If BJP Leaders' Daughters Marry Muslims They Call It Love, When Others Do So It's Called 'Jihad': Chhattisgarh CM
New Age Islam News Bureau
13 April 2023
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel addressing
a rally. (File photo)
----------
• After 'Sneha Yatra' To Christian Homes On Easter,
Kerala BJP Workers Meet Muslims On Eid
• Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi's Wedding, During Iddat
Period, Held In Defiance Of Islamic Sharia Law, Says Cleric
• Al-Quds Church Urges Mass Participation In Easter
Despite Israeli Curbs
• ‘Saudi Arabia Wanted To Help Us, Biden Insulted
Them,’ Donald Trump Tells Fox News
India
• Agra cow slaughter case: Four Hindu Mahasabha
members arrested for falsely implicating Muslims
• Quotas For Dalit Muslims, Christians: SC Wonders If
It Can Rely On Rangnath Misra Panel Report The Govt Has Not Accepted
• Chandrakant Patil should’ve avoided questioning Bal
Thackeray’s role in Babri mosque demolition: Mumbai BJP chief
• Delhi: Madrasa of 250-yr-old mosque bulldozed,
officials claim encroachment
• Need to examine if caste can be imputed to religions
that don’t recognize it: SC
--------
Pakistan
• Art, literature can’t be termed ‘obscene’ sans
holistic review: SC
• Islam becomes 'fastest growing religion' in the
world
• Ruling coalition rejects ‘controversial’ SC bench
set to hear pleas against law to clip CJP’s powers
• Karachi factory blaze leaves four dead, 13 injured
as building collapses
• Parliamentary body to examine changes proposed to
poll law
• SHC rejects petition against media ban on Altaf
--------
Mideast
• Iranian Delegation Arrives In Riyadh To Prepare For
Reopening Of Embassy: Tehran
• Iran executions surge 75 percent in 2022: Human
rights group
• Spokesman: Iran Seeking to Reopen Missions in Saudi
Arabia Before Hajj
• Iranian President: Israelis in Rush to Evacuate
Palestinian Lands
• Iran Showcases Indigenously-Manufactured Jammer
Drone for First Time
• AEOI Spokesman: High Quality of Iran's Heavy Water
Acknowledged by US
• Gaza shoppers defy blockade with Ramadan economy
revival
--------
North America
• Eastern Syria Helicopter Raid Captures Top
ISIS/Daesh Operative: US
• ‘Just like everyone else': Muslim Americans strive
to make Eid Al Fitr a school holiday
• Canadian Muslims on edge after attacks on mosques
during Ramadan
• US national security advisor speaks with Saudi crown
prince
• Muslim group CAIR received 5,156 complaints in 2022,
a 23% drop: Report
--------
South Asia
• Muttaqi Urges International Community to Recognize
Positive Uplift in Afghanistan
• Afghan Authorities Respond to UN’s Decision to
Suspend Activities in Afghanistan
• Delhi school for Afghan kids is Taliban casualty,
Govt steps in to shift students
• Taliban aim to boost anti-aircraft capacity to
counter 'Pakistan threat'
• Traffic Accident Kills 3, Injures 6 in Afghanistan’s
Bamyan Province
• Uzbekistan to Host Meeting of Special Envoys of
Afghanistan’s Neighbours on Thursday
• Bangladeshi opposition dismisses PM’s ‘laughable’
claims of US meddling in nation’s democracy
--------
Southeast Asia
• PAAB Lights Up Ramadan AndSyawalFor Two Orphanages
• Islam Wasathiyah Vital For National Unity: Minister
--------
Arab World
• Syria’s Foreign Minister Makes First Visit ToSaudi
Arabia In Over 10 Years
• Qatar and Bahrain to resume diplomatic ties
• UAE’s Rashid Rover, First Arab Region’s Moon
Mission, Sets Landing Date Target
• France’s Macron confers highest national order on
Sharjah ruler Sheikh Sultan
• Eid Al Fitr expected to coincide with Friday, says
Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs
• Saudi Arabia, Syria prepare to start resuming
consular services and flights
--------
Africa
• Muslim Will Emerge If Igbos Don’t Produce Next Senate
President – Primate Ayodele
• Suspected extremist kills self in Moroccan prison
• Syria will reopen embassy in Tunisia after decade of
ruptured ties
--------
Europe
• UN Palestinian Refugee Agency Urges West Bank Workers
To End Strike
• Man extradited to Britain from Pakistan, charged
over police murder
• Ex-RAF chief urges UK govt to give Afghan pilot
sanctuary
• Greece expects to discuss vital issues with Türkiye
after elections in May
• Bulgaria reiterates support for Bosnia’s EU bid
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
--------
If BJP Leaders' Daughters Marry Muslims They Call It
Love, When Others Do So It's Called 'Jihad': Chhattisgarh CM
Apr 13, 2023
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel addressing
a rally. (File photo)
------------
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on
Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of indulging in double
standards, saying that when the daughters of BJP leaders get married to
Muslims, they call it love, but if anybody else does so then it's dubbed as
"jihad".
Talking to reporters in Bilaspur town of the state, he
also accused the saffron party of trying to take political advantage of last
week's communal violence in Biranpur village of Bemetara district.
When asked about the BJP's claims that tension started
brewing in Biranpur following some interfaith marriages there, Baghel said,
"The BJP neither examined the matter (clash) nor came out with any report
before calling for a bandh. A fight between two children led to a clash that
claimed the life of a man which is very sad. It cannot be justified. But the
BJP is trying to take its political mileage."
"They talk about love jihad. If we talk about
senior leaders of BJP, their daughters have married to Muslims. Doesn't it fall
in the category of love jihad? You ask where the daughter of the biggest leader
of the BJP in Chhattsigarh has gone. Is that not love jihad? When their
daughter does it then it's love but someone else does it, then it is jihad.
"What have they (BJP) done to stop this? They
just want to get political benefits from it. They make their son-in-laws minister
and MPs and treat others under different laws," he said.
Communal violence had erupted in Biranpur, located 60
km from Bemetara town, on April 8 allegedly after a fight between school
children.
A local resident, Bhuneshwar Sahu (22), was killed in
the clash and three policemen suffered injuries.
The local administration has imposed section 144 of
the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which bars assembly of four or more
people, in the entire Bemetara district.
Three days after the incident, a man identified as
Rahim Mohammad (55) and his son Idul Mohammad (35), residents of Biranpur, were
found dead with head injuries a few kms away from the village.
All roads leading to the village have been barricaded
by the police. Around 1,000 police personnel have been deployed in the village
and around it to maintain law and order.
CM Baghel on Tuesday announced to give government job
to the kin of the deceased Sahu and also financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh to
the family.
Source:IndiaToday
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After 'Sneha Yatra' To Christian Homes On Easter,
Kerala BJP Workers Meet Muslims On Eid
13 APR 2023
After 'Sneha Yatra' To Christian Homes On Easter,
Kerala BJP Workers Meet Muslims On Eid File Photo
--------------
BJP workers in Kerala will visit the residences of
Muslim community members in the state to exchange greetings on the occasion of
Eid next week, a party source said.
The party had last Sunday conducted 'Sneha Yatra',
reaching out to Christians on the occasion of Easter.
The decision to reach out to Muslims on the occasion
of Eid was taken at the BJP's state core committee meeting held in Kochi on
Wednesday, the source said here.
At the meeting, the BJP's Kerala in-charge Prakash
Javadekar congratulated the party's state unit for reaching out to Christians
to greet them on Easter.
He informed the meeting that Prime Minister Narendra
Modi strongly believes Indians are beyond caste, religion, and regional
thinking, and directed them to work hard to realise the PM's idea of uniting
everyone, the source told PTI.
At the meeting, Javadekar directed the BJP workers to
celebrate 'Vishu' with everyone on Saturday and also visit Muslim houses to
exchange greetings on Eid next week, the source added.
The source also said that the Prime Minister's visit
to a Church in New Delhi on the occasion of Easter has helped "demolish
the propaganda" by the Congress and the Left parties that the BJP was
against the minorities.
Source:OutlookIndia
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original story:
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Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi's Wedding, During Iddat
Period, Held In Defiance Of Islamic Sharia Law, Says Cleric
Apr 13, 2023
Imran Khan had married Bushra Bibi in 2018, shortly
after her divorce from her first husband the previous year. (Photo from
@InsafPK on Twitter)
-------------
The cleric who solemnised former Pakistan Prime
Minister Imran Khan's wedding with Bushra Bibi said the ceremony was not
conducted in accordance with Islamic Sharia law, reported The Express Tribune
on Wednesday. The cleric said the couple's wedding in 2018 occurred during
Bushra Bibi's Iddat period.
The Iddat period (three months) is a waiting period that
a Muslim woman must observe on account of the death of her husband or the
dissolution of the marriage.
Before her marriage to Imran Khan, Bushra was married
to KhawarManeka and had divorced him in 2017.
Mufti Saeed, the cleric, said he officiated the Nikah
between Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi on January 1, 2018, after a woman claiming
to be Bushra's sister assured him that all the Sharia requirements for her
marriage had been fulfilled. Saeed added that the couple began living together
in Islamabad after their wedding.
However, he claims that Imran Khan contacted him in
February 2018 and requested him to conduct the Nikah again. According to Saeed,
Imran Khan told him that, at the time of the initial ceremony, Bushra's Iddat
period had not been completed as she was divorced in November 2017.
The cleric said the former Pakistan PM and his wife
planned their wedding despite being aware of the situation. He also alleged
that Imran Khan had confided in him that he believed marrying Bushra would lead
to him becoming the prime minister.
Mufti Saeed revealed the details about the Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and Bushra Bibi's wedding in court. A petition was
filed by one Muhammad Hanif against the alleged 'un-Islamic' Nikkah of Imran
Khan and Bushra Bibi.
Saeed said Muhammad Hanif approached him on the fourth
day of Ramzan and inquired about the marriage of Imran and Bushra and he told
them what he had revealed in court. The court has adjourned further hearings on
the case until April 19.
The cleric serves as the principal of a seminary and
said he has a positive relationship with Imran Khan and is also a part of his
core committee. He claimed that the former PM took him to Lahore's Defence
Housing Authority (DHA) to officiate the couple's Nikah in 2018.
Source:IndiaToday
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Al-Quds church urges mass participation in Easter
despite Israeli curbs
12 April 2023
Orthodox worshippers hold candles during the Holy Fire
ceremony at the Ethiopian section of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in
al-Quds’ Old City, April 23, 2022. (File photo by Reuters)
------------
A priest from the Greek Orthodox Church in the
occupied East al-Quds has called on Christians to attend Easter celebrations in
large numbers while denouncing the "heavy-handed" curbs imposed by
the Israeli regime officials.
Father MattheosSiopis in a statement on Wednesday
announced that talks with the Israeli police over the attendance numbers at the
Holy Fire ceremony on Saturday in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre had failed.
“After many attempts made in goodwill, we are not able
to coordinate with the Israeli authorities as they are enforcing unreasonable
restrictions,” he said, as reported by AFP news agency.
He slammed the “heavy-handed” restrictions that will
limit access to the church, noting that the ceremony has been “faithfully
taking place in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for nearly 2,000 years.”
The annual Holy Fire ceremony is the most important
event in the Orthodox calendar. Some 10,000 worshippers used to fill the church
and surrounding alleys but Israeli authorities have limited the number of
attendants to 1,800 people since last year. They claim the restriction is a
safety precaution.
Scuffles broke out last year between worshippers and
police officers who imposed restrictions throughout the occupied city’s
Christian quarter.
Urging “all who wish to worship with us to attend,”
Siopis noted, “With that made clear, we leave the authorities to act as they
will. The churches will freely worship and do so in peace.”
The remarks come as tensions have been soaring in the
al-Quds in recent weeks due to repeated assaults of Israeli forces on al-Aqsa
Mosque, the third holiest site for Muslims.
But Muslims are not the only group targeted in the
occupied territories as there have been increased assaults by extremist
settlers and Israeli forces against Christian priests and worshippers in recent
years.
Since 2005, Christian celebrations around Holy Week,
particularly Holy Fire Saturday, have brought military barricades and harsh
treatment from soldiers and settlers alike.
Since the most right-wing Israeli cabinet came to power
last year, incidents against Christians in al-Quds have reportedly become more
violent and common. At the beginning of the year, 30 Christian graves at the
Protestant Mount Zion Cemetery were desecrated.
