Jaish-e-Mohammed-ISI Meeting Puts Indian Intel on High Alert
New Age Islam News Bureau
25
August 2020
JeM's
Maulana Abdul RaufAsghar and two top ISI officials reposrtedly met at
Rawalpindi on august 20/ File Photo
-----
•
Desperate ISI and Pakistan Terror Groups Turn to Local Indian Gangsters To
Execute Attacks In India
•
Delhi Court Frames Charges Against 36 Foreigners From 14 Countries for
Attending Tablighi Jamaat Congregation In Delhi
•
Taliban Delegation Arrives in Pakistan To Discuss Afghan Peace
•
S. Arabia Denies Visa to Iranian Envoy on Mina Incident
•
Bangladesh To Restore Phone, Internet at Rohingya Camps
•
Survivors Of The Christchurch Mosques Massacre Rebuke ‘Loser’ Gunman Brenton
Tarrant
•
Indonesian Archbishop Joins Mosque Groundbreaking Ceremony
•
Iran-Made RDSS System Able to Detect Coronavirus in 30 Min
India
•
Jaish-e-Mohammed-ISI Meeting Puts Indian Intel on High Alert
•
Desperate ISI and Pakistan Terror Groups Turn To Local Indian Gangsters To
Execute Attacks In India
•
Delhi Court Frames Charges Against 36 Foreigners From 14 Countries for
Attending Tablighi Jamaat Congregation In Delhi
•
Bloomsbury India Pulls Delhi Riots Book After Anti-Muslim Controversy
•
Telangana: Muslim Volunteers Cremate Hindu Man After Family Refuses To Perform
Last Rites
•
Pulwama attack: NIA to file chargesheet today; name Masood Azhar and Pakistan
•
Tablighi Jamaat: Culpable homicide charges against 12 Indonesians dropped
--------
Pakistan
•
Taliban Delegation Arrives in Pakistan To Discuss Afghan Peace
•
Imran Khan declared the Man of the Year by 'The Muslim 500'
•
Rohingya Muslims in Pakistan denounce global silence
•
'People are yearning for old Pakistan': PML-N presents white paper on govt's
2-year 'incompetence'
•
Imran asks Chinese entrepreneurs to establish offices in Pakistan
•
FM rejects impression of rift in Pak-Saudi relations
•
NA passes two more FATF-related bills
•
Provinces told to take ulema on board to ensure SOPs’ implementation
--------
Arab World
•
S. Arabia Denies Visa to Iranian Envoy on Mina Incident
•
Food, Water Security Among UAE’s Priorities Post-COVID-19 Period: Dubai Ruler
•
Despite Iraq minister catching COVID-19, Jordan summit still on
•
Four Jewish attractions to see in the UAE
•
Gunmen kill, wound several US-backed SDF militants across northern Syria
•
Weeks after blast, Lebanon patronage system immune to reform
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South Asia
•
Bangladesh To Restore Phone, Internet at Rohingya Camps
•
Saleh warns Panjshir officials over Forces failed attempt in the arrest of
Keramuddin Karim
•
Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh mark Myanmar crackdown anniv.
•
Iran official: US planes transporting illicit drugs in Afghanistan
--------
New Zealand
•
Survivors Of The Christchurch Mosques Massacre Rebuke ‘Loser’ Gunman Brenton
Tarrant
•
Christchurch mosque shooter unmoved as survivors recount ordeal
•
Christchurch shooter could be first in New Zealand to get life sentence w/out
parole
--------
Southeast Asia
•
Indonesian Archbishop Joins Mosque Groundbreaking Ceremony
•
Why Aceh is a rare place of welcome for Rohingya refugees
•
Ismail Sabri: Foreigners Can Pray At Mosques Across Malaysia Starting Sept 1
•
Saifuddin welcomes Muhyiddin’s proposal to admit non-Bumiputera members into
Bersatu
--------
Mideast
•
Iran-Made RDSS System Able to Detect Coronavirus in 30 Min
•
Anti-Revolutionary Terrorist Team Disbanded by IRGC in Northwestern Iran
•
Iran Warns to Take UAE Accountable for Any Israeli Threat to Persian Gulf
Region
•
UN nuclear watchdog chief arrives in Iran, expected to urge access to nuclear
sites
•
Early Islamic gold coins unearthed in Israeli dig
•
Houthi commanders killed during Arab coalition airstrike in north Yemen
•
Gaza reports first COVID-19 cases outside quarantine areas, declares lockdown
--------
Africa
•
Tunisia’s Prime Minister-Designate Announces A Technocratic Government: State
TV
•
Talks Between Regional Bloc, Mali’s New Junta On Return To Civilian Rule End
Without Result
•
Libya’s Red Crescent retrieves 22 bodies off coastal town of Zwara
•
Over 1,100 villagers killed in Nigeria in 1st half of 2020: Amnesty
•
Morocco rejects normalization with Israel ahead of Kushner's visit
•
Tunisia's caretaker premier sacks anti-graft chief
--------
North America
•
Mike Pompeo Hopeful Other Arab States to Forge Ties with Israel
•
Pompeo says US will preserve Israel’s military edge
•
US Secretary of State Pompeo flies to Sudan on first non-stop flight from
Israel
•
Venezuela marks Yasser Arafat's 91st birth anniversary
•
US-led coalition hands over military base to Iraq
--------
Europe
•
Turkey, Greece Plan Rival Exercises In Tense East Mediterranean
•
German foreign minister set to visit Turkey
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
--------
Jaish-e-Mohammed-ISI Meeting Puts Indian Intel On High Alert
Aug
25, 2020
JeM's
Maulana Abdul RaufAsghar and two top ISI officials reposrtedly met at
Rawalpindi on august 20/ File Photo
-----
NEW DELHI: The Indian intelligence establishment is on high alert after being tipped about a meeting between Jaish-e-Mohammed’s de-facto ‘emir’ Maulana Abdul Rauf Ashgar and two top rank ISI officials at Rawalpindi on August 20. Ashgar’s brother Maulana Ammar was also present at that meeting, says a confidential intelligence note.
After
the Balakot strikes, Ammar had released an audio criticizing Pakistani prime
minister Imran Khan for releasing IAF braveheart Abhinandan Varthmaan and
vowing revenge for IAF targeting Jaish’s Taaleem-Ul-Quran Madrassa.
A
senior intelligence officer said the Rawalpindi meeting was preceded by a
congregation at the JeM Markaz in Islamabad where Jaish’s operational commander
Mufti Ashgar Khan Kashmiri and Qari Zarrar met to discuss endstage intricacies
of their plan to intensify attacks on India. This is significant because a
similar meeting of the same set of people was held a month before Pulwama
happened last year, a security establishment source said.
Asghar
Kashmiri, a former Guerrilla commander, is an ex-member of Majlis-e-Shura,
Harkatul Mujahideen, who later joined JeM along with his team of Mujahideens.
Zarrar, a launching commander, was behind the Nagrota army cantonment attack of
2016.
Maulana
Abdul Rauf Ashgar, aka MARA, has been at the forefront of handling Mujahideens
since his brother Maulana Masood Azhar has been diagnosed with a life
threatening ailment. MARA has also been on the top five list of terror outfit
leadership which Indian agencies are keeping their eyes on.
The
intelligence officials TOI spoke to confirmed that JeM had been making
desperate attempts to carry out a big strike as the outfit has been furious and
rattled with the intensified action against its terrorists in the valley. Two
weeks ago, the intelligence establishment was alerted about an impending strike
by a three-member death squad of JeM.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/jaish-isi-meeting-puts-indian-intel-on-high-alert/articleshow/77729590.cms
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Desperate
ISI and Pakistan Terror Groups Turn To Local Indian Gangsters To Execute
Attacks In India
Representative
Image
-----
Aug
24, 2020
NEW
DELHI: There has been a recent trend which has attracted the attention of
Intelligence Agencies as well as security agencies in India. Pakistan' ISI and
its terror outfits who are unable to execute any attacks in the country to
disturb law and order situation due to the alertness of forces and intelligence
agencies are now giving the task to local gangsters.
Recently,
Chandigarh intelligence unit alerted all intelligence agency units regarding
such tie-up between terrorists and gangsters who have clout and local
connections.
While
giving names of some gangsters, the intelligence wing alerted other units that
ISI and terrorist organisations are in touch with these gangsters and giving
them tasks to execute attacks in India. Some of the gangsters are absconding
while some are locked up in jails.
A
senior government official claimed that there is a possibility that the ISI
might try to contact or is already in touch with these local but highly
influential gangsters.
In
an alert issued a few days back, the Punjab unit of the Central intelligence
agency had alerted that the ISI and other terror organisations had tasked five
gangsters to target few leaders. Two of five gangsters are absconding and cops
are looking for them while three others are lodged in different jails in
Punjab.
These
gangsters are involved in dozens of murders, robbery, narcotics cases and
running racket from the jails. Local police have been asked to keep a track of
such local gangsters and keep an eye on their movement even if they are in
jail.
According
to an official, reasons behind this latest strategy are that ISI's backbone
which is local sleeper cells have been almost eliminated or refusing to work as
they fear being killed by security forces.
Also,
there is hardly any top-level commander to control local sleeper cells. As
local gangsters can easily collect material and execute attacks in states,
terror organisations are turning to them to execute their mischievous tasks.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/desperate-isi-and-pakistan-terror-groups-turn-to-local-indian-gangsters-to-execute-attacks-in-india/articleshow/77718334.cms
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Delhi
Court Frames Charges Against 36 Foreigners From 14
Countries For Attending Tablighi Jamaat Congregation In Delhi
August
25, 2020
The
court said statements showed that no social distancing was followed at the
event. (File)
----
New
Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday framed charges against 36
foreigners from 14 countries for attending Tablighi Jamaat
congregation in Delhi by allegedly being negligent and disobeying the
government guidelines issued in wake of COVID-19
pandemic in the country.
The
court, however, said there was no iota of evidence to suggest that the present
accused had in any manner professed or propagated the principles and doctrines
of the Tablighi Jamaat or had indulged in tablighi work as alleged and
discharged eight foreigners of all charges.
While
framing charges to start trial against 36 foreigners, the court said the
statements of the witnesses, especially the health officials prima facie,
showed that there was no social distancing being followed.
"It has been further been mentioned in the
chargesheet that around 1,300 devotees from various states and foreign countries
were found residing at the Markaz premises without maintaining any social
distancing or using facial mask, hand sanitizers etc, even though there was
invocation of order under Section 144 (power to issue order in urgent
cases of nuisance of apprehended danger) of the Code of Criminal Procedure
(CrPc) in that area whereby, a curfew had been imposed and of the nationwide
lockdown commencing from March 25," the court said in its
order.
It,
however, said prima facie no act can be imputed on them to show that they had
malignantly done anything which was likely to spread the coronavirus disease
and discharged them for the offences of malignant act likely to spread
infection of disease dangerous to life and disobedience to quarantine rule.
The
court said that documents placed before it merely signified their presence at
the Nizamuddin Markaz.
"The statements of the witnesses relied upon by the prosecution
are
either
on the basis of the alleged disclosures purportedly made by the accused during
investigation or are general conjunctures not specifically providing as to the
tabligh work done by accused. In the present case, beyond the above discussed
bald statements there is no other credible material brought forth on record to
prima facie suggest the profession and propagation of Tablighi work by the
accused. Merely attending or participating in Tablighi Jamaat Markaz is not
restricted as per the Visa Manual, 2019."
Chief
Metropolitan Magistrate Gurmohina Kaur framed charges against 36
foreigners under sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public
servant), 269
(negligent
act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Indian
Penal Code and Section 3 (disobeying regulation) of Epidemic Act, 1897.
The
charges were also framed under section 51 (obstruction) Disaster Management
Act, 2005.
However,
they were discharged for the offences under section 14 (1) (b)
(violation of visa norms) of Foreigners Act, sections 270 (Malignant
act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 271 (Disobedience
to quarantine rule) of IPC.
The
punishment for the offences for which they have been charged ranges from six
months to eight years of imprisonment.
The
court discharged eight foreign nationals from six countries of all charges
under which they were charge sheeted in the absence of any record or any
credible material against them.
The
foreigners were chargesheeted for attending Tablighi Jamaat congregation here
allegedly in violation of visa norms, indulging in missionary activities
illegally and violating government guidelines issued in the wake of Covid-19
outbreak.
"Perusal of documents and statements prima facie
reflect that the accused and other persons including foreign nationals were
negligent and did not take due care precautions by not following the directions
and guidelines of the authorities, thereby leading to the spread of Coronavirus
disease amongst themselves and others," the court said.
While
discharging two foreigners from Indonesia, one from Kyrgyzstan, two from
Thailand, one from Nigeria, one from Kazakhstan and one from Jordan, the court
said perusal of the entire chargesheet and other documents placed on record
showed that they were not present or participated at the Makaz during the
period.
Special
Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastava, appearing for the state, argued that the
accused persons who were foreign nationals had arrived in India on the strength
of tourist visa and were allegedly involved in Tablighi work which was not
permitted under Visa rules unless they were granted special permission by the
concerned authorities.
The
public prosecutor further said that a large gathering was held without
following social distancing and other guidelines, which was specifically
directed by the Assistant Commissioner of Police Lajpat Nagar under Section 144 of
CrPc.
Senior
Counsel Rebecca John, appearing for the foreigners, argued the chargesheet was
silent as to the role of any of the accused persons and also does not provide
any specific act done by them to invoke provisions of any of the sections
alleged against them.
Advocates
Ashima Mandla, Mandakini Singh, also the accused said as per the visa
guidelines available on the Ministry of Home Affairs website, the accused were
not barred from visiting and attending any religious place including the
Tablighi jamaat.
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Advocates
Megha Bahl, Fahim Khan and Ahmed Khan, said there was no evidence to show that
any of the accused persons had preached or professed or was involved in any
Tablighi work.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/delhi-court-frames-charges-against-36-foreigners-in-delhi-mosque-event-case-2284662
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Taliban
delegation arrives in Pakistan to discuss Afghan peace
Aug
24, 2020
ISLAMABAD:
A six-member delegation of Taliban political office in Qatar arrived in
Pakistan on Monday to discuss the ongoing peace process in Afghanistan.
The
delegation was led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, deputy political chief.
“The delegation has been invited to Pakistan to
discuss the way forward in the Afghan peace process,” foreign office
spokesperson, Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, said.
The
delegation will hold talks with senior Pakistani officials “about recent
developments in Afghanistan’s peace process, relaxation and facilitation of
peoples’ movement and trade between the two neighbouring countries, issues
related to the Afghan refugees in Pakistan and other related topics,” Taliban
spokesman Suhail Shaheen posted on Twitter.
According
to Shaheen, the visit is part of Taliban’s policy to “pay visits to regional
and world’s countries from time to time for furthering positive relations and
conveying its views and stance to the world about the peace process.” He said
the visits had been postponed due to the Covid-19 but
had now resumed and the trip to Pakistan would be followed by “more visits to
other countries in the near future as well”.
Foreign
minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that a discussion will be held with Taliban
on Tuesday which will focus on the intra-Afghan peace talks. “You remember that
last time ahead of the Doha agreement, Taliban came to Islamabad and we held a
long and constructive meeting. You saw that after that, Taliban came to the
negotiations table,” Qureshi told reporters on Monday. “It was not an easy
task,” he remarked.
Qureshi
said the next step after the agreement should be the start of the intra-Afghan
negotiations, if the goal is to reach stability and reconciliation.
Referring
to the possible instability in Afghanistan, Qureshi said “There is a group in
Afghanistan that is causing a rift to develop and hinder peace talks.”
The
visit comes ahead of the much delayed intra-Afghan peace talks that were part
of the accord signed between the insurgents and the US in February. Initially
delayed over Kabul’s refusal to do a prisoner swap, the barrier was removed
after the government released 400 Taliban prisoners earlier this
month followed by 80 others.
The
Taliban chief, Mullah Haibatullah Akhunzada, according to sources, has
finalised a 20-member
negotiating team that will have decision-making powers in the upcoming
intra-Afghan negotiations.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/taliban-delegation-arrives-in-pakistan-to-discuss-afghan-peace/articleshow/77728530.cms
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S.
Arabia Denies Visa to Iranian Envoy on Mina Incident
Aug
24, 2020
Iran’s
representative who has pursued the legal aspects of the incident has for a long
time been banned from traveling to Saudi Arabia and been left with no other
choice but to discuss issues with Saudi officials through phone.
The
envoy's serious probe into the case and serious debates with Saudi officials
seems to be underlying cause of Riyadh’s denial of visa. Sources are now
confirming that Saudi officials had threatened him with a travel ban after his
serious puruist into the case.
Iran
announced in July that it still continued efforts to restore the rights of the
victims killed during the Mina disaster and the Mecca crane collapse in 2015.
Iran’s
Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization and the Representative of Supreme Leader of
the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei in Hajj Affairs in a joint
statement on the threshold of the 5th anniversary of the Mina
disaster and the Mecca crane collapse underlined that Tehran was seriously
pursuing the rights of victims.
It
added that Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) reminds Muslims and the Iranian
nation of a “bitter memory”.
The
statement criticized the silence of international rights bodies and media on
the deadly incidents, saying it was only Iran that spoke in defense of the
victims' rights.
“Although the Mina tragedy and the crane collapse
incident at Mecca’s Grand Mosque happened before the eyes of the Islamic Ummah,
the silence of international organizations and media added to the pain of the
families of the two disasters’ martyrs,” it said.
