Malaysia Sends Special Rep to Meet Indian Prime Minister Over Insults against Prophet Muhammad and Syedna Aishah RA, Says Foreign Minister
New Age Islam News Bureau
20 June 2022
Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah
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• Criminalise Insulting the Prophets and Messengers,
Imam of Masjid al-Haram in Mecca Appeals World Nations and International
Organisations
• ‘Islamophobia Worse’ Five Years after Deadly Van
Attack at London Finsbury Park Mosque
• Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf: Spiralling Inflation Can
Make Us Next Sri Lanka
• Houthis Slammed For Indoctrinating and Recruiting
Children at Summer Camps
Southeast
Asia
• Report Inappropriate, Deviant Islamic ‘Medical’
Practices Found Online, Says Malaysian Religious Affairs Minister
• Time to recognise refugees’ rights, Umno
vice-president tells govt
• Why so long to decriminalise suicide, says
Befrienders
• Afghan-born champion sustains hope for refugees
stranded in Indonesia through karate
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Arab
World
• Iraq: Sunni, Kurdish parties hold off talks to
persuade Sadr to return to parliament
• Truce ends clashes among Turkey-backed rebels in
northwest Syria
• Iran responds to UAE concerns over Tehran’s nuclear
plans
• UAE sends 27 tons of food, medical aid to Ukraine
refugees in Poland
• Turkish forces ‘neutralize’ 4 PKK terrorists in
northern Syria
• Houthi: Continued Saudi-led blockade amounts to
deliberate crime against Yemenis
--------
Europe
• Memorial service at London mosque honours worshipper
killed in terror attack
• Türkiye to reiterate its demands from Sweden,
Finland amid their NATO bids
• Türkiye gives Norwegians 'temporary' permission to
enter with national ID cards
--------
Pakistan
• Pakistan Faces Inflows of Asylum Seekers Following
the Taliban’s Takeover of Kabul: UN Refugee Agency
• 6 terrorists killed in clash with security forces in
SW Pakistan
• Eager to get off ‘grey list’, Pakistan trying for
early FATF on-site visit
• No deal yet with IMF for revival of loan programme
• Four social activists among six killed in North
Waziristan
--------
Mideast
• Hamas: We stand against Israel’s settlement plans to
preserve Islamic identity of al-Quds
• Palestinian Authority calls on Israel to hand over
gun in Abu Akleh case
• Senior Lawmaker: Europeans Merely Follow US Policies
in Talks with Iran
• Iran hangs extremist accused of murdering Shia
clerics
• Israel’s PM warns Iran: Those who send ‘terrorists’
to attack Israelis will pay price
• Palestinian shot dead by Israeli forces: Palestinian
ministry
• Israeli president thanks Turkish counterpart for
Ankara’s efforts in combatting terrorism
--------
India
• Need To Work Together For a Crime-Free Border, India
Tells Bangladesh
• K M Shaji’s Tirade against NRI Businessman Yusuffali
Creates Ripples in Muslim League
• Muslim Boy Lived and Studied In PM Modi's Family
Home
• India clears emergency visas for 111 Afghan Hindus,
Sikhs, hours after Kabul Gurudwara attack
• Four terrorists neutralised in Jammu and Kashmir's
Kupwara, search operations underway
• Jammu and Kashmir: Terrorist killed in Pulwama
encounter
--------
South
Asia
• Peace Talks Between Pakistan Govt and TTP in Kabul
Will Yield Good Results: Taliban Spokesman
• Rohingya Muslim Refugees in Bangladesh Demand
Repatriation
• US biggest obstacle to international recognition of
Taliban: Spokesman
• Two killed as explosion hits car in Kabul
• Hostile Treatment in India Forcing Rohingya Influx
In Bangladesh
• Traffic Accident in South-Western Afghanistan Kills
Five People
• “Afghan Invest” Company Inaugurates with a $250M
Capital in Kabul
• Armed Robbers Kill a University Lecturer in Eastern
Afghanistan
--------
Africa
• Algerian Elite Praises Constant Promotion Of Islamic
Revolution
• Rabat urges ‘fair trial’ for Moroccan facing Ukraine
war death penalty
• Witnesses say more than 200 killed in Ethiopia
ethnic attack
• Tunisian judges extend strike to protest president’s
policies
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North
America
• Biden Rebuked For Asking Israel to Halt Violence
against Palestinians until After His Visit
• CENTCOM and Pentagon approved Israeli airstrikes in
Syria
• Iran’s torpedoes can severely damage US navy
aircraft carriers: American publication
• Israeli regime secretly coordinates Syria airstrikes
with US: Report
• US military expands bases in eastern Syria,
reinforces them with air systems
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/malaysia-indian-prime-minister-muhammad-aishah/d/127279
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Malaysia Sends Special Rep to Meet Indian Prime
Minister Over Insults against Prophet Muhammad and Syedna Aishah RA, Says
Foreign Minister
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah
----
19 Jun 2022
KUANTAN, June 19 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail
Sabri Yaakob has sent his special representative to meet Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to personally convey to the government, Malaysia’s views over the
insults against Prophet Muhammad SAW.
In addition, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin
Abdullah said the Foreign Ministry summoned India’s High Commissioner in Kuala
Lumpur on June 7, to convey Malaysia’s protest over the incident.
“So far, it is understood that the special envoy has
not been able to hold an official meeting with the Prime Minister of India. The
move was to ensure that our views are conveyed personally to the highest
authorities in India,” he told a press conference after attending the Twenty’s
Talk Hi-Tea Programme, here today.
Elaborating, Saifuddin, who is also Indera Mahkota MP,
said the Indian government took swift action as the two politicians from the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who insulted the Prophet were removed from their
government positions.
“I was at the Asean-India Foreign Ministers Special
Meeting on June 16 and the next day I attended a bilateral meeting with Indian
Foreign Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankardi where I had the opportunity to
convey the views of the Malaysian government on this issue.
“He (Dr. Subrahmanyam) said the derogatory remarks did
not represent India’s stand and we agreed that both parties need to find a way
to resolve it in a better way if the matter is repeated in future,” he said.
Recently two members of BJP, India’s ruling party,
issued statements that insulted Prophet Muhammad SAW and his wife Syedna Aishah
RA.
The matter had sparked outrage among the Muslim Ummah,
especially in West Asia, who have condemned the action, causing several
shopping malls to boycott Indian products. — Bernama
Source: Malay Mail
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original story:
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Criminalise Insulting the Prophets and Messengers,
Imam of Masjid al-Haram in Mecca Appeals World Nations and International Organisations
The preacher of the Grand Mosque, Abdullah Awad Al
Juhany,
-----
Insulting Prophets must be dealt with law, says Grand
Mosque preacher
June 19, 2022
The preacher of the Grand Mosque, Abdullah Awad Al
Juhany, appealed to the countries of the world and international organizations
to criminalise insulting the prophets and messengers.
In his Friday sermon, Al-Juhany stressed that
“insulting the prophets and messengers is a crime, and Muslims’ condemnation of
this abuse must be dealt with the law.”
He said, “Criminal attempts to offend the Messenger,
(PBUH), and the Mother of the Believers, Aisha (RA), will not harm the Islamic
religion.”
He stressed, "The greatest support for the
Prophet (PBUH) is to spread his virtues, publicize his biography, and broadcast
the values and teachings of Islam."
During the past few days, the statements offensive to
the Prophet aroused widespread condemnation around the world, both at the
official and popular levels.
On June 6, the United Nations urged "respect for
and tolerance of all religions," in statements to the spokesman for the
Secretary-General of the United Nations, Stephane Dujarric.
In the UAE, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
International Cooperation (MoFAIC) affirmed the UAE's firm rejection of all
practices and behaviours that contradict moral and human values and principles.
The Ministry underscored the need to respect religious
symbols and not violate them, as well as confront hate speech and violence.
The Ministry also noted the importance of
strengthening the shared international responsibility to spread the values of
tolerance and human coexistence while preventing any practices that would
inflame the sentiment of followers of different religions.
Source: Gulf Today
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original story:
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‘Islamophobia Worse’ Five Years after Deadly Van
Attack at London Finsbury Park Mosque
File picture of Ruzina Akhtar, the daughter of Makram
Ali, who died in the Finsbury Park attack five years ago. Photograph: Sally
Wardle/PA
-----
Clea Skopeliti
19 Jun 2022
The chair of the Finsbury Park mosque in north London
has warned that Islamophobia has intensified since the 2017 terror attack in
the area, as dozens gathered to remember the man who was killed five years ago.
Makram Ali, 51, was killed on 19 June 2017 when Darren
Osborne drove a rented van into worshippers gathered outside the nearby Muslim
Welfare House soon after evening Ramadan prayers. Twelve others were injured.
The mosque’s chairman, Mohammed Kozbar, said Muslims
still do not feel safe in the UK. “The problem we are facing is that since this
attack took place not much has changed in tackling Islamophobia,” he said.
Kozbar said he remembered Theresa May, who was prime
minister at the time, promising to take action “to tackle this disease which
causes Islamophobia”. However, five years on, he said, “we don’t have a
definition of Islamophobia”.
He said the situation for Muslims in the UK has
deteriorated further, pointing to “the institutionalisation of Islamophobia” by
the government and some parts of the media. “We as Muslims are still feeling
the effects of this attack and we won’t feel safe until Islamophobia is taken
seriously by the authorities and the police,” he said.
Ali’s daughter Ruzina Akhtar was among those at the
memorial service. She said that as a Muslim woman, she wanted everyone “to
voice any Islamophobic behaviour as it still exists, so it is tackled right
away”.
She remembered her father as “a compassionate husband,
a loving father and doting grandfather who was adored by everyone”.
“Our dad was first and foremost one of the most gentle
human beings you could have met, who always had a smile on his face and was
cracking jokes at the most random of times to make others laugh,” Akhtar said.
“His death has left a black hole but remembering his
smile and laughter we surround that hole with more love for one another, as he
would have wanted.”
Flowers were laid at a plaque reading “Makram Ali – a
husband, a father and beloved grandfather to his dearest Zarif and Seyam”.
Osborne was sentenced to concurrent whole life terms
in 2018 for the murder of Ali and the attempted murders of other people. The
judge, Justice Cheema-Grubb, said his choice to target a group wearing traditional
Islamic dress reflected his “ideology of hate towards Muslims”.
Source: The Guardian
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Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf: Spiralling Inflation Can
Make Us Next Sri Lanka
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan
-----
Ikram Junaidi
June 20, 2022
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman
Imran Khan warned that inflation is set to rise further and the country is
headed towards becoming the next Sri Lanka, which is suffering its worst
economic crisis since independence.
Addressing party workers across the country through
video link, Mr Khan asked people to take to the streets against inflation “for
their own good” and ramp up their struggle against the “imported government”.
PTI workers and supporters took to the streets in
various cities across the country to protest against rising inflation on Mr
Khan’s call.
At various protest sites, screens were installed for
his online address that he delivered a little after 10pm.
Says PTI wants not just elections, but free and fair
elections; claims conspiracy against PTI govt hampered economy
“I have called you to protest against price hike as it
is in your own favour. The poor class, including salaried people, farmers and
labourers, will suffer more because of the inflation. I will again give you a
call for the protest, which will be continued until we get the date of the free
and transparent election,” he said. “We do not want just elections. We want
free and fair elections.”
He said the current government was claiming that Imran
Khan had laid landmines, but the fact was that the PTI had increased petrol and
diesel prices by just a few rupees while the incumbent rulers had raised it by
more than Rs100.
Rejecting the notion that the recent price hikes were
because of the International Monetary Fund’s programme, Mr Khan said the
current government had been in the IMF programme for the last two weeks, but
the PTI government was in the programme for the last two and a half years.
“We also got instructions by the IMF to increase
prices, but we instead reduced the price of petrol by Rs10,” he said.
The former prime minister said the economy was in
abysmal condition due to which international ratings of the country and its
institutions had been downgraded, which would make it unable to get loans for
dams.
Mr Khan also claimed that Finance Minister Miftah
Ismail had asked for “relief” from the US envoy stationed in Islamabad.
“We took the remittances to $31bn and exports to
$32bn. But then a conspiracy was hatched by Mir Jafar and Mir Sadiq which
hampered the economy,” he said.
“I contacted the neutrals and tried to convince them
that it was not the right time to bring a new regime as they cannot control the
issues and handle the economy,” Mr Khan said, using a euphemism to refer to the
military.
“Khurram Dastgir has confessed that they have come to
power because of the fear that [the then opposition] would have been sent to
the jail by Imran Khan,” the PTI chief said.
Countrywide protests
The PTI protests were held in all major cities,
including Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi
and Multan. The demonstrations are also being held in other cities of the
country.
On Thursday, the PTI chief called on citizens to hold
protests across the country on Sunday against the “imported” government.
In Lahore, a large number of protesters, including
women and children, reached the Liberty Chowk, where a mega electronic screen
was installed to display Mr Khan’s speech.
Speaking on the occasion, PTI central Punjab president
Dr Yasmin Rashid and general secretary Hammad Azhar said the flood of inflation
had pushed the poor masses to commit suicide as they could hardly make ends
meet.
In Karachi, too, hundreds of PTI workers and
supporters congregated on Shahrah-e-Qauideen to join the countrywide
demonstrations.
