Pakistan’s Religious Affairs Ministry Forwards Temple Construction Case to Council of Islamic Ideology
New Age Islam News Bureau
9
Jul 2020
• Zakir Naik
Says Ravish Kumar a Noble Man, But Will Not Get A Place In 'Jannah'
• Turkey,
Pakistan, Malaysia To Launch A Joint Television Channel to Counter the Growing
Trend of Anti-Islam Propaganda in The West
• Arab
Coalition Cleared of Rights Violations in Yemen
• Majlis-Bachao
Tehreek Seeks Protection forTwo Existing Mosques Inside Telangana Secretariat
Complex Ahead of Demolition
• Afghanistan
Says Will Not Release 600 'Too Dangerous' Taliban
• Allah Sent
COVID: Italian Arrested for Spreading ISIS Propaganda
• Muslim-American
Officer of Pakistani Origin Assumes Charge of NYC Precinct
-------
Pakistan
• Pakistan’s Religious
Affairs Ministry Forwards Temple Construction Case to Council of Islamic
Ideology
• Imran Khan Clean
Bowled by Muslim Clerics Over Hindu Temple
• Cleric
pleads with SC for pardon in Isa case
• SC wants 120
more accountability courts established
• Imran calls
for global strategy to help workers amid pandemic
• Chinese
pledge to cooperate with security agencies
• Uzair Baloch
confesses to providing ‘criminal support to key PPP figures’: JIT
--------
Southeast Asia
• Zakir Naik
Says Ravish Kumar a Noble Man, But Will Not Get A Place In 'Jannah'
• Indonesian
Maid Spared from Saudi Execution after $1 Million Payment
• Atrocities
on Uighurs: British Journalist, Nice Cohen, Shames Muslim Countries
• More Speak
Up About Alleged Sexual Harassment In IRF After Women’s Rights Groups Call For
Probe
• Philippine
president defends new anti-terror law
--------
Mideast
• Turkey,
Pakistan, Malaysia To Launch A Joint Television Channel to Counter the Growing
Trend of Anti-Islam Propaganda in The West
• Iran, Syria
Sign Military, Security Agreement
• Israel’s
Netanyahu lawyer quits over fees days before corruption trial
• Yemen court
begins trial of Houthi leaders
• Iran
announces plans to bolster Syria’s air defense systems, counter US ‘pressure’
--------
Arab world
• Arab
Coalition Cleared of Rights Violations in Yemen
• Iraqis Mourning
Assassinated Researcher Hisham Al-Hashemi Call Khamenei ‘Murderer’
• Saudi Arabia
Nominates Former Minister Mohammad Al-TuwaijriFor WTO Director-General
• Saudi asks
world to heed Iran nuclear threat, extend arms embargo, urges firm stance
--------
India
• Majlis-Bachao
Tehreek Seeks Protection forTwo Existing Mosques Inside Telangana Secretariat
Complex Ahead of Demolition
•
Court Grants Bail to Tablighi Jamaat Members From 21 Nations Who Attended Nizamuddin
Mosque Event
• 2 LeT
militants killed BJP leader, his father and brother in Bandipora: J&K
Police
• Pakistan's
claim Jadhav against review plea a farce: India
--------
South Asia
• Afghanistan
Says Will Not Release 600 'Too Dangerous' Taliban
• Suicide car
bomb attack hits Afghan forces’ check post in Wardak
• Taliban
react to photos of Afghan forces published by KIB’s Syrian wing
--------
Europe
• Allah Sent
COVID: Italian Arrested for Spreading ISIS Propaganda
• Russia
rejects UN report asserting war crimes in Syria
• UK, Turkey
in agreement on political solution in Libya
• US plans
military training with Cyprus, defying NATO ally Turkey
• Russia,
Turkey working on ceasefire in Libya
• Germany
slams Russia, China for blocking aid to Syria
• Turkey slams
US military decision on Greek Cyprus
--------
North America
• Muslim-American
Officer of Pakistani Origin Assumes Charge of NYC Precinct
• Top US
general predicts limited military presence in Iraq
• Top US
general says not convinced Russian cash led to US deaths in Afghanistan
• Pompeo hints
at Iran links in killing of Iraq expert
• US general
affirms support for Lebanon; Hezbollah supporters burn Trump photos
• Foreign
intervention in Libya delays political solution: US State Department
--------
Africa
• Foreign
Meddling In Libya At Unprecedented Levels: UN Chief
• Escalation
with Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean threatens Europe: EU official
• Libyans
protest against Turkey’s Erdogan and ‘occupation’ of Libya in Benghazi
• Only
solution to Dam dispute is negotiating toward win-win solution: Ethiopia FM
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
--------
Pakistan’s
Religious Affairs Ministry Forwards Temple Construction Case to Council of
Islamic Ideology
Kalbe Ali
Civil Society
activists protest outside the National Press Club on Wednesday - Photo by
Mohammad Asim
-----
Jul 09 2020
ISLAMABAD: The
Ministry of Religious Affairs has forwarded a case regarding the provision of
official grants for the construction of a temple to the Council of Islamic
Ideology (CII), while the first public protest in support of the temple’s
construction was held in the capital.
In a letter,
Minister for Religious Affairs PirNoorulHaqQadri sought the council’s opinion
on whether the government was allowed to fund the construction of a temple in
the city.
The letter
asked whether the government can build a non-Muslim place of worship using
government funds.
It said that a
delegation from the Islamabad Hindu Panchayat and some non-Muslim
parliamentarians had met with Mr Qadri and asked for government funding to be
allocated for the temple’s construction.
The letter
said that the ministry also deals with the Minorities Welfare Fund, which is
used for the repair and maintenance of religious sites of minority communities
on the basis of recommendations from non-Muslim parliamentarians.
Capital sees
first public protest in support of construction of temple
“However,
construction of a new place of worship for the religious minorities was not
permissible under the rules,” the letter said, adding that in view of the
situation, the application was forwarded to the Prime Minister’s Office for
consideration.
The minister’s
letter pointed out that parliamentarians and Mr Qadri met with Prime Minister
Imran Khan on this matter, which was made controversial by clerics who opposed
it on social media and approached the religious affairs ministry to object to
the construction of a temple using public money.
In response,
Mr Khan told the ministry to seek advice from the CII.
CII Chairman
Dr Qibla Ayaz acknowledged that he had received the ministry’s letter and said
it has been forwarded to the council’s research department to formulate an
opinion on this question.
Dr Ayaz said
clerics should not protest the matter, but should guide the CII on it instead.
He said it will be taken up during the CII’s meeting scheduled for September,
as it takes two to three weeks for the research department to finalise an
opinion after holding consultations and seeking public comments if needed.
PTI MNA Ramesh
Kumar Vankwani told Dawn that the argument regarding the funding for the temple
was incorrect.
“Some people
say that a Hindu temple cannot be built with taxes collected from Muslims. That
is correct and we agree with it, but has any money been spent on the
construction of any temple in the country with taxes paid by the Hindu community
in 70 years,” he asked, adding: “Therefore, the government’s grant of Rs100
million is valid, as it was actually our money.”
A protest was
also held in support of the temple’s construction at the National Press Club,
led by Ammar Rashid from the Awami Workers Party.
The protesters
said the temple should have been built for the city’s Hindu population decades
ago, and demanded that the government not bow down to pressure from extremists
who have been harassing citizens of the country constantly on various pretexts.
The protesters
carried posters that read ‘Quaid’s Pakistan is everyone’s Pakistan’, ‘We do not
follow the rules of oppression’ and ‘Build temple in Islamabad’.
Tehreek-i-NifazFiqhJaffaria
leader Syed Hamid Ali Shah Moosvi has also supported the temple’s construction,
saying that it should not be made controversial as non-Muslims have the right
to have their own places of worship.
The last PML-N
government allotted 2,400 square yards for the construction of a Hindu temple
in H-9/2 in 2017. Among those who oppose its construction today were in the
government’s coalition at that time, while another opponent, Mufti Muneebur
Rehman, chaired the Ruet-i-Hilal Committee.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1567883/religious-affairs-ministry-forwards-temple-construction-case-to-cii
--------
Zakir Naik
says Ravish Kumar a noble man, but will not get a place in 'Jannah'
Jul. 9, 2020
Zakir Naik and
Ravish Kumar
-----
The Indian
Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik, who has been hiding in Malaysia for the last
few years, has said that ‘non-Muslims’, however noble their intent, shall never
find a place in ‘Jannah’ or Muslim heaven.
Specifically
referring to the journalist Ravish Kumar, whose efforts of ‘taking the side of
Muslims’ and ‘showing the ugly face of oppressors’ he lauded, Naik maintained
that Kumar still won’t be granted a place in heaven as he was a non-Muslim.
The video,
titled ‘Dr Zakir Naik on the fate of Ravish Kumar’, was uploaded to YouTube on
June 27 and has received over a hundred thousand views.
Naik was
responding to a question from a viewer who asked him if well-intentioned
non-Muslims like Ravish Kumar would be allowed to enter heaven.
Naik further
explained that since people like Ravish Kumar had not converted to Islam, they
will still go to hell because the crime of ‘shirk’ (heresy, idol worship) is
bigger than any other crime.
https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/watch-zakir-naik-says-ravish-kumar-a-good-man-but-will-still-go-to-hell-064643259.html
--------
Turkey,
Pakistan, Malaysia To Launch A Joint Television Channel to Counter the Growing
Trend of Anti-Islam Propaganda in The West
JUL 08, 2020
At the last
U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York in 2019, the leaders of
Turkey, Pakistan and Malaysia agreed to launch a joint television channel to
counter the growing trend of anti-Islam propaganda in the West arising from
sustained news focused on terrorism and unending armed conflicts in
Muslim-majority countries. What was often lacking in sensational news headlines
and politically loaded op-ed columns was the rich cultural heritage of Islam
and the values of keeping faith, tolerance, rule of law, peace, justice and
human rights as essential features of Muslims' national identity.
Every year,
dozens of high-level meetings held on the margins of the UNGA draw
international media headlines, but there is no subsequent follow-up or results.
However, last year’s meeting of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Pakistani Prime
Minister Imran Khan and Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Mahatir Muhammad was
neither a media sound bite nor a photo opportunity for their domestic public.
The Turkish
drama
A few months
after the meeting, Turkish broadcaster TRT’s globally popular series
"DirilişErtuğrul" ("Resurrection: Ertuğrul") recorded 58
million views on YouTube after its release on Pakistan state broadcaster PTV
last Ramadan. Although Turkish TV dramas are popular in many Islamic countries,
this was the first time a foreign state broadcaster was asked by its head of
government to dub the popular Turkish series in Urdu to give Pakistani viewers
an opportunity to learn about the ancient history of modern Turkey in their own
language. The series has resulted in two statues of Ertuğrul Gazi erected in
Lahore and a robust discussion in the country about Muslim history in Central
and South Asia.
The airing of
"DirilişErtuğrul" on Pakistan TV on an official level represents the
first step toward implementing the decision of the three leaders. It shows the
way forward for bringing together the comparative advantages of the state
broadcasters of the three countries to dub the existing audio-visual material
and produce new feature films, dramas and historical documentaries in several
languages, capturing the rich heritage of Islamic civilization worldwide.
To reach a
global audience, a new international TV channel will need to be started on the
internet and expanded on the transponders of various global satellites, with
expenses shared by the three countries in proportion to their product
contribution and income generated by the content.
The language
of this new channel will need to be English, with any non-English programs to
be recorded, dubbed or subtitled in the English language. English is widely
understood in the parts of the world where the problem of Islamophobia is most
prominent.
The three
countries possess different comparative advantages besides their high-quality
programming. Pakistan’s use of English as an official language can help in the
professional translation and dubbing of existing television dramas and new
series; Turkey’s rich heritage in Islamic history and its large satellite
footprint in Europe are also a distinct advantage.
Malaysia is
centrally placed in Southeast Asia to reach out to not only its own population
but also to the rest of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
region where English programming is quite limited in content.
Turkey’s TRT
TV has many digital TV channels that focus on news, traditional music, dramas
and documentaries. Some of these are also aired in other languages on
satellites in Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East.
Its
international news channel, TRT World, is watched all over the world on TV and
mobile devices. But all of these channels focus on Turkey reaching out to its
expatriates and friends abroad and reporting on matters important from its
national perspective.
An
international television channel that promotes the interests of multiple state
players and is focused on the common objective of promoting positive Islamic
values is still needed in the current broadcasting scenario.
Television’s
role
In starting a
new television channel, the main requirement is content. In a 24-hour,
seven-day a week broadcasting range, television content must remain fresh and
continuous to capture and retain the interest of viewers. Repeated programs
often lose audiences.
News coverage
can provide some fresh content on a daily basis, but a news channel was not
what the leader visualized last year. Besides, there is no point adding one
more Muslim news channel to the list of successful channels already operating
globally such as Al-Jazeera, TRT World and Arab News TV.
The aim of the
new channel should be not only to reach out to the wider Western public, which
has little knowledge of Islamic history and social values, but also millions of
TV viewers in East and Central Europe, the Far East and Central Asia who have
been out of the loop on Islamic history due to their peculiar national and
political circumstances and selective coverage of satellite and internet-based
TV broadcasting.
From the
content point of view, if the resources of the three countries are pooled
together, there will be no deficit of broadcast material. What will be required
is converting most of the existing comedy, cultural dramas and documentaries
into English for a global audience.
In order to be
effective, one of the three state broadcasters from Turkey, Pakistan and
Malaysia should be given the role of a coordinator to frame the terms of
reference for ensuring balance and standardization of content.
TRT TV is well
placed both in terms of resources and content to take a leading role, working
in collaboration with the experienced PTV in Pakistan and the relatively new
RTM TV in Malaysia.
