Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Claims Responsibility for Missile Attack against Israel’s “Strategic Centre”
New Age Islam News Bureau
14 March 2022
View of a house belonging
to a Kurdish businessman that was damaged in the Iranian ballistic missile
attacks in Erbil, Iraq 13 March 2022 (MEE/Wladimir van Wilgenburg)
•Al-Azhar Grand Imam Calls Russia and Ukraine for
Unity to ‘Extinguish Fires of War’
• An Ibadan-Based Islamic Scholar Advocates Spiritual
Training for Children to Curb Social Vices
• Islamic Values Being Violated In Political
Confrontation: Islamic scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani
• Afghanistan’s Embassy in Washington May Shut down
Next Week
Mideast
• ‘Work to evacuate around 25 citizens from Mariupol
mosque ongoing’
• Iranian missiles rain down on ‘strategic Israeli
centre’ in Iraq
• Official: Sweden Turned into Command Center of
Anti-Iran Terrorism
• 47 children killed, maimed in Yemen in two months:
UNICEF
• Iran denounces Saudi executions after suspending
talks
• Houthis attempt to raze Turkish memorial cemetery in
Yemeni capital
• Birzeit University: Israel trying to restrict
Palestinians right to education
• UN: Israeli forces killed 8 Palestinians in two
weeks, demolished 29 buildings
--------
Arab
World
• Yoga to Be Introduced In Saudi Schools as A Sport
• Hezbollah: Mass executions illustrate Saudi
sectarian discrimination
• Iraq demands “clear explanation” from Iran over
Erbil attack, summons ambassador
• Arab Coalition conducts 21 targeted strikes in Yemen
against Iran-backed Houthis
• Saudi Arabia confirms holding company to develop
nuclear facilities, atomic industry
• US forces, SDF militants move Daesh terrorists from
detention camps in eastern Syria to Hasakah
--------
Africa
• Death toll from Sudan’s Darfur clashes rises to 35:
Medics
--------
Pakistan
• No-Confidence Motion: Pakistan's Sindh Governor
threatens PTI party leaders of action if they vote against Imran Khan
• Opposition lambastes govt, saying 'can't talk with
thugs, hooligans like Imran Khan'
• Aim is to make Pakistanis one nation, says PM Imran
• 'Could have responded to India after its missile
landed in Pakistan': Imran tries to put up a bold stance amid domestic troubles
• Karachi police fear resurgence of sectarian
terrorism
--------
South
Asia
• US Dollar devalued, food prices yet to fall in Kabul
• Turkey, Qatar 1st choice for Kabul airport, Taliban
says
• Afghanistan: Ex-police officer in Taliban detention
since three weeks
• Afghan diplomats under pressure from Taliban regime
--------
Southeast
Asia
• 80 Islamic Religious Teachers Lauded For Their
Efforts to Support Prison Inmates in Singapore
• Cabinet ties not affected by Johor polls results,
says PM
• Flautist Ayawan’s ode to nature and spirituality
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North
America
• US Working To Help Iraq Get Missile Defence
Capabilities: White House
• Top US, Ukrainian diplomats discuss trilateral
meeting held in Turkiye
• US says Afghan embassy, now out of money, will close
down
• US seizing tankers has failed to stop Iran’s oil
exports: Oil minister
--------
India
• Muslim Shrine in Madhya Pradesh Found Smeared with
Saffron Colour, Police Book Unidentified Persons
• Karnataka: Thanks to Muslim man, 5 Hindu pairs wed
in Koppal
• 4 Bangladeshi terrorists setting up sleeper cells
held by Madhya Pradesh cops
• Four active associates of JeM arrested in J&K's
Pulwama
• Survey Shows 8% Muslims Voted For BJP In UP
--------
Europe
• Missile Attack In Northern Iraq Could ‘Jeopardize’
Return To Nuclear Deal, France Warns Iran
• Turkish mosque in Ukraine’s Mariupol city ‘remains
intact’
• Greek, Turkish leaders seek common ground over
Ukraine war
• Turkish, Armenian foreign ministers meet amid
efforts to mend ties
• Chechen leader Kadyrov says he travelled to Ukraine
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/iran-missile-attack-israel/d/126568
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Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Claims Responsibility for Missile Attack against Israel’s “Strategic Centre”
View of a house belonging
to a Kurdish businessman that was damaged in the Iranian ballistic missile attacks
in Erbil, Iraq 13 March 2022 (MEE/Wladimir van Wilgenburg)
------
2022-March-13
The IRGC in its statement issued a stern warning to
Israel following a retaliatory missile strike on the "strategic centre of
Zionist conspiracy and evil" in the Northern Iraqi Kurdistan city of
Erbil, stressing that the operation was in response to an Israeli airstrike on
the Syrian capital of Damascus last Monday, in which two IRGC officers were
martyred.
"Following the recent crimes of the fake Zionist
regime and the previous announcement that the crimes and evils of this infamous
regime will not go unanswered, the strategic center for conspiracy and evil of
the Zionists was targeted by powerful and pinpoint missiles of the Islamic
Revolution Guards Corps," it said.
"Once again, we warn the criminal Zionist regime
that the repetition of any evil will face harsh, decisive and destructive
responses," the IRGC statement said.
"We also assure the great nation of Iran that the
security and peace of the Islamic homeland is the red line of the armed forces
of the Islamic Republic of Iran and they will not allow anyone to threaten or
attack it."
Scores of ballistic missiles hit secret Mossad bases
in Erbil, reportedly leaving several Israeli operatives dead.
Citing security sources, Iraq’s Sabereen News reported
that two Mossad training centers were targeted by ballistic missiles in the
early hours of Sunday.
Al-Mayadeen said a Mossad base on the Masif-Saladin
street in Erbil was “fully razed to the ground and a number of Israeli mercenaries
were killed or injured”.
Source: Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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Al-Azhar Grand Imam Calls Russia and Ukraine for Unity to ‘Extinguish Fires of War’
Egypt s Grand Imam of
Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayyeb. Photo courtesy of Al-Azhar Facebook page.
-----
13 Mar 2022
“My generation and I have witnessed the cruelty and
bitterness of wars and conflicts. We also witnessed their ruinous effects
through economic collapse; wasted resources; and the spread of poverty,
illiteracy, disease, and hate,” said the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, the world’s
leading Sunni Muslim institution.
Reaching day 17 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the
war has so far forced more than 2.5 million people to flee Ukraine, while
others seek refuge in basements, subway stations, and underground shelters,
according to the UNHCR.
Thousands of soldiers on both sides are believed to
have been killed along with many civilians since the start of the invasion,
including at least 79 Ukrainian children.
“Unite your efforts towards saving the vulnerable and
displaced, for history will remember your ability to achieve stability,
justice, and peace for your people and humanity,” El-Tayyeb concluded.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis condemned the “barbarity” of
killing children and civilians while speaking to thousands of people in St.
Peter’s Square for his Sunday blessing.
“In the name of God... stop this massacre,” the pope
said.
This comes after a series of attacks that targeted
various civilian areas, including religious buildings.
Earlier last week, the grand imam called on Russia and
Ukraine to defer to the voice of reason as well as on world leaders and
international institutions to support peaceful solutions between the two
neighbours.
“Wars will only bring more death, destruction, and
hatred to our world. Conflicts can only be settled through dialogue,” he said
last week.
Source: Ahram
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/462743.aspx
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An Ibadan-Based Islamic Scholar Advocates Spiritual Training for Children To Curb Social Vices
Photo: Daily Post
-----
March 13, 2022
By Musliudeen Adebayo
An Ibadan-based Islamic cleric, Mallam Ali Temitope
Abdussalam, has advised parents to give their children proper training before
they become adults.
Abdussalam, who is the Director of Ali Institute for
Qur’an memorisation, Ibadan, noted that failure to give children proper home
and spiritual training they need at a tender age may lead to regret when they
grow up to be adults.
Abdussalam made these disclosures on Sunday in Ibadan,
the Oyo State capital, during the graduation of his students.
He said that in this period where social vices are
common among the youths, there is a need for parents to give children the moral
upbringing and teachings they need to prepare for the future, adding that
society is getting more corrupt on a daily basis.
He said that the only way to get out of this mess is
for the parents to equip their children properly at a tender age so that they
can be better citizens when they grow old.
Always remember that failure to give them the
spiritual diet they need today will lead to regret tomorrow regardless of their
level of western education.
“There is no doubt in the fact that society is getting
more corrupt by the day as what our children are exposed to ranging from music
to movies and negative exposures on the social media are most destructive to
their moral and spiritual senses.
“We are all witnesses to the aftermath effect of these
tools being deployed by shaytan.
“Unfortunately, parents that are expected to explain
to these innocent children the evils in our society, their effects and how to
avoid them are busy seeking daily livelihood and not having enough time to
guide these children,” he said.
Source: Daily Post Nigeria
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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Islamic Values Being Violated In Political Confrontation:
Islamic scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani
Mufti Taqi Usmani. Photo: Twitter
-----
Mar 14 2022
Expressing his grave concern over the ongoing
confrontation among the top political leaders, renowned Islamic scholar Mufti
Taqi Usmani Monday said that Islamic values are violated in the political
squabble in the country.
Mufti Usmani's statement was issued on his official
Twitter account today after a series of harsh statements from Prime Minister
Imran Khan against his political rivals during the past few days since the
Opposition filed a no-trust motion against the premier.
"It's frightening to think about how the Islamic
rules and values are being abused in political squabbles. May Allah keep us
safe from the consequences. In Surah Al-Hujurat, the Holy Qur'an says, do not
make fun of one another, do not gossip, do not be suspicious, and do not call
anyone by name."
He also urged the political leadership to be decent as
it is also detrimental to society.
"Whether the difference is political or
ideological, to make it a matter of taking one's life and abusing each other is
deadly for the society. Criticism is done through arguments and not by vulgar
language. Think about where we are going," he said.
Shujaat's advice to PM
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, a veteran politician and the
leader of the PML-Q also chastised the ongoing political quarrel and said that
if Prime Minister Imran Khan had followed Quranic teachings, he would not have
attempted to malign or call politicians names.
He urged him not to abandon decency and tolerance.
Shujaat was reacting to the PM's recent attacks on the
country's political elite on Sunday.
"Imran Khan would not have criticised political
leaders and called them names in his speeches if he had read verse 11 of Surah
Al-Hujurat with translation," the PML-Q leader said.
"O you who believe, no man should ever mock at
other men," Shujaat recited from the verse.
“May be, the latter are better than the former. Nor
should women (ever scoff) at other women. May be, the latter women are better than
the former ones. And do not find fault with one another, nor call one another
with bad nicknames. Bad is the name of sinfulness after embracing Faith. If
anyone does not repent, then such people are the wrongdoers.”
Shujaat advised all politicians to practise tolerance,
saying, “my advice to all politicians is not to give up on politeness and
tolerance in politics.”
Source: Geo TV
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.geo.tv/latest/404955-shujaat-advises-pm-to
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Afghanistan’s Embassy in Washington May Shut down Next
Week
Afghanistan Embassy in
Washington
----
14 Mar 2022
AFP has cited its sources in the US Department of
State as saying, Afghanistan’s embassy in consulates in the United States are
suffering from dire financial problems that will lead to their closure as soon
as next week.
The source on the condition of anonymity said that
bank accounts of the embassy and consulates are no longer available for the
Afghan diplomats.
The source has further added, the Afghan diplomats
have been given a month to apply for a US visa lest they will be extradited.
There are reportedly between 90 to 100 Afghan
diplomats settled in the embassy in Washington, consulates in New York and Los
Angles, and in Afghanistan’s permanent mission in the United Nations.
“US State Department is preparing for gradual closure
of Afghan embassy and consulates in close coordination with the embassy. The
Department will be protecting properties of Afghanistan until the diplomatic
mission resumes its activities in the country.” AFP quoted the source as
saying.
Earlier, Afghan diplomats based in the US had
confirmed a letter by the State Department regarding the closure of embassy and
consulates. They had also said that the embassy’s bank accounts have been
frozen.
If closed, this will be the first Afghan embassy that
shuts down after the Taliban takeover.
