Muslims and Hindus Came Together To Celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi Festival in a Show of Harmony and Love in Mandya, Karnataka
New Age Islam News Bureau
02 September 2022
Mandya district in
Karnataka saw an event organised by both Hindus and Muslims to celebrate the
Ganesh Chaturthi together for 10 days in a show of communal harmony. (ANI)
-----
• China’s Arbitrary Detention of Uyghur Muslims May
Constitute Crimes against Humanity, Says UN Report
• Google to Donate $500,000 for Flood Relief Efforts
in Pakistan
• Islamic Emirate Calls on US, Intl Community to
Release Afghan Assets
• Kenya Joins Islamic Military Coalition to Fight
Terrorism
India
• Muslim Cop in Hubli, Karnataka, Leads Ganesha Idol
Installation at Police Station, Get Praises
• Survey of Madrasas Part of Efforts to Ensure Modern
Education to Muslim Youths: UP Minister
• Tea Café Brand Chaayos Claims Its Twitter Account
Was Hacked after Liking 'Islamophobic' Tweets
• Jharkhand Moving Towards Becoming Islamic Nation:
BJP MP
• NIA announces Rs 25L reward for info on Dawood, Rs
20L for Chhota Shakeel
• Supreme Court to hear NGO's plea seeking
rehabilitation of Kashmiri Hindus, Sikhs
• India: Onus on Pakistan for trade ties resumption
--------
Europe
• France's intel agency tracking Muslims over their
political views
• Türkiye will continue to respond to Greece's
'impertinence': Defence chief
• Greek harassment of Turkish jets could have
'dangerous consequences': AK Party
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Pakistan
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Carry Out Flood-Relief Work In Pakistan
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Over ‘Blasphemy’
• Pakistan Court Extends Imran Khan's Bail on
Terrorism Charges
• ‘Medicines worth a billion required immediately’
• Flood-hit girl tortured, raped in Sindh's Shahdadpur
• Aid pours into Pakistan as deaths from floods cross
1,200 mark
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South
Asia
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Pakistani Ambassador
• Former Taliban Official Divorces Wife for Her
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Community for Aid
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Arab
World
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after airstrikes on Damascus, Aleppo
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Mideast
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Southeast
Asia
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Sued Over Facebook Rant against Christians
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from entering state for life after corruption remark
• Rosmah guilty of corruption, rules High Court
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North
America
• US Welcomes UN Report On China’s Actions In Xinjiang
• Man Sentenced To 12 Years in Prison for 2020
Shooting At Indianapolis Mosque, Multiple Attacks on Muslims
• Show US Congress full text of Iran nuclear deal, 50 lawmakers
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Sudan
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worse than Osama bin Laden’
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
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Muslims and Hindus Came Together To Celebrate Ganesh
Chaturthi Festival in a Show of Harmony and Love in Mandya, Karnataka
Mandya district in
Karnataka saw an event organised by both Hindus and Muslims to celebrate the
Ganesh Chaturthi together for 10 days in a show of communal harmony. (ANI)
-----
Sep 01, 2022
As the rest of the state is marred with controversies,
Mandya district showed a different picture altogether, as Muslims and Hindus
came together to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi festival in a show of harmony, news
agency ANI reported.
Controversy over the festival was fuelled in the state
by Hindu groups seeking permission to hold the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations at
disputed grounds such as the Idgah Maidans in Hubli and Bengaluru. While the
Karnataka High Court allowed festival celebrations at the Idgah Maidan in Hubli
on Tuesday, the Supreme Court rejected the same in Bengaluru.
At such a time, people from both Hindu and Muslim
communities came together in Mandya to celebrate the festival together, setting
an example. They set up a pandal, decorated it with flowers and garlands and
installed a Lord Ganesha idol.
The 10-day event was conducted with great pomp as
pooja and prasad distribution were in full swing.
ANI quoted a local resident, Mohamad Zakir, saying
that this tradition has been going on for the last 17 years and through it,
they want to give the message of communal harmony.
"Harmony and love are more important than any
other communal thing, we wanted to establish the Ganesha idol and give a
message to society. We are doing it for the last 17 years. There was not much
communal atmosphere and Hindu Muslim issues earlier, it started only due to
politics. I would like to request whoever creates such tensions to please allow
us to live peacefully," Zakir told ANI.
Mandya's Superintendent of Police, Yatish N, was also
present at the celebrations and said, “The festival is being celebrated at more
than 1800 places. Here also, the festival is being celebrated peacefully, and
there is no issue in Mandya as of now. We have made sufficient arrangements for
the festivals.”
Here are some visuals of the celebrations:
Source: Hindustan Times
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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China’s
Arbitrary Detention of Uyghur Muslims May Constitute Crimes against Humanity,
Says UN Report
Activists
take part in a protest against China's treatment towards the ethnic Uyghur
people and calling for a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, at a
park Jakarta,
-----
02
Sep 2022
The
United Nations on Wednesday said that China’s arbitrary detention of Uyghur Muslims
in the Xinjiang region may constitute “crimes against humanity”.
The
United Nations human rights office in its report accused China of violating
human rights under its anti-terrorism and anti-extremism policies in the
Xinjiang region.
“These
human rights violations flow from a domestic anti-terrorism law system that is
deeply problematic from the perspective of international human rights norms and
standards,” the United Nations agency said.
Since
2017, researchers have claimed that Muslim minorities in Xinjiang have been
systemically dehumanised. They have accused China of forced birth control,
sexual abuse and torture to destroy the ethnic population.
In
June 2021, Amnesty International claimed that thousands of Muslims are living
in a “dystopian hellscape” in the region. Muslims told the human rights
organisation that they are not allowed to practise Islam and are forbidden from
using their mother tongue.
More
than a million men and women have been sent to internment camps, which China
claims are “re-education” facilities used to combat terrorism, the BBC
reported.
On
Thursday too, China claimed that the United Nations report is based on lies
fabricated by forces working against the country.
“The
so-called ‘assessment’ distorts China’s laws, wantonly smears and slanders
China, and interferes in China’s internal affairs,” the country’s diplomatic
mission in Geneva said, according to The Associated Press.
It
also claimed the United Nations report has ignored human rights achievements
made in Xinjiang and the damage caused by terrorism and extremism to the
population.
‘Incidents
of sexual violence’
The
United Nations agency on Wednesday said it has interviewed former detainees of
the internment camps from eight locations in the Xinjiang region.
“Allegations
were also made of instances of sexual and gender-based violence in VETC
[Vocational Education and Training Centres] facilities, including of rape,
which also appear credible and would in themselves amount to acts of torture or
other forms of ill-treatment,” the report stated.
The
agency said that all interviewees described that either injections, pills or
both were administered to them regularly and blood samples were regularly
collected.
“Some
also spoke of various forms of sexual violence, including some instances of
rape, affecting mainly women,” the report said. “These accounts included having
been forced by guards to perform oral sex in the context of an interrogation
and various forms of sexual humiliation, including forced nudity.”
The
United Nations report was released on the last working day of High Commissioner
for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, who has faced criticism from diplomats and
rights groups for being lenient with China, according to Reuters.
Source:
Scroll
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
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Google
to Donate $500,000 For Flood Relief Efforts In Pakistan
September
2, 2022
Google
will donate $500,000 for flood relief efforts in Pakistan, company officials
said on Thursday.
Google
Southeast Asia Vice President Stephanie Davis posted on LinkedIn that the tech
giant would donate the amount, which is equal to around Rs110 million, to the
Centre for Disaster Philanthropy through Google.org.
The
Centre for Disaster Philanthropy, would in turn, provide sub-grants to local
organisations that are on the front lines of crisis response and recovery, she
added.
“Our
hearts go out to each and every one impacted by the ongoing floods in
#Pakistan. Even when faced with the fear of having their homes washed away and
vital farmland destroyed, we have also witnessed #Pakistanis and communities
coming together to help each other. We are inspired by their bravery, and we
want to help,” Davis wrote in the post.
She
added that the company would find more ways to help Pakistan through its tools
and resources.
Separately,
Google’s Regional Head for South Asian Frontier Markets Farhan Qureshi said
employees had so far contributed over Rs72m in personal donations and company
matches.
Earlier
this week, Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook had said his company would
donate to relief and recovery efforts.
“The
floods in Pakistan and surrounding areas are devastating humanitarian
disasters. Our thoughts are with those that have lost loved ones, the many
displaced families, and all those affected,” he had tweeted.
“Monster”
monsoon floods have washed away 45 per cent of country’s cropland, mainly in
Sindh and caused around $10 billion in damages on the whole, according to
Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman. In her estimation, around 70pc
districts in the country are now under water. Overall, a third of Pakistan — or
an area roughly the size of the UK — is inundated.
According
to official data, the number of affected districts now stands at 110, including
34 in Balochistan, 33 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 16 in Sindh and the rest in
Punjab, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir.
The
floods have killed at least 1,191 people, including 399 children, with 21
deaths reported in the last 24 hours.
On
Tuesday, the United Nations and the Pakistani government issued a flash appeal
for $160m to help the country cope with the catastrophic floods.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1708022/google-to-donate-500000-for-flood-relief-efforts-in-pakistan
--------
Islamic
Emirate Calls on US, Intl Community to Release Afghan Assets
The
Islamic Emirate urged the US and international community to unfreeze the assets
of Afghanistan’s Central Bank.
----
September
2, 2022
The
Islamic Emirate urged the US and international community to unfreeze the assets
of Afghanistan’s Central Bank.
The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) held a conference on Thursday to collect aid
for the vulnerable Afghans who have been affected by recent floods and
earthquakes in the country.
"Talking
at the conference, the acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said that the
release of Afghan assets is necessary in the current situation.
“We
call on the international community to unfreeze the frozen assets of
Afghanistan and lift all sanctions to pave the way for trade and export,” he
said.
Meanwhile,
the Iran ambassador in Kabul called on the international community to press the
US to release Afghanistan’s assets.
“I,
on behalf of Afghanistan, call on the Republic of Iran to unfreeze all assets
of the oppressed Afghan nation,” said Sayed Qassim Zakiri, an Iranian diplomat.
The
Ministry of Economy stressed the need for investment in infrastructure and the
modernization of agriculture systems in the country to improve the country’s
economy.
“They
may start the development aid to Afghanistan. In addition to aid, they may
focus on Afghanistan’s infrastructure that can facilitate job opportunities and
also root out poverty,” said Abdul Latif Nazari, the Deputy Minister of
Economy.
The
economists believe that there is a need to release Afghan assets to recover the
country’s economy.
“There
is a need for the release of the Afghan assets to pave the ground for foreign
investment and also to facilitate Afghanistan’s trade with other countries,”
said Darya Khan Baheer, an economist.
After
the Islamic Emirate swept into power, the US and international community seized
more than $9 billion in Afghan assets.
Source:
Tolo News
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
https://tolonews.com/business-179660
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Kenya
joins Islamic Military Coalition to Fight Terrorism
The
Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition on Thursday announced that Kenya
had joined as a member state, increasing the number since its inception to 42.
(Supplied)
-----
September
01, 2022
RIYADH
— The Islamic Military Coalition to Fight Terrorism (ISMAC) announced on
Thursday that Kenya joined the alliance, taking the number of member states in
the grouping to 42.
The
declaration culminated in raising the Kenyan national flag alongside the flags
of 41 member states at the headquarters of the Coalition in Riyadh.
Kenyan
Ambassador to the Kingdom Peter Nicholas Ratang Aqgu and Colonel Mohammed Aden,
who had been delegated to the Alliance's headquarters as a representative of
Kenya, were present at the ceremony.
Secretary-General
of the Islamic Alliance-designate Major General Mohammed Al-Mughaidi said
Kenya's accession to the group was a positive step, stressing that
international participation would entail all-out efforts to fight terrorism and
combat extremist violence.
Al-Mughaidi
stressed that by being a member, the Kenyan Republic, with its various
religious and cultural spectrums and important geographical location east of
the African continent, would have a significant positive impact on the Islamic
Alliance, as it is already an effective participant in many regional and
international organizations concerned with fighting terrorism.
Source:
Saudi Gazette
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
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India
Muslim
Cop in Hubli, Karnataka, Leads Ganesha Idol Installation at Police Station, Get
Praises
02nd
September 2022
By
Amit S Upadhye
HUBLI:
Police Inspector at Gokul Road Police Station in Hubli J M Kalimirchi carrying
a Ganesha statue in hand with a saffron cap has made many heads turn as he led
the police staff of the station while installing a Ganesha idol.
And
this is not the first time the Inspector has been seen doing this. Even in 2021
he was front runner for Ganesha installation at his police station.
His
act has been invited praises from all over relating it to a fine example of
spreading religious harmony at the time when many parts of Karnataka are
boiling over the opposite issues.
Speaking
to The New Indian Express, Inspector Kalimirchi said that communal harmony is
the need of the hour and he never hesitated to take part in Hindu festivals.
"I
am Muslim by birth. But when I leave my home I am an Indian and nothing more. I
come from a small village in Koppal district where both Hindus and Muslims
together celebrate the Ganesha festival. I may miss any of the festivals due to
police duty, but I make it a point that I visit my village to attend the annual
fair in the temple," he said.
The
last time Kalimirchi made news was he led the building of a temple near his
Police station on demand of locals and recently he risked his life to pull out
stuck workers in a sparkle candle-making unit that caught fire.