Led by former Sindh governor Imran Ismail, PTI’s Sindh
president Ali Zaidi, senior leaders and legislators, the charged protesters,
including women and children, chanted slogans and danced to party songs.
In Peshawar, many PTI workers gathered at Hashtnagri
Chowk. A 20-foot screen was installed at the site to show Mr Khan’s speech.
Former Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, MNA Arbab Aamir Ayub, KP Environment
Minister Ishtiaq Urmar and female MPAs were also present on the occasion.
NA-240 by-polls
Earlier on Sunday, the PTI chairman contacted the
party’s provincial leaderships in Sindh and Punjab over incidents of violence
and the arrest of an MPA in Karachi and Lahore.
He also demanded that the NA-240 by-election be
declared null and void, claiming that only eight per cent of the voters used
the right to vote.
Mr Khan, who was ousted as prime minister earlier this
year through a vote of no confidence in parliament, contacted PTI Sindh
president Ali Zaidi and former governor Imran Ismail through telephone and
inquired about the arrest of MPA Shabbir Qureshi in Karachi.
He also spoke to party leader Khalid Gujjar in Lahore
and asked about his son, who was injured because of firing allegedly by PML-N
workers.
While condemning the Sindh and Punjab police for the
incidents, Mr Khan said the police did not take such steps in a democratic
country.
Meanwhile, while chairing a meeting of the party’s
political committee, Imran Khan said the Election Commission of Pakistan had
failed to hold a peaceful and transparent election in just one constituency.
One person was killed and nine were injured due to
violence on the election day, which was also marred by low turnout.
“Only 8pc people have cast their vote, which clearly
indicates that they don’t trust the current electoral system. It is strange
that the election commission has not declared the result of the election null
and void. I demand that the election should be held again,” Mr Khan said.
According to a report submitted to the party chairman,
the turnout in the June 16 by-poll was less than 9pc, as only 39,729 of the
529,855 registered people cast their votes. The report also claimed that most
political parties had refused to accept the election results.
Dastgir’s ‘confession’
Lashing out at the government for back-breaking
inflation, PTI leader and Mr Khan’s chief of staff Shahbaz Gill demanded that a
judicial commission should be formed to probe the statement of PML-N leader
Khurram Dastgir, “who tried to drag the military into politics”.
Addressing a press conference on Sunday, he said the
reality of a cipher came to the fore after Khurram Dastgir’s “confession”,
which had also exposed the government that it “conspired” to oust the PTI
government earlier this year to secure an NRO 2 and not for the country’s
betterment.
He said that Mr Dastagir should be asked as to why he
had concerns about the change of the army chief, adding that the “thieves” knew
that Imran Khan had come close to their accountability and therefore “they
conspired and ganged up against him”.
He said the power minister tried to drag the army into
politics and action should be taken against him.
Imran Ayub in Karachi, Mansoor Malik in Lahore and
Manzoor Ali in Peshawar also contributed to this report
Source: Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1695734/spiralling-inflation-can-make-us-next-sri-lanka-imran
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Houthis Slammed For Indoctrinating and Recruiting
Children at Summer Camps
A 17 year-old boy holds
his weapon at the High dam in Marib, Yemen, July 30, 2018. (AP)
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June 19, 2022
AL-MUKALLA: Yemeni government officials, human rights
groups, and child protection advocates have called for international action to
force the Iran-backed Houthis to stop indoctrinating and recruiting children
for battle.
They warned that those recruited by the militia would
become radical fighters who would undermine security in Yemen, the region, and
the rest of the world.
Their warnings and demands came as fresh videos leaked
from Houthi-managed summer camps showed the militia subjecting children to
endurance activities and training them to use arms.
Yemeni Information Minister Muammar Al-Eryani accused
the Houthis of extensively enlisting children in areas under their control
through annual summer camps where they brainwashed children, gave them military
lessons, and later dispatched them to fight government troops.
“Houthi militia escalates child recruitment &
pushing them to frontlines amid a surprising & unjustified Intl silence,
& failure of human rights & child protection orgs to play their role in
condemning this heinous crime, and stopping the mass killing of Yemeni children,”
he tweeted, sharing a “shocking” video of children as young as 10 being trained
at one of the camps.
He warned that they would go on to fuel violence in
Yemen and undermine UN-brokered efforts to reach a sustainable peace settlement
in the country.
Last month, the Houthis launched their annual summer
camps for children across densely populated areas under their control.
Thousands are said to have joined the camps, where
they are taught to correctly recite the Qur'an, receive Islamic lessons, and taught
how to confront false ideas from the West, according to the Houthis.
But videos leaked from the camps or those that appear
on Houthi–controlled media show the children being prepared for fighting.
In one of the videos, a Houthi man in a classroom teaches
children as young as 10 how to use an AK-47. The man can be seen handing the
weapon over to children, who take turns trying it out.
Children in other videos are seen pledging their
allegiance to the Houthi leader Abdul Malik Al-Houthi and vowing to fight his
opponents inside and outside the country.
The images of young children carrying weapons or
chanting hate slogans sparked outrage among Yemenis who called for the Houthis
to be punished for violating international child protection charters and exploiting
the UN-brokered truce to swell their ranks with young fighters.
“The Houthis continue to violate the rights of
children in Yemen. This Houthi teaches students to use weapons in order to push
them to the fronts,” said Yemeni activist Nadia Abdullah.
Yemeni journalist Ahmed Al-Mosibly called the Houthi
summer camps “time bombs” that prepared some people to kill others and serve
Iran’s agendas in Yemen. “Unfortunately, there are still parties inside and
outside the country that are not well aware of the danger of the Iranian
expansionist project,” he tweeted.
Yemeni journalist Ammar Zabal, who was a media officer
at a Saudi-funded child soldier rehabilitation center in Marib, met young
Houthi fighters.
He told Arab News the influence of Houthi indoctrination
lessons had made some children hate the community and the Yemenis who opposed
the movement.
“The influence of the toxic Houthi thoughts on those
children is huge,” Zabal said.
Ahmed Al-Qurashi, director of the SEYAJ Organization
for the Protection of Children, told Arab News that child recruitment in Yemen
had accelerated during the past few months despite the truce and extensive
efforts to strike a deal to end the war. He warned that the child soldiers
recruited today would become veteran fighters who would undermine regional and
international security.
“The increasing recruitment of children in Yemen is
evidence that all initiatives and proposals to protect children have failed. It
also shows the failure of the UN initiatives, including an agreement with the
Houthis regarding stopping the recruitment of children in fighting,” Al-Qurashi
said.
Source: Arab News
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original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2106376/middle-east
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Southeast
Asia
Report Inappropriate, Deviant Islamic ‘Medical’ Practices Found Online, Says Malaysian Religious Affairs Minister
19 Jun 2022
TAIPING, June 19 — Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department
(Religious Affairs) Datuk Idris Ahmad has called on members of the public to
report any Islamic medical practices found online that are inappropriate and
considered deviant.
He said such reports were necessary to enable
investigations and action to be taken against the perpetrators.
“We hope that if there are any medical practices that
violate religious beliefs (with practices) such as (casting) spells, do not
wait for the religious office and report it directly to the state Islamic
Religious Department, police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia
Commission (MCMC).
“We do not want the matter to spread to the point of
causing trouble,” he said during a press conference at the ‘Bantu Rakyat’
mobile sales programme for the Bukit Gantang parliamentary constituency in
Kampung Kurnia Jaya, Kamunting here, today.
He was commenting on a statement yesterday by Penang
Mufti Datuk Seri Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor who suggested that the Muzakarah
Committee of the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs hold a meeting
to discuss issues with regard to the current trend of online Islamic medical
practices.
Earlier, Darussyifa Malaysia Research and Development
Committee chief Datuk Abdul Rashid Mat Amin said the emergence of individuals
who have allegedly committed fraud by imposing high charges and performing
immoral acts such as molestation had tarnished the image of Islamic healthcare.
Source: Malay Mail
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Time to recognise refugees’ rights, Umno
vice-president tells govt
June 20, 2022
PETALING JAYA: Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin has
called for the government to recognise the fundamental rights of refugees
living here, saying it is in line with Malaysia being an Islamic nation.
The former Johor menteri besar said refugees in
Malaysia should have access to education, healthcare, and the freedom to move
about safely, describing these as fundamental human rights.
“Let us strengthen our commitment to ensure that their
rights and dignity are respected,” he said in a Facebook post in conjunction
with World Refugee Day.
Khaled said there were currently almost 100 million
refugees worldwide, most of whom were victims of armed conflicts and war.
He said that while Malaysia was not a signatory to the
1951 Refugee Convention, it did not mean that the government does not have a
moral responsibility of guaranteeing the safety and well-being of refugees
here.
He also stressed that refugees were not illegal
immigrants but were, instead, victims of difficult circumstances that forced
them to leave their homeland and families.
“In fact, most of the refugees seeking refuge in
Malaysia are Muslims from Syria, Myanmar, Iraq and Afghanistan. All of them
have no chance to return home safely,” he said.
Khaled said that based on their tragic situation,
Malaysia has a moral obligation to ensure these refugees were treated with
dignity and humanity.
“We are an Islamic country, and our religion teaches
us to do good to our fellow human beings regardless of their status and origin.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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Why so long to decriminalise suicide, says Befrienders
Dineskumar Ragu
June 19, 2022
GEORGE TOWN: Suicide prevention group Befrienders has
questioned Putrajaya’s delay in making changes to the law so that suicide would
no longer be a crime.
“Why is it taking them so long to come up with the
amendment bill,” said the group’s president, Saras Pillai, at a public
discussion here today.
She urged the government to speed up the amendments to
the law, and hoped Putrajaya would involve Befrienders and other groups working
on suicide prevention and mental health problems.
In March, law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said
that a study on the proposed amendments to the Penal Code was almost ready and
would be submitted to the Cabinet.
Under the Penal Code, an attempt to commit suicide is
a criminal offence punishable by up to a year’s jail, or a fine, or both.
Neil Hawkins, head of Befrienders Worldwide, said
creating an open discussion on suicide and mental health would help to overcome
the sense of shame that still exists.
He said people in Britain were now opening up to talk
about suicide and mental health without shame, stigma, and judgement.
Saras urged Malaysians to have an open discussion on
suicide to allay some of the stigmas.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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Afghan-born
champion sustains hope for refugees stranded in Indonesia through karate
June
19, 2022
JAKARTA:
Meena Asadi fought against all odds to chase her dreams of being a professional
karate athlete.
She
was 13 years old and living in a refugee camp in Pakistan when she first
decided to learn the martial art. After fleeing violence in Afghanistan with
her family, Asadi was driven to break gender barriers in sports.
“When
I saw boys playing sports freely, I asked myself: ‘Why couldn’t I do that?’”
Asadi told Arab News in an interview. “It motivated me to start karate
professionally.”
Asadi’s
passion for karate has guided her life journey since, even over a decade later
in Cisarua, a West Java town south of Jakarta, where she now teaches the art to
fellow refugees.
Asadi
returned to Afghanistan in 2011 but had to leave the country again due to
violence and war. She arrived in Indonesia in 2015, where she has lived for
years under increasing uncertainties over the future.
“In
Indonesia, refugees live without even the most basic human rights. We consider
ourselves forgotten,” Asadi said. “We all suffer from depression and
psychological damage.”
Indonesia,
which is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and mainly serves as
a transit country, is host to more than 13,000 refugees, many of whom have
languished in the archipelago nation for years as they await resettlement in a
third country.
As
refugees in the Southeast Asian country find themselves further trapped in
uncertainties, without the right to work and with only limited access to
education, Asadi has been using karate to help them reduce their anxiety and
find hope.
“Karate
helps them to be physically and mentally strong. When they wear a karate
uniform, they forget that they are homeless,” she said.
“This
is how their stress decreases and they become hopeful.”
Asadi,
who is a black belt in karate, won three silver medals at the 2010 South Asian
Games.
She
started the Cisarua Refugee Shotokan Karate Club in 2016 and now trains 40
students three times a week for two hours per session. Her youngest student is
7 years old, while her oldest is in his 50s. They are refugees from Iran, Iraq,
Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sudan. More than half are girls.
The
club in Indonesia, which the 29-year-old sustains with the help of local and
foreign donations, was not her first, as she had started one back in
Afghanistan not long after she returned to Kabul as an adult.
“You
can just imagine being the one girl who is a karate coach in Afghanistan;
people don’t want you to do sports,” she said.
“If
a girl opens a karate club for boys and girls, she will find many enemies,
which is something I was faced with. That is why I escaped and came here — to
save my life.”
Throughout
her life, Asadi has faced many barriers in pursuing her karate dreams, from
family members who did not believe in her to the persistent violence in her
home country.
Though
she is thankful for the hospitality she has received from Indonesia, Asadi said
that refugees in the transit country are akin to prisoners.
“We
are prisoners here. Our crime is that we escaped from violence and survived. We
have been living without basic human rights for years,” Asadi said.
As
the world commemorates World Refugee Day on Monday, Asadi hopes that
resettlement is in the near future for herself and her community.
