Islamic State Global Spokesperson Calls On Muslims in South and Southeast Asia to Unite For Attacks on India
New Age Islam News Bureau
15 September 2022
Representational image
----
• Hijab Ban: Majority Community Trying To Do Away With
Islamic Practices, Petitioner Tells SC
• Taliban 'Looking Into' Video Showing Executions of
an Afghan Insurgent Group
• Hamas Calls for ‘Popular Mobilization’ To Defend
Al-Aqsa against Israeli Acts of Sacrilege
• Another Minnesota Mosque Attacked, FBI Investigating
As Hate Crime
India
• Mosques Should Be Voluntarily Shifted Away From
Temples: Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister
• UP: VHP Members Allegedly Harass Muslims for
Offering Namaz Roadside in Shahjahanpur
• SCs, STs and Muslims Make Less Money in India than
Others: Oxfam Report On Job Biases
• Uttar Pradesh: Axe Falls On Tabassum Khan, Joint Director,
Health Department, Who Promoted Urdu
• Hijab Ban Would Force Muslim Girls to Go Back To
Madrassas: SC Told
• India Rejects "Unwarranted" References to
J&K by Islamic Nations Group at UN Human Rights Council
• Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama surveyed as part of
survey of Muslim seminaries in UP
--------
South
Asia
• ‘Taliban Stopped Departure of Sri Guru Granth Sahib
Saroops from Afghanistan’
• Pakistan Says Three Soldiers Killed in Attack across
Afghan Border
• Opium Disguised as Raisins Seized at Kabul Airport:
Taliban
• US Transfers $3.5 Billion in Afghan Assets to Swiss
Trust
• Russian Embassy in Kabul Suspends Services after
Embassy Bombing
--------
Mideast
• Iran Intends To Become Member of Russia, China-Led
Bloc
• Palestinian teen killed by Israeli forces during
raid in occupied West Bank
• Palestinian teen killed in West Bank clashes:
Sources
• Iran signs 'memorandum of commitment' for full SCO
membership
• Türkiye's new draft decree on appointing envoys
'ready,' includes Israel
--------
North
America
• Another Minnesota Mosque Attacked, FBI Investigating
As Hate Crime
• US Announces 'Afghan Fund' To Benefit People of
Afghanistan
• US moves forward with military aid to Egypt despite
concerns over its human rights violations
• Washington to send $756 million in additional aid to
Syria
--------
Pakistan
• Taliban Deny Presence of Jaish-e-Mohammad Chief in
Afghanistan
• Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi evacuates Lal Mosque after
talks with district administration
• Panic grips Swat after spurt in TTP activities
• US expects Pakistan to keep up terror fight
• FATF on-site visit ‘smooth’, ‘logical conclusion’
expected: FO
• Fazl strongly denounces attacks on JUI leaders
--------
Europe
• Hamas Leader Haniyeh Meets Muslim, Christian Leaders
in Moscow
• European rights court directs France to reconsider
return of families of Daesh/ISIS fighters
--------
Southeast
Asia
• Xi Lands in Kazakhstan on First Trip Abroad Since
Covid
• Two-Thirds of IAEA Board Back Western Statement
Pressuring Iran
• Is DAP as bigoted as Umno and PAS?
• Malaysia not in economic crisis, says Tengku Zafrul
• No PM can survive without Umno grassroots support,
says Isham
--------
Africa
• Libya, Muslim Brotherhood Expected To Top Sisi's
Agenda in Doha
• Saudi, Nigerian communication ministers discuss
cooperation in digital economy
--------
Arab
World
• Syria at Risk of ‘Return to Large-Scale Fighting,’
UN Warns In New Report
• Al-Azhar Grand Imam receives Astana International
Prize in Kazakhstan
• UAE FM arrives in Israel for official visit marking
two years since normalization
• Lebanon cites ‘major progress’ in demarcation talks
with Israel
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/islamic-state-southeast-asia-attacks-india/d/127954
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Islamic State Global Spokesperson Calls On Muslims in
South and Southeast Asia to Unite For Attacks on India
Representational image
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Gaurvi Narang, Nikhil Rampal and Praveen Swami
14 September, 2022
New Delhi: The Islamic State is calling on Muslims in
South and Southeast Asia to unite to stage attacks against India, the jihadist
group’s global spokesperson said in a statement released on encrypted social
media feeds late Tuesday.
The spokesperson, who uses the pseudonym Abu Umar
al-Mujahir, said the Islamic State was committed to protecting Islam in India,
where he claimed it was “under attack from the government”.
“Fear has eaten you so you have lost the courage to
stand by your religion and fight its enemies,” al-Mujahir says in the 32-minute
Arabic-language speech, addressing Muslims in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh,
Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
A separate video released shortly before the speech
showed Islamic State jihadists executing Kurdish militia who were taken as
prisoners-of-war, the latest in a series of savage execution movies the
organisation has made since its inception.
The speech by al-Muhajir is the latest in a series of
jihadist statements attacking India for persecuting Muslims, among them a
videotaped message from slain al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in April, first
reported in ThePrint. The Islamic State also threatened violence to retaliate
against Bhartiya Janata Party politician Nupur Sharma’s purportedly blasphemous
remarks on the Prophet Muhammad, and communal violence in New Delhi.
The so-called caliph of the Islamic State, Ibrahim
Awwad al-Badri, had also named India among a list of enemy countries, in a key
speech he made at the organisation’s high-noon of military success in 2014. The
speech was then the first reference to India in Islamic State propaganda.
And in an official Islamic State video released in
2016, several Indian jihadists in the caliphate announced their intention to
return home to fight. “To those in the Indian state who wish to understand our
actions,” said an unidentified jihadist, “I say you have only three options: To
accept Islam, to pay jizya [religious tax], or to prepare to be slaughtered.”
“Hindus felt you were harmless so they humiliated you
and your religion, and cursed your prophet,” al-Mujahir says in the new
message. “The cow worshippers defend their cows, the rat worshippers defend
their rat, but you do not do the same for your Prophet.” “The Hindus felt no
fear from you, so they humiliated you and your religion, and cursed your
Prophet.”
In the message, al-Mujahir gave special praise to the
Islamic State units which helped hundreds of jihadists to escape prison from
Abuja, Nigeria, as well as a similar attack in Congo’s Northern Kivu province.
“The promise we made to Muslim prisoners stands,” al-Mujahir says, “and in just
one year we have liberated three prisons.”
‘There are individuals who want Islamic State to bow
to West’
Large numbers of Islamic State prisoners housed in
Iraq and Syria — who include several Indians, ThePrint revealed earlier this
year — have repeatedly battled authorities seeking to escape. The prison camps
have been subjected to jihadist attack, and are reported to be
internally-policed by Islamic State hit-squads.
The Islamic State spokesperson also attacks the
Taliban, claiming the rival jihadist group is collaborating with apostates in
Afghanistan.
“There are groups and individuals who want the Islamic
State to bow to the West and its allies,” al-Mujahir claims, “and do not want
to help in the fight against the enemies of the Muslims.”
He also flags ongoing geopolitical competition, and
argues Islam’s enemies have been divided into “Western and Eastern factions
that are at loggerheads with one another”. The rulers of Islamic and Arab
countries are drawn into this dispute, al-Mujahir continues, offering an
opportunity to the Islamic State and its supporters.
Source: The Print
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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Hijab
Ban: Majority Community Trying To Do Away With Islamic Practices, Petitioner
Tells SC
A
student wearing hijab arrives to appear in the Karnataka SSLC board exams in
Bengaluru on Monday, March 28, 2022. | PTI
-----
September
15, 2022
There
is discontentment among members of the majority community to do away with
practices related to Islam, the counsel for a petitioner in the hijab ban case
told the Supreme Court on Wednesday, reported Bar and Bench.
“It
is simply poking at one aspect of a religion [hijab], saying let’s see if we
can get this one aspect struck off,” Senior Advocate Rajeev Dhawan told the
court.
A
bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia is hearing a batch of
petitions challenging a Karnataka High Court order that had, in March, upheld
the state government’s ban on wearing hijab in educational institutions.
The
development came after in December and January, a group of Muslim students of
the Government Women’s Pre-University College in Udupi city were not allowed to
attend classes for being dressed in hijab. The students staged a protest, and
similar demonstrations were held in other parts of Karnataka.
Hindu
students and mobs of men protested against Muslim women wearing hijabs to
educational institutes. At some colleges, Muslim students were heckled, while
in another case, some men climbed up a flagpole to plant a saffron flag and
broke into classrooms.
At
Wednesday’s hearing, Dhawan told the Supreme Court that the hijab ban case
needs to be looked at in the perspective of discrimination against Muslims.
“This
imposition [ban on hijab] came through the [school] development committees,” he
said. “The students were heckled and they were discriminated against. That is
what the case is really about.”
Dhawan
argued that banning hijab was specific to Karnataka, and not a standard
practice. The senior advocate also contended that if a religious practice is
proven to be bona fide, it is permissible, reported Live Law.
Dhavan
said that the High Court’s contention that hijab is not mandatory in Islam as
there is no punishment prescribed in the Quran is “puzzling”. He said that High
Court ignored the fact that millions of women wear the headscarf in a bona fide
manner.
“According
to the tenets of the faith, if something has been followed, it is allowed, if
it is bonafide, you don’t have to go back to the text,” he argued. “We have to
examine if the practice is prevalent and is bona fide. What is the dispute,
whether it is an essential practice? If all over India, hijab is practiced, lordships
will only see if it is a bona fide practice.”
Dhavan
pointed out that hijab is permitted in public places and questioned the basis
of not allowing it in classrooms and saying that it could disrupt public order.
“When
you say you can’t allow burqa in school, it is reasonable, because you want to
see the face,” the senior advocate said. “But what reasonable objection can be
there to the headscarf?”
Source:
Scroll
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click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
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Taliban
'Looking Into' Video Showing Executions of an Afghan Insurgent Group
UN
accused the Taliban of carrying out human rights violations in Afghanistan in
July. (File)
-----
Sep
14, 2022
KABUL:
The Taliban are "looking into" a video circulating on social media
that appears to show its fighters executing captured members of an Afghan insurgent
group, a government spokesman said Wednesday.
The
National Resistance Front (NRF), a nascent group operating mainly out of the
Panjshir Valley, said the video showed some of its fighters being executed, and
accused the Taliban of "war crimes".
The
video, being shared widely on social media, shows two groups of men squatting
on a hillside with their hands tied behind their backs before being shot with
automatic rifles by Taliban fighters.
The
fighters can be heard shouting "Allahu Akbar", and a man is later
heard saying "stop it, stop it" after the captives slump forward,
apparently dead.
Checks
by AFP's digital verification team show the first versions of the video only
appeared online in the last 24 hours, and government spokesman Bilal Karimi
said authorities were investigating.
"We
are looking into it to know exactly when these videos were filmed and to know
whether they are old," Karimi told AFP.
"But
so far, we absolutely don't know about the place, timing of the videos, or who
the people in them are."
The
footage went viral a day after the Taliban said its forces had killed at least
40 NRF fighters in clashes in the Panjshir Valley.
The
NRF said those shown being executed in the video were captured during fighting
in the valley.