Collaboration
is vital
Parallel with
this work, the telecommunication authorities in the three countries should also
agree to allocate at least two transponders on their national satellites to
enable their nationals to watch the current on-air broadcasts of the partner
countries in their home countries.
For example,
Turkey can lease out one transponder each to PTV World and RTM TV1 on its
Turksat 40E satellite to enable Turkish and foreign viewers in Turkey to watch
the current programs of these partner media houses. In return, Pakistan should
allocate two transponders on PakSat to TRT World and RTM TV1 for Pakistani
viewers to be able to watch Turkish and Malaysian state television broadcasts.
Similarly,
Malaysia can enable PTV World and TRT World to reach its domestic viewers
through the use of the Malaysian state satellite. This will, of course, require
a trilateral agreement between the telecommunication authorities to mutually
extend these facilities to each other on a reciprocal basis.
This
arrangement will also require compliance with the international principle of
not using another country’s territory and resources, in this case, the host
national satellite, to launch a sustained media attack against a third country
with which the host country enjoys good relations.
Mutual hosting
will also encourage the state broadcaster in each country to improve the quality
of its content, as well as production because if its programs do not appeal to
a broader international audience, the viewership of the new channel will
decline and may even threaten the viability of the project.
A majority of
television viewers in urban areas are comprised of cable subscribers. This is
not only a smart way of avoiding ugly dish installations on rooftops but also
an effective way to ensure regular servicing and upgrades.
However, for
cable services, the choice of creating channel packages rests with the cable
provider and not with the viewer. The regulators of cable operators in the
three countries should make it mandatory for their service providers not to
leave out the television channels of the partner countries from their basic packages
or charge their subscribers more for these channels.
With the
development of IPTV, the digital TV packages offered by PTCL in Pakistan,
Turkcell in Turkey and the state IPTV provider in Malaysia should ensure that
their IPTV Apps include the designated TV channels from partner countries as
part of their free local TV viewing packages.
The vision
that came out from the New York meeting of the three leaders last year is not
something that can be translated in six months to a year. It requires some
serious groundwork to draw up the terms of reference for the project while
defining the individual responsibilities the three countries should mutually
share to dub existing programs and produce new ones and investing in the
commitment of the private sector to finance the project successfully.
The project
should be launched in two stages. In stage one, when international flights
resume after COVID-19, the officials of the three countries should meet to
finalize an agreement to enable each of the three state broadcasters to access
the national satellites of its partner broadcasters on a trilateral basis.
In the second
stage, the new cultural television should start its test broadcast on selected
platforms, with TRT playing a central role and coordinating with PTV and RTM to
provide their content.
The partner
countries should also host the new channel on their national and regional
telecommunication satellites and their national IPTV service portals. Over
time, as progress is made, more countries can be added to this "cultural
coalition of the willing" such as Iran, Azerbaijan, Indonesia and
Uzbekistan, as the channel gets more viewership across the Islamic world.
The old
Chinese saying the journey of a thousand miles starts with a first step is a
time-tested truth. Turkey has taken the first step in producing a world-class
television series, which is showing no sign of slowing down.
Pakistan has
taken the second step by officially airing it for 220 million Pakistanis and
becoming a catalyst for a healthy academic debate about Islamic values and
history. The next step is to continue this trend and build enough television
content to become the basis of the new TV channel the three leaders envisioned
in New York.
*Former
Pakistan diplomat and a former CEO of Muslim Aid U.K.
https://www.dailysabah.com/opinion/op-ed/1-vision-3-countries-turkey-pakistan-malaysia
--------
Arab coalition
cleared of rights violations in Yemen
July 09, 2020
Mansour
Al-Mansour, spokesman of the Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT) of the Arab
coalition for Yemen, addresses a press conference in Riyadh. (Supplied)
-----
RIYADH: The
Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT) of the Arab coalition for Yemen has
investigated four cases that were reported in the media. It found that the
rules of engagement had been followed by the coalition for Yemen in each case.
The JIAT
reiterated its commitment of transparency while presenting its findings in the
submitted cases, and it revealed details in a professional and fact-based way.
Addressing a
press conference in Riyadh on Wednesday, JIAT spokesman Mansour Al-Mansour
said: “In one case, it was claimed that a military vehicle of the Houthi
militia was targeted in front of a restaurant in Zabid, Hodeidah governorate,
on Jan. 3, 2018.”
He said the
JIAT investigated the incident and reviewed all documents, including procedures
and rules of engagement, daily mission schedule, after-mission report,
satellite images, provisions and the principles of International humanitarian
law and its customary rules, as well as an assessment of evidence. It found
that on the alleged date, the coalition forces did not carry out any aerial
missions in Zabid, and that the nearest military target that was hit by the
coalition on the date of the claim was in Al-Khokhah directorate, about 41 km
away from Zabid.
Referring to
another case, he said it was claimed that coalition forces had targeted the
MothalathAhim market in Hajjah governorate on July 4, 2015.
The JIAT
investigated the incident and found that MothalathAhim, which is 16 km from the
international borders of Saudi Arabia, was at the time of the military
operation under the control of the Houthi armed militia and the former
president’s forces.
Intelligence
reports confirmed the discovery of a ballistic missile inside a hangar in a
semi-isolated location. There were gatherings of Houthi armed militia and the
former president’s forces, and military vehicles at MothalathAhim, which was
considered a legitimate military target, based on Article 52, Paragraph 2 of
the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions. Moreover, the
coalition forces took all feasible precautions by studying and defining the
target’s environment, using a guided bomb that was commensurate with the
target, and minimizing collateral damage while achieving the desired military
advantage of the military based on Rule No. 17 of the customary international
humanitarian law.
In another
case it was claimed that the coalition forces had targeted a house in Talan,
Kushar, directorate of Hajjah governorate on March 10, 2019.
Al-Mansour
said the coalition forces units had detected through reconnaissance a vehicle
carrying Houthi armed militia fighters. It was confirmed by ground elements
that the fighters got out of that vehicle and entered a building in Jabal
Talan, which was considered to be a legitimate military target.
In fourth
case, it was claimed that a house was targeted in Midi directorate of (Hajjah)
governorate on April 22, 2018.
The JIAT
investigated the incident and found that the coalition forces observed
gatherings of Houthi militias and a ballistic missile launcher in the area of
operations concealed in an isolated area. The coalition forces therefore
carried out an air mission against these two targets. The JIAT found that
coalition forces had not targeted a civilian house in Midi directorate as
alleged.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1702046/saudi-arabia
--------
Majlis-Bachao
Tehreek Seeks Protection for Two Existing Mosques Inside Telangana Secretariat
Complex Ahead of Demolition
July 8, 2020
Ashish Pandey
Blueprints of
'Vaastu-compliant' secretariat released by Telangana government (Photo Credits:
Ashish Pandey)
------
In a letter to
the Telangana Minorities Commission and the state Wakf Board, Hyderabad-based
political outfit Majlis-Bachao Tehreek (MBT) has sought the protection of two
existing mosques inside the Telangana Secretariat complex.
The state
government on Tuesday began the demolition of the secretariat complex that is
spread across 25 acres in the heart of Hyderabad.
Since the
Telangana HC's decision to vacate the stay led to the demolition of old
buildings in the Telangana secretariat complex to give way to new construction,
rumours are being spread that two mosques inside the complex will also be
demolished, MBT spokesperson Amjadulla Khan said in his letter to the chairman
of the Minorities Commission.
He also
appealed to the commission to visit the site accompanied by Muslim
organizations in order to apprise itself about the history of the two mosques
inside the secretariat complex.
"Telangana
State Wakf Board along with chairman and members should visit the site to know
the facts about the existence of two Masjids. If they feel that the TRS
government is hell bound to demolish the said two Masjids, the Board as an independent
body, should approach the High Court and secure a stay on the demolition,"
MBT's Amjadullah Khan added.
Khan also
appealed to all political parties and religious bodies, including the AIMIM,
Jamat-e-Islami Hind (Telangana) and other allies of the Telangana Rashtra
Samiti (TRS) to meet Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao and inform him about
the situation.
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/mbt-seeks-protection-for-mosques-inside-telangana-secretariat-complex-ahead-of-demolition-1698419-2020-07-08
------
This Is What
the Modi Sarkar Has Done to Indian Muslims
July 8, 2020
Studying at
Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in the 1990s, my first physical fight was with
a Muslim Kashmiri boy during the telecast of an India-Pakistan cricket match on
the hostel TV set. He kept supporting Pakistan even when our team was playing
better cricket.
I was a total
nationalist. I loved war movies depicting Indian victory. A lump rose in my
throat every time I heard the song ‘Sarejahan se achha Hindustan humara’. My
heartbreaks when India lost crucial cricket matches were the talk of the town.
All in all, my heart bled for India and I decided to stay put here even when
most of my allegedly ‘non-patriotic’ Muslim friends and axiomatically
‘patriotic’ Hindu friends opted to leave for greener pastures in the West.
On another
front, my liberal views made me stand out in a place like AMU. The sarcastic
term to describe Muslims like me was ‘liberated’. I felt pride in the fact that
I was both Muslim and ‘liberated’. Identity was a matter of choice for me. It
happens when you are privileged.
Times changed.
India changed. The demolition of the Babri Masjid, the Gujarat pogrom, rising
communal tension, and finally a regime change. All this cast a disturbing
shadow on my identity. For the first time in my life I started feeling more and
more Muslim. The mirror of privilege to choose an identity had suddenly
cracked. With a typical Muslim name, I found it impossible to rent a home in a
metropolitan city. On learning my name, people’s expressions would alter, and
suspicious glances would be exchanged. Conversations hushed as I entered my
office. With passing time, and with limited choice, my identity got
established. I was a Muslim. Nothing less and nothing more.
As the Modi
sarkar took a stronger foothold, the lynching of Muslims started. It disturbed
me. My established identity could now bring a sudden and violent end to life. I
started to debate less in public. I stopped saying salamwaleikum on receiving a
phone call in a public space. I taught my kids to not call me abba while
travelling on a train or a bus. I even started tweaking my name. Meat dishes
were out of the menu, more so when I travelled. I had never imagined that the
privilege of identity could actually turn into a handicap for me. In this new
India, being both a Muslim and ‘liberated’ could mean sure trouble.
I started to
live in fear. I pondered on my identity more than I did at any point in my
life. I still didn’t say prayers five times and still didn’t fast in Ramzan.
But I continued to be a Muslim.
On social
media my name enraged people. I was shunned and trolled when speaking against
the atrocities on my fellow citizens. Strangely, the most explicit of abuses
came when I wrote against the caste system. Identity was now someone else’s
privilege! Words like kafir, jihadi, antinational, mullah, katua followed me on
every page of the web. I was accused of being affiliated to the Taliban and
ISIS. My liberal values were mocked: “How can a Muslim support a democracy?” If
I attempted to argue, my detractors would ask me to go to Pakistan, and
sometimes even Saudi Arabia. A cloud of hate hung over my head all the time,
like a halo, and I started becoming used to its presence.
The whole idea
was to make me realise that I was a Muslim alone. Any other identity was not
for me. Gradually, I too started becoming wary of wearing my patriotism on my
sleeve. I think the most dangerous and unfortunate part of any system of
apartheid is the fatigue of those who are optimistic despite the discrimination.
As each optimist begins to lose hope, the discrimination wins and gets rooted a
little more firmly. The protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act drew
me in, but only as a Muslim who sees the writing on the wall. The concerned
citizen of a democracy was slowly fading away like the evening sky.
Humans lose
hope when they are not loved. To be differentiated and discriminated is to be
alienated. As Pablo Neruda said in his poem, ‘If you forget me‘:
Well, now,
if little by
little you stop loving me
I shall stop
loving you, little by little
If suddenly
you forget me
do not look
for me
for I shall
already have forgotten you
When India
lost the cricket World Cup semi-final in July 2019, I felt bad not because
India lost but because something in me had already died. My overriding feeling
that day was just relief. The relief that Modi could not turn a World Cup
victory into yet another moment of personal aggrandisement. Relief that the
bigots who had abused me and others would be denied a moment of happiness which
so quickly turns into chauvinism in their hands. Relief because it spared us
interminable chest thumping by rabid news anchors who had nothing to do with
the game but would have taken credit for a victory anyway or found some way to
turn it into a communal issue.
When news of
the Chinese intrusion came, I looked at the issue as if from the outside. I
felt terrible for the slain soldiers, of course, but as fellow human beings and
not because they and I are Indian. Like other Indians, I felt revulsion at the
obfuscation by ‘nationalist’ anchors who have used the word ‘appeasement’ so
often and so loosely, they no longer are able to recognise it when it happens
in front of them. Like other Indians, I felt revulsion at the post-intrusion
mumbling, kneeling and lying by the prime minister. The humiliation of a leader
whose regime had humiliated me and others like me so much – and which thinks
nothing of labelling us ‘anti-national’ and ‘seditious’ – did not displease me
so much as fill me with dread about the future of our country which is clearly
not safe in their hands.
Since the
“leader” is seen as synonymous with “nation”, the social media trolls will
still see me as a Muslim who is not an Indian for writing this. But for
everyone else, I have no doubt they will understand what I am saying: that when
nations treat their citizens unequally, the notion of national identity takes a
beating.
https://thewire.in/communalism/this-is-what-the-modi-sarkar-has-done-to-indian-muslims
--------
Afghanistan says
will not release 600 'too dangerous' Taliban
Jul 8, 2020
KABUL: Afghan
authorities said Wednesday they will not release hundreds of Taliban captives
deemed "too dangerous" despite planned peace talks that hinge on the
prisoner exchange.
Under the terms
of a US-Taliban deal, Kabul pledged to free some 5,000 Taliban prisoners in a
swap that would see the insurgents release around 1,000 Afghan security force
captives.
