Prime Minister Modi Says AMU is ‘Mini-India’ - Aligarh Muslim University’s Diversity Strength of Entire Nation
New
Age Islam News Bureau
22
December 2020
PM Modi's remarks came during his address at the
centenary celebrations of Aligarh Muslim University via video conferencing.
(Photo source: ANI)
-----
•
Qasim Khan Is Now Karamveer Singh: 8 Years On, Muslim Man in Interfaith
Marriage Converts
•
Pakistan to UAE: Can’t Recognise Israel until Palestine Resolved
•
Christmas Decorations, Trees and Glittery Ornaments, Are for the First Time on
Sale in Saudi Arabia
•
Lockdown Blamed As More Under-18s Held For Terror Offences in UK
•
US Muslim Lawmaker Vows Not To Take Coronavirus Vaccine before Those ‘Who Need
It Most’
•
Israeli Forces Kill Young Palestinian In Aqsa Mosque
•
Israeli Envoys Head to Morocco To Meet King In Latest Talks On US-Brokered Ties
India
•
Prime Minister Modi Says AMU is ‘Mini-India’ - Aligarh Muslim University’s
Diversity Strength of Entire Nation –
•
Qasim Khan Is Now Karamveer Singh: 8 Years On, Muslim Man In Interfaith
Marriage Converts
•
Dropout Rate of Muslim Girl Students Reduced, Govt Concerned About Their
Education, Empowerment: PM Modi at AMU
•
'Love Jihad': Entire Family Booked In UP, 6 In Jail; Reward Of Rs 25000 On 5
'Missing'
•
PM Modi Addresses Centenary Celebrations Of Aligarh Muslim University:
Highlights
•
Government Committed to Development without Discrimination Says Prime Minister
•
Ideological Divides Secondary to Nation: PM at Aligarh Muslim University
•
Delhi HC asks cops to trace ‘missing’ Hindu woman who eloped with Muslim man
•
Pak army shells mortars along LoC in J&K's Poonch
•
NIA arrests 17 SDPI and PFI activists in Bengaluru riots case
•
Two PDP leaders detained in Kashmir, says Mehbooba Mufti; officials
tight-lipped
--------
Pakistan
•
Pakistan to UAE: Can’t Recognise Israel until Palestine Resolved
•
Pakistan Government Grants Permission for Construction of Hindu Temple in
Islamabad
•
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia Reaffirm Resolve to Cement Bilateral Ties
•
Fazl among 20 politicians facing ‘serious threats to life’: minister
•
Hindu community issued NOC for boundary wall around cremation site in capital
•
Alvi urges OIC countries to join hands for Ummah’s renaissance
•
Rifts in Fazl-led JUI deepens
•
Fazl accused of committing graft, inciting violence
--------
Arab
World
•
Christmas Decorations, Trees and Glittery Ornaments, Are for the First Time on
Sale in Saudi Arabia
•
Over Dozen Shia Scholars Kept In Detention Centres In Saudi Arabia: Report
•
Pro-Israel Stance: Hamas Slams UAE Support for the Settlement And Occupation
•
Lebanon passes law criminalizing sexual harassment, amends domestic violence
law
•
Saudi Arabia thwarts attempts to smuggle over 18 million amphetamine pills
•
Yemeni PM: Saudi Arabia ended division between Yemenis via Riyadh Agreement
•
Hezbollah: Soleimani was assassinated because he challenged US hegemony
•
US using terrorists as pretext to justify continued military presence in
northeast Syria: FM
--------
Europe
•
Lockdown Blamed As More Under-18s Held For Terror Offences in UK
•
Four arrested for Sept. 25 Paris knife attack, source says
•
Nando’s knife attacker who claimed to be terrorist detained under Mental Health
Act
•
Germany brings home 'Islamic State' brides, children from Syrian camps
•
Berlin Islamist terror attack: A deadly story of failure
•
Two more suspects linked to Vienna attack arrested: prosecutors
•
India should not worry about our ties with Pakistan, says Russia
--------
North
America
•
US Muslim Lawmaker Vows Not To Take Coronavirus Vaccine before Those ‘Who Need
It Most’
•
US Reinstates Sudan’s Sovereign Immunity after Removal from Terror List
•
The deep US web of animosity towards Iran to continue?
•
Islamic State train attacker thwarted by three California men is convicted
•
US announces new criminal charges in Pan Am terrorist bombing
--------
Mideast
•
Israeli Forces Kill Young Palestinian In Aqsa Mosque
•
MEPs call on Israel to allow entry of anti-coronavirus medical supplies into
Gaza
•
Iranian Lawmaker: FATF Policymakers Main Sponsors of Terrorism
•
Iran Blasts Canada’s Meddling in Ukrainian Plane Case, Stresses Publication of
Relevant Report Soon
•
Iran urged not to waste ‘last window of opportunity’ for nuclear deal
•
Houthi official accused of prison torture at Yemen’s Central Security prison
•
Knesset rejects bill to delay budget Israel heading to 4th vote in 2 years as
Knesset tosses out election prevention bill
--------
Africa
•
Israeli Envoys Head to Morocco To Meet King In Latest Talks On US-Brokered Ties
•
El Al Airlines to operate first Israel-Morocco flight on December 22
•
UNSC Discusses Western Sahara After Trump's Deal With Morocco
•
At least 10 killed in central Somalia bombing claimed by al Shabaab
--------
South
Asia
•
Afghan Parliament Lashes over Recent Remarks by First Lady
•
Prison doctors among 5 killed in Kabul bombing
•
Suicide Bomber Targets Funeral Ceremony in Paghman, Killing 1
•
Ex-Pakistani PM: Pakistan Supports Both Taliban, Al-Qaeda
--------
Southeast
Asia
•
Covid-19: Christmas celebration in the Federal Territory is now allowed, says
KL Dept of National Unity and Integration
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
--------
Prime
Minister Modi Says AMU is ‘Mini-India’ - Aligarh Muslim University’s Diversity
Strength of Entire Nation –
December
22, 2020
PM Modi's remarks came during his address at the
centenary celebrations of Aligarh Muslim University via video conferencing.
(Photo source: ANI)
-----
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday reiterated his commitment to his government's
slogan of 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas' as he heaped praise on the Aligarh Muslim
University. Modi was speaking at the centenary celebrations of the Aligarh
Muslim University.
The
last time a prime minister attended an event at AMU was Lal Bahadur Shastri in
1964. Before him, prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had visited Aligarh Muslim
University four times.
Attending
the event via videoconference, Modi released a special postal stamp to
commemorate the centenary celebrations of AMU.
Modi
was quoted by ANI as saying, "The country is marching forward on the path
where every citizen would get the benefits of development happening in the
country without any discrimination. The country is on the path where every
citizen should rest assured about their constitutional right and their future.
Country is on the path where no citizen would be left behind because of their
religion, and everyone would get equal opportunities, so that everyone can
fulfil their dreams. Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas is the mantra
behind it."
Modi
heaped praise on Aligarh Muslim University and its role in nation building.
"Wherever in the world they go, AMU alumni represent the rich heritage and
culture of India... In its 100 years of history, AMU has crafted and polished
millions of lives, giving them modern and scientific thinking and inspiring
them to do something for the society and the nation,” ANI quoted Modi as
saying.
Modi
lauded Aligarh Muslim University's contribution to the fight against COVID-19.
"The way AMU helped society during COVID-19 pandemic is phenomenal.
Conducting free tests, making isolation wards, creating plasma banks and
contributing to PM Cares Fund... all this shows the seriousness of fulfilling
your obligations towards society," Modi was quoted as saying by ANI.
Modi
highlighted the diversity of Aligarh Muslim University. He was quoted by ANI as
saying, "People tell me that the AMU campus is like a city in itself. We
see a Mini-India among different departments, dozens of hostels, thousands of
teachers and professors. The diversity that we see here is not only the
strength of this university but also of the entire nation."
https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2020/12/22/modi-lauds-aligarh-muslim-university-as-mini-india.html
--------
Qasim
Khan Is Now Karamveer Singh: 8 Years On, Muslim Man in Interfaith Marriage Converts
Dec
22, 2020
AGRA:
Eight years after he married a Hindu woman, a Muslim man from Aligarh has
converted to Hinduism “with help from” a Hindutva outfit. Qasim Khan, 28, is
now Karamveer Singh.
“No
one forced me. I took this decision on my own,” he said on Monday. Qasim had
met Anita Kumari, 24, when his father had leased a house from hers for a
construction workshop. The two fell in love and got married in 2012. Anita’s
family was not entirely on board and, a year later, the couple organised another
wedding ceremony, this time following Hindu rituals. Her family moved to Delhi,
the couple stayed on in Aligarh and had two kids — Kasifa (7) and Ayaz (4).
Now,
less than a month after the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion
Ordinance 2020 came into effect, Qasim has converted to Hinduism.
Qasim
said he needs protective cover. “I had sought security from the district
administration but they didn’t get back to me. I request the government again,
I need protection,” he told TOI. Anita added, “I was never asked to convert or
not follow Hindu rituals.” For his own conversion, the “helping hand” came from
the local unit of a Hindutva outfit.
Neeraj
Bhardwaj, a member of the outfit, who got Qasim converted, told TOI, “They are
welcome to the fold of Hindu religion. We did the rituals at Arya Samaj temple
on Sunday.” He said Qasim had applied for a legal conversion to the district
magistrate on December 15. But after he got no response for five days, the
temple took over.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/8-years-on-muslim-man-in-interfaith-marriage-converts/articleshow/79848079.cms
--------
Pakistan
To UAE: Can’t Recognise Israel Until Palestine Resolved
21
Dec 2020
Pakistanis protest UAE's decision to normalise
diplomatic ties with Israel during a demonstration in Karachi on August 16,
2020 [File: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters]
-------
Pakistan
says it has made it clear to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that Islamabad
cannot recognise Israel until the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved.
“I
categorically presented Pakistan’s stance on Israel to the UAE’s foreign
minister that we will not and cannot establish a relationship with Israel until
a concrete and permanent solution to the Palestine issue is found,” Pakistan’s
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters in the central city of
Multan on Monday.
Qureshi’s
statement came days after his visit to the UAE, which was seen by many as
crucial amid rumours that Islamabad had secretly sent a messenger to Israel.
Islamabad
denied the reports, which appeared mainly in the Israeli media.
Responding
to questions regarding reports about alleged pressure from Saudi Arabia, the
UAE and other Gulf states for recognition of Israel, Qureshi said he explained
to his UAE counterpart the “depth of emotions and feelings Pakistanis have
about Palestine and Kashmir”.
The
UAE foreign minister, he contended, “fully understood our feelings” on the two
issues.
Rebuffing
reports about pressure on Islamabad to recognise Israel, he said, “Number one,
there will be no pressure on us nor there is. Number two, we have to make
decisions keeping Pakistan’s interests in view and not because of any pressure.
We have a policy and we are still steadfast on it.”
He
said Prime Minister Imran Khan had “time and again clarified there is no
pressure on us in this regard”.
Khan
made headlines last month when he revealed that Islamabad had been under
pressure from some “friendly” nations to recognise Israel.
Although
he stopped short of naming the countries despite being repeatedly asked whether
they were Muslim or non-Muslim countries, many believe the Pakistani leader was
referring to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The
UAE, Bahrain and Morocco recently established diplomatic and economic relations
with Israel, while reports suggest some other Gulf states, including Saudi
Arabia, are also weighing the options to normalise ties.
In
recent years, Pakistan’s relations with its traditional Gulf allies have come
under strain due to Islamabad’s “neutrality” on several issues, including the
war in Yemen and the blockade on Qatar imposed by a Saudi Arabia-led Arab
alliance.
Riyadh
also appears to be irked by criticism from Islamabad over its lukewarm stance
on Pakistan’s longstanding dispute with India over the Himalayan territory of
Kashmir, claimed in full by both the South Asian neighbours.
Visa
restrictions
Meanwhile,
Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry, in a statement on
Sunday, said Qureshi also raised the issue of visa restrictions on Pakistani
nationals in the meeting with his UAE counterpart.
He
said Qureshi was assured the visa restrictions were “temporary” and were
imposed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last
month, the UAE stopped issuing new visas to citizens of 13 mostly-Muslim
countries. The decision took effect on November 18 and included citizens from
Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Kenya, Lebanon,
Tunisia, Algeria, Turkey, and Iran.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/21/cant-recognise-israel-until-palestine-resolved-pakistan-to-uae
--------
Christmas
Decorations, Trees and Glittery Ornaments, Are for the First Time On Sale In
Saudi Arabia
21
December 2020
Christmas
trees and glittery ornaments are for sale at a gift shop in Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia, a once unthinkable sight.
In
recent years, festive sales have gradually been introduced into the capital
Riyadh, a sign of loosening social restrictions after Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman pledged to steer the country towards an “open, moderate Islam.”
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
“I
didn’t ever imagine I’d see this” in Saudi Arabia, a Riyadh resident told AFP
at the shop selling trees, Santa Claus outfits as well as tinsel, baubles and
other ornaments.
“I
am surprised,” said the resident.
Until
barely three years ago, it was almost impossible to sell such items openly in
Saudi Arabia.
“It
was very difficult to find such” Christmas items in the Kingdom, said Mary, a
Lebanese expat based in Riyadh.
“Many
of my friends used to buy [Christmas trees] them from Lebanon or Syria,” she
said.
Things
changed in the Kingdom after a 2016 decree was issued by the Saudi cabinet,
restricting the Saudi Committee of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice
(dubbed as “religious police” by Western media) to pursue and arrest violators.
In
February, shops sold red roses and teddy bears in celebration of Valentine’s
Day, something that just two years ago was banned as the holiday was deemed
“un-Islamic.”
A
Saudi newspaper listed several restaurants that allowed guests to celebrate
Valentine’s Day, including one that offered a themed menu with special
arrangements for Valentine’s surprises.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2020/12/21/Christmas-decorations-go-on-sale-in-Saudi-Arabia-for-first-time
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Lockdown
blamed as more under-18s held for terror offences in UK
21
Dec 2020
The
number of children being arrested for terrorism offences is rising as the
pandemic creates a climate for lonely young people to be drawn in, police have
warned.
A
total of 17 under-18s were arrested in the year to September 2020 compared with
11 in the year to September 2019, police have said.
So
far this year a total of 3,000 pieces of suspected terrorist content have been
flagged up to the Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) compared
with 2,796 in 2019, a rise of around 7%.
But
the number of referrals of rightwing content rose 43%, from 134 in 2019 to 192
between 1 January and 20 November this year.
DCS
Kevin Southworth, from the CTIRU, said that one unforeseen consequence of the
global pandemic could be young people being radicalised.
“There
has been a slight shift during the pandemic, which may simply reflect people
being at home more, and ultimately perhaps spending more time online – Perhaps
in some instances sadly who have less people to speak to, perhaps recoursing to
online media for greater quantities of their time because they’ve been stuck in
self-isolating, or lacking people to come into contact with. It could be a sad
corollary really of the Covid pandemic that we’ve not yet really fully
realised.”
On
Monday the unit published a blog by one of its sergeants, identified only as
Paul, who warned parents that their children might be viewing terrorist
material online during the Christmas break.
He
wrote: “It would be misguided to think that the youngsters finding terrorist
propaganda online and being sucked in by its eye-catching graphics and false
promises of martyrdom are archetypical terrorist ‘suspects’.
“They’re
not. They vary by gender and ethnic background; some are high-achievers at
school, others not so; some are from impoverished backgrounds, others more
fortunate. They’re sons, daughters, siblings and friends – possibly yours,
though you may not like to think it.”
Between
1 January 2019 and 30 June 2020 around 1,500 children aged 15 and under were
identified as being at risk of radicalisation as part of the government’s
Prevent scheme.
Southworth
said: “There’s perhaps a challenge that young people face in the modern age
that we didn’t face when we were younger.
“We
are in the digital age now where everyone has access to copious quantities of
open-source material, and if you are a youngster in the middle of a pandemic
who’s spending a long time online, especially if you’re someone who has any
other underlying vulnerability or perhaps a mental illness, then there’s always
that chance that you may be drawn to extreme material.”
A
website and helpline have been set up, Act Early, to encourage adults to report
signs of young people at risk of being radicalised.
Southworth
said: “The one outcome that we would all want to avoid, family and friends
alike, is that someone becomes radicalised or subject to hateful extremism in
our midst, and then ultimately comes to injury or causes someone else an injury
when we could have avoided it.”
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/dec/21/lockdown-blamed-as-under-18s-terrorism-offences-coronavirus?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1840297_
--------
US
Muslim lawmaker vows not to take coronavirus vaccine before those ‘who need it
most’
22
December 2020
Muslim
American lawmaker Ilhan Omar says she will not take the vaccine for the
coronavirus unless those “who need it most,” take it first.
The
Minnesota Democrat also criticized her colleagues for putting themselves ahead
of frontline the essential workers, Fox News reported Monday.
"We
are not more important [than] frontline workers, teachers, etc. who are making
sacrifices [every day]," Omar said. "Which is why I won’t take it.
People who need it most, should get it."
Omar’s
fellow Squad member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, meanwhile, went ahead and took
the shot like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate majority leader Mitch
McConnell.