In the Armenian Quarter, vandals spray-painted “Death
to Arabs, Christians and Armenians,” on the walls.
At the Church of the Flagellation, someone attacked a
statue of Jesus with a hammer. Last month, an Israeli came to the Church of
Gethsemane during Sunday religious services and tried to attack the priest with
an iron bar. Being spat and shouted at by Israelis has become, for some
Christians, “a daily occurrence.”
Victims of these incidents say the Israeli police do
little to arrest and punish the attackers most of the time. Community leaders
believe the police dismiss or minimize the religious motivations behind these
attacks, typically claiming the perpetrators suffer from mental illness.
Source: Press TV
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‘Saudi Arabia wanted to help us, Biden insulted them,’
Donald Trump tells Fox News
April 12, 2023
Donald trump told Fox News he intends to run for
president despite allegations. (FILE/AFP)
-------------
Former US president Donald Trump, in his first public
interview after being arraigned on federal charges, had choice words for Joe
Biden administration’s to describe its current state of relations with Saudi Arabia,
which the Democratic leader earlier publicly denounced as a ‘pariah.’
“You take a look at Saudi Arabia, look at what
happened. They are great people, they wanted to help us. He goes over there...
he gets a fist bump. You know the fist bump means don’t shake my hand because
your hand’s dirty… they were so insulted, do you understand that? Oh I don’t
want to shake your hands, let’s go fist bump,” Trump told Fox News’ Tucker
Carlson in an hour-long interview.
Trump, the first former US president to face criminal
charges, also said he would not drop his bid for a White House return if
convicted of the 34 counts of falsifying business records that were filed
against him.
“No, I’d never drop out – it’s not my thing. I
wouldn’t do it.”
The US Constitution does not prevent someone who has
been charged with or convicted of a crime from seeking or holding office.
Trump likewise said that he does not see Joe Biden
running for re-election in 2024: “I think it is almost inappropriate for me to
say it, but I don’t see how it is possible. And it is not an age thing.”
“There is something wrong. I saw his answer today on
television about where or not he is gonna [seek re-election]... that was a long
answer... I don’t think he can, but say what you want. They did not expect him
to get in, people could say he won an election… They are surrounded by vicious
smart people, radical left people,” Trump said.
One possible candidate that could lead the Democrats
for the 2024 elections, the former US president said, would be vice president
Kamara Harris.
“Obviously, the one they would talk about would be the
vice president, Kamala. I don’t think she has performed well on the big stage,
maybe I’m wrong. But there would be a certain group of people who would go
crazy if it is not her, they’re gonna be very angry if it’s not her.”
Trump also quipped about the US shooting ‘57 missiles
into Syria’ while having chocolate cake with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at his
Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, while the Asian leader was on a visit.
“President Xi was top of the line smart, our guy never
was… President Xi was a brilliant man... there is nobody like him, we have a
great relationship,” Trump commented.
Trump also narrated his 57-minute visit to the New
York courthouse for his arraignment: “They were incredible… they signed me in,
and I’d tell you people were crying, people that worked there. They have no
problems putting in murderers, and they see everybody. It’s a tough place, and
they were crying and said ‘I’m sorry.’”
Source: Arab News
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original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2285476/world
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India
Agra cow slaughter case: Four Hindu Mahasabha members
arrested for falsely implicating Muslims
Four members of Hindutva group All India Hindu
Mahasabha were arrested on Wednesday for falsely implicating four Muslims in a
cow slaughter case in Agra, reported The Hindu.
The four members – Sanjay Jat, Jitendra Kushwaha,
Brajesh Bhadoria and Saurabh Sharma – had hatched the conspiracy to settle a
rivalry, the police said.
They have been booked under Section 429 (mischief by
killing or maiming cattle), 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code
and sections of the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, according to
The Times of India.
On March 30, Kushwaha had filed a first information
report against four Muslims – Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Nakim and Mohammad
Shanu and Imran Qureshi – for slaughtering a cow. However, police investigation
later revealed that the four men had nothing to do with the incident.
“Jitendra [Kushwaha] was found to have lied to us
during the interrogation,” Additional Commissioner of Police RK Singh had said.
“He, Sanjay [Jat] and a few others were near the spot of the cow slaughter,
call records suggest, not those they named in the police complaint. Call
records also show that the accused persons had not gone to that spot in over a
month.”
On Wednesday, the police said they found that five
other Muslim men had colluded with the four members of the Hindutva group. Two
of them have been identified as Imran Qureshi and Shanu, according to the
Hindustan Times.
The police had arrested Quereshi and Shanu on April 6,
who admitted to the conspiracy against the four Muslim men.
“So far, seven people have been arrested in the case,”
Singh said. “One of them surrendered himself.”
All India Hindu Mahasabha state unit president Rishi
Trivedi claimed that his group members were being falsely implicated.
“They had informed the police about cow slaughtering
and reached the spot before them,” Trivedi claimed. “Now, police have booked
them in the case. It appears to be part of a conspiracy.”
He said that Jat and others were planning to go to
Lucknow on Thursday to hold a press conference about the case but were arrested
a day before.
Source: Scroll
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Quotas For Dalit Muslims, Christians: SC Wonders If It
Can Rely OnRangnath Misra Panel Report The Govt Has Not Accepted
12 APR 2023
What is the effect of the report of a Commission of
Inquiry that has been rejected or not accepted by the government and whether
the empirical data which formed the basis of the report can be looked at while determining
a constitutional issue, the Supreme Court wondered on Wednesday while
considering the question of quotas for Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians.
The court referred to the report of the Rangnath
Mishra Commission which had recommended including Dalit Muslims and Dalit
Christians in the Scheduled Caste list. The government has
not accepted the report, calling it "flawed”.
The apex court was hearing the pleas, including those
which have alleged that the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 is
discriminatory and violative of Articles 14 (equality before law) and 15
(prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste etc) of the
Constitution as it discriminates against Scheduled Caste converts to religions
other than Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism.
The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, as
amended from time to time, says no person professing a religion other than
Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism shall be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled
Caste (SC).
A bench headed by Justice S K Kaul was told by
advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for one of the petitioners, that the
government has not accepted the 2007 report of Justice Ranganath Misra
Commission, which had recommended inclusion of Dalit Christians and Dalit
Muslims in the Scheduled Castes list, and has formed a new commission headed by
former Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan.
"Now, they (government) are saying that they have
appointed another commission. There is more than enough material on the basis
of which the court can proceed. Should this court wait again and again for the
government to appoint a commission? There is no reason for this court to await
the report of the commission," Bhushan insisted before a bench, also
comprising Justices A Amanullah and Aravind Kumar.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) K M Nataraj,
appearing for the Centre, said the commission headed by Justice Balakrishnan is
doing its work and relevant material and data have to be collected.
"There was Justice Ranganath Misra Commission. It
gave its report and you, in your wisdom, said you do not accept it. You
constituted another commission. Should we wait till the commission
responds?" the bench asked.
Nataraj, while referring to a previous judgement of
the apex court, said a categorical study is needed and the court should await
the response of the new commission constituted to go into the issue.
Senior advocate C U Singh, appearing for another
petitioner, contended merely saying the government has appointed another
commission means nothing.
"What will be the status of the report of a
commission of inquiry which is not accepted by the government?" the bench
asked.
"My question is, if a report is not accepted,
what is the status of findings in the report or the empirical data. Can we rely
on the empirical data from a report which is not accepted to deal with the
constitutional issue raised?" Justice Kaul wanted to know.
The bench also asked can a writ be issued to include
something in the Presidential Order.
Bhushan, who said the pleas were filed way back in
2004, contended the petitioners have placed on record several authoritative
studies apart from the fact that Justice Misra commission went through the
material and gave its report.
The bench observed the petitioners are seeking to say
that over a period of time, there may be different commissions and there are
political considerations as well.
"The problem is that almost two decades have gone
by," the bench said, adding the government has not accepted the report of
the Justice Misra commission and many commissions have faced a similar
scenario.
"The apprehension is, how many commissions of
inquiry will be set up?" it said.
Nataraj read out the terms of reference of the new
commission and said Justice Misra commission had not gone into all the aspects.
"Probably you need to check the report. You are
making too generalised a statement on a report. The report is not that
perfunctory," the bench said.
It observed social stigma and religious stigma are
different things and social stigma may continue even after a person has
converted to another religion.
"We cannot shut our eyes when we are considering
constitutional questions," the bench observed.
During the arguments, Bhushan said in January 2011,
the apex court had referred to three constitutional issues which arose in the
matter, including whether a Scheduled Caste person professing a religion
different from Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism can be deprived of the benefit of
Paragraph 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, in violation of
Articles 14, 15, 16 and 25 of the Constitution of India.
"There is no difficulty in examining a
constitutional question. But what would be the effect if the government does
not accept the report of a commission," the bench wondered.
Bhushan said the government accepting or not accepting
the report is not material.
"Another issue that has been flagged is what is
the effect of report of a commission of inquiry which is rejected or not
accepted by the government. Whether the empirical data which formed the basis
of the report can be looked into....," the bench said, adding that these
aspects require a debate.
It posted the matter for resumed hearing on July 11.
In its reply filed earlier in the apex court on one of
the pleas, the Centre had said The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950
does not suffer from any "unconstitutionality" and the exclusion of
Christianity and Islam was due to the reason that the "oppressive
system" of untouchability was not prevalent in either of these two
religions.
The government had told the top court it has not
accepted the report of the Justice Ranganath Misra Commission as it was
"flawed".
The Centre had last year appointed a commission headed
by former CJI K G Balakrishnan to examine giving SC status to new people who
claim to have "historically" belonged to the SCs but have converted
to a religion other than those mentioned in the Presidential Orders.
Source:OutlookIndia
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Chandrakant Patil should’ve avoided questioning Bal
Thackeray’s role in Babri mosque demolition: Mumbai BJP chief
April 12, 2023
The central leadership of the BJP is reportedly
displeased with Maharashtra cabinet minister Chandrakant Patil over his
controversial remark questioning the role of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray in
the Babri mosque demolition.
Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar met Union Home Minister
Amit Shah in Delhi Wednesday to purportedly discuss the issue.
After the meeting, Shelar told media persons:
“Chandrakant Patil should have avoided making such a comment on Bal Thackeray
and Babri mosque.”
“The BJP does not endorse his remark. It was Patil’s
personal opinion,” he added.
Shelar further said, “The collective spontaneous
response of kar sevaks led to the demolition of the Babri mosque.”
Claiming that the BJP has never taken credit for the
Ramjanmabhoomi movement, he said: “The credit goes to the Sakal Hindu Samaj
that wanted a magnificent Ram temple in Ayodhya.”
Shelar said, “Bal Thackeray’s support and contribution
to the Ramjanmabhoomi movement is laudable. He was always very supportive of
the cause. We hold him in high reverence.”
“However, the question is what was Shiv Sena (UBT)
chief Uddhav Thackeray’s contribution to the Ramjanmabhoomi movement,” he
asked.
The ruling BJP and Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) have
come under attack from Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) following Patil’s
comment.
A couple of days ago, Patil said: “Bal Thackeray’s
Shiv Sena played no role in the Babri demolition. The movement was led by the
VHP, Bajrang Dal, and Durga Vahini.”
Source: Indian Express
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Delhi: Madrasa of 250-yr-old mosque bulldozed,
officials claim encroachment
12th April 2023
A madrasa of a 250-year-old mosque was bulldozed for
alleged encroachment in Bengali Market, New Delhi on Tuesday morning. During
the process, a portion of the mosque was also demolished.
The Land and Development Office (L&DO) under the
Ministry of Urban Development amid heavy police presence bulldozed the
structure. Its chief Suvasish Das stated that the demotion was carried out
after a judicial order was passed.
“I have nothing more to comment on the matter. The
mosque is around 250 years old. The portion which was demolished was
constructed recently. Two rooms were also constructed during the renovation,”
Das said.
The general secretary of the Islamic seminary Madrasa
Tehfizul Quran, Matlub Karim Hafiz, said that the action was carried out at
6:30 am without issuing any prior notice to the mosque authorities.
“I was at home when I received a call in the morning
about the deployment of a huge force and civic body officials approaching the
mosque site to demolish a portion of it,” Hafiz said.
“They bulldozed the walls of the main hall and rooms
of the Madrasa within 10 minutes. This land belongs to the Waqf Board. We have
also checked with the board and no prior notice was served to them before
demolition. These are not illegal structures,” he added.
