Close Connection Between Capitalism And Wahhabism In Saudi Arabia: Rome’s Imam Mahdi Islamic Centre Conference
New Age Islam News Bureau
30 November 2020
• Muslims In Nepal Hold Protest Demanding Justice For
China’s Uyghur
• Islamic State-Inspired Beheading Shocks Indonesian
Village
• Syria Says Assassination Of Iranian Nuclear
Scientist A ‘Terrorist’ Act
• Communal Harmony In West Burdwan: Muslim Village Conducts Last Rites Of Hindu
Neighbour
• Pakistan PM To Skip India-Hosted Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation Meet
• 110 Civilians Killed In 'Boko Haram Attack' In
Northeast Nigeria: UN
• Iranian Parliament Shifting Nuclear Roadmap Policy,
Determined to Respond to N. Scientists’ Assassination
Europe
• Close Connection Between Capitalism And Wahhabism In
Saudi Arabia: Rome’s Imam Mahdi Islamic Centre Conference
• UK Concerned Over Iran Situation, Awaiting Full
Facts On Scientist Killing
• Award-winning Syrian photojournalist injured during
Paris protest
• Iranian diplomat refuses to attend 'political trial'
in Belgium
--------
South Asia
• Muslims In Nepal Hold Protest Demanding Justice For
China’s Uyghur
• Protesters Demand Arrest Of Islamist Leaders
Mamunul, Faizul For Opposing Bangabandhu Sculpture
• Bangladesh faces opposition on Rohingya relocation
• Afghanistan Faces ‘Restricted Conditions’ on Aids by
Int’l Donors
• Peace Council Acts after Criticized on Dull
Performance
• Two Afghanistan suicide bombings kill at least 34
people: Officials
--------
Southeast Asia
• Islamic State-Inspired Beheading Shocks Indonesian
Village
• Suspected militants kill four Christians in remote
Indonesian village
• In Bersatu Address, Muhyiddin Cites ‘God’s Will’ For
Alliance With Umno And PAS, Vows Fight Against Secularism, Liberalism
• No one must dominate in coalition of Malay parties,
says Saifuddin
• Divorces up by 12%, marriages down by 1.2% in 2019
--------
Arab world
• Syria Says Assassination Of Iranian Nuclear
Scientist A ‘Terrorist’ Act
• Rocket attack hits oil refinery in northern Iraq
• UAE, Jordan condemn assassination of Iranian
scientist
• Bahraini opposition parties, Hamas condemn
assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist
• Iran able to confront Israeli-led terror crimes,
desperate attempts to undermine its progress: Syria
--------
India
• Communal Harmony In West Burdwan: Muslim Village Conducts Last Rites Of Hindu
Neighbour
• 'Muslims Labelled As Pakistani, Sikhs As
Khalistanis, And Activists As Urban Naxals: Mehbooba Mufti Attacks Modi Govt
• Late Music Composer Wajid Khan's Wife, Kamalrukh
Accuses In-Laws Of Forcing Her To Convert To Islam
• 26/11: Extradition hearing for Tahawwur Rana to be
held on February 12
--------
Pakistan
• Pakistan PM To Skip India-Hosted Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation Meet
• Pakistan Always Upholds Sanctity Of OIC As
Collective Voice Of Muslim Ummah: FM
• PM Imran Briefed On National, Regional Security
Situation On Visit To ISI Headquarters
• Pakistan police launch crackdown against opposition
ahead of PDM rally in Multan
• Pakistan PM Imran Khan's Kashmir campaign bombs at
Islamic meet
• Shehbaz calls for national dialogue to end ‘crisis’
--------
Africa
• 110 Civilians Killed In 'Boko Haram Attack' In
Northeast Nigeria: UN
• Boko Haram Terrorists Slaughter 43 Farm Workers In Nigeria’s
Volatile Northeast
• Ethiopia's PM says Tigray operation 'completed' as army
seizes Mekelle
• Sudan needs $150 million in aid to cope with
Ethiopian refugees: UN
• UNHCR says it hopes humanitarian access to
Ethiopia’s Tigray region will be granted
• Ethiopian PM: military has completed operations in
the Tigray region
--------
Mideast
• Iranian Parliament Shifting Nuclear Roadmap Policy,
Determined to Respond to N. Scientists’ Assassination
• Iranian President Issues Order for Start of Special
Security Protocols after N. Scientist’s Assassination
• Iran Asks for UN Cooperation in Identification of
Culprits behind Assassination of N. Scientist
• Iranian media says Israeli arms were used to
assassinate Mohsen Fakhrizadeh
• Iranian newspaper: Iran should attack Haifa if
Israel killed scientist Fakhrizadeh
• Eight Saudis killed in Yemeni ballistic missile
attack against coalition's positions
• UN chief urges world to make ‘urgent contributions’
to cash-strapped UNRWA to help Palestinians
• Gaza marks International Day of Solidarity with
Palestinians
• Scores of sick Palestinians facing death in Israeli
prisons: Rights group warns
• Yemen: Deployment of UK troops to Saudi Arabia won't
change situation
--------
North America
• Trump Adviser Kushner And US Team Heading To Saudi
Arabia And Qatar For Talks
• Terrorism, climate change top list of challenges
facing US military
• Sanders slams 'reckless, illegal' killing of Iranian
scientist
• Ex-CIA chief slams Cruz over Iran assassination
remarks
• US deploys Nimitz aircraft carrier back to Persian
Gulf as tensions rise with Iran
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
--------
Close Connection Between Capitalism And Wahhabism In Saudi Arabia: Rome’s Imam Mahdi Islamic Centre Conference
29 November 2020
Max Civili
On Saturday, Rome’s Imam Mahdi Islamic centre held a
conference on the close connection between capitalism and Wahhabism in Saudi
Arabia.
The initiative took place in the form of a virtual
meeting and was attended by Shaykh Abbas Di Palma and PhD in Sociology of
cultural processes Emiliano Laurenzi, author of the book Capitalistic Islam,
Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia.
After a historical overview on the autocratic regime,
the pair touched upon the role the Wahhabi doctrine plays in nowadays Saudi
Arabia. Because of its ultraconservative understanding of Islam and literalist
reading of Islamic scripture and Islamic Law, Wahhabism lays the foundation for
Saudi Arabia to fully embrace capitalism and its values.
Conference speakers are of the idea that, now more
than ever, the Saudi Crown appears engaged in a project of developing a unique
brand of capitalism with Wahhabi characteristics. An even more ruthless form of
capitalism in which resources are concentrated solely in the hands of a family
and workers' rights are practically non-existent.
Saudi Arabia has become notorious for the systematic
abuse and exploitation of the migrant workers who contribute so much to its
economy. Unpaid wages, forced labour, dangerous working conditions and
unsanitary accommodation facilities are increasingly common in the Kingdom
these days.
Both speakers agreed on the fact that throughout the
years Wahhabism has become an effective tool in US foreign policy in combating
anti-Western secular and nationalistic ideologies in the Middle East and the
Muslim world at large.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/29/639620/Rome-conference
--------
Muslims In Nepal Hold Protest Demanding Justice For China’s
Uyghur
Posted by Mallika Soni
Nov 29, 2020
Muslims in Nepal organised a protest against
atrocities on Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang province of China.(ANI)
-----
Muslims in Nepal on Sunday organised a protest against
atrocities on Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang province of China.
The protesters raised voice against the demolition of
thousands of mosques in Xinjiang and the treatment being meted out to them by
the Chinese government.
Muslims in Pokhara also joined the international
community in expressing their views on the gruesome human rights violations
against Uyghur Muslims.
The Muslim Kalyankari Samaj held a protest in Pokhara
highlighting the severe anxiety and anger among local Muslims against Uyghur in
China.
The community leaders said that they would keep
raising their concern against atrocities on Uyghurs in the future as well.
Similar protests were held in Nepal a few days ago.
For the last six years, millions of East Turkistan
people, mostly of Muslim faith, have been held in concentration camps, prisons,
and slave labour camps.
According to survivors’ accounts, they are being
tortured, killed for their organs, raped, sterilised and executed.
Classified documents known as the China Cables,
accessed last year by the International Consortium of Investigative
Journalists, threw light on how the Chinese government uses technology to
control Uyghur Muslims worldwide.
However, China regularly denies such mistreatment and
says the camps provide vocational training. People in the internment camps have
described being subjected to forced political indoctrination, torture,
beatings, and denial of food and medicine, and say they have been prohibited
from practising their religion or speaking their language.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/muslims-in-nepal-hold-protest-demanding-justice-for-china-s-uyghur/story-1Z21TegnpZYES8KK4DHpSL.html
--------
Islamic State-Inspired Beheading Shocks Indonesian Village
By James Massola and Karuni Rompies
November 30, 2020
Sidney Jones is a global expert on Islamic terrorism
in South-east Asia.CREDIT:CHRIS LANE
------
The brutal murder of four Christians in the Indonesian
province of Central Sulawesi was inspired by the Islamic State, but not ordered
by it, according to one of the world's foremost experts on the terror group.
One of the victims was beheaded in the attack on
Friday, while the other three had their throats slit. Seven houses in Lemban
Tongoa, in Sigi District, were burnt down.
Police and the military are still hunting for 10
members of the militant group East Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT), which has
pledged loyalty to IS in the past.
The director of the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy
Analysis of Conflict, Sidney Jones, said the Islamic State's official
propaganda channel had claimed the murders as an act in support of the
terrorist group.
"ISIS media claimed credit and yes, it was
inspired but not directed by ISIS," she said, using an abbreviation for
the group.
"This was a sub-group of MIT led by a man named
Qatar, who has been involved in attacks with machetes in March and then August
this year. This is the first time in a while we have seen the Christian
community targeted, usually they go after informants who have been assisting
the police, or the police themselves."
Jones said it was not yet clear why Christians had
been targeted but the area where it took place, and in the nearby Poso region,
has been a terrorist hotspot for some time, and a site of high tensions between
the local Christian and Muslim communities.
She said MIT had probably no more than 14 active
members and just a handful of guns, which is "one of the reasons they have
used machetes" in the latest attack.
"They [MIT] have made a point of moving around
the jungle [in the region] in a way that has enabled them to elude
pursuers," Jones said.
That and a lack of training in jungle combat for
Indonesian city police have held back attempts to bring the group to justice.
While the military units had had the relevant training, they did not know the
jungle in the area well, which had also slowed down attempts to apprehend the
group.
The chairman of the Indonesian Council of Churches,
Gomar Gultom, condemned the "barbaric and savage attack" and urged
the government to use security agencies to swiftly investigate the murders.
"I had a conversation with the head of Salvation
Army this morning and he said the conditions out there are still a little
shocking. People still need psychological support," he said. The victims
belonged to a church run by the Salvation Army.
"For some time the people out there have been
living under the shadow of fear. Therefore, the state must immediately settle
this problem and provide security guarantees for the people so that people like
farmers can have a normal life again."
However, Gomar argued that — based on currently
available information — the attack "did not target Christians. Previous
incidents have non-Christians as victims".
Yahya Cholil Staquf, the secretary-general of
Nahdlatul Ulama, the world's largest Muslim organisation said the murders
followed a horrifying pattern of attacks around the world in Paris, Nice,
Aleppo, Mosul, Libya and Nigeria.
"Statements such as 'such savagery does not
represent Islam' are not enough. Clearly, there is a problem within Islam and
there is a problem of relations between groups — be it religious, ethnic,
secular ideologies or other identities — amidst the pluralism of the civilised
world."
Human Rights Watch Indonesia researcher Andreas
Harsono said the attack was "another serious escalation against the
Christian minority in Indonesia".
https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/islamic-state-inspired-beheading-shocks-indonesian-village-20201130-p56j7c.html
--------
Syria says assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist
a ‘terrorist’ act
28 November 2020
Syria's Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad accused Israel
and “those who supported it” on Saturday of being behind the killing of Iran's
top nuclear scientist, an act he said would only fuel more tensions in the
region.
Mekdad was quoted by state media as telling the
Iranian envoy in Damascus that Syria was confident Iran would confront what he
called the “terrorist act” behind the killing on Friday of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh,
the country's top nuclear scientist.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/11/28/Syria-says-assassination-of-Iranian-nuclear-scientist-a-terrorist-act
--------
Communal Harmony In West Burdwan: Muslim Village Conducts Last Rites Of Hindu
Neighbour
Nov 30, 2020
Burdwan: In an exemplary instance of communal harmony,
Muslim neighbours of a 70-year-old Hindu man at Jamuria village in west Burdwan
conducted his funeral along with his family on Sunday.
Ramdhani Rajak’s family happened to be the only Hindu household
among 230 Muslim families in Desher Mahan village, around 200 km from the city.
Rajak lived with his wife and a mentally challenged son while his elder son
lives in Kolkata.
The 70-year-old had died of head injuries almost 10
hours after falling from a tree, after being refused treatment at five private
hospitals in West Burdwan, Durgapur and Jamuria as he had not undergone a Covid
test. The neighbours took him from one hospital to another and after his death,
gathered wood and carried the body to the banks of the Ajoy river where his
elder son performed rituals.
“I am thoroughly indebted to the neighbours. Had they
not been beside us, it would have been impossible to manage everything on our
own. They not only tried their best to give proper treatment to my father but
after his death, they arranged everything and even paid for the funeral,” said
Ramvilas, who was able to reach Jamuria from his Salt Lake home only on
Saturday evening.
Locals said Rajak was well-known among villagers as he
used to wash and iron clothes and deliver them back to the households for a
living. “When we heard he had met with an accident, we immediately took him to
a hospital. We visited five hospitals in Ranigunj and Durgapur, but none
admitted him. Some said ICCU was not available while others said he couldn’t be
admitted without a Covid test. By the time one hospital admitted him, he died,”
said Sheikh Firdaus, a neighbour.
Firdaus said they took the body back to the village
and set up a tent outside his house. “Early on Sunday, we set off for the last
rites along with his family and cremated him following all Hindu rituals. We
don’t think we have done something exemplary. We had never differentiated
between his family and us in our village. He was one of our own,” said Firdaus.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/muslim-village-conducts-last-rites-of-hindu-neighbour/articleshow/79481591.cms
--------
Pakistan PM To Skip India-Hosted Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation Meet
Nov 30, 2020
NEW DELHI: India will for the first time host a
meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government on Monday that will see the
participation of prime ministers of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Another member-state, Pakistan, will be represented
by its parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs.
As first reported by TOI on Tuesday, Vice President
Venkaiah Naidu, instead of PM Narendra Modi, will chair the meeting. While Modi
was expected to chair the meeting, given that India is the host nation, the PM
will be travelling to his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi on Monday where he is
expected to inaugurate an expressway.
Ahead of the meeting, official sources said India will
continue to play a proactive and constructive role in the regional organisation
seen as vital for promoting peace, security and trade. Participating in the
recent SCO summit hosted by Russia, Modi had said that the Eurasian forum was
being used to raise the Kashmir issue even though the SCO charter didn’t permit
it.
Pakistani PM Imran Khan will for the second time this
year avoid attending a meeting hosted by India apparently to show solidarity
with the Kashmiris after India’s decision to revoke the special status of Jammu
& Kashmir. He had earlier skipped the meeting of Saarc leaders held by Modi
for cooperation on Covid-19.
The SCO CHG deals primarily with the trade and
economic agenda of the organisation and approves its annual budget.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pakistan-pm-to-skip-india-hosted-sco-meet/articleshow/79482685.cms
--------
110 civilians killed in 'Boko Haram attack' in
northeast Nigeria: UN
29 November 2020
The United Nations (UN) says at least 110 people have
been killed in a weekend attack in northeast Nigeria by the Boko Haram Takfiri
terrorist group.
