Muslim Men "Misuse Bars And Pubs For Love Jihad": Bajrang Dal Wants Ban On New Year Parties In Mangaluru
New Age Islam News Bureau
24 December 2022
Students take part in a
protest against love jihad in front of Academy of Fine Art in Kolkata on
Valentine’s Day last year. Photograph: Dipa Chakraborty/Pacific
Press/Rex/Shutterstock
----
• Al-Azhar Imam: Ban on Women's Education Contradicts Sharia
• More Than 210 Al-Shabab Terrorists Killed In Recent
Operations By Somali Military: Official
• Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Expands Footprint, Baloch
Militant Group Led By Separatist Leader Mazar Baloch Joins Outfit
• American Firm Receiving Millions To Sanitize Saudi
Arabia's Image: Report
India
• Kerala Journalist Siddique Kappan Gets Bail After 2
Years In UP Jail
• Use Temple, Mosque, and Gurdwaras Speakers To Wake
Up Kids Early: Haryana Govt
• “The Atmosphere In the Country Not Good For
Muslims”, RJD Backs Abdul Bari Siddiqui's Remarks
• Haryana Coach Adopts Islam To Marry Minor Wrestler:
Madhya Pradesh Police
• Bajrang Dal members disrupt 100 Muslims offering
Namaz at open site in Gurugram
• ‘Cows belong to Hindus, Ox to Muslims?’: Farooq
Abdullah on Pathaan controversy
• Maharashtra probes if Uddhav tried to stifle
Amravati killing case
• Allahabad High Court Reserves Verdict On Gyanvapi
Mosque Case
• No illegal Bangladeshi Muslims in Assam, claims
Sherman Ali Ahmed
• Allahabad High Court Reserves Verdict In Gyanvapi
Mosque Case
• Sikh villagers help revamp pre-Partition mosque in
Dhuri
• 5 cops among 17 held in Kashmir for drug trafficking
from Pakistan
• Telangana: Aadhaar mandatory for Muslim marriages
--------
Arab World
• Al-Qaeda Releases Video It Claims Narrated By
Al-Zawahiri Who Was Believed Dead: SITE
• Riyadh’s Boulevard World presents planet’s rich
cultural diversity
• MWL highlights great Islamic and international
interaction with the Charter of Makkah
• Saudi Arabia: Flash Floods Hit Mecca As People Told
To Expect More Rain
• Iraqi PM orders 'unconventional methods' to stop
Islamic State attacks
• UAE Orders Arrest Of Company Director Who Faked
Employing Emiratis For Nafis Benefits
• Saudi Arabia’s role in promoting Arabic language
lauded
• ‘Best Nation’ conference in Bali stresses need to
combat extremism
• Saudi Arabia asking for F-35 jets in exchange for
normalization: Report
--------
Africa
• More Than 200 Boko Haram, ISWAP Terrorists Killed In
Nigerian Military Airstrike
• Burkina Faso expels top UN official in West African
country
• Coins And Coffee: Saudi Arabia Showcases Its Culture
At Islamic Countries Meeting In Morocco
• Tunisian Islamist party protests arrest of senior
leader
• Tunisia's largest syndicate calls for halting
electoral process
--------
Pakistan
• Jamiat Ulema-e- Islam Chief Cancels India Visit Amid
Tensions After Bilawal's Remarks
• Pakistan: Suicide car bombing kills policeman,
injures others in Islamabad
• Protest in Quetta against Taliban ban on women’s
education
• Man sentenced to death for killing transgender
person in Charsadda
• Public gatherings banned as security on high alert
in Islamabad
• Waziristan, Lakki and Bannu trouble spots: police
• COAS commends high morale, indomitable spirit of
troops at Pak-Afghan border
--------
North America
• US Says In Contact With Pakistan To ‘Discuss Ways’
To Combat TTP
• US announces $200m for gender equality in Pakistan
--------
South Asia
• "Like Caged Birds": Afghan Women Anguished
Over Taliban's University Ban
• Selling Christmas in Muslim-majority Bangladesh
• Paperless Afghan migrants will be fined or
blacklisted, not deported: Pakistan
• ECW calls on Taliban authorities in Kabul to allow
girls to return to education
--------
Europe
• Macron: Kurds Of France Became Target Of ‘Heinous
Attack’
• Violent clashes in Paris with terrorist PKK
supporters, at least 6 police officers injured
• Kurdish protesters clash with police after Paris
shooting
• Germany suspends measures to promote business with
Iran
• France’s Macron urges Lebanon to ‘get rid’ of
leaders blocking reforms
• Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians in for ‘long winter’
amid Azerbaijan road blockade
--------
Southeast Asia
• Indonesian Families Sue Officials Over Deadly
Stadium Disaster
• Shariff Kabunsuan fest celebrated in Philippines’
autonomous Muslim region
--------
Mideast
• Dissident Sunni Cleric's Advice To Iran: Don’t ‘Beat
Up Citizens’
• Palestinian Islamic Jihad Gunmen Fire At Settlement,
Causing Damage To Home
• Luxembourg expresses concern for resident facing
execution in Iran
• Iran ‘plans new attacks on Gulf countries,’ says
Israel’s spy chief
• Hamas, Islamic Jihad pledge resistance after Israeli
killing of Palestinian youth
• Israeli forces kill young Arab man 'in cold blood'
near Tel Aviv
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
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Muslim Men "Misuse Bars And Pubs For Love Jihad": Bajrang Dal Wants Ban On New Year Parties In Mangaluru
Students take part in a
protest against love jihad in front of Academy of Fine Art in Kolkata on
Valentine’s Day last year. Photograph: Dipa Chakraborty/Pacific
Press/Rex/Shutterstock
----
Sagay Raj
Dec 23, 2022
Bajrang Dal in a memorandum to Mangaluru police
commissioner has sought a ban on New Year parties alleging that Muslim men
"misuse bars and pubs for love jihad". The outfit also urged the
police to close all bars and pubs within a stipulated time on New year.
In a letter, the right-wing outfit also asked pub
owners and managers not to allow Muslim men to enter pubs and hotels.
Bajrang Dal leader Puneet Attavar also claimed that
Muslim youths should not be allowed to enter hotels and pubs on the eve of New
Year as "alcohol and music is banned in Islam".
"Today because of hotels and pubs in Manguluru,
there are increasing cases of love jihad and dress jihad. These places motivate
them to get involved in malpractices," he said.
"For them [Muslim men] parties are forbidden, but
nowadays you will find them in all the pubs in Mangaluru. Therefore, we request
all pub owners and managers through the Bajrang Dal organisation that no
Muslims should be allowed at pubs and parties on December 31 New Year's
eve," he added.
Source: India Today
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original story:
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Al-Azhar Imam: Ban on Women's Education Contradicts Sharia
Representative Image
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Dec 23, 2022
The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb on Thursday
said that he “deeply” regrets the decision issued by the authorities in
Afghanistan, preventing Afghan women's access to university education and
adding that it contradicts Islamic Sharia and conflicts with its explicit call
for men and women to pursue knowledge from the cradle to the grave.
The suspension of higher education for female students
has triggered global reactions and criticisms.
Many world countries and international organizations
have expressed concerns over the decision and have condemned it.
Tayeb said he warns “Muslims and non-Muslims against
believing or accepting the allegation that it banning women’s education is
approved in Islam.”
“Indeed, Islam firmly denounces such banning since it
contradicts the legal rights Islam equally guarantees for women and men,” he
said.
He called on authorities in Afghanistan to reconsider
their decision for “the truth is more deserving of being followed.”
At a press conference on Thursday, the US Secretary of
State Antony Blinken said the continuation of the decision will have
implications.
“We are engaged with other countries on this right
now. There are going to be costs if this is not reversed, if this is not
changed,” Blinken said.
“Heartened by Afghan unity – resignations, protests,
anger, despair and resolve - powerful expressions of solidarity, community and
faith,” said the US Chargé d’Affaires Karen Decker. “We see you. We hear you.
We support you.”
Following a mass campaign against the closure of
female universities, many lecturers announced their resignations.
“I am deeply concerned. I wanted to resign as a
protest and I hope these protests and actions by us will convey our voices to
officials,” said Raihana Halim, a lecturer from Kabul University who studies
her Ph.D. in Turkey.
“I have offered my resignation to the Ministry of
Higher Education as a protest and in support of our sisters. There are some
other lecturers who are trying to continue their process of resignation,” said
Ihsanullah Rahmani, a lecturer from Kabul Polytechnic University who is in
Turkey for his master’s degree.
Many Afghan refugees overseas held protests in
reaction to the ban on universities for women.
A group of students from different universities in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in response to the decision held a protest on Friday and
demanded the reopening of universities for women in Afghanistan.
Source: Tolo News
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original story:
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-181310
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More Than 210 Al-Shabab Terrorists Killed In Recent Operations By Somali Military: Official
Somali military officers seen marching in a parade. —
FILE (Reuters)
----
Mohammed Dhaysane
24.12.2022
MOGADISHU, Somalia
The Somali military’s land forces commander, Gen.
Mohamed Tahlil, said Friday that the army killed 67 terrorists in the Middle
Shabelle region, bringing the number of al-Shabaab fatalities to 217 in less
than a week.
Tahlil said the army attacked the village of El-Ba’ad
late Thursday after it received intelligence that the terror group was
gathering in the vicinity to attack the national army.
He said the army, backed by local clan militias, will
continue to fight the al-Qaeda-affiliated terror group.
A military official in the region who spoke to Anadolu
Agency on condition of anonymity said security personnel were injured in the
operation.
Defense Ministry spokesman Abdullahi Ali Anod said
Thursday that the army killed at least 150 al-Shabaab terrorists during an
operation on the outskirts of Runirgod, including the group’s five foreign
fighters.
Runirgod is a strategic town that was liberated by the
army Thursday which was the last al-Shabaab stronghold in the region. It is 240
kilometers (149 miles) north of the national capital of Mogadishu.
It was the second strategic town that the army
liberated in less than a month.
Government forces, backed by local clan militias, have
recently liberated large swathes of territories, mainly in the state of
Hirshabele.
Somalia has been plagued by insecurity for years, with
al-Shabaab being one of the main threats.
Since at least 2007, al-Shabaab has waged a deadly
campaign against the Somali government and international forces, claiming
thousands of lives.
The UN has also warned of growing instability, with
periodic reports on Somalia this year detailing attacks by al-Shabaab and
pro-Daesh/ISIS terror groups.
There were at least 1,518 civilian casualties -- 651
killed and 867 injured -- in terror attacks in Somalia in 2018, followed by
1,459 -- 591 killed and 868 injured -- in 2019, according to UN estimates.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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original story:
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Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Expands Footprint, Baloch Militant Group Led By Separatist Leader Mazar Baloch Joins Outfit
Representative Image
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24 December, 2022
Islamabad [Pakistan], December 23 (ANI): In an
indication of some terror outfits gaining strength in Pakistan,
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Friday claimed that a militant group from
Balochistan , has joined it, local media reported.
“The militant group led by separatist leader Mazar
Baloch from the Makran district of southern Balochistan has joined TTP,” The
Express Tribune reported citing to a statement issued by TTP spokesperson
Muhammad Khurasani.
The report said this is the second such group from
Balochistan to join the TTP.
With the recent merger, the total tally of groups
joining the TTP since July 22, 2020, has increased to 22.
The TTP reconciliation process was initiated in 2020
with the help of the Afghan Taliban. Through the reconciliation process, many
TTP splinter groups including the Jamaatul Ahrar re-joined the TTP. Recently,
the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) called off a shaky ceasefire with the government
and ordered fighters to stage attacks across the country, the report said.
According to the TTP, they called off the ceasefire
agreed with the government in June, reported Dawn. “As military operations are
ongoing against mujahideen in different areas […] so it is imperative for you
to carry out attacks wherever you can in the entire country,” said the
statement.
The banned group said it had repeatedly warned the
people of Pakistan and “continued to be patient so that the negotiation process
is not sabotaged at least by us”.
“But the army and intelligence agencies did not stop
and continued the attacks […] now our retaliatory attacks will also start
across the country,” the statement claimed, according to the report.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said the
country would not bow down to any terrorist group. Sharif said that terrorism
will be dealt with “iron fists” amid attempts to spread chaos in Pakistan, The
News International reported. (ANI)
Source: The Print
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original story:
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American Firm Receiving Millions To Sanitize Saudi Arabia's Image: Report
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman welcomes U.S. President Joe Biden at Al Salman Palace upon his
arrival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on July 15, 2022. (File photo by Reuters)
-----
23 December 2022
American public relations firm Edelman has reportedly
signed deals worth $9.2 million with the Saudi regime in the past four years to
sanitize the image of the kingdom, especially in the United States.
“Since Khashoggi’s murder, the powerful PR firm has
received or is contracted to receive $9.6m (£7.9m) in fees from Saudi
government agencies and companies controlled by the regime,” The Guardian
reported on Thursday, citing the US Department of Justice documents made
available by the watchdog group OpenSecrets.
Most of Edelman’s work for the regime has focused on
rehabilitating its reputation in the United States, an effort that the kingdom
had begun before journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed by Saudi agents, added
the report.
This comes just some two weeks after a US court
dismissed a lawsuit against Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de facto ruler,
Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), over his role in the 2018 murder of Khashoggi, after
Washington decided to provide him with immunity in the case.
Khashoggi, who was murdered and dismembered by a Saudi
hit squad at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, used to be a
vocal critic of the kingdom and its crown prince.
The CIA concluded in 2018 that MBS had ordered the
killing of Khashoggi. The prince has denied ordering Khashoggi’s killing but
acknowledged later that it took place “under my watch.” Saudi officials later
blamed “rogue agents” for the journalist’s murder.