Source: Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.khaama.com/afghanistans-embassy-in-washington-may-shut-down-next-week-5476567/
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Mideast
‘Work to evacuate around 25 citizens from Mariupol mosque ongoing’
MAR 13, 2022
Serious work to evacuate between 25 and 30 Turkish
citizens from a mosque in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol is ongoing,
diplomatic sources said.
“We got closer to the mosque step by step from 185
kilometers (114 miles) to 70 kilometers (43.4 miles). Our convoy is being
stopped in places by Russian forces. On the other hand, the imam of the mosque
did not confirm that the Mosque was bombed,” the sources told Daily Sabah.
They also noted that there is also a lot of
disinformation on the ground.
“The information that has come to us is that the bomb
has fallen nearby. The fact that there are different actors on the field at the
moment makes it difficult to get clear information. We will evacuate our
citizens, our efforts are continuing intensively. We currently have around 250
citizens remaining in various regions of Ukraine.”
In total, 14,480 Turkish nationals have been evacuated
since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war.
The Russian army has reportedly surrounded the city
and has been shooting at the city center. Civilians who are stranded in the
city are said to be in need of essential goods, including water and food.
Source: Daily Sabah
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of the original story:
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Iranian missiles rain down on ‘strategic Israeli
centre’ in Iraq
March 14, 2022
ARBIL: Iran claimed responsibility for a missile
strike on Sunday on the northern Iraqi city of Arbil, saying it targeted an
Israeli “strategic centre” and warning of more attacks.
Authorities in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region said
12 ballistic missiles rained down on Arbil in a pre-dawn cross-border attack
targeting US interests that slightly wounded two civilians and caused material
damage.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed they fired the
projectiles, claiming they were targeting sites used by Israel, a top ally of
the US.
A “strategic centre for conspiracy and mischiefs of
the Zionists was targeted by powerful precision missiles fired by the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps”, the Guards said in a statement.
Revolutionary Guards had vowed to avenge the death of
two officers in an attack in Syria they blamed on Israel
There was no immediate reaction from Israel. Kurdish
authorities insisted that the Jewish state has no sites in or anywhere near
Arbil, and accused Iran of repeatedly targeting the autonomous region without
international censure.
Iran holds considerable influence over the federal
government in Baghdad, and Iraq is home to a dwindling number of US troops who
lead a coalition against the militant Islamic State group.
Washington has routinely blamed rocket and drone
attacks on its interests in Iraq — including sites in Kurdistan — on pro-Iran
groups who demand the departure of the remaining troops. But cross-border
missile fire is rare.
A correspondent in Arbil said he heard three
explosions before dawn.
Taxi driver Ziryan Wazir said he was in his car when
the missiles struck. “I saw a lot of dust, then I heard a very loud noise. The
windows of my car exploded and I was injured in the face,” he said, his head
swathed in white gauze and a bloodied scar running the length of his cheek.
Sunday’s missile assault comes nearly a week after the
Guards vowed to avenge the death of two of their officers killed in a rocket
attack in Syria they blamed on Israel. Iran backs the government in Syria’s
civil war. Israel, the Guards said at the time, “will pay for this crime”.
The Kurdistan Regional Government accused Iran of
“targeting (the) Kurdistan Region multiple times” in a statement on Twitter.
The Guards, in their statement, said: “Once again, we
warn the criminal Zionist regime that the repetition of any mischief will face
harsh, decisive and destructive responses.”
Arbil’s Governor Oumid Khouchnaw told a news
conference that along with the taxi driver, a farm custodian was also injured.
Speaking before Iran claimed the attack, he dismissed
as “baseless” any notion of Israeli sites in and around Arbil.
“We’ve been hearing for some time that Israeli sites
are present,” he said. “There are no Israeli sites in the region.”
He said the missiles fell into vacant lots but that
buildings and homes were damaged. The interior ministry in Arbil said a “new
building” housing the US consulate in a residential suburb of the city was the
target of the attack.
Kurdistan24 television channel, located near the US
consulate, posted images on social networks of its damaged offices, with
collapsed sections of false ceiling and broken glass.
Washington said there was “no damage or casualties at
any US government facility”.
“We condemn this outrageous attack and display of
violence,” a State Department spokesperson said.
The US embassy in Baghdad said “Iranian regime
elements” who claimed responsibility “must be held accountable for this
flagrant violation of Iraqi sovereignty”.
Saudi Arabia expressed “solidarity” with Iraq and
support for any measures “to protect its security and stability”.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said he
“strongly” condemned the attack in the neighbouring country, and had been in
touch with his Iraqi counterpart.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1679873/iranian-missiles-rain-down-on-strategic-israeli-centre-in-iraq
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Official: Sweden Turned into Command Center of
Anti-Iran Terrorism
2022-March-13
Qaribabadi firmly criticized Sweden’s support for
terrorist groups like Alahwaziah and Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO also
known as MEK, NCRI or PMOI), saying that Sweden has turned into the command
center of anti-Iran terrorism in Europe.
He also blasted Sweden for allegations and anti-human
rights measures against an Iranian national named, Hamid Nouri.
Qaribabadi said that Nouri was trapped in 2018 in
Stockholm airport under the pretext of a complaint case filed based on
unfounded allegations.
The Swedish attorney asked the court to issue Nouri’s
arrest warrant without adequate and comprehensive investigation, leading to
violation of the presumption of innocence principle and the right to freedom of
movement in relation to the aforementioned, he added.
Qaribabadi also said that Nouri was kept in solitary
confinement for 21 months from his arrest until the investigations were over
which proves that his arrest was arbitrary and without documented proof.
The Iranian official accused Sweden of violating the
1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and failing to inform Iran of the
arrest.
Swedish official have refused to let Nouri’s family
meet him, although they have travelled the country twice, according to
Qaribabadi who also added that the Swedish official have deprived Nouri of
access to medical treatment.
Nouri has also been humiliated and tortured by Swedish
officials and has been undressed in front of the female agents against his own
desire, Iran’s human rights official noted.
Qaribabadi had also earlier this month blasted the
western states for turning a blind eye to the crimes committed by MKO terrorist
group and giving immunity to its members.
Qaribabadi made the remarks in a letter addressed to
the United Nations secretary-general, the UN high commissioner for human
rights, and the UN Human Rights Council as well as the heads of the European
Council, Commission, and Parliament.
Reports said in December that several members of the
MKO terrorist group were detained in Europe for money laundering and drug and
human trafficking.
Albanian newspaper 'Exit' reported that a document,
addressed to a foreign diplomatic recipient, bearing the signature and stamp of
the Director of the Criminal Police Department in the State Police, gives
details of a serious rap sheet of offences, reportedly involving MKO members.
It added that two MKO members, along with their
Albanian and Greek accomplices, were apprehended for direct involvement in
human trafficking. On 11 July 2021, police stopped a car carrying Syrian,
Iraqi, and Kurdish citizens. Further investigations led to the arrest of the
main gang members.
Based on the document, it was discovered that between
2019 and 2021, the same smuggling gang attempted to transfer some 400 members
of MKO from Albania to France.
Meantime, on 18 July 2021, a consignment of drugs was
seized by the police and two MKO senior officials, Narges Abrishamchi and
Hassan Nayeb-Aqa, were arrested. It is reported in the official document they
confessed to playing a pivotal role in organizing and transporting a shipment
of drugs to Italy.
This pattern of criminality, according to an official
source who wished to remain anonymous, told 'Exit', dates back to 2015. The
documents and the source claim that information on these crimes has also been
handed over to the US embassy in Tirana.
'Exit' contacted the US embassy to comment but no
formal response has been given.
The MKO is listed as a terrorist organization by much
of the international community. Its members fled Iran in 1986 for Iraq, where
they received support from then dictator Saddam Hussein.
The notorious outfit has carried out numerous attacks
against Iranian civilians and government officials for several decades.
In 2012, the US State Department removed the MKO from
its list of designated terrorist organizations under intense lobbying by groups
associated to Saudi regime and other regimes adversarial to Iran.
A few years ago, MKO members were relocated from their
Camp Ashraf in Iraq’s Diyala Province to Camp Hurriyet (Camp Liberty), a former
US military base in Baghdad, and were later sent to Albania.
Those members, who have managed to escape, have
revealed MKO's scandalous means of access to money, almost exclusively coming
from Riyadh.
The MKO terrorist group specified the targets as
martyred Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, who commanded the Quds Force of
the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and Iranian President Seyed Ebrahim
Rayeesi.
The terrorist organization said it would “welcome”
their assassination, adding that it desired for the ranking officials to “join”
Asadollah Lajevardi, Tehran’s former chief prosecutor, and Ali Sayyad-Shirazi,
a former commander of the Iranian Army’s Ground Forces during Iraq’s 1980-88
war against Iran.
Earlier in June 2019, a leaked audio of a phone
conversation between two members of MKO, revealed Saudi regime has colluded
with the MKO elements to frame Iran for the tanker attacks in the Persian Gulf.
In the audio, which is being released by the Iran
Front Page for the first time, Shahram Fakhteh, an official member and the
person in charge of MKO’s cyber operations, is heard talking with a US-based
MKO sympathizer named Daei-ul-Eslam in Persian, IFP news reported.
In this conversation, the two elements discuss the
MKO’s efforts to introduce Iran as the culprit behind the tanker attacks in the
Persian Gulf, and how the Saudis contacted them to pursue the issue.
“In the past week we did our best to blame the
[Iranian] regime for the (oil tanker) blasts. Saudis have called Sister Maryam
(Rajavi)’s office to follow up on the results, [to get] a conclusion of what
has been done, and the possible consequences,” Fakhteh is heard saying.
“I guess this can have different consequences. It can
send the case to the UN Security Council or even result in military
intervention. It can have any consequence,” Daei-ul-Eslam says.
Attacks on two commercial oil tankers in the Gulf of
Oman on June 13, 2019 and an earlier attack on four oil tankers off the UAE’s
Fujairah port on May 12, 2019, escalated tensions in West Asia and raised the
prospect of a military confrontation between Iran and the United States.
The US, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE have rushed to blame
Iran for the incidents, with the US military releasing a grainy video it
claimed shows Iranian forces in a patrol boat removing an unexploded mine from
the side of a Japanese-owned tanker which caught fire in 2019.
It later released some images of the purported Iranian
operation after the video was seriously challenged by experts and Washington’s
own allies.
Source: Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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47 children killed, maimed in Yemen in two months:
UNICEF
12 March ,2022
Forty-seven children were “killed or maimed” in
Yemen’s civil war in January and February following a surge in violence, the
United Nations children’s fund said on Saturday.
Children are the “first and most to suffer,” UNICEF
said, adding that a total of at least over 10,000 minors have been killed or
injured in a war that has raged since 2015.
“Just over the first two months of this year, 47
children were reportedly killed or maimed in several locations across Yemen,”
Philippe Duamelle, UNICEF representative to Yemen, said in a statement.
“Since the conflict escalated in Yemen nearly seven
years ago, the UN verified that more than 10,200 children have been killed or
injured. The actual number is likely much higher.”
In the Ukraine war, at least 71 children have been
killed and more than 100 wounded in two weeks since Russia’s invasion on
February 24, a Ukrainian parliament official said Thursday.
Hundreds of thousands of people have died as a direct
or indirect consequence of Yemen’s war between the Iran-backed Houthi militia
and government forces.
In November, the UN Development Programme said 377,000
lives would have been lost through fighting, hunger, unclean water and disease
by the end of 2021.
“Violence, misery and grief have been commonplace in
Yemen with severe consequences on millions of children and families,” Duamelle
said.
“It is high time that a sustainable political solution
is reached for people and their children to finally live in the peace they so
well deserve.”
The conflict has caused a collapse in basic services
such as healthcare and education, with millions of people displaced and 80
percent of the population dependent on aid.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Iran denounces Saudi executions after suspending talks
Syed Zafar Mehdi
14.03.2022
TEHRAN, Iran
Iran strongly condemned Saudi Arabia’s mass execution
of convicted criminals over the weekend, saying the move violates "basic
principles of human rights and international law.”