"The
criminal Taliban committed a war crime again by shooting & martyring
eight" members of the NRF, the insurgent group's spokesman Sibghatullah
Ahmadi said on Twitter.
The
scenic Panjshir Valley is famed for being the centre of Afghan resistance to
the Soviet occupation of the 1980s and the Taliban's first stint in power in
the late 1990s.
It
was the last part of Afghanistan to hold out against the Taliban when they
returned to power in August last year.
The
NRF is headed by Ahmad Massoud, the son of legendary anti-Soviet and
anti-Taliban fighter Ahmad Shah Massoud.
The
elder Massoud, known as the Lion of Panjshir, was assassinated in 2001 by
Al-Qaeda, two days before the September 11 attacks in the United States.
His
son has since picked up the mantle against Taliban forces, repeatedly
denouncing the Islamist regime as "illegitimate".
In
July, the United Nations mission in Afghanistan accused the Taliban of carrying
out hundreds of human rights violations, including extra-judicial killings and
torture, since they seized power.
Many
of the victims were former government officials and national security force
members, the mission said, an accusation denied by the Taliban.
Source:
Times Of India
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click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
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Hamas
Calls for ‘Popular Mobilization’ To Defend Al-Aqsa against Israeli Acts of
Sacrilege
15
September 2022
Palestine’s
Hamas resistance movement has called on all Palestinians to mobilize to
confront Israel’s malicious conspiracies against the al-Aqsa Mosque in the
occupied al-Quds and protect it against the regime’s acts of sacrilege.
“Al-Quds
[Palestinian] residents are the spearhead of the battle against the occupying
Zionists and the nation’s hope for defending the first Qibla of the Muslims,”
Mohammad Hamadeh, spokesman for the Hamas branch in occupied al-Quds, said on
Wednesday.
The
remarks followed yet another military-backed desecration of the al-Aqsa Mosque
by Israeli settlers.
Palestinian
media said over 230 settlers entered the mosque in groups via the al-Maghariba
Gate and toured the courtyards. Israeli rabbis also delivered lectures and a
number of visitors performed prayers at the site.
Radical
Israeli groups are encouraging the settlers to visit the flashpoint holy site
throughout the upcoming Jewish holidays later this month.
As
per a long-standing agreement signed between Israel and the Jordanian
government in the wake of Israel’s occupation of East al-Quds in 1967, Jews may
visit the al-Aqsa Mosque compound but are not allowed to pray there.
However,
an uptick in visits by Israeli settlers to the mosque has angered Palestinian
Muslims and led to protests, which are usually met with Israeli forces’ brutal
attacks on the protesters.
The
Palestinians have repeatedly voiced concerns over the Israeli regime’s plot to
change the status quo of the third holiest site in Islam, including by dividing
the site into Jewish and Muslim sectors or setting times for visits.
In
May last year, frequent acts of violence against Palestinian worshipers at
al-Aqsa Mosque promoted Gaza-based resistance groups to declare war against
Israel in defense of their compatriots in the Israeli-occupied territories.
Source:
Press TV
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click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
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Another
Minnesota Mosque Attacked, FBI Investigating As Hate Crime
Saint
Cloud Islamic Center. [Courtesy of Jaylani Hussein]
-----
14
September, 2022
The
attack late last week on a mosque in Minnesota, which the FBI is now reviewing
as a hate crime, is the latest in a state that is seeing a proliferation of such
crimes.
The
incident occurred Thursday when two people broke into the Islamic Center of
Saint Cloud, one of the main mosques in the area, located about an hour's drive
from Minneapolis.
They
ransacked the premises, smashing a window, damaging floor tiles and leaving
beer cans and cigarette butts inside the mosque. They also reportedly stole two
copies of the Quran. They also left a note in blood.
"They
didn't care about the sanctity of our space," Jaylani Hussein, executive
director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told The New Arab.
The
two perpetrators, a man and a woman from the Minneapolis area, both in their
20s, were arrested within hours of the attack after they'd dropped their hotel
room keys around the crime scene.
"I'm
really concerned that this has just happened again. When I got the text, I
thought someone was asking about the other mosque," said Jaylani,
referring to one in Minneapolis, which had been attacked just days
earlier."
Right
now, he said, "We are increasing our support for institutions, and we're
looking to make sure security protocols are increased. Most importantly, we
want to know why these attacks are coming."
Source:
The New Arab
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/another-minnesota-mosque-attacked-fbi-investigating
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India
Mosques
Should Be Voluntarily Shifted Away From Temples: Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister
By
Amit Sharma
September
15, 2022
Uttar
Pradesh Cabinet Minister Sanjay Nishad on Wednesday said mosques should be
voluntarily shifted from places wherever temples exist in their vicinity.
Talking
to media persons in Baghpat, Nishad said, “Jahan bhi mandir hai, aur wahan
masjid bani hui hai… saare masjidon ko, main toh chahunga un logon ne swatha
jis tarah se Ram mandir se hatt gaya aur Ram mandir aaram se ban raha hai aur
masjid alag se ban raha hai, waise har mandiron ke bagal se masjid hatt jaana
chahiye… Hume hatne ki nahi, balki doosre Bharat ke sanskriti hai agar wo
dharmik puja karna chahte hai toh kahin banakar puja kar sakte hai. (Wherever
there is a temple and a mosque nearby, I want mosques to be shifted voluntarily
just like what happened with the Ram Temple, where the temple is being
constructed without a hitch and the mosque is being built in another place. We
don’t need to move; other religions of Indian culture can construct their
places of worship wherever they want to).”
Nishad,
who holds the portfolio of the fisheries department, is president of NISHAD
Party, which contested the 2022 Assembly elections in alliance with the ruling
BJP. The party won six seats.
Welcoming
the government’s decision to conduct survey of madrasas in the state, Nishad
alleged that “terrorists and criminals are found to have links with madrasas”.
The minister also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath
for “making the state free of riots”.
Source:
Indian Express
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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UP:
VHP Members Allegedly Harass Muslims for Offering Namaz Roadside in
Shahjahanpur
September
15, 2022
New
Delhi: Members from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) allegedly harassed a group
of Muslim men from West Bengal and handed them over to the police in Uttar
Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur district for offering namaz on the roadside.
The
incident took place on September 11 but came to light after videos surfaced on
social media on September 13. The group was on its way to Rajasthan’s Ajmer
Sharif.
According
to the Times of India, they were offering namaz near a dhaba on the
Lucknow-Delhi national highway.
Additional
Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Vajpayee told news agency Press Trust of India
on Wednesday, September 14, “Eighteen people who were on their way to Ajmer
were brought to the Tilhar police station on Sunday night (September 11) with
the complaint that they were offering namaz on the roadside. They were released
after we received an apology [from them] in writing and issued a challan.”
Meanwhile,
local VHP leader Rajesh Awasthi, who reported the matter to the police, said,
“I was on my way to someplace when I saw some men offering namaz on the
roadside.”
Awasthi
said he told the men that they were in Yogi Adityanath’s Uttar Pradesh, where
offering namaz in the open was prohibited.
When
asked what action was taken against the VHP members for allegedly assaulting
the Muslim men, the police told the daily, “A fine was imposed on the bus
driver as the vehicle was parked improperly on the highway.”
However,
no action was taken against those who harassed the Muslim men, the report said.
The
station house officer of Tilhar police station, Virendra Singh, told TOI, “We
spoke with both the parties and didn’t get any evidence that namaz was offered
publicly.”
Singh
added, “We do not know if the pilgrims were assaulted by anyone. We haven’t
seen any such video.”
However,
in the purported video clip, as per the newspaper, a man was heard saying, “The
ones who offered namaz will have to go to jail.” In another video, an elderly
man can be seen apologising to the VHP leader.
In
a video that went viral on social media, the VHP members can be heard asking
some passengers of a bus to hold their ears and apologise, PTI reported.
After
the incident, the bus with all its passengers left for Ajmer.
Criticising
the right-wing group’s action, many activists took to Twitter saying that when
Hindus can conduct poojas in malls and colleges, why offering namaz was banned.
Source:
The Wire
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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SCs,
STs And Muslims Make Less Money In India Than Others: Oxfam Report On Job
Biases
15
SEP 2022
People
not belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Schedules Tribes (STs) earn Rs
5,000 per month more than those from the two communities, while non-Muslims
earn Rs 7,000 per month more than Muslims on an average, according to a new
report by Oxfam India.
According
to the 'India Discrimination Report 2022', which highlights bias in accessing
jobs, livelihoods and agricultural credits among others, 15.6 per cent of the
urban Muslim population aged 15 and above was engaged in regular salaried jobs
whereas 23.3 per cent of non-Muslims were in regular salaried jobs, in 2019-20.
"The
lower employment for urban Muslims attributes 68 per cent to discrimination. In
2019-20, 70 per cent of the difference between Muslim and non-Muslim engaged as
salaried workers was due to discrimination," it said.
The
report said self-employed SC/STs earn Rs 5,000 less than non-SC/STs and
discrimination accounts for 41 per cent of this gap.
The
rural SC and ST communities are facing a rapid increase in discrimination in
casual employment, the report showed.
The
data said unequal income among rural SC and ST casual wage workers was majorly
-- 79 per cent -- because of discrimination in 2019-20, a sharp increase of 10
per cent from the previous year.
In
rural areas, Muslims saw the sharpest increase in unemployment -- 17 per cent
-- in the first quarter of COVID-19.
“For
salaried workers during Covid, Muslims emerge as the most affected group for
which the percentage figures went up from 11.8 to 40.9 in rural areas, the
corresponding increase for SC/ST (5.6 to 28.3) and general category (5.4 to
28.1) being less than that,” it said.
Muslims,
in rural areas, recorded the maximum decline in earnings of 13 per cent, while
it was close to 9 per cent for others, the report said.
In
rural areas, in the self-employed category, Muslims had the highest fall in
earnings by about 18 per cent against that of below 10 per cent for the SC/STs
and others, it said.
In
2017, people belonging to bottom 20 per cent income group, who were from SC and
ST communities got 1.7 times lesser hospital care compared to OBCs and others
in the same income group.
Historically,
oppressed communities such as Dalits and Adivasis along with religious
minorities such as Muslims also continue to face discrimination in accessing
jobs, livelihoods, and agricultural credits, the report said.
The
mean income for SCs and STs in urban areas, who are regular employees, is Rs
15,312 as against Rs 20,346 for those belonging to the general category.
“This
means the general category is earning 33 per cent more than SCs or STs
according to the report. The average earning of self-employed workers is Rs
15,878 for non-SCs or STs and Rs 10,533 for SCs or STs. The rural SC and ST
communities are facing an increase in discrimination in casual
employment," the report said.
“Self-employed
non-SC/ST workers earn a third more than their SCs or STs counterparts. Caste
also acts as a major barrier while accessing credit for agriculture despite
many agricultural labourers being from SC or ST communities. STs and SCs
receive less than a quarter of the credit shares that the forward castes
receive,” the report said.
Muslims
continue to face multidimensional challenges in accessing salaried jobs and
income through self-employment as compared to non-Muslims.