Edelman’s services to the Saudis come as its CEO
Richard Edelman has on several occasions claimed to support human rights and
oppose repressive regimes.
Edelman is not the only American firm doing business
with the Saudi regime, reads the report, noting, “but Edelman’s work for the
regime is particularly notable given Edelman’s reputation for producing the
‘trust barometer’, an annual survey of public trust in government, business,
the media and other institutions.”
During this year’s gathering of the World Economic
Forum, Edelman published a “special report” of the trust barometer focused on
geopolitics. The company said that 59% of survey respondents agreed that
“punish[ing] countries that violate human rights and international law” is a
“business responsibility”.
The CEO stressed then that 95% of respondents said
businesses should “get out” of countries with repressive governments. Edelman
has not responded to a question on whether it is ready to stop its lucrative
deals with the Saudi government as long as human rights abuses are in place.
Rights groups have long voiced concern over the grim
situation in Saudi Arabia as any form of criticism received harsh response.
The Saudi regime “really restricts almost all
political rights and civil liberties and engages in arbitrary imprisonment,
torture, [and] execution of perceived opponents”, said Michael Abramowitz,
president of Freedom House, a research and advocacy group. “It’s a pretty grim
picture.”
The violations have increased since Mohammed bin
Salman took power in the country. Under the crown prince’s rule, “power has
become much more concentrated than ever before in the history of Saudi Arabia”,
said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now
(Dawn).
“Any criticism of the government, any criticism of
Mohammed bin Salman, is met with extreme repression,” she added.
The regime has sentenced rights activists to decades
in prison for posting tweets critical of the government.
Source: Press TV
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original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/12/23/695003/US-firm-help-sanitize-saudis-image
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India
Kerala Journalist Siddique Kappan Gets Bail After 2
Years In UP Jail
India News
By Alok Pandey, Edited by Aarish Chhabra
December 23, 2022
Lucknow: Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, arrested
on terror charges while on his way to UP's Hathras to report on a Dalit woman's
rape and murder two years ago, got bail today in a money laundering case from
the High Court.
He had already got bail in the terror case — filed
under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and other related laws —
from the Supreme Court in September, but remained in jail in Lucknow as he'd
got no relief so far in the related case filed by the Enforcement Directorate in
2021.
Earlier this month, a court in Lucknow had framed
charges against him and six others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act
(PMLA), which meant the trial could finally begin. The other accused are KA
Rauf Sherif, Atikur Rahman, Masud Ahmad, Mohammad Alam, Abdul Razzak and Ashraf
Khadir.
The police have claimed that these men are members of
the since-banned organisation Popular Front of India and its student wing,
Campus Front of India (CFI). The main allegation is that he was going to
Hathras on directions of the PFI with an intention to spread communal discord.
Siddique Kappan and his lawyers have repeatedly denied
any involvement in terror acts or financing, and argued that he was traveling
to Hathras only for journalistic work.
Three months ago, when the Supreme Court gave him bail
in the terror case, Opposition parties and journalist groups welcomed the
order. They allege that Mr Kappan was made a "soft target" by UP's
BJP government for being a Muslim.
Mr Kappan along and three of the co-accused — Atikur
Rehman, Mohammad Alam and Masud Ahmad — were arrested by the UP police in
Mathura in October 2020 while on the way to Hathras.
Source: ND TV
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Use Temple, Mosque, and Gurdwaras Speakers To Wake Up
Kids Early: Haryana Govt
by Sukhbir Siwach
December 24, 2022
A few months ahead of the annual board examination of
Class X and XII students, the Haryana education department has asked the
principals of government schools to approach the village panchayats to create a
conducive study environment at home, especially to motivate the children to
wake up early and study in the wee hours (at 4:30 am).
In a directive issued to the school principals on
Thursday, the education department mentioned: “The newly elected members of
panchayats should be urged to make such efforts that an environment is created
in the villages for studies during early morning hours. Temples, mosques, and
Gurdwaras should be contacted for early morning announcements (through
loudspeakers) so that the students wake up and start studying. With this
initiative, the students are expected to get extra 2-3 hours for studies.”
Director (secondary education) Anshaj Singh has sent a
letter to the district education officers and principals of all government
schools in the state asking them to take appropriate steps for preparations of
Class X and XII examinations.
A copy of the letter has also been sent to state
additional chief secretary (school education), Mahavir Singh.
According to Anshaj Singh’s letter, a joint planning
should be formulated by the parents and teachers so that the students get
additional hours for self-study.
“For this, the morning hours are best when the mind is
fresh and the environment is serene and there is no noise of vehicles. And for
this the teachers should ask the parents to wake up their children at 4.30 am.
The parents should ensure that their wards are glued to books by 5.15 am.
Through WhatsApp, the teachers should enquire whether the students have woken
up and are studying or not. If the parents are not cooperating, then it should
be brought to the notice of the school management committee,” the letter
stated.
Source: Indian Express
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“The Atmosphere In the Country Not Good For Muslims”,
RJD Backs Abdul Bari Siddiqui's Remarks
Dec 24, 2022
PATNA: A day after senior RJD leader Abdul Bari
Siddiqui’s “the-atmosphere-in-the-country-not-good-for-Muslims” remark
triggered a major controversy, the party has come out in support, even as the
main opposition BJP slammed the leader minister for this observation.
Siddiqui in a curious twist, however, has regretted
his remark, saying he was sorry if his comments hurt anyone’s sentiments.
“Sometime back, a film star too had made a similar
observation…the overall situation (in the country) is very bad so much so that
if there is slight delay in returning homes (of Muslim members), then their
phones start ringing,” former minister and senior RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari
said.
“Mahaul bahut hin kharab hai (the situation is really
very bad) and many (Muslim) people feel it, but they don’t say anything out of
hesitation,” Tiwari who worked with both Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar said.He
has asked the BJP to think over the observation of Siddiqui, considered a
liberal Muslim face.
Backing Siddiqui, state RJD spokesperson Chitranjan
Gagan said the observations highlighted his “pain” over the current situation
prevailing in the country.
“There prevails an atmosphere of hatred in the country
and the people should feel shame over the kind of situation they have created
in the country,” Gagan said.
He wondered over how a controversy was being created
about the colour of clothes in the film “Pathan”.
The JD(U), however, took a different stand, describing
it as a “personal view”. “I won’t comment over it but wouldlike to say that we
have to stay and die only here. If there are any problems, we have to sort them
out together,” water resources minister Sanjay Jha said.
Source: Times Of India
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Haryana Coach Adopts Islam To Marry Minor Wrestler:
Madhya Pradesh Police
Dec 24, 2022
By Shruti Tomar
Madhya Pradesh police on Friday claimed that a
wrestling coach from Haryana Rohtak’s district allegedly abducted a minor
female wrestler from Bhopal and married her by changing his religion in Rohtak.
Police said coach Naveen Nara, a resident of Rohtak,
was already married, and changed his religion to marry the minor (16), who is a
Muslim.
“Naveen misused a recent Punjab and Haryana High Court
ruling which held that a minor Muslim girl can enter into a valid marriage upon
attaining puberty, the age of which is 15 years, according to applicable personal
laws in Islam, to save himself from criminal action,” said a MP police officer.
The court had also said that such a marriage was not in violation of
Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
Source: Hindustan Times
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Bajrang Dal members disrupt 100 Muslims offering Namaz
at open site in Gurugram
December 23, 2022
Bajrang Dal members disrupted, a Friday, namaz being
held in the open in sector 69 here, forcing a group of 100 people offering
prayers to leave the venue.
In 2021, the district administration designated six
open sites for offering namaz in Gurugram.
Police said around 15 Bajrang Dal members, led by its
district security chief Amit Hindu, disrupted more than 100 people who were
offering namaz at a site on the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) land
in sector 69.
After receiving the information a police team reached
the spot and found that the people from the Muslim community were leaving the
place, Umesh Kumar, SHO of Badshahpur police station, said.
The team asked the Bajrang Dal members to leave the
place after which the situation was brought under control, he said.
"The site was one of six designated (open) sites.
We have not received any complaint and if received action will be taken as per
the law," he said.
Last year the district administration designated six
sites, including Atlas Chowk at HSIIDC Ground, Peepal Chowk in Udyog Vihar
phase-2, HSVP land in Udyog Vihar phase-4, Leisure Valley Ground in Sector 29,
HSVP land in Sector 42 and HSVP land in Sector 69, for offering Namaz by the
Muslim community.
Amit Hindu, a member of the right-wing outfit, alleged
that the worshippers were encroaching on the green belt in the area to pray.
This site was allocated on a temporary basis for
offering prayers. Now, some people from other districts and states are also
coming here to offer namaz, he claimed.
"We will give a memorandum to the deputy
commissioner on Monday to stop prayer at this site," he said.
Right-wing outfits have been opposing the offering of
Friday namaz in open spaces.
Source: The Week
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‘Cows belong to Hindus, Ox to Muslims?’: Farooq
Abdullah on Pathaan controversy
Dec 23, 2022
By Manjiri Chitre
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq
Abdullah on Friday reacted to the controversy over the ‘Pathaan’ movie where
several complaints have been filed against its ‘Besharam Rang’ song alleging
that Deepika Padukone's outfits - especially her saffron bikini - is hurtful to
Hindu sentiments. “Does it mean that saffron belongs to Hindus and green
belongs to Muslims?”, Abdullah questioned.
“A controversy erupted over wearing saffron-coloured
clothes in Shah Rukh Khan's new film (Pathaan). Does it mean that saffron
belongs to Hindus and green belongs to Muslims? What is this? Cow belongs to
Hindus and ox belongs to Muslims?,” he told news agency ANI.
The controversy has led to a major political divide as
several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders spoke against the ‘Besharam Rang’
song and called for action against it. BJP minister Narottam Mishra was the
first to raise an objection against the song, alleging that it reflected a
“dirty mindset”.
"I don't think this is right, and I will tell the
director and makers of the film to fix it. Earlier also Deepika Padukone came
in the support of 'Tukde Tukde Gang' at JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) and
that's why her mentality has come in front of everyone before,” the minister
was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
“And that is why I believe that the name of this song
'Besharam Rang' is also objectionable in itself and the way saffron and green
have been worn, the colours of the song, the lyrics, and the title of the film
are problematic,” he had said.
Source: Hindustan Times
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Maharashtra probes if Uddhav tried to stifle Amravati
killing case
Dec 24, 2022
NAGPUR: The Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government
on Friday ordered an inquiry by the state intelligence department (SID) into allegations
that MVA CM Uddhav Thackeray had tried to suppress the Umesh Kolhe murder case
in Amravati. This is the third inquiry/probe ordered against the Thackerays by
the government.
Pharmacist Umesh Kolhe was stabbed to death while
returning home on his scooter after closing his medical store in Amravati in
June. Investigators said he was targeted for posts in favour of suspended BJP
spokesperson Nupur Sharma's controversial statements about the Prophet.
The announcement came during discussions on a calling
attention motion over a religious conversion case in Shrirampur taluka of
Ahmednagar. Legislator Ravi Rana raised the issue, demanding an inquiry into
the alleged suppression of the Kolhe case, terming it a "robbery".
State excise minister Shambhuraj Desai said the state would ask for a report
from SID. The next course of action would be based on the report and in
consultation with deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the home
portfolio.
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) spokesperson
Harshal Pradhan described the move as politically motivated. "It's an
effort to heap miseries on the Thackeray family. Those who are doing this are
puppets in the hands of people at the helm," he said.
On the Ahmednagar conversion case, Desai said besides
arresting the accused, the police officer allegedly shielding those indulging
in conversion has been transferred and is being probed.
After Kolhe's murder, the police arrested seven men,
including prime accused Irfan Khan. All of them were charged under the
stringent anti-terror law, besides IPC sections. On December 16, the NIA filed
a chargesheet against 11 accused in the case.
Source: Times Of India
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Allahabad High Court Reserves Verdict On Gyanvapi
Mosque Case
24 DEC 2022
The Allahabad High Court on Friday reserved its judgement
on a civil revision petition filed by the Gyanvapi mosque committee challenging
a Varanasi court order turning down its objections to the maintainability of a
plea seeking permission to offer regular prayers to idols of deities in the
mosque compound.
Justice J J Munir reserved its order after hearing the
counsel of both sides at length.
On Friday, the counsel for the petitioner, Senior
Advocate SFA Naqvi, contended before the court that the claim of the Hindu side
that the devotees were restrained from worshipping Shringar Gauri and other
deities on the outer wall of Gyanvapi in the year 1993 is an artificial claim
and an example of clever drafting.
According to him, no order was passed by the then
state government in writing in 1993.
According to him, the aforesaid claim has been made
only to avoid the application of the Places of Worship Act, 1991, which bars
filing of a suit for conversion of any religious place as existed on August 15,
1947.
The present suit is barred by the Act of 1991,
Limitation Act and Waqf Act, Naqvi submitted.
He pointed out that even if the claim of Hindu side is
accepted, why they did not file suit in 1993 when they were so restrained or
thereafter. Hence, this suit filed before the Varanasi court is barred under
the Limitation Act, which bars filing of suit for declaration after three years
of incident.
Source: Outlook India
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No illegal Bangladeshi Muslims in Assam, claims
Sherman Ali Ahmed
23 December, 2022
Guwahati (Assam) [India], December 23 (ANI): With the
National Register of Citizens (NRC) process underway to detect the illegal
foreigners residing in the country, the suspended Congress MLA of Assam Sherman
Ali Ahmed on Friday claimed that there are no “illegal” Bangladeshi Muslims in
the state.
Sherman, who represents the Baghbar assembly
constituency in lower Assam’s Barpeta district said that the past records of
voter lists and NRC list has revealed that there are no illegal Bangladesh
Muslims.
