
decision to open a war crimes investigation in the occupied Palestinian
territories, stating that ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda courageously took
the step despite constant challenges.
He
noted that the Palestinian Authority will spare no efforts in its cooperation
with the ICC, and will provide The Hague-based organization with all necessary
documents and data to bring the perpetrators of crimes to account.
Bensouda
said in a statement on March 3 that her inquiry will be conducted “independently,
impartially and objectively, without fear or favor.”
The
Palestinian Authority welcomed the prosecutor’s announcement.
It
is “a long-awaited step that serves Palestine’s tireless pursuit of justice and
accountability, which are indispensable pillars of the peace the Palestinian
people seek and deserve,” the PA foreign ministry said in a statement.
Hamas
resistance movement also praised the ICC’s move.
“We
welcome the ICC decision to investigate Israeli occupation war crimes against
our people. It is a step forward on the path of achieving justice for the
victims of our people,” Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesman, told Reuters news
agency.
“Our
resistance is legitimate and it comes to defend our people. All international
laws approve legitimate resistance,” Qassem noted.
Last
month, the ICC confirmed that the territories occupied by Israel in the 1967
Arab–Israeli War were subject to its jurisdiction.
Israel
occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip —
territories the Palestinians want for their future state — during the six-day
war in 1967. It later had to withdraw from Gaza.
Palestine
was accepted as an ICC member in 2015, three years after signing the court's
founding Rome Statute, based on its “observer state” status at the United
Nations.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/03/10/646975/Palestine-PM-urges-new-US-administration-to-adopt-measures-against-Israeli-settlements
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Yemeni
ballistic missiles haunt Saudi Arabia, senior Ansarullah official says
10
March 2021
A
member of the politburo of Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement says homegrown
ballistic missiles that the armed forces use in their defense campaign against
Saudi Arabia’s military aggression have turned into a nightmare for the
kingdom.
Speaking
in an interview with Lebanon-based al-Mayadeen television news network on
Tuesday, Ali al-Qahoum said the military capabilities of Yemeni armed forces
and their allies were susbtantially growing.
“After
six years of aggression against Yemen, the House of Saud has failed to achieve
any of its objectives in the face of the Yemeni nation’s steadfastness and
resilience,” Qahoum said.
He
said Yemeni army troops and allied Popular Committees fighters have proven that
“they have a wide array of options on the battle ground and can reach strategic
facilities,” adding, “Yemeni ballistic missiles have become a nightmare for the
enemies.”
Qahoum
then addressed Saudi authorities, saying, “You will never be able to break down
the resistance of Yemeni people, and they possess a great deal of options and
surprises.”
“If
Saudi Arabia presses ahead with its aggression and tyranny, our blood won’t be
cheap and the kingdom must accept the justice of an eye for an eye and a tooth
for a tooth,” the senior Ansarullah official said.
Death
of senior Saudi military cmdr. cloaked in mystery
Separately,
the recent death of a high-ranking Saudi military commander has been shrouded
in mystery.
While
some sources claim that Major General Ali Zafer al-Shahri, commander of King
Abdullah Air Base in Saudi Arabia’s southern port city of Jeddah, died after
falling down the side of a mountain, others say he succumbed to injuries
sustained during a recent missile and drone strike by Yemeni forces on targets
deep inside Saudi territory.
An
unnamed close member of Shahri’s family later denied reports he had lost his
life while climbing, saying the Saudi commander had died in a Jeddah hospital.
UAE
setting up airbase on Yemeni island of Perim
Meanwhile,
the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is reportedly establishing a military base on
the strategic Perim volcanic island, also called Mayyun in Arabic, which lies
off the southwestern coast of Yemen and in the Strait of Mandeb.
The
Qatar-based Al Jazeera television news network reported that UAE’s construction
activities on the Perim island comes at the same time that the Persian Gulf
state is dismantling its Assab military base in the Horn of Africa nation of
Eritrea.