But National
Security Council (NSC) spokesman Javid Faisal told AFP that 600 prisoners the
Taliban asked to be freed still had "serious criminal cases" against
them.
They include
people charged with murder, highway robbery and even sodomy, as well as
hundreds of foreign fighters, another government official said on condition of
anonymity.
"They are
too dangerous to be released," the official said.
The Taliban on
Wednesday accused the government of fabricating criminal cases against the
prisoners.
"If they
continue to create more problems in this regard, then it shows they do not want
issues to be solved through reasonable ways," spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid
said.
But NSC
spokesman Faisal insisted the government was committed to the talks.
"We are
ready for peace and will release the remaining prisoners... as per the
agreement -- just not these hundreds of prisoners who have serious criminal
cases in the courts," he said.
Both sides
have pledged to hold direct talks aimed at ending the decades-old conflict in
Afghanistan after completing the exchange.
The government
has already freed more than 4,000 Taliban fighters, while the insurgents have
completed around two-thirds of their releases.
Earlier this
week a top Afghan official said it was up to the authorities to decide who
should be released.
"We don't
expect the Taliban to tell us which inmates to be released," said
SediqSediqqi, spokesman for President Ashraf Ghani.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/afghanistan-says-will-not-release-600-too-dangerous-taliban/articleshow/76856565.cms
--------
Allah sent
COVID: Italian Arrested for Spreading ISIS Propaganda
08 July 2020
(ANSA) -
MILAN, JUL 8 - A 38-year-old Italian man was arrested in Milan Wednesday for
spreading ISIS propaganda and saying Allah sent to COVID pandemic.
Police said
the man had been radicalised since 2015.
He allegedly
urged social media followers to embrace global jihad against all infidels,
police said.
He has been
charged with instigation to commit a crime aggravated by using the Web.
Police
arrested him after wiretapping his phone conversations and monitoring his
social media use for months.
In an
intercept on March 27, police said, the man claimed that the COVID emergency
"is something from Allah, a positive thing", because "people are
going mad".
The man
allegedly argued that the crisis had helped cure people of "vices".
(ANSA).
https://www.ansa.it/english/news/general_news/2020/07/08/italian-arrested-after-saying-allah-sent-covid_7aa3457d-e15e-4e6b-8825-2fea9912e07d.html
-------
Muslim-American
officer of Pakistani origin assumes charge of NYC precinct
July 7, 2020
NEW YORK: A
Pakistani origin Muslim-American officer of the New York Police Department
(NYPD) has assumed the charge of a local precinct as its commanding officer,
marking the first time such an appointment took place in the force’s history.
NYPD Chief of
Patrol Fausto Pichardo confirmed Captain Adeel Rana's appointment as the
Precinct Commander. "Welcome aboard to Captain Adeel Rana as the NYPD’s
first Pakistani-American Precinct Commander," Pichardo wrote on Twitter.
The police
officer has received congratulations from various Muslim-American groups and
other city officials welcoming the development as a historic one.
Expressing his
excitement, Cpt Rana said he was feeling proud to be able to lead the best men
and women of the great department. "Together we can make a difference. It
is a historical event and great day for America!!!” he said.
Councillor
Deutsch of the 48th Council District, said: "Congratulations to Captain
Adeel Rana on his new appointment as CO of @NYPD84Pct."
"I know
he will do our city proud!"
Myles Miller,
NBC's reporter covering police and courts, also congratulated the police
officer, saying he has "never seen this man not smiling".
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/683430-muslim-american-officer-of-pakistani-origin-assumes-charge-of-nyc-precinct
--------
Pakistan
Imran Khan
clean bowled by Muslim clerics over Hindu temple
09 JULY 2020
New Delhi,
July 9 (IANS) Pakistan manages to nip secularism in the bud even before that
endearing modern thought raises its head. The Islamic republic has done this
successfully and escaped unscathed for decades as it swayed between
sometimes-democratic and mostly-military governance.
In a tweet on
Tuesday, Amnesty International South Asia pulled up Pakistan over its decision
to stop the construction of a temple in Islamabad -- the first temple for
Hindus in Pakistan.
Amnesty said:
"Everyone has a right to freedom of religion or belief, a right that is
guaranteed in Pakistan''s constitution and its international obligations.
Halting the construction of a Hindu temple in Islamabad is an unconscionable
act of bigotry that must be reversed immediately."
Amnesty was
reinforcing a recurring Pakistani problem that the country and its government
have to do more on securing rights for its minorities.
Just a
fortnight back, the Pakistan government had announced with much fanfare the
construction of a temple for Islamabad''s Hindus. The Shri Krishna Mandir was
allotted a plot, a ground breaking ceremony was organized and a boundary wall
began coming up to secure the land. Prime Minister Imran Khan was himself
involved in the process of approving the construction of the temple and
releasing funds for it.
Within days,
its walls were demolished, the Hindu organizations threatened against temple
construction and the government was forced to stop work.
The reasons
though are varied: a temple in Islamabad goes against the norms and teachings
of Islam; a temple is against the Shariah; the temple violates the master plan;
and lastly an Islamic country like Pakistan does not allow churches and
temples.
The opposition
to Islamabad''s first temple is unrelenting. It is not just the clerics; even
lawyers are united in their hatred against the temple.
Tanveer
Akhtar, an advocate, filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court, saying:
"The land allotted for the construction of the temple be withdrawn, along
with the funds allocated for the project." Another organization has said
that the construction of a temple in Islamabad will violate the capital''s
master plan.
Jamia
Asharfia, an organization of Islamic religious leaders, has issued a fatwa
against the temple and said that the construction of the temple is against the
Shariah.
Yet other
organizations have said that building a temple is against Pakistan''s ideology.
Maulvis have pointed out that no temple or church can be built in a Muslim
country and there are precedents to such a move.
Faced with the
wrath of the faithful, the Imran Khan government has placed the matter before
the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), an organization that advises the
government on religious matters. The government will also consult other
religious organizations on the next steps.
Even as the
government is in a huddle, Twitter is full of videos showing the desecration of
the plot. That religious intolerance runs deep in the Pakistani society is
evident. Videos show how the common people are breaking boundary walls while
the clerics are issuing threats. No policemen or security guards are present to
protect the land or the barely built structure.
This temple,
dedicated to Lord Krishna, would have been the first in Islamabad for its
handful of Hindus. It would have become a hub for the city''s Hindus for
celebrating festivals like Diwali and Holi and catering to basic needs like cremation
which do not exist in Pakistan''s capital city.
How this issue
pans out will show whether Pakistan''s hypocrisy -- advocating the rights of
the minorities in other countries while oppressing them at home -- moves public
intellectuals across the world and whether they will gather the moral courage
to stand up to the shenanigans of an Islamic nation.
https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/imran-khan-clean-bowled-by-muslim-clerics-over-hindu-temple/1890334
--------
Cleric pleads
with SC for pardon in Isa case
Jul 09 2020
ISLAMABAD:
Rawalpindi-based cleric Mirza Iftikharuddin on Wednesday requested the
Supreme Court to accept his apology and acquit him from the charges of contempt
over his derogatory and scandalous speech against the judiciary.
“It is most
humbly request-ed that his apology may be accepted and he may be
exonerated/acquitted from the charge of contemptuous remarks,” said a
three-page apology letter submitted by the cleric’s counsel Advocate Mrs Sarkar
Abbas to the Supreme Court. The accused assured the court through an
understanding that he would never repeat such an act in future.
At the last
hearing on July 2, a two-judge SC bench comprising Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed
and Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan had framed a formal contempt charge against the
cleric for his derogatory and scandalous speech against the judiciary, which
went viral on social media.
The court
indicted the cleric under Section 5 of the Contempt of the Court Ordinance 2003
after rejecting his unconditional apology he tendered for making an
objectionable speech in a private meeting in which he had hurled abusive
language at Justice Qazi Faez Isa of the Supreme Court as well as the
institution of judiciary.
On the basis
of the video clip, the wife of Justice Isa had lodged a complaint with the
Secretariat police station in Islamabad on June 24, saying the life of her
family was in danger as they were receiving threats of dire consequences.
In his
apology, Mirza Iftikhar said he was 67 years of age and a chronic cardiac
patient with blockage of main arteries. Doctors had advised him an open-heart
surgery, he said, adding that he was also suffering from hypotension and other
similar diseases.
“He is under
regular medication, which sometimes badly affects his mental health, resultantly
sometimes makes him hyper, irrational, irritating and frustrating,” the apology
letter stated. “The alleged contemnor tenders sincere apology, seeks mercy of
the court with all the hopes that while deciding the case, the court may
consider the mitigating circumstances relating to his health and age,” it
added.
The letter
explained that it was a routine affair that Mirza Iftikhar discussed current
affairs with a few of his students after Maghrib prayers and during a
discussion on June 14 some remarks slipped out of his tongue regarding the
judges and the prestigious institution of the judiciary for which he had a lot
of regrets.
As soon as he
realised his mistake, he approached the Supreme Court on June 26 to tender his
apology, but he was not allowed to enter the courtroom though he had been
issued the entry card, the letter said. On June 29, he himself joined the
investigation wherein he was detained and an FIR was registered against him, it
added.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1567843/cleric-pleads-with-sc-for-pardon-in-isa-case
--------
SC wants 120
more accountability courts established
Jul 09 2020
ISLAMABAD: The
Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the law secretary to immediately seek
instructions from the government for setting up at least 120 accountability
courts to clear a huge backlog of cases.
The directives
were issued by the apex court after expressing dismay over 1,226 pending
references since the year 2000 as well as vacancies in five accountability
courts out of a total of 25.
“The whole
purpose of making of accountability law apparently seems to be rendered futile
if the courts are allowed to remain vacant,” regretted Chief Justice Gulzar
Ahmed.
The chief
justice was heading a three-judge bench that had taken up a suo motu case
regarding delay in trials before the accountability courts in the light of
Section 16 of the National Accountability Ordinance 1999 which asks for
deciding corruption matters within 30 days.
The suo motu
proceedings were initiated when Justice MushirAlam on Jan 8 had requested the
chief justice to constitute a special bench and initiate suo motu proceedings
over the delay in prosecuting the accused before the trial courts.
The Supreme
Court also cautioned that it expected that the law secretary would fill all the
available posts of five accountability judges within one week without fail or
the court would take coercive action against the officials found defaulting in
the performance of their duties.
Earlier also
on Feb 13, the Supreme Court had expressed concern over capacity issues
plaguing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) when it was told that 1,226
references were pending before accountability courts and five such courts were
without any presiding judge.
“Neither the
investigating officers working with the NAB are well trained to properly probe
the corruption allegations nor the prosecutors are interested to pursue the
cases before the accountability courts,” the chief justice had observed.
On Wednesday
the Supreme Court observed that neither the attorney general nor the law
secretary or the prosecutor general of NAB was in attendance. Besides, no
reason was offered why the vacant posts had not been filled.
“We are unable
to understand the rational or logic behind the courts vacant for long
periods... More so when we see that the cases before the accountability court
are to be decided in terms of law within 30 days,” the court order said, adding
the posts of the judges were vacant for years and cases of those courts
remained pending.
“The number of
pendency of cases in the accountability court demand more than hundred number
of judges/courts for dealing with and deciding these cases as such cases are
being filed regularly and their numbers are also increasing while the number of
courts are totally stagnant,” the apex court deplored.
“In these
circumstances, we direct the secretary law to immediately seek instructions
from the government on the proposal of creating at least 120 accountability
courts in Pakistan and to fill up such courts with the judges and distribute all
pending cases among these courts so that cases be decided at a fast pace and
also in accordance with the time frame provided in the law,” the court said.
It noted that
the application filed before the court by NAB showed that cases even of the
years 2000 up to 2006 and onward were pending before the accountability courts
and apparently there seemed to be no valid justification why these cases were
being allowed to remain pending.
The court
ordered the government to immediately increase the strength of the
accountability courts all over Pakistan to ensure that all pending
accountability cases came to a logical conclusion at a fast pace within three
months.
The court also
asked the AG to appear before it next week and directed the NAB prosecutor
general to furnish a report, duly signed by the NAB chairman, explaining how
the bureau proposed to deal with these pending cases and have them decided at
the earliest.
The Supreme
Court said that if such measures were not adopted by the government and NAB,
the entire purpose of the NAB law would stand vitiated.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1567851/sc-wants-120-more-accountability-courts-established
--------
Imran calls
for global strategy to help workers amid pandemic
Syed Irfan
Raza
Jul 09 2020
ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Imran Khan has urged the international community to devise a
joint strategy to support workers and lessen the impact of novel coronavirus on
the most vulnerable labour community across the world.
“The most
vulnerable section of society is labourers. We need a joint strategy to support
labourers,” the prime minister said while addressing a virtual Global Summit on
‘Covid-19 and the World of Work’, organised by the International Labour
Organisation (ILO).
“Constant
exchange of ideas between states will help labourers during pandemic,” he told
the gathering of world leaders and heads of top world organisations via video
link here from his office.
The five-day
ILO Global Summit became the largest-ever online gathering of workers,
employers and governments that discussed on how to address the socio-economic
impact of the pandemic.
The premier
highlighted the need for comity of nations to have a “combined strategy” to
help vulnerable communities amid the pandemic.
About Pakistan
efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19, PM Khan said lockdowns enforced by
almost every country of the world had deprived daily wage earners and labourers
of their jobs and livelihoods. “Similarly when we enforced a lockdown, the
vulnerable people, labourers became unemployed and had no way to feed their
families,” he added.