The mosque, otherwise known as BachhonWali Masjid,
hosted over 120 Muslim children mostly from unprivileged backgrounds. “The
children were provided food, and this was their home and school as well. Now
where will they go?” asked Hafiz.
Idris Khan, a treasure at the mosque claimed, “The
court hearing regarding the matter is pending. Even the beds were destroyed
during the drive.”
An L&DO officer claimed that no hostel was
bulldozed. “The demolished area was used as a verandah,” the official added.
“Forty years ago, the L&DO department had provided
the land on lease for a coal depot. But the original allottee built an ice
cream parlour thus violating the agreement. The parlour was sealed. After that,
the mosque was gradually expanded to a few rooms that encroached on the land.
This extension has been going around for eight years,” the officer said.
Source:Siasat Daily
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Need to examine if caste can be imputed to religions
that don’t recognize it: SC
April 13, 2023
The Supreme Court on Wednesday wondered if caste can
be imputed to religions like Christianity and Islam that do not recognise it in
their religious structure.
“Can caste be imputed to other religions when the
religion does not provide for any such discrimination in its structure…,”
Justice S K Kaul presiding over a three-judge bench questioned while hearing
petitions seeking Scheduled Caste status for those who have converted to
Christianity and Islam.
The bench, also comprising Justices Ahsanuddin
Amanullah and Aravind Kumar, said this is one of the issues which will have to
be considered in the matter.
The bench fixed the matter for further hearing in July
and said it will also have to examine whether the report of a commission of
inquiry which has not been accepted by the government or the empirical data in
it, can be relied upon to sustain a challenge before a court of law, and
whether a presidential order can be amended by way of a writ issued by the
court.
The petitioners have contended that “the Constitution
(Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, which was amended to say that only Hindus,
Buddhists and Sikhs will be considered as Scheduled Castes is unconstitutional
as it discriminates on grounds of religion.
Opposing the petitions, Senior Advocate Guru
Krishnakumar appearing for an association of Scheduled Caste Hindus said “the
writ seeks to amend the presidential order by way of a judicial writ. The
prayer lies in the domain of pure policy of the legislature or the executive as
the case may be”, adding converts to Christianity were expressly kept out of SC
status even in the first census.
He said the petitioners were trying to challenge a
constitutional order on the basis of alleged violation of Article 14 and 15 and
added “this is complete over-simplification of the constitutional position. You
need to show a violation of the Constitution which is clearly affecting the
basic structure because you are dealing with a constitutional provision”.
Krishnakumar pointed out that the SC had considered
the question in many election petitions and consistently held that Scheduled
Castes is a different basket. “This basket, constitutional framers have
consciously confined it to Hindu Scheduled Castes who are enumerated in the
Scheduled Caste order and is not applicable to other religions which proclaim
to be egalitarian,” he said.
The counsel also submitted there were provisions to
address problems of untouchability which members of these other religions can
make use of.
Justice Amanullah said it may not be correct to argue
that people get converted to lose their caste identity.
“We have not gone into why they have converted. The
second point…untouchability act…the same thing applies to the majority
community also. That means social stigmas are carried across. Social stigma and
religious stigma are two different things. I may convert religion for very
different purposes. But if social stigma continues, that is why reservation for
SCs. Otherwise today Constitution does not recognise any untouchability…That is
why the need for these reservations today. Otherwise now the law under the
Constitution, there is no untouchability, nothing. Every citizen is a citizen
of India, that’s the only identity. But now things are not that at the ground
level and at the society level. And we can’t shut our eyes when we are
considering this… Then why can’t the court examine whether under constitutional
framework, such kind of compartmentalisation is permissible or not?”
Appearing for some of the petitioners, Advocate
Prashant Bhushan said they had filed several reports including the Ranganath
Mishra Commission report in support of the demand for extending SC reservation
to the other religions as well.
Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj appearing for
the Centre urged the court to wait till the new commission appointed by the
Centre under chairmanship of Justice K G Balakrishnan comes out with its
report. “What is the data made available to the government to make a conscious
decision, that is the crucial aspect, that has to be considered…The Justice
Balakrishnan Commission is constituted for a specific purpose, with a specific
reference, with a statutory backing. It will have a larger value,” he said.
Bhushan, however, said the government accepting a
report or not is irrelevant to the question whether there is material to back
the petitioner’s prayers.
He contended that “the only ground on which the
discrimination could be justified would be that by conversion… your social
status changes completely and therefore there is adequate ground for
discriminating on the ground of that religion. So that’s the test. Whether the
government accepts or not is irrelevant to that question”.
Justice Kaul added that “linked with that will also be
this question, what is the structure of the three religions. Do they recognise
the caste system or not? And what is the effect?”
The judge added that some of the material are points
of view and don’t have a statutory flavour. “The only thing which has a flavour
of recognition is the Ranganath Mishra Commission report …,” he said, adding
“what is the status of these commissions of inquiry? If they…are not accepted,
to what extent can they be relied upon?”.
Justice Amanullah told the petitioners that “the only
point which you can delve into and assist the court is the original empirical
data, maybe in the report or whatever. Not the report per se or the comment….
empirical data which is reasonable, which is reliable, has a persuasive value,
you can assist the court with that”.
Source: Indian Express
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Pakistan
Art, literature can’t be termed ‘obscene’ sans
holistic review: SC
Hassan Belal Zaidi
April 13, 2023
KARACHI: In a landmark judgement describing ‘obscene’
and ‘vulgar’ material as something that is “offensive to the commonly accepted
standards of decency”, the Supreme Court on Wednesday held that the fundamental
rights of freedom of expression and right to information apply not only to
ideas that are favourably received, but also to those which offend, shock or
disturb the state or any other sector of the population.
The order came on a petition filed by the Pakistan
Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) against ARY Communications Pvt
Ltd, appealing a Sindh High Court order that struck down the watchdog’s
punitive measures against the channel over the broadcast of the drama serial
‘Jalan’.
The top court, declining the watchdog’s petition for
leave to appeal the high court ruling, said that Pemra could only take action
after a review of the objectionable aspect of the drama serial in question had
been referred to the council of complaints.
A two-judge bench consisting of Justice Syed Mansoor
Ali Shah and Justice Ayesha A. Malik had taken up the case of the serial, which
had elicited complaints from citizens who thought the show was immoral and
against cultural values, and Pemra had passed an order in Sept 2020,
prohibiting the serial from being broadcast.
The channel then approached the Sindh High Court,
objecting to Pemra’s jurisdiction to issue show cause notices without obtaining
the opinion of the council of complaints, under Section 26 of the Pemra
ordinance. The high court had allowed the appeal, and Pemra then approached the
apex court.
In their order, the two SC judges noted that Pemra was
bound to obtain the opinion of a council of complaints regarding the
objectionable aspect of a programme and could not have bypassed this step.
Noting that there was no bar on Pemra to take notice,
either suo motu or on information received, of any alleged contravention of its
rules, the judgement pointed out that the law called for such matters to be
referred to a council of complaints that would review the same and render its
opinion, as per Section 26 of the Pemra Ordinance. After considering the said opinion,
Pemra or its chairman can take a final decision, the judgement noted.
Under Section 26 of the Pemra Ordinance, the federal
government is bound to establish councils of complaints at Islamabad, the
provincial capitals and other places, which should consist of a chairperson and
five members “being citizens of eminence from the general public at least two
of whom shall be women”.
What is considered obscene or vulgar?
The fundamental point that needs to be noted, the
judgement said, is that the exhibition of any kind of works of art and
literature is a part of the fundamental right to freedom of expression
guaranteed by Article 19 of the Constitution.
The judgement noted that only that form of an
expression can be said to be “obscene” or “vulgar” which is “offensive to the
commonly accepted standards of decency”. Thus, the “commonly accepted standards
of decency” in the community is the benchmark to determine whether or not a
particular form of the expression of one’s thought, idea or opinion in a play or
drama is “obscene” or “vulgar”.
The important thing to understand, the judgement
noted, is that the commonly accepted standard of decency in a community is a
“standard of tolerance, not taste”.
It is not what the people generally think is right for
them to see but what they would not tolerate others being exposed to it on the
basis of the degree of harm to “public decency” or “public morality” that may
flow from such exposure, the order noted.
Further, the judgement noted, the expression “commonly
accepted standards of decency” must be understood to be the contemporary
standards as the social mores and sensibilities change over time.
A work of art and literature, which includes a play or
drama broadcast on the electronic media, is usually considered a strong and
effective medium to break the silence on social taboos; therefore, it is not to
be labelled as “obscene” or “vulgar” readily without appraising the message it
intends to convey, the order said.
In this perspective, one would need to see whether
that message tends to promote or glorify the conduct or behavior which is
offensive to the commonly accepted standards of decency, or it tends to condemn
or deprecate such conduct or behavior.
Such a review is to be undertaken on an objective
assessment of the play or drama as a whole, not on the basis of pick and choose
of its parts from here and there, the judges stressed.
Source: Dawn
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Islam becomes 'fastest growing religion' in the world
11 Apr, 2023
Religion plays a significant role in shaping the
modern world and understanding it for individuals and communities alike.
Throughout history religious beliefs and institutions have influenced
political, social and economic trends. However, the dominant global religions
have shifted over time. Prior to the spread of Christianity, paganism was the
dominant faith in Europe, while local religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism
held sway elsewhere.
Christianity, having emerged more than two millennia
ago, quickly became the most widespread Abrahamic religion worldwide, holding
this position until the start of the 21st century. Nonetheless, current
patterns indicate that Christianity will soon lose its place as the world's
most populous religion to Islam in the latter half of the 21st century.
Currently, Islam is the world's fastest-growing global
religion, with nearly 2 billion Muslims worldwide. These shifts in religious
demographics carry significant implications for the future of international
society and culture.
Furthermore, factors such as high birth rates,
conversions and migration to Muslim-majority countries have contributed to the
significant growth of Islam. The spread of religion through social media and
other digital platforms has also played a role in increasing its popularity
among younger generations. As Islam gains ground globally, its influence on
society and culture will undoubtedly continue to grow.
A recent report by the Pew Research Center shows that
Islam is currently the fastest-growing religion in the world, with projections
that it will surpass Christianity by 2070. This growth can largely be
attributed to the concentration of Muslim populations in some of the
fastest-growing regions of the world. As of 2010, Christianity was the largest
religion in the world with an estimated 2.2 billion adherents, while Islam was
the second largest with 1.6 billion adherents.
Source: DailyPakistan
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https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/10-Apr-2023/islam-becomes-fastest-growing-religion-in-the-world
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Ruling coalition rejects ‘controversial’ SC bench set
to hear pleas against law to clip CJP’s powers
Tahir Sherani
April 13, 2023
The ruling coalition — the Pakistan Democratic
Movement (PDM) — on Thursday rejected the Supreme Court bench set to hear
petitions against a pending legislation meant to clip the Chief Justice of
Pakistan’s powers, saying that the apex court’s move to form a “controversial
bench” even before the completion of the legislative process was
“unprecedented” and unacceptable.
The bill, titled the Supreme Court (Practice and
Procedure) Bill 2023, is aimed at depriving the office of the CJP of powers to
take suo motu notice in an individual capacity. It was initially passed by both
houses of parliament and sent to the president for his assent. However, the
president had sent it back, saying that the proposed law travelled “beyond the
competence of parliament”.
On Monday, the bill was passed by a joint sitting of
parliament with certain amendments, amid a noisy protest from PTI lawmakers.
An eight-judge Supreme Court bench, headed by the chief
justice, will take up a set of three petitions challenging the bill at 11:30am
today.
In addition to CJP, the bench comprises Justice Ijazul
Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice
Mohammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha A. Malik, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi
and Justice Shahid Waheed.
Source: Dawn
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Karachi factory blaze leaves four dead, 13 injured as
building collapses
Imtiaz Ali
April 13, 2023
At least four people lost their lives and 13 others
were injured in a devastating fire that broke out in a factory located in the
New Karachi area of the city, resulting in significant damage to the building
and its subsequent collapse, as confirmed by police.
“Four people died while 13 have been injured as a
building collapsed near Karachi Kanta, New Karachi Industrial Area. All have
been shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital,” a statement from the district
central police spokesperson said.
It added that further investigation was underway.
Central District Deputy Commissioner (DC) Taha Saleem
told Dawn.com that the fire had erupted in the factory in New Karachi at around
7:45am on Wednesday and was caused by a short circuit but rapidly spread and
engulfed the clothes stored there.