In a statement late Sunday, Foreign Ministry spokesman
Saeed Khatibzadeh said the mass execution Saturday by Saudi authorities of 81
men reportedly convicted of terrorism and capital crimes was carried out
"without observing fair judicial processes.”
Saudi Arabia announced the execution of 81 people --
the largest mass execution in the country's history -- accusing them of crimes
including murder, rape, arms smuggling and ties to terrorist groups.
Most of them were Saudi nationals, and more than half
of them belonged to the Shia Muslim community, according to reports.
In a strong protest, Khatibzadeh said the executions
and violence "were not a solution to the crisis of their own making,"
accusing the Saudi government of "covering up political and judicial
turmoil" and "repressing the people."
The statement came hours after Iran temporarily
suspended a fifth round of tension-easing talks with Saudi Arabia brokered by
Iraq which were set to resume Wednesday after a long pause.
While it did not cite any reason for the unilateral
decision, observers believe the executions could have been a trigger.
The two Persian Gulf neighbors fell out in January
2016 following attacks on two Saudi diplomatic missions in the cities of Tehran
and Mashhad which were triggered by Saudi Arabia’s execution of prominent Shia
cleric and activist Sheikh Baqir Nimr al-Nimr.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/iran-denounces-saudi-executions-after-suspending-talks/2534223
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Houthis attempt to raze Turkish memorial cemetery in
Yemeni capital
Mahmut Geldi
12.03.2022
Houthi elements in Yemen attempted to demolish a
memorial cemetery to Turkish memorial cemetery in the war-torn country's
capital on Saturday morning, local press reported.
Citing eyewitnesses, Yemeni media outlets reported
that armed members of the Iranian-backed group used an excavator in an attempt
to raze the monument in the historical district of Sanaa.
Footage emerged on social media of the move in which
the monument cemetery was damaged.
Numerous Yemeni activists and writers spoke out on
social media against the actions of the Houthis, which have been in control of
Sanaa and other parts of the country for years.
Many of these accused the group of trying to break
ties with friendly and brotherly countries, as well as of being hostile to
Yemen's history and culture.
The monument in Yemen was opened in 2011 by former
Turkish President Abdullah Gul, who came to Yemen on an official visit.
The cemetery, which is on the former site of an
Ottoman barracks, memorializes the empire's soldiers who lost their lives in
Yemen for 400 years.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Birzeit University: Israel trying to restrict
Palestinians right to education
13 March 2022
Israel is trying to restrict the Palestinians’ right
to education and undermine the academic freedom and autonomy of Palestinian
universities, a report says.
Officials at Birzeit University (BZU), located in the
occupied West Bank, said the university rejected the Tel Aviv regime’s most
recent attempt to limit the fundamental right of Palestinians to education, the
official Wafa news agency reported on Sunday.
According to an Israeli military order titled
“Procedure for Entry and Residency of Foreigners in Judea and Samaria Region,”
which is scheduled to take effect in May, the Israeli military will be granted
immense powers to isolate Palestinian universities from the outside world and
to determine the future course of Palestinian higher education.
“The new directive invests the Israeli military the
absolute right to select which international faculty, academic researchers and
students may be present at Palestinian universities, as well as impose their
own arbitrary criteria on which fields of study are permissible and what
qualifications are acceptable,” the BZU said in a statement carried by Wafa.
The public university said the new directive requires
each applicants “to submit to interrogation at an Israeli diplomatic mission in
the country of origin, while imposing stiff monetary bonds on those selected
for entry. Further, the directive sets a low ceiling on the number of foreign
teachers and students (100 and 150 per year, respectively), and limits the
duration of employment to five non-consecutive years, thereby denying
sustainable hiring and promotion of faculty.”
“Consequently, some current faculty and students who
do not hold residency permits may be forced to leave and academic programs face
the inability to recruit new hires and undertake collaborative scholarly
research and exchanges. Plainly put, the directive puts Palestinian
Universities under siege and divests them of basic control over their academic
decisions.”
The statement denounced the order as an “attack” launched
by the regime on the Palestinians’ right to education and academic freedom.
“Birzeit University students, faculty and employees
have suffered for decades under a relentless Israeli military campaign that
includes forced closures, campus incursions, intimidation, and imprisonment.
Such actions are inseparable from the racist and multilayered system of
apartheid and persecution which denies the Palestinian people their most
fundamental rights, including to freedom of expression, and the pursuit of scientific
advancement and development.”
The BZU urged all academic and human rights
organizations to reject such procedures, demanding that governments across the
world hold Israel accountable for the clear violation of international law,
including the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949), the right to education enshrined
in Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and Article
13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
(1966).
The university described the current situation as
dangerous for the future of Palestinian higher education, and at the same time
called for unity to achieve “justice, freedom, and equality.”
“Support our efforts to defend the Palestinian
people’s right to education, free from duress, intervention, and political
persecution. Work with us to break the siege that these regulations impose on
Birzeit and other Palestinian universities. Accept our invitation to teach and
learn in Palestine. Help us exercise our basic right to education and to preserve
the institutional autonomy that we built over the decades despite all
obstacles,” the university said in its statement.
Source: Press TV
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UN: Israeli forces killed 8 Palestinians in two weeks,
demolished 29 buildings
13 March 2022
A new report by the United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says Israeli forces have killed
eight Palestinians and injured 140 others, including 20 children, in the
occupied Palestinian territories in a span of two weeks.
The latest data was released in the bi-weekly
Protection of Civilians report on Saturday. It covered the period between
February 22 and March 9, Palestine’s official Wafa news agency reported.
According to the report, a 23-year-old Palestinian man
who was shot by Israeli forces near the West Bank village of Burqa, north of
Nablus, on March 2, succumbed to his wounds a week later.
On March 1, a 19-year-old Palestinian was shot and
killed near the town of Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem, the report said. Two
others were killed by Israeli forces in the Jenin refugee camp on the same day.
The UN report said a 15-year-old Palestinian boy was
shot in the village of Abu Dis in East al-Quds on March 6, while two
Palestinians of 19 and 22 years of age were shot and killed in the Old City of
al-Quds after they allegedly stabbed and injured three Israeli policemen. A
13-year-old boy was also shot and killed near the town of al-Khader, south of
Bethlehem, on February 22.
The report said virtually half of the injuries
occurred during protests against Israeli settlements as well as in solidarity
with Palestinian families at risk of forced eviction in the Sheikh Jarrah
neighborhood of East al-Quds.
Sheikh Jarrah has been the scene of frequent
crackdowns by Israeli forces on the Palestinians protesting against the
threatened expulsion of dozens of Palestinian families from their homes in
favor of Israeli settler groups.
Since Israel seized East al-Quds in a 1967 war,
Israeli settler organizations have claimed ownership of land in Sheikh Jarrah
and have filed multiple lawsuits to evict Palestinians from the area.
Furthermore, the report said Israeli forces also
demolished 29 Palestinian-owned buildings, two of them punitively, displacing
62 people, including 28 children.
Israeli forces have carried out 82 search-and-arrest
operations and arrested 183 Palestinians during the said two-week period.
Israeli settlers have also injured two Palestinians and damaged Palestinian
property in 20 instances in the mentioned time period.
Israel routinely demolishes Palestinian houses in the
occupied West Bank and East al-Quds, claiming that the structures have been
built without permits, which are almost impossible to obtain. Israeli
authorities also sometimes order Palestinian owners to demolish their own
houses.
Source: Press TV
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Arab
World
Yoga to be introduced in Saudi schools as a sport
GHADI JOUDAH
March 13, 2022
JEDDAH: Yoga will soon be introduced to schools in the
Kingdom as a sport, the president of the Saudi Yoga Committee, Nouf Al-Marwaai,
has said.
Al-Marwaai said there was cooperation with the
Ministry of Education to introduce yoga to all schools in the country as part
of the curriculum due to its multitude of health benefits.
Earlier this week, on March 9, there was an
introductory lecture highlighting the cooperation between the SYC and the Saudi
School Sports Federation and what would transpire from the nationwide
collaboration on the future of yoga in schools.
The Ministry of Commerce approved the teaching and
practice of yoga as a sport in the Kingdom in Nov. 2017.
Al-Marwaai also said in an interview with Asharq
Al-Awsat that yoga was expanding in the Kingdom due to its significance for
mental and physical health.
Wednesday’s introductory lecture was attended by
school principals and physical education teachers from all stages of education,
with the aim of mobilizing the strategy from the Ministry of Education and the
SYC.
It also discussed the aspirations to raise the level
of pupils’ sports participation at a local and international level, as well as
advancing the health of young Saudis.
Certified yoga instructor and founder of Ananda Yoga
Studio, Khalid Jama’an Al-Zahrani, told Arab News: “As I started to dive deep
in yoga, I never stopped discovering its incredible benefits as is it a whole
and transformative sport that leads its practitioners to a calmer and clearer
mind and stronger and healthier physique.
“Our school system in the Kingdom has always ensured
that all its activities are aimed at contributing to the development of the
students, from both physical and academic aspects, and I believe that
introducing yoga to the Saudi education system is a nourishing and effective
move.”
Al-Zahrani said that having yoga at school would be an
investment as it would lead to more educational reforms that would benefit
children, their families and the community as a whole.
“We live in a technological era where everyone’s on
their phones, tablets, devices, distracted from the present, which has a
negative impact on our concentration. And so, we need to train our youngsters
and ourselves to reflect on what is within, and practice yoga to gain discipline
and nurture the mind with what is important.”
Al-Marwaai said there were many plans to expand the
scope and objectives of the SYC, and that there were many areas that needed to
be covered to allow the implementation of yoga in schools on a large scale.
She is regarded as the first Saudi woman to teach yoga
and has become the driver in gaining the Ministry of Education’s approval and
pushing for yoga as a sport.
The Arab Yoga Foundation was founded and established
in 2006 by Al-Marwaai, the first Saudi yogacharya (certified yoga instructor).
It was recognized by the Yoga Alliance and
International Yoga Federation in 2009.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2041841/saudi-arabia
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Hezbollah: Mass executions illustrate Saudi sectarian
discrimination
Sunday, 13 March 2022
Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah has condemned
the latest execution of over 80 prisoners in a single day in Saudi Arabia,
saying it brings to the fore the true face of the Saudi regime, which practices
the ugliest forms of sectarian discrimination.
“This regime wears the dress of Islam, but is actually
at the service of the Zionist project. All the treason which was committed by
the Persian Gulf Arab states would not have been possible without the
endorsement of Saudi Arabia,” Hezbollah said in a statement on Sunday, a day
after the Saudi regime executed as many as 81 prisoners over “terror-related
offenses.”
The largest mass execution carried out by the
highly-conservative Arab kingdom in recent memory unleashed a strong wave of
condemnation from an array of Islamic and Saudi opposition groups, which said
most of those executed had been jailed only for exercising their right to free
expression of opinion.
Hezbollah said the ruling Al Saud regime has committed
a heinous crime against the oppressed people of the Arab Peninsula.
“This is an additional crime in the criminal record of
the Saudi regime, which has always committed killings and bloodshed.” This
criminal record extends from Yemen to Iraq, to Syria, to Lebanon, and all Arab
and Muslim countries, Hezbollah said.
The resistance movement called on all religious
figures, clerics and international organizations to denounce the “terrorist
regime.”
The 2022 executions exceeded the total number of Saudi
Arabia’s punishments by death throughout last year.
The kingdom’s last mass execution occurred in early
January 2016, when Saudi authorities executed 47 people, including prominent
Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, who had vociferously called for
democracy in the kingdom and advocated anti-regime protests. Nimr had been
arrested in Qatif, Eastern Province, in 2012.
Since 2015, Saudi Arabia has reportedly executed more
than 900 prisoners in an increasing rate. In 2019 alone, Saudi Arabia set a
record number of executions after authorities executed 184 people, despite a
general decrease in the number of executions around the world.
In April 2020, Reprieve, a UK-based non-profit
organization, said Saudi Arabia had carried out its 800th execution. The report
added that executions had almost doubled in only five years in comparison with
the 423 executions conducted in Saudi Arabia from 2009 through 2014.