Source:
Arab News
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of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2106521/world
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Arab
World
Iraq:
Sunni, Kurdish parties hold off talks to persuade Sadr to return to parliament
19
June, 2022
Sunni
political factions in Iraq will postpone discussions on recent developments in
the country’s political crisis to persuade a main Shia figure to backtrack on a
recent decision which saw his party resign from parliament.
The
Kurdistan Democratic Party and other blocs were scheduled to hold talks and
meetings to announce their positions going forward, but wanted to give more
time for negotiations.
Parliament
in Baghdad has been in turmoil since October's legislative election, and
intense negotiations among political factions have failed to forge a majority
in support of a new prime minister to succeed Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
The
crisis took a new turn after Iraqi lawmakers from firebrand Shia cleric Moqtada
al-Sadr's bloc resigned a week ago, in a move ostensibly designed to up
pressure to end an eight-month political paralysis.
Sources
close to Sadr told The New Arab’s sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the
cleric’s office will not receive any guests at the present time as he
reportedly plans on visiting Saudi Arabia to perform the annual Hajj
pilgrimage.
The
same sources indicated that mediation to persuade Sadr to backtrack on his
decision to exit the political process did not produce any tangible progress.
Source:
The New Arab
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/sunni-kurdish-parties-hold-talks-iraq-paralysis
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Truce
ends clashes among Turkey-backed rebels in northwest Syria
20 June,
2022
Clashes
among Syrian opposition groups backed by Turkey ended on Sunday after they
agreed to a truce, residents and opposition sources said, easing fears of wider
internecine warfare among opponents of President Bashar al Assad’s rule.
Opposition
negotiators told Reuters that Turkey, which maintains thousands of troops
inside northwest Syria, mediated a deal among Failaq al-Sham, Levant Front,
Jaish al-Islam and Ahrar al-Sham.
They
are part of the Syrian National Army coalition of armed opposition groups
backed by Turkey.
At
least eight people were killed and scores injured on Saturday in fighting among
the factions near al-Bab city in northwest Syria’s Aleppo province.
The
clashes prompted Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the former al-Qaeda offshoot, to deploy
in areas under the control of its rivals in the Syrian National Army, raising
fears it sought to expand beyond the areas they control in Idlib province to
the Afrin area.
Under
the truce, the factions returned Ahrar al-Sham’s headquarters and moved back to
their prior positions. The accord ended the specter of prolonged fighting.
The
northwest of Syria near the Turkish border is the last part of the country
still in the hands of fighters seeking to topple the Syrian president, but control
has been divided between extremist factions and others backed by Turkey.
Ideological
differences divide extremist militants from nationalist groups in the Free
Syrian Army that have gathered under the banner of the Syrian National Army,
which has the backing of Turkey.
Turkey
with the help of the Syrian National Army has carried out four operations in
northern Syria since 2016, seizing hundreds of kilometers of land. Opposition
commanders say they have stepped up their readiness to back up any new incursion.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Iran responds to UAE concerns over Tehran’s nuclear plans
19
June, 2022
Iran
on Saturday told the United Arab Emirates that Tehran gave a high priority to
improving ties with its neighbors, Iranian state media reported, a day after
the UAE voiced concern over Tehran’s nuclear program.
The
UAE’s envoy at the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog on Friday said he hoped
Iran would work with the body to provide reassurances to the international
community and the region about Tehran’s nuclear program.
In
a phone call with his UAE counterpart, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein
Amirabdollahian “pointed to the priority of neighbors in Iran’s foreign policy
and called for more consultation ... to expand bilateral ties,” state media
said.
In
2019, US-allied UAE started engaging with Iran after years of tense relations.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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UAE
sends 27 tons of food, medical aid to Ukraine refugees in Poland
18
June, 2022
The
UAE sent 27 tons of food and medical supplies to assist Ukrainian refugees in
Poland, the Emirates news agency WAM reported on Saturday.
The
UAE Ambassador to Ukraine Salem Ahmed al-Kaabi reaffirmed the country’s
keenness to contribute to the humanitarian relief efforts.
The
Gulf country has so far sent six planes to Poland and Moldova carrying 156 tons
of food, medical aid and ambulances to assist refugees who fled Ukraine
following Russia’s invasion on February 24.
The
assistance comes as part of the UAE’s commitment to donate AED18.3 million
(US$5 million) in response to the United Nations’ Humanitarian Flash Appeal.
The
Dubai International Humanitarian City (IHC) also sent 124 tons of relief
supplies and shelter equipment with other international organizations in the
city, WAM reported.
More
than 5.5 million Ukrainians have fled to neighboring Poland, Moldova, Romania
and beyond since Russia’s invasion on February 24, according to the United
Nations, which has called it Europe’s fastest-growing refugee crisis since
World War Two.
As
war rages in Ukraine’s east, Kyiv received a major boost on Friday when the
European Union recommended that it become a candidate to join the bloc,
foreshadowing a dramatic geopolitical shift in the wake of Russia’s invasion.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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--------
Turkish
forces ‘neutralize’ 4 PKK terrorists in northern Syria
Mumin
Altas
19.06.2022
Turkish
forces "neutralized" four YPG/PKK terrorists in northern Syria, the
Turkish National Defense Ministry said on Sunday.
The
terrorists were plotting an attack in the area of Operation Peace Spring, the
ministry said in a statement.
Turkish
authorities use the term “neutralized” to imply the terrorists in question
surrendered or were killed or captured.
Since
2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across
its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and
enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive
Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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Houthi:
Continued Saudi-led blockade amounts to deliberate crime against Yemenis
20
June 2022
A
senior member of the Yemeni Supreme Political Council has censured the ongoing
Saudi-led naval and air blockade on his country, emphasizing that the crippling
blockade amounts to a deliberate crime against the entire Yemeni population.
Mohammed
Ali al-Houthi wrote in a tweet on Sunday evening that the Riyadh-led coalition
is making use of starvation as a weapon of war against the Yemeni people.
“The
continuation of the siege and the Saudi-led coalition’s refusal to implement
provisions of the ceasefire, which is an official document under the auspices
of the United Nations and the Security Council, amounts to an intentional crime
against all Yemeni people,” al-Houthi said.
Saudi
Arabia began to lead a devastating war and blockade against Yemen in 2015 in
collaboration with its Arab allies and with arms and logistics support from the
US and other Western states.
The
objective was to reinstall the Riyadh-friendly regime of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi
and crush the Ansarullah resistance movement, which has been running state
affairs in the absence of a functional government in Yemen.
While
the Saudi-led coalition has failed to meet any of its objectives, the war has
killed hundreds of thousands of Yemenis and spawned the world’s worst
humanitarian crisis.
‘Less
than 10% of UN-backed truce materialized’
Meanwhile,
Deputy Prime Minister for Defense Affairs Jalal al-Ruwishan said there is clear
evidence that the Saudi-led coalition continues its all-out aggression against
Yemen in violation of the terms and conditions of a UN-brokered ceasefire,
which began on April 2 and was extended earlier this month.
Ruwishan
said in an interview with Arabic-language al-Masirah television that the truce
would be “meaningless and pointless” in case it does not result in the opening
of Yemeni ports and airports as well as the payment of civil servants.
He
asserted that Yemenis will determinedly restore their rights by all available
means.
“If
the Saudi-led war coalition keeps on violating the ceasefire, the Yemeni nation
will not accept a failed truce,” the top Yemeni official warned.
“Our
people and armed forces have not tied domestic and defense issues to the truce,
and have been not held down by it. They are doubtful about the sincerity of
aggressors and forces of aggression.”
Ruwishan
went on to say that Yemeni diplomats have insisted on the removal of the brutal
siege and elimination of the sufferings of the Yemeni people in the so-called
peace talks, noting that Saudi Arabia and its allies do not abide by the
UN-backed ceasefire as required.
Source:
Press TV
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--------
Europe
Memorial
service at London mosque honours worshipper killed in terror attack
Layla
Maghribi
Jun
19, 2022
Dozens
of people gathered at Finsbury Park Mosque in north London on Sunday to
remember Makram Ali, who was killed during a terrorist attack in the area five
years ago.
After
listening to opening prayers at the memorial service, Ali’s daughter Ruzina
Akhtar remembered her father as “one of the most gentle human beings you could
have met” in a tearful tribute.
“He
has been tragically taken from us five years ago,” said Ms Akhtar, on the
anniversary of the attack which also injured 12 people.
“Our
dad was first and foremost one of the most gentle human beings you could have
met, who always had a smile on his face and was cracking jokes at the most
random of times to make others laugh.
“He
was a compassionate husband, a loving father and doting grandfather who was
adored by everyone.
“His
death has left a black hole, but remembering his smile and laughter we surround
that hole with more love for one another, as he would have wanted.”
Sunday
marks five years since Darren Osborne ploughed a hired van into worshippers
gathered outside the nearby Muslim Welfare House shortly after evening Ramadan
prayers.
Ms
Akhtar said that “as a Muslim woman” she wanted everyone “to voice any Islamophobic
behaviour as it still exists so it is tackled right away”.
Speaking
at the service, the chairman of Finsbury Park Mosque Mohammed Kozbar told
gathered crowds that Islamophobia in the UK had worsened over the years and
that Muslims still do not feel safe.
“The
problem we are facing is that since this attack took place not much has changed
in tackling Islamophobia,” Mr Kozbar said.
“Even
still, we don’t have a definition of Islamophobia.
“In
fact, it is much worse now than it was five years ago with the
institutionalisation of Islamophobia by this government and some sections of
the media.
“We
as Muslims are still feeling the effects of this attack and we won’t feel safe
until Islamophobia is taken seriously by the authorities and the police.”
Toufik
Kacimi, chief executive of the Muslim Welfare House, where the terrorist attack
took place, said at the service “many of us just can’t forget that horrible
night.”
“This
incident was trying to divide us but it actually brought us together — as you
can see, five years on we’re still coming together today,” said Mr Kacimi, and
he called for the “root cause” of Islamophobia to be tackled.
“British
Muslims still think that Islam is not compatible with Europe”, he said.
Source:
The National News
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Türkiye
to reiterate its demands from Sweden, Finland amid their NATO bids
Baris
Gundogan
18.06.2022
If
the Swedish government does not take steps to end the PKK terror group's
actions within their countries, the negotiations are unlikely to progress for
Sweden's NATO membership process, said Türkiye's presidential spokesperson on
Saturday.
Earlier,
the YPG/PKK-linked social media accounts shared images showing pieces of rag
symbolizing the terror group and its convicted ringleader's photos projected
onto the historic City Hall in Stockholm.
Türkiye's
Presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin, after a conference in the Turkish
capital Ankara, told the press that the projection of images belonging to the
terrorist organization YPG/PKK on buildings in Stockholm is one of the most
striking examples of the extent that the PKK is deployed in this country and
how spoiled it is.
Kalin
said that as NATO is a security alliance and not an economic cooperation
organization, they expect Sweden and Finland to end the existence of terror
groups such as the PKK, PYD, YPG, FETO, DHKP-C, and their front organizations.
Ankara
also expects complete prevention of any funds to be collected, recruitment of
personnel, activities, and propaganda against Türkiye, he added.
"I
would like to express once again that the process will not progress until such
threats against Türkiye's security in these countries are eliminated,"
Kalin also said.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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Türkiye
gives Norwegians 'temporary' permission to enter with national ID cards
Seda
Sevencan
18.06.2022
Norwegian
citizens will be allowed to enter Türkiye with just their national identity
cards for a “temporary” period, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
The
decision has been taken “to enable Norwegian citizens to visit Türkiye during
the 2022 tourism season,” ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic said in a statement.
The
arrangement has been made “upon the request of the Turkish tourism sector”
because “Norwegian citizens are unable to renew their passports due to the
ongoing global chip crisis,” the statement said.
“Within
the framework of this temporary arrangement, Norwegian citizens will be allowed
to travel to Türkiye with their biometric ID cards, containing their personal
information, for a temporary period of six and a half months,” it added.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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Pakistan
Pakistan
Faces Inflows of Asylum Seekers Following the Taliban’s Takeover of Kabul: UN
Refugee Agency
June
19, 2022
Pakistan
is facing new inflows of asylum seekers from neighbouring Afghanistan,
following the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul, according to the UN refugee agency.
Speaking
to Anadolu Agency on the eve of the World Refugees Day, observed June 20 every
year, Qaiser Khan Afridi, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) Pakistan, said more than 250,000 Afghans seeking asylum have
trickled into Pakistan since January 2021.
“UNHCR
is aware that over 250,000 Afghans seeking asylum are reported to have arrived
in Pakistan since January 2021, however, the overall number of Afghans with
international protection needs is likely to be higher,” said Afridi.
“We
are currently discussing with the government of Pakistan the way forward on
registration and documentation of asylum-seekers, predominantly from
Afghanistan,” he said.
Hundreds
of thousands of Afghans fled to Pakistan and Iran since the fall of Kabul to
the Taliban last August.
Many,
who worked or associated with the previous regime, left the country, even
before the capture of Kabul fearing a backlash from the hard line group, with
others finding it an opportunity to emigrate to the US or Europe.
The
Wall Street Journal newspaper reported earlier this week that many top
officials in the US-backed previous Afghan government had started purchasing
expensive properties in the US and other countries in the final years of the
war, which ended in an unexpected surrender of the Afghan National Army.