Six
people died in a span of two weeks due to burn injuries who were working in the
ill-fated and illegally run factory. The police officer was able to save the
lives of three people.
Kalimirchi
hails from Mangur village in Koppal district where for generations Hindus are
seen following Dargah traditions. There are several Muslims who visit temples
and take part in annual fair. In many parts of North Karnataka the temple
chariot is pulled by people from both communities.
Source:
New Indian Express
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Survey
of madrasas part of efforts to ensure modern education to Muslim youths: UP
minister
Sep
01, 2022
LUCKNOW
The U.P. government’s decision to order a survey of all unrecognised madrasas
coincides with the sharp decline in the number of students enrolled with the
state’s madrasa board. In 2016, over 4 lakh students were registered for the
board examinations, and this number dropped to 3.71 lakh in 2017, to about 2.7 lakh
in 2018, a little lesser in 2019, 1.82 lakh in 2020 and about the same in 2021.
Minister
of state for minorities, Danish Azad Ansari, a pasmanda (backward) Muslim and
the lone Muslim face of Yogi 2.0, however, defended the move to order survey of
private/unaided madrasas, saying the government needs data to plan for the
future. Excerpts:
Q
The government has attracted fresh controversy over its move to order survey of
unrecognised madrasas in UP. Your political opponents are sniffing foul play.
What do you make of it?
A I
think our political opponents have nothing better to do. The survey is part of
our efforts to ensure better, modern education to Muslim youths. And to plan
ahead, you need to have data. We already have data of all 16,513 madrasas enrolled
with the Madrasa Board. Of these, 558 are aided and the rest are in different
categories of modern education or those that are unaided. We however, don’t
have data on private madrasas…how many they are. Excerpts:
Q
What do you eventually plan to do with that data?
A
Once we have the exact numbers after a ground check, we can frame better,
meaningful policies and plan infra development. Our government wants to impart
the best of education to Muslim youths and data collection through survey is
part of the entire effort.
Q
What is the survey going to be like?
A
It’s going to be three-phased exercise. Survey teams would be formed and would
start visiting districts from September 10. These teams will submit their
report to the DM’s by October 5. And the district magistrates would
subsequently submit these reports to the government by October 25.
Q
Has the quality of teaching and other conditions improved in madrasas
affiliated to the madrasa board? If yes, then why the number of students
enrolled in them has been witnessing a sharp decline?
Source:
Hindustan Times
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Tea
Café Brand Chaayos Claims Its Twitter Account Was Hacked after Liking
'Islamophobic' Tweets
Sep
02, 2022
Tea
café brand Chaayos came under fire on Thursday after social media users pointed
out that its Twitter account liked 'offensive' tweets. While the company issued
a statement condemning the action, founder and CEO Nitin Saluja claimed that
the Twitter account of Chaayos was hacked for about half hour when those
offensive tweets were liked. "I want to personally ensure everyone that as
a founder and as an organisation, we respect all faiths equally," Saluja
tweeted.
Under
the 'likes' button of Chaayos, those tweets were found by social media users.
One such tweet said, "Radical Muslims are snakes, moderate Muslims are the
grass they hide in". In its statement, Chaayos said, "There was an
offensive tweet that was inadvertently liked from our account. Chaayos detested
and denies any view mentioned in the said tweet. We apologise to everyone and
to those who were impacted by it."
"We
want to assure our guests and team that as a responsible organisation we have
always respected people of all faiths equally and shall continue to do so
forever. We are investigating what led to this and shall take corrective action
asap," it said.
Row
over Chaayos
Source:
Hindustan Times
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Jharkhand
moving towards becoming Islamic nation: BJP MP
2
September, 2022
New
Delhi [India] September 1 (ANI): Amid the political turmoil in Jharkhand, BJP
MP Nishikant Dubey on Thursday said the state is moving towards becoming an
Islamic nation.
Speaking
to ANI, Dubey said, “The government in Jharkhand is not going to last long. The
way the pro-Pakistan forces are active, it is only the vote bank politics. The
government is not going to run for the day and finally, the Chief Minister
himself will have to go for mid-term polls. And, whenever the mid-term poll
happens, the Bharatiya Janata Party will form the government with its full
majority.”
“The
situation of Jharkhand is very bad and the state government is moving towards
the creation of a new country due to vote bank politics. After Pakistan,
Jharkhand and Santhal will be such a place which will merge with Bangladesh or
become a separate Islamic nation,” he stated.
Referring
to the murder of a 16-year-old girl in Dumka, the BJP leader said that law and
order situation in the state had worsened under the present regime.
He
alleged the state government is paying Rs 35 to 40 lakh for flight fares every
day and bills are being paid for luxury hotels for the MLAs.
Dubey
further said, “Jharkhand is moving towards Islamization and I will not be
surprised if Santhal Pargana and Jharkhand after 15- 20 years will demand a
separate country.”
Slamming
the JMM-Congress government, he said, “Jharkhand government is constantly
accusing BJP of destabilizing the government, I want to ask Jharkhand
government why Maha Dalits were removed in Palamu? Why Ankita was burnt to
death in her house? Why do Muslim men forcibly marry tribal girls? Bhognadih,
where the tribals used to live, which was the village of Sidhu Kano. Muslims
captured the entire village. Did we do this?”
He
alleged that the name of government schools in the state has been changed to
Urdu School.
“There
is a holiday on Friday instead of Sunday, no action has been taken on this. The
education minister himself is there. Indulging in these things, after this, due
to being close to Bangladesh, the entire demography has changed. Incidents like
Ankita and the rise of PFI have increased in the state,” he stated.
Dubey
said the Bharatiya Janata Party is raising the voice of the public.
The
BJP has sought the disqualification of CM Hemant Soren as an MLA accusing him
of allocating a mining lease to himself while he held the portfolio of Mines
Minister in 2021.
In
February this year, the BJP submitted a memorandum to the state Governor
seeking disqualification of Soren from the House under Section 9(A) of the
Representation of People’s Act.
The
Governor had forwarded the BJP complaint to the ECI and the poll panel in May
had issued a notice to the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader.
Source:
The Print
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://theprint.in/politics/jharkhand-moving-towards-becoming-islamic-nation-bjp-mp/1112491/
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NIA
announces Rs 25L reward for info on Dawood, Rs 20L for Chhota Shakeel
Sep
2, 2022
NEW
DELHI: The National Investigation Agency, which had registered a case earlier
this year against 1993 Mumbai blasts mastermind Dawood Ibrahim and other
members of his interntional terror syndicate D-Company, has declared a Rs 25
lakh cash reward for any person who shares information leading to his arrest.
In
a notice dated August 18, 2022, the NIA also announced cash rewards for
information leading to arrest of Dawood’s four key associates — Rs 20 lakh for
Shakeel Shaikh alias Chhota Shakeel and Rs 15 lakh each for Haji Anees alias
Anees Ibrahim Shaikh, Javed Patel alias Javed Chikna and Ibrahim Mushtaq Abdul
Razzaq Memon alias Tiger Memon.
The
NIA cash award for the arrest of India’s “most-wanted” underworld don — who
reportedly resides in Pakistan under ISI’s protection and is now working
closely with with Pakistan-based terror outfits Lashker e Taiba, Jaish e
Mohammad and Al Qaeda — comes 29 years after he executed the 1993 Mumbai
blasts. Interestingly, it is not the highest cash reward declared by NIA. Of
the 8 absconding accused carrying a bounty above Rs 10 lakh, information on CPI
(Maoist) top leader Nambala Keshava Rao commands the highest reward of Rs 50
lakh; that on dreaded Maoist commander Hidma Rs 25 lakh and on Sikhs For
Justice mastermind Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Rs 20 lakh.
“Any
information pertaining to the above absconding accused leading to their arrest,
may be shared,” NIA said in the note pertaining to the cash rewards, while
listing the phone numbers and email of its headquarters here as well as its
Mumbai office. The note, which promises to keep the identity of the informer
secret, puts out two sets of photos of the five absconding accused carrying NIA
bounty. While the photograph of Dawood is not recent, there are updated
photographs of Chhota Shakeel, Anees, Javed Chikna and Tiger Memon, alongside
the old ones.
An
NIA source told TOI that the informer need not be an Indian; even a foreign
citizen who shares information on Dawood or his associates shall be entitled to
the reward.
Source:
Times Of India
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Supreme
Court to hear NGO's plea seeking rehabilitation of Kashmiri Hindus, Sikhs
Sep
1, 2022
NEW
DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday will hear a PIL filed by an NGO seeking
direction to the government to rehabilitate or resettle Kashmiri Hindus and
Sikhs including those who migrated after the exodus in 1990 and onwards from
Kashmir to any other part of the country.
A
bench of Justices BR Gavai and CT Ravikumar will hear the case on September 2.
The
NGO 'We The Citizens' filed the plea through advocate Barun Kumar Sinha asking
the apex court to direct the Central government and Union Territory of Jammu
and Kashmir to conduct a census of Hindus and Sikhs of Jammu and Kashmir who
have been victims/survivors of genocide residing in different parts of India.
"Issue
directions to the respondents to declare that all sale of properties, post
exodus in January 1990 whether religious, residential, agricultural,
commercial, institutional, educational or any other immovable property as null
and void. To constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to identify the
perpetrators who were involved, aided and abetted the genocide of Hindus and
Sikhs in Jammu and Kashmir during the period from 1989-2003 in the erstwhile
state of Jammu & Kashmir," the PIL filed in March stated.
It
further urged the top court to direct the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir to
prosecute the accused on the basis of the report of a Special Investigation
Team constituted by them in accordance with the law.
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
India:
Onus on Pakistan for trade ties resumption
Sep
2, 2022
Amid
conflicting signals from Pakistan authorities on whether or not Islamabad
wanted to resume trade with India, official sources in New Delhi said the onus
was on Pakistan on the issue. Sources pointed to the fact that it was Pakistan
which had called off trade unilaterally after India's decision to revoke the
special status of J&K. Pakistan's finance minister Miftah Ismail said this
week that Islamabad could consider importing food items from India to deal with
shortages resulting from floods in the country.
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Europe
France's
intel agency tracking Muslims over their political views
Sep
1, 2022
Several
French Muslim personalities have been tracked and listed by French intelligence
for their political opinions.
This
was revealed in an article published on Tuesday by Europe 1 radio channel,
reporting that it had obtained a "confidential note from French
territorial intelligence."
According
to Europe 1, this document was "disseminated to a handful of senior
officials, members of the government, and up to the Elysee," after it was
written in mid-May, three weeks after a presidential runoff election that
sealed victory for sitting President Emmanuel Macron.
According
to the note quoted by media outlets, the country's territorial intelligence
came to the conclusion that left-wing presidential hopeful Jean-Luc Melenchon,
eliminated in the first round of voting after coming in third behind Macron and
the far-right Marine Le Pen, would have enjoyed the "Muslim vote" in
the country due to the support of so-called "Islamist influencers and
activists" who "welcomed" and "relayed" his
"positions."
It
cited numerous Muslim figures in France, including lawyer Rafik Chekkat, a
member of the association Agir contre l'islamophobie (Action Against
Islamaphobia - ACI) and independent journalist Siham Assbague, both described
as "Islamists," in particular for having taken a stand against
anti-Muslim sentiment or colonialism.
In
addition to Chekkat and Assbague, the note also refers to Vincent Souleymane,
Hani Ramadan, and Farid Slim, all described as "preachers" or
"imams" from the Muslim Brotherhood.
Anadolu
Agency journalist also monitored
Feiza
Ben Mohamed, a journalist with Anadolu Agency, was also tracked and listed by
the territorial intelligence agency.
Europe
1's coverage revealed that the French territorial intelligence listed her as a "pro-Erdogan"
journalist, in reference to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, simply
because the news agency where she works is based in Türkiye.
The
radio broadcaster notes that Ben Mohamed was also tracked for having
"published a series of tweets justifying her choice to vote for
Jean-Luc-Melenchon, whom she considers to be the only credible candidate who
does not have the ambition to use Muslims to make people forget the problems of
our country."
'Islamo-leftism'
French
territorial intelligence has files on many French Muslims for having expressed
their support for Melenchon, the leader of the La France Insoumise (LFI) party,
who has voiced opposition against anti-Muslim sentiment in France several
times.
By
listing these Muslims, the territorial intelligence's actions has resurrected
debate on "Islamo-leftism," a theory often pushed by Le Pen and
fellow far-right politician Eric Zemmour, along with the French government.
At
the end of 2020, this notion, disseminated since 2002 by the far right, has gotten
strong media exposure, while Jean-Michel Blanquer, then-minister of national
education, and Dominique Vidal, former minister for higher education, used the
term to denounce the supposed closeness and laxity of certain left-wing French
politicians towards Islam.
These
members of the French government have also levelled accusations against French
academics and researchers, declaring that the universities "are plagued by
academics who ally themselves with the Islamists to divide France."
In
a press release published in February 2021 to respond to a statement by Vidal,
the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) had stressed that
"Islamo-leftism, a political slogan used in public debate, does not
correspond to any scientific reality."
In
addition, the CNRS excoriated attempts to delegitimise different fields of
research, such as postcolonial, intersectional, or racial studies, by declaring
them "Islamo-leftist."
Targeting,
harassment
In
2019, an ultra-right group "French of stock," published online a list
of several hundred names accused of being "Islamo-leftists." Anadolu
Agency journalist Feiza Ben Mohamed was among them.