Keeping their
miseries in view due to the countrywide lockdown, Pakistan came up with the
‘smart lockdown’ strategy under which only the identified hotspots were locked
down for a specific period to help contain the spread of the virus on the one
side and allowing people of other areas to earn their livelihoods by taking the
recommended precautionary measures.
Highlighting
the government’s Ehsaas cash distribution programme, PM Khan said that timely
distribution of money among the deserving families helped mitigate the
sufferings of the working class and less privileged. “We also decided we need
to transfer cash to labourers,” he said, adding that under a system the
vulnerable segments had been given cash. “Besides, we also opened some
essential businesses and industries like construction industry and agriculture
where workers and labourers resume their jobs and earn for their families,” the
prime minister explained.
SMEs filed for
bankruptcy
He said Small
and Medium Enterprises, which employed most labourers, were the most vulnerable
to the adverse impact of the pandemic. “Small and medium industries — which
employ the most people — are the most vulnerable and a large number of them
have filed for bankruptcy,” he added.
The prime
minister urged the world community to share information on their strategies to
deal with the highly contagious virus, expressing the hope that the “constant
exchange of ideas will help soften the impact on labourers”.
He said the
entire world was praying for a vaccine but “uncertainty prevails” in the
meantime for which countries need to adopt a joint strategy to protect
labourers.
Mr Khan said
the world community also needed to have a strategy to convince governments to
be more sympathetic to the migrant and overseas labourers. Also Pakistan’s
remittances had dropped with a large number of Pakistani workers and labourers
losing their jobs. “Countries where foreign labourers are working should
consider their sufferings and help them,” he demanded.
Mr Khan also
feared slowdown in agricultural sector leading to food crisis, adds APP.
However, he
mentioned that the construction sector in Pakistan was opened fairly quickly.
In the
neighbouring India, he said, strict ‘curfew-like’ lockdown pushed millions
below poverty line.
He said his
government through its social welfare programme approached the registered
deserving families and disbursed among them financial assistance for
livelihood, making the largest ever transaction in country’s history in a short
span of time.
He lauded the
initiative of ILO Global Summit for “being held at a critical juncture and
offering a platform for countries to learn from each other’s experiences of
dealing with the pandemic.” He termed the conference a beginning towards
finding of solutions and expressed the hope that constant exchange of ideas
would help mitigate the sufferings of labourers across the world, adds APP.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1567857/imran-calls-for-global-strategy-to-help-workers-amid-pandemic
--------
Chinese pledge
to cooperate with security agencies
Jul 09 2020
LAHORE: The
Primary Joint Working Group (PJWG) on Chinese Security at a meeting on
Wednesday decided that the Chinese Consulate would ensure that their nationals
extend cooperation to law enforcement agencies in security measures, besides
complying with the coronavirus SOPs and security protocols.
The PJWG
meeting chaired by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Momin Agha discussed
various steps to improve the security of Chinese nationals working on CPEC and
other projects in the province and to enhance bilateral cooperation between
China and Pakistan to control coronavirus.
The meeting
was held at the civil secretariat and was attended by Chinese Consul General
Long Dingbin, foreign ministry director-general China Mudassar Tipu, DIG
Special Branch Abdul Karim, Additional Secretary Health Dr Asif Tufail,
Additional Secretary Chinese Security Arshad Manzoor, Chinese Consulate
officials in Lahore and representative of law enforcement agencies.
Speaking at
the meeting, Mr Agha said the security of CPEC and other projects continuing
with the cooperation of China was not only limited to the protection of Chinese
people rather it was the matter of bilateral relations between the two friendly
countries. He said that all possible steps would be taken to provide foolproof
security to the Chinese people in the province.
The ACS (Home)
said that China, with the help of its medical experts, doctors, and paramedics,
had managed to control the epidemic like coronavirus in a short period. He
mentioned that Pakistan, especially the Punjab government, wanted to benefit
from the experiences and expertise of Beijing in efforts to overcome the
pandemic.
He also issued
instructions regarding conducting coronavirus tests of security officials and
private guards deployed for the security of Chinese nationals.
Expressing
satisfaction over the security arrangements, Chinese Consul General Long
Dingbin praised the professionalism of the federal government and its agencies,
especially the ministry of foreign affairs, Pakistan Army, Punjab government,
and its departments. He said that China stood by Pakistan in the fight against
coronavirus and in the light of its experience would continue to provide it
with technical assistance in the medical field and all kinds of cooperation.
The Chinese
Consul General said that on the instructions of President Xi Jinping, China was
providing medical equipment, protective gear, and medicines to Pakistan to
control the coronavirus. He hoped that Pakistan and China would work together
to successfully overcome the epidemic.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1567812/chinese-pledge-to-cooperate-with-security-agencies
--------
Uzair Baloch
confesses to providing ‘criminal support to key PPP figures’: JIT
Imtiaz Ali
Jul 09 2020
KARACHI: The
report released by Federal Minister Ali Zaidi of a joint investigation team
(JIT) that had grilled outlawed Peoples Amn Committee chief Uzair Jan Baloch
contained startling disclosures that the Lyari gangster had extended criminal
support to key figures of the Pakistan Peoples Party.
Maritime
Affairs Minister Ali Haider Zaidi of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had on
Tuesday shared with the media in Islamabad the JIT report of Uzair Baloch
alleging that the PPP had deliberately manipulated the original report — a
charge the PPP ministers vehemently denied the same day and instead questioned
the authenticity and source of the document.
According to
the JIT report shared by Mr Zaidi, Uzair was “supervised” by key political
figures for “killings, extortion, land grabbing etc”.
The JIT said
he told investigators that the key political figures of the PPP had also
managed to withdraw a Sindh home department notification that put a bounty on
his arrest after a botched operation in Lyari in 2012.
The
disclosures are part of a JIT report released by PTI’s Ali Zaidi
He also
disclosed that the same key figures helped him leave Pakistan after the launch
of a targeted operation in Karachi in 2013.
He told the
JIT that the PPP leadership had awarded party ticket to the candidates he nominated
for contesting 2013 general elections from Lyari.
Links with
Iran, Sindh police
Uzair also
told the JIT that he was detained in Iran and got released with the help of one
Haji Nasir, who arranged his meeting with an unknown Iranian intelligence officer.
He said that
key figures of the MuttahidaQaumi Movement had also met with Haji Nasir in
Chabahar, Iran in June 2014 where an unknown Iranian officer was also present.
He said that
with the help of the then home minister he managed to get postings of not only
Lyari SP but also of several SHOs in different police stations.
He told the
JIT that differences between the PPP and PAC had emerged after the resignation
of the then home minister but two key political figures of the PPP had played
their role in settling the issues.
About the
Arshad Pappu murder, he said that with the help of certain police officers he
killed the rival gangsters in order to take revenge of the killing of his
father.
After Pappu’s
killing, he became the “undisputed criminal king” of Lyari in 2013.
In the
meantime, PAC gangsters had developed an internal rift allegedly engineered by
a former MQM MNA. Resultantly, one of the main characters of Lyari gang
warfare, Noor Mohammed alias Baba Ladla, established his separate group but the
gang led by Uzair maintained the upper hand.
The JIT
recommended that Uzair had ‘confessed’ to his involvement in certain cases and
named political personalities and those crimes/cases were cognizable before the
National Accountability Bureau, Federal Investigation Agency and
Anti-Encroachment Cell.
Besides,
lodging fresh FIRs/cases against him, the JIT recommended that Uzair and his
accomplices be handed over to the authorities concerned for initiating legal
action.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1567824/uzair-baloch-confesses-to-providing-criminal-support-to-key-ppp-figures-jit
--------
Southeast Asia
Indonesian
Maid Spared from Saudi Execution after $1 Million Payment
BY CHAIRUL
FIKRI
JULY 07, 2020
Jakarta. An
Indonesian migrant worker on death row for murder conviction in Saudi Arabia
was released after she paid Rp 15.5 billion ($1 million) in blood money to the
kinfolk of the victim.
EttybintiToyib
arrived at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang, Banten on Monday afternoon
after spending 18 years in a Saudi prison. Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah
welcomed her at the airport.
“I’m so happy
to finally arrive in Indonesia. It was a very unpleasant experience to be
locked up for 18 years and I really miss Indonesia,” Etty told reporters.
She was
convicted in 2001 of poisoning her Saudi employer Faisal al-Ghamdi and
sentenced to death.
But Etty
denied any wrongdoing when she spoke to Indonesian journalists and said she was
convicted because of “miscommunication”.
A group of
Indonesian Muslim organizations and individuals have helped her collect the
compensation fund, or diyya in Islamic terms.
“As a
government representative, I would like to thank the communities and the
Nahdlatul Ulama in particular for their contribution that has made Etty’s
release possible," Minister Ida said.
Ida said Etty
cannot directly return to her hometown of Majalengka, West Java. She must first
spend 14 days at a quarantine facility in Jakarta to follow the government
health protocol related to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Indonesian
Ambassador to Saudi Arabia AgusMaftuhAbegebriel said earlier it took intense
negotiations with the Saudi government and the family of the employer before
they finally agreed to accept financial compensation and spare Etty from
execution.
https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesian-maid-spared-from-saudi-execution-after-1-million-payment
--------
Atrocities On
Uighurs: British Journalist, Nice Cohen, Shames Muslim Countries
JULY 08, 2020
London:
Highlighting the hypocrisy of Muslims-majority states like Pakistan for their
silence over atrocities committed by Chinese Communist Party on Uighurs,
British Journalist Nice Cohen said that Muslims in China suffer in silence
because the Muslim majority countries are tightlipped.
In an opinion
piece in Guardian, Cohen writes China is turning criticism of its disastrous
record on incubating the Covid-19 virus and its atrocities against its Muslim
minorities into crimes. “The people who should be shouting the loudest are
bowing their heads in reverential silence,” he writes.
“Muslims
suffer in silence is that the Muslim-majority countries that raged against
Rushdie, Jyllands-Posten and Charlie Hebdo have decided to stay silent. They
use the idea of Muslim solidarity only when it suits them,” he exclaims.
The Chinese
Communist Party is reverting to type, and reviving the totalitarian fear of the
Mao era, the journalist says.
Women
sterilised
To bring down
numbers of the largely Muslim Uighurs of Xinjiang, the China scholar Adrian
Zenz reports, the Communists are forcing women to be sterilised or fitted with
contraceptive devices. If they resist, the state sends them to join the one
million Uighur people and other Muslim minorities detained in what the state
defines as “re-education” camps.
Millions
suffer
Cohen says
that reporters are free to cover China’s suppression of democracy in Hong Kong,
for the time being at any rate, but cannot get near Xinjiang without taking
extraordinary risks. “With no footage of their suffering, millions can suffer
unnoticed in the dark,” he said.
Muslim
countries silent
“But the main
reasons why Muslims suffer in silence is that the Muslim-majority countries
that raged against Rushdie, Jyllands-Posten and Charlie Hebdo have decided to
stay silent. They use the idea of Muslim solidarity only when it suits them,”
he writes in the article.
Hypocrisy of
Muslim nations
Cohen
highlighted the hypocrisy of Muslim majority nation by cited the example of
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria and other
Muslim-majority states that pose as defenders of the Muslim faith but helped to
block a western motion at the United Nations calling for China to allow
“independent international observers” into the Xinjiang region in July 2019.
Iran issues
occasional criticisms but wants Chinese support in its struggle against the
Trump administration and so keeps its complaints coded.
Hypocrisy
funny
“Their
hypocrisy is almost funny, if you take your humour black. Iran, Egypt, Syria
and dozens of other countries that could not tolerate a magical realist novel
can live with the mass sterilisation of Muslim women. They will give
concentration camps a conniving wink of approval, but draw the line at cartoons
in a Danish newspaper,” he says.
Many bought
off
Cohen believes
that many have been bought off. “China is now a more active and influential
voice at the United Nations because so many countries are benefiting from
billions of dollars in Chinese investments through its “Belt and Road”
infrastructure programme,” he points out.
https://www.siasat.com/atrocities-on-uighursbritish-journalist-shames-muslim-countries-1920493/
--------
More speak up
about alleged sexual harassment in IRF after women’s rights groups call for
probe
09 Jul 2020
KUALA LUMPUR,
July 9 — Three former members of Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF) spoke about
the sexual harassment they allegedly faced from one of the think tank’s
directors, following a call by women’s rights groups for an independent
investigation into these allegations.
Speaking
separately to Malay Mail, the trio related how the perpetrator touched them
inappropriately on several occasions.
This included
stroking their arms, legs, and hugging them around their waists, and one
instance of sexual assault involving attempted kissing and groping.
In the case
which resulted in a police report, the accuser said the alleged perpetrator
acted inappropriately towards him during a one-on-one meeting unrelated to IRF
in November 2019 when he was then a new recruit.
In a phone
interview with Malay Mail, he said the meeting was related to his becoming a
research assistant while he was waiting for his housemanship.
He pointed out
that he was just a fresh medical graduate then while the alleged perpetrator
was already in a senior position.
“If I cannot
get justice for my case, I can prevent the person from going further,” he
added.
Malay Mail
sighted a copy of the police report dated February 2020 via the accuser’s legal
team.
He explained
that fear and trauma were the reasons behind the delay in lodging a report.
Yesterday,
news portal Malaysiakini similarly quoted the accuser and confirmed the report
with a police source who did not want to be named.
“The case is
under investigation. We will forward our findings to the deputy public
prosecutor for further instruction," the police source told Malaysiakini.
According to
the accuser, the investigating officer is planning to take statements from
witnesses as early as today, and from the alleged perpetrator some time this
week.
One of the men
who spoke to Malay Mail was employed as a personal aide to the accused director
more than five years ago.
He too made
similar claims of alleged harassment, which included the perpetrator touching
him between his thighs and stroking his leg while being driven in car.
