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Islamic World News ( 1 Oct 2021, NewAgeIslam.Com)

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Taliban Should Not Mistreat Sharia Law, Qatar Is Good Example Of Islamic Country: Deputy PM, Qatar

New Age Islam News Bureau

01 October 2021

 

Deputy Prime Minister and foreign minister of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani

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• France Has Shut Down One-Third of 89 Inspected Mosques since November 2020

• Balochistan Employees Ordered To Set 'Pakistan Zindabad' As Caller Tune

• American Muslim Groups Ramp up Voting Drives Ahead of Upcoming General Elections

• Love and Narcotic Jihad: Catholic Church in Kerala Decides To Be "Guarded" In Its Future Sermons

 

Arab World

• Egyptian authorities say they blocked Brotherhood financing scheme

• Israeli Foreign Minister Lapid opens embassy in Bahrain

• Cash-strapped Lebanon names team for IMF talks

• Bahrain’s Jewish community welcomes ‘historic’ visit of Israeli Foreign Minister Lapi

• Saudi Crown Prince, French President discuss regional stability over phone call

• UAE officially launches Expo 2020 Dubai, world’s biggest cultural gathering

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Europe

• Greek premier acknowledges Turkey's ‘significant' role in managing migration crisis

• Ukraine seeks Turkish president’s help for release of prisoners from Russia

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Pakistan

• Conservation of Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor’s Ancestral Homes in Peshawar Begins

• Islamic State-Khorasan Claims Killing Of Sikh Hakeem, a Unani Medicine Practitioner in Peshawar

• Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan Kills Pakistani Army Captain

• Pakistan PM Khan's conversion comments cause outrage

• Sirbaz Khan becomes first Pakistani to scale 9 of world's 14 highest peaks

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North America

• US Very Honest About Its Concerns on Safe Havens with Pakistan Says Pentagon

• US 'Deeply Saddened' By Killing Of Rohingya Muslim Advocate, Mohib Ullah

• California gunman gets life without parole for synagogue murder, mosque arson

• US may use Russia's bases in Central Asia to hit terror targets in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan

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India

• Siddique Kappan incites Muslims, paints them as victims, says UP STF in chargesheet

• Assam Eviction Drive: BJP Targeted People As They Are Muslims, Says Brinda Karat

• Terrorist killed in encounter with security forces in Shopian in J&K

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South Asia

• Rights Group Expresses Concern over Taliban's New Media Rules in Afghanistan That Prohibit Critical Reporting About the Taliban

• Taliban reacts to US Senate Bill seeking to sanction Islamic Emirate

• Qatar urges 'friendly countries' not to isolate Afghanistan

• Taliban reiterate commitment to ensuring security of foreign diplomats

• IEA committed to ensuring security of foreign diplomats: Motaqi

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Southeast Asia

• Democracy Alive Due to DAP But Party Has Lost Support

• Jawi: Full capacity for prayers at mosques, surau in Federal Territories from tomorrow

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Mideast

• IRGC Commander Repeats Demand from Iraqi Kurdistan Region to Expel Terrorists

• Iranian FM Hails IRGC Quds Force’s Role in Establishment of Peace in Region, World

• Israel reports few heart inflammation cases after Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine boosters

• Iran nuclear talks to resume in acceptable period of time: EU’s Borrell

• Palestinian in Gaza killed by Israeli fire: Gaza ministry

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Africa

• Sheikh Zakzaky: Majority of Nigerians in Favour of Islamic System

• Sudanese Protesters Demand Civilian Rule, Want Army Out

• Spain ‘reassured’ by Algeria over gas supplies

• US strongly condemns Ethiopia for expelling UN officials

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

URL:   https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/taliban-sharia-qatar-islamic/d/125485

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Taliban Should Not Mistreat Sharia Law, Qatar Is Good Example of Islamic Country: Deputy PM, Qatar

01 Oct 2021

 

Deputy Prime Minister and foreign minister of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani

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Deputy Prime Minister and foreign minister of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said that their country that has an Islamic constitution is a good example for the Taliban and the latter should not mistreat the Sharia law when it comes to women.

Al-Thani has called on the Islamic countries to be a good example for the Taliban.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani hosted European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell in Qatar on Thursday, September 30.

Josep Borrell touched upon the important role of Qatar is the world’s engagement with the Taliban and called the role to be strategic.

Borrel said that the gulf state has been facilitating interactions with the authorities in Kabul and the Western world and added that Qatar has done much during evacuation.

“You did it during the evacuations. You are doing that, keeping the airport at Kabul open. And I am sure you will keep doing that.” Said Borell.

The foreign policy representative was also sure that Qatar will also deliver humanitarian support to the people of Afghanistan.

Qatar has been one of the most influential countries when it comes to the engagement of the world and the Taliban.

Apart from hosting the political office of the Taliban in Doha, the country has also been the first to be visiting the Taliban’s interim premier in Kabul after they announced caretaker government.

Source: Khaama Press

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original story:

https://www.khaama.com/taliban-should-not-mistreat-sharia-law-qatar-is-good-example-of-islamic-country-al-thani-54654656/

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France Has Shut Down One-Third of 89 Inspected Mosques since November 2020

Yusuf Ozcan  

 

(Photo courtesy: aa.com)

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30.09.2021 PARIS

Amid ongoing drive against Muslims and their worship places, France has shut down one-third of 89 inspected mosques since November 2020, the French interior minister said.

Gerald Darmanin told Le Figaro newspaper that before the "anti-separatism law" was enacted, 650 places were closed in the country for allegedly housing "extremists", and 24,000 places were inspected by French police.

Darmanin stated that as a result of the inspections carried out in 89 mosques since November 2020 over radicalization allegations, one-third of them have been closed, adding they are taking action to close six more mosques in Sarthe, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Cote-d'Or, Rhone, and Gard regions.

Darmanin added they also opposed the construction of a mosque called "Eyup Sultan" in Strasbourg, which is affiliated with the Islamic Community National View (IGMG), despite the approval from local authorities.

Noting that five Muslim associations allegedly promoting the so-called "political Islam" have been closed so far, the minister said the separatism law allows them to do more than that.

There will be a total of 10 additional associations closed, with four of them closing in October, he said, adding bank accounts of 205 associations were confiscated and two imams were expelled.

“We spread terror among those who want to impose terror on us,” he said, adding that religious officials from abroad will not be able to come to the country starting 2023 and that he has instructed the governors not to renew the residence permits of those who are here.

He said they do not renew residence cards of people sentenced for drug trafficking and domestic violence in the country.

France has limited the number of visas issued to Algerian, Tunisian, and Moroccan citizens in order to enable these countries to readmit their citizens deported by France, he said.

Anti-separatism law

In August, France’s highest constitutional authority approved a controversial “anti-separatism” law that has been criticized for singling out Muslims, striking down just two of its articles.

The bill was passed by the National Assembly in July, despite strong opposition from both rightist and leftist lawmakers.

The government claims that the legislation is intended to strengthen France's secular system, but critics believe that it restricts religious freedom and marginalizes Muslims.

The bill has been criticized for targeting France's Muslim community – the largest in Europe, with 3.35 million members – and imposing restrictions on many aspects of its members' lives.

The law allows officials to intervene in mosques and associations responsible for their administration, as well as control the finances of Muslim-affiliated associations and NGOs.

It also restricts the educational choices of Muslims by making homeschooling subject to official permission.

Under the law, patients are prohibited from choosing their doctors based on gender for religious or other reasons, and "secularism education" has been made compulsory for all civil servants.

France has been criticized by international organizations and NGOs, especially the UN, for targeting and marginalizing Muslims with the law.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original story:

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/france-closes-nearly-30-mosques-in-less-than-a-year-/2379348

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Balochistan Employees Ordered To Set 'Pakistan Zindabad' As Caller Tune

Sep 30, 2021

 

'Pakistan Zindabad' Caller Tune Made Compulsory for Balochistan Govt Employees

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NEW DELHI: The Balochistan government has issued a notification asking senior officials of the province to set 'Pakistan Zindabad as ring-back tone (also known as caller tone) on their Cellphones, Samaa TV reported.

The notification, issued by Balochistan's Services and General Administration Department, said that the rule applies on administrative secretaries, additional secretaries and deputy secretaries as well as the head of all the government departments.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by the Balochistan chief secretary. The divisional and deputy commissioners have also been notified. The notification details how to set the caller tone for all the mobile cariiers.

The order states: "The Government of Balochistan, Science and Information Technology Department, has conveyed that in pursuance to the decision made in the meeting held under the Chairmanship of worthy Chief Secretary, for setting of mobile Ring-Back Tone 'Pakistan Zindabad' by Administrative Secretaries, Additional Secretaries and Deputy Secretaries and head of attached Departments on their cell/contact numbers."

'Pakistan Zindabad' is a song by singer/music director Sahir Ali Bagga. The song was produced in collaboration with the Inter Services Public Relations and was released on ISPR's YouTube channel on March 23, 2019.

While the notification does not specify a reason for the move, it explains the procedure for changing the ringback tones for officials using different mobile networks, the Dawn reported.

The move, meanwhile, has raised eyebrows among social media users who expressed surprise at the government's directive.