“If there are illegal Bangladeshi Muslims in Assam,
what the government is doing? Are they cowards? They (BJP) have a strong
ministry at the Centre and they are ruling in Assam for the last seven years.
If these people (living in Char areas) are Bangladeshi, why they have not been
deported back to their country? These cowards even failed as a sign of
repatriation accord with Bangladesh. They should detect the people and send
them to Bangladesh,” Sherman Ali Ahmed said while talking to ANI.
Accusing the Central government of doing “dirty
politics”, Sherman further said that it will take the state many miles “back”.
“From 1971, it’s been almost 40 years now. Prafulla
Mahanta ruled for 10 years, there was three more revision of the voter list,
and then NRC comes. When the NRC draft was published, everybody was jubilant.
All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and other people distributed sweets. Amit Shah
declared in the election meeting that we have detected 40 lakh, Bangladeshi
immigrants. When the same NRC has come to a conclusion with only 19 lakh people
left out from the NRC out of that 5-6 lakh are Muslims, and now they are
turning back. They are saying that this is not the correct process. This is
merely dirty politics and it will take the state many miles backwards. But from
the past records, it is seen that there is no Muslim Bangladeshi in Assam,”
Sherman Ali Ahmed, the suspended Congress MLA said.
He further ridiculed the statement made by BJP MLA
Rupjyoti Kurmi in the Assam assembly during the winter session where he claimed
that the people who are living in the Char areas (sandbars) cause the flood in
the state.
“I reacted by laughing. I request the Speaker of the
Assam Legislative Assembly to announce an award for the best comedian, and if
this happens, the first award will go to Kurmi for his depth of knowledge. We
feel ashamed because our people elected this type of joker,” Sherman said.
He also requested Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma
for paying attention to the education, healthcare, communication, control of
river erosion and rehabilitation of Char people.
Source: The Print
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Allahabad High Court Reserves Verdict In Gyanvapi
Mosque Case
December 24, 2022
Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court on Friday reserved
its judgement on a civil revision petition filed by the Gyanvapi mosque
committee challenging a Varanasi court order turning down its objections to the
maintainability of a plea seeking permission to offer regular prayers to idols
of deities in the mosque compound.
Justice J J Munir reserved its order after hearing the
counsel of both sides at length.
On Friday, the counsel for the petitioner, Senior
Advocate SFA Naqvi, contended before the court that the claim of the Hindu side
that the devotees were restrained from worshipping Shringar Gauri and other
deities on the outer wall of Gyanvapi in the year 1993 is an artificial claim
and an example of clever drafting.
According to him, no order was passed by the then
state government in writing in 1993.
According to him, the aforesaid claim has been made
only to avoid the application of the Places of Worship Act, 1991, which bars
filing of a suit for conversion of any religious place as existed on August 15,
1947.
The present suit is barred by the Act of 1991,
Limitation Act and Waqf Act, Naqvi submitted.
He pointed out that even if the claim of Hindu side is
accepted, why they did not file suit in 1993 when they were so restrained or
thereafter. Hence, this suit filed before the Varanasi court is barred under
the Limitation Act, which bars filing of suit for declaration after three years
of incident.
Earlier, at one stage the counsels representing the
Hindu side had taken the plea that old maps showed the existence of Hindu
deities on Gyanvapi mosque and the Hindu devotees were regularly worshipping
Shringar Gauri and other deities on the outer wall of Gyanvapi since long and
it was only in the year 1993, the then government restrained regular worship.
Hence, the Act of 1991 is not applicable to them.
Further, they claim that the place in dispute is not a Waqf property.
PromotedListen to the latest songs, only on
JioSaavn.com’
Source: ND TV
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Sikh villagers help revamp pre-Partition mosque in
Dhuri
Dec 23, 2022
SHERPUR SODHIAN (DHURI): In a shining example of
communal harmony, residents of Sherpur Sodhian village not only protect a
pre-Partition era mosque but also contribute to revamping the age-old
structure.
The village is now dominated by Sikhs, and there is
not a single Muslim family left. Villagers claim that Sherpur Sodhian had many
Muslim families, some of whom went to Pakistan during Partition whereas others
shifted to nearby Muslim-majority Malerkotla.
"This mosque is more than 100 years old. It stood
as such in the village even though our village doesn't have a Muslim family. We
tried to protect it and take care of it and considered it Amanat. Since the
mosque was quite old, we wanted the Muslim community to pray there. This is the
reason we tried to contribute our bit to the revamping of the mosque,"
said 70-year-old Karnail Singh, a prominent villager.
Chipping in, another villager Balwant Singh (50),
whose house is in the neighbourhood, said that the revamping of the mosque is
not just community work but it is their duty as well.
Muslim community members, who are carrying out
revamping work of the mosque, said that they are indebted to the Sikh community
members for protecting the mosque and taking care of it.
"After Partition, no Muslim family was left in
the village. So, the sarpanch of the village approached some Muslim community
members in the nearby Issi village and told them about the mosque. Later, they
told us and after we met the sarpanch, he told us that earlier his father had
taken care of the mosque and after his death, he assumed the duty, and since he
has also grown old, he wants to pass on the responsibility. So we decided to
get the mosque revamped," said Mufti Dilshad Ahmed of Malerkotla under
whose supervision the mosque is being revamped. "As we started donations
for the revamping of the mosque, most of the villagers contributed to the work.
Not only monetary help, but many of them have also asked us to keep the raw
material at their houses as we cannot keep it in the open. Besides, many of
them visit the construction site to see the progress of the work". He
added that they are really touched by the gestures of the villagers.
Source: Times Of India
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5 cops among 17 held in Kashmir for drug trafficking
from Pakistan
Dec 24, 2022
SRINAGAR: Five cops were among 17 people arrested
Friday in Kashmir's Kupwara on charges of being part of a well-entrenched
cartel peddling Pakistan-sourced drugs in one of the biggest recent
breakthroughs against such rings in the Valley.
The five cops included four special police officers
(SPOs) and a constable, while the rest formed an eclectic mix of poultry-shop
owners, dry-fruit traders, activists and contractors, J&K police said in a
statement. Around 2kg of heroin - worth a whopping Rs 2 crore - was seized from
the home of one of the suspects.
The arrested SPOs were identified as Haroon Rasheed
Bhat, Irshad Ahmed Khan, Sajad Ahmad Bhat and Zahid Maqbool Dar, and the
constable as Abdul Majeed Bhat, according to the statement.
Source: Times Of India
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Telangana: Aadhaar mandatory for Muslim marriages
24th December 2022
Hyderabad: The Telangana government has decided to
take strict action against the Qazis who perform marriages of young Muslim
girls. The Waqf Board has been instructed to enter the details of all marriages
online.
The government has taken this decision after receiving
complaints about young girls being married to Arab nationals. To ensure the
prevention of child marriages, the Aadhaar cards of bride and groom have been
made mandatory for marriages and restrictions have been imposed on conducting
marriages on the basis of any other identity card.
The Qazis have been instructed to identify whether the
bride and groom are adults or not on the basis of Aadhaar card. Instruction has
been given to submit the details of marriages to the Waqf Board immediately
after marriage, failing which legal action can be taken against Qazis and those
involved.
Earlier, the Qazis used to be appointed by the
Department of Minority Welfare, but now a slight change has been made in it.
The District Collector will review the application and submit its
recommendation to the department.
Apart from this, orders have been issued to keep the
marriage certificate available online. As of now, all matters of marriage are
done in writing. Wherever the marriage takes place across the state, one has to
approach the Haj House of Hyderabad to get the marriage certificate.
Source: Siasat Daily
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https://www.siasat.com/telangana-aadhaar-mandatory-for-muslim-marriages-2487049/
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Arab World
Al-Qaeda Releases Video It Claims Narrated By
Al-Zawahiri Who Was Believed Dead: SITE
23 December ,2022
Al-Qaeda has released a 35-minute recording the group
claims was narrated by its leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who was believed to have
been killed in a US raid in August 2022, SITE intelligence group said on
Friday.
The recording was undated and the transcript did not
clearly point towards a time frame for when it could have been made.
Zawahiri was killed in a US strike in Afghanistan, the
biggest blow to the terrorist group since its founder Osama bin Laden was
killed in 2011.
Zawahiri had been in hiding for years, and the
operation to locate and kill him was the result of “careful, patient and
persistent” work by the counterterrorism and intelligence community, a senior
US administration official said.
Al-Qaeda has not named a successor. But Saif al-Adel,
a mysterious, low-key former Egyptian special forces officer who is a
high-ranking member of Al-Qaeda, is seen by experts as the top contender.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Riyadh’s Boulevard World presents planet’s rich
cultural diversity
AFSHAN AZIZ
December 23, 2022
RIYADH: Boulevard World, the largest zone of Riyadh
Season 2022, is showcasing some of the globe’s rich cultural diversity from
Asia, Africa, Europe and the US in 10 specially designed areas.
There are striking designs, adventures, games and
restaurants. Visitors can experience a new lineup of some of the best shows featuring
local costumes and social customs.
Each subzone expresses the heritage and culture of a
particular country. The Italian subzone features various theatrical
performances and flying pizza shows.
In the American area, visitors can watch live
Hollywood shows while being served the country’s signature dishes.
Visitors can also take a journey through the Morocco
subzone, which features some of the nation’s ancient history and culture,
including a detailed traditional Moroccan wedding, and a puppet show depicting
local customs.
Abdullah Nasir, a Jeddah resident, travelled to Riyadh
with his family to experience the festival. “I was completely captivated by the
level of entertainment activities the city had to offer. Visiting Boulevard
World was one-of-a-kind experience that I have never seen before. My kids loved
taking a tour of the floating city of Venice by boat in the middle of the
lake.” He hoped a similar event could be organized in Jeddah.
China’s subzone offers the country’s lion show,
multi-face dance, dragon display, and folk music that offers a glimpse of the
nation’s storied history.
Filled with color and traditional decorations, the
Japanese and Spanish subzones feature each country’s music and culture through
theater.
The French zone honors the country’s rich and diverse
legacy, and inspiring architecture with dance and music. The are several
highlights, including the silent show, the Eiffel Tower Piano, and a cartoon,
that makes it one of the most attractive zones in Boulevard World.
The Greece subzone features a performance of the Human
Fountain in addition to its popular music and dance shows, while in the Mexico
area, the highlights include an El Mariachi band and representations of Mayan
culture. El Mariachi music has been recognized by UNESCO.
The Indian subzone has been created to lure guests
with its diverse sights, sounds and smells. Visitors can experience dances and
music, including clips of the most striking arts and architecture of the
country, including the Taj Mahal.
The Indian subzone offers mouth-watering food, and a
marketplace to buy curry and biryani spices, flowers, aromatic plants, nuts,
famous Indian teas, traditional artifacts and clothes.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2220991/saudi-arabia
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MWL highlights great Islamic and international
interaction with the Charter of Makkah
December 23, 2022
RIYADH: The Muslim World League has highlighted the
great Islamic and international interaction with the Charter of Makkah at a
recent conference.
The event — under the umbrella of the MWL — was held
with the support and attendance of Gambian President Adama Barrow.
It brought together for the first time senior
scholars, muftis, and ministers of religious affairs in a number of African
countries.
The international presence of the MWL is highly
appreciated since the charter has been included within the religious curricula
of a number of countries across the continent, said Secretary-General Sheikh
Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2221016/saudi-arabia
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Saudi Arabia: Flash floods hit Mecca as people told to
expect more rain
23 December 2022
Flash floods hit Saudi Arabia's city of Mecca on
Friday morning following a night of torrential rain, damaging vehicles and
properties in the city.
Video footage of the flash floods shows vehicles being
swept away by torrents of water, while several main roads were closed off.
Mecca endured torrential rain through Thursday night
and into Friday morning. The National Centre of Meteorology issued a weather
warning in the Mecca province on Friday as the rain continued to fall at
moderate to critical levels in the Rania, Taif, Adham and Maysan areas.
Video footage from the Great Mosque of Mecca showed
rain pouring on pilgrims and worshipers in the mosque's courtyard.
King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah asked that travellers
call to confirm the status of their flights before heading to the airport, as
some flights were expected to be cancelled due to the conditions.
The meteorology centre also warned about flooding and
thunderstorms accompanied by heavy rains in the Jeddah governorate, north of
Mecca.
Source: Middle East Eye
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https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-mecca-flash-floods-expect-rain
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Iraqi PM orders 'unconventional methods' to stop
Islamic State attacks
Shelly Kittleson
December 22, 2022
BAGHDAD — A large ‘martyr’s photo’ has been placed
outside the headquarters of the Ali al-Akbar Brigade in this southern
Shia-dominant city in commemoration of one of the group’s unit commanders, who
was killed farther north in the Diyala governorate in late November in an
Islamic State attack.
The Ali al-Akbar Brigade is part of the country’s
official, government-salaried Popular Mobilization Units.
As the traditional Islamic 40 days of mourning for the
man continue, so do attacks in both Diyala and neighboring Kirkuk. Multiple
members of the country’s security forces have been killed.
Three Iraqi army soldiers were killed in an attack in
the Kirkuk governorate late in the evening of Dec. 21, a security source in
Kirkuk contacted by Al-Monitor on Dec. 22 said. It was the third deadly IS
attack in a week in the two provinces.
No news of the attack had been published by the Iraqi
government-linked Security Media Cell by the time of publication.
Meanwhile, a major operation in the Kurdistan Region
of Iraq has resulted in the arrest of dozens of alleged IS fighters and
organizers, including one tasked with recruiting Kurdish fighters for the
international terrorist organization.
The Iraqi prime minister and commander-in-chief of the
armed forces Mohammed Shia al-Sudani chaired a meeting Dec. 21, in Baghdad on
the recent security developments in these two governorates, Diyala and Kirkuk.