Iranian
officials in charge of the Hajj affairs have always underlined the need for
clarifying the dimensions of the Mina tragedy through the formation of a
fact-finding committee including the representatives from the countries that
lost their pilgrims in the incident, it added.
It
further complained that the Saudi government has not published an official
report on how the tragedy occurred and has not taken responsibility for it.
“On the fifth anniversary of the Mina tragedy, the
Representative of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali
Khamenei in Hajj Affairs and Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization …
emphasize that they have diligently followed up on the rights of the martyrs of
Mina and Grand Mosque and will keep doing so until the desired results are
achieved,” the statement read.
A
stampede during one of the last rituals of the Hajj season on September 24, 2015,
killed at least 7,477 people and left thousands wounded.
The
stampede occurred during the ritual known as "stoning the devil" in
the tent city of Mina, about two miles from Mecca.
At
least 465
Iranians lost their lives in the incident, while hundreds of others were
wounded.
Earlier
that month, a massive construction crane operated by the Saudi Binladin Group
conglomerate collapsed onto Mecca’s Grand Mosque, killing more than 100
pilgrims, including 11 Iranians, and injuring over 200
others, 32 of
them from Iran.
On
September 30, 2015,
Ayatollah Khamenei warned Saudi Arabia that the slightest disrespect for the Iranian
pilgrims who were in Mecca for the Hajj ceremony would be reciprocated with
Tehran's harsh and crushing response.
Ayatollah
Khamenei called for setting up a fact-finding committee of Iranian and other
Islamic countries' authorities to probe the death of Hajj pilgrims in Mina and
missing of hundreds of them, and said, "The Saudi government is not
complying with its responsibilities to transfer the bodies of those who have
been killed (in Mina stampede) and the Islamic Republic of Iran has so far, respected
the brotherhood in the Muslim world by exercising self-restraint and Islamic
politeness but they should know that the slightest disrespect for tens of
thousands of Iranian Hajj pilgrims in Mecca and Medina and any lack of responsibility to transfer the bodies will
result in Iran's crushing and violent reaction."
Ayatollah
Khamenei underlined that Iran did not want to have an early judgment of the
cause of the incident "but we believe that the Saudi government hasn’t
acted upon its responsibilities with regard to the injured pilgrims in the Mina
incident and has left them desperate and thirsty".
He
said Iran had so far practiced self-restraint over the death of its citizens in
Saudi Arabia, "but they should know that Iran's hand is above many others
and it enjoys more possibilities too and if it wants to show reaction to
annoying and insidious actors, they will not have a good situation and they
won't be able to gain victory on any scene of rivalry."
"The Islamic Republic of Iran doesn’t practice cruelty
but it also doesn’t accept anyone's oppression and cruelty; therefore, it
doesn’t trample on the rights of any human beings and nations, either Muslim or
non-Muslim, but if anyone wants to trample Iran and its nation's rights, he/she
will receive a strong response; and thanks God, there is a capability for such
a confrontation and the Iranian nation is powerful and resistant,"
Ayatollah Khamenei underscored.
https://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13990603001013
--------
Bangladesh
to restore phone, internet at Rohingya camps
Md.
Kamruzzaman
25.08.2020
DHAKA,
Bangladesh
Bangladesh
has decided to restore mobile networks and internet services in Rohingya
refugee camps to ensure better services amid the coronavirus pandemic,
according to official sources.
“We have received unofficial confirmation of the
decision and are awaiting official confirmation,” Bangladesh’s refugee
commissioner Md. Mahbub Alam Talukder told Anadolu Agency.
He
said that some days back, they had recommended to the government that digital
communications be restored for the 1.2 million Rohingya refugees.
Bangladesh
imposed a ban in early September last year on the use of mobile phone SIM cards
by Rohingya refugees and authorities confiscated hundreds of SIMs from Rohingya
camps following the decision.
The
government also ordered the country’s telecommunications regulatory body to
shut down internet services in the camps, citing security grounds.
Despite
the embargo, some Rohingya have reportedly been using mobile SIM cards
secretly, while many others have managed to use SIM cards from Myanmar to
maintain communications with their relatives in Rakhine state or other
countries.
“It’s more alarming for us that Rohingya are using
our SIMs without records along with Myanmar’s SIM,” said Talukder, adding that
now Bangladeshi authorities will be able to monitor Rohingya more closely.
“Even very often, we are amid a communications blackout
during our duty inside Rohingya camps, and it creates problems to continue
services amid this COVID-19 pandemic.”
Regarding
the decision as very positive, Talukder said he is expecting that the Home
Ministry will immediately direct the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory
Commission (BTRC) to restore mobile and internet services at the camps.
He
said the government in collaboration with the United Nations has already
registered nearly one million Rohingya at the camps, and “on the basis of the
records, Rohingya can apply for SIMs.”
“Based on the prevailing reality, we are considering
the restoration of mobile networks at Rohingya camps,” the local Samakal
newspaper quoted Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan as saying.
International
rights bodies have also been demanding the restoration of communication
services in Rohingya camps for the last couple of months, especially after the
outbreak of the coronavirus in Bangladesh in early March.
To
date, six Rohingya have reportedly died from the virus while 83 have
been infected in the cramped camps.
The
South Asian country of around 165 million people recorded 42 more
deaths Monday, raising the death toll to 3,983, with a total of 297,083 cases,
according to the Health Ministry.
Meanwhile,
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen in a webinar titled “Bangladesh’s Approach
Towards Hosting Rohingya” on Monday accused Myanmar of “doing nothing to
restore normalcy in Rakhine” state for the peaceful and dignified repatriation
of Rohingya.
“With the recent clearance operations by Tatmadaw
against the Arakan Army in Rakhine and the election in November, we have
actually hit an impasse in terms of the repatriation process,” Momen added.
The
minister also assured of the safety of more than 300
Rohingya who had been relocated to a remote islet a few months ago after being
rescued at sea.
Alluding
to proposals by different quarters on improving amenities and facilities at the
camps, he said: “I must clarify here that we would certainly not prefer
investments which will directly or indirectly prolong the refugee situation and
create greater and newer pull factors for remaining Rohingyas inside Rakhine.”
Persecuted
people
The
Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced
heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.
According
to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women
and children, fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces
launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017,
pushing the number of persecuted people in Bangladesh above 1.2
million.
Since
Aug. 25, 2017,
nearly 24,000
Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces, according to a
report by the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).
More
than 34,000
Rohingya were also thrown into fires while over 114,000 others
were beaten, said the OIDA report, entitled Forced Migration of Rohingya: The
Untold Experience.
As
many as 18,000
Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmar’s army and police and over 115,000
Rohingya homes burned down, while 113,000 others vandalized, it added.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/bangladesh-to-restore-phone-internet-at-rohingya-camps/1952124
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Survivors
of the Christchurch mosques massacre rebuke ‘loser’ gunman Brenton Tarrant
August
25, 2020
CHRISTCHURCH,
NEW ZEALAND: The irony of a homicidal zealot travelling to new land in order to
“remove invaders” from its shores was scornfully highlighted by locally born
testifiers at the sentencing hearing of Brenton Harrison Tarrant.
The
second full day of victim-impact statements here in New Zealand’s
second-largest city started out not unlike the morning of March 15, 2019, all
sky-blue skies and a sun hanging like a lemon above the rolling parklands that
serve as the visual centrepiece of the Garden City.
Such
would have been the decorous scene that greeted the Australian-born Tarrant
that Friday morning 17 months ago when he drove into town in a Subaru
bristling with the weaponry and high-tech gadgets he had accumulated for the
purpose of killing as many Muslims as he could at the Linwood Islamic Centre
and Al Noor Mosque.
The
29-year-old
has pleaded guilty to 51 charges of murder, 40 of
attempted murder and one charge of engaging in a terrorist act in relation to
the massacre that he livestreamed on Facebook.
According
to the summary of facts presented at the High Court in Christchurch the
previous day by Crown prosecutor Barnaby Hawes, the self-confessed white
supremacist first came to the country in
2017.
He
had arrived determined to reduce New Zealand-bound immigration trends “by
intimidating and physically removing” non-Caucasians from the demographic mix.
Survivors
and relatives of those killed on that fateful day have told the court of the
anxiety and sleepless nights they continue to suffer – others have spoken of
the financial hardships imposed through the loss of a main bread winner.
Among
those who perished at his hand was Linda Armstrong, 64, a
third-generation New Zealander who converted to Islam in 2011.
The
late Ms. Armstrong later said her conversion had been spurred by a decade-long
friendship she had forged with a Syrian refugee — and an acquired enthusiasm
for the Levantine cuisines.
In
a jarring address, the deceased woman’s nephew, Kyron Gosse, described the
defendant as a “loser” who brutally betrayed his status as a guest in the
country.
"He entered into our home with ill intentions and
hate in his heart only to repay our hospitality by murdering our family and our
guests, people we welcome into our country with the promise of a better
life," the t-shirt clad Gosse, a seventh-generation New Zealander himself,
told the court.
He
also spoke of his horror at first learning about the carnage after logging on
to Facebook and seeing the live stream of Tarrant slaughtering worshippers.
The
late Armstrong’s daughter, Angela, an only child, struck a similar blistering
note — and a possibly baffling note for the defendant, too, by prefacing her
tearful comments with a lyrical introduction offered in Maori, the native
vernacular of New Zealand.
“You are nothing,” Anderson added, looking at the
defendant seated with hand on chin while surrounded by officers.
Another
local Muslim convert, Rosemary Omar, emphasized her deep family roots in the
land here in the South Seas that welcomed the man she also described as a
“monster.”
The
court has allowed time for around 70 victim impact statements,
including a number not originally scheduled to be delivered. Among the other
addresses were ones given by speakers from Britain, Fiji, the Indian
subcontinent, South Africa, Syria, and the United States.
Tarrant
faces the possibility of life in prison without the chance of parole.
If
Tarrant is given an opportunity to address the court, it is expected to happen
on Wednesday.
Justice
Cameron Mander has said he will not pass judgment until this Thursday morning
at the earliest. The hearing continues.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1724251/world
--------
Indonesian
Archbishop Joins Mosque Groundbreaking Ceremony
Katharina
Reny Lestari
August
24, 2020
A
Catholic archbishop has taken part in a groundbreaking ceremony for the
construction of a Muslim mosque in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province,
calling it “a ‘groundbreaking’ symbol of interreligious harmony.”
Archbishop
Agustinus Agus of Pontianak was among five local officials and religious
leaders to attend the event on Aug. 21 in Landak district.
West
Kalimantan police chief Remigius Sigid Tri Hardjanto laid the first stone for
the Nur Aman Mosque located on the grounds of the district police headquarters.
The
ceremony took place before the inauguration of St. Ignatius of Loyola Chapel,
also located at the police headquarters.
“I’ve been invited to groundbreaking ceremonies for
places of worship several times, but this was the first time for me to go to
one for a mosque,” Archbishop Agus told UCA News.
“I did not expect it, though. I think they regarded
me as a leader of society, someone who embraces people regardless of their
religious, ethnic and racial backgrounds.”
Archbishop
Agus believed his participation in the mosque ceremony would improve
interreligious harmony, particularly in his archdiocesan area.
“Clearly, it symbolized interreligious harmony. It
was a good example as we live in a diverse society,” he said.
Indonesia
has six recognized religions — Buddhism, Catholicism, Confucianism, Hinduism,
Islam and Protestantism — and more than 1,300 ethnic groups.
The
prelate said he has encouraged interfaith harmony among Catholics since he
became archbishop in 2016.
“Catholics must be positive with others,” Archbishop
Agus said. “And as an archbishop, I must embrace all people and unite them in
brotherhood.”
“Our challenge now is overcoming division as many
still disrespect others. Everyone wants to be dominant over others. This is not
good.”
In
her speech at the ceremony, Landak district chief Karolin Natasa said she hoped
that the two places of worship, located next to each other, would be symbols of
diversity in the area.
“It is hoped they will strengthen faith and
brotherhood among religious followers in this district as well as in the police
headquarters. It is hoped that they will be a symbol of diversity here,” news
portal Tribun Pontianak quoted her as saying.
https://www.ucanews.com/news/indonesian-archbishop-joins-mosque-groundbreaking-ceremony/89249#
--------
Iran-Made
RDSS System Able to Detect Coronavirus in 30 Min
Aug
24, 2020
“The reactive oxygen species (ROS) detector in the
sputum sample (RDSS) has been judged by the world science centers and
institutes for identifying people suspicious of infection to coronavirus,”
Sarkar said on Monday.
He
added that the system has received license from Iran’s national coronavirus
campaign headquarters, noting that its mass-production has started.
“The system can detect symptoms of the disease in 30
minutes and can diagnose virus by testing the sputum of the infected person,”
Sarkar said, explaining that the RDSS device is not able to find coronavirus
directly in the sputum of a patient but it can diagnose ROS which is one of the
definite symptoms of infection to COVID-19 virus.
In
a relevant development in May, Iranian scientists at the Islamic Azad
University’s Semnan branch produced a thermometer that could identify
coronavirus-infected patients through blood oxygen measurement.
“The system measures body temperature and blood
oxygen concurrently; its main feature comes with its fixed position which means
that the user does not need to have any contact with the system,” Head of the
Energy Optimization and Sustainable Development Center of Islamic Azad
University in Semnan Hadi Kargar Sharifabad said, addressing the unveiling
ceremony of the system.
He
added that the system is also able to show information about the suspected
coronavirus patients in different formats.
Sharifabad
said that the new thermometer system has the advantage of single-stage combined
body temperature and blood oxygen measurement to diagnose coronavirus infection
to reduce medical margin of error.
https://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13990603000804
--------
India
Bloomsbury
India pulls Delhi riots book after anti-Muslim controversy
Hannah
Ellis-Petersen South Asia correspondent
24 Aug 2020
Bloomsbury
India has pulled a controversial book claiming to tell the untold story of
February’s Delhi riots, after the publisher was accused of giving a platform to
unsubstantiated allegations and strengthening an anti-Muslim agenda.
The
book, titled Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story, claims that the riots were the
result of a conspiracy by Muslim jihadists and so-called “urban naxals”, a
derogatory term used to describe left-wing activists, who had a role to play in
the riots. The claim contravenes reports by organisations such as Amnesty
International and the Delhi Minorities Commission that Muslims bore the brunt
of the violence.
The
decision to withdraw the book has prompted many in India to accuse Bloomsbury
India of censorship and the book’s author, Monika Arora, denounced the
publisher for allegedly falling prey to “leftist fascists”. Delhi Riots 2020 will
now be published by the Indian publishing house Garuda Prakashan.
The
book began to draw controversy after it emerged that Kapil Mishra, a leader
from the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), would be the
guest of honour at an online launch event this weekend. The BJP’s national
general secretary, Bhupendra Yadav, was to be the host.
Mishra
is accused of instigating the riots that ripped violently through the
north-east of Delhi in February and left more than 50 people
dead, after he made a fiery public speech calling on his followers to clear
away Muslim protestors.
What
followed was three days of the worst religious violence in the capital in
decades, where Hindu mobs roamed the streets attacking Muslims and burning
their homes. Muslims retaliated but three quarters of those who were killed
were Muslims, and thousands of Muslims lost their homes in their violence.
The
decision to have Mishra as a guest of honour at the launch provoked an outcry
in India. Bloomsbury quickly issued a statement denying any involvement in the
event but a backlash began to grow against the book.
Among
those who voiced concerns was the prominent British writer and historian
William Dalrymple, who is published by Bloomsbury.
“I alerted Bloomsbury to the growing online
controversy over Delhi Riots 2020, as did several other Bloomsbury
authors,” Dalrymple said. “I did not call for its banning or pulping and have
never supported the banning of any book. It is now being published by another
press.”
Writing
on Twitter, the poet Meena Kandasamy said “the literary world must take a
stand” to stop Bloomsbury publishing the book. “This is not about cancel
culture,” she said. “This is about defending literature from fascism. This is
about standing up against religious divide, hate speech, islamophobia and false
history.”
Sudhanva
Deshpande, a celebrated theatre director and author, was among those who
condemned Bloomsbury and accused them of failing to carry out “elementary fact
checking”.
“Make no mistake about it, this book has nothing to
do with the pursuit of knowledge … this book is part of a multi-pronged attack
on India’s secular fabric, on the idea of natural justice, on ethics, on
rationality, on humanity,” said Deshpande, adding: “The book has blood on its
hands.”
On
Saturday, Bloomsbury India released a statement confirming that it was
withdrawing publication of the book. “Bloomsbury India strongly supports
freedom of speech but also has a deep sense of responsibility towards society,”
said the publisher.
However,
Bloomsbury’s announcement was met with derision and accusations of censorship
from some quarters.
Arora,
the book’s main author, claimed that Bloomsbury India had previously had no
issues with the book, that it had been cleared by their legal team, and that
the publisher had been well aware of the launch event with Mishra, despite its
public denials. She accused Bloomsbury of bowing down to “digital fatwas by
international leftist lobbies”.
The
writer and economist Sanjeev Sanyal said he would never publish with Bloomsbury
again. Sanyal described the withdrawal of the book as an act of “ideological
censorship”, which demonstrated “how a tiny cabal controls Indian publishing
and constantly imposes ideological censorship. We have just witnessed one
example of how this insidious control is wielded.”