The
lower employment for urban Muslims was largedly -- 68.3 per cent -- due to
discrimination, in 2019-20. The report showed that discrimination faced by
Muslims in 2004-05 was 59.3 percent, indicating an increase in discrimination
by nine per cent over 16 years.
Regular-salaried
non-Muslims in urban areas earn Rs 20,346 on an average, which is 1.5 times
higher than Muslims who earn Rs 13,672, the report said.
“This
means non-Muslims are earning 49 per cent more than Muslims in regular
employment," the report noted.
"Self-employed
non-Muslims earn Rs 15,878 on an average, while self-employed Muslims earn Rs
11,421 despite the community's overrepresentation in urban self-employment.
This means non-Muslims are earning a third more than Muslims in
self-employment,” it said.
Amitabh
Behar, CEO of Oxfam India, said the fallout of discrimination in society is
multi-faceted, not just social and moral but also economic, leading to adverse
consequences.
These
findings are based on the government data on employment and labour from 2004-05
to 2019-20.
Source:
Outlook India
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Uttar
Pradesh: Axe Falls On Tabassum Khan, Joint Director, Health Department, Who
Promoted Urdu
Piyush
Srivastava | Lucknow
15.09.22
The
Yogi Adityanath government has suspended Tabassum Khan, joint director in the
health department, a week after she ordered that Urdu be used along with Hindi
on the signboards of community and primary health centres and on nameplates of
government doctors.
Raja
Ganpati R, director (administration) of the health department, said Khan had
been suspended for “dereliction of duty” but did not elaborate. Urdu has been
Uttar Pradesh’s second language since 1989 and the government would periodically
issue reminders encouraging its use.
But
these reminders stopped after Adityanath became chief minister in 2017, sources
said. A senior health department official said on condition of anonymity Khan’s
suspension letter says “she has been punished for dereliction of duty as she
didn’t inform senior officers of her department before issuing the notice”.
The
official said: “Khan had sent the order to the chief medical officers and heads
of community and primary health centres on September 1, 2022, when Mohammad
Harun, a resident of Unnao district, submitted an application to her citing the
Uttar Pradesh government order of October 1989 giving Urdu the status of second
state language after Hindi, which was always the first language.”
Khan’s
order was never implemented and was withdrawn within a week. Samajwadi Party
patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav was chief minister when Urdu was accorded the
status of the second language of Uttar Pradesh. Scholars say Urdu had started
developing between Lucknow and Punjab with its epicentre in Delhi in the 12th
century.
When
Urdu became a literary language in the 18th century, Lucknow, the Uttar Pradesh
headquarters, and Delhi became the seats of the two standard forms of the
language spoken in India.
Reacting
to Khan’s suspension, senior Congress leader Dwijendra Tripathi said: “The
state government used to issue letters to its departments at regular intervals
urging the use of Urdu as one of the two languages of communication. It used to
put up notice boards and signboards in Urdu. Khan’s letter was only in
continuation of such letters. “Shailesh Krishna, the then principal secretary
of the Uttar Pradesh government, had in 2015 issued a similar letter.
Source:
Telegraph India
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Hijab
ban would force Muslim girls to go back to madrassas: SC told
14th
September 2022
By
Shruti Kakkar
NEW
DELHI: Relying on the contents of a report by the Public Union of Civil
Liberties which dealt with the impact of Karnataka HC’s verdict, Senior Advocate
Huzefa Ahmadi for the Muslim students in the Karnataka hijab ban case on
Wednesday told the bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia the ban
had resulted in thousands of students abstaining from taking the exam.
Questioning
the authenticity of the report, the bench said, “We don't want to say anything
about reports. We didn’t accept. The issue of the dropout rate was never raised
before the HC. You are arguing for the first time here.”
Ahmadi
also argued that Muslim girls who were confined to madrassas earlier had broken
stereotypes by joining secular education with a hijab but the GO which
restrained students to wear the hijab, or customary Islamic headscarf to
educational institutions took that away from them.
Taking
exceptions to his submissions, the bench said, “There is no foundation of that
in the writ petition read by Mr Mucchala that you are going to Madrassas, that
it’s not the case set up. HC has not discussed it.”
The
GO said it was to develop fraternity, but it is the antithesis of fraternity,
Senior Ahmadi also argued. Stressing on the objective of the Karnataka
Education Act which promotes unity in diversity, he said that the circular was
the objective of the act.
“If
somebody is getting proved by hijab, he should have a sense of brotherhood and
fraternity,” Ahmadi added.
Senior
advocate Rajeev Dhavan for a 17-year-old girl GO targeted Muslim women without
any sensitivity, was contrary to law and the Constitution.
“This
is not a yes no issue. This is not an issue where you say we have a
disciplinary code and you follow it. What are the obligations of the authority
concerned to bring about a measure of inclusiveness and to apply the least
restrictive approach. The GO is against hijab, it targets Muslims and Muslim
women particularly. Violates article 14 & 15 and this Targeting without any
sensitivity is contrary to law and the constitution,” Dhavan submitted.
Pointing
out the HC’s judgment of Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Dhavan said, we don’t want your
lordships to be mailvies or pandits. The conclusion of HC is puzzling as it
says that hijab is not mandatory due to absence of prescription of penalties
which goes to the fundamentals, Dhavan said. He also said that if a believer
holds the practice to be essential in good faith, it is considered to be
essential to religion.
Stressing
on the argument that courts were not equipped to interpret the Quran due to it
not being sufficiently proficient in Arabic, Justice Gupta asked Dhavan, “You
say that courts are not equipped but if there is an issue who will decide. If a
dispute arises about a particular practice?”
“In
this impugned judgment conclusion that has been reached is that it is a
directory. What is the dispute, whether it is an essential practice. If all
over India, hijab is practiced, lordships will only see if it is a bona fide
practice,” Dhavan responded.
Laying
emphasis on the fact that ban of hijab was Karnataka specific and wasn’t a
standard practice to hijab, Dhavan said that across the Muslim world and
non-Muslim world hijab was permitted.
“This
is simply poking at one aspect of religion and then saying let’s see if we can
get this aspect struck by courts,” he said.
Source:
New Indian Express
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
India
Rejects "Unwarranted" References To J&K By Islamic Nations Group
at UN Human Rights Council
September
14, 2022
New
Delhi: India has rejected "factually incorrect and unwarranted
references" to Jammu and Kashmir made by a grouping of Islamic nations,
using its Right of Reply at UN Human Rights Council. Accusing Pakistan of
"peddling malicious propaganda", India said Islamabad is
"well-advised to put its own house in order".
Yesterday,
the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation or OIC, with 57 member states including
Pakistan, had alleged "illegal unilateral action to change the status of
Kashmir" in the Rights Council and accused India of trying to make
demographic changes in Kashmir. In a separate statement, Pakistan had alleged
"human rights abuses" and "physical and digital iron
curtain" in Jammu and Kashmir.
India
said it rejects "factually incorrect and unwarranted references to India
in the statement by OIC". "We regret that the OIC countries with whom
we have close ties, have failed in preventing Pakistan from misusing OIC
platform to push anti-India propaganda," India said.
"Pakistan
has an abysmal record on promotion and protection of human rights of its
people. Its shameful history of committing genocide in what was then East
Pakistan and what is now Bangladesh, over 50 years back, is well known and
needs no reiteration," India said.
"Pakistan
has one of the worst records in ensuring the right to freedom of religion or
belief for its minorities... Extrajudicial abductions, enforced disappearances,
arbitrary detentions and tortures have been used by Pakistan as tools of State
Policy to target human rights defenders, political activists, students, and
journalists and to crush dissent. People in regions such as Balochistan have
suffered political and other repression and persecution for decades,"
India added in its reply.
Pakistan
has made multiple attempts to flag Jammu and Kashmir at the international forum
since special status of Jammu and Kashmir was ended and it was bifurcated into
two Union Territories. Much of it was done with OIC, which has been issuing
statements slamming India.
Last
month, on the third anniversary of Jammu and Kashmir's bifurcation, the OIC had
accused India of "illegal unilateral action" and called on the
international community to take steps to resolve the "dispute"
through relevant UN resolutions.
"August
5, 2022 marks the third anniversary of the illegal and unilateral actions taken
in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, which were followed by
additional unlawful measures including illegal demographic changes," OIC
had also tweeted.
India
said the statement "reeks of bigotry".
In
May, pointing to the delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir, OIC had
released another statement expressing "concern" over India's attempts
to redraw the electoral boundaries", alleging it is a violation of the
rights of the Kashmiri people.
Source:
ND TV
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Darul
Uloom Nadwatul Ulama surveyed as part of survey of Muslim seminaries in UP
Sep
15, 2022
A
team from the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education and the district
administration on Thursday surveyed the Muslim seminary Darul Uloom Nadwatul
Ulama in Lucknow days after the state government ordered a survey of
“unrecognised” seminaries.
District
minority officer Sone Kumar, who was part of the team, said the survey was
aimed at collecting information about the seminary, its affiliation, etc. He
added the affiliation was unknown to them so far.
Kumar
said they collected information as per a 12-point proforma, which seeks
information on the names and details of the organisations running a seminary,
the year of establishment, facilities such as electricity, drinking water, the
number of students, courses being offered, and funding sources.
The
survey of Muslim seminaries began on Saturday for the first time in the state.
Opposition parties have criticised the move with former chief minister Mayawati
accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of terrorising Muslims with
such actions with “an evil intent”.
Muslim
organisations such as All India Muslim Personal Law Board and Jamiat
Ulema-e-Hind have also opposed the survey.
Source:
Hindustan Times
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
South
Asia
‘Taliban
stopped departure of Sri Guru Granth Sahib saroops from Afghanistan’
September
15, 2022
Sikh
philanthropist and president of Indian World Forum, Puneet Singh Chandhok
claimed Wednesday that the Taliban-led Afghanistan government restricted the
departure of saroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib from Afghanistan.
“It’s
unfortunate that the Taliban led Afghanistan Government has restricted the
departure and ferrying of Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji out of Afghanistan. A group
of 60 Afghan Sikhs was scheduled to arrive at Delhi on Saturday (September 11)
along with saroops to pay obeisance at Sri Darbar Sahib, Amritsar. However, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan refused to
facilitate the departure of Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji as per its religious
sanctity and protocol. The officials of the Ministry informed the Sikh
community in Kabul that an objection has been made by their Ministry of
Information & Culture, thus conveying a ban on departure of Sri Guru Granth
Sahib ji out of Afghanistan until and unless the restricting ministry conveys
its clearance,” said Chandhok.
“This
issue has been shared with relevant authorities and we have asked them to abide
by the rules,” he said.
Source:
Indian Express
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Pakistan
Says Three Soldiers Killed in Attack across Afghan Border
By
Saqalain Eqbal
14
Sep 2022
Three
Pakistani soldiers were reportedly killed as a result of an armed confrontation
across the border in Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, which the
Pakistani army claimed was started by “terrorists” in Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s
military stated that their soldiers had been shot upon from Afghan soil in a
statement released on Tuesday, the 13th of September, resulting in three
fatalities from the Pakistani side.
The
Express Tribune of Pakistan reported that Pakistani Army troops responded
accordingly, quoting the Pakistani military’s statement “As per credible
intelligence reports, due to fire of own troops, terrorists suffered heavy
casualties.”