Last
week, the federal cabinet approved a policy under which, transit visas will be
issued to the Afghan asylum seekers to enter the country legally to complete
paperwork for further international travel.
Much
expectedly, there has been no increase in the number of Afghan refugees
returning to their homeland after the Taliban’s takeover, said the UNHCR.
Afridi
said only 850 refugees (185 families) have returned to the war-torn country
since the beginning of 2022 under the commission’s voluntary repatriation
program.
The
figure, he added, is slightly higher compared to repatriation during the same
period last year.
“Upon
return, repatriated families receive a grant to support them as they rebuild
their lives and communities. The UNHCR provides financial support of $250 each
to the repatriating families,” he added.
Pakistan
is currently hosting 1.3 million documented and almost as many undocumented
Afghan refugees. Of them, a majority are residing in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
province, which serves as a gateway to Afghanistan. Balochistan and Karachi,
also host a large number of refugees.
“UNHCR
advocates that returns need to be voluntary and take place in conditions of
safety, dignity and security,” said Afridi.
Saleem
Khan, the chief commissioner for Afghan refugees, said the repatriation process
remained sluggish because of coronavirus-related restrictions in the past two
years, aside from economic and political developments in Afghanistan.
“The
process has seen a kind of resumption over the past one week but it’s premature
to predict the future trend. It will take another couple of months to determine
that,” he told Anadolu Agency.
Hunched
on plastic chairs outside a cafe and enjoying green tea at a refugee camp in
the southern port city of Karachi, a group of Afghan youths had no plans to
return to their homeland.
Located
on the northern outskirts of Pakistan’s most populous city, the run-down
locality with limited access to health care and basic sanitation is home to
nearly 250,000 refugees who were forced to flee due to a lingering conflict.
Karachi
is home to more than 300,000 Afghan refugees, most of whom work as laborers or
own small shops in Pashtun-dominated areas.
Maulana
Rahimullah, who migrated to Pakistan and made Karachi his new home in 1980
following the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, cites the economy and
unwillingness of young refugees as reasons behind a snail-paced repatriation
despite “much better” law and order in the war-hacked country.
“Although
our major concerns, which were about law and order, and a possible civil war
after the Taliban takeover, have been addressed, still a brute majority of
refugees have no plans to return, at least in the near future,” Rahimullah, who
hails from Afghanistan’s northeastern Takhar province, told Anadolu Agency.
“Here
we often get work to make a living. But that’s still not the case in
Afghanistan,” he said.
The
father of six, Rahimullah said the younger generations born and raised in
Pakistan have little interest to go back to their homeland.
“Even
if I want to go back, my children won’t let me go. For them, this (Pakistan) is
their country,” he said.
According
to UNHCR, more than 4.4 million refugees have been repatriated to Afghanistan
since 2002, but many, including hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers,
returned to Pakistan due to violence, unemployment and a lack of education and
medical facilities.
Huzaifa
bin Nauman, 17, along with his family, came to Pakistan months ago from the
northern Mazar-i-Sharif region. He claimed that instead of returning, Afghans
are trickling into Pakistan following the Taliban’s takeover.
Speaking
to Anadolu Agency, Nauman who has not been able to get admission to a local
school due to his missing educational records, said several families of his
tribe that had repatriated to Afghanistan, have returned to Pakistan in recent
years under pressure from youths, who do not want to live in the war-stricken country.
Source:
Pakistan Today
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--------
6
terrorists killed in clash with security forces in SW Pakistan
June
20, 2022
Six
terrorists were killed in a clash with security forces in Pakistan's southwest
Balochistan province on Sunday, a military statement said.
The
security forces launched an operation after receiving a tip-off regarding the
presence of terrorists in a mountainous range of the province, the military's
media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in the statement.
When
the troops started a clearance operation in the area, terrorists tried to
escape from their hideout and opened fire on security forces, the statement
added.
In
retaliatory fire, six terrorists belonging to the banned outfit Balochistan
Liberation Front (BLF) were killed, said the statement.
"The
terrorists were involved in attacks on security forces posts besides recent
planting of improvised explosive devices on security forces convoys," the
ISPR said.
Source:
ABNA24
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Eager
to get off ‘grey list’, Pakistan trying for early FATF on-site visit
Jun
19, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan on Saturday said it was working closely with the FATF to schedule an
early on-site visit by its experts to verify the progress made by the country
in countering financing of terrorism and money-laundering activities before
removing Islamabad from the grey list.
The
Financial Action Task Force said Pakistan may be removed from the grey list
after an on-site visit to verify the implementation of reforms on countering
terror-financing. Outgoing FATF president Marcus Pleyer said a formal
announcement on Pakistan’s removal from the list would follow an on-site
inspection, which would be conducted before October. In a media briefing,
minister of state for foreign affairs Hina Rabbani Khar said the government was
working closely with the global watchdog to schedule the visit at mutually
convenient dates so the process could be concluded prior to the FATF’s plenary
session in October.
Source:
Times Of India
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No
deal yet with IMF for revival of loan programme
Khaleeq
Kiani
June
20, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have not yet been able to
reach close to a staff-level agreement for revival of the Extended Fund
Facility (EFF), leaving authorities in a tight spot to bridge the gap and get
the updated federal budget for the fiscal year 2022-23 passed by the National
Assembly.
The
authorities in the finance ministry were expecting to conclude the staff-level
agreement by Sunday (June 19) on the basis of revenue and expenditure measures
that could deliver next year’s primary budget (the difference between revenues
and expenditures, excluding interest payment) in Rs152 billion surplus.
However,
the IMF staff still has reservations over Rs9.5 trillion expenditures projected
by the authorities for the next fiscal year. The revenue measures in the
budget, according to IMF estimates, are also insufficient to deliver slightly
over Rs7tr target.
Read:
Up the IMF creek
A
top finance ministry official confirmed on Sunday night that they had not yet
received the first draft of memorandum of economic and financial policies
(MEFP) from the IMF as targeted earlier because certain matters remained
unsettled. “We are working very closely with the IMF and will soon reach some
conclusion,” the official said.
The
government is targeting to secure the passage of the budget 2022-23 from the
National Assembly on June 27-28, according to the finance ministry’s schedule
of events. For this to happen, it has to reach an agreement with the IMF so that
the agreed measures could be protected in the budget. In any case, the budget
has to be passed by parliament by 28 to legally ensure its implementation with
effect from July 1, as required under the Constitution.
While
the two sides remained divided over personal income tax slabs and rates, the
federal authorities received another setback after the provinces came up with
their budgets which created another shortfall of almost one per cent of gross
domestic product (GDP) — apparently meaning that the primary account would be
in a massive deficit — rather than Rs152bn surplus.
The
federal government had projected Rs800bn cash surplus from the four provinces
in the budget for next fiscal year. However, so far only the Punjab government
announced a budget with Rs125bn surplus, while Sindh presented a Rs35bn deficit
budget. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has neither committed a surplus nor projected a
deficit in its budget. Balochistan has not yet announced its budget, but is
highly unlikely to provide any sizeable surplus.
Based
on Rs800bn provincial surplus, the Centre had projected an overall budget
deficit for the next fiscal year at Rs3.8tr or 4.9pc of GDP because it had
estimated its own federal budget deficit at Rs4.6tr or 5.9pc of GDP. This means
that unless the federal government is able to convince the provinces to curtail
their expenditures or increase revenues, the primary account would be in
Rs650bn deficit.
This
comes at a time when the KP government was already running on overdraft to meet
its expenditures during the current fiscal year. The Economic Coordination
Committee (ECC) of the cabinet has approved a supplementary grant — budget
overrun — of Rs115bn for KP as late as last week i.e. after the presentation of
the federal budget.
In
a report last week, the finance ministry had reported to the ECC that the
federal government had, under an IMF conditionality, prohibited borrowing from
the State Bank of Pakistan by the federal and provincial governments. Prior to
these IMF-sponsored reforms, the provinces were availing ways and means
advances (overdraft facility) from the SBP.
In
order to enable the provinces to continue availing such advances after the
prohibition, the ECC had in June 2020 put in place a new lending policy for the
provincial governments, besides enhancing their ways and means limits. Under
that policy, the facility of ways and means advances is provided to the
provincial governments by the Centre instead of the SBP.
Read:
Budgeting illusions
In
this regard, tri-partite agreements have been signed with all the four
provinces. The agreement authorises the SBP to debit/credit federal and
provincial government accounts as and when a province is in need of ways and
means advance or has sufficient balance to clear the advance availed by that
province. The existing limit of the ways and means advances of the four
provinces is about Rs164.3bn — Rs77bn for Punjab, Rs39bn for Sindh, Rs31.3bn
for KP and Rs17bn for Balochistan.
The
provision of Rs15bn under the head of ways and means advances to the provinces
was included in the outgoing budget as federal miscellaneous investment and
other loan and advances, but KP has availed Rs115bn cumulatively during the
year as of June 9, 2022.
In
order to adjust the expenditure of Rs100bn made by the KP government in excess
of the allocated limit as well as likely future requirements of the provinces
during the outgoing year, supplementary grant of Rs130bn was required for which
schedule of supplementary grants for Rs100bn will be issued forthwith. However,
schedule of supplementary grants for the balance amount will be issued on a
need basis as per ways and means advances availed by the provinces.
Source:
Dawn
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of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1695735/no-deal-yet-with-imf-for-revival-of-loan-programme
--------
Four
social activists among six killed in North Waziristan
Pazir
Gul
June
20, 202
NORTH
WAZIRISTAN: Six people, including four volunteers of a social organisation,
were killed in two incidents in North Waziristan tribal district on Sunday.
Police
and residents said that unidentified men on two motorcycles opened fire on a
moving car in the Haiderkhel area of Mirali tehsil.
Four
activists of the Youth of Waziristan, a social organisation, were killed in the
attack.
The
deceased have been identified as Waqar Ahmad Dawar, Sunaid Ahmad Dawar, Aamad
Dawar and Assadullah.
The
bodies were shifted to a hospital in Mirali town.
The
Youth Organisation was formed after the Zarb-i-Azb military operation. The
organisation works for restoration of peace in the militancy-hit region. The
organisation has also staged protest and sit-in against target killings.
About
two years ago security agencies took action against a sit-in organised by the
Youth of Waziristan and arrested its founding president, Noor Islam Dawar.
Meanwhile,
bullet-riddled bodies of two people, who were kidnapped from a market in Mirali
town, were found near the Tochi river, also called the Gambila River, on
Sunday.
Residents
said that unidentified gunmen had kidnapped the two people from Khadi market in
Mirali town.
No
group has so far claimed responsibility for the killing.
The
deceased belonged to Lakki Marwat district.
In
South Waziristan, two people were gunned down in separate incidents on Sunday.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1695727/four-social-activists-among-six-killed-in-north-waziristan
--------
Mideast
Hamas:
We stand against Israel’s settlement plans to preserve Islamic identity of
al-Quds
19
June 2022
The
Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has condemned Israel’s plans to
build more settlements in the occupied Palestinian lands, saying the resistance
will counter such plans in order to preserve the Islamic identity of the
occupied city of al-Quds.
In
a Sunday statement, the movement condemned Israel’s plan to build a new
settlement that would separate al-Masara and Bab al-Amud neighborhoods of the
occupied East al-Quds, describing it as a step toward the Judaization of the
occupied city.
“We
stand against [Israel’s] settlement [construction] in order to preserve the
Arab and Islamic identity of al-Quds,” the movement said.
It
added that the plan is also a clear violation of Islamic and Christian
sanctities in the city, and its main goal is to change the historical identity
of al-Quds and reduce the presence of Palestinians there.
Hamas
further called on the Palestinian people and factions to voice their opposition
against the new Israeli Judaization plan and resist it by all possible means.
It
made clear that the Tel Aviv regime’s attempt to impose a new status quo in
al-Quds will not change the Arab and Islamic identity of the holy city.
The
Israeli regime has accelerated the construction of its illegal settlements in
occupied al-Quds in recent years.
Palestinian
Islamic Jihad and Hamas have already warned that Israel’s house demolitions and
its expansion of illegal settlements in al-Quds will trigger an “explosion” of
the situation in the occupied territories.
Human
rights activists say Israel’s settlement expansion policies amount to
apartheid. However, some Arab countries have remained silent in the face of the
inhumane Israeli measures.
Nearly
700,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 occupation
of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds.
Most
of the international community considers Israeli settlement construction
illegal under international law and an obstacle to the so-called two-state
solution to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The
UN Security Council has in several resolutions condemned the Tel Aviv regime’s
settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian lands.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/06/19/684190/Hamas-We-stand-against-Israel-settlement-plans
--------
Palestinian
Authority calls on Israel to hand over gun in Abu Akleh case
19
June 2022
The
Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs the occupied West Bank, has urged
Israel to hand over the gun that fired the shot which killed veteran
Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh more than a month ago.
Abu
Akleh was shot in the head by Israeli forces on May 11, while she was standing
with a group of journalists near the entrance of the Jenin refugee camp,
reporting on an Israeli raid on the camp.
Her
tragic death sent shock waves across the region, drawing global condemnation.
The United Nations and the European Union, among others, called for a full
investigation into what has been described as a deliberate murder “in cold
blood.”