Initial tolls indicated that at least 43 people were
killed in Saturday’s attack which took place as Nigerian farmers were working
in rice fields in the village of Kwashebe, near Maiduguri, the capital of
volatile Borno state.
The assailants tied up the agricultural workers and
slit their throats.
Edward Kallon, UN humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria,
said in a statement on Sunday that "At least 110 civilians were ruthlessly
killed and many others were wounded in this attack”.
"The incident is the most violent direct attack
against innocent civilians this year," he said, adding, "I call for
the perpetrators of this heinous and senseless act to be brought to justice”.
Kallon further called for the immediate release and
return to safety of several women, which reports said may have been kidnapped
in the attack.
Militia leader Babakura Kolo said, "We recovered
43 dead bodies, all of them slaughtered, along with six others with serious
injuries."
"It is no doubt the handiwork of Boko Haram, who
operate in the area and frequently attack farmers," he said.
Meanwhile, Borno state Governor Babagana Umara Zulum
who attended the burial ceremony for the 43 recovered bodies in the nearby
Zabarmari village on Sunday said the death toll could increase after search
operations resumed.
The victims were laborers from Sokoto state in
northwest Nigeria, roughly 1,000 kilometers away, who had traveled to the
northeast to find work, Ibrahim Liman, a local militia fighting armed groups in
the region said.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari extended his
condolences to the victims’ families and condemned the attack, saying,
"The entire country has been wounded by these senseless killings."
The brutal massacre on Saturday occurred as Nigerian
voters went to the polls in local elections in Borno State after the vote had
been repeatedly postponed due to an increase in attacks by Boko Haram and the
West Africa Province (ISWAP) branch of the Daesh terrorist group.
Northeastern Nigeria has been wracked by years of
violence involving clashes between rival communities over land, attacks by
heavily-armed criminal gangs, and reprisal killings by vigilante groups.
Boko Haram and the West Africa Province (ISWAP) branch
of the Daesh terrorist group have increasingly targeted loggers, herders and fishermen
in their violent campaign, accusing them of spying and passing information to
the military and the local militia fighting them.
More than 30,000 people have been killed and nearly 3
million displaced in a decade of Boko Haram's violence in Nigeria, according to
the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Boko Haram’s violence has spilled over into the
neighboring countries of Chad, Niger, and Cameroon, which have created a joint
military force to fight the terrorists.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/29/639621/Nigeria-attack-UN-Edward-Kallon-farmers-death-toll-Borno
--------
Iranian Parliament Shifting Nuclear Roadmap Policy,
Determined to Respond to N. Scientists’ Assassination
2020-November-29
The Iranian lawmakers reviewed on Sunday an urgent
countermeasure plan that includes halt to the implementation of the Additional
Protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
According to Abolfazl Aboutorabi, a senior member of
the Parliament, lawmakers agreed to turn an urgent strategic motion, which aims
to counteract unilateral sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic by Western
countries, topped by the United States, to a double-urgency motion.
Out of 246 lawmakers present at today's session, 232
voted in favor of the new move.
“It was decided to finalize and put into force the
strategic action plan, which includes stopping the implementation of the
Additional Protocol (to NPT),” he added.
Resumption of 20% uranium enrichment, boosting use of
IR6 and IR8 centrifuge machines, limiting IAEA inspections by halting the
voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol to the NPT, and making
another Arak Heavy Water reactor identical with its original design which went
under redesigning under the nuclear deal are among the new contents put into an
original version of the bill.
Aboutorabi noted that the Parliament is also
addressing the details of the martyrdom of top Iranian physicist, Mohsen
Fakhrizadeh, who was assassinated in Absard, Damavand County, Tehran province,
on Friday.
Earlier this month, the Iranian parliamentarians
approved the single-urgency bill to adopt strategic measures to remove
sanctions against the country.
The lawmakers had given green light to the urgent
strategic motion in early November, but the plan has turned into a
double-urgency after the assassination of the Iranian nuclear scientist.
Under the bill, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran
(AEOI) is required to start in two months after the approval of the present
bill to produce at least 120 kg of 20%-enriched uranium annually at Fordow
nuclear site and store it inside the country, increase the enrichment capacity
and production of enriched uranium to at least 500 kg per month, start the
installation of centrifuges, gas injection, enrichment, and storage of
materials up to proper purity levels within 3 months, via at least 1000 IR-2m
centrifuges in the underground part of Shahid Ahmadi Roshan facility in Natanz,
transfer any enrichment, research, and development operations of IR-6 centrifuges
to the nuclear site of Shahid Ali Mohammadi in Fordow, and start enrichment
operation via at least 164 centrifuges and expand it to 1000 by the end of 20
March 2021 (end of the Iranian calendar year) and return the 40 megawatts Arak
heavy water reactor to its pre-JCPOA condition by reviving the heart
(calandria) of the reactor within 4 months from the date of the adoption of
this law.
Also, the government is required to suspend the
nuclear deal-based regulatory access beyond the Additional Protocol within 2
months after the adoption of this law based on the articles 36 and 37 of the
nuclear deal.
Also, after 3 months from the adoption of this law, if
Iran's banking relations in Europe and the amount of oil purchases by them from
Iran is not back to normal and to satisfactory conditions, the government is
required to stop the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol.
Meantime, if after 3 months from the adoption of this
law, the nuclear deal parties return to fulfill their undertakings, the
government is required to submit a proposal to the parliament for Iran's
reciprocal action to return to the nuclear deal undertakings, the bill said.
Addressing the parliament on Sunday, Iranian
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said that the enemies are scared of
empowerment of the country, reiterating that they will not regret criminal acts
except through strong response from Iran.
"The enemies of the Iranian people, once again by
resorting to terror, proved that they are scared of the increase of Iran's
power and chose to remove our scientists to confront the nation," Qalibaf
said, adding that the enemies will not regret such criminal moves except when
receive Iran’s firm response.
"The people of Iran have been facing such losses
for more than four decades and experience has proven that they have continued
the path of their martyrs stronger than before," he went on to say.
"But the criminal enemies will not regret, except
with a strong response that both deters them from possible future mistakes and
takes revenge from them for these crimes," the speaker stressed.
"In this regard, in addition to revenge from the
perpetrators and commanders of the assassination of Martyr Fakhrizadeh, all
relevant forces and organizations ae duty-bound to turn the threat of this
tragic loss into an opportunity to strengthen various economic, security,
defence and nuclear fields," he noted.
US President Donald Trump, a stern critic of the
historic deal, unilaterally pulled Washington out of the JCPOA in May 2018, and
unleashed the “toughest ever” sanctions against the Islamic Republic in
defiance of global criticism in an attempt to strangle the Iranian oil trade,
but to no avail since its "so-called maximum pressure policy" has
failed to push Tehran to the negotiating table.
In response to the US’ unilateral move, Tehran has so
far rowed back on its nuclear commitments four times in compliance with
Articles 26 and 36 of the JCPOA, but stressed that its retaliatory measures
will be reversible as soon as Europe finds practical ways to shield the mutual
trade from the US sanctions.
Tehran has particularly been disappointed with failure
of the three European signatories to the JCPOA -- Britain, France and Germany
-- to protect its business interests under the deal after the United States'
withdrawal.
On January 5, Iran took a final step in reducing its
commitments, and said it would no longer observe any operational limitations on
its nuclear industry, whether concerning the capacity and level of uranium
enrichment, the volume of stockpiled uranium or research and development.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13990909000669/Iranian-Parliamen-Shifing-Nclear-Radmap-Plicy-Deermined-Respnd-N
--------
Europe
UK concerned over Iran situation, awaiting full facts
on scientist killing
29 November 2020
British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday
he was concerned about the situation in Iran and wider region after the killing
of a top Iranian nuclear scientist.
“We are concerned about the situation in Iran and the
wider region we do want to see de-escalation of tensions,” Raab told Sky News,
after Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed in an ambush near Tehran
on Friday.
“We’re still waiting to see the full facts to address
the full facts of what’s happened in Iran but I would say that we stick to the
rule of international humanitarian law which is very clear against targeting
civilians.”
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/11/29/UK-concerned-over-Iran-situation-awaiting-full-facts-on-scientist-killing
--------
Award-winning Syrian photojournalist injured during
Paris protest
29 November 2020
A press freedom group has denounced the “unacceptable”
injury of an award-winning Syrian photojournalist during a Paris protest
against police brutality.
Ameer Alhalbi, a freelance photographer who worked for
Polka Magazine and AFP, was covering the weekend demonstrations opposing police
violence and the French government’s new law restricting sharing images of
officers.
For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
In AFP photos Alhalbi’s face appears bruised with much
of his head covered in bandages.
Christophe Deloire, secretary general of Reporters
Without Borders, tweeted that the 24-year-old had been wounded at Place de la
Bastille by “a police baton” and condemned the violence.
“Ameer came from #Syria to #France to take refuge,
like several other Syrian journalists. The land of human rights should not threaten
them, but protect them,” he said in a second tweet.
Deloire also noted Alhalbi had been clearly identified
as a journalist.
Dimitri Beck, director of photography for Polka, said
that Alhalbi had suffered a broken nose and injured forehead, and had been
taken to hospital.
Alhalbi has won several international awards,
including second prize in the “Spot News” category for the World Press Photo in
2017, mainly for his coverage of the Syrian conflict in his home city Aleppo
for AFP.
Police said Sunday that two demonstrators had
complained of being hurt by officers in protests outside Paris, while no count
had yet been made in the capital itself.
Some 62 police officers were injured during the
Saturday demonstrations, the interior ministry said, while 81 people were
arrested.
A number of videos shared online showed marchers
beating police officers.
The interior ministry added that 133,000 people had
taken part in the demonstrations, 46,000 of them in Paris, while organizers
said the figure was 500,000 nationwide and 200,000 in Paris.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/11/29/Award-winning-Syrian-photojournalist-injured-during-Paris-protest
--------
Iranian diplomat refuses to attend 'political trial'
in Belgium
28 November 2020
An Iranian diplomat, who was arrested back in 2018 on
the false charges of being linked to a bomb attack plot in the French capital
of Paris, has refused to turn up for trial in Belgium.
In June 2018, Belgian authorities said that Iranian
diplomat Assadollah Assadi had been arrested in Germany over suspicions of
plotting a bomb attack on a meeting of the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq
Organization (MKO) in Paris attended by US President Donald Trump's lawyer,
Rudy Giuliani, and several former European and Arab ministers.
The authorities added that Belgian police had
intercepted the suspect, along with a 38-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman,
in Belgium with 500 grams of the homemade explosive TATP and a detonation
device found in their car.
Germany extradited to Belgium the 46-year-old diplomat
in defiance of Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961.
Dimitri de Beco, the Iranian diplomat’s defense
lawyer, said he would be representing his client and that Assadi did not attend
the court on Friday as he was seeking diplomatic immunity.
De Beco also added that the plaintiffs were turning
the case into a political trial on behalf of the MKO.
The next session of the trial is scheduled to take
place on Thursday and the court is then expected to adjourn its verdict before
ruling early next year.
Following Assadi’s apprehension in Berlin, the
director general for Europe affairs at Iran's Foreign Ministry met German
ambassador Michael Klor-Berchtold to convey the Islamic Republic’s strong
opposition to the arrest, detention and extradition of the Iranian diplomat and
said the move was part of a manufactured plot by those opposing Iran-Europe
relations and was planned by the MKO itself.
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also said
that the claims about Assadi constituted a "sinister false flag
ploy."
The MKO has conducted many assassinations and bombings
against Iranian officials and civilians since the 1979 victory of Iran’s
Islamic Revolution. It notoriously sided with former Iraqi dictator Saddam
Hussein during his 1980-88 war on Iran.
Out of the nearly 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist
assaults since the Revolution, about 12,000 fell victim to the MKO’s acts of
terror.
The terrorist outfit was on the US list of terrorist
organizations until 2012. Major European countries, including France, have also
removed it from their blacklists. The anti-Iran terrorists enjoy freedom of
activity in the US and Europe, and even hold meetings with American and EU
officials.
Western and European countries have also kept silent
about the latest targeted killing of Iranian physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh by
terrorists in his vehicle in a small city east of the capital Tehran.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry roundly condemned the
terror attack, saying there were “serious indications” of the Israeli regime’s
role in the assassination.
Fakhrizadeh’s name was mentioned multiple times in a
presentation in 2018 by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during which
he repeated baseless claims about the Iranian nuclear program.
Netanyahu described the scientist as the director of
Iran’s nuclear program and threatened, “Remember that name, Fakhrizadeh.”
The Tel Aviv regime has made several attempts over the
past years to throw a wrench in Tehran’s peaceful nuclear work.
The regime has been behind the assassination of
several Iranian nuclear scientists. It has also conduced cyberattacks on
Iranian nuclear sites.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/28/639531/Belgian-court-Iranian-diplomat-Assadollah-Assadi-Mujahedin-Khalq-Organization
--------
South Asia
Protesters demand arrest of Islamist leaders Mamunul,
Faizul for opposing Bangabandhu sculpture
Nawaz Farhin Antara
November 28th, 2020
Muktijuddho Mancha blocks Dhaka for an hour, announces
countrywide protest for Dec 1
Leaders and activists of Muktijuddho Mancha on
Saturday demanded the arrest of leaders of the Islamist platforms Mamunul Haque
and Faizul Karim for opposing the construction of the sculpture of Bangabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Several hundreds of protesters under the platform blocked
the Shahbagh intersection in the capital at about 4pm and gave the authorities
a 24-hour ultimatum to arrest joint secretary general of Hefazat-e-Islam
Bangladesh Mawlana Mamunul Haque and senior Nayeb-e-Ameer of Islami Andolan
Bangladesh Faizul Karim.
They demanded exemplary punishment for the two men for
insulting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and opposing the construction of
Bangabandhu’s sculpture.
The protesters placed a seven-point demand that
includes setting up sculptures of Bangabandhu at all educational institutions
across the country and in all districts and upazilas.
The protesters demanded ensuring the highest
punishment for those involved in rape.
They also demanded a ban on religion-based politics,
and any politics in mosques and madrasahs in order to uphold communal harmony
in the country.
The Mancha leaders also demanded that those who
engaged in provocative speeches or spread rumours at religious gatherings and
on social media be identified and prosecuted.
They called for reforms of the madrasa education
system and increasing monitoring in the madrasahs through forming monitoring
cells to prevent incidents of sexual harassment in madrasahs.
The protesters commenced their rally at 3:30pm on
Saturday, and arranged a procession from the Raju sculpture in Dhaka University
area to Shahbagh intersection. Later, they blocked the Shahbagh intersection
for an hour to publicise their demands.
The platform also announced holding a human chain and
protest rally across Bangladesh on December 1.
“All the units of Muktijuddha Mancha will hold the
programme at 3pm on December 1 across Bangladesh. If the demand is not met, a
strict programme will be announced,” Al Mamun, general secretary of Muktijuddha
Mancha, made the announcement.
The event was organized a day after Hefazat-e-Islam
Bangladesh chief Junaid Babunagari threatened to tear down all statues in the
country.
"All statues will be pulled down no matter who
they represent. We will tear them down," he said on Friday while
addressing an event at Chittagong’s Hathazari.
“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh would be
run on the lines of the Medina Charter. There can be no statues if the country
is governed in line with that charter,” he said.
However, the Hefazat chief also said: "Honorable
prime minister, we respect you and Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman. We are not your enemies."