"Why aren't we sure that Baloch brothers are more patriotic than us," journalist Mubashir Zaidi questioned, the Dawn reported.

Another journalist, Mohammad Taqi, asked in a veiled criticism: "What else does a colony look like?"

The secretaries of all departments, additional secretaries, deputy secretaries and heads of other departments concerned are required to strictly abide by the decision. The additional secretaries have also been directed to ensure their subordinates also apply the same ringback tones on their mobile phone numbers, the report said.

Source: Times of India

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original story:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/balochistan-employees-ordered-to-set-pakistan-zindabad-as-caller-tune/articleshow/86656419.cms

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American Muslim Groups Ramp up Voting Drives Ahead of Upcoming General Elections

30 September, 2021

America’s general election was less than a year ago, but with local, state and midterm elections fast approaching, and with early voting already well underway, Muslim groups are wasting no time in getting their community out to vote.

“We’re often the subject of political discourse, and we’re affected by policies, so it’s important to mobilise voters,” says Tala Dahbour, policy director at the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Ohio, which like other groups across the country has organised voting drives in recent weeks. “It affects you whether you realise it or not.”

As a growing voting bloc with substantial populations in swing states with upcoming elections in November, such as a possible special election in Ohio, a gubernatorial election in Virginia, as well as local and state elections across the country, Muslim votes are increasingly important.

“We need to ensure that we build on and not reverse the progress we’ve had in Virginia,” says Sam Rasoul, one of the two Muslim members of the General Assembly and one of nine elected officials in Virginia, where the Muslim population has grown considerably in the past decade, part of the state’s demographic change that has come along with its political shift from red to a solidly blue.

“We really are the bellwether for the rest of the country,” he tells The New Arab. “We want to make sure we’re setting the tone for the rest of the country as we head into the midterms in 2022.”

Muslims in the US have long been in the unfortunate position of being adversely affected by government policies, while largely staying low-profile as part of a relatively small minority.

Over the past two decades, however, as their numbers – now estimated at around 3.5 million, according to Pew – and visibility have grown, they have become important constituents that politicians need to court for votes.

Moreover, an increasing number are running for office – and winning, showing that a community can grow its political clout through consistent organising.

The September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington sparked a wave of activism among Muslim Americans, following widespread discrimination. But this did not immediately translate into substantial voter engagement, despite post-9/11 policies that directly impacted the community.

It wasn’t until the 2020 election, after four years of Donald Trump’s explicit anti-Muslim policies and rhetoric, that the Muslim vote was truly mobilised.

Among the most impactful 2020 Muslim voter outreach drives was through Emgage, whose Million Muslim Votes campaign helped flip swing states like Michigan blue. Before that, prior to the 2018 congressional run of Rashida Tlaib, Muslim voter registration in some parts of the state was in the single digits, a sign of long-time voter disengagement.

Amid all of these efforts, Muslim voter turnout remains low compared with that of other communities, though it is catching up. Continuous engagement is key to developing a strong voting bloc.

In addition to getting out the vote, policies that ease the voting process play an important role. Ahmed Mohamed, legal director for CAIR-New York, which recently held primaries for city and municipal elections, says experience has shown Muslims are often do not decide to vote until election day, making same-day voter registration an important option.

He stresses that for Muslim political engagement continue its momentum, it needs to become a part of people’s everyday lives. Mosques, like churches, are being used as centres for voter outreach, and increasingly as destinations for politicians courting votes, which can no longer be taken for granted.

“Being engaged is a 365-day process. It doesn’t stop because you voted or you protested. You have to be active. That’s how you maximise your voice,” Mohamed says.

Najee Ali, founder of the Muslim Democratic Club of Southern California, sees engagement as essential for preserving and advocating for civil rights. 

“I believe the presidency of Trump, which was a clear and present danger, was a wake-up call that we must be engaged in the civic affairs of our nation,” he tells The New Arab. “We realise that politics is power.”

Source: The New Arab

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original story:

https://english.alaraby.co.uk/features/us-muslim-groups-ramp-voting-drives-ahead-elections

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Love and Narcotic Jihad: Catholic Church in Kerala decides to be "guarded" in its future sermons

September 30, 2021

Earlier, Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt said that Keralite Christian girls were falling prey to what he claimed was "love and narcotic jihad" that extremists were using wherever arms cannot be used to destroy the youth.

The Catholic Church in Kerala has decided to be "guarded" in its official communications and religious sermons in future to ensure their words do not cause pain to other communities and their faith or create uneasiness in the society, a top church official said on Thursday.

The significant decision, seeking to end the controversy over "Love and Narcotic Jihad" remarks made by a Bishop recently, was taken at the meeting of the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) held in Kochi on Wednesday.

In an interaction with PTI, a Church official also said the Church would continue to do its "prophetic responsibility" of fighting against all sorts of social evils.

However, statements, speeches and reactions of the church and its officials on such matters will be presented before the public only after formal studies and discussions at its appropriate forum.

"In future, our statements, speeches and responses will be guarded. We will be very cautious as we do not want to hurt the sentiments of other communities. The Church always stands for openness and strengthening the secular fabric of the society by enriching the communal harmony," the official said in his first of such interactions after the Bishop's remarks rocked the state.

An eye-opener for Church

The KCBC has observed that the recent controversy over the "love and narcotic jihad" remarks made by the Bishop of Pala diocese of Syro-Malabar Church was an "eye-opener" for the Church as it was "misinterpreted" by a section of media and politicians for serving their "narrow political and business interests" causing "pain and anguish" among members of another community, he said.

After their meeting on Wednesday, the KCBC, which includes bishops of Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara, Knanaya Catholic and Latin Catholic churches, had issued a statement saying social evils pointed out by the church require a deeper study and serious enquiry instead of giving it a "different hue" and diverting it to other directions.

Choosing not to use controversial terminologies like narcotic jihad or love jihad in its statement, the council said that it rejects all forms of interpretations in unison, undermining religious harmony and weakening healthy co-existence in society by mischievously twisting the warnings of the pastors of this church.

"The KCBC disapproves of any covert attempts to show that there exists disunity among the Churches. The fundamental values of truth, love and justice, which the Catholic Church upholds, constitute the basis of all inter-religious dialogue and harmony among religions," it had said in the release.

Destroying the youth

Addressing the laity in Kuravilangad near Kottayam recently, Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt of Pala diocese had said that Christian girls were falling prey to what he claimed was "love and narcotic jihad" in Kerala and that wherever arms cannot be used, extremists were using such methods to destroy the youth.

The comment had resulted in a verbal duel and blame game amongst the major political parties -- CPI(M), BJP and Congress -- in the state.

The Congress, which criticised the Bishop for his remarks and the BJP, which supported the Bishop's remarks, had attacked the Left government and the Chief Minister for their silence on the issue.

Thereafter, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had on September 21 rejected outright the comments made by the Bishop, saying the southern state is a firm terrain of secularism and society would take a strong stand against those who try to upset it.

The KCBC said that the Catholic Church in Kerala has been working towards peaceful co-existence and harmony of religions and for the cultural development of society in the state through its varied services in education and healthcare, as social and charitable actions.

The KCBC said it wants secularism and religious harmony always and vows to work for the same.

Source: The Hindu Businessline

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original story:

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/love-and-narcotic-jihad-catholic-church-in-kerala-decides-to-be-guarded-in-its-future-sermons/article36752390.ece

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Arab World

 

Egyptian authorities say they blocked Brotherhood financing scheme

01 October ,2021

Egyptian authorities said on Thursday they had blocked a scheme aimed at financing the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and alleged a link to the imprisoned founder and former chairman of dairy and juice firm Juhayna , Safwan Thabet.

The scheme aimed to funnel funds using Thabet’s companies into “terrorist activities”, the interior ministry said in a statement, adding that $8.4 million and ammunition had been found in an apartment in Giza, across the Nile from central Cairo. It described Thabet as a “Brotherhood leader”.

The Thabet family have denied any wrongdoing in statements on social media. A lawyer for Juhayna could not be reached.

Thabet was arrested in December, and his son Seifeldin was detained in February after taking over as chairman.

In a statement released on Monday, rights group Amnesty International said authorities were holding the men in conditions that amounted to torture after they refused to cede assets to a government-owned entity.

Amnesty said the authorities had failed to produce evidence for the alleged affiliation with the Brotherhood.

Source: Al Arabiya

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/10/01/Egyptian-authorities-say-they-blocked-Brotherhood-financing-scheme

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Israeli Foreign Minister Lapid opens embassy in Bahrain

30 September ,2021

Israel’s top diplomat Yair Lapid opened the Jewish state's embassy in Bahrain Thursday, a year after the US-brokered normalization of ties.

“We have officially opened the Israeli embassy in Bahrain,” tweeted Lapid.

“We agreed that by the end of the year, there will be the opening of the Bahraini embassy in Israel.”

Source: Al Arabiya

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original story:

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2021/09/30/Israeli-Foreign-Minister-Lapid-opens-embassy-in-Bahrain

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Cash-strapped Lebanon names team for IMF talks

30 September ,2021

Lebanon said Thursday it has formed a new government delegation to resume talks with the International Monetary Fund aimed at rescuing the country from an economic meltdown.

The government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in a statement that a four-member committee had been appointed to resume talks with the IMF.

The team -- Deputy Prime Minister Saade Chami, Finance Minister Youssef Khalil, Economy Minister Amin Salam and central bank governor Riad Salameh -- would be backed by experts.

The eastern Mediterranean country is facing what the World Bank has described as one of the world’s worst economic crises since the 1850s.

Its currency, the pound, has lost almost 90 percent of its value against the dollar on the black market since 2019, and people’s savings are trapped in banks.

Inflation has soared, and 78 percent of all Lebanese now live under the threshold of poverty, according to the UN.

Source: Al Arabiya

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/09/30/Cash-strapped-Lebanon-names-team-for-IMF-talks

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Bahrain’s Jewish community welcomes ‘historic’ visit of Israeli Foreign Minister Lapi

01 October ,2021

A senior rabbi in Bahrain and members of their Jewish faith have welcomed an “historic” visit by Israel’s top diplomat Yair Lapid, a year after the US-brokered normalization of ties.

The Jewish community of Bahrain, the only indigenous Jewish community in the GCC, welcomed the minister during his visit to the Kingdom on Thursday, during which he opened the Jewish state’s embassy in Bahrain.

Members of the Jewish community met with the minister during his visit and participated in the ceremony where a new mezuzah gifted by the community was placed on Israel’s embassy in the Bahrain.

“Today was historic for both Bahrain and Israel and an important moment for our Jewish community,” said Ebrahim D. Nonoo, president of the Jewish Community of Bahrain. “We had the opportunity to speak with the Foreign Minister and hear from him about the significance of the Bahrain-Israel relationship and we shared some of the recent milestones and developments in our community.”

“Being present as the new mezuzah was affixed to the entryway of the Embassy was very meaningful. The Embassy represents an address for Bahrain-Israel business, cultural and social activities to flow through.”

Dating back to the 1880s, the Bahrain Jewish community is the only indigenous Jewish community in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and has the only operational synagogue (House of Ten Commandments) and Jewish cemetery in the region.

The minister’s visit was the highest-level Israeli visit to the Gulf state since the countries established formal relations last year.

Source: Al Arabiya

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2021/10/01/Bahrain-s-Jewish-community-welcomes-historic-visit-of-Israeli-Foreign-Minister-Lapi

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Saudi Crown Prince, French President discuss regional stability over phone call

30 September ,2021

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has received a phone call on Thursday from French President Emmanuel Macron, according to Saudi Press Agency.

During the call, they reviewed relations between the two countries and opportunities to develop and develop them in various fields to achieve the common interests of the two countries, in addition to a number of issues and developments in the region.

Source: Al Arabiya

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2021/09/30/Saudi-Crown-Prince-French-President-discuss-regional-stability-over-phone-call

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UAE officially launches Expo 2020 Dubai, world’s biggest cultural gathering

30 September ,2021

The United Arab Emirates has officially launched Expo 2020 Dubai, the world’s biggest cultural gathering, in a ceremony streamed by millions across the world.

Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed have attended the opening ceremony.

Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed al-Maktoum announced the official launch of Expo 2020 during the opening ceremony.

“The entire world gathers in the United Arab Emirates, today, we witness, together, a new beginning, as we inaugurate, together, with the blessings of God, Expo 2020 Dubai, May God grant us success,” Dubai Crown Prince added.

The opening ceremony took place beneath the 130-metre-wide, 67.5-metre-tall Al Wasl Plaza dome, the world’s largest 360-degree projection screen, which enabled spectators to experience an immersive audio and visual display of the featured live performances.

To celebrate the opening day, Dubai hosted fireworks around the city at three locations: The Frame, Dubai Festival City and The Pointe on Palm Jumeirah.

UAE’s Cabinet Member and Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, said during the opening ceremony that the UAE has worked hard to create a better life by “building people and promoting investment.”

“By connecting minds, we can achieve achievements. Through Expo, we affirm our commitment to making the world better through cooperation. 192 countries will meet for the first time in history,” the minister added.

The minister added that through Expo, UAE affirms its commitment to making the world better through cooperation.

“We welcome participants to the Expo as an opportunity for cooperation and action among the world's population, we carry a message of cooperation, tolerance, coexistence and peace to achieve a prosperous future for all,” he added.

The Secretary General of the International Bureau of Exhibitions, Dimitri S. Kerkentzes, said that Expo 2020 enhances partnership and cooperation between countries of the world.

Source: Al Arabiya

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2021/09/30/UAE-officially-launches-Expo-2020-Dubai-the-world-s-biggest-cultural-gathering

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Europe

 

Greek premier acknowledges Turkey's ‘significant' role in managing migration crisis

Ali Murat Alhas 

30.09.2021

Turkey has played a significant role in managing the migration crisis, the Greek prime minister said on Thursday.

Speaking at a session held as part of the Athens Democracy Forum, Kyriakos Mitsotakis commented on matters pertaining to migration, fight against COVID-19 as well as the defense cooperation agreement signed with Paris.

Mitsotakis said his country would continue to defend its borders against irregular migration and would not allow the repeat of 2020 events.

Referring to over 4 million refugees hosted in Turkey, the premier said: "I've been very open in acknowledging the significant role that Turkey is playing in managing the migration crisis and that is why I urge Europe to work with Turkey constructively.”

“We have every interest in working with Turkey to contain illegal flow of migrants and to eradicate the smuggler networks that prey on vulnerable people...," he said.

"There has been a lack of European solidarity, the fact that we have not been able to agree on a common migration, asylum package due to the fact some countries consider this not to be the problem at all, placing all the burden on frontline countries. This is unfair," he said.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/greek-premier-acknowledges-turkeys-significant-role-in-managing-migration-crisis/2379671

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Ukraine seeks Turkish president’s help for release of prisoners from Russia

Talha Yavuz

30.09.2021

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has sought his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s help for the release of Ukrainian citizens detained by Russia, the Ukrainian foreign minister said on Thursday.

Speaking at a news conference, Dmytro Kuleba recalled that Zelensky and Erdogan held one-on-one and delegation-level talks in New York, where they attended the 76th session of the UN General Assembly.

Kuleba said that during the meeting, Zelensky handed Erdogan a list of 450 Ukrainian detainees, including Nariman Dzhelyal, the deputy head of the Crimean Tatar National Assembly.

Russian forces entered the Crimean Peninsula in February 2014, with Russian President Vladimir Putin formally dividing the region into two separate federal subjects of the Russian Federation the following month.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/ukraine-seeks-turkish-president-s-help-for-release-of-prisoners-from-russia/2379508

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Pakistan

 

Conservation of Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor’s ancestral homes in Peshawar begins

October 1, 2021

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa directorate of archaeology and museums has formally begun the conservation of the ancestral homes of Bollywood legends Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor located inside the walled city of the provincial capital by documenting their details.

The government had taken the possession of the two properties, including Dilip Kumar’s in Mohallah Khudadad area and Kapoor Haveli in Dhaki Nalbandi area, from their respective owners in June this year through the colonial era land acquisition law Director (archaeology) Dr Abdul Samad told Dawn that his department’s experts had begun documenting details of the properties after cleaning the premises.

“The condition in which we received Dilip Kumar’s property was that its previous owners have left to us in really bad shape. It took us nearly two months to remove the broken material,” he said.

He said his department had started work soon after it was handed over to them.

Official says details of properties being documented to determine project cost

Mr Samad said that now after cleaning the premises, the directorate was working on the properties’ documentation to have ideas about the project’s total cost and related issues.

“Our engineers are busy in work but since it is very old building, it will take us time to figure out the old material used, construction techniques and assemble experts for the task,” he said.

The director said the directorate would be able to say something after the documentation of both properties was complete.

“Being an archaeologist, I can say that it would take us at least two to two and half years to conserve Dilip Kumar’s residence,” he said.

Mr Samad said the directorate was trying to follow international standards while conserving both properties.

He said the historical structures would be made museums after restoration.

After years long attempts to acquire both properties linked with the Bollywood actors, the KP government finally used the colonial era Land Acquisition Act, 1894, to take their control.

Source: Dawn

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.dawn.com/news/1649412/conservation-of-dilip-kumar-raj-kapoors-ancestral-homes-in-peshawar-begins

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Islamic State-Khorasan Claims Killing Of Sikh Hakeem, A Unani Medicine Practitioner In Peshawar

OCT 01, 2021

The Islamic State-Khorasan has claimed responsibility for the killing of a well-known Sikh hakim or Unani medicine practitioner in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar on Thursday.

Sardar Satnam Singh, 45, was at his clinic when unidentified men barged into his cabin and shot him, police said. He was hit by four bullets and died instantly. The killers escaped from the scene.

In a message posted on social media late on Thursday, Islamic State-Khorasan claimed the killing of Singh.

Islamic State-Khorasan, which is based in Afghanistan, has stepped up attacks in several Afghan cities since the Taliban marched into Kabul on August 15. It claimed the deadly suicide attack at Kabul airport on August 26 that killed nearly 170 Afghans and 13 US military personnel.

Singh was a well-known member of the Sikh community and ran Dharmandar Pharmacy on Charsadda Road in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. He had lived in the city for the past 20 years.

Source: Hindustan Times

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https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/islamic-state-khorasan-claims-killing-of-sikh-man-in-peshawar-101633028732596.html?

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Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan Kills Pakistani Army Captain

Oct 1, 2021

ISLAMABAD: In yet another attack on the Pakistani security forces, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) killed an army captain during an intelligence-based operation in the Northwestern Tank district next to the country’s restive tribal district of South Waziristan bordering Afghanistan, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media arm, said on Thursday.

TTP, a conglomerate of several Pakistani terror outfits, has intensified its attacks on Pakistani security forces in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan provinces since Kabul fell to the Afghan Taliban on August 15 after ousting the US-backed government there. The group, along with the Afghan Taliban, had remained active for years in the fight against the US-led Afghan forces in their war against terror.

In a statement, the ISPR said that security forces conducted an operation after receiving information about the presence of terrorists in Tank. “During the exchange of fire, Captain Sikander — who was 27 years old and hailed from Pakpattan (located in the Punjab province) — was killed,” the statement said, adding that a TTP commander, Khawaza Din alias Sher Khan, was also killed. “Weapons and ammunition were recovered from the hideout.”

Separately, the Pakistani security forces claimed they had killed 10 suspected terrorists, including four commanders, on Tuesday in the remote Sarwakai area of South Waziristan. A statement from the ISPR said the terrorists were killed in an intense exchange of fire.

The TTP, however, contradicted the military’s claim, saying that Pakistani security forces had carried out a drone strike that killed a woman and two children.

These conflicting claims could not be independently verified.

Source: Times of India

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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/ttp-kills-pakistani-army-captain/articleshow/86663569.cms

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Pakistan PM Khan's conversion comments cause outrage

Kamran Chaudhry

October 01, 2021

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is facing a growing backlash after he assured clerics that his government will not enact any anti-Islamic law.

During his Sept. 27 meeting with Islamic scholars in Karachi, the PM said government bills addressing domestic violence and forced conversions will not be enacted as they have provisions which are “in direct conflict with the teachings of Islam.”

He requested the clerics keep him informed of any such act so that he could intervene in time and ensure that no policy or law which conflicts with Islam is made during his tenure.

Church leaders and rights groups including the Cecil and Iris Chaudhry Foundation, a Lahore-based Catholic NGO, released a statement on Sept. 29 demanding justice for minority women.

“So it is OK for women to be battered and tortured, and it is also OK for underage non-Muslim girls to be forcefully converted to Islam? The prime minister needs to realize that all are not Muslims in Pakistan. The state must protect the rights of religious minorities; effective legislation against forced conversions is pivotal. No two ways about it,” it stated in a Facebook post.

Camillian Father Mushtaq Anjum even described Khan as "a clean-shaven Taliban."

“Clearly he is trying to save his Islamic vote bank. Nobody is demanding a law against Islam; our struggle is against pedophiles using religion as their shelter for criminal activities. Exploitation of vulnerable minorities shouldn’t be equated with opposition to Islam,” he told UCA News.

Last week the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony rejected a bill that proposed regulations on conversions to Islam. A day later, Lahore High Court ruled that mental capacity outweighs age in child religious conversion cases.

Addressing a Sept. 28 press conference in Islamabad, the Peoples' Commission for Minorities’ Rights and Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) expressed utter dismay at the reduction in religious freedom relating to child marriages and forced conversions.

Source: UC News

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https://www.ucanews.com/news/pakistan-pm-khans-conversion-comments-cause-outrage/94353#

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Sirbaz Khan becomes first Pakistani to scale 9 of world's 14 highest peaks

Jamil Nagri

October 1, 2021

Mountaineer Sirbaz Khan became the first Pakistani on Friday to climb nine of the world's highest 14 peaks — each of which has a height of more than 8,000 metres — after he scaled the 8,167-metre-high Dhaulagiri mountain in Nepal, said Alpine Club of Pakistan Secretary Karrar Haidri.

Sirbaz was part of the 19-member 'SST-Dhaulagiri I Expd. 2021 Autumn' expedition organised by trekking company Seven Summits Trek.

According to Seven Summit Trek officials, the climbers summited the world's seventh highest peak on Friday morning, with Sirbaz raising Pakistan's national flag upon reaching the mountain's top.

In his recent communication with Dawn from Dhaulagiri on Thursday, Sirbaz had said he was determined to summit the peak on Friday morning.

Dhaulagiri, which forms part of the Himalayas mountain range, is widely known as one of the hardest peaks to climb due to its steep sides and bitterly cold climate.

As Sirbaz achieved the feat, congratulations poured in for him.

Sajid Ali Sadpara, the son of legendary mountaineer late Mohammad Ali Sadpara and a climber himself, tweeted: "Lots of congratulations to Sirbaz Khan to climb Dhaulagiri . After climbing Daulaghiri he is first Pakistani to summit nine 8000 mountains."

Sirbaz, 32, hails from the Aliabad area of Hunza in Gilgit-Baltistan and began his climbing career in 2016.

In 2019, he became the first Pakistani to summit Mount Lhotse, the world’s fourth-highest mountain at 8,516m in Nepal, without the use of supplementary oxygen.

Moreover, he summited the 8,125-metre-high Nanga Parbat in 2017, 8,611-metre-high K-2 in 2018 and Broad Peak, which has a height of 8,163 metres in 2019. Earlier this year, he climbed the 8,091-metre-high Anapurna mountain, 8,848-metre-high Everest and 8,035-metre-high Gasherbrum II.

Source: Dawn

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.dawn.com/news/1649497/sirbaz-khan-becomes-first-pakistani-to-scale-9-of-worlds-14-highest-peaks

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North America

 

US very honest about its concerns on safe havens with Pakistan says Pentagon

Oct 1, 2021

WASHINGTON: The US has been very honest about its concerns with Pakistan for a long time about the terrorist safe havens along with the border areas of Afghanistan, the Pentagon has said.

Afghanistan and the US have criticised Pakistan in the past for allowing Taliban fighters to cross into Pakistan where they are provided safe havens and also receive medical treatment.

“We've been very honest about our concerns with Pakistan for a long time, about the safe havens that exist on their side of the border along that spine. And those concerns are still valid today,” Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters on Thursday at a news conference.

As Afghanistan's neighbour, Pakistan certainly has equities and responsibilities with respect to terrorism in that part of the world, Kirby said.

“We continue to have candid conversations with Pakistani leaders about our concerns,” he said in response to a question.

“I think it's important to continue to remind that the Pakistani people, likewise, have been rendered victim by terrorist threats that emanate from those groups and along that same border,” he said.

While Kabul claims that Islamabad is sending thousands of militants to fight in the war-ravaged country and providing safe haven for the Taliban, Pakistan alleges that Afghanistan harbours the anti-Pakistani group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan -- the Pakistani Taliban -- and also the secessionist Balochistan Liberation Army.

Kirby also told reporters that the United States is within its rights to continue drone strikes inside Afghanistan.

“We believe we have the authorities that we need to continue to protect the nation,” he said.

The Taliban has accused the US of violating the withdrawal agreement by continuing to fly drones over Afghanistan and warned Americans against doing that in the future.

“We have the authorities that we need to continue to defend our interests and the security of the American people there and around the world, and we're going to do that,” Kirby said.

Source: Times of India

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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/us-very-honest-about-its-concerns-on-safe-havens-with-pakistan-says-pentagon/articleshow/86670198.cms

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US 'Deeply Saddened' By Killing Of Rohingya Muslim Advocate, Mohib Ullah

Servet Günerigök  

01.10.2021

WASHINGTON

The US is "deeply saddened and disturbed" by the killing of Rohingya Muslim advocate Mohib Ullah, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday.

"Ullah was a brave and fierce advocate for the human rights of Rohingya Muslims around the world," Blinken said in a statement.

The 48-year-old, a leader of the Rohingya Muslim community, was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen in a refugee camp in Bangladesh on Wednesday.

"We urge a full and transparent investigation into his death with the goal of holding the perpetrators of this heinous crime accountable," said Blinken.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/us-deeply-saddened-by-killing-of-rohingya-muslim-advocate/2379815

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California gunman gets life without parole for synagogue murder, mosque arson

By Steve Gorman

October 1, 2021

LOS ANGELES, Sept 30 (Reuters) - A man who admitted to killing one worshiper and wounding three others in a shooting spree inside a California synagogue about a month after setting fire to a nearby mosque was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

John T. Earnest, 22, pleaded guilty in July to a single count of murder, three counts of attempted murder and a charge of committing arson in a place of worship, in a deal with local prosecutors sparing him from possibly facing the death penalty.

The defendant was sentenced in a San Diego courtroom to a life prison term less than two weeks after pleading guilty to federal hate-crime charges stemming from the same two attacks in 2019.

He faces an additional life term when he is sentenced in the federal case in U.S. District Court on Dec. 28.

Earnest opened fire with an assault-style rifle at the Chabad of Poway synagogue north of San Diego on April 27, 2019, during Sabbath prayers on the last day of the weeklong Jewish Passover holiday. He was 19 at the time.

A 60-year-old member of the congregation, Lori Gilbert-Kaye, was killed and three others were wounded in the attack, including the rabbi, who was shot in the hand and lost an index finger.

After the gunman's weapon apparently jammed, he was chased from the temple by an ex-Army sergeant in the congregation and sped away in a car, escaping an off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agent who shot at the getaway vehicle but missed the suspect.

Earnest later stopped at a shopping center, called the emergency 911 number to report he had committed the shooting, and waited for police to arrive to arrest him.

Authorities later identified Earnest as the author of a rambling, violently anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim manifesto found posted on the internet under his name minutes before the shooting had begun.

He stated in the post that he had planned the synagogue rampage for months and claimed responsibility for a predawn arson attack weeks earlier that damaged the Islamic Center of Escondido, a nearby town, although no one was injured in the fire.

Earnest also professed in the letter to have drawn inspiration from the gunman who killed 50 people at two mosques in New Zealand around that time, and he made reference to a shooting that took 11 lives the previous October at a Pittsburgh synagogue.

Source: Reuters

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https://www.reuters.com/world/us/california-gunman-gets-life-without-parole-synagogue-murder-mosque-arson-2021-10-01/?rpc=401&

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US may use Russia's bases in Central Asia to hit terror targets in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan

Sep 30, 2021

NEW DELHI: In its war against terror, the USA may use Russias bases in Central Asia to hit targets in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan where terrorist groups such as the Isis-K and remnants of al Qaeda are still active.

The US is in talks with countries that border Afghanistan about housing "over the horizon" counterterrorism operations that would allow the U.S. military to more easily surveil and strike targets in the Taliban-controlled nation, US news portal POLITICO has reported citing senators who attended a classified hearing with Pentagon leaders this week. Those sites could include bases run by Russia in those countries, they said.

After testifying publicly before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, a trio of the military's top officials briefed lawmakers behind closed doors about the discussions, which are taking place with the governments of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and others, the senators told POLITICO.

The disclosure to lawmakers on Tuesday came just hours after Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin acknowledged that the U.S. has asked Russia for "clarification" about an offer from President Vladimir Putin to host the US counterterrorism operations on Russian military bases in central Asia.

India Narrative had also reported earlier that Russia had offered the use of its military bases in the region to the USA. Moscow, too, is worried over terrorism spreading to the Central Asian republics with which Russia shares a border. These countries also constitute a buffer for Russia against Afghanistan.

During the classified session, senators were told that that option is being seriously considered, the lawmakers added. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the U.S. Central Command chief, went into detail about specific types of aircraft and launching points that could be used to strike terrorist targets in Afghanistan.

Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also described to senators the nature of his conversations with his Russian counterpart, Valery Gerasimov, the senators added.

The POLITICO report also quoted Senate Armed Services Chair Jack Reed as saying: "It's their territory. But I think, realistically, Russia has influence there. And so [Russia] may not have a veto, but they certainly have an influence. So you have to talk to them."

The USA has carried out two drone strikes against ISIS-K targets in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan from its bases in the Gulf countries. However, these are considered too far for efficient action as much of the flight duration capacity of the drones is wasted flying to the strike zone and then back to base.

Operating from the immediate neighbourhood would be far more effective, military experts have said.

Source: Times of India

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/us-may-use-russias-bases-in-central-asia-to-hit-terror-targets-in-taliban-ruled-afghanistan/articleshow/86658120.cms

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India

 

Siddique Kappan incites Muslims, paints them as victims, says UP STF in chargesheet

by Amil Bhatnagar

October 1, 2021

Delhi-based journalist Siddique Kappan, who was arrested a year ago on charges of sedition while on his way to Hathras following the murder of a Dalit woman, did not write like a “responsible” journalist, “only and only reports to incite Muslims”, and also wrote to “sympathise with Maoists and Communists”, the UP Special Task Force (STF) is learnt to have stated in the chargesheet filed against him.

The 5,000-page chargesheet includes a case diary note, dated January 23, 2021, in which the investigating officer highlights portions from 36 articles written by Kappan for a Malayalam media house — on the Nizamuddin Markaz gathering after the Covid outbreak, anti-CAA protests, Northeast Delhi riots, the Ram temple in Ayodhya and the chargesheet against Sharjeel Imam who was jailed on sedition charges.

Referring to one of these articles “written during the CAA protests in AMU,” the note states: “In the writing, the Muslims have been portrayed as victims (who) were beaten up by police and were asked to go to Pakistan. It is evident from the writing that it has been done to incite Muslims.”

The note concludes: “These writings of Siddique Kappan, to a great extent, can be classified as communal. During riots, taking the name of a minority and talking about events related to them can incite sentiments. Responsible journalists do not do such communal reporting. Kappan only and only reports to incite Muslims, which is a hidden agenda of PFI (Popular Front of India). Some stories were written to sympathise with Maoists and Communists.”

The chargesheet was filed in April this year, months after Kappan, PFI members Atikur Rahman and Masud Ahmad, and their driver Alam, were arrested in Mathura on October 5 last year while on their way to Hathras. They were booked under UAPA and on charges of sedition.

The STF has claimed that the PFI wanted to create unrest and a riot-like situation in the garb of a protest demanding justice for the Hathras victim, who had been allegedly assaulted and gangraped leading to her death in a Delhi hospital — and whose hurried cremation by the UP administration on the night of September 29, 2020, led to nationwide outrage.

According to the case diary note, the articles are part of data obtained from Kappan’s laptop after it had been sent to the forensic laboratory.

In the note, police claim that Kappan worked as a “think tank” of the PFI. It alleges that he was attempting to publish “anti-Hindu” stories in the Malayalam media and had plans to inflame the Delhi riots. Police also accuse him of trying to hide the death of Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma and head constable Ratan Lal, and downplaying the alleged role of suspended AAP councillor Tahir Hussain, in the Delhi riots.

The investigating agency also alleges that Kappan, through his writing, has tried to deny terrorism carried out by the banned organisation SIMI.

Police have also submitted statements from two eyewitnesses who claim that Kappan and Rahman were trying to incite a crowd against the administration, the day after the victim’s body had been cremated.

“A lot of crowd had gathered because entry to the village had been barred due to the presence of SIT. There were some people who were trying to incite the crowd into taking action against the Thakurs. Two people in the crowd were making speeches and distributing money. I identify them as Atiqur Rahman and Siddique Kappan as they had told me their names,” police quote a resident of a neighbouring village as having told them.

Another person from the same village, who claims to be an eyewitness, has recorded a similar statement with the UP STF, documents show.

The lawyer for the accused, however, said they were not even in the region at this time, and were only arrested on their way to Hathras, two days later. “These are dubious eyewitness statements since the accused had not been able to reach the village in the first place and were arrested on the way to it,” said Madhuvan Dutt, the counsel for the accused.

Source: Indian Express

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https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/siddique-kappan-incites-muslims-paints-them-as-victims-says-up-stf-in-chargesheet-7544833/

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Assam eviction drive: BJP targeted people as they are Muslims, says Brinda Karat

30th September 2021

By Prasanta Mazumdar

GUWAHATI: CPI-M politburo member Brinda Karat said Assam’s BJP government had targeted the people at Garukhuti in Darrang district through an eviction drive as they were Muslims.

After visiting the site and sharing the party’s findings, Brinda said the 1,000 families evicted were the citizens of India with every single document to prove it. She said although many of them were registered in the 1951 National Register of Citizens (NRC), yet, they were treated worse than the “prisoners of war”.

“…This shameless government with a 12-hour notice came with a big police force, evicted them and bulldozed their houses. They did not care about women, children or anything and fired and killed two and injured so many. This happened for one reason alone – they are minority community members. They belong to the Muslim community,” Brinda said.

Earlier, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had stated the eviction drive was not against any community but encroachers. BJP national general secretary Dilip Saikia had claimed the people evicted were “Bangladeshis” who came over the past few years and grabbed government land.

The displaced people are now lodged in tents which they erected at a government-identified land on the bank of the Brahmaputra.

“They are living in conditions which are unbelievable. There is no water, no latrine and no houses. There are no facilities. There is no food since September 23 till today. This is their condition. This is the worst nightmare of what a Hindu rashtra’s agenda actually is. It is anti-national and anti-constitutional and we will fight against it,” Brinda added.

A CPI-M statement said no government officials visited the people since September 23. The party said the government deployed the police personnel at the site to intimidate the people.

Source: New Indian Express

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https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2021/sep/30/assam-eviction-drive-bjp-targeted-people-as-they-are-muslims-says-brinda-karat-2365926.html

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Terrorist killed in encounter with security forces in Shopian in J&K

Oct 1, 2021

SRINAGAR: A terrorist was killed in an encounter with security forces in the Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, police said.

Security forces launched a cordon and search operation at Rakhama village in the district following information about the presence of militants in the area, a police spokesman said.

He said the search operation turned into an encounter after terrorists opened fire towards the security forces drawing retaliation.

Source: Times of India

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/militant-killed-in-encounter-with-security-forces-in-shopian-in-jk/articleshow/86669972.cms

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South Asia

 

Rights Group Expresses Concern over Taliban's New Media Rules in Afghanistan That Prohibit Critical Reporting About the Taliban

Oct 1, 2021

KABUL: The imposition of a range of regulatory measures to tighten media freedom in the country by the Taliban are a cause of concern to the rights groups.

The Taliban-formed 'Ministry of Information and Culture' has imposed a set of regulations in a bid to prohibit virtually any critical reporting about the Taliban, Human Rights Watch informed.

A copy of these regulations seen by Human Rights Watch directs the media groups that they are prohibited from printing or broadcasting reports that "are contrary to Islam," "insult national figures," or "distort news content."

Associate Asia Director at Human Rights Watch Patricia Gossman has expressed concerns over these regulations and said "despite the Taliban's promises to allow media that 'respected Islamic values' to function, the new rules are suffocating media freedom in the country."

As per the regulations, journalists are required to "ensure that their reporting is balanced" and are not allowed to report on "matters that have not been confirmed by officials" or issues that "could have a negative impact on the public's attitude," Human Rights Watch reported.

Last month, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) had expressed concern over the safety of journalists in Afghanistan and slammed the Taliban for suppressing freedom of the media in the country.

Since Taliban rule solidified in the country, at least 153 media outlets have had to shut down over increasing threats towards journalists while female media employees have been barred from work entirely.

Source: Times of India

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/afghanistan-rights-group-expresses-concern-over-talibans-new-media-rules/articleshow/86675300.cms

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Taliban reacts to US Senate Bill seeking to sanction Islamic Emirate

Sep 30, 2021

KABUL: Expressing its displeasure over a bill that seeks to impose sanctions on Taliban in Afghanistan, the outfit on Thursday stated that the imposition of sanctions on the Islamic Emirate will "repeat the failed policies" of the US in Afghanistan, local media said.

This comes after more than 20 US Senators on Tuesday introduced legislation to impose sanctions on the Taliban and the foreign governments that support the outfit.

"Any sanction causes harm to Afghanistan's interest and its people, and should not be imposed; the Taliban should be asked to engage politically with the international community," political analyst Hekmatullah Hikmat was quoted as saying by TOLO News, reported.

Afghanistan is "not capable of overcoming the sanctions because over 20 million people are in grave need of humanitarian assistance", said political analyst Abdul Naseer Rishtia.

The legislation titled the 'Afghanistan Counterterrorism, Oversight, and Accountability Act', seeks to address the outstanding issues related to the Administration's rushed withdrawal from Afghanistan.

"The chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan was as awful as it was avoidable. It was unwise and unrealistic for the Administration to stick to its arbitrary August 31st deadline, which resulted in hundreds of Americans and tens of thousands of our most loyal allies -- drivers, translators, guides, and others -- and vulnerable Afghans such as women leaders being left behind in Afghanistan in dire jeopardy," said Senator Collins on the legislation introduced by Senator Jim Risch.

Source: Times of India

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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/taliban-reacts-to-us-senate-bill-seeking-to-sanction-islamic-emirate/articleshow/86659048.cms

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Qatar urges 'friendly countries' not to isolate Afghanistan

Sep 30, 2021

DUBAI: Qatari foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani urged on Thursday "friendly" states not to isolate Afghanistan after the takeover of the country by the Taliban.

He was speaking at a news conference in Doha with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

Source: Times of India

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original story:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/qatar-urges-friendly-countries-not-to-isolate-afghanistan/articleshow/86643836.cms

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Taliban reiterate commitment to ensuring security of foreign diplomats

1 October 2021

Kabul [Afghanistan], October 1 (ANI): Taliban on Friday reiterated its commitment to ensuring the security of foreign diplomats in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan's acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Motaqi said that ensuring the safety of foreign diplomats and envoys is the responsibility of the Taliban and added that they can come to eth ministry anytime they want to, reported The Khaama Press News Agency.

Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted Kabul-based diplomats and envoys on Thursday evening and the first deputy of Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar also attended the banquet.

The acting foreign minister who was addressing the guests said that they would like to have good governance inside the country and friendly relations with the neighbouring countries and the world, reported Khaama Press.

"We not only want positive relations based on our shared interests with the US but with our neighbours, Islamic world, Gulf states, regional and European countries," said Motaqi.

Motaqi also said that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is respecting all the legitimate demands of the world and wants the same from the international community, reported Khaama Press.

Source: Yahoo News

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/taliban-reiterate-commitment-ensuring-security-084332904.html

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IEA committed to ensuring security of foreign diplomats: Motaqi

01 Oct 2021

Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister Amir Khan Motaqi said that ensuring the safety of foreign diplomats and envoys is the responsibility of the Taliban and added that they can come to eth ministry anytime they want to.

Amir Khan Motaqi said that the transformation of the regime was unexpected and was conducted much peacefully.

Afghanistan’s ministry of foreign affairs hosted Kabul-based diplomats and envoys on Thursday evening, September 30 and the first deputy of Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar also attended the banquet.

The acting foreign minister who was addressing the guests said that they would like to have good governance inside the country and friendly relations with the neighboring countries and the world.

Amir Khan Motaqi said that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is respecting all the legitimate demands of the world and wants the same from the international community.

“We not only want positive relations based on our shared interests with the US but with our neighbors, Islamic world, gulf states, regional and European countries.” Said Motaqi.

Source: Khaama Press

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.khaama.com/iea-committed-to-ensuring-security-of-foreign-diplomats-motaqi-457457457/

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Southeast Asia

 

Democracy alive due to DAP but party has lost support

October 1, 2021

In a speech on the occasion of the launching ceremony of the book Lost in Transition: Malaysia Under Abdullah on April 3, 2008, I told the audience the following:

“I want to end with an important point in this analysis of what is possibly a turning point in politics in the country. Much has been written about the political leadership role of Anwar (Ibrahim) in this election – how he has played a key part in bringing DAP, PAS and PKR together to challenge the political hegemony of BN and Umno and galvanising the electoral vote for the opposition. This is true, and an important part of how future political events will unfold will depend on Anwar’s leadership. However, as a scholar looking at the longer-term ebb and flow of politics in the country – at this moment when many are celebrating a breakthrough in our political system – I wish to pay tribute to Lim Kit Siang who has been an indomitable fighter for democracy, justice and good governance.”

In December 1999, HAKAM the national human rights society had written a tribute to Kit Siang:

“HAKAM would like to put on record its tribute and appreciation to you for your selfless and fearless long public service in the quest for a more just and equitable society and commitment to the principles of parliamentary democracy and good governance.

We have no doubt that the cherished ideals and principles that you have steadfastly championed through the long years of trials and tribulations and personal sacrifices will not be in vain and your precept and example will surely be a source of inspiration and an example for the young generation of Malaysians to emulate.”

In December 2006, I wrote:

“The truly towering Malaysian – head and heels above everyone else – is Kit Siang for his unwavering principled stand on behalf of justice, truth and equality over all these years.”

To me, an important factor in where we are today in our democracy owes a great deal to the untiring efforts of Kit Siang. Through his long political career spanning over forty years, he has been a true Malaysian political giant where others have been pygmies.

That Malaysia’s democracy has stayed alive is largely because of the DAP and Kit Siang.

And we must also never forget Karpal Singh, who until his untimely demise, stood alongside Kit Siang in this gruelling political journey.

In particular, Karpal’s message to Malaysians to stand steadfast and strong for a secular Malaysia and to never give in to the religious forces pushing for a religious state needs to be reemphasised to the younger generation.

A falling rocket

Repulsing conservative forces and the challenges of rapid socio-economic disruption do not require a change in political direction but the breathing in of renewed idealism and new leadership.

Long time observers of the Malaysian political scene must be wondering what is going wrong with the DAP since its key role in Pakatan Harapan’s watershed victory in GE14.

Before the election, few will disagree, the DAP had been the leading force in the political opposition for over 40 years since its establishment in 1967.

According to its constitution, the party is committed to “a free, democratic and socialist Malaysia, based on the principles of racial and religious equality, social and economic justice, and founded on the institution of parliamentary democracy”.

The pursuit of racial and religious equality and justice for all Malaysians embedded in the party’s call for a Malaysian Malaysia has been likened by “pragmatic” analysts as akin to a political death wish or an impossible dream.

This is because in a country with an increasingly superior demographic and assertive Malay-Muslim population, conventional wisdom is that a party fighting for the equal rights of Malaysians – especially with the advent of the New Economic Policy and Bumiputera dichotomy which has polarised the country’s population emphatically into racial categories – is doomed to failure. Or the other wisdom that any Malaysian party that has a largely Chinese base would have at best a minor position in the country’s political arena.

However the impossible happened and then was reversed by the Sheraton Move and its aftermath.

Source: Free Malaysia Today

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2021/10/01/democracy-alive-due-to-dap-but-party-has-lost-support/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=pmd_0tIzPXaBOgPR9fEbBmImvgKGVa9w2BdH5cr7XIciDaw-1633080291-0-gqNtZGzNAnujcnBszQil

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Jawi: Full capacity for prayers at mosques, surau in Federal Territories from tomorrow

30 Sep 2021

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 — The congregation for Friday and daily prayers in mosques and surau in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan will be back to the actual capacity while maintaining a 1.5 metre social distancing effective tomorrow.

Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) director Datuk Mohd Ajib Ismail said the new directive was implemented after obtaining the consent of the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Nazrin Shah in line with the transition phase of the National Recovery Plan (PPN).

He said all mosques and surau were also allowed to organised activities like Maghrib lectures, tazkirah before Friday prayers, reciting of the al-Quran, reciting the Yasin and prayers subject to the standard operating procedures (SOP).

Source: Malay Mail

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/09/30/jawi-full-capacity-for-prayers-at-mosques-surau-in-federal-territories-from/2009744

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Mideast

 

IRGC Commander Repeats Demand from Iraqi Kurdistan Region to Expel Terrorists

2021-September-30

General Pakpour made the remarks in a ceremony to commemorate the martyrs during the Sacred Defense (Iraqi-imposed war against Iran 1980s) in Sanandaj city in Western Iran on Wednesday.

"We see some movements in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, and terrorist and anti-Islamic Revolution groups have set up bases, something that we have previously said we will not accept and we will encounter it with might," he said.

General Pakpour further advised the Iraqi and Kurdistan Region authorities to expel elements and members of terrorist and anti-Islamic Revolution groups from Northern Iraq, warning that "if that demand is not met, we will act in accordance with the duty to destroy their bases and headquarters".

This is the second time that the IRGC Ground Force commander warns the Iraqi and Kurdistan Region authorities over the presence of the terrorist groups on their soil after his warning on September 6.

A senior commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps announced last week that the IRGC forces have attacked and destroyed 4 bases of the anti-revolutionary groups stationed in Northern Iraq.

“Anti-revolutionary groups have been organized by the intelligence services of hostile and foreign countries, and even certain Arab states, in Northern Iraq to be used in line with their goals and create obstacles on the way of the Islamic Republic,” Deputy Commander of the IRGC Hamzeh Seyed al-Shohada base in Northwestern Iran Brigadier General Majid Arjmandfar told reporters.

"These anti-revolutionary groups were stationed in a short distance from the Iranian borders, and necessary warnings were given to the Iraqi government, officials and managers in the Northern parts of the neighboring country."

"We had said and warned that if the slightest mistake is seen from these hostile groups, they will receive a harsh response, which led to the destruction of the four bases of these anti-revolutionary groups," General Arjmandfar said.

He underlined that anywhere these counter-revolutionary groups are stationed is considered as enemy territory by Iran, and said, “We proved this in the recent attack and we targeted all positions, command centers and the ammunition dumps they had."

The IRGC had said in a statement that last week that their forces had targeted and destroyed terrorist hideouts in the Iraqi Kurdistan region.

A statement by the IRGC's Hamzeh Seyed al-Shohada Base in West Azerbaijan Province in Northwestern Iran said that "four bases of the anti-revolutionary groups were targeted and destroyed by precision-striking weapons in response to their movements on the border of our country with Northern Iraq".

The statement added that anti-Iran groups have been organized and sponsored in the Northern region of Iraq by the foreign and hostile intelligence services and some Arab states to use them in line with their goals and create obstacles on the way of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In relevant remarks last week, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri warned of the country’s continued attacks against the hideouts of anti-revolutionary groups in the region, specially the Iraqi Kurdistan region.

General Baqeri made the remarks, referring to the recent IRGC operations against the terrorist and anti-revolutionary groups in the Iraqi Kurdistan region,

“The officials of this region and the Iraqi government should take action to confront these groups," he added.

General Baqeri warned the Americans that their bases in the region should also be abolished and not be used as an anti-revolutionary center, and said, "We will continue our operations against the anti-revolutionary groups and we will not tolerate any mischiefs at these borders."

"Confronting these groups is our right based on the UN Charter," he stressed.

General Baqeri said that the Iraqi Kurdistan region officials should not allow the armed anti-revolutionary groups which are affiliated to the US and Israel to have military bases and TV and radio stations and attack the Iranian borders, and warned, “The (Iranian) Armed Forces will annihilate these groups.”

Earlier this month, the IRGC attacked the positions of terrorists in the Iraqi Kurdistan region with artillery fire, missiles and drones.

The missile units of the IRGC Aerospace, with the participation of the IRGC Ground Forces' UAV unit carried out successful operations, and pounded the headquarters of terrorists in Northern Erbil, a meeting of one of the evil and criminal groups and a training center belonging to the foreign-backed terrorists with 7 short-range missiles, the IRGC said in a statement on Thursday.

It added that the operations came after a warning to the Kurdish authorities in Northern Iraq and in response to the infiltration attempts by terrorist teams belonging to the foreign-sponsored terrorist groups stationed in Northern Iraq, which endangered the security of the Western provinces of Iran.

The statement said based on concrete evidence and reports, dozens of the terrorist "chieftains" and their elements were killed or wounded in the attack.

Source: Fars News Agency

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14000708000297/IRGC-Cmmander-Repeas-Demand-frm-Irai-Krdisan-Regin-Expel-Terrriss

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Iranian FM Hails IRGC Quds Force’s Role in Establishment of Peace in Region, World

2021-September-30

During the meeting in Tehran on Wednesday, Amir Abdollahian called the IRGC Quds Force as a borderless soldier that plays a key role in helping spread of peace and security both in region and world.

He pointed to the unprecedented and unparalleled role of former IRGC Quds Force Commander Martyr Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani in the fight against terrorism, and said, “Had it not been for the key role of Iran’s anti-terror commander and hero of fight against terrorism Martyr Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, today, the region would look differently.”

If the ISIL had succeeded in Syria and Iraq, the world would have faced terrorism and extremism, Amir Abdollahian said.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry will proudly follow the path of Commander of Peace Martyr Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani persistently in line with institutionalizing peace and friendship with countries of the region and in the fight against terrorism, he added.

Lieutenant General Soleimani and Deputy Commander of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were assassinated in a US drone strike on Baghdad International Airport in Iraq on January 3, 2020.

On January 8, 2020, the IRGC Aerospace Force started heavy ballistic missile attacks on US Ein Al-Assad airbase in Southwestern Iraq near the border with Syria and a US operated airbase in Erbil in retaliation for the US assassination of General Soleimani.

Ein Al-Assad is an airbase with a 4km runway at 188m altitude from sea levels, which is the main and the largest US airbase in Iraq. Early reports said the radar systems and missile defense shields in Ein Al-Assad failed to operate and intercept the Iranian missiles. Unofficial reports said the US army's central radar systems at Ein Al-Assad had been jammed by electronic warfare.

The second IRGC reprisal attack targeted a US military base near Erbil airport in Iraqi Kurdistan Region in the second leg of "Martyr Soleimani" reprisal operation.

Source: Fars News Agency

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14000708000325/Iranian-FM-Hails-IRGC-Qds-Frce%E2%80%99s-Rle-in-Esablishmen-f-Peace-in-Regin-

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Israel reports few heart inflammation cases after Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine boosters

01 October ,2021

Israel’s Health Ministry has identified fewer than 10 cases of heart inflammation following a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine among millions administered, according to recently released data.

Israel began administering boosters to risk groups in July and by the end of August expanded its campaign to include anyone above the age of 12, five months or more after a second dose.

Having kicked off its rapid vaccination drive relatively early, in December, Israel was one of the first countries to report that the vaccine’s protection diminished with time, and has since deemed its booster campaign safe and effective.

The booster drive is being watched closely in the United States, where third Pfizer shots have been rolled out for those 65 and older, all people at high risk of severe disease, and others who are regularly exposed to the virus.

In data published late on Thursday, the Health Ministry reported nine cases of myocarditis within four age groups that comprised more than 1.5 million people who had received a booster shot.

All were male, three were between the ages of 16 and 29 and six were in the 30-59 group. Eight more possible cases were still being reviewed. Most myocarditis cases are generally mild, the ministry said.

In total, out of all 3.2 million Israelis who have received a third jab, 25 reported serious adverse events that appeared within 30 days of the shot, including myocarditis, though a causal link had yet to be established among many of them.

Employing a “living with COVID” strategy, the government is hoping that the boosters, so far administered to around a third of the 9.3 million population, will fend off an outbreak of the Delta variant while the economy is kept open.

Since Delta began spreading in June, the government has reimposed indoor mask wearing and Israelis require a Green Pass - a digital document that confirms full immunization, including a third shot, or recovery from the illness - to enter most places of leisure. Teachers must either be vaccinated or get tested in order to enter schools.

Source: Al Arabiya

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/10/01/Israel-reports-few-heart-inflammation-cases-after-Pfizer-COVID-19-vaccine-boosters

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Iran nuclear talks to resume in acceptable period of time: EU’s Borrell

30 September ,2021

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he believes nuclear talks with Iran will resume within an acceptable period of time.

Borrell was speaking at a news conference in the Qatari capital Doha.

Speaking at a news conference in the Qatari capital Doha, Borrell was referring to indirect talks between Tehran and Washington in Vienna that began in April and were adjourned two days after hard-line cleric Ephraim Raisin won Iran’s presidential election in June.

Borrell, in comments translated into Arabic by Al Jazeera television, said he believed the negotiations aimed at bringing back Tehran and Washington into full compliance with the agreement will resume “within an acceptable period of time.”

After former US President Donald Trump ditched the deal three years ago and reimposed sanctions on Iran, Tehran has been rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, enriching it to higher levels of fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up production.

President Joe Biden aims to restore the deal, but the sides disagree on which steps need to be taken and when, with the key issues being what nuclear limits Tehran will accept and what sanctions Washington will remove.

Western powers have urged Iran to return to negotiations and said time is running out as Tehran’s nuclear program is advancing well beyond the limits set by the deal.

Tehran says its nuclear steps are reversible if Washington lifts all sanctions. Iranian and Western officials have said many issues remain to be resolved before the accord can be revived.

Echoing Iran’s official stance, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman told Le Monde newspaper that “Iran has reached conclusion that we certainly will return to the nuclear talks” in Vienna.

Saeed Khatibzadeh added that Iran would not “waste an hour before returning to Vienna talks once a re-evaluation of the sixth round of the nuclear talks” is completed by Raisi’s government.

Source: Al Arabiya

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/09/30/Iran-nuclear-talks-to-resume-in-acceptable-period-of-time-EU-s-Borrell

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Palestinian in Gaza killed by Israeli fire: Gaza ministry

30 September ,2021

Israeli forces on Thursday shot dead a Palestinian man in Gaza who approached the security fence that marks the border, the territory’s health ministry and the Israeli army said.

“Troops spotted three suspects approaching the security fence in the northern Gaza Strip. One of the suspects was seen carrying a suspicious backpack and digging in the ground. (Israeli) troops at the scene fired towards the suspect,” an army statement said.

Source: Al Arabiya

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/09/30/Palestinian-in-Gaza-killed-by-Israeli-fire-Gaza-ministry-

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Africa

 

Sheikh Zakzaky: Majority of Nigerians in Favour of Islamic System

2021-September-30

“I believe that if there will be a plebiscite in this country and people will be asked ‘which system would you like? Is it the status quo, which is inherited from the British colonialists or the Islamic system?’” he told Press TV in the first interview to a network since he was released from jail in July.

“I’m sure that the majority will choose the Islamic system. [Because] it will be the government of the people after all,” he added.

Zakzaky stated, although, the authorities in Nigeria strictly forbid any such vote, he did not rule out the prospect of the establishment of such a system in Nigeria. However, this, he reiterated, depended on the people being “given the choice” similar to what happened in Iran with the referendum that followed the victory of the country’s Islamic Revolution in 1979.

Nigerian authorities admit “in private not in public, that they fear the Islamic Movement” and the potential that it may help establish the “Islamic system just as the Revolution in Iran”, he said. But all the IMN is after “is democracy. What is a democracy? It is the government of the people”.

In December 2015, Nigeria’s military launched a crackdown as part of a deadly state-ordered escalation targeting Zakzaky’s Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) that Abuja has branded as illegal.

The campaign saw the troops attacking Zakzaky’s residence in the town of Zaria in Kaduna, burning the whole house down and afflicting him and his wife with serious injuries that reportedly caused the cleric to lose his left eye.

Zakzaky told Press TV that a subsequent surgery had found around 38 fragments of bullets in the space between his cheek and his head, including in his eyes. His wife, he added, also received “gunshots to stomach and thigh”.

“It is the will of God that I’m alive,” the cleric added.

During the crackdown, the military also attacked the movement’s members as they were holding religious processions, with the government alleging that the Muslims had blocked a convoy of the country’s defense minister. The movement has categorically rejected the allegation and said the convoy had intentionally crossed paths with the IMN’s members to whip up an excuse to attack them.

The violence led to the death of three of Zakzaky’s sons and hundreds of his followers.

Although the state’s so-called investigation into the massacre never allowed the inclusion of the IMN and its followers’ insights, one government official testified that “they have buried 347 people” in just “one of the mass graves”, he said, adding, “And we know that there are other mass graves [too].”

The tally that has been kept by the IMN from the information obtained from the victims’ relatives and other sources, however, shows that the state’s bloodletting of the Shias led to “around 700 deaths”.

And this amounts to the movement’s tally just “so far”, he said, adding that the actual number could be as high as 1,200.

“The Zaria massacre has opened the eyes and ears of the people… that was not the first time, but only the worst that they have done,” Zakzaky stated.

Zakzaky and his wife were kept in custody despite a 2016 ruling by Nigeria’s federal high court that ordered their release from prison. They were acquitted of all their charges on July 28, but reports say that the state is still trying to launch a new lawsuit against the couple.

The couple’s freedom came about as a result of tireless activism on the part of Nigeria’s Shia faithful and numerous damning reports about their situation by international human rights bodies.

Zakzaky noted he and his wife currently are not able to travel aboard to seek medical assistance because the state is still withholding their passports months after their release and despite the fact that all the charges against them have been dropped.

Turning to the issue of the state’s persecution of the Shias, Zakzaky revealed that Abuja’s campaign against the followers of the faith goes as far back as the 1970’s, when he was a student fighting communist ideology and the ideology’s objection to religion.

The crackdown dragged into the 80’s when the cleric was arrested and jailed for four years. The Shia leader spent another period in prison for nine months starting from December 1984.

Two more bouts of crackdown on the Shia faithful saw him being incarcerated from 1987 to 1989 and from 1996 to 1998.

In the latest crackdown on the Shia faithful, Nigerian police on Tuesday opened fire on a peaceful procession of Shias who were marking Arba’een, the 40th day after the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Tens of thousands of people were taking part in the annual commemoration when they were fired upon without provocation.

Source: Fars News Agency

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14000708000259/Sheikh-Zakzaky-Majriy-f-Nigerians-in-Favr-f-Islamic-Sysem

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Sudanese protesters demand civilian rule, want army out

01 October ,2021

Thousands of Sudanese rallied in the capital of Khartoum on Thursday to demand an exclusively civilian transitional government and accused the generals now in power of derailing the transition to democracy. Security forces fired tear gas as protesters neared a central street housing government headquarters.

Sudan has been ruled by an interim, joint civilian-military government since 2019. The military ousted former leader Omar al-Bashir in April that year, following four months of mass protests against his rule. Months after al-Bashir’s toppling, the ruling generals agreed to share power with civilians representing the protest movement.

“The objective of these marches is to protect Sudan’s democratic transition and there is no way to achieve that without ending any partnership with the military council,” said a statement issued by the Sudanese Professionals Association, which spearheaded the nationwide uprising that kicked off in December 2018 and culminated in al-Bashir’s ouster.

Tensions between the civilians and generals in the transitional government have increased since Sudan’s interim authorities last week said they foiled a coup attempt within the military. Officials blamed al-Bashir loyalists for the move.

Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, the civilian face of the government, described the coup attempt as an effort to undermine Sudan’s democratic transition. The interim government has been under pressure to end wars with rebel groups as it seeks to rehabilitate the country’s battered economy, attract much-needed foreign aid and deliver the democracy it promised.

On Thursday, demonstrators waved Sudanese flags and chanted pro-democracy slogans. They accuse the military of dragging its feet on transferring power to civilians, purging state institutions of remnants of al-Bashir’s regime and bringing to justice those responsible for the killing of dozens of protesters in June 2019, when security forces dispersed a sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum.

Source: Al Arabiya

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/10/01/Sudanese-protesters-demand-civilian-rule-want-army-out

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Spain ‘reassured’ by Algeria over gas supplies

30 September ,2021

Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Thursday that he had received assurances over gas supplies from Algeria, amid fears a crucial pipeline via Morocco could be shut.

Algeria “has always been a trustworthy partner that has honored its engagements and I was reassured today that energy supplies would continue,” he said at a press conference after meeting senior officials in Algiers.

“Algeria has always been a first class energy partner for Spain.”

The Spanish diplomat was visiting Algiers a month before a 25-year deal to pump Algerian gas to Spain via Morocco is set to expire, with the two North African countries mired in their worst crisis in years.

Algeria, Africa’s biggest natural gas exporter, has been using the Gaz-Maghreb-Europe (GME) pipeline since 1996 to deliver several billion cubic meters (bcm) per year to Spain and Portugal.

But the GME contract ends at the end of October, just over two months after Algiers severed diplomatic ties with Rabat over “hostile actions.” Morocco has dismissed the claims.

Shortly after, Algerian Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab told Spanish ambassador Fernando Moran that Algeria was ready to deliver all its Spain-bound gas exports via an alternative undersea pipeline, bypassing Morocco.

Experts say the Medgaz pipeline does not have enough capacity to make up the shortfall.

Maghreb geopolitics expert Geoff Porter told AFP that “a deal to continue the GME agreement before October 31 is very unlikely.”

Source: Al Arabiya

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2021/09/30/Spain-reassured-by-Algeria-over-gas-supplies

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US strongly condemns Ethiopia for expelling UN officials

Servet Gunerigok

30.09.2021

The US condemned Ethiopia on Thursday for expelling seven UN officials for allegedly meddling in internal affairs and urged the international community to take action.

"The US government condemns in the strongest possible terms the government of Ethiopia's unprecedented action to expel the leadership of all of the United Nations organizations involved in ongoing humanitarian operations," said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki at a news conference.

"We agree with UN leaders. This is a stain on our collective conscience and it must stop," she added.

Earlier, Ethiopia ordered the UN officials to leave the country within 72 hours.

According to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, staffers from different UN organizations have been declared “persona non grata” for "meddling in the internal affairs" of the nation.

The statement did not provide further details but the declaration was made in connection with the agencies’ operations in Ethiopia's northernmost region of Tigray.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/us-strongly-condemns-ethiopia-for-expelling-un-officials-/2379758

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