According to a statement issued by his office, Sudani
ordered commanders to “change the military tactics used in the areas where
there are remnants of the terrorist gangs and to adopt unconventional methods
of fighting in a way that weakens [IS] terrorist gangs' capabilities and limits
their movement.”
He also notably ordered “all commanders and leaders to
be present in the field in the operations sectors, to be close to their
officers and their soldiers, to work to raise their morale.”
In mid-November, Al-Monitor was told by a Syrian
contact who cannot be named for security reasons that “hundreds” of IS fighters
had crossed from Syria into Iraq in recent weeks. He said that most were headed
for Kirkuk governorate, which he claimed was under the command of a "wali"
known as Abu Yahia.
A few days later, on Nov. 19, four Iraqi soldiers were
killed in an attack attributed to IS in this governorate. Local media outlets
reported that the soldiers’ bodies had been beheaded.
Security forces questioned by Al-Monitor in December
about the origins of suicide attackers involved in attacks in recent weeks in
the country said that investigations were ongoing and that it was not clear
whether the attackers were Iraqi and whether they had ever been in Syria.
However, the international terrorist organization
remains largely controlled by Iraqi nationals, according to multiple sources
contacted by Al-Monitor in Syria and Iraq.
An Iraqi officer for the central government operating
in the area of the recent attacks contacted by Al-Monitor in August said then
that a small IS group there was believed to be led by a man known as Abu Adnan
al-Kurdi, a Kurd from the Kifri area of Diyala governorate.
A Peshmerga officer had claimed at that time to
Al-Monitor that there was a new IS formation active in Iraq known as the
“Salahhuddin” unit, which “belongs to Iran” and for which Kurds are being
recruited. The unit was operating in the Kirkuk and Diyala governorates and
around Tuz Khurmato in Salahuddin governorate, he said.
Peshmerga commandos on an anti-IS operation near this
area in October were hit by an explosive device that left several members of
the forces injured and dead.
The top commander of the Unit 70 Peshmerga commandos,
affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party, died in late December
of wounds sustained in the October blast. He had told Al-Monitor in an
interview at his base near Sulaimaniyah in late 2020 that “initially Unit 70
had welcomed many foreign fighters from Western countries and later went on to
receive training from the US Marines and then the Navy SEALs,” and that he had
been living in the United States but that, when the war against IS began in
2014, he had decided to return to Iraqi Kurdistan.
The Iraqi news outlet Al-Ain cited a statement issued
Dec. 21 by the Sulaimaniyah Asayish security directorate, reporting, “The
security authorities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq revealed that they
thwarted a large plan to establish a so-called ‘emirate’ for the terrorist
organization” IS in Sulaimaniyah governorate.
The operation resulted in the arrest of 54 people and
“the killing of three others," including the detention of the “emir” of
the cell, local media reported.
One of the men arrested claimed that he had joined IS
in 2015 and fought in the Hamrin mountains but had more recently been tasked by
IS to “attract the Kurdish brothers to facilitate their migration" to the
areas in which IS retains a presence, according to a video containing the
confessions of some of those arrested. The confessions were recorded by the
Asayish.
The Iraqi Security Media cell reported on Dec. 22 that
in “coordination with the Anti-Terrorism Service in Sulaimaniyah governorate
and the Joint Operations Command,” five “terrorists” wanted by the Iraqi
intelligence agency had been arrested.
Most of the attacks attributed to IS in recent weeks
have occurred in areas of the two governorates that the Dec. 21 security
meeting chaired by the prime minister focused on: Diyala and Kirkuk, which are
located between Sulaimaniyah and Baghdad. Both include areas claimed by both
the central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government.
Source: Al Monitor
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UAE orders arrest of company director who faked
employing Emiratis for Nafis benefits
24 December ,2022
The UAE Public Prosecution has ordered the arrest of a
private company director who was proven to have faked the employment of Emirati
citizens, state press agency WAM reported on Friday.
The suspect allegedly forged e-documents, faked employment
contracts, and falsely stated that his company had hired Emirati citizens, with
the aim of obtaining the benefits and financial support provided by the Nafis
and various Emiratization programs.
Nafis is a federal program seeking to increasing the
involvement of the UAE citizens in the country’s private sector over the next
five years.
The program additionally offers a wide-ranging support
ecosystem including salary support schemes, unemployment benefits, and on the
job training.
The UAE Attorney-General, received a report about the
fraud from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization and ordered an
investigation into the matter, which revealed that the company director
committed these actions and falsely hired over 40 citizens, aided by several
company employees.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Saudi Arabia’s role in promoting Arabic language
lauded
December 24, 2022
ABHA: King Khalid University, and in partnership with
the King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language, organized recently a
ceremony to celebrate World Arabic Language Day, which falls on Dec. 18 of this
year, under the theme “The Contribution of the Arabic Language to Human
Civilization and Culture” at Al-Faraa University City.
In a speech delivered during the celebration, Faleh
bin Rajallah Al-Sulami, president of King Khalid University, praised the
efforts of the Kingdom to serve the Arabic language owing to its importance,
which made it one of the cornerstones of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
He also praised the role and significant efforts of
the King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language, affirming that King Khalid
University is part of the national system that cares for and places its focus
on the Arabic language, and works hard to serve it, develop it, facilitate its
learning and consolidate its values.
Al-Sulami clarified that the university has many
Arabic language departments respected in the Arab world and globally.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2221096/saudi-arabia
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‘Best Nation’ conference in Bali stresses need to
combat extremism
December 24, 2022
BALI: A two-day conference for the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations ended in Bali on Friday. The event, titled “Khair
Ummah” (Best Nation), was organized by the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs,
Dawah and Guidance in cooperation with Indonesia’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs.
In a joint statement released at the end of the
conference, the participants issued a number of recommendations underscoring
the importance of Islam’s values of tolerance, moderation, harmony and
friendship.
They also stressed their rejection of partisanship,
and the need to take guidance from the teachings of the Qur’an and Prophet
Muhammad.
Source: Arab News
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Saudi Arabia asking for F-35 jets in exchange for
normalization: Report
23 December 2022
An Israeli paper claims Saudi Arabia and Israel have
been in direct contact for the normalization of ties as Riyadh has set the
Unites States’ selling of advanced weapons, including F-35 fighter jets, as one
of the conditions for arriving at an agreement.
In a report on Thursday and citing three sources,
Israeli outlet Yedioth Ahronoth claimed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been in direct contact.
“Bin Salman has set some conditions including solving
ties with Biden administration in issues such as removal of the ban on selling
advanced weapons, particularly F-35 fighter jets, to Saudi Arabia,” reads the
report as cited by Lebanon’s Al-Ahed News.
The Israeli regime has been one of the opponents of
F-35 delivery to Saudi Arabia and other regional states.
The stealth fighter jet also had a key role when the
Abraham Accords was signed in September 2020 as the US pledged to sell 50 F-35
fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). After two years, however, the
deal has been at a standstill due to concerns over Israel’s so-called military
edge in the region among other reasons.
The Israeli newspaper said fulfilling such conditions
may be hard or even impossible.
Netanyahu has made no commitment to settling the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict but he has underscored he would not annex the West
Bank during his first term as prime minister, according to the report.
The UAE signed the Abraham Accords after Saudi Arabia
“showed the green light,” the report claimed, adding these agreements would
have not been reached in absence of Riyadh’s consent.
Saudi Arabia assesses the Abraham Accords as a
“successful” experience and thinks it is possible to move to the “next stage,”
reads the report.
According to the Israeli media, chances of arriving at
an agreement are not high because of strict conditions put forward by the sides
but the Saudis have shown great attention, indicating that Bin Salman is “truly
ready” for negotiations.
The required infrastructure for talks is available as
Israel and Saudi Arabia continue their cooperation against Iran with the US’s
CENTCOM acting as a coordinator, it added.
Saudi Arabia may gain a position in managing Al-Aqsa
Mosque in the looming agreement, which could negatively affect ties between
Israel and Jordan, it claimed elsewhere, adding that it is a “long time” that
the sides are in “direct contact” and it seems that both are happy with the
results.
This comes just one week after Netanyahu took to Saudi
broadcaster Al Arabiya to push for the normalization of ties with the Arab
country.
“I think we can have a new peace initiative that will
form a quantum leap for the achievement of the resolution of both the
Arab-Israeli conflict and ultimately, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” he
said. “And of course, I’m referring to what could be a truly remarkable
historic peace with Saudi Arabia,” he said, claiming that a normalization deal,
like those signed with other Arab states, would “change our region in ways that
are unimaginable.”
The UAE and Bahrain signed US-brokered normalization
agreements with Israel in an event in Washington in September 2020. Sudan and
Morocco followed suit later that year. Palestinians have condemned the deals as
a treacherous “stab in the back.”
Saudi Arabia claims it would only normalize ties upon
the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders.
However, the regimes have been fraternizing for years.
In 2020, Netanyahu reportedly paid a secret visit to
Riyadh, meeting with bin Salman.
Source: Press TV
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Africa
More than 200 Boko Haram, ISWAP terrorists killed in
Nigerian military airstrike
24.12.2022
KANO, Nigeria
The Nigeria air force killed more than 200 Boko Haram
terrorists in an air raid with the Super Tucano light fighter jet in the
Sambisa Forest in the northeastern state of Borno, a military expert told
Anadolu Agency on Friday.
There has been no official confirmation from the
military but Zaga Zola Makama said no fewer than 200 Boko Haram and ISWAP
insurgents had been neutralized.
The jet was procured by the government to fight
insurgents.
Makama said military operations were conducted when
the terrorists were meeting in the forest and ISWAP top commanders were among
those neutralized.
Makama said inadequate drugs and a lack of treatment
for various injuries the terrorists sustained in the strike led to their
demise.
Also, police confirmed 503 suspects had been arrested
for terrorism, rape and culpable homicide across the state.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Burkina Faso expels top UN official in West African
country
Dec 23, 2022
DAKAR (SENEGAL): Burkina Faso's government expelled
the top UN official in the country on Friday, asking her to leave immediately,
officials said. Barbara Manzi, the United Nations' resident and humanitarian
coordinator in the West African nation, was declared persona non grata, the
foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.
Burkina Faso has been wracked by violence linked to
al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that has killed thousands and displaced
nearly 2 million people - creating a growing humanitarian crisis. Lack of faith
in the government's ability to stem the violence has led to two military coups
this year.
While no reason was given in the statement for her
expulsion, foreign minister Olivia Rouamba said on state television Friday that
Manzi had raised the alarm about insecurity in the capital, Ouagadougou,
without providing evidence.
"She affirmed that she has information from
reliable sources without agreeing to give any proof," Rouamba said. She
also said Manzi told her she was in touch with "terrorist leaders"
and questioned how Manzi was able to easily access the besieged town of Djibo
in the Sahel region while the country's security forces were unable to.
Manzi, who was appointed UN Resident Coordinator in
August last year, often travelled to hard hit parts of the country to try to
raise awareness about the deteriorating humanitarian crisis.
The Italy native has extensive experience with the UN,
working as the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) in Ukraine, Iraq, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Before Burkina Faso,
she was the resident coordinator in Djibouti.
The United Nations wouldn't immediately comment on the
decision. Diplomats in Burkina Faso said they were caught by surprise, according
to a Western official who wasn't authorised to speak to the media.
Manzi's expulsion comes amid a government crackdown on
the international community. Last week, two French citizens were expelled from
the country over accusations of espionage, and earlier this month, the
government suspended French broadcaster Radio France Internationale for having
relayed an "intimidation message" attributed to a
"terrorist", according to a statement from the junta.
The decision to expel Manzi is a worrying sign and
will make it harder for humanitarian groups to operate, aid organisations say.
"The abhorrent decision to designate Barbara
Manzi, the UN's humanitarian coordinator/resident coordinator, a PNG (persona
non grata) is a sign that this dangerous trend line not only continues under
the current regime but is worsening," said Alexandra Lamarche, senior
fellow at Refugees International.
Source: Times Of India
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Coins and coffee: Saudi Arabia showcases its culture
at Islamic countries meeting in Morocco
23 Dec 2022
The meeting includes discussions on knowledge as an
indicator of development in the Islamic world, as well as the 43rd session of
the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO)
Executive Council.
The four-day long meeting in the Moroccan capital of
Rabat was attended by several education and culture officials from 54 Islamic
countries.
The coins exhibition was inaugurated by ISESCO
Director General Dr. Salem bin Muhammad Al-Malik, under the patronage of the
Saudi Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, Undersecretary
of the Ministry of Education for International Cooperation Dr. Saleh bin
Ibrahim Al-Qasoumi and Secretary-General of the National Committee for
Education, Culture and Science Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al-Bulahid.
The coins featured in the exhibition were sourced from
the King Abdulaziz Public Library.
The director of the library, Dr. Bandar Al-Mubarak,
said that the library provided its most important manuscripts and coins from
different periods. They reveal aspects of the ancient history in many Islamic
countries, showing their development from one period to the next, he added.
He explained that the Arabs used to deal using
Byzantine, Sasanian and other currencies, before the Umayyad caliph Abd
Al-Malik ibn Marwan (647-705 CE) initiated the Arabisation of Islamic Arab
money in stages.
The exhibition presented models of Umayyad dinars and
dirhams from different periods, starting from 697-743 CE. Abbasid money from
the reign of Caliph Abu Jaafar al-Mansur in 755 CE through the reign of Caliph
Jaafar al-Mutawakkil in 954 CE, was also displayed.