Another
Indian Bloomsbury author Anand Ranganathan said: “This decision by Bloomsbury
should be condemned by ALL writers and readers. If Bloomsbury does not retract
its decision, my co-author and I have decided that we will return the
substantial advance paid to us by Bloomsbury for our forthcoming book.”
On
Sunday, the Indian publisher Garuda Prakashan announced it would step in and
publish Delhi Riots 2020 this week. The controversy around the book has
proved lucrative: on Monday, Garuda Prakashan confirmed it had received more
than 15,000 orders
for the book in less than 24 hours.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/24/bloomsbury-india-pulls-delhi-riots-2020-book-after-anti-muslim-controversy
--------
Telangana:
Muslim volunteers cremate Hindu man after family refuses to perform last rites
Ashish
Pandey
August
25, 2020
In
a display of communal harmony, a group of six Muslim men carried out the last
rites of a Hindu man after his own family refused to cremate him over Covid-19 fears.
The
family of the 65-year-old,
who died on Monday, allegedly refused to cremate him over fears that he could
have succumbed to novel coronavirus.
As
social stigma shrouds the bodies of Covid-19 patients,
many such incidents have come to the fore.
Though
the local police and councilors tried convincing the family, but their efforts
failed. It is then that seven men, identified as Abdul Rabh, Munir, Ishaq,
Nasir Ali, Shoaib, Imran, came forward and cremated the man.
“India is known for its Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb. When we
learnt about this, we decided to hold the cremation of the old man,” said Abdul
Rabh.
They
hired an ambulance and following due Covid-19
protocol, they performed the last rites of the 65-year-old.
Meanwhile,
Union Minister G Kishan Reddy said on Sunday that Telangana needs to ramp up
its Covid-19
testing though the recovery rate in the state has improved.
Speaking
to reporters, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy said, "Recovery rate is
good
in Telangana also. But, I feel the number of tests need to increase."
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/telangana-muslim-volunteers-cremate-hindu-man-after-family-refuses-to-perform-last-rites-1714792-2020-08-25
--------
Pulwama
attack: NIA to file chargesheet today; name Masood Azhar and Pakistan
Neeraj
Chauhan
Aug
25, 2020
The
National Investigation Agency (NIA) will file a chargesheet on Tuesday
afternoon in the February 2019 Pulwama terror attack case, naming Jaish-e-Mohammad
(JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother Abdul Rauf Asghar, several other
commanders of the terror outfit and seven arrested person accused for their
involvement in the bombing at Pakistan’s behest, officials familiar with the
matter said. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in
the attack that brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war.
The
over 5,000-page
charge sheet has been completed after an investigation by a team of deputy
inspector general Sonia Narang and police superintendent Rakesh Balwal. It will
be filed before a special NIA court in Jammu.
The
officials cited above said the charge sheet has irrefutable
evidence--technical, material and circumstantial evidence--on Pakistan’s role
in the attack. It cites the roles of the JeM leadership and the arrested
accused in the attack and has details like chats, calls details of terrorists.
HT
reported first this month that NIA will name Pakistan and its spy agency,
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), for planning and executing the
state-sponsored attack, for which highly-trained terrorists were sent to India.
NIA
probe has revealed that Pakistan used Adil Ahmad Dar, a local resident who
rammed an explosive-laden car into a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, as a suicide
bomber to project the attack as a result of a home-grown militancy against
“India’s occupation of Kashmir”, one of the officers cited above said.
Azhar,
who founded JeM in 2000 after he was freed from an Indian prison in
exchange for 155
passengers of a hijacked aircraft, and Asghar have been named as the primary
accused in the charge sheet.
Seven
alleged JeM operatives arrested from Kashmir since February, Shakir Bashir
Magrey, Mohammad Abbas Rather, Mohammad Iqbal Rather, Waiz-ul-Islam, Insha Jan,
Tariq Ahmad Shah, and Bilal Ahmed Kuchey, have been named for “conducting
reconnaissance, providing logistics and assisting in planning the attack”.
The
names of Pakistani terrorist Mohammad Umar Farooq, who was sent to India to
execute the attack, Kamran, JeM’s area commander, Mudassir Khan, and Adil Ahmad
Dar also figure in charge sheet but not as accused as they have been killed.
Farooq, Kamran, and Mudassir Khan were killed in March 2019 in
separate exchanges of fire with security forces.
Azhar
was among those India designated as individual terrorists in 2019. The
move came following an amendment to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,
which allows the government to designate individuals as terrorists. The US has
similar laws for such designations and the 2019 move
opened an added avenue for joint action against terrorists.
Pakistani
Prime Minister Imran Khan has denied his country’s role in the Pulwama attack
and even offered to prosecute the culprits if India provided evidence.
Islamabad has not, however, taken any substantive action against global
terrorists operating from its soil, including Azhar even as it has been under
pressure from the international community.
NIA’s
probe has concluded the explosive material for the attack was collected over a
period of time from mining blocks and locations used by cement factories for
blasting rocks in Khrew (Pulwama), Khunmoh (Srinagar), Tral, Awantipora, and
Lethpora.
The
NIA charge sheet also details the email, text, and social media communications
of key players in the bombing, including Azhar’s brother.
The
Pulwama attack threatened to spark a full-blown conflict between India and
Pakistan. JeM claimed responsibility for the attack and prompted India to carry
out an airstrike on a terror camp in Pakistan’s Balakot. Pakistan retaliated a
day later and triggered a brief dogfight involving warplanes of the two
countries.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/pulwama-attack-nia-to-file-charge-sheet-today-name-masood-azhar-pakistan/story-8u6QpknoF619Gr8jRzNISI.html
--------
Tablighi
Jamaat: Culpable homicide charges against 12
Indonesians dropped
by
Sadaf Modak
August
25, 2020
The
Bandra police in Mumbai has dropped charges of culpable homicide not amounting
to murder and attempt to murder filed against 12
Indonesian nationals in connection to the Tablighi Jamaat gathering held in
Delhi’s Nizamuddin in March.
The
12 men,
who had tested negative for Covid-19, were initially booked under the
two charges under IPC — one of which attracts the maximum punishment of life
imprisonment — following allegations that they were responsible for spreading
the virus by attending the gathering.
In
the chargesheet likely to be filed on Tuesday before the metropolitan
magistrate’s court in Bandra, the 12 men will continue to face other
charges in connection to the violation of lockdown norms, visa conditions and
sections of the Epidemic Diseases Act.
A
senior police officer told The Indian Express that since no evidence was found
to substantiate the charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and
attempt to murder, they were dropped.
The
Bandra police had booked the men claiming that they came to Delhi separately on
February 29 and
March 2 from
Indonesia and thereafter to the city on March 8, as
part of a Tablighi Jamaat group.
Following
this, they were quarantined in Bandra and tested for Covid-19. Their
tests returned negative in March.
The
police, claiming that they had violated lockdown rules and put the lives of
others at risk, had arrested 10 of them.
The
court, while granting them bail, had stated that there is “no propriety” in
contending that they are responsible for spreading Covid-19, as
they had tested negative for the infection.
Following
this, two others in the group were granted anticipatory bail by the sessions
court.
The
12 men
are currently residing in Mumbai, awaiting completion of the trial.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/tablighi-jamaat-culpable-homicide-charges-against-12-indonesians-dropped-6568429/
--------
Pakistan
Imran
Khan declared the Man of the Year by 'The Muslim 500'
Aug
24, 2020
Imran
Khan has received an award from the Muslim 500, an
annual publication which ranks the most influential Muslims in the world.
It
is compiled by the Jordan-based Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre.
According
to them, Imran Khan is currently the 16th most influential Muslim in the
world and they have named him the 'Man of the Year'.
Social
media is filled with congratulatory messages for Imran Khan.
Pakistan's
media is celebrating, they're calling it a moment of pride. News channels are running special broadcasts
and the print media has fancy headlines about the prime minister.
There
were few accomplishments mentioned by Pakistan's media:
Number
one, the report says that Imran Khan deserves this honour for his efforts for
long-lasting peace with India. Imran Khan issued a nuclear threat at the un
general assembly session last year.
Now
his ministers are issuing threats about nuclear warheads.
Number
two, fighting corruption. According to Pak media, "having the money returned to the nation
is proving to be more difficult, although some progress has been made."
Recently,
the Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered the government's anti-corruption agency
to end abuses.
Last
month, a Pakistani journalist who accused Islamabad of corruption in
Balochistan --- was shot dead.
Meanwhile,
a minister who engaged in money laundering & smuggling still roams free. Dr
Zafar Mirza, the health minister of Pakistan who smuggled 20
million masks to China.
He
has now been acquitted and he is not the only one. There's a coterie of corrupt
ministers in the Imran Khan government.
Last
month, WION reported that six advisors to Imran Khan had dual citizenship. They
had assets worth millions of dollars abroad and how they had forged the price
of their assets in their financial declarations.
Number
three, the report praises Imran Khan for transforming Pakistan's economy. GDP
growth rate is down to zero point five per cent. Inflation is in double digits.
The currency has depreciated by 35 per cent. Pakistan is still
surviving on international loans.
Number
four, the report says that Imran Khan has improved Pakistan's international
relations and that except for India.
Pakistan's
tiff with the gulf states-- is growing. Saudi Arabia is demanding loan
repayment and won't give any more free oil. The UAE isn't pleased with Pakistan
over its statements on the Israel deal.
The
Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) has refused to back Pakistan on
Kashmir.
As
for the ties with the United States, the aid cut is a matter of record and
Pakistan's closeness with China won't win it any brownie points with the US.
Number
five, the Muslim 500 says that Imran Khan is the man of the year because
he is a sporting legend. He led Pakistan to victory in the 1992
cricket World Cup.
He
was quite a star, back in the day. Even in that world cup, he scored a duck
against the Indian team.
https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/imran-khan-declared-the-man-of-the-year-by-the-muslim-500-322839
--------
Rohingya
Muslims in Pakistan denounce global silence
August
23, 2020
As
the world prepares to observe the third anniversary of a brutal military
crackdown against Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims, hundreds of them living in
Pakistan are still looking for their loved ones who went missing.
Ibrahim
Hussein, 56 is one
of the Rohingya living in the southern port city of Karachi who still mourns
the death of his dozen family members, including infants.
They
were killed in a crackdown by Myanmar military on Aug. 25, 2017 – which
is called the textbook example of genocide by the UN – forcing around 860,000 people
to flee Bangladesh.
Hussein
is also missing his young niece and cousin, who went missing since then.
"We have tried our best to locate them. We, during
the last three years, have contacted several human rights groups, including the
Red Cross to know about them but of no avail, " Hussein, who runs a small
grocery in Burma Colony, a middle-income neighborhood of the eastern district
of Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and the commercial capital, told Anadolu
Agency.
Conflicting
reports about the missing duo have further added to his misery.
"They [family members] were trying to flee together
but they soon got separated due to a stampede-like situation. Several got
killed, some managed to cross into Bangladesh, while the two went
missing," he said.
"Some of our village mates said they [niece and
cousin] were also killed along with other family members. Others said they made
their way into Bangladesh with some other group," said Hussein, who has
made Karachi his home since 1982, when some displaced Rohingya
arrived in Pakistan.
Communication
blockades
Internet
blockade and phone restrictions at Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh's
southern district of Cox’s Bazar – home to over 1.2
million Rohingya refugees – since September last, has further hampered
Hussein's efforts to locate the missing relatives.
"It has been now three years since we have been
approaching every available source to look for them. Only Allah knows whether
they are alive or dead," he said while trying to hold back his tears.
Mohammad
Taha, another Rohingya, who was born and raised in Karachi, has a similar story
to share.
At
least five of his family members, including two maternal cousins have been
missing after the crackdown.
"Our relatives who managed to reach Bangladesh, have
also been trying to locate them but still we have no news," he said.
He
said it was becoming very difficult to even get in touch with relatives living
in Bangladesh due to telephone restrictions.
“We have very limited contact with them. They rarely
contact us whenever they get a chance to get out of the camp and call from a
public call office," Taha added.
The
port city of Karachi is home to more than 400,000
Rohingya Muslims, the highest number after Myanmar and Bangladesh, according to
unofficial estimates.
They
had started to trickle into the region in the early 1940s –
before the creation of Pakistan.
The
first exodus took place in 1942 following the first army operation that killed over
100,000
Rohingya Muslims.
A
majority of Rohingya refugees, however, made Pakistan their home from 1970-1980 after
a long and grueling journey via Bangladesh to India and then Pakistan.
Since
then, there have been no mass migrations as India closed its borders with
Bangladesh and put restrictions on the travel further to borders with Pakistan.
Former
Pakistani President Ayub Khan, who ruled the country from 1958-1969 had
allocated land to Rohingya refugees in 1962, paving the way for two
settlements – Burma Colony and Arkanabad, which was named after the former
Rakhine state – in Karachi’s eastern neighborhoods.
Global
silence is killing
But
what is hurting Rohingya most is the silence of the international community,
even when the UN dubbed them world's most persecuted people.
"It's been three years, and nothing concrete has been
done to hold Myanmar government responsible for the genocide, and the safe
resettlement of Rohingya Muslims. Instead, the [Myanmar] government is more
vigorously persecuting them," said Noor Hussein Arakani, a Rohingya community
leader.
In
November 2019, the
International Criminal Court (ICC) approved the launch of an inquiry over
crimes against the Rohingya community, a move rejected by Myanmar, which is not
a party to the Rome Statute.
The
Rome Statute is the founding treaty of the ICC that seeks to protect
communities from genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime
of aggression.
"It's only Turkey, Gambia, and a few other Muslim
countries, which consistently fight our case on the international forums. But, generally,
there is a criminal silence over Myanmar's widespread human rights abuses on
the part of so-called superpowers," he said.
He
added that there was no other leader like Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, who has been standing beside Rohingya Muslims.
“The entire Rohingya community prays for him,"
he said.
Arakani,
who heads Karachi-based Rohingya Solidarity Forum, argued that the key to the
solution of the Rohingya issue is with China.
"It's China's veto power that has been allowing
Myanmar to perpetrate crimes against Rohingya with impunity. If China today
decides, the issue can be resolved within weeks," he said, adding that
Myanmar cannot say “no” to China.
China
was one of the few countries that did not condemn the 2017 brutal
crackdown against Rohingya Muslims, terming it an "internal matter"
of Myanmar.
"We appeal to the Chinese government not to view this
[issue] through a political prism. It is a human issue. China has been a great
friend and supporter of Pakistan. We are thankful to the country for
that," he said.
Arakani
said China will win hearts of the entire community if it helps Rohingya to get
their citizenship and other rights.
Myanmar
crackdown
According
to international rights groups, more than a million Rohingya refugees, mostly
women, and children have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar
forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017.
Since
Aug. 25, 2017,
nearly 24,000
Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces, according to a
report by the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).
More
than 34,000
Rohingya were also thrown into fires, while over 114,000 others
were beaten, said the OIDA report, titled "Forced Migration of Rohingya:
The Untold Experience."
Some
18,000
Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmar’s army and police and over 115,000
Rohingya homes were burned down and 113,000 others vandalized, it added.
The
UN has also documented mass gang rapes, killings – including infants and young
children – brutal beatings and disappearances committed by Myanmar state
forces.
They
are now facing a threat of forced repatriation by the Bangladeshi government
despite no citizenship rights and safety guarantees from a defiant Myanmar
government.
https://nation.com.pk/23-Aug-2020/rohingya-muslims-in-pakistan-denounce-global-silence
--------
'People
are yearning for old Pakistan': PML-N presents white paper on govt's 2-year
'incompetence'
25 Aug 2020
The
top leadership of the PML-N on Monday accused the government of having ruined
the country's economy through its incompetence and pro-elite policies, saying
the ruling PTI had promised a new Pakistan but the people today were yearning
for the "old Pakistan".
At
a press conference in Islamabad, PML-N leaders took turns to criticise the
government's performance in different areas as they presented a white paper
titled "Destruction of National Power" on the government's two-year
rule.
The
criticism began with PML-N president and opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif
lashing out at Prime Minister Imran Khan's government, saying it did not know
the basics of governance and did not care for the people's issues.
Taking
stock: First two years of PPP, PML-N and PTI in power
"When we talk about the tabdeeli sarkar (regime of
change), we don't find anything to acknowledge but sadness and pain in the past
two years," he said, adding that inflation caused due to the government's
policies had brought the common man "to the brink of destruction".
In
contrast, he claimed, the PML-N during its tenure under Nawaz Sharif's
leadership carried out "historic development" and completed projects
at a fast pace that resulted in prosperity.
He
said the incumbent government had "ridiculed" the China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor (CPEC) and levelled allegations against the PML-N. But
"not a penny's worth of corruption could be proven. Their plans
backfired," Shehbaz added.
He
said the PTI had failed to prove corruption in any of the projects started by
Nawaz despite its "incessant propaganda".
Today,
he said, sugar was being sold at above Rs100 per kilogramme and was being
imported, even though previously the government had allowed its exports to
benefit certain persons.
He
noted that it was the "first time in the country's 72-year
history" that there was a shortage of wheat even though the harvesting
season had not yet ended, while a minister was wondering where the millions of
tonnes of wheat collected by the government went. "Who is he asking? They
should know where it went [and was] smuggled to," Shehbaz said.