Although Babunagari held an event on Friday,
Hefazat-e-Islam leader Maulana Mamunul Haque, however, had to cancel his
scheduled program on the same day at Hathazari Madrasa in Chittagong in the
face of agitation programs led by Bangladesh Chhatra League in the area to
resist his arrival.
Mamunul has recently achieved notoriety for insulting
Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by opposing the
construction of his sculptures across the country.
After this, leaders and activists of the Chhatra
League announced that they would resist Mamunul from attending the religious
program in Hathazari upazila of Chittagong, which was why Mamunul had to skip
the event.
https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/dhaka/2020/11/28/protestors-block-shahbagh-seeking-action-against-people-opposing-sculpture
--------
Bangladesh faces opposition on Rohingya relocation
SM Najmus Sakib
29.11.2020
DHAKA, Bangladesh
Bangladesh remains determined to transfer 100,000
Rohingya refugees in the temporary shelter to a remote island despite
widespread opposition from rights groups and UN agencies.
The South Asian nation said it is set to initiate the
relocation to the remote islet, 50 kilometers (31 miles) from its southwestern
coast in December, citing “rising pressure” on the tourist hub of Cox’s Bazar,
where 1.2 million Rohingya refugees are currently housed in camps.
A new list of food and non-food items for initiating
the relocation process of Rohingya to Bhasan Char Island has been proceeded by
the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner's (RRRC).
“Our target is to relocate some 100,000 refugees in
phases. We want to shift some of them [Rohingya] as early as possible, and we
want to avail advantage of the approaching winter season to this effect,” said
Md. Delwar Hossain, head of the Myanmar wing of Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry.
“We don’t rule out the possibility of beginning the
relocation to the islet in December, considering the friendly weather in winter
for such a voyage,” he told Anadolu Agency. He did not mention a date or number
but confirmed the figure must be “small in number” in the initial phases.
But the Dhaka Tribune newspaper quoted official
sources saying that more than 1,200 Rohingyas from 500 families living in camps
in Ukhia and Teknaf of Cox's Bazar will be relocated to Bhasan Char in the
first week of December.
Bangladesh has developed 120 cluster villages in
Bhasan Char, spending 23 billion Bangladeshi takas ($272 million) to
accommodate 100,000 Rohingya in the first phase.
The island is accessible only by boat and remains
isolated during rough weather.
Call for reconsideration
CR Abrar from the international relations department
at Dhaka University suggested Bangladesh conduct more assessment and reconsider
relocation before initiating a sensitive issue because, he said, it could
hamper Bangladesh’s image on global platforms.
“The move comes at a time when pressure on Myanmar
accelerated. Western countries move for imposing sanctions on Myanmar, and
justice and accountability mechanisms at international justice courts get
momentum, so international attention could be derived and Bangladesh could get
a negative mark,” he said.
And, if Bangladesh is determined, then it must be done
voluntarily having ensured there will be no pressure for relocation, he said.
“Shifting Rohingya could delay the ultimate target of repatriation.”
Ansar Ali, a Rohingya leader at the Cox’s Bazar
refugee camps, who visited the island under arrangements by the Bangladesh
government, told Anadolu Agency that “If the Bangladesh government take us to
anywhere we would go, but it’s our ultimate destiny to back to our home
country, Myanmar. We face all these as Myanmar starts procrastination over the
repatriation.”
“Bhasan Char is a beautiful Island I found when I
visited, but Cox’s Bazar is what we prefer to the Islet whereas some of our
people believe that relocation could hamper the repatriation,” he said.
Rights groups, including UN agencies and Amnesty
International, also repeatedly urged Bangladesh to abandon plans to relocate
refugees to the remote island in the Bay of Bengal, characterizing it not
“safe” for human habitation and places “serious questions over this relocation
procedure.”
“Although Bhasan Char is well equipped and good for
living, Rohingya in Cox's Bazar camps do not want to be relocated. They are
afraid they will be isolated once relocated to the Bhasan Char,” Ro Nay San
Lwin, co-founder of Free Rohingya Coalition based in the UK told Anadolu
Agency.
“Traumatized refugees should not be forced to
relocate. We understand the situation of the Cox's Bazar camps but the appeals
of refugees should be honored,” he said. “Pressuring Myanmar to accept them
back with full citizenship and protection is the only solution.”
Voluntary relocation
“Bangladesh officials did not force us to move, and
some of the Rohingya refugees already showed their interest to be relocated and
some 120,000 Rohingya have already shown interest by enlisting their names
towards voluntary relocation,” said Ali, the Rohingya refugee in Cox’s Bazar.
Hossain said the number relocated will be determined
based on how many [Rohingya] show interest “voluntarily and we won’t force
anyone.”
Cox’s Bazar has been facing tremendous problems.
“Huge forest areas got banished, local biodiversity
got hampered, water lair contained to go down, and the infrastructure of areas
can hardly don half a million population whereas over one million Rohingya are
there,” said Hossain,
"Our first priority is to send them [Rohingya] to
their own land, Myanmar. However, there is no recent progress on the repatriation
process, so we have to take some temporary measures like shifting them,” he
said.
“We have assessed and constructed the big facility in
Bhasan Char having consulted with international experts, and the facility
showed its strength in face of three recent cyclones, so why some agencies
raise questions that the island would be vulnerable for residents,” he said as
he questioned the motive of those who criticize possible relocation.
The Foreign Ministry official urged rights agencies to
concentrate on available repatriation rather than talking about temporary and
small issues.
Abrar, however, on the issue of “no progress” on
repatriation said Bangladesh should concentrate on new a diplomatic focus.
“Bangladesh will have to shift its focus on the global platforms from India and
China as the two countries seem to bring no good for Bangladesh and causing
delay to much-awaited repatriation.”
He reproached India and China for their roles in
supporting Myanmar in the global platform which he claimed was the mother of
all problems with Rohingya.
The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most
persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were
killed in communal violence in 2012.
According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000
Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, fled Myanmar and crossed into
Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim
community in August 2017, pushing the number of persecuted people in Bangladesh
above 1.2 million.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/bangladesh-faces-opposition-on-rohingya-relocation/2059544
--------
Afghanistan Faces ‘Restricted Conditions’ on Aids by
Int’l Donors
By Mohammad Arif Sheva
30 Nov 2020
KABUL, Afghanistan – The international community
imposes tougher conditions on financial aid it provides to Afghanistan through
2024, said the Ministry of Finance on Sunday, following a widespread criticism
against high-profile government officials accused of money laundering and
corruption.
The country is expected to provide annual report,
based on which donors will push through their financial aids to Afghanistan.
“Without any doubt, this time, the aid by the
international community to Afghanistan will be given with more restricted
conditions, but we are confident to work in a good way as part our mutual
accountability with the world,” said Shamroz Khan Masjidi, a spokesman for the
Ministry of Finance, as TOLOnews quoted.
Meanwhile, Nazir Kabiri, the Chief Executive of Biruni
Institute, said Afghan government will need to brief the international
community about programs that it had undertaken in the past years, including
the years to come, in order to maintain aids from donors.
“This time the donors will conduct their assessments
from the achievements on an annual basis, therefore, with the reduction in aid,
the issues must be tackled in an appropriate way,” said Kabiri of the Biruni
Institute that is a research organization in Kabul.
During the 2020 Geneva Conference on Afghanistan last
week, the international community renewed their financial and political
commitment to Afghanistan for another four years.
Although, an exact amount of the money pledged by the
donors is not immediately announced, the government says it expected $4 billion
in aid to Afghanistan per year, which will be “invested in money-generating
institutions and projects.”
https://www.khaama.com/afghanistan-faces-restricted-conditions-on-aids-by-intl-donors-345345/
--------
Peace Council Acts after Criticized on Dull
Performance
By Mohammad Arif Sheva
30 Nov 2020
KABUL, Afghanistan – High Council of National
Reconciliation (HCNR) has finalized members of its leadership committee Sunday,
said a spokesman for the council, after critique suggested the body is too slow
to enact constructive rule in peace process.
On Friday, the EU Delegation and EU Heads of Mission
based in Kabul urged for a “swift establishment and operationalization of the
High Council of National Reconciliation, saying the body designated to provide
“guidance” to the ongoing peace negotiations.
The committee is expected to hold its first meeting in
coming days.
“The finalization of the list of the High Council of
National Reconciliation moves at full pace, the council will soon conduct its
meeting,” said Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, as
TOLOnews quoted.
Authorities did not further elaborate on members of
the newly set committee, and whether or not women are included, but said the
board is composed of at least 46 members.
“There are 45 to 46 people as members of the
leadership council of the High Council of National Reconciliation,” said
Mujiburrahmna Rahimi, a spokesman for the HCNR.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the HCNR Abdullah Abdullah
confirming an upcoming meeting of the committee said Monday that he has talked
with the president about progresses the body made towards contributing a
constructive role on Afghan peace.
“Today I had a constructive meeting with excellencies
President @ashrafghani, the former president @KarzaiH, & the Jihadi leader
Prof. Abdurrab Rasul Sayaf,” he said in a tweet. “We exchanged views on the
#AfghanPeaceProcess, the talks in Doha, & the first meeting of the leadership
committee of HCNR.”
In August, President Ashraf Ghani in a formal decree
announced the appointment of members of the leadership board of the High
Council of National Reconciliation, where former president Hamid Karzai and
other prominent politicians were on his list.
But Abdullah’s office at the time said the appointment
of the council’s members was the duty of the council itself.
https://www.khaama.com/peace-council-acts-after-criticized-on-dull-performance-34534/
--------
Two Afghanistan suicide bombings kill at least 34
people: Officials
29 November 2020
Afghan officials said Sunday at least 34 people were
killed in two separate suicide bombings that targeted a military base and a
provincial chief.
In eastern Ghazni province, 31 soldiers were killed
and 24 others wounded when the attacker drove a military humvee full of
explosives onto an army commando base before detonating the car bomb, according
to an official in Afghanistan’s national security council, who spoke
anonymously because he was not permitted to speak directly to the media.
The attack was also confirmed by Interior Ministry
spokesman Tariq Arian, though he did not provide details on casualties.
In southern Afghanistan, a suicide car bomber targeted
the convoy of a provincial council chief in Zubal, killing at least three
people and wounding 12 others, including children.
The provincial council chief, Attajan Haqbayat,
survived the Sunday attack with minor injuries, though one of his bodyguards
was among those killed, said provincial police spokesman Hikmatullah Kochai.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility for
the attacks.
The bombings come as Afghan government representatives
and the Taliban hold face-to-face talks in Qatar for the first time to end the
country’s decades-long war.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/11/29/Afghanistan-car-bomb-kills-at-least-26-security-personnel-Officials
--------
Southeast Asia
Suspected militants kill four Christians in remote
Indonesian village
29 Nov 2020
Police in Indonesia were on Saturday hunting suspected
militants accused of killing four people said by rights groups to be
Christians, beheading one and burning down their homes.
Ten militants linked to a “terrorist” group beheaded
one victim and slit the throats of the others on the island of Sulawesi on
Friday, national police spokesman Awi Setiyono quoted a witness as saying.
Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority
country, has grappled with intermittent militant attacks recently.
“This attack is another serious escalation against the
Christian minority in Indonesia,” Human Rights Watch researcher Andreas Harsono
told Reuters.
Gomar Gultom, the head of the Communion of Churches in
Indonesia, said the victims were Christian and urged the authorities to resolve
the case.
International Christian Concern, a Washington-based
advocacy group, said “an alleged terrorist” killed four Christians in the
Sulawesi village, burning down a Salvation Army post and Christian homes.
According to witness reports, the perpetrators had
asked for food from the victims, who were killed when they refused, Awi told
Reuters. He denied the attacks were religiously motivated.
“We’re on the ground now, there’s about 100 people who
will start chasing,” he told the news channel Metro TV.
The investigation, led by the Indonesian police and
the military, may run into hurdles as the incident took place in a hilly,
remote village near the region of Sigi in Central Sulawesi province, he said.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/29/suspected-militants-kill-four-christians-in-remote-indonesian-village
--------
In Bersatu Address, Muhyiddin Cites ‘God’s Will’ For
Alliance With Umno And PAS, Vows Fight Against Secularism, Liberalism
28 Nov 2020
BY RADZI RAZAK
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 — Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia
president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has claimed today that it is “God’s will”
that his party has now allied itself with two other Malay-dominant parties,
Umno and PAS — both previously its political enemies.
In his policy speech for the third Bersatu Annual
General Meeting peppered with verses of Quran and Arabic phrases, Muhyiddin who
is also Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman, said divine will has caused the three
parties to band together for the sake of the Malay-Muslim community’s unity.
“This is a test from Allah to us. I believe that there
is underlying wisdom in this test that brings together Umno, Bersatu and PAS in
one ‘saf’,” he said, using the Arabic term that refers to line or alignment,
but usually to describe rows of Muslims united in congregational prayers.
“This cooperation will unite the Malay Muslim in our
country who has been divided politically for so long.
“We need to see the bigger ‘maslahah’, the larger
good. Wouldn’t it be good that all Malay-Muslim leaders can come together in a
larger, stronger ‘jamaah’ than divided into weaker ‘kabilah’?” he asked.
“Maslahah” is an Arabic term referring to “benefits”,
“jamaah” is “congregation”, and “kabilah” is “tribe”.
“If we did not, then the Malay unity will remain an
elusive dream that would never materialise in our lifetime,” he said in his
speech at the AGM, which was held online due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Muhyiddin also promised that PN will fight to return
“moderate” Sunni Muslim teachings, which form the basis of the brand of Islam
solely recognised by Putrajaya, and to “fight secularism and liberalism”.
He said that today, the government faces new
challenges against the Shariah code governing Islam, which he claimed included
secularism and liberalism.
“The thoughts came in the guise of scholarly discourse
somewhat deviant in the true teachings of Islam.
“We must hold fast to the faith of Muslims using the
approach based on knowledge and wisdom,” he said.
Muhyiddin also revealed that he had held a meeting
with Umno president and Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid
Hamidi, and agreed that there are discrepancies within their partnership that
need to be fixed, following open criticisms against PN from several Umno MPs.
“We spoke from heart to heart. We spoke frankly. We
realised the relationship between Umno and Bersatu has to be mended. There
needs to be efforts. There needs to be a push from the top leaders to the
grassroots.
“It is not easy, but this is the best way forward,” he
said, insisting that Bersatu must not stand alone and join a three-way fight
with Umno and PAS in the next general election.
In line with that, Muhyiddin also suggested that a
Presidential Council be established consisting of party leaders in the PN, BN,
Gabungan Parti Sarawak and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah.
“This is important because not all party leaders are
in the Cabinet, therefore through this meeting, party leaders can channel their
views to be considered in the implementation of policies,” he said.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/11/28/in-bersatu-address-muhyiddin-cites-gods-will-for-alliance-with-umno-and-pas/1926994
--------
No one must dominate in coalition of Malay parties,
says Saifuddin
November 29, 2020
KUANTAN: There should be no issue of which party will
be more dominant if PPBM, PAS and Umno form a coalition to face the 15th
general election, said Pahang PPBM secretary Saifuddin Abdullah.
He said that in the current situation, all parties
should be willing to work together and prioritise the people’s interests and
welfare.
“Present-day politics should be viewed from the
current situation. Let’s not be influenced by the old political framework which
will make it difficult for us to work, as what is important is to place the
people first.
“We should adopt an open attitude and the issue of who
is riding (on someone) and dominating should not arise in forming a coalition
of Malay parties.
“This coalition should be given a chance to serve,” he
told reporters after attending the Indera Mahkota Prihatin programme here
today.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, in his
policy address at the PPBM annual general assembly, said it would be good for
all Malay-Muslim leaders to be grouped under a major alliance to create
stability in Malaysia, instead of being split into small factions.