Three
Pakistani troops, Muhammad Rehman, 32, Maweez Khan, 34, and Irfan Ullah, 27,
were killed during the exchange of fire, according to the media wing of the
Pakistani military.
In
the statement, Pakistan vehemently condemned terrorists’ use of Afghan
territory for attacks against Pakistan and expressed the expectation that the
Afghan government would forgo allowing future instances of such conduct.
Pakistan,
according to The Express Tribune, is growing more concerned about the Taliban’s
interim administration’s lack of action against such groups, and is very highly
likely to complicate the relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/pakistan-says-three-soldiers-killed-in-attack-across-afghan-border-456375/
--------
Opium
Disguised as Raisins Seized at Kabul Airport: Taliban
By
Saqalain Eqbal
14
Sep 2022
Authorities
have seized approximately 125 cartons of opium drug disguised as black raisins
at Kabul International Airport, in the Afghan capital, the Taliban Ministry of
Finance said Wednesday.
A
package of 125 cartons of opium packed with black raisins was discovered in the
warehouse of Kabul International Airport, according to a newsletter released by
the Taliban government’s Ministry of Finance on Wednesday, the 14th of
September.
The
security authorities said that they have arrested several passengers who were
attempting to smuggle drugs in connection with the case, while the
investigations are ongoing.
Those
arrested allegedly intended to transport this quantity of opium from
Afghanistan to the United Arab Emirates.
Earlier
on Tuesday, a supply of 25,000 liters of alcoholic beverages was discovered and
seized from the Iranian-Afghanistan border, local Taliban government
authorities in Herat province, in northwestern Afghanistan stated.
According
to the spokesperson for the Taliban chief of police in Herat province, Mahmoud
Shah Rasouli, this package was seized at the Islam Qala border.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/opium-disguised-as-raisins-seized-at-kabul-airport-taliban-36754/
--------
US
Transfers $3.5 Billion in Afghan Assets to Swiss Trust
By
Saqalain Eqbal
14
Sep 2022
The
US reportedly says it would transfer $3.5 billion in Afghan Central Bank assets
frozen when the Taliban took power last year to a new Swiss-based trust fund.
According
to international media reports, Afghan central bank assets will be moved to a
new Swiss-based trust fund that will be protected from the Taliban and utilized
to assist stabilize Afghanistan’s collapsing economy.
The
Afghan Fund, which is overseen by a board of trustees, will pay for necessary
imports such as power, settle debt payments to international financial
institutions, thereby preserving Afghanistan’s eligibility for development
assistance, and fund the printing of new currency, according to SWI, the
international unit of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation.
According
to US authorities, no funds would be transferred to the Afghan Central Bank,
known as Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), till it is “free of political
interference.”
The
establishment of the new trust fund follows months of negotiations between the
Taliban, who seek the release of billions of dollars in DAB assets held in the
US and overseas, and the US President Joe Biden, Switzerland, and other
parties.
The
Central Bank of Afghanistan’s foreign exchange holdings were frozen by the US
when the Taliban seized control of the country, and talks to release them had
been advancing in recent months. However, the death of Ayman al-Zawahiri put a
temporary halt to these talks.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/us-transfers-3-5-billion-in-afghan-assets-to-swiss-trust-54637/
--------
Russian
Embassy in Kabul Suspends Services after Embassy Bombing
By
Saqalain Eqbal
14
Sep 2022
The
Russian embassy in Kabul, the Afghan capital, has stopped all consular
services, including the issuance of visas and other documents, according to a
statement released on Tuesday.
According
to a message posted on the Russian embassy’s Telegram channel, which announced
the suspension of the consular services and visa issuance, requesting the
applicants not to visit the embassy “until further notice.”
“We
are working on options for issuing documents accepted. No new applications are
accepted, no consular services are provided, no new visas are issued,” the
Russian embassy’s statement reads.
According
to the statement, Russian citizens in Afghanistan are also requested to call
the consular support line in cases of emergency.
Two
members of the Russian diplomatic mission were killed after an explosive device
was detonated by an unidentified insurgent early on September 5.
The
explosion took place at the entrance of the Russian embassy, near the consular
department in Kabul on Darulaman road also inflicting 10 other civilian
casualties.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/russian-embassy-in-kabul-suspends-services-after-embassy-bombing-67475/
--------
Mideast
Iran
intends to become member of Russia, China-led bloc
14 September,
2022
Iran
intends to pursue membership of a Chinese and Russian-led bloc that is meeting
in Uzbekistan this week, President Ebrahim Raisi said Wednesday as he prepared
to head to the summit.
The
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) -- made up of China, Russia, India,
Pakistan and four ex-Soviet Central Asian countries -- was set up in 2001 as a
political, economic and security organization to rival Western institutions.
The
summit set for Thursday and Friday in the Uzbek city of Samarkand is the first
entirely face-to-face leaders’ meeting since the start of the coronavirus
pandemic.
“One
of the important acts of this summit will be the finalization of SCO
(membership) documents and the legal process they will need to take in order to
be signed by the foreign ministers of the member countries,” Raisi said.
Iran,
one of four SCO observer states, had applied for full membership in 2008 but
its bid was slowed by UN and US sanctions imposed over its nuclear program.
Several
SCO members did not want a country under international sanctions in their
ranks.
At
a conference in Dushanbe in September last year, members of the bloc endorsed
Iran’s future membership.
Tehran
wants to “make the most of the economic power and the capacities of the region
and of Asian countries for the benefit of the Iranian nation,” Raisi said.
The
Kremlin said Tuesday that this week’s summit in Samarkand will showcase an
“alternative” to the West.
The
move comes as Iran and major powers have been struggling to revive a 2015
nuclear deal.
The
original agreement promised Iran relief from crippling sanctions in return for
tight limits to its nuclear activities verified by UN monitors.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Palestinian
teen killed by Israeli forces during raid in occupied West Bank
15
September 2022
Israeli
forces have killed a Palestinian teenager during a raid near the city of Jenin
in the northern part of the West Bank amid mounting tensions in the occupied
territories stoked by the Israeli army's incursions, arrests, and arbitrary
killings.
According
to local sources, the 17-year-old victim, Uday Trad Salah, was shot by the
Israeli forces in the head during their storming of the town of Kafr Dan, west
of Jenin on Thursday at daybreak.
The
young Palestinian boy later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital, the
sources reported.
Moreover,
the sources added, three other Palestinians were injured during the raid, one
of whom is in a critical condition.
Following
the raid, clashes erupted between the
Palestinians and Israeli forces.
According
to eyewitness accounts, special units and dozens of patrols stormed the town
from all entrances, deployed reinforcements, and climbed the rooftops to set up
sniper teams.
The
sources reported that the forces raided the homes of two Palestinian men killed
on Wednesday in the Jalama operation, and interrogated and arrested their
family members.
Ahmad
Ayman Abed, 23, Abdul Rahman Hani Abed, 22, and one Israeli trooper were killed
during an exchange of fire in Jalamah located adjacent to the security barrier
just north of Jenin.
Hazem
Qassem, a spokesman for the Gaza-based Hamas resistance movement, said that the
blood of two Palestinians killed at the Jalama would further nourish the
Palestinian uprising and fight against the occupying Israeli regime,
guaranteeing the victory and liberation of Palestine.
Israeli
forces continue their near-daily raid-and-arrest operations in various parts of
the West Bank, wounding or killing Palestinians.
Such
raids are carried out while Israeli settlers also conduct acts of violence
against Palestinians and their property.
Source:
Press TV
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Palestinian
teen killed in West Bank clashes: Sources
15
September, 2022
A
Palestinian teenager was killed Thursday during clashes with the Israeli army
near Jenin in the occupied West Bank, medical sources said.
Uday
Salah, 17, was “killed by a bullet to the head fired by the Israeli occupation
soldiers in Kafr Dan, Jenin governorate,” the Palestinian health ministry said.
The
Israeli army said its forces were “mapping out the homes of the terrorists who
killed Major Bar Falah and arresting suspects throughout the West Bank.”
Falah
was killed on Wednesday in clashes near the Jalameh checkpoint, north of Jenin,
which also killed Palestinians Ahmed Abed and Abdul Rahman Abed.
Palestinian
news agency Wafa reported that soldiers had raided the family homes of both
Ahmed and Abdul Rahman Abed, and arrested “Amer Taha Abed, who is the cousin of
the martyr Ahmed Abed.”
The
Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian president Mahmud
Abbas’s secular Fatah movement, had claimed responsibility for the Israeli
major’s death.
Jenin
has suffered frequent violence in recent months, part of a deadly flare-up that
began in mid-March following deadly attacks on Israeli targets, mostly by
Palestinians.
In
response, Israel has launched near nightly raids on West Bank towns and cities
that have killed dozens of Palestinians, including fighters.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Iran
signs 'memorandum of commitment' for full SCO membership
Syed
Zafar Mehdi
15.09.2022
TEHRAN,
Iran
Iran
signed a memorandum of commitment Wednesday for its permanent membership in the
powerful regional grouping the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Foreign
Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian announced in a Twitter post late Wednesday
that he signed the document for his country’s full membership in the
organization ahead of the SCO summit in Uzbekistan, which begins Thursday.
"Now
we have entered a new stage of various economic, commercial, transit, energy,
etc. cooperation," the top Iranian diplomat wrote.
He
hastened to add that the organization's secretary general
"congratulated" Iran for its permanent accession and called it an
"important development.”
The
Eurasian political, economic and security alliance was founded by China,
Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in 2001 and is
recognized as the world's largest regional organization, with eight members and
four observer states.
Iran
acquired observer status in the organization in June 2005.
Its
permanent membership in the powerful organization was approved in September
last year during the summit in Tajikistan after a wait of almost 15 years.
The
technical and legal processes, which generally take time, began soon after,
with President Ebrahim Raisi hailing it as one of his government's diplomatic
masterstrokes.
On
Wednesday, he became the first Iranian president in 20 years to visit
Uzbekistan, with his country set to end the lengthy wait.
Before
leaving for the Uzbek city of Samarkand, where the SCO summit will be held,
Raisi described the purpose of his visit as the "reinforcement of the
policy of good-neighborliness, convergence, solidarity, and promotion of
multilateralism."
"In
the first step of developing the neighborhood policy, we were able to
strengthen mutual political trust in the region," he said. "In the
second step, we are pursuing the effective role of Iran and its active presence
in the region."
On
Iran's permanent membership in the SCO, he said his government had approved the
documents following a review and the legal procedures were currently underway.
Raisi
said Iran seeks to benefit from "the infrastructure that exists in Asia
and the neighboring countries" as an SCO member.
Earlier
on Wednesday, Iranian government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi told reporters
in Tehran that the draft outlining Iran's SCO membership had been submitted to
the country's parliament for approval.
The
SCO summit will be held Thursday and Friday and brings together top world
leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi
Jinping.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Türkiye's
new draft decree on appointing envoys 'ready,' includes Israel
Merve
Aydogan
14.09.2022
Amid
Turkish and Israeli moves to normalize relations, the Turkish foreign minister
on Wednesday said a new decree including the appointment of an ambassador to
Tel Aviv is ready to be presented to the president.