If
you have any questions or unease about the COVID vaccine, I got you! I’d
*never* ask you to do something I wasn’t willing to do myself. Yday per
national security policy (PPD40), Congress began getting vaccinated,” AOC
tweeted. “I took the jab & am here to answer your questions. Ask away!”
There
were also those who argued that the country’s leaders should get vaccinated to
assure people that the vaccine is safe.
"Millions
of Americans are waiting for shots, many of whom are workers on the front lines
of this pandemic," tweeted Democratic Representative Don Beyer of
Virginia, who was among those to receive one. "I am not more important
than they are, but national leaders must lead by example."
Retiring
Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said Monday that she would not receive a covid-19
vaccine until elderly Americans have been vaccinated.
"They’re
recommending 100 million 'essential workers' (i.e. healthy people working at
liquor stores or phone companies) can get the vaccine before our
grandparents," wrote Gabbard, a former 2020 Democratic presidential
candidate. "This is immoral and bad health policy," she added.
"I had planned to get the vaccine but will now stand in solidarity with
our seniors by not doing so until THEY can. I urge my colleagues who are under
65 and healthy to join me."
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/22/641252/I-won%E2%80%99t-take-it-ilhan-Omar-speaks-up-on-vaccine
--------
Israeli
forces kill young Palestinian in Aqsa Mosque
21
December 2020
Israeli
forces have fatally shot a young Palestinian near Bab Huta, one of the gates to
al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds.
Local
sources say the Israeli forces opened fire at the Palestinian youth, killing
him after he allegedly attempted to carry out an attack near the gate.
His
identity remains unknown until the moment, the Palestinian news agency WAFA
reported on Monday night.
Israeli
soldiers have prevented people from entering or leaving the Old City in the
aftermath of the shooting and closed off Bab al-Amoud area and Bab al-Sahera in
the Old City, where they attacked civilians and street vendors.
They
also closed all the gates leading to the al-Aqsa mosque compound and held
worshipers inside.
The
al-Aqsa Mosque compound sits just above the Western Wall plaza and houses both
the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosque.
Palestinians
have repeatedly warned of Israeli attempts to change the status quo of the
al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam.
Earlier
this year, the Israeli regime outraged Palestinian people by installing
loudspeakers on the walls of the sacred site and arresting employees of the
Religious Endowments Authority.
The
violations were strongly condemned by Jordan in September.
Dhaifullah
al-Fayez, a spokesman for Jordan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates,
said that Israeli police actions are a violation of the legal and historical
status quo of the religious site.
“The
police actions are irresponsible tampering, unacceptable and constitute a
provocation to the feelings of Muslims around the world and a flagrant
violation of Israel's obligations as the occupying power under the
international law,” he noted.
Fayez
then warned against the dire consequences of the Israeli regime’s continued
abuses, calling for an end to such practices and respect for the historical and
legal status quo of al-Aqsa Mosque.
He
emphasized that al-Aqsa Mosque entirely belongs to Muslims, and that the
Jordan-run Religious Endowments Authority in Jerusalem al-Quds is the exclusive
authority responsible for the mosque’s affairs.
Israeli
settlers attack Palestinian vehicles in Bethlehem, injure man in Nablus
In
two other separate incidents, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians in the
West Bank districts of Bethlehem and Nablus, according to local and security
sources.
A
group of Israeli settlers, under Israeli military protection, closed off the
bypass road connecting the northern and southern West Bank and attacked
Palestinian vehicles traveling near the town of Janata, east of Bethlehem, in
the southern West Bank. No injuries were reported.
Meanwhile,
another group of settlers attacked a Palestinian man near Deir Sharaf in
Nablus, causing him injuries that necessitated his transfer to the hospital for
treatment, according to local monitors.
Sources
say the Israeli forces closed Za'atara military checkpoint to the south of
Nablus, amid the heavy presence of settlers on roads, warning Palestinians to
stay alert to possible settlers' attacks against them and their properties.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/21/641248/Israel-palestine-aqsa-mosque-killed-
--------
Israeli
envoys head to Morocco to meet king in latest talks on US-brokered ties
22
December 2020
Israel
sent envoys to Morocco on Tuesday to meet its king and hammer out an upgrade of
ties that was forged by the White House in a parting foreign-policy push by US
President Donald Trump.
Led
by National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat, the delegates were accompanied
to Rabat by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and architect of pan-Arab
rapprochements with Israel.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
They
took El Al Israel Airlines in the first direct flight by a commercial plane
from Tel Aviv to Rabat, opening the way for a possible surge in tourism among
the hundreds of thousands of Israelis of Moroccan descent.
As
the Trump administration has sought to isolate Iran, the normalization deals
have been sweetened with promises of business opportunity or economic aid.
Israel’s new partners have also seen bilateral benefits from Washington - in
Rabat’s case, US recognition of its sovereignty over the Western Sahara.
Ben-Shabbat
and Kushner will see Morocco’s King Mohammed during a two-day trip, Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
The
jet was painted with the Hebrew, Arabic and English words for “peace” and a
palm-shaped Maghreb good-luck talisman.
Some
US officials have privately voiced hope of hosting an Israel-Morocco signing
ceremony at the White House before Trump steps down on Jan. 20.
Facing
domestic dissenters at the engagement with Israel, Moroccan ministers have cast
it as a formalization of de facto relations under which Rabat had hosted an
Israeli “liaison
office”.
Shut
in 2000 in solidarity with the Palestinians, that office will now reopen.
Israel hopes for mutual embassies, eventually.
“This
type of agreement will help have a better interaction between communities and
people,” Moroccan Tourism Minister Nadia Fettah Alaoui told Israeli television
channel I24.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/22/Israel-relations-Israeli-envoys-head-to-Morocco-to-meet-king-in-latest-talks-on-US-brokered-ties
--------
India
Dropout
rate of Muslim girl students reduced, govt concerned about their education,
empowerment: PM Modi at AMU
Posted
by Nandini
Dec
22, 2020
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that dropout rate of Muslim girl
students has reduced due to government policies said that the Centre is deeply
concerned about their education and empowerment.
“School
dropout rate among Muslim girls was more than 70 per cent and this situation
persisted for 70 years. In these circumstances, the government started Swachh
Bharat Mission, built toilets in villages and toilets for school-going girls.
Now the dropout rate from 70 per cent has fallen to nearly 30 per cent. The
Central government is continuously working to reduce their dropout rates,” he
said speaking at the centenary celebrations of Aligarh Muslim University on
Tuesday.
“At
AMU, the number of female students increased to 35 per cent. I want to
congratulate you. Sarkaar ka Muslim betiyon ke shiksha aur shashaktikaran pe
bahut dhyaan hai (The government is deeply concerned about education and
empowerment of Muslim daughters). In the last six years, scholarships have been
provided by the government to around 1 crore Muslim daughters,” he added.
“Education
brings employment and entrepreneurship with itself, employment and
entrepreneurship bring economic independence, which leads to empowerment. An
empowered woman, at every level and in every decision, contributes as much as
any other person,” the PM said.
He
said that the country has moved forward in the direction of creation of the
modern Muslim community after abolishing malpractice like triple talaq.
“Nearly
100 years ago, the Founder-Chancellor of AMU, Begum Sultan worked towards the
creation of the modern Muslim community. Today, after abolishing malpractice
like triple talaq, the country has moved forward in that direction,” he said.
The
Prime Minister said that resources of the country belong to every citizen and
every one of them should benefit from it.
“Jo
desh ka hai woh har deshvaasi ka hai (Resources of the country belongs to every
citizen). Everyone should benefit from it, that’s the spirit our government is
working with,” PM Modi said
“The
policies which are being framed today are reaching every section without
discrimination on the basis of religion. Bank accounts of over 40 crore poor
were opened without any discrimination. Without discrimination, more than 2
crore poor were provided pucca houses. More than 8 crore women got gas
connections without discrimination. 50 crore people got free medical treatment
up to Rs 5 lakh under Ayushman scheme without any discrimination,” he said.
PM
Modi said that the country is marching forward on the path where every citizen
would get the benefits of development happening in the country without any
discrimination.
“The
country is on the path where every citizen should rest assured about their
constitutional rights & their future. The country is on the path where no
citizen would be left behind because of their religion and everyone would get
equal opportunities so that everyone can fulfil their dreams. Sabka Sath, Sabka
Vikas, Sabka Vishwas is the mantra behind it,” he said.Earlier in the day, PM
Modi released a postal stamp as part of centenary celebrations of AMU. This is
the first time PM Modi is participating in a programme of the Aligarh Muslim
University.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/dropout-rate-of-muslim-girl-students-reduced-govt-concerned-about-their-education-empowerment-pm-modi-at-amu/story-pJrdWaTXdUWazFa5EEveqM.html
--------
'Love
Jihad': Entire Family Booked In UP, 6 In Jail; Reward Of Rs 25000 On 5
'Missing'
Dec
22, 2020
AGRA:
Over a month after a woman, 21, left her home, allegedly converted and married
a Muslim man in Delhi after a brief affair, police in UP’s Etah have booked her
husband’s entire family under the new anti-conversion law and sent six of them
to jail.
Apart
from the man, 25-year-old Mohammad Javed, 10 members of his family, including
three women, were booked at Jalesar police station last week. Those arrested on
Saturday and Sunday are the distant relatives of Javed, and police claimed that
“they were in contact with the accused”. Javed and his four close relatives are
yet to be arrested. Police have now announced a reward of Rs 25,000 on each of
the five missing accused.
The
FIR was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by the father of the woman
on Thursday, when he received a letter sent by Javed’s lawyer from Delhi
purportedly informing him about the woman's conversion and the subsequent
marriage in a court.
DSP
Ram Niwas Singh said, “FIR was registered against Javed and his family members
under IPC section 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her
marriage, etc) and under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion
of Religious Ordinance. Six persons have been arrested.”
Police
said that the woman had been "missing" since November 17. “However,
her family members did not approach police until Thursday,” a police officer
said. Owner of a cloth shop, Javed lived close to the woman’s house in Etah.
SHO Krishna Pal Singh said, “Those arrested are relatives of Javed. During the
probe, they were found involved in the entire matter and had been in regular
contact with the main accused. All of them have been sent to jail on court
orders. Javed and the other four absconding will be arrested soon”
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/love-jihad-11-of-family-booked-in-up-6-in-jail-reward-of-rs-25000-on-5-missing/articleshow/79847557.cms
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PM
Modi Addresses Centenary Celebrations Of Aligarh Muslim University: Highlights
by
Nonika Marwaha
December
22, 2020
New
Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the centenary celebrations of
Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) via video conferencing.
Prime
Minister Modi also released a postal stamp during the event. Chancellor of the
University Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin and Union Education Minister Ramesh
Pokhriyal Nishank are present on the occasion.
The
Prime Minister is accompanied by Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal
Nishank. This is the first time PM Modi is participating in a programme of the
Aligarh Muslim University.
Here
are the highlights of PM Modi's address:
I
would begin by saying thank you for making me a part of your celebration and
happiness on completing 100 years.
I
see the campus buildings all lit up in celebrations. But these are not mere
buildings, but the place from where innumerable alumni have contributed
immensely in taking the nation forward.
Wherever
they may be, the alumni of this prestigious institution has always made India
proud.
It
is not just the alumni and the students, but the contribution of each and every
teacher over the last 100 years, since the start of this university.
Not
just in academics, but your contributions in other ways have also been
extremely valuable to the nation. Recently, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the
manner in which you set up facilities for check-ups, the manner in which you
all helped those who needed it, as well as contributing significantly to the PM
CARES fund, all show your sincere intent towards working for the nation.
At
this prestigious university, if a student can imbibe her/his education in Urdu,
so can they in Hindi, On one side one can get knowledge about Arabic, on the
other so can we in Sanskrit. One on side you can learn the teachings of the
Quran, while on the other, AMU teaches the teachings of the Gita and other
scriptures too. This is what India is all about, and this institution functions
every day on that principle.
Sir
Syed Ahmed Khan said that when you receive education and come into the work
sphere, you must work towards all, without any discrimination, without seeing
caste or creed or religion. That is a thought that we must always carry with
us.
The
Centre is working everyday for the benefit of all its citizens. The central
schemes - be it healthcare or gas and electricity connections, etc - they all
benefit everyone.
Public
conveniences and toilets benefit everyone, and all sections of society.
In
fact, the dropout rate in school among Muslim girls has gone down from 70% to
currently around 30%, and we are working towards minimising this further.
The
government is focused on education and empowerment of our Muslim daughters.
Women's
empowerment is fundamental towards taking any nation forward. A good education
leads to financial empowerment, and financial empowerment leads to a woman
making independent decisions. And that is key towards then taking both their
families and the nation forward.
I
would love to hear from you all at Aligarh Muslim University on how to make
India self-reliant and how to work on successfully taking 'local to global'.
Your ideas and sugestions are always welcome and is greatly valued.
I
want you all to think about how we can build an Atmanirbhar Bharat
(self-reliant India).
The
alumni of this great institution has given our nation so many freedom fighters.
So many from here helped India get its independence and stood
shoulder-to-shoulder with all other citizens. That contribution will forever be
remembered by us all.
The
current generation of students have now got to work towards taking India
forward and making it a global leader in all spheres... to make India
self-reliant.
The
youth today should work keeping in mind a 'nation-first' attitude, and the
government is creating such an education eco-system. This will greatly help
India be a leader in the 21st century.
The
government is working to create more premier institutions and increase the
seats of education so that more and more students get the best education. In
2014 India had 16 IITs, today there are 23 IITs. In 2014, we had 9 IIITs, today
we have 25 IIITs. In 2014, there were 13 IIMs, today there are 20 IIMs. Same is
the case with medical education. In 2014, there were 7 AIIMS in India, today
there are 22 AIIMS.
Be
it online education or offline education, it must reach all. That is our goal.
On
completing 100 years, there is a lot of expectation from a prestigious
institution like AMU.
You
all must research the contribution of many freedom fighters who may not be as
well known. Make their contributions known to everyone across India.
AMU
has some treasures of knowledge in its archives. I urge you all to make these
available to all Indians by making it available digitally and virtually.
Today,
the entire world is looking at India. The whole world is keeping a close eye on
what India is doing and how we are doing it.
We
must work towards making India truly self-reliant. That is our aim. There may
be some political differences at times, but nothing comes above nation
building.
100
years ago, getting our independence became a common ground for all Indians,
irrespective of differences in personal views. Similarly, today our common
ground is to take India forward and make it self-reliant and to ensure
nation-building.
We
must remember that politics may be an important part of the overall system, but
there are many other things much bigger and greater than politics. Society as a
whole is much larger than politics.
When
we speak of a new India, we urge that the development and progress of the
nation must not be viewed from a political lens.
Politics
can wait, society can wait, but the development of the country cannot wait
anymore, and neither do we want to. A lot of time has already been lost. We
must act and not let time go by any further.
There
will always be some who will try to stall things by keeping their personal
agendas in mind, but if we can see the larger picture, then we will restrict
their efforts to sabotage. We must keep India in all our decisions, and all
actions must lead to nation-building.
27
years after 1920, we gained our independence. We are now 27 years from
completing 100 years of our independence. We must all work hard to take India
forward over these 27 years. And institutions like AMU play a vital role in
creating and developing a modern and scientific India.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/prime-minister-narendra-modi-addresses-centenary-celebrations-of-aligarh-muslim-university-highlights-2341899
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Government
Committed to Development without Discrimination Says Prime Minister
Dec
22, 2020
NEW
DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday addressed the centenary
celebrations of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) via video conferencing.
This
is the first time PM Modi will participate in a program of the Aligarh Muslim
University. PM Modi also released a postal stamp during the event. AMU
Chancellor Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin & Union Education Minister Ramesh
Pokhriyal Nishank attended the event.
Earlier
in the week, buildings in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) were illuminated for
its centenary celebrations.
Here
are the top quotes from PM Modi's address:
1
'AMU
represents India's rich culture and heritage'
AMU
alumni are spread across the world and take a lot of pride in their alma mater.
Their pride is justified. In 100 years of existence, AMU has crafted and polished
millions of lives, giving them modern and scientific thinking and inspiring
them to do something for society and the nation.
In
the last 100 years, AMU has also worked to strengthen India's relations with
many countries of the world.
The
research done in AMU on Urdu, Arabic, and Persian languages, research on
Islamic literature, gives new energy to India's cultural relations with the
entire Islamic world.
People
tell me that the AMU campus is like a city in itself. We see a mini India among
different departments, dozens of hostels, thousands of teachers, and
professors. The diversity which we see here is not only the strength of this
university but also of the entire nation.
I
have been told that at least 1,000 international students are currently enrolled
in AMU.
There
is an onus on AMU students to share with the world everything good about India.
They have a two-fold responsibility to contribute to nation-building and also
help India bolster its soft power.
2
'AMU's
contribution in the fight against coronavirus unprecedented'
The
contributions made by the university during the coronavirus pandemic were
unprecedented.
They
helped people get tested for free, built isolation wards, started plasma banks,
provided hospital beds, and helped society.
