Hindus Join Muslims In Observing Muharram, At Various Places in India
New Age Islam News Bureau
10 August 2022
Hindu residents of
Kasavalanadu Pudur take out a procession on Friday for Muharram festival |
Express
----
• Ameer-e-Shariat, Head of the Highest-Decision Making
Body for Muslims in Karnataka, Appeals to Community to Hoist Tricolour
• Pakistani News Channel, ARY News, Taken Off Air, Put
On Notice for Inciting ‘Revolt’ Against Army
• Albuquerque 'Serial Killer' Suspected of Killing 4
Muslim Men Held; Cops Probe Shia-Sunni Rift
• ‘UK Leadership Candidates Not Held To Account over
Islamophobia’
India
• ‘Most regrettable' that evidence-based proposals to
blacklist world's notorious terrorists being put on hold: India at UNSC
• Encounter underway in Budgam, Rahul Bhat's killer
among 3 LeT terrorists trapped
• Gaza violence: India backs diplomatic bid
• India invites UN Security Council members for
high-level special meeting of Counter-Terrorism Committee in October
• Kashmiri Calligrapher’s 500-Meter Qur’an Sets Record
Amid Hopes For Middle East Visit
--------
Pakistan
• Transfer of Pakistan’s Peshawar Corps Commander Seen
as Policy Shift towards Kabul and Militants in Afghan
• Miftah says macroeconomic stability forthcoming
after IMF programme resumption by end-August
• Anti-Terrorism Squad official, 9 others booked in
Islamabad on charge of attempted murder
• Pakistan: Police sent to secure Imran’s residence
after PTI chief’s close aide arrested
• North Waziristan suicide attack kills four soldiers:
ISPR
--------
North
America
• Afghan Man Charged in Killings of 2 Muslims in New
Mexico
• Biden formalizes US support for Finland, Sweden
joining NATO
• Turkish defence delegation to visit US for F-16 jet
talks
--------
Arab
World
• Dar Al-Iftaa of Egypt to Launch Soon 'Fatwa Pro'
Application In 12 Languages, Says Grand Mufti
• Turkey drone strike kills four in northeast Syria:
Monitor
• Shia Muslims throng Iraqi shrine city to commemorate
Ashura
• Hezbollah says awaiting Israel’s response on
maritime border demarcation
• Syrians in Iraqi camps cannot return to their homes
due to PKK terror group
• Nasrallah speech sparks fears of power vacuum in
Lebanon
• Russian envoy: Terrorists to be swiftly wiped out
should US pull out troops from Syria
• Report: Saudi Arabia investing aggressively in
Israeli cyber espionage companies
--------
Europe
• Daesh Threat Grows Despite Territorial Defeats and
Leadership Losses, UN Warns
• France says no lasting peace in Gaza possible
without lifting of blockade
• Low employment rate of UK Muslims due to ‘Muslim
penalty’: Study
• French government moots law change to expel imam
--------
South
Asia
• Amnesty International Calls on Taliban to Protect
Shia Community after Deadly Explosions
• A Year into Taliban Rule, Misery and Disease Conquer
Afghanistan: Report
• Taliban torn over reforms one year after seizing
power
• Shia Muslims in Bangladesh mark Ashura with
traditional procession
--------
Southeast
Asia
• Zahid Didn’t Ask For Any ‘Sensitive’ Info to Be
Omitted, Says PAC Chief
• Man finds out he’s ‘dead’ while lodging police
report
• Nonsensical for DAP to make way for PSB newcomer,
says Chong
• Can voters trust a Zahid-led BN after LCS scandal,
asks Muhyiddin
--------
Mideast
• Hezbollah Chief Warns Israel against Targeting Palestinian
Militants in Lebanon
• 'Child-Killing' Israeli Regime Can’t Escape
Inevitable Fate; "15 Palestinian Children Martyred In the Recent Israeli
Attacks on the Gaza Strip"
• Israeli forces kill two armed Palestinians in West
Bank; teen killed in clashes
• Iran Receives First Telemetry Data from
Newly-Launched Satellite
• Iran Urges US to Retreat from Unconstructive
Positions in Talks
• Iran Summons German Envoy over Sacrilege of Islamic
Sanctities in Hamburg
• West Bank Palestinians to start flying from Israel’s
Ramon Airport to Turkey
• Dozens of Israelis storm al-Aqsa compound
• Two Palestinians killed in Israeli raid in West
Bank: Army
--------
Africa
• Vote Counting Underway In Kenya, With Presidency and
Parliament Hanging In the Balance
• Bomb blasts in Somalia kill at least 4
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/hindus-muslims-muharram-india/d/127688
--------
Hindus Join Muslims In Observing Muharram, At Various
Places in India
Hindu residents of
Kasavalanadu Pudur take out a procession on Friday for Muharram festival |
Express
----
Aug 10, 2022
Dharwad/ Hubballi: Amid mourning and remembrance, the
Muslim community observed 'Mukarram', the 'day of grief' in Dharwad on Tuesday.
The rituals began in front of dargahs and mosques where panjas were kept on
Monday night and concluded on Tuesday.
Youths belonging to Shia sect took out a separate
procession near Kalghatagi road and flagellated their chests till blood oozed
of them.
Women too participated in the event by wailing.
Through the self-inflicted wounds they try to proclaim solidarity with the
martyrdom of Hussain. Muharram’s history is a story of tragedy and loss of
Islam which commemorates the death of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hussein Ibn
Ali who was murdered during the Battle of Karbala.
Muslims honour the sacrifice of their lives by
engaging in mourning rituals. Some perform public rituals that include
chest-beating, self-flagellation with chains and forehead cutting and some
gather at mosques and cry over Hussein’s death.
‘For communal amity’
Members of the Hindu community joined their Muslim
brethren to observe Muharram in Hubballi on Tuesday. Members of both the
communities came together to observe the event at Bidnal, Gawali Galli, Bammapur
Oni, Araving Nagar, Ganjepete and Ishwar Nagar. Many devotees lay prostrate on
the road in Bidnal for the ‘Panjas’ procession. Explaining the ritual, Mohan
Asundi, who was among those who took the lead in organising events around
Muharram, said, “There is a prevailing belief that one’s physical and mental
problems are solved if the Panjas goes over them. This is a practice dating
back centuries. The Panjas is placed in the place where we seat the idol of
Ganesha during the Ganesha Chaturthi festivities. This ensures communal amity
among the people. When the two events fall within days of each other, or
coincide on the same day, we place the Ganesha idol and Panjas together.”
The other rituals observed by the devotees including
running over a bed of burning charcoal carrying the Panjas, while others
offered dried coconut. Hindus and Muslims exchanged ‘changeyu’, a sweer dish
made with jaggery. The Panjas were decked up in colourful attire, with colour
paper and bamboo sticks being used for their embellishment.
Source: Times Of India
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original story:
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Ameer-e-Shariat, Head of the Highest-Decision Making
Body for Muslims in Karnataka, Appeals to Community to Hoist Tricolour
The Indian flag (Photo | P
Jawahar, EPS)
----
10th August 2022
By Mohammed Yacoob
BENGALURU: The head of the highest-decision making
body for Muslims in Karnataka, Ameer-e-Shariat, has asked all imams to appeal
to the community to take part in the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ initiative which is
being celebrated across the country from August 11 to 17 to mark 75 years of
India’s Independence.
In a circular to all masjids, Ameer-e-Shariat, Karnataka,
Sagir Ahmed Khan Rashadi pointed out that people from the community took part
in India’s freedom struggle and many sacrificed their lives. “Hence, as a mark
of respect to those freedom fighters and for the love of the country, every
Muslim should feel proud about the 75th year of Indian Independence and should
fly the Tricolour on their houses as part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’,” he
said.
The Chief Imam of City Market Masjid, said, “The
circular is very clear. All should celebrate Independence Day. There are no
restrictions on the Har Ghar Tiranga event and even madrasas will ensure that
the Tricolour is hoisted.”
BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath has welcomed
the move and said the civic body will reach out to all institutions under its
purview. “The matter of hoisting the national flag in madrasas comes under the
Directorate of Minorities. Since it is a moment of pride, everyone will take
part,” he said.
A senior BBMP official said all religious heads of
different communities were also communicated about the importance of Azadi Ka
Amrit Mahotsav and Har Ghar Tiranga campaigns.Meanwhile, the BBMP has directed
its Assistant Revenue Officers, Ward Engineers and other officials to meet the
target of selling 10 lakh flags to mark the event. The Palike stated that it
wants to ensure that most houses take part in the campaign.
Source: New Indian Express
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original story:
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Pakistani News Channel, ARY News, Taken Off Air, Put
On Notice for Inciting ‘Revolt’ Against Army
A Pakistani journalist
gestures during a protest against the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory
Authority in Islamabad, Pakistan, on October 21, 2014. (AFP/File)
----
Aamir Saeed
August 09, 2022
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s electronic media regulator has
issued a show-cause notice to a major private news channel, ARY News, for
airing “hateful and seditious” content that the authority said amounted to
inciting revolt within the armed forces, a copy of the document shows.
The show-cause notice released late on Monday came
hours after officials at ARY News, and an association of internet service
providers, said the channel had been taken off air by the Pakistan Electronic
Media Regulatory Authority shortly after the channel aired a segment considered
critical of the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as well as the top
command of the Pakistan army.
ARY News is widely seen as being partial to former
premier Imran Khan’s opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, with criticism
of the Sharif government’s political and economic policies a regular feature of
news bulletins and current affairs shows.
On Monday, the channel aired a segment in which two
hosts and chief of staff to Khan, Shahbaz Gill, alleged that Sharif’s ruling
Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz party had activated a “strategic media cell” to
malign the PTI and its chairman, and build a public narrative that the party
was against Pakistan’s all-powerful army. The outlet had previously also made
the accusations in June.
In the segment, Gill advised army officers not to
follow orders issued by the top command if they were “against the sentiments of
the masses.”
“A beeper of Shahbaz Gill of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
was included who uttered highly hateful and seditious comments which tantamount
to incite rank and file of armed forces toward revolt,” PEMRA said in the
notice issued to the channel.
“Airing of such content on your news channel shows
either weak editorial control on the content or the licensee is intentionally
indulged in providing its platform to such individual who intent to spread
malice and hatred against the state institutions for their vested interests,”
the notice read, saying this was against the country’s constitution.
The notice said the channel had also maligned the
government by “egregiously, baselessly and categorically” claiming that it was
running a malicious campaign over the crash of an army aviation helicopter last
week.
The regulator directed the CEO of the channel to show
cause in writing within three days explaining why legal action should not be
initiated against the outlet for violating the law and the constitution.
Earlier on Monday evening, ARY News officials said
that the channel had been taken off air in a number of cities.
“Just cause we reported a true story #ARYNews gets
shut down,” CEO Salman Iqbal said in a Twitter post.
“On the orders of PEMRA, cable operators across
Pakistan have started removing ARY News from their cable network. Watch ARY
News Live on YouTube,” Ammad Yousaf, the channel’s senior executive vice
president, said.
ARY News was reported to still be off air in several
cities of Pakistan on Tuesday.
The Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan
confirmed to Arab News that the channel’s transmission had been suspended
across Pakistan, saying it was done on the instructions of PEMRA.
“We have received verbal instructions from PEMRA about
an hour ago to off air ARY News,” Wahaj Siraj, convener ISPAK and co-founder of
Nayatel, a major internet service provider, told Arab News. “No reason is given
to us to off air the channel, and this is being done almost across Pakistan
now.
“We have sent emails to our customers about the
development. We don’t know when we will be able to restore the service,” Siraj
added. “If we get any revised instructions from PEMRA to restore the service on
our network, we’ll be able to do it in 20 to 30 minutes.”
Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb did not
respond to calls and text messages seeking comment on whether the government
was behind the blockade of ARY.
The development comes in the wake of an online smear
campaign against the military and its officers after any army aviation
helicopter carrying a senior commander and five others crashed on a mountain
during a flood relief operation last Monday, killing all on board.
Following the incident, a social media campaign
targeted the victims and included hashtags against the military.
The prime minister called the campaign “horrifying”
and said it showed that the minds of young Pakistanis were being poisoned.
The army’s media wing has also condemned the
“regretful” social media trends, saying they had caused anguish among families
of the victims and sought to tarnish the army’s reputation.
On Sunday, the Federal Investigation Agency said that
it was setting up a joint inquiry into the campaign.
Members of the PTI have alleged that Twitter trends
and anti-army posts are being pushed by the ruling PMLN, a claim the party
denies.
The army has not yet commented on ARY being taken off
air.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2139531/world
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Albuquerque 'Serial Killer' Suspected of Killing 4
Muslim Men Held; Cops Probe Shia-Sunni Rift
People at the New Mexico
Islamic Centre mosque commemorate four murdered Muslim men, hours after police
said they arrested a prime suspect (Image: Reuters)
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AUGUST 10, 2022
After four Muslim men were killed in New Mexico’s
Albuquerque, the police said that they have arrested the primary suspect. The
suspect Muhammad Syed was held on Tuesday and is charged with the murders of
the two men.
Investigators found multiple firearms at Syed’s home.
The police are investigating the deaths of the two other men to see if Syed is
linked to those as well.
These deaths took place over the past nine months.
Albuquerque police chief Harold Medina announced on Tuesday evening that they
have apprehended the suspect after tracking down a vehicle which they believed
was involved.
The last three murders were committed in the past two
weeks. The investigators are assuming that the attacks may have been motivated
by personal conflict.
Police, however, did not comment upon or reveal
information about reports that the suspect, a Sunni Muslim, may have targeted
the victims because he was upset that his daughter married a Shia Muslim.
Police have not said the attacks were hate crimes.
The investigators revealed that the suspect came to
the US from Afghanistan. The three victims were from Pakistan and they went to
the same mosque that the suspect also attended. The fourth victim was from
Afghanistan who was killed last November.