Source: Press TV
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Iraq demands “clear explanation” from Iran over Erbil
attack, summons ambassador
13 March ,2022
Iraq demanded a “frank and clear explanation” from
Iran regarding the ballistic missile attack on its Kurdish regional capital of
Erbil, the Ministerial Council for National Security said on Sunday, and the
country's foreign ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador to protest the
attack.
“Iraq has requested, through diplomatic channels,
frank and clear explanation from the Iranian side, and is awaiting a stance
from the Iranian political leadership in rejecting the aggression,” the council
said, according to state news agency INA.
The foreign ministry said in a statement it “summoned
Iran's ambassador to Iraq to protest the Iranian missile bombardment of Erbil
and the material losses it caused, and damage to civilian facilities and
housing for citizens, in addition to spreading fear among the residents of
those areas.”
Earlier on Sunday, Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region
security forces announced that a “dozen ballistic missiles” targeted Erbil,
including the US consulate under construction, causing damage but without any
major casualties.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards claimed the attack
which they said targeted Israeli “strategic centers” in Erbil.
The attack on Erbil comes after the IRGC announced
last Tuesday that an Israeli strike killed two of its members in Syria, vowing
to take revenge.The Iraqi council said: “Iraq had previously announced its
refusal to violate its sovereignty and use its lands to settle scores between
states and parties, stressing its stance of rejecting the use of its lands to
attack neighboring countries.”
The US condemned the missile strike on Erbil. State
Department Spokesman Ned Price said: “The strikes were an outrageous violation
of Iraq’s sovereignty. No US facilities were damaged or personnel injured, and
we have no indications the attack was directed at the US. Iran must immediately
cease its attacks, respect Iraqi sovereignty, and halt its interference in
Iraq’s internal affairs.”
Source: Al Arabiya
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Arab Coalition conducts 21 targeted strikes in Yemen
against Iran-backed Houthis
12 March ,2022
The Arab Coalition has conducted 21 targeted strikes
in Yemen’s Hajjah and Marib to deter the Iran-backed Houthi militia, the
official Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.
The targeted strikes resulted in the destruction of 15
“military vehicles,” according to SPA, and caused casualties among the Houthis.
No fatalities were reported by SPA.
Saudi Arabia has been regularly targeted by the
Iran-backed Houthis who have launched several drones and booby-trapped boats
toward the Kingdom.
In January, the Houthis launched unprecedented attacks
on the United Arab Emirates, which is part of the Arab Coalition fighting the
militia in Yemen.
The drone attacks targeted oil facilities and Abu
Dhabi’s airport, killing three expatriate workers and injuring several more.
More recently, Saudi Arabia’s defense forces
intercepted a drone launched by the Iran-backed Houthi militia towards the southern
city of Jizan, according to a SPA report.
Shrapnel from the destroyed drone fell onto civilian
areas, but did not cause damage.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Saudi Arabia confirms holding company to develop
nuclear facilities, atomic industry
12 March ,2022
Saudi Arabia has confirmed the establishment of a
nuclear energy holding company which will aid in development of nuclear
facilities in the Kingdom, the Saudi Gazette reported on Friday, citing Prince
Abdullah Bin Khalid, Saudi Arabia’s governor to the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA).
The announcement was reportedly made during a speech
at the session of the IAEA Board of Governors.
Reports of the Saudi Nuclear Energy Holding Company’s
existence has been confirmed in an undated statement available online at King
Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (K.A.CARE), which is a legally
independent research entity that is headed by the Minister of Energy, Industry
and Mineral Resources.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
One of K.A.CARE’s responsibilities include developing
the country’s atomic energy industry.
In addition to kick starting nuclear facilities for
producing energy, the holding company will also be used to participate in
nuclear economic projects locally and internationally and develop local talent
in the field of atomic energy, according to the reported statement made to the
IAEA.
Safety in developing a nuclear presence was also
highlighted in the governor’s speech, where he reportedly expressed
“appreciation for the agency’s [IAEA’s] efforts to enhance nuclear and
radiological safety, transport and waste safety, especially in light of the
challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The official’s comment comes after IAEA’s head Rafael
Grossi revealed on February 16 that it is working with Saudi Arabia to help it
develop nuclear power, according to a Reuters report.
Saudi Arabia has vast reserves of uranium ore that it
plans to use to develop a nuclear power program, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman
previously told the Future Minerals Summit in Riyadh on January 12.
Source: Al Arabiya
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US forces, SDF militants move Daesh terrorists from
detention camps in eastern Syria to Hasakah
Monday, 14 March 2022
US forces and SDF militants have reportedly
transferred dozens of Daesh terrorists from detention camps in Syria’s eastern
province of Dayr al-Zawr to facilities in the neighboring province of Hasakah.
Lebanon's al-Mayadeen television, citing local
sources, said they relocated scores of the extremists to the Industrial
Secondary Prison and Ghweiran Prison (also known as al-Hasakah Central Prison).
The sources said strict security measures were
enforced in the southern sector of Hasakah province during the evacuation
process.
The transfers took place amid information that Daesh
terrorists were planning to storm al-Kam Prison in the town of al-Shaddadi as
well as al-Sour Prison on the outskirts of Dayr al-Zawr.
Late last month, American forces relocated scores of
Daesh terrorists on board heavy-duty inmate vehicles from detention camps in
Dayr al-Zawr province to Hasakah.
Syria’s official news agency SANA reported at the time
that American occupation forces took strict security measures and closed the
road between Dayr al-Zawr and Hasakah for several hours during evacuation.
A number of captured Daesh terrorists have already
confessed to close cooperation with US military forces stationed at al-Tanf
base in the central Syrian province of Homs on carrying out various acts of
terror and sabotage.
During confessions broadcast on Syria’s state-run
television network in May 2020, several terrorists revealed that they were
instructed by American forces to target Syrian government troops in and around
the ancient city of Palmyra, the Tiyas Military Airbase – also known as the T-4
Airbase, the Shaer gas field as well as nearby oil wells.
US forces smuggle grain, crude oil from northeast
Syria to Iraq
Meanwhile, a convoy of dozens of US military trucks
and fuel tankers has reportedly carried tons of grain and crude oil from
Hasakah to the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq.
Local sources, requesting anonymity, told SANA that 58
military vehicles loaded with wheat crops as well as seven tankers laden with
crude oil entered the Iraqi territories on Sunday after crossing al-Waleed border
crossing.
The US military has stationed forces and equipment in
eastern and northeastern Syria, with the Pentagon claiming that the deployment
is aimed at preventing the oilfields in the area from falling into the hands of
Daesh terrorists.
Damascus, however, says the unlawful deployment is
meant to plunder the country’s resources.
Source: Press TV
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Africa
Death toll from Sudan’s Darfur clashes rises to 35:
Medics
Talal Ismail
12.03.2022
KHARTOUM, Sudan
The death toll from tribal clashes in Sudan’s West
Darfur region has risen to 35, according to local medics on Saturday.
In a statement, the Committee of Doctors in West Darfur
said it counted 19 new fatalities from the violence in the Jebel Moon Mountains
of West Darfur, taking the tally to 35 since last week.
Twenty-one persons were also injured in the clashes,
the medics said.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/death-toll-from-sudan-s-darfur-clashes-rises-to-35-medics/2532894
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Pakistan
No-Confidence Motion: Pakistan's Sindh Governor
threatens PTI party leaders of action if they vote against Imran Khan
Mar 13, 2022
SINDH: Pakistan's Sindh Governor Imran Ismail warns
Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) that
if they vote against the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in the
no-confidence motion then action will be taken against them, reported ARY News.
As per sources, it has been recommended to the Speaker
to summon the assembly session any day before March 22.
The Opposition parties in Pakistan are jettisoning
mutual hatred to oust Imran Khan as they submitted the no-trust motion in the
National Assembly secretariat on Tuesday. However, the Imran Khan government
has exuded confidence to defeat the no-trust motion.
The governor said that he has conveyed the special
message of PM Khan to Aleem Khan, an estranged PTI leader. The ruling PTI's
disgruntled leader Aleem Khan had left for London on Wednesday to meet another
ailing disgruntled PTI leader Jahangir Tareen and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif.
On Saturday he touched down in Lahore, the Dawn reported.
Disgruntled Jahangir Tareen group members on Saturday
reached out to Aleem Khan in a bid to remove misunderstanding between them, a
day after the latter met PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif in London.
The meeting between the two groups took place in the
backdrop of Aleem Khan returning from London without meeting an 'ailing'
Jahangir Tareen and his group members' remarks that they will not accept Aleem
Khan as a candidate for the Punjab chief minister's slot.
Aleem Khan was very active before leaving to London
and he had met over 40 Punjab Members of the Provincial Assembly (MPAs), of
them, 10 are provincial ministers, within a span of 30 days. The Sindh governor
expressed hopes that Aleem Khan and Jahangir Tareen would not go against the
PTI. In a development today, PM Imran Khan has given an important task to
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders to finalise preparations for a power show
in Islamabad ahead of voting on the no-trust move.
Source: Times Of India
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Opposition lambastes govt, saying 'can't talk with
thugs, hooligans like Imran Khan'
Mar 13, 2022
ISLAMABAD: With political tensions in Pakistan heating
up ahead of a no-confidence motion against the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
(PTI), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Marriyum Aurangzeb lambasted
Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying a democratic negotiation can't be held with
"thugs and hooligans".
Marriyum Aurangzeb, who is also the information secretary
of PML-N, was responding to Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry's tweet, saying
that politics should be based on consensus.
"Democracy is not a system of extreme divisions.
It is based on a system of consensus. I don't think there should be so much
division for any reason. It is not difficult to fight when it becomes
difficult. However, reconciliation is difficult," Chaudhry said in a
tweet.
In a series of tweets in response to the Information
Minister's message, Aurangzeb asked Chaudhry to explain to Imran Khan the
things which have filled the politics of the country with enmity, saying
further that talks can be held with politicians and not "abusive thugs and
hooligans like Imran Khan".
"Explain to Imran Sahib the things which have
created enmity in politics. Talks can be had with politicians, not abusive
thugs and hooligans. It is Imran Khan who has created division, chaos and
disorder in the society," Aurangzeb tweeted.
The Opposition leader further attacked Imran Khan and
Fawad Chaudhry over the ruling party's behaviour towards the Opposition
parties.
"Insult and threaten political opponents, put
them to death, throw daughters and sisters in jails, make baseless allegations,
then give (moral) lectures? Does Fawad Chaudhry think that people are insane?"
Aurangzeb further said.
She further accused Imran Khan of introducing dirt and
filth in Pakistan's politics. Hinting at the upcoming no-confidence motion, she
said that by cleaning up the "filth and filthiness" (of Imran Khan),
the Opposition will get rid of stench and suffocation in the country.
The heated remarks among the leaders of the political
parties came in the backdrop of Prime Minister Imran Khan's profanity-laced
speech against Pakistan's Opposition parties, calling them names.
Source: Times Of India
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Aim is to make Pakistanis one nation, says PM Imran
Mansoor Malik
March 14, 2022
LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said he had
entered politics with the objective to build the nation rather than just
striving to know the prices of daily commodities.
Addressing a public meeting in Hafizabad on Sunday,
Prime Minister Khan explained that a nation was formed on the basis of an
ideology. He said his objective for entering politics was to make the nation,
particularly the young generation, realise the real ideology of Pakistan as
propounded by Allama Mohammad Iqbal.
“Unless a nation realises the ideology behind the
creation of a homeland, it cannot become a nation and often recedes into
oblivion,” Mr Khan warned.
The prime minister defended his strong reaction to the
joint letter of the heads of various foreign missions, recounted achievements of
his government during the past three and a half years and rebuked the
opposition leaders in his speech.
Referring to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president
Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Mr Khan said: “The
three rodents have joined hands to topple the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf
government, but you all will see them being preyed upon soon.”
Rebukes opposition leaders, justifies his statement
against EU representatives
Western societies had very high moral standards
against horse-trading and corruption, he said, while citing the example of a
rich man whose family abandoned him when he was caught in a corruption case.