“Being young
and naïve then, I thought the person was sincere about seeing me as a son. But
when it happened many times, I decided to quit my job,” he told Malay Mail.
The second man
who spoke up said he wanted to lodge a police report about the alleged sexual
harassment, but claimed he was dissuaded from doing so by the police officer
who pointed out the difficulty of proving such an accusation.
Another man
who had been involved with IRF as an activist since 2011 said incidents of
“excessive touching and groping” happened at IRF’s workshops, retreats and
other programmes.
“In the
beginning, I thought that was normal because it always happens,” he said in a
text message to Malay Mail.
“But after
hearing the experience of other activists, I feel this was inappropriate and
should be labelled as sexual harassment.”
Malay Mail
also spoke with four other activists involved with IRF over the past eight
years, and three admitted hearing rumours and complaints of sexual impropriety
during their time with the think tank, including two specific instances that
cannot be verified yet.
No other
police reports have been lodged against the alleged perpetrator.
Activists
refused association with IRF
Formed in
2009, IRF describes itself as a movement to empower youth and promote Muslim
intellectual discourse, and has advanced local discourse involving Islam and
the enforcement of Shariah laws in Malaysia through its events, talks and
commentaries.
The alleged
perpetrator is also a prominent leader in Malaysian civil society and has
declined to comment on the matter at this time pending legal advice.
A senior IRF
staff has also been contacted for the group’s response, but has yet to issue
any.
On Monday,
three former research fellows and one collaborator of the think tank publicly
dissociated themselves from the group as long as the alleged perpetrator
remains, following years of complaints and allegations of sexual harassment
that they said were insufficiently addressed by the organisation.
On the morning
of July 7, Imran Rasid, a former IRF research fellow since 2015 posted a public
post on his Facebook profile announcing the dissociation, saying he found out
about the allegations late last year from various individuals, including one of
his friends.
Imran said he
had sought a response from the alleged perpetrator on February 20 about the
allegation involving his friend, only to receive what he said was an
“unsatisfactory, irresponsible, and unconvincing reply.”
Following
Imran’s revelation, HazmanBaharom, another former IRF fellow who has written
and translated for IRF since 2014, also posted on his Facebook that he wanted
to disassociate himself from the think tank.
This was
followed by Izzat Radzi, who is currently translating the book Reasoning with
God: Reclaiming Shariah in the Modern Age by Kuwaiti professor Khaled Abou El
Fadl into Malay for IRF; and another former IRF fellow ShuhaibArRumy Ismail.
“We believe
that as long as the person is in IRF, it will continue to be a platform for a
dangerous trap. We are unwilling for IRF’s lofty efforts to be tarnished by the
person’s personal acts that clearly do not portray the real ambition and goals
of IRF,” Shuhaib wrote.
The four have
not directly accused the director of sexual impropriety, but are merely
distancing themselves following such allegations from their colleagues.
Calls for
investigation and resignation
Yesterday, the
Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) urged lRF to initiate an
independent investigation into sexual harassment allegations involving one of
its senior directors.
The coalition
of 14 women’s rights groups said appropriate steps must be taken to secure the
confidentiality of the complainants and their protection against any
intimidation.
“The alleged
perpetrator should be suspended from all official duties until the completion
of the investigation, which must be made transparent to complainants.
“We fully
acknowledge that civil society and the human rights sector are not immune to
sexual harassment,” JAG said.
No other civil
society has yet issued any statement in response to the activists’ dissociation
and JAG’s statement.
Malay Mail
understands that the director resigned from the board in March, but has since
indicated his intention to return to the board — subsequently prompting some
members to come out publicly to dissociate themselves from IRF.
However, a
check with the Companies Commission Malaysia showed that the alleged perpetrator
is still listed as one of the five directors of IRF.
(Due to the
Registrar of Societies’ purportedly restrictive bureaucracy, many civil
societies in Malaysia are registered and operate as companies rather than
non-profit organisations.)
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/07/09/more-speak-up-about-alleged-sexual-harassment-in-irf-after-womens-rights-gr/1882791
--------
Philippine
president defends new anti-terror law
July 09, 2020
MANILA:
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday defended the country’s new
anti-terror law, saying that law-abiding citizens had no reason to fear it.
The new law
criminalizes acts that incite terrorism “by means of speeches, proclamations,
writings, emblems, banners or other representations.”
The law also
grants the president power to create an anti-terrorism council that could tag
individuals and groups as terrorists; allows authorities to detain suspected
terrorists without charge for up to 24 days; and permits the government to
conduct 90 days of surveillance and wiretaps.
Speaking for
the first time about the controversial legislation since it was signed on July
3, Duterte stressed that the bill would
be used to
protect the country from terrorism.
“For the
law-abiding citizen of this country, I am addressing you with all sincerity: Do
not be afraid if you are not a terrorist, if you don’t destroy the government,
blow up churches or public utilities ... just to see the nation fall,” Duterte
said in a taped address.
He stressed
that the new anti-terror law was a much-needed legal weapon that the government
could use to fight terrorism, citing attacks in Mindanao which “have killed
many people” and threatened peace and order in the southern part of the
archipelago.
He described
the country’s democracy as “a little bit shaky” and emphasized that it was his
obligation to defend and protect the nation from those who intended to destroy
it.
“Once you blow
up a church, blow up a marketplace ... the right to defend itself accrues to
the government heavily,” he said, adding that “if you kill people, I will
really kill you.”
Duterte also
took a swipe at the country’s communists, branding them terrorists for their
continued rejection of the government’s call for peace.
“They think
that they are a different breed. They would like to be treated with another set
of law. When, as a matter of fact, they are terrorists,” Duterte said,
lamenting that he had spent most of his days as a president “trying to figure
out and connect with them on how we can arrive at a peaceful solution.”
The
anti-terror law has been widely criticized, with many groups and personalities
saying it is prone to abuse.
As of
Wednesday, five petitions had been filed before the Supreme Court, questioning
its constitutionality and seeking a temporary restraining order to stop its
implementation temporarily.
Among the
provisions of the law being questioned by the petitioners are the definition of
terrorism and the arrest of suspects without a warrant and their prolonged
detention.
Rights groups
described the new law as yet “another setback to human rights” in the country.
Bangsamoro
Chief Minister Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim said that the Bangsamoro Autonomous
Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) respected Duterte’s decision to sign the law.
He added that
the BARMM was open to engaging with the government to address terrorism,
recommending Bangsamoro representation in the Anti-Terrorism Council.
Bangsamoro
leaders had previously called on Duterte to veto the measure to allow Congress
to review and address some of the law’s controversial provisions but, since it
has been signed into law, Ebrahim said: “We trust that the president will
ensure that the concerns and apprehensions of the Bangsamoro people on some
provisions of the law will not happen.”
The
Anti-Terror Act will take effect 15 days after being signed into law.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1702001/world
--------
Mideast
Iran, Syria
Sign Military, Security Agreement
Jul 08, 2020
The
Arabic-language al-Mayadeen news website quoted General Baqeri as saying after
inking the agreement that Iran "will strengthen Syria's air defense
systems in line with the reinvigoration of military cooperation between the two
countries".
Elsewhere, he
blasted Turkey for lack of commitment to its undertakings based on the Astana
peace process to take out the terrorist groups from Syria, saying that Ankara's
problems will be settled through talks and agreement with the Syrian side and
not by military deployment in Syria.
General Baqeri
also said that the regional people and countries do not welcome the US presence
in the region, and added, "The inked agreement will increase our
determination for joint cooperation to confront the US pressures."
General
Ayyoub, for his part, said that if the US could bring Iran, Syria and the
resistance front to its knees, certainly, it would not hesitate even one
moment, adding that the cost of resistance is much less than surrendering.
Iran has on
several occasions stressed that it will continue its military advisory role in
Syria as long as the legal government in Damascus demands.
Also, Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad underlined in June 2018 that his country would agree
with setting up Iranian military bases in Syria if Tehran ever extended such a
demand.
"There’s
nothing to prevent establishment of such bases as long as Iran is an ally as is
Russia," President Assad said in an interview with the Arabic-language
al-Alam news channel.
Asked if he
would agree to the establishment of such bases, he said even his country might
raise such a demand from Tehran. "We could ask for the existence of such
forces to support us. Iran has never asked and does not have an interest except
in fighting terrorism. But the evolution of the war made it necessary to
develop the nature of this presence."
"This
happened as far as the Russians are concerned. In the beginning, Russian
support, like Iranian support, was different from what it is today. The support
for terrorism has developed internationally and globally when the Syrian Army
confronted those terrorists, and with that Russian and Iranian military
presence developed. At a certain stage, we found – with the Russians of course
– that the existence of air bases was necessary to provide air support to the
Syrian Army. And now, if we find, in cooperation, coordination, or dialogue
with the Iranians, that there is a need for Iranian military bases, we will not
hesitate. But now, Iranian support in its present form is good and
effective," he added.
https://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13990418000862
--------
Israel’s
Netanyahu lawyer quits over fees days before corruption trial
08 July 2020
One of Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top defense lawyers dropped his client
Wednesday, sources said, after the premier was denied permission to receive
private funding for his legal team.
Netanyahu, who
is standing trial over corruption allegations, which he denies, had sought 10
million shekels ($2.9 million) from his US billionaire friend Spencer Partrich
to help cover legal fees.
But following
a recommendation from Israel’s attorney general, a committee in the state
comptroller’s office blocked Netanyahu from accepting the loan on grounds it
amounted to an improper gift to a government official.
For all the
latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The 70-year-old
premier, whose personal fortune has been estimated at more than $10 million,
was also ordered to return some of the money he received from his American
cousin Nathan Milikowsky to cover legal expenses.
Following
those setbacks, defense lawyer Micha Fettman resigned from the right-wing
premier’s defense team.
Multiple
Israeli media outlets reported Wednesday that the resignation was linked to
money and the prospect that Fettman’s fees would not be covered.
A source
directly linked to the case confirmed to AFP that Fettman’s departure from the
case was connected to the committee’s decision to block Netanyahu from
receiving private funding.
Netanyahu was
indicted in January for seeking to illegally trade favors in exchange for
positive media coverage, as well as accepting cigars, champagne and jewelry
worth 700,000 shekels from wealthy personalities in exchange for favors.
Netanyahu, who
in May forged a new unity government after more than a year of political
turmoil, insists the charges were trumped up to drive him from office.
The next trial
date at the Jerusalem District Court is July 19, but the session is expected to
be procedural and Netanyahu is not obliged to attend.
Under Israeli
law, a sitting prime minister is only required to resign if convicted of a
criminal offence with all appeals exhausted, which in Netanyahu’s case could
take several years.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/07/08/Israel-s-Netanyahu-lawyer-quits-over-fees-days-before-corruption-trial.html
--------
Yemen court
begins trial of Houthi leaders
July 08, 2020
AL-MUKALLA: A
Yemeni military court in the government-controlled city of Marib held the
initial session of the trial of Iran-backed Houthi leaders on Tuesday, accused
of masterminding the coup against the internationally recognized government of
President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi in 2015 and the subsequent military campaign.
The defendants
faced charges of forming a terrorist armed group called Ansar Allah, colluding
with the Lebanese group Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
(IRGC), revolting against the republican system, putting Masur Hadi under house
arrest and trying to kill him.
Along with the
movement’s leader, Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, among the 175 accused figures were
Mohammed Al-Houthi, a member of the country’s Supreme Political Council,
Abdullah Yahiya Al-Hakim, a senior military commander, the Houthi ambassador to
Iran, Ibrahim Mohammed Al-Daylami, and dozens of ministers, intelligence,
military and political officials.
According to the
official Saba news agency, the prosecution demanded the maximum available
punishments for the defendants, including the death penalty.
By the end of
the session, the court decided to publish the names of the accused figures in
local newspapers and demanded that they appear the same court on Sept. 25, or
face prosecution in absentia.
With the help
of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Houthi militias seized control of the
capital Sana’a in September 2014, and placed Mansur Hadi under house arrest,
dismissing his government and replacing it with their allied Revolutionary
Committees. The Houthis killed Saleh in late 2017 after leading a brief
military uprising in Sana’a.
Dismantled
Houthi cell
Also in Marib,
Yemen’s defense and interior ministries said on Tuesday that the Houthi cell
that was dismantled in Marib’s Wadi Abeda area late last month was responsible
for masterminding many attacks against government, military and security
targets in Marib.
In a joint
statement, the two ministries said the cell, led by Mohsen Saleh Subayan,
planned and carried out attacks against local security forces and Saudi-led
coalition troops in Marib, planted landmines and improvised explosive devices,
assassinated military and security officers and smuggled weapons. The statement
noted that Subayan, along with several of his associates, were killed when they
resisted security forces that came to capture them, and that drones, weapons
and munitions were found in the area.
Local security
and military officers believe that Houthi sleeper cells were involved in
directing drone and missile strikes that targeted military camps in Marib since
late 2015. The deadliest Houthi attack was in January 2020, when a drone and
missiles fired by the Houthis landed at a camp, killing more than 110 soldiers,
triggering heavy clashes between government forces and the Houthis, which
disrupted diplomatic efforts to reach a peace deal led by the UN Yemen envoy
Martin Griffiths.
Official media
reported on Tuesday that Prime Minister Maeen Abdul Malik Saeed called the
governor of Marib, Sultan Al-Arada, to congratulate him on dismantling the cell
and foiling plots to undermine security and stability. Marib has hosted
thousands of Yemeni army troops and coalition forces since the beginning of the
Saudi-led military operation in Yemen in March 2015.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1701886/middle-east
--------
Iran announces
plans to bolster Syria’s air defense systems, counter US ‘pressure’
08 July 2020
Iran plans to
strengthen war-torn Syria’s air defense systems as part of a military agreement
between the allies, state television said on Wednesday.