The victims were fired upon with no warning.
The deputy commander of the police criminal
investigations division Kyle Hartsock said the suspect was arrested after his
car was halted and a Swat team searched his home. Hartsock said that tip from
the public led to the arrest two days after the cops distributed a photograph
of the suspect’s vehicle.
The police in a news release said that detectives
discovered evidence which reveals that the suspect knew the victims and there
shootings may have been motivated by interpersonal conflict.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said in a statement that
he hopes citizens feel secure following the arrests. US president Joe Biden
said that ‘hateful attacks of such kind’ have no place in the US.
The serial killings and the hunt for the suspect
garnered the attention of the entire state and New Mexico Governor Michelle
Lujan Grisham sent additional law enforcement officers to the city to help the
cops and the investigators. Rewards were also announced for information leading
to the arrest and conviction of the suspect.
Source: News18
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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‘UK Leadership Candidates Not Held To Account over
Islamophobia’
10 Downing Street/
Photo:aa.com
----
Leila Nezirevic
09.08.2022
LONDON
The UK leadership candidates must address Islamophobia
within the Conservative Party, according to the head of the country’s largest
and most diverse Muslim umbrella organization.
That has triggered demands that the next prime
minister takes Islamophobia within the Tory party seriously after a silence
regarding the issue from outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Zara Mohammed, secretary general of the Muslim Council
of Britain (MCB), believes Johnson should have apologized in his resignation
speech to the Muslim community and has warned that "no concrete
steps" have been taken to tackle the issue, despite the MCB recording more
than 300 instances in the Tory party since 2019.
Her remarks came after allegations from Conservative
Member of Parliament (MP) Nusrat Ghani that the party is institutionally
Islamophobic and her "Muslimness" was raised when she was fired from
her transport minister's post.
"I have written a great deal about the problem of
Islamophobia and anti-Muslim bigotry in the Conservative Party. I'm afraid at
the very top is Boris Johnson himself, who's been guilty of a series of
terrible remarks," said Peter Oborne, a British political journalist and
author.
He pointed out that Islamophobia has been tolerated
for a long time, and "the very ugly culture of Islamophobia" is at
the highest ranks of Tory MPs, counselors and ordinary Tory members who often
believe "wild conspiracy theories about Muslims which are quite alien to
an advanced Western society which claims to be tolerant."
In his book The Fate of Abraham: Why the West is Wrong
about Islam, Oborne explains how the British conservative think-tank Policy
Exchange has contributed to dismantling traditions of tolerance and
multiculturalism in the UK "with Muslims as its main targets."
"I describe the various ways in which an image of
Islam and an image of Muslims are being constructed in the West. This has been
done by media, is being done by politicians, and also by think-tanks," he
said.
Mohammed Amin, a former chairman of the Conservative
Muslim Forum, said the government is not doing enough to tackle Islamophobia,
and "the Conservative Party's main priority, of course, is to get
re-elected."
Muslims in the UK overwhelmingly vote for the Labour
Party. Under Prime Minister David Cameron, the Conservative Party made great
progress by gaining Muslim voters.
The UK went from getting about 15% of the British
Muslim vote going Conservative in the 2010 general election to 25% in 2015.
Since then, however, voting Conservative has dropped dramatically.
Calls for inquiry into Islamophobia
For several years, there have been many calls,
including from the Conservative Muslim Forum, for an independent inquiry into
Islamophobia and anti-Muslim bigotry within the Conservative Party.
The party initially kept refusing to hold an inquiry.
Then in the 2019 leadership election, Sajid Javid, an MP who was one of the
five finalists, managed to convince the other candidates to promise an
independent inquiry into Islamophobia. However, right after, Johnson started
retracting and those efforts eventually became an all-purpose inquiry into the
Conservative Party.
Amin believes that addressing anti-Muslim hatred is
not the government's priority.
"Their priority is to try to keep their ship on
the road to avoid the Conservative Party tearing itself apart and to get
re-elected, and they just don't see how any of that is advanced by getting
engaged with anti-Muslim hatred," he said.
"The Conservative Party has really failed to
engage with anti-Muslim bigotry that you find amongst a significant proportion
of Conservative Party members, locally elected Conservative Party counselors,
etcetera," Amin added.
A UK government spokesperson said, "we take a
zero-tolerance approach to anti-Muslim hatred in any form and will continue to
combat discrimination and intolerance."
In 2019, the UK government appointed an independent
adviser, Qari Asim, but he was recently removed from the post.
"I cannot answer why the government decided to
remove me from the office," he said. "You know, the perception is
that the government did not want to tackle the issue of defining
Islamophobia."
"I was appointed as the government's adviser to
define Islamophobia in July 2019, so almost three years ago, and since then, no
progress has been made," he said. "The perception is that by removing
me from the office, the government has closed the door to defining
Islamophobia."
A long-awaited 2021 review into Islamophobia
acknowledged that there had been anti-Muslim sentiment within the Conservative
Party and it criticized the party for failing to properly investigate
allegations, but no evidence was found that the Tory party was institutionally
Islamophobic.
Critics labeled the report as a "whitewash"
and have argued that the findings only focused on the complaints process and
failed to identify party prejudice.
It remains to be seen whether the next prime minister
will make more of an effort to tackle the issue of Islamophobia than the silent
Johnson. But for now, the Conservative Campaign Headquarters said it could not
comment until the end of the leadership contest in September.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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India
‘Most regrettable' that evidence-based proposals to blacklist world's notorious terrorists being put on hold: India at UNSC
Aug 9, 2022
UNITED NATIONS: India on Tuesday told a UN Security
Council meeting chaired by China that it was "most regrettable" that
genuine and evidence-based proposals to blacklist some of the world's most
notorious terrorists are being placed on hold, saying such "double
standards" are rendering credibility of the Council's sanctions regime at
an "all-time low."
In June this year, China, permanant member of the UN
and a close ally of Pakistan, had put a hold, at the last moment, on a joint
proposal by India and the US to list Pakistan-based terrorist Abdul Rehman
Makki under the 1267 Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council.
India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador
Ruchira Kamboj said the practice of placing holds and blocks on listing
requests without giving any justification must end.
“An effective functioning of the Sanctions Committees
requires them to become more transparent, accountable and objective. The
practice of placing holds and blocks on listing requests without giving any
justification must end,” Kamboj said.
Speaking at the UN Security Council meeting on
‘Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts' chaired
by permanent-member and Council President for the month of China, she said, “it
is most regrettable that genuine and evidence-based listing proposals
pertaining to some of the most notorious terrorists in the world are being
placed on hold.”
“Double standards and continuing politicisation have
rendered the credibility of the Sanctions Regime at an all-time low. We do hope
that all members of the UNSC can pronounce together in one voice, sooner than
later, when it comes to this collective fight against international terrorism,”
she said.
Makki is a US-designated terrorist and brother-in-law
of Lashkar-e-Taiba head and 26/11Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed.
It was learnt that New Delhi and Washington had put a
joint proposal to designate Makki as a global terrorist under the 1267 ISIL and
Al Qaida Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council but Beijing placed a
hold on this proposal at the last minute.
Earlier also, China, an all-weather friend of
Islamabad, had placed holds and blocks on bids by India and its allies to list
Pakistan-based terrorists.
In May 2019, India had won a huge diplomatic win at
the UN when the global body designated Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief
Masood Azhar as a "global terrorist”, a decade after New Delhi had first
approached the world body on the issue.
A veto-wielding permanent member of the UN Security
Council, China was the sole hold-out in the 15-nation body on the bid to
blacklist Azhar, blocking attempts by placing a "technical hold". All
decisions of the committee are taken through consensus. In 2009, India moved a
proposal by itself to designate Azhar. In 2016 again India moved the proposal
with the P3 - the US, the UK and France - in the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee
to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the air base in Pathankot in
January 2016.
In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal
again. However, on all occasions, China, a veto-wielding permanent member of
the Security Council, blocked India's proposal from being adopted by the
sanctions committee.
In November 2010, the U S Department of the Treasury
designated Makki as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. As a result of
this designation, among other consequences, all property, and interests in
property, of Makki that are subject to US jurisdiction are blocked, and US
persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with Makki.
“In addition, it is a crime to knowingly provide, or
attempt or conspire to provide, material support or resources to the FTO LeT,”
the US said.
The US Department of State's Rewards for Justice
programme is offering a reward of up to $2 million for information on Makki,
“also known as Abdulrahman Maki.” Makki has occupied various leadership roles
within Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a US-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization
(FTO). He has also played a role in raising funds for LeT operations.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Encounter underway in Budgam, Rahul Bhat's killer
among 3 LeT terrorists trapped
Aug 10, 2022
SRINAGAR: Three Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists, including
Lateef Rather who was involved in the killing of Kashmiri pandit government
employee Rahul Bhat in May, are trapped in an ongoing encounter with security
forces in Budgam, police said on Wednesday morning.
Security forces launched a cordon and search operation
at Waterhail in Khansahib area of the district following information about the
presence of terrorists there, a police spokesman said.
He said the search operation turned into an encounter
after the terrorists fired upon the security forces.
Additional director general of police (Kashmir Zone)
Vijay Kumar said the three Lashkar men including highly wanted Lateef Rather
were trapped in the encounter.
Kumar tweeted, "03 #terrorists of #terror outfit
LeT(TRF) including terrorist Lateef Rather trapped in ongoing #encounter.
Terrorist Lateef is involved in several #civilian #killings including Rahul
Bhat and Amreen Bhat."
No casualties were reported in the encounter on either
side so far.
Rahul Bhat, who had got the job of a clerk under the
special employment package for migrants in 2010-11, was gunned down by
terrorists inside the Tehsil office in Chadoora town in Budgam district of
Jammu and Kashmir on May 12.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Gaza violence:India backs diplomatic bid
Aug 10, 2022
UNITED NATIONS: India has voiced support for
diplomatic efforts of the UN as well as Egypt that led to a ceasefire between
Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza and urged all parties to de-escalate
the situation to ensure it does not spiral out of control.
"After a year of relative calm, tensions have
risen again in Gaza. It is a matter of grave concern that the violence has not
completely subsided despite hectic diplomatic parleys, development initiatives
and efforts by the international community to hold the fragile ceasefire
negotiated last May," India's Permanent Representative to the UN
Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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India invites UN Security Council members for
high-level special meeting of Counter-Terrorism Committee in October
Aug 9, 2022
UNITED NATIONS: India has invited all members of the
UN Security Council for a high-level special meeting of the Counter-Terrorism
Committee in New Delhi and Mumbai in October aimed at highlighting the increase
in the use of new technologies by terrorists and exploring the course of action
to effectively deal with this threat.
India is currently Chair of the Security Council
Counter-Terrorism Committee for the year 2022 and will host diplomats of the
15-nation UN body, including the US, China and Russia, in October for a special
meeting on counter-terrorism.
“The growing use of the Internet and social media
platforms to spread terrorist and violent extremist propaganda has posed
challenges to Governments and the tech industry alike. The continued increase
in the use of new technologies to move and store funds, including virtual
assets, online exchanges and wallets, privacy coins (EACs) and potential misuse
of dual-use technologies pose the risk that terrorists will seek to abuse these
systems for terrorism financing and other terror-linked purposes,” India's
Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said.
Speaking at the UN Security Council briefing on ‘Threats
to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts' Tuesday chaired
by permanent-member and Council President for the month of China, Kamboj said
there is a need for intense discussions on this subject.
She told the Council that India, as the Chair of the
Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) will be hosting a special CTC session in
Mumbai and Delhi on October 28-29, “highlighting the nature of this threat,
member states' capacity gaps and best practices and exploring the further
course of action to effectively deal with this threat.”
Kamboj said the high-level meeting will be in-person
and she invited all Council colleagues to participate in the meeting, saying
formal invitations will be issued by the CTC Chair later this month.
Earlier speaking at the UNSC meeting, Acting Executive
Director of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate Weixiong Chen
said that the forthcoming special meeting of the Counter-Terrorism Committee on
the use of emerging technologies for terrorist purposes will be held in October
2022 in New Delhi and Mumbai.
Chen said “it is my hope that this event will serve”
as a forum to “further enhance and strengthen our multilateral and
multi-dimensional counterterrorism efforts.”
India is halfway through the second year of its
two-year term as an elected non-permanent member of the 15-nation UN Security
Council. India's tenure at the Council will end in December this year when the
country will also preside as President of the powerful UN organ for the month.
Current members of the Security Council are Albania,
Brazil, Gabon, Ghana, India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Norway and UAE, along with
five permanent members China, France, Russia, UK and the US.
Kamboj further underlined the need for political will
to defeat terrorism. “There can be no justification for terrorist acts, much
less glorification of terrorists, a tendency we have unfortunately seen in
recent years in some parts of the world,” she said, a reference to former
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan describing slain Al Qaeda leader Osama bin
Laden as a martyr.
“There should be no double standards in dealing with
terrorists. We should refrain from labelling terrorism based on motivations,
which will only allow opportunistic forces to provide justification for certain
terror activities based on their convenience,” she said.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Kashmiri calligrapher’s 500-meter Qur’an sets record
amid hopes for Middle East visit
August 09, 2022
NEW DELHI: When Mustafa Jameel began to study Arabic
calligraphy in 2016, he practiced it to improve his handwriting — an effort that
six years later resulted in a record-winning Qur’anic manuscript, and stirred
the young calligrapher’s hope to display it in the Middle East.
Born in Gurez Valley, in the northern Bandipora
district of Indian-administered Kashmir, Jameel completed his work earlier this
year. In late May, the 27-year-old was registered by India’s Lincoln Book of
Records in New Delhi for the “new world record for the first time in the world
to write the Holy Qur’an on a 14.5 inch and 500-meter scroll paper.”