Asserting that he had joined the politics not to learn
about the prices of potatoes and tomatoes, but to make Pakistanis a great
nation, Prime Minister Khan said he established the Rehmat-ul-lil-Aalamin
Authority to spread the teachings of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) among the
youth. Also, he added, his government introduced single national curriculum to
ensure that all young students, including those studying at religious
seminaries, should study same curriculum and get level-playing field to compete
and excel in life.
The government also instituted 2.6 million
scholarships, he said, adding that two latest technologies varsities, including
an aerospace university, were being established so that Pakistan itself
manufacture planes in future. “No one thought on these lines during the past 70
years,” he asserted.
The prime minister also referred to the missile
‘mistakenly’ fired by India and stated that the Pakistan government responded
in a very calculated manner. “Pakistan has all the abilities to protect its
boundaries and heading in the right direction,” he said.
He also explained his government’s other initiatives
including provision of health insurance cards to low-income families, setting
up of shelter homes, Kamyab Pakistan programme, Ehsaas ration scheme,
management of coronavirus pandemic, record tax collection, reduction in petrol
and electricity unit’s prices and meeting the challenge of climate change.
Three of the 10 dams being planned would be ready within the next three years,
he said.
The prime minister said a nation could never rise until
it respects itself and added that it was also a nation leader’s responsibility
not to let its peoples down.
Balanced foreign policy
Chiding former premier Nawaz Sharif for sitting before
the US President with a note in his hand, PM Khan said he responded the
European Union ambassadors in the same coin when they wrote an open letter
asking Pakistan to give statement against Russia. “When I criticised the EU
ambassadors, all three opposition leaders started blaming me for harsh
statements,” he said.
“I know West well. It welcomes those, who hold their
countries’ interests supreme and look down on those, who look for their vested
interests,” PM Khan said. He said former premiers Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari
had never condemned the country [the US], which fired some 400 drones inside
Pakistan, despite the fact that Islamabad was fighting for that country’s war
in Afghanistan. “I myself protested, staged sit-ins and criticised the West for
firing drones in Pakistan,” PM Khan recalled.
“Pakistan wants to keep cordial relations with every
country but being the prime minister of 220 million people he cannot compromise
on country’s interests,” he said.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1679890
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'Could have responded to India after its missile
landed in Pakistan': Imran tries to put up a bold stance amid domestic troubles
14th March 2022
LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday said
Pakistan could have responded to India after its missile landed in his
country's Punjab province but it observed restraint.
On March 9, an unarmed Indian supersonic missile
entered Pakistani territory, endangering several airliners during the course of
its flight before hitting a private property (cold storage) near Mian Channu,
some 275-km from Lahore.
No loss of life was reported.
Speaking for the first time on the incident, Prime
Minister Khan said, "We could have responded after an Indian missile fell
in Mian Channu but we observed restraint."
He was addressing a public rally in Punjab's Hafizabad
district on Sunday afternoon in the face of a no-confidence motion moved
against him by the joint opposition.
Khan also talked about the country's defence
preparedness, saying "we have to make our defence and country
strong."
Earlier, Pakistan's Foreign Office on Saturday said it
was not satisfied with India's "simplistic explanation" on the
"accidental firing" of a missile that landed in Pakistan's Punjab province
and demanded a joint probe to accurately establish the facts surrounding the
incident.
"Pakistan has proposed to New Delhi a joint probe
into the incident to establish facts since the missile had landed into
Pakistani territory," Pakistan's Foreign Office (FO) said and asked why
India failed to inform Pakistan immediately about the "accidental launch'
of the missile and raised questions regarding the Indian safeguards against
such happenings.
"Pakistan demands a joint probe to accurately
establish the facts surrounding the incident," the FO said.
India claimed that the missile was "fired
accidentally' during a routine maintenance operation because of a technical
malfunction and said a 'high-level court of enquiry' had been ordered into the
incident.
Four key coalition partners of Pakistan Prime Minister
Imran Khan-led government have not yet decided their stance over the
Opposition's no-confidence motion against him, with one of them even
"blackmailing" in return for support, giving the ruling Pakistan
Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party sleepless nights ahead of the crucial vote in
Parliament, a media report said on Sunday.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q), an important
ally of the PTI at the Centre and the Punjab province, has reportedly asked
Prime Minister Khan to announce Chaudhry Parvez Elahi as the replacement of
Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar before calling the National Assembly session
to take up the Opposition's no-trust motion, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Saturday
alleged that the PML-Q was "blackmailing" the government in return
for support, it said.
Criticising Ahmed, Federal Minister for Water
Resources Chaudhry Moonis Elahi took to Twitter to allege that the interior
minister "used to take money from the party's elders during his student
life".
His "blackmail" remark had come during a
press conference in Quetta when the PML-Q leaders, after holding a consultative
meeting here on Saturday, decided to meet again on Sunday to finalise the
party's stance and strategy, the report said.
The exchange of such acrimonious remarks from both the
sides clearly indicates that the gulf between the ruling PTI and the PML-Q has
started widening, the report said, adding that the PML-Q also criticised Prime
Minister Khan for his recent utterances.
"We condemn the prime minister's speech. We
consider it shameful and below the status of the prime minister," said
PML-Q senator Kamil Ali Agha.
Asked about the reason behind the delay in
decision-making, which was adding to the country's political uncertainty
besides giving sleepless nights to the ruling party, Agha said that his party
leadership always took decisions after consultations and deliberations.
In response to another question, Agha refuted media
reports that Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry had asked them to merge the
party into the PTI to get the Chief Minister's office of Punjab.
The PML-Q Senator ridiculed the information minister
and said that they did not consider him an appropriate person to talk about such
serious political matters.
Agha also hit out at the interior minister for
targeting the PML-Q and said it seemed that he was in a fear of losing the
ministry.
The PML-Q Senator further said that Ahmed always got
the ministries in the past by "pleading" and through sycophancy.
The PML-Q has now acquired a central role in the
ongoing political drama despite having only five Members of the National
Assembly (MNAs), the report said.
It seems that the three other allies -- the Muttahida
Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and the
Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) -- are waiting for each other to make a
decision, it said.
Given the party's position in the National Assembly,
it is clear that if any two of the four allies make a decision to quit the
ruling coalition, Prime Minister Khan will lose the majority in the 342-member
house, the report said.
As many as 17 MNAs belong to these four coalition
parties or alliances and the ruling party had the support of 179 MNAs at
present, it said.
Earlier, Interior Minister Ahmed said that he was
standing with the prime minister like a rock but not responsible for the other
allies "as even those having five members are blackmailing for chief
ministership in Punjab".
When asked whom he was calling a blackmailer, he said,
"I'm talking about Punjab politics."
He said the government had decided to deploy Rangers
and Frontier Corps personnel for security of the Parliament House and
Parliament Lodges seven days prior to the voting on no-confidence motion so
that there would remain no complaint of law and order.
Under Article 245 of the Constitution, he said, the
government could summon the army as well, nevertheless the situation had not
reached that point yet.
In a separate development, the National Assembly (NA)
Secretariat has declared the Opposition parties' no-confidence motion against
Prime Minister Khan legitimate, Geo News reported.
The NA Secretariat has advised Speaker Asad Qaiser to
summon the session before March 22, it said.
On paper, Khan still enjoys a majority, comprising 155
members of his Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and 23 from coalition partners,
including five each from Pakistan Muslim League (PML) and Balochistan Awami
Party (BAP), three from Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), one each from Awami
Muslim League (AML) and Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) and one independent member.
The total opposition number is 163, including 84 from
PML-N, 56 PPP, 15 Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal Pakistan, four Balochistan National
Party (BNP), one Awami National Party (ANP) and three independent lawmakers.
The Opposition has claimed that they have the backing
of 28 lawmakers of the ruling party and others from an ally of the government.
Prime Minister Khan, 69, came to power in 2018 and the
next general election is scheduled to be held in 2023.
In the 342-member National Assembly, the Opposition
needed the support of 172 members to oust Prime Minister Khan.
Last year, Khan received 178 votes when he sought a
vote of confidence after a candidate supported by his party lost the Senate
election.
The Speaker of the National Assembly is expected to
call the lower house in session by March 22, while voting on the no-confidence
motion must take place between March 26 and March 30, an earlier Dawn report
said.
Imran Khan said on Sunday that he did not join
politics to check the prices of 'aloo and tamatar', as he attacked the
Opposition parties for tabling a no confidence motion against him in
Parliament, accusing him for mismanaging the economy amidst spiralling
inflation.
Addressing a political rally in Hafizabad city in
Punjab province, Khan said the nation would stand against elements trying to
topple his government through "buying the conscience of the [lawmakers]
using money".
He said Pakistan was going to become a great country
in the remainder of his term, adding that the incentives announced by his
government would yield results soon.
The 69-year-old cricketer-turned-politician said that
25 years ago, he decided to join politics for the sake of the country's youth,
adding that he had no personal gains from doing so as he already had everything
in life that a person could dream of.
"I didn't join politics to know the prices of
'aloo and tamatar' (potatoes and tomatoes).
I joined it for the sake of the country's youth",
Khan, also chairman of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, said.
"If we want to become a great nation, we will
have to support the truth, and this is what I have been preaching for the last
25 years," Khan said.
Pakistan's general inflation measured by Consumer
Price Index (CPI) clocked in at 24-month peak of 13 per cent in January as
prices of almost all commodities and utilities maintained a growing trend.
The sectors that posted double-digit growth in prices
when compared to the same month of last year included perishable and
non-perishable food items, energy, transportation, clothing and health, the
Dawn newspaper reported last month.
This is the highest CPI inflation since January 2020
when it was 14.6 per cent, it said.
Khan's speech came days after the united opposition
front submitted a no-confidence motion against him while pinning its hopes for
the success of the motion on the estranged members of the ruling party and its
allies.
The key leaders of the Opposition parties will meet on
Monday at the residence of the Leader of Opposition in National Assembly and
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif to hold a
consultative huddle to chalk out an effective strategy to make its
no-confidence motion successful.
Source: New Indian Express
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Karachi police fear resurgence of sectarian terrorism
Imtiaz Ali
March 14, 2022
KARACHI: Investigators probing the murder of a senior
leader of Pasban-i-Aza feared the return of sectarian terrorism in the
metropolis, as they believed that Syed Salman Haider Rizvi was killed because
of sectarian reasons.
On Saturday night, Rizvi, the son of Pasban-i-Aza
founder SM Haider, was gunned down by armed assailants near his home in Federal
B Area’s Block 20.
Talking to Dawn, Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD)
official Raja Umar Khattab recalled that such a killing apparently based on
sectarianism took place after a considerable period.
He feared the sectarian terrorism was again rearing
its ugly head in the metropolis.
The official pointed out that the victim had been a
close associate of Askari Raza, who was gunned down in a sectarian attack in the
past.
Investigators treating Pasban-i-Aza leader’s murder as
sectarian killing case
He said the initial probe revealed that four
assailants were already waiting for Rizvi and when he got off the vehicle after
reaching his home in Ancholi, one of the attackers approached him.
The official said that after a brief chat, in which
the assailant probably asked Rizvi’s name, he fired at him and rode away along
with his accomplices.
Spent bullet casings fired from a 9mm pistol had been
collected from the crime scene and sent to police’s forensic science laboratory
for cross-matching.
Funeral
In the evening on Sunday, the Pasban-i-Aza leader was
laid to rest.
His funeral prayers were held on Shahrah-i-Pakistan
after Zuhrain, which was led by Allama Hasan Zafar Naqvi. Religious scholars,
leaders of different parties and people belonging to different segments of
society attended the funeral. He was laid to rest in the Wadi-i-Hussain
graveyard on Superhighway.
The victim apart from being active for release of
missing persons was associated with different organisations and trusts.
‘Conspiracy for violence’
Talking to the media after the funeral, Allama Baqar
Zaidi demanded the arrest of the killers within 24 hours and warned that they
would be compelled to hold a countrywide protest.
He added that under a well-planned ‘conspiracy’,
targeted killings of Shia leaders had been started in Karachi after similar
incidents took place in other parts of the country.
He expressed the fear that ‘sectarian violence’ might
be raising its ugly head again, but the rulers seemed to be busy in partisan
politics.
The religious leaders urged the president, prime
minister, chief justice and chief of army staff to take notice of the killing.
