Kerala Holy Moments: Temple Bells Rang Midway Through The Azan, Creating An Unbelievable Ambience And A Model Of The Communal Harmony
New Age Islam News Bureau
12 April 2023
Imam VP Suhaib Maulavi breaks the fast along with
state public works minister PA Mohammed Riyas (in check shirt) and Satheesan
(to the right of the minister)
Sourced by the Telegraph
-----------
• Israel Bans Visits Of Jews To Temple Mount In Last
10 Days Of Ramadan
• Sudan Fatwa CallForThe Assassination Of UN Head In
Sudan; United Nations Expresses Concern
• Man Places Fake QR Codes at Jakarta Mosques to Steal
Donation
• British Pakistanis Demand Apology From Braverman
Over ‘Racist’ Comments
India
• Centre's Reply Sought On Request To Allow Ramzan
Prayers At Mughal Mosque
• 'Illegal extension' of mosque at Delhi's Bengali
Market taken down
• India's birth control measures resonate among
Muslims people, priests play a role
• How Radio Ceylon Decided to Use a Language That Was
Neither Hindu Nor Muslim
• RSS Claims Letter Circulating On Social Media
Exhorting Hindus To Entrap Muslim Girls As 'Fake'
• The Roots And Evolution Of The Myth Of 'Love Jihad'
In Kerala
• Caring, Sharing in Ramadan: ‘Sehri’, ‘Iftar’ for
fasting Muslims in hospitals
• Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah case: Hindu
petitioners object to court’s stay on mosque survey, next hearing on Apr 17
--------
Mideast
• Iranian Defence Ministry: Israel's Collapse to
Happen Soon
• Iranian Speaker Urges Islamic Parliaments to Ban
Normalizing Relations with Israel
• Official: Over 8,000 Cyberattacks Thwarted in One
Year
• Economy Minister: Joint Commerce Chamber with Saudi
Arabia on Iran's Agenda
• Israeli soldiers kill two Palestinian gunmen near
settlement in occupied West Bank
• Iran frees prominent human rights lawyer from jail
• Yemen’s factions ‘ready’ to exchange hundreds of
prisoners on Thursday
--------
Africa
• Tunisian players illegally emigrate to Europe
• Jordanian King discusses economic ties with Japan ministers
• UN chief calls for 'massive international support'
for drought-stricken Somalia
--------
Southeast Asia
• Singapore Supermarket Apologises For Stopping Indian
Muslim Couple From Tasting Free Ramzan Snacks
• MYSaveFood Ramadan: Over 18 tonnes of food, drink
saved, distributed to needy nationwide, says Fuziah
• Home Ministry seizes unapproved Quran copies worth
RM250,000 since start of Ramadan
• VP plans to perform Eid prayers at Jakarta's
Istiqlal Mosque
--------
Europe
• Azerbaijan, Bosnia Herzegovina eye widening
cooperation
--------
Arab World
• Egypt Calls For Comprehensive Approach To Defeat
Terrorism, Extremism at an OIC Meeting
• GCC to discuss Syria return to Arab League in light
of Saudi-Iran detente
• Saudi Cabinet reviews developments on agreement to
resume relations with Iran
• Ansarullah says ‘optimistic’ about Oman’s mediation
in Yemen-Saudi peace talks
• Islamic State kills three truffle hunters in Syria
• Cabinet follows up on quality of services offered to
pilgrims during Ramadan
• Qatar releases 17 Iranians detained for entering
Qatari waters: Iran envoy
• How Saudi Arabia has ramped up domestic and
international charity during Ramadan
• US Syria looting: Occupation forces smuggle dozens
of tankers of stolen oil into Iraq
--------
Pakistan
• Lahore-Bound Train Narrowly Escapes Bomb Blast; It
Failed To Detonate
• IMF slashes Pakistan’s growth outlook to 0.5pc
• ECP blames ‘reluctant’ govt for lack of funding for
polls
• Judge responds to uproar over speech at convention
• Low quality, uncompetitive prices mar govt’s Ramazan
Bachat bazaars in Karachi
• 4 policemen dead in gun battle with terrorists
during Quetta operation
• Fire breaks out in factory in Karachi’s Gabol Town
--------
South Asia
• Rights Activists Urge UN to Pressure Taliban on
Women’s Rights
• UN Asks Afghan Staff To Stay Home Until May After
Female Worker Ban
• TTP Still Using Afghan Soil for Attacks in Pakistan:
Khawaja Asif
• Chinese FM to Attend 4th Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
Among Afghan Neighbours in Uzbekistan
• Prominent Anti-Taliban Commander Killed in
Afghanistan’s Parwan
--------
North America
• Sanctions on Iran failed to achieve objectives,
harming civilians: US think tank
• Biden aide, Saudi prince see 'progress' toward Yemen
war end
• US says 'no indication' Egypt is providing weaponry
to Russia
• US, Bangladesh eye joint efforts to deal with
climate crisis
• Muslim group CAIR received 5,156 complaints in 2022,
a 23% drop: Report
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
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Kerala Holy Moments: Temple Bells Rang Midway Through
The Azan, Creating An Unbelievable Ambience And A Model Of The Communal Harmony
K.M.
Rakesh | Bangalore
12.04.23
Imam VP Suhaib Maulavi breaks the fast along with
state public works minister PA Mohammed Riyas (in check shirt) and Satheesan
(to the right of the minister)
Sourced by the Telegraph
--------------
The azan blending with the peals of temple bells is
not uncommon in Kerala where religious places of different communities coexist
in close proximity.
It was the azan and temple bells sounding from the
same venue that made the Santhigiri Ashram in Kozhikode stand out on Sunday.
This rare confluence of sounds — which to many people
has taken on a meaning beyond its immediate circumstances, given the prevailing
atmosphere in the country — happened while the ashram was dedicating to the
country a newly built block, VishwajnanaMandiram.
Among those seated on the dais were interfaith leaders
and senior politicians, such as Congress leader V.D. Satheesan, the imam of the
Palayam mosque in Thiruvananthapuram, V.P. SuhaibMaulavi, and state public
works minister P.A. Mohammed Riyas.
When Satheesan,
the leader of the Opposition in Kerala, was about to address the
audience, he realised that for some of the guests, it was time for their
evening prayers. Satheesan said he would start his presidential address after
the imam and the others had broken their fast.
Then a person took the mike and gave the call to
prayers. Footage from a video Satheesan uploaded later suggested that many in
the audience stood up in respect while the call to the prayers was being
sounded.
“The evening session of the daylong event was into its
40th minute when it was time for the azan to break the Ramazan fast,” Swami
Gururethnam Jnana Thapaswi, head of the ashram, told The Telegraph on Tuesday.
“I saw Mohammed (a Malappuram-based leader of the Indian Union Muslim League)
walk to the mike and sound the azan,” he added.
The monk said: “The bells of our temple too started
ringing shortly afterwards since it was time for our daily evening Aaraadhana,
making it a unique moment and a memorable symbol of communal harmony.”
Gururethnam stressed that it was “neither planned nor
scripted”, incidentally underscoring a natural and unassuming syncretism that
allowed a Muslim to rise and sound the azan at a religious event in a Hindu
ashram without a second thought.
“It was a pleasant coincidence that ended up being a
mark of brotherhood and interfaith camaraderie,” said Gururethnam, renowned for
making pithy and thought-provoking statements.
Some of his previous observations that have gained
traction on social media are:
■ Shoes meant for our feet are kept in air-conditioned
showrooms. The vegetables and fish that we consume are on the footpath,
gathering dust.
■ At restaurants, we are willing to wait for long after
placing the order. But what do we do at our home?
■ One kilo rice costs Rs 60. Sim cards? They are free
Satheesan told this newspaper: “I had never seen
anything like this. The temple bells rang midway through the azan, creating an
unbelievable ambience and a model of the communal harmony that our state has
exemplified for years.”
He too underlined that “the beauty of it was that the
whole thing happened spontaneously, without any planning”.
“There were sanyasis in their saffron attire and
Muslim men sporting beards and their religious caps. I got very emotional,” the
politician said.
The imam said the incident held “huge relevance” for
Indian society.
“While this is nothing new for Kerala where communal
harmony exists in normal life, this is an example for our country and the whole
of humankind,” he told this newspaper.
“This gesture gives all Muslims confidence that even a
sacred place for Hindus like an ashram is open to allowing us space and food to
break our fast, just like we do at our mosques and homes.”
The ashram provided food and water to the handful of
Muslims present so they could break their fast before the programme resumed.
“We quickly arranged for some dates, dry fruits and
snacks and brought them to the venue to help our brothers break their fast,”
Gururethnam said.
Satheesan said the incident was an “appropriate
answer” to those trying to divide people on the basis of caste and religion.
“This is a reply to those like Karnataka
ministerMunirathna who recently said that Christians should be beaten up and
chased away, and those behind the campaign against selling houses to Muslims in
Delhi,” he said.
Karnataka horticulture minister and BJP lawmaker
Munirathna was last week booked for hate speech after his comments on
Christians. Posters have come up in Brahmapuri, Shahdara, in Delhi urging
people not to sell properties to Muslims.
Source:TelegraphIndia
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/holy-moments-can-be-marked-like-this-too/cid/1929092
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Israel bans visits of Jews to Temple Mount in last 10
days of Ramadan
Rina Bassist
April 11, 2023
Israeli security forces escort Jewish visitors at the
Temple Mount in Jerusalem on April 9, 2023, during the Muslim holy fasting
month of Ramadan, also coinciding with the Jewish Passover holiday. (AHMAD
GHARABLI / AFP)
-----------
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided on Tuesday
to ban Jews from visiting the Temple Mount until the conclusion of the Muslim
holy month of Ramadan as a way to contain the ongoing escalation at Al-Aqsa
mosque following last week's clashes.
Beginning on Wednesday, Jews will be prevented from
ascending the Temple Mount for the last 10 days of Ramadan, considered the most
holy month in Islam. During this period, Muslim worshipers traditionally spend
the night at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Netanyahu’s decision was taken following a
recommendation to ban Jews during this period by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant,
Police Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Shin
Bet director Ronen Bar. Only far-right National Security Minister Itamar
Ben-Gvir objected.
Israeli authorities reported that 748 Jews had visited
the site on Tuesday. In total, 3,013 Jews visited the mount during the Passover
week, a 32% increase compared to the same period last year.
Netanyahu’s decision comes amid growing tensions in
Jerusalem’s Old City after two incidents where Israeli police raided Al-Aqsa mosque,
the third holiest site in Islam, claiming that worshipers barricaded themselves
at the Haram al-Sharif compound.
The first incident took place last Wednesday, on the
eve of Passover, with police using stun grenades inside Al-Aqsa. Police claimed
that the people barricaded had amassed firecrackers and stones in order to hurt
Jewish visitors. The crackdown generated angry reactions from across the Arab
world, the European Union and France. Hundreds of Palestinians were detained
following the clashes, with most released shortly after. Fifteen Palestinians
were charged Tuesday for breaking public order.
On Friday morning, Israeli police dispersed the
worshippers without using force. Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians
also increased last week over two deadly terror attacks, resulting in three
Israeli women killed in the Jordan valley and one Italian tourist killed in Tel
Aviv.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired rockets from the Gaza
Strip at Israel over the weekend, as did Hamas factions in Lebanon. No rockets
were fired on Sunday and Monday. Still, despite the relative calm, the
government took its time deciding to prevent visits of Jews for the last day of
Passover (Wednesday) and following days, announcing the decision only in the
evening.
After Netanyahu’s announcement, Ben-Gvir said,
"The decision of the prime minister to close Temple Mount for Jews because
of the terror wave is a serious error which will not bring calm, but on the
contrary escalate the situation."
In contrast, Israel’s Chief rabbi Isaac Joseph praised
the decision, noting that Jewish tradition prohibits the ascension of Jews to
the site in any case, and that provocation should absolutely be avoided.
Source:AlMonito
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original story:
--------
Sudan Fatwa Call For The Assassination Of UN Head In
Sudan; United Nations Expresses Concern
April 12, 2023
By Khalid Abdelaziz and NafisaEltahir
FILE PHOTO-A protester carries a flag during a rally
marking the anniversary of the April uprising, in Khartoum, Sudan April 6,
2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah
-------------
KHARTOUM, April 11 (Reuters) - The United Nations
expressed concern on Tuesday about a request for a fatwa seeking the
assassination of its head in Sudan, as loyalists of ousted leader Omar
al-Bashir stepped up opposition to a draft deal for a new civilian government.
In a video on social media, a man calling himself only
Abdelmoneim is seen speaking to a gathering in Khartoum that included
pro-Bashir politicians seeking inclusion in the deal.
"I volunteer to assassinate Volker, and I request
a fatwa (religious legal opinion) to make his blood permissible," the man
said, referring to U.N. envoy Volker Perthes.
Government sources said an investigation had been
opened.
"The language of incitement and violence will
only deepen divisions on the ground, but it will not deter the mission from
carrying out its duties," the U.N. office in Sudan said in a statement.
The U.N.-backed draft agreement could sideline Bashir
veterans who regained a foothold following a coup in October 2021, but a final
agreement has been delayed by internal disputes over plans for restructuring
the military.
TURBULENCE
Military generals toppled Bashir on April 11, 2019
after months of protests. They shared power with civilians for just over two
years before staging a coup, triggering more mass demonstrations.
Pro-democracy politicians have promised a new
crackdown on Bashir's dissolved National Congress Party under a new political
transition.
Bashir's Islamist rule saw long periods of
international isolation and civil conflicts.
Bashir loyalists, who have a presence in the military,
oppose the U.N. mission and its leadership.
"We've intensified our public action recently to
protect national sovereignty from foreign interference," an NCP leader
told Reuters, asking not to be named.
Late on Monday, groups sympathetic to the Bashir
government attacked pro-democracy protesters in Kober, a neighbourhood where
Bashir once resided, according to social media footage and a statement by local
activists.
The incident was also close to Kober prison, where
Bashir awaits trial over the 1989 coup that brought him to power where his
lengthy autocratic rule saw protester deaths and alleged war crimes in Darfur.
Calling for his release, some of those present
chanted: "Onwards, Bashir, and "We are with you, lion."
Source:Reuters
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original story:
--------
Man Places Fake QR Codes at Jakarta Mosques to Steal
Donation
April 11, 2023
A man caught on CCTV placing a fake QR code sticker on
top of a donation box at a mosque in Jakarta on April 6, 2023. (B1 Screenshot)
------------
Jakarta. Ramadan is the month of giving, and a man was
recently caught on camera placing fake QR code stickers on charity boxes
belonging to several mosques in Jakarta.
A video showing a bespectacled man in blue pulling the
switcheroo at the Nurul Iman Mosque in Blok M Square Mall has gone viral on
social media. The perpetrator did the same at the Nurullah Mosque in Kalibata
City, Pancoran. If scanned, the QR code would link the user to transfer money
to Restorasi Masjid (‘Mosque Restorations’).
According to the Nurul Iman Mosque committee member
Habibi Katin, the unknown man committed his crime at around 10.30 a.m. on April
6 before the mosque opened. He had placed the fake QR codes on the mosque's
walls and pillars. The mosque immediately removed the stickers.
“We noticed something was up. Usually, these charity
boxes do not have QRIS [Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard] stickers,
especially on the outside part of the box. And now we have an unidentified
sticker,” Habibi said on Monday, as quoted by Beritasatu.com.
The police suspected that some people had fallen for
the scam. The case, including the total losses, is still under investigation.
But the Jakarta Police recently revealed that they have identified the culprit.
The police did not elaborate if it was the same man.
“We have identified him,” the Jakarta Metropolitan
Police spokesperson Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko said on Tuesday.
Previous media reports revealed that the Restorasi
Masjid QR stickers had been found in other locations, including Istiqlal
Mosque, which is known to be Southeast Asia’s largest mosque. CNN reported that
an Istiqlal Mosque caretaker had found 50 stickers.
Kompas also wrote that the Al-Azhar Great Mosque in
KebayoranBaru had discovered the fake QR code stickers on 12 charity boxes with
one victim admitting to having already sent the money. In the meantime, the
Al-Azhar mosque will stick to conventional donation boxes.