He
also said the government had given the public the "biggest shock" by
raising petroleum prices even though international prices were very low, and it
raised electricity prices to control circular debt but the prices were
"touching the sky", beyond the reach of the common man.
"Enough electricity exists in the country but
load-shedding is still ongoing due to this government's worst
incompetence," the PML-N president alleged.
Shehbaz
said the government had devalued the rupee by 40 per
cent but in spite of this, no substantial rise in exports was seen. He further
said it was the second time in Pakistan's history that GDP growth had gone
negative, to -0.4pc.
He
claimed that the borrowing done by the PTI government in its two years was
equal to all the loans taken during Nawaz's three tenures.
"The NAB-Niazi nexus has scared away the whole
investment community from Peshawar to Karachi with its allegations," he
said.
Shehbaz
also accused the government of having ended the provision of free medicines to
critically ill patients in Punjab. "They (the government) are surrounded
by the elite, they're present in the cabinet. Nobody can question them,"
he said.
He
added that while nobody opposed accountability, "the whole nation is
watching the witch-hunting being done in the name of accountability and pushing
the opposition to the wall. People are yearning for old Pakistan."
Listing
what he termed the government's "faux pas" on the foreign policy
front, Shehbaz said the government had disappointed China through its comments
on CPEC. Also, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi gave remarks regarding
Saudi Arabia's role to raise the issue of occupied Kashmir which were "so
inappropriate they left the mind in shock", he added.
"The country is nosediving despite the unprecedented
support the selected government received," the PML-N leader said.
"Was that Pakistan better or this?"
He
said the opposition had extended a hand of cooperation to the government but
the latter had readily spurned it. "Now they need to show results. Saying
'I will not give NRO' won't feed people," Shehbaz concluded.
'Kashmir
biggest foreign policy failure'
In
his remarks, senior PML-N leader Khawaja Asif sought to highlight the
government's alleged failures in the foreign policy domain.
He
said the annexation of occupied Kashmir by India and the genocide of Muslims
being carried out in India was Pakistan's "biggest foreign policy
failure" in the last two years.
"They (government) have done treason with the blood
of the martyrs. Kashmiris are praying for Pakistan's help. This is an abject
failure," he alleged.
Asif
said the government through its "contradictions" had dismayed both
Malaysia and Saudi Arabia and it "gave statements against CPEC",
which he termed as Pakistan's biggest foreign policy success
"They called us friend of [Indian Prime Minister
Narendra] Modi during our last two years [and] they themselves became a
facilitator of [Indian spy] Khulbushan Jadhav," he added.
The
former foreign minister said the government could have taken its grievances to
the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, but noted that the body has become
"dysfunctional".
"They (OIC) don't even call a ministerial-level
meeting on your request," Asif said, accusing the government of having
failed to further the foreign policy in the region.
"Pakistan [today] stands alone; its friends are not
ready to hold its hands due to these unreliable people and because of the
foreign policy flip-flop."
'Thousands
of billions of losses in energy sector'
Former
prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, meanwhile, spoke about the government's
inadequacies in the energy sector.
He
said the country's circular debt stood at Rs1,026
billion at the end of the PML-N tenure in 2018 while
it had now reached Rs2,200bn. It meant the PTI added nearly Rs1200bn to
the debt in two years while the PML-N added Rs462bn in
five years, Abbasi added.
He
said the government was bent on "lying" even though Pakistan's
circular debt and liabilities were increasing by Rs1.2bn on a
daily basis.
Abbasi
said bills collection which the PML-N government had taken to 94pc had
now fallen back to 80pc while transmission losses were up from 18pc to 19pc.
Noting
that gas prices had been raised by "141pc", the former premier said
the country's two main gas companies had both "gone bankrupt" despite
rising prices.
"This government's incompetence in the energy sector
has caused losses of thousands of billions," he said, suggesting
corruption in government ministries.
In
his comments, former finance minister Miftah Ismail said the PTI government had
added Rs12,000bn to
the national debt in its two years while the PML-N had increased the debt by Rs10,000bn in
its five-year tenure during which it installed power projects, LNG terminals
and developed Gwadar.
He
said inflation in the country had risen from 3.9pc to 12pc.
"There has been rural inflation because production has fallen," he
claimed, adding that the poor did not have the money to plant for the next
season.
Regarding
the government's claims of current account deficit (CAD) falling in the
country, Ismail said the government by reducing the CAD today while increasing
the budget deficit was in fact "booking future's CAD and raising debt in
capital accounts".
"There are few winners in this economy and the rest
of us are losers," he added.
Govt
says opposition responsible for issues
Shortly
after the PML-N leaders wrapped up their press conference, Information Minister
Shibli Faraz and Minister for Industries and Productions Hammad Azhar held
their own presser in Islamabad to respond to the claims made by the opposition.
Addressing
the media, the information minister said that the PML-N's comments seemed
"hollow" and lacked "substance" for the government to give
a detailed response. However, it is our responsibility to address some of the
things they said so that the reality can be presented to the people, he said.
"Shehbaz Sharif has spoken as though he has come from
another country. The reality is that they are responsible for all the things
that they mentioned."
The
issues found in the country, including problems with education, health and the
country's overall system, they are the ones responsible for it, he said, adding
that these were the same people who were now trying to sympathise with the
citizens.
"All of these issues, including inflation, don't just
happen overnight. They patronised groups taking advantage of the country during
their tenures and sucked the blood of the people.
"They had a one-point agenda, which was to make as
much money they could. And they used every department to facilitate this
[agenda]."
He
added that the opposition's claims of the government working for the
"elite" were laughable. "All the projects that the premier has
launched are for the welfare of the poor and the middle class," he said,
quoting the example of the health cards distributed in KP and the launch of the
Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit project.
Commenting
on the energy crisis, the minister added that the PML-N was responsible for
making agreements with independent power producers and then taking commissions
and kickbacks.
"They did all these things for their own
benefit," he said, adding that the things said by the PML-N were not of
much importance.
"We were thinking to cancel the press conference
because they said nothing that would merit giving an answer."
https://www.dawn.com/news/1576226
--------
Imran
asks Chinese entrepreneurs to establish offices in Pakistan
25 Aug 2020
ISLAMABAD:
Emphasising the need for more cooperation between China and Pakistan in all
fields, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday asked Chinese entrepreneurs to
establish their regional offices in Pakistan.
“Chinese business houses should establish their
regional offices in Pakistan,” the prime minister said while chairing a meeting
with a delegation of 10 leading Chinese companies undertaking business
ventures in critical sectors, including energy, communication, agriculture,
science and technology, financial sector and industry.
The
prime minister, while welcoming the representatives of leading Chinese
companies, stated that Pakistan accorded great importance to strengthening its
relations with China.
He
reiterated that Pakistan and China have shared destiny. “Strengthening of
business-to-business ties of the people of the two countries is a foremost
priority,” he added.
China’s
ambassador calls Pakistan emerging hub of trade
Prime
Minister Khan assured the Chinese investors that his government would accord
highest priority to provision of every possible facilitation to Chinese
investors.
The
delegation comprised representatives of Power Construction Corporation of China
(Power China), China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), China Gezhouba (Group)
Pakistan, China Three Gorges South Asia Investment Company Ltd, China Railway
Group Limited, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Machinery
Engineering Corporation and China Mobile Pakistan Limited.
Chinese
Ambassador to Pakistan Mr Yao Jing and Haier CEO Javed Afridi were also
present.
Minister
for Communication Murad Saeed, Minister for Industries Hammad Azhar, Planning
Minister Asad Umar, Finance Adviser Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Commerce Adviser
Abdul Razak Dawood, chairman of the Board of Investment Atif R. Bokhari,
Chairman of the CPEC Authority retired Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa also attended
the meeting.
The
Chinese investors thanked the prime minister for his personal interest in
facilitating Chinese investors and business community in Pakistan. The
participants expressed satisfaction over business friendly policies of the
present government, especially in improving the ease of doing business. They
reaffirmed commitment to further expand their investments and explore more
business opportunities in various sectors of the economy. “Various reforms
introduced at policy and implementation level have enhanced confidence of the
Chinese business community and Pakistan is being looked as a major partner in
development in the post Covid-19 environment”, stated the Chinese
ambassador.
Later,
while launching a tree plantation drive, Chinese Ambassador Jing said Prime
Minister Khan’s vision was to make Pakistan a “hub of trade”.
He
said China also saw Pakistan as an emerging hub of trade.
Talking
about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the ambassador said the prime
minister had categorically announced that the CPEC would strengthen ties
between the two brotherly countries.
Media
reports said the prime minister had also stressed the need for boosting tourism
in Pakistan and talked about scenic beauty of Swat.
Mr
Jing appreciated Pakistan’s strategy to deal with the Covid-19
pandemic.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1576246/imran-asks-chinese-entrepreneurs-to-establish-offices-in-pakistan
--------
FM
rejects impression of rift in Pak-Saudi relations
25 Aug 2020
ISLAMABAD:
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Monday rejected the impression of a
breakdown in Pak-Saudi ties, saying they were “long-standing” and
“people-centric”.
Speaking
at a media conference at the Foreign Office, Mr Qureshi said the relationship
between the two countries was strong and would continue to remain so. He
specially recalled the commonality of the positions of the two countries on
Kashmir and Palestine disputes.
This
was Mr Qureshi’s first media conference since his remarks on a television talk
show earlier this month about the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) set
off speculations about a possible rift in relations with the kingdom because of
its perceived reluctance in allowing a meeting of the ‘Council of Foreign
Ministers’ of the 57-member bloc of Muslim countries on Kashmir.
Army
Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa visited Riyadh on a day-long trip on Aug 17. The
visit, the ISPR had said, was for a military dialogue, but it is believed that
the two sides also discussed the controversy caused by Mr Qureshi’s remarks.
Says
ties between Islamabad and Riyadh are long-standing, people-centric
There
has been a visible change in the tone of the Foreign Office since Gen Bajwa’s
visit. Praise for OIC’s role on Kashmir, especially its resolutions and meetings
of the contact group on Kashmir, is quite pronounced. There is no more mention
of Pakistan’s desire for a meeting of the foreign ministers of OIC member
states.
“We are discussing various proposals about how to
take the Kashmir issue forward [at OIC],” Mr Qureshi, who had on Aug 5
threatened in his TV comments to convene a meeting of Muslim countries outside
the OIC, said while emphasising that neither the OIC’s position on Kashmir had
any ambiguity nor had the Saudi position on the dispute changed.
The
minister did not make any direct reference to his earlier comments, but at one
point clarified that it was normal to have expectations in relationships.
“Since Pak-Saudi ties are strong, people have expectations from them on
Kashmir, which they keep expressing,” he maintained.
Talking
about the United Arab Emirates’ accord with the United States and Israel for
normalisation of ties with the Zionist state, he said that every country was
entitled to take its own decisions, but the dominant view in the Muslim world
on relations with Israel and the Palestine dispute remained unchanged. In this
regard, he referred to the position taken by Saudi Arabia, which too has linked
creation of a viable Palestinian state to normalisation of ties with Israel.
‘Peaceful resistance’
The
foreign minister said “a peaceful resistance” had begun in occupied Kashmir
against Indian government’s Aug 5, 2019 move
to end the valley’s autonomy and special status, with the formation of an
alliance between pro-India Kashmiri parties for challenging the Indian actions.
Representatives
of six political parties in occupied Jammu and Kashmir had on Saturday
reaffirmed their commitment to working for restoration of Articles 370 and 35A.
Mr
Qureshi said it was a big thing that the pro-India parties were no more looking
towards Delhi, adding that a joint statement by the Kashmiri parties was the
first manifestation of an emerging political resistance movement and that
people had rebelled. “This would strengthen our diplomatic outreach on
Kashmir,” he maintained.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1576243/fm-rejects-impression-of-rift-in-pak-saudi-relations
--------
NA
passes two more FATF-related bills
Amir
Wasim
25 Aug 2020
ISLAMABAD:
Through a well-planned strategy and with covert support of opposition parties,
the government on Monday managed to get two more FATF-related bills, including
the Anti-Money Laundering (Second Amendment) Bill, passed from the National
Assembly after a heated debate on the role of the National Accountability
Bureau (NAB).
The
assembly also passed the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Waqf Properties
Bill, besides approving the Companies (Amendment) Bill and the Limited
Liability Partnership Bill which had already been passed by it last month, but
the Senate later approved them with some changes.
The
government had come to the house with full preparations which was evident from
the attendance of the treasury members and a rare presence of almost all
members of the federal cabinet, thus leaving no room for the opposition to
create any difficulty for it during the passage of the bills.
On
the other hand, despite having crucial legislations on the agenda, most of the
Opposition members, including Opposition Leader Shahbaz Sharif and Pakistan
Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, skipped the proceedings.
Mr
Sharif preferred to address a news conference at his nearby official residence
at the Ministers Enclave exactly at the time when the National Assembly was in
the process of the passage of the bills.
PML-N’s
parliamentary leader Khawaja Asif and party’s senior vice-president Shahid
Khaqan Abbasi came to the house when the assembly had already passed three
bills, and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan
had moved the motion to take up the Anti-Money Laundering Bill, which had been
deferred by the government last month on the Opposition’s request.
Speaker
Asad Qaiser allowed the Opposition members only to speak on the bills at the
time of moving their amendments which were all rejected by the government.
In
their speeches, Opposition members mostly raised objections over inclusion of
NAB among the investigation agencies mentioned in the anti-money laundering
bill.
PML-N’s
Khawaja Asif also protested over the recent allegations by some of the
ministers that the Opposition was trying to seek a deal with the government as
a bargain for their support to the bills which were required to be passed by
the parliament to fulfill conditions of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
to steer the country out of the grey list of the countries in terms of terror
financing.
Khawaja
Asif said they only wanted to improve NAB laws and make it a balanced one,
saying that at present the NAB laws were applicable only against Opposition.
“We are neither blackmailing you nor seeking any NRO.
We have already faced NAB for two years and are ready to face it further,” he
said.
The
PML-N leader regretted that the Opposition wanted to see the legislations
passed from the parliament with a consensus, but these were becoming
“controversial due to the government’s immaturity.”
Another
PML-N MNA Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha said they were together with the government
on the issues of the national security, but “the government ministers are doing
politics on it”. He said under the NAB laws, the burden of proof lied with the
accused which should not be there in the money-laundering cases.
Raja
Pervez Ashraf of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) expressed his concern over
making the money laundering a cognisable offence and for giving powers to
investigation agencies to arrest an accused person without a warrant.
Adviser
to the Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar hit out at the
Opposition, alleging that the parties were only interested in saving their
leadership. In his speech, he also named PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif and
indirectly referred to former president Asif Zardari, saying that everybody
knew as to who were those people currently facing money-laundering cases in
NAB.
Mr
Akbar alleged that the Opposition was not interested in defending the
fundamental rights, but wanted only “personal protection”. He said the original
Anti-Money Laundering Act passed in 2010 by the then PPP government
already had a mention of NAB as one of the investigation agencies.
The
house witnessed a rumpus when the speaker refused to give floor to PML-N’s
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to respond to Mr Akbar’s speech. The PML-N members
gathered in front the dais of the speaker seeking floor for Mr Abbasi. On the
other hand, some treasury members raised slogans against the opposition’s
leadership and asked the speaker not to succumb to the opposition’s pressure.
The
speaker later gave floor to Mr Abbasi on the condition that he would first move
his amendments and then speak on them.
Mr
Abbasi in his speech lashed out at Mr Akbar for taking name of Mr Sharif,
saying that “a non-elected person has insulted the whole parliament”. He also
opposed the NAB’s role in the money laundering cases.
Besides
Mr Akbar, Law Minister Farogh Naseem defended the bill and rejected the
Opposition’s objections regarding the NAB’s role, saying that it was not the
present Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government which had given this role to
NAB. Moreover, he said that money laundering was already a scheduled offence
under NAB laws.
Earlier,
members of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) opposed the ICT Waqf Properties
Bill, aimed at improving and streamlining the “management, supervision and
administration of Waqf properties. The bill after its passage from the Senate
will put all the Waqf properties, including mosques, Khanqahs, shrines and
dargahs, and contributions and donations of all kinds to these places under the
control of the government.
The
anti-money laundering bill gives more powers to investigating agencies in the
fight against money laundering and terror financing and suggests increase in
sentences and fines.
The
speaker read out the prorogation order of the president soon after the passage
of the bills without taking up other items on the agenda.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1576242/na-passes-two-more-fatf-related-bills
--------
Provinces
told to take ulema on board to ensure SOPs’ implementation
Ikram
Junaidi
25 Aug 2020
ISLAMABAD:
The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Monday directed the
provinces to take religious scholars and other stakeholders on board to ensure
implementation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) during Muharram
processions and majalis.
Minister
for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar also warned that
the virus could re-emerge if violations were committed. Moreover, he said SOPs
could only be enforced through public cooperation.
Meanwhile,
according to a United Nations (UN) tweet, shared by an NCOC representative,
about 40pc of
the transmission could occur through droplets emitted by people while speaking.
UN
says about 40pc of
transmission can occur through spittle by people while speaking
“Facemasks are really important because they catch
the spittle that you are emitting while you speak. Everyone does it. It is
nothing to be afraid of. About 40pc of transmission could be
happening because of droplets of spit that you emit while you are talking. It
is really a good idea to wear a mask,” a video shared in the tweet claims.