Saifuddin, the Indera Mahkota MP, said the amendment
to the PPBM constitution to enable non-Malays and non-Muslims to become
associate members shows the party’s openness.
“We welcome them to join our party because we still
respect and recognise other religions in line with Article 3 of the Federal
Constitution which stipulates that Islam is the federal religion while
followers of other religions are free to practise their own faiths,” he said.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/11/29/no-one-must-dominate-in-coalition-of-malay-parties-says-saifuddin/
--------
Divorces up by 12%, marriages down by 1.2% in 2019
November 30, 2020
PETALING JAYA: The number of divorces in the country
increased by 12% last year while the number of marriages dropped by 1.2%, the
Statistics Department said today.
Chief statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin said there were
56,975 divorces last year compared with 50,862 in 2018, while marriages
decreased to 203,821 in 2019 compared with 206,352 the year before.
“The general divorce rate for males increased from
6.5% to 7.2% per thousand population of married males aged above 18.
“A similar trend was also reported for females,
increasing from 7.0% to 7.7% per thousand population of married females aged
above 16,” he said in a statement.
Muslim divorces increased by 13% from 40,269 to
45,502, while non-Muslim divorces went up by 8.3% from 10,593 to 11,473.
Meanwhile, there was a 1.5% decline in Muslim
marriages and 0.5% for non-Muslims, with the Petaling district in Selangor
recording the highest number of weddings.
Uzir said 11% of marriages last year were between
couples of different ethnic groups, an increase from 9% in the year before.
“On the other hand, 0.3% were grooms aged above 65 who
married younger brides aged below 24. Meanwhile, 0.2% were brides aged over 65
who married grooms aged 24 or below.”
He said the median age of grooms remained at 28 while
for brides it increased from 26 to 27, adding that the tendency for late
marriages was more prevalent among the educated group and those seeking to
strengthen their individual economic stability, particularly those living in
urban areas.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/11/30/divorces-up-by-12-marriages-down-by-1-2-in-2019/
--------
Arab world
Rocket attack hits oil refinery in northern Iraq
29 November 2020
A rocket hit a small oil refinery in northern Iraq on
Sunday, causing a fire at a fuel storage tank and forcing a complete shutdown
of operations after the blaze spread to a nearby pipeline network, two refinery
officials said.
The ISIS extremist group claimed responsibility for
attacking the Siniya refinery, in a statement posted on the group’s official
channel.
It said two Katyusha rockets were used in the attack.
It gave no further details on any casualties.
A spokesman for the state-run Northern Refineries Co,
which manages a number of Iraqi refineries, earlier told Iraq’s state news
agency that two rockets had hit the Siniya refinery, causing a fire that it
said had been controlled.
Officials said halting operations at the Siniya
refinery, which has refining capacity of 30,000 barrels per day, was a safety
measure to prevent further damage.
“We completely shut down production units to avoid
extensive damage that could result,” a chief engineer at the refinery said,
speaking on condition of anonymity.
An oil ministry statement said firefighters managed to
put out the fire at a fuel tank and cited Deputy Oil Minister Hamid Younis as
saying that operations are expected to be resumed in “the next few hours after
assessing the damage”
Sunday’s attack signals that ISIS militants are still
capable of launching attacks against security forces and vital energy sites,
despite being defeated during a 2014-2017 US-backed military campaign.
There were no reports of casualties at the facility,
which is near Iraq’s largest oil refinery of Baiji in the Northern Salahuddin
province.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/11/29/Rocket-attack-hits-oil-refinery-in-northern-Iraq
--------
UAE, Jordan condemn assassination of Iranian scientist
29 November 2020
The United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Jordan
have joined the long list of countries and international bodies that condemn
the Friday assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
In a statement on Sunday, the UAE Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and International Cooperation said “it condemns the heinous
assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, which could further fuel conflict in the
region.”
The condemnation emanates from the UAE’s “deep
conviction on the need to pursue all means for stability in the region.”
"Given the current situation in the region, the
UAE calls upon all parties to exercise maximum degrees of self-restraint to
avoid dragging the region into new levels of instability and threat to
peace," said the statement carried by the Emirates News Agency.
It also stressed that “the state of instability the
region is currently going through, and the security challenges it faces, drive
us all to work towards averting acts that could lead to escalation and
eventually threaten the stability of the entire region.”
Separately, Jordan condemned the killing of top
Iranian scientist, and called for collective efforts to avoid an escalation in
tensions in the Middle East region.
Fakhrizadeh, who headed the Iranian Defense Ministry’s
Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (known by its acronym SPND),
was targeted on Friday in a multi-pronged attack involving at least one
explosion and small fire by a number of assailants in Absard city of Damavand
County, Tehran Province.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the
assassination bears the clear hallmark of atrocities committed by the Israeli
regime, which has already murdered a number of Iran's scientific elites.
Tweeting in German on Sunday, Zarif cited “serious
indications of Israel’s role” in the Friday assassination.
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the country’s
nuclear agency, has likewise suspected Israeli involvement in both the
assassination and a July incident at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility. “It looks
like the Zionist regime [of Israel] has a role in these issues,” AEOI Spokesman
Behrouz Kamalvandi said on Saturday.
No party has yet claimed responsibility for the
atrocity.
However, the United States and Israel have, throughout
the entire lifespan of Iran’s nuclear energy program, been changelessly trying
to demonize it. The duo that are each other’s strongest allies, have worked
tirelessly to try and restrict Iran’s nuclear work through international bodies
or coercive and unlawful measures.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/29/639635/UAE-Jordan-condemn-assassination-fakhrizadeh
--------
Bahraini opposition parties, Hamas condemn
assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist
29 November 2020
Bahraini opposition political parties have condemned
the assassination of prominent Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh,
emphasizing that the targeted killing will not stop Iran’s progress and will
not push the Islamic Republic to forfeit its rights.
“This sinful attack constitutes a major crime, and a
blatant violation of world states’ right of self-determination and the right to
defend themselves against external threats,” Arabic-language Manama Post online
newspaper cited a statement released by the Islamic Action Society, sometimes
shortened to Amal, on Sunday.
“This cowardly terrorist act will neither stop the
scientific and technical progress in Iran, nor will it force the Islamic
Republic into abandoning its legitimate rights. Rather, it will contribute to
the instability of the region and will embolden countries that always seek to
escalate international conflicts.”
Amal then called on the international community and
responsible states to condemn such a dangerous escalation and provocative actions,
and not be silent on them.
It later extended its condolences and sympathy to
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and the Iranian
nation over the assassination.
Al-Wafa'a Islamic Party - Bahrain also said in a
statement that the Iranian physicist was “assassinated by a terrorist group
sponsored by the US, Zionist and Saudi intelligence services, after having
spent years on the path of scientific struggle to elevate the Islamic Republic
of Iran and the axis of resistance.”
The party also voiced its support for Tehran’s
decisive response to all those responsible for the brutal terrorist act.
Hamas chief slams assassination of Iran's nuclear
scientist
Separately, the head of the political bureau of the
Palestinian Hamas resistance movement condemned the sinful crime, expressing
solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran over Fakhrizadeh’s murder.
“The assassination reflects a criminal mentality that
promotes targeted killing in broad daylight,” Ismail Haniyeh said in a message
of condolences addressed to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
“The policy of assassination did not succeed with the
resistance front in Palestine, and will fail with the Islamic Republic of Iran,
the axis of resistance and the entire Muslim world as well. Such an approach
only reflects the mentality of its followers, who tend to violate humanitarian
law and all international principles,” Haniyeh stated.
Yemen's scholars condemn Iranian scientist's
assassination
Moreover, Yemen Scholars Association said in a
statement that the colonial US administration and the Tel Aviv regime show
bitter hostility towards Islam, Muslims and the intelligentsia.
“The treacherous and sinful assassination of
Fakhrizadeh was specifically meant to target a scientist, who used to haunt the
Israeli regime, and deal a blow to the Islamic Republic of Iran. It was
directed at all Muslim experts in general,” the association noted.
It highlighted that the assassination of the eminent
Iranian physicist requires all Muslims as well as their scientific and
political elites to stand with Iran in the face of conspiracies it is facing.
Additionally, the leader of the Iraqi National Wisdom
Movement, Ammar al-Hakim, denounced the assassination of the top Iranian
scientist, stating that he sacrificed his life for his people so they would
access clean energy in everyday life.
Fakhrizadeh, who headed the Iranian Defense Ministry’s
Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (known by its acronym SPND),
was targeted on Friday in a multi-pronged attack involving at least one
explosion and small fire by a number of assailants in Absard city of Damavand
County, Tehran Province.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/29/639619/Bahraini-opposition-Iran-nuclear-scientist
--------
Iran able to confront Israeli-led terror crimes,
desperate attempts to undermine its progress: Syria
28 November 2020
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad has condemned
the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, saying the
Islamic Republic is capable of confronting such terrorist crimes led by the
Israeli regime.
In a Saturday meeting with Iran's Ambassador to
Damascus Javad Torkabadi, the Syrian minister warned that such crimes would
have impacts on the entire world because they are not just an act of
assassination but rather a terrorist move that the international community must
condemn, Syrian state news agency SANA reported.
He urged the United Nations to fulfill its
responsibilities vis-à-vis the fight against terrorism and adherence to the
rules of international law, otherwise there will be more tension in the region.
Mekdad said Syria would stand by Iran in the face of
desperate attempts to undermine its progress and scientific and national
capabilities.
Fakhrizadeh, who headed the Iranian Defense Ministry’s
Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), was targeted on
Friday in a multi-pronged attack involving at least one explosion and small
fire by a number of assailants in Absard city of Damavand County, Tehran Province.
In a tweet on Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad Zarif said the international community should condemn state
terrorism and build a consensus to counter tension and adventurism in the
region.
In his tweet, the top Iranian diplomat said terrorists
have assassinated another prominent scientist of the country and added that
such a cowardly act of terror is a clear violation of international rules and
moral and humanitarian principles.
For his part, Torkabadi said Iran will not stand idly
by in the face of heinous terrorist crimes.
The Iranian diplomat also expressed his country’s
determination to strengthen relations and strategic cooperation with Syria in
various fields in order to prepare the ground for both Tehran and Damascus to
face common challenges.
During the meeting, the Syrian minister and the
Iranian diplomat discussed ways to promote mutual relations and the latest
developments in the regional and international arenas.
Both sides agreed to continue coordination and
consultation between Syria and Iran on various developments and events.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/28/639552/Mekdad-Javad-Torkabadi-Iran-Syria-Israel-Fakhrizadh-terrorist-crimes-ambassador-assassination
--------
India
'Muslims labelled as Pakistani, Sikhs as Khalistanis,
and activists as urban naxals: Mehbooba Mufti attacks Modi govt
BY Syed Khalid Hussain
Nov 29, 2020
While addressing a press conference on Sunday,
People's Democratic Party (PDP) president alleged that the government is not
allowing 'secular voices' to come up.
She said Pakistan is a Muslim country and that’s the
reason why India is not talking to them.
“When they can talk with China despite them grabbing
our land in Ladakh, there should also be a dialogue between India and Pakistan
or Is it that Pakistan is a Muslim country that is why they don't talk to
them.“
"They call Muslims as Pakistani, Sardars as
Khalistani, And activists as urban Naxals, then my question is who are
Hindustanis, Only BJP?" She added.
Mehbooba further said, “I am saddened by the statement
from Election Commission after my detention. The day we announced participation
in DDC election the harassment of our members increased from the
administration."
Mufti further expressing her anger towards the
election commission, saying that their party was targetted by the institutions
like ED, adding that their candidate did not have the required security.
"Disappointingly all our institutions are working
for them, whom we can't complain to anymore. The opposition in the whole country
has been oppressed as when they criticise, they get targeted by all
institutions like ED etc," Mufti said.
Targeting government action towards Roshni Scam she
said, “ What is Roshni? It was actually a scheme and it was made out to be a
scam...The biggest scam is their electoral scam. They are sending notices to
poor people having only 5 Marla's under roshni.
She alleged that the media had become biased, adding
that it has become the lapdog of the government.
"UAPA became frequent for anyone who they wanted
to book without any proof,” she said.
She asked the Indian government that if the abrogation
of article 370 was the solution, then why are the security forces still in
Kashmir. "If all problems ended after the abrogation of 370 why is the
army sent to borders? Mehbooba asked
“ Until and unless they aren't restoring article 370,
they will not get success by pressurising people by different means,” she said.
“DDC election voter turnout is not solution of Kashmir
issue/situation on ground. What are 9 lakh troops doing here," she added.
https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-muslims-labelled-as-pakistanis-sikhs-as-khalistanis-and-activists-as-urban-nexals-mehbooba-mufti-attacks-modi-govt-2859117
--------
Late
Music Composer Wajid Khan's Wife, Kamalrukh Accuses In-Laws Of Forcing Her To
Convert To Islam
29
November 2020
Late
music composer Wajid Khan's wife, Kamalrukh Khan, has claimed she was subjected
to "scare tactics" and was made an "outcast" by her in-laws
after she refused to convert to Islam.
Wajid
Khan of composer duo Sajid-Wajid passed away in June.
Opening
up about her experience through an unverified Instagram handle, Kamalrukh said
she is a Parsi who got married to the "Dabangg" composer under the
Special Marriages Act.
As
per her profile, Kamalrukh is a clinical psychotherapist and in the lengthy
post shared on Friday said, she grew up in an environment where education,
independence of thought and "democratic" value system was encouraged,
but it clashed with her husband's family.
"An
educated, thinking, independent woman with an opinion was just not acceptable.
And resisting the pressures of conversion was sacrilege. I have always
respected, participated and celebrated all faiths.
"But
my resistance to convert to Islam drastically widened the divide between me and
my husband, making it toxic enough to destroy our relationship as husband and
wife, and his ability to be a present father to our kids," she claimed.
Kamalrukh
said it was her dignity and self respect which did not permit her to "bend
backwards for him and his family" by converting to Islam.
"I
fought this terrible way of thinking tooth and nail throughout my marriage. The
result - being outcast from my husband's family, scare tactics to make me
convert included taking me to court seeking divorce. I was devastated, felt
betrayed and was emotionally drained, but my children and I held on," she
said of children 16-year-old daughter Arshi and nine-year-old son Hrehaan she
shares with Wajid.
Kamalrukh
also alleged she is "fighting for the rights and inheritance of her
children which have been usurped" by Wajid's family.
She
further said though her husband was a gifted musician, she wished he dedicated
more time to the family, "devoid of religious prejudices, the way he did
while creating his melodies".
"We
never got to be a family due to his and his family's religious
fanaticism," she claimed.
Despite
multiple attempts to reach out for a comment on these allegations, there was no
response from composer Sajid Khan, Kamalrukh's brother-in-law.
On
Saturday, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel gave assent to an ordinance
against forcible or fraudulent religious conversions that provides for
imprisonment up to 10 years and a maximum fine of Rs 50,000 under different
categories.
The
promulgation of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of
Religion Ordinance, 2020, came four days after the Yogi Adityanath government
approved the draft of the legislation which also curbs religious conversions
only for the sake of marriage.
The
onus to prove that the conversion has not been done forcibly will lie on the
person accused of the act and the convert, it said.
Kamalrukh
said the current debate surrounding the anti-conversion bill was the trigger
for her to open up about her "experiences and ordeal" in an
inter-caste marriage.
"The
debate regarding the anti conversion bill should also delve deeper into the
patriarchal mindset - it is mostly always the women who are made to forcibly
convert.