3
'Government's
policies being implemented without discrimination'
AMU's
founder Sir Syed had said that the growth of the country is above the caste and
religion of the people.
He
had also given an example and said that for the body to remain healthy, every
body part should be healthy.
Sir
Syed had also said that religion should not be the reason for anyone's
backwardness.
India
is on the path where no citizen would be left behind because of their religion
and everyone would get equal opportunities so that everyone can fulfill their
dreams. Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas is the mantra behind it.
I
recently met an AMU alumnus who is also a scholar and told him that we made
free toilets and no discrimination was done in their construction. Every
community benefitted from these free toilets.
The
policies made by the government reach every section irrespective of their
religion. Bank accounts of over 40 crore poor have been opened without any
discrimination. Without discrimination, more than 2 crore poor were provided
pucca houses. More than 8 crore women were given gas connections without
discrimination.
50
crore people got free treatment of up to Rs 5 lakh under the Ayushman scheme
without any discrimination.
What
belongs to the country belongs to every countryman and every citizen should be
benefited, our government is working with this spirit.
4
'Dropout
rate of Muslim girls drastically decreased'
Earlier,
the dropout rate of Muslim girls was 70 per cent due to lack of toilets and now
after launching the Swachh Bharat Mission, the dropout rate went down to only
30 per cent.
In
AMU as well, a bridge course has been started for students who had to drop out.
Thirty-five
per cent of students in AMU today are female, I congratulate AMU for this feat.
Malpractice
of triple talaq has ended.
5
'Don't
look at everything from a political lens'
Politics
is a part of society but there are more important things in life. Politics
cannot be a measure for everything.
I
urge people to not look at everything from a political lens. Campuses like AMU
can play a key role in contributing to this approach.
There
are people who spread all kinds of negativity. But if we sideline them, we can
grow.
The
poor cannot wait, the uneducated cannot wait for politics. Development cannot
wait for politics.
A
lot of time has already been wasted on differences. Let us come together to
work for an Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
About
AMU
AMU
became a University in 1920, through an Act of the Indian Legislative Council
by elevating the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College to the status of a
Central University. MAO College was set up in 1877 by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the
PMO release stated.
The
University has a campus spread over 467.6 hectares of land in the city of
Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. It also has three off-campus centres in Malappuram
(Kerala), Murshidabad-Jangipur (West Bengal) and Kishanganj (Bihar).
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/prime-minister-narendra-modi-addresses-aligarh-muslim-university-centenary-celebrations/articleshow/79851786.cms
--------
Ideological
Divides Secondary To Nation: PM At Aligarh Muslim University
by
Alok Pandey, Edited by Deepshikha Ghosh
December
22, 2020
Aligarh:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said development should not be seen through
the political prism and when it came to the nation's progress, ideological
differences must be secondary.
Addressing
the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on its centenary celebrations, PM Modi said
the nation was on a path today where everyone, irrespective of religion, was
assured of their constitutional rights and their future and where no community
was left behind. The government's schemes for the poor are reaching all
sections "without any religious bias", he asserted.
"The
country is heading towards a path where all citizens get the benefits of
development without any bias. We are heading to a path where no one is left
behind because of religion and everyone is able to fulfill their dreams,"
said the Prime Minister.
"Whatever
religion we are born in, it is important to see how to blend our aspirations
with national goals. There can be ideological divides in society but when it
comes to the nation's development, everything else is secondary. When it comes
to the nation, there is no question of ideological differences. It is logical for
me to say this here because AMU produced many freedom fighters - they had their
ideological differences but they set that aside for freedom. Like freedom
united them, we have to work on common ground for 'Naya Bharat'."
The
country's progress should not be seen through a political prism, PM Modi
stressed. "Yes, when we come together for this goal, some elements will
feed negativity. But when our thoughts are focused on a new India foremost,
then such elements will have diminished space. Politics and society can wait
but the country's development cannot wait. In the last century, a lot of time
has been lost over differences. There is no more time to lose."
He
added: "Politics can wait but development cannot". The remarks were
seen in the context of the month-long farmer protests on the borders of Delhi
against three central laws.
PM
Modi said in the past six years, his government's Swachha Bharat programme had
facilitated the construction of toilets and helped reduce the school dropout
rate of Muslim girls. He also referred to the law banning Triple Talaq.
The
Prime Minister addressed the iconic university via video link after releasing a
special postage stamp to mark its centenary.
The
pre-independence Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College became Aligarh Muslim
University on December 1, 1920. AMU was formally inaugurated as a university on
December 17 that year.
In
his address, PM Modi urged hostel students of AMU to take up an
"extra-curricular task", of researching and bringing to the spotlight
unknown freedom fighters to mark 75 years of Independence next year.
This
was the first time in five decades that a prime minister was chief guest at
AMU. The last Prime Minister to participate in an event at AMU was Lal Bahadur
Shastri in 1964. Before him, India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had
visited the university four times.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/pm-narendra-modi-at-aligarh-muslim-university-amu-ideological-divides-secondary-to-nation-2341942
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Delhi
HC asks cops to trace ‘missing’ Hindu woman who eloped with Muslim man
Richa
Banka
Dec
22, 2020
The
Delhi high court has directed the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of Delhi
Police’s crime branch to trace a Hindu woman, a B.Tech student, who apparently
eloped with a Muslim man in November and got married in West Bengal.
A
bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Rajnish Bhatnagar expressed shock that the
local police did not registered a first information report (FIR) that the woman
was missing on a complaint by her parents . A Nikahnama (marriage contract) of
the couple sent by post to the police could not be verified by the station
house officer of the Naraina Vihar police station, it was accepted as genuine
by the police.
Police
said they received the post from an unknown address and are in the process of
verifying the address and the authenticity of the document.
The
bench also said it cannot accept statements attributed to the girl as having
been made voluntarily and would want them to be verified.
“To
satisfy our conscience, we would like that she be produced before us,” the
bench said, adding that in case the woman is traced, she shall be brought to
Delhi and kept at Nari Niketan at least for four days before the next date of
hearing so that she is not under influence of either the petitioner, or the
persons with whom she is stated to have eloped and gone,” it said.
The
court was hearing a habeas corpus plea by the father of the woman, contending
that his daughter had been missing since November 7. In his plea, the father
said that a Muslim man took her to Kolkata by train. He said the father of the
man had also been missing since.
The
SHO told the court that an FIR was not registered because a Nikahnama was
produced to show that the woman married the man. A status report by the police
said the woman also informed her family members that she did not wish to be
disturbed and that she was happy and safe wherever she was.
“During
our interaction with the SHO, Naraina — who is also present during this hearing
-- he states that FIR was not registered since the Nikahnama has been
produced... On our query, he states that the said Nikahnama could not be
verified despite efforts..
“We
are shocked that even in this background, he did not think it proper to
register an FIR and proceeded on the bald statement produced before him...This
is complete dereliction of duty on the part of the SHO concerned,” the court
said in its order of December 18.
The
bench, while transferring the investigation to the AHTU, also directed the SHO
of the area to look into a potential threat to the woman’s family and asked
that they be provided adequate security. “The mobile phone number of the beat
constable of the area shall be provided to the petitioner and family members,
and any call received from them shall be attended to and actioned without any
delay,” the court said.
The
matter will now be heard on January 4, 2021.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi-news/hc-asks-cops-to-trace-missing-hindu-woman-who-eloped-with-muslim-man/story-cuCeRdSctWZa8nNXfSKiRO.html
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Pak
army shells mortars along LoC in J&K's Poonch
Dec
22, 2020
JAMMU:
Pakistani troops opened fire and shelled mortars at forward posts along the
Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Tuesday, a defence
spokesperson said.
There
was no report of any damage on the Indian side, he said.
"At
about 0930 hours today, Pakistan army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation
by firing with small arms and intense shelling with mortars along the LoC in
Mankote sectors in Poonch district," the spokesperson said.
He
said the Indian Army retaliated befittingly.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pak-army-shells-mortars-along-loc-in-jks-poonch/articleshow/79852607.cms
--------
NIA
arrests 17 SDPI and PFI activists in Bengaluru riots case
Dec
21, 2020
The
National Investigative Agency which is looking into the riots which happened in
Bengaluru on August 11, 2020 following a Facebook post by the nephew of a
Congress MLA on Monday said that it had arrested 17 SDPI and PFI activists for
their involvement in the riots.
In
a press release, NIA said that the investigation so far had revealed that the
SDPI leaders including Md Sharieff, president, Bengaluru District, Imran Ahmed,
president KG Halli Ward along with other senior leaders like Rubah Waqas,
Shabbar Khan and Shaik Ajmal had conducted meetings at Thanissandra and KG
Halli wards on the evening of August 11.
The
release said that the leaders had therein conspired, mobilised and led the
crowd gathered at KG Halli police station to attack police personnel, causing
huge damage to public and police station vehicles. It also named others
including Abbas, SDPI president of Nagawara ward and his associates Azil Pasha,
Irfan Khan and Akbar Khan of mobilising large crowds.
NIA
in the release also said that investigation had revealed the use of social
media channels like Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to spread terror among
people and mobilise them. In the case so far, 187 accused have been arrested
and further investigations are on.
The
riots were caused after community members took offence to an alleged derogatory
post on their prophet by Naveen the nephew of Congress MLA from Pulikeshinagar,
Akhanda Srinivas Murthy. Three people were killed in the subsequent attempt to
stem the riots and bring about peace. On September 11, the Yediyurappa
government handed over the investigation into the riots to NIA.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/nia-arrests-17-sdpi-and-pfi-activists-in-bengaluru-riots-case/story-w0EMVibO68LSDil8jj9EeK.html
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Two
PDP leaders detained in Kashmir, says Mehbooba Mufti; officials tight-lipped
Mir
Ehsan
Dec
21, 2020
Two
senior Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) leaders were detained in Kashmir on
Monday, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba
Mufti said.
Mufti
termed the arrests as having taken place in “gunda raj”.
Mufti
said the officials in J&K administration are clueless about the detention
of the PDP leaders. With these two detentions, so far three senior PDP leaders
have been detained in Kashmir over the past one month. The PDP youth president
Waheed ur Rehman Parra was arrested by National Investigation Agency (NIA) last
month.
Since
Monday morning, sources had been saying that senior leaders, Sartaj Madni and
former legislator Mansoor Hussain Pir had been detained by a central agency.
While officials are tight-lipped about these arrests, and their reasons, Mufti
has confirmed the detention of two leaders on her official Twitter handle.
Mufti
tweeted, “Total lawlessness as PDPs Sartaj Madni & Mansoor Hussain have
been arbitrarily detained today on the eve of DDC election results. Every
senior police officer here is clueless as it is ‘upar say order’. No rule of
law in J&K anymore. It is out & out Gunda Raj.”
The
detention of two PDP leaders has taken place a day before the counting for the
280 district development council seats across J&K is to be held.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/two-pdp-leaders-detained-in-kashmir-says-mehbooba-mufti-officials-tight-lipped/story-zEtvAZfF2D5k8zq0ES5qAJ.html
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Pakistan
Pakistan
Government Grants Permission For Construction Of Hindu Temple In Islamabad
Dec
22, 2020
LAHORE/ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan government has granted permission for the construction of a Hindu
temple in Islamabad, nearly six months after the work at the site was stopped
apparently because of the pressure from the radical Islamic groups.
The
Capital Development Authority (CDA) issued a notification in Lahore on Monday, giving
permission for the construction of the boundary wall for cremation ground for
the Hindu community in sector H-9/2, Islamabad.
"Permission
to construct the boundary wall around cremation ground for the Hindu community
in sector H-9/2, Islamabad is hereby accorded in accordance with clause 4.I.I
of Islamabad Capital Territory, Building Control Regulations 2020 ensuring that
height of this boundary wall shall not accord 7'-0'," says the
notification, a copy of which is available with the PTI.
"It
may either be a solid wall, or up to one foot it shall consist of solid masonry
and remaining portion may be of light material such as fence etc. The height of
the enclosure shall not be less than 3'-0' in any case,” it says.
Earlier,
some hardline clerics had warned the government not to allow the construction
of the temple in Islamabad.
The
CDA in July stopped construction of the boundary wall on the plot meant for the
temple, citing legal reasons.
Religious
Affairs Minister Pir Noorul Haq Qadri had forwarded the matter to the Council
of Islamic Ideology (CII) - Pakistan's state-run council of clerics - for its
advice along with a summary for grant of Rs 100 million to the prime minister
for construction of the building.
In
October, the council, which advises the government on religious issues, said
that there are no constitutional or Sharia restrictions on the construction of
a temple in Islamabad or any other part of the country.
The
decision, signed by 14 CII members, added that Hindus, like all other religious
groups in the country, have the constitutional right to a place for last rites
according to their faith.
Lal
Chand Malhi, a minority lawmaker from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
(PTI), in a statement thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan, CII chief Dr Qiba Ayaz
and others for granting permission to build the boundary wall.
He
said that the minorities in the country enjoy equal rights as promised by
Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah while lauding the CII for clearing the way for
the construction of a temple, a crematorium and community hall in Islamabad.
As
per plans, the Krishna temple will come up in a 20,000 sq ft plot in the
capital's H-9 administrative division.
The
plot for the first Hindu temple in Islamabad was allotted to the Hindu
Panchayat by the CDA in 2017. However, the construction work was delayed due to
some formalities, including the approval of the site map and documents from the
CDA and other relevant authorities.
Former
prime minister Nawaz Sharif had allotted the land for the temple.
The
temple complex will also have a cremation site, apart from the space for
separate structures for other religious rites.
Hindus
form the biggest minority community in Pakistan.
According
to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in Pakistan. However, according to
the community, over 90 lakh Hindus are living in the country.
The
majority of Pakistan's Hindu population is settled in Sindh province where they
share culture, traditions and language with Muslim residents.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/pakistan-government-grants-permission-for-construction-of-hindu-temple-in-islamabad/articleshow/79852673.cms
--------
Pakistan,
Saudi Arabia reaffirm resolve to cement bilateral ties
Baqir
Sajjad Syed
22
Dec 2020
ISLAMABAD:
Saudi Ambassador Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Maliki on Monday called on Prime Minister
Imran Khan amidst what appear to be frayed bilateral ties due to Riyadh’s
refusal to roll over its loan.
“The
exchange of views focused on bilateral cooperation and the Covid-19 situation,”
the Prime Minister Office said in a statement on the meeting.
“The
resolve to further strengthen the strong, longstanding Pakistan-Saudi Arabia
fraternal ties was reaffirmed,” it added.
The
repayment of $1 billion last week as the second tranche of $3bn loan brought
into spotlight what many see as an unease in relations between the two
countries over geopolitical differences.
Envoy
meets PM after Islamabad unexpectedly repaid part of Saudi loan
Saudi
Arabia had in 2018 given $3bn loan to Pakistan for three years to avert a
balance of payments crisis that the country was then facing. The Kingdom had on
that occasion also agreed to provide $3.2bn oil credit facility, but that was
discontinued after the first year.
The
Saudi cash loan has now matured. There was, however, an expectation that Riyadh
would roll over the loan in view of Pakistan’s difficult economic conditions,
especially because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Saudis, moreover, in the past
never insisted on the repayment of loans, but that did not happen this time.
The message from Riyadh was clear that it wanted its money back.
Pakistan
has so far repaid $2bn with help from China and is set to pay the final
instalment of $1bn next month.
The
Saudi attitude, some say, stemmed from its unease over Pakistan’s foreign
policy direction, especially its relations with Turkey and Iran.
Many
officials, despite failing to get the Saudi loan rolled over, are still
optimistic about renewal of ties with the Kingdom.
A
high-level Saudi delegation, led by Prince Faisal bin Farhan, is expected to
visit Islamabad early next month. A Pakistani delegation is also expected to
visit Riyadh soon afterwards.
Special
Assistant to the Prime Minister Tahir Ashrafi, who is also the special
representative for Middle East, dismissed these assertions as propaganda.
“There is no pressure from Saudi Arabia in any respect,” he maintained. Maulana
Ashrafi rather contended that ties with Saudi Arabia were at a high point as
compared to the past decade.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1597141/pakistan-saudi-arabia-reaffirm-resolve-to-cement-bilateral-ties
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Fazl
among 20 politicians facing ‘serious threats to life’: minister
Amir
Wasim
22
Dec 2020
ISLAMABAD:
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has disclosed that there are “serious
threats to life” to the country’s 20 politicians, including Jamiat
Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and the government has already
issued “high alerts” to all of them.
Talking
to reporters after his maiden visit to the National Counter Terrorism Authority
(Nacta) headquarters on Monday, the minister said all those politicians facing
threats had been asked to take steps for their safety.
He
said there were four to five politicians, including those belonging to the
opposition, who had already survived attacks in recent years.
“These
politicians have been issued high alerts. They (the politicians), especially
Maulana Fazlur Rehman, have been told to protect themselves,” Mr Ahmed said.
Rashid
attends briefing on working of Nacta
Praising
the armed forces and the law enforcement agencies, the minister claimed that
there had been 40 to 50 per cent decline in the killings in terror attacks in
the country over the past three years. Providing statistics, he said 584 people
were killed in terror incidents in 2018 while the number reduced to 482 in 2019
and 357 in 2020. This year, he said, only two incidents of suicide attacks had
been reported.