The
NCOC also discussed the violations of SOPs throughout the country and directed
the provinces to ensure their implementation during majalis and processions by
taking religious scholars and stakeholders on board.
According
to a statement issued by the NCOC, Asad Umar appreciated the arrangements made
for implementing the SOPs in Islamabad, Lahore and Quetta’s Hazara Town during
Muharram processions and majalis.
The
minister also directed the provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir to take
necessary steps to check the spread of the virus.
The
meeting was informed that distribution of masks, provision of sanitisers and
temperature check of every procession participant had been made mandatory.
Mr
Umar warned that in case of negligence the situation could aggravate and said
cooperation of people was vital.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1576254/provinces-told-to-take-ulema-on-board-to-ensure-sops-implementation
--------
Arab World
Food,
water security among UAE’s priorities post-COVID-19
period: Dubai ruler
Ismaeel
Naar
24 August 2020
Food
and water security are among the top priorities of the UAE Government for the
post-COVID-19
coronavirus period, according to the country’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed
bin Rashid.
"Food and water security are among the priorities of
the UAE Government for the post-coronavirus, COVID-19,
period, and the objective is to launch specialist initiatives that will ensure
our readiness to confront all types of crises," said Sheikh Mohammed bin
Rashid al-Maktoum, who is also UAE’s Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
"The global coronavirus crisis has enabled us to
adopt a comprehensive vision aimed at handling challenges, and we should
capitalize on this moment to strengthen our food and water security," he
added.
Sheikh
Mohammed made his statement during a meeting on Sunday held to review the
country’s efforts to reinforce its food and water security, following the
announcement of the new structure of the UAE Cabinet for the post- COVID-19
period.
The
UAE reported on Sunday three new coronavirus-related deaths and 390 new
infections, bringing the death toll to 375 and the total registered cases
to 67,007.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2020/08/24/Food-water-security-among-UAE-s-priorities-post-COVID-19-period-Dubai-ruler.html
--------
Despite
Iraq minister catching COVID-19, Jordan summit still on
24 August 2020
An
Amman summit between Jordan, Iraq and Egypt will go ahead Tuesday, officials
said, with extra precautions after Iraq’s telecommunications minister tested
positive for COVID-19.
Minister
Arkan al-Shaybani and fellow Iraqi officials were tested upon landing in Amman
on Friday and were put under confinement following the positive result,
according to a statement by Jordan’s information minister Amjad al-Adayla.
“This required implementing medical procedures put in
place to protect the health of our guest while he is in the kingdom,” Adayla
said in comments carried Monday by Jordan’s official Petra news agency.
Shaybani
was traveling to Amman for a tripartite summit on Tuesday between the leaders
of Iraq, Jordan and Egypt to discuss trade, telecommunications and oil.
The
one-day meeting will bring King Abdullah II of Jordan and Egyptian President
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi together with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi for
the first time.
Iraq’s
oil and trade ministers will also travel to Jordan.
The
gathering comes just days after Kadhemi’s return from Washington, which has
long urged its allies in the region to band together against Iranian influence.
Jordan,
Egypt and Iraq have held similar meetings in the past two years, mostly focused
on infrastructure and coordinating the fight against extremists.
“The summit will still take place on Tuesday but the
size of the delegations and the meeting times will be limited as a
precautionary measure,” Kadhemi’s spokesman, Ahmad Mullal Talal, told AFP.
Iraq’s
coronavirus caseload has topped 205,000, with deaths at nearly 6,500.
The
World Health organization has warned that Iraq’s cases are “exponentially
rising to an alarming and worrying level, suggesting a major health crisis
soon.”
Shaybani
is the first Iraqi minister to contract the novel coronavirus. Around two dozen
members of parliament have been tested positive in recent months.
The
virus claimed the life of one Iraqi parliamentarian last month and a
presidential adviser last week.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/08/24/Despite-Iraq-minister-catching-COVID-19-Jordan-summit-still-on.html
--------
Four
Jewish attractions to see in the UAE
24 August 2020
While
the UAE has no shortage of attractions - the world’s tallest building the Burj
Khalifa, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the artificial archipelago the Palm
Jumeriah, and Dubai Frame, just to name a few – tourists may also be interested
to see the country’s Jewish artifacts and sacred spaces.
Here
are four stops for tourists interested in exploring the UAE’s Jewish history
and future:
Louvre
Abu Dhabi
The
Louvre Abu Dhabi museum is home to a Yemenite Torah, circa 1498 from
the capital city of Sana’a; a Hebrew Bible, circa 1232 from
Spain, and copied by Israel ben Casares; and an oil painting of the biblical
Tower of Babel, circa 1595 by Abel Grimmer.
The
Louvre Abu Dhabi also has an interactive virtual exhibit called “Religions of
the Book,” where visitors can explore Jewish, Christian, and Islamic sacred
texts.
Ras
al-Khaimah’s National Museum
The
emirate of Ras al-Khaimah’s National Museum holds a rare Judaic archaeological
piece from the Arabian Gulf: a Jewish gravestone of a man named David, which is
dated between 1507 and 1650.
The
limestone headstone has a Hebrew inscription that begins with: “This is the
grave of the deceased David of blessed memory, son of Moses.”
The
tombstone was first discovered in 1998 in the Shamal area of Ras
al-Khaimah, according to The National.
Elli’s
Kosher Kitchen
Observant
Jewish people need not worry about keeping kosher in the UAE. Dubai resident
Elli Kriel’s kosher kitchen provides foods permissible under Jewish dietary law
for tourists and residents alike.
Kriel
opened her business Elli's Kosher Kitchen last year, making history as the
first certified kosher service in the Gulf.
In
addition to religious considerations, Kriel’s food also crosses cultures,
adopting local flavors in some of her recipes such as her “Emirati style”
borekas, a puff pastry of Sephardic Jewish origin.
“I want to experiment and develop a new genre of
Jewish cooking that reflects the UAE environment. I refer to it as Kosherati,”
Kriel told Al Arabiya English in May.
Abrahamic
Family House
Currently
under construction on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island, the Abrahamic Family House
will house an Islamic mosque, a Jewish synagogue, and a Christian church.
It
is named after Abraham, regarded as the father of the three monotheistic
faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
The
complex is set to be completed in 2022 and will host a variety of
programming including daily religious services and international summits.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/features/2020/08/24/Four-Jewish-attractions-to-see-in-the-UAE.html
--------
Gunmen
kill, wound several US-backed SDF militants across northern Syria
23 August 2020
Unidentified
armed men have shot dead and wounded several US-sponsored militants affiliated
with the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) across the northern sector of
Syria as public outrage boils in areas held by the Takfiris amid worsening
security conditions.
Local
sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Syria’s official news agency
SANA on Sunday that four SDF militants were killed after unknown gunmen fired
multiple machine gun shots at them close to the flagstones factories in the
al-Jazara neighborhood, the National Hospital in al-Tabqah city, located
approximately 55
kilometers (34 miles)
west of Raqqah, as well as Abu Quba’i village.
Elsewhere
in the northeastern countryside of Syria’ Dayr al-Zawr province, an SDF
militant was killed by a group of unknown people in the village of al-Ezba,
which has been the scene of demonstrations demanding the expulsion of the
US-backed Kurdish-led militants.
This
came after on Saturday, a number of SDF militants were injured when
unidentified armed men attacked their checkpoints in the towns of al-Hawaij and
Jadeed Ekedat.
Security
conditions are reportedly deteriorating in SDF-controlled areas in Hasakah and
Dayr al-Zawr provinces amid ongoing raids and arrests of civilians by the
militants.
Local
Syrians complain that the SDF’s constant raids and arrest campaigns have
generated a state of frustration and instability, severely affecting their
businesses and livelihood.
Residents
accuse the US-sponsored militants of stealing crude oil and refusing to spend
money on service sectors.
Local
councils affiliated with the SDF have also been accused of financial
corruption.
Syrians
rally in protest against US military presence in Hasakah
Also
on Saturday, dozens of people staged a rally in Syria’s northeastern province
of Hasakah to denounce a recent US airstrike against government forces, which
killed a soldier and wounded several others, and demand the withdrawal of
American troops.
The
demonstrators took to the streets in the village of al-Bajaria, hoisting the
national Syrian flag and carrying banners calling for resistance against US
occupation.
The
participants emphasized that support for government forces is a patriotic duty
for all Syrians, chanting slogans in condemnation of US military deployment to
Syria.
The
protesters also condemned the deadly US air raid on a Syrian army checkpoint in
Tal Dhahab area on August 17.
US
military brings in new convoy to Hasakah
In
another development, the United States has dispatched truckloads of military
and logistical equipment to Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah.
Local
sources in al-Swaidiyah village, requesting anonymity, told SANA that a convoy
of 50 trucks
and tankers accompanied by a number of armored vehicles crossed into the Syrian
territory through the al-Walid border crossing on Saturday, and headed toward
US positions in the province.
Since
late October 2019, the
United States has been redeploying troops to the oil fields controlled by
Kurdish forces in eastern Syria, in a reversal of President Donald Trump’s
earlier order to withdraw all troops from the Arab country.
The
Pentagon claims the move aims to “protect” the fields and facilities from
possible attacks by Daesh. That claim came although Trump had earlier suggested
that Washington sought economic interests in controlling the oil fields.
The
presence of US forces in eastern Syria has particularly irked the civilians,
and local residents have on several occasions stopped American military convoys
entering the region.
Syria,
which has not authorized the presence of the US military in its territory, says
Washington is “plundering” the country’s oil.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/08/23/632427/Gunmen-kill,-wound-several-US-backed-SDF-militants-across-northern-Syria
--------
Weeks
after blast, Lebanon patronage system immune to reform
August
25, 2020
Three
weeks after a catastrophic explosion ripped through Beirut, killing nearly 200 people
and rendering thousands homeless, the change many hoped for is nowhere in sight.
Instead, activists said they are back to square one.
The
same politicians whose corruption and negligence the public blames for the
disaster are negotiating among themselves over forming a new government. Calls
for early elections have petered out. To devastated Beirutis, still sweeping
shards of glass and fixing broken homes, the blast revealed the extent to which
an entrenched system of patronage remains impervious to reform.
In
fact, the tools that the ruling elite have used to ensure a lock on power the
past 30 years
are only more powerful.
Rising
poverty amid a severe economic crisis gives them greater leverage, with more
people desperate for the income their patronage provides. Their grip on
electoral politics was made tighter by an election law they passed in 2017,
making it harder for independents to win seats. And there are armed groups
affiliated with political parties.
“Basically, we have no way to force them out,” said
Nizar Hassan, a civil activist and an organizer with LiHaqqi, a political
movement active in the October mass anti-government protests.
Lebanon’s
political parties are strictly sectarian, each rooted in one of the country’s
multiple religious or ethnic communities. Most are headed by sectarian warlords
from Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war — or their families — who
stand at the top of powerful local business holdings. The factions pass out
positions in government ministries and public institutions to their followers
or carve out business sectors for them, ensuring their backing.
Opposition
parties that cross sectarian lines with a reform agenda struggle to break that
barrier. They are divided and lack grassroots support. They have also
increasingly been met with brute force by security agencies.
Street
protests have been dramatic. But the array of anti-government movements were
not sizable enough to push for sea-change reforms, Hassan said.
“To seize the moment, you need people on grassroots
level that are ready to announce they support it, and this doesn’t really exist
in Lebanon,” he said.
Civic
movements like LiHaqqi are not well-financed, face intimidation and can hardly
afford to book airtime on mainstream channels, where elites are regular talking
heads.
A
sliver of hope is found in growing support from businessmen who once financed
elites but have become increasingly frustrated, Hassan and other activists
said.
Business
owners began having a change of heart around the beginning of the year, as the
economy deteriorated, hyperinflation flared and many people fell into poverty,
said Paul Abi Nasr, a member of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists.
“The business community used to stay out of this from
fear of retribution on their businesses,” he said. “But with the situation so
dire already, a lot are now much more forthcoming.”
That
has translated into a small stream of money to civil groups, though limited to
covering organization and lobbying.
Industrialists
and businessmen have helped prop up the patronage system, but most “were forced
to play along,” Abi Nasr said. Politicians helped businesses in return for
kickbacks and political support when needed.
Those
in government who have witnessed the system from the inside maintain it cannot
reform itself.
“People like me, after years in the world of
government, basically feel that the system is immune to reform,” said Khalil
Gebara, who left his job as an adviser to the Interior Ministry.
“But at the same point, the total collapse of the
system will unleash a Pandora’s box of all kinds of sectarian conflicts,” said
Gebara, now a consultant to the World Bank. “I don’t know what I should hope
for.”
The
wake-up call for Lebanon’s activists came not during the October uprising, when
tens of thousands took to the streets in protest against the corrupt political
class, but four years ago when Beirut held municipal elections.
It
was the first time that a candidate slate emerging from a protest movement,
Beirut Madinati, won in an electoral district. The small victory emboldened
activists to look to polls to bring change.
It
also spooked elites. The following year, they passed a new electoral law. It
created a proportional representation system that ostensibly aimed to address
demands of civil society and improve representation for minority sects.
But
they “gerrymandered every aspect of the law in order to ensure that all
political parties in power will be re-elected and none of the voices in the
opposition could be,” said elections expert Amal Hamdan.
Under
the law, a special formula determines the minimum threshold of votes for
candidates to win seats. The factions worked to ensure those thresholds were
high — ranging from 8% to 20% — and difficult for independents to
gain, lawmakers and advisers with knowledge of the drafting of the law said.
In
the south, for example. Shiite Hezbollah rejected proposals for a 5%
threshold and arranged one as high as 20%, said Chantal Sarkis, an expert
in political affairs and former adviser to Samir Geagea’s Lebanese Forces
throughout negotiations over the law.
Activists
like Hassan said the core problem lies with lack of grassroots support to
initiate real political change. “When it comes to actual political dominance
over the social fabric — everything is really manifest on local level.”
In
his home district in the Chouf, where former warlord and Druze leader Walid
Jumblatt is dominant, LiHaqqi supporters faced intimidation on the ground
during the 2018
general election, Hassan said.
The
father of one activist was sacked from his government job; mothers begged their
activist children to stop canvassing in case powerful politicians got wind;
others said they would vote for establishment parties because they wanted jobs.
Not a single village allowed them to hold public events.
In
the wake of the Aug. 4 explosion, when nearly 3,000 tons
of improperly stored ammonium nitrate ignited at the Beirut port, political
parties have set up field offices offering humanitarian and other assistance to
victims.
Now
with the falling Lebanese lira, Hassan fears establishment parties have more
clout than before.
“It’s even cheaper for them to buy people.”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1724256/middle-east
--------
South Asia
Saleh
warns Panjshir officials over Forces failed attempt in the arrest of Keramuddin
Karim
24
Aug 2020
Afghanistan
Vice-President Amrullah Saleh has summoned Panjshir officials to provide
clarifications about the failed attempt of Afghan Security Forces in the arrest
of former Afghan Football Federation head, Kiramuddin Karim.
In
a statement published on Amrullah Saleh’s official Facebook page, Saleh said
that the Minister of Interior Affairs have been ordered to summon the governor
of Panjshir and the police chief to provide clear details about last nights
operation which was launched to arrest Keramuddin Karim, the former Football
Federation head for Afghanistan.
The
statement has also said that those hands behind sending Special Forces in last
night’s operation should be unveiled.
Saleh
has called on Panjshir residents not to back criminals such as Kiramuddin
Karim.
This
comes as, Afghan Security Forces launched an operation on Sangana village of
Panjshir province for the purpose of arresting Keramuddin Karim, the ex
Football Federation official who is accused of sexual harassment.
Panjshir
residents blame the government for playing a double standard game in fighting
corruptions and dealing with criminals. They did not allow the Forces to arrest
Keramuddin.
The
Ministry of Interior later announced on Monday that the operation ended with no
results, the forces could not find Mr. Karim at his resident.
This
comes as Keramuddin’s photos later appeared on social media showing him in
Panjshir.
https://www.khaama.com/saleh-warns-panjshir-officials-over-forces-failed-attempt-in-the-arrest-of-keramuddin-karim-979876/
--------
Rohingya
refugees in Bangladesh mark Myanmar crackdown anniv.
25
August 2020
Rohingya
Muslim refugees in Bangladesh have held a silent protest on the third
anniversary of a crackdown on the Muslim minority by Myanmar that killed
thousands of them.
The
refugees decided not to hold a mass gathering to mark what they called
“Remembrance Day” due to the coronavirus pandemic.
According
to Bangladeshi authorities, 88 COVID-19 cases have been reported in the camps
and six people have died of the respiratory disease.
More
than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar’s Rakhine State to neighboring
Bangladesh — joining more than 200,000 already there — following a military-led
crackdown in 2017 that the UN has said was perpetrated with “genocidal intent.”
Thousands
were killed, and many others were raped, tortured, or arrested in the
crackdown.
“We
were forcibly driven out from our motherland to the world’s largest refugee
camp,” Rohingya groups said in a statement on Tuesday.
They
further said the Rohingya had faced “hidden genocide” in Myanmar for decades
and called on the United Nations and other organizations to declare what
happened in 2017 a genocide.
“Please
stand with innocent Rohingya, and then hopefully we can return to our home,”
the refugees said in the statement.
The
Rohingya are denied citizenship in Myanmar and are considered illegal
immigrants despite their ancestral roots dating back centuries.