"The
conversion campaign has to be recognised for what it is - spreading hatred
against different religious ideologies, separating wives from husbands and
children from their fathers," she added.
https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/entertainment-news-wajid-khans-wife-kamalrukh-accuses-in-laws-of-forcing-her-to-convert-to-islam/365722
--------
26/11:
Extradition hearing for Tahawwur Rana to be held on February 12
Nov
30, 2020
WASHINGTON:
A US court has set February 12 as the date of hearing for extradition of
Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana, who has been declared a
fugitive by India for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack case.
Rana,
59, a childhood friend of David Coleman Headley, was re-arrested on June 10 in
Los Angeles on an extradition request by India for his involvement in the 2008
Mumbai terror attack in which 166 people, including six Americans, were killed.
Rana
was earlier arrested in October 2009 by US police soon after Headley's arrest
at Chicago O'Hare airport.
US
District Court Judge in Los Angeles Jacqueline Chelonian said in her order on
November 13 that the extradition hearing in this case is scheduled for February
12, 2021, at 10:00 am.
Rana
has time till December 21 to file his opposition to the request for
extradition. The United States government will have another months' time to
file its reply.
In
its motion on September 28, the US government supported Rana's extradition to
India where he has been charged with the offenses of conspiracy to wage war,
commit a terrorist act, the commission of murder, and a terrorist act.
Rana,
in his defense, has argued that the US' decision not to extradite his
co-conspirator, David Headley, to India is inconsistent and bars his
extradition.
However,
the US government argued differently “because Headley fulfilled the required
terms, the plea agreement established that Headley would not be extradited to
India,” said US attorney Nicola T Hanna.
“Rana's
situation is different because he neither pleaded guilty nor cooperated with
the United States. As a result, cannot avail himself of the benefits afforded
to Headley through his negotiated plea. Such a position is neither inconsistent
nor a bar to extradition,” he said.
Unlike
Rana, Headley immediately accepted responsibility for his conduct and pleaded
guilty to all of the charges in the Superseding Indictment, Hanna said. As per
the plea agreement, the United States agreed that it would not extradite
Headley to India “for the foregoing offenses, including conduct within the
scope of those offenses for which he has been convicted in accordance with this
plea so long as he fully discloses all material facts concerning his role with
respect to these offenses and abides by all other aspects of this agreement.”
Pakistan-born
Rana completed Army Medical College there, and served in the Pakistani Army as
a doctor for more than a decade, but eventually deserted.
He
is currently a Canadian citizen, but was a resident of Chicago where he had a
business. According to the court papers, he has also resided in and traveled to
Canada, Pakistan, Germany and England and speaks seven languages.
According
to the federal prosecutors, between 2006 and November 2008, Rana conspired with
Headley, also known as 'Daood Gilani”, and others in Pakistan to assist
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harakat ul-Jihad-e-Islami, both US-designated
terrorist organisations, to plan and carry out the Mumbai terrorist attacks.
Pakistani-American
LeT terrorist Headley was involved in plotting the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
He was made an approver in the case, and is currently serving a 35-year prison
term in the US for his role in the attack.
India
seeks his arrest on a number of offences, including the conspiracy to commit
murder, conspiracy to commit forgery for the purpose of cheating, and murder
under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The
2008 Mumbai attack was one of the most horrific terrorist attacks in India in
which 166 people were killed and over 300 injured as 10 heavily-armed
terrorists from Pakistan created mayhem in the country's financial capital.
Pakistani
national Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist captured alive, was hanged to
death on November 21, 2012.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/26/11-extradition-hearing-for-tahawwur-rana-to-be-held-on-february-12/articleshow/79484578.cms
--------
Pakistan
Pakistan
always upholds sanctity of OIC as collective voice of Muslim Ummah: FM
November
29, 2020
Foreign
Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi says Pakistan as a founding member of the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation always upheld the sanctity of the
organization as a collective voice of Muslim Ummah.
In
a tweet on Sunday, he said we look forward to hosting the 48th session of OIC
Council of Foreign Ministers in Islamabad next year.
The
Foreign Minister said Pakistan has also become a member of the 6-member OIC
Executive Committee.
Foreign
Office says inclusion of Jammu and Kashmir dispute in Niamey Declaration of the
47th session of OIC Council of Foreign Ministers is yet another manifestation
of the OIC's consistent support to the Kashmir Cause.
The
Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry in a statement today said the
Declaration explicitly reiterates the OIC's principled position on the Jammu
and Kashmir dispute for a peaceful settlement in accordance with the relevant
UN Security Council resolutions
https://nation.com.pk/29-Nov-2020/pakistan-always-upholds-sanctity-of-oic-as-collective-voice-of-muslim-ummah-fm
--------
PM
Imran briefed on national, regional security situation on visit to ISI
headquarters
29
Nov 2020
Prime
Minister Imran Khan on Sunday visited the headquarters of Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI), where he was briefed on the regional and national security
situation, a statement by the Prime Minister Office said.
The
prime minister was received by ISI Director General Lt Gen Faiz Hamid at the
headquarters.
The
premier was accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Planning
Minister Asad Umar, Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chairman Joint Chiefs of
Staff Committee Gen Nadeem Raza, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Mujahid
Anwar Khan, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi and Chief of
General Staff Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza.
The
prime minister, ministers and military leadership was given a
"comprehensive briefing" on the regional and national security
situation.
PM
Imran also lauded the "tireless efforts of the ISI for national security
and expressed his satisfaction over professional preparedness", the
statement concluded.
The
visit comes days after the prime minister approved the setting up of the
National Intelligence Coordination Committee (NICC), which would be chaired by
the ISI chief.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1593085/pm-imran-briefed-on-national-regional-security-situation-on-visit-to-isi-headquarters
--------
Pakistan
police launch crackdown against opposition ahead of PDM rally in Multan
Nov
29, 2020
MULTAN:
Ahead of the Pakistan Democratic Movement's (PDM) rally in Multan, the police
have launched a crackdown against opposition political workers.
According
to a report by ARY News, police arrested local leaders of Pakistani Muslim
League (Nawaz) (PML-N) Chaudhry Shahbaz Jutt, Sohail Butt, Jamiat Ulema-e
Islam's (F) (JUI) Qari Khalilur Rehman and Maulana Muneer Ahmed Abbasi from
Tiranda Mohammad Panah in the vicinity of Liaquatpur.
The
police have also conducted raids at the residences of political workers in
Liaquatpur and arrested PDM local leaders Jam Javed Laar, Allahwasaya Khan,
Usman Chandia, Imran Ashfaq Bagga and Ali Mansoor besides former PML-N chairman
municipal committee Hafiz Jameel Ahmed from Layyah.
Meanwhile,
JUI-F local leader Mian Ajmal Abbas and two PML-N workers were arrested from
Khanewal, another local party leader Ghulam Shabbir Saqi from Mohsinwal and 10
PML-N workers.
ARY
News reported that 23 political workers including three leaders of People's
Party have been detained in Multan.
Meanwhile,
The Express Tribune has reported that the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government
asked the police to register a case against the local leadership of the PDM for
holding the November 22 rally despite the Peshawar administration's refusal to
grant them permission for it due to an exponential rise in coronavirus cases.
Earlier
today, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Ali Qasim Gilani along with 30
opposition members were arrested.
According
to a report by Geo News, police in Multan filed a case against PPP workers
after they broke through security barriers and stormed into Multan's Qila Qasim
Bagh on Saturday ahead of the PDM rally scheduled to take place there on
Monday.
Their
workers have taken control of the administration of the stadium and have also
set up a welcoming camp outside, the party media cell said. Pakistan Muslim
League-Nawaz workers led a rally in Multan and also entered the stadium after
it was broken into, the media outlet reported.
"The
rally will be held in Qila Qasim Bagh (at every cost). Today all the barriers
of the police and administration have been broken down. After storming the
gates, we have taken control of the stadium," PPP leader Musa Gilani said.
Geo
News further reported that the police have registered a case against 70 named
and more than 300 unnamed party workers for breaking off locks and forcing
their way into the stadium at the Multan's Lohari Gate police station.
The
police also filed a case against caterers who had agreed to provide services to
the organisers of the November 30 rally.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/pakistan-police-launch-crackdown-against-opposition-ahead-of-pdm-rally-in-multan/articleshow/79478976.cms
--------
Pakistan
PM Imran Khan's Kashmir campaign bombs at Islamic meet
Nov
29, 2020
Pakistan
Prime Minister Imran Khans shrill campaign to internationalise Kashmir has
bombed after the 57-member Islamic bloc brushed aside Islamabads frenzied
attempt to haul up India for abrogating Article 370 more than a year ago.
In
the latest attempt to slam India for its decision to fully mainstream Kashmir
with the rest of India, it was once again Pakistan`s light-headed Foreign
Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi who had an egg on his face. Qureshi was left
red-faced after the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), holding its 47th
session of the Council of Foreign Ministers in Niger`s Niamey, snubbed Pakistan
by making no mention of Kashmir in its agenda.
Despite
the embarrassment, Qureshi, took the `Islamophobia` route to mention Kashmir in
his speech, another wasted exercise, as the participating ministers remained
focused on session`s theme "United against Terrorism for Peace and
Development".
The
OIC, through its Secretary General Yousef Al-Othaimeen, had made it aptly clear
that the agenda of this year`s Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) session would
include a list of topics and "issues of concern" to the Muslim world.
"In
addition to the Palestinian cause, the fight against violence, extremism and
terrorism, Islamophobia and defamation of religious, the Council will discuss
the situation of Muslim minorities and communities in non-member states,
fundraising for the Rohingya case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ),
as well as the promotion of dialogue among civilizations, cultures and
religions, and other emerging matters," the OIC, with a membership of 57
states spread over four continents, said in a statement released prior to the
meeting.
The
much-expected agenda though came as a huge shocker for Pakistan which had for
long been demanding a special OIC meeting on Kashmir.
"The
meeting has not been convened so far because the Saudis, who wield a virtual
veto in the 57-member bloc of Muslim countries, has not supported Islamabad`s
move. The latest omission of Kashmir from the agenda of the regular foreign
ministers` meeting comes at a time when ties between Pakistan and Saudi
Arabia/UAE remain strained over what Pakistani diplomats say are `unfulfilled expectations`,"
Pakistan`s leading daily Dawn said in a report.
Qureshi
was to face more embarrassment after landing in Niger along with Sardar Masood
Khan, the former Pakistani Ambassador to the UN, who is now president of
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The
duo referred Niger as a "brotherly Islamic country" and urged the
founding member of the OIC to raise the Kashmir issue at the forum of African
Union (AU) and various other international platforms.
But,
as the two-day session kicked off on Friday, neither Mahamadou Issoufou,
President of the Republic of Niger, nor any other participating country
diverted from the pre-decided agenda.
OIC
Secretary General Al-Othaimeen said that the choice of the theme for the
session, "United against Terrorism for Peace and Development", is a
strong reminder that "terrorism is the single most serious threat to the
region and the world, given its negative impact on growth rates and cooperation
ties, in addition to worsening Human Development Indices (HDI) ranking".
He
also valued the role assigned to the OIC Sawt al-Hikma (Voice of Wisdom)
Center, which acts in coordination with the International Islamic Fiqh Academy
to bring reason to bear and promote moderation and tolerance.
https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-pm-imran-khans-kashmir-campaign-bombs-at-islamic-meet-346206
--------
Shehbaz
calls for national dialogue to end ‘crisis’
Amjad
Mahmood
30
Nov 2020
LAHORE:
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif has called for a
national dialogue among political forces to steer “the country out of the
present crisis”.
“Socio-economic
conditions in the country have worsened too much and can only be improved
through collective efforts. There is a dire need for a national dialogue,” he
said while talking to reporters who visited him here on Sunday to condole with
him over the death of his mother.
“The
government has destroyed the country and damaged its economy. Every sector of
the economy is on the verge of collapse,” Mr Shehbaz Sharif said.
The
PML-N president was released on Friday from Kot Lakhpat jail on a five-day
parole to attend the funeral of his mother and receive the people coming to
offer their condolences.
Begum
Shamim Akhtar was buried at Jati Umra residence of the Sharif family on
Saturday. She died last Sunday in London, where she had gone to meet her son Mr
Nawaz Sharif.
Unlike
his elder brother and PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif, who has been
advocating a national dialogue among political and non-political forces (the
establishment and judiciary), Mr Shehbaz Sharif wants national dialogue among
only political forces to steer the country out of the present crisis.
Says
socio-economic conditions have worsened too much
“If
we are to improve conditions of the country then all political forces will have
to engage themselves in a national dialogue,” the former Punjab chief minister
and opposition leader in the National Assembly said.
Holding
the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government responsible for what he said
poisoning national politics, he lamented that now political exchange began and
ended with mud-slinging against political rivals.
When
asked what solution he suggested to improve national affairs, he said he would
talk about it only after he was released from prison as at present he had been
bailed out on parole for a few days.
Shehbaz
Sharif also shared feelings he had when he received the news of his mother’s
death while in jail. “It was a state of extreme helplessness. What could be
done while in prison? I was allowed to talk to Nawaz Sharif after the death of
our mother.”
The
PML-N leader has been in prison for the last two months facing corruption
charges in multiple National Accountability Bureau (NAB) cases. An
accountability court had indicted him, his son Hamza Shehbaz and eight other
suspects two weeks ago in the Rs7 billion money laundering and assets beyond
means case.
Denying
the charges as false and fabricated, Mr Shehbaz said he had been victimised on
political grounds. He said all the cases pending against him had been
engineered by his political opponents.
The
PML-N leader has been complaining about his victimisation while in jail,
alleging that even though he suffered from chronic backache, he was not
provided the required bedding and was made to sleep on the floor of the jail
cell.
He
also complained that he was offered meals on the floor, instead of being
offered on a table, keeping in view his spine issues.
On
his complaint, an accountability court earlier barred jail authorities from
using armoured vehicles for his shifting from prison to courts and directed
instead to use bullet-proof cars for the purpose if authorities feared for his
safety during his movement to and from court.
Meanwhile,
PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari telephoned Mr Sharif and condoled with the latter
on the death of his mother. The PPP leaders also offered dua for late Begum
Shamim Akhtar.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1593159/shehbaz-calls-for-national-dialogue-to-end-crisis
--------
Africa
Boko
Haram terrorists slaughter 43 farm workers in Nigeria’s volatile northeast
29
November 2020
Members
of the Boko Haram Takfiri terrorist group have killed at least 43 Nigerian farm
workers and injured several others in the country’s volatile northeastern state
of Borno.
Local
sources said the massacre took place on Saturday as the farmers were working in
rice fields in the village of Kwashebe, near Maiduguri, the capital of Borno
state.
The
assailants tied up the agricultural workers and slit their throats.
"We
have recovered 43 dead bodies, all of them slaughtered, along with six others
with serious injuries," said Babakura Kolo, the leader of a local militia
fighting armed groups in the region.
"It
is no doubt the handiwork of Boko Haram who operate in the area and frequently
attack farmers."
Ibrahim
Liman, another militiaman, gave the same toll and said the victims were
laborers from Sokoto state in northwest Nigeria, roughly 1,000 kilometers away,
who had traveled to the northeast to find work.
"There
were 60 farmers who were contracted to harvest paddy in the rice fields.
Forty-three were slaughtered, with six injured," Liman said, adding that
eight others were missing, who are presumed to have been kidnapped by the
Takfiri terrorist group.
Local
residents said the bodies were taken to the nearby Zabarmari village, where
they would be kept ahead of burial on Sunday.
Nigerian
President Muhammadu Buhari extended his condolences to the victims’ families
and condemned the attack, saying, "The entire country has been wounded by
these senseless killings."
