Media Reporting Of Killing Of 25 Afghans By Prince Harry Proves Muslim Lives Are Worthless In The Eyes Of The British Establishment
New Age Islam News Bureau
07 January 2023
Prince Harry. Editorial credit: ACHPF /
Shutterstock.com
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• Chief Imam Of Abuja Mosque Cautions Muslims Against
Online Sexual Temptations, Condemns Indecent Dressing By Mature Ladies
• We’ll Never Recognise Secularism, Communism, LGBT,
Says Malaysian Prime Minister
• Iran Executes Two Men In Connection To Anti-Regime
Protests Sparked By The Death In Custody Of Mahsa Amini
• Harvard Rescinds Fellowship For Former Human Rights
Watch Head Over 'Anti-Israel Bias'
Europe
• Dutch parliament calls for tighter EU sanctions
against Iran
• Türkiye, Armenia start direct cargo trade: Sources
• Türkiye vows to 'do what's necessary' over Greek
military chief's photo on Aegean island
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Africa
• Stop playing politics in mosques, Raila warns Duale
• Jordan rejects Israeli ‘lies’ over West Bank at UN
Security Council
• Al-Shabaab terror attack kills 7 in Somali village:
Police
• Interpol arrests people smuggling kingpin in Sudan
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Southeast Asia
• Brunei Imams Highlight Role Of Police In Preserving
Peace, In The Friday Sermon
• Malaysia condemns Israel's incursion into the
Al-Aqsa Mosque
• Jokowi greets Christians with call for stronger ties
• Muhyiddin ally nabbed as graft busters probe alleged
misappropriation of $28b in Covid-19 packages
• Zahid has lost control over Umno, says analyst
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Mideast
• Ismaeelzahi, Top Iranian Sunni Cleric Says Torture
of Protesters Is Un-Islamic
• Israel to suffer ‘severe consequences’ for defiling
Al-Aqsa Mosque, Iran says
• Israel police arrest 2 teens in attack on Christian
cemetery
• US repatriates stolen 2,700-year-old artifact to
Palestine
• Far-right security minister begins drive to
introduce stronger punitive measures for Palestinian prisoners
• Jerusalem churches in crosshairs of escalating
extremist attacks: Churches Council
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North America
• Biden Links 'Sick Insurrectionists' To Death Of
Capitol Police Officer Killed By Nation Of Islam Supporter
• US sanctions target Iranian drone manufacturer
• Top Iraqi MP urges immediate withdrawal of all
US-led forces from Iraq
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India
• Muslim Writers Excluded From Kannada Sahitya
Sammelan, Allege Eminent Writers, Scholars
• Uniform Laws On Marriage, Divorce Matter For
Parliament To Decide: Supreme Court
• 20-Yr-Old Muslim Man Thrashed For ‘Walking With Hindu
Girl’: Cops
• K’taka Minister Opposes Separate Literary Festival
For Side-lined Muslim Writers
• LG constitutes Delhi State Haj Committee for 3 years
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Pakistan
• Anger In Pakistan's South Waziristan Over Rise In
Terror Incidents, People Take To Streets
• Attempts being made to kill Imran Khan by ‘slow
poison’: Ally
• Iranian, Pakistani FMs speak out against
Islamophobia in France
• Govt vows to complete terms of IMF programme, says
PM Shehbaz
• PM seeks support from all provinces to fight terror
• Military still not ‘neutral’, claims Imran
• ECP wants Imran to explain how he can head party
after ‘disqualification’
• Security Operation Claims 11 ‘Terrorists’ in South
Waziristan
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South Asia
• Islamic Emirate Acting Interior Minister Seeks Unity
among Muslim Nations in Meeting with Clerics from Egypt, Sudan, and Palestine
in Kabul
• Taliban Denounces UK’s Prince Harry For Remarks Over
Afghan Killings
• British Ex-Commander Calls Harry’s Remarks He Killed
25 Taliban In Afghanistan Complete Nonsense
• Lack of hope driving Rohingya to flee Bangladeshi
settlement camps
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Arab World
• Saudi Arabia’s Inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale To
Showcase Treasures Of Islamic Civilization At World’s Gateway To Makkah And
Madinah
• Syria Kurds Say Arrested More Than 100 ISIS Suspects
• UAE sends second shipment of household generators to
Ukraine
• Saudi doctor at University of California leads
research projects for Silicon Valley companies
• Saudi Arabia condemns deadly twin bombings in
Somalia
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/killing-afghan-prince-harry-british/d/128825
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Media Reporting Of Killing Of 25 Afghans By Prince
Harry Proves Muslim Lives Are Worthless In The Eyes Of The British
Establishment
Prince Harry. Editorial credit: ACHPF /
Shutterstock.com
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6th January 2023
Maria Akbar says Muslims should not be surprised by the
casual way in which the media is reporting the killing of 25 Afghans by Prince
Harry, because ultimately our lives are worth less in the eyes of the British
establishment.
The recent media reports of Prince Harry’s imminent
book mention the 25 Afghans that he murdered whilst serving as a helicopter
pilot in Afghanistan during 2012-13. The prince describes those he killed as
“chess pieces” removed from the board.
He also justifies these killings by saying they were
“bad people” eliminated before they could kill “good people,” although how
could he be sure of who exactly he was murdering when firing from a helicopter?
Muslims have been otherised for centuries now, and
therefore something like this should not take us by surprise. In fact, the way
that this has been reported across media outlets – a mere mention amongst other
trivial family matters in his book – shows just how much they are minimising
the extent of his crimes.
And where there has been discussion of this news, the
focus has been on what he mentioned, should he have mentioned it or what codes
he has violated by mentioning it, as opposed to the horrific fact that he
murdered people in an unjustified war!
In turn, the general public will digest this as a
minor story, focusing on insignificant details as opposed to the great atrocity
of his war crimes and thereby contribute to the otherisation of Muslims.
On the other hand, there would have been outrage,
without a doubt, had this been about the murder of civilians of any other
nation; and it would have been reported as it deserves to have been – with
horror, disgust and anger.
So it is up to us as Muslims to shift the focus to
where it needs to be.
Otherisation
Otherisation refers to making a group of people, in
this case Muslims, seem different to the general group of people, and therefore
empathy, care, concern, moral and political values, cease to exist for them.
We can see this most recently in the response to the
Russia-Ukraine war, where most people expressed extreme sadness, compassion and
empathy for the victims, both Ukrainian and Russian. There was genuine care and
concern for the victims of this war and for those witnessing it. Articles
mentioned how to manage war-related anxiety after merely viewing or hearing
about the war. The reports on this were unique to say the least.
On the other hand, the deaths and persecution of
Muslims that have been happening for decades – in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syrian,
East Turkestan and Palestine – have rarely been mentioned.
But Muslims are deeply affected after hearing about
the suffering of our brothers and sisters across the world, since our values
are such that we view the Ummah as one body; and when one part of it is
hurting, all of it is hurting.
Who then sets the standard about who is deserving of empathy,
care and concern? There is blatant hypocrisy, and a selective lack of empathy
shown by media outlets, which in turn affects the views of the masses when it
comes to the death of Muslim men, women, mothers and infants.
Yes as Muslims we show empathy for all people, all of
the time. Our concern is not limited to a group of people who are somehow
viewed as “superior” and “more deserving” of empathy due to some twisted
standard set by the perpetrator.
This comes through a hadith where it is mentioned that:
“Allah has one hundred mercies, out of which He has
sent down only one for jinn, mankind, animals and insects, through which they
love one another and have compassion for one another; and through it, wild
animals care for their young. Allah has retained ninety-nine mercies to deal
kindly with His slaves on the Day of Resurrection.” (Al Bukhari and Muslim)
In fact, our care and compassion is not limited to
humans, but extends to insects. What then can be said about how we should treat
other humans? Every human life is viewed as sacred. No one is superior to
another.
So how should Muslims respond to this otherisation?
The first step in my view is to be aware of it and support those organisations
that report on the lives of Muslims. Secondly, in our day-to-day dealings with
individuals, these topics should come up for discussion and we should speak up
for Muslims and against this hypocrisy.
Finally, we should continue to show those who do not
show us empathy and compassion, that very thing since they are not the standard
of how we deal with matters. Instead, our code of conduct, our values and
morals are set through the Quran and the Sunnah. And this will always prevail.
Source: 5pillarsuk
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Chief Imam Of Abuja Mosque Cautions Muslims Against
Online Sexual Temptations, Condemns Indecent Dressing By Mature Ladies
Chief Imam of Area 10 Garki,
Abuja Mosque, Sheikh Yahya Al-Yolawi
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January 6, 2023
The Chief Imam of Area 10 Garki, Abuja Mosque, Sheikh
Yahya Al-Yolawi has cautioned Muslims against acts capable leading to
committing unlawful sexual intercourse to avoid severe punishment in this world
and in the hereafter.
Mr Al-Yolawi made the call while delivering his
Jumma’at sermon titled, ‘Evil Consequences of Fornication and Adultery,” on
Friday in Abuja.
He said fornication and adultery were some of the
highly self-destructive and major sins in Islam, adding that an adulterer was
one of the three people Allah would not talk to on the day of resurrection.
He said that Islam as a religion was very much
concerned with establishing decent moral standards in individuals within the
community, thus constituting laws that promote chastity and regulate strong
sexual desires in a bid to control them.
Mr Al-Yolawi also said that Islam encouraged remaining
firm in the faith (Iman) and warned against transgressing the limits of
Shari’ah laws by all means.
The cleric said: ”Islam has preserved people’s dignity
and protected families from being mixed. Therefore, fornication and adultery
are forbidden and classified as major and destructive sins.
”Islam has forbidden not only committing fornication
but everything that could lead to it, such as mixing of the opposite sexes.
“Others are the immoral exchange of looks between the
two sexes, immoral words, seductive moves between a man and a woman or being in
seclusion in a room, office, car, phone, shop, online and anything else which
could lead to this awful sin.
He also listed three people to whom Allah, the Most
High will not talk, nor will He forgive them of sins nor look at them: An aged
person guilty of adultery, a King who lies and a poor beggar who is proud
Mr Al-Yolawi said fornication and adultery had
personal, religious, social, economic, and health consequences such as;
poverty, constant humiliation and disgrace as well as darkness of face that
would be obvious to people and darkness of the heart.
He added: ”Fornication and adultery combine all evils;
weakness in commitment to the religion, as we can see lack of piety,
destruction of mind men and women and the decrease of praiseworthy jealousy.
”You will never find an adulterer or fornicator who is
pious, fulfills his promises, truthful in his speech, maintains friendship or
has protective jealousy over his wife.
“He will be characterized by lies, deception,
betrayal, devil- agents and not being mindful of Allah.”
Mr Al-Yolawi condemned the increasing rate of indecent
dressing of mature ladies in offices, campuses, parks and other social
gatherings.
The cleric also enjoined Muslims to avoid online and
offline temptations and keep away from anything that might stimulate desire.
They include: Looking at the opposite sex with desire,
talking, touching, shaking, kissing, hugging, and watching sex pictures and
movies.
Source: Daily Nigerian
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://dailynigerian.com/cleric-cautions-muslims-online/
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We’ll Never Recognise Secularism, Communism, LGBT,
Says Malaysian Prime Minister
Anwar Ibrahim told the
‘Naratif Khas Bersama Perdana Menteri’ programme on RTM last night that he has
proven he has strong support in Parliament. (Bernama pic)
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January 7, 2023
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says the
concept of a secular state and communist ideology will never be recognised by
the unity government.
In an interview with RTM on its “Naratif Khas Bersama
Perdana Menteri” programme last night, Anwar said the matter was only raised by
certain parties to spread lies.
“Sometimes these politicians will say that if Anwar
becomes prime minister then Islam will be ruined, secularism and communism will
gain a foothold, and LGBT will be recognised,” he said, referring to the
acronym for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
“This is a delusion. Of course, it will never happen
under my administration.”
On the claim that the cooperation agreement between
Pakatan Harapan (PH) and the other coalitions in the unity government was
forged because his administration was not strong, Anwar said it was done
because the majority obtained at that time was too narrow.
However, to prove that he has the support, Anwar said
he brought the confidence vote motion in parliament last month after being
challenged by the opposition who questioned his legitimacy.