Also included in the collection are coins from Egypt,
the Levant, Morocco and the east of the Islamic world. In addition, coin from
the civilisations of the Arabian Peninsula that were based in Medina and Mecca,
as well as other cities in what is now the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al-Bulahid described the coin
exhibition as an important and wonderful event.
The numerous visitors have expressed their amazement
at the distinction and historical depths of the ancient coins, he added.
Many of the visitors believed that the exhibits were
copies of the original coins but were amazed to find out they were the real
deal, he said.
On the sidelines of the coins exhibition, the Saudi
Coffee Corner showcased on the unique cultural role of this product in Saudi
society, in all stages of its production, cultivation, preparation and
presentation.
The display also explored the production of the famed
Khawlani coffee from the country’s south. To top it off, the display offers
guests the opportunity to try coffee with a different colour and taste
according to the style in each of the country’s 13 regions.
Al-Bulahid said that the Kingdom is active in the work
of regional and international organisations, which has made it an influential
country internationally.
Source: Ahram
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Tunisian Islamist party protests arrest of senior
leader
24.12.2022
Supporters of the Tunisian Islamist movement Ennahda
demonstrated on Friday in front of the Justice Ministry in the capital to
denounce the arrest of one of its senior leaders, suspected of being involved
in sending Tunisians to fight with extremists in Syria.
Protesters demanded the release of former Prime
Minister Ali Larayedh, vice president of Ennahda, saying the arrest earlier
this week was politically motivated. They called it part of efforts by
President Kais Saied to marginalize the popular movement and distract the
public from his political troubles.
The protest came amid heightened political tensions in
Tunisia. Just 11% of voters turned out for the first round of legislative
elections on Sunday as many parties and voters boycotted an effort by Saied to
reshape the political system.
Ennahda was the biggest party in Tunisia's last
parliament when Saied dissolved it last year. The president called the
elections to create a new legislature with weaker powers, saying it would solve
the North African country's protracted economic and political crisis.
The day after the vote, an anti-terrorism judge
ordered the imprisonment of former Prime Minister Ali Larayedh, vice president
of Ennahdha. The decision was linked to a broader case involving other Ennahdha
officials.
At Saturday's demonstration in Tunis, protesters
chanted for Larayedh's release and the president's resignation. Police kept
them behind metal barriers.
“The fact that 90% of voters abstain from going to the
polls signifies a disavowal of the political process initiated by President
Saied. This is the beginning of the end of this process,” Ennahda leader
Noureddine Bhiri told The Associated Press.
He said that “Saied now has no other alternative but
to resign and call for early presidential elections in order to protect the
country against instability that can affect the entire region."
Ennahda officials pledged to hold further
demonstrations in January.
Saied rejected criticism over the low turnout in
Sunday's election, saying the most important measure will be what happens in
the second round of voting on Jan. 19.
Source: Independent UK
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Tunisia's largest syndicate calls for halting
electoral process
Adel Bin Ibrahim Bin Elhady Elthabti
24.12.2022
TUNIS, Tunisia
The Tunisian General Labor Union, the country's
largest syndicate, has called for a halt to the current electoral process and
to instead address issues the country is facing.
"If there is political maturity, we will stop
this (electoral) path and talk about what will get the country out of the
dilemmas in which it has fallen," the head of the syndicate, Noureddine
Taboubi, told Radio Diwan FM.
"This is what wisdom requires ... to avoid
chaos," he said. "Where is the wisdom?"
Taboubi said he expected President Kais Saied to
promptly react to the low election turnout and to declare “the message was
received” and review the situation.
"Mr. President of the republic, today is part of
the tensions, and I have no personal quarrel, neither with the president nor
with the prime minister (Naglaa Boden)," he added.
Tunisia’s Independent High Authority for Elections
announced Monday that the turnout in the first round of early elections Dec. 17
amounted to 11.22% out of 9.2 million people eligible to vote.
In the first round, 23 parliamentary seats out of 154
were determined and candidates will vie for 131 seats in the second round.
The elections are the latest step in a series of
exceptional measures taken by Saied, which started in July 2021 with the
ousting of the government, dissolving parliament and drafting a new
Constitution.
The polls were boycotted by major parties, including
the Ennahda movement, Heart of Tunisia Part and the Movement Party.
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Pakistan
Jamiat Ulema-e- Islam chief cancels India visit amid
tensions after Bilawal's remarks
23 Dec, 2022
By Sanjeev Sharma
Jamiat Ulema-e- Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur
Rehman, a key leader of the Pakistan coalition government, cancelled a planned
trip to India this week after tensions flared following Pakistan Foreign
Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
a media report said.
Though there was no official confirmation that the
chief of his own faction of the JUI-F and a coalition partner of the Pakistan
Democratic Movement (PDM) government, was to travel to India on a four-day
visit.
Fazl was to attend a religious congregation in Uttar
Pradesh, according to reports. However, the visit, was called off following
Bilawal's remarks that not only ignited fresh diplomatic row but also triggered
protests in India against the Pakistani foreign minister, The Express Tribune
reported.
The JUI-F chief's visit would have been the first by a
prominent Pakistani politician in over four-years. Last time, a caretaker
federal minister visited New Delhi in 2018 to offer condolences on behalf of
Pakistan on the demise of former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Fazl also visited India in the past but his latest
trip would have been significant given the state of current relationship
between the two neighbours, particularly in the wake of the renewed tensions
between Islamabad and New Delhi in recent weeks, The Express Tribune reported.
Key cabinet ministers in recent days held back-to-back
press conferences, accusing the Indian secret agency for sponsoring terrorism
in Pakistan.
Islamabad also dispatched yet another dossier to the
UN Security Council, containing "irrefutable evidence of India's
involvement in terrorism" in Pakistan.
Also earlier this week, the foreign ministers of India
and Pakistan engaged in a war of words that further deepened tensions. Indian
External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, while responding to Pakistan's dossier,
said Pakistan had harboured Osama bin Laden.
Against this backdrop, sources said that the JUI-F
chief cancelled his planned visit to India.
At a weekly news briefing, Pakistan Foreign Office
spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch stressed the need for the resolution of all
outstanding issues between Pakistan and India through dialogue. "However,
in order to
Source: News Gram
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Pakistan: Suicide car bombing kills policeman, injures
others in Islamabad
Dec 23, 2022
ISLAMABAD: Suspected militants sped through a
checkpoint in Pakistan's capital of Islamabad on Friday and blew themselves up
as police gave pursuit, killing one officer and injuring several others.
"Our initial information says that there was a
man and a woman in the car," Islamabad operations police chief, Sohail
Zafar, told reporters. The car did not stop at the checkpoint when police tried
to halt it, he said.
"As they chased it, the people inside the car
blew it up. It was a suicide blast."
Four police and two civilians were injured, he said.
The car was packed with explosives and headed for a
high-value target in the capital, the interior ministry said in a statement,
giving no further details.
"Had the car reached its target, it would have
caused heavy losses," interior minister Rana Sanaullah told Geo News TV.
The capital was already on high-alert due to threats
of such an attack, the minister said.
"Law enforcement's timely intervention averted a
bloodbath," Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement.
The bombing took place near police headquarters on a
main road that leads to government buildings housing the country's parliament
and high offices.
Pakistani Taliban claimed the car bombing, saying it
was revenge for the killing of one of their leaders.
"We take responsibility for the suicide attack
against the enemy of Islam," said a statement from the militants known as
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group of Sunni Islamist and
sectarian groups.
TTP has ramped up attacks after last month calling off
a ceasefire that was brokered by the Afghan Taliban in May.
The bombing came two days after a Pakistani military
operation killed 25 TTP militants after a standoff at a counter-terrorism
facility.
Source: Times Of India
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Protest in Quetta against Taliban ban on women’s
education
Saleem Shahid
December 24, 2022
QUETTA: Political activists and students on Friday
held a protest against the Afghan government’s decision to impose a ban on
women’s university education.
The protesters, including women, carried placards and
banners and chanted slogans as they marched on different roads in the
provincial capital.
The protest was carried out by the workers and supporters
of the National Democratic Party (NDP).
They later gathered in front of the Quetta Press Club
where NDP Balochistan President Ahmed Jan Khan addressed the crowd.
Mr Khan strongly condemned the decision of the Taliban
government and said it would deprive half of the country’s population of
education.
Even during the Afghan war, the education institutions
were not closed for women and they were allowed to continue education, he
added.
He said the Taliban government came to power in the
name of Islam but is now “trying to distort the history of Afghanistan”.
Mr Khan said the decision was “a gross violation of
the basic rights of women” and it could not be accepted.
Islam was never against the education of women, he
said.
Other speakers also condemned the decision and said
Afghanistan cannot progress by depriving half of the population of education.
They appealed to the UN and other nations to play
their part in forcing the Afghan government to lift the ban.
They also demanded Islamabad to pressurise the Taliban
government to allow women to continue their education.
On Dec 20, the Afghan ministry of higher education
imposed an indefinite ban on university education for women, according to AFP.
Source: Dawn
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Man sentenced to death for killing transgender person
in Charsadda
December 24, 2022
CHARSADDA: A district and sessions judge here on
Friday convicted a man for killing a transgender person last year and awarded
him death sentence with a fine of Rs1 million.
Judge Sofia Waqar Khattak pronounced that the evidence
on record connected the accused, Shah Faisal, with commission of the offence.
The court ruled that in case of non-payment of fine,
the convict would undergo additional six months imprisonment.
Faisal, a resident of Paindakhel area here, had killed
transgender individual, namely Javed alias Gulalai, after exchanging hot words
with him on Oct 23, 2021.
The complainant in the case was Akhter Hussain, a
brother of the deceased.
District public prosecutor Javed Ali Mohmand and
public prosecutor Mohammadullah Khan appeared before the court and contended
that the police had arrested the accused after the occurrence and the weapon
used in the offence was also recovered from him.
They contended that the accused was directly charged
in the FIR and the prosecution had fully proved its case against him.
SHOT DEAD: A man shot dead his father-in-law here on
Friday.
A daughter of the deceased, Hayat Gul of Babara area,
reported to the Nesata police station that a year ago, she was married to the
suspected killer, Qasid. But, she said some days ago, the accused had divorced
her on some domestic dispute, and she started living with her father.
She said on the day of the incident, her former
husband visited their house and insisted she go with him to his house.
She said her father refused, telling him she couldn’t
go with him after she was divorced. On which, she said the accused opened fire,
killing her father on the spot.
The police filed a report and started further
investigations.
Separately, a man belonging to Chota Lahor, Swabi,
died and three others, including two women, sustained serious injuries, when
the car they were travelling in overturned after crashing onto the safety grill
of the motorway near Najeemabad Bridge due to heavy fog.
Source: Dawn
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Public gatherings banned as security on high alert in
Islamabad
Munawer Azeem | Mohammad Asghar
December 24, 2022
ISLAMABAD: The capital administration on Friday banned
all types of gatherings, especially activities related to the upcoming local
government elections, for two weeks and declared high alert in the city for 48
hours.
According to a notification issued from the office of
Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon, “In light of recent advisories/threat
alerts issued by the law enforcement agencies and today’s attack on police, the
security of Islamabad has been beefed up to obviate the threats within the
jurisdiction of capital which can disrupt peace and tranquility causing damage
to public life and property. However, the likelihood of such activities cannot
be ruled out in coming days.”
Keeping in view the prevailing situation, the deputy
commissioner imposed a ban on all kinds of corner meetings, public gatherings
and congregations, especially in the wake of the upcoming local government
elections. The order came into force with immediate effect and shall remain in
force for two weeks.
Meanwhile, security in the capital was put on high
alert and a crackdown launched against vehicles with applied-for and
unauthorised registration plates, police said.
Law enforcement agencies in twin cities told not to be
oblivious to their own security
Teams deployed for patrolling and at pickets were
asked to take strict action against those carrying and displaying weapons.
Besides, they were told to check and verify the identification documents of
people and vehicles.
Directives were also issued to the police stations to
check and ensure the registration of maids, house servants and tenants.
Checking and inspection of guest houses, hotels,
motels and inns has also been started while wooded areas, slums and nullahs
were being combed.
Rawalpindi
Following the recent wave of terrorism and Friday’s
suicide bombing in the federal capital territory, the law enforcement agencies
have been directed not to be oblivious to their own security and ensure using
bulletproof jackets, security vehicles and vantage points.
The federal government had already directed the
authorities concerned across the country to take precautionary measures to
avoid any untoward incident as militants may accelerate their activities in
coming days to avenge the killing of their commanders.
Following the suicide bombing in the capital in which
a police official was martyred, the security level has been raised to high
alert in the twin cities.
Earlier, the federal government had directed the chief
secretaries of all provinces, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan as well as the
chief commissioner of Islamabad to take appropriate security measures to avoid
any untoward incident amid reports of continued arrival of the outlawed
Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in areas bordering Afghanistan and the
interior of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In the wake of the Bannu incident and other terrorist
activities, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Punjab police chief issued a
guideline to all divisional police heads to ensure strengthened security on the
eve of Quaid-i-Azam’s birthday, Christmas and New Year.
According to the IGP’s guidelines, law enforcement
agencies were on top of the spectrum of threats by terrorist groups, therefore,
the police should not be unaware of their own security.
“Hence all precautionary measures including scattered
deployment, alertness of security vehicles, use of vantage points, use of
bulletproof jackets must be ensured for target hardening,” the guidelines said.
Regional Police Officer (RPO) Nasir Mehmood Satti, in
a statement, said the security level had been placed on high alert and all
district police officers (DPOs) of Attock, Jhelum and Chakwal as well as the
city police officer Rawalpindi had been directed to ensure foolproof security
especially around churches and at exit and entry points.
As part of tightened security, suspicious persons and
vehicles should be closely monitored at special checkpoints and search and
combing operations should be accelerated, the RPO said.