On
May 26, Palestinian Attorney General Akram al-Khatib said an Israeli soldier
gunned down Abu Akleh, confirming the results of a preliminary investigation
announced nearly two weeks earlier.
While
the Tel Aviv regime claims the Al Jazeera journalist was killed as she was caught
in the crossfire, the attorney general said the PA investigation showed there
were no Palestinian fighters near the scene of the shooting.
Abu
Akleh was hit with an armor-piercing bullet fired from a semi-automatic rifle
Ruger Mini-14 while she was wearing a helmet and a vest that was clearly marked
with the word “PRESS”, the probe said, refuting Israel’s claim that the bullet
may have come from the Palestinians.
The
Palestinian investigation echoed findings by Al Jazeera and several other major
news organizations.
Following
the incident, the Israeli military asked the PA to hand over the bullet that
killed Abu Akleh to Israeli authorities for investigation. Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas refused to do so. He said the regime cannot be trusted.
On
Sunday, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said at a ceremony in the
West Bank town of Ramallah to mark 40 days since Abu Akleh’s assassination that
the PA had called on the Tel Aviv regime to hand over the gun.
“We
have refused to hand over the bullet to them, and we even demand that they hand
over the weapon that murdered Shireen Abu Akleh,” Shtayyeh said.
The
Israeli military persistently claims it has not yet concluded whether the
Palestinian journalist was killed by one of its soldiers or stray Palestinian
gunfire. Israel says it has not either concluded yet whether one of its
troopers will face criminal charges over the killing.
Furthermore,
the top lawyer of the Israeli military has already said such charges will be
unlikely given the circumstances surrounding Abu Akleh’s killing that occurred
during an active combat, according to the refuted claims of the Israeli
military.
Eyewitnesses
and journalists who were with Abu Akleh on the day she was shot also described
the shooting as a “deliberate attempt” to kill journalists.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/06/19/684202/Palestine-Israel-Abu-Akleh-gun-Shtayyeh-
--------
Senior
Lawmaker: Europeans Merely Follow US Policies in Talks with Iran
2022-June-19
The
Europeans have practically no power in nuclear talks with Iran and they merely
follow in the footsteps of the US, which has a final say on all the policies
pursued by the western side vis-à-vis Tehran, Hassan Hemmati said on Saturday.
He
added that no agreement will be reached on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal as
long as the conditions set by Iran in the negotiations are not met.
Iran
will never accept a one-sided agreement that the other side pushes to impose
with bullying, the lawmaker said.
Elsewhere,
Hemmati said that a withdrawal from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) has not
been on the agenda of the parliament so far, stressing that the country will
never surrender to a one-sided agreement on its nuclear program under pressure.
“For
the time being, a withdrawal from the NPT has not been discussed at the
Parliament and this issue should be decided as the general policies of the
[Iranian] establishment,” he added.
He
was reacting to some media speculation in Iran that the country has the option
of quitting the NPT, following the adoption of a resolution, drafted by the US
and its European allies, against the Iranian nuclear program at a meeting of
the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The
legislator said the resolution, which was approved under pressure from the US
and Israel, was “expectable”.
Since
April last year, the Iranian negotiating team has been involved in marathon
talks with the other remaining parties to the JCPOA – Britain, France, Germany,
China, and Russia – with the aim of bringing the US back into the deal and
destroying its sanctions regime against Tehran.
Under
former president Donald Trump, the United States pulled out of the landmark
agreement and instigated what it described as the “maximum pressure” campaign
of sanctions against the Islamic Republic to reach a “better deal” than the
JCPOA.
The
Vienna talks have been on hold since March as Washington insists on its refusal
to undo its past wrongs through measures such as removing Iran’s Islamic
Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) from its list of foreign terrorist
organizations.
EU
Foreign Policy Chief Joseph Borrel in a phone conversation with Iranian Foreign
Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian earlier this week underlined the necessity
for the resumption of Vienna talks between Iran and the world powers on removal
of the US sanctions.
During
the phone talks, Borrell said he is ready to make necessary efforts to pave the
way for a deal in the Vienna talks that would be agreed upon by all sides.
He
admitted that Iran is constructively determined to reach a good and lasting
deal, saying, “We are not far from a deal in Vienna and time is now to resume
the talks swiftly and to make an effort to prevent an escalation.”
Borrel
pointed to the latest developments regarding the Iran nuclear deal, JCPOA, and
stressed that the only way out of the current situation is pursuit of diplomacy
and avoiding unconstructive actions.
Amir
Abdollahian, for his part, said Iran has always welcomed logical and
result-based talks but it is necessary that the other side quit adopting double
standards and contradictory behavior in order to reach a good and lasting deal.
He
thanked Borrell for his efforts to forge a deal in Vienna, and criticized the
US over its unconstructive and hasty moves to get a resolution approved at the
International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors.
“After
the approval of the resolution at the Board of Governors, we showed that we
would not retreat from the rights of the Iranian people and if the US wants to
continue behaving unconstructively, it will be met with an appropriate response
from our side”.
Amir
Abdollahian added that we still believe diplomacy is the best and most proper
path and solution to the issue.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran
hangs extremist accused of murdering Shia clerics
20 June,
2022
Iran
on Monday hanged a Sunni extremist who was sentenced to death for killing two
Shia clerics and wounding another in early April, the judiciary said.
A
21-year-old national of Uzbek origin carried out the April 5 stabbing attack at
the Imam Reza shrine which honors one of the most revered figures in Shia
Islam.
The
killings happened during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when large crowds of
worshippers had gathered at the shrine, in Iran’s second-largest city Mashhad.
“The
death sentence against Abdolatif Moradi was carried out by hanging this
morning, in the presence of a group of citizens and officials in Vakilabad
prison in Mashhad,” said provincial judiciary chief Gholamali Sadeghi, quoted
by the judiciary’s website Mizan Online.
The
assailant “was accused of moharebeh (‘war against God’, in Persian) using a
weapon to terrorize the population in the shrine and even outside it,” Sadeghi
added.
The
assailant stabbed one of the victims 20 times, Tasnim news agency reported
earlier.
On
June 7, the judiciary announced Moradi’s death sentence, adding that his lawyer
had appealed to the Supreme Court.
According
to local media, Moradi entered Iran illegally a year earlier from Pakistan and
settled in Mashhad, the country’s main holy city.
Iranian
leaders blamed “takfiri elements” for the attack. The term takfiri in Iran and
in several other countries refers to radical Sunni groups.
One
of the clerics, Mohammad Aslani, died immediately while the death of the
second, Sadegh Darai, was announced two days later.
The
attack came days after two Sunni clerics were shot dead outside a seminary in
the northern Iranian town of Gonbad-e Kavus.
The
three suspects in that case, also Sunnis, were arrested in late April but were
said to have “no connection with terrorist groups”, state media reported at the
time.
Sunnis
make up between five and 10 percent of Shia-majority Iran’s population of 83
million people.
Iran
last year recorded its highest annual execution total in four years, rights
group Amnesty International said last month.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Israel’s
PM warns Iran: Those who send ‘terrorists’ to attack Israelis will pay price
19
June, 2022
Israel’s
Prime Minister Naftali Bennet warned Iran on Sunday against any attempts to
target Israelis abroad in “terrorist attacks”, threatening that anyone who
attempts to orchestrate such attacks will pay the price.
“We
are currently witnessing Iranian attempts to attack Israelis in various
overseas locations,” Bennett said.
“The
security services are working to thwart attempted attacks before they are
launched. We will continue to strike those who send the terrorists. We will
continue to strike those who send the terrorists,” he added.
He
also warned Israelis against traveling to Turkey for their safety. “Alongside
this, we have warned Israeli citizens to avoid flying to Turkey – especially
Istanbul – at this time if it is not necessary. The danger is still great. I
call on the citizens of Israel to show personal responsibility and safeguard
their security.”
Last
week, Israel warned its citizens against traveling to Turkey, citing the danger
of possible Iranian “revenge attacks” after the assassination of Iran’s Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Colonel Sayad Khodai.
Israeli
public broadcaster Kan radio reported last week that security officials foiled
an Iranian attack targeting Israelis in Turkey last month.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Palestinian shot dead by Israeli forces: Palestinian ministry
19
June, 2022
A
Palestinian worker was shot dead by Israeli forces on Sunday while crossing a
security barrier in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian sources said.
The
Palestinian health ministry identified the man killed as Nabil Ghanem, 53, from
the West Bank city of Nablus.
The
official Palestinian news agency Wafa said Ghanem was among the tens of
thousands of West Bank Palestinians who regularly seek work in Israel.
An
Israeli army spokesperson said forces had shot at “a suspect who vandalized the
security fence.”
Wages
on Israeli farms and construction sites are far higher than what most
Palestinian employers can pay in the West Bank, a territory occupied by Israeli
since 1967.
Jobs
inside Israel are highly coveted by many Palestinians. Some have permits to
work in Israel while others seek to cross without authorization.
Ghanem’s
killing comes amid a spike in Israeli-Palestinian violence.
Nineteen
people, mostly Israeli civilians -- including 18 inside Israel and a Jewish
settler -- have been killed in attacks by Palestinians and Israeli Arabs since
late March.
Israeli
security forces have responded with raids inside Israel and in the West Bank,
particularly in and around Jenin. Three Israeli Arab attackers and an Israeli
police commando have been killed.
Forty-five
Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank -- suspected militants but also
non-combatants, including an Al Jazeera journalist who was covering a raid in
Jenin.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Israeli
president thanks Turkish counterpart for Ankara’s efforts in combatting
terrorism
Handan
Kazancı
19.06.2022
The
Israeli president in a phone call thanked his Turkish counterpart for Ankara’s
efforts in combatting terrorism, Türkiye's Communications Directorate said on
Sunday.
Recep
Tayyip Erdogan and his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog discussed
Türkiye-Israel relations and regional matters, the directorate said in a
statement.
The
two leaders “agreed on maintaining cooperation for peace and stability as well
as dialogue in the two countries’ relations and regional matters, including security
and the fight against terror,” the statement added.
Last
month, during a visit to Israel, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said
Turkiye and Israel demonstrated a "common will" to improve relations
in every field.
"Even
though there were difficult days, we decided to continue our relations,"
Cavusoglu said.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
India
Need
to work together for a crime-free border, India tells Bangladesh
Jun
20, 2022
NEW
DELHI: Better management of India’s long border with Bangladesh is a key
priority and the two countries must continue to work together to make sure that
the border remains crime-free, said foreign minister S Jaishankar after a
meeting with his counterpart A K Abdul Momen.
After
co-chairing the 7th round of Joint Consultative Commission, Jaishankar said the
Border Guarding Forces remain committed to combating trans-border crimes.
Bangladesh also sought India's support for early repatriation of Rohingya
refugees to Myanmar.
More
than a million refugees are living in camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazaar area,
close to the border with Myanmar. Dhaka is also worried about an influx of
Rohingyas from India. About 1,000 of them are based in the camps in Cox’s
Bazar.
“Both
sides reiterated the importance of safe, speedy and sustainable return of the
forcibly displaced persons from the Rakhine State of Myanmar, currently being
sheltered by Bangladesh,” said the Indian government in a statement.
This
was the first in-person JCC meeting convened since the onset of Covid-19
pandemic. Jaishankar conveyed India’s support and solidarity at the
unprecedented flooding in northern Bangladesh. “We are now sharing flood
management data for an extended period. I would like to take the opportunity to
convey that if in any concrete way, we can be of assistance to you in the
management of flood and relief efforts, we would be very glad to be supportive.
It would be in keeping with our relationship,” he said. Jaishankar said the two
countries are looking at subregional cooperation in power, especially,
hydropower. “We are both the largest producer and consumer of energy in the
region. And we would be very happy to work with Bangladesh to structure a
progressive partnership in the areas of production, transmission and trade,” he
said.
Source:
Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
K M
Shaji’s Tirade against NRI Businessman Yusuffali Creates Ripples in Muslim
League
20th
June 2022
KOZHIKODE: Muslim League state secretary K M Shaji’s
outburst against NRI businessman Yusuffali M A over his remarks on the
Opposition for boycotting the Loka Kerala Sabha has created ripples within the
party. Shaji has become an instant hero of the party workers on social media,
who hail him as the true representative of the Opposition.
Though
Shaji’s anger during the speech in Bahrain on Saturday was directed at the
businessman, many believe IUML national general secretary P K Kunhalikutty was
the real target. Shaji said the businessman (without naming Yusuffali) may have
reasons to please Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to protect his business interests.
“You can do that, but don’t try to purchase IUML,” he said.
While
addressing the Loka Kerala Sabha on Friday, Yusuffali had criticised the UDF’s
decision to abstain from the conference. Shaji’s remarks have surprised the
political observers as Yusuffali maintains a good relationship with political
figures, including Kunhalikutty.
According
to them, Shaji’s reference to ‘purchasing’ the party is an innuendo on the
alleged Pinarayi-Kunhalikutty-Yusuffali axis. Kunhalikutty’s detractors believe
he is soft towards the LDF government because of his proximity with CM, which
is mediated by Yusuffali.