He
said there were major threats to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects.
However, he said, the country’s armed forces, police and other law enforcement
agencies had foiled a number of terrorist attacks and defeated sinister designs
of anti-state elements. He said Nacta averted major terror attacks, including
the one on the Karachi Stock Exchange, by providing advance information.
Mr
Ahmed said he wanted to further improve Nacta’s system and he would try to get
more funds released for the Authority to fulfill its financial needs.
He
termed the decision of the Pakistan Peoples Party to approach the Election
Commission for holding by-elections on different vacant seats of national and
provincial assemblies a “positive sign” in politics. He said this showed that
there were differences within the opposition ranks. He said there was a
possibility that the by-polls would be held on the vacant seats on the dates on
which the opposition was planning to make advancement against the government.
He
predicted that the Pakistan Democratic Movement would participate in the coming
Senate elections as its leadership knew that their absence from the House would
enable Prime Minister Imran Khan to make such a legislation, which would close
doors of parliament for money launderers and corrupt elements once and for all.
The
minister accused the opposition parties of putting lives at risk for personal
gains by holding political gatherings amid the second wave of Covid-19.
The
pandemic, he said, was becoming dangerous all over the world. He said the
United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia had even suspended flight operations due to
Covid-19.
He
criticised Pakistan Muslim League-N supremo Nawaz Sharif for maligning the army
and the judiciary.
Mr
Ahmed said that Mr Sharif always remained in confrontation with the army and
judges. He said Mr Sharif had buried his own politics due to his
confrontational posture. He said it would be better for the PDM to show
maturity by reviewing its politics of agitation and saving the public from the
deadly virus.
A
handout issued by the ministry of interior said that Mr Ahmed was briefed on
the functioning, organisational structure and mandated role of Nacta as per the
law.
The
minister was told that Nacta was a fully functional body and was operating as
per its legal framework.
“The
authority is acting as a pivot for coordination and collaboration among
different stakeholders, including civilian and non-civilian intelligence
agencies,” it says, adding that Nacta has made contribution in Countering
Financing of Terrorism through leading Pakistan’s FATF response on
international forum.
“We
believe with this intervention, Pakistan will finally come out of the (FATF)
grey list,” said one of the Nacta officials during the briefing.
The
minister was informed that a bi-annual policy review on the National Action
Plan was being circulated among the stakeholders to improve response of the
state in countering terrorism and extremism and it had improved the response at
provincial and national levels.
The
Research and Development Branch of Nacta has been issuing Pakistan Journal of
Terrorism Research on bi-annual basis wherein quality research articles are
being contributed by national and international scholars on terrorism and
extremism.
The
Nacta’s Outreach Branch has started activities to engage constructively the
youths across the country by initiating a number of intellectual and creative
activities, including competitions among youngsters of different age brackets.
Quality intelligence assessment on terrorism has been prepared and disseminated
to all stakeholders on quarterly, bi-annual and annual basis for improving gaps
in kinetic field.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1597138
--------
Hindu
community issued NOC for boundary wall around cremation site in capital
Kashif
Abbasi | Kalbe Ali
22
Dec 2020
ISLAMABAD:
The issue related to the construction of a cremation centre in the capital was
on Monday resolved as the city managers issued permission to the Hindu
community to raise the boundary wall around the proposed site.
In
July this year, after strong reaction from right-wing groups, who criticised
the government for its intention to build a Hindu temple with government
funding, the CDA all of a sudden stopped the community from constructing the
boundary wall around the plot.
The
four kanals at H-9/2 was allotted to the community in 2016 for the construction
of a temple, cremation and community centres.
The
CDA had cited “legal” reasons for stopping the construction of the boundary
wall.
CDA
official says issue regarding construction of temple and community centre will
be discussed later
In
its permission letter issued on Monday, the civic agency stated: “Permission to
construct the boundary wall around cremation ground for Hindu community in
H-9/2 is hereby accorded in accordance with clause 4.1.1 of Islamabad Capital
Territory, Building Control Regulations 2020.”
It
said the height of the boundary wall shall not exceed seven feet and that of
the enclosure not less than three feet.
A
senior officer of the CDA added: “Today we issued the letter to the Hindu
community and now they are free to construct the boundary wall for the
cremation centre.” He said at a later stage the issue regarding construction of
a temple and community centre will be discussed.
Sources
in the CDA said the civic agency has so far not received the building plans of
the temple and the community centre.
“Today’s
approval is meant for construction of the boundary wall around the cremation
centre,” said the official.
There
is no temple and cremation centre in Islamabad for the Hindu community. After
lots of efforts by the community and on the direction of the Human Right
Commission of Pakistan, the CDA in 2016 allotted the four kanals to the
community.
In
the past, there was a temple in Saidpur village but that was abandoned decades
ago.
“The
Hindu community members are the citizens of Pakistani but unfortunately so far
we have failed to provide them a worship place in Islamabad. The issuance of
the permission at least for the boundary wall of the cremation centre is a
positive step,” said an official of the CDA.
The
approval letter was collected by former president Islamabad Hindu Panchayat,
Preetam Das.
A
delegation of the Hindu Panchayat led by its president Mahesh Kumar had held a
meeting with CDA Chairman Amer Ali Ahmed last week and informed him that the
Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) had given a ruling for the construction of a
crematorium in Islamabad.
As
the Panchayat started constructing the boundary wall on the plot in June this
year, some clerics mainly affiliated with Lal Masjid, JUI-F and Markazi Jamiat
Ahle Hadis objected to the move and termed the establishment of a temple in
Islamabad and the government’s proposed financial grant un-Islamic.
At
the same time, an application was filed in Islamabad High Court by a citizen
against establishment of the cremation place and construction of the temple.
The court referred the matter to the CII, which in October ruled that there was
no constitutional or Sharia constraints to have a temple in Islamabad or any
other place in the country.
The
council referred to the Islamic traditions and Sharia as well as the
Constitution and the Liaquat-Nehru Agreement 1950 and allowed the government to
hand over the ancient temple as well as adjoining Dharamshala (community
centre) in Saidpur to the Hindu community.
The
CII decision stated that the Hindus like all other religious groups in the
country had the constitutional right to have a place for their last rites
according to their faith.
“Under
this right the Hindu community in Islamabad can have a suitable place for
cremation of their dead and perform last rites of the deceased according to
religious instructions,” the CII decision said. The NOC by CDA was based on the
CII ruling.
Meanwhile,
PTI MNA and Parliamentary Secretary Human Rights Lal Chand Malhi lauded the
issuance of the no-objection certificate (NOC) by the CDA for the boundary wall
of the plot for crematorium.
“It
is the legal and constitutional right of all citizens to observe their faith as
per their belief,” Mr Malhi said, adding: “Minorities will enjoy equal rights
in Pakistan as promised by Quaid-i-Azam.”
Special
representative of the Prime Minister on Religious Harmony Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi
also hailed the decision and said rights of religious minorities in Pakistan
had been granted in the Constitution.
“Nobody
will be allowed to encroach upon the rights of others,” he said.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1597122/hindu-community-issued-noc-for-boundary-wall-around-cremation-site-in-capital
--------
Alvi
urges OIC countries to join hands for Ummah’s renaissance
22
Dec 2020
ISLAMABAD:
President Dr Arif Alvi pointed out on Monday that the pace of scientific
developments in the present era was so fast that it would widen the gap between
the developed and developing Muslim countries if immediate and focused actions
were not taken.
He
identified the spirit of enquiry and boldness as characteristic of the Muslim
scientists and philosophers in the glorious days of Muslim science and
philosophy.
The
President mentioned that the Comstech was the only major institution in
Organisation Islamic Cooperation (OIC), established for the socio-economic development
of the Ummah through the application of science and technology.
He
urged the OIC member states to join hands with this prestigious institution and
work together for the renaissance of the Ummah.
He
said that Comstech is only institution of OIC hosted by Pakistan and lauded it
efforts for promotion of scientific cooperation and the uplift of the OIC
countries.
He
made these remarks in his address to the inaugural session of the Global
A-Farabi forum organised jointly by Comstech and the government of Kazakhstan.
The
opening session was also addressed by the Comstech Coordinator General, Prof Dr
M Iqbal Choudhary, the Assistant Secretary General of OIC, Ambassador Askar
Mussinov, Dr. Darkhan Kydyrali, President International Turkic Academy and the
Kazakhstan Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Berik Aryn.
All
the speakers emphasized the need for the advancement of science and technology
in the OIC member states and resolved to follow the tradition of the renowned
Muslim scholar Abu-Nasr Al-Farabi to recapture the golden era of the Ummah.
The
Comstech Coordinator General, Prof Dr M. Iqbal Choudhary in his address
announced that Comstech and the Turkic Academy would continue the tradition set
by this Global Al-Farabi Forum by organising similar forums on renowned
Pakistani philosopher Allama Dr Mohammad Iqbal, in Turkmenistan, and on the
eminent astronomer scientist Ulugh Beg in Uzbekistan.
In
his address, the OIC assistant secretary general assured full support to the
development of science and technology in OIC member states. President of
International Turkic Academy Dr Darkhan Kydyrali appreciated Comstech for
organising the forum on such a renowned scholar and resolved to take this
tradition further and hold such forums on other renowned Muslim scholars.
Over
120 scholars from Pakistan, United Kingdom, Kazakhstan, Cameroon, Nepal,
Somalia and Sudan are participating in this event.
The
lectures would cover different aspects of the multi-faceted contributions of
Al-Farabi as a philosopher and a scientist.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1597116/alvi-urges-oic-countries-to-join-hands-for-ummahs-renaissance
--------
Rifts
in Fazl-led JUI deepens
Saleem
Shahid
22
Dec 2020
QUETTA:
Serious differences have emerged between Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief
Maulana Fazlur Rehman and former Islamic Ideological Council chairman and
senior party leader Maulana Mohammad Khan Sherani, with the latter levelling
serious allegation against the party chief and rejecting the politics of the
opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).
Former
MNA and senator Sherani, who also served as provincial chief of the JUI-F, is
the second important leader after Hafiz Hussain Ahmed from Balochistan who was
opposing the policies of Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
Party
sources said the rift deepened during the JUI-F elections that Maulana Sherani
had rejected while criticising the party leadership for turning it into a
‘family party’.
With
such a policy there was no space for betterment, he said, claiming that he had
always been against one-man rule in the JUI and its transformation into a
hereditary party.
Maulana
Sherani calls party chief ‘selected’, rejects PDM politics
Maulana
Sherani, who had been elected to the National Assembly and Senate on a JUI-F
ticket in the past, said: “Maulana Fazlur Rehman himself is selected. How can
he taunt and call Imran Khan and others selected?”
He
said he was opposing the JUI-F chief because of his lies.
Maulana
Sherani is reportedly in contact with Hafiz Hussain Ahmed and has asked the
party workers to join hands with him and leave the factions named after
individuals.
Hafiz
Hussain was considered very close to Maulana Fazl when he was made central
spokesman for the JUI-F. But he was removed from the position after he started
criticising some policies of the leadership when Maulana Fazl decided to join
hands with the opposition parties and became PDM convener.
Maulana
Sherani, too, rejected the PDM politics, terming it an unnatural alliance of
the opposition parties.
He
said that every member party in the 11-party alliance had its own interests.
Being an unnatural alliance, he said, it would soon vanish.
They
did not have any vision as everyone in the opposition PDM was running to get to
the chair, he alleged.
Meanwhile,
the sources in the JUI-F said that Maulana Fazlur Rehman has convened an
important meeting of the party on Dec 24 to discuss the allega-tions and the
issue related to Maulana Sherani.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1597153/rifts-in-fazl-led-jui-deepens
--------
Fazl
accused of committing graft, inciting violence
Kalbe
Ali
22 Dec 2020
ISLAMABAD:
Two federal ministers on Monday slammed Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief
Maulana Fazalur Rehman, accusing him of being hypocrite and corrupt. They also
blamed him for using the name of Islam for his personal gains and politics.
Addressing
a joint press conference, Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali
Amin Gandapur and Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda accused the JUI-F
chief of being involved in corruption.
Mr
Gandapur announced plans to drag the Maulana to the court of law, claiming that
he had not responded to any of queries put to him. He also announced that the
government would soon confiscate the ‘benami’ properties of the JUI-F chief,
saying that legal formalities in this regard had already been initiated.
He
recalled all the accusations he had made earlier before the media, including a
meeting of the Maulana with Ajit Doval, Indian national security adviser. He
alleged that the JUI-F chief had been in contact with some international powers
during his party’s “Azadi march” which, the minister claimed, had sabotaged the
Kashmir cause.
Ministers
say JUI-F chief using religion for personal gains, politics
The
minister accused the Maulana of receiving foreign funding to ignite sectarian
terrorism in the country. The JUI-F chief was trying to put pressure on the
government because he knew that the noose was being tightened around him, he
added.
Mr
Gandapur showed to reporters a copy of the statement of assets the Maulana had
submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan, saying that it showed six
huge residential units in Dera Ismail Khan. “Apart from the Maulana himself,
those who live in these houses included his two brothers and two sons, but they
have no sources of earning,” he claimed.
Faisal
Vawda alleged that the JUI-F chief had accumulated his wealth through dubious
sources. “He claimed to have six houses worth Rs2.5 million each, but that is
an incorrect statement,” he said, adding that the value of these properties was
much higher than being claimed.
The
minister challenged the Maulana to resign and launch a long march to Islamabad.
“What do you think, we will give you permits to sell diesel or regularise your
benami assets or anything; no, nothing of this kind will ever be done by us,”
he said while addressing the JUI-F chief.
“We
are warning you that the drama staged by you in the name of religion to deceive
the masses and your plan to get to power by risking the lives of children will
fail,” he added.
The
minister said the government had reservations over the opposition Pakistan
Democratic Movement’s public meetings because they were causing the spread of
coronavirus.
He
said that it was the responsibility of the media and concerned citizens to
crosscheck all information being provided about corrupt practices and
ill-gotten wealth of the JUI-F chief.
He
accused the Maulana of blackmailing the successive governments for the past
30-40 years. But, he added, Prime Minister Imran Khan would not bow to any such
blackmailing.
Meanwhile,
another news conference was later held by Information Minister Senator Shibli
Faraz who reiterated his claim that the opposition parties were pressurising
the government to get relief in the corruption cases against their leaders.
He
highlighted all the 13 amendments proposed to the NAB ordinance by the
parliamentarians belonging to the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan
Muslim League-Nawaz.
“The
main crux of these amendments was to escape NAB inquiries,” he said, adding
that the government would not bow to any pressure tactics or threats of a long
march by these “corrupt elements”.
Mr
Faraz said the government would continue to move ahead over the accountability
process and expressed the confidence that the looted public money would be
recovered.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1597152
--------
Arab
World
Over
Dozen Shia Scholars Kept In Detention Centres In Saudi Arabia: Report
21
December 2020
More
than a dozen Shia Muslim clerics are reportedly being kept behind bars at
detention facilities in Saudi Arabia, as the Riyadh regime presses ahead with
its brutal clampdown against members of the religious community in the kingdom.
Lebanon-based
and Arabic-language al-Nour radio station reported on Monday that Saudi
authorities recently arrested Sheikh Hussein al-Nimr, who is the son of
executed Sheikh Nimr Baqr al-Nimr, in the country’s oil-rich and Shia-populated
Eastern Province.
The
report added that Saudi officials confessed to imprisoning the Shia cleric two
days after his abduction, noting that his arrest brings to 16 the number of
clergymen from Qatif and al-Ahsa regions who are currently being kept in
prison.
Nour
radio station then named Sayyed Hashim al-Shaks, Hussein al-Radhi, Mohammad
al-Habib, Sayyed Ja'far al-Alawi, Mohammad al-Ebad, Abdullatif al-Nasser, Badr
Al Talib, Mohammad Zainuddin, Habib al-Khabbaz, Hassan Al Zayed, Samir
al-Hilal, Abdul-Jalil Al-Athiyan , Abbas al-Mazani, Sayyed Khidr al-Awami and
Abbas al-Saeed as other Saudi Shia clerics whose imprisonment has been
confirmed by the Riyadh regime.
Saudi
Arabia has stepped up politically-motivated arrests, prosecution and conviction
of peaceful dissident writers and human rights campaigners, in particular in
Eastern Province.
The
province has been the scene of peaceful demonstrations since February 2011.
Protesters have been demanding reforms, freedom of expression, the release of
political prisoners, and an end to economic and religious discrimination
against the oil-rich region.
The
protests have been met with a heavy-handed crackdown, with regime forces
increasing security measures across the province.
Over
the past years, Riyadh has redefined its anti-terrorism laws to target
activism.
In
January 2016, Saudi authorities executed Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr,
who was an outspoken critic of the Riyadh regime. Nimr had been arrested in
Qatif, Eastern Province, in 2012.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/21/641234/Over-dozen-Shia-scholars-being-kept-in-detention-centers-in-Saudi-Arabia-Report
--------
Pro-Israel
Stance: Hamas Slams UAE Support for the Settlement And Occupation
2020-December-21
"Statements
made during visits by some Emirati officials to the Israeli occupation went
over the line and reflect unlimited UAE support for the settlement and
occupation," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri wrote on his Twitter account.