“We will
strengthen Syria’s air defense systems in order to improve military cooperation
between the two countries,” the broadcaster quoted armed forces Chief of Staff
Major General Mohammad Bagheri as saying.
The deal will
“further enhance our will... to confront pressures by America,” he added.
Key US ally
Israel, Iran’s arch-enemy, has launched hundreds of strikes in Syria since the
start of a civil war there in 2011, targeting government troops, allied Iranian
forces and fighters from the Iran-backed Lebanese Shia militant group
Hezbollah.
For all the
latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Iran has
always denied sending forces to fight in Syria, saying it only has military
advisors there.
The
broadcaster published on its website a video of the deal being signed in
Damascus by Bagheri and Syria’s Defense Minister Ali Ayoub.
It shows an
Iranian military spokesman reading a joint statement saying the “comprehensive
military-security agreement” aims to “confront increasing dangers (and) takfiri
terrorism supported by international and regional powers.”
Iranian
authorities use the term “takfiri” to refer to Sunni extremists, including
groups fighting in Syria.
The joint
statement Wednesday also emphasized “the necessity of the withdrawal of all
foreign armed forces having entered Syria illegally.”
Along with
Moscow, Tehran is one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s main allies in the
war that has ravaged the country since 2011.
The conflict
has killed more than 380,000 people and displaced millions.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/07/08/Iran-announces-plans-to-bolster-Syria-s-air-defense-systems-counter-US-pressure-.html
--------
Arab world
Iraqis
mourning assassinated researcher Hisham al-Hashemi call Khamenei ‘murderer’
08 July 2020
Iraqi
protesters mourning slain researcher Hisham al-Hashemi in the capital Baghdad
slammed Iran’s supreme leader on Tuesday calling him a “murderer” and accused
an Iran-backed militia of killing al-Hashemi.
Al-Hashemi,
47, was killed Monday evening after three gunmen on two motorcycles fired at
him from meters away near his home in the capital Baghdad. He was an
authoritative voice on Sunni extremist factions including ISIS terror group but
was also frequently consulted by media and foreign governments on domestic
Iraqi politics and Iran-backed militias in the country.
For all the
latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The protesters
chanted slogans against Iraq’s Iran-backed Kata’ib Hezbollah militia, the
organization that they believe was behind al-Hashemi’s assassination. “There is
only one God, Hezbollah is the enemy of God,” they chanted in Baghdad’s Tahrir
square.
The protesters
also had a poster of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with blood
flowing from his mouth.
The poster
called on Iraqis to post on social media using an Arabic hashtag that reads
“Khamenei is a murderer and his militias are illegitimate.”
Iranian
protesters had a similar chant in protests earlier this year. “Khamenei is a
murderer and his leadership is illegitimate,” protesters in Iran chanted in the
protests that followed Iran’s admission to downing a passenger plane in January
after three days of denial.
Kata’ib
Hezbollah is one of dozens of militias supported by Iran in Iraq. The group has
been central in the proxy conflict between Iran and the US in Iraq, having
carried out a series of attacks against US-led forces in Iraq that led to the
US retaliating by killing Iran’s Gen. Qassem Soleimani and Kata’ib Hezbollah’s
former leader Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes in January.
According to
one Iraqi activist, al-Hashemi received death threats from Kata’ib Hezbollah
about a month ago.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/07/09/Iraqis-mourning-assassinated-researcher-Hisham-al-Hashemi-call-Khamenei-murderer-.html
--------
Saudi Arabia
nominates former minister Mohammad al-Tuwaijri for WTO director-general
08 July 2020
Saudi Arabia
has nominated Mohammad al-Tuwaijri, the Kingdom’s former Minister of Economy
and Planning, to become the next director-general of the World Trade
Organization (WTO).
The WTO post
will become vacant at the end of August after incumbent Roberto Azevedo said he
would leave the position a year early.
Al-Tuwaijri
was Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Economy and Planning between 2016 and 2020,
where he oversaw part of Kingdom’s ambitious economic transformation plan.
Al-Tuwaijri
obtained a master’s degree with honors in Business Administration from King
Saud University in 1998 and went on to hold several leadership roles during his
career.
He was also a
member in the Kingdom’s Council of Ministers and the Council of Economic and
Development Affairs from 2017 to 2020. He then assumed the position of Deputy
Minister of Economy and Planning as well as the Secretary-General of the
Finance Committee at the Royal Court from 2016 to 2017. He also held the role
of Vice Chairman the Kingdom’s National Development Fund, chaired by the
National Transformation Program.
For all the
latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app
The process
for appointing the next director-general formally began on June 8, lasting
until today, July 8. During that period, all WTO members could nominate a candidate
for the role.
After July 8,
all candidates are then invited to meet with WTO members. After which, rather
than an election, members will carry out a process of elimination of the
nominees.
The next WTO
chief will likely have to grapple with renewed trade tensions between US and
China, and rising protectionism, a dynamic that the coronavirus pandemic has
exacerbated. Other topics on the agenda expected are new rules regarding
e-commerce, and limiting overfishing.
The WTO has
broadly been struggling to mandate any multilateral agreements since the trade
conflict began between China and the US, with the US administration in
particular openly hostile to the organization at times.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2020/07/08/Saudi-Arabia-nominates-former-minister-Mohammad-al-Tuwaijri-for-WTO-director-general.html
--------
Saudi asks
world to heed Iran nuclear threat, extend arms embargo, urges firm stance
08 July 2020
Saudi Arabia
called on the international community to take a firm stance on Iran, and to
extend the arms embargo on the Iranian regime on Tuesday.
In a virtual
meeting of the Kingdom’s Council of Ministers, Saudi Arabia also called for
international members to “deal seriously with the nuclear and ballistic
programs being developed by Iran,” state news agency SPA reported.
The cabinet
went on to reiterate the Kingdom’s commitment to regional stability and
reaffirm that Saudi Arabia will not tolerate any transgression of its borders,
national security threats, safety of water crossings and global economic
activity to hostile Iranian actions.
For all the
latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app
The UN
Security Council previously denounced the targeting of Saudi Arabia by the
Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen, an announcement the cabinet welcomed.
Ministers called for the prompt implementation of the Riyadh Agreement and the
importance of bringing peace back to Yemen.
A UN report
released in late June endorsed long-standing claims that weapons “of Iranian
origin” were used in several attacks against Saudi Arabia last year and have
been exported to the Houthis in Yemen.
The report
provided further evidence for US officials arguing to extend the arms embargo
on Iran and further called into question Tehran’s public commitments to
dialogue and the nuclear deal.
Authored by
the UN’s chief, Secretary-General António Guterres, it examined the
implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 – the resolution by which
the UN endorsed the Iran nuclear deal, officially known as The Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015.
Saudi Arabia
welcomed the report, adding that it confirmed Iran’s well-known destabilizing
regional behavior.
“The Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia has consistently warned of the security consequences of arms
agreements that overlook Iran’s regional expansion and ignore the legitimate
security concerns of regional states. Today, we are glad that international
partners are acknowledging these issues. It might have taken some time, but
better late than never,” Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the UN Ambassador
Abdallah Y. al-Mouallimi told Al Arabiya English at the time.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2020/07/08/Saudi-asks-world-to-heed-Iran-nuclear-threat-extend-arms-embargo-urges-firm-stance.html
--------
India
Court Grants
Bail to Tablighi Jamaat Members From 21 Nations Who Attended Nizamuddin Mosque
Event
July 08, 2020
New Delhi: A
Delhi court today granted bail to foreigners from 21 countries who faced
charges for attending Markaz at Nizamuddin in Delhi by allegedly violating visa
conditions, indulging in missionary activities illegally and violating
government guidelines issued after the COVID-19 outbreak.
Chief
Metropolitan Magistrate Gurmohina Kaur granted the relief to the foreigners on furnishing
a personal bond of Rs 10,000 each.
The accused
will file their plea bargaining applications on Thursday, said advocate Ashima
Mandla, appearing for some of the foreign nationals. Under plea bargaining, the
accused plead guilty to the offence praying for a lesser punishment.
During the
hearing, all the foreign nationals who were staying at a hotel, were produced
before the court through video conferencing.
They were
identified by the concerned officials of the High Commissions/embassies of the
respective countries as well as the investigating officer.
The foreigners
belong to Afghanistan, Brazil, China, USA, Ukraine, Australia, Egypt, Russia,
Algeria, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, France, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Tunisia,
UK, Fiji, Sudan, Philippines and Ethiopia.
The court had
on Tuesday granted bail to 122 Malaysian nationals booked in the case.
They also
filed applications for plea bargaining which was allowed by the court and
listed before the concerned Metropolitan Magistrate Siddharth Malik for early
disposal of the petitions.
The court had
taken cognisance of the 59 charge sheets filed against 956 foreign nationals
belonging to 36 different countries in the case and summoned the accused to be
produced on different dates through video conferencing.
The
investigating officer had told the court that the investigation was complete
against the 956 foreign nationals in the case and each has been allegedly found
to have independently committed the offence for which he / she has been charged
and has added that the further investigation is pending.
These
foreigners had attended the event in March, following which in April COVID-19
cases across the country spiked after hundreds of Tablighi Jamaat members, who
had attended the religious congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz event, tested
positive.
According to
the charge sheets, all the foreigners have been booked for violating visa
rules, violating government guidelines issued in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic
and regulations regarding Epidemic diseases Act, Disaster Management Act and
prohibitory orders under section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure.
They have also
been charged for the offences under sections 188 (Disobedience to order duly
promulgated by public servant), 269 (Negligent act likely to spread infection
of disease dangerous to life), 270 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of
disease dangerous to life) and 271 (Disobedience to quarantine rule) of the
Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Foreigners Act.
The punishment
for various offences under penal provisions ranges from six months to eight
years of imprisonment.
The Centre has
cancelled their Visa and blacklisted them. The foreign nationals have not been
arrested yet and are presently residing at various places approved by the Delhi
High Court.
At least 9,000
people, including the foreign nationals participated in the religious
congregation in Nizamuddin. Later, many of the attendees travelled to various
parts of the country.
A FIR was
registered against Tablighi Jamaat leader Maulana Saad Kandhalvi and six others
on March 31 on a complaint of the Station House Officer of Nizamuddin under
sections of the Epidemic Diseases Act, Disaster Management Act (2005),
Foreigners Act and other relevant sections of Indian Penal Code.
Mr Kandhalvi
was later charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder after some of
the attendees of the religious congregation died due to COVID-19, police said.
https://www.ndtv.com/delhi-news/court-grants-bail-to-foreigners-from-21-nations-who-attended-delhi-mosque-event-2259422
--------
2 LeT
militants killed BJP leader, his father and brother in Bandipora: J&K
Police
July 9, 2020
Two
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants had carried out the “pre-planned” attack on BJP
state executive committee, Sheikh Waseem Bari (27) and his father Sheikh Bashir
Ahmad and brother Sheikh Umar on Wednesday evening in North Kashmir’s
Bandipore, Jammu and Kashmir Police said on Thursday.
The trio, all
linked to the BJP, were killed at their family shop right outside the Bandipore
Police Station.
IGP Kashmir
Vijay Kumar, who arrived in the area on Thursday morning, said one of the
attackers was a local militant while the other was a foreign one.
Earlier in the
day, J&K LG G C Murmu condemned the “barbaric act of killing innocent
people”.
“In a
condolence message, the Lt Governor has said that the barbaric act of killing
innocent people is against the humanity and the perpetrators of this cowardly
act shall be brought to justice,” a government release quoting Lt Governor, as
saying.
Several BJP
leaders also arrived in Bandipora today.
On Wednesday,
the J&K Police had said they had arrested 10 of its personnel assigned to
the security of Bari and his family, for failing to protect them. Police said
the personnel security officers were not present with them when the attack
happened.
The
high-profile killings in a fortified zone came as a shock for the security
establishment, especially as Bandipore has been relatively calm in recent
years.
Bari had been
associated with the BJP for more than four years and was earlier president of
the party’s Bandipore district unit. Kashmir IGP Vijay Kumar said the three
were shot by some unidentified men. “They were critically injured and succumbed
later.”
Union Minister
Jitendra Singh tweeted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi enquired about the
killing and offered his condolences to the family.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/jammu-and-kashmir-bandipore-bjp-leaders-killed-let-militants-6497471/
-------
Pakistan's
claim Jadhav against review plea a farce: India
Jul 9, 2020
India
dismissed as a “continuation of a farce” Pakistan’s claim on Wednesday that
Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav has refused to file a review petition against
his death sentence and only wants to follow up on his mercy petition. India
said the claim, yet another instance of concocted narratives, was meant to mask
Pakistan’s reticence to implement the ICJ judgment in letter and spirit.
The ICJ had
last year called upon Pakistan to review and reconsider Jadhav’s sentencing
while allowing India consular access. It had upheld India’s contention that
Jadhav was not provided benefit of due process of law in violation of Geneva
conventions and sentenced by “black” military court. Recalling that Jadhav had
been sentenced to death through a farcical trial, India said he had clearly
been forced into not filing a review in the case.
The Modi
government added that India will do its utmost to protect Jadhav and ensure his
safe return to India by considering all “appropriate options” even as Pakistan
sought to create a “mirage of compliance” with the ICJ judgment.
Pakistan said
in a statement that it had invited India to file a review and reconsideration
petition after Jadhav’s “refusal to do so”. Islamabad also claimed Jadhav only
wanted to follow up on his mercy petition. Pakistan had on May 20 this year
passed an ordinance to allow for the high court to review the sentence awarded
to Jadhav by the military court.