Last
January, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Myanmar to do
everything in its power to prevent the genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/08/25/632556/Rohingya-silent-protest-Bangladehs-Myanmar-crackdown-anniversary
--------
Iran
official: US planes transporting illicit drugs in Afghanistan
24
August 2020
A
high-ranking Iranian official says the production of narcotic drugs has seen a
fifty-fold increase over a span of 17 years in Afghanistan, adding that
American planes as well as those belonging to the US-led military alliance and
NATO are engaged in transporting illicit drugs in the war-torn country.
Eskandar
Momeni, director general of Iran Drug Control Headquarters, made the
announcement during a video conference attended by the deputies, general
secretaries and secretaries of the provincial anti-drug coordination councils
in the capital, Tehran, on Monday.
“In
the year 2000, the total production of narcotics in Afghanistan stood at about
200 tons, which rose to over 9,000 tons in 2017, an increase of about 50
times,” Momeni was quoted by ISNA news agency as saying.
"Based
on reliable information, planes operated by the NATO and the United States
transport these illicit drugs in our neighboring country," the official
added.
The
Iranian official said necessary measures have been taken to fight drug
smuggling over the past four decades, but it seems we have further miles to go
in this regard.
“While
efforts in the areas of countering, treatment and harm reduction are being
vigorously pursued, the first priority of Iran Drug Control Headquarters is in
the field of preventing an outbreak and addiction,” Momeni underlined.
Last
month, Russia’s TASS News Agency also quoted the Russian presidential envoy to
Afghanistan as saying that the US intelligence has been involved in “drug
trafficking” in the war-ravaged country.
“US
intelligence officers... are involved in drug trafficking. Their planes from
Kandahar, from Bagram [airfield near Kabul] are flying wherever they want to -
to Germany, to Romania - without any inspections," Zamir Kabulov said.
Kabulov
stressed that US involvement in drug trafficking to Europe through uncharted
planes is an open secret in Afghanistan, saying, "Every citizen of Kabul
will tell you that, everyone is ready to talk about that.”
The
United Nations says more than 80 percent of the world’s opium is produced in
Afghanistan and the bulk of narcotics produced in the country are destined for
European states.
The
United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 shortly after
the September 11 attacks. While the invasion ended the Taliban’s rule in the
country, it has failed to eliminate the militant group.
American
forces have since remained bogged down in Afghanistan through the presidencies
of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and now, Donald Trump.
About
2,400 US soldiers have been killed, along with unknown numbers of Afghan troops
and Taliban militants. Over 100,000 Afghans have been killed or injured since
2009 when the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan began documenting
casualties.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/08/24/632505/Iran-US-planes-narcotics-Afghanistan
--------
New Zealand
Christchurch
mosque shooter unmoved as survivors recount ordeal
August
24, 2020
CHRISTCHURCH:
The Australian white supremacist who murdered 51 Muslims in last year’s New
Zealand mosques shooting showed no emotion as his sentencing hearing opened
Monday with horrific details of an atrocity prosecutors said was meticulously
planned to inflict maximum casualties.
Brenton
Tarrant wanted “to have shot more people than he did”, the court was told at
the start of the four-day sentencing, held amid tight security and in front of
bereaved families and wounded survivors.
The
court heard how the heavily-armed Tarrant opened fire on men, women and
children as he live-streamed the attack on social media, ignoring pleas for
help, and driving over one body as he moved from one mosque to the next.
When
he saw a three-year-old clinging to his father’s leg, Tarrant shot him “with
two precisely aimed shots,” prosecutor Barnaby Hawes told the court.
Tarrant
has pleaded guilty to 51 charges of murder, 40 of attempted murder and one of
terrorism over the attacks on two mosques in Christchurch in March last year.
Lawyers
expect the 29-year-old to be the first person jailed for life without parole in
New Zealand.
Tarrant
was arrested as he drove to attack a third mosque in Ashburton, about an hour
south of Christchurch.
Wearing
grey prison clothing and surrounded in the dock by three police officers, the
Australian remained silent, occasionally looking around the room, as Hawes
delivered a chilling summary of facts, and members of the Muslim community
recounted the impact on their lives.
“He
admitted (to police) going into both mosques intending to kill as many people
as he could,” Hawes said.
“He
stated that he wanted to have shot more people than he did and was on the way
to another mosque in Ashburton to carry out another attack when he was
stopped,” he said.
“In
his interview, the defendant referred to his attacks as ‘terror attacks’.
“He
further stated the attacks were motivated by his ideological beliefs and he
intended to instil fear into those he described as ‘invaders’ including the
Muslim population or more generally non-European immigrants.”
‘Brainwashed
terrorist’
Abdiaziz
Ali Jama, a 44-year-old Somali refugee, saw her brother-in-law Muse Awale shot
dead, and said she continued to suffer mental trauma.
“I
see the images and I hear the constant sound rata-rata-rata – the sound of the
gun shooting – in my head,” said Jama, echoing the words of several speakers.
“I
have flashbacks, seeing dead bodies all around me. Blood everywhere,” added a
son of Ashraf Ali.
Gamal
Fouda, the Al Noor mosque Imam, said he was standing in the pulpit “and saw the
hate in the eyes of a brainwashed terrorist” before telling Tarrant: “Your
hatred is unnecessary.”
The
court was told Tarrant arrived in New Zealand in 2017 and based himself in
Dunedin, 360km south of Christchurch, where he built up a collection of
high-powered firearms and purchased more than 7,000 rounds of ammunition.
He
also bought military-style ballistic armour and tactical vests.
Two
months before the attack, he drove to Christchurch and flew a drone over the al
Noor mosque, filming the grounds and buildings, including entries and exits and
made detailed notes about travelling between mosques.
On
Friday, March 15, 2019 he left his Dunedin address and drove to Christchurch
armed with a range of high-powered weapons on which he had written references
to historic battles, figures of the Crusades and more recent terror attacks and
symbols.
He
had ammunition pre-loaded into magazines, as well as modified petrol containers
“to burn down the mosques and said he wished he had done so,” Hawes said.
Dressed
in military-style camouflage clothing including a full tactical vest with the
front pockets containing at least seven fully loaded magazines and a scabbard
holding a bayonet-style knife, he mounted a camera on his helmet to record the
attacks.
In
the minutes leading up to the storming of the al Noor mosque, he sent his
radical 74-page manifesto to an extremist website, alerted his family to what
he was about to do and sent emails containing threats to attack the mosques to
numerous media agencies.
Tarrant
is representing himself at the hearing.
Judge
Cameron Mander has imposed reporting restrictions to prevent his using the
court as a platform for extremist views.
Mander
is expected to hand down a sentence on Thursday.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2020/08/24/christchurch-mosque-shooter-unmoved-as-survivors-recount-ordeal/
--------
Christchurch
shooter could be first in New Zealand to get life sentence w/out parole
24
August 2020
A
white supremacist who killed 51 people at two mosques in New Zealand last year
watched without emotion on Monday as relatives of his victims recounted the
horror of a massacre which prosecutors said he carefully planned to cause
maximum carnage.
Australian
national Brenton Tarrant, 29, has pleaded guilty to 51 murders, 40 attempted
murders and one charge of committing a terrorist act during the shooting rampage
in the city of Christchurch which he livestreamed on Facebook.
He
could be the first person in New Zealand to receive a term of life in prison
without parole, when a High Court judge sentences him later this week for
carrying out the deadliest shooting in the country’s history on March 15 last
year.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Dressed
in grey prison clothes, Tarrant looked at those delivering victim impact
statements including the mother of Ata Elayyan, the 33-year-old goalkeeper for
the New Zealand futsal team who was slain in the Al Noor mosque.
Maysoon
Salama said she constantly wondered what her son was thinking in his last
moments “armed only with his courage.”
“I
can’t forgive you ... you gave yourself the authority to take the souls of 51
people. Our only crime in your eyes is that we are Muslims,” she said.
“You
killed your own humanity and I don’t think the world will forgive you for your
horrible crime. May you get the severest punishment for your evil act in this
life, and hereafter.”
Elayyan
was near the back of the mosque while his father, near the front, survived the
attack despite being shot in the head and shoulder.
Gamal
Fouda, imam of Al Noor mosque, told Tarrant that he was “misguided and misled.”
“I
can say to the family of the terrorist that they have lost a son and we have
lost many from our community too,” Fouda said.
“I
respect them because they are suffering as we are.”
Tarrant
will be allowed to speak at some point during the hearings, although Justice
Cameron Mander has powers to ensure the High Court is not used as a platform
for extremist ideology.
Meticulous
planning
The
attacks prompted a global outpouring of grief as well as scrutiny of social
media platforms after the then 28-year-old live-streamed the shootings shortly
after uploading a manifesto.
Crown
prosecutor Barnaby Hawes said Tarrant told police that he wanted to create fear
among the small Muslim minority in New Zealand.
Tarrant
had also expressed regret for not taking more lives and revealed that he had
intended to burn down the Al Noor mosque after the shootings, Hawes said.
“He
intended to instil fear into those he described as invaders, including the
Muslim population or more generally non-European immigrants,” Hawes said.
Tarrant
fired “two precisely aimed shots” at three-year-old Mucaad Ibrahim who was
clinging to his father’s leg, Hawes said. Ibrahim was the youngest victim of
the shootings.
The
shooter spent years purchasing high-powered firearms, researched mosque layouts
by flying a drone over his primary target, and timed his attacks to maximize
casualties, the prosecutor said.
While
most of Tarrant’s victims were at Al Noor mosque, he killed seven people at a
second mosque before being detained en route to a third.
Security
was tight outside the court, with police dogs pacing the streets and snipers on
rooftops, television footage showed.
With
social distancing measures in place due to the coronavirus pandemic, some
survivors and victims’ relatives had to view the proceedings in overflow court
rooms.
Live
reporting from the courtroom was banned, and other restrictions were put in
place on what the media could report.
Justice
Mander said he would not sentence Tarrant before Thursday so that survivors and
family members of victims had an opportunity to address the court.
A
murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison. The judge can
impose a life term without parole, a sentence that has never been used in New
Zealand.
The
hearings were adjourned until Tuesday morning.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/features/2020/08/24/Christchurch-shooter-could-be-first-in-New-Zealand-to-get-life-sentence-without-parol.html
--------
Southeast Asia
Why
Aceh is a rare place of welcome for Rohingya refugees
8/25/2020
(MENAFN
- The Conversation) In late June 2020, 99 Rohingya asylum seekers arrived by
boat on the coast of the Indonesian province of Aceh, having been stranded at
sea for more than 120 days.
As
authorities deliberated about whether to allow the asylum seekers to disembark,
locals from nearby fishing villages took the initiative. They helped the
Rohingya – mostly women and children – to safety .
'Everywhere
they reject us, only in Aceh do they accept us', one Rohingya man said once on
land.
A
United Nations (UN) spokesperson said in 2009 that the Rohingya were 'probably
the most friendless people in the world'.
Even
Malaysia, which previously tolerated the arrival of tens of thousands of
Rohingya asylum seekers and criticised Myanmar's persecution of the mostly
Muslim minority, now claims it is 'unfairly expected' to assist Rohingya
refugees amid a climate of xenophobia fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic .
Other
Southeast Asian neighbours are equally reluctant to help.
Indonesia's
foreign ministry confirmed as of late July that all the asylum seekers had been
registered with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and were receiving humanitarian
assistance. They were moved from an abandoned immigration facility to a
long-term shelter .
There
the Rohingya have continued to enjoy warm hospitality from locals. They even
participated in festivities to mark the 75th anniversary of Indonesia's
independence.
There
are several explanations for why Acehnese people continue to accept refugees when
others reject them.
Read
more: Myanmar's election, the Rohingya crisis and the road to democracy
Explaining
Acehnese exceptionalism
First,
the most common explanation is Islamic solidarity .
In
Aceh, 98% of people identify as Muslim. Being Acehnese is virtually synonymous
with being Muslim.
Although
the motivation for Acehnese people to help other Muslims may appear a
persuasive explanation, it does not account for their generosity towards
non-Muslim refugees.
For
example, in 2016, locals in Aceh assisted Hindu Tamil asylum seekers from Sri
Lanka.
Second,
Aceh's system of customary maritime law, known as Panglima Laot, obliges all
fishermen in Aceh to help people in distress at sea.
The
Panglima Laot system has existed since at least the 17th century .
As
with other customary law in Aceh, Panglima Laot is based upon Islamic Sharia.
It governs all aspects of fisheries as well as village life in coastal
communities.
Aceh's
strong cultural tradition of honouring guests, known as Peumulia Jamee, may
explain the kindness to refugees once on land.
Some
researchers have argued this is an important element of Acehnese hospitality to
Rohingya, particularly children.
Third,
Aceh's experience of conflict and natural disaster informs the way Acehnese
perceive themselves and others.
Between
1976 and 2005, the Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka or GAM) fought the
Indonesian government in an extended civil conflict for independence.
During
this conflict many Acehnese were internally displaced. Some even sought asylum
in neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Australia.
The
conflict continued under the leadership of five different Indonesian presidents
until, on December 25 2004, a tsunami struck Aceh, causing unprecedented
destruction and loss of life . More than 130,000 people died, over 37,000 were
reported missing and half a million people were displaced.
It
led to an influx of thousands of foreign aid workers to assist in
reconstruction efforts. The tsunami was also a catalyst for peace, with the
Helsinki Peace Agreement finalised on August 15 2005.
Acehnese
people vividly remember, and continue to be impacted by, the civil conflict and
the tsunami.
The
director of Acehnese non-profit Geutanyoe Foundation, Rima Shah Putra, said the
memories of suffering were fresh in the minds of the Acehnese , as are the
memories of receiving international assistance after the tsunami.
These
experiences of civil conflict and natural disaster within the current generation's
lifetime create empathy for refugees who are forced to flee their homes.
The
influence of Islamic identity, post-conflict and post-disaster experiences and
local customary law explain why Acehnese people continue to accept refugees.
But
the question remains: what will happen to these Rohingya in the long term?
Indonesia's
policy on refugees
Indonesia
has not ratified the UN Refugee Convention .
However,
in 2016, a presidential regulation was passed concerning the handling of
refugees.
The
regulation is the most recent statement of Indonesia's legal position on
refugees and asylum seekers.
Indonesia
sees itself as a transit country for refugees and asylum seekers, as opposed to
a destination or resettlement country.
Under
the provisions of the presidential regulation, any refugees processed by the
UNHCR in Indonesia will be resettled in a third country or returned to their
country of origin.
There
is no provision for long-term resettlement. However, the regulation does
provide for interception and rescue of refugees within Indonesian territorial
waters.
There
is a presumption in the drafting of the presidential regulation that people
seeking asylum will not be refouled (involuntarily returned to a place where
they may face persecution).
The
governments of Australia and Indonesia, as chairs of the regional
anti-people-smuggling Bali Process, have been urged to assist the Rohingya now
fleeing amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and to prevent a repeat of the so-called
Andaman Sea crisis of 2015 .
Not
least because it is one of Indonesia's poorest provinces, Aceh's hospitality
towards Rohingya refugees is likely unsustainable without a more coordinated
approach and support from the central government.
As
Antje Missbach , a senior researcher at the Arnold Bergstraesser Institute in
Germany, has observed of previous cohorts of Rohingya in Aceh, Acehnese
hospitality has not led to 'permanent stay or integration, as this would
require very different measures'.
It
remains to be seen whether Indonesia, or indeed neighbouring countries, will
show greater hospitality, let alone grant rights, to refugees in the future.
https://menafn.com/1100690284/Why-Aceh-is-a-rare-place-of-welcome-for-Rohingya-refugees
--------
Ismail
Sabri: Foreigners can pray at mosques across Malaysia starting Sept 1
BY
AZRIL ANNUAR
25
Aug 2020
KUALA
LUMPUR, Aug 25 — The authorities will allow foreigners to perform
congregational prayers at mosques nationwide from September 1 as long as they
observe physical distancing and the standard operating procedures (SOP)
stipulated by the Health Ministry.
Senior
Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob told his bi-weekly Covid-19
press conference today that the government has received many appeals and
requests to allow foreign Muslims to fulfill their religious obligations.
“We
have agreed to allow foreigners working here to perform congregational prayers
starting September 1. However, they must still register and the mosque
committee has the final say in allowing them onto the premises based on the
mosque’s capacity.
“If
it is already full, the mosque has the right to deny entry. But generally, we
will allow them to perform their prayers there, but they must still observe the
SOP and wear face masks,” said Ismail Sabri.
Furthermore,
Muslim faithful are no longer required to bring their own prayer mats (sejadah)
to the mosque.
The
defence minister said that after discussions with Minister in the Prime
Minister’s Department (Islamic Religious Affairs) Datuk Seri Zulkifli Mohamad
Al-Bakri and the Health Ministry, the government has decided to ease SOP rules.
However,
Ismail Sabri still encouraged the Muslim congregation to bring their own prayer
mats as it is more hygienic in light of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
“There
will be no compromise on face masks since we have compromised on prayer mats.
Mosques can sell face masks for RM1 each at the entrance in case anyone forgets
to bring their own.