At
the end of July, the Interministerial Committee for the Prevention of
Delinquency and Radicalisation (CIPDR) had already targeted, in particular on
social networks, several French nationals fighting against anti-Muslim hatred,
including Ben Mohamed.
Source:
Trt World
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Türkiye
will continue to respond to Greece's 'impertinence': Defence chief
Merve
Gül Aydoğan Ağlarcı
02.09.2022
Ankara
will continue to respond to Athens’ “impertinence,” the Turkish defense chief
said on Friday, emphasizing Greece’s continued provocations, offensive actions
and illegal acts against Türkiye.
"We
have always responded to this impertinence of Greece and we will continue to do
so," National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said at a military ceremony in
the central Eskisehir province.
Citing
Greece's recent harassment of Turkish jets over the Aegean and Eastern
Mediterranean seas, Akar said the Turkish jets were engaged in a NATO mission.
"Since
July 2, the mission notified about its activity to all NATO allies, everyone
knew about it," Akar said, adding that it is "impossible" that
Athens did not know about the mission.
"Yet,
they intercepted our F-16s, which were carrying out their NATO duty. Greece
made a false statement in a denialist way claiming 'We did not know that these
were Turkish planes'," he added.
Stressing
that Greece's actions are "extremely hostile and wrong," Akar said:
"NATO and third countries should also see Greece's actions. We have warned
all of our allies over Greece. We expect them to be objective. They should know
that Greece's actions and rhetoric (on Türkiye) are not in line with friendship
or alliance."
Noting
that Ankara closely follows Athens' actions that disregard international law,
good neighborly relations and friendship, the Turkish minister said: “As
Türkiye, we continue our work not as a burden to NATO and our allies, but as a
country that bears their burden."
Türkiye,
a NATO member for over 70 years, has complained of repeated provocative actions
and rhetoric by Greece in the region in recent months, saying such moves
frustrate its good faith efforts for peace.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Greek
harassment of Turkish jets could have 'dangerous consequences': AK Party
Muhammed
Ali Toruntay
01.09.2022
Greece's
harassment of Turkish jets over the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Seas could
have "dangerous consequences," according to the spokesperson of
Türkiye's AK Party.
"This
is something that the world today never wants," Omer Celik told reporters
in the capital Ankara Thursday after a meeting of the party's Central Executive
Board.
Celik
called on Greek authorities to heed diplomacy and steer clear of such
harassment of Turkish jets.
Those
who criticize Türkiye for buying Russian-made S-400 air defense system should
also raise their voice against Greece using S-300s to radar lock Turkish F-16s,
according to Celik, pointing to hypocritical Western treatment of Türkiye.
Turkish
jets engaged in NATO missions over the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Seas on
Aug. 23 were harassed by a Russian-made S-300 air defense system stationed on
the Greek island of Crete, according to Turkish National Defense Ministry
sources.
However,
Greek military officials have denied the Turkish account of the actions, which
are described as "hostile" in the NATO Rules of Engagement.
Türkiye’s
National Defense Ministry is preparing to send radar records of the incident to
the NATO Secretariat-General and alliance members’ defense ministries.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Pakistan
Led
by Jihad commander, Lashkar defies FATF threat to carry out flood-relief work
in Pakistan
PRAVEEN
SWAMI
1
September, 2022
New
Delhi: A jihad commander sanctioned by the United States for financing
terrorism is leading fundraising and flood-relief efforts in Pakistan involving
thousands of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) cadres, government sources have told
ThePrint.
The
massive flood-relief effort is being run from Lashkar’s Masjid al-Qadsia in
Lahore, of which the government claimed to have taken control four years ago,
as part of a crackdown on the jihadist group.
Led
by Hafiz Abdul Rauf — a cleric sanctioned by the US government on
terror-financing charges — Lashkar’s flood-relief push comes at a time when
Islamabad is preparing for visits by inspectors of the multinational Financial
Action Task Force (FATF). The FATF had announced in June that it would conduct
on-site inspections to evaluate Pakistan’s request to exit a list of states at
risk of terrorism-related sanctions.
Estimates
suggest that FATF’s decision to include Pakistan in a grey list of states found
to be complicit in terrorism-financing cost Pakistan USD 38 billion in lost
investments since 2018.
But
Lashkar volunteers are now openly raising funds in Lahore and smaller cities
across Pakistan’s flood-ravaged southern Punjab, sources said. The organisation
has also been distributing blankets, opening food kitchens and promising to
help rebuild tens of thousands of destroyed homes.
Images
gathered from pro-Lashkar social media feeds by the South Asia Monitor show
volunteers wearing safety-vests with markings identifying them as members of
the Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek, a political party founded by Lashkar chief Hafiz
Muhammad Saeed.
A
relief camp for flood victims organised by Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek | By special
arrangement
“The
devastation caused by the floods has given all kinds of religious groups an
opportunity to assert their influence,” scholar Ayesha Siddiqa told ThePrint, adding:
“The devastation is so widespread that people aren’t asking questions about who
is helping them.”
Leaders
of the Lashkar resurgence
Listed
by counter-terrorism authorities in the United States as head of LeT’s
charitable wing, Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation, Rauf is believed to have been
born in Sialkot in 1973.
There
is little documentation of Rauf’s role in the organisation, but US government
records suggest he was appointed to lead the LeT’s charitable wing in mid-2010.
The Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation was designated by the United Nations Security
Council as a front for Lashkar in 2012.
Footage
obtained by ThePrint, though, shows Rauf regularly delivers sermons at the
Masjid al-Qadsia, years after the district administration in Pakistan’s Punjab
took control of the mosque, along with Lashkar’s sprawling headquarters at
Muridke.
In
a speech on 22 July, days after Pakistan notified the FATF that it had secretly
tried and convicted key 26/11 perpetrator Sajid Mir, Rauf had urged a
congregation to show it was “unafraid of punishment put in the way of inviting
the world to Islam”. Following the fall of Kabul to the Taliban last year, Rauf
had given another speech, attacking the United States and hailing “the victory
of Islam and the Muslims”.
Talha
Saeed — Hafiz Saeed’s son and likely successor — has also been seen delivering
speeches at Masjid al-Qadsia and other mosques in Lahore on more than one
occasion. In 2019, Talha had survived an assassination attempt at Masjid
Ali-o-Murtaza, on the outskirts of Lahore, where he was delivering a sermon to
Lashkar supporters.
Leveraging
misery
Lashkar
has been known to use charitable operations to expand its influence.
The
organisation’s main campus at Muridke includes the al-Dawa Model School, a
science college, and the al-Aziz Hospital, all of which provide high-quality
services to the poor. Free education, medical treatment and ambulance services
enable it to reach out to constituencies across Pakistan, according to expert
Animesh Roul.
The
group even took advantage of the misery caused by the Kashmir earthquake in
2005, and floods in 2010, to expand its reach.
Contrary
to claims made by Islamabad, all evidence points to the fact that Lashkar’s
charitable infrastructure continued to grow after 26/11, with the group even
setting up drinking-water infrastructure in southern Pakistan and providing
relief to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
Prior
to the 26/11 attacks, front organisations for Islamist groups linked to
terrorism — Lashkar, Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) and the Jama’at-e-Islami — were
raising upwards of USD 100 million each year in charitable donations from Saudi
Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a leaked US diplomatic cable had
recorded on 13 November 2008.
Large
parts of these charitable donations, the cable said, were being used to pay
compensation to jihadists killed in counter-terrorism operations in regions
like Kashmir, as well as to recruit cadre from “families with multiple
children, particularly those facing severe financial difficulties in light of
inflation, poor crop yields, and growing unemployment”.
Among
these recruits was Muhammad Ajmal Kasab, the 26/11 attacker later hanged for
his role in the attacks. Similar cases, like that of arrested teenage terrorist
Ali Babar Patran, have surfaced regularly.
Lashkar
impunity
Faced
with international pressure after the 9/11 attacks, Pakistan jailed Saeed and
other Lashkar leaders at least nine times — only for him to be released weeks
or months later.
“Even
if Saeed is technically not roaming the streets, the Government of Pakistan’s
inability to win the legal case against him is embarrassing,” then US
ambassador to Islamabad, Anne Patterson, wrote in a 2009 diplomatic cable.
The
threat of FATF sanctions, though, forced Pakistan’s hand, resulting in Saeed’s
conviction in 2020 on terrorism financing charges. Lashkar leaders
Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Abdul Rehman Makki also received prison sentences,
along with several second-rung figures.
However,
following the 2020 conviction, Saeed was quietly moved out of Lahore’s Kot
Lakhpat jail and moved back to his white, three-storey home at 116E Johar Town
in Lahore. His whereabouts were revealed when he was targeted in a bombing on
the eve of a meeting of the FATF in October 2020.
Lakhvi,
for his part, was reported to have unlimited access to visitors and the
internet while in prison. He was even rumoured to have fathered a child.
Source:
The Print
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Ex-
Frontier Constabulary Official Held in Battagram Over ‘Blasphemy’
Humayun
Babar
September
2, 2022
BATTAGRAM:
A local court on Thursday sent a former Frontier Constabulary official to the
Central Prison, Haripur, on judicial remand in a blasphemy case.
The
police produced him before a magistrate following his arrest on the charge of
making anti-Islam remarks during an altercation with employees of the district
police officer’s offices.
Battagram
DPO Tariq Mehmood told Dawn that the suspect had retired from the FC before
joining the proposed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’s security team in the
district in 2016-17.
He
added that the suspect’s contractual employment ended in 2020.
The
DPO said the police announced the recruitment of ex-servicemen in the Karakoram
Police Force, so the suspect applied for it and visited his offices many times
to seek employment.
He
claimed that the suspect visited his offices again on Wednesday but got furious
and resorted to blasphemous utterances when the relevant staff members promised
to update him on the matter later.
The
DPO said the suspect fled but was arrested in his house and booked under
Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of a senior clerk at
his office.
A
brother of the suspect insisted that the former FC official wanted
reappointment to the KPF and visited the relevant offices in Peshawar several
times but the relevant staff members demanded bribe for it.
He
said he spoke to the suspect, who claimed that he had heated exchanges with the
employees of DPO offices but didn’t commit blasphemy.
The
man also claimed that the suspect was held when he visited the police station
to record statement in the case.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1707944/ex-fc-official-held-in-battagram-over-blasphemy
--------
Pakistan
court extends Imran Khan's bail on terrorism charges
Sep
1, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
A Pakistani court on Thursday extended former Prime Minister Imran Khan's
pre-arrest bail for two weeks on terrorism charges relating to a speech after
Khan appeared in court amid tight security, his lawyer said.
"It
is not at all a case of terrorism," Faisal Chaudhry, the lawyer told
Reuters of the charges, which Khan and his aides have termed politically
motivated.
The
bail was approved until September 12, he said. The pre-arrest bail expired on
August 31.
The
charges against Khan are related to what police said was a threat to Islamabad
police chief and a female judge after Khan spoke about police torture of an
aide who faces sedition charges for inciting mutiny in the military.
Political
tensions in Pakistan remain high as Khan rallies support for elections that are
not due until October next year.
Khan
has denied he threatened the officials, saying his words were taken out of
context.
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
‘Medicines
worth a billion required immediately’
Ikram
Junaidi | Imran Ayub
September
2, 2022
KARACHI
/ ISLAMABAD: With an estimated five million people at risk of various diseases
after being displaced across the country following heavy rains and floods,
medical experts and aid organisations have warned that medicines worth over a
billion rupees are immediately needed in the affected areas, which they believe
can only be generated through donations by pharmaceutical companies.
Meanwhile,
a survey has found religious parties have set up the highest number of relief
camps for flood-affected people.
“As
the disaster is huge, the response should be the same,” said Sufyan Khan, the
managing director of Al Khidmat Foundation’s (AKF) health division, at a joint
press conference at the Karachi Press Club along with key members of the
Pakistan Society of Health-System Pharmacists, local pharmaceutical firm
Pharmevo, senior doctors and health experts.
Survey
finds religious parties, groups have set up most relief camps for flood-hit
people
“International
trends and studies lead to an estimate that some five million people are at
risk of different diseases. If we keep the minimum medicine price for each
patient at Rs220, medicines worth at least a billion rupees would be required.”
Haroon
Qasim of Pharmevo shared his reservations based on past experiences when
mismanagement, lack of experience and unchecked supplies led to leakages,
wastage of medicines worth millions and “mafias” exploiting the situation. He
then referred to guidelines prepared by the PSHP carrying details of several
medicines as basic first-aid supplies.
Religious
parties’ camps
Meanwhile,
a survey conducted by an NGO has found that religious parties have set up the
highest number of relief camps and are receiving huge funds. This perhaps
reflects a lack of confidence in the federal and provincial governments’
capability to carry out relief efforts.
Although
most of the religious parties were organised on sectarian lines, the donors
didn’t care about the divisions. These are some of the major findings of Pattan
Development Organisation’s preliminary survey, conducted on July 29 and 30.
Interestingly,
about 95pc of the respondents mentioned ‘sympathy’ and ‘to serve humanity’ as
the motivating factors for setting up relief camps, while only 2pc said it was
‘my religious duty’. Most stated ‘reaching out to the worst-hit areas due to
damaged bridges’ as the general challenges to aid collection and distribution.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1707978/medicines-worth-a-billion-required-immediately
--------
Flood-hit
girl tortured, raped in Sindh's Shahdadpur
September
2, 2022
KARACHI:
A young girl in the flood-hit Shahdadpur was allegedly tortured and raped by
two men who “kidnapped” her on the pretext of giving her ration, officials
said.