The
UAE withdrew all structures and military equipment from the Assab base,
situated, only some 70 kilometers (40 miles) from Yemen, to the Yemeni island
between December 28 last year and March 2, according to the report.
The
report added that the UAE has built an airstrip as long as 1,800 meters on
Perim island, and transferred all its combat and surveillance drones from Assab
base to the new site.
Backed
by the US and a number of other Western states, Saudi Arabia and a number of
its regional allies launched the war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of
bringing the government of former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, back to
power and crushing the popular Ansarullah movement.
The
Yemeni armed forces and allied popular groups have, however, gone from strength
to strength against the Saudi-led invaders, and left Riyadh and its allies
bogged down in the country.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/03/10/646963/Yemeni-ballistic-missiles-haunt-Saudi-Arabia,-senior-Ansarullah-official-says
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Invaders
partially withdraw from Ma’rib amid Yemeni army advances: Report
09
March 2021
Saudi
Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have reportedly implemented a partial
withdrawal from Ma’rib amid decisive advances by the Arab country’s armed
forces in the west-central province.
Riyadh
has pulled out its forces from Ma’rib, while Abu Dhabi has taken out its United
States-made Patriot missile systems, Sultan al-Arada, Ma’rib’s governor loyal
to Yemen’s former Saudi-backed administration, told Yemeni media on Tuesday.
Yemen’s
army is in the middle of liberation operations in the provincial capital of the
same name, he added, but said the Saudi-backed militants loyal to the
ex-government would try to stand in their way.
The
coalition began invading Yemen in March 2015 to restore power to the former
government, who used to rely excessively on Riyadh’s support. The officials had
fled the impoverished country earlier amid a power struggle, refusing a call by
the Houthi Ansarullah movement to stay behind and negotiate a solution.
The
war has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis and rendered the country into the
scene of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Yemen’s armed forces that
comprise its Army and Popular Committees have, however, never laid down their
arms in the face of the invaders and their allied militants.
Over
the past three weeks, the Yemeni army, backed popular forces, have been engaged
in a new phase of operations aimed at ridding Ma’rib of the presence of the
aggressors and their mercenaries.
The
push has been received positively by the province’s tribes, which have begun to
lend them a hand. The tribal leaders recently held a meeting in the capital,
Sana’a, insisting on the need for the expulsion of the “terrorists that have
been brought to Ma’rib from outside to further the goals of their masters.”
Latest
reports suggest that the Yemeni forces have been closing in on the city and are
now only kilometers away from the oil-rich province’s capital.
Also
on Tuesday, Lebanon’s al-Akhbar daily published a report, detailing the latest
stage of the army’s advances.
According
to the report, Yemeni soldiers have been taking control of strategic spots,
including villages and military positions, across the western and north-western
fronts around the provincial capital over the past 24 hours.
The
paper said the victories indicated the military strength of the army and the Popular
Committees. The military prowess, it said, had enabled the forces to overcome
the areas’ rough and desert terrains at the same time as they were under the
constant fire of Saudi and Emirati warplanes.
Yemen’s
defenders, it added, have engaged in fierce clashes with forces tied to the
former government in Ma’rib’s Sirwah District, overcoming the enemy.
This
is while the Saudi-led coalition and its mercenaries are being backed by
extremist militias and Takfiri Daesh elements that receive Riyadh’s support in
return, al-Akhbar added.
Amid
the advances, the coalition’s warplanes carried out as many as 16 airstrikes
against Sirwah, targeting the ammunition dumps there.
The
Yemeni armed forces are also nearing the Sahn al-Jin military camp in Ma’rib
that hosts the former government’s defense ministry, said the daily.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/03/09/646933/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-United-Arab-Emirates-partial-withdrawal-Ma-rib-defense-forces-advances
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Turkey
gives life sentences to 5 over 2016 killing of Russian ambassador
09
March 2021
A
Turkish court has handed down life sentences to five individuals in the 2016
assassination of the then-Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov in Ankara, local
media reports say.