He added that since the industrial unit was located in
a “highly congested locality”, the firefighters faced difficulty in putting out
the blaze.
“Due to the narrow streets, the snorkel could not
reach the place as it required a certain space to move in the area,” DC Saleem
said. He added that 10 fire tenders were called while water tankers had also
been called.
“The operation to control the fire continued till 2am
on Thursday when the fire was controlled, and then the cooling work started. It
was a four-storey building and because of some [undetermined] reasons, the
building collapsed.
“One probable cause was that its structure had been
weakened by the heat. Besides, there was a heavy weight of accumulated water
and the presence of clothes, etc, under whose impact, the industrial unit
collapsed,” he continued.
Having supervised the operation, the DC said they were
“exercising caution during the cooling work mostly from outside the building”.
“Only a few firemen were present there and the cooling work was almost complete
when the building collapsed.”
He said four people came under the building’s debris
and were immediately rescued and saved while 13 others, including firefighters,
suffered injuries. Five of the injured had been taken to Jinnah Postgraduate
Medical Centre while the other eight were taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital,
Saleem said.
He added, “It was immediately realised that four
firemen were missing and they started searching but unfortunately, they have
expired.”
The DC said all bodies had been handed over to the
relatives after fulfilling legal formalities. He added that a team from Sindh
Building Control Authority had been called who have conducted an assessment
survey of the area and started demolishing the remaining part of the factory
with heavy machinery.
The deceased were identified as Mohsin Sharif, Khalid
Shehzad, Sohail, and Afzal.
A raging fire erupted on Wednesday in Usman & Sons
Bedsheet Company in the New Karachi area’s Sector-16-B, located on Shehla Raza
Road. The inferno persisted until the early hours of Thursday before the
building collapsed, causing fatalities.
Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori also visited the site
earlier today and expressed grief at the loss of lives.
He said, “Fourteen people were injured and till now,
three people have lost their lives. Search for one is ongoing. I think that a
bigger incident than this could not have occurred that on this holy night… I
think they will be called martyrs and they will receive a high rank as they
were on duty and busy with a task to save others’ lives.
“While saving others’ lives, while performing their
duty, this building collapsed. The people who got trapped will be called
martyrs,” he added.
Tessori, updating the death toll, assured the
deceased’s families of the government’s support: “Four people have been
martyred so I express my grief with their families and assure that the
firefighters who lost their lives during their duty, taking care of their
families is our first and foremost responsibility.
“Whatever may the reason behind the fire but you see
such incidents happening after every few days, so we have to make sure that
such incidents don’t take place and people don’t their lose their lives due to
them.”
Source: Dawn
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Parliamentary body to examine changes proposed to poll
law
Amir Wasim
April 13, 2023
ISLAMABAD: Using his “residuary powers” given in the
rules, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani on Wednesday constituted an eight-member
parliamentary committee to examine the amendments proposed by the Election
Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to poll laws.
The move from the Senate chairman came two days after
receiving a letter from Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja
suggesting that the parliament should do legislation to do away with the
president’s role in determining date for general elections. The CEC also sent a
similar letter to National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.
Letters on similar lines, signed by ECP Secretary Omar
Hamid Khan, were also sent to the principal secretary to the prime minister and
secretary for parliamentary affairs. Through these letters, the ECP proposed
amendments to Sections 57(1) and 58 of the Elections Act 2017, reportedly
stating that the commission wants its power back to announce and alter election
schedule at any stage without any intervention by a third party.
According to a Senate Secretariat notification, the
chairman constituted the committee in exercise of powers vested in him by Rule
264 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2012, in
consultation with the National Assembly speaker “to examine the amendments
proposed by the ECP in the Elections Act, 2017,” through a letter dated April
10.
Senate chairman forms panel on basis of CEC’s letter;
Fawad terms communication a ‘foolish act’
The committee has four members each from the Senate
and the National Assembly. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Parliamentary Affairs
Minister Murtaza Javed Abbasi, both belonging to the ruling Pakistan Muslim
League-Nawaz (PML-N), will be the ex-officio members of the committee.
The committee comprises Senator Ali Zafar of the
opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Senator Kamran Murtaza of Jamiat
Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F), Senator Taj Haider of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP),
independent Senator Dilawar Khan, PTI dissident MNA Dr Afzal Dhandla, Commerce
Minister and PPP leader Syed Naveed Qamar, Mohsin Nawaz Ranjha of PML-N and
Sabir Kaimkhani of the MuttahidaQaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P).
Talking to Dawn, PTI’s Senior Vice President Fawad
Chaudhry said the Senate chairman had constituted the committee without seeking
the consent of his party. He, however, said that the party would make a
decision about participation or boycott of the committee after in-house
consultations.
Mr Chaudhry criticised the ECP for writing the letter
and termed it a “foolish act”, stating that under no circumstances the ECP
could run away from its responsibility of holding elections within 90 days of
the dissolution of any legislature as mentioned in the Constitution.
Senate’s Rule 264, titled “Residuary powers of the
Chairman” reads, “All matters not specifically provided for in these rules and all
questions relating to the detailed working of these rules shall be regulated in
such manner as the chairman may, from time to time, direct.”
The CEC in his letter to the Senate chairman and the
NA speaker had mentioned Section 11 of the original Representation of Peoples
Act (ROPA) of 1976 which empowered the Commission to announce poll date
unilaterally without any trace of intervention by a third party.
“The Section was amended through Ordinance No 11 of
1985 (12.1.1985) with the sole object to create the role of the president to
hold the elections at the whims of one man,” writes the CEC.
“Amendment to Section 11 of ROPA 1976 introduced in
1985 was subsequently replicated in Section 57 of the Elections Act, 2017.
Therefore, Section 57(1) of the Act to the extent of role of the president to
announce poll date is against the spirit of the constitution and ultra vires of
proviso of Article 222, as it has abridged and taken away the ECP powers
mandated under Article 218(3) and 219,” read the letters, adding: “supplanting
the amendments resulted in dilution of the authority of the constitutional
mandate vested in the ECP on account of Article 218(3) of the Constitution.”
The CEC had reportedly noted that the March 1 and
April 4 judgements of the Supreme Court had divested the ECP of its
constitutional powers to determine as to whether conducive environment in fact
and circumstances, existed for the conduct of elections in a given time, to
meet the standards mentioned in Article 218(3) in letter and spirit.
Source: Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1747395/parliamentary-body-to-examine-changes-proposed-to-poll-law
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SHC rejects petition against media ban on Altaf
April 13, 2023
KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday dismissed a
petition seeking removal of a ban on media coverage of MuttahidaQaumi Movement
founder Altaf Hussain.
After hearing parties concerned, a two-judge bench
headed by Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh turned down the petition as the
petitioner remained unable to satisfy the bench about maintainability of his
petition.
Citing the secretaries of ministries of interior, law
and information and Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) as
respondents, petitioner Mohammad AftabuddinBaqai submitted that after returning
to Pakistan he came to know about a ban on media coverage of speeches of the MQM
founder.
He said that the London-based Hussain had already
apologised in respect of his Aug 22, 2016 controversial speech.
He contended that the party founder had not been
convicted on the ground of hate speech in the United Kingdom as well as in
Pakistan and sought a directive for the respondents to remove the ban on
broadcast of his speeches and statements.
Source: Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1747309/shc-rejects-petition-against-media-ban-on-altaf
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Mideast
Iranian delegation arrives in Riyadh to prepare for
reopening of embassy: Tehran
12 April ,2023
An Iranian technical delegation arrived in Riyadh on
Wednesday to pave the way for the reopening of Iran’s embassy in the Saudi
capital, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said.
The Iranian delegation will “take the necessary
measures” to facilitate the reopening of the Iranian embassy in Riyadh, as well
as the Iranian consulate and mission to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation
(OIC) in Jeddah, the semi-official Tasnim news agency cited Nasser Kanani as
saying.
“Efforts will be made to reopen and activate our
country’s representative offices in Saudi Arabia before the upcoming Hajj
pilgrimage this year,” he said. Hajj 2023 begins on June 26.
Kanani added that the Saudi delegation that was in
Tehran on Saturday to discuss reopening the Kingdom’s diplomatic missions in
Iran will be leaving for Mashhad on Thursday to discuss reopening the Saudi
consulate there.
This comes after Saudi Arabia and Iran announced last
month that they had reached an agreement, brokered by China, to reestablish
diplomatic relations.
Under the deal, the two countries have committed to
reopening their embassies and missions within two months, as well as
implementing security and economic cooperation agreements that were signed over
20 years ago.
Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran in 2016 following
an attack by supporters of the Iranian regime on Saudi Arabia’s embassy in
Tehran and consulate in Mashhad.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin
Farhan and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held a meeting in
Beijing on April 6, marking the first such meeting in over seven years.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Iran executions surge 75 percent in 2022: Human rights
group
13 April ,2023
Iran hanged at least 582 people in 2022, a 75 percent
rise in the number of executions over the previous year as protests shook the
country, two rights groups said Thursday.
It was the highest number since 2015 and well above
the figure of 333 in 2021, the report by Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR)
and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) said.
Iran hanged at least 582 people in 2022, a 75 percent
rise in the number of executions over the previous year as protests shook the
country, two rights groups said Thursday.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Spokesman: Iran Seeking to Reopen Missions in Saudi
Arabia Before Hajj
2023-April-12
In a statement on Wednesday, Kana’ani said a
“technical delegation” from Iran arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday to discuss the
implementation of an agreement reached between the two sides last month to
resume diplomatic relations, and was welcomed by Saudi officials.
“In two working groups in Riyadh and Jeddah, the
Iranian delegation will take the necessary measures to set up an embassy and a
consulate general, as well as the permanent representative of the Islamic
Republic of Iran to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC),” he
explained.
“Efforts will be made to reopen and activate the
representative offices of our country before the annual Hajj days of this
year,” the spokesperson added.
The official also noted that the technical delegation
of Saudi Arabia, which had arrived in Iran on Saturday, will leave for Mashhad
tomorrow.
Iran and Saudi Arabia announced on March 10 a
Chinese-brokered deal to restore ties seven years after they were severed. In a
joint statement after signing the agreement, Tehran and Riyadh highlighted the
need to respect each others’ national sovereignty and refrain from interfering
in the internal affairs of one another.
On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir
Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud met in
China in the first formal meeting of the two countries’ top diplomats in seven
years.
Source: Fars News Agency
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Iranian President: Israelis in Rush to Evacuate
Palestinian Lands
2023-April-12
During a speech on the occasion of the Qadr Night in
Tehran on Tuesday, Rayeesi referred to an internal political and social crisis
in the occupied territories as a sign that the downfall of the Zionist regime
will be much more imminent than expected.
The president added that Zionists are fighting each
other and they are in a hurry to destroy themselves.
The Iranian president also referred to a statement
made by Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei
several years ago which indicated that the Zionist regime will cease to exist a
quarter of century from then.
Israel has been grappling with grave domestic and
international crises in recent months. The occupied territories have been the
scene of massive rallies for the past 14 consecutive weeks over Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial overhaul.
Critics see the cabinet's drive as a threat to the
court's independence and an attempt at a legal coup.
“We will carry out our political and spiritual duty on
the Quds day,” Rayeesi stressed.
In early April, Supreme Leader of the Islamic
Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said that the internal crises within
the Israeli regime have accelerated the collapse of the Zionists to happen even
before the 25-year deadline previously declared by him.
While referring to the Zionist regime as an enemy of
the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khamenei pointed out that during the regime’s
75 years of existence, it has never faced problems like the dire ones it is
facing today.
"The Zionist regime has political instability and
has changed four prime ministers in four years; party coalitions collapse
before forming; there is an extreme bipolarity throughout the fake regime,
which is highlighted by the demonstrations of hundreds of thousands of people in
some cities. It is not possible for them to try to make up for these weaknesses
by firing a few rockets," the Leader stated, while giving examples of the
Zionist regime’s chaotic and collapsing state.
He considered the warnings of Israeli officials regarding
the nearing collapse of the Zionist regime as another sign of their weakening.
“We had mentioned [in 2015] that the Zionist regime
would not see 25 years from then, but it seems as though they themselves are in
a rush and want to leave sooner,” the Supreme Leader stressed.
Iran describes Israel as the root cause of the
region’s instability and insecurity, but also stresses Israel's US-supported
barbarity will not change the inevitable fate of the Tel Aviv regime.