The
area police said that they had detained one of the two suspects after the
victim’s family came up with the complaint against them. The case would be
registered after initial probe into the charges, said a police official. “The
victim and her family said the girl was kidnapped by a rickshaw driver and his
accomplice,” he said.
“They
promised her to give her ration and relief goods provided by the government and
welfare organisations for the flood victims. But they took her to their hideout
where they kept the girl for two days and raped her. The girl returned to the
family after two days and shared her ordeal,” said the official quoting the
girl’s family.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1707895/flood-hit-girl-tortured-raped-in-sindhs-shahdadpur
--------
Aid
pours into Pakistan as deaths from floods cross 1,200 mark
September
02, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Planes carrying fresh supplies are surging across a humanitarian air bridge to
flood-ravaged Pakistan as the death toll surged past 1,200, officials said
Friday, with families and children at special risk of disease and homelessness.
The
ninth flight from the United Arab Emirates and the first from Uzbekistan were
the latest to land in Islamabad overnight as a military-backed rescue operation
elsewhere in the country reached more of the 3 million people affected by the
disaster. Multiple officials blamed the unusual monsoon and flooding on climate
change, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who earlier this week
called on the world to stop “sleepwalking” through the deadly crisis.
Pakistan’s
Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday that the planes brought food items,
medicine and tents. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif had planned to
travel to UAE on Saturday, but he postponed the trip to visit flood-hit areas
at home.
So
far, Pakistan has received aid from China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey,
Uzbekistan, UAE and some other countries. This week, the United States also
announced to provide $30 million worth of aid for the flood victims.
Pakistan
blames climate change for the recent heavy monsoon rains that triggered floods.
Asim
Iftikhar, the spokesman at Foreign Ministry, said at a news briefing the
previous day that the crisis has lent credibility to climate change warnings
from scientists.
“This
is not a conspiracy, this is a reality and we need to be mindful,” he said.
According
to initial government estimates, the devastation has caused $10 billion in
damages.
Since
1959, Pakistan has emitted about 0.4 percent of heat-trapping carbon dioxide,
compared to 21.5 percent by the United States and 16.4 percent by China, according
to scientists and experts. Pakistani officials and experts say there’s been a
400 percent increase in average rainfall in Pakistan’s areas like Baluchistan
and Sindh, which led to the extreme flooding.
Earlier
this week, the United Nations and Pakistan jointly issued an appeal for $160
million in emergency funding to help the 3.3 million people affected by floods
that have damaged over 1 million homes.
On
Friday, authorities were warning people in the district of Dadu in the southern
Sindh province to move to safer places ahead of floodwater from the swollen
Indus river that’s expected to hit the region this week.
In
May, some parts of Sindh were the hottest place in Pakistan. Now people are
facing floods there that have caused an outbreak of waterborne diseases.
Although flood waters continued to recede in most of the country, many
districts in Sindh remained underwater.
Farah
Naureen, the director for Pakistan at the international aid agency Mercy Corps,
told The Associated Press that around 73,000 women will be giving birth within
the next month, and they needed skilled birth attendants, privacy, and birth
facilities. Otherwise, she said, the survival of the mother and the newborn
will be at risk.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2154981/world
--------
South
Asia
Key
to Recognizing Taliban Rule in Afghanistan: Pakistani Ambassador
By
Arif Ahmadi
02
Sep 2022
KABUL,
Afghanistan – The outgoing ambassador of Pakistan in Kabul Mansoor Ahmad in an
interview with TOLOnews Thursday said the key to recognition of the Islamic
Emirate leadership is in Afghanistan.
According
to the ambassador, such a decision needs to take place through a consensus with
neighboring countries, including the international community, urging the group
to eradicate the presence of terrorist groups from the country.
“Recognition
of Afghan government needs to take place through a consensus, involving
Afghanistan’s neighbors, involving Afghanistan’s region, involving the larger
international community,” he said.
“So
I think, it is- it is– the thinking in Pakistan, it is the understanding in
Pakistan, it is Pakistan’s policy that this—these matters of engagement with
Afghanistan move forward through coordination within the region, among the
neighbors…,” he added.
Meanwhile,
Ahmad said the formation of an inclusive government, facilitating education,
observing human rights and countering terrorism is the responsibility of the
current caretakers, clarifying his comments are not an interference to
Afghanistan’s internal affairs.
“There
is—Afghanistan is a multi-ethnic country. Afghanistan has diverse political
forces. How these forces are engaging with each other in terms of having a
stable political system. Similarly, there are areas of human rights, girls’
education. There are areas of counter-terrorism,” he elaborated.
“So
I think, the Afghan interim government remain engaged within Afghanistan, as
well as with the international community on these issues and that is why, I
think, that is the process I believe,” Ahmad Khan said.
Last
month, Ambassador of the European Union for Afghanistan Andreas Von Brandt, at
a meeting in the European Parliament, said there is consensus on
non-recognition of the Taliban government in Western world.
According
to Brandt, the world is trying to provide humanitarian assistance to the people
of Afghanistan, not to the de facto government, exclaiming the consensus of the
international community is that the Islamic Emirate should not be given formal
recognition.
“We
have a very cautious approach…and I think …if there are a few good things at
the moment it is, that there is the tremendous consensus on the non-recognition
in the entire Western world and I actually don’t see that changing in the near
future,” he said, as TOLOnews quoted.
But
the so-called Islamic Emirate government has repeatedly defied the
international community, saying its leadership has “fulfilled all the promises
it made with the United States in the Doha Agreement.”
“The
Islamic Emirate does not allow anyone to use the territory of Afghanistan
against the United States and its allies,” said Spokesman of Islamic Emirate of
Afghanistan Zabihullah Mujahid in a thread. “In addition, IEA is also committed
to providing all the Shariah rights of its citizens.”
Reflecting
on the overall security of the country, the spokesman said a “peaceful
atmosphere” has been created in the country, where women and men could
rightfully take part on Afghanistan’s development.
“In
Afghanistan, a normal life and peaceful atmosphere has been created for women
and men, and the rights of all minorities are maintained,” he said. “Moreover,
the system and way of life in Afghanistan are issues related to Afghans.”
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/key-to-recognizing-taliban-rule-in-afghanistan-pakistani-abassador/
--------
Former
Taliban Official Divorces Wife for Her Alleged Waning Faith
By
Saqalain Eqbal
31
Aug 2022
Saeed
Khosty, the former Taliban Ministry of Interior spokesperson, has divorced his
wife, the daughter of one of the former National Security Generals, whom he
allegedly forcefully married, due to her faith infirmity.
Elaha,
Khosty’s wife, is a 24-year-old medical student at the Kabul Medical
University. In the videotapes she made public, she asserts that Saeed Khosty
sexually assaulted her within the Taliban intelligence office before forcing
her to marry him.
She
claims in one of the videos that are circulating on social media that this
Taliban official tortured her at night, leaving marks all over her body.
Elaha
was imprisoned by the Taliban intelligence after being detained for having
images of National Security soldiers on her phone, where she was repeatedly
degraded, and purportedly raped by Saeed Khosty while being filmed.
Following
that, the Taliban official and several gun-toting Taliban fighters visit her
home and threaten her family by telling them not to dispute their marriage.
Elaha
is kept at the Gulbahar Center in Kabul after being made to marry Khosty
against her will. She makes multiple efforts to escape, but the Taliban always
catch her and bring her back, just like the last time she was brought back from
the Torkham border.
According
to her, she was left with no alternative but to shoot a video of herself as
soon as she acquired a smartphone, which she then promptly shared on social
media and sent to the media.
Saeed
Khosty claimed on his Twitter handle that Elaha asked him to marry her six
months ago, but he later after marriage, he discovered she had a problem with
her faith and belief.
Elaha,
according to Khosty, disrespected and insulted the sacred values, despite his
attempts to educate and correct her.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/former-taliban-official-divorces-wife-for-her-alleged-waning-faith-263740/
--------
Taliban
Foreign Minister Appeals International Community for Aid
By
Saqalain Eqbal
01
Sep 2022
The
Taliban government’s Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs appealed to the
international community and aid organizations to support those affected by
recent natural disasters in Afghanistan stating that the Taliban, alone, are
unable to meet the needs of the victims.
Mawlawi
Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban Minister of Foreign Affairs, in a meeting on
Thursday, September 1, at the ministry stated that the Taliban are not able to
provide the necessities for the victims of the recent natural catastrophes in
Afghanistan.
The
recent floods in Afghanistan, according to the Taliban official, have destroyed
more than 12,000 residential structures, killed over 9,000 livestock, killed at
least 200 people, and caused the injuries of another 300 people.
During
the meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taliban minister Muttaqi said
that an amount of 160 million Afghanis had been distributed in cash to the
victims, while some 20,000 people received food and non-food assistance.
Heavy
rains have affected several provinces in Afghanistan’s eastern, central,
southern, and western provinces, causing flash floods and landslides that have
killed, displaced, and destroyed homes.
According
to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affair’s most
recent report, at least 118 people have been killed as a result of flash floods
just this month.
This
year, Afghanistan has endured several severe natural calamities, including a
drought and an earthquake that killed more than 1,000 people in June.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-foreign-minister-appeals-international-community-for-aid-36476/
--------
Woman
arrested after accusing Taliban official of rape
SEPTEMBER
01, 2022
She
said she tried to escape to neighbouring Pakistan, but the Taliban arrested her
at the border crossing and brought her back to Kabul and confined her to an
apartment there.
The
Taliban announced they have arrested and will soon sentence an Afghan woman who
appeared in a video on social media earlier this week and said a senior Taliban
official forced her into marriage and raped her repeatedly.
In
the video, the woman, who identified herself only by her first name Elaha, wept
as she described being beaten and raped by former Taliban Interior Ministry
spokesman Saeed Khosti.
She
said she was speaking from an apartment in Kabul where the Taliban had confined
her after she tried to escape the country, and she pleaded for rescue.
"These
may be my last words. He will kill me, but it is better to die once than to die
every time,” she said.
Late
Wednesday, a day after the video surfaced, the Taliban-run Supreme Court said
in a tweet that Elaha had been arrested for defamation on orders of the chief
justice Abdul Hakeem Haqqani.
Without
mentioning any trial taking place, it said she would “soon be sentenced
according to Sharia law.” “No one is allowed to harm the name of Mujahideen or
defame the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and the 20-years of holy jihad,” it
said, referring to the Taliban and their war against U.S.-led troops and the U.S.-allied
government, which the hardline insurgents toppled just over a year ago.
Since
the Taliban takeover of the country in August 2021, Afghan women activists, as
well as Amnesty International, have reported an increase in forced marriages of
women — including cases where Taliban officials coerced women into marriage by
intimidating them or their families.
In
the video, Elaha identified herself as a medical student at Kabul University
and the daughter of an intelligence service general under the former
government.
She
said Khosti had forced her into marriage six months ago, when he still held the
spokesman post. Khosti tried to marry her sister to another Taliban official,
but her family successfully fled, she said.
“Saeed
Khosti beat me a lot. Every night he raped me," she said, breaking into
tears.
She
said she tried to escape to neighbouring Pakistan, but the Taliban arrested her
at the border crossing and brought her back to Kabul and confined her to an
apartment there.
After
they brought her back, she heard a Taliban member telling Khosti that she had
lived under the former government for 20 years and should be stoned to death as
an infidel, she said.
In
tweets on Wednesday, Khosti confirmed that he had married Elaha, but he denied
mistreating her. “I assure you that I have not done anything illegal,” he
wrote.
In
recent months, Khosti was transferred out of his spokesman post and it is not
clear what his new position is.
Khosti
said he divorced her after finding she “has a problem in her faith” and he
accused her of insulting Islam's holy book, the Quran.
Elaha's
video was widely shared on Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp groups, sparking a
wave of calls for help and denunciations of the Taliban from women activists.
Since
seizing power, the Taliban have imposed increasing restrictions on women. They
have prevented many women from working, barred teenage girls from school and
required women in public to cover themselves completely except for their eyes.
Source:
The Hindu
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Africa
Abuja-Kaduna
train: You’re making big mistake – Islamic group warns those stopping rail
services
September
2, 2022
By
John Owen Nwachukwu
The
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has appealed to families of victims of train
attack on the Abuja-Kaduna rail line to allow the train service to resume.
MURIC
made the appeal in a statement signed by its Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola and
made available to newsmen on Friday morning.
Recall
that terrorists had attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train on 28th March 2022. The
attack led to the death of many passengers, while many more others were
injured.
Worst
still, the terrorists kidnapped many passengers and have been releasing their
victims in batches after collecting huge ransom. Many are still held captive.
However,
the families of the victims of the dastardly attack have kicked any attempts by
the Nigerian Railway Corporation to resume operation on the Abuja-Kaduna route,
according to reports.
And
MURIC said that while it sympathises with families, the ugly incident must not
be politicised. It called on the Federal Government to act fast and see that
those still suffering in captivity regained their freedom.
The
rights group said that thousands of Nigerians who need the railway services are
being deprived of this dividend of democracy on a daily basis, calling for the
immediate resumption of work.
“It
has been a very sad and unfortunate incident and we solidarise with the victims
and their families. But life must continue particularly in view of the large
number of citizens who are suffering the consequences.