Turkey’s
NTV broadcaster, citing judicial sources, said on Tuesday that seven others
were also convicted of membership in an armed terrorist group, an apparent
reference to a movement formed by the US-based opposition cleric Fethullah
Gulen.
Former
intelligence agent Vehbi Kursad Akalin was given an aggravated life sentence
for leaking information on Karlov to the movement.
The
suspects were accused of links to the gunman, who was killed by Turkish forces
shortly after he murdered Karlov at a photo exhibition in the Turkish capital
in December 2016.
After
carrying out the murder, the assailant went on a rant caught on camera, which
saw him bawling “Don’t forget Aleppo, don’t forget Syria!”
Turkey
then blamed the movement led by Gulen, an arch-foe of President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, for the murder. The movement denies the claim.
The
assassination, condemned by the Turkish and Russian leaders as an attempt to
disrupt Ankara-Moscow ties, came amid cooperation between the two countries
over the Syrian conflict.
President
Erdogan at the time called Karlov’s murder a “provocation especially aimed at
disrupting the normalization process of Turkey-Russia relations.”
Tensions
over Syria dominated Ankara’s relations prior to the assassination of the
ambassador — especially when Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the
Turkish-Syrian border in November 2015. But Erdogan apologized for the incident
in 2016, and relations had begun to improve between Moscow and Ankara since
then.
Ankara
also accuses Gulen of orchestrating a failed coup to topple Erdogan in 2016 and
refers to the cleric’s movement as the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).
The
coup attempt was suppressed within a couple of days.
Gulen
has denounced the “despicable putsch” and said he had no role in it.
Turkish
officials have frequently called on the US to extradite Gulen, but their
demands have been ignored.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/03/09/646935/Russia-Turkey-Andrei-Karlov-killing
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Africa
France
to speed up access for researchers to controversial Algeria war files
09
March ,2021
France
said on Tuesday that researchers will get easier access to classified
government files more than 50 years old, especially those pertaining to the
Algerian war, still a highly controversial chapter of French history.
President
Emmanuel Macron has ordered the archives services to speed up access to
documents that qualify for declassification up to 1970, his office said in a
statement, “notably documents relating to the Algerian war.”
French
heritage laws say official documents must be released to researchers and the
public after 50 years.
But
an inter-ministerial order from 2011 says that the process is not automatic.
Instead, each document must be formally declassified before it becomes
accessible, a slow process that has effectively kept much information under
wraps.
The
decision to speed things up comes after Macron’s admission last week that
French forces “tortured and murdered” Algerian freedom fighter Ali Boumendjel
in 1957 during his country’s war for independence.
In
July last year, Macron had tasked French historian Benjamin Stora with
assessing how France has dealt with its colonial legacy.
In
January, however, Macron stoked outrage when he refused to issue an official
apology for abuses committed during the occupation of Algeria.
Stora’s
report made a series of recommendations, including creating a “memory and truth
commission” that would hear testimony from people who suffered during the war.
Macron’s
office said the president was aware of complaints from historians about
difficulty getting access to files which, even after being technically
declassified, are meticulously checked page by page for sensitive military
secrets before being handed over.
Le
Parisien newspaper said the process was “not only long, but also arbitrary,”
and said documents would now be made available in batches rather than page by
page.
Macron’s
office said it was working on a new draft law, to be ready next year, making
archive access easier while protecting the nation’s official secrets.
Algeria’s
government has welcomed Macron’s moves towards greater transparency, but still
wants the full truth about more than 2,200 people it says disappeared during
the 1954-1962 war.
It
also wants light to be shed on French nuclear testing in the Sahara desert in
the 1960s, but files about the tests fall under the French state’s nuclear
policy and therefore classified top secret.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/north-africa/2021/03/09/France-to-speed-up-access-for-researchers-to-controversial-Algeria-war-files-
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At
least 39 migrants die, 165 others rescued as two boats sink off Tunisia
09
March ,2021
At
least 39 migrants died when two boats sank off Tunisia on Tuesday as they tried
to cross the Mediterranean to the Italian island of Lampedusa, the Tunisian
defense ministry said.