Speaking
to reporters in Ankara, Mevlut Cavusoglu said the decree not only includes
Israel but rather is a comprehensive measure. He gave no names of possible
ambassadors.
Türkiye
and Israel have been taking steps to normalize ties, including a decision on
Aug. 17 to restore full diplomatic relations and reappoint ambassadors and
consuls general after a four-year hiatus.
A
cooperation agreement was also signed between the two countries in the field of
aviation. Currently, Turkish aviation companies can organize flights to Israel.
Cavusoglu
further announced that he will travel to London next Monday as Türkiye’s
official representative at the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
After
taking part in the 77th UN General Assembly in New York on Sept. 20-26,
Cavusoglu is set to go to Japan to attend the official funeral of assassinated
former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo on Sept. 27.
Armenia,
Azerbaijan, visa delays
Asked
whether the next meeting between Türkiye and Armenia will be held in either
country as part of the normalization process, rather than a third country,
Cavusoglu said Türkiye suggested such a move following the first meeting on
Jan. 14 in Moscow.
After
that meeting, he said Türkiye told Armenia that "there is no need to go to
third countries for the meeting, it should be held in either Türkiye or
Armenia," while Yerevan said it is not ready for that.
At
that first meeting, both parties agreed to continue negotiations without any
preconditions, according to a statement released afterward.
Saying
that Armenia is "a bit hesitant" on the meeting location, Cavusoglu said:
"There has been no clear and positive response from Armenia on this issue
yet, but in the latest talks, they said it could be held. But, of course, the
latest developments with Azerbaijan bothered us. Armenia needs to end these
provocations."
Azerbaijan
has accused Armenia of large-scale border provocations in recent days, which
resulted in fatalities on both sides, including 50 Azerbaijani soldiers and 49
Armenian soldiers, according to official figures. In Monday's attacks by
Armenia, two farmers were injured, leaving one in critical condition, according
to Azerbaijani authorities.
Cavusoglu
reaffirmed that Türkiye will not proceed with the normalization process
independently of Azerbaijan, and that Armenia knows it.
"We
are sincerely in favor of stability in the South Caucasus and if Armenia is
sincere, there can be more positive developments," he added.
Asked
whether there would be a meeting with Western ambassadors on unreasonable
delays in visas for Turkish citizens, Cavusoglu said: "There are some
envoys who are on vacation. We’re awaiting their return.”
Saying
that such a meeting would be held after this month’s UN General Assembly, he
added: “My colleagues will arrange for ambassadors of Western countries, not
just the US. We will convey the necessary warnings. Some countries have begun
to accelerate (visa procedures). Problems persist in some countries."
In
recent months many Turkish citizens have faced delays in the processing of visa
applications, in some cases waiting months to get an appointment date.
Greece
Asked
about Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' remarks on Tuesday challenging
Türkiye, Cavusoglu said: "We do not think that we need to even comment on
such remarks. We will decide when and where to go."
In
a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, Mitsotakis
said, citing an oft-repeated phrase by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
"We are waiting for those who threaten to ‘come suddenly one night in our
islands’ … (to come) in the light of day."
On
Russian gas allegedly being exported via Greece, Cavusoglu called this
"typical hypocrisy of Greece."
"On
one hand, it complains at every meeting over Türkiye not participating in
sanctions against Russia, but on the other hand it aids bypassing these
sanctions," he said.
Saying
once again that Türkiye will not take part in the sanctions but also not allow
the sanctions to be bypassed via Türkiye, Cavusoglu said: "Indeed we do
not (allow it). We implement the Montreux Convention."
"We
closed our airspace to military planes going to Syria. We openly affirm that we
will not allow Ukrainian grain to be sold to us by Russia. We even say that we
will not allow ships that shut down the tracking system, except for a technical
malfunction, to dock at Turkish ports," he said, adding that Greece is
trying hard to bypass sanctions.
Affirming
that there is no planned meeting with Greek officials or even any attempts for
such a meeting, Cavusoglu said Athens’ real trouble is that they are
"disturbed over Türkiye recently becoming a very important actor."
Asked
about a call for sanctions on Turkish banks and businesspeople on a website
supported by Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, Cavusoglu said there is a
misperception that only Turkish companies are mentioned, but actually companies
from many countries, including the US and EU member states, are on the list.
"They've
added many companies that do business with Russia. We’re talking about 18,000
people and companies. Of course, our own companies concern us and we made
contacts both in Kyiv and here in Ankara on the matter. We asked for it to be
corrected as we asked for an explanation. They haven’t responded yet. We’re
working on it," he added.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
North
America
US
announces 'Afghan fund' to benefit people of Afghanistan
Servet
Gunerigok
14.09.2022
WASHINGTON
The
US announced Wednesday the creation of a fund to benefit Afghans in
coordination with its international partners.
"The
United States remains committed to supporting the people of Afghanistan amidst
ongoing economic and humanitarian crises," said State Department.
It
said with an executive order, President Joe Biden set a policy of enabling $3.5
billion of Afghan central bank reserves to be used for the benefit of the
Afghan people while keeping them out of the hands of the Taliban and other
malign actors.
"The
Afghan Fund will protect, preserve, and make targeted disbursements of that
$3.5 billion to help provide greater stability to the Afghan economy,"
said the statement.
It
stressed that the Taliban are not a part of the "Afghan Fund," which
intends to address the acute effects of Afghanistan’s economic and humanitarian
crises.
"The
Afghan Fund will maintain its account with the Bank for International
Settlements (BIS) based in Switzerland,” it said. “An external auditor will
monitor and audit the Afghan Fund as required by Swiss law.”
Wally
Adeyemo, US deputy secretary of the Treasury, said the fund will help mitigate
the economic challenges facing Afghanistan while protecting and preserving $3.5
billion in reserves from Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), Afghanistan’s central bank.
"Through
this Fund, the United States will work closely with our international partners
to facilitate use of these assets to improve the lives of ordinary people in
Afghanistan," said Adeyemo.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-announces-afghan-fund-to-benefit-people-of-afghanistan/2685169
--------
US
moves forward with military aid to Egypt despite concerns over its human rights
violations
15
September 2022
The
United States will provide Egypt with most of an allocated $300 million in
conditional military aid, despite concerns about Cairo's human rights record.
US
State Department officials said Wednesday that they would give Egypt $75
million in spite of calls from senior Democratic lawmakers and rights groups to
withhold the full amount over its human rights record.
Secretary
of State Antony Blinken said that Cairo had made some progress on political
detentions and due process, according to the officials.
The
North African country will also receive another $95 million under a statutory
exception related to counterterrorism, border security and non-proliferation
funding, added the officials.
Some
Democratic allies of President Joe Biden have pressed for a cutoff of aid to
Egypt, which rights groups estimate is holding more than 60,000 prisoners of
conscience.
Senator
Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut made a similar demand to the president.
"If you're going to be an ally of the United States, you shouldn't be
locking people up for political speech," said Murphy.
In
a separate move, seven lawmakers -- led by the chairman of the House Foreign
Affairs Committee -- sent a letter to the State Department on Tuesday, raising
concern “about the ongoing, pervasive and systemic violations of human rights
in Egypt that risk destabilizing the country.”
They
noted the many political prisoners, including some US legal permanent
residents, who are “subject to abuse and mistreatment such as torture and
medical neglect.”
Citing
the State Department’s 2021 country reports on Egypt's human rights abuses, the
group urged the department to withhold the entire amount of aid, which for the
coming year is $300 million.
President
Joe Biden, however, decided to uphold only 10% of the $1.3 billion allocated
for Egypt annually.
Egypt
has been among the top recipients of US foreign aid.
The
State Department’s annual human rights report catalogues far-reaching
violations by the Egyptian government, including arbitrary arrest, excessive
pretrial detention and torture by government jailers.
President
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has faced international criticism for cracking down on
civil society groups following the army’s overthrow of then-President Mohamed
Morsi, the country’s first democratically-elected president.
Source:
Press TV
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
Washington
to send $756 million in additional aid to Syria
Sep
15, 2022
WASHINGTON:
The US State Department on Wednesday announced it was sending $756 million in
new humanitarian aid to Syria, where need remains "dire" after more
than a decade of war.
The
funds, which are in addition to a tranche of $808 million announced earlier
this year, will go to "continue our unwavering support for the Syrian
people", secretary of state Antony Blinken said in a statement.
He
added that the US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, had made the
announcement earlier in the day at a UN Security Council meeting on Syria.
Blinken
stressed the importance of an international agreement allowing the delivery of
humanitarian aid across the border, calling it a "lifeline" for
millions of Syrians.
"Cross-border
deliveries ensure that life-saving aid including food, medicine, and other
relief supplies reach people throughout northwest Syria, who rely on this aid
to survive," Blinken said in the statement.
In
July, the Council adopted a resolution extending a system for cross-border aid
to Syria by six months, the duration demanded by Russia. Other members had
sought a full year.
The
aid delivery system across Turkey's border into rebel-held Syria -- in place
since 2014 -- is the only way UN assistance can reach civilians without
navigating areas controlled by Syrian government forces.
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
Pakistan
Taliban
deny presence of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief in Afghanistan
September
14, 2022
KABUL:
A spokesperson for the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” has denied that
Pakistan has demanded the handover of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Maulana
Masood Azhar from Kabul.
“We’ve
also seen this news in the media. But this is not true. Nobody has made such a
demand from us,” said Zabihullah Mujahid in an interview with Afghanistan’s
ToloNews, a day after a section of the Pakistani media reported that the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs has written a letter to Kabul’s new rulers seeking
custody of Maulana Masood Azhar.
According
to the letter, Azhar has been hiding somewhere in the eastern Afghan province
of Nangarhar.
“Jaish-e-Mohammad
chief is not in Afghanistan. Such organisations can operate on Pakistan’s soil
– and even under official patronage,” Mujahid added. “We’ll not allow anyone to
use Afghanistan’s soil against any other country.”
A
section of Pakistani media reported on Wednesday that MoFA had written a letter
to the Afghan foreign ministry seeking Azhar’s handover.
“We
have written a one-page letter to Afghan foreign ministry, asking them to
locate, report and arrest Masood Azhar, as we believe that he is hiding
somewhere in Afghanistan,” media reported quoting a top official privy to the
development.
However,
when approached, a Foreign Office spokesperson told The Express Tribune that
“It is not true”.
Source:
Pakistan Today
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Maulana
Abdul Aziz Ghazi evacuates Lal Mosque after talks with district administration
Israr
Ahmad
September
15, 2022
ISLAMABAD
- The former prayer leader Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi has evacuated Lal Mosque on
Wednesday after a successful negotiation with the district administration,
informed a police spokesman.
He
added the former cleric of Lal Mosque Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi had left the
mosque along with some of his men and proceeded to Jamia Hafsa located in
G-7/3-2. He also added that Ume Hassan, Incharge Jamia Hafsa and widow of
Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi, along with the seminary students also went to the
seminary.
According
to him, the meeting between the district government high ups, senior police
officers and the former Khateeb of Lal Mosque was held peacefully during which
the occupants left the mosque.