He said police at the checkposts should ensure
checking according to the proposed standard operating procedures and stay in
the field and brief the police personnel.
Security of property is the top priority which will be
ensured by utilising all possible resources, he added.
Source: Dawn
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Waziristan, Lakki and Bannu trouble spots: police
Umer Farooq
December 24, 2022
PESHAWAR: After analysing the overall law and order
situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the outgoing year, the police department
has declared South and North Waziristan, Lakki Marwat and Bannu districts as
terrorist trouble spots.
“Southern districts, including North and South
Waziristan [from among the newly-merged tribal districts] as well as Lakki
Marwat and Bannu districts [from settled areas], are trouble spots,” additional
inspector general of police (operations) Mohammad Ali Babakhel told reporters
here on Friday.
Mr Babakhel said that the annual analysis of the
security situation revealed a surge in the number of extortion calls from
Afghanistan after the Taliban’s takeover of Pakistan’s Western neighbouring
country.
He also said that the number of targeted attacks
against police increased in 2022 compared with the previous year.
Official says most extortion calls made from
Afghanistan
The police official said that the exit of foreign
troops, including the US and allies, from Afghanistan left behind arms worth
Rs7 billion that were “bound to end up in someone’s hands.”
He said that the number of suicide attacks in the
province
also escalated in the outgoing year, while most of the
extortion calls received by the local residents were made from Afghanistan.
“Our neighbourhood [Afghanistan] is primarily the
origin of extortion calls. Some local criminals were also involved in these
crimes,” he said.
Mr Babakhel said that the counter-terrorism department
arrested 158 extortionists wanted in 81 cases, while 62 suspects were taken
into custody for kidnapping people for ransom.
He said that the CTD arrested 806 militants, including
90 with head money, and killed 196 militants during operations in the province.
The police official said that 2,609 “threat alerts”
were issued with 93 per cent of them being general and six specific.
He also said 129 alerts involved people and 41 alerts
were for different locations.
Mr Babakhel said that 118 police personnel were killed
and 117 suffered injuries in operations against criminals, including
terrorists.
He also said that the police arrested around 129,637
outlaws and seized 22,416 weapons and 511,447 rounds of bullets in 20,601 “search
and strike operations” across the province in the outgoing year.
“The presence of militants in Swat and other Malakand
areas was reported by the media, and everyone saw an immediate response to it
by our police,” he said.
The police official said the police carried out a
total of 1,877 search and strike operations and 148 intelligence-based
operations in Malakand district during 2022 leading to the killing and arrest
of several militants and extortionists.
He said that it was the top priority of the police to
promote public policing and establish a prosperous and peaceful society in the
province.
Mr Babakhel said that the anti-state elements and
criminals didn’t deserve any concession, so the police bosses had ordered a
strict crackdown on them according to the law.
Source: Dawn
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COAS commends high morale, indomitable spirit of
troops at Pak-Afghan border
December 23, 2022
RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed
Asim Munir on Friday commended their professionalism, high morale and operational
readiness during interaction with frontline troops deployed along
Pakistan-Afghanistan Border, said an Inter Services Public Relations news
release.
According to ISPR news release, Chief of Army Staff
(COAS) General Syed Asim Munir visited Miranshah – North Waziristan and Tarbela
on Friday.
In Miranshah, the COAS laid floral wreath at Martyrs’
Monument to pay homage to brave soldiers who laid lives while defending the
motherland. On the occasion, the COAS was briefed by field commanders on latest
security situation in the area and response mechanisms to thwart terrorist
threat.
COAS also visited frontline troops deployed along
Pakistan-Afghanistan Border. While interacting with officers and men, the COAS
commended their professionalism, high morale and operational readiness.
Gen Asim Munir said that Pak Army remains focused on
evolving security situation and determined to take the battle to the terrorists
and break nexus with their facilitators so as to ensure lasting peace through
socioeconomic development. Pakistan Army will consolidate the hard earned
peace, made possible by the supreme sacrifices of resilient Pakistani nation
and LEAs, the ISPR added.
Later, the COAS also visited HQ SSG Terbela. COAS met
officers and men of SSG including the elite Zarrar Company whose soldiers
gallantly acted in recent Bannu CTD complex operation as well as Aviation. The
COAS praised their indomitable spirit, sacrifices and commitment to the duty in
various operations. He said that SSG is the pride of nation and it had proved
it’s metal over the years.
Source: Pakistan Today
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North America
US says in contact with Pakistan to ‘discuss ways’ to
combat TTP
December 23, 2022
WASHINGTON: The United States said it eyed a “strong
partnership” with Pakistan in the arena of counter-terrorism and that it was
“continuing to discuss ways that we can be most effective” to eliminate every
regional and global threat of militancy.
When asked to comment on Washington’s calls to assist
Islamabad to deal with Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) amid a spike in
attacks, a State Department spokesperson, in an email to Geo TV, said: “We seek
a strong partnership with Pakistan on counterterrorism and expect sustained
action against all militant and terrorist groups without distinction.”
Since mid-November, the Afghanistan-based group has
launched a series of deadly attacks, killing dozens of security personnel and
injuring many more. On Monday, militants took hostages after seizing a
counter-terrorism and interrogation centre in the town of Bannu.
The resurgence contradicts claims by the
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency and other authorities as recently as
September that the threat of terrorism was just an “exaggeration.”
Responding to the situation, Washington said that both
nations have suffered terribly from the scourge of terrorism.
“We look forward to cooperative efforts to eliminate
all regional and global terrorist threats and are continuing to discuss ways
that we can be most effective in this regard,” the spokesperson added.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the US
has been tracking the TTP for at least a decade and a half, long before they
radicalised and trained Faisal Shazad for his brazen attack of setting fire to
a vehicle in New York’s Times Square in 2010.
Following the Times Square attack, the TTP was
designated a terrorist organisation and is still considered a threat to US
interests.
Subsequently, on December 1, the State Department
labeled the TTP “specially designated global terrorists.” This was a meaningful
diplomatic success for Pakistan insofar as further support from the Afghan
Taliban for the TTP will translate into Kabul’s official support for terrorism.
And while Islamabad is keen to play down the threat
from the group — Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan said Pakistan can
“fully” control conflict with the TTP and describes conversations with the
group during the ceasefire as talks “which are held in a state of war” — its
control of the situation pivots on the TTP remaining within Pakistan’s borders.
The US has said on more than one occasion it was ready
to help Pakistan as the country deals with resurgent TTP.
The matter also came up during Foreign Minister
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s phone call with his American counterpart, Antony
Blinkon, this week.
Blinken, according to a statement, offered his
condolences for lives lost in recent terrorist attacks and underscored the
United States’ resolute support for Pakistan as its combats terrorism.
Source: Pakistan Today
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US announces $200m for gender equality in Pakistan
Anwar Iqbal
December 24, 2022
WASHINGTON: The US Senate has passed a $1.7 trillion
omnibus spending package for fiscal 2023 and it includes $200 million for
promoting gender equality in Pakistan.
The package, passed on Thursday evening, includes $858
billion for defence, $787bn for non-defence domestic programmes and over $15bn
for other programmes.
An omnibus bill is a single document that pieces
together several measures into one and as the last piece of legislature to pass
this year, it will fund the US federal government through September 2023.
The authorisation of funds for promoting gender
equality programmes, however, prohibits spending any of the $200m on abortions.
Yet, this is a whopping increase in the last few years.
In December 2020, the US congress cleared $10m for
promoting gender equality and $15m for strengthening democracy in Pakistan. The
$200m allotted for 2023 is a 20-fold increase from the 2020 allocation for
Pakistan.
On the Global Gender Gap Report 2022 of the World
Economic Forum, Pakistan ranked 145 out of 146 on the gender equality index.
Source: Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1727943/us-provides-200m-for-gender-equality
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South Asia
"Like Caged Birds": Afghan Women Anguished
Over Taliban's University Ban
December 24, 2022
Kabul: Women university students across Afghanistan
were in disbelief, barred by the Taliban from studying and condemned to a life
of feeling "like caged birds".
In Kabul, home to the country's largest universities,
students gathered outside campuses dressed in the black cloaks and tight
headscarves imposed by the Taliban since they took control last year.
Elsewhere, students sought consolation from friends
and family as they digested news of the university ban.
"We all felt like caged birds, we hugged each
other, screamed, and cried 'why is this happening to us'?" Amini, a
23-year-old nursing student in Kunduz, told AFP.
She was with her three sisters -- two already barred
from secondary school and another studying for a degree -- when social media
exploded with the news of the late-night order.
Faculties across the country were already closed for
the winter break, but students had been able to access campuses for exams or to
study in libraries.
In Kandahar, the cradle and spiritual heart of the
Taliban movement, male students were able to sit exams in classrooms still
segregated with screens, which until the day before made it possible for women
to study.
Now, the university gates shut them out.
- 'No one will listen' -
A Taliban guard told AFP that some women had not been
aware of the exclusion until the morning.
"My sister is studying computer science... I
didn't inform her last night. I know she would be traumatised," said a
young male law student in Kabul, who asked not to be named for fear of
reprisals.
"It really expresses (the Taliban's) illiteracy
and poor knowledge of Islam and human rights. If the situation continues like
this, the future will be worse. Everyone is scared."
In the eastern city of Jalalabad, some male students
walked out of their exams in protest against the decision.
Upon their return to power, the Taliban had promised
to be more flexible, but they quickly re-enforced a harsh interpretation of
Islam that had marked their first stint in power between 1996 and 2001.
The restrictions on women have multiplied in recent
months. They are banned from most government jobs or paid a pittance to stay at
home, not authorised to travel alone outside their city, and are excluded from
parks and gardens.
"We have no power to do anything and there is no
one to listen to us," said one 29-year-old, who is doing a masters in
Pashto literature in Kabul.
"We can't protest, we are hopeless. In every
aspect of life we are doomed," she told AFP.
"We don't have jobs, we can't go anywhere, and we
can't leave the country. We have lost everything."
Deep in anguish, she still clung to the hope that the
Taliban -- whose restrictions on women have only become increasingly severe --
would row back on the announcement after the winter break.
"We will wait for the next three months to see if
they change their order. They might change their policies and restart the
universities."
Source: ND TV
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Selling Christmas in Muslim-majority Bangladesh
December 23, 2022
Some 20 years ago when Mohibul Hasan began his textile
shop in the Mirpur area of Dhaka, Christmas was largely unknown in Bangladesh
but now it has become a season for brisk sales.
“If I sell 100 sarees a month, in the week before
Christmas it would be around 300 sarees,” the 52-year Muslim said from his shop
adorned with Christmas decorations in the capital of the Muslim-majority
nation.
The acceptance of Christmas festivities in mainstream
society shows a major social change in the country and it could help build a
non-sectarian nation, say sociologists and Christian leaders.
“It is actually a social change and through it, the
universality of Christmas is increasing and this change is very positive for
us,” said sociology Professor Shah Ehsan Habib of Dhaka University. He said
Christmas decorations have become normal in hotels, restaurants, or shopping
malls during the Christmas season, which was not the case a decade ago.
“We now see different kinds of Christmas decorations
because people like Christmas” in this country for its universal festive
spirit, he said.
The city’s top five-star hotel, the Pan Pacific
Sonargaon has celebrated Christmas every year for decades, said Mohammed
Nefeuzzaman, its public relations manager.
“Christmas Day is celebrated in our hotel gorgeously.
People of all religions celebrate this event together,” he said adding that
they organize special programs and “the response has been great.”
Its lobby is decorated with lights of different
colors, complete with Christmas wishes and images of a red-and-white-clad Santa
Claus.
“Our most popular program is the Kids Carnival, which
offers a variety of rides for children on Christmas Day,” he said. They
organize magic shows, puppet shows and various rides, including horse rides.
They also arrange buffets with different kinds of food
on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to make “it a universal celebration of
people of all religions."
“Kids and adults alike come and have fun … we expect
some 1,000 guests this year…. The numbers keep increasing each year,” he said.
Nirmol Rozario, president of the Bangladesh Christian
Association, said he has noticed an increase in Christmas decorations in hotels
and shopping malls over the past decade or so.
“This sends a good message to people of other
religions about Christmas. It will play a major role in building a non-communal
country,” he said.
“Until some years ago, people of other religions were
unaware of Christmas. But these decorations in these hotels or shopping malls,
and media discussions and advertisements have made Christmas a festival known
among other religions.”
“This is resulting in a sort of social change and it
will bring positive results for our country and society and for Christians,”
Rozario told UCA News.
Christians, mostly Catholics, are a tiny minority in
Bangladesh numbering some 600,000 in a population of about 165 million.
An estimated 100,000 Catholics live in the capital
Dhaka and nearby areas covered by the Archdiocese of Dhaka. The city also has a
floating population of Catholics as hundreds of young people come to study and
work in the city from villages.
The increasing number of Christians in the city doing
their shopping during the season and the long holidays offer an occasion to
boost business.
“Our store as well as other stores get busy especially
in the two weeks before Christmas. Our owner also noticed this and brings
various new products to the store in advance,” said Mollica Biswas, 23, a
Catholic student, who works as a part-time salesperson at a shop in Bashundhara
City, the capital's elite shopping mall.
Biswas said she “normally does not see her Christian
acquaintances in the shop. But all of a sudden, in the second half of December,
I will see several of them in the shop.”
For Catholics like Sowpan Marandy, a cook in a city
restaurant, it is a season to buy new clothes for family members before heading
to their native village for Christmas.
The 32-year man will travel back to his village in the
northern Dinajpur district to spend the holidays with his wife, two children
and father.
He said he “bought a saree, shirts-pants for my two
sons, shirt for my father from a roadside shop. Nothing for me yet but I have
already spent more than budgeted.”