"Such
statements also confirm the UAE involvement with the occupation against
Palestinian rights and the interests of the peoples of the region," he
added.
During
recent visits to Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, a number of
Emirati and Bahraini officials made statements showing support for Israeli
policies.
In
September the UAE, along with Bahrain, signed a controversial US-brokered
agreement with Israel to establish diplomatic relations. Following their normalization
deal, a host of bilateral agreements were signed between the two countries.
The
normalization deals have drawn widespread condemnation from Palestinians, who
say the accords ignore their rights and do not serve the Palestinian cause.
With
the pressures of the outgoing US president, Donald Trump, to make the Arab
regimes' relations normalized with the Israeli regime, the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan,
and Morocco reached an agreement with the Zionist regime on full normalization
of diplomatic ties.
These
agreements have been widely criticized in the Islamic world.
All
Israeli settlements are illegal under international law as they are built on
the occupied Palestinian land.
Under
a US-brokered agreement reached between Israel and the UAE some two months ago on
the normalization of ties, the Tel Aviv regime had supposedly agreed to
“temporarily” suspend applying its rule to further areas in the occupied West
Bank and the strategic Jordan Valley that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu had pledged to annex.
While
Emirati officials have described the normalization deal with the Tel Aviv
regime as a successful means to stave off annexation and save the so-called
two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israeli leaders have
lined up to call the bluff of Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince and de facto ruler of
the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who claimed Israel's annexation
plans were off the table.
Bahrain
and Sudan have also reached a US-brokered normalization agreement with the
occupying regime.
The
normalization deals have drawn widespread condemnation from Palestinians, who
seek an independent state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East
Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital. They say the deals ignore their rights and do
not serve the Palestinian cause.
More
than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli
occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem
al-Quds.
The
UN Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in the
occupied territories in several resolutions.
Palestinians
want the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinian state with East
Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital.
In
a relevant development in mid-November, the Palestinian resistance movement
Hamas lambasted the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over its “real support” for
Israel’s settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
In
a statement, Hamas Spokesman Hazem Qasem said Abu Dhabi had just recently
received the head of “the Zionist Settlements Council” in the West Bank and
concluded economic agreements with him, the Yemeni Arabic-language al-Masirah
television network reported.
He
added the recent visit to the UAE by outspoken annexation advocate Yossi Dagan,
who heads a council for Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, and the
signing of economic agreements between the two sides shows Abu Dhabi’s
“practical support” for Israel’s settlement expansion in the Palestinian
territories.
The
Hamas official stated the UAE leaders’ cooperation with Israeli settlement
expansion companies clearly violates all resolutions adopted by the Arab League
against Israel’s settlements.
“It
is shameful that many countries and international bodies continue to boycott
settlements and all their products, while the UAE is striving to strengthen its
relationship with the Zionist settlement system,” Qassem noted.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13991001000237/Hamas-Slams-UAE-ver-Pr-Israel-Sance
--------
Lebanon
passes law criminalizing sexual harassment, amends domestic violence law
21
December 2020
Lebanon's
parliament on Monday passed a landmark bill criminalizing sexual harassment and
amended a controversial domestic violence law, in a move rights groups
criticized as incomplete.
The
new law "criminalizes sexual harassment, especially in the
workplace", the official National News Agency reported.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Per
the law, perpetrators can be sentenced to up to two years in prison and fined
up to 20 times the value of the minimum wage, which stands at 675,000 Lebanese
pounds ($450 at the official exchange rate but less than $100 on the black
market), according to Lebanese rights group Legal Agenda.
Maximum
penalties are reserved for harassment in the work place, public institutions or
educational facilities.
The
United Nation's envoy to Lebanon, Jan Kubis, called the law a "welcome
step".
But
Legal Agenda said the legislation fails to protect victims of harassment.
Karim
Nammour, a lawyer with the group, said the law only allows for victims to make
use of the criminal justice system and not the civil courts, "which means
the case will be public".
"This
is a major obstacle for victims and does not give them the incentive to file
complaints."
Another
problem, according to Nammour, is that the law places on the victim "the
burden of proving the harassment and its consequences", rather than
requiring the perpetrator to prove his or her innocence.
Parliament
also expanded the scope of a law penalizing domestic violence.
The
legislation has been in force since 2014, but rights groups have censured it
for defining domestic violence too narrowly and failing to specifically
criminalize marital rape.
On
Monday, parliament broadened the law so that it now "penalizes economic
and psychological violence", said Leila Awada, a lawyer with women's
rights group KAFA.
UN
Women Lebanon praised the law's endorsement of "important
protection-related measures that strengthen the legal framework to end violence
against women" in the country.
But
it did not lay down penalties for marital rape.
Aya
Majzoub, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, called this a "glaring
omission".
"Marriage
to the victim should not exempt a sexual offender from punishment," she
told AFP.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/21/Lebanon-passes-law-criminalizing-sexual-harassment-amends-domestic-violence-law
--------
Saudi
Arabia thwarts attempts to smuggle over 18 million amphetamine pills
22
December 2020
Saudi
Arabian authorities have thwarted multiple criminal attempts to smuggle and
distribute over 18 million amphetamine pills in the Kingdom, the Ministry of
Interior (MOI) said on Monday.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
In
a video posted on the interior ministry’s Twitter account titled “The War on
Drugs,” the ministry said 9,878,500 amphetamine pills were seized from five
citizens, who hid the drugs inside iron tablets in Riyadh.
In
cooperation with the General Authority of Customs, 3,228,323 amphetamine pills
were also seized from a resident, hidden inside a shipment of potatoes in Saudi
Arabia’s al-Haditha border crossing, according to the ministry.
In
Jeddah, 5,827,000 amphetamine pills were seized in the possession of five
citizens and five residents, hidden inside belts, the General Directorate of
Narcotics Control reported.
“Those
involved were arrested and referred to the authorities,” according to the video
published by the ministry.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2020/12/22/Saudi-Arabia-thwarts-attempts-to-smuggle-over-18-million-amphetamine-pills
--------
Yemeni
PM: Saudi Arabia ended division between Yemenis via Riyadh Agreement
Ismaeel
Naar
22
December 2020
Yemeni
Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed confirmed that the essence of the Riyadh
Agreement focuses on ending divisions between Yemeni factions.
“The
essence of the Riyadh agreement aims at ending the divisions that could be at
the political level to that of the government,” Saeed told Al Arabiya during an
exclusive interview set to be aired in full on Wednesday.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
“But
as far as the security and military forces are concerned, there is the merging
of these forces within the framework of the Ministry of the Interior. There are
many files on this in this aspect, but it takes time and there is work on this
subject at the Military Security Committee,” the Yemeni prime minister added.
A
new power-sharing cabinet that includes southern separatists in the
internationally recognized Yemeni government was formed on Friday as part of a
deal to end a power struggle between the nominal allies.
Saeed
was re-appointed as prime minister while Yemeni diplomat Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak
has been named Yemen’s new foreign minister.
Lieutenant
General Mohammed Ali al-Maqdashi was named as Yemen's new defense minister
under the new government formation. He was previously the chief of staff of the
Yemeni Armed Forces.
“Arrangements
are subject to the Military Security Committee, in which the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia is making efforts. Withdrawals have taken place that paved the way for
the government’s announcement, but the issue is not only related to
withdrawals,” Saeed told Al Arabiya.
“There
are long mechanisms regarding the security and military file in relation to
integration and other things, but currently the maintenance and security forces
are making some preparations and there is some arrangement being completed
based on discussions in the Military Security Committee,” he added.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2020/12/22/Yemeni-PM-Saudi-Arabia-ended-division-between-Yemenis-via-Riyadh-Agreement
--------
Hezbollah:
Soleimani was assassinated because he challenged US hegemony
22
December 2020
Deputy
secretary general of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has heaped
praise on Iranian anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani for
his unmatched bravery and courage, stating that the United States decided to
assassinate him because he was a primary challenge to the advancement of
Washington’s hegemonic schemes in the region.
“[US
President Donald] Trump would not have made the decision to overtly assassinate
Qassem Soleimani, if it weren't for his constantly unsettling the hegemonic
schemes of the United States in a most painful manner,” Sheikh Naim Qassem said
“General
Soleimani would not be occupying such a lofty place in the hearts of people,
had it not been for his achievements and for the victories of the resistance
front that took place under his watch,” he added in an interview with Lebanon’s
Arabic-language al-Ahed news website.
Lieutenant
General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic
Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and his Iraqi trenchmate Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis,
the deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Units, were assassinated along with
their companions in a US terror drone strike authorized by Trump near Baghdad
International Airport on January 3.
Just
two days after the assassination, Iraqi lawmakers approved a bill, demanding
the withdrawal of all foreign military forces led by the United States from the
country.
Both
commanders were admired by Muslim nations for their role in eliminating the
US-sponsored Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in the region, particularly in Iraq
and Syria.
The
US assassination drew a wave of condemnation from officials and movements
throughout the world, and triggered huge public protests across the region.
Early
on January 8, the IRGC targeted the US-run Ain al-Assad air base in Iraq’s
western province of Anbar with a barrage of missiles to retaliate the
assassination.
According
to the US Defense Department, more than 100 American forces suffered “traumatic
brain injuries” during the counterstrike on the base. The IRGC, however, says
Washington uses the term to mask the number of American forces who perished
during the retaliatory operation.
Iran
has described the missile attack on Ain al-Assad air base as a “first slap.”
Elsewhere
in his remarks, Sheikh Qassem said Hezbollah did not attach much significance
to the results of the US presidential election, but it believed there was a
lesson for the oppressors in the “repressive” Trump's departure from office.
“Judgment
on [US President-elect Joe] Biden will depend on his policies. He should know
how we value our land and our independence,” he commented.
Sheikh
Qassem gave assurances that Hezbollah will continue to tread the path of
resistance, and will use its deterrent power to confront the Israeli occupiers.
“Those
who stood up against Israel, prevailed over it, faced sanctions but never
altered their stance in the face of the most difficult circumstances, will not
allow the martyrs' blood and their achievements to be wasted,” Sheikh Qassem
said.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/22/641259/US-assassinated-Gen--Soleimani-as-he-used-to-seriously-challenge-colonial-plots-Hezbollah-deputy-chief
--------
US
using terrorists as pretext to justify continued military presence in northeast
Syria: FM
21
December 2020
Syrian
Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad says the United States is using Takfiri
terrorist groups, which are wreaking havoc in the northeastern sector of the
Arab country, as a pretext to justify the presence of its military forces in
the area.
“Even
though we (Syrian and Russian forces) have achieved joint victories against
terrorism, this does not mean that terrorism is over. The United States
supports activities of terrorist groups in order to find a justification for
its continued presence in northeastern Syria,” Mekdad said in an exclusive
interview with the Arabic service of Russia’s Sputnik news agency on Monday.
He
added, “The US incitement in northeast Syria is taking place through its
support for separatist groups. Turkey also supports terrorists while occupying
northwestern Syria.”
The
US military has stationed forces and equipment in northeastern Syria, with the
Pentagon claiming that the troops deployment are aimed at preventing the
oilfields in the area from falling into the hands of Daesh terrorists.
Damascus, however, says the deployment is meant to plunder the country's
resources.
Earlier
this year, the Syrian ambassador to Russia, Riyad Haddad, said the United
States controls all oil fields in the northeastern part of his country.
“Americans
are currently present in the northeastern part of the country, controlling all
oil fields there and stealing our crude resources. If we manage to liberate the
region from the American occupation, we will then revive our economy,” the
Arabic service of Russia's Sputnik news agency quoted him as saying in an
exclusive interview with Russia's state-owned Rossiya 24 television news
network at the time.
The
US first confirmed its looting of Syrian oil during a Senate hearing exchange
between South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and US Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo in late July.
On
July 30 and during his testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
Pompeo confirmed for the first time that an American oil company would begin
work in northeastern Syria, which is controlled by militants from the so-called
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The
Syrian government strongly condemned the agreement, saying that the deal was
struck to plunder the country's natural resources, including oil and gas, under
the sponsorship and support of the administration of US President Donald Trump.
The
presence of US forces in eastern Syria has particularly irked the civilians,
and local residents have on several occasions prevented American military
convoys from entering the region.
In
his Monday remarks, Mekdad also underscored that Russia's military presence in
Syria is necessary because the war on terror has not finished yet.
“The
war against terrorism continues in different ways and through various means.
Every time we attain our goal of defeating terrorism, they form terrorist
groups and armed separatist outfits to pursue their political goals,” he
pointed out.
“The
Russian military presence is not only beneficial, but also necessary,” the
Syrian foreign minister said.
Elsewhere
in his remarks, Mekdad pointed to the Constitutional Committee process that
seeks to draft a new constitution for post-conflict Syria, emphasizing that
Syrian presidential election, which must be held between April 16 and May 16
according to election law, will not be postponed even if related negotiations
do not come into fruition.
The
Syrian foreign minister also noted that Damascus is in talks with Moscow to
import Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine to help stop the spread of coronavirus.
The
Syrian Ministry of Health reported 145 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing
the total nationwide infections to 10,195.
The
ministry also reported 9 new deaths and 49 more recovered cases in the country,
raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 610 and the total recoveries
to 4,786.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/21/641208/US-using-terrorists-as-pretext-to-justify-military-presence-in-northeast-Syria-FM
--------
Europe
Four
arrested for Sept. 25 Paris knife attack, source says
DECEMBER
18, 2020
PARIS
(Reuters) - Four people have been arrested in France as part of an
investigation into a knife attack in Paris on Sept. 25, a judicial source said
on Friday.
The
source told Reuters that one of those held has been charged with a
terrorism-related offence and placed in custody in the southwestern Gironde
region.
On
Sept. 25, a stabbing in which two journalists were wounded took place in
Paris’s rue Nicolas-Appert, where Islamist militants killed 12 people in the
offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo five years ago.
The
main suspect in the attack was an 18-year-old man from Pakistan. Police
arrested him soon after the stabbing.
French
daily Le Parisien reported on Friday that the four detained people of Pakistani
origin had allegedly encouraged the attacker to act.
Several
attacks in recent months, including the beheading of a teacher who had shown
his class caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad, have prompted the French
government to take action against Islamist “separatism”.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-security-attack-arrest/four-arrested-for-sept-25-paris-knife-attack-source-says-idUSKBN28S28H?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1840297_
--------
Nando’s
knife attacker who claimed to be terrorist detained under Mental Health Act
Lizzie
Dearden
19
Dec 2020
A
man who launched a knife attack in Nando’s restaurant and claimed to be a
terrorist has been detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act.
Ali
Algdaner, 27, grabbed a handful of cutlery before stabbing a 20-year-old
waitress in the back inside the Arndale Centre.
Greater
Manchester Police said he approached other staff members and customers, before
moving to the restaurant next door on 18 October 2019.
The
shopping centre was evacuated and Algdaner was pursued by members of staff
before armed police arrived.
“While
in police custody, Algander made false admissions that he was a terrorist and
that he had planted bombs in the centre but a thorough search of the building
ensued and no suspicious items were found,” a police spokesperson said.
“Algander
continued to state he had committed a terrorist attack and was subsequently
assessed by mental health specialists before being detained under the Mental
Health Act. He has since been remanded in a specialist hospital.”
On
Friday, he was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order under section 37 of
the Mental Health Act 1983.
He
had previously admitted affray, assault causing actual bodily harm and
communicating false information causing a bomb hoax at Manchester Crown Court.
Greater
Manchester Police said he would spend an indefinite time in hospital, and would
have to be assessed before being considered for release.
DC
Annabel Lewis said: “The actions of Algander on that Friday evening last year
caused great distress to all those that were targeted and involved in this
frightening ordeal.
“While
one woman was stabbed during this incident, it is fortunate that Algander’s
actions did not result in any further casualties, and this is in part due to
the swift response of staff at the Arndale in evacuating the premises, and the
subsequent work from our specialist officers at the scene.”
She
added: “It is clear that Algander was, and remains, a danger to the public and
we are satisfied that today’s verdict keeps the streets of Manchester a safer
place until he is deemed fit enough to return to society.”
The
incident followed another knife attack the week before, when another man was
detained under the Mental Health Act after stabbing several people.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/manchester-arndale-centre-stabbing-nandos-mental-health-b1776327.html?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1840297_
--------
Germany
brings home 'Islamic State' brides, children from Syrian camps
20.12.2020
German
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Sunday said he was "relieved" that a
"humanitarian" recovery operation had brought home 18 children and
five "Islamic State" (IS) brides from Kurdish-run internment camps in
northeastern Syria.
One
of three German women brought back, identified in reports as Leonore M., 21,
from Saxony-Anhalt state, was arrested a day earlier on arrival in Frankfurt
airport, on charges including terror organization membership, said federal
prosecutors.
All
three German women reportedly face terror charges in Germany.
Accompanying
Saturday's chartered flight were German federal police officers, reported the
German news magazine Der Spiegel.
German
public broadcaster SWR said the group, reportedly comprising five women and 18
children, including 7 orphans, were handed over to a Foreign Office delegation
by Kurdish envoys at Qamishli in northeastern Syria.