The
coastguard rescued 165 others, and searches for more survivors are still
ongoing off the coast of Sfax, ministry spokesman Mohamed Zekri said.
All
the dead migrants were from sub-Saharan Africa, he added.
In
2019, about 90 African migrants drowned when their boat capsized off the
Tunisian coast after setting off for Europe from neighboring Libya, in one of
the worst such disasters that Tunisian authorities have had to deal with.
The
number of Tunisian migrants landing on Italian shores soared five fold to
13,000 in 2020, a human rights group said, attributing the rise to economic
hardship in Tunisia.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/north-africa/2021/03/09/At-least-14-migrants-die-139-rescued-as-two-boats-sink-off-Tunisia
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Flights
resume between Libya’s rival cities of Benghazi, Misrata after seven years
09
March ,2021
Flights
between the eastern Libya city of Benghazi and the western city of Misrata were
restored Tuesday after a near seven-year absence, the latest tentative step
toward national reconciliation.
An
Afriqiyah Airways plane that took off from Benghazi touched down at Misrata
airport at around 9:00 am (0700 GMT), the national airline said.
Residents
welcomed the arriving plane “with much joy,” added the airline, which is programming
four flights per week between the two cities.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Afriqiyah
Airways was founded by former Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi, who was toppled
and killed in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.
Libya
has been in chaos ever since, with the main cleavage in recent years pitting
forces loyal to a Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) against an
administration in the east loyal to general Khalifa Haftar who heads the Libyan
National Army (LNA).
A
ceasefire in October last year and the selection last month of a prime minister
designate – approved by both main regional fiefdoms – has brought hope that a
new interim government can lead the country to elections in December.
Alongside
setting up a unified government, the October ceasefire also provided for the
reopening of key air and land routes.
Discussions
are underway on reopening the main road linking the east and west, and
de-mining operations have taken place in recent weeks, notably around the city
of Sirte, where the front line has been located for much of the past year.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/north-africa/2021/03/09/Libya-conflict-Flights-resume-between-Libya-s-rival-cities-of-Benghazi-Misrata-after-seven-years
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Brother-in-law
of Tunisia’s ousted late president gets 10 years for corruption
09
March ,2021
A
Tunisian court has sentenced Belhassen Trabelsi, the brother-in-law of ousted
late President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, to ten years in jail for corruption,
the state run news agency TAP reported on Tuesday.
The
court also sentenced Sami Fehri, the owner of El Hiwar TV, to eight years in
prison in the same case.
The
court fined the two men 40 million dinars ($14.51 million) for using state
television resources for the benefit of a private company and transferring
advertising revenues to their company.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/north-africa/2021/03/09/Brother-in-law-of-Tunisia-s-ousted-late-president-gets-10-years-for-corruption
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At
least 39 die as two refugee boats sink off Tunisia
10
March 2021
At
least 39 migrants died when two boats sank off Tunisia on Tuesday as they tried
to cross the Mediterranean to the Italian island of Lampedusa, the Tunisian
defense ministry said.
The
coastguard rescued 165 others, and searches for more survivors are still
ongoing off the coast of Sfax, ministry spokesman Mohamed Zekri said. All the
dead migrants were from sub-Saharan Africa, he added.
The
coastline near the Tunisian port city of Sfax has become a major departure
point for people fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East and
seeking a better life in Europe.
In
2019, about 90 African migrants drowned when their boat capsized off the
Tunisian coast after setting off for Europe from neighboring Libya, in one of
the worst such disasters that Tunisian authorities have had to deal with.
The
number of Tunisian migrants landing on Italian shores soared fivefold to 13,000
in 2020, a human rights group said, attributing the rise to economic hardship
in Tunisia.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/03/10/646964/At-least-39-die-as-two-refugee-boats-sink-off-Tunisia
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