We
respect the stature of Yusuffali, says Thangal
Kunhalikutty’s
near absence in the UDF agitation in the wake of the revelations by the gold
smuggling case accused is interpreted by many as the indirect fallout of an
agreement. The ‘secret meeting’ between the IUML leader and K T Jaleel at
Kuttippuram a few months ago had fuelled many speculations.
Shaji
also blasted the leaders of the Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC) -- the
feeder organisation of the IUML -- who had attended the Loka Kerala Sabha. He
said the duty of KMCC representatives should be to present the party’s view
point at the conference and not to eulogise the LDF government.
The
Congress and IUML had allowed the representatives of their NRI organisations to
take part in the conference while the UDF leaders boycotted the event for
political reasons. There was pressure from some corners to force Shaji to
apologise to Yusuffali or at least disown his remarks considering the influence
wielded by the NRI businessman.
But
social media activists of the party opposed it tooth and nail, saying there is
no question of any apology. Meanwhile, IUML state president Panakkad Syed Sadiq
Ali Shihab Thangal said the UDF decided to boycott the Loka Kerala Sabha taking
into consideration the volatile situation existing in the state.
Source:
New Indian Express
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of the original story:
--------
Muslim
boy lived and studied in PM Modi's family home
Jun
20, 2022
AHMEDABAD:
A Muslim boy who became an integral part of the Modi household at Vadnagar in
Gujarat’s Mehsana district in the early seventies, finding familial love and
forging a lifelong friendship as he pursued his studies there, finds mention in
PM Narendra Modi's emotional blogpost commemorating his mother Hiraba entering her
100th year.
“After
the untimely death of my father's close friend who stayed in a nearby village,
my father brought his friend's son, Abbas (Ramsada), to our home. He stayed
with us and completed his studies. Mother was as affectionate and caring towards
Abbas as she was towards all of us siblings. Every year on Eid, she prepared
his favourite dishes,” PM Modi writes.
Abbas,
who now lives in Australia with his son, completed his matriculation with
excellent grades while staying in Modi’s family home. He was in the same class
as the PM's brother Pankaj Modi, and both got government jobs – Pankaj in the
information department and Abbas in the civil supplies department – together.
PM
Modi’s father Damodardas, a grocer, had convinced the family of his deceased
friend, Miyanbhai Ramsada from neighbouring Kesimpa village, to send Abbas to
stay with his family in Vadnagar for further studies as the village school did
not offer classes beyond fifth grade.
By
the time Abbas appeared for his SSC exam in 1973-74, Modi had left Vadnagar for
Ahmedabad to become a full-fledged RSS pracharak. Abbas mentions in his book on
PM Modi the crucial role the latter's family played in his life and career.
Prahlad
Modi, another of the PM's siblings, vividly remembers Abbas Ramsada’s stay at
their house. “Abbas stayed with us for a few years and left after
matriculation. He was my brother Pankaj’s classmate,” he said.
Source:
Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
India
clears emergency visas for 111 Afghan Hindus, Sikhs, hours after Kabul
Gurudwara attack
Vijaita
Singh
JUNE
19, 2022
All
applications were pending since September 2021; a total 159 Hindus and Sikhs
remain in Afghanistan now.
The
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) granted emergency visas to 111 Hindus and Sikhs
from Afghanistan, hours after Saturday’s terror attack at a gurdwara in Kabul.
All had applied for the visa in September 2021, but the applications were
cleared only after the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP), a terrorist
group, attacked the gurdwara on Saturday killing two people including a Sikh
granthi, a member representing the community said.
Only
159 minorities remain in Afghanistan after the Taliban took control in August
2021, including three members who do not have any passport.
The
community had been petitioning the government to clear the visas after the ISKP
issued threats two-weeks ago as a retaliation against the controversial
statement made against the Prophet by suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
According
to Puneet Singh Chandhoke, president of the India World Forum who has been
coordinating with the Indian government to evacuate Sikhs from Afghanistan, the
applicants had applied for a visa as early as September 12, 2021 but it was
being blocked due to pending security clearance.
“Though
the visas had been pending for months it was cleared within hours of the attack
at the gurdwara on Saturday. The person who died [Satwinder Singh] was also
among those who intended to travel to India,” Mr. Chandhoke said.
Last
year, 163 members of the minority community came to India after they were
granted “e-Emergency X-Miscellaneous visa.” India had suspended all kinds of
visa after the Taliban took over the governance in Afghanistan in August 2021.
On August 17, the special emergency visa was announced for the stranded
citizens but most visas were only granted to people from the Hindu and Sikh
communities. More than 80 members of the communities who fled to Dubai and
Russia after Taliban take over have also been waiting for visas to be cleared.
At least 11 persons who came to India last year but returned to Afghanistan
citing personal reasons are also among the list of people awaiting evacuation
from Afghanistan.
A
delegation of Afghan Hindus and Sikhs when they met Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on February 19 had raised the issue of the pending visas.
Source:
The Hindu
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Four
terrorists neutralised in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara, search operations
underway
Jun
20, 2022
KUPWARA:
Two more terrorists were neutralised in an encounter that broke out in the
Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, informed the police on Monday.
So
far, four terrorists have been killed in the Kupwara encounter including two on
Sunday. The neutralised terrorist was linked with the proscribed terror outfit
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
Police
also recovered incriminating materials, arms and ammunition from the spot
during the encounter.
"Two
more terrorists including terrorist Showkat got neutralised (total 04).
Incriminating materials, arms and ammunition were recovered. Search going on.
Further details shall follow. @JmuKmrPolice," Kashmir Zone Police tweeted.
#KupwaraEncounterUpdate:
02 more #terrorists including #terrorist Showkat got #neutralised (total 04).…
https://t.co/j1MkJNhtFX
—
Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) 1655690369000
Kupwara
Police launched a joint anti-terrorist operation alongwith the Army's 28RR on
the disclosure of an arrested terrorist Showket Ahmed Sheikh.
"The
terrorist killed in Kupwara has been identified as a Pakistani, linked with
proscribed terror outfit LeT. 2-3 more terrorists alongwith arrested terrorists
trapped in the ongoing encounter," Kashmir Zone Police further said in a
tweet.
#KupwaraEncounterUpdate:
Killed #terrorist has been identified as a #Pakistani, linked with proscribed
#terror outf… https://t.co/n5TteFTMIw
—
Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) 1655630492000
"The
terrorists were neutralised during a search of hideouts when the hiding
terrorists fired upon joint search parties and our team also retaliated, in
which one terrorist got killed. The arrested terrorist also got trapped.
Encounter in progress. Further details shall follow," said IGP Kashmir,
Vijay Kumar.
More
details are awaited.
Security
forces are on alert as there have been incidents of targeted killings in
Kashmir and sections of the minority community had threatened that they were
preparing for mass migration if the government did not relocate them.
Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh, who was on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, had
urged the people not to allow inimical forces to break the social fabric and
noted that the electoral process is likely to begin in the coming months.
Rajnath
Singh also made a veiled reference to Pakistan and said some forces were trying
to sow seeds of hatred in the Union Territory.
He
said there is a foreign conspiracy in the recent targeted killings in Jammu and
Kashmir and such attempts would be foiled.
He
was addressing an event held here today to mark the 200th anniversary of
Maharaja Gulab Singh's 'Rajyaabhishek ceremony'.
Source:
Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Jammu
and Kashmir: Terrorist killed in Pulwama encounter
Jun
20, 2022
SRINAGAR:
A terrorist was killed in an encounter with security forces in Pulwama district
of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, police said.
The
encounter broke out at Chatpora in Pulwama after the security forces launched a
cordon-and-search operation in the area, a police official said.
Source:
Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
South
Asia
Peace
talks between Pakistan govt and TTP in Kabul will yield good results: Taliban
spokesman
Jun
18, 2022
PESHAWAR:
The peace talks between the Pakistan government and the banned
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have concluded in Kabul, Taliban spokesman
Zabihullah Mujahid said on Saturday, exuding confidence that the negotiations
facilitated by the Afghan government will soon bear good results.
Speaking
to reporters in Kabul, Mujahid said the talks held between the two sides to end
nearly two-decade-long militancy in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan
ended two days ago.
He
said the talks, facilitated by the Taliban government in Afghanistan, will
yield good results this time.
Mujahid
also said that Afghanistan's soil will not be used against Pakistan even if the
talks fail to bear any result.
After
several rounds of talks, the government and the TTP last month agreed to extend
a ceasefire indefinitely while continuing negotiations to find an end to the
nearly two decades of militancy.
The
TTP, also known as the Pakistan Taliban, was set up as an umbrella group of
several militant outfits in 2007. Its main aim is to impose its strict brand of
Islam across Pakistan.
The
group, which is believed to be close to al-Qaeda, has been blamed for several
deadly attacks across Pakistan, including an attack on army headquarters in
2009, assaults on military bases and the 2008 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in
Islamabad.
The
talks with the TTP were led by the defence experts and it was earlier confirmed
by the defence sources that former ISI chief and current Peshawar Corps
Commander Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, also participated in the talks.
A
50-member traditional tribal jirga from Pakistan also joined the talks but came
back with an understanding to continue political engagements with the TTP.
Pakistan
has been fencing the 2,600-km border with Afghanistan since 2017 to end
terrorist infiltration and smuggling, despite intense opposition from the
neighbouring country.
Besides
the erection of a fence, the project also includes the construction of border
posts and forts, and the raising of new wings of the Frontier Corps, the
paramilitary force that guards the border.
When
the Taliban returned to power last year, Pakistan hoped that the new
dispensation would deal with these terrorist groups. Despite promises, the
Taliban have not yet taken decisive action to fulfil their commitments, which
has frustrated the Pakistan government.
Source:
Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Rohingya
Muslim refugees in Bangladesh demand repatriation
June
20, 2022
Rohingya
Muslims living in sprawling refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh have
staged demonstrations demanding repatriation to their ethnic homeland of
Rakhine state in Myanmar.
Bangladeshi
authorities on Sunday allowed several groups of Rohingya to hold simultaneous
‘Go Home’ demonstrations ahead of the World Refugee Day on Monday. Organizers
said more than 1,000 Rohingya took part in each of the events in at least 29
camps.
Police
said thousands of refugees joined the marches, standing on roads and alleys
with placards that read, ‘Enough is Enough! Let's Go Home.’
“Over
10,000 Rohingya took part in the rally in the camps under my jurisdiction,”
police official Naimul Haque said, referring to Kutupalong, the largest refugee
settlement in the world.
Top
Rohingya community leader Sayed Ullah said in a speech at one rally, “We don't
want to stay in the camps. Being refugees is not easy. It's hell. Enough is
enough. Let's go home.”
Authorities
deployed extra security in the camps to prevent any violence.
Last
week, the foreign secretaries of Bangladesh and Myanmar held a meeting by video
conference. The Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry said that during the meeting
Myanmar’s government was encouraged to repatriate the Rohingya refugees before
the year’s end. “We are hopeful the repatriation will start after the monsoon
this year at least in a limited scale.”
Previous
repatriation attempts have failed, with the Rohingya refusing to go home until
Myanmar gives the largely Muslim minority guarantees of security. Rohingya
leaders say they want to go back to their original villages in Rakhine.
Bangladeshi
authorities have become increasingly impatient about hosting the refugees while
criticizing the rest of the international community for not providing more
assistance.
At
least 920,000 Rohingya refugees remain stuck in squalid, crowded conditions in
refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. This includes about 750,000 Rohingya who were
forced to leave their homeland amid the military-led crackdown against their
community in 2017.
Thousands
were killed, raped, tortured, or arrested in the crackdown, perpetrated with
“genocidal intent,” according to the United Nations, which has described the
community as the most persecuted minority in the world.
Source:
ABNA24
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://en.abna24.com/news//rohingya-muslim-refugees-in-bangladesh-demand-repatriation_1268343.html
--------
US
biggest obstacle to international recognition of Taliban: Spokesman
June
20, 2022
The
US is the biggest obstacle to recognition of Afghanistan's governing body, a
Taliban spokesperson said, claiming that the group has met "all the
conditions" for its diplomatic recognition at the international level.
Speaking
to reporters on Sunday and in answer to a question about the recognition of the
Taliban on the international stage, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid
said that the policies of the current Afghan rulers have not prevented its
recognition and foreign countries have a role to play.
"When
it comes to recognition of the Afghanistan government by foreign countries, I
think the United States is the biggest obstacle," Mujahid said.
The
United States does not allow other countries to step on the path of recognizing
the Taliban, and it has not taken any steps in this regard, he also stressed,
The
Taliban spokesman further stressed that the Afghan governing body has met
"all the conditions" for its diplomatic recognition at the
international level.
All
countries, including the United States, should know that political engagement
with the Taliban is in the interest of everyone and allows countries around the
world to formally address their "concerns" with the Taliban.
Source:
ABNA24
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Two
killed as explosion hits car in Kabul
June
20, 2022
KABUL:
At least two people were killed when a blast hit a car in the Afghan capital on
Sunday, officials said, the third deadly attack in the country in as many days.
Khalid
Zadran, a spokesman for Kabul’s commander, said the explosion hit a civilian
vehicle in a neighbourhood in the north of the city. It was not clear who was
behind the blast and or who was the target.
The
attack followed an attack on a Sikh gurdwara in Kabul on Saturday that killed
at least two people.