“This vote of confidence motion was being challenged
by the opposition. They said Anwar had no support. In a democratic system, the
best way to prove it is through a vote of confidence or a vote of no
confidence, which was not proposed.
“So, I submitted this (the motion) and have proven
that I have strong support,” he said.
On the first day of the Parliament sitting on Dec 19
last year, Anwar’s legitimacy as the 10th prime minister was proven when the
motion of confidence tabled by deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof was passed
with a voice vote.
Asked about the lawsuits he filed against several
individuals, Anwar said it was because their accusations touched his authority
as a leader.
“Thousands of accusations have been made, slanders
have been hurled and for decades I have accepted it but if I feel it is too
much as they question my authority and credibility as a leader, then they
should be taught that this freedom does not give them the freedom to slander.
“We use religion, then we slander, we make qazaf
(accusations), I would like to ask their teachers, ustaz (religious teacher),
to teach them first before teaching others,” he added.
Since taking the oath of office as prime minister on
Nov 24 last year Anwar has filed lawsuits against several individuals including
Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Muhyiddin Yassin for making false accusations
against him.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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Iran Executes Two Men In Connection To Anti-Regime
Protests Sparked By The Death In Custody Of Mahsa Amini
Kurdish women hold portraits
of Iranian Mahsa Amini during a protest condemning her death in Iran, in
Qamishli, northern Syria. (AP/PTI)
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07 January ,2023
Iran executed two men on Saturday after they were
convicted of killing a paramilitary force member during protests sparked by the
death in custody of a young woman, the judiciary said.
The latest killings double the number executed so far
in connection with the nationwide protests. Two men were put to death in
December, sparking global outrage.
“Mohammad Mahdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini,
the main perpetrators of the crime that led to the martyrdom of Ruhollah
Ajamian, were hanged this morning,” judicial news agency Mizan Online reported.
The court of first instance had sentenced the two men
to death in early December, it said, and on Tuesday the Supreme Court upheld
the death sentences, accusing them of killing Ajamian on November 3.
The victim was a member of the Basij militia - linked
to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps - who died in Karaj, west of Tehran.
Prosecutors previously said the 27-year-old was
stripped naked and killed by a group of mourners who had been paying tribute to
a slain protester, Hadis Najafi.
Authorities have arrested thousands of people in the
wave of demonstrations that began with the September death in custody of Mahsa
Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who had been arrested by morality
police for allegedly breaching the strict dress code for women.
Since the beginning of the protest movement, courts
have sentenced 14 people to death in connection with the demonstrations,
according to an AFP count based on official information.
Among those, four have been executed, two others have
had their sentences confirmed by the Supreme Court, six are awaiting new trials
and two others can appeal.
Source: Al Arabiya
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original story:
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Harvard Rescinds Fellowship For Former Human Rights
Watch Head Over 'Anti-Israel Bias'
Photo: aa.com
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Cindi Cook
06.01.2023
DETROIT, Michigan
Harvard University has rescinded a fellowship offer
for human rights advocate Kenneth Ross, the former Head of Human Rights Watch,
over ‘anti-Israel bias,’ according to reporting by The Nation magazine.
The surprising turn of events came this week after
Roth was offered a senior fellowship at the illustrious Carr Center for Human
Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in April 2022. Roth
has been involved in HRW since its founding in 1999 and has participated in
debates at the school in the past.
Roth, 67, was the executive director of Human Rights
Watch for 29 years, from 1993 to 2022. It is hailed as the premier
international NGO defending human rights around the world. Roth, who is Jewish,
is also an attorney by training as well as a writer. He has been dubbed the
“godfather of human rights” by The New York Times.
After an initial interview on July 12 by the Carr
Center’s Dean Douglas Elmendorf, the offer was retracted two weeks later. His
reason: An anti-Israel bias on the part of HRW, played out on numerous
occasions, particularly in numerous tweets by Roth.
But the withdrawal by the Carr Center did not fall in
line with research done by the Center on other countries who had a similar
track record of human rights violations.
This is not the first time Roth has been accused of
anti-Israel bias.
The founder and former chair of HRW, Robert Bernstein,
wrote as far back as 2009 in a New York Times opinion piece that “HRW has
written far more condemnations of Israel than any other for violations of
international law than of any other country in the region.”
The NGO monitor has also accused Roth of “playing a
leading role in the demonization of Israel.”
The decision was met with outrage by some Harvard
staff members.
In light of Harvard’s decision, Roth has accepted a
visiting fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Europe
Dutch parliament calls for tighter EU sanctions
against Iran
06 January ,2023
The leaders of 10 Dutch parliamentary parties are
calling on the European Union to increase pressure on the Iranian government
with a new sanctions package.
The party leaders, representing the majority of
parliament, proposed putting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the EU
terrorist list and sanctioning key government officials and their family
members for alleged human rights violations, according to a joint letter
published in the Dutch newspaper Volkskrant on Friday.
The letter follows a similar motion that the Dutch
parliament approved in December and comes ahead of a meeting of EU foreign
ministers at the end of January.
Anti-government protests have gripped Iran since
mid-September following the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini,
who was arrested for allegedly violating the country’s strict Islamic dress
codes.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Türkiye, Armenia start direct cargo trade: Sources
Tugba Altun
06.01.2023
Amid normalization talks between the special
representatives of both countries, Türkiye and Armenia have lifted barriers and
began direct air cargo trade as of Jan. 1, diplomatic sources said on Friday.
According to the sources, the decision was disclosed
to the Turkish exporters' associations by the Turkish Trade Ministry.
After years of hostilities, Ankara and Yerevan
resolved to mend ties. Last January, the first round of normalization talks was
held in Moscow, and both parties agreed to continue negotiations "without
any preconditions." Two more rounds of negotiations were then held in
February and May.
On Feb. 2, 2022, the two countries resumed commercial
flights after a two-year hiatus.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/turkiye-armenia-start-direct-cargo-trade-sources/2781529
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Türkiye vows to 'do what's necessary' over Greek
military chief's photo on Aegean island
Harun Kutbe
06.01.2023
Türkiye's vice president lashed out on Friday over a
photo of neighboring Greece's military chief posing on an Aegean Sea island
that should be unarmed under international treaties, located just miles from
the Turkish coast.
"Türkiye allows no such photos and will do what's
necessary," said Fuat Oktay in an interview by a Turkish YouTube channel,
referring to the photo by Greek Chief of General Staff Gen. Konstantinos Floros
on the island of Keci (Pserimos), 8 kilometers (about 5 miles) southwest of
Türkiye's Bodrum peninsula.
Citing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's
oft-repeated warning that Türkiye could "come suddenly one night,"
Oktay said Ankara's words were not "empty" and that it would do
"as it says."
The Turkish vice president also noted that Türkiye was
on track to become an energy hub thanks to its relations with other countries,
adding that "credibility is required for both international relations and
diplomacy," he added.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Africa
Stop playing politics in mosques, Raila warns Duale
06 January 2023
ODM leader Raila Odinga has warned Defence Cabinet
Secretary Aden Duale against using the mosque as a political platform.
Speaking on Friday in Mombasa, Raila also warned the
National Chairman of the Kenya Muslims National Advisory Council(KEMNAC) Juma
Ngao of the same.
"Wasiende ndani ya msikiti na kuleta siasa ndani
ya msikiti. Tunaonya Bwana Duale wakiwa na Juma Ngao (They should not take
politics to the mosque. We are warning Duale and Ngao)," Raila said.
Acknowledging Ngao's activism against the mistreatment
visited on Muslims, Raila said Azimio was committed to supporting him.
The opposition chief reiterated that places of worship
should not be used as political platforms, pointing out that there are open
places to be used for that.
Raila, once again, asked President William Ruto and
his Deputy Rigathi Gachagua to cease their political talk in churches.
"Even you Ruto and Gachagua, stop using the
church as a political platform. Let us meet outside and talk politics. But the
church and the mosque should remain places of worship," he said.
On December 25, 2022, Raila accused Ruto of misusing
churches, saying government programmes should be launched in government
offices, not in churches.
"The top leadership in the country every Sunday
they are in this church or the other shouting at us, the government has done
this, the government is doing this," Raila said while speaking during a
Sunday service at St Peters ACK Church in Bondo.
At the same time, the ODM leader accused the Anglican
Church of Kenya leadership of being keen to impress the government at the
expense of fighting injustices in society.
He claim that they wanted the Azimio team to drop
their Supreme Court petition against President William Ruto's victory.
Source: The Star
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Jordan rejects Israeli ‘lies’ over West Bank at UN
Security Council
RAED OMARI
January 06, 2023
AMMAN: Jordan has said that it never occupied the West
Bank, as claimed by Israel, insisting its presence in the disputed territory
was part of an administrative arrangement with the Palestinians.
During the UN Security Council’s special session on
Jerusalem on Thursday, the Tel Aviv ambassador claimed that Jordan occupied the
West Bank in 1950, a suggestion described by his Jordanian counterpart as “lies
and misleading information.”
Jordanian Permanent Representative to the UN Mahmoud
Hmoud said: “What happened in 1950 was a union between the two banks of the
Jordan River for the Palestinians to exercise the right to self-determination,
and half of the Jordanian government was from the West Bank.”
Jordan, according to Israel, occupied the West Bank in
1948
However, even after the Israeli occupation of the West
Bank in 1967, the area was still administratively linked to Jordan and was
considered an electoral district before the disengagement law of 1989.
In 1950, a Jordanian parliament in which Palestinian
Arabs from the West Bank were equally represented voted unanimously to unite
the West Bank with Jordan in order to safeguard the remaining Arab territory of
Palestine from Israeli expansion.
On July 31, 1988, Jordan’s King Hussein announced the
severance of all administrative and legal ties with the occupied West Bank,
saying the move would allow Palestinians to determine their own future.
The dispute between the two diplomats in the UN echoed
a diplomatic rift between Amman and Tel Aviv following the controversial visit
of Israel’s new far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to Al-Aqsa Mosque,
which is under Jordanian custodianship.
Jordan summoned the Israeli ambassador, and said
Ben-Gvir’s visit had violated international law, and “the historic and legal
status quo in Jerusalem.”
The status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque, preserved for
decades, allows only Muslims to worship at the site.
The Jordanian lower house of parliament held a special
session to discuss the Israeli violations, and issued a statement condemning
Israel’s unilateral acts and voicing support for Jordan’s custodianship of
Jerusalem’s holy sites.
The emergency Security Council meeting on Jerusalem
was held on a joint Jordanian-Palestinian request, and with the support of the
UAE, France, China and Malta.
Although the council made no commitment to any action
during the session, member states expressed concern and stressed the need to
maintain the status quo at the mosque compound in the holy city.
Delivering Jordan’s statement at the meeting, Hmoud
voiced Amman’s condemnation of the “storming” of Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram
Al-Sharif by the Israeli minister under the protection of occupation forces.
He described the minister’s visit as a “provocative
step that is rejected and condemned,” adding that it represents “a flagrant
violation of international law, and the historical and legal status quo in the
city of Jerusalem and its holy sites.”
Political analyst Hussein Al-Rawashdeh said that
Israel has “finalized a scheme that targets both Palestine and Jordan.”
Jordan is certain of the “inevitability of the
confrontation” with Israel, even after 29 years of peace following the Wadi
Araba treaty in 1994, he said.
Al-Rawashdeh said that all events indicate Israel has
hidden agenda against its neighbor, with the arrival of an ultra-Orthodox and
far-right government in office being the first proof.
The analyst said that Jordan is facing an
“existentialist threat and not only political maneuvering” from Israel and,
therefore, needs to build a “Jordanian cause based on a convincing and concise
narrative, and a coherent and unified internal front.”
Echoing those remarks, Mohammed Al-Tal, a veteran
journalist and former editor-in-chief of Ad-Dustor Daily, said that Israel has
“unfriendly” intentions against Jordan and is seeking to resolve the
long-running conflict at the expense of the kingdom.
He claimed that through its repeated violations at
Al-Aqsa Mosque, Israel is sending a menacing and disrespectful message to its
neighbor.
During a recent interview with CNN, Jordan’s King
Abdullah said that the country is ready to deal with any push against Hashemite
custodianship.
The king also warned against extremists’ attempts to
use Jerusalem to create conflict and violence.