Source: Fars News Agency
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Iran Showcases Indigenously-Manufactured Jammer Drone
for First Time
2023-April-12
The Iranian Army's Ground Force unveiled its first
domestically-built jammer unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) designing to disrupt
the communication between hostile drone and their controllers.
The jammer drone is the Iranian Army’s first UAV with
the capability to operate and support electronic warfare and electronic offense
against the enemy’s communication networks.
Brig. Gen. Nemati said that Iran's Army Ground Force
designs and develops its hardware and systems in harmony with potential future
wars.
The top commander highlighted the greatly-enhanced
capabilities of the Ground Force’s unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are
armed with guided missiles and bombs.
The senior military official added that the ground
force has been armed with e-warfare drones for the first time, something that
will further strengthen the country’s defense power in the face of enemy
threats.
Mohajer 6 jammer drone, equipped with a high-tech
system capable of transmitting interfering radio signals, was inaugurated in a
ceremony attended by Commander of the Iranian Army Major General Abdolrahim
Mousavi and a number of senior commanders of the Iran's Army's Ground Force on
Tuesday.
The jammer UAV, along with 1,084 types of new military
equipment and weapons, upgraded, reproduced and produced by the Army's Ground
Force, joined the operational units of the force after the ceremony.
The newly-joined military equipment and weapons cover
the fields of armor, artillery, rockets, drones, helicopters and electronic
warfare.
Among the items that have gone into operation are
“Kian-800” tank transporter, pontoon bridges, a grenade launcher simulator,
“Arash” electronic warfare system, tactical command and control vehicles,
transportation vehicles used to set up portable telecommunication stations, a
tactical cellular system providing mobile network coverage, and “Majid” air
defense system.
Some other products unveiled on Tuesday include
“Almas” missiles, “Qaem” bombs, “Dehlaviyeh-2” anti-tank missiles, three
night-vision optical systems, “Shafaq” chaff and flare countermeasure systems
and missiles paired with Cobra attack helicopters, “Fath-360” missile systems,
smart shells with pinpoint accuracy and various artillery weapons.
Iran has in recent years gained significant progress
in developing surveillance and combat drones. Military officials say Tehran is
self-sufficient in building drones from their fuselage to various subsystems
and engines, adding the country’s Armed Forces are equipped and ready to carry
out any type of drone operations and missions. Tehran stresses its drone
capability is non-negotiable.
Back in late May, Iran showed off an underground drone
base where a range of advanced drones were housed and operated for potential
combat and other missions.
During his visit, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed
Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri underscored that the pilotless aircraft
have enhanced Iran's deterrence power.
He underlined the significance of drones in defending
the country's interests, and added that they have found a special place in
different defensive, offensive, land, sea, air and air defense areas.
Noting that deterrence is not possible with old
methods and equipment and requires new methods, Maj. Gen. Baqeri stated that
“the drones that we saw today can play such a role”.
The Islamic Republic’s military doctrine holds that
the country’s armed capability solely serves defensive purposes.
Iranian military experts and technicians have in
recent years made substantial headway in manufacturing a broad range of
indigenous equipment, making the armed forces self-sufficient in the weaponry
sphere.
Source: Fars News Agency
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AEOI Spokesman: High Quality of Iran's Heavy Water
Acknowledged by US
2023-April-12
Kamalvandi made the remarks while elaborating on
AEOI’s accomplishments in using the nuclear technology for peaceful purposes,
including for the development of highly-needed medicines and in agricultural
production processes.
The official stated that the United States was once
trying to buy heavy water from Iran because of the high quality of isotope
which is a byproduct of the nuclear enrichment process.
“We should know that the heavy water produced in Iran
is among the best in the world and even the Americans were once trying to
purchase it (from Iran) after they analyzed its properties,” the spokesperson
continued.
He added that US officials have mentioned in various
documents that the heavy water produced in Iran has a high quality.
The official stated that heavy water was a subject of
dispute over Irani's nuclear program and attempts were made to prevent Tehran
from running heavy water plants.
“Due to containing deuterium, the water that undergoes
enrichment is used in various fields of medicine and fusion, which is the
future source of energy for humans,” Kamalvandi continued.
Iran has in recent years turned into an exporter of
heavy water to foreign states. Iranian nuclear officials have stated that
Tehran is producing enough heavy water inside the country, and is even
exporting surplus to several states.
In May 2016, then-head of AEOI Ali Akbar Salehi
announced that several European states have shown interest in purchasing heavy
water supplies from Iran.
Deputy head of the AEOI Ali AsqarZare'an also
announced in February 2017 that Tehran is evaluating the European states’ requests
for buying heavy water from Tehran.
"After Iran sold 70 tons of its heavy water to
Russia and US, some European countries have voiced their willingness to buy
Iran’s heavy water," Zare'an told reporters on the sidelines of a Nuclear
Expert Exhibition in Tehran.
Source: Fars News Agency
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Gaza shoppers defy blockade with Ramadan economy
revival
HAZEM BALOUSHA
April 13, 2023
GAZA CITY: At the beginning of Ramadan in the Gaza
Strip, market activity surges as shoppers rush to buy food and household items,
defying deteriorating economic conditions caused by the Israeli blockade.
Large crowds of pedestrians and queues of cars can be
seen in and around market areas, with grocery and household stores packed with
customers.
Merchants and store owners see the month of Ramadan as
an opportunity to revive their businesses, increase demand from Palestinian
consumers and compensate for long periods of stagnation and poor economic
conditions.
“There is no improvement in the economic situation in
the Gaza Strip, but most people tend to save part of their money and salaries
for the month of Ramadan to purchase their needs, which enhances the purchasing
movement,” Mohammed Abu Jbara, a shop owner in Gaza, told Arab News.
“We seek to provide larger quantities of foodstuffs
related to the month of Ramadan in particular, due to the increased demand
about a month before the advent of the month,” he added.
Despite the Gaza Strip suffering from a deteriorating
economy due to the Israeli blockade since mid-2007, as well as the high
unemployment rate and dependence of Gazans on food aid from international
institutions, the month of Ramadan remains a an opportunity to restore the
economy as part of the area’s recovery.
Those fasting in Ramadan focus on foodstuffs to
prepare daily meals for iftar, and women are interested in buying home and
kitchen supplies from household appliances stores. The sale of meat of all
kinds, fresh and frozen, also surges during the holy month, while clothing and
other sectors see a decline before a revival ahead of Eid Al-Fitr.
“When I got my salary at the beginning of the month, I
kept more than half of it to buy the needs for the month of Ramadan. The
expenses in this month increase to at least double,” said DiaSaadi, 45, who was
shopping for his family.
He added: “Even those with limited incomes cannot
bypass the month of Ramadan and not buy their own needs. There are unavoidable
requirements for the family and those who are fasting.”
Public transportation and sweet shops also see a sharp
rise in activity during the holy month.
“Transportation increases dramatically, sometimes up
to three times more than normal days. We suffer most of the year, and we wait
for events in order to get some money by working in the month of Ramadan in
particular." Ammar Daban, 30, a taxi driver, told Arab News.
Payments by the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas
government in Gaza for the monthly salaries of employees also contributed to
the increase in spending.
Othman Abu Al-Nada, the official in charge of the
Al-Nada dairy factory, said that product sales had increased by 70 percent in
the lead-up to Ramadan.
Economists agree that the holy month is an opportunity
for the deteriorating Palestinian economy to experience a short-term revival.
Hamed Jad, an economic journalist, told Arab News:
“Ramadan is a great opportunity for food merchants. There is a significant and
noticeable purchasing movement this year, more than a week ago before the start
of the month.”
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2285866/middle-east
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North America
Eastern Syria helicopter raid captures top ISIS/Daesh
operative: US
FirdevsBulutKartal
12.04.2023
TORONTO
US Central Command Forces captured Hudayfah al Yemeni,
an ISIS/Daesh terror group attack facilitator and two associates in a
helicopter raid in eastern Syria, according to a statement.
No civilians were killed or injured in the operation
that took place late April 8 and the capture of al Yemeni will disrupt the
terror group’s ability to carry out operations, it said.
“Operations against ISIS are important for the security
and stability of the region,” said CENTCOM spokesperson Col. Joe Buccino in the
statement.
“ISIS/Daesh is still a threat in the region and
beyond, and the group still has the capability to carry out operations in Syria
and Iraq,” said Buccino.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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‘Just like everyone else': Muslim Americans strive to
make Eid Al Fitr a school holiday
Jihan Abdalla
Apr 13, 2023
It all started last year, when Saamih Bashir’s eldest
son, Kareem, a ninth-grade pupil in the US state of Michigan, started
complaining about never having the day off from school during Eid Al Fitr.
Instead of being able to enjoy the celebrations and
time with his family, Kareem said he was stressed out.
“He went to the school board meeting and said that we
always have to struggle during Eid, always having to choose between schoolwork
and celebrating the holiday,” said Mr Bashir, 47, a Muslim-American father of
four.
Now Mr Bashir and others are in the process of forming
a Muslim parents’ council. They are also working on submitting an official
petition asking the Plymouth Canton Community school system to have Eid Al
Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, declared a school
holiday.
A 2021 study by the Pew Research Centre found that
there are about 3.85 million Muslims in the US — a little more than 1 per cent
of the population. Of that number, about 1.35 million are school-aged children.
Most school districts across the country have
historically maintained calendars that only take Christian holidays into
account, mainly Christmas and Easter. Some districts with large Jewish
populations also mark Jewish holidays.
In 2015, New York City, where about 10 per cent of the
school-aged population identifies as Muslim, announced that it would close the
public school system in observance of Eid Al Adha and Eid Al Fitr.
Several other school districts in big cities followed
suit, including Philadelphia, Baltimore and a number of districts in Minnesota,
all of which have sizeable Muslim populations.
Now, more pupils and parents in smaller districts in
Michigan, California, New Jersey, Connecticut and other communities across the
country are advocating Muslim holidays to become integrated into school
calendars.
“My son is doing his part and I’m doing mine,” Mr
Bashir, who lives in Canton, Michigan, told The National. “I don't give up. If
one way doesn't work, I will try another way. And I will keep trying until it
happens.”
Canton, located west of the city of Detroit, has a
population of about 100,000. For Eid, Mr Bashir, who was born in Cairo, says
about 4,000 people typically show up for prayers and celebrations at the city’s
three mosques.
After prayers, the mosques host festivals with food
trucks, games and rides for children.
Gesture of equality
“When students are in a school district that has
closed for Eid, it is a very clear sign that the school district sees them as a
viable component of their school district community,” AmaarahDeCuir, a senior
lecturer in education at the American University in Washington, tells The
National.
“It is seen as an action of validation for their
religious priorities.”
According to her research, about 19 school districts
have made the move so far, she says.
But there are many challenges, Ms DeCuir says,
including a common concern among school administrators that recognising Muslim
holidays would mean that other minority religious groups in the US could make
similar demands, at a time when schoolchildren already have many days off every
year.
“There is this idea that if we close for this holiday,
are we closing for all holidays? How are we making this decision?” Ms DeCuir
says.
Drastic change
Research shows that pupils do better academically when
they are in an inclusive environment that fosters their sense of belonging.
Following the 9/11 attacks, Muslims in America were
subjected to hate crimes and discrimination, including in schools.
Under former president Donald Trump, who took office
in 2016, Islamophobia saw a resurgence after he made a number of incendiary
comments, including falsely claiming that Muslims in New Jersey had celebrated
the 9/11 attacks.
His administration also passed legislation that banned
citizens from several Muslim-majority countries from entering the country.
Despite this, Muslim Americans have been gaining more
positive visibility.
In 2019, two Muslim women were elected to Congress,
and the 2022 midterm elections saw a record number of Muslim Americans elected
to office.
Mr Bashir, meanwhile, says he is hopeful that his
efforts will be successful soon. So far, more than 400 parents have signed the
petition to make Eid Al Fitr a holiday, he says.
Source: TheNationalNews
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Canadian Muslims on edge after attacks on mosques
during Ramadan
Willy Lowry
Washington
Apr 13, 2023
Muslim communities across Canada are on edge after a
series of attacks at mosques during Ramadan.
Last week, a man entered a mosque in Markham, Ontario
- a suburb of Toronto - and began to shout threats and racial slurs at
worshippers as he tore apart a Quran.
He then proceeded to exit the mosque, get in a vehicle
and attempt to run over a worshipper, the Islamic Society of Markham said in a
statement.
York Regional Police have arrested Sharan Karunakaran,
28, and charged him with making threats, assault with a weapon and dangerous
driving.