SWR
said they had been held at Roj and al-Hol, two Kurdish-run internment camps
holding tens of thousands of detainees since the military defeat of IS by
Kurdish forces backed by a multinational US-led alliance in late 2018, early
2019.
Germany's
Foreign Office did not mention the women's alleged IS backgrounds but said the
mission involved "humanitarian cases, especially orphans and children with
illnesses — cases in which departure was particularly urgent."
'Intensive
preparations'
Maas
said the mission had gone ahead in "precarious" circumstances after
"months of intensive preparations and coordination."
Thanks
also went, he said, "to our Finnish partners, with whom we jointly carried
out this operation."
The
relocation of the German nationals was the first direct mission involving the
Foreign Office, the German tabloid Bild noted, headlining the recovery as a
"secret mission shortly before Christmas."
Remaining
in Syria, according to the newspaper, were nearly 70 adult Germans in Kurdish
captivity along with 150 children of German parents.
The
German women, identified only by their first names also include Merve A., 24,
from Hamburg and Yasmin A. from Bonn.
Der
Spiegel said Merve followed her then-18-year-old friend to Syria, who was later
killed as an IS combatant.
Leonora
went to Raqqa, then a IS stronghold, and became the third wife of Martin L., a
German in IS' notorious intelligence network.
For
a period, reported Der Spiegel, she had allegedly held a Yazidi woman and two
children as slaves in her apartment until selling them on.
Kurdish
forces had taken her prisoner in January 2019 as she fled the battle for
Baghouz — the last IS stronghold in eastern Syria — taken by Kurdish-led Syrian
Democratic Forces (SDF) militias, backed by a US-led multinational alliance.
Many
countries reluctant
The
reluctance of many countries, including Germany, to take back citizens deemed
radicalized IS-associates has often been challenged by family lawyers, acting
for grandparents, and aid groups such as the Red Cross.
They
argued that unwitting child nationals must be extracted from
"horrifying" conditions in internment camps along the Syrian-Iraqi
border.
The
tabloid Bild noted that Chancellor Angela Merkel's government had previously
rejected direct repatriations, but reported on a separate humanitarian mission,
which took place over the summer.
"A
grandmother living in Germany recognized her grandson," recalled the
newspaper, "and in August, the Foreign Office finally brought the three
orphans and the seriously ill baby to Germany."
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-brings-home-islamic-state-brides-children-from-syrian-camps/a-56001039?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1840297_
--------
Berlin
Islamist terror attack: A deadly story of failure
Marcel
Fürstenau
18.12.2020
Eleven
people died and 60 were seriously injured when the Islamist Anis Amri drove a
stolen truck into a Christmas market in central Berlin on December 19, 2016.
The
24-year-old Tunisian national whose application for asylum had been rejected
had hijacked the semi-trailer truck, killing Polish driver Lukasz Robert Urban.
The
attacker managed to escape and travel through Europe until he was shot dead by Italian
police on December 23 after an altercation in Milan.
The
attack on the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market was the most serious Islamist
terror attack in Germany to date. And it was "preventable," according
to Hans-Georg Maassen, the head of the domestic intelligence agency at the
time.
Maassen
made his testimony in October this year before the Bundestag's parliamentary
inquiry committee, set up in March 2018 to establish who was responsible for
the many mistakes in the course of the investigation.
It
turned out the police had been aware that Amri was more than just a small-scale
drug vendor and failed asylum-seeker. Still, they failed to prevent the attack.
"This
didn't need to happen, and that for me is the real tragedy," Maassen
conceded four years after the attack. But he refused to admit that he
personally had made mistakes or that the agency he headed until 2018 had done
anything wrong.
"Mistakes
are only ever made by others," was the summary liberal democrat MP
Benjamin Strasser gave to DW after Maassen's testimony. "It's about time
to come clean on who is responsible for the authorities' failure," he
said.
Intelligence
agencies admit failure
The
ball did get rolling after Maassen's controversial appearance before the
committee.
The
heads of the German Intelligence Agency (BND) and the Federal Criminal Police
Office (BKA) were subsequently questioned by the committee.
BKA
chief Holger Münch freely admitted to major shortcomings concerning the
exchange of information between German security agencies — and also on a
European level. BND chief Bruno Kahl echoed this assessment.
In
September and October of 2016, just a few months before the attack, the
Moroccan secret service had contacted both the BND and BKA seeking to convey
information on Anis Amri's Islamist extremist activities. This information,
however, did not get passed on to the domestic intelligence agency
(Verfassungsschutz) immediately. Kahl conceded that this was a mistake and
should prompt a closer and more critical look at procedures within the
organization. The inquiry committee saw this admission as a promising first
step.
Experts
had warned of attacks on Christmas markets
Four
years after the attack we have not learned any lessons, says parliamentarian
Strasser (Free Democrats). He sees a lack of real commitment from the ruling
parties.
Fellow
committee member Fritz Felgentreu from the junior coalition partner SPD refuses
to go that far. But he, too, sees serious failures. "A series of errors
made it possible for Anis Amri to somehow fall through the cracks of our
system," he admits.
Anis
Amri was even on the radar of the central anti-terror center GTAZ in Berlin.
That is where the federal intelligence agencies and those of the 16 German
states pool their resources and share information. Amri was discussed there
several times. In retrospect, the coordinator for the intelligence agencies,
Klaus-Dieter Fritsche, admitted before the inquiry committee that one had to
know that the situation was extremely dangerous. The agencies were aware that
the so-called Islamic State (IS) was planning attacks on year-end festivities
in Europe.
Parallels
to attack in Nice
The
Interior Ministry was also in the picture back then: An expert for
international terrorism within the ministry even explicitly mentioned Christmas
markets as "especially attractive" targets for Islamist terror,
because of the Christian symbolism involved.
Despite
all the warnings, there were no special safety precautions, which could have
stopped Amri from driving the truck at full speed into the Breitscheidplatz
Christmas market.
Half
a year before, in July 2016, an Islamist terrorist had driven into a crowd of
people who were celebrating the French national holiday in the southern city of
Nice, killing 80 people. Like Amri, the perpetrator was a Tunisian national.
After
the attack in Nice, German authorities discussed the likelihood of something
similar happening in Germany too, and started thinking about
"sensible" measures that could be taken to prevent it, a terrorism
expert with the Interior Ministry told the inquiry committee.
Setting
up concrete barricades at the entrance of pedestrian areas was one of the ideas
up for discussion. They were set up everywhere – but only after the Christmas
market attack.
But
what consequences were there on the political level? Berlin Interior senator
Andreas Geisel quickly named a special investigator, who presented his findings
in autumn 2017: The security agencies had failed on all levels, he found.
A
week before Christmas 2020, Geisel has been called as a witness by the inquiry
committee. One of the questions put to him is why the Berlin intelligence
agency actually stopped the surveillance of Amri weeks before his attack. This
was due to a personnel shortage, Geisel explained. "It was clearly a
mistake," he concluded. The personnel shortage has been addressed:
Berlin's police force has hired an additional 1,000 officers. But, Geisel
added, "there can never be absolute security."
The
buck stops with the interior minister
Thomas
de Maizière, who was Germany's federal interior minister in 2016, was the last
witness to be heard by the committee.
He
began by talking about his feelings at the time. He felt "endless
sorrow" and "great anger," he felt reminded of the events in
Nice, and he asked himself whether the attack in Berlin could have been
prevented. But, he said, he couldn't find a convincing answer to that and
believes all that can be done is to learn from the mistakes. As interior
minister, he stressed, he accepts full responsibility.
The
attack revealed weaknesses in the system, de Maiziére said. But he also came
out in support of the security agencies. Finally, he recalled speaking to
survivors of the attack and said that this was the most moving encounter in his
whole time in office.
https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-islamist-terror-attack-a-deadly-story-of-failure/a-55990942?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1840297_
--------
Two
more suspects linked to Vienna attack arrested: prosecutors
DECEMBER
20, 2020
ZURICH
(Reuters) - An Austrian of Afghan descent whose genetic material was allegedly
found on the weapon that a jihadist used to kill four people in Vienna last
month has been arrested, prosecutors said on Sunday.
Authorities
will seek court approval to put the 26-year-old into investigative custody, a
spokeswoman for Vienna prosecutors said, confirming a report in the Krone
newspaper.
“Traces
of DNA from this person were found on the weapon,” she said.
Another
suspect was also arrested, she said, without giving details.
Police
shot dead the 20-year-old gunman, whom Austrian authorities have described as
an Islamist terrorist, during his rampage in the centre of the Austrian capital
in early November.
Austria
had already arrested 15 people in connection with the attack. Authorities in
Germany and Switzerland are also investigating people they suspect had ties to
the shooter.
https://www.reuters.com/article/austria-attack-idUSKBN28U08L?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1840297_
--------
India
should not worry about our ties with Pakistan, says Russia
Dec
22, 2020
Russia
on Monday said it was committed to developing its relationship with Pakistan
although India should have no concern about such moves as they are within the
framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and aimed at ensuring
regional stability.
Moscow’s
efforts to develop relations with Islamabad fit in with the basic values of the
strategic partnership between India and Russia, Russian ambassador Nikolay
Kudashev told a news briefing. His deputy, Roman Babushkin, said Russia’s ties
with Pakistan were “independent in nature” and the two sides have a trade and
economic agenda.
“If
you take a look at the substance of our ties with Pakistan and the priorities
we are committed to, you could easily see they would correspond to the basic
values of Russia and India, especially the privileged and strategic partnership
– issues like regional stability, transparency, fighting terror, drugs and
crime first and foremost,” Kudashev said in response to a question on a
perceived uptick in ties between Moscow and Islamabad.
Economic
cooperation between Russia and Pakistan, Kudashev said, was a key to progress
and predictability. “Our ties with Pakistan are naturally no exception to the
values of our ties with India,” he added.
Babushkin
said India should not be worried about Russia’s commitment to respecting the
sensitivities of any other country.
“Russia
is very cautious when it comes to respect of sensitivities but at the same time
we regard our relations with Pakistan are independent in nature and we also
have a bilateral trade and economic agenda. We are quite committed to
developing this relationship further, including from the point of view of
Pakistan being a partner country in the framework of the SCO,” he said.
SCO
comprises eight member-states -- India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan,
Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan;
“The
basic principle of Russian foreign policy is to have bilateral relations not
aimed against any other country. This is the very important principle we are
following when it comes to cooperation with every country in the world,
including Pakistan,” he added.
Babushkin
said a recent exercise between the Russian and Pakistani armies focused on
counter-terrorism. “Such kind of collaboration, including experience sharing
and capacity building, is quite natural for all SCO member states. We have
reached an advanced level of exercises with India including the three services.
All of that is important from the point of view of how we proceed to ensure
regional stability. Promoting dialogue and a unified agenda are also
instrumental for the same reasons,” he said.
India
has in the past expressed concerns about possible arms deals between Russia,
the supplier of a majority of weapon systems used by Indian armed forces, and
Pakistan.
In
response to an another question, Babushkin said Russia and India closely
consult each other on the situation in Afghanistan.
The
current negotiations between the Taliban and the US are being conducted on the
basis of agreements between the two sides. Russia wants these negotiations to
be successful and lead to a “forward-looking solution in Afghanistan” so that
the war-torn country can have a “maximum possible representative government”
that takes care of the interests of all national and ethnic groups, Babushkin
said.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-should-not-worry-about-our-ties-with-pak-says-russia/story-T0ZBWTQzgjRARrnwT6jHbM.html
--------
North
America
US
reinstates Sudan’s sovereign immunity after removal from terror list
22
December 2020
The
United States on Tuesday reinstated Sudan’s sovereign immunity, as the US
Congress passed legislation formalizing the move, following the ending of
Sudan’s designation as a state sponsor of terror.
However,
the legislation includes an exemption allowing lawsuits by the families of
victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States already underway in
US courts to move forward, although experts say Sudan is unlikely to lose those
cases.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
state sponsor of terror designation, which was in place for almost three
decades, had weighed on Sudan’s economy and restricted its ability to receive
aid. For investors, the reinstating of sovereign immunity removes another layer
of financial risk.
Sudan
had been engaged in talks with the United States for months and paid a
negotiated $335 million settlement to victims of al-Qaeda attacks on US
embassies in East Africa in 1998 who had been awarded much higher damages by US
courts.
The
process to release the settlement money and restore Sudan’s sovereign immunity
- protection against being sued in American courts - had been stalled in the US
Congress as it had been tied to the $892 billion coronavirus aid package.
Late
on Monday, the wider package was passed in the US Congress after a deal has
been worked out in a rare weekend session and sent to President Donald Trump to
sign into law.
Sudan’s
bilateral debt
According
to the bill, Washington will be authorizing $111 million to pay off part of
Sudan’s bilateral debt, and $120 to help pay off its debt to the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) while making another $700 million available until September
2022 for assistance to the country.
Last
week, Sudan’s finance minister announced a US “bridge loan” that would allow
Sudan to clear $1 billion in arrears to the World Bank .A US source familiar
with the matter said the debt assistance would help kick off Sudan’s debt
relief on a global level, helping make it eligible for the IMF’s Highly
Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) programme.
With
the reinstatement of sovereign immunity and the financial aid, Khartoum will
now be “on the hook,” to normalize ties with Israel, a US source familiar with
the matter said, a move it has agreed to under US pressure.
In
a joint statement in October, Israel and Sudan said they had agreed to
normalize relations and end the state of belligerence between the two
countries, but Sudan’s civilian leaders have said the final decision would be
in the hands of a yet-to-be-formed transitional legislature.
The
normalization would make Sudan one of the four Arab countries along with the
United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, over the past several months, to
establish relations with Israel in deals brokered with US help.
The
bill also appropriates an additional $150 million for Sudan’s settlement
payment, in order to redistribute the funds in a way the bill’s sponsors say is
more equitable.
The
United States designated Sudan a state sponsor of terrorism in 1993 on the
grounds that former President Omar al-Bashir’s regime was supporting militant
groups including al-Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah.
In
the 1990s, the regime became a pariah, hosting Osama bin Laden and positioning
itself as a fulcrum for extremist movements, although experts still say Sudan’s
liability for the Sept. 11 attacks is questionable.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/12/22/US-foreign-policy-US-reinstates-Sudan-s-sovereign-immunity-after-removal-from-terror-list
--------
The
deep US web of animosity towards Iran to continue?
21
December 2020
By
J. Michael Springmann
Well,
in my view, the Los Angeles Times article about whether or not the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action will be reinstated by the incoming Joe Biden
Administration, shows the weasel-worded nature of the American news media, the
American body politic, and the control that the apartheid entity of Israel has
over the American government.
I
am not optimistic at all about any changes in the present situation. I think
Biden and the Democrats, who are beholden to Israel and the votes of Israel's
supporters in the United States, will not change their views, especially with
all that Israeli money going to various Congressmen.
So,
I believe not much will alter. The issue, of course, is sanctions, and whether
or not the Americans will abolish them. The Los Angeles Times article seems to
talk about a gradual, step by step operation.
It will be a little bit of this versus a little bit of that, with the
Iranians expected to do all the agreeing.
The US will emphasize controls on Iranian missiles, with Iran dropping
its support for Hezbollah and other freedom fighters in Syria. The article went on about the deep web of animosity between the two
countries.
Well,
I am afraid that the deep web of animosity has been created by the United
States of America with its overthrow of the duly elected government of Mohammad
Mossadegh in 1953, and the subsequent installation of the repressive Shah.
And
after the Shah was overthrown in 1979, the Americans decided to retaliate, and
impose more sanctions and, as time went by, the sanctions increased. The
Iranian government eventually agreed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,
which Donald Trump abolished, with the full support of the rest of the American
government, particularly people like Charles Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, who
always support Israel, no matter what.
So
I think that, in the future, there will be no modification of the present situation. There's going to be
plenty of talk. There's going to be plenty of demands for the Iranians to take
the first step, the second step and the third step. But I don't see the
Americans dropping their sanctions against Iran or ending its inability to use
the international banking system to buy medical equipment, medical treatment,
and drugs and vaccines against this virus, which I believe came out of an
American or Israeli laboratory or, maybe, both.
In
my view, it's going to be more of the same with a lot of huffing and puffing on
the American part, insisting that Iran is not doing enough to justify going
back to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action as it was before Trump abolished
it unilaterally. I don't see any European
countries bucking the United States and saying: “We don't accept your
sanctions, we're going to trade with Iran, no matter what.” Well, they
permitted their companies to withdraw from Iran, and have not said a word about
this and they keep talking about INSTEX and trading riyals for Euros and
engaging in complicated banking transactions, an exchange of currencies. But
that hasn't happened, even though they've been talking about it for years.
In
the end, unfortunately, things will not change and Israel will still control
America's policy towards Iran.
J.
Michael Springmann is an American political commentator, author and former US
diplomat in Saudi Arabia. He is based in Washington. He recorded this article
for Press TV website.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/21/641240/The-deep-US-web-of-animosity-towards-Iran-to-continue
--------
Islamic
State train attacker thwarted by three California men is convicted
DEC.