On whether there are fears of a third intifada
(uprising), the king said: “We have to be concerned about a next intifada. And
if that happens, that is a complete breakdown of law and order, it is one that
neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians will benefit from.
“If people want to get into a conflict with us, we are
quite prepared. (However) let us look at the glass half full.”
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2227866/middle-east
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Al-Shabaab terror attack kills 7 in Somali village:
Police
Mohammed Dhaysane
06.01.2023
MOGADISHU, Somalia
The Al-Shabaab terrorist group on Friday attacked a
Somali village in the Middle Shabelle region, killing at least seven people,
police said.
An army colonel is among the people killed in the
attack in the village of Hilowle Gaab on the outskirts of the recently liberated
town of Runirgod, Abdifatah Mohamed, a police officer in the region, told
Anadolu Agency.
Mohamed said the attack began with explosions followed
by heavy fighting between terrorists and the military, backed by local clan
militias.
“After five explosions, the terrorists attacked the
village from three different directions but the army and local militias
repulsed the terrorists and inflicted heavy casualties on them,” he said.
The terrorist group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility
for the attack and said it killed 31 soldiers, including five senior
commanders, and seized eight military vehicles.
The attack is the second biggest attack by the group
since the beginning of the year.
On Wednesday, the terrorist group attacked the town of
Mahas in the Hiran province, leaving more than 35 people dead.
Somalia has been plagued by insecurity for years, with
al-Shabaab being one of the main threats.
It has waged a deadly campaign against the Somali
government and international forces since at least 2007, claiming thousands of
lives.
The UN has warned of growing instability in the
country, with periodic reports last year detailing attacks by al-Shabaab and
pro-Daesh/ISIS terror groups.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/al-shabaab-terror-attack-kills-7-in-somali-village-police/2781478
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Interpol arrests people smuggling kingpin in Sudan
Handan Kazancı
06.01.2023
A notorious people smuggler known for his extremely
brutal and harsh treatment of refugees was arrested in Sudan in an Interpol
operation, the global police coordination agency said Thursday.
“Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam was the subject of two
INTERPOL Red Notices, by Ethiopia and the Netherlands, for migrant smuggling,
human trafficking and other related crimes,” the France-based agency said in a
statement.
The Eritrean national “is wanted for heading a major
criminal organization behind the kidnapping, extortion and murder of East
African migrants,” it said.
Quick action by the United Arab Emirates led to the
arrest of Habtemariam, who had been on the global police agency’s radar since
2019 for reportedly smuggling and trafficking thousands of victims, the
statement said.
His arrest came after nearly a year following a March
2022 meeting that gathered officials from Ethiopia, Sudan, the Netherlands, the
UAE and the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, or Europol.
“In March 2022, intelligence gathered by INTERPOL’s
Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants unit prompted a task force meeting
with participants from Ethiopia, Sudan, the Netherlands, the UAE, Europol and
the Regional Operational Centre in support of the Khartoum process and the
African Union Horn of Africa Initiative (ROCK),” the statement said.
This extensive cooperation produced fresh
intelligence, enabling UAE officials to thoroughly investigate Habtemariam’s network
and family members, uncovering money laundering activities and leading to
Sudan, it added.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/interpol-arrests-people-smuggling-kingpin-in-sudan/2780961
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Southeast Asia
Brunei Imams Highlight Role Of Police In Preserving
Peace, In The Friday Sermon
January 7, 2023
Crime comes in many forms, with cybercrime on the rise
in modern society. However, the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) remains ready
to tackle all varieties of crime to maintain peace.
This was said by imams in the Friday sermon yesterday.
Imams said, “Peace and prosperity are blessings from
Allah the Almighty. With it, religion may be preserved, progress will be
generated and people will feel secure.
“The pillars of peace must be preserved and practised
by holding fast to Islamic teachings, complying with national laws and living
in harmony and unity.”
Source: Borneobulletin
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https://borneobulletin.com.bn/imams-highlight-role-of-police-in-preserving-peace/
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Malaysia condemns Israel's incursion into the Al-Aqsa
Mosque
January 4, 2023
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia strongly condemns the incursion
into the Al-Aqsa Mosque and its courtyard on Tuesday by the Israeli regime.
The orchestrated incursion led by Israeli National
Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Israeli forces, was a clear provocation
and aggression against the political status quo of Jerusalem and Al-Haram
Al-Sharif, according to a Foreign Ministry's statement today.
Malaysia, it said calls upon the international
community to hold the Israeli regime accountable for such an illegal act and
demands the regime to cease immediately any provocation in the interest of
peace and stability.
"Malaysia continues to stand in solidarity with
the people of Palestine and reiterates the status of Al-Quds Al-Sharif as the
holy site of the Muslim Ummah.
"Malaysia also reaffirms its unwavering support
for the Palestinians and their cause to achieve freedom from the illegal
Israeli occupation and realise their aspirations for an independent and
sovereign State of Palestine based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem
as their Capital," said the statement.
On Tuesday, Itamar Ben-Gvir entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque
complex, a day after announcing he had postponed the visit amid warnings of
unrest.
Source: NST
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https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2023/01/867245/malaysia-condemns-israels-incursion-al-aqsa-mosque
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Jokowi greets Christians with call for stronger ties
Jan 06, 2023
JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo called on
Christians in the predominantly Muslim country to strengthen “bonds of
brotherhood” and protect the environment in a Christmas message.
The president addressed the faithful on Christmas Day
during a visit to the cathedral in Bogor, West Java.
“Let’s continue to strengthen the bonds of brotherhood
and our environment for the rise of the unitary state of the Republic of
Indonesia,” Widodo was quoted as saying.
Fr Yohanes Suparto, vicar general of the Diocese of
Bogor, said he was pleased that Widodo visited the church.
“We were very, very surprised at how happy everyone
really felt when Jokowi entered the church, after all, Jokowi turned out to be
a person who always wanted to be close to anyone,” said the priest.
Widodo is popularly known in Indonesia by his nickname
“Jokowi.”
Fr Suparto said the president’s visit “is history …
because it is only Jokowi who has ever come as president to enter our church.”
“Jokowi’s message was also powerful for us, so we must
keep being united and tolerant for the sake of the rise of the Indonesian
country we love,” said the priest.
Rita Marcia, a choir member at the Bogor Cathedral
Church, said the president’s visit was “amazing,” adding that the moment was
“the most beautiful gift” during the Christmas celebration.
“This is the most wonderful Christmas gift for the
people of the Bogor Cathedral. It is a beautiful present for us,” she said.
“A president who visits with humility, with all of the
rites he must observe in the church. He had waited to enter. It’s most
humbling, most appreciative, and most extraordinary for us,” said Marcia.
Source: Herald Malaysia
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https://www.heraldmalaysia.com/news/jokowi-greets-christians-with-call-for-stronger-ties/69387/1
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Muhyiddin ally nabbed as graft busters probe alleged
misappropriation of $28b in Covid-19 packages
Zunaira Saieed
KUALA LUMPUR - A close associate of former Malaysian
prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin was nabbed by graft busters on Thursday over
his alleged role in brokering government projects in exchange for bribes.
According to a well-placed source, the man – the chief
executive of a private company – is being investigated by the Malaysian
Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in relation to alleged misappropriation of
Covid-19 stimulus packages worth RM92.5 billion (S$28.2 billion) by the
previous Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration.
“He is close to Mr Muhyiddin and is a divisional
Bersatu leader as well,” the source told The Straits Times. Parti Pribumi
Bersatu Malaysia and Parti Islam SeMalaysia are the main components of Tan Sri
Muhyiddin’s PN.
MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki has confirmed the
arrest.
The man is accused of taking bribes to connect
contractors to high-ranking officials. He will be detained until Jan 10.
He faces up to 20 years in jail and a fine of up to
five times the amount of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, if
convicted, The Star Online reported.
ST has learnt that the 42-year-old is also a council
member of the Tan Sri Muhyiddin Charity Golf Foundation.
According to its website, the charity foundation “aims
to achieve a series of objectives through contributions made by corporations
and individuals at a series of charity events held during the course of each
year”.
MACC raided eight government agencies and nine
companies in December 2022 as part of its probe into the alleged
misappropriation of RM92.5 billion by the PN government.
An MAAC source told ST then that investigations had
found that these agencies had received a “huge allocation” from the stimulus packages
approved by the government in 2020 and 2021.
Mr Muhyiddin was Malaysia’s premier from March 2020 to
August 2021 before he was replaced by Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob,
whose party is now a member of the unity government.
Source: Straits Times
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Zahid has lost control over Umno, says analyst
Elill Easwaran
January 7, 2023
PETALING JAYA: Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has
no control over the party as shown by what is happening in Sabah, according to
political analyst Jeniri Amir.
Jeniri, a fellow of the Council of Professors, said
that although Sabah Umno enjoys autonomy, it does not mean its leaders should
be allowed to spark a crisis through political manoeuvres.
“Zahid must put his foot down. These political
manoeuvres are very damaging for Umno and Barisan Nasional. People are sick of
politicking and want stability,” he told FMT.
“A failure to rein in those pushing for a change in
government in Sabah affects Zahid’s leadership credentials.
“This is no small matter. If Zahid knew about it, he
should have stopped it. If he spoke against it, the question is why did the
push continue anyway, especially when it can affect the unity between the
different parties in Sabah.”
Last night, Sabah Umno chief Bung Moktar Radin
announced the party was withdrawing support for Sabah chief minister Hajiji
Noor, casting doubts over his support in the state assembly.
It is understood that Sabah Umno and Warisan are
working together to oust Hajiji, who is chairman of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah.
Pakatan Harapan have pledged their support for him.
Another analyst, James Chin of the University of
Tasmania’s Asia Institute, said that what is happening in Sabah will not have
much impact on Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government.
“State-level politics in Sabah and Sarawak operates in
a very different dynamic so I don’t see a direct connection to it, affecting
the unity government. Of course, it is the same party but here you are talking
about the dynamics of politics in Sabah and Sarawak which are very different,”
he said.
Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International
Affairs said the Sabah branches of the various West Malaysian parties have a
great degree of autonomy in making decisions involving primarily state and not
federal matters.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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Mideast
Ismaeelzahi, Top Iranian Sunni Cleric Says Torture of
Protesters Is Un-Islamic
January 06, 2023
DUBAI —
A top dissident Iranian Sunni cleric on Friday
denounced as un-Islamic Iran's alleged use of forced confessions to convict
detained protesters, as weekly demonstrations continued in the county's
southeast.
Meanwhile, the authorities' crackdown following
nationwide protests continued with arrests, including that of a celebrity chef
and a prominent journalist.
Anti-government marches have been held on Fridays in
the southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province as part of protests after the
death in custody on September 16 of a young Iranian Kurdish woman detained by
the morality police for flouting a strict dress code for women.
"If someone does not accept the accusation, they
torture him to accept it. Confessions under coercion and the beating of the
accused have no place in sharia [Islamic law] and our country's
Constitution," Molavi Abdolhamid Ismaeelzahi said in a Friday prayers
sermon, according to his website.
Ismaeelzahi is based in Zahedan, capital of the
impoverished Sistan-Baluchistan province, home to Iran's Baluch minority.
Authorities reportedly have pressured him by banning
him from traveling abroad and restricting his travels and contacts within Iran.
Rights groups say convictions of dissidents in Iran's
courts are often based on forced confessions. Iran denies that.
Ismaeelzahi, a powerful dissenting Sunni voice in the
Shi'ite-ruled Islamic Republic, also denounced mass arrests in Zahedan, after
state media said security forces had arrested more than 100 "thugs and
armed robbers" there in the past few days.
After the sermon, demonstrators marched in Zahedan,
chanting "Death to the Islamic Republic," according to videos posted
on social media. Reuters could not immediately verify the footage.
Separately, the chef and influencer Navab Ebrahimi was
arrested in the capital Tehran and taken to Evin prison, where many political
detainees are held, the rights group HRANA said.
There was no immediate word from the judiciary on the
reported arrest of Ebrahimi, who had 2.7 million followers on Instagram. His
account was unavailable on Friday.
Postings on social media said his arrest may have been
linked to a video showing him preparing Persian cutlets, which may have been
seen as a taunt amid state-sponsored events marking the third anniversary of
the killing of Iran's top general Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. drone attack.