“They
can also sell paper to act as disposable prayer mats if they wish,” said Ismail
Sabri.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/08/25/ismail-sabri-foreigners-can-pray-at-mosques-across-malaysia-starting-sept-1/1896936
--------
Saifuddin
welcomes Muhyiddin’s proposal to admit non-Bumiputera members into Bersatu
25
Aug 2020
BY
JERRY CHOONG
CYBERJAYA,
Aug 25 — Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah has expressed his gratitude to Parti Pribumi
Bersatu Malaysia president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin after the latter said
consideration will be made to see if non-Bumiputeras can join the party.
Saifuddin
said this is especially important as several of the MPs who followed Datuk Seri
Azmin Ali’s lead and splintered off from PKR are not Bumiputera.
“So
when we from Azmin’s group wanted to join Bersatu, this was brought up; hence,
this is why I am thankful for Tan Sri Muhyiddin’s announcement,” he said after
attending the Oryctes high precision agriculture spraying drone launch and
‘live’ demonstration.
The
Indera Mahkota MP said this is a matter of some urgency, as he felt diversity
within the Perikatan Nasional government ought to be “celebrated”.
“We
must celebrate our non-Bumiputera supporters. If it happens that Bersatu opens
up to non-Bumiputeras, then this could encourage the other PN component party
members to consider mixed membership,” Saifuddin said.
On
Sunday when attending an event organised by pro-Azmin NGOs, Muhyiddin said a
committee has been formed to study the feasibility of establishing a new
chapter to allow non-Bumiputera associate members to hold positions in the
party.
The
committee is to be headed by Bersatu supreme council member Tan Sri Rais Yatim,
who will bring it to the party leadership for consideration once the study has
concluded.
Muhyiddin
added that should the supreme council agree to the idea, it will require an
extraordinary general meeting to be held during which Bersatu’s constitution
will be amended for the formation of the chapter.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/08/25/saifuddin-welcomes-muhyiddins-proposal-to-admit-non-bumiputera-members-into/1896867
--------
Mideast
Anti-Revolutionary
Terrorist Team Disbanded by IRGC in Northwestern Iran
Aug
24, 2020
The
IRGC’s Hamzeh Seyed al-Shohada base’s public relations department announced in
a statement on Monday that 3 outlaws and members of anti-revolutionary
grouplets who had crossed the Iranian borders on Sunday night were killed in
clashes with the IRGC forces.
It
added that a large number of weapons, ammunition and military equipment were
seized from them.
“None
of the Iranian forces were wounded in the clashes,” the statement said, warning
that any threat and mischief against the country will receive a crushing
response.
In
a relevant development on Sunday, Commander of Iran’s Border Guards
Brigadier-General Ahmad Ali Goudarzi said that his forces in Saravan region in
the Southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan have killed a notorious
terrorist and wounded several outlaws in armed clashes.
"The
border guards were informed of the presence of the outlaws in Saravan region,
discovered their hideout and took control of the region by dispatching several
operational teams," General Goudarzi said.
He
added that the outlaws fired at the border guards and were attempting to flee
to the heights of the region, but one of the terrorists who had earlier this
year injured one of the border guards in Saravan was killed after proper
operational tactics and high volume of fire by the Iranian forces.
"Several
weapons, ammunition and telecommunication equipment were taken from the
terrorist," General Goudarzi said.
He
added that a number of armed outlaws were also heavily wounded in the clashes
and fled to the heights of a neighboring state, noting that their
identification and detention is on the border guards’ agenda.
https://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13990603000885
--------
Iran
Warns to Take UAE Accountable for Any Israeli Threat to Persian Gulf Region
Aug
24, 2020
“The
agreement between the UAE and the Zionist regime is a scar on the Muslim
world’s body and the UAE has made a big mistake and we hope that it makes up
for this mistake as soon as possible. The Muslim world will never forget
betrayal of the holy Quds,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told
reporters in Tehran on Monday.
He
further downsized Israel as a serious threat to Iran, and said it is seen as
too small and too weak as a threat, but warned that although Israel is not
among the threats perceived by Iran’s defense and security doctrine in the
Persian Gulf region, the UAE will be held to account if the regime poses any
threat to the region.
Khatibzadeh
stressed Iran’s seriousness about defending its security and national
interests.
US
President Donald Trump on August 13 announced a deal brokered by his government
between Israel and the UAE which he said would lead to full normalization of
ties between the two.
Critics
see the deal as the latest attempt by Trump to save his presidential campaign
against the Democrat Joe Biden.
Iranian
President Hassan Rouhani decried the recent normalization deal between the UAE
and Israel, describing it as a gift to Trump before elections.
“These
days we have faced a neighboring country which has approached the enemy of the
Islamic world and the region and the murderer of the Palestinian nation in a
decision to get close to the Zionist regime,” Rouhani said, addressing a
meeting of the national coronavirus campaign headquarters in Tehran last week.
He
added that the UAE rulers are wrongly thinking that their security and economy
will improve through relations with Israel, noting that the measure is aimed at
helping Trump win the November elections.
“(The
UAE’s) measure is one hundred percent wrong and condemned,” Rouhani said.
He
warned the regional states not to pave the way for Israel to have a foothold in
the region.
In
a relevant statement on August 14, the Iranian foreign ministry strongly
condemned the UAE's decision to set up diplomatic relations with "the
Zionist regime of Israel" and termed it as a strategic act of idiocy by
Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv which will undoubtedly result in the further
reinvigoration of the axis of resistance in the region.
The
statement further stressed that "the oppressed nation of Palestine as well
as other freedom-seeking peoples worldwide will never forgive the sin of normalization
of the ties with the occupier and bloodthirsty regime of Israel and also the
act of those who approve and cooperate with its crimes".
Undoubtedly
the innocent bloods shed during the past seven decades of resistance to free
the sacred land of Palestine which is Muslims' first Qibla will sooner or later
take those that betrayed the Palestinian cause by the throat, it added.
The
statement also stressed that the Islamic Republic of Iran considers as
dangerous Abu Dhabi's act of normalizing ties with the fabricated, illegitimate
and anti-human regime of Israel, and warns the Zionist regime against any kind
of meddling in the Persian Gulf region's equations.
The
UAE administration and all other governments which approve of this move should
be ready to take the responsibility of all the consequences of such a measure,
it further said.
The
Iranian foreign ministry's statement also noted that the history will
definitely demonstrate how this strategic mistake by the Zionist regime and the
dagger which stabbed both the Palestinian nation and the Muslim peoples in the
back will backfire and further strengthen the resistance axis by enhancing
unity and solidarity against the Zionist regime and the backward governments in
the region.
The
foreign ministry advised those rulers who, from inside their "glass
castles", hatch plots against the Palestinians and other regional
oppressed nations, including Yemen, to regain consciousness and stop erring in
distinguishing between friends and foes.
https://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13990603000511
--------
UN
nuclear watchdog chief arrives in Iran, expected to urge access to nuclear
sites
24
August 2020
The
head of the UN’s atomic watchdog arrived in Iran on Monday, state media
reported, for a visit aimed at improving cooperation on the Islamic republic’s
nuclear activities.
Rafael
Mariano Grossi, on his first trip to Iran since taking the helm of the
International Atomic Energy Agency last year, is to meet with senior officials
on Tuesday.
He
is expected to press for IAEA access to two nuclear sites in the talks with
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the head of the country’s atomic
agency, Ali Akbar Salehi.
“My
objective is that my meetings in Tehran will lead to concrete progress in
addressing the outstanding questions that the agency has related to safeguards
in Iran and, in particular, to resolve the issue of access,” Grossi said in a
statement on Saturday.
The
visit comes amid tensions between the US and its European allies over
Washington’s bid to maintain an arms embargo on Iran and reimpose UN sanctions
dating back to 2006.
His
visit also takes place shortly before a September 1 meeting of the joint
commission on the 2015 deal between Iran and global powers, which aims to
prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb.
Tehran
has always denied its nuclear program has any military dimension.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/08/24/UN-nuclear-watchdog-chief-arrives-in-Iran-expected-to-urge-access-to-nuclear-sites.html
--------
Early
Islamic gold coins unearthed in Israeli dig
24
August 2020
Israeli
archaeologists announced Monday the discovery of a trove of early Islamic gold
coins found during recent salvage excavations near the central city of Yavne.
The
collection of 425 complete gold coins, most dating to the Abbasid period around
1,100 years ago, was a “extremely rare” find, Israel Antiquities Authorities
archaeologists Liat Nadav-Ziv and Elie Haddad said in a joint statement.
The
trove, which was unearthed by youth volunteers, also included hundreds of
smaller clippings from gold coins that would have served as smaller
denominations.
Robert
Kool, a coin expert with the antiquities authority, said an initial analysis
indicates the coins date from the late 9th century, considered the golden age
of the Abbasid Caliphate that controlled most of the Near East and North
Africa.
The
discovery was among the largest caches of ancient coins found in Israel. In
2015, amateur divers found around 2,000 gold coins off the coast of the ancient
port city of Caesarea dating to the Fatimid period in the 10th and 11th
centuries.
“Hopefully
the study of the hoard will tell us more about a period of which we still know
very little,” Kool said.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/variety/2020/08/24/Early-Islamic-gold-coins-unearthed-in-Israeli-dig.html
--------
Houthi
commanders killed during Arab coalition airstrike in north Yemen
August
24, 2020
AL-MUKALLA:
Several high-ranking Houthi military commanders were killed and numerous others
injured when Arab coalition forces bombed a convoy in northern Yemen, military
officials said on Monday.
Rabia
Al-Qurashi, Yemeni army spokesman in Jouf province, told Arab News that militia
chiefs, including Houthi minister of defense Mohammed Al-Atefi, were visiting
Al-Khanjer military camp in Khab and Al-Sha’af district on Saturday when
coalition warplanes struck, leaving a number of commanders dead, dozens
wounded, and six vehicles destroyed.
“The
fate of Houthi minister of defense is unknown. But the warplanes caused carnage
among Houthi fighters,” Al-Qurashi said.
Houthi
official media on Monday mourned the death of Gen. Azi Salah Mutleq Dahwa, a
senior officer at the 6th Military Region, and Gen. Ruhallah Zaid Ali Musleh, a
Houthi military ideologue and the son of a founding member of the Houthi
movement.
Al-Qurashi
said that the two commanders were killed in Jouf on Saturday and the Houthis
had delayed mourning them in order to avoid undermining their fighters’ morale,
predicting that the group would announce the death of other senior commanders
in the coming days.
Hundreds
of Houthis have been killed since early last week in fierce clashes with
government forces and as a result of Saudi-led airstrikes in the provinces of
Jouf, Marib, and Al-Bayda.
Despite
denying suffering heavy losses, the Iran-backed Houthis have recently buried
dozens of their fighters in different areas under their control in northern
Yemen.
Also,
in Jouf province, army troops and allied tribesmen, backed by coalition
airpower, attacked Houthis in different locations east of Hazem, the capital of
Jouf province.
Al-Qurashi
added that loyalists liberated several areas in Al-Sabagh after killing and
wounding a large number of Houthis. Local commanders said the aim of the
current ground assault on the edges of Hazem was to pile military pressure on
Houthis who had seized control of the strategic town.
Meanwhile,
Yemen’s prime minister designate, Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, said that all Yemeni
parties had constructively engaged in continuing discussions toward the
formation of a new government under the terms of the Riyadh Agreement.
According
to the official Saba news agency, Saeed briefed lawmakers in Riyadh about
progress on announcing a new government, stressing that the talks were also
targeted at lobbying all Yemeni parties behind quick implementation of the
Riyadh Agreement and supporting the return of peace and stability to Aden and
other Yemeni provinces.
Also,
in Riyadh, the premier on Sunday instructed the new governor of Aden, Ahmed Hamid
Lamlis, and the city’s chief of security, Ahmed Mohammed Al-Hamedi, to make the
revival of state bodies and the restoration of peace their top priorities,
pledging his government’s full support to them.
Under
the Riyadh Agreement, Aden’s governor and security chief would return to Aden
as a military committee began moving military units and heavy weapons from
Aden. Within a month, the PM designate will name his government and will also
return to Aden.
The
agreement defused tensions between the internationally recognized government
and the separatist Southern Transitional Council.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1724056/middle-east
--------
Gaza
reports first COVID-19 cases outside quarantine areas, declares lockdown
August
24, 2020
GAZA:
Gaza reported its first cases of COVID-19 in the general population on Monday,
as authorities confirmed four infections at a refugee camp and security forces
declared a full lockdown for 48 hours.
The
four cases were from a single family, according to a government statement.
The
closure would affect the entire Gaza Strip, according to an official from
Hamas, the Islamist group that rules the territory.
Until
Monday the 360 sq. km. coastal strip, which is home to two million Palestinians
living in densely packed cities, towns and refugee camps, had reported no
infections outside quarantine centers set up for people returning home from
abroad.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1724061/middle-east
--------
Africa
Tunisia’s
prime minister-designate announces a technocratic government: State TV
24
August 2020
Tunisia’s
prime minister-designate Hichem Mechichi has announced on Monday a cabinet of
independent technocrats without parties, seeking to distance the government
from political conflicts and focus on reviving the ailing economy.
Mechichi,
46, is an independent, and he was an interior minister in the government of
Elyes Fakhfakh who resigned in July over allegations of a conflict of interest.
Premier
named the liberal economist Ali Kooli as minister of Economy, Finance and
Investment. Kooli is CEO of Arab Banking Corporation (ABC Bank) in Tunisia.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/north-africa/2020/08/25/Tunisia-s-prime-minister-designate-announces-a-technocratic-government-State-TV.html
--------
Talks
between regional bloc, Mali’s new junta on return to civilian rule end without
result
25
August 2020
Negotiations
between West African mediators and Mali’s new military junta have concluded
without an agreement on how the country should return to civilian rule.
The
two sides released separate statements on Monday after three days of talks
saying that Mali’s ousted president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita — whose return to
office had been initially demanded by the regional Economic Community of West
African States (ECOWAS) — no longer wished to return to power and certain
issues had remained unresolved.
The
15-member ECOWAS on Saturday dispatched a high-level delegation led by former
Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan to Mali’s capital of Bamako to push its
demands for “immediate return to constitutional order” following a coup in the
country on August 18.
“There
were discussions on both sides, given that at this stage nothing has been set
down, nothing has been decided, and that as far as we are concerned, the final
architecture of the transition will be discussed and defined by us,” said a
spokesman for the new junta, Colonel Ismael Wague.
Meanwhile,
Jonathan, who said he requested and was granted access to Keita, emphasized,
“President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita told us that he has resigned. That he was not
forced to do so. That he does not want to return to politics and that he wants
a quick transition to allow the country to return to civilian rule.”
He
said ECOWAS and the junta “have agreed on a number of issues, but there are
some issues that we have not agreed [on].”
“So
on those issues, we told the military officers the thinking of ECOWAS and we
asked them to go and review,” Jonathan added.
The
military staged a coup last Wednesday, detaining the president and Prime
Minister Boubou Cisse, as well as other ranking government officials.
The
military rulers say they “completed the work” of the protesters who had been
calling for the president’s resignation for months over alleged corruption and
deteriorating security in areas where affiliates of al-Qaeda and Daesh
terrorist groups are active.
The
new junta, calling itself the National Committee for the Salvation of the
People (CNSP), has promised to oversee a transition to elections within a
“reasonable” amount of time.
The
coup has, however, been condemned abroad, with regional countries calling for a
return to civilian rule and threatening to impose sanctions if that does not
happen.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/08/25/632551/Mali-military-junta-West-African-talks-without-result
--------
Libya’s
Red Crescent retrieves 22 bodies off coastal town of Zwara
24
August 2020
The
Libyan Red Crescent retrieved the bodies of 22 migrants off the coastal town of
Zwara on Sunday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.
“Today,
22 bodies were retrieved by the Libyan Red Crescent in Zwara,” the IOM’s chief
of mission in Libya, Federico Soda, wrote on Twitter, sharing a photo of body
bags lined up on a beach.
For
all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
On
Wednesday, the IOM and the UN refugee agency said dozens of migrants and
refugees had perished off Libya in the deadliest shipwreck so far this year.
The
agencies said that survivors from Monday’s sinking, 37 of whom were rescued by
fishermen, said at least 45 others, including five children, had died when the
engine of the vessel they were aboard exploded off Zwara.
The
latest tragedy, west of Tripoli, brings to 302 the number of migrants and
refugees known to have perished on the route so far this year, the IOM and the
UNHCR said, stressing that the actual figure was likely much higher.
Safa
Msehli, spokeswoman for the IOM in Geneva, told AFP on Sunday it was possible
the 22 bodies were from that same sinking, “given the reported location of the
shipwreck.”
“The
bodies retrieved today were all African males. We still don’t have information
on the nationalities,” she added.
Libya,
which descended into chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed
longtime dictator Moammar Gaddafi, has emerged as a major transit point for
African and Arab migrants fleeing war and poverty to Europe.
Migrant
departures from Libya’s coast increased by nearly 300 percent this year between
January and the end of April, compared to the same period in 2019, according to
the UN.
“These
painful deaths are the result of the increasingly hardening policy towards
people fleeing conflict and extreme poverty, and a failure to humanely manage
migration flows,” Soda added Sunday.
More
than 100,000 migrants tried to cross the Mediterranean last year with more than
1,200 dying in the attempt, according to the IOM.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/north-africa/2020/08/24/Libya-s-Red-Crescent-retrieves-22-bodies-off-coastal-town-of-Zwara.html
--------
Over
1,100 villagers killed in Nigeria in 1st half of 2020: Amnesty
24
August 2020
Over
1,100 people have been killed in rural areas across several states of central
and northwestern Nigeria amid an alarming escalation in raids and kidnappings
by armed bandits in the first half of the year, Amnesty International says.