Last
month, Boko Haram terrorists took the lives of at least 22 farmers working on
their irrigation fields near Maiduguri in two separate incidents.
Northeastern
Nigeria has been wracked by years of violence involving clashes between rival
communities over land, attacks by heavily-armed criminal gangs, and reprisal
killings by vigilante groups.
Boko
Haram and the West Africa Province (ISWAP) branch of the Daesh terrorist group
have increasingly targeted loggers, herders and fishermen in their violent
campaign, accusing them of spying and passing information to the military and
the local militia fighting them.
More
than 30,000 people have been killed and nearly 3 million displaced in a decade
of Boko Haram's violence in Nigeria, according to the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Boko
Haram’s violence has spilled over into the neighboring countries of Chad,
Niger, and Cameroon, which have created a joint military force to fight the
terrorists.
Violence
by Boko Haram has affected 26 million people in the Lake Chad region and
displaced 2.6 million others, according to the UN Refugee Agency.
The
brutal massacre on Saturday occurred as Nigerian voters went to the polls in
local elections in Borno State after the vote had been repeatedly postponed due
to an increase in attacks by Boko Haram and ISWAP.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/29/639584/Boko-Haram-Nigerian-farm-workers-Maiduguri-Borno-state
--------
Ethiopia's
PM says Tigray operation 'completed' as army seizes Mekelle
29
November 2020
Ethiopian
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has announced victory against heavily armed rebels in
the northern Tigray region.
The
premier said in a statement on his Twitter account on Saturday that government
forces had captured and gained control of the regional capital, Mekelle.
“The
federal government is now fully in control of the city of Mekelle,” the PM
announced.
Abiy
said government troops had freed thousands of federal forces from the army’s
Northern Command, who had been taken hostage by the rebels.
Federal
troops had also taken control of the airport, the regional administration
office and other key facilities, he added.
Since
November 3, the Ethiopian army has been engaged in fierce fighting against the
Tigrayan forces in a war that has shaken the Horn of Africa. The offensive
started in response to rebel attacks on federal forces in Mekelle and Dansha.
There
were no new reports on casualty count from Saturday's clashes. However, the
United Nations has said hundreds of people have died in the fighting.
In
addition, about one million people have been forced from their homes, including
about 40,000 refugees who have crossed the border into neighboring Sudan.
Human
rights groups have warned of the plight of the refugees fleeing the conflict.
Abiy,
a Nobel Peace Prize winner, said he had ordered the military operation to stop.
“I am pleased to share that we have completed and ceased the military
operations in the Tigray region.”
The
premier said he had ordered the federal police to arrest leaders of the Tigray
People's Liberation Front (TPLF). “Our focus now will be on rebuilding the
region and providing humanitarian assistance while Federal Police apprehend the
TPLF clique.”
Billene
Seyoum, the prime minister's spokeswoman, said, “The safety of Ethiopians in
Mekelle and Tigray region continues as priority for the federal government.”
The
TPLF had dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades; however, the
group's clout has declined since Abiy came to power in 2018.
Since
then, the government has introduced a number of reforms. Many senior Tigrayan
officials have been detained, fired, or sidelined, in what the federal
government calls a clampdown on corruption.
The
once-powerful TPLF, however, complains of being unfairly singled out in
corruption prosecutions.
With
communication down in the Tigray region, it is unclear whether the rebels have
ceased their operations against federal forces.
Hours
after Abiy’s announcement, TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael said the
Tigrayan forces would keep fighting the government.
“Their
brutality can only add (to) our resolve to fight these invaders to the last,”
he told the Reuters news agency in a text message. “This is about defending our
right to self-determination.”
The
conflict has sporadically spilled over into neighboring Eritrea. On Friday
night, at least one rocket fired from the Tigray region landed south of the
Eritrean capital of Asmara.
Asmara
was also rocked by at least six explosions on Saturday night.
The
Tigrayan forces stand accused of launching rockets at Asmara with the intent to
drag neighboring countries into the conflict.
Abiy
was awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in brokering peace with
long-time enemy Eritrea.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/29/639575/Africa-Ethiopia-Abiy-Ahmed-Tigray-Mekelle--
--------
Sudan
needs $150 million in aid to cope with Ethiopian refugees: UN
28
November 2020
The
United Nations (UN) says Sudan needs $150 million in aid to cope with rushing
streams of Ethiopian refugees fleeing the conflict in their country’s Tigray
region.
“Sudan
needs $150 million for six months to provide these refugees water, shelter, and
health services,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi
at Um Raquba camp, some 80 kilometers from the Ethiopian border, on Saturday.
He
urged “donors to provide Sudan with these resources as soon as they can.”
Tigray
has been engulfed in bloody fighting since November 4, when Prime Minister Abiy
Ahmed announced the launch of military operations against the regional
government there.
The
announcement led to a dramatic escalation of a long-running feud between the
federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the
region’s ruling party, which dominated Ethiopian politics for almost three
decades before the incumbent prime minister assumed power in 2018.
Abiy
ordered the offensive on Tigray after rebel forces loyal to the TPLF launched
deadly attacks on a pair of federal military camps in the region. He has also
accused the party of defying his government and seeking to undermine it.
The
fighting has forced more than 43,000 Ethiopian refugees so far to take refuge
in one of the most impoverished regions of neighboring Sudan. Reports say that
on a daily basis, between 500 and 600 refugees are pouring into the country.
Sudan
is struggling with a deep economic crisis and has been going through a fragile
transition since April 2019, when a military coup ended the 30-year
dictatorship of president Omar al-Bashir.
Sudan’s
official figures show that some 65 percent of the country’s nearly 42 million
people live below the poverty line.
Elsewhere
in his remarks, Grandi also expressed concern about the fate of tens of
thousands of Eritrean refugees living in Ethiopia for decades.
“We
don’t have access to them,” he said, calling on the Ethiopian government to
authorize visits by the UN.
The
Ethiopian military launched the final phase of its offensive to capture
Mekelle, the regional capital of Tigray, on Saturday.
Debretsion
Gebremichael, the head of the TPLF, has said the city, home to 500,000 people,
is under “heavy bombardment.”
The
UN says the conflict has so far displaced at least 20,000 Ethiopians.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/28/639562/Sudan-needs--150-million-in-aid-to-cope-with-Ethiopian-refugees-UN
--------
UNHCR
says it hopes humanitarian access to Ethiopia’s Tigray region will be granted
29
November 2020
The
head of the UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Sunday he hoped promises of
humanitarian access to Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region by the Ethiopian
authorities would be granted as soon as possible.
“It
is not possible yet, so I hope it will develop in the next few days,” UN High
Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi told an online news conference from
the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Earlier
on Sunday, the Ethiopian government said it launched a manhunt for leaders of a
rebellious faction in the northern region of Tigray after announcing federal
troops had taken over the regional capital and military operations were
complete.
Prime
Minister Abiy Ahmed government has been trying to quell a rebellion by the
Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a powerful ethnically-based party that
dominated the central government from 1991 until Abiy came to power in 2018.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/11/29/UNHCR-says-it-hopes-humanitarian-access-to-Ethiopia-s-Tigray-region-will-be-granted
--------
Ethiopian
PM: military has completed operations in the Tigray region
28
November 2020
Ethiopian
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that military operations in the northern Tigray
region have been completed, shortly after he announced federal troops had
seized full control of the regional capital of Tigray on Saturday evening.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
“I
am pleased to share that we have completed and ceased the military operations
in the Tigray region,” Abiy tweeted.
Ethiopian
federal forces have taken “full control” of the Tigray region’s capital
Mekelle, the prime minister and the military’s chief of staff said on Saturday
evening.
Authorities
had said earlier that government forces were in the final stages of an
offensive in the region and would take care to protect civilians in Mekelle, a
city of 500,000 people.
There
was no immediate comment from the Tigrayan forces in the northern region, who
have been fighting government troops for the past three weeks.
“The
federal government is now fully in control of the city of Mekelle,” Prime
Minister Abiy Ahmed said in a statement posted on his Twitter page.
That
followed a statement saying the same from the army chief of staff, Birhanu
Jula, on the military’s official Facebook page.
Claims
from all sides are difficult to verify since phone and internet links to the
region have been down and access has been tightly controlled since fighting
began on Nov. 4.
Earlier
on Saturday, a diplomat in direct contact with residents, and the leader of
Tigrayan forces said federal forces had begun an offensive to capture Mekelle.
The
government had given the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) an ultimatum
that expired on Wednesday to lay down arms or face an assault on the city.
Thousands
of people are believed to have died and around 43,000 refugees have fled to
neighboring Sudan during the conflict. The northern region of Tigray also borders
the nation of Eritrea.
Abiy
accuses Tigrayan leaders of starting the war by attacking federal troops at a
base in Tigray. The TPLF says the attack was a pre-emptive strike.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/africa/2020/11/28/Ethiopian-PM-military-has-completed-operations-in-the-Tigray-region-
--------
Mideast
Iranian
President Issues Order for Start of Special Security Protocols after N.
Scientist’s Assassination
2020-November-29
President
Rouhani’s new order was issued in an extraordinary meeting of the cabinet in
Tehran in the aftermath of the Friday terrorist attack against the Iranian
nuclear scientist.
Fakhrizadeh's
car was targeted by an explosion and machinegun fire in Damavand's Absard 40
kilometers to the East of Tehran on Friday.
The
nuclear scientist and one of his companions were immediately taken to a nearby
hospital but he could not be saved.
Eyewitness
accounts confirmed that Fakhrizadeh's car came under attack first by a blast
and then by terrorists who sprayed bullets at his car.
Early
in 2018, the Israeli sources had acknowledged that Mossad had tried to
assassinate an Iranian nuclear scientist, but its operation failed.
According
to Fars News Agency, Mossad had gained access to Fakhrizadeh's name via a UN
list which referred to him as a senior scientist of Iran's Defense Ministry's
Physics Research Center.
After
the terrorist attack on Friday, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards
Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami underlined that assassination of
Fakhrizadeh may not undermine Iranians' resolve, and said revenge for the
terror attack is already on the country's agenda.
General
Salami extended condolences to Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution
Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, martyr Fakhrizadeh's family, and the Iranian
nation over the martyrdom of Head of the Research and Innovation Organization
of Iran's Defense Ministry, Dr. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was assassinated in an
organized and pre-planned terrorist attack by the child-killing Israeli regime.
"The
enemies of the Iranian nation, specially the masterminds, perpetrators and
supporters of this crime, should also know that such crimes will not undermine
the resolve of the Iranians to continue this glorious and power-generating
path, and harsh revenge and punishment is on agenda for them," the IRGC
chief commander stressed.
Also,
Ayatollah Khamenei in a message condemned assassination of Fakhrizadeh,
ordering officials to take action to punish the masterminds and perpetrators of
the terror attack.
“Mr.
Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a prominent nuclear and defense scientist of the country,
was martyred by criminal and cruel mercenaries. The unique scientific figure
gave his dear and precious soul in the way of God for his great and lasting
scientific efforts, and the high position of martyrdom is his divine reward,”
Ayatollah Khamenei said in his message on Saturday.
“Two
important issues should be seriously put on the agenda by all relevant
officials; first, probing the crime and the definite punishment of those who
perpetrated and ordered it; and second, pursuing and continuing the martyr's
scientific and technical efforts in all the sectors in which he was engaged,”
he added.
Ayatollah
Khamenei also extended his condolences to martyr Fakhrizadeh’s family, students
and the scientific society of the country, wishing him the highest position
before God.
President
Rouhani had on Saturday condemned assassination of Fakhrizadeh, vowing
retaliation for the criminal act.
“All
think-tanks and enemies of Iran should know well that the Iranian nation and
officials are too brave and too couragous to leave this criminal act
unanswered,” Rouhani said, addressing a meeting of the national coronavirus
campaign headquarters in Tehran.
“The
relevant officials will give a response to their crime in due time, and in
addition, the Iranian nation is too wise and too smart to fall into the trap of
the Zionists’ plot,” he added.
President
Rouhani said that it seems some parties are after stirring chaos but “they
should know that we are aware of their plots and they will not succeed in
attaining their malicious goals”.
“The
Zionist regime and those standing against Iran should know that the path of the
country’s development and research will be paved rapidly” and a large number of
other Iranian scientists like Fakhrizadeh will emerge to help, he added.
Iranian
nuclear scientists have been the target of the western and Israeli spy
agencies' assassination attempts in recent years.
In
June 2012, Iran announced that its intelligence forces had identified and arrested
all terrorist elements behind the assassination of the country's nuclear
scientists.
"All
the elements involved in the assassinations of the country's nuclear scientists
have been identified and arrested," Iran's Intelligence Ministry announced
in a statement.
"A
number of countries, whose territories and facilities had been misused by the
Mossad-backed terrorist teams, have provided the Iranian officials with
relevant information," the statement added.
"Over
the course of the investigations, all other elements behind the assassinations
of the Iranian scientists Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, Majid Shahriari and Mostafa
Ahmadi Roshan as well as Reza Qashqaei (Roshan's driver) have been
apprehended," the statement read.
"Some
of the perpetrators of the assassination of Dr. Fereidoun Abbasi, the current
head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, are among those arrested," the
ministry added.
According
to the statement, Iran's Intelligence Ministry had detected some of Mossad's
bases within the territories of one of Iran's Western neighbors, which provided
training and logistical support to the terrorist networks.
In
the fifth attack of its kind in two years, terrorists killed a 32-year-old
Iranian scientist, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, and his driver on January 11, 2012.
The
blast took place on the second anniversary of the martyrdom of Iranian
university professor and nuclear scientist, Massoud Ali Mohammadi, who was also
assassinated in a terrorist bomb attack in Tehran in January 2010.
The
assassination method used in the bombing was similar to the 2010 terrorist bomb
attacks against the then university professor, Fereidoun Abbassi Davani – who
became the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization - and his colleague Majid
Shahriari. While Abbasi Davani survived the attack, Shahriari was martyred.
Another
Iranian scientist, Dariush Rezaeinejad, was also assassinated through the same
method on 23 July 2011.
In
a relevant development in January, 2015, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps
(IRGC) announced that it had thwarted an attempt by the Israeli intelligence
forces to assassinate an Iranian nuclear scientist.
“In
the last two years, the Zionist enemy (Israel) was trying hard to assassinate
an Iranian nuclear scientist, but the timely presence of the IRGC security forces
thwarted the terrorist operation,” Deputy Chief Liaison Officer of Flight
Guards Corps Colonel Ya’qoub Baqeri told FNA in 2015.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13990909000767/Iranian-Presiden-Isses-Order-fr-Sar-f-Special-Secriy-Prcls-afer-N
--------
Iran
Asks for UN Cooperation in Identification of Culprits behind Assassination of
N. Scientist
2020-November-29
“The
Human Rights Headquarters calls on the UN Secretary-General, the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights and the President of the Human Rights Council, as
well as the western governments, to expeditiously and explicitly condemn the
assassination of martyred scientist Fakhrizadeh without any reservation,” the
statement said on Sunday.
It
also asked them to “use all mechanisms for cooperation with the Islamic
Republic of Iran’s Judiciary to identify, sue and punish those who have ordered
and committed the crime”.
The
statement warned that ineffective positions and silence of the international
figures and the western governments, which claim to fight against terrorism, on
the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist practically means legitimization
of terrorism.
Fakhrizadeh's
car was targeted by an explosion and machinegun fire in Damavand's Absard 40
kilometers to the East of Tehran on Friday.
The
nuclear scientist and one of his companions were immediately taken to a nearby
hospital but he could not be saved.