According to news outlet Liputan6, Bank Indonesia has
blocked Restorasi Masjid’s QRIS. The central bank suspected that the
perpetrator had previously applied for a QRIS code as Restorasi Masjid. But he
did not register Restorasi Masjid as a place of worship but as a regular
merchant. To sign up as a place of worship merchant, the applicant must submit
an additional document for verification. The place of worship status will grant
a 0 percent merchant discount rate.
Source: Jakarta Globe
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://jakartaglobe.id/news/man-places-fake-qr-codes-at-jakarta-mosques-to-steal-donation
--------
British Pakistanis demand apology from Braverman over
‘racist’ comments
Atika Rehman
April 12, 2023
LONDON: Scores of British Pakistanis wrote letters to
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to complain about the “racist, unacceptable
and inflammatory” comments made recently by UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman
against Pakistani men.
Doctors, healthcare workers, entrepreneurs, CEOs and
founders wrote multiple letters signed by dozens of associations and
individuals to Mr Sunak, demanding an apology from Ms Braverman.
Last week, Ms Braverman came under fire after she
repeatedly spoke about “the predominance of British-Pakistani males who hold
cultural values totally at odds with British values”.
In an interview to Sky News, she said that British
Pakistani men “see women in a demeaned, illegitimate way, and pursue an
outdated and frankly heinous approach to the way we behave”.
The programme host also highlighted the home
secretary’s comments that “vulnerable white girls are being targeted by British
Pakistani grooming gangs”, and people have been “turning a blind eye out of
political correctness”.
Her comments triggered intense criticism on social
media, where both Pakistani origin and non-Pakistani commentators called her
out for discrimination and politicising a serious issue.
A letter signed by medical professionals read: “It is
unacceptable for the home secretary to use inflammatory and divisive rhetoric
that is sensationalist and contradicts her own department’s evidence.
Critically, it enables these heinous crimes to continue by focusing on
political exhibitionism instead of implementing impactful action that is
evidence-based and requires a whole system response rather than singling out
one particular ethnic group.”
The signatories also included medical professionals
registered with various associations.
British Pakistan Foundation also penned an open letter
to the prime minister. “We are writing to you to share our deep concern and
disappointment at the home secretary’s recent comments and for you not speaking
out against them. These comments singled out only the involvement of British
Pakistani males in so-called ‘grooming gangs’ and ‘holding cultural values
totally at odds with British values’,” it said.
Muslim associations also joined the criticism against
Ms Braverman, penning a letter to 10 Downing Street in which the home
secretary’s words were criticised.
“These remarks and others were made by the home
secretary without caveats and were not limited to those convicted of Child
Sexual Exploitation (CSE) but instead stereotyped and targeted an entire
community,” the Muslim associations said, drawing attention to hate-crimes that
have taken place against Muslims in the past.
“Hate crime in the UK is on the rise with recent
high-profile attacks in Dover and Knowsley following shortly after incendiary
language from Ministers. In the past, unfounded rhetoric has had real world
consequences.
In 2019, a far-right terrorist in Christchurch, New
Zealand, wrote ‘for Rotherham’ on his ammunition before opening fire at a
mosque killing 51 people. In 2020, false rumours about ‘grooming’ in Barrow led
to far-right harassment of Asians in the town. The home secretary’s comment
encourages the likelihood of such further attacks.“
British politician and lawyer Baroness Sayeeda Warsi
said Ms Braverman is resorting to a “lazy narrative” about British Pakistani
men to stoke division and win votes.
According to a BBC report, the Home Office clarified
that she was talking about three of the most notorious grooming gang cases,
from Rochdale, Rotherham and Telford. But many pointed out that the damage had
been done.
“Two days in from Braverman’s comments the racists are
out. Feels like post 9/11 and 7/7. British Pakistanis such as me will be
required to defend and explain heinous crimes. We never ask that of the
majority of the population regards most cases of sexual abuse. We need allies,”
writer and presenter Adil Ray said on Twitter.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1747224
--------
India
Centre's Reply Sought On Request To Allow Ramzan Prayers
At Mughal Mosque
April 12, 2023
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed
the central government and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to file
response on a plea seeking direction, to allow prayers during Ramzan at Mughal
Mosque situated in Qutub Complex.
Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri sought a response from the
respondents and listed the matter on April 27.
Initially, the court was listing the matter in May,
and counsel for the petitioner said the prayer would be infructuous as the
month of Ramzan is ending on April 22 or 23.
Thereafter the court listed the matter on April 27.
The bench issued notice on the application moved by
the Managing Committee of Delhi waqf board seeking early disposal of a petition
challenging the alleged stopping of prayers in the mosque in May 2022. The main
petition is listed before the bench on August 21.
The applicant has also prayed to allow prayers in the
mosque during Ramzan.
The application for early disposal has been moved by
advocate Sufian Siddiqui in view of the recent order of the Supreme Court for
early disposal of the matter.
Earlier, the Centre had said that the Mughal mosque in
the Qutub complex is a protected monument.
Advocate M. Sufian Siddiqui objected to the
submissions made by the counsel for the central government. He said that Mughal
Mosque is not covered under the notification. The namaz never stop there. He
requested an early date as the mosque closed on May 13, 2022.
This matter pertains to a Mosque situated within the
'Qutub Complex'. However, it is outside the 'Qutab Enclosure'.
The name of the mosque is 'Mughal Mosque', and it is
not the contentious 'Quwattul Islam Mosque'. The petition stated that it is a
duly Gazette Notified Waqf property vide Notification of 16 April 1970, and
there is a duly appointed Imam and Moazin.
Advocate M Sufian Siddiqui representing the petitioner
had submitted before the Court that Namaz was regularly performed at the said
mosque and has never been closed for worship.
He had submitted that the officials of ASI in an
absolutely unlawful, arbitrary and precipitous manner completely stopped the
Namaz on May 13, 2022, without serving any 'Notice or Order' etc.
Source: NDTV
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of the original story:
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'Illegal extension' of mosque at Delhi's Bengali
Market taken down
Apr 12, 2023
NEW DELHI: A portion of a mosque in Bengali Market,
which was allegedly extended illegally, was demolished on the direction of Land
and Development Office (L&DO) on Tuesday amid heavy police presence. The
mosque authorities, however, claimed that due process was not followed in
carrying out the exercise.
Matloob Karim Hafiz, general secretary of the madrassa
being run from inside the mosque in New Delhi, said the action was carried out
at 6.30am without serving any prior notice to them. "I got a call from the
mosque early in the morning about a huge police force and civic body officials
reaching the site to demolish a portion of the premises. They came with
bulldozers and demolished the walls of the main hall and rooms."
An official of L&DO, who was present at the site,
said the action was based on complaints received by the Supreme Court
monitoring committee. Only the illegal extension portion, on the land next to
the mosque, had been touched, he added. "L&DO has the responsibility
of protecting and reclaiming its land," the official pointed out. A New
Delhi Municipal Council official said NDMC was the executing agency of the
drive on L&DO's instructions.
According to various reports, the mosque is around 250
years old. Over 120 children, mostly underprivileged, study and live at the
madrassa, Hafiz said. "They are also given food and many live here
permanently. Now that their rooms have been demolished, where will they go,"
he asked. Idris Khan, treasurer at the mosque, said a court hearing had been
pending on the matter. He added that even beds had been destroyed during the
drive.
Source: Times Of India
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India's birth control measures resonate among Muslims
people, priests play a role
April 12, 2023
Syed Mohammed Talha says he is proud that his
seven-year-old daughter attends a prestigious Montessori school in New Delhi.
The school is expensive, with annual fees at
₹2,55,000, but the Muslim businessman says he is happy he can afford it.
"If I had a second child I couldn’t have afforded
to send them both to this school," said Talha, 42, who lives in Noida, a
satellite city adjoining New Delhi.
"Having just one child allows us to be focused on
her, give her a good education, lots of facilities, there are many
benefits."
Mr. Talha's pleasure in having a small family
underlines a growing trend among India's minority Muslims, long known for large
families with the highest population growth rate across India's religious
communities.
With India set to overtake China and become the
world’s most populous nation this month, the shrinking of its Muslim families
underlines the success of its decades-old population control programmes and
signals demographic stability, experts said.
Reuters spoke to six Muslim men and women as well as
seven community leaders, population experts and Islamic scholars. All agreed
there was a marked increase in awareness among Indian Muslims about birth
control and family planning.
Muslims are India's second largest religious community
and accounted for 14.2% of the 1.2 billion population, according to the once in
10 years census in 2011. The majority Hindus accounted for 79.8%.
The 2021 census has been delayed but the United
Nations has projected India's population will touch 1.42 billion this month.
The country's Muslim population is the world's third-largest after Indonesia
and Pakistan
The trend of smaller Muslim families has become
visible in the last 15 years, with the National Family Health Survey showing a
fall in the Muslim fertility rate – the average number of children a woman has
– to 2.4 in 2019-21 from 2.6 in 2015-16 and 3.4 in 2005-06.
Although at 2.4 it is still higher than all other
communities, the decline is also the fastest, almost halving from 4.4 in
1992-93.
Islam and birth control
In a community that is mostly conservative, some
Muslim priests, or imams, have played a large role in bringing about the
change.
"There is a misconception among Muslims that
Islam doesn’t allow the use of birth control measures," said Maulana
Khalid Rasheed, the imam of the Lucknow Eidgah in Uttar Pradesh, India's most
populous state.
"But the shariat talks of family planning,"
he said referring to Islam's sacred laws. "It is our responsibility to
clear these misconceptions. We have conducted awareness programmes, made
appeals, speeches about what shariat has said about such issues."
Experts said more needs to be done to target less
educated, poorer Muslims living outside the cities.
Government health workers in parts of the eastern
state of Bihar said they regularly meet leaders of local mosques and request
them to suggest birth control to men after Friday prayers but the results have
not been encouraging.
"Islam advocates wholesome families and it is for
people to decide how many children they want to have," said Ahmed
Daikundh, the custodian of the Al Azar mosque in Kishanganj, an impoverished
rural district in Bihar.
Although birth rates were high in the area, Mr.
Daikundh said his generation was having fewer children compared to the
previous.
"We are seven brothers and four sisters and each
of us has four or five children," he said.
Shahid Parvez, a handicrafts exporter in Moradabad
city in Uttar Pradesh and a relatively wealthy Muslim, said he was one of six
siblings. The 65-year-old said he made sure he had a small family - he has two
sons and one daughter - and that his children went to university.
His daughter Muneeza Shahid, who is a teacher in Delhi
and got married recently, is not planning to have children immediately but
finances are not the reason for that, she said.
“We want to live life for ourselves also,” she said.
Unmet need
Still, attitudes were changing among poorer Muslims
too, especially the younger generation, said Poonam Muttreja, executive
director of voluntary organisation Population Foundation of India.
"Young people are exposed to digital media and
they know how the other half lives, not the Hindus, but the better off,"
she said.
Experts say the public health system is now unable to
keep up with the demand for birth control services from people who are aware
about their usefulness, also called an unmet need.
Government data from 2019-21 indicates 11.8% of the
Muslim population had an unmet need to help space out or limit children. The
data also shows that the Muslim fertility rate of 2.4 is fast dropping toward
the Hindu rate of 1.94.
S.Y. Quraishi, the author of a book titled " The
Population Myth – Islam, Family Planning and Politics in India", said the
fall in fertility among Muslims counters frequent criticism from Hindu
nationalist politicians and their claims about a soaring Muslim population.
"The propaganda that Muslims are overtaking the
Hindus is absurd," the former top bureaucrat said.
Source: TheHindu
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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How Radio Ceylon Decided to Use a Language That Was
Neither Hindu Nor Muslim
Isabel Huacuja Alonso
Language was a key aspect of Radio Ceylon and Ameen
Sayani’s appeal. Radio Ceylon broadcasters hailed from India and, for the most
part, called the language they spoke on the airwaves Hindi.
Radio Ceylon employees, however, adhered to what I described earlier as “the
ideology of Hindustani.” They strove to
speak a language free of religious affiliations that could connect speakers
of other regional languages, without
threatening regional identities.
In so doing, they defied both the Indian and Pakistani
governments’ linguistic policies, which promoted Hindi and Urdu, respectively,
as national languages.
Radio Ceylon’s linguistic preferences were influenced
by the film industry, whose song productions the station aired. Radio Ceylon’s
decision to use Hindustani needs to be analysed in the context of this
important transmedia relationship between radio and film.
The Hindi film industry in Bombay consciously
subscribed to the ideology of Hindustani.
Madhumita Lahiri explains it well when she writes that
in post-independence India and Pakistan, “Hindustani does not persist in literary publications,
legal records, or elementary school text books, yet it can be found in one
large, populist realm: that of the Bollywood cinema.”
Hindustani also remained well and alive on the
airwaves. For the Bombay film industry, employing
Hindustani was a commercial decision as much as it was a political one. The
versatility and widespread intelligibility of Hindustani allowed the film industry to access a large
and diverse audience.
Similarly, Radio Ceylon’s use of Hindustani was a
commercial decision, but one that was ultimately successful because it
capitalised and expanded on already existing linguistic connections. By
employing a simple version of Hindustani, Radio Ceylon broadcasters were able
to reach a diverse population – spread throughout northern, eastern, and
western India as well as throughout most parts of Pakistan – that could
understand, if not necessarily always speak, Hindustani.
Again, Radio Ceylon’s timing was crucial.
It was under the British that AIR first instituted
separate Hindi and Urdu programmes and officially eliminated Hindustani
broadcasting. During B.V. Keskar’s tenure, however, AIR’s Hindi became a matter
of contentious debate. Hindi news bulletins became increasingly Sanskritised
and employed what many felt was an extremely clumsy and forced language.
In broadcasting in Hindustani and embracing the
ideology of Hindustani, Radio Ceylon directly defied AIR’s and the Indian
government’s policies. Radio Ceylon’s success, therefore, needs to be
understood in the context ofKeskar’s
reforms. Listeners welcomed Radio Ceylon’s accessible language just as they had
welcomed the stations’ Hindi film-song broadcasts. Radio Ceylon’s policies, however, also challenged the
Pakistani government’s stance that a version of Urdu, divorced from Hindi and
free of Sanskrit loan words, should be the
national language of the newly independent Pakistan.
Ameen Sayani’s linguistic history and approach to
language is most revealing.
The language Sayani spoke on the air was consciously
neither Muslim nor Hindu. For example, in Geetmala, he often used the greeting
ādāb, which can be associated with North Indian Muslims, and he unashamedly
quoted from Urdu couplets in his programmes. At the same time, Ameen Sayani was
perfectly comfortable employing words
much closer to the Hindi spectrum in his pro grams, such as the word kāryakram
(programme).
Interestingly, Ameen Sayani was not a native speaker
of Hindi, Urdu, or Hindustani. He grew up in a Gujarati-speaking Muslim
household and attended an English-language boarding school. In a number of
interviews, Sayani described his plunge into Hindi broadcasting as purely
accidental. He was still in his teens
when a senior announcer asked him to read a Hindi-language commercial because
the permanent voice artist did not arrive in time. The producer liked Sayani’s
voice and invited him to host a new Hindi programme.
Radio Ceylon’s linguistic preferences were influenced
by the film industry, whose song productions the station aired. Radio Ceylon’s
decision to use Hindustani needs to be analysed in the context of this
important transmedia relationship between radio and film.
The Hindi film industry in Bombay consciously
subscribed to the ideology of Hindustani.
Madhumita Lahiri explains it well when she writes that
in post-independence India and Pakistan, “Hindustani does not persist in literary publications,
legal records, or elementary school text books, yet it can be found in one
large, populist realm: that of the Bollywood cinema.”
Hindustani also remained well and alive on the
airwaves. For the Bombay film industry,
employing Hindustani was a commercial decision as much as it was a political
one. The versatility and widespread intelligibility of Hindustani allowed the film industry to access a large
and diverse audience.
Similarly, Radio Ceylon’s use of Hindustani was a
commercial decision, but one that was ultimately successful because it
capitalised and expanded on already existing linguistic connections. By
employing a simple version of Hindustani, Radio Ceylon broadcasters were able
to reach a diverse population – spread throughout northern, eastern, and
western India as well as throughout most parts of Pakistan – that could
understand, if not necessarily always speak, Hindustani.