Mehdi Beik, who headed the political desk of the
moderate newspaper Etemad, was detained by security agents on Thursday, his
wife said on Twitter. Officials are yet to announce the reasons for the
detention of Beik, who had interviewed relatives of arrested protesters.
Source: VOA News
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Israel to suffer ‘severe consequences’ for defiling
Al-Aqsa Mosque, Iran says
January 6, 2023
Amir Abdollahian made the remarks in a phone
conversation with OIC Secretary General Hussein Ibrahim Taha.
Amir Abdollahian and Taha discussed the most recent
events in the region and the Muslim world, including a controversial trip by
far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in
the occupied Old City of al-Quds.
The senior Iranian diplomat warned, "The
consequences of this action would be harsh for the fraudulent Israeli
regime," appreciating Taha on his prompt denunciation of the recent
Zionist sacrilege of al-Aqsa Mosque.
Amir Abdollahian suggested the creation of an
"effective legal and international framework to halt aggressive activities
against religious authority and holy places" in reference to Israel's
provocative actions against the al-Aqsa Mosque.
Ben-Gvir entered the al-Aqsa Mosque on Tuesday through
the Moroccan Gate, commonly known as the Mughrabi Gate, in what the
Palestinians referred to as an "unprecedented provocation."
During the phone call, Amir Abdollahian also praised
the OIC chief for taking a stand against the French weekly magazine Charlie
Hebdo's most recent blasphemous attempt to offend the highest religious
authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
He blamed the French government for the caricatures
and emphasized that the Zionists' involvement goes beyond the notorious French
magazine's serial offenses against religious sanctuaries.
The foreign minister also reaffirmed Iran's position
on the need to put a stop to the hostilities in Yemen, Afghanistan, and
Ukraine.
Taha also denounced the recent Israeli vandalism of
the al-Aqsa Mosque and expressed his worry for the entry of the minister of the
occupying regime into the sacred place.
"This conduct has wounded the sentiments of the
Islamic Ummah," he said.
Taha emphasized that the Zionists' aggressive actions
disrupt regional peace and stability and stated he is in discussions with
several organizations to put pressure on the Israeli regime to stop taking such
measures.
He also denounced the sacrilegious action taken by the
infamous French magazine and emphasized that the subject is being looked into
in order to respond to the move in a "proportionate" manner.
The Taliban's decision to forbid children and women
from attending school in Afghanistan also drew strong criticism from both sides
who asserted the move goes against Islamic law and teachings.
FM emphasizes legal means to stop demeaning holy
places
Also, in another phone call on Thursday with his
Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah, Amir Abdollahian
called for creation of a legislative framework to halt the degradation of
Islamic sanctuaries.
Iran’s top diplomat and Foreign Minister Al Sabah also
spoke on bilateral relations, as well as local and global issues, including the
recent defilement of the al-Aqsa Mosque and the sacrilegious action by the
infamous French magazine.
Amir Abdollahian condemned the recent desecration of
the mosque by the illegal entity and urged coordination and cooperation among
Muslim nations to maintain the historical and legal status of the Al-Aqsa
Mosque.
He also emphasized the need to establish legal
mechanisms to prevent desecration of Islamic sanctuaries.
In order to achieve peace and stability in the region,
the senior Iranian diplomat emphasized the necessity of enhancing regional
collaboration.
Al Sabah, also, reaffirmed the Kuwait's steadfast
position on the Palestinian cause and severely denounced the Israeli regime for
its recent vandalism of the al-Aqsa Mosque.
He also praised Iran's proposal for unified OIC
measures to stop the occupying regime's offensive acts in harming regional
peace and stability.
Source: Tehran Times
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Israel police arrest 2 teens in attack on Christian
cemetery
January 06, 2023
JERUSALEM: The Israeli police on Friday arrested two
teenagers who they said vandalized over two dozen Christian graves in a
historic Jerusalem cemetery earlier this week.
The graves of Christian figures at the Protestant
Cemetery were found pushed over and pulled from their foundations on Sunday,
unsettling the contested city’s Christian minority and drawing worldwide
condemnation. The cemetery is more than 170 years old and houses prominent
members of the armed forces and clergy in the holy city.
Late Thursday, the US Embassy’s Office of Palestinian
Affairs said it was “concerned” that the religious site was targeted again —
the second time in a decade.
“Religious site vandalism by anyone is unacceptable,”
the office said. “Jerusalem must be a city for all of its people.”
Israeli police did not name the suspected vandals but
said they were ages 18 and 14 and residents of central Israel. Security camera
footage of the attack showed two young men wearing a Jewish skullcap and
tzitzit, the knotted ritual fringes worn by observant Jews, knocking over
crosses, breaking tombstones and throwing debris over the graves.
“Any damage to religious institutions and sites is
serious and harms the unique and delicate fabric of life that exists in the
city,” the police said, describing the act as “intentional vandalism.” A
Jerusalem court on Friday held a hearing to extend the detention of the two
teenagers.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2227701/middle-east
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US repatriates stolen 2,700-year-old artifact to
Palestine
January 06, 2023
LONDON: US officials have repatriated a 2,700-year-old
artifact to the Palestinian Authority following a legal investigation into
stolen antiquities, the New York Times reported.
The cosmetic spoon was handed over by American
representatives to Palestinian officials in the city of Bethlehem on Thursday,
marking the first time that a stolen artifact had been repatriated by the US to
the PA.
The spoon, produced between 700 and 800 B.C. within
the Assyrian Empire, is thought to have been used to pour incense onto fire
during religious rituals.
It was part of a large number of objects acquired by
US billionaire Michael Steinhardt, who in 2021 surrendered his $70 million
collection of antiquities and agreed to what officials called an
“unprecedented” lifetime ban on acquiring antiquities.
The spoon first appeared for auction in 2003 when
Steinhardt purchased it from an Israeli dealer who is accused of trading stolen
artifacts.
Rula Maayah, Palestinian minister of tourism and
antiquities who met with US officials in Bethlehem, said: “This artifact is
important as it acquires its real scientific and archaeological value in its
authentic location.”
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2227756/middle-east
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Far-right security minister begins drive to introduce
stronger punitive measures for Palestinian prisoners
MOHAMMED NAJIB
January 06, 2023
RAMALLAH: Israeli National Security Minister Itamar
Ben-Gvir has initiated punitive measures against Palestinian prisoners in
Israeli jails.
Ben-Gvir, who is also leader of the far-right Jewish
Power party, announced in a tweet on Friday that he was proceeding with his
plan to introduce the death penalty for prisoners found guilty of killing, or
attempting to kill, Israelis.
The minister announced during his election campaign
that he would push for the Knesset’s adoption of the death penalty, and on Jan.
1 he said that he would ensure that conditions for Palestinians in Israeli
prisons became worse, adding that Israeli prisons were like “summer camps,” and
that prisoners currently enjoy “comfortable and excellent conditions.”
The minister also said he had visited Nafha prison —
where new cells were recently built — to ensure that those prosecuted for
killing Israelis would be imprisoned in conditions worse than those offered by
the older cells. Ben-Gvir was accompanied by the head of the Israel Prison Service,
Katy Perry, and other senior command staff, on his visit.
Nafha desert is one of the most strongly fortified
Israeli prisons and is regarded as one of the harshest.
According to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees’
Affairs, there were 4,700 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails at the end of
2022, including 29 women, 150 children, around 850 administrative detainees, 15
journalists and five deputies from the Palestinian Legislative Council. There
are 330 prisoners who have been in jail for more than 20 years, and 552
prisoners serving a life sentence.
Ben-Gvir caused widespread international criticism of
Israel after he stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque on Tuesday. On Thursday, former prisoner
Karim Younis said in a phone call with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that
Palestinian prisoners were preparing to counter Israeli jailers’ restrictions
in the near future.
Qadura Faris, head of the Palestinian Prisoners Club,
told Arab News: “We are taking seriously all threats issued by Ben-Gvir
(regarding the targeting of) Palestinian prisoners, because he is part of the
Israeli government. He will face a difficult reality, as the matter does not
depend on what he decides.
“Prisoners are not baggage to be moved from one place
to another, and any harm to them will lead to a major crisis inside the
prisons,” Faris continued.
Faris warned that such a crisis would likely escalate
outside of prisons as Palestinians would not accept Ben-Gvir’s “racist, hateful
policies.”
Senior Palestinian security sources told Arab News
that the reason for the speed with which Israeli far-right ministers are
implementing their crackdown against Palestinians is because they have realized
that they may not have much time in power.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Cabinet discussed on Jan. 5 its
response to the Palestinian appeal, via the United Nations, to the
International Court of Justice in The Hague to give an opinion on the legal
consequences of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
The head of Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities
in the Territories unit, Ghassan Olyan, presented Cabinet ministers with a list
of potential sanctions, including the withdrawal of VIP cards from senior
officials in the Palestinian Authority, as well as wide-ranging economic
sanctions. Sources in the Israeli security apparatus favor the former, saying
that the measures should focus on Palestinian leaders rather than the civilian
population.
Ibrahim Melhem, spokesperson for the Palestinian
government, told Arab News that Israeli sanctions against the PA and its
leaders have been introduced every time that the Palestinian leadership has
attempted to refute “the Israeli narrative” on the international stage.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2227776/middle-east
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Jerusalem churches in crosshairs of escalating
extremist attacks: Churches Council
Abdel Raouf Arnaout
06.01.2023
JERUSALEM
Churches in East Jerusalem are constantly concerned
about the rise in Israeli extremist attacks on Christian property in the city.
Current and former church officials told Anadolu
Agency that the frequent attacks on Christian property ended in most cases without
punishing the perpetrators.
On Sunday, Israeli extremists destroyed 30 graves with
crosses toppled at a Christian cemetery belonging to Evangelical Episcopal
Church in East Jerusalem.
“The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns the
act of vandalism at the Protestant Mount Zion Cemetery in Jerusalem,” the
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a tweet on Wednesday.
History of assaults
On Dec. 27, 2022, dozens of settlers stormed the
5,000-square-meter (53,820-square-feet) plot of land in Silwan, south of
Jerusalem’s Old City, under Israeli police protection.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate decried the settler
raid as a “clear encroachment” on its properties in Jerusalem.
“This radical group has no right or judicial backing
in their favor to allow them to enter or occupy the land,” it said in a
statement.
The Patriarchate referred to the fact that two years
ago, a settlement association tried seizing the Imperial and Little Petra
hotels located in Omar Ibn Al Khattab Square in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Conviction awaiting punishment
The former bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in the Holy Land, Munib Younan, said: "The attack on a cemetery that tells
the history of Lutherans since the 19th century is evidence of the hatred of
the attackers."
During his interview with Anadolu Agency, Younan said
the attack on the cemetery "is unacceptable and should not only be
condemned but the perpetrators must also be punished.”
He stressed that the aggressors "aimed to seize
the Hebron Gate by seizing the Imperial and Petra Hotels, which would lead to
control of the local and international Christian pilgrimage to the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City.”
Intentional narrowing
The recent attacks were not limited to the property of
the Lutheran Church, but also included the property of other Christian
denominations, including those owned by the Greek Orthodox Church.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate’s spokesman, Father
Issa Musleh, said, "Extremists attack churches and monasteries, just as
they attack the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
“Our Muslim brothers are exposed to the same attacks
we are exposed to, our cause is the same," he added.
He attributed the increasing decline in the numbers of
Christians in the Holy Land in part to Christians feeling targeted by
extremists.
Father Musleh called on Christians to return to their
lands to confront the "targeting of settlers," noting that "they
are harassing us to displace us, but we will remain until the Palestinian state
with Jerusalem as its capital is established."
Musleh said "the presence of an extremist
right-wing government in Israel does not scare only us but the whole
world."
Against unknown
Over the years, Wadih Abu Nassar, spokesman for the
Council of Heads of Catholic Churches in Jerusalem, along with Israeli
authorities, followed up on many attacks.
"We are not talking about singular attacks but
rather dozens of attacks over the past few years, most of which were recorded
against unknown persons," he noted.
"This matter cannot be accepted," Abu Nassar
added. "Advanced security services must be used to stop hate crimes and
bring perpetrators to justice."
He warned against the development of attacks in the
future and their transgression of cemeteries.