Source: Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1679860/karachi-police-fear-resurgence-of-sectarian-terrorism
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South
Asia
US Dollar devalued, food prices yet to fall in Kabul
14 Mar 2022
An increase in the value of US dollars against Afghani
(local currency) is interrelated with a spike or fall in the prices of food
items, gas, and fuel across Afghanistan as the country is an importing one.
This was not the case this time in the Afghan capital
as the US dollar has been devalued against Afghani but the prices have not been
decreased yet.
Residents of Kabul complain as saying, one dollar was
exchanged for 105 Afghani which is 85 now but the prices of flour, cooking oil,
gas, fuel, and other food items have merely decreased by 10 or just over 10
percent.
Whole sellers of food items in Kabul do not deny the
prices being unchanged but added that Russia is no longer sending wheat to Kazakhstan
which has led to a decrease in the country’s flour export to Afghanistan.
Source: Khaama Press
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https://www.khaama.com/us-dollar-devalued-food-prices-yet-to-fall-in-kabul-4546346/
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Turkey, Qatar 1st choice for Kabul airport, Taliban
says
MAR 12, 2022
Following months of negotiations on the operation of
the Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport after the Taliban took control of
the country, the acting government has said that an agreement with Turkey and
Qatar is to be expected soon.
Speaking to Daily Sabah, Khairullah Khairkhwa, the
Taliban’s acting culture and information minister, said, "Turkey and Qatar
and the Afghan government have been nearing an agreement, so hopefully in the
near future it will be finalized."
Being asked on the negotiations on the operation of
Kabul airport with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), he indicated that currently
Doha and Ankara together is the first choice.
"The priority and the preference is Turkey and
Qatar," he said, underlining that only if something goes wrong then
another country would be considered.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu had previously
indicated that Turkey, Qatar and the UAE could also possibly operate the
airport in a trilateral manner.
Responding to Daily Sabah’s question during a press
conference to evaluate the year 2021, Çavuşoğlu said: "Before the Taliban
took over power, we were leading Kabul airport’s military wing within the scope
of NATO. The civilian part was led by a UAE company."
Turkey has been working with Qatar to reopen the
airport in the Afghan capital for international travel.
After the Taliban seized control of the country,
Turkey offered technical and security assistance to operationalize Kabul's
airport. Keeping the airport open after foreign forces handed over control is
vital to keeping Afghanistan connected with the world and maintaining an
uninterrupted supply of aid for distribution.
The Turkish government has taken a pragmatic approach
to the recent events in Afghanistan. Underlining that new realities have
emerged in Afghanistan, Ankara said it would move forward accordingly while
keeping communication with all relevant leaders open.
NATO member Turkey maintained its embassy in
Afghanistan after Western countries withdrew following the Taliban takeover and
has urged those countries to step up engagement. At the same time, it said it
will only work fully with the Taliban if they form a more inclusive
administration.
Source: Daily Sabah
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https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/diplomacy/turkey-qatar-1st-choice-for-kabul-airport-taliban-says
--------
Afghanistan: Ex-police officer in Taliban detention
since three weeks
13 March, 2022
Kabul [Afghanistan], March 13 (ANI): A former police
officer from Kabul, Abdul Sadeq has been in Taliban custody for the last three
weeks with family members having no knowledge of his whereabouts, Tolo News
reported on Saturday.
“They get into his car and took him with them. We had
no information for five days about him. We were in sorrow. One evening he
called and said he was (arrested) but he didn’t say his location,” Sadeq’s
mother was quoted by the report.
Sadeq was the only breadwinner for the family, the
report said.
“I haven’t seen my father for the past 25 days. I miss
him. Every time I see his picture I get sad,” said Sadeq’s son.
This comes at a time when the Human Rights Watch (HRW)
has raised concerns about the house searches being conducted by the Taliban in
a number of provinces in Afghanistan in recent weeks.
Earlier on March 2, a Sunni Hazara, who was a former
employee of the previous Afghan Government on Tuesday was shot dead by the
Taliban.
“Everyone is worried about Taliban’s house-to-house
search in Kabul,” New York Times reporter Sharif Hassan tweeted. “Anyone I know
has some sort of documents at home which link them to foreign NGOs
[nongovernmental organizations] or former government. Some have books Taliban
may not like or music instruments. Some destroying documents/books, others
trying to hide them,” he added.
Source: The Print
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Afghan diplomats under pressure from Taliban regime
Mar 14, 2022
ISLAMABAD: Afghan embassies around the world that have
refused to recognise the new Taliban regime are struggling to stay afloat and
facing increasing pressure from Kabul to accept loyalist replacements.
None of the country's 60 or so ambassadors, consuls or
heads of diplomatic missions who were appointed by Western-backed former
president Ashraf Ghani have agreed to serve the hardline Islamist group since
it seized power in August last year.
The Taliban government has yet to be formally
recognised by any nation, and the international community is grappling with how
to deal with the country's new rulers while also helping Afghans face an
economic and humanitarian crisis.
"We are in a very unfortunate ... situation, but
we still have to continue to operate in these difficult circumstances,"
said Youssof Ghafoorzai, the ambassador to Norway.
"The embassies still have a very important role
to play in terms of trying to increase whatever humanitarian support is
possible. But also (to help) discussions on the political track... to stabilise
the situation."
Aid and cash reserves, frozen by the United States and
the international community after the Taliban seized control, are trickling
back into the country, which has long depended almost entirely on donors.
But Ghafoorzai and his colleagues have had no contact
with the new regime, and staff have not been paid for months.
The Afghan embassy and its consulates in the United
States are being shut in the coming week.
"The Afghan Embassy and consulates are under
severe financial pressure. Their bank accounts are not available to them,"
a US State Department official told AFP.
The embassy and Washington have made arrangements for
an "orderly shutdown of operations in a way that would protect and
preserve all diplomatic mission property in the United States until operations
are able to resume," the official said.
Across the world, Afghan ambassadors have been forced
to dramatically scale down their activities, reduce energy bills and food
costs, and even move into smaller premises.
They have also increased consular fees to generate
revenue.
"The embassy is not receiving any funding or
financial assistance from Kabul," Farid Mamundzay, the ambassador in New
Delhi, told AFP.
"In the absence of the required financial support
and depletion of resources, we have not been able to pay the staff salaries for
months and had to downsize the strength and reduce the expenditure of the
mission to the lowest."
It is not clear how long visas, certificates and other
documents issued by the holdout embassies will be recognised -- either by the
Taliban or the international community.
New passports issued in Kabul still refer to the
country as the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, instead of the Taliban's
preferred "Emirate", but officials have warned foreign journalists
arriving with visas issued independently by the Dubai embassy that they may not
be honoured in future.
In a handful of countries near Afghanistan, some
ambassadors have left their posts or been pushed out by the Taliban, who have
inserted their own representatives -- but even the replacements face hardship.
In Pakistan, salaries have not been paid since
September. Employees live on income from visa and passport renewal fees and
marriage certificates, said a source at the consulate in Peshawar, near the
Afghan border.
The new consul general appointed by the Taliban
receives just 50,000 rupees ($280) a month compared with the nearly $5,000 his
predecessor made, the source added.
The Taliban made Pakistan, long accused of aiding
their cause, the first country to which they sent a new representative.
In Beijing, the ambassador resigned when a senior
diplomat loyal to the Taliban was appointed to the embassy, which he is now
unofficially leading.
The Taliban have also managed to impose their men in
Uzbekistan and Iran.
Russia, meanwhile, said it was ready to accept
"two or three" new diplomats, but that they would not take the place
of the current ambassador.
The Taliban did not respond to AFP's requests for
comment, but they have previously claimed to largely have control over Afghan
embassies.
However, they have failed to have one of their top
spokesmen, Suhail Shaheen, accredited as ambassador to the United Nations, with
the General Assembly indefinitely postponing a vote on the matter.
In Rome, Italian police had to intervene after a
scuffle between the Afghan ambassador and a recently dismissed pro-Taliban
diplomat who claimed he had been given the top job.
"There have been threats, intimidation and
violence in some of our missions by disgruntled ex-employees that are
ideologically pro-Taliban," said Khaled Zekriya, the ambassador in Rome.
"The Taliban administration tried to persuade our
embassy to work on their behalf, but I said no.
Source: Times Of India
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Southeast
Asia
80 Islamic Religious Teachers Lauded For Their Efforts
to Support Prison Inmates in Singapore
Toh Ting Wei
MAR 13, 2022
SINGAPORE - For most of the last 19 years, Ustazah
Laila Abu Hassan would visit the prisons twice weekly to speak with female
inmates.
The 63-year-old Islamic religious teacher, or
asatizah, had started volunteering there after being made aware of the role by
a friend.
While her official role was to provide religious
guidance and counsel, her job scope quickly expanded as inmates grew to trust
her. Over the years, hundreds of inmates had bared their hearts to her about
issues ranging from family problems to even extramarital affairs.
Some have continued to seek her advice even after they
have served their terms.
Ustazah Laila said: "After volunteering at the
prisons and teaching the inmates, I have come to love them.
"I want to help them so that they can reintegrate
back into society."
She was one of the volunteer asatizahs who received
recognition on Sunday (March 13) for their work in helping inmates.
A total of 80 asatizahs received appointment letters
to continue serving for two-year terms at the Fitrah (Family and Inmates
Through-care Assistance Haven) asatizah investiture at the Masjid Ar-Raudhah on
Sunday. Forty of them were physically present at the event.
Fitrah was launched in 2019 to support inmates, former
offenders and their families. But volunteer counselling work by asatizahs such
as Ustazah Laila started even before the formation of Fitrah.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Muhammad Faishal
Ibrahim, who attended the investiture on Sunday, thanked the 80 asatizahs for
volunteering their time to help the inmates.
He lauded them for their dedication to the cause,
citing examples of how they moved to conduct religious counselling virtually
when Covid-19 prevented physical sessions.
"The road towards rehabilitation and
reintegration for our offenders and ex-offenders is not easy and is filled with
many tribulations," said Associate Professor Faishal.
"However, the... support provided by Fitrah and
the asatizahs go a long way in supporting them."
Another volunteer asatizah, Ustaz Effendi Suparde, 43,
said he wants to understand the problems that inmates are facing and motivate
them to move on from their past struggles.
He has been counselling inmates since 2013. He has
also passed his contact details to inmates who have served their sentence, and
has also been giving them advice on various issues when needed.
Source: Straits Times
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Cabinet ties not affected by Johor polls results, says
PM
March 13, 2022
BERA: The results of the Johor state elections, which
saw Barisan Nasional gaining a landslide victory yesterday, will not affect
relationships among ministers and deputy ministers from other parties.
Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said even though
the first Cabinet meeting after the state elections would be held next week, he
was optimistic that all its members were professional and would make the right
decisions for political stability and the people’s well-being.
“We are professionals and will focus on national
policies and issues.
“As professionals, we in the Cabinet need to discuss
and decide the country’s policies together. There is no issue of us quarrelling
because we are from different parties.
“In the Melaka state elections, we also clashed with
each other but these did not spill over to the Cabinet.
“Even though the fight was intense in Johor, I am
hopeful and confident that the clashes will not be brought to the Cabinet,” he
said at an event to present driving licences here today.
Ismail also hoped that all parties contesting in
Johor, including those who lost, would support and cooperate with the next
menteri besar as political stability was important for the development of the
state.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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Flautist Ayawan’s ode to nature and spirituality
Shalini Jay
March 14, 2022
KUALA LUMPUR: It’s lunch hour, and even as hungry
people rush to their favourite haunts, they can’t help but stop to listen to
the enthralling sounds coming from Ayawan Musafir Singgah’s flute.
Children are especially drawn to his music, and many
listeners leave a tip as a token of appreciation for the artist who has set
himself up at the concourse level of Avenue K shopping mall.
Born in Batu Gajah, the flautist, whose real name is
Shaharizuan Sahrie, has been a full-time street musician for almost 20 years.
His chosen name means “a traveller in transit”, and,
when you meet him, his words – spoken in lilting Malay – are filled with
insight and poetry, even as his personality conveys a childlike zest for life.