18, 2020
PARIS
— A French court has convicted an
Islamic State operative in a 2015 train attack that was foiled by three fast-acting
young California men, whose heroics were turned into a film by Clint Eastwood.
The
special terrorism court sentenced Morocco-born Ayoub Khazzani on Thursday to
life in prison, with 22 years guaranteed behind bars.
Khazzani,
who went to Syria as a jihadi after trafficking drugs in Spain, met his match
in the train encounter with three childhood friends from California who took
him down. Eastwood turned the face-off into the movie “The 15:17 to Paris.”
Three
of Khazzani’s accomplices, who weren’t on the train, were convicted of
complicity and handed prison sentences ranging from seven to 27 years.
The
verdict closed the monthlong trial of Khazzani for attempted terrorist murder.
He had boarded the Amsterdam-to-Paris train Aug. 21, 2015, with an arsenal of
weapons.
The
court rejected Khazzani’s contention that he had changed his mind about
carrying out the assault. He seriously wounded a French-American teacher who
grabbed his Kalashnikov.
“I
still feel lucky to be here. That’s what I’m focused on. Just feel lucky that I
survived and just glad to be in France,” said Mark Moogalian, the teacher who
was shot in the back with a hand gun. The bullet exited through his neck.
Few
if any of the passengers in the train car would have reached their destination
alive if the attack had gone off as planned, prosecutors, lawyers and some
witnesses contended during the trial.
Khazzani,
who was armed with an assault rifle, nearly 300 rounds of ammunition, a handgun
and a box cutter when he boarded the train in Brussels, was tackled, choked and
knocked unconscious with his own Kalashnikov by the two American servicemen and
their friend.
The
actions of Spencer Stone, a member of the U.S. Air Force; Alek Skarlatos, in
the National Guard, and Anthony Sadler, a student, were a highlight of the
trial, and their testimony captivated the courtroom. Stone fell ill upon
arrival in France and eventually testified by video from California.
The
plot described by the prosecution was chilling.
Investigators
exposed an alleged network of connections that culminated, months after the
train assault, in the coordinated terrorist attacks on a Paris concert venue,
cafes and restaurants, and a sports stadium that left 130 people dead.
The
train attack was allegedly organized by Abdelhamid Abaaoud, whom prosecutors
said was the coordinator of the November 2015 bombings and shootings in Paris.
Khazzani was with Abaaoud in Syria and traveled with him back to Brussels. He
told the court that Abaaoud concocted the plan for the train attack, and he followed
it to the letter — until, he said, he changed his mind.
“It
was a very intense trial” because it was linked to the Paris attacks that lay
ahead, said Thibault de Montbrial, the lawyer for the California trio and for
Moogalian.
“The
terror cell that came to Europe to kill Europeans had as a first step to kill
inside the ... train,” he said, noting the prosecution’s contention that
Khazzani had planned a mass attack in the railway carriage.
Khazzani’s
testimony was often confused, but he agreed when the presiding judge said he
appeared to be “a puppet” of Abaaoud, who was killed by French special forces
shortly after the Paris massacre.
“I
believed him. It’s stupid, but I believed,” he said during testimony in
November.
Khazzani
said Abaaoud told him to kill three to five American soldiers in the car, along
with the “European Commission,” though no members of the commission were on the
train. Abaaoud had told him they were responsible for bombings in Syria,
including one of a mosque that Khazzani said triggered his wish for revenge.
It
remained unclear at the trial’s end how he identified the vacationing Americans
as servicemen, as he claimed he had, because they were in civilian clothes.
The
presiding judge noted that he had more weapons than the terrorists who carried
out the massacre in Paris’ Bataclan concert hall. Khazzani said Abaaoud had
told him that that was how things were done in Syria.
The
verdict came a day after 14 people were convicted of involvement in the January
2015 massacre at satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and another deadly attack.
All three attackers were killed.
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-12-18/isis-operative-convicted-foiled-train-attack-france?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1840297_
--------
US
announces new criminal charges in Pan Am terrorist bombing
December
22, 2020
By
Christina Carrega, Katelyn Polantz and Evan Perez
(CNN)US
Attorney General William Barr on Monday announced criminal charges against an
alleged bombmaker in the 1988 terrorist bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over
Lockerbie, Scotland.
The
former Libyan intelligence officer Abu Agela Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi was charged
in a criminal complaint with for allegedly providing the medium-sized Samsonite
suitcase with the prepared explosive that was later placed onboard the flight.
He is currently in custody in Libya.
Monday
is the 32nd anniversary of the attack, which killed 270 people, the majority of
whom were Americans. The Pan Am Boeing 747 was en route from London to New
York.
The
announcement also brings Barr's service as attorney general -- a position he's
held twice -- full circle.
Last
week, when he told President Donald Trump of his resignation, Barr asked to
delay his departure by a week so he could announce the Lockerbie charges, one
of the sources said.
Early
in his tenure at the department under President George H.W. Bush, Barr had
announced charges against two other Libyan intelligence-linked men, Abdelbeset
Ali Mohmed al Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifah Fhimah, whom the US accused of
placing explosives in a portable cassette and radio player that was inside a
suitcase on the plane.
Libyan
leader Moammar Ghadafi later accepted Libya's responsibility for the bombing.
But
because of difficulty bringing them to the US, the men were tried instead by a
Scottish court sitting in neutral Netherlands.
"The
investigation also pointed to a third conspirator, a man known by the name of
Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi, who at the time, investigators were unable to
identify or locate this third person," Barr said at a news conference on
Monday.
Prosecutors
referred the alleged bombmaker as "Masud" in court documents. He is
currently in custody in Libya, prosecutors said. But, unlike the extraditions
of Megrahi and Fhimah over 20 years ago, US authorities have plotted out a less
complicated court procedure this time around.
Officials
say the US is having conversations with Libya to take custody of Masud, and
with Scottish authorities who may be able to provide evidence.
The
trial in the Scottish court resulted in an acquittal of Fhimah and a conviction
of Megrahi. Megrahi, sentenced to 27 years in prison, was released from prison
after being diagnosed with cancer. He died in 2012.
US
officials learned in 2016 about Masud's role as the bombmaker when he was
arrested in Libya for a separate incident and he made the alleged confession,
according to the criminal complaint.
Masud
was allegedly summonsed by an unidentified Libyan intelligence official for a
meeting in Tripoli where he was told to fly to Malta with a suitcase prepared
with the explosives, according to the criminal complaint. Masud spent a few
days at a hotel that was located 20 minutes from the airport before he met
Megrahi and Fhimah who instructed Masud to set the timer on the explosive to 11
hours later.
"Three
or four days after returning to Libya, Masud and Megrahi met with a senior
Libyan intelligence official, who thanked them for a successful
operation," prosecutors said in a statement.
Barr
said Monday that without prosecuting all involved with the "second
deadliest terrorist attack in American history," it felt like
"unfinished business" and delayed justice for the victims.
At
a memorial for the victims in 2019, Barr said "nothing was more important
to me" when he first served as attorney general in the 1990s than
investigating the bombing.
"I
must say that, to this day, I am not satisfied with our country's overall
response to the attack. I never thought that putting two Libyan intelligence
officers on trial should be the sum and substance of our response," Barr
said at the Arlington Cemetery ceremony last year.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/20/politics/lockerbie-pan-am-103-barr/index.html?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1840297_
--------
Mideast
MEPs
call on Israel to allow entry of anti-coronavirus medical supplies into Gaza
21
December 2020
Two
dozen lawmakers of the European Parliament have signed a petition launched by a
rights group, calling on the Israeli regime to allow immediate entry of
necessary equipment and medical supplies into the besieged Gaza Strip to assist
in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
In
a press release on Monday, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor welcomed
the signing of the petition by 24 members of the European Union (EU)'s
law-making body, the Palestinian Information Center reported.
The
Geneva-based rights monitor noted that the MEPs expressed concern about the
latest surge in COVID-19 cases in the impoverished enclave, which has been
under a tight Israeli blockade from land, air, and sea since 2007.
The
legislators called for immediate measures to be taken to facilitate the entry
of preventive supplies, including face masks and intensive care units, into the
densely-populated Palestinian territory, which is home to some two million
people.
According
to the rights monitor, the health system in the enclave is dilapidated and most
medical supplies and equipment have been depleted, with a deficit exceeding 30
percent and an occupancy rate for intensive care beds that reached 90 percent.
“The
international community is required to take decisive action to facilitate the
entry of medical supplies, allocate part of the coronavirus vaccines to the
Strip, and end the Israeli blockade imposed on the largest open prison in the world,”
said the rights monitor, Rami Abdu.
He
added that the situation in Gaza is no longer acceptable and that the World
Health Organization (WHO) must ensure that Palestinians in the impoverished
enclave receive decent health care.
The
petition also sought to raise awareness of the alarming health situation in
Gaza as the pandemic rages across the territory.
Just
recently, several patients, who contracted the contagious disease, lost their
lives while waiting for the lengthy procedures to obtain transit permits to
Israel and Egypt to seek treatment abroad.
“This
requires an immediate international intervention to save the Palestinians”,
Abdu stressed, as many health facilities have been destroyed during the
repeated Israeli attacks on the enclave.
The
lawmakers of the European Parliament further urged all parties to the conflict
in Gaza to save the civilians from the plight of COVID-19 and to put their
differences aside.
Separately
on Monday, Palestinian Minister of Health Mai al-Kailah announced that in the
previous 24 hours, eleven people had died of COVID-19 and 280 new cases of
infection had been documented.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/21/641238/Gaza-Israel-European-Parliament-COVID
--------
Iranian
Lawmaker: FATF Policymakers Main Sponsors of Terrorism
2020-December-21
“Although
the FATF claims its agenda is combat against money laundering and countering
financial support for terrorists, its key policymakers play a direct role in
terrorist acts around the world,” Jokar told FNA on Monday.
“The
main policymakers of the FATF are those who played a fundamental and direct
role in the assassination of (former commander of the IRGC Quds Force) Martyr
General Qassem Soleimani, (Iranian nuclear scientist) Martyr Fakhrizadeh and
our other martyrs. How can we accept the leadership of such people in the
FATF?” he asked.
Jokar
said that fulfilling the requirements of the FATF, specially as the country is
in the conditions of sanctions, will practically disarm Iran against enemies.
The
FATF placed Iran on its blacklist in February after Tehran refused to fully
adopt its provisions.
The
Iranian Foreign Ministry at the time denounced the move, and said the decision
materialized what the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia, the three sponsors of
terrorism in the Middle East, wished against Tehran.
"Unfortunately,
this is also part of the politicization of international mechanisms [carried
out] by the United States, Saudi Arabia, and the Zionist regime (Israel). Given
their influence on these mechanisms, they are trying to politicize them,”
former Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi said.
"Saudi
Arabia, as the central bank of terrorism and the Zionist regime as a terrorist
state, are providing terrorist groups and organizations around the world with the
most support," he added.
However,
they blacklist Iran which has the highest level of cooperation and transparency
in the field of combating money laundering and financing of terrorists, he
added.
Mousavi
emphasized that Iran has been implementing all laws and regulations related to
money laundering and financing of terrorism for more than two years, saying,
"International mechanisms have advantages and disadvantages and placing
Iran on FATF's blacklist came despite all efforts we have made inside the country
and all regulations we have tried to observe."
Iran
has been required to fulfill dozens of FATF recommendations to enhance its
status from a blacklist of non-cooperative countries, while the country is
under US sanctions. The country's status in FATF has no impact on toughening or
easing the US sanctions.
FATF
has required Iran to implement a number of moves that include endorsement of
several conventions.
Palermo
bill is one of the four government bills seeking to bring Iran's anti-money
laundering and countering terrorism financing standards into line with those
defined by the FATF.
The
parliament has approved all the measures but except for the bill that updates
Iran's domestic law on countering financing of terrorism. All the rest have
been rejected by the Guardian Council – a watchdog that ensures laws are in
line with the Constitution and Sharia.
The
bills on Iran’s accession to the Palermo Convention and the convention against
the funding of terrorism (CFT) were rejected by the Guardian Council in
November 2019 due to some flaws that violated the country’s Constitution. The
bills were then amended by the Iranian Parliament, waiting for the next steps
in the Guardian Council.
To
fulfill FATF requirements, President Hassan Rouhani’s administration has
proposed four bills to the parliament for approval, two of which are still
undecided, including the Palermo Convention. They have been referred to the
Expediency Council for final approval.
Yet,
Iran has recently approved a national anti-money laundering (AML), which was a
domestically-developed bill.
In
its October 2019 meeting, the FATF decided to extend the deadline for Iran
until February to complete reforms under the specified action plan that
includes a list of 9 major moves, including the opening of its financial
transactions data bank to the FATF that is headed by the US Department of the
Treasury’s Assistant Secretary heading the Office of Terrorist Financing and
Financial Crimes Marshall Billingslea.
The
Political-Defense-Security and Legal-Judicial Commissions of the EC declared
last January that endorsement of the Palermo bill would run against the
country's interests.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13991001000634/Iranian-Lawmaker-FATF-Plicymakers-Main-Spnsrs-f-Terrrism
--------
Iran
Blasts Canada’s Meddling in Ukrainian Plane Case, Stresses Publication of
Relevant Report Soon
2020-December-21
Khatibzadeh
lashed out at the Canadian government’s meddlesome remarks about the Ukrainian
passenger plane incident, adding, “We did our best in accordance with
international laws and treaties and the report will be published and delivered
to the Ukrainian side later today or by tomorrow.”
“We
will make every effort to act with transparency,” he stressed.
The
spokesman blasted Canada’s allegations and intrusive stance on the issue,
saying, “It is not a simple issue. The Canadian officials’ remarks have been
interventionist and unacceptable since the first day after the incident.”
He
warned the Canadian government and foreign minister to be accountable for their
comments and moves.
Referring
to Canada’s complicity with the US to block medicine imports to Iran,
Khatibzadeh said, “The government that has made every effort to prevent the
delivery of medicine to Iran has no place to talk about human rights.”
"I
invite the Canadian Foreign Minister to diplomatic etiquette,” the spokesman
stressed.
A
Ukrainian Boeing 737 passenger plane was accidentally shot down by an Iranian
rocket near Tehran on January 8, 2020.
It
happened after the US terrorist attack against motorcade of Lieutenant General
Qassem Soleimani, late anti-terror Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards
Corps (IRGC) Qods forces and his companions near Baghdad airport on January 3,
2020.
Iran
reciprocated the US terrorist operation by hitting the US Ain al-Assad airbase
in Iraq.
Commander
of the IRGC Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh admitted that
human error the incident.
In
relevant remarks on October 19, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif
in a meeting with Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Yenin described as
positive and constructive the talks between the two countries on the Ukrainian
passenger plane incident, and expressed hope that the talks would end in
favorable and desirable results soon.
"I
hope that we could settle the case of tragic plane incident very soon,"
Zarif said.
Zarif
and Yenin also exchanged views on the expansion of bilateral ties and the ways
to expand cooperation between the two countries in different areas.
Iranian
and Ukrainian officials started the second round of talks on the passenger
plane crash on October 19 and continued until October 21.
In
the second round of negotiations, Mohsen Baharvand hosted his Ukrainian
counterpart and the accompanying delegation.
Baharvand
underlined that Iran has nothing to hide about the Ukrainian plane incident,
and said that the Islamic Republic is ready to honestly inform the Ukrainian
delegation about the details of the incident.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13991001000505/Iran-Blass-Canada%E2%80%99s-Meddling-in-Ukrainian-Plane-Case-Sresses-Pblicain
--------
Iran
urged not to waste ‘last window of opportunity’ for nuclear deal
21
December 2020
Countries
trying to keep alive the 2015 deal on Iran’s nuclear program agreed Monday to
“positively address” the possibility of a US return to the accord under the
Biden administration. Germany’s foreign minister urged Iran not to waste what
he called a final window of opportunity.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Monday’s
virtual meeting of parties to the agreement — the first at the level of foreign
ministers in over a year — came as the deal is in what German Foreign Minister
Heiko Maas called a “downward spiral” caused by a mixture of strong US pressure
on Iran and Tehran’s violations of the accord.
The
remaining countries that signed the agreement with Iran — Germany, France,
Britain, China and Russia — have been trying to keep it from collapsing after
the unilateral withdrawal of the US in 2018.
The
three European powers have expressed hope that with the change of
administrations in Washington, the US could be brought back into the deal,
whose goal is to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb — something Tehran
insists it doesn’t want to do.
President-elect
Joe Biden has said he hopes to return the US to the deal, which was negotiated
while he was vice president.
Complicating
that, Iran is now in violation of most major restrictions set out in the
agreement, including the amount of enriched uranium it is allowed to stockpile
and the purity to which it is allowed to enrich uranium.
A
joint statement released after Monday’s meeting said participants in the deal,
known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA, “re-emphasized their
commitment to preserve the agreement” and discussed the fact that “full and
effective implementation of the JCPOA by all remains crucial.”
“Ministers
acknowledged the prospect of a return of the US to the JCPOA and underlined
their readiness to positively address this in a joint effort,” the statement
said.
“We
are standing at a crossroads today,” Germany’s Maas told reporters in Berlin,
adding that the deal’s survival or otherwise will be determined in the coming
weeks and months.