"The continuation of the attacks will lead their
perpetrators to believe that they are untouchable, their attacks will not end
with graveyards," Abu Nassar noted.
He also pointed out that “hate crimes stem from an
educational problem,” adding: “A radical solution is needed.”
Aggravating attacks
Abu Nassar narrated examples of how the Israeli
authorities deal lightly with hate crimes.
“In the case of the attack on the church of the Grotto
of Gethsemane in Jerusalem, the assailant was arrested, then declared mentally
abnormal," he stressed, explaining: "The Israeli authorities behave
strangely with such crimes. If the assault is documented through cameras,
authorities say the faces are blurred, and when aggressors are arrested, they
are always mentally ill.”
Source: Anadolu Agency
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North America
Biden links 'sick insurrectionists' to death of
Capitol Police officer killed by Nation of Islam supporter
January 6, 2023
By Houston Keene
President Biden linked "sick
insurrectionists" spreading threats online to the death of a Capitol
Police officer who was killed by a Nation of Islam supporter in an April 2021
attack.
While speaking about the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol
riot, Biden referred to the death of Capitol Police Officer William Evans, who
was killed by Noah Green, an apparent supporter of the Nation of Islam.
Biden attributed Evans' death to threats made online
by the "sick insurrectionists" who stormed the Capitol in January
2021.
"Today is the ceremony to honor the heroes of
Jan. 6. We also recognize the late U.S. Capitol Police Officer Billy Evans. His
family is with us today," Biden said.
"Three months after Jan. 6, while they were still
cordoning off the Capitol because threats by these sick insurrectionists
continued to be propagated on the Internet. Again, all America saw what
happened when Officer Evans was killed defending a checkpoint you had to go
through to get up the Capitol because of these God-awful, sick threats that
continued to move forward."
"And the whole world saw it," he added.
"It’s just hard to believe. It’s hard to believe that it happened here in
America."
Green allegedly slammed his sedan into two police
officers near the Capitol’s North Barricade, the entrance where members of
Congress and their aides come and go.
Evans was killed, and another officer was injured.
Green was shot by officers shortly after emerging from the vehicle wielding a
knife.
In the months leading up to his death, Green made many
posts on Facebook professing his support of the Nation of Islam and its leader,
Louis Farrakhan.
Source: Fox News
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US sanctions target Iranian drone manufacturer
06 January 2023
The US imposes new sanctions against Iran, this time
targeting an Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles manufacturer under the
unsubstantiated and disproven pretext that the Islamic Republic has provided
Russia with the UAVs to be used by Moscow against Ukraine.
The United States Treasury Department slapped the
sanctions on Friday against six executives and board members of Iran's Quds
Aviation Industries (QAI).
It described the targeted body as a key Iranian
defense industry manufacturer responsible for designing and producing drones.
The Islamic Republic has, on repeated occasions,
roundly rejected Washington's allegations.
Last month, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General
Mohammad Reza Ashtiani said Ukrainian officials had failed to provide any
evidence for their claim that Russia was using Iranian drones in its
February-present war on Ukraine.
Speaking following a technical meeting between
Ukrainian and Iranian specialists, he said the Ukrainian side had stopped short
of "presenting any evidence" during the meeting "of Russia’s use
of Iranian drones in the war with this country."
A month earlier, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein
Amir-Abdollahian had also reacted to the US and other Western countries'
allegations, noting that Iran had provided Russia with a limited number of
drones, but the delivery had taken place months before the war in Ukraine.
On another occasion in October, the top diplomat had
likewise responded to the Western claims by asserting, "We have not sold
and will not sell any weapons and drones to be used in the war against
Ukraine."
Russia has similarly denied deploying any Iranian UAVs
in the war against Ukraine.
The US Treasury Department, however, alleged, "We
will continue to use every tool at our disposal to deny [Russian President
Vladimir] Putin the weapons that he is using...."
The Friday sanctions also targeted the director of
Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization, which the Treasury claimed, was the
key organization responsible for overseeing Iran's ballistic missile programs.
In July 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported that
the US was planning a sanctions campaign against Iran’s defensive drones and
guided missiles program, six months after the administration of President Joe
Biden was sworn in.
Source: Press TV
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of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/01/06/695855/Iran-United-States-sanctions-drones-Russia-Ukraine
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Top Iraqi MP urges immediate withdrawal of all US-led
forces from Iraq
06 January 2023
The Fatah (Conquest) Alliance in the Iraqi parliament
has called for an immediate withdrawal of all US-led foreign military forces
from the country, days after the anniversary of the assassination of top
anti-terror commanders by the US military.
Hadi al-Amiri, the head of the alliance, used the
Iraqi Army Day on January 6 as an opportunity to reiterate the call for putting
an end to the presence of foreign forces in Iraq.
The achievements of the Iraqi Army demonstrate its
“complete competency and readiness” for fulfilling duties related to
maintaining security and stability without any need for the presence of foreign
forces on Iraqi soil, he said.
“Therefore, we ask for urgent withdrawal of all
foreign military forces and establishment of national sovereignty,” he added.
While the US claims it has ended its combat mission in
Iraq, some 2,500 US troops still remain inside the Arab country in what
Washington describes as an “advisory” mission.
Anti-US sentiments have been steadily broiling in Iraq
since the 2020 assassination of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of the
Popular Mobilization Units, along with the region’s legendary anti-terror
commander, Iranian Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.
The two commanders were targeted along with their companions
on January 3, 2020, in a cowardly terrorist drone strike authorized by then-US
president Donald Trump near Baghdad International Airport. Two days after the
attack, Iraqi lawmakers approved a bill that required the government to end the
presence of all foreign military forces led by the US.
US President Joe Biden and Iraq’s then-Prime Minister
Mustafa Al-Kadhimi declared in July 2021 that the US mission in Iraq would
transition from combat to an “advisory” role by the end of that year.
Source: Press TV
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India
Muslim Writers Excluded From Kannada Sahitya Sammelan,
Allege Eminent Writers, Scholars
06 January, 2023
New Delhi: A section of Kannada writers have alleged
that the Kannada Sahitya Sammelan in Karnataka’s Haveri has ignored Muslim
writers and poets, the New Indian Express reported.
When the Kannada Sahitya Parishat announced the names
of writers and poets who are taking part in the sammelana, some writers
objected to the exclusion of Muslim writers from the list. They told the
newspaper in December that the state has hundreds of Muslim Kannada writers,
however, only a few have been considered for the Sammelan.
Therefore, some senior Kannada writers told the daily
they’re planning to organise an alternative literary festival, Jana Sahitya
Sammelana, on January 8 at the Alumni Hall in Bengaluru’s K.R. Circle, in
protest against the exclusion of Muslim writers.
However, an organising committee member told the
daily: “There are six Muslim writers and poets who are part of the Haveri
Sammelan. It has become a routine for some people to create controversy during
the mega Kannada event.”
The three-day Sahitya Sammelan began on January 6,
Friday, in Haveri, the home district of chief minister Basavaraj Bommai.
The Sammelan is funded by the Karnataka government and
its activities, including the literary meet, are supported with taxpayer money,
the News Minute reported.
According to the Hindu, some writers have alleged that
the selection process has excluded even women writers, and Muslims, from key
sessions. They have withdrawn from participating in the event as a mark of
dissent.
The newspaper reported that H.R. Sujatha, who was
supposed to chair one of the poetry meets at the sammelana, announced that she
would not participate. In her letter, she said that she could see “deliberate
exclusion of Muslim writers on the panels”.
She made the announcement soon after the schedule of
various literary sessions was published, the daily said.
Chand Pasha N.S., who was among the few Muslim writers
on the panels, also announced his decision to boycott the event, the report
said.
He said the parishat was discriminating against
writers based on religion, caste, and gender that too in Haveri, known as the
land of Shishunala Sharif and Kanakadasa.
Another poet Ramesh Aroli, too, decided to stay away
from the sammelana, the daily reported.
Source: The Wire
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Uniform laws on marriage, divorce matter for
Parliament to decide: Supreme Court
Jan 07, 2023
ByAbraham Thomas
New Delhi: Having uniform laws on marriage, divorce,
succession, adoption and maintenance is a matter for Parliament to decide and
not for the courts to determine, the Supreme Court said on Friday.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India
(CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud was hearing a clutch of petitions, including the
one by Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who
filed the petition in 2020 seeking uniform laws on the issue of marriage,
divorce, adoption, maintenance and guardianship.
“This is a matter for Parliament to decide. We cannot
make laws. This falls within Parliament’s sovereignty. We cannot tell the Parliament
you shall enact a law,” said the bench also comprising justices PS Narasimha
and JB Pardiwala.
In his petition, Upadhyay pointed out the dichotomy
that exists between laws applicable to different religions on the issue of
marriage, divorce, adoption, maintenance and guardianship. Later, several other
petitions were filed, some by Muslim women who were aggrieved by the
discriminatory forms of divorce practiced under Muslim personal law.
Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, along with advocate MR
Shamshad, appearing for the Muslim Personal Law Board, informed the court that
Upadhyay in 2015 had raised similar prayers in a writ petition filed in the top
court, which he withdrew. He later filed a petition seeking enforcement of a
Uniform Civil Code (UCC) before the Delhi high court which is still pending.
Ahmadi told the court that the petitioner has not
mentioned this fact in the present set of petitions. Upadhyay, however, said
the present petition filed by him had additional grounds.
“You (Upadhyay) must disclose to the Court and then
you may say that you raised additional grounds as well,” the bench said.
Upadhyay told the court that these arguments were
rejected by the apex court on September 5 last year when a bench headed by then
CJI Uday Umesh Lalit recognised the importance of the issue and sought a
comprehensive response from the Centre.
The bench told Upadhyay, “We will take this up some
other day. But you need to first address us on this preliminary issue.
In September, the top court had observed, “These
petitions are seeking common marriage, divorce, adoption, succession, and
maintenance laws. They are all facets of Uniform Civil Code. Let a
comprehensive response be filed indicating the stand of the Union government in
respect of issues raised in this batch of petitions.”
Upadhyay requested the bench to consider his other
prayer to refer the issue for consideration by the Law Commission of India. The
court said, “Even on referring a matter to the Law Commission is in aid of
something else. Can the Supreme Court direct that you shall enact a
legislation. We will consider this aspect on the next date.”
Additional solicitor general (ASG) KM Nataraj,
appearing for Centre, agreed with the bench that the matter in these petitions
is a subject of legislative policy. “If there is a grievance, considering the
gravity of situation, maybe it will be open for the Law Commission to take a
call,” he said.
In his petition, Upadhyay pointed out that adultery is
a ground of divorce for Hindus, Christians and Parsis but not for Muslims.
Incurable leprosy is a ground of divorce for Hindus and Christians but not for
Parsis and Muslims. Similarly, impotency is a ground of divorce for Hindus and
Muslims but not among Christians and Parsis. While under age marriage is a
ground of divorce for Hindus but not for Christians, Parsis and Muslims, the
petition said.
Source: Hindustan Times
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20-Yr-Old Muslim Man Thrashed For ‘Walking With Hindu
Girl’: Cops
Jan 07, 2023
Subramanya police registered a case against unknown
persons for allegedly assaulting a Muslim man for roaming with a minor Hindu
girl at the Kukke Subramanya, around 100 kilometres from Mangaluru district
headquarters, police said on Friday.
According to police, the youth Afeed (20), from
Kallugundi near Sullia, came with the minor girl to Kukke Subramanya temple on
Thursday.
“A few youths noticed the interfaith couple and
questioned them while they were going near the Kumaradhara river. When they
came to know that the man and the girl were from other communities, they
allegedly assaulted them,” police said.
Officials said Afeed is undergoing treatment at a
hospital in Sullia and filed a complaint with the Subramanya police, which
registered a case against 10-12 unknown persons under sections 323 (assault),
324 (assault), 307 (attempt to murder) and 365 (kidnap) of the Indian Penal
Code (IPC).
A photo of Afeed in his undergarment lying on the
ground with wounds from the attack has gone viral on social media.
Hours after the incident, the father of the
17-year-old minor girl, studying in the second year of a pre-university degree,
filed a complaint with Subramanya police alleging that Afeed attempted to
molest the girl while she was waiting for a bus at the KSRTC bus stand.