“India sought
unimpeded access to Jadhav to discuss his remedies under the ordinance. In a
brazen attempt to scuttle even the inadequate remedy under the ordinance,
Pakistan has obviously coerced him to forego his rights to seek an implementation
of the judgement of the ICJ,” said MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava. The
alleged decision would be akin to Jadhav accepting the death sentence.
Pakistan also
said earlier in the day that it is ready to give India consular access for the
second time and offered Jadhav a meeting with his family and his wife and
mother who had met him. The meeting was a difficult experience for the family
as they were subjected to heckling in Pakistan and found Jadhav under extreme
stress and unable to say anything beyond parroting ISI lines.
While Pakistan
had granted India consular access once, India had said that the manner in which
it was given, in the presence of Pakistani officials, was not in keeping with
the spirit of the ICJ judgment. The government said the Pakistan ordinance
itself was a “U-turn” from Islamabad’s position all along that their laws
provided for effective review and reconsideration.
“Now, after
almost a year, they have made a U-turn and issued an ordinance to ostensibly
provide for some sort of review. We have already expressed our serious concerns
at the content of the ordinance and how it violates the ICJ judgment,” said the
official, adding that Pakistan was only seeking to create an illusion of
remedy.
The government
said Pakistan continued to deny India free and unimpeded access to Jadhav and
also not allowed him, as asked for by India, a lawyer from outside Pakistan.
Since Jadhav’s sentencing, the government recalled, Pakistan had refused to
hand over any relevant document, including FIR, evidence, court order to India.
“Clearly, Pakistan is attempting to create a mirage of compliance with the ICJ
judgement,” said the official.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pakistans-claim-jadhav-against-review-plea-a-farce-india/articleshow/76863349.cms
--------
South Asia
Suicide car
bomb attack hits Afghan forces’ check post in Wardak
09 Jul 2020
A suicide
bomber detonated a vehicle packed with explosives close to a security check
post in central Maidan Wardak province of Afghanistan.
According to
local officials, the incident took place earlier today in Sayedabad district of
Wardak province.
MohibullahSharifzai,
a spokesperson for the provincial government, said a suicide bomber detonated a
Vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device closed to a security check post in
Sheikhabad area of the district.
Sharifzai
further added that the security forces identified the suicide bomber before he
could reach his intended target and he blew the explosives up after coming
under fire.
He also added
that the explosion did not inflict casualties on security personnel but some
properties located in the area were damaged.
The
anti-government armed militants including Taliban have not commented in this
regard so fa
https://www.khaama.com/suicide-car-bomb-attack-hits-afghan-forces-check-post-in-wardak-08947/
--------
Taliban react
to photos of Afghan forces published by KIB’s Syrian wing
09 Jul 2020
The Taliban
group reacted to photos which the Syrian Wing of Katibat Imam al-Bukhari (KIB),
an Uzbek Jihadist group loyal to Taliban, recently published.
Zabiullah
Mujahid, a spokesperson for the Taliban group, blamed the anti-peace circles
for propagating by publishing such photos.
“These images
have been stolen from our archive & falsified by anti-peace circles for
propaganda!!!” he said in a Twitter post.
Yesterday,
FDD’s Long War Journal reported on new images released by the Afghanistan
branch of Katibat Imam al-Bukhari (KIB), an Uzbek jihadist group loyal to the
Taliban that fights under its banner, according to Long War Journal.
According to
the Tabloid, the photos in question were originally posted on Telegram by the
overall emir of KIB’s Syrian wing, Abu Yusuf al-Muhajir. KIB’s channels are
routinely banned on the platform. But Muhajir’s channel is relatively stable
and he has taken on the task of publishing the group’s media from both Syria
and Afghanistan.
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-react-to-photos-of-afghan-forces-published-by-kibs-syrian-wing-08946/
--------
Europe
Russia rejects
UN report asserting war crimes in Syria
Elena Teslova
08.07.2020
MOSCOW
Russia’s
foreign minister on Wednesday slammed the UN report accusing Moscow and
Damascus of war crimes in Syria.
Speaking at a
news conference in Moscow, Sergey Lavrov said the UN Commission of Inquiry on
Syria based its report on data from social networks and anonymous sources,
"which cannot be checked and therefore cannot be reliable."
The minister
added that the commission was established by non-consensual decision and its
mandate and methods of work provokes a lot of questions.
"The
decision to establish this commission was pushed by Western countries that have
taken a course for regime change in Syria. By voting in the UN Human Rights
Council, a mechanism was created with the goal of searching for dirt on
Damascus and those they call ‘allies of Damascus’," he said.
Moscow stands
for the necessity to examine any issues of any conflict basing it on
trustworthy particulars and data, which can be confirmed by the body providing
them, Lavrov said.
"This
commission cannot vouch for the authenticity of its information," the
minister said.
On Tuesday,
the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria said in a report that Syrian and Russian
warplanes had carried out airstrikes on civilian population in Idlib which
amounted to war crimes.
Syria has been
locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked
down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.
Since then,
hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million
others displaced, according to UN officials.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/russia-rejects-un-report-asserting-war-crimes-in-syria/1903905
--------
UK, Turkey in
agreement on political solution in Libya
Ahmet
GürhanKartal
08.07.2020
LONDON
Turkey and the
UK are in agreement on a diplomatic solution in Libya, Turkey’s foreign
minister said Wednesday.
Mevlut
Cavusoglu, who is paying a one-day working visit to London, said Turkey thinks
the only solution in Libya conflict is a political one, adding: “We need to
give pace to this political process under the roof of the UN.”
The conditions
of the legitimate Sarraj government in Libya must be met for a ceasefire in
Libya and it needs to be a permanent ceasefire, Cavusoglu noted.
His remarks
came after a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at Downing
Street.
Turkish
foreign minister earlier met his counterpart Dominic Raab.
Cavusoglu said
during the meeting with Raab and Johnson they spoke on relations in the
post-pandemic era, bilateral post-Brexit free trade agreement, cooperation in
tourism, health tourism, and defense industries, as well as other international
and regional issues, including Libya, Syria, and NATO.
Turkish
foreign minister said he also met Jeffrey Donaldson, the chairman of the All
Party Parliamentary Group on Turkey in the UK Parliament, and Wendy Morton, the
minister for European Neighborhood and the Americas.
He stressed
that Turkey and the UK would be in cooperation in many fields after Brexit,
adding “even if the UK departs from the EU, it will continue to be one of the
most important parts of the European continent.”
Cavusoglu also
said that along with the bilateral trade agreement, they also took up the
future of a visa scheme agreement for Turkish businesspeople – also known as
the Ankara Agreement – to prevent possible effects of Brexit on Turkish
citizens.
The top
Turkish diplomat added that he paid a courtesy visit to Johnson and reiterated
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s invitation to Turkey.
He also announced
Turkey will open a consulate in Manchester to provide quality service to the
Turkish citizens.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/uk-turkey-in-agreement-on-political-solution-in-libya/1903871
--------
US plans
military training with Cyprus, defying NATO ally Turkey
09 July 2020
The United
States said Wednesday it plans to conduct military training with Cyprus for the
first time, defying NATO ally Turkey, which warned of destabilization.
For all the
latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The US
Congress last year ended a decades-long arms embargo on the island, whose
northern third is occupied by Turkey.
Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo said the State Department for the first time will fund
military training for the Republic of Cyprus as part of “our expanding security
relationship.”
“This is part
of our efforts to enhance relationships with key regional partners to promote
stability in the Eastern Mediterranean,” Pompeo told reporters.
The
cooperation will be part of the US International Military Education and
Training program, which seeks to train foreign officers and increase friendly
nations' interoperability with the US military.
Turkey and the
self-styled Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus had warned against the end of
the embargo, saying it would upset a balance of power on the island.
“As we
repeatedly stressed in the past, this kind of steps do not contribute to
efforts of finding a solution to the Cyprus problem but rather further
strengthen the Greek Cypriot side's uncompromising attitude,” the Turkish
foreign ministry said of Pompeo's announcement.
“It is clear
that the steps that do not observe the balance between the two sides will not
help restoring an environment of trust on the island as well as restoring peace
and stability in the eastern Mediterranean,” it said in a statement.
The United
States imposed the embargo in 1987 in a bid to avoid an arms race and encourage
a peaceful resolution on the island, whose population is majority Greek.
Critics say
the decision backfired by forcing Cyprus, now an EU member, to seek other
partners, even as Turkey -- despite its NATO membership -- angered the United
States by buying an advanced arms system from Russia.
Turkey invaded
Cyprus in 1974 in response to a coup engineered by the then-military regime in
Athens, which sought to unite the island with Greece.
The island has
remained largely peaceful in the ensuing decades, with Greek Cypriot and
Turkish Cypriot leaders working to build ties in recent years.
But tensions
have recently flared over Turkey's drilling for gas off the island, with the
European Union calling the move illegal.
US officials,
at the same time, have encouraged the warming relations with Israel of both
Cyprus and Greece.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/07/09/US-plans-military-training-with-Cyprus-defying-NATO-ally-Turkey.html
--------
Russia, Turkey
working on ceasefire in Libya
08 July 2020
Russia’s
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow and Ankara are working on an
immediate ceasefire agreement in Libya.
Lavrov said
the so-called Libyan National Army (LNA), commanded by warlord General Khalifa
Haftar, is ready to sign a ceasefire document, the Interfax news agency
reported Wednesday.
Russia's top
diplomat further said the rebel forces hope that Turkey will manage to convince
the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) to agree to a ceasefire.
It has been
about two rival groups fighting for power in Libya since 2014.
The GNA, with
Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj at its head, is based in Tripoli, and the other
group based in the eastern city of Tobruk is supported militarily by Haftar’s
rebels, who are backed by the United Arab Emirates, France, Russia and Egypt.
The rebels
launched an offensive to seize the capital and oust the GNA in April 2019,
triggering some of the most intense fighting in the country.
Multiple
international attempts to bring about peace between the two warring sides have
failed.
Turkey has
extended significant help to the GNA, helping it thwart the rebel offensive
against Tripoli.
When the
rebels lost ground, Egypt called for a ceasefire. Russia and the UAE welcomed
that initiative, but the government and Turkey said fighting would continue
until the city of Sirte is recaptured.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/07/08/629181/Russia-Turkey-ceasefire-Libya
--------
Germany slams
Russia, China for blocking aid to Syria
08.07.2020
BERLIN
A leading
parliamentarian of Germany's ruling party on Wednesday lambasted China and
Russia for blocking a UN Security Council resolution extending cross-border aid
to Syria.
The Russian
and Chinese action was "cynical and a crime against humanity," said
Jurgen Hardt, foreign policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in
the German Bundestag, in a statement.
The MP called
on Russia and China "to give up their vetoes and finally clear the way for
continued humanitarian aid to the Syrian population."
"Russia's
President Putin and China's President Xi are personally responsible for the
suffering of the people of Syria," added Hardt, whose country is chairing
the UN Security Council this month.
Moscow and
Beijing on Tuesday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution to extend aid
deliveries from Turkey to Syria, which the UN says is critical to saving
millions of lives.
UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said before
the vote that cross-border access is "vital to the wellbeing of the
civilians in northwest Syria ... Lives depend on it."
The remaining
13 Security Council members voted in support of the resolution drafted by
Germany and Belgium.
The Security
Council is now scheduled to vote on a Russian motion to approve one Turkish
crossing for aid access for six months.
Syria has been
locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked
down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.
Since then,
hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million
others displaced, according to UN officials.
Aid supplies –
both from the UN and Turkish groups – go regularly from a Turkish border
crossing into Syria, to the south.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/germany-slams-russia-china-for-blocking-aid-to-syria/1904044
--------
Turkey slams
US military decision on Greek Cyprus
FirdevsBulut
09.07.2020
Turkey
criticized the US on Wednesday for including Greek Cyprus in its International
Military Education and Training Program.
"Initiatives
that do not observe balance between parties will not contribute to establishing
a secure environment on the Island, nor will they help keep peace and stability
in the Eastern Mediterranean," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy
in a statement.
The statement
noted that the US included Greek Cyprus in its International Military Education
and Training Program for 2020.
Turkey
supports the approach of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in this
matter, the statement said.
"As we
have stressed many times before, these steps will not contribute to finding a
solution to the Cyprus issue but instead strengthens the uncompromising
approach of the Greek side,” it added.
Earlier in the
day, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the US has included Greek
Cyprus in its International Military Education and Training Program for 2020.
“The
Department of State intends to provide International Military Education and
Training funding to that country, contingent on congressional appropriations
and our notification of Congress,” Pompeo said at a press briefing in
Washington.
“This is part
of our efforts to enhance relationships with key regional partners to promote
stability in the Eastern Mediterranean,” he added.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/turkey-slams-us-military-decision-on-greek-cyprus/1904259
--------
North America
Top
US general predicts limited military presence in Iraq
08
July 2020
The
head of US Central Command says he is confident that the Iraqi government wants
a small amount of US troops to remain in the Arab country for the foreseeable
future.
“I
believe that going forward, they’re going to want us to be with them,” Gen.
Kenneth McKenzie told reporters on Tuesday following a meeting with Iraqi Prime
Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
“I
don’t sense there’s a mood right now for us to depart precipitously. And I’m
pretty confident of that,” he added.
The
comments by Gen. McKenzie come after the Iraqi parliament unanimously approved
a bill on January 5, demanding the withdrawal of all foreign military forces
led by the United States.
The
bill was passed after the assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani,
the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, along
with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization
Units (PMU) – better known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Sha’abi, and their
companions in a US airstrike authorized by President Donald Trump near Baghdad
International Airport two days earlier.
Later
on January 9, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, the former Iraqi prime minister, called on the
United States to dispatch a delegation to Baghdad tasked with formulating a
mechanism for the move.