Source: UCA News
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Paperless Afghan migrants will be fined or
blacklisted, not deported: Pakistan
24 December, 2022
Kabul [Afghanistan], December 24 (ANI): Amid border
clashes with Afghanistan, Pakistan’s government has announced that Afghan
migrants, with no legal documentation will be fined or blacklisted rather than
being thrown into jail, Khaama Press reported.
Earlier, in October, the interior ministry of Pakistan
had circulated an ad on TV and social media saying that foreign nationals, who
overstayed in the country beyond December 31, 2022, will face serious
consequences. The punishment included imprisonment and forceful deportation.
After the Taliban came into power on August 15, 2021,
thousands of Afghanis fled to different countries including Pakistan either by
having legal visas or illegally sneaking into the country mostly through the
Chaman crossing point.
Among these Afghan migrants, there are interpreters
and civil service providers who served with the military forces of different
countries, namely Canada, the US, Germany and others. They are impatiently
waiting for their visas to get processed, according to Khaama Press. The Afghan
refugees in Pakistan don’t have the right to work causing them income-related
problems.
Following the armed clashes that took place at the
Chaman-Spin Boldak area between the border forces of Pakistan and Afghanistan
on December 11 and 15, the relationship has deteriorated between the two
countries.
After the clashes, Pakistan’s foreign office summoned
the Afghan officials in Islamabad and issued a “strong condemnation” over the
recent incidents of cross-border shelling, as per the Khaama Press report.
“Afghan Charge d’Affaires in Islamabad was called into
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Pakistan’s strong condemnation over recent
incidents of unprovoked cross-border shelling by Afghan Border Security Forces
in the Chaman-Spin Boldak area, resulting in loss of life, injuries and damage
to property, was conveyed,” the Pakistan foreign ministry said in a statement.
The Pakistan ministry said it was reiterated that the
protection of civilians remained the responsibility of both sides and that the
recurrence of these incidents must be prevented.
“It was agreed to use established institutional
mechanisms in this regard,” the statement added.
Last month, the Pak-Afghan border, also known as the
“Friendship Gate” was closed briefly after an armed man opened fire from the
Afghan side, according to Khaama Press.
Source: The Print
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ECW calls on Taliban authorities in Kabul to allow
girls to return to education
24 December, 2022
Kabul [Afghanistan], December 24 (ANI): After the
Taliban ordered an indefinite ban on university education for Afghan girls,
several humanitarian organizations, including Education Cannot Wait (ECW), a
United Nations global, billion-dollar fund for education in emergencies and
protracted crises called the Taliban authorities in Kabul to revoke their
decision to suspend the university education of Afghan women.
According to Khaama Press, the ECW called on the
interim Taliban government to allow all girls to return to education, saying
that the UN-led humanitarian body stands in solidarity with women in
Afghanistan and added that each one has an inherent human right to education.
“Education Cannot Wait stands in solidarity with every
girl and woman in Afghanistan. Each one has an inherent human right to education.
We also stand in solidarity with every Afghan father, brother, husband and son,
suffering the pain of seeing their daughter, sister, wife and mother brutally
denied their right to an education,” Khaama Press reported citing the statement
of ECW.
“Education and knowledge are cornerstones of the
teachings of Islam, cornerstones of an enlightened society, and cornerstones of
peace, economic prosperity, and progress everywhere. Girls and women who are
guaranteed their human rights – especially their right to seek knowledge – are
the backbone of a greater society arising out of war and poverty,” the
statement added.
Following the announcement by Afghanistan’s interim
regime’s acting minister of higher education of a ban on university education
for Afghan girls, condemnations continue to pour in from governments and
organizations one after the other from all across the world.
The Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021 and
imposed policies severely restricting basic rights–particularly those of women
and girls, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
The Islamic group dismissed all women from leadership
posts in the civil service and prohibited girls in most provinces from
attending secondary schools.
Furthermore, the European Union on Wednesday condemned
the decision of the Taliban (sanctioned by the UN for terrorism) to impose a
ban on higher education for Afghan women.
“The EU strongly condemns the Taliban’s decision to
suspend higher education for Afghan women. A unique move in the world that violates
rights and aspirations of Afghans and deprives #Afghanistan of women’s
contributions to society,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tweeted.
Calling the ban on University education for Afghan
women by the Taliban a “disaster,” Nilofar Bayat, former captain of
Afghanistan’s wheelchair basketball team and a two-time war victim, said that
the next step will be that women are not allowed to breathe or exist in the
society.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, Nilofar, who fled
from Afghanistan after the Taliban came into power, said, “Unfortunately, the
Taliban said that women are not allowed to go to universities and we saw that
girls couldn’t enter the Universities. It is almost one and a half years that
schools are closed for girls and now it’s time for universities and girls
aren’t allowed to go to universities.”
“This is a disaster. I feel that with these kinds of
restrictions, we see they are pushing women, tightening everything, the next
plan for women in Afghanistan will be to not breathe, and the next plan by the
Taliban for women will be that women are not allowed to exist or live in this
society. Because every day they are adding new rules, and new restrictions and
women are no more a part of the society in Afghanistan,” Nilofar added.
According to a UNICEF report released in August, the
fact that girls in Afghanistan are deprived of secondary education has cost the
country’s economy at least USD 500 million over the past 12 months, which
amounts to 2.5 per cent of GDP.
Source: The Print
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Europe
Macron: Kurds of France became target of ‘heinous
attack’
23 December ,2022
France’s Kurds have become the target of a “heinous”
attack on Friday, President Emmanuel Macron said in a tweet after a gunman
earlier had killed three people at a Kurdish community center in central Paris.
“The Kurds of France have been the target of a heinous
attack in the heart of Paris. Our thoughts are with the victims, the people who
are struggling to live, their families and loved ones,” Macron said in a tweet.
A gunman shot dead three people at a Kurdish cultural
center and nearby Kurdish cafe in central Paris on Friday, prompting scores of
protesters to take to nearby streets.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the
suspected assailant had clearly wanted to target foreigners, but there was no
evidence yet that he had picked out Kurds specifically.
Multiple gunshots were fired on Rue d’Enghien at about
midday, sowing panic on a street lined with small shops and cafes in the French
capital’s busy 10th district.
All three of the deceased victims were Kurdish, a
lawyer for the Kurdish cultural center told Reuters.
As evening fell, riot police fired teargas to push
back an angry crowd a short distance from the scene of the shootings as
projectiles were thrown at officers, rubbish bins and restaurant tables
overturned and at least one car damaged.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Violent clashes in Paris with terrorist PKK
supporters, at least 6 police officers injured
Nur Asena Erturk
23.12.2022
Supporters in Paris of the PKK terror organization on
Friday wounded at least six police officers during clashes after a deadly mass
shooting, according to local media.
The police responded with tear gas to the violence by
the terrorist group supporters.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against
Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and
EU – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including
women, children, and infants. Though normally officially banned, the terrorist
group also has a presence in numerous European countries.
The violence started in the area after French Interior
Minister Gerald Darmanin visited the site of a shooting on Enghien Street in
the center of Paris.
A 69-year-old gunman in Paris had earlier opened fire,
killing at least three people and injuring three others, local media reported.
He was placed in custody and an investigation was
launched.
The motivations of the Paris shooting remain unknown,
Darmanin said.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Kurdish protesters clash with police after Paris
shooting
Dec 23, 2022
PARIS: Kurdish demonstrators clashed with police in
central Paris on Friday after a 69-year-old gunman opened fire at a Kurdish
cultural centre and a hairdressing salon, killing three people and injuring
three others.
Police deployed outside the cultural centre used
teargas to disperse the protesters who tried to break through a police cordon
protecting Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin who had arrived at the scene, AFP
reporters said.
Demonstrators threw objects at police in response, set
rubbish bins on fire and erected barricades, they said. Several cars parked in
the area as well as police vehicles had their windows smashed as protesters
threw bricks.
Some demonstrators were chanting slogans in support of
the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a Kurdish organisation designated as
terrorist by Ankara, the European Union and others.
"Martyrs don't die," some shouted.
Earlier, several demonstrators had tried to get past
police to reach the cultural centre.
The centre, called Centre Ahmet Kaya, is used by a
charity that organises concerts and exhibitions, and helps the Kurdish diaspora
in the Paris region.
The attacker, a retired train driver, "was
clearly targeting foreigners", Darmanin told reporters at the scene,
adding however that it was "not certain" that the man was aiming to
kill "Kurds in particular".
Darmanin said: "We don't yet know his exact
motives."
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Germany suspends measures to promote business with
Iran
23 December ,2022
Germany’s government is suspending state measures
designed to foster business with Iran due to the repression of nationwide
protests in the Islamic Republic, the economy ministry said on Friday.
The suspension will affect export credits and
investment guarantees as well as Germany’s manager training and trade fair
programs in Iran, the ministry said.
German-Iranian trade totaled 1.76 billion euros ($1.87
billion) in 2021.
Source: Al Arabiya
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France’s Macron urges Lebanon to ‘get rid’ of leaders
blocking reforms
23 December ,2022
French President Emmanuel Macron called on Lebanon
Friday to “get rid” of its political leadership who have for months blocked
reforms vital to save its stricken economy.
“The problem with Lebanon is that we must solve
people’s problems and get rid of those who cannot do it,” Macron said,
referring to the country’s entrenched political class -- widely blamed for the
country’s financial collapse since late 2019.
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channel online or via the app.
“Lebanon must change its leadership,” he said in an
interview with three media outlets including Lebanon’s Annahar newspaper.
Macron has taken the lead in international efforts to
bail out the Lebanese economy after a collapse in the value of the Lebanese
pound plunged most of the population into poverty.
International lenders have demanded that Lebanon adopt
a program of painful economic reforms in return for releasing billions of
dollars in bailout loans.
But deadlock between opposing alliances of the
confessional political parties that have dominated Lebanon since the 1975 to
1991 civil war have left the country with only a caretaker government since an
inconclusive May election and a vacant presidency since last month.
“The question is: this caste that lives off Lebanon,
does it have the courage to change?” Macron asked, adding that he was dismayed
to see the mass emigration of young Lebanese who had taken to the streets at
the start of the crisis in late 2019 to demand political and economic reform.
“My answer is to try to help bring a political
alternative to life... and to be intractable with political forces.
“I care about Lebanese men and women, not those living
off their backs,” he said.
Macron said the priority now was to have “honest”
people as president and as prime minster capable of moving swiftly to
restructure Lebanon’s failed financial system.
Parliament has convened 10 times over the past two
months in a bid to elect a replacement for Michel Aoun, whose mandate as
president expired at the end of October.
But it is split between supporters of the Iran-backed
Hezbollah and its opponents, neither of whom have a clear majority.
Macron would not be drawn on whether he supported army
chief Joseph Aoun as a consensus choice for president.
“I don’t want to discuss names. If there isn’t a plan
and a strategy behind the name, they won’t succeed,” he said.
Macron, who was speaking on his flight home from a
regional summit on Iraq in Jordan, said he would work to organize a conference
with a “similar format” for Lebanon in the coming weeks.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians in for ‘long winter’ amid
Azerbaijan road blockade
23 December ,2022
Ethnic Armenians in the disputed enclave of
Nagorno-Karabakh are preparing for a “long-term blockade” by Azerbaijan, a top
separatist official said on Friday, after nearly two weeks without fresh
supplies of food and medicine.
Azerbaijani civilians identifying themselves as environmental
activists have been facing off since Dec. 12 with Russian peacekeepers on the
Lachin corridor, the only road across Azerbaijan that links Armenia to
Nagorno-Karabakh.
The United States and the European Union have urged
Azerbaijan to unblock the corridor, warning of severe humanitarian consequences
and damage to the fragile peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which
have fought two wars in the past three decades.
Azerbaijan denies blockading the road and has said the
Russian peacekeepers closed it.
Ruben Vardanyan, head of the breakaway region’s
government, told Reuters on a video call from the main town Stepanakert that
the “blockade” was exerting “big psychological pressure” on the population.
“We will not starve, because there’s enough food. But
some products we cannot get on our internal market,” he said, adding that fuel
and certain medicines would be in short supply.
“It’s a long winter we have in front of us. It’s 100
days or more before we will get any grain, or herbs, or any other food we can
grow in our own land. So we are preparing ourselves that it will be a long-term
blockade.”
Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part
of Azerbaijan but its 120,000 inhabitants are predominantly Armenian and it
broke away from Baku in a first war in the early 1990s.
In 2020, Azerbaijan retook territory in and around the
enclave after a second war in 2020 that ended in a Russian-brokered ceasefire.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have not signed a permanent
peace treaty, and violations of the 2020 truce remain commonplace, with more
than 200 soldiers killed on both sides in a flare-up of fighting in September.
The Armenian side says the Azerbaijanis blocking the
road are acting at the behest of Baku. Azerbaijan says they are peacefully
demonstrating against what it says is illegal mining by Armenians, with no
intention of stopping transport.
Speaking during a visit to Moscow on Friday,
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said that reports of a blockade
“do not correspond to reality,” and that ambulances, Red Cross vehicles, and
Russian peacekeepers can move freely along the Lachin corridor.
Bayramov said: “We are seeing the situation escalate.
We are seeing how the given narrative is being pushed and propagated by the
Armenian side in order to create a situation, to create the appearance of a
crisis.”
On Thursday Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at
a Cabinet meeting described the situation around the Lachin corridor as
“extremely tense,” and said he had proposed terms to Azerbaijan for lifting the
blockade.
Vardanyan accused Azerbaijan of using the blockade to
“squeeze out” the Armenian population from Nagorno-Karabakh by convincing them
they have “no future” in the region.
“Winter is the best time to do it. They control the
gas, they control the electricity, they control the internet. They can do
whatever they want,” he added.