In Muslim societies, calligraphy is not only the art
of properly forming written characters. Known as khatt (line) in Arabic, it
signifies “the art of the line.” This art has not only been written in Arabic,
but also numerous other languages that have adopted the same alphabet following
the spread of Islam, including Persian, Urdu, Ottoman Turkish, and even old
Malay.
There are a variety of graphic styles which
calligraphy masters have developed throughout the ages. The oldest script used
for copying the Qur’an is Kufic, a square and angular script which by the 11th
century went out of general use, replaced by Naskh — a cursive style which
until today remains one of the most popular scripts in the Arab world.
Naskh is also the style that Jameel used in his
manuscript, which he learned by observing the work others had produced.
While calligraphers usually follow an established
master, there have been countless exceptions to the rule, as many practitioners
have learnt the artform through repetition and consistency.
“I learnt calligraphy by myself. I am self-taught,”
Jameel told Arab News. “I am a first-generation calligraphist. There is no one
in my family who is involved in calligraphy.”
He focused on the art after failing in his secondary
high school exam. After a year of laborious study, he noticed his writing
improving and focused all his efforts on copying the Qur’an.
“Then in 2021 the idea came into my mind that I can do
this work properly, and if Allah has given me this talent, I should do the work
of (copying) the Qur’an in a proper and professional manner. Then I thought
that I should prepare the Qur’an in a single paper,” Jameel said.
The kind of paper he needed was not available in
Kashmir, so he went to New Delhi and after finding the right scroll began to
copy the scripture. The whole project was financed with the help of his
relatives.
“I finished the whole project in Delhi,” he said. “It
took seven months to finish and get the work laminated,” he said.
After he made headlines in India, now Jameel’s dream
is to show his work abroad, especially in the Middle East, where the art of
calligraphy is where the art of Islamic calligraphy is known and recognized.
“I would like to exhibit it in Dubai, where such
creativity gets appreciated,” he said. “There is a museum in Madinah, and if I
get an opportunity to exhibit my work there, I would love to do that.”
The most important appreciation, however, he has
already won by making his family proud.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2139246/world
--------
Pakistan
Transfer of Pakistan’s Peshawar corps commander seen
as policy shift towards Kabul and militants in Afghan
Aug 10, 2022
ISLAMABAD: The transfer of the Pakistan army’s
Peshawar corps commander, Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, to Bahawalpur has been seen as a
strategic policy shift by Islamabad towards Kabul and Pakistani militants
living with their families across the border in Afghanistan.
Known for its involvement in the Soviet-Afghan War,
the Peshawar corps (XI Corps), had become the main Pakistani formation after
9/11 to fight militancy in the tribal regions and adjacent districts in the
country’s northwest.
According to the Pakistan army’s media wing, Lt Gen
Sardar Hassan Azhar Hayat has been transferred to the Peshawar corps to replace
Hameed, who has been posted as commander, Bahawalpur corps.
Transfers and postings are routine matters in the
military services but Hameed’s case is regarded as rare. His name had first
caught the attention of the media over his role in ending a sit-in protest by a
far-right group in Islamabad in November 2017 against legislation that the
group considered blasphemous.
Widely considered as being close to former prime
minister Imran Khan, Hameed’s transfer from ISI director general last year to
head the important Peshawar corps had become a bone of contention between Imran
Khan and Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa. Imran had been reluctant to move Hameed
and had halted the process for a few months. This led to a political crisis in
the country that, ultimately, culminated in Imran’s ouster from power last
April.
As an ISI chief, Hameed had appeared last year at
Kabul’s Serena Hotel, sipping tea and smiling days after the Taliban captured
power in Afghanistan. The move was seen by some critics as an attempt by him to
portray a larger-than-life image of himself in the affairs of the war-torn
country at a critical time.
Following his transfer to Peshawar, Hameed had
initiated a dialogue process through the Afghan Taliban with the
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella organisation of several terrorist
outfits, and had personally visited Kabul to participate in talks.
Following talks between Pakistani military and
intelligence officials, Gen Faiz had constituted a 50-member delegation of
tribal elders, including current and former parliamentarians, who had visited
Kabul to take forward the peace process with leaders of the militant group. The
TTP’s recent talks with Pakistani clerics had ended in a deadlock. A truce
announced between the two sides over two months ago has remained intact but the
recent killing of top militant leaders, including Umar Khalid Khurasani, in an
explosion in Barmal district of Paktika province has lessened the chances of
negotiations continuing.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Miftah
says macroeconomic stability forthcoming after IMF programme resumption by
end-August
August
10, 2022
Finance
Minister Miftah Ismail has said that macroeconomic stability is forthcoming in
view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme resuming by the end of
the month as all conditions in this regard have been met.
He
made the remarks during a meeting with Pakistan Stock Exchange officials,
authorities and businessmen, according to a press release issued by the PSX on
Tuesday.
PSX
Chairperson Dr Shamshad Akhtar, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan
Chairperson Aamir Khan, PSX CEO and Managing Director Farrukh H. Khan, Federal
Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairperson Asim Ahmad, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)
Deputy Governor Dr Inayat Hussain, Special Secretary Finance Awais Manzoor, and
key stakeholders including Arif Habib Group Chairman Arif Habib, Pakistan Stock
Brokers Association & AKD Group Chairman Aqeel Karim Dhedhi, Bank Alfalah Limited
CEO Atif Bajwa, NBP Funds CEO Dr Amjad Waheed, Arif Habib Corporation Director
Nasim Beg, and Pakistan Business Council CEO Ehsan Malik participated in the
meeting.
According
to the press release, the meeting discussed Pakistan’s macroeconomy, capital markets,
taxation and non-tax measures.
Ismail
assured that the country’s balance-of-payments position was “well under
control” and it may even have a surplus in the coming months because of
increased hydel power, lower energy demands and lower oil prices.
“Fiscal
discipline will be strictly followed and all additional expenditures will be
fully funded by tax measures. [The] 10 per cent super tax is only imposed for
one year while alternative revenue streams are developed,” he said.
He
also iterated that advances-to-deposits ratio-linked tax on banks will not be
imposed retrospectively and tax revenues from the retail sector are expected to
be significantly higher compared to last year.
The
minister also formed three committees — of which the first one would share the
private sector’s stance on interest rates with the SBP’s Monetary Policy
Committee, the second would coordinate with the Pakistan Business Council and
the PSX on all tax issues and the third would review the listing of development
finance institutions (DFIs), debt and Sukuk issuance, reform of the National
Savings Scheme, and explore the development of a market for exchange rate
forward dealing which all market participants can access.
Ismail
committed to review the progress and meet the stakeholders again in two weeks,
the press release stated.
For
his part, PSX MD Khan told the finance minister the situation in the capital
markets needed to be addressed on a “war footing”. He noted that while
state-owned enterprises (SOEs) were “extremely profitable, their payout ratio
is a meagre 18pc”. The participants asked that the payout ratio be raised to
50pc.
Ismail
then directed the relevant ministry to immediately hold a meeting with
stakeholders to discuss the matter.
The
meeting’s participants said the income of listed companies was subject to
double tax while unincorporated businesses were subject to substantially lower
taxes. They also expressed concerns about the capital gains tax (CGT).
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Anti-Terrorism
Squad official, 9 others booked in Islamabad on charge of attempted murder
Munawer
Azeem
August
9, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
An official of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of capital police and others were
booked under different charges, including attempted murder, police said on
Monday.
The
case was registered at the Kohsar police station under section 324 (murder
attempt) 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon) and 149 (every member of
unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object)
of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) in response to complaint lodged by Tariq Masih.
According
to the FIR, a group of 10 people, including the ATS official, intercepted the
complainant at France Colony F-7/4 and beat him up. They were carrying an axe
and batons and hit the complainant in the head with the axe.
As
a result, he sustained injuries and started bleeding, the FIR said, adding
people of the area rescued him from the attackers.
Later,
the suspects attacked the house of the complainant and resorted to firing into
the air and pelted the house with stones. However, the family called police and
sought help.
According
to the FIR, the suspects had attacked the complainant and his family on several
occasions in the past too and he had requested for police protection.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1704002/ats-official-nine-others-booked
--------
Pakistan:
Police sent to secure Imran’s residence after PTI chief’s close aide arrested
10
August, 2022
Islamabad
[Pakistan], August 9 (ANI): Following reports of some movement towards former
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s residence Banigala, Pakistan Muslim League
Quaid (PML-Q) leader Moonis Elahi said that he is sending Punjab Police for the
protection of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief.
In
a tweet, Elahi wrote, “Heard about some movement towards Banigala. We are
sending punjab police for protection.”
Another
tweet by a Pakistani journalist while confirming this wrote, “Moonis Elahi
sends Punjab Police to Bani Gala for @ImranKhanPTI’s protection after rumours
of an operation in #ImranKhan’s residence.”
Earlier,
Khan’s close aide Shahbaz Gill was arrested in Islamabad on Tuesday. An
Islamabad police spokesperson said that Shahbaz Gill has been taken into
custody for inciting the public against the state institutions.
On
Monday, hours after a Pakistani media portal aired a report that the ruling
Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) has reportedly activated its strategic
media cell to malign Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, the
outlet was suspended.
“After
the ban on ARY yesterday, they’ve today arrested @SHABAZGIL. Pakistan is living
under a fascist imported government, who doesn’t care about the human rights of
the people of Pakistan. We strongly demand the immediate release of Dr Gill,”
Imran Khan’s PTI tweeted.
PTI
leader and former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry said that Gill was picked up
from Banigala Chowk by unidentified personnel in cars with missing number
plates.
“Shahbaz
Gil has been abducted from Bani Gala Chowk by people who came in vehicles without
number plates,” Chaudhry tweeted.
The
former prime minister slammed the arrest, asking “can such shameful acts take
place in any democracy?” “This is an abduction not an arrest. Can such shameful
acts take place in any democracy? Political workers treated as enemies. And all
to make us accept a foreign-backed government of crooks,” Imran Khan tweeted.
An
Islamabad police spokesperson said that Shahbaz Gill has been taken into
custody for inciting the public against the state institutions, Geo News reported.
Police
said that Gill was arrested for “making statements against the state
institutions and inciting the people to rebellion.”
The
spokesperson said an FIR has been registered against the PTI leader at the
Banigala Police Station. The Pakistani publication claimed that the PTI leader
had attempted to incite hatred in the Pakistan Army while speaking on ARY News
a day prior, which has been restricted in certain parts of the country.
On
Monday, the transmission of Pakistan’s ARY News was suspended in different
parts of Pakistan. The Human Rights Commission in Pakistan (HRCP) has strongly
opposed the disruptions to ARY News and asked the country’s regulatory
authorities not to take channels off the air arbitrarily.
“HRCP
strongly opposes the disruptions to @ARYNEWSOFFICIAL. PEMRA must refrain from
arbitrarily taking channels off the air and protect all media houses’ right to
freedom of expression, responsibly exercised,” HRCP tweeted.
Pakistan
is one of the world’s deadliest countries for journalists, with three to four
murders each year that are often linked to cases of corruption or illegal
trafficking and which go completely unpunished, according to Reporters Without
Borders (RSF).
Source:
The Print
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
North
Waziristan suicide attack kills four soldiers: ISPR
August
10, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
A suicide bomber attacked a military convoy in a former Tehreek-i-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP) stronghold in the tribal region along the Afghanistan border,
killing four soldiers, the army said on Tuesday.
The
incident took place in Mir Ali town of North Waziristan district, according to
an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement.
Police
and intelligence officials told Reuters the bomber rammed a three-wheeler into
the convoy late on Monday in the remote district, which has seen a rise in
militant violence in recent weeks.
The
region was once a hotbed of local and foreign militants but they have mostly
been driven out by various military operations.
No
one has claimed the responsibility for the bombing, which came a day after a
senior TTP militant with a $3 million bounty on his head, Abdul Wali, also
known as Omar Khalid Khurasani, was killed in an explosion in Afghanistan.
Khurasani’s
Jamat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), designated as a terrorist group by the United States and
the United Nations, had claimed responsibility for multiple attacks against
police, military, minority Shi’ite Muslims and Christians, which killed
hundreds of people in Pakistan.
TTP,
also known as the Pakistani Taliban, an umbrella group of militant groups which
includes the JuA, confirmed Khurasani’s death.
Khurasani
along with three other commanders was killed in an “enemy attack”, the TTP said
in a statement sent to Reuters without giving the mode of the attack or the
place of its happening.
Khurasani’s
death was a heavy blow to the TTP, which is in talks with Islamabad amid an
ongoing cease-fire, announced in May. Isolated militant attacks have continued,
though the TTP has not claimed responsibility for any of them since the truce
first went into effect.
The
talks are being hosted by the Afghan Taliban.
Two
Pakistan intelligence officials told The Associated Press that Monday’s suicide
bombing in the town of Mir Ali also wounded an unspecified number of civilians
and soldiers.
Source:
Pakistan Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
North
America
Afghan
Man Charged in Killings of 2 Muslims in New Mexico
August
09, 2022
A
51-year-old man from Afghanistan was charged Tuesday with killing two Muslim
men in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and authorities said he is suspected in the
slayings of two others whose deaths sparked fear in Muslim communities
nationwide.
Officials
announced the arrest of Muhammad Syed a day after he was taken into custody.
Police
Chief Harold Medina made the announcement on Twitter, saying that authorities
had tracked down a vehicle believed to be involved in one of the slayings in
New Mexico's largest city.
"The
driver was detained, and he is our primary suspect for the murders," the
tweet said.
Investigators
received tips from the city's Muslim community that pointed them toward Syed,
who arrived in the U.S. sometime in the last several years, police said.
He
was pulled over and taken into custody along Interstate 40 in Santa Rosa, about
110 miles east of Albuquerque.
The
slayings drew the attention of President Joe Biden, who said such attacks
"have no place in America." They also sent a shudder through Muslim
communities, where some people questioned their safety and limited their
movements.