The father alleged that the man followed her for quite
some time and asked for her mobile number. When she refused to give, he
allegedly attempted to molest her taking her beside the river.
The police have registered a case under sections 506
(criminal intimidation) and 354(B) (sexual assault) of the IPC and section 12
(sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act
against Afeed.
Source: Hindustan Times
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K’taka Minister Opposes Separate Literary Festival For
Side-lined Muslim Writers
6th January 2023
Bengaluru: Karnataka Minister of Kannada and Culture,
V. Sunil Kumar, on Friday objected to a parallel literary festival for
sidelined Muslim writers in the 86th All India Kannada Literature Conference.
“Organisation of the parallel literary conference is
not a good development,” Sunil Kumar said.
Speaking on the controversy, the Minister added,
“There will be small mistakes in a large-scale event. That should be discussed
and sorted out.”
The Kannada literary festival will help give a good
message to the people. The festival is important in the view of development of
the Kannada language, he said.
The 86th Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelana (All
India Kannada Literature Conference) organised by the Kannada Sahitya Parishat
was inaugurated on Friday with much fanfare in Chief Minister Basavaraj
Bommai’s native city Haveri.
However, the literary conference has run into
controversy for sidelining Muslim authors and litterateurs.
Condemning this literary event for sidelining Muslim
writers, Kannada activists and like-minded litterateurs have organised a
single-day parallel literary conference in Bengaluru on January 8.
It has been decided to make well-known Kannada writer
Bhanu Mushtaq as the President of this parallel literary event.
Source: Siasat Daily
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LG constitutes Delhi State Haj Committee for 3 years
6th January 2023
New Delhi: Delhi Lt. Governor V.K. Saxena has
constituted the Delhi State Haj Committee for a period of three years with
immediate effect.
“ln exercise of the powers under rule 3(2) of the
Delhi State Haj Committee Rules, 2006 and the power of ‘State Government’
entrusted under section 24i) of the Haj Committee Act, 2002, the Lt. Governor,
NCT of Delhi hereby constitutes the Delhi State Haj Committee with the
following persons as the members under the various categories, for a period of
three years with immediate effect,” said the notification from the LG
Secretariat.
The Delhi State Haj Committee comprises one member of
Parliament, two members from Delhi Legislative Assembly, one Muslim member from
local body, one Muslim member with the knowledge of Muslim theology and one
Muslim member from Muslim voluntary organisation.
Source: Siasat Daily
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https://www.siasat.com/lg-constitutes-delhi-state-haj-committee-for-3-years-2497217/
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Pakistan
Anger in Pakistan's South Waziristan over rise in
terror incidents, people take to streets
Jan 6, 2023
NEW DELHI: Thousands of people in South Waziristan
district of Pakistan on Friday staged protest against the recent wave of
terrorism in the region and demanded that the civil administration fulfil its
responsibilities to restore peace in the area.
Political workers, social activists, traders and youth
participated in the protest march and chanted slogans for peace.
Over the past few months, the law and order situation
in Pakistan has worsened with terrorist groups like the outlawed
Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, the Islamic State group, and the Gul Bahadur Group
carrying out attacks with near impunity across the country.
Several leaders from political parties including PPP,
PTM, PML-N and AWP addressed the rally and blamed the government for failing to
control the rise of terrorism in the region.
"No one is safe in Wana, from political leaders
to traders, tribal leaders and contractors. Today, thousands of people have
taken to the streets to demand peace. We won’t sit quietly until the government
guarantees peace,” Awami National Party leader Ayaz Wazir told Dawn.
At least 11 terrorists, including two suicide bombers,
were killed during an operation carried out by a Pakistani intelligence-based
operation (IBO) in South Waziristan on Thursday, Pakistan's military media wing
said.
Earlier, TTP attacked a Pakistan government
contractor, Mohammad Nisar's house, who was asked to pay a ransom of Rs 15
million which he refused. He alleged that the TTP member attacked his house in
Rawalpindi's Dhamial area with a cracker after he refused to pay the ransom,
reported The Dawn.
Pakistan's Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) was also
involved in the case's investigation after a first information report (FIR) was
registered with the police on Tuesday.
"The Pashtuns of South Waziristan came out in
large numbers today in Wana to protest against terrorism and Talibanisation in
our areas. Our people refuse to be used as cannon fodder and scapegoats in the
new great game being imposed on the region," North Waziristan lawmaker
Mohsin Dawar said on Twitter.
About 1,000 people were killed and injured in attacks
by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan on the Pakistan government in 2022, according
to statistics published by the TTP terrorist group, Khaama Press reported.
TTP said in a video, that most of their attacks took
place in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. They also launched
attacks outside the province, Khaama Press reported.
According to the speakers, peace and normalcy are the
foundations of socioeconomic development and insecurity and uncertainty were
the major causes of the backwardness of the tribal districts.
Source: Times Of India
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Attempts being made to kill Imran Khan by ‘slow
poison’: Ally
7th January 2023
Rawalpindi: Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh
Rashid Ahmad has alleged that the PML-N-led coalition government was trying to
kill PTI chief Imran Khan by giving him “slow poison”, the media reported.
They hatched a plot to kill Imran Khan — first they
(government) said Imran Khan was not hit by bullets then did your father’s
firecrackers hit him?” he said while lashing out at the PDM leaders, the
Express Tribune reported.
Rashid made these remarks on Friday while addressing
an “anti-inflation protest rally” outside his Lal Haveli residence in
Rawalpindi. “Now they are conspiring to eliminate Imran Khan through slow
poison as they don’t want to contest elections against him,” he added, Express
Tribune reported.
A day earlier, PTI chief Imran alleged that the gun
attack in Wazirabad on November 3 was actually a plot to assassinate him like
the killing of former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer in Islamabad 11 years ago.
Imran was injured when shots were fired at the
container on which he was standing, while leading his anti-government long
march towards Islamabad, in Wazirabad town of the Gujrat district on November
3.
Imran had received bullet wounds to his leg.
Imran alleged that the ruling Pakistan Muslim
League-Nawaz-led federal government hatched the assassination plot in
connivance with the establishment.
Source: Siasat Daily
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https://www.siasat.com/attempts-being-made-to-kill-imran-khan-by-slow-poison-ally-2497265/
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Iranian, Pakistani FMs speak out against Islamophobia in
France
06 January 2023
Iran and Pakistan have condemned the spread of
Islamophobia in France, urging Muslim countries to act decisively to counter
any move against Islam and violation of its sanctities.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and
his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari held a phone call on Friday
following a decision by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo to publish
cartoons of Iran’s top religious authority.
During the phone conversation, Amir-Abdollahian criticized
the Israel lobby for spreading Islamophobia around the world, but added that
nothing annuls the responsibility of the French government vis-à-vis such
incidents.
“Muslim countries should not allow certain Western
countries to insult the sanctities and spread hatred in the name of freedom [of
speech],” he said.
For his part, Zardari said the French magazine has a
dark record of insulting Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) as well as
religious figures and values and expressed Islamabad’s readiness to cooperate
with Muslim countries and the OIC to counter any move to spread Islamophobia.
The French magazine is set to publish several
insulting cartoons of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali
Khamenei in a special edition later this week. The controversial right-wing
magazine had in early December announced a competition for such cartoons.
In a statement on Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry
said Tehran holds the French government responsible for an “anti-cultural and
anti-human move” by the notorious French weekly to publish insulting
caricatures of the country’s top politico-religious authority, announcing a
decision to revise cultural relations with Paris in response.
Amir-Abdollahian and Zardari also denounced the
Israeli regime’s aggressive measures, particularly its provocative actions
against al-Aqsa Mosque.
The silence of countries in the face of injustice in
occupied Palestine must come to an end, the Pakistani foreign minister
asserted.
On Tuesday, far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir
entered the holy site of the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Old City
through the Moroccan Gate, also known as the Mughrabi Gate, in what was
described by Palestinians as an “unprecedented provocation.”
Source: Press TV
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Govt vows to complete terms of IMF programme, says PM
Shehbaz
January 7, 2023
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said he had
expressed his government’s resolve to complete the terms of the International
Monetary Fund’s (IMF) programme, in a conversation with the lender’s managing
director yesterday.
“In a phone call with Managing Director [Kristalina
Georgieva] of the IMF yesterday, I told her about the government’s resolve to
complete the terms of IMF’s program,” PM Shehbaz said on Twitter.
“I also explained Pakistan’s economic difficulties
especially after the devastating floods. IMF delegation will come to Pakistan
soon.”
The premier’s statement comes a day after he said an
IMF delegation would come to Pakistan in “two to three days” to finalise the
ninth review of Pakistan’s $7bn Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
Pakistan entered a $6 billion IMF programme in 2019,
which was increased to $7bn last year. The programme’s ninth review, which
would release $1.18bn, is currently pending. It had earlier been put off for
two months due to the PML-N-led government’s unwillingness to accept certain
conditions placed before it by the Fund, and the disagreements have yet to be
resolved.
Cash crunch
The country is currently in the midst of a severe cash
crunch, with foreign exchange reserves in the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP)
depleting to an eight-year low of $5.576 billion during the week ended on Dec
30, 2022.
This amounts to fewer than three weeks of imports.
This decline left no space for the government to pay back its foreign debts
without borrowing more from friendly countries.
Despite fast dwindling SBP reserves, Finance Minister
Ishaq Dar is still hopeful about reverting the situation with expected
financial help promised by the friendly countries, but nothing has been
realised so far.
During the week the SBP foreign exchange reserves saw
an outflow of $245 million for external debt repayments.
Foreign debt servicing is the most troubling question
for the PMLN-led coalition government facing a serious threat of default.
Several attempts to restart talks with the IMF for the release of the next
tranche have so far remained unfruitful.
Source: Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1730394/govt-vows-to-complete-terms-of-imf-programme-says-pm-shehbaz
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PM seeks support from all provinces to fight terror
Syed Irfan Raza
January 7, 2023
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday
sought the cooperation of provinces to eliminate terrorism that has reemerged
in the country, and asked for support from the business community to make the
National Energy Conservation Plan (NECP) a success.
Presiding over a meeting on security, the PM
emphasised the need for enhancing coordination among the federal and provincial
institutions to wipe out terrorism from the country.
“Terrorists and militants will never be able to shake
the nation’s resolve. No sacrifice will be avoided for the security of the
homeland,” he maintained, and directed the interior minister, interior
secretary and national coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Authority
(Nacta) to hold consultations with the provinces and submit a report.
PM Shehbaz also instructed the provincial apex
committees to meet regularly and enhance their coordination with other
provinces.
The interior minister and secretary briefed the
meeting on the security situation and the four chief secretaries and inspectors
general of police talked about the situation in their respective territories as
well as the measures being taken to curb the menace.
The prime minister directed the Nacta national
coordinator to further enhance coordination with Counter-Terrorism
Departments and law enforcement agencies of the provinces.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Adviser Ahad Cheema,
heads of law enforcement agencies, provincial chief secretaries and police
chiefs attended the meeting.
IMF programme
Amid the opposition’s claims that the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) would not continue its ongoing programme in Pakistan, PM
Shehbaz on Friday assured the world body that his government was committed to
successfully completing the agreement, but could not further burden the already
inflation- and flood-hit nation with more taxes.
During a telephonic conversation with IMF Managing
Director Kristalina Georgieva, the PM said: “Pakistan is committed to
successfully completing the Fund’s ongoing programme,” adding the government
had already taxed the rich but could not burden the poor more.
The PM sensitised the IMF head to the country’s
economic situation adversely affected by the worst floods last year.
In response, the IMF chief assured the PM that her
team would visit Pakistan for a review within two to three days, PM Shehbaz
Sharif said later while addressing a ceremony for the establishment of Hazara
Electric Company.
He also assured the IMF head that unlike the previous
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government, the incumbent rulers would abide by
their commitments to the Fund without further burdening the masses.
According to the Prime Minister Office, Ms Georgieva
expressed sympathy and concern over the human and material losses due to last
year’s floods and reiterated her commitment to help Pakistan in the difficult
period.
The PM invited the official to participate in the
International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan in Geneva. Ms Georgieva
thanked the premier, saying she would be able to join the conference virtually
as the IMF Board meetings had been prefixed for Jan 9-10.