Canada’s newly appointed special representative on combating
Islamophobia visited the mosque on Monday and met members of the local
community.
“Sadly, the attack at the Markham mosque is not an
isolated incident,” Amira Elghawaby said on twitter.
“It comes after a number of recent hate-motivated
attacks and leaves communities uneasy and fearful for their loved ones who
frequent places of worship.”
Days after the Markham incident, a man drove up to
another mosque in Markham, blocked the entrance and shouted derogatory comments
at worshippers.
York Regional Police arrested Mohssen Bayani, 47, on
April 10 on several charges of assault and one count of mischief.
In Montreal, police are investigating a possible hate
crime after a man used a rock to break into Al-Omah Al-Islamiah mosque on
Sunday.
“It is an unfortunate reality that as much as we're
trying to fight and stand up against hate and Islamophobia, we have witnessed
especially during the month of Ramadan, spreading, almost like fire incidents
of Islamophobia,” Samer Majzoub, president of the Canadian Muslim Forum, told
The National.
The Muslim community has increasingly become the
target of prejudice during Ramadan.
“Muslims are more visible, Muslims are going to the
mosque more often to pray, Muslims are congregating in one place and so people
who harbour nefarious intentions towards the Muslim communities tend to see
this as a perfect opportunity to try to harm us,” Stephen Brown, chief
executive of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, told The National.
Canada has seen a rise in violence against Muslims in
recent years, punctuated by the Quebec City mosque shooting of 2017, when a man
entered the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City and killed six worshippers
and injured five others.
Source: TheNationalNews
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US national security advisor speaks with Saudi crown
prince
FirdevsBulutKartal
12.04.2023
TORONTO
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Saudi
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke by phone Tuesday, according to a
statement by the White House.
Sullivan and the crown prince discussed a number of
global and regional matters including the ongoing diplomacy related to the war
in Yemen, said the statement.
Thanks to a UN-mediated truce, the fighting in Yemen
has almost ceased, said Sullivan, describing it as remarkable progress.
Sullivan also welcomed Saudi Arabia's efforts to
follow a more detailed roadmap for ending the war and ensured full support for
these efforts, noting that US Special Envoy Tim Lenderking will be in the
region over the coming days.
"Mr. Sullivan and Crown Prince Salman also
discussed broader trends toward de-escalation in the region while underscoring
the need to maintain deterrence against threats from Iran and elsewhere,"
added the statement.
Sullivan also reaffirmed President Joe Biden’s
unwavering commitment to ensure Iran can never acquire a nuclear weapon.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Muslim group CAIR received 5,156 complaints in 2022, a
23% drop: Report
ServetGünerigök
12.04.2023
WASHINGTON
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
released a report Tuesday covering nationwide incidents of civil rights
complaints by Muslim Americans in 2022 which revealed a 23% decrease.
Last year, the Muslim advocacy group received 5,156
complaints nationwide.
"This is a 23 percent decrease in total
complaints since the 6,720 complaints CAIR received in 2021," said the
report, titled "Progress in the Shadow of Prejudice.”
CAIR noted that it is also the first recorded decline
since they started tracking such data in 1995.
The complaints involved various forms of
discrimination as well as incidents related to law enforcement, education and
sports.
They included airline discrimination, banking
discrimination, bullying, denial of service, education discrimination,
employment discrimination, FBI interrogation, hate crimes and law enforcement
encounters.
The report also noted that complaints about law
enforcement and government overreach dropped by 38%. At the same time,
complaints about school incidents increased by 63%.
According to CAIR National Deputy Director Edward
Ahmed Mitchell, the data reveals both progress and "significant
challenges" in the fight against anti-Muslim bigotry and discrimination.
"The massive 63% rise in school
related-complaints and persistently high reports of employment discrimination,
bias incidents and government abuses are deeply concerning," he said.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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South Asia
Muttaqi Urges International Community to Recognize
Positive Uplift in Afghanistan
By Fidel Rahmati
April 12, 2023
The acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, Mawlavi
Amir Muttaqi, met with the Japanese envoy to Afghanistan Takashi Okada on
Wednesday and discussed bilateral relations and the current political situation
in the country.
According to the Ministry’s statement, Japanese envoys
reportedly indicated their country’s desire to develop relationships with the
present de facto rulers.
The Ministry quoted the Japanese envoy as saying,
“Despite differing views, this country is in favour of interaction with the
authorities of Afghanistan.”
Muttaqi praised the state of affairs in Afghanistan
and asked the region and the international community to acknowledge the
positive developments that are taking place in the country.
However, the latest ban on Afghan women aid workers by
the Taliban authorities received massive condemnation from the UN and the
international communities.
The UN called the ban unlawful under international
law, including the Charter and reiterated that the UN could not comply with it,
said a statement.
The UN also said it might suspend its activities in
Afghanistan due to the ban on female aid workers.
Source: Khaama Press
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Afghan Authorities Respond to UN’s Decision to Suspend
Activities in Afghanistan
By Fidel Rahmati
April 12, 2023
The de facto government on Wednesday responded to the
United Nations’ decision to suspend activities in Afghanistan due to the ban on
female aid workers, saying they did not want to create obstacles for the UN;
instead wanted to “make it clear that this is an internal issue of
Afghanistan.”
On Wednesday, a statement issued by the Taliban
spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid on the recent announcement of the UN office
said that due to the imposed restrictions on women aid workers, the UN has to
suspend its activities and has called the Afghan authorities responsible for
all the consequences of the humanitarian situation.
The statement said the Interim regime “does not want
to create an obstacle for the United Nations; rather, it wants to clarify that
this is an internal issue of Afghanistan, which does not create a problem for
anyone and should be respected by all sides.”
The Taliban authorities severely restricted the
participation of women and girls in most areas of public and daily life in
Afghanistan the day before, according to the United Nations office in
Afghanistan.
In addition, the UN declared the prohibition against
international law, including the Charter, so that it couldn’t be enforced,
according to the statement.
The group emphasized that the ban on female assistance
workers obliged it, in the face of a terrible humanitarian situation in the
nation, to make an “appalling” decision.
Since the return of the Taliban, several restrictions
have been imposed on women, which has been called suppressive for Afghan women;
by which females cannot present in public spaces, gyms, universities, schooling
beyond the sixth grade and work with the international community, including UN
offices.
The Taliban authorities called their ban on religious
and cultural interests rather than restrictions on women’s rights.
In addition, the de facto government claimed that the
future responsibility due to the humanitarian crisis goes to those that have
imposed restrictions on Afghanistan’s financial and banking system and travel
bans on the “Taliban leaders”, the statement said.
Source: Khaama Press
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Delhi school for Afghan kids is Taliban casualty, Govt
steps in to shift students
by Divya Goyal
April 13, 2023
Twenty months after the power shift in Kabul, a school
for Afghan children in faraway Delhi stares at uncertainty, and possible
closure, with the Taliban regime, opposed to education of girls and young
women, withdrawing all support and recognition.
The Ministry of External Affairs has stepped in to
help nearly 300 students of the Sayed Jamaluddin Afghan High School, running
from a rented building in Bhogal in Delhi, by asking them to shift to “other
Indian schools” given that the Afghan education board no longer grants
recognition to the school or its students.
The Indian Express has learnt that teachers at the
school have been asked to vacate the rented building by the end of May and told
that the students must enrol in schools recognised by Indian school boards.
The Afghan school, which has students from classes 1
to 12, uses Dari and Pashto as the teaching medium. It is a unique space for
Afghan children in the heart of Delhi, especially girls.
Started in 1994 as an educational centre for children
of Afghan refugees in India, it became a primary school in 2008 and a high
school in 2017. It was then that the Ashraf Ghani government, on a request from
the refugees in India, began funding the school and granted it recognition.
All that changed when Kabul fell to the Taliban on
August 15, 2021. When the funding from Afghan government stopped, the MEA
helped the school financially and saved it from closure. But now that the school
is no longer recognised by those in control of Afghanistan – India does not
recognise the Taliban government – the MEA plans to shift the students to
schools run by Indian boards.
While MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi declined to
comment on the matter, another official of the Ministry said, “Since the school
is not recognised, we are considering shifting students to schools where they
can get recognised certificates from CBSE etc. This is in the larger and
long-term interest of the students. There is no point in continuing with a
school which is no longer recognised by the authorities in Afghanistan. We will
provide financial support to needy students and help them in shifting.”
Reached for comment, Sayed Ziaullah Hashimi, First
Secretary at the Afghanistan embassy in Delhi and a member of the school board,
said, “Before the Taliban, the school was recognised by the Afghan government
which used to issue certificates for board classes. After the Taliban takeover,
the Afghan embassy was issuing certificates not recognised by any board. The
students are being shifted for their better future. We will try to arrange
other jobs for the teachers who will be unemployed.”
A teacher told The Indian Express: “We were informed
by Afghan embassy officials that we have to vacate the building by March 31.
After we protested, they granted an extension until May-end. They told us that
the MEA will no longer financially support our school and we have to close it.
They said students will be transferred to Indian schools. They said the school
is being closed as it does not have CBSE recognition and the building is not as
per standards.”
At least 17 teachers will be unemployed if the school
shuts down.
Despite challenges, of the 278 students, there are
more girls (143) than boys (135) in the school. Seventeen students who passed
out in 2022 had made it to universities, including 13 in Delhi University.
Earlier, the school had also setup ‘Gandhi-Badshah
Khan Educational Society’, named after Mahatma Gandhi and Abdul Ghaffar Khan,
and was planning to apply for CBSE affiliation. Asked why the school cannot be
given CBSE affiliation, MEA official said: “They won’t be able to fulfil
stringent CBSE norms.”
Most students are worried about shifting to Indian
schools because there are multiple issues such as the language barrier,
syllabus change, board exam preparations.
Source: Indian Express
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Taliban aim to boost anti-aircraft capacity to counter
'Pakistan threat'
April 12, 2023
Defence has received the largest share of funds in
Afghanistan's budget as the Taliban government aims to boost forces by a third
and build anti-aircraft missile capacity, the army chief told Reuters in a rare
interview to foreign media.
The defence ambitions of the Taliban, which took over
in 2021, come in the face of strong international criticism of its policies,
such as restrictions on work and education for women, that have hampered steps
towards diplomatic recognition.
In his remarks on Tuesday, Qari Fasihuddin Fitrat, a
Taliban commander from the northern region of Badakhshan and the chief of army
staff, condemned incursions by foreign drones into Afghan airspace.
Defence forces now numbering 150,000 are targeted to
be increased by 50,000, he said, speaking in his office in the highly fortified
defence ministry in Kabul, the capital, although he did not reveal the precise
figure of the funds.
"The ministry of defence is the top-ranked in the
budget," he said, adding that it received a significantly higher sum than
other ministries, as it was a priority in the budget, which is largely funded
by boosted tax and customs revenue.
Since their takeover, the Taliban have spent 1-1/2
years building a civilian administration and a national military out of an
insurgent force that fought a 20-year war against foreign forces and the
previous US-backed Afghan government.
No foreign nation has formally recognised the
government, which is battling economic headwinds following sanctions on the
banking sector and the cutoff of all development aid.
Fitrat said a major defence focus was securing Afghan
airspace against drones and other incursions.
"Anti-aircraft missiles are the need of
countries," he said, adding that all nations sought developed weapons to
ensure the integrity of their territory and airspace, a problem Afghanistan
also faced.
"There is no doubt that Afghanistan is trying,
and doing its best, to have it."
But Fitrat declined to elaborate on where authorities
were looking to procure anti-aircraft missiles from.
'Neighbouring countries should not let our patience be
exhausted'
He also stopped short of naming Pakistan, against
which the Taliban administration has regularly protested, accusing its
neighbour of allowing drones to enter Afghanistan.
"We are doing our best to find a solution for
protection of our airspace. We will work on it by using all our
capability," Fitrat added.
"From where we will obtain it is confidential,
but we should have it."
Pakistan's foreign ministry did not immediately
respond to a request for comment.
Pakistan officials have not confirmed whether its
airspace is used for drone access to Afghanistan.
"We have always tried, and will try, to solve the
issue using diplomatic ways, and we have done our best to be patient regarding
these cases," Fitrat said, but sounded a note of caution.
"Neighbouring countries should not let our
patience be exhausted."
Ties between the neighbours have occasionally been
tense as Pakistan has accused the Taliban administration of allowing Afghan
territory to be used as a haven for militant groups.