When
told about the announcement, Muhammad Imtiaz Hussain, brother of one of the
victims, Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, said he felt relieved but needed to know more
about the suspect and the motive.
"This
gives us hope that we will have (the) truth come out," he said. "We
need to know why."
Naeem
Hussain was killed Friday night, and the three other men died in ambush
shootings.
Hussain,
25, was from Pakistan. His death came just days after those of Muhammad Afzaal
Hussain, 27, and Aftab Hussein, 41, who were also from Pakistan and members of
the same mosque.
The
earliest case involves the November killing of Mohammad Ahmadi, 62, from
Afghanistan.
Authorities
on Monday sought help searching for a vehicle that appeared to be the one
discovered on Tuesday.
The
common elements in the deaths were the victims' race and religion, officials
said, and police were trying to determine if the deaths are linked.
Debbie
Almontaser, a Muslim community leader in New York, said that a female friend
who lives in Michigan and wears the hijab head covering shared with her over
the weekend just how rattled she was. "She's like, 'This is so terrifying.
I'm so scared. I travel alone,'" Almontaser said.
Aneela
Abad, general secretary at the Islamic Center of New Mexico, described a
community reeling from the killings, its grief compounded by confusion and fear
of what may follow.
"We
are just completely shocked and still trying to comprehend and understand what
happened, how and why," she said.
Some
people have avoided going out unless "absolutely necessary," and some
Muslim university students have been wondering whether it is safe for them to
stay in the city, she said. The center has also beefed up its security.
Police
initially said the same vehicle was suspected of being used in all four
homicides — a dark gray or silver four-door Volkswagen that appeared to be a
Jetta or Passat with dark tinted windows. But the police chief's tweet referred
only to the vehicle's connection with one slaying.
Authorities
released photos hoping people could help identify the car and offered a $20,000
reward for information leading to an arrest.
Investigators
did not say where the images were taken or what led them to suspect the car was
involved in the slayings. Police spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said in an email
Monday that the agency has received tips regarding the car but did not
elaborate.
Gallegos
said he could not comment on what kind of gun was used in the shootings, or
whether police know how many suspects were involved.
Few
anti-Muslim hate crimes have been recorded in Albuquerque over the last five
years, according to FBI data cited by Brian Levin, director of the Center for
the Study of Hate and Extremism and a professor of criminal justice at
California State University at San Bernardino.
From
2017 through 2020, there was one anti-Muslim hate crime a year. The highest
recent number was in 2016, when Albuquerque police recorded six out of a total
of 25 hate crimes.
That
largely tracks with national trends, which hit the lowest numbers in a decade
in 2020, only to increase by 45% in 2021 in a dozen cities and states, Levin
said.
Albuquerque
authorities say they cannot determine if the slayings were hate crimes until
they have identified a suspect and a motive.
It
was not clear whether the victims knew their attacker or attackers.
The
most recent victim was found dead after police received a call of a shooting.
Authorities declined to say whether the killing was carried out in a way
similar to the other deaths.
Muhammad
Afzaal Hussain had worked as a field organizer for a local congresswoman's
campaign.
Democratic
Rep. Melanie Stansbury issued a statement praising him as "one of the
kindest and hardest working people" she has ever known. She said the urban
planner was "committed to making our public spaces work for every person
and cleaning up legacy pollution."
Source:
VOA News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.voanews.com/a/afghan-man-charged-in-killings-of-2-muslims-in-new-mexico-/6695032.html
--------
Biden
formalizes US support for Finland, Sweden joining NATO
August
10, 2022
WASHINGTON:
President Joe Biden formally welcomed Finland and Sweden joining the NATO
alliance Tuesday as he signed the instruments of ratification that delivered
the US’s formal backing of the Nordic nations entering the mutual defense pact,
part of a reshaping of the European security posture after Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine.
“In
seeking to join NATO, Finland and Sweden are making a sacred commitment that an
attack against one is an attack against all,” Biden said at the signing as he
called the partnership the “indispensable alliance.”
The
US became the 23rd ally to approve NATO membership for the two countries. Biden
said he spoke with the heads of both nations before signing the ratification
and urged the remaining NATO members to finish their own ratification process
“as quickly as possible.”
The
Senate last week approved the two, once-non-aligned nations joining the
alliance in a rare 95-1 vote that Biden said shows the world that “the United
States of America can still do big things” with a sense of political unity.
The
countries sought out NATO membership earlier this year to guarantee their
security in the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offensive in
Ukraine. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s rules require the consent of
all of its 30 existing members before Finland and Sweden can officially accede
into the alliance, which is expected in the coming months.
The
candidacies of the two prosperous Northern European nations have won
ratification from more than half of the NATO member nations in the roughly
three months since the two applied. It marks one of the speediest expansions of
the pact of mutual defense among the United States and democratic allies in
Europe in its 73-year history.
US
State and Defense officials consider the two countries net “security
providers,” strengthening NATO’s defense posture in the Baltics in particular.
Finland is expected to exceed NATO’s 2 percent gross domestic product defense
spending target in 2022, and Sweden has committed to meet the 2 percent goal.
Sweden
and Finland applied to join NATO in May, setting aside their longstanding
stance of military nonalignment. It was a major shift of security arrangements
for the two countries after neighboring Russia launched its war on Ukraine in
late February. Biden encouraged their joining and welcomed the two countries’
government heads to the White House in May, standing side by side with them in
a display of US backing.
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2139586/world
--------
Turkish
defence delegation to visit US for F-16 jet talks
09 August,
2022
A
Turkish delegation will visit Washington DC next week to follow up on US
President Joe Biden's pledge to deliver F-16 fighter jets for Turkey's ageing
air force, Ankara said Tuesday.
Turkish
Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said the team would arrive in Washington on Monday
on the invitation of unnamed US officials.
But
he stressed that Ankara remained firmly opposed to conditions on the sale
imposed by leading members of Congress who worry about Turkey's tense relations
with Greece.
“We
cannot accept these conditions. Our wish is that the Senate removes them,” Akar
said in televised remarks.
NATO
member Turkey was kicked out of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program over its
acquisition of an advanced Russian missile defense system in 2019.
Biden's
election was followed by a year-long chill in relations between Washington and
Ankara linked to Turkey's human rights record and strident foreign policy.
But
the Biden administration has been more supportive of Turkey since Russia's
invasion of Ukraine in February.
Biden
said he wanted Congress to approve the F-16 sale after meeting Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a June NATO summit in
Madrid.
“Biden's
approach was very positive in Madrid.”
Some
leading US senators have said they will only approve the sale if Turkey ends
its territorial dispute with historic rival Greece.
Turkey
is due to send its newest drilling ship into disputed east Mediterranean waters
in search for natural gas later Tuesday.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Arab
World
Dar
Al-Iftaa of Egypt to Launch Soon 'Fatwa Pro' Application In 12 Languages, Says
Grand Mufti
9
Aug 2022
“It
is taken into consideration in the app that the fatwas change with the change
of time, place, situation, and people. We are preparing this application to
launch as soon as possible and it will be supported by 12 languages so that our
ideas reach the whole world” Allam said.
Dar
Al Iftaa, which is the body responsible for issuing religious edicts, is one of
the first religious institutions in Egypt that was keen on an effective
presence on social media, Sheikh Allam said, according to the state news
agency, MENA.
He
said that Dar Al Iftaa was the first institution to create an account on the
“Tik Tok” application, noting that there are 30 million interactors weekly.
Source:
Ahram
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/472894.aspx
--------
Turkey
drone strike kills four in northeast Syria: Monitor
09
August, 2022
A
Turkish drone strike Tuesday killed at least four people in a northeast Syrian
city held by Kurdish forces, the latest in a flurry of attacks, a war monitor
said.
The
Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack struck near a
hospital in Qamishli, the capital of a Kurdish administration that runs large
parts of the country’s northeast.
The
four victims, all affiliated with the administration, were killed while they
dug trenches near Turkey’s border in anticipation of a new offensive that
Ankara has threatened to launch since May, the monitor said.
Ankara
has launched successive military offensives in Syria. Most have targeted
Kurdish fighters that Ankara links to a group waging a decades-long violence
against it.
Turkey
has stepped up its drone strikes in Kurdish-controlled areas of Syria since a July
19 summit with Iran and Russia failed to greenlight a fresh offensive,
according to Kurdish officials and the Observatory.
A
Turkish drone strike on Qamishli at the weekend killed four people, including
two siblings, said the Observatory.
The
Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have counted at least 13 of their members
killed in several Turkish attacks since July 19.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Shia
Muslims throng Iraqi shrine city to commemorate Ashura
09 August,
2022
Hundreds
of thousands of Shia Muslims on Tuesday marked Ashura in Iraq’s holy city of
Karbala, the burial place of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.
The
emotional event commemorates the 7th century battlefield martyrdom of Hussein
whom Shias view as the rightful successor to the Prophet Mohammed.
To
mourn his death in the year 680, Shia worshipers wearing black cry and beat
their chests in unison and some flagellate themselves with swords and
knife-edged chains.
Shias
represent more than 10 percent of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims, and Ashura
is marked by millions of people from Afghanistan and Pakistan to Iran and
Lebanon.
Hussein
lies entombed in a golden-domed mausoleum in Karbala, where he was killed by
the Sunni troops. His mausoleum is linked to that of his brother Abbas, who
also died in the battle.
This
year’s festivities, which began on Monday evening, come as Iraq’s majority Shia
population is split between rival political camps.
Backers
of influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr were continuing a sit-in outside
parliament in Baghdad for a 10th day on Tuesday.
They
oppose the Coordination Framework, an alliance of pro-Iran Shia factions that
has tried to appoint a prime minister against al-Sadr’s wishes.
“The
Shia house is divided,” said Yussef al-Ardawi, 50, an employee of the Abbas
Mausoleum. “We didn’t expect this from Shia politicians.”
Another
worshiper, 24-year-old medical laboratory worker Hussein from Nasiriyah in the
south, said the tensions come as Iraqis face a litany of problems.
“We
are in 2022 and we don’t even have electricity,” he said about the oil-rich but
corruption-plagued country now enduring blistering summer heat.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Hezbollah
says awaiting Israel’s response on maritime border demarcation
Stephanie
Radi
09.08.2022
BEIRUT,
Lebanon
Lebanese
group Hezbollah said Tuesday it is waiting Israel’s response to Lebanon’s
demands regarding maritime border demarcation.
“Lebanon
and its people will no longer accept the looting of maritime wealth,” Hezbollah
Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech.
“We
are ready to look at any possibility. The hand extended to plunder any of
Lebanon’s natural wealth will be cut off as was the case when our lands were
invaded,” he added.
Nasrallah
warned that any attack against Lebanon “will not pass unpunished or
unanswered.”
Lebanon
and Israel are engaged in a dispute over a maritime area that is 860 square
kilometers (332 square miles), according to maps sent by both counties to the
UN in 2011.
The
area is rich in natural gas and oil. Five sessions of indirect negotiations
were held between Lebanon and Israel under UN sponsorship and US mediation. The
last round of talks was in May 2021 but it was stuck because of major
differences.
Last
week, Lebanese Energy Minister Walid Fayad said that US mediator presented a
new proposal for demarcating maritime border with Israel.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Syrians
in Iraqi camps cannot return to their homes due to PKK terror group
09.08.2022
DUHOK,
Iraq
Hundreds
of thousands of Syrians, who stay in refugee camps in Duhok and Erbil provinces
of Iraq, cannot go back to their homes due to the presence of the YPG/PKK
terrorist organization in Syria.
There
are about 20 refugee camps within the borders of the city of Duhok. Of these,
Syrian refugees remain in the camps of Domiz 1 and 2, Bardarash, Gavilan, and
Acre.
Shivan
Ali, from the Qamishli district of northeastern Syria and living in Duhok's
Domiz camp over the past 11 years, is one of those who cannot return to his
country because of the terror group.
Ali
said they have lost their hopes to see their homes again.
“Life
has become very difficult there, the conditions are very harsh. If there is
public order in Syria and we are convinced that we are safe, we want to
return,” he lamented.
Another
Syrian refugee, Iyad Hasan, noted that they could not return to home due to
lack of stability, terrorist attacks, clashes, and confusion.
"Syrian
refugees in the region are afraid to return because of the PKK as it is
forcibly arming young people in Syria and making them fight.
“That's
why I don't want to go there as long as the facilities are available. I'll
bring my parents here, and they'll live in the camp,” he noted.
Mohammad
Ali, another refugee, stressed that their situation was bad, adding:
"International organizations have cut off aid. They used to bring food
parcels before, now they don't give them either.”
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Nasrallah
speech sparks fears of power vacuum in Lebanon
NAJIA
HOUSSARI
August
09, 2022
BEIRUT:
Doubts were cast over the upcoming presidential election in Lebanon later this
year, after Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah called on Lebanese
officials “to form a government that enjoys its full powers to assume its
responsibilities, whether or not a new president is elected,” on Tuesday.
It
was the first time Nasrallah mentioned publicly the possibility of not holding
the presidential elections, raising fears of a political vacuum in the
crisis-stricken country, similar to that which preceded President Michel Aoun’s
election in 2016, and which lasted over two years.
Prime
Minister Najib Mikati was tasked on June 23 with forming a new Cabinet, which
he presented to Aoun after parliamentary elections last May.
However,
Makati’s lineup did not satisfy Aoun, who said the prime minister’s choices
undermined him. Communication between the two has been fraught since then, and
all attempts to revive forming a government have stalled.
Parliamentary
Speaker Nabih Berri said in a statement he thought a resolution to the impasse
at this stage would require “a miracle.”
As
things stand, on Sept. 1, Parliament will turn into the elective body of the
office of the president, with several rounds of voting set to take place to
appoint a new head of state.