Support for energy conservation
PM Sharif also appealed to the business community to
support the government’s recently announced energy conservation plan seeking
early closure of markets and restaurants, to ensure judicious use of national
resources and reduced import bill.
“This will reduce the oil imports and bring down the
dollar rate, which will later be spent on the country’s progress, including
agriculture and medicine,” the PM said at the ceremony to launch Hazara
Electric Company in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Hazara region.
Source: Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1730366/pm-seeks-support-from-all-provinces-to-fight-terror
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Military still not ‘neutral’, claims Imran
January 7, 2023
LAHORE: Seeing the establishment’s hand behind
Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi’s confident statements about not taking a
fresh confidence vote, PTI chief Imran Khan alleged on Friday that the military
still didn’t seem to be neutral on the vote of confidence issue.
During an informal talk with a group of court
reporters, Mr Khan accused the military of political engineering against his
party, claiming that PTI lawmakers were being pressured to skip the trust vote
proceedings.
So far, three legislators had informed him that they
had been approached for the purpose, he claimed. He also claimed the “neutrals”
— a euphemism he uses for the military — were trying to install the PPP in
Punjab.
Commenting on Elahi’s advice to him and the rest of
the PTI to ‘be careful’ when talking about former army chief retired Gen Qamar
Javed Bajwa, Mr Khan said: “He has his stance about Gen Bajwa and we have our
position.”
Source: Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1730351/military-still-not-neutral-claims-imran
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ECP wants Imran to explain how he can head party after
‘disqualification’
Iftikhar A. Khan
January 7, 2023
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)
on Friday summoned former prime minister Imran Khan on Jan 11 to explain why he
continues to hold the PTI chairmanship even after his disqualification in the
Toshakhana case.
A notice has been issued to Mr Khan to appear before
the commission on Jan 11, either in person or through his counsel, to give an
explanation.
The notice has been sent to the PTI chairman through
the district election commissioner of Islamabad, Waqas Ahmad Malik, and the
case has been fixed for hearing on Jan 11 at 10am before the commission.
The notice explains that ECP had conducted hearing on
Dec 20, 2022, whereby the order was passed that “after hearing the applicant,
we have observed that the respondent Mr Imran Khan Niazi is holding the
position as chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, despite having been
disqualified/de-seated from NA-95, Mianwali-I, in the order passed on October
21, 2022, by the Election Commission on account of making false statements and
incorrect declaration about his assets and liabilities”.
“It is further observed by the commission that
pursuant to the pronouncement of the august Supreme Court of Pakistan reported
as PLD 2017 SC692, he being a disqualified person, cannot hold post as chairman
of a political party i.e. PTI. The respondent be put on notice to explain his
position on 11.01.2023,” it says.
The ECP had last month set into motion the process to
remove Mr Khan as chairman of PTI in light of the election watchdog’s verdict
in the Toshakhana case, which disqualified him under Article 63(1)(p) for
making “false statements and incorrect declaration”.
The PTI, while reacting to the development had
asserted that the law did not place any bar on a convict from becoming an
office-bearer of a political party.
According to Section 5(1) of the now defunct Political
Parties Order (PPO), 2002, “Every citizen… shall have the right to form or be a
member of a political party or be otherwise associated with a political party
or take part in political activities or be elected as an office-bearer of a
political party: provided that a person shall not be appointed or serve as an
office-bearer of a political party if he is not qualified to be, or is
disqualified from being, elected or chosen as a member of the Majlis-i-Shoora
(Parliament) under Article 63 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of
Pakistan or under any other law for the time being in force.”
Source: Dawn
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Security Operation Claims 11 ‘Terrorists’ in South
Waziristan
By Arif Ahmadi
January 6, 2023
WAZIRISTAN, Pakistan – At least 11 terrorists killed
in an intelligence-based operation by the local security forces in Pakistan’s
South Waziristan on Thursday, according to sources, aimed at curtailing the
rising militancy in the country.
Earlier this week, Pakistani Taliban warned the
country’s main ruling parties of “concrete action” for “declaring war” against
it, months after the group ended ceasefire.
However, it remained unclear whether the declared
terrorists belong to the Pakistani Taliban, known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP).
“While conducting the intelligence-based operation
(IBO) in the general area, the security forces successfully “foiled a
high-profile terrorist activity,” Inter-Services Public Relations Pakistan
(ISPR), the country’s military’s media wing, was quoted as saying by the Geo
News.
The eliminated 11 terrorists include the local
terrorist commander Hafiz Ullah and two suicide bombers, where security forces
also recovered a huge number of weapons
and ammunition.
“The killed terrorists remained actively involved in
terrorist activities against security forces and target killing of police in
South Waziristan district,” said the ISPR, as India Today quoted.
Last month, Pakistani Taliban announced they no longer
abide by a month-long ceasefire with the government, urging fighters to resume
attacks in retaliation towards a continuous military campaigns.
Mohammad Khurasani, a spokesman for the militant group
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) told Reuters in a text message that its leadership
had decided to end the ceasefire with Pakistan, as India Express reported.
According to a statement, the TTP leadership urged its
fighters to resume attacks in retaliation towards a continuous military
campaign against them.
The Pakistani military has carried out several
offensives against the militants in their strongholds in remote lawless
districts bordering Afghanistan.
There was no immediate response from the government.
Who are Pakistani Taliban
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – commonly known as
the Pakistani Taliban – is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed
militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani border.
Formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, its current leader
is Noor Wali Mehsud, who has publicly pledged allegiance to the Afghan Taliban
(Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan).
Most Taliban groups in Pakistan coalesce under the
TTP. Among the stated objectives of TTP is resistance against the Pakistani
state. The TTP’s aim is to overthrow the government of Pakistan by waging a terrorist
campaign against the Pakistan armed forces and the state.
Source: Khaama Press
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https://www.khaama.com/security-operation-claims-11-terrorists-in-south-waziristan/
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South Asia
Islamic Emirate Acting Interior Minister Seeks Unity
among Muslim Nations in Meeting with Clerics from Egypt, Sudan, and Palestine
in Kabul
6 January 2023
The acting interior minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani,
stressed the need for unity among Muslim nations as he met with religious
scholars from Egypt, Sudan, and Palestine in Kabul on Friday.
Abdul Nafay Takor, a spokesman for the Ministry of
Interior, said that in this meeting, Haqqani asked the clerics to convey the
voice of the Afghan people to the world.
“Khalifa Sahib welcomed the scholars and underlined the
unity among the Muslim world,” Takor said.
The religious leaders arrived in Afghanistan at a time
when women's employment and education had recently been suspended.
The International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) said
in a statement that the leader of the Islamic Emirate had rejected IUMS’s
delegation request for a meeting with its delegation.
“This delegation aimed to open the Islamic and
international doors to the Islamic Emirate or part of them and in addition to
providing help for the Afghan people, to offer the necessary funds for
education,” said Al-Qaradaghi, the Secretary General of the IUMS.
“The goal of this trip and this delegation was to
learn about the situation in Afghanistan, to share ideas with Afghan government
leaders and scholars, as well as to discuss opinions on key matters that demand
an interchange of opinions and solutions from a Sharia aspect," said
Fazlhadi Wazeen, a member of the IUMS.
Meanwhile, in an interview with CNN, former British
Prime Minister James Gordon Brown criticized the ban on women from working and
education in Afghanistan.
“Girls are being banned from secondary school, women
are being banned from university, women teachers in university are being thrown
out, women are being thrown out from public service jobs and they are not
allowed to go out on their own without being accompanied by their male,” Brown
said.
“If they have identified any issues with it or say
that it needs reforms, they should clarify this and present it to the
institutions to bring up reforms," said Abdul Sadiq Hamidzoi, a political
analyst.
“In the month of Hamal (April 2023), our sisters
should be able to continue their education in a secure environment because if
this process continues, it will spread a bad reputation beyond in international
politics against the Islamic Emirate,” said Mohammad Ajmal Zormati, an
international relations analyst.
Source: Tolo News
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https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-181500
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Taliban denounces Uk’s Prince Harry for remarks over
Afghan killings
By Fidel Rahmati
January 7, 2023
Prince Harry has come under fire from the Taliban
after the British prince revealed in his biography that he had murdered 25
people during his two military deployments in Afghanistan, referring to them as
“chess pieces removed from the board.”
The memoir, released early in Spain, recalls Harry’s
two tours in Afghanistan. He claims that he killed 25 people during his time in
the country and saw them as “chess pieces” to be removed from the board.
He further states that “when I was caught up in the
chaos of battle, I did not think of those 25 people as a human beings”.
Harry’s statement faced several condemnations by the
interim government in Afghanistan, which described his action as committing
“war crimes.”
The senior member of the IEA, Anas Haqqani, condemned
the Duke of Sussex for his comments, pointing out that the people Harry killed
had families.
He tweeted that “Mr Harry! The ones you killed were
not chess pieces; they were humans,”
“The truth is what you have said; our innocent people
were chess pieces to your soldiers, military and political leaders.
I do not expect that the ICC will summon you or that
the human rights activists will condemn your action, but hopefully, it will be
remembered in the history of humanity.
Source: Khaama Press
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https://www.khaama.com/taliban-denounces-uks-prince-harry-for-remarks-over-afghan-killings/
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British Ex-Commander calls Harry’s remarks he killed
25 Taliban in Afghanistan complete nonsense
By Fidel Rahmati
January 6, 2023
Colonel Richard Kemp, a former British army commander
in Afghanistan, reacted against Prince Harry’s revelation that he killed 25
Taliban fighters.
He said the Spare, which is an autobiography of Prince
Harry, where he admits not seeing the enemies as a human being would be seen as
a “betrayal” of his former comrades.
He added that such comments would increase hatred of
the armed forces and endanger his security.
Ex-commander said, according to Harry, the British
Army taught him and other soldiers how to see the adversary. He also asserted
that killing someone you perceive to be a human is impossible, which is
nonsense.
It is wrong; it created the false impression that the
British army indoctrinated or instructed its soldiers to degrade the Taliban or
any other foe. They do not.
He added that they must be eliminated when necessary
if they constitute a threat. However, troops are specifically instructed to
treat their opponents respectfully and consider them as fellow human beings.
Source: Khaama Press
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Lack of hope driving Rohingya to flee Bangladeshi
settlement camps
January 06, 2023
DHAKA: Fading hopes for a future and the desire to be
reunited with family are pushing increasing numbers of Rohingya to flee
overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh and make perilous journeys across the
Andaman Sea.
Bangladesh hosts more than 1.2 million Rohingya
Muslims, most of whom escaped persecution in neighboring Myanmar during a
military crackdown in 2017. The majority live in Cox’s Bazar district, a
coastal region in the east of the country, which is now the world’s largest
refugee settlement.
But the recent rescue of dozens of starving Rohingya
who had spent more than a month adrift on a stricken boat, has shone a
spotlight on the increasing number of people trying to leave the squalid camps
of Cox’s Bazar and cross the Andaman Sea in search of a better life.
The boat was one of several such vessels to leave
Bangladesh in late November. But just a few days into the journey, its engines
failed and its occupants were left adrfit. Appeals to the governments of
several countries to rescue them fell on deaf ears, and it was not until late
December, as the boat entered Indonesian waters, that local fishermen answered
the call.
Another boat was intercepted by the Sri Lankan navy
and a third by a Vietnamese offshore company, which handed the refugees over to
the Myanmar navy. It was not immediately clear what would happen to them.
In early December, the U. N. refugee agency UNHCR
issued an alert about the “dramatic increase” in the number of people, mostly
Rohingya, attempting to cross the Andaman Sea from both Bangladesh and Myanmar.
It estimated there had been a sixfold rise since 2020 and that at least 119
people had died making such crossings.
The figures did not include those who the rescued
refugees said had been on the boats that left Cox’s Bazar in November but were
now missing at sea, presumed dead.
“Since 2018, every year we have been noticing an
increasing trend of Rohingyas taking perilous journey across the sea during
November to February as the sea is calm and quiet in this period,” Asif Munir,
an immigration and refugee affairs analyst, told Arab News.
For most, the dangerous crossings are the only option
available to escape the limbo they face in Bangladesh.
“They are only receiving some food aid while living in
the refugee settlements, but there are no other activities,” Munir said.
“Children are deprived of a proper education, they
(the adults) are not allowed to engage in any productive work. These issues
make the Rohingya desperate to leave.