Talking
to The Nation, a senior police officer said that they have restored peace in
the area after holding a talk with the former prayer leader. He said that the
officers of district administration including Deputy Commissioner also attended
the meeting. A day earlier, firebrand speaker Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi along
with 200 people, including seminary students, some teenagers and gunmen, had
occupied Lal Mosque forcefully while putting the district administration and
the police high ups on toes.
Source:
Nation Pakistan
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Panic
grips Swat after spurt in TTP activities
Hazrat
Ali Bacha
September
15, 2022
SWAT:
The
scenic Swat valley remained tense on Wednesday after a sudden spurt in the
attacks by the militants from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the latest
being an attack on a police post in the Matta Tehsil of the district.
The
attack happened as the authorities recovered three more bodies from the site of
Tuesday’s remote-controlled explosion in Bura Banday area, raising the death
toll from the blast to eight, including a local anti-Taliban leader, two
policemen and two labourers.
Police
said that the attack on the police post happened in the Sokhara area of the
Matta Tehsil overnight. The militants attacked the post from three sides but
there was no casualty, a police official said, adding that the attacker later
fled from the scene.
The
recent wave of attacks came after more extremists from the outlawed TTP entered
Swat from Afghanistan. The locals said that the militants had established their
hideouts in the hilly areas of the Matta Tehsil.
In
a video message, taking rounds on social media purportedly from a Taliban
commander, warned that the militants had entered Swat in large number and that
they would not spare any Taliban opponent, particularly those affiliated with
the Awami National Party (ANP).
Swat
District Police Officer (DPO) Zahid Nawaz Marwat did not respond to repeated
telephone calls for comments on the ongoing situation.
Blast
death toll rises
In
Bura Banday, where five people died in a blast on Tuesday, investigators
recovered three more bodies, raising the death toll to eight. The dead included
a local leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) Idris Khan and two policemen.
Also
among the deceased were labourer brothers Afzal Shah and Ibrahim Shah. They
died, while were working on installing marble in the house of Idris Khan. It
was stated that one of the brothers was to get married on Sunday.
Khan
had gone to inspect the work at his home. On his way back, the brothers joined
him in his vehicle after completing the day’s labour. They were sitting in
Khan’s car which hit the remote-controlled explosion. The funeral for the Shah
brothers was held at Fazil Banday.
Kidnapping
for ransom
In
a further sign of deteriorating law and order situation in Swat, kidnappers
demanded Rs100 million ransom for the release of two employees of a private
cellular company. The two were part of a group of seven employees, who were
abducted from the Matta Tehsil on Tuesday.
On
Wednesday, the kidnappers released five of the employees and held back two in
their captivity. The kidnappers also released the picture of one of the
hostages along with the demand for Rs100 ransom.
The
menace of kidnapping for ransom and extortion is on the rise in the district,
from where the Taliban militant were driven out in a military operation about
13 years ago. After Tuesday’s blast and attacks on police, several people have
complained of receiving threatening calls.
Police
registered a case on the complaint of Asif Sardar, son of Pakistan Muslim
League-Nawaz (PML-N) member of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Sardar Khan. Sardar
told the police that Taliban had warned his father of dire consequences if
money was not paid to them.
Last
month, too, extremists attacked the Chaparyal police station in the district.
On the next day, a deputy superintendent of police and two other officers were
kidnapped after a shootout in which the officers were injured.
The
local population is worried over the recent wave of attacks. They say that
these incidents have affected their businesses in the entire district. At
present, roads in district are conspicuous for the absence of tourists.
The
people are particularly worried about the news of the return of the extremists
in Swat. The members of the civil society have severely criticised the Swat
police, questioning how the militants re-entered Swat in the presence of
thousands of policemen.
Source:
Tribune Pakistan
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2376777/panic-grips-swat-after-spurt-in-ttp-activities
--------
US
expects Pakistan to keep up terror fight
Anwar
Iqbal
September
15, 2022
WASHINGTON:
Formally announcing arrangements to service Pakistan’s fleet of F-16 aircraft,
the US State Department said that it views Pakistan as “an important
counterterrorism partner” and expects it to “take sustained action against all
terrorist groups”.
Last
week, the US State Department approved the potential sale of sustainment and
related equipment to Pakistan in a deal valued at up to $450 million, with the
principal contractor being Lockheed Martin Corp.
Responding
to queries after his press conference on Tuesday, Spokesperson Ned Price said
that as part of its longstanding policy, Washington provides “life cycle
maintenance and sustainment packages for US-origin platforms”.
Mr
Price pointed out that the F-16 programme was “an important part of the broader
US-Pakistan bilateral relationship, and this proposed sale will sustain
Pakistan’s capability to meet current and future counterterrorism threats by
maintaining the F-16 fleet.”
The
fleet, he said, “allows Pakistan to support counterterrorism operations, and we
expect Pakistan will take sustained action against all terrorist groups.”
His
response answers some of the questions raised in India that the F-16s would
strengthen Pakistan’s air capabilities, which goes against New Delhi’s
interests. The US official, however, made it clear that the new programme aims
only at building Pakistan’s strength to counter terrorism and should not be
seen in India-Pakistan context.
However,
the response did little to placate New Delhi, which is still concerned about
the decision and the Indian defence minister conveyed as much to his American
counterpart on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
“I
conveyed Indias concern at the recent U.S. decision to provide a sustenance
package for Pakistans F-16 fleet,” Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh wrote
on Twitter following what he called a “warm and productive” telephone
conversation with US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin.
Included
in the upgrade are US government and contractor engineering, technical and
logistics services for follow-on support of Pakistan’s F-16 fleet. It also
includes modifications and support of aircraft and engine hardware and software
as well as repair and return of the jets and engine spares, classified and
unclassified software and software support among others.
During
the press briefing, Mr Price was also asked about the ban on transmission of
ARY News. “We continue to be concerned by significant restrictions on media
outlets and civil society in Pakistan… We routinely raise our concerns about
press freedom to all stakeholders around the world, including to our partners
and our counterparts in Pakistan.”
He
told the ARY journalist who posed the question that Washington was “concerned
that media and content restrictions, as well as a lack of accountability for
attacks against journalists, undermine the exercise of freedom of expression,
peaceful assembly and association.”
He
also mentioned that with regards to US assistance to Pakistan in connection
with the flood emergency, a total of nine US Central Command flights had
delivered more than half of the 630 metric tons of relief supplies from USAID’s
Dubai warehouse for the response to these massive floods.
“In
total, CENTCOM will airlift more than 41,000 kitchen sets, 1,500 rolls of
plastic sheeting, tens of thousands of plastic tarps, 8,700 shelter fixing kits
– all in support of USAID’s flood relief.”
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1710199/us-expects-pakistan-to-keep-up-terror-fight
--------
FATF
on-site visit ‘smooth’, ‘logical conclusion’ expected: FO
Khaleeq
Kiani
September
15, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan on Wednesday expressed hopes the recent “smooth and successful”
on-site visit of the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) technical team would
lead to a “logical conclusion” — its exit from the grey list next month.
A
15-member joint delegation of the FATF and its affiliate Asia Pacific Group
paid an on-site visit to Pakistan from Aug 29 to Sept 2 to verify the country’s
compliance with a 34-point action plan committed in June 2018, when the country
was placed on the list.
The
authorities, which kept the countrywide visit of the delegation low profile for
two weeks, said on Wednesday that “it was a smooth and successful visit” from
Pakistan’s perspective. In a statement, the foreign ministry said the FATF team
held detailed discussions with Pakistani agencies.
A
statement issued by the Foreign Office said the focus of the visit was to
validate Pakistan’s high-level commitment and sustainability of reforms in the
anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime
and that the meetings were held in “a constructive and positive atmosphere”.
It
said the FATF team’s report would be discussed in FATF’s ICRG (International
Cooperation Review Group) and plenary meetings, scheduled to be held from Oct
18 to 22 in Paris and Pakistan was looking forward to a “logical conclusion”.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1710192/fatf-on-site-visit-smooth-logical-conclusion-expected-fo
--------
Fazl
strongly denounces attacks on JUI leaders
September
14, 2022
PESHAWAR:
Chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman on Wednesday
strongly denounced attacks on JUI leaders in Swat and Tank districts.
In
a media statement, the JUI chief said that anti-state elements were once again
targeting the leaders of JUI that was a matter of grave concern for the party
and its leadership.
Maulana
said the desire for the establishment of lasting peace in the region should not
be considered as our weakness. “The JUI leaders were being targeted but sadly
no arrest in this regard has so far been made.”
After
Waziristan and Bajaur, the incidents of terrorism in Swat and Tank were much
deplorable and unacceptable. Such events, he said, were meant to undermine our
efforts for the establishment of peace in the region.
Maulana
maintained that people should not be compelled to take law in their hands and
institutions responsible for their security should be more vigilant and
responsive.
Offering
Fateha for the souls of the departed persons, Maulana prayed that may Allah
Almighty accept their sacrifice and grant them high place in the Heaven.
Source:
Pakistan Today
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2022/09/14/fazl-strongly-denounces-attacks-on-jui-leaders/
--------
Europe
Hamas
leader Haniyeh meets Muslim, Christian leaders in Moscow
14
September, 2022
The
head of Hamas's political bureau Ismail Haniyeh has held several meetings with
religious and political figures in Russia, as part of an official visit lasting
several days.
Haniyeh
and his delegation met with Muslim and Christian religious officials in Moscow
and discussed Israeli attacks on holy sites in Jerusalem "foremost of
which are Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre" and Israeli
plans for the "Judaisation" of occupied East Jerusalem, a statement
by the Palestinian movement said.
The
Hamas delegation said Russian Muslims could play an important role in
"defending holy sites" in occupied East Jerusalem.
Frequent
Israeli attacks centred around the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the Sheikh
Jarrah district in 2021 that spiralled into an 11-day Israeli assault on the
Gaza Strip, as Hamas retaliated with rocket fire.
Israel
captured East Jerusalem in 1967 and annexed it in violation of international
law. It claims the whole of the city as its 'eternal capital' but this is
rejected by Palestinians and most of the international community.
Among
the meetings Haniyeh held were one with Sheikh Roshan Abbasov, the first deputy
head of the Shura Council of Muftis of Russia and the Religious Administration
of Muslims of the Russian Federation, at the Great Mosque of Moscow.
Haniyeh
also visited the Danilov Monastery in Moscow and met with Sergey Zvonarev, the
high priest and secretary of the Department of External Church Relations of the
Moscow Patriarchate for Foreign Affairs.
On
Saturday, he met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and passed on a
message to President Vladimir Putin.
Israel
has expressed anger at previous visits to Moscow by the Hamas leader.
Source:
The New Arab
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/hamas-leader-meets-muslim-christian-leaders-moscow
--------
European
rights court directs France to reconsider return of families of Daesh/ISIS
fighters
Rabia
Iclal Turan
14.09.2022
The
European Court of Human Rights on Wednesday ruled that France must re-examine
repatriation requests by two French families whose daughters traveled to Syria
and joined the Daesh/ISIS terror group.
The
French government’s refusal to consider applicant’s requests is a “violation of
their right to enter national territory,” the court based in Strasbourg ruled
in the landmark case.