Again, Radio Ceylon’s timing was crucial.
It was under the British that AIR first instituted
separate Hindi and Urdu programmes and officially eliminated Hindustani
broadcasting. During B.V. Keskar’s tenure, however, AIR’s Hindi became a matter
of contentious debate. Hindi news bulletins became increasingly Sanskritised
and employed what many felt was an extremely clumsy and forced language.
In broadcasting in Hindustani and embracing the
ideology of Hindustani, Radio Ceylon directly defied AIR’s and the Indian government’s
policies. Radio Ceylon’s success, therefore, needs to be understood in the
context ofKeskar’s reforms. Listeners
welcomed Radio Ceylon’s accessible language just as they had welcomed the
stations’ Hindi film-song broadcasts. Radio Ceylon’s policies, however, also challenged the
Pakistani government’s stance that a version of Urdu, divorced from Hindi and
free of Sanskrit loan words, should be the
national language of the newly independent Pakistan.
Ameen Sayani’s linguistic history and approach to
language is most revealing.
The language Sayani spoke on the air was consciously
neither Muslim nor Hindu. For example, in Geetmala, he often used the greeting
ādāb, which can be associated with North Indian Muslims, and he unashamedly
quoted from Urdu couplets in his programmes. At the same time, Ameen Sayani was
perfectly comfortable employing words
much closer to the Hindi spectrum in his pro grams, such as the word kāryakram
(programme).
Interestingly, Ameen Sayani was not a native speaker
of Hindi, Urdu, or Hindustani. He grew up in a Gujarati-speaking Muslim
household and attended an English-language boarding school. In a number of
interviews, Sayani described his plunge into Hindi broadcasting as purely
accidental. He was still in his teens when
a senior announcer asked him to read a Hindi-language commercial because the
permanent voice artist did not arrive in time. The producer liked Sayani’s
voice and invited him to host a new Hindi programme.
Ameen Sayani’s older brother, however, advised him
against anchoring a programme in a
language Ameen was clearly not comfortable speaking. The young Ameen
Sayani, however, was eager to prove himself as a broadcaster in his own right
and ignored his elder brother’s advice. The fact that Sayani was not a
native speaker of Hindi, however, seems
to have ultimately worked in his favour. On
the air, Sayani consciously adopted a simple manner of speech that
nonnative speakers of Hindi, including his own family members, could easily
understand.
Radio Ceylon broadcasters were able to adhere to the
ideology of Hindustani because the
station, located in Ceylon, lay outside the jurisdiction of both the Indian and
Pakistani governments and could freely ignore the linguistic policies (and
politics) of both governments, but also because radio is an aural medium. It
was much easier for broadcasters to embrace Hindustani in spoken broadcasts
than it would have been in written form because they could avoid issues of script. Also, on the airwaves, broadcasters
could deploy a more colloquial form of speech that was not nearly as marked as
the higher registers of literary Hindi and Urdu, which borrow from Sanskrit and
Arabic or Persian, respectively.
Hindi film-song programmes, which tended to be
colloquial and somewhat informal, were particularly propitious for this.
Perhaps most important, radio listeners did not necessarily need to understand
everything broadcasters said on the air
to enjoy the music and to get the gist of broadcasters’ announcements.
Radio Receivers
Timing was important in regards to another important
matter. Radio Ceylon’s birth and growth
concurred with the increasing availability of radios in the subcontinent. Following the lift of
production restrictions worldwide after the
end of World War II, and the consequential increase of radio
manufacturing around the world,
high-quality valve radio receivers became more affordable and accessible
throughout the Indian subcontinent.
It is difficult to find reliable statistics of radio
receiver ownership in the subcontinent.
The Indian and Pakistani government’s statistics are
unreliable because a large percentage of radio owners did not register their
sets to avoid yearly registration fees, just as they had done during World War
II. Nonetheless, the abundance of radio ads in newspapers and magazines as well
as the proliferation of ads for radio repair services suggest that radio
receivers became more widespread in the years following the war.
Source:TheWire
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://thewire.in/culture/radio-ceylon-ameen-sayani-hindustani-hindi-urdu
--------
RSS claims letter circulating on social media
exhorting Hindus to entrap Muslim girls as 'fake'
12th April 2023
NEW DELHI: The RSS on Tuesday termed "completely
fake" a purported letter written in its name exhorting Hindus to entrap
Muslim girls and bring them back to the Sanatan religion.
The purported letter has been circulating on social
media.
The two-page letter written on a purported letterhead
of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological fountainhead of the
ruling BJP, is marked to the Bajrang Dal and Hindu Sena among others.
Source:New Indian Express
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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The Roots And Evolution Of The Myth Of 'Love Jihad' In
Kerala
Shahina K. K.
12 APR 2023
Joisna Mary Joseph, a nurse working in Saudi Arabia
who came on leave in April last year, went missing. When her sister called her
on phone, it was found that she had gone with her boyfriend Shejin MS, a Muslim
and an active member of CPI-M. On 11th April 2022, the members of the Parish
under the Catholic Church at Kodenchery in Kozhikkode District held a protest
March to the local police station against ‘love jihad’. Though the allegations
of love jihad were very frequent in Kerala, that protest march was the first of
its kind in the state. Kerala has not witnessed such an open declaration
against love jihad on street before. Even nuns participated in the protest.
Joisna’s father Joseph alleged that she had been a
victim of love jihad. He repeated this allegation to all the television channel
reporters who went to meet him. He alleged that she was brain-washed and would
be subjected to “forced conversion”. A habeas corpus petition was filed by him
in the Kerala High Court. Joisna who appeared in the Court categorically said
that she wanted to go with Shejin and the court let her go according to her
will.
A section of the Christian leaders openly expressed
grave concern over “hundreds of girls” being the victims of love jihad. They
alleged that girls falling into the trap of love jihad undergo forced
conversion. The right-wing groups,
including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), demanded investigation and extended
all support to the Church and the family of Joisna.
One year has passed. What happened to Joisna? Did she
undergo forced conversion? Is she wearing a burqa now? Outlook checked with the
couple.
“What is this conversion debate about? One has to have
a religion to make one convert. I don’t have any,” Shejin, who is an activist
of CPI-M, is sarcastic about allegations of conversion and love jihad. Shejin
is a rationalist. He says he stopped being religious in his early adolescence.
Joisna and Shejin got married on 11th April 2022.
Nothing has changed in the life of Joisna. She went
back to work to Saudi Arabia. She is not a rationalist like her husband. She
used to follow Christian faith and continues to do the same.
“Faith is a matter of personal liberty,” says
Joisna. “No question of conversion comes
between us. Shejin is least bothered about religion. He counts everyone around
him as human being.”
The only issue is that she finds it difficult to visit
a church and participate in the prayer.
“Although there haven't been any unpleasant
situations, we expect that someone seeing her in the church would cause
trouble. We did not want to draw further attention to ourselves,” Shejin told
Outlook. When they travel, he does manage to take his wife to churches.
The wounds created by an ordinary inter-faith marriage
portrayed as love jihad would take time to heal. Joisna keeps in touch with her
parents on phone, but her parents have not yet accepted her choice of her life
partner. Do they still think that their daughter fell into the trap of love
jihad? Outlook reached out to Joseph, father of Joisna.
“Now we are not worried about forced conversion or
love jihad,” he said when it was pointed out to him that Joisna has not
converted to Islam. However, Joseph is reluctant and confused. “Is it Love
jihad? It is not, but I don’t know what else it is. We lost our daughter. She
has not returned to us still.”
The myth of love jihad that spread out across the
country had originated in Kerala and Karnataka in the second half of 2000s. In
2007, the fringe group, Hindu Janagaruti Samiti (HJS), raised the campaign
against Hindu girls being in the company Muslim youth in Karnataka. They
manhandled the young men and women sitting together in parks and other public
places and started using the term “love jihad” to refer to the “threat of Hindu
girls being taken away” by Muslim men. The phrase “Romeo Jihad” was first used
in a front-page article of the Malayalam newspaper Kerala Kaumudi in 2009 which
cited an “intelligence report” that claimed Muslim young men were carrying out
a “jihad” by seducing Hindu women.
The first incident painted as love jihad took place in
Kerala in 2009. Two Hindu girls eloped with their Muslim boyfriends who were
MBA students at a college in Pathanamthitta district. Both girls informed the
judge while they were being brought in court that they wanted to go with their
partners. Instead of recognising their will, the Court sent them home with
their parents, instructing them that they take their time and convince their
parents.
The story had an unexpected twist. The girls changed
their stand when they were produced in the court next time. They said that they
wanted to go with their parents and not with their partners. While pronouncing
an order in the bail application moved by the two Muslim men, the High Court of
Kerala ordered a probe into the alleged ‘Romeo Jihad/Love jihad movement’ which
targets non-Muslim girls. The then Director General of Police conducted a
detailed enquiry and submitted the report that love jihad was non-existing as
there was no evidence to substantiate the same. The inter-faith marriages could
not be portrayed as the proof for the existence of love jihad, said the report.
In the same year, Karnataka High Court also had issued
an order to investigate ‘love jihad’ expressing concern about the missing case
of girls in the state. The Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Karnataka
Police submitted an interim report that there was no primary evidence to
establish the allegation of love jihad.
The report said that “there was no organised attempt by any
individual/organisations to entice girls belonging to Hindu/Christian religions
to marry Muslim boys with the aim of converting them to Islam”. The Karnataka
Police has informed the court that majority of the girls reported missing
during the period of investigation were traced and found to have been eloped
with Hindu men of different caste.
Though love jihad was planted and nurtured by Hindu
right-wing groups, it was further taken forward by the Catholic Church in
Kerala. In September 2019, George
Kurian, the Vice Chairman of the Minority Commission, wrote to Amit Shah,
urging for a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the practice of
love jihad. He raised this demand by quoting a report by the Kerala Catholic
Bishop Council that claimed that 4,000 incidents of llove jihad had happened
between a period 2005-12. An organisation called Christian Association and
Alliance for Social Action (CASA) that takes overtly communal stands constantly
came up with campaigns against alleged incidents of Love jihad in the social
media. The Facebook page of CASA is often flooded with apparently communal
messages targeting Muslims.
However, there are dissenting voices from within the
community itself. The priests belonging to Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese often
talk against such campaigns. Sathyadeepam, a weekly published by this
Archdiocese, has come up with articles and editorials arguing that love jihad
is nothing but a myth created by the Sangh Parivar with the intention to create
communal divide.
In the absence of a social support system, the
inter-faith couples who are the victims of love jihad campaign often choose to
remain as invisible as possible. Very few like Shejin and Joisna keep their
social lives as active as it used to be — for Shejin is also a political
activist. His social life is not diminished as he being a member of CPI-M and
has a large social circle of the Left-Liberal people around him.
No one can forget Hadiya, the girl who created a storm
in 2017, for her voluntary conversion to Islam and the controversial marriage
thereafter. Hadiya, a BHMS student first shot into fame in May 2017 when the
High Court of Kerala issued an order sending Hadiya with her father Ashokan
against her will. Hadiya’s case was not that of a typical case of falling in
love, eloping, and later converting. She converted first. She had to leave home
because she was attracted to Islam and converted by choice. She married Shefin
Jahan during the pendency of the writ petition filed by her father. According
to Shefin, both of them found each other through a matrimonial website. The
Supreme Court later annulled the High Court’s order and set Hadiya free.
The NIA also submitted the report that no evidence for
love jihad was found and it was only a case of voluntary conversion and
consensual marriage.
Eventually Hadiya has vanished from public memory. She
is visible neither in social media nor in the public life in Kerala. What
happened to Hadiya and her father Ashokan? Outlook reached out to both. Ashokan
has become an active worker of BJP. He told Outlook that he was a sympathiser
earlier as well. Though the entire social sphere of Kerala was divided over the
issue and fought a fierce battle taking sides either with Hadiya or with
Ashokan, the father and daughter are not cut off from each other. As years
passed by, both of them slowly reconciled. They keep talking to each other.
“She calls us every day and talks to her mother,”
Ashokan tells Outlook.
Was it a case of Love jihad? Ashokan does not think it
is.
Source:OutlookIndia
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of the original story:
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Caring, Sharing in Ramadan: ‘Sehri’, ‘Iftar’ for
fasting Muslims in hospitals
11th April 2023
By Ejaz Kaiser
RAIPUR: During the ongoing sacred month of Ramadan,
when Muslims engage in observing fast, a former well-known hockey player
devotes his time with his small team of youths to reach out to those who keep
fast staying in hospitals while enduring challenging or difficult situations and
provide them with Sehri (before sunrise meal) and Iftar (after sunset food)
daily.
Nauman Akram's Raipur-based welfare group believes
that a large segment of the Muslim population may not be blessed with enough
foodstuffs and provisions since they usually have little except to work hard to
make ends meet during Ramadan month.
Akram, also a former national hockey umpire, has
chosen hospitals and passengers terminals to extend the help by offering food,
water/juices as a moral responsibility to the fasting people who are away from
their homes and essentially need the support that brings them some solace
during the pious month.
“We visit big hospitals like Raipur AIIMS, Dr Bhimrao
Ambedkar hospitals among others to distribute small food bags among the
patients and their fasting families. We also interact with Muslim travellers.
The food packets are prepared by us daily. The distressed relatives of patients
or the travellers in buses or elsewhere are already in demanding situations.
So, any small support raises their morale and brings them some comfort”, he
said. Hospitals usually do not have a good canteen or available food choices.
Akram also solicits assistance from various Muslim
groups through social media to lend a helping hand for his noble task. “Sehri
particularly remains much in demand as finding the food post-midnight is really
a major problem for the fasting people in hospitals or any passenger. So we
prepare and distribute it by 3 am”, he added.
The menu of Sehri usually comprised chapatis, egg
curry or bhurji, biryani and fruits. Similarly, iftar food contains dates,
fruits, samosa, baked items, juices among others.
Source:New Indian Expres
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of the original story:
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Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah case: Hindu
petitioners object to court’s stay on mosque survey, next hearing on Apr 17
By Hemendra Chaturvedi
Apr 11, 2023
AGRA During the hearing of the Krishna Janmabhoomi
case on Tuesday, Hindu petitioners filed their objections to the court stay
order on the survey of the Shahi Eidgah Mosque. Now, the Muslim side will have
to file their reply to the objections. Civil judge (fast track court) has fixed
April 17 as the next hearing of the case.
Earlier, on April 5, the court of civil judge senior
division (fast track) had overturned its previous order and stayed the survey
of the Shahi Eidgah Mosque premises in Mathura. The stay order came after the
Sunni Central Waqf Board filed its objection in the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi
case.
“During the hearing that took place on Tuesday, Hindu
petitioners filed objections to the stay granted by the court. The petitioners
believe that the court was right in ordering the court ameen (staff) to conduct
a survey,” said Shailesh Dubey, the counsel for Hindu Sena.
On the other hand, Tanveer Ahmed, the secretary and
counsel for Shahi Eidgah Mosque Management Committee in Mathura, said, “There
is no need for survey by court ameen when we have already challenged the
maintainability of case filed by Hindu petitioners on Sri Krishna Janambhoomi
issue,”
Last year, another court, during the hearing of the
case filed by Hindu Sena office bearers, had ordered for the survey of premises
of the Shahi Eidgah Mosque. The survey was to be conducted by the court ameen,
who was asked to visit Shahi Eidgah premises and prepare a report.
However, the order to conduct a survey was objected by
the management committees of the Shahi Eidgah Mosque and Uttar Pradesh Sunni
Central Waqf Board. “They were pressing for the hearing of the application
which challenges the maintainability of the case,” said Neeraj Sharma, the
counsel for Shahi Eidgah Mosque Management Committee.
To recall, a case pertaining to the Sri Krishna
Janmabhoomi case was filed in December by office bearers of Hindu Sena on
behalf of Bhagwan Bal Krishna Thakur Keshav Dev Maharaj (Lord Krishna). On
December 8, 2022, the additional civil judge (senior division) ordered the
survey of the mosque by the court ameen (court staffer).
Source: Hindustan Times
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Mideast
Iranian Defence Ministry: Israel's Collapse to Happen
Soon
2023-April-11
The ministry’s Ideological and Political Organization
made the remarks in a Monday statement issued to condemn the Tel Aviv regime’s
recent acts of desecration and raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and beating
of Palestinian worshipers at the holy site.