“This
is where the families of the victims need to do a rethink and allow the
resumption of the train services. One major reason for this is that the
disruption only serves the interest of the bandits and that of enemies of
Nigeria,” the group said, adding that those stopping the movement of train and
rail activities are only punishing innocent Nigerians and not the President
Muhammadu Buhari or the Federal Government.
“That
is an integral part of Nigeria’s infrastructure. If anyone thinks he is
depriving President Muhammadu Buhari of the joy of achievement in the area of
railway transportation by disrupting train services, such a person is making a
big mistake.
“Unfortunately,
it is another vital part of the anatomy of the North that is bleeding,” MURIC
said.
The
Islamic rights group pointed out that other Nigerians were also being hit by
the insecurity in the country, with people losing their dear ones everyday to kidnappers
on a daily basis.
“The
families of the victims of kidnapping and other attacks have never attempted to
stop innocent Nigerians from enjoying the services of either a local or State
government on account of such attacks,” the group noted.
It wondered
why it is only in the case of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack that family members
of the victims were turning on the government for a pound of flesh.
Source:
Daily Post Nigeria
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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UN
chief nominates Senegalese diplomat as his envoy to Libya
Betul
Yuruk
02.09.2022
United
Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has nominated Senegalese diplomat
Abdoulaye Bathiliy as his personal envoy to Libya, a position which has been
vacant since December 2021.
''I
would like to inform you of my intention to appoint Mr. Abdoulaye Bathiliy as
my Special Representative for Libya and Head of UNSMIL,'' he said in a letter
to the UN Security Council seen by Anadolu Agency, referring to the United
Nations Support Mission in Libya.
The
15-member Security Council needs to approve the appointment of Bathiliy.
Nicolas
de Rivière, the UN envoy of France, which assumed the rotating presidency of
the UN Security Council as of Sept. 1, told reporters in New York that the
proposal will be accepted.
Bathily,
a politician and diplomat, will replace Slovak diplomat Jan Kubis, who quit the
role in December to lead peace efforts in Libya, if there are no objections by
the Security Council.
Tripoli-based
Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, one of the two figures claiming power and
authority in Libya, opposes the UN proposal to appoint Bathiliy as the special
envoy.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/un-chief-nominates-senegalese-diplomat-as-his-envoy-to-libya/2674883
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3
killed in mortar attack near Somali presidential palace
Mohammed
Dhaysane
01.09.2022
MOGADISHU,
Somalia
At
least three people were killed and more than 11 wounded Thursday in the Somali
capital in a mortar attack near the residence of the president, according to
police.
Ibrahim
Ahmed, a security official in Mogadishu, told Anadolu Agency that the early
morning attack killed women and children after several explosions hit
residential areas.
Police
officer Abdi Hassan said that several shells landed in the Bond here and
Abdiasis neighborhoods.
"We
heard several explosions early morning on Thursday. When we investigated, we
found out the explosions were mortar attacks," he said while confirming
the casualties were civilians.
Rescue
workers and police have reached the site and are transporting the injured to a
hospital.
Somali
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has not yet issued a statement but a police
officer told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity that no shells landed at
his residence.
He
said he believes the target was Godka Jilacow, a prison near the presidential
palace that is run by the country's intelligence agency.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/3-killed-in-mortar-attack-near-somali-presidential-palace/2674341
--------
Arab
World
Leader
of Iraq’s Iran-Backed Asaib Ahl Al-Haq Militia Decides to Close Militia’s
Offices across Iraq
01
September, 2022
The
leader of Iraq’s Iran-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia, Qais al-Khazali, has
decided to close the militia’s offices across the country.
Clashes
have recently erupted in Iraq where the political crisis pits followers of Shia
cleric Muqtada al-Sadr against mostly Iran-aligned parties and paramilitary
groups.
In
a statement posted on Twitter, al-Khazali ordered shutting down the militia’s
offices until further notice and called on his followers not to respond to any
provocations such as burning down offices.
Earlier
on Thursday, Reuters quoted local security officials as saying that four people
were killed in clashes among rival Shia Muslim militants in the southern Iraqi
city of Basra that took place overnight and on Thursday morning.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
exchange of fire triggered panic only days after clashes between al-Sadr
supporters and rival Iran-backed factions turned Baghdad’s highly-secure Green
Zone into a battlefield.
The
lives of 30 al-Sadr supporters were lost in nearly 24 hours of clashes that
erupted on Monday after they stormed the government headquarters in the Green
Zone, which houses state institutions and foreign embassies.
The
attack in Basra drew strong condemnation from al-Sadr representative Mohammed
Saleh al-Iraqi, who lashed out at al-Khazali.
“I
warn you, Qais! If you do not restrain your insolent militias and if you do not
absolve yourself of the murderers and criminals that are affiliated to you...
you too are insolent,” he said in a statement on Twitter.
Asaib
Ahl al-Haq is part of the Hashed al-Shaabi, a pro-Iran ex-paramilitary network
now integrated into the country’s security forces.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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--------
UAE:
No change in policy regarding teaching of Islamic studies in schools
2
Sep 2022
All
private schools in the UAE are committed to teaching Islamic studies and there
has been no change in the policy, the Ministry of Education (MoE) has
clarified.
It
is mandatory for schools to impart Islamic education to students from Grade 1
to Grade 12, according to a tweet shared by UAE Barq.
In
accordance with Article (18) of the Executive Council Resolution (2) in 2017,
concerning the regulation of the teaching of the mandatory subjects in private
schools in Dubai. The offering of Islamic Education in the Early Years is not
mandatory but encouraged. It is expected that schools that choose to do so will
follow the standards, expectations and curriculum content of the MoE for
Islamic education in or this phase of the school.
Source:
Khaleej Times
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--------
Hezbollah
at 40 stronger than ever but has more enemies
01 September,
2022
Forty
years since Hezbollah was founded at the height of Israel’s 1982 invasion of
Lebanon, the group has morphed from a ragtag organization to the largest and most
heavily armed militant group in the Middle East.
The
Iranian-armed and funded Hezbollah, which has marked the anniversary with
ceremonies in its strongholds in recent weeks, dominates Lebanon’s politics and
plays an instrumental role in spreading Tehran’s influence throughout the Arab
world.
But
the Shia powerhouse, once praised around the Arab world for unrelentingly
standing against Israel, faces deep criticism on multiple fronts.
At
home in Lebanon, a significant part of the population opposes its grip on power
and accuses it of using the threat of force to prevent change. Across the
region, many resent its military interventions in Iraq and in Syria’s civil
war, where it helped tip the balance of power in favor of President Bashar
al-Assad’s forces.
There
is no specific date on when Hezbollah was founded, starting as a small, shadowy
group of fighters helped by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. But the
group says it happened during the summer of 1982.
The
40th anniversary comes this year as Hezbollah officials have warned of a
possible new war with Israel over the disputed gas-rich maritime border between
Lebanon and Israel.
Over
the years, Hezbollah has boosted its military power. It boasts of having
100,000 well-trained fighters. And now its leader says they have
precision-guided missiles that can hit anywhere in Israel and prevent ships
from reaching Israel’s Mediterranean coast, as well as advanced drones that can
either strike or gather intelligence.
“Hezbollah
has evolved tremendously in the past four decades in its organizational
structure, global reach, and regional involvements,” says Middle East analyst
Joe Macaron.
Hezbollah’s
biggest achievement over the past 40 years was its guerrilla war against
Israeli forces occupying parts of southern Lebanon. When Israel’s army was
forced to withdraw in May 2000 — without a peace deal like the ones it reached
with Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians — the victory brought Hezbollah praise
from around the Middle East.
“Who
would have imagined that our enemy could be defeated?” Hezbollah’s chief
spokesman Mohammed Afif said a press conference held in July to mark the
anniversary.
But
since the withdrawal, the controversy over Hezbollah has steadily grown as its
role has changed.
In
2005, Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the most powerful Sunni
politician in the country at the time, was killed in a massive truck bomb in
Beirut. A UN-backed tribunal accused three Hezbollah members of being behind
the assassination. Hezbollah denies the charges.
Hezbollah
was blamed for other assassinations that followed, mostly targeting Christians
and Sunni Muslim politicians and intellectuals critical of the group. Hezbollah
denies the accusations.
“Hezbollah’s
danger to Lebanon is huge,” says journalist and former Cabinet minister May
Chidiac who lost an arm and a leg in a 2005 assassination attempt with
explosives placed in her car. She said Hezbollah has been expanding Iran’s
influence in Lebanon, “and this is a long-term plan that they have been working
on for 40 years.”
Asked
if Hezbollah is to blame for the attempt on her life, Chidiac said: “Of course.
There is no doubt about that. All these assassinations are linked.”
Lebanese
have been sharply divided by Hezbollah’s determination to keep its weapons since
Israel’s withdrawal.
Some
call for its disarmament, saying only the state should have the right to carry
weapons. Others support the group’s stance that it must continue to be able to
defend against Israel.
Hezbollah
fought Israel to a draw in a 34-day war in the summer of 2006. Israel today
considers Hezbollah its most serious immediate threat, estimating that the
militant group has some 150,000 rockets and missiles aimed at it.
In
early July, the Israeli military shot down three unmanned aircraft launched by
Hezbollah heading toward an area where an Israeli gas platform was recently
installed in the Mediterranean Sea. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned
that Israel will not be allowed to benefit from its gas fields in the disputed
maritime border area before a deal is reached with Lebanon.
Maj.
Gen. Ori Gordin, the incoming head of Israel’s Northern Command, described
Hezbollah as a “serious threat,” due to both its proximity to Israel and its
arsenal.
“This
is a very strong terror army,” he told The Associated Press in Jerusalem. “Not
as strong as the Israeli military, not as strong as the Israeli air force. We
are in a completely different place when it comes to our military capabilities.
But it can do some significant damage. I have to say that.”
Afif,
the Hezbollah spokesman, said that “as long as there is an aggression, there
will be resistance.”
In
2008, the government of Western-backed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora decided to
dismantle Hezbollah’s telecommunications network. Hezbollah responded by
capturing by force Sunni neighborhoods in Beirut. It was the worst internal
fighting since the 1975-90 civil war ended and marked a breach in Hezbollah’s
pledge never to use its weapons at home.
Perhaps
the most controversial decision Hezbollah has made was by sending thousands of
fighters to Syria since 2013 to back Assad against opposition fighters, as well
as against al-Qaeda-linked fighters and ISIS.
The
intervention “meant becoming entangled in the internal conflict of a
neighboring Arab country rather than fulfilling Hezbollah’s claimed mandate of
resistance against Israel,” Macaron said.
Across
the Arab world, it cemented an image of Hezbollah as a sectarian Shia force
fighting mainly Sunni insurgents and spreading Iran’s power.
Hezbollah
was also accused of helping Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, leading at
least six Arab countries to list the group as a terrorist organization.
Within
Lebanon, Hezbollah has used its powerful support among the Shia community and
tough tactics to gain political dominance.
In
2016, it secured the election of its Christian ally Michel Aoun as president,
then it and its allies won a parliament majority in subsequent elections.
But
that also sealed its role as part of a governing system whose decades of corruption
and mismanagement have been blamed for Lebanon’s economic collapse, starting in
late 2019. With the currency crumbling and much of the population thrown into
poverty, the political elite, which has been running Lebanon since the 1975-90
civil war ended, has resisted reforms.
Massive
protests demanding the removal of those politicians began in late 2019, and
days afterward, hundreds of Hezbollah supporters attacked the protesters in
downtown Beirut, forcing them to flee. In October, Hezbollah supporters and its
rivals, the Lebanese Forces, had an armed clash in Beirut over investigations
into the 2020 devastating explosion at Beirut’s port.
Voters
punished Hezbollah and its allies in this year’s elections, making them lose
their parliamentary majority.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Syrian
FM says Israel ‘playing with fire’ after overnight strikes
01
September, 2022
Syria’s
foreign minister said on Thursday that Israel was “playing with fire” following
Israeli strikes near Damascus and on Aleppo’s international airport the
previous evening.
The
strikes resulted in material damage only, according to state news agency SANA,
which said Syria’s air defenses shot down a number of Israeli missiles around
the capital.
There
was no immediate comment from Israeli officials.
In
comments reported by SANA on Thursday, Syria’s top diplomat Faisal al-Moqdad
said Israel was threatening regional security.
“Israel
is playing with fire and is putting the regional military and security
situations at risk of an explosion,” the agency reported him as saying.
“Syria
will not remain silent regarding the repeated Israeli attacks and the Israelis
will pay the price sooner or later.”
Israel
has staged numerous strikes in Syria in recent years, mainly targeting alleged
weapons convoys or stores belonging to allied fighters from Iran.
In
June, Syria blamed Israel for aerial attacks on its main international airport
in Damascus that put the site out of commission for several weeks.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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--------
Four
killed as violent clashes move to Iraq’s Basra
01 September,
2022
Clashes
among rival Shia Muslim militants in the Iraqi city of Basra have killed at
least four people, security officials said on Thursday, as violence from a
worsening political crisis hit the south of the country.
The
unrest began with two days of intense street fighting in Baghdad earlier in the
week, the worst the Iraqi capital has seen for years.
The
crisis amounts to a power struggle between cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and mostly
Iran-aligned Shia parties and paramilitary groups.
Both
sides have tried to exert their control over formation of a new government
since an election in October.
The
struggle began with political moves in parliament and the judiciary, went to
the streets as al-Sadr withdrew from the political process and staged protests
during the summer, and then degenerated into violence at the end of August.