Eyewitness
accounts confirmed that Fakhrizadeh's car came under attack first by a blast
and then by terrorists who sprayed bullets at his car.
Early
in 2018, the Israeli sources had acknowledged that Mossad had tried to
assassinate an Iranian nuclear scientist, but its operation failed.
According
to Fars News Agency, Mossad had gained access to Fakhrizadeh's name via a UN
list which referred to him as a senior scientist of Iran's Defense Ministry's
Physics Research Center.
After
the terrorist attack on Friday, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards
Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami underlined that assassination of
Fakhrizadeh may not undermine Iranians' resolve, and said revenge for the
terror attack is already on the country's agenda.
General
Salami extended condolences to Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution
Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, martyr Fakhrizadeh's family, and the Iranian
nation over the martyrdom of Head of the Research and Innovation Organization
of Iran's Defense Ministry, Dr. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was assassinated in an
organized and pre-planned terrorist attack by the child-killing Israeli regime.
"The
enemies of the Iranian nation, specially the masterminds, perpetrators and
supporters of this crime, should also know that such crimes will not undermine
the resolve of the Iranians to continue this glorious and power-generating
path, and harsh revenge and punishment is on agenda for them," the IRGC
chief commander stressed.
Also,
Ayatollah Khamenei in a message condemned assassination of Fakhrizadeh,
ordering officials to take action to punish the masterminds and perpetrators of
the terror attack.
“Mr.
Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a prominent nuclear and defense scientist of the country,
was martyred by criminal and cruel mercenaries. The unique scientific figure
gave his dear and precious soul in the way of God for his great and lasting
scientific efforts, and the high position of martyrdom is his divine reward,”
Ayatollah Khamenei said in his message on Saturday.
“Two
important issues should be seriously put on the agenda by all relevant
officials; first, probing the crime and the definite punishment of those who
perpetrated and ordered it; and second, pursuing and continuing the martyr's
scientific and technical efforts in all the sectors in which he was engaged,”
he added.
Ayatollah
Khamenei also extended his condolences to martyr Fakhrizadeh’s family, students
and the scientific society of the country, wishing him the highest position
before God.
Iranian
nuclear scientists have been the target of the western and Israeli spy
agencies' assassination attempts in recent years.
In
June 2012, Iran announced that its intelligence forces had identified and
arrested all terrorist elements behind the assassination of the country's
nuclear scientists.
"All
the elements involved in the assassinations of the country's nuclear scientists
have been identified and arrested," Iran's Intelligence Ministry announced
in a statement.
"A
number of countries, whose territories and facilities had been misused by the
Mossad-backed terrorist teams, have provided the Iranian officials with
relevant information," the statement added.
"Over
the course of the investigations, all other elements behind the assassinations
of the Iranian scientists Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, Majid Shahriari and Mostafa
Ahmadi Roshan as well as Reza Qashqaei (Roshan's driver) have been
apprehended," the statement read.
"Some
of the perpetrators of the assassination of Dr. Fereidoun Abbasi, the current
head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, are among those arrested," the
ministry added.
According
to the statement, Iran's Intelligence Ministry had detected some of Mossad's
bases within the territories of one of Iran's Western neighbors, which provided
training and logistical support to the terrorist networks.
In
the fifth attack of its kind in two years, terrorists killed a 32-year-old
Iranian scientist, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, and his driver on January 11, 2012.
The
blast took place on the second anniversary of the martyrdom of Iranian
university professor and nuclear scientist, Massoud Ali Mohammadi, who was also
assassinated in a terrorist bomb attack in Tehran in January 2010.
The
assassination method used in the bombing was similar to the 2010 terrorist bomb
attacks against the then university professor, Fereidoun Abbassi Davani – who
became the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization - and his colleague Majid
Shahriari. While Abbasi Davani survived the attack, Shahriari was martyred.
Another
Iranian scientist, Dariush Rezaeinejad, was also assassinated through the same
method on 23 July 2011.
In
a relevant development in January, 2015, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps
(IRGC) announced that it had thwarted an attempt by the Israeli intelligence
forces to assassinate an Iranian nuclear scientist.
“In
the last two years, the Zionist enemy (Israel) was trying hard to assassinate
an Iranian nuclear scientist, but the timely presence of the IRGC security
forces thwarted the terrorist operation,” Deputy Chief Liaison Officer of
Flight Guards Corps Colonel Ya’qoub Baqeri told FNA in 2015.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13990909000334/Iran-Asks-fr-UN-Cperain-in-Idenificain-f-Clpris-behind-Assassinain-f-N
--------
Iranian
media says Israeli arms were used to assassinate Mohsen Fakhrizadeh
30
November 2020
The
remnants of the scene where Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was
killed suggest that Israeli arms were used to assassinate him, reported Iran’s
state-owned Press TV citing “informed sources” on Monday.
Several
Iranian officials have blamed Israel for the attack. Israel has declined to
comment.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/11/30/Iranian-media-says-Israeli-arms-were-used-to-assassinate-Mohsen-Fakhrizadeh
--------
Iranian
newspaper: Iran should attack Haifa if Israel killed scientist Fakhrizadeh
29
November 2020
An
opinion piece published by a hard-line Iranian newspaper on Sunday suggested
Iran should attack the Israeli port city of Haifa if Israel carried out the
killing of a scientist linked to its disbanded military nuclear program.
Though
the hard-line Kayhan newspaper has long argued for aggressive retaliation for operations
targeting Iran, Sunday’s opinion piece went further, suggesting any assault be
carried out in a way that destroys facilities and “also causes heavy human
casualties.”
Israel,
suspected of killing Iranian nuclear scientists over the past decade, has not
commented on Friday’s slaying of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
Iranian
officials roundly have blamed Israel for the attack, raising the specter of
renewed tensions that could engulf the region, including US troops stationed in
the Persian Gulf and beyond.
Kayhan
published the piece written by Iranian analyst Sadollah Zarei, who argued
Iran’s previous reactions to suspected Israeli airstrikes that killed
Revolutionary Guard forces in Syria didn’t go far enough to deter Israel.
Striking
Haifa and killing a large number of people “will definitely lead to deterrence,
because the US and the Israeli regime and its agents are by no means ready to
take part in a war and a military confrontation,” Zarei wrote. He said an
assault on Haifa needed to be greater than Iran’s ballistic missile attack
against American troops in Iraq following the US drone strike that killed a top
Iranian general in January.
Haifa,
on the Mediterranean Sea, has been threatened in the past by both Iran and one
of its proxies, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Hezbollah leader Hassan
Nasrallah recently suggested striking Haifa’s stores of ammonium nitrate, a
highly explosive fertilizer that fueled the deadly Beirut port blast in August
that killed 193 people and wounded 6,500 others.
While
Kayhan is a small circulation newspaper in Iran, its editor-in-chief Hossein
Shariatmadari was appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and has
been described as an adviser to him in the past.
A
“strong reaction”
The
Iranian parliament on Sunday held a closed-door hearing about Fakhrizadeh’s
killing. Afterward, parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf said Iran’s
enemies must be made to regret killing him.
“The
criminal enemy does not regret it except with a strong reaction,” he said in a
broadcast on Iranian state radio.
State
television broadcast images of Fakhrizadeh’s casket being flown to Mashhad, a
holy Shia city in Iran’s east home to the shrine of Imam Reza.
Father
of nuclear bomb
Analysts
have compared Fakhrizadeh to being on par with Robert Oppenheimer, the
scientist who led America’s Manhattan Project in World War II that created the
atom bomb.
Fakhrizadeh
headed Iran’s so-called AMAD program that Israel and the West have alleged was
a military operation looking at the feasibility of building a nuclear weapon.
The International Atomic Energy Agency says that “structured program” ended in
2003. Iran long has maintained its nuclear program is peaceful.
His
killing likely complicates the plans of President-elect Joe Biden, who has said
his administration will consider reentering Tehran’s nuclear deal with world
powers. It also raises the risk of an open conflict in the remaining weeks in
office for President Donald Trump, who unilaterally withdrew the US from the
atomic accord in 2018, beginning a series of escalating incidents between
Tehran and Washington.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/11/29/Iranian-newspaper-Iran-should-attack-Haifa-if-Israel-killed-scientist-Fakhrizadeh
--------
Eight
Saudis killed in Yemeni ballistic missile attack against coalition's positions
30
November 2020
The
Yemeni army, backed by popular forces, have launched a missile attack against
the Saudi-led coalition’s Camp Tadawain in Yemen’s Ma’rib, killing at least
eight Saudi forces.
Spokesman
for the Yemeni Armed Forces Brigadier General Yahya Saree announced on Sunday
that the missile attack targeted the Joint Operations Room of the coalition
camp in Ma’rib, central Yemen.
According
to Saree, the Badr-P ballistic missile used in this operation killed eight and
wounded at least seven other coalition troops.
The
Yemeni spokesman warned that such operations against the coalition positions
will continue as long as the Saudi aggression and the siege of Yemen continues.
He
also noted that Yemeni forces are observing and controlling the enemy’s
movements, and will target them wherever they are.
Supported
militarily by the US, the UK, and several other Western countries, Saudi Arabia
and a number of its regional allies launched the devastating war on Yemen in
March 2015 to crush a popular uprising that had overthrown a regime friendly to
Riyadh.
The
US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) estimates that
the war has claimed more than 100,000 lives in Yemen.
Nearly
3,500 children have been killed in Yemen since 2015, Yemen’s Human Rights
Center says.
It
says that some 5,500,000 Yemeni children are also at the risk of catching
diseases due to malnutrition and shortage of health services.
Late
last year, Yemen’s health ministry warned that around three million children
under the age of five were suffering from malnutrition, 400,000 of whom were
suffering from severe malnutrition and were at risk of death every ten minutes
if they did not receive appropriate medical care.
More
than half of Yemen’s hospitals and clinics have been destroyed or closed during
the war at a time when Yemenis are in desperate need of medical supplies to
fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
At
least 80 percent of the 28-million-strong population is also reliant on aid to
survive in what the United Nations (UN) has called the world’s worst
humanitarian crisis.
The
conflict has also resulted in what the world body has described as the worst
humanitarian crisis in the world.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/30/639641/Yemen-army-ballistic-marib-saudi
--------
UN
chief urges world to make ‘urgent contributions’ to cash-strapped UNRWA to help
Palestinians
29
November 2020
United
Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has voiced concern about the
financial situation of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees
(UNRWA), calling on member states to make “urgent contributions” to enable the
agency to provide relief to Palestinians.
The
UN chief made the remarks on Sunday, in a message marking the International Day
of Solidarity with the People of Palestine, which is celebrated annually on
November 29.
The
occasion is a UN-organized observance to remind the world of the Palestinian
people’s just cause and legitimate rights. It is commemorated worldwide, with
officials expressing their support for the Palestinian cause and denouncing the
Israeli conduct in the occupied lands.
In
1977, the UN General Assembly called for the annual observance. It marks the
day in 1947 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Palestine partition
resolution 181.
“I
appeal to all Member States to urgently contribute to enable UNRWA to meet the
critical humanitarian and development needs of Palestine refugees during the
pandemic,” Guterres urged.
UNRWA
was originally founded in 1949 to protect hundreds of thousands of Palestinians
displaced by the 1948 Arab-Israeli war mainly through providing them with
humanitarian aid. It was initially established as a temporary agency, but it
has continued to support the Palestinian refugees for the better part of six
decades.
The
agency currently supports an estimated 5.7 million Palestinians with refugee
status across the besieged Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank, Jordan, Syria,
and Lebanon, providing them with health care, education, and social services.
Most are descendants of the roughly 700,000 Palestinians who were driven out of
their homes or fled the 1948 war, which led to the creation of Israel.
UNRWA’s
finances have been ravaged since 2018, when the administration of US President
Donald Trump decided to cancel all the US funding to the agency, as part of a
policy to impose maximum pressure on the Palestinians to satisfy Israeli
interests and Zionist constituencies in the United States.
Before
Trump's cuts, Washington had been providing UNRWA $300 million a year, roughly
a third of its core annual budget.
On
November 15, UNRWA warned that the “worst financial crisis” it has ever
experienced could spell “disaster” in the besieged Gaza Strip and cause
insecurity in Lebanon. It has received the lowest level of contributions since
2012, at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is increasingly exacerbating the
needs of refugees.
On
Thursday, Philip Lazzarini, UNRWA commissioner-general, warned at a press
conference in the besieged Gaza Strip Gaza that the agency was on the “edge of
a cliff.”
“But
I still believe we can avoid falling. We can avoid falling if the solidarity of
the international community is expressed now,” he added.
Earlier
this month, Lazzarini had warned that it had to raise $70 million by the end of
the month to be able to pay full salaries for the months of November and
December. Some 28,000 staffers of the agency across the West Bank, East
Jerusalem al-Quds, the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Jordan will be affected by the
shortfall. Most of the staffers are refugees themselves.
With
some 13,000 people on staff, UNRWA is the main employer, after local
authorities, in the Gaza Strip, which is home to about two million people. The
situation is particularly critical in the blockaded enclave where the
unemployment rate is over 50 percent.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/29/639625/Palestine-Guterres-UNRWA-Gaza-US-Trump-Israel
--------
Gaza
marks International Day of Solidarity with Palestinians
Sunday,
29 November 2020
Ashraf
Shannon
Palestinians
in the besieged Gaza Strip have marked the annual observance of the
International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
On
this day, protests and special events are held around the globe to voice
solidarity with the Palestinian people.
The
annual event was first called for by the UN General Assembly on the November
29, 1977.
During
a press conference in front of the Palestinian Legislative Council premises in
Gaza, senior Palestinian officials vowed to continue resistance against Israel.
For
more than seven decades, the Israeli regime has caused pain and suffering for
Palestinians.
It
has waged three wars on Gaza since 2008 and has the tiny enclave under its
crippling blockade. Tel Aviv has also expanded illegal settlement activities in
the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem al-Quds.
During
the event, Palestinian officials also condemned the normalization of relations
between some Arab countries in the Persian Gulf region and Israel.
UN
General Assembly Resolution 181 in 1947 called for the partition of Palestine
into two states. The UN’s move paved the way for the displacement of
Palestinians upon the creation of the Israeli entity.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/29/639631/Gaza-Solidarity
--------
Scores
of sick Palestinians facing death in Israeli prisons: Rights group warns
29
November 2020
A
Palestinian human rights group has expressed serious concern over the condition
of sick Palestinian inmates in Israeli jails, saying many of them are facing
death due to their exposure to deliberate medical neglect.
Riyad
al-Ashqar, director of the Palestinian Center for Prisoners Studies (PCPS)
warned in a statement on Sunday that scores of Palestinian prisoners with
serious health conditions are likely to die in Israeli jails because prison
services deny them medical aid.
He
called on relevant authorities to provide adequate health care services to the
sick Palestinian prisoners languishing in Israeli jails, whom he described as
“living martyrs”.
Ashqar
said there are more than 700 prisoners suffering from health problems, 150 of
whom suffer from serious issues such as cancer, kidney failure, heart problems
and muscle atrophy.
Many
Palestinian prisoners who suffered serious illnesses have lost their lives
either in Israeli jails or shortly after their release.
In
September, 45-year-old Daoud Talaat Khatib died of heart attack at Ofer Prison
and Detention Center near Ramallah. The deceased Palestinian suffered from bad
health condition during his detention and in 2017 had a heart attack, but
medical negligence by the Israel prison authorities contributed to the
deterioration of his health until his death.
Also
in July, 75-year-old Sa’adi al-Gharably – a resident of the Shuja'iyya
neighborhood of Gaza City – died in the infamous Ramla prison hospital. He was
suffering from a number of health conditions, including diabetes, high blood
pressure as well as poor hearing and eyesight, and had recently been diagnosed
with prostate cancer.