Among these is Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which
has stepped up attacks in Pakistan in recent months.
The Taliban administration denies allowing its
territory to be used for attacks on others, however.
There have been border clashes between the forces of
both, and analysts say that in the event of conflict escalating, Pakistan's
airforce would give it a strong edge.
Fitrat said former security personnel, who form a
significant share of Afghanistan's forces, were being paid and treated in the
same way as Taliban fighters.
The comments follow concern voiced by international
rights groups and the United Nations that some former members of Afghan
security forces members were targeted or killed.
Source:Tribune Pakistan
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Traffic Accident Kills 3, Injures 6 in Afghanistan’s
Bamyan Province
By Fidel Rahmati
April 12, 2023
At least three people were killed, and six others were
injured in a traffic accident in the central province of Afghanistan, Bamyan,
Tappa-e-Almas road, local sources said on Wednesday.
According to the sources, the incident occurred while
the Taliban police vehicle skidded off the road, killing three Taliban
personnel and injuring six others.
SaboorSaighani, the provincial spokesperson, said that
the high speed was the main reason for the incident, which deviated the vehicle
from the road.
The official also said the injured were taken to the
hospital for medical treatment.
Since last Wednesday, Afghanistan has experienced five
road accidents. There were already six additional fatalities and fifteen
injuries in separate traffic accidents.
According to reports, there are a lot of road
accidents in Afghanistan that claimed the lives of numerous people, usually on
highways.
Experts have attributed the excessive frequency of
traffic incidents to a lack of traffic rules, damaged roadways, and negligent
driving.
Source: Khaama Press
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https://www.khaama.com/traffic-accident-kills-3-injures-6-in-afghanistans-bamyan-province/
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Uzbekistan to Host Meeting of Special Envoys of Afghanistan’s
Neighbors on Thursday
By Fidel Rahmati
April 12, 2023
The Special envoys from the Seven countries
neighbouring Afghanistan, including Russia, are expected to attend a meeting in
Samarkand on Thursday.
The Fourth Meeting of the Neighboring Countries of
Afghanistan will be held in Uzbekistan, Samarkand City, on Thursday.
The special envoys from the neighbouring countries,
including Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and
Uzbekistan, will come together in Samarkand City to discuss ways of evolving a
regional strategy for dealing with Afghanistan’s current situation.
According to a statement by Chinese officials, Foreign
Minister Qin Gang will lead the Chinese delegation for the fourth foreign
ministers’ meeting of neighbouring countries of Afghanistan.
On the other hand, the Foreign Minister of Pakistan,
Hina Rabbani Khar, will lead the Pakistani delegation in the meeting, a
statement said on Wednesday.
On March 31, 2022, the third regional conference was
held in the Chinese city of Tunxi.
Source: Khaama Press
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Bangladeshi opposition dismisses PM’s ‘laughable’
claims of US meddling in nation’s democracy
SHEHAB SUMON
April 12, 2023
DHAKA: Opposition politicians in Bangladesh on Wednesday
dismissed suggestions by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that the US is seeking to
undermine democracy in the country ahead of its next general election.
In an address to parliament on Monday, Hasina, leader
of the ruling Awami League party, said that Washington is “trying to eliminate
democracy” in Bangladesh and “can overthrow the government of any country.”
He also labeled the leading national daily newspaper,
Prothom Alo, an “enemy of the people.”
The country’s largest opposition party, the Bangladesh
Nationalist Party, described Hasina’s comments as “laughable.”
“While the US has its own challenges of democracy, no
one can accuse the US of attempting to ‘eliminate democracy,’” Barrister
Nawshad Zamir, the party’s international affairs secretary, told Arab News on
Wednesday.
Zamir said there was no reason to be concerned about
foreign interference in Bangladesh’s elections, which are expected to take
place in December or January.
“The concerns (about Bangladesh) expressed by various international
human rights organizations are nothing new,” he added. “The more the world
becomes global, each country and regime will attract more international
scrutiny.”
Hasina’s strong remarks came hours before Bangladeshi
Foreign Minister A. K. Abdul Momen held talks with US Secretary of State Antony
Blinken in Washington, during which the latter “expressed concerns about
violence against, and intimidation of, the media and civil society” in
Bangladesh.
During the meeting, Blinken “underscored that free and
fair elections and respect for human rights in Bangladesh are critical” as the
two countries seek to enhance relations, the US embassy in Bangladesh said on
Wednesday.
The Bangladeshi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Momen
had reaffirmed to Blinken his government’s commitment to free and fair
elections.
Hasina’s comments were likely “an expression of
frustration about recent US statements and positions, particularly on the
election issue,” Humayun Kabir, a former Bangladeshi ambassador to the US, told
Arab News.
Concerns about whether elections in Bangladesh will be
free and fair have been raised not only by the US in recent months, but also
the EU and Japan.
However, Kabir said the South Asian country “should
not be overly concerned” with statements from Washington or other countries.
Issues related to freedom of the media and human rights, he said, are “issues
that we need to be careful about and we need to cultivate.”
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2285776/world
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Southeast Asia
PAAB lights up Ramadan and Syawal for two orphanages
12-04- 2023
KUALA LUMPUR: PengurusanAset Air Berhad (PAAB), a wholly
owned company of the Minister of Finance Inc, today distributed contributions
totalling RM20,000 to brighten up Ramadan and Syawal for residents of two
orphanages.
Acting chief executive officer of PAAB Zulkiflee Omar
said the CSR programme under PAAB Prihatin initiative was channelled to the
Asnaf An-Naafi Welfare Organisation Kuala Lumpur and Telaga Kasih Nur Muhammad
Care Centre involving 71 orphans.
He said the donations included cheques amounting to
RM3,000 for each organisation, shopping vouchers of RM150 per person, iftar
packs and duitraya worth RM50 per person.
“PAAB hopes that with this contribution, it can help
the organisation and the centre to overcome challenges in the month of Ramadan
and lighten their burden to prepare and buy supplies for the month of Syawal
soon.
“Hopefully this small effort of PAAB can bring joy and
smile to 71 orphans ahead of Aidilfitri,” he said during the handing over of
the donation here.
Zulkiflee said PAAB also organised the Shop &
Share campaign that encouraged each of its employees to donate one of their
grocery items to the orphans.
He said among items that were collected were personal
care items, sanitary napkins, kitchen essentials, drink packs and used clothing
with an estimated value of over RM5,000.
Meanwhile, the founder of Asnaf An-Naafi Kuala Lumpur
Welfare Organisation, Aishah Mohamed expressed her gratitude for the
contribution, much so following the charity’s loss of funds after falling
victim to scammers who falsified their bank account information.
Source: TheSunDaily
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https://www.thesundaily.my/local/paab-lights-up-ramadan-and-syawal-for-two-orphanages-GP10864460
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Islam wasathiyah vital for national unity: minister
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for
Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD has emphasized the importance
of following the Islamic teachings of moderation (wasathiyah) to maintain the
unity and integrity of the nation.
Islam wasathiyah teach people to have a balanced
relationship (tawazul), tolerance (tasamuh) for diversity and acknowledge it as
a blessing, as well as wish to always live in harmony and peace (islah), he
said, according to a statement received on Wednesday.
"Creating moderate Muslims is exactly the same as
implementing the essence of the philosophy of the state, Pancasila," he
remarked at the Nuzulul Qur’an commemoration at At-Taufiq Mosque within the
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) School complex here on Tuesday evening.
Nuzulul Qur’an marks Prophet Muhammad’s first
revelation, which is believed to have been conveyed to him on the 17th night of
Ramadan which, this year, coincided with the evening of April 7.
According to Mahfud, the first president of Indonesia,
Soekarno, also practiced the Islamic teachings of wasathiyah because they are
in accordance with the Pancasila.
He further said that the teachings and practices of
wasathiyah are one of the many lessons that can be learned from Al Qur'an.
The Muslims’ holy book contains many lessons, which
can be used as guidelines for advancing Indonesia, he added.
"Al Qur'an is an extraordinary book. It is the
greatest miracle that always brings admiration. There are many guidelines (in
Al Qur’an), which we can adopt for developing Indonesia," he said.
He added that Soekarno’s slogan of “Never Forget
History” — or popularly abbreviated as “Jas Merah” -- is also explained in Al
Qur’an.
The coordinating minister then referred to a verse
from the Al Qur’an, which states that people should learn from history to build
a better future.
Source:AntaraNews
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Arab World
Syria’s foreign minister makes first visit to Saudi
Arabia in over 10 years
12 April ,2023:
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad arrived in Saudi
Arabia’s Jeddah on Wednesday, on the first such trip since the outbreak of the
Syrian civil war in 2011.
Mekdad, who traveled to the Kingdom at the invitation
of Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, was welcomed by Deputy
Foreign Minister Waleed bin Abdulkarim al-Khuraiji upon his arrival at King
Abdulaziz Airport, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
During his visit, Mekdad will discuss Syria’s crisis
including means to reach a political solution that preserves the country’s
unity, security and stability.
Talks will also discuss facilitating the return of
Syrian refugees and securing the delivery of humanitarian aid to affected people
across Syria.
Over the past few months there has been increasing
engagement with Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, who has been isolated since
the start of the Syrian war in 2011.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text of
the original story:
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/saudi-arabia/2023/04/12/Syria-s-FM-arrives-in-Saudi-Arabia-
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Qatar and Bahrain to resume diplomatic ties
13 April ,2023
Qatar and Bahrain will resume their diplomatic ties,
both Bahrain News Agency (BNA) and the Qatari foreign ministry said on
Wednesday.
The move comes over two years after an Arab boycott of
Qatar was lifted.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and
Egypt in January 2021 ended a 3-1/2-year embargo of Qatar but all but Bahrain
restored travel and trade links in 2021.
On Wednesday, the Bahraini-Qatari Follow-up Committee
held its second meeting at the headquarters of the GCC General Secretariat in
the Saudi capital where the decision was made, the two countries said in
separate statements.
In January, Bahrain’s crown prince spoke with Qatar’s
emir by telephone, in a sign the two Gulf states were moving towards repairing
relations.
Source: Al Arabiya
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https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2023/04/13/Qatar-and-Bahrain-to-resume-diplomatic-ties
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UAE’s Rashid Rover, first Arab region’s moon mission,
sets landing date target
12 April ,2023
The UAE’s lunar rover is scheduled to land on the moon
on April 25 at 8:40 p.m. (GMT +4), the Gulf state’s space agency announced on
Wednesday.
The Rashid Rover, built by an Emirati team at the
Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), has spent over four months in space
since its launch in December 2022.
The rover is being transported by the HAKUTO-R Mission
1 Lunar Lander, which will perform multiple orbital control maneuvers to reach
a 100 km circular orbit around the Moon, one hour before initiating the landing
sequence, the state-run WAM news agency reported.
“During the landing sequence, the lander will perform
a braking burn, firing its main propulsion system to decelerate from orbit.
Utilizing a series of pre-set commands, the lander will adjust its altitude and
reduce velocity to make a soft landing on the confirmed site of Atlas Crater in
the Mare Frigoris,” the report said.
It is currently orbiting the Moon at an altitude of
about 100 km at the perilune (periapsis - the points in the orbit that is
closest to the center of the moon) and about 2,300 km at the apolune (apoapsis
- the points in the orbit farthest to the center), according to the same
report.
Alternate landing opportunities are set for April 26,
May 1 and May 3.
The rover was sent to space from Cape Canaveral Space
Force Station in Florida in SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
Before the landing, the team will prepare by
participating in 12 simulated rehearsals at the ground stations.
On the Moon’s surface, the rover will conduct
scientific tests that is expected to contribute to qualitative developments in
the fields of science, communication technologies, and robotics.
The primary goal of the mission is to study the Moon’s
plasma and to provide answers about Moon dust, the lunar surface, mobility on
the Moon’s surface, and how different surfaces interact with lunar particles.
Source: Al Arabiya
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France’s Macron confers highest national order on
Sharjah ruler Sheikh Sultan
12 April ,2023:
The French presidency conferred the highest-ranking
order upon the ruler of the UAE emirate of Sharjah, Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin
Muhammed al-Qasimi on Tuesday.
The National Order of the Legion of Honor was
conferred on behalf of French President Emmanuel Macron to the UAE leader by Nicolas
Niemtchinow, the French ambassador to the UAE, state-run WAM news agency
reported.
Created by Napolean Bonaparte, the order has been
presented for two centuries on behalf of the French head of state to reward
citizens and foreigners in all fields of activity.