It
has left Iraq, which is reeling from years of war, sanctions, civil strife and
corruption, without a government for the longest period since the 2003 US
invasion which toppled President Saddam Hussein.
The
violence has centered on Baghdad and the south, areas dominated by Iraq’s Shia
majority which has ruled the country since Saddam’s regime was swept away.
“The
security situation in Basra is really bad, and could escalate,” one of the
security officials said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not
authorized to give statements to the media.
Both
security officials in Basra, Iraq's main oil-producing hub, said the deadliest
clashes took place overnight in the center of the city. Two of those killed
were members of al-Sadr’s Peace Brigades militia, they said.
Weapons
stash raided
On
Thursday morning, gunmen attacked government buildings in Basra where security
forces and paramilitary groups with links to Iran are stationed.
The
officials could not immediately identify the gunmen firing on the government
buildings, but said they believed they were al-Sadr supporters.
The
leader of one Iran-backed militia group and one of al-Sadr main Shia rivals,
Qais al-Khazali, said in a statement that he was ordering all offices of his
group closed and urging supporters not to retaliate if they were attacked.
Armed
supporters of al-Sadr have attacked offices belonging to Iran-aligned groups in
recent days, security officials say.
In
the southern city of Nassiriya, his followers raided a local headquarters for
paramilitaries with ties to Iran and seized cars and weapons, according to
Sadrist and Iran-aligned security officials in the city.
In
Baghdad on Monday and Tuesday, armed supporters of al-Sadr fought with security
forces and Iran-aligned gunmen in clashes that broke out hours after al-Sadr
announced his full withdrawal from political life.
After
al-Sadr’s announcement his followers, who had until then been staging a
peaceful sit-in at the parliament, began storming other government buildings
and were shot at. His militiamen retaliated and the clashes began.
Al-Sadr
called for calm in Baghdad on Tuesday and the violence promptly subsided.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Syria
FM warns Israel against ‘playing with fire’ after airstrikes on Damascus,
Aleppo
01
September 2022
The
Syrian foreign minister has sternly warned that Israel is "playing with
fire" after the regime conducted airstrikes near the capital, Damascus,
and on Aleppo's international airport.
Faisal
Mikdad made the harsh warning in a tweet on the Syrian foreign ministry’s
account on Thursday, saying the Israeli regime was risking a wider military
conflict and that Damascus would not remain silent in the face of Tel Aviv’s
aggression.
"Israel
is playing with fire and is putting the regional military and security
situations at risk of an explosion," Syria's official news agency SANA
quoted Mikdad as saying. "Syria will not remain silent regarding the
repeated Israeli attacks and the Israelis will pay the price sooner or
later."
The
top Syrian diplomat underlined that the US and Western governments should be
held responsible for encouraging Israel to increase its aggression and threaten
peace and security in the region and across the world.
SANA
reported late on Wednesday that the Syrian army’s air defenses had confronted
an Israeli missile attack on some posts in the Damascus countryside, shooting
down a number of them. Israel also targeted Aleppo International Airport with
airstrikes which caused material damage.
The
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based so-called monitor, said four
Israeli missiles had targeted the runway and depots at the airport.
Syria
calls on UNSC to condemn Israeli assault
Also
on Thursday, the Syrian Foreign and Expatriates Ministry called on the United
Nations Security Council and UN Secretariat to condemn the Israeli attacks on
the country’s territory as a violation of sovereignty and a direct threat to
regional and international peace and security.
“Syria
draws the attention of the General Secretariat to the fact that this is not the
first time the Israeli occupation forces have targeted public commercial and
civil facilities or air and sea ports in Syria, endangering navigation,
commercial and civil air and sea transport, as well as the lives and safety of
civilians,” the ministry said in a statement.
The
statement underscored that the Israeli occupation deliberately targets Syrian
airports and civilian aircraft in Syria's airspace.
“Syria
preserves its full rights in holding the Israeli occupation accountable
legally, morally, politically and financially for deliberately targeting the
international airports of Damascus and Aleppo and causing all that sabotage and
destruction,” it added.
Syria
and the Israeli regime are technically at war due to the latter’s
1967-to-present occupation of the Arab country’s Golan Heights. Israel
maintains a significant military presence in the territory, which it uses as
one of its launching pads for attacks against the Syrian soil.
The
regime's attacks on Syria started to grow significantly in scale and frequency
after 2011 when the Arab country found itself in the grips of foreign-backed
militancy and terrorism.
The
Wednesday attack was the second one by the Tel Aviv regime to target the Arab
country's airports.
On
June 10, the occupying regime attacked the Damascus International Airport,
causing the airport to go completely out of service for a period of two weeks.
Source:
Press TV
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--------
Mideast
Yemen's
Ansarullah leader: Enemies’ aspirations turning to mirages
02
September 2022
The
leader of Yemen’s Ansarullah popular resistance movement says the enemies have
failed in their attempt to occupy the country.
"The
enemies' aspirations to occupy our country and control our people are turning
to mirages and disappointments…,” Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said during a speech on
Thursday, Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen television network reported.
"The
enemy today is in real trouble, as our people stand by their army, loyal and
determined to prevent the enemy from occupying our country," he added.
Saudi
Arabia launched a devastating war on Yemen in March 2015 in collaboration with
its Arab allies and with arms, logistical, and political support from the
United States and other Western states.
The
objective was to reinstall the Riyadh-friendly regime of former Yemeni
president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, and crush Ansarullah, which has been running
state affairs in the absence of a functional government.
While
the Saudi-led coalition has failed to meet any of its objectives, the war has
killed hundreds of thousands of Yemenis and spawned the world’s worst
humanitarian crisis.
A
United Nations-brokered truce came into force in April between the coalition
and Ansarullah. The truce has been extended twice ever since.
On
Thursday, the Yemeni official also called on the Saudi-led coalition to "seize
the opportunity of the armistice and completely halt its aggression,” as well
as a simultaneous siege it has been deploying against the country.
Source:
Press TV
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/09/02/688450/Yemen-Ansarullah-leader-enemies-Saudi-Arabia-goals
--------
President
Rayeesi Describes Iran as Invincible Power
2022-September-1
Addressing
the 7th General Assembly of the AhlulBayt World Assembly in Tehran on Thursday,
President Rayessi stated Iran has suffered numerous injustices and faced
different problems over years.
However,
he added, Iran has now become "so strong that not only the region but the
whole world is well aware of the Islamic Republic’s righteousness and high
status".
The
president emphasized that hegemonic powers have realized that they cannot
coerce Iran into doing what they want and are well aware that the country is
“invincible and powerful".
"That
is why the White House admits that the ‘maximum pressure’ on the Islamic
Republic has faced a humiliating defeated and failed to deliver any
results," Rayeesi stressed, referring to the pressure policy that ex-US
President Donald Trump started against Tehran.
Iranian
chief executive said Tehran has not only become a regional heavyweight, but
also secured a good standing on the world stage, adding that the country has
always been seeking justice for all.
Back
in August, Rayeesi praised the country's self-sufficiency in the production of
military equipment, and said that the Iranian nation's progress has made it
stronger compared to the past, while the enemies have grown weaker.
He
downplayed warmongering rhetoric against Tehran, and warned the enemies who
allow themselves to issue threats against Iran in spite of its massive defense
capabilities.
"The
Islamic Republic of Iran is now stronger than ever and our enemies are weaker
than ever befor," the president stated.
"What
has made us an influential power in the region and the world are efficient,
motivated and revolutionary forces and the defense achievements made by our
scientists," he added.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010610000595/Presiden-Rayeesi-Describes-Iran-as-Invincible-Pwer
--------
Iran
Condemns Gloomy Human Right Situation in US
2022-September-1
"More
than 70% of American women have experienced sexual or physical abuse and over
35,000 people killed each year due to the shooting and gun violence in the
United States," Qaribabadi told a forum in the Northwestern city of Qazvin
focused on the crimes committed by the US against the Iranian nation.
"The
United States has no right to be the flag-bearer of human rights as the list of
the country's crimes is long," he added.
The
official stated that Iran, as a victim of Western- and Israeli-backed
terrorism, is determined to chase terror groups no matter where they are, and
that the country will leave no safe haven for them.
Qaribabadi
noted terror groups had been created with the support of the US, certain
Western states, and the Israeli regime and were now based in America and
Europe.
The
official said 17,000 innocent Iranians had fallen victim to acts of terror.
Iran,
he added, would “chase the terror groups in all parts of the world and these
grouplets will be safe nowhere across the globe. The Islamic Republic of Iran
is standing firm in confronting them".
Elsewhere,
he noted Iran topped a list of 30 countries placed under draconian economic
sanctions by the United States.
These
sanctions run counter to international law and human rights since they hinder
access to medicine and medical equipment on the global market, said Qaribabadi,
blaming the US for the deaths of many civilians, especially in the course of
the COVID-19 outbreak.
“America
is not just an enemy of the Iranian people but one of the entire international
community,” the judicary official added.
Iran
blasts the blatant violations of human rights in the US and Europe, saying for
the US, human rights is merely a tool for exerting political pressure on
independent states to advance their foreign policy objectives. Officials in
Tehran call on the international community to hold the US accountable for its
crimes.
Iranian
Officials announced some European states are not honest in their claim about
supporting the Iranian nation as they provide shelter for financial and
security criminals. They warns the enemies and terrorists that they will face a
harsh revenge for their crimes against the Iranian nation.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010610000450/Iran-Cndemns-Glmy-Hman-Righ-Siain-in-US
--------
Iran
Urges IAEA to Stop Politicized Attitude
2022-September-1
Amir
Abdollahian on Wednesday shared a post on his Instagram page, elaborating on
the goals of his latest trip to Moscow where he met his Russian counterpart
Sergei Lavrov.
Amir
Abdollahian and Lavrov also discussed the Vienna negotiations aimed at reviving
the 2015 nuclear deal and removing sanctions against Tehran, according to the
Instagram post.
Iranian
diplomat reiterated that his country has a good will to reach a durable strong
agreement, adding that the United Nations nuclear watchdog should put aside its
political behavior and focus on its technical tasks.
He
added that it is unacceptable for Iran to face a political approach and
unfounded accusations by the IAEA after all parties return to the nuclear deal
known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Earlier,
Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami warned
that a deal in the Vienna talks will be impossible unless the IAEA drops its
false allegations against Tehran's nuclear program.
Elsami
said that there would be no “re-implementation day” for the 2015 nuclear deal,
despite the diplomatic efforts being made to restore the multilateral accord,
if the United Nations nuclear watchdog fails to drop its baseless claims
against Tehran’s nuclear work.
"The
IAEA’s demands from Iran had no basis under the Safeguards agreement between
the two sides and were part of the so-called possible military dimension (PMD)
dossier, which had been closed under the 2015 agreement," he added.
The
official once again rejected the IAEA’s claims and what the nuclear agency
called “evidence” against three sites in question in Iran and reaffirmed that
the Tehran had no secret nuclear sites.
“What
we wrote down is definitive,” the AEOI noted, referring to Iran’s comments on
an EU-drafted text aimed at restoring the Iran deal.
“Our
goal and emphasis is that there will be no re-implementation day for [the Iran
deal] if [the case] of these questions are not closed. We have not and cannot
back down. We cannot sit back and [let them] impose sanctions on the Iranian
people for delusional reasons,” he continued.
He
was echoing remarks by Iranian President Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi who has recently
stated that an agreement with the world powers hinges on the settlement of
safeguards issues between Tehran and the IAEA.
At
a news conference in Tehran on Monday, Rayeesi emphasized that all issues with
the IAEA concerning the nuclear safeguards must be resolved before any deal for
revival of the 2015 accord.
"Without
settling those issues, reviving the 2015 deal known as the JCPOA makes no
sense," he noted.
Iran
has always had full cooperation with the IAEA and allowed it to visit the
country’s nuclear sites, but calls the nuclear agency's approach unconstructive
and destructive.
In
early June, the IAEA's Board of Governors adopted a resolution, accusing Iran
of not cooperating with the nuclear agency.
Iranian
officials criticized the US and the European trio for pushing a resolution
against the country at the UN atomic body’s board of governors, calling the
move irresponsible. Tehran stressed that the IAEA is directly influenced by the
Israeli regime, and the measure has undermined the country's constructive
cooperation with the nuclear watchdog.
Back
in June, Eslami said that heightened propaganda against Tehran's peaceful
nuclear program, including the recent resolution at the UN nuclear watchdog, is
part of the Western states' maximum pressure policy against the Iranian nation.
Iran
has 3 percent of the world's nuclear capacity, but more than 25 percent of
inspections have been carried out in Iran, he added.
The
Iranian nuclear chief referred to the recent resolution proposed by the US and
E3 to the IAEA Board of Governors, stressing that it was the last test by the
enemies.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010610000226/Iran-Urges-IAEA-Sp-Pliicized-Aide
--------
Senior
IRGC Commander: Iranian Military Equipment Luring World Powers
2022-September-1
Major
General Salami made the remarks on Thursday during a visit to an exhibition of
Iran’s defense industry achievements in electronic warfare, air defense, drones
and cruise missiles.
He
noted that Iran has developed a variety of products in different fields of
defense by relying on its own youths despite all the restrictions, sanctions
and acts of sabotage by foreign powers against the country.
"Some
top powers in the world have purchased military and defense equipment from Iran
and are now using them," the top commander added.