Apart from the dedicated busking area at the KLCC LRT
station, he performs at other malls around the Klang Valley, including M3
Shopping Mall in Taman Melati, Wangsa Walk, and Da Men in Subang Jaya.
“I also play at hotels, but nothing beats busking,”
says the 57-year-old, whose youthful appearance belies his age.
Alongside an amplifier and a number of flutes, most of
which he handcrafted, numerous objects and figurines are part of his setup.
These include various beads, a crystal, a pyramid figurine, an antique
bird-of-paradise, and a stuffed toy monkey.
“They might seem random, but everything here has its
meaning and importance. They are all symbolic – a representation of nature,” he
says.
Then there’s the Elvis Presley songbook, a gift he likes
to bring along “because it’s old” and he doesn’t like to have it sitting at
home.
Ayawan first fell in love with the flute at 17, when
he tried playing one made by his brother-in-law.
“I kept it in my bag and brought it everywhere I
went,” he tells FMT, revealing that he has never gone for lessons and has no
intention of doing so as he wants his music to sound “natural”.
He performs his own original music, which he describes
as “spiritual” and largely inspired by nature and the unseen realm – and also
claims to channel a “warrior spirit” when he performs.
Indeed, he likens music to nature, drawing comparisons
between how the wind can make the branches sway even though it can’t be seen,
and how music makes people move and feel.
The sound of the flute, he says, is healing and
soul-penetrating, with the ability to slow down time and quieten the “noise” in
one’s mind.
“People even begin to walk differently,” he observes,
explaining that his role is to provide a meditative ambience so passersby can
have momentary respite from the hustle and bustle of the city.
“They might all be listening to the same song, but
each person will feel different emotions.”
Curiously, he doesn’t see himself as a musician: “I am
merely a vessel; the music you hear is the music I’ve ‘received’.”
He also refers to himself as a “penyair seruling
malam”, which describes his role as a poet who connects man and nature through
the heavenly sounds of the flute.
“I’ve often been called a ‘child of nature’,” he says
with a smile.
‘Magic of Life’
Over the years, Ayawan has collaborated with and
composed music for many other musicians, besides dabbling in painting, acting,
dancing, and poetry.
“Before I started playing the flute, I was a street
dancer. I never had any training; everything I do is spontaneous.”
In 2017, he released “Magic of Life”, his debut album.
“I never wanted to sell my music, but one of my fans insisted I needed to share
it,” he shares.
The album, which is 77 minutes and seven seconds long,
was recorded using seven different bamboo flutes. But don’t expect to find it
on Spotify or any other streaming platforms – unlike most musicians, he prefers
not to upload his music on such sites.
“The metaphysics will be different,” he claims. “It’s
best to listen to my music live.”
Ayawan says it wasn’t easy when he decided to resign
from job as a mechanical engineer to pursue music full-time.
“Some said I was crazy, others said I was stupid. I
may not be smart, but I’m definitely not stupid,” he quips.
He only had 70 sen in his pocket at one point, and
worked as a waiter to make ends meet. With much persistence and determination
he has managed to support himself, although he still uses public transport to
minimise his expenditure.
He also operates Kopi Hainan, a stall selling coffee
just outside M3 Shopping Mall, and reveals that he has been able to weather the
pandemic by depending on his savings.
The going might get tough at times but, given a
choice, this creative soul would unsurprisingly prefer peace of mind over
money.
“When we are at peace, we can be rich – not in terms
of money but in terms of time, experience and friendship.”
Asked about the people who inspire him, Ayawan says he
admires the Japanese multi-instrumentalist, Kitaro.
“When I play, I pretend he is next to me – it’s as if I’m
playing with him. But I don’t want to play like him; I have my own sound,” he
adds.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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North
America
US Working To Help Iraq Get Missile Defence
Capabilities: White House
13 March ,2022
The US condemned Iran’s ballistic missile attack on
Iraq’s Kurdish regional capital of Erbil and said that Washington is working to
help Baghdad get missile defense capabilities, White House National Security
Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday.
“But the US is absolutely clear, we will do whatever
it takes to defend our people, our interests, and our allies, and we are in
consultation with the Iraqi government and the government in Iraqi Kurdistan,
in part to help them get the missile defense capabilities to be able to defend
themselves in their cities,” Sullivan said in an interview with CNN’s “Face the
Nation”.
He added: “We condemn Iran for carrying out this
attack. We're still gathering information on what precisely the target was.
What we know at this hour… is that no US facilities were hit. No US persons
were harmed.”
Earlier on Sunday, Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region
security forces announced that a “dozen ballistic missiles” targeted Erbil, including
the US consulate under construction, causing damage but without any major
casualties.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards claimed the attack
which they said targeted Israeli “strategic centers” in Erbil.
The attack on Erbil comes after the IRGC announced
last Tuesday that an Israeli strike killed two of its members in Syria, vowing
to take revenge.
Consequences for Iran nuclear deal
Tensions between the US and Iran remain high as the
negotiations over reviving the abandoned 2015 Iran nuclear deal are at an
impasse.
Asked about the consequences of the Erbil attack for
the Iranian nuclear talks, Sullivan said: “The various negotiators are back
home in their capitals and we will have to see what happens in the days ahead
with respect to the diplomacy around the nuclear deal.”
Source: Al Arabiya
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Top US, Ukrainian diplomats discuss trilateral meeting
held in Turkiye
Kasim Ileria
12.03.2022
WASHINGTON
The US secretry of state spoke with his Ukrainian
counterpart and discussed the trilateral meeting between Turkiye, Russia, and
Ukraine that took place in the Turkish southern Antalya province on Thursday.
In a push for peace in the region, Turkiye's Foreign
Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday had met with his Russian and Ukrainian
counterparts in Antalya.
In a statement on Friday, Ned Price, a State
Department spokesman, said that Antony Blinken reiterated his country’s
“commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and to continue
surging security, economic, and humanitarian support to the people of Ukraine.”
Blinken also updated his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro
Kuleba on the joint actions the US is taking in coordination with the G7 and
the EU to “further raise the costs on Russia.”
The two agreed that Russia is “escalating its
disinformation campaigns to deceive the world, including at the United Nation,”
the statement said.
“The Secretary provided an update on U.S. and global
efforts to hold Russia accountable for its premeditated, unprovoked, and
unjustifiable war against Ukraine and to hold Belarus accountable for its
facilitation of Russia’s combat operations,” it added.
At least 564 civilians have been killed and 957
injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the war on Feb. 24, the UN said,
while indicating that conditions on the ground make it difficult to verify the
true number.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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US says Afghan embassy, now out of money, will close
down
Sunday, 13 March 2022
The Afghan embassy in Washington will shut down in the
coming week amid severe financial pressure and cut off from the new Taliban
government in Kabul, according to a senior US State Department official.
Its diplomats, holdovers from the former US-backed
government, could be under threat by the ruling Taliban if they return home.
And now, the official said, they have 30 days to apply for residency or
temporary humanitarian parole to remain in the United States before being
deported.
Although they would not be sent back to Afghanistan,
it is unclear where else the diplomats would go, added the official, according
to The New York Times.
Nearly 100 diplomats currently work at the embassy in
Washington or at Afghan consulates in Los Angeles and in New York, the NYT
said. Around one-fourth of them have yet to apply to remain in the US along
more than 100,000 other Afghan applicants who are hoping to remain in the
country in a process that has overwhelmed the Biden administration since Kabul
fell in August.
Meanwhile, the diplomats no longer have access to
several hundred thousand dollars in funding after banks froze their accounts,
the US official said.
"The Afghan Embassy and consulates are under
severe financial pressure. Their bank accounts are not available to them,"
the official told AFP.
He added, "We have no intention of accrediting
diplomats who are appointed by the Taliban at this time."
The official said the State Department had "now
made arrangements in cooperation with the Afghan Embassy to facilitate an
orderly shutdown of operations in a way that would protect and preserve all
diplomatic mission property in the United States until operations are able to
resume."
The Afghan government owns three properties in the
United States: a stately Colonial Revival embassy building in Washington, a
consulate in Los Angeles and the Long Island residence of the consul general in
New York. For now, the State Department will
oversee their maintenance and security.
The Taliban, who had previously ruled Afghanistan from
1996 to 2001, took power again on August 15 as the US was in the middle of a
chaotic troop withdrawal. The group announced the formation of a caretaker
government on September 7. No country has yet recognized their rule.
Source: Press TV
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/03/13/678467/US-Washington-Afghan-embassy-Taliban-
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US seizing tankers has failed to stop Iran’s oil
exports: Oil minister
12 March ,2022
The US seizure of Iranian tankers in recent months has
not stopped sanctions-hit Tehran from increasing oil exports, Iran’s oil
minister was quoted as saying on Saturday.
“The United States has on several occasions in the
past months violated Iranian oil tankers to prevent export of shipments,” Javad
Owji said in an interview carried by Iranian media.
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“When the enemy realized it could not stop our exports
and contracts, they went after our ships,” Owji said.
His remarks follow reports of a recent seizure of an
Iranian oil tanker in the Bahamas, even as indirect Iran-US talks in Vienna to
revive a 2015 nuclear deal could see the lifting of US sanctions in return for
Tehran curbing its nuclear work.
A last-minute demand by Russia, a close ally of Iran,
has forced world powers meeting in the Austrian capital to pause for an
undetermined time, despite having a largely completed text.
On March 5, Russia unexpectedly demanded sweeping
guarantees its trade with Iran would not be affected by sanctions imposed on
Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine - a demand Western powers say is
unacceptable and Washington has said it won’t accept.
“Iran’s oil exports have risen under the toughest
sanctions and without waiting for the outcome of the Vienna talks,” said Owji.
The increase was thanks to “different methods used to
win contracts and finding different buyers,” Owji said.
The rise had “even increased the bargaining power of
friends in Vienna,” he said, without elaborating.
Tehran’s oil exports have been limited since former US
President Donald Trump in 2018 exited the 2015 nuclear accord and reimposed
sanctions.
Iran views US sanctions as illegal and has said it
will make every effort to sidestep them.
Its oil exports have risen to more than one million
barrels per day (bpd) for the first time in almost three years, based on
estimates from companies that track the flows, reflecting increased shipments
to China.
Source: Al Arabiya
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India
Muslim Shrine in Madhya Pradesh Found Smeared with
Saffron Colour, Police Book Unidentified Persons
MARCH 14, 2022
Some portion of a Muslim shrine was found vandalised
and smeared with saffron colour in Madhya Pradesh’s Narmadapuram district on
Sunday, following which members of the community sought action against those
responsible for the act, police said. Some members of the Muslim community also
held a demonstration to protest against the incident.
“We got information that the green-coloured Muslim
shrine, located on Semri-Harchand Road, has been smeared with saffron colour
and also vandalised," Additional Superintendent of Police Awadhesh Pratap
Singh said.
After inspecting the structure, located around 40 kms
from the district headquarters, the police registered a case against
unidentified persons, he said.
The shrine is said to be five decades old. “The case
against unidentified persons was registered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC)
section 295 (A) (for deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage
religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion and religious
beliefs)," Singh said.
Source: News18
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Karnataka: Thanks to Muslim man, 5 Hindu pairs wed in
Koppal
Mar 14, 2022
KOPPAL: A Muslim civil contractor who came up the hard
way sponsored the weddings of five Hindu couples to mark the inauguration of a
wedding hall constructed by him in Koppal district on Sunday.
Rahimansab D Doddamani, 48, a Class I contractor from
Hirebannigol village in Kushtagi taluk, spent Rs 3 lakh on the weddings,
including food and mangalasutra. The couples are from Lingayat, Kuruba and
Dalit communities. He told TOI that it was payback time for him as he had
experienced poverty firsthand and seen people suffer, especially after the
outbreak of Covid and in the lockdowns that followed.
The marriages were solemnised in the new hall at
Hirebannigol Cross. He and his wife Imambi said they make no distinction on
caste, religion or financial status and they were helped by people from all
faiths when they were going through a tough phase.
Doddamani said that after the death of his father
about 25 years ago, his family barely managed two basic meals a day. "Despite
the hard times, my mother Ladbi and elder brother Allasab (a gram panchayat
bill collector) encouraged me to complete BSc and Hindi BEd. I was a government
high school teacher, but lost the job due to technical reasons," he said.