The honor was given in recognition of Sheikh Sultan’s
“scientific, cultural and literary contributions and his efforts to boost the
relations between the two countries,” WAM reported.
The ceremony was held in al-Badee Palace and attended
by attended by Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince
and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah; Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi and
Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Rulers of Sharjah.
The French embassy in the UAE also called the ruler a
“true friend” of France in a statement on social media.
The UAE and France share strong bilateral ties. Last
month, the UAE’s COP28 President-Designate Sultan al-Jaber met Macron in Paris
to discuss climate policies.
In February 2023, Catherine Colonna, the French
Minister for Europe and Foreign affairs met with UAE foreign minister Sheikh
Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Meanwhile, last year, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin
Zayed Al Nahyan met Macron on a visit to Paris and a signed wide range of
agreements on topics such as space, education and climate change.
During the visit the UAE and France also announced the
launch of the UAE-France Business Council, which aims to strengthen the
economic relations between the two countries in the fields of energy, transport
and investment.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Eid Al Fitr expected to coincide with Friday, says
Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs
Mariam Nihal
Apr 13, 2023
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs has announced that Eid
is set to coincide with Friday, April 21.
All imams have been asked to perform the Friday prayer
as usual, the ministry said.
Muslims traditionally go to the mosque to perform
early morning Eid prayers but those who wish to stay on after can perform the
Friday prayer then, the ministry advised.
"On an occasion where Eid coincides with a
Friday, whoever is up all night then attends the Eid prayers is not obliged to
attend the Friday prayer in the mosque," says Dr Zohair Ahmad, a UK
national living in Jeddah.
"But it's better if he prays it with people on
Friday. Another exception is that the call to prayer is not prescribed in
mosques, where Friday prayers are held."
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Human Resources and Social
Development on Tuesday announced a four-day Eid Al Fitr holiday for private and
non-profit sectors in the kingdom.
Eid break will begin from Friday, April 21, meaning
residents can start their holiday at the end of the working day on Thursday.
Source: TheNationalNews
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Saudi Arabia, Syria prepare to start resuming consular
services and flights
13 April ,2023
Saudi Arabia and Syria’s foreign ministers welcomed
the beginning of procedures to resume consular services and flights between the
two countries, the Saudi foreign ministry reported on Wednesday citing a joint
statement.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Africa
Muslim will emerge if Igbos don’t produce next Senate
President – Primate Ayodele
April 12, 2023
By Seun Opejobi
The leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church,
Primate Elijah Ayodele, on Wednesday, said the next Senate President should be
Igbo.
Primate Ayodele revealed that if the next Senate
President doesn’t come from the Igbo tribe, the position will likely fall into
the hands of a Muslim.
In a statement signed by his spokesman, Oluwatosin
Osho, the cleric said if a Muslim emerges as the next Senate President, the
incoming government will be in jeopardy because there will be political tension
in the country.
The man of God, who has been against the Muslim-Muslim
ticket of the ruling party, reiterated his stand against the combination,
making it known that God isn’t in support of it and that the country will still
be thrown into crises as a result of the ‘ungodly’ combination.
He further advised Igbo lawmakers to come together to
support one of their own to attain the position of Senate President because the
zone will be sidelined for many years if they are unable to produce the next
person that will occupy the position.
According to Ayodele: “In all fairness, the Igbos
should produce the next Senate President; if not, a Muslim will emerge and
jeopardise the incoming government’s activities. It will also cause political
tension and imbalance in the government.
“Igbo lawmakers need to be united than ever before in
order to push one of their own to become the next senate president because if
they are unable to make it happen, the region will be sidelined in this
incoming government.
“God doesn’t approve this Muslim-Muslim government, it
will still create a lot in the country and will be the worse government so
far.”
Also, in the House of Representatives, Primate Ayodele
advised the opposition to form a coalition in order to defeat the ruling party
in the Speakership race.
He explained that their unity would put the incoming
government on its toes.
Source: DailyPost Nigeria
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Suspected extremist kills self in Moroccan prison
13 April ,2023
A suspected Moroccan extremist arrested in the killing
of a police officer took his own life in prison on Wednesday, the kingdom’s
prison authority said.
The man, suspected to be affiliated with ISIS, was
among three arrested on March 15 over the killing of an officer whose charred
body was found earlier that month near Casablanca.
The suspect died by suicide at the prison in Sale,
near the capital Rabat, where he was taken on March 27, the prison authority
said, adding that the relevant prosecutor and his family had been informed.
According to the initial findings of the
investigation, the three suspects had pledged allegiance to ISIS and “were
determined to take part in a terrorist plan” by killing a police officer, a
statement from the DGSN security said at the time of their arrest.
The policeman’s burned and mutilated body was
discovered on March 2 in a rural area of the Casablanca region.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Syria will reopen embassy in Tunisia after decade of
ruptured ties
12 April ,2023
Syria will reopen its embassy in Tunisia after the
North African country announced the appointment of a new ambassador to
Damascus, Syrian state media reported Wednesday.
Tunisia has become the latest Arab state to
reestablish diplomatic ties with Syria, after cutting off relations a decade
ago.
The move by Tunisian President Kais Saied to appoint a
new ambassador was immediately approved and reciprocated by the Syrian
government, a joint statement from the two countries’ foreign ministries read,
according to Syrian state news agency SANA.
The announcement is the latest step in a regional
trend of rapprochement with the war-torn country, which has picked up pace
since the deadly February 6 earthquake in Syria and Turkey and the
Chinese-brokered reestablishment of ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Europe
UN Palestinian refugee agency urges West Bank workers
to end strike
12 April ,2023
The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency on
Wednesday called on the West Bank local staff union to end a strike, saying the
stoppage was hindering access for hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees
to basic services.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said the West Bank Area Staff Union
(ASU) had issued threats and intimidated employees who were trying to work
despite the strike. The head of the union denied the accusation.
“UNRWA calls on the ASU to end the strike and to stop
intimidating those colleagues who are working to deliver services to the
communities in line with the United Nations values,” it said in a statement.
“More than ever, we must strike the balance between
the right to strike, the right to work and the right of Palestine refugees to
access basic services.”
Jamal Abdallah, head of the union representing workers
paid by the agency in the West Bank, contested the agency’s claim it was making
threats, and pledged to continue striking until salary increase demands were
met.
“We neither threatened nor forced anyone to go on
strike and we didn’t close any headquarters or institutions,” he said.
UNRWA said that since West Bank local staff declared a
strike in early March, many services to nearly 900,000 Palestine Refugees
across the region had been suspended.
Established in 1949 following the first Arab-Israeli
war, it provides public services including schools, primary healthcare and
humanitarian aid in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
In January UNRWA appealed for $1.6 billion in funding
after its head warned it was struggling to fulfil its mandate due to spiraling
costs and shrinking resources.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Man extradited to Britain from Pakistan, charged over
police murder
13 April ,2023
A man has been extradited from Pakistan to Britain and
formally charged in connection with the 2005 murder of a British police
constable, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Wednesday.
Sharon Beshenivsky, 38, died after being shot when
trying to stop a gang robbing a travel agent in Bradford, northern England.
PiranDitta Khan, 74, was taken into custody after
arriving in Britain and is set to appear in court on Thursday, the CPS said in
a statement.
“Since PiranDitta Khan was arrested in Pakistan in
2020, our specialist prosecutors have been working closely with our Pakistani
partners to complete the legal process in the country so that he could be
extradited back to England to face the allegations from almost 20 years ago,”
said Joanne Jakymec, chief crown prosecutor for the CPS.
The CPS first authorized charges against Khan in 2006,
including murder, robbery, two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to
endanger life and two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon. An
extradition warrant was submitted in the same year.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Ex-RAF chief urges UK govt to give Afghan pilot
sanctuary
April 12, 2023
LONDON: An Afghan pilot at the center of a deportation
row in the UK must be granted asylum by the government, a former Royal Air
Force chief in Afghanistan has told The Independent.
Air Marshal Edward Stringer, who is also former
director of operations at the UK’s Ministry of Defence, backed a campaign by
the newspaper encouraging the government to grant the pilot sanctuary.
The Afghan, who was praised by his US commander after
serving alongside Western forces against the Taliban, served in dozens of
combat missions.
In the wake of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in
2021, the pilot made the journey to Britain via Europe on a small boat. He has
been threatened with deportation owing to the illegality of the journey.
Stringer, in an op-ed for The Independent, wrote:
“Many of those in the Afghan forces served with distinction alongside us — and
the Taliban will never forget that.
“We owe them all a debt of honor and should offer them
asylum, and the security we promised them, in the UK — not least because we
could not guarantee them safety and security in Afghanistan. Now is the time
for us to demonstrate the decency on which we so pride ourselves.”
Stringer worked with NATO and Afghan forces as head of
the 904 Expeditionary Air Wing in 2008.
He oversaw the training of a range of Afghan military
personnel during the Western coalition’s conflict with the Taliban.
“The Taliban know as well as we do that we helped
train the Afghan pilots (I remember vividly the start of that mission in
Kandahar in 2008) and we should stand by those brave men — like the pilot you
are campaigning for — now,” Stringer wrote.
“We must offer safe haven to the pilot who risked his
life to fight alongside us. And we must be generous to all his comrades now, in
their hour of need.”
Stringer is joined by a number of high-profile British
military figures who have backed The Independent’s campaign in calling for the
pilot to be offered sanctuary.
Former British Army chief Sir Richard Dannatt, former
NATO chief Lord Robertson and former chief of joint operations Gen. Sir Richard
Barrons have urged the granting of asylum for the pilot.
Stringer also criticized government measures aiming to
safeguard at-risk Afghans, claiming that bureaucracy is leaving people behind.
“The limited numbers making it via the various schemes
and safe routes, and the bureaucratic cock-ups along the way, suggest that the
system is not as joined-up across government departments as it might be,” he
wrote.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2285746/world
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Greece expects to discuss vital issues with Türkiye
after elections in May
Ahmet Gencturk
13.04.2023
Greece expects to discuss important issues with
Türkiye following elections in both countries in May, Foreign Minister Nikos
Dendias said late Wednesday.
Emphasizing that the current calm atmosphere in
Turkish-Greek relations will not have an “expiration date,” Dendias told public
broadcaster ERT that “after the elections, we will return to a serious
discussion to resolve our differences.”
He warned that the discussions should start as soon as
new governments are formed in both countries after the polls to take advantage
of the current momentum.
Asked whether the discussions with Türkiye would be in
the form of exploratory talks, Dendias said the previous 63 rounds of such
talks did not yield the desired results, adding “if there is no convergence on
the major matters, the solution cannot be provided by a different process in
minor matters.”
On the possibility of seeking solutions to disputes
between the two NATO allies through a multilateral conference, he stressed that
it is very unlikely.
Dendias also said that a pro-Western oriented Türkiye
is in the interest of every concerned side, including Greece.
In reference to the matter of the demarcation of the
continental shelf and exclusive economic zones (EEZs) between Greece and
Albania, he expressed hope for significant developments within this year.
Dendias said the Albanian government is preparing to
sign the deal and submit it to the president for approval.
Greece was among the first countries to convey its
condolences and offer aid on Feb. 6, when twin earthquakes struck 11 southern
Turkish provinces.
Likewise, Türkiye was the first country to offer its
condolences and aid following a Feb. 28 train accident in northern Greece that
left at least 57 people dead.
After the accident, Türkiye allowed the transfer of a
Greek prisoner to Greece to attend his son's funeral.
On March 20, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
and Dendias met in Brussels and agreed that Türkiye would support Greece’s
campaign for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council in 2025-2026 and
Athens would support Ankara’s candidacy for secretary general of the
International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Bulgaria reiterates support for Bosnia’s EU bid
Ahmet Gencturk
12.04.2023
Bulgaria on Wednesday reiterated its support for
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s EU bid and Euro-Atlantic integration, local media
reported on Wednesday.
“Sofia and Sarajevo share common views on almost all
matters of security and development in Southeastern Europe and with respect to
bilateral relations,” Foreign Minister Nikolay Milkov said following his
meeting with Bosnian counterpart ElmedinKonakovic in the Bulgarian capital,
according to state-run BTA news agency.
“The two countries have no outstanding issues between
them,” he said.
Bulgaria wishes to serve as an advocate for Bosnia and
Herzegovina in the European Commission and the European Council, Milkov said.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/bulgaria-reiterates-support-for-bosnia-s-eu-bid/2870417
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