“The
Nigerian authorities have left rural communities at the mercy of rampaging
gunmen who have killed at least 1,126 people in the north of the country since
January,” the London-based rights group said in a new report on Monday.
Osai
Ojigho, the director of Amnesty Nigeria, said the group had interviewed
civilians in the states of Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba and
Zamfara, who reported living in fear of attacks and abductions.
“Terrifying
attacks on rural communities in the north of Nigeria have been going on for
years.”
“The
ongoing failure of security forces to take sufficient steps to protect
villagers from these predictable attacks is utterly shameful.”
Ojigho
decried reported abuse of civilians who asked for more official help and
protection.
“In
their response to these attacks, the Nigerian authorities have displayed gross
incompetence and a total disregard for people's lives,” he said. “Arresting
people who dare to ask for help is a further blow.”
The
killings in clashes between herders and farming communities for access to land
have been recurrent for several years.
In
Katsina, at least 33,130 people were living in displacement camps, while others
have headed to urban areas to stay with relatives.
Amnesty
blamed both state authorities and the federal government for failing to protect
the population.
The
escalating violence has forced many farmers and their families from their homes
while thousands could not cultivate their farms during the rainy season of 2020
because of fear of attacks or abduction, according to Amnesty.
Northwestern
Nigeria has been wracked by years of violence involving clashes between rival
communities over land, attacks by heavily-armed criminal gangs and reprisal
killings by vigilante groups.
Cattle
rustling and kidnapping for ransom have also flourished in the security vacuum.
The
government has so far failed in halting unrest that has killed an estimated
8,000 people since 2011 and displaced 200,000.
Nigeria
is already struggling to contain insurgencies by Boko Haram Takfiri terrorists
in the northeast, conflicts in central states, and militant groups in the Niger
Delta to the southeast.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/08/24/632523/Nigeria-Amnesty-Boko-Haram-President-Muhammadu-Buhari--
--------
Morocco
rejects normalization with Israel ahead of Kushner's visit
24
August 2020
Morocco's
prime minister has stressed his country’s opposition to any normalization of
relations with Israel ahead of a visit by the US president's senior advisor
Jared Kushner to the Arab country.
“We
refuse any normalization with the Zionist entity because this emboldens it to
go further in breaching the rights of the Palestinian people,” Saad Dine El
Otmani told his Islamist PJD party on Sunday.
His
remarks come as US President Donald Trump’s senior adviser and son-in law is
expected to fly to Morocco in the coming days as part of a his “multiple-nation
visit” to the Middle East that aims to “push Arab-Israeli rapprochement” after
Israel and the UAE reached a much-condemned normalization deal.
Morocco
has categorically rejected any rumors of normalization, insisting that it will
not accept any compromise that undermines the “just Palestinian cause.”
Morocco
and Israel began low-level ties in 1993 after an accord that purportedly sought
to enable “peace” between Israelis and Palestinians was reached. But Rabat
suspended ties with the Israeli regime after the outbreak of a Palestinian
uprising in 2000.
The
Associated Press quoted three diplomats as saying that Kushner will also visit
Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
According
to the diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity, US Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo will make a separate regional tour.
The
diplomats said they were not expecting “announcements of immediate
breakthrough.” Rather, the visits aim to “finalize at least one, and
potentially more, normalization deals with Israel in the near future.”
Abu
Dhabi and Tel Aviv announced on August 13 that they had reached a deal that
would lead to a full normalization of diplomatic relations between the two
sides.
The
highly controversial deal, which has since been widely condemned across the
occupied Palestinian territories and the Muslim world, was brokered by Trump,
who has attempted to paint it as a big breakthrough.
The
UAE-Israel deal marks the third such normalization agreement the occupying
regime has struck with an Arab country after Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994).
Abu Dhabi was already believed to have clandestine relations with Tel Aviv.
Tunisian
journalist tears apart photos of bin Zayed, Netanyahu
The
Israeli-UAE deal has sparked protests in support of Palestine in various
countries, including Tunisia.
Protesters
took to the streets of the Tunisian capital on Saturday, carrying banners
reading “normalization is high treason”.
Pictures
of a Tunisian journalist (seen below) tearing down pictures of Abu Dhabi Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Zayed and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in
protest at the normalization deal went viral on social media.
The
global campaign launched on August 15 was initiated by the “International
Women’s Coalition in Support of al-Quds and Palestine” in Tunisia, and the
al-Baraka Association for Charitable and Humanitarian Action in Algeria.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/08/24/632471/Morocco-rejects-normalization-Israel
--------
Tunisia's
caretaker premier sacks anti-graft chief
Adel
Elthabti
25.08.2020
TUNIS,
Tunisia
Tunisia’s
Cabinet on Monday dismissed the head of the country’s anti-corruption
body.
A
Cabinet meeting headed by caretaker Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh, decided to
relieve Chawki Tabib of his duties as head of the National Anti-Corruption
Commission and named judge Imad Boukhreis to replace him.
The
Cabinet mentioned no reason for the removal of Tabib, who took the post in
January 2016.
On
July 13, the anti-corruption commission announced it was sending to both the
judiciary and Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi documents on suspicions the
premier had conflicts of interest.
The
prime minister resigned after more than 100 lawmakers pushed him to face a
confidence vote amid suspicions of corruption and conflicts of interest.
On
July 15, President Kais Saied approved Fakhfakh's resignation and later
assigned him as caretaker prime minister until former Interior Minister Hichem
Mechichi forms a new government.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/tunisias-caretaker-premier-sacks-anti-graft-chief/1952066
--------
North America
Mike
Pompeo hopeful other Arab states to forge ties with Israel
Aug
24, 2020
JERUSALEM:
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he hoped other Arab countries would also
establish diplomatic relations with Israel as he kicked off a Mideast tour on
Monday to press the momentum of the Trump administration's Arab-Israeli peace
push.
Pompeo
spoke during a joint statement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
in Jerusalem, the first stop on a multi-country tour of the region following
the Aug. 13 announcement of the historic agreement between Israel and the
United Arab Emirates, brokered by Washington, to establish diplomatic ties.
"I
am hopeful that we will see other Arab nations join in this," Pompeo said.
"The opportunity for them to work alongside, to recognize the state of
Israel and to work alongside them will not only increase Middle East stability,
but it will improve the lives for the people of their own countries as
well."
The
Israel-UAE agreement delivered a key foreign policy victory to President Donald
Trump as he seeks reelection and reflected a changing Middle East in which
shared concerns about archenemy Iran have largely overtaken traditional Arab
support for the Palestinians.
Both
Pompeo and Netanyahu criticized the lack of international support for the US
demand for the restoration of U.N. sanctions against Iran. The Trump
administration has been pushing at the Security Council to have so-called
"snapback" sanctions imposed on Iran over what Washington says is
Iran's violation of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
"We
are determined to use every tool that we have to ensure they can't get access
to high-end weapon systems," Pompeo said. "The rest of the world
should join us."
Earlier
this month, the US, Israel and the UAE announced the deal to establish full
diplomatic relations, which also requires Israel to freeze its plans to annex
parts of the occupied West Bank sought by the Palestinians as part of their
future state.
Netanyahu
called the agreement "a boon to peace and regional stability" that "heralds
a new era where we could have other nations join." He restated that the
agreement does not include Israel's acceptance of the sale of sophisticated
weaponry to the Emirates.
Pompeo
said the US was committed to maintaining Israel's "qualitative military
edge" and would be reviewing arms deals with the UAE.
Later
in the trip, Pompeo was to meet with Netanyahu's partner in the government and
Defense Minister Benny Gantz, as well as Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi.
After
his Israel stop Pompeo was also slated to visit Sudan, the UAE and Bahrain,
with additional stops in the Gulf possible, the State Department had said. In
Sudan, the secretary of state said he would push for "deepening the
Sudan-Israel relationship."
British
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was also arriving in Jerusalem on Monday for
meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials in an effort "to press for
renewed dialogue" and a negotiated two-state solution to the conflict.
Ahead
of Pompeo's arrival, the Israeli military said it struck militant targets in
the Gaza Strip early on Monday, in response to incendiary balloons launched
into Israel the day before. It was the latest exchange as tensions between the
two sides intensified in recent weeks.
The
army said it bombed "military posts and an underground
infrastructure" belonging to Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that
rules Gaza. There were no immediate reports of any casualties.
Militants
affiliated with Hamas have launched scores of incendiary balloons into southern
Israel in recent weeks in a bid to pressure Israel to ease the blockade imposed
since Hamas took control of the territory in 2007. On Friday, Palestinian
militants launched 12 rockets at Israel, nine of which were intercepted, in the
largest outbreak of violence in recent months.
Israel
has responded to the balloons and sporadic rocket fire with airstrikes
targeting militant positions.
Israel
and Hamas have fought three wars and numerous smaller skirmishes in the past 13
years. Last week Egyptian mediators tried to ease tensions and bolster the
informal truce between Israel and Hamas that has largely held since the 2014
war in Gaza.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/mike-pompeo-hopeful-other-arab-states-to-forge-ties-with-israel/articleshow/77723205.cms
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Pompeo
says US will preserve Israel’s military edge
24
August 2020
US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday the United States would continue
to ensure Israel enjoyed a military edge in the Middle East under any future US
arms deals with the United Arab Emirates.
“The
United States has a legal requirement with respect to qualitative military
edge. We will continue to honor that,” Pompeo told reporters after a meeting in
Jerusalem with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A
US-brokered deal on normalizing relations between Israel and the UAE was
announced on August 13.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/08/24/Pompeo-says-US-will-preserve-Israel-s-military-edge.html
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US
Secretary of State Pompeo flies to Sudan on first non-stop flight from Israel
25
August 2020
United
States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was due to land in Sudan from Israel on
Tuesday, on what he said was the first official non-stop flight between the two
countries, as the United States promotes stronger Sudan-Israel ties.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
His
visit is part of a regional tour following an accord between Israel and the UAE
this month to forge full relations and comes as Israel and the United States
push more Arab countries to follow.
“Happy
to announce that we are on the FIRST official NONSTOP flight from Israel to
Sudan!” Pompeo said on Twitter.
Pompeo
will meet Sudan's prime minister and the head of its ruling council during a
brief stopover in Khartoum to discuss US support for the civilian-led
government and for “deepening the Sudan-Israel relationship,” according to the
State Department.
Sudan
has been restoring its own ties with the United States following the ouster of
former Islamist leader Omar al-Bashir in April 2019 and is pushing to be
removed from the list of countries that Washington considers state sponsors of
terrorism.
Asked
if Pompeo would announce a breakthrough in Sudan like normalization of ties
with Israel or a removal of US sanctions, a US official on board Pompeo's
flight said: “It's possible that more history will be made.”
The
official said Sudan had offered the direct flight, dropping the requirement
“that such a flight make a cosmetic stop en route.”
Ties
with Israel are a sensitive issue in Sudan, which was among the hardline Muslim
foes of Israel under Bashir.
In
February, ruling council head Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan met Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Uganda but cast doubt on any rapid normalization
of relations.
Sudan
announced on Aug. 19 it had sacked its foreign ministry spokesman after he
called the UAE decision to become the third Arab country to normalize relations
with Israel “a brave and bold step.”
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/08/25/US-Secretary-of-State-Pompeo-flies-to-Sudan-on-first-non-stop-flight-from-Israel.html
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Venezuela
marks Yasser Arafat's 91st birth anniversary
Laura
Gamba
24.08.2020
BOGOTA,
Colombia
Venezuelan
President Nicolas Maduro conmemorated on Monday late Palestinian leader Yasser
Arafat on his 91st birth anniversary.
“In
Venezuela, we are celebrating the 91st anniversary of the birth of our friend,
Yasser Arafat. Eternal leader who left us a legacy of firmness and dignity for
the cause of freedom and peace. Today, we continue with his people raising our
voices for a free and independent Palestine!” said Maduro on his Twitter
account.
Yasser
Arafat participated in the Palestinian movement, which aspired to build an
independent Arab state, clashing with Jewish aspirations on the same territory.
He
founded the Fatah movement in the late 1950 and in 1969 he took over the
Palestine Liberation Organization, created by the Arab League five years
earlier to declare Palestinian independence from the region’s powerful players.
The
1993 Oslo Accords that gave the Palestinians limited territorial sovereignty
and partial control over civil affairs in the West Bank and Gaza, won Arafat
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994.
Arafat
returned to Palestine in 1994 following decades of struggle against the Israeli
occupation from abroad. During the second Palestinian Intifada, which erupted
in 2001 against then Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s incursion in the
Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Israeli occupation forces imposed a blockade on Arafat’s
residence in the West Bank’s city of Ramallah.
Cuban
Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez also remembered Arafat through his Twitter
account on Monday.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/venezuela-marks-yasser-arafats-91st-birth-anniversary/1951888
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US-led
coalition hands over military base to Iraq
23.08.2020
The
US-led coalition against Daesh/ISIS on Sunday withdrew from the Taji military
base in Iraq and handed it over to the Iraqi army, according to the coalition.
"The
movement of coalition military personnel is part of a long-range plan
coordinated with the government of Iraq,” the coalition said in a statement.
It
said the Taji base, 85 km north of Baghdad, was a prime location for the
training of the Iraqi forces.
Maj.
Gen. Tahsin al-Khafaji, a spokesman for the joint operations of the Iraqi army,
said the troop withdrawal comes under an agreed timetable to hand over other
military bases across Iraq.
This
is the seventh military base to be handed over to the Iraqi army this year.
The
pullout comes amid rising attacks by Iranian-backed militias on bases housing
US troops and diplomats in Iraq.
US
officials have repeatedly accused the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades, which operates
under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilization Forces (Hashd al-Shaabi), of
launching rocket attacks on military bases that host US troops and other
facilities in Iraq.
Such
attacks have increased since the US assassinated Iranian General Qasem
Soleimani in a drone attack in Baghdad in early January.
Currently,
there are around 5,000 US forces along with other 2,500 troops in Iraq under
the US-led coalition.
Following
his talks with US President Donald Trump in Washington this week, Iraqi Prime
Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said the American president has vowed to withdraw
all US troops from Iraq within three years.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-led-coalition-hands-over-military-base-to-iraq/1950735
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Europe
Turkey,
Greece plan rival exercises in tense east Mediterranean
August
24, 2020
ISTANBUL:
Turkey and Greece announced rival military exercises in the eastern
Mediterranean for Tuesday as Germany prepared to take another crack at defusing
the NATO allies’ escalating row over natural gas.
The
discovery of major deposits in waters surrounding Cyprus and the Greek island
of Crete has triggered a scramble for energy riches and revived old regional
rivalries.
Tensions
ratched up another notch when Turkey sent the Oruc Reis research vessel
accompanied by warships to disputed waters on August 10.
Greece
and its EU ally France both dispatched their own naval assets to the area to
monitor Turkey’s work.
EU
foreign ministers convened an emergency videoconference on the emerging crisis
when a Turkish frigate collided with a Greek one in disputed circumstances days
into the Oruc Reis mission.
Germany
has taken the lead in trying to calm a dispute that threatens to complicate EU
nations’ efforts to tap new sources of energy that can reduce their dependence
on countries such as Russia.
Its
foreign minister, Heiko Maas, will visit Athens and Ankara on Tuesday to try to
put talks between the two rivals back on track.
But
the difficulties became even more apparent when Athens and Ankara announced
plans to stage sea exercises in the same region south of Crete on Tuesday.
The
Greek exercises appeared to have been announced in response to Turkey’s
decision to extend the Oruc Reis mission by an extra four days to Thursday.
Turkey’s
defense ministry responded by planning its own “maritime trainings... to
promote coordination and interoperability” south of Crete at the same time.
Neither
side appeared ready to defuse the tension.
Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he might decide to keep the Oruc Reis out
at sea even longer and accused Greece of behaving “in an unauthorized and
spoilt manner.”
“Turkey
will not take even the smallest step back from the activities of either Oruc
Reis or our naval elements escorting it,” Erdogan said after chairing a weekly
cabinet meeting.
“With
its stance that goes against international law, goodwill and neighborly
relations, Greece has thrown itself into a chaos from which it cannot find a
way out,” he added.
Maas
plans to meet Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis before flying to Ankara
for talks with his Turkish counterpart.
It
was not clear from the official statements whether Maas would also be received
by Erdogan.
“We
take the tensions there very seriously,” a German foreign ministry spokesman
told reporters.
“We
are worried that the tensions could further weigh on the relationship between
Turkey and the EU and that further escalation could have grave consequences.”
Germany
currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, and a spokesman
for Chancellor Angela Merkel said it was “essential” to remain in dialogue with
both sides.
“The
aim is for Greece and Turkey to resolve their problems with each other
directly,” the spokesman said.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1724036/world
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German
foreign minister set to visit Turkey
Merve
Gül Aydoğan Ağlarcı
24.08.2020
Top
German diplomat Heiko Maas will pay a working visit to Turkey on Tuesday and
hold meetings with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.
According
to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, the German and Turkish foreign ministers will
meet in the capital Ankara to discuss "bilateral relations, Turkey-EU
relations, Eastern Mediterranean and regional issues."
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/german-foreign-minister-set-to-visit-turkey/1951320
--------