Since
then, the US-led military coalition purportedly formed to fight the Daesh
terrorist group has officially handed over a number of its strategic air bases
to the country’s government forces, consolidating its troops on fewer bases.
There
are currently about 5,200 American troops in Iraq, but the Pentagon is under
pressure from both Iraq and the US to reduce the military presence in the Arab
country.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/07/08/629195/US-Iraq-US%C2%A0Central-Command-Kenneth-McKenzie
--------
Top
US general says not convinced Russian cash led to US deaths in Afghanistan
08
July 2020
A
top US general says he is not convinced Russia had incentivized Taliban-linked
militants to kill coalition forces, including American troops, in Afghanistan.
Last
month, several major US news outlets including The Washington Post, The New
York Times and The Associated Press reported that intelligence related to the
matter indicated that Russia had offered bounty as incentive to the Taliban.
President
Donald Trump, a Republican who has worked to cultivate warmer ties with Russia,
said later that month that he was not briefed on any such reports.
He
then blamed the "fake news" for the allegations, saying on Twitter
that “the Russia Bounty story is just another made up by Fake News tale that is
told only to damage me and the Republican Party.”
The
Pentagon also said that it had “no corroborating evidence to validate the
recent allegations found in open-source reports.”
On
Tuesday, Marine General Frank McKenzie, the head of US Central Command,
underlined the US military’s caution in the most extensive remarks to date
about the issue from a defense official.
“I’m
very familiar with this material and I’m a theater commander and I’ve had an
opportunity to look at it. I found it very worrisome. I just didn’t find that
there was a causative link there,” McKenzie told reporters.
When
asked about whether he believed Russian payments led to US deaths, he said,
“No, I’m not convinced of that. I’m just not.”
He
then noted that battlefield intelligence was often inconclusive.
“But
in this case, there just wasn’t enough there,” McKenzie said.
“I
sent the intelligence guys back to continue to dig on it. And I believe they’re
continuing to dig right now.”
Moscow
had dismissed the allegations, with its embassy in the US saying the claims had
led to threats against diplomats. The embassy also accused the Times of
promoting fake news.
The
Taliban likewise denied having had any deal with Russian intelligence.
The
US military previously accused Russia of possibly supporting elements of the
Taliban, by giving weapons to them among other things, with McKenzie also
saying that the Russians were “not our friends in Afghanistan and they do not
wish us well.”
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/07/08/629160/US-Afghanistan-taliban-russia-us-forces-
--------
Pompeo
hints at Iran links in killing of Iraq expert
July
08, 2020
WASHINGTON:
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday demanded justice over the killing
of a prominent Iraqi extremist expert and highlighted threats against him by
Iran-linked groups.
Hisham
Al-Hashemi, an internationally known scholar whose vast contacts inside Iraq
made him a mediator among rivals, was gunned down outside his Baghdad home late
Monday by masked assailants on motorcycles.
“In
the days leading up to his death he was repeatedly threatened by Iran backed
armed groups,” Pompeo told a news conference in Washington, without explicitly
blaming Tehran.
“The
United States joins partner nations in strongly condemning his assassination
and call(ing) for the government of Iraq to bring to justice the perpetrators
of this terrible crime... swiftly,” he said.
Hashemi
was an authoritative voice on extremist movements including Daesh, which are
violently opposed to Iran.
But
he infuriated Tehran-backed factions in Iraq’s Hashed Al-Shaabi military
network through his support of popular protests last year against a Baghdad
government seen as too close to Iran.
Some
experts have voiced fear of a new violent phase in Iraq and believe the turning
point may have come in January when a US strike in Baghdad killed a top Iranian
general, Qasem Soleimani.
President
Donald Trump’s administration has sought to check Iran’s regional activities
and choke its economy and frequently seeks to throw a spotlight on purported
nefarious activities backed by the clerical state.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1701851/middle-east
--------
US
general affirms support for Lebanon; Hezbollah supporters burn Trump photos
08
July 2020
A
senior US military general landed in Beirut Wednesday to reaffirm Washington’s
backing for Lebanon. At the same time, a group of Hezbollah supporters burned
flags and pictures of the United States and its ambassador to Lebanon.
CENTCOM
Commander Gen. Kenneth McKenzie met with Lebanon’s top officials and
“reaffirmed the importance of preserving Lebanon’s security, stability, and
sovereignty,” a statement from the US Embassy in Beirut said.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
It
added that McKenzie “underscored the importance of the strong partnership
between the United States and the Lebanese Armed Forces.”
US
aid for the Lebanese army has come under scrutiny from some US officials and
policymakers claiming that Hezbollah influences the military decisions.
Lebanese officials and the army have rejected these claims.
McKenzie
has voiced his conviction of the need to continue supporting the Lebanese army,
a vital partner in the international fight against terrorism.
As
McKenzie arrived, supporters of the Iran-backed Hezbollah blocked a road near
the Beirut airport and praised the bombers of the 1983 attack on the US Marines
barracks in Beirut.
One
supporter told Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV that he came to “praise” the terrorists
that bombed the Marine barracks.
Photos
of Imad Mughniyeh, a senior Hezbollah commander assassinated in 2008, and flags
of Hezbollah were raised during the demonstration that saw Lebanese army
soldiers push back the Hezbollah supporters to reopen the blocked road.
Photographs
of US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea were torched alongside portraits of US
President Donald Trump and the US and Israeli flags.
Tensions
have escalated in recent weeks after a south Lebanon judge issued an order
banning Shea from being interviewed by local media outlets.
The
Lebanese government apologized, and Shea said the “page has been turned” on the
incident.
However,
Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah attacked Shea in a televised speech on
Tuesday.
Nasrallah
also criticized the Lebanese government for what he said was remaining silent
over an interview where Shea lambasted the group for destabilizing Lebanon.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/07/09/US-general-affirms-support-for-Lebanon-Hezbollah-supporters-burn-Trump-photos.html
--------
Foreign
intervention in Libya delays political solution: US State Department
08
July 2020
Foreign
intervention in Libya keeps warring parties from reaching a political solution,
warned a US State Department spokeswoman, adding that Washington believes there
is no military solution to the crisis which must be resolved through the United
Nations.
The
comments made by State Department spokesman Morgan Ortagus on Wednesday to Al
Arabiya comes just days after the US ambassador to Egypt told Al Hadath the
United States opposes “all foreign intervention” in Libya and is engaged in
active diplomacy.
Tensions
between Egypt and Libya’s Government of National Accord have been on the rise
in recent weeks. In June, al-Sisi ordered his army to stand ready carry out any
mission outside the country, if necessary, amid high tensions over Turkey's
intervention in neighboring Libya.
Turkey
has been accused of sending Syrian mercenaries daily to fight with the GNA.
These actions have been widely criticized by the US and other countries.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/north-africa/2020/07/08/Foreign-intervention-in-Libya-delays-political-solution-US-State-Department.html
--------
Africa
Foreign
meddling in Libya at unprecedented levels: UN chief
09
July 2020
The
United Nations (UN) secretary-general warns that foreign interference in the
conflict in Libya has reached “unprecedented” levels.
“The
[Libyan] conflict has entered a new phase, with foreign interference reaching
unprecedented levels, including in the delivery of sophisticated equipment and
the number of mercenaries involved in the fighting,” Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres said in an address to a high-level virtual meeting of the UN Security
Council on Wednesday.
He
said both the delivery of weapons and the dispatch of proxy forces were in
violation of a UN arms embargo on Libya.
Since
2014, two rival seats of power have emerged in Libya, namely the
internationally-recognized government, known as the Government of National
Accord (GNA), and another group based in the eastern city of Tobruk.
The
latter camp is supported militarily by an array of rebel militia under the
command of a former general named Khalifa Haftar.
The
rebels receive support from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Russia, and
Jordan. The GNA is backed by Turkey.
Foreign
patrons on both sides are accused of sending in advanced weapons and proxies.
In
the past couple of weeks, government forces have pushed the rebels as far back
as the city of Sirte, on the Mediterranean coastline, where a major battle now
looms. The government advances are believed to have come with crucial Turkish
support.
Guterres
said the “GNA units, with significant external support, continued their advance
eastward, and are now 25 kilometers west of Sirte after two previous attempts
to gain control of the city.”
He
expressed concern about the military buildup around Sirte.
Russia
is accused of supporting Haftar in his bid to oust the GNA, but Russia’s UN
Ambassador VassilyNebenzia rejected the allegation in the same UNSC session on
Wednesday.
“But
we know about other countries’ military personnel, including from those
countries that accuse us, to be present on Libyan soil, East and West,”
Nebenzia said, calling on all countries with influence on the Libyan parties to
push for a permanent ceasefire.
The
UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash also told the UNSC
that there had been “roughly 10,000 Syrian mercenaries operating in Libya,
approximately twice as many as there were six months ago.”
Turkey
is accused of sending those militants.
Guterres
said that, between April and June this year, the UN mission in Libya had
documented at least 102 civilians deaths and 254 civilians injuries, showing a
172 percent increase compared to the first quarter of the year.
He
said there had also been at least 21 attacks on medical facilities, ambulances,
and medical personnel in Libya.
International
attempts to bring about peace between the warring sides in Libya have so far
failed. The country first plunged into chaos in 2011, when a popular uprising
and a NATO intervention led to the ouster of long-time dictator Muammar
Gaddafi.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/07/09/629228/Libya-foreign-meddling-unprecedented-levels-UN-Guterres
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Escalation
with Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean threatens Europe: EU official
09
July 2020
Escalation
involving Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean has a negative impact on the
European Union's security and must be contained, said JosepBorrel, the EU's
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on
Thursday.
Turkey
has become increasingly assertive in the eastern Mediterranean after it signed
a deal with the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya, which Ankara
backs in its fight against the Libyan National Army (LNA) for control of the
country.
Borrel
said that the escalation in the region must be contained, adding that the EU
did not recognize the Republic of North Cyprus, which is recognized by Turkey,
and any of Ankara's claims for drilling rights on its behalf.
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all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
European Union does not recognize the Republic of North Cyprus and rejects
Turkey's activities in the waters of Cyprus, said Borrel.
Turkey's
neighbors, including Cyprus and Greece, reject Turkey's claims of mineral
rights over vast swathes of the eastern Mediterranean.
The
EU and Arab countries including Egypt have also rejected Turkey's position.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/north-africa/2020/07/09/Escalation-with-Turkey-in-the-Eastern-Mediterranean-threatens-Europe-EU-official.html
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Libyans
protest against Turkey’s Erdogan and ‘occupation’ of Libya in Benghazi
06
July 2020
Libyans
staged a protest against Turkey’s intervention in the country in the city of
Benghazi on Sunday.
Images
and footage showed crowds in Bengahzi’s al-Keesh square, with banners depicting
the face of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with a cross over his face.
According
to Al Arabiya, demonstrators chanted against foreign “occupation.”
Photos
showed people holding signs saying “Libya did not and will not bow to the
Turkish regime” in Arabic and “Not for colonization No to Turkish
intervention.”
Turkey
supports the Government of National Accord (GNA) in its conflict with the
Libyan National Army (LNA).
According
to sources, Ankara and the GNA signed a military alliance on Saturday,
following an earlier economic deal giving Turkey maritime rights to vast
swathes of the eastern Mediterranean.
Backed
by Syrian mercenaries sent to Libya by Turkey, the GNA has taken ground against
the LNA over recent months and now poses a threat to the strategic city of
Sirte and the Al Jufra airbase.
On
Sunday, an unidentified air force struck the GNA-controlled Watiya base,
reportedly destroying Turkish military equipment.
Benghazi
remains a stronghold of the LNA, which is backed by the Tobruk-based Libyan
parliament and foreign countries including Egypt, Russia, France and the United
Arab Emirates.
Turkey
withdraws troops after Watiya strike: LNA, local sources
Turkey
withdrew a substantial number of its garrison at the Watiya base after
suffering material losses in the attack, according to an LNA official and local
sources who spoke to Al Hadath.
An
anonymous Turkish military source confirmed to Al Arabiya that it had suffered
shelling and material losses from the strike, but did not specify any
casualties.
LNA
officer Brig. Khaled al-Mahjoub, the director of its Department of Moral
Guidance, told Al Arabiya on Sunday that Turkey had suffered significant losses
in military equipment in the attack, and that more attacks would be carried out
against the base soon.
"We
are in a real war with Turkey, which has oil ambitions in Libya, said
al-Mahjoub.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/north-africa/2020/07/06/Libyans-protest-against-Turkey-s-Erdogan-and-occupation-of-Libya-in-Benghazi.html
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Only
solution to Dam dispute is negotiating toward win-win solution: Ethiopia FM
08
July 2020
The
only solution to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is negotiating in good
faith toward a win-win solution for all countries involved, according to
Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew.
“The
issues on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam are specific to the first filling
and annual operation. Hence, negotiations based on science is the only
solution. We believe the only solution is negotiating in good faith with the
objective to reach at a win-win outcome will resolve the differences,”
Andargachew said in written statement to Al Arabiya.
The
Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is being built about 15 km from the
border with Sudan on the Blue Nile, the source of most of the Nile's waters.
Ethiopia says the $4 billion hydropower project, which will have an installed
capacity of 6,450 megawatts, is essential to its economic development.
Egypt
is counting on international pressure to unlock a deal it sees as crucial to
protecting its scarce water supplies from the Nile river before the expected
start-up of a giant dam upstream in Ethiopia in July.
Andargachew
described Egypt's claims that the GERD would lead to third as “exaggerations
and untrue claims.”
The
latest round of talks, which had started on June 9 over video conference,
followed a previous round of negotiations in Washington, which ended without
agreement in February.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/07/08/Only-solution-to-Dam-dispute-is-negotiating-toward-win-win-solution-Ethiopia-FM.html
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