Elsewher
in his remarks, the IRGC commander stressed that the country armed forces are
at the highest level of preparedness to confront any threats by enemies.
He
said Iran’s defense industry has managed to make great progress in conformation
with two realities: Global technological advancements and efforts to render the
enemies powerless in the defense sector.
It
was imperative for Iran to promote its military equipment and defense systems
and reduce the gap with advanced countries in the face of growing capabilities
and the fast pace of technological gains on the global stage, the senior
commander added.
“The
Armed Forces have fortunately achieved determining successes in various defense
fields, including electronics as an advanced and high-level [field of]
technology,” Maj. Gen. Salami continued.
Back
in mid-August, Commander of the Iranian Army Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi
said that Iranian military equipment are attracted by many foreign customers in
the market.
"The
valuable achievements of the defense industry in various sectors have been
welcomed and requested by many countries," Maj. Gen. Mousavi stated in a
message on the occasion of National Day of Defense Industry.
He
noted that the Iranian Armed Forces’ deterrent power dissuades enemies from
implementing its threats against the country.
"The
ministry of defense has created the power of ‘deterrence’ and ‘defense
authority’ in spite of threats and sanctions waged by enemies against the
country, the military official stressed.
IRGC
Aerospace Commander: Iran Exporting Droneshttps://t.co/G2z30vH6LI pic.twitter.com/hH6oFPTFrN
—
Fars News Agency (@EnglishFars) August 22, 2022
The
Islamic Republic’s military doctrine holds that the country’s armed capability
solely serves defensive purposes.
Iranian
military experts and technicians have in recent years made substantial headway
in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment, making the armed forces
self-sufficient in the weaponry sphere.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Israeli
settler loses appeal over killing of Palestinian toddler, parents
01
September, 2022
Israel’s
supreme court on Thursday rejected an appeal by a Jewish settler sentenced to
life in prison over a 2015 firebombing that killed a Palestinian toddler and
his parents.
Eighteen-month-old
Ali Dawabsha was burnt to death when the family home in the village of Duma in
the Israeli-occupied West Bank was firebombed in July 2015.
His
parents later died of their injuries. His brother Ahmed, four at the time of
the attack, was the sole survivor from the immediate family but was left with
severe burns.
Amiram
Ben-Uliel, 25, was handed three life sentences in September 2020 over the
killings, which stirred international disgust and accusations of Israeli
laxism.
Ben-Uliel,
who was also found guilty of two counts each of attempted murder and arson, and
conspiracy to commit a hate crime, had launched an appeal with Israel’s supreme
court.
But
on Thursday, three judges unanimously confirmed the verdict and sentence,
according to a copy of the decision seen by AFP.
The
judges dismissed the appeal, citing Ben-Uliel’s “confession”, a reconstruction
of the crime scene and the racial connotations of the murders.
Ben-Uliel’s
actions “are contrary to all moral values of Judaism”, the judges wrote,
adding: “Hatred of other religions and racism are not in accordance with
Judaism.”
“The
gravity of this crime speaks for itself and no words can describe its horror,”
they said.
The
murders shone a spotlight on Jewish extremism and sparked accusations that
Israel had not done enough to prevent such violence.
Another
Israeli man, who was 17 at the time of the killings, was also sentenced in 2020
to 42 months in prison for his role in the attack.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Houthi
parade in sensitive Yemen port city draws UN rebuke
01
September, 2022
Iran-backed
Houthi militants paraded through Hodeida Thursday drawing a stern reminder from
the United Nations to abide by a hard-won 2018 agreement to demilitarize the
Red Sea port city.
The
Houthi’s Al-Masirah television channel aired footage of the parade it said
involved air and naval forces as well as hundreds of uniformed troops.
The
parade drew a rebuke from the UN mission deployed to oversee the deal the
Houthis reached with the government in Sweden four years ago to avert
potentially devastating fighting for the city’s lifeline port.
The
mission said it was “deeply concerned by the military parade that took place in
Hodeida city today, in violation of the Hodeida agreement.”
It
called on the Houthi leadership to “fully respect their obligations under the
agreement, particularly as it pertains to keeping the city free of military
manifestations.”
Hodeida,
which has been in Houthi hands since 2014, provides a lifeline for millions of
civilians in Houthi-held areas who rely on international aid passing through
its port to stave off starvation.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Top
Yemeni judge abducted, killed in Sanaa
Aziz
Al-Ahmadi
01.09.2022
SANAA,
Yemen
A
prominent Yemeni judge was killed on Thursday, one day after being kidnapped in
the rebel-held capital Sanaa.
Muhammad
Hamran, a member of the Supreme Court, Yemen’s highest judicial authority, was
abducted by unidentified gunmen outside his house in Sanaa on Wednesday. Local
media later said the judge was killed.
In
a statement, Yemeni Information Minister Moammar Al-Eryani blamed a
Houthi-affiliated armed group for Hamran’s abduction and killing.
The
killing “came after a systematic campaign of incitement against Hamran by
Houthi-run media,” Al-Eryani said.
"This
heinous crime is part of a series of systematic crimes against the judiciary
and its officials who refuse to comply with Houthi instructions,” he added.
There
was no comment from the Houthi group on the accusations.
Yemen
has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Iran-aligned
Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including Sanaa.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/top-yemeni-judge-abducted-killed-in-sanaa/2674725
--------
Israeli
military experts deployed on Yemen’s strategic Socotra Island: Report
02
September 2022
A
delegation of Israeli military experts has apparently been stationed to the
Yemeni island of Socotra, more than six months after it was reported that the
United Arab Emirates was constructing a settlement on the strategic island to
accommodate dozens of Israeli soldiers, officers and military experts.
The
Arabic-language Yemen Press Agency, citing informed sources speaking on
condition of anonymity, reported that an Israeli military delegation along with
a number of UAE intelligence officers have been present on Socotra Island since
a few days ago.
The
sources added that the Israeli delegates, who are believed to be technical
experts affiliated with the regime’s Navy, have many devices and equipment and
have been searching and digging in different parts of the island.
Home
to some 60,000 people, Socotra overlooks the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a main
shipping route that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian
Sea. It has a unique ecosystem.
The
French-language news outlet JForum said in August 2020 that Israel, in
cooperation with the UAE, was planning to build intelligence-gathering bases on
the Socotra Island.
The
purpose of the bases, according to the report, is to electronically monitor
Saudi-led forces waging a war on Yemen.
Israel
and the UAE are currently making all logistical preparations to establish
intelligence bases to collect information from across the Gulf of Aden,
including Bab el-Mandeb and south of Yemen, which is under the control of
forces backed by the UAE, the report said.
Socotra
has been a source of tension between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which have been
vying for control of the resource-rich island.
The
UAE-backed separatists of the so-called Southern Transitional Council (STC)
took control of Socotra in June 2020, in a move described by the administration
of fugitive former Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, as “a full-fledged
coup.”
Saudi-led
coalition seizes four Yemen-bound fuel tankers in violation of UN-brokered
ceasefire
Meanwhile,
Yemen’s Petroleum Company (YPC) says the Saudi-led coalition has seized four
more Yemen-bound fuel ships in blatant violation of a UN-brokered ceasefire.
Essam
al-Mutawakil, a spokesman for the company, said on Thursday that the military
alliance barred the vessels, laden with thousands of tons of diesel fuel and
gasoline, from docking at Yemen’s western port of Hudaydah despite the fact
that they had obtained necessary entry permits from the United Nations.
Mutawakil
argued that the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg has so
far failed to take an effective measure in the face of such violations,
stressing that no fuel tanker has been allowed to enter Hudaydah port ever
since the truce was renewed for an additional two months through October 2.
Last
month, Grundberg said the extended UN-sponsored truce, running from August 2 to
October 2, included a commitment from the parties to intensify negotiations to
reach an expanded truce agreement as soon as possible.
Under
the terms of the truce, commercial flights have resumed from the Yemeni capital
of Sana’a to Jordan and Egypt, while oil tankers have been able to dock in the
lifeline port city of al-Hudaydah.
Moreover,
in line with the agreement, the coalition agreed to end its attacks on Yemeni
soil and end a simultaneous siege that it has been enforcing against Yemen.
Yemen
has, however, reported many violations of the truce by the Saudi-led forces.
Saudi
Arabia launched the devastating war on Yemen in March 2015 in collaboration
with its Arab allies and with arms and logistics support from the US and other
Western states.
The
objective was to reinstall the Riyadh-friendly regime of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi
and crush the Ansarullah resistance movement, which has been running state
affairs in the absence of a functional government in Yemen.
Source:
Press TV
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Southeast
Asia
In
Sabah, Islamist activist apologises in court after sued over Facebook rant
against Christians
By
Julia Chan
01
Sep 2022
KOTA
KINABALU, Sept 1 — An Islamist activist has apologised in the Sessions Court
here for posting provocative rants against the Christian community on Facebook
as part of the settlement reached today.
Wan
Asshima Kamaruddin, 38, of the Islamic rehabilitation centre Pondok Hijrah
Muslimah Malaysia submitted her apology to the court in front of Judge Dayang
Ellyn Narisa Abang Ahmad after being sued by local lawyer Marcel Jude Joseph.
"I
promise not to repeat my actions and I apologise to Marcel Jude Joseph and the
Christian community of Malaysia.
"This
incident has taught me to be more rational and respectful of other races in the
country and I hope that the Christians in the country will accept me as a human
being who had made a mistake," she told the court.
The
session was recorded through video conferencing.
Under
the settlement, Wan Asshima would pay a cost of RM500 in cost to Jude who would
discontinue his suit.
Dayang
Ellyn said that she was happy with the outcome of the case after both sides
agreed to an amicable settlement entered by the defendant and the plaintiff.
"I
applaud the approach of both the plaintiff (Jude) and the defendant (Asshima)
in settling the matter," she said.
Jude
had filed a suit against Wan Asshima on March 26 last year after she made a
provocative statement against Christians over the video on her Facebook page
under the name "Puteri Mujahidah Wan Asshima Kamaruddin.”
She
had posted a long 12-minute rant on her page after it was reported that the
government had filed an appeal against the High Court's decision to annul the
ban on the use of the word "Allah” by non-Muslims.
Jude
said that he was happy with her apology today
"I
wish to thank her for her remorseful statement.
"With
her apology and undertaking, I wish her all the best in her future and I also
wish to thank the court on the part you have undertaken in the amicable
settlement,” he said when contacted.
Several
individuals in Sarawak had also filed a similar suit at the Kuching High Court
on July 14 earlier this year to issue a permanent injunction against Asshima
which among others was to stop inciting the public against Christians and
people of other faiths.
A
judgement was made in default as she did not show up for the case where the
plaintiffs had sued for violating their rights under Article 13 of the Federal
Constitution, for provocation, promotion of ill feelings and causing disharmony
amongst Muslims and non-Muslims in a multiracial, multireligious nation.
On
June 27, this year Wan Asshima also pleaded guilty to Kuala Lumpur Sessions
Court judge Edwin Paramjothy for charges under Section 233(1) of the Communication
and Multimedia Act 1998.
Source:
Malay Mail
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Sarawak
deputy minister wants Hadi sacked, barred from entering state for life after
corruption remark
By
Sulok Tawie
23
Aug 2022
KUCHING,
Aug 23 — PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang should be permanently
blacklisted from entering Sarawak, Parti Rakyat Sarawak vice-president Datuk
Liwan Lagang said today.
Liwan,
who is also state deputy utility and telecommunication minister, castigated
Hadi for his recent disparaging remarks describing non-Muslims and
non-Bumiputera as being the “roots of corruption” in the country.
“What
has become of you as the leader of your party?
“Do
you want to be remembered as a racist and religious bigot instead of leaving
behind an honourable legacy like the late PAS spiritual advisor, Tok Guru Datuk
Nik Aziz Nik Mat, who was respected by all Malaysians regardless of race and religion
as a wise person?" Liwan asked when responding to Hadi's recent statement.
“Instead,
you have not led by example because I have not heard anything positive that
comes out of your mouth ever since you insulted us back in 2009,” Liwan said.
He
recalled that Hadi had blamed Dayaks for losing in the 2009 Batang Ai
by-election when PAS was a component party in Pakatan Rakyat, the precursor to
Pakatan Harapan.
Liwan
said he remembered Hadi describing the Sarawak indigenuous community as
“ignorant cawat” (loincloth-wearing) voters who did not know how to vote.
The
Sarawakian urged Prime Minister Datuk Ismail Sabri to censure Hadi and sack the
latter as special envoy to the Middle East.
“And
I would also like to recommend to the Sarawak government that Hadi be barred
for life from entering Sarawak as this Land of the Hornbill should not welcome
such awful character to our shore.
“Sarawak
is so blessed because our leaders, led by our Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun
Openg understands and respects all religions and races in the state.
“If
Hadi is so blind as he has shown himself to be, he should learn from our
premier,” the Belaga assemblyman said, holding up Abang Johari as a model
moderate Muslim leader.
Liwan
said corruption is not a social disease and cannot be ascribed to any one race
or religion.
“To
say the majority of those who chase illicit gains in Malaysia are non-Muslims
and non-Bumiputera is just a sweeping comment without providing proper data and
statistics.
“And
what is worse is that it does not reflect the reality of what is happening now
in Malaysia,” he added.
He
reminded Hadi that PAS-led Kelantan remains one of the poorest states in the
country.