“The recent crimes committed by the fake and temporary
Zionist regime through desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque … are the sign of this
regime’s endless fear and frustration that result from the increasing power of
Islam, Muslims and the faithful,” the statement said.
“Such measures represent the regime's futile and
repetitive effort and its threadbare plan to get rid of its profound internal
crises. They are also aimed at deceiving and diverting the public opinion … and
covering up inefficiency and corruption of the criminal politicians and
officials of this regime,” it added.
“The world will soon witness the collapse of the
flimsy power of this shaky regime, because [it’s like a spider web in strength
and] there is no structure weaker than a spider’s web," the statement
read.
The statement also called on thinkers, elites, artists
and all influential people in addition to nations and governments to condemn
Israel's measures and prevent the repetition of the regime's crimes and evil
acts.
Israeli troops stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied
East Jerusalem on successive days last week, firing tear gas and stun grenades
and preventing Palestinian worshippers from entering the mosque for dawn
prayers. Israeli troops also beat worshipers with batons and riot guns,
wounding many, before arresting hundreds.
Several Muslim countries and organizations have
strongly condemned the latest aggression, calling on international bodies to
stop Israeli crimes and protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
In response to the Israeli aggression, dozens of
rockets were fired towards the occupied territories from Southern Lebanon on
Thursday, with the Zionist regime targeting the Gaza Strip and Lebanon on
Friday.
Source: Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14020122000112/Iranian-Defense-Minisry-Israel's-Cllapse-Happen-Sn
--------
Iranian Speaker Urges Islamic Parliaments to Ban
Normalizing Relations with Israel
2023-April-11
Qalibaf made the remark while addressing a virtual
meeting of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States (PUIC)’s Palestine
Committee on Monday, which was attended by a number of parliament speakers from
various Muslim countries.
“The measures taken by the Zionist regime’s forces
against the Palestinian nation, including its crimes … especially in the cities
of Jenin and Nablus, in addition to [Israel’s] effort to suppress Palestinians
in the occupied al-Quds and change its demography reveal the fascist and
apartheid nature of the regime’s policies,” he said.
Qalibaf noted that while the Zionist regime is
grappling with its problems, “it is trying to cover up its own internal
weaknesses and differences by continuing crimes against Palestinians,
[including] massacre, genocide, storming the holy sites and setting them on
fire.”
The senior lawmaker once again reiterated Iran's
principled policy of supporting the Palestinian cause, adding that parliaments
of Muslim states must play a role in setting the direction of Muslim
governments' policies with regard to Palestine.
"The Zionist regime's criminal leaders are trying
to dissuade the young Palestinian generation from reclaiming its occupied lands
and returning to its fatherland, and intend to uproot the culture of resistance
among the young Palestinian generation," the top parliamentarian
continued.
Qalibaf stated that the Iranian Parliament regards
resistance as the sole way to counter the Zionists' expansionism, but at the
same time, officially proposes a national referendum, which is a political and
democratic plan and conforms to the principles of international law.
Qalibaf stressed the need for Muslim unity in the face
of brutal acts of the Zionist regime, asking
the parliaments of the Islamic nations to ban the normalizing relations
with Tel Aviv.
Israeli troops stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied
East Jerusalem on successive days last week, firing tear gas and stun grenades
and preventing Palestinian worshippers from entering the mosque for dawn
prayers. Israeli troops also beat worshipers with batons and riot guns,
wounding many, before arresting hundreds.
Several Muslim countries and organizations have
strongly condemned the latest aggression, calling on international bodies to
stop Israeli crimes and protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
In response to the Israeli aggression, dozens of
rockets were fired towards the occupied territories from Southern Lebanon on
Thursday, with the Zionist regime targeting the Gaza Strip and Lebanon on
Friday.
Source: Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Official: Over 8,000 Cyberattacks Thwarted in One Year
2023-April-11
"As many as 8,321 important cyberattacks against
the country’s infrastructure network were repelled in the year 1401,"
MohammadzadehLajevardi announced via social media.
Back in early January, MohammadzadehLajevardi stated
that the TIC’s experts had foiled a wave of cyberattacks targeting the Central
Bank of Iran (CBI) and two domestic messaging applications – “Rubika” and
“Bale”.
“These days, the largest volume of foreign attacks is
directed at banks and financial institutions, internet providers and
communications infrastructure, which have been repelled,” he tweeted.
Iranian officials underline Tehran’s opposition to
inference in the internal affairs of the states using ICTs, and stress Tehran
has been a victim of cyberattacks by the United States and Israel.
The Ministry of Information and Communications
Technology (ICT) has reported its cyber-security division has detected and
foiled hundreds of cyberattacks every year.
Back in November 2021, Brigadier General Jalali said
that Washington has resorted to non-military hostile actions, including
cyberattacks, after it found itself incapable of military confrontation against
Iran.
“The Americans have no option in the military sector
and they pursue the approach of avoiding war with us,” he underscored.
“That is why we are witnessing a new hybrid model of
war from them, in which war occurs at the level of infrastructures, some of
which rely on modern technologies that we use,” Brigadier General Jalali added.
Source: Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14020122000243/Official-Over-000-Cyberaacks-Thwared-in-One-Year
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Economy Minister: Joint Commerce Chamber with Saudi
Arabia on Iran's Agenda
2023-April-11
In his weekly conference, Khandouzi told reporters
that the Iranian Organization of Trade Development is seeking to finalize the
economic roadmap between Tehran and Riyadh.
After the resumption of relations between Iran and
Saudi Arabia, the trade development organization has set a target of one
billion dollars for the coming year, according to the official
"At the first step, the road map pursues revival
of economic relations to one-billion-dollar worth," the minister
underlined, expressing hope that the two would reach the goal as they are
determined to resume economic ties.
As the minister stated, he is to make a visit to Saudi
Arabia within the next few weeks.
"I will travel to Jeddah in late May in order to
develop economic ties with Saudi Arabia," Khandouzi continued.
The two regional heavyweights announced on March 10 a
Chinese-brokered deal to restore ties seven years after they were severed.
In mid-March, Saudi Arabia's Finance Minister Mohammed
Al-Jadaansatated that Saudi investments into Iran could happen "very
quickly" following an agreement to restore diplomatic ties.
"There are a lot of opportunities for Saudi
investments in Iran. We don't see impediments as long as the terms of any
agreement would be respected," Al-Jadaan said during the Financial Sector
Conference in Riyadh.
On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir
Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud met in
China in the first formal meeting of the two countries’ top diplomats in years.
Iranian President Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi has also
accepted an invitation from Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to visit the kingdom.
Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kana'ani said
on Monday that an Iranian technical delegation is set to visit Riyadh to make
preparations for the reopening of Iran's embassy and consulate in Saudi Arabia
following an agreement to resume relations between the two regional heavyweights.
Kana'ani told reporters that in line with a recent
deal between Tehran and Riyadh to restore diplomatic ties, a Saudi delegation
arrived in Iran on Saturday and is now pursuing the reopening of their embassy
in Tehran and their consulate in Mashhad.
Source: Fars News Agency
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Israeli soldiers kill two Palestinian gunmen near
settlement in occupied West Bank
11 April ,2023
Israeli soldiers shot dead two Palestinian gunmen who
opened fire at a military post near a Jewish settlement in the occupied West
Bank on Tuesday, Israel’s defense minister said.
“Their successful operation prevented an attack
against Israeli citizens,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement.
Earlier, the military had said its forces
“neutralized” two gunmen and found rifles and handguns at the scene.
There was no immediate comment from Palestinian
officials.
Israeli-Palestinian violence has surged this year,
with frequent military raids amid a spate of Palestinian attacks.
More than 90 Palestinians, most of them fighters in
militant groups but some of them civilians, have been killed and at least 19
Israelis and foreigners have died since January.
Tensions are running especially high as the Muslim
holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover coincide.
An Israeli police raid on the al-Aqsa Mosque compound
in Jerusalem last week triggered rocket attacks on Israel that were met with
Israeli strikes in Gaza, south Lebanon and Syria.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Iran frees prominent human rights lawyer from jail
11 April ,2023
Iranian authorities on Tuesday released from jail
prominent human rights lawyer Mostafa Nili, his attorney said, more than five
months after he was arrested during nationwide protests.
The demonstrations were triggered last year following
the mid-September death in custody of MahsaAmini, a 22-year-old ethnic Kurd arrested
for allegedly flouting Iran’s strict dress code for women.
“My client, who was sentenced to four years in jail,
was released this afternoon from the Rajaishahr prison” near Tehran, Nili’s
lawyer Zahra Minouei said in a post on Twitter on Tuesday.
Thousands of people were arrested, hundreds killed --
including members of the security forces -- and four people executed because of
the civil unrest following Amini’s death, with Iran labelling the protests as
foreign-instigated “riots.”
But in an apparent attempt to appease critics of the
government, authorities have released several dozen well-known prisoners since
early February.
Nili was set free as part of that amnesty, his lawyer
said.
A prominent lawyer, Nili has defended several cases
involving human rights, including protesters who had demonstrated against the
handling by authorities of the health crisis triggered by the coronavirus
pandemic.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Yemen’s factions ‘ready’ to exchange hundreds of
prisoners on Thursday
SAEED AL-BATATI
April 11, 2023
AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s warring parties and the
International Committee of the Red Cross have completed preparations for a
three-day prisoner exchange operation, which will commence on Thursday, a
Yemeni government negotiator told Arab News on Tuesday.
Majed Fadhail, a member of the government’s delegation
to prisoner exchange negotiations, said the ICRC had completed meeting and
verifying the names of the would-be freed prisoners and that the ICRC’s planes
will begin transferring dozens of Yemeni government prisoners on Thursday,
including former Defense Minister Mohammed Al-Subaihy and the former
president’s brother Nasser Mansour Hadi, from the Houthi-held Sanaa International
Airport to Aden. The plane would then fly back to Sanaa, carrying more than 200
Houthis, he added.
On the second and third days, ICRC aircraft will
transport detainees from Sanaa, including prisoners from the Arab coalition and
four journalists, to Yemen’s Marib, Aden, and Mokha airports, as well as Saudi
Arabia’s Abha and Riyadh airports, and would return Houthi prisoners from those
airports to Sanaa.
Last month, the Yemeni government and the Houthis
reached an agreement, mediated by the UN, in Switzerland to exchange more than
800 detainees, including four journalists on execution row and prominent
political and military figures.
Early this month, the Houthis agreed to Saudi peace
proposals to exchange all prisoners with their opponents, open roads in the
besieged city of Taiz, and stop attacking oil facilities in
government-controlled southern Yemen in exchange for lifting restrictions on
Sanaa Airport and Hodeidah‘a port, the Yemeni government sharing oil revenues
with them, and paying public employees in the area they control.
Observers in Yemen say that the Houthis, who have long
resisted peace proposals and demands to end their siege of Taiz, abruptly
reversed their position on peace efforts out of fear of losing the support of
Iranians who reconciled with Saudi Arabia.
Separately, the UN Mission to Support the Hodeidah
Agreement has recorded 17 civilian casualties in March as a result of
detonations of landmines and explosive remnants of war in various
Houthi-controlled districts in the western province of Hodeidah.
The UN observers said landmines killed eight
civilians, including a woman and a child, and injured nine others in Hodeidah’s
Al-Hali and At Tuhayta districts, representing a 21 percent increase in human
casualties in the province compared to the same month last year and a 19
percent decrease compared to February 2023.
They added that between March 2022 and March 2023, 99
Yemenis were killed and 209 were injured in landmine and other explosive
incidents in Hodeidah province.
Yemeni deminers and others from the Saudi-funded
demining program say that hundreds of Yemeni civilians had been killed and
hundreds injured in landmine explosions around the nation and that Hodeidah was
the most contaminated Yemeni province, where the Houthis had planted thousands
of landmines over the previous six years.
Yemeni Landmine Records, a group that keeps track of
civilian land mine casualties in the country, said this month that Houthi-laid
landmines and explosive remnants of war had killed at least 349 Yemenis and
injured 523 in 11 Yemeni provinces since January of last year.
Source: Arab News
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Africa
Tunisian players illegally emigrate to Europe
April 12, 2023
TUNIS: A Tunisian football club said on Tuesday it had
suspended activities after 32 of its players illegally emigrated to Europe.
“We’ve halted activities and suspended our matches,”
the fourth-division Ghardimaou club’s president Jamil Meftahi said on Tuesday,
blaming “clandestine emigration.”
Over the past three years, 32 of the club’s players
have emigrated to Europe, he said.
Tunisia is in the grip of a long, worsening economic
crisis that has pushed many of its citizens to take desperate measures in
search of better lives abroad.
The Ghardimaou players, aged between 17 and 22,
“either left by sea or went via Serbia then illegally crossed the border into
other countries,” Meftahi said.
Until November last year, Tunisians had been able to
travel to Serbia without a visa, giving thousands of people an alternative to
potentially deadly boat crossings in the Central Mediterranean, the world’s
deadliest migration route.
Those heading for the exit have disproportionately
come from marginalized areas such as Ghardimaou, an inland rural district near
the Algerian border but far from Tunisia’s coastal economic hubs.
Meftahi blamed players’ “lack of financial means” for
their departures.
“We can’t afford equipment, shirts or shoes, and the
players aren’t being paid,” he said.
Source: Arab News
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Jordanian King discusses economic ties with Japan
ministers
April 11, 2023
TOKYO: Jordan’s King Abdullah II met with Minister of
Economy, Trade, and Industry NISHIMURA Yasutoshi, Digital Transformation
Minister KONO Taro and Chairman of the Japanese-Jordanian Friendship
Association Sasaki Mikio.
According to the Petra news agency, the meetings were
also attended by Jordan’s Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II. Economic
cooperation between Jordan and Japan was discussed, while commending the
historic friendship between the two countries.
King Abdullah underscored opportunities for bolstering
cooperation in the digital economy, cybersecurity, renewable energy, tourism
and investments in public and private partnerships.
He also expressed his appreciation of Japan’s support
for Jordan in the economic and development fields.
The Japanese ministers expressed Japan’s commitment to
enhancing economic cooperation with Jordan across various fields, the Petra
news agency reported.
Source: Arab News
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UN chief calls for 'massive international support' for
drought-stricken Somalia
Mohammed Dhaysane
11.04.2023
MOGADISHU, Somalia
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday
sought “massive international support” for Somalia which is facing the worst
drought in decades.
Guterres, who paid a visit to Somalia, met Hassan
Sheikh Mohamud, president of the Horn of Africa country, at the presidential
palace in the capital Mogadishu.
Speaking to journalists at a news conference after a
visit accompanied by Mohamud, Guterres said he is in Somalia to “ring the alarm
on the need of massive international support because of the humanitarian difficulties
the country is facing.”
The UN chief said Somalia is experiencing its worst
series of five years of drought in recorded history.
Guterres added that his visit is "above all a
visit of solidarity."
"Every year, during the Ramadan I have the honor of
visiting a Muslim country and today I am happy to continue this tradition here
in Somalia and to fast with you in solidarity."
The UN head said he and the Somali president discussed
the government's valuable efforts to tackle terrorism and advance peace and
security for everyone.
Addressing the reporters with the UN chief, Mohamud
described the Guterres' visit as a "historic visit at a critical
time."
After his meeting with the president, Guterres paid a
visit to the southwestern city of Baidoa, which is the country’s drought
epicenter and hosts families who have been forced to flee due to terrorism and
drought.
"Despite having lost so much, their determination
to rebuild their lives is nothing short of inspiring. The world can no longer
neglect them nor the millions of fellow Somalis in need," he said after
his visit to Baidoa.
Guterres' visit comes as Somalia is witnessing one of
the worst and longest droughts in recent history.
More than 6.5 million people in Somalia are projected
to face crisis-level or worse food insecurity between April and June, with
223,000 people likely to face "catastrophic hunger," the UN said.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Southeast Asia
Singapore supermarket apologises for stopping Indian
Muslim couple from tasting free Ramzan snacks
11.04.23
A leading supermarket here has apologised after
stopping an Indian-origin Muslim couple from tasting its complimentary snacks
provided during Ramzan by saying that those were only for Malays, according to
a media report.