“It’s been a long time they are living in the camps
and on the other hand the repatriation process also seems to be uncertain.”
Despite multiple attempts from Bangladeshi
authorities, a U.N.-backed repatriation and resettlement process in operation
for several years has failed to tackle the problem, with only a handful of
refugees being allowed to relocate.
At the same time, economic pressures on the South
Asian nation, which despite not being a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee
Convention has taken in the biggest number of Rohingya asylum-seekers, are
increasing. Hosting Rohingya costs Bangladesh an estimated $1.2 billion a year,
while international aid for refugees has dropped since 2020.
Also, with the decreasing presence of foreign
nongovernmental organizations in Cox’s Bazar, the number of opportunities for
Rohingya to make a living there has diminished.
Rezuwan Khan, a Rohingya activist in Cox’s Bazar,
whose sister was rescued off the Indonesian coast, told Arab News that many
Rohingya had been laid off by the aid agencies that used to employ them.
“Many Rohingyas are desperate to flee the camps in
search of a better life, better future, anywhere it’s possible,” he said.
Many are attempting to reunite with relatives who left
earlier, mostly for Malaysia, where the people rescued by the Indonesia
fishermen were initially bound.
“There are woman and children who want to be reunited
with their husbands and fathers living in Malaysia. The men managed to reach
Malaysia several years ago. This kind of people are desperate to leave the
camps,” Khan said.
That desire is being exploited by traffickers who
charge up to $5,000 for a place in one the boats leaving Cox’s Bazar.
“Rohingyas are risking their lives to save their
lives,” said Mohammad Nur Khan, a Bangladeshi rights activist and expert on
migration.
“In the camp, where most people are young, it’s living
without any hope for the future. People aspire to a better life, it’s very
natural.”
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2227806/world
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Arab World
Saudi Arabia’s inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale to
showcase treasures of Islamic civilization at world’s gateway to Makkah and
Madinah
January 06, 2023
JEDDAH: Islamic art has rarely been the subject of a
dedicated international exhibition, with the notable exception of the Islamic
Art Festival in London in 1976. Now, four decades on, the inaugural Islamic Art
Biennale is coming to Jeddah with a juxtaposition of traditional and
contemporary works.
To be held at the iconic Western Hajj Terminal of King
Abdulaziz International Airport from Jan. 23 to April 23, the aim of the
biennale is to compare and contrast contemporary works alongside a collection
of historical artifacts, many of them on loan from museums, with the
scenography designed by Oma, an international firm specializing in architecture
and urbanism.
Led by a team of renowned curators, including Sumayya
Vally, Dr. Julian Raby, Dr. Saad Al-Rashid and Dr. Omniya Abdel Barr, the
biennale’s theme is “Awwal Bait” — or “the first house” in Arabic.
“One of our points of strength is the location,” Abdel
Barr told Arab News. “It is already a monumental site, an impressive place, and
is literally the first place encountered by visitors coming for pilgrimage and
sometimes for homage during Ramadan.
“In this way, it is also very much linked with our
first theme for the biennale, which is ‘Awwal Bait’ or ‘the first house.’”
The terminal, which has served as the world’s gateway
to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah since it opened in 1981, is only used
during the six weeks of Hajj. Built by Skidmore Owings and Merrill, it won the
1983 Aga Khan Award for Architecture.
The original design was inspired by the traditional
tents used by pilgrims over many centuries during desert journeys to the holy
cities. Its luminous translucent roof, made of a Teflon-coated fiberglass
membrane, allows for natural lighting and ventilation, making for a poignant
and striking exhibition space.
The theme of Awwal Bait will be expressed through two
complementary sections: Qiblah, or “sacred direction,” showcasing artworks
emphasizing the spirituality of Islam, and Hijrah, or “migration,” featuring
large outdoor installations under the Hajj Terminal canopy.
The exhibition will be a multidisciplinary
representation of what it means to be Muslim, with many pieces reflecting the
central importance of the Kaaba, the most sacred pilgrimage site in Islam at
the center of the faith’s most important mosque, the Masjid Al-Haram in Makkah.
The decision was made to stage the exhibition in
Jeddah, instead of the Saudi capital Riyadh, because of the Red Sea port city’s
strong connection with the Hajj as a crucial transit point for visitors.
Indeed, Jeddah has long been a principal gateway for
pilgrims, past and present, on their way to Makkah and Madinah, making it a
highly symbolic location for the exhibition.
“At the same time, it reflects on the construction of
‘home’ through our spiritual and cultural rituals in Islam — acts which both
unite us and celebrate our diversity and cultural hybridity,” curator Vally
told SPA.
The exhibition is one of two biennales organized by
the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, established in 2020 by the Saudi Ministry of
Culture. The other is the Contemporary Art Biennale, launched in December 2021
and held in the JAX district of Diriyah.
January’s event will include contemporary artists from
Saudi Arabia and throughout the Middle East. Among them is Farah Behbehani, a
Kuwaiti artist and designer, who created the “Path of Light” for the event.
The kinetic piece, which is hand-embroidered with
metallic and silk threads as well as rope and glass beads on linen, celebrates
the birth of Prophet Muhammad and focuses on the concept of light, which is
central to the Islamic faith.
“For this work, I selected a verse by Ahmed Shawi, the
19th-century Egyptian writer known as the Prince of Poets, that he wrote in
tribute to Prophet Muhammad,” Behbehani told Arab News.
“The verse talks about how the good tidings of the
prophet’s birth created a path of light out of the darkness, illuminating the
world from East to West.”
Behbehani fitted the poetic verse within three panels
designed according to Islamic geometric patterns, which are inspired by the
domes found on mosques.
“The entire work has been hand-embroidered and
references the brick-tile work that was created and designed in Islamic
architecture in mosques and other buildings,” she said.
Cairo-based Egyptian artist, Huda Lutfi, has created
“Inside the Black Enclosure,” an installation that takes its inspiration from
the act performed by millions of Muslim pilgrims on the first and last days of
pilgrimage.
The creation of a new embellished covering for the
Kaaba is an act of veneration that dates to the early days of the faith.
Through her work, Lutfi shows how, as early as the Abbasid period, black became
the preferred color for the covering.
Produced with great care and expense, the woven
adornment, known as the kiswa, is a paragon of Arabian craftsmanship.
In Lutfi’s work, viewers are invited to walk into the
inner space of a dark cubic room, illuminated by black fluorescent lighting.
The kiswa, which is meant to protect and adorn the Kaaba’s exterior while
displaying the wealth and authority of its patrons, is concealed within the
enclosed structure, where it serves a contemplative purpose.
Once inside the area of enclosed darkness, all that
can be seen across the black walls is a shimmering white panel on which black
inscriptions can be read. The embroidered calligraphy encircling the room is a
Qur’anic verse, which reads: “To Allah belongs East and West, for wherever you
turn, there is the face of Allah.”
Ultimately, the biennale’s aim is to celebrate and
share the meaning of Islam through the art of the past and the present in an
attempt to solidify continuity through artistic discourse, combining both the
heritage of Islam and its contemporary appropriation.
“With the inauguration of the Islamic Arts Biennale in
Jeddah we look forward to the future of Islamic arts, while also reflecting on
its rich and diverse past,” Farida Al-Husseini, director of the Islamic Arts
Biennale, told SPA.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2227811/saudi-arabia
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Syria Kurds say arrested more than 100 ISIS suspects
06 January ,2023
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said Friday
they had arrested more than 100 “terrorists” in an eight-day operation against
ISIS militants.
Kurdish-led forces launched the sweep dubbed Operation
Al-Jazeera Thunderbolt last week, after thwarting an ISIS attempt to free
fellow militants from prison in Raqa, the extremist group’s former Syrian
stronghold.
The Syrian Kurds have been seeking to underline their
value as a partner to the West in its campaign against ISIS as NATO ally Turkey
keeps up its threats to launch a new cross-border assault against territory
under their control.
“During the sweep and raid operations, our forces
arrested 154 wanted terrorists... and criminals,” the SDF said in a statement.
They included 102 suspected ISIS cell members and 27
others suspected of providing logistical supplies or propaganda, the statement
added.
SDF fighters swept 55 villages and farms in the east
as well as “large areas of the Syrian-Iraqi border.”
The SDF said the operation was carried out alongside
troops of the US-led coalition, although there was no immediate confirmation
from the international force.
It prevented attacks on the main Kurdish cities of
Hasaka and Qamishli during the Christmas and New Year holidays, the statement
said.
Last week’s foiled prison break in Raqa was the most
significant ISIS operation in Syria since a successful break from Ghwayran
prison in Hasaka last January.
Dozens of jailed militants escaped and the ensuing
clashes killed hundreds.
Three of the suspects detained in the past week’s
sweep were implicated in providing bombs and other equipment for the Ghwayran
attack, the SDF said.
Although ISIS is a pale reflection of the organization
that seized vast swathes of Syria and neighboring Iraq and declared a
“caliphate” in 2014, it still boasts a network of sleeper cells on both sides
of the border that remains capable of carrying out deadly assaults.
Source: Al Arabiya
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UAE sends second shipment of household generators to
Ukraine
07 January ,2023
A UAE plane carrying the second shipment of household
generators has arrived in Warsaw, Poland, as part of the ongoing assistance
sent by the Emirates to help Ukrainian civilians affected by the ongoing
crisis.
In December, the UAE announced that it would send 2,500
household generators to civilians affected by the ongoing crisis in Ukraine
that has disrupted energy infrastructure and caused power outages, state news
agency WAM reported Friday.
The generators will help civilians in the war-torn
country to survive the harsh winter conditions.
The first shipment of 1200 generators were sent last
month, while the rest was delivered on Friday.
The support is part of $100 million humanitarian aid
package to Ukraine, ordered by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
in October last year.
At the time, Reem bint Ebrahim al-Hashimy, minister of
state for international cooperation, said the aid stems from the belief of
Sheikh Mohamed in the importance of solidarity in times of war and conflict,
and the UAE's continued efforts to mitigate the humanitarian impact of the
Ukraine crisis.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Saudi doctor at University of California leads
research projects for Silicon Valley companies
January 07, 2023
WASHINGTON: Saudi Computer Science Assistant Professor
Faisal Nawab, who is based at the University of California, Irvine, has led a
research team to develop projects for technology companies in Silicon Valley.
The largest of the projects was for the Meta platform,
after the team Nawab led won the 2021 research company award for future
technologies to improve the next generation of the Internet, the official Saudi
Press Agency reported.
“The project aims to process data to build systems
around the world to match the huge user data that Meta owns, through protocols
and algorithms that communicate efficiently, reduce data differences, and allow
me to communicate in a more hierarchical manner,” Nawab said.
Nawab said the other two projects were with a start-up
company to develop research ideas in the laboratory to process data in smart
cities and universities through products that they transfer. The other was for
the game company Roblox to solve the problem of data pressure during vacation
periods, in light of the large number of users and the pressure of processing
images, data and interaction among game players.
Nawab commended the huge and rapid leap that the Saudi
education sector had enjoyed in the past decade, which made local universities
compete with their international counterparts in well-known international
rankings and raised research production.
He also praised the performance and level of Saudi scholarship
students, especially those who received high academic and scientific
qualifications from institutions such as King Abdulaziz University, King Fahd
University of Petroleum and Minerals; King Abdullah University of Science and
Technology; Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Foundation, and Aramco.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2228031/saudi-arabia
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Saudi Arabia condemns deadly twin bombings in Somalia
January 06, 2023
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Friday strongly condemned and
denounced terrorist attacks that targeted civilians in central Somalia, which
killed and injured dozens of people earlier this week.
A pair of suicide car bombings in Somalia early
Wednesday killed at least 35, including nine members of the same family, in one
of the worst attacks by Al-Shabab extremists in retaliation for a government
offensive described as “total war.”
Police have said the attackers targeted a military
facility in the Mahaas district in the Hiran region, which is at the heart of
the government’s offensive against Al-Shabab militants.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed Saudi
Arabia’s stance with “Somalia and its people against all forms of violence and
terrorism, reiterating its total rejection of all criminal acts that target
innocent people and attempt to undermine security and stability in Somalia.”
Source: Arab News
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of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2227801/saudi-arabia
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