He said that plans for New Year’s Eve and Christmas
celebrations in the territory had had to be changed, as shortages loomed of
everything from sugar and fruit to cigarettes and construction materials.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Southeast Asia
Indonesian families sue officials over deadly stadium
disaster
December 24, 2022
JAKARTA: Seven Indonesian families whose relatives
died or were injured in one of the worst stadium disasters in football history
have sued officials they consider responsible, their lawyer said on Friday.
The stampede in the Javan city of Malang in October
left 135 people dead, including more than 40 children.
It has been primarily blamed on an excessive use of
tear gas by police, according to a preliminary investigation.
The civil lawsuit targets eight parties, including
Indonesia’s football association, the national police, league organiser PT Liga
Indonesia Baru, and the owners of Malang football club Arema FC.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo is also listed as a
co-defendant.
Imam Hidayat, a lawyer representing the families, said
they were demanding accountability and compensation.
“We have to consider the livelihood of the families of
those who died or were heavily injured,” Hidayat said.
“They, in our view, need compensation, although lives
cannot be exchanged with money.” The families are seeking around 62 billion
rupiah ($3.9 million) in damages, he said.
The suit was filed to a court in Malang on Wednesday,
Hidayat added. A court spokesman confirmed it had been received.
The plaintiffs also asked the government to cancel a
plan to demolish the Kanjuruhan stadium, arguing it should be made a museum as
a reminder of the tragedy.
Widodo has pledged to rebuild the structure according
to FIFA standards.
The stampede took place after police fired tear gas
into packed stands when supporters invaded the pitch at the end of a league
match between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya.
The government suspended competitive football games
after the incident but league matches resumed early this month without fans in
the stands.
Hidayat, part of an advocacy team for those affected
by the tragedy, has also sent a letter to Widodo demanding the creation of an
investigative team independent from police to ensure a transparent and
objective probe.
After a police-led investigation, six people including
three police officers were charged with negligence causing death.
But on Wednesday police released one suspect _ a
former director of PT Liga Indonesia Baru _ after he was detained for the
maximum period without charge.
Local media quoted a police official as saying he
remained a suspect.
Source: Dawn
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Shariff Kabunsuan fest celebrated in Philippines’
autonomous Muslim region
Dec 23, 2022
The weeklong Shariff Kabunsuan Festival, themed ‘one
heritage, one culture, endless possibilities’, concluded earlier this week in
Cotabato City in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM),
the Philippines.
This year marked the festival's third edition, aimed
at honouring the Bangsamoro people’s “solidarity, creativity and resiliency”.
The celebration included highlights often seen at
Philippine festivals, such as a street-dancing parade, bazaars, performances
and fashion presentations.
“We must always remember that development is built on
the foundation of peace and cooperation. It is an effort in which everyone must
participate,” Chief Minister Ahod ‘Al Haj Murad’ Ebrahim said.
He further stated that the Bangsamoro would not exist
without Shariff Kabunsuan’s arrival.
Cotabato City had seen more history than any other
municipality in Mindanao. Shariff Kabunsuan, an Arab missionary from Johore,
arrived on the banks of the Masla Pulangi, today known as the Rio Grande de
Mindanao, in the 16th century, marking the beginning of the region’s history.
The region's indigenous people later embraced Islam,
and as a result, the sultanates of Maguindanao, Rajah Buayan and Kabuntalan
were established.
A host of different events, such as Shariff Kabungsuwan’s
arrival simulation, Quran reading exhibition and cultural and heritage booths,
among others, were showcased throughout five days, starting December 15.
Earlier in January, the Philippines’ Muslim region
celebrated its third founding anniversary, highlighting the breakthroughs of
the regional government in achieving peace and development and reforming the
Bangsamoro during the past three years.
The BARMM was created after the signing of the
Bangsamoro Organic Law in 2018.
In early 2019, it was ratified through a plebiscite as
a result of two decades-long peace negotiations between the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front and the Philippines government.
Source: TRT World
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Mideast
Dissident Sunni Cleric's Advice to Iran: Don’t ‘Beat
up Citizens’
December 23, 2022
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES —
Iran's currency hovered near a historic low against
the U.S. dollar on the unofficial foreign exchange market Friday amid renewed
street protests in the restive southeast, where a prominent dissident Sunni
Muslim cleric denounced a bloody crackdown on street demonstrations.
The unrest was triggered by the September 16 death in
detention of Mahsa Amini, 22, a Kurdish Iranian who was arrested for wearing
"inappropriate attire" under Iran's strict Islamic dress code for
women.
The protests, in which demonstrators from all walks of
life have called for the fall of Iran's ruling theocracy, have posed one of the
biggest challenges to the Shiite Muslim-ruled Islamic Republic since the 1979
revolution.
"My advice is not to beat up citizens. No
government shoots its own citizens like this one. ... Let soldiers stay in
their barracks," Molavi Abdolhamid, an outspoken Sunni cleric, was quoted
on his website as saying in a sermon at Friday prayers in Zahedan, capital of
Sistan-Baluchistan province.
The government has blamed the unrest on demonstrators
bent on the destruction of public property and says they are trained and armed
by enemies, including the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Impoverished Sistan-Baluchistan is home to Iran's
Baluch minority, estimated to number up to 2 million people, who human rights
groups say have faced discrimination and repression for decades.
Some of the worst unrest in recent months has been in
areas home to minority ethnic groups with long-standing grievances against the
state, including Sistan-Baluchistan and Kurdish regions.
After the sermon, demonstrators marched in Zahedan,
chanting "Political prisoners must be freed" and "Death to the
Islamic Republic," according to videos posted on social media. Reuters
could not immediately verify the footage.
Iranian currency plummets
Meanwhile, facing an official inflation rate of about
50%, Iranians desperate to find safe havens for their savings have been trying
to buy dollars, other hard currencies or gold.
On the unofficial foreign exchange market, the U.S.
dollar sold for as much as 400,500 rials on Friday, slightly down from an
all-time high of 401,000 on Thursday, according to foreign exchange site
Bonbast.com.
"If the dollar breaks through the psychological
resistance level [of 400,000 rials] and stabilizes above it, the situation will
become more critical and one should expect higher dollar prices," the
Faraz online daily quoted analyst Mohammad Aletaha as saying.
The rial has lost nearly 21% of its value since the
nationwide protests erupted more than three months ago. In May 2018, the
currency was trading at about 65,000 per U.S. dollar, just before the United
States withdrew from Iran's nuclear deal with world powers and reimposed
sanctions on the country.
According to the activist HRANA news agency, 506
protesters had been killed as of Thursday, including 69 minors. Sixty-six
members of the security forces have also been killed. It said about 18,480
people are estimated to have been arrested.
Source: VOA News
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Palestinian Islamic Jihad Gunmen Fire At Settlement,
Causing Damage To Home
By EMANUEL FABIAN
23 December 2022
Palestinian gunmen fired a hail of bullets Friday
evening at a settlement in the northern West Bank, the military said.
Images from the scene showed slight damage caused to a
home in the settlement of Shaked, which is located close to the security
barrier, about 10 kilometers west of the Palestinian city of Jenin.
A local wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror
group claimed responsibility for the attack, but did not immediately provide
evidence.
The Israel Defense Forces said one home was damaged by
the shooting, which caused no injuries.
The IDF said troops were dispatched to the area to
search for the suspects, who fled the scene. The bullets were fired from
outside the settlement.
The settlement has recently been targeted several
times.
In recent months, Palestinian gunmen have repeatedly
targeted military posts, troops operating along the West Bank security barrier,
Israeli settlements and civilians on the roads.
The attacks have come amid an Israeli anti-terror
offensive mostly focused on the northern West Bank to deal with a series of
Palestinian attacks that have left 31 people in Israel and the West Bank dead
since the start of the year.
Source: Times Of Israel
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Luxembourg expresses concern for resident facing
execution in Iran
23 December ,2022
Luxembourg has expressed concern to Iran about one of
its residents feared to have been detained and facing execution there, the
government said on Friday.
Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn called his Iranian
counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Thursday to address the situation, the
statement said.
Luxembourg did not name the detainee but described him
as “a resident of Luxembourg of Iranian origin who, according to available
information, may have been arrested and condemned to capital punishment.”
The Islamic Republic has launched a crackdown on a
wave of anti-government demonstrations and announced at least 11 death
sentences in connection with the protests.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Iran ‘plans new attacks on Gulf countries,’ says
Israel’s spy chief
December 24, 2022
JEDDAH: Iran is planning renewed attacks on Gulf
states as well as seeking to expand the supply of advanced weapons to Russia,
Israel’s spy chief warned on Friday.
David Barnea, head of the Mossad intelligence agency,
also said the Tehran regime was driving its nuclear program forward at an
unprecedented rate.
“We warn against Iran’s future intentions, which they
are trying to keep secret, to deepen and expand the supply of advanced weapons
to Russia, to expand the uranium enrichment project and to intensify their
attacks against friendly Muslim countries in the region,” Barnea said.
The spy chief described the Iranian regime as
“brazen,” and said: “As one arm sends Iranian diplomats to Vienna for
negotiations, the other arm sends Iranian terrorists to kill innocents across
the world.”
Saudi Arabia blames Iran for a major attack on oil
infrastructure in the east of the Kingdom in 2019, using the same armed drones
now being deployed by Russian forces in Ukraine. The Kingdom has also been hit
repeatedly in recent years by drones, missiles and mortars launched by the
Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen. The Houthis also attacked Abu Dhabi with
drones in January this year.
The US has expressed alarm over a “full-scale defense
partnership” between Tehran and Moscow, which invaded Ukraine last February.
Tehran has admitted it had sent drones to Russia, but insisted they were
supplied before the invasion.
Earlier this month Washington described an extensive
relationship between Iran and Russia involving equipment such as helicopters
and fighter jets as well as drones, which led to new US sanctions.
Moscow’s UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia told the Security
Council that Russia’s military industrial complex “doesn't need anyone’s
assistance” and said the drone allegations had been rebutted several times.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the
Tehran regime, after more than three months of civilian protests, was “striking
sordid deals” with Moscow “in a desperate attempt to survive.”
Iranian-manufactured drones supplied to Russia have
played a "central role" in attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine,
Britain’s Foreign Office said.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2221071/middle-east
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Hamas, Islamic Jihad pledge resistance after Israeli
killing of Palestinian youth
23 December 2022
The Gaza-based Hamas and Islamic Jihad resistance
movements say the resistance against Israeli occupiers will continue until the
full liberation of Palestinian lands while also condemning the Israeli crime of
killing a Palestinian youth.
The groups issued a statement on Friday, reacting to
the killing of Mahmoud Naim Badir in the city of Kafr Qassem earlier in the
day.
Hamas said Badir “was executed in cold blood by
Israeli occupation forces,” adding, “We emphasize that the Palestinian people
will continue their resistance until ending the occupation, liberating their
Muslim and Christian holy sites, achieving their aspirations for freedom and
establishing a Palestinian state with al-Quds as its capital.”
Meanwhile, the Palestinian resistance movement Islamic
Jihad called for the expansion of unity among the Palestinians in the face of
Israel’s endless crimes.
Israel’s crimes against the Palestinians in the
occupied territories will never undermine the steadfastness of the nation,
reads the statement. “We call for increased popular solidarity and unity to
target occupiers and prevent their stability.”
Israeli forces shot dead the 23-year-old alleging that
he was carrying out a shooting and ramming attack. The Israeli military claimed
two of its forces were injured during the incident.
Israeli media cited the police as saying that the
operation had been planned several days in advance and included shooting and
throwing firebombs.
Meanwhile, the family of the slain Palestinian man has
dismissed the Israeli scenario. “The Israeli forces killed our son Naim Badir
in cold blood, and the Israeli story on our son carrying out an attack on
Israeli forces is a false claim.”
Naim’s family said the “police, after killing our son,
stormed the house and destroyed it completely in front of children, who
screamed, cried, and were terrified by the Israeli violent behavior.”
The increased attacks of Israeli forces and settlers
against the occupied territories have made 2022 the deadliest year for the
Palestinians since 2005, according to United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Source: Press TV
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/12/23/695011/Islamic-Jihad-calls-for-unity-against-occupiers
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Israeli forces kill young Arab man 'in cold blood'
near Tel Aviv
23 December 2022
Israeli occupation forces have killed a young Arab man
from the city of Kafr Qassem as unchecked crimes against Palestinians rage on
in the deadliest year in the occupied territories since 2005.
Mahmoud Naim Badir, 23, was killed as the Israeli
forces claimed he was carrying out an alleged shooting and ramming attack,
injuring two occupation forces.
The Israeli forces said the suspect phoned in a false
report of a violent incident in Kafr Qassem – northeast of the city of Tel Aviv
in the occupied territories - to draw first responders and then opened fire
when they arrived.
However, the family of the slain Palestinian man said
"the Israeli forces killed our son Naim Badir in cold blood, and the
Israeli story on our son carrying out an attack on Israeli forces is a false
claim.”
Naim’s family went on to say that "the police,
after killing our son, stormed the house and destroyed it completely in front
of children, who screamed, cried, and were terrified by the Israeli violent
behavior."
Earlier in November, Israeli forces shot dead a young
Palestinian man in Ariel settlement in the West Bank city of Salfit, after he
allegedly killed three settlers in a stabbing and car ramming attack.
Israeli occupation forces and settlers have been
escalating their attacks against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and
other occupied areas, in an attempt to forcibly expel Palestinians from their
lands and make way for expanding illegal Israeli settlements.
Since the start of 2022, Israeli troops have killed
more than 220 Palestinians, including more than 50 children, in the occupied
West Bank and East al-Quds as well as in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Source: Press TV
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