Ali
Darwish, a member of Lebanon’s Parliament, told Arab News: “Each party has the
right to express its opinion on the next political phase the way it deems
convenient. Certainly, a government enjoying its full powers is better than a
caretaker government. It is a sound demand because a government enjoying its
full powers can take decisions.
“We
want these elections to take place, just like other events — electing a new
Parliament, and tasking the prime minister with the formation of a new
government — to be carried out on time. Electing a new president for the
country provides stability.”
On
Monday, a meeting was held between 16 MPs from the Force of Change bloc, along
with a number of other independent and opposition MPs.
The
stated objective of the meeting was to “hold discussions in order to agree on a
legislative agenda and coordinate on future duties, such as approving the general
budget, the financial reform plan and the legislations necessary for the
country.”
However,
political observers believe the meeting was an early move to identify a
candidate to replace Aoun.
If
these MPs were able to attract other moderate colleagues, they could form a
significant force in Parliament opposing Hezbollah and its allies, potentially
preventing a candidate aligned with Hezbollah from being elected president.
Darwish
said: “What happened in Parliament last Monday serves the democratic game and
the country’s interest, and we approve of it. We do not favor confrontational
diversity, as we are in a crucial phase of the economic crisis we are facing
and we need everyone’s solidarity.
“Every
political party in Lebanon has its own agenda. I hope the presidential
elections will be held on time and the democratic game will be fully
reflected.”
He
added: “Complex files are awaiting the next president, such as the negotiations
with the International Monetary Fund, the approval of an economic recovery plan,
the restructuring of the public sector, and the maritime border demarcation,
which requires a complete ruling system.”
Lebanese
Forces MP Fadi Karam told Arab News: “Through his speech, Nasrallah insists on
keeping the state incapacitated and paralyzed, so Hezbollah can impose its
conditions on everyone.”
Karam
said the meeting was “a positive event, and an attempt to unify the opposition
in the face of Hezbollah, so we can have a majority that represents the people
and faces (down) Hezbollah’s plan.”
Hadi
Abou El-Hassan of the Progressive Socialist Party said: “The parliamentary
elections didn’t limit decision-making to one party. This allows settlement and
agreement on broad topics.”
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2139481/middle-east
--------
Russian
envoy: Terrorists to be swiftly wiped out should US pull out troops from Syria
10
August 2022
Russia’s
permanent ambassador to the United Nations has emphasized the need for
eradicating terrorism in Syria, saying the withdrawal of US troops from the
Arab country would facilitate the elimination of the remaining terrorists
there.
"It
is necessary to completely exterminate the remaining nests of international
terrorism in Syria and to do away with the presence of... (Daesh)...and other
groups in Syria," Vassily Nebenzia said during a UN Security Council
meeting on Wednesday.
"The
withdrawal of US occupational forces from the Syrian territory would mean a
swift and inevitable elimination of terrorist presence in this much-suffering
country and of terrorist network in neighboring states," he added.
Nebenzia
said the terrorist groups are sheltered in territories that are not controlled
by the Syrian government.
He
went on to say that during a patrol mission over Syria on August 4, Russia’s
air taskforce eliminated a group of US-backed terrorists in Syria, as they were
hiding in shelters in the country's al-Badia desert.
The
so-called Shuhada’ al-Qaryatayn Brigade was positioned in the strategic al-Tanf
area in southeastern Syria, which is controlled by US troops, he said.
The
terror outfit committed terrorist killings in the Badia region against the
civilians, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
The
US and its allies invaded Syria in 2014 under the pretext of fighting Daesh.
However, numerous reports and regional officials have pointed to the US role in
transferring Daesh elements throughout the region and even airlifting aid to
the terrorist group.
The
Syrian government says the United States, the Israeli regime, and their Western
and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups that are spreading
insecurity in the country.
The
US military has stationed forces and equipment in eastern and northeastern
Syria, with the Pentagon claiming that the deployment is aimed at preventing
the oilfields in the area from falling into the hands of Daesh terrorists.
Damascus,
however, says the unlawful deployment is meant to plunder the country’s oil and
other resources.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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--------
Report:
Saudi Arabia investing aggressively in Israeli cyber espionage companies
10
August 2022
A
report reveals that Saudi Arabian authorities are investing hugely in Israeli
companies that specialize in developing cyber espionage tools, in a move that
could help Riyadh hunt down on dissidents and opponents of Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman (MbS).
The
opposition Saudi Leaks website, citing informed sources who asked not to be
named, reported that Saudi officials have signed contracts with the Israeli
firms, which include spending millions of dollars annually in order to acquire
the most sophisticated cyber espionage and surveillance technologies.
The
sources said the growing clandestine relations between Saudis and Israeli cyber
espionage companies are meant to prepare the way for the implementation of the
so-called CyberIC plan, which is claimed to be aimed at protecting the
kingdom's cybersecurity sector.
The
launch of the plan was announced by Saudi Arabia’s National Cybersecurity
Authority (NCA) earlier this week.
The
security entity, which is directly linked to the king's office, said in a
statement that the program aims to develop and build national capabilities in
the field of cybersecurity, localize cybersecurity technology and training
content and stimulate the wider domestic cybersecurity sector.
Last
month, Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz reported that an Israeli company had
sold cyber-espionage tech to Saudi Arabia, enabling the kingdom to track down
political dissidents and pro-democracy campaigners and tap their
communications.
The Israeli newspaper, citing sources and
documents, reported on June 8 that Quadream, led by a former Israeli military
intelligence official, had been selling its services to Saudi Arabia for years.
The
report said the company uses a front in Cyprus to sell its Reign spyware, which
apparently extracts data from iPhones, remotely controls the camera, eavesdrops
and tracks locations of the device users without their knowledge.
Such
sensitive technology, it said, can be exported under the supervision of Israeli
military experts.
The
newspaper, citing a source, said the buyers include countries that are
considered oppressive by the international community, including Saudi Arabia.
Quadream has been working with Riyadh since 2019.
Back
in early December 2018, the Washington Post newspaper reported that Tel Aviv
was directly involved in the sale of sophisticated spyware to Saudi Arabia to
help the kingdom purge and assassinate dissidents.
The
Post said Israel’s ministry of military affairs had authorized the NSO Group to
sell Pegasus, a patch of highly complicated software used for hacking and
espionage, to the Saudi kingdom.
The
report said the sale was carried out through a subsidiary of the NSO in
Luxembourg. The firm, officially known as Q Cyber Technologies, enabled Riyadh
to target individuals and entities in six Middle Eastern countries.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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--------
Europe
Daesh
Threat Grows Despite Territorial Defeats and Leadership Losses, UN Warns
August
10, 2022
NEW
YORK: Despite territorial defeats and leadership losses, the threat posed by
Daesh has been rising since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to
persist, underlining the importance of implementing non-military measures to
counter terrorism, the UN said on Tuesday.
Daesh
affiliates continue to exploit conflicts and social inequalities to incite
unrest and plan terrorist attacks, the organization added. Pandemic-related
restrictions and the shift to the digital space have provided the group with
opportunities to intensify its recruitment efforts and attract more funding,
and for the past year it has increasingly been using drones in attacks, as seen
in northern Iraq.
Vladimir
Voronkov, the under-secretary-general for counter-terrorism and head of the UN
Office of Counter-Terrorism, told the Security Council that Daesh’s upward
trend has been possible in part as a result of the group’s adoption of a
decentralized internal structure based around a “general directorate of
provinces” and associated “offices.” These are designed to manage and finance
terrorist operations around the globe, from central, southern and western
Africa to Europe and Afghanistan, and make it clear that the terror group has
long-term goals and aspirations, he added.
“Better
understanding and continued monitoring of this structure are indispensable for
countering and preventing the threat posed by Daesh,” Voronkov said.
He
was speaking during a meeting of the Security Council to discuss the UN
secretary-general’s 15th report on the threat posed by Daesh to international
peace and security. It states that this threat remains particularly high in
conflict zones. However it warns that it might soon spread to more stable areas
where the extremist group and its affiliates are trying to “incite fear and
project strength” as they constantly work to exploit “security gaps and
conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism to recruit and to organize and
execute complex attacks.”
The
situation, the report adds, is further exacerbated by the downturn in the
global economy and rising inflation, together with the measures adopted by
governments to address them.
“Resolving
the conflicts in which Daesh and its Al-Qaeda forebear thrive is necessary for
creating the conditions to bring about their defeat,” said Voronkov.
“But
if we are to rid ourselves of this scourge, we must also address the
vulnerabilities, social grievances and inequality exploited by the group in the
first place, as well as promoting and protecting human rights and the rule of
law.”
In
Iraq and Syria, Daesh retains its ability to organize complex operations, such
as the Jan. 20 attack on Ghwaryan prison in Al-Hasakah, Syria. Voronkov said
that up to 10,000 fighters are operating in the area along the border between
the two countries, from which the group in April launched a global campaign to
avenge senior leaders killed during counterterrorism operations.
Daesh
has suffered significant losses among its leadership in both countries, including
the death of Maher Al-Agal, the group’s leader in Syria, who was killed by the
US military.
Despite
these losses, however, the UN report notes that there has been “no significant
change of direction for the group or its operations” in Iraq and Syria.
Voronkov
also once again highlighted the issue of suspected Daesh fighters from other
countries who are being held in detention in northeastern Syria, as well as
women and children associated with them, whose circumstances have “further
deteriorated.” Dozens of assassinations have been carried out in camps and
prisons, he said, and there have been reports of increased violence and
killings in Al-Hawl camp.
About
30,000 children being held in northeastern Syria are under the age of 12 and at
risk of indoctrination by Daesh, including its “Cubs of the Caliphate” program,
according to the UN.
Voronkov
emphasized the importance of the voluntary repatriation, prosecution,
rehabilitation and reintegration of these fighters, and the women and children
associated with them, by the authorities in their home countries. He expressed
deep concern about the “limited progress” that has been achieved on this front.
“Tens
of thousands of individuals, including more than 27,000 children from Iraq and
some 60 other countries (who) did not choose to be there (remain) deprived of
basic rights and are at a very real risk of radicalization and recruitment,”
Voronkov told council members.
“It
is imperative that member states urgently consider the long-lasting
implications of not taking prompt action to address this dangerous situation.”
The
secretary-general’s report also estimated that Daesh controls $25 million in
funds and has the ability to funnel money to its affiliates worldwide.
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2139566/world
--------
France
says no lasting peace in Gaza possible without lifting of blockade
Seda
Sevencan
09.08.2022
ISTANBUL
France
has said there can be no lasting peace in Gaza without the lifting of the
blockade.
In
a statement on Monday, the French Foreign Ministry welcomed the cease-fire that
came into force on Sunday thanks to Egypt's mediation efforts with support of
the UN and Qatar.
“There
will be no lasting stability in Gaza without the lifting of the blockade,
together with credible security guarantees for Israel. France is continuing its
efforts, along with its European and regional partners, to restore political
prospects with a view to a fair and lasting peace,” the statement said.
France
called on all the parties to respect its full application in order to prevent
another escalation and more civilian victims.
Expressing
condolences to the families of the victims, it called "for access routes
to Gaza to be kept open in the long term, in particular for humanitarian aid
and fuel to be allowed to enter, and for the swift transfer of injured and sick
people needing treatment."
Israeli
warplanes launched airstrikes last week, citing an “imminent threat of attack”
by the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad following rising tensions across the
Palestinian territories.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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--------
Low
employment rate of UK Muslims due to ‘Muslim penalty’: Study
AUG
08, 2022
Astudy
in the United Kingdom found that despite being highly qualified, high
unemployment rates of Muslims in Britain are “not due to cultural and religious
practices” – that is, the victim is not to blame.
The
study was published in the peer-reviewed Ethnic and Racial Studies journal,
confirming previous findings of a “Muslim penalty” in the British labor market.
It also showed that being white is “not a protection from the Muslim penalty”
and that non-Muslims perceived to be Muslim also suffered from the
discrimination.
Importantly,
the study found that Muslims continue to be penalized considerably even after
adjusting for the so-called “sociocultural attitudes” – rejecting the
widespread assumption that Muslims are to blame for being discriminated against
in the job market due to their cultural and religious practices.
The
study found that both Muslim women and men had a significantly high probability
of unemployment compared to their white Christian counterparts.
Samir
Sweida-Metwally, a doctoral researcher at the University of Bristol who carried
out the research supported by the Economic and Social Research Council, told
the Guardian: “The findings offer evidence against the view that Muslims’ poor
employment outcomes in Britain are due to their so-called 'sociocultural
attitudes.'"
“In
challenging this narrative, which problematizes Muslims and their faith, the
study lends support to the overwhelming evidence from field experiments that
shows anti-Muslim discrimination toward Muslims and those perceived to be
Muslim to be a significant barrier to them accessing work.”
The
research used 10 years of data from 100,000 participants from the annual U.K.
Household Longitudinal survey, which gathers information on people’s
socio-economic situation.
Sweida-Metwally
found that, “‘Sociocultural variables’ such as gender attitudes, language
proficiency and the extent of inter- and intra-ethnic social ties are not a
convincing source of the unexplained ethno-religious differences in labor
market participation and unemployment among Muslim men and women.”
The
study also found that “perceived Muslimness” – people perceived to be Muslim
even though they are not – was found to have one of the highest chances of
unemployment, where Arab men of no religion were among those with the highest
likelihood of unemployment/inactivity.
Sweida-Metwally
concluded that Islamophobia is multidimensional and relates to color, religion,
culture and country of origin, where discrimination can occur against any of
these dimensions. He concluded that there is both a “Muslim” and “black
penalty” at play in the British job market and that this study confirms
previous studies.
No
change from five years ago
The
findings in Sweida-Metwally’s study are in accordance with what the
government’s Social Mobility Commission found in 2017 that “Muslims are being
excluded, discriminated against or failed at all stages of their transition
from education to employment. Taken together, these contributory factors have
profound implications for social mobility,” said professor Jacqueline Stevenson
of Sheffield Hallam University, which lead the study.