“If
Hadi is a capable leader, he should work quietly and let his works be seen as
an example in all PAS-led states to prosper,” he said.
On
August 20, Hadi claimed that non-Muslims and non-Bumiputera made up the
majority of those who formed the “roots of corruption”, even as he called for
it to be stamped out.
“If
we want to deal with corruption we must first tackle it from the grassroots. If
not it will eventually become a disease. These groups who chase illicit gains
are the ones who eventually control the economy.
Source:
Malay Mail
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
Rosmah
guilty of corruption, rules High Court
Ho
Kit Yen
September
1, 2022
KUALA
LUMPUR: Rosmah Mansor has been found guilty on all three counts of corruption in
connection with the RM1.25 billion Sarawak rural schools’ solar energy project.
High
Court judge Zaini Mazlan ruled that the prosecution had proven its case beyond
a reasonable doubt.
Rosmah,
70, was charged with soliciting RM187.5 million from former Jepak Holdings Sdn
Bhd managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin through her former aide, Rizal
Mansor, as an inducement to help the company secure the solar project.
She
was also charged with receiving bribes amounting to RM5 million from Saidi,
through Rizal, at Seri Perdana in Putrajaya on Dec 20, 2016.
She
faced an additional charge of receiving another RM1.5 million from Saidi at
Jalan Langgak Duta on Sept 7, 2017.
She
was charged under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission
(MACC) Act 2009, and faces imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of no less
than five times the amount of the gratification or RM10,000, whichever is
higher.
During
mitigation, her lawyer, Jagjit Singh, pleaded to the court to impose a one-day
jail sentence and a “minimum” fine on all three charges.
“The
prosecution is not opposing a stay of execution, I believe,” he said.
However,
ad hoc prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram objected to the request for a one-day sentence.
“If
the court imposes this (one-day) sentence, it will send a wrong message to the
society which we are serving,” he said.
He
urged the court to impose a jail sentence of “near maximum” for three charges,
and a total fine of RM970 million, or 10 years in default.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Indonesia
seeks Saudi investment in new capital city project
SHEANY
YASUKO LAI
September
01, 2022
JAKARTA:
Indonesia is seeking investment from Saudi Arabia for the development of its
new capital city in Borneo, a massive $32-billion project that Jakarta’s envoy
to Jeddah said on Thursday is in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 program.
The
Southeast Asian nation is planning to move its capital from slowly sinking,
traffic-clogged Jakarta to a location about 2,000 kilometers away in East
Kalimantan, with the new city set to be called “Nusantara,” which means
“archipelago” in old Javanese.
The
government in January signed a new law to move ahead with the relocation plan,
paving the way for construction to begin. Officials said the project will take
decades and will help redistribute wealth across Indonesia, as Java, the island
on which Jakarta is located, is home to about 60 percent of the country’s
population and more than half of economic activity.
Indonesia’s
consul-general, Eko Hartono, said his country’s project is similar to the
Kingdom’s transformation plan which combines high technology with environmental
concerns. Financial backing has been sought from several other nations, Hartono
said.
“In
our efforts to build the new capital, we want to attract investment from Saudi
Arabia,” Hartono told Arab News in a phone interview.
Indonesia,
which has been trying to attract investors to fund the mega project, has turned
its focus on Middle Eastern and Chinese investors after Japan’s SoftBank Group
founder Masayoshi Son pulled out in March.
Indonesia’s
officials said the new capital will be built with environmental sustainability
in mind, in line with the country’s target of net zero carbon emissions and 100
percent new and renewable energy by 2060.
Hartono
said those goals are in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, a reform plan
aimed at diversifying the Kingdom’s oil and gas economy.
“These
match the Saudi Vision of 2030 of clean, renewable energy and high-tech (development),”
Hartono said. “That’s where we want to come in.”
Hartono
said Saudi Arabia had made an initial commitment to invest in Nusantara when
Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister of Investment and Maritime Affairs Luhut
Pandjaitan met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh earlier this
year.
Though
nothing has been formalized yet, Indonesia is hopeful that Saudi Arabia will be
investing in Nusantara. The government is also optimistic about attracting
investors from the Kingdom for the country’s renewable energy projects, and for
the development of a mangrove forest near the new capital, Hartono said.
Indonesia
has also sought investment from the UAE, with both countries’ foreign ministers
discussing the matter during a meeting in Bali in July, on the sidelines of G20
meetings held on the holiday island.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2154581/world
--------
North
America
US
welcomes UN report on China’s actions in Xinjiang
September
2, 2022
WASHINGTON:
The US yesterday welcomed a United Nations report that said China may have
committed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, saying it deepened Washington’s
concerns about what it calls a genocide there against Uyghurs and other ethnic
groups.
UN
high commissioner for human rights Michelle Bachelet on Wednesday released the
report, which found China’s “arbitrary and discriminatory detention” of Uyghurs
and other Muslims in the western Chinese region may constitute crimes against
humanity.
China
has vigorously denied any abuses in Xinjiang and issued a 131-page response to
the 48-page UN report, calling it “completely illegal and void.” Chinese
officials initially denied the existence of any detention camps, but later
admitted the government had set up “vocational training centres” necessary to
curb what it said was terrorism, separatism and religious radicalism in
Xinjiang.
US
secretary of state Antony Blinken said in a statement that the report
authoritatively described China’s “appalling treatment” of ethnic and religious
minority groups.
“This
report deepens and reaffirms our grave concern regarding the ongoing genocide
and crimes against humanity that PRC government authorities are perpetrating
against Uyghurs, who are predominantly Muslim, and members of other ethnic and
religious minority groups in Xinjiang,” Blinken said, referring to the People’s
Republic of China.
US
ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield
said separately that the US would work with allies and partners to demand an
end to China’s abuses.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Man
sentenced to 12 years in prison for 2020 shooting at Indianapolis mosque,
multiple attacks on Muslims
01
September, 2022
Civil
rights groups are welcoming the sentencing of a man to more than 12 years in
prison for his multiple attacks targeting Muslims, including a drive-by
shooting at a mosque in Indiana in 2020.
From
May through August 2020, Jonathan Warren of Indianapolis reportedly sent
multiple threats and attempted a killing multiple times, each time firing
randomly into crowded areas.
The
22-year-old pleaded guilty to transmitting threatening communications in
interstate commerce and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of
violence. He was sentenced by US District Judge Sarah Evans Barker.
In
May 2020, Warren perpetrated a drive-by shooting at the Masjid E Noor Mosque
during an Eid el-Fitr celebration.
In
June 2020, according to court documents, Warren shot his gun multiple times
into the parking lot of an apartment complex, causing multiple people in the
vicinity to flee in fear. Warren was then tracked down and arrested following
the examination of shell casings at his crime scenes.
At
the time, the local group the Indiana Muslim Advocacy Network as well as the
Council on American-Islamic Relations called for an investigation into a possible
biased motive for these crimes.
Following
such incidents, CAIR points mosques to their "Best Practices for Mosque
and Community Safety" booklet, which advises mosques on security.
Source:
The Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/man-sentenced-2020-shooting-indianapolis-mosque
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Show
US Congress full text of Iran nuclear deal, 50 lawmakers tell Biden
01 September,
2022
A
bipartisan group of 50 members of Congress sent a letter to President Joe Biden
on Thursday, calling on the US president not to reach a nuclear deal with Iran
before first consulting with Congress.
“We
are deeply concerned about multiple provisions that reportedly may be contained
in the final language of any agreement with the world’s leading state sponsor
of terrorism,” the letter to Biden read.
Thursday’s
letter, signed by 34 Democrats and 16 Republicans, was the latest sign of
widespread bipartisan opposition to the Biden administration’s insistence on
re-entering the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran.
US
officials say that gaps still remain between the US and Iran over reviving the
deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Sanctions
relief and a softened US stance on Iran, which continues to fund and support
proxies and militias across the Middle East, would be offered in return for
Iran taking steps to curb its nuclear program.
In
their letter to Biden, the lawmakers slammed what they said would weaken the
effectiveness of sanctions on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and
what would allow Russia to have a role in Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
“Strengthened with an estimated one trillion dollars in sanctions relief over a
decade, Iran and the IRGC would be an enormous danger to Americans at home and
abroad, and to our allies,” the members of Congress said.
“Amid
Iran-sponsored terror plots to assassinate former US officials and
Iranian-American dissidents on American soil, this is no time to remove,
suspend, or dilute US terrorism sanctions on Iran or the IRGC,” they added.
Former
National Security Advisor John Bolton and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
were the targets of assassination plots, which US security agencies foiled.
Biden
administration officials have brushed off calls for a need to get Congressional
approval before re-entering the deal, which the US withdrew from under former
President Donald Trump.
The
50 lawmakers urged Biden not to return to any deal with Iran before releasing
the full text of the agreement and any side agreements to Congress, “to provide
us with an in-depth briefing on the matter, and to consult with all key
stakeholders.”
Turning
to Russia, which was reportedly calling the shots during indirect talks in
Vienna over the deal, the lawmakers criticized reports that under a new
agreement, Moscow would be the “de facto judge of compliance and the keeper of
Iran’s enriched uranium,” without any oversight mechanisms by the US or EU.
“We
strongly urge your Administration not to permit Russia to be the recipient of
Iran’s enriched uranium nor to have the right to conduct nuclear work with the
Islamic Republic, including a $10 billion contract to expand Iran’s nuclear
infrastructure,” they said, criticizing “war criminal” Vladimir Putin. “Iran
supports the illegal war in Ukraine and has been supplying Russia with drones
used to kill Ukrainians.”
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
New
US ambassador calls for democratic transition in Sudan
Adel
Abdel Rahim
01.09.2022
New
US Ambassador in Sudan John Godfrey on Thursday reiterated his country's
support for the Sudanese people's desire to advance democratic transition under
civilian leadership.
"It
is time to establish a credible civilian government, which is an important step
that will help Sudan emerge from political and economic crises and enhance cooperation
with the United States,” Godfrey said in a video message posted by the US
Embassy in Khartoum.
“I
will work to achieve the aspirations of the Sudanese people to freedom, peace
and justice,” he added.
The
US envoy said Washington encourages all actors "to participate in a
comprehensive dialogue to establish a new civilian government and restore
democratic transition."
On
Wednesday, the US Embassy said Godfrey, first US ambassador to Sudan in nearly
25 years, has assumed his duties.
In
November 2021, the US administration of President Joe Biden announced the
appointment of Godfrey as ambassador to Khartoum.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/new-us-ambassador-calls-for-democratic-transition-in-sudan/2674594
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Author
Sam Harris under fire for saying ‘Trump is worse than Osama bin Laden’
By
Ariel Zilber
September
1, 2022
Sam
Harris, the noted American author and public intellectual, caused a stir on
social media when he told listeners to his podcast that former President Donald
Trump “is a worse person than Osama bin Laden.”
“I’ve
said on several occasions that I think Donald Trump is a worse person than
Osama bin Laden,” Harris said on a recent episode of his “Making Sense”
podcast. A snippet of his comments was posted on Twitter by journalist Tom
Elliott.
Harris,
an atheist, neuroscientist and philosopher, said he understands why such a
statement is “surprising” but insists it wasn’t meant to be “hyperbolic.”
“I
can defend every word of a statement like that,” Harris continued.
“What
I can’t defend are people’s misunderstandings and erroneous extrapolations of a
statement like that.”
Harris
sought to “clarify” his comments by saying bin Laden, the al Qaeda
arch-terrorist who masterminded the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that
killed close to 3,000 people, was “more or less” a “normal human being,
psychologically.”
“He
was just living in the grip of a dangerous and idiotic worldview,” Harris said
of bin Laden.
Harris
said the Saudi terrorist “created immense harm” and that it was “very good that
we killed him.”
“But
within the framework of his odious beliefs, he demonstrated many virtues,”
Harris said of bin Laden.
“He
was a man who certainly seemed to be capable of real self-sacrifice,” the
podcast host said, calling bin Laden a man who was “committed to ideals beyond
his narrow self-interest.”
“[Bin
Laden] was by all accounts personally quite courageous,” Harris said.
Harris
mused that while he didn’t know bin Laden personally, it “wouldn’t surprise”
him at all if he learned that bin Laden was someone of “real integrity and
generosity and compassion in his dealings with his fellow Muslims.”
“None
of these things can be said about Donald Trump,” Harris said. “Trump is,
without question, one of the least honest and most malignantly selfish human
beings I have ever come across.”
Harris
speculated that if Trump “were a better person, he would be worse in many
ways.”
A
“brave, self-sacrificing, and idealistic” Trump who was “capable of being
strongly committed to something beyond his narrow self-interest” would be
“capable of creating much greater harm in the world.”
“But
he’s not,” Harris said, calling Trump a “child in a man’s body” who “lies as
freely as he breathes.”
“Unlike
bin Laden, it is patently obvious that Trump isn’t psychologically normal.”
Harris’
clarification was panned online.
“Didn’t
think the clarification could get much worse than the original statement, but
he made sure it did,” one Twitter user commented.
“When
‘worse than Hitler’ has been so overused they now resort to ‘well Bin Laden
wasn’t so bad compared to Donald Trump’…,” another Twitter user wrote.
“This
dude needs to be committed.. but, this is the thought process of the left,” one
Twitter user wrote of Harris.
“They
can’t let it go.”
Source:
New York Post
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://nypost.com/2022/09/01/sam-harris-under-fire-for-saying-trump-is-worse-than-osama-bin-laden/
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