The
European powers stressed Monday that “just a commitment” to the accord on
everyone’s part is not enough, Maas said.
“To
make possible a rapprochement under Biden, there must be no more technical
maneuvers of the kind we have seen plenty in recent times — they would do
nothing but further undermine the agreement,” he added.
“The
opportunity that is now being offered — this last window of opportunity — must
not be squandered,” Maas said. “We made that very clear today to Iran in
particular.”
The
deal promises Iran economic incentives in exchange for curbs on its nuclear
program, but with the reinstatement of American sanctions, the other nations
have been struggling to provide Iran the assistance it seeks.
British
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who also attended the meeting, tweeted that “I
made it absolutely clear Iran must not implement the recently announced
expansions to its nuclear program. To do so would undermine the opportunities
for progress we hope to see in 2021.”
Despite
Iran’s violations, the International Atomic Energy Agency has reported that
Tehran continues to give inspectors full access to its nuclear sites — a key
reason the JCPOA member nations say it is worth preserving.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/21/Iran-urged-not-to-waste-last-window-of-opportunity-for-nuclear-deal-
--------
Houthi
official accused of prison torture at Yemen’s Central Security prison
Ismaeel
Naar
21
December 2020
A
Houthi official in charge of prisoners’ affairs in Yemen has been accused of
ramping up the torture of prisoners in the country’s central prison in Sanaa,
according to a video being shared by activists.
The
video making the rounds on social media shows a man with torture marks on his
back, with activists saying the Houthis are increasing the use of torture tools
a fortnight before the one-year anniversary of the killing of Iranian commander
Qassem Soleimani.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
“On
the night of killing Solaimani [sic], the Houthis unleashed their officers to
torture detainees. One of those officers was Murad Abu Hussein, who serves as
the deputy head of Houthis prisoners swap committee. He tortured detainees
being held at the Central Security prison,” tweeted Baraa Shiban, an expert on
Yemen.
Al
Arabiya English could not independently verify the authenticity of the video
originally posted on Twitter on Sunday.
Murad
Abu Hussein is currently the Deputy head of the National Committee for
Prisoners Affairs in Yemen under the Houthis.
The
Central Security prison in Yemen’s Sanaa has been wrought with accusations of
torture and human rights abuses over the past several years. The prison
currently holds many political prisoners, including Tawfiq al-Mansouri, one of
four journalists detained by the Houthis since 2015.
Last
month, the Yemeni Abducted Mothers Association group called for international
intervention al-Mansouri’s case, accusing the Houthis of neglecting to provide
the journalist with medical attention.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2020/12/21/Houthi-official-accused-of-prison-torture-at-Yemen-s-Central-Security-prison
--------
Knesset
rejects bill to delay budget Israel heading to 4th vote in 2 years as Knesset
tosses out election prevention bill
22
December 2020
Israel
is on an almost certain course for a fourth election within less than two years
after legislators narrowly rejected a bill that would have deferred the
deadline for passing next year’s budget, raising the likelihood that the
Knesset (parliament) will dissolve.
Lawmakers
voted 49 to 47 after midnight Monday against the legislation that would have
given rival coalition parties of Likud and Blue and White extra time to
reconcile their stark differences and reach a compromise.
The
bill would have pushed back the deadline for approving the 2020 budget from
Tuesday night until December 31, and set the deadline for passing the 2021
budget for January 5.
Under
the current arrangement between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and minister
of military affairs Benny Gantz, the shaky coalition administration has until
one minute past midnight on Wednesday to strike an agreement over a budget for
the current year.
The
Knesset will thus automatically dissolve at midnight on Tuesday, and Israelis
will go to the polls again, probably on March 23, 2021.
Late
on Sunday, Gantz's center-left Blue and White said it had reached an agreement
with Netanyahu's right-wing Likud on a bill to buy more time.
But
the two leaders engaged in yet another war of words the following day.
Netanyahu
said Gantz had “decided to renege” on promises he made, accusing him of
"dragging (Israel) to unnecessary elections in the midst of the
coronavirus crisis.”
Gantz,
in return, insisted that he had presented Netanyahu with clear conditions to
avoid another vote.
“If
Likud won't meet our demands, we will head to elections with our head held
high,” he said.
Long-standing
disagreements between Likud and Blue and White regarding the rotation of the
premiership has for weeks been pushing the fragile coalition towards eventual
collapse.
Likud
has apparently been holding up the budget for months in an effort to
renegotiate a more favorable coalition.
Netanyahu
would have to campaign for the election during his trial on charges of bribery,
fraud and breach of trust if elections were to be held soon.
Multiple
recent surveys suggest that the New Hope party of former Likud minister Gideon
Sa’ar could withdraw considerable support away from Netanyahu.
For
several months now, Israel has been the scene of massive protest rallies held
by people who want the controversial prime minister to quit power.
Opinion
polls indicate that Likud would pick up some 28 seats in a March vote, down
from the 36 it won in the March 2020 elections.
Blue
and White, which won 33 seats in the previous elections, is hovering at some 5
seats — barely above the Knesset threshold. New Hope party is polling at 19-20
seats.
“We
don’t want elections. That’s why we were willing to vote in the Knesset to
avoid it,” Netanyahu said during a meeting with White House special advisor
Jared Kushner on Monday. “But if elections are imposed upon us, we will win.”
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/22/641269/Knesset-rejects-bill-to-delay-budget-deadline-Israel-set-for-new-elections
--------
Africa
El
Al Airlines to operate first Israel-Morocco flight on December 22
21
December 202
Israeli
flag carrier El Al Airlines said on Sunday it would operate the first flight
from Israel to Rabat, Morocco on Dec. 22 and that the plane would carry a joint
US-Israeli delegation.
The
direct flight, LY555, is expected to take six hours and follows a US-brokered
deal earlier this month in which the countries agreed to normalize relations.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Israel
and Morocco agreed on Dec. 10 to normalize relations in a deal brokered with
the help of the United States, making Morocco the fourth Arab country to set
aside hostilities with Israel in the past four months.
At
the time, Moroccan King Mohammed told US President Donald Trump by phone that
Morocco intended to facilitate direct flights for Israeli tourists to and from
Morocco, according to a statement from Morocco's royal court.
Immediately
following the announcement of the deal, El Al Israel Airlines said it was
examining the possibility of establishing direct flights between Israel.
As
part of the agreement, US President Donald Trump agreed to recognize Morocco’s
sovereignty over the Western Sahara, where there has been a decades-old
territorial dispute with Morocco pitted against the Algeria-backed Polisario
Front, a breakaway movement that seeks to establish an independent state in the
territory.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/business/economy/2020/12/21/Israel-relations-El-Al-Airlines-to-operate-first-Israel-Morocco-flight-on-December-22
--------
UNSC
discusses Western Sahara after Trump's deal with Morocco
22
December 2020
The
United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has been briefed about Western Sahara
after US President Donald Trump's recognition of Moroccan
"sovereignty" over the disputed region as part of a normalization
deal between Rabat and the Israeli regime.
The
council briefing had been requested by Germany and happened behind closed doors
on Monday.
"There
are no major operational changes from our part," UN spokesman Stephane
Dujarric said before UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Bintou Keita and
Colin Stewart, the head of a UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, briefed
the UNSC.
"Our
position on the announcements regarding Western Sahara is unchanged and... we
continue to believe that a solution can be found through dialog based on the
relevant Security Council resolutions," he added.
Earlier
this month, Trump, who is due to leave office on January 20, agreed to
recognize Moroccan "sovereignty" over Western Sahara, abandoning
longstanding US policy on the region.
Morocco
agreed in return to join the list of Arab states that have normalized ties with
Israel.
Morocco
became the fourth Arab country — after the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain,
and Sudan — to normalize ties with the Israeli regime since August. The
normalization deals have been condemned by all Palestinian factions as a
betrayal of their cause.
Morocco
annexed the vast Western Sahara region, a former Spanish colony, in the 1970s
and has since been in conflict with the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, a
movement that seeks to establish an independent state in the territory and end
Morocco's presence there.
Morocco
is currently in control of 80 percent of the region, including its phosphate
deposits and fishing waters.
The
UN has deployed a peacekeeping mission, the MINURSO, to the region to monitor a
1991 ceasefire and to supposedly organize a referendum on the region's status.
Washington
had backed the ceasefire between Morocco and the Polisario Front.
US
President-elect Joe Biden will face a decision whether to maintain or reverse
the decision to recognize Moroccan "sovereignty" on Western Sahara.
No other Western country has offered such recognition.
After
the council briefing, South Africa's UN Ambassador Jerry Matjila said
"decisions contrary to multilateral collective decisions must be
discouraged and unequivocally disregarded," without naming the US.
"We
believe that any recognition of Western Sahara as part of Morocco is tantamount
to recognizing illegality as such recognition is incompatible with
international law," he told reporters.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/22/641256/UNSC-discusses-Western-Sahara-after-Trump-deal-with-Morocco
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At
least 10 killed in central Somalia bombing claimed by al Shabaab
DECEMBER
19, 202
By
Abdi Sheikh, Feisal Omar
MOGADISHU
(Reuters) - At least 10 people were killed on Friday in a town in Somalia’s
semi autonomous state of Galmudug when a suicide bomber detonated a device at a
rally due to be addressed by the country’s prime minister, a security official
said.
Prime
Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble was on his way to address the rally at a stadium
in Galkayo, a town in central Somalia where many residents and security forces
had gathered to welcome him before the explosion, Galmudug state security
ministry said in a post on its Facebook page.
“Over
10 people died in the blast including three senior military officials, soldiers
and civilians,” Major Mohamed Abdirahman, a military officer, told Reuters from
Galkayo. Over 20 people were injured, he added.
Senior
officials at the site included General Abdiasis Abdullahi Qooje who was
commander of a battalion based in Galmudug, Somali state radio SONNA reported.
He
said the death toll may rise.
Somalia’s
al Qaeda-allied Islamist group al Shabaab, claimed responsibility for the
attack and said it was “targeting the apostate prime minister who was visiting
the town.”
Among
those killed, al Shabaab’s military operations spokesman, Abdiasis Abu Musab,
told Reuters, some were U.S.-trained.
The
group has been fighting for more than a decade to topple the Horn of Africa’s
central government and establish its own rule based on its strict
interpretation of sharia law.
Farah
Ali, a resident of Galkayo who witnessed the bombing, told Reuters in a phone
interview the stadium was packed with a huge crowd before the blast.
“I
counted seven dead people including soldiers and civilians and over a dozen
injured,” he said.
https://in.reuters.com/article/somalia-blast-idINKBN28T07P?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1840297_
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South
Asia
Afghan
Parliament Lashes over Recent Remarks by First Lady
By
Mohammad Arif Sheva
22
Dec 2020
KABUL,
Afghanistan – Lawmakers in Afghanistan’s Wolesi Jirga (lower house of
parliament) on Monday strongly criticized the First Lady Rula Ghani’s recent
remarks, according to sources, saying her rhetoric against the parliament is
unacceptable.
In
a recent interview with Radio Azadi, the first lady said Afghan parliament has
turned into a trading ground for votes, adding the denied acting ministers will
continue their jobs regardless of MPs votes of confidence.
“Who
are you to insult this nation? On behalf of this nation, from this forum I want
to say that you are ignorant,” said MP Habiburrahman Pedram, critizcizing Rula
Ghani’s statement, as TOLOnews quoted.
“Afghanistan
has witnessed individual, family and ethnic repression. But the Afghan people
never witnessed such a shameful government,” said MP Khalid Assad.
Meanwhile,
a number of MPs exclaimed Rula Ghani is misusing her authority, attending
official government meetings and interfering in appointments and/or dismissals
of the nominees.
“Thieves
have gathered and are plundering the budget of the nation, the minister who did
not secure a vote of confidence is filling his pockets,” said MP Razia Mangal,
according to report.
Afghan
Parliament Approves Appointment of News Ministers
Earlier
this month, the Afghan parliament approved candidates for six ministries and
the chief of the National Directorate of Security (NDS), denying position for
nominees of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Ministry of Information and
Culture.
https://www.khaama.com/afghan-parliament-lashes-over-recent-remarks-by-first-lady-3453/
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Prison
doctors among 5 killed in Kabul bombing
22
Dec 2020
Four
doctors who worked at an Afghan prison with hundreds of Taliban inmates were
among five people killed on Tuesday when a bomb attached to their car exploded,
police said.
The
blast happened in a southern district of the city when the doctors were
travelling to the Pul-e-Charkhi prison where they worked, Kabul police
spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz said.
Four
doctors and a passer-by were killed when a “magnetic bomb” attached to the car
detonated, Faramarz said, adding that another two people were wounded.
Hundreds
of Taliban fighters and other criminals are incarcerated at Pul-e-Charkhi,
located on the eastern outskirts of Kabul.
The
city has been hit by a wave of deadly violence in recent months despite the
Taliban and the government engaging in peace talks.
Targeted
killings of prominent figures, including journalists, politicians and rights
activists have also become more common recently in Kabul and other provinces.
The
Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for some of the recent attacks
in Kabul, that killed dozens of people.
Tuesday's
attack came just two days after a car bomb targeting a lawmaker killed 10
people and wounded more than 50 in Kabul.
Lawmaker
Khan Mohammad Wardak was wounded in the blast.
Days
before that incident, a deputy governor of Kabul province, Mahbobullah Mohebi
was killed in a similar attack.
And
on Monday, an Afghan journalist was shot dead by gunmen in the eastern city of
Ghazni in what appeared to be yet another targeted killing.
Rahmatullah
Nekzad had contributed to the Associated Press news agency since 2007 and had
also previously worked with the Al-Jazeera broadcast network.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1597216/prison-doctors-among-5-killed-in-kabul-bombing
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Suicide
Bomber Targets Funeral Ceremony in Paghman, Killing 1
By
Mohammad Haroon Alim
21
Dec 2020
At
least one person was killed in a suicide bombing incident in Paghman district
of Kabul province on Monday.
Ferdaws
Faramarz, a spokesman to Kabul Police HQ, told Khaama press that the incident
occurred when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest out side Bolsan
Mosque in the Bolsan village.
One
civilian was killed, as the bomber detonated his explosive vest during the
Fatiha (a ritual ceremony often after the funeral).
Media
reports the incident happened at around 2 p.m. local time.
The
incident is still under the police investigation.
No
group or individual have yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
https://www.khaama.com/suicide-attack-claims-1-in-paghman-religious-ritual-attack-kabul-87979/
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Ex-Pakistani
PM: Pakistan Supports Both Taliban, Al-Qaeda
By
Mohammad Haroon Alim
21
Dec 2020
Veteran
Pakistani politician and a former parliament member, Afrasiab Khattak, told 1TV
news in an interview, that the Taliban are still being financed and trained by
the Al-Qaeda militants.
He
added Pakistan supports not only the Taliban but also Al-Qaeda in relations to
gain their regional goals, adding that the Afghan conflict is “rooted outside
the country,” 1TV news quoted Afrasiab.
The
US- Taliban deal was against the international rules, it is due to the deal was
made with a non-state negotiating group that promises to renounce violence and
government recognition matters, Khattak told 1TV news.
Indicating
that the United States has given concessions to the Taliban in order to remain
in Afghanistan and use the region in case of a new cold war breakout.
Earlier,
the government said Taliban are still carrying coordinated operations with
Al-Qaeda, and United Nations analysis confirmed Taliban and Al-Qaeda ties
remain intact.
On
February 2020, in a speech, Mike Pompeo urged the militant group to “keep your
promises to cut ties with al-Qaeda”.
This
comes as, amid peace talk breaks for 20 days in Doha, the conflict still have
raged across Afghanistan.
https://www.khaama.com/former-pakistani-pm-taliban-still-tied-to-alqaeda-pakistan-facilitates-both-4545454/
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Southeast
Asia
Covid-19:
Christmas celebration in the Federal Territory is now allowed, says KL Dept of
National Unity and Integration
22
Dec 2020
KUALA
LUMPUR, Dec 22 ― Activities at non-Muslim houses of worship in the Federal
Territory in conjunction with the Christmas celebration are allowed based on
the attendance limit set by the National Security Council (NSC) , Health
Ministry and the Federal Territories Ministry.
Kuala
Lumpur Department of National Unity and Integration, in a statement, said the
permission is in line with the standard operating procedures (SOP) and
protocols on the Christmas celebration issued by NSC for the period during the
recovery movement control order (RMCO) and the conditional movement control
order (CMCO).
Attendance
for prayers is allowed up to a third of the capacity of the houses of worship
or not more than 30 people per session, it said.
Last
Friday, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob
announced that open houses and carrolling in conjunction with the Christmas
celebrations are not allowed throughout the country.
However,
those celebrating the occasion are
allowed to perform prayer ceremonies on December 24 and 25 in the areas
under the RMCO and CMCO.
These
are among the SOP for the festival which also stipulates that visiting each
other's houses is only allowed on the first day (December 25) in areas where
the RMCO and CMCO are being enforced. ― Bernama
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/12/22/christmas-celebration-in-the-federal-territory-is-now-allowed-says-kl-dept/1934104
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