At
the time, Stevenson had told the Guardian that the research highlighted routine
examples of Muslim men and women failing to secure jobs that were commensurate
with their skills and qualifications.
The
research involved a series of in-depth focus groups across the country through
which young Muslims shared their experiences. One woman in Liverpool said her
father had suggested “changing her name to help get a job."
A
female respondent in High Wycombe referred to hearing comments such as “he
looked very Muslim” or “look at her, she’s got a scarf on.” Another said they
felt that when white children went to school they might fear getting bullied
but the thought would definitely occur to all ethnic-minority children.
At
the time, Alan Milburn, the former Cabinet minister who headed the
government-sponsored Social Mobility Commission, said the research painted a
disturbing picture.
Source:
Daily Sabah
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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--------
French
government moots law change to expel imam
August
09, 2022
LONDON:
The French government has confirmed its determination to combat radical
Islamism, with a senior minister saying he is prepared to change the law to
remove an imam who has been accused of extremism, The Times reported.
Interior
Minister Gerald Darmanin said preacher Hassan Iquioussen is an enemy of the
country and had “no place” in France.
Iquioussen,
58, has come under fire from the French political establishment and the
government for his preaching, with his sermons on YouTube attracting tens of
millions of views.
Darmanin
said he will not allow the law to prevent him from deporting Iquioussen, who is
Moroccan but has lived all his life in France. The imam has five children in
the country and 15 grandchildren.
The
war of words between Iquioussen and the government has been central to
President Emmanuel Macron’s campaign to tackle radical Islamism. Macron has
repeatedly said preachers such as Iquioussen reject French laws and values.
Darmanin
announced the intended expulsion of Iquiossen “by force” last week after
Morocco confirmed it had authorized his travel to the North African nation, but
the plans were stopped when Iquioussen secured a legal block on his removal.
An
administrative court in Paris ruled that the expulsion was a “disproportionate
infringement … of (Iquioussen’s) right to a private and family life.”
Macron’s
government has accused the French left of using human rights law to defend
Islamists such as Iquiossen.
Darmanin
has relaunched the government’s legal efforts to deport the preacher, appealing
against the injunction at the State Council, France’s highest administrative
court.
He
told the French press that if the deportation is approved, “all French people”
will support it. He added that he will change the law to remove Iquioussen if
the courts block the appeal.
Darmanin
also confirmed media reports that French security and intelligence agencies had
lodged Iquioussen as an allegedly dangerous radical 18 months ago.
“This
imam … uses antisemitic language. He denies equality between men and women. He
denies genocides. He calls for terrorist attacks in France to be considered as
conspiracies,” Darmanin said. “The enemies of the Republic have no place in the
republic.”
Iquioussen
has posted on Facebook that he “strongly contested” the allegations that he has
used “discriminatory or violent language.”
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2139131/world
--------
South
Asia
Amnesty
International Calls on Taliban to Protect Shia Community after Deadly
Explosions
By
Saqalain Eqbal
09
Aug 2022
Following
a string of attacks over the past several days that left almost 120 people dead
and injured in the Afghan capital, Kabul, Amnesty International has urged the
Taliban to step up measures to protect members of the Hazara Shia minority in
Afghanistan.
Amnesty
International’s South Asia regional researcher Zaman Sultani reacted to the
series of explosions that resulted in over 120 deaths and injuries in the
regions primarily inhabited by Hazara Shiite populations in west Kabul, calling
on the Taliban to protect the Hazara Shiite community.
“The
systematic attacks on the minority Hazara Shiite community in Afghanistan may
amount to crimes against humanity and should be unequivocally condemned,”
Sultani said.
He
urged the Taliban to conduct a “thorough” probe into the explosion attacks that
are by international standards and law.
“The
Taliban are responsible to take all necessary measures for the protection of
civilians in Afghanistan and they must immediately step-up measures to ensure
protection to all civilians in the country”, Sultani stated in an Amnesty International
press release on Monday.
The
Islamic State group claimed responsibility for recent explosives and attacks
that killed at least 120 people and targeted the Hazara minority, according to
the United Nations on Sunday.
The
attacks on the community took place in the month of Muharram, which is observed
by Shia Muslims to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the Prophet
Muhammad’s grandson.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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--------
A
Year Into Taliban Rule, Misery And Disease Conquer Afghanistan: Report
August
10, 2022
Musa
Qala, Afghanistan: The heaving wards of a ramshackle clinic in southern
Afghanistan are just one sign of the catastrophic humanitarian crisis that has
gripped the war-ravaged country since the Taliban returned to power a year ago.
Last
month, the Musa Qala District Hospital in Helmand province was forced to shut
its doors to all except those suffering from suspected cholera.
The
infirmary was soon jammed with listless patients, intravenous drips needled
into their wrists as they recuperated on rusting gurneys.
Though
the clinic lacks facilities to test for cholera, about 550 patients presented
themselves within days, showing symptoms of a disease caused by a lack of basic
sanitation needs: clean drinking water and an adequate sewerage system.
"It's
very difficult," hospital chief Ehsanullah Rodi, run ragged on just five
hours of sleep a night since the influx began, told AFP.
"We
didn't see this from last year, or another year."
The
United Nations says Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis is the world's worst.
Hungry
children
Poverty
in the country -- felt most keenly in Afghanistan's south -- has been driven to
desperate new levels, exacerbated by drought and inflation since Russia's
invasion of Ukraine.
"Since
the Emirate (Taliban) came into power, we can't even find cooking oil,"
said one woman, perched on a hospital cot next to her malnourished
six-month-old grandson in Lashkar Gah, Helmand's provincial capital.
"Poor
people are squashed under their feet," the 35-year-old said.
Her
grandchild is being treated for the fifth time at Boost Hospital, a sun-baked
maze of paint-peeled buildings run jointly by the health ministry and Doctors
Without Borders (MSF).
Many
of the beds on the malnutrition ward host two tiny, frail patients -- some
suckling gamely on syringes of milk, while others heave onerous breaths as they
fight to regain their strength.
"We
can't even find dry bread," said Breshna, the mother of another patient,
who guesses her age at between 15 and 20.
"We
haven't had anything to eat in three or four days."
Assistant
nursing supervisor Homeira Nowrozi, fighting to be heard above wailing infants,
said staff "have not any rest".
"We
have a lot of patients that come in critical," she said, because parents
could not afford to travel sooner.
"We
don't know how many mortalities ... we have in the districts, because they
didn't come to hospital."
A
moral tangle
Afghanistan's
plight began well before August 15, 2021 when the Taliban captured Kabul on the
heels of a hasty withdrawal of US-led troops and the collapse of the government
they propped up.
But
the Taliban's takeover pushed the country -- home to 38 million people -- over
the precipice.
The
United States froze $7 billion in central bank assets, the formal banking
sector collapsed, and foreign aid representing 45 percent of GDP stopped
overnight.
Over
the past year, would-be donors have grappled with the conundrum of funnelling
fresh funding to the ailing nation, which the Taliban rebranded the
"Islamic Emirate" in line with their austere theocratic beliefs.
"How
do you provide assistance in a country where you don't recognise the
government?" asked Roxanna Shapour of the Afghanistan Analysts Network.
Importing
humanitarian aid to address crises such as the June earthquake -- which killed
more than 1,000 people and left tens of thousands more homeless -- is
relatively simple, she said, as it is "non-political, it's life-saving
assistance".
Cash
is also airlifted to fund food aid and healthcare, but development aid for
long-term projects that could transform the economy is more complex.
"If
you go in and say, 'I'm going to pay all teacher salaries', that's great. But
then what will the Taliban do with the money they save from not having to pay
teacher salaries?" asked Shapour.
A
souring mood
In
Musa Qala -- a dusty farming outpost with a shipping container bazaar staffed
by child shopkeepers -- the deprivation is visible.
The
local economy seems to barely subsist on motorcycle repairs, the sale of pallid
poultry carcasses, and canisters of energy drinks kept tepid in grimy chest
freezers.
The
town witnessed some of the bloodiest chapters of the 2001-2021 war, and is
connected to Lashkar Gah by a makeshift track up a desiccated riverbed lined
with jagged rocks.
The
road begins again further south at Sangin, a place where mud-walled compounds
have been so badly ravaged by gunfire and artillery that they are crumbling
back into the earth.
In
a cruel irony, desperation and the demand for humanitarian services have only
deepened with the arrival of peace.
"Now
we can visit the hospital whether it's night or day," said Maimana, whose
eight-year-old daughter Asia was being treated at Musa Qala.
"Before,
there used to be fighting and mines -- the roads were blocked."
Helmand
public health director Sayed Ahmad told AFP that the flood of new patients
means there is "less space" and that "there are fewer staff, so
there are difficulties".
Nevertheless,
Ahmad -- a soft-spoken doctor whose office is lined with medical tomes --
insists "the overall situation is better" than under the previous
government, when corruption was rife.
He
blames economic sanctions against the Taliban for some of their problems,
saying "the needs and demands of people have increased".
But
analysts say the Islamists are far from blameless.
"The
Taliban's repressive social policies have made it more difficult to reach a
deal on getting those frozen assets unlocked," said International Crisis
Group's Graeme Smith.
"This
is really just about the emotions of policymakers -- and shutting millions of
girls out of secondary schools really soured the mood."
Unable
to rule
The
Taliban flag now flies openly across Helmand province, staked on bullet-ridden
buildings.
But
after coveting control for two decades, they are ruling the nation at its most
ruined.
Source:
ND TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Taliban
torn over reforms one year after seizing power
Aug
10, 2022
KANDAHAR,
AFGHANISTAN: One year on from the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan,
some cracks are opening within their ranks over the crucial question of just
how much reform their leaders can tolerate.
Infamous
during their first reign for their brutal crackdowns on rights and freedoms,
the Islamists vowed to rule differently this time.
On
a superficial level at least, they appear to have changed in some respects.
Officials
in Kabul have embraced technology, while cricket matches are cheered in full
stadiums.
Televisions
were banned under the Taliban government's first incarnation, while Afghans now
have access to the internet and social media.
Girls
are allowed to attend primary school and women journalists are interviewing
government officials -- unthinkable during the Taliban's first stint in power
in the 1990s.
The
group's hardline core, composed of battle-hardened veteran fighters, is against
any significant ideological change that could be viewed as a sign of
capitulation to their enemies in the West.
"You
have one (Taliban) camp, which is pushing ahead with what they're seeing as
reforms, and another camp that seems to think even these meagre reforms are too
much," said Ibraheem Bahiss, an Afghanistan analyst with International
Crisis Group.
The
United States and its allies -- which had bankrolled Afghanistan for 20 years
-- have locked the country out of the global banking system and billions in
frozen assets abroad, as they hold out for reforms from the Taliban.
Without
significant progress, it is the Afghan people who suffer as the country reels
under a massive economic crisis that has seen some families choose between
selling their organs or their infant daughters.
On
whether the Taliban are even capable of reform, analysts are wary that recent
policy changes amount to little more than "tokenism".
"There
are some cases where we could point to an evolution in policy, but let's be
very clear... We're still looking at an organisation that has refused to move
beyond very retrograde, dogmatic views," said Michael Kugelman, an
Afghanistan specialist with the Washington-based Wilson Center think tank.
Most
secondary schools for girls remain closed. Many women have been forced out of
government work, while many fear venturing out and being chastised by the
Taliban.
Simple
joys such as music, shisha and card games are strictly controlled in the most
conservative areas, while protests have been crushed and journalists regularly
threatened or detained.
Demands
from the West for an inclusive government were ignored, and the assassination
of al-Qaida's leader in Kabul last week underlined the Taliban's ongoing ties
with jihadist groups.
It
is from the Taliban's power base of southern Kandahar that the secretive
supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada gathers his powerful inner circle of
veteran fighters and religious clerics to impose a harsh interpretation of
sharia.
And
for them, ideological concerns outweigh any political or economic drivers to
effect change.
"The
needs of the Afghans remain the same as 20 years ago," Mohammad Omar
Khitabi, a member of a council of clerics who advise Akhundzada in Kandahar,
told AFP.
His
thoughts are echoed by Kandahar's Vice and Virtue Director Abdul Rahman Tayabi,
another close aide of the supreme leader.
"Our
people do not have too many demands, like people in other countries might
have," he told AFP.
Afghan
families were left stunned in March when Akhundzada overturned the education
ministry's decision to reopen secondary schools for girls.
Some
analysts believe he felt uneasy over what could be seen by hardliners as an act
of surrender to the West on girls' rights.
Hopes
of restoring international money flows were shattered -- to the dismay of many
Taliban officials in Kabul, some of whom spoke out against the decision.
Relations
with Western diplomats -- who meet regularly with Taliban ministers but have no
access to Akhundzada -- suffered a major setback.
A
slew of directives that harked back to the first reign of the Taliban quickly
followed.
"The
decisions that (Akhundzada) has made so far are all based on the opinions of
religious scholars," said Abdul Hadi Hammad, the head of a madrassa and
member of the supreme leader's advisory council.
Akhundzada
has stressed the need for unity in the movement as he carefully seeks to
balance several factions -- including competing groups that claim the credit
for the 2021 victory over US-led forces.
While
advisers to Akhundzada claim the Taliban can survive without foreign income,
unlocking billions of dollars in frozen assets abroad would be a crucial lifeline.
"We
know the Taliban can be transactional, but they cannot appear to be
transactional," a Western diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Within
the movement, no one dares openly challenge Akhundzada's power, but discontent
is quietly growing among the lower ranks.
"Taliban
guards are getting their salaries late, and their salaries are low too. They
are unhappy," said one mid-level Taliban official based in northwestern
Pakistan, who asked not to be named.
Many
have returned to their villages or travelled to Pakistan to take up different
work, another Taliban member added.