Back
in October 2019, the Palestinian Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission
reported that sick Palestinian prisoners in Ramla prison hospital are facing a
slow death on a daily basis because of their exposure to deliberate medical
neglect.
According
to the commission, nearly a dozen of the Palestinian prisoners are in very
serious health conditions and most of them cannot move without wheelchairs.
They
rely on other prisoners when taking shower, changing clothes, eating and
drinking.
The
commission then appealed to international human rights, legal and humanitarian
organizations to urgently intervene to save the lives of sick prisoners in
Israeli jails, and put an end to the Israeli officials’ policy of medical
negligence against Palestinian prisoners.
More
than 7,000 Palestinian prisoners are currently being held in some 17 Israeli
jails, with dozens of them serving multiple life sentences.
Over
500 detainees are under the so-called administrative detention in various
Israeli prisons. Some prisoners have been held in that condition for up to 11
years without any charges.
The
co-called Israeli administrative detention is a form of imprisonment without
trial or charge that allows the Israeli authorities to incarcerate Palestinians
for up to six months, which could be extended for an infinite number of times.
Palestinian
detainees have continuously resorted to open-ended hunger strikes in an attempt
to express their outrage at the detentions.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/29/639604/Palestine-prisoners-Israeli-jails-medical-neglect-health-problems-death
--------
Yemen:
Deployment of UK troops to Saudi Arabia won't change situation
29
November 2020
A
member of Yemen's Supreme Political Council has reacted to reports on the
secret deployment of British troops to Saudi Arabia, saying the move will not
change the situation on the ground.
On
Saturday, British daily The Independent revealed that UK troops had been sent
to defend oil fields in Saudi Arabia without the knowledge of parliament or the
public.
Speaking
to the Doha-based Al Jazeera broadcaster on Saturday, Mohammad al-Bakhiti said
Britain and the United States are basically members of the Saudi-led coalition
of aggressors against Yemen.
“The
deployment of UK forces in Saudi Arabia does not change anything,” he added.
According
to The Independent, gunners from Britain's 16th Regiment Royal Artillery have
been sent to Saudi Arabia to man Giraffe radars.
Opposition
parties, the paper said, accused the UK government of lacking a “moral compass”
and dodging scrutiny. Campaigners said the episode was “symptomatic of the
toxic relationship” between the government and the oil-rich autocracy, it
added.
The
UK Ministry of Defense claimed that the mission was to protect Saudi oil fields
in the wake of the September 2019 attacks on Saudi Aramco oil processing
facilities at Abqaiq and Khurais, east of the kingdom.
“Following
the attacks on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s oil production facilities on 14
September 2019, we have worked with the Saudi Ministry of Defense and wider
international partners to consider how to strengthen the defense of its
critical economic infrastructure from aerial threats,” a ministry spokesperson
told The Independent, noting that the deployment included an advanced military
radar system to help detect drone strikes.
British
Defense Minister James Heappey also confirmed in separate written
correspondence that the “personnel have accompanied the deployment of Giraffe
radars to Riyadh.”
The
deployment, he added, was still “ongoing as of late November and had so far
cost UK taxpayers £840,360.
The
UK military operation, launched in February, overlapped with a ban on exporting
military hardware to Saudi Arabia because of concerns that the regime forces
were committing war crimes in the military aggression against Yemen.
Andrew
Smith, from Campaign Against the Arms Trade, said, “This secretive and opaque
operation is symptomatic of the toxic relationship between the UK government
and the Saudi Arabian authorities.
“There
are big questions about this operation and why UK forces were deployed, but the
entire relationship needs to be scrutinized. Despite the decades of abuses that
have been inflicted on Saudi people, and the war crimes and atrocities
committed against Yemen, the Saudi regime has always been able to rely on the
uncritical political and military support of Downing Street,” he added.
“The
bombing of Yemen has created the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. It
would not have been possible without the complicity of arms-dealing governments
like the UK. With the UK aid budget being cut, and COVID-19 making the
humanitarian situation even worse, it is more vital than ever that those arms
sales are stopped.”
Layla
Moran, the Liberal Democrats’ foreign affairs spokesperson, described the
reports on the deployment of British soldiers to Saudi Arabia as “shocking.”
“Not
only is this government selling the Saudi government arms to use against
civilians in Yemen, but deploying troops to defend Saudi oil fields, reveals
just how absent this government’s moral compass truly is,” she said.
Saudi
Arabia launched a devastating military aggression against Yemen in March 2015
in collaboration with a number of its allied states, and with arms support from
several Western countries.
The
aim was to return to power a Riyadh-backed former regime and defeat the Houthi
Ansarullah movement that has taken control of state matters.
The
war has failed to achieve its goals, but killed tens of thousands of innocent
Yemenis and destroyed the impoverished country’s infrastructure. The UN refers
to the situation in Yemen as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
On
Sunday morning, Saudi warplanes bombarded Sana’a International Airport,
al-Masirah TV reported without elaborating on possible casualties or damage.
Since
the begging of the bloody war, the UK has licensed at least £5.4 billion worth
of arms to the Riyadh regime, including bombs and aircraft.
British
armed forces have also provided at least 42 training modules for Saudi soldiers
over the past two years, including in air warfare, officer training, and
electronic warfare.
An
investigation by the Declassified UK website shows British troops are stationed
across 15 sites inside Saudi Arabia.
‘All
Saudi facilities legitimate target for Yemenis’
In
his remarks, Bakhiti warned foreign oil companies against remaining in Saudi
Arabia as well as ships against passing through the kingdom’s ports, saying
that all Saudi facilities are a legitimate target for the Yemeni army and
allied Popular Committees.
On
Monday, Yemeni forces conducted a missile attack on an Aramco petroleum
products distribution plant in Saudi Arabia’s port city of Jeddah in response
to the Riyadh-led war and siege of their homeland.
Saudi
Arabia acknowledged that the Yemeni raid targeted the “core of the global
economy and its supply routes,” causing major damage to the Aramco distribution
facility.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/29/639591/Yemen-UK-troops-Saudi-Arabia
--------
North America
Trump
adviser Kushner and US team heading to Saudi Arabia and Qatar for talks
30
November 2020
Trump
senior adviser Kushner and US team are heading to Saudi Arabia and Qatar for
talks, reported Reuters on Saturday.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2020/11/30/Trump-adviser-Kushner-and-US-team-is-heading-to-Saudi-Arabia-and-Qatar-for-talks
--------
Terrorism,
climate change top list of challenges facing US military
29
November 2020
The
US Defense Department Inspector General's annual list of challenges for the
military in the next year has highlighted the troop withdrawal from
Afghanistan, terrorism as well as the long-term threat to military
installations and operations due to climate change.
Pointing
to the potential problems of Trump administration’s push to withdraw US troops
from Afghanistan, the 101-page IG report expresses concern that the move would
lead to the resurgence of terrorist groups in the country despite the
persisting rise of terror attacks across the country ever since it was
subjected to a US-led military invasion in 2001.
"In
Afghanistan, two decades of US military operations have weakened al‑Qaeda and ISIS
affiliates operating in the country, but there remains a potential for their
resurgence following the planned withdrawal of US troops," the report
claims. "Meanwhile, violent extremist organizations continue to expand
their influence in Africa and Asia."
"Maintaining
the US military's advantage while balancing great power competition and countering
global terrorism requires the DoD to focus on enhancing interagency
collaboration and rebuilding military capabilities that may have atrophied the
past 20 years," the IG report states.
"The
challenge for the DoD is to rebuild capabilities to effectively compete with
near‑peer
rivals and other adversaries, while continuing to combat terrorists and
insurgents," it further claimed, voicing concerns that the ongoing
terrorist threat would be downplayed if DoD commits most of its attention on
containing China and Russia.
"As
the DoD shifts its attention and resources to great power competition, it will
need to retain the agility and capability to combat persistent and evolving
threats from violent extremist organizations," the document states,
claiming that Daesh (ISIL) terrorists – which the US has protected against
efforts by Iraqi and Syrian security forces to reign them in – are regrouping
following the 2019 death of their leader Abu Bakr al‑Baghdadi.
The
report further repeated US claims that Iran remains a state supporter of
terrorism around the world in face of growing evidence that Washington
continues to be engaged in terror assassinations and sponsoring mercenaries
worldwide to conduct coups and terrorism against governments and groups that resist
US interference.
Moreover,
under the heading "Strengthening Resiliency to Non‑Traditional
Threats," the report also underlines the impact on the US military of
"pandemics [and] extreme weather events, and the national security
implications of a changing environment."
"Rising
sea levels, extreme weather such as flooding, wildfires, or hurricanes, and a
melting Arctic will require the DoD to consider the security, readiness, and
financial implications of these non‑traditional
threats," according to the report, which was originally released on
November 19.
Additionally,
"droughts, water scarcity, and other natural resource limitations"
brought on by climate change "offer opportunities for adversaries,
competitors, and violent extremist organizations to exert their influence in
pursuit of their goals."
The
report’s list of top ten challenges for the US military in fiscal year 2021
includes: ‘maintaining the advantage while balancing great power competition
and countering global terrorism’, ‘building and sustaining DOD’s technological
dominance’, ‘assuring space dominance, nuclear deterrence, and ballistic
missile defense’ and ‘enhancing cyberspace operations and capabilities and
securing the DOD's information systems, network, and data.’
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/29/639572/US-military-inspector-general-report-terrorism-climate-change-
--------
Sanders
slams 'reckless, illegal' killing of Iranian scientist
29
November 2020
Senior
US Senator Bernie Sanders says the assassination of Iranian scientist Mohsen
Fakhrizadeh was an "illegal" move aimed at undermining possible talks
between Iran and the incoming US administration.
“The
assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was reckless, provocative, and illegal,”
Sanders said in a tweet on Saturday.
“As
a new administration takes power, it was clearly intended to undermine US-Iran
diplomacy,” the top Senator added.
“We
must not allow that to happen. Diplomacy, not murder, is the best path
forward.”
However,
US President Donald Trump’s former hawkish national security advisor John
Bolton defended the assassination, and claimed that the “threat” of Iran
developing a nuclear weapon fully justifies the “pre-emptive attack”.
Earlier
in the day, a senior US official told the Washington Post that the United
States had nothing to do with the scientist’s killing and believes Iran has
been told that.
The
official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive
matter, said there was little doubt Israel was behind the attack.
Former
CIA head John Brennan had earlier described the state-sponsored killing of a
scientist as a "criminal" act.
The
former head of the US Central Intelligence Agency described the assassination
as a crime that risked to inflame regional conflict in the Middle East.
“This
was a criminal act & highly reckless. It risks lethal retaliation & a
new round of regional conflict. Iranian leaders would be wise to wait for the
return of responsible American leadership on the global stage & to resist
the urge to respond against perceived culprits,” tweeted Brennan, who ran the
CIA under President Barack Obama from 2013-2017.
Brennan
said he didn’t know whether a foreign government authorized or carried out the
assassination of Fakhrizadeh, but said, “Such an act of state-sponsored
terrorism would be a flagrant violation of international law & encourage
more governments to carry out lethal attacks against foreign officials.”
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/29/639571/Sanders-Bolton-Fakhrizadeh-assassination
--------
Ex-CIA
chief slams Cruz over Iran assassination remarks
28
November 2020
Former
CIA head John Brennan has blasted Texas Sen. Ted Cruz over the assassination of
a prominent Iranian scientist, describing the state-sponsored killing of a
scientist as a "criminal" act.
Iran’s
top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was assassinated outside the Iranian
capital Tehran on Friday.
The
former head of the US Central Intelligence Agency described the assassination
of a top Iranian nuclear scientist on Friday as a crime that risked to inflame
regional conflict in the Middle East.
“This
was a criminal act & highly reckless. It risks lethal retaliation & a
new round of regional conflict. Iranian leaders would be wise to wait for the
return of responsible American leadership on the global stage & to resist
the urge to respond against perceived culprits,” tweeted Brennan, who ran the
CIA under President Barack Obama from 2013-2017.
Israel
has been blamed as the culprit behind the terrorist attack.
Brennan
said he didn’t know whether a foreign government authorized or carried out the
assassination of Fakhrizadeh, but said, “Such an act of state-sponsored
terrorism would be a flagrant violation of international law & encourage
more governments to carry out lethal attacks against foreign officials.”
The
former head of the CIA also went on to slam Cruz for claiming Brennan was close
to Democrats and had consistently sided with Iranians who chanted "Death
to America.”
Brennan
said the Texan senator was unruly and naive.
“It
is typical for you to mischaracterize my comment,” Brennan responded to Cruz.
Brennan
added that the Texan senator had a “lawless attitude & simple-minded
approach to serious national security matters.”
The
former head of the CIA said his 33-year public service, during both Republican
and Democratic governments, proved that he had consistently pursued
Washington's anti-Iran, pro-Israel foreign policy.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/28/639548/US-CIA-Chief-Brennan-Cruz-Iran-Assassination
--------
US
deploys Nimitz aircraft carrier back to Persian Gulf as tensions rise with Iran
28
November 2020
The
US military is moving the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier back into the Persian
Gulf along with other warships as tensions mount in the region following the
assassination of a prominent Iranian nuclear scientist.
A
defense official told the CNN on Friday that the deployment was meant to
provide “combat support and air cover” for American troops withdrawing from
Iraq and Afghanistan by January 15 before President Donald Trump leaves office.
The
official added that the decision was made before news came Friday of the
assassination of Iranian physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the head of the Defense
Ministry's Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND).
“The
movement would serve as message of increased deterrence to Tehran,” the CNN
said, citing the official.
Fakhrizadeh
was assassinated in a small city east of the capital Tehran in an ambush attack
on his vehicle involving an explosion and machine gun fire.
Fakhrizadeh’s
death came two years after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during an
erroneous presentation about Iran's nuclear activities, warned the world to
“remember that name.”
Iranian
Foreign Ministry Mohammad Javad Zarif said Friday there were “serious
indications” that the Israeli regime was responsible for the assassination.
One
American official and two other intelligence officials confirmed to the New
York Times that Israel was behind the attack.
Last
week, Israel’s Channel 13 TV reported that Tel Aviv and Washington were
planning to increase pressure on Iran with “covert operations” and economic
sanctions during Trump’s final weeks in office.
Chairman
of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad
Baqeri Baqeri said “harsh revenge” awaited those responsible.
The
decision to deploy the Nimitz back to the region marks a rapid return of the
aircraft carrier which only left the Persian Gulf for India early this month.
The
movement also comes as the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Qasem
Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards
Corps (IRGC), is approaching early in January.
“We
have the force posture right today. We're going to keep it right. We'll get our
troops home when we can, and we'll do the things we need to do. If Qasem
Soleimani is a problem, we'll go crush them,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
said in an interview with Fox News on Thursday.
The
act of terror was carried out under the direction of President Trump, with the
Pentagon taking responsibility for the strike.
In
response, the IRGC launched a wave of missile strikes days later, targeting a
major US base in neighboring Iraq. The Islamic Republic has vowed to fully
avenge the general’s blood.
The
IRGC's chief commander, Major General Hossein Salami, said Saturday that “a
severe revenge and punishment” was also put on Iran’s agenda in response to the
killing of Fakhrizadeh the day before.
There
have been reports that Trump has recently requested options for a military
strike on Iran during the remaining days of his term. The Israeli regime has
also reportedly been preparing for such an attack for weeks.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/28/639519/US-deploys-Nimitz-aircraft-carrier-Persian-Gulf
--------