“French
Government would be expected to promptly re-examine the applicants’ requests
and, in doing so, afford them appropriate safeguards against any
arbitrariness,” the court said.
A
large number of foreign fighters traveled to Syria and Iraq to join the
Daesh/ISIS terror group.
As
the terror group lost control of territories, the foreign fighters, including women
who were married to Daesh/ISIS terrorists and gave birth to children, were put
in prisons run by the YPG/PKK terror group in northern Syria.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Southeast
Asia
Xi
lands in Kazakhstan on first trip abroad since Covid
September
14, 2022
NUR-SULTAN:
China’s president Xi Jinping landed in ex-Soviet Kazakhstan today, AFP
journalists in the capital Nur-Sultan said, in the Chinese leader’s first trip
abroad since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
During
Xi’s three-day visit to Central Asia, he is scheduled to attend a leaders’
summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Uzbekistan, where he
is expected to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Xi,
whose plane touched down around 8.30am, was greeted on the red-carpeted
runway by Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart
Tokayev.
Both
leaders and their respective delegations – as well as the guard of honour that
met Xi on arrival – were wearing masks.
“China
is willing to work with Kazakhstan to deepen cooperation in law enforcement,
security and defence,” Xi wrote in an article for Kazakh media that was
republished by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
He
added that Beijing also wanted to work with Kazakhstan to combat drug
trafficking and transnational organised crime as well as what China calls the
“three evils”.
China’s
government has previously used the term “three evils” – defined as terrorism,
separatism and religious extremism – to refer to its crackdown in its far
western region of Xinjiang, which borders Kazakhstan.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Two-thirds
of IAEA board back Western statement pressuring Iran
September
15, 2022
VIENNA:
Two-thirds of the UN nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation board of governors endorsed a
non-binding statement by the US, Britain, France and Germany on Wednesday
pressing Iran to explain why uranium traces were found at three undeclared
sites.
At
its last quarterly meeting in June the International Atomic Energy Agency’s
(IAEA) board of governors passed a resolution expressing “profound concern”
that the traces remain unexplained due to insufficient cooperation by Iran, and
calling on Tehran to engage with the watchdog “without delay”.
The
Vienna-based IAEA says there has been no progress and no engagement by Iran
since then.
Rather
than pass a new resolution at this week’s board meeting, the four countries
behind June’s resolution – the US, Britain, France and Germany – issued a joint
statement reaffirming support for that text and sought to get as many other
countries as they could to sign up it.
“We
call upon Iran to act immediately to fulfil its legal obligations and, without
delay, take up the (IAEA) director-general’s offer of further engagement to
clarify and resolve all outstanding safeguards issues,” the joint statement
presented by Germany to the board said.
A
list of countries provided by Germany showed that 23 countries on the board
supported it. The 12 that did not included Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Egypt,
South Africa, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Senegal and Vietnam.
That
is fewer supporters than the 30 countries that voted in favour of the June
resolution, which only Russia and China opposed. Those two did not back
Wednesday’s joint statement, either. India and Pakistan abstained in June.
Libya went from abstaining on the resolution to supporting the joint statement.
A
resolution passed by the board of governors carries the weight of a formal
decision by the IAEA’s top policy-making body that meets more than once a year.
Countries banding together to issue a statement without submitting and passing
a resolution are merely expressing an opinion.
The
issue of the unexplained uranium particles has become an obstacle in wider
talks to revive Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers since Tehran is now
seeking a closure of the IAEA’s investigation as part of those negotiations,
Western powers say.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Is
DAP as bigoted as Umno and PAS?
September
13, 2022
DAP
is as bigoted as Umno and PAS if it’s true what Penang MCA chairman Tan Teik
Cheng says about his party’s nemesis.
Tan
said DAP is stoking fears among Chinese voters in Penang that if they don’t
vote for DAP in the fast-approaching GE15 they risk winding up with having a
Malay as chief minister.
He
denounced this campaign as “vicious and irresponsible”, arguing that it is a
political convention of the state that the chief minister’s post is held by a
Chinese.
DAP
has long griped about Umno’s whispering campaign that DAP is anti-Malay,
anti-Islam and anti-royal. No substantive proof has been adduced to convict DAP
of this triad of anathemas.
Recently,
DAP led the campaign of lodging multiple police reports against the patently
racist view of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang that in Malaysia corruption is a
non-Malay phenomenon.
Police
have called up Hadi for questioning but charges against him are yet to be
preferred.
Hadi
said he will reply to the charge of him being anti-non-Malay if and when he is
charged in court, which he is virtually saying he expects not to be charged.
DAP
has done well over the years to fend off accusations that it is hostile to
Malays, Islam and the royals.
And
it did well to lead the campaign to have Hadi carpeted for his asinine claim
about non-Malay responsibility for corruption.
After
battling bigotry for years, one would think DAP would refrain from stooping to
commit it, as the Penang MCA leader claims they have done in the campaign that
has unofficially begun for GE15.
DAP
ought to waste no time in disavowing the MCA claim, even if some of the party’s
lesser lights in Penang have been campaigning along the racist lines attributed
to them by MCA.
The
evolution of its “Malaysian Malaysia” ideology ought to have enabled DAP to
arrive, more than a half-century since the party’s formation, at the point when
they could argue that individual capability rather than ethnicity should be the
major point about who is to be Penang’s chief minister.
That
may be too idealistic an expectation to have about DAP, but it’s certainly not
too much to expect that it refrains from stoking fear over the possibility of a
Malay chief minister for Penang, stemming from an Umno-BN victory in the coming
polls.
DAP
should not stoop to this baseness, particularly when racial and religious
bigotry are keeping this country from attaining the excellence that the party’s
inspiration, Lim Kit Siang, constantly reminds a nation at the confluence of
the Malay, Chinese and Indian civilisations, to strive for.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2022/09/13/is-dap-as-bigoted-as-umno-and-pas/
--------
Malaysia
not in economic crisis, says Tengku Zafrul
September
13, 2022
KUALA
LUMPUR: Malaysia is not experiencing an economic crisis just because the
ringgit is trading at a low level against the US dollar, said finance minister
Tengku Zafrul Aziz.
He
said the ringgit’s performance should be viewed holistically, not just in
comparison with the US dollar, as the local note had strengthened against other
currencies.
“While
the ringgit has depreciated by 7.5% against the US dollar since the beginning
of 2022, many currencies in the region and developed countries have also fallen
against the greenback.
“For
example, the Japanese yen has slid 19.2%, the lowest in 24 years; the pound
sterling has dropped 14.4%, the lowest in 37 years; and the euro has weakened
by 11.7%, the lowest in 20 years,” Tengku Zafrul said in a video posted on his
social media page.
Although
the currencies of these countries have declined in value against the US dollar,
they – including the European Union and Japan – are not experiencing an
economic crisis, he said.
The
ringgit has strengthened compared with the currencies of Malaysia’s other
trading partners, he added.
Among
others, the ringgit has risen by 14.2% against the Japanese yen, 8.2% versus
the pound sterling, 4.5% vis-a-vis the euro, 3.9% compared with the New Zealand
dollar, and 7.2% against the South Korean won.
“The
important thing is, as an exporting country, the low ringgit against the US
dollar has a positive effect on the country’s export revenue.
“So
do not look at just one aspect. Ask Malaysian exporters … they are all happy as
their exported products have become more competitive,” he said.
Additionally,
economic fundamentals that have continued to strengthen are important in
determining the robustness of the ringgit, the minister said.
“What
are the proofs (that our economy is on a solid footing)? Firstly, Malaysia’s
gross domestic product (GDP) has grown for three consecutive quarters. The GDP
grew by 3.6% in the fourth quarter of 2021, 5.0% in the first quarter of 2022
and 8.9% in the second quarter,” he said.
Tengku
Zafrul said the country’s unemployment rate of 3.7% in July 2022, the lowest
since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country, was further proof that the country
was not experiencing an economic crisis.
He
also pointed to the industrial production index which rose by 12.5%
year-on-year (y-o-y) in July 2022, and the sales value of the wholesale and
retail trade which surged 41% to RM130.7 billion in the same month.
“For
the first seven months of this year alone, wholesale and retail trade was
valued at RM882.1 billion, 19% higher than last year,” he said.
Tengku
Zafrul also noted that the country’s exports increased by 38% y-o-y to RM134.1
billion in July.
He
added that net foreign investment in the local stock market had amounted to
more than RM8 billion and net retail investment had reached RM1.8 billion
year-to-date.
The
country’s inflation rate is also manageable at 2.8% for the first seven months
of 2022 due to price control measures, particularly through the provision of
subsidies of almost RM80 billion this year.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
No
PM can survive without Umno grassroots support, says Isham
Danial
Azhar and Anne Muhammad
September
13, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: No prime minister can remain in office without the support of Umno’s
grassroots, a party leader said today.
It
was important for Umno to clear out “traitors” within the party, or risk having
an internal conflict, said Umno Supreme Council member Isham Jalil in an
interview.
“There
is no prime minister who will ever survive without Umno’s base (of supporters)
and grassroots,” he said.
Not
even Dr Mahathir Mohamad could remain in office after Pakatan Harapan’s 22
months in power, because he was disliked by Umno’s grassroots members.
“The
same also applied to Muhyiddin Yassin, who only lasted 17 months,” he added.
He
said it was best that the party be transparent with its grassroots about any
internal matters or risk a repeat of the 1988 Umno crisis, when the party split
between Mahathir, then president, and a faction led by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
Isham
said the coming months were crucial for the party after its former president
Najib Razak was jailed late last month on corruption charges.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
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Africa
Libya,
Muslim Brotherhood expected to top Sisi's agenda in Doha
14/09/2022
Egyptian
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi began a two-day visit to Qatar on Tuesday, his
first since Cairo and Doha restored relations last year following a regional
diplomatic rift.
The
Egyptian presidency said Sisi would discuss "bilateral and regional
issues" with Qatar's ruler, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, who had
already visited Egypt in June.
Egypt,
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain had boycotted Qatar from
2017 over charges it supported Islamic extremism and kept close ties to Iran.
An agreement to end the row was struck early last year and Qatar and Egypt have
moved quickly to rebuild relations.
Economic
cooperation will not be absent from Sisi's talks in Doha however, frank
discussion of the situation in Libya and the Qatari position on the Muslim
Brotherhood is expected to top the agenda of his discussions with the emir,
analysts say.
The
results of the visit, they believe, will determine the shape of the
relationship between Cairo and Doha in the immediate future.
Former
Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister Hassan Haridi told The Arab Weekly that
Sisi's visit aims to anchor reconciliation between the two countries against
the background of the decisions of the Al-Ula summit in Saudi Arabia, in
January 2021.
He
added that Sisi will focus on moving ahead with the process of normalising
bilateral relations but will also raise regional concerns, including the means
of preventing escalation in Libya, calming tensions in Syria and issues related
to the upcoming Arab summit scheduled for November in Algiers.
The
Egyptian president, Cairo analysts say, wants to explore the limits of Doha's
involvement in the Libyan crisis where the Qataris have intensified their
contacts with protagonists at a time when other international efforts to help
settle the crisis seem to be a state of flux.