The
Taliban say they have secured the country since taking over in August, but many
analysts say the risk of militant violence remains and several deadly attacks
have taken place in recent months.
A
blast on Friday in the northern city of Kunduz killed one person and injured
two.
IS
claims responsibility for attack on Sikh gurdwara
Meanwhile,
the militant Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on the
Sikh gurdwara in Afghanistan that killed one community member and a Taliban
fighter, saying it was retaliation for insults against Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him).
Protests
in several Muslim countries were sparked by the derogatory remarks by a
spokeswoman for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist party
earlier this month.
In
a message posted on its Amaq propaganda site, IS said Saturday’s attack
targeted Hindus and Sikhs and the “apostates” who protected them in “an act of
support for the Messenger of Allah”.
The
militant group said one of its fighters “penetrated a temple for Hindu and Sikh
polytheists in Kabul, after killing its guard, and opened fire on the pagans
inside with his machine gun and hand grenades”.
Interior
ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor said the attackers lobbed at least one
grenade when they entered the gurdwara, setting off a blaze.
The
attack follows a visit by an Indian delegation to Kabul to discuss the
distribution of humanitarian aid from India to Afghanistan.
The
number of bombings across Afghanistan has dropped since the Taliban returned to
power, but several attacks — many targeting minority communities — have rocked
the country in recent months, including several claimed by IS.
The
number of Sikhs living in Afghanistan has dwindled to around 200, compared to
about half a million in the 1970s. Most of those who remain are traders
involved in selling herbal medicines and electronic goods brought from India.
In
recent months, many impoverished Sikhs, including women and children, took
refuge in the complex that was attacked on Saturday.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1695755/two-killed-as-explosion-hits-car-in-kabul
--------
Hostile
Treatment in India Forcing Rohingya Influx In Bangladesh
SM
Najmus Sakib
19.06.2022
DHAKA,
Bangladesh
Thousands
of Rohingya Muslims have begun an arduous journey to cross the
Indian-Bangladeshi border for safe shelter on the southeast coast of Cox’s
Bazar in Bangladesh where more than 1 million Rohingya have been provided
shelter.
There
are about 40,000 Rohingya in India with 20,000 registered with the UN refugee
agency.
Experts
and activists on the eve of World Refugee Day, observed June 20, expressed
concerns about the influx of refugees to Bangladesh and they are asking for a
diplomatic push to stop the flow from India and resume the longstanding
repatriation of Rohingya to Myanmar as the ultimate solution.
Ansar
Ali, a Rohingya leader at one of the largest refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, told
Anadolu Agency that Rohingya Muslims who had taken shelter in India in a
“textbook example of ethnic cleansing” in Myanmar, are now fleeing India.
Recent
anti-Muslim sentiment in India has stoked the situation for Rohingya taking
shelter, he said, citing refugees who joined them from India.
Muslims
in India under the Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) have been experiencing mounting pressure and humiliation, including
right-wing Hindu organizations’ demands that Muslims leave India, restrictions
on wearing the hijab, not having halal food and the use of loudspeakers to call
for prayers.
More
than 300 people were arrested in Uttar Pradesh and those who took to the
streets to demonstrate against official comments regarding Prophet Muhammad and
his wife, Aisha, had their houses damaged. Human rights groups asked India to
immediately end the vicious crackdown on Muslims.
Troublesome
journey to reunite fellow refugees
Refugees
who managed to cross the border said Rohingya in India “had a story of struggle
to secure basic human rights like food, shelter and face rising harassment,
including from the officials,” said Ali. “They have to live in a situation of
fear, hostility and rejection due to the rising islamophobia in the BJP-led
India.”
Rohingya
have to pay on average taka 10,000 ($100) each to middlemen on the Bangladesh
side while they have to pay 5,000 - 15,000 rupees ($64 - $192) to brokers who
hold them hostage, according to refugees.
India
shares its longest border with Bangladesh. The neighbors share a
4,096-kilometer-long (2,545-mile) international border, the fifth-longest land
border in the world.
“Being
a big country, India should extend its support to Rohingya refugees and play a
greater role in Rohingya repatriation to Myanmar. Instead, they force refugees
to leave. Thousands are gathering near border areas to leave India,” said Ali.
The
commanding officer of the Armed Police Battalion, Naimul Haque, in Cox’s Bazar
told Anadolu Agency that authorities have detained more than 1,000 Rohingya
from India since last May and provided shelter in refugee camps.
“Bangladesh
ensures good food and shelter for refugees under the UN arrangement. Meanwhile,
there are a small group of refugees currently living in India and most of their
relatives in Cox’s Bazar. So, many of them live in India and want to live with
their family and friends in Cox’s Bazar.”
There
have been reports of hostile treatment of refugees coming from India, he said,
adding that Rohingya mostly come from Jammu and Kashmir.
Experts
for greater UN, diplomatic role in India
Bangladeshi
Foreign Minister Abdul Momen expressed unhappiness about the influx from India.
Urging
a greater UN role to solve the crisis, he recently told reporters in Dhaka that
refugees went to India about 9 years ago in 2012 where they had been staying in
different provinces.
Imtiaz
Ahmed, a foreign policy analyst at Dhaka University, told Anadolu Agency that
it is India’s responsibility to keep refugees, as settled by the UN agencies. Bangladesh
alone cannot shoulder the responsibility of the persecuted community.
“What
we see is that India is no longer a safe country as it was for Muslims. The
rising anti-Muslim sentiment or Islamophobia is among the major causes that
cause Rohingya to flee from India. The dwindling economic condition of India is
also provoking the influx,” he said.
Ahmed
emphasized a greater role for UN agencies, activists and journalists in India
to ensure refugee rights and safety for the Rohingya.
He
criticized the UN, alleging that the world body is not playing its due role to
initiate the longstanding repatriation of Rohingya to Myanmar which is
exacerbating the crisis in the region, and repatriation is the ultimate
solution.
Home
Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said Bangladesh would return Rohingya who
entered Bangladesh from India.
Refugee
Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Shah Rezwan Hayat told Anadolu Agency that
refugee who crossed the border are seeking a better environment and security in
refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar which is not provided in India, citing refugees
who came from India.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Traffic
Accident in South-Western Afghanistan Kills Five People
By
Saqalain Eqbal
19 Jun
2022
The
collision of a Fielder type vehicle with a tractor-trailer in south-western
Afghanistan, Zabul province, kills five people and injures one more, according
to the Taliban provincial security officials.
Consistent
with the Taliban officials, on Saturday evening, 18th June, the incident
occurred in the Noorak area of Qalat, the Zabul’s provincial capital,
approximately 323 kilometers far from Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital.
The
Taliban’s Director of Information and Culture for the south-western province of
Zabul stated that the victims and the injured were transported to a nearby
hospital.
According
to him, relatives of passengers killed in the incident were rushing at the
hospital to claim their friends and families’ bodies.
The
cause of the accident remains unknown at this time.
The
weather was fine at the time of the accident, according to authorities, and
police officials were investigating possible mechanical issues or human fault.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/traffic-accident-in-south-western-afghanistan-kills-five-people-67843/
--------
“Afghan
Invest” Company Inaugurates with a $250M Capital in Kabul
By
Saqalain Eqbal
19
Jun 2022
A
limited liability company (LLC), called the Afghan Invest, established in Kabul
and acquired its license after an initial investment of $250 million.
According
to the state-run Bakhtar News Agency’s report, the newly inaugurated company is
established with an investment of $250 million.
The
company presently has 13 investors from various regions of Afghanistan, but the
number of the investors, according to the sources, is expected to grow to 50.
Senior
officials of the Taliban’s interim administration, including cabinet officials,
and ambassadors serving in Kabul, and members of the Afghan private sector
attended the ceremony to inaugurate the company.
The
LLC is claimed to be prepared to invest $250 to $300 million in four important
sectors of the country which are construction, mining, energy, and agriculture.
A
senior Taliban official, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who serves as the
Taliban’s Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs, participated in the inauguration
ceremony and has stated that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) “fully
supports” the traders, investors and businessmen who are willing to invest in
Afghanistan.
While
there are reports that some former government officials have returned to the
country, She Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai reiterated and called on Afghans to
“unite” and live in Afghanistan “with dignity”.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/afghan-invest-company-inaugurates-with-a-250m-capital-in-kabul-55763/
--------
Armed
Robbers Kill a University Lecturer in Eastern Afghanistan
By
Saqalain Eqbal
19
Jun 2022
According
to local sources, Nematullah Wali, a university instructor in Nangarhar, a
province in eastern Afghanistan, was stabbed to death in the city of Jalalabad
by armed robbers.
Professor
Nematullah Wali was attacked last week when he was caught in a confrontation
with the robbers who first took the professor’s phone and money by force, and
then stabbed him in Jalalabad’s fourth district, according to sources.
The
health provincial officials reported that his condition was critical as he was
taken to the hospital.
However,
the professor’s brother said that his brother, professor Nematullah Wali has
died this morning, 19th June, in the hospital.
After
professor’s phone and cash was taken, the robbers were said to have escaped the
crime scene and have not yet been arrested by the Taliban security officials.
The
provincial security officials of the Taliban have not yet responded to the
incident.
Professor
Nematullah Wali’s demise comes at a time when Afghanistan faces a brain drain
situation, which according to the experts, affect the Taliban’s ability to rule
in the country.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/armed-robbers-kill-a-university-lecturer-in-eastern-afghanistan-768443/
--------
Africa
Algerian
elite praises constant promotion of Islamic Revolution
June
20, 2022
Senior
Algerian thinker attending the webinar on “Imam Khomeini (RA) and Islamic
Revolution” lauded the 1979 popular uprising in Iran for its constant
development and stressed Islamic unity in confrontation with dividing
movements.
Noureddin
Abu Lahi, Qur’an interpreter from Algeria related on the global movement of
Imam Khomeini (RA) and detailed the reviving uprising by the late leader.
He
called Islamic Revolution as a great revolution which is on its path of success
and continues its influence despite all hurdles created by world arrogant
powers.
Algerian
elite also highlighted the global aspect of the uprising by the late leader of
Islamic Revolution and said,” Imam Khomeini (RA) kept Islam as a burning light
to lead all nations, a light capable of stemming tyranny and materialize social
justice.”
He
stressed the concepts of Islamic unity, proximity of Islamic denominations in
confrontation with dividing movements, endeavors to settle the key issues in
the world of Islam, particularly the issue of Palestine, plans to support world
oppressed nations and also revival of the Islam originally brought by Prophet
Mohammad (PBUH).
Source:
ABNA24
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Rabat
urges ‘fair trial’ for Moroccan facing Ukraine war death penalty
19
June, 2022
Morocco's
national human rights body has urged Russian authorities to guarantee a “fair
trial” for a young national appealing a death sentence imposed by a pro-Russian
court in Ukraine.
Brahim
Saadoun, a Moroccan citizen born in 2000, was sentenced to death on June 9
along with two British men by a court in Donetsk, a self-proclaimed statelet in
eastern Ukraine.
The
trio have been accused of acting as mercenaries for Ukraine following Russia's
invasion of its neighbour.
Amina
Bouayach, president of the National Council of Human Rights (CNDH), has
contacted the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, a
source from the Moroccan rights council told AFP on Sunday.
She
has urged the Russian body to take “the necessary steps to ensure Brahim
Saadoun receives a fair trial during his appeal,” the source said.
Taher
Saadoun, father of the accused, has said his son, who obtained Ukrainian
citizenship in 2020, “is not a mercenary,” calling him instead a “victim of
manipulation.”
But
Dmytro Khrabstov, 20, a friend of Saadoun, has said the Moroccan joined the
Ukrainian military last year, telling friends he wanted to “die as a hero.”
The
Moroccan government had not responded until last Monday, saying through its
embassy in Ukraine that Saadoun “was captured while wearing the uniform of the
army of the state of Ukraine, as a member of the Ukrainian marine unit.”
It
said he was “currently imprisoned by an entity that is recognized by neither the
United Nations nor Morocco,” without commenting further.
Morocco
has taken a position of neutrality at the United Nations on the war in Ukraine.
The
move reflects Rabat's desire to avoid alienating Russia, a member of the UN
Security Council, on the question of the disputed Western Sahara, a key
Moroccan diplomatic priority.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Witnesses
say more than 200 killed in Ethiopia ethnic attack
19 June,
2022
Witnesses
in Ethiopia said Sunday that more than 200 ethnic Amhara have been killed in an
attack in the country’s Oromia region and are blaming a rebel group, which
denies it.
It
is one of the deadliest such attacks in recent memory as ethnic tensions
continue in Africa’s second most populous country.
“I
have counted 230 bodies. I am afraid this is the deadliest attack against
civilians we have seen in our lifetime,” Abdul-Seid Tahir, a resident of Gimbi
county, told The Associated Press after barely escaping the attack on Saturday.
“We are burying them in mass graves, and we are still collecting bodies.
Federal army units have now arrived, but we fear that the attacks could
continue if they leave.”
Another
witness, who gave only his first name, Shambel over fears for his safety, said
the local Amhara community is now desperately seeking to be relocated somewhere
else “before another round of mass killings happen.” He said ethnic Amhara that
settled in the area about 30 years ago in resettlement programs are now being
“killed like chickens.”