JahabarShalih, 36, and his wife Farah Nadya, 35, said
a male employee at the supermarket run by the National Trades Union Congress
(NTUC) on April 9 “shooed” them away from the snack stand when they were doing
their usual grocery shopping with their two young children, Channel News Asia
reported on Monday.
While Jahabar is Indian, his wife Farah is
Indian-Malay.
Farah had on Sunday recounted the
"distasteful" encounter in a Facebook post, which has garnered more
than 500 reactions.
Jahabar told the Channel on Monday that he had decided
to check out the ‘Iftar Bites station’ in the supermarket after his wife
alerted him to the initiative.
FairPrice Group rolled out its Iftar Bites station on
March 23, offering complimentary beverages with snacks or dates at 60 of its
outlets to Muslim customers during the month-long Ramzan period.
As part of the initiative, Muslim customers are given
refreshments, such as canned drinks, 30 minutes before and after Iftar, and the
meal taken after evening prayers during Ramzan.
These are placed on tables in the supermarkets, with a
sign to Muslim shoppers to help themselves as they break their fast.
"I walked over just to read what was on the board
because I thought it was generally a nice gesture by NTUC and it is. As I
started reading it this staff from NTUC approached me and he told me 'no India'
... and I was like 'what'?," Jahabar said.
"He said 'No India, only Malay' and I was like
'that's strange'," he was further quoted as saying in the report.
When Jahabar asked the male employee what he meant,
the man, who was not identified, only repeated that "Indians cannot
take".
Jahabar then tried to explain that Muslims could come
from the Indian community, and the staff member replied that he has received
instructions from "people at the top".
"I just walked off, pretty frustrated, I
continued shopping," he said, adding that his wife really felt that the
incident should be brought up.
The FairPrice shop said it is aware of the post on
social media, adding that it has engaged the couple "to address their
concerns" and has closed the matter "amicably".
"We take this matter seriously and would like to
apologise for the incident. We have since also counselled our employee
accordingly.
Source: TelegraphIndia
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MYSaveFood Ramadan: Over 18 tonnes of food, drink
saved, distributed to needy nationwide, says Fuziah
11 Apr 2023
IPOH, April 11 — Over 18 tonnes of food and drink at
Ramadan Bazaars were saved and distributed to the needy throughout the country
since the beginning of the holy month under the MYSaveFood Ramadan 2023
programme.
Deputy Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister
Fuziah Salleh said the programme, with the involvement of Ramadan Bazaar
traders organised by Pertubuhan Pemuda Gema Malaysia (Gema), was an initiative
to reduce food waste at bazaar locations.
“They have conducted it themselves previously but this
year they are the ministry’s strategic partner, so we want to start this effort
to sasve food,” she said at a media conference after launching the Taman
Cempaka Rahmah Ramadan Bazaar and the MYSaveFood Ramadan programme here today.
Fuziah said the initiative also contributed to the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), namely reducing half of the total food
wastage by 2030 and creating a zero-hunger world.
In a separate development, she said the ministry and
two strategic partners, Touch n Go and Boost, will continue to expand the
Retail Digitalisation Initiative (ReDI), aimed to ensure that traders are not
left behind in the national mainstream digitalisation.
“A total of 43 traders from 53 stalls at this bazaar
have adapted cashless payments, where they can provide a variety of payment
methods, including structuring their businesses with more systematic cashflow
records,” she said.
Source:MalayMail
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Home Ministry seizes unapproved Quran copies worth
RM250,000 since start of Ramadan
11 Apr 2023
KUALA TERENGGANU, April 11 — The Ministry of Home
Affairs (KDN) confiscated 4,320 copies of the Quran worth RM250,000 under Op
Mulia from the beginning of the Ramadan month until yesterday.
Its Enforcement and Control Division secretary, Nik
YusaimiYussof said the seizure involved Quran in the text and electronic forms
that were not approved by the Quran Printing Control and Licensing Board
(LPPPQ).
He said raids were carried out on business and private
premises based on the intelligence gathered and monitoring of premises and
targeted individuals.
“Op Mulia is a continuation of operations carried out
across the country involving offences under the Printing of Quran Text Act
(APTQ) 1986,” he said, adding that the division also confiscated Quran copies
from traders and individuals selling the Holy Book online.
He told this to reporters during a media conference
held at the division’s state office here, today.
According to Nik Yusaimi, investigations revealed that
Quran copies were brought into this country from the neighbouring country
following a sudden increase in demand in conjunction with the month of Ramadan.
He advised the public to look for the KDN hologram
before buying a copy, adding that using Quran copies that were not approved by
the LPPPQ is feared to confuse the public because the pronunciation, recitation
and meaning may not be accurate as the copies have not been reviewed and
verified by experts.
Source:MalayMail
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VP plans to perform Eid prayers at Jakarta's Istiqlal
Mosque
Banjarmasin (ANTARA) - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin said
he and his wife WuryMa'ruf Amin planned to perform Eid prayers at the Istiqlal
Mosque, Jakarta, on Eid 2023.
"I will celebrate Eid in Jakarta, and I will pray
at Istiqlal," the vice president stated on the sidelines of his working
visit to Banjarmasin here on Tuesday.
However, the vice president stated that he would not
hold an open house during Eid. This, he said, was also practiced by Indonesian
President Joko Widodo.
"There will be no open house. There is no open
house for now. The president also has not (held an open house)," the vice
president remarked.
During his working visit to South Kalimantan, Vice
President Amin conducted several activities, including giving lectures and
holding tarawih prayers in congregation at Al Munawwarah Grand Mosque,
Banjarbaru, on Monday night.
He also visited the Banjarbaru Public Service Mall on
Tuesday morning.
The vice president thereafter also inaugurated the
South Kalimantan Sharia Economic and Financial Regional Committee (KDEKS) and
inaugurated the 2023 South Kalimantan National Halal Fair.
Source:AntaraNews
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Europe
Azerbaijan, Bosnia Herzegovina eye widening
cooperation
Elena Teslova
11.04.2023
MOSCOW
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev discussed on
Tuesday prospects of widening cooperation with Bosnia and Herzegovina as he met
the Balkan country's Security Minister NenadNesic in the capital Baku.
Opening the meeting, Aliyev said relations between
Baku and Sarajevo are at a desired level in the political sphere, urging to
take steps to develop them in other areas as well.
The president said Nesic's visit will contribute to
further expansion of bilateral cooperation.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/azerbaijan-bosnia-herzegovina-eye-widening-cooperation/2869118
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Arab World
Egypt Calls For Comprehensive Approach To Defeat
Terrorism, Extremism at an OIC Meeting
Gobran Mohamed
April 11, 2023
CAIRO: Egypt’s foreign minister has underlined the
need to adopt a comprehensive approach to address the roots of terrorism and
extremism.
At a meeting with the member states of the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Tuesday, Sameh Shoukry explained the
Egyptian position on issues of concern to the Islamic world.
Shoukry stressed Egypt’s support for the OIC and the
role it plays in defending the interests and priorities of the Islamic world.
He said Egypt had been calling for years for more
support to develop the organization’s work mechanisms to keep pace with the
requirements of the modern era.
It is necessary for the OIC to assume its
international status and for its decisions to impact the international arena,
reflecting the interests of the peoples of the Islamic world, Shoukry added.
He called on the bloc’s member states to benefit from
the activities of the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution,
Peacekeeping, and Peacebuilding in promoting international and regional
security by boosting the capabilities of states and supporting cooperation in
the fields of conflict settlement, dialogue, negotiation, and mediation.
He pointed out the important role played by Al-Azhar
Al-Sharif and Al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Extremism in refuting terrorist
and extremist rhetoric and promoting moderate thought.
Shoukry also touched on the recent rise of
Islamophobia and discrimination against Muslims in the West on the pretext of
freedom of opinion and freedom of expression.
“Therefore, it is necessary to call for concrete and
urgent measures to be taken to combat such anti-Islamic practices, which
seriously threaten the rights of Muslim minorities in European countries and
may lead to gross violations of human rights,” he said.
Later, the discussions between Shoukry and the
ambassadors focused on the role of the OIC in supporting the Palestinian cause
and defending the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, the importance
of ensuring respect for the cultural values of Islamic societies, and the need
to preserve the solidarity of Islamic countries with each other at various
international forums.
The OIC is the second largest international
organization after the UN, with a membership of 57 states, spread over four
continents.
Source: Arab News
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GCC to discuss Syria return to Arab League in light of
Saudi-Iran detente
12 April 2023
Qatar says that the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) has sent invitations to member states to attend a meeting next Friday in
the Saudi capital, Jeddah, to discuss the possibility of Syria's return to the
Arab League.
Majid al-Ansari, the spokesperson of the Qatari
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Doha has received the invitation and
confirmed that Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammad bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani will
take part in the event.
He noted that “concerned countries” such as Egypt,
Iraq, and Jordan will also participate in the “consultative meeting”.
"The main aim is to discuss the situation in
Syria. There are many developments regarding the situation in Syria and points
of view of Arab states about the return of Syria to the Arab League,"
al-Ansari said in a briefing to local media.
For his part, a spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of
Foreign Affairs said the issue of Baghdad's participation in the meeting is
currently being studied.
According to media reports, the United Arab Emirates
is understood to support the plan. Syria was one of the six founding members of
the Arab League in 1945.
The shift in policies took place as Iran and Saudi
Arabia agreed to resume diplomatic relations severed in 2016. The recent
development indicates how the deal between Tehran and Riyadh may play into the
settlement of other crises in the Middle East region.
Earlier last week, the Iranian and Saudi foreign
ministers signed a joint statement in Beijing to restore relations and start
arrangements to reopen embassies and consulates. Riyadh and Tehran have also
agreed to improve security and economic cooperation.
Syria's membership in the Arab League was suspended
following the eruption of a foreign-backed militancy in the country in 2011.
In 2015, Syrian activists said that Saudi Arabia,
Qatar, Jordan, and Turkey supported both al-Nusra Front, which is affiliated
with al-Qaeda and the Daesh terrorist group in Syria by giving them money or
allowing Wahhabi mosques to collect money for them.
Around the same time, former US Senate candidate, Mark
Dankof said the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia had been involved in
creating the Daesh terrorist group to overthrow the legitimate Syrian
government.
Saudi Arabia closed its embassy in Damascus and
withdrew all diplomats in March 2012. Today, the two governments are “preparing
to reopen embassies after Eid al-Fitr”, which marks the end of the holy fasting
month of Ramadan, according to media reports.
Source: Press TV
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Saudi Cabinet reviews developments on agreement to
resume relations with Iran
LAMA AL-HAMAWI
April 11, 2023
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet reviewed developments
to resume relations with Iran and approved multiple memoranda of agreements in
fields including tourism, energy, agriculture on Tuesday.
At the start of the session chaired by King Salman,
the Cabinet was briefed on a phone call between Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman and the Crown Prince of Kuwait, who discussed issues of common concern
and reviewed bilateral relations.
The Cabinet issued various decisions, including the
approval of multiple MoUs with countries including China, Turkiye, Kyrgyzstan,
Costa Rica, Thailand and Congo.
Among the topics discussed was the resumption of
diplomatic relations with Iran. The Cabinet stressed the importance of
following up on the implementation of these plans to enhance mutual trust and
expand the scope of cooperation to achieve security and stability in the
region.
During the session, the Cabinet also approved an MoU
between the Kingdom’s Ministry of Energy and the National Energy Administration
in the People’s Republic of China to work together in the field of clean
hydrogen energy.
Discussions were also held to draw up an MoU between
the Kingdom’s Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and China’s
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Another MoU was approved between the two countries to
further cooperation in the field of tax administration. The agreement will
allow for closer cooperation between the Kingdom’s Zakat, Tax and Customs
Authority and China’s General Tax Authority.
The Cabinet also discussed the expansion of
cooperation with Turkiye through an MoU in the field of energy.
The ministerial meeting also witnessed the approval of
an MoU in the field of environmental protection between the Kingdom’s Ministry
of Environment, Water and Agriculture and the Ministry of Natural Resources,
Environment and Technical Supervision in Kyrgyzstan.
Other agreements included an MoU between the Kingdom’s
Ministry of Tourism and the Costa Rica Tourism Institute to cooperate in the
tourism sector.
In the field of investment, the Cabinet approved an
MoU with Thailand to further cooperation and encourage investment.
Source: Arab News
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Ansarullah says ‘optimistic’ about Oman’s mediation in
Yemen-Saudi peace talks
12 April 2023
An Ansarullah member has praised Oman for efforts to
close the gaps between the Yemeni resistance movement and Saudi Arabia, saying
Sana’a is “optimistic” about the prospects of Muscat’s role to broker peace
between the two sides to the eight-year conflict.
In posts on his Twitter account on Tuesday, Ali
al-Qhoom, a member of Ansarullah’s political bureau, said that the
Oman-mediated consultations with a Saudi delegation are going on swiftly.
“We are optimistic about the progress and success in
the efforts made by the Sultanate of Oman,” he added, appreciating the visits
by Saudi and Omani delegations to Sana’a and their engagement in constructive
talks to restore peace and good neighborliness in Yemen.
Qhoom also noted that the Sana’a government’s door is
open for peace and that its priorities include resolving humanitarian cases,
halting the Saudi-led war, lifting a siege imposed by Riyadh, ending the
foreign occupation of Yemen, releasing prisoners, and reconstructing the
war-torn country.
The Omani team is making great endeavors to establish
convergence between Sana'a and Riyadh and materialize the Yemenis’ aspiration
for an end to the aggression and blockade as well as reparations and the expulsion
of foreign mercenaries.
On Saturday, Saudi and Omani delegations arrived in
the Yemeni capital, where they started talks with Ansarullah officials to reach
a permanent ceasefire deal.
They met with the chairman of Yemen’s Supreme
Political Council, Mahdi Al-Mashat, who reiterated Ansarullah’s pursuit of an
“honorable peace” along with the Yemenis’ “freedom and independence.”
Saudi Arabia, in collaboration with its Arab allies
and with arms and logistics support from the US and other Western states, launched
the devastating war on Yemen in March 2015.
The objective was to crush Ansarullah, which has been
running state affairs in the absence of a functional government in Yemen and
reinstall the Riyadh-friendly regime of Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi.
While the Saudi-led coalition has failed to achieve
any of its objectives, the war has killed hundreds of thousands of Yemenis and
spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Source: Press TV
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Islamic State kills three truffle hunters in Syria
April 11, 2023
The Islamic State (IS) reportedly killed three truffle
hunters on Tuesday, a war watchdog said. The group continues to carry out
attacks in Syria, despite no longer holding any territory.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said
that “likely” Islamic State gunmen attacked a group of young men searching for
truffles north of Palmyra in central Syria. Three of the men were killed before
the assailants fled, according to the observatory.
Why it matters: Truffles are a type of mushroom. Many
Syrians pick truffles with the aim of selling them. The Syrian economy has been
struggling for years due to the effects of the war, government mismanagement
and US sanctions. The Syrian news outlet Enab Baladi called truffles an
“irreplaceable” income opportunity in eastern Syria due to the rising cost of
living in a February report.
Hunting for truffles carries numerous security risks,
and the Islamic State has killed civilians while they were searching for the
mushrooms a few times recently. On Feb. 17, Syrian state media reported that IS
killed 53 people hunting for truffles east of Homs in central Syria. On March
23, IS killed 15 truffle hunters in a knife attack outside of Hama, also in
central Syria, according to the observatory.
Truffle hunters also run the risk of stepping on
unexploded mines.
Know more: The Islamic State has been particularly
active in central Syria’s “Badia” desert, as well as parts of northeast Syria
controlled by the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in
the past year. IS fighters claimed credit for at least three deadly attacks
against the SDF in the region during the second half of 2022. IS also claimed
credit for killing two Syrian soldiers in northern Syria’s Resafa in December,
according to data from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Several other suspected IS attacks remain unclaimed.
Source: AlMonitor
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/04/islamic-state-kills-three-truffle-hunters-syria
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Cabinet follows up on quality of services offered to
pilgrims during Ramadan
April 11, 2023
JEDDAH — The Cabinet, chaired by Custodian of the Two
Holy Mosques King Salman on Tuesday at Al-Salam Palace here, followed up on the
quality of services offered to visitors to the Two Holy Mosques during the holy
month of Ramadan by all agencies involved.
The Cabinet inquired about the great care in serving
the pilgrims and visitors and the integrated work system aimed at further
facilitating the guests of Rahman to perform their asceticism and worship with
comfort and ease.
The Cabinet stressed that the Kingdom's advanced
position in a number of international indexes related to the areas of smart
cities, aviation security and artificial intelligence, and cited it as a
reflection of the attention and support given by the state to these sectors and
others, to enable them to continue competing globally in these fields and
global entrepreneurship.
The Cabinet was briefed on the talks held by Saudi
Arabia with several countries, including the phone call between the Crown
Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Salman and the Crown Prince of Kuwait,
during which they reviewed bilateral relations and issues of common concern.
The Cabinet also followed up on developments regarding
the agreement to resume relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and the
content of the discussions held by the two countries in Beijing, which centered
around the agreement and coordinating the necessary steps to resume diplomatic
and consular work between the two countries.
The discussions stressed the importance of activating
and pursuing the implementation of the Beijing Agreement, thus enhancing mutual
trust and expanding cooperation, and contributing to realizing security,
stability and prosperity in the region.
In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA)
following the session, Minister of Media Salman Bin Yousef Al-Dosari said that
the Cabinet commended the government's attention and care to support charity
work, promote righteousness, giving, social responsibility and solidarity among
members of the society, through its National Campaign for Charitable Work
launched by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Crown Prince with two
generous donations of SR70 million.
The Cabinet members also commended the directives of
the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, upon a recommendation by the Crown
Prince, to extend the Citizen Account Program and Temporary Additional Support
for Beneficiaries for four months, in addition to continuing registration in
the program, which is part of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Crown
Prince's endeavors to protect beneficiary households from the repercussions of
the global price hikes.
The Cabinet authorized the minister of energy to hold
talks with the Turkish sides regarding a draft memorandum of understanding for
cooperation between the governments of Saudi Arabia and Turkiye in the energy
field.
It approved a memorandum of understanding between the
ministry of energy of Saudi Arabia and the National Energy Administration of
China in the field of clean hydrogen energy.
It authorized the minister of environment, water and
agriculture to hold talks with the Chinese side regarding a draft memorandum of
understanding between the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture of
Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China in the
field of agriculture.
The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding on
environmental protection between the Ministry of Environment, Water and
Agriculture of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology and
Technical Supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic.
It approved a memorandum of understanding for
cooperation in tourism between the Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia and the
Costa Rican Tourism Institute.
The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding for
cooperation in the field of promoting direct investment between the government
of Saudi Arabia and the government of Thailand.
It approved a memorandum of understanding between
Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority of Saudi Arabia and the State Taxation
Administration of China for cooperation in the field of tax administration.
The Cabinet authorized the minister of transport and
logistic services, chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority
of Civil Aviation to sign a draft agreement between the government of Saudi
Arabia and the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the field of
air transport services.
It appointed Abdulkarim Bin Ibrahim Al-Nafeh, Eng.
Mosaed Bin Suleiman Al-Ohali, and Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al-Suwailem,
members of the Board of Directors of the Local Content and Government
Procurement Authority, as specialists and experienced members in fields related
to the Authority's work.
Source: Saudi Gazette
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Qatar releases 17 Iranians detained for entering
Qatari waters: Iran envoy
11 April ,2023
Qatar has released 17 Iranians who were arrested for
accidentally entering Qatari waters, Iran’s envoy to Doha said on Tuesday.
Iran’s ambassador to Qatar, Hamid Dehghani, wrote on
Twitter that the 17 men, along with their boats, have been released and were en
route back to Iran.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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How Saudi Arabia has ramped up domestic and
international charity during Ramadan
REBECCA ANNE PROCTOR
April 12, 2023
DUBAI: While the holy month of Ramadan is a time for
celebration and unity across the Muslim world, it is also one for reflection
and charity — particularly for those most in need. The recent SR70 million
($18.66 million) charitable donation by King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman demonstrates that the Kingdom is once again prioritizing the giving
of aid to countries in need around the world during the holy month,
particularly to nations undergoing economic crises or ravaged by war.
On April 10, King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed
launched the third National Campaign for Charitable Work, or Ehsan, with their
donation. The campaign enables and encourages people to donate through the
digital Ehsan Platform that has been developed by the Saudi Data and Artificial
Intelligence Authority.
The SDAIA platform, launched on smartphones in January
2022, has been upgraded to reach a wider spectrum of donors across various
charities online. According to a statement by SDAIA head and chairman of the
supervisory committee of Ehsan, Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, to Al-Arabiya on Monday,
more than 60 million transactions, or an average of one donation per second,
have been carried out on the platform since its launch in March 2021. In just
two years, Ehsan collected over $880 million and assisted more than 4.8 million
people.
Earlier this month, King Salman directed Ramadan
assistance to beneficiaries of the country’s social security program, resulting
in each head of a family receiving SR1,000 ($266) and each family member
receiving SR500 ($133). The total amount of aid is estimated at over SR3
billion ($800 million) and was deposited into beneficiaries’ accounts on April
6.
The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, or
KSrelief, established by King Salman in 2015, is among the Kingdom’s top
humanitarian agencies, and has worked to help the most vulnerable worldwide
since its founding. As part of the organization’s massive Ramadan 2023 food
distribution campaign, it has delivered 151 tons of food aid to Lebanon, Indonesia,
Bangladesh, Liberia, Albania and Nigeria.
In Indonesia, over 36 tons of food were provided to
600 families, in Bangladesh around 12 tons of food baskets were distributed to
500 families, and in Albania, eight tons of food baskets were given to 300
people as part of KSrelief’s campaign to provide 2,000 food baskets across the
country during Ramadan.
In Nigeria’s Borno State, 56 tons of food baskets have
been delivered to 5,736 individuals, and to support food security in Liberia,
KSrelief has provided over 29,000 rice bags to be distributed to more than
88,000 beneficiaries. As part of the initiative, Syrian and Palestinian
refugees in Lebanon, including disadvantaged families in the host community of
Lebanon’s Akkar governorate, received 39 tons food aid.
In addition to international aid, KSrelief and many
other local charity organizations are also providing food and other assistance
to those in need inside the Kingdom. Local Saudi charity Ensan launched its $1
million Ramadan project to help orphans during Ramadan. Under the theme “Feed
an Orphan During the Holy Month,” the initiative seeks to benefit around 10,000
people who have lost parents. Out of respect for the dignity of the recipients,
Ensan deposits the value of a food basket into their bank accounts instead of
gifting it as a physical item.
Ensan, with its 21 branches spread across various
governorates of the Riyadh region, supports over 40,000 orphans and widows.
“The association is keen to take advantage of the blessed season by holding numerous
activities for Ensan beneficiaries,” Ensan general manager Mohammed Al-Muharib
told Arab News recently. “It holds Ramadan iftar meals and also arranges visits
for children to public facilities and amusement parks to bring them joy and
happiness and integrate them into society.” Ensan also runs other charitable
projects, including pre-Eid food donations, provision of Eid gifts, and
donations of winter clothing and bags for school.
On March 5, KSrelief supervisor general Dr. Abdullah
Al-Rabeeah inaugurated the Kingdom’s annual date distribution project, which
this year exceeds 19,000 tons of the fruit. A total of 4,000 tons will be
provided through the project’s strategic partner, the UN World Food Program or
UNWFP, at a total cost of SR136 million ($36 million) to benefit 14 million
people. “We are witnessing another day of giving and humanity, as the Kingdom
presents an agricultural symbol and a blessed fruit — the date,” Al-Rabeeah
said during the launch.
The UNWFP’s representative Mohammed Al-Ghunaim told
Arab News recently that the Kingdom has been delivering 4,000 tons of dates
annually since 2002, which brings the total number of distributed dates thus
far to 84,000 tons to 130 international locations.
Reflective of its international reach, Saudi dates
have made it as far as Afghanistan, where 100 tons of premium dates were
distributed to the country's poorest citizens by the Afghan Red Crescent
Society, KSrelief’s local partner, during Ramadan. The donation was received by
the Afghan Red Crescent Society at the Saudi Embassy in neighboring Pakistan,
after which it was distributed in Afghanistan to those most in need.
For many in the war-torn and destitute country, the
Ramadan staple is too expensive to buy amid skyrocketing food prices and the
collapse of the Afghan economy. “The dates will be distributed to those who
have not been able to buy them in the month of Ramadan due to their high
prices,” IrrfanullahSharfzoi, spokesman for the Afghan Red Crescent Society,
told Arab News. “These dates will bring joy to families.”
Since the 1980s the Kingdom has sent money abroad to
poorer states in the region, including Pakistan, Lebanon and Egypt. According
to the World Bank’s most recent economic report, economies in the Middle East
and North Africa are expected to grow at a slower pace in 2023 as double-digit
food inflation further reduces the purchasing power of poorer households.
“The report estimates that close to one out of five
people living in developing countries in MENA is likely to be food insecure
this year and that almost 8 million children under 5 years of age are among
those who will be hungry,” Roberta Gatti, World Bank chief economist for the
MENA region, stated in the report. “Food price inflation, even if it is
temporary, can cause long-term and often irreversible damage.”
The twice-yearly report found that average
year-on-year food inflation across 16 MENA economies between March and December
2022 was 29 percent — higher than headline inflation, which rose on average to
19.4 percent year-on-year during that period — compared to 14.8 percent between
October 2021 and February 2022, the month of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Across all four MENA subgroups covered in the report,
including developing oil importers, countries in conflict and the GCC —
inflation accounts for 24 to 33 percent of 2023’s forecasted food insecurity.
In the Kingdom, with its recorded budget surplus of
SR103.9 billion ($27.68 billion) in 2022, beating its own estimates as higher
oil prices increased government revenues by 31 percent, the nation is able to
provide more aid than ever before to countries in need.
At the end of February, Saudi Arabia hosted the third
Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum, a high-level event organized by
KSrelief and the UN that brought together government officials and key decision
makers in the humanitarian arena.
“A few days prior, the King and the Crown Prince gave
directives that Saudi Arabia must be present under the leadership of KSrelief
and several Saudi authorities to help those affected by the earthquake in Syria
and Turkiye,” said Al-Rabeeah during the launch of the KSrelief’s date donation
project in March.
Saudi Arabia was one of the largest donors responding
to the Turkiye-Syria earthquake, offering millions of dollars in assistance
with aid that continues from the Kingdom to the ravaged regions to this day.
Al-Rabeeah also stated that over the past few years
the Kingdom has been at the forefront of humanitarian and development aid.
In 2021, Saudi Arabia’s Official Development Assistance
led the world at more than 1 percent of its national income according to the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, exceeding the 0.7
percent recommended by the UN.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2285326/saudi-arabia
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US Syria looting: Occupation forces smuggle dozens of
tankers of stolen oil into Iraq
12 April 2023
US occupation forces have smuggled a new consignment
of stolen Syrian oil into their bases on Iraqi soil, as the looting of Syrian
natural resources continues.
Citing local sources in the town of al-Ya'rubiyah,
Syria’s official SANA news agency reported on Tuesday that a US convoy of 77
vehicles, carrying 32 tankers loaded with plundered Syrian oil, left Hasakah
Province through the illegal Al-Waleed crossing with Iraq.
The convoy, the report added, was escorted by six
military armored vehicles.
Last month, American troops looted 80 tankers of crude
from Syria’s al-Jazeera oil fields and transferred them to their bases in Iraq.
Since March 2011, Syria has been gripped by a campaign
of militancy and destruction sponsored by the US and its allies.
In recent years, however, Syrian government forces,
backed by Russia and Iran, have managed to win back control of almost all
regions from terrorist groups.
The US military has stationed its forces and equipment
in northeastern Syria, with the Pentagon claiming that the deployment is aimed
at preventing the oil fields in the area from falling into the hands of Daesh
terrorists.
Source: Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/04/12/701396/US-smuggle-Syrian-oil-Iraq
--------
Pakistan
Lahore-Bound Train Narrowly Escapes Bomb Blast; It
Failed To Detonate
Ali Jan Mangi
April 12, 2023
Dera Murad Jamali: A Lahore-bound train on Tuesday
narrowly escaped a bomb blast that happened at the main railway track linking
Quetta with the other three provinces.
Railway officials said the powerful explosion occurred
at the main railway track near Mushkaf railway station in Bolan district when
Jaffar Express was on its way to Lahore from the Mach railway station.
The police linked the explosion to an improvised
explosive device (IED) planted by unidentified people. However, it failed to
detonate when the train was passing over the track.
The device exploded when the train had crossed the
portion where it was planted, SSP Kachhi Bolan said, adding that the train and
passengers remained unhurt.
However, he said a substantial portion of the track
was damaged in the blast. The train left for its destination after security
clearance.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1747220/lahore-bound-train-narrowly-escapes-bomb-blast
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IMF slashes Pakistan’s growth outlook to 0.5pc
KhaleeqKiani
April 12, 2023
ISLAMABAD: Hinting at entrenched high inflation, the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday lowered its forecast for
Pakistan’s economic growth rate for the current fiscal year to just 0.5 per
cent, with inflation going beyond 27pc and the unemployment rate increasing to
7pc.
This showed an unambiguous deterioration of economic
fundamentals over the last six months since October when the Fund forecast the
country’s gross domestic product to grow by 3.5pc against 6pc for 2022 ago and
inflation at 20pc against 12.1pc last year amid a slowdown in the global
economy and devastating effects of floods.
Meanwhile, global headline inflation is set to fall
from 8.7pc in 2022 to 7pc in 2023 on the back of lower commodity prices, but
core inflation — excluding the volatile energy and food components — is likely
to decline more slowly, the IMF said.
The revision in Pakistan’s growth prospects is in line
with similar 0.4pc and 0.6pc projected last week by the World Bank and the
Asian Development Bank, respectively. They also projected inflation at 29.5pc
and 27.5pc, respectively, for the current year.
Projects 27.1pc inflation, 2.3pc current account
deficit, 7pc unemployment rate for this fiscal year
In its flagship World Economic Outlook (WEO), the IMF
has also estimated the unemployment rate in Pakistan to rise to 7pc against
6.2pc last year. For fiscal 2024, however, the IMF expected the economic growth
to improve to 3.5pc, inflation to stay elevated at 22pc and the unemployment
rate to slightly decline to 6.8pc.
At the cost of loss of growth, elevated inflation and
higher unemployment, the current account deficit, according to the WEO, would
decline to 2.3pc of GDP during this fiscal year from 4.6pc a year ago and
slightly go up to 2.4pc next year.
The IMF’s current account deficit forecast is 20 basis
points lower than its earlier estimate of 2.5pc, which had been one of the key
bones of contention between the Pakistan authorities and the IMF mission in
reaching a staff-level agreement.
In the latest outlook, the IMF has also slightly
lowered its baseline forecast for global economic output from 3.4pc in 2022 to
2.8pc this year against its earlier projections of 2.9pc, before rising slowly
and settling at 3pc five years out — the lowest medium-term forecast in
decades. This forecast for the coming years is well below what was expected
before the onset of the adverse shocks since early 2022 and described it as a
“rocky landing”.
It said the tentative signs in early 2023 that the
world economy could achieve a soft landing — with inflation coming down and
growth steady — had receded amid stubbornly high inflation and recent financial
sector turmoil.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1747207/imf-slashes-pakistans-growth-outlook-to-05pc
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ECP blames ‘reluctant’ govt for lack of funding for
polls
Nasir Iqbal
April 12, 2023
ISLAMABAD: With the federal government looking to
sidestep a Supreme Court order directing elections to be held in Punjab on May
14, a report submitted by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to the
apex court regarding the release of Rs21 billion for election expenses has also
made much of the government’s reluctance to release the required funds.
In its April 4 verdict, the election watchdog was
directed by the top court to keep the court in the loop regarding funding for
polls and submit a report on the government’s response regarding the request
for funds. If the funds are not provided or there is a shortfall, as the case
may be, the Supreme Court may issue orders or give directions to appropriate
authorities, the SC ruling had stated.
On Tuesday, the report was submitted by the ECP in a
sealed envelope, a day after Finance Minister Ishaq Dar tabled a money bill in
the National Assembly and Senate. The bill, which has been dubbed as an attempt
to delay the polls, seeks parliamentary approval for the release of Rs21
billion to conduct polls in line with the SC order.
Though the contents of the report are not known, a
source privy to the information told Dawn that the one-page report informed the
apex court about the government’s reluctance to issue the Rs21 billion needed
for the purpose.
As per the directions in the judgement issued last
week, the ECP report will be placed before members of a three-judge bench for
consideration in chambers, within a day or two.
The report also states that the caretaker government
of Punjab had informed the election watchdog that due to resource constraints,
the government could only sanction 75,000 security personnel against the demand
for 300,000 security forces.
It may be mentioned that the judgement had ordered the
Punjab caretaker cabinet and in particular, the chief secretary and the police
chief, to provide a plan acceptable to the ECP for providing sufficient
personnel for election duty and security purposes.
In case, the Punjab government and its officials must,
in the discharge of constitutional and legal duties and responsibilities,
proactively provide all aid and assistance to the commission for the holding
and conduct of the general election, as per the judgement.
As far as polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are concerned, a
petition filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) was returned by the
registrar on April 10 on the account of “illegible pages”, “overwriting and
cutting”, and that respondents cited in the plea were not “properly informed”
about the purpose of the petition.
Simultaneous polls
The federal government’s hesitation in issuing funds
is being interpreted as an apparent attempt to delay elections, at least until
October, which is evidenced by the tabling of the money bill in parliament on
Monday.
The bill was introduced after it was decided in two
cabinet meetings to oppose elections and involve parliament to seek approval
for the funds required to conduct elections.
Interestingly, the bill was also tabled in the Senate,
even though the upper house of parliament has no role in the passage of the
money bill and can only give recommendations that are also not binding upon the
NA. The Senate chairman, who also did not appear to be in a hurry, also asked
members to take time till Friday to come up with their recommendations.
On the other hand, a number of resolutions have been
passed by lawmakers seeking simultaneous elections instead of split polls after
the dissolution of KP and Punjab assemblies, as envisaged by the top court in
its recent judgement.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1747215/ecp-blames-reluctant-govt-for-lack-of-funding-for-polls
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Judge responds to uproar over speech at convention
Nasir Iqbal
April 12, 2023
ISLAMABAD: Surprised at the social media uproar
generated by his attendance of a convention held to mark 50 years of the
promulgation of the Constitition, Justice Qazi Faez Isa on Tuesday said the
golden jubilee was an occasion for all citizens to celebrate, not just for a
particular political party or an institution.
The perception of division and bitterness among SC
judges had become stronger amidst a spate of letters and judicial note written
by the senior puisne judge, questioning the conduct of the SC registrar and
declaring a recent order by a six-judge Supreme Court bench as
unconstitutional.
On the other hand, against the backdrop of
speculations about a divided house, a thaw was witnessed on Tuesday when
Justice Isa held a meeting with Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata
Bandial at the latter’s chambers, which lasted 30 minutes.
A source privy to the development told Dawn that the
meeting was held in a congenial atmosphere, and the perception of widening
fissures within the judiciary, and ideas to improve the image of the judiciary
and restore citizens’ trust came under discussion.
Referring to the controversy over the golden jubilee
celebrations, Justice Isa explained that all SC judges were invited to
celebrate the golden jubilee. In a single-page clarification issued both in
English and Urdu, Justice Isa explained that prior to accepting the
invitation, inquiries were made as to whether there would be political
speeches, and assurances were extended that only the Constitution and its
making would be spoken about.
The programme sent to him also confirmed this, he
said, adding that having cleared this point, first by his staff from the
National Assembly deputy director and then by himself directly with NA speaker,
he accepted the invitation as he wanted to show solidarity with the
Constitution.
“I had been asked if I would like to speak and I had
declined,” Justice Isa said, adding that when political statements were made,
in a few speeches, he requested to speak to correct any misconceptions that
may arise, and he did so. He said the making of the Constitution was one of the
greatest moments in Pakistan’s history, which should be celebrated.
Surprisingly, some have objected to where he sat
and/or his presence at the function to commemorate the Constitution. “I would
have preferred to sit in the hall on one side or in the gallery, but respect
was shown to a member of the judiciary by seating me at the centre; I did not
choose to sit there,” Justice Isa explained.
“I may add that the elected representatives of the
people deserve all respect.”
“Without the politicians of the All India Muslim
League we would not have gained independence,” he noted.
Complaint filed
Meanwhile, Gujranwala Bar Association president Pervaiz
Abid Haral on Tuesday filed a complaint before the Supreme Judicial Council
(SJC) seeking removal of Justice Isa for allegedly committing gross misconduct
by visiting the “den of most corrupt, money launderer and tax evaders mafia of
Pakistan” — an indirect reference to parliament — on April 10 and using the
political platform to condemn the judiciary to voicing his biased views.
A curative review petition, instituted by the previous
PTI government on July 8, 2021 against Justice Isa, is already pending adjudication
before the CJP.
In the fresh complaint, the bar president said Justice
Isa was requested to be removed through an SJC recommendation under Article 209
for allegedly ‘condemning the judiciary’ as an institution by choosing a
political forum to express his very private and non-objective views.
According to a press release issued by the PTI media
department, the complaint alleged that Justice Isa continued to write different
letters regarding state institutions and personalities and released them to the
media.
The complaint alleged that the judge appeared to have
committed gross misconduct by choosing a public forum for voicing his personal
and subjective views and opinions. The complaint emphasised that judiciary was
a vital component of the state.
This is the ultimate resort for a beleaguered and
aggrieved person. It is thus, that the judicature is conceived, perceived and
is meant to act as the neutral arbiter.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1747226
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Low quality, uncompetitive prices mar govt’s Ramazan
Bachat bazaars in Karachi
Shazia Hasan
April 12, 2023
KARACHI: The sherbet bottles were the first to come
into view. Then the flies. Then the stall-keeper. The keeper looked grim, the
flies happy as one heard the fruit seller cry out the price of melons, which
looked like they were suffering from undernourishment. They were very small.
Still, the flies didn’t seem to mind.
The Bachat bazaar in Korangi’s Bhittai Colony is
located at a garbage dump, just behind the site for the regular weekly Sunday
and Tuesday markets there. It is one of the 27 such facilities set up by the
Sindh government in all seven districts of Karachi for Ramazan for offering
grocery and household items at discounted rates.
Next to the sherbet bottles were packets of ice pop, a
sweet syrupy liquid in various flavours that are supposed to be enjoyed frozen
but out here it is all liquid. There are no deep freezers, or even an ice box
or tub, around for that matter. Several spots for stalls inside the tent are
vacant with empty tables.
“The people are not interested in selling stuff
according to the government rates, so they left,” says Fahim Qadri, the man
selling the sherbet and melted ice pops.
“The flour seller vanished, the chicken stall vanished
like this,” he said, adding that the government was not charging them anything
to set up the stalls and they were also being provided free electric
connections.
“People come looking to buy meat, milk, fruit,
vegetables, flour and sugar but there are not many stalls here selling these,”
he further added.
Mohammad Waseem, selling cooking oil there, meanwhile,
says that they are selling only Rs10 to Rs15 per litre cheaper than the market.
Mohammad Iqbal, selling lentils, rice, gram flour,
etc, says the same thing. “We are selling at wholesale rates basically,” he
says.
Mohammad Asad, selling spices, including dried red
chillies and other assorted spices, says that he is selling three packets of
spices, any spices, for Rs50. “In the market, you’ll get the same size packets
for Rs25 each,” he points out.
Nasreen Ijaz, a customer, says that the Bachat bazaar
helps the pocket when you buy in bulk. “Like my buying an entire carton of
cooking oil instead of just one packet will give me a saving of Rs200 to
Rs300,” she points out.
Another customer, Bilquis, was looking for a chicken
shop. Not finding it, she left.
“Chickens are in shortage for the last two days,” the
duty officer at the Bachat bazaar, Mohammad Atif, told Dawn.
When pointed out to him that there was also no flour
at the bazaar, he said that they were getting 150 sacks of flour each day,
which were sold out very soon. “Our need here is 500 sacks a day for which I
have informed the folks at the helm,” he said.
Bachat bazaar at Clifton
The Bachat bazaar at Clifton’s Jehangir Kothari Parade
was not supposed to be there.
According to the government, it was supposed to be
located opposite the China Port, near Dua Chowrangi, where the people of nearby
localities, especially residents of Shireen Jinnah Colony could have benefited
from it.
But it decided to shift on its own to Jehangir Kothari
Parade. It had all the big and well-known places such as Chase Up, Carrefour,
Imtiaz, Nice Supermarket, etc, running stalls there in a very clean and quiet
environment.
There was not a single fly there. But then there were
also barely any customers there. The stall vendors were just sitting around
killing time.
Only the vegetable seller looked content. “I brought
little amounts of vegetables with me and I’ve sold almost everything,” Tanvir
Ahmed, who said he sold vegetables in Delhi Colony, told Dawn.
He also said that he was happily minding his own
business selling vegetables in Delhi Colony when he was approached by
government officials who threatened him of paying Rs100,000 fine if he didn’t
agree to set up a stall at the Bachat bazaar. “So here I am,” he smiled.
“I’m not as brave as the fruit-seller and the butcher,
who have run away,” he said, pointing to a couple of empty stall spaces at the
end of the tent. “Actually, I don’t blame the fruit-seller. No one was buying
fruit from him and it rotted,” he shrugged.
“It’s like this,” said one of the two young men minding
the Nice Supermarket stall, “We are selling even cheaper than company rates.
It’s like selling at a loss but it is still better than the government challan
we face if we don’t obey orders to set up a stall here,” he said.
The Bachat bazaar, which runs from 11am till Iftar,
was wrapping up early due to lack of customers.
About the lack of fruit and vegetables at the bazaar,
Abdul Hanan, assistant commissioner, Civil Lines, told Dawn that a lot of the
fresh produce available at Bachat bazaars was one which had been confiscated
from shops selling at rates higher than the government issued prices. “It runs
out eventually,” he shrugged.
Bachat bazaar at Hyderi
Perhaps the biggest Bachat bazaar in Karachi is the
one at the Kabootar Chowk at Hyderi Market.
It has everything, from children’s wear, ladies’
suits, undergarments, footwear, purses and bags, artificial jewellery, bangles
and crockery to eatables such as flour, rice, lentils, sugar, oil, fruit,
vegetables and whatnot.
Opening in the afternoon, around 2pm, it runs till 2am
and it attracts lots of customers. But instead of providing the stall vendors
with free space and free electricity, here they are being made to pay Rs350 per
2ft by 4ft table and Rs150 per bulb.
“I can’t arrange my merchandise on one little table. I
need three at least,” said Mohammad Ashfaq of a children’s clothing stall, who
after doing the math for three tables and three bulbs told me that he was
paying Rs1,500 a day to the Sindh government, who had ordered him to sell his
stuff cheaper than market rates.
“We are getting customers here from Orangi, New
Karachi and North Nazimabad but still we are unable to make a profit while the
Sindh government sucks our blood,” he said.
All the vendors at the Hyderi Bachat bazaar said that
they used to have their carts up ahead on the service road but they were forced
to move here to sell at the Bachat bazaar.
Source: Dawn
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4 policemen dead in gunbattle with terrorists during
Quetta operation
Abdullah Zehri
April 11, 2023
An intelligence-based operation in Quetta turned
deadly in the early hours of Tuesday, with at least four police officers losing
their lives in a gunbattle with terrorists, according to the police.
Senior Superintendent of Police (Operations) in Quetta
Capt (retd) ZuhaibMoshin told Dawn.com that the operation was launched to
neutralise terrorists who had been involved in past attacks on security forces
in Kuchlak.
The operation was conducted in conjunction with
Frontier Constabulary personnel.
During the operation, law enforcement personnel
surrounded a house in Kuchlak, from which the terrorists opened fire on the
officers, resulting in the tragic loss of four of them, the SSP said.
In response, the personnel retaliated, resulting in
the death of one of the terrorists.
Police officials recovered weapons and ammunition from
the deceased terrorist, prompting the SSP to suggest that he could have been
involved in an attack on police officers two days prior, as well as an attack
on the Frontier Constabulary a week ago.
The body of the alleged terrorist was taken to a
Quetta hospital to establish his identity, while the remains of the four
officers were transported to Police Lines Quetta.
Later, the funeral prayers of the martyred policemen
were offered at the Quetta Police Lines. It was attended by senior officers,
including Balochistan police chief Abdul Khaliq Sheikh.
On Monday, at least four people were killed and 21
wounded in two attacks targeting the police in Quetta.
According to police, the target of the attack was SP
Investigation Naseer Shah of Quetta police whose vehicle was parked at the
Kandahari Bazaar. The SP was not in the vehicle at the time of the attack.
On Sunday, two cops were martyred and one was injured
in an attack by unknown assailants in the Killi Spine area of the Kuchlak
district.
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul QudoosBizenjo
had expressed grief over the attack and paid tribute to the martyrs.
On Friday, a National Security Committee (NSC) — which
acts as the principal decision-making body on national security matters — held
a meeting wherein it agreed to launch an “all-out comprehensive operation” to
rid the country of the menace of terrorism.
“The meeting agreed to launch an all-out comprehensive
operation with [the participation of] entire nation and government to rid the
country of the menace of terrorism with renewed vigour and determination,” the
press release said.
Source: Dawn
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South Asia
Rights Activists Urge UN to Pressure Taliban on
Women’s Rights
By Fidel Rahmati
April 11, 2023
In a press conference on Monday, the Afghanistan Women
Protester Movement coalition asked the UN to pressure the de facto government
to respect women’s rights.
The Press conference by the Women Protester Movement
Coalition held in Kabul responded to the Taliban’s recent ban on women’s aid
workers in United Nations agencies.
The Women’s Movement Coalition protested the UN’s inability
to defend women’s rights in the face of Taliban’s restrictions and asked the
organization to suspend its operations in Afghanistan until women are allowed
to work.
“Stop political engagement and suspend UNAMA
operations in Afghanistan. If you can’t defend the rights of your staff, you
cannot be effective,” the statement said.
Furthermore, the statement also asked the UN and
international community to take unified and robust action against the de facto
government to hold them accountable concerning women’s rights.
“Abandon unconditional engagement with the Taliban and
use all means and leverage to hold them accountable for their human rights
violations, the statement read.
The protest came after the de facto government banned
Afghan female aid workers in Nangarhar province.
The ban on women’s aid workers faced massive global
condemnation and asked the Taliban to reverse its decision immediately.
However, the Taliban authorities have not changed their decisions yet.
Source: Khaama Press
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https://www.khaama.com/rights-activists-urge-un-to-pressure-taliban-on-womens-rights/
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UN asks Afghan staff to stay home until May after
female worker ban
Apr 11, 2023
The United Nations' mission to Afghanistan has
launched a review of its operations and asked all Afghan staff not to come to
work at least until May after the Taliban administration barred its women staff
from working, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
The United Nations said last week that the Taliban,
who swept to power in 2021, had communicated that Afghan women would not be
able to work for the global organisation. Taliban officials have not commented
on the order.
"Through this ban, the Taliban de facto
authorities seek to force the United Nations into having to make an appalling
choice between staying and delivering in support of the Afghan people and
standing by the norms and principles we are duty-bound to uphold," the UN
mission (UNAMA) said.
The UN has said that implementing the order would put
the global organisation in breach of its charter.
It has asked some 3,000 staff - men and women - to
stay home until May 5 while it made 'necessary consultations', made any
required adjustments to its operations and accelerated contingency planning.
The restriction on female UN workers, coming in the
wake of a ban on most female NGO workers in December, has prompted heavy
international criticism.
Some officials have flagged concerns donors may pull
back on support to Afghanistan's humanitarian aid programme, the largest in the
world, and that implementing some programmes and reaching women in the
conservative country without female workers would not be possible.
Source: Times Of India
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TTP Still Using Afghan Soil for Attacks in Pakistan:
Khawaja Asif
By Fidel Rahmati
April 12, 2023
Pakistan Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has claimed
that the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) still uses Afghanistan soil
against Pakistan, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Defense Minister said while interviewing with Voice of
America, a US broadcaster: “Islamabad has good relations with the de facto
government in Afghanistan. However, at the same time, they expressed concern
that the TTP is using Afghanistan soil even today for attacks in our country,
especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”
Asif recalled in the interview on Tuesday that he had
recently visited Kabul and had taken up the matter of the TTP’s rising attacks
on the Afghan Taliban leaders.
Earlier this year, a Pakistani delegation, including
the Defence Minister and other high-ranking military officials, visited Kabul
for talks on security-related matters, including counter-terrorism measures.
“During the meeting, the Taliban expressed their
determination to deal with this problem” and said that they would not allow
their land to be used for terrorism against any country, he added.
Asif also said that Afghan Taliban and TTP shared a
“camaraderie” because they have been fighting against NATO for the past 20
years.
Asia added that the TTP militants were between 7,000
to 8,000 while fighting with NATO along with the Afghan Taliban.
In addition, he claimed that the group was equipped
with modern devices such as night goggles and others, and he believes that
“those who do not have good relations with Pakistan, like India, to name few,
have provided help in the past through their consulates inside Afghanistan. We
have also provided evidence to the international community [on this] … now they
are helping the Taliban.”
The TTP has intensified their attacks since the last
November ceasefire, targeting police officials and foreigners in Pakistan.
Source: Khaama Press
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https://www.khaama.com/ttp-still-using-afghan-soil-for-attacks-in-pakistan-khawaja-asif/
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Chinese FM to Attend 4th Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
Among Afghan Neighbors in Uzbekistan
By Fidel Rahmati
April 12, 2023
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang will attend the
fourth foreign minister’s meeting of neighbouring countries of Afghanistan in
Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from April 12 to 13.
The Chinse Foreign Minister has been invited by
Uzbekistan’s acting Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov, a spokesperson for
Chines Foreign Minister Wang Wenbin announced Tuesday.
The Fourth Ministerial Conference of Afghanistan’s
neighbouring countries will occur in Uzbekistan, Samarkand City, on April 13.
In the upcoming conference, Russia, including six
neighbouring Afghanistan, China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and
Uzbekistan, will attend to discuss the region’s current situation, particularly
in Afghanistan.
An earlier statement stated that the meeting’s main
goals would be to assist in a political settlement in Afghanistan and stabilize
the nation’s socioeconomic and humanitarian crisis.
According to several statements, China, Russia and
other regional countries expressed their concerns over the growing security
threats emanating from Afghanistan.
Chinese Foreign Minister Spokesperson said in response
to a question that China hopes to have an in-depth exchange of views on the
current situation in Afghanistan with the parties attending the meeting,
further consolidate the consensus of the neighbouring countries on the Afghan
issue, and steadfastly implement the outcomes and consensus of the previous
meetings.
The third regional conference was held in the Chinese city
of Tunxi last year on March 31 2022.
Source: Khaama Press
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Prominent Anti-Taliban Commander Killed in
Afghanistan’s Parwan
By Fidel Rahmati
April 11, 2023
According to Afghanistan Defense Ministry, Taliban
forces killed Akmal Ameer, a prominent anti-Taliban commander, along with his
eight comrades in the Parwan province of Afghanistan.
The Defense Ministry said that during an operation in
the Northern Province of Afghanistan, Parwan killed Akmal Ameer with his eight
comrades on Tuesday.
The statement added that the forces of the 221st Aftab
Unit of the 313th Central Army Corps had launched an operation against the
hideout of the Resistance Front in the Salang District of Parwan province,
which resulted in the killing of Akmal Ameer, one of the senior commanders and
his eight comrades.
The statement added that several weapons and
ammunition had been seized during the operation, including one rocket rifle, 2
RPGs, 4-47K, 2 Carmel Rifles and one night Camera frame.
The statement claimed that the Taliban security forces
would not allow any individual or group to disrupt the security and peace in
the country.
Akmal was a former commander of the Afghan National
Defense Security Forces (ANDSF) who had joined the National Resistance Front
(NRF) after the fall of the previous government.
Ahmad Massoud formed and led the National Resistance
Front after the Kabul collapse.
Source: Khaama Press
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North America
Sanctions on Iran failed to achieve objectives,
harming civilians: US think tank
11 April 2023
Sanctions imposed by the US on Iran and other
countries have not only failed to achieve its foreign policy objectives but
have also caused significant harm to civilians, says an American think tank.
"Iran is just the latest example of how sanctions
rarely, if ever, meet their stated goals yet consistently succeed in causing
mass civilian suffering and casualty," Responsible Statecraft, an online
magazine of Washington-based Quincy Institute, said in an article published
Monday.
The article referred to US Treasury Secretary Janet
Yellen's recent remarks in which she admitted that sanctions imposed on Iran
simply are not working, or at least working “much less than we would ideally
like.”
She noted that the measures failed to cause a
behavioral change in Iran, rather creating a "real economic crisis in the
country."
The United States under former president Donald Trump
reinstated crippling sanctions on Iran after unilaterally walking out of the
2015 nuclear deal in May 2018, despite Iran's full compliance with the terms of
the agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
(JCPOA).
Although Trump failed to achieve his professed goals
with the so-called "maximum pressure" campaign, the waves of
sanctions took a heavy toll on ordinary Iranians, including those battling life-threatening
diseases.
The sanctions, maintained by Trump's successor, have
restricted the financial channels necessary to pay for basic goods and
medicine, undermining supply chains by limiting the number of suppliers willing
to facilitate sales of humanitarian goods to the country.
Iran has repeatedly denounced the sanctions as an act
of “economic war”, “economic terrorism”, and “medical terrorism”.
'Life-saving changes needed'
The American think tank noted that sanctions also
caused significant harm to civilians in North Korea, as they "created
intense barriers to humanitarian aid distribution as many banks do not want to
face the risks associated with navigating transactions to the country"
while failing to prevent Pyongyang from continuing its ballistic missile and
nuclear weapons programs.
It further stated that sanctions have also created and
exacerbated economic and humanitarian crises in Venezuela while failing to
force the Caracas government to "change its behavior".
According to the report, the sanctions imposed on
Russia following its military campaign in Ukraine that began in 2022 also
failed to stop the war.
Moreover, the article referred to the case in
Afghanistan and Cuba as evidence of the ineffectiveness of the sanctions.
"Often serving as another way for the US to
promote hegemony in the name of democracy and human rights, regime change is
both a dubious objective in and of itself and is one sanctions cannot
achieve."
The American think tank noted that "humanitarian
carveouts alone cannot meaningfully mitigate harms to civilians in sanctioned
areas, nor can they create the enabling environment civil society needs to
carry out their work in support of these civilians", calling for reforms
to the US material support statute and for targeted, well-defined, time-bound
scope of sanctions, with clear and measurable objectives.
Source: Press TV
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/04/11/701340/US-sanctions-Iran-not-working-
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Biden aide, Saudi prince see 'progress' toward Yemen
war end
Apr 12, 2023
WASHINGTON: White House national security adviser Jake
Sullivan spoke by phone with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on
Tuesday amid signs that the Saudis and Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen is making
"remarkable progress" toward finding a permanent end to their
nine-year conflict, according to the Biden administration.
The crown prince, often referred to by his initials
MBS, has had a strained relationship with President Joe Biden over human rights
and oil production concerns. But the de facto Saudi leader and the president's
top national security adviser decided to talk amid encouraging signs of winding
down the long and bloody war, a top priority for Biden.
The call came after Saudi diplomat Mohammed bin Saeed
al-Jaber met with Houthi officials in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Sunday for talks
that were aimed at accelerating negotiations on ending the war.
The White House said in a statement that Sullivan
"welcomed Saudi Arabia's extraordinary efforts" to pursue a more
comprehensive roadmap for ending the war and offered full U.S. support for
those efforts. A nongovernmental official familiar with the ongoing
negotiations said a deal is close at hand and could be reached within the next
seven to 10 days. The official was not authorized to comment and requested
anonymity to discuss the sensitive private talks.
The White House remains cautiously optimistic about
the way ahead. But the two sides still have work to do and the negotiations
remain complex, according to a senior Biden administration official familiar
with the negotiations. The official, who was not authorized to comment
publicly, added that a final agreement has not been reached and cautioned that
the situation remains complex.
Biden's special envoy for Yemen, Tim Lenderking, is
being dispatched to the Saudi capital Riyadh this week for follow-up talks with
Saudi officials, according to the White House. CIA Director William Burns
traveled to Saudi Arabia last week to meet with intelligence officials.
Al-Jaber's visit to the Houthi-held Yemeni capital
came after the Saudis reached a deal with Iran last month - in China - to
restore diplomatic ties that were cut off in 2016. Iran is the Houthis' main
foreign backer in Yemen's conflict.
It was a flashy moment of diplomacy for China - the
United States' top global competitor - that Beijing touted as evidence of its
ability to be a diplomatic player in the Middle East. White House officials
note significant progress was made during several rounds of earlier talks
hosted by Iraq and Oman, well before the deal was announced in China during
last month's ceremonial National People's Congress.
Since last month's announcement, China has not taken a
major role in resolving the Yemen conflict, according to the Biden
administration official.
Sullivan and the crown prince largely focused on Yemen
but also discussed Saudi Arabia and Iran's reestablishment of diplomatic ties,
Iran's nuclear program, and other issues.
Iran-allied Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014 and forced
the internationally recognized government into exile in Saudi Arabia. A
Saudi-led coalition armed with U.S. weaponry and intelligence entered the war
on the side of Yemen's exiled government in 2015.
Years of inconclusive fighting created a humanitarian
disaster and pushed the Arab world's poorest nation to the brink of famine.
Overall, the war has killed more than 150,000 people, including over 14,500
civilians, according to The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.
A six-month cease-fire, the longest of the Yemen
conflict, expired in October. Biden has made finding permanent peace among his
highest priorities in the Middle East.
The call also comes amid fresh concerns that the
Riyadh-led OPEC+ alliance plans to cut oil production could stymie efforts to
curb global inflation.
OPEC+ announced last week it would cut oil production
by 1.1 million barrels per day, or roughly 1 percent of global production,
beginning next month. The Saudis have said the production cuts were
"precautionary," helping to keep up prices as the world economy
appears to be slowing and demand for oil is dropping.
But along with cuts announced in October, world oil
supplies are down by 3%. April's announcement could have a ripple effect on the
U.S. economy in the form of higher gasoline prices, possibly forcing the
Federal Reserve to be more aggressive in rate hikes to lower inflation.
The official said Sullivan and the crown prince
discussed macroeconomic issues but did not dwell on the OPEC move.
As a candidate for the White House, Biden vowed that
Saudi rulers would "pay the price" under his watch for their human
rights record. But in July, amid rising prices at the pump around the globe,
Biden decided to pay a visit to Saudi Arabia. During the visit, he greeted the
crown prince, whom he once shunned, with a fist bump.
Relations hit another rocky patch last fall.
In October, the president said there would be
"consequences" for Saudi Arabia as the OPEC+ alliance moved to cut
oil production. At the time, the administration said it was reevaluating its
relationship with the kingdom in light of the oil production cut that White
House officials said was helping another OPEC+ member, Russia, soften the
financial blow caused by U.S. and Western sanctions imposed on Moscow for its
ongoing war in Ukraine.
The administration's reaction to last week's
production cut was far more subdued, with Biden saying, "It's not going to
be as bad as you think."
Separately, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, met Tuesday
with the crown prince in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Graham said they discussed
ongoing reforms in the kingdom as well as trade between the countries. The
Saudis announced last month that the two national airlines would order up to
121 jetliners from American aircraft manufacturer Boeing, a deal worth up to
$37 billion.
Source: Times Of India
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US says 'no indication' Egypt is providing weaponry to
Russia
ServetGunerigok
11.04.2023
WASHINGTON
The US said Tuesday there is no evidence to suggest
that Egypt is supplying Russia with lethal weapons after a leaked American
document claimed Cairo secretly planned to supply rockets to Moscow.
Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi planned to
manufacture 40,000 rockets for Russia, according to the Washington Post, which
cited a portion of a top-secret document dated Feb. 17. Sisi reportedly directed
officials to keep the production and delivery covert to prevent issues with
Western nations.
"We've seen no indication that Egypt is providing
lethal weaponry and capabilities to Russia," National Security Council
spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
Kirby said the Biden administration wants to obtain
answers as soon as possible to identify where the breach took place.
The Pentagon said Friday it was investigating the
unauthorized disclosure of the documents, which carry US Joint Chiefs of Staff
seals and allegedly belong to the US and NATO. They were shared on social
media, including Twitter and Telegram.
The Justice Department separately opened a criminal
investigation into the leak.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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US, Bangladesh eye joint efforts to deal with climate
crisis
SmNajmusSakib
11.04.2023
DHAKA, Banglades
The US and Bangladesh have eyed the ongoing
cooperation to deal with the climate crisis the world has been facing,
including the vulnerable people in Bangladesh.
The observation came at a meeting between US Secretary
of State Antony Blinken and Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen was held
at the US Department of State in Washington, DC on Monday.
During the meeting, they discussed bilateral ties and
issues of mutual interest, including climate change, resolution of the Rohingya
crisis, strengthening the economic partnership, labor rights, civil liberty,
and elections, according to a statement by the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry on
Tuesday.
Bangladesh is affected by climate change and it is the
seventh-most climate change-vulnerable country, according to the UN's Global
Climate Risk Index 2021.
Climate change cost the country 1% of its GDP every
year, the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry said.
By 2050, rising sea levels may submerge some 17% of
Bangladesh's coastal lands and displace about 20 million people, it noted in an
earlier statement, citing the study.
“It is an important fact that the relation between
Bangladesh and the US has grown tremendously over the last 50 years
–economically, our people-to-people ties, work we’ve been doing more recently
on everything from climate to health, we very much value ... and the generosity
Bangladesh showed to 1 million Rohingya,” Blinken said, in his initial remarks
in presence of the media.
Assuring Bangladesh of the US' continued support for
the repatriation of the Rohingya to Myanmar, Blinken observed that there is no
safe environment yet for the Rohingya repatriation in Myanmar, Momen told
reporters, quoting Blinken as saying.
More than 1.2 million forcibly displaced Rohingya
Muslims in Myanmar have been housed in 33 congested refugee camps in Cox's
Bazar, and some 30,000 in Bhasan Char camps, a silt island in the Bay of
Bengal. Most refugees had fled a brutal military crackdown in Rakhine State in
the Buddhist-majority Southeast Asian nation.
The US also asked Bangladesh to allow the refugees to
engage in economic activities and employment, the statement noted.
Momen, in response, said: “We have arranged some (economic
activities) for them but we have 2 million fresh manpower to join the job
market and we could not provide jobs to all of them, while some 500,000 of them
have become migrant workers to find jobs. So, we could not arrange jobs for all
Rohingya."
He stressed the need for sustained international
pressure on Myanmar to take back Rohingya as repatriation is the main priority
of Bangladesh.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Muslim group CAIR received 5,156 complaints in 2022, a
23% drop: Report
ServetGünerigök
12.04.2023
WASHINGTON
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
released a report Tuesday covering nationwide incidents of civil rights
complaints by Muslim Americans in 2022 which revealed a 23% decrease.
Last year, the Muslim advocacy group received 5,156
complaints nationwide.
"This is a 23 percent decrease in total
complaints since the 6,720 complaints CAIR received in 2021," said the
report, titled "Progress in the Shadow of Prejudice.”
CAIR noted that it is also the first recorded decline
since they started tracking such data in 1995.
The complaints involved various forms of
discrimination as well as incidents related to law enforcement, education and
sports.
They included airline discrimination, banking
discrimination, bullying, denial of service, education discrimination,
employment discrimination, FBI interrogation, hate crimes and law enforcement
encounters.
The report also noted that complaints about law
enforcement and government overreach dropped by 38%. At the same time,
complaints about school incidents increased by 63%.
According to CAIR National Deputy Director Edward
Ahmed Mitchell, the data reveals both progress and "significant
challenges" in the fight against anti-Muslim bigotry and discrimination.
"The massive 63% rise in school
related-complaints and persistently high reports of employment discrimination,
bias incidents and government abuses are deeply concerning," he said.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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