During
the past few days, Doha has welcomed Interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah,
then Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh, who supports the rival government of
Fathi Bashagha, whom Qatar could be also receiving soon.
Experts
say Doha is likely to be preparing a new formula for a settlement in Libya.
Egypt's
Libyan role seems to be stuttering as its efforts towards unifying the Libyan
military have not produced a breakthrough by ending division between rival
forces and so laying the ground for reconciliation and the holding of
presidential and parliamentary elections.
In
the meanwhile, Turkey has recently opened channels with Libyan political actors
in both the east and west of the country and received leaders from various
camps. Ankara is seen as leveraging its continued military presence in Libya,
its strong connections to mercenaries and armed militias as well the absence of
a clear international vision to resolve the country's crisis.
Analysts
say Cairo could find in any active Qatari involvement in Libya a means to
contain Turkish encroachment. From that perspective, Sisi may encourage Doha to
carry on with its mediation in the Maghreb country's crisis.
Egypt
still has misgivings, however, about Qatar’s ties to regional political Islam,
even though it has tended to overlook the issue in its continued focus on
improving relations with Doha.
Qatar
has seemed reluctant to make a major concession to Cairo on this vital issue,
as it still embraces Egyptian Islamist leaders, although it has moderated the
critical tone of Egyptian authorities by the Doha-sponsored Al Jazeera channel.
However, sharp criticism of Cairo is a key feature of the programmes of another
Qatari-owned channel, Al Araby TV, which has recently moved its headquarters
from London to Doha.
Economic
concerns will be dwarfed by regional policy consideration but nevertheless not
totally ignored.
During
his visit, Sisi will meet Qatari companies and the Egyptian-Qatari business
council, Egyptian diplomatic sources said.
Egypt
and Qatar signed three memomoranda of understanding, including one between the
two nations’ sovereign wealth funds, the Egyptian presidency announced on
Wednesday.
Since
resuming relations, rEguypt and Qatar have struck deals worth up to $5 billion.
Financial
pressure on Egypt sharpened after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February
because of the flight of portfolio investment, a loss in tourism revenue and
rising global commodity prices.
Cairo
has been negotiating for a new loan with the International Monetary Fund for
several months.
Source:
The Arab Weekly
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https://thearabweekly.com/libya-muslim-brotherhood-expected-top-sisis-agenda-doha
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Saudi,
Nigerian communication ministers discuss cooperation in digital economy
September
15, 2022
RIYADH:
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah
Al-Swaha met on Wednesday with his Nigerian counterpart, Dr. Isa Ibrahim, on
the sidelines of the activities of the second Global Artificial Intelligence
Summit, which is being hosted by the capital, Riyadh.
During
their meeting, the two sides discussed expanding the existing cooperation between
the two countries, the investment opportunities available in both countries’
markets, and supporting the growth of the digital economy.
Source:
Arab News
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2162791/saudi-arabia
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Arab
World
Syria
at risk of ‘return to large-scale fighting,’ UN warns in new report
14 September,
2022
Syria’s
simmering 11-year war is at risk of boiling up once again with a return to
large-scale combat after several frontlines across the country flared up in
recent months, the United Nations warned on Wednesday in a new report.
“Syria
cannot afford a return to larger-scale fighting, but that is where it may be
heading,” said Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, chair of the UN’s Syria commission.
Hundreds
of thousands of people died and millions were made homeless since protests
against President Bashar al-Assad in 2011 escalated into a civil war that drew
in foreign powers and left Syria carved into zones of control.
Fighting
has cooled in recent years after Iran and Russia helped Assad recapture 70
percent of Syrian territory, the United States backed Kurdish fighters that
defeated ISIS militants, and Turkey set up a buffer zone near its border. But
the United Nations said fault lines between various areas are now starting to
heat up again.
“We
had an idea at some point that the war was completely finished in Syria,”
Pinheiro told journalists in Geneva, adding that incidents documented in the
report proved this was not the case.
The
50-page report found that “grave violations of fundamental human rights and
humanitarian law” had increased across the country in the first six months of
this year.
They
included fighting and aerial bombardments in the country’s northeast and
northwest that left dozens of civilians dead and restricted access to food and
water, the report said.
In
government-held areas, the Commission documented the deaths of former
opposition leaders, house raids and continued torture and ill-treatment in
detention centers.
Russian
air strikes over opposition-held areas had increased even further in the last
few months, said commissioner Hanny Megally.
“We
are seeing increasing violence,” Megally told reporters.
It
also documented more than a dozen Israeli strikes across Syria in the first six
months of 2022, including an attack on Damascus International Airport that put
the site out of commission for nearly two weeks.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Al-Azhar
Grand Imam receives Astana International Prize in Kazakhstan
14
Sep 2022
This
came during the opening session of the Seventh Congress of Leaders of World and
Traditional Religions being held in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan on 14-15
September, according to a statement by Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's highest seat of
learning.
El-Tayyeb
is "the most inspiring and influential Islamic figure in humanitarian causes,
and his presence in Kazakhstan is important and appreciated,” Al-Azhar
institution quoted the Kazakhstani president as saying.
Tokayev
said the Kazakh people appreciate El-Tayyeb's great efforts in the field of
peace and interfaith dialogue.
"We,"
the Kazakhstani president said, "are all concerned with achieving peace
and reconciliation in the post-pandemic period, and there is no way to do that
except through dialogue and acceptance of the other."
El-Tayyeb’s
visit started on Monday evening to participate in the Seventh Congress of
Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, held under the title 'The Role of
Religious Leaders in the Spiritual and Social Development of Humanity in the
Post-Covid-19 Pandemic Period."
The
religious congress – which is held once every three years in the capital of
Kazakhstan – was first held in 2003 with the aim of achieving mutual respect
and tolerance between religions, nations, and ethnic groups, as well as
establishing peace, harmony, and tolerance as the unshakable principles of
human existence.
The
grand imam, who is leading a high-level Egyptian delegation of Al-Azhar
scholars, had received an official invitation from President Tokayev and both
held a meeting on Tuesday, when the president expressed appreciation to the
efforts of the grand imam in spreading the sound image of Islam, confronting
extremism, and promoting the principles of human fraternity regionally and
globally.
Tokayev
also indicated that the whole world, not only Muslim countries, is aware of the
value of Al-Azhar, noting that Egypt, through Al-Azhar, has provided great
support for Kazakhstan in adopting moderate Islam, a separate statement by
Al-Azhar said on Tuesday.
This
support has been provided to Kazakh students enrolled at Al-Azhar and who returned
home to promote the values they had learned in their community, he said.
“This
moderate Islam is based on respect for the other, promoting the values of
coexistence among all, and renouncing violence, hatred, and intolerance,”
Tokayev added.
El-Tayyeb
meets with secretary-general of Religions for Peace
El-Tayyeb
met on Tuesday with Azza Karam, the secretary-general of Religions for Peace —
the largest multi-religious leadership platform with 92 national and six
regional interreligious councils, Al-Azhar reported.
Karam
noted that partnership with Al-Azhar and the Muslim Council of Elders (MCE),
which is headed by El-Tayyeb, is significant for the support of the platform's
efforts.
The
MCE, the grand imam said, promotes peace and fraternity and enforces the role
of youth in building interfaith bridges of communication and respect, according
to Al-Azhar.
This
partnership, Karam said, helps the platform move forward in launching
initiatives and adopting humanitarian projects, adding that the platform is
about to announce the launch of a number of projects in cooperation with the
MCE that aim at influencing young religious leaders of different faiths.
She
added the world is now in dire need for the grand imam’s vision on promoting
world peace as a substitute for intolerance and hatred. She noted that his
co-signing of the Human Fraternity Document with His Holiness Pope Francis
represented a key historical moment at a critical juncture.
Pope
Francis and El-Tayyeb signed the Document of Human Fraternity for World Peace
and Living Together in Abu Dhabi in February 2019.
The
document invites “all persons who have faith in God and faith in human
fraternity to unite and work together so that it may serve as a guide for
future generations to advance a culture of mutual respect in the awareness of
the great divine grace that makes all human beings brothers and sisters.”
More
than 100 delegations from 50 countries are attending the two-day event in
Nur-Sultan, including Pope Francis.
Grand
Imam receives High Representative for UN Alliance of Civilisations
On
Tuesday, El-Tayyeb also met with Miguel Ángel Moratinos, the High
Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations. Moratinos
hailed the Human Fraternity Document that became a joint global declaration
promoting a culture of dialogue and coexistence. He also praised the role of
the Muslim Council of Elders in promoting peace.
The
Document of Human Fraternity, with its religious symbolism -- represented by
the Grand Imam and Pope Francis -- came during a critical time, especially in
light of the wars, fighting, and conflicts the world is seeing, and the spread
of the diseases of intolerance and hatred, and the primacy of individual
interest and materialism, said Moratinos.
The
global interest in the document proves the urgent need for the world to unite
at the present time, the UN representative said.
El-Tayyeb
stressed the importance of strengthening the identity of each society. Attempts
by some countries to impose a specific culture or lifestyle on the whole world,
targeting religious and moral values, will ruin family and society, he said.
Source:
Ahram
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https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/476084.aspx
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UAE
FM arrives in Israel for official visit marking two years since normalization
14
September, 2022
The
UAE’s foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed arrived in Tel Aviv for an
official visit to Israel marking the two-year anniversary of normalizing ties.
The
UAE’s ministry said the visit will last for several days and the minister was
accompanied by a high-level economic delegation.
The
UAE’s top diplomat will discuss with senior Israeli officials a number of
issues of common interest related to bilateral ties and prospects of
Emirati-Israeli cooperation.
Israel’s
Prime Minister Yair Lapid is scheduled to meet with the UAE’s FM, to be
followed by a press conference later, the Times of Israel reported.
The
UAE normalized ties with Israel in September 2020 through signing the
US-brokered Abraham Accords. Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan also followed suit.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Lebanon
cites ‘major progress’ in demarcation talks with Israel
Wassim
Seif El Din
14.09.2022
BEIRUT,
Lebanon
Lebanese
President Michel Aoun on Wednesday cited “major progress” in US mediation
efforts on a maritime border dispute with Israel.
“The
completion of the southern sea border demarcation file will enable Lebanon to
launch the process of exploring for oil and gas in the specified fields within
the Exclusive Economic Zone,” Aoun said in a statement.
“This
will give the Lebanese economy a positive impetus to begin exiting the crisis
it has been reeling under for years,” he added.
The
Lebanese leader said contacts to finalize the demarcation file “have made major
progress, in which Lebanon has achieved what enables it to exploit its
resources in its waters.”
“There
are technical details that are currently being studied in order to realize
Lebanon’s interest, rights and sovereignty,” he added.
On
Tuesday, Israeli public broadcaster KAN said, citing an Israeli official, that
Tel Aviv has “especially cautious optimism” that a deal can be reached with
Lebanon on their disputed maritime border.
Last
week, US mediator Amos Hochstein expressed optimism over reaching a border
demarcation agreement between Lebanon and Israel soon.
Lebanon
and Israel are locked in a dispute over a maritime area of 860 square
kilometers (332 square miles), according to maps sent by both countries to the
UN in 2011.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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