Both
witnesses blamed the Oromo Liberation Army for the attacks. In a statement, the
Oromia regional government also blamed the OLA, saying the rebels attacked
“after being unable to resist the operations launched by (federal) security
forces.”
An
OLA spokesman, Odaa Tarbii, denied the allegations.
“The
attack you are referring to was committed by the regime’s military and local
militia as they retreated from their camp in Gimbi following our recent
offensive,” he said in a message to the AP. “They escaped to an area called
Tole, where they attacked the local population and destroyed their property as
retaliation for their perceived support for the OLA. Our fighters had not even
reached that area when the attacks took place.”
Ethiopia
is experiencing widespread ethnic tensions in several regions, most of them
over historical grievances and political tensions. The Amhara people, the
second-largest ethnic group among Ethiopia’s more than 110 million population,
have been targeted frequently in regions like Oromia.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Tunisian
judges extend strike to protest president’s policies
Yamena
Salemi
19.06.2022
TUNIS,
Tunisia
Tunisian
judges have extended their ongoing strike for a third week in protest of the
sacking of their colleagues by President Kais Saied.
“The
strike has yet to achieve results as the president ignored our protest,” Murad
al-Masoudi, the head of the Association of Young Judges, told Anadolu Agency.
“We
have decided to extend the strike for a third week,” he added, vowing further
escalations if their demands were not heeded.
“Judges
will also stage a “day of anger” next week to express our rejection of Saied’s
policies,” al-Masoudi said.
On
June 1, the Tunisian president sacked 57 judges, citing corruption and covering
up terrorist cases, accusations that were vehemently rejected by judges.
Tunisia
has been in the throes of a deep political crisis that has aggravated the
country's economic conditions since Saied ousted the government, suspended
parliament and assumed executive authority last year in July. He later
dissolved the suspended parliament.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
North
America
Biden
rebuked for asking Israel to halt violence against Palestinians until after his
visit
18
June 2022
Activists
have rebuked the Joe Biden administration after it reportedly asked Israel to
temporarily stop violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank until
after the US president’s visit next month, predicting no change in Israeli
atrocities owing to Washington’s unwavering support for the regime.
Citing
four Israeli, US, and Palestinian officials, Axios reported on Wednesday that
the US had asked Israel to halt any actions in the occupied West Bank and
al-Quds that could create tensions until after Biden’s visit in mid-July.
“The
US wants the visit to take place in a good atmosphere – different than the one
now,” Hussein al-Sheikh, who is in charge of Palestinian contact with the Biden
administration, told the American news website Axios. “If the Israelis don’t
stop their unilateral action the situation deteriorates and becomes much
worse.”
A
senior Israeli official also said the Biden administration wants “quiet and
calm” and doesn’t want the regime to create any crisis in the West Bank.
The
report prompted a flood of comments on social media, with activists saying
Israel will never stop its crimes against Palestinians due to US’s support for
Israel regardless of what it does to Palestinians.
“US:
Please refrain from home demolitions, forced expulsions, & settlement unit
approvals & decrease the military presence in W Bank until after Biden
visits,” Ariel Gold, the national co-director and senior Middle East policy
analyst with CODEPINK for Peace, wrote in a tweet, interpreting Washington’s
request.
She
added, “Israel: Thanks for the suggestion, but since you support us regardless
of what we do...”
Osama
Abuirshaid, executive director of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), told
the Middle East Eye that the request indicates that the Biden administration
has neither a vision nor a plan to deal with the situation in the occupied
Palestinian territories.
“The
administration may have decided that this was an issue that failed many
American presidents before Biden, so taking a political risk seems
unnecessary,” Abuirshaid said.
Palestinian
political analyst Nour Odeh said that the Biden administration’s request
conveyed the message to Israel that “you can resume killing, dispossessing, and
persecuting them without restrictions once Biden leaves.”
Israel
has destroyed more than 1,200 Palestinian-owned structures in the occupied West
Bank and left more than 1,600 Palestinians homeless since Biden came into
office, according to UN data.
According
to Israel's leading human rights group B'Tselem, more than 20,000
Palestinian-owned housing units are at risk of demolition in East al-Quds
alone.
The
regime in Tel Aviv has also continued its acts of violence against Palestinians
across the occupied territories, including a wave of incursions, arrests, and
arbitrary killings.
In
the early hours of Friday morning, Israeli forces killed three young
Palestinians and injured several others during a military raid on the Jenin
refugee camp in the northern part of the West Bank.
Following
Friday prayers, Israeli forces injured at least 78 people during protest
rallies against the regime’s settler-colonial activities in the northern part
of the occupied West Bank.
The
protests, which have become a weekly affair, erupted in and around the West
Bank city of Nablus, with Israeli regime forces using indiscriminate force to
quell them.
On
Twitter, users also pointed to the Biden administration’s silence in the
aftermath of the murder of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by Israeli
forces.
“Could
you stop murdering journalists, just for a little while? You can do it again
once we leave,” wrote a user.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
CENTCOM
and Pentagon approved Israeli airstrikes in Syria
20
June 2022
The
Wall Street Journal reveals that Israel secretly coordinates with the US on
many of the airstrikes it carries out in Syria.and that, since 2017, Israel has
carried out more than 400 airstrikes in Syria and other parts of the West Asia
region.
It
claims that Israeli attacks have been aimed at restricting Iran and its allied
forces in Syria.
The
vast majority of those Israeli airstrikes have been approved by the US Central
Command, CENTCOM and the Pentagon.
The
US aim is to ensure that Israel's bombing raids don't interfere with the US led
military campaign in Syria.
Many
observers believed that the revelation by The Wall Street Journal was
confirmation of an open secret policy.
I
think first of all, whenever anyone says that the US is secretly doing this or
that with Israel, it's almost naive to say that. Israel is, in essence, an
agent of the United States and other people that think it works the other way
around.
Israel
is a Euro American white settler state that was imposed on Palestine, as people
know. A Project beginning I guess perhaps you saved from the Balfour in the 20s
forward to when the State of Israel "was created". And it's been a
military base, basically, from which to secure the oil fields of the area of
Iran. Iraq, all of Syria, everywhere.
The
Israeli military, for all of its public relations efforts to the contrary, is
an agent of the US military, with some nominal French and British input into
that. Certainly financial input is not nominal. It's real.
But
this is a creature of the Pentagon and Langley (CIA) that behaves in
coordination with the policy that is implemented by the United States.
Don
DeBar, Journalist
The
timing of the revelation by the Wall Street Journal comes as the Israeli regime
has increased its attacks against Syria. Last week, the regime heavily struck
Damascus International Airport which is a still not completely up and running.
Syrian
officials have said on many occasions that US troops in Syria are there to loot
the country's resources. Former US President, Donald Trump, was not embarrassed
to frankly say that he kept US troops in Syria for Syrian oil only.
We've
kept the oil, we stayed back and kept the oil. Other people can patrol the
border of Syria frankly...
Former
US President, Donald J Trump
The
fight against Daesh seems to have been a good pretext to maintain us illegal
presence in Syria.
Syrian
officials have also repeatedly called on the United Nations to stop Israel's
strikes on the country. But those calls have almost always gone unnoticed
behind a couple of verbal admonitions by UN officials.
This
seems to have emboldened the regime in Tel Aviv to carry on its attacks with
impunity.
After
setting loose Daesh and Al Qaedeh and 47 other varieties of jihadi on Syria,
the US government found itself facing a request from the Syrian government that
had, by the way, been twice elected since 2011 by vast majorities of Syrians
inside and outside the country. Israel is, you know, a US lap dog that has lots
of advanced weapons, it's money laundry for money that goes,,,, funneled
through the Pentagon and Langley.
Billions
and billions of dollars of money taken from American taxpayers ends up in the
hands of arms merchants, all kinds of people, through Israel and whatever and
these things are used to inflict misery on the people of the Middle East. To
the extent that there's any resistance between these people that wants to own
the resources of that area and the actual ownership of it.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran’s
torpedoes can severely damage US navy aircraft carriers: American publication
20
June 2022
Iran
possesses submarines equipped with torpedoes that can strike a US aircraft
carrier and severely damage its structure, according to an American
publication.
The
19FortyFive said in an article that “although US defenses are superior in every
way, the potential for Iran’s successful destruction of a US naval aircraft
carrier is not impossible.”
“The
Iranian Navy’s fleet of Kilo-class submarines is equipped with torpedoes that
could severely impact the structure of a carrier,” it said.
The
article also noted that Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has greatly
expanded and advanced its weapons arsenals in recent years.
Moreover,
the Islamic Republic “has been able to develop longer-range ballistic missiles
that will ultimately be capable of hitting US assets.”
According
to the article, the Islamic Republic “practiced destroying US military assets,
including a naval aircraft carrier, in its semi-regular wargame exercises.”
For
a long time, Iran has demanded an end to the United States’ hostile presence in
the Persian Gulf, where Washington has deployed a remarkable number of military
assets thousands of kilometers away from its soil.
Tehran
has also called on its Persian Gulf Arab neighbors to enter dialog on how to
establish security in the region without any foreign military presence.
Iranian
President Ebrahim Raeisi reiterated on Sunday that the presence of foreigners
does not bring security to the West Asia region, stressing that regional
countries are fully capable of solving their own problems.
“We
agree that the presence of foreigners in the region will not create security,
but rather, it will cause many problems. We also believe that regional
officials are capable of solving regional problems and that the region’s
[Gordian] knots can be untied by the region itself,” Raeisi said in a presser
with visiting Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Tehran.
In
recent years, Iranian military experts and technicians have made substantial
headway in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment, making the
armed forces self-sufficient in the arms sphere.
Iranian
officials have repeatedly underscored that the country will not hesitate to
strengthen its military capabilities, including its missile power, which are
entirely meant for defense, and that Iran’s defense capabilities will be never
subject to negotiation.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/06/20/684216/Iran-torpedoes-US-aircraft-carrier
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Israeli
regime secretly coordinates Syria airstrikes with US: Report
19
June 2022
The
Israeli regime’s air strikes against targets in Syria have been conducted with
the secret approval of the American military, a US-based daily has reported
citing current and former officials.
The
Israeli military forces have been coordinating their attacks against Syrian
targets with the Pentagon and US Central Command, the Wall Street Journal
reported Friday, claiming that the dialogue was needed to ensure that the raids
by Israeli warplanes would not interfere with the operations of American forces
stationed at the Al-Tanf military base near Syria’s border with Jordan.
The
report further cited its sources as saying that the vast majority of the
strikes by the Israeli regime’s warplanes have been reviewed by Washington,
though the US did not assist the Israelis in picking their targets.
It’s
a “well-developed and deliberate process,” said a former US official quoted by
the daily, which further noted that the secrecy surrounding those contacts
“shows how Washington has sought to support its Israeli ally without being
drawn into Israel’s shadow war against Iran.”
“There
is tacit American support for the Israelis acting to blunt the Iranians’
efforts to spread weapons around and build their leverage throughout the
region. But there has also been a consistent hesitancy about wanting any
fingerprints on this,” former senior US State Department official Dennis Ross
said as quoted by the daily.
“It
would be irresponsible if there was not deconfliction and coordination because
of the risk that we could have an inadvertent problem,” Ross claimed.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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US
military expands bases in eastern Syria, reinforces them with air systems
18
June 2022
The
US military has reportedly expanded its illegal bases in eastern Syria and
strengthened them with air systems.
Russia's
Sputnik news agency reported on Friday that that the US occupation forces are
strengthening their ranks in eastern Syria, expanding their positions and
moving more military convoys in the area.
The
agency cited local sources in the northeastern province of Hasaka as saying
that the American forces reinforced their illegal bases in the area with a
“modern radar system” after they had built the bases to set up the radar on
them.
The
sources underlined that the bases, which include large warehouses, a command
center and a helipad for military helicopters, were among the firsts
established by the American forces with the support of Kurdish-led SDF
militants loyal to them in Hasaka Province.
"US
forces also expanded the grain silos base, which includes an airstrip in the
town of Tal Baidar, north of Hasaka, near the M4 highway, by linking it with
the headquarters of a former Syrian army regiment in the area," the
sources added.
The
sources confirmed that the "grain silos" base also witnessed an
increase in fortifications and military equipment, as well as the deployment of
Humvee vehicles and observation posts.
The
US military has stationed forces and equipment in northeastern Syria, with the
Pentagon claiming that the deployment is aimed at preventing the oilfields in
the area from falling into the hands of Daesh terrorists.
Damascus,
however, maintains the deployment is meant to plunder the country's rich
mineral resources.
Former
US President Donald Trump admitted on more than one occasion that American
forces were in the Arab country for its oil.
After
failing to oust the Syrian government through militant proxies and direct
involvement in the conflict, the US government has stepped up its economic war
on the Arab country.
In
June 2020, the US enacted the so-called Caesar Act that imposed the toughest
sanctions ever on Syria intending to choke off revenue sources for the
government.
The
sanctions have crippled the war-torn country’s economy by barring foreign
companies from doing trade with Damascus.
Syria
says the real purpose of the measures is to put pressure on Syrians and their
livelihoods.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/06/18/684110/US-military-Hasaka-US-forces-defense-systems
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/malaysia-indian-prime-minister-muhammad-aishah/d/127279