Later, villagers asked him to contest gram panchayat
elections and he became panchayat president. "I held the position no
doubt, but I was not earning enough to run the family. That was when a taluk
panchayat engineer encouraged me to work as contractor two decades ago. Now, I'm
a Class I contractor with 30 drivers on the rolls. Besides, I run a bitumen
factory in Hirebannigol," he said.
His wife Imambi said they have named the wedding hall
after APJ Abdul Kalam and the podium after Atal Bihari Vajpayee - "two
icons who stood for communal harmony".
She said their objective is to let even people without
enough resources to conduct events. After finalising the date of the hall's
inauguration, the couple sent out an open invitation for the poor to come
forward and conduct marriages free at the newly built hall. "Having seen
people suffer during Covid, we decided to bear all expenses of these marriages
as a token of gesture and gratitude towards society. We will rent out the hall
for Rs 21,000, including utensils and other amenities, to help the poor
people," she said.
Source: Times Of India
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4 Bangladeshi terrorists setting up sleeper cells held
by Madhya Pradesh cops
Mar 14, 2022
BHOPAL: Four alleged jihadists of the banned terrorist
outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were arrested in a predawn
operation by MP Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and central intelligence agencies
from two locations in Bhopal on Sunday.
All four are Bangladeshi nationals, highly radicalized
tech-savvy youngsters, who were on a mission to develop certain pockets of
Bhopal as remote bases for JMB's sleeper cells, say police. Bhopal's youth,
however, gave them the cold shoulder, they said.
This is the first time that JMB footprint has been
detected in MP. This ISIS-linked outfit was behind the 2016 terror attack in
Dhaka in which 29 people were killed, 17 of them foreigners.
Police identified those arrested in Bhopal as Fazhar
Ali alias Mehmood, 32, Md Aqeel alias Ahmed, 24, Zahooruddin alias Ibrahim, 28,
and Fazhar Zainul Abdeen alias Akram Al Hasan. A large amount of jihadist
literature, laptops and mobile phones were seized from them, home minister
Narottam Mishra said. They are being charged under UAPA and Foreigners Act.
IG (intelligence) Dr Ashish said the suspects will be
produced in court on Monday. "They were in Bhopal for the last two months.
We have got digital evidence and documents against them. They are being
questioned," he said.
Source: Times Of India
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Four active associates of JeM arrested in J&K's
Pulwama
Mar 13, 2022
PULWAMA: The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Sunday said it
has arrested four active associates affiliated with the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM)
terror outfit in the Pulwama district.
"During the investigation of the case, it was
established that four youth were actively associated with the JeM outfit
providing logistic, transportation and other facilities for the commission of
militant acts", a police statement said.
The accused have been identified as Imtiyaz Ahmad
Rather, a resident of Chewa Kallan; Naseer Ahmad Malik (Madrasa Administrator),
a resident of Wasoora; Rayees Ahmad, a resident of Khanpora Newa and Yawar
Rashid Ganai, a resident of Gudoora Pulwama.
Source: Times Of India
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Survey shows 8% Muslims voted for BJP in UP
13th March 2022
Lucknow: Despite general perception that Muslims were
voting against it, the BJP has succeeded in getting at least eight per cent
Muslim votes in a bipolar and highly polarised Assembly election in Uttar
Pradesh.
The CSDS-Lokniti has come out with its survey that of
the 20 per cent Muslim votes, the Samajwadi Party secured around 79 per cent
and at least eight per cent votes went to the BJP, which is an increase of one
per cent over the 2017 Assembly elections.
The survey indicates that the community is willing to
support the BJP, but indicated that there needed to be “two-way traffic” and
the BJP’s posturing should translate into action.
The main reason for this shift in the Muslim votes
towards the BJP is that Muslims have benefited as much as Hindus from the
various welfare schemes during the last five years in Uttar Pradesh.
The study suggests that Muslims should explore the
possibilities of opening up to the BJP. Supporting the non-BJP governments out
of fear of the BJP bogey has not helped them as their socio-economic condition
has gone from bad to worse over the decades.
“The community’s condition is worse than Dalits,” the
Sachar committee report had noted.
According to a survey of ‘Religion, Caste, Nationalism
and Attitudes in India’ by the US-based Pew Research Centre, around 20 per cent
of Muslims voted for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2019 Lok Sabha
elections.
Source: Siasat Daily
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https://www.siasat.com/survey-shows-8-muslims-voted-for-bjp-in-up-2290225/
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Europe
Missile attack in northern Iraq could ‘jeopardize’
return to nuclear deal, France warns Iran
Shweta Desai
13.03.2022
PARIS
France on Sunday warned Iran that its “irresponsible
and dangerous” missiles attack in the Erbil city in northern Iraq can
jeopardize prospects of returning to the nuclear deal.
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said the attack,
claimed by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), “threatens the
stability of Iraq and the region.”
Earlier, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
(IRGC) claimed responsibility for Saturday's strike in the Kurdish Regional
Government (KRG), saying the missile targeted Israeli facilities in the region.
“Such actions jeopardize efforts to bring about a
return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),” the French Foreign
Ministry statement said.
The ministry reiterated the "absolute
urgency" of concluding the negotiations of the nuclear deal and underlined
that Tehran must cease its "irresponsible and dangerous behavior."
Under EU chairmanship, representatives from Iran,
China, Russia, France, the UK, and Germany has been negotiating since December
in the Austrian capital on ensuring full compliance and the US’ return to the
deal.
The Iran nuclear deal – officially named the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – was signed in 2015 by Iran, the US,
China, Russia, France, the UK, Germany, and the EU.
Under the agreement, Tehran committed to limit its
nuclear activity to civilian purposes and in return, world powers agreed to
drop their economic sanctions against Iran.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Turkish mosque in Ukraine’s Mariupol city ‘remains
intact’
Tolga Ozgenc
12.03.2022
MARIUPOL, Ukraine
A Turkish mosque in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol has
remained intact, the head of the mosque association said on Saturday, as
clashes continued in and around the city.
Clashes continue in a neighborhood that is 2
kilometers (1.25 miles) away from the mosque, said Ismail Hacioglu, the head of
the association of Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Mosque.
"Our mosque remained undamaged,” he noted.
Hacioglu said the Russian army has surrounded the city
and has been shooting at the city center.
He said that civilians who are stranded in the city
need essential goods, including water and food.
A rocket fell on Friday around 700 meters (2,297 feet)
away from the mosque which currently houses 30 Turkish nationals, he said.
In the city, along with those in the mosque, there are
86 Turkish nationals waiting to be evacuated, Hacioglu said, adding that they
are in coordination with the Turkish Foreign Ministry for evacuation.
Since Russia launched its war on Ukraine on Feb. 24,
more than 2.5 million people have fled to other countries, with some 2 million
more displaced within the country.
At least 564 civilians have also been killed and 982
others injured in Ukraine, according to UN estimates.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/turkish-mosque-in-ukraine-s-mariupol-city-remains-intact-/2533218
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Greek, Turkish leaders seek common ground over Ukraine
war
March 13, 2022
ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis held talks in Istanbul on Sunday,
seeking a rapprochement against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The meeting focused on the benefits of increased
cooperation between the two countries” in view of “the evolution of the
European security architecture,” the Turkish presidency said in a statement
after two hours of talks.
“Despite the disagreements between Turkey and Greece,
it was agreed... to keep the channels of communication open and to improve
bilateral relations,” the statement added, saying the two leaders discussed the
conflict in Ukraine and their differences in the eastern Mediterranean.
“We are facing so many challenges at the moment...
that the most important thing is to concentrate on what unites us rather than
on what divides us,” the Greek prime minister told journalists after the
meeting.
“We stressed the need to forge a positive agenda,”
Mitsotakis said.
The meeting between the leaders of the neighboring
NATO members came as Ankara seeks to shore up its credentials as a regional
power player by mediating in the conflict.
Last Thursday, the Turkish resort city of Antalya
hosted the first talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba since the start of Russia’s invasion.
They failed to broker a cease-fire.
The Turkish and Greek leaders met on Sunday mindful
that the burgeoning conflict in Ukraine looms larger than the long-standing
tensions between Athens and Ankara.
“From the standpoint of both countries, having a
potentially new crisis between them would certainly be very unwanted at this
particular point in time,” Sinan Ulgen, president of the Center for Economics
and Foreign Policy Studies in Istanbul, told AFP.
The Aegean Sea neighbors and NATO allies entered a
dangerous stand-off in 2020 over hydrocarbon resources and naval influence in
the waters off their coasts.
Mitsotakis then unveiled Greece’s most ambitious arms
purchase program in decades and signed a defense agreement with France, to
Turkey’s consternation.
Senior Turkish officials continue to question Greek
sovereignty over parts of the Aegean Sea, but last year Ankara resumed
bilateral talks with Athens.
“Obviously, Turkey is pursuing a very clear wave of
normalization with regional rivals, after several years of having pursued a
sort of very assertive foreign policy and being regionally isolated,” said Asli
Aydintasbas, a fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
“I think that both Turkish and Greek leaders
understand that the world is changing and the European security order is
challenged in ways they have not imagined three months ago,” she added.
This week, the Israeli president also visited Ankara
after more than a decade of diplomatic rupture.
Antonia Zervaki, assistant professor of international
relations at the University of Athens, says Sunday’s meeting in Istanbul would
provide an opportunity to “bring the two countries closer together” after a
fraught period in relations.
Before his trip to Turkey, Mitsotakis had said he was
heading there in a “productive mood” and with “measured” expectations.
“As partners in NATO, we are called upon... to try to
keep our region away from any additional geopolitical crisis,” he told a
cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Alongside its European partners, Athens strongly
condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, calling it a
“revisionist” attack and “flagrant violation of international law.”
Before lunch, Mitsotakis attended a celebration at the
Orthodox St. George’s Cathedral, Turkey’s largest, in Istanbul.
The Greek government spokesman this week said
Mitsotakis was already due to visit the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew on Sunday and had been invited to lunch by Erdogan at the
presidential mansion on the banks of the Bosphorus.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2041671/middle-east
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Turkish, Armenian foreign ministers meet amid efforts
to mend ties
12 March ,2022
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Armenian
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met for talks in southern Turkey on Saturday
as part of the neighbors’ efforts to mend ties after decades of animosity.
The two met at a diplomatic forum in Antalya. Turkey
has had no diplomatic or commercial ties with Armenia since the 1990s but they
held talks in January in a first attempt to restore links since a 2009 peace
accord, which was never ratified.
The two countries are at odds over several issues,
primarily the 1.5 million people Armenia says were killed in 1915 by the
Ottoman Empire, the precursor to modern Turkey.
Armenia says the 1915 killings constitute a genocide.
Turkey accepts that many Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were killed in
clashes with Ottoman forces during World War One, but contests the figures and
denies killings were systematic or constitute genocide.
The two countries have said the January talks were
“positive and constructive,” raising the prospect that ties could be restored,
and borders reopened.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Chechen leader Kadyrov says he traveled to Ukraine
14 March ,2022
Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's Chechnya region
and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said on Sunday that he had
traveled into Ukraine to meet Chechen troops attacking Kyiv.
Reuters could not independently verify whether he was
in Ukraine or had traveled there during the conflict.
Chechen television channel Grozny posted a video on
its Telegram social media channel earlier on Sunday that showed Kadyrov in a
darkened room discussing with Chechen troops a military operation they said
took place 7 km (4.3 miles) from the Ukrainian capital.
The post did not make clear where or when the meeting
had taken place.
Later Kadyrov made fun of another post that cast doubt
on whether he had traveled to the Kyiv region.
“Why ‘if’? Did you not see the video,” Kadyrov wrote
on his official Telegram account.
Kadyrov, who has often described himself as Putin's
“foot soldier”, has posted videos of heavily armed Chechen troops in the Kyiv
region as part of Russia's invasion force.
He has been repeatedly accused by the US and European
Union of rights abuses, which he denies.
Source: Al Arabiya
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/iran-missile-attack-israel/d/126568