Attempts
by the movement to shore up revenue through lucrative coal mining have sparked
infighting in the north, exacerbated by ethnic divisions and religious
sectarianism.
With
winter only a few months away, food security and freezing temperatures will put
even more pressure on the leaders of one of the world's poorest countries.
These
mounting stresses have the potential to worsen divisions, Kugelman said, though
likely not enough to force any dramatic shift in policy.
Source:
Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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Shia
Muslims in Bangladesh mark Ashura with traditional procession
August
09, 2022
The
Shia Muslim community in Bangladesh is observing Ashura, commemorating the 7th
century martyrdom of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Imam Hussein with customary
fervour and reverence.
Devotees
marked the occasion by participating in a procession known as Tazia, or a
replica of the mausoleum of Hussein, on Tuesday, reports bdnews24.com.
Clad
in black clothes, they walked barefoot from Old Dhaka's Hussaini Dalan Imambara
to Dhanmondi's Jhigatola to the tune of beating drums and traditional Ashura
chants.
Every
year, mourners lead the procession out of the Imambara and march along
different streets of Dhaka before stopping at a symbolic Karbala ground in
Dhanmondi. But the procession was scaled back during the last two years due to
the coronavirus pandemic.
Ashura
is observed on the 10th day of the lunar month Muharram in the Islamic
calendar. It marks the climax of the Battle of Karbala in modern-day Iraq when
Imam Hussein ibn Ali was slain in 680 AD.
Source:
The Financial Express
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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--------
Southeast
Asia
Zahid
didn’t ask for any ‘sensitive’ info to be omitted, says PAC chief
August
9, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has rubbished former defence minister
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s insinuation that it had been insensitive in its probe on
the littoral combat ship (LCS) project.
PAC
chairman Wong Kah Woh said he was not sure what Zahid found wrong with the
committee’s conduct, after the Umno president said the committee needed to be
more sensitive in its probe as the project involved national security and was
still being investigated.
Zahid
had also expressed concern that any “exposure” of documents related to the
controversial project might affect state secrets.
In
a statement today, Wong explained that accounts by witnesses called in by PAC
were typically recorded in the form of written transcripts known as the
“Hansard”.
He
pointed out that Zahid, who was summoned by PAC, had never made an application
for any of his statements to be amended or omitted due to concerns of its
“sensitivity”.
He
said if the Hansard contained information of a sensitive nature, PAC would
consult the Attorney-General’s Chambers if there was an application by a
witness.
According
to Wong, none of the witnesses had made such an application, and PAC had
presented its findings based on facts, documents and statements obtained.
“As
the PAC chairman, I will not allow the reason of national security to be used
arbitrarily and merely to prevent the people from accessing real information
about how the government spends taxpayers’ money,” he said.
Former
defence minister Mohamad Sabu and his former deputy, Liew Chin Tong, had called
for several documents on the LCS project to be declassified.
They
agreed with PAC’s call for the governance, procurement and finance
investigation committee’s report on the project to be fully declassified, and also
wanted Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd’s (BNS) project forensic audit report
and a former navy commander’s letter to be declassified.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Man
finds out he’s ‘dead’ while lodging police report
August
9, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: A 71-year-old man in Skudai, Johor, found out that he had been listed as
a “dead” man after attempting to lodge a police report.
According
to China Press, Low Choo Choon, a hearse driver, was trying to lodge a report
after losing a deed to a gravesite that was under his name when policemen
informed him of his “death”.
Low
said he and his wife had purchased a two-person gravesite about two decades ago.
He then wanted to transfer the deed to a relative, with financial
considerations prompting him to opt for a cremation package instead.
In
January, he realised that he had lost the deed, which forced him to lodge a
police report. However, he failed to file the report since he was deemed
“dead.”
While
he had lodged a complaint with the national registration department (JPN)
following advice from police, Low said he had yet to get an update from JPN
though the department said it would process the change in his status within two
weeks.
He
added that his son-in-law had contacted JPN multiple times over the issue, but
failed to get answers.
Low
said he also could not get his road tax renewed when he went to the road
transport department twice, though he managed to renew it for half a year after
making multiple requests.
“I
have been working at a funeral home for so many years but I never thought that
I would be listed as ‘dead’.
“If
my (status) does not get updated, I worry that my bank account and assets will get
frozen,” he said at a press conference with Senai assemblyman Wong Bor Yang.
Low
had sought Wong’s help over the matter late last month.
Both
of them had been scheduled to meet the Johor national registration department’s
investigation team today but it was postponed after its director was placed
under quarantine.
However,
with Wong’s help, the investigation team’s director handed over Low’s
application documents to the department to speed up the process.
Since
Low has been classified as “dead”, he was also unable to cast his ballot at the
Johor state elections in March, leaving him ruing his failure to fulfil his
responsibility as a Malaysian.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Nonsensical
for DAP to make way for PSB newcomer, says Chong
August
9, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: Sarawak DAP says it is nonsensical for Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) to
demand the party give up its Sibu parliamentary seat, saying that an incumbent
has a better chance of winning compared to a newcomer.
Its
chairman Chong Chieng Jen said with the 15th general election expected to be
held in a few months time, it would not make sense to have a newcomer facing
off against the “might of the Gabungan Parti Sarawak’s (GPS) machinery”.
Furthermore,
PSB had not disclosed the newcomer, Chong said.
Therefore,
he said, PSB president Wong Soon Koh’s proposal “did not make good political
sense”.
“It
will only give GPS an upper hand and increase its chance of winning,” he said
in a statement, referring to the ruling coalition.
“That
should not be the aim of cooperation among the opposition parties, unless Wong
has another agenda up his sleeve.”
On
Sunday, Chong said that seat negotiations with PSB had reached a dead end after
Wong said Sarawak DAP must “sacrifice” one parliamentary seat, a request which
the former deemed unreasonable.
This
led to Wong accusing Sarawak DAP of being unwilling to give up a seat.
Chong,
however, said today such an accusation was misleading.
He
said that the party was willing to give up some of the seats it contested in
the last nationwide polls to other opposition parties, including PSB, if it
meant increasing the opposition’s chance of winning.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Can
voters trust a Zahid-led BN after LCS scandal, asks Muhyiddin
August
9, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Muhyiddin Yassin questioned if voters
would trust a Ahmad Zahid Hamidi-led Barisan Nasional (BN) in the next general
election (GE15) following the scandal surrounding the purchase of six littoral
combat ships.
This
is especially so after the Umno president allegedly ignored issues raised by
former navy chief Abdul Aziz Jaafar, Muhyiddin said.
Aziz,
the former prime minister said, had written five letters detailing his concerns
to Zahid who was the then defence minister.
“Is
this the leader who will lead BN in GE15 and can the public trust the
coalition?” he asked in a Facebook post this evening.
Zahid
recently denied any involvement in the scandal, saying the contract for the
purchase of the LCS was only awarded after his tenure as defence minister.
Last
week, Public Accounts Committee chairman Wong Kah Woh said the defence ministry
and Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS) had ignored the navy’s views on the
design of the ships.
He
also said not a single ship had been completed although Putrajaya had spent RM6
billion on the project, which was given to BNS via direct negotiations.
He
added that the navy should have received five of the ships by August this year.
Muhyiddin
urged the government to set up a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to
investigate the matter.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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--------
Mideast
Hezbollah
chief warns Israel against targeting Palestinian militants in Lebanon
09 August,
2022
Lebanon’s
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned on Tuesday against any Israeli
attempts to expand their targeting of Palestinian militants to Lebanon.
“Any
attack on any human being will not go unpunished or unanswered,” Nasrallah said
in a televised address marking Ashura, a melancholic commemoration for Shia
Muslims of the killing the Prophet Mohammad’s grandson Hussein.
The
comments came after a flare-up in violence between Israel and the Islamic Jihad
movement in the Gaza Strip, prompted by Israel’s arrest of a senior Islamic
Jihad leader earlier this month.
On
Saturday, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz hinted at the possible targeting
of Islamic Jihad officials abroad, who he said could be seen in “restaurants
and hotels in Tehran, Syria and Lebanon.”
“They
too will have to pay the price,” Gantz said.
On
Monday, a day after a truce brokered by Egypt ended the Gaza violence, he said
Israel could carry out “pre-emptive strikes” abroad.
“In
the future too, if necessary, we will deliver a pre-emptive strike in order to
defend Israel’s citizens, sovereignty and infrastructure, and this is true for
all fronts, from Teheran to Khan Younis,” he said.
The
Hezbollah chief also warned Israel against reaching for offshore gas reserves
at a time US-mediated talks are aiming to settle a maritime border dispute.
“The
hand that reaches for any of this wealth will be severed,” Nasrallah said.
“Lebanon’s
oil, gas and water resources must remain under its control and no one should be
allowed to rob the country,” he said in his televised speech.
The
dispute escalated in early June after Israel moved a production vessel near the
Karish offshore field, which is partly claimed by Lebanon.
This
prompted Beirut to call for the resumption of US-mediated negotiations, while
Nasrallah has responded by repeatedly launching threats.
On
July 2, Israel said it had downed three drones launched by Hezbollah that were
headed toward Karish.
That
same month, the movement released a video it said showed surveillance of
several Israeli-chartered ships, including the production vessel sent to
Karish.
Nasrallah’s
comments on Tuesday came as Lebanon awaits a response from Israel to an offer
on the border dispute it submitted to US mediator Amos Hochstein last month.
Nasrallah
said that “we are waiting for a response to the demands of the Lebanese state,
and we will respond accordingly, but I tell you... we must be ready and
prepared for all possibilities.”
“We
will go all the way, so no one should try us.”
Lebanon
and Israel, which fought their last war in 2006, had resumed maritime border
negotiations in 2020 but the process had been stalled until the latest
developments revived negotiations in June.
Hochstein
told a Lebanon broadcaster this month that he is working toward a solution that
would allow Israel to continue operations in Karish while also allowing Lebanon
to enter the energy market.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
'Child-Killing'
Israeli Regime Can’t Escape Inevitable Fate; "15 Palestinian Children
Martyred In the Recent Israeli Attacks on the Gaza Strip"
2022-August-9
"15
Palestinian children were martyred in the recent Israeli attacks on the Gaza
Strip," Kana'ani wrote on Twitter on Monday, attaching to his tweet
several images of the victims of the Israeli brutal raids.
"The
child-killing Israeli regime cannot escape its inevitable fate of failure and
decline by killing innocent children," he added.
"Undoubtedly,
the brothers and sisters of these children will see the freedom of their
homeland from the cruel invaders in the near future. Is the morning not near?”
he continued.
Speaking
on the side-lines of the Ashura day mourning ceremony, first Vice-President of
Iran Mohammad Mokhber also underscored that the new attacks by the Israeli
regime on the Gaza Strip is a result of a recent trip by US President Joe Biden
to the West Asia region.
Mokhber
said on Monday that the recent regional tour by the US president to the region
has emboldened the Zionist regime to resume brutal attacks on the Gaza Strip.
The
new round of pounding Gaza is also indicating that Israel is facing internal
challenges and crises, but such attacks will end up in consolidating unity
among Muslims and resistance movement groups, the Iranian official argued.
Describing
Iran as the steadfast supporter of oppressed Palestinian people and resistance
movements, he emphasized that efforts made by the Zionist regime and its
regional and international allies show that how much the resistance movement’s
might has improved.
The
first vice president also stressed that resistance is the only way to conquer
the occupiers, expressing hope that the holy Quds region can be liberated soon
with the God’s help and as a result of resistance by Palestinian youths and
Muslims.
Israel
and the Palestinian resistance movement Islamic Jihad declared a truce late
Sunday after three days of heavy Israeli bombardment on the besieged Gaza
Strip.
The
Palestinian Health Ministry has confirmed that the Israeli regime’s attacks had
since Friday left at least 44 people, including women, children and two senior
commander, dead and 350 wounded.
In
response to the Israeli strikes, Palestinian resistance forces fired almost
1,000 rockets at the occupied territories, setting off air raid sirens and
sending settlers running to bomb shelters.
The
international community has strongly condemned the latest Israeli air raids in
the Gaza Strip, voicing its deep concern over the latest rounds of violence by
the Tel Aviv regime against Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclave.
Iran
describes Israel as the root cause of instability in the region, but says the
regime's US-supported barbarity will not change the inevitable fate of the Tel
Aviv regime.
Iranian
President Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi strongly condemned the new crime committed by
Tel Aviv in the Gaza Strip, and said the Israeli regime is on a fast-track
towards decline because of the resistance of the Palestinian people in the
besieged enclave.
"Through
its crime last night, the Zionist regime once more showed its occupationist and
aggressive nature to the world," President Rayeesi stated on Saturday.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Israeli
forces kill two armed Palestinians in West Bank; teen killed in clashes
August
9, 2022
Israeli
security forces killed a Palestinian freedom fighter and another fighter in a
gunbattle in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the military said, triggering
further attacks in which Palestinians said a 16-year-old youth was also killed.
Israeli
forces surrounded the house of Ibrahim al-Nabulsi, a senior commander of the
Fatah’s Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades group, long on Israel’s wanted list.
Al-Nabulsi,
barricaded inside, refused to surrender and was killed along with another
fighter during a gunbattle with Israeli forces, who also used shoulder-fired
missiles in the fighting, the military said.
The
shoot-out, in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, was the deadliest incident
in the West Bank since Israel and the Islamic Jihad ended three days of fighting
in Gaza, the worst in more than a year.
Al-Nabulsi
was a member of the recently formed “Nablus Brigade”, a Palestinian alliance in
the city which also includes Islamic Jihad’s gunmen. Hours after the shoot-out,
tens of thousands attended his funeral and called for revenge.
The
gun battle was followed by clashes during which the military said its troops
responded with live fire against Palestinians throwing rocks and explosives at
soldiers.
Islamic
Jihad said the 16-year-old was killed while participating in a confrontation
with Israeli troops.
Palestinian
health officials confirmed the three deaths and said 40 more people were
injured in total. There were no reports of Israeli casualties.
The
Israeli military said al-Nabulsi had been suspected of carrying out several
shooting attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers.
Israel
has stepped up raids in recent months in the West Bank. The Western-backed
Palestinian Authority regularly condemns such incursions.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran
Receives First Telemetry Data from Newly-Launched Satellite
2022-August-9
The
high-resolution Iranian satellite was successfully launched into space from a
base in Kazakhstan on board a Russian rocket on Tuesday. The satellite is
placed in an orbit of 500 kilometers above the Earth’s surface and will send
high-resolution images four times a day.
"The
first telemetry data from 'Khayyam' satellite was received at the Iranian Space
Agency's (ISA) Mahdasht space base," the ministry of communications said.
Iranian
Minister of Communications and Information Technology Issa Zarepour, who
traveled to Kazakhstan, stated that the country will continue efforts to
develop domestic capabilities in manufacturing and launching satellites.
"Iran
Space Agency, while developing internal capabilities in the field of building
and launching satellites needed by the country and growing the relevant ground
stations, continues to meet the country's current needs in the area of providing
satellite data through advanced scientific and technological cooperation with
leading countries in the world's space industry," he added.
"In
addition to meeting the needs of Iran, it will accelerate the localization of
space technology in the country by transferring knowledge and experience,"
he added.
"Launching
the 'Khayyam' satellite into orbit is the beginning of Iran-Russia's strategic
cooperation in the space field," Zarepour concluded.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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--------
Iran
Urges US to Retreat from Unconstructive Positions in Talks
2022-August-9
The
Iran’s top diplomat made the remarks in a Monday phone conversation with the
European Union Foreign Policy Chief, Josep Borrell, in which the two sides
discussed the latest developments surrounding the nuclear talks in the
Austria's capital.
Amir
Abdollahian told Borrell that the Iranian delegation has been serious and
determined to achieve an agreement in Vienna and has offered its constructive
ideas for the resolution of outstanding issues.
“Iran’s
views and considerations on the ideas offered by [Borrell’s deputy] Enrique
Mora have been conveyed to him and all parties [to the deal] are expected to
show seriousness and resolve in order to achieve the final text of the
agreement,” the high-ranking official noted.
Iran’s
foreign minister added any final agreement must meet the rights and interests
of the Iranian nation and guarantee sustainable and effective removal of
sanctions imposed on the country.
He
expressed hope that the path to a final agreement would be paved through
realism and by avoiding adoption of nonconstructive positions, especially by
the United States.
Earlier
in the day, a senior official in Iran’s Foreign Ministry stated during fresh talks
on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) revival in Vienna, Tehran
informed the opposite parties of its positions and “relative advances were made
on a number of issues".
Pointing
to Mora's several ideas on a number of outstanding issues, the unnamed official
noted, "As soon as we received these ideas, we informed him of our answers
and primary considerations. Naturally, such issues need more comprehensive
discussions and we will convey our additional views and considerations to the
[JCPOA] coordinator and other parties.”
The
official added that relative progress has been made during the new round of
talks, but progress has been slow in some other areas.
After
several months of impasse, sanction removal talks resumed on Thursday.
Expert-level negotiations had been held between Iran and the P4+1 group of
countries.
Late
Monday, a top official of the European Union declared that the negotiations on
finalizing a draft text for potential agreement on the revival of the 2015 Iran
nuclear deal have come to an end, and that the delegations (the P4+1 group,
including Britain, France, Russia, China plush Germany), as well as Iran and
the United States would leave Austria.
Meanwhile,
an Iranian Foreign Ministry official dismissed the reports that a text for
restoring the 2015 accord with Tehran had been completed and that negotiations
in Vienna were finished.
"Given
the continuation of discussions on several important remaining issues, we are
not yet at a stage where we can talk about the finalization of the text,"
the unnamed official was quoted as saying by IRNA news agency late Monday.
"The
negotiating team of the Islamic Republic of Iran has presented its constructive
opinions to the other side with the aim of advancing the negotiations, and the
outcome of the talks depends on the will of the other side to make the
necessary political decisions," the foreign ministry official continued.
"We
still believe that if appropriate decisions are made by the other side, the
negotiations can be concluded quickly, but we are not at this stage yet,"
the official added.
Iran:
Agreement in Vienna Depends on US to Adopt Realistic
Approachhttps://t.co/Rlqu1lnlHy pic.twitter.com/A7JwBiGH7x
—
Fars News Agency (@EnglishFars) August 9, 2022
Iranian
officials say the ball is in the US' court, and the administration of President
Joe Biden should assure Tehran that it will not repeat Donald Trump's past
mistakes.
Iran
and the five remaining parties to the nuclear deal have held several rounds of
negotiations since April last year to restore the agreement, which was
unilaterally abandoned by Trump in May 2018.
In
quitting the agreement, Trump restored sanctions on Iran as part of what he
called the “maximum pressure” campaign against the country. Those sanctions are
being enforced to this day by the Biden administration, even though it has
repeatedly acknowledged that the policy has been a mistake and a failure.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010518000112/Iran-Urges-US-Rerea-frm-Uncnsrcive-Psiins-in-Talks
--------
Iran
Summons German Envoy over Sacrilege of Islamic Sanctities in Hamburg
2022-August-9
The
Director of the First Department for Western Europe at the Foreign Ministry
summoned the German diplomat on Monday to voice Tehran’s vehement denunciation
of the sacrilege of Islam’s holy book in front of the Islamic Center of Hamburg
as a clear example of hate-mongering, violence, and extremism.
"The
Islamic Republic of Iran holds the German government responsible in this case,
and demands decisive action against the perpetrators of this offensive
action," the Iranian diplomat said.
According
to reports, a group of ten people committed the sacrilegious move on Tasua,
which marks the ninth of the lunar calendar month of Muharram, a day before
Ashoura when Imam Hussein (AS), a grandson of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad (Peace
be upon Him), and his 72 companions were martyred in the Battle of Karbala, in
southern Iraq, in 680 AD after fighting courageously for justice against the
much larger army of the Umayyad caliph, Yazid I.
German
police forces, who were present in the place, did not take any action to
prevent the blasphemous act, which is prohibited under Germany’s law, nor
reacted to those who committed it, Iran’s al-Alam television news network
reported.
In
relevant remarks on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kana’ani
slammed the “provocative” move and warned of its “dangerous” consequences and
implications.
“This
blasphemous act is a clear example of sedition and spreading hatred and is
categorically condemned by all Muslims, monotheists …and those who believe in
coexistence and interfaith dialogue,” he said.
He
noted that such acts are “another aspect of extremism and Takfiri violence”
that require a “strong and deterrent response from governments that claim to be
supporting human rights, freedom, and democracy.”
Source:
Fars News Agency
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West
Bank Palestinians to start flying from Israel’s Ramon Airport to Turkey
09
August, 2022
Palestinians
from the West Bank will be able to fly on special flights from Ramon Airport,
near the Red Sea resort city of Eilat, to destinations in Turkey, Israel’s
Airports Authority said on Tuesday.
The
move is the latest step in Israel offering economic easements to Palestinians
in the absence of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and follows pressure from the
United States.
US
President Joe Biden visited Israel last month.
Without
an airport of their own West Bank Palestinians, who cannot fly from Israel’s
Ben Gurion Airport without special permission, typically travel to Jordan to
catch international flights. These flights will not be offered to Palestinians
from Gaza.
Under
the pilot program the flights will run twice a week starting at the end of
August to Istanbul and Antalya on Turkish carriers Atlas and Pegasus and using
Airbus A321 aircraft, the airport authority said.
Ramon
Airport, which opened in 2019, is about 300 kilometers (185 miles) from
Jerusalem and designed to take any planes re-routed from Ben Gurion Airport,
near Tel Aviv.
Foreign
carriers such as Ryanair, Wizzair and Lufthansa began to fly non-stop to older
Eilat airports in 2015 during winter months after Israel offered airlines 60
euros ($61) per passenger brought on direct flights from abroad.
But
the COVID-19 pandemic largely halted those flights.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Dozens
of Israelis storm al-Aqsa compound
09
August, 2022
Dozens
of Israelis stormed al-Aqsa compound on Tuesday under heavy security from the
Israeli police, Al Arabiya’s correspondent reported.
Earlier
on Tuesday, two Palestinians, including a senior militant commander, were
killed as Israeli forces raided a house in the occupied West Bank city of
Nablus.
Clashes
with the Israeli army also broke out in other parts of Nablus, as Palestinians
hurled stones at the troops.
At
least 30 Palestinians were wounded and at least one was in serious condition,
according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.
Last
week, Israel launched what it called a “pre-emptive” aerial and artillery
bombardment of Islamic Jihad positions in the Gaza Strip, leading militants in
the coastal enclave to fire more than a thousand rockets in retaliation,
according to the army.
An
Egypt-brokered ceasefire reached Sunday ended three days of intense fighting
that killed 46 Palestinians, 16 of them children, and wounded 360, according to
Gaza’s health ministry.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2022/08/09/Dozens-of-Israelis-storm-al-Aqsa-compound
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Two
Palestinians killed in Israeli raid in West Bank: Army
09
August, 2022
Israeli
security forces killed a Palestinian militant commander and another fighter in
a gun battle in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the military said,
triggering further clashes in which Palestinians said a 16-year-old youth was
also killed.
Israeli
forces surrounded the house of Ibrahim al-Nabulsi, a senior commander of the
Fatah’s al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades militant group long on Israel’s wanted list.
Al-Nabulsi,
barricaded inside, refused to surrender and was killed along with another
militant during a gun battle with Israeli forces, who also used shoulder-fired
missiles in the fighting, the military said.
The
shoot-out, in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, was the deadliest incident
in the West Bank since Israel and the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad
ended three days of fighting in Gaza, the worst in more than a year.
Al-Nabulsi
was a member of the recently formed “Nablus Brigade,” a Palestinian militant
alliance in the city which also includes Islamic Jihad’s gunmen. Hours after
the shoot-out, tens of thousands attended his funeral and called for revenge.
The
gun battle was followed by clashes during which the military said its troops
responded with live fire against Palestinians throwing rocks and explosives at
soldiers.
Islamic
Jihad said the 16-year-old was killed while participating in a confrontation
with Israeli troops.
Palestinian
health officials confirmed the three deaths and said 40 more people were
injured in total. There were no reports of Israeli casualties.
The
Israeli military said al-Nabulsi had been suspected of carrying out several
shooting attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers.
Israel
has stepped up raids in recent months in the West Bank after men from the area
carried out deadly street attacks in Israel. The Western-backed Palestinian
Authority regularly condemns such incursions.
According
to Palestinian officials, at least 44 Palestinians, at least half of them
civilians, were killed during three days of Israeli strikes on Gaza, which
ended with an August 7 truce between Israel and Islamic Jihad that has largely
held.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Africa
Vote
counting underway in Kenya, with presidency and parliament hanging in the
balance
Andrew
Wasike
09.08.2022
NAIROBI,
Kenya
Security
has been tightened at Kenya's national tallying center in the capital Nairobi
as vote counting for Tuesday’s general elections kicked off, including a fierce
race for the presidency.
In
a statement, Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)
praised Kenyans for turning up to exercise their democratic right to vote.
As
of around 4 p.m. East African time (1400GMT), over 12 million out of 22.12
million registered voters had cast their vote, or about 56.17% voter turnout,
the commission said.
Long
queues of voters were seen at polling stations in the morning to elect Kenya's
president for the next five years. The voting process began at 6 a.m. local
time (0300GMT) across 46,229 polling stations.
The
public is also casting ballots for governor, members of parliament, and members
of county assemblies.
The
general elections are being monitored by 18,000 observers, including 1,300
international observers.
2-man
presidential race
Though
there are other candidates running, many political pundits believe the
presidential contest will be a two-horse race between 77-year-old former Prime
Minister Raila Odinga and the current deputy president, 55-year-old William
Ruto.
For
the past 10 years, Kenyans have been governed by President Uhuru Kenyatta along
with Ruto. During Kenyatta’s tenure, enormous expenditures on infrastructure
were made, leaving Kenya more developed but also in debt.
Odinga,
who is seeking the presidency with the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance
party, and his running mate Martha Karua, 64, have promised a government that
focuses on manufacturing to promote wealth and fight unemployment.
Ruto,
who is running for president with his Kenya Kwanza coalition, says his
government will focus on transforming the country's economy to achieve durable
growth while maintaining macroeconomic stability and empowering the people at
the bottom of the pyramid.
The
National Assembly, also up for grabs in today’s polls, is made up of 290
elected members, each representing a part of a county, including 47 elected
women from each of the 47 counties, and at least 12 members nominated to
represent women, youth, and the marginalized. This gives the country 349 members
to govern its affairs.
Heavy
security, drawn from all branches of the police forces, was present at all
voting sites to ensure the smooth running of the elections.
Gubernatorial
elections, which were postponed in the counties of Mombasa and Kakamega, will
be held on Aug. 23, electoral commission Chair Wafula Chebukati said on
Tuesday.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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Bomb
blasts in Somalia kill at least 4
Mohammed
Dhaysane
09.08.2022
MOGADISHU,
Somalia
At
least four people were killed and several others wounded in bomb blasts in
southern Somalia on Tuesday, officials said.
The
explosions took place in the vicinity of Buula-haji near Somalia’s port city of
Kismayo, the administrative capital of southern Jubaland state.
At
least 11 people – all civilians – were also wounded, a security official in
Kismayo told Anadolu Agency on a condition of anonymity due restrictions on
speaking to the media.
The
Somali state television reported that nine landmine explosions targeted a
minibus carrying civilians.
Kismayo
is a major city and port town, located 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of
Mogadishu, Somalia's capital.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/bomb-blasts-in-somalia-